text:
Not from the U.S.? Click here to go to our international version Close
EDITION: U.S.
CNN Trends
Bill Richardson Withdraws from Cabinet; Roland Burris Interview
Aired January 4, 2009 - 18:00 ET
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: A political shocker. A big-time player in the Obama transition team drops out.
All this as President-Elect Barack Obama moves to his new home, Washington, DC, he's arriving live this hour. And the man who could replace Barack Obama in the Illinois Senate (sic) if senators want him: Roland Burris talks to us live this hour. The news starts right now.
Good evening, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. We begin tonight with President-Elect Barack Obama. He is due back in Washington about 30 minutes from now. One new piece of business that's going to be waiting for him, finding another choice for commerce secretary. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson bowed out today citing a federal probe into his ties to a company that's done business in his state.
Just minutes ago, the president-elect boarded Air Force One, a 757 at Chicago's Midway Airport. This marks his first flight in a military aircraft that's part of the official presidential fleet. Michelle Obama, his wife, and their daughters flew to DC yesterday to get the girls ready for school tomorrow. Mr. Obama admitted to reporters on the plane that leaving his Chicago home made him a little, quote, "choked up."
Well, this promises to be an extremely busy two weeks for the Obama team leading up to the inauguration. And our Brianna Keilar joins us now in Washington. Brianna, losing Bill Richardson to head the Commerce Department has got to be a big disappointment for the president-elect. Tell us about that.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, and Bill Richardson citing a federal investigation in his decision and two Democratic officials telling CNN that this investigation involves a California company that was awarded municipal bond business in New Mexico after it contributed money to a number of Richardson's causes. Richardson released a statement in coordination with the president-elect this afternoon. Richardson's statement says, "I've asked the president-elect not to move forward at this time. I do so with great sorrow, but a pending investigation of a company that's done business with New Mexico state government promises to extend for several weeks or perhaps months."
Now Richardson goes on to say the investigation will show he has not acted improperly, but he says it would also force an untenable delay in his confirmation process. Now, President-Elect Obama, for his part, saying in a statement, "Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of commerce secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office. It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time."
And remember, Don, Richardson's endorsement of Obama, this was a very big deal for the then junior senator from Illinois during the primaries. Richardson, of course, had served in Bill Clinton's administration, and both Hillary Clinton and Obama lobbied for Richardson's endorsement. It was pretty noteworthy when Richardson ended up throwing his weight behind Obama despite his close ties to the Clinton. So who will Obama's new pick for commerce secretary be?
That's an open question at this point because the president-elect did not elaborate, only saying it is a decision that will be made quickly. And of course, the clocking is ticking down to his inauguration, Don.
LEMON: And that endorsement, Brianna, was very controversial, especially among Democrats and Clinton loyalists. He was criticized roundly for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. So we shall we.
Thank you, Brianna Keilar in Washington with our breaking news story tonight.
Bill Richardson was the first high-profile Latino nominated to Barack Obama's Cabinet. He has a long and distinguished career in public service. Richardson was re-elected as New Mexico's governor in 2006. He was energy secretary during the Clinton administration.
Richardson was also UN ambassador during the Clinton presidency. And he served in the White House -- in the House, I should say, of Representatives from 1983 to 1997. After his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bill Richardson endorsed Mr. Obama in March.
Let's go now to our other breaking news, to the Mid-East. And CNN's continuing coverage of Israel's ground attack in Gaza. Palestinian security sources say Israeli troops now control parts of northern Gaza, just 24 hours after crossing over into Palestinian territory. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing into Gaza with support from air strikes against Hamas targets.
Now, Hamas sources say three senior members of their military wing were killed today in two separate attacks. More than 500 people have been killed since Israel launched its first air strikes last week, according to Palestinian sources.
And the Israeli military says at least one Israeli soldier has been killed. The Israeli military describes a ground assault as phase two of a drawn-out operation designed to halt the near daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.
CNN analysts and correspondents are fully deployed to cover the Israeli assault. Our Christiane Amanpour is in Jerusalem, Nic Robertson on the Israeli-Gazan border, Karl Penhaul is in Egypt at the Rafah border crossing and here in the U.S., our military analyst and retired General David Grange is standing by to talk strategy with us. Let's start on the border as close as reporters can get to what is happening there right now.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins me with the very latest from there. Nic, when I saw you last night, this morning for you, the assault was increasing. We could see the firepower, what was happening over Gaza. What are you seeing now?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it still continues but with the intensity has dropped off somewhat. There are still heavy explosions, there are still exchanges of gunfire. We can still hear the occasional helicopter go overhead, and we can still hear those surveillance drone aircraft flying overhead.
Much of the Gaza Strip behind me is now without electricity. According to Palestinian medical officials during this first 24 hours- plus of the ground offensive, more than 37 Palestinians have been killed and a Norwegian doctor working at the main hospital in Gaza City says that so far he is seeing a tripling of the casualties coming in compared to the air strikes earlier in the week.
And he said those casualties coming in, more than 30 percent women and children. We've heard from people in Gaza City saying that they have food but not enough water. And also saying that they're living in fear because of the bombing. What Israeli forces have been able to do is to penetrate well into the Gaza Strip. Indeed effectively cut it in half just south of Gaza City.
They have effectively punched through that narrow strip to the sea and are controlling it, dividing Gaza, the Gaza Strip into a north section and a south section. That, they hope, will effectively make it much harder for Hamas to control the area, it also makes it harder for ambulance services and such humanitarian workers to get around the Gaza Strip.
But what we're hearing from Israeli Defense Forces, they say that Hamas is using tactics that other troops see in Iraq, roadside bombs planted where the troops are passing. Hamas, they say, are also using mortars. They've got snipers positioned, and they've come into close combat with them on a number of occasions. Israeli Defense Forces say they have wounded dozens of Hamas fighters, more than 30 Israeli soldiers injured, plus one Israeli soldier killed.
But despite all of that offensive, Hamas has fired 40 rockets out of Gaza since the ground operations began. Some of those rockets we saw earlier today were fired right out of the area where the main ground offensive was going on, the rockets came from within the built-up area, the civilian area within the Gaza Strip, and those rockets have injured two Israelis today, one in a nearby town of Sderot, another one landing north of here in Ashdod injuring other Israeli civilian, Don.
LEMON: All right. CNN's Nic Robertson reporting for us. Nic, we appreciate it. Palestinian officials including those from Hamas's rival Fatah Party are demanding an immediate cease-fire. Earlier today the chief Palestinian negotiator told our Wolf Blitzer that the Israeli assault is a human tragedy.
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: ... immediate cessation of attacks on Gaza. That's the most important thing. People should know that we have 1.5 million people in Gaza, six persons a square meter. We have a human catastrophe there. People are without running water, without medical supplies, without food supplies. It is enormous disproportionate use of force, and imagine 3,000 people out of the 1.5 million have been killed or wounded in the last nine days. If the nation is 300 million people, that would mean 600,000 people have been killed and wounded.
LEMON: Israeli officials say it is Hamas, not Israel, that is to blame. Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu is former Israeli prime minister. He told our Wolf Blitzer today that Hamas created its own crisis.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI P.M.: This humanitarian crisis is a directly result of the Hamas tactic of firing at our civilians and hiding behind their civilians. And it's something that we cannot tolerate. No nation would tolerate 6,000 rockets fired on its cities, and Israel finally decided to take action. We have to make sure that the -- we don't just have a cease-fire, but that this criminal rocketing of our cities is not resumed a few months from now because that's what happened a few ago. They were firing rockets at us, the Hamas. We had a cease-fire. They used the cease-fire to get further range, longer-range rockets which they've now fired at Beersheva and Ashdod and into the southern suburbs of Tel Aviv. Obviously, we have to remove the threat, not just stop the firing.
LEMON: And coming up, CNN's exclusive interview with the Israeli foreign minister. Our Christiane Amanpour spoke with Tzipi Livni and asked some very tough questions to her. That interview is coming up in about 30 minutes.
Well, the U.S. is keeping a close watch on events in the Mid-East. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today canceled a planned trip to China so she can remain focused on Gaza. Vice President Cheney, meantime, says any potential cease-fire must include an end to Hamas rocket attacks.
DICK CHENEY, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We think if there's to be a cease- fire, you can't simply go back to the status quo ante, what it was a few weeks ago where you had a cease-fire recognized by one side but not adhered to by the other. It's got to be a sustainable, durable proposition, and Hamas has to stop rocketing Israel. And I don't think you're going to have a viable cease-fire until they're prepared to do that.
LEMON: Israel's prime minister says he's, quote, greatly encouraged by the support Israel has received from the U.S. and President Bush.
New violence in Iraq today. A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Baghdad, killing at least 40 people and wounding 70. Many of them women. The victims include Iranians who were taking part in a Muslim pilgrimage. The bombing is the most recent in a series of deadly attacks. They come as the U.S. tries to transfer security responsibility to Iraqi forces.
Mr. Burris is going to Washington, and even though Washington doesn't want him. The drama plays out over the man picked to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat. Can Roland Burris cut a deal? We'll talk to him live straight ahead.
LEMON: You know what? It's got to be the hottest seat in the Senate, the one being vacated by Barack Obama. As you know, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is accused of trying to peddle the sight to the highest bidder. Now in the ensuing controversy, conventional wisdom was that Blagojevich would not be able to appoint anyone. Well, so much for conventional wisdom.
Blagojevich defied almost everyone and tapped his longtime friend and confidante Roland Burris to fill the seat. And that's not sitting well with sitting senators. Roland Burris joins us by phone now. Thank you for joining us today.
ROLAND BURRIS, DESIGNATED AS U.S. SENATOR: Don, it's my pleasure.
LEMON: The big question, you are going to Washington. What do you plan to accomplish on Tuesday when you meet with people in Washington?
BURRIS: Don, I am the duly appointed, legally appointed United States senator from the state of Illinois, and I certainly expect that the senators will recognize that and do not deny Illinois its equal representation as we get under way in this 111th Congress. It is my hope and prayer that they will certainly have gotten the message that what the governor has done regarding his problems, they're not my problems, there's no taint on me, he has carried out his constitutional duty and found a person who was qualified to fill that vacancy, and that's what he's done.
I spent 20 years in the Illinois government. I know this state, I know the people and I know the problems. I am ready, willing and able to learn by process in the Senate, to certainly hit the ground running in representing the 13 million people of this great state. LEMON: Well, you know, living in Chicago and Illinois, I know your track record. And as a political player and a major political force not only in Chicago, but in Illinois. Now, you are aware of Illinois politics. And oftentimes there is guilt by association. You know that. And you don't think that by the governor appointing you, that there would be some guilt or some taint on you simply because of the controversy that he has found himself in?
BURRIS: Don, is there a such thing as taint in the law? I am a former attorney general. I have never read anywhere in the statute that if a governor is having some type of serious legal problems that he cannot carry out his constitutional duties. When someone shows me that, then I might be convinced that there might be something that would impact my ability to serve and to be effective for the people of Illinois. I don't think that that's possible.
LEMON: When I spoke with -- when this news broke, you were going to -- that he was going to appoint you, I spoke with president of Illinois Senate Emil Jones, and he said he had a conversation with you earlier, I believe it was earlier in December, and you expressed interest in this job, and then you called him that day and said that you were going to -- in fact, the governor was going to appoint you.
He supports you. There are many Illinoisans who support you, but you've also found yourself in a position where many people, many of them African American as well, political leaders, who are not supporting you. Do you understand their positions?
BURRIS: I respect their positions but I don't agree. What is there to understand? I will ask anyone if the governor of this state has the legal authority to make the appointment. And the answer to that is yes. Secondly, am I qualified? Do I meet the constitutional requirements to serve in the United States Senate? I do. There is no such other criteria other than people got their own private agendas that they may be, in turn, seeking to foster or bring forth.
LEMON: Mm-hmm. You know the law very well. Very well, sir. How far do you plan to take this, and do you see any -- is there any point or anywhere in the law that you see that you cannot be appointed? Do you plan to take this to the very end, and do you see that this is legally possible for you to, in fact, become the senator of Illinois?
BURRIS: Don, I am the senator. I am the senator.
LEMON: OK.
BURRIS: And the next step is for the United States Senate to do its constitutional duty and not disenfranchise the 13 million people of Illinois and have us be shorthanded with all these crises that are coming down around our state and around our nation, and Illinois would not be fully represented in the Senate. That's the reason why I took this seat is because I wanted our people in this state to have a voice there, speaking on their behalf as we try to tackle some of the major crises that are confronting Illinois and America.
LEMON: So you're up for the challenge? BURRIS: I am definitely -- can you hear in my voice, Don? I don't want to get too emotional here, but I'm ready. You know, I'm ready.
LEMON: OK. And one last question because I have to run here, Mr. Burris.
BURRIS: Sure.
LEMON: What kind of reception do you think you're going to get?
BURRIS: In terms of -- well, if I'm not seated, then we'll have to take the next step.
LEMON: OK. Roland Burris, thank you very much, sir. He says he is the senator of Illinois. We'll see what happens on Tuesday when he goes to Washington. Thank you very much for joining us.
We want to move on and talk about a major development, the drawn-out Senate race in Minnesota. We go from Illinois now to Minnesota. The state's top election official tells CNN a special board will announce Democrat Al Franken as the winner tomorrow, defeating Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. After a final recount, secretary of state Mark Ritchie says Franken won by 225 votes. The Coleman campaign has indicated they will go to court to challenge those results.
We're keeping a close eye on the ever-growing crisis in Gaza. Israeli soldiers going street to street, perhaps door to door, digging in for a very long fight. We'll talk strategy coming up.
LEMON: Updating for you now, the growing crisis in Gaza. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing through the territory. Israeli forces now control parts of northern Gaza just a day after launching a ground assault backed by tanks and aerial attacks. Palestinian medical sources say more than 500 Palestinians have died since last week's start of Israel's military campaign.
And the Israelis say one soldier has died in the ground attack. CNN military analyst former Brigadier General David Grange is with us now, he is the president and CEO of McCormick foundation, one of the country's largest public charities.
And General Grange, it's just a day or two in Israel's ground assault into Gaza. What does it look like where you sit? Is this a situation that can be won, do you think militarily, or is this something that's going to have to be negotiated by possibly NATO?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET): Well, the military is only one aspect of the final solution. Let me comment on the military aspects, not the political.
One thing about the Israeli troops are trained for this type of combat. It's integrated fighting from the sea, the air and on the ground. The commanders involved here, you have the southern front commander who is a special operations, Special Forces officer, well trained in fighting Hamas and Hezbollah. The division commander's a parachute infantryman, are well trained for this type of fight, and the brigade commander, the key brigade commander in the Gaza City area is a reconnaissance officer who's worked in this area and also qualified engineer, key for urban warfare.
They're fighting some very tough resistance because of the type of weapons that an irregular force uses, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, snipers and roadside bombs. So it is a tough fight but I think that they're going to do the military aspects for their civilian leadership.
LEMON: Let's talk about we have heard that Hamas is continuing to fire rockets into Israel, and that appears to be ramping up. The question is, does Hamas have the military power -- again, we've been saying that this is David and Goliath -- does Hamas have the military power to continue to fight Israel, and if they do, how long can they continue on this path?
GRANGE: Yeah, there are equalizers, and equalizers of an irregular force like the Hamas militants involved here is that, again, used in human shields, embedding themselves for cover and concealment within a civilian population or in areas like hospitals, schools, mosques, those type of things and very crowded, very tight operating areas in the buildings in these neighborhoods.
So it is an equalizer for well trained Israeli force. But what they're going to do is isolate certain pockets within Gaza City and other areas. They'll isolate them by cutting Gaza Strip in half, which they've already done, by sealing off other areas from the north and from the other ground approaches as well as the sea, isolate that and then start tightening the noose, possibly with limited raids, going in, coming back out, holding only areas they have to hold to be successful.
LEMON: OK. Here's what I want to ask you. You know, I would imagine that one of the techniques here would be to knock out infrastructure. And by knocking out infrastructure in Gaza, that not only, obviously, it does hurt Hamas, but doesn't that hurt -- and this is something that happens in war -- but doesn't that hurt the people of Gaza as well?
