Hey everyone, CountZero here. Welcome to Blue Team Village at DEF CON. This is Project Obsidian. Today we're going to talk about incident response. Specifically, final reporting made exciting. Really, this is a way to discuss why this dreaded yet critical part of incident handling is so important to the overall process of incident response. So with that, let's talk a little bit about the incident response lifecycle. You've probably seen this if you've got any of the other talks or pre-recorded videos, content for Project Obsidian so far, but just kind of letting you all know where we are in the incident response lifecycle. Final reporting falls into the post-incident activities. So that's where we are now. This is where we're going to wrap up the information that we've gathered throughout the incident and the activities that have been performed as well as making sure that we successfully communicate the needs and any after-action activities that need to occur. So what actually goes into a final report? So these are some of the items that we'll cover in this discussion. These are some of the key components to be sure you include not only for your executive levels or your legal team who needs to understand what occurred and what the business impact may have been, but also to cover some of the technical details as well so that your peer groups and detection engineering with forensics, anything of that nature can be used to improve the security of your organization. So we'll talk through a little bit of each of these items and how they relate to what goes into our final report. So the executive summary, detection analysis, we'll talk a little bit about containment actions, eradication recovery, and then finally lessons learned. So when it comes to the executive summary portion, this is the hook. This is what you use to get the attention and this is often what gets seen most by your executive leadership teams, the folks who are controlling the purse strings. So that's how you get some help if you need help in order to deploy new products or get some staffing or make some changes to the security posture of the environment. So a key thing here is to understand for each one of the sections a final reporting what is the audience, what are the components that go into that, and how do you really successfully communicate those needs. So for the executive summary portion of a final report, your audience is the executive leadership team primarily. So you really want to make sure that you write to that level and help them to understand what happened in straightforward and simple terms so that they can communicate that successfully and make informed decisions. So for the components that go into this, you want to ensure that your audience understands what you're trying to relate and then relate that back to your either business operations or functions depending on what the organization is. That will tie your incident and your investigation into business language or into legal language that is consumable by those folks who are making those decisions at the highest level of the organization. Another key component to the executive summary is a high level timeline. The gory details, you can save those for later in the report to communicate with your peer team so that you can build detections and other actions that may need to happen at that level. But for this initial timeline, you really just want to go over the high points so the leadership team understands what happened and when. This gives them the understanding of how to communicate potentially even with the media depending on what is in play or with external legal teams as well. So this is a critical piece to highlight that time frame and the actions that took place during that time frame to show when something occurred, what actions were taken to mitigate or contain that risk, and then finally what was done to close the entire loop. From there, you'll move into some recommendations. It's good to define these recommendations in both strategic and tactical levels. So at the strategic level, you're really going to communicate with them about large changes or potentially expensive changes depending on the recommendation that comes to mind when the incident is investigated. For the tactical tasks, looking at some simple things that may be able to impact the security posture, maybe it's as simple as if we just changed the event log sizes for our security log, we would have had more data to see what happened during the course of this incident or some simple actions that could take place on the particular things that are being recorded in your event logs. So keep in mind those things and try to define those in a level of priority that is understood by the executive leadership team. And as you can see here, some of the things that you want to put into particularly maybe an appendix or even a separate document is like the full timeline as well as the indicators of compromise or IOCs. So moving into the detection analysis phase, whenever you talk about this in your final report, think about your audience as the technical leaders. So maybe your IT systems administrator leaders or network administration leaders and also your peers in your security teams. So the components that come into this, detections. So what was detected and how did that come about? Was this a user that reported a phishing email? Was this an external report that came about from a vulnerability that's new in the wild? Or was it an alarm from your SIM? So understanding how the detection occurred or if no detection occurred and you got it reported in some other fashion, that all feeds into that final reporting and betterment of your program. So you can take the information and say, we didn't get an alarm for this, but could we have and then you are able to build on that. Finally, the analysis portion. So documenting the actions that are taken. And again, you'll hear us talk about this, especially in the instant response and handling part of the project obsidian task that we've taken on is looking at how important documentation is for all of these different facets of incident response and digital forensics. So in the detection analysis portion of this specifically, you want to document any of the actions that were taken. How did you dig in? Did you look at event logs? Did you look at firewall logs? Did you pull triage from the system and work with the forensics team in order to find out what occurred in user browsing history? So there are a lot of different actions that can be taken during the course of an incident, especially with the investigation portions. So taking that into account and truly documenting that well is a critical piece, and this is where you communicate exactly what happened. Another important thing to list during this as we talked a little bit in the detections portion, opportunities. So what could have been done better? And what would have helped with your detections next time? As far as what could have been done better, that could be process. That could be better documentation on using some of the tools that you have available. Another thing to keep in mind is, you know, with detections. So maybe your team is the operations team and you're responsible for the initial triage of the alert, but you've got a detection engineering team that you can rely on or some security engineering folks that can help you build better detections in your SEM or in some other reporting or alarming tool that you've got. So keep that in mind, document those things. And it's really important to write those down as you're going through the process. So keep a note of that while you're doing your investigation. And that really helps whenever you come back into this final reporting phase. You've got those notes taken. You've been documenting what you've gone through and what your thought process was at the time, so you don't lose that chain. So we'll move on into the containment phase. So we've moved into the containment phase for final reporting. Again, you're still going to be talking mostly to your technical leaders and your peers. So this is the area that you want to specifically discuss. How did you stop the bleeding? So how did you take that action? Did you lock accounts? Did you isolate some hosts or some network segments? Being able to define the exact actions that you took and when is an important part of understanding the containment. So this again feeds directly into those timelines and that critical communication that goes all the way up to the executive leadership team. And as always, talk about any opportunities here. What would have helped in the future to stop the bleeding faster? How could you have contained this more quickly? And whether or not that is a limited pool of people resources or if there are some missing tooling in your environment or missing logging in your environment, these are all of those opportunities that you take to communicate to the folks that hold the purse strings who control the money to help them understand we could have done better if we had X, Y or Z and Y. So putting that into that language, putting that into the business terms, putting that into impact is a critical piece of this and understanding how these containment actions take place is a good way to translate that. And again, this gets your technical leadership on par with you and helps them understand what you need to do your job. And then they can help to push that message up to the executive leadership team. So moving into eradication. So after we've contained the incident, of course, we're going to move into eradication. How do we get the adversary out of the environment? Again, this audience is going to be technical in nature. Documenting your actions continues to remain the critical piece here. So documenting how the adversary was removed from the environment. So did you need to reset passwords? Did you need to rebuild the system? And how were those actions taken? Looking into that a little more deeply for these opportunities in the eradication phase and how you would communicate needs there or opportunities there. Again, do you have a solid process in place to rebuild systems? Do you test your backup so that you know you could go back to a pre-adversary action backup and restore that and everything works fine? These are the critical pieces that you can learn. And you follow through with the closure of this incident when this final reporting phase to understand how those actions need to be adjusted if they do. Or if they worked very well, that's also important to highlight. So highlighting your wins and highlighting your opportunities is a critical piece of this reporting function. And as always, we'll continue to talk about thinking through and thinking through the future. What are your limitations? What are your successes? And communicating that back up the chain constantly so it can highlight what you've done well and what you need help with. As well as helping the leadership communicate that again up to that executive level. So finally, we'll move into the recovery phase. And in recovery, this is really where we're getting back to business. How do we get the organization back up and running? And how did we test that those things are actually functioning? So this is where you can communicate all of the things that went well and the things that were of issue again with this recovery phase. So this is the important part to help the business understand. Here's what we did. Here's how we got you back up and running. And here's how we're now serving our customers or our constituents, you know, whomever it is that this particular organization serves. What you'll see is a lot of these phases. We have similar types of details with the actions taken and the opportunities. And the reason that we suggest breaking them down into the incident response life cycle pieces is really to help you understand at each one of these levels how this is occurring and to make it easy to communicate across the board with the different functions that may occur in the environment. So you may be a small team and everyone does all of these things together in the small security operations team or you may be a very large team and you've got these different components that can take place. So maybe you've got a malware engineering team that can help you dig deep into that or a service or if you've got a forensics team that