Ortronics.(Charlotte)(Brief Article)

GASTONIA -- New London, Conn.-based Ortronics is consolidating its Bradenton, Fla., manufacturing plant into operations here by the end of the year. The …

TWO-BITE ST. LOUIS RIBS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

MUSTARD RIB RUB

1/8 cup yellow mustard seeds

� cup kosher salt

4 cups mustard powder

� cup sugar

1 tablespoon coarse black pepper

HONEY MUSTARD BARBECUE SAUCE

1 cup Dijon mustard

� cup balsamic vinegar

� cup molasses

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

RIBS

2 racks St. Louis-style pork ribs

� cup Mustard Rib Rub

2 cups Honey Mustard Barbecue Sauce

To make Mustard Rib Rub: In …

MOHAWK CHIEF'S CASINO POLICY AT ISSUE IN ELECTION.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Associated Press

ST. REGIS MOHAWK RESERVATION The eight Mohawk Tribal Council candidates competing in this weekend's election differ mainly on how not if casinos should operate on the Indian reservation.

Incumbent Head Chief John Loran faces seven challengers in today's election on the St. Regis Mohawk reservation. Loran was widely criticized during his first three-year term in office for compromising the tribe's interests to pursue casino gaming.

Enrolled St. Regis residents also will vote on a proposed tribal constitution that would replace the current three-chief system with an executive branch made up of a head chief and vice chief …

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT PROPOSES NEW POLICY FRAMEWORK TO STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY PROTECTIONS FOR BUSINESSES ONLINE

WASHINGTON, June 8 -- The U.

S. Department of Commerce issued the following press release:

The U.

S. Department of Commerce today released a report that proposes voluntary codes of conduct to strengthen the cybersecurity of companies that increasingly rely on the Internet to do business, but are not part of the critical infrastructure sector. The report, Cybersecurity, Innovation and the Internet Economy, focuses on the "Internet and Information Innovation Sector" (I3S) - these are businesses that range from small and medium enterprises and bricks-and-mortar firms with online services, to social networking sites and Internet-only business, to cloud computing firms that are increasingly subject to cyber attacks.

"Our economy depends on the ability of companies to provide trusted, secure services online. As new cybersecurity threats evolve, it's critical that we develop policies that better protect businesses and their customers to ensure the Internet remains an engine for economic growth," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. "By increasing the adoption of standards and best practices, we are working with the private sector to promote innovation and business growth, while at the same time better protecting companies and consumers from hackers and cyber theft."

Today's report, based on extensive public input, addresses the growing economic importance of strengthening cybersecurity protection and preserving consumer trust in the Internet. Global online transactions are currently estimated by industry analysts at $10 trillion annually. As Internet business grows, so has the threat of cybersecurity attacks. The number of Internet malware threats was estimated to have doubled between January 2009 and December 2010. In 2010, an estimated 55,000 new viruses, worms, spyware and other threats were bombarding the Internet daily.

THE REPORT, DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT'S INTERNET POLICY TASK FORCE, MAKES A NUMBER OF SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REDUCING I3S VULNERABILITIES:

* Establish nationally recognized but voluntary codes of conduct to minimize cybersecurity vulnerabilities. For example, the report recommends that businesses employ present-day best practices, such as automated security, to combat cybersecurity threats and that they implement the Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) protocol extensions on the domains that host key Web sites. DNSSEC provides a way to ensure that users are validly delivered to the web addresses they request and are not hijacked.

* Developing incentives to combat cybersecurity threats. The report also recommends exploring and identifying incentives that could include reducing "cyberinsurance" premiums for companies that adopt best practices and openly share details about cyberattacks for the benefit of other businesses.

* Improve public understanding of cybersecurity vulnerabilities through education and research. Programs like the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education should target awareness and training to the I3S and develop methods for cost/benefit analyses for cybersecurity expenditures.

* Enhance international collaboration on cybersecurity best practices to support expanded global markets for U.

S. products. This should include enhanced sharing of research and development goals, standards, and policies that support innovation and economic growth.

This report follows a series of recent Internet security policy recommendations made by the Obama administration. In April, the Administration released the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which seeks to better protect consumers from fraud and identity theft. Last month, the Administration proposed legislation to require companies providing critical infrastructure services, such as the financial and energy sectors, to implement stronger cybersecurity practices (fact sheet). In addition, the Administration recently released a strategy for managing international issues in cyberspace.

