via youtube.com
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Benjamin Cossel: San Diego Police Cite Marine Corps Vet for Carrying American Flag
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Police have cited Iraq war veteran Marine Lance Cpl. John Canter for carrying an American flag at Civic Center Plaza, home to the Occupy San Diego movement.
At approximately 9:40 p.m. on Dec. 22, Canter was cited under an obscure municipal code, section 53.30, which prohibits certain items at protests and other such events.
San Diego municipal code section 53.30 states: "No person shall carry or possess while participating in any demonstration, rally, picket line or public assembly any metal stake, club, or pipe, or any length of lumber, wood, or lath, unless that wooden object is 1/4'' or less in thickness. and 2" or less in width. If not generally rectangular in shape, such wooden object shall not exceed 1/2" in its thickest dimension."
In an interview with signonsandiego.com, San Diego Police Department assistant chief Boyd Long said officers could tell the flag pole was larger than regulations allowed.
"I don't know that it takes an expert to make a determination on what is or isn't thicker than one-half of an inch," Long said. "They got back to the station. They did measure it. It was three-quarters of an inch thick. So it is in violation."
Canter said he was in shock when they told him he couldn't carry the flag. "I have never in my life been told I couldn't carry an American flag. It's clear they were just looking for a reason to cite me specifically, as a veteran," Canter said.
Canter elaborated that many members of the Occupy San Diego movement appreciate the presence of veterans at the occupation of Civic Center Plaza and look to veterans of the community as a source of strength and pride. Canter, who served in the Al Anbar province of Iraq from April 2007 to November 2007, is a regular at the plaza in his Marine Corps desert combat uniform.
"The cops saw this as a chance to say 'we're not afraid to go after a veteran,'" the young Marine said. "It was a chance for them to say 'we're in charge.'"
Following the incident, calls went out on the Occupy San Diego Facebook page for an impromptu rally to, as described by rally organizers, take the American flag back from SDPD.
At 4 p.m., Dec. 23, protestors from Occupy San Diego, Veterans for Peace and MoveOn.org rallied at the corners of 4th Avenue and B Street in downtown San Diego. Nearly all of the protestors, numbering more than 70, carried American flags on illegal sized poles while others draped the flag around their necks.
"I was really surprised by the number of people that came out for this," said Canter, who led the march. "We had already planned a rally in support of Occupy Egypt for later that evening but to see this many people come out for the flag was really inspiring."
Reflecting back on his time in Iraq, Canter said he and his fellow Marines often looked to the flag as a source of pride and something they could rally around.
"It's really important to me," he said of the American flag, "especially when you're away in a foreign country, to see the flag and be reminded of what America -- at least used to -- stand for."
Canter clarified that while the flag is being held under his name by the San Diego Police, it actually belongs to Occupy San Diego, having been given to the group as a gift.
After nearly an hour protesting at Civic Center plaza, protestors marched nearly five blocks to the San Diego Federal Courthouse for a solidarity rally in support of the Occupy Egypt movement.
Since the Occupy San Diego movement began in early October, nearly 139 protestors have been arrested. Charges have been brought against only 29 of those arrested.
Earlier that same evening of Canter's citation, another protestor was arrested for lighting a bundle of sage in celebration of the Winter Solstice.
Benjamin Cossel is a San Diego writer; this is his first piece for Off the Bus. If you would like to contribute as a citizen journalist to the Huffington Post's coverage of American political life, please contact us at www.offthebus.org.
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Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd made brazen sexual overtures to actress, Gloria Allred's letter claims - San Jose Mercury News
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd made brazen sexual overtures to actress, Gloria Allred's letter claims
Posted: 12/29/2011 04:02:33 PM PSTUpdated: 12/29/2011 04:05:28 PM PST
Click photo to enlargeOracle President Mark Hurd speaks during the Oracle OpenWorld Keynote in San... ( Jeff Chiu )Former Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd made repeated, unwanted sexual overtures -- including a brief kiss, touching and requests to spend the night -- to the woman whose harassment allegation led to Hurd's ouster from HP, according to the letter that celebrity attorney Gloria Allred prepared on the woman's behalf.
Hurd also acknowledged having other mistresses and bragged of his popularity with women, including the singer Sheryl Crow, during a series of overtures that left part-time marketing contractor Jodie Fisher feeling "violated, used and disregarded," according to the letter Allred sent to Hurd in June 2010. Details of the letter, which was obtained by this newspaper, have not been previously reported.
But Fisher, whose previous career included acting in racy films and appearing in a short-lived reality TV show, also issued a statement in August 2010 that said her attorney's letter contained unspecified inaccuracies. And Fisher followed up her meetings with Hurd, during which the alleged overtures took place, by sending a series of enthusiastic emails to Hurd that didn't mention any improprieties or concerns, according to an internal HP investigation.
