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Philippe Gaucher
CNRS IRIF
Université Paris Diderot
Email,téléphone,fax
prenom.nom@irif.fr
firstname.lastname@irif.fr
Tél: +33 01 57 27 92 16
Bâtiment Sophie Germain
8 place Aurélie Nemours
Bureau: 3048
I am interested in abstract homotopy theory (model category, cofibration category, fibration category), category theory (locally presentable category, accessible category, enriched category), especially when applied in computer science, but not only. I am a reviewer for the Mathematical Reviews since 2006 and Zentralblatt MATH since 2007.
I also write referee reports for mathematical and computer scientific papers. However, I do not work in any way for Elsevier, Springer, John Wiley & Sons and Informa. In particular, this means that I do not attend any conference where people are forced to publish in such a journal. I do not write referee reports for these conferences either.
Hover the mouse over a title to display the abstract if it is available.
Combinatorics of past-similarity in higher dimensional transition systems, Theory and Applications of Categories, vol. 32, 1107-1164, 2017 (PDF,BIB). The key notion to understand the left determined Olschok model category of star-shaped Cattani-Sassone transition systems is past-similarity. Two states are past-similar if they have homotopic pasts. An object is fibrant if and only if the set of transitions is closed under past-similarity. A map is a weak equivalence if and only if it induces an isomorphism after the identification of all past-similar states. The last part of this paper is a discussion about the link between causality and homotopy.
The choice of cofibrations of higher dimensional transition systems, New-York Journal of Mathematics 21 (2015), 1117-1151 (PDF,BIB). It is proved that there exists a left determined model structure of weak transition systems with respect to the class of monomorphisms and that it restricts to left determined model structures on cubical and regular transition systems. Then it is proved that, in these three model structures, for any higher dimensional transition system containing at least one transition, the fibrant replacement contains a transition between each pair of states. This means that the fibrant replacement functor does not preserve the causal structure. As a conclusion, we explain why working with star-shaped transition systems is a solution to this problem.
Left determined model categories, New-York Journal of Mathematics 21 (2015), 1093-1115 (PDF,BIB). Several methods for constructing left determined model structures are expounded. The starting point is Olschok's work on locally presentable categories. We give sufficient conditions to obtain left determined model structures on a full reflective subcategory, on a full coreflective subcategory and on a comma category. An application is given by constructing a left determined model structure on star-shaped weak transition systems.
The geometry of cubical and regular transition systems, Cahiers de Topologie et Géométrie Différentielle Catégoriques, vol LVI-4 (2015) (PDF,BIB). There exist cubical transition systems containing cubes having an arbitrarily large number of faces. A regular transition system is a cubical transition system such that each cube has the good number of faces. The categorical and homotopical results of regular transition systems are very similar to the ones of cubical ones. A complete combinatorial description of fibrant cubical and regular transition systems is given. One of the two appendices contains a general lemma of independant interest about the restriction of an adjunction to a full reflective subcategory.
Erratum to ``Towards a homotopy theory of higher dimensional transition systems'', Theory and Applications of Categories, vol. 29, 17-20, 2014 (PDF,BIB). Counterexamples for Proposition 8.1 and Proposition 8.2 are given. They are used in the paper only to prove Corollary 8.3. A proof of this corollary is given without them. The proof of the fibrancy of some cubical transition systems is fixed.
Homotopy Theory of Labelled Symmetric Precubical Sets, New-York Journal of Mathematics 20 (2014), 93-131 (PDF,BIB). This paper is the third paper of a series devoted to higher dimensional transition systems. The preceding paper proved the existence of a left determined model structure on the category of cubical transition systems. In this sequel, it is proved that there exists a model category of labelled symmetric precubical sets which is Quillen equivalent to the Bousfield localization of this left determined model category by the cubification functor. The realization functor from labelled symmetric precubical sets to cubical transition systems which was introduced in the first paper of this series is used to establish this Quillen equivalence. However, it is not a left Quillen functor. It is only a left adjoint. It is proved that the two model categories are related to each other by a zig-zag of Quillen equivalences of length two. The middle model category is still the model category of cubical transition systems, but with an additional family of generating cofibrations. The weak equivalences are closely related to bisimulation. Similar results are obtained by restricting the constructions to the labelled symmetric precubical sets satisfying the HDA paradigm.
Towards a homotopy theory of higher dimensional transition systems, Theory and Applications of Categories, vol. 25, 295-341, 2011 (PDF,BIB). We proved in a previous work that Cattani-Sassone's higher dimensional transition systems can be interpreted as a small-orthogonality class of a topological locally finitely presentable category of weak higher dimensional transition systems. In this paper, we turn our attention to the full subcategory of weak higher dimensional transition systems which are unions of cubes. It is proved that there exists a left proper combinatorial model structure such that two objects are weakly equivalent if and only if they have the same cubes after simplification of the labelling. This model structure is obtained by Bousfield localizing a model structure which is left determined with respect to a class of maps which is not the class of monomorphisms. We prove that the higher dimensional transition systems corresponding to two process algebras are weakly equivalent if and only if they are isomorphic. We also construct a second Bousfield localization in which two bisimilar cubical transition systems are weakly equivalent. The appendix contains a technical lemma about smallness of weak factorization systems in coreflective subcategories which can be of independent interest. This paper is a first step towards a homotopical interpretation of bisimulation for higher dimensional transition systems.
Directed algebraic topology and higher dimensional transition systems, New-York Journal of Mathematics 16 (2010), 409-461 (PDF,BIB). Cattani-Sassone's notion of higher dimensional transition system is interpreted as a small-orthogonality class of a locally finitely presentable topological category of weak higher dimensional transition systems. In particular, the higher dimensional transition system associated with the labelled n-cube turns out to be the free higher dimensional transition system generated by one n-dimensional transition. As a first application of this construction, it is proved that a localization of the category of higher dimensional transition systems is equivalent to a locally finitely presentable reflective full subcategory of the category of labelled symmetric precubical sets. A second application is to Milner's calculus of communicating systems (CCS): the mapping taking process names in CCS to flows is factorized through the category of higher dimensional transition systems. The method also applies to other process algebras and to topological models of concurrency other than flows.
Combinatorics of labelling in higher dimensional automata, Theoretical Computer Science (2010), 411(11-13), pp 1452-1483 (PDF,BIB,DOI). The main idea for interpreting concurrent processes as labelled precubical sets is that a given set of n actions running concurrently must be assembled to a labelled n-cube, in exactly one way. The main ingredient is the non-functorial construction called labelled directed coskeleton. It is defined as a subobject of the labelled coskeleton, the latter coinciding in the unlabelled case with the right adjoint to the truncation functor. This non-functorial construction is necessary since the labelled coskeleton functor of the category of labelled precubical sets does not fulfil the above requirement. We prove in this paper that it is possible to force the labelled coskeleton functor to be well-behaved by working with labelled transverse symmetric precubical sets. Moreover, we prove that this solution is the only one. A transverse symmetric precubical set is a precubical set equipped with symmetry maps and with a new kind of degeneracy map called transverse degeneracy. Finally, we also prove that the two settings are equivalent from a directed algebraic topological viewpoint. To illustrate, a new semantics of CCS, equivalent to the old one, is given.
Homotopical interpretation of globular complex by multipointed d-space, Theory and Applications of Categories, vol. 22, 588-621, 2009 (PDF,BIB). Globular complexes were introduced by E. Goubault and the author to model higher dimensional automata. Globular complexes are topological spaces equipped with a globular decomposition which is the directed analogue of the cellular decomposition of a CW-complex. We prove that there exists a combinatorial model category such that the cellular objects are exactly the globular complexes and such that the homotopy category is equivalent to the homotopy category of flows. The underlying category of this model category is a variant of M. Grandis' notion of d-space over a topological space colimit generated by simplices. This result enables us to understand the relationship between the framework of flows and other works in directed algebraic topology using d-spaces. It also enables us to prove that the underlying homotopy type functor of flows can be interpreted up to equivalences of categories as the total left derived functor of a left Quillen adjoint.
T-homotopy and refinement of observation (I) : Introduction, Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Sciences 230 (2009), 103-110 (PDF,BIB,DOI). This paper is the extended introduction of a series of papers about modelling T-homotopy by refinement of observation. Thenotion of T-homotopy equivalence is discussed. A new one is proposed and its behaviour with respect to other construction in dihomotopy theory is explained. We also prove in appendix that the tensor product of flows is a closed symmetric monoidal structure.
Note: the version published in ENTCS is the wrong one !! Please download this one which is a better abstract with an up-to-date bibliography.
Towards a homotopy theory of process algebra, Homology, Homotopy and Applications, vol. 10 (1):p.353-388, 2008 (PDF,BIB,DOI). This paper proves that labelled flows are expressive enough to contain all process algebras which are a standard model for concurrency. More precisely, we construct the space of execution paths and of higher dimensional homotopies between them for every process name of every process algebra with any synchronization algebra using a notion of labelled flow. This interpretation of process algebra satisfies the paradigm of higher dimensional automata (HDA): one non-degenerate full $n$-dimensional cube (no more no less) in the underlying space of the time flow corresponding to the concurrent execution of $n$ actions. This result will enable us in future papers to develop a homotopical approach of process algebras. Indeed, several homological constructions related to the causal structure of time flow are possible only in the framework of flows.
Globular realization and cubical underlying homotopy type of time flow of process algebra, New-York Journal of Mathematics 14 (2008), 101-137 (PDF,BIB). We construct a small realization as flow of every precubical set (modeling for example a process algebra). The realization is small in the sense that the construction does not make use of any cofibrant replacement functor and of any transfinite construction. In particular, if the precubical set is finite, then the corresponding flow has a finite globular decomposition. Two applications are given. The first one presents a realization functor from precubical sets to globular complexes which is characterized up to a natural S-homotopy. The second one proves that, for such flows, the underlying homotopy type is naturally isomorphic to the homotopy type of the standard cubical complex associated with the precubical set.
T-homotopy and refinement of observation (II) : Adding new T-homotopy equivalences, Internat. J. Math. Math. Sci., Article ID 87404, 20 pages (2007) (PDF,BIB,DOI). This paper is the second part of a series of papers about a new notion of T-homotopy of flows. It is proved that the old definition of T-homotopy equivalence does not allow the identification of the directed segment with the $3$-dimensional cube. This contradicts a paradigm of dihomotopy theory. A new definition of T-homotopy equivalence is proposed, following the intuition of refinement of observation. And it is proved that up to weak S-homotopy, a old T-homotopy equivalence is a new T-homotopy equivalence. The left-properness of the weak S-homotopy model category of flows is also established in this second part. The latter fact is used several times in the next papers of this series.
T-homotopy and refinement of observation (III) : Invariance of the branching and merging homologies, New-York Journal of Mathematics 12 (2006), 319-348 (PDF,BIB). This series explores a new notion of T-homotopy equivalence of flows. The new definition involves embeddings of finite bounded posets preserving the bottom and the top elements and the associated cofibrations of flows. In this third part, it is proved that the generalized T-homotopy equivalences preserve the branching and merging homology theories of a flow. These homology theories are of interest in computer science since they detect the nondeterministic branching and merging areas of execution paths in the time flow of a higher-dimensional automaton. The proof is based on Reedy model category techniques.
T-homotopy and refinement of observation (IV) : Invariance of the underlying homotopy type, New-York Journal of Mathematics 12 (2006), 63-95 (PDF,BIB). This series explores a new notion of T-homotopy equivalence of flows. The new definition involves embeddings of finite bounded posets preserving the bottom and the top elements and the associated cofibrations of flows. In this fourth part, it is proved that the generalized T-homotopy equivalences preserve the underlying homotopy type of a flow. The proof is based on Reedy model category techniques.
Inverting weak dihomotopy equivalence using homotopy continuous flow, Theory and Applications of Categories, vol. 16, 59-83, 2006 (PDF,BIB). A flow is homotopy continuous if it is indefinitely divisible up to S-homotopy. The full subcategory of cofibrant homotopy continuous flows has nice features. Not only it is big enough to contain all dihomotopy types, but also a morphism between them is a weak dihomotopy equivalence if and only if it is invertible up to dihomotopy. Thus, the category of cofibrant homotopy continuous flows provides an implementation of Whitehead's theorem for the full dihomotopy relation, and not only for S-homotopy as in previous works of the author. This fact is not the consequence of the existence of a model structure on the category of flows because it is known that there does not exist any model structure on it whose weak equivalences are exactly the weak dihomotopy equivalences. This fact is an application of a general result for the localization of a model category with respect to a weak factorization system.
Erratum : the class of morphisms $\mathcal{L}$ must be of course a subclass of the class of monomorphisms for Proposition 3.18 to be true.
Flow does not model flows up to weak dihomotopy, Applied Categorical Structures, vol. 13, p. 371-388 (2005) (PDF,BIB,DOI). We prove that the category of flows cannot be the underlying category of a model category whose corresponding homotopy types are the flows up to weak dihomotopy. Some hints are given to overcome this problem. In particular, a new approach of dihomotopy involving simplicial presheaves over an appropriate small category is proposed. This small category is obtained by taking a full subcategory of a locally presentable version of the category of flows.
Homological properties of non-deterministic branchings and mergings in higher dimensional automata, Homology, Homotopy and Applications, vol. 7 (1):p.51-76, 2005 (PDF,BIB,DOI). The branching (resp. merging) space functor of a flow is a left Quillen functor. The associated derived functor allows to define the branching (resp. merging) homology of a flow. It is then proved that this homology theory is a dihomotopy invariant and that higher dimensional branchings (resp. mergings) satisfy a long exact sequence.
Comparing globular complex and flow, New-York Journal of Mathematics 11 (2005), 97-150 (PDF,BIB). A functor is constructed from the category of globular CW-complexes to that of flows. It allows the comparison of the S-homotopy equivalences (resp. the T-homotopy equivalences) of globular complexes with the S-homotopy equivalences (resp. the T-homotopy equivalences) of flows. Moreover, it is proved that this functor induces an equivalence of categories from the localization of the category of globular CW-complexes with respect to S-homotopy equivalences to the localization of the category of flows with respect to weak S-homotopy equivalences. As an application, we construct the underlying homotopy type of a flow.
The homotopy branching space of a flow, Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science vol. 100 : pp 95-109, 2004 (PDF,BIB,DOI). In this talk, I will explain the importance of the homotopy branching space functor (and of the homotopy merging space functor) in dihomotopy theory. Note : the definition of T-homotopy equivalence given in this talk is now obsolete : it is conjecturally too big.
