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Data Citizens Distinguished Lecture Series presents Dr. John Hansen 11/3
Data Citizens Distinguished Lecture Series presents Dr. John Hansen…
Join us for a "Data Citizens: A Distinguished Lecture Series" talk on big data naturalistic audio processing by John H. L. Hansen, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research at the Center for Robust Speech Systems at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas (CRSS-UTDallas).
Dr. Hansen is also a Distinguished University Endowed Chair in Telecommunications Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and a Speech and Hearing Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Register Now | Wednesday 11/2, 4:00-5:00 PM
University of Miami, Richter Library, Conference Room 343 (Third Floor)
1300 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146
Directions + Parking
TALK TITLE: "Challenges and Advancements in Speaker Diarization & Recognition for Naturalistic Data Streams"
Speech communications represents a core domain for education, team problem solving, social engagement, and business interactions. The ability for Speech Technology to extract layers of knowledge and assess engagement content represents the next generation of advanced speech solutions.
Today, the emergence of BIG DATA, Machine Learning, as well as voice-enabled speech systems have required the need for effective voice capture and automatic speech/speaker recognition. The ability to employ speech and language technology to assess human-to-human interactions offers new research paradigms having profound impact on assessing human interaction.
In this talk, Dr. Hansen will focus on big data naturalistic audio processing relating to (i) child learning spaces, and (ii) the NASA APOLLO lunar missions. ML based technology advancements include automatic audio diarization, speech recognition, and speaker recognition. Child-Teacher based assessment of conversational interactions are explored, including keyword and "WH-word" (e.g., who, what, etc.). Diarization processing solutions are applied to both classroom/learning space child speech, as well as massive APOLLO data.
CRSS-UTDallas is expanding their original Apollo-11 corpus, resulting in a massive multi-track audio processing challenge to make available 150,000 hours of Apollo mission data to be shared with science communities: (i) speech/language technology, (ii) STEM/science and team-based researchers, and (iii) education/historical/archiving specialists. The goals here are to provide resources that allow a better understanding of how people work/learn collaboratively; and for Apollo, to accomplish one of mankind's greatest scientific/technological challenges in the last century.
John H. L. Hansen, received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology, and B.S.E.E. from Rutgers University. He joined the University of Texas at Dallas (UTDallas) in 2005, where he currently serves as Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Distinguished University Chair in Telecommunications Engineering, and directs the Center for Robust Speech Systems (CRSS). He is an International Speech Communication Association Fellow (ISCA), IEEE Fellow, and has served as Member and Technical Committee Chair of IEEE Signal Processing Society, Speech and Language Processing Technical Committee (SLTC), and Technical Advisor to U.S. Delegate for NATO (IST/TG-01).
He served as ISCA President (2017-21), ISCA Board (2015-23), has supervised 99 Ph.D./M.S. thesis candidates (EE, CE, BME, TE, CS, Ling., Cog.Sci., Spch.Sci., Hear.Sci), was recipient of 2020 UT-Dallas Provost's Award for Graduate Research Mentoring, and author/co-author of 840 journal/conference papers in the field of speech/language/hearing processing & technology. He served as Organizer/Chair/Co-Chair/Technical Chair for ISCA INTERSPEECH-2022, IEEE ICASSP-2010, IEEE SLT-2014, ISCA INTERSPEECH-2002, IEEE ICASSP-2024. He received the 2022 IEEE Signal Processing Society Leo Beranek MERITORIOUS SERVICE Award.
About Data Citizens
Data Citizens: A Distinguished Lecture Series is an ongoing course of in-depth talks by experts in the field of data science on a wide variety of topics including data visualization, big data, AI, and predictive analytics. The Data Citizens lecture series is co-sponsored by the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and is free and open to the public.
2-Day Software Carpentry-Python Workshop 10/27-28 at Rosenstiel Campus
Deadline Extended to 11/7 for IDSC FELLOWS Program Applications
Apollo 11 Data Citizens John H. L. Hansen John Hansen NASA Speaker Diarization Speaker Recognition Speech Communications The University of Texas at Dallas Voice Capture


If you are looking for a break from everyday life to replenish your strength, slow down and relax, Germany is a dream destination. Whether by the sea, in the mountains or surrounded by green meadows and forests - spa towns and resorts invite you to savour an amazing relaxation and well-being experience.
The required resources can be found all over Germany: mineral and thermal springs, invigorating moorland, a healthy climate to support regeneration, Kneipp, Felke and Schroth cure treatments, bubbling seawater for thalassotherapy and radon galleries to help you relax and let go. This diverse range of natural therapies makes Germany an attractive destination for health travel, with over 350 rated health resorts and spa towns combining traditional healing methods with modern medicine. The spectrum extends from prevention to healing, recuperation and relaxation.
You can find a wide range of well-being treatments based on natural remedies in over 1,000 inspected wellness and beauty hotels in Germany. This comprehensive offering includes personally tailored programmes and medical wellness treatments, as well as active pursuits in the heart of beautiful countryside. Let off some steam and enjoy the continuously changing scenery on long cycling or hiking tours. In the evenings, you can relax over revitalising gourmet dishes which combine healthy nutrition with maximum pleasure.
Feel the healing power of nature, feel fit and healthy - and completely relaxed - in Germany!
Your health and all-round well-being are important to us. Come and let us look after you in Germany!


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Iraqi Minister: Rebel Cities Will Be Retaken In October
September 30, 2004 01:08 GMT
An Iraqi insurgent in Al-Najaf (file photo) 29 September 2004 -- Iraqi Defense Minister Hasim al-Shalaan said today that U.S. and Iraqi forces will start a military offensive during October to retake rebel-held cities in Iraq.
29 September 2004 -- Iraqi Defense Minister Hasim al-Shalaan said today that U.S. and Iraqi forces will start a military offensive during October to retake rebel-held cities in Iraq.
Shalaan gave no details, but he said that "all" the cities presently held by insurgents will be recaptured.
Today was another day of casualties in Iraq. Six Iraqis were killed in violence across the country, including Abd al-Ghani Mijbas, a Shi'ite politician, and his teenage son, who were shot in the northeastern city of Baquba.
Ten U.S. soldiers were wounded in several attacks in the country's north.
LIVE Ukraine Live Blog: Iran Plane Downing, Zelenskiy's Challenges

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ponta do Sol (crioll capverdià Pónta d' Sol) és una vila al nord de l'illa de Santo Antão a l'arxipèlag de Cap Verd. És la capital administrativa del municipi de Ribeira Grande i té una població de 2.143 habitants. En l'època colonial, es va dir Vila de María Pia, en honor de Maria Pia de Savoia, reina de Portugal.