Hurd's sudden resignation from HP in August 2010 was a Silicon Valley
bombshell from which the shockwaves are still rippling. The 54-year-old Hurd, who is married and now a president at tech rival Oracle (ORCL), had been widely praised for building HP into a tech industry powerhouse. The Palo Alto company has been on a roller-coaster of successive upheavals since he left.AdvertisementFisher dropped her claim of sexual harassment after Hurd paid her an undisclosed sum. Both parties denied ever having sex. HP said in 2010 that its own investigation found no basis for the harassment claim, although the company also said the probe found Hurd showed poor judgment and was responsible for expense account inaccuracies involving dinners with Fisher.
Since then, Allred's letter has been the subject of widespread speculation, and litigation, as attorneys for Hurd and for investors suing HP have battled over whether it should be made public.
The letter also contains a potentially explosive allegation, which this newspaper has previously reported, that Hurd told Fisher in advance about then-secret negotiations for HP to buy the tech services company EDS in a $13.9 billion deal. The allegation reportedly prompted a review by federal regulators, although no evidence surfaced publicly to indicate anyone used or profited from the advance information.
Evaluating the allegations leveled by Allred is difficult, because the attorney and her client have never said which points in her original letter were untrue. It's also unclear if the emails sent by Fisher are a direct contradiction of her claims, or if she simply was following through on what Allred has described as an attempt to hold onto her job while struggling to keep the relationship with her boss on an appropriate basis.
Both Allred and attorneys for Hurd have argued to keep the eight-page letter confidential. After Allred sent the letter to Hurd, he promptly turned it over to HP's top attorney. HP later surrendered it to a lawyer for an HP shareholder, and a Delaware court ruled Thursday that the letter should be made public, with a few sentences blacked out to protect the privacy of Hurd's family.
The letter contains numerous salacious details, in keeping with Allred's stated intention of impressing on Hurd that he should resolve the claim rather than let it proceed to a formal lawsuit. Allred has handled similar claims against a variety of well-known figures, including the golfer Tiger Woods.
"You had seen Ms. Fisher on the NBC television show 'Age of Love' that she appeared on in May/June 2007 and were quite taken with her," the attorney wrote to Hurd on June 24, 2010, adding that this was apparently the reason Hurd's executive assistant contacted Fisher's agent to recruit her for a job appearing with Hurd at high-end conferences with big HP customers.
Based on ensuing events, Allred added, "it is clear you had designs to make her your lover from the onset, using your status and authority as CEO of HP."
The letter claims Hurd first asked Fisher to spend the night in his hotel room after they appeared together at an HP sales conference in Atlanta in 2007. According to her attorney, Fisher had already become uncomfortable when the two had dinner together -- as arranged by Hurd's assistant -- and Hurd said he wanted to show Fisher some documents in his hotel room.
Fisher had misgivings but went to the room, where Hurd sat next to her and twice touched her breast with his hand, according to Allred's letter. When Fisher said something about the touching, the letter claims Hurd apologized and laughed it off.
When Hurd subsequently asked her to spend the night, the letter says, Fisher was "horrified" but "tried to be low key" in her refusal, because she didn't want to lose her job.
A few weeks later, Fisher sent Hurd one of several emails that did not mention any improprieties. "Great to see you," she wrote in the subject line, according to documents obtained by this newspaper, which indicate that Fisher also wrote that she was "looking forward" to the next event in St. Louis.
Allred's letter, however, describes a similar "uncomfortable dance" over the next several months, as Hurd allegedly shared a variety of personal information and made further overtures to Fisher. The letter says Fisher had dinner on additional occasions with Hurd, at the invitation of Hurd's assistant. Allred characterizes Fisher's stance as attempting to stay on good terms with Hurd without crossing a line into illicit behavior.
Hurd declined comment on the letter, through a spokesman, on Thursday. His attorney, Amy Wintersheimer, released a brief statement on the Delaware court's decision to make the letter public.
"We requested the court keep the letter confidential because, as Ms. Fisher has acknowledged, it is filled with inaccuracies. The truth is, there never was any sexual harassment, which HP's investigation confirmed, and there never was any sexual relationship, which Ms. Fisher has confirmed," Wintersheimer said.
An HP spokesman also declined comment on the court decision, as did Allred. Oracle senior vice president Ken Glueck said in a brief statement: "This letter was recanted by Ms. Fisher. She admitted it was full of inaccuracies."
As previously reported, Fisher wrote Hurd a letter on Aug. 5, 2010, after receiving an undisclosed payment to settle her claim. Without offering specifics, that letter said: "there are many inaccuracies in the details of the June 24, 2010 letter. I do not believe that any of your behavior was detrimental to HP or in any way injured the company or its reputation."
A spokeswoman for shareholder attorney Greg Del Gaizo, who sought to make the June 2010 letter public as part of his lawsuit against HP, said in a statement: "We are pleased with the Supreme Court's decision and will continue to fight for transparency and accountability at public companies on behalf of shareholders."
The letter prompted a falling out between Hurd and HP's board, which forced his ouster on Aug. 6, 2010. HP's stock plunged nearly 10 percent, and didn't recover until months after the company named German software executive Leo Apotheker as Hurd's replacement.