GRANGE: It sure does. And regrettably, the civilians like in any battle, any war, suffer more than their soldiers do. It's a terrible second, third order effect. And yes, the electricity is cut off. The communications has been degraded. Let's say that ambulances are trying to get through. Those will obviously be searched because some types -- some ambulances may have weapons in them.
But I cannot see where those would not be allowed to go through once they are searched at these checkpoints. But yes, the humanitarian effort is a tough part of this operation and the people are going to suffer.
LEMON: General David Grange, thank you very much for that.
GRANGE: My pleasure. LEMON: Israel versus Hamas.
We know the fighters in is this battle, but what about the thousands of Israeli and Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of this? You heard David Grange talk about that just a little bit ago. We'll hear their stories in their words.
Plus, we want to know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you log on to twitter, to facebook, MySpace, or ireport.com. Tell us what you're thinking. We've got lots of responses about this uprising in Gaza, and we'd like to get some of them on the air for you.
LEMON: President-Elect Barack Obama is on his way to Washington right now. This is Mr. Obama's motorcade a short time ago on the way to Chicago's Midway Airport. The air force 757, 757, he boarded as part of the military's presidential fleet marking the first time the president-elect has used one of those planes.
One new piece of business waiting for the Obama team in Washington, finding another choice for commerce secretary. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson bowed out today citing a federal probe into his ties to a company that's done business with his state.
Let's talk more now on the growing crisis in the Middle East and the latest on Israel's ground attack in Gaza. Palestinian security sources say Israeli troops now control parts of northern Gaza just 24 hours after crossing over into Palestinian territory. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing into the territory with support from air strikes against Hamas targets. Hamas sources say three senior members of their military wing were killed today in two separate attacks.
Air bleeders are expected to press the United Nations tomorrow for a cease-fire resolution. An emergency meeting by the Security Council last night failed to yield a new statement on Gaza.
JEAN-MAURICE RIPERT, UN SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: We had extensive talks, consultation about the current situation on the ground in Gaza and in the south of Israel. I must tell you that there was no formal agreement.
LEMON: Well, diplomats say the U.S. objected to a Libyan-sponsored call for a cease-fire. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolf (ph) defended the move. He says Hamas didn't abide by the last call from the Council, so it's doubtful they would heed another.
A convoy of trucks loaded with relief supplies for Gazans are assembled at Egypt's Rafah border crossing. But those supplies are going nowhere fast. Our Karl Penhaul is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here at the Rafah Border crossing in Egypt, and right now there's about 20 trucks and containers piled high with medical supplies trying to get through the border crossing and head on into Gaza to the hospitals that are running out of supplies to treat the wounded and dying. But it's not getting through.
I want to take you for a walk around here and show you just how absurd the situation is. At best this border crossing only open for a few hours a day. Today is one of those days. Over the past few days when medical supplies have arrived, they've been cross-loaded onto Palestinian trucks and taken through the Gaza border. But right now we're told there's no authorities on the Gazan side, leaving all the responsibility to the Egyptians.
That said, having talked to some of these drivers and some of these aid workers, they say that they'd be more than happy to drive right through to Gaza City, if need be, to ensure that those supplies get through. But the Egyptians are simply saying that they can't -- they can't do that.
Not only do you have these tons of medical supplies, but you also have be Palestinians like this man, Anta Mahmoud (ph). Now, in his bags here, he's saying that he's taking food and also these gallons of oil, and he says he's taking that through to his family because he had a phone call last night. He was in Egypt, but he got the phone call last night saying his brother's house had been bombed. And his own son is now in hospital. He's been wounded to the leg after an Israeli air strike.
But not even he can go through.
It's about two hours till nightfall. And though the Egyptians say they will allow these truck to go through the first checkpoint, there seems very little prospects of any of this vital medical aid getting into Gaza before dark.
And after that, it's anybody's guess as to what the situation will be again tomorrow. Karl Penhaul, CNN, at the Rafah Border crossing, Egypt.
LEMON: Let's get reaction to the latest developments in Gaza from Ziad Asali, he is the president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine. He joins us now from Washington. Listening to that report from our Karl Penhaul, what do you think of what's going on at the border there?
ZIAD ASALI, AMERICAN TASK FORCE ON PALESTINE: Well, this is a center problem now that is not dealt with sufficiently, it's talked about often, the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It's abysmal, it's disparate and it's getting worse. This has to receive a higher priority, the whole issue by everyone including the Israeli decision- makers even within the military apparatus. This will have consequences. Israel will live in that neighborhood for a very long time. And it has to understand that what is happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza is completely unacceptable, and it has to do everything that it can to alleviate this.
LEMON: Mr. Asali, your reaction to the UN emergency meeting last night, not able to come up with an agreement and some saying that the cease-fire, the U.S. was not -- did not call for a cease-fire. Your concerns about that? Do you have any?
ASALI: Yeah. There are no surprises here. I think the interpretation that Israelis have on this has a lot of support in Washington, that they would have to stabilize the situation and improve their strategic position in Gaza some more. And ground operations unfolding, and it seems to me that Israel has achieved enough strategic advantage in what it has already achieved in Gaza that it should be much more receptive to a cease-fire if it is structured properly. We understand that Israel needs to have protection from missiles coming from Gaza.
But it is also very necessary to put this thing to bed and put suffering of the Gaza people to bed. And there has to be a situation where the borders are open, but they have to be open under the authority of the Palestinian Authorities, not the authority of Hamas. All this can be put in some kind of a package that the United States and Israel have to find a way to live with.
LEMON: I think -- I want to go back to something -- I want to comment on more of something very important that you said. You said that Israel must be protected, missiles coming from Gaza.
ASALI: Yes.
LEMON: Talk to me about that. Because, you know, everyone's been talking about a cease-fire with Israel. What about Hamas?
ASALI: Yeah, I'm talking about Hamas missiles going into Israel. It's very clear that this has to come to an end. This has to be part of the cease-fire and the United Nations resolution where the Security Council anticipates a resolution. Hamas cannot go on throwing rockets. And Israel cannot go on laying siege to the Gaza people and using the incredible force that it has.
LEMON: Israel has said that their problem is with Hamas. Not the Palestinian people.
LEMON: But you can see that the Palestinian people are being caught up in this.
ASALI: Exactly.
LEMON: Distinguish for us -- and how does -- how does Israel make a distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people when Hamas is in the territory and clearly firing rockets into Israel? How do you separate one from the other in times of war like this? ASALI: Yeah. Well, it's not easy, obviously. The decision-making was by Hamas and its leadership, but the suffering was done by the people, the innocent people who have nothing to do with this. People say that they elected them. My goodness, the people of Illinois elected Blago. What does that mean? Look what happened to them.
You know, people have to be protected. And Israel, I do not think it is an exaggeration to say the Israeli officials say that they have used excessive force because they want to teach Hamas a lesson. Well, I would rather have them teach Hamas a lesson without teaching the Palestinians who live in Gaza such a drastic lesson, paying with her lives and their misery.
LEMON: Let's talk about end game here. How do you see this playing out? If you had any influence, if you could influence the United Nations or Israeli allies or U.S. allies, what would you say to them in order to help the situation come to a peaceful end?
ASALI: I think we have to keep the big picture in focus as we deal with the present issue. The big picture says the state of Palestine alongside Israel. And a deal has to be made between Israel and the Palestinian Authority headed by Abbas. That has to be the guiding principle.
What this present predicament calls for is a United Nations Security Council resolution, which would have to have the following ingredients. An immediate cessation of hostilities. Hamas cannot shoot neither now or in the future, and Israel will not have any more ambitions on Gaza or its people.
The crossings have to be open, but open under the Palestinian Authority. This is back to the 2005 agreement that guided it. This is very important because it asserts the authority of the president and does not to award Hamas politically. And we need monitors also for this.
LEMON: Ziad Asali, thank you very much, sir.
ASALI: Thank you.
One on one, tough questions for Israel's foreign minister from our very own Christiane Amanpour. She has an exclusive interview you don't want to miss.
Plus dramatic and emotional coverage of the Mid-East crisis. Can the Arab media possibly stay objective?
LEMON: Let's update you now on the growing crisis in Gaza. Thousands of Israeli troops are advancing through the territory. Israeli forces now control parts of northern Gaza just a day after launching a ground assault backed by tanks and aerial attacks. Palestinian medical sources say more than 500 Palestinians have died since last week's start of Israel's military campaign. And the Israelis say one soldier has died in the ground attack. CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour spoke earlier today with the Israeli foreign minister. In this exclusive interview, Tzipi Livni says her country is fighting to defend itself.
TZIPI LIVNI, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: They targeted last week a school in Beersheva, in Israel. Do we think the proportionate action is to target a school? we are not going to do this. They are targeting civilians. We are not going to do this. So the only measure that we are taking is to help them understand that this needs to be stopped. This is the expression of the right of self-defense of a state. And we tried a truce. We decided not to target at all. We decide not to retaliate at all. It didn't work.
So this time we needed to say that yes, maybe it is not according to -- we are not answering one to one coming from Israel. This needs to be stopped. So the question of proportionality, I think, is being misused against Israel.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You say proportionality is being misused against Israel, but you yourself know that it is a player in this game. Because the street is going to dictate how long you can keep this up.
LIVNI: Yes, I agree. I agree. The streets especially in the Arab world and also in Europe and elsewhere can affect the possibility of leaders who understand, the international leaders would understand what we are doing. There are other parts in this world in which other states are fighting terror as we are doing now in Gaza Strip. So to answer your direct question, yes.
Clearly some of the international leadership is going to be affected by the public opinion, maybe by the press, and the pressure on Israel is going to become stronger in the next few days, I believe.
AMANPOUR: Many people are calling for a cease-fire. Will you accept a cease-fire?
LIVNI: There is one thing that it frustrates me, the idea of saying something like Israel and Hamas need to stop, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, it's not the same. I'm not willing to put Israel and Hamas in the same package or even use the same wording because, as I said before, we are expressing our right of self-defense. Israel is a state which is a member of the international community while Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israel acts against Hamas because it targets Israel. So they know what to do in order to stop it.
AMANPOUR: So you're going to continue until they stop?
LIVNI: They need to stop.
AMANPOUR: And if they don't?
LIVNI: So Israel takes the necessary steps, it can be during this operation, it can be done later. At the end of the day, they need to understand that we are determined this time to change reality for our citizens. The idea is not to act against the population in Gaza Strip. It's not about who controls Gaza Strip. As long as we can live in peace and quiet in Israel.
LEMON: As you can well imagine, the plight of Palestinians in Gaza leads the news in the Arab media, right? Octavia Nasr. She joins us now. She is a senior editor for Arab affairs, and she has been monitoring their coverage. This has been going on, obviously, nonstop in Arab media. And tell us what the coverage has been like as we've been watching it here as well.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Round-the-clock coverage, very interesting, very emotional, and very much in support of the victims in this case, the innocent people who are suffering in Gaza as a result. Let's take a look.
NASR (voice-over): On this Lebanese TV station, a tribute to Hamas' rhetoric and actions. Such as this Katyusha attack against Israel. "Gaza equals dignity", says the video, a display for support of Hamas and what the station calls, quote, "its resistance of the occupying enemy," unquote.
On al Jazeera and other Arab networks, the coverage of Gaza remains emotional with a focus on what's happening inside Gaza, in its hospitals and on its streets.
Graphic images side by side with animated guests and reporters in helmets and flak jackets in addition to reports of various protests around the world in condemnation of Israel's incursion and a wide use of technology to explain step by step details of the ground operations, their significance and progress.
And an unusual sight both on TV and online, campaigns in support of Gaza interwoven with news coverage.
Here on al Arabiya, an invitation to donate to the United Nations relief organization for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. And while a few Arab leaders made scattered comments in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, in the view of a political cartoonist, Wifarshap al Asad (ph) it's all lip service that leads nowhere. The words "We support Gaza until the last Palestinian standing" don't leave much for Arab leaders to hope for.
Really interesting Arab media, any time you have a crisis in the Middle East such as this incursion on Gaza, the emotions run very high on Arab media and makes viewing them very interesting.
LEMON: Yeah. It's also very interesting because I've been looking at -- obviously, we can get a lot of them here at CNN. And I spoke to a member of the Arab media last night and says that they are being criticized for showing what they say is -- you can't cover a war and have it be sanitized, and it is unsanitized. They are showing bodies and bloodshed. Why the difference?
NASR: They show things that we would never show here, just out of respect for viewers' emotions, you know. We use -- we use disclaimers saying -- we warn viewers that some of the images are going to be graphic. On Arab media, it's really open. Sometimes they roll video as they get it from the field, bloody faces, dead bodies. Sometimes they sit on the shot for a long, long time. It's a totally different standard. To them, that is war, and that's what happens in wars. As a matter of fact, they look at how we cover stories, and they think we sanitize a lot.
LEMON: Yeah. It's very interesting. And just from our viewers here in the U.S., because you get one e-mail that says you're biased towards Israel. Then you get one e-mail saying you're biased towards the Palestinians, and hopefully you're somewhere in the middle. You have to ask the tough questions on both sides. What I want to ask you -- I started out by saying can the Arab media be unbiased or, you know, the point is, can they be neutral in all of this?
NASR: It's hard to be neutral in all this. I mean, look at these images. You're looking at reporters. This is al Jazeera, and the reporters are in Gaza. They're not just reporting on Gaza. They're residents of Gaza. Basically they have families there. They are suffering just like everybody else because of the siege first and now because of the incursion.
So when they report the story they're reporting it with a lot of emotions. It's hard for them to step out of it and report it because they're residents, they're there and they're citizens and reporters at the same time. Now very important to say also, Don, is they're encouraged to do this. Understand there's a difference there, for example, I was listening to the report talking about the Israeli occupation. To him, no big deal. That's the language he uses. Then his executives are not telling him to change the language.
LEMON: It's interesting because it is personal for them and probably one of the only things in recent history we can sort of relate to is 9/11, an attack here where Americans felt so emotional about it as well. Octavia Nasr, thank you so much. Always appreciate your insight.
NASR: Thank you.
LEMON: Israeli soldiers hitting the streets of Gaza, protesters hitting streets around the globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
LEMON: We'll take you worldwide as the explosive crisis in the middle east sparks explosive protests.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: You know what? We all wish we could be two places at once. Well, the reality of that is closer than you think. Kyung Lah is seeing double on tonight's "Edge of Discovery."
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are not seeing double. Well, sort of. This is a Geminoid, an android version of this inventor, Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor of robotics at Osaka University.
Blinks like you.
HIROSHI ISHIGURO, OSAKA UNIVERSITY ROBOTICS PROFESSOR: And the hair is also mine. This is (inaudible) twins.
LAH: But not quite. An operator using multiple camera and infrared detectors for lip movement runs the Geminoid from another room. Dr. Ishiguro steps behind our curtain and we continue our talk from here.
ISHIGURO: I can have another personality or another presence. I control this robot from anywhere.
LAH: The ability to be in two places at once, say roboting into the office while you work from home. After a few minutes, I even forget that the Geminoid is separate from Dr. Ishiguro. Did that feel like I was touching you?
ISHIGURO: I can feel something.
LAH: Professor, are you studying humans or androids?
ISHIGURO: Both. By developing androids, I'm studying humans.
LAH: Dr. Ishiguro has been developing robots like this for years, but they didn't look human. He believes this machine that looks so much like a man it can be used to study human behavior.
ISHIGURO: If we replace all human functions with the technology, then we can study the human.
LAH: Trying to understand the human soul by building from the outside in. Kyung Lah, CNN, Kyoto, Japan.
(COMMERCILA BREAK)
LEMON: Breaking news here at home and overseas. In the Mid-East, the death toll climbs on both sides as Israeli troops move farther into Gaza. And here in the U.S., a political shocker. A big-time play in the Obama transition team drops out, all of this as President-Elect Barack Obama arrives in his new hometown in Washington, DC. Live pictures from Andrews Air Force Base. That's his plane just landing. We'll have continuing coverage throughout the newscast. The man who could replace Barack Obama in the Illinois Senate (sic) if the Senate wants him, Roland Burris speaks out. The news starts right now.
And as we look tonight at these live pictures from Andrews Air Force Base, that is Barack Obama arriving in Washington, leaving Chicago a short time ago. He is back in Washington tonight, his plane touched down just a few minutes ago. One new piece of business waiting for the president-elect, finding another choice for commerce secretary.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson bowed out today, citing a federal probe into his ties to a company that has done business with his state. The Air Force 757 that brought Mr. Obama to Washington is part of the official presidential fleet.


