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The Hozameen Range, also known as the Hozomeen Range, sits within southwestern British Columbia and northern Washington. This subrange of the craggy North Cascades is neighbored on the east by the Okanagan Range and the northwest by the (unofficially named) Coquihalla Range.
Jack Mountain, the tallest and most prominent in the Hozameen Range, is found in the North Cascades and appears entirely detached from surrounding summits. In fact, there are no mountains that come within 900 feet of its height for a considerable distance in all directions. The closest high-altitude peak, Crater Mountain, is three miles from Jack Mountain. Jack Mountain is considered an icon of the Hozameen Range because it can be observed and appreciated from just about every alpine summit in the North Cascades. However, it is a considerably difficult peak to climb and is rarely summited.
Castle Peak, the 42nd most prominent peak in Washington, sits within the Pasayten Wilderness. Just over a mile from the Canadian border, Castle Peak is a massif, complex peak and it’s North Face is popular amongst professional rock climbers.
The namesake peak in the Hozameen Range, Hozomeen Mountain, is a double-summit, rocky peak in the North Cascades. This jagged peak is commanding, steep, and dominates the landscape surrounding Ross Lake. Most visitors will catch a glimpse of Hozomeen Mountain from roadside turnouts along Highway 20. However, both the north and south peak are accessible with enough climbing and mountaineering experience.
The Hozameen Range also contains portions of Skagit Valley Provincial Park and all of E.C. Manning Provincial Park in Canada, as well as sections of North Cascades National Park in the states. All of these parks are popular for outdoor recreation and are visited by outdoor enthusiasts looking for a variety of hiking, climbing, or backcountry camping opportunities. Although some of the reputable Hozomeen Peaks are difficult to ascend, several of them are accessible via challenging trails and do no require considerable climbing or mountaineering experience.
Hozomeen Lake Trail - This 7-mile trail begins at the Hozomeen Campground and follows the eastern shore of the infamous Ross Lake. After following a ridge for approximately 2 miles, hikers will climb beyond the scenic Willow Lake before climbing to Hozomeen Lake which sits at over 2,800-feet.
Desolation Peak - This alpine stairmaster requires 1,000 feet of elevation gain each mile, so it’s not for the faint of heart. However, while the hike is considerably difficult, the views from the top of Desolation Peak are definitely worth the effort. On a clear day, hikers will appreciate views of Little Jackass Mountain, Hozomeen Mountain, Skagit Peak, and other notable Cascade peaks. Hikers can either start an 18-mile ascent via the trailhead or take a boat from Hozomeen Campground.
Lightning Lake - Lightning Lake, one of the more popular trails in Manning, is a stunning trail that traverses dense forest while looping around both sections of Lightning Lake and crossing the infamous Rainbow Bridge. The trail offers very little elevation, making it a peaceful walk in the woods. This trail is an easy option for a scenic day hike and is frequented by visitors looking to paddleboard or canoe during summer months.
Three Brothers Mountain - Located in the heart of E.C. Manning Provincial Park, Three Brothers has a base elevation of 1,500 feet but a total elevation gain of roughly 3,000 feet. Three Brothers Mountain is considered one of the most scenic hikes in the park. The trail traverses incredible alpine forest and through grassy meadows before reaching 360-degree views of the stunning, snow-capped surrounding cascade peaks including Mount Frosty and Mount Outram.
Frosty Mountain - Frosty Mountain is the highest peak in E.C. Manning and reaches over 7,000 feet in elevation. The Frosty Mountain Loop offers two different trails featuring various challenges and terrain. Along the footpath, hikers can stop for lunch at a few clearings that overlook Lightning Lake and Flash Lake. Upon reaching the summit, hikers are rewarded with stunning, panoramic views of the surrounding high-altitude peaks in the surrounding Cascades, including the notorious Three Brothers.
Skagit Valley Provincial Park is a 126 sq. mile steep sided valley that features rugged summits and beautiful alpine meadows. Generally, Skagit Valley is overshadowed by Manning Park, but it’s incredible diversity and remote mountain terrain makes it an excellent option for hikers, climbers, and mountaineers. Most of Skagit Valley is undeveloped wilderness, but several hiking trails, like the Skyline II Trail and Skagit River Trail, exist along the Skagit River and nearby Ross Lake.
Open between mid-June and late October, Ross Lake Resort consists of a line of twelve individual cabins and three bunkhouses built on log floats. The resort sits on the west side of Ross Lake, just north of the Ross Dam. There are no direct roads to the resort, making this a rugged and remote getaway in the Cascades. To reach the resort, visitors can either hike or take the Diablo Lake Ferry. Either way, advanced research and reservations are required.
Princeton, an albeit tiny town, sits right at the edge of the Hozomeen Range in the Similkameen region of British Columbia. Historically, Princeton was a mining town. However, today, Princeton offers outdoor enthusiasts a charming mountain getaway with access to plenty of hiking, kayaking, fishing, camping, and biking opportunities. There are also a handful of hotels, amenities, and dining options in Princeton. Castle Resort, which sits just 5 minutes from Princeton in the Cascades, is an excellent option for visitors to this region.
Manning Park Resort is known to offer incredibly lodging with all the comforts of home. The resort is a full-service hotel with a variety of accommodations including cabins, chalets, and resort-style rooms. The Manning Park Resort also sits within the heart of the Cascades and offers visitors access to the stunning scenery found within E.C. Manning Provincial Park. During winter months, Manning Park turns into a hot spot for winter recreation. Known as ‘some of the best snow in B.C.,’ Manning Park offers 140 acres of skiable terrain, 34 runs, and a healthy mix of beginner and difficult terrain.
Explore Hozameen Range with the PeakVisor 3D Map and identify its summits.