But Apotheker's tenure was itself brief and tumultuous. HP's stock sank even further after he repeatedly lowered earnings forecasts, then negotiated a high-priced software acquisition and unexpectedly announced the company was exploring whether to spin off its flagship personal computer business.
HP's board, which included several members who joined after Hurd left, ultimately fired Apotheker and named valley veteran Meg Whitman as CEO in September.
Hurd's ouster, however, also escalated a growing feud between HP and Oracle, a rival tech giant whose founder, Larry Ellison, publicly lambasted HP for pushing Hurd out and quickly hired Hurd as a co-president at Oracle.
HP is also still battling a series of shareholder lawsuits filed over the company's handling of Hurd's departure, including the board's decision to let Hurd leave with a multimillion-dollar severance package in spite of his alleged behavior.
While many analysts have praised Whitman's initial efforts to get HP back on track, the company's stock closed Monday at $25.62 -- a far cry from the levels above $46 where it was trading before Hurd's departure.
via mercurynews.com
How America And The Mainstream Media Got Breitbarted On NDAA December 18, 2011 - By Jason Easley and Sarah Jones
An edited video of Carl Levin claiming that Obama wanted the language in the NDAA caused outrage among many Americans, but the full Levin video reveals the opposite.
The YouTube video claimed to be proof that Obama is going to sign a citizen imprisonment law:
However, in the first 30 minutes of the debate Sen. Levin stated that the NDAA provisions do not apply to US citizens:
Hours prior to the YouTube proof video Sen. Levin stated on the Senate floor that the Obama administration requested that the provision be changed so that it does not apply to American citizens, but he explained the provision wasn’t changed because it already didn’t apply to American citizens, “The administration officials reviewed the draft language for this provision the day before our markup and recommended additional changes. We were able to accommodate those recommendations, except for the administration request that the provision apply only to detainees who are captured overseas. There is a good reason for that. But even here, the difference is relatively modest, because the provision already excludes all U.S. citizens. It also excludes all lawful residents of the United States, except to the extent permitted by the Constitution. The only covered persons left are those who are illegally in this country or who arrive as tourists or on some other short-term basis, and that is a small remaining category, but an important one, because it includes the terrorists who clandestinely arrive in the United States with the objective of attacking military or other targets here.”
People need to stop believing everything they read from certain pundits and every claim made in a two minute video.
Yes, NDAA was poorly written originally and even after the changes is a crappy bill; it was written in the Senate Armed Services Committee (McCain/Graham- hello), and as such is a nod to Republican authoritarian stances of the Bush administration. It was co-authored by a Democrat, whom many saw in the above shortened video from C-SPAN claiming the President had asked for “this language”.
Of course, the President did not ask for this language, and this is a matter of record, see the November Senate Armed Services Committee mark up of their original NDAA bill referred to by Levin with objections from Obama:
The new bill would also clarify a number of provisions addressing detainee matters in an effort to address concerns raised by the Administration and others. As requested by the Administration, the new bill would clarify that the section providing detention authority does not expand the existing authority to detain under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Force and make Guantanamo- related restrictions one-year requirements instead of permanent restrictions.
The new bill would also modify a provision requiring military custody of al Qaeda members who attack the United States (subject to a national security waiver) to clarify the President’s authority to decide who makes determinations of coverage, how they are made, and when they are made. As modified, the provision makes it clear that these determinations will not interfere with any ongoing law enforcement operations or interrogations. Under the modified provision, the Executive Branch has the flexibility to keep a covered detainee in civilian custody pursuant to a national security determination, or to transfer a military detainee for trial in the civilian courts. The Administration agreed to have military custody apply to al Qaeda members captured outside the United States (subject to a national security waiver) but disagrees with the committee decision not to preclude the application of the provision inside the United States.
You might be wondering why the video was edited to lead you to believe that he did. That’s a great question.
You might also be asking yourself if the same people who were so willing to believe the author of the bill, Carl Levin, will be as willing to believe Levin’s full statement, in which he clearly says that the President did not want this language.
Had Obama not objected to the language, we would be stuck with the original bill since 83 senators voted yes on the original bill which also passed through the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously.
People should be asking themselves about the agenda behind not holding the authors of the bill and indeed the Senate accountable for the language in this bill, as it is the same Senate who refused to fund Obama’s executive order to close Gitmo. We note their attempt to run an end-game around Obama’s push for civilian courts and their attempt to slide in permanent changes to restrictions regarding Gitmo. The President objected to those permanent changes.
One would think that anyone who cared about the issue of closing Gitmo would be up in arms at the Senators’ attempt to use a funding bill to get around Obama’s attempts to get around their refusal to fund the closure of Gitmo.
We are in no way defending NDAA. However, the language was changed, and when taken in total (instead of parsed), courtesy of Mother Jones:
It does not, contrary to what many media outlets have reported, authorize the president to indefinitely detain without trial an American citizen suspected of terrorism who is captured in the US. A last minute compromise amendment adopted in the Senate, whose language was retained in the final bill, leaves it up to the courts to decide if the president has that power, should a future president try to exercise it. But if a future president does try to assert the authority to detain an American citizen without charge or trial, it won’t be based on the authority in this bill….
