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Intelligent Gang Intelligence
The backbone of any functioning criminal intelligence unit is the strength of its intel files and/or gang records. Best practices for gang intelligence suggests that agencies should regularly update and contribute gang intelligence to a specialized gang intelligence system (aka gang database). These intelligence systems can manage and store thousands or millions of records of gangs, their activities, and their members.
With gang intelligence software, authorized users may read and update specific files, search and retrieve photos/videos/audio, and generally utilize the solution to assist investigation efforts. An example of some attributes stored within a gang intelligence system are:
Marks and Scars
Properly utilized, the gang intelligence system should allow the collection, analysis, storage and retrieval of data that qualifies as criminal intelligence. The data should only be disseminated to agency members with a specific need, and that need should be logged as part of the dissemination.
Gang Intelligence Integrity
With a gang intelligence database, agencies must preserve the integrity of the system through security and access restriction from unauthorized users – internal and external – because of constitutional protection for individuals whose personal information is contained within the system.
Importantly, for gang intelligence, a rigid purging process must be adhered to as this ensures the integrity and credibility of the data. If, for example, a record has not been reviewed or appended for a period of five years, best practices suggest that the record be purged.
Access governance is also critical to gang intelligence systems to ensure integrity of the data entered and maintained and, importantly, to comply with applicable regional, state, and federal laws.
Gang / Criminal Intelligence and U.S. Law
The United States Constitution prohibits the criminalization of mere membership in a gang (or other similar organization). There is nothing illegal about being a gang member, according to our country's laws. However, it is perfectly legal for agencies to add gang members to the database even if no crime has been committed by that member.
The tracking and storage of this data is widely criticized, however. Opponents suggest that agencies are profiling or targeting groups that are not engaged in criminal activities, and/or installing a 'guilt by association' mentality by tracking those members.
Conversely, advocates of gang intelligence database systems know that law enforcement has a legitimate interest in monitoring the individuals and groups engaged in 'group criminal behavior'.
The back-and-forth between sides creates tension between the rights of society to be protected by law enforcement, and the individual privacy expectations of gang members.
CFR 28 Part 23
The result of these competing interests is something called Code of Federal Regulations, Title 28, Part 23 (CFR 28 Part 23) which details the requirements for gathering, entering, storing, and disseminating information about individuals and organizations (gangs) into an intelligence system.
28 CFR Part 23 was designed as a regulation specific to multi-jurisdictional intelligence systems that have received federal grant funds for the development or purchase of the gang database. It is, however, an excellent guide for individual agencies, as the regulation attempts to fairly balance the intelligence needs of law enforcement against individual privacy requirements. In other words, it helps agencies get their jobs done without violating individual rights.
Compliance with 28 CFR Part 23 in Gang Intelligence
Gang and criminal intelligence data is defined within 28 CFR Part 23 as "data which has been evaluated to determine that:
A) it is relevant to the identification of, and the criminal activity engaged in by, an individual who – or an organization which – is reasonably suspected of involvement in criminal activity, and
B) meets criminal intelligence system submission criteria"
The 'submission criteria' is essentially the basis for something to be entered into the gang intelligence system. The criteria include the following:
A reasonable suspicion that an individual is relevant to the criminal activity
Prospective information to be entered is relevant to the criminal activity
Information does not include data related to political, religious, or social views unless that information related directly to the criminal activity that formed the basis for focus on the gang or group
Information was not obtained in violation of any federal, state, or local law or ordinance
Information establishes sufficient facts to give trained law enforcement officials a basis to believe that an individual or gang/organization is involved in a definable criminal activity
28 CFR Part 23 compliant software
As referenced above, 28 CFR Part 23 also indicates that information contained within a compliant database or criminal intelligence system must be reviewed and evaluated for relevance and importance every five years. Data that is deemed to be irrelevant and unimportant should be purged from the system. This is true even if the data is discovered to be noncompliant before five years.
Perhaps the most important element of a gang database system complying with 28 CFR Part 23 is that no information whatsoever from the database should be disseminated without a legitimate law enforcement reason, such as criminal investigation cases and charges being filed against a suspect.
If managing a gang intelligence system seems intimidating, it ought not be. If an agency desires to comply with 28 CFR Part 23, the rules for managing such as system are clearly spelled out. If an agency simply wants to collect and manage data outside of the federal guidelines – and has not accepted federal grant monies for such a program – they are free to do so as long as the system meets the security and 'common sense' guidelines that protect an individual's right to privacy.
Tyler Wood is Operations Director of Austin, TX based Crime Tech Solutions (www.crimetechsolutions.com). The company develops and deploys low price / high performance software for law enforcement including Case Closed™ investigative case management software, sophisticated Sentinel Visualizer™ link analysis and data visualization software, and CrimeMap Pro™ advanced crime analytics. The company also develops the popular GangBuster™ gang database, and IntelNexus™ criminal intelligence software for 28 CFR Part 23 compliance.
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Hundreds of Crime Analysts converge on Louisville, KY
The International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA) 2016 conference is in full swing in Louisville, KY. Here is some good, local video coverage of the event…
http://www.wave3.com/story/33150410/hundreds-of-crime-prevention-experts-converge-on-louisville
Law Enforcement: Got Big Data… Now What?
Great article from PoliceMag.com, originally posted HERE.
Since its introduction nearly a decade ago, big data in the form of analytics has helped police agencies all over the world enhance decision making, improve strategies to combat crime, and ultimately solve—and prevent—more crimes. But while the benefits of mining and critically analyzing huge amounts of data are being realized in other developed countries from the United Kingdom to Canada to New Zealand, U.S. law enforcement agencies have generally been slower to jump on the bandwagon.
The reasons for slower adoption of big data tools in the United States are as varied as the nearly 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies around the country. For many, the decision to buy or not to buy advanced crime analytics software often comes down to the usual culprit: lack of money. With few exceptions, police agencies across the country are faced with the prospect of doing more with less. And with increased pressure on local departments to put more feet on the street, do more in terms of community policing, and divert funding to equip all officers with body cams, it's often hard for departments to make big data solutions a top priority.
Money, however, is not the only issue slowing analytics adoption in the U.S. Unlike countries such as the U.K., the American law enforcement community is decentralized. It does not have a single system of data, standards, and operations. Rather, police departments here pride themselves on their individuality and independence. Walk into a meeting where 10 different departments are represented and you will likely see 10 different colors of uniforms.
The same holds true when it comes to information sharing. While it is often assumed that police departments all work in close cooperation with each other, the reality may be quite different.
None of this is news, nor is it a criticism of U.S. police departments. It simply reflects Americans' independent nature and the way in which law enforcement in this country is structured. It's the thing that makes us great but, in the case of analytics, it's also a major factor slowing analytics adoption.
Big data adoption is also hampered by the sheer size of the U.S. Sure, from a pure geographic standpoint, the U.S. and Canada are similar in size. But most of Canada's people live in Ontario or on the West Coast, near Vancouver. There are just over 200 police departments in all of Canada. Compare that to the U.S., where there are huge differences in the make-up of the population, not to mention lifestyle, attitudes, and so much more between, say, the Southwest and the Northeast.
Law enforcement policy-makers on the East Coast don't know what to make of their counterparts on the West Coast and vice versa. Similarly, the day-to-day needs and demands placed on a police chief in Kansas City can't help but be very different from those of his or her peers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, or Philadelphia.
All of these factors have contributed to slowing the adoption of analytics by U.S. police agencies. They are also complicated by perhaps the most intangible impediment: fear of technology. Whether they like to admit it or not, some law enforcement leaders are more comfortable taking an "old school" approach to police work. They prefer business as usual, which means feet on the street and files stacked on their detectives' desks, not sleek, state-of-the-art technology.
Change is never easy, especially when tried-and-true policing methods have proven to be effective. Decentralization also plays a part here – it's easier to take technology risks when it's mandated from above and much harder for the nearly 18,000 law enforcement chiefs in the U.S. to each take a step into the unknown. Nevertheless, change is coming, spurred in large part by the fact that the cost of advanced crime analytics is coming down.
Also easing the impact of costs to local agencies will be the dollars for big data solutions coming from the federal government. Those funds come with a catch, however, that gets at another obstacle. A significant portion of federal funds in the future will be earmarked for supporting regional initiatives. That means to be eligible for federal funds, many departments will have no choice but to work with their colleagues across jurisdictional boundaries. And while that may bring some initial resistance, regional cooperation will inevitably help to promote not just data sharing, but overall effectiveness.
The public is also demanding increased police effectiveness and efficiency. Responding to that pressure, police chiefs are recognizing that big data solutions can have a huge impact on reducing the number of man-hours it takes to sift through mountains of data in order to solve crimes. This is particularly important as law enforcement finds itself confronting not only the standard array of home break-ins, car thefts, and the like, but also the threat of "lone wolf" terrorist attacks, cybercrime, and highly sophisticated international trafficking rings.
