North and South Korea reached agreement early on Tuesday to end a standoff involving an exchange of artillery fire that had pushed the divided peninsula into a state of heightened military tension.
Under the accord reached after midnight on Tuesday morning after more than two days of talks, North Korea expressed regret over the recent wounding of South Korean soldiers in a landmine incident and Seoul agreed to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts, both sides said.
North Korea also agreed to end the "semi" state of war it had declared. The two sides will hold follow-up talks to discuss a range of issues on improving ties, the joint statement said.
"It is very meaningful that from this meeting North Korea apologized for the landmine provocation and promised to work to prevent the recurrence of such events and ease tensions," Kim Kwan-jin, national security adviser to South Korean President Park Geun-hye, told a televised news briefing.
The marathon talks at the Panmunjom truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas began on Saturday, shortly after Pyongyang's deadline for the South to halt its propaganda broadcasts or face military action.
"They both made compromises. South Korea did not get an apology, they got a statement of regret about the injury, which they can spin as an apology," said John Delury of Yonsei University in Seoul.
"The more important point is maintaining this channel and reopening the relationship. This is hardly going to be easy to implement, but it's a landmark agreement which lays out a path."
Seoul and Pyongyang have remained technically in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in a truce, rather than a peace treaty, and hopes for improved relations have repeatedly been dashed over the years.
Inter-Korean relations have been all but frozen since the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship, which killed 46 sailors, that Seoul blames on the North. Pyongyang denies responsibility.
Under Tuesday's deal, the two sides also agreed to arrange reunions of families separated by the Korean War during upcoming autumn holidays and in future.
Days later, the South began blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda from loudspeakers along the border, reviving a tactic that both sides had halted in 2004.
The standoff reached a crisis point on Thursday when the North fired four shells into the South, according to Seoul, which responded with a barrage of artillery fire.
Even as talks were ongoing, reclusive North Korea had deployed twice the usual artillery strength at the border and had around 50 submarines away from base, the South's defense ministry said. South Korea had also increased its military readiness.
Washington and the United Nations welcomed the agreement.
"We're going to judge the North by its actions. We welcome this agreement, and are hopeful it leads to decreasing tensions on the peninsula," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a regular briefing. "It was a very tense several days."


Laurel Hall School is a non-public school designed to provide education services to special needs students.
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The program is viewed as part of a continuum of services provided by the Washington County Board of Education and Frederick County Board of Education.
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The program provides special education and related services consistent with each student's Individualized Education Program (IEP).
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The school has been developed to maximize teaching English, Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Sciences in a manner consistent with each student's ability.
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William "Bill" Steip – of Wiarton, peacefully at Grey Bruce Health Services Wiarton on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. William Emerson Steip at the age of 79 years. Loving partner of Bertha Kinch. Cherished father of Kim and her husband Earl Schopf, of Barons, AB, and Patti Steip, of Southampton; and special step-father of Bertha's children Mark Kinch and his wife Jan, of Wiarton, and Robert Kinch, of Clavering. Proud grandfather of Tom, Matt, Jillian, Jennifer, Breyden, Landon, Travis, Cole, Brooke and Alicia; and great-grandfather of Andrew, Willow, Eric, and Faith. Brother of Wayne Steip (friend Mae McConnell), of St. Thomas. Special uncle to Allan, Jeff and Peter, and many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by wife Ruth (1993); and his parents Percy and Helen (nee Bray). Family invite friends to gather for a service celebrating Bill's life on Friday, May 23, 2014 at 11 o'clock at the Thomas C. Whitcroft Peninsula Chapel, 272 Berford St., Wiarton (519) 534-5341, followed by interment of ashes in Bayview Cemetery. Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, or Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.


text:
Kosmos 2452 is a Russian military communications satellite. It was launched July 6, 2009, at 1:26 UTC.

It was the second Strela 3M satellite and was launched with two other satellites.

References

Kosmos satellites
Spacecraft launched in 2009
Communications satellites of Russia
2009 in Russia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Manuel Zelaya was unceremoniously booted from power four years ago when Honduras' army hustled him out of the country in his pajamas, a coup prompted by fears among Honduras' business and political elite that he was getting too hungry for power.
Now he's back with a new shot at the presidential palace, this time as the husband of the leading presidential candidate, Xiomara Castro.
Polls show Castro, 53, leading seven other candidates ahead of the Nov. 24 election, including the military general who conducted the coup. The country's two traditional parties, which backed the coup, are struggling in third and fourth place, behind Castro and a popular sports TV personality.
The election of a self-proclaimed socialist could be considered a stunning change in a country where oligarchs have maintained political power over a poor, uneducated majority for at least a century. But Zelaya, too, is a wealthy landowner from the old guard, and most people see his wife as his cover in a country that bans presidential re-election. He is running for a congressional seat from his own state.
Even one of her former speechwriters says Castro lacks the political heft of other female leaders in Latin America, such as Argentina's Cristina Fernandez or Chile's Michelle Bachelet, who came to power with extensive records of their own. "She is an invented banner to fill the political needs of Manuel Zelaya," said Sergio Suazo, a Honduras National University political science professor.
Zelaya says he is merely her driver and guardian, present in the campaign "to ensure the safety of Xiomara and to be as close to her as possible." But when they arrive at political events, it is he who is mobbed by cameras and supporters. She stays in the background until he decides to hand her the spotlight.
Even Castro says her election would be a Bill and Hillary Clinton-style "Buy one, get one free."
"The decisions are going to be made by me, now it's my turn," she told The Associated Press in a campaign swing. "But I will consult with him on every occasion, as he consulted with me in the past."
It was the suspicion that Zelaya wanted to reform the constitution and seek re-election that helped get him kicked out in the first place. He was whisked out of the country at gunpoint in June 2009 after he defied a Supreme Court order to drop plans to hold a referendum asking Hondurans whether the constitution should be revised.
Zelaya was elected from the traditional, centrist Liberal Party, but began aligning himself more and more with the late leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, adopting his populist platforms and rhetoric. His ouster was backed by members of his own party, who thought that Zelaya, like Chavez, would seek to stay in power indefinitely. Chavez served 14 years and had just been re-elected to six more years when he died of cancer in March.
Zelaya has denied that was his intention, saying he just wanted to open up government to the people.
Honduras received widespread criticism and international sanctions for the coup, including its suspension from the Organization of American States.
Zelaya ended his long exile and returned to Honduras in May 2011 under a deal brokered by Colombia and Venezuela and that paved the way for the poor Central American country's reintegration into the world community. He had already laid the foundations for a new Liberty and Refoundation Party, known as Libre — Spanish for Free.
Now Castro is running with the same goal, calling for an assembly to change the constitution. She and Zelaya vow to combat "savage capitalism."
"We will help get the oligarchy out of power through democratic socialism," Castro said, and she vowed to rejoin the leftist alliance founded and led by Chavez until his death, the Boliviarian Alliance for the Americas.
It's far from clear she would be able to achieve those goals even if elected. While she has been rising in the polls, a Gallup survey last month showed her favored by 28 percent of voters. That could be enough to give her the presidency under the country's no-runoff election system. But it also could leave congress firmly in the hands of far more conservative parties.
Salvador Nasralla, a sportscaster running with the recently created Anti-corruption Party had 21 percent in May. Congressional President Juan Orlando Hernandez of the ruling National Party, was third place with 18 percent.
The survey was conducted between May 2-8 and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
The poll numbers reflect the collapse of confidence in the National and the Liberal Parties that have shared power in the Central American country for more than a century. Poverty is high and violence has become so common that Honduras considered the most dangerous country in the world.
Experts say the fall of the main two parties also reflects discontent over the coup. According to a poll by Vanderbuilt University's AmericasBarometer program, 58 percent of Hondurans opposed the coup and 72 percent were against the expulsion of Zelaya.
Though voters went on in 2009 to elect Lobo of the conservative National Party, the turnout was only about 50 percent, compared to 56 percent when Zelaya was elected in 2005.
Castro is popular in her own right, a woman who earned credibility as the face of resistance to the coup. She married Zelaya at age 17 and has worked by his side in his 30-year political career. They have four children. As first lady, she was in charge of social development programs and worked in a coalition of first ladies working on problems of women with HIV for the United Nations.
"Xiomara is a woman who demonstrated leadership during the coup. She was the head of the resistance while her husband was in exile," said Libre Party member Gerardo Torres. "She never hid, and she urged the people to continue their struggle peacefully."
But she seems timid in the face of the outsized personality of her husband, and former insiders say she wasn't part of his inner circle during the coup.
"When we were inside the building of the Brazilian Embassy, she was never part of the political committee, the writing of manifestos, the making of decision, she was always left out," said Milton Benitez, who was with the couple when they were confined to the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa for nearly three months after trying to return.
Suazo said the coup was a great political miscalculation on the part of Zelaya's political foes.
"The images of the army repressing, beating people in the streets, the forced exile of a president, not allowing him to return to the country, all this created a mysticism, a mythification of a leader that didn't exist before. He became the champion of victims because he too was a victim," Suazo said. If not for the coup, he added, Zelaya would be "on his farm in Olancho as a former president with little relevance."