Industry-leading firmware products born from AMI technology and innovation
November 19, 2020:
DULUTH, GEORGIA / HILLSBORO, OREGON - AMI®, a global leader in powering, managing and securing the world's connected digital infrastructure through its BIOS, BMC and security solutions, and Lattice Semiconductor, the low power programmable leader, are pleased to announce a new jointly-developed platform firmware security solution, AMI PlatFire™ Firmware with the Lattice Sentry™ solutions stack. The solution enables developers to quickly and easily implement system-level cyber resiliency that is pre-validated as compliant with NIST Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) Guidelines (NIST SP 800-193), making it easy for developers with limited hardware security expertise or limited time-to-market to implement PFR on the latest industry-standard server platforms.
The solution combines technology from two of the leading names in PFR - AMI and Lattice Semiconductor - to bring the industry an integrated, fully-featured, pre-verified and secure Platform Root-of-Trust (PRoT) solution that is flexible, scalable, low cost, and easy to implement. The solution uses the Lattice Sentry stack, featuring a low-power Lattice MachXO3D™ secure control FPGA running pre-verified, PFR-compliant IP, to implement a PRoT on a server's motherboard. The AMI PlatFire firmware then orchestrates the connection between the PRoT and other on-board components, such as SoCs and RoCs, to confirm the firmware they are running is valid.
"We're excited by the growing interest from customers across markets in implementing PFR to protect their systems. Pairing our Sentry solutions stack with AMI's new PlatFire firmware provides a comprehensive, system-level PFR solution that helps developers quickly and easily protect their system firmware, making PFR support possible for a larger potential customer base," said Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Lattice Semiconductor.
Sanjoy Maity, Chief Executive Officer of AMI, added that "Our AMI PlatFire PRoT firmware provides customers an affordable, flexible and comprehensive alternative to existing competitor solutions. By partnering with Lattice Semiconductor to deliver AMI PlatFire on a secure Lattice MachXO3D FPGA with the Lattice Sentry Security stack and a full suite of design and development tools, together we can offer complete system security that is fully compliant with NIST PFR Guidelines and is host CPU vendor agnostic - so customers don't have to feel locked into a particular ecosystem or platform to have a secured system."
Firmware is an increasingly popular attack vector; the National Vulnerability Database reported that between 2016 and 2019 the number of firmware vulnerabilities grew over 700 percent1. The NIST PFR guidelines were written to help developers understand how to protect legitimate firmware, detect unauthorized firmware, and restore compromised firmware to a known good state by establishing a PRoT. PRoT solutions validate platform firmware at boot to ensure it has not been modified illegitimately. Currently, developers with PFR design expertise are in limited supply, and OEMs requiring support for PFR often have strict time-to-market requirements that preclude developing a PFR solution from scratch. Recognizing these trends, AMI and Lattice worked together to deliver a tightly integrated, pre-validated PFR solution. It provides a robust PRoT, for real-time I2C bus and SPI monitoring of both BIOS and BMC SPIs, so from the moment a system boots all transactions over the SPI bus are monitored.
AMI has applied its 35 years of deep expertise in BIOS and BMC firmware development to deliver a robust PFR solution designed to detect, protect and recover firmware from unauthorized modification. As implemented in the AMI-Lattice joint solution, the PlatFire firmware executing on the Lattice MachXO3D with the Lattice Sentry solution stack orchestrates the connection between the solution's PRoT and all other ICs on the motherboard. Moreover, AMI PlatFire firmware is host CPU-agnostic, to give system developers greater flexibility in supporting the CPU requirements of their chosen server platform.
Thanks to its seamless integration with Aptio® UEFI Firmware and MegaRAC® SPX BMC Firmware from AMI, AMI PlatFire delivers a truly turnkey PFR solution - making use of the Lattice MachXO3D IP blocks to support detection and recovery of platform firmware, together with runtime monitoring of SPI flash memory used to store the platform firmware.
The Lattice Sentry solutions stack delivers a robust combination of customizable embedded software, reference designs based on the Lattice MachXO3D secure control FPGA, IP, and development tools to accelerate the implementation of secure systems compliant with PFR guidelines. As the system controller, the MachXO3D is the first component to execute code and attest power sequencing logic at system startup, making it an ideal platform for establishing a PRoT. Thanks to the MachXO3D FPGA's parallel processing architecture and flash memory, the device monitors for and detects attacks in real time - a truly groundbreaking innovation as real time monitoring is currently beyond the processing capabilities of competing PRoT solutions like MCUs.
For more information on the joint AMI PlatFire™ PRoT Firmware on Lattice Sentry solutions stack, please call 1-800-828-9264 to speak with an AMI Security Solutions expert or contact us via https://ami.com/en/contact-us/.
For more information about Lattice Sentry, please visit https://www.latticesemi.com/latticesentry.
About Lattice Semiconductor Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) is the low power programmable leader. We solve customer problems across the network, from the Edge to the Cloud, in the growing communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets. Our technology, long-standing relationships, and commitment to world-class support lets our customers quickly and easily unleash their innovation to create a smart, secure and connected world.
MachXO3D™ is a trademark of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
November 18, 2020:
DULUTH, GEORGIA - AMI®, a global leader in powering, managing and securing the world's connected digital infrastructure through its BIOS, BMC and security solutions, is pleased to be named as a collaborator in the new NIST® National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) 5G Cybersecurity Project.
AMI joins an impressive roster of technology providers and industry experts to collaborate on the project - including AT&T, CableLabs, Cisco, Dell Inc., Intel, Keysight, MiTAC, Nokia, Palo Alto Networks and T-Mobile - as they work together with the NCCoE 5G team to identify several 5G use case scenarios and demonstrate how the components of the 5G architecture can provide security capabilities to mitigate identified risks and meet industry sectors' compliance requirements.
Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with NIST, these organizations will form a consortium in which they will each contribute their expertise and hardware or software to help refine a reference design and build example standards-based solutions. This project will result in a publicly available NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide in the Special Publication 1800 series, a detailed guide describing the practical steps needed to implement a cybersecurity reference design.
Sanjoy Maity, Chief Executive Officer of AMI, expressed his pleasure at the news by saying, "We are delighted to be a participant in the NCCoE 5G Cybersecurity project. This announcement once again highlights our deep commitment to security across all sectors of the compute, cloud and connected devices ecosystems. AMI looks forward to working together with the NIST team and this stellar group of industry leaders over the coming months to deliver the forthcoming NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide, which will help build a solid foundation of security best practices for the dawning era of 5G communications and give actionable, practical guidance and solutions to the industry as they design the next generation of networks and transform our world."
For more information about the NIST NCCoE 5G Cybersecurity project, please visit the 5G project page at https://www.nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/5g-cybersecurity. To receive news and information about the progress of the project, please join the 5G Community of Interest by emailing email@example.com.
For more information on AMI Security Solutions, please contact AMI via https://ami.com/en/contact-us/ or call 1-800-828-9264 to speak with an AMI Security Solutions expert.
About the NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence The NCCoE is a collaborative hub where industry organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions work together to address businesses' most pressing cybersecurity issues. This public-private partnership enables the creation of practical cybersecurity solutions for specific industries, as well as for broad, cross-sector technology challenges. Through consortia under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), the NCCoE applies standards and best practices to develop modular, easily adaptable example cybersecurity solutions using commercially available technology. The NCCoE documents these example solutions in the NIST Special Publication 1800 series, which maps capabilities to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and details the steps needed for another entity to recreate the example solution.
NIST® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their owners in the US and other countries.
November 16, 2020:
DULUTH, GEORGIA - AMI®, a global leader in powering, managing and securing the world's connected digital infrastructure through its BIOS, BMC and security solutions, is pleased to announce support for Intel Memory Failure Protection (Intel MFP) capabilities in its Aptio® V UEFI Firmware and MegaRAC® BMC Firmware.
Intel MFP, optimized for Intel Xeon Scalable platforms, is specifically designed to improve customers' datacenter uptime and total cost of operation (TCO) by predicting DDR4 memory failures. For Aptio V UEFI Firmware, the Intel MFP solution comes in the form of the IntelMfpSupport eModule and includes OEM IPMI command additions. For MegaRAC BMC Firmware this support is available as an Option Pack, which includes code to process the memory errors complemented by the DIMM Health Assessment Model (DHAM) from Intel, along with periodic module updates.
