text:
Bait and switch —
Six arrested for selling Chinese gear to military as "Made in America"
Cameras and other gear were sold to military marked "Made in America." They weren't.
Timothy B. Lee - Nov 8, 2019 9:00 pm UTC
Jan-Stefan Knick / EyeEm / Getty
124 with 82 posters participating, including story author
In August 2018, an Air Force service member noticed something strange about a body camera being used by security personnel at an Air Force base: Chinese characters on the screen. A subsequent investigation found numerous indications that the camera—and two dozen others in the same shipment—had been made in China.
Investigators found three telling logos in the camera's firmware: an Air Force Logo, the logo of the Chinese company that made the camera, and the logo of China's ministry of public security. Forensic analysis indicated that all three images had been loaded on the camera at the same time by someone in a Chinese time zone. This suggested that not only was the camera made in China, but the Chinese knew that the body camera would be shipped to an Air Force facility.
How did a Chinese-made digital camera wind up at a US Air Force base? In a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors blamed Aventura, a New York-based company that has been fraudulently re-selling Chinese-made gear for more than a decade. On Thursday, six of the company's founders and senior officials were arrested and charged with fraud and other crimes.
Passing off Chinese goods as "Made in America"
A federal law called the Trade Agreements Act restricts federal agencies from purchasing goods made in certain countries—including China. Federal law also requires companies to accurately disclose where products have been manufactured—especially when they're sold to federal agencies.
But since 2006, the feds say, Aventura has been buying Chinese-made cameras, metal detectors, and other products, slapping "Made in America" logos on them, and re-selling them in the United States—to customers including US government agencies who are legally prohibited from buying such items.
Trump tries to shut Huawei out of US market with executive order
The complaint argues that the Aventura's senior executives—particularly managing director and de facto owner Jack Cabasso, knew exactly what they were doing. In 2016, in a remarkable display of chutzpah, Cabasso sent an email to a government official arguing that 12 of his competitors were violating federal law by selling Chinese-made products to the federal government.
This, he wrote, was a "big problem" because the Chinese manufacturer was "actually the Communist Chinese government and had significant cybersecurity issues aside from TAA compliance." Thursday's complaint charges that Aventura had been re-selling gear made by the same Chinese company.
When a Qatari distributor emailed Aventura in 2018 to get confirmation that the company's gear was US-made, Cabasso replied with a purported photo of Aventura's manufacturing facility on Long Island, New York. He wrote that representatives of the Qatari distributor could visit the factory at any time.
In reality, the photo showed an image taken from a 2014 article published in a trade publication showing the Chinese facility where the camera had actually been manufactured.
Trump blocks Chinese purchase of US chipmaker over national security
Aventura allegedly went to significant effort to conceal the Chinese origins of its products. Email records show the company worked with its Chinese suppliers to scrub any reference to the original manufacturer from circuit boards and onboard software.
Still, Aventura's efforts to conceal its gear's origins was far from foolproof. One sample product was shipped to a prospective customer with a Chinese user manual included. In another case, a customer figured out that the camera was a modified version of a Chinese product and "asked Jack Cabasso to supply the original, unaltered firmware" created by the Chinese company "in the hopes that it would be superior to Aventura's 'buggy' altered version."
Company founders allegedly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle
The feds say Aventura has earned $88 million in revenue over the last decade, including $20 million in federal contracts. "Aventura's largest customers are US government agencies, including the US Army, US Navy, and US Air Force," prosecutors report.
The Air Force body cameras weren't the only case where sensitive Chinese-made gear ended up in military facilities. In another case, the Navy ordered a $13,500 night vision camera from Aventura. Federal investigators intercepted the camera as it arrived at JFK airport from China and discreetly marked it. The same camera was delivered at a naval base in Connecticut two weeks later.
How US software ended up powering Chinese assault helicopters
The government charges that Aventura's fraud allowed Jack Cabasso and his wife to live a lavish lifestyle. In 2016, the company wired $450,000 to help buy a house for one of the couple's children. The couple has allegedly spent around a million dollars to maintain a 70-foot yacht.
The company even allegedly committed fraud to qualify as a woman-owned business. Federal law gives special contracting opportunities to companies that are owned and controlled by women. Jack's wife Frances was listed as the majority shareholder and CEO of Aventura, but prosecutors say that she played virtually no operational role at the company. Instead, she had a full-time job at an unrelated accounting firm, according to federal prosecutors.
Timothy B. Lee Timothy is a senior reporter covering tech policy, blockchain technologies and the future of transportation. He lives in Washington DC.
Email timothy.lee@arstechnica.com // Twitter @binarybits
adespoton Ars Praefectus
reply Fri Nov 08, 2019 6:05 pm
Morley Dotes wrote:
I'm glad they caught these dirtbags (one of them lived in my town).
But this crap happens ALL THE TIME; in all sorts of industries. They were just stupid enough to sell the kit to folks that noticed. Even so, I used to work for a defense contractor, and I guess things have changed since then, as there's no way that anything my company made would have made it out the door like that.
Just spend some time on AliBaba, and you'll see a LOT of real familiar stuff that you assumed was made in the USA.
Some of it is probably knockoff, but I'll bet a lot of it is the original that was rebranded by US companies.
It's much, much worse in the software world, where most applications are really just cobbled-together dependency scaffolds.
That's what gets me... there are all sorts of US and European brands that are severely upset at Asian knockoffs. But I bet in a lot of the cases, the Asian ones are the real thing, and the "brand" just gets the manufacturer to slap their name on it. Sure, there are exceptions, but I suspect they're getting rarer and rarer.
3018 posts | registered Jun 19, 2013
aaronb1138 Ars Praefectus
jandrese wrote:
Welcome to the majority of "minority/women owned small businesses" in the gov contracting sphere.
I have to think that this company saw the bid request for "US made small electronics" and realized that nobody else would be able to fulfill the order on account of no such thing existing anymore and abused the bidding process to maximize profit.
I was going to make the joke, there are plenty of companies out there where the CEO has no involvement in the day to day operation of the company. Many of them work much better that way. From a pure business / profitability standpoint, that appears to apply at Aventura as well.
Digital Dud Ars Praefectus
Xavin wrote:
Andrewcw wrote:
I think the no duh part would be when you're forced to show what the final assembly factory looks like. But that will never happen as we pretty much know the answer is virtually nothing is being produced in the USA.
Last week i ran across some items i was like no way this could be made in the USA. And ran across a supplier who actually supplied compliant products. But it was far from all made in the USA because they stated that in the brochure.
More stuff than ever is being produced in the US, it's just that it's not usually final assembly or cheap and easy to make components. Most of the expensive and critical parts in electronic devices are made in the US , Taiwan, Korea, Japan, but cheap commodity parts, molded plastic, and final assembly are done in China because it's cheap.
China wasn't even able to manufacturer their own tips for ballpoint pens until 2017, they were always imported, and it required a ton of government intervention to get it moved domestically. The manufacturing process is very precise and hard to get right.
3274 posts | registered Mar 6, 2008
daveishereagain Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
aaronb1138 wrote:
Au contraire. The day to day operation involved connecting with his suppliers and customers and then spend the rest of the day sailing. There was no day to day business to do but that. These days he could do it all with a smartphone in a lounge chair on deck.
Edit- He's just a modern-day version of Milo Minderbinder from the novel 'Catch 22'.
Last edited by daveishereagain on Fri Nov 08, 2019 6:46 pm
whobeme Ars Scholae Palatinae
Almost the exact same story in this TV show recently:
https://the-resident.fandom.com/wiki/Gordon_Page
Ben G Ars Tribunus Militum et Subscriptor
If you follow the article link about the TAA, you'll see the requirement is not actually "made in the USA". There's a ton of countries you can legally buy from for products you're selling to the government. I know a lot of our passive electrical components come from Japan and South Korea, for instance. Those are perfectly fine.
Of course, the issue then becomes making sure the stuff you get is actually authentic and not counterfeit Chinese stuff with a Japanese or South Korean companies name stuck on it.
jazzylarry Ars Centurion et Subscriptor
adespoton wrote:
jazzylarry wrote:
theotherjim wrote:
On Thursday, six of the company's founders and senior officials were arrested and charged with fraud and other crimes.
Aside from conspiracy, I would hope that "other crimes" would include espionage.
At one time, the Made in America clause was there precisely for security reasons, or so we were told. Because *all* our electronics had to be sourced from verifiable US manufacturers. To buy anything outside of that required signatures in triplicate from just about everyone up to the president (or so it seemed) I don't know when that changed, but I do know that Dell might be a big sign that it was in the early 2000s IIRC.
It was in the early 2000s. In the 90s, I had to get myself vetted by the FBI to be able to be the signatory on handling products containing US crypto. I had to file forms reserved for crypto and nuclear weapons to get my stuff out of the US and into Canada for part of the manufacturing process. By 2006 or so, this requirement was gone.
Yeah, you don't even want to know what you had to do to get the Israeli made Checkpoint Firewall. All I know is whoever tried to do that decided that buying something 4 times as expensive and with an expected lifespan half as long wound up being the easier option even having to go back for more funding.
I'll argue that when they started allowing foreign made electronics into the military is when the US lost pretty much everything. Because it allowed everyone to outsource/move abroad everything in search of cheaper labor or less onerous regulations. And they did. All of them.
That brings up something - who allowed that to happen?
Random John Smith Guy Ars Scholae Palatinae
daveishereagain wrote:
khoadley wrote:
... the article stating that the logo for the Chinese security ministry means they knew the camera was destined for the U.S. Air Force may or may not be so obvious.
I also thought that part of the article was a push - if the Chinese security services knew these cameras were intended for the US Air Force, yet still left their own logo in the firmware, then I doubt you have much to worry about, as Chinese spies are clearly more Johnny English than James Bond ...
Just as likely that the supplier decided to reduce their support costs with common firmware for multiple customers ...
Yeah, I have too much respect for Chinese spy agencies to think they'd make such a brainless, incompetent gaff. Not saying it didn't or couldn't happen, just saying it would be a surprise to me. A delightful surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.
They've gotten much better, but there's still a good mix of really good secret squirrelling and "pls provide lecture at Xiamen Defense Institute pay cash $10000". Even relatively professional agencies occasionally make dumb mistakes.
1305 posts | registered Jan 4, 2016
RGMBill wrote:
IBM's sale of their computer line, servers and desktop, to Lenovo is where things changed. There were literally no viable options for some of the servers (they were IBM Bladecenters) that had become the baseline standard for the Navy. Re-architecting those systems to Dell, and having to work with Dell to ensure the supply chain, costing years and millions and millions of dollars (and it won't end for a decade, as we have to support the now orphaned but deployed systems with costly rebuilding instead of simple replacement).
Thanks a freaking lot, Obama. Should never have been approved because of hos much damage it did to National Security, but the IBM guys who were going to get rich were donors.
At first I was thinking you were quoting a meme, then you followed it making it sound like you're serious. You realize when this sale happened, right? You might want to look at who the actual culprits are.
Random John Smith Guy wrote:
Sure, no doubt. Just sayin' it's a pretty brainless gaff if they left their logo on stuff they *knew* was headed to the U.S. Air Force. Because if that's true, then heads will roll in a day or two over there if they haven't rolled already.
Matthew J. Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor
Chinese hardware MORE secure. We secure ALL your data. Very safe here!
SamirD Ars Scholae Palatinae
Chinese government endless money meets US citizen greed.
I expect this sort of thing is happening 100x-1000x more than we know it. The huge data funnel to China is open and swallowing up everything the US produces and then shoots it back to the US to be bought. We need to shut off the flow and like yesterday or we will end up in the stone ages when the Chinese decide they don't need us anymore.
adamrussell Ars Praefectus
Seems like they only got caught because of stupidity. Which implies that if China wanted to sneak something in we dont have much there to prevent it.
6066 posts | registered Sep 8, 2013
Bush Ranger Ars Tribunus Militum
Just this, change Taiwan to China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuGVVXO9G0c
jeffpkamp Smack-Fu Master, in training
Just got done watching Johnny English strikes again. He may be a Yahoo, but he always gets the job done. And I suspect with the lazy/corrupt nature of the people checking and running the militaries supply chain, those Chinese intelligence officers are having a high degree of success.
Fred Duck Ars Scholae Palatinae
vartec wrote:
TIMMAH! wrote:
Where were the "Made in the USA" stickers made?
Probably same place where the US flags are made...
Ah, so that's why it's illegal to burn an American flag in the US of A. They're concerned toxic fumes may be released.
CaptainMcAwesome Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
In the words of our cheeto in chief:
Lock them up!
Oh wait, they'll lose their contract, pay a negligible fine, and continue to live a lavish lifestyle. Even if they serve time, it'll get reduced and probably be at a posh white collar prison like Martha Stewart. If the punishment doesn't outweigh the reward, then the punishment is merely a 'cost of doing business. ' My only hope comes from it being a federal crime perpetrated against the DoD.
One can hope they'll actually be fined all their fortune and spend the rest of their lives in prison.
But we all know what hope and prayers get us...
Zontar Ars Centurion
Aube wrote:
Ministry of Public Security? This thing? Is that a mistranslation or something?
They have an absolutely huge portfolio, including equivalents of the Department of Justice, local police departments, and fire fighters -- but not foreign intelligence. That would be the Ministry of State Security.
The Chinese name is 公安部 (gōngānbù): 公 is "public"; 安 is "peace", and this context can be translated as either "safety" or "security"; 部 is "ministry", "department", "division", "section", etc.
reply Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:13 pm
As has been noted, that happened during Bush the Lesser's second term. Obama had just entered the Senate and wouldn't have had any say.
thxzetec Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
"Welcome to the majority of "minority/women owned small businesses" in the gov/big-company contracting sphere." Yes this is ripe for abuse - gov purchasing a big enough mess without using gender/race as req't.
SamirD wrote:
basically 98% of US electronics manufacture is gone, Sure you can try to maintain a US-only defense industry, but it won't have the scale or efficiency. Look at WWII most successful US weapons were based on US civilian tech (see Eisenhower's comment on best weapons . . . Jeep, 2.5 ton truck, dc3). Look at ship-building . . .
klarg Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
"IBM's sale of their computer line, servers and desktop, to Lenovo is where things changed. ...
Thanks a freaking lot, Obama."
Because President Barak Obama didn't perfect time travel and retroactively intercede?
Aube Ars Centurion
Zontar wrote:
Yes, and it exists alongside the 国家安全部 (guójiāānquábù): 国家 is a compound word for "country"; 安全 is as you say "safety"/"security", of which 安 in 公安部 is an abbreviation, and 部 in this specific context is a "cabinet-level department".
公安部 is best known for managing police and personal records (e.g. birth certificates). 国家安全部 handles civilian intelligence.
227 posts | registered Feb 6, 2014
vartec Ars Praefectus
reply Sat Nov 09, 2019 12:15 am
Fred Duck wrote:
Meanwhile in the EU: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/0 ... 77458.html
Rrr7 Ars Scholae Palatinae et Subscriptor
I work for a company that makes XRF (xray fluorescence) industrial & scientific instruments. We're less than 20 people and make our entire product line in a small facility in a Chicago suburb. Some things, like sheetmetal or PCB manufacture we contract locally. There are no components made in China.
Although we have worldwide distribution through local distributors, our biggest market is Asia, in particular China (about 40% of our production goes there). We had our 10 year aniversary last year. Needless to say Trump's trade war is not helping our exports.
All this is to say I disagree with your premise of "nothing is made in the US anymore".
jm_leviathan Ars Centurion
reply Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:23 am
It would probably be useful to clarify that the "Air Force" logo referred to is (presumably) that for USAF rather than PLAAF.
Low Resolution Fox Smack-Fu Master, in training
I was trying to think how this would play out in the real world. It's probably easier with sales within USA borders, as there are no border crossings and you're not subject to 'export control' government forms.
Usually, for a new supplier I'd expect a ton of paperwork and a quality auditor to visit my factory and make my life miserable for a week. Perhaps you'd need to declare your supply chain (for risk judged auditing). If the relationship is already there and you sell other legit US stock, you might get away with that.
Christ, I recently had to fill in a form (non-defence) to confirm the supply chain for solder metals, to confirm where the raw materials came from, to confirm child labour wasn't used in the mines. So the idea of labelling Chinese tech as US......scares me. Although saying that there are grey areas where "made in USA" really means "assembled in USA".
Overall, it's a ballsy and stupid move to lie on defence engineering contracts. That's a true dick salesman move. The risk is just...immense.
47 posts | registered Mar 3, 2017
RedFoxx Ars Praetorian
Not one government buyer knew we don't make electronics in the USA anymore?
Me: "They knew".
I would have to guess even the big name Japanese cameras are not actually made in Japan anymore.
With that said, wouldn't it be nice if we did make some stuff in this country? (USA)
Bloater51 Ars Praetorian et Subscriptor
RedFoxx wrote:
The paradox of capitalism is that it requires honesty and fair dealing, and incentivises the opposite. Nothing stops consumers, including the government, from preferring domestic products, and the market could in many cases provide, but only if the buyer has accurate information on where the goods actually come from. Which is why effective regulation eg on marking country of origin is a necessary component of a market economy.
If the market cannot provide at a price that people are willing to pay, then ensure that they can legally import, not turn a blind eye to dishonesty because that ensures that domestic producers will never be able to compete.
Zabieru Ars Scholae Palatinae
Ooops! While these suckers deserve what comes to them, the article stating that the logo for the Chinese security ministry means they knew the camera was destined for the U.S. Air Force may or may not be so obvious. It could well be that someone at the Chinese end took a five-fingered discount on some cameras destined for the ministry itself and sent them to Aventura for a deep,deep discount for our American friend.
China pulls out every stop it can to spy on us, but there could be multiple corrupt players in this caper.
Yeah, I'm a little suspicious of the leap to "oh yeah Chinese master spies." I've known some folks who've done business in China, and you get weird agencies involved in all kinds of things. It is possible that, as you say, they're stolen/diverted cameras, or that both logos are customers (that is, the manufacturer sells to both the Air Force and the Ministry)... or just that they're a public-safety device and the Ministry has to rubber-stamp them.
I'm not saying I trust these cameras, mind you! But the spy angle does seem a little baroque: you're going to an AWFUL lot of trouble to get what is likely to be some very, very boring footage. You need a way to exfiltrate the data, and there's no mention of that. (Maybe it exists and they kept it out of the press releases, of course, but still). If you're hoping to get actually sensitive data, you need to contend with the likelihood that whatever network the camera normally connects to is going to be segmented/monitored, so you need to either drop a cell modem or the like in there (without making it obvious) or get fancy with some other kind of RF hardware.
And then you need to watch all that video. Now, 90% of it is probably Air Force security stopping cars and checking ID at the base gates. Okay, that's easy to sort out. And then what? You'll get a certain amount of "walking around an office" footage, and you need to check ALL of that for anything classified. And, of course, you don't have the resolution to read normal print unless someone's holding it up to the bodycam, so you're looking for headings or something on a whiteboard or listening for someone talking when they shouldn't be. And by the nature of a security bodycam, you're not going to get full documents or full conversations, so scraps of headings/diagrams and the odd soundbite are the best you can expect.
I'm not saying there's nothing classified on any of these cameras, but the effort required has got to be completely disproportionate to the rewards.
(And the same thing goes for "warshipping"-type attacks: these cameras aren't going inside a SCIF because the door guard isn't cleared for that, and in fact they're going to spend most of their time on the base perimeter. You could get a pretty similar level of access by tossing a device over the base fence, and a much better level by finding someone who works in a building you actually want to target and sticking something to their car.)
SixDegrees Ars Scholae Palatinae et Subscriptor
adamrussell wrote:
That was my thought, too. Very slipshod disinfecting process here, and what seems like little or no knowledge about the inner workings of the devices. Superficial.
A more competent player with more resources would have ensured the purge of Chinese references was thorough.
Then again, the screw-up was only noted accidentally. It sounds like the US isn't exactly doing their due diligence when it comes to inspecting these systems.
Feel free. There's nothing stopping you. By all means, get to work setting up a chip foundry in US territory.
Davidoff Ars Praetorian
Chikahiro wrote:
This reminds me of an older story here at Ars...
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... licopters/
And 7 years later the obvious mistakes repeated throughout that article (i.e. "Focke-Wulfe" which was actually called "Focke-Wulf", or the helicopter manufacturer "Augusta" which has been mis-named "Agusta") still haven't been corrected.
It doesn't exactly transpire an image of thorough research and solid competency in the topic when simple relevant terms and names are repeatedly mis-spelled (so it's not a simple typo).
When sloppiness creeps into basic things like this then this raises serious questions about what else the author might have missed or simply glanced over.
Thr2hrmrf Ars Centurion
Dark Pumpkin wrote:
I've always wondered what goes into making sure stuff is actually made where it claims. Is it mostly just a free for all and the majority of anyone who slaps a "Made in America" sticker on Chinese products would get away with it? As long as there is nothing extremely blatant, like Chinese logos in the firmware or accidentally including the Chinese manual.
No one makes sure its actually made where it claims to be until an issue like this arises. Its a reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty thing that the manufacturer/company/supplier is telling the truth to the best of their knowledge or they have done what they said they have done or will do what they say they will do or have supplied what they said they have supplied. Its placing trust in the manufacturer/company/supplier reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty that they are telling the truth and have complied with law.
Its the same with a lot of things. For example, when you get a medication prescription filled at the pharmacy you are trusting in the reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty of the pharmacist (who may be a stranger to you) to put the correct thing in the pill bottle and comply with law and not be a serial killer with a evil plan to kill customers with wrong medications. Another example, when you buy a car you are trusting the reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty of the manufacturer that those air bags you will not see until a crash are actually installed.
People do not realize it, but everyone in some way everyday places their safety or lives in the hands of strangers based upon nothing more than what those strangers say. For example, that wall light switch with the brass metallic cover - you are trusting in the reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty of the electrician who installed that switch to have followed code and standards and not left a wire touching that metal plate from behind so when you touch it you do not get a nasty shock. Another example, that toothpaste you use - you are trusting in the reputation, integrity, reliability, honesty of the company to have followed standards and law in manufacturing and have in that toothpaste what the label says and not some undisclosed substance to which you may be allergic or is poisonous.
Last edited by Thr2hrmrf on Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:27 am
Jeepster1 Ars Centurion
Plenty of stuff is manufactured in USA. In dollar terms, USA's manufacturing output is similar to China's.
"Scientists trace iPhone supply chains to unusual inflationary event approximately 13.8bn years ago."
kerikoli Ars Scholae Palatinae
Isn't that the american dream followed by the american way of life?
Good for Jack Cabasso.
Rrr7 wrote:
Well said. I purchase fine chemicals and a lot of it is US made. Laboratory supplies are basically >80% US made. Certain sectors especially like plastics or glass are essentially US dominated (due to cheap energy). There are tons of stuff that are very high value and are manufactured in the US... those things tend to not be particularly visible to the average consumer that does all their shopping at Walmart though .


