Google Desktop Security Warning Issued
By Susan Kuchinskas
November 11, 2004


UPDATED: Two analysts issued independent warnings today suggesting Google's Desktop Search tool -- released in October -- poses security risks for the enterprise.

The most significant threat is when desktop search is used while connected to a virtual private network (VPN), according to Dana Hendrickson, an analyst with VPN Central.

In a similar alert issued to Meta Group clients, analyst Timothy Hickernell wrote, "Companies must be aware of potential security risks posed by enterprise installation and must adopt appropriate end-user guidelines based on testing within standard corporate end-user environments."

Hickernell told internetnews.com that the desktop will be the next battlefront in the search engine wars -- and a new front in the battle for corporate security.

Google Desktop Search lets users search documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, instant messages and Web pages that have been visited by that PC. To enable this, it creates cached versions of Web content -- which could include sensitive corporate information stored on servers and accessed via a Web interface.

A Google spokesperson said the company was looking into it.

Enterprises often allow mobile workers to connect to the corporate network using secure VPNs via their home computers, hotel business centers, a customer site or Internet kiosks found at airports and cafes.

Hickernell said that if the person who downloaded the desktop search tool has administrative rights to the local machine, the tool also could search any drives attached to the machine, for example, a departmental drive or server. When the tool indexes local files, it will also index the remote files if the PC is connected long enough.

Then, he said, "Another user can come behind you and see the cached copy of the content."

"Any time you provide a tool that makes it convenient to move information, people will move more of it," Hendrickson told internetnews.com.

Hendrickson's warning came attached to a product release from Whale, a secure VPN vendor. Whale said its remote access product will let corporate IT managers detect whether the Google Desktop Search tool is running -- and either kill it or control it.

Google Desktop Search asks users at installation what kinds of files should be indexed. They can omit their Web histories and also secure HTTPS pages. They also can change the options at any time after the install.

But Joseph Sternberg, director of technical services for Whale Communications, said that administrators can't rely on their users to do the right thing.

"Security needs to be implemented at the enterprise. IT administrators need to ensure the system is secure."

Microsoft's (Quote, Chart) MSN and Ask Jeeves (Quote, Chart) have promised to release their own desktop search tools before the end of 2004, and Hickernell believes Yahoo (Quote, Chart) will follow suit. There also are several standalone products on the market. While these apps are targeted to consumers, Hickernell said, corporate users will inevitably download them.

Whale said it had identified 10 more desktop indexing tools that pose security risks by caching confidential information. The company didn't list them, but said it's working to upgrade its gateways to add the detection and control features.

Whale's administration tools let IT managers set policies for desktop search tools, for example, making rules about what applications or systems can be accessed while the toolbar is running.

"Corporations need to get ahead of this," Meta Group's Hickernell said. "They need to test these tools and be aware of the security implications with Google Desktop Search."

Smart Card market explodes

October 05, 2004, 16:57

The smart card industry is poised for an unprecedented explosion in South Africa, with three large-scale rollouts set to begin in 2005 and several more waiting in the wings.

More than 50-million smart cards are expected to be issued in 2004 and 2005 combined. And, by 2009, more than 100-million smart cards will be in active use in South Africa. These are the key findings contained in the Smart Card Trends and Deployment in SA 2004 report, released today by World Wide Worx and Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence.

The report focuses on what are known as “memory cards” and “microprocessor cards”, which are in effect plastic cards containing a small microchip. Memory cards allow only for the storage of data, whereas microprocessor cards allow for information to be added, deleted or manipulated. Both types are also known as chip cards, thanks to the computer chip embedded in the card.

From January 1, 2005, all new credit and debit cards issued in South Africa are required to be smart cards, meaning a roll-out of a minimum of about 12-million smart cards to banking customers over the next five years. The single biggest smart card project this country will see, however, will be the new Home Affairs National Identification System, known as HANIS, which will require the replacement of identity documents with around 30-million smart cards – one for every eligible South African – during the same five-year period.

Telkom and the mobile network operators are expected to add another 20-million cards in 2005 alone, through the issue of new prepaid and SIM cards, while all pension payments handled by the Department of Social Welfare are expected to move to a smart card system from 2005 onward, following successful projects in most provinces.

