text:
Climate negotiators in The Hague have their work cut out for them
By Bill McKibben on Nov 18, 2000
THE HAGUE, Netherlands
Bill McKibben reports from The Hague:
This month's international climate negotiations in The Hague, though full of sound and fury, are about one thing and one thing only: using policy in an attempt to bridge the wide gap between science and politics. If you keep that in mind, you'll have some sense of whether the session is a success or not — a better sense, probably, than you'll get from whatever official declaration ultimately emerges.
The basic tug-of-war is obvious: Science demands deep and rapid cuts in fossil fuel use to stabilize the planet's climate, or at least slow its heating. But politicians, especially American politicians, don't want to raise the price of oil or gas or coal. So an entire convention center full of smart people will go without much sleep for the next eight days trying to figure out how on earth to reconcile these two demands.
Take, for example, the question of counting forests as "carbon sinks," which seems likely to emerge as one of the centerpieces of the debate about how to implement the Kyoto Protocol. A U.S. proposal would allow us to count our vast woodlands against our Kyoto emissions-reduction commitments (and perhaps Australia could do the same, if only their team manages to persuade negotiators to count any plant over 42 centimeters tall as a forest). For politicians, nothing could be more wonderful — they could be seen to be doing something about the world's climate problem without having to really do anything at all.
A lot of hot air.
But for scientists, it presents a few problems. More than a few, really. In the first place, researchers have only basic guesses as to how much carbon dioxide forests absorb, where they absorb it, and under what conditions. Measuring it would be a nightmare — is this forest growth "new" or "old"?
And then there's the study reported in last week's edition of Nature, the first attempt to couple a model of forests and soils with models of the earth's climate. What it found was that as the planet warms, the terrestrial biosphere will eventually stop soaking up carbon and start giving it off. That flip-flop — which they predicted will begin about 2050 — comes largely because warmer temperatures speed up the decomposition of organic matter in soil. Give a temperate forest a tropical climate, in other words, and it turns into the biological equivalent of a coal-fired power plant. How big a problem? Try 200 parts per million extra carbon dioxide, and 2 degrees centigrade additional global heating by the end of the century — numbers far bigger than any of the reductions that would result from the niftiest conceivable outcome in The Hague.
In other words, science keeps saying: More. And politicians keep saying: Just a teensy bit. Or, as my daughter put it last night at the dinner table, "I'll have one bite and that's all."
Al Gore, within a couple of months of becoming vice president, defined the problem neatly: "The maximum that is politically feasible far exceeds the minimum that is scientifically necessary." True enough — and the shame of the Clinton-Gore administration is that it did nothing to raise the level of political feasibility. When you open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep pump prices down, you don't exactly set an example.
Does this look like a sink to you?
And Gore as president, of course, is the good political scenario, the one that results if somehow all the ballots in Florida actually get counted. George W. Bush won't go for the one-bite routine — as far as he's concerned, it's all broccoli and he's not going to touch it. "Kyoto is a dead letter," Bush's chief environmental policy adviser, Christopher DeMuth, told journalists last month.
So have pity for the poor policy-makers. Somehow they must devise a painless solution to the most difficult scientific challenge we've ever faced, a cost-free way to make the biggest transition in the history of our economy. No wonder the delegates will be discussing an array of Rube Goldberg schemes: credits for forests, and for particular ways of plowing, and for fixing up Third World power plants, and so on down the line. Anything but actually changing the way we in the developed world live.
There are far more politicians than scientists yelling at the policy-makers, and so the treaty grows inexorably weaker. By Thanksgiving, some "agreement" may emerge. The chances that it will actually keep much carbon out of the atmosphere are smaller.


Before I start talking about the pizzas (which were A-MA-ZING), let me first put you in awe by showing you pictures of the restaurant.
The design can't be described as plain contemporary. With the blue-purple theme altogether, I felt like I was in a spaceship traveling to the future. It's just so sleek!
I was greeted and seated shortly after I arrived by this super nice Indian server named Nazira. Nazira placed the menu on my table; I scanned through the pizza section and decided upon two of it - the Vegetarian Pizza and Pesto di Basillico (recommended by Nazira). I also ordered water just because I saw how pretty the glass bottles were on the other tables.
I walked around and took more pictures of the restaurant while waiting for my food.
Besides pizzas, B&B also has really great pastas (I personally tried the Mac 'N' Cheese and Pesto with Greens), burgers, salads and desserts (according to users on Trip Advisor).
About 20 minutes later, BOTH my pizzas were ready! I was actually impressed because they took less time than I expected, considering the number of customers and the number of pizzas I ordered. They must be thinking why on earth does this girl order two pizzas for herself???
The Pesto di Basillico is a tomato-based pizza with prawns, almond flakes and pesto sauce. THE PRAWNS WERE SO FRESH. The sweetness of it complimented so well with the savory cheese; the drizzle of pesto sauce also added extra flavors to the pizza which made it taste so much better as a whole.
As for the Vegetarian Pizza, you might think that vegetarian pizzas are usually more bland. But NOPE, the tomato-based vegetarian pizza at B&B will prove you wrong. In addition to its great nutritional value, the grilled zucchini and pepper slices added a tad crunch to the pizza's texture, which made the eating experience very satisfying.
I finished almost half of each pizza (1 whole pizza in total) by myself and asked for takeaway boxes. Nazira came to explain to me that B&B does not actually allow any takeaways in order to make sure that the food gets eaten at its best quality. However, after seeing me struggle trying to finish up the food, Nazira gave me a couple paper bags to pack the food up, and she DID clarify that B&B will not be responsible for the quality of my pizzas 4 hours after it was made.
Sigh... It was such a pity that my appetite couldn't be any bigger. People always say "there is always room for dessert" or "there is always a second stomach for dessert", but unfortunately it wasn't the case for me that time.
I sadly waved goodbye to the cakes and promised that I will be back sooner than they know it.


This lifetime shed has a large interior that is designed to meet a broad range of storage needs!
Reasonable pricing and quick delivery on this quality Lifetime brand shed.
WOW!!! Awesome deal ... easy to install ... super fast shipping for large item ... A++#1. I am very pleased with the super fast shipping all the way from Utah to Panama City Florida in a couple days. Assembly was a breeze and, it is a super shed. Just what I wanted. Great People answered my e-mails quickly and were pleasant to deal with.
AWESOME TO WORK WITH - THERE IS A REASON YOU HAVE 100% RATING! RECEIVED TODAY!
Dimensions: 96" x 33" x 30"


Sometimes paint just doesn't cut it. Or your landlord won't let you paint or put nails in the wall, or do anything else that might need to be done in order to make a wall look just the way you want it to. That was the situation facing Kelsey MacDermaid, who wanted to give her bedroom an accent wall, but didn't have the freedom to do exactly what she wanted.
Fortunately for her, Kelsey is one-half of The Sorry Girls, a 20-something Canadian duo whose online outlets provide do-it-yourself advice to millions of people around the world. She decided to create a removable faux brick wall for her bedroom. The best part? It actually looks like brick!
To make this clean-looking faux brick wall, purchase 1" foam insulation sheets from your local hardware store -- enough to cover your wall.
Mark off the brick pattern on the foam, then use a plastic welding tool to melt the foam in that pattern. Use the tool to create as much of a distressed look as you like, then paint the foam with an acrylic or latex paint.
The bonus? Making a faux brick wall, customizing it to the exact level of "distress" you want, and painting it the exact shade of color that you need is actually cheaper than purchasing sheets of traditionally-colored faux brick!
Make sure to SHARE if you found this DIY as cool as we did!


