text:
Ferguson, MO
Thread starter CharlieDog
Mutts to you
Greenmagick said:
I dont have reason to believe Brown was worked up over the robbery. I watched the full tape of the robbery, including Brown at the front counter having some kind of exchange with the cashier (some people are saying money was exchanged but that is definitely not verified in any sense and likely he took at least something even if he paid for others). The owner nor cashier reported it and I am pretty sure there was likely a reason why and that Brown knew. Now, yes, that is a big assumption on my part...but so is assuming that Brown was all worked up over it.
And I dont know how many times more I can say this. Yes, there is blame on both sides. BUT the cops ultimately are in power and have the authority so yes, the onus is on them to start fixing it
It is more than this just one moment and that is the true issue. People didnt erupt because of one shooting but because it was the final straw. Again, that area is known for being very corrupt in law enforcement. Ferguson has a long history of extreme racial profiling. Again, up until this last chief of Ferguson (who took over 4 years ago) complaints werent even filed with the personnel records.
I never said he was worked up, but, c'mon, if YOU had just done something unlawful, thought you'd gotten away with it and a cop suddenly appeared, you wouldn't be assuming you'd been caught? Really? There is agreement that there was some kind of scuffle between Brown and Wilson in the car and the first shot fired inside the vehicle. So, was Brown attempting to grab the gun? If not, then why did Wilson feel compelled to shoot?
Why? Why can't BOTH sides attempt to 'fix it'? You keep saying the cops have the power and the authority, but you CAN'T make people listen, or trust, if they don't want to do it. It also sounds like this current police chief WAS making the attempt (and coincidentally, Wilson was hired on four years ago, so don't you think any complaints or disciplinary actions WOULD be filed in his record?), but people are calling for this police chief to be fired.
Greenmagick
There has been a lot of community driven work to do just that....to work on fixing the issues. They are working hard on it too. Many of the talks by local leaders have been focused on listening to the youth and setting examples for positive interaction. But yes, I do feel most will be for naught if they cant truly trust the police to protect and serve all communities the same. Its not just about race either...there are multiple issues at play here but to deny race is one of them is not going to help the problem.
There is a lot of pent up anger and feelings of hopelessness in some of these communities. Feelings of nothing ever changes. That is why people are working so hard to get people registered to vote, to educate people on what local politicians can and should be doing and to help give examples of what power voting can have. There are MANY MANY people working to give all of this energy and emotion a positive push to make read and effective change.
CharlieDog
Rude and Not Ginger
I never named any names, nor called anyone out, nor posted my own beliefs on the situation. Just that what has been posted has been a bit eye opening.
Snark said:
Of course the robbery was relevant, it goes to Brown's mindset. HE knew he'd just committed a strong-arm robbery, he's now an adult, and the first thing he sees AFTER committing the crime is a cop?? Brown doesn't know that Wilson doesn't know about his crime, so what do you think his first thought was?? 'Oh, goodie, now I can be arrested and go to jail?'
What robbery? The Ferguson Market didn't call the police and didn't report any crime taking place.
Psyfalcon
Apparently officer records were.. irregularly kept prior to the new chief. The officer involved in the shooting was there before the current chief.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...erguson-cops-were-caught-in-a-bloody-lie.html
Like i said in the beginning, I blame the media for very irresponsible reporting, I blame the irresponsible actions of those consuming that media, and the police have a much more militarized attitude than what I think a "police" force should have. It's obviously been building and there are things at work that most of us do not know about BUT,
I think they picked the wrong event to use at as a catalyst. Of course I don't know for sure because STILL, when I turn on the morning news they talk about what violence there was or wasn't at nightly protests and then go right back to the the storyline of "unarmed teenager" "shot to death" by a white police officer. They just keep driving home the picture they want everyone to hold in their head.
One has to read a lot between the lines on this one, and when doing that we're a prisoner to our own beliefs and bias. I think there was a robbery. I don't think it's a big issue the store owners didn't call it in. A customer did and was on the phone with the police with the owner as it was happening or immediately afterwards. I wasn't clear on that from another story I read. I think the fact the store was looted and the owners felt it necessary to distance themselves from everything is also telling of the kid of people around there. Snitches get stitches comes to mind.
what happened in the vehicle? it matters, what happened next? it matters. There are differing accounts. we do know the first eye witness that sparked everything was also apparently a party to a theft and has a history of lying to police, skipping out on court and filing false reports/giving false information concerning previous crimes.
I'd think if anything was going to spark an outrage and protest and legitimately so, it could have been in so many other worthy cases. I just have a feeling that when all the facts come out and everything has been gone over the picture is going to look much differently than the original painting.
I could be wrong though
Raegan said:
This one:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/loca...orian-johnson-michael-brown-robbery/14118769/
And, possibly, the owner didn't report because of this kind of reaction:
http://fox2now.com/2014/08/11/quikt...-fire-during-overnight-looting-near-ferguson/
release the hounds said:
No, I think you're right. I'm in the same camp: I think an event happened, we don't really know the details of what it was, and then the media threw buckets of gasoline on the fire.
In general, people are terrible witnesses. We tend to ascribe motive and intent to things other people do and to interpret events through our own filter and emotions. Not because we WANT to mislead anyone, but because that is how our brains work.
As an objective outsider, either a scenario in which the officer pulled Brown into the vehicle or a scenario in which Brown rushed the officer are completely plausible to me. But if I lived there, throw in my bias depending on my subjective experiences and the story of what actually happened can easily blur to fit what I expect it to be and think it was.
We do it all the time right here on these forums, judging situations we haven't seen, ascribing motive and intent to one another and to total strangers. It's not a stretch to understand it can happen to a much bigger degree in front of your eyes in an emotionally charged situation. Stuff like that happens SO fast in real life, it's hard to even know what you've seen sometimes. Then your mind fills in the gaps. Nobody's going to know what really happened, I think.
I'd think beating the **** out of a guy with the same name as someone they're looking for and then lying about it would have made a better catalyst for Ferguson. I'd think the woman with her 3 young kids pulled over in a Red Nissan at gun point while looking for a TAN TOYOTA would make a better case of profiling and acting irresponsibly as a law enforcement officer than this case with Brown in Ferguson.a
But it's easier to be irresponsible as a media outlet when you can use "unarmed teenager" even though he was a 6'4 270 lb plus 18 year old who obviously wasn't afraid to push people around. and say "shot him to death" while "giving up" and then let a family lawyer parade around talking about "execution" Gets more hits in the twitterverse I guess???
"[Dorian] Johnson, who was with Brown when he was shot, will not face any criminal charges in connection with the store robbery because "we have determined he committed no crime," [Ferguson Police Chief Thomas] Jackson said."