“More than a third of all South Africans already hold a smart card in their hands indirectly, thanks to the SIM cards in their cellular phones,” says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx. “Now they will start getting to grips with the card itself as it becomes an everyday tool.”

More secure than any other technology
The reason for the explosion in smart card usage is simple: it is more secure than any other identification technology that is economically viable and available, can contain updateable information ranging from personal details to fingerprints to identification photos, and is far less prone to forgery than existing systems.

Says Bruce Conradie, MD of Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence, “We will begin to see an unprecedented range of applications for smart cards from 2005 onward, starting with the telecommunications cards we already have and extending to financial services. But it won’t be long before almost every service that requires some form of identification or secure payment will take advantage of smart card technology.”

The massive smart card rollout will require major upgrading an acquisition of new equipment – all retailers who accept cards will have to be ready for smart cards next year – as well as a clear understanding of what smart card technology is best for what purpose.

“Not only do we have memory cards and microprocessor cards, but each of these offers two different categories of technology,” says Conradie. “Contact cards and contactless smart cards dictate what kind of card reader has to be in use, since contact cards must be inserted into a reader, or swiped, while contactless cards only have to be passed near the reader.”

Contactless cards have both a microchip and an antenna embedded in the card, which allows for it to be detected at a small distance by the reader. Many South Africans already use such technology without realising it, for accessing restricted areas, paying for road tolls, or managing agricultural stock control.

“The most promising applications we have seen so far involve pension payouts,” says Goldstuck. “It shows how the technology can be used today by the most disadvantaged members of our society in the remotest areas and with a minimum of information at their disposal. Imagine how much more it can do for South Africans in the future.” - World Wide Worx

Subject: From Beer Sheva to Hebron and Gaza...


Following is a report from Haaretz Today,
It is difficult to talk when the victims are not buried yet.
But I want to point out that this is no good for the Israelis
and the Palestinians!!!
I was in Beer Sheva in Better times when Anwar Saadat of Egypt
visited in 1978. Just there at Municipality of Beer Sheva.
I was there with "Peace Now".
Hope Beer Sheva sees Better times again.
Another point I want to make is the fact that both Palestinians and
Israelis are not able to make Rational Policy that is wanted by Most
Israelis and Palestinians.
But I do not give up Hope.
Shmuel Cohen Tel-Aviv
Last update - 09:04 01/09/2004
Be'er Sheva bus bombers were part of Hamas cell in Hebron
By Amos Harel and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents

The current local head of the terror cell that dispatched the
suicide bombers who carried out Tuesday's attack in Be'er Sheva was
also responsible for the attempted attack at the Caffit Cafe in
Jerusalem two months ago.

The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility in a leaflet that
surfaced in Hebron, 50 km north of the southern Israeli city, saying
the attacks were meant to avenge Israel's assassination of its two
top leaders in helicopter missile strikes in March and April.

"Our religion orders us to respond in kind to aggression against
us," it said. "This is but one of a series of responses which the Iz
a Din al-Kassam Brigades have vowed to carry out in response to the
martyrdom of the leaders of our movement, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and
Abdel Aziz Rantisi."

Muslim leaders in the Gaza Strip praised the double suicide attack
over mosque loudspeakers, calling it a "heroic operation."

In a new style, the leaflet, which called the attacks a "gift" to
striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, used elements of
psychological warfare directed to Israeli citizens.

"You [Israelis] were mistaken if you thought that killing our
leaders would lessen our determination," the leaflet said. "Your
leaders have harmed our people. You are the ones who choose your
leaders and choose to be their shields. Therefore your shields will
suffer more blows.

"This is a gift to the newcomers who recently arrived to our land,"
it added, in a reference to recent wave of Jewish immigration to
Israel. "We say to you: This is your fate, so we advise you to
reconsider."

The two suicide bombers, Ahmed Kawasma and Nisim Jabri, had
apparently known each other for several years, and coordinated the
attacks almost completely.

The two are members of the two most prominent clans in Hebron, the
Kawasmas and the Jabris.