AVGear Modular Matrix Switchers allow maximum flexibility when designing a medium to large Matrix system.
AVG-DMM Chassis will not power HDBT Baluns. Individual supplies must be allowed for each HDBT Balun.
Input & Output card support a minimum of 4 ports per card.


text:
Q: Is it possible to increase the font size in iTunes? How does one make the fonts that iTunes uses for things like app descriptions larger?  I know about Universal Access -> Zoom, but I'm looking for something a little more app-specific, like web browsers have.

A: It is possible to to change/customize every font/font-size within iTunes.app, that is used for the menu, pop-up dialogs, view-field etc..
In order to do so navigate to /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj and make a backup of Localized.rsrc first, just to be on the save side.
Then download ThemePark3.1 in order to open and edit the Localized.rsrc file. Once you edited the font(s)/size to your liking, you need to save your changes from within ThemePark.
It might be, that you also need to reboot first to see the changes!!

Edit:
There is also an iTunes.rsrc file under /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/ which might be of help and lately .css stylesheet-files are being used for theming as well (in Linux (GTK3).
If that is also true for 10.7 (still running 10.6.8, therefore can only guess), please confirm this information!! Basically "simple" images can be drawn and rendered from code instead of using single image files, in png, tiff, jpg - format.
Those .css files also manage font information, like font-style, color values, size etc...

A: In the preferences window you can change the size of the Source and List Text.

A: The free application TinkerTool lets you edit system fonts and their sizes.  As a bonus, you don't need to go monkeying around with system files, because TinkerTool does it for you. (It'll work for certain, and you don't need to worry about, say, deleting something you don't want to.)
OTOH, it won't let you be app-specific in your preferences, but it will let you change the size of the text.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Brodstone Memorial Hospital is conveniently located at 520 East 10th Street, Superior, Nebraska. Our facility includes a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital, a clinic attached to the hospital at 525 East 11th Street, and 2 rural medical clinics. A medical clinic is located at 76 West 8th Street, Nelson, and also 315 North C in Edgar. A local pharmacy delivers prescriptions as needed on a daily basis to Nelson.
520 East 10th Street, Superior NE 68978, 402-879-3281.
525 East 11th Street, Superior NE 68978, 402-879-4781.
76 West 8th Street, Nelson NE 68961, 402-225-2375.
315 North C Street, Edgar NE 68935, 402-224-3344.
Click here for directions and map view.


We are excited to announce our two new CW-X sponsored athletes; Tassya Stevens and Jessica Laws.
Both of these athletes come from completely different sporting backgrounds but they have one thing in common: they both LOVE CW-X apparel.
Tassya Stevens discovered CW-X Conditioning Wear after being injured during Taekwondo practice.
The unique CW-X Support Web helped relieve and reduce further injury of her back, allowing her to focus and continuing on with her training.
Tassya has since gone on to become ranked 26th in the world – a fantastic accomplishment at the age of 23.
Tassya is currently training for 2016 Olympic Games.
Jessica Laws is using CW-X for Track Cycling and has found that CW-X tights are supportive and comfortable.
Jess has been competing in Masters and Elite events for some time now and has a very lengthy list of achievements.
CW-X is a newly introduced brand into the Australian market but our training gear is gaining recognition for its superior support, compression and recovery benefits from athletes like Tassya and Jess.
CW-X Conditioning Wear is the top selling compression brand in Japan and America, designed for professional athletes from all different areas of sport.


text:
Hapara Highlights pilot postponed amidst concern from MVLA School Board
By Priya Dixit, Copy/Content Editor
Ashley Cai
Los Altos began a pilot of Google Chrome extension Hapara Highlights at the start of this school year after it passed through the MVLA district's Educational Technology Committee. However, due to concerns regarding student privacy from the Board of Trustees, the board has stopped the Hapara Highlights pilot at Los Altos and postponed its use indefinitely.
Hapara Highlights allows teachers to view a student's Google Chrome environment and push out assignments to a class during school hours.
If the extension meets the board's expectations of student privacy and effectiveness, then the pilot will resume at Los Altos before eventually being implemented uniformly across the entire district. Some teachers at Mountain View, who have been using the extension since 2014, will still continue to use it despite the current postponement at Los Altos.
Hapara Highlights was vetted through the district's Educational Technology Committee, which consists of teachers, administrators and IT staff. Hapara Highlights also meets standards set by the California Student Privacy Alliance, a consortium of schools led by the state-run California Educational Technology Professionals Association. These standards involve requirements to ensure student privacy laws are met.
"Once a product like [Hapara Highlights] is evaluated by the technology folks and the educational folks, depending on the cost of the product and the desired scope of the product, we'll go through a pilot process," MVLA Information Systems Director Barney Gordon said. "Eventually it'll be adopted into the district."
According to Harding, the Board of Trustees does not typically review all district technology before implementation. However, due to student privacy concerns brought to the board's attention by a Los Altos parent, Harding and the trustees decided to postpone the pilot in order to make their own assessment. The postponement occurred three days after the extension was first activated at Los Altos. Teachers had previously signed up to pilot Hapara Highlights in their classes when the extension was inactive.
"The thought that trustees would review every single aspect of a high school is just unrealistic, but it remains the trustees' ultimate responsibility and accountability to feel comfortable with everything that's being used," superintendent Jeff Harding said. "There were enough concerns for them to say, 'we'd like to postpone and investigate further before we give our full authority and support.'"
When certain requirements are all met at the same time, the extension allows teachers to view a student's Google Chrome environment—opened tabs, not the computer screen itself— as well as push out assignments, share links for student instruction and create a controlled online testing environment. When enabled, Hapara Highlights is only active between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Teachers can only view student Google Chrome environments if the students are enrolled in the teacher's Google classroom class. Students must also be logged into their MVLA accounts on Google Chrome while connected to an MVLA Wifi network. Teachers can also close student tabs in Google Chrome, provided the requirements for the extension to function are met, allowing for a secure online testing environment.
"If a student's at home sick, or if they're at school after hours, there's no way the teacher would be able to monitor anything on students' accounts," Gordon said.
However, Gordon does acknowledge the potential privacy concerns that students and parents may have about the monitoring nature of Hapara Highlights.
"The big thing that the students and parents within the district should understand is that there's a rigorous [evaluation] process that we go through," Gordon said. "I'll be honest, it's a relatively new process. We started it late last year, but there is a rigorous process in place now to evaluate software for security and privacy concerns. We do take the privacy of our students very seriously within the district. We are evaluating [products] to ensure that they meet appropriate laws and privacy concerns for the students."
The Los Altos administration also recognizes the need for a more controlled digital monitoring system within classrooms.
"The issue for teachers is to ensure that devices [being] used in classrooms ends up being a productive and educationally sound use of time," Los Altos administrator Galen Rosenberg said. "There's a perception that there's a fair amount of off-task uses of devices. Hapara is a tool that markets itself as a way to supervise that more directly. It's a pretty universal agreement that we need a better way of monitoring student devices during testing."
Some Los Altos students, such as sophomore Zacharia Mitani, feel that the extension may be an overstep of school power, as teachers would be able to view a student's Google Chrome environment throughout the school day even when not in the teacher's class period.
"It ensures that no one's cheating [and is] actually putting in the work and whatnot, but I think it shouldn't be an extension just put onto your Google account," Zacharia said. "It should be more like a website or something that you have to go through to take tests and quizzes."
Mountain View English teacher Jeannette Craff first began using the extension with her students after her second year of teaching in 2014. She uses Hapara Highlights as an instructional tool to promote focused learning and digital citizenship with her students.
"Now is an opportunity to learn how to focus on whatever it is we're doing in class and to be safe online," Craff said. "I think it's important that teachers not use [Hapara Highlights] as a way of sitting in the back of the room and closing tabs, but instead [use] it as an opportunity to have conversations with students."
Harding maintains that the monitoring capabilities of Hapara Highlights warrant further review before continuing the pilot, especially with respect to the growing prevalence of technology in education and the world.
"The fact that the ultimate responsibility and accountability rests with five people that are not on the [Educational Technology Committee] is fundamental to this conversation," Harding said. "So the [Educational Technology Committee], while we believe in their expertise and professionalism, [is] not ultimately responsible. And on rare occasions, like this one, the [Board of Trustees needs] to review the decisions and make a call."
Hapara
MVLA
priya dixit
Priya Dixit, Copy/Content Editor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A new and unique collaborative initiative will help turn the tide on the UK's growing issue of plastic waste.
If all the plastic bottles that are not collected for recycling in the UK each year were placed end to end, they would go around the world 31 times. It's clear that wide-scale system change is required to make more of our plastic, keep it out of the ocean and in the economy.
Revealed today, in The Government's 25 Year Environment Plan, it will be the first of a network of national implementation initiatives of the New Plastics Economy in several countries around the world, complementing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global initiative.
For plastic to become valued and never become waste it's imperative that everybody from those producing it (brands, retailers, food service businesses, packaging suppliers and plastic producers), collecting it (local and city authorities), sorting it and recycling it (waste management and recycling sector), to those using it (citizens) as well as Government, NGOs and media are involved. Everyone in the UK can and should engage.
Work is now underway to engage all parties, agree the ambitions and set up the initiative. More details will be shared in the Spring, when WRAP, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will officially launch the initiative.
If you're interested to keep up to date on the initiative, please visit www.wrap.org.uk/collections-and-reprocessing/plastics-initiative and submit your details.