La ciutat està situada a l'extrem nord de l'illa, i posseeix un petit port pesquer (Boca da Pistola) que, durant molt temps i fins a finals del , va anar l'únic punt d'entrada de mercaderies, encara que el creixement de Porto Novo va suposar la desaparició del tràfic comercial, especialment per la dificultat de l'estret accés al port.

Té un petit nucli antic amb arquitectura colonial del , destacant l'edifici de l'ajuntament i l'església de Nossa Senhora do Livramento. És també molt interessant el moll, originalment aixecat al , que tanca la bocana del petit port.

L'economia de Ponta do Sol es fonamenta en la pesca i, de forma cada vegada més creixent, del turisme. Disposa de platges (Aranhas i Motche) i la seva costa és un dels punts més actius de busseig i d'altres activitats d'oci marí. Disposa d'una certa infraestructura d'allotjaments (incloent-hi un hotel de tres estels) i de restauració.

Fins a final de la dècada de 2000, va estar funcionant un petit aeròdrom (l'Aeròdrom Agostinho Neto), localitzat al costat del nucli urbà, encara que la reduïda grandària de les seves pistes no permetia l'aterratge més que de petits avions d'hèlix. Després d'un greu accident, l'aeròdrom va ser clausurat i avui dia es troba en estat de total abandó.

Demografia
Durant les últimes dècades del , Ponta do Sol va tenir menys població que la veïna Ribeira Grande, encara que en la dècada 1990-2000 es va produir un notable increment de població, a conseqüència del retorn d'un gran nombre d'emigrants i el desenvolupament del turisme, desenvolupant-se nous barris d'edificis d'apartaments i habitatges unifamiliars d'alt nivell.

Personatges
 Jorge Ferreira Chaves, arquitecte
 Raul Pires Ferreira Chaves, arquitecte
 Gabriel António Costa (Nhô Kzik), violinista i multiinstrumentista (m. 2005)
 Domingo Lima Costa, violinista i multiinstrumentista

Vegeu també
 Llista de nuclis de població de Cap Verd

Referències

Entitats de població de Santo Antão

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This spacious new home design in Indigo is perfect for family as well as guests. The Neal Communities home includes a guest room with ensuite bath and walk-in closet, a luxurious master suite and two secondary bedrooms. An open leisure room can instead be a den with French doors. The foyer and gallery entry makes an elegant impression and leads to open great room, kitchen and dining nook area. The great room with coffered ceiling offers views out to the sunny covered lanai. A large island and walk-in pantry make the gourmet kitchen especially accommodating. In the comfortable master suite you'll find a bedroom with coffered ceiling and optional door to the lanai, two walk-in closets and bath with dual sink vanities, shower, optional garden tub and private water closet.


Hedges Have Been A Privacy Landscaping Hallmark For Centuries, Particularly Along Property Lines. One Advantage Is That, Depending On Your Choice Of Plant .
This post of Adding Privacy To Backyard was uploaded on June 7, 2018 at 6:47 pm. This article is published at the Backyard category. Adding Privacy To Backyard is tagged with Adding Privacy To Backyard, Adding, Privacy, To, Backyard..
We would like to talk about some tips about make up counter within your room before referring to Adding Privacy To Backyard. Ensure you choose a table that is dressing with optimum capacity. Adding Privacy To Backyard can be used for you personally who would like to change the look of one's constitute room.
While in the impression of Adding Privacy To Backyard that you simply need to be ready to support most of the requirements such as fragrances, extras assortment, before 'trappings' tools makeup items. In-general, desks involve additional lighting. This is often circumvented by inserting a wall light to the remaining and right side mirror or with the addition of a tiny lamp at around the mirror.
Chairs will be the correct option to get a along with dressing-table, along with sensible as it can be bundled underneath the under the cabinet, ottoman also provides feeling of sunshine.


London 2012's Director of Sport Debbie Jevans popped into the Marathon Talk studios to bring us up to speed on the latest in next year's Olympics, Tom took the rain up North with him, Martin earned a stamp in his parkrun passport, Tony jingled his way down the road, and Berlin saw a new marathon World record!
- Tom's been... Barrow parkrunning, Berlin marathon watching, Cavendish cheering, and hen saving!
- Martin's been... parkrun touring, bag carrying, and not running!
Debbie is the Director of Sport for London 2012 and therefore responsible for delivering the equivalent of 26 world championships within two weeks during the Olympic Games and then repeating a similar feat for the Paralympic Games. Her role has involved drawing up the Games competition schedule, ensuring that the competition venues meet the technical requirements for each sport and liaising with national and international sports governing bodies.
Debbie is a former junior Wimbledon tennis champion and British under-21 doubles title-holder and has been involved in international sport for the past 12 years. She served as General Secretary of the International Tennis Federation and was responsible for tennis at previous Olympic Games.
- New Marathon Talk technical training tee and racing vest available very soon with the amazing support of adidas.


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Army ready to deal with any situation: Army Chief
RAWALPINDI: Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that national efforts to curb the coronavirus should be fully implemented and the army ready to deal with any situation.
According to the spokesman of Pakistan Army Corps commander under the command of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa held a conference in which the situation arising out of the Corona virus was taken into consideration and the corps commanders also considered the security measures taken at the army level. The ISPR said that the Army Chief directed that national efforts against the virus play a vital role and that the military was prepared to deal with any situation.
The ISPR further said that the conference also assessed the operational readiness of the Armed Forces, the Line of Control situation and the security situation of the region in view of the Afghan reconciliation process. The Army Chief said that peacekeeping in the region passes through Afghanistan, that through joint efforts and reconciliation, challenges can be overcome, and Pakistan is sincerely ready to step down.
Sindh government announces closure of educational institutions till May 30
NAB arrested Mir Shakeelur Rehman


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Q: Chromecast Stream from Android Phone to Laptop via Ad Hoc Network I want to mirror the screen of my Android phone (HTC Sensation) on my laptop wirelessly.
Google Chromecast looks like a good solution to this - how would I set up an ad-hoc network so that I can view my phone's display on my laptop without a router? (I don't need internet connection)
Additionally, my laptop only has an HDMI out and not an HDMI in - can I plug the chromecast to my laptop via USB.
I found this tutorial but I'm not sure if its what I want:
http://pack3tlife.com/2013/11/18/ad-hoc-network-with-chromecast-and-windows-8/
I don't own a chromecast so can't test this.
Can anybody help me with this?