As part of this initiative, AMI is authorized to provide the same world-class technical support for the Aptio V eModule and the MegaRAC Option Pack that is represented by all AMI products. Moreover, both AMI and Intel will continue to offer information and training for customers considering integration of these value-added firmware solutions.
DIMM failures are one of the most common causes of server downtime, notorious for severely impacting system reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS). These failures can be caused by a wide range of sources beyond normal use, such as manufacturing defects or extreme environmental or operating conditions. While currently accepted techniques such as Error Correcting Code (ECC) and correctable errors threshold-based Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) help overcome some correctable errors with DIMM, they have cost, reliability, coverage and performance implications - and cannot help to overcome uncorrectable errors.
As a more complete solution, Intel MFP features several innovative and original capabilities. It predicts micro-level failures in rows, columns and cells based on historical data, using a low-overhead online learning method to improve its prediction accuracy and avoid interfering with critical compute tasks. This also enables Intel MFP to generate an estimated memory health score for proactive memory failure management.
For datacenters and cloud service providers, the benefits of adding Intel MFP support in Aptio V UEFI Firmware and MegaRAC BMC Firmware are clear and immediate. Datacenter service level agreements (SLA) are improved, DIMM failure rates are reduced through proactive memory health evaluation and enhanced memory page offlining policies, and most importantly, higher DIMM performance and reliability optimizes workload and VM migration decision-making to boost efficiency, flexibility and TCO.
To highlight the benefits of Intel MFP in the datacenter, an Intel case study conducted with Tencent, the leading provider of cloud services in the APAC region, identified a five-fold improvement in DIMM failure prediction and reduced downtime, as well as fewer unnecessary DIMM replacement and upgrade expenses. A similar case study carried out by Intel with Meituan, the leading eCommerce services provider in the APAC region, revealed that Intel MFP could enable Meituan to reduce server crashes caused by memory failure by up to 40% through intelligent analysis of server memory health and proactive memory failure prediction.
Sanjoy Maity, Chief Executive Officer of AMI, commented that "AMI is commited to adopting ground-breaking technologies from industry drivers like Intel that make our products more relevant and effective for datacenter and cloud services end-users. This commitment has been a key component of our long-standing and successful relationship with Intel from the very beginning. Now, our new Aptio V IntelMfpSupport eModule and MegaRAC BMC Firmware Option Pack featuring lntel MFP support are a simple and effective way for OEMs and ODMs to add enhanced DDRAM failure prediction capabilities into their designs and deliver the improved RAS and SLAs that their customers demand."
"Improving server uptime and lowering TCO is a core component of our mission to support the datacenter and cloud services ecosystems," said Jeff Klaus, General Manager, Data Center Management Solutions Group at Intel. "AMI's distribution and support for Intel MFP technology in its Aptio V UEFI and MegaRAC BMC firmware solutions will help datacenter operators focus on delivering differentiated services and help avoid costly, disruptive memory failure-related downtime."
For more information on the Aptio V IntelMfpSupport eModule and MegaRAC BMC Firmware Option Pack featuring Intel MFP capabilities, please call 1-800-828-9264 to speak with an AMI expert or contact us via https://ami.com/en/contact-us/.
Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Memory failure prediction results provided through the use of Intel MFP are estimated and may vary based on differences in system hardware, software, or configuration. Results are derived using multi-dimensional models and algorithms to predict potential memory failures and do not constitute a representation or guarantee regarding memory failure.
November 13, 2020:
DULUTH, GEORGIA - AMI®, a global leader in powering, managing and securing the world's connected digital infrastructure through its BIOS, BMC and security solutions, is pleased to announce its participation in a recent publication on BMC security best practices and Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT) / Platform Root of Trust (PRoT) released by the Cloud Security Industry Summit (CSIS), a group of cloud service providers facilitated by Intel® Corporation who share a mission to align on a vision and approach to developing best-of-breed security solutions for their industry.
The paper is titled "A Case for a Trustworthy BMC" and outlines the current state of known hardware vulnerabilities in BMCs, providing a breakdown of its different layers, including hardware, firmware, OS, applications and services so readers can better understand potential threat vectors and risks. It also discusses the landscape of currently available BMC security solutions and provides recommended guidelines and approaches for bolstering BMC security, including a helpful Recommendation Checklist for cloud providers and other interested parties. The paper concludes with a look to future developments as well as some promising trends in the ecosystem and is available now for download on the CSIS website at https://www.cloudsecurityindustrysummit.org/#documents.
In addition to contributing its hardware and platform security expertise to CSIS, AMI offers several security solutions for BMC hardware for true BMC HRoT / PRoT - including a new Security Tech Pack for its popular MegaRAC® SP-X BMC Firmware.
MegaRAC SP-X is a powerful server management solution composed of firmware and software components based on industry standards like IPMI 2.0, Restful APIs, SMASH, Serial over LAN (SOL) and key serviceability features like remote presence, CIM profiles and advanced automation. It is available for all the major System-On-Chip (SoC) designs and supports Intel® / AMD x86, Arm® 64 (including Ampere eMAG™, Marvell and Qualcomm) and IBM POWER® 8/9 architectures.
MegaRAC SP-X also features a high level of modularity, with the ability to easily configure and build the firmware image by selecting features using an intuitive graphical development tool chain. These features are available in independently maintained Technology Packages, for superior manageability of the firmware stack and an expandable solution that supports hooks which allow for OEM customization on top of the AMI solution.
Stefano Righi, Vice President of Global Software, Security Engineering & Services at AMI, commented in this way: "In recent years, AMI has strongly focused its efforts in platform security by integrating the BMC as a core component of PRoT, developing several innovative new products that deliver this capability. Many of our innovations are founded on the concept of the BMC essentially taking the role of ensuring RoT for the entire platform - including the system BIOS firmware, such as our Aptio® V UEFI Firmware. In this way, AMI can deliver increased functionality and value with MegaRAC SP-X and its Security Tech Pack, as it provides RoT support all the way to system firmware like Aptio V."
"AMI is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with security thought leaders at CSIS and contribute to moving the industry forward together on BMC and cloud security best practices," said Eric Johnson, Engineering Manager of Global Software, Security Engineering & Services at AMI and a contributor to the CSIS workgroup that issued the report. "This document provides meaningful insight into the current state of BMC security and optimism that the challenges can be met – all in a way that that cloud providers can easily grasp and apply."
For more information on AMI Security Solutions for BMC Firmware, including MegaRAC SP-X BMC Firmware and its new Security Tech Pack, please contact AMI via https://ami.com/en/contact-us/ or call 1-800-828-9264.
About the Cloud Security Industry Summit: The Cloud Security Industry Summit (CSIS) is a group of Cloud Service Providers, with a mission to align on a vision and approach to developing best-of-breed security solutions. The group includes members from top Cloud Service Providers, partnering as an industry team and evolving a coordinated approach for improving cloud security from component to system to solution.
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their owners in the US and other countries.
November 4, 2020:
DULUTH, GEORGIA / CHENNAI, INDIA: AMI®, a global leader in powering, managing and securing the world's connected digital infrastructure through its BIOS, BMC and security solutions, is pleased to announce that Mr. Arvind Jayabal has been named Country Head for the AMI India branch, effective November 2, 2020.
Mr. Jayabal ("Arvind") comes to AMI with nearly thirty years of experience in semiconductor, telecommunications, mobile, automotive, and related technology industries, with a focus on delivering product development services in VLSI design and embedded systems development.
With this experience, he brings to AMI a strong capacity for implementing innovative services business models across diverse technology domains, each with the common goal of helping customers realize maximum value. Arvind has performed a wide range of roles in his career including sales, delivery, large account management, head of practice and business unit leader for firms in India, Japan and the US.
As President of Tessolve Semiconductor, Arvind managed VLSI Design and Embedded Systems businesses, overseeing a team of 700 employees. Before that, he was Vice President at GlobalLogic, leading business development in the telecommunications segment with a specific focus on mobility and embedded engineering. Prior to his time at GlobalLogic, Arvind was with Wipro for over 21 years in multiple roles, moving quickly from engineering to management.
Arvind holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore and a post-graduate diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
"We are most excited to welcome Arvind to AMI as our new Country Head at AMI India," said Sanjoy Maity, AMI Chief Executive Officer. "His extensive experience in India - and the APAC region as a whole – along with his track record of success in management and revenue growth make him a perfect fit to drive our new goals and initiatives in India and to help support our teams across the greater APAC region."


