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Journal of Data Analysis and Information Processing
10.4236/jdaip.2017.51001
Efficient Image Recognition Technique Using Invariant Moments and Principle Component Analysis
Mohammad Arafah, Qusay Abu Moghli
Computer Information Systems Department, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Received: November 9, 2016; Accepted: December 3, 2016; Published: December 6, 2016
Image recognition is widely used in different application areas such as shape recognition, gesture recognition and eye recognition. In this research, we introduced image recognition using efficient invariant moments and Principle Component Analysis (PCA) for gray and color images using different number of invariant moments. We used twelve moments for each image of gray images and Hu's seven moments for color images to decrease dimensionality of the problem to 6 PCA's for gray and 5 PCA's for color images and hence the recognition time. PCA is then employed to decrease dimensionality of the problem and hence the recognition time and this is our main objective. The PCA is derived from Karhunen-Loeve's transformation. Given an N-dimen- sional vector representation of each image, PCA tends to find a K-dimen- sional subspace whose basis vectors correspond to the maximum variance direction in the original image space. This new subspace is normally lower dimensional (K ≪ N). Three known datasets are used. The first set is the known Flower dataset. The second is the Africans dataset, and the third is the Shapes dataset. All these datasets were used by many researchers.
Image Processing, Invariant Moments, Data Analysis, Image Recognition, PCA
Pattern Recognition deals with recognizing objects that are based on patterns, objects could be texts, sounds and even images. Image Recognition has many methods and applications that deal with Image Recognition in real life. When traveling to another country, an eye scan is conducted to get eye print in order to ensure that a person is allowed to leave that country legally. Therefore, there are many applications that look important in our real life in many fields including business, learning, and security issues. Nowadays, we have noticed the need for Image Recognition that is becoming more and more important in our daily life. In this research, we will deal with the well-known method for Image Recognition, invariant moments. Basically, moments represent the features in the Image Recognition, so Image Recognition will represent the image that deals with invariant moments which is firstly introduced by Hu [1] as a Pattern Recognition tool. Hu introduced the well-known seven moments in the order of three which describe features in the image to recognize it. After that, Lafta [2] introduced five new invariant moments in the order of four. These new moments enhance the image recognition processing. One purpose of this research is to test that Lafta's twelve moments can recognize Flowers since he used fingerprint images. Another purpose of the current research is to use PCAs to get efficient recognition and to recognize 21 moments for color images. In this research, we employ all the 12 and 21 moments to enhance the results of recognition for gray and color images. However, the CPU efficiency will be degraded due to calculation of those moments. As a result, more storage space will be needed. Therefore, PCA will be used to minimize the CPU time processing as well as the storage space. The main idea which will be discussed in the current research is to use Moment Invariant performance to recognize an image from a group of images based on the similarity of the features between an image and a group of images [3] . In this research, we are going to use the 12 invariant moments for the recognition gray images process and 21 invariant moments for color images.
2. Related Works
The Invariant Moment is not a new topic; because it was started even before the existence of computers in the 19th century. Basically, the topic comes from the mathematician who called it Algebraic Invariants and Algebraic Invariants came with mathematician German David Hilbert [3] . Invariant Moment was firstly introduced to the pattern feature recognition research in 1962 by Hu [1] . Contribution for Moment Invariant comes by using Hu Algebraic Invariants to derive seven equations Invariant Moments for Pattern Recognition of the two dimensions. Invariant Moments is frequently used in the image processing as features in the recognition process. According to Hu, Invariant Moments can be used as features for image recognition. He introduced a set of 2D regular Invariant Moments which depends on Cartesian's domain. His Invariant Moments have usable properties of being Invariant within an image scaling. From this moment, Hu's publication has been increasingly referred in all moment's relevant researches for the past few decades, such as ship identification, pattern matching, aircraft identification, and scene matching [4] . However, Hu's Invariant Moments have not come from a family of orthogonal functions that implies the linear independence of the corresponding Moments. Reddi [5] defined two dimensions rotational Moments in polar coordinates. Rotational Moments have property of being Invariant for image rotation. Another set of Invariant Moments based on Geometrical Moments, also known as Regular Moments, was derived by Bamieh and Figueiredo [6] . Abu-Mostafa and Psaltis [7] proposed complex Geometrical Moments, and used them to derive a set of moment Invariants. Flusser used complex Moments, and came with a simple model for the derivation of Hu's moment. There is one disadvantage of the Invariants; a non- orthogonal basis, which was used to derive Flusser's model so that they are sensitive to a high degree of data redundancy. To overcome the shortcomings of geometrical Moments, Teague [8] proposed the motion using an orthogonal basis derive the Invariants. He used continuous orthogonal polynomials, such as Legendre and Zernike's polynomials, to derive Legendre and Zernike's Moments. Teh and Chin [9] assessed performance of many Moments to take into consideration issues such as noise, sensitivity, information redundancy and representation ability. Teague emphasized Zernike Invariants for a second and a third moment equations that are equal to Hu's. Geometric Moments was used by Hu and us until now. Hu show we can derive general rules without using it as a general method. Moreover, Wallin described an algorithm for designing the Invariant Moment. However, he did not paid attention for dependence and independence Moments order [10] . Flusser and Reiss [11] are correcting the Invariant Moments theory and are deriving Invariants in general. Khotanzad showed the rotational invariance of Zernike's Moments and applied them in the image recognition. He proposed image reconstruction method using Zernike's Moments [4] . Then, Lu and Zhang compared the performance of Zernike's Moments (ZM) versus the performance of many shape-retrieval methods and presented them given a whole accurate retrieval of shapes from a standard database [7] . There are known applications you can find in many researches who talk about Invariant Moments, such as an aircraft silhouette recognition introduced by Dudani and Belkasim. There is another application where Invariant Moments are used such as template matching of satellite images by Wong and Hall [12] [13] . Invariant Moment is also used in character recognition by many researchers [11] . However, Sluzek suggested to use local Invariant Moments in character recognition to improve all the applications related to [14] Invariant Moments. Wang used Invariant Moments in texture classification [15] . By looking for many researches that were done, researchers did not consider Invariant Moments dependencies of research between Moments. Zernike Moments are significantly dependent on the scaling, and translation of the object [16] . Many research talked about the types of Invariant Moments for noise and properties of these kinds, and one of them was compared between these kinds experimentally. Invariant Moments are useful for geometric normalization of an image. More time and efforts were spent to make an efficient algorithm in calculating the moment [17] . All of these above mentioned types of moments dealt with image distortion but there is a less attention for image intensity. Another important idea is the derivative Invariant moments that are difficult to drive and there is no general rule to use it but it is easy to prove it. Previous studies of Invariant Moments were mainly based on classical algebraic Invariant theory. It cannot be used to derive moment Invariants beyond linear geometric transformations. One of the main important types of moments is Geometric Moments. When we are looking for extracting feature to reduce computational cost and at the same time it is sensitive to noise so reconstruction is complex process. Moreover, it is effective from the time perspective. When Hu's introduce seven main famous Invariant Moments he uses geometric Moments to present invariance under linear transformation. Invariant Moments could be complex. Complex Invariant Moments have advantages because they give us more additional Invariant descriptors. In another way, they have disadvantages because they will be more sensitive for noise. They will be more difficult to reconstruct and reduce the noisy moment of orthogonal polynomial introduced by Teague [8] . He proved that Moments are less sensitive to noise and invariant to linear transformations and can be used to make image reconstruction easier than others with lower computational time processing. There are new Invariant moments proposed called Moments of discrete orthogonal. It is simple to compute, easy to implement, give us tolerance for noising image and more accurate to image construction. Moments could be Normalized or Centralized Moments.
3. Invariant Moments
One of the most important tools to get significant features is Moments. Moments are defined simply by Flusser as "scalar quantities to characterize a function". Moments were founded before hundreds of years ago, and they were used in statistics. From a mathematical perspective, it is projected on polynomial as a function; to understand Moments, we will introduce some concepts about that and they are as follow properties:
The first property is related to dimensions; for image function or any image, we realize that the continuous real function for two dimensions is defined as dimension belong to R × R and domain with finite zero integral.
The second property is General Moment for an image F(x, y) where p, q are non- negative integers and r = p + q is called the order of the moment, defined as the following continuous function in Formula (1):
M ( f ) p q = ∫ ∫ D P p q ( x , y ) f ( x , y ) d x d y  (1)
where p00 (x, y), p10 (x, y)... Pkj (x, y) are polynomial basis functioning defined on D and depending on the polynomial basis used, we recognize various systems of Moments [18] .
The third property Cartesian Moment for two dimensions of density destitution function is defined as follows in Formula (2):
∫ − ∞ ∞ ∫ − ∞ ∞ x P y q f ( x , y ) d x d y (2)
And Moments for two dimensions of the discrete image function is defined as follows in Formula (3):
m p q ∑ y = 0 M − 1 ∑ x = 0 N − 1 x p y q g ( x , y ) (3)
3.1. Moments of Projections
There is another way to describe image using Moments as a feature by looking for relationships between the Moments of an image segments and the Moments of the projections of that image segment. The Moments extracted from an image M0q, and Mp0 are equivalent to the Moments of the image projected onto the x axis and y axis; to explain this in more details, it is defined as follows in Formula (4):
V ( x ) = ∫ − ∞ ∞ f ( x , y ) d x (4)
where v(x) symbol for vertical projection f(x, y) of an image segment onto the x axis.
3.2. Geometric Moments
One of the most common Invariant Moments is the geometric Moments used by Hue Researcher, and many other researchers. Geometric Moments are defined as power basis; this will lead us to Geometric Moments as shown in the Formula (5):
m p q = ∫ − ∞ ∞ ∫ − ∞ ∞ x P y q f ( x , y ) d x d y (5)
Geometric for lower order p + q reflects a mass of the image, and is denoted with this symbol m00. This means zero Moments, and the equation is as follows:
m 00 = ∫ − ∞ ∞ ∫ − ∞ ∞ f ( x , y ) d x d y (6)
Mass for binary image represents the area of the object (image) for zero order of the Moments. If we divide moment of order one into mass, we will get centroid or the gravity of the image. Center of the Mas (COM) is defined as follows in Formula (7):
X ¯ = m 10 m 00 Y ¯ = m 01 m 00 (7)
If we are looking for the distribution of mass, we will use the second order Moments {m02, m11, m20} which is known as the Moments of inertia. Other usages for the second order Moments are defining orientation of the image. Moreover, the importance of the geometric Moments could be used to find normalized position of the image. Geometric Moments for any image function with all order exists, and the finite can reconstruct an image function from the set of Moments. This is known as uniqueness theorem so that making Moments are complete. Moments of order three or greater are easier defined by the projection of the image into x-axis and y-axis without considering the properties of the image itself. The fourth order Moments describes the kurtosis of the image- projections. Kurtosis is a classical statistical measurement of the "peakedness" [19] .
4. Proposed System
4.1. Dataset
In this research, we used flower dataset collected from several sites. These datasets are used in many published research. Flower datasets are used in many areas including image classification, computer vision, and Image Recognition. Nilsback [20] classified the flower dataset into 17 categories with 80 images for each class. The flowers chosen are some common flowers in the United Kingdom. The images have large scale, pose and light variations and there are also classes with large variations of images within it and close similarity to other categories. Some samples of flowers categories can be seen in Figure 1.
The second data set is the Africans data set (James Z. Wang 2014). This data set is also used in statistical moments based on noise classification using feed forward and backward propagation neural network research published in 2011. This data set contains 1000 original images and 3000 modified images. Some samples of Africans categories can be seen in Figure 2.
4.2. Preprocessing Image
The second step is the preprocessing of flowers dataset image which was considered as a transformation for getting Invariant Moments. These transformations are translation, half sized, mirroring, rotation by 45 and 90 degrees including original image as shown in Figure 3.
We also made same process for color images but we applied this for each layer of the image.
4.3. Features Extractions
We are applying the seven Invariant Moments introduced by Hue [1] . Gonzales (Gonzalez, 1978) also applied Hue's Invariant Moments for his images while we
Figure 1. Sample flowers (Nilsback, 2009).
Figure 2. Sample Africans dataset.
Figure 3. Transformations flower image.
applied the Lafta algorithm [2] . We obtained the same results for all preprocessing transformations. The results are shown in Table 1.
We applied the same process for color images as follows in Figure 4.
5. Discussions
In this research, we make recognition of our data to observe the size of the reduction for data with recognition at the same time, so that we first perform recognition with 12 PCA's. The flower dataset and all images were recognized to reach 6PCA's. Figure 5 shows the average running time for the recognition process with 6 PCAs for different number of images, compared to the time when 12 Moments are used as follows:
We continue with the reduction to see the relation between time recognition and the number of recognized images with PCA's to determine the effectiveness of recognition process when we make a reduction for PCA's. We continue with reductions in PCA's reaching to 2 Moments for our dataset. They will be more effective from time perspective but we lose quality image recognitions at the same time. The time which was taken to run the 12 Moments is 0.04423 Milliseconds but with a different number, the PCA's time recognition decreases. In this research, we noticed there is a relation between number of PCA's and time recognition; when the number of PCA's is decreased, the time recognition is increased. Another important issue is the modified images and how the recognition process reacts with the PCA's. In Table 2, we have introduced how many PCA's for each one of the modified images recognized the original one.
Table 3 shows the average time recognition for gray dataset images with a different number of PCA's as follows.
Table 4 shows the recognition rate is decreased when the number of PCA's is decreased based on specified requirements.
Figure 4. Image layer extractions.
Figure 5. Time recognition for 6 PCA's and 12 moments.
Table 1. Seven invariant moments of the flower image using Lafta algorithm.
Table 2. Recognition process for color images.
Table 3. Time recognition with different PCA's.
Table 4. Recognition error rate with different PCA's.