text:
Darius Slay out, Eagles' secondary has a 'lot of moving parts'
Jim Schwartz has this routine during which, the night before a game, he makes a list of all the possible scenarios his Eagles defense might face the next day. Injuries, unusual circumstances, anything that he can conjure up in that creative mind of his to make sure he's covered and is prepared for when the clock starts on gameday. The list for Saturday night includes numbers and names that he is just now getting to know.
With an Eagles secondary decimated by injury – starting safety Rodney McLeod and starting cornerback Avonte Maddox were placed on Injured Reserve earlier in the week, and starting cornerback Darius Slay (concussion) and reserve defensive back Grayland Arnold (hamstring) did not make the trip to Arizona – Schwartz is forced to turn to some unlikely defensive backs in Sunday's game against a Cardinals team with as dangerous a wide receiver corps as any in the entire NFL.
"It's certainly not an ideal situation. But injuries happen in the NFL. Particularly at defensive back. Not only are there muscle pulls but they are generally smaller guys that take a lot of contact and things like that. So we've seen that firsthand," Schwartz said earlier in the week. "I think the biggest thing is you have to balance your game plan versus the skill set of the guys that you have. Every player has strengths. Every player has weaknesses. Whether you're up from the practice squad or you're a six-time Pro Bowl player, every player has strengths and weaknesses, and you have to balance what you need to do in the game plan versus what your matchups are and what the skill set of the players are."
Who plays for the Eagles in the secondary on Sunday? The Eagles used Marcus Epps and rookie K'Von Wallace at safety last week in the fourth quarter of the win over New Orleans, and those two could line up as starters in Arizona should Schwartz opt in that direction. Jalen Mills, a cornerback for four seasons before moving to safety this year, finished the win over the Saints at cornerback. First-year Eagle and NFL veteran Nickell Robey-Coleman, signed in free agency to play the nickel position, could be a starter outside with flexibility to move inside.
The rest of the candidates? Michael Jacquet (jersey No. 38, in case you don't have a roster handy at home while you're watching on television) is a rookie from Louisiana-Lafayette who played 30 snaps against Dallas and 21 a few weeks ago in Green Bay. There is Kevon Seymour (No. 41), signed to the practice squad in early December and who played his first NFL snaps since the 2017 season last week against New Orleans (35 snaps against the Saints). The Eagles elevated Jameson Houston (No. 46), a rookie from Baylor who was signed by Cleveland in the post-draft period and then spent Training Camp time with Carolina, from the practice squad. He's a relative veteran, having been on the Eagles' practice squad since late November.
And in the spirit of the idea of "positionless" players the Eagles envisioned when they reconfigured their personnel in the secondary way back in the spring, the Eagles also have safety Rudy Ford back from a hamstring injury and promoted both Elijah Riley, listed as a "defensive back" and safety Blake Countess, signed to the practice squad this week, available to play.
Household names? Not exactly. On one side of the line of scrimmage in this game, the Cardinals will roll out future Hall of Famers Larry Fitzgerald (45 catches, 345 yards in 2020) and DeAndre Hopkins (94 receptions, 1,155 yards, 5 touchdowns this season), along with speedster Christian Kirk (6 touchdowns on 38 receptions) and sneaky-fast fourth receiver Andy Isabella. On the other side, the Eagles have players who have an incredible chance to establish themselves in this league.
This is gonna be interesting, indeed …
"They know the standard. The standard has always been the highest standard in the room regardless of who is out there whether it's the first string, second string, or third string, so they know as far as their preparation goes and how to take care of their bodies and being in their playbook, they know the standard. This is a great opportunity for those guys to showcase that," Mills said.
"We've got a great game plan in. Coach Schwartz has put us in good positions to make plays against this offense. DeAndre Hopkins, he's one of the best. You see that week in and week out, him making a crazy catch with a guy draped all over him in perfect coverage. We've got to know that this quarterback can throw the ball, he's going to throw the ball to him, and if he does go up and make a play and catch the ball, we've just got to say 'a good one for the bad guys' and go to the next play."
Add into the mix the multiple skills of quarterback Kyler Murray, one of the most difficult players in the league because of his mobility, and Schwartz is going to be deep in his "what if" scenario list.
"All those young guys, we're going to need all of those guys to come back and play significant snaps for us. Communication is very important," Schwartz said. "We have some injury situations in the back end that we're going to have to figure out and we might not even know for sure until Saturday night before the game. But we'll have a good plan and we'll get the guys out there."
Spadaro: Bring on the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game!
The Eagles will host the 49ers next Sunday at 3 PM at Lincoln Financial Field. The winner will advance to Super Bowl LVII
Spadaro: A near-perfect first half set the tone for a Giant victory
The Eagles jumped on the Giants from the opening drive and never relented in the 38-7 triumph.
Spadaro: 6 storylines to follow in Round 3 of Eagles-Giants
Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro looks at some numbers that bear watching when these two teams clash on Saturday night.
Spadaro: What's the vibe inside the locker room?
The week of practice is in the books. While there is still work to be done ahead of Saturday night's kickoff, here's a gauge of where the players are at.
Spadaro: Eagles have plenty of respect for Daniel Jones
The dual-threat quarterback played 'extremely well' in his first playoff game, a Wild Card win over the Vikings.
Spadaro: Jalen Hurts 'feeling good' as Giant showdown approaches
The quarterback looks to stay true to the process that resulted in the winningest regular season in franchise history.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This Memorial Day send flowers of gratitude to honor the men and women veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country. Whoever you decide to honor. Kutchey's Flowers in Key West can send your bouquet to Key West, FL or nationwide!


