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The Daily

Arts & Culture

LA Story

December 18, 2013 | by

I have just moved to Los Angeles from the Middle East, and everyone keeps asking me if the city is too quiet—Am I bored? Is it safe?—and the answer is, No, I am not bored; yes, it seems safe, and yes, that’s fine by me. Mostly I am in a state of awe, blown away by a grocery store, the knock of the mailman at the door, the speed of the Internet; the easy friends you can make on the sidewalk or on the bus or while watching your kids play soccer or walking down Venice Boulevard, waiting for a light to change, en route to the University of Southern California, where I found myself the other day, seeking out the next thing I might do with my life, right before things went wrong again.

I was facing new and mostly pleasant options. Such as: Should I wish to travel across the east-west spine of Lost Angeles, in the fall of 2013, from Venice to the urban campus of USC, did I want to walk four or five hours, doing ten miles on foot; drive thirty minutes; ride a bike for an hour and a half; or, as I ultimately resolved to do, take a city bus to the Culver City train line.

Showering, lacing up a pair of suede boots, donning a clean shirt, loading up a satchel with books and water, I crossed Lincoln Boulevard, behind a smog-check shop, whose sign made it clear they’s only do checks, not repairs, and then I followed an alley parallel to six lanes of heavy afternoon traffic.

In front of a crumbling apartment complex, on a set of concrete stairs, I admired a selection of jars, bowls, fire-rimmed tin cans, and handmade signs. Next to one pagan cup leaned a pair of tongs, perhaps for a hookah, and then I was accosted by a man who stood beside the open door of a midnineties Ford Explorer.

“Yo, this is a brand new home theater,” he said, gesturing at a large brown box resting on a leather seat. “You want this shit?” He tapped the box.

Since leaving Beirut, my wife and I had been in Los Angeles for about a month. It was true I didn’t have a home theater yet, but then I didn’t have much. The whirr of a car wash behind us made it hard to hear the rest of his sales pitch. Did he think I lived nearby? Could I carry the box to USC and back? In the roar of the car wash, it sounded like someone was screaming.

“No thanks,” I said.

“What?” he said.

“I’m good,” I said, backing away. “I’m good.”

Next up was a bike shop and a massage parlor and a nail place and a vacuum repair shop and a shoe repair shop and in their presence I considered my shoes and my nails and my muscles and the condition of a vacuum we left behind in Lebanon, and then I found myself standing in front of a tidy burger place, where all employees wore paper hats and some had white aprons secured with oversize metal pins, like for a diaper, yet the potatoes were peeled while I watched and it was all more than I might have imagined a burger place might be in America, in 2013.

Intent on not greasing up my clothes, I watched a regal woman as she peered through sunglasses at a ketchup dispenser. Done, she walked away, a sack in one hand, in the other a small paper cup of ketchup. But in so doing, she left behind a milkshake, which sat on the counter, melting.

Watching, too, was a man who looked like Kevin Costner, who wasn’t sure what to do. First, he reached to grab the shake. The cup would have been cold to the touch. He paused, frozen. Hovering, he seemed to debate whether to make contact, or not. Then the woman came striding back in. The guy who looked like Costner tried to look away. In the bathroom, I washed my hands and hoped the soap would get rid of the smell of meat.

On the train, there was a crazy lady and a madman. I was amazed at how sleek and silent the cars felt, and then I noticed all were made in Japan. The crazy lady started raving pretty much immediately, once we passed into South Central LA. There was Crenshaw Boulevard, and this woman was railing on about whether we were selling our mothers for crack. She’d also really like some health care, she said, but she probably would’t get any health care, she said.

The madman was a tall white guy with a greasy pony tail down to his waist. You could tell when a guy like this was dangerous. He had filthy shoes and long fingernails, a spoiled gallon of coiled rage in the pit of his belly. He balled his hands into fists, rocking over and over, muttering. In his sight line, a nurse in scrubs laughed with/at the crazy lady, who continued to rave.

“Fuck you laughing at, bitch?” the madman said.

At the next stop, the nurse in scrubs got off, and I considered going, too. In stepped a father in his forties and his teenaged son, both of whom wore sensible shoes and black T-shirts. The madman turned on them, his mouth parting in a sneer.

“Sup boss,” said the father. “How you doing today?”

“I am A-1 okay, brother,” the madman said, disarmed.

The three joked and laughed and the madman loosened up enough to unball his fists. When the father and son got off at the Natural History Museum, the madman said, “God bless.”

On the USC campus, an orange balloon arced into a blue sky, and everyone was young and no one seemed angry. I canvassed a main quad, looking for the right place to sit. More bikes than I’d ever seen were parked on the sidewalk. A woman wearing headphones nearly ran me over. Others rode by on beach cruisers, a parade of identical jean shorts, while young men preferred baggy cut-offs and skateboards of various size and trajectory. Through the thicket of wheels and oiled chains and sandpaper gripping, a sleek undergrad with perfect skin swished down the sidewalk, wearing an elegant blue suit. His tan brogues made a smart clapping sound as he passed. Nonstudents were easy to spot, with their posture, scuffed shoes, pale skin, and satchels. I entered a campus coffee shop, where the line was thirty-five deep. I adjusted my satchel. Two young students in front seemed to know as much as anyone else.

“Listen, it’s all about King Fahad,” the tall one said.

“I just totally can’t remember how Jordan fits into all this,” the other said.

Together, they worked to draw an extensive flow chart, blue ballpoint pens working. At the register, I couldn’t understand what the guy was saying. I did not want whip cream, no. There was another line to wait for my drink, so I leaned against a pleasant wooden table, beside a redhead in a green sweatshirt.

“This is a great spot,” she said.

“Yes,” I said. “Yes, it is.”

“Totally,” she said. “We are smart.”

Our coffees came. Her name was Emily and then she was gone.

That weekend, in Los Angeles, someone stole my wallet. In twenty-four hours, they racked up various charges: $70.11 at a grocery store, $30.52 at a convenience store, $31.75 at a music shop, $88.88 at a clothing store. At Day & Night Food Mart, it was $21.03.

I tried to picture that money in a pile. At a Day & Night Food Mart in Venice, you could spend $21.03. I allowed myself to get angry. Nobody would ever pay for this. We’d all pay for this. Then I called the credit card company. A careful man in Arizona told me I was good. His name was Xavier. If anyone was ever found, Xavier told me, I could press charges.

Nathan Deuel has contributed to Harper’s, GQ, the New York Times, and many others. His debut collection of essays, Friday Was the Bomb, will be published by Dzanc in May 2014. He lives in Los Angeles.

  1. Michael Benami Doyle | December 18, 2013 at 10:16 pm

    Or you could just wear headphones like a normal person and stop eavesdropping and judging people.

  2. J Hanson | December 19, 2013 at 11:54 am

    If you really want to hear interesting things the Blue line is for you. I laught with all the others on the train. What A Show.

  3. Lee Becton | January 3, 2014 at 10:23 am

    This article has undergraduate intermediate writing assignment written all over it. Had it been infused with humor, wit, and insight, perhaps it would not have been a waste of time.

    Its blatantly a white guy reporting on what a fish-out-of-water he feels like in a new locale. How original.