text:
Q: Break long word in tabular I have a long word inside my tabular I need to break. The other rows and columns look perfect, but since this is only 1 word, the actual word overlaps on the other column. Not ideal.
Is there a SIMPLE fix? Basically here's how I make the tabular:
\begin{tabular}{|p{3.5cm}|p{3.5cm}|}
\hline

Header
&
Header 2\\

\hline
Marketingdivisiontesttesttest
&
Some more text\\
\hline

\end{tabular}

Microsoft Word breaks the word easily.

A: The first word in a paragraph isn't hyphenated. Use \hspace{0pt} or lualatex whichwill hyphenate also the first word.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{array}
\newcolumntype{P}[1]{>{\hspace{0pt}}p{#1}}
\begin{document}
    \begin{tabular}{|P{3.5cm}|p{3.5cm}|}
        \hline
        Header
        &
        Header 2\\
        \hline
        Marketingdivisiontesttesttest
        &
        Some more text\\
        \hline
    \end{tabular}
\end{document}

A: One way to do this quite simply is to add \newline.
Code:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{|p{3.5cm}|p{3.5cm}|}
\hline
Header
&
Header 2\\
\hline
Marketingdivision-\newline testtesttest
&
Some more text\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

This yields:

A: That the first word in a paragraph is not hyphenated is true for TeX, pdfTeX, and XeTeX. LuaTeX behaves differently, there the first word can also be hyphenated.
The example comes from a duplicate question:
\documentclass{book}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{|p{1.7cm}|p{1.7cm}|}
A LongHorribleAndPointlessMess & ALongHorribleAndPointlessMess \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\end{document}


For those who have not made their way to Teresa's Next Door, here's the tap list as of 4/6/08. It's fairly typical of the quality and diversity that can be found there. Keep in mind, that these are the drafts. The bottle selection is just as good, but ten fold. Made our way there today for brunch; here are some goodies for you.
Ahh must have just missed you, i pulled a brunch shift yesterday as well.
Thanks for the tap lists.


text:
Q: Finding the Laplace Transform I am trying to find the Laplace Transform of $$\frac{1-\cos(ax)}{x}.$$ I have tried to directly compute the integral and also tried to see if I could use the convolution theorem in some way but both lead nowhere. Any help would be appreciated!

A: This is a well known exercise, and the result is $$\frac{1}{2} \ln \left(\frac{a^2}{s^2}+1\right)$$
I am going to write further details now, but first of all I wanted you to know the result, directly. Now I will edit and prove the result.
Edits
The function is absolutely integrable hence we can use Leibniz rule.
Be
$$F(s) = \int_0^{+\infty} \frac{1 - \cos(a x)}{x} e^{-sx}\ dx$$
Hence
$$F'(s) = \int_0^{+\infty} -(1 - \cos(ax))e^{-sx}\ dx$$
This is a very trivial integral you can compute by your own, which leads to the result:
$$F'(s) = -\frac{1}{s}+\frac{s}{a^2+s^2}$$
Now:
$$F(s) = \int -\frac{1}{s}+\frac{s}{a^2+s^2}\ ds$$
Yet another very simple integral I leave you as an exercise, but write me if you have doubts.
The solution is then:
$$F(s) = -\ln (s)+\frac{1}{2} \ln \left(a^2+s^2\right)$$
Or as I wrote at the beginning
$$F(s) = \frac{1}{2} \ln \left(\frac{a^2}{s^2}+1\right)$$
Tricks for the future
If $~\mathcal L\left\{ f(t)\right\}=F(s)~$ and Laplace of the function $~g(t)=\dfrac{f(t)}{t}~$ exists, then
$$\mathcal L \left\{\dfrac{f(t)}{t}\right\}=\int\limits_s^{\infty}F(u)\,\mathrm du$$

A:
Here is an approach that does not use Feynman's trick, but rather uses integration by parts ("IBP") along with the well-known integral (See the NOTE at the end of THIS ANSWER$$\int_0^\infty \log(t)e^{-t}\,dt=-\gamma\tag1$$where $\gamma$ is the Euler-Mascheroni constant.  It is easy to see from $(1)$ that for $\text{Re}(s)>0$ $$\int_0^\infty \log(t)e^{-st}\,dt=-\frac{\gamma-\log(s)}s\tag2$$

First, by enforcing the substitution $x= t/a$ reveals that
$$\int_0^\infty \frac{1-\cos(ax)}{x}e^{-sx}\,dx=\int_0^\infty \frac{1-\cos(t)}{t}e^{-(s/a)t}\,dt$$