A model category for the homotopy theory of concurrency, Homology, Homotopy and Applications, vol. 5 (1):p.549-599, 2003 (PDF,BIB,DOI). We construct a cofibrantly generated model structure on the category of flows such that any flow is fibrant and such that two cofibrant flows are homotopy equivalent for this model structure if and only if they are S-homotopy equivalent. This result provides an interpretation of the notion of S-homotopy equivalence in the framework of model categories.
Concurrent Process up to Homotopy (II), C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Ser. I Math., 336(8):647-650, 2003 (French) (PDF,BIB,DOI). On démontre que la catégorie des CW-complexes globulaires à dihomotopie près est équivalente à la catégorie des flots à dihomotopie faible près. Ce théorème est une généralisation du théorème classique disant que la catégorie des CW-complexes modulo homotopie est équivalente à la catégorie des espaces topologiques modulo homotopie faible.
One proves that the category of globular CW-complexes up to dihomotopy is equivalent to the category of flows up to weak dihomotopy. This theorem generalizes the classical theorem which states that the category of CW-complexes up to homotopy is equivalent to the category of topological spaces up to weak homotopy.
Concurrent Process up to Homotopy (I), C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Ser. I Math., 336(7):593-596, 2003 (French) (PDF,BIB,DOI). Les CW-complexes globulaires et les flots sont deux modélisations géométriques des automates parallèles qui permettent de formaliser la notion de dihomotopie. La dihomotopie est une relation d'équivalence sur les automates parallèles qui préserve des propriétés informatiques comme la présence ou non de deadlock. On construit un plongement des CW-complexes globulaires dans les flots et on démontre que deux CW-complexes globulaires sont dihomotopes si et seulement si les flots associés sont dihomotopes.
Globular CW-complexes and flows are both geometric models of concurrent processes which allow to model in a precise way the notion of dihomotopy. Dihomotopy is an equivalence relation which preserves computer-scientific properties like the presence or not of deadlock. One constructs an embedding from globular CW-complexes to flows and one proves that two globular CW-complexes are dihomotopic if and only if the corresponding flows are dihomotopic.
(with Eric Goubault) Topological Deformation of Higher Dimensional Automata, Homology, Homotopy and Applications, vol. 5 (2):p.39-82, 2003 (PDF,BIB,DOI). A local po-space is a gluing of topological spaces which are equipped with a closed partial ordering representing the time flow. They are used as a formalization of higher dimensional automata which model concurrent systems in computer science. It is known that there are two distinct notions of deformation of higher dimensional automata, ``spatial'' and ``temporal'', leaving invariant computer scientific properties like presence or absence of deadlocks. Unfortunately, the formalization of these notions is still unknown in the general case of local po-spaces. We introduce here a particular kind of local po-space, the ``globular CW-complexes'', for which we formalize these notions of deformations and which are sufficient to formalize higher dimensional automata. The existence of the category of globular CW-complexes was already conjectured in "From Concurrency to Algebraic Topology". After localizing the category of globular CW-complexes by spatial and temporal deformations, we get a category (the category of dihomotopy types) whose objects up to isomorphism represent exactly the higher dimensional automata up to deformation. Thus globular CW-complexes provide a rigorous mathematical foundation to study from an algebraic topology point of view higher dimensional automata and concurrent computations.
The branching nerve of HDA and the Kan condition, Theory and Applications of Categories 11 n°3 (2003), p.75-106 (PDF,BIB). One can associate to any strict globular $\omega$-category three augmented simplicial nerves called the globular nerve, the branching and the merging semi-cubical nerves. If this strict globular $\omega$-category is freely generated by a precubical set, then the corresponding homology theories contain different informations about the geometry of the higher dimensional automaton modeled by the precubical set. Adding inverses in this $\omega$-category to any morphism of dimension greater than $2$ and with respect to any composition laws of dimension greater than $1$ does not change these homology theories. In such a framework, the globular nerve always satisfies the Kan condition. On the other hand, both branching and merging nerves never satisfy it, except in some very particular and uninteresting situations. In this paper, we introduce two new nerves (the branching and merging semi-globular nerves) satisfying the Kan condition and having conjecturally the same simplicial homology as the branching and merging semi-cubical nerves respectively in such framework. The latter conjecture is related to the thin elements conjecture already introduced in our previous papers.
Investigating The Algebraic Structure of Dihomotopy Types, Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science 52 (2) 2002 (PDF,BIB,DOI). This presentation is the sequel of a paper published in the GETCO'00 proceedings where a research program to construct an appropriate algebraic setting for the study of deformations of higher dimensional automata was sketched. This paper focuses precisely on detailing some of its aspects. The main idea is that the category of homotopy types can be embedded in a new category of dihomotopy types, the embedding being realized by the globe functor. In this latter category, isomorphism classes of objects are exactly higher dimensional automata up to deformations leaving invariant their computer scientific properties as presence or not of deadlocks (or everything similar or related). Some hints to study the algebraic structure of dihomotopy types are given, in particular a rule to decide whether a statement/notion concerning dihomotopy types is or not the lifting of another statement/notion concerning homotopy types. This rule does not enable to guess what is the lifting of a given notion/statement, it only enables to make the verification, once the lifting has been found.
About the globular homology of higher dimensional automata, Cahiers de Topologie et Géométrie Différentielle Catégoriques, p.107-156, vol XLIII-2 (2002) (PDF,BIB). We introduce a new simplicial nerve of higher dimensional automata whose homology groups yield a new definition of the globular homology. With this new definition, the drawbacks noticed with the construction of "Homotopy invariants of higher dimensional categories and concurrency in computer science" disappear. Moreover the important morphisms which associate to every globe its corresponding branching area and merging area of execution paths become morphisms of simplicial sets.
Combinatorics of branchings in higher dimensional automata, Theory and Applications of Categories 8 n°12 (2001), p.324-376 (PDF,BIB). We explore the combinatorial properties of the branching areas of execution paths in higher dimensional automata. Mathematically, this means that we investigate the combinatorics of the negative corner (or branching) homology of a globular $\omega$-category and the combinatorics of a new homology theory called the reduced branching homology. The latter is the homology of the quotient of the branching complex by the sub-complex generated by its thin elements. Conjecturally it coincides with the non reduced theory for higher dimensional automata, that is $\omega$-categories freely generated by precubical sets. As application, we calculate the branching homology of some $\omega$-categories and we give some invariance results for the reduced branching homology. We only treat the branching side. The merging side, that is the case of merging areas of execution paths is similar and can be easily deduced from the branching side.
From Concurrency to Algebraic Topology, Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science 39 (2000), no. 2, 19p (PDF,BIB,DOI). This paper is a survey of the new notions and results scattered in other papers. However some speculations are new. Starting from a formalization of higher dimensional automata (HDA) by strict globular $\omega$-categories, the construction of a diagram of simplicial sets over the three-object small category $-\leftarrow gl\rightarrow +$ is exposed. Some of the properties discovered so far on the corresponding simplicial homology theories are explained, in particular their links with geometric problems coming from concurrency theory in computer science.
Homotopy invariants of higher dimensional categories and concurrency in computer science, Mathematical Structure in Computer Science 10 (2000), no. 4, p.481-524 (PDF,BIB). The strict globular $\omega$-categories formalize the execution paths of a parallel automaton and the homotopies between them. One associates to such (and any) $\omega$-category $\mathcal{C}$ three homology theories. The first one is called the globular homology. It contains the oriented loops of $\mathcal{C}$. The two other ones are called the negative (resp. positive ) corner homology. They contain in a certain manner the branching areas of execution paths or negative corners (resp. the merging areas of execution paths or positive corners) of $\mathcal{C}$. Two natural linear maps called the negative (resp. the positive ) Hurewicz morphism from the globular homology to the negative (resp. positive) corner homology are constructed. We explain the reason why these constructions allow the reinterpretation of some geometric problems coming from computer science.
Lambda-opérations sur l'homologie d'une algèbre de Lie de matrices, K-Theory, vol. 13(2), p.151-167, 1998 (PDF,BIB).
Produit tensoriel de matrices, homologie cyclique, homologie des algèbres de Lie, Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble), vol. 44(2), p.413-431, 1994 (PDF,BIB).
Lambda-opérations et homologie des matrices, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Sér. I Math., 313(10):663-666, 1991 (PDF,BIB). One extends Loday-Procesi $\lambda$-operations from the cyclic homology of $A$ to the homology of the Lie algebra $\bf{gl}_{\infty}( A)$ using exterior powers of matrices. In this way, we obtain an interpretation of these $\lambda$-operations, originally defined in combinatorial terms, in terms of matrix operations. One shows a formula giving their behavior with respect to the direct sum of matrices. It uses the coproduct and the structure of ring objet induced by the tensor product of matrices.
Produit tensoriel de matrices et homologie cyclique, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Sér. I Math., 312(1):13-16, 1991 (PDF,BIB). If $A$ is an associative and commutative $\mathbb{Q}$-algebra with unit, the tensor product of matrices enables us to define on the homology of the Lie algebra $\bf{gl}_{\infty}( A)$ a product which give it with the usual sum a graded ring structure which is commutative. One gives an explicit formula for this product. After restriction to the primitive part, this product coincides with the Loday-Quillen's product on cyclic homology.
Non-publié/Unpublished
Left properness of multipointed d-spaces (PDF). We prove that the q-model structure and the m-model structure of multipointed $d$-spaces are left proper. We also use the techniques developed in this paper to consider the limit case in which all lengths of execution paths are equal to $0$. We then obtain, among other things, a correct proof of the left properness of the q-model structure and of the m-model structure of flows. This fixes a mistake in the previous proof. This paper also studies the interactions between the path space functors of multipointed $d$-spaces and of flows with various notions of cofibrations. In particular, it recovers the fact that these functors preserve m-cofibrancy by a direct calculation.
Six model categories for directed homotopy (PDF). We construct a q-model structure, a h-model structure and a m-model structure on multipointed $d$-spaces and on flows. The two q-model structures are combinatorial and coincide with the combinatorial model structures already known on these categories. The four other model structures (the two m-model structures and the two h-model structures) are accessible. We give an example of multipointed $d$-space and of flow which are not cofibrant in any of the model structures. We explain why the m-model structures, Quillen equivalent to the q-model structure of the same category, are better behaved than the q-model structures.
Enriched diagrams of topological spaces over locally contractible enriched categories (PDF). It is proved that the projective model structure of the category of topologically enriched diagrams of topological spaces over a topologically enriched locally contractible small category is Quillen equivalent to the standard Quillen model structure of topological spaces. We give a geometric interpretation of this fact in directed homotopy.
Flows revisited: the model category structure and its left determinedness (PDF). Flows are a topological model of concurrency which enables to encode the notion of refinement of observation and to understand the homological properties of branchings and mergings of execution paths. Roughly speaking, they are Grandis' $d$-spaces without an underlying topological space. They just have an underlying homotopy type. This note is twofold. First, we give a new construction of the model category structure of flows which is more conceptual thanks to Isaev's results. It avoids the use of difficult topological arguments. Secondly, we prove that this model category is left determined by adapting an argument due to Olschok. The introduction contains some speculations about what we expect to find out by localizing this minimal model category structure.
About transfinite compositions of weak equivalences of higher dimensional transition systems (PDF). This note will be never published. In two published papers "Towards a homotopy theory of higher dimensional transition systems" and "Homotopy Theory of Labelled Symmetric Precubical Sets", it is implicitely assumed that the classes of weak equivalences of the model structures constructed are closed under transfinite composition because they are finitely accessible and accessibly embedded. It turns out that the argument which is given can only prove that they are accessible and accessibly embedded. In this note, this strong argument is replaced by a weaker one which is easy to check.
Closed symmetric monoidal structure and flow (PDF). The category of flows is not cartesian closed. We construct a closed symmetric monoidal structure which has moreover a satisfactory behavior from the computer scientific viewpoint.
T-homotopy and refinement of observation (V) (PDF). We check that there exists a model structure on the category of flows whose weak equivalences are the S-homotopy equivalences. As an application, we prove that the generalized T-homotopy equivalences preserve the branching and merging homology theories of a flow. The method of proof is completely different from the one of the third part of this series of papers. Note: the second part of the paper is false, the first part of the paper is another Hurewicz type model structure on flows different from the one of the paper above. The proof will be updated later using more recent techniques if I have to use it.
Homotopical equivalence of combinatorial and categorical semantics of process algebra (PDF). It is possible to translate a modified version of K. Worytkiewicz's combinatorial semantics of CCS (Milner's Calculus of Communicating Systems) in terms of labelled precubical sets into a categorical semantics of CCS in terms of labelled flows using a geometric realization functor. It turns out that a satisfactory semantics in terms of flows requires to work directly in their homotopy category since such a semantics requires non-canonical choices for constructing cofibrant replacements, homotopy limits and homotopy colimits. No geometric information is lost since two precubical sets are isomorphic if and only if the associated flows are weakly equivalent. The interest of the categorical semantics is that combinatorics totally disappears. Last but not least, a part of the categorical semantics of CCS goes down to a pure homotopical semantics of CCS using A. Heller's privileged weak limits and colimits. These results can be easily adapted to any other process algebra for any synchronization algebra.
Le Monopoly pour les nuls (French) (PDF,HTML). Le but de cet exposé est de prouver que, contrairement à une idée reçue (cf par exemple l'article de Ian Stewart dans le ``Pour La Science'' de Juin 1996), les différentes cases du Monopoly ne sont pas équiprobables. Nous avons fait des tests sur le Monopoly français. Nous verrons même qu'il y a des disparités entre les cases, entre les lotissements, et à l'intérieur des lotissements.
D'autres pages-profil/Some other profiles
Hover the mouse over a web site name to get a comment about the site.
ArXiv profile (HTML). Unlike this homepage, my ArXiv profile only contains preprints. It also contains abandoned preprints which were splitted or merged in other ones.
Mathoverflow profile (HTML). Mathoverflow is a very interesting web site. I encourage mathematicians to read and participate. It is time consuming as soon as we start reading the sometimes quite long answers that some people write. Its main issue OMHO is the scoring system which gives too much power to people asking too general questions.
ResearchGate profile (HTML). ResearchGate is a social network for scientists. I am not sure that it is really useful. I don't dare to cancel my account since some people I don't know are following me. The scoring system is very annoying. Unlike this homepage, my ResearchGate profile only contains preprints. One of the issues of this site is the way of adding and removing preprints. For me, it is very difficult because of two homonymous researchers in CNRS and too many researchers having the same lastname. I actually gave up the idea to update the list of (pre)publications.
Linkedin profile (HTML). Linkedin is a well-known social network. It contains a short CV in English, with hopefully a correct translation of the degrees...
Some open-access journals
Cahier de topologie et géométrie différentielle catégoriques (HTML)
Theory and Applications of Categories (HTML)
Categories and General Algebraic Structures with Applications (HTML)
New York Journal of Mathematics (HTML)
Tbilisi Mathematical Journal (HTML)


