Allied Bank selects TPS Iris

Following a detailed switch selection process, where solutions for both in-house and outsourcing models were evaluated, Allied Bank has selected IRIS as its in-house payment switch because of IRIS parameterization, scalability, reliability and supporting cost-effective growth.

IRIS is a sophisticated payment application that offers one window solution for transaction processing, debit and prepaid card management, ATM controller, Transaction and ATM network Monitoring, Integrated Channel Management and ADC CRM. Supported by IRIS advanced features, Allied bank can accelerate the execution of its far reaching strategy, including upgrading the network to support chip-cards, advance its mobile banking initiative, while providing value-added services to its accountholders. The bank will also benefit from a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), increased speed to market and facilitate in channel growth. Additionally ABL will use Instant Card Issuance capabilities, comprehensive Point of Sale (POS) and other payment products.

TPS has been associated with ABL since 2003 when it was selected by the bank to setup a transaction switch ‘Phoenix’ and other peripheral applications. In the span of 9 years, TPS technology has facilitated bank to scale and handle ATM network of 700+ ATMs and process the card life cycle of over a million debit cards.

To smoothly execute this upgrade project, TPS and Allied Bank has assigned a dedicated team consisting of highly motivated and trained senior personnel to manage this challenging and strategic project. All assigned resources will work as a closely-knit team with the aim to successfully deliver this project timely.

“At Allied bank we aim to offer innovative solutions and value added services to our customers. To meet this objective we plan to fully utilize IRIS scalable and modular architecture and features by rolling out new products and services, meeting customer’s requirements and expectations within shortest possible time. Our strategic partnership with TPS will contribute in our technology transformation and enhancing our service capability and to offer convenience and exclusive services to our customers,” said Mujahid Ali, Group Chief, Information Technology, Allied Bank Limited.

PelicanCorp’s technology and services will do a great job of telling you exactly where to look for buried infrastructure, but it’s still a challenge to locate an underground pipe or cable and follow its route.

This task can be made much easier with technology attached to that infrastructure itself. Traditionally a number of techniques have been used, including tracer wires, but these have limitations. They require power to be effective and cease to operate if broken.

Now the multi-faceted 3M company claims to have developed an effective way to locate the path of underground plastic pipes and conduits, eliminating the need for tracer wire and test stations and the problems and costs associated with them.

In a recent edition of Australian Water Management Review, the company said that its new Electronic Marking System (EMS) Caution Tape “uses a new EMS marker technology embedded into a caution tape for installation near or above the buried facility and helps provide continuous path location.” Technology embedded in the tape transmits a signal to a special reader enabling the precise location and route of the pipe or cable to be found.

3M says the markers require no batteries and there is no need to hook up an external transmitter or search for access points. The markers work independently so that if a section of caution tape is cut or removed, the other markers on the tape will continue to provide accurate location.

The tape comes in different versions for different types of infrastructure (water, wastewater, gas, telco). Each uses a different frequency to help reduce the risk of accidentally locating and excavating the wrong buried facilities. 3M says the tape can last for up to 50 years.

The tape uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is finding application in a broad swath of industries. If you’ve every bought a DVD or a book and seen on the back a label with lots of wire squares one inside the other, that’s one type of RFID tag.

Those wires are an antenna. The bit you don’t see is a microchip and that’s the heart of the device. A reader placed near the tag creates an electromagnetic field that induces a current in the antenna. This current energises the microchip, which then uses the same antenna to transmit data stored within it. The reader collects and interprets the data.

New and emerging applications in renewable energy and industrial power will challenge power device manufacturers to design and manufacture more efficient devices at a lower cost, driving the need for test solutions specifically targeted for high-voltage/high-current probing. Rated up to 10.5k V/400 A, Cascade Microtech’s APS200TESLA is the first fully-automated on-wafer probe system to offer unmatched electrical performance for HI/HV probing of power devices in a production environment.

The probe system comes with a high-voltage/high-current probe card, a high-voltage/high-power chuck port, and the patent-pending MicroVac high-power chuck that can handle wafer thicknesses down to 50 μm, such as the ultra-thin Taiko wafers. An optimized electrical connection easily integrates the APS200TESLA with a variety of test instruments, and the interlock-enabled safety shield provides a regulatory-approved safe environment for the operator. The arc-suppression feature allows the customer to optimize device layout to achieve better yields and deliver superior cost of test. Auto-discharging and the unique probe-pin touch sensing capability prevent device damage due to high-voltage discharge during die-to-die moves. The APS200TESLA also offers advanced prober control software for automatic wafer and die stepping.

“The new APS200TESLA leverages our experience in achieving accurate on-wafer measurement to provide an advanced power device measurement system that helps our customers increase test throughput,” said Debbora Ahlgren, Vice President, Marketing, Cascade Microtech, Inc. “By enabling on-wafer production test, the APS200TESLA permits our customers to reduce their cost of test and ensures the safety of both devices and operators.”

Rafizi accuses EC of deliberately fudging PapaGomo’s record

The first one, based on PapaGomo’s ordinary citizen’s identity card, carried information on date of birth that matched other official documents such as his police identity card and immigration records. His real name Wan Muhammad Azri bin Wan Deris on the MyKad, police I.C. and immigration also matched that stated in the electoral roll.

However, in the second record found in the electoral roll and based on PapaGomo’s police identity card, the birth of date was different – posted as April 8, 1983 and not January 21, 1983. The name was also shortened to Wan Muhd Azri bin Wan Deris.

“Even in the police identity card, the date of birth is the same as the normal IC and the immigration. Where did the EC get the date April 8 from and why did it simply shorten the name to Wan Muhd? Was it trying to fudge the data to prevent detection (by checkers),” asked Rafizi.

The PKR leader had first exposed PapaGomo’s identity last week including the latter’s name appearing twice on the electoral roll. The day after his revelation, the EC deleted the duplication.