Why do I need to start thinking about summer camps? I feel this way every year. Honestly. And many years I have blown it off and figured it would all work out in the end. It has and it hasn't. If you wait too long a lot of the really popular camps fill up. So even though there was recently snow on the ground and more is coming it is time to start thinking about summer camps.
There are lots of summer camp listings that come out every year. I like the one the Boulder County Kids pulls together. Click the image to get to the actual camp directory.
How do you decide which camps your kids should attend. First of all what are your needs? Do you work? Do they provide the hours you need. If you are simply doing these camps as enrichment then what does your child enjoy? What are their interests? The Camp Issue above helps you to sort through these questions.
CU Science Discovery: Very diverse offerings from the fields of science, math, writing, photography. Most kids can find something here they will love!
Avid 4 Adventure: If your child loves adventures outside this may be the camp for them. Kayaking, biking, climbing, and most other outdoor pursuits you can name are provided here.
Boulder Indoor Soccer: This program offers week long summer soccer camps. They are super flexible, fun, challenging and your kids come back with great skills.
Science Adventure Program: Very sweet farm and survival skills related summer camps for boys and girls situated on a small farm in the Cherryvale area.
Growing Gardens – Children's Peace Garden: Spend a summer learning about the earth, gardening and much more through this small Boulder non-profit.
There are so many great options out there. Take a look. Get excited. All the best on your summer camp journey!
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 2014, Boulder, Boulder County, Camp Directory, camp programs, children, Colorado, Families, Kids, Summer, Summer Camp, summer camps, summer soccer camps by Boulder Families. Bookmark the permalink.