The Podčetrtek Traffic Circle is built on a regional road located between the municipal sports hall with open-air sports grounds on one side and a spa centre with numerous swimming pools and hotels on the other side. It is primarily intended to slow down the traffic in this consequently very busy area as the main accesses to both complexes also connect to the traffic circle. The design of the roundabout's central island thus references the appearance of both facilities and marks the entrance points to the destinations of the visitors to either of the programme centers.
The large, dark concrete blocks allude to the design the monolithic volume of the sports hall. The play of light on the irregular arrangement of the elements forms a composition of surfaces, which corresponds to the expression of the hall's folded volume. The layout of the inner part of the roundabout as a whole suggests a tectonic shift somewhere beneath the Earth's surface having caused the road surface to bloat and belched out the massive blocks. In combination with the water, which sporadically rises to the surface between the clefts, it is somewhat reminiscent of geyser-strewn basalt strata, its appearance thus also evoking the spa complex.


Production value at basic price of fresh vegetables reached 46.7 LCR mil in 2016 in Latvia, according to Eurostat. This is 17.4 % less than in the previous year.
Historically, production value at basic price of fresh vegetables in Latvia reached an all time high of 58.7 LCR mil in 2014 and an all time low of 11.0 LCR mil in 1998. When compared to Latvia's main peers, production value at basic price of fresh vegetables in Estonia amounted to 22.1 LCR mil and 74.2 LCR mil in Lithuania in 2016.
Latvia has been ranked 27th within the group of 30 countries we follow in terms of production value at basic price of fresh vegetables.


