Labour revealed as bully boysLabour has been bullying

Labour revealed as bully boys

Labour has been bullying officials over complaints that their brochures have breached the Electoral Finance Act. The bullying letter is here

National Party Deputy Leader Bill English says an aggressive letter from Labour Party Secretary Mike Smith also reveals Labour politicians were saying one thing in public, but the Party was doing something else behind the scenes.

“You can’t trust Labour when it comes to electoral law.”

Labour Party Secretary Mike Smith wrote to the Electoral Commission on April 8, to dispute its ruling that the Labour brochure was in breach of the law.

The letter says: ‘I would ask that a correction be entered on the Commission website, clearly indicating that any alleged breach was not a breach by the Labour Party. I would also like to take the opportunity to make submissions to the Commission regarding the way in which it handles the application of the law in relation to political parties’.

Mr English says that leaves Labour with a “credibility problem”, because two days after the letter was sent, Justice Minister Annette King was telling the public that Labour accepted the Commission’s ruling.

Part I: Dad Recounts Preemie Twins’ Struggle - ABC News

Part I: Dad Recounts Preemie Twins’ Struggle - ABC News
The speech I was holding should only have been a backup. I knew the words by heart because I’d lived them. It was the story of my twin sons and how their birth 17 weeks too soon changed everything for me, my wife Lori and our 4-year-old son, Zac. In this photo provided by Ron Wall, Lori and Jaime

Suspended NASCAR officials accused of sex charge - Seattle Times
Two officials suspended by NASCAR are accused in a $225 million lawsuit of exposing themselves to a former co-worker, the Associated Press has learned. Tim Knox and Bud Moore have been placed on indefinite administrative paid leave. NASCAR will not reveal the identities of the officials sent home

Microsoft Made $8 Billion Offer to Yahoo Before Google Accord - Bloomberg
June 14 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. made a final proposal to Yahoo! Inc. before the Internet company forged an agreement with rival Google Inc. , offering to buy $8 billion of Yahoo shares at $35 each and acquire its search-engine business. Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, would

PhD Sensor technology

PhD Sensor technology
PhD Sensor technology (2 x 2 years)
(mandate WNI/2008/016)

Job description
The PhD student will conduct scientific research within the framework of development of sensor platforms for electronic characterisation of DNA mutations and related problems. More specifically, sensor arrays will be developed based on impedimetric and isocap-based sensor concepts. An important issue is the analysis of electric field and band structure effects at the interface between aqueous phases, molecular layers and semiconductor surfaces. Furhermore, attention will be focussed on the optimisation of the performance of the sensor arrays.

Profile and diploma
Master degree (or equivalent) in either physics, applied sciences, electronics, physical chemistry, nano- and microtechnology or materials science.

Appointment
The appointment has a duration of 2×2 years (assessment after 2 years).

Further information
* Content job responsibilities:
* Prof. dr. Ward De Ceuninck, tel. +32-11-26 88 72, ward.deceuninck@uhasselt.be
* Prof. dr. Patrick Wagner, tel. +32–11-26 88 95, patrick.wagner.@uhasselt.be
* Prof. dr. Marc D’Olieslaeger, +32-11-26 88 99, marc.dolieslaeger@uhasselt.be
* Content terms of employment and selection procedure: Jef Vanvoorden, 011-26 80 80, jef.vanvoorden@uhasselt.be
Application
Applicants must use the official application forms
* which are available at the Rectoraat of Hasselt University, Campus Diepenbeek, Agoralaan - building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium), phone +32 - 11 - 26 80 03
* or which can be downloaded here http://www.uhasselt.be/download/APengelsUH.doc
The completed application forms must reach the above mentioned address no later than Friday, June 6th 2008.
Application by e-mail will only be taken into consideration when sent to the following address: jobs@uhasselt.be.