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\begin{document}
\begin{center}\LARGE \bf{On the Complexity of Searching Maximum of a Function on a Quantum
Computer}\end{center}
\medskip
\begin{center}
Maciej Go\'cwin\footnotemark[1]
\end{center}
\footnotetext[1]{\begin{minipage}[t]{16cm}
 \noindent
{\it Department of Applied Mathematics, AGH University of Science
and Technology,\\
\noindent  Al. Mickiewicza 30, paw. B7, II p.,
pok. 24,\\
 30-059 Cracow, Poland
\newline
 gocwin@uci.agh.edu.pl, tel. +48(12)617 4405 }
\end{minipage} }
\thispagestyle{empty}
\begin{abstract}
\noindent We deal with a problem of finding maximum of a function
from the H\"older class on a quantum computer. We show matching
lower and upper bounds on the complexity of this problem. We prove
upper bounds by constructing an algorithm that uses the algorithm
for finding maximum of a discrete sequence. To prove lower bounds
we use results for finding logical OR of sequence of bits. We show
that quantum computation yields a quadratic speed-up over
deterministic and randomized algorithms.
\end{abstract}
\begin{section}{Introduction}\label{sec1} Quantum algorithms yield
a speed-up over deterministic and Monte Carlo algorithms for many
problems. Many papers deal with quantum solution of discrete
problems, starting from the work of Shor \cite{shor}, followed by
database search algorithm of Grover \cite{grover}. Other discrete
problems were also studied, such as discrete summation,
computation of the mean, median and $k$th-smallest element
\cite{brassard},\cite{brassard2},\cite{durr},\cite{grover2},\cite{nayak}.
 \\
There is also a progress in studying the quantum complexity of
numerical problems. The first paper dealing with a continuous
problem was that of Novak \cite{novak1}, who considered
integration of a function from the H\"older class. The problem of
function approximation on quantum computer was studied by Heinrich
\cite{heinrich1},\cite{heinrich2}. Also path integration
\cite{wozniakowski} and differential equations
\cite{kacewicz1},\cite{kacewicz2} on a quantum computer were
investigated.
\\
In this paper, we deal with a problem of finding maximum of a
function from the H\"older class on a quantum computer. The
complexity of this problem
in deterministic and randomized settings on a classical computer is well known \cite{novak}.\\
We present matching upper and lower complexity bounds in the
quantum setting. We show that quantum computations yield a
quadratic speed-up compared to deterministic and randomized
algorithms over entire range of class parameters. Upper bounds are
shown by constructing a suitable algorithm, which uses the optimal
algorithm for finding maximum of a discrete sequence. To prove the
lower bound we use the result of Nayak and Wu \cite{nayak} for
finding logical OR of sequence of bits.
\\
In the next section necessary definitions are presented. Existing
results for searching maximum of a sequence are shown in Section
\ref{sec3}. The main result of this paper is contained in Theorem
\ref{th1} in Section \ref{sec4}.
\end{section}
\begin{section}{Quantum setting}\label{sec2}
In this section we briefly describe the model of computation. More
details about quantum computing can be found in \cite{novak1}.
Suppose that we have a numerical problem given by a solution
operator $S:F\rightarrow G$, where $F$ is a subset of a linear
function space and $G$ is a normed space. We are interested in
computing an approximation of $S(f)$ for $f\in F$ on a quantum
computer. This is done by an algorithm $A$. The algorithm can
access the input element $f$  only by a quantum query. An output
of the algorithm $A$ for a given $f$ is a random variable
$A(f,\omega)$. For a detailed discussion of quantum algorithms and
the quantum query operator, the reader is referred to
\cite{novak1}.
\\
We know recall what is meant by the error of an algorithm. Let
$0<\theta<1$. The local error of algorithm $A$ on input element
$f$ is defined by \bd
e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,f,\theta)=\inf\{\varepsilon:P\{\|S(f)-A(f,\omega)\|>\varepsilon\}\leq\theta\}.\ed
The number $1-\theta$ is thus the lower bound on success
probability. For $\varepsilon>0$ the bound $e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,f,\theta)\leq\varepsilon$ holds
iff algorithm $A$ computes $S(f)$ with error at most $\varepsilon$ and
probability at least $1-\theta$. The global error in the class $F$
is defined as \bd e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,F,\theta)=\sup_{f\in
F}e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,f,\theta).\ed For $\theta=1/4$, we denote the error for
$f$ by $e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,f)$ and the error in the class $F$ by
$e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,F)$.\\ The cost of the algorithm on the input element
$f$,  ${\rm cost}(A,f)$ is defined as a number of accesses to an
oracle. In classical settings it is a number of function values or
derivative values that is used to compute maximum of the function.
In the quantum setting, by an oracle we mean the quantum query
operator. The global cost of algorithm is defined as \bd
{\rm cost}(A,F)=\sup_{f\in F}{\rm cost}(A,f).\ed For $\varepsilon>0$, the
$\varepsilon$-complexity is defined as the minimal cost of an algorithm
that produces an $\varepsilon$-approximation: \bd
{\rm comp}^{{\rm quant}}_{\varepsilon}(S,F)=\min_A\{{\rm cost}(A,F)|\ e^{{\rm quant}}(S,A,F)\leq\varepsilon\}. \ed
\\
In the next section some known results about complexity of finding
maximum of a sequence of numbers in the quantum and classical
settings are presented.
\end{section}
\begin{section}{Searching  maximum of a sequence}\label{sec3}
We recall results on a discrete maximization (minimization)
problem. Consider the following problem: given a sequence
$X=(x_0,x_1,\ldots,x_{n-1})$ of real numbers in $[0,1]$, find the
number $x_i=\max(\min)\{x_j:j=0,1,\ldots ,n-1\}$. The cost of an
algorithm is defined as a number of accesses to the oracle, which
returns the input number $x_i$, $i=0,1,\ldots,n-1$. Another
possibility is to count a number of comparisons. In this model the
oracle returns the logical value of a comparison $x_i<x_j$,
where $i,j\in\{0,1,\ldots,n-1\}$.\\
Clearly, the complexity of this problem on a classical computer is
\be{\rm comp}^{{\rm worst}}(n)=\Theta(n)\quad,\quad {\rm comp}^{{\rm rand}}(n)=\Theta(n),\label{worst}\ee
where by  ${\rm comp}(n)$ we mean the minimal cost of an algorithm
computing the maximum (minimum) value from the sequence of $n$
numbers in suitable setting. Better results can be obtained on a
quantum computer. In 1996 C. D\"urr and P. H\o yer in \cite{durr}
presented comparison quantum algorithm for finding the minimum.
This algorithm finds minimum value from the list of $n$ items with
probability greater than ${1}/{2}$ and its running time is
$O(\sqrt{n})$. They based their algorithm on quantum exponential
searching algorithm \cite{boyer}, which is a generalization of
Grover's search algorithm introduced in \cite{grover}. This result
establishes the upper bound on the complexity of the problem of
finding maximum of a discrete
sequence on a quantum computer.\\
Lower bounds on this problem were established by A. Nayak and F.
Wu in \cite{nayak}. They examine the more general problem: for
$X=(x_0,,x_1,\ldots,x_{n-1})\in [0,1]^n$ and $\Delta>0$ compute
$\Delta$-approximate $k$th-smallest element, i.e., a number $x_i$
that is a $j$th-smallest element of $X$ for some integer
$j\in(k-\Delta,k+\Delta)$.\\
If $\Delta=1$ (or less) this problem reduces to the problem of
finding $k$th-smallest element exactly. For
$k=n-1$ $k$th-smallest element is the maximum value from the sequence.\\
In \cite{nayak}, a quantum algorithm has been presented with the
cost $O(N\log(N)\log\log(N))$, where
$N=\sqrt{n/\Delta}+\sqrt{k(n-k)}/\Delta$. The algorithm is
inspired by the minimum finding algorithm of D\"urr and H\o yer
\cite{durr}, and uses exponential search algorithm of Boyer
\emph{et al.} \cite{boyer}. It finds $\Delta$-approximation of
$k$th-smallest element for any $k\in\{0,\ldots,n-1\}$ and
$\Delta\geq1$ with probability at leat $2/3$.\\
Nayak and Wu in \cite{nayak} established essentially matching
lower bounds for this problem. To derive the bounds they used
polynomial method introduced by R. Beals \emph{et al.} in
\cite{beals}.\\ These results show that the complexity of
searching maximum of $n$ elements on a quantum computer is of
order \be{\rm comp}^{{\rm quant}}(n)=\Theta(\sqrt{n})\label{comp}.\ee The comparison
of this result with (\ref{worst}) shows that quantum computers
make a quadratic speed-up over classical computers for this
problem.
\end{section}
\begin{section}{Searching maximum of a function}\label{sec4}
We consider the problem of finding the maximum of a function from
the H\"{o}lder class \begin{eqnarray*}
\lefteqn{F^{r,\rho}_{d}=\left\{f:[0,1]^d\rightarrow {\bf R} \ |\ \
f\in C^r,\
\|f\|\leq1,\right.} \\
&&\left.\left|D^{(r)}f(x)-D^{(r)}f(y)\right|\leq\|x-y\|^\rho \ \
\forall x, y\in[0,1]^d,\ \ \forall D^{(r)}\right\}, \end{eqnarray*} where
$D^{(r)}$ run through the set of all partial derivatives of order
$r$, $r\in \bf{ N}_0$, $0<\rho\leq1$ and
$\|\cdot\|=\|\cdot\|_{\infty}$. We want to find a number \bd
M(f)=\max_{t\in[0,1]^{d}}f(t)\ed up to some given precision
$\varepsilon>0$, for any function $f$ from class $F^{r,\rho}_{d}$ with
probability not less than $3/4$.
\\
The complexity of this problem on a classical computer in the
deterministic
and randomized settings is presented in \cite{novak}. We shall recall these results for a further comparison.\\
\\
In the deterministic worst-case setting the local error of
algorithm $A$ on input function $f\in F_d^{r,\rho}$ is defined by
\bd e^{{\rm worst}}(M,A,f)=|M(f)-A(f)|\ed and the global error by \bd
e^{{\rm worst}}(M,A,F_d^{r,\rho})=\sup_{f\in F_d^{r,\rho}}e^{{\rm worst}}(M,A,f).\ed In
the randomized setting, algorithm
$A=(A(\omega))_{\omega\in\Omega}$ is a random variable on some
probabilistic space $(\Omega,B,m)$. The local error of this
algorithm is defined by \bd
e^{{\rm rand}}(M,A,f)=\int_{\Omega}|M(f)-A(\omega)(f)|d m(\omega),\ed and
the global error by \bd e^{{\rm rand}}(M,A,F_d^{r,\rho})=\sup_{f\in
F_d^{r,\rho}}e^{{\rm rand}}(M,A,f).\ed The cost of an algorithm in the
deterministic and randomized settings is meant as a number of
function values accessed by an algorithm. In the randomized
setting, points where $f$ is evaluated can be chosen randomly.\\
It is shown in \cite{novak} (pp. 34 and 59) that the complexity of
function maximization in the H\"older class in both worst-case and
randomized settings is given by \bd
{\rm comp}^{{\rm worst}}_{\varepsilon}(M,F_d^{r,\rho})=\Theta\left(\left(\frac{1}{\varepsilon}\right)^{\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right)\quad\textrm{and}\quad{\rm comp}^{{\rm rand}}_{\varepsilon}(M,F_d^{r,\rho})=\Theta\left(\left(\frac{1}{\varepsilon}\right)^{\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right)
.\ed
\\
We now pass to the quantum setting. In the following result we
prove that a significant improvement is achieved on a quantum
computer.
\begin{theorem}\label{th1}Let $\varepsilon>0$. The quantum $\varepsilon$-complexity of computing maximum of a function from H\"{o}lder
class $F^{r,\rho}_{d}$ is
\bd{\rm comp}^{{\rm quant}}_{\varepsilon}(M,F_d^{r,\rho})=\Theta\left(\varepsilon^{-\frac{d}{2(r+\rho)}}\right).\ed
\end{theorem}
\newpage
\begin{proof}
First we prove the upper bound. We divide each edge of the cube
$[0,1]^d$ into  $n$ subintervals of equal length. We get $N=n^d$
cubes $K^i$, $i=1,\ldots ,N$. Let $t^i$ denote the center of cube
$K^i$. On every cube $K^i$ we use Taylor's expansion of $f$. For
$t\in K^i$ we have \bd f(t)=w^i(t)+R_r(t,t^i),\ed where \bd
w^i(t)=\sum_{k=0}^r \frac{1}{k!} f^{(k)}(t^i) (t-t^i)^k,\ed and
\bd R_r(t,t^i)=\int_0^1\left( f^{(r)} (\theta
t+(1-\theta)t^i)-f^{(r)}(t^i)\right) (t-t^i)^r
\frac{(1-\theta)^{r-1}}{(r-1)!}{\rm d}\theta.\ed Let \bd
m_i(f)=\max_{t\in K^i}w^i(t).\ed We consider the algorithm $A^*$ of
the form \bd A^*(f)=\max_{i=1,\ldots,N}\widetilde{m}_i(f),\ed where
$\widetilde{m}_i(f)$ is an approximation of $m_i(f)$ computed by
some classical algorithm. We assume that \bd
|\widetilde{m}_i(f)-m_i(f)|\leq\varepsilon_1 \quad \forall i=1,\ldots,N,\ed
for some $\varepsilon_1>0$ independent of $i$ and $f$. To compute
$\widetilde{m}_i(f)$ on a classical computer we do not need any
new evaluations of $f$ or its partial derivatives, so that
information cost does not increase. (Of course, it is still not an
easy task to compute $\widetilde{m}_i(f)$ and it increases
combinatory cost of the algorithm.) The maximum of the discrete
set of numbers $\widetilde{m}_1(f),\ldots,\widetilde{m}_N(f)$ we
compute on a quantum computer, with probability not less than
$3\over4$. This is done by the optimal algorithm described in
Section \ref{sec3}.\newline  We now estimate the error of the algorithm
defined above \begin{eqnarray} \label{eq1}
e^{{\rm quant}}(M,A^*,f)&=&|M(f)-A^*(f)|=|\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f(t)-\max_{i=1,\ldots ,N } \widetilde{m}_i(f)|\nonumber\\
&=&|\max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }\max_{t\in K^i}f(t)-\max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }
\widetilde{m}_i(f)|\nonumber\\
&\leq& \max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }|\max_{t\in
K^i}f(t)-\widetilde{m}_i(f)|\nonumber\\
&\leq& \max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }\left(|\max_{t\in
K^i}f(t)-m_i(f)|+|m_i(f)-\widetilde{m}_i(f)|\right)\nonumber\\
&=& \max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }|\max_{t\in K^i}f(t)-\max_{t\in
K^i}w^i(t)|+\varepsilon_1\nonumber\\
&\leq&\max_{i=1,\ldots ,N }\max_{t\in K^i}|f(t)-w^i(t)|+\varepsilon_1 .\end{eqnarray}
For $t\in K^i$ we have
\begin{eqnarray*} |f(t)-w^i(t)|&=&|R_r(t,t^i)|\\
&=&\left|\int_0^1\left( f^{(r)} (\theta
t+(1-\theta)t^i)-f^{(r)}(t^i)\right) (t-t^i)^r
\frac{(1-\theta)^{r-1}}{(r-1)!}{\rm d}\theta\right|\\
&\leq&\sup_{\theta\in[0,1]}|f^{(r)} (\theta
t+(1-\theta)t^i)-f^{(r)}(t^i)|\;\|t-t^i\|^r \int_0^1\frac{(1-\theta)^{r-1}}{(r-1)!}{\rm d}\theta\\
&\leq&H\sup_{\theta\in[0,1]} \|\theta
t+(1-\theta)t^i-t^i\|^{\rho}\;\|t-t^i\|^r\\
&=&H\; \|t-t^i\|^{r+\rho}\leq H \left(\frac{1}{n}\right)^{r+\rho}.
\end{eqnarray*} The constant $H$ depends on $d$ and $r$ but not on $n$. From
this, and inequality~(\ref{eq1}) we get the error bound \bd
e^{{\rm quant}}(M,A^*,f)\leq H \left(\frac{1}{n}\right)^{r+\rho}+\varepsilon_1.\ed We
now choose $\varepsilon_1=(1/n)^{r+\rho}$. Then for some constant $G$
independent of $n$ we have \be\label{eq2} e^{{\rm quant}}(M,A^*,f)\leq
G\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)^{r+\rho}.\ee We examine the cost of
algorithm $A^*$.\newline To compute $\widetilde{m}_i(f)$ we need to know
the value of $f$  and the values of all its partial derivatives of
order up to $r$ at point $t^i$. So the cost of computing
$\widetilde{m}_i(f)$ is \bd {\rm cost}(\widetilde{m}_i)=\sum_{k=0}^r
\left({d+k-1}\atop{k}\right)=\frac{(d+r)!}{d!\,r!},\ed which is
independent on $n$.\newline Due  to (\ref{comp}) the cost of computing
the  maximum of numbers
$\widetilde{m}_1(f),\ldots,\widetilde{m}_1(f)$ on quantum computer
is $O(\sqrt{N})=O(\sqrt{n^d})$ accesses to the numbers
$\widetilde{m}_i(f)$. Thus, the total cost is \be{\rm cost}(A^*,f)\leq
C\; n^{d/2}\ee for some constant $C$. Due to (\ref{eq2}), to
obtain $e^{{\rm quant}}(M,A^*,f)\leq \varepsilon$ it suffices to take
$K\;\varepsilon^{-\frac{d}{2(r+\rho)}}$ function and derivative values,
where $K$ is a constant. This completes the proof of the upper
bound.
\\
\\
We now prove the lower bound. Assume that $A$ is any algorithm
that computes $M(f)=\max_{t\in [0,1]^d}f(t)$ for any $f\in
F^{r,\rho}_d$ up to the error $\varepsilon$ with probability not less than
$3\over4$. We denote the cost of this algorithm by $c(\varepsilon)$.\newline For
$\varepsilon_1>0$, the class $F^{r,\rho}_d$ contains
$n=\Theta\left(\varepsilon_1^{-\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right)$ functions
$f_1,\ldots,f_n$ with disjoint supports such that
$\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_i(t)=\varepsilon_1$ (see \cite{novak}, p. 35).\newline Let
$\varepsilon_1=4\varepsilon$. Let $X=(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ be any sequence such that
$x_i\in\{0,1\}\quad\forall i=1,\ldots,n$. Then the function \bd
f_{\varepsilon_1}:=\sum_{i=1}^n x_i f_i\ed belongs to the class
$F_d^{r,\rho}$. Thus, algorithm $A$ applied to $f_{\varepsilon_1}$ computes
$\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(f)$ up to the error
$\varepsilon=\frac{\varepsilon_1}{4}$, with the cost $c(\varepsilon)=c(\frac{\varepsilon_1}{4})$. That
is \be\label{eq3}
|\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(t)-A(f_{\varepsilon_1})|\leq\frac{\varepsilon_1}{4} \ee
with probability not less than $3\over4$, and cost
$c(\varepsilon)=c(\frac{\varepsilon_1}{4})$.\\
 From the
definition of $f_{\varepsilon_1}$ we see that \be
\label{eq4}\setlength\arraycolsep{2ex}
\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(t)=\left\{\begin{array}{l l l}
\varepsilon_1&\,\textrm{if}&\max_{i=1,\ldots,n}x_i=1 \\
0&\,\textrm{if}&\max_{i=1,\ldots,n}x_i=0 \end{array}\right..\ee If
$A(f_{\varepsilon_1})\geq {3\over 4} $, then due to (\ref{eq3}) \bd
\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(t)\geq A(f_{\varepsilon_1})-{1\over 4} \varepsilon_1\geq
{1\over 2} \varepsilon_1. \ed So, in this case, due to (\ref{eq4}),
$\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(t)=\varepsilon_1$ and
$\max_{i=1,\ldots,n}x_i=1$ with probability at least $3\over4$.
Similarly, with probability at least $3\over4$, if
$A(f_{\varepsilon_1})\leq {1\over 4} \varepsilon_1 $, then
$\max_{t\in[0,1]^d}f_{\varepsilon_1}(t)=0$ and $\max_{i=1,\ldots,n}x_i=0$.
\\
Based on algorithm $A$, we now define an algorithm $\tilde{A}$,
which finds the maximum of a sequence $X=(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$. This
algorithm is constructed as follows: \begin{eqnarray*} \textrm{if }
&{3\over4}\varepsilon_1\leq A(f_{\varepsilon_1})\leq
{5\over4}\varepsilon_1&\textrm{, then we put }\tilde{A}(X)=1\textrm{, and}\\
\textrm{if }&-{1\over4}\varepsilon_1\leq
A(f_{\varepsilon_1})\leq{1\over4}\varepsilon_1&\textrm{, then we put
}\tilde{A}(X)=0.\end{eqnarray*} In the other cases we put $\tilde{A}(X)=0$.
With probability at least $3\over4$, we have that
$\max_{i=1,\ldots n}x_i=0$ and $\tilde{A}(X)=0$, or
$\max_{i=1,\ldots n}x_i=1$ and $\tilde{A}(X)=1$. Hence, the
algorithm $\tilde{A}$ computes the maximum of $n$ numbers
$x_1,\ldots,x_n$, such that $x_i\in\{0,1\}$ (logical OR of the
input bits), with probability not less than $3\over4$. From
\cite{nayak} (see proof of Theorem 1.5 in the case of
$x_i\in\{0,1\}$) we know that the cost of such an algorithm is
$\Omega(\sqrt{n})$. The cost of the algorithm $A$ is not less than
the cost of the algorithm $\tilde{A}$. Since \bd
n=\Theta\left(\left({1\over\varepsilon_1}\right)^{\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right)=\Theta\left(\left({1\over\varepsilon}\right)^{\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right),\ed
 we have that \bd
c(\varepsilon)=\Omega\left(\sqrt{n}\right)=\Omega\left(\left({1\over\varepsilon}\right)^{\frac{d}{2(r+\rho)}}\right).
\ed This completes the proof of the theorem.
\end{proof}
\\ \\
Comparing this to the classical deterministic or random complexity
of this problem, which is
$\Theta\left(\varepsilon^{-\frac{d}{r+\rho}}\right)$, we see that a quantum
computer makes a quadratic speed-up over classical settings. This
is achieved over the entire range of $r$, $\rho$ and $d$. For the
integration problem, a quadratic speed-up over the randomized
setting holds only for  $(r+\rho)/d$ small.

