Author: Serkadis

Compounding tragedy upon tragedy

Those who have been so quick to condemn Amanda Knox [“Knox ‘scared,’ still hopeful,” NWMonday, Dec. 14], it is crucial to note, have been completely unable to counter the enormous evidentiary gaps that make this conviction a fraud.

They are, however, able to pile on conclusory and judgmental observations about lifestyle and impairment. They are loathe to mention that any miscommunication on the part of Knox, who at that time did not speak fluent Italian, could have been avoided if the Italian police and prosecutor had provided her with access to legal assistance from the outset.

A lawyer should have headed off the Guantánamo-style interrogation that rendered a faulty confession and created the smoky haze of tabloid-fueled bias, which tainted the verdict.

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini can add me to the growing list of those he has tried to bully because he is entirely responsible for orchestrating a theatrical farce, which has done nothing but compound tragedy upon tragedy.

— P. Scott Cummins, Seattle

Response to Italian letter writer

As Rita Dunn does in “A letter from Italy” [Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 13], I too assumed Amanda Knox was guilty mostly because of her statement to the police implicating Diya “Patrick” Lumumba in the murder of Meredith Kercher.

But when there wasn’t one bit of credible evidence to tie Knox to the murder, I looked deeper.

Knox gave this statement about four days after the murder, and after 14 hours of interrogation without an interpreter or counsel. She did not come up with Lumumba’s name out of the blue.

Based on nothing more than a text message on the night of the murder in which Knox tells Lumumba that she’ll see him later, police devised a theory that Lumumba, Knox and her boyfriend had killed Kercher.

She was questioned with this theory in mind. It was the police themselves who first suggested Lumumba.

Apparently asked to imagine what might have happened and having been told that they had hard evidence against her, Knox told the police what they wanted to hear.

I think she was a frightened young woman trying to find an honest, but desperate, way to give the police what they wanted.

— Bonny Becker, Seattle

All I want for Christmas is a smaller classroom

Editor, The Times:

After stonewalling through the summer and most of the 18-day teacher’s strike, Kent School District administrators have what they fought so hard to maintain: classes that remain larger than neighboring districts.

The School Board might think that’s an acceptable solution, but here’s the on-the-ground perspective: step into a Kent kindergarten class, and there are 30 students enrolled, even though the district told the community the cap would be 29.

For some, English is their second language. One of every six in the room is a special-needs student, draining additional time the teacher can spend with his or her other students.

A few miles down the road in Tahoma, a typical kindergarten class is 22. With typical absences, there could be only 18 students in the room. Discipline issues are fewer because misbehaving students can’t feed off each others’ antics. The teacher has time to redirect students immediately and can spend time teaching.

Tahoma is not alone in understanding teachers teach better when classrooms aren’t packed: Auburn and Shoreline limit their primary grades to 23, Edmonds and Northshore to 24.

These are districts that face similar financial constraints and which also suffered from state budget cuts this year. Instead of making excuses they found solutions and put more money into teachers’ salaries.

The teachers’ song in Kent is still the same as during the strike: District spending choices are about priorities. Kent has kept more administrators on the payroll with salaries higher than neighboring districts. The superintendent’s $240,000 salary is more than the vice president of the United States.

We suffered through the strike and came to a solution, but it is not working. Parents and community members need to continue putting pressure on the district to follow through on their promises.

Change takes time, so if not for Christmas, maybe the gift of smaller classes could come in the New Year.

— Jody Lee Collins, Renton

The Grinch who stole a Christmas tree

I note that someone stole a rare conifer from the arboretum, rather than pay for a Christmas tree [“Tree-steeling Scrooge,” Opinion, editorial, Dec. 14].

What’s next for this person?

Slaughter a Palawan peacock pheasant from the Woodland Park Zoo rather than pay for a chicken at QFC?

— Ivan Wright, Seattle

Chocolate ferryboats gone afloat?

Since moving here 20 years ago, I have sent Seattle Chocolate Company chocolates in their iconic ferryboat boxes to far-flung family members and friends, along with the promise of a ferryboat ride across Puget Sound if they come this way.

I went to get some this year for young relatives in Arizona. Unable to find them, I went online to e-mail the company to find the nearest outlet that carries them.

I recently got their reply: The ferryboat boxes were discontinued almost a year ago.

Another Seattle icon gone quietly into the night. Sigh.