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/dueling-narratives-in-michael-brown-shooting/27614696
Video of Jackson giving a new conference 8/18,
1:38 "...determined [Dorian Johnson] committed no crime, and was not complicit in a crime."
1:47 Darren Wilson was not the officer responding to the 911 call from the store
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/loca...ef-officer-didnt-know-about-robbery/14124259/
Well and definitely know one really knows what happened....but from the witness accounts and knowing the general attitude of cops in that area I have (obviously) a pretty strong opinion on what seems the most likely to me.
Tahla9999
I really don't think the minds are going to change here. I respect the opinions and am not stooping to calling names like a child. But very much agree with snark. I don't care what color you are or what your beliefs are, there are rules. Follow them.
I can't understand thinking the robbery is a non issue. And if no one seemed worked up it's probably because it happens so often and they let it go. How not to get shot as a store owner. I think that's horribly sad
Okay, lets pretend that the story of the events did begin the way Darren Wilson claimed. That this guy tried to grab for his gun and fought him for it, but ended the way the eye witness accounts claimed it ended. That Michael Brown ran off and while he was running away, the police officer kept trying to shoot him down. Brown stop and turn with his hands up to stop this man from killing him, only for the officer to continue to shoot him down. Do you think that it is okay for an officer to do that?
See, here is the confusing thing about people who stand by Wilson's side. I can see people supporting Darren because they believe that it was all in self defense and Michael wasn't running away like reports said, but running to the officer, which would justified the self defense claim. And yet, I don't see that with a lot of these supporters. That even if he was running away, the officer was totally justified in shooting him down dead because he was a thug. That's it. Who cares if they surrender, who cares if they plead, shoot them down dead. They are no longer people with rights. Forget giving them a trial, just kill them. There is a whole heap of racial animosity mixed in to this mentality as well. The fund for Darren Wilson had to take down their comments section because the people who were donating were leaving comments about how oh so happy they were that he shot down a thug. I read one of the comments who even said he was only going to give him half the amount of money because he didn't shoot down his friend as well.
Regardless of what started the confrontation, everyone SHOULD be outrage about the possibility of a cop killing a person who was giving themselves up. The idea of a cop making that decision to execute this guy should be downright scary to anyone, I don't care who you are. What Michael Brown did or didn't do should not matter. If he was running away, if he was turning himself in, he should NOT have been shot down. If we go by the eye witness reports, the cop wanted him dead. He tried killing him as he ran and he succeeded when Brown gave himself up. No matter what started it, if that was the end result, than the cop needs to be punished and made an example of.
and if it comes out to Brown was giving himself up, yes there should be outrage. BUT, I think we're a long ways from being able to claim that, unless of course that is the conclusion you feel already.
I don't feel outrage for the "possibility" I'm concerned, I want more facts, I'd like to think I could have access to unfiltered and real information. I'm more outraged that I can't get at least that from the so called "media" than I am at a possibility. I'd have too much outrage all the time.
It's also possible the 6'4" 270lb plus man attacked and tried to get his gun. It's possible he just wanted to beat the **** out of him and run. It's possible he changed his mind and charged back to finish what he started.
If we're going to be outraged at possibilities, then shouldn't we also be outraged that a town was vandalized, rioters rioted, and looters looted and a good cop has a price on his head for giving a very large and imposing man intent to deal him harm, exactly what he asked for?
My logic doesn't tell me a much smaller cop tried pulling a guy like Brown into his car to intimidate him. I think it's much more likely Brown invited himself in, but then nobody really knows and I don't exactly trust the "key" witness.
I'm sorry, but IF it went down as Brown jumped him in his car, a guy twice as big, I'd like to think a cop could get his bearings when the guy is running away and think before reacting. But I can also see it as any action from then forward could be seen as "aggressive" short of falling on your face and putting your hands behind your back.
Once that altercation in the car happened, I consider that a "**** hit the fan" moment. I get less judgmental after that because after anything is possible and nobody knows how they'd react till they are there.
Tahla9999 said:
This, so much this. I realize not all of his supporters feel this way...some are rational about it and some are just police or family members of police themselves...but yeah, many are outright racist supporting him because of COURSE the black kid deserved it..he was black. Reading the comments people FREELY posted with their real names attached is very scary and yes, shows how far we still have to come.
Keep in mind I'm saying "if". If he did do it then yes, he needs to be punished no matter what occurred before the end result. Keep in mind there are other witness who claimed almost the exact same thing the key witness stated. When the news came to interview the residence, a women describe seeing Michael Brown running, than surrendering with his hands up, than shot down. Two other witness claim to see the altercation and thought it look like Michael was fighting back the officer. They also saw him running away and the officer shooting him dead when he turned around with his hands in the air. A guy twitted after seeing the event, claiming that the guy was running and was killed for what he felt was for "no reason."
While I don't see the logic in a police officer trying to pull someone in their car, I will keep my mind open. Even if it is illogical, doesn't mean it didn't happen that way. Like I said before, I don't care what started it, if it ended the way it was claimed, the police officer needs to be punished. An officer should not take matters into their own hands and kill someone just because they think they deserve it.
That exonerates Johnson, only. Are you denying the store clerk being manhandled by a person the same size, wearing the same outfit as Brown, within minutes of Wilson rolling up on the two? I am not saying Brown deserved to be killed for this, but I do say it goes to his mental state at seeing a police officer suddenly appear.
I just don't want a rush to judgement on either side. I want a full investigation, with as much factual evidence presented as possible. I don't want that officer railroaded to appease a segment of the population threatening violence if they don't get their way. I don't want the officer exonerated, just because he's a cop (the thin blue line). I would like to see those elected officials/politicians publicly censured for threatening more violence if they don't agree with the grand jury's decision.
Well and unfortunately people are not going to feel like its a fair trial considering the prosecuting attorney. He should've been voted out years ago really. While I am NOT saying he is going to be biased, his father was an officer killed in the line of duty so there is definitely worry about that factoring in. The whole thing is a mess....
I really hope some good comes from this. We NEED to incorporate the city and county together...we need to make all the little tiny police forces into one. We need to de-segregate our city. On the whole, its not that this is a racist city as much as its so segregated and people rarely travel into areas they deem not theirs if that makes sense. Most of the police force for these little municipalities come from very different worlds and they never get to know the actual community they are tasked with serving. The county has never recovered from white flight and many people still follow that trend. Then you have the problem of gentrification which is also happening in many areas.
There are many of us here TRYING to fix it, looking for solutions, looking for unity. But there are many others with their fingers in their ears and eyes screwed shut...as long as it doesnt directly seem to effect them they are complacent to let things go on as usual.
