K D.

Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo Art Images

For fans of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (July 6,1907 July 13,1954), this site (http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org) claims to have images of all her works. You can click to get a decent sized but not high definition views of her art. They also offer 'hand painted reproductions of the paintings'.

Her biography is fascinating and tragic she lived through interesting times, was grievously injured in a bus crash, married Mexico's most famous painter, Diego Rivera (twice), knew Leon Trotsky while he was on the run from Stalin's assassins, and she is now recognised as one of the key figures in the 'New Mexican Art' movement (Neomexicanismo). She died aged 47 either from suicide or from gangrene after the amputation of her leg, depending on which source you read.

Soumaya Museum - Mexican Art Gallery and Museum

Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, reputed to be one of the world's richest man (estimated net worth upwards of $53 billion), has unveiled a new home in Mexico City for his extensive art collection. The new Soumaya Museum is named in memory of his late wife.

A mix of sculpture and fine art, it holds the largest collection of Rodin sculptures outside France. The collection also contains grand masters such as El Greco, Da Vinci, Monet, Picasso, Dali and Cezanne as well as Mexican greats Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo. I looked for Frida Kahlo, but didn't find any examples, which is a shame as I like her stuff.

Entrance is free and Carlos Slim states that he 'wants to boost human development in Mexico.' Doors open to the public from the end of March 2011.

At the moment the website (http://www.soumaya.com.mx) is only in Spanish, and is a bit clunky, but I would expect an improved and English version pretty soon.

Fun / Humor / Bad Signage / Mangled English

If seeing language and visual instructions contorted beyond the bounds of human understanding amuses you, then this site ( http://www.signspotting.com) is for you. Examples of bad signage from all over the world – a few deliberate, most absolutely serious, which usually makes them funnier. Updated daily. Enjoy.

TED http://www.ted.com/
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) started in 1984 as a single non-profit annual conference concept. Its catchphrase was simple – 'Ideas worth spreading.'

TED now gets huge press coverage for the annual TED prize - $100,000 cash to one individual 'and, much more important, the granting of "One Wish to Change the World." After several months of preparation, the wish is unveiled at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference.'

In their own words:
'We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you.'

They get some of the worlds best thinkers and doers to speak - maximum time 18 minutes each - at their two annual conferences – one in Long Beach / Palm Springs, one in Edinburgh.

They currently have 745 talks available online, usually in English or with English subtitles from some of the best and brightest in the world. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. All will make you think.

Inspiring.

Backupify Cloud Based Data Backup Service Free or Paid
www.Backupify.com

2GB storage and backing up of up to 5 accounts for free. Above that limit, it's a paid service from $4.99 upwards. I've used the free service for a while and it works fine.

What they can back up:

Gmail
Google Docs
Google Sites
Google Calendar
Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
Blogger

I'm looking for a similar service to back up Yahoo email – does anyone have any recommendations?

Royal Wedding Sick Bags – Graphic Design Artist
http://www.lydialeith.com/

Just in case the press coverage and tacky souvenir industry makes you want to throw up…
Now why didn't I think of that?

She is actually a decent graphic design artist – once past the sick bags which have achieved her 15 minutes of fame in the international press, you can look at her other work as well.

German Historical Archive - For students and academics studying German history, this (http://www.bundesarchiv.de) is the key site for access to all publicly available German state archives. There are inevitable gaps – huge volumes of historical documents were destroyed by allied bombing and shelling during the Second World War. Interestingly, relatively few documents were destroyed by the Germans themselves – possibly national stereotypes of 'wanting order' may not be wholly inaccurate?
The English language section of the state archive can be found at http://www.bundesarchiv.de/index.html.en
The main sections are divided into 8 historical periods:
• Federal Republic of Germany (from 1949)
• German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)
• Allied Occupation Zones (1945-1949)
• German Reich: National Socialism (1933-1945)
• German Reich: Weimar Republic (1918-1933)
• German Reich: Kaiserreich (1871-1918) including North German Confederation (1867-1871)
• German Confederation (1815-1866) and Provisional Central Power (1848/49)
• Holy Roman Empire (1495-1806)

The area of most interest to the majority of modern history students is the rise of fascism and the Second World War.
Investigation of National Socialist (Nazi) Crimes
The Records of the Central Office of the Judicial Authorities of the Federal States for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg

Investigation of National Socialist (Nazi) Crimes
The Records of the Central Office of the Judicial Authorities of the Federal States for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg - Short Introduction into Records and Terms of Use

Library holdings on the military
Bibliotheksbestand zum Militär
Conventional library catalogues
Konventionelle Kataloge
Research on the Nazi era
Research on persons in the holdings on the Nazi era generally only yield good results in certain cases.
"Euthanasia" in the Third Reich
An unpublished private letter from Hitler, backdated to 1 September 1939, instigated the German Reich's secret programme of mass murder of people with mental illnesses or disabilities, which cost the lives of more than 200,000 patients by 1945.
NS archives of the Ministry for State Security
The so-called NS (Nazi) archives of the Ministry of State Security arrived in the custody of the Central State Archives of the GDR after the disbandment of the Ministry of State Security (MfS) in 1990.
Documentation on the persecution of Jews
Since the start of the 1960s, the Federal Archive has been working to document the names of those Jewish citizens who were sent to their deaths or deported as a result of persecution in Nazi Germany.