text:
Arrow Guides Us Through The Stages of Grief, And Gives Us Deadshot
Esther Inglis-Arkell
People have to adjust to a lot of things in "Suicide Squad," Arrow's most recent episode. Most of those things are unpleasant, so we see people embodying all the different stages of grief. Guess who's best at Acceptance?
After seeing Slade Wilson making one eye do the work of two when flirting with his mother last week, Ollie is deep in denial. It starts out with personal denial — Ollie claims, "I'm not scared," with the set jaw and red eyes of a man given temporary leave from hell to bring back more sulfur — but soon he's denying everyone. He denies his Russian mob friend Alexi a favor in return for Alexi tracking down Slade Wilson's location. He denies that there is anything wrong,when Laurel asks him what's up with him and Sara. And finally, taking a cue from Doctor Strangelove, he denies Sara his essence, telling her that Slade will come after her if she's involved with him, and concluding, "We need to stop."
This has Sara somewhat depressed. That's fair. If my boyfriend, no matter how rattled he was, was acting so dumb he figured no one could possibly suspect a man has feelings for a woman he's not currently sleeping with, I'd be depressed, too. (Laurel showing up as the world's most beatific barely-sober addict adds to my depression.) Fortunately, Ollie and Sara soon get talking and get back together. This episode isn't their show, anyway.
This episode belongs to Digg, and Lyla Michaels of ARGUS. Lyla is doing most of the bargaining in this episode, coaxing Dig into spending some time with her in the "Ostrander Suite" of a hotel, and later getting him on board with working with the guy who killed his brother, as well as a team of other criminals. There's Deadshot, of course. There's Shrapnel, the mad bomber from "Blast Radius." And there's Bronze Tiger, who gave Ollie three new body-piercings a few weeks ago. One time, Lyla and Digg bargain a little too loudly, prompting an off-screen Harley Quinn to yell, "Do you need some counseling? I'm a trained therapist!" Brilliant moment.
In a flashback, she has to do a little bargaining as well. On a march in Qatar, she negotiates with a chauvinistic superior officer for a little rest time for the female refuges. When she shows one particular woman, marching shoeless, a little kindness, the woman points out Gholem Qadir — arms dealer, human trafficker, drug lord, and first rate beard grower. Whatever there is to be said about the man, that is some beautiful facial hair.
When Digg saves Qadir's life from a would-be assassin, which turns out to be a kid, Lyla helps reconcile Digg to the fact that he got a medal for saving an evil man from a child. At the end of the flashback scene, we see them exchange first names and a handshake of impending true love.
Most of the anger here is Digg's. First he's mad that in order to foil Qadir (who is now free and in possession of a powerful nerve gas), he has to work with the man who killed his brother. Over time, his anger shifts.
Qadir still thinks of Digg as the guy who saved his life, so when Digg "runs into him" at a business function in Markovia, and seems to save his life again, Qadir invites Digg to a charity party at his house. (The nerve gas is stashed there, and Digg, via some smooth talking and distraction, will get Deadshot and Lila in so they as a team can confiscate the nerve agent.) Shrapnel, the getaway driver, makes a run for it at one point, and when Waller blows his head off with an implant, Digg's anger begins to shift.
Lyla bears most of the brunt of this shift. At the party, her blasé attitude towards Waller's treatment of the suicide squad prompts a very tense conversation in very gorgeous evening wear. Seriously, these two look great together. Even Qadir (who thinks Lyla is Digg's new bodyguard) is playing matchmaker. Lyla does seem a little too okay with the fact that when Deadshot finds an overly large cache of the nerve agent downstairs, Waller tells Deadshot to stay put, and sends a drone to blow up the entire house, innocent party attendees and all. Digg gives a delicious passive-aggressive toast, during which he reveals everything so the guests can run. He forces Deadshot out of the house and into the new getaway van. Only when they find out that Waller was using Deadshot as a homing beacon for the drone, and now the thing is after them, does Lyla rebel and cut out Deadshot's implant to save them all.
In the end, Digg's anger is aimed squarely at Waller, to the point where he forgives both Lyla and Deadshot. He wants to stay with Lyla, because he still loves her, even if he questions her character. I like this, both because they have good chemistry, and because in a genre where so many couples fight about broken dates and vague jealousies, these two will be fighting about deep questions of honor and character. That's refreshing.
So Sara and Ollie, Digg and Lyla, and even Digg and Deadshot, have accepted each other. Still, the poster child for acceptance in this episode is Amanda Waller. This character rolls with the punches, from Lyla hooking up with her ex in a luxury hotel suite at ARGUS' expense to Lyla cutting out Deadshot's implant. (Waller shrugs and says that it provided valuable intel on a design mistake for the implants, ordering them embedded in the spine in future.) In dealing with the various crazies in the Suicide Squad cell block, her eye-rolling and peremptory "shut up in there" knocks on cell doors are fun to watch. And when, at the end, Ollie breaks into her office and tells her Slade Wilson isn't dead, she regroups in a second and shows him what they have on a new assassin — the mysterious Deathstroke.
And Deadshot!
The stand-out in this episode is Deadshot. This character, while not the best lead character, is a spotlight stealer in any medium. In the comics, he's a mercenary with the sleazy aura of a small-time crook in an independent film from the 1970s. He doesn't invite death, but he doesn't care in the least if he dies. And he gets all the funny lines.
On paper, that's great, but in practice it has to be hard to play. Lean too far one way and he looks like a cut-rate "cop on the edge" stereotype, too far the other way and he's just a smug douche. Michael Rowe delivers the lines perfectly. When Digg, during an early scene, wonders aloud what is keeping Deadshot from killing him, he replies, "Honor." Later, informed that Waller is going to kill him with a drone strike, he smiles and says, "How contemporary." But he still has enough intensity, especially during a scene when he and Digg talk about Deadshot's daughter, to show real emotions beneath the smarm. Both he and David Ramsey are to be congratulated on the fact that, by the end of the episode, we can believe that Digg has come to care about the guy who murdered his brother.
The Harley cameo was nice and would be great to see her replace Shrapnel but I wonder if there are to many complications for them to get Batman character like that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Valentine's day is a most special day for everyone especially for the couples. It is such an exceptional fortunate day to express your feelings & gives you lot more causes to send cute short beautiful heart touching & charming SMS, messages to your loved ones. It is the day of celebration of loves. If you are searching a nice wonderful collection of SMS then you are in the right place. Here are some best-collected SMS, Ideas, Gift, Cards etc. You need to choose carefully according to your need.
1. My eyes are blind without your eyes to see, Like a rose without color. Always be there in my life sweetheart.
The sky is for you, and the stars are for me.
You put your arms around me and I was finally complete.
10. 48+2 Members can sit in a Bus.
….I LOVE YOU SO COMPLETELY….
….AS HIGH AS THE STARS……..
12. Every time I miss you, a star falls.
14. Love isn't a decision, it's a feeling.
no matter how loud you shout and cry, they won't hear you anymore.
18. Sometimes we make love with our eyes.
YOU are the Best. And I am d luckiest to have U in my life!
21. If I could die early I would ask God if I could be your guardian angel, so I could wrap my wings around you and embrace you whenever you feel alone.
The ones u catch is how much u miss me, and the ones you miss is how much I miss.
25. How did it happen that our lips came together?
Gift a beautiful rose or make a craft item at home. This will not cost you anything and still prove to be effective in wooing your love.
You can welcome your partner with a sprinkling of love petal shower or prepare a bed filled with roses for your love.
Prepare the morning tea when your lover wakes up and present a bunch of flowers to start the day with a celebratory note.
Make a sweet Valentine's Day card or take a walk on the beachside at night.
Buy candles and small lighting bulbs to adorn the table set near the beachside.
Make a special Valentine's Day Card for your love with cheap supplies that are easily available at home. Gifting a hand purse or a mobile cover will also be a great idea to go well with your tight budget.
Take your partner to a mountaintop and shout out your love for him/her.
Spend a romantic time together in the vineyard by partaking in grape stomping. As you roam around the garden present her some small gifts like chocolates, cooking, flowers in different colors and anything of your partner liking.
You can Send a bouquet of red roses with some chocolates at her/his workplace.
You can also give a Pot plant that will grow and loom for her.
Create a love song CD full of Valentine's Day songs.
Cook the dinner for two and decorate the room with heart-shaped candles. Make a candlelight dinner.
Take your Valentine for a short walk on a beach or riverside and there, in the most romantic style propose her. Tell her she is the one who has given a meaning to your life and now you wish to spend your whole life with her.
Write a love note for your Valentine and insert it inside a balloon. Inflate the balloon and tie a string to it. Attach a pin to the string. Give this balloon to your valentine and as she would burst it, she would get the love note. Immediately propose her to be yours forever.
Flowers and Chocolates are the cheapest and simplest way to keep your girlfriend always happy.
">Lust is what makes you keep wanting it, even when you have no desire to be with each other. Love is what makes you keep wanting to be with each other, even when you have no desire to do it." – By Judith Viorst.