I grew up in University City. At the time I did not realize how unique my experience was. It is a very diverse area...we had multi racial couples, lesbian couples with children, gay couples, blended families, traditional families, hippies, yuppies, catholics, orthodox jews, atheists, etc all on my block alone lol. It was normal to me and my home...and wonderful. I had no idea that my little slice of life was sadly not the norm. My dads family all lived in north county which is still more diverse than other areas but definitely a bit more run down in general. So when I grew up, moved into the city...wasnt too much different. Then I started working in and eventually moved to south county. It is SO drastically different. People are racist so much more than I could believe. And its not even really deep seated racism as much as they have never been challenged on it nor even interacted with other cultures or neighborhoods, or lifestyles etc and so are confused by it and feel its "different" and not equal...or not the same and feel removed from the connections we all share as humans.
Sorry, I got rambly and most of you have probably already checked out of this post. But its a very real and tragic issue here. I hate it
Some background for any who may be interested
http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...l?Post+generic=?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
Clicker Cult Coordinator
This is so incredibly true and really gets right to the heart of a lot of things going on here - and in other places too, if people bothered to open their eyes.
Yes, remember when Zimmerman went to jail just because people wanted to appease a certain segment of the population who threaten World War 3 if that didn't happen! Imagine if he was acquitted, we would have had a complete disaster on our hands!
noludoru said:
I would propose marriage to you right now if there weren't about six other chaz ladies who'd jump me over it. :rofl1:
This thread just got interesting


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After such conversion the new entity came into existence and now, the profits and liability is divided amongst the director of the company i.e. two in case of private company and 5 in case of public company. Now every act is done by board of directors instead of Individual.


The Bureau of Land Management Kingman Regional Office plans to build a new 40- to 50-acre wild horse and burro facility.
"It will be a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art facility," BLM spokesman Bob Hall said.
"We will build it from the ground up."
The facility will have turnout pastures, corrals, loading shoots, a hay barn, bleachers with sun shade and an administration building.
Construction will begin by the end of this year and take about six to seven months to complete, wild horse and burro specialist Scott Elefritz said.
The new facility will support the 1971 federal Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which protects wild horses and burros and controls their number.
Before the act was passed, wild burros were routinely captured and sold for slaughter or shot where found, according to information from the BLM.
As many as 240 wild mustangs and burros at a time are held for adoption at the current wild horse and burro facility on state Route 66 east of Kingman, the only BLM facility in Arizona.
Hall said the new facility, which will be built five miles south of Kingman in the McConnico Road area, will accommodate up to 500 animals.
It has not yet been determined whether the current facility will stay open.
"Our vision is that the new facility will draw people to Kingman," Hall said.
"Part of the design phase is how to integrate environmental education and interpretation into the facility.
We want to invite groups of school children and tourists."
Mustangs and burros represent the spirit of the old West, but their habitat is shrinking, and many are in need of a new home.
When herds become more then the ecosystem of an area can sustain, the BLM gathers the excess animals for adoption.
Those that roam public land in Arizona, southern Nevada and southwestern California are gathered and held at the Kingman BLM facility during the adoption process.
Before capture, the wild burros and horses have little contact with humans.
However, with kindness, patience and gentleness they will bond with their adopters and can be trained for a variety of uses, BLM officials said.
Some 60 to 80 mustangs roam through the Cerbat Mountains north of Kingman, but the BLM does not actively manage the herd.
There also are large numbers of wild burros in the Black Mountains surrounding Golden Valley.
When the burro population increases to a level that the Black Mountain ecosystem cannot support, the animals are removed, Hall said.
More than 800 burros have been removed and placed in the adoption program.
The BLM wranglers use the adopter's halter and lead rope to load animals into acceptable trailers for transport to new homes.
Each needs a 400-square-foot or larger corral made of sturdy material, along with adequate food and water.
The horses and burros remain BLM property for at least one year.
Adopters may then apply for title to the animal.
The BLM will hold its next satellite-adoption event in Kingman during the Mohave County Fair in September, when bidding for animals starts at $125 and goes up $5 a bid.
However, anyone can apply to adopt an animal from the BLM Kingman Regional Wild Horse and Burro Facility at any time.
Through February Jack (male) burros are available for $25.
However, in March the fee will return to the standard $125.
Mares, Jennies (female burros) and geldings also are available for $125.
The Adopt-A-Buddy Program allows someone to purchase a second animal for an additional $25.
To set up an appointment to visit the BLM corral on Route 66 where the animals are held, call 692-5584.
Adoptions can also be made on the BLM Web site www.az.blm.gov.


text:
Q: How to apply async pipe on observable in ng-container conditionally if some boolean is true in angular I have an http request that I subscribe to using angular's async pipe. The logic i need is that the async pipe to be added to the ng-container tag only if a certain condition is true. I tried the following code :
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is there any way to add the async pipe to ng-container conditionally in angular?
looking forward for some insights on the best way to tackle this.

A: You can't conditionally bind to the async pipe using template syntax, it just doesn't support it. What you can do is subscribe to this.tableObservable conditionally in your component's logic, e.g:
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     next: (data) => {
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}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Remarks Welcoming Thailand Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prayut Chan-o-cha to the Pentagon
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for taking the time to visit the Pentagon today. It is especially good to have you here because Thailand is our oldest friend and Ally in the Indo-Pacific. For decades, our Alliance has bolstered security in this critical region. So I am delighted to announce today that I'll be making my first visit to Thailand as Secretary of Defense next month. This will be my fourth trip as Secretary of Defense to the Indo-Pacific, and Mr. Prime Minister, I look forward to seeing you again in just a few weeks.
Now the close cooperation between our countries reflects a friendship that stretches back more than 200 years. We faced challenges together as Allies, including the pandemic, where we've cooperated on response efforts and medical research. We also deeply appreciate your continued support for our military operations and exercises. We're grateful for the access that Thailand has provided to Utapao Naval Airfield and other key sites, which has supported critical operations in the region. And despite the pandemic, Exercise Cobra Gold went forward successfully this year. And we're planning to be back to full scale in 2023.
Today I look forward to discussing our access and presence initiatives and further opportunities for joint training and other issues of common concern, including border security. And we will talk about ways to strengthen our Alliance for years to come.
Mr. Prime Minister, it is indeed a pleasure to have you here today and I look forward to our great conversation.
THAI MINISTER OF DEFENCE PRAYUT CHAN-O-CHA: Thank you.