Taking the Laplace Transform of $(1-\cos(t))/t$ gives
$$\begin{align}
\mathscr{L} \left( \frac{1- \cos t}{t}\right)(s)&=\int_0^{\infty} \left(\frac{1- \cos t}{t}\right)e^{-st}dt\\\\
&=\int_0^{\infty} (1- \cos t)\left(\frac{d\log(t)}{dt}\right)e^{-st}dt\\\\
&=\int_0^{\infty} \left(e^{-st}- \frac12 e^{-(s+i)t}-\frac12 e^{-(s-i)t}\right)\left(\frac{d\log(t)}{dt}\right)e^{-st}dt\\\\
&\overbrace{=}^{IBP}-\int_0^{\infty} \log(t)\frac{d}{dt}\left(e^{-st}- \frac12 e^{-(s+i)t}-\frac12 e^{-(s-i)t}\right) dt\\\\
&=s\int_0^{\infty} \log(t)e^{-st}dt\\\\
&-\frac12(s+i)\int_0^{\infty} \log(t)e^{-(s+i)t}dt\\\\
&-\frac12(s-i)\int_0^{\infty} \log(t)e^{-(s-i)t}dt\\\\
&\overbrace{=}^{\text{Using} (2)}s\left(\frac{-\gamma-\log(s)}{s}\right)\\\\
&-\frac12 (s+i)\left(\frac{-\gamma-\log(s+i)}{s+i}\right)\\\\&-\frac12 (s-i)\left(\frac{-\gamma-\log(s-i)}{s-i}\right)\\\\
&=\frac12 \log\left(\frac{s^2+1}{s^2}\right)
\end{align}$$

Finally, replacing $s$ with $s/a$ yields the coveted result
$$\bbox[5px,border:2px solid #C0A000]{\int_0^\infty \frac{1-\cos(ax)}{x}e^{-sx}\,dx=\frac12\log\left(1+\frac{a^2}{s^2}\right)}$$

A: you could use the two properties :

*

*$\mathcal L \left\{x{f(x)}\right\}=-F'(s)\ $

*$F(s) \to 0 \text{ as } s \to \infty $ (Riemann–Lebesgue lemma)

we have $$xf(x) = 1 - \cos(ax) \implies F'(s) = \frac{s}{s^2+a^2} -\frac1s \implies F(s) = \ln(\frac{\sqrt{s^2+a^2}}{s}) +C$$
by the Riemann–Lebesgue lemma $C = 0$


In 2016, Singapore was ranked as the best country for doing business in a survey by World Bank for 10 consecutive years. In fact, with an economic freedom score of 89.4, Singapore has the second most free economy in the world, according to the 2019 Economic Freedom Index. These accolades have been collected through a combination of economic principles that make Singapore one of the most attractive places to incorporate a business in the world.
Singapore has forthright and simple requirements for incorporating a business. In many cases, incorporating a business in Singapore can take only one day. Additionally, the Singapore government encourages both local and foreign-owned business growth by offering grants and other incentives. Singapore has many investment and venture capital firms that seek to help fund startups.
According to The Economist, Singapore's education system is "considered the best in the world." Inevitably, the academic rigor and success of the Singapore school systems has created a very skilled and proficient workforce within the economy. Additionally, the Singapore government, currently led by Lee Hsien Loong, has operated under strict moral values since its founding in 1965. This moral code and example-led philosophy make corruption very limited.
With a population of nearly 5.7 million people, Singapore presents itself as one of the most innovative countries in the world. The city-state demonstrates ethnic diversity and roughly 39 percent of the population is foreigners. Additionally, the country is one of the most religiously diverse places in the world. The vast diversity that Singapore contains urges the economy to reach new heights in innovation and cooperation. The wide variety of ideas and influences continues to make Singapore's business sector highly competitive and continuously growing. Singapore has an annual GDP growth rate of 3.6 percent.
Singapore is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, [DM9] which makes it one of the most convenient places to do business. The Changi Airport is one of the world's best airports. According to the airport's website, "Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines flying to some 400 cities in about 100 countries and territories worldwide. Each week, about 7,400 flights land or depart from Changi, with more than 65.6 million passengers passing through the airport a year." Although Singapore is a small country at just over 278 square miles, the efficiency of the Changi Airport makes travel and business easily accessible and convenient, especially throughout all of Southeast Asia.
As one of the world's richest countries, Singapore has many opportunities for entrepreneurs who aspire to take their business to the next level. The growing globalization of Singapore's economy, coupled with its competitive trade industry, create a utopia for entrepreneurs who are eager to incorporate. Singapore provides a gateway to international business with simple steps to incorporation. The competitive workforce, diversity and location of Singapore are unmatched, making this maritime city-state one of the most culminating places to incorporate.
SmartSpace is one of the big players at the coworking spaces in Singapore. If you take a look at their website: smartspace.com.sg, you will see the personality of this space.


text:
Infosecurity Magazine Home » Opinions » The Connected World: 'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility'
The Connected World: 'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility'
Ian Kayne Cybersecurity Practice Lead at Mason Advisory
The connected world appears to present boundless opportunity. Working its magic on almost every aspect of our lives, it becomes more and more embedded in the way we function, play and work. However, as it extends further and further into the physical world, the associated security challenges get tougher and appear to multiply exponentially.
As a community, we must be vigilant to the threats and challenges that emerge as the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves and grows. We must take responsibility for ensuring that our insight and knowledge stays one step ahead of the attackers.
Smart enough to pose a risk, too dumb to be managed
Collectively, vendors release thousands of patches a year to fix software security issues, and we (mostly) apply them without thinking. Yet when it comes to smart devices and IoT, who is going to apply a security patch to a light bulb? An IoT device that has just enough 'intelligence' to work is probably still too 'dumb' to be managed properly, and that's a big problem.
The initial challenge lies with manufacturers. Many smart devices use a modified version of Linux, which immediately brings tens of thousands of lines of code into the device. All complex software suffers from security vulnerabilities and Linux is no exception: 85 high-severity vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel were found during 2016 alone.
Added to this are vulnerabilities hiding within the software used to provide the IoT device's functionality. These are harder to quantify as the code is usually proprietary, but without a doubt they are widespread: at DEFCON 2016, 47 new IoT security flaws were discovered in products from 21 separate manufacturers. Secure hardware architecture, secure coding standards, and comprehensive auditing are key to maintaining a strong level of security. The challenge for manufacturers is applying the right level of focus and having access to the required skills to address these needs.
The risks are significantly different from those we are traditionally used to. In the home, excluding these vulnerable smart devices, the worst malware scenario is perhaps losing documents to ransomware. But imagine if an attacker discovered a flaw in smart thermostat software that allowed the overload of a heating circuit? In theory, they could burn your house down.
If that feels unnecessarily alarmist, consider Cisco's discovery of a flaw in Trane thermostats that allowed an attacker to take remote control of the device. It took several years before a patch was released. The fact that IoT devices require a similar level of attention to a desktop PC is not something that resonates with most people.
Even if manufacturers do release security patches for their devices, they still can't be connected to a centralized patch management solution. Manually patching IoT devices is a shadow IT task of epic proportions – if you can find them in the first place. MITRE is currently running a challenge with a $50,000 prize fund for solutions that detect and identify IoT devices.
Fortunately, even IoT devices must obey networking standards, and this provides options for reducing risk. One approach is to copy malware techniques for the force of good: Mirai malware infects IoT devices by logging into them using the manufacturer's default password. With some judicious scripting and free security tools, it's possible to create an automated scan that identifies vulnerable devices in a manner that mirrors how Mirai works.
The business choice: create a castle or wear armor
Businesses must take careful control of what has access to their infrastructure. Solutions include network access control, which prevents unapproved devices connecting to the network, and intrusion detection, which flags questionable network traffic for investigation.
However organizations are also looking at boundary-less networks and zero-trust models. These businesses say: "We don't truly trust our network; it's too big, too wide, and too many people can connect whatever they want, whenever they want. Instead of a castle, we'll give everyone a suit of armor. We'll secure our endpoints and our services, segment our infrastructure, and worry less about the network around it".
Both approaches help to counter the threat; but failing to recognize that there is a threat, or simply ignoring the benefits that IoT brings by banning the devices via corporate policy leaves an organization wide open.
Mirai Used as Payload in Hadoop YARN Vulnerability
A Big Problem for Small Business: Why Companies of All Sizes must be Cybercrime Savvy
2016 : Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back
#RSAC: Getting Off the Hamster Wheel of Testing
Securing the Connected Car