A: Using an Ad-Hoc network won't work if your Android phone does not support Ad-Hoc mode (properly), which in my experience are most Android phones.
You could fall back to a WiFi hotspot, e.g. provisioned by your phone, but this hogs a lot of power.
Another problem you get with a Chromecast but no HDMI-in will be the HDCP, so even if you managed to get a signal through some adapters, this probably won't work.
If you have a rooted phone, there are some alternatives like AndroidScreencast or a VNC server, but this needs the root access.
The Android version for TeamViewer could work on your phone, but that probably needs an internet connection to initialize the connection between your computer and your phone.

A: You can use the "Airmirror" function of the Airdroid program/app.  See:
http://help.airdroid.com/customer/portal/articles/1784666-airmirror
Airdroid is a tool I discovered a while ago when I was trying to find a way to use my phone from my laptop (because I'm lazy and it's more convenient not to have to switch back and forth). At first I just thought it was only a website, but then I saw there's also a desktop program for it that has a mirroring application for the device. Here's a video I made of Airdroid in action: http://screencast.com/t/7dfW0WgSevvI

A: Forget it. The Chromecast requires an internet connection in order to work. You will not be able to set it up on a router, until it detects an internet connection.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Why sometimes Gmail let me add automatically an icalendar file and sometimes no? I'm working on an app that provides to the user a .ics (iCalendar file) with some events. This file is sent through email and I have realised that sometimes gmail let you to add automatically and sometimes no. Somebody knows why this is happening?
My ics file with 9 events is:
BEGIN:VCALENDAR
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  1 de Màquines Elèctriques
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160425T160000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160425T180000
LOCATION:Etseib B-B PL-1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  1 de Màquines Elèctriques
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  2 de Màquines Elèctriques
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160509T160000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160509T180000
LOCATION:Etseib B-B PL-1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  2 de Màquines Elèctriques
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  3 de Màquines Elèctriques
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160530T160000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160530T180000
LOCATION:Etseib B-B PL-1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  3 de Màquines Elèctriques
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  4 de Màquines Elèctriques
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160307T160000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160307T180000
LOCATION:Etseib H-5.4
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  4 de Màquines Elèctriques
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  1 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160502T100000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160502T120000
LOCATION:Etseib E-E -1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  1 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  2 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160509T100000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160509T120000
LOCATION:Etseib E-E -1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  2 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  3 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160523T100000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160523T120000
LOCATION:Etseib E-E -1
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  3 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  4 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160426T120000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160426T140000
LOCATION:Etseib B-B.5
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  4 de Tecnologia i Selecció de Materials
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Pràctica  1 de Termotècnia
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160309T120000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160309T170000
LOCATION:Etseib H-H 7.56
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Demà Pràctica  1 de Termotècnia
TRIGGER:-PT1H
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

A: I've had the same issue. Sometimes the event you're sending through email won't work because some of the properties aren't valid. I suggest you to compare the source of a valid invitation with the source of one that does not and you'll probably find the problem.
You can validate the source here :
http://icalendar.org/validator.html
I ran the code in the validator and it would seem some properties are missing.
1. Right after the VCALENDAR, there should be the properties  PRODID and VERSION. Even if they are mandatory, you only need to inlcude them once in the ics file.
2. For every event you create, you need to include a UID, which is a unique kind of key, it can be anything as long as it is unique. Also, you will need a DTSTAMP which is a date in the same format as the DTSTART. You can read about them here.
Also, if perhaps you decide to use recurrent events, you will have 1 event only with a recurrence-rule which you can read about in the same website as the other two.
Hope I could help.


text:
Cavs center leaves server at Milwaukee diner $1,000 tip
The server said he never saw it coming and plans to put the money toward going back to school
by: Brandon Jaces
Credit: @Eddie_Reader on Twitter
(WKBN) – Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond left a sweet tip for a server at Sweet Diner in Milwaukee Friday afternoon.
Eddie Reader was his server that day and the recipient of the $1,000 tip. He said that is a lot of money at any time but during the pandemic, it's huge.
"Especially for me since I haven't gotten any stimulus money and I'm trying to go back to school. This is exactly what I personally needed!" Reader said via a Twitter message. " I never saw that coming!"
Reader said Drummond's teammates were nice and that the crew at Sweet Diner is no stranger to professional athletes. They regularly have players from the Milwaukee Bucks stop in for a meal.
"The guys and Andre were so humble and down to earth. It was cool just to hang out with them!" Reader said.
Reader added that they also took care of two other tables' checks that day.
"Incredible guys and definitely a life changing moment for me!" Reader said.
More headlines from WKBN.com:
by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press / Jan 15, 2021
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — The last federal inmate facing execution before President Donald Trump leaves office was sentenced to death for the killings of three women in a Maryland wildlife refuge, a crime that led to a life sentence for the man who fired the fatal shots.
Dustin Higgs, 48, who is scheduled to be executed on Friday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, says nobody alleges he pulled the trigger. His lawyers have argued it is "arbitrary and inequitable" to execute Higgs while Willis Haynes, the man who fatally shot the women in 1996, was spared a death sentence.
Crash in Trumbull County leads to second crash as cars tried to pass


The study of 30 patients is the first prospective study for SCLC to evaluate clinical outcomes and adverse effects of proton therapy, a precise form of radiation therapy that deposits all of its energy within the tumor and causes less collateral damage to normal tissues around the tumor. Patients in the study had localized cancer that had not spread to other parts of the body.
"Radiation therapy is essential to the management of limited-stage small cell lung cancer, but when it is combined with chemotherapy, it can result in substantial toxicities, increasing the risk to critical organs such as the lungs, heart and esophagus," says Charles B. Simone, II, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center, who is the senior author of the study.
Studies have demonstrated that proton therapy can reduce the radiation dose to these healthy organs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer, but there previously were no comparable data for small cell lung cancer, Dr. Simone notes. "We wanted to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of combining proton-beam therapy with chemotherapy to treat this very challenging type of lung cancer, which is particularly important since patients with small cell lung cancer often present with larger tumors and are sicker at diagnosis than their non-small cell counterparts" he says.
The researchers found that the combination therapy produced a lower incidence of adverse side effects than would be expected with standard photon therapy while maintaining similar clinical outcomes. They also reported "statistically significant" reductions in radiation doses to the spinal cord, lungs and heart compared to the doses that would have been delivered with standard radiation therapy. They performed this analysis by comparing proton therapy with clinical backup plans for each patient using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with photon therapy.
The majority of the patients in the study were women; the median age was 68 years old. All had a significant history of smoking. After the treatment, 27 patients were evaluated: 11 had a complete response, 15 had a partial response and one had stable disease. The patients were followed for a median 14 months. The median disease-free survival was 14.3 months, and the median overall survival was 28.2 months. Side effects included inflammation of the lungs or esophagus, fatigue and anorexia, but only a few serious adverse events were reported.
The research was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Simone was on the faculty before coming to University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2016. The lead author is Jean-Claude M. Rwigema, MD.