“It is not good enough. The EC could be just trying to cover up their mistake,” said Rafizi, demanding a full explanation from top EC officials.

In the wake of last week’s expose’, a man claiming to be Wan Muhamammad Azri had told a Malay daily that he was not PapaGomo as alleged by Rafizi.

“I would like to state here that my name is Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, identification card number 8301210350** and I am the chief executive of KL POS Media & Production Sdn Bhd. I stress here that I am not the blogger Papa Gomo as alleged by the opposition,” Sinar Harian had reported.

However , Rafizi was unfazed by the “bare denial”. He also showed reporters several photos that he said proved that PapaGomo was indeed Wan Azri including one where the blogger was snapped during a ‘test-ride’ on one of Malaysia’s infamous Scorpene submarines.

“The link is in the bracelet that he is wearing,” said Rafizi, referring to the photos he showed of PapaGomo with his wife and then on the Scorpene submarine.

“At the end of the day, PapaGomo will be pinned down by members of his family and his ex-wife who have agreed to testify against him.” He declined to reveal further details on the grounds that the safety of PapaGomo’s ex-wife and other witnesses had to be considered.

Papagomo has long been the bane of Opposition politicians with his slew of alleged ‘exposes’ – almost all of which have proven to be either false or fabricated. However, that has not stopped the Umno-controlled mainstream media from picking up his postings to launch attacks against Opposition rivals.

Just last week, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim slapped on a RM100mil defamation suit against PapaGomo for posting a video that allegedly showed him engaging in homosexual sex. PapaGomo is also facing a lawsuit from PAS leader Husam Musa, wherein the blogger’s ex-wife Bellina Chin had agreed to identify and testify against him.

There has been much speculation as to why PapaGomo had gone on his binge of accusations against the Opposition leaders. Many, even those from Umno, believe that he is being funded by a top party leader, hence the manner in which he has been ‘protected’ and ‘nurtured’ so far.

The photograph of him on the Scorpene has been widely circulated in Malaysia’s cyberspace, adding to the mystery of how come he is so influential as to be able to wrangle a ride that even Members of Parliament were denied.

The EC has long been accused of favoring Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Umno party and actively helping the incumbent federal government to win in the coming general election.

EC top officials have refused to begin a clean-up of the electoral roll, saying it could only be done after the Sabah RCI on illegal immigrants. Its stand has angered free and fair polls activists, such as Bersih co-chair Ambiga Sreenevasan.

“There will still be cheating and I can tell you as far as Bersih is concerned, we have received many many reports about cheating especially on the electoral roll. What does the EC say? The deputy head of EC says we won’t do anything to the electoral roll until the RCI Sabah is concluded. Oh what a pity RCI Sabah is not going to finish before GE13 and therefore we are not going to clean up the electoral roll. By the way, he also says we need a court order before we can clean up the electoral roll,” Ambiga had told a briefing over the weekend.

“Who are they lying to? Who do they think they are to lie to us they cannot clean up the roll until the RCI in Sabah is over. But I think they recently removed one name PapaGomo …quietly they removed that one. Only one …pardon me if I don’t clap for them. One is not good enough, there are thousands, hundreds of thousands.”

Rising high in Surrey’s core

Credit goes to both Sharron van der Meulen and Mark Haidle, respective principal and lead designers at Portland-based ZGF Architects. They’re part of a large team making City Parkway and 104th Avenue a place that will be at once Surrey’s cultural and commercial hub and a vibrant residential neighbourhood.

“There’s a lot of cross pollination in designing the suites and the hotel rooms: the custom millwork inspired by the boutique hotel character can be found in the cabinetry and closets in the homes’ bedrooms and bathrooms,” Haidle says.

The 3 Civic Plaza project will feature a 144-room full-service hotel and 50,000 square feet of office space occupying its first 14 floors, topped by 35 floors of one-and two-bedroom units on the 15th to 50th floors. Under construction is the new Surrey city hall, which will neighbour a performing arts centre and the recently opened library.

Beginning in the kitchen, vertical mosaic glass tile on the backsplash, quartz stone counters, use of wood and the drop-pendant lights in both the eating area and the living room add a feeling of what vander Meulen calls “modern eclectic,” thanks to “two different warm wood tone schemes with co-ordinating and varying finish options, one dark and one light, and clean modern lines that carry through from the design of the vertical glass mosaic backsplash to the light bright linear tile used in the bathrooms.”

Among the muted browns there appear bold and dramatic colours, accents that van der Meulen adds reflects the culturally diverse Surrey.

“The design and colour options are varied to appeal to the broad range of potential buyers from the many cultures represented by the populace of Surrey.”

Haidle says it’s important to see the building as part of a city hub that will define Surrey’s future, while respecting, in its design and decor, the population that has made the city so strong already.

“We drew inspiration from these cultures and chose colours that would bring a sense of comfort and familiarity. In the case of the two-bedroom suite, the accent is curry. In the one bedroom, it is a Mediterranean blue, giving the buyer a choice between a cool accent and a warm accent.”

Over the past decade, consumer behavior has changed significantly. The convergence of social, cloud, mobile and the rapidly growing amounts of information available have driven several innovations in recent years, transforming user behavior but also creating new business models and opportunities.

As consumers become more demanding and discerning, today’s retail business needs to transform into a real-time, information-driven enterprise.

One such innovation is near-field communication (NFC), in which one machine “reads” another device to communicate and send information wirelessly.

Also known as “machine-to-machine” (M2M) technology, NFC technology is being used in contactless smartcards for payment of train tickets, groceries, and public services.

Many organizations are already leveraging NFC technology and M2M infrastructure for customer management, payment processing, automated inventory, industrial equipment management, and logistics.

For retailers, these new technologies will enable them to embrace the dynamic market behaviors through tracking buying behavior, and offering fast and reliable services to further strengthen customer relationships.