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Radio personality to perform at Sammy's pre-grand opening

Show to benefit foster kids
-A +A
A few select fans in Roseville may be waiting with brimming anticipation for Sammy Hagar to take the stage at the new Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar & Grill on Vernon Street Sept. 15 — but music-lovers who can’t attend the invite-only show can get a sneak preview of the bar when celebrated radio host Joe Getty and his band christen the venue Saturday, Sept. 8 in order to raise money and awareness for local foster kids. Getty, who lives in Rocklin, is currently one half of the successful morning radio program Armstrong & Getty. In 2009, he formed the drum-heavy, blues-flavored rock group, Joe Getty & The Dead Flowers. The band released its debut album “Low Expectations” that same year and describes it signature sound as “American music, just a little twisted, louder and nastier.” The band’s guitarist, Richard Austin, lives in Granite Bay and bassist Ritch Shefke lives in Auburn. Keyboardist Matt Holland and drummer Mark Martinez are also from the region. With a new album in tow, Joe Getty & The Dead Flowers will have the distinction of being the first music act ever to perform at Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar & Grill — even ahead of the restaurant’s namesake. The reason is that the band’s new song collection, which was co-produced by regional music legend Joe Johnston, is a benefit album meant to help some of society’s most invisible children. Proceeds from sales of “One More Mile” go to the Sleep Train Foster Kids program. The organization provides school supplies, shoes, clothing and other forms of support to thousands of children currently in foster care. “I’ve been working with Dave Carlsen from Sleep Train for years,” Getty told the Press Tribune. “Even when we’d be talking about business, this passion he has for helping foster kids would always come up. I think we learned a lot from him about the dire straights these kids are in. You hear about kids getting taken away from their parents, but you don’t always hear about what happens to them after that. It’s a situation that’s really tugged on my heart strings. Everyone in the band plays music because we love it, so when we started working on the new album, we thought, why not do this album for kids who are going through that.” All ticket proceeds from the Sept. 8 concert at Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar & Grill will go to the Sleep Train Foster Kids program. One pair of the invite-only tickets to Sammy Hagar’s grand opening performance at the bar will also be awarded to someone at the Joe Getty & the Dead Flowers benefit show. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20. Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar & Grill is at 238 Vernon St. in Roseville. For more information about Joe Getty and the Dead Flowers, visit ~ Scott Thomas Anderson


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Martha Lane Fox ducks the limelight

£150k PR job available to wipe the mud off Lastminute's sweater girl, Martha Lane Fox, is sticking her head back below the parapet. The company is recruiting a head of spin to buff up its image.

Lastminute has struggled to fill the post and is expected to have to offer £150,000 or more, says the Daily Mail, to get someone for the job.

Perhaps it was being ignored by the kids at last week's Tomorrow's World Show that put Martha off public life.

Cable & Wireless has invested $20 million in dotcom backer GorillaPark. GorillaPark has offices in London, Amsterdam, Munich and San Francisco, and is set to open for business in Paris and Stockholm. It reckons it can handle to 20 start-ups a year and bring them from idea to IPO within two years.

will list on the Frankfurt stock exchange next week. The company said that it could raise up to E134 million through the float selling at between E6 and E7 per share. The company postponed its plans to float. A Frankfurt banker pointed out to the

that the resurgence of IPOs doesn't mean that the market is any more supportive, just that they are badly in need of cash.

Eidos, the computer company that gave the world Lara Croft, is considering an informal £700 million all share offer from French software group, Infogrames Entertainment. This would value the company at around 700p per share, compared with a market value of 487p. Infogrames is looking to boost its sales figures for the year ending June 2001 to £600million or $1 billon. Negotiations are said to be at a delicate stage, but an announcement may come in the next three weeks after the completion of due diligence.

Planit Holdings, the interior design software company, saw profits leap thanks to TV programmes such as the BBC's

Changing Rooms.

Planit reported pre-tax profits for the year ended April 30 rose 58 per cent to £2.5 million.

Internet incubator fund Oxygen Holdings is hoping to sell remaindered books to online buyers. In return for £25,000 cash and Web design services, it is gaining 15 per cent of Global It aims to grab a share of the remainder market, which it claims is worth a stonking £5 billion worldwide. ®

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iRiver U10 media player

The iPod Nano killer?

Review There's an interesting story behind the U10. Apparently, the head of River got together the whole design and engineering team in Korea and told them to that they needed to change their thinking. He told them to go back to the drawing board and come up with something new, to make a complete U-turn with their thinking. A U-Turn, or a U10, geddit?!?

It was a sensible idea. iRiver's range of largely me-too MP3 players were dull but worthy, and there was no chance that they were ever going to make any inroads on Apple's market share. Having said that, last year's N10 was one of the most stylish players ever...

And if there's one thing the U10 is, it's certainly different. The player measures 6.9 x 4.7 x 1.6cm. It's thicker than an iPod Nano but shorter. Compared to the 42g nano, it is bulky, though - and at 70g, noticeably heavier.

The first time you plug in the player it will charge, taking one hour to fill up to 50 per cent, and 2.5 hours to charge fully. Playback for audio is rated at a chunky 20 hours.

The device sports a 2.2in, 320 x 240 screen that can display 260,000 colours - and that's it. Rather than being festooned with myriad small buttons too small to press, all the navigation controls are built into the screen, which is a four-way navigation control in its own right. Press the left-hand side of the screen to move left, for example. With the constant pressing on the screen, you need to carry a cleaning cloth with the player at all times otherwise the screen gets covered in fingerprints.

iRiver U10 media player

There are some buttons: the power switch on the right and beneath that a button that toggles the screen between landscape and portrait mode. There are two small buttons to control the volume. Underneath there's a hold button, and a small reset switch. To get advanced options you press and hold on the right button and you do the same to get back to the currently playing track when you're in a different menu. For a Flash-based player it does take a tad too long to turn on, and the animations make navigation a bit on the sluggish side, though there is a setting to speed this up.


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Attackers hone Twitterific exploit-site concealer

Conquer hacktile dysfunction

Malware writers have revamped code that uses a popular Twitter command to generate hard-to-predict domain names, a technique that brings stealth to their drive-by exploits.

Four weeks ago, when The Register reported Twitter application programming interfaces were being used to generate pseudorandom domain names, none of the addresses checked had actually been registered. Denis Sinegubko, the Russian researcher who discovered the technique, speculates the creators abandoned it because it was buggy and required too much effort.

Now, Sinegubko has identified a new version of the algorithm that refines the process. What's more, at least some of the names are now being registered and the sites are being used to push malware.

"The new incarnation of this attack uses new algorithm and it is active right now," he told El Reg on Wednesday.

The technique gives the exploit writers a limitless list of of fly-by-night domain names to cycle through in an attempt to complicate the job of white hat hackers trying to thwart the attack. Rather than there being a single address to block or disconnect, the site hosting the malware changes every 12 hours.

The domain names are generated by an algorithm that looks at the top topics being discussed on Twitter at particular times. Because the trending topics, as they're known, can't be predicted in advance, the method prevents white hats from being able to snap up the addresses weeks or months in advance, as researchers combating the Conficker worm have done.

The technique was discovered by analyzing thousands of legitimate websites that had been compromised so they redirected visitors to malicious servers. Sinegubko identified the algorithm by reverse engineering highly obfuscated javascript that was injected into the compromised websites. As the addresses of the sites hosting the malware change, so too do the iframes on the compromised sites.