2 PhD positions in combined human and monkey fMRI-KU Leuven

2 PhD positions in combined human and monkey fMRI-KU Leuven
2 PhD positions in combined human and monkey fMRI
Applications are invited for two PhD positions in the Lab of Neurophysiology at the KU Leuven in Belgium to work with Jan Jastorff and Guy Orban on projects involving action perception and 3D structure from motion. Both projects are designed to start with human functional imaging to develop specific paradigms, which can be afterwards also applied for awake monkey fMRI.

Details about the research group can be found at: http://neuroserv. med.kuleuven. be/

Candidates should hold (or expect) a Diploma or Masters degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Psychology, Neuroscience, Physiology, Computer Science). Programming experience with Matlab and knowledge of statistics is a plus.

Please submit informal enquiries or an application letter, CV, and names of references to Dr. Jan Jastorff (jan.jastorff@ med.kuleuven. be)

Beasiswa: Aegis Women Leadership Scholarships in Business and Technology
Call for “Aegis Women Leadership Scholarships in Business and Technology ” for One Year MBA/Post Graduate Program In Business Management (PGP) August 2008-09 at Aegis School of Business, Mumbai, India .
Aegis Women Leadership Scholarships in Business and Technology for outstanding candidates with demonstrated leadership qualities for studying full-time One Year MBA/PGP program. There are a number of scholarships up to $11,750, covering part or full tuition fee, are available for highly motivated self-funded outstanding female candidates from any part of the world.

Aegis, a live consulting based business school, was started with the support of Bharti Tele (Airtel), India’s top Telecom Company, for developing the next generation of leaders. Aegis School of Business is the most international business school in India, in term of student and faculty diversity. School has over 70 % International candidates, which is the highest among any Indian Business Schools. The international diversity at Aegis prepares participants for a global work place. Aegis offers one-year full time programs : MBA/ PGP, MBA IT, MS in Computer Engineering/ MPIS, Masters in Telecommunication Management program, Post Graduate Program in Communication.

Selection for these scholarships will focus on the insights provided by your business and managerial experience, technical competency, academic excellence and how these, together with your interpersonal skills, can be used to enhance learning and group work at Aegis. In awarding these scholarships we will be looking for evidence of exceptional leadership qualities in your career to date.

Scholarship available for following programs :

* One Year MBA/PGP (Candidates required min two year work experience.)
* One Year MS Computer Science/ Masters Program in Information Systems (MPIS) (Candidates without experience can apply.)
* Masters Program in Telecom Management (MPTM) (Candidates without experience can apply.)
* Two Year Post Graduate Diploma in Retail Management (Candidates without experience can apply.)
* One Year Post Graduate Program in Communication (Candidates without experience can apply.)

Requirements :
This Scholarship is available for candidates admitted in full-time programs at Aegis and has a confirm offer letter. You can refer the details of Eligibility criteria for admissions at http://www.aegisedu.org/Admission%20Requirements.htm

Scholarship Amount :
Scholarships up to $11,750 covering the full or partial tuition fee are available for highly motivated, self-funded individuals.
Selection Process:

* Applications evaluation and short listing
* Interview of Short-listed candidates ( option for telephonic interview available)
* Please note that scholarships vary in value and have different criteria on which they are awarded.

Eligibility :

To be eligible for Scholarship you need final admission offer letter from Aegis.
Important Dates:

Application on ongoing basis
1st round application deadline 10 June 2008
2nd round application deadline 25 June 2008
3rd round application deadline 10 July 2008
Next Step:

1. Resume: Send a copy of your updated Resume for pre-application screening at admission@aegisedu.org
2. Application: Complete the application form downloadable / online application form http://www.aegisedu.org/application.htm
Admission Application Form and Scholarship Application Form is common.
When you submit the application for admission along with additional essay for scholarship, your candidature will be automatically processed for scholarships.
3. Additional one or tow page essay explaining, “Why I should be considered for award of Aegis Women Leadership Scholarships in Business and Technology? ”
4. Test Scores: Copy of any one of the Test Scores viz. GMAT, GRE, TOEFL (Aegis TOEFL code is 5730), IELTS, CAT, G4ATR (not mandatory). Although it is not mandatory requirement, but it will defiantly increase your prospect of getting the scholarship and candidature in the program.