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Q: "Call me through/at/on this number" What is the difference between the following when referring to telephone calls?

Please call me on this number. You can reach me on this number.
Please call me at this number. You can reach me at 0088000900.
Please call me through this number. You can reach us through this number.

Are they interchangeable? Which one would sound more natural and accurate?

A: To my American ear, "at" sounds the most natural, "through" is less common, and "on" is one I would never use.
The only way I would use "through this number" is if I had more than one number, I might say "You can reach me through 547-2146" to indicate that I'm less likely to be available at the other numbers. But in general I'd use "through" when referring to a person or place, not number:

You can reach me through my sister.
You can reach me through the office.

which would mean I might not be with my sister / at the office, but if you call them they will connect you to me.

A:

*

*Please call me on this number. You can reach me on this number.

Acceptable everywhere, principally used in UK/Australia/New Zealand. Sounds strange to North American ears, but understood.

*

*Please call me at this number. You can reach me at 0088000900.

Acceptable everywhere, principally used in US/Canada. Might sound strange to English speakers outside North America, but widely understood.

*

*Please call me through this number. You can reach us through this number.

Usually used when the caller will need to speak to an intermediary before being connected to the desired party (such as when a receptionist answers all incoming calls). Not generally used when the number connects directly to the desired party (which is "DID" Direct Inward Dial in North America, and "DDI" Direct Dial-In elsewhere).

A: I believe that all three instances are interchangeable. Coming from a background of American and Australian English none of them stand out as any clearer or more natural than another. I think that it's simply a matter of personal preference based on where you are from; a practice    of very simple colloquialisms. For example if someone said to me "Hit me up on this number." I would understand just the same.

A: I'm pretty sure I've heard on used, but rarely, and, I am certain, by folks whose general use of the English language pays little heed to the notion of what is or isn't proper. Use of at however comprises 99 plus percent of what I've seen or heard [in use], or used myself, throughout all parts of the United States, and also comes in variations such as "reach me at" or "I'll be at". Never have I known anyone to use through in this way though. And no surprise there, as the word implies an intermediary and seems thus insensible.

A: At or On are both fairly common ( in the UK at least ). "You can call me at 0800999999" is interchangeable with "You can call me on 0800999999". The "at" may have a slight suggestion that it could be a work number, and I may not be there.
Through is only really used combined with "reach me" - so "you can reach me through 0800999999". Not as common in the UK, and it implied that someone else will aswer, but can pass on a message. It would not imply that you could necessarily speak to the person - hence the "reach me" rather than "call me".

A: "Call me at this number" is correct. "On this number" sounds like slang.


It wasn't a conscious decision, but at some point last year I seemed to lose interest in cooking, composing, and consuming real meals.
How bleak had it become? For breakfast I'd eat a protein bar—something made of almonds and "soluble corn fiber"—or something procured from the office free table. These were bars and snacks in trendy flavor combinations like hemp matcha or spirulina speculoos, and they did not taste good; sometimes, the texture was also uncomfortably strange. But I had lost interest in flavor and texture, so what did it matter to me?
Lunch was either a pile of microwaved ingredients from home (a sweet potato, some frozen vegetables, and handful of grains) and too many free snacks or, more often, a container of foods from the cafeteria. Dinner? Contain your tears: It was often the other half of my cafeteria haul, or a quick grazing of whatever caught my eye in the cupboard or fridge. This meant lots of rice cakes, lots of scrambled eggs (but not the beautiful, dinner-worthy kind) and, most embarrassing, more protein bars.
None of this made me feel good, nutritionally or culinarily. But I was too tired when I got home from work to think about chopping, sautéing, and flavor-combining. I'd used my last ounces of energy extroverting and grasping on to my exercise routine. I had no enthusiasm for eating, and the food I was eating definitely wasn't creating any enthusiasm. It was a cycle, and I rode it like a ferris wheel.
So when the COOK90 cookbook hit the scene, I felt that maybe it could stop the wheel from spinning. As an Epicurious staffer, I was under no obligation to undertake our month-long challenge of High Intensity Interval Cooking. But I needed to get interested in food and cooking again. So I sat with the book on New Year's Eve, picked out some recipes to make, and wrote down a shopping list and meal plan. As I did so, I felt a ping of enthusiasm. A tiny spark of energy wasn't too far behind.
The spiced chickpeas are like a little black dress—versatile, goes with everything, classy.
I started the year with a lovely breakfast: a fried egg and a slice of toasted sourdough with mashed avocado. I sprinkled Everything Bagel Seasoning over the plate, sat in my sunlit living room, and, well, basked. If that moment were a stock photo, it'd be called "Woman Smiling Alone With Breakfast."
Then I went to the grocery store for the supplies I needed for an equally fabulous lunch: spiced chickpeas with radishes and greens, a vegetarian adaptation from the COOK90 book). For dinner I went with sheet pan salmon with broccolini (also from the book). My roommate and his girlfriend oohed and ahhed at my food—or perhaps it was my talent in the kitchen that had impressed them.
The week progressed with nextovers and experiments with ingredients I'd never cooked with before. This should have overwhelmed me, or at least exhausted me. But I was as surprised as anybody to find that the process—and the meals themselves—gave me less stress and more energy. I'd always known that food is fuel. Turns out that cooking is fuel, too. Who knew?
After a few weeks of COOK90, it struck me: the time it takes to stare at my pantry, graze a little, stop, feel unsatisfied, and graze again equals the time it takes to make a wonderful, filling, impressive meal. I was reminded about the power of preparation, and the gift of slowing down and doing things with intention. The quiet moments I spent meal planning gave me back all the time I needed to go out to shows, and the energy to run a little faster on the treadmill. I hadn't changed my life dramatically to incorporate cooking. But, happily, cooking had dramatically changed me.


text:
Q: Wordpress- how to use 'category__not_in' in wp_query I have a small problem.
I am trying to retrieve all posts from certain custom post type excluding the posts tagged In category id 78.
I have two posts.
One tagged as category 78 only and one that is not tagged as category 78.
I checked in older posts like this one but for me it is not working.
I see all the results.
this is my code:
 function data_fetch(){

    $the_query = new WP_Query( array( 'posts_per_page' => -1, 's' => esc_attr( $_POST['keyword'] ), 'post_type' => 'article', 'category__not_in ' => array( 78 ) ) );
    if( $the_query->have_posts() ) :
        while( $the_query->have_posts() ): $the_query->the_post(); ?>