\end{section}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Q: Thymeleaf with Spring MVC 3 I have to decide on the view layer technology to use with Spring MVC 3 and I came across Thymeleaf.
Has anybody worked with Thymeleaf or has any experience with it. What will I gain and miss if I happen to choose it to work with Spring 3.
I wanted my front end designers to feel comfortable was why I was thinking if I could use thymeleaf with Spring 3 and still have all the functionalities we get with JSPs + Spring MVC 3.

A: Thymeleaf and Spring are a very nice match. The spring integration of Thymeleaf is done as it's supposed to be and it was nicely documented how to get started.
I use this combination since one year in several projects and I'm still happy with the choice I've made at the time.
Thymeleaf propagates the so called "Natural templating", which means that the templates can be viewed without the template engine, they are html files with additional tag attributes which browsers just ignore.
This means that a webdesigner can design the page, hand it over to the developer and get back again if changes to the layout have to be made.
While I liked this idea a lot in the beginning, I soon realized that, as developers, we tend to create components to be reused. This results often in templates having either not alot to display or also an extreme amount of elements.
Imagine some switch statement in a table cell component which renders either checkbox, textfield, select box, and so on. The table template including this cell fragment does not resolve it without an engine. Or imagine the header fragment with all the style and js declarations. Css will not be available in plain file mode.
But you can add additional html tags and remove them during processing. So natural templating is still possible. Just a lot to write :)
There are support extensions around solving this issues (using JS to pull in the fragments for example) but I havent used them as my applications are normally deployed within 30sec and I'm even able to change the templates on the fly without a redeploy.
After you also have a quite nice eco system around thymeleaf. The ability to extend Thymeleaf is done in a way I really enjoy! (Having written two smaller extensions myself).
I prefer the layout dialect instead of the include approach. That's a matter of taste i would say.
Choosing Thymeleaf over Plain JSP is clearly favorable from my point of view. Take a look at the webpage and decide for yourself ;)

A: I'm working with Spring 3 and Thymeleaf for a year and think it's a good choice. I came from Grails and Play and look for a good alternative and created FuWeSta. You can look at the rudimetar sample-app.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Anti-Pitchfork
Sammi Rae Murciano & Los Vegas Release Second Single "Baby Baila"
After the success of their debut song "Escapate", the emerging reggaeton superstars Sammi Rae & Los Vegas are at it again; this time with a dance track that would make even the shyest wallflower move and shake to the beat - entitled "Baby Baila", available right now on all the major services.
Sammi Rae has been getting heavy praise from audiences nationwide for her strong and soulful voice. Concurrently, Los Vegas has been turning heads with his enigmatic persona on stage and the magnetic vibe to his flow. Together they form a dynamic duo to be reckoned with.
Their second single "Baby Baila" urges the listener to get up and dance - which is exactly what this bouncy, sexy track does; it's impossible not to at least tap along to the beat as the sultry vocals of Sammi Rae seduce you into a world of endless dance floor possibilities.
Their original collaboration ESCAPATE brought to life the sentimental romance often featured in Reggaetón hits with an energetically pumping backbeat and laid-back flow that made it a club hit. Trading lyrics like "If I leave with you, I want to be there with you through the night // I want to feel your arms around me, hold me tight // Your body next to mine, you make me feel so high" with Los Vegas, and the refrain "Never mind what anybody says, I just want to dance the night away, I just want to know if we can escape",
On working with Los Vegas, Sammi says "It has been amazing to work together. To collaborate with someone who has the same passion and dedication for music as I do. We are very excited for what's to come and have a lot of new music coming soon."
Many performances are planned for this Fall, check social media for full details!
Posted by Muddy at 4:28 PM
Labels: 2019, anti, Baby Baila, blog, blogger, com, google, Los Vegas, media, music, New York, news, NY, pitchfork, release, rick eberle, Sammi Rae Murciano, Second, single
ROXY MUSIC ANNOUNCE 50TH-ANNIVERSARY TOUR FOR FALL
RANTS AND REVIEWS. Anti-Pitchfork © 2011. Simple theme. Powered by Blogger.


text:
Q: A3C ArrayOutOfBounds Error whenever I call A3CDiscreteDense().train();
Exception in thread "Thread-7" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: -1
    at java.util.ArrayList.elementData(Unknown Source)
    at java.util.ArrayList.get(Unknown Source)
    at org.deeplearning4j.rl4j.learning.async.a3c.discrete.AdvantageActorCriticUpdateAlgorithm.computeGradients(AdvantageActorCriticUpdateAlgorithm.java:63)
    at org.deeplearning4j.rl4j.learning.async.a3c.discrete.AdvantageActorCriticUpdateAlgorithm.computeGradients(AdvantageActorCriticUpdateAlgorithm.java:32)
    at org.deeplearning4j.rl4j.learning.async.AsyncThreadDiscrete.trainSubEpoch(AsyncThreadDiscrete.java:130)
    at org.deeplearning4j.rl4j.learning.async.AsyncThread.handleTraining(AsyncThread.java:192)
    at org.deeplearning4j.rl4j.learning.async.AsyncThread.run(AsyncThread.java:168)

But the same code works fine when I use DQN.