Feel free to call at +91 932 252 5977/ +91 982 087 0483 or Skype:aegis.school.of.business or email at dmission@aegisedu.org to explore more about the program and scholarships at Aegis.
Sarika Gupta
Director Admissions & Financial Aid
Aegis School of Business
Aegis School of Telecommunication
Mahesh, Plot No.37, Sector 15, CBD, Belapur
Navi Mumbai 400614
Phone: +91 022 67122726
Mobile: +91 (0) 93225 25977
Email: sarika.gupta@aegisedu.org
Skype:aegis.school.of.business
Past Female Recipient of Aegis Scholarships:

Tenecia Sicard
US National
MBA/PGP 2005-06
Aegis Scholar (Full tuition fee and cost of Living)
MA International University, Roehampton University, London
Bachelor of Science (BS), Science & Technology in Society: Computer Science Concentration, Stanford University, CA
She was offered special package in India, by Ernst & Young. However, she declined the E&Y India offer and was hired by Clinton Foundation in US.

Anne Villanueva
Philippine National
PGP/MBA 2007-08
Aegis Scholars ( Full Tuition fee)
Bachelor of Science (BSc), St Paul University Manila, Philippines
Work Exp. 2 yrs in Real Estate

View the details at http://www.aegisedu.org/scholarships_financial%20_aid.htm

Pocket Relief: Instant Cash

Pocket Relief: Instant Cash

Software Outsourcing

Software Outsourcing

Windows XP SP3 UxTheme Patcher 1.2

Windows XP SP3 UxTheme Patcher 1.2
SP3 UxTheme Patcher will enable a user to have his own unsigned themes ready to use on the new Service Pack 3 install
Latest Changes
Fixed the restricted accountbug
Minor fixes

AnyDVD & AnyDVD HD 6.4.3.8 Beta
AnyDVD is a driver which descrambles DVD Movies automatically in the background This DVD appears unprotected and region code free for all applications and the Windows operating system as well With AnyDVD 39 s help copy tools like CloneDVD Pinnacle Instant Copy InterVideo DVD Copy etc are able to copy CSS protected Movies You can remove the RPC region code thereby making the movie region free and viewable on any DVD player and with any DVD player software With the help of AnyDVD you can watch movies with non matching region codes with every DVD Player Software you like
AnyDVD is capable of removing unwanted movie features including subtitles and prohibition messages such as copyright and FBI warnings It also allows you to launch an external application whenever you insert or remove a disc or prevent 39 PC friendly 39 software from automatically launching when you insert a video DVD AnyDVD decrypts not just DVDs AnyDVD allows you also to play copy and rip protected Audio CDs
Decryption is not all that AnyDVD offers You can control the drive speed of your DVD drive allowing you to reduce the noise level when watching movies on your PC You can even adjust the display frequency of your monitor for both NTSC and PAL displays
nbsp

6 4 3 8 2008 06 08
New Added detection of new copy protection as found on quot Fata Morgana
2007 quot R2 Germany to automatic AI scanner setting
Change Improved handling of disc arrival
Change DVD Improved CSS key retrieval with some discs
Fix Blu ray Performance problem with Pioneer BD drive
Fix Blu ray Possible Playback problem when UOP removal is enabled
Fix DVD Long loading time with some drives e g Pioneer with FluxDVD
and CSS protected titles e g quot Curse of the Golden Flower quot R2 UK
Fix DVD Error in length calculation when removing title sets from some
discs e g quot WAZ quot R2 Germany
Fix DVD CloneCD read error with FluxDVD protected discs e g
quot Reservation Road quot R1 US
Fix DVD Setting AI scanner to quot always enabled quot did not work correctly
under some circumstances not all title sets were deprotected e g quot Fata
Morgana 2007 R2 Germany
Fix DVD AnyDVD ripper NavigationPack 18 error with some titles e g
quot Semi Pro unrated quot R1 US
Some minor fixes and improvements
Updated languages