In this research, we are looking to make efficient recognition way for large datasets by using Invariant Moments and Principle Component Analysis (PCA). Besides that, we are looking to show the importance of reduction for high dimensionality on time and space for recognition process of gray and color images. In the experimental results with less than six PCA's, we get tradeoff between the quality of recognition and the average time recognition for gray dataset images. Time and storage space are affected directly when the number of PCA's is decreased and recognition rate is decreased with less than six PCA's. In this research, we assured satisfied goals of Hu's works with color images. In addition to that, we made recognition process faster than before with saving 5 PCA's and storage space is reduced more than the previous.
I wish to thank my parents, my brother Eng. Omar Arafah, my sisters, my uncle Eng. Ali Nasrallah and also all my friends specially Mahmoud Allawi, Ahmad Al Mughrabi, Bassam Mousa and Feras Badran. My great wishes for classmate Nesreen Nusair and Saba Safi in supporting me to publish this research.
Arafah, M. and Moghli, Q.A. (2017) Efficient Image Recog- nition Technique Using Invariant Moments and Principle Component Analysis. Journal of Data Analysis and Information Process- ing, 5, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4236/jdaip.2017.51001
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Tag Archives: Will Grier
New England Patriots 2019 Mock Draft 3.0 Trading Up Time
Steve Balestrieri
April 15, 2019 at 6:30 am ET
Follow @SteveB7SFG
In our first two mocks, we went with the basic assumption that the Patriots would keep all 12 of their draft picks. But we all know, they're not going to do that. So we'll go with a commonly believed scenario that they try to trade up to get a playmaker that they sorely need.
Our first Mock Draft can be seen here: Our second Mock Draft is here:
I used the outstanding Fanspeak Your On the Clock draft simulator again this year. And once again depending upon the Big Board that you use (when it comes to draft prospects)…your results will differ enormously. So Let's Go Drafting…
Patriots Mock Draft 3.0:
**** Trade**** New England packages #32 and #73 to Seattle for Pick #21
Round 1, Pick 21 – Noah Fant, TE, Iowa: Fant was still around on the board and he may not have lasted until #32. T.J. Hockenson, the most complete tight end in the draft was taken at #12 by the Packers in this mock.
Fant is a very athletic 6'4, 249 tight end from Iowa who excels open spaces. His yards after contact and ability to stretch the seams will immediately make him a very coveted receiver in the offense.
He is a versatile player that can be moved around the formation outside, in the slot or as an H-back. Despite playing in a run-heavy Iowa offense, scored 18 touchdowns in his last two seasons. A standout basketball player, Fant has excellent jumping ability and agility (6.81 3-Cone Drill).
He needs to get bigger and stronger to become a better blocker in the running game but with Austin Seferian-Jenkins on the other side, he'll have time to develop in that area. However, as a receiving threat, he should be an immediate impact player.
Round 2, Pick 56 – J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford: Arcega-Whiteside comes from an athletic family. He was born in Spain and both of his parents were basketball players. He brings very good size, 6'2, 225 to the WR position. He's got a quick release off the line, very good hands and a large catch radius.
He had excellent production in 2018 with 63 catches, for 1059 yards (16.8-yard average) with 14 touchdowns. He posts up like a basketball forward in the red zone and is a very good target there, (28 TDs in three seasons).
He has good but not blinding speed at 4.48 but he's best utilized in the possession game. He can move the sticks and gets better the closer the team gets to the red zone. He's gotten better every year and should be a very nice pro receiver who can occasionally stretch the field.
Round 2, Pick 64 – Christian Miller, Edge, Alabama: Miller was just a one-year starter but nevertheless had a very productive final season for the Tide. He made 36 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He tips the scale at 6'3, 247 and is a very athletic edge player.
He has the long arms and above-average athleticism that coaches look for in edge players. He's versatile and has a quick step off the snap either standing or with his hand on the ground. He has above average pursuit and can drop into coverage and cover backs in the flat.
He'll need to get stronger at the NFL level to be a three-down edge player but he should immediately see snaps as a sub-package edge rusher with the Patriots defense.
Round 3, Pick 97 – Bobby Evans, T, Oklahoma: Another surprise to still see him on the board at #97, Evans was a three-year starter for the Sooners, two at RT and then at LT in his final season. Evans plays with a bit of a mean, nasty streak and should immediately reap the benefits of playing for Dante Scarnecchia.
He's considered a bit short at 6'4 for the position but has long arms and can solidly punch the chest of pass rushers to fend them off. While not considered overly athletic, he has the agility to get outside and pull on running plays.
He has excellent core strength and is very tough and will immediately vie for the swing tackle position with the ability to become a starter in short order.
Round 3, Pick 101 – Will Grier, QB, West Virginia: Grier is a developmental QB prospect for the Patriots offense. While he has marginal size, (6'2, 217, similar to Jimmy Garoppolo), and arm strength, he has a kind of "it factor" where he can galvanize the rest of his team. See the Oklahoma and Texas games where he led late comebacks.
Had very good numbers in 2018, 266-397 (67.0%), for 3864 yards with 37 TDs and 8 INTs in 11 games. He's very accurate in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. He reads defenses well and is a good leader in the huddle and the locker room.
His mechanics can improve but he has a good body of work to work off of. He'll immediately step into the #3 position and vie for the backup job in Year 1.
****Trade**** Patriots Trade Picks #134, #205, to the Seahawks for Pick #124
Round 4, Pick 124 – Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford: Smith is a big 6'5, 255 "Y" tight end from "Tight End U" who is good as an in-line blocker, played in a pro-style offense and can serve as a safety blanket underneath.
Smith will be able to step in and contribute in the running game right away as his blocking is good but will improve over time with improved technique and a bit more core strength. He has a wide catch radius with very good hands, but won't be a threat to attack the seams. He's more of a short, safety valve, ball control guy with the upside to improve.
Round 7, Pick 239 – Renell Wren, DL, Arizona State: Wren is an intriguing prospect with good size, 6'5, 318. In college, they played him over the nose but he may be a better fit as a pure defensive tackle.
He possesses freaky athleticism for a big man but he's a project and may require a lot of work with Joe Kim who helped Patriots DL work on their hand usage. Has a lot of upside but may take a year or two to blossom.
Round 7, Pick 243 – Kendall Joseph, LB, Clemson: Joseph is an undersized but productive inside linebacker who may have benefitted from playing in a loaded defensive front seven. He's just 6'0, 233 but had 84 tackles, five TFL, and four sacks during the Tigers National Championship run.
He does have good instincts and showed good coverage, but he may have to carve out a role on STs to make the roster in 2019.
Round 7, Pick 246 – Penny Hart, WR, Georgia State: Hart is a small, very small (5'8, 180) wide receiver who had excellent production at a lower level of competition. But got an invite to the Senior Bowl and looked uncoverable. He's a very twitchy slot receiver who can return punts and kickoffs.
Round 7, Pick 252 – Saquon Hampton, S, Rutgers: Hampton is our requisite Rutgers pick as the Patriots address the safety position late in the game. He's a natural leader and a team captain, something the Patriots look for, with good size at 6'1, 206. Said during an interview, he tries to emulate Patriots safety Devin McCourty. Sold. Welcome to New England.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts on several apps as writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
This entry was posted in 2019 Patriots offseason, NFL Commentary, Patriots Commentary, Patriots Rumors, Patriots Twitter and tagged 2019 NFL Draft, 2019 NFL off season, 2019 Patriots offseason, Bill Belichick, Bobby Evans, Christian Miller, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Kaden Smith, Kendall Joseph, New England Patriots, Noah Fant, Penny Hart, Renell Wren, Saquon Hampton, Will Grier on April 15, 2019 by Steve Balestrieri.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What is it? An ambitious program to protect and restore water quality in eight areas of the Delaware River watershed from upstate New York to the Delaware Bay, including two in New Jersey – the Highlands and the Pinelands.
Using $35 million from the Philadelphia-based William Penn Foundation (full disclosure: the William Penn Foundation is a major funder of NJ Spotlight), the program buys land to prevent development, negotiates long-term agreements with landowners to permanently prevent development, works to eradicate invasive species, and educates citizens to help eradicate sources of pollution like leaky septic systems.
The initiative, launched in April 2014, brings together about 50 environmental groups – ranging from national organizations like The Nature Conservancy to local, single-issue groups like the Musconetcong Watershed Association – to share their expertise and work collaboratively in specific areas of the watershed.
Why was it launched? To protect drinking water sources for the 15 million residents of the Delaware Basin, including cities such as New York, Trenton and Philadelphia, by preventing contaminants like farm waste, storm water and runoff from residential lawns from flowing into the headwaters that feed the main river and into the river itself.
It also aims to protect endangered species that depend on habitat – some of it globally significant -- threatened by development, industry or agriculture.
The work complements that done by the Delaware River Basin Commission, an interstate body that regulates water quality and supply in the watershed lands of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The foundation and its partners wanted to create a coherent approach to water protection in an area that covers four states, and multiple counties and towns, and where a host of nonprofit organizations were working, although sometimes in isolation from each other.
Although some progress has been made in cleaning up the river and its tributaries, the watershed is seen as a "tipping point" because of continuing pressure from farming, development and contaminated runoff from an increasing area of pavement.
What has it achieved so far? Officials say it's too early to show clear evidence of improving water quality less than two years into the project but point out that early work such as building up riparian buffers and testing existing water conditions has taken place, laying the groundwork for improving water quality in coming years.
Across the watershed, more than 14,000 acres have been purchased by 18 land-protection projects, using $4.5 million in funds from the foundation and its partner in landscape- protection projects, the Open Space Institute. The funding has leveraged a further $41 million in private funds. Another 5,600 acres have been restored using best-management practices for stormwater drainage and agricultural runoff via 30 projects using $3.9 million in funds from the foundation and its partner in restoration projects, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, leveraging another $10 million.
In New Jersey, state and local groups connected with the initiative have participated in projects ranging from land purchases to the repair of riparian buffers to the mapping of lands vulnerable to damage from off-road vehicles.
In the Highlands, projects include one by the Land Conservancy of New Jersey which expects to close this summer on the purchase of 2,500 acres in the Lubbers Run sub-watershed, protecting about 8 percent of that area. In Hackettstown, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation will add to the Mt. Rascal Preserve in a purchase that will protect a headwater feeding the Musconetcong River where trout breed.
In the Pinelands, projects include mapping the location and extent of damage caused by off-road vehicles. . The initiative has awarded about $10,000 over a three-year period to help pay for the mapping. Off-roaders destroy large areas of the fragile environment, said Christopher Jage, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation's assistant director for South Jersey, who is an active advocate for restricting the vehicles' access to the Pinelands.
But more important than the financial support, he said, is a new wave of collaboration that has been activated between the NJCF and 13 other South Jersey environmental groups that are participating in the initiative.
The program has sought to combine the efforts of groups that previously were more likely to work independently of each other, and to individually seek money from the foundation.
All of the groups are now working together on programs that are more likely to avoid duplication and benefit from each other's ideas, he said.
"What Penn was finding was that there probably would be a benefit if there was a little more alignment of these grants and collaboration," he said. "Rather than having 14 organizations in their offices writing these proposals, they sat us all down together.
Land-protection projects in New Jersey so far total an investment of $1.1 million, of which three projects totaling $400,000 have been closed and $700,000 worth of projects are pending, according to Peter Howell of the Open Space Initiative.
Are there some local examples? The Wallkill River Watershed Management Group in Sussex County has planted more trees, built more rain gardens to contain stormwater runoff, and educated more farmers about limiting the runoff of animal waste – all as a result of increased funding and more cooperation with local groups.
Nathaniel Sajdak, watershed manager for the Wallkill group, which is part of the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority, said he has benefited in particular from the collaboration of other conservation organizations.
Sajdak declined to specify how much extra funding he had received as a result of the initiative but said it has enabled him to significantly increase the natural areas that he protects, and to leverage other sources of funding that would not previously have been available.
"It allows us to cover more ground, work with more local entities, and look for larger project areas," he said.
By planting more trees along river banks, for example, Sajdak and his team are able to provide more shade cover for the water, and to reduce sediment loss during storms.
Such projects won't result in an immediate improvement in water quality but will do so in coming years, he said.
"Is it improving water quality overnight? No. But is it leading to overall better health down the road? Absolutely," he said.
In the Upper Paulins Kill watershed in Sussex and Warren counties, The Nature Conservancy is helping to restore two and a half miles of riparian flood plain, with the aid of funding from the initiative, said Eric Olson, the group's Delaware River and Bay Project director.
Long-term dedicated funding has allowed the conservation group to expand its efforts to educate people who may be able to help reduce levels of contaminants such as phosphorous in the waterway, Olson said. Since receiving extra funding, he has been able to expand the riverbank area covered from less than a mile, and to extend his education efforts to local businesses.
At the Musconetcong Watershed Association, covering Warren and three other counties, participation in the initiative has allowed the nonprofit to identify bacteria in the river, and to step up efforts to educate local people about making sure their septic tanks work properly, said Beth Styler Barry, the executive director.
Barry said she now has about $100,000 over three years to spend on laboratory analysis by Montclair State University of river water samples.
"We already knew there was bacteria in the river but with Penn funding we were able to take the next step with DNA testing that helps you to understand the source of that bacteria -- people or animals," she said.
"Without doing that extra step in your analysis, you might put forward a program or a lot of funding that keeps livestock out of the river and then you find out that it was a human problem anyway and it would all be for naught," she said.
The group's work on local water quality has also been aided by collaboration with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, which is heading up water monitoring throughout the watershed initiative.
The Academy is leading scientific sampling in places like the Musconetcong River, and is monitoring fish, macro-invertebrates, salamanders, algae, chemistry and habitat to gauge water quality, said Carol Collier, the Academy's Senior Advisor for Watershed Management & Policy.
After almost two years working together, the initiative's participants are more unified, Collier said.