NEW YORK, NY and HONG KONG--(Marketwire - April 20, 2010) - EastNets, a leading global provider of compliance and payments solutions and services, announced today that the company and its partner NCS will be participating at the 2nd Annual Association for Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) AML/CTF Conference being held from April 26 to 28, 2010 at the JW Marriott in Shanghai.
NCS, a leading information technology (IT) and communications engineering services provider in the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern regions, and EastNets will be showcasing in the venue exhibit hall the award winning SafeWatch watchlist filtering and transaction monitoring solutions used today by over 400 customers worldwide.
"EastNets is proud to be an exhibitor and sponsor of the AML Knowledge luncheon at the upcoming ACAMS conference together with NCS to showcase our latest anti-money laundering and anti-fraud solutions," said Hazem Mulhim, CEO of EastNets.
The AML Knowledge luncheon will feature EastNets fraud expert Paul Buelens, presenting "Anti-Fraud Best Practices to Mitigate Financial Crime" to be held on April 28th from 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM in meeting rooms 9 and 10 at the JW Marriott in Shanghai.
"Paul has more than 18 years of experience in financial crime investigations and was previously a security and risk leader for MasterCard Worldwide, coordinating and supporting banks and law enforcement agencies with cross border fraud investigations," continued Hazem Mulhim. "We are very pleased to have the opportunity for Paul to present and discuss anti-fraud best practices and to address the challenges financial institutions face in controlling fraud losses."
"With the growing threat of payment, credit card and wire fraud and the increasing regulatory pressure, financial institutions are looking for cost-effective and rapidly deployable solutions that can efficiently and effectively mitigate and reduce financial crime risk and revenue loss," said Stephen Zhou, FSI Director of NCS China. "With EastNets solutions being showcased at the upcoming ACAMS conference in Shanghai, attendees will have the opportunity to learn how its SafeWatch solutions help financial institutions to meet evolving regulatory compliance requirements and quickly and accurately uncover fraud, money laundering and other suspicious activities across their enterprises."
To register for the AML Knowledge luncheon and presentation on April 28th, please email marketing@eastnets.com.
For more information about the 2nd Annual ACAMS AML/CTF Conference please visit www.amlasia.org.
EastNets is a leading provider of global compliance and payment solutions and services with over 1,000 customers in 120 countries. Founded in 1984, EastNets has over 25 years of experience serving financial institutions, corporations and government agencies around the globe. EastNets provides anti-money laundering, payment and transaction management solutions, and SWIFT plug-ins to add value to SWIFT connectivity to improve risk protection, transparency, and cost savings. Through its outsourced fully-hosted Service Bureau, EastNets provides SWIFT connectivity, OFAC filtering and other add-on services for over 250 financial institutions. For more information, please visit www.eastnets.com.
NCS Group is a leading IT and communications engineering services provider with more than 7,000 staffs across the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Headquartered in Singapore, NCS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group. NCS China, a SWIFTReady Application and Service Provider, has been providing proven end-to-end, one stop IT services and comprehensive suite of FSI solutions, meeting the dynamic industry demands. For more information, please visit www.ncs.com.sg or www.ncsi.com.cn.


Ryton Community Library, in conjunction with GemArts, held the second of two summer holiday events this afternoon. Last month you could come along and have a bash (quite literally) at African Drumming. Today it was over to India and Bollywood Dancing. Many years ago my best friend Irene took me to something called "Dancersize" at a dance school over in the West End of Newcastle. I only lasted one night. After two hours of attempting to teach me a thirty-second routine (step to the side and forward jump) the instructor suggested I might be better suited to basket weaving, thus blighting my dancing enthusiasm for the next three decades. Suzi Scarlett, who was in charge today, is nothing like that. She's an excellent teacher, and had me doing the Bollywood hand and arm movements rather splendidly. I thought so anyway. Unfortunately the next bit required me to simultaneously move my feet, and I've got this gammy leg you see. Never mind, here are the photos – look at what you missed!


text:
The fifth Trophée d'Auvergne, was the fourth round of the 1964 FFSA Trophées de France. This was held on the Circuit de Charade, in the Auvergne mountains, near the town of Clermont-Ferrand, on 19 July.
This Formula Two race podium was a sign of things to come: Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt showed their skill before the track hosted the 1965 French Grand Prix.

Report

Entry
A total of 30 F2 cars were entered for the event, of which 22 took part in qualifying.

Qualifying
Denny Hulme took pole position for the Brabham Racing Developments team, in a Brabham-Cosworth BT10, averaging a speed of , around the five mile (8km) course.

Race
The race was held over 32 laps of the Circuit de Charade. Denny Hulme took the winner's spoils for the works Brabham team, driving their Brabham-Cosworth BT10. Hulme won in a time of 1hr 59:11.9mins., averaging a speed of . Approximately 6.6s behind was the second place car, driven by Jackie Stewart, for Ron Harris - Lotus in their Cosworth-powered Lotus 32. The podium was completed by the second Brabham of Jochen Rindt.