Ahmed Kawasma owned an aluminum products store in Hebron, while
Nisim Jabri is a construction worker and lives near Kiryat Arba.
Jabri's close relatives, well-known Fatah members in Hebron, accused
Hamas of brainwashing Jabri.

A few hours after the Be'er Sheva attack, IDF forces raided the
homes of the two suicide bombers and arrested several relatives.
Kawama's home was destroyed overnight Tuesday.

The terror cell that dispatched Kawasma and Jabri is headed by a
relative of Kawasma, Imad Kawasma, head of the military wing of
Hamas, Iz a-Din al-Qassam, in Hebron. He has been on the IDF's most-
wanted list since the beginning of 2003. In recent months the IDF
raided his family's home several times, but did not arrest him.

The organization is very compartmentalized, which makes it difficult
to apprehend its leaders. In contrast to terror cells in other
cities in the West Bank, the Hebron cell, as well as the cell in
Ramallah, usually avoids mistakes that reveal their whereabouts to
Israeli forces. When they carry out a successful attack, their
leaders go underground.

Imad Kawasma is considered heir to the founders and heads of the
Hebron terror cells, Abdullah Kawasma and Ahmed Badr, who were
killed by the IDF last year.

Hamas attacks over the past two years were all carried out by the
Hebron Iz al-Din al-Qassam cell. In October 2003, more than 100
members of the Kawasma family and others were arrested in an attempt
to put a stop to the activities of the cell, which have resulted in
the deaths of over 80 Israelis.

While elsewhere in the West Bank the IDF has relatively good
intelligence sources, they are more or less groping in the dark when
it comes to Hebron. Last year, after a concerted effort, security
forces managed to paralyze both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. With
Tuesday's attack, the paralysis came to an end.

Hamas in the Gaza Strip is trying to overcome its difficulty
penetrating Israel. It is seeking alternative routes into Israel,
among them tunnels in Rafah to Sinai and from there to the Negev.

The attack in Be'er Sheva was apparently not coordinated with Hamas
in the Strip. There apparently was also no connection between the
Be'er Sheva attack and the attempted suicide bombing at the Erez
checkpoint before dawn Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, before the Be'er Sheva attack, Palestinian
Authority officials said that the PA had issued an ultimatum to
Hamas in the Gaza Strip to surrender the three Hamas members whom it
accuses of an attempted assassination against the deputy commander
of the PA's general intelligence in the Strip, Tareq Abu Rajab. PA
sources say the three Hamas members have taken shelter in the
Strip's Jabalya refugee camp.

August 5, 2004
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Chords for Change
By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

A nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures.

These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.

Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?

I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith.

People have different notions of these values, and they live them out in different ways. I've tried to sing about some of them in my songs. But I have my own ideas about what they mean, too. That is why I plan to join with many fellow artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Jurassic 5, James Taylor and Jackson Browne, in touring the country this October. We will be performing under the umbrella of a new group called Vote for Change. Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November.

Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped that the seriousness of the times would bring forth strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up the lives of our young men and women under circumstances that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1 percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players), increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy our social contract with one another and render mute the promise of "one nation indivisible."

It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human qualities - respect for others, honesty about ourselves, faith in our ideals - that we come to life in God's eyes. It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is revealed. Our American government has strayed too far from American values. It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.


Bruce Springsteen is a writer and performer. From The New York Times

Straslers Lies:

The Big Liar Nehemia Strasler
ww w . h a a r e t z . c o m
Last update - 02:26 20/08/2004
The Bottom Line / Yes, the statistics do lie
By Nehemia Strasler
The most recent data published by the Government Employment Service wiped the smiles off faces at the Finance Ministry. It turns out that the number of job-seekers registered with the service rose 2.2 percent in July, to 233,000.
There was also a sharp increase in the number of hard-core unemployed, people who have been jobless for nine months or more, to 69,000. In response to this grim data, MK Ran Cohen (Yahad) declared: "The rise in the number of job-seekers demonstrates the government's complete failure to create jobs."
And indeed, there is a problem here. The Central Bureau of Statistics' unemployment figures are not declining, and neither are those of the Employment Service. On the other hand, data has been published showing that the economy is growing at a rate of 4 percent a year, and that in the last 12 months, 70,000 Israelis have joined the labor market. So how does all this fit together?
I checked into the matter by speaking with a number of small contractors, who told me of a new development in the construction industry: Due to the expulsion of foreign workers, Arab Israelis, and even Jews, have returned to the renovation business. However, all of them insist on being paid under the table. None of them is willing to accept a legal pay slip. There is also one day a week on which they do not show up for work. That is the day on which they go to the Employment Service to declare themselves unemployed. Some of the Israeli house cleaners who have replaced the foreign workers are also only willing to work under the table, for the same reason.
I am not trying to say that the unemployment problem has been solved. It obviously has not - and it remains a serious and pressing one. But it is also worth checking to see whether all those who currently receive unemployment compensation (some 100,000 people) or guaranteed income (some 150,000 people) are in fact not working.
To date, this has been investigated only by the National Insurance Institute itself. At first, eight investigators were employed on this matter; later, their number increased to 32. And they did indeed discover that many people submit false claims.
One examination of 100 new claims for unemployment or guaranteed income in the Be'er Sheva region found that fully 92 were fake. Some of the claimants were working; others had a car; some "single parents" lived with their spouses; and three people lived overseas.
Therefore, the finance minister ought to allocate funds to the police (and not the NII) to set up a unit to investigate all recipients of unemployment and guaranteed income - not on a random basis, but all 250,000 of them. They all have names and addresses.
This is a justified social policy, because it is inappropriate for the NII to be financing false claims. With the money that is saved, it would be possible to help the genuine unemployed through professional training and increased assistance. But beyond that, anyone who is "caught" working ought to be congratulated, since he is a diligent person who is trying to improve his situation through work.
Therefore, he should be given special assistance, such as an income tax exemption for a certain period, to get him used to a life of work without welfare. After all, why should only Osem get tax breaks?
The Above article is a poor translation of the Hebrew as some things are not easy
to translate. (S.C.)
הטבלה כן משקרת
מאת נחמיה שטרסלר
הנתונים האחרונים של שירות התעסוקה מחקו את החיוכים באוצר. מתברר שביולי נרשמה עלייה של 2.2% במספר דורשי העבודה, לרמה של 233 אלף. נרשמה גם עלייה בולטת בגרעין הקשה של המובטלים, אלה שמובטלים כבר 9 חודשים ומעלה, ומספרם מגיע ל-69 אלף איש. בתגובה לנתונים קשים אלה, אמר ח"כ רן כהן כי "העלייה במספר דורשי העבודה מצביעה על כישלונה החרוץ של הממשלה ביצירת מקומות עבודה".
ואמנם יש כאן בעיה. נתוני האבטלה של הלשכה המרכזית לססטיסטיקה לא יורדים, וכך גם נתוני שירות התעסוקה. מצד שני מתפרסמים נתונים המלמדים שהמשק עבר לצמיחה של 4% לשנה, ושב-12 החודשים האחרונים נוספו 70 אלף ישראלים לשוק העבודה. אז איך כל זה מסתדר?
בדקתי את הנושא עם כמה קבלנים קטנים שסיפרו על תופעה חדשה בענף הבנייה. עקב גירוש העובדים הזרים, חזרו העובדים הערבים-ישראלים, וגם יהודים חזרו לשיפוצים. אבל התנאי של כולם הוא שהתשלום ייעשה "בשחור". אף אחד לא מוכן לקבל תלוש משכורת מסודר. יש גם יום בשבוע שבו הם לא מגיעים לעבודה. זה היום בו הם מתייצבים בלשכה, לחתום על אבטלה. גם חלק מעוזרות הבית הישראליות שהחליפו את הזרות מוכנות לעבוד רק ב"שחור" - מאותה סיבה ממש.
אין אני בא לטעון כאן שבעיית האבטלה נפתרה. זה כמובן לא קרה, והבעיה קשה ומציקה. אך ראוי גם לבדוק אם כל מי שמקבל כיום דמי אבטלה (כ-100 אלף איש) וכל מי שמקבל הבטחת הכנסה (כ-150 אלף איש) - באמת לא עובדים.
עד כה, מי שבדק וחקר את הנושא היה הביטוח הלאומי עצמו. בתחילה עבדו בתחום שמונה חוקרים, אחר כך עלה מספרם ל-32, והם אמנם מצאו שרבים מגישים תביעות שקריות. בבדיקה של 100 תביעות חשודות לקבלת הבטחת הכנסה ודמי אבטלה באזור באר שבע, התגלו 92 (!) ככוזבות: חלק מהתובעים עבדו, חלקם החזיקו כלי רכב, חלק מה"חד הוריות" חיו עם בעליהן, ושלושה גרו בכלל בחו"ל (!).
לכן ראוי ששר האוצר יקצה תקציב מיוחד למשטרה (לא לביטוח הלאומי) להקמת יחידה לבדיקת כל מקבלי הקצבאות להבטחת הכנסה ודמי אבטלה, לא באופן מדגמי ולא באופן מקרי, אלא שכל 250 אלף האיש יבדקו. יש להם שם וכתובת.
זו מדיניות חברתית צודקת, כי לא ראוי שהביטוח הלאומי יממן קצבאות שווא. עם הכסף שייחסך ניתן יהיה לסייע למובטלים האמיתיים בהכשרה לעבודה ובהגדלת הסיוע. ויותר מכך, מי "שייתפס" עובד, ראוי בעצם לברכה, כי הוא איש חרוץ, שמנסה לשפר את מצבו בעזרת עבודה. לכן ראוי לתת לו עידוד מיוחד, בדמות פטור ממס הכנסה לתקופה מסוימת, כדי שיתרגל לחיי עבודה בלי קצבאות - מה יש, רק לאסם מותר לקבל פטור ממס?