text:
UnionPay International partners with M2M to drive digital transformation in Africa
CASABLANCA, Morocco, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — UnionPay International (UPI) and M2M jointly announced a partnership to accelerate digital financial transformation in Africa, creating new frontiers by leveraging two entities' strong core capabilities and footprints. This partnership sets an ambitious product roadmap that allows M2M to provide innovative and customer-centric payment solutions to support issuers, […]
Adagio Therapeutics Reports That None of the Mutations Present in SARS-CoV-2 Variant, Omicron, Are Associated with Escape from ADG20 Neutralization In Vitro
Additional in vitro studies to determine neutralization activity of ADG20 against Omicron are ongoing ADG20 EUA submissions planned for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in mid-2022 Inventory build continues in anticipation of EUA in second half of 2022, with 4 million doses available for distribution over the next two years WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 29, 2021 […]
Protesters, Angry at Insecurity, Call for Burkina Faso's President to Resign
OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO — Security is getting worse in Burkina Faso, with the deadliest attacks by Islamist militants in the West African country in years on civilians and security forces. People are protesting the failure of Burkinabe and internatio…
Representatives Council Secretary-General congratulates Moroccan counterpart
Madrid, Secretary-General of the Council of Representatives and the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Delegation, Chancellor Rashid Mohammed Bu Najma, has congratulated the Secretary-General of Morocco's House of Representatives, Najib El-Khadi,…
Yemen: Shocks, agricultural livelihoods and food security, Monitoring report, December 2021
This report shares an analysis of the effects of natural and man-made shocks in Yemen's agri-food system. It analyses the results of a field assessment conducted from November 2020 to February 2021 .The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United N…
Wary, weary world slams doors shut, fearing omicron variant
Brussels, Countries around the world slammed their doors shut again to try to keep the new omicron variant at bay Monday, even as more cases of the mutant coronavirus emerged and scientists raced to figure out just how dangerous it might be. Japan anno…