The language in the bill that relates to the detention authority as far as US citizens and permanent residents are concerned is, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.”
The bill is still rotten. It takes us in the wrong direction, moving us toward the militarization rather than the civilian courts this President and the majority of the American people desire. The bill represents the Republican approach to national security; one that the American people soundly rejected in 2008. Luckily the President got the language changed, because even if he chose to veto it, it would be for naught, as the Senate had 83 votes for it and it takes only 67 to override a Presidential veto.
In the House the first NDAA vote was 322-96. The final vote was 283-136 with 43 Republicans voting no. If Obama would have vetoed and 35 of those 43 Republicans flipped to yes, the House would have had the votes to override a presidential veto.
The real focus should be on why this bill was written in this way in the first place, when we the people were very clear about wanting civilian trials, and this president has been clear about his desire to close Gitmo.
In the meantime, we urge you to watch the entire C-SPAN video of Levin, lest we all be Breitbarted, because it matters that we are all clear on exactly who is trying to take our country in the wrong direction.
via politicususa.com
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF)
The Congo Basin Forest Fund was launched in June 2008 with a grant of £100 million from the governments of the UK and Norway to develop the capacity of the people and institutions of the Congo Basin to preserve and manage their forests.
via cbf-fund.org
BBC News - Syria 'releases 755 detained during unrest'
28 December 2011 Last updated at 14:20Syria 'releases 755 detained during unrest'
In November, Syria's government announced it had freed 1,180 prisoners
Syrian state TV says the authorities have released 755 people detained during the nine-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
The prisoners had been involved "in recent incidents" but their "hands were not stained with blood", a report said.
The UN says more than 14,000 people are in detention and 5,000 have been killed as a result of the state's crackdown.
All detained protesters should be freed under a peace plan of the Arab League, whose monitors are now visiting Syria.
The head of the observer mission earlier described the situation in the restive central city of Homs as "reassuring".
The comments came despite reports that security forces had used live fire to disperse tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday.
'Subterfuge'The state TV news flash announcing the prisoner release on Wednesday said only that those affected "did not have Syrian blood on their hands". It did not mention where the protesters were arrested or detained.
In November, the government announced that it had freed 1,180 prisoners, citing similar conditions.
Continue reading the main storySyria deaths
- More than 5,000 civilians have been killed, says the UN
- UN denied access to Syria
- Information gathered from NGOs, sources in Syria and Syrian nationals who have fled
- The death toll is compiled as a list of names which the UN cross-references
- Vast majority of casualties were unarmed, but the figure may include armed defectors
- Tally does not include serving members of the security forces
Source: UN's OHCHR
But earlier this month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said tens of thousands of people had been arrested and more than 14,000 were reported to be in detention as a result of the crackdown.
Human rights activists believe as many as 40,000 people are being held.
Ms Pillay also said she had evidence that Syrian security forces had committed crimes against humanity against the civilian population, including acts of killings, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, imprisonment, or other forms of severe deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch accused the Syrian authorities of hiding hundreds of detainees in military installations, which the observers are not permitted to visit.
A Syrian security officer in Homs told the New York-based group that after the government signed the Arab League protocol authorising the observer mission, between 400 and 500 prisoners were moved out of his facility to other places of detention, including at a nearby missile factory.
"Syria's subterfuge makes it essential for the Arab League to draw clear lines regarding access to detainees, and be willing to speak out when those lines are crossed," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch Middle East director.
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says Wednesday's prisoner release announcement is a relatively small gesture by the government to give the appearance that it is co-operating with the Arab League.
'Nothing frightening'The Arab League monitors were in Homs again on Wednesday, and heading to three other centres of unrest - the nearby city of Hama, the north-western province of Idlib, and the southern province of Deraa, where the uprising began.
The protesters in Homs urged the Arab observers to be more outspoken
One resident of the Baba Amr district in Homs told Reuters that activists had refused to meet the monitors because they would not give up their Syrian army escort.
On Tuesday, Syrian security forces, which had reportedly been pounding several residential areas in Homs with artillery, eased off before the observers arrived and pulled some tanks off the streets.
But when tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, tear gas and live fire were used to disperse them, despite the fact that under the peace plan, all military forces are supposed to be withdrawn and peaceful demonstrations permitted.
Video footage said to be from Hama on Wednesday showed what appeared to be protesters running away from security forces as black smoke rises in the background.
Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people across Syria on Tuesday, including six in Homs. One group, the Local Co-ordination Committees, put the death toll at 42, including 17 in Homs and seven in Hama.
Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify from Syria as most foreign media are banned from reporting.
Despite the reported violence, the head of the observer mission, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi, told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday: "The situation seemed reassuring so far.
"There were some places where the situation was not good," he said. "But there wasn't anything frightening, at least while we were there. Things were calm and there were no clashes.
"We did not see tanks but we did see some armoured vehicles."
Our correspondent says Gen Dabi was clearly reserving judgement and that the small number of Arab League monitors means it is virtually impossible to keep tabs on everything happening in such a big country.