Haaretz - Israel News  
Deal with Qureia leaves Arafat in charge of most PA security forces
PM Qureia rescinds his resignation after Palestinian chairman grants him some power to make reforms; deal ends two-week crisis in PA.

Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Linda Ronstadt banned for tribute to Michael Moore

Yossi Halper was looking for the Keys!
What is New in That?

Q&A Ehud Barak Online Today Haaretz Online with Sam Cohen:
Would you agree that the election system in Israel makes it difficult to make policy and carry it out?
Shmuel CohenTel Aviv, Israel
 
Ehud Barak:
I fully agree. And we see it in the fact that for almost 15 years now every government served between six months to three years, and the moment that a leader begins to take a course which is highly important for the whole nation in the long run, he begins to count down his days in office as a result of the capacity of temporary coalition interest groups to topple him. I would prefer a presidential system, like the American or French, where the long-term objectives of the whole public are aligned with those of the elected leader by making him stay there for four years, even if the steps that are taken in order to correct main issues are causing certain pain along the way as always in life. In any such plan, an element of regional representation should be put in the picture.




What reasons do you see for the U.S. failure to stabilize Iraq after a quick military victory? Is it possible that any meaningful initiative for the Middle East peace process will be delayed for years simply beacuse the U.S. is overwhelmed with its tasks in Iraq?
Ieva, Luxembourg

Ehud Barak:
There was a certain misreading of the realities of the rebuilding of Iraq, partially stemming from the very brilliant military triumph that preceded it. Many mistakes, admittedly, were made - from dismantling the army to the dismantling of the Baath party, to the inability to hire back the civil servants from all sectors who worked under Saddam Hussein, in order to work for the new authority. It might take quite a long time before the Americans can leave, and some damage will remain when they do.Moreover, it's clear that any immediate efforts to forge a breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian arena have been complicated by the Allies' failure to rebuild Iraq. But I should restate my position, or my belief, that in the longer-term, it might end up being an important turning point in the relationship between Arab regimes and their societies and viz a viz the rest of the world. I strongly believe that the decisions made by Bush, Tony Blair, Asnar, Berlusconi and Howard, sometimes against public opinion in their own backyards, were courageous steps that will ultimately be judged kindly by history, within the context of the international struggle against terror, rogue regimes and the proliferation of nuclear technologies.