really focuses on the deep dive. So keeping that in mind and understanding how to communicate through this final reporting process is a critical piece of that. So post-acid ad activities, so this is where we are in our incident response life cycle. So this phase really goes through not only your executives but your technical leaders and your peers as well. So this is where we're talking about final reporting today, looking at all of the above, wrapping that all up into an easy to consume document, potentially even a presentation, and being able to pass that along and develop those strategies and tactical recommendations that may need to occur. With that we'll talk a little bit about some reporting pro tips. So use a template and one of the things that we've got developed is some basic templates for a lot of these different functions. So you may have already seen a template on scoping or note-taking previous prior to this presentation. And the reason that we suggest templates is it ensures consistency and completeness. So why does that matter? So consistency is important to your peer groups and your leadership team. They start to understand here's what to expect. I know where to look for the important parts, that I need to focus on if it's that summary and that timeline for your executive leadership team. They know, hey, here's where I go and I see what happened when and here's a quick timeline so I can easily communicate this. And completeness, this way you don't miss something. So if you've got all of these fields or sections in your final report template that you know need to be completed, you can take a look at that and it gives you that opportunity to think, have I done this? Did I think through this part of this final report and put that into action? Another important piece is just the facts. In incident response, we really must concentrate on understanding what we know and what we don't know and trying to move from that hypothesis of what happened into what we can actually prove that happened. There are going to be times whenever you don't have all of the data available to prove that. So stick with what you can prove and then highlight the things that you can't prove and why. That's where we come in with our opportunities to improve what's happening and what's happening and what processes we use in the environment.  Make good, complete sentences. Drop your thoughts into those notes for the steps that you're taking during the course of the incident. This comes in very, very handy whenever you get to the final reporting phase because then you're mostly copy-paste and do a little bit of word smithing to make it read better or read more clearly and you're good. It really helps you to solve any of those cases where if you've been working on a particular thing for a while, you've finally figured out the right syntax to find what you were trying to hunt for and you don't take good notes about it. You don't really show your work and then your peer group can't replicate the actions that you took and so then it becomes harder to define that and if you've forgotten about it because you've been working for a long time and have slept since then and then that kind of went away in your brain, so keeping those notes, writing them out in report format so that you can easily communicate those to others will help sink that into your brain as well as translate that data over to something that someone else can use. This can become a critical piece if you're talking about building a new detection so if you have found a way to find the evil and you can communicate that over to the detection engineering team or if you are the detection engineering team and you need to do that later after you finish this incident response action, you can translate that and remember what happened. Finally, normalize your time and map to a framework. So normalizing your time, UTC, UTC, UTC, UTC. It's the only time zone. It's the only time zone. We don't need to worry about any other time zones. The reason this is so critical is whenever you're trying to put together a timeline so everyone understands what's happening, you've got to understand where your data sources are coming from for the investigation and what happened during those periods. Well, if you're trying to chain events together and you've got something that is in Pacific Time and you've got firewall logs that are in UTC time and you've got server logs that are in Eastern Time in the U.S., then how do you map all those things together and if you're trying to normalize that into a SIM, maybe there's challenges there too and you've got issues with communicating what happened when and trying to follow the chain of evidence. So really think about trying to get everything converted into UTC and then it's okay to display in different time formats, but when you're doing the incident analysis and you're doing forensics, try to stick with UTC and try to get everything converted to UTC if you can. Mapping to a framework helps you communicate the bits and pieces a little easier as well. So if you're focused on NIST or if you're focused on Mitre Attack Framework, stick to that, learn that and use that. It'll help with the clarity of communication amongst all of your different teams. So those are some critical bits and some pro tips for reporting. So finally, let's take a look at just a small snippet of a final report and what we'll do is show off the basic template that will be provided as well and help you understand some of the look and feel for that and then hopefully you can take this and use it for your own needs. So now we can see this demo template and so what we've provided is just a basic word document to highlight some of the sections that might be critical to your investigation and putting that information together. This happens to be in a Microsoft Word format, a DocX format, but this also works in things like LibreOffice as well. So if we scroll on down, we'll take a look at a basic incident summary and this is just a little bit of detail for Kill Chain 3, which is mostly being discussed during Saturday here at DEF CON. So we'll look at what we've done with this very broad summary so far. Again, this isn't fully complete. That's on purpose so that you can have fun with the data that's going to be released as well, but it kind of starts to give you an understanding of how to well communicate some of this information for your executive leadership team. So we've got some specifics on a date. We've got some specifics that say there was an alert that was triggered and maybe the security investigation was delayed and why. So this can be used to communicate back to your team to say, hey, we had some trouble getting to this alert because we had some other alerts that were stacked up ahead of time. Do you have some issues with people? Do you have some issues with resourcing or is it related to cleaning up some of your learning? So again, do you need some people to be able to process those alerts more quickly? Again, we throw the details out quickly at the top of what was happened. You know, system was compromised. Here's the time that it happened. We've confirmed data exfiltration. Here's the time that we believe that occurred. And also a few more technical aspects of what happened during the course of the investigation and the course of the incident and then some of the actions that were taken to contain that. So here we see, we've blocked some network access. We've done some other things to kind of stop that bleeding.  What are some things that we could have done to better protect this? In this case, we see, well, it seems to be this was a password spray on some Internet exposed systems. And the fact that we didn't have multi-factor authentication rolled out to our end users, there was no second layer of security kind of protecting those accounts. So the adversary was able to get in. And then we're going to kind of wrap up with, you know, what are the actions that need to be taken? And in this instance, we're saying, you know what, we can't trust our Active Directory any longer due to what happened here.  So we're saying 14 days. And what does that mean to our, you know, users? So maybe Office email is going to be impacted for a while. So, you know, in our instance, fortunately, we've got the company website maybe was hosted off site. So that's not impacted right now because it wasn't connected into our Active Directory. So we can, you know, post some messages up there to let customers know, hey, we're going to be delayed for a little while and getting back to you on some of these actions or some of these, you know, business functions that we need to do. So this just kind of gives a quick highlight of, you know, using this template and putting some things together. Some of the other items that you can see here. So we've got a call out to the timeline. So if you look at the incident tracking, you know, spreadsheet that's going to be thrown out along with some of those other templates that we're providing as part of this project, you can type that and tie that into here. So you can put your, you know, detailed timeline, you can put like the summary timeline and throw these contents into this final report to make that easy to discuss. Another option or another item that we want to cover is the adversary actions. And here, we're mapping to, you know, the MITRE attack framework and we're calling out some of those TTPs. Again, this makes that cross communication amongst the teams and also amongst, you know, peers out in industry a lot easier and a lot simpler. So they understand the actions that were taken and what happened. So that just gives a rough idea of some of the template actions that we've got in play. And as always, you know, use some good headers, use some good incident report contents. So that way your executive teams and your technical leadership teams can click through this. And you can update this as a field and word. Or if you've got, you know, something like Libre Office as well, this comes in as an index. And again, the update process is very similar. So with that, we'll be wrapping up this discussion shortly. So we'll move back into the presentation. So wrapping up with your recommendations, again, talking about strategic versus tactical and making sure that you highlight those quick wins. So strategic in this case, if we're talking about, you know, multi factor authentication, that may not be a simple to execute thing in your environment. There's a lot that goes into that as far as, you know, cost and implementation and, you know, what systems may or may not work with MFA. Looking at anything that is policy change related. Again, that's a bigger picture item that the executive leadership team needs to take into account. You know, there may be legal implications. There may be staffing implications that come into policy changes on how things might occur during the setup of your security program. And finally staffing. Staffing often is something that is tied directly to budget because it has to be paid for somehow. And so that usually ends up falling into that staffing or that strategic portion of your recommendations. Just a quick hint on this, you know, tactical recommendation. So talking about enhanced logging. If you've got a Windows environment, that could be as simple as starting to test deploying Sysmon on systems. Again, it's something that's, you know, free and is potentially low cost to implement and manage, depending on how your system is set up. Or it could be as simple as updating your GPOs for your Windows hosts to enhance the logging that's already built into the operating system. Again, highlighting these quick wins in this communication for the final report is key so that your technical leaders and your executive leaders understand that you're thinking forward about how to better the environment and communicating that well for them to understand and take action. And with that, thank you very much for your time. We truly appreciate it and we hope to see you in the Blue Team Village Discord. And you can jump in the Discord and ask lots and lots of questions regarding project obsidian. And again, the data sets that we've used to build this training content and these templates are going to be made available to you to use at your discretion. And hopefully you'll learn some things and be able to implement and better your security posture. Thank you.