Are you in Syria? Did you witness the gunfire and shelling? Send us your account of what happened using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
via bbc.co.uk
BBC News - Air Jordan release sparks stampedes at stores across US
23 December 2011 Last updated at 22:24Air Jordan release sparks stampedes at stores across US
Police officers were called in to break up fights and restore order at the Carolina Place Mall in North Carolina
Continue reading the main storyRelated Stories
Rowdy scenes have broken out at stores across the US as shoppers jostled to lay their hands on Nike's new shoe.
There was disorder from California to Georgia as shoppers vied to buy a retro version of a classic Air Jordan model.
A new pair costs about $180 (£115), but they are already being listed on eBay for as much as $605.
The ugly scenes recalled the violence that broke out in the early 1990s on streets across America as the shoes became popular targets for thieves.
In the early hours of Friday, police used pepper spray on about 20 customers who started fighting at a mall in suburban Seattle, Washington state, as they queued to buy the black-and-white Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords.
GunfireOne man was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer.
"He did not get his shoes. He went to jail," Officer Mike Murphy said.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Mike Murphy Police OfficerThere were a lot of hostile and disorderly people”
He added: "It was not a nice, orderly group of shoppers. There were a lot of hostile and disorderly people."
In other disturbances:
- At least four people were arrested after customers broke down a door at a store selling the shoes in Lithonia, Georgia
- There was an attempted robbery on a victim who was mistakenly believed to have just bought the shoes in Stockton, California
- About 100 shoppers forced their way into a shopping centre in Taylor, Michigan
- A gunshot rang out as shoppers queued in Richmond, California, although no injuries were reported
- Disorder was also reported in Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Omaha, Nebraska
A spokesperson for Nike was not immediately available to comment.
The original Air Jordan created a subculture of collectors who rarely wore the sneaker but were willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair.
via bbc.co.uk
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Google Gmail doesn't meet LAPD security needs
No surprise that the government of the nation's second-largest city got cold feet when it came to trusting sensitive law enforcement email to the cloud. It is, however, an indictment that may delay other enterprises from accepting public cloud-based email.
After months of rumors and conjecture, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to exclude some 13,000 criminal justice organization users from Google's highly-touted revamping of the city's email system.
The problem?
Google's cloud-based productivity suite -- Google Apps -- doesn't meet the L.A. Police Department's (LAPD) stringent security requirements. Other law enforcement agencies affected by the decision include the city attorney's office, the L.A. Fire Department and the city's department of transportation. Instead, those users will remain on the city's aging on-premises Novell GroupWise system.
Another 17,000 L.A. city employees will continue to use Gmail. In fact, the city legislative analyst and administrative officer said in a joint letter to the council that "the city has realized significant staff and hardware savings as a result of migrating to Google."
Google started out too cheap. Delivering secure email in the cloud is being done today, so it can be done -- but it can't be done cheaply.Rob Enderle, principal analyst, Enderle Group
For its part, Google tried to remain focused on the bright side when it claimed that L.A. taxpayers have saved at least $2 million already on users that have switched to Gmail. At the same time, the company did a little griping over the outcome, asserting that the city didn't raise the security requirements for law enforcement bodies until after the initial contract was signed.
Indeed, the joint letter to the council agreed that existing security "regulations are currently incompatible with cloud computing."
No cloud is good enough
Is Google just whining about having its contract rewritten after the deal was signed or does this mean that no cloud email security is tight enough for the LAPD and city attorney's office?In fact, the city also has to meet state and federal security standards, including the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Justice Information Services Security Policy, which has been an issue from almost the start.
L.A. signed the $7.2 million contract with Google and its implementation partner Computer Sciences Corp. in late 2009 in a high-profile win against Microsoft -- but the deal ran into trouble early on over security concerns for law enforcement information.
Despite Google's protests, however, at least one analyst calls that position "a cop out."
"Google started out too cheap," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the San Jose-based Enderle Group. "Delivering secure email in the cloud is being done today, so it can be done -- but it can't be done cheaply."
Stuart Johnston is Senior News Writer for SearchCloudComputing.com. Contact him at sjohnston@techtarget.com.Related Topics: Public cloud computing services, VIEW ALL TAGS
Syria: Detainees Hidden From International Monitors | Human Rights Watch
Arab League Should Demand Access to All Sites Used for Detention
Syria has shown it will stop at nothing to undermine independent monitoring of its crackdown. Syria’s subterfuge makes it essential for the Arab League to draw clear lines regarding access to detainees, and be willing to speak out when those lines are crossed.
(New York) – Syrian authorities have transferred perhaps hundreds of detainees to off-limits military sites to hide them from Arab League monitors now in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The Arab League should insist on full access to all Syrian sites used for detention, consistent with its agreement with the Syrian government.
The Syrian foreign minister, Walid Moallem, was quoted in the Independent on December 21, 2011, saying that the international monitors would be free to move around the country “under the protection” of the government but would not be permitted to visit certain “sensitive” military sites.