text: It's only been a little over two centuries since the countries that made up Yugoslavia went their merry ways, but already Montenegro has a national airline company. Which is all the better – because you can fly with Montenegro Airlines to the country from major cities all over Europe, from as far afield as London and Moscow. Strangely enough, one can't fly between either of the airline's Montenegrin destinations, since they're not far enough apart, but the nation is bursting with sunny, picturesque, tile-roofed towns including Budva and Perast, and a wealth of stunning natural scenery. All of their flights are extremely affordable – prices start in the hundreds of Euros – but if you want even more bang for your buck, join Montenegro Airlines' frequent flyer program. As with other such programs, you earn miles for every flight you make on Montenegro Airlines, and as little as 4 flights' worth of miles can be redeemed for free flight.

domain: travel


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Thank you very much for your interest in our company. Data protection is a particularly high priority for the management of Oikos Group GmbH. The use of Oikos Group GmbH internet pages is basically possible without any disclosure of personal data. However, if a user wishes to make use of special services of our company via our website, it may be necessary to process personal data. If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no legal basis for such processing, we generally obtain the consent of the data subject.
The processing of personal data, such as the name, address, e-mail address or telephone number of a data subject, is always carried out in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and in accordance with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to Oikos Group GmbH. By means of this data protection declaration, our company wishes to inform the public about the nature, scope and purpose of the personal data collected, used and processed by us. Furthermore, data subjects are informed of their rights by means of this data protection declaration.
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The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation, other data protection laws applicable in the member states of the European Union and other provisions of a data protection nature is:
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Oikos Group GmbH informs its customers and business partners at regular intervals by means of a newsletter about the company’s offers. Our company’s newsletter can only be received by the data subject if (1) the data subject has a valid e-mail address and (2) the data subject registers to receive the newsletter. For legal reasons, a confirmation e-mail in the double opt-in procedure will be sent to the e-mail address entered for the first time by a data subject for the purpose of sending the newsletter. This confirmation e-mail is used to check whether the owner of the e-mail address as the data subject has authorised receipt of the newsletter.
When registering for the newsletter, we also store the IP address assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to the computer system used by the data subject at the time of registration as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of this data is necessary in order to be able to trace the (possible) misuse of the e-mail address of a data subject at a later date and therefore serves to legally safeguard the data controller.
The personal data collected as part of a newsletter registration will only be used to send our newsletter. Furthermore, subscribers to the newsletter could be informed by e-mail if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service or registration in this respect, as might be the case in the event of changes to the newsletter offer or changes to the technical conditions. The personal data collected as part of the newsletter service will not be passed on to third parties. The subscription to our newsletter can be cancelled by the data subject at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data, which the data subject has given us for the newsletter dispatch, can be revoked at any time. For the purpose of revoking your consent, you will find a corresponding link in every newsletter. It is also possible at any time to unsubscribe from the newsletter mailing list directly on the website of the data controller or to inform the data controller of this in any other way.
6. Newsletter Tracking
The Oikos Group GmbH newsletter contains so-called tracking pixels. A tracking pixel is a thumbnail image embedded in emails sent in HTML format to enable log file recording and analysis. This allows a statistical evaluation of the success or failure of online marketing campaigns to be carried out. By means of the embedded pixel, Oikos Group GmbH can recognise if and when an e-mail was opened by a data subject and which links in the e-mail were clicked by the data subject.
Such personal data collected via the tracking pixels contained in the newsletters are stored and evaluated by the data controller in order to optimise the newsletter dispatch and to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the data subject even better. This personal data will not be passed on to third parties. Data subjects are entitled at any time to revoke the relevant separate declaration of consent submitted via the double opt-in procedure. After revocation, this personal data will be deleted by the data controller. Oikos Group GmbH automatically interprets an unsubscription from the receipt of the newsletter as a revocation.
7. Possibility to contact us via the website
The Oikos Group GmbH website contains, due to legal regulations, information which allows quick electronic contact to our company as well as direct communication with us, which also includes a general electronic mail address (e-mail address). If a data subject contacts the controller by e-mail or via a contact form, the personal data transmitted by the data subject shall be automatically stored. Such personal data transmitted voluntarily by a data subject to the controller are stored for the purposes of processing or contacting the data subject. This personal data will not be passed on to third parties.
8. Routine deletion and blocking of personal data
The controller shall process and store the data subject’s personal data only for the period of time necessary to achieve the storage purpose or where provided for by the European directive and regulation maker or another legislator in laws or regulations to which the controller is subject. If the storage purpose no longer applies or if a storage period prescribed by the European directive and regulatory body or another competent legislator expires, the personal data shall be blocked or deleted routinely and in accordance with the statutory provisions.
9. Rights of the data subject
a) Right to confirmation
Every data subject shall have the right, granted by the European directive and regulation maker, to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether personal data relating to him or her are being processed. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of confirmation, he or she may at any time contact an employee of the controller.
b) Right to information
Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European directive and regulation maker, to obtain at any time, free of charge, from the controller, information on the personal data relating to him which have been stored and a copy of that information. In addition, the European legislator has granted the data subject access to the following information:
- the processing purposes
- the categories of personal data processed
- the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organisations
- if possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if that is not possible, the criteria for determining that duration
- the existence of a right to the rectification or erasure of personal data concerning him or her or to the limitation of the processing carried out by the controller or of a right to object to such processing
- the existence of a right of appeal to a supervisory authority
- if the personal data are not collected from the data subject: all available information on the origin of the data - the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, in accordance with Article 22 paras. 1 and 4 GDPR and, at least in these cases, meaningful information on the logic involved and the scope and intended effects of such processing on the data subject.
Furthermore, the data subject shall have the right to obtain information as to whether personal data have been transferred to a third country or to an international organisation. If this is the case, the data subject shall also have the right to obtain information on the appropriate safeguards in connection with the transfer. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of access, he or she may at any time contact an employee of the controller.
c) Right to rectification
Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European directive and regulatory authority, to request the rectification without delay of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. Furthermore, the data subject shall have the right, having regard to the purposes of the processing, to request the completion of incomplete personal data, including by means of a supplementary statement. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of rectification, he or she may at any time contact an employee of the controller.
d) Right to deletion (right to be forgotten)
Any person subject to the processing of personal data shall have the right, granted by the European directive and regulation, to require the controller to erase without delay personal data concerning him or her which are subject to one of the following conditions and to the extent that the processing is not necessary:
- Personal data have been collected or processed for purposes for which they are no longer necessary.
- The data subject withdraws his consent on which the processing was based in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 letter a GDPR or Art. 9 para. 2 letter a GDPR, and there is no other legal basis for the processing.
- The data subject objects to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate reasons for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 para. 2 GDPR.
- The personal data have been processed unlawfully.
- The deletion of personal data is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the data controller is subject.
- The personal data were collected in relation to services offered by the information society in accordance with Art. 8 para. 1 GDPR.
If one of the above reasons applies and a data subject wishes to have the personal data stored by Oikos Group GmbH deleted, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time. The Oikos Group GmbH employee will ensure that the request for deletion is complied with immediately.