A: I had the same issue. It seems that the default learning config would not work, because nStep value should not be 0. Simply call .nStep(5) when creating a learning config from the builder. You can find more info here: https://github.com/eclipse/deeplearning4j-examples/issues/991#issuecomment-823133909


text:
Trigonura reticulata är en stekelart som först beskrevs av Jean-Jacques Kieffer 1912.  Trigonura reticulata ingår i släktet Trigonura och familjen bredlårsteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Bredlårsteklar
reticulata


Din webbl�sare �r f�r�ldrad. Vi rekommenderar att du laddar ner en nyare version.
Armchair. Swivelling pillar frame on wheels in polished recycled aluminium. Armrests in black plastic.
Also available in a high-back version and with height adjustable frame with tilt function.
Beautiful from front and back, with sleekly feminine lines. The focus is on comfort and aesthetic appeal.
"I wanted to make a chair that is equally comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Distinct seams and angles meet rounded shapes, where the backside is just as important as the front."


ECPI University is proud to announce that it has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CD) by the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). University faculty were on hand at the National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama this week to receive the designation.
Year after year, ECPI University has been designated a Top School by Military Advanced Education (MAE). Its annual guide spotlights colleges and universities that adhere to the highest principles and best practices for military and veterans' education. Schools are evaluated on their military culture, financial aid, flexibility, on-campus support, and online support services.
U.S. News & World Report's 2018 rankings of America's best colleges and universities includes ECPI University on its list of best schools for online learning. Schools were evaluated based on success metrics in such areas as student engagement, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, and peer reputation. Additionally, the report includes ECPI University on its list of Best Online Programs for Veterans.
For the seventh straight year, Military Times has ranked ECPI University as one of the nation's best institutions of higher learning for military service members and veterans. The rankings factor in the results of Military Times' annual survey, the nation's most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement. This year, ECPI University ranked #2 in the nation among career and technical colleges, a category that includes community colleges and four-year career-focused colleges and universities.
ECPI University offers one of the nation's most affordable online Cyber Security degree programs, according to ONLINEU, an online education resource for ranking U.S. online colleges, offering lists of the Most Affordable Online Colleges, Best Value Online Degrees, and the Top Online Colleges.
ONLINEU named ECPI University to its list of schools offering the most affordable Hospitality Management programs. OnlineU's selection methodology involves using program data, including available degrees, tuition rates, and details about program coursework from official school websites. Acceptance rates and programmatic accreditation were collected from official websites of the accreditation agencies or from the National Center for Education Statistics.
College Choice has ECPI University's online engineering technology program, ranking it #10 in the nation. College Choice offers numerous free online resources to prospective students in their college search, including its student-centered college rankings, admissions advice, and scholarship and financial aid information.
College Choice has also recognized ECPI University's Web Development and Design degree program, ranking it #10 in the nation. Criteria for this and all of College Choice's other rankings center on the institution's quality of programs, reputation, affordability, value, and student satisfaction.
Best Choice Schools most recent report ranks ECPI University's College of Culinary Arts – Culinary Institute of Virginia – #1 in the state. Best Choice Schools is the foremost online resource for obtaining the latest information to help students select a college and academic degree program that meets their needs.


text:
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google+ Sign in with Twitter Sign in with LinkedIn
About the Lyme Disease Research Database
The Lyme Disease Research Database (LDRD) offers free, basic information about Lyme disease, and unique membership benefits to those who join. Our mission is to help educate the public on all aspects of the prevention and treatment of Lyme disease, primarily by providing up-to-date information from reliable Lyme experts.
My name is Suzanne Arthur. I'm a native Californian, a classically-trained musician, and professional writer. I have a master's degree in English from California State University, Northridge. I've written feature articles and columns on health, design, and lifestyle for national publications, including the Townsend Letter, Natural Home, Planning magazine, BackHome magazine and LifetimeTV.com. I started the LDRD in 2005 with my partner, programmer Ev Miles.
During the calamitous summer that Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast, I had been suffering with an increasing load of Lyme disease symptoms for at least two years without knowing the cause. I was mystified. Like millions of others, I had been misdiagnosed time and again. Several different MDs told me that my miserable skin rash was nothing but a bad case of eczema.
In June of 2005, a doctor prescribed the steroid Prednisone to restrain the "eczema." But the steroids caused the underlying Lyme bacteria to quickly replicate, driving it into my brain and severely affecting my speech centers, nervous system, and heart. I landed in the ER with a deadly staph infection, which was a secondary infection to the still-undetected Lyme bacteria. More than one doctor told me to prepare myself for life in a wheelchair, and I was advised to apply for Disability Insurance. They suspected that I had Multiple Sclerosis.
After a Lyme-literate doctor friend urged me to get my blood tested through IGeneX Inc. in Palo Alto, CA, I finally received the correct diagnosis. At that point, I embarked on the long journey to heal, and educate myself about Lyme. With the help of my naturopath and other health practitioners, I undertook an integral approach toward treatment and started on the road to health. Now back at work, I've got a new perspective on healing, and a burning desire to help educate people about Lyme Disease. Through our work at the LDRD, we hope to reduce the suffering caused by Lyme and related tick-borne diseases.
The LDRD is facilitated by a devoted group of Lyme patients, wellness advocates and medical practitioners.


The Kilcoy Courthouse Art Gallery is located in picturesque Yowie Park. The gallery is housed in the 1910 Courthouse that was relocated to the park in 2011, before opening in 2012. The Kilcoy Courthouse Art Gallery is home to the Kilcoy Art Society, who showcase new exhibitions every three months along with the ever changing artist of the month. These exhibitions highlight the talent and diversity of Somerset's local artists.


text:
/** Automatically generated file. DO NOT MODIFY */
package com.example.stackblurdemo;

public final class BuildConfig {
    public final static boolean DEBUG = true;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Pakistan amends law on adultery
The president of Pakistan has amended an Islamic law that will allow hundreds of women facing charges for adultery and other minor crimes to be freed on bail.
08 Jul 2006 03:48 GMT
Women accused of adultery can now get bail
The much-awaited amendment by General Pervez Musharraf would free 1,300 women facing various charges until their trial.
Announcing it on Friday, Sumaira Malik, the minister for women's affairs said:
"President Musharraf has taken a bold decision to protect the rights of women and save them from the misuse of Islamic laws."
The president has sought to reform Islamic laws on blasphemy and women's rights in the past but backed off because of strong opposition in deeply conservative Pakistan.
Hadood ordinance
Friday's amendment is the president's first to the Hadood Ordinance, legislation based on the Koran and Islamic tradition.
Under the ordinance, women can be sentenced to death by stoning if found guilty of having sex outside of marriage.
Drinking is punishable with 80 lashes, theft with the amputation of the right hand.
However, such punishments have not been carried out in Pakistan as courts from the Islamic and ordinary legal systems overturn each others' decisions in unresolved jurisdictional battles.
Malik did not distribute copies of the amendment, which she described as "a great step by the government", and only said Musharraf had signed it.
Human rights groups say the Hadood Ordinance makes rape prosecutions almost impossible because under the laws, the victim must produce four male Muslim witnesses in court to prove the charge.
SOURCE: AFP


text:
Heating Engineer Fined After Homeowners Put At Risk Of Asbestos Exposure
By Greg Nelson September 18, 2015 Asbestos removalAsbestos, HSE News
A Self employed Gas Safe Registered Heating Engineer has been fined after removing asbestos lagged pipework in a domestic property with no precautions to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres.
Karl Locher, today pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates' Court after an investigation by the Health and safety Executive (HSE).
Mr Locher, was employed to install a new heating system in the domestic property. He removed the redundant pipework that was lagged with asbestos, using a powered electric saw. He then transported the pipework through the property and deposited it outside on the drive.
The Court heard that Karl Locher did not have any asbestos awareness training. HSE prosecuting told the court that had Karl Locher been appropriately trained, he would have been in a position to recognise that the lagging may be asbestos. He would have known to avoid any work until it had been demonstrated as asbestos free or been removed by a licensed contractor. Instead, Mr Locher removed the pipes with no precautions to prevent his own exposure to asbestos fibres, and the potential for other persons to be exposed. The homeowners have had to move out of their home pending thorough decontamination of the property.
Karl Locher, 48 years, of Minet Drive, Heyes, Middlesex, pleaded Guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £5000 with £3000 costs.
Construction projects rise by 30% according to Barbour ABI
Cheshire builder in court over absence of welfare facilities


Heritage style with modern functionality. This men's blue tweed slim fit waistcoat combines a classic colour scheme with a clean cut, blue tweed fabric, featuring wool rich materials and a flecked texture.
With five button fastening and a comfortable, flattering slim fit, this men's blue wool rich waistcoat creates an ideal look for him, with a matching suit jacket and pair of trousers available to truly complete a smart, sophisticated profile.
High fastening waistcoat. Can be worn under all of the Gibson Jackets. Especially under the 3 Button Gibson London blazers, or accessorise an outfit with this waistcoat as a stand alone piece.