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This week has been incredibly intense. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. I feel immensely blessed that my family and friends are safe from harm and that we have our home, food and water.
On top of the craziness of this week, it has been COLD. Winter has come early and I am NOT ready. One of the only things I get excited about for the winter is the cooking. Winter time means feeding yourself with comforting foods. BUT! This year I am turning those overly fattening, hibernation-causing, overly-cheesy, super decadent winter foods into healthy, nutritious and DELICIOUS meals. One of the recipes I played with was a minestrone recipe from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten. Of course, I always turn a recipe into my own to suit my vegan needs. Well, here it is. Enjoy!
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onions, garlic, celery, carrots, thyme and cook until vegetables soften. Add zucchini and stir.
2. Add tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaf, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil and low the heat. Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender. 15 minutes into the simmering process add the kale, let it wilt slightly. Toss in pasta and allow to cook.
3. Disgard the bay leaf. Add the beans and heat through. Toss in spinach and stir in until leaves are wilted. Stir in white wine and pesto. Add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste.
4. Serve with your favorite crostini/bruschetta/croutons and ENJOY!


text:
Paul Bricman
MemNav
K-Probes
paulbricman@protonmail.com
Knowledge Probes
Promoting critical thinking through machine-generated prompts.
The Curious Child
The Curious Machine
Dialogue Sample
Take a moment to picture the following prototypical narrative. "Why is the sky blue?" the curious child asks. "Well, sunlight passes through the atmosphere before it gets here, which makes the sky appear blue," answers the parent. At this point, both parties seem content with the exchange. Several moments later, the inevitable happens. "But why?" the child asks. Somewhat frustrated, the parent conveniently wraps up the conversation: "Because I said so."
There are a couple of remarkable things to note about this narrative. First, the child manages to challenge the knowledge of the adult without possessing that knowledge herself. This is quite different from the situation in which a teacher is challenging the knowledge of a student. In this more formal setting, the teacher is very much aware of the established body of knowledge. In contrast, the very premise of the opening story is based on the ignorance of the curious child. It appears that we have a deeply-rooted drive to answer questions, which often requires us to draw on our own knowledge. This innate tendency is called instinctive elaboration, and it enables questions to force your brain into a relentless search for answers.1
The second remarkable thing to note about this narrative is the simple nature of the questions. They are far from being elaborate descriptions of the requested information. Even a simple "Why?" would suffice in challenging the adult. Despite their minimal contents, the replies are effortlessly understood. The reason for that is that they are genuinely soaked in context, following the unwritten rules of pragmatics.2 The ongoing dialogue infuses each reply with meaning, enabling speakers to cut down on words without sacrificing the contents. This state of affairs makes it surprisingly easy to play the challenger, as many parents may be particularly aware of.
Given how effective the child is in challenging the parent's knowledge, could we promote critical thinking by embedding her behavior into a tool for thought? Could we incentivize people to actively reflect on their own beliefs by allowing them to converse with a "curious" machine? Even if the user wouldn't actually receive new information in the exchange, the very act of highlighting gaps in their knowledge might be valuable. Such a tool could be used to challenge faulty beliefs, incentivize deeper understanding, and make assumptions salient.
Those objectives are key to changing our relationship with hard questions into a healthier one. Annoying inquiries turn into opportunities for growth. This paradigm shift is fittingly captured by the concept of aporia.
Aporia is the feeling of realizing that what you thought was a path to truth actually doesn't lead there at all. A shortcut to certainty has revealed itself to be an illusion. The first reaction to aporia might be frustration and even anger, but if you consider that it's providing new information and could be saving you from wasting additional effort maintaining false certainty about an existing belief, it can flip into an Aha! moment that is even enjoyable.3
After changing our perspective on hard questions, we can finally start building. Being inspired by the unreasonable effectiveness of the curious child, this tool will consist of nothing more than a set of questions and a basic method for sampling them. Difficult questions. Vague, muddy, demanding questions. Questions which genuinely get the person thinking. Revising, reframing, reviewing what they hold to be true. Questions which probe the otherwise obstructed depths of knowledge. Given their current purpose, we'll also refer to these questions as knowledge probes, or k-probes for short.
To integrate a minimal level of structure into the question set, we'll use Bloom's revised taxonomy as a starting point.4 This taxonomy is a widely used system for organizing learning outcomes across all levels of formal education, from kindergarten to university. These outcomes essentially capture the abilities which students are expected to possess by the end of a lesson, course, or programme. Formal education can be seen in part as a process of internalizing these abilities.
The taxonomy consists of six broad categories, exemplified below with intended learning outcomes from the degree I'm currently pursuing.
Remember – Retrieve relevant knowledge.
Recall the high-level anatomy of the brain.
Recognize questionable research practices.
Know how to create reproducible workflows.
Understand – Construct meaning.
Explain the principles behind the general linear model.
Describe algorithms used for adversarial search.
Summarize the main approaches to speech synthesis.
Apply – Use knowledge in new situations.
Carry out a multivariate statistical analysis.
Implement a genetic algorithm.
Solve homogeneous differential equations.
Analyze – Determine how parts relate to a structure.
Investigate the relationship between syntax and semantics.
Analyze the interaction between various forms of memory.
Determine the relationship between subfields of cognitive science.
Evaluate – Make informed judgements.
Interpret the results of brain data analyses.
Determine the complexity of simple algorithms.
Evaluate set-theoretic statements.
Create – Reorganize elements into a structure.
Construct formal proofs for first-order logic.
Design a user interface based on cognitive ergonomics.
Develop models in a cognitive architecture.
Due to the popularity of Bloom's revised taxonomy, there are a lot of online resources containing examples of learning outcomes, complete with suggestions for classroom activities. After compiling examples from several such resources and rephrasing them as questions, I used a text generation service to extend the question set even further.5 Following several hours of co-creating questions with the machine, the total number of knowledge probes surpassed two hundred, a sample of which can be found below.
What are the basic facts of this?
What puzzle is this part of?
How would you characterize this?
How would you explain this to a peer?
What would be an analogy for this?
How would you represent this visually?
How can this be helpful?
Who can benefit from this?
How could this be applied to other domains?
What's the structure of this?
How do the components of this relate to each other?
How can this be viewed as a system?
What assumptions underlie this?
What evidence supports this?
How would different people view this?
How can this be expanded?
How does this fit into a narrative?
How would you design something based on this?
As in the case of the curious child, the value lies in the dialogue itself, rather than in the questions. Therefore, we need a method of stitching together questions with user replies, fostering an ongoing discussion. Fortunately, this method can be as simple as a chat-like textual interface which alternates between printing output questions and reading input replies. The unwritten rules of pragmatics will do the rest, helping the user instinctively turn the sequence of questions and replies into a meaningful dialogue by filling in the gaps.
As a final layer of complexity, we'll also use Bloom's revised taxonomy as a basis for a more customizable experience. By specifying a numeric weight for each of the six categories, the user can adjust the probabilities of certain questions being asked. Larger weights will result in more questions being sampled from that category, relative to others. This way, the user can better tailor the tool to their current needs. Or, perhaps, to their intended "learning outcomes."
The following is a short excerpt discussing the technology behind Semantica:
Let's talk about semantic embeddings.
What field is this part of?
Computational semantics or natural language processing, depending on who you ask.
What is this a consequence of?
They're the result of exploiting word co-occurence information derived from large corpora.
How would you explain this to a teenager?
Imagine you're planning on traveling to a foreign country. The catch is, there's no map available! You see, it's quite an obscure country, perfect for a curious teen. The only thing available is a list of past itineraries – lists of cities which other travelers have visited before, in order. The interesting thing is that you can use those itineraries to sketch a map! Cities visited one after another should be near each other, right? You could try to come up with a map which matches the distance relations derived from the itineraries, and you'll get a pretty accurate map you can use on your journey. In essence, language is like a set of itineraries, called sentences. However, instead of cities, it's got words! I just took you along a journey through the country of language, traveling from one word to the next. It turns out that if you try to use the same reasoning here, you can actually pinpoint words on a map, based solely on a lot of text. Not a map of cities, mountains, and rivers, but a map of meaning. Semantic embeddings are the "geographical" coordinates of words in this country of language.
What issues can this help with?
They can help machines extract meaning from otherwise plain text.
What other concepts are related to this?
Text mining, natural language processing, vector semantics, lexical semantics.
How can this be a source for inspiration?
If words can be represented as points in a space, what else could be represented this way? The effectiveness of semantic embeddings gets you thinking about what other things can be expressed like this.
Why is this relevant?
It's the most popular approach to extracting meaning from text. It drives most, if not all, of modern natural language processing efforts.
Each word is associated with a vector. All vectors inhabit the same space. There's a relation between any two words, represented through the difference between their vectors.
What has to be in place before this can be applied?
A lot of text for obtaining the embeddings, and a broader understanding of semantic embeddings in academia and industry.
What can this lead to?
Machines which can reason about relatable concepts. Tools for thought as well.
Use the following button to randomly sample one probe from the collection.
New Probe
The simple nature of this tool might be deceiving. Its beauty lies not in its codebase, but in the way it builds on quirks of the human mind. Pragmatics helps with coherence. Instinctive elaboration triggers an automatic drive for engaging with the knowledge probes. The conversational medium even makes the experience feel social.
Despite the potential benefits of this approach, it's also worth considering its downsides. The main disadvantage is the lack of rich feedback, which has otherwise been shown to be very effective in learning.6 However, one could argue that the increased ease of adapting the tool to new fields outweighs this shortcoming. Moreover, the self-supervised nature of this approach might still provide a feedback signal which is strong enough to be useful.
We have a unique relationship with questions, so why not leverage that to our advantage? Knowledge probes are an early attempt of explicitly doing just that. I'll predictably end with an open-ended question: "How can knowledge probes be helpful for you?"
The development of this project is supported by readers like you. If you find this project exciting, please consider supporting my work by becoming a sponsor. For updates on this and other experimental projects, feel free to follow me on GitHub.
Become a Sponsor Follow Updates
David Hoffeld,
Want To Know What Your Brain Does When It Hears A Question? ↩
Richard Nordquist,
The Cooperative Principle in Conversation ↩
Buster Benson,
Why Are We Yelling? ↩
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy ↩
Hugging Face,
Write With Transformer ↩
John Hattie & Helen Timperley,
The Power of Feedback ↩
Copyright © 2020-2021 Paul Bricman.