WriteColor(sm): MultiColoring for HighLighting/Rating Text

WriteColor(sm): MultiColoring for HighLighting/Rating Text
Friends/

The Time Has Come To Open Our Eyes And Realize That The World Is A Carousel of Color

[http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/televisiontvthemelyrics-kidsshows/waltdisneyswonderfulworldofcolor.htm]

Here-WithIn-I-Offer-A-Proposal-That-I-Believe-ALL-Will-Recognize-As-The-Next-Logical-Step-In-How-We-Write-Read-Assess-Interpret-Text: The World-Is-No-Longer-Black-Or-White.

I Propose That All Give Serious Consideration To Writing-In-Color(s) , With Each Color Representing A Respective Level of Significance Within A Text.

The Visible Spectrum Would Be The Basis For The Relative Levels Of Significance Of Given Text WHERE

• Text of Least Importance Would Be Highlighted In RED;
• Text of Intermediate Importance Highlighted In GREEN;
• Text of Greatest Importance Highlighted in VIOLET, and
• Text of In-Between Importance Highlighted in Appropriate Colors: ORANGE, BLUE, INDIGO

Initially, TEXT would be COLORED at the PARAGRAPH LEVEL By The Author(s).

Adjoining OR Disjunct Sections of Text Could Have The SAME COLOR.

Upon Publication, The Reader Would Have The Ability To ReCOLOR The TEXT ToReflect His/Her View On The Relative Significant Of Text In His/Her Opinion And/Or Relative To A Particular Purpose.

I also envision a feature by which The Reader would be able to colorlight individual terms and/or phrases.

Any AND All Reactions To This Proposal Are Strongly Encouraged By Posting A Comment On This Entry.

BTW: Don’t Even Think of Patenting This Idea - My Lawyers Are Bigger Than Yours [:-)

/Gerry

WriteColor(sm): Where Color is Primary(sm)

Purple Rules(sm)

Several PhD positions in Optimization, KU Leuven, Belgium

Several PhD positions in Optimization, KU Leuven, Belgium
website link: http://homes. esat.kuleuven. be/~optec/ jobs.php

The Optimization in Engineering Center OPTEC at K.U. Leuven (Belgium) invites highly motivated young interdisciplinary researchers with a solid background in numerical mathematics and computer science to apply for one of the following PhD or Post-doc positions:

* Optimal Control Methods for Application at a Central Receiver Thermal Power Plant (PhD or Post-doc Position)

Aim of the project is to develop and apply optimal control techniques suitable for the control tasks occuring in the central receiver thermal power plant built by the solar institute in Juelich.

Besides being a full member of the Optimization in Engineering Center OPTEC at K.U. Leuven, the Post-doc or PhD student will work in close collaboration with 4 partner groups in Germany that each have one three year position dedicated to the joint “virtual Institute on Central Receiver Power Plants, vICeRP” that was founded on January 29, 2008 (http://idw-online.de/pages/ de/news244682).

A first task is to work on system modelling and formulation of the optimal control problems arising in control of the heliostats, the airflow in the central receiver, as well as the steam cycle of the power block of the plant. A second task is to extend existing optimal control algorithms, or to develop new ones when necessary, to make them suitable for the application to the solar power plant problems.

A good mathematical background with solid knowledge of numerical optimal control, and programming skills in C are a prerequisite, as well as a strong interest in application driven interdisciplinary work, cooperation skills and knowledge of English. Knowledge of German and Dutch can be an advantage.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Moritz Diehl (E-mail: moritz.diehl@ esat.kuleuven. be)
* Nonlinear Moving Horizon Estimation for Fault Detection (PhD or Post-doc Position, 3 years)

Aim of the project is to develop and apply novel techniques for fault detection that are based on online optimization. Given a system model as well as the most current sensor data on a window in the past, the idea is to:
1. To find the most probable explanation for the observed data by online optimization of the
system and disturbance model.
2. To give alarm if this best achievable explanation is still too improbable.

