Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood High School girls’ lacrosse team lost in a heart breaker to Summit 11-10 in the Tournament of Champions Saturday. The Maroons (20-3) lost, 11-10, to Summit (24-1) in double-overtime in the final round of NJSIAA’s Tournament of Champions on Saturday at Kean University.
The Ridgewood High School Athletic Department encouraged the young ladies on Twitter to hold their “heads high.” .
“You left it all on the field and had an incredible season,” the tweet said.
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) — A pro-Isis group has released a hit list with the names of more than 8,000 people mostly Americans.
More than 600-people live in Florida, and one security expert believes that many of those targeted live in Palm Beach County and on the Treasure Coast.
The “United Cyber Caliphate” that hacked U.S. Central Command, 54,000 Twitter accounts and threatened President Barack Obama is the same pro-Isis group that’s reportedly created a “kill list” with the names, addresses and emails of thousands of civilian Americans.
Reports of the list came to light online when Vocativ reported the list was shared via the encrypted app, Telegram, and called on supporters to kill.
Former FBI agent-turned lawyer Stuart Kaplan says the threat is especially alarming, because the people on this list are civilians who don’t have the security necessary to protect themselves.
The Orlando nightclub terrorist who pledged allegiance to ISIS worked almost a decade for a major Department of Homeland Security contractor, raising alarms that ISIS sympathizers and agents have infiltrated the federal agency set up after 9/11 to combat terrorists.
Officials say Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, an Afghan-American who held two firearms licenses and a security officer license, was employed by the security firm G4S Secure Solutions USA Inc. since Sept. 10, 2007. The Jupiter, Fla.-based company merged with the Wackenhut Corp. after 9/11 and assumed federal contracts.
“G4S supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CPB), with its operations at the U.S. Mexico border and with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to transport illegal immigrants in selected urban areas,” the company says in a brochure, titled “Providing Manpower Solutions for Government Services.”
The DHS contract with G4S is worth more than $234 million. The contract states that one of the “performance requirements” is helping identify “suspected terrorists” trying to enter the U.S.
The security contractor also provides security guards and other security services for “90 percent of U.S. nuclear facilities.”
G4S uses fortified buses to transport “hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants” from city to city and from cities to the U.S.-Mexican border. But earlier this month, Judicial Watch revealed G4S has been quietly moving and releasing van loads of illegal aliens away from the border to interior American cities.
DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT REGARDING TRAGIC TERRORIST ATTACK IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA
June 12,2016
Donald J. Trump
Last night, our nation was attacked by a radical Islamic terrorist. It was the worst terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11, and the second of its kind in 6 months. My deepest sympathy and support goes out to the victims, the wounded, and their families.
In his remarks today, President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words ‘Radical Islam’. For that reason alone, he should step down. If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words ‘Radical Islam’ she should get out of this race for the Presidency.
If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore. Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen – and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.
The terrorist, Omar Mir Saddique Mateen, is the son of an immigrant from Afghanistan who openly published his support for the Afghanistani Taliban and even tried to run for President of Afghanistan. According to Pew, 99% of people in Afghanistan support oppressive Sharia Law.
We admit more than 100,000 lifetime migrants from the Middle East each year. Since 9/11, hundreds of migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States.
Hillary Clinton wants to dramatically increase admissions from the Middle East, bringing in many hundreds of thousands during a first term – and we will have no way to screen them, pay for them, or prevent the second generation from radicalizing.
We need to protect all Americans, of all backgrounds and all beliefs, from Radical Islamic Terrorism – which has no place in an open and tolerant society. Radical Islam advocates hate for women, gays, Jews, Christians and all Americans. I am going to be a President for all Americans, and I am going to protect and defend all Americans. We are going to make America safe again and great again for everyone.
Ali Stroker says that her life took a radical turn the summer she was 7. Her next-door neighbor decided to direct a backyard production of Annie and cast Stroker as Annie. “It was a really special summer. I remember my life beginning,” says Stroker. From the time she was 2, a car accident left her paralyzed from the chest down. “I felt like my identity was around my wheelchair for so long” she says. “Once I started performing I was someone else. I could be an actress and singer and not just a girl in a wheelchair.”