This is stock number 7T488A 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe. This vehicle has the 5.3 liter V8 motor from this HD video. You'll be able to tell that this SUV is extremely clean all the way around, considering its age and miles. A very nice example of what a higher mileage Tahoe can be. No dense things or scuffs on that front bumper. It has Goodyear Wrangler 4 to 2 tires. These are 265 70 R17s. These tires look like they have about 70 to 80% of the tread left, maybe even a little bit more. It comes with the factory alloy rims that are in pretty nice shape. They're not perfect, but not going to be with these miles. The hood is in excellent condition. No dents or dings on that. Other side rim and tire. Rim isn't about the same condition as the driver's side. Just a little bit of corrosion on there, but tires have lots and lots of tread left. As you go down this side of the vehicle, you can see just how clean the body is, how reflective and glass-like that paint is. We take these HD videos, so if you are far away, or even if you're close by and just can't make the trip down, you can still see the vehicle here, the vehicle, and have confidence in what you're looking at before you even get here. I didn't see any dents or dings down this side. The lower doors look really good. Has some nice factory running boards, the back rim. Same condition as the front ones. And the back tires have just as much tread as the front tires. See that the wheel well here is in really nice shape. Rear bumper is in good condition as well. It does have backup sensors as well as a backup camera. Full towing package, which includes the receiver hitch and 7-pin wiring. The gate is in excellent condition as well. I didn't see any major dents or dings on that. This is a power gate, so we just press a button and it lifts up. You can see that the back carpeting is very clean. These seats do come out. You just fold them down and grab this handle and pull on out, so you can remove those two back seats for extra storage. When you get this hatch down, you just press that button right there and it will come on down for you. What I always like about these Tahos and Suburbans is there's a little button underneath here. You press that and you get to open up that glass, which is a nice feature if you got a boat or a trailer or something on the back. You can still get to your stuff in the back without having to open up the gate. You can see that metal flake in that paint. Very good looking color on here. As you go down this side of the vehicle, you can see it's just as clean as a passenger side. No major dents or dings down this side. For good measures, this back tire has just as much tread as the rest, and the back rim is in about the same condition as the rest as well. Inside, this one has the LT2 package, which gives you the tan leather interior. There are no rips. There are no tears on this seat. Four driver seat, memory driver seat, both of these seats are heated factory floor mats throughout. Carpeting is in real nice condition underneath. Has power windows, power locks, and power windows. These power mirrors do fold in. They also power fold out. Has auto headlamps. There are your heated seat buttons, your memory driver seat buttons. Auto headlamps turned out four-wheel drive, and you can see that this Tahoe does have 92,185 miles. That instrument cluster is very clean. Steering wheel has cruise controls, and Bluetooth audio and radio controls on this side. It is leather wrapped. It's in really nice shape. Has the six-speed automatic transmission. Has the six-disk CD changer, also dual climate control, power pedals, backup sensors, and stability track. You have your climate controls there as well. Up here we have the on-star system, and then you have the backup camera that shows up in that rear view mirror. Up here we have home link, and then your sunroof buttons right here. So it's got nice sunroof in here. Passenger seat is very clean as well. No rips or tears on that. And we've got factory floor mats on that side as well. I'm going to take a quick look under the hood, but first we'll check out the back seats. Back here we have second-row bench seating. These seats are heated. Carpetting is very clean back here. There are no rips or tears in these seats. Very nice clean condition. These seats do fold down, and then fold up for access to the third row. You can see that the carpeting back here is in really nice shape. And that these seats are in really nice clean condition as well. No rips or tears back here. We'll take a quick look under the hood. 5.3-liter V8 motor. Engine bay is very clean, runs very smooth, one of the most reliable motors on the road. This vehicle has been fully safety and inspected by our service shop. Has a fresh oil and filter change. All the fluids have been checked off. It has brand new brakes all the way around. And it is 100% ready to go. And to see more pictures of this Tahoe or one of our other 400 new and used cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, Wranglers, you name it, we got it. Go to our website www.SummitAuto.com full pictures and descriptions of every vehicle on our lot. Videos of every single used vehicle that we have. All at SummitAuto.com. Thanks for checking out my video. If you like it, if you like this one and want to make it yours, give us a call right now.<PHONE_NUMBER>. I ask for one of our sales associates to make this one yours today. Once again, that number is<PHONE_NUMBER>. Thanks for checking out my video. We look forward to helping you with this super clean Tahoe. If you want to check out more videos like this, go to our YouTube channel, which is youtube.com slash summit auto, like, subscribe and share. In fact, in a second you'll see a subscribe button on your left, a link to more used inventory videos on your right. If you haven't been to our website on the bottom, a link to our website, to this vehicle, click those, check us out, and we look forward to helping you with this super clean 2009 Chevy Tahoe. Thanks again.


Hey guys, it's Coco so I'm gonna be vlogging today just showing you guys just me working today. I have a meeting with a luxury handbag designer by the name of Tina Cole, I'll link her below for you guys and we're just meeting on just trying to expand our businesses and get some cash flow. We are in a hard time, no I don't want to say hard time, I don't want to put that energy out there in my area, but we are in times where we do need money flowing without us even having to really do much work, so right now we're just getting some stuff together for some interns to help us out with our companies and going for me guys, we got a coffee shop so I'm whispering, but she's very talented guys, I'm gonna link her bag below for you and let you guys see it, and we'll probably go have some brunch after this, we didn't really do much, but we're there, so we're gonna like just team up with this and really try to get this going guys, listen here's why you need good people around you, you feel them out first right, you feel them out first, feel the energy, feel the vibe and go from there, sky's the limit when you find someone that you can work with that's on the same wavelength this year and get this money, you know why it's a Cardi B guys, so I will catch y'all later when we go get something to eat and I'll probably vlog a little later when I get home working on some more stuff for the interns guys, so catch y'all later hey guys it's Coco welcome back to my channel it's your girl Coco Styles and on this channel we talk about beauty fashion and lifestyle, so this is the rest of my vlog for the day guys it was really short I had a really good meeting with Tina Cole again she's a luxury handbag designer I'm gonna link her bag below because her bag is off the chain guys um she is black it's a black owned um company and it's full leather bag so those of you guys who are not into leather then it may not be for you but those of you guys who are then it is the bag for you it's the awesome bag guys so we were discussing trying to expand our businesses and just trying to get cash flow um passive income and not have to keep working guys right I mean I know we have to keep doing stuff but the goal is to have money flowing in from multiple sources of income and with social media I know a lot of people are influencers and this is just like probably their only job um and they're making really good money but sometimes you have to think if all things just like completely just stop right so it was a good meeting we both have some things to do as far as homework um looking up some properties and stuff and just things that uh we know we want to put our money into so it was just a quick little vlog today guys and it's just really good to surround yourself with people who are on the same wavelength as you um and not feel like you have to walk on eggshells with someone um and just kind of see where things go you know what I mean so again it was a quick little vlog um and of course I've took my book with me because you have to take it with you and write in it um but it was a good day that's it I didn't really have much for you guys today um I'm gonna come back next week with something else for you but it was just a really really long day I'm tired and I just wanted to come and chat with you guys so I will catch you guys in the next one I probably will start vlogging again because they're fun um and you guys get to see a lot of what I do behind the scenes as far as a personal style coach and a person who works in IT so you guys will see that some more of that I promise so I will catch you guys in the next one don't forget to follow me on Instagram at CocoaStylesNY and my website CocoaStylesNY.com and my blog CocoaStylesNYC.com and I will catch you guys in the next one bye guys


A team of researchers has designed a new protein that targets a cell surface receptor linked to various diseases. Its ability to effectively bring the receptor's harmful activity to a halt, without damaging surrounding tissues, makes the protein a promising therapeutic agent for treating a host of diseases, including cancer. Created from a human protein, proagios selectively targets a cell surface receptor called Integren Alpha V Beta 3. Integrens are a family of glue-like proteins that help stabilize the structure of cells within their surrounding environment and help cells communicate to the outside world and vice versa. But studies show that abnormally high levels of otherwise benign proteins like Integren Alpha V Beta 3 are expressed in cells affected by pathological disorders. Disorders such as skin fibrosis, a serious disease characterized by the inflammation and hardening of the skin, rheumatoid arthritis, and metastatic cancer. Integren Alpha V Beta 3 has therefore long been in the sights of scientists looking to develop potent drugs that prevent inflammation and the formation of new blood vessels. What sets proagio apart from other protein drugs is the way it binds to Integren Alpha V Beta 3. Other drugs commonly target what is called the ligand binding site of the Integren. Binding to this site generally disrupts the adhesion function of Integren Alpha V Beta 3, causing cells to detach from their surroundings and ideally wither away. But because the signaling function of the Integren typically remains intact, cells may continue to promote harmful inflammatory responses, limiting the clinical success of the ligand-based approach. Proagio is designed to bind to a different site of Integren Alpha V Beta 3 to produce an entirely different response. The protein's unique binding mechanism enables it to recruit and activate an enzyme called Caspace-8, which plays an essential role in programmed cell death. Using mouse models, the research team showed that enlisting the help of Caspace-8 makes proagio much more effective than ligand binding proteins in preventing the formation of new blood vessels. It's this ability to cut off the supply of blood that also makes proagio more effective in stopping the growth of tumors. The researchers showed that tumors introduced into proagio-treated mice showed dramatic reductions in vessel density and vessel length and in the number of branch points. And because proagio is programmed to bind strongly to a specific region of Integren Alpha V Beta 3, the protein's anti-cancer effects are highly selective. Proagio showed no adverse effects on the blood vessels of surrounding healthy tissue. The researchers admit that it is not entirely understood how or why proagio's unique binding mechanism produces such dramatically different results from those of proteins that lock into a nearby site on the same Integren. But they suggest that proagio's strong and highly targeted effects make it a promising candidate for clinical development in the fight against cancer and a range of other diseases.