Classification

Race Result

 Fastest lap: Richard Attwood, 3:40.9ecs. (81.569 mph)

References

1964 in motorsport
Trophées de France
Trophées d'Auvergne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Young Black Protesters Know Exactly What They Want: Radical Anti-Racism
Looking at their parents' struggles and enraged by George Floyd's death, a younger generation is fired up for change.
by Lam Thuy Vo
by Adolfo Flores
Posted on June 9, 2020, 7:42 pm
Chandan Khanna / Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS — The effects of the global pandemic rolled out like a series of gut punches for Brianna Phillips, 16, and her family.
When Minnesota's governor shut down the state on March 27 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Brianna couldn't see her friends and was no longer able to do the things she's most passionate about — like campaigning for an organization that spreads awareness about sexual health.
She also saw how the coronavirus hurt one family member after another: Brianna's aunt's father contracted it and is on a ventilator. The same aunt and her grandmother both lost their jobs due to the ensuing economic crisis. Her mother, Victoria, who is a manager at a local Lowe's store, told Brianna stories of staff pleading for more hours after losing their other jobs, and of having to keep everyone calm while herself being worried about the virus.
And then came George Floyd. The 46-year-old's killing in police custody was just the latest reminder of the racism faced by Black people — and exposed the Twin Cities' inequalities to the world.
In Minneapolis, Black people own fewer homes, earn less, and are less likely to graduate high school than their white counterparts, as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was forced to admit in the days following protests in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
"We rank near the top on personal incomes, on homeownership, on life expectancies," Walz said. "But if you take a deeper look … all of those statistics are true if you're white. If you're not, we ranked near the bottom."
Brianna couldn't escape mentions of Floyd on Facebook. The video of his death spread like wildfire online, sparking heated debates. As part of the generation that grew up seeing footage of Black deaths going viral, Brianna knew there were going to be massive protests fueled by people who had grown tired of seeing yet another man killed by police.
Brianna's mother, Victoria, was at work on May 25 when her own mother called her about "that guy from your neighborhood in the news," and took a short break to watch the video. She immediately thought about her kids. How would she talk to them about this without traumatizing them? How could she teach them what this moment meant? How could she help them navigate the news and what it meant to be Black in America? But she kept her feelings to herself, pretending "like I'm not hurting." For a long time, Victoria had learned to "dim" herself and "blend in" when she's one of a few Black people at work. This moment was no different.
Lam Thuy Vo / BuzzFeed News
From left: Parents Montez and Victoria Phillips with two of their children, Jonathan and Brianna.
Brianna, her mother, her father, Montez, and her other two siblings came together that night the video went viral. Brianna and her 12-year-old sister, Alecia, were scrolling through Facebook, sharing the latest news reports with each other while their mother told them she was sorry she couldn't shield them from this reality. Alecia felt physically ill from the stress. Brianna's 16-year-old brother, Jonathan, was frustrated but mostly said it made him "so tired." And while Brianna's father was clearly passionate about Floyd's death, he hadn't yet told them how he feels about it, she said.
They were all in shock, Brianna said, and hadn't worked out what they felt and thought. But they knew instinctively it was going to be different from the deaths of other Black men, like Philando Castile in Falcon Heights or Jamar Clark in Minneapolis.
The more the family of five learned about George Floyd, a man who was active in his community and was known as a "gentle giant," the more they felt like his death would be the "straw that broke the camel's back," said Victoria. There was going to be an "explosion of anger," Brianna said.
To Brianna and her mother, Floyd's death was significant far beyond the details of the case: It immediately invoked the injustices the family had seen through the generations that have only been amplified in recent weeks.
Brianna Phillips (left) and her mother, Victoria.
There were the numbers showing that Black people were dying of COVID-19 at outsize rates across the US. There were the stories about minority-owned small businesses not receiving the government loans they needed to stay afloat. There was the fact that in coronavirus epicenters, like New York City, essential workers are disproportionately Black and people of color. And the long-standing issues, such as Black workers making less than their white counterparts, having much less wealth to their name than white households, and having a history of being mistreated by the healthcare system.
Add to these inequities the recent killings of Black people: Ahmaud Arbery who was killed by white men while jogging, Breonna Taylor who was shot by police in her home, and then Floyd who was killed in police custody after someone reported that he was using a counterfeit $20 bill. Meanwhile, white protesters disobey national lockdown rules in Michigan without being harmed by police.
While the president and many media outlets have looked at the protests in the Twin Cities as violent spectacles, local residents who marched for days after Floyd's death have repeatedly made it clear that what they want is for lawmakers to hear this message: Systemic inequalities have plagued Black Americans for way too long, and radical change is needed.
Victoria Phillips holds up a photo of her daughter, Brianna, in front of their home in Minneapolis.
Victoria has had to swim against these currents long before the governor publicly acknowledged them. As a child, her parents depended heavily on free school meals, and she remembers growing up with very little. But she wanted more for her daughter and worked hard to afford Brianna the kinds of opportunities she had been denied. Victoria became the first member of her family to go to college and fought her way into the kind of managerial position at Lowe's that few Black women hold.
For the past few years, she thought her work would pay off, that her daughter would be fine, but Floyd's death crushed that hope.
"I felt at ease and almost relaxed," Victoria said about Brianna's future. "And now I almost regret that."
While these recent events have made Brianna and her siblings anxious, it has also given them some kind of resolve. "My generation is definitely more aggressive" about these issues, Brianna said. "I'm going to fight this, not just for me, but also for my parents. They have gone through this for years and things should be better now."
Alejandro Anderson (right) with his family in front of their home in Minneapolis.
These teens think in isms
When Alejandro Anderson, 17, saw the video of Floyd, his reaction was similar to Brianna's. He didn't just see police brutality, he also saw the racial inequalities that have long plagued Black communities in the Twin Cities.
And Alejandro isn't wrong. A recent study of census data ranked the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington metropolitan area as the fourth-worst place in the country for Black people to live in. The NAACP published a report last year detailing how Minnesota is home to "some of the greatest racial disparities for African Americans people in the Country." Homeownership among Black people was 25.4% versus 75.3% for white residents, nationwide those figures are 44% versus 73% respectively. The median income of Black residents was just 43.4% of that of white residents, nationally that that number is about 61%. At the statewide level in 2019, 70% of Black students in Minnesota graduated from high school compared to 89% of their white counterparts.
A study of 100 metropolitan areas in the US by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program found that the Twin Cities ranked 92 when it came to racial inclusion.
This is in stark contrast to the narrative touted by several publications that the Twin Cities is one of the best places to live, making it particularly popular among "techies" in recent years. The Brookings study also found the cities' track record on racial inclusion to be one of the worst in the country — while also ranking it the 26th best-performing metropolitan area when it came to economic growth.
This is a harsh reality that elected Minnesota officials have now had to confront after years of painting a rosy picture.
"You cannot continue to say you're a great place to live if your neighbor, because of the color of their skin, doesn't have that same opportunity. And that will manifest itself in things that are the small hidden racisms," Gov. Walz said. "The ultimate end of that type of behavior is the ability to believe that you can murder a Black man in public."
There are places around the city that display these chasms between minority neighborhoods and more affluent whiter ones.
Vue's bullet-riddled home (right) in Minneapolis.
There's a house riddled with bullet holes and broken windows in a neighborhood near Alejandro's home where Minneapolis police killed Chiasher Fong Vue, a man from the Hmong ethnic minority, firing more than 100 rounds after responding to a domestic disturbance incident. The home sits in a predominantly Black neighborhood in north Minneapolis where a lot of minority homeowners lost generations of wealth due to the 2006 housing bust. Alejandro's mother, Stephanie Gasca, bought a foreclosed home down the street in 2009.
Next door to Vue's former home is one that was built in 2020, currently listed for $269,900 on Zillow. That's roughly $100,000 more than what Vue's home sold for in 2018. Zillow estimates the average home value in the neighborhood to be about $185,000.
Then there's the 4th Precinct in Minneapolis, which sits on the grounds of what was once a community center for Black activists called The Way. Verlena Matey-Keke, 76, one of the center's cofounders, told BuzzFeed News The Way was created in 1966 at the height of the civil rights movement as an effort to "address the oppression and it came about as a relief for the pent up rage" felt by Black people in Minneapolis. The center's organizers provided classes in African American history, a theater, and free practice rooms where musicians like Prince once rehearsed.
The 4th Precinct in Minneapolis, barricaded with concrete dividers and barbed wires on a recent Thursday. The site used to be a community center.
But The Way was shuttered in the mid-1980s and a few years later was replaced by the police precinct, which now stands tall amid other Black institutions like the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and the north branch of the NAACP. Matey-Keke said the precinct's choice of location felt like "their attempt ... to erase us."
"Even as of today, the issues have not been addressed and it is white supremacy," said Matey-Keke. "We don't talk about the historical trauma that Black people have gone through. We're not just beginning in the '60s, and it's what's set it off last week. And it wasn't new in the 1960s."
She said she's waiting to see what will happen after the protests die down because "we've been here before."
"I'm waiting to see what the outcome is. I'm waiting for the follow-up," she said. But she was also heartened by the international outpouring of support for the Black community. "If our existence tells us nothing else, it tells us that you cannot kill the human spirit."
All of these inequalities play a role in how poor Black communities are seen and treated by law enforcement, Alejandro said.
"Everything for people of color takes more steps, so that leads to poverty, which leads to more crime," Alejandro said. "Then the police come here and they feel like it's more important to stop crimes than it is to protect people. They would rather have law and order than real peace."
For young adults like Alejandro, these inequalities are deeply felt. He attended a school with mostly white instructors in the suburbs where a teacher kicked him in front of other students for laughing in class. It wasn't the first time the teacher had done it, and it was always to students of color, Alejandro said. The teacher wasn't removed from the class or investigated until his mother pushed the school to address the issue. Alejandro later went to a mostly Black school where he remembers the school menu consisting of chicken sandwiches and burgers for several months.
Closing the education gap is key to ending racial disparities, said Alejandro. In the state of Minnesota, Black children graduate at a rate of 69.9%, while white children graduate at 88.65%. But Alejandro believes it's not a priority for people in positions of power, who are mostly white. It's easier to convince uneducated people that there's nothing wrong, or hope people of color don't realize there's something amiss, he said.
Alejandro's view is reflected in some of the local government's spending. The city of Minneapolis, for instance, spends 11.8% of its entire budget on the police department, more than it does on departments that provide public housing or training for low-income workers.
A 2017 study found that the city spent 35% of its general fund — meaning the part of a city's overall budget that leaders can spend at their discretion — on police.
These are the kinds of decisions that have left young people having to fight for their rights while also trying to figure out who they are as an adult. For a generation that was born around 9/11 and formed its first memories during the 2008 economic crisis, fear of imminent doom seems to be the norm. But it's also made some of them proactive and vocal.
During a recent march from the governor's residence to the Minnesota state capitol, the crowds were filled with young folks, chanting Floyd's name. 21-year-old Sierra Winge said: "We were all traumatized by the video of George Floyd's death but we're all still here [protesting]. That says something."
Mayah Varnado, 21, of St. Paul marched alongside Winge on June 1, as she had for days after Floyd's death. Varnado said she had been coming out to protest police brutality since she was 15 with her sister.
Sierra Winge, 21, attending a protest in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.
"It's just ridiculous. Why am I still out here protesting the same thing?" Varnado said. "This has been happening and will continue to happen if we don't keep chipping away at the iceberg."
Alejandro himself was no stranger to protest — his mother would regularly take them to demonstrations when she worked as an organizer for the Center for Workers United in the Struggle, down the block from where Floyd was killed. They also attended protests against police and vigilante violence, starting at the University of Minnesota following the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin.
But last week was the first time Alejandro told his parents he wanted to go.
"There was no way I wasn't going to go," Alejandro said. "I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines."
Alejandro (right) and his sister, Kennedy (left), both of whom have participated in Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis.
His 11-year-old sister, Kennedy, is similarly drawn to the worldwide debate sparked by Floyd's death. Unwilling to wait for her parents to bring up the issue, Kennedy demanded they hold a family meeting last week after she saw people on the news discussing the looting and fires in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
"This morning I heard my 11-year-old having a conversation with one of her teachers who was asking if they think violence is necessary," Stephanie Gasca told BuzzFeed News. "She said, 'Well, Black people have been peaceful for a long time and it's not working.'"
In Minneapolis's north side, students are leading the fight to rename a local school that was named after Patrick Henry, an enslaver. The Midwest Center for School Transformation and the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance raised more than $26,000 in less than 10 days to help a youth-led program for "healing conversations about the murder of George Floyd and the compounding conditions of race, white supremacy and injustice in the Twin Cities."
"Our young people are like, 'We want to look forward,'" said Marika Pfefferkorn, an organizer who has been working with young people in the Twin Cities for years. "We don't want to react to this moment because that is what has been happening."
One of the blessings of being young is you're not as jaded, Alejandro said.
"Once you get older and things have always been that way, you lose hope — like it is what it is," Alejandro said. "But kids always look for the bright spots. They always think of how things can get better, and kids are the reason people still have hope."
Christian McCleary, a local activist for equal rights, stands in front of a mural of Angela Davis in Minneapolis.
A potential for change
Some of these students grow into local leaders at an early age, like Christian McCleary, 24, who works to bring GED and ESL classes to refugees, and to educate young Black men. He's been an activist since he was 15 and is now hoping to run for city council in the town of Apple Valley.
For him, the issue is not about the police in isolation — it's about having too many police officers while less money is spent on other services.
This moment is bigger than just George Floyd, he said: He wants the attention Floyd's death brought to Minnesota to lead to more cultural competency training for officers and bring about important conversations.
On Sunday, a veto-proof majority of the city council vowed to disband the Minneapolis Police Department and redirect funds to a new public safety system.
Wynfred Russell, 46, a council member in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, echoed these sentiments. The former professor, who is an immigrant from Liberia, was part of the "blue wave" during the 2018 midterm elections, when many government seats were filled with first-time Democratic politicians.
"The opportunity that I see is for us to come to the table. It's not the time to come and say, 'I'm not racist, I have Black friends,' but it's the time for us to come here and boldly make people uncomfortable," said.
"Let's look at what it means to be in a 'safe city'? Does that mean that we have to have more police officers than teachers or nurses? What does it mean to have a 'safe community'?"
A mural in Minneapolis.
Lam Thuy Vo
Contact Lam Thuy Vo at lam.vo@buzzfeed.com.
Adolfo Flores is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in McAllen, Texas..
Contact Adolfo Flores at adolfo.flores@buzzfeed.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
import datetime, math