— Adelaide W. Loges, Bothell

With the LIMES LI20 and LI50 Kübler is presenting a new generation of measuring heads in a particularly solid die-cast housing. Used in conjunction with its magnetic bands with their stainless-steel covering, the resulting linear measurement system stays sealed even in harsh industrial environments and offers security against failures in the field. The magnetic rings offer the user a remarkably compact measurement system for rotary applications where installation space is very tight. Installation depths of only 16mm are possible with a large hollow shaft of 30mm. The combination of rings and bands plus Kübler’s flexible manufacturing facilities open up a wide spectrum of different geometries that can be scanned, such as for example pitch circles or curves.

The non-contact technology ensures high vibration and shock resistance. The products can also be used outdoors, thanks to the high IP67 protection rating, the permitted 100% humidity with condensation, the wide temperature range and the weatherproof die-cast housing. The metal housing also offers improved shielding against electromagnetic interference.

Installation can be carried out very easily due to the large permitted tolerances of up to 1mm, which apply not only to the distance from band to sensor head but also for lateral misalignment, as well as to the built-in LED, which gives a red warning signal if the distance from the band to the reading head is too great or if the speed is too high. A green light shows the index pulse. The wide supply voltage range from 4.8 to 30 VDC likewise facilitates installation. The connections are made via a high-grade shielded PUR cable that is also suitable for trailing cable applications.

The sensing head is available either with a push-pull output or an RS422 interface and supplies two channels plus a periodic index with the corresponding inverted channels. The resolution is up to 5 mm with quadruple evaluation and the repeat accuracy is +/- one increment. The maximum traversing speed is 25m/s

Renishaw’s new incise™ dental milling machine was a significant talking point at the Dental Showcase exhibition held recently in Birmingham, UK, where dental laboratories were shown a system that will allow them to produce high quality zirconia frameworks at prices well below current market norms.

Said Gareth Tomkinson, UK Dental Sales Development Manager, “Renishaw is the world’s largest supplier of in-lab dental CAD/CAM scanning machines, and because we also manufacture our new compact milling machine we can offer incredibly competitive pricing to laboratories who are either looking to produce zirconia restorations in-house, or have frameworks supplied through our central manufacturing facility.”

Affordable dental CAD/CAM ……without compromise
The new dental milling system can produce single copings, custom abutments and bridge frameworks of up to 8 units in size, with further developments available early in 2010. Data obtained from Renishaw’s incise dental scanner is analysed using sophisticated dental CAD software, which then automatically determines a best-fit margin line and other parameters. The 3D computer model can then be fine-tuned by the technician if required before sending the data directly to the new dental milling system, which machines the pre-sintered zirconia billets supplied by Renishaw.

Before the final sintering in a furnace, a colour stain can be added to the copings or bridge frameworks to match a patient’s teeth, or left as the original white colour. Zirconia is an extremely bio friendly material, that also provides exceptional strength and optimum aesthetics for even the most demanding restoration.

Added Mr Tomkinson, “Our focus is on providing patients with affordable metal-free restorations as a viable alternative to non-precious PFM. However, there are no compromises; we manufacture high quality dental CAD/CAM systems, which together with premium grade zirconia, allow labs to promote the benefits of metal-free dentistry to many more clinicians and their patients.”

Port-Nou Terminal was the setting of an emergency drill that served to evaluate the efficiency of the Personnel Cage model BA-185 of the company TEC CONTAINER, S.A.

The emergency drill took place in the Port of Barcelona, in cooperation with the Emergency Services of Estibarna-Fremap, the Port Police, Estibarna y Prevestiba and proved the functionality of the new Personnel Cage, and the coordination of the emergency teams.

The performed drill involved the rescuing of a port stevedore in a practice accident on board of a vessel, and was carried out according to the programme of activities prepared by Prevestiba, joint prevention service of the stowage sector of the Port of Barcelona, together with stowage companies, Estibarna and the prevention delegates.

The Personnel Cage was initially designed for use in emergency cases, medical-care personnel entrance, and for evacuation of casualties out of the vessels in case of accidents. However, these are only some of the applications of the Personnel Cage designed and commercialized by TEC CONTAINER, S.A. Originally conceived for stowage operations, its high versatility has amplified the range of applications with such as repair works in areas of difficult access in vessels.

www.teccontainer.com

Cogelme – Magnetic&Eddy Current separators manufacture today announce an expansion of it’s separators line and presents a complete separation system also for cables, wires and computer boards recycling.

The cables separation system recover pure copper, aluminium or other valuable metals granules from plastics, rubber and paper. Compact and comfortable design combines granulation, aspiration and separation system. The system helps to improve productivity while minimizing scrap and downtime.

Cogelme is one of the best Italian producers of metal separators. For more than 20 years provides separation knowledge and solutions for broad spectrum of materials recycling applications: Plastic, Rubber, Glass, Urban Waste, Electronic Waste, Wood, Stones, Sand, Demolition Waste, Car Scrap, Incinerator ash and wherever metals are found.