text:
"Corrections Act "
Corrections Act
The act is core to the operations of adult correctional services in Alberta. It defines the roles, responsibilities and powers (including powers of delegation) held by the Minister and senior officials within the Department of Justice and Solicitor General, with respect to both community corrections and custodial operations. It sets specific rules with regard to practices such as disclosure of information, transfer of inmates, drug testing, monitoring of inmate communications, and sets roles, responsibilities and rules for disciplinary hearings and related appeals. Finally, it specifies areas in which the Lieutenant Governor may make regulations.
Chapter/Regulation: C-29 RSA 2000
Current to	12/11/2018
Following are the associated Regulations for the Corrections Act ...
Correctional Institution Regulation
The regulation expands on many of the provisions of the Corrections Act, specifically in relation to the operation of adult custodial correctional institutions. It addresses in greater detail many of the administrative practices and policies that govern daily life (e.g. rules around access to funds, visits, etc.), as well as criteria for earned remission of sentences and procedures surrounding inmate discipline.
Designated Correctional Institutions Order
This order lists Alberta's adult correctional institutions.
Fine Option Order
This order establishes a program that allows people to pay off criminal fines through eligible volunteer work. People who have pled guilty or have been convicted of an offense punishable by a fine may earn credits toward fine payment, even if they are currently serving time in custody for defaulting on payment. Credits earned are equal to the minimum wage for each hour worked.
Chapter/Regulation: 92/1999