from serenity_pypeline.logger import log
from serenity_pypeline.db.influxdb_connector import InfluxDbConnector
from serenity_pypeline.filters.filter import Filter

class CfFinisherException(Exception):
    pass

class CfFinisher(Filter):
    KEY_FOR_DATA = 'data_to_insert'
    KEY_NAME = 'measurement'
    DEFAULT_CORR_PREFIX = 'cf_corr_'
    DEFAULT_SEPARATOR = '_'
    STATUS_CODE_SUCCESSFUL = 0

    def __init__(self, conf):
        super(CfFinisher, self).__init__(conf)

        # TODO: type of database engine
        # should be loaded from the workflow configuration file
        self._dbConnector = InfluxDbConnector(conf)
        self._dbConnector.connect()

        self._result = None
        self.node = conf['default']['node']

    def run(self, **kwargs):
        # TODO: 2 matrixes as result?
        log.debug("CF_FINISH")
        if CfFinisher.KEY_FOR_DATA in kwargs:
            self._insert_data(kwargs[CfFinisher.KEY_FOR_DATA],
                    kwargs[CfFinisher.KEY_NAME])
            return CfFinisher.STATUS_CODE_SUCCESSFUL
        else:
            raise CfFinisherException(
                'No data for insert retrieved from a previous step. Failing...')

    def _insert_data(self, data_to_insert, measurement):
        result = []
        for name, data in data_to_insert.iteritems():
            json_record = self._create_record_json(measurement+'_'+name,
                    data)
            result.append(json_record)

        self._dbConnector.write_data(result)

    def _create_record_json(self, measurement, data):

        record_json = {
            "measurement": measurement + '_' + self.node,
            "fields": {
            }
        }

        for i, val in enumerate(data):
            record_json['fields']['f'+str(i+1)] = val
        return record_json

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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text:
"""
@file
@brief Description of a :epkg:`RSS` stream.
"""
import datetime
import os

from pyquickhelper.loghelper import fLOG
from pyensae.sql.database_main import Database
from .rss_blogpost import BlogPost
from .rss_stream import StreamRSS

class DatabaseRSS (Database):

    """
    Database specific to :epkg:`RSS`.
    """

    @staticmethod
    def schema_table(table):
        """
        returns the schema for a specific table

        @param      table name (in ["stats", "event"])
        @return     dictionary
        """
        if table == "stats":
            return {0: ("id_post", int),
                    1: ("dtime", datetime.datetime),
                    2: ("status", str),
                    3: ("rate", int),
                    4: ("comment", str),
                    }
        elif table == "event":
            return {-1: ("id_event", int, "PRIMARYKEY", "AUTOINCREMENT"),
                    0: ("dtime", datetime.datetime),
                    1: ("uuid", str),
                    2: ("type1", str),
                    3: ("type2", str),
                    4: ("args", str),
                    }
        else:
            raise Exception("unexpected table name")

    def __init__(self, dbfile,
                 table_blogs="blogs",
                 table_posts="posts",
                 table_stats="posts_stat",
                 table_event="events",
                 LOG=fLOG):
        """
        @param    dbfile        file database
        @param    table_blogs   table name for the blogs
        @param    table_posts   table name for the posts
        @param    table_stats   table name for the posts stats
        @param    table_event   table name for the events
        @param    LOG           logging function
        """
        if not os.path.exists(dbfile):
            raise FileNotFoundError(dbfile)
        Database.__init__(self, dbfile, LOG=LOG)
        self.dbfile = dbfile
        self.table_blogs = table_blogs
        self.table_posts = table_posts
        self.table_stats = table_stats
        self.table_event = table_event
        self.connect()
        for tbl in [table_blogs, table_posts]:
            if not self.has_table(tbl):
                raise Exception("table %s not found in %s" % (tbl, dbfile))

        self.create_missing_table()
        self.close()

    def create_missing_table(self):
        """
        Creates the missing tables.
        """

        if self.has_table(self.table_stats) and len(self.get_table_columns(
                self.table_stats)) != len(DatabaseRSS.schema_table("stats")):
            self.remove_table(self.table_stats)

        if not self.has_table(self.table_stats):
            schema = DatabaseRSS.schema_table("stats")
            self.create_table(self.table_stats, schema)
            self.commit()
            self.create_index(
                "id_post_" +
                self.table_stats,
                self.table_stats,
                "id_post",
                False)
            self.commit()

        if not self.has_table(self.table_event):
            schema = DatabaseRSS.schema_table("event")
            self.create_table(self.table_event, schema)
            self.commit()

    def __str__(self):
        """
        usual
        """
        return "file:%s, t-blogs:%s, t-posts:%s" % (
            self.dbfile, self.table_blogs, self.table_posts)

    specific_search = {
        "today": "SELECT DISTINCT id_rss FROM {0} WHERE pubDate >= '{1}'",
        "twoday": "SELECT DISTINCT id_rss FROM {0} WHERE pubDate >= '{2}'",
        "week": "SELECT DISTINCT id_rss FROM {0} WHERE pubDate >= '{3}'",
        "frequent": """SELECT id_rss FROM (
                                SELECT id_rss, SUM(nb)*1.0/ (MAX(day) - MIN(day)+1) AS avg_nb FROM (
                                    SELECT id_rss, day, COUNT(*) AS nb FROM (
                                        SELECT id_rss, getdayn(pubDate) AS day FROM {0} WHERE pubDate >= '{4}'
                                    ) GROUP BY id_rss, day
                                ) GROUP BY id_rss
                            ) WHERE avg_nb >= {5}""",
        "notfrequent": """SELECT id_rss FROM (
                                SELECT id_rss, SUM(nb)*1.0/ (MAX(day) - MIN(day)+1) AS avg_nb FROM (
                                    SELECT id_rss, day, COUNT(*) AS nb FROM (
                                        SELECT id_rss, getdayn(pubDate) AS day FROM {0} WHERE pubDate >= '{4}'
                                    ) GROUP BY id_rss, day
                                ) GROUP BY id_rss
                            ) WHERE avg_nb < {5}""",
    }

    @staticmethod
    def getday(dt):
        """
        Returns the same datetime but with no time.

        @param  dt      datetime
        @return         datetime which correspond to the beginning of the day
        """
        if isinstance(dt, str):
            res = dt.split(" ")
            return res[0]
        else:
            res = datetime.datetime(dt.year, dt.month, dt.day)
            return res

    @staticmethod
    def getdayn(dt):
        """
        Returns the same datetime but with no time.

        @param  dt      datetime
        @return         datetime which correspond to the beginning of the day
        """
        if isinstance(dt, str):
            dt = dt.split()[0]
            ymd = dt.split("-")
            res = datetime.datetime(int(ymd[0]), int(ymd[1]), int(ymd[2]))
        else:
            res = datetime.datetime(dt.year, dt.month, dt.day)
        one = datetime.datetime(2000, 1, 1)
        d = res - one
        return d.days

    def enumerate_blogs(self, sorted_=True, specific=None, daily_freq=1.5,
                        now=None, addstat=False):
        """
        Enumerates all the blogs from the database.