Increasingly, NFC is becoming part of our daily lives as service providers, mobile phone manufacturers and product manufacturers embraced the new technologies and built them into smartphones and smart devices.

NFC tags, which are becoming more affordable, enable consumers to purchase and activate tags based on their lifestyle, be it at work, school, or home.

For instance, a partnership between business travel payment specialist Airplus International and SAP plan to offer NFC mobile payment facilities to business travelers, creating convenience to drive customer satisfaction and retention.

Through M2M solutions, consumers can become more “connected” with a brand or a company, incentivizing them through special offers, instant discounts and bargain sales.

Think QR codes, digital signage, location-based and Bluetooth-based marketing. These allow for more focused advertising, precision retailing and personalized shopping for the customer.

For indoor retailing, innovative retailers are using intelligent video systems to study the pattern of customer traffic to better optimize displays and store layouts.

By viewing and receiving real-time information on the paths consumers take, time spent in front of product displays and parts of the store that capture interest, retailers can make quick changes in minutes instead of weeks to improve the effectiveness of a layout or display, thereby creating a new in-store shopping experience.

Clearly, technologies such as NFC and M2M are in the horizon for retailers, marketers and consumers. Their usage has gained momentum over the past few years. Juniper Research predicted that by 2017, NFC-based transaction values would reach $180 billion.

Connected, informed consumers expect the best products at the best price, regardless of channel. These rapid changes in consumer buying behavior could render the existing infrastructure of a retailer obsolete, making it more vulnerable to competition.

Let’s Play!

My 9-year-old son is addicted to “Let’s Play” videos on YouTube.  You watch videos that take you through level after level of a video game, giving you a preview of what’s to come, or, in my case, a peek at a level I’ll never be skilled enough to reach.  Stupid Bowser.  But anyway.  This is just a small example of how games have permeated our lives.

Here’s another: late last year Boehringer Ingelheim made a splash by releasing a Facebook game, Syrum.  In the game, which combines aspects of trading card games and building games like Farmville, players try to develop drugs.  They can compete or collaborate with friends as they try to get their drugs to market.  A big question Boehringer Ingelheim faced, though, was Why?  It seemed incongruous for a Pharma company to put out a game. What was in it for them?

Boehringer’s Director of Digital, says it’s more than just PR and sees it as a platform that can expand beyond the initial iteration; it could create a new venue for conversation between Boehringer and its stakeholders.  He’s also suggested that “it becomes a problem solving platform, an educational platform and an engagement platform.”  Therein I think lies the real hope for Boehringer:  that by engaging enough people in the game the players will discover the strategy(ies) that will help pharma survive in an increasingly difficult and competitive business environment.

How would this work?  Take a step back and ask what games and game-like elements in the workplace are good for.  It’s already recognized that adding game-like elements to mundane tasks like training can increase participation, engagement and retention.  I just went though the most enjoyable health and safety training of my research career in which our trainer framed the exercise as a round of Jeopardy.  But people involved in Serious Games know there are more potential payoffs for adding game-like elements to a wide variety of industries.

Beyond training, there are three areas I see games as aiding drug discovery.  The first, and one that’s gotten a fair amount of attention over the past few years, is the use of research games like Foldit, eteRNA, and Phylo for biological discovery.  These games tap into the interests of tens of thousands of players to tackle real-life problems like protein- and RNA-folding, and DNA alignments.  They utilize elements like leaderboards, forums, feedback and a sense of purpose.  You can get bragging rights over your friends and help cure HIV!  These games are solving difficult problems in biology without the need for formal scientific training among its participants.  It’s not hard to see how companies facing problems like solving the structure of a potential target or optimizing the fold of a therapeutic siRNA could benefit from a collaboration with these research game designers.

I haven’t played Syrum yet–it’s Europe only right now, and also I’ve not yet fallen into the Facebook vortex. But given Syrum’s reported complexity, it sounds like Boehringer has added a lot of elements that reflect real challenges in drug development, discovery through launch.  I suspect Boehringer is storing every move made by every player–every alliance, every virtual hire, every step forward, sideways and backwards–and will mine that data continuously for strategies on how the process of drug development could be done better.  They’ll track the best players, and maybe even offer them jobs.  They’ll also continue tweaking the parameters.  Boehringer has said they want to launch different versions for different parts of the world.  I would bet some of the key variations will reflect the very different regulatory environments faced in different countries. Winners in one area may end up with very different strategies from winners in another.  So by mining the data, Boehringer also prepares itself for different scenarios.

There’s a reason the military invests heavily into various kinds of games and simulations. Military history is a stark reminder of the uncertainties of combat (after all, all it takes is one nail).  War games have been around for centuries.  Now, in an increasingly complex world, it’s even more important to simulate as many possibilities as is reasonable, to increase the odds that when the unplanned happens (and it will happen), the commander or soldier or chief executive or manager will have seen something like it before.  Drug developers (or any industry, really) are also subject to uncertainties, forces outside of their control and would benefit from a greater exploration of possibilities–the proverbial Black Swans–and how to react to them.  As an example, a recent article in the Financial Times describes some nice examples of how online adventure games are providing useful venues for observing and testing economic theories.

The last area where I see games as useful for drug development has to do more with behavioral psychology and the environment we live in.  Drug development benefits from the large number of scientists involved.  Not to generalize too much, but many of us are Geeks.  And, as described by Ken Denmead in his great Geek Dad books, a Geek is at that perfect intersection between Knowledgeability, Obsessiveness and (some) Social Skills.  Because of this, scientists tend to be smart, engaged in their work, and often willing to work far beyond normal working hours because it’s all just so darn interesting!  But still.  Having a laser-like focus on work takes a lot of mental energy.  Games can make that easier.

Many people are familiar with the concept of Flow, proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.  The characteristics of Flow–engagement, satisfaction, positivity, optimal performance–coincidentally are many of the same characteristics one sees in people playing great games.  I would argue that by incorporating more games and game-like elements into our research, we will tap into a more efficient, engaged and productive workforce.