Fortunately, as analytics software has become more affordable, it has also become easier to use. No longer the exclusive domain of the IT department, newer big data solutions are now designed to be used by front line analysts and investigators, with just one or two days of training and without the need for sophisticated oversight.
This has dramatically changed the role of law enforcement analysts. Formerly the department statistician, today's analyst has become a critically important member of the crime fighting team, capable of rapidly moving from tactical analysis to the focal point of providing intelligence on high-profile crimes and strategic crime-fighting initiatives.
Ease of use also comes into play as a new generation of officers, many of whom were raised on Google and Xbox, begin to take on leadership roles in their departments. These individuals are used to having the latest technology at their immediate disposal. They will readily see that a big data solution can not only play a critical role in more effective policing, but also pay for itself in savings of both time and money.
The growing use of cloud computing plays a role in this equation. Storing data in the cloud is becoming accepted as safe and secure, bringing with it economic advantages and removing the need for departments to provide highly specialized IT staff and infrastructure previously required to support analytical solutions.
All of these factors are combining to change the face of effective policing in the U.S. That will mean significantly greater acceptance of analytics to mine everything from social media files, emails, text messages, and the content of police RMS systems to phone records, license plate reader data, and ballistics data. Efficiencies of scale will dictate greater cooperation among departments, resulting in increased efficiency and more effective policing. Being able to quickly search and find critical information in data that police agencies already have in hand will undoubtedly improve decision making and officer safety, while helping to solve cases more quickly.
Crime Tech Solutions, who earlier this year acquired TN based Case Closed Software, delivers unique value to customers with comprehensive investigative case management software, sophisticated link analysis tools, criminal intelligence management software, and crime mapping technology that includes some of the industry's best analytics and reporting capabilities.
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Overland Park senior crime analyst Jamie May joins Crime Tech Solutions
September 16, 2016 – (Leander, TX) Crime Tech Solutions, a fast-growing provider of low cost / high performance crime fighting software and analytics is delighted to announce the addition of Jamie May as senior analyst and strategic advisor to the company.
Ms. May has spent over 17 years as a crime and intelligence analyst for Overland Park Police Department in Kansas, and is a recognized expert in crime analysis, mapping, and criminal intelligence. She has sat on critical crime analysis committees including the International Association of Crime Analysts' Ethics Committee (IACA) and is a past Vice President / Secretary at Mid American Regional Crime Analyst Network (MARCAN).
"Jamie brings an incredible amount of user experience and innovation to the company", said Kevin Konczal, Crime Tech Solutions' VP of Sales. "She's been active in this community for years, and co-authored the ground-breaking guide, GIS in Law Enforcement: Implementation Issues and Case Studies."
"To me, Crime Tech Solutions represents a truly innovative company that understands how to develop and market very good technology at prices that most agencies can actually afford", said Ms. May. "I'm looking forward to being part of the continued growth here."
In her role with the company, Ms. May will interact with customers and prospects to help align the company's solution strategy with market and user requirements.
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Using crime analysis solutions to take a 'Byte' out of crime
Posted by Crime Tech Solutions
Law enforcement agencies everywhere are tasked with reducing and investigating crime with fewer and fewer resources at their disposal. "To protect and serve" is the highest responsibilities one can sign up for, particularly in light of recent well-publicized criticisms of police by activists in every city.
That responsibility weighs even heavier in a world with no shortage of criminals and terrorists. There's never enough money in the budget to adequately deal with all of the issues that face an individual agency on a daily basis. Never enough feet on the street, as they say.
New Tools for Age-Old Problems
Perhaps that's why agencies everywhere are moving to fight crime with an evolving 21st century weapon – law enforcement software including investigative case management, link and social network analysis, and, importantly, crime analytics with geospatial and temporal mapping.
Crime analytics and investigation software have proven themselves to be valuable tools in thwarting criminal activity by helping to better define resource allocation, target investigations more accurately, and enhancing public safety,
According to some reports, law enforcement budgets have been reduced by over 80% since the early 2000s. Still, agencies are asked to do more and more, with less and less.
Analytics in Policing
Predictive Analytics for Policing
Analytics in law enforcement play a key role in helping law enforcement agencies better forecast what types of crimes are most likely to occur in a certain area within a certain window of time. While no predictive analytics solution offers the clarity of a crystal ball, they can be effective in affecting crime reduction and public safety.
Predictive analysis, in essence, is taking data from disparate sources, analyzing them and then using the results to anticipate, prevent and respond more effectively to future crime. Those disparate data sources typically include historical crime data from records management systems, calls for service/dispatch information, tip lines, confidential informant information, and specialized criminal intelligence data.
The Five W's of Predictive Analytics
Within this disparate data lie the 5 W's of information that can be used by crime analysis software to build predictions. Those key pieces include:
Arrest records – who committed crimes
Geospatial data – where crimes have occurred
Temporal data – when crimes have occurred
Statistical data – what crimes have occurred
Investigation data – why (and how) the crimes occurred
Using the 5 W's, agencies are able to gain insight and make predictions about likely future criminal behavior. For example, if a certain type of crime (what) tends to occur in 'this' area (where) at 'this' time (when), and by 'this' type of individual (who) for 'this' reason (why)… it would be wise to deploy resources in that area at that time in order to prevent the incidents from ever occurring. This, of course, is a dramatic over-simplification of the types of analytics that make up predictive policing, but illustrates the general concept well.
Although criminals will always try to be one step ahead of the law, agencies deploying predictive analytics are able to maximize the effectiveness of its staff and other resources, increasing public safety, and keeping bad guys off the street.
More about Crime Tech Solutions
Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. Our offerings include sophisticated Case Closed™ investigative case management and major case management, GangBuster™ gang intelligence software, powerful link analysis software, evidence management, mobile applications for law enforcement, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and temporal reporting, and 28 CFR Part 23 compliant criminal intelligence database management systems.
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Crime Tech Solutions' continued growth fuels management team expansion
September 13, 2016 – (Leander, TX) Crime Tech Solutions, a fast-growing provider of low cost crime fighting software and analytics today announced the appointment of Kevin Konczal as Vice President of Sales. The company created the position in response to rapid growth in market share for crime analysis and investigative case management software.
Mr. Konczal is a seasoned start-up and marketing expert with over 30 years of diversified business management, marketing and start-up experience in information technology and consumer goods. Additionally, Konczal has over two decades of Public Safety service as a police officer, Deputy Sheriff and Special Agent.
Most recently, he held the position as a Regional Sales Manager for TriTech Software Systems, a leading provider of public safety software.
"Kevin is a seasoned executive with a combination of public service and information technology expertise", said Crime Tech Solutions' chief technology officer Keith Weigand. "The management team is looking forward to adding his leadership within the sales organization."
In addition to his executive career, Konczal serves on several advisory boards, commissions and boards of directors. He attended Oakland College studying Criminal Justice and completed the Dallas Police Academy. Notably, he was awarded the Police Commendation Award for saving the lives of fellow officers in a deadly force c onfrontation.
"The exciting thing about Crime Tech Solutions", added Konczal "is their clear position as a fast-growing company dedicated to low price and high performance software for law enforcement."
"I'm looking forward to working with a company that delivers true value to customers with comprehensive investigative case management software, sophisticated link analysis tools, criminal intelligence management software, and crime mapping technology that includes what I think are the industry's best analytics and reporting capabilities", he added.
Earlier this year, Crime Tech Solutions acquired Tennessee based Case Closed Software (www.caseclosedsoftware.com).
Crime Tech Solutions (www.crimetechsolutions.com) is a fast-growing U.S. based provider of low cost / high performance investigation software and crime analytics. The company proudly supports the International Association of Crime Analysts (www.iaca.net), International Association of Chiefs of Police (www.iacp.org), the National Sheriff's Association (www.sheriffs.org), and the association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (www.leiu.org).
The company's products include Case Closed investigative case management software, link and social network analytics, 28 CFR Part 23 compliant criminal intelligence management software, enterprise search for law enforcement, and crime analytics with mapping, reporting, and predictive policing.
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Data continues to influence policing
Great article by Megan Favignano at New Press Now. Original article at http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/data-continues-to-influence-policing/article_ef968ba2-389c-5289-b341-a9818ae231d7.html
A copy of the article follows:
A recent report questions how some police departments are using data to forecast future crimes.
The report examined how departments are utilizing predictive policing, a computer software that uses data to forecast where crime may happen, who may commit it and who could be potential victims.
Logan Koepke, an analyst who coauthored the report, said the handful of departments that use the software don't appear to give patrol officers much guidance on what to do with the information provided.
"One problem we've seen is there is not a lot of direction from police departments or from vendors about what officers in the field should do once they look at a prediction," Koepke said.
Upturn, an analysis organization out of Washington, D.C., that works with a variety of groups, published the report "Stuck in a Pattern" last month. "Predictive policing," the report states, is a marketing term popularized by vendors who sell the software.
The group's research showed areas that use the software often don't engage the public in discussion about predictive policing and questioned whether or not departments who use it are measuring the impact the data-driven tool has on policing and crime rates.