<a href="<?php echo esc_url( post_permalink() ); ?>"><?php the_title();?>

        <?php endwhile;
        wp_reset_postdata();
    endif;

    die();
}

This is the post type init query function:
    function article_cpt_init() {
    $labels = array(
        'name' => 'פריטי מאגר מידע',
        'singular_name' => 'פריט מאגר מידע',
        'add_new' => 'הוסף פריט מאגר מידע חדש',
        'add_new_item' => 'הוסף פריט מאגר מידע חדש',
        'edit_item' => 'ערוך פריט מאגר מידע',
        'new_item' => 'פריט מאגר מידע חדש',
        'all_items' => 'כל פריטי מאגר מידע',
        'view_item' => 'הצג פריט מאגר מידע',
        'search_items' => 'חפש פריט מאגר מידע',
        'not_found' =>  'לא נמצא פריט מאגר מידע',
        'not_found_in_trash' => 'לא נמצא פריט מאגר מידע בפח',
        'parent_item_colon' => '',
        'menu_name' => 'פריטי מאגר מידע',
    );

    $args = array(
        'labels' => $labels,
        'exclude_from_search' => true,
        'public' => true,
        'publicly_queryable' => true,
        'show_ui' => true,
        'show_in_menu' => true,
        'query_var' => true,
        'rewrite' => array( 'slug' => 'article' ),
        'capability_type' => 'post',
        'has_archive' => true,
        'hierarchical' => false,
        'taxonomies' => array('category', 'audience'),
        'menu_position' => null,
        'supports' => array( 'title', 'excerpt', 'editor' )
    );

    register_post_type( 'article', $args );
}
add_action( 'init', 'article_cpt_init');

/**
 * Register speciality Taxonomט
 */
function register_speciality_taxonomy() {
    $taxonomies = array(
        array(
            'slug'         => 'category',
            'single_name'  => 'נושא',
            'plural_name'  => 'נושאים',
            'post_type'    => 'article',
            'rewrite'      => array( 'slug' => 'נושאים' ),
        ),
        array(
            'slug'         => 'audience',
            'single_name'  => 'קהל יעד',
            'plural_name'  => 'קהלי יעד',
            'post_type'    => 'article',
            'rewrite'      => array( 'slug' => 'קהל יעד' ),
        ),
        array(
            'slug'         => 'tags',
            'single_name'  => 'תגיות',
            'plural_name'  => 'תגיות',
            'post_type'    => 'article',
            'rewrite'      => array( 'slug' => 'תגיות' ),
            'hierarchical' => false,
        )
    );
    foreach( $taxonomies as $taxonomy ) {
        $labels = array(
            'name' => $taxonomy['plural_name'],
            'singular_name' => $taxonomy['single_name'],
            'search_items' =>  'Search ' . $taxonomy['plural_name'],
            'all_items' => 'All ' . $taxonomy['plural_name'],
            'parent_item' => 'Parent ' . $taxonomy['single_name'],
            'parent_item_colon' => 'Parent ' . $taxonomy['single_name'] . ':',
            'edit_item' => 'Edit ' . $taxonomy['single_name'],
            'update_item' => 'Update ' . $taxonomy['single_name'],
            'add_new_item' => 'Add New ' . $taxonomy['single_name'],
            'new_item_name' => 'New ' . $taxonomy['single_name'] . ' Name',
            'menu_name' => $taxonomy['plural_name']
        );

        $rewrite = isset( $taxonomy['rewrite'] ) ? $taxonomy['rewrite'] : array( 'slug' => $taxonomy['slug'] );
        $hierarchical = isset( $taxonomy['hierarchical'] ) ? $taxonomy['hierarchical'] : true;

        register_taxonomy( $taxonomy['slug'], $taxonomy['post_type'], array(
            'hierarchical' => $hierarchical,
            'labels' => $labels,
            'show_ui' => true,
            'query_var' => true,
            'rewrite' => $rewrite,
        ));
    }

}
add_action( 'init', 'register_speciality_taxonomy' );
// Display User IP in WordPress

What am I doing wrong?

A: Try this:
function data_fetch(){
$args = array( 'posts_per_page' => -1,
                's' => esc_attr( $_POST['keyword'] ),
                'post_type' => 'article',
                'tax_query' => array(
                        array(
                            'taxonomy' => 'audience',
                            'field'    => 'term_id',
                            'terms'    => array( 78 ),
                            'operator' => 'NOT IN',
                        ),
                    ),
                );
    $the_query = new WP_Query($args);
    if( $the_query->have_posts() ) :
        while( $the_query->have_posts() ): $the_query->the_post(); ?>

<a href="<?php echo esc_url( post_permalink() ); ?>"><?php the_title();?>

        <?php endwhile;
        wp_reset_postdata();
    endif;

    die();
}


At the IBC2017 in Amsterdam the key COGNITUS objectives were to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities i n the use of User Generated Content (UGC) in broadcasting, and show how COGNITUS enables that. The results of the recent use case trials at the Acropolis Basketball Tournament in Greece and the Edinburgh Festivals in the UK were used to provide insights into how COGNITUS provides means to gather, enhance, enrich, edit and distribute UGC.
The main COGNITUS demonstration at the IBC was in the form of a Multi media presentation (MMP) in the Ruby Lounge. The attendees showed significant interest in the opportunities COGNITUS creates in creating new experiences to the audiences as well as the content contributors, who are increasing becoming the same.
A number of extended discussions on COGNITUS technology and business models were also hosted at the project partner VITEC stand.
The feedback will be incorporated in future technology developments in coming months. A larger scale COGNITUS demo of the COGNITUS technology and use cases is expected next year at the IBC2018 !!.


Atlantic's Colorfalls system is what sets us apart from the rest.
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TRF has developed guidelines and operational standards to strengthen all online rummy operators. Focused market research, events and other industry initiatives are implemented through various committees of TRF to support industry growth and to promote a fair and responsible game-play environment for all stakeholders.
There are four core areas of emphasis.