The Commerce Department launched the Internet Policy Task Force in April 2010 to identify and address the Internet's most pressing policy issues and to recommend new policies. The Task Force was directed to look at establishing practices, norms and ground rules that promote innovative uses of information in four key areas where the Internet must address significant challenges: enhancing Internet privacy; improving cybersecurity; protecting intellectual property and encouraging the global free flow of information.

In order to gather additional stakeholder input and refine the report's preliminary recommendations, the Commerce Department will seek public comment and publish questions from the report in a Federal Register notice later this week. The Commerce Department's Internet Policy Task Force will also continue to work with others in government to engage the domestic and global privacy community, and will consider publishing a refined set of policy recommendations in the future.

The full report, including questions seeking additional stakeholder input, can be found See at: http://www.nist.gov/itl/upload/Cybersecurity_Green-Paper_FinalVersion.pdf For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Promoters Invest $21.7M In Sify; Ad Revenues Up 30% QoQ For Q3-FY11

India, Jan. 24 -- Sify's promoters have invested $21.7 million in the business, out of a planned investment of $86 million, the company has announced. Sify reported total revenues of $38.72 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010, EBITDA of $2.13 million, and a net loss of $2.09 million.

Consumer Business Still Struggling

Revenues: It's consumer business is still in trouble, though - revenues from the segment were down 35.7% year on year to $2.77 million from $4.31 million for the corresponding quarter the previous year. Sify says wireless broadband gained traction, but has stopped reporting broadband connections and ARPU.

Advertising revenues for Sify were up 30%, and frankly, if ad revenues were up for Sify, then they must have been up for other significant portals as well. One should expect a good quarter from Rediff.com too.

Cybercafes: Interestingly, Sify said that the first time in years that for the first time in over 3 years, the number of cafes opting for Sify has registered a significant increase of 14%.as is obvious, that hasn't had an impact on revenues. Sify hasn't disclosed the number of e-ports or broadband consumers this quarter.

Internet Telephony: The company also launched Sify Talk, its VoIP services, at cybercafes and PCOs in October 2010. Previously, Sify Talk was available for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) businesses.

As we'd reported earlier, during the quarter, Sify tied up with Hungama Digital Media to offer coupons for purchasing music at Sify CyberCafes. Note that Sify makes no mention of the restructuring (or shutting down) of its SifyTripz business.

- UIDAI (iTest) - Sify set up test centres at various locations and tied up with e-ports, for certification of Master Trainers, Supervisors, Tech Support and Enrolment Operators for the Indian governments Unique Identification Authority of India program.

- eLearning: Sify has added three new accounts for eLearnings. Additinally, it has piloted new-technology based learning products with its local partner in the Chinese market.

- Enterprise partnership with Nokia: Sify has partnered with Nokia for Tej, a hosted mobile order management service integrated with Forum to track information from the field on-the-go.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Medianama.

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Education agenda

Secret Education Business

Imagine. You are moving to a new city from overseas or interstate and you want to know which school will best meet the needs of your children.

If you live in England, the answer is simple. Look at the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) Internet site and you can search for the name of a particular school and download the school's inspection report.

Government-funded schools are inspected every six years and a written report is made publicly available. The report addresses questions such as: What sort of school is it? How high are standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed?

Not only do inspectors evaluate the school, but schools are also identified as successful or underperforming. In the language of OFSTED, inspectors have to decide:

... whether or not the school, although providing an acceptable standard of education, nevertheless has serious weaknesses, in one or more areas of its work; whether or not the school, although not identified as having serious weaknesses, is judged to be underachieving. Unlike schools in Australia, where there are no official sanctions or rewards, English schools are evaluated and, if found wanting, face the consequences. Such transparency is the opposite of the situation in Victoria, for example, where the Government refuses to rank schools or to make test results widely available.

In addition to inspectors' reports, it is also possible to search the OFSTED Internet site to find out how well schools perform in national tests. In primary schools, for example, all 11-year-old students take tests linked to the national curriculum.

The test results are then posted on the Internet. Parents can search a database by postal code, by local education authority or by the name of a particular school. Shown against the national average and the average grades achieved by the local education authority are the grades achieved by individual schools.