Besides being a full member of the Optimization in Engineering Center OPTEC at K.U. Leuven, the Post-doc or PhD student will work in very close collaboration with the Austrian Center of Competence in Mechatronics (ACCM) and the Institute for Design and Control of Mechatronical Systems (Prof. Del Re), both in Linz. Most application problems will come from within this center and its industrial partners.

A good background in control engineering, mathematics, or physics and solid knowledge of numerical methods and programming skills are a prerequisite, as well as a strong interest in application driven interdisciplinary work, cooperation skills and knowledge of English. Knowledge of German and Dutch is an advantage.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Moritz Diehl (E-mail: moritz.diehl@ esat.kuleuven. be)
* Convex Dynamic Programming for Applications in Robust Model Predictive Control and State Estimation (PhD Position, 4 years)

The project shall explore a large but partly unexplored class of nonlinear optimal control systems that are connected by the fact that their dynamic programming (DP) cost-to-go is convex. Of this class the classical linear quadratic regulator (LQR), a linear control law, and the linear model predictive controller (MPC), a nonlinear control law, are the two best-known examples.

Full exploitation of convexity for more general control systems in this class shall lead to new and computational efficient convex dynamic programming methods. These can be used for exact and approximate computation of optimization based feedback controllers that are applicable in particular to uncertain systems, i.e., robust model predictive control. Here a dynamic min-max game with nature as the controllers adverse player needs to be solved, and which is computationally considerably more demanding than classical MPC.

The project shall investigate the two major questions: (a) What problem classes are covered by convex dynamic programming? and (b) How to represent and compute the convex cost-to-go efficiently? Finally, the concepts shall be transferred to the problem of state estimation, which in a Bayesian framework deals with probability densities instead of cost-to-go functions. The negative logarithm of these densities is in many cases convex, and can thus again be treated by convexity-based computational methods. The Kalman filter with its multidimensional Gaussian probability distribution is again only the simplest case of a considerably larger class of convex filters.

The outcome of the project shall be a sound theoretical framework for the understanding of control and estimation systems based on convex dynamic programming, along with new and efficient open-source algorithms ready for use in practical applications. The project can build on previous work in the group, http://www.iwr. uni-heidelberg. de/~Moritz. Diehl/RDP/

A solid background in mathematics and control engineering is a prerequisite, as well as a strong interest in theoretical convex optimization, set computations, and algorithm development. Knowledge of English is required, knowing Dutch is an advantage.

Contacts: Prof. Dr. Moritz Diehl (E-mail: moritz.diehl@ esat.kuleuven. be),
Prof. Dr. Carlos Dorea, OPTEC guest from Feb 2008-Feb 2009 (E-mail:cetdorea@ufba. br)
* Optimization Methods for Distributed Model Predictive Control (PhD or Post-doc Position)

The position is part of a European project on hierarchical and distributed model predictive control with partners in Europe and the US (leaflet). The position at OPTEC has as its aim the development of decomposition methods, distributed state estimation and MPC. Work will be both on computational aspects - for example efficient distributed algorithms and implementations, online initialization for nonlinear optimization - as well as on convergence questions - for example: when does a distributed MPC protocol converge to the solution of the centralized MPC optimization problem?
A good background in control engineering, mathematics, or physics and solid knowledge of numerical methods in control and programming skills are a prerequisite, as well as a strong interest in application driven interdisciplinary work, cooperation skills and knowledge of English. Knowledge of Dutch is an advantage.
Contacts: Prof. Dr. Moritz Diehl (E-mail: moritz.diehl@ esat.kuleuven. be), Dr. Ion Necoara * Optimization Based Control Design for Large-Scale Systems (PhD Position)

The aim of the project is to develop and implement optimization based methods for solving control design problems for large-scale systems. In the first stage of the project the emphasis is on developing polynomial type methods and algorithms and on solving fixed structure control design problems. As fixed structure design problems often lead to non convex problems, special attention will be paid to an appropriate problem formulation and to the use of convex relaxations (such as convex relaxations of non-convex sets, sum-of-squares relaxations of positive polynomials) . In a next stage the obtained results will be adapted and extended towards large-scale systems, with particular attention on developing decentralized control schemes for interconnected and networked systems. These control schemes should translate global objectives (on agreement, performance, robustness, etc.) into local control, adapt easily to changes in the network and the environment, and scale well with the system or network size.