The 33rd HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, the world's largest timepiece event, ended in 7 September with more than 19,000 buyers, up two per cent over the previous year. A large number of buyers also considered the Chinese mainland a major source of supplies in the year ahead, with 70 per cent of buyers interviewed planning to source watch and clock products from the Chinese mainland. In terms of product and market trends, both buyers and exhibitors expect quartz and smart watches to lead the market, while fashion watches, smart watches and leisure style watches will have the highest market potential.
Being the most reputable exhibition in China, CWCF is highly attractive to people interested in competent and all kinds of timepiece products. Every year, more than 500 factories would take this chance to release their new products in the fair, transforming it into a worldwide trading platform.
As the main focus of the China timepiece industry, nearly all businessmen in the industry find CWCF informative for them to look for various products and manufacturers. It is also an extensive platform for people interested in the horologe industry in China and an important progress for the timepiece market.
Young and energetic models presented ZERONE collection in a fashion show. More than 400 invited guests from Asia, US, Europe and Middle East were joined.
"East Touch" is an infotainment publication targeting reader aged between 22-34. It covers stories of celebrities, entertainment news, fashion trends and lifestyle topics. Being awarded by East Touch Magazine that proves ZERONE is a trendy and stylish brand for the fashion savvy.
Mini catwalk for showing ZERONE collection with the conept of "Design & Color".
The world's largest timepiece event, the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, showcases both Hong Kong and international brands and is a platform for exchanging information and market intelligence. Nearly 17,000 trade buyers took in the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair 2011, with emerging market visitors up more than 12 per cent over 2010.
The five-day HKTDC Watch & Clock Fair ended with more than 17,500 buyers participating, up 4.5 per cent over last year. It brought together 720 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions. Zerone has invited 6 designers / artists from Hong Kong and Japan to have the "5+1 crossover" collection, which included Mr. Jan Lamb (DJ/ Artists), SK8THING (Graphic Designer), Hiroaki Masuda (Shoe Designer), Michiharu Shimoda (Graphic Designer/ Musician), Motoki Mizoguchi (Graphic Designer) and TORU EYE (Shop Director of "Title"), to show their innovative design.
The project is a collaborative learning activity between Raffles International College and ZERONE. The competition encourages student from Raffles Institution in Thailand, Singapore and India to inspire innovation ideas and design for watch. The final 10 designs are produced in prototype and exhibited at HK Watch Fair 2012. Wing Shya, a well known photographer and director has been invited as one of the judges for the competition.
An exhibition of the crossover watch collection and the masterworks of 7 spirited artists. By providing a comfortable and relax envirnoment, invited guests and press can chit chat with the artists about the design concept of the crossover collection. COJIE from Mighty Crown, a famous Japanese DJ is invited to play the music for the event.
Being Japan's largest international jewellery show, IJT attracted 1,267 exhibitors from 36 countries worldwide to exhibit their products to 35,902 buyers around the globe. With an increase of both exhibitors and visitors, this year's show was filled with overwhelmingly more businesses than ever, and the vibrant atmosphere and robust businesses conducted onsite attracted major trade press and national broadcasts throughout the 4 show days.
In collaboration with ETA, Fondazione Il Tari, FARE Fashion Research Lab., Dip. IDEAS Seconda Università di Napoli etc, we discover and promote new talented watch designers from the workshop. The idea is to use workshops to test methodologies and creative processes with the aim of looking to Design project as being closely connected to action, some of the innovative design will be produced in prototype and imprint on their own label for sale and distribute globally.
Life Expo is a brand of Hong Kong Trade Development Council flagship event to promote Hong Kong consumer products and their designs in overseas emerging markets, ranging from electrical appliances, gift & premiums, middle-to-high-end fashion and accessories, watches & clocks. Trade buyers came from Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Private cocktail party for press shooting of ZERONE Collection.
ZERONE x 30METHING Dot Dot Dot Collection, Jan Lamb attended the press conference with one of the 1,000pcs limited edition dot dot dot watch. He thanked the brand for giving him the high level of freedom and supports throughout the design and production process. The event attracted over a hundred of press, students from Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) amid a large crowd of his fans. ZERONE will donate part of Dot Dot Dot collection's profits to sponsor "ZERONE Watch Design Workshop" that collaborated with HKDI in Sep 2013 and will have the privilege of having Jan as this workshop's judging panel.
The 32nd HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, which ended yesterday, attracted nearly 19,000 buyers, up seven per cent over the previous year. Highlights include the new Timepiece Extravaganza. An expanded version of the popular Brand Name Gallery, it features more than 140 brands and includes four thematic zones.
The HKTDC also organized about 80 overseas buying missions to the fair, along with 30 special activities, ranging from watch parades and product launches to seminars and networking receptions.
China Watch & Clock Fair (CWCF) is the largest exhibition on timepieces in China, reputed as the most important exhibition in timepiece industry of Asia, more than 500 manufacturers will present their latest technology and updated products in this fair.
Verified by UFI in 2003, CWCF was certified as "China's largest watch & clock trade fair" by China Association For Exhibition Centers. Following Basel Fair and Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, CWCF provides a unique opportunity for buyers to meet the biggest Chinese horologe manufacturers and suppliers.


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Q: Saving Data With NSUserDefaults This is a classic iOS problem - where should I save my data? I have written a few iOS applications now and have used core data as well as plist files. Furthermore, I normally use NSUserDefaults to save user settings, which is essentially one small dictionary with keys and values. In my (perhaps incorrect) opinion, NSUserDefaults is the simplest way to store information that is required globally in an application.
I have relational data that is being downloaded from a server as a JSON object and was wondering how far I could push NSUserDefaults. My data could be as large as a few megabytes in size. I know NSUserDefaults will handle this as I have tried, however, are there any risks involved with saving the data in this way, despite the fact it isn't necessarily for storing large large amounts of data? Would my app get rejected? Could there potentially be memory and performance issues?

A: You should definitely use other mechanism. NSUserDefaults is ok for small values, but for larger ones you could use the file system. For example:
    NSString* path = [NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSLibraryDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES) objectAtIndex:0];
    path = [path stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"Private Documents"];
    path = [path stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"YourAppName"];
    [[NSFileManager defaultManager] createDirectoryAtPath:path withIntermediateDirectories:YES attributes:nil error:nil];

    NSString *filePath = [self.basePath stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"filename.json"];

    // Now save or load the data using NSData or an NSInputStream
    NSInputStream *inputStream = [NSInputStream inputStreamWithFileAtPath:resource];
    [inputStream open];

    id object = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithStream:inputStream options:0 error:nil];