“Syria has shown it will stop at nothing to undermine independent monitoring of its crackdown,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Syria’s subterfuge makes it essential for the Arab League to draw clear lines regarding access to detainees, and be willing to speak out when those lines are crossed.”A Syrian security officer in Homs told Human Rights Watch that after the government signed the Arab League protocol on December 19 he received orders from his prison director to assist with an irregular detainee transfer. He estimated that on December 21 and 22 approximately 400 to 600 detainees were moved out of his detention facility to other places of detention.
“The transfers happened in installments,” the official said. “Some detainees were moved in civilian jeeps and some in cargo trucks. My role was inside the prison, gathering the detainees and putting them in the cars. My orders from the prison director were to move the important detainees out.”
He said that officials who accompanied the detainees out of the facility told him they were being taken to a military missile factory in Zaidal, just outside of Homs.The security officer’s account was corroborated by other witnesses. Human Rights Watch spoke with a detainee who said that a transfer of other detainees took place from the Military Security detention facility in Homs on the night of December 19.
The detainee told Human Rights Watch, “There were about 150 [detainees]. They took them out around 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning. These guys were in detention the longest. Not criminals, but people who worked with journalists, or were defectors, or involved in protests.”
A Homs resident told Human Rights Watch that he saw heavily guarded cargo trucks leaving the Central Prison and the Military Security detention facility in Homs on December 20. The level of security led him to believe that detainees were being transported out of the facilities, he said.
Another Homs resident told Human Rights Watch that heavily guarded buses were going into the military barracks for Division 18 and a section of Division 4 in the al-Wa’aer al-Qadeem neighborhood of Homs from December 20 through December 22. The high level of security surrounding the buses’ movement led him to believe that they were transporting detainees into the barracks, he said.
The terms of the protocol signed by the Syrian government and the Arab League make clear that the monitors should have full access to places detainees are being held. On the basis of the protocol, the Arab League monitors should have access to the military missile factory and all other sites where detainees might be held, Human Rights Watch said.
The Syrian security officer interviewed by Human Rights Watch also said that the government is issuing police identification cards to military officials. Human Rights Watch is in possession of a document that appears to be from the Syrian Defense Ministry ordering the transfer of personnel from the Defense Ministry to the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, and deploying them to areas where the military currently serves “to avoid disorder.”
Providing police IDs to military personnel violates the Arab League initiative, which calls on the Syrian government to withdraw armed forces from cities and residential areas, Human Rights Watch said.
“Dressing soldiers in police uniforms does not meet the Arab League call to withdraw the army,” Whitson said. “The Arab League needs to cut through Syrian government deception by pushing for full access to anywhere Syria is holding detainees.”
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Great British Property Scandal launches - Shelter England
59% of renters don’t believe they will ever be able to afford to buy a home 76% of British adults say they agree that Britain is in a housing crisis 63% say they do not believe that housing will become more affordable over the next two years.
Beckstrom's law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In economics, Beckstrom's law is a model or theorem formulated by Rod Beckstrom. It purports to answer "the decades old question of 'how valuable is a network.'" According to its creator, it can be used to value any network be it social networks, electronic networks, support groups and even the Internet as a whole. To read a white paper explaining the law and mathematics in detail, please see Economics of Networks. This new model values the network by looking from the edge of the network at all of the transactions conducted and the value added to each.
It states that one way to contemplate the value the network adds to each transaction is to imagine the network being shut off and what the additional transactions costs or loss would be. It can thus be compared to the value of a pizza delivery service offered to its customers. If the pizza delivery service shut down, then the social value generated by its deliveries declines, and people will either go hungry or elsewhere.
Beckstrom's Law differs from Metcalfe's law, Reed's law and other concepts that proposed that the value of a network was based purely on the size of the network, and in Metcalfe's law, one other variable.
In words:
- The value of a network equals the net value added to each user’s transactions conducted through that network, summed over all users.
[edit] Beckstrom’s law as an explicit economic model
The net present value V of any network j to any individual i is equal to the sum of the net present value of the benefit of all transactions less the net present value of the costs of all transactions on the network over any given period of time t, as shown in the following equation. The value of the entire network is the summary of the value to all users, who are defined as all parties doing transactions on that network.
where:
= value of a network j to all users
Vi,j = net present value of all transactions to user i with respect to network j, over any time period
i = identifies one user of the network
j = identifies one network
k = identifies one transaction
Bi,j,k = the benefit value of transaction k to individual i with respect to network j
Ci,j,k = the cost of transaction k to individual i with respect to network j
rk = the discount rate of interest to the time of transaction k
tk = the elapsed time in years to transaction k
n = number of individuals
m = number of transactions
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Beckstrom's Law & The Economics Of Networks – ICANN
- Economics of networks Rod Beckstrom National Cybersecurity Center Department of homeland security
- 2008 Black Hat Keynote Rod Beckstrom director-NCSC-DHS
- Cybersecurity is hampered by a lack of understanding about the physics and economics of the networks we are trying to defend
- Value Network Analysis
- How To Value Your Networks
- The New Laws of Intranet ROI
- Beckstrom's Law
- Twenty-two power laws of the emerging social economy
via en.wikipedia.org
Metcalfe's law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metcalfe's law
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Two telephones can make only one connection, five can make 10 connections, and twelve can make 66 connections.Metcalfe's law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n2). First formulated in this form by George Gilder in 1993,[1] and attributed to Robert Metcalfe in regard to Ethernet, Metcalfe's law was originally presented, circa 1980, not in terms of users, but rather of "compatible communicating devices" (for example, fax machines, telephones, etc.)[2] Only more recently with the launch of the internet did this law carry over to users and networks as its original intent was to describe Ethernet purchases and connections.[3] The law is also very much related to economics and business management, especially with competitive companies looking to merge with one another.