text:
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Fourth Circuit › 1989 › Tom Abbott, Individually, As President of the Virginia Beachpolicemen's Benevolent Association, and...
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Tom Abbott, Individually, As President of the Virginia Beachpolicemen's Benevolent Association, and As Flsarepresentative of Plaintiffs, et al.,plaintiff-appellant, v. the City of Virginia Beach, Defendant-appellee, 879 F.2d 132 (4th Cir. 1989)
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - 879 F.2d 132 (4th Cir. 1989)
Argued May 11, 1989. Decided July 19, 1989
Michael Tarcissius Leibig (Joseph E. Slater, Zwerdling, Paul, Leibig, Kahn & Thompson, P.C., Kenneth W. Stolle, on brief) for plaintiff-appellant.
Randall Mahlon Blow, Asst. City Atty. (J. Dale Bimson, City Atty., on brief) for defendant-appellee.
Before WILKINS, Circuit Judge, HAYNSWORTH, Senior Circuit Judge, and TURK, Chief District Judge for the Western District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
WILKINS, Circuit Judge:
The Virginia Beach Policemen's Benevolent Association, its current and past presidents, the Virginia Beach Police Sergeants Association, its current president, and 126 individual Virginia Beach policemen (collectively, the Policemen) appeal from the grant of partial summary judgment in favor of the City of Virginia Beach on their claims for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. Secs. 201, et seq. (West 1978 & Supp.1989). We affirm.
From April 1, 1986 through January 21, 1988, the Virginia Beach Police Department (the Department) provided compensation to its officers for overtime at a rate of one and one-half times their regular pay rate as required by the FLSA, 29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 207(a) (2). Pursuant to Department policy, each officer had the choice of receiving his overtime compensation in money or compensatory leave or any combination thereof.1 Thus, if an employee worked four hours overtime one day, he could elect to receive four hours overtime pay or four hours compensatory leave or any combination he chose. If the employee worked four hours overtime the next day, he could again make any election he chose. The officer exercised his option after each occasion of working overtime by submitting an Overtime and Leave Request form. On each occasion the employee's choice would be automatically honored by the Department.
The Policemen instituted this action claiming that the previous policy violated the FLSA, 29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 207(o), because the Department refused to negotiate an agreement with their designated FLSA representatives2 and promulgated the policy unilaterally. They sought a monetary award in exchange for their accrued compensatory leave and an equal amount as liquidated damages for alleged willful violation of the Act.3 The district court granted partial summary judgment to the City holding that the policy complied with the FLSA. Abbott v. City of Virginia Beach, 689 F. Supp. 600 (E.D. Va. 1988).
As originally enacted, the FLSA was not applicable to state or local public employers. Congress later attempted to subject almost all state and local public agencies to the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the FLSA. However, the Supreme Court held that the requirements could not be enforced against public employers where traditional governmental functions were involved. Nat'l League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833, 852, 96 S. Ct. 2465, 2474, 49 L. Ed. 2d 245 (1976). In 1985 the Court overruled Usery, holding that Congress was not limited by the nature of the work in requiring public employers to comply with the FLSA. Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Auth., 469 U.S. 528, 547, 105 S. Ct. 1005, 1015, 83 L. Ed. 2d 1016 (1985).
After Garcia was decided, Congress amended the FLSA to enable public agencies to implement compensatory leave policies in lieu of monetary payments for overtime. Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1985, Pub. L. No. 99-150, Sec. 2(a), 99 Stat. 787 (1985) (added 29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 207(o) ). The amendment provides:
(1) Employees of a public agency which is a State, a political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental agengy may receive, in accordance with this subsection and in lieu of overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required by this section.
(2) A public agency may provide compensatory time under paragraph (1) only--
(A) pursuant to--
(i) applicable provisions of a collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other agreement between the public agency and representatives of such employees; or
(ii) in the case of employees not covered by subclause (i), an agreement or understanding arrived at between the employer and employee before the performance of the work....
29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 207(o) .
Virginia law prohibits the Department from collectively bargaining with representatives of its employees. Commonwealth v. County Bd. of Arlington County, 217 Va. 558, 232 S.E.2d 30 (1977). Consequently, the Policemen do not have a collective bargaining agreement with the Department. Nevertheless, the Policemen challenged the Department policy on the ground that the Department did not reach an agreement with their designated employee representatives prior to promulgating the policy. The district court held that a subclause (i) agreement is "only required where state law permits state and local governmental entities to recognize representatives of their employees for collective bargaining purposes." 689 F. Supp. at 603. The court concluded that the Department policy complied with section 207(o) since Virginia law prohibited the Department from entering into an agreement with its employees collectively. Id. at 604.
The Policemen contend that the district court erred in interpreting the term "representatives" to mean only recognized bargaining agents. They assert that any designee of the employees is a representative, whether recognized or not, and that if public employees designate a representative, compensatory leave cannot be provided in lieu of cash for overtime unless an agreement is reached with the representative. They further assert that if a designation is made and the employer refuses to deal with the representative, the employer cannot reach individual agreements with the employees who made the designation--it must provide cash payment. According to the Policemen, the employee representative acts for only those officers who designate him and only for as long as they choose. In the Policemen's view, the Department may enter into individual agreements with the officers who do not designate a representative and any officer may withdraw his designation and contract individually with the Department at any time. Thus, the Policemen take the position that in order to utilize compensatory leave, the Department should be required to reach an agreement with a designated representative and be bound by the agreement while an officer who designated a representative could unilaterally opt out of the agreement if he became dissatisfied.
The question here is whether section 207(o) permits public employers to enter into individual agreements with its employees to provide compensatory leave in lieu of money for overtime where state law prohibits the employer from entering into agreements with employee representatives. In construing section 207(o), the principal function of the court is to effectuate congressional intent. Philbrook v. Glodgett, 421 U.S. 707, 713, 95 S. Ct. 1893, 1898, 44 L. Ed. 2d 525 (1975). This is a difficult task since the statute does not define the term "representatives," legislative history is contradictory, and administrative commentary is confusing. However, after considering all pertinent factors, we conclude that the district court properly interpreted the statute as allowing public employers to enter into individual overtime compensation agreements with individual employees where state law prohibits the agency from entering into agreements with employee representatives.