Depending of the interest of the candidate his / her individual PhD project can be steered in the direction of the design of optimization algorithms, the development of polynomial type methods for systems and control, or on control strategies for large-scale systems.

A background in numerical mathematics, control engineering and programming skills are a prerequisite, as well as an interest in application driven interdisciplinary work, good cooperation skills and knowledge of English.

Contact: Dr. Wim Michiels (E-mail: wim.michiels@ cs.kuleuven. be)
* Optimal Motion Control for Machine Tools (PhD or Post-doc Position)

The goal of this research project is to develop efficient methods to optimize point-to-point motion trajectories for machine tools. Machine tools are mechatronic systems that can often be described by either a linear time-invariant (LTI) model or a linear parameter varying (LPV) model. The approach followed in this project is to combine existing classical cascade or robust linear time-invariant (LTI) controllers with optimized motion trajectories.
The motion trajectory design will be based on a framework that was recently developed within OPTEC, and that is a generalization of the work of Kwakernaak and Smit [1]. The basis is a polynomial spline of arbitrary order that is optimized with respect to some performance criteria, and subject to boundary constraints and bounds on the inputs, outputs, and state variables. A careful selection of performance criteria and constraints yields a convex program that can be solved efficiently, allowing us to calculate Pareto-optimal points for these typically multi-criteria optimization problems.
This framework will be further developed to account for system uncertainty (robust design) and large system dynamics changes that are typically described using linear parameter varying (LPV) models. Possibilities for extensions of the current convexity based optimization approaches in order to address fully nonlinear models shall also be investigated.

The emphasis of this project lies on the development of fast and reliable open-source algorithms to optimize these trajectories, the analysis of the trade-off between the different design parameters, e.g. level of continuity of the trajectories, time optimality, level of residual system vibrations, comparison with other existing motion trajectory parametrizations, and experimental validation on a linear motor based pick-and-place machine.

This research will be performed under the joint supervision of Professor Jan Swevers of the division PMA of the Mechanical Engineering Department (http://www.mech. kuleuven. be/pma/) and Professor Moritz Diehl of the division SCD of the Electrical Engineering Departement (http://www.esat. kuleuven. be/scd/). The work will profit from concerted programming efforts within the OPTEC team towards a suite of open-source optimal control software tools.

Candidates for this position (phd or post-doc) shall provide a detailed CV including names of at least two referees. A thorough background in control theory, dynamic optimization, and implementation of numerical algorithms is required. Please indicate your background with respect to these items clearly in your CV. Experience in the practical implementation of controllers is a benefit but not mandatory. However, interest for practical control implementation, programming, and team work is very important.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Moritz Diehl (E-mail: moritz.diehl@ esat.kuleuven. be)

Besides a competitive salary we offer a stimulating research environment within our young but growing “Center of Excellence on Optimization in Engineering” , or OPTEC. OPTEC is well connected internationally with several high ranking international visitors every month, and encompasses groups from four different departments of K.U. Leuven [Electrical Engineering (ESAT-SCD), Mechanical Engineering (MECH-PMA), Chemical Engineering (CHEM-BioTec) and Computer Science (CS-NATW)]. OPTEC combines altogether 20 professors, 12 postdocs, and more than 50 PhD students that jointly work on bringing state-of-the- art optimization methods together with real-world engineering applications.

Electronic applications (by holders of at least a masters degree) including a CV, certificates with high school and university marks in mathematics, physics and computer science, a list of publications, names of two possible references, and a brief description of your research interests are most welcome.

Please send them until June 15, 2008 to jobs-at-optec@ esat.kuleuven. be.

Curling Ice King Hospitalized

Curling Ice King Hospitalized