text:
HomeUniversitiesAustraliaPerth Institute of Business and Technology
Perth Institute of Business and Technology
Contact the university / college
About Perth Institute of Business and Technology
Perth Institute of Business and Technology (PIBT) is a modern and dynamic educational institution providing high quality courses, at pre-University and University levels, in an environment which encourages students to achieve excellence in their studies. Since its inception (1994) as the leading pathway option to Edith Cowan University, thousands of Australian and International students have successfully completed their Bachelor degrees, with many progressing further to complete Masters and PhD programs.
PIBT provides Diploma courses in the areas of Business, Hotel Management, Computer and IT, Communication, Science, including Engineering and Nursing which lead into the 2nd Year of the respective Degree courses at Edith Cowan University (ECU). A three-semester system allows students to fast-track their study and complete most courses in 8 months.
Quality teaching, outstanding facilities and academic and welfare support services for all students are central to the Institute's educational philosophy. PIBT is fully committed to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to maximise their full study potential and to achieve the best possible outcomes. PIBT staff have considerable experience in education, both internationally and locally, and are committed to helping our students achieve success. Academic staff are fully qualified with university teaching experience.
The Institute is located on the Mt Lawley Campus of ECU, approximately 5km from the CBD of Perth and is accessible by public transport.
Edith Cowan University, with three campuses, is the second largest University in Western Australia. PIBT is located on the University's Mt Lawley campus with access to modern, fully equipped teaching and library facilities and comfortable study areas. The leafy gardens and modern buildings of the Mt Lawley campus, one of the busiest ECU campuses, add to its appeal as a learning environment. The campus is close to Perth city centre (5 kms) and is easily accessible by public transport.
PIBT students have access to the many facilities available on the university campus, in addition to those offered by PIBT. The facilities available to students include:
Computer labs equipped with the latest technology
Free high speed wireless Internet access throughout the university campus
Recently renovated ECU Library
Spacious modern classrooms equipped with multi media facilities
Food outlets including cafeteria, alfresco coffee shops and bar
Transport direct to the campus (free CAT bus to Joondalup campus)
Sports centre and social activities
Medical Centre and student counsellor on campus
24 hour campus security
PIBT is located on ECU's Mt Lawley campus, within easy access of Perth city. Some of our classes are also offered at the Joondalup campus. Transperth operates public transport including buses, trains and ferries, within Perth and it's outlying areas. A free transit zone, with transport on Transperth buses and trains, is available every day on selected routes within the central city area.
The Transperth website is a great resource for transport in Perth including information on timetables, routes, and pricing. Students are also eligible for travel concessions on public transport - student concession application forms for SmartRider cards are given at Orientation.
As PIBT is close to Perth, students can easily access public transport on ECU's Mt Lawley campus. Buses are available to arrive and depart from the entrance of the university. Students also have the benefit of Transperth's excellent student concession fares. Cycling is also a great way to get to campus and is a great way to explore Perth; there are many bicycle routes around the city and local areas.
From the Wellington St Station (city) you can catch buses 17, 18, 19 (Northern Timetable 71) and 885, 886, 887, 888, 889 (Northern Timetable 76). A bus will leave approximately every 15 minutes at peak times and up to 30 minutes at off-peak (between 9am and 2:30pm and all weekend).
Perth is serviced by most major international airlines through the Perth International Airport, which is located approximately 12km from the city centre. The Domestic airport also connects Perth with other Australian capital and regional cities.
The Indian-Pacific train line runs from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide, and is one of the world's great train journeys. There are also long distance trains to York, Kalgoorlie and Bunbury.
On-Campus Accommodation
PIBT students have access to on-campus accommodation at the Mount Lawley Student Village, which features brand new five-bedroom apartments just a short walk from the university. The apartments are modern and fully furnished, with private bedrooms, bathrooms, large kitchens and spacious lounge areas, so students will have plenty of space to hang out with friends. The on-site facilities include a pool, café/convenience store, sound lounge, e-library, study zones and shared laundry. With resident assistants on hand to organise events and activities, you will find plenty to do and lots of ways to meet new people.
Homestay is a popular accommodation option available to overseas students in Perth. Homestay may be families, couples, single people or single mothers with children. All are selected to provide good quality facilities and meals if required. The Homestay families have requested a student to stay with them, so students can be sure they will be very welcome.
Host families speak English and this will help to improve language skills. Host families help with day-to-day problems such as transport, banking and shopping. Homestay gives you a friendly environment where you can live, relax and study in comfort and security.
PIBT utilises three companies to arrange accommodation for students.
Off-Campus Accommodation
Off-campus options include house or unit/ flat rentals, or hostels. Costs vary considerably depending on size, quality and location. Renting normally requires you to sign a contract of 6 or 12 months and you will usually be required to pay one month's rent in advance as well as pay a refundable deposit (bond) in the event of any damage during the rental period. Any lease or other housing arrangements entered into are at the sole discretion of the student and the accommodation provider involved.
Courses available 10
Applied, Pure Sciences 4 Business, Management 1 Computer Science, IT 2 Engineering 1 English Language 1 Health and Medicine 2 Hotel Management & Hospitality 1 Humanities & Social Sciences 1 Mass Communication & Media 1
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Bridge Business College
DNA - Kingston College
Belmont, Western Australia, Australia
Business Institute of Australia
Certificate Diploma Preferred Qualification
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text:
Tipperary deaths - Sunday 3 September, 2017
news@tipperarystar.ie
The late Kathleen Fitzpatrick
The death has occurred of Kathleen Fitzpatrick (née Dunlevy) late of Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Tipperary / Fethard, Tipperary. Predeceased by her husband Joe and grandchildren Louise and Adam. Sadly missed by her loving family Frank, Mary and SueAnn, sons in law, daughter in law, sister Oonagh, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, relatives and friends. Reposing in SueAnn and Sean O'Donnell's house, Willow Wood Lane, Moorstown, Fethard on Monday from 4pm to 8pm with prayers at 7.45pm. Funeral arriving at Powerstown Church at 11.20am for Requiem Mass at 11.30am on Tuesday. Burial immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Family flowers only.
House private on Tuesday morning please.
The late Bridget Maher
The death has occurred of Bridget Maher (née Cantwell) late of Shragh, Clonakenny, Roscrea, Tipperary. Pre-deceased by her husband Patrick and son Danny.
Sadly missed by her loving family, grandchildren Angela, Felicity, Dan & Andrew, great-grandchildren William & Alexander, brother Martin, nieces Margaret, Susan, Kate & Joan, nephew Anthony, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, relatives, neighbours and friends.
Reposing in Maher's Funeral home, Roscrea on Monday evening from 5.00 with removal at 7.00 arriving in Clonakenny Church at 7.30. Funeral Mass on Tuesday at 11.00 followed by burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.
The late Thomas O'Dwyer
The death has occurred of Thomas O'Dwyer late of London and formerly of Cashel Road, Tipperary Town, Tipperary. Mass today, Sunday, in St. Michael's Church, Tipperary Town, at 12.30pm followed by burial of ashes in St. Michael's Cemetery, Tipperary.
The late Michael Hayes
The death has occurred of Michael (Mick) Hayes late of St Patrick's Avenue, Tipperary Town, Tipperary. Predeceased by his brother Seamus. Deeply regretted by his loving family, sisters Mary (Chicago), Josephine (Cork), Nuala (Holland), Tony (England) and Eleanor (Holland), brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, his good friend Mary, neighbours and friends. Reposing at Whelan's Funeral Home, Bansha Road, Tipperary, this Monday from 5:30pm with removal at 7:00pm to St Michael's Church, Tipperary. Requiem Mass Tuesday at 10:30am, followed by burial in the St Michael's Cemetery, Tipperary.
The late Peader Lamb
The death has occurred of Peader Lamb late of Glenageary, Dublin / Carraroe, Galway. Beloved and loving husband of Geraldine, loving father of Peadar, Katharine, Breifne, the late Jenny, Michael, Susie and Marcus, and loving Deaideó to Síofra, Ruby, Evie, Daisy, Kathleen and Emma, Ezekiel and Nour. Deeply missed by his sisters Mary and Laillí, sisters-in-law Rose and Joan, brother-in-law Dermot, sons-in-law Dominic and Jeffrey, daughters-in-law Debbie, Katy and Jane, nephews, nieces, relatives and all his friends. Reposing at home on Sunday 3rd September from 4pm with a gathering of family and friends for 7pm Prayer Service (all welcome). Removal on Monday morning to Our Lady of Victories Church, Sallynoggin, Co. Dublin, for funeral Mass at 10am, followed by burial in St. Brigid's Plot, Deansgrange Cemetery. Donations if desired to the Blackrock Hospice.
The late Philomena Judge
The death has occurred of Philomena Judge (née McDermott) late of Rockfield, Glenconnor, Clonmel, Tipperary and formerly of Drokabawn, Shercock, Co Cavan. P Beloved wife of Sean and much loved mother of John and Peter. Sadly missed by her loving husband, sons, brothers, sisters, grandchildren Ciara, Aideen, Sean, Cormac, Eve, Billy and Cailey, great-grandson Hugo, Mary and Tracy, nephews, nieces, extended family and friends. Reposing at her home on Monday from 4.00pm to 8.00pm. Removal on Tuesday to the G.A.A. Centre, Western Road, Clonmel for funeral ceremony at 11.30am. Burial afterwards in St Patrick's Cemetery. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired to South Tipperary Hospice Movement. House private on Tuesday morning please.
The late Mary Kelly
The death has occurred of Mary Kelly (née Hayden) late of Ballynulty, Ballinard, Tipperary Town, Tipperary. Sadly missed by her loving family, sons Patrick, Eamon, Tom, Sean and Tim, daughters Mary-Kate, Joan and Martina, treasured grandchildren, brothers Sean and Tom, sister Nellie, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, special friends Mary (C) and Rita, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends. Requiem Mass on Monday morning in St Patrick's Church, Cullen at 11.30am and funeral afterwards to St Michael's Cemetery, Tipperary.
The late Sister M Rosarii
The death has occurred of Sister M Rosarii (Breda) English late of Newcastle, Staffordshire, England and Tullow, Ardfinnan, Tipperary. Deeply regretted by her Mercy Community, brothers Fr.Michael English, Bath and John (Ballytrehy, Ballylooby, Cahir, Co.Tipperary), nephews, nieces,sisters-in-law, relatives and friends. Reposing at her community from 5pm to 7pm on Monday September 4th. Requiem Mass on Tuesday September 5th.Burial afterwards in Newcastle cemetary Staffordshire.
The late James O'Dwyer
The death has occurred of James (Jimmy) O'Dwyer (Scholar) late of Corbally Lower, Clonoulty, Tipperary. Sadly missed by his loving family, sons John, Jason and Paul, daughters Mary and Breda, brothers Paddy, Michael and Con, sisters Chrissie and Mary, grandchildren, his close friend Olive, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends. Reposing at Hayes' Funeral Chapel, Clonoulty, this Sunday from 5:00pm with removal at 7:30pm to St John the Baptist Church, Clonoulty. Requiem Mass on Monday at 11:30am, followed by burial in the local cemetery.