The new U-MB steam boiler model series from LOOS INTERNATIONAL, a company of the Bosch Group, was presented to the public at the international ISH trade fair in Frankfurt, packaged in a multimedia artistic show. Interest in the new product was enormous, and projects and orders were soon pouring in.

One of the first U-MB boiler systems provides an efficient supply of steam for the kitchens and sterilisers of the Rudolfiner House. The Rudolfiner House in Vienna is one of the most modern, attractive private clinics in Europe.

This test method covers the determination of the peel resistance of adhesive bonds between: a sandwich of two layers of aluminum and polyethylene. The goal is to measure the average torque required to peel the two material.

How it works:
The fixture consists of a drum assembly, flexible loading straps mounted at the bottom of the stand, an upper self closing clamp to grip the specimen and a drum clamp to hold the outer skin against the face of the drum.
During a test the loading straps pull on the drum assembly, forcing it to rotate and climb along the length of the aluminum panel. This motion peels the outer skin away from the core structure. The peel force is monitored by the load measurement system providing a measure of bond strength.

The Industrial Automation Group of Advantech is proud to introduce their new PAC product line, the APAX-5000 series. This new generation of PACs integrates control, information processing, and networking in a single control system with a unique dual controller architecture that makes it superior to other PAC’s in the market. Advantech’s APAX-5000 series fulfill versatility, flexibility, and scalability needs to fully satisfy industrial automation industry applications. The APAX-5000 series consist of controllers, I/O modules, backplanes, and power modules, all with excellent functionality and user-friendly I/O design.

A Unique Architecture – Dual Controllers Separate HMI and SoftLogic Tasks
Critical applications need reliable and non-stop systems; it is not acceptable that the I/O processing is terminated for any reason. To reduce these operational risks, Advantech’s APAX-5000 features a unique architecture, two standalone CPU modules working together responsible for different tasks. One provides high computing power for HMI/SCADA, recipe, database and communication tasks (APAX-5570XPE or APAX-5571XPE) while the other is dedicated for SoftLogic I/O tasks (APAX-5520KW).
This means if the HMI/SCADA controller crashes, the I/O processing won’t be affected and will work as normal. Engineers can simply check the HMI/SCADA controller and maintain it without having to worry about the I/O processing tasks. Separating HMI/SCADA and I/O processing tasks can prevent unexpected stoppage, decreases operational risks, and ensures higher reliability for critical control tasks.

Backup System Enhances System Reliability
Aside from the dual controller architecture, the APAX-5000 controllers also support backup functions. The same I/O processing program can be stored on two controllers, one will execute the I/O processing and if that controller fails, the second controller will automatically take responsibility for I/O processing within 1.5 seconds. Users don’t need to write programs for this mechanism and the backup system enables reliability for critical applications.

Analog Signal Transmitters via Radio RDT-4000

¿Would you like to transmit field signals with no wired cost?

Many times is needing to have several measuring points distributed in plant or in field, in these applications the wired cost is often higher than the original instruments fare. The solution is feasible at present thanks to free band radio transmitters. The RDT-4000/… is the state-of-art all in one devices, capable to read up to two analog mA, mV, Pt100, Pulses, etc., variables and to transmit them via Radio from 250 devices max., in peer-to-peer or multipoint modes, to a radio-modem RMT-1000 linked by RS-485 or USB to a PLC or PC.

BW Technologies by Honeywell introduces the newest member of the GasAlert family – the GasAlertQuattro. Rugged and reliable, the GasAlertQuattro four-gas detector combines a comprehensive range of features with simple one-button operation.

Simultaneously monitor and display H2S, CO, O2 and combustibles. With flexible power options, AA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack, the GasAlertQuattro is always ready for your shift. The large LCD with intuitive icons and backlight simplifies on-site auditing and compliance. Bump test and calibration icons are clearly identifiable, and extra-large digits are easy to read in varying light conditions. The green LED confidence flash provides continuous visual confirmation of detector operation and compliance.

The versatile GasAlertQuattro was designed for harsh environments. A durable exterior with reinforced bumpers and integral concussion-proof boot protect the detector. Suited to a wide range of industrial applications including general confined space entry, the GasAlertQuattro offers a simple, automatic calibration procedure and is compatible with BW’s MicroDock II automatic test and calibration system.

With the GasAlertQuattro, seeing is believing.