There are links to personal papers, maps, official documents, film, publications, technical designs, etc., etc. A huge amount of information.
For whatever period of German history interests you, there will be something worth looking at on this website.

Yahoo Email Problem Feb 2011

Actually I'm just reviewing yahoo email not the whole of Yahoo... Suddenly (Feb 2011) my contact list does not auto insert on my email address lines and it is VERY frustrating.

Have been a happy Yahoo user (don't like the Gmail layout and there was too much spam on Hotmail) for many years but this glitch has now happened a couple of times and each time is taking longer and longer to sort out. Once it was out for two days – this time it's been five days. From searching on the internet the problem has hit many users.

Some people have guessed it was Yahoo trying to drive people to the 'New Yahoo Mail', (which for me is much slower than the current version) but the auto address insert doesn't work on that, either. Yahoo 'Classic' doesn't work, either. Grrr.

It does seem churlish to rant about a service that is free, but decent email is available from many sources and I fear Yahoo are going to lose a lot of customers unless they sort this out quickly.

Parmian Tacky Ovepriced Yukky Furniture

When you finally make it big and lose your mind at the same time you can refurnish your home and office from this site (http://www.parnian.com) at the cost of the annual GDP of an average third world country.

For that you will get some tacky 1950s era designs in dubious taste and rain forest depleting 'exotic wood' finishes. I think I saw some of their stuff in one of Colonel Qaddafi's burned out palaces. Very tacky.

Ideal for crazed dictators, evil billionaires and the sets of bad sci-fi and mafia movies.

Aljazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net) is a large international news agency based in Doha, Qatar with 70 news bureaus around the world. It has managed to irritate just about every government in the world with its coverage of crisis points, so it must be doing something right.

Because it has a large selection of Arab journalists as well as many experienced and highly respected Western journalists (Sir David Frost, Rageh Omaar, Riz Khan, etc.) it is extremely well placed to provide in-depth coverage of all of the Middle East – especially interesting at the present time (Feb / March 2011)
Their coverage of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya has been impressive – with information feeds often beating the more established BBC / ITN / CNN / Reuters networks to the punch.

Aljazeera has shown itself to be generally very reliable in checking its facts before broadcast. This has sometimes been embarrassing for the USA, Britain and Israel – much of the Aljazeera coverage of Israel / Palestine issues does not go down well among more rightwing / pro-Zionist media, but it is rare for critics to prove factual inaccuracies in their coverage. Aljazeera journalists have shown themselves to be equally adept at questioning the motives and actions of the Arab players in the conflict.

In most of the Middle East it is Aljazeera journalists that the governments try and gag first in times of crisis – because the people of the Middle East have generally come to trust the Qatar based agency to tell the truth. Aljazeera broadcasts in English and Arabic. Interestingly, it is the most watched news channel on Youtube, getting 2.5 million views per month – and might be seen as part of the flame of free speech and democracy that is sweeping through the Middle East.

For anyone interested in current affairs, especially the Middle East, whether you are a journalist, academic, politician, historian, business person or just paying attention to what's going on in the world, it would be unwise to ignore Aljazeera as a respected source of solid information from a different and interesting perspective.

Well worth a look.

Mumsnet is one of the classic success stories of the internet. A few British mums (moms in America) with a little computer savvy started an online forum (www.mumsnet.com)

The forum grew and grew. The London 'Times' says it is now 'the country's most popular meeting point for parents.'

Mumsnet has grown powerful. Senior politicians now queue to be interviewed. Publishers pay court to its book reviewers. Toy and baby furniture manufacturers quake at the thought of being dammed in their product tests.

While mumsnet offers shopping, discounts, recipes, news and travel tips, its core business remains support for mums (and dads) covering pregnancy, bringing up baby to coping with teenagers. Education, general medical, special needs, legal advice – it's all there.

Very good.

Once you've blagged your invitation to the ball (see Chris O's review of Ballguide.at), or, even, THAT wedding (P.S. One entrepreneur has started selling 'Royal Wedding sick bags'), next stop has to be Debretts (http://www.debretts.co.uk/) to check out the guest list….

Debrett's is the modern authority on all matters of etiquette, social occasions, people of distinction and fine style.