I can’t stress the engagement part enough.  We live in an age of endless distraction. People are never out of Internet contact.  Ever.  If they tell you they are, they’re lying.  Attention has become one of the most valuable commodities in the workplace.  Creating an environment that increases engagement through incorporating game-like elements raises a bulwark against distractions and makes a more efficient, focused and effective workforce.

Can we get some Android home automation?

Smartphones really are the ultimate convergence devices. People no longer question whether they’ll replace cameras, digital audio players, portable TVs, handheld gaming consoles, or Sat Navs. The question now is – how many more things can they replace? Once you reach the stage where you’ve outlaid big cash for a seriously powerful pocket computer, it just makes sense to keep adding more potential uses. That has been the foundation of the app explosion. It is what has made smartphones the fastest selling tech in human history.

There’s one exciting frontier that Android has yet to really penetrate and that’s home automation. If you cast your mind back to Google I/O in 2011 you might remember and some talk about the mesh network. Sadly, an affordable Android home automation system did not immediately hit the market. In fact, we heard nothing more about it. Before you get too despondent, it looks like references to Google messing with a mesh network and Android home have been spotted in version 4.2.2 of Android. Fingers crossed we might get some kind of exciting announcement at Google I/O in May.

The potential of Android is massive and as the user base grows it becomes more and more likely that Google, device manufacturers, app developers, and other companies will seek to explore new possibilities for the platform. We’re already seeing some signs of this as manufacturers look to bake in features that were once delivered by innovative apps.

My first inkling of what Android might do within the home came with an app called GMote. It allows your Android phone to act as a remote control for your computer. If you’ve got an HTPC setup or you use your PC for music then it’s an ideal way of controlling your content. You could also use it to awkwardly browse your files and they eventually added the ability to stream music to the phone.

In the last couple of years the remote control idea has really taken off alongside the chatter about the second screen and so now we’ve got loads of options. I use the Netflix app as a remote control for the service on my big TV. You can control what you’re watching and you can also browse for more content without skipping out of what’s on. I use the Skifta app to stream home videos and photos to my big screen. There are many other examples of similar apps like Xbox SmartGlass, which is offering interactive second screen content to accompany what you are watching or playing. It’s early days right now, but you can see the potential.

Manufacturers can certainly see it. Samsung has its own AllShare software to stream and share various kinds of content. When Sony showed off the Xperia Tablet Z the user was able to tap on an NFC speaker and have the music from the tablet instantly stream, or swipe next to a Sony TV and have the tablet display mirror on the big screen. We’ve also seen that the new Galaxy S4 has a built-in infrared sensor so it can act as a universal remote control for your home theater equipment and TVs. The Xperia Z and the HTC One have exactly the same functionality.

Remember growing up with the idea that you’d have domestic robots serving you breakfast or you’d be jumping into an auto-piloted hovercar for the morning commute? The vision of the future we were fed as kids just isn’t going to happen (although Google’s working on the driverless cars, they just don’t hover), but no one predicted that we’d have a super powerful pocket device that could essentially control everything in our environment.

If you tie the idea of home automation together with Google Now then it starts to feel like the future. A Google Now card that would allow you to turn on and off the lights has already been spotted. Just imagine the possibilities, if Google Now detected a drop in temperature it could suggest turning the thermostat up. You make a new calendar entry for a dinner party and it could check the fridge to see what you need and return potential recipes. How about your Android device as a digital key for the front door, the garage, even the car?

Imagine your early morning alarm being accompanied by your lights coming on, your stereo or TV coming to life, and a pot of coffee automatically brewing downstairs. In the demo they also showed off how you could connect your house lights to a video gaming experience to make it more immersive.

For me Android is a central hub for entertainment in the house. I have found solutions and workarounds that allow me to access all of my content and stream it and control it at various points around the house using my Android phone, but honestly, it could be easier. The idea of tapping into lighting, appliances, heating, and more definitely appeals, provided it isn’t prohibitively expensive.

What do you think – is Android home automation something you want? What would you be prepared to pay for it? Will we see something new about Android home at Google I/O this year? Have you tried out any existing Android home automation apps or hardware? Post a comment and tell us about your experience.

Festive spirit

While MBFWA’s underwhelming program and shift from Circular Quay to Carriageworks has generated little excitement, its Melbourne rival, which operates by selling tickets to the public and showcasing clothes by Australian designers that are in store this season, attracted heavy-hitters such as Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann, Australian Women’s Weekly’s Helen McCabe and designer Camilla Franks to its launch event on Monday.

Project Runway Australia star and L’Oreal ambassador Megan Gale hosted the lunch and introduced special guest and fellow lipstick ambassador Barbara Palvin.

The 19-year-old model with a coltish frame and a smile blinding enough to obscure the dour Docklands surroundings was surprisingly frank during her introduction speech, which was perhaps a combination of jet lag and an independent spirit.

When Gale asked the Hungarian beauty whether she ever had to stop and pinch herself, she declared the lunch one of those moments. “What am I doing up here?” she said. “To look good and smart?”

Gale and Palvin went on to compare red carpet appearances at Cannes and the other demands of being an ambassador for a cosmetics empire. Palvin, who has appeared on the runway for Prada and Louis Vuitton and looks like a young Natalia Vodianova trumped her Australian peer by playing the age card. “It’s good to be the little baby of this family because the little baby gets everything.”

Lewsey must know how Palvin feels. After a difficult transition from Karen Webster’s long leadership, LMFF has emerged as a festival that reflects Melbourne. The strong cultural aspects of the program, with an engaging film series and series of business lectures, culminating with tomorrow’s seminar hosted by Wish editor David Meagher and featuring hot Greek designer by way of Britain Mary Katrantzou, illustrator Bill Donovan and forecaster Marc Worth, add extra depth to an industry often dismissed as superficial.