If the personal data have been made public by Oikos Group GmbH and if our company is obliged to delete the personal data in accordance with Art. 17 para. 1 GDPR, Oikos Group GmbH will take appropriate measures, even of a technical nature, taking into account the available technology and the implementation costs, to inform other persons responsible for data processing who process the published personal data that the data subject has requested the deletion of all links to this personal data or copies or replications of this personal data from these other persons responsible for data processing, insofar as the processing is not necessary. The Oikos Group GmbH employee will take the necessary steps in individual cases.
e) Right to limitation of processing
Any person subject to the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European directive and regulation, to request the controller to limit the processing if one of the following conditions is met:
- The accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject for a period of time which allows the data controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data.
- The processing is unlawful, the data subject refuses the deletion of the personal data and instead requests the restriction of the use of the personal data.
- The controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of processing, but the data subject needs them for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims.
- The data subject has lodged an objection against the processing according to Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR and it is not yet certain whether the legitimate reasons of the data controller outweigh those of the data subject. If one of the above-mentioned conditions is met and a data subject wishes to request the restriction of personal data stored at Oikos Group GmbH, he can contact an employee of the data controller at any time. The Oikos Group GmbH employee will initiate the restriction of the processing.
f) Right to data transferability
Any data subject involved in the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European directive and regulation, to obtain personal data concerning him or her which have been provided by the data subject to a controller in a structured, common and machine-readable format. He/she also has the right to communicate this data to another data controller without being hindered by the controller to whom the personal data have been provided, provided that the processing is based on the consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 letter a GDPR or Art. 9 para. 2 letter a GDPR or on a contract pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 letter b GDPR and the processing is carried out using automated procedures, provided that the processing is not necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority entrusted to the controller. Furthermore, the data subject has the right, when exercising his right to data transferability in accordance with Art. 20 para. 1 GDPR, to obtain that the personal data be transmitted directly by a responsible person to another responsible person, insofar as this is technically feasible and insofar as the rights and freedoms of other persons are not affected by this. In order to assert the right to data transfer, the data subject can contact an employee of Oikos Group GmbH at any time.
g) Right to objection
Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European directive and regulation maker, to object at any time, for reasons related to his or her particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning him or her under Article 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions. Oikos Group GmbH does not process the personal data in case of objection any more, unless we can prove compelling reasons worthy of protection for the processing, which outweigh the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject, or the processing serves the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims. If Oikos Group GmbH processes personal data in order to conduct direct advertising, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data for the purpose of such advertising. This also applies to profiling in so far as it is related to such direct marketing. If the data subject objects to Oikos Group GmbH processing personal data for direct marketing purposes, Oikos Group GmbH will no longer process the personal data for these purposes. In addition, the data subject has the right, for reasons arising from his particular situation, to object to the processing of personal data concerning him or her which is carried out at Oikos Group GmbH for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89 para. 1 GDPR, unless such processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest. To exercise the right to appeal, the data subject may contact any employee of Oikos Group GmbH or another employee directly. The data subject shall also be free to exercise his or her right of objection in relation to the use of information society services, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, by means of automated procedures using technical specifications.
h) Automated decisions in individual cases including profiling
Any person subject to the processing of personal data has the right under the European Directive and Regulation not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects upon him or her or significantly affects him or her in a similar manner, provided that the decision (1) is not necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, or (2) is authorised by Union or national law or by the Member States to which the data controller is subject and which provides for adequate measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms and the legitimate interests of the data subject, or (3) is taken with the express consent of the data subject. If the decision (1) is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the responsible person or (2) is made with the express consent of the data subject, Oikos Group GmbH shall take appropriate measures to protect the rights and freedoms as well as the legitimate interests of the data subject, including at least the right to obtain the intervention of a person on the part of the responsible person, to state his or her own position and to contest the decision. If the data subject wishes to exercise rights relating to automated decisions, he or she may at any time do so by contacting an employee of the controller.
i) Right to revoke consent under data protection law
Any person subject to the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directive and Regulation, to withdraw consent to the processing of personal data at any time. If the data subject wishes to exercise his or her right to withdraw consent, he or she may do so at any time by contacting an employee of the controller.
The data controller has integrated Facebook components on this website. Facebook is a social network.
A social network is an Internet-based social meeting place, an online community that usually enables users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. Facebook allows users of the social network to create private profiles, upload photos and network via friend requests, among other things.
The operating company of Facebook is Facebook, Inc. 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. If a data subject lives outside the USA or Canada, the data controller for processing personal data is Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Each time one of the individual pages of this website is accessed, which is operated by the data controller and on which a Facebook component (Facebook plug-in) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Facebook component to download a representation of the corresponding Facebook component from Facebook. A complete overview of all Facebook plug-ins can be found at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/?locale=de_DE. As part of this technical process, Facebook obtains information about which specific subpage of our website is visited by the data subject.
If the data subject is logged into Facebook at the same time, Facebook recognises which specific page of our website the data subject is visiting each time the person visits our website and for the entire duration of that person's stay on our website. This information is collected by the Facebook component and assigned by Facebook to the respective Facebook account of the data subject. If the data subject clicks on one of the Facebook buttons integrated into our website, such as the "Like" button, or if the data subject comments, Facebook assigns this information to the data subject's personal Facebook user account and stores this personal data.
Facebook receives information through the Facebook component that the data subject has visited our website whenever the data subject is logged into Facebook at the same time as accessing our website, regardless of whether the data subject clicks on the Facebook component or not. If the data subject does not want this information to be transmitted to Facebook in this way, they can prevent it from being transmitted by logging out of their Facebook account before accessing our website.
Facebook's published data policy, which is available at https://de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy/, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Facebook. It also explains which settings Facebook offers to protect the privacy of the data subject. In addition, various applications are available that make it possible to suppress data transmission to Facebook. Such applications can be used by the data subject to suppress data transmission to Facebook.
11. Data protection provisions on the use and application of Google Analytics (with anonymisation function)
The data controller has integrated the Google Analytics component (with anonymisation function) on this website. Google Analytics is a web analytics service. Web analysis is the capture, collection and evaluation of data on the behaviour of visitors to Internet sites. A web analysis service collects data on, among other things, from which website a data subject has accessed another website (so-called referrers), which subpages of the website have been accessed or how often and for how long a subpage has been viewed. A web analysis is mainly used for the optimisation of a website and for the cost-benefit analysis of Internet advertising.
The operating company of the Google Analytics component is Google Inc, 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.
The data controller uses the addition "_gat._anonymizeIp" for the web analysis via Google Analytics. This addition is used by Google to shorten and anonymise the IP address of the Internet connection of the data subject if access to our Internet pages is from a Member State of the European Union or from another Contracting State to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