        @param      sorted_     sorted by title
        @param      specific    specific search
                                    - None: all blogs
                                    - today: get all blogs for today
                                    - twoday: get all blogs for today and yesterday
                                    - week: get all blogs for last week
                                    - notfrequent: get all blogs publishing less posts in a day than ``daily_freq``
                                    - frequent: get all blogs publishing more posts in a day than ``daily_freq``
        @param      daily_freq  see parameter specific
        @param      now         if None, today means today, if not None, ``now`` will have the meaning of today
        @param      addstat     if True, the function will a field corresponding to the number of posts from this blog
        @return                 enumeration of @see cl StreamRSS
        """
        if addstat:
            sqlstatjoinA = "SELECT A.*, nbpost FROM ("
            sqlstatjoinB = """) AS A INNER JOIN (SELECT id_rss, COUNT(*) AS nbpost FROM {0}
                                GROUP BY id_rss) ON id_rss == A.id""".format(self.table_posts)
            orderby = "nbpost DESC"
        else:
            sqlstatjoinA = ""
            sqlstatjoinB = ""
            orderby = "titleb"

        if isinstance(specific, list):
            if len(specific) == 1:
                specific = specific[0]
            else:
                raise TypeError(
                    "unable to process if specific is a list:" +
                    str(specific))

        if specific in [None, ""]:
            self.connect()
            sql = "%sSELECT titleb, type, xmlUrl, htmlUrl, keywordsb, id FROM %s%s" % (
                sqlstatjoinA, self.table_blogs, sqlstatjoinB)
            if sorted_:
                sql += " ORDER BY " + orderby
            for row in self.execute(sql):
                bl = StreamRSS(*row)
                yield bl
            self.close()

        elif specific in DatabaseRSS.specific_search.keys():  # pylint: disable=C0201

            today = datetime.datetime.now() if now is None else now
            day = datetime.datetime(2013, 1, 2) - datetime.datetime(2013, 1, 1)
            yesday = today - day
            yes2 = yesday - day
            yesweek = today - (day * 7)
            yeshalf = today - (day * 180)
            self.connect()
            self.add_function("getdayn", 1, DatabaseRSS.getdayn)

            sql = "%sSELECT titleb, type, xmlUrl, htmlUrl, keywordsb, id FROM %s WHERE id IN (%s)%s" % \
                (sqlstatjoinA, self.table_blogs,
                 DatabaseRSS.specific_search[specific].format(
                     self.table_posts,
                     yesday,
                     yes2,
                     yesweek,
                     yeshalf,
                     daily_freq),
                    sqlstatjoinB)
            if sorted_:
                sql += " ORDER BY " + orderby

            for row in self.execute(sql):
                bl = StreamRSS(*row)
                yield bl
            self.close()
        else:
            raise ValueError(
                "unable to interpret value %s for parameter specific" %
                specific)

    def enumerate_latest_status(self, postid, nb=1, connect=True):
        """
        Retrieves the latest status for a post.

        @param      postid      post id
        @param      nb          number of desired status
        @param      connect     connect (True) or skip connection (False)
        @return                 enumerate on values from ``table_stats`` ordered by decreasing time
        """
        if connect:
            self.connect()
        sch = DatabaseRSS.schema_table("stats")
        sql = "SELECT * FROM {0} WHERE id_post=={1} ORDER BY dtime DESC".format(
            self.table_stats,
            postid)
        for row in self.execute(sql):
            nb -= 1
            if nb < 0:
                break
            yield {sch[i][0]: row[i] for i in range(len(row))}
        if connect:
            self.close()

    def private_process_condition(self, blog_selection=None, post_selection=None,
                                  sorted_=True, specific=None, now=None,
                                  searchterm=None):
        """
        Returns a :epkg:`SQL` query corresponding to list of posts.

        @param      blog_selection      list of blogs to consider (or empty for all)
        @param      post_selection      list of posts to consider
        @param      sorted_             sorted by date
        @param      specific            specific search
                                            - None: all posts
                                            - today: get all posts for today
                                            - week: get all posts for last week
        @param      searchterm          if not None, filters using a SQL like search (using ``%``)
        @param      now                 if None, today means today, if not None, ``now`` will have the meaning of today
        @return                         SQL query
        """
        if blog_selection is None:
            blog_selection = []
        if post_selection is None:
            post_selection = []
        if searchterm is not None:
            if not searchterm.startswith("+") and "%" not in searchterm:
                searchterm = "%{0}%".format(searchterm)
            searchterm = searchterm.replace("'", "\\'").replace('"', '\\"')
            where = "WHERE UPPER(title) LIKE '{0}'".format(searchterm.upper())
        else:
            where = ""

        sql = """SELECT id_rss, title, guid, isPermaLink, link, description, pubDate, keywords, {0}.id AS id,
                        titleb, type, xmlUrl, htmlUrl, keywordsb, {1}.id AS idblog
                 FROM {0}
                 INNER JOIN {1}
                 ON {0}.id_rss == {1}.id
                 {2}
                 """.format(self.table_posts, self.table_blogs, where)

        cond = []
        if len(blog_selection) > 0:
            condition = ",".join(map(str, blog_selection))
            cond.append(" id_rss in (%s)" % condition)
        if len(post_selection) > 0:
            condition = ",".join(map(str, post_selection))
            cond.append("%s.id in (%s)" % (self.table_posts, condition))
        if specific in ["today", "week", "twoday"]:
            today = datetime.datetime.now() if now is None else now
            day = datetime.datetime(2013, 1, 2) - datetime.datetime(2013, 1, 1)
            dec = {"week": 7, "today": 1, "twoday": 2}.get(specific, 7)
            mdat = today - day * dec
            st = "pubDate >= '{0}'".format(mdat)
            cond.append(st)

        if len(cond) > 0:
            sql += " WHERE " + " AND ".join(cond)

        if sorted_:
            sql += " ORDER BY pubDate DESC"
        return sql

    def enumerate_posts(self, blog_selection=None, post_selection=None, sorted_=True,
                        first=1000, specific=None, daily_freq=1.5, now=None,
                        addstatus=False, searchterm=None):
        """
        Enumerates all the posts from the database if the blog id
        belongs to a selection (or all if blog_selection is empty).

        @param      blog_selection      list of blogs to consider (or empty for all)
        @param      post_selection      list of posts to consider
        @param      sorted_             sorted by date
        @param      first               we only consider the first ``first``
        @param      specific            specific search
                                            - None: all posts
                                            - today: get all posts for today
                                            - week: get all posts for last week
        @param      daily_freq          see parameter specific
        @param      now                 if None, today means today, if not None, ``now`` will have the meaning of today
        @param      addstatus           if True, fetches the status of a blog
        @param      searchterm          if not None, filters using a SQL like search (using ``%``)
        @return                         enumeration of @see cl BlogPost
        """
        if blog_selection is None:
            blog_selection = []
        if post_selection is None:
            post_selection = []
        self.connect()
        sql = self.private_process_condition(
            blog_selection, post_selection, sorted_,
            specific, now, searchterm)
        sql += " LIMIT %d" % first

        for row in self.execute(sql):
            row = list(row)
            row[-2] = row[-2].split(",")
            row[3] = row[3] == 1
            blog = StreamRSS(* (row[-6:]))
            row = row[:-6]
            row[0] = blog

            bl = BlogPost(*row)

            if addstatus:
                for st in self.enumerate_latest_status(bl.id, connect=False):
                    bl.add_status(st)
            yield bl
        self.close()

    def enumerate_posts_status(self, blog_selection=None, post_selection=None,
                               sorted_=True, specific=None, now=None,
                               searchterm=None):
        """
        Enumerate status.

        @param      blog_selection      list of blogs to consider (or empty for all)
        @param      post_selection      list of posts to consider
        @param      sorted_             sorted by date
        @param      specific            specific search
                                            - None: all posts
                                            - today: get all posts for today
                                            - week: get all posts for last week
        @param      now                 if None, today means today, if not None, ``now`` will have the meaning of today
        @param      searchterm          if not None, filters using a SQL like search (using ``%``)
        @return                         enumerate on values from ``table_stats`` ordered by decreasing time
        """
        if blog_selection is None:
            blog_selection = []
        if post_selection is None:
            post_selection = []
        self.connect()

        sql_po = self.private_process_condition(
            blog_selection, post_selection, sorted_,
            specific, now, searchterm)

        sql_st = """SELECT A.id_post, status, A.dtime FROM (
                    SELECT id_post, MAX(dtime) AS dtime FROM {0}
                    GROUP BY id_post) AS A
                    INNER JOIN {0}
                    ON A.id_post == {0}.id_post""".format(self.table_stats)

        sql = """SELECT DISTINCT id_rss, title, guid, isPermaLink, link, description, pubDate, keywords, id,
                        titleb, type, xmlUrl, htmlUrl, keywordsb, idblog, status, dtime
                    FROM (
                        {0}
                    )
                    AS tA
                    INNER JOIN (
                        {1}
                    ) AS tB
                    ON tA.id == tB.id_post""". format(sql_po, sql_st)

        for row in self.execute(sql):
            row = list(row)
            row[-4] = row[-4].split(",")
            row[3] = row[3] == 1
            blog = StreamRSS(* (row[-8:-2]))
            st = {"status": row[-2], "dtime": row[-1]}
            row = row[:-8]
            row[0] = blog

            bl = BlogPost(*row)
            bl.add_status(st)
            yield bl

        self.close()


text:
Q: Displaying validation errors on "new" view In this section of the Rails guide, it is instructed to add @article = Article.new in the new method of ArticlesController, explaining that otherwise we won't be able to access @article.errors.
From what I understand, @articles = Article.new creates a new instance of Article, and what we need is the @article variable that we tried to submit. I know it works but I need to understand why.
Controller code:
class ArticlesController < ApplicationController

  def index
    @articles = Article.all
  end

  def show
    @article = Article.find(params[:id])
  end

  def new
    @article = Article.new
  end

  def create
    @article = Article.new(article_params)

    if @article.save
      redirect_to @article
    else
      render 'new'
    end
  end

  private
  def article_params
    params.require(:article).permit(:title, :text)
  end

end

View code:
<%= form_with scope: :article, url: articles_path, local: true do |form| %>