At Monday’s lunch, Lewsey was happy to declare the runway series, launching tonight with a show sponsored by Vogue Australia’s website and featuring Willow, Josh Goot and Collette Dinnigan, a sell-out.

Today the winner of the National Designer Award will be announced at the Collins Street outpost of Tiffany & Co. This year, Melbourne fashion fans are crossing their fingers for a local win, with the prize having recently been dominated by Sydney stitchers such as Dion Lee, Song for the Mute and Christopher Esber. Michael Lo Sordo is the only Sydneysider, competing against Melbourne designers Kathryn Beker, Livia Arena, From Britten and Lui Hon The southern state’s fashion authority, Janice Breen Burns is tipping From Britten, run by the sons of wedding dress designer Linda Britten, to take home the Tiffany & Co trophy.

ONE bright spot for MBFWA is the commitment by influential online retailer Net-A-Porter to send buyers Linda Ayepe and Octavia Bradford to the event, which opens on April 8. The online store already stocks Zimmermann, Sass & Bide, Lover, Willow and Collette by Collette Dinnigan, which is fortunate as none of these labels is showing at the event. Camilla and Marc, stocked by Net-A-Porter, will open the week but it is a chance for ones-to-watch Christopher Esber, Roopa Pemmaraju and Bec & Bridge to catch their eye. The buyers also may check out some local beauty brands with Net-A-Porter launching into cosmetics today. “We’re delighted to continue the expansion of the Net-A-Porter brand with the addition of beauty,” says Alison Loehnis, managing director. “The move is a natural evolution of our business.”

Everything since last Tuesday’s election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis has reignited my Jesuit instincts. Pope Francis is from the Jesuit order, and this is the first time a Jesuit has been selected by his peers to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics around the globe.

The Jesuit dots have connected in so many ways since last week that I felt compelled to write on Jesuit education today. My Jesuit education at Bellarmine College Preparatory between 1965-1969 was rich in values, character and relevance to the real world. Can we take the foundational beliefs of Jesuit education and transfer them to traditional public education, while still keeping the imperative separation of church and state?

I learned about the Jesuit order founded in 1539 by St. Ignatius of Loyola when I was a 14 year-old freshman at Bellarmine. The year was 1965. My family has an extended legacy with the Jesuits at Bellarmine, as my father graduated in 1933, my brothers in 1954 and 1957 and my son, Zack, in 2000.

My interest in education, teaching and public service started during my years at Bellarmine. The Jesuits taught me to be conscious of learning in all the day’s experiences, not just from books or in Latin class. They inculcated in me a yearning to reach out to others, to think critically, and to be a man for others, never for self-gratification. Becoming a reflective human being was a chief goal of our studies.

We had many male role models in black cassocks at Bellarmine, some in their 20s (scholastics studying for ordination into the priesthood), others seemingly ancient and many in between. The commonality amongst all was that they worked to create a more just and caring world filled with forgiveness and love.

Secretary Kerry Must Stop U.S. Support for Islamic Extremism

Secretary of State John Kerry began his first official world trip on February 24, 2013. A notable stop will be in Saudi Arabia, and one wonders what sort of lavish gifts he will receive along with the red carpet and the military band. Beyond the diplomatic niceties however, Kerry is on record as saying that he has concerns that the Kingdom’s “officially sanctioned bigotry breeds terrorism” but that “the truth is that we have deep, and for the moment, inescapable ties.”

Maybe the moment has come however, for a recalibration of the U.S.-Saudi relationship as the U.S. is becoming more self-sufficient in energy and therefore less reliant on Saudi oil. According to a 2012 report by the International Energy Agency, by 2035 nearly 90 percent of Persian Gulf oil exports will go to Asia, with the United States getting a negligible amount. Saudi oil imports have picked up a little recently because of the sanctions on Iranian oil, but overall the share of U.S. oil coming from the Gulf is down by one-third.

The U.S. has always been aware of Saudi Arabia’s role in funding and spreading Wahhabism — an extremist ideology which provides the ideological foundation for groups like Al Qaeda. In a 2010 classified cable released by Wikileaks, Secretary Clinton stressed: “We emphasize that a critical component in this campaign is cutting off the funds from Saudi Arabia to foreign religious, charitable and educational organizations that propagate violent extremist ideologies to vulnerable populations.”

Though the Saudi government does not explicitly promote terrorism, its official state doctrine, the conservative cult of Wahhabism, advocates anti-Semitism, misogyny and inter-action with non-Muslims only in cases of necessity. It therefore provides the ideological justification for animosity and hatred of wider society thus providing the perfect foundation for radical preachers to then advocate violence as a religious duty.

Through their embassies and charities, the Saudi’s have built multi-million dollar mosques and schools and sponsor international students to study in Saudi on full scholarships, sending them back with funding and lifetime jobs as Wahhabi proselytizers to their respective countries.

The Wahhabi movement was instigated by the eighteenth century theologian, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c.1703-1791) who believed that Muslims had strayed from the authentic teachings of Islam. The movement condemned visiting shrines and tombs of saints and Muslims who did not agree with his teachings were excommunicated or killed in an effort to purge Islam from what Wahhab believed to be unsanctioned innovations. Wahhabi military campaigns waged war against moderate Muslims, demolishing Islamic shrines and slaughtering entire villages of Muslims who did not subscribe to his extremist interpretation. This same extreme ideology is behind the present day destruction of shrines and mosques in Libya and the continuing violence against minority and mainstream Muslims all over the world such as the Shia in Pakistan.

An alliance was formed between Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the ruling house of Muhammad ibn Saud who provided political and financial power for the religious revival in return for religious legitimacy when forming the new state. Political loyalty to the House of Saud effectively became a religious obligation and by reviving the notion of a community of believers, Wahhabism helped to forge a sense of common identity that superseded tribal loyalties.