Latest news about the Bentley Continental GT W12. You can find details straight from the source, details from the press release, videos, wallpapers, test drives, and classified ads of a new or used Bentley Continental GT W12. In addition, you may check out the price range of the model that you like.


Knit Swirl books are now in stock again. Our first Swirl workshop has just started with the second series starting on Saturday March 2nd. The workshop runs over a two month period so you have a chance to knit on other projects in between.
We review the book, choose your size, choose your yarn, get you started and keep you going, right to the end!!
We want you wearing this gorgeous jacket this Spring!!
Here's a lovely yarn for knitting. The solids and multis are such pretty colours.
Super for children's clothing - really nice for summer weight cardies.... and the price point hits the mark!!
My little Danish spinning wheel has been part of my shop decor since we opened. I am proud to say that I now have my very own Haldane spinning wheel . It's a beauty previously owned and loved by a 93 year old lady named Alma. She has taken very good care of this beauty and I am pleased to bring it back to life.
With the help of Cheryl the spinner, I will launch on my new adventure starting with a drop spindle lesson(s) ++ and move onto the wheel from there. So, fibre and I will become better friends.
Of course not to have any idle time, Cheryl the weaver will teach me the ins and outs of weaving on my new Dorothy loom, arriving Monday next week.... until then, I will be reading and you tubing my new techniques.
The colours were gorgeous - the yarns were textured - and we now have favorites!!
Turtlepurl = Silk merino blend 50/50 - Silky Turtle toes - summer weight lace shawl - to die for!!
These felted clogs by Bev Galeskas so so thick & warm - you can't just make one pair!!
We are hosting a Felted Clog class with Donna B - She's the expert for sure with over 150+ pairs made to date. She knows the pattern off by heart, in fact her 9mm Denise needles are super glued together.
She keeps them ready to go for her next pair.
Grab your gear and head on over to Grey Heron for your intro to making Felted Clogs.
We review the pattern, help you choose your yarn, get you started - and keep you going until the clogs are finished.
We teach you about felting, offer ideas on needle felting a pattern on the top and teach you how to make your suede bottoms.
Fee for class: $25.00 for 2 hours - What a deal!!!
It is so much fun to receive the Spring knitting magazine issues. Yesterday the Knitscene Spring arrive full of beautiful styles in gorgeous colours.
Let start small and work our way up from there. A cuff down sock - learning the parts and pieces as we go - the heel flap, heel turn, shape gusset, right down to the toe decreases and finishing off with the famous "kitchener stitch" toe.
All this for $30.00 per person.
We now have on-line shopping available for your convenience. Browse through the pages to discover new products and existing yarns for purchase.
Paypal processing is available too. You can purchase interchangeable needle kits from Knit Picks and Denise. We will have a selection of Knit Pick needles up loaded for purchase very soon.
Many yarns have been up loaded and many many more are coming on line each week.
Looking for something specific? Let us know... we aim to please!!


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Q: JavaScript app permission check I am currently building a JavaScript which contains some areas that are only accessible to a specific usergroup - let's say they bought a product and can enter the product view within the app. (Everything happens on the same page).
Right now my approach would be the following:
// Some request happened and the next component is about to get loaded
...
$.get("/api/permission/something", function(result){ // <-- Check whether the user has or has not the permission to access that component
    if(result === "permission granted"){ // <-- this would be the check whether its ok or not to access that component - but this value can be changed manually if someone really wants to (debugger via inspector etc)
        // permission ok
    }
});

So basically this would be a vulnerable approach as far as I know. My current solution to keep it as "secure" as possible is to check every following request if the user has permission to be in there or not - to eventually kick him out at some point.
Is there any other way that can be applied in here ?

A: I assuming your are talking about Single Page App when you say "Everything happens on the same page". That means you get your content trough a app endpoint that is loaded with XHR.
Here you have two options:
- your api calls should return proper STATUS codes about trying to receive data
- each object that is returned by your api should have also the permissions that  your user is allowed to. for example
"permisssions":{
"view":true,
"delete":false
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Come along and witness DEF Jam Poet Amir Sulaiman's first ever Australian tour as he takes Melbourne through his poetic pilgrimage.
Poetry and art are historically significant part of East African and Somali culture and to highlight the strength and perseverance of the East African people we aim to positively inspire the youth and showcase their talent while raising funds for the drought stricken victims in East Africa. This night will also feature elements of East African culture such as dance, story telling, and so much more.
Amir Sulaiman is an accomplished poet, activist, recording artist and a 2 time HBO Def Poet. Host and performer for national Breed Love Odyssey Tour with Mos Def and Talib Kweli and special guest on KRS-ONES Hip Hop Lives Tour there is a steady but ever increasing buzz building around Amir quickly gaining the attention of everyone from Kanye West and Russell Simmons (who referred to Amir as "blessed"), to Dave Chapelle. In addition, organizations such as the ACLU, Amnesty International and Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have used Amir's poetry and voice to bring life to multiple campaigns dealing with social justice and art. Consistently working across the United States and Canada, Amir has shared the stage with artists such as Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Common , Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoah Monch, Floetry, Black Thought of The Roots, Goapele, Stevie Wonder, The Last Poets, Dead Prez, Ghostface of Wu-Tang Clan, MOP, and more.
Amir's current album 'The Meccan Openings' is an exceptional meeting of hip hop and poetry. Amir moves easily from rhyme to staccato then back to rhyme. This is a pilgrimage and you don't want to be left behind.
Proudly brought to you by the 'Strength Not Silence' campaign.
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE EAST AFRICAN DROUGHT APPEAL.