The GunDivas: How Many Is Too Many?
I dont know exactly how many in all that "he" has LOL LOL But a lot more!
UUUUmmmmm!!! I need a bigger gun safe...LOL is that to many????
See? I knew we didn't have too many! But we did outgrow our very small gun safe a long time ago. We used to be able to fit pretty much everything in there until we started modifying the guns; scopes and accessories take up a fair bit of space.
Our goal, when we finally buy a house, is to have a "gun room". Because who doesn't want an arsenal at their disposal?


Agricultural Drones Market Size to Reach $3.69 Billion by 2022: Radiant Insights, Inc.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 6, 2016) - Agricultural drones use automated process to make farming more productive. Drones provide better, more flexible visualization. Smart drone agricultural uses cameras and provide the prospect of trillions of dollars in farming economic growth. Smart commercial drones connect seamlessly and securely to the Internet and to each other.
Agricultural technology uses drones to leverage a data-driven future. Inexpensive sensors, cloud computing and intelligent software used in a drone system hold the potential to transform agriculture and help feed the world's growing population.
Digital agriculture brought by drones is part of the next stage in industrialization of agriculture. It involves exploiting data from many sources and sensors on farm equipment and plants, satellite images and weather tracking. The use of water and fertilizer is measured and monitored. Growth can be monitored on a plant-by-plant basis.


text:
Ghost Bizzle lists everything that's wrong with Fortnite right now
Published: 14/Jun/2019 10:42 Updated: 14/Jun/2019 11:32
by Joe Craven
Epic Games/Ghost Gaming
Bizzle Fortnite Season 9
Professional Fortnite Battle Royale player Timothy 'Bizzle' Miller has criticized the current state of the game, as he released his 'wish list' for what he thinks needs to change.
Many prominent personalities have been critical of the battle royale game of late, with criticism centering on Epic's decision making and the bugs in the game, as we head towards this Summer's World Cup Finals in New York City.
Ghost Bizzle has already qualified for the World Cup, and has not been afraid to vent his frustrations with Epic in the past. Now, though, he has released a list of things he wants to see change, as it reaches what could be seen as a critical point in its life span.
The Proximity Launcher, added on June 13, is also on Bizzle's removal list.
On June 13, Miller tweeted some things that he believes would 'fix Fortnite'. He starts off by suggesting "Stinks [Stink Bombs], Rifts, Ballers, Storm Flip, Heavy Sniper, Boom Bow" should all be removed from the game.
He is not the only prominent community member to have an issue with these items, as SypherPK recently called for the removal of the Boom Bow. Also, problems with the Heavy Sniper are not uncommon, as many argue its ability to destroy any object in one hit is perhaps too strong.
Read More: Tfue slams "dogshit" Fortnite Battle Royale players for behavior during scrims
Furthermore, a few of his issues revolve around items that have been added in Season 9, such as the Storm Flip item, which was added on June 6.
He also stated that the old Bolt Action sniper rifle should be brought back – with the "old bullet drop". Epic removed the weapon in favour of a suppressed alternative, and altered all snipers' bullet drop to match the flatter, faster drop that the Heavy Sniper possesses.
Fix fortnite:
-Remove Stinks, Rifts, Ballers, Storm Flip, Proximity Launcher, Heavy Sniper, Boom Bow.
-Bring Back Old Bolt Action Sniper w/ old bullet drop.
-Bring Back ReDeploy.
-Fix wall replacing, shouldn't be able lose a wall with high ping.
-Buff Divot.
What I miss???
— Bizzle (@Ghost_Bizzle) June 14, 2019
Bizzle went on to argue that glider redeploy should be re-implemented. Epic Games have gone back and forth with this feature, currently settling on having it as a lootable item within the game, with 10 uses.
Read More: Netflix confirm Stranger Things x Fortnite crossover is coming soon
He also wants to see "Wall Replacing" fixed. This refers to aggressive players destroying an opponent's wall and then placing one of their own, so they are able to edit it and get a shot on the defending player. He suggested, as many have, that this is merely determined by which player has the better internet, and should be more directed towards benefiting the defending player.
Bizzle's final suggestion was to "Buff [Dusty] Divot", which seems rather self-explanatory. Many users were quick to agree with the Ghost Gaming star, with his tweet amassing just under 4,000 likes at the time of writing.
How to clip and download Twitch clips
xQc hits back at claims he only plays Rust for the viewers