Sinegubko has created a tool to predict what the next domain will be. There's about a 24-hour lag between the time his script generates the domain name and the time it will be used (assuming the prediction is correct) to host the malware. That gives admins plenty of leeway to block the sites before they become active. It also presents fleet-footed white hats with the opportunity to register domain names ahead of the bad guys.

"I've been testing this tool for about three days now," he said. "So far it is correct."

You can watch the pseudorandom generator in action here (although you'll need to allow javascript to run). Sinegubko's writeup of the new generator is here. ®

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Lavabit bloke passes hat for open-source secure email master plan

Snowden's old mail provider wants '100 Lavabit-like services'

Oliver Twist

Ladar Levison, the former operator of the Lavabit secure email service that was once used by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, has launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds to release the site's code as an open source project.

Levison shut down Lavabit in August, and while court orders forbid him from discussing details of the situation, it is widely believed that the move was in response to a subpoena to turn over his users' data.

At the time, Levison posted to the company's homepage that he felt scuttling the service was his only option, or else he would "become complicit in crimes against the American people."

Since then, he has teamed up with the team behind Silent Circle – which also briefly offered a secure email service, but similarly closed it down in August – to form the Dark Mail Alliance, a group dedicated to creating a new email system designed to be impossible to eavesdrop.

"The Summer of Snowden may have taken the Lavabit email service offline, but the lifeblood of the service is still alive and relevant to Dark Mail," Levison writes on his new Kickstarter page. "The goal is to perfect and release its source code as a free and open-source software (F/OSS) project."

To that end, Levison is seeking to raise $196,608*, of which $25,000 had already been pledged when The Reg hit the big, red publish button on this story.

Those funds will go toward paying programmers to clean up the code and get it into a form that can be released to the public so that it can be used to create new secure email systems like the one Levison used to operate.

"Since I've basically decided that I don't think I can return as a service provider until my case is settled, I've decided that if there can't be a Lavabit, the next best thing is a hundred Lavabit-like services," Levison said in the video accompanying the Kickstarter project.

If the project is funded, Levison says he will be looking for engineers with experience in C, Javascript, HTML, SQL and JSON.

The software itself consists of "magma," a mail daemon that transparently encrypts data before writing it to disk. The magma daemon supports access via SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, and HTTP, and part of the project will involve adding support for the new, end-to-end encrypted Dark Mail protocol being developed by the Alliance.

In addition, Levison plans to develop Dark Mail–compatible email clients for Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android, which will also be released as F/OSS projects.

Backers of the Kickstarter project will receive various perks, ranging from access to official binaries to early access to the source code, installation support, and a limited-edition polo shirt.

The funding period extends until 8:00PM Eastern time on Wednesday, November 27 – coincidentally, the day before the American Thanksgiving holiday. ®

* Levison's funding amount is a curious one, and although El Reg has asked for clarification, we haven't heard anything back. The decimal number 196,608 is equivalent to 110000000000 in binary or 300000 in hexadecimal, but those numbers don't hold any special significance for us, either. If Reg readers have any ideas, we'd love to hear them.

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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/13/review_cars_lexus_ct200h_hybrid/

Lexus CT200h hybrid

Too posh to rush?

By Alun Taylor

Posted in Science, 13th July 2011 12:00 GMT

Review Give Toyota its due, it's wringing the maximum amount of value from the Hybrid Synergy Drive power train. The 1.8 VVT-i Atkinson Cycle petrol engine and associated electric motor have already turned up in the Prius and Auris Hybrid, and now you can have them in a posh frock with a Lexus badge on the nose.

Lexus CT200h

Lexus' CT200h: the nose looks better than the rest

Called rather inelegantly the CT200h, Lexus' new baby is being billed as the first full hybrid in the premium compact sector. Or, to put it another way, a semi-sporty but still eco-tuned posh hatchback to compete with the likes of the Audi A3 and BMW 1 series.

Of course, sporty the CT200h really is not. Yes, when you turn the settings dial to Sport, the instrument cluster turns from blue to red and the charge/power gauge is replaced by a rev counter, but the basic performance profile of an Atkinson four-pot and CVT transmission remains when accelerating hard at low speeds: a surge in revs followed eventually by some forward motion when the gearbox catches up.

Lexus CT200h

Not a Mazda 3 - even though it looks like one

In Sport mode, which maximises the electric motor’s output and sharpens throttle response, the engine and electric motor deliver a combined power output of 134bhp, enough to get the Lexus to 62mph in 10.3 seconds and on to a top speed 112mph.

Those numbers are not the whole story, though, because there's a useful amount of torque available in the mid-range. Press the throttle at 50mph and the CT200h lunges towards the horizon with a satisfying lack of fuss.

Lexus CT200h

Rear window visibility is way better than you get out of a Prius

What you lose on the low-speed acceleration swings you gain on the driving roundabouts thanks to the 81bhp/153 lb-ft (60kW/207Nm) electric motor, which will propel you silently along the road for a mile or so at speeds up to 28mph - a useful feature in stop-start traffic.

My ride's here

The CT200h’s combined-cycle fuel consumption of 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 94g/km are impressive for car in this class. Both those figures are a gnat’s todger worse than the Prius and Auris Hybrid, but then the CT200h is heavier than the latter and less slippery than the former, with a drag coefficient of 0.29 versus the Prius’ 0.25.

Lexus CT200h

Not an unpleasant look, but anonymous

Combined with a 45 litre fuel tank, the Lexus has a theoretical maximum cruising range of 682 miles, but you'll have to drive very carefully to get close to that figure.

In the real world, I was getting around 57mpg.

On the open road, the Lexus is more refined and more poised then the Prius. Road holding is altogether better thanks to double wishbone rather than torsion beam rear suspension. Throw it into a corner and the Lexus stays flat and tucks in with none of the wallow the Prius would sometimes display.

Lexus CT200h

Ride quality is also rather impressive. You may not be wholly isolated from the vast potholes that riddle Britain’s B-roads but you don’t feel like they are shaking the fillings out of your teeth when you hit them.

The cabin is a similar step up from Toyota-land, with aluminium inserts and soft-touch plastics everywhere. You don’t get leather seats with the base SE-I spec, but the cloth is so lasciviously pleasant to the touch I was tempted to take a quick spin in the buff just to get the full effect. More importantly the seats are extremely comfortable and supportive.

Lexus CT200h

Sculpted flanks all the rage these days

The optional 8in screen satnav, communication and entertainment system is controlled with the help of what Lexus calls a Remote Touch unit. Think of a large PC mouse stuck to the centre console with a flat-headed joystick at the top and Enter buttons on either side, and you get the idea.

Inside the Lexus CT200h

Lexus CT200h

The cabin is very pleasent and very well made

Lexus CT200h

The enormo-screen satnav is an 1850 quid option

Lexus CT200h

Having a mouse in the car actually makes sense

Lexus CT200h

Point and click

Lexus CT200h

Turn the dial, dash turns red and you go fast(er). EV mode is all battery

Kylie eleison

It’s an easier way to navigate menus than the system controllers you'll find in modern BMWs and Mercedes - you just point and click as you would a PC. It so easy to use you can even do it on the move without diverting too much attention from the job of driving.