Wahhabism would have remained a footnote in history as a puritanical cult movement even after it was adopted as the official state religion were it not for a single history altering factor: the discovery of oil. The flood of petro-dollars meant that the Saudis could then spend an estimated $ 2 to $3 billion each year promoting the extreme and conservative ideas of religious leaders who in turn helped maintain the Saudi royal family’s position of power.

The essential contradiction in U.S. policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East is that while trillions of dollars have been spent and many lives lost in the war on terror, little has been done to address the ideological foundation of terrorism, which is being promoted through Wahhabism funded by Saudi Arabia.

As the Arab Spring falters in Egypt and Tunisia and as Libya and Syria continue to tear themselves apart with violent sectarian fighting, it is surely time that the U.S. recognizes that its attempts to encourage democracy in the Middle East are futile in the face of well-funded religious extremism, whose adherents are fighting not only Western democratic ideas but also any signs of liberalism in their own religion. Sectarian violence in Pakistan for example can no longer be blamed just on Pakistan, but when it is funded by America’s ally Saudi Arabia, then the U.S. gets the indirect blame. The Sunni-Shia antipathies will continue to fester and erupt as long as Saudi petro-dollars are being distributed so lavishly.

The proxy wars being fought in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mali and Syria are attracting itinerant zealots and angry young militants and keeping them from creating unrest in their own countries. Emboldened by anarchy in failed and failing states, funded by Saudi Arabia and justified by fundamentalist ideology, extremist groups similar to al Qaeda are seizing the moment and endeavoring to impose Wahhabi ideas wherever possible. In the process, they are killing and maiming more Muslims than people of other faiths, and are creating deep societal rifts and lasting enmities within their own communities.

America’s uneasy partnership with Saudi Arabia must change and together or separately they must develop a convincing strategy for reducing Wahhabism and its global influence. Whether the new Secretary of State can achieve this or not remains to be seen, but it is certainly time that the relationship undergoes more intense scrutiny and recalibration in the name of future global security.

10 Things We Learned Last Night

Saturday night before a capacity crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Georges St-Pierre earned his 11th straight UFC win and 8th consecutive title defense, sweeping the scorecards in his long-awaited grudge match with Nick Diaz. It was the sixth straight unanimous decision win for the French-Canadian champion.

Over the opening two rounds, St-Pierre completely shut down Diaz, and though he stood with him more in the final three frames and had a few takedowns attempts rebuffed, the champion was never in any real danger, and once again nullified most of what his opponent had to offer inside the cage. As talented as Diaz is – and he’s very talented – St-Pierre was clearly the far superior fighter in the cage, and while some people bemoan his string of decision, I continue to be impressed with how effectively St-Pierre can completely dominant high level competition at every turn.

After the decision was announced and Joe Rogan spoke with a complimentary St-Pierre, he slid over to talk to Diaz, who said he didn’t want to make excuses for his performance… and then he proceeded to make excuses, and announce for the second straight fight that he was done with mixed martial arts.

Diaz said he was calling it a career after his loss to Carlos Condit last February, and turned to the same complaints when saying his was done last night as well. Guys don’t fight; they hold him down, and the scoring favors fighters who employ those tactics. As much as I really like Diaz as a fighter and think he gets a raw deal in the media, I’m exhausted of these complaints; it’s MMA, not boxing, and if you don’t want to be held down, get off your back or stop more takedowns, period.

If he really does walk away, it’ll be a shame. He’s a tremendous talent and someone who should continue to compete at the highest level in the sport for a number of years. Hopefully he reconsiders, again.

Johny Hendricks cemented his place as the #1 contender in the welterweight division with a 29-28 sweep of the scorecards in his bout with Carlos Condit.

The heavy-handed “Bigg Rigg” controlled the opening two frames, out-striking Condit and landing the bigger power shots, while putting the former interim champion on the canvas without much resistance. In the third, “The Natural Born Killer” turned up the intensity and pressed the action, winning the round, but it was too little, too late.

Hendricks has now won six straight, and four-in-a-row against top 10 competition, making a match-up with St-Pierre the only bout that makes sense for him moving forward. Stylistically, it’s an intriguing match-up, as the bearded potential title challenger possesses both fight-changing power and tremendous wrestler, a combination St-Pierre hasn’t faced in a number of years. Hendricks is more aggressive with his striking than Josh Koscheck, and has a more compact, instant power to his striking, so it will be interesting to see how St-Pierre chooses to approach the bout should it come together later this year.

Yesterday in the Punch Drunk Predictions, I said Condit has the rare “I’m not going to die here today” quality, and he showed it on Saturday. Hendricks landed some clubbing blows, but Condit never really wavered. He remained active off his back, constant pressed forward trying to land strikes of his own, and was fresh and feisty throughout the third, knowing he needed a finish in order to win, and working diligently to find it.

You have to love a guy like that who never takes a round off, and never backs down. We’ve seen plenty of high level competitors get broken inside the cage; their desire to press on crushed by a bad round or two, but never Condit. There is no off switch with the former WEC champion, and despite having now lost consecutive contests, he should remain in the thick of the title chase, and a prominent figure on future fight cards.

Jake Ellenberger put his name in the mix near the top of the welterweight division Saturday night, blistering Nate Marquardt with a series of strikes along the cage to earn a first-round stoppage win. The victory also netted “The Juggernaut” $50,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night.

With the win, Ellenberger moves to 8-2 in the UFC, and 7-1 since losing his debut to Condit by split decision. While Hendricks is the clear cut #1 contender, Ellenberger is in the pack with Demian Maia and Rory MacDonald jostling for the space behind Hendricks on the list of contenders. He once again showed that he has serious power, going back to the more aggressive approach he showed early in his UFC career to get the victory on Saturday. If he can continue to put up impressive finishes like this, the product of Kings MMA and the Reign Training Center could make a solid case for a title shot by the end of the year.