    // you can write JSON objects in a similar way

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Most sports rely on some sort of muscular coordination and timing. A typical mechanism for this is first the brain receives some sort of stimulus or information, which needs to be processed and interpreted, then signals are sent to muscles causing them to take some action. This all takes place in the proverbial "split second", and is known as a "reaction time".
Lets look at examples in practice. To return a tennis ball a player needs to detect the line and trajectory of a ball, then have their muscles execute a perfectly timed swing so the racket head strikes the ball at the correct angle. A golf swing requires the coordination (timing) of many muscles to produce a perfect swing. Finally, the muscles that control and stabilize joints require perfect timing to maintain even pressure on the joint surfaces and to prevent damage and injury. All of these activities rely on the appropriate reaction times.
What would happen though if the brain sent out signals to the muscles but the muscles were slow to act? The reaction times would increase. The tennis racket head would arrive late resulting in a miss hit or even miss altogether. The golf swing would lose coordination. Finally the joints would become less stable with the pressure no longer distributed evenly across the joint surfaces.
A recent study has found that this is exactly what happens when muscles contain myofascial trigger points (trigger points). The researchers found that when muscles contain trigger points the brain sends out the signal with the correct timing, but the muscles were significantly slower to react.
This is one reason most professional sports players receive regular massages. For them even a small delay in muscle timing would mean the difference between winning and losing, or worse still being injured and not able to compete. For the average person though the time taken and cost of professional masseurs usually puts this sort of care beyond the reach. Impaired performances, injuries and pain syndromes become common place. A solution making professional standard care more readily available is to use self massage under appropriate professional advice. There are several ways to do this, but when used appropriately DrGraeme massagers can deliver professional quality massage enabling average people to benefit from practically unlimited professional quality massage, just like the professional sports people get.
The researcher chose 15 healthy women with a trigger point in their upper trapezius muscle, and matched them 15 similar women without such trigger points. These women were asked to stand upright with their arm slightly forward (shoulder flexed) holding a cable attached to a weight. The women were instructed that when they heard the audio stimulus (a sound) they were to lift their arm holding the weight to shoulder height as fast as possible.
In order to detect the action of muscles various sensors were used such as one attached to the cable, force pads in the platform subjects stood on, and others monitoring muscle action in the body.
The reaction time of muscles is made up of two parts. "Pre-motor" is the time from receiving the stimulus to when the nerves delivered their impulse to the muscles. "Motor" is the time taken from when the muscle receives the nerve impulse to the actual generation of force.
The researchers found that for those with trigger points the pre-motor times were unchanged. That is, the trigger points had no effect on the time taken to detect and interpret the stimuli then transmit the signals to the muscles.
On the other hand, the presence of trigger points was shown to slow the motor time for all muscles except the gastrocnemius. That is, the nerves delivered their impulses in a timely manner, but the muscles were slow in responding and developing force.
A trigger point is part of a muscle in a pathophysiological state. It is not surprising that a muscle in such a state would receive a nerve impulse but would be a bit slow to react and generally under perform. However, other muscles not said to be any different to the comparison group received impulses in a timely manner but also reacted slowly. Why did they under perform as well?
The researchers measured timing, but made no mention was made of the strength of the impulses detected by the EMG. Understanding the role the central nervous system (CNS) plays in controlling and coordinating the body it seems the likely explanation is that the CNS detected the state of the upper trapezius muscle and reduced the strength of the impulses to other muscles in compensation. This would mean that trigger points in any muscles could cause the whole body to under-perform.
The detriment of a sports person having trigger points in their muscles is clearly demonstrated. An in depth discussion of their treatment is found in a separate research summary, however, most professional sports people have good access to professional masseurs who regularly examine for and treat them. This can be very time consuming and expensive, making it unpractical for ordinary people. A solution is self or home massage under appropriate professional advice. There are several ways to do this, but when used appropriately DrGraeme massagers can deliver professional quality massage enabling average people to benefit from practically unlimited professional quality massage, just like the professional sports people get.
We recommend the best way to get these benefits and keep trigger points at bay is to be examined and advised by a professional who deals with musculoskeletal conditions then implement regular self/home use. This is analogous combining regular dental checkups with daily brushing and flossing.


Black and white photograph of former light-heavyweight boxing champion Archie Moore speaking in front of a microphone. Moore is wearing a white collared shirt with a dark suit jacket and tie and a baseball cap. A patch on his jacket reads "AMERICAN / SAVINGS." He is holding a paper from which is reading in front of him. The microphone is labeled "KNEW."
Archie MooreFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Moore (8/17/2007)Archie Moore whose birth name was Archibald Wright (December 13, 1913 _ December 9, 1998) was a light heavyweight world boxing champion. A native of Benoit, Mississippi, raised in St. Louis, Mo., he died four days short of his 85th (or 82nd) birthday, in his adopted home of San Diego, California. He was also a social figure, and a man who became involved in African American causes once his days as a fighter were finally over. His nickname was "The Old Mongoose." He holds the record for the most knockouts by any boxer, at 145.


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Hunter Hunter (Movie Review)
December 18, 2020 Hunter Hunter (Movie Review)
Posted at 11:45h Jeannie Blue cryptic rock, CrypticRock, Movie reviews, News, Reviews 0 Comments
If you want to snag the wolf, you've got to out-wolf him. Apropos of its title, it's a game of predator versus predator in the new Thriller Hunter Hunter, which arrived to select theaters, as well as Digital and On Demand, on Friday, December 18, 2020, thanks to IFC Films.
Written and directed by Shawn Linden (Nobody 2007, The Good Lie 2012), Hunter Hunter is the story of a family of fur trappers—Joseph (Devon Sawa: Casper 1995, Final Destination 2000), wife Anne (Camille Sullivan: Intelligence series, The Disappearance mini-series), and daughter Renée (Summer H. Howell: Curse of Chucky 2013, Clouds 2020)—who are living off the land in the remote wilderness. But times are tough and the price of fur is dropping, leaving the family to struggle to survive.
Hunter Hunter still
Unfortunately, matters only become worse when a rogue wolf begins to stalk their land. Intent upon ridding his woods of the competition, Joe takes matters into his own hands and goes hunting. But as his absence becomes mysteriously prolonged, Anne and Renée begin to worry. The local authorities—Officer Barthes (Gabriel Daniels: Goon 2011, Fractured 2019) and partner Lucy (Lauren Cochrane: The Pinkertons series, Fractured 2019)—are contacted, but they see no signs for concern and brush the mother and daughter off. However, it won't be long before a strange noise outside the cabin will turn this entire story on its head.
Clocking in at 93 minutes, Hunter Hunter is a suspense-filled Thriller that brings its audience into the forest, dumps them off, and then begs them to make sense of a string of events that will leave everyone grasping for answers. But don't worry: this is not a film that leaves its viewers to analyze an ambiguous conclusion. Instead, moviegoers can look forward to a grotesque climax that is definitely not aimed at the faint of heart (or stomach).
To get to that point, Hunter Hunter travels on a steadily building course that piles intrigue upon intrigue: there's a predator in the woods, Joe goes missing, and an injured man (Nick Stahl: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 2003, Sin City 2005) also steps into the picture. Attempting to make sense of the pieces of this puzzle is certainly possible, but it would be a shock in and of itself if anyone can guess how this entire story will conclude. But, to be fair, while it's the ending that sets the film apart, Hunter Hunter is a solidly enjoyable Thriller even without its abominable denouement.
Coupling excellent suspense with beautiful natural scenery, which receives its due thanks to cinematographer Greg Nicod (Sacred Hair short 2018, The Rabbit Hunters short 2020), Hunter Hunter fails to stumble as it races down its branching trails. Much of this is thanks to its talented cast who each deliver in their roles. For Daniels and Cochrane, that's a bit of light-heartedness in this haunting tale, and the pair show a phenomenal chemistry that makes them wholly believable as long-time co-workers.
Sawa, as Joe, is able to effectively communicate the hardened spirit of a life-long fur trapper. Determined to continue to live off the land, despite mounting evidence that his ability to do so may be coming to a swift end, Sawa's Joe is representative of the old way of thinking and doing. Whereas Sullivan's Anne is more open to change, especially if it means a better life for her daughter. With enough strength to keep her home going amid struggle, while still performing all the duties of a dedicated mother, Sullivan's character is the glue holding her family together. And Howell's Renée is the young girl in the center, devoted to both her parents and their way of life, but desperate to make her father proud.
Together, they are convincing and provide a story that, although more intricate than many, is easy to follow. The sole 'issue' with Hunter Hunter is one that should be fairly obvious, what with the film's title: this is a film based on fur trapping and hunting. If you are someone who is endlessly empathetic toward animals, and detests even the thought of animal trapping being displayed in a film, then this is a no-go for you. If you're on the fence, then you should know that Director Linden has handled the subject matter gracefully, and there is little to no gratuitous violence against animals for the sake of telling his story.
All of this said, Hunter Hunter is a truly well-done, if bleak, Thriller that is likely to thrill much of its audience as you travel through the forest, attempting to guess where the tale is headed. It's not a feel-good film, but it's a well-executed film. For this, Cryptic Rock gives Hunter Hunter 4 of 5 stars.
2020 film, 2020 movie, cabin in the woods, Camille Sullivan, dad goes missing, Devon Sawa, digital, family, fur trapping, Gabriel Daniels, Greg Nicod, grotesque ending, horror thriller, Hunter Hunter, hunting, IFC Films, intrigue, Lauren Cochrane, Nick Stahl, On Demand, predator in the woods, remote cabin, rogue wolf, Shawn Linden, Summer H. Howell, Suspense, theatrical release, Thriller