Standard kit is reasonably plentiful and includes a USB audio socket, tyre pressure warning system and leather steering wheel, but cruise control really should be standard across the range - it’s not even an option on the SE-I model.

Lexus CT200h

It's not actually a large car - this antipodean songstress (not included) is really very small

After 22 years, Lexus seems as far away as ever from a design philosophy that gives its cars an immediate visual identity. Of course, anonymity is not necessarily a bad thing - all BMWs look very BMW-ish, but that means I don’t much like the look of any of the current range.

Externally, the CT200h is apparently the latest expression of Lexus’ L-finesse design ideology and to be fair it’s not an unattractive car, but it just looks a little too much like a big Mazda 3 in my eyes.

Lexus CT200h

Room for the odd dead body or two in the back

The CT200h range starts at £23,485 on the road, £2500 more than the Prius. Add the fold-away satnav system and metallic paint and that figure rises to £25,845. For the same sort of money you could get a five-door BMW 118d which is dynamically superior - not just to the CT200h but to everything else in the class - and maybe even as economical in the real world, but it’s less spacious, less well-equipped, as ugly as sin and it lacks that magic EV button.

By moving its hybrid offering into the - ahem - premium compact segment, Toyota Lexus has dodged the inevitable value-for-money questions that bedevil its other hybrids. The CT200h is not cheap but it is pleasant to drive, quiet, comfortable, spacious, versatile and very well bolted together. If you're looking for a car in this class and don’t have any boy-racer pretensions, it should do you very nicely. ®

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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/11/pci_survey_verizon/

Survey: Just 1 in 3 Euro biz slackers meets card security standards

Yet PCI-DSS has 'largely been a failure', wails securo-bod

By John Leyden

Posted in Security, 11th February 2014 13:57 GMT

European businesses are lagging far behind the rest of the world in compliance with global payment card industry security standards, according to a new survey.

Just under one-third (31 per cent) of surveyed European businesses met 80 per cent or more of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) requirements, compared with 75 per cent of those in the Asia-Pacific region and 56 per cent in the United States.

The survey attributed the lower rate of compliance among European businesses to regional differences due to breach notification laws, varying legal requirements and levels of adoption, as well as other cultural differences.

Too many firms also treat Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance as a one-off test rather than an ongoing requirement, said Verizon, which carried out the study. It further reported that most organisations taking card payments fail to meet ongoing compliance with PCI DSS.

Areas where businesses struggle the most in achieving compliance include security testing (23.8 per cent), security monitoring, and the ability to effectively detect and respond to data compromises (17 per cent), as well as protecting stored sensitive data (55.6 per cent).

Overall, global compliance with the PCI standard has improved over the past 12 months. More than 82 per cent of organisations were compliant with at least 80 per cent of the PCI standard at the time of their annual baseline assessment in 2013, compared to just 32 per cent in 2012 – a major improvement.

The report is based on findings from hundreds of real world PCI DSS assessments conducted by Verizon between 2011 and 2013. The study, based on real actual casework, runs the numbers on how well businesses comply with each of the 12 specific PCI requirements.

Ciske van Ooste, director of operations at Verizon's PCI Security practice, told El Reg that failure to keep security controls up to the mark is putting businesses at an increased risk for data breaches, which often result in both financial losses and damages to an organisation's reputation. He argued the standard line of PCI backers that no PCI-compliant firm has ever suffered a breach.

"It's possible that there might be a breach case where a company is in full compliance but I haven't seen one," Van Ooste told El Reg. As befits his role, Van Ooste was reluctant to criticise PCI beyond acknowledging it was "imperfect" when it came to risk management.

Other security experts remain deeply critical of PCI even after recent reforms of the standard designed to make it more than a tickbox compliance check-list.

For example, Avivah Litan, Gartner Research vice-president and an expert in banking security and related topics, recently argued that PCI failed both Target and US consumers in the case of the recent mega-breach at the US supermarket chain as well as similar incidents before it.

"The PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standard has largely been a failure when you consider its initial purpose and history," Litan writes. "Target and other breached entities before it, such as Heartland Payment Systems, were all PCI compliant at the time of their breach. These companies spent untold sums of money annually certifying compliance to the payment card networks and their acquiring banks but it didn’t stop their breaches."

Bob Russo, the PCI-DSS council's general manager, on the other hand, argues that no standards changes were needed in the wake of recent breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus. Less controversially, Russo also said that while technologies such as chip and PIN (EMV) had the potential to reduce fraud in retail environments, they would do little or nothing to prevent fraud involving credit card purchases online. Verizon's Van Ooste echoed this latter point: "Chip and PIN wouldn't help prevent card-not-present fraud".

Russo's interview with Bank Info Security can be found here.

Other criticisms of PCI include the argument that it pushes liability for breaches down to merchants as well as gripes about the cost of achieving compliance and criticism that the standard is failing to keep pace with hacking threats.

Joshua Corman, a security strategist who has been a long term critic of the payment card industry standard, tweeted that he wasn't impressed by the PCI's explanations.

For better or worse, PCI DSS is the established payment card industry standard. It's an important but somewhat dry subject so great credit goes to the folks who put together a rootin’-tootin’ Country & Western song that summarises the 12 main requirements of the standard (a hat-tip to security industry veteran Graham Cluley for drawing our attention to this animated effort, below).

Comedy country and western infosec video.

A visual timeline of PCI DSS can be found here.


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Will Lauryn Hill's New Album Be Any Good?

On Slate, Aisha Harris wonders if after all the time that's passed since her debut LP, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, will the singer's newest work be worth a listen?

Lauryn Hill attending court in Newark, N.J., on April 22, 2013. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

The press attention about Lauryn Hill's tax troubles has revealed one bright spot: She's preparing new music. But Aisha Harris wonders on Slate if 15 years after her debut album, will Hill be able to recreate the magic?

Referring to the "old conflict between art and commerce," she wrote:

This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I've been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings.

The details of her battles with record labels are muddy, but Hill may have a point. While many artists' claims to artistic integrity can come off as sanctimonious or ring false, Hill has always seemed like the type of performer who truly does take her own work seriously and who always has cherished freedom from corporate interference. (See "Superstar," from Miseducation: "Now tell me your philosophy/ On exactly what an artist should be/ Should they be someone with prosperity/ And no concept of reality?") In her Tumblr post, Hill provides only a vague description of what exactly she's been working against all these years: "a completely complicated set of traps, manipulations, and inequitable business arrangements" that have led her to her unfortunate financial situation. But if her frustrations with her label are anything like, for example, those of Lupe Fiasco while making Lasers, then it may not be right to label her as crazy just because she hasn't been giving her fans the new music that they want.

Read Aisha Harris' entire piece at Slate.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

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The Sanctuary Bay style bungalows and dorm beds

“Here, among the thatched roofs, decks and balconies above a translucent Gulf of Thailand, health and well-being is a laid-back, low-key affair. The antithesis of a clinical five-star spa...”

    The Guardian UK

Experience has revealed that often guests who come to Had Tien bay often like to stay a bit longer . Based on this there is a selection of non bookable Bay style bungalows ranging in price from 890 B to 1,750 B per night, some of  which belong to our neighbours but we are happy to help them with  these rooms. We also have 10 beds in our simple dorm room (270 B per night)  You can phone our reception the morning of your arrival (081 271 3614) and we will tell you what is available on the day and hold the space for you until 4 pm. We do not currently offer a fixed booking service for our cheaper accommodations, only on our unique houses and high end bungalows and rooms.