(Through translator): I am very pleased to meet with you today. I think that it is an opportunity for me and for my delegation to pay an official visit. I thank you for the very warm welcome you have extended to us. And I'm pleased to be able to build on our call on the 23rd of February last year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the U.S. government and President Biden for providing COVID-19 vaccines and other key medical equipment which was of great benefit to our country. This reflects the close cooperation between Thailand and the United States and extending back over 189 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cost the lives of millions of people across the globe. Pandemics are thus a new form of threats that all nations must confront. I wish to commend the United States for its important role in combating COVID-19 with your advanced medical technology and leading vaccine producers. You have helped to provide vaccines for several countries across the world. And this is an area in which the Thai and U.S. military can cooperate as well to further protect our society and strengthen our infrastructure in this regard.
Thailand and the United States have long enjoyed close relations with our military and defense cooperation as a central pillar in those relations. Thailand is the United States' oldest Ally in the region and you have elevated Thailand to major non-NATO Allied status.
I am pleased with the success of the Seventh Defense Strategic Talks between our Ministry of Defence and the 2+2 Strategic Dialogue which were held from 9-10 May earlier this week. I trust that both sides will ensure that the results from these talks will be used to build upon our cooperation to ensure mutually beneficial results. I commend the continued elevation and development of our alliance even further, especially the signing the Joint Vision Statement 2020 for the Thai-U.S. Defense Alliance.
So with regard to military modernization and professionalization, we take account of the current complex security environment. I would like to inform you that the Ministry of Defence must therefore develop and elevate the capacities of our armed forces to repair our readiness to confront all types of threats to national security with an aim to develop a modern, agile and appropriately structured military in line with international standards.
So the standards of the Thai military are actually derived from the U.S. military. And this has been the case for more than 100 years. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the United States for supporting us, our military hardware and equipment, which has played an important role in ensuring our military readiness and modernization of our armed forces.
The United States has also provided us with support for training on various curricula. And the knowledge and experience from these courses is vital in developing our armed forces and in promoting its professionalization.
With regard to joint training and military education, I'm pleased to note that despite the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, training, education and other cooperation between our defense ministries have continued unabated. This includes the Cobra Gold Joint Exercises and other key exercises between different branches of our militaries, as well as force maintenance, military hardware support, and the expansion of cooperation into other areas.
I wish to thank the United States government for placing importance on advancing cooperation between our Ministry of Defence and the Department of Defense as reflected by the close military cooperation, especially in terms of the International Military Education and Training, or IMET program, which plays an important role in promoting networking between our two armed forces.
We take note of the new security threats that both our countries and other countries around the world are confronting at the moment. And as such, the Ministry of Defence has set a target to develop our capabilities in order to be ready to confront key new threats, namely cybersecurity and space threats where we hope to be able to expand our cooperation with the United States in these areas. And I know that we have also initiated some cooperation already in preparation for related conferences and activities.
So with regard to cooperation in the defense industry, our Minister of Defence wishes to study the United States' successful experiences in terms of research and development in the defense industry, including avenues in taking concepts from research to production as well as in setting standards in order to ensure that our defense equipment produced in Thailand is accepted by the international community.
And as close Allies for almost 200 years, Thailand invites the United States and its relevant agencies to consider investing in the Eastern Economic Corridor, or EEC, especially in the defense industry. The Thai government has said this is one of our target industries, and we wish to jointly invest with other countries in order to promote technology transfer and advance Thailand towards self-sufficiency in this area. We also hope that Thailand could be a part of the supply chain in -- for the defense industry.
In addition, the Ministry of Defence of Thailand will organize the 2022 Defense and Security Conference in September, which will be an opportunity to exchange knowledge on technology and defense equipment. And I hope that the U.S. will attend and support us in this conference once again.
Thank you, back to you, please.
Austin Defense Secretary partnerships Indo-Pacific
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
require 'find'
require 'RMagick'
require 'json'
require 'fileutils'

@quiet       = ARGV.delete('-q')
@make_backup = ARGV.delete('-b')
@exif_tag    = ARGV.delete('-e')
path         = ARGV[0]
@quality     = ARGV[1]

if File.directory?(path)
  totalsavings = 0
  File.open("images_processed.json", "a+") { |f| f << "{ \"image_results\" : [ " }
  @multi = true
else
end

def already_done?(file)
    simg = Magick::Image::read(file).first
    puts "checking for EXIF value"
    simg.properties.has_value?("smushkid")
end

def process_file(file)
    simg = Magick::Image::read(file).first
    @source_image = {
             'format' => simg.format,
             'filesize' => simg.filesize,
             'geometry_cols' => simg.columns,
             'geometry_rows' => simg.rows,
             'resolution_x' =>  simg.x_resolution.to_i,
             'resolution_y' => simg.y_resolution.to_i,
             'depth' =>  simg.depth,
             'colors' => simg.number_colors,
             'ppi' => simg.units
    }
    simg.strip!