From that Annie production, Stroker was hooked. Playing different roles, becoming a variety of people was healing. Performing bolstered her confidence. “It served different purposes not only in my career, but also helped me become the person that I am today,” she says. She also took voice lessons finding singing to be totally liberating. “Being paralyzed my body doesn’t necessarily always do what I want it to do,” Stroker explains. “But with my voice there are no limitations. It’s not held back by anything.”
This vote is completely tainted. The Board of Elections needs to come to Ridgewood and shut down the process. No vote on June 21. The vote should not take place. How do we make this happen?
The election needs to be stopped. This is grossly illegal that government money was used to finance a campaign telling residents how to vote. That website is paid for by all of us. Those employees who were busy being videotaped should have been working instead of making a propaganda tape. Mayor Aronsohn may be walked out of Village Hall in handcuffs before this is over. Well, wouldn’t that make a fun video for Dana’s go-pro!!!
Average private sector wage increases for 2015 were above 3%. Pay raises for people with college degrees are fairing even better than that. Are there people who aren’t seeing wage increases? Yes. But perhaps that says something about the person or the job rather than the economy. Teachers have been taking home less money each year for a number of years. Teachers will never get bonuses, no matter how good the economy gets. Teachers will never get company cars, club memberships, or any other perks that are seen in the private sector. Teachers will NEVER get anything more than a mediocre pay raise because of the 2% cap. So when teachers fight for the scraps from the table it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Do you really want to devalue the profession to the point that nobody will ever want to be a teacher? There is already a teacher shortage, which will only get worse.
But keep up with the lies about teachers who don’t care. Teachers who earn $200,000 a year. Teachers who won’t write recommendations. Teachers who only work 181 days a year. Teachers who only care about taking from taxpayers while doing nothing. Keep up with these lies and tell the potential future teachers that it is not the best career path. Why would anyone subject themselves to such outright lies and hatred?
Reader responds …..What planet are you on???? Private sector wage increases above 3%??? Please provide your source because no one I know got more 3%. I got 1.5% after 4 years of 0%. My wife got 2% after getting .5% last year and 0% fand additional 4 years. Really, name your source. Everyone is taking home less and bonuses have shrunken. There are no company car, club memberships, expensive meals, expense accounts, perks. Keep lying dear teacher. There is no teacher shortage in Ridgewood; I can assure you that you can be replaced on a moments notice.
Perks? I guess if you define 12-14 hour days 12 months a year, putting hours on the weekend, long commutes, conference calls with other parts of the world at 2am, being “penalized for taking sick or personal time, skyhigh contributions to marginal healthcare perks, then I am lucky.
Ridgewood NJ, from the “take back Ridgewood ” Facebook page , “Mayor Aronsohn is spreading the word that the current council will not make any decisions on the garage in his last 9 days in the office, and June 21st vote will be for funding / bond only.
We ask if the newly elected council is going to make a decision on final size of the garage and other parking solutions, why is he so desperate for the bonding in his last 9 days? Why commit 11.5 Million dollars and start paying interest on it, if the new council may come up with a smaller option that may require less money? What’s his hidden agenda behind the rush to issue the bond?
Vote NO on June 21st. Not to the garage, but to Paul Arohnson, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli railroading the process on their way out. If you voted for responsible government, in other words, Jeffrey Voigt, Bernadette Walsh, and Ramon M Hache, you know to vote NO now. Let our new VC take the reigns!”
Gunman in Pulse nightclub shooting identified as Omar Mateen; 50 dead
By Daniel Dahm , Michelle Dendy
Posted: 4:03 AM, June 12, 2016Updated: 6:21 PM, June 12, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. – Sen. Bill Nelson says that ISIS has taken credit for the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando and police say that the gunman called 911 declaring allegiance to the Islamic State.
Police said the gunman, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, opened fire early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 50 people and injuring at least 53 more in what is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Mateen called 911 around the time of the attack to pledge his allegiance to ISIS and he mentioned the Boston bombers, according to the FBI.
News 6 was on scene Sunday afternoon as local and federal bomb squad personnel were entering Mateen’s Fort Pierce apartment. It’s not clear what they found. Mateen, an American citizen born in New York, has been on law enforcement radar since 2013.
Officials said Mateen made the 911 call more than 20 minutes into the attack and had legally purchased two of the firearms, a handgun and a long gun, used in the shooting within the last week in Florida.
Mateen had been previously investigated by the FBI as possibly having ties to Islamic extremism. The investigations didn’t find evidence to charge Mateen with anything, officials said.