The first step in construing legislative intent is to examine the statutory language. Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 896, 104 S. Ct. 1541, 1547, 79 L. Ed. 2d 891 (1984). However, since section 207 does not define "representatives," consideration must be given to "the authoritative source" for determining legislative intent--"the Committee Reports on the bill, which 'represen [t] the considered and collective understanding of those Congressmen involved in drafting and studying proposed legislation.' " Garcia v. United States, 469 U.S. 70, 76, 105 S. Ct. 479, 483, 83 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1984) (quoting Zuber v. Allen, 396 U.S. 168, 186, 90 S. Ct. 314, 324, 24 L. Ed. 2d 345 (1969)). Also, the regulations promulgated by the Department of Labor are entitled to respect. See Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Cenance, 452 U.S. 155, 158 n. 3, 101 S. Ct. 2239, 2245, 68 L. Ed. 2d 744 (1981).
Here, although the language of both the House and Senate bills tracks the language of subclause (i) verbatim, different views of its meaning are expressed. In explaining the provision, the House Report provides: "Where employees have selected a representative, which need not be a formal or recognized collective bargaining agent as long as it is a representative designated by the employees, the agreement or understanding must be between the representative and the employer...." H.R.Rep. No. 331, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 20 (1985). In contrast, the Senate Report states: "Where employees do not have a recognized representative, the agreement or understanding must be between the employer and the individual employee." S.Rep. No. 159, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 10, U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1985, pp. 651, 658 (1985). The Conference Report did not address this issue. H.R.Rep. No. 357, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. (1985).
The Secretary of Labor, pursuant to the mandate of Congress, promulgated regulations implementing the statute. 29 C.F.R. Part 553 (1988). These regulations provide, in pertinent part: "In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement applicable to the employees, the representative need not be a formal or recognized bargaining agent as long as the representative is designated by the employees." 29 C.F.R. Sec. 553.23(b) (1). The Discussion of Major Comments accompanying promulgation of the final regulations indicates that the issue now before the court was considered by the Secretary. Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Employees of State and Local Governments, 52 Fed.Reg. 2012 (1987).
Commentators had expressed concern that section 553.23(b) (1) would conflict with state laws, such as in Virginia, which do not require, or actually prohibit, recognition of collective bargaining agents. Id. at 2014. In response to this concern, the Secretary stated:
The Department believes that the proposed rule accurately reflects the statutory requirement that a [collective bargaining agreement], memorandum of understanding or other agreement be reached between the public agency and the representative of the employees where the employees have designated a representative. Where the employees do not have a representative, the agreement must be between the employer and the individual employees. The Department recognizes that there is a wide variety of State law that may be pertinent in this area. It is the Department's intention that the question of whether employees have a representative for purposes of FLSA section [207(o) ] shall be determined in accordance with State or local law and practices.
Id. at 2014-15. Thus, while the Secretary followed the House position that an agreement must be reached between an employer and a representative of the employees where a representative has been designated--whether recognized or not--he also expressed intent not to preempt state law.
The Policemen also presented a letter from the congressional sponsors of the bill to the Secretary of Labor after passage of section 207(o) . The congressional members indicated support for the Secretary's section 553.23(b) of the regulations, as "properly reflect [ing] the language and the intent of the new law." However, these post hoc statements are entitled to little weight, see Weinberger v. Rossi, 456 U.S. 25, 35, 102 S. Ct. 1510, 1517, 71 L. Ed. 2d 715 (1982), particularly since the Secretary's regulation adopts the House position without resolving the conflict between the express intent of both chambers of Congress.
The district court relied upon the Senate Report in concluding that Congress intended subclause (i) to apply only where state law permits employees of state and local governmental entities to have recognized representatives. 689 F. Supp. at 602. The court did not consider the House Report and rejected the Secretary's regulation as contrary to the Senate Report. Id. at 603. While the district court should have considered the House Report as well as the Senate Report, it reached the proper conclusion in any event. The district court also properly declined to follow the holdings of other courts which adhered to the regulation, for those cases are distinguishable in several key aspects. Dillard v. Harris, 695 F. Supp. 565 (N.D. Ga. 1987); Jacksonville Professional Fire Fighters Ass'n Local 1296 v. Jacksonville, 685 F. Supp. 513 (E.D.N.C. 1987). See also Int'l Ass'n of Fire Fighters Local 2203 v. West Adams County Fire Protection Dist., No. 87-F-16 (D. Colo. Mar. 18, 1988), aff'd, 877 F.2d 814 (10th Cir. 1989); Bleakly v. City of Aurora, 679 F. Supp. 1008 (D. Colo. 1988); Wilson v. City of Charlotte, 702 F. Supp. 1232 (W.D.N.C. 1988). Most importantly, they did not involve a situation where, as here, a public employer, who was prohibited by state law from contracting with employee representatives, gave each employee an absolute choice of whether to accept compensatory leave in lieu of money.4
Beneath the conflicting and confusing rhetoric of the administrative and legislative history, several matters are clear. The Secretary expressly declined to preempt state laws regarding labor relations between public employers and employees. And, the House Report stated that the purpose of section 207(o) was "to provide flexibility to state and local government employers and an element of choice to their employees regarding compensation for statutory overtime hours worked by covered employees." H.R.Rep. No. 331, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 19 (1985).
The Department policy fulfilled the central purposes of section 207(o) . The policy allowed the Department some flexibility in dealing with overtime compensation and provided the individual Policemen not only an "element of choice," but an absolute choice in electing compensatory leave, money, or any combination thereof each time they worked overtime.
In the final analysis, the district court holding that public employers may enter into these types of individual agreements with its employees where state law prohibits agreements with employee representatives sustains state law and under the circumstances here, effectuates fairness, flexibility and choice.
As of January 21, 1988, the Department changed its policy to compensate all overtime in money. The Policemen do not challenge the current policy
Tom Abbott, president of the Benevolent Association, Nicholas Sitarski, president of the Sergeants Association, and Frank LaPorta, past president of the Benevolent Association, were designated as alternate FLSA representatives by 253 individual Virginia Beach policemen
At oral argument, counsel for the Policemen indicated that if the court remanded the case, they would also seek a monetary award for compensatory leave which had already been utilized
In the Colorado cases, there were no assertions by the public employers that they were prohibited by state law from contracting with the employee representatives. And, in the North Carolina and Georgia cases, the employer retained the sole discretion on whether to provide compensatory leave or money for overtime
of Fourth Circuit opinions.