Borehole Imaging – Optical Scanner – Overview.
The optical scanner is a high resolution CMOS camera borehole imaging probe which is commonly run in combination with an acoustic scanner for detailed, high resolution images of the borehole through 360°. Ideal and commonly used for structural studies and geotechnical investigations but has applications in casing inspection and insitu stress analysis.
The optical scanner is a borehole imaging probe which is capable of a high resolution, true colour image thus creating an image of the full 360 degree borehole wall. The high resolution CMS camera system is focussed through a prism to all 360° slices of the borehole wall to be recorded during a survey.
A single, true colour image is produced from the survey.
The optical scanner operates in air filled and/or clear fluid filled conditions. Ideally the probe should be centrallised in the borehole to avoid unwanted shadow effects.
Of importance for the optical scanner is the marker position which is established during manufacture and/or servicing. The marker position acts as the reference point for all subsequent image orientation. Internal magnetometers and accelerometers, used to probe and image orientation are factory calibrated.
Verification, performed using jigs or project boreholes where a known reference or structure orientation is available, focus on confirmation of the marker position and the functionality of the internal magnetometers and accelerometers.
Orientating, filtering and de-spiking the images, as well depth validation.
Picking and classifying or structures through to true structure dip and dip direction generation.


text:
Carex caroliniana Schwein.
This species is accepted, and its native range is Central & E. U.S.A.
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
Carex caroliniana Schwein. appears in other Kew resources:
First published in Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 67 (1824)
Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.
Mohlenbrock, R.H. (2014). Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide, ed. 4: 1-536. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
Kral, R., Diamond, A.R., Ginzbarg, S.L., Hansen, C.J., Haynes, R.R., Keener, B.R., Lelong, M.G., Spaulding, D.D. & Woods, M. (2011). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Alabama: 1-112. Botanical reseach institute of Texas.
Govaerts, R. & Simpson, D.A. (2007). World Checklist of Cyperaceae. Sedges: 1-765. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Jones, R.L. (2005). Plant life of Kentucky. An illustrated guide to the vascular flora: 1-833. The universitry press of Kentucky.
Govaerts, R. (2004). World Checklist of Monocotyledons Database in ACCESS: 1-54382. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.


text:
Cerastium octandrum är en nejlikväxtart som beskrevs av Ferdinand von Hochstetter och Achille Richard. Cerastium octandrum ingår i släktet arvar, och familjen nejlikväxter.

Underarter

Arten delas in i följande underarter:

 C. o. adnivale
 C. o. scandens

Källor

Arvar
octandrum

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In the 1950s, Pieter De Bruyne (1931-1987) joined the Belgian furniture designers who concentrated on modern social furniture. He was convinced that furniture, in addition to its aesthetic value, must be reasonably priced.
His early work was characterized by rational construction and sober structures.
This cabinet is a nice example of the early work of Pieter De Bruyne. It is designed in 1959 for Al Meubel. He designed a modular furniture set.
This low 2-doors cabinet is made of olive wood. The upper part is removable. The base is very nice detailed with metal parts. Take a look at our detail photos! This cabinet is in very good condition.
It can be combined with the other cabinet we offer on our website.
Pieter De Bruyne was very strict and accurate, unhappy experiences with furniture manufacturers, who always changed his designs, forced him to return to one-off, handmade pieces in the 1960s.
In the 1970s and 1980s he evolved to the post-modern style.
Pieter De Bruyne (1931-1987) – Pioneer van het postmoderne, UPA, 2012, p. 38-43.
Bucquoye, M.E., e.a., Forms from Flanders, From Henry Van De Velde to Maarten Van Severen 1900 – 2000, Ludion, 2001, p.106-107.