Donald Trump wasted little time seeking political advantage in the massacre at a Florida nightclub, taking credit for “being right on radical Islamic terrorism” in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history.
The suspect in the attack, identified by authorities as a U.S. citizen of Afghan descent named Omar Saddiqui Mateen, killed 50 people and injured another 53 during a rampage through a gay dance club in Orlando. He died in a gunfight with SWAT officers after initially firing shots into the club and later taking hostages.
“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee tweeted.
Trump followed up that tweet with a statement expressing “My deepest sympathy and support goes out to the victims, the wounded, and their families.”
But he also attacked President Barack Obama, whom he said “disgracefully refused to even say the words ‘Radical Islam'” during his comments on Sunday afternoon. “For that reason alone, he should step down.
Obama condemned the attack as “an act of terror and an act of hate,” but declined to identify a motive.
There is new information on the horrific terror attack in Orlando last night that has killed at least 50 and wounded more than 100 in the largest mass shooting in American history.
Sources are telling the Daily Beast that suspected killer Omar Mateen hadpreviously been investigated by the FBI in 2013 and 2014, making this yet another “known wolf” terror attack:
Omar Mateen of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, came to the attention of federal authorities twice prior to being identified as the gunman in the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, a senior law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.
Mateen 53 people and shot more than 100 in total at the Pulse gay nightclub early Sunday morning, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The senior law enforcement source reports that Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation into Mateen but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.
“He’s a known quantity,” the source said. “He’s been on the radar before.”
Mateen was a U.S. citizen; his parents are from Afghanistan, CBS News reports.
The jihadi who slaughtered at least 50 at a gay nightclub in Florida last night was known to law enforcement. More of their “Muslim outreach,” I’m sure.
“Omar Mateen, Terrorist Who Attacked Orlando Gay Club, Had Been Investigated by FBI,” Daily Beast:
Mateen was a ‘known quantity’ to federal law enforcement before he killed 53 people in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Mateen came to the attention of federal authorities twice prior to being identified as the gunman in the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, a senior law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.
The source reports that Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation of him, but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.
“He’s a known quantity,” the source said. “He’s been on the radar before.”
The gunman is said by the source to have been born in New York and to have been married for a time to a woman from New Jersey. His father, Seddique Mateen, appears to reside in Florida, but is said to be presently running for office in Afghanistan.
Seddique told NBC News that the sight of two men kissing angered his son.
“We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. We weren’t aware of any action he is taking,” Seddique said. “We are in shock like the whole country.” Seddique added that the attack “has nothing to do with religion.”
His father’s first response is, the massacre “had nothing to do with religion.” The bodies are still warm and the first response of the father of a mass murderer is protect Islam.
And if this has nothing to do with Islam, why is there an imam at the press conference?
When it comes to John McAfee @OfficialMcAfee saying if he couldn’t get into the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone he would ‘eat his shoe’ – many iPhone users thought he was crazy. How could anyone break into a secure, password protected and encrypted iPhone. Well, as I’m going to show you, John would never have to eat his leather shoe and was 100% correct that it could easily be done.
Watch John McAfee on CNBC (used under the fair use provision of US Copyright law) discuss this situation.
Many think the @Apple iOS operating system is one of the most secure in the world for any smartphone or tablet. That may be true as iOS offers full disk encryption with built-in hardened encryption (device KEY, file KEY, Keychain API, Data Protection API, etc). In fact, the iOS currently boots with a low-level boot loader then verifies iBoot. Apple defends well against native code exploits using both address space layout randomization (ASLR) and XN bit (which stands for eXecute Never). The ASLR randomizes memory location of program executable, data, heap and stack every time it is launched. To block cross application memory attacks the XN bit allows the OS to mark segments of a program’s memory such as heap and stack as unexecutable. In addition, Jailbreaking does not allow you to disable the ios sandbox, only to run apps outside of it. Does all this make it impenetrable? Of course not, it makes it more fun to hack because hackers and cyber criminals love two things – 1) a challenge and 2) something well deployed. With nearly 1/2 Billion iOS devices in the market, this is a prime target for hackers.