Ukraine in the membrane, notes from the edge of the narrative matrix. Make no mistake, the US is being entirely pragmatic in its Ukraine proxy war. It gets to shore up control over its European vassals, preoccupy Russia and bleed its coffers, expand its military, advance its information interests, and all it costs is a little pretend empire money. So of course the empire provoked this war and sabotaged peace at every opportunity. Of course it did. Why wouldn't it? It stood everything to gain and very little to lose. I mean, unless you count greatly increasing the possibility of nuclear annihilation. Empire apologists constantly comparing mounting tensions with Russia and China to the beginning of World War II wouldn't be as much of a problem if our entire civilization hadn't been propagandized for generations into believing World War II was awesome and good. Our deliberately reinforced cultural fascination with that war now has everyone saying that bad government is Hitler and we're the good guys who are fighting Hitler and we need to go fight Hitler as soon as possible. World War II was the single worst thing that has ever happened, period. It is only because of mountains of propaganda that comparisons to the lead up to World War II don't have everyone saying okay, well let's ramp up diplomacy, de-escalation and détente to make sure that never happens again.  Western rightists are freaking out more and more about communism. We're no closer to communism than we were 30 years ago. Their thought shapers just changed the definition of communism to mean having a government and sometimes seeing a pride flag. A lot of the anti-wokeness thing seems to come from people knowing they're being manipulated by the powerful but having no lucidity on the matter. So they end up going after the wrong targets. It's not all hateful bigotry. A lot of it is just confusion about where the enemy is. People have an intuitive sense for when they're being manipulated but figuring out exactly how mass scale manipulation is manufacturing consent for the empire takes a lot of learning and none of it is information they give you in school or teach you in the mainstream news. Liberals who exploit social justice in a cynical and transparently phony way are largely responsible for this dynamic. People can smell phoniness and they are smearing that smell all over real social justice issues. This is not to say that this dynamic I'm pointing to is the sole driver of all anti-woke sentiment. A lot of it is just garden variety, prejudice and hate. Civilizations built on genocide, oppression and othering will necessarily have a lot of that lingering around both conscious and unconscious. But there's also this other dynamic of confusion which can be addressed. Whatever your motives, spending your time fretting about wokeness is counterproductive. At best you're making the world less pleasant for marginalized populations while taking your crosshairs off of real power structures as humanity hurdles toward extinction on multiple fronts. And at worst you're also fueling the very thing you're trying to get rid of by providing evidence that there are all these hateful bigots who need to be forcefully opposed. Living in a liberal western democracy means you have the freedom to criticize your own government for its tyranny and the press has the freedom to hammer you with propaganda to ensure that you never do. I'm so glad I don't live in a country like Russia or China where people are forbidden to criticize their government. I live in the west where I'm free to criticize Russia and China all I want. We need to get a handle on this climate thing so we can leave a healthy world for our children, our children's children and Leonardo DiCaprio's ex-girlfriends. Eastern philosophy is better than western philosophy.  Eastern philosophy actually discovered and promulgated practical methods for attaining happiness and inner peace in life. Western philosophy is millennia of people going, I'm sure if we shape our head noises in the right way and put them in the right order everything will make sense. Eastern philosophy is turning away from the head noises and going, OK, what's really going on here. Trying to make sense of life using thought is like trying to solve an algebra equation using a hammer. It's the wrong tool. Eastern philosophy discovered this thousands of years ago and set about creating and distributing the proper tools while the west kept hammering away at the textbook. The difference between western philosophy and eastern philosophy is the difference between a poet who knows how to diddle words to craft a clever turn of phrase and a poet who actually has something to say. The east plunged to the depths while the west bobbed on the surface. The word courage tends to evoke images of heroes and daring rescues. But in real life courageous people mostly use that attribute for confronting uncomfortable truths within themselves.


My name is Carolyn Delaney, I'm the founder and CEO here at Journey Enterprises for a media company on a mission to make recovery from addiction visible because it's important. It saves lives. There are over 26 million of us in recovery and we want those who are still sick and suffering to know that there is a path for them. There's millions of us here on the other side of active addiction and that it's probable that people can and do recover. Our videos share personal intimate stories of what people's journeys were like, going from what it was like to what happened to what it's like now in an effort to let people know that we're here, we care, and that there's a way out. Visible recovery saves lives and we want the world to know that. So if you have a story about recovery and would like to share it, please contact me, Carolyn at recovery-journey.com. I hope you enjoy our video, have a great day. So my name is Kim Lamontine and I currently live in Sarasota, Florida and my story that I bring forward that I share on a regular basis is that I am an individual who suffered in complete silence while working as a high performing and high functioning corporate professional and I suffered in silence with depression, anxiety, persistent suicidal thoughts and alcohol use disorder. I feared coming forward in the workplace because I feared being seen as weak, being seen as incompetent, potentially losing my seat at the corporate table and losing my opinions that I could contribute to the conversations. So instead of coming forward, I really, I suffered in silence for many, many years. People looked up to me, they wondered how I did the work that I did, how I made the sales, how I developed the relationships, they, people wanted me to coach them and mentor them, which I did, but I always felt like, wow, they don't know who the real Kim is. They have no idea that at the end of the day, Kim is really taking off that mask of high performance and she is retreating into the darkness of depression and she is retreating into her need to have five, six, seven glasses of wine every night. And that actually hurt my soul for such a long time because I felt like I was, I was an imposter. I was always being, I was always the same Kim, but I just felt like I had this deep, dark secret that no one knew about. And, you know, even beyond the workplace, I never told a family member, a friend, anyone that I was suffering. I was completely shameful and afraid to say that there was something wrong with me. But what really got to me was July of 2009. We had had a fourth of July party at my house because that's where all the parties were, they were always at my house.  And I said to my husband, what happened last night?  I'll never forget what he said to me next. He looked me directly in the eye and he said, Kim, you were so drunk last night that you tripped and came within inches of falling into the fire pit in the driveway. That's what I really knew that I needed to get myself together. And I have tried many times on my own to stop drinking. I never said it out loud to anyone because if I said it out loud, I would have to be accountable for that. And it wasn't until July 16th, 2009, or about two weeks later, I was in the Mall of New Hampshire parking lot in Manchester, New Hampshire between Sears and Old Navy. Yeah, I was in my car crying, feeling worthless, feeling unlovable, feeling out of control, feeling like an imposter. I had no love for myself, no self worth. And I knew I needed help. And I made a phone call that day that saved my life. So 30 minutes later, I was in those four walls of that exam room, petrified. But I knew that I needed to be there when he walked through that door. Oh, my goodness. I can feel the chills right now because I just my walls came down and I cried. And I couldn't tell him why I was there because I couldn't I couldn't get the words out. He is the person who I credit for saving my life because he created that safe space, that safe container with no judgment. And he saw me as a person. He did not see me as an alcoholic. He saw me as a person who was living with a treatable disease that he could help me with. That was an enormous change in my life. The way he saw me allowed me to see myself in a different way, allowed me to really see myself as a person. And that's really where my journey to recovery began, July 16, 2009. About two years into my recovery, when I was feeling, you know, really good that if someone wanted to call me an alcoholic, I could say, you know what? Maybe you view me as an alcoholic, but I view myself as a person first. But you know what? Admitting that I had that issue with alcohol. If you want to call me an alcoholic, that's OK. But I am so proud to carry that because it is the most difficult thing that I've ever had to overcome. So what's it like now? I stopped drinking in 2009, so I'm coming up on my 11 year anniversary. And I will not say that as soon as you quit drinking, your life is going to be perfect because it was anything less than that. And it wasn't until 2016, Memorial Day weekend, 2016 when I decided to go away for a long weekend and really start focusing on myself. And I found the work of Byron Katie and she is an amazing individual who has a process called the work where it teaches you how to question your thoughts and identify if those thoughts are really true. That's really what I began to heal because I reached a very low point in 2015 where I almost took my own life. When I finally stepped into my own mind and started investigating my own mind and my own thoughts, that's when my flicker of light finally came back on. I had been stuck in the deep dark well for such a long time that when that light finally came back on, I said, there is nothing that will snuff out this light no matter how small it is. My light's back on. I started working with National Alliance on Mental Illness and I became a trained presenter for them. So I share my own story through there in our own voice program. And I will tell you that it was difficult for me to put my story out there on social media on the Facebook side. What are people going to think? Will they be judged? All these different things. But I felt that it was even more important for me to get past that fear of judgment. So I did it. It has been so fulfilling because I've been speaking at conferences and training with organizations. And I can't tell you how many leaders like senior vice presidents, VPs, directors, after hearing my story, they come forward and they say, thank you for giving me permission to take off my own mask and say that I'm not OK and be that leader who can pave the way for others to come. I grew up in a very Italian family and there was always a lot of reasons to celebrate. A lot of homemade Italian wine. And as little kids, it was it was just custom.  