Apple's stock skyrocketed 135 percent in 2007, and its sleek retail gadget emporiums are a large part of that success.
It was 2 o'clock in the morning but in the subterranean retailing mecca in Midtown Manhattan, otherwise known as the Apple store, it might as well have been midafternoon.
Late one night shortly before Christmas, parents pushed strollers and tourists straight off the plane mingled with nocturnal New Yorkers, clicking through iPod playlists, cruising the Internet on MacBooks, and touch-padding their way around iPhones.
And through the night, cheerful sales staff stayed busy, ringing up customers at the main checkout counter and on hand-held devices in an uninterrupted stream of brick-and-mortar commerce.
The party inside that store and in 203 other Apple stores around the world is one reason the company's stock is up nearly 135 percent for the year. By contrast, high-flying Google is up about 52 percent, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq index is up 12 percent.
The popularity of the iPhone and iPod and the intended halo effect those products have had on sales of Apple computers are behind Apple's vigor. But the company's success in retailing, as other competitors struggle to eke out sales growth, has been the bonus.
Apple now derives 20 percent of its revenue from its physical stores. And the number is growing. In the fourth quarter in 2007, which ended Sept. 30, Apple reported that the retail stores accounted for $1.25 billion of Apple's $6.2 billion in revenues, a 42 percent increase over the fourth quarter in 2006.
Apple stores generate sales at the rate of about $4,000 per square foot a year, according to a report last year by Sanford C. Bernstein analysts.
As other electronics makers like Dell, Nokia and Sony still struggle to find the right retail formula, Apple seems to have perfected it.
Not only has the company made many of its stores feel like gathering places, but the bright lights and equally bright acoustics create a buzz that makes customers feel more like they are at an event than a retail store.
The close attention paid to detail in the stores' designs, such as the maple veneer tables used for product displays, gives the impression that Steven P. Jobs himself, the company's co-founder and chief executive, signed off on every square aesthetic inch of every store.
But the secret formula may be the personal attention paid to customers by sales staff. Relentlessly smiling employees roam the floor, carrying hand-held terminals for instant credit-card swiping. Technicians work behind the so-called genius bar, ministering to customers' ailing iPods, MacBooks and iPhones. Others, designated "personal trainers," give one-on-one instruction and lead workshops.
Personal shoppers are available by appointment, and last month the company took the concept of personalized service to a new level, with concierge teams stationed throughout each store.
"They've become the Nordstrom of technology," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director at Jupiter Research, referring to the department store that is known for its service.
Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president for retail, said he believed the high level of service played a large role in the success of the stores.
"The idea is that while people love to come to retail stores, and they do it all the time, what they really appreciate the most is that undivided personal attention," Mr. Johnson said. The result is far fewer qualms among consumers about paying premium prices: $30 for an iPhone case, $200 for an iPod Nano or $1,200 for a computer.
Mr. Gartenberg said people often first go to an Apple store out of curiosity. "Apparently a lot of them like what they're seeing in the stores, they like the experience and they go back to buy the products," he said.
The stores' architecture also makes consumers feel good about spending money there.
In nearly a dozen high-profile urban centers — including New York, San Francisco, London and Glasgow — the signature feature is a glass staircase. Some of the staircases go straight up and others ascend in a spiral skein that appears to be held in place by nothing more than Apple hype.
A customer entered the 14th Street store last week with his two whippets. Their reaction to the impressive stairs was more fear than awe. When the dogs refused to climb the steps, their owner scooped both of them into his arms and carried them up.
Apple stores encourage a lot of purchasing, to be sure. But they also encourage lingering, with dozens of fully functioning computers, iPods and iPhones for visitors to try — for hours on end.
The policy has given some stores, especially those in urban neighborhoods, the feel of a community center. Two years ago, Isobella Jade was down on her luck, living on a friend's couch and struggling to make it as a fashion model when she had the idea of writing a book about her experience as a short woman trying to break into the modeling business.
Unable to afford a computer, Ms. Jade, 25, began cadging time on a laptop at the Apple store in the SoHo section of Manhattan. Ms. Jade spent hours at a stretch standing in a discreet corner of the store, typing. Within a few months, she had written nearly 300 pages.
Not only did store employees not mind, but at closing time they often made certain to shut Ms. Jade's computer down last, to give her a little extra time. A few months later, the store invited her to give an in-store reading from her manuscript.
"Everyone is free to use the Internet and do anything they want — within reason," said Paul Fradin, the general manager of the SoHo and 14th Street stores. Visitors spotted surfing pornographic Web sites are quietly asked to leave, and are escorted out.
Visitors can bring almost anything they like. Ms. Jade showed up nearly every day with her full set of notes, and enough food to see her through a few hours of writing.
Meanwhile, the Sony flagship store on West 56th Street, a few blocks from Apple's Fifth Avenue store, has the hush of a mausoleum. And being inside the long and narrow blue-toned Nokia store on 57th Street feels a bit like being inside an aquarium.
This could be part of the reason that Jack Graham, 16, visiting for the holidays from Worcester, England, spent at least an hour each day of his visit at one of the three New York Apple stores, his parents sitting by patiently, happy to watch the crowd.
As for Ms. Jade, whose modeling career is advancing, she has yet to buy a computer from the Apple store. But she is still welcome to check her e-mail — and stay as long as she likes.


text:
You are here: Home / Office / Legacy format FUD
Legacy format FUD
From CyberTech Rambler (and Slashdot) comes the news that the Office 2003 Service Pack #3 disables (blocks) access to a number of legacy document formats. Details are in this MS support article. Formats so blocked include legacy Lotus 1-2-3 and Corel Quattro Pro formats. Why? According to the Microsoft support article, "By default, these file formats are blocked because they are less secure. They may pose a risk to you.".
Interesting. Well, let's look at the record. If we query the CERT vulnerability database for "WK1", "WK3", "WK4", etc., how many reported vulnerabilities do we see? Zero. Nothing.
But search the same database for "XLS" and what do we see? Eleven reported vulnerabilities:
VU#493185 01/09/2007 Microsoft Excel vulnerable to arbitrary code execution via malformed record
VU#176556 10/10/2006 Microsoft Office fails to properly parse malformed records
VU#807780 10/10/2006 Microsoft Office fails to properly parse malformed Smart Tags
VU#194944 03/07/2007 Microsoft Windows fails to properly handle malformed OLE documents
VU#234900 10/10/2006 Microsoft Office fails to properly parse malformed strings
VU#534276 10/10/2006 Microsoft Office fails to properly parse malformed chart records
VU#613740 02/02/2007 Microsoft Excel memory access vulnerability
VU#706668 10/10/2006 Microsoft Excel fails to properly process malformed DATETIME records
VU#252500 10/10/2006 Microsoft Excel fails to properly process malformed COLINFO records
VU#143292 07/03/2006 Microsoft Excel fails to properly process malformed STYLE records
VU#802324 06/16/2006 Microsoft Excel vulnerability
Hmm… I'm so glad they disabled access to the risky formats.
And what about the Data Interchange Format (DIF), the text based format for exchanging data between spreadsheets. As well as being text-based and easy to parse, DIF doesn't allow any active code (scripts, macros) at all. Where is the security risk there, real or perceived? By what stretch of the imagination can Microsoft say, "…these file formats are blocked because they are less secure. They may pose a risk to you."
Now it may be entirely possible that these old import filters in Excel are poorly written and poorly maintained and that Microsoft may be trying to reduce the overall security exposure of MS Office by ditching old code that is not strategic for them. But call it that. The MS Office code has the problem. Don't malign the formats. Don't make up some untenable story that DIF format is "less secure" and "may pose a risk for you".
Filed Under: Office
PolR says
When I saw this story, I thought of archivists that have to support older documents in these formats. How are they going to read them now? Will they implement Open Office or a derivative?
Gary McGath says
polr: The Microsoft article describes a way to go into the Registry to override the block.
I've offered a devil's advocate argument here.
Considering how they sung exactly the opposite tune when we were discussing autospacelikeWord95 & co. I think that someone should mention this to those committees.
Also, this will only help any competing products which still *can* read these formats.
Interesting argument, Gary.
However, no one can claim ignorance of the old 1-2-3 formats. They were published in book form years ago for all to read. WK1 in particular has been in use for almost 20 years. I can't recall seeing a single security flaw related to WK1 files ever. So what basis does Microsoft have to malign that format by calling it dangerous. This is pure FUD.
Now certainly, it is true that poorly written software can suffer from unchecked memcpy's, overflowing string concatenations, and all the C/C++ bugs that will bash your stack and corrupt your heap. Poorly written code will always be risky from a security standpoint. As an example, look at the history of MS Office flaws related to the processing of DOC and XLS files. But these are application errors, not format errors. No one would suggest that Microsoft remove its XLS support. They just fix the bugs.
It will be interesting to see if Microsoft issues a security bulletin or advisory on specific flaws in these legacy formats they are blocking, as is their normal practice when they discover a security flaw, or whether these features just disappear with SP3, accompanied by vague innuendo, but no specifics.
Note that this isn't the first time that Microsoft has FUD'ed on file format security. In Massachusetts, against ODF, they tried it as well, an attempt which caught the attention and rebuttal of security guru Bruce Schneier.
In any case, we've been adding SmartSuite file format support to Lotus Symphony, seemingly at the same time Microsoft is removing their own Lotus file format support. This is great for us. I shouldn't be complaining. We're always glad to offer an upgrade path for former Office users.
Nothing has been "removed" Rob, just turned off by default. It is easy enough to turn the support for old files formats back on should you need it. The KB article in the /. story explains how, and provides tools to do it for you if you want to use them.
Queen Elizabeth says
You leave out one important point, Rob: when Lotus 1-2-3 came out, security was not such an issue. PCs were generally standalone machines without Internet access, let alone the plethora of malware we have nowadays. Did the CERT database even exist in those days?
One of the reasons that no file format -or- implementation bugs for WK1 and like have not been reported is that nobody has used those formats in years! When was the last time somebody e-mailed you a WK1 file?
If you started looking, I'm sure you'd find bugs aplenty in 1-2-3 1.0 (as well as Multiplan 1.0 and VisiCalc.) But what's the point?
I think it's good if Microsoft is removing buggy old code–after all, the only people creating new WK1 files these days would be virus authors in search of an exploit.
You are playing with words. The fraction of end users who read Microsoft's KB articles and have a copy of the "Office 2003 Service Pack 3 Administrative Template (ADM), OPAs, and Explain Text" or know how to edit the Windows registry is, when rounded off to two significant digits, 0.0%.
If a feature was working on the day you bought Office 2003, and then the feature no longer works a few years later, then it has been removed. That is what the end user sees. A feature that has never been the source of any reported security exploit has been removed.
Note also that these formats, the WK1, WK3, WK4, etc. 1-2-3 formats were also removed from Office 2007. There is no way of re-enabling them there.
One another point, someone sent me an email pointing out that only the old legacy Lotus 1-2-3 formats have their support removed. The most recent format, used by 1-2-3 for Windows, the .123 format, is not mentioned in the Microsoft KB article. Well… I hate to give you the bad news, but Microsoft — in the past 15 years — never got around to adding support for the .123 format to Excel. That is why they cannot remove it. So in effect, Excel is now removing every bit of 1-2-3 file format support they ever had.
@Queen, When were you born? Before the internet was some of the worst days of viruses and malware. I saw far more trouble back then from viruses passed from floppy to floppy than I see today from the internet. Remember, just because were weren't all networked didn't mean that we didn't exchange data. We just did it in different ways. And we didn't have antivirus or modern operating systems to protect us, at least not on PC's.
In any case, we're not talking about 1-2-3 code, we're talking about Excel code. Is it right for Microsoft to sell a product — Office 2003 — with a certain set of features, and a stated support period, and then to remove these features? Remember Mainstream Support for Office 2003 runs until January 13, 2009. This includes free security updates. So if there are any defects in Excel's file support, they should be fixed.
You have spent too long with IBM Rob, you really don't need a big iron company mentality to help you manage a PC, the common man (or woman) does understand computing these days and can generally find their own way around their own system… not every time, but a lot more than you give credit to.
This isn't the 1960s anymore.
@anonymous, I don't have that "big iron" mentality. Remember I came to IBM from Lotus. I've never even seen a mainframe.
In any case, registry editing is not an end user task. The Microsoft KB has a big scary disclaimer on these instructions, "Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk."
Does this sound like a task you would recommend to the "common man (or woman)" ?
Alphadog says
"Where is the security risk there, real or perceived?"
If they [file translators/converters] are being poorly coded and/or maintained by MS, then they could be subject to common attacks like buffer overflows.
While your main point that MS' ability to take away a user's choice is noted, I think both MS and you are doing a disservice to users: MS for pinning the removal on security, and you for saying that there's no security risk in files that contain no embedded executables or scripts.
Alphadog wrote: "If they [file translators/converters] are being poorly coded and/or maintained by MS, then they could be subject to common attacks like buffer overflows."
Yes, but this is a flaw in Microsoft's software if that's the case. Microsoft is claiming that the flaw is in the formats themselves and not in their own software.
In the post I linked to earlier, I speculated that MS might be dependent on third-party binaries for support of undocumented formats in some cases, in which case the difference between the software and the format specification blurs. But that's a different case from software maintained by MS.
The old Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro file formats pose the same security concerns as .DIF formats – none. .WK? files could contain \0 macros that could call /S or {system} statements that could run destructive or other malicious outside programs, but Excel HAS NEVER been able to process such macro calls in .WK? files.
Similarly, Excel has never been able to evaluate any formulas in such files that call add-in @-functions, so potentially malicious formulas are also a nonissue.
That leaves the same vulnerability as .DIF files – buffer overflows.
FWIW, 1-2-3's .123 file format was much, much less safe – Lotus provided no means to disable event handlers, so malicious Calculate event handlers would ALWAYS run on file open. However, Excel NEVER supported .123 files, so not an issue.
@anonymous, I think you almost have it. But the autoexecute is an application flaw, if it cannot be disabled, not a file format flaw.
But this is an interesting topic for discussion, document format security. Scripts/macros are not per se bad unless they are encoded in such a way that the application has no way of telling they they exist. If they are clearly delineated in the format then the application can, as a matter of policy, decide whether or not to execute them.
The more easily they are indicated in the format, the easier it will be for things like antivirus scanners to detect and check them.
Another lurking danger is binary blobs that are not interpreted by the application, but are passed on to other operating system modules to interpret. That was what made that flaw in the Windows Metafile (WMF) format so dangerous a few years ago.
another anonymous says
If maliciously formed WMF files could be a problem, they might be a problem when embedded in .WK4 files. That is, .WK4 files can carry a lot of OLE junk that could cause problems. Of course, that's been true since 1993, so it's odd that MSFT is only now addressing the problem.
However, the older 1-2-3 file formats, .WKS, .WK1 and .WK3, couldn't contain embedded object, just cells containing formulas or constants, range names and macros, and as another commentator pointed out, Excel never was able to run external processes initiated from startup macros in any of the 1-2-3 file types.
So .WK4 files may be problematic, but .WKS, .WK1 and .WK3 aren't.
MSFT chose to drop support for them in Excel 2007, and they seem to be backfilling deprecation in Excel 2003.
If you want to talk about support for legacy formats then how about support for Microsoft Word's .DOC format ?
Try to open this document in MS Office and see how well it'll go. So much for backward compatibility…
P.S. This file refers to style file (bundled in this zip) and is actually a sample file from Microsoft Word still downloadable from Microsoft's site…
Leave a Reply to Rob	Cancel reply
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, 'hmm… that's funny…
— Issac Asimov (attributed)