text:
BBA Selects Intergraph® SmartPlant® 3D for Metals and Mining Projects
Engineering and design capabilities accelerate project delivery and ensure consistency across designs
BBA, an independent Canadian consulting engineering firm active in the international energy and mining and metals sectors, has completed the design of its first project for Consolidated Thompson, the Bloom Lake project in Northern Quebec, with Intergraph®'s SmartPlant® 3D design solution.
BBA was selected to design the iron ore mine at Bloom Lake in 2006, and selected Intergraph SmartPlant 3D to execute the project. Since the successful completion of Bloom Lake with SmartPlant 3D, BBA has begun modeling on its next project, a gold mine for Osisko Mining, called Canadian Malartic, also using SmartPlant 3D.
BBA chose SmartPlant 3D because it is well-suited for the specific challenges related to metals and mining projects – large and complex equipment and very mining-oriented specifications for components. The software's rule-based design and specification-driven capabilities provide true discipline integration into a single 3D modeling environment, minimizing rework for changes and ensuring consistency across designs.
SmartPlant 3D is the industry's only next-generation data-centric 3D design system for the process, marine and power industries. It is the most productive, highest quality, multi-discipline 3D modeling environment in the world for global multi-office execution of projects.
"We are pleased with the results that we have achieved so far with SmartPlant 3D, and are excited about moving forward with it on future projects," said Steeve Fiset, president and CEO of BBA. "By adapting SmartPlant 3D to the mining industry, we add to our high value engineering a veryefficient design capacity and provide our customers with a timely and cost-effective project execution with an extremely low re-work level at site."
Gerhard Sallinger, Intergraph Process, Power and Marine president, said, "BBA demonstrates how SmartPlant 3D can benefit companies of all sizes and in all industries to be more competitive using this next-generation technology. And as SmartPlant 3D becomes the industry-standard for large EPC and owner operators, it gives smaller and midsize companies the opportunity to be on the same footing with their larger competitors."
SmartPlant 3D is the multi-purpose design solution within Intergraph's SmartPlant Enterprise solutions suite. SmartPlant Enterprise provides full design, construction, materials and engineering data management capabilities needed for the creation, safe operation and maintenance, and capital Project Life Cycle Management (cPLM) of large-scale process, power, marine and offshore projects. The software's life cycle data management also enables a smoother handover for EPCs to owner operators and for owner operators to more easily maintain, refurbish or modify their plants.
The ARC Advisory Group in its PET Worldwide Outlook Market Analysis and Forecast through 2013 ranked Intergraph the No. 1 overall worldwide leader in engineering design 3D software and process engineering tools (PET) and for key industries, including metals and mining. For news and views for the process, power and marine industries, visit Intergraph's blog at http://blogs.intergraph.com/getsmart/.
About BBA
BBA is an independent Canadian consulting engineering firm operating internationally. Its team is composed of highly-qualified experts in several engineering disciplines including electrical, civil, mechanical, industrial data processing, mining, metallurgical processes, automation, and construction management. BBA is particularly active in the energy and mining and metals sectors.
From a project's definition to its commissioning, BBA offers a complete range of services including consulting, studies, engineering, design, commissioning, and delivery in EPCM mode (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management). www.bba.ca
Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph's industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data into understandable visual representations and actionable intelligence. Intergraph's software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.
© 2010Intergraph Corp. All rights reserved. Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.


Boxer 5ft LED non-corrosive fitting with integrated microwave sensor, comes supplied with a pre-wired flying lead / cord grip and 2 x stainless steel mounting clips for easy fitting. They give off bright neutral white light and are ideal for use in factories, warehouses, production facilities, car parks, leisure complexes, garages and much more. The microwave sensor makes these fittings great for switch free, long-lasting lighting, ideal for use in stairwells, corridors, carparks and much more.


text:
Cingulina secernenda is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies.

Distribution
This species occurs in the northern portion of the Indian Ocean off the coasts of Pakistan, Asia.

References

External links
 To World Register of Marine Species

Pyramidellidae
Gastropods described in 1918

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Is the title in your name?
Then you'll have to buy your own car. Get something cheap, as long as it gets you from point A to point B. It is very important that you do get a car to show that him taking the car isn't hurting you. I could list more reasons such as showing that you can be independent if you need to, but I think you get the point.


Senior Manchester United officials are prepared to veto Jose Mourinho's transfer targets for the second transfer window in a row, ESPN FC reports.
Mourinho hopes to splash money on a new central defender in January.
Milan Skriniar, Alessio Romagnoli and Nikola Milenkovic are among candidates on his list.
The club were reluctant to pursue Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng in the summer, because of concerns over the German's injury record, while a potential deal for Yerry Mina, who eventually moved from Barcelona to Everton, was scrapped because of fees demanded by the Colombian's representatives.
Harry Maguire was deemed too expensive, while questions were raised about Toby Alderweireld because the Belgian will be 30 this season.


text:
By Duncan Patrick
Day 16 – Our journey comes to an end. We're out in the Boland today impacting as many lives as we possibly can. A key moment for the team was when we arrived on a farm called, Kat se Gat. A dilapidated structure stood before us with 6 families sharing a burned out farmhouse. The poetry of the moment was maddening as amidst the ethereal beauty and peace of the Paarl Valley stood a single structure in which nothing but suffering existed. The emotions which presented themselves were conflicting and difficult to understand, but what was certain was that we needed to help this community. We clothed, provided fresh water, a medical kit and ensured that they had enough supplies to last them a while. Although, a small gesture at that moment. There is still work to be done within our communities in the Western Cape to ensure progress for all.
Our journey has taken us all over the Boland, from displaced individuals who have been temporarily relocated to a campsite called, New Orleans Park. To the locations where poverty and crime thrive. We have served and helped those along the way as best we can, by offering our services, food, nappies and basic necessities to keep them secure and hopefully grant them the gift of peace as they do not need to wonder where next their meal will come from.
Have you pledged your support yet?
Day 15 – Bishop Lavis2018


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Great sailboat rentals near Dublin, County Dublin.
Step onboard a sailboat for an unforgettable experience in Dublin, County Dublin.
Get ready for a fun adventure when you hit the open water onboard a sailboat in Dublin, County Dublin. Rent or charter a sailboat with or without a captain and experience the joy of exploring the water by wind power. From hourly, half-day, full-day or multi-day sailing excursions, you are sure to create memories that will last a lifetime. Dublin, County Dublin is a wonderful sailboat rental destination.


text:
Vincent Delerm (born 31 August 1976) is a French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer. He is the son of the writer Philippe Delerm and illustrator Martine Delerm.

His first album was released in 2002, the second, Kensington Square, in 2004, the third Les Piqûres d'araignée in 2006, the fourth Quinze Chansons in 2008 . All were released by the Tôt ou tard record label.

Awards and nominations
Won
2003 Victoires de la Musique – "Album Revelation of the Year" for album Vincent Delerm
2003: Grand prix Sacem – Francis-Lemarque Award
2012: Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres

Nominations
2007 Victoires de la musique – "Male artist interpreter", "Best Album of song and variétés" for Les Piqûres d'araignée and "Best music video" for "Sous les avalanches" for director Bruno Sevaistre
2008 Victoires de la musique – "Musical shows, tours and concerts"
2009 Victoires de la musique – "Best Album of song and variétés" for album Quinze Chansons

Discography

Albums

Live albums

Film scores
The Very Private Life of Mister Sim (2015)

DVD

 Vincent Delerm : Un soir Boulevard Voltaire published 21 October 2003.