Greater accountability and transparency are also being forced on American schools. President Bush's recent national education bill (to the value of $US26.5 billion, 2002) requires state testing in reading and maths for every child from grades three to eight.

The bill also provides incentives for under-performing schools to improve. First, under-performing schools receive additional funding; second, if results still do not improve, students receive funding to pay for private tutoring.

Finally, if particular schools consistently fail to meet the grade, students will be allowed to transfer to more successful schools. Again, this is unlike Australia, where education departments and governments allow failing schools to put students at risk year after year, without any attempt to address the root cause of the problem.

Of course, those most to gain from keeping Australian parents in the dark-teacher unions and faceless education bureaucrats-- argue that test results or inspectors' reports should never be released. Public exposure will destroy a school's reputation and students' self-esteem.

In answer to those resisting change. First, comparing schools is not simply a matter of comparing apples with bananas. In England, research into how schools `valueadd' to student performance is based on comparing schools with a similar socio-economic profile.

Thus, schools from a wealthy area, with good facilities and parents able to afford the extras, are compared against similar schools, and not against those in less privileged areas. Second, making results public, in most cases, leads to under-performing schools receiving additional funding and to standards improving.

As parents will agree, there is also the reality that good test results, by themselves, are not the sole reason why they might choose one school over another. But when such results are made public, parents are in a position to make a more informed decision.

All Australian departments of education have been collecting data about school performance for some years. State and Territory governments also have the results of literacy and numeracy testing, generally at grades three and five for all primary schools, since being introduced over the last eight to ten years.

In addition, school Year 12 school results are also available to rank schools. Given the rhetoric about accountability and empowering communities, one wonders when the Ministers of Education of the State and Territory Labor governments will make such information freely available.

[Author Affiliation]

Dr Kevin Donnelly is Director of Education Strategies, a Melbourne-based consulting group.

E-mail:kevind@netspace.net.au

US forces kill bin Laden ; World's most wanted man hunted down to hideaway in Pakistan

The death of the world's most wanted man came just months beforethe 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World TradeCentre and Pentagon, orchestrated by bin Laden's al-Qaidaorganisation, that killed more than 3,000 people.

Former president George Bush, who was in office on the day of theattacks, issued a statement hailing bin Laden's death as a momentousachievement.

He said: "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight Americahas sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes,justice will be done."

Mr Obama said he ordered the operation after receivingundisclosed intelligence information.

Senior US administration officials said the terrorist mastermindwas found inside a custom-built compound with two security gates.They said it appeared to have been constructed to harbour one high-value target and officials became clear the hideout was bin Laden's.

Based on statements by US detainees, intelligence officials haveknown for years that bin Laden trusted one al-Qaida courier inparticular and believed he might be living with him in hiding.

Last November, intelligence officials found out where he wasliving in a huge fortified compound. It was surrounded by walls ashigh as 18ft, topped with barbed wire. There were two security gatesand no phone or internet running into the house.

Officials believed the million-dollar home was custom-built tohide a major terrorist.

CIA experts analysed whether it could be anyone else, but timeand again, they decided it was almost certainly bin Laden.

Officials also said they believe the death puts al-Qaida on apath of decline that will be difficult to reverse, but there was noword on the whereabouts of bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri.

The attacks a decade ago seemed to come out of nowhere, eventhough al-Qaida had previously damaged American targets overseas.

The terrorists hijacked planes, flew one of them into one ofManhattan's Twin Towers -- and, moments later, into the other one.

Both buildings collapsed, trapping thousands and claiming thelives of firefighters and others who had rushed to help them.

A third plane slammed into the Pentagon, defacing the symbol ofAmerica's military might.

A fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengersoverpowered the hijackers and forced the craft from the air beforeit could hit its intended target in Washington.

Mr Obama spoke to Mr Bush and former president Bill Clinton lastnight to inform them of the developments.

He struck a less than boastful tone in his brief announcementalthough he said the death of bin Laden was "the most significantachievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaida".

"His death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubtal-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and wewill remain vigilant," he said.

Moments after he spoke, American officials cautioned that theevents could lead to heightened threats against the United States.

CAPTION: Clockwise from main picture: Crowds gather outside theWhite House to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, FDNYfirefighter Aaron Clark looks on from atop a firetruck as peoplecelebrate in Times Square, crowds gather in Times Square uponhearing the news of bin Laden's death getty/ap