  <% if @article.errors.any? %>

        <%= pluralize(@article.errors.count, "error") %> prohibited this articles from being saved:

        <% @article.errors.full_messages.each do |msg| %>

<%= msg %>

        <% end %>

  <% end %>

    <%= form.label :title %>

    <%= form.text_field :title %>

    <%= form.label :text %>

    <%= form.text_area :text %>

      <%= form.submit %>
<% end %>

<%= link_to 'Back', articles_path %>

A: It says this:

The reason why we added @article = Article.new in the
  ArticlesController is that otherwise @article would be nil in our
  view, and calling @article.errors.any? would throw an error.

so it has nothing to do with accessing validation errors.
Without the @article variable in new action you would call errors method in your view on nil value and nil doesn't have such a method, so you would get an error undefined method 'errors' for nil:NilClass. In case of @article variable set to Article.new you call errors method on an Article class instance and since there are no validation errors (yet) the #error_explanation block will not be rendered.
But when you try to create a new record, then validation occurs. And if there are validation errors your rails app renders the new template again, but it does it with the create action. Therefore, the @article variable this time is the one from the create method and since we have validation errors in it, the #error_explanation block will be rendered and user will see what's wrong.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Separate Realities-Bob Davis Podcast 820
My friend recently said these days he feels like he woke up in a separate reality. We'll talk about why we all feel this way in Separate Realities-Bob Davis Podcast 820.
In addition my friend said he feels like he doesn't know his friends anymore. He has to be careful with everything he says. It's all too easy to provoke or 'trigger' people into highly emotional reactions.
Media Machine
In Separate Realities-Bob Davis Podcast 820 I talk about why we feel this way. Especially relevant is a twenty-four seven media machine. Present on all different platforms, all the time.
People We Would Never Know On Social Media
Moreover we are confronted with the emotions of those we might not have thought about at all, were it not for social media.
Political Media Matrix
In contrast it isn't the pictures of our neighbors car or kids that's causing this experience of living in separate realities. It's what the political and media sphere has done with digital media technology.
Confusion Reigns
As a result of this matrix of lies and half truths we are more confused and emotionally triggered than ever before.
Slaves To A Web Of Lies
Consequently we do not realize we have become slaves to politicians and their web of lies. The media is a willing servant to them.
Your Feelings Aren't Wrong
In conclusion it's not my role to tell people how to live or to talk about the same thing every day. If you feel like you're living in a separate reality from say, four or five, or ten years ago, you are not wrong.
The question is what we're going to do about it.
Sponsored by Organo Change Your Coffee Change Your Life and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul
2009 2010, 24 Hour Cable News, Advocacy Media, Alex Jones, American Media, Avocation, Balanced Life, Biased Media, Big Government, Big Media, Blocking On Social Media, Broadcast Media, Business Of Media, Cable News Channels Suck, Cable News Networks, Cable Newsrooms, Cable TV Ratings, Confusion About Media, Content Creators, Defriending, Digital, Digital Media, Digital News, Digital Platforms, Dreamworld, Electronic Media, FaceBook, Facts, Hobbies, In Digital Media It's All News, Iowa, Lying Politicians, Matrix, Media, MSNBC, Objective Reality, Podcasting, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politicians, Politicians and Lies, Primaries In Iowa, Propaganda, Quantum Jumping, Rachel Maddow, Real Cop Videos, Rush Limbaugh, Rush To Judgement, Science, Sean Hannity, Separate Realities, Slaves To Big Government, Slaves To Politicians, Social Media, Speech Control, Tech Changes Since 2009, Tech Since 2009, Technology, The Matrix, The Young Turks, Things Change, Time Travel, Vocation, Web Of Lies, What Is Truth, Windows 95, YouTube
Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675
Streaming. Binging. Brand new shows. Hundreds of new offerings on networks that didn't exist ten years ago. Critics have suddenly discovered streaming television and there is much they do not like. In Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675.
No Commercials
I cut the cable years ago. Never watch broadcast TV. Despite this, I watch a lot of TV. I have my favorite shows. Shows I binge watch over a week, or weekend. Especially relevant is the fact that we all have our favorites. Whether it's a weekend of Stranger Things or Ozark on Netflix, or waiting for each installment of the new HBO Show The Deuce, we're watching serialized TV offerings like long movies.
Peak TV
While the technical infrastructure has existed for awhile, more people are streaming shows. It's what the experts call 'peak tv'. No one wants to be left out, including the critics. In Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675.
You've Got Critics
A few years ago the critics hailed these new offerings as 'groundbreaking'. Suddenly new shows can't get a break. Bad acting. Silly plot lines. Critics are desperate to remain relevant, I guess. What they forget is, it's just Television.
Watch It All At Once and Move On
Television has always been disposable. So have all popular forms of entertainment. Sure, there are world changing plays, movies, songs, radio and television shows. For the most part though, we forget. Do you remember all two hundred plus Miami Vice installments? Were they all great?
Content Creators Don't Change The World With Every Offering
New media platforms can take as much content as creators can manage. People watch and discard almost as soon as it is produced. We're in the early stages of an entirely new form of entertainment delivery systems. Creators are still learning the ropes. Is it fair to compare a show with 13 hour long installments in a year, although it's written, shot and produced like a movie, with a full budget hollywood movie? Do the viewers care that some critic doesn't think an actor is good enough to do Shakespeare on Broadway?
Binge Weekend
I love my new shows, and I binge watch the old ones all the time. WestWorld. The Deuce. Ozark. House of Cards. Ray Donovan. Boardwalk Empire. Curb Your Enthusiasm. I don't need to be studying film and literature to enjoy them. In the final analysis, the rest of the viewers don't either.
Sponsored by Brush Studio in The West End, Saint Louis Park and Ciro 3D Motorcycle Products and Accessories
50 Shades of Grey, Alfred Hitchcock, Aron Timms, Bad Acting, Binge Watching, Boardwalk Empire, Broadcast TV, Broadcast TV Ratings, Brush Studio, Brush Studio In The West End, Character Assassination, Ciro3D, Content Creators, Critic Snark, Critics, Curb Your Enthusiasm, cut the cord, Digital, Digital Media, Dime Store Novels, East Of Eden, Entertainment, Entertainment Industry, Favorite Shows, Golden Age Of TV, Grapes Of Wrath, Groundbreaking TV, Harvey Weinstein, HBO Comedy Specials, HBO Now, HBO Series WestWorld, House of Cards, Justin Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Larry David, Literature, Miami Vice, Movies, Netflix, New Golden Age Of TV, New Media, New Platforms, Ozark The Deuce Stranger Things Golden TV age Snark-Podcast 675, Political Bias In Drama, Popular Entertainment Talk, Pulp Fiction, Ray Donovan, Seinfeld, Shakespeare, Showtime, Showtime Anytime, Silly Plot Lines, Snark, Stranger Things, Tale of Two Cities, The Deuce, The Honeymooners, Tribe Viewing, TV Series, Twitter, Watching Shows In Tribes, Watching TV On Your Computer, Westerns
Podcast 599-Advertising Your Business On Podcasts
Big Shift
Time to talk about advertising on podcasts. We're in the middle of a big shift. People are changing how they use media. What about using podcasting to Advertise Your Business? Podcasting is a rapidly growing space. Businesses can use podcasts to connect with their customers. Podcast 599-Advertising Your Business On Podcasts tells you how.
Retooling Your Mind
Entrepreneurial efforts require retooling how we think. Why do small businesses fail? Your business may have developed a great product. You and your team may have discovered a large untapped market. Getting the word out about a product or service is increasingly complex. Not advertising or advertising ineffectively is one of the chief reasons small businesses fail.
Old Ways Don't Work
Studies say about 30 percent of the public listen to podcasts. I think podcasting is growing at a much quicker pace than the research is picking up. In this environment, it's easy to see why small businesses might assume the old 'tried and true' methods of advertising are best. Print or Direct Mail. Buying ads on radio and television. Hiring an ad agency. Flyers. These are ancient and expensive and increasingly ineffective methods.
New Ad Space
Digital Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are big topics these days at business conferences. Digital Marketing and SEO are necessary for generating awareness for your company's website and social media platforms. These tools alone don't help you form a bond with potential customers. Advertising your product or service on a podcast provides a personal connection with an audience you cannot get in traditional broadcast, print or direct mail, or even social media. Ads placed on podcasts live forever on the Internet. Podcasts can deliver a local, national or world-wide audience. Podcast 599-Advertising Your Business On Podcasts tells you how and why.
Pure Play Podcasting
Small businesses persist in spending thousands of dollars in old media. Pure Play Podcasters like The Bob Davis Podcasts weave the advertiser's message into the content of our podcast. We talk about a product or service because we believe in it. The Bob Davis Podcasts and other Pure play podcasters are able to combine the best attributes of personal endorsements with digital marketing and SEO to help your business.
Are You Ready For Big Changes?
There is a big change going on. The new smart phone and pad devices are more powerful and run easier and faster applications for media. Podcasters are noticing increases in feeds and hits on our websites as more people come to digital media every day. From an advertising perspective managing your FaceBook or Twitter feed to bond with your customers isn't enough. Businesses need a closer bond. Podcasting helps you bond with your potential customers.
Clarifying Moment
Big shifts in media usage begin long before the research companies driven by the big advertising agencies and media companies pick them up. AM Radio was overtaken by FM Radio slowly, then all at once. 24 Hour Cable News overwhelmed broadcast TV news in an avalanche. Remember when you listened to the radio to find your favorite music? Spotify, Pandora and podcasts took over that space. We used to watch our favorite TV shows once a week as part of a network schedule. Now we binge watch them on Netflix or HBO Now or other cable 'Netflix Like' services. When did that happen?
Tipping Point For Podcasts
Podcasts are replacing broadcast radio, especially talk radio, at a rapid pace. It isn't being picked up by the research and ratings companies. We have not had what I call a 'clarifying moment' yet. A clarifying moment is that moment when it becomes obvious to everyone that things have changed permanently.
There are lots of different podcasts and all of us have different advertising styles and packages. This is an informative pitch for advertising from businesses that want to work with The Bob Davis Podcasts or are interested getting some help with their advertising strategy with podcasts in general. It's time for small and large businesses to get into the podcast space in a big way. We're ready for you. Listen to Podcast 599-Advertising Your Business On Podcasts and find out how to get started.
Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and X Government Cars.
1960's, 1990's, 7 Days A Week, Advertising On The Bob Davis Podcasts, Advertising Your Business, AM Radio, Big Changes, Big Changes Coming, Bob Davis Ad Packages, Bob Davis Consulting Services, Bonding With Customers, Buy Podcasts, Cable TV News, Chevy Impala V8, Digital, Digital Advertising, digital audio, Digital Marketing, Digital Media, Dodge Charger, Entreprenuer, Event Marketing, February Warm Up, FM Radio, Ford, Ford 450 Superduty Ambulance, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Diesel, Ford E450 Superduty, Ford Expedition, Ford Police Sedan, Ford Police SUV, Ford Trucks, Get This Money, Get Your Butt Down, Greg Ryan, Grow Your Business, Growth Through Advertising, HBO, Homeland Security Expeditions at X Government Cars, How to Use Podcasts To Bond With Your Customers, Media Circus, Mobile Podcast Command, Money, Netflix, Networking Events, New Ad Space, New Advertising, NOw, OJ Simpson Story, Old Media, Old Ways Don't Work, Radio, Radio PTSD, Retooling Your Mind, Ryan AC Check For Spring, Ryan Plumbing, Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, Ryan Plumbing Emergency Service, Ryan Plumbing For Business, Ryan Plumbing Heating Check, Ryan Plumbing High Efficiency Heat, ryanplumbing.com, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Showtime Anytime, Small Business, Social Changes, Stop Wasting Your Money, SUV's At X Government Cars, The Bob Davis Podcasts, Tipping Point, Using Podcasts For Advertising, Why Businesses Fail, Winter, Winter Cars At X Government Cars, Winter Weather, Working With Clients, X Government, X Government Cars, X Government Cars Golden Valley, X Government Trucks
1 2 3 4 previous posts