How police departments nationwide utilize crime statistics and the software available to patrol officers monitoring incidents has evolved a lot in the past couple decades, Sgt. Tracy Barton with the St. Joseph Police Department said. Barton started as a patrol officer 20 years ago. He said having software like police have today would have been useful.
"I was in District 7, which is the Midtown area. It would have been really cool to know where crime is occurring in District 7 and that I could look that up on a computer and have it at my fingertips where I could see it on an up-to-date basis," Barton said.
In the past, crime analysts used physical maps and mathematical algorithms to do what software does instantly today. Barton, the St. Joseph Police Department's crime analyst, uses software that takes into account crimes reported to police to show crime hot spots in the city. A map of those hot spots is available online. Officers, he said, have access to a more in-depth version of that hot spots map, which includes extra details about the area and the crimes occurring.
The hot spots approach St. Joseph police use is most helpful in preventing crime when a series of crimes occur or when there is a crime pattern in a given area, he said. St. Joseph's small size, Barton added, poses an extra challenge.
The St. Joseph Police Department has had its current software for just a few years. It doesn't fit the definition of the predictive policing software Upturn outlines in the recent report. The software used locally depends on crime reports police receive. Predictive policing also looks at what types of business are located in an area, if repeat offenders live nearby and other information to predict where crimes may occur. Typically, according to the recent report, predictive policing takes one of two approaches, focusing either on place-based data or person-based data to make predictions.
Kevin Bryant, sociology and criminology professor at Benedictine College, said when people hear predictive policing described, they often think of the movie "Minority Report." The software, he said, is nothing like in the movies.
"Predictive policing now has kind of morphed into better proactive methods that are based on prediction to some extent in forecasting risk," Bryant said of how data-driven policing has changed over time. "But what we've learned through evaluation studies is that it's really more important what the police do when they're in a crime hot spot."
B ryant worked with the Shawnee, Kansas, Police Department on research that looked at what he calls "smart policing." In his research and in other work he has read, Bryant said it's important for police to have a high visibility in crime hot spots, for officers to make connections with the public and for them to avoid staying in crime hot spots for extended periods of time.
When police are in a hot spot for too long, public surveys show area residents feel like they are being picked on rather than protected, he said. Predictive policing takes into account businesses in a given area. Bryant said some types of facilities are at a higher risk of victimization and others can attract crime to an area.
"Knowing where bars, taverns, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores are, we can actually use their locations as a means of forecasting where crime might emerge at a later date," Bryant said. "Part of predictive policing is predicting who the risky offenders are and that can be controversial."
Upturn's report also explored an ongoing debate among criminologists on the impact of using crime reports when determining patrol.
"Criminologists have long emphasized that crime reports and other statistics gathered by the police are not an accurate record of the crime that happens in a community," the report states.
Police statistics, Koepke said, reflect officer enforcement efforts, not just crime.
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Sikkim's capital is mostly a functional sprawl of multistorey concrete boxes. But, true to its name (meaning 'hill top'), these are steeply tiered along a precipitous mountain ridge. When clouds clear, typically at dawn, views are inspiring with Khangchendzonga soaring above the western horizon. While Gangtok's manmade attractions are minor, it's a reasonable place to spend a day or two organising a trek or trips to the north.
Gangtok's crooked spine is the Rangpo–Mangan road, National Hwy 31A, cryptically referred to as 31ANHWay. The tourist office, banks and many shops line the central pedestrianised Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Marg.


Travelling isn't all about admiring beautiful sights and collecting photos of them to impress your friends when you return home. It isn't about the tan you get while on vacation, though that certainly helps the post holiday blues a little. Traveling is about experiences, memories, and trying different things. The problem with that is, if you're not well informed about the place you're going, i.e its culture, language, religion, and other important facts about your destination, then it can all be basically lost on you, and it becomes just another generic place.
It's for this reason it's important to be aware of the place you're visiting, and by aware, I mean culturally aware.
Too many people become lost in the tourist side of a destination that they never truly experience anything of what it would be like to be a local living there. If possible try and stay longer at fewer places on your trip so you can partake a little in the daily lives of the local people and get a sense of their their world. Meeting and making friends with the local people has always turned out to be the most rewarding experience I get from my travels. Travellers who don't prepare and explore the cultural side of where they are visiting miss out on the best part of the travel experience, and can cause cultural or social faux-pas, simply out of unintentional ignorance.
When you're looking to visit a particular place, Google is your friend. I'm not suggesting you swat up on it to the point where you could easily sit in the Mastermind chair, but a few interesting facts and reading up on the history of the place could be enough.
My friend and I recently visited Turkey and we went to Istanbul for a few days. Now, for anyone who has never been to Istanbul, this is like culture-centre, especially in the old town of Sultanahmet, and if you don't understand anything about the culture and dos and don'ts of life here, then you miss out and probably attract a few stares in your direction.
We visited the Blue Mosque, and my friend had no idea about mosque etiquette, e.g. women covering their head, everyone removing their shoes, and being adequately covered up, especially legs etc. Now, she genuinely didn't know, and it wasn't out of any flippant attitude or anything like that, so I had to explain this to her. She said that she wished she had read up a little about the places we were going to see, so she could understand them better, and that it would obviously enhance her enjoyment.
This is what I'm trying to get at – be culturally aware of where you're travelling (e.g covering your head if you need to in a Muslim country) and do a little prior research preparation so you understand what you're seeing. You'll get so much more out of it you cultural experience if you do.
Obviously we also have the side of it we've just touched upon. These places are also people's homes, and tourists wandering around however they see fit, sometimes unintentionally offending people simply out of being unaware, is what causes stereotypes and bad feelings. It's common sense to a degree – if you're going somewhere rural, don't walk around in a bikini, if you're going somewhere in the Middle East, cover up appropriately. Wherever you travel make the effort to learn a few words of the local language, even if it's just hello, goodbye, please and thank you, because this shows not only a willingness to learn, but also respect for people who live there.
Being culturally aware isn't about being a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge on the place you're visiting, it's about being subtly aware of the major dos and don'ts of where you're going, to help you as a visitor, and to not leave an unpleasant footstep when you depart.
Photo Credit: Brian Snelson under Creative Commons licence. Market stall in Istanbul.


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February 24, 2020, 2:54 PM ET
Jussie Smollett Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges Related To Alleged Hate Crime Hoax
Jussie Smollett's attorneys are reportedly hoping to get his case dismissed.
By Sharon Lynn Pruitt
Jussie Smollett Charged With Making 'False Claims'
Jussie Smollett appeared in court in Chicago on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to new charges related to long-standing claims that he lied to authorities last year about being the victim of a hate crime.
The 37-year-old actor, who is black and gay, famously claimed last year to have been beaten by two individuals who used racial insults and doused him with bleach, but he was later accused of staging the false attack in order to build his career. In a highly controversial move, prosecutors ultimately dropped the case against him, but Smollett was charged anew earlier this month with six counts of disorderly conduct.
Judge James Linn set a $20,000 bond on Monday, and Smollett was released on his own recognizance, the Chicago Tribune reports. He is scheduled to next appear in court on March 18.
Smollett's legal team has also asked the Illinois Supreme Court for an emergency stay, with Smollett's lawyer, Tina Glandian, notifying Judge Linn of that move during Monday's hearing, according to WGN9. That motion also seeks to have the case dismissed, and for the court order appointing a special prosecutor to look into the case — which is what led to the new charges — to be vacated, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cook County special prosecutor Dan K. Webb announced on February 11 that Smollett had been indicted on six new counts of disorderly conduct for "making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a crime," a press release obtained by Oxygen.com states.
A grand jury reportedly investigated the January 29, 2019 attack, which Smollett claimed took place in his Chicago neighborhood and was perpetrated by two unknown men in ski masks who left him with a noose around his neck. In a surprising twist to the case, Chicago police claimed that Smollett paid brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo to stage the so-called attack to build his celebrity.
The actor, however, maintained his innocence and, after being charged the following month with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police, he pleaded not guilty; prosecutors later dropped the charges altogether, instead ordering Smollett to perform community service and forfeit a $10,000 bond, according to the Chicago Tribune.
This time around, Smollett is again maintaining his innocence. Following Monday's hearing, Glandian said that her client is "obviously frustrated" to be in court again, according to the Tribune.
The Osundairo brothers, who Smollett's legal team have previously accused of beating Smollett and lying about it, also appeared in court on Monday as observers, the Tribune reports. During Smollett's previous case, the Osundairo brothers testified before a grand jury for the prosecution; their lawyer Gloria Schmidt Monday said that they came to court that morning to "support the process" and they will be continuing to sit in on future court dates, according to the outlet.
"They feel glad that the process is moving forward," Schmidt said, according to NBC News.
Smollett is also facing a separate legal battle after the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit last year seeking to recoup the $130,000 they say was wasted in investigating Smollett's case.