    simg.quantize 32
    simg.write(@target_file) do
        self.quality = @quality.to_i
    end
    timg = Magick::Image::read(@target_file).first
    @target_image = {
             'format' => timg.format,
             'filesize' => timg.filesize,
             'geometry_cols' => timg.columns,
             'geometry_rows' => timg.rows,
             'resolution_x' =>  timg.x_resolution.to_i,
             'resolution_y' => timg.y_resolution.to_i,
             'depth' =>  timg.depth,
             'colors' => timg.number_colors,
             'ppi' => timg.units
    }
    @savings =  @source_image['filesize'] - @target_image['filesize']
    @image_results = { "filename" => file, "savings" => @savings, "before" => @source_image, "after" => @target_image }
    puts "savings: " + @savings.to_s unless @quiet
    if @savings < 0
      @savings = 0
      puts "no space savings acheived deleting #{@target_file}" unless @quiet
      puts "tagging original file" unless @quiet
      @quoted_filename = "\"#{file}\""
      %x(/usr/local/bin/jhead -cl \"smushkid\" #{@quoted_filename}) if @exif_tag
      File.delete(@target_file)
    else
        if @make_backup
          puts "space savings! replacing with: #{simg} and making backup or original: #{@backup_file}" unless @quiet
          puts "tagging target file" unless @quiet
          %x(/usr/local/bin/jhead -cl \"smushkid\" #{@quoted_filename}) if @exif_tag
          puts "move #{@target_file} to #{file}" unless @quiet
          FileUtils.cp file, @backup_file
          File.rename @target_file, file
          File.open("images_processed.json", "a+") { |f| f << @image_results.to_json + ','}
        else
          puts "space savings! replacing with #{simg}" unless @quiet
          puts "tagging target file" unless @quiet
          %x(/usr/local/bin/jhead -cl \"smushkid\" #{@quoted_filename}) if @exif_tag
          puts "move #{@target_file} to #{file}" unless @quiet
          File.rename @target_file, file
          File.open("images_processed.json", "a+") { |f| f << @image_results.to_json + ','}
        end
    end
end

Find.find(path) do |file|
  @target_file = File.dirname(file) + "/" + "smaller-" + File.basename(file)
  @quoted_filename = "\"#{@target_file}\""
  @backup_file = File.dirname(file) + "/" + "original-" + File.basename(file)
  puts "processing #{file}" unless @quiet
  if @multi
      pattern1 = "**" "/" "*.jpg"
      pattern2 = "**" "/" "*.jpeg"
      if File.fnmatch(pattern1, file, File::FNM_CASEFOLD) || File.fnmatch(pattern2, file, File::FNM_CASEFOLD)
          if already_done?(file)
              puts "EXIF signature detected, skipping." unless @quiet
          else
              puts "EXIF data not found attempting compression..." unless @quiet
              process_file(file)
          end
        File.open("images_processed_list.txt", "a+") { |f| f << file + "\n"}
      else
          puts "no file match" unless @quiet
      end
  else
      pattern1 = '*.jpg'
      pattern2 = '*.jpeg'
      if File.fnmatch(pattern1, file, File::FNM_CASEFOLD) || File.fnmatch(pattern2, file, File::FNM_CASEFOLD)
          if already_done?(file)
              puts "EXIF signature detected, skipping." unless @quiet
          else
              puts "EXIF data not found attempting compression..." unless @quiet
              process_file(file)
          end
      puts @image_results.to_json
      else
          puts "no file match" unless @quiet
      end
  end
  totalsavings = totalsavings.to_i + @savings.to_i
  puts "Total savings (in bytes): " + totalsavings.to_s unless @quiet
end
File.open("images_processed.json", "a+") { |f| f << "]}" } if File.directory?(path)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Pelosi's Reign as Speaker: One Long Power Trip
By CWALAC StaffNovember 2, 2010National Sovereignty
In January 2007, Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Shortly after, in 2008, she released a book called "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters." The title of her book is fitting, as her reign as speaker has been all about attaining exactly that – power.
Many see Mrs. Pelosi as a far-left figure who is not afraid to use other peoples' money to finance her political goals. The organization Judicial Watch is, as we speak, still investigating why she racked up millions of dollars in military travel expenses, shuttling herself and her family members – including her grown children – back and forth between San Francisco and Washington, D.C. There are questions as to why she commandeered large military jets for transportation, while previous speakers traveled in a less costly manner.
Since she took possession of the House gavel, Pelosi has earned the reputation of a speaker who doesn't think twice about forcing her party members to "walk the plank" and take votes that could, and in many cases will, cost them their House seats.
In the first term of the Obama administration, Pelosi oversaw passage of a slew of unpopular bills in the House that the American public rejected repeatedly in the polls. Many Americans, in fact, joined the Tea Party (which Pelosi called "an Astroturf campaign") in response to the power grab of Washington, of the perceived refusal of politicians to listen to their constituents, and of efforts by leaders like Pelosi to spend their tax money on measures that they did not want.
Such bills include:
The incredibly unpopular "cap-and-trade" bill, dubbed "cap-and-tax" by taxpayers because the legislation would cause massive hikes in energy costs if passed by both chambers of Congress The $787 billion so-called "stimulus package" that bailed out the auto industry and other entities of the government's choosing The increasingly unpopular ObamaCare bill, which a majority of Americans continue to oppose and want to repeal The Defense Authorization bill that, instead of focusing on our troops, included the liberal wish list of allowing abortions to be performed on military installations domestically and internationally and repealing the 1993 law prohibiting homosexuals from serving openly in the military
Many Americans, even those who had never been politically active before 2010, are furious at Mrs. Pelosi for her dismissal of their views, her engagement in shady "back room deals" to garner votes for her agenda, and her arrogant attitude towards spending their hard-earned money.


text:
Web Application Development Mobile Application Development API Integration & Development Blockchain Development Internet of Things (IoT) Quality Assurance (QA) UI/UX Designing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Progressive Web App
Node js Angular Java Spring Grails IoT ionic React Native Blockchain
Electron JS Flutter Microservices PHP Kotlin Laravel Sails JS Javascript Embedded Systems
Python Machine Learning ReactJS android iOS Swift Express JS Django Wordpress
FinTech Insurance Healthcare Sports & Leisure Banking & Finance Media & Entertainment Survey & Audit Internet of things Travel & Transport Business Automation & Productivity
Articles Blogs Case Studies
How is Technology transforming the Media and Entertainment Industry?
Media and entertainment industries are the earliest adopters of digital advancements. Every business domain understands the need for integrating the physical and digital ends. Together with innovative technology advancements, the media and entertainment industry are developing effectively. The latest news and information can be broadcast instantly to any edge of the globe. The continuous changes in technology are affecting the value of content and dispersion.
Instead of creating an impression about the brands, the media organizations are now majorly focusing on building directly strong relationships with consumers. Nowadays, advertisers demand more relevance, accountability, and interactivity. Trending strategies fuses the content and applications together. This gives rise to both digital and traditional media values. Personalization and optimizing the conversions is the new trend in the media and entertainment industries. It is used for improving the user experiences and is served as an extension of a brand's identity and capability of operating the business.
Some measures:
The expected reach of entertainment and media market is worth 2.5 trillion US dollars by 2021. Services like On-demand video streaming, content streaming, advertising, streaming, solutions, etc will continue to create a benchmark in a fast-paced industry that changes constantly.
Mobile advertising will account for 80% of the internet advertising revenue with total revenue predicted around 117 billion.
Video games revenue will reach $30 billion by 2021, more than double the 2012 revenue of $15 billion.
Consumer content is expected to grow from 422 million in 2016 to 6 billion in 2021.
Trends across the Media and Entertainment Industries:
Digital Music Downloads: We have all gone through the downloading era of digital media. We used to download media on our smartphones and it gets stored on a micro memory chip. But, things have taken a U-turn with the introduction of Streaming Technology. It is now possible to access and listen to millions of songs by simply paying the price of a single album download. People are now shifting to apps and about 200 million subscribers (or more) are taking the leverage of musical apps. Musical industries are highly benefited with such services as they are earning heavily from the streaming technology.
Video Streaming: Video Streaming is trending vastly in the media and the entertainment industry. the revenue generated by video streaming is predicted to get tripled by 2021. Smart devices play a vital role in streaming video technology. It is an immensely growing digital parameter that is opening doors for many diverse industries and artists as well.