Korenix unveils JetBox 9533G exclusive 4-port Gigabit Embedded networking VPN Router Computer for providing extended high-bandwidth data transmission in industrial networks. In addition to its already rich interface of LAN, WAN, DIO, Serial Console and USB ports, the RISC-based computer is designed with 4 PoE ports for delivering power along with data to high resolution cameras and other high performance PoE enabled devices. The almighty computer has a complete Layer3 routing and VPN functionality to expend networking capabilities and reduce system costs by effectively managing dynamic long-distance and secure overlay gigabit network groups. Combined with IP-31 rugged fan-less, anti vibration/shock design, and -25~70oC operating temperature, JetBox 9533G ensures the reliability and high-performance of large network infrastructures in severe industrial environments.

Huge Network Capacity with 4 Gigabit Ports
JetBox 9533G outstands from other VPN router computers with its exclusive design of 4 integrated Gigabit RJ45 ports. With the Giga ports the VPN computer works as a backbone networking device to connect to up to 4 gigabit switches in extended networks for delivering maximum throughput for high performance, high-density and reliable connection.

Maximum Flexibility through All-in-One Interface
JetBox 9533G is compliant with the IEEE802.3af PoE standard and operates as a power sourcing equipment to provide 15.4W power per port to higher resolution IP cameras, VoIP phones, Wireless Access Points, etc. IPC providers can benefit from the 4 Giga PoE ports of the computer to deliver hundreds of megapixel video streams with reduced construction, maintenance time and costs. In addition to the PoE interface, the JetBox 9533G provides 8DIO, Serial RS-232 Console, USB port for easily connecting and reading the status of RFID readers, IO devices and other data enriched products.

Effective Group Management and Secure VPN Networking
JetBox 9533G supports VPN functionality and therefore can expand high-bandwidth networking capabilities and reduce system costs by establishing long-distance and secured network connections over WAN.

With its rich interface, outstanding management and L3 routing capabilities, the almighty 4-port Gigabit VPN Router Computer extends the network groups and provides huge network bandwidth connection with minimum installation costs in large scale industrial environments.

Korenix Technology
www.korenix.com
+886-2-8911-1000
[email protected]

TR200 Promotion
As long as purchased the roughness tester TR200 from our company, the software of TR200 for PC provided free!
For more detailed information, please do not hesitate to contact with agents of each region!
With the softeare, it is convinient for users to managing, analyzing, printing and serching measured data and graphs.

Westech Engineering can custom design a Loader Bucket to your specific application. We will build the bucket size to match your loader capacity and digging environment.

1. Low Wide Profile – for better digging, dumping and visibility. Sweeps clean to save tires.

2. Field Proven Lip Systems – Projecting lip and wing shrouds penetrate material, maximizing breakout force. Quick change replaceable points, adapters and wear parts reduce downtime costs. Other lip options are available upon request.

3. Flush Wear Shrouds – Protect lip, eliminate lip welding and ensures flush and clean passes to protect tires.

4. Cast Alloy Corners – Reduce Bucket Flexing, contoured for strength and better material flow, eliminate cracking and weld repair.

5. Replacement Bottom Runners – Optional runners of hard alloy, protect bucket bottom from wear. These runners can be Quickly Replaced.

6. See-Through Rock Spill Guard – Full protection with excellent visibility.

Replaceable Bottom Runners can be quickly replaced.

Attached is the draft Copenhagen Accord, which was hammered out by the United States, China, India and South Africa, and made available less than two hours ago.  The Conference of the Parties is still in session; reportedly 26 other nations are reviewing the draft and may join the Accord.  Details regarding wider acceptance of this draft are sketchy at this point.

The major issues that have caused controversy among the delegates have been addressed, such as: a commitment by the developed world countries to provide financing to the developing world countries to assist with mitigation and adaptation, amounting to $30 billion between 2010 and 2012, rising to $100 billion by 2020; prevention of deforestation and market mechanisms to enhance forest programs; a recognition of the importance of keeping the rise in temperature to less than 2 degrees; and a commitment to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to below 50 percent of 1990 level, with Annex I parties committing to reduce their emissions individually or jointly by 80 percent.  Finally, implementation of the Accord shall be reviewed in 2016 to determine if the long-term goal of a less than 2 degree rise in temperature should be reduced to 1.5 degrees.

There have been lots of complaints about Peter Mandelson’s “Digital Economy Bill” in the UK, which, beyond pushing a three strikes policy on the UK, would also grant Mandelson (or whomever he or future Business Secretaries deputize) the power to automatically change copyright law at will with no oversight. Scary enough, but it gets worse. As everyone’s been focused on these clauses, they may have missed another scary one. Brian points out that another section, Section 124H, would also grant the Secretary of State the power to silently block access to any websites he dislikes. Yes, it would allow the Secretary of State to create a no-visit list that ISPs would have to block. And there would be no oversight (again). Oh, and it’s not just websites. The order could be used for something like “block all BitTorrent” traffic. Seems like a bit much, doesn’t it?