Jussie Smollett's Indictment Is 'All About Politics,' Lawyer Says

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Fleet Hotel, Dublin offers excellent boutique style accommodation in the heart of Dublin City's Temple Bar.
Each guest room has been tastefully decorated as individual, contemporary, bright and stylish. With a wide variety of styles they can accommodate a single traveller or up to a family of four. All bedrooms have large windows to maximise daylight and comfortable white linen duvets. Complimentary WiFi internet access is available throughout the hotel. While relaxing in your room, keep up with your favourite programmes on the state of the art LED televisions.
Connected to the hotel is the new Cafe 1920. Come to experience the ambiance and hospitality of Cafe 1920. Food is served daily and menus feature a range of locally sourced seasonal ingredients. The new Bar 1920 is a vintage style American Bar which if frequented by locals and tourists alike.
The Fleet Street Hotel Temple Bar is in close proximity for both corporate and leisure guests alike with the hotel in walking distance of the IFSC, Convention Centre Dublin, Three arena and Grand Canal Theatre. In addition, it is less than a five minute walk from the iconic Trinity College Dublin and within 15 minutes of Dublin's most famous attractions including the Guinness Store House, Jameson Whiskey Distillery, Aviva stadium and many more.
Guests with cars can use the independent multi-storey car park located opposite the hotel at their own expense. Discount on daily parking rate is available.


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Using Nature to Heal the Spiritual Self
By Mallory Herrmann
The Earth Has Everything It Needs: So Do We
Many of us have a tendency to accumulate stuff. We hold on to it. We hoard it. We worry about not having enough of it. We often get caught up in wanting to have, do, or be more.
However, when we look outside ourselves to the world around us, we remember that we already have everything we need. Reconnecting to nature is an opportunity to slow down, to heal—to appreciate what we do have instead of only worrying about what's missing. Nature reminds us of our spiritual foundation and to see that we are enough.
It Can Be Messy
At The Gardens at Unity Village, a dedicated group of volunteers cares for a small acreage at Unity Village, Missouri. They cultivate orchard trees, vegetables, and herbs and sell what they produce at a market stand from May through October each year. It's not a commercial operation, and it's certainly a labor of love.
Drayton Riley, president of the board for the Gardens, says that the community of volunteers has a shared passion for stewardship of the land and the consciousness of sustainability. While they are all eager to see the organization grow, they also understand the risk of wanting to do too much.
"We're not going to take on things we can't manage," he says. "It's always going to be a little messy."
He explains that while it's important for the group to forecast where they want to go and work toward that goal, they have to give themselves permission to make mistakes.
Those can be hard lessons to learn. When the desire for perfection creeps in, it is important to acknowledge—even appreciate—our imperfections. When we try to make ourselves whole through getting more, we must remember that we already have enough.
It Can Be Freeing
Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett remembers throwing a tantrum when she was a kid because her mom wouldn't let her be in the orchestra and be a Girl Scout and do this or that. But now she sees that her mom was right: The idea that you can do it all is ridiculous.
Now Rev. Linda focuses on enjoying what she does have instead of creating anxiety around what she doesn't. Since she and her husband recently downsized their home, she has found significant relief in recognizing the law of abundance at work.
"We don't have to acquire and hold and hoard," she says. "I can free myself of that mentality and engage in the beauty."
The opportunity to remember that is all around us. Cultivating a practice of spending time outside and reconnecting to nature reminds us that the beauty of the outdoors isn't outside of us. We're a part of it and it's a part of us.
Adopting a practice like the sensory forest immersion that Yoga Journal describes can help us reconnect with nature's goodness.
Spending time to engage our senses outside cultivates the sense of connection that is essential to both physical and spiritual vitality.
It Can Be Enough
Stan Slaughter, the Eco-Troubadour, suggests that humans are the only animal that has this problem with "enough." While we come from a long line of survivors, we only use a fraction of our ingenuity to create meaningful and fulfilling lives.
An avid floater in the Ozarks, Slaughter describes the power of rivers. With the sun above you, the air around you, the banks beside you, and the water supporting you, you're at the boundary of all four elements. We may engage in this frenetic sense of "not enough," but we have everything we need right here.
"There's more in us than we know," he says.
We often forget this. When we lose our spiritual foundation, Slaughter says, it's like horses who suffer from hay belly: When they're given low-quality feed, they just keep eating more and more in an attempt to make up the deficit in nutrition. They end up overfed and undernourished.
Like those horses, when we become disconnected from our spiritual center, we become clingy, greedy.
Instead of jumping to conclusions that we're suffering from a lack in material abundance, recognize it as a craving for more meaningful connection.
Whether you're floating down a river or digging in the garden or simply letting go of what you no longer need, we can support our spiritual foundation by reconnecting to nature and to ourselves.
For meditations on all the earth provides us, order the digital booklet Earth Blessings: Prayers for Our Planet.
Mallory Herrmann is a writer and editor in the Kansas City area. Her work has been featured in Unity Magazine, Career College Central, and the Lee's Summit Tribune.
Healing the Heart & Mind
Tools for Growth


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American Kingpin Reviews
A New York Times Bestseller
GoodReads Choice Awards
Best Nonfiction Books of 2017.
Apple Best Books of 2017
Apple iBooks Best Books of the Year.
Amazon 100 Best Books of 2017
Among the top 100 books of the year.
Audible Best True Crime book of 2017
"Meticulously researched and beautifully constructed.
This a listen that you simply cannot turn off."
Audible Essential Reads
"The Audible Essentials is our list of 100 absolute must-listens.
These are the books that stand the test
of time: vetted by our listeners and hand-picked
by our editors as examples of excellence."
"A neck-breaking plot twist... Bilton's impressive reporting
gives more space to a story that could use some sprawl."
Amazon's Best Book of the Month
Amazon Editors' top pick for the best books of May.
"American Kingpin is addictive reading." — Seira Wilson, The Amazon Book Review
Apple Best Books of May
Among Apple iBooks Editors' best books of May.
Listeners Are Calling This The "Best Book of the Year"
NYT "Editor's Choice" Bestseller
"A comprehensive, breezily written narrative."
"An astonishingly well-researched narrative…
Bilton's storytelling bears not so much as a trace of fat;
the book he's conjured is so sharp and bright
that it can be whipped through in the
airport lounge before the flight takes off."
"Bilton is a splendid investigative reporter
[and] provides an addictive account of
Ulbricht's 'ultimate free-market idea'."
"Engrossing... Bilton writes in a breezy, colloquial style...
A fast-paced, readable true-crime tale that frames
the likely future of the underground economy."
LitHub
"A ripping true crime story.
Bilton skillfully lays out the complicated investigation."
"Bilton's specialty is the deep dive...
a genuine page-turner, and the best book I've read this year."
"The book is amazing."
"The book reads like a novel."
"Cinematic... a page turner with a clever (and subversive) framing."
"Astonishing!"
"Drawing on an impressive stockpile of research, Mr. Bilton documents
Ulbricht's mental state in great detail, producing a portrait of a young man
experiencing the heady mix of exhilaration and terror that
accompanies becoming an immensely successful criminal."
"Kingpin is a powerful story, one that I would
have been ignorant of and that, honestly,
probably affects me more than I would have thought."
Forbes Best Books of the Summer 2017


Manual handling, or to be accurate, incorrect manual handling, is one of the most common causes of injury at work. To try and combat manual handling problems, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations were introduced. The Regulations lay out duties for both employees and employers. They give a general requirement that employees must be trained to manually handle correctly including the use of any equipment their employer provides to handle loads safely.
Module 1 – What is manual handling?


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Home Market The León-Altea range features the 90 hp 1.6 TDI CR engine
The León-Altea range features the 90 hp 1.6 TDI CR engine
The 90 hp 1.6 TDI CR engine will be available in Spain on the León-Altea range starting next January 2011. By then all three of the Spanish brand's models will include the new common rail engine in their entire Diesel line-up, which provides enhanced engine performance as well as a considerable decrease in noise levels, fuel consumption and emissions.
The addition of the 90 hp 1.6 TDI CR power unit has become an enticing entry-level choice on the Diesel engine display of the three models, and replaces the former pump-injector fuelled 90 hp 1.9 TDI version. Mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, the new engine features the DPF particulate filter which fully complies with EU5 emissions legislation.
The engine's performance figures are a clear testimony to the exceptional output it delivers despite requiring even lower fuel consumption and generating fewer emissions. It generates 230 Nm of torque between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm, consumes an average of only 4.5 litres/100 km and emits 119 g/km equipped on the León, compared to 5.0 l/100 km and 135 g/km of the previous 1.9 TDI engine. These results mean that buyers of the Spanish compact are exempt from paying registration tax.
The same 1.6 TDI CR engine on the Altea range also delivers better performance compared to the previous version, with an average fuel consumption of only 4.8 l/100 km and emissions of 126 g/km against 5.4 l/100 km and 142 g/km of the outgoing 1.9 TDI unit.