“The Damage” ate some crisp left hands from Antonio Carvalho early in the bout, and was unable to connect on any takedown attempts either, but he stood tall, opened up with his striking, and stung Carvalho. When he saw the Canadian was wobbled, Elkins pounced, dropping “Pato” and earning the stoppage. Truth is, if Lavigne didn’t jump in when he did, he likely would have been pulling Elkins off of Carvalho 45 seconds later, as the Canadian was clearly hurt.

Elkins isn’t a bundle of excitement, but there is no denying his results. He’s worked his way from the bottom of the division and the Facebook portion of the card to the fringes of contention, and deserves a chance to prove himself against the best the featherweight ranks have to offer.

I can’t lie: I jumped up and did a little celebratory happy dance when Mein stopped Dan Miller. Having followed his career closely and talked with him regularly over the last two years, it’s cool to see a talented, humble kid with a lot of promise get a big win in his UFC debut.

This was the kind of performance that makes people sit up and take notice. Before he showcased his hands, Mein showed off his defensive skills, chaining together defensive positions to counter a deep armbar attempt. After escaping and allowing Miller to stand, Mein dropped him with a straight left, and then started picking him apart along the cage with lead to the finish. The 23-year-Canadian is the first to stop Miller, and has now won three straight, and nine of his last 10.

The only man to defeat Johny Hendricks thus far, Story was on the cusp of being a contender after following up his win over Hendricks with an upset victory against Thiago Alves at UFC 130. Everything went sideways after the whole Nate Marquardt/Charlie Brenneman situation, with Story losing three of his last four coming into Saturday’s contest. He righted the ship in a big way in Montreal, blocking Mulhern’s tepid takedown attempts, while throwing smoke the entire fight.

He still eats too many shots while trading, but Story showed he deserves to be fighting better competition than UFC newcomers with limited offensive arsenals. A middle-of-the-pack match-up – perhaps a grudge match with Mike Pierce – makes sense moving forward.

The UFC’s newest star will get another opportunity to shine when she coaches the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Rousey will helm a team opposite the winner of next month’s #1 contender bout between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano, which is scheduled for the next TUF Finale.

Rousey and her next challenger will lead a split squad of male and female fighters from the 135-pound ranks in the next installment of the UFC’s long-running reality TV competition. It’s a smart move, and one that will drive greater interest to the show, as this will not only be the first time females have coached, but also the first time females have been featured as competitors. The male and female competitors will live in the house together as well, which should lead to some potential “classic reality TV” moments next season.

Square’s expansion in Canada ‘beyond expectations’

If there’s anything Jack Dorsey has learned from bringing his mobile payment company Square Inc. to Canada roughly five months ago, it’s that most food trucks aren’t equipped with winter heaters.

When Mr. Dorsey first launched Square three years ago, the San Francisco-based company soon discovered many of the early adopters of its mobile credit card reader service were food trucks and other small outdoor businesses.

Since launching in Canada in October, Square has noticed the average size of a Canadian transaction using its service is $120, compared with an average of $70 after five months of operations in the U.S.

The discrepancy can likely be explained by the strong adoption of Square by brick-and-mortar retailers in Canada — Square’s technology is sold in Best Buy, Future Shop and Apple Store locations — where average transaction values are higher, compared with in the U.S., where there are more smaller transactions from individuals, thus dragging down the average.

While he waits for the weather to warm up, Mr. Dorsey said Square’s Canadian expansion — the first international market for the company — has gone “beyond expectations.”

“We’ve been really surprised and also impressed by the growth in the country,” Mr. Dorsey said in an interview with the Financial Post.

“When we first announced the company and when we first announced what we were doing, we found immediate resonance all over the United States, and we had a lot of interest from Canada. We’re happy that just really took root right away and we’re seeing an amazing velocity, and even more so than the U.S., and I think it really speaks to the power of local businesses.”

Regularly touted as one of the hottest startups in the technology industry, Square produces a small credit card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of a smartphone or a tablet, enabling even the smallest-scale business owners to accept credit card payments. The service offers free registration and Square takes a 2.75% fee from each transaction.

While Square officials declined to provide specific Canadian user numbers, its overall user base has grown from two million individuals and businesses in October to more than three million today, and Square is now processing US$10-billion in sales each year.

“We’ve always built the technology where we want something that works for the smallest customers — such as someone selling something on Craigslist or at a yard sale — all the way up to the largest organizations in the world, like Starbucks. It truly levels the playing field.”

Square’s technology supports Visa and MasterCard credit cards, however it does not support the chip and PIN technology employed by many of the credit cards and debit cards issued by Canadian banks and financial institutions.

Mr. Dorsey said Square is always looking to expand its offerings to incorporate services its customers want, but could not speak to any immediate plans to offer chip and PIN integration. “Our mindset and our philosophy is that we’re going to accept any form of payment that comes over the counter so that the merchant can always make the sale and buyer always gets what they want,” he said.

“There’s a lot of different payment devices in the world and they constantly evolve — sometimes in the right ways, sometimes in the wrong ways. But it’s a question of making sure we support where people are going to, and as we see more and more adoption of new technologies, such as chip and pin or chip and signature, we will build for that.”

While Square’s service is currently only available for devices running Apple’s iOS platform and Google’s Android software, Mr. Dorsey didn’t rule out the possibility that the company might consider building a version of the service that works with BlackBerry 10, the new operating system from Canada’s smartphone maker, Research In Motion Ltd., now known as BlackBerry.

That night, the defense had one of its best performances of the season in a convincing victory at Dartmouth. It allowed Quinnipiac to enter the postseason on a positive note. Rested and healed after an ECAC Hockey first-round bye, the Bobcats (24-5-5) are recharged for a best-of-3 quarterfinal round series with Cornell starting tonight at 7 (WQUN-1220.) All games are at High Point Solutions; Saturday’s game will be broadcast live by NESN.