Let's start off by defining AI. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and it can be defined as intelligence demonstrated by machinery. With the exponential rate of technological development, we can envision the dominance of Artificial Intelligence which will highly affect the job market. According to a study done by McKinsey Global Institute, up to one-fifth of the global population workforce will be affected due to the advancement of technology. Here are 5 jobs that might disappear due to the prevalence of AI in the workforce.
We can see it coming. From Tesla to Google's driverless cars, it only makes sense that taxi drivers and delivery staff will be suffering to find a job in the near future. Unlike human beings, autonomous vehicles have the ability to operate 24/7 without claiming a monthly paycheck.
Harvesting, measuring land plots, and maintaining crop are all a part of the agricultural work which used to be purely man-powered. With the technological advancements we have today, the human force will rather be focusing on maintaining and automating machinery.
Let's face it; newspapers are dying. With the approach of the big data Internet of Things (IoT), online news websites and blogs, it is fair to say that print media is on the verge of collapsing. Well-renowned publishers and newspapers that have existed for decades such as The Guardian, is asking its readers for donations to help sustain its existence.
We are already witnessing AI-powered machines interacting with bank customers. The power of AI has been under test for years and it is expected to get even more advanced. Virtual tellers are expected to replace bank tellers completely and become even more ubiquitous.
Chatbots are becoming more intelligent day after day. From Amazon's Alexa to Google's Siri we can fairly say that customer service assistants and telemarketers will no longer be necessary especially for those who have a phone-based job which basically relies on speaking according to a certain script.
With its pros and cons, the dominance of AI in the job market is something we all must face and deal with. With fewer errors and a quick turnover rate, AI is certainly threatening many jobs. However, there will always be certain skills that robots cannot acquire such as the human being's ability to learn new skills, acquire knowledge or deal with different situations.


text:
Q: writing mysql function but failed Trying to writing this function in mysql but it is giving error that:
Error Code : 1064
You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'IF Per='hour' THEN SET t=Price ; END IF;
    IF Per='day' THEN SET t=Price/24; END ' at line 8
DELIMITER$$
CREATE  FUNCTION PricePerHour (Price REAL, Per VARCHAR(5))
RETURNS REAL
DETERMINISTIC

BEGIN
DECLARE t REAL;
IF Price IS NOT NULL AND Per IS NOT NULL

IF Per='hour' THEN SET t=Price ; END IF;
IF Per='day' THEN SET t=Price/24; END IF;
IF Per='week' THEN SET t=Price/7/24; END IF;
IF Per='month' THEN SET t=Price/30/24; END IF;
IF Per='year' THEN SET t=Price/365/30/24; END IF;

RETURN t;
END IF;
END $$
DELIMITER;

any help should be appreciated. Thanx in advance.

A: missing THEN ?
DELIMITER$$
CREATE  FUNCTION PricePerHour (Price REAL, Per VARCHAR(5))
RETURNS REAL
DETERMINISTIC

BEGIN
DECLARE t REAL;
IF Price IS NOT NULL AND Per IS NOT NULL   **THEN**

IF Per='hour' THEN SET t=Price ; END IF;
IF Per='day' THEN SET t=Price/24; END IF;
IF Per='week' THEN SET t=Price/7/24; END IF;
IF Per='month' THEN SET t=Price/30/24; END IF;
IF Per='year' THEN SET t=Price/365/30/24; END IF;

RETURN t;
END IF;
END $$
DELIMITER;


text:
Q: to verb vs verb I always wonder if there is difference between "to + verb" and "verb". For example,
"It is not only to deepen students' understanding of positive values, but also to enable them to know how to uphold positive values."
vs
"It not only deepens students' understanding of positive values, but also enables them to know how to uphold positive values."
Is there any difference between the two structures?

A: Answer
They are completely different.
Explanation
1.

A.  "It not only deepens students' understanding of positive values, but
  also enables them to know how to uphold positive values."

Let us extract the bare structure of this sentence:
It [not only] deepens [students'] understanding [of positive values], but [also] enables them [to know how to uphold positive values].
It deepens understanding, but enables them.
That looks a little odd so we can separate it into two sentences.
It enables understanding. It enables them.  (i.e, the students)
2.

B. "It is not only to deepen students' understanding of positive values,
  but also to enable them to know how to uphold positive values."

Now let's extract the structure from that sentence.
"It is [not only] to deepen [students'] understanding [of positive values], but to enable them [to know how to uphold positive values.]"
It is to deepen understanding. It is to enable them.
3.
We can see that all we really need to understand is the difference between:
a. It enables them.
and
b. It is to enable them.
Sentence a is very straightforward ---> (subject) (verb) (object)
4.
Sentence b is not so obvious and is the one that requires explanation.
The sentence,  It is to enable them., can be parsed in only one way in English, and that is as an example of future obligation.

When we write about future obligations, we can use a formal pattern
  composed of two elements the verb to be in the present tense
  conjugated to match the subject + the infinitive of the main verb
http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/future-obligation/

It is to enable them. means It must enable them.
5.
The analysis so far tells us that:
A. "It is not only to deepen students' understanding of positive values, but also to enable them to know how to uphold positive values."
means
"It must  not only deepen students' understanding of positive values, but also must enable them to know how to uphold positive values."
That  meaning is quite different from the meaning of sentence B.
6.
Now, I am well aware that in your initial question, you intended A and B to have the same meaning. I have shown that they don't.  What can be done about it?
In fact there is no way to make A equivalent to B, they are essentially different.
What I can offer is an approximation. We add another grammatical element.
C. "It's purpose is not only to deepen students' understanding of positive values, but also to enable them to know how to uphold positive values."
I hope this helps.

A: Your first example (with the infinitive) expresses purpose.  Whatever "it" is, its intended purpose is to deepen understanding and teach positive values.
Your second example (with the finite verb form) make a declaration.  Whatever "it" is and whatever purpose anyone had for "it," what happened was a deepening of understanding and a teaching of positive values.

A: Non-finite verbs and their derivatives in English language (and many languages), include an idea called infinitives.
If you are a programmer, and is part of the modular/plug-in movement, you would easier understand the motivation behind non-finite elements found in languages.
Non-finite elements are modular grammatical units that you could plug in to any phrase with little or no change regardless of time, tense, number or mood, and possibly gender.
The concepts of Application Programming Interface (API) and functional Interface contract is part of the practice of using semantic interface contract linguistic phenomenon frequently practiced in human-developed communications. Semantic interface-contracts is a method of communication whereby communicators do not have to bother modifying the communicant too much when connecting to a modular communicant.
Each type/mode of non-finite elements has its own semantic interface contract - grammatical rules on how to use it without modifying its innards.
For example, the semantic interface contract
Success = print(paper size, resolution, colour-grey-scale)
Regardless which printer is implementing this print contract, and who the communicator is that initiated the print, the communicator does/should not need to modify the innards of the print functionality offered by the communicant.
For example the question: Who killed the mockingbird?
This question is non-finitely applicable to whomever might have killed the mockingbird. It does not restrict the participants, in terms of time/tense, gender, number, or mood.
Hence the infinitive phrase to kill a mockingbird:

*

*Who wants to kill a mockingbird?

*A girl wants to kill a mockingbird.

*Nobody wants to kill a mockingbird.

*666 men want to kill a mockingbird.

*999 women to kill a mockingbird, is an overkill.

*Having only 111 workers to kill a mockingbird is inadequate.

*One person, or a thousand could have come to kill a mockingbird, and it would never be possible without our Golden Horse Brand pellet projector.

Besides the infinitive, another type of non-finite element is the present participle

*

*Painting a house is on my list of activities I need to complete before Thanksgiving.

*Not many people enjoy painting a house.

*Nora is one of the few women in the village who enjoys painting a house.

*Prosecutor: Where were you on the night of the murder, 10 weeks ago?
Defendant: At a "painting a house" gathering.
Prosecutor: ... and what were you doing exactly?
Defendant: Painting a house.
Prosecutor: What were your witnesses to your alibi doing?
Defendant: They were painting a house.
Judge: What would you be doing tomorrow if I grant you bail?
Defendant: Painting a house.