We are confident however that with our range of bungalows, houses and dorm beds, not to mention the numerous bungalows available with other resorts on the bay, that you will have some place comfortable to sleep and can then upgrade or downgrade as opportunity presents.

Please be aware however that from mid-December to mid-January, The Sanctuary and all the surrounding resorts will be extremely busy!
Please note we can not accept Credit Cards at Sanctuary – cash only – Thanks for understanding (the reason is the bank will not accept us because we don’t have a landline telephone link).

Return to see our bookable houses

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Rosebud has the fever

Jersey cows are prone to get what’s called Saturday Night Fever. They dance around and moooove to the groove like the pasture is a dance floor.

I wish. After calving Jersey’s often get what’s called Milk fever. The Jersey cow has been bred to give so much milk it take a severe toll on the cow’s body. The calcium level in the cow drops significantly and it’s life threatening if not treated appropriately.

We had been pretty worried about it as Rosebud had the fever with her last calf. Once the fever has been had it more prone to come back in spades the next time around.

We did a bunch of reading. Called the previous owner of the cow who also said Rosebud didn’t come down with the fever until 3 days after the calf was born. Not cool when you have to check on the cow every 2 hours for 3 days.

Everything was going well with the new calf for the first 24 hours. Calf was thriving and we were keeping a close eye on Rosebud in case she caught hold of that dreaded fever. I went out at 2 am to check things over and I found a delirious momma laying on the ground. I tried to get her up and she just stumbled and laid there all dozy eyed. She had the classic S shape to her neck. I red about that S shape but it was really unnerving to see it in person.

So we called the vet and he came out in the middle of the night to administer the saving elixir. Two bottles of calcium later Rosebud was up twitching around. The calcium make all the muscles twitch in the cows body. It looked like she was freezing at first then it looked like a massive seizure.

It’s been a few days now and Rosebud seems to be back to her normal self. Eating a ton and expelling a ton as well.

She even has a gait to her step and she munches in time to all the disco music we have blasting from our house. You see, around here, cows aren’t the only one to get the fever.

Long live JT.

  1. I was worried at first, reading that Rosebud had the fever! What would it cost to get a "Red Dress" made for her?
    Then as I read a little further on, I realized that it was "Miik Fever"! Must be a great Vet, to come out at all hours of the night (exspensive too!?). Glad he had the ELIXIR!
    Tell Rosebud to take it easy for a few days and you might consider that "RED DRESS" anyway!

  2. It was a couple hundred dollars but I'd rather pay that then loose the cow. Everything is expensive if you can't produce it or do it yourself.


text:
‘The Black Buddhist’ by Meikle Paschal

On February 20, 2013, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

I asked acclaimed Somerville poet Afaa Michael Weaver to review a recent Ibbetson Street Press release The Black Buddhist by Meikle Paschal.  Weaver has a new collection of poetry out The Government of Nature ( University of Pittsburgh Press).

The Black Buddhist by Meikle Paschal

The Black Buddhist by Meikle Paschal (Ibbetson Street Press) http://ibbetsonpress.com  $15

Review by Afaa Michael Weaver

In sentences that are as sincere as they are nostalgic, Meikle Paschal gives us a valuable portrait of the journey of his life from the poor neighborhoods of Boston to the comfort of a consciousness furnished by the loving kindness of his Buddhist principles, principles that save him from the bitterness and resentment that can occupy the mind of someone who has fought adversity for his entire life. An African American man gifted with unusual intelligence and a keen intuition, he is lifted also by a penchant for forgiveness. As a reader, I am especially endeared to his portraits of a Boston I could never have known, the old Boston of the mid twentieth century. Paschal seems remarkably adept at recognizing and seizing the chance in life, even when he was not aware of the fuller meanings of his actions at the time. He implies repeatedly that something saved him, and it is that hope he offers the reader, namely that if we would just believe there is a way, the way will reveal itself to us. He is not blind to the tragedies of life, as he notes the people who did not have or see the chance, people who fell victim to things we would rather not imagine, but he offers his own encounters with those chances. He explores the vicissitudes of upward mobility in stories that are insightful and inspiring. In admitting the perfection possible in life, he admits the imperfections, the double binds, the impasses, and he continues on with life, even as the apparent paradise proves itself over and over to be only that and not something ultimately real. Paschal lets us see only the journey is real.

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Written by queen mudder
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Saturday, 18 November 2006

image for "We'll give it until Thanksgiving", quip Nicole and Mimi
Castello Odescalchi - a moudly old castle - perfect romantic setting?

Rome - (Associated Mess): As film stars, Scientology glitterati and other C-List celebs arrive in the timeless ancient city of Rome ahead of Tom Cruise's wedding to budding starlet Katie Holmes, two former wives are said to be chuckling with glee as they lay bets on the duration of their ex's latest attempt at tying the knot with a member of the opposite sex.

Having consulted their respective astologers' and former divorce lawyers' advice, both are said to have come to the same conclusion that the omens bode ill for this latest rash conjunction. And that the whole sorry spectacle "will be over by Thanksgiving".

"She should have realised he was nuts the minute he decided to call the baby the French name for a mouse", Mimi laughed, recalling little Miss Souri Cruise's birth.

Meanwhile Nicole warned that the happy couple's union may be hexed by their pre-wedding stay at the Roman Castello Odescalchi in Bracciano which is said to be notoriously haunted by the ghost of Isabella de' Medici.

This scionette of the famous Venetian dynasty was murdered by her cuckolded husband after he indulged in his passion for cross-dressing in the vestments of a cardinal and heard her confess to countless infidelities with lovers whom she then murdered.

After consumating the act of adultery wily Isabella took the hapless victims of her lust to an ante-chamber in the Castello where the luckless paramours were pushed down a trap door into a well lined with razors and filled at the bottom with quicklime.

Scores died in this pit and the ancient grounds are said to groan at midnight with tormented Isabella's wicked laughter...

But hey! In their latest pre-nup Audit, superstitious fears were irrevocably erased by the confident couple's Scientology matrimonial therapist.

The wedding is scheduled for tomorrow.

Make queen mudder's day - give this story five thumbs-up (there's no need to register, the thumbs are just down there!)

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Written by Frank Miller
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Friday, 28 December 2012

image for Antarctic Drill Project failure: "Corners were cut!"
Eskimos are well know for their shrewd business sense.

Cancellation of the UK Antarctic Drilling project was confirmed as the team arrived back to the UK.

The controversial plan was to reduce the ice of the Antarctic to the consistency of slush by pumping different flavoured sauces into the ice, allowing the drilling team to quickly suck out the tasty slush with huge straws.

However, after three months of drilling the project has reached a depth of only 12.5 inches.

The problem became quickly apparent; due to the temperature of the slush, many of the drilling team were hospitalised with acute brain freeze.

Questions are being asked why corners were cut with the drilling team not being composed of Eskimos as originally planned. Eskimos have a high tolerance to brain freeze but would not work for the pay deal on offer.

The project manager spoke of his disappointment; "It's well known that you can't sell ice to Eskimos, apparently they won't work for it either. In retrospect, this project was obviously fucked from the beginning."