All cars equipped with this engine will still feature the same full standard and optional equipment line-up as on the rest of the range, with Emoción and Reference trim available on the León and Emoción trim on the Altea. The common rail system's greater efficiency and more advanced technology however, has not brought about any price change compared to the versions it will be replacing.
Source: Seat (press release/media site)
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Home > Adolescence > Adolescent Development Toolkit > Identity Development
Adolescent Development Toolkit
Toolkit Overview
Adolescent Development Overview
Domains of Development
Identity Development
Teens and Media
Youth Program Planning
For Parents and Teens
Purpose in Adolescence
In this article, the authors present evidence that having a sense of purpose can help adolescents successfully navigate challenges.
Formatted for Screen Readers
Toolkit: Identity Development
Identity development is a central task of adolescent development. Who am I? How do I fit in? What is my role? These are all key questions adolescents are asking themselves. Important dimensions of identity formation include race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
Adolescent Identity Development
Narrated Presentation: In this presentation, you will learn to: define identity, identify the stages in adolescent identity development, distinguish between self-identity and social identity, and recognize the importance of identity development for youth. ACT for Youth.
Narrated Presentation (13 minutes)
"Who Am I?" -- Identity Formation in Adolescence
Written by Rachel Sumner of Cornell University, this handout provides a brief overview of adolescent identity development. ACT for Youth.
Identity Formation in Adolescence
This article reviews identity formation during adolescence, presenting both theory and research. ACT for Youth.
Ethnic and Racial Identity Development
Adolescent Ethnic and Racial Identity Development
In this presentation you will learn to: define ethnic and racial identity, identify the stages in racial and ethnic identity development, and recognize the importance of racial and ethnic identity development for youth. ACT for Youth.
Summary of Stages of Racial Identity Development
This document summarizes several prominent frameworks that describe stages of racial and ethnic identity development. Racial Equity Tools.
Summary Chart
Task Force Report on Resilience in African American Children and Adolescents
In this report, the Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black Children and Adolescents explores resilience in African American youth. The task force offers a vision of optimal youth development in the contexts of peers, families, schools, and communities. The report presents recommendations to the field on how to transform its approach to African American children and youth. American Psychological Association.
Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America
This report looks at how well young Latinos are doing in their transition to adulthood. Comparing newly immigrated youth with native-born youth, the report investigates educational attainment as well as social, civic, and economic well-being. Pew Research Hispanic Center.
The Future of Children: Immigrant Children
This 2011 publication takes a close look at the past and current situation of immigrant children and adolescents. It investigates how they live, learn, and handle specific challenges they are facing. Articles can be downloaded separately.
Gender and Sexual Orientation
Theories on LGBTQ Development
This article briefly outlines several academic theories about LGBTQ development. UNC Charlotte.
Gender Identity Development
In this slide presentation, Melissa MacNish briefly covers theories of gender development, including transgender identity development. National LGBT Health Education Center.
Slide Presentation
About Boys
On this page, we discuss the pressures on boys with respect to masculinity and sex, and provide resources for those who work with boys.
The Boy Code
Elizabeth Schroeder from Answer, Rutgers University, discusses the unwritten rules governing boys' lives, as well as implications for program planning. ACT for Youth.
A New Look at Adolescent Girls
The American Psychological Association worked with psychologists across the country to take a new look at the research regarding adolescent girls, including current social and environmental challenges and resiliency. Excerpts of the 2001 book "Beyond Appearance: A New Look at Adolescent Girls" are available as a report on this web site. American Psychological Association.
Tavi Gevinson: A Teen Just Trying to Figure It Out
Tavi Gevinson, then a 15-year-old girl, gave this talk in 2012. Searching for strong, female, teenage role models to help her answer her own questions about life and her future, she ventured into developing a web space to connect adolescent girls with each other. Ted Talk.
How Do LGBT Youth in NYS Talk about Gender and Sexual Orientation?
In this article, the authors discuss the fluid nature of identity labelling and provide examples.
Growing Up Transgender: Research and Theory
In this article, Seth Pardo introduces research and theory on transgender identity formation. ACT for Youth.
Understanding the OBI: Sexual Orientation, Behavior, and Identity
Elizabeth Schroeder, executive director of Answer, explores the multi-dimensional nature of sexual orientation, behavior, and identity in this narrated presentation. ACT for Youth.
Growing Up LGBT in America
This report presents the challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, and also describes LGBT teens' strengths and safe havens. Human Rights Campaign.


Fibroids needs our attention as they can be present for some time without causing any symptoms. The growths are non-cancerous tumours that grow in or around the womb(uterus). They are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue and vary in size. They are sometimes known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas. I am raising awareness of these benign growth as some women may be suffering in silence. I have had a few questions about fibroids send into my inbox and this is my answer to this topic.
What are the symptoms of fibroids ?
In rare cases, fibroids can cause significant complications, such as infertility and problems during pregnancy.
As most women have no symptoms diagnosis of fibroids can be by chance when investigating for other problems. However if one has symptoms mentioned above , she should see her own doctor for further examination. Your doctor may request a scan to assess the uterus which will confirm the presence of fibroids.
The exact cause of these growths is unknown. However, they are linked to the hormone oestrogen. Oestrogen is the female reproductive hormone produced by the ovaries (the female reproductive organs).
Fibroids usually develop during a woman's reproductive years (from approximately 16 to 50 years of age) when oestrogen levels are at their highest, and they tend to shrink when oestrogen levels are low, such as after the menopause (when a woman's monthly periods stop at around 50 years of age).
They can grow anywhere in the womb and vary in size considerably. Some can be the size of a pea, whereas others can be the size of a melon.
In some cases, subserosal or submucosal fibroids are attached to the womb with a narrow stalk of tissue. These are known as pedunculated.
If they do not cause symptoms, treatment is not needed. They will often shrink and disappear without any treatment over time, particularly after the menopause.
If you do have symptoms caused by fibroids, medication to help relieve the symptoms will usually be recommended first. This may include medication to reduce the bleeding during periods or painful periods.
If these medications are ineffective, surgery or other less invasive procedures may be recommended.
A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the womb. It is the most effective way of preventing fibroids coming back. This is usually recommended if the growths are too big and also if the women no longer need to have anymore children.
A myomectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the fibroids from the wall of your womb. It may be considered as an alternative to a hysterectomy, particularly for women who still wish to have children. In this procedure only the growth is removed leaving the uterus.
Uterine artery embolisation (UAE) is an alternative procedure to a hysterectomy or myomectomy for treating fibroids. It may be recommended for women with large fibroids. UAE is performed by a radiologist (a doctor trained to interpret X-Rays and scans). It involves blocking the blood vessels that supply the fibroids, causing them to shrink.
Endometrial ablation is a relatively minor procedure that involves removing the lining of the womb. It is mainly used to reduce heavy bleeding in women with fibroids, but it can also be used to treat small fibroids in the womb lining.
The affected womb lining can be removed in a number of ways, for example by using laser energy, a heated wire loop, microwave heating or hot fluid in a balloon.
If after reading this article and you think you may have these growths, do not panic just visit your doctor for further tests. Kindly share the article so as to spread the message and do not forget to leave me a message or a comment.


Multipurpose swing-away heat press for T-shirts, Mugs, Plates, Caps, which utilizes quick-change attachments to meet your different transfer needs. - DIS2U best selling 8 in 1 Heat Press.
With interchangeable attachment, this multifunctional press G2-8M could meet your different requirement for transferring, such as T-shirt, mouse pad, puzzles, tiles, mugs, plates, caps, etc. Cost effective and space save which has gained high reputation from customers.


Shortly after receiving a detailed economic study suggesting a 'One Yorkshire' devolution deal could give the region a £30bn boost, Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry said in October it would take time for the Government to properly assess the report to determine its feasibility before coming back with a response.
Regional leaders may similarly now wish to apply their own critical assessment of Mr Berry's own proposals in a newspaper interview for the formation of a new Government department for the North of England which would be allowed to set its own tax rates.
Before such an idea could ever come to fruition - which given the extent to which the Government and Parliament are gridlocked by Brexit is questionable - specific information around intended powers, governance and delivery would have to be forthcoming in the same way that has been demanded of, and delivered by, proponents of a One Yorkshire devolution deal.
However, despite the lack of specifics around his new proposals, Mr Berry's latest comments do improve the case for Yorkshire devolution as he deployed many of the same arguments for extra powers that have already been made for this region of over five million people.
"A big complaint is that money is being invested more in London and the South than in the North," he said, before adding that "Northerners who voted for Brexit don't want those powers to be taken from the EU and stop at Whitehall" and that devolution will help drive the country's economy forward after Brexit.
Most notably, he stated that every region across the North should have its own bespoke devolution deal. The question remains on how that would work in practice but it would be churlish not to welcome this sensible approach to unlocking the full potential of Yorkshire and the North.