Contents
[hide][edit] Network effects
Metcalfe's law characterizes many of the network effects of communication technologies and networks such as the Internet, social networking, and the World Wide Web. Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Reed Hundt, said that this law gives the most understanding to the workings of the internet.[4] Metcalfe's Law is related to the fact that the number of unique connections in a network of a number of nodes (n) can be expressed mathematically as the triangular number n(n − 1)/2, which is proportional to n2 asymptotically. Websites and blogs such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace are the most prominent modern example of Metcalfe's Law. Forty five percent of Americans in 2005 said the internet had played a huge role in a major decision in their life as a result of this social networking.[5] Some of the major decisions involved buying a home, buying a car, inquiring medical help, and discovering a career. Interconnecting two networks is said to greatly exceed the power of the two separate, individual networks.
The law has often been illustrated using the example of fax machines: a single fax machine is useless, but the value of every fax machine increases with the total number of fax machines in the network, because the total number of people with whom each user may send and receive documents increases. Goods characterize the first component or intrinsic network effect. Services fall under the second component of network effects known as complementary.[6] A social networking site works the same way as the fax machine described above. The greater number of users with the service, the more valuable the service becomes to the community. Deriving from Metcalfe's Law, every new "friend" accepted or added on these social networking sites makes the user's profile ever more valuable in terms of the law. Positive and negative outcomes take place with all network effects involving a service of this sort. New jobs, relationships, and opportunities arise with more people coming together, however, if not used correctly, services of this type can lead to distant relationships.
With so much emphasis on creating a universal communication and networking unit, little thought has been provided regarding signs of a reverse effect. As new members or consumers buy a good or service, others may leave the group to discover alternatives. With fewer users, the consumer is more of a priority to the company's success. On the other hand, with millions of people using a good or service, companies display less of a personal connection because one person is not vital to the success of the whole unit.[7] Reverse network effects promote individualism, allowing people to not just follow the system, but almost create their own.
[edit] Limitations
Metcalfe's law is more of a heuristic or metaphor than an iron-clad empirical rule. In addition to the difficulty of quantifying the "value" of a network, the mathematical justification measures only the potential number of contacts, i.e., the technological side of a network. However the social utility of a network depends upon the number of nodes in contact. A good way to describe this is "quality versus quantity." There is a fallacious assumption and argument that all networkers present the same value as the other. This is not the case. For example, if Chinese and non-Chinese users do not understand each other, the utility of a network of users that speak the other language is near zero, and the law has to be calculated for the two compatibly communicating sub-networks separately. A barrier is created underneath the umbrella of users that oftentimes is never broken. Therefore, the mathematical equation of Metcalfe's Law posted above lies somewhere in between a linear and quadratic growth curve.
[edit] Business practicalities
With Metcalfe's Law the way it is described, all companies would theoretically combine with another partner. This would create more users involved in the company both on a consumer and supplier basis. This is not the case however. Much of the time, only companies of equal equity are willing to interconnect with one another. In the case of a larger network or business, and a smaller network or business, the larger feels the smaller one is benefiting on a much larger scale. The larger business gains little in comparison to the small company as the large has already developed a reputation whereas the small company is feeding off their previous success.[8]
[edit] Modified models
Within the context of social networks, many, including Metcalfe himself, have proposed modified models using logarithmic and linear proportionality rather than squared proportionality.[9] Reed and Odlyzko have sought out possible relationships to Metcalfe's Law in terms of describing the relationship of a network and one can read about how those are related.[10]
[edit] See also
- Simplex
- List of eponymous laws
- The generalized network effect of microeconomics.
- Reed's law
- Sarnoff's law
- Beckstrom's Law
- social media
[edit] References
- ^ Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian (1999). Information Rules. Harvard Business Press. ISBN 087584863X. http://books.google.com/books?id=aE_J4Iv_PVEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:shapiro+inauthor:varian#PPA184,M1.
- ^ Simeon Simeonov (July 26, 2006). "Metcalfe’s Law: more misunderstood than wrong?". HighContrast: Innovation & venture capital in the post-broadband era. http://simeons.wordpress.com/2006/07/26/metcalfes-law-more-misunderstood-than-wrong/.
- ^ James Hendler and Jennifer Golbeck (2008). "Metcalfe's Law, Web 2.0, and the Semantic Web". http://www.cs.umd.edu/~golbeck/downloads/Web20-SW-JWS-webVersion.pdf.