Early exploits were even able to avoid Jailbreak Detection. Smart malware developers can create jailbreak detection bypasses that fake replies to function calls to make it look like the device is not jailbroken, when it still is. What about the Apple iTunes Review Process? Serious hackers create apps that are Bridging the webkit – so you access native iOS API’s via JavaScript. Some have done Dynamic patching – just look at InstaStock for example by Charlie Miller. What about intentionally exploitable vulnerabilities – write code with a buffer overflow that when triggered causes unseen code to execute – see Jekyll by Georgia Tech. So, yes, there are creative ways to accept the challenge and find ways around the well done system hardening of iOS. Do you remember the Handy Flashlight app? This Flashlight app secretly let users enable iPhone tethering. Handy Light wasn’t actually a flashlight app at all — it was a sneakily disguised tethering utility that let users share their iPhone’s Internet connection with their laptop.
Some have asked if Apple has a secret key or special back door that they just didn’t want to share with the @FBI because Apple is riding the ‘privacy wave’. The latest version of the iPhones and iOS, are using an Elliptical Encryption Key Exchange, augmented by the onboard Cryptography Chip. Therefore, THERE IS NO MASTER KEY. End-user PINs are resolved via the Cryptographic Chip. 10 tries and the iPhone is ‘bricked’. Any changes to this system, would require hardware and software changes, weakening the system and leaving it vulnerable to hackers. However, as Cellebrite of Israel has proven, an external keyboard/usb vulnerability is exploitable in a way that avoids this security feature, ie, infinite password tries could be done without bricking and actually, you only need a few hours of brute force attacks to get in, see: Their exploit tool is called UFED – Universal Forensic Extraction Device and runs less than $700. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgmnYChT48– So if you have possession of the device, you can physically exploit it. I’ve met teenagers working at Radio Shack who claim to have regularly used the device to help customers get back into their iPhone and also to transfer data such as contacts, photos and other media files to another device.
Watch Gary Miliefsky on Hardline Discussing Apple vs FBI Case
What about remote access? It’s all about having background permissions and network access. Apple manages all multi-tasking in specially managed threads. Except Keyboard, Audio Player, Alarm Clock and VPN Client, most processes are not allowed to run in the background. With these four exploit vectors, it’s easy to understand that the free Emoji keyboards and free VPNs are not so free, after all. By placing a network monitor on all egress traffic, you’ll be surprised with what you will find out of these two free apps in particular. Just pick one of the 500+ available on iTunes and you’ll start to understand the gravity of the situation. VPNs have control over all of your network traffic. This is a great exploit to access lots of data passed over the tunnel. In addition, products like Web Watcher are called iPhone Monitoring software (and there are at least a dozen vendors) – once installed, track Text messages, Photos, Call and Web-history.
Nothing like a free Keylogger disguised as your Emoji Keyboard
Alarm Clocks and Audio Players have special permission to run in background
VPN’s manage traffic flow which means they see all your network traffic
In any case, these techniques are just the tip of the iceberg as to why the FBI or any government agency for that matter, doesn’t need to weaken the iPhone encryption to get into an iPhone.
“I’ve argued for years, that weakening encryption and creating “Secret Keys and Backdoors” would be a huge mistake and dangerous to national security.”
Let me name a few breaches and see if you can guess what they all have in common:
• OPM.gov Breach = 22 Million Records Stolen by the Chinese government’s cyber army putting in field agents lives in jeopardy. • Sony Pictures Entertainment = 4 movies leaked, employee records lost, over a terabyte of data stolen by the DPRK’s cyber army. • Anthem.com breach = 80,000,000 records now in the hands of the Chinese Government (along with the OPM records which can be cross correlated). • Whitehouse.gov Breach? State.gov Breach? And many more in the news and found athttps://www.privacyrights.org.
Name any other recent breach over the past 3-5 years. What do these all have in common? There was NO ENCRYPTION setup to protect the data. With STRONG ENCRYPTION, none of these breaches would have happened. Lives are now in jeopardy over the OPM.gov breach so without encryption, yes, lives can be lost. Who has cyber armies drooling over our critical infrastructure, network equipment, iot, airplane, car, computer and smartphone vulnerabilities? China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and many cyber criminals!
Cyber-crime, cyber-espionage and cyber-terrorism all exploit: VULNERABILITIES and WEAK (or no) ENCRYPTION!
What would the legal ramifications be for Apple to be forced to weaken their iPhone encryption and not fix all the vulnerabilities I’ve listed above? Writing (STRONG) Computer Code is a form of FREE SPEECH. 1st Amendment guaranteed right. Apple or any other company coders in the USA have the right to unfettered or manipulated speech.