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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A busman's bank holiday: campaigning for grouse
Nick Weston - Head of Campaigns
69% of people oppose the shooting of birds for sport. That's a hell of a lot. But when you work in an office in Surrey, sometimes it's easy to think of that as just a number. So when you meet the public and see these figures reflected in people's friendly reactions, it's a welcome reminder of why the work the League does is so vital. Which is just one reason why I took the team up to Yorkshire to work with volunteers from Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire's Moors (BBYM) to do some good old-fashioned grass roots campaigning.
Using the format of the traditional Yorkshire coast bank holiday jaunt (as opposed to the cruel tradition of driven grouse shooting) we visited the key coastal tourist towns of Whitby, Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough, hoping to catch the locals and the tourists.
But what were we asking them to do? It was quite simple: sign a postcard addressed to Richard Flint, CEO of Yorkshire Water, asking his company to stop leasing their moors for grouse shooting. Simple, straight to the point and straight into the post box.
Across the UK, 700,000 grouse are killed every year, and by licencing 13 moors for shooting, Yorkshire Water is contributing to the killing of wildlife and the environmental degradation that comes with it.
It was fantastic to see so many smiling faces, so many thumbs up, and so many of those being converted into signatures. The people of Yorkshire have had to put up with the shoots for so long, that as much as they wished them to go away, they felt it not to be possible. This seemed to make our presence doubly welcomed as not only were we speaking out for what they believe in, we were there, in their town, speaking with them about what they believed in.
Unsurprisingly, we were not welcomed by all. We did have a very small number of encounters with game keepers and shooters. One game keeper, who to his credit, did try to engage us in debate on shooting, started to shout personal abuse any time we countered his argument that shooting is economically and ecologically viable (it's not). I suppose it's not as bad as being threatened to be thrown into Whitby harbour which happened at one point (not an exaggeration), but then, it just says a lot about those that like to kill animals for fun.
We had close to 700 postcards signed over the weekend, all being sent in the post to Yorkshire Water HQ. This in addition to the 1,000+ that have already been posted over the summer holiday. But the campaign is only just beginning. BBYM is not going away and neither are we. This weekend reminds me that the League Against Cruel Sports doesn't just offer a voice for animals, but for people too.
I would like to say a special 'thank you' to those who gave up their time to help. Volunteers and supporters like you that make campaigns like this possible.
Yorkshire Water should not be licencing grouse shooting, their customers agree, and Yorkshire Water knows it.
If you would like to get more involved in campaigning for the League, take a look and see if we have a group near you.
Published: 28th August, 2018
Updated: 29th August, 2018
Author: Nick Weston - Head of Campaigns
Campaign against Euro Tunnel gathers steam
Euro Tunnel are shipping day-old pheasant chicks into the UK for shooting. But what is being done to stop it?
Stag saved thanks to League sanctuary
League investigator Darryl Cunnington shows how vital our sanctuaries are in saving the lives of stags being chased by huntsmen.
End trophy hunting at Woburn
Following the recent bank holiday demonstration which saw the League and Bedfordshire Against Trophy Hunting take a stand against trophy hunting, Emily Lawrence our Regional Campaigns Manager describes the successful day.
"For the Silent" launch
Emily Lawrence, our Regional Campaigns Manager described the hugely positive launch of Indigo Dreams' "For the Silent" anthology of poems in aid of the League.
Progress is paramount
Wildlife aficionado, conservationist and President of the League Against Cruel Sports, Bill Oddie, has written a fantastic new blog about the progress and influence of the League whilst being in a world where bloodsports is rife.
Game bird shoots lose 'licence to kill'
Following last week's controversial announcement made by Natural England on the withdrawal of licenses to routinely kill wild birds on game bird shooting estates, Nick Weston, Head of Campaigns at the League gives us an insight into general shooting licenses.


St John's School, Silkwood is an integral part of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Cairns.
St John's School prides itself on being both Christ and child centred, providing excellent teaching delivery to the students we serve.
Our purpose is to provide an educational environment that allows students to learn together to achieve their personal best in a united, caring and Christ-centred environment.
We aim to empower students to reach their true potential so that they can be life-long learners and active contributors to our society and the local community.
We strive to provide a holistic education by developing the 'whole child', not only academically, but also physically, culturally, socially and emotionally. This inclusive education takes place in an environment formed by Gospel values and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
In partnership with families and our community, we nurture the foundations for achievement that are essential to social and emotional wellbeing. These foundations are essential for success in school, home life, work and the world of tomorrow. Social and emotional learning is integrated into all areas of the curriculum.
As a Catholic school, we are an extension of the church and strive to make the life of Jesus real and personal for each of our students. Religious Education is part of our daily routine.


Lauren Potter, activist and "Glee" star, has worked her entire life to overcome challenges. Born with Down's syndrome, she always dreamed of being an actress.
"There were some who said I could never do it," she said Wednesday, addressing a group of approximately 150 students at Fort Hays State University. "I was dancing before I could even walk. I always loved music."
When Potter was 18, she received a phone call from a friend in Hollywood.
"She knew about my dream," Potter said. "I would tell anyone and everyone who would listen."
The casting director was looking for a girl "who wasn't afraid to reach for the stars," Potter said. She must have Down's syndrome, but also be cute, witty and spunky.
They were looking for someone to play Becky Jackson, a cheerleader who overcomes her struggle with the disability, on the new television show "Glee."
"I had always wanted to be a cheerleader," Potter said. "And even though I tried out at my high school, I wasn't allowed to cheer. I knew I wanted this job. I also knew I had to work really hard and do a really good job."
Potter said she still loves playing the part of Becky, but it has been a hard season for the cast after losing Cory Monteith to drugs.
"This has been a sad and rough time for our 'Glee' family," she said. "We lost our dear friend. I loved Cory. He was always so sweet and had so much talent."
She now is adding drug-use to her list of causes.
"Everyone should remember Cory's death," Potter said. "Drugs are never the answer to relax, have fun or be cool. How would it be if we never had to lose another friend to drugs?"
Potter said the producers of Glee have given her a voice. She now has the ability to speak against drug-use and bullying.
"I was bullied when I was a kid," she said. "I was pushed down, made to eat sand, called the 'R' word. That's why I have been fighting to end bullying."
Mary Williquett, Potter's cousin and assistant who helped field questions from the audience, said Potter is more confident since being cast in the show.
"When she was younger, it was a lot different," Williquett said. "She used to hide behind me when we went out in public. Now she knows who she is and owns it."
As a result, she has been highly involved in Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendship for those with disabilities.
"Kids with disabilities are just like you," Williquett said. "That's why we do so much with Best Buddies. It's a charity that just promotes friendship. If you don't have money, everyone has friendship. That's all these kids want. They're all lonely."
Despite the serious topics of the night, Potter didn't fail to entertain.
Potter and Williquett bickered about food choices after Williquett complained about not being able to buy frozen yogurt because Kim Kardashian also wanted frozen yogurt. Potter disagreed with having frozen yogurt for dinner while she ate McDonald's. Williquett argued McDonald's isn't a better dinner than frozen yogurt.
"Hey," Potter said. "McDonald's is the most important meal of the day."
Potter is working on the fifth season of "Glee" and is attending college. She dreams of becoming a massage therapist in addition to continuing as an actress.
"I am never ever going to give up my dreams and stop reaching for the stars," she said.


We are looking for TWO people to come work with us on a new urban greenspace and health project!
The over £1million project is funded by Innovate UK and aims to develop an Urban Greenspace Valuation Toolkit (read more here!). The evidence based tool will provide practical appraisal and valuation to inform business and policy cases for urban greenspace investments. We are working in collaboration with Vivid Economics and Barton Willmore, a planning consultancy. The tool will be piloted in London.
The two posts are available immediately and will be based at the University of Exeter Medical School's ECEHH in sunny Cornwall. The successful candidates will work closely with Becca Lovell, Ben Wheeler, Mat White and Tim Taylor at ECEHH.
The application closing date is the 30/04/2018.
The post will primarily involve the scoping, acquisition and analysis of secondary health, social and environmental datasets suitable to inform and contribute to the development and iterative refining of an urban greenspace valuation tool. You will need good quantitative skills and experience of using statistical methods and/or GIS and spatial data analysis.
To view the Job Description and Person Specification document please click here, more information can be found by searching P61655 or 'Cornwall' jobs on the University of Exeter job site.
This post will involve synthesising evidence relating to the health and social benefits of urban greenspaces, scoping and assessment of secondary data availability, preparation of an ethical submission, and the writing of reports and papers.
To view the Job Description and Person Specification document please click here, more information can be found by searching P60461 or 'Cornwall' jobs on the University of Exeter job site.
For further information or an informal discussion about the role, please contact Tim Taylor Timothy.J.Taylor@exeter.ac.uk, Ben Wheeler B.W.Wheeler@exeter.ac.uk or Becca Lovell r.lovell@exeter.ac.uk.