Bibliography
 Songbook Vincent Delerm – 11 titres piano chant, ed. Lili Louise Musique (2003)

Honours
 2003: Victoires de la musique (category "best album").
 2003: Prix Francis Lemarque from Sacem

References

External links
 Official website
  (in French)

1976 births
Living people
People from Évreux
University of Rouen Normandy alumni
French music arrangers
21st-century French dramatists and playwrights
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
French singer-songwriters
21st-century French singers
21st-century French male singers
French male singer-songwriters


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Welcome to our PiWars 2015 blog. In the blog we'll be talking about our 2014 entry TractorBot, our team, some suitably vague information about our 2015 entry plus a few side topics for variety.
I've already given away that we entered the 2014 PiWars and to say that competition day was a roller coaster ride of emotions is no exaggeration. No matter how much you test your bot there's still a lot of tension while it's running one of the challenges. It was also tremendous fun. Building a robot and running it around the floor is quite an achievement and pretty cool but going head to head with other people's creations takes it to a whole new level. The robots at the event came in all shapes and sizes, from a pirate galleon to some tiny tracked creations to a black box covered in LEDs. Everyone was excited to take part and had worked hard on their entries, with added Lego stunt drivers or massive staring eyes added to show it wasn't too serious.
Our main robo-nauts were Keith Ellis and Phil Willis with a small band of moral supporters. Their first design decision was whether to go for the under £75 or the over £75 category. While it was definitely tempting to throw some money at the problem it was decided that it would be just as much fun building a cheaper robot. Of course the £75 limit was for the robot that would run on the day, it didn't include anything needed for R&D in the run up to the competition. Because there was such a limited budget the early focus was finding the best components at the lowest cost. Clearly we needed a Pi and the obvious choice was the B. In broad brush terms we also needed a platform, motors and controllers, power, sensors and a remote control for the driving tests. Should you want to have a look at the finished design it's now been open sourced and you can find it on the Ipswich Makerspace GitHub.
Slowly the robot came together and each time it came to a makerspace meeting it was able to do something new, and occasionally it forgot how to do something old. The last two weeks were particularly frantic with the late night soldering and debugging that no project should be without. Sadly, one of the development Pi's gave its life for the project but we had a spare so all was not lost. The R&D effort was helped no end by the generosity of Rapid Electronics in Colchester who gave us a considerable amount of hardware. (Including the sacrificial Pi, please don't tell them).
I'd not been to a PiJam before and with the addition of the competition the venue was absolutely buzzing with excitement. As well as Keith and Phil, we also had Frank in charge of the video camera, Tim and I in charge of morale, and TractorBot in charge of being the robot. Our first event was the robot sumo which is a far more civilized version of the old Robot Wars idea. Two robots go in and there is only one winner. The main difference was that no preposterously over-specced house robots were involved and everyone walked away with a whole and intact robot, as damaging your opponent was against the rules. Keith drove TractorBot via Wii-mote and by driving skill and low cunning pushed the first two opponents off the mat. Sadly there was no way we were going to be able to push the giant pirate ship so easily and after some hair raising twists and turns the inevitable happened and we were out. In all, a pretty good first test. I'll run through some of the other tests in later blogs, look out for the closest to the wall test and the three point turn test.
This year's team includes Keith and Phil as before with Jon Leach and me Steve Chalkley. There are two major differences to the 2015 competition from our perspective. The first being the division of the entries into size categories rather than budget. So far it looks like we're very firmly in the up to A3 category. The second is that with a little tweaking we could probably re-enter TractorBot. Obviously that's not what we're going to do even if TractorBot II looks similar to the original, strikingly similar. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some of our design thoughts, for example, TBII will most likely have a touch screen user interface replacing the push-button and blinking LEDs which was the low-cost solution to the same problem last year. It was remarkable how much control one button could exert.
Finally, I can't let you go without answering the question you've been dying to ask: how did we do? I'm pleased and proud to say that thanks to Keith and Phil's combination of hard work, mad coding skills and dangerous driving we won the under £75 category. Which meant they walked away with some very cool Pi related goodies and the cute robot trophy. We even have video highlights to prove I'm not making it up.


Growth Hacking is all about finding effective and efficient ways to grow your business rapidly. Faster than traditional businesses. Its all about leverging the right resources & applying better techniques.


Ken Brown captured these spectacular photos of a hybrid engine test at the Mojave Air and Space Port on Thursday afternoon. Scaled Composites conducted the hot fire of the nylon-nitrous oxide engine, which is being tested as an alternative to the rubber-nitrous oxide that Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has used for three test flights, sources say.
Scaled is developing SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo for Sir Richard Branson's spaceline, which is supposed to begin commercial operations from Spaceport America in New Mexico by the end of the year.
The test today lasted longer than 30 seconds. View a video that captured most of the hot fire.
Scaled has been conducting tests on the nylon-nitrous engine since at least last May, according to sources.
Why the move to nylon? Ease of making the motor? Higher ISP?
Yes it does look a lot cleaner doesn't it? Nylon is harder to get lit than HTPB, but it's harder so less chunks and bits ejected. Can't see it having much impact in ISP. N2O with any hydrocarbon will be about the same. Judging by the size of the fuel-grain fire after the burn, there's a lot of 'additives' in that grain. If it's AP (Perchlorate) there'll be lots of nasty combustion bi-products. So much for "Non Toxic".
Quick question Doug, how do you know this one was Nylon, from your secret squirrel 'sources' that have been pretty reliable so far?
Moose and squirrel on the case here in Mojave.
for Whitesides. He actually came out of the audience to answer a question that had been posed, if I recall right.
They've been having a lot of trouble with getting the rubber engine to burn cleanly and efficiently and dealing with oscillation and vibration problems. That's what my sources tell me. That thing just doesn't scale up very well and it looks like a flying tire fire (which can't be good for Branson's image).
If you look at the FAA's final environmental assessment report for the launch and re-entry permit, which was pushed in May 2012, you see that the agency looked at emissions for nitrous-rubber and nitrous-nylon, so Virgin was contemplating switching engines for a while now.
total emissions from the space plane, WK2 and the chase aircraft. In terms of CO2, there's virtually no difference because most of the emissions are from WK2.
The nylon engine would look a lot better, and it might burn a lot smoother, but the carbon footprint would be virtually the same.
Moose and Squirrel, your source for Mojave space news!
Which one are you — Moose, or Squirrel?