So, forcing programmers to create a backdoor is a 5th Amendment violation because they have the right to NOT SPEAK which could easily be construed as ‘self-incrimination’ (weakening code) or forced ‘decryption’.
In addition, almost by chance, the US Government passed a very intelligent law called the Cyber Security Information Sharing Act of 2015 (aka CISA 2015). So, if any Federal Agency (FBI or other) finds a VULNERABILITY in any kind of computer or internet equipment (iPhone, for example), they must disclose this hole to the manufacturer (Apple, in this case) so that they may close the hole and HARDEN they SYSTEM against FUTURE EXPLOITATION.
What this says is less VULNERABILITIES and strong ENCRYPTION will make America strong. Encryption is a good thing, it powers the e-tail/retail economy and online banking. Backdooring encryption is a bad thing, it empowers not just ‘trusted’ agencies like NSA and FBI but also any cybercriminal who can find the back door, and they look for them daily. Once criminals know of back doors, they move on to other platforms like silent circle, or video game chat networks or tor – they will always find a way to have a covert conversation. Root cause analysis says find the bad guys at the source, not when it’s too late, so finding them after the fact and hacking their phones is reactive not proactive. Let’s all stand together for VULNERABILITY sharing like the National Vulnerability Database https://nvd.nist.gov which rides off the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program (see: https://cve.mitre.org) where we all agree that less vulnerabilities is a good thing. Let’s also stand up for strong encryption, see:https://www.savecrypto.org
We could look beyond the iPhone into the vulnerabilities of cars, as exploited for Wired magazine, causing a Jeep to go off the road, or the new Boeing 777 that was launched with vulnerabilities that allow someone in a passenger seat to exploit the avionics. What’s missing in both cases? strong ENCRYPTION. National Security is truly at risk without strong ENCRYPTION. If you are old enough to remember the 1976 Ford Pinto story, you get my point. What ever happened to Made in America with Pride?
One of the less discussed but deeper reasons I believe that Apple is standing up for strong encryption in their devices, is that they are betting on the future of mobile commerce via ApplePay. If they can guarantee to the banks that transactions are safer coming from their devices than our wallets and purses, it will open up an entire ecosphere that thrives off Apple. This could be worth billions in the long haul. One weak security key to ApplePay and cyber criminals will make it painful for retail, which has now made the transition to e-tail, to continue on it’s path to m-tail or ‘mobile commerce’. This is a big bet and a backdoor for the FBI would ruin Apple’s future in this green field.
In the bigger picture, even beyond Apple, less vulnerable products with strong encryption will result in higher taxable GDP in America because we’ll have more quality products to sell internationally, we’ll lose less to cyber theft, leaving more money in our bank accounts to grow our businesses. There will be more international revenues and exports as other countries and international companies will once again trust that Made in America means made well and strong. This will create more jobs in America and there will be less successful Cybercrime against the US. It will dramatically reduce the chance of cyber-terrorism in America and oh by the way to my friend John McAfee and all fellow privacy advocates, as a side effect of being smart about hardened products and strong encryption, yes, the Citizens get the reclaim their privacy, a sovereign right in our great Nation.
To those who will only get this message through visuals, I’ve put these four videos up for your enjoyment:https://tinyurl.com/woes4star
I’m placing my bets on hardened systems, strong encryption and the value of privacy here at SnoopWall as is John McAfee in his new public company, (NYSEMKT: MGT) folding in an array of privacy products and services. Please watch us to see how it pays out.
About the Author
Gary is the CEO of SnoopWall, Inc. and a co-inventor of the company’s innovative breach prevention technologies. He is a cyber-security expert and a frequent invited guest on national and international media commenting on mobile privacy, cyber security, cyber crime and cyber terrorism, also covered in both Forbes and Fortune Magazines. He has been extremely active in the INFOSEC arena, most recently as the Editor of Cyber Defense Magazine. Miliefsky is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security (https://www.DHS.gov), the National Information Security Group (https://www.NAISG.org) and the OVAL advisory board of MITRE responsible for the CVE Program (https://CVE.mitre.org). He also assisted the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), which operates within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in their development of The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace as well as the Center for the Study of Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Crime at Norwich University. In his earlier career he sold and licensed technology that he invented to Hexis Cyber, a division of KeyW, Intel/McAfee, IBM, Computer Associates and BlackBox Corporation. Gary is a member of ISC2.org and is a CISSP®. Email him at [email protected] and visit him online athttps://www.snoopwall.com.