Make Frank Miller's day - give this story five thumbs-up (there's no need to register, the thumbs are just down there!)

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Written by Skoob1999
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Saturday, 15 August 2009

image for Pheasant Plucker's Son Lashes Out
Get Plucked!

Chartered Accountant, Ellsworth Biggins 39 of Virginia Water, Surrey today reacted angrily to accusations from Malicious sources which had branded him as a 'Pheasant Plucker'.

"I am not a pheasant plucker, I am a chartered accountant," Biggins told assembled journalists at the Royal Standard pub on Frimley Road in nearby Camberley. "It's true that my father was an occasional pheasant plucker, and it's true that I am my father's son. But I am not, nor have I ever been a pheasant plucker. I am a chartered accountant. I did eat pheasant occasionally - usually in a game soup - but I never plucked it."

Locals however remain skeptical. Newsagent Ron Glumm told us:

"This is a whitewash. He's admitted that his father was a pheasant plucker, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a case of like father, like son. If that man isn't a pheasant plucker, well, I'll eat my fedora."

Award winning journalist, Luke Sharp, looked bored by the whole thing. He told us:

"It's the silly season. The no-news season. Quite frankly I don't give a toss whether or not Biggins is a pheasant plucker. Or his father."

More as we get it.

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YMCA Soccer

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By The Staff

The Wilderness Trace Family YMCA is looking forward to another great soccer season. The Soccer Clinic showed some success with plenty of new smiling faces. The weather was slightly cold but that didn’t stop the players. Coach Young and Coach Merriman did an excellent job with skills and drills to get the young players geared up for the soccer season. We are all looking forward to starting up the soccer season with plenty of sunny skies and friendly faces. The soccer season will kick off Saturday, April 16. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

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The Steampunk Empire

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At 6:02am on April 7, 2014, Sky Marshall said…

Greetings Dr. Watertight,

It has been too long since last we communicated... I trust the water and the winds are favorable.

..................-~< Sky Marshall >~-.....................

Gideon Alexander Cornelius Thaddeus Prime

At 3:27pm on December 11, 2011, mlle.deedee Bourget-gauzot said…

Bonjour! Dr.M.T.Watertight...

Votre don est grandement, appréciée ... aussi!

[Dr.M.T.Watertight...Thank-you, so very much for the comment and most definitely, the compliment...too! ]

Merci, deedee gauzot

At 8:14pm on December 8, 2011, mlle.deedee Bourget-gauzot said…

Hello! Dr. M.T. Watertight...

Thanks, for the gift...even though there was no need to reciprocate...please believe me. However, your gift (and thoughtfulness) is [very] much appreciated.

deedee gauzot

At 1:07am on October 07, 2011, mlle.deedee Bourget-gauzot gave Dr. M.T. Watertight a gift
Dr. M.T. Watertight... Hello! Thanks, for accepting my friendship...and posting the very interesting videos too! deedee
At 4:26pm on April 15, 2011, Captain Jason Redbeard said…

Dr. Watertight you certainly are amazing. Count me in as one of your fans.

Regards: Capt. Jason Redbeard

At 1:54pm on April 12, 2011, The Lady said…
So which ones are your very own? :)
At 2:23pm on March 4, 2011, The Lady said…
Indeed, when finding your own time it seems nothing but a jumbled mess of cogs and wheels. Fortunately, those cogs are long but in use, which means at some point time must stand still. When this occurs, use every ounce of it for yourself. Do tell, are all these creations your own? And might I ask, which is your favorite?
At 1:52pm on February 19, 2011, The Lady said…

I admire your collection of photographs.

The Lady

At 5:38am on November 29, 2010, Lord Rex of Whitby said…
Love the photos, very creative images
(and Port Angeles is pretty cool too!).
At 9:42pm on June 12, 2010, k u said…
:From The Morse Telegraph

**Begin Message**

Greetings and salutations from Arizona Dr. M.T. Watertight! Come join us in taking over the town of Rusted Gear during their centennial celebration.

Tucson, Arizona - March 4-6, 2011

Link: Wild Wild West Con Steampunk Convention & Festival

Mad Scientist/Madman

**End Message June 7th, 1895**

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This Day On The Street
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Tech Stocks in Motion

Shares of LightPath Technologies (LPTH - Get Report) were among the technology sector's biggest winners Monday after teh company received a contract to provide delivery systems for a laser project. The three-year agreement is with Ball Corp.'s (BLL) aerospace unit. LightPath will provide its Fusion fiber delivery systems for use in laser delivery applications. Shares soared $2.72, or 109%, to $5.22.

Shares of IBM (IBM - Get Report) fell after being downgraded Monday by analysts at J.P. Morgan. The brokerage said the stock, which has run up about 10% since July, is vulnerable to competitive risks at the company's hardware and services sector and may now be adequately priced. Although J.P. Morgan praised IBM's recent momentum in mainframes, semiconductors and cost-reduction, it downgraded the shares to neutral from outperform. In recent trading, IBM was down $1.10, or 1.3%, to $83.85.

Shares of International DisplayWorks (IDWK) rose after the company announced a new supply agreement. Roseville, Calif.-based International DisplayWorks said it has begun shipments under the pact, in which it is providing monochrome and color displays to SanDisk (SNDK - Get Report) for use in MP3 players. The company projected revenue under the pact of more than $20 million over the next 12 months. Shares of International DisplayWorks recently added 36 cents, or 6%, to $6.36. (AMZN - Get Report) fell after the stock was cut to underweight from neutral at J.P. Morgan. The brokerage warned that stiff competition in the ecommerce space could force Amazon into more capital spending, and said that could eat into margins this year and next. J.P. Morgan also said Amazon's growth isn't matching the rest of the Internet commerce space. In recent trading, shares fell 97 cents, or 2%, to $46.90.

Mercury Interactive (MERQ) rose after the company announced an acquisition in the so-called "service-oriented architecture" sector of Web services software. Mercury, which last week saw its shares delisted by the Nasdaq due to filing violations, said it will pay $105 million for Systinet Corp., a five-year-old firm based in Burlington, Mass. Systinet specializes in software that lets programs talk to each other in a commercial setting. In recent trading, Bulletin Board-listed shares of Mercury were up 15 cents to $30.60.
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Fossil Inc. (FOSL): Today's Featured Consumer Durables Winner

Fossil ( FOSL) pushed the Consumer Durables industry higher today making it today's featured consumer durables winner. The industry as a whole closed the day up 0.6%. By the end of trading, Fossil rose $1.44 (2.2%) to $68.10 on light volume. Throughout the day, 737,852 shares of Fossil exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 1.6 million shares. The stock ranged in a price between $65.70-$68.89 after having opened the day at $66.36 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $66.66. Other companies within the Consumer Durables industry that increased today were: Mad Catz Interactive ( MCZ), up 7.1%, Fortune Brands Home & Security ( FBHS), up 4.7%, Kimball International Inc. Class B ( KBALB), up 4.7%, and Fabrinet ( FN), up 3.6%.