text:
As Syria war tightens, US and Russia military hotlines humming
Even as tensions between the United States and Russia fester, there is one surprising place where their military-to-military contacts are quietly weathering the storm: Syria. It has been four months since US President Donald Trump ordered cruise missile strikes against a Syrian airfield after an alleged chemical weapons… »
Bangladesh: importing terror, exporting fear
The terrible attack on Holey Artisan café in the upper-end Gulshan business district of Dhaka, Bangladesh will have succeeded in announcing that ISIL is indeed in the country. The government was reluctant to admit this fact but it is difficult to believe otherwise now. This suicidal killing goes toward explaining the… »
Marianella Kloka
A decade ago, Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine highlighted the issue of guns in the US in the most precise and documented way. With clever camerawork and extensive reporting, by examining factors such as poverty and unemployment, by documenting how easily a child today can have access to… »
Rene Wadlow
Battle for Fallujah: Protests needed on violations of humanitarian law
In simultaneous, if not necessarily coordinated operations, there are attacks against the forces of the Islamic State (ISIS or Daesh in its Arabic abbreviation) in Syria and Iraq. ISIS had, in practice, abolished the frontier between Iraq and Syria which had been created in 1916 by the agreement of Sir… »
Pressenza Hong Kong
War with Russia or with ISIS: What ever happened to peace?
War with Russia or with ISIS: What ever happened to peace? By David Swanson http://davidswanson.org/node/4994 According to the Nation magazine and many others, there are two options available to the U.S. government. One is increased hostility perhaps leading to nuclear war with Russia. The other… »
Syria: No fly zone means for everybody
Protect the Syrians from all sides and they will create conditions where ISIS will simply fall apart, stop bombing populations and provide all-around security and the local people will seek their own way to peace and any offer by such as ISIS will be bypassed – the message in this… »
The West will lose to ISIS – too
French president Hollande has declared war – war on terror, George W. Bush style. Like September 11, 2001 wasn't a war, Paris November 13 wasn't a war. It was a criminal act. The war on terror has been an exceptionally stupid war. By Jan Oberg, TFF co-founder and director –… »
Sharmine Narwani
Breaking international law in Syria
The war drums are getting louder in the aftermath of ISIS attacks in Paris, as Western countries gear up to launch further airstrikes in Syria. But obscured in the fine print of countless resolutions and media headlines is this: the West has no legal basis for military intervention. Their strikes… »
International Military Review – Syria, Sep. 21, 2015: Forecasting the Syrian War
The trajectory of the Syrian Civil War could fundamentally shift within in the nearest future. Rebel factions led by Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra continue to pressure the Syrian government stronghold along the Alawite Coast following a several-month long campaign to expel Syrian Armed Forces… »
What ISIS Really Wants
The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here's what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it. The following – long – article was noted… »


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2023 Market Prediction!
When I was a stock market reporter for PBS Nightly Business Report, I loved reading the predictions that would come in from the various Wall Street strategists and market gurus...
Yes, 90% of them turn out to be bunk - the opposite happens. That's just the nature of the markets and stocks in general anyway.
But I still like reading them - and making an occasional prediction myself (OK, really we're talking about educated guesses here) for an important reason. Half the battle of being a better investor or trader is throwing off the yoke of conventional thinking and prepping one's mind to consider alternate scenarios.
So if we're prepared to think of other possibilities - however remote - it's a lot easier to mentally shift gears and not be left behind (or left holding the bag) as the market moves sharply higher (or lower).
2023 Prediction
So here's my prediction in a nutshell for 2023:
Overall, I think 2023 will be remembered as the year the bear market ended, with a strongly bullish Q4. But for January through late August or early September, we'll need to deal with more painful selling (no doubt with occasional sharp rallies) in the major indexes.
Hopefully, I'll be completely wrong. That's what I'm praying for.
If I am wrong (more on how to tell, at the end of this article), I think we'll see it very quickly as trading begins for 2023 tomorrow and in the next few weeks as investors shake off the recession threat - and key economically sensitive sectors ETFs like consumer discretionary stocks and semiconductors start rocketing up off their disappointing year-end lows.
And there will always be potential opportunities in certain individual stocks that could climb higher, even as the market moves lower.
But we need to respect the very real possibility of a still-deeper broad market decline.
So that begs the question...why would the market head even lower from 2022's already-depressed levels?
Reason #1: TINA takes a powder.
Perhaps you've heard of Wall Street's famous rallying cry of the past 15 years, since the 2008 financial crisis..."TINA" - There Is No Alternative (to stocks).
Well, thanks to the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes last year, there IS a competitive alternative (of sorts) compared to the stock market.
For example, I have a savings account at Discover Bank; I don't know why I've even kept it since it's paid almost zero for most of the past decade. But now it pays 3.3% annually - and that's not even the highest rate one can get for a plain vanilla FDIC-insured U.S. savings account.
I'll never grow rich on 3.3% interest. I need to own stocks to do that, and to counter the impact of inflation eroding my purchasing power over time.
But then again, I'm not taking any risks with a savings account (or by owning Treasuries or other "near-cash" holdings). The FDIC has my back.
And collecting a 3.3% stream of income with no risk doesn't sound bad compared to owning the S&P 500, which at the current market price collectively pays dividends with an annual yield of 1.65%.
Reason #2: "De-rating" the S&P 500
Various bits of jargon tend to go in and out of fashion on Wall Street. One you'll likely hear a lot in coming months is what strategists call "de-rating" (or sometimes, "re-rating").
All it means is that a stock or index gets re-evaluated from one valuation level to another level - either higher or lower - based on the profits and annual profit growth it happens to generate.
With the prospect of (maybe) a Fed-induced recession, slower profit growth and a slowing economy, it's likely that a lot of Wall Street strategists are going to "de-rate" the S&P 500 to a lower valuation level.
Basically, they're going to say that the S&P 500's price level is too high, and essentially over-valued, based on the prospects for earnings growth over the next 12 to 18 months.
I remember the last "de-rating" period during the 2008 financial crisis. A lot of investors would get trapped by lethargic stock market activity, in the belief that maybe the indexes had dropped far enough and were about to move higher.
Instead, a Wall Street brokerage would wait until afterhours to issue a press release announcing its "de-rating" of the S&P 500.
And then those same folks would find themselves unable to get out of their newly purchased trades at a decent price, as the market opened sharply lower and kept heading south in fear of yet more "de-rating" announcements by other brokerages.
Reason #3: Oil stocks are due for a correction
Even though oil prices fell sharply in the second half of last year, oil stocks rose steadily - giving the DJIA and S&P 500 a helping hand as we closed the books on 2022. I think that situation is set to reverse in the new year.
Maybe the easiest way to demonstrate that is by showing the slide in oil prices (the top half of the chart below)...and yet oil stocks like Exxon (XOM) - instead of falling as well - continued to show strength through the end of 2022:
With few other bullish options last year, fund managers didn't rotate out of energy stocks even as oil prices fell more than 30% in the second half of the year.
That's an important reason why the DJIA only fell -9% in 2022 (with its major oil component stock Chevron rising +51%), and helping disguise weakness in the S&P 500, which lost -19%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq with far fewer big energy stocks, dropped -33% to finish almost at its lows of the year:
Reason #4: More "get me out" selling of prior "FANG" favorites
I hate to say this, but I don't think a lot of investors are finished selling their former favorite tech stocks.
It's the nature of stock market psychology that once the spell is broken on once highly-favored stocks, lots of investors tend to keep selling (i.e. "get me out" of the stock).
So even though it's now possible to make a case for many tech stocks being fairly valued now, it wouldn't be uncommon for those same stocks to keep heading lower, taking them down to undervalued status.
I think that's where many stocks, like Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) are likely headed in the first half of 2023.
Something else that bothers me about a lot of these previous "fan favorites"...
Reason #5: Gaps All Over
From a technical chart-reading perspective, many of these stocks still have large "gaps" in their charts, far below their current prices - gaps created in the explosive days of the mid-2020 pandemic rebound as many stocks exploded higher.
There's an old saying that I always try to keep in mind, and that I've repeated here before: "Gaps are made to be filled."
For example, AAPL has one such gap, about 25% below its current price:
TSLA has 3 gaps that were created in 2020 as investors bid the stock to parabolic proportions - now deflating for a variety of reasons:
There's a bit of psychology associated with chart gaps. When a stock explodes higher - creating a gap - it means investors and traders are willing to pay any price to own the stock. And like all "impulse buys"...sooner or later they regret the purchase. So gaps often become a place on the chart where investors finally throw
Even less glamorous stocks like Amazon (AMZN) and Target (TGT), bid up to highly-overvalued levels during the pandemic as e-commerce plays, still have large unfilled gaps on their charts, stretching back to 2018 and 2019:
Here's how to tell if I'm wrong about all this...we need to see the stock market indexes to make new near-term highs. It's as simple as that.
For example, in the chart of the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) ETF below...we need to see the index move above the dab of red in the lower-right corner - which represents the last (failed) attempt to re-gain lost ground.
If we started seeing the indexes start "acting" better, making new near-term highs...I'd begin to change my tune.
But through all of 2022, each attempt to do so has met with failure.
So for 2023, here's to hoping the stock market surprises us all and begins to make its way higher. If it does, I'll change my tune in a hurry. But I'm not getting my hopes up about it.