- ^ Bob Briscoe (July 2006). "Metcalfe's Law is wrong". http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/metcalfes-law-is-wrong. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Jeffrey Boase (25 January 2006). "The Strength of Internet Ties". http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2006/PIP_Internet_ties.pdf.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ R. Tongia. "The Dark Side of Metcalfe’s Law: Multiple and Growing Costs of Network Exclusion". http://www.cstep.in/docs/Network%20Exclusion%209-22-09.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Bernard Lunn (16 March 2009). "Researchers: Is There a Reverse Network Effect with Scale?". http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/is_there_a_reverse_network_effect_with_scale.php. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Steven Shankland (15 March 2005). "Researchers: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark". http://www.zdnet.com/news/researchers-metcalfes-law-overshoots-the-mark/141783. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Guest Blogger Bob Metcalfe: Metcalfe’s Law Recurses Down the Long Tail of Social Networks". 18 August 2006. http://vcmike.wordpress.com/2006/08/18/metcalfe-social-networks/. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ Rahul Tongia (September 2007). "TURNING METCALFE ON HIS HEAD: THE MULTIPLE COSTS OF NETWORK EXCLUSION". http://web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2007/772/TPRC-07-Exclusion-Tongia%26Wilson.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
[edit] External links
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of
- Metcalfe's Law: More Misunderstood Than Wrong?. A co-worker of Bob Metcalfe puts the IEEE Spectrum critique in perspective. Republished here.
- Metcalfe's Law is Wrong. Bob Briscoe, Andrew Odlyzko, and Benjamin Tilly, July 2006 IEEE Spectrum. Points out that Metcalfe's Law is wrong, that the value is closer to n log (n)
- Metcalfe’s Law Recurses Down the Long Tail of Social Networking by Bob Metcalfe
- ZDNet: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark
- Andrew Odlyzko and Benjamin Tilly paper
- Metcalfe's Law in Reverse, applying Metcalfe's law to form an argument in favour of large, unified networks.
- George Church. The Personal Genome Project. Molecular Systems Biology. 13 December 2005
- The Semantic Web and Metcalfe's Law
- A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy. Clay Shirky's keynote speech on Social Software at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference, Santa Clara, April 24, 2003. The fourth of his "Four Things to Design For" is: "And, finally, you have to find a way to spare the group from scale. Scale alone kills conversations, because conversations require dense two-way conversations. In conversational contexts, Metcalfe's law is a drag."
- How Many Facebook Friends Does Someone Need.
- The Dark Side of Metcalfe's Law.
- Globalization Transformation.
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Founded in 2010 with the intention of creating a database of medicinal cannabis users and a source of information for education and research it attracted immediate support from l...
These attacks meant that the register was permanently handicapped shortly after its birth. From a very encouraging start, within a few weeks those opposed to it had sown sufficient fear and uncertainty that registrations dried up. Medicinal users had been terrorised into fear and silence.
Through 2011 a considerable investment was made by both the founders and a number of volunteer workers. A website with online registration was created and the Facebook page was updated on an hourly basis with new information about medicinal cannabis.
The register set out from the beginning to be a non-campaigning organisation. However its driving force was Peter Reynolds and when he was elected leader of CLEAR in February 2011 his attention wss diverted and the register's impartiality compromised. Shortly afterwards the Home Office applied pressure and required Professor Les Iversen to resign from the council.
Registrations did begin to recover through 2011 but health problems intervened for those involved in administration and there were technical problems with the hosting company which meant that some data was lost.
In recent months the register has been subject to further attacks from Alan Buffry and Peta Lee. Mr Buffry was using it as a pawn in his personal vendetta against Peter Reynolds. Ms Lee's motives are unclear.
In fact the motives of all those who opposed the register are difficult to understand. There was never anything constructive about the criticism. The noble and compassionate aims that is set out with were trampled over and no alternative was proposed. Undoubtedly the idea will resurface one day as it is so clearly needed. Let us hope it receives more encouragement next time. It seems to be an unfortunate characteristic of the cannabis community that it frequently turns on itself and allows petty rivalries and tribal behaviour to destroy good work.
All data held by the BMCR has now been permanently erased. This Facebook page will be closed at the end of January 2012.
Those who participated in the destruction of the BMCR know who they are and their conduct rests on their own consciences. We acknowledge and honour those who made a positive contribution and who set out to help those who need cannabis as medicine.
Jim Alekson, Medical Marijuana Delivery Systems
Matthew Atha, Independent Drug Monitoring Unit
Chris Baldwin, Medicinal user
Carolyn Cameron, Medicinal user
Paul Flynn MP, House Of Commons
Clark French, Action4MS
Victor Hamilton, Medicinal user
Elliot Haughin, Apple Computer
Professor Les Iversen, University of Oxford
Baroness Molly Meacher, House Of Lords
Stevie Powers, THCTalk
Colin Preece, Campaigner
Jason Reed, Cannabis Law Reform
Peter Reynolds, Cannabis Law Reform
Jim "Pinky" Starr, Medicinal user
Dr Malcolm Vandenburg, Consulting Physician