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Amazon's Pricing Dispute Sets Book Expo Buzzing
Published June 2, 2014 at 2:26 PM MDT
Getting a buzz going is what the publishing industry's Book Expo is all about. The annual conference took place over the weekend. It is the premier event in the publishing world. And every year publishers hope it gets people excited about their upcoming offers. Well, this year, the biggest buzz wasn't about books. It was about the ongoing dispute of e-book pricing - the dispute between Amazon and one of the big five publishing houses Hachette. NPR's Lynn Neary was there.
LYNN NEARY, BYLINE: Pretty much everyone was talking about Amazon and Hachette in the hallways of the vast convention center, on the panels of experts discussing the latest trends in publishing and at the many private events that were taking place in various corners of the building. At a luncheon for authors published by Little Brown, an imprint of Hachette, book seller Pam Cady made it crystal clear that she wants Hachette to prevail in its negotiations with Amazon over the price of e-books.
PAM CADY: They're our heroes. They are the heroes right now. And we're hoping that they are able to stay the course so that all publishers will be free of the tyranny - literally, the tyranny - of Amazon.
NEARY: Cady is a manager at the University Book Store in Seattle, Amazon's hometown. Independent booksellers like Cady have been trying to offset the competition from Amazon for years. So Cady says they're thrilled that Hachette is standing up to Amazon, even though the online retailer is slowing down deliveries of Hachette books and making it difficult to buy upcoming titles from the publisher.
CADY: They're losing money daily. Daily they're losing money. And their decision to stand firm while losing all of this money in a capitalist society is heroic.
NEARY: Booksellers didn't mind making their opinions known, but writers were more reluctant to go on the record. A few very successful writers like James Patterson have publicly criticized Amazon, but many authors feel caught in the crossfire between these two powerhouses. Literary agent Steven Axelrod says there's a lot at stake for both authors and agents.
STEVEN AXELROD: I think people are very, very concerned.
NEARY: Everyone is watching this negotiation so closely, Axelrod says, because whatever terms Hachette agrees on will set the stage for future negotiations between other publishers and Amazon. Axelrod says it will be difficult for everyone if Amazon prevails and gets the price it wants.
AXELROD: One assumes that every other publisher will be forced to accept those terms or close to those terms. And I think it will take the profit that publishers have been, you know, showing, which are allowing them to invest in authors and just turning it over to Amazon.
NEARY: So how does that hurt your specific corner of the industry?
AXELROD: There will be less money for advances.
NEARY: In an area set aside for independent publishers, Dennis Johnson of Melville House, an outspoken critic of Amazon, said he's curious to see what happens when the other big publishers' contracts come up for re-negotiation.
DENNIS JOHNSON: I think you're going to see the other publishers forced to do exactly what Hachette is doing right now, and that's going to be interesting. Is Amazon really not going to carry 50 percent of the books being published in this country, which is the books being published by the five biggest publishers? I don't think so.
NEARY: But writers milling around the Kindle Direct publishing booth had a different take on the controversy.
BOB MAYER: I think a lot of the people from Hachette's side are steeped in traditional publishing and want things just to stay absolutely the same and they're not going to stay the same.
NEARY: Bob Mayer is an author and CEO of Cool Gus Publishing. He uses a lot of different publishing platforms including Kindle Direct.
MAYER: I can set my own store. Every author could set up their own store. You know, James Patterson's complaining, but he could start his own website, sell his books to his fans and not need Amazon or Hachette. As long as the Internet's free, they're not going to have a monopoly.
NEARY: But Hachette and Amazon have indicated they don't expect to reach an agreement anytime soon. Lynn Neary, NPR News.
You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Young Voices of New York
Lock and Key: The Final Step
Arvind Gajraj, 9, Valley Stream
In "Lock and Key: The Final Step", Moria Moriarty tells the story of the solving of a string of deaths including the deaths of her father, coachman and butler. James Moriarty also sets out to find the killer, behind his sister's back, with a secret organization called the Scowers. They both kn...
Secret Sisters Of The Salty Sea
Brianna Ochoa, 10, Valley Stream
"Secret Sisters Of The Salty Sea," by Lynne Rae Perkins is a book that is about two sisters named Alix and Julie going on vacation with their mom and dad. They go on vacation to a beachy area far away from home. Alix and Julie's mom and dad decide to rent a cabana owned by an old...
The Lost Rainforest: Mez's Magic
Naomi Castang, Age 10, Valley Stream
The book, "The Lost Rainforest," by Elliot Schrefer was very interesting. This book was interesting because of the events that happen and because the characters had unusual character traits. Two of the main characters were Panther cubs. One was named Mez and her sister who had a missing foot was na...
Spirit Hunters: The island of Monsters
Antonio Leo, 9, Valley Stream
"Spirit Hunters, Island of Monsters," by Ellen Oh is a book for people who like horror stories. The main character, Harper has ghost friends. But something bad is happening, the ghosts are disappearing. Harper and her grandma encounter a soul eater, the entity that was linked to the disappearing ghosts. ...
Marge in Charge and The Stolen Treasure.
Sarai Campoverde, 9, Valley Stream
"Marge in Charge and the Stolen Treasure," by Isla Fisher is the second book in the Marge in Charge series. However, you don't have to read the first book to understand the second one. This book is like three little books in one, where two kids go on adventures with their wacky babysitter. In ...
Soldier Dogs; Air Raid Search and Rescue
Nicholas Vacchiano, 10, Valley Stream
If you like action, then "Soldier Dogs; Air Raid Search and Rescue," by Marcus Sutter, is a great book for you! It's about a boy named Matt, who was left by his older brother, Eric, who volunteered to fight the Japanese during World War II. It's up to Matt to watch over and take care of Eric'...
Eathan Chen, 10, Valley Stream
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Max Tilt 80 Days or Die
Sean Leon, 10, Valley Stream
"Max Tilt 80 Days or Die" is the second book in the Max Tilt series written by Peter Lerangis. In it, Max Tilt, and his eighteen year old cousin, Alex who found a tremendous amount of money in book one and are now trying to find a secret formula in order to save their friend Evelyn from cancer. ...
Jeremy Dang, 9, Valley Stream
Estranged," by Ethan M. Aldridge, was a lot of F-U-N!!! In most cases, you "shouldn't judge a book by it's cover", but this book is exactly what the cover shows--a great story with great illustrations to go with it! Readers beware--a TWIST has been prepared! In the book, Edmund Carter wa...
Into the Nightfell Wood
Nina Munafo, 9, Valley Stream
In "Into the Nightfell Wood" by Kristin Bailey, a girl named Wynn and her brother named Elric, go on quite the adventure in order to get to the silver gate so they can start their new lives as the fairy queen's new children; but, one day Wynn's chicken, Mildred, runs out of the fairy realm and...
City of Islands
Gabriela Gonzalez, 9, Valley Stream
In "City of Islands," by Kali Wallace , a girl named Mara, who works for a woman called The Lady of the Tides, goes on a adventure. A boy told Mara that he saw a pile of bones in the ocean and he told Mara exactly where the bones were. So Mara went to the spot. When The Lady found out that Mara di...
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Currently, I am working on a collaborative project between radiologists from Johns Hopkins University and Center for Visual Computing (Stony Brook University) to determine the most descriptive radiological features and develop a system for pancreatic cyst classification.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest of all solid malignancies with a 7% five-year survival rate . It is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. There are no specific early symptoms of pancreatic cancer , and most of the cases are diagnosed at a late stage and spread beyond the pancreas. Due to this feature of the disease, less than 20% of patients are candidates for surgery . However, recent research highlighted cysts as the precursors to pancreatic cancer . Hence, it is utmost importance to identify and remove malignant cysts in the early stages of pancreatic cancer to increase the survival chances of a patient.
Today the most common pancreas screening procedure is Computed Tomography (CT). Standard abdominal CT screening has the sensitivity of 70-80% for pancreatic lesions less than 2 cm in diameter . National Cancer Institute set the development of the noninvasive techniques for detection and monitoring of the disease as one of the critical priorities for pancreatic cancer screening. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems play an important role in this priority. CAD systems can help with the surgery planning and navigation, as well as the automatic detection and the assessment of the disease. CT is a logical input for CAD systems: it is relatively cheap, easily accessible and it has a high-spatial resolution, which provides a large amount of information.
Segmentation of the organ is considered an initial step of the most CAD systems. However, high inter-patient variations in size, location, and a lobulated shape of the pancreas make a manual segmentation challenging even for an experienced radiologist. The visceral fat tissue in the proximity of the organ causes large variations in contrast of the boundaries of the pancreas. Moreover, pancreatic masses distort the appearance of the organ making the detection and segmentation of the organ significantly more difficult.
Classification between different kinds of cysts, malignant and benign masses is a second step of the CAD systems. The variability of the imaging characteristics of the pancreatic cysts  expands the number of challenges in the diagnostic of the disease. Thus, understanding of the different radiological features of the normal and abnormal pancreas and its masses is essential in the development of the CAD system.