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Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

Good news, the check is in the mail! General Motors issued a (very) brief press release this afternoon stating that the automaker had delivered on its promise to issue its first reimbursement checks to the U.S. and Canadian governments by the end of the year. GM sent $1 billion to the feds and $192 million to the Canadian government, and GM reiterated in the statement that it would complete payments totaling $6.7 billion (to the U.S. government) by June 2010.

Beyond the $6.7 billion GM owes the federal government is a 60 percent ownership stake Uncle Sam has on the 101-year-old automaker. When the General releases an initial public offering the resulting stock sale will (supposedly) buy the government out. Experts feel the IPO could happen as early as the second half of 2010. Hit the jump to read over the General’s succinct press release.

[Source: GM | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Continue reading GM begins repayment to U.S. and Canadian governments

GM begins repayment to U.S. and Canadian governments originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Security is one of the biggest concerns for business owners when deciding whether to use an online service like Google Apps.

So what are the best ways to protect yourself when using it?

Amit Agarwal is a professional blogger and technology columnist. He writes digital inspiration, a world-class technology blog. But Amit got hacked this week. He wrote about it on his blog, providing some excellent advice on how to protect yourself from a similar kind of attack.

Sponsor

Amit wrote that he often receives false requests to change his password. He received a similar message this week, but ignored it. A few minutes later he started getting error messages. He could not get to his accounts.

Amit had been hacked. He thinks that a hacker accessed a backup email that he had set up for his accounts.

Amit had his service restored in about three hours, after some calls to Google. He felt obviously relieved, but also had that feeling of emptiness when you suddenly realize you have no control over your accounts.

To help others avoid this kind of calamity, Amit summarized in five points how to make sure something like this does not happen to you:

1. Log-in to your Gmail / Google Account and associate it with a phone number: It’s a simple set up. You will get confirmation via SMS. If you do get attacked, a notification will go to you that someone is trying to get to your password.

2. Create a new email address: Set up the email to act as a backup and as a secondary email for your Google Apps account. Good advice by Amit: do not auto-forward your email as the whole purpose of setting it up will be defeated.

3. Write it Down: Get out that old-fashioned pen and paper. Write down the following information so you can verify your identity just in case you do get hacked and your secondary email gets compromised, too.

From Amit:

• The month and year when your created your Gmail / Google Account.
• If you created a Gmail account by invitation, write the email address of the person who first sent you that invite for Gmail.
• The email addresses of your most frequently emailed contacts (the top 5).
• The names of any custom labels that you may have created in your Gmail account.
• The day/month/year when you started using various other Google services (like AdSense, Orkut, Blogger, etc.) that are associated with the Google account that you are trying to recover. If you’re not certain about some of the dates, provide your closest estimate.

4. Run a Test! Log-out of all your Gmail / Google Accounts. Start the password recovery process. This guarantees that what you set up actually works. You want to be absolutely certain your SMS settings and secondary email addresses are configured correctly.

5. Check your IP Address: From time to time check out the IP address in the footer of your Gmail Inbox. If you see an odd one, change your Google password immediately. Knowing IP addresses may seem too technical to some but it’s good information to know.

You should not have to be overly concerned about Google Apps security. If people take these kinds of basic steps, the chances of getting hacked decrease considerably.

Discuss

Article Tags: Doug L. Hoffman, Headline Story

While climate skeptics have gleefully pointed to the past decade’s lack of temperature rise as proof that global warming is not happening as predicted, climate change activists have claimed that this is just “cherry picking” the data. They point to their complex and error prone general circulation models that, after significant re-factoring, are now predicting a stretch of stable temperatures followed by a resurgent global warming onslaught. In a recent paper, a new type of model, based on a test for structural breaks in surface temperature time series, is used to investigate two common claims about global warming. This statistical model predicts no temperature rise until 2050 but the more interesting prediction is what happens between 2050 and 2100.

David R.B. Stockwell and Anthony Cox, in a paper submitted to the International Journal of Forecasting entitled “Structural break models of climatic regime-shifts: claims and forecasts,” have applied advanced statistical analysis to both Australian temperature and rainfall trends and global temperature records from the Hadley Center’s HadCRU3GL dataset. The technique they used is called the Chow test, invented by economist Gregory Chow in the early 1960s. The Chow test is a statistical test of whether the coefficients in two linear regressions on different data sets are equal. In econometrics, the Chow test is commonly used in time series analysis to test for the presence of a structural break.

Source: theresilientearth.com

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