On the assumption that Israel will withdraw from Gaza, how would you propose to deal with the possibility of more Qassam rockets being fired on residents of Ashkelon, Zikim, Sderot etc.?
Lior CarmelTel Aviv, Israel

Ehud Barak:
The IDF and security services will have to be very creative in attempts to reduce Qassam rockets firing from Gaza after a withdrawal, and entering back when the need arises should not be excluded. But the real challenge there lies for the political echelon to be able to shape a much more coherent and consistent disengagement plan that will include the areas beyond the fence in Judea and Samaria, and will create the international legitimacy for the lines that we adopt, so that the illegtimiacy of attacking over these lines will be added to the efforts of the IDF and the intelligence community in securing Israel.

What Is Diverticular Disease?
Provided by YourMedicalSource.com
Diverticular disease is a condition in which small pouches, called diverticula, develop in the wall of the colon, or large intestine.
The pouches develop at weak spots in the wall of the colon. These weak spots occur because of excess pressure in the colon, or existing weakness in the colon wall, that eventually bulge out to form pouches.
The increase in pressure in the colon is commonly caused by constipation due to lack of fiber in the diet.
Most pouches occur in the sigmoid colon-the lower left part of the large intestine that connects to the rectum.
The condition is common in older people, affecting about half of Americans by age 60 and nearly all by age 80. Only a small percentage of those with diverticula will have symptoms.
In a small number of people who develop diverticula, the diverticula become inflamed or infected. This condition is known as diverticulitis.
Need To Know: A single pouch is called a diverticulum. Many pouches are diverticula. The name for the condition of having diverticula is actually diverticulosis. If the pouches become inflamed or infected, causing symptoms, then you have diverticulitis ("itis" means inflammation). Diverticular disease is a general term for the condition.
Diverticular disease was virtually unheard of before a hundred years ago. It has become common in western countries-especially the United States, England, and Australia-where the average diet consists of processed foods that are low in fiber.
The change in the way wheat was processed into flour at the turn of the century-from a crushing to a finer rolling process-accounts substantially for the depletion of fiber in our diets.
The condition is far less widespread in Asian and African countries, where diets still include large amounts of fiber. However, with economic development and changes in diet, the incidence of diverticular disease is increasing in African countries.
Need To Know:
What is Fiber?
Fiber is the cell walls of plants. It is found mainly in the outer layers of plants - the parts of plant cells that are not digested in the intestine. It is a special type of carbohydrate that passes through the human digestive system virtually unchanged, without being broken down into nutrients.
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for all body functions, especially brain functions. Cereals, vegetables, fruits, rice, potatoes, legumes, and flour products are major sources of carbohydrates.
There are two main types of fiber, and they have different effects on the body:Insoluble fiber is mainly made up of plant cell walls, and it cannot be dissolved in water. It has a good laxative action. Soluble fiber is made up of polysaccharides (carbohydrates that contain three or more molecules of simple carbohydrates), and it does dissolve in water. It has a beneficial effect on body chemistry, such as lowering blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Fiber has an influence on the digestion process from start to finish:Because foods containing fiber need to be more thoroughly chewed, fiber slows down the eating process and helps contribute to a feeling of being full, which in turn can help prevent obesity from overeating. Fiber makes food more satisfying, probably because the contents of the stomach are bulkier and stay there longer. Fiber slows digestion and absorption so that glucose (sugar) in food enters the bloodstream more slowly, which keeps blood sugar on a more even level. Fiber is broken down in the colon by bacteria (a process called fermentation), and the simple organic acids produced by this breakdown helps to nourish the lining of the colon. These acids also provide fuel for the rest of the body, especially the liver, and may have an important role in metabolism
The following are good sources of fiber:Whole grains (bran has the highest fiber content, about 25 to 45 percent) Nuts and seeds Legumes Fruits Vegetables A dietary supplement of fiber products such as Citrucel or Metamucil
Facts about diverticular disease Doctors estimate that half of all Americans between ages 60 and 80 have diverticular disease, and that almost everyone over 80 has the condition. It is rarely found in those younger than 40. Western societies consume only about 10% of the fiber that they did 100 years ago. Diverticular disease and its complications affect men and women equally. The vast majority of those affected never develops symptoms and remains unaware that they have the condition. In about 10 to 25 percent of the people who have diverticula (small pouches in the wall of the colon), the diverticula become inflamed and infected. This causes diverticulitis.
Last Reviewed: 2002 by Guy Slowik, M.D.