text:
How a Clinton Associate Bankrolled the Anti-Vax Underground
Barry Segal enjoyed prestige—and access to Bill Clinton—while contributing to the plague of vaccine disinformation experts say is driving COVID-19 deaths in America.
William Bredderman
Updated Oct. 29, 2021 5:46AM ET / Published Oct. 29, 2021 4:50AM ET
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Twitter
For more than a decade, New Jersey businessman Barry Segal has lived a double life as a philanthropist, underwriting public health in sub-Saharan Africa even as he has undermined it in the United States.
In recent years, largesse from the building supply and real estate magnate, who retired from his company Bradco in 2008, has run on two parallel tracks. Via the Segal Family Foundation, he has poured his fortune into hundreds of organizations providing medical care and social support to women and children in Africa, as well as into groups developing infrastructure, education, economic opportunities, and clean drinking water.
Closer to home, he has also supported the U.S. Tennis Association Foundation and a host of autism-related organizations in the United States, and is active in the Patriotic Millionaires—a group of wealthy Americans in favor of wealth redistribution. His social media accounts are rife with posts denouncing racism and embracing such left-wing causes as the abolition of the electoral college. In cooperation with charities founded by luminaries like rapper Big Sean and songwriter Paul Simon, Segal has also backed programs for children in Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey.
But his most bold-faced charitable partner has doubtless been former President Bill Clinton, with whom he has worked since 2006, and whom he has called "the man who really put Africa on the map for me." In the years since, the Clinton Foundation's own records show that Segal has given millions to its initiatives, earning him repeated appearances on lists of its largest contributors. Clinton keynoted the Segal Family Foundation's annual gathering in 2013, and photos of Segal and his wife with the Clintons adorn the entrepreneur's webpages, the most recent from late 2019, right before the coronavirus pandemic.
Segal has publicly credited Clinton with inspiring the creation of his own family foundation, but also that of another charitable group he runs and funds, one that has become increasingly dedicated to the spread of dangerous myths about vaccines. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disinformation infrastructure Segal helped build has dumped ever more toxic falsehoods into the public discourse.
Segal launched Focus Autism in 2009. Interested in alternative treatments for autism from the start, it began plowing money into groups promoting the debunked myth of a link between inoculations and the neurological condition in 2011, when disclosures to the Internal Revenue Service show its annual donations to such organizations totaled $178,500. In 2019, the most recent year for which filings are available, that figure was $765,873.
"Especially as they are de-platformed, they are dependent on the money to reach people."
— Dorit Reiss
"They're one of several deep pockets that the anti-vaccine movement uses," said Professor Dorit Reiss of the University of California Hastings, a public health expert and activist, adding that the cause has become increasingly dependent on sugar daddies as it has lost access to crowdfunding services. "They are using this money to good effect. They need the money. They depend on the money. Especially as they are de-platformed, they are dependent on the money to reach people."
Reiss contrasted Segal's role in the movement with that of one of his biggest beneficiaries, infamous anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose group Children's Health Defense received $145,120 from Segal's group in 2019, according to public records—and thanked it for bankrolling three billboards on Times Square the previous year.
"When RFK goes to an event and speaks, everybody claps and he is adulated. Barry Segal was never one of those," said Reiss. "Segal has kind of been in the margins with the activism, but he has a big role because of the money."
Reached for comment, Segal would say little other than that those who would call him a major funder of the anti-vaccine movement "don't know what the fuck they are talking about." He also alluded to his extensive contributions to mainstream charities, which indeed dwarf his gifts to disinformation spreaders.
In public posts, Segal has insisted that he is not "anti-vaccine," but only supportive of further research, distributed dosages, and parental consent. In his correspondence with The Daily Beast, he declined to comment on his relationship with the former president except to assert that Clinton was paid for his appearance. (A spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation did not deny this.)
But Segal's history with the anti-vaccine movement belies any claim of simple skepticism, and makes it hard to believe Clinton might have been unaware of his views while accepting his money.
"In a letter sent to the elder Clinton embedded in the post, Segal noted he and Chelsea could not come to an agreement on vaccines."
In 2014, Focus Autism—since rechristened Focus for Health—financed a widely publicized, and swiftly retracted, study linking vaccination to the development of autism in young Black boys. The scientist behind the study was the chemical engineer Brian Hooker, who for years served as a board member and adviser to the Segal organization. Hooker is also a close associate of Robert Kennedy, also sitting on the board of Children's Health Defense and co-authoring a book with the Kennedy scion. Hooker also appeared prominently in the controversial and discredited documentary Vaxxed: from Cover-Up to Catastrophe.
Hooker did not respond to requests for comment.
Another Focus for Health ex-board member is Robert Krakow, an attorney specializing in "vaccine injury" lawsuits who famously collaborated with Kennedy to try and block an emergency vaccination order in New York City amid a measles outbreak in 2019. Krakow only responded to The Daily Beast to state he was no longer affiliated with Focus for Health, and to deny the group had any role in his litigation, despite public disclosures showing it paid his firm $81,266 in 2019.
In 2015, Segal was named Humanitarian of the Year at the annual AutismOne conference, formerly sponsored by anti-vax actress Jenny McCarthy and notorious as a forum for discussing such so-called autism treatments as feeding children bleach.
Focus for Health has also pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the National Vaccine Information Center, which experts have described as the "most powerful anti-vaccine organization in America." And Segal personally penned a foreword to a 2016 book by Kent Heckenlively, the self-styled "world's number one anti-vaxxer," whose activities are so extreme he was banned from entering Australia.
Outlets from Insider to CNN have noted Segal's role in financing the anti-vaccine movement. And by his own account, in 2017, Segal obtained meetings with both Bill Clinton and with Chelsea Clinton in which he directly presented his anti-vaccine views.
In his blog post on the Focus for Health website, Segal claimed that the Clinton Foundation had been "uncomfortable taking the money through the Focus for Health Foundation because of our stance on vaccine safety." He added that he used his meeting with the ex-president to request a conference with Chelsea Clinton, the former first daughter and current vice chair of the Clinton Foundation.
In a letter apparently sent to the elder Clinton embedded in the post, Segal noted he and Chelsea could not come to an agreement on vaccines.
"I'd like to keep the door open to discuss this issue further," Segal concluded in the missive. "It's important that you be aware what the 'other side' is thinking."
The post also includes an image of a $100,000 check from the Segal Family Foundation made out to the Clinton organization. The two charities appear to have maintained their relationship through 2019, or at least right up until the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation did not deny these meetings occurred, nor dispute details of the former president's relationship with Segal. Instead, they simply noted that the organization has invested millions—including Segal's own money—into supporting vaccination efforts across the planet.
"Donations to the Clinton Foundation support our efforts that are grounded in science and data—and the science and data are clear on vaccines," a spokesperson for the group wrote in a statement for The Daily Beast.
Segal did not answer questions about whether he continued financing anti-vax groups in 2020 and 2021 as a deadly pandemic emerged worldwide. Focus for Health has remained largely silent during the COVID-19 pandemic—though it did warn last winter against "rushing" a vaccine. But Callum Hood, director of research for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, noted this is in keeping with the organization's generally low profile.
Hood highlighted that the organizations Segal has bankrolled, as opposed to him personally, have been anything but discreet amid the pandemic. In a widely covered report titled The Disinformation Dozen, the Center's team identified Kennedy and the National Vaccine Information Center as some of the top online disseminators of lies and misrepresentations about the novel coronavirus and life-saving vaccines.
Another repeated recipient of Focus for Health Funds, the National Health Freedom Coalition, has sought to ban masks in multiple states. Hooker's research that Segal's group funded even found its way into a viral video Kennedy has promoted to try to dissuade Black Americans from getting the COVID-19 jab.
It's all part of a massive pivot Hood said the anti-vaxxer movement has made with the onset of the pandemic: switching from targeting anxious parents and the families of autistic children to the general population.
"The influence of these organizations should be beyond doubt," he told The Daily Beast. "The fact that there's well-funded, pretty professional organizations working on that is really significant. And I'm sure it's had a big, big impact on vaccine hesitancy as a result."