Ridgewood NJ, Career stability isn’t what it once was.
That’s why many workers frustrated with today’s corporate climate are venturing out on their own, offering their skills and experience to those very same corporations, but on a consulting rather than fulltime basis.
Certainly, there’s a lot to be said for going independent, says Aaron Zwas, a consultant and author of “Transition to Independence” (www.t2iplan.com), a book that serves as a guide to making such a change.
“You have more freedom and a healthier balance between work and family,” Zwas says. “It’s the be-your-own-boss opportunity many people crave.”
But not so fast.
Before you take the plunge, there are drawbacks worth knowing about.
“When I made the transition about 15 years ago, I didn’t have a lot of guidance,” Zwas says. “I didn’t really understand what I was getting into, so there was a bit of trial and error. The good news is that others can learn from my mistakes.”
If you’re considering going it alone, Zwas lists at least four pitfalls you’ll want to avoid:
• Prepare yourself financially. The transition from working for someone else to being independent almost certainly will require you to dip into savings. Take every precaution as you prepare yourself financially. A conversation with an accountant is a good start and so is reviewing your monthly budget to see if you can cut spending. Build up savings – preferably enough to sustain you through one year of expenses – before ending fulltime employment. • Set your social calendar. When you’re independent, you have no co-workers to chat with, bounce ideas off of or play tennis with on the weekend. If you’re not careful, it can be a lonely existence. To compensate, Zwas recommends setting up regular dates with friends and family. You can also take up new interests or hobbies. “Get out of the house and be with other people,” he says. • Stay focused on your expertise. Being a one-person team has its advantages, but it can also be a double-edged sword because many independents get pulled in too many directions by spending time on activities unrelated to their expertise. There’s no problem in admitting you don’t want to take on certain activities, Zwas says. For example, bookkeeping could be a chore you despise or aren’t suited for. You might want to contract out and let someone else handle it. • Spend time on your personal brand. Some independents thrive without any personal branding efforts, but most need to do at least a little branding. A logo, a website, business cards, a presentation template, social-media accounts and a blog can help you create a professional image.
“A little advance preparation can go a long way in helping you become a successful independent,” Zwas says. “The most important lesson I’ve learned is that consulting is more than a job – it’s a lifestyle. Even on my worst days, I’m grateful for the freedom I have.”
About Aaron Zwas
Aaron Zwas, author of “Transition to Independence” (www.t2iplan.com), is a consulting journeyman with 15 years of independent experience as a strategic technology advisor. His T2I Plan (for “Transition to Independence”) provides a step-by-step approach that helps people move from traditional employment to a career as an independent consultant while minimizing the risks.
Need some supernatural aid to change your luck? Enchantments in the East Village offers candles, books and incense to work some positive magic
Enchantments, the oldest witchcraft store in New York, has not been open for an hour but already it’s buzzing. A middle-aged man in a neat blue dress shirt, cellphone clipped to his belt is in the back of the shop, talking to one of the employees who carves custom candles for spells. He needs luck, he explains, to close a business deal. The deal could fall apart even after a contract is signed, so the spell had to last, he carefully explains.
As the employee – perched on a stool under a sign that reads “The Witch Is In” – starts to carve intricate symbols into a huge pillar candle for the businessman, shop owner Stacy Rapp, enters in a whirlwind. A slender energetic woman, her arms and chest covered in intricate tattoos of pentagrams to ravens and her vibrant pink hair covered in a black bandanna, she seems incapable of standing still for more than a few minutes. Her arms are full of plants for the shop’s back garden, where ritual sabbaths, open to the community, are held eight times a year.
After 34 years in business in the East Village, with the recession and the rising rents of gentrification claiming so many small businesses, Enchantments’ survival might make anyone believe in magic. The carved candles are the shop’s specialty and bestselling item, but the shop also offers a fully stocked apothecary with everything from mugwort to rosehips, an entire binder of custom oils and incense and a large selection of books. Behind a glass case in front of the cash register are a variety of tarot cards and silver occult jewelry, a shelf of statuettes of gods and goddesses of every ilk adorns one side of the shop and behind the front door, a small altar is tucked out of the way of customers’ feet.