In a season that’s brought enough firsts to fill a scrapbook, including the program’s first Cleary Cup, the opportunity to truly make history begins now. Quinnipiac, which clinched its first NCAA berth since 2002, can wrap up the No. 1 overall seed and a spot in the East Regional in Providence, R.I. this weekend.

“We were lucky enough to lock a playoff spot up pretty early,” senior captain Zack Currie said. “We had a lot of other stuff to play for along the way. But we’ve been looking forward to this a good amount of weeks now. For a lot of us, it’s our last kick at the can.”

Goaltender Eric Hartzell, a Hobey Baker Award candidate and shoo-in for the ECAC’s Ken Dryden Award, rightfully gets his share of attention. But Quinnipiac’s defensive core, led by Currie and fellow seniors Zach Davies, Loren Barron and Mike Dalhuisen, helped it finish the season as the nation’s stingiest at 1.59 goals-allowed per game. Junior Zach Tolkinen, sophomore Danny Federico and freshman Alex Barron complete the unit. Defense wins championships. That core group will be tested in the postseason.

“Hartzell is the best player in our league and maybe one of the four best in college hockey,” Pecknold said. “But those guys do a nice job in front of him. They clear rebounds, they block shots, they puck up sticks. We don’t have a Bobby Orr type back there, but we’re seven deep. We play six, but all seven have contributed and been really good.”

While defense has always been Cornell’s calling card, the offense is peaking at the right time. The Big Red, behind senior forward Greg Miller, have scored four goals in six of the last eight games, all wins. That includes a two-game road sweep of Colgate in last weekend’s first round.

Pope Francis is known for simplicity and humility

In unadorned white robes, the first pope from the Americas sets a tone of simplicity and pastoral humility in a church desperate to move past the tarnished era of abuse scandals and internal Vatican upheavals.

The choice of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio — who took the name Francis — reflected a series of history-making decisions by fellow cardinals who seemed determined to offer a message of renewal to a church under pressures on many fronts.

The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aries — the first from Latin America and the first from the Jesuit order — bowed to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square and asked for their blessing in a hint of the austere style he cultivated while modernizing the Argentina’s conservative Catholic church.

In taking the name Francis, he drew connections to the 13th century St. Francis of Assisi, who saw his calling as trying to rebuild the church in a time of turmoil. It also evokes images of Francis Xavier, one of the 16th century founders of the Jesuit order that is known for its scholarship and outreach.

Francis, the son of middle-class Italian immigrants, is known as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed. He came close to becoming pope last time, reportedly gaining the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Groups of supporters waved Argentine flags in St. Peter’s Square as Francis, wearing simple white robes, made his first public appearance as pope.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening,” he said before making a reference to his roots in Latin America, which accounts for about 40 percent of the world’s Roman Catholics .

Bergoglio often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina’s capital. He considers social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, to be the essential business of the church.

He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.

“Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony. Go out and interact with your brothers. Go out and share. Go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit,” Bergoglio told Argentina’s priests last year.

Bergoglio’s legacy as cardinal includes his efforts to repair the reputation of a church that lost many followers by failing to openly challenge Argentina’s murderous 1976-83 dictatorship. He also worked to recover the church’s traditional political influence in society, but his outspoken criticism of President Cristina Kirchner couldn’t stop her from imposing socially liberal measures that are anathema to the church, from gay marriage and adoption to free contraceptives for all.

“In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who don’t baptize the children of single mothers because they weren’t conceived in the sanctity of marriage,” Bergoglio told his priests. “These are today’s hypocrites. Those who clericalize the Church. Those who separate the people of God from salvation. And this poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it’s baptized!”

Bergoglio himself felt most comfortable taking a very low profile, and his personal style has been the antithesis of Vatican splendor.

“It’s a very curious thing: When bishops meet, he always wants to sit in the back rows. This sense of humility is very well seen in Rome,” Rubin said before the 2013 conclave to choose Benedict’s successor.

Bergoglio’s influence seemed to stop at the presidential palace door after Nestor Kirchner and then his wife, Cristina Fernandez, took over the Argentina’s government.

His church had no say when the Argentine Supreme Court expanded access to legal abortions in rape cases, and when Bergoglio argued that gay adoptions discriminate against children, Fernandez compared his tone to “medieval times and the Inquisition.”

This kind of demonization is unfair, says Rubin, who obtained an extremely rare interview of Bergoglio for his biography, the “The Jesuit.”

“Is Bergoglio a progressive — a liberation theologist even? No. He’s no third-world priest. Does he criticize the International Monetary Fund, and neoliberalism? Yes. Does he spend a great deal of time in the slums? Yes,” Rubin said.

Bergoglio has stood out for his austerity. Even after he became Argentina’s top church official in 2001, he never lived in the ornate church mansion where Pope John Paul II stayed when visiting the country, preferring a simple bed in a downtown building, heated by a small stove on frigid weekends. For years, he took public transportation around the city, and cooked his own meals.

Bergoglio almost never granted media interviews, limiting himself to speeches from the pulpit, and was reluctant to contradict his critics, even when he knew their allegations against him were false, said Rubin.

That attitude was burnished as human rights activists tried to force him to answer uncomfortable questions about what church officials knew and did about the dictatorship’s abuses after the 1976 coup.

Many Argentines remain angry over the church’s acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate “subversive elements” in society. It’s one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but fewer than 10 percent regularly attend mass.

Under Bergoglio’s leadership, Argentina’s bishops issued a collective apology in October 2012 for the church’s failures to protect its flock. But the statement blamed the era’s violence in roughly equal measure on both the junta and its enemies.

“Bergoglio has been very critical of human rights violations during the dictatorship, but he has always also criticized the leftist guerrillas; he doesn’t forget that side,” Rubin said.

The bishops also said “we exhort those who have information about the location of stolen babies, or who know where bodies were secretly buried, that they realize they are morally obligated to inform the pertinent authorities.”