The purpose of the Google Analytics component is to analyse the flow of visitors to our website. Google uses the data and information obtained, among other things, to evaluate the use of our website, to compile online reports for us showing the activities on our website and to provide other services in connection with the use of our website.
Google Analytics places a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. The definition of cookies has already been explained above. By setting the cookie, Google is able to analyse the use of our website. Each time one of the individual pages of this website is accessed which is operated by the data controller and on which a Google Analytics component has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Google Analytics component to transmit data to Google for the purpose of online analysis. As part of this technical process, Google obtains knowledge of personal data, such as the IP address of the data subject, which Google uses, among other things, to track the origin of visitors and clicks and subsequently to enable commission statements.
The cookie is used to store personal information, such as the access time, the location from which an access originated and the frequency of visits to our website by the data subject. Each time you visit our website, this personal data, including the IP address of the Internet connection used by the data subject, is transferred to Google in the United States of America. This personal data is stored by Google in the United States of America. Google may share this personal information collected through the technical process with third parties.
The data subject can prevent the setting of cookies by our website at any time, as described above, by means of an appropriate setting of the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a setting of the Internet browser used would also prevent Google from setting a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. In addition, a cookie already set by Google Analytics can be deleted at any time via the Internet browser or other software programs.
Further information and Google's applicable data protection regulations can be found at https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/ and http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html
Google Analytics is explained in more detail under this link https://www.google.com/intl/de_en/analytics/.
12. Data protection regulations for the use and application of Instagram
The data controller has integrated components of the Instagram service on this website. Instagram is a service that qualifies as an audio-visual platform that enables users to share photos and videos and also to disseminate such data on other social networks.
The operating company of Instagram's services is Instagram LLC, 1 Hacker Way, Building 14 First Floor, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Each time one of the individual pages of this Internet site is called up, operated by the data controller and on which an Instagram component (Insta button) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Instagram component to download a representation of the corresponding Instagram component. As part of this technical process, Instagram obtains knowledge of which specific page of our website is visited by the data subject.
If the data subject is logged in to Instagram at the same time, Instagram recognises which specific page the data subject is visiting each time the person visits our website and for the entire duration of that person's stay on our website. This information is collected by the Instagram component and mapped by Instagram to the Instagram account of the data subject. If the data subject clicks on one of the Instagram buttons integrated into our website, the data and information transmitted will be assigned to the personal Instagram user account of the data subject and stored and processed by Instagram.
Instagram receives information from the Instagram component that the data subject has visited our site whenever they are logged into Instagram at the same time as they visit our site, regardless of whether or not they click on the Instagram component. If the data subject does not want Instagram to receive such information, they can prevent the transmission by logging out of their Instagram account before accessing our website.
For more information and to review Instagram's current data protection policies, please visit https://help.instagram.com/155833707900388 and https://www.instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/
13. Data protection regulations for the use and application of YouTube
The data controller has integrated YouTube components into this website. YouTube is an Internet video portal that allows video publishers to post video clips and other users to view, rate and comment on them free of charge. YouTube allows the publication of all types of videos, which is why complete film and television programmes as well as music videos, trailers or videos made by users themselves can be accessed via the Internet portal.
The operating company of YouTube is YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. YouTube, LLC is a subsidiary of Google Inc, 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.
Each time a YouTube component (YouTube video) has been integrated into one of the individual pages of this Internet site, which is operated by the data controller, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective YouTube component to download a representation of the corresponding YouTube component from YouTube. Further information on YouTube can be found at https://www.youtube.com/intl/en/yt/about/ . As part of this technical process, YouTube and Google obtain information about which specific subpage of our website is visited by the data subject.
If the data subject is logged into YouTube at the same time, YouTube recognises which specific subpage of our website the data subject is visiting by calling up a subpage containing a YouTube video. This information is collected by YouTube and Google and assigned to the respective YouTube account of the data subject.
YouTube and Google will receive information through the YouTube component that the data subject has visited our website whenever that person is logged into YouTube at the same time as accessing our website, regardless of whether that person clicks on a YouTube video or not. If such transmission of this information to YouTube and Google is not intended by the data subject, the data subject may prevent such transmission by logging out of his or her YouTube account before accessing our website.
The data protection regulations published by YouTube, which are available at https://policies.google.com/privacy, provide information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by YouTube and Google.
14. Legal basis of the processing
Art. 6 I lit. a GDPR serves our company as a legal basis for processing operations in which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. If the processing of personal data is necessary for the fulfilment of a contract, the contracting party of which is the data subject, as is the case, for example, with processing operations, which are necessary for the delivery of goods or the provision of other services or consideration, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. b GDPR. The same applies to such processing operations that are necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, such as in cases of inquiries about our products or services. If our company is subject to a legal obligation which requires the processing of personal data, such as for the fulfilment of tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. c GDPR. In rare cases, the processing of personal data may become necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor to our business was injured and his name, age, health insurance data or other vital information would have to be passed on to a doctor, hospital or other third party. Then the processing would be based on Art. 6 I lit. d GDPR. Ultimately, processing operations could be based on Art. 6 I lit. f GDPR. Processing operations which are not covered by any of the aforementioned legal bases are based on this legal basis if the processing is necessary to safeguard a legitimate interest of our company or a third party, provided that the interests, fundamental rights and fundamental freedoms of the data subject do not predominate. Such processing operations are permitted to us in particular because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. It represented in this respect the opinion that a justified interest could be to be accepted if the data subject is a customer of the responsible person (recital 47 sentence 2 GDPR).
15. Legitimate interests in the processing pursued by the controller or by a third party
If the processing of personal data is based on Article 6 I f GDPR, our legitimate interest is the conduct of our business for the benefit of all our employees and shareholders.
16. Duration for which the personal data will be stored
The criterion for the duration of the storage of personal data is the respective legal retention period. After expiry of this period, the corresponding data will be routinely deleted insofar as they are no longer required for contract fulfilment or contract initiation.
17. Legal or contractual provisions for the provision of personal data; Necessity for the conclusion of the contract; obligation of the data subject to provide the personal data; possible consequences of not providing the data
We will inform you that the provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g. tax regulations) or may result from contractual provisions (e.g. information on the contractual partner). Sometimes it may be necessary for a contract to be concluded that a data subject makes personal data available to us which must subsequently be processed by us. For example, the data subject is obliged to provide us with personal data when our company concludes a contract with him or her. Failure to provide personal data would mean that the contract could not be concluded with the data subject. Before the data subject provides personal data, the data subject must contact one of our employees. Our employee informs the data subject on a case-by-case basis whether the provision of the personal data is required by law or contract or is necessary for the conclusion of a contract, whether there is an obligation to provide the personal data and what consequences the non-availability of the personal data would have.
18. Existence of an automated decision-making process
As a responsible company, we refrain from automatic decision-making or profiling.