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Les Described as a vibrant bustling center
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, 1802-1885. He lived all around France for his entire life, and originally published Les Misérables in 1862. Four Main Characters:Jean Valjean: A troubled once-thief who is determined to return to a virtuous path of life after narrowly being caught stealing, already having been to prison.Cosette: the innocent and aimable orphaned daughter of Fantine who is adopted by Valjean, and learns to be cunning and adventurous over time because of Valjean's evasive nature. Fantine: a working class girl, the basis for the future story, who leaves her hometown to seek a life of fortune in Paris, and upon a series of unfortunate events, ends up pregnant with Cosette from an affair with a dapper student that leaves her impoverished, barely getting by as a prostitute. Inspector Javert: a relentless and strict letter-of-the-law officer who is obsessively devoted to serving justice for society; is after Jean Valjean in beliefs that he kidnapped Cosette from the Thénardiers. Two Minor Characters:Bishop Myriel: a once good looking and womanizing man that developed a sense of empathy and joined the church, becoming a faithful and kind man who is devoted to providing refuge and grace on all who need it, including most of the main characters.Thénardier: A smarmy con artist, who also happens to be bony and ugly, that initially takes care of Cosette and scams Fantine as well as many other people; a terrible person essentially. Three Main Settings: Paris, France: Described as a vibrant bustling center of people, or the "ceiling of the human race"; mentioned that culture is all around the city, and all of history could be learned just through observing the city. Montfermeil, France: Described as a sparsely populated village in the forest at the time of Cosette's childhood, with shades of green and white mostly present from the trees and the few pleasure homes; rustic and small. Convent of Petit Picpus: This is described as "severe and gloomy", and decorated with a sense of being sacred, almost intimidation by the holiness. Plot Outline: Jean Valjean, an ex-convict of a French prison, is free after serving 19 years for stealing bread to feed his family and on top of that trying to escape the prison. He has a fresh start ahead of him, and makes it to a town called Digne. Since Valjean is an ex-convict, nobody wants to give him shelter or a job so he falls desperate and goes to a convent led by the kind Bishop Myriel. Myriel is hospitable, and Valjean decides to steal silverware from the convent. He is later arrested, but Myriel vouches for Valjean in saying that the silverware was a gift. At this mercy, Valjean rethinks his way of life and vows to live in the path of light. He goes to a town called Montreuil-sur-mer, calling himself Madeleine, and comes up with a process of manufacturing that solves a bunch of problems the town faces, invoking prosperity – leading to his eventual becoming mayor. Moving on to a girl named Fantine. She is a girl from Montreuil, that moved to Paris in seeking fortune. There she falls for a rich student named Tholomyes who gets her pregnant and caused him to flee. She gives birth to the child, names her Cosette, and goes back to Montreuil, but realized that if people find out that her child was born out of wedlock, no one would ever give her work. Fantine takes Cosette to these horrid people called the Thénardiers in Montfermeil, who own the local inn. They agree to care for Cosette in exchange for monthly payment. Back at Montreuil, the thread connects when Fantine finds a job in Valjean's, or Madeleine's, factory, but her secret about Cosette leaks amongst her co-workers which leads to Fantine being fired. She turns to prostitution to pay for Cosette and is almost arrested by Inspector Javert, and Valjean intervenes. Fantine falls ill and Valjean promises to send for Cosette. Javert finds out who Valjean really is and arrests him, which kills Fantine from shock. A few years later, he escapes and goes back to buy Cosette from the Thénardiers after finding her in the dark forest as she's fetching a pail of water, who abused her. Valjean and Cosette move to the rundown part of Paris, but Javert finds them, and they flee to the Convent of Petit Picpus. Cosette attends school and Valjean works as a gardener at this convent. The politically involved law student Marius Pontmercy, in the radical group of the Friends of the ABC, runs into Cosette at a park. They feel a spark for one another, and Valjean looks at this distastefully, so he keeps them apart. Valjean is almost caught by Javert again due to the Thénardiers randomly showing up as their neighbors and trying to rob them, but Marius foils that by telling Javert. Eponine Thénardier sees that Cosette lives there, and she's in love with Marius, but tells him that's where Cosette is. He runs to ask his Grandfather to marry Cosette, he says no, then Marius returns to find that Cosette and Valjean have escaped. Marius and his gang decide to go to the barrier and start an uprising, and it doesn't go well at all as Marius almost dies, but Eponine jumps in front of a rifle for him and delivers a letter from Cosette to him as she dies in his arms. Javert is discovered there as a spy, and he's tied up. Marius responds to the letter and Valjean intercepts the letter and goes to Marius' rescue. He sees Javert and offers to execute him, but lets him go. The army storms the barricade, and Valjean carries Marius to the sewers to hide, and as he emerges, Javert immediately arrests Valjean. However Javert starts to have a major internal conflict battle in his head about letter vs. spirit of the law and decides to throw himself off a bridge because he doesn't know what to do. Marius recovers, gets married to Cosette and finds out about Valjean's past. He distances Cosette from Valjean, but Thénardier tells him that Valjean saved him and Marius feels terrible. He and Cosette go to Valjean in time to reconcile as he dies. The End. Apologies for how long this is, it's almost impossible to summarize a book of this length in one short paragraph. Two Symbols:Valjean's Yellow Prison Ticket: When Valjean gets out of prison he's given a ticket he has to possess at all times to signify that he is an ex-convict; he's free but trapped in a narrative of negativity that arose from him merely stealing food to feed his family. No one will help him or anything because of this damning narrative. The ticket symbolizes how society leaves outcasts and people who need help in the dust while the people who are well off blindly prosper. All of the main characters in the book can relate to this narrative. Valjean an ex-convict, Fantine a single mother prostitute, Cosette an orphan born of wedlock; all undesirables.Bishop Myriel's Silver Candlesticks: After Valjean is caught with Bishop Myriel's stolen silverware in hand and is excused by Myriel's saying it's a gift, he gives Valjean the candlesticks too in exchange for a promise that he'll live in the path of light and integrity. The candlesticks become irrelevant for the rest of the book until Valjean's death when he dies in the light of these two candlesticks. These candlesticks symbolized Valjean's promise and he died fulfilling the promise. The Author's Style: Victor Hugo's writing style in this book is both richly poetic and descriptive in its diction and syntax. He also relies on heavy imagery to paint the surroundings as they move. Frequently in his writing, he concentrates on the factor of how little one can know of other people, whilst making assumptions of who other people are without being able to provide concrete facts that the assumptions fit who the person really is. Because of this, he describes his characters with evidence that determines who they really are in an almost empirical fashion. The Dominant Theme: The dominant theme of this book is the idea that love and compassion towards others is one of the most important things in life. Regardless of how bad people treated the main characters, they still treated others with kindness. Valjean was chased by Javert for years, and he had to opportunity to get rid of him for good, but he spared Javert regardless of the things that he had done to him. Valjean showed mercy to Javert, and that ended up destroying Javert because he couldn't understand that concept. Three Short Quotations Typical of the Work:"It's not enough to be mean to prosper. The pantry was bad." (Vol. 2: Cosette, Book IV, Chapter 3: The Lark)-The narrator says this in response to the environment of the Thénardier's inn, and this is a form of foreshadowing as later on in the book the Thénardiers are unsuccessful and move back to Paris under new personas in shame. "It's the mouse that took the cat," (Vol. 4: Saint Denis, Book XII, Chapter 7: The Recruited Man in the Street of the Billettes)-Gavroche says this to Javert after Javert's cover as a spy in the uprising is blown; almost like standing up to a bully. "No, she replied, I'm the devil, but I do not care," (Vol. 4: Saint Denis, Book II, Chapter 3: An Appearance to Father Mabeuf)- This is Eponine's response to Father Mabeuf who called her an angel that cares for flowers; which also may be a way of her expressing that she is also an outsider in a judgemental and unforgiving society. My Response: I think the work was excruciatingly long, but the message that the novel represents as a whole is valuable to the narrative of society. These main characters were the unluckiest of the misfortunate, and suffered through the active push against anybody that does not fit in the way that they are supposed to. The imagery was pleasant and the mesh of poetic description mixed in made the surroundings much more vivid, and the structure of the sentences triggered critical thinking as a statement that completely tore down the discriminatory bases of society flashes by like nothing. In defense of the length, to effectively display the injustices of society, multiple standpoints must be present and that is what Victor Hugo did. His words evoked an effective ability to give compassion to any reader.
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November's top stories: UK's Type 26 construction in 2017, USMC's F-35B testing
6 December 2016	(Last Updated December 6th, 2016 18:30)
The first steel cut for the UK Royal Navy's next-generation Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) will be held in summer 2017, the USMC's F-35B Lightning II aircraft undergoing testing aboard the USS America and a new report finds the UK Royal Navy has "woefully low" level of operational vessels. Naval-technology.com wraps up key headlines from November.
First steel cut for UK Navy's Type 26 GCS to take place in summer 2017
UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed that the first steel cut for the UK Royal Navy's next-generation Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) will be held in summer 2017.
The Type 26 programme is a multirole warship development programme jointly undertaken by BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to replace the navy's Type 23 frigates.
Under the project, eight anti-submarine Type 26 GCSs will be built to focus on three core roles, warfighting, maritime security and international engagement.
USMC's F-35B Lightning II aircraft to begin testing aboard the USS America
The US Marine Corps' (USMC) seven F-35B Lightning II aircraft are scheduled to start testing aboard the US Navy's amphibious assault ship, USS America (LHA 6).
Two F-35Bs will undergo the third shipboard phase of developmental test (DT-III) and five are scheduled to conduct operational testing.
F-35 Patuxent River ITF Government Flight Test director assigned to VX-23 Lieutenant colonel Tom Fields said: "It is exciting to start the execution phase of our detachment with VMX-1 (Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1) on USS America."
New report finds UK Royal Navy has "woefully low" level of operational vessels
A UK Defence Committee report said that the Royal Navy has a "woefully low" number of operational vessels, and lacks the required personnel to renew them.
The report stated that "the current number of frigates, destroyers and personnel inadequately reflects the potential threats and vulnerabilities facing the UK and its interests overseas."
According to the report, the navy's forces have shrunk to "dangerously low levels", from 13 destroyers and 53 frigates in 1980 to six destroyers and 13 frigates today.
US DARPA funds second Tern technology demonstrator
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started funding the development of a second test vehicle under the tactically exploited reconnaissance node (TERN) programme.
Tern, a joint programme between DARPA and the US Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR), is aimed at forward-deploying small ships such as destroyers and frigates as mobile launch and recovery sites for medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
DARPA programme manager Dan Patt said: "Adding the second technology demonstrator enhances the robustness of the flight demonstration programme and enables military partners to work with us on maturation, including testing different payloads and experimenting with different approaches to operational usage."
BAE receives funding to support Cuttlefish system development for RAN
BAE Systems received funding from the Australian Government to support the development of a counter-surveillance capability, Cuttlefish system, for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to enhance its defence capability.
The $4.9m funding follows a three-year, $32m contract awarded to the company in October this year to provide an improved anti-ship missile test capability, the future advanced threat simulator (FATS), an airborne radar system for the RAN.
BAE will support RAN's Cuttlefish project, which aims to provide RAN with the capability to create, disrupt and block an adversary's surveillance and protect its platforms in real-time.
DCNS wins support contract for French Navy's Le Triomphant-class submarines
The French Navy Fleet Support Department contracted DCNS for the routine maintenance of the Le Triomphant-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
The through-life support contract requires DCNS to maintain four Brest-based SSBNs, Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant, and Le Terrible, for a period of nine years.
The latest deal is a direct follow-on to the previous SSBN routine maintenance contracts, DCNS said in a statement.
RNoN successfully tests Kongsberg's one-shot mine disposal weapon system
The Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) successfully tested Kongsberg Defence Systems' latest one-shot mine disposal weapon system, Minesniper MkIII, aboard the RNoN's mine countermeasures (MCM) vessel.
The live-firing event, which was part of the system's sea acceptance test, was conducted outside Ramsund Naval Base in northern Norway.
During the test, the mine disposal system successfully fired two Minesniper MkIII weapons against a moored mine and a bottom-laid mine.
Indra and UPM partner to develop sensors for the Spanish Navy's F110 frigate
Indra agreed to partner with the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) to develop and integrate sensors for the Spanish Navy's future F110 frigate.
Under the partnership agreement, which has been reached under the Industrial Plan for the PROTEC F110 programme UPM will collaborate with Indra on analysis, design and development of features for the identification friend or foe (IFF) system.
Additional areas of collaboration include the X-band radar for the surveillance of surface and low-flying aerial targets, and the radar electronic support measures (RESM) system.
Airbus delivers first three Panther helicopters to PT Dirgantara Indonesia
Airbus Helicopters delivered the first three AS565 MBe Panther helicopters to industrial partner PT Dirgantara Indonesia during a ceremony held at its headquarters in Marignane, France.
The delivery is part of an agreement under which Airbus will supply 11 AS565 MBe helicopters to its Indonesian industrial partner, which as the design authority will carry out reassembling and outfitting of the rotorcraft in-country.
The outfitting is expected to cover the installation of the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) suite, such as dipping sonar and torpedo launch systems. The ASW suite will enable the Indonesian Navy to carry out demanding missions.
Indian Navy commissions newest Kolkata-class destroyer INS Chennai
The Indian Navy commissioned its indigenously-designed new Kolkata-class (Project 15A) guided missile destroyer, INS Chennai, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, enhancing the nation's defence capabilities.
INS Chennai represents the third and last of the Kolkata-class destroyers built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
Construction of the three Kolkata-class destroyers was approved by the Indian Government in May 2000 and INS Kolkata was the first vessel commissioned in 2014, followed by INS Kochi in 2015.
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Looking for the best Culinary Schools in Newburg MO? Job growth indicates an anticipated 5% growth.
From a personal standpoint, culinary schools are terrific for the development of an individual. An individual's ability to create a meal not only creates self-gratifying benefits, but it also brings great delight to those around you.
A cook or any other culinary arts professional can receive certification that demonstrates to an employer that she or he has achieved a particular level of culinary proficiency. In addition to certification, class and hand-on teaching, one also needs a number of soft skills, or personal qualities, to succeed in this environment.