Examples of the axial CT slices with SCN, SPN, MCN, IPMN, and Pseudocyst, respectively.
Pancreatic cysts can be split into two categories - neoplastic cysts and inflammatory cysts . Inflammatory cysts, or pseudocysts, are the most common pancreatic lesions and are the results of the pancreatitis or trauma. When the diagnosis of the pancreatitis is excluded, a case of a neoplastic cyst must be considered. Classification of the neoplastic cysts is based on the type of the fluid that these cysts produce. There are two major groups of the neoplastic cysts: mucinous and non-mucinous cysts. Mucinous cyst include Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms (MCN) and Intraductal Pappilary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMN). The later category consists of Serous Cystic Neoplasms (SCN) and other solid lesions, e.g. Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasms (SPN). It is utmost important to differentiate between them to make the right treatment decision.
 American Cancer Society. "American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2016." (2016).
 Porta, M., Fabregat, X., Malats, N., Guarner, L., Carrato, A., de Miguel, A., Ruiz, L., Jariod, M., Costafreda, S., Coll, S. and Alguacil, J., 2005. Exocrine pancreatic cancer: symptoms at presentation and their relation to tumour site and stage. Clinical and Translational Oncology, 7(5), pp.189-197.
 Hruban, R.H., Maitra, A., Kern, S.E. and Goggins, M., 2007. Precursors to pancreatic cancer. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America , 36(4), pp.831-849.
 Steinberg, W.M., Barkin, J.S., Bradley III, E.L., DiMagno, E., Layer, P., Canto, M.I. and Levy, M.J., 2009. Should patients with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer be screened on a periodic basis for cancer of the pancreas?. Pancreas, 38(5), pp.e137-e150.
 Lennon, A.M. and Wolfgang, C., 2013. Cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 17(4), pp.645-653.


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BRIDGE Tokyo
Japanese business chat tool developer Chatwork files for IPO
Chatwork
The Bridge 2019.08.16
Image credit: Chatwork
Kobe-headquartered Chatwork, the startup behind a cloud-based business chat tool under the same name, announced on Thursday that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 24 September with plans to offer 600,000 shares for public subscription and to sell up to 1,270,500 shares in over-allotment options, for a total of 7.9 million shares. Daiwa Securities will lead the underwriting.
Its share price range will be released on 29 August with bookbuilding scheduled to start on 2 September and pricing on 6 September. According to the consolidated statement as of December 2018, they posted revenue of 1.31 billion yen (about $12.3 million) with an ordinary loss of 186 million yen ($1.75 million) and a net loss of 110 million yen ($1.04 million).
Chatwork, the company's flagship service, is now being served to 2,747,000 users while 364,000 paying users among them are subscribing to its premium service (as of June this year). In addition, the company also sells antivirus products of Slovakian IT security company ESET.
Founded in July of 2000 as EC Studio, the company raised 300 million yen (about $2.5 million) from GMO Venture Partners in April of 2015, and subsequently 1.5 billion yen (about $12.8million) from GMO Venture Partners, Jafco, Shinsei Corporate Investment, and SMBC Venture Capital in January of 2016. Established in Osaka, they have moved their headquarters to Tanigami, the western part of Kobe City, as an effort to help making the mountainous area "another Silicon Valley". They also have business operations in Tokyo and Osaka as well as a representative office in Taipei.
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Japanese mobile analytics startup Repro sets up shop in Singapore for SEA expansion
See the original story in Japan. Tokyo-based Repro, the provider of mobile analytics tool under the same name, announced today that it has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore to strengthen business expansion into Southeast Asian (SEA) markets. The subsidiary, namely Repro Singapore Pte. Ltd., aims to cultivate the client base in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and among others, while it intends to employ five to ten people in each of these respective markets by the end of 2021. See also: Japan's mobile analytics and marketing tool Repro gets $2.6 million to expand to US Japan's mobile analytics company Repro secures $835,000 from DG Incubation, others Marking five years since its launch, the tool has been used by 6,500 companies across 59 countries in the world, which has been good enough for the startup to see the potential in the markets outside Japan. In the SEA market, which the startup will be focused on, the growing penetration of mobile devices has much contributed to promoting e-commerce and other online services among local people. The launch of the subsidiary was based on their conviction that there would be more demand in user-focused marketing measure in the region. Translated by Masaru…
The Repro Singapore team
Image credit: Repro
See the original story in Japan.
Tokyo-based Repro, the provider of mobile analytics tool under the same name, announced today that it has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore to strengthen business expansion into Southeast Asian (SEA) markets. The subsidiary, namely Repro Singapore Pte. Ltd., aims to cultivate the client base in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and among others, while it intends to employ five to ten people in each of these respective markets by the end of 2021.
Japan's mobile analytics and marketing tool Repro gets $2.6 million to expand to US
Japan's mobile analytics company Repro secures $835,000 from DG Incubation, others
Marking five years since its launch, the tool has been used by 6,500 companies across 59 countries in the world, which has been good enough for the startup to see the potential in the markets outside Japan. In the SEA market, which the startup will be focused on, the growing penetration of mobile devices has much contributed to promoting e-commerce and other online services among local people. The launch of the subsidiary was based on their conviction that there would be more demand in user-focused marketing measure in the region.
Translated by Masaru Ikeda
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News app developer Smartnews nabs $29M in series E, becomes Japan's 3rd unicorn
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Smartnews, the developer of curated news app under the same name, announced on Monday that it has raised 3.1 billion yen (about $29.3 million) in a series E round. The round was led by Japan Post Capital with participation from Japan Co-Invest Limited Partnership, SMBC Venture Capital (SMBC-VC), and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) according to CrunchBase. Japan Co-Invest, SMBC-VC and DBJ also joined the startup's series D round back in July of 2016. The latest round brought the total funding to date up to 12.2 billion yen ($115.4 million US). With this funding, the market cap of Smartnews reached $1 billion US and joined the unicorn club. According to CB Insights, the company is the third Unicorn from Japan following AI startup Preferred Networks and Liquid Group which runs a crypto exchange called Liquid by Quoine. (C2C commerce startup used to be a unicorn but went public last year.) Smartnews launched its curated news app in the US back in October of 2014. After nearly five years since then, the company now sees more than 20 million active users in Japan and the US. In particular, the number of users in the…
Image credit: The Bridge
See the original story in Japanese.
Tokyo-based Smartnews, the developer of curated news app under the same name, announced on Monday that it has raised 3.1 billion yen (about $29.3 million) in a series E round. The round was led by Japan Post Capital with participation from Japan Co-Invest Limited Partnership, SMBC Venture Capital (SMBC-VC), and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) according to CrunchBase. Japan Co-Invest, SMBC-VC and DBJ also joined the startup's series D round back in July of 2016. The latest round brought the total funding to date up to 12.2 billion yen ($115.4 million US).
With this funding, the market cap of Smartnews reached $1 billion US and joined the unicorn club. According to CB Insights, the company is the third Unicorn from Japan following AI startup Preferred Networks and Liquid Group which runs a crypto exchange called Liquid by Quoine. (C2C commerce startup used to be a unicorn but went public last year.)
Smartnews launched its curated news app in the US back in October of 2014. After nearly five years since then, the company now sees more than 20 million active users in Japan and the US. In particular, the number of users in the US grew five times in a year, and Parse.ly put Smartnews in the 10th rank in traffic sources bringing users to English-language news outlets. Smartnews will use the funds to accelerate the growth in the US market and strengthen the team for global expansion.
As part of global expansion effort, Smartnews appointed Ken Kutaragi, former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, as an external director back in June while Youlin Li, former Head of News Feed Infrastructure at Facebook, joined the team as Vice President of Engineering, Backend System and Foundation back in May. The company has presence in six locations in the world: Tokyo, San Francisco, New York City, Palo Alto, Fukuoka, and Shanghai. Going forward, they will strengthen hiring engineers, product managers, data scientists and other talents.
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Japanese startup Nature raises $4.7M to grow smart AC control business globally
Nature Remo
See the original story in Japanese. Japanese startup Nature develops an IoT product for smart air-conditioner named Nature Remo. The company announced on Thursday that it has fundraised 500 million yen (about $4.7 million US) from Energy & Environment Investment and Japanese internet company DeNA (TSE:2432). The investment from DeNA will be replaced with the one from Delight Ventures, which was recently introduced as the investment arm of DeNA. For Nature, this follows their 100 million yen ($9.5 million US) funding from Daiwa Corporate Investment back in February of last year but the funding round is unknown. Nature was founded in Boston by Haruumi Shiode who previously worked for Mitsui & Co. and later obtained an MBA at Harvard University. Nature Remo allows users to turn on their air conditioner at home before they arrive by using their mobile, integrate with Google Home and Amazon Echo to control a TV set and room lights, and even develop a third-party service from scratch via API (application programming interface). Nature Remo was introduced back in 2016, and subsequently succeeded in raising a total of 22 million yen from three crowdfunding campaigns at Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Makuake. In 2018, the firm started selling…
The Nature team
Image credit: Nature
Japanese startup Nature develops an IoT product for smart air-conditioner named Nature Remo. The company announced on Thursday that it has fundraised 500 million yen (about $4.7 million US) from Energy & Environment Investment and Japanese internet company DeNA (TSE:2432). The investment from DeNA will be replaced with the one from Delight Ventures, which was recently introduced as the investment arm of DeNA. For Nature, this follows their 100 million yen ($9.5 million US) funding from Daiwa Corporate Investment back in February of last year but the funding round is unknown.