So I really and that's not I mean, it was just culture back then. And I developed it. I like the taste. I'd like the feeling. And I found myself drawn to it. So the phenomena of craving set in pretty young for me. You know, and it progressed from where I was just given a little taste here and there to going into my father's liquor cabinet. You know, and I believe that's where I crossed the line. It was OK. So I thought it was OK. I like this stuff. I like the little the warm, glowing feeling that went down. I went from being given it to stealing it right from the get go. You know, I'd mixed the water in with the alcohol so that nobody really knew that, you know, and he level was disappearing from the bottle. I just wanted to escape, you know, a lot of things that happened. It was a setup for me from the get go to want to escape and to not want to feel. I never liked who I was. I always felt different. I felt like I didn't belong. I was quiet and shy. I didn't say boo. And I found that, you know, it was liquid courage. And that that's what you hear a lot about in the halls. It gave me the courage to, you know, to go out and to intermingle with people. And, you know, I became like the class clown and I became like the head of the party and. And it just was a way to deal with stuff. And then it progressed and it got worse. I had an uncle who was a doctor and I had free access to pain medication, anti-anxiety medication. You name it, you know, back in the early 80s, they used to give the salesman would come over and give free samples. So he would keep it all in a closet and didn't keep any type of inventory. And my mom just happened to be his medical secretary and the office was in their house. And I kind of grew up in that house. So it was very easy for me to get access to prescription drugs. So I was on a mission of self destruction from the get go. I've lived a life of, you know, depression and victim hood and all that stuff. But always, always there was a higher power and I know that that's why it wasn't so difficult for me in the beginning. When I got to the program, when they talked about God, not the God that I grew up with, a God of my understanding. You know, high school, I partied. I didn't care. That's the, you know, the theme of my life was I didn't care. You know, I didn't care about you. I didn't care about me. I didn't care about life. You know, and then later on in my story, I'll tell you when I started to care about life and I started to take things seriously. So anyway, I was on a mission of destruction. I was going to drink myself to death. I was going to take an overdose. I didn't care. I would pop pills. You know, the it said I knew enough to look and see if it said warning that don't mix with alcohol or maybe have it for me. And I knew if it said that those were the good ones and I better take more. So anyway, I just thought I would end up dying someday. In 1986, I got introduced to the telephone company and I started working there. And, you know, my story of recovery started there in 1989 through the EAP program. I was introduced to alcoholics. Anonymous and the story and this is how my higher power works in my life. Up to this point in 1989, I didn't care. And I was drinking and I was, you know, doing drugs at work. And there was this one woman that whatever corner I turn, she'd be coming in the other way. So like God was putting this woman in my rate in my face, smack in my face. And I eventually found out she was recovering alcoholic and drug addict.  I listened to this woman's story and I was like amazed that she wasn't drinking and she wasn't doing the drugs she used to do. And she was living life and she was enjoying herself and she was, you know, doing all these things.  And so I went to her and talked to her. She got me into Mercy rehab back in 1989. My first meeting down in that basement, it was the drop-in meeting. And there was a room and there was this whole circle of chairs. And I was sitting there in my pajamas and my little green slippers and the robe I was looking down at the ground. And we went around and introduced ourselves. And that was the first time ever that I ever uttered the words on Mariana and alcoholic. So my recovery started. I really wasn't quite sure, but the one thing that kept me coming back was that first meeting after that drop in meeting was a speakers meeting. And the hope that I felt in that hall, I can't describe it. You know, other than these people, they were laughing, they were enjoying life and telling jokes and intermingling.  You know, I used to say that I used to take the Rubik's Cube and I used to try to figure that sucker out and I would churn it and I would twist it. And, you know, and that's what I did in the program. And, you know, and I can tell you, there is no other way to do it. It's simple, but it's complicated. You just have to do it. Six years ago for me, you know, something tragic happened.  And I learned more about my higher power. I'd been sober about, let's see, I got sober again in 2010 when I came back in after a ways away from the program and not going to meetings and not doing the things that I know keep me sober and keep me on a straight, narrow. I used, let's see, I used everything that I've learned in this program because I went in to have a knee replacement in 2014. I knew to write my right knee replacement. And I learned a pretty valuable lesson about my gut instinct and listening to that gut instinct because inside that's God speaking. And something told me not to let them put a needle in my spine. But, you know, I I didn't listen to it. And I ended up with blood clot in my spine. They did spinal anesthesia. And a day and a half later, I lost complete feeling below my waist. And I tell you, I really had to rely on this program, the people in this program, my wife, my partner has been there through thick and thin and so haven't the people in the program. And that's what, you know, keeps me going.  You know, the doctor looked at me after the surgery. I had pins and needles below my waist. He looked at me and said, I don't know if you'll ever walk again. He said, I removed the blood clot, but I can't promise you your walk. And I looked at him and I said, Oh, I'll walk again. I said, you don't know who you're talking to.  I'm going to walk again now. And I am, you know, six years later, even with all this stuff going on, I'm driving again. I got my license and I got a part-time job. I started working again. Life has just been it's just been incredible, you know. I've learned through all the all the crap in my past at age 49. When this happened, I started enjoying life. It's like I did a 360, you know. I learned that, you know, just the little things in life that we take for granted. You know, I have some physical limitations. I'm in a wheelchair. I have to walk with crutches and I have to walk with health in the age of races. But you know what?  I was given a challenge and, you know, I remember the one thing that I read when I was in New England rehab for two and a half months, learning to walk again. Social media became very important to me. And that's one of the reasons why I chose to do this is because, you know, I've been stuck in the house and I know what it's like not to be able to go out and to intermingle. And so everything that I saw on social media in the beginning, there was this one. There was this one post and this is what did it for me. And I wrote it down because I'm like, I need to read this because this is what started it for me.  And somebody had posted this on Facebook and it said, where you are today is no accident. God is using the situation you are in right now to shape and prepare you for the place he wants to bring you into tomorrow. Trust him with his plan, even if you don't understand it. And I'll tell you what, I did not understand it. I did not understand it, but I was then I said, OK, God, I don't know where you're going with us. I have no idea where this is going to be, but I am in 100 percent. I'm going to do what it is you put in front of me to do. And that's the attitude that I had. And I was able to use all the tools that I had in the program to apply them when I was in that rehab and didn't know which way was up. God taught me an important lesson and that, you know, my life is worth it. And your life is worth it, too. And you can do it. I'm honest to God, you know, I've been a doubting Thomas from the get go, you know, and I've played with this program and I've twisted it and I've tried to do it every other way, except the one way they asked you to do.  Early on is I didn't really, when I was in and out, in and out, I never really let anybody get to know me, you know, I didn't want to share at me. I didn't want to go to coffee.   When their feet match what they're talking, those are the people you want to be around.   When I calm my mind, the answers will come, you know. So I know this was kind of all jumbled around but, you know, I really wanted to focus on what life has become for me, you know. My experience, you know, I had to drink and go through what I went through to get me to this place that I am today. And I thank God for that, I thank God every day that I wake up and it's like, oh my God, another beautiful day. And I try as best I can to share positive things on social media because that was big for me. That's where it started my recovery from the spinal cord injury. So, you know, every day I try to put something out there on social media that's positive, that's encouraging, that gives hope, that amplifies hope. I really love what you guys did on Facebook about amplifying hope because, you know, if it wasn't for hope, I would have given up on this a long, long time ago, I'd probably be dead and I wouldn't be living the life that I'm living today. You know, doing the things that I do, you know, I have, well, we used to have five shixters, we're down to one and a cat, we love to, you know, go for rides and go to the beach and go up to Sugarloaf and I'm really bummed that it's canceled this year, but you know what, we need to stay safe. We need to stay safe so that we can, you know, continue to live and prosper. You know, recovery is possible. If we can continue to amplify hope and people have faith, you know, great things are possible.