text:
Kevin Brennan: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mrs. Annette L. Brooke (Mid-Dorset and North Poole): Will my hon. Friend give way.
Mr. Webb: I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman and then to my hon. Friend.
Kevin Brennan: I shall be grateful when the hon. Gentleman eventually answers the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) as to whether it is the policy of Liberal Democrats—the Tories' little helpers tonight—to link the pension to earnings over time.
Mr. Webb: Earnings indexation of perhaps a couple of per cent. a year more than inflation—[Interruption.] Of course we do not know what it would be, but we have to make an assumption. If that figure were added to a pension of, say, £75 a week, that would be £1.50 a week in the first year. I am talking about a rise proposed in our manifesto not of £1.50 but of £10 a week, and the £2 billion that the Government are spending would be another £15 a week on top of that. That is vastly in excess of earnings indexation.
We are not proposing across-the-board earnings indexation—we did not in our manifesto and we are not tonight. We are proposing something that goes much further, and would achieve what the hon. Member for
Birmingham, Selly Oak referred to for the over-75s. I freely admit that that would not apply to all pensioners. One reason why that is so difficult is the chasm that the Government have opened up between the basic pension and the means test. There is a huge and growing chasm, and our priority is to get the pension up, particularly for the over-75s, to the level of the means test. The critical advantage is that people's savings would not be taxed at 40 per cent., as the Bill proposes—it would not be taxed at all. They would get the full benefit, and that is the real incentive to save.
There is one other incentive to save built into our proposals and the amendment.
Mr. Dismore: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Webb: I did promise to give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment, and also to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Mrs. Brooke) but let me first pursue this point.
Suppose that, as the hon. Member for Hamilton, South said, someone cannot afford to save a lot, but can save a small amount. At the age of 65, if they convert that money into an annuity, it has to last the rest of their life. The insurance company has to cover itself against the possibility that that person will live to 90 or 95, so annuity rates are very poor at present. However, if that annuity had to last someone of 65 not for the rest of their life but until they were 75, at which point a decent basic pension at the rates we are talking about cut in, it would be worth double what could be bought under the present system. Instead of people saving and then buying an inadequate annuity that would not lift them clear of the means test—in which case they would not bother—they would have the opportunity to save for an annuity of twice the size. That is another savings incentive built into this scheme.
Mr. Dismore rose—
Mr. Webb: First I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole.
Mrs. Brooke: I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. Does he agree that the very best way to help pensioners is to have a system that is clear, easy to understand and sufficiently generous? Labour Members claim that if the Bill is not supported tonight, pensioners will suffer, but the Government are not proposing the best way in which to help our pensioners, particularly the most vulnerable.
Mr. Webb: My hon. Friend is right. The sums that we are talking about, added to the basic pension for the over-75s, would make a real difference and would give thousands and thousands of pensioners the opportunity to be clear of means-testing altogether.
Mr. Webb: In a moment.
I can guarantee Labour Members that, given the choice between tapers, thresholds and credits or a decent pension, I know which every one of my constituents would want.
Mr. Darling: Some time I must find time to visit the academic institution from which the hon. Gentleman
comes—he seems to be making up his policy on the hoof. Can he explain one thing to me? He says that by taking the £2 billion from the pension credit and adding it to another £3 billion that has been conjured up from somewhere—we know not where—he would tell the over-75s, "Have another £15 a week." I understand that part of his argument, but what does he say to someone who is 67 and is poor?
Mr. Webb: As the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) said, we all agree that there must be a continuing role for a safety net. There is no disputing that—there must be a continuing role for means-testing. I hesitate to use a new Labour phrase, but we are talking about whether means-testing should be for the few and not for the many. That is the difference between us.
Mr. Webb: Yes, the hon. Gentleman has been very patient.
Mr. Dismore: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way to me at last. Under his theory, a millionaire in Mill Hill would get an extra £25 a week but someone on minimum income guarantee in Burnt Oak in my constituency, where half the people are on means-tested benefits, would not get one penny more—even though the paperwork might be clearer. How can the hon. Gentleman justify giving so much more money to people who do not need it while the people who really need it do not get a penny more because they are on minimum income guarantee?
Mr. Webb: The hon. Gentleman has not been paying attention. The minimum income guarantee does not come under the Bill, so rejecting it will not take a penny off his pensioners who claim the minimum income guarantee. They would continue getting whatever they got under the previous arrangements. The millionaires in his constituency pay 40 per cent. tax so we would claw that back from the richest pensioners.
Mr. Webb: Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would do me the honour of listening to my reply before he intervenes again.
What does the hon. Gentleman have to say to the one in three pensioners in his constituency who have been promised largesse by the Government but will not claim it because the system is so complicated? That is the question that he has to answer.
We have heard that this is means-testing with a human face. People aged between 60 and 65 will be subject to means-testing, as at present, every week. Any change in circumstances has to be reported, so for 60 to 64-year-olds, it is business as usual. However, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central referred to the over-60s. The savings credit does not apply to the over-60s. Hundreds of thousands of women will have heard the Secretary of State saying on television or on radio that the Government want to reward thrifty
pensioners. Some 62-year-old women might think of themselves as pensioners and they might think of themselves as thrifty, but the Secretary of State does not count them until they are 65. That is another group missing out on the Government's proposals.
As for whether these measures are an incentive to save, the House does not have to take my word for it. The Pension Provision Group is an organisation set up by the Secretary of State's predecessor, consisting of the great and the good of the pension world, to provide independent expert advice on pensions. The group, to which the Government apparently listen, said of the pension credit:
"The Government's wish to reward savers through the Pension Credit scheme could have the unintended effect of reducing . . . the amounts some people save."
Help the Aged said:
"In terms of promoting independence and dignity . . . a Pension Credit is no substitute for a decent state pension."
The Minister was quite rude about Age Concern although he has representatives of the organisation on his taskforces. I do not know what they think about that. Age Concern says:
"For future pensioners, we are not convinced that the Credit, as proposed, is likely to do a great deal in terms of encouraging people to save".
That is what it is for—it is the only reason why it is in the Bill.
The Government have been known to speak well of the IPPR, which said:
"In theory, the Government strategy has some merit"—
I love a good theory, and I bet the scheme looks very good on a whiteboard at the Department of Work and Pensions, but—
"In practice, it falls short of eliminating pensioner poverty and providing an environment whereby people can understand their entitlements, save and be rewarded for doing so."
The theory is lovely. The bar charts look great. The practice falls short.
We have been told that people will be reassessed only every five years, so that is all right, but it is not all right if they get worse off in those five years. Let us suppose, hypothetically, that their Railtrack shares are worth less—or worthless. Their capital falls, so their imputed income falls and their entitlement rises. They have to make a fresh claim to get all the money that they are entitled to.
The Secretary of State said that pensioners' circumstances do not change much—but if they have investments or the husband dies, they do. Earnings can fluctuate in retirement. The idea that people will be reassessed once every five years and be left alone between times is a myth.
If the Secretary of State wants to intervene to tell us what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who will have to claim again within the five-year period, I will be delighted to give way, but of course the Government have made no such estimate. This will not work in practice.


Calories are very important when it comes to changing your body! Most people generally are underestimating calories by 40-60%… so if you think you're eating 1200 calories, you're more likely nearer to 2000! It's an easy thing to get totally wrong. Watch your calories, even as a start point, remember to include everything from drinks (including alcohol), vegetables and even the sneaky few little snacks here and there. Everything adds up, and if you have an idea of where you are now it will make things a lot easier!
The weather is already improving and the sun is starting to shine again. Get up and out! You don't need to be down the gym straight away, it can be as simple as a 30 minute walk. Exercise is great for your well being, you'll get that feel good factor… as well as that you'll be burning off calories, WIN WIN!
Everything you do has a plan. To buy your first home you have a money saving plan. To get a promotion or new job you take steps to work towards the requirements. So why would you not use a plan when it comes to your own body? Why would you just throw everything all at once and hope something sticks? You need to treat your body with the same patience and plan steps each week, for example… exercise 4 days a week, eat 2 extra portions of veg a day, and have no alcohol for the week. Tick all the boxes and watch how easily the changes come! It can be just 5 little steps that add up to big results.
Doing it alone can be really tough, it can make a huge difference by having others around you for support. Here at The Lodge we are very lucky that not only do our clients become good friends, but they also support and motivate each other, its awesome! So having other like minded people with you such as friends and family can make it a lot easier to work together to succeed!
Big crash diets, juicing diets or any extreme dieting will inevitably lead to weight gain at a shocking rate after you have finished. Throwing everything at changing your body and rushing to get the results, I understand why people may want to do it but you need to take steps to slow it down so you can get the results you say you want. Start off with the simple exercise and consistent healthy diet – full of fresh fruits and veg, plenty of protein, good carbs and healthy fats. Dieting can be simple you don't need to add in different weird and wonderful methods… just be consistent!