Nature was founded in Boston by Haruumi Shiode who previously worked for Mitsui & Co. and later obtained an MBA at Harvard University. Nature Remo allows users to turn on their air conditioner at home before they arrive by using their mobile, integrate with Google Home and Amazon Echo to control a TV set and room lights, and even develop a third-party service from scratch via API (application programming interface).
Nature Remo was introduced back in 2016, and subsequently succeeded in raising a total of 22 million yen from three crowdfunding campaigns at Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Makuake. In 2018, the firm started selling the product at Amazon, as well as electronics retail stores such as Bic Camera or Kojima, allowing general users other than early adopters to purchase. They have been seeing a steady growth by launching a suite bundling Nature Remo mini with Google Home Mini as a starter kit for smart home beginners this year. We were told that more than 10,000 Nature Remo items have been sold to date.
The company will use the funds to double their team size to strengthen engineering, sales and customer support. Expecting to launch a new home solution called Nature Remo E within this year, they are foraying into energy management business. They will bring their all headquarters functions back to Japan for better global business expansion.
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Japan's Ground, developing AI and robotics for intelligent logistics, secures $16.2M
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Ground, the Japanese startup developing artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics solutions specifically focused on offering intelligent logistics, announced on Friday that it has secured up to 1.71 billion yen (about $16.2 million US) in the latest round. This round was led by Japanese state-owned investment company INCJ with participation from Sony (Sony Innovation Fund), Saphire Capital, JA Mitsui Leasing, IMM Investment (Korea), and IMM INvestment Group Japan. Of these, INCJ has agreed to invest up to 1 billion yen (about $9.5 million US) in the logistics startup. Ground was founded in April of 2015 by Hiratomo Miyata who previously led the respective logistics arms of Japanese e-commerce giants Askul and Rakuten. The startup has formed a capital and business tie-up with Japanese office furniture maker Okamura (TSE:7944) in addition to Frameworx, the logistics-focused subsidiary of Japanese largest homebuilder Daiwa House Industry (TSE:1925). The funding at this time follows 1 billion yen (about $9.5 million US) funding from Daiwa House Industry back in June of 2017. The company has developed a platform that combines robots and AI software to optimize logistics operations including picking in warehouse. Leveraging a customer database to help understand consumer…
AMR, Ground's autonomous collaborative robot for the logistics industry
Image credit: Ground
Tokyo-based Ground, the Japanese startup developing artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics solutions specifically focused on offering intelligent logistics, announced on Friday that it has secured up to 1.71 billion yen (about $16.2 million US) in the latest round. This round was led by Japanese state-owned investment company INCJ with participation from Sony (Sony Innovation Fund), Saphire Capital, JA Mitsui Leasing, IMM Investment (Korea), and IMM INvestment Group Japan. Of these, INCJ has agreed to invest up to 1 billion yen (about $9.5 million US) in the logistics startup.
Ground was founded in April of 2015 by Hiratomo Miyata who previously led the respective logistics arms of Japanese e-commerce giants Askul and Rakuten. The startup has formed a capital and business tie-up with Japanese office furniture maker Okamura (TSE:7944) in addition to Frameworx, the logistics-focused subsidiary of Japanese largest homebuilder Daiwa House Industry (TSE:1925). The funding at this time follows 1 billion yen (about $9.5 million US) funding from Daiwa House Industry back in June of 2017.
The company has developed a platform that combines robots and AI software to optimize logistics operations including picking in warehouse. Leveraging a customer database to help understand consumer behavior, the platform adopts machine learning to allow users to predict how many products should be manufactured and will be sold, thereby improving the overall efficiency of their logistics operations. The platform is unique in terms of offering all at once: both hardware-powered (robotics) and software-driven (AI) approaches.
Ground participated in Rock Thailand, the cross-market open innovation initiative co-hosted by the Japanese Embassy to Thailand and Thailand's major conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) earlier this year, where the startup suggested the possibility of overseas business expansion. They will use the funds to strengthen hiring talents for business expansion as well as research and development of new technologies in the logistics sector.
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Synspective
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based aerospace startup Synspective announced today that it has secured 8.67 billion yen (about $80 million US) in a series A round. This follows their previous round securing 300 million yen (about $2.8 million US) from uTokyo Innovation Platform (uTokyoIPC), Jafco and among other investors back in December. Alongside with their past funding from Abies Ventures, a deeptech-focused fund led by Japanese renowned entrepreneur/investor Taizo Son, the latest round brought the startup's funding to 10.9 billion yen (about $100 million US). Japanese space business consultancy CSP Japan reported this is the fastest record in terms of securing such a large amount funds in such a short period since the launch of a company. Investors participating in this round are as follows (Jafco, uTokyoIPC, and Abies Ventures have participated in the previous round). The latest round is led by aSTART, which launched $46 space tech fund earlier this year and has participated in series C and D rounds for Astroscale, a Japanses startup known for its space-debris removal technology. aSTART Shimizu Corporation (TSE:1803, Japanese major construction company) Jafco (TSE:8595, investment company) uTokyo Innovation Platform (uTokyoIPC) Keio Innovation Initiative (KII, investment arm of Keio University) Abies…
Synspective's founders and investors participating in this round
Image credit: Masaru Ikeda
Tokyo-based aerospace startup Synspective announced today that it has secured 8.67 billion yen (about $80 million US) in a series A round. This follows their previous round securing 300 million yen (about $2.8 million US) from uTokyo Innovation Platform (uTokyoIPC), Jafco and among other investors back in December.
Alongside with their past funding from Abies Ventures, a deeptech-focused fund led by Japanese renowned entrepreneur/investor Taizo Son, the latest round brought the startup's funding to 10.9 billion yen (about $100 million US). Japanese space business consultancy CSP Japan reported this is the fastest record in terms of securing such a large amount funds in such a short period since the launch of a company.
Investors participating in this round are as follows (Jafco, uTokyoIPC, and Abies Ventures have participated in the previous round). The latest round is led by aSTART, which launched $46 space tech fund earlier this year and has participated in series C and D rounds for Astroscale, a Japanses startup known for its space-debris removal technology.
aSTART
Shimizu Corporation (TSE:1803, Japanese major construction company)
Jafco (TSE:8595, investment company)
uTokyo Innovation Platform (uTokyoIPC)
Keio Innovation Initiative (KII, investment arm of Keio University)
Abies Ventures
Innovations and Future Creation (investment arm of Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking
Fuyo General Lease (TSE:8424)
Mori Trust (real estate developer owning many commercial buildings in Japanese major cities)
SBI Investment (SBI AI & Blockchain)
Mizuho Capital
Synspective CEO Motoyuki Arai
Synspective was founded in February of 2018 by CEO Motoyuki Arai and co-founder/managing director Seiko Shirasaka (Shirasaka is a professor at System Design and Management, Keio University). Arai was previously working for an American accounting firm while attending the University of Tokyo where he obtained a PhD for Technology Management for Innovation. Subsequently, he was involved in assisting Saudi Arabia to implement renewable energy systems as well as working with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to help Japanese companies expand into this region.
Synspective is building a constellation system for earth observation mini-satellites employing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and integrates SAR data with a variety of ground truth data. Using machine learning and other engineering techniques, the startup extracts meaning and context from the data to provide solutions to meet clients' problems.
Developing a SAR mini-satellite requires a high degree of difficulty in engineering while SAR data processing does special expertise. The company has enables these challenges by placing research teams and data scientists in both departments of satellite development and satellite image analysis, alongside with assistance from mini-satellite developers engineers participating in ImPACT, a disruptive technologies development initiative by the Japanese Cabinet Office.
Synspective thinks their use case include developing mining resources, monitoring infrastructure construction and fraud in developing countries, and preventing disaster damage. The company announced in April that it has agreed to Arianespace regarding the launch of the former's mini-satellite StriX-α.
Comparison of conventional earth observation satellites and Synspective's StriX.
At the press briefing today, CEO Arai revealed that the company plans to launch one satellite by 2020, six satellites by 2022, and then 25 satellites later on. He said six satellites in operation enables on-demand earth observation at least one time a day for 99 cities with an over-one million population in Asia while 25 satellites in operation can cover 292 cities in the same population scale worldwide. They claim that the latest funding secures the cost for up to the launch of six satellites by 2022 and solution development.
In this space, we have seen active Japanese startups including SAR satellite developer iQPS and satellite image analyzer Sigma-SAR.
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