Internet Advertising: It is a set of tools for effectively conveying the promotional messages of brands to the people across the globe via the internet considered as the best "global marketing platform". Advertising online is on the peak by the industries as it is quite affordable to any budget, easily drive more traffic to the website, allows targeting the accurate audience, and provides easy global coverage.
Virtual Reality Revolution: Virtual reality is the latest trend in the entertainment industry as it is embossing its advantages into the mainstream because of its "immersive nature". The pivotal segments of the entertainment industry like music, theaters, location-based environment and gaming have started undertaking the benefits of virtual reality.
Emerging Technologies Reshaping the Entertainment & Media Industries:
The integration of AI solutions in media and entertainment industries have simplified diverse segments of content creation. By this, AI assists in benefits to the entertainers and content creators by delivering high-quality content and successful marketing tools. Moreover, AI can single-handedly manage feature films with a gripping plot, amazing background score, and incredible cinematography. For example, Wedit (Web-based video Editor Integrated with VSN Explorer), with this tool users, can create video clips from an automatic video segment search and merge them in a solo clip ready for broadcast.
Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR and VR)
The future of VR and AR is going to be highly impactful in the media and entertainment world. These have modified the habitual pattern of consuming content and have leveraged us with an entirely new and better immersive yet personalized experience. Some examples:
PokemonGo- This app perfectly depicts the Augmented Reality functionality. The game's locations, frequencies, and manifestations are all done via algorithms.
Snapchat- This is another highly recommended example of AR, it offers quirky filters that include complicated machine learning algorithms. This app enables facial recognition by detecting a face, analysis the facial features and designs a 3D structure accordingly. This structure has some specific coordinates that stay on your face and also moves along.
Play Disney Parks- This app was designed for the time pass of the customers who use to wait in long queues at the Disney theme parks. Disney used to track the location of the players in real-time via BlueTooth beacons and allows the players to look for the markers in their location.
Blockchain was initially created for the use in Financial Services but later, it proved to be beneficial to other industries as well. For the Media & Entertainment industry, blockchain is making it easier for artists and entertainers to receive payments while improvising the way consumers access media. Mostly media consumers are habitual of having free access to a broad diversity of content. Many such users do not pay subscription fees for "premium" content behind paywalls. Moreover, various segments of the media industry have suffered from digitization because of the copied content that can be easily distributed. For example Singular DTV, Creativechain, Musicoin, etc. Some of the Blockchain solutions implemented in the media and entertainment industry are:
Micropayments for Content- Monetizing the content for both the creators and curators. Blockchain's Micropayments architecture follows a pay per usage method from the users who read a single article or watch a single season of a television show. Blockchain technology has comprehensive records of its information that offers precise tracking of copyrighted content. The micropayment model is entirely automated and cost-effective.
Elimination of Content Aggregation- Blockchain technology has a decentralized structure that allows the content developers to directly present their work to the users, avoiding the traditional distribution methods. It also helps in avoiding the unnecessary chargers caused by third parties. This helps in maintaining a genuine relationship between the artist and the consumer.
Smart Contracts- Blockchain has "Smart Contracts" that are connected to a given segment of music. This connection enables accuracy, speed, and certainty to the process by implementing the contracts among the suitable parties. This offers more precision in tracking the usage of a particle song, speedy payments and brings clarity over the distribution of revenue generated among the artists and other stakeholders. In short, Smart contracts allows the measure of how the artists would be compensated for the song or music.
AI and chatbots have a huge potential in the media and entertainment industry. Chatbots assists the consumers in getting the exact knowledge of the information asked by them, having global broadcasting, easier browsing, effective audience engagement, custom alerts, and content control. It delivers customized content, better media opportunities, and effective communication on any platform. Some Chatbots examples in the media & entertainment industry are Weather bot, the gaming bot, Alexa and Google Home, the slack bots, etc.
Media and Entertainment industry has been largely driven by increasing digitization and higher internet usage over the last decade. Digital media has great potential to improve its capabilities and content delivery in order to entertain people. Trending web and mobile-based platforms are being conceived by startups and conventional media companies to serve digital content to the masses.
Jellyfish Technologies is a prominent media and entertainment software development company offering media and entertainment software development services to startups and media companies across the globe. We have a great understanding of the latest technological trends, user expectations and hold experience in delivering reliable media and entertainment products. Scope Music & Music Just Music (MJM) are media and entertainment domain applications developed by Jellyfish Technologies. We customize our services according to the specific needs of our clients. For further consultation, contact our experts.
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THE EPO's management may seem scary. It has already banned IP Kat before. We spent a lot of time defending that site by writing about the ban and alerting journalists about it, creating backlash that might have played a role in reversal of the ban (we don't know for sure, we can only hypothesise). The more people know about the EPO, the more likely justice and lawfulness are to be reached/restored.
We were rather reluctant to publish this post as we're not (and never were) wishing to nitpick on the site which helps EPO employees. Yes, we have our occasional criticisms. For instance, it is hosted on a platform (E-mail and blog) where Google spying is a lot more likely than in other sites and yet most comments and a lot of material go there (because anyone can comment there anonymously).
Yesterday I left a comment at IP Kat and it vanished. This happens to other people too, but they don't have a blog in which to write about it. Some tell me about this. I honestly don't know what goes on in IP Kat's mind/s and what happens behind the scenes, but maybe someone is afraid to publish anything that might anger the EPO's management after that notorious, short-lived ban. I am tempted to think that IP Kat was left with cold feet after that ban, but they had done this even beforehand, as people told me about that. If IP Kat is challenging or limiting the free speech of people wishing to comment, then it serves the EPO's agenda to a lesser degree, by limiting the visibility of particular opinions or information. I already spoke to IP Kat about it several months ago (amicably, not in a confrontational fashion) and clearly not much has changed. I spoke about it before, urging them not to censor comments, but it is still happening.
I generally do not comment on blog posts because of impersonators (as of 7 years ago), but yesterday I decided I should make the exception because I was bothered to see an unfair comment about SUEPO's head. I've been an activist for free speech and transparency — for quite a few years now as a matter of fact — and I believe in truth through rebuttal rather than outright removal/censorship. I left a comment in an effort to correct the record.
We don't really care about what happened to Mrs Hardon here or what reason there was for nobbling the board, as Merpel says.
The Office can't afford to leave these offenses unanswered.
To nobble: "to cause or force (someone) to do something that you want by offering money, making threats, etc". Try to do that to a court in your own country and see what happens.
Actually, we do – because if the reason she was dismissed is that she contacted the accused member of the BoA, and at the end the President is unable to show that he did anything wrong, that the accuses against her should fall too and she should be reinstated.