Talk to an artist in your area or to your art teacher about the different occupations in the art field. Make a list of them.
Create a scrapbook (portfolio) of your Artist activity badge projects and show it to your den leader.
Draw or paint an original picture out-of-doors, using the art materials you prefer. Frame the picture for your room or home.
List the primary and secondary colors. Explain what happens when you combine colors.
Using a computer, make six original designs using straight lines, curved lines, or both.
Draw a profile of a member of your family.
Use clay to sculpt a simple object.
Make a mobile, using your choice of materials.
Make an art construction, using your choice of materials.
Create a collage that expresses something about you.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Art.
With your parent, guardian, or Webelos den leader, complete the Positive Attitude Character Connection.
Know: Discuss with your parent, guardian, or your Webelos den leader, what it means to have a positive attitude and the "BEST" steps you can take to have a positive attitude. (Believe it can happen, Expect success, Set your mind, and Try, try, try.
Commit: Plan with your parent, guardian, or your Webelos den leader, how you will apply the "BEST" steps for a positive attitude in doing your school-work and in other areas of your life.
Practice: Do your "BEST" to have a cheerful and positive attitude while doing the requirements for this activity badge.
Have a good record in attendance, behavior, and grades at school.
Take an active part in a school activity or service.
Discuss with your teacher or principal the value of having an education.
List in writing some important things you can do now because of what you've learned in school.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Language.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Chess.
Trace through history the different kinds of schools. Tell how our present public school system grew out of these early schools.
Make a chart showing how your school system is run.
What do you think are the best things about my school?
What are its main problems?
Tell what you think were the best answers and why?
List and explain some of the full-time positions in the field of education.
Help another student with schoolwork. Tell what you did to help.
Complete six activities of your choice; these can be from any area (puppetry, music, or drama).
Write a puppet play about one of your Webelos den activities or a subject of your choice.
Make a set of puppets or marionettes for the play you have written or for another play.
Build a simple stage for marionettes or puppets.
Alone or with the help of others, put on a puppet show for your den or pack.
Make a set of four paper bag puppets for a singing group. With the help of three other den members, sing a song with the puppets as the performers.
There are sock, stick and finger puppets. There are paper bag puppets and marionettes. Explain their differences and show any puppets you have made for this badge.
Play four tunes on any band or orchestra instrument. Read these from music.
Sing one song indoors and one song outdoors, either alone or with a group. Tell what you need to do differently when singing outdoors.
Make a collection of three or more records, tapes, or music CDs. Tell what you like about each one.
Tell what folk music is. Hum, sing, or play a folk tune on a musical instrument.
Name three American composers. Name a famous work by each.
Draw a staff. Draw on it a clef, sharp, flat, natural, note, and rest. Tell what each is used for.
Show the difference between 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time by beating time or playing an instrument.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Music.
Give a monologue (a talk) on a patriotic, humorous, or holiday subject, or another subject of your choice.
Attend a play. Describe the story. Tell what you liked about it.
Read a play. Make a model stage setting for one of the acts.
Write, put on, and take part in a one-act play.
Make a list of stage directions. Tell what they mean.
Describe a theater-in-the-round. What are its good and bad points?
Explain the difference between a grand opera and a light opera. Explain the difference between a musical and a play.
Read about William Shakespeare. Draw a picture of his Globe Theater.
For requirement 1 of the Showman activity badge, you'll choose six activities from puppetry, music, or drama. Then later you'll do one additional activity in each of these areas, for a total of 9 activities.
Get a map or timetable from a railroad, bus line, airline, subway, or light rail. The line should serve the place where you live or near where you live. Look up some places it goes.
Use a timetable to plan a trip from your home to a city in another state by railroad, bus, airline, or ferry.
With the help of your parent, guardian, teacher, or librarian, use a map site on the Internet to plan a trip from your home to a nearby place of interest. Download and/or print the directions and street map showing how to go from your home to the place you chose.
With your parent or guardian, take a trip to a place that interests you. Go by car, bus, boat, train, or plane.
Figure out what it costs per mile for the trip you took or planned to fulfill requirement 2, 4, 6, or 7. (Don't forget to include getting back to your starting point.
Decide on four nearby trips you would like to take with your parents or guardian. Draw the route of each trip on a highway map. Using the map, act as navigator on one of these trips. It should start at your home, be at least 25 miles long, and have six or more turns.
Decide on a trip you would like to take that lasts at least two days. Pack everything you would need for that trip.
Check the first aid kit in the family car to see if it contains what is needed. Explain what you found.
Look at a map legend on a road map of your area. Learn what the symbols mean. Show your den members what you have learned.
On a road map of your area, find a place of interest, and draw two different routes between it and your home. Use the map legend to determine which route is shorter in miles.
Make a list of safety precautions you, as a traveler, should take for travel by each of the following; car, bus, plane, boat, train.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Geography.
While you are a Webelos Scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Map and Compass.


Due to a period of substantial growth, an exciting new opportunity has arisen for a Tax Technical Manager to join a Top 10 Accountancy practice based in Central London. This firm focuses on bespoke tax planning advice and is made up of a Corporate and Private Client tax department.
The role of the Tax Technical Manager is to oversee all aspects of the tax compliance function and to support employees within the tax departments and wider firm with technical tax advice.
Duties will be varied but could range from researching technical queries, writing fact-sheets on areas of interest, writing news items for the company website, producing materials and supporting materials for talks by partners and involvement with training at the national annual tax conference.
The ideal candidate for this role will have extensive experience in managing a personal tax portfolio, proven people management experience and experience of complex cases and consultancy work. The CTA qualification is preferable and ACCA or ACA is advantageous.
To apply for this role please send your CV to Emma Rose at emma.rose@pro-tax.co.uk or call Emma on 02072696325.


Tell me can you feel me? I'm not livin in the past, you wanna last?
Why would a guy kill for cash?
Oh god will I bust?
An unreleased «Easy Mo Bee's Remix» of the "Original Version" of the classic, saddest and poignant song, «So Many Tears» ―the "second single"―, from "his third and acclaimed studio album", with an unheard verse from "Stretch".
Supposed to be a "2Pac & Stretch" song ―always for the "third 2Pac's studio album"―, Stretch was cut off from the "final song", by the events in the "1994 Shooting at Quad Studios".


This morning the National Zoo announced the sad news that Tai Shan, DC's beloved baby Giant Panda, will be returned to China early next year. Most in DC have loved the little guy since before he was even born. We helped to name him (remember? Tai Shan, meaning "Peaceful Mountain," was chosen — "Butterstick" wasn't a choice), and have thoroughly enjoyed cooing and awww-ing at his antics for the past four years. He certainly learned early on how to please a crowd! It's always great to watch him react to crowds reacting to him. The Zoo has, let's face it, made quite a bit of dough out of this love affair, but they've also done a lot to make them more accessible and give them a better habitat to live in.
Now that winter's coming on, the pandas' activity level will be increasing (please let it snow! they're supercharged-adorable in the snow!) — and "early next year" is only a few short weeks away — so it's a great time to squeeze in one last visit.
We love you, Tai Shan, and we'll miss you!
Now, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, let's get busy working on another baby before you have to move back to China too!
THERE'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH PARKING: The 20 year plan calls for a parking garage with 1,128 spaces. This will allow the zoo to transform the current 868 spaces of surface parking into new exhibits. 12 acres made up of seven new exhibits in fact.
GETTING AROUND THE ZOO IS VERY DIFFICULT: Zoo Executive Director John Berry compares it to "walking the stairs of a 16-story office building." The park will be adding an aerial tram that will stretch the entire length of the park and feature three stops.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND BENCHES, WATER, FOOD, AND RESTROOMS: This also contributes to the difficulties some people have getting around the park because it makes it tough to take a break. Park officials recognize that amenities are clustered and that the park is overall out of date. They will be building new plazas and making amenities available throughout the zoo under the new plan.
One footnote on the plan is that it will depend entirely on private donations.