As part of Forage Month, we are going to do a webinar series and today's topic is the importance of forage quality in hay production. I'm Leanne Diller and I'm the Forage Extension Specialist for the State of Alabama. Before we get into the different ways we can improve our hay quality, let's first do a review of relative forage quality. So RFQ is an index for forage quality. It uses TDN or Total Digestible Nutrients, which includes crude protein and neutral detergent fiber fractions, as well as on top of that it includes predicted dry matter intake. This makes it superior to just using TDN or even RFV as an index for your forage quality. All forage reports from the University, the Auburn University Soul Testing Lab, include an RFQ value as well as reports from many private and other university-led labs. So RFQ is really useful because it takes both fiber digestibility as well as crude protein and put them into one index so that we don't have to keep looking between three different numbers. This index ranges from 0 to 300, but most hay is going to fall between 100 and 150 or 160. So for that, if your hay is below 100, it will probably need supplementation for any class of livestock. It does not mean it can't be fed to livestock, but you need to keep in mind that it likely will need to be supplemented. A lot of times, the hayagrass falls in that 90 to do 100 value range and it will need to be supplemented with some kind of protein or energy source to keep animals up on performance during the winter months. Now for heifers that are 18 to 24 months old, dry cows and idle horses, we can use fair quality hay. And this ranges from about 100 to 115 in RFQ. For brood mares, working horses, we need to have a little bit higher quality because they have a higher nutrition demand. And that needs to range from about 110 to 125, which would be considered good quality hay. For heifers that are a little bit younger, so 12 months to 18 months, lactating beef cows, nursing mares and hard-working horses, we want to have it a little bit higher anywhere from 115, 120 up to about 135. So this would also include dairy cows in the last 200 days of lactation, very young heifers, so 3 to 12 months, and stalker cattle. They're going to need the upper end of that good range, so 125 to 140. Now our premium quality hay is going to be 140 or greater. And this hay should be reserved for dairy cows in their first 120 days of lactation or dairy calves. So you can feed premium hay to some of those other classes of livestock, but you're going to be overfeeding your cattle, which means one, your cattle or your livestock will likely gain weight and may become too heavy. Or you'll actually be wasting a lot of it. So it's important to consider your class of livestock when you're trying to figure out how good of quality hay that you either need to make or to buy. So there are several factors that are important when determining forage quality and hay. The first and most important is plant maturity. So as plants get older, their digestibility and crude protein decreases considerably. The graph here is of Bermuda grass over a 12 week period. And you can see that by week 12, it is only approximately 40% digestible and has only about 88% crude protein. Compared to four weeks, it is 65% digestible with an 18% crude protein. Now the caveat to this is you're going to be sacrificing some yield. So in this case, and you may have seen this graph before where you plot yield versus quality, we want to do shoot for that place where those two lines intersect. So in this case, for this particular scenario, it's going to be about six weeks. So as you can see here for Bermuda grass specifically, we recommend cutting every four to five weeks. That's the way to ensure the highest quality without sacrificing too much of our yield. Yield is important, and we want to make sure that we get our yield high enough to make it economical to cut, but not at the cost of our quality. So the next factor that is of moderate to high importance is actually our forage species and variety selection. So especially with perennial plants, the alfalfa Bermuda grass, the hairgrass, the choice that we may now may have effects for 10, 20, or even 30 years. We have stands of tall fescue in Alabama that are over 50 years old. So it's a long term investment with our annual species, it's not going to be as much obviously we could change our species and variety each year, depending on what we would like to do. But for our perennials, this is very important. We want to use the highest quality species that will persist in your environment, that will also meet the demands of the livestock you're growing for. An example I like to use alfalfa, alfalfa is probably the highest quality forage we can grow in one of the highest yielding, but it's not going to grow on the majority of soils in Alabama. It also requires a lot of management. Furthermore, many of the livestock in Alabama, alfalfa is going to be too high of quality. However, if you're producing paid for horses or dairy cattle, it could be worth the investment to establish alfalfa, given the extra cost because of the management and grow it because you'll be able to get more economic return on that. For most of our livestock species though picking something like Bermuda grass or even the hairgrass may be a better option. But you want to consider what species and variety will grow where you are. We won't want to establish a fescue hayfield in Mobile County, for example. Another thing is to consider that the more recent variety releases are typically the higher quality and higher yielding, but they're also more expensive. But a lot of times, especially with our perennial species, while the initial skulls cost may seem very daunting, it's worth the investment because remember this investment may be a multiple decade investment. So it's important to do that and consider that when you're making those choices. So when we choose our variety, we want to make sure we're doing an adaptable variety proven to our area. For example, in Bahia grass, we wouldn't want to establish coastal, or excuse me, Pensacola Bahia grass in North Alabama. But we might want to establish a Usain Mountain, which is a cull taller Bahia grass. Same thing with coastal Bermuda grass. You know, it's not, doesn't do well in North Alabama. So we want to make sure that what the variety we're choosing, we have information on its persistence where we are. Then as I mentioned, we want to match the site, the sole, the intended use, what type of livestock we're using, what is that class of livestock, and does this forage meet my needs. So is it high enough quality or is it too high quality? An example here to show you some varietal differences is ryegrass, and this is a gulf ryegrass compared to an early tetraploid. And you can see on the same date, planted the same day, the early tetraploid is actually headed out where the gulf is not yet. If you've overseeded a Bermuda grass hay field with ryegrass, you probably want the earlier maturing variety so you can cut it and get it off the field and not delay your Bermuda grass green up. If you've not done that, it may be beneficial to have the later maturing variety. So these are just the kinds of things you need to keep in mind. You can always contact your local extension office or your regional extension agent and we can help you make those decisions. So a lot of times you think forage quality is something that's going to be determined before harvest, but we actually have things that can affect forage quality after harvest. And the big one there is bale storage. This actually has a moderate effect on forage quality. We want to protect our bales from rainfall and weathering during storage. We get, in some places in Alabama, 55 inches to 60 inches of rain a year. So for hay that's stored outside, that's a massive amount of rain that would cause weathering on those bales. We're also very hot and very humid. These are all conditions that can reduce the forage quality of our bales if they're stored outside. So this table shows the difference in percent waste with different storage types. So if you do the traditional on the ground in a row with an area that's in poor drainage, you can have 30, 45, or even greater percent of waste. You can see the bales here, they're falling apart. Now these bales have been in the field for multiple years, but you can see how much weathering those would have compared to bale even that's two or three years old that was stored inside. Now, if we can't cover the bale, but we at least get it on gravel or on a pallet so it's off the ground and able to drain from the bottom, we can reduce that down to 10 to 30% wastage. Now if we put it on a stack pad on top of covering of the tarp, we can get that down to 5 to 8%. Now we'll say there is several producers I know in Alabama and Georgia as well that have been able to buy the vinyl billboard signs as a way of using a tarp to cover hay. They do degrade over time and they say they only last two to three years, but they're relatively inexpensive compared to buying a new tarp. So if you are needing to cover a lot of hay, it might be worthwhile to look into that as an option. Using a tarp has similar it's 5 to 8% waste and using a pole barn is only 2 to 5% waste so you're really going to protect that bale. $3 billion of hay is lost every year just from storing and feeding with in no regard to anything else. And a good economist once told me you're going to pay for your hay barn whether you build it or not. So just the amount of waste that you have, you will end up paying for that even though hay barns are seemingly very expensive. It's worth the initial investment especially if you're producing a lot of this high quality hay because you don't want to put all that effort into producing a high quality bale and then have it deteriorate over time. Now in a scenario where you may have not enough room in your barn, you want to put your lower quality hay outside. And you also want that to be the hay that you feed first so it's minimal time outside. So that's a way if you don't have enough barn space, you can get around making sure to protect your investment but be reasonable. So when we're putting our bale, especially if we're putting them outside, we want to make sure they're good dense bale. The denser the bale is the more it's going to reduce water infiltration. We want to put them in tight rows with their flat ends really tight. But the rows want to be about three feet apart so we can make sure there's good sunlight getting between the bale's rows so that it can evaporate and water is not sitting there. We also in a perfect world would have them on some kind of gravel or drainage material as well as on a slight slope so to increase water drainage. We want to not put them underneath trees because again any kind of shade is going to prevent any water from evaporating and the more water that sits there the more it's going to