This comment did appear, but not my second comment, which spoke about the 'quality' of the so-called 'evidence'. It was a polite comment and there is pretty much no justification for deleting it. I don't have a local copy of that comment because I typed it on a cycling machine running Android, which basically means a public terminal with no detachable media.
The potential "charge sheet" seems to be expanding – gradually but inexorably.
I asked Merpel for a copy of my comment (which they refuse to approve apparently), but have not heard back yet. My guess is, they later might claim that they have lost it or suddenly found it, in order to save face (that's a common routine).
The IPKat comments moderation policy has been in place for many years, and unchanged in substance since long before Merpel started writing about the events at the EPO.
Blogger does not store such comments so I regret that we are unable to email the content to you.
With respect, I'm at a loss for words. That is very regrettable. We discussed this matter only a few months back. I thought I would get some assurances that people's free expression would not be impeded based on (in my opinion) what was often arbitrary if not agenda-motivated. People are rightly passionate about the subject and they need a forum in which they can be heard. The subject of legal liability for comments on one's article/s is still sort of 'in the air' in the US and I believe in the UK as well. So I doubt it's about legal safety; maybe it's fear of a ban (the EPO recently banned IP Kat for a day) or spoiling of one's business/professional ties with the EPO (some who write for IP Kat do have such ties).
As I recall it, it was argued that not deletion but moderation without publication was at stake. Now I learn that unwanted comments are basically just being permanently deleted, without as much as an E-mail trail/record (like notification of a new comment with its contents). It's like I just wrote my comment to myself.
It is also worth mentioning that the evidence presented about the judge might not tell the whole story. The EPO's management already got caught lying about the disciplinary committee (e.g. its recommendations regarding dismissal and other punishments for staff representatives), so the alleged access to E-mail by means of screenshots isn't to be taken at face value. It is possible that these were acquired by means of parallel construction (look at the method ), whereby initial pointer/intelligence is obtained though other means (e.g. spy agencies or Google) and it then enables the management to set up surveillance like cameras or keyloggers at the 'right place', in order to help capture something and never mention where the initial pointer came from as it may have been illegally-obtained. This is common in the FBI and US DoJ, and it is the subject of very heated debate in the United States to this date. I should probably mention it's widely documented that CRG, which works with the IU, employs/contracts former Statsi staff (from Desa in Germany) and CRG itself is close to the British government.
It is sad that pointing out such a thing is unsayable. I would like to know who deleted my comment and why. If this was not you, then it's possible that someone with very scarce knowledge of internal EPO affairs just took the initiative to purge comments, which I think is not responsible. How often does this happen to other people who have no facilities to complain (and must remain anonymous for their own protection)? I am an ardent proponent of free speech and any policy which deems the above unsuitable for publication speaks rather negatively about the platform or the site, in my humble opinion. Moreover, in this case, people's justice and careers are at stake. To eliminate such views can, in some loose kind of way, be seen an obstructing justice.
With great respect and admiration for your good reporting, I would like to see my feedback taken seriously and for the importance of free speech to be honoured, no matter what risks this may entail. The EPO is an aggressive organisation (at the top) and being too soft makes us vulnerable to its despicable methods. 'Sanitising' what may be viewed as 'strong' views (I don't believe the above is even strong) helps it maintain lawlessness at the EPO.
You may see it as censorship but the more likely explanation is that either the comment did not get past the android machine or has been overlooked rather than censored. Have you tried their complaint procedure?
I got the screen acknowledging that the comment had been registered and was awaiting moderation. I am pretty familiar with how those things work (it's what I do for a living), so I cannot accept the claim that it just vanished. There was no URL or 'strong' word in the comment, so no reason it should be flagged as potential spam, either.
I very much doubt it was overlooked as only half a dozen comments got posted that day (blog-wide) and a comment later than mine got approved.
When I publish the comment that IP Kat censored people will see just how innocent a comment they deem unpublishable. I can only imagine how many (and of what nature) other comments disappear like this.
People have told me about this for a while. Maybe it's time to look deeper into this matter.


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Injection-molded polycarbonate shields in gradient finishes. Plated snaps feature the Biltwell anvil logo. Fits stock 3-snap visor configuration on most helmets. Accept no substitutes: make sure the next bubble shield you own features the "Biltwell" script logo. UV Tested: Biltwell Bubble Shields are UV rated at UV +50 with over 91% UVA block and over 99% UVB block. Shields were evaluated for UV resistance as per test method AATCC 183.
Injection-molded polycarbonate shields in gradient finishes. Plated snaps feature the Biltwell anvil logo. Fits stock 3-snap visor configuration on most helmets. Accept no substitutes: make sure the next bubble shield you own features the "Biltwell" script logo. UV Tested: Biltwell Bubble Shields are UV rated at UV +50 with over 91% UVA block and over 99% UVB block. Shields were evaluated for UV resistance as per test method AATCC 183.


text:
Football transfer rumours: Aubameyang to Juventus? Tielemans to Arsenal?
Barry Glendenning
Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock
Like news of illegal Downing Street "work events" held during lockdown, the transfer rumours keep coming thick and fast and much like Thursday, Manchester United figure prominently in Friday's tell-all and are being linked with all manner of comings and goings.
Disaffected midfielder Donny van de Beek is waiting impatiently in the departures lounge, having been offered to Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund, while Paul Pogba continues to be linked with Paris Saint-Germain, whose manager Mauricio Pochettino could still go the other way. United have identified Napoli's Spanish midfielder Fabián Ruiz as a potential replacement for Pogba, whose contract expires in June and future remains very much up in the air.
Related: Men's transfer window January 2022 – all deals from Europe's top five leagues
With their star turn Federico Chiesa out for the season after suffering an ACL injury in his side's win over Roma last weekend, Juventus are eyeing up replacements in the form of United's Anthony Martial or Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Already in the market for a new striker before Chiesa's unfortunate collision with Chris Smalling, Juve have been forced to into an urgent rethink as far as their January transfer plans are concerned.
Having successfully signed Chris Wood from Burnley, Newcastle remain interested in bringing Todd Cantwell to St James' Park from Norwich in a move that probably wouldn't be viewed as weakening another relegation rival considering how little time the playmaker has spent on the pitch this season. Cantwell, who has also been linked with Leeds, is expected to be in Norwich's squad for Saturday's game against Everton after recovering from illness.
With their January trolley-dash continuing, Newcastle have also bid for Sevilla central defender Diego Carlos and have been warned they will have to pay the thick end of £40m to prise Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic away from Fiorentina.