domain: law


text:
The making of Japanese swords is an important
cultural treasure of Japan, a gift descended
from the ancestors. In the words of Yanagita
sensei , "When I see a Japanese sword,
the history and spirit of the samurai well
up inside of me and I realize that the sword
According to makimono ( ancient scrolls ) there is a more than one thousand year old legacy of Japanese swordmaking. At its height there were some 20,000 - 30,000 swordmakers concentrated in these following five schools : Yamashiro school . Yamato school Soushuu school . Bizen school and Mino school . Every sword produced during that time period belonged to one of these traditions.
Yanagita sensei began studying sword burnishing in his freshman year of junior high school ( 7th grade ) , In September, 1972, he received his menkyo kaiden ( a certificate of full proficiency in an art ) for sword making from the Agency for Cultural Affairs .
When he opened the museum, it was like his dream had come true.
Yanagita sensei is sure that if people who like swords come to his museum, they will be moved by his collection.
E-mail Please click here

domain: artistic


text:
"The Federal Trade Commission and the Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic at the University of Washington will host a Town Hall meeting on July 24, 2008, to explore the growth of contactless payment systems and their implications for consumer protection policy. This Town Hall, titled â€œPay on the Go: Consumers and Contactless Paymentâ€œ follows up on the FTCâ€˜s November 2006 hearings, â€œProtecting Consumers in the Next Tech-ade,â€œ which examined key technological and business developments that will shape consumersâ€˜ experiences over the next ten years.
This Town Hall meeting will bring together industry members, technologists, academicians, consumer protection officials, and consumer advocates to explore the current state of the art for contactless payment systems, which use radio frequency identification (â€œRFIDâ€œ) technology to allow consumers to make low dollar-value purchases by holding an RFID-enabled device (such as a smart card, key fob, or mobile device) in proximity to a reader. The event will explore the extent to which contactless payment is being deployed domestically and around the world, along with potential benefits and risks to consumers of its use.
Participants will examine the increasing prevalence of contactless payment devices in everyday consumer transactions, including credit card purchases and public transit use; consumer awareness and education initiatives regarding these developments; security and privacy threats and proposed solutions; and emerging technologies and practices that may shape the contactless payment marketplace over the coming years.
The Commission invites interested parties to submit a request to be a panelist and to recommend other related topics for discussion. The requests should be submitted electronically to firstname.lastname@example.org by June 6, 2008, and should include information about the proposed panelistâ€˜s expertise, together with complete contact information. The Commission will select panelists based on expertise and the need to represent a range of views about the issues. For questions, contact staff at email@example.com.
Interested parties also may submit written comments on the topics to be addressed at the Town Hall by June 20, 2008, in the manner specified below.
The Town Hall, which will be free and open to the public, will be held in Room 133 of the University of Washington School of Law’s William H. Gates Hall, located at 15th Avenue NE & NE 43rd Street, Seattle, WA.
Information about accessibility for persons with disabilities on the UW campus is available at https://www.washington.edu/admin/ada/newada.php. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org or by calling Carrie McGlothlin at (202) 326-3388. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and a way to contact you if we need more information. Please provide advance notice."
Date: July 24, 2008
Location: Room 133, University of Washington School of Law’s William H. Gates Hall; 15th Avenue NE & NE 43rd Street; Seattle, WA.
For more information: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/payonthego/index.shtml


text:
We are looking forward to first volunteer of the season Rachel who arrives tomorrow! She will be joined by another group towards the middle of November and there is plenty to keep us all busy as the whale shark season kicks off. I went diving today and although we were joined by a group of […]
Inter school Art Exhibition “SAVE THE WHALE SHARKS!” to be held at Leisure Lodge from 12 -16 November 2007 from 11am daily. Come and see what the children of Diani have done to save the gentle giants of the ocean! Everyone is welcome so tell all your friends.
This beautiful whale shark bronze was done by an artist in Sweden. The attention to detail in the work is incredible. The artist would be happy to make more so please let me know if you are interested! Christmas is coming up!!
Universeum is a non-profit public aquarium with 3 million litres of water, a Swedish landscape, a South American rainforest and a science centre. It is located in Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. The establishment opened to the general public in June 2001 and has about half a million visitors yearly. Jan Westin, the creator […]
Yesterday morning we got a call to a neighbour’s house. A large turtle had laid her eggs just in front of their house. I called Watamu Turtle Watch (who are the local experts) whilst Volker went over straight away. We were advised to make sure the nest was covered up properly and marked appropriately. In […]
This is a picture of all the delegates from the International Whale Shark Conference held in Perth, Australia 2005. Volker is 3rd in on the 4th row on the left in a checked shirt and I am in the front row 3rd in from the left with a kikoy round my neck. Attending the conference […]
Yesterday the EAWST was represented in style at the famous Diani Goat Derby – goat races for charity organised by the East African Women’s League. (The goats are very well cared for and the races are held in humane conditions.) We were invited to have a tent and got to use our smart new banner […]
Yesterday Volker and I had a super meeting with Nassir, the senior research scientist at the Kenya Wildlife Service offices in Mombasa. The KWS has been very supportive of our work and we are keen to work together to ensure that whale sharks are safe in Kenyan waters. Our aim is to illegalise the whale […]
In April 2006 we had a grand dinner on MV Nyayo, one of the ferries that operates from Mombasa island to the mainland. Nyayo means ” footsteps ” and the ferry was decked out in blue and silver balloons and garlands. We were welcomed on board by traditional dancers and cocktails. There was live entertainment, […]
The future of whale sharks and whale shark conservation is in the hands of our children. We often give presentations in local schools and in these pictures you can see Volker our founder giving a talk to the children of Seacrest School in Diani. They were a super little audience and asked various interesting questions! […]


text:
We’re pleased to present newly preserved and digitized works from the 1970s by Cindy Neal, an independent Chicago-based videomaker.
After attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she worked at Videopolis and then became the director and curator of exhibitions at the Chicago Editing Center starting in 1978, which later became the Center for New Television. Her work in the 1970s included experimental forms of video image processing, as well as works of video journalism.
Several of Cindy’s videos that aired on Image Union have already been available on Media Burn, such as the up close portrait “Jane Byrne Election Night,” produced by Scott Jacobs with Cindy Neal and Lilly Ollinger.
The videos we are highlighting here include excerpts from three portraits of working people at small businesses in Illinois (an auto shop, a shoe repair store, and a restaurant), shot between 1976 and 1978. Two of them were shot for (but not used in) the “It’s a Living” series, based on Studs Terkel’s book, “Working.” The footage both reflects a bygone era and maintains contemporary relevance to our relationships with the work we do.


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McEntire will be joining the hit NBC competition series as a coach following Shelton's exit after 23 seasons
In a new interview with Extra, Shelton voiced his feelings about the country legend joining The Voice for season 24 alongside returning coaches John Legend, Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani following the "God's Country" singer's exit from the competition series.
"Well there's a couple of things about Reba that makes her so special," Shelton, 46, told the outlet. "First of all, she's just so authentic. I don't know anybody country, or on the planet, [who is more authentic than] Reba, and that's just the truth, but the other thing is her talent."
He added that McEntire, 68, "was born with this raw, natural talent that's just unbelievable."
"People will finally maybe start to realize what an incredible vocalist she is," predicted Shelton. "I shouldn't say that; millions of us already know that. But so many more people are going to realize what an incredible vocalist she is because she's going to, as a coach on this show, perform at times, you know, and it's just, it's shocking what an incredible singer she is."
McEntire is no stranger to The Voice — she's previously appeared on the show as an advisor to the coaches and is currently acting as this season's mega mentor.
Speaking to PEOPLE on set of the show earlier this week, she opened up about preparing to become a coach.
"The country lane — I'm taking over for Blake so I'm gonna represent country music. [He's got] big boots. I don't know what size those boots are, but they're big, so I'm gonna really work hard to make him proud," said McEntire of Shelton, who is wrapping up his time as a coach on the show after 23 seasons.
The "Fancy" performer's also got fierce competition in Shelton's wife Stefani, who's returning as a coach for the seventh time. "I do understand that I need to go razzle-dazzle with Gwen being on there," says McEntire. "Gwen's always got the nicest outfits, so I really need to step up my game on that."
Elsewhere in the interview, she spoke about the other coaches that'll sit beside her on the panel. "John and Niall [are] all really funny and clever, and always have so many smart things to say, so I've got my work cut out for me," says McEntire.
She continued, "I'm most excited about basically getting started, and I'm sure that I'll have lots of help, lots of advice, lots of people coming around saying, 'You can do this. You can do that.' And I'm not afraid at all. I think it'll be a very fun adventure."
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Read the original article on People.