Over 100 species of medicinal mushrooms are used in Asia and approved for use as an adjuvant (supplement) to cancer treatment in China and Japan.
In China and Japan, medicinal mushrooms, used as single agents or in combination with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, have a clinical history of safe use.
Lab, animal and/or human studies suggest that several medicinal mushrooms have direct or indirect anticancer effects and/or manage side effects and/or improve quality of life in a number of cancers.
BCCT considers medicinal mushrooms interesting and promising because of mounting evidence of their usefulness as an adjuvant treatment in several cancers, their safety when taken appropriately, their wide availability and their use by many reputable integrative oncology clinicians.
Evidence is insufficient that medicinal mushrooms are a cure or stand-alone treatment for cancer.
Evidence is insufficient to establish safety of use during pregnancy and lactation. BCCT suggests that you err on the side of caution and not use mushroom extracts during pregnancy or while nursing a baby.
Side effects of most medicinal mushrooms are typically mild and temporary. Allergic reactions are possible, and medical supervision is advised, preferably from a licensed clinician with experience in prescribing medicinal mushrooms.
Some medicinal mushrooms are edible and can be eaten as food. Others are widely available without prescription in capsule, liquid tincture, and powdered form. Strength and purity of products can vary significantly. Read labels carefully. and consider consulting with a healthcare professional experienced in using medicinal mushrooms for guidance in product selection.
As exotic as their names might sound, medicinal mushrooms are widely available with a wide array of possible health-promoting and disease-fighting properties. More than 100 species of medicinal mushrooms have been used in Asia for hundreds of years. Traditionally, they have been used primarily to treat infections, but more recently also in treating lung diseases and cancer.
Traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese medicine have studied cancer uses of mushrooms extensively. For more than 30 years in China and Japan, medicinal mushrooms have been approved as adjuncts to conventional cancer treatments. Now, medicinal mushrooms are being used in integrative-cancer care circles worldwide. Controlled clinical trials of many of these mushrooms are becoming more prevalent. For turkey tail mushroom alone, more than 80 clinical trials of its component PSK are listed on the National Institutes of Health's website: ClinicalTrials.gov.
No scientific evidence supports the use of mushroom extracts in the treatment of disease.
Claims about the miraculous properties of medicinal mushrooms should be evaluated critically.
Secondary metabolites with useful pharmacological properties may be widespread in mushrooms.
Major investment in objective clinical trials is needed to develop this natural pharmacopeia.
Medicinal mushrooms or their constituents have not been proven to be a cure for cancer as a single agent. The evidence suggests that the greatest benefit is when used in conjunction with evidence-based conventional treatment.
We list here many of the medicinal mushrooms with demonstrated usefulness in cancer with references to more information.
Patel S, Goyal A. Recent developments in mushrooms as anti-cancer therapeutics: a review. 3 Biotech. 2012 Mar;2(1):1-15.
Jedinak A, Sliva D. Pleurotus ostreatus inhibits proliferation of human breast and colon cancer cells through p53-dependent as well as p53-independent pathway. International Journal of Oncology. 2008 Dec;33(6):1307-13.
After conventional treatment is complete, medicinal mushrooms may be used (particularly in combination with other medicinal mushrooms) as part of an integrative plan to restore health and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Many medicinal mushrooms are widely available without prescription in capsule, liquid tincture, and powdered form. Several are edible, and even the common white mushroom has medicinal properties. Strength and purity of products can vary significantly.
Looking out for exaggerated claims about the medicinal properties of mushrooms is important, and such claims are many, particularly from disreputable individuals or companies simply trying to make money. Reputable companies manufacturing medicinal mushroom products have now backed away from making claims, for instance, that their products can cure cancer or other illnesses. More randomized controlled clinical trials of the effectiveness of medicinal mushrooms in cancer patients are needed. Until such studies are conducted, respected integrative oncology clinicians think sufficient evidence of safety and effect of several medicinal mushrooms exists to recommend using them in combination with conventional cancer treatments.
The US Food and Drug Administration does not provide strict regulation of herbs and supplements, including medicinal mushrooms. Therefore, strength, purity or safety of individual products is not guaranteed. BCCT recommends that our visitors carefully read product labels.
Medicinal mushrooms, in general, have been shown to be safe when used appropriately. Side effects can occur, but most tend to be mild and temporary. With some mushrooms, more serious problems have been seen infrequently in studies, such as damage to the liver and white blood cells. However, since patients with these effects were also on chemotherapy, ascertaining whether the problems were related to the chemotherapy, the mushrooms and/or the combination is difficult.
Before taking medicinal mushrooms, consult with a healthcare professional (preferably one with expertise in prescribing medicinal mushrooms such as a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, naturopathic oncologist or integrative medicine physician), especially if you have a medical condition or are taking other drugs, herbs or supplements. Consult a healthcare professional immediately if you experience side effects.
Do not take a medicinal mushroom or its extracts if you have a known allergy/hypersensitivity to that mushroom or any of its components.
BCCT has not reviewed the effectiveness of these mushrooms for non-cancer uses.
Weil A. Mushrooms for Good Health? Andrew Weil, MD. February 17, 2014. Viewed February 15, 2018.
National Cancer Institute. Medicinal Mushrooms (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version. National Institutes of Health. Viewed February 15, 2018.
Money NP. Are mushrooms medicinal? Fungal Biology. 2016 Apr;120(4):449-453.
Stamets P. MycoMedicinals An Informational Treatise on Mushrooms, 3rd Edition. China: MycoMedia Productions. 2002; Luk SU, Lee TK et al. Chemopreventive effect of PSP through targeting of prostate cancer stem cell-like population. PLoS One. 2011;6:e19804; Wu JM, Doonan BB et al. Recent advances and challenges in studies of control of cancer stem cells and the gut microbiome by the Trametes-derived polysaccharopeptide PSP (review). International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 2016;18(8):651-660; Giridharan VV, Thandavarayan RA, Konishi T. Amelioration of scopolamine induced cognitive dysfunction and oxidative stress by Inonotus obliquus—a medicinal mushroom. Food & Function. Jun 2011;2(6):320-327; Tanigawa K, Itoh Y, Kobayashi Y. Improvement of QOL and immunological function with Lentinula edodes mycelia in patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy: an open pilot study. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2016 Jul;22(4):36-42; Ohno S, Sumiyoshi Y et al. Quality of life improvements among cancer patients in remission following the consumption of Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom extract. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2013 Oct;21(5):460-7; Oka S, Tanaka S et al. A water-soluble extract from culture medium of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia suppresses the development of colorectal adenomas. Hiroshima Journal of Medical Sciences. 59 (1): 1-6, 2010; Holliday J, Cleaver M. Medicinal value of the caterpillar fungi species of the genus Cordyceps (Fr.) link (ascomycetes). a review. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 2008;10(3):219–234; Patel S, Goyal A. Recent developments in mushrooms as anti-cancer therapeutics: a review. 3 Biotech. 2012 Mar;2(1):1-15; Kidd PM. The use of mushroom glucans and proteoglycans in cancer treatment. Alternative Medicine Review. 2000 Feb;5(1):4-27; Wang CZ, Basila D et al. Effects of Ganoderma lucidum extract on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in a rat model. American Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2005;33(5):807-815.
Stamets P. MycoMedicinals An Informational Treatise on Mushrooms, 3rd Edition. China: MycoMedia Productions. 2002; Louie B, Rajamahanty S, Won J, Choudhury M, Konno S. Synergistic potentiation of interferon activity with maitake mushroom d-fraction on bladder cancer cells. BJU International. 2010 Apr;105(7):1011-5; Wesa KM, Cunningham-Rundles S et al. Maitake mushroom extract in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS): a phase II study. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. 2015 Feb;64(2):237-47; Ahn WS, Kim DJ et al. Natural killer cell activity and quality of life were improved by consumption of a mushroom extract, Agaricus blazei Murill Kyowa, in gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer. Jul-Aug 2004;14(4):589-594.
Andrew Weil, MD: Mushrooms For Good Health?
Moss Reports (purchase required): Select from the list of cancers down the left side of the page for a report describing uses of conventional, complementary, alternative and integrative therapies related to that cancer. His discussion of medicinal mushrooms includes recipes for making his "My Mushroom Soup", which contains a number of anticancer mushrooms. Ralph Moss is among the most knowledgeable and balanced researchers of integrative cancer therapies. The cost of his Moss Reports is not negligible, but many patients find them of considerable value. Moss is also available for consultations.
Abrams DI, Weil AT. Integrative Oncology, 2nd Edition. Chapter 7: Botanical and mycological medicine in integrative oncology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2014.