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Pfizer makes sure it won't get left out of the gene therapy deal boom
Jacob Bell @realjacobbell
Pfizer has locked down an exclusive option to acquire all outstanding shares of Vivet Therapeutics, a privately held gene therapy biotech based in France.
The option was part of a larger deal in which Pfizer paid 45 million euros, or $51 million, for a 15% stake in Vivet. The big pharma may hand over an additional 560 million euros if it decides to purchase the rest of Vivet's shares, though that payment is subject to certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones.
Pfizer can exercise its option to acquire all of Vivet once the biotech's lead candidate, which targets a rare disorder known as Wilson disease, generates certain data from a planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial. A Pfizer spokesperson told BioPharma Dive the companies intend to file in the first quarter of 2020 applications with U.S. and European regulators to start in-human testing of the candidate.
Gene therapy is quickly embedding itself into the DNA of many big pharmas and biotechs. Novartis last year spent $8.7 billion to acquire AveXis for its adeno-associated virus technology and for its spinal muscular atrophy treatment, which may receive Food and Drug Administration approval by May.
Roche and Biogen also recently purchased gene therapy developers, with the former snagging Spark Therapeutics and the latter buying Nightstar Therapeutics.
AveXis, Spark and Nightstar all received takeover bids from multiple suitors, suggesting at least a few companies didn't get the deal they were hoping for and may be on the lookout for other gene therapy opportunities.
Pfizer is another company to have demonstrated a growing interest in the technology. The pharmaceutical giant got its hands on a gene therapy manufacturing facility through a $150 million acquisition of Bamboo Therapeutics in 2017. It has also entered research collaborations with Spark and Sangamo Therapeutics for gene therapies aimed at a variety of diseases, from hemophilia B to ALS.
Vivet's research, meanwhile, centers on liver diseases.
The biotech is aiming to cure Wilson disease with its lead candidate, VTX-801, which in theory works by correcting defective copper transporters. Patients with the disease don't properly metabolize copper, which causes the metal to build up in body tissues — particularly in the liver and central nervous system.
Symptoms of the disease often aren't expressed for decades, but when they arise they can vary widely in type and severity. Patients may experience depression, seizure or acute liver failure, according to Vivet. By the company's estimates, about 1 in 30,000 people worldwide have Wilson disease.
Vivet isn't alone in targeting the disease. Last April, Alexion paid $855 million to acquire Wilson Therapeutics and its late-stage therapeutic for the rare condition.
While Pfizer's new stake provides Vivet with an infusion of cash, the small developer and its novel adeno-associated virus technology had already attracted investments from big pharma prior to Wednesday's announcement. The company has received funding from venture arms of Novartis and Roche, for instance.
BioPharma Dive Gene therapy progress spurs competition in biotech buyouts
Follow Jacob Bell on Twitter
Filed Under: Mergers and Acquisitions / Deals


Suggestions that can change during the day: Ongoing North Korean tensions push Stocks lower and Mortgage Bond prices higher. Floating is recommended to begin the week.
After close Commentary: MBS opened higher and never really looked back in today's session and continued to climb the further Stocks traded into the red. The gains took place in response to North Korea's nuclear test, which took place on Sunday at noon local time. There were no economic reports released today. The Bond closed higher by 34bp to end at 103.81. Stocks fell on the North Korean news along with concerns on tax reform, the debt ceiling and on some plain old fashioned profit taking. The Dow lost 234.25 points to 21,753.31, the S&P fell by 18.70 points to 2,457.85, while the NASDAQ dropped by 59.75 points to end at 6,357.57. WTI oil closed at $48.66/barrel, +$1.35. 10-yr yield 2.06%, the lowest close since November 10. The ISM Service Index will be released tomorrow along with the Fed's Beige Book.
Late morning Commentary: Analytics firm CoreLogic reported this morning that home prices, including distressed sales, rose 6.7% from July 2016 to July 2017. From June, home prices increased 0.9% month over month. CoreLogic says the "combination of steadily rising prices along with very tight inventory of unsold homes should keep upward pressure on home prices for the remainder of the year." Looking ahead, CoreLogic forecasts that prices will increase 5% on a year-over-year basis from July 2017 to July 2018 with a 0.4% gain from July 2017 to August 2017.
Rising tensions in North Korea over the weekend are playing a big role in the safe haven push out of Stocks and into U.S. Bonds. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Monday it was time for the U.N. Security Council to impose "the strongest possible measures"on North Korea over its sixth and largest nuclear test because "enough is enough."
September is typically the worst month of the year for Stocks, with the S&P 500 falling 60% of the time and 0.5% on average. This is worth following considering all of the headline risk abound - inept Congress, debt ceiling, tons of global central bank activity and of course - North Korea.
Gas prices continue to spike due to many refineries shutting down in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey ripped through the area. The national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline surged to $2.64 on Monday, up $0.27 in the past week. A year ago the price was $2.20. The highest recorded price on record was $4.11 hit back on July 17, 2008. The last time the national gas price average was $2.50 was two years ago in August of 2015.
Tue, Sep 05 10:55 AM CoreLogic also reported that while mortgage interest rates remain low, affordability cracks are emerging as over a third of U.S. top cities are now overvalued.
Tue, Sep 05 10:50 AM The 10-yr yield falls to 2.08%.
Tue, Sep 05 10:44 AM The national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline at $2.64, spiking $0.27 in the past week due to refineries shutting down in the Houston area.
Tue, Sep 05 10:40 AM MBS at session highs holding solid gains.
Tue, Sep 05 10:38 AM Dow -135 points as investors sell on the North Korean tensions and also on profit taking with Stocks at lofty levels.
Tue, Sep 05 9:39 AM The New York Fed will purchase up to $2.05B in Fannie/Freddie 30-yr 3% and 3.5% coupons beginning at 11:115 a.m. ET.
Tue, Sep 05 9:31 AM Stocks open lower. Dow -75 points on North Korean tensions.
Tue, Sep 05 8:35 AM CoreLogic reports that home prices, including distressed sales, rose 6.7% year over year in July 2017 compared with July 2016 and increased month over month by 0.9% in July 2017 from June 2017.
Tue, Sep 05 8:21 AM WTI oil +$0.81, at $48.11/barrel.
Tue, Sep 05 8:19 AM There is a near zero percent chance of a hike to the short term Fed Funds Rate at the September 20 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Tue, Sep 05 8:18 AM September is typically the worst month of the year for Stocks, with the S&P 500 falling 0.5% on average.
Tue, Sep 05 8:17 AM There are no economic reports due for release today and the rest of the week's calendar is on the light side.
Tue, Sep 05 8:16 AM S&P futures cuts some losses after Brainard's comments.
Tue, Sep 05 8:11 AM Fed Governor Lael Brainard (dove, voter) just says the central bank may have to slow the pace of interest rate hikes due to low inflation levels.
Tue, Sep 05 8:10 AM The U.S. dollar index 92.52, -0.25.
Tue, Sep 05 8:09 AM The 10-yr T Note yield edges lower to 2.14% from 2.15% on Friday after the tepid Jobs Report for August.
Tue, Sep 05 8:05 AM U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Monday it was time for the U.N. Security Council to impose "the strongest possible measures" on North Korea over its sixth and largest nuclear test because "enough is enough."
Tue, Sep 05 8:01 AM MBS look to open near unchanged to slightly higher as S&P futures decline due to ongoing North Korean headlines and tensions.


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