domain: entertainment


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This Star Wars: The Clone Wars review contains spoilers.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 10
Darth Maul could have been so much less. He was originally “killed off” in The Phantom Menace, providing the first of Anakin Skywalker’s many story beats. But the former Sith apprentice made an unexpected return in The Clone Wars season 4. Ever since his resurrection, the folks at Lucasfilm dug deeper into Maul’s motivation and what it means for him to be alive but perpetually just out of the camera view of the main story. The latest episode of The Clone Wars takes full advantage of all that work, telling a high-energy but choppy war story full of action.
The Siege of Mandalore is all fans hoped it would be. Here are perfect on-screen examples of the three factions involved, evidence for why the civilian population isn’t being well-served by any of them, and possible sidelong references to The Mandalorian that makes the live-action series feel more in continuity with the rest of the lore. Maul and Ahsoka clash twice in “The Phantom Apprentice,” and in between those two fights, Maul tortures a clone for more information about her. The climactic lightsaber duel is fluid and mostly readable, never becoming a blur of action but not quite reaching the mix of speed and precision the Prequel lightsaber fights had at their best.
As soon as I watched the lightsaber fights in this episode, I wanted to re-watch and analyze every second. Actor Ray Park reprised his role as Maul in mo-cap, which lends a fantastic precision to the fight. Lightsaber duels need to find a balance between twirling, dramatic color and the stage fight threat of an Inigo Montoya or Errol Flynn, and the several fights in this episode deliver. The participants seem evenly matched, and it’s a credit to the animation team that Ahsoka’s moves show she’s both light on her feet and a hard hitter.
At times I wanted more focus, more well-placed close-ups on the characters or more creative moves to provide a moment to breathe in the middle of the action. This Maul isn’t quite as acrobatic as he used to be, and the one Mandalorian fight in the episode showcases brilliant uses of the environment that the lightsaber combat never quite matches. Maul’s departures especially lack drama. We know he’s canonically good at escaping death, but the way he scurries out of the frame and simply hides from Ahsoka and the clones isn’t as satisfying as even a trap door or other physical barrier would have been.
The other problem with the lightsaber fights is that they’re choppy. The first is an intentional tease, with Maul saying “Not yet,” as if to taunt a bloodthirsty audience. But by the time the climactic fight gets going, the show doesn’t focus on it. What could have been a solid five minutes of lightsaber combat is instead intercut with other scenes in classic Star Wars fashion. Let’s look at this in a positive sense: The Clone Wars team have learned important lessons from George Lucas about how to craft an adventurous finale, and the glimpses at the Mandalorian citizens show absolutely essential context for the damage this war is causing. But I could watch twenty solid minutes of lightsaber fights, and I wanted to.
Because this is Star Wars, Maul invites Ahsoka to join him on the dark side several times. (Or at least, dark side adjacent; like Ahsoka, Maul doesn’t fully subscribe to the rules of his former faith anymore.) Ahsoka has plenty of reason to find this legitimately tempting: the show makes clear the parallel between the apprentice who stepped aside from the Jedi Order and the apprentice who was discarded by the Sith. The back-and-forth of this dynamic is extended just long enough, going through a few more iterations than Darth Vader’s legendary “join me.”
Arguably this is all too close to The Empire Strikes Back, and the difference between Ahsoka in season seven and Ahsoka in the rest of the series is simply that she has become a second Luke Skywalker. But even if that’s the case, she’s fulfilling the role well. Ahsoka saying no to Maul is a template for any person saying no to their own most bitter impulses and pessimistic thoughts. Maul’s last few lines of dialogue make it clear that he’s deep in his own angst. Ahsoka’s hope in the face of adversity was a joy to watch partially because it was so thankless and hard-won.
That brings us back to Sam Witwer’s Maul, still speaking in that clenched-teeth near-whisper that sometimes sounds like Maul from The Phantom Menace and sometimes more like muted aspirations to a cartoon Joker. “Run along,” he says, summing up the self-conscious theatricality of this version. This is a Maul who knows what’s going on in a way no one else does and wants to play the galaxy like an orchestra. Fans have flocked to Witwer, but in my opinion, his Maul is still a little too playful to maintain the sinister tone he needs to be an effective villain.
Speaking of what’s going on, we’re thoroughly crossing over with Revenge of the Sith now, with Obi-Wan updating Ahsoka on the events that happen about half an hour into the last of the Prequel movies. I adore this. If there’s a fanfic somewhere entirely about Ahsoka reacting to the events of Order 66, I’d like to read it. Despite knowing she escapes the Jedi Purge and goes on to help the Rebellion, there’s a sense that Ahsoka (and everyone else) is drowning in an ocean deeper than they can understand.
“The Phantom Apprentice” jumps around a little too much, digging away at some of that confidence that made the first episode in the Siege feel like a movie. But it still showcases The Clone Wars at its best. I’d love to see this entire arc on a movie theater screen one day.


Chasing Kangaroos – An international rugby league podcast
Ep #92 | What if the NRL owned half of Super League?
Negotiations are in early stages, and the Kangaroo Chasers are asking “what if?” So this week Carbs discusses the pros, cons, possibilities and so much more with Forty Twenty Magazine’s Phil Caplan (Twitter: @scratchingshed2).
Chasing Kangaroos is an international rugby league podcast for fans who are passionate about seeing the greatest game of all played in more places. This episode is brought to you by Matt Haines Sport – Listen in to find out how to get 10% off your teamwear at https://matthainessport.com/
The podcast is hosted by Michael Carbone and “The Biggest Tiger”. Audio is mixed and recorded by Paul Murchison. Theme music by Ricky Cancino and Ash Barko.
Source: Rugby League Podcasting Network
92: 92. What if the NRL owned half of Super League?


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A beautiful home (and optional income) to be built on an expansive 3.778 hectare section in a sought after part of Drury. If you have been searching for an idyllic lifestyle property then look no further!
This Custom Design build offers grandeur and sophistication in spades! And with an array of upgrades this home the envy of your friends and family. Including:
* A large designer scullery to the kitchen
* Elegant stone benchtop
* Scissor truss ceiling through the kitchen, dining and family room creating wow factor
* Exposed truss cathedral ceiling outdoor portico
* Gas fireplace
* Tiled shower upgrades to both the ensuite and main bathroom
* Freestanding bath upgrade
* Heat pumps to both the main house and minor dwelling
* State of the art Paradox alarm system
The main house boasts 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a separate media room/formal lounge as well as double garage with internal access and ample hallway storage this home really will delight you and provide room for the whole family.
The minor dwelling offers 2 bedrooms (or bedroom and study/office) and 1 bathroom as well as a spacious open plan kitchen, dining and living room.
This is the proposed plan for this site, however with 60+ standard designs, or the option to bring your own plan for us to bring to life, we can tailor a solution to suit. You will also get to meet with our award winning Design Consultant to choose your colour scheme and final finishes for your build.

domain: design