Currently "winning" the January window after signing Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, Aston Villa hope to consolidate by luring Yves Bissouma away from Brighton. Valued at £50m and also on the radar of Manchester United and Liverpool, the Mali midfielder is at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and has 18 months left on his contract with Brighton. However, his employers have hinted they might be tempted to cash in if they get a decent offer. "There are lots of ifs and buts," said Graham Potter upon being asked about Bissouma's future. "I'm confident. Yves is enjoying his football here but as I have said with the transfer window you never know."
Following their impressive performance against Liverpool, Arsenal are giving the glad eye to Youri Tielemans and Gini Wijnaldum. In the final 18 months of his contract, Tielemans is unlikely to leave Leicester this month but Brendan Rodgers has revealed a summer exit could be on the cards. "For players it's about ambition, the challenge and sometimes it's about a different environment," he said. "We have seen it before many times."
In more heartwarming news for Leicester fans, their club is hell bent on making Ademola Lookman's loan move from RB Leipzig permanent.
LeBron James scores 25 points as Lakers snap losing streak against Jazz
Australian Open: Medvedev embracing the pressure but says Nadal remains the favourite
Australian Open players rush to aid ball girl after she collapses at side of court
The inquiry into Downing Street parties would not 'be worth the paper it is written on' if Dominic Cummings is not questioned, Ian Blackford has said.
Arsenal could regret north London derby postponement as Tottenham eye injury returns and new signings
Arsenal's statement confirming the postponement of yesterday's north London derby described the club as "disappointed" to relay the news to fans. Given they requested the delay and lobbied the Premier League to make it happen, "relieved" or "delighted" might have been more believable emotions to express at a decision which has provoked widespread consternation. For Arsenal, taking advantage of the Premier League rules was a no-brainer with just 12 senior players definitely available yesterday, but they may come to regret not playing Tottenham as planned.
Boris Johnson will clean up Downing Street drinking culture, says minister
Boris Johnson will clean up an "underlying culture" of drinking and rule-breaking in Downing Street in an attempt to salvage his premiership and win back the support of his party, the Conservative chairman has suggested.
planetrugby
Six Nations: French government excludes non-vaccinated players
A new law in France means that players who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to travel to play rugby in France in the Six Nations Championship.
FIFA The Best: Chelsea scoop trio of awards for Edouard Mendy, Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes
Edouard Mendy was named the best goalkeeper in the world at Fifa's awards ceremony on Monday night. The ceremony for The Best awards for 2021 saw Chelsea scoop three honours, including Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes as the coaches of the year. After backlash against his snub from the Ballon d'Or award longlist, Senegalese shot-stopper Mendy was named The Best Men's Goalkeeper, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma and Manuel Neuer in the vote.
Durham produces cream of English women's rugby talent, so why have Sharks only won nine games in four years?
It was during the five-hour coach journey from London to the north east last Sunday when DMP Durham Sharks, frustrated by the swirling negativity and unsolicited comments being hurled their way on social media, decided to fight back.
Pace duo on song as England take first session in final Ashes Test in Hobart
Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson did the damage.
I promise I will get help – Mark Selby reveals mental health struggles
Selby was beaten 6-1 in his Masters quarter-final on Friday.
Manchester City vs Chelsea result: Five things we learned as Kevin De Bruyne strike extends Premier League gap
Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea: The Belgian's sublime winner saw the Premier League champions increase their lead at the top of the table to 13 points
Andrew Strauss emerges as surprise candidate to be new ECB chairman
Sir Andrew Strauss has emerged as a surprise candidate to be the new chairman of the England & Wales Cricket gathering the support of senior figures within the governing body and county network.
Breaking News - Australia cancels Djokovic's visa again
Defending champion Novak Djokovic's Australian Open thrown into doubt as Australian govt cancels visa.
Chelsea won't change to suit Lukaku - Tuchel
The Blues boss refused to criticise Romelu Lukaku for his performance against Manchester City on Saturday
Man City 1-0 Chelsea: Kevin De Bruyne scores stunner as Pep Guardiola's side continue march to title
Man City moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table as Kevin De Bruyne gave them a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at the Etihad. The home side were on top throughout the match but struggled to find the breakthrough until De Bruyne's wonderful second-half strike finally gave his side the lead. It took City's winning run in the league to 12 matches and while Liverpool, who are 14 points behind, have two games in hand, Pep Guardiola's side continue to look unstoppable in their defence of the title.
Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone: Prediction, kick off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h - AFCON preview today
The Africa Cup of Nations group stage continues to ramp up this afternoon with Ivory Coast hoping to seal their spot in the last-16 against a buoyed Sierra Leone side. Among the tournament favourites, the Ivorians began their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea thanks to Max Gradel's early strike in their opening match. Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone is scheduled for a 4pm GMT kick-off on Sunday, January 16, 2022.
Luka Doncic - the NBA's 'young Picasso'
The Dallas Mavericks star recently became the youngest player in league history to record 40 triple-doubles.
'Brady will eat teams up!' - Bucs marvel at QB's playoffs performance
Tampa Bay completed a one-sided 31-15 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Wild Card Weekend.
Tottenham vs Arsenal postponed after Premier League accept Gunners' request to call off North London derby
Arsenal's game against Tottenham on Sunday has been postponed. The Premier League confirmed the decision to accept the Gunners' request to call off the match due to the impact of injuries, Covid-19 and the Africa Cup of Nations on their squad. League rules stipulate that matches must be played if 13 senior outfield players, including a goalkeeper, are available.
Cameron Norrie knocked out in Australian Open first round by Sebastian Korda
Hopes that Cameron Norrie would begin 2022 where he left off last season were dashed as the British No1 suffered a 6-3 6-0 6-4 defeat to Sebastian Korda in the opening round of the Australian Open. Korda, the son of former Australian Open champion Petr, is seen as one of the rising stars of the game but No12 seed Norrie never got into the match. At one point, the Briton lost nine consecutive games in a thoroughly one-sided contest.
Rory Burns' calamitous run-out was damning - but entirely predictable
Whatever you might think about Rory Burns' batting, whether it be his technique, his mentality or his attitude, you cannot but have felt a smidgen of pity as he trudged off the field, an opener run out for a duck for just the third time in Ashes history.


text:
Coke pulls plug on £70m Dasani
By Sean Poulter for the Daily Mail
Updated: 19:00 EST, 24 March 2004
COCA-COLA has abandoned the launch of its tap water drink Dasani in Britain in a move which could cost more than £70m.
The brand was withdrawn last week after the company admitted it was contaminated with illegal levels of a chemical linked to cancer.
Dasani had already been ridiculed after it emerged that it came from Thames Water supplies