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Dispatch from South Africa: The SustainUS Holiday Wish List
NWF | November 29, 2011
Kate Catlin, a native of the Seattle area, has been selected as a member of the United States Youth Delegation to the United Nations climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa from Nov. 28-Dec. 9, 2011. A junior at Gonzaga University pursuing a B.S. in Economics, Kate is currently in Nicaragua interning with Soluciones Comunitarias. She will be providing updates about her experience as a youth delegate on this blog.
Hopefully everyone reading this had a successful Turkey Day!
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade has come and gone, with Santa bringing up the rear as always. And just as many children across the globe will now sit down to write a Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanza wish list, we at SustainUS have written a wish list as well. What follows is a policy summary of what we want this December – from the member states of the United Nations and delegates to COP17.
Of course, we at SustainUS aren't just sitting around and wishing. The majority of the group has missed Thanksgiving with our families in order to travel to South Africa early for the precluding Conference of the Youth. There YOUNGO, a united coalition of youth from around the world, will formulate a strategy to fight for what we want. If you agree with our goals and are ready to fight with us, look up a local event in your community for Global Day of Action on December 3rd or formulate your own!
Mitigation:
Strong commitments with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions by 100% as soon as possible, in order to comply with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) goals.
A 1.5°C review to be completed before 2015, which should address the gap between current pledges by the Parties, which set us on course for 4-6°C of warming, the political objective of 2°C, and the scientific goal of 1.5°C.
Greater accountability. We suggest: transforming of pledges for limiting and reducing emissions, a strong framework of measuring, reporting and verification of emissions, and an end to loop holes and double counting.
Kyoto protocol mechanisms should remain only supplementary to domestic action, and that emission reductions are promoting reduction technologies and financial innovation.
[br]
Adaptation:
Additional finance, capacity building, and technology transfer.
Expansion of international cooperation to include more detailed programs and directives, such as climate risk insurance for natural disasters and funding for community-based programs.
Recognition of water issues as one of the most urgent fronts on climate change and that they must take a more central role in climate policy – drinking water is a fundamental human right for all.
Allocation of substantial funding for water resource projects to adapt to our changing climate. Much of this funding should be invested in developing countries, which face the majority of future water adaptation needs.
Inclusion in any COP17 agreement of specific language about water issues, including: ocean acidification, global climate variations, protection of biodiversity and food security.
Forestry:
The multiple benefits of forests (protecting carbon stocks, forest biodiversity, water regulation, etc.) should be recognized as "core benefits" rather than "co-benefits" in REDD+.
Aggressive promotion of programs for afforestation, reforestation and restoration of degraded lands; forestry and land-use policies which go beyond maintenance of existing carbon stocks. This could play a major role in the transition to greener economies; the contribution of investments in forests to long-term economic growth cannot be underestimated.
Forest financing which prioritizes building developing countries' capacity for REDD+ mechanisms, including building effective systems for measuring, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions from forests, and providing fair and equitable benefits for local and forest-dependent communities.
$100 billion annually through 2020 to protect vulnerable states against the adverse effects of climate change,
Fulfillment of prior pledges for $30 billion in fast-track funding through 2012.
Explicit and specific information as to where new funds will come from. Ideally, states will commit to strong public financing now, but work towards a different international agreement for the long term, such as Transportation or Financial Transaction Taxes.
Funds should be in grants, not loans, and should not take away from Official Development Assistance.
The new Green Climate Fund, which will be shaped at COP17, must be fully independent and guarantee the meaningful participation of a diversity of civil society members at all levels.
Read more on the SustainUS blog.
Conservation | climate change, COP17, Youth SustainUS


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Manalo, other ASEAN ministers discuss Myanmar's situation
By Ma. Teresa Montemayor October 28, 2022, 3:15 pm
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (left) at the Special Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday (Oct. 27, 2022). (Photo courtesy of the Department of Foreign Affairs)
MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has met with other ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in Indonesia to discuss Myanmar's "political developments".
In a statement on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Manalo participated in the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on October 27.
"The Meeting evaluated the limited progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, which was reached during the Asean Leaders' Meeting held on 24 April 2021," the statement added.
"Asean Member States, including Myanmar's military government, agreed on the consensus to settle the political crisis in Myanmar."
The consensus was made in response to the political escalation in Myanmar after a military takeover of the government.
It states:
-- There shall be an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and all parties shall exercise utmost restraint.
-- Constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shall commence to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.
-- A special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the ASEAN Secretary General.
-- The ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.
-- The special envoy and the delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.
Manalo, along with the other ministers, considered recommendations that would be elevated to the ASEAN leaders in response to the situation in Myanmar.
"Prior to the Special AMM, Secretary Manalo had a bilateral meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai (of Thailand), to discuss bilateral relations and possible ways forward on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus," the DFA said.
Preparation for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from November 11 to 12,2022, were also discussed. (PNA)
US defense chief's visit to reinforce alliance with PH: envoy
China thanks PH for rescuing distressed Chinese crew off E. Samar
PBBM orders e-visa extension for China, S. Korea, Japan, India
PH, Ukraine held 'high-level interactions' in Nov. 2022: DFA
ASEAN countries ensure peace, stability in the region: DFA
OFWs on death rows to be tackled in multi-agency meet on Jan. 13
PBBM tackles Filipino fishermen's plight in WPS with President Xi
PH to ink 10 to 14 deals with China during Marcos' state visit
No execution among Pinoys on death row abroad this year: DFA
Korea allows PH to access $3-B ODA for infra, green projects


Wigan striker Conor Sammon believes the Latics can drag themselves from the foot of the Barclays Premier League table and win their fight for survival.
The Republic of Ireland Under-21 made his debut from the bench in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester City on Saturday but almost grabbed an equaliser in stoppage time.
Now, the Dublin-born striker, who joined Wigan from Kilmarnock in January, insists he can help to save the club from relegation.
'It's definitely possible to stay up,' he told the club's official website.
'We've got a confident bunch of lads here at the club and we take it one game at a time.
'I'm very confident I can help the team and provide some goals, and if I can do that I'll be delighted. I'm also very focused on the job in hand and I am eager to help the team progress up the league table.
'When you get an opportunity off the bench it's a great chance to show what you can do and stake a claim for a permanent place, and I'm looking forward to the next game when I can hopefully I keep pushing.


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SCOTUS Rules for Baker in Masterpiece Case
By George Khoury, Esq. on June 04, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019
This week, SCOTUS ruled in perhaps the most closely watched case this term, the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. The 7 to 2 ruling came down in favor of the baker who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. But that ruling was rather narrow, seeming to exclusively rest on the state's civil rights commission's hostility toward the baker's claim, rather than constitutional problems with the state's civil rights law.
It appears that the Court has completely avoided the question of whether the baker was in the right or not, instead finding the state civil rights commission was out of order. Naturally, a limited opinion in such a divisive case will likely lead to confusion. And Justice Ginsburg's short dissent, in which Justice Sotomayor joins, is sure to give pause to any readers.
Religious Hostility
The majority opinion reversed the decision of the Colorado Court of Appeals, which had upheld the state's Civil Rights Commission's decision in the matter, because of the commission's hostility toward religion. As seen at the oral argument, Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, could not let go of what he viewed as open hostility from the commission toward the baker. The comment about the baker's use of religion being a "despicable piece of rhetoric," comparable to the holocaust, seemed to be a significant deciding factor in coloring Justice Kennedy's view of the commission's handling of the matter.
Dissent or Dessert
In Justice Ginsburg's dissent, she expresses confusion at how the Court ruled that the commission's hostility invalidates a de novo affirmation of the ruling by the state's appellate court, as well as the factual finding of the state's investigative division, and an independent ALJ's determination that the baker violated the state civil rights law.
The dissent points out a crucial distinction in the comparator cases cited by the majority. The majority found a few cases where the Civil Rights Commission upheld a baker's right to refuse to make a cake with an offensive message. However, Justice Ginsburg aptly pointed out that in those cases, the content of the message was the problem, not the identities of the persons seeking service.
Justice Kennedy in the Middle of the Cake Case (FindLaw's U.S. Supreme Court Blog)
Tarp Protects Vehicle From Fourth Amendment Exemption (FindLaw's U.S. Supreme Court Blog)
Court Refuses Arkansas Abortion Pill Case (FindLaw's U.S. Supreme Court Blog)


Plano Badminton Center is a premium badminton club meant for passionate, aspiring badminton players. I had designed their website about 3 years ago. They approached me again for updating the design and adding some more features to the website. I created a elegant, use friendly, responsive website for them.


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Q: How to completely remove windows 8 from laptop I am currently using Ubuntu 15.04 in my Lenovo ideapad Z510 which was preinstalled with Windows 8.1. Once I shifted to linux, I decided to dual-boot it with windows 8.1 temporarily. So later when I had no use of windows, I used GParted to format the windows partition.
Windows was initially installed in /dev/sda4 partition. As you can see it has 1.14GiB of used space even after the format. This is also supported by the fact that the windows boot option in grub takes me to windows recovery.
I want to know, is there is a way to completely get rid of this? So that I can use all of the 61.43GiB.

Also, in the above picture /dev/sda is shown to be 931.51GiB (top right corner). But actually my disk capacity is 1TB. What happened to the remaining storage? Is it the BIOS? If not, is there any way I can access it?

A: what you see is value in GiB and not in GB
look here: http://wintelguy.com/gb2gib.html
931.3225746154785 GiB = 1000 GB
1TB (terabyte) = 0.90949470177293 TiB (tebibyte) = 931 GiB 330 MiB 324 KiB
So the answer is, your HDD has the full capacity it's supposed to.
Also merging those circa 60 GiB to some of yours partitions is possible, but in your current setup not very safe, moving, stretching would be neccessary and it can go wrong.
Answer to your first question is here: New ext4 partition and used space

A: While the disk capacity is 1TB, the actual formatted capacity will be 931.51GB. This is because of the difference between how the OS counts the size, and how the HDD manufacturer counts it. Hardware manufacturers use what's known as a 'decimal byte', which means that they use powers of 10 in calculating size. OSes determine the size using a 'binary byte' instead. It basically means that there's a discrepancy in how it's counted. For more information, check out the following link here.