rot. And we also, you know, if possible we want to make sure that they're covered. Put them in a sunny location as well. So the next factor and this is one I think we're probably the most aware of as producers is rain during curing. We take a lot of effort to make sure that we don't get rain, you know, we always check the weather to make sure it's not going to rain or what the risk of rain might be. We do want to avoid cutting if there's a significant rainfall event so that's over a half an inch is predicted during curing. A lot of times in Alabama, especially either it be in the spring when we have spring showers or in the summer when there's always a 20% chance of pop up showers, it's not really feasible. So the good news is, is that rainfall doesn't have quite the effect on hay waste that we thought it did. So this is a study that looked at Bermuda grass and orchid grass hay that was rained on during curing while it was in lay down in the field. So in Bermuda grass, hey, they saw even up to three inches you only saw about 2% loss and dry matter. And that's because that's just in general going to be a more stimmy hay compared to orchid grass. But you can see at that half inch mark I just told you about you only had about 1% loss of dry matter, which is why we use that as kind of our rule of thumb. Now orchid grass, which is a more leafy high quality grass, we do see that we get a greater decrease in dry matter loss. So for that three inch rain now we're talking like 9% loss. But again, if we look at that half inch rain, we're talking three to 4%. Now, obviously we don't roll out of orchid grass in Alabama, but this just to give you some kind of idea about the effect of rainfall. Again, in my opinion, unless it's a major rainfall event, it's not that bad. Now we do want to make sure that if we do get rain that we tend and increase drying. So we want to leave the hay in the field the shortest amount of time is possible. That's not to say those practices aren't important. But it is something we don't want to necessarily sacrifice on maturity, which is a high importance, right? And delay harvest for a week or two for a small chance of rain. So the next factor is moisture at bailing. It kind of goes in with that last, you know, I was talking about the rain during curing. So we want to make sure our forage is dry to the appropriate moisture for round bells, those are going to be about 15%. And for square bells can be a little bit higher up to 18%. And this is important for a variety of reasons. So less than 10%, the hay may be brittle and dry, even grasshays. So we really don't want that it can become very dusty. So we want it there to be adequate moisture in storage. Hay will reach an equilibrium of about 12% moisture based on the ambient humidity. So again, similar to that, you have about 10 to 12%. So 10 to 15% is our recommended moisture. It has the least risk of fire and will go through the least amount of heat. All hay will sweat for the first three or so weeks after it's been bailed. That's normal. But we don't want that temperature to get over about 120. So from 16 to 20% moisture, we can mold without a preservative and there's a slight fire risk. So if for some reason you need to get your hay up a little wet, it might be worthwhile to look into a preservative so you can ensure that there's no fire risk or no overheating. Now 21 to 25%, you're likely going to get mold if you don't use a preservative and there's also a moderate hay fire risk. More than 25%, preservatives not going to really help you. So there's severe heat damage as well as a high fire risk. So that's definitely not where we want to be. So we recently put out a publication on hay fire risk and this was a table that we included in there. And again, I told you that hay will naturally go through a heat. So from 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, we don't want to, we don't have to worry about hay fire. There's nothing that needs to be done. There's no risk. So from 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, we want to at that point start to monitor our bell temperatures daily to make sure they're not getting any higher because there is a moderate risk of hay fire. From 140, we want to consider tearing our stacks down, continue to monitor the bell temperature because there is a high risk. Now by tearing the stacks down, we're going to get that out of the barn. We're going to hopefully minimize our risk of loss of the entire lot of hay as well as the barn and any equipment that might be in the barn. We also will let air circulate that hopefully will alleviate some of that built up temperature. From 150 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, this is very dangerous.  So this is an extreme risk. From 160 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we'll probably have smoldering in pockets and hot spots. The gases will ignite once the hay is exposed to air. So again, call the fire department, don't touch the hay until the fire department gets there. And then at 212, which is the boiling temperature, this is a point of no return. At this point the hay is likely already on fire, or it's going to catch fire any moment. You want to call the fire department if you haven't already, but this is where we get the scenario you see in the picture up there. And unfortunately, a lot of times this happens deep in the stack, and we're not aware of it. So if there's any risk of hay fire, it is best to leave the bells outside until they go through that four to five weeks sweat, and then put them in the barn. That's one way to avoid it if there's any chance of your your hay being too green or too wet when you put it up. So there are also unseen consequences of this heat. Now, again, I told you about 220 degrees Fahrenheit, we don't really worry about it above that we do worry about hay risk, but it may it may just kind of stay at that temperature and then go down. But even at our target moisture, we're still going to get a sweat and that said that's two to three weeks. As the moisture is driven off, he is given off and the dry matter decreases. For every 1% decrease in moisture, you get 1% decrease in dry matter. So moisture tends to equilibrate about 12%, but this driving off will actually cause proteins to end up being indigestible. So your usable protein as your heat increases actually goes down.  Your palatability goes down, but also your digestibility is going to go down because it's going to be charred. So when those proteins become heat damaged, they bind together and bind to other things in the forage and are not available. So you can see here, your dry matter intake take actually increases a little bit, but then eventually is going to drop off, but your digestibility of your protein is going to drop off precipitably as well. So the last factor that is important in forage quality that has relatively low importance is fertilization. We always want to fertilize based on soil test recommendations for those specific forage crops and in hay fields we do want to test every year as we're removing those nutrients off the field and either feeding them somewhere else or selling them. So it's important to soil test every year. We want to apply our recommended rates for P, K and N. Nitrogen is usually the thing we think about the most of getting the most bang for our buck, but phosphorus and potassium are also very important. If we're using poultry litter problem and we've gotten enough phosphorus, but potassium like in Bermudagrass especially tends to be very deficient and can cause yield problems. So we always want to make sure that we put out enough of our phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. For some of our hay crops like alfalfa, you may even have some micronutrients like boron or molybdenum that are required. So that's important to know. And so when you're picking your species, if there are any micronutrient requirements. If you are using poultry litter, you want to test that for analysis because the amount of nitrogen, especially that's there is going to be dependent on how the chicken litter was managed in the house. How it was stored after it was collected at the house, whether it's freshly out of the house or it's been composted and what kind of poultry were in the house. There's several factors. And even if you've gotten it from the same farm, different conditions can change that from time to time. So it's a relatively inexpensive test that can save you a lot of money. It's in a lot of states, they actually require you to test it now. But even if you're getting another byproduct, you always want to test it for its nutrient analysis before you apply it. So if you need more information on anything forage related, please email us at alabamaforages.com. Our website is alabamaforages.com or you can get there from our main cooperative extension web pages, which is aces.edu. We also are on Facebook and Twitter. You can see our handles there. We also have a monthly newsletter. So if you haven't signed up for our e-newsletter, please feel free to do that. Just send me an email at alabamaforages.aubern.edu. Thank you.


series of attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci over the weekend calling for his prosecution and then he shared some other memes about him and suggested he lied about he's lying about the origin of the coronavirus. What's your response first of all to specifically to the attacks on Dr. Fauci and second how is your view of Twitter as a sort of public forum and a forum for yourself and from the president and many other officials here how how are those views evolving?  Attacks? But that's what they constantly do in the media if you criticize them you criticize Fauci you criticize you know Pierre here Karen I forgot her name KJP Biden or any of these people and they they say that it's inciting violence against them like and you'll see here that's what she says. So look we've been very clear about this these attacks these personal attacks that we have been seeing are dangerous other public health professionals as well are they are disgusting and they are divorced from from reality. Oh they're divorced not you. So attacks attacks which are actually just critiques and questions and scrutiny of in this case they're talking about Fauci who is an unelected bureaucrat right who you would think above all you want those guys you want oversight and scrutiny the most intense scrutiny that you can possibly levy towards them the fact that this is coming from the White House that is incredibly dangerous that is dangerous for the White House and Democrats and for the media a big chunk of the media to now decide that like basically only they have freedom of speech only they have the right to critique and scrutinize their opposition you're not allowed to do that you see because they're saving their earth they're saving democracy which means that anybody who stands against them by default must be the bad guys right?