Thursday 15th July Court Order to Close Allenby 122.
Wednesday at 1-am I was told and did not Beleive Possible
that the Building
My Day was very mixed up,
Thursday Morning at Dan Panorama, eGovernment and SmartCards, Meir
Shitrit, Yigal Ben Shalom , the New Head of Bituach Leumi and Others.
On the Other Hand: Last Night at 1am I was informed that we have to
leave Allenby 122 Today!!!!
Tsav Beit Mishpat. It seams that The Owner of the Building wanted to
throw out my Landlord, Abed El-Gani who I have known since 1994.
Also Hostel at Ben Yehuda 47 Closed last Year. It seams that some of
us will be Sleeping tonight at Ben Yehuda 52.
My Belongings are spread out in many places. (Machsan Beit Mishpat??).
I went to Lishka at King George 33 and they did help me a bit.

Back to Windows after nearly a month of not being able to communicate thru Windows XP.
Had Internet going thru Linux Only!!!

Dark Continent. Europe's 20th Century. Mark Mazower. Preface promises excellant reading.
Arrived today from Amazon.

Last update - 21:02 06/06/2004
Cabinet approves PM's revised pullout plan by 14-7 majority
By Aluf Benn, Mazal Mualem and Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondents

After overcoming several setbacks, the cabinet approved Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's revised disengagement plan by a 14-7 majority on Sunday evening.

Sharon said Sunday evening that the cabinet's approval of the plan shows that Israel is "taking its future in its own hands."

"Disengagement (from the Palestinians) is getting under way," he told a participants of a birthright trip in Jerusalem shortly after the vote.

"The government decided today that by the end of 2005 Israel will leave (all 21 Jewish settlements in) Gaza and four settlements (in the West Bank). The state of Israel made a decisive step for its future," he said.

"Most of the people of Israel understand the tremendous significance of the plan ... It is a decision that is good for Israel's political standing, economy and the demography of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.

"Israel doesn't intend to wait any longer for the Palestinians. They understand that if they don't work to liquidate terror they will continue to lose important assets..." Sharon added.

Netanyahu, Livnat, Shalom stall cabinet vote
The vote was halted earlier Sunday when Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, and Education Minister Limor Livnat demanded that the letters of understanding exchanged between Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush be excluded from the government decision. The demand was made because the letters that Sharon and Bush exchanged clearly state that settlements would ultimately be evacuated.

Earlier Sunday, the Prime Minister's Office said that Likud ministers had reached a compromise deal on the revised disengagement plan.

Sources close to Netanyahu, Livnat and Shalom said the compromise formula the government was to vote on would not include a decision to dismantle settlements, in principle or in practice.

Voting in favor of the disengagement plan were Sharon, Netanyahu, Livnat, Shalom, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Immigrant Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni, Minister in the Finance Ministry Meir Sheetrit, and Minister without portfolio Gideon Ezra, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, National Infrastructures Minister Yosef Paritzky, Environment Minister Yehudit Naot, Science Minister Modi Zandberg.

Minister without portfolio Uzi Landau, Health Minister Danny Naveh, Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, Diaspora Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky, Housing and Construction Minister Effi Eitam, and Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev voted against the plan.

National Religious Party Chairman Effi Eitam said that the plan's approval would lead to the expulsion of thousands of Jews from the Gaza Strip and the creation of a Hamas state on platter of Jewish blood.

NRP Minister Zevulun Orlev said that there was a basis for NRP to remain in coalition, as there is no mention of settlement evacuations in plan.

The cabinet began discussing Sharon's disengagement plan Sunday afternoon, despite a High Court proposal to defer the talks to Tuesday.

The court proposal stemmed from several petitions which questioned the legality of Sharon's dismissal of far right-wing ministers from the National Union party, Avigdor Lieberman and Binyamin Elon on Friday.

Their National Union colleague Deputy Education Minister Zvi Hendel also submitted his resignation on Sunday.