Debrett's range of modern etiquette publications such as Debrett's A-Z of Modern Manners, Debrett's Wedding Guide, Debrett's Correct Form, Debrett's Etiquette for Girls and Debrett's Guide for the Modern Gentleman are acclaimed, indispensable references in a world where 'getting it right' is more and more important with conventions less and less understood.

Still available are Debrett's classic editions such as Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage - now in its 148th imprint - and Debrett's People of Today, the ultimate guide to movers and shakers in British society, published in book and electronic form. Free access to over 25,000 biographies and an essential guide to the peerage, the royal family and the honours system...

They offer a 'unique and indispensable guide to negotiating the social minefield of British titles and styles.'

Enjoy a social calendar that embraces a year-round array of events, from the summer highlights of the traditional Social Season to high profile sporting fixtures, opera festivals, food extravaganzas, carnivals and parades.

To ensure that your aristocratic bloodline won't be sullied by mixing with inferior bloodstock (introducing such lower class dangers such as backbone, chins, brains, thinking…) please check out potential breeding mates for your offspring at Debretts.

What a hoot.

This is the USA equivalent of the UK national Action Fraud organization. If you are based in the USA and have been scammed online contact these guys (http://www.ic3.gov) after contacting your bank and credit card company. Chase the scammers down good luck!

The site explains how to file a complaint, preserve evidence and gives advice on future protection.

Their own explanation of ic3 follows:

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established as a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) to serve as a means to receive Internet related criminal complaints and to further research, develop, and refer the criminal complaints to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement and/or regulatory agencies for any investigation they deem to be appropriate. The IC3 was intended, and continues to emphasize, serving the broader law enforcement community to include federal, as well as state, local, and international agencies, which are combating Internet crime and, in many cases, participating in Cyber Crime Task Forces.
Since its inception, the IC3 has received complaints crossing the spectrum of cyber crime matters, to include online fraud in its many forms including Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) matters, Computer Intrusions (hacking), Economic Espionage (Theft of Trade Secrets), Online Extortion, International Money Laundering, Identity Theft, and a growing list of Internet facilitated crimes. Since June 2000, it has become increasingly evident that, regardless of the label placed on a cyber crime matter, the potential for it to overlap with another referred matter is substantial. Therefore, the IC3, formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (Internet Fraud Complaint Center), was renamed in October 2003 to better reflect the broad character of such matters having an Internet, or cyber, nexus referred to the IC3, and to minimize the need for one to distinguish "Internet Fraud" from other potentially overlapping cyber crimes.
IC3 Mission Statement
IC3's mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local, and international level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.
Significant and supplemental to partnering with law enforcement and regulatory agencies, it will remain a priority objective of the IC3 to establish effective alliances with industry. Such alliances will enable the IC3 to leverage both intelligence and subject matter expert resources, pivotal in identifying and in crafting an aggressive, proactive approach to combating cyber crime.

In the UK, for similar support, contact http://www.actionfraud.org.uk

Action Fraud (http://www.actionfraud.org.uk) is the UK's national fraud reporting centre. The service is run by the National Fraud Authority the UK government agency that helps to co-ordinate the fight against fraud in the UK.

It provides a central point of contact for information about fraud.

The online fraud reporting service is available 24 hours a day, enabling you to report a fraud and find help and support. Action Fraud can also provide help and advice over the phone through the Action Fraud contact centre. You can talk to our fraud specialists by calling *******040.

The web page offers fraud and scam victims
A) A place to report the offence
B) Support, information and links
C) Advice on protection in the future
D) News and warnings about current scams in the UK

This website is the second place to go, immediately after your bank and credit card companies, if you are based in the UK and have been scammed.

Help chase the scammers down make your complaint official!

UK Security Service MI5

The Security Service, popularly known as 'MI5' from their former 'Military Intelligence Section 5' designation is the nearest UK equivalent to the FBI – it is responsible for UK homeland security – tracking foreign spies, terrorists and other threats to the nation within the UK.

Like its sister service the SIS/ MI6 foreign intelligence service, until fairly recently it was a "secret service" whose very existence was not formally acknowledged.
In the modern way, it now has its own website (https://www.mi5.gov.uk/) and recruits directly from interested applicants – obviously they have to pass the 'vetting' process.

The website covers a general introduction to the service, history, recruitment, current threat levels and what to do if you see something suspicious that the service might be interested in…

If you want more information then the website offers try a couple of books:
The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 by Christopher Andrew

And

Inside British Intelligence: 100 Years of MI5 and MI6 by Gordon Thomas

Interesting.

MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) UK
'My name's Bond. James Bond.'
The original character for Ian Fleming's James Bond worked for Naval Intelligence, which is where Fleming himself worked during the Second World War. (Check him out on Wikipedia it's an interesting story).
In the modern UK, active human based (as opposed to radio / signals) intelligence gathering on foreign countries (ahem, cough, aka 'spying') is carried out by the Secret Intelligence Services, popularly known as MI6 (the former Military Intelligence Section 6). It is the nearest UK equivalent to the CIA.
Until 1994 the very existence of SIS was 'secret' and recruitment was done by taps on the shoulder in the 'old boys' and 'old girls network' you could not directly apply for a job. As the various intelligence debacles of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s showed, that system did not always work.
SIS has moved to a more open structure and much wider social recruitment (I don't think they really care if you prefer your martinis shaken or stirred), and the website (https://www.sis.gov.uk/) is part of that new approach. From 2006 interested applicants were invited to apply directly for jobs.

The website gives a quick tour of SIS and lifts the veil a little on what until recently had been a state secret.
For British citizens checking out the SIS website you can also apply online for a career as an 'operational officer'. (The word 'spy' is never mentioned!) Of course, as soon as you apply, the 'vetting' process will start, so if you hear clicks on your phone or see someone watching you (!)
For those interested in more detail than you can get from this website, a couple of recently published history books should get you started:

MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949 by Keith Jefferey

And

Inside British Intelligence: 100 Years of MI5 and MI6 by Gordon Thomas

Advertising Standards Authority UK

The ASA (http://www.asa.org.uk/) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media, including, from 1 March 2011, marketing on websites. They work to ensure ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying the Advertising Codes.

Up till now the ASA could shut down any advertising that broke the code in print, or on TV and radio. The internet was immune form them.

The great news for consumers is that from the 1st March, the ASA can prosecute and close down any false online advertising accessed from the UK.

Not sure exactly how they can enforce their rules against foreign based websites, but we shall see. They should be effective against any UK based scammers, provided they have details of the offenders sent in by the victims.

So don't just moan about being ripped off – chase the scammers down!

To log a complaint go to:
http://www.asa.org.uk/Complaints/How-to-complain.aspx

Good luck!

Have you been scammed in the UK?

After speedily contacting your bank and credit card company, next stop is the Trading Standards Institute. (http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk) Don't just moan – register your complaint and help chase the scammers off the net… Every little helps!

Tab to 'Help and Advice', enter your postcode and they will give you the details of your nearest Trading Standards office to register your complaint.

They also offer a host of useful links, information leaflets, information on product recalls and details on careers within the institute. Useful.

The Open University

High Quality Distance Learning Degrees

Set up by the British Government in 1969 the OU ( http://www.open.ac.uk/)
Offers top quality, flexible, distance learning degree programmes.
Some programmes are available worldwide, some just in Europe – most courses require a short time each year at a summer school or other seminar session.

The qualifications are highly respected and probably harder than going to a full time university campus course – most of the OU students are also trying to hold down a job / raise a family etc.

Not cheap, but most OU degrees are judged as very good value.

For free of charge introductory course and forums check out openlearn.open.ac.uk.

Boots (www.boots.com) Cheapest Electrical Goods in UK?

Boots is the largest chain of British pharmacy and health stores. Its presence on every major High Street reassures parents and provides a reliable source of over-the-counter-medicines, prescription drugs and cosmetics.

What surprised me was finding out that they also had an online business selling electrical goods and kitchen equipment. Our dishwasher had died and after some research we decided to buy a Bosch. The cheapest price available was online from Boots.com http://www.boots.com/en/Electrical/Boots-Kitchen-Appliances/

There is a downside – you have to phone in the order and fight on the phone not to finance the deal or have an extra monthly 'everlasting replacement insurance' added to the bill. It took 10 minutes of heated arguing to tell the bloke that 'NO I DID NOT WANT THAT!' (If you did the maths you were buying a new machine every 3 or 4 years and a dishwasher usually lasts nearer to 10) Besides, Bosch already offer a 2 year guarantee.

Finally he gave up and we paid by debit card and got the dishwasher of our choice delivered at the best available price and for about 10 quid extra they took the dead machine away. Great.

PS – After installation Bosch contacted us and offered an upgrade to a 5 year guarantee for 80 quid – which is tempting…

There are lots of other good things about Boots:

BootsWebMD symptom checker
http://www.webmd.boots.com/symptoms/default.htm?langId=-1&storeId=*******&catalogId=*******

You can sign up for a variety of health newletters.

For shift workers, insomniacs, vampires, and other night owls you can use the site to find pharmacies open at midnight.

And health and beauty tips as well – (so glad I'm a bloke). Just in case you need to know:

Fuzz Free and Fabulous: How to Epilate your Legs at Home http://www.boots.com/en/Fuzz-Free-and-Fabulous-How-to-Epilate-your-Legs-at-Home_*******/

How can you live without knowing stuff like that?