Now, is this your first attempt for the civil services? No sir, this is my third attempt. Your third attempt? And for the interview? Second interview. Okay.  Yes sir. So, how can you use your knowledge in dealing with environmental issues? So biochemical engineering works for different aspects of environment protection and conservation. For example, air filtration, wastewater treatment, waste food treatment, etc. So in all of these sections, biochemical engineering can be used to find solutions. What is BOD? BOD is biological oxygen demand in which gives us an estimate of how much oxygen will be taken up out of the organic compounds present in that water sample. So, high BOD is bad or no BOD is bad? High BOD is bad sir. High BOD is bad. What is green accounting? Sir, green accounting is a method of natural resource accounting in which we take into account the effect, impact and resources that the environment has provided us, all the services that the environment provides us when we are accounting for resources of that region. So, for example, I say green accounting of Tata Motors. What does it mean? I want green accounting maintained by the Tata Motors. What does it mean? Sir, in this context, green accounting would mean that apart from in usual accounting practices, we take in all the economic variables such as profits and revenue and turnover. But when we talk about green accounting, we also take into account the impact of the company on the environment. What are the positives? What are the negatives and the net sum of that? Who coined this word, green accounting? Who started this concept of green accounting? Sir, I am not aware of who started it, but it is supported by United Nations as well because they have also formed a body which gives us rules for green accounting. See, if I ask you that our country should ensure green economy, what does it mean? Sir, a green economy is a broader perspective on looking at the economy of our country which apart from goods and services manufactured by humans by us also takes into account the goods and services obtained from the environment and the negative impact of our activities on the environment as well. So, it takes a more comprehensive broader picture. What are the principles of green economy? And what should we do to maintain green economy? Sir, there are three broad pillars that we can look at if you want to maintain a green economy. A, energy, B, circular economy in terms of consumption and production. And thirdly, biodiversity conservation. These three would form broad pillars of a good healthy green economy. What about low carbon? Yes, sir. So, low carbon would be included in the first pillar which is energy because most of the carbon emissions come from non-renewable fossil fuel energy. So, we are looking at reducing carbon emissions by using renewable energy. Should it be inclusive? Yes, sir. In fact, inclusivity is one of the bone of contentions when it comes to renewable energy because developing nations have to develop, have to bring an infrastructure energy to their people. And for that, they need energy and they need fossil fuels at this moment and they want a slow transition to renewable energy. So, definitely steps should be taken to ensure that it is inclusive and sustainable as well. How many prime ministers Uttar Pradesh has given to our country? Sir, Uttar Pradesh has given eight prime ministers. Eight or nine? I remember eight but I could be wrong, sir. Okay. Okay. Tell me three individuals of Uttar Pradesh who have been awarded Bharat Patlu. Sorry, sir. I am not aware of exactly… If you are aware of names of the prime ministers which Uttar Pradesh has given, you find out number of them from out of them only. Sir, I am not aware which of them have got in Bharat Ratna, actually. What is the kind of some people are proposing a name change for Lucknow? What is the name which people are suggesting? Sir, the name change is right now in just discussions and proposals. But if it is approved, then it will go through the due process. What name is in the air? I mean, what is under discussion amongst people? What name they want for Lucknow? Sir, as far as I have heard, the root of the name has to be changed to Lakshman, which is what people assumed. Please support this kind of name changing. Sir, I believe that the people of the place, the people who are living over there, if they feel that there is ample popular support for the name change, along with historical background, along with cultural sentiments attached to it, then name change can be considered. So, in a democracy, what measures popularism? Sir, in our representational democracy like India, the house of the lower house represents the popular people's choice. All right. Thank you. Anuja, recently there was a big investment meet in UP. What was the outcome of it? Ma'am, the recent UP Investors Summit was a tremendous success in terms of the possible to the state. Around 500 MOUs have been signed with different companies and around 30,000 crores of investment is being looked forward for investment. These are temporary numbers that we have right now. And most of these investments are into new sectors as well. For example, renewable energy has emerged as the number one sector for investment. Along with that, apart from conventional investment region, which is around the NCR, we have also received investments for Bundelkhand and Kurukshetri this time. See, very often the experiences, sometimes these MOUs and all remain on paper. What is your feeling? Is there enough drive in the state to see that they get translated? Ma'am, I agree with you that the signing of the MOUs is not the end goal. It has to be seen through. But this time, I feel that there is intention as we can see with UP's budget also which just recently got released that capital expenditure is being pushed. It is one of the highest allotments to KPEX this time. So, this will also help in crowding in of private investment which has been brought in through the Investors Summit. Anuja, in sports, there is under the world anti-doping agency a mandatory clause, whereabouts policy. Do you know what that is about? One of our gymnast also got, you know, she was under this policy banned for two years. What is the whereabouts policy? Sorry ma'am, I don't think that I know the exact. The government recently announced a three-pronged push along the border with the LAC. What was that three-pronged push? India is looking to actively develop and increase its presence along the LAC which is the border in China. We have three approaches to that. A, we are building more Indo-Tibetan police forces battalions and increasing their recruitment. Secondly, we are also pushing for civilian infrastructure such as roads and bridges over there. And thirdly, we are also looking at our army presence and upgradation of army and its equipment, weaponry, etc. So, these are the three. What about a tunnel? Yes ma'am, we are also looking to build more, upgrade the existing ones because they provide all-weather connectivity to the remote regions. For example, we have Zojila tunnel in Jabu Kashmir. We have Attal tunnel also which connects Leh. So, we are looking at tunnels also. In this particular, there is another tunnel being suggested. Anyway, why are we focusing now on the region along the LAC? Ma'am, there are two perspectives on this. First is the short-term perspective. The increased attention to the LAC has come because of the 2020 and the 2022 clashes at the LAC in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh respectively. And the long-term perspective is, ma'am, China's increasing ambitions in the region and increasing territorial as well as maritime enhancement of its boundaries. So, India is looking to be prepared and have a proactive approach to this issue. Anuja, what are organic pollutants? Ma'am, organic pollutants are pollutants which are carbon organic compounds such as benzene and other organic compounds. Is there any international convention to kind of guide the countries of the world in how to deal with organic pollutants? Yes, now there is an international convention regarding organic pollutants, especially in the chemical and fertilizer industry. As far as I can remember, the name of the country convention is Stockholm Convention. Yes. That specifies rules for trans-border movement of such organic pollutants as well. What is the process? How do they specify their movement? Is there any procedure before transportation? Ma'am, in my knowledge, there are concentrations of different compounds mentioned which are allowed for transport between nations and so that one nation does not become a dumping ground for the waste of another nation. Anuja, they say that today a diplomat's role is more challenging and difficult than ever before. What do you think about that? Ma'am, I believe that in today's world we are seeing new challenges which are unprecedented. So, that is why the role of a diplomat has become more challenging. For example, there is growing regionalism and a slow decline of multilateralism which we saw during the heights of globalization. Along with regionalization, there comes in various blocs or various nations who are putting their own interests and priorities. So, to balance all of these interests together, a balancing act which India is actually doing right now as well is one of the major new challenges that a diplomat is facing right now. What about social media and access to information? Yes ma'am, definitely in today's time, information as well as misinformation has become rampant. So, in terms of a global order, this problem increases in magnitude of misinformation and also because of media reporting and because of people reporting as well. Today is a time where there is increased transparency and accountability which is positive but there is also increased surveillance, increased tensions because of such mechanisms. Anuja, if you got the foreign service, what language would you opt for, foreign language? I would like to opt for French if I am given an opportunity. Ma'am, I spent 3-4 months in France for a student exchange program wherein I had a great time trying to learn the language which I did not quite master it. I would like to have another opportunity at that. And which areas would you like to focus on if you were in the foreign service? I would like to focus on the conditions of Indian workers who are abroad whether that's in Middle East or in other countries as well. That would be a priority for me. Secondly, in terms of the recent events that have happened, the support and evacuation of Indian nationals in different countries during times of crisis is another priority that we should be, I would like to look at. And thirdly ma'am, I would also like to focus on bringing Indian culture and Indian awareness about India to all of our Indian diaspora living outside. Anuja, you've talked only about Indian, Indian, Indian.  Are you dealing only with Indians abroad? Yes, you are correct. Here I was talking about steps that can be taken for Indians living abroad. But definitely there are more aspects to it. For example, ma'am, as you mentioned, social media presence in today's time. So we could use social media to increase engagement and increase our friendship between the two countries so that can be done. Secondly, we can also look at increasing our economic ties and our trade relations and how both of these countries can complement each other in the growing time of deglobalization. Try to work through that. So that is also something that we can look at. Okay. Thank you, Anuja. Miss Anuja, in the Olympics which were held in 2021, did India get any medal in the field of athletics? Yes, sir. We got one medal in the field of athletics which is a golden javelin trophy. Who was that? It was Mr. Neeraj Chopra, sir. That's right. Okay. Now, tell me, there is a river linking project in Madhupadesh to provide irrigation facilities in the Bundelkhand region. Which project is this? This is the Cane-Bidwa River Linkage Project. Yes. How will it bring water to the Bundelkhand area? Sir, it will divert surplus water from the Cane River to the Bitwa River in times of scarcity of water in Bundelkhand and that water will be diverted through channels to help irrigate the fields in the river. Which means there will be a canal from the Cane River to the Betwa Basin, right? Basin. Is there anything to be constructed on the Cane River? Sir, in my knowledge, we should also be looking at a barrage. Yeah. A dam. You are right. A dam is to be constructed on the Cane River. A canal which will carry the water into the Betwa Basin and then on to subsequently to other areas. Okay. Now, tell me, the Nord Stream oil pipelines. This was in the news recently. Why was that? Sir, the Nord pipeline connects Russia to European countries, especially Germany and supplies natural gas from Russia to Germany and other countries to meet their energy needs. And it was currently in the news because due to the Russia-Ukrain conflict, the West, the NATO and those nations have decided to reduce their dependence on Russian energy sources. Yeah. That is one. But an American journalist called Seymour Harsh has claimed that one of the destruction of one of these pipelines was done by the US. Did you read about that? Sir, I must have missed this piece of news, but I would like to know what happened. Just check up on that because he has come up with this that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was damaged in September last year by the US. And what is surprising is that except for Russia, which has launched a strong protest, there has been no response from Germany or any of the countries in Europe which were impacted by this. Now, if you have been reading the media press, very recently three senators in the US had introduced a resolution regarding Arunachal Pradesh. Did you read about that? I do recall reading about it, but I am unable to recall. Okay, no problem.  They have this Kumbh Mela every year. What is the significance and the historical background to this? Sir, the Kumbh Mela is held at the Sangam, which is the confluence of the Ganga Yamuna and a third spiritual river, Ganga Yamuna Saraswati, which is not physically present right now. Prayag was a place where during the Samodra Mantan, one of the drops is said to have spilled there and that is why it is considered a holy pilgrimage for the Hindu religion. And its cultural significance is that it is an event in which the highest number of people come together in the world for a pilgrimage and there are a number of holy rituals and a number of traditions which are carried out over there. It is a confluence of cultures as well and it is also an event that showcases India's cultural vibrancy. Okay, now, but what is the significance of it is Mag Mela every year and a Kumbh Mela after so many years? How do you explain that? Sir, I have read up on this, but currently you are speaking. Okay, so we end your mock interview. So we wish you all the very best. Thank you so much. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to never miss an update.