Shinui Minister of National Infrastructure Yosef Paritzky said Sunday that as part of the compromise the prime minister would make a public announcement in which he would declare that a government decision on the date of the evacuation of settlements would be reached by March 2005.

Elon arrived at the meeting Sunday and announced that he intended to participate in the vote.

Sharon decided on Thursday night to fire Elon and Lieberman to improve prospects of cabinet approval of his plan to evacuate settlements on the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. Friday morning, he signed laconic pink slips - each dismissal notice had just one sentence. Israeli law requires that 48 hours pass before a dismissal notice for a minister becomes official. Trying to keep his portfolio so he might cast a vote against the disengagement plan in the cabinet tally Sunday, Elon refused to disclose his whereabouts Friday to Sharon's aides.

The High Court of Justice on Sunday heard a petition submitted against the dismissals of Elon and Lieberman.

Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz advised Sharon's associates that he would be able to defend the validity of Elon's dismissal in any High Court challenge the deposed minister might make, and so Sharon called off the pursuit after Elon.

Mazuz based his decision on the fact that Elon had announced in the media that he was aware of the effort made by Sharon's office to locate him so the dismissal letter could be delivered. The procedure followed by Sharon's office in Elon's dismissal complied with the relevant clauses in the 1992 Basic Law on the government, Mazuz concluded.

Gush Katif residents protest against pullout plan
Gush Katif settlers demonstrated opposite the Prime Minster's Office on Sunday, and called on Likud ministers to vote against the pullout plan. Likud Central Committee member also protested in the area, and announced that they were signing a petition calling on the Likud convention to gather in order to dismiss Sharon as prime minister and as party chairman.

Some 3,000 demonstrators attended a rally opposite the prime minister's Jerusalem residence Saturday night in support of the disengagement plan. The demonstration was organized under the slogan "Get out of Gaza, start talking."

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Yael Dayans "pains" in Tel-Aviv acording to Tel-Aviv Magazine

The World in the 20th Century

GROPPI

Sun adds Java tools to RFID menu: "Sun adds Java tools to RFID menu
June 1, 2004 "

The following are interviewed in the film Shoah: An Oral History of the Holocaust by Claude Lanzmann (1985).

Armndo Aaron — President of the Jewish community of Corfu. "On Friday morning, June 9, 1944, members of the Corfu Jewish community came, very frightened, and reported to the Germans. This square was full of Gestapo men and police, and we went forward. There were even traitors, the Recanati brothers, Athens Jews. After the war they were sentenced to life imprisonment. But they’re already free. We were ordered to go forward. . . . 1650 people. . . . Christians stopped there. . . at the street corner. . . and on the balconies. . .to see the show. [We were] very, very scared when we saw. . . There were young people, sick people, little children, the old, the crazy, and so on. When we saw they’d even brought the insane, even the sick from the hospital, we were frightened for the survival of the whole community. We were to appear at the fort to be taken to work in. . . Poland.

The Germans had put up a proclamation on all the walls in Corfu. It said all Jews had to report. And now that we were all rounded up, life would be better without us in Greece. It was signed by the police chiefs, by officials and by the mayors. . . [Antisemitism] exited, sure, but it wasn’t strong in the years just before that. They didn’t think like that against the Jews. [Now] our relations with the Christians are very good. . . .

[After the Jews left] they took all our possessions, all the gold we had with us. They took the keys to our houses and stole everything. By law it was to go to the Greek government. But the state got only a small part of it. The rest was stolen, usurped. . . by everyone, and by the Germans. Of the 1700 people deported, around 122 were saved. Ninety-five percent of the them died. . . We were arrested here on June 9, and we finally arrived June 29. Most were burned on the night of the twenty-ninth. We stayed here in the fort for around five days. No one dared escape and leave his father, mother, brothers. Our solidarity was on religious and family grounds. . . [We were taken on] a boat made of barrels and planks. It was towed by a small boat with Germans in it. On our boat there were one, two or three guards, not many Germans, but we were terrified. You can understand, terror is the best of guards. . . "

Sun Closes in On Java Desktop 2.0

Sam's Experiences on the Net by Samuel Cohen