Fossil, Inc. designs, develops, markets, and distributes consumer fashion accessories worldwide. Fossil has a market cap of $4.21 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.5, equal to the average consumer durables industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 14.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday. Currently there are six analysts that rate Fossil a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and six rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Fossil as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its growth in earnings per share, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

On the negative front, Entertainment Gaming Asia ( EGT), down 11.7%, Kid Brands ( KID), down 11.2%, Elecsys Corporation ( ESYS), down 6.1%, and Cascade Microtech ( CSCD), down 2.2%, were all losers within the consumer durables industry with Pitney Bowes ( PBI) being today's consumer durables industry loser.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the consumer durables industry could consider Consumer Discretionary Sel Sec SPDR ( XLY) while those bearish on the consumer durables industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods ( SZK).

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Northern Trust Stock To Go Ex-dividend Tomorrow (NTRS)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- The ex-dividend date for Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is tomorrow, September 5, 2012. Owners of shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 30 cents per share. At a price of $46.46 as of 9:30 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 2.6%.

The average volume for Northern Trust has been 1.1 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Northern Trust has a market cap of $11.17 billion and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 17.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

Northern Trust Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, and fiduciary and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.7, equal to the average banking industry P/E ratio and equal to the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Northern Trust as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, expanding profit margins, solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share and reasonable valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity. You can view the full Northern Trust Ratings Report.

See our dividend calendar or top-yielding stocks list.

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CGGVeritas Announces Acquisition Of Fugro’s Geoscience Division And The Creation Of Strategic Partnerships

Regulatory News:

CGGVeritas (Paris:GA) (NYSE:CGV)  announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Fugro to acquire Fugro’s Geoscience Division, excluding the existing Multi-Client library and nodes businesses.

With this transformative agreement, CGGVeritas will become a fully integrated Geoscience company establishing a leading position in the fast growing high-end integrated geology and geophysics and reservoir market. The transaction will also strengthen and extend its existing equipment and acquisition businesses, in particular with the addition of four high-end 3D vessels.

The agreement also includes strategic partnerships which will benefit from the leading positions both parties have in their respective markets:
  • The creation of a Seabed Joint-Venture, a focused global leader in the rapidly growing Seabed acquisition market, which will be 60%-owned by Fugro after payment of €225 million to CGGVeritas.
  • A commercial agreement for CGGVeritas to sell Fugro’s existing Multi-Client data, which remains owned by Fugro.
  • A global strategic technical and commercial mutual preferred supplier agreement.

The gross amount of the transaction is €1.2 billion, to be paid in cash and expected to be financed with 1/3 of equity and 2/3 from debt and Seabed JV share proceeds, structured to maintain our current credit ratings. As soon as possible, CGGVeritas intends to launch a capital increase with a Rights Issue. The debt will be financed by a bridge loan. The transaction is expected to be accretive from 2013 and enable steadier cash generation from the integrated Group.

The transaction has been approved by both the CGGVeritas and Fugro Boards of Directors.

The completion of the transaction is subject to mandatory anti-trust clearances, work councils consultation processes and other customary conditions. Closing is targeted before year-end.

Jean-Georges Malcor, Chief Executive Officer of CGGVeritas said:

“I am very enthusiastic about the transaction. It perfectly fits our strategy, significantly increasing our integrated geology and geophysics, reservoir characterization and development capabilities, along with strengthening our core equipment and acquisition offer in particular with immediate access in marine to high end vessels at a time of market recovery. It also extends our service range to new customers and additional markets such as airborne. The acquired business of Fugro’s Geoscience Division fully complements our products and services and enables us to better serve our clients across the complete exploration to production value chain.

Fugro’s technology and talented people are an excellent addition to our team and I look forward to welcoming them to CGGVeritas. With an expanded technology portfolio, a stronger industry position and our combined expertise, we will create an integrated company with leading capabilities in geoscience, equipment, and acquisition.

Moreover, the agreement creates a strategic partnership that combines the strengths of CGGVeritas and Fugro, including the establishment of a new Seabed acquisition Joint Venture that immediately becomes a focused market leader in this very promising and dynamic market segment.

This step change transaction is expected to accelerate profitable growth, cash generation and increase the resiliency of the business. The proposed financing structure will enable our shareholders to fully benefit from this transaction which is expected to be accretive from 2013.

Transformed into an integrated Geoscience company, CGGVeritas will be well positioned to deliver greater value to our clients and shareholders and provide more opportunities for our employees.”

Strategic Rationale of the Agreement

CGGVeritas establishes a leading position in the high-tech integrated geology & geophysics and reservoir characterization market
  • A major step forward in field development and in reservoir capabilities, with strong recognized brands and immediate access to new clients
  • An accelerated move to a less cyclical business and low capital intensive geoscience consulting services
  • The addition of high-tech reservoir characterization and modeling software and services, complementing the Hampson-Russell business
  • Provision of high-end integrated solutions from exploration to production

…while strengthening and extending its existing businesses
  • Immediate access to high-end Marine vessels at a time of market recovery. A sound alternative to new builds while keeping industry capacity constant
  • Creation with our partner Fugro of a global leader in the rapidly growing Seabed Acquisition services market
  • An increased Multi-Client footprint through access to new libraries and reinforced marketing teams
  • A complementary position in equipment with the De Regt products
  • The addition of high skilled personnel where expertise is a key success factor
  • The addition of acquisition services businesses: Airborne, Marine EM, Marine Magnetics & Gravity

…and benefiting from synergies
  • Scale savings and incremental productivity of the global fleet
  • Technology and commercial leverage across the geosciences
  • Additional sales expected from the preferred supplier agreement

CGGVeritas and Fugro Employees

The transaction involves highly skilled employees located around the world. Approximately 2500 employees will join CGGVeritas from Fugro and approximately 230 from CGGVeritas will join the Seabed Joint Venture. Both parties have agreed to honor all existing labor rights and agreements. Applicable consultations with the employee representation groups will be undertaken by both parties.

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Money Centers and Regional Banks Remain Vulnerable

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- The finance sector is 8.5% overvalued with the banks major regional industry 17.2% undervalued. This is reason enough for investors to like the buy rated banks among the nine that I have been profiling in my analysis of the biggest FDIC-insured financial institutions. However, investors and Wall Street continue to ignore the stress that I found in the banking system in the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for the third quarter of 2012.

If you are investing or trading bank stocks you should read my post from Dec. 5 FDIC Reports Positive Banking System Data . Please study the table of data that I put together to explain that while the banking system has made slow but steady progress in unwinding toxic assets, that the level of noncurrent loans remain elevated versus levels at the end of 2007 when the great credit crunch began.

Back on Nov. 1, I wrote Bank Stocks Have Symptoms of QE Fatigue where I profiled the nine stocks I am profiling again today. Despite Wednesday's rebound for the industry seven of the nine stocks are lower today then when I wrote the Nov. 1 story.

Looking at ratings from www.ValuEngine.comtoday versus Nov. 1, only one stock was downgraded.

On Nov. 1 only two of our nine benchmark bank stocks were below their 200-day simple moving averages. Today we find five of nine below their 200-day SMA.

Eight of the nine bank stocks have gains of 20.6% to 81.3% over then last 12 months. None are projected to come close to these performance measures over the next 12 months.

All nine banks stocks are cheap based upon 12 month trailing price-to-earnings ratios between 7.7 and 15.3.

All nine stocks are in the make-up of the 24 bank stocks in the PHLX KBW Banking Index (BKX).