text:
Beyond the tipping point: SID in the global South
13 Nov 2015 11:00 to 12:30
Safer Internet Day (SID) has been successful in its campaign to promote safety and child protection around the world. In Europe, the initiative took place first around 12 years ago, and today the European Committee is very involved in safety issues and in seeking solutions. In the USA, according to the remote panellist Larry Magid (Connectsafely.org ), the first SID was held on 10 February 2014 in Washington, DC. The campaign brought more than 200 young people from schools 80 miles away and had a very positive outcome. SID 2016 will be run in Los Angeles in partnership with Universal Studios. It has as a strategic aim to promote more creative/entrepreneurial themes to make a broader impact. Further details were not revealed to the panel, but the novelty is to explore the creative theme to catch the attention of the younger generation. It is assumed that the involvement of youth is crucial to promoting the ideas and Internet safety.
The Brazilian experience was shared by Rodrigo Nejm (SaferNet Brazil) who recalled that activities to target online safety issues in the country started about 10 years ago. Today the Brazilian campaign follows the multistakeholder model to promote child online protection, including support from the Federal Prosecutor, UNICEF, the Ministry of Human Rights, SaferNet, Google, CGI, and local telecommunications companies. The SID launch in Brazil faced several challenges. However, as Rodrigo stated, 'the core issue is not to protect children from strangers, but [to teach them] how to talk with strangers' in the digital environment.
The Internet Society, represented by Raquel Gatto, considered that the technical perspective of child safety is focused on technical filtering; however it is important to bear in mind that protection should also move forward to empower and explore the full potential of the Internet, the Internet of opportunities.
By Amanda Kemmer
#parent | #kids | #childsafety | Metal detector use in schools varies | Heraldrepublican https://t.co/mbt9jns9R2 https://t.co/qjHazsspnR Sun Jan 19 10:19:29 +0000 2020
RT @GoldilocksNews: #LinkstoCoolsites Planet Goldilocks #kids #childsafety https://t.co/GKcONHEIvG students' safety on the Internet. #new… Sun Jan 19 10:01:38 +0000 2020
RT @moiuae: "الخط الساخن " و تطبيق "حمايتي" وسائل فاعلة لتعزيز حماية الأطفال 'The Hot Line' and Hemayati Application Effectives Tool in Pr… Sun Jan 19 09:56:41 +0000 2020
"الخط الساخن " و تطبيق "حمايتي" وسائل فاعلة لتعزيز حماية الأطفال 'The Hot Line' and Hemayati Application Effective… https://t.co/kJsDPmt5hQ Sun Jan 19 09:56:21 +0000 2020


text:
Transcending objectivism, subjectivism, and the knowledge in-between: The subject in/of 'strong reflexivity'
Accepted version (PDF, 295Kb)
Hamati-Ataya, Inanna
Review of International Studies
Hamati-Ataya, I. (2014). Transcending objectivism, subjectivism, and the knowledge in-between: The subject in/of 'strong reflexivity'. Review of International Studies, 40 (1), 153-175. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210513000041
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This article addresses the<jats:italic>problématique</jats:italic>of the subject and the subject-object dichotomy from a post-objectivist, reflexivist perspective informed by a 'strong' version of reflexivity. It clarifies the rationale and epistemic-ontological requirements of strong reflexivity comparatively, through a discussion of autoethnography and autobiography, taken as representatives of other variants of reflexive scholarship. By deconstructing the ontological, epistemic, and reflexive statuses of the subject in the auto-ethnographic and auto-biographical variants, the article shows that the move from objectivism to post-objectivism can entail different reconfigurations of the subject-object relation, some of which can lead to subjectivism or an implicit positivist view of the subject. Strong reflexivity provides a coherent and empowering critique of objectivism because it consistently turns the ontological fact of the social situatedness of knowledge into an epistemic principle of social-scientific research, thereby providing reflexivist scholars with a critique of objectivism from within that allows them to reclaim the philosophical, social, and ethical dimensions of objectivity rather than surrender them to the dominant neopositivist tradition.</jats:p>
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210513000041
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved


text:
Gyro bowl
You're in the car and your kid has a bowl of dry cereal to munch on for the trip. But the end result is that most of the food ends up between the cushions and not enough is ingested. Welcome the Gyro Bowl—a product that uses 360-degree technology to keep items inside the plastic sphere. The bowl stays open side up, no matter which way a child decides to twirl, dump, or throw it. There's also a snap top lid to keep food fresh. Don't believe us? Watch the short video on the product website.
Buygyrobowl.com; about $15 for a two-pack
Local scholarship competition
You know your kid is one-of-a-kind and now is your chance to prove it. Through March 21, parents and educators are encouraged to submit an essay of 100 words or less to the Original Kid of the Year contest, sponsored by No Name Premium Meat and Seafood. Grand prize is a $3,000 scholarship prize as well as a $1,000 donation tao the winner's school. Four other finalists will receive a $1,000 scholarship plus $1,000 school donation. Others will receive 2012 Twins tickets. "The No Name Original Kid of the Year contest was created to give deserving kids across Minnesota and Wisconsin the chance to shine," said Mandy Kennedy, brand manager at No Name. "We know there are tons of incredible kids out there who are doing truly amazing things. We want to hear their stories and reward their good work." For more information on contest rules and details, visit nonameoriginalkid.com.
New HelpLine for pregnant and postpartum families
Pregnancy & Postpartum Support Minnesota (PPSM), a local chapter of Postpartum Support International (PSI), a non-profit organization aimed at increasing awareness among public and professional communities about the emotional changes that women experience during pregnancy and postpartum, has formed a HelpLine for Minnesota families.
The HelpLine provides trained volunteer-staffed non-emergency phone support to women experiencing anxiety or depression during pregnancy up through the first year postpartum, and connects them to local resources.
The HelpLine's phone number is 612-787-PPSM.
"The goal of the HelpLine is to give families support and information, be listened to, validated, and understood," says Krista Post, co-director for PPSM.
"It's not meant to be a substitute for professional care; it is a way to connect with someone who understands and gives encouragement. It is set up so that callers can leave a message and a volunteer will call them back within 24 hours."
Approximately 15 percent of all women will experience postpartum depression following the birth of a child. Up to 10 percent will experience depression or anxiety during pregnancy. When the mental health of the mother is compromised, it affects the entire family. Women of every culture, age, income level, and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Symptoms can appear any time during pregnancy and the first 12 months after childbirth, according to PSI.
The HelpLine provides information to callers regarding perinatal mood disorders, directs callers to local support groups and/or professional help, and can even match callers with a peer volunteer for over the phone support. Mothers, fathers, and even concerned family members are all welcome to call. The service is available at no cost to the caller and is funded through donations and association dues to PPSM.
Kuman, offering after school math and reading enrichment, opened its first center in Vadnais Heights inside the Vadnais Heights Shopping Center, visit kumon.com for more info; Amma Maternity recently changed its name to Amma Parenting Center, to reflect the growing embrace of an infant's whole family, not just Mama, visit ammaparentingcenter.com for more info; Minnesota Parent is always looking for families interested in being featured in our Real Life or It's My Party departments. Email mnga@mnpubs.com and let us know about you; Baby Boot Camp will have its grand opening on January 25 at the Valley Creek Mall in Woodbury. Call 651-321-1871 or visit babybootcamp.com for more information. Skyzone Indoor Trampoline Park, the world's first all-trampoline walled playing court, has opened in St. Paul, visit skyzonesports.com.