Islamophobia is the fear and/or hatred of Islam, Muslims or Islamic culture.
Islamophobia can be characterised by the belief that all or most Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non-Muslims, and reject as directly opposed to Islam such concepts as equality, tolerance, and democracy.
It is viewed as a new form of racism whereby Muslims, an ethno-religious group, not a race, are nevertheless constructed as a race.
Islamophobia is an unreasonable and large unfounded hate or fear of people who have a Muslim background and it applies to people who are perceived to be Muslim.
It is not Islamophobia that makes parents take 14 year old bright girls out of school to marry illiterate men, and the girl has again to bring up the next generation who will again be denied not just education but the value of education.
What Islamophobia does is it just becomes a convenient label a figleaf a reason that is so comfortable for Muslims whenever they have to look at why they aren't in the places that they have to be.
To bring an end to Islamophobia, we must employ a holistic approach that treats the core of the disease.
It is well past time that Muslims cease using the charge of "Islamophobia" as a tool to intimidate and flmail those who speak up against suspicious passengers and against those who rightly criticize current Islamic practices and preachings.
Islamophobia refers to the irrational fear of Islam that drives people to make blanket judgments accusing all Muslims (over a billion people) of harboring the same murderous fantasies that Muslim extremists express and act upon.
Islamophobia is a common accusation used in PCP circles where, like the accusation of Antisemitism, it is intended to stigmatize the person so designated as having gone far beyond the boundaries of acceptable discourse, along with racism and essentialism.
Islamophobia has such currency that at least one academic at a US university felt justified in requiring his students to write a paper on "outright Islamophobes", including major scholars like Patricia Crone, Fouad Ajami, Bernard Lewis, Niall Ferguson, Samuel Huntington.
Islamophobia driven by what people want to believe is true, rather than what really is true.
Islamophobia shapes 'how Muslim children are treated in schools', the 'self-esteem on Muslim children' as well as 'their educational achievements'.
But, she adds, it has also become 'a convenient label, a figleaf, a reason that is so comfortable for Muslims whenever they have to look at why they aren't in the places that they have to be.
We often hear that Islamophobia is widespread in the British media and culture.
Islamophobia is said to manifest itself in ignorant and prejudiced ideas of what 'true' Islam really teaches.
The liberal British media, anxious to distance itself from 'Islamophobia', plays these logical problems down, partly because it cannot be bothered to understand them, and partly because it cannot believe that some religious people are less wishy-washy than they are themselves.
Some critics argue that Islamophobia is real but is just another form of racism and doesn't deserve its own category, while others argue that, unlike racism, Islam is a religion that people can choose to adopt or not, retain or apostatize from.
Many argue that the term Islamophobia is often used to censor criticism and and therefore its use threatens free speech.
Hasan is equally critical of attempts to dismiss Islamophobia as a myth.
Scaremongering about Islamophobia promotes a Muslim victim culture and allows some community leaders to inflame a sense of injury while suppressing internal debate.
What is being created here is a culture of victimhood in which 'Islamophobia' has become one-stop cause of the myriad of problems facing Muslims.
Alibhai Brown disagrees with me about the extent of Islamophobia, believing that it is a major force shaping Muslim lives.
The charge of "Islamophobia" is all too often used not to highlight racism but to silence critics of Islam, or even Muslims fighting for reform of their communities.
Journalists, Muslim leaders and even the home office all shouted "Islamophobia." "The whole Muslim community is being targeted by the police," claimed Khalid Sofi of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Even Muslim organisations that campaign against Islamophobia find it hard to make the case that attacks on Muslims are routine.
The report on Islamophobia by the Runnymede Trust in 1997 is an illustration of the growing magnitude of the problem.
The problem was again highlighted in January 2000 by the Interim Report of the Research Project on Religious Discrimination, commissioned by the Home Office and based at the University of Derby, and by the Parekh Report on The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain in October 2000.
The Forum Against Islamophobia & Racism (FAIR) was founded in 2001 as an independent charitable organization – our aim is to work towards establishing a Safe, Just and Tolerant Britain in which Islamophobia and racism have no place.
Nowhere was this more on display than at the recent seminar on 'Islamophobia,' forced upon an all-too-willing UN in exchange for holding a seminar on anti-Semitism earlier in 2004.
Conceived as part of a series on "unlearning intolerance," the seminar aimed to confirm prejudices of the Islamic world toward the West, and especially the United States, as the sources of all Islam's failure and weakness.
If Islamophobia was simply negative thoughts about Muslims, this was a wholly personal problem.
Paper presented at the "Exploring Islamophobia" Conference jointly organised by FAIR (Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism), City Circle, and Ar-Rum at The University of Westminster School of Law, London, on 29 September 2001.
Well yes, there were some tough nuts in there, pretty well all of them hard men in television serials, but the hardest ones were judged to be not those who used their fists but those who used words, and rated top of this class, the prizefighter, was Jeremy Paxman, the presenter of Newsnight on BBC2.
Islamophobia is a reality and it needs to be corrected, not by using the word itself as a label to stifle just criticism, not by defensive hostility, and not by shouting louder, but by knowledge, by reason, by detailed work, and above all by the example of our own humanity.
spiked-politics | Article | Who's afraid of Islamophobia?
Islamophobia will once more erupt worldwide and be legitimised by some political leaders.
But an examination of many of the publications and statements about Islamophobia suggests that this is not what the term meant in the first place.
Instead, 'Islamophobia' is used to refer to a huge range of incidents, many of which are relatively minor - though they are often presented in sensational terms.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission has also expressed alarm at the recent upsurge in anti-Muslim attacks and Islamophobia which have coincided with the month of Ramadan.
'Islamophobia Watch' is a non profit making venture documenting material already in the public domain.
A contemporary and emerging form of prejudice Islamophobia can be described as stereotypes, bias or acts of hostility towards individual Muslims or followers of Islam in general.
In addition to individual acts of intolerance and racial profiling, Islamophobia leads to viewing Muslims as a greater security threat on an institutional, systemic and societal level and perceiving their views to be intrinsically problematic, violent or unethical.
The Islamophobia Awards is an annual event to acknowledge - through satire, revue and comedy - the worst Islamophobes of that year.
I'm not particularly happy about the term Islamophobia sometimes because the emphasis is, or the connotation is, that it is an irrational fear of something.
I don't think that Islamophobia's is totally based on irrational fear, they are a lot of historical things and stuff like that.
There is injustice and nobody can deny that and I believe that Western policies have to be re-examined, reviewed, evaluated and in my piece I said that individual people in the West should take part in the foreign policies of their countries, foreign policy should not be foreign to them, they have to be involved.
Re-establishing trust among peoples of different faiths and cultures must be of the highest priority, he stressed, or discrimination would continue to taint innocent lives and make moving ahead with the ambitious international agenda of peace, security and development impossible.
Combating Islamophobia, he stressed, would require taking into account not only the role of extremism in Islam, but also the role of extremism among Christians and Jews.
In the ensuing discussion, several participants addressed the role of the media in furthering Islamophobia, asking what could be done to assist or educate the media in promoting a more balanced view of Islam. In response, Mr.
Its first report, Islamophobia: a challenge for us all, was published in 1997 and was launched at the House of Commons by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw MP.
It is the view of the Muslim Council of Britain that very little progress has been made in tackling the horror of Islamophobia in the United Kingdom since it was brought into sharp focus by the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia in its report published in 1997.
Whilst we recognise the adverse impact of international politics on the perception of Islam generally and Muslims living in the United Kingdom, we strongly feel that the government has done little to discharge its responsibilities under international law to protect its Muslim citizens and residents from discrimination, vilification, harassment, and deprivation.
The Muslim News said it had documented nearly 100 confirmed reports of so-called "revenge attacks", including mosques being fire-bombed and mothers threatened by gangs of men in front of their children.
Saturday's one-day anti-racism conference is being organised by UK group the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (Fair).
Fair said the event was originally designed to explore the more subtle forms of Islamophobia, such as the way the religion is portrayed in the media, popular culture, education and political language.
Islamophobia and Arabophobia has been part of western culture since the Crusades, with Saddam and Osama only the latest in a long line of Arab bogeymen.
The real reason for the current spate of Islamophobia is the fact that Islam has been the fastest growing religion in the world and as such poses a threat to the West.
The combined forces of racial discrimination and Islamophobia have been awesome in the marginalisation and alienation of the Muslim community.
The article is about the terminology and concept of Islamophobia and as such it strikes me as too presumptive for the article to in fact be using such a neologistic term (outside of quotes where the term has been used by others).
Islamophobia is an appropriate subject for a category whether you agree with the concept or not.
As far as quoting the word "islamophobia", there are ways of writing this article that are in accord with a neutral point of view that would negate the need for the quotes but despite my efforts to move in that direction my edits keep getting reverted.


text:
Infrastructure »
Cidco
Navi Mumbai airport project
6 months on, govt yet to OK Navi Mumbai airport contract
When the GVK-led Mumbai international airport limited (MIAL) won the bid for the project on February 13, Cidco had said the state government's approval was merely a formality that would happen soonTNN | August 10, 2017, 14:30 IST
NAVI MUMBAI: Almost six months after Cidco, nodal authority for the Navi Mumbai airport project, closed the finance deal with GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the state government is yet to approve and finalise it. Once the government give its nod, a letter of award will be given to the contractor, only after which can a special purpose vehicle (SPV) be formed to execute the project, sources say.
When the GVK-led Mumbai international airport limited (MIAL) won the bid for the project on February 13, Cidco had said the state government's approval was merely a formality that would happen soon.
"We have no idea what could be the reason," a Cidco official said on Wednesday, adding, "We communicated to the government a fortnight ago about the approval of the project.'' Cidco has asked for a meeting of the chief secretary-led Project Management and Implementation Committee so that the terms and conditions, rates of revenue-sharing with GVK-led MIAL and other aspects of the deal can be approved and forwarded to the state cabinet.
Cidco MD Bhushan Gagrani had tried to speed up the approval in March. Government sources had then attributed the delay to a change of chief secretary and the model code of conduct for the zilla parishad election.
Though MIAL did not want to comment, it shared its concern about the delay in ratification of the project by the government to initiate the setting up a new office, team besides other related works.
"The deal has 9 months time for financial closure from the date the work order," a Cidco official said." There is time for financial negotiation... The groundwork of pre-development of airport of hill cutting has started and the airport work will start only after land levelling," the official said. Financial closure closure takes place when tie-ups with financial institutions for funds are made and all conditions are fulfilled for debt inflow to start the project.
Tags : Infrastructure, navi mumbai, finance, Cidco, state government, special purpose vehicle, Navi Mumbai airport project
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If we have the sense to agree that we can't use force against a person who does nothing illegal and commits no act of aggression, how then can we say that it is proper to make once-legal activitiy illegal? If no one was wronged yesterday, how are they wronged today? If there were no victims yesterday in a mutually-consenting relationship or exchange, how would passing a law create a victim today in identical relationships and exchanges?


text:
U.S. Tortures Immigrants by forcing them to stand up in crowded holding cells
By: Editor | June 02, 2019
On May 31, 2019, HuffPost reported Homeland Security Watchdog Finds Migrants Standing On Toilets At Packed Detention Center. "The inspector general's office said that detainees were in soiled clothes and had been forced to stay in standing-room-only conditions for days or weeks."
This is not a country hundreds of thousands of men and women sacrificed their lives in wars so that it commits atrocities against the poor and defenseless. Subjecting immigrant detainees to inhumane conditions to deter immigration amounts to torture as described under the international law that prohibit torture.
United Nation's Convention Against Torture, Article:
"For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any ac...
Category: Human Rights Violations
Tags: U S Tortures Immigrants by forcing them to stand up in crowded holding cells
Will Sudan End Torture?
By: Editor | April 07, 2019
Abdala Abdel Algyoum Abddalias, 54 year old father of four, and founding member of El Gedaref Salvation Initiative, told Amnesty International last year how he was abused by agents of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).
"I was taken to a courtyard and made to stand facing the wall until sunset. Then seven NISS agents holding sticks and whips started to beat me. When I resisted their instruction to take off my clothes, they ripped off my shirt and trouser and threatened to rape me with a stick. They beat me until the evening prayer time. They went to pray and promised to come back to continue their torture," he said.
Another victim is Mohamed Salah Mohammed Abderhman. He was a 5th year student at the University of ...
Category: Africa
Tags: Sudan
U.K. Student Describes Horrors of Life in an Emirati Jail
By: Editor | December 29, 2018
LONDON — Fifteen-hour interrogations. Harmful cocktails of medicines. Offers of freedom in exchange for his theft of British government documents.
In his first public comments since being released last week from seven months of detention in the United Arab Emirates, Matthew Hedges, a British academic, described the extended psychological torture he says he endured at the hands of his interrogators.
Mr. Hedges, 31, was sentenced last month to life in prison after being convicted of spying for the British government during a research trip, part of his doctoral studies on the effects of the Arab Spring on Emirati diplomacy and security. He was pardoned by the Emirati governmentlast week and returned to Britain after Brit...
Tags: Matthew Hedges
In Final Column, Jamal Khashoggi Laments Dearth of Free Press in Arab World
The dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after he walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul just over two weeks ago, and evidence increasingly suggests he was brutally murdered.
But on Wednesday night, a new piece of his work — submitted by his assistant after he disappeared — was published by The Washington Post, for which Mr. Khashoggi worked as a columnist.
In just over 700 words, his column lamented the dearth of a free press in the Arab world, which he said "is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors, but through domestic forces vying for power." He sought to promote the free exchange of ideas and information under the headline, "What the Arab world needs most is free expression....
Tags: Jamal Khashoggi
How U.S. Torture Left a Legacy of Damaged Minds
By: Editor | October 07, 2018
Reported by New York Times
Beatings, sleep deprivation, menacing and other brutal tactics have led to persistent mental health problems among detainees held in secret C.I.A. prisons and at Guantánamo.
Before the United States permitted a terrifying way of interrogating prisoners, government lawyers and intelligence officials assured themselves of one crucial outcome. They knew that the methods inflicted on terrorism suspects would be painful, shocking and far beyond what the country had ever accepted. But none of it, they concluded, would cause long lasting psychological harm.
Fifteen years later, it is clear they were wrong.
Today in Slovakia, Hussein al-Marfadi describes permanent headaches and disturbed sleep, plagued by memories of dogs ins...
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A Retreat of a good combination of wilderness with leisure. the Retreat is having two different Part; the main building is called Baniya River Tretreat and the 2nd one is known as Chilapota Home Stay. The Retreat is adjacent to Chilapota Forest near Chilapota Range Office. The Chilapota Home stay contains six (06) numbers of Rooms, all are Airconditioned. The Retreat is having fully Twelve numbers of Air Conditioned Rooms. The Paddy field of the Forest Villagers add beauty to the Retreat. Sometimes one may find Pea fowl to grage in front of this Retreat. a Restuarant called Fire place is here with good food.
GST 5% will be added for online.


Single family sales activity is rising, even though new listings are steadily declining. The total number of active listings has slightly improved over August. This slight increase, combined with slower unadjusted sales activity in September compared to August, helped push the months of supply into a balanced position. As of September, the benchmark single family home price totaled $432,900. While this figure is 8% higher than levels recorded in September 2011, prices appear to have leveled off over the past three months, not considering any potential seasonal factors.
Year-to-date condominium apartment sales totaled 2,762 units, a 10% increase over 2011. With new listings in decline and improving demand for condominiums, overall inventory levels are down and this has started to translate into moderate improvements in pricing. The apartment benchmark price for September was $249,300, a 4% increase over September 2011.
Condominium townhouse sales totaled 2,061 units after the first three quarters of the year, 14% higher than last year. The benchmark price for a townhouse in September was $277,700, a 2% improvement over September 2011. These recent significant gains are returning the resale market to average levels of activity and price recovery. The resale market at the end of 2011 was well below typical levels of activity. "At the end of last year, a concern regarding the economic climate was heightened," said CREB® Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "There was discussion of a double-dip recession in the United States, coupled with weak domestic economic growth. "While much of this uncertainty in the economy persists, consumers' confidence in the prairie region has improved, compared to last year. This does not come as a surprise, given our province has recorded strong economic growth relative to Canada-wide figures. "Calgary's unemployment rate continues to fall, wages are improving, and our full time employment growth is far outpacing national averages." A note on pricing: The benchmark price represents the typical home price. As the benchmark price represents consumers willingness to pay for the same type of home it provides a better representation of price changes in the market. Commonly used approaches, such as median and average prices, can misrepresent price changes as we do not know if the shift is caused by a change in the composition of what has sold.


text:
FayWHAT? Why was Muhammad Ali in Fayetteville?
Thomas Pope Correspondent @FO_ThomasPope
Sep 30, 2018 at 4:00 PM Sep 30, 2018 at 4:24 PM
Gregg Lewis was enjoying lunch one day at a downtown restaurant when a photo on the wall next to his table grabbed his attention.
There, with the Fayetteville's landmark Market House as the backdrop, was a picture of former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, voted No. 3 on the list of great athletes of the 20th century by ESPN's SportsCentury program. In the shot, Ali is surrounded by a group of men in suits along with another dressed in a costume of sorts and a large walking stick as an accessory to his wardrobe.
"I'm not really a big boxing fan," said Lewis, a 38-year-old, lifelong resident of Hope Mills. "I don't ever remember that Ali was ever around here. I just thought it was a cool picture and wondered what it was about."
That question prompted Lewis to contact "FayWHAT?" — the Observer's new initiative where readers suggest story ideas and a member of the reporting staff tries to find the answers.
Ali was actually no stranger to Fayetteville once he retired from boxing in 1981. The Observer's library contains photographs of Ali on visits to the city in 1985, '86 and '88.
[Muhammad Ali visited area at least 3 times in the 1980s, much slowed by beloved]
Then there's the visit in 1991 that produced the image that so piqued Lewis' curiosity.
Ali came to the city that time to help local Muslims celebrate the fourth anniversary of the dedication of Masjid Obmar Ibn Sayyid, the local mosque that at the time was located at 845 Southern Ave. The mosque was purchased by the state in the mid-1990s, Beyah said, to allow for the construction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, and the mosque was rebuilt on Murchison Road and completed in late '99.
What spawned the '91 visit is one of many interesting facets to the story, said Adam Beyah, the imam of the mosque at the time, and Mitch "Gran'daddy Junebug" Capel, both of whom occupy the front row of the procession with Ali in the photograph.
Ali and his wife had been dinner guests in Chicago of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, then described by the Observer as "the spiritual leader of American Muslims." When Ali asked what he could do to help advance Islam, Mohammed asked him to visit Fayetteville to help raise funds to cover the additional expense of relocating the masjid to a new location.
[Westover grad from 1991 photo savors 'frozen moment' with Muhammad Ali]
"I got a call from a lady who said she was his wife," Beyah said. "Being the natural skeptic that I am, I thought it was a joke. She convinced me it wasn't."
Ali arrived Thursday, May 2, 1991, at the local airport. Due to some miscommunication, Ali arrived earlier than Beyah, who was to pick him up, expected. Beyah rushed to the airport, and it didn't take him long to find the charismatic figure — he was in the middle of a crowd, signing autographs.
The next day, Ali wanted to visit with local residents, so Beyah took him to a residential area.
"Children came out from everywhere," Beyah recalled. "He said to me, 'You know, a lot of these children were not even born when I was boxing.' But everybody knew who Muhammad Ali was. The response he got was overwhelming. He would pose for pictures, sign autographs, hold babies in his arms and hug them. He loved being with people."
He got a similarly warm response when the traveling party dropped in Westover middle and high schools that same day.
The following morning, a group that included Beyah, Rashad A. Rahmaan and other local Muslims, plus Capel, walked the nearly 2 miles down Southern Avenue to Gillespie Street and onto the Market House, where slaves were sometimes sold in the pre-Civil War era. That was, Beyah said, to reinforce the theme of several speeches at the landmark, "From Slavery to Freedom."
Seven years earlier, Ali had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and he rode to the Market House in a burgundy Chrysler convertible. After the speeches at the site and a brief walk down Person Street — the location where the photograph was taken by an Observer photographer — he grew weary. Capel offered the use of his cane to Ali, who accepted it, and he soon exited the procession to ride back to the mosque in the car.
"It was surreal to be walking with Muhammad Ali and listening to his comments," said Capel, who was 36 years old at the time and in costume as his story-telling character Gran'daddy Junebug. "He was hilarious. The whole time we were walking, he was hilarious. He was just funny and kind and open to everybody who wanted to come up and touch and shake his hand and hand him babies."
As an example of Ali's playfulness, Capel recalled reading a poem during the stop at the Market House and playfulness of the three-time boxing world champ during the performance.
"I wish I could find the video — it's on VHS around here somewhere — because while I was reading the poem and the camera got to him, he acted like he was going to sleep. He told me afterwards how much he liked it," he said.
"I ended up traveling with him to some fights and trying to help get his cookies — Champ cookies — into stores, which wasn't an easy thing to do in the South. I think I've still got a case of them somewhere, but they wouldn't be edible."
Muhammad Ali died June 3, 2016, at age 74.
Sports Editor Thomas Pope can be reached at tpope@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3520.


Text processing framework to analyse Natural Language. It is especially focused on text classification and sentiment analysis of online news media (general-purpose, multiple topics).
Please refer to the API docs.