Chart Courtesy of Thomson/Reuters

The daily chart for the BKX ($48.64) shows that the index representing the nation's biggest banks is trading between its 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages at $47.25 and $49.42. The BKX is well below its post-recession high of $58.81, set during the week of April 23, 2010. A close this week below the five-week modified moving average at 48.82 keeps the weekly chart profile negative indicating risk to the 200-week SMA at $44.99. A weekly close below my quarterly pivot at $47.55 indicates risk to this month's value level at $45.18.
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BAC $17.88 0.00%
C $58.37 0.00%
BBT $40.40 0.00%
JPM $68.05 0.00%
PNC $98.14 0.00%

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Raytheon To Improve US Army Air Defenses, Better Identify Targets

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), under a contract modification from the U.S. Army, is adding new capabilities to the Identification Friend or Foe interrogator to reduce Radio Frequency (RF) emissions and enhance target identification for the warfighter.

"We understood that the warfighter needed an improved identification capability, so Raytheon is both increasing the capability of the interrogator system and reducing RF emissions," said Glen Bassett, director of Advanced Communication and Countermeasures for Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business.

The addition of Mode S, awarded to Raytheon in September 2012, will allow the warfighter to query targets individually and has the ability to track and identify targets passively rather than filling the airspace with RF.

The U.S. Army requires the use of Mode S interrogations to maintain the ability to distinguish the intent and identify civil targets that operate in the airspace to avoid fratricide. This modification will reduce the impact of military operations on civil air traffic control in the National Airspace.

The new Mode S and passive receive capability will be initially integrated on the Air Traffic, Navigation, Integration, and Coordination System's (ATNAVICS) host platform, and has applications for other air defense systems.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at and follow us on Twitter @raytheon.

Media Contact  Peter Ramjug  +1.978.886.7738

SOURCE Raytheon Company

Copyright 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Liberty Announces Semi-Annual Payment On 3.5% Senior Exchangeable Debentures Due 2031 - Results In Further Reduction Of Adjusted Principal Amount

Liberty Interactive LLC ("Liberty"), a subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB, LVNTA, LVNTB), announced a semi-annual payment to the holders of its 3.5% Senior Exchangeable Debentures due 2031 (the "Debentures"). The amount of the payment is $17.50 per $1,000 original principal amount of Debentures.

Under the Indenture for the Debentures, the original principal amount of the Debentures is adjusted in an amount equal to each extraordinary distribution made to holders of the Debentures. Thereafter, the adjusted principal amount is further reduced on each successive semi-annual interest payment date to the extent necessary to cause the semi-annual interest payment to represent the payment of an annualized yield of 3.5% of the adjusted principal amount. This latter adjustment, to the extent it is made by reason of a particular extraordinary distribution that results in an adjustment to the principal amount of the Debentures, takes effect on the second succeeding interest payment date after the payment of that extraordinary distribution.

To date, there have been two extraordinary distributions to holders of the Debentures. On January 10, 2007, Liberty made an extraordinary distribution of $162.6160 per $1,000 original principal amount of Debenture arising from Freescale Semiconductor’s going private transaction. On June 20, 2012, Liberty made an extraordinary distribution of $184.0960 per $1,000 original principal amount of Debenture arising from the acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc (“MMI”) by Google.

Adjustments to the principal amount of the Debentures do not affect the amount of the semi-annual payments received by holders of the Debentures, which will continue to be a rate equal to 3.5% per annum of the original principal amount of the Debentures. Below is a detail of the amount of the payment being made on the Debentures, its allocation between payment of interest and repayment of principal and the revised adjusted principal amount resulting from the payment, per $1,000 original principal amount of the Debentures:

January 15, 2014BeginningAdjusted Principal
  Payment   Interest

AdditionalPayment ofPrincipal

January 15, 2014Ending AdjustedPrincipal
$605.6481   $17.50   $10.5988   $6.9012   $ 598.7470

Liberty is also making an excess regular cash dividend amount distribution of $0.3156 per Debenture, attributable to the quarterly dividends paid by Motorola Solutions Inc. on 9/15/13 and 1/15/14.

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Porsche Carrera GT

Developed in 1999, Porsche Carrera GT, manufactured by Porsche of Germany, is priced at $440,000 dollars. It is well worth its price if we count the 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 DIN (605 SAE) horsepower (450 kW) and the acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds, touching a maximum speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).
Porsche Carrera GT
The design is stunning too, Carrera GT has a 5 colors paint schemes that includes: black, guards red, fayence yellow, basalt black, GT silver and seal grey.
The innovating thing about this car is the way that its engine is placed: with the use of a clutch made of a high-tech ceramic material, it`s allowing the engine to sit lower in the chassis than in any other super car. This feature is not only making the Carrera GT a road car with the looks of a race one, but also improves its aerodynamics and lowers its center of gravity.
Porsche Carrera GT side view
Porche Carrera GT does have traction control even if, like some of its competitions, doesn`t use electronic driving aids such as dynamic stability control.
Porsche Carrera GT back view

Vehicle Type: - 2-door convertible, production car
Price: - $440,000
Configuration: - Mid Engine / RWD
Engine: - V10
Displacement: - 5733 cc
Torque: - 435 lb-ft at 5750 rpm
Horsepower: - 612 bhp at 8000 rpm
Transmission: - 6-Speed Manual
Length: - 181.6 inches
Width: - 75.6 inches
Height: - 45.9 inches
Weight: - 3042 lbs
0-60 mph: - 3.8 sec
Top speed: - 205 mph

Porsche Carrera GT Gembella Mirage in Abu Dhabi

Porsche Carrera GT and BMW M5 drift on public road

Porsche Carrera GT vs Ferrari Enzo racing scene from the movie Redline

Porsche Carrera GT Vs Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Porsche Carrera GT vs Ferrari 599 GTB F1 Fiorano

  • Timi

    I’ve driven it once before it is amazing


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Mel Gibson gets some help

By: Superficial / August 1, 2006

mel-gibson-rehab.jpgMel Gibson’s publicist has confirmed that he’s checked himself into rehab, although the details of when and where are still unknown. Right now Mel is free on $5,000 bail and has a scheduled court date on September 28, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is deciding this week whether or not they’re going to file charges against him. Additionally, celebrity agent Ari Emanuel is urging other celebrities to boycott working with Mel Gibson in an effort to show Hollywood won’t tolerate his racism and anti-Semitism. And with all the bad press surrounding this incident I guess it’s safe to say there won’t ever be a sequel to Braveheart. Which is too bad, because I was really looking forward to Braveheart 2: Electric Boogaloo.


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Wood, Baker to exchange vows

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Make my day: Thursday

Spot the score at Filmharmonic, a night of belting cinematic scores played by the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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If they could see it now: Blitz scenes 70 years on

The Bank of England during the Blitz and now
Barcroft Media
The Bank of England during the Blitz and now

Seventy years ago today 348 Luftwaffe bombers and 617 fighters flew low up the Thames in a terrifying new chapter in the war with Germany.

The attack on the night of September 7, 1940, started in the East End, spread to the docks, then the City and the West End. By the morning 436 Londoners were dead and 1,600 injured.

It was the start of the Blitz, an eight-month bombardment of British cities that brought devastation to home soil on a scale not seen since the English Civil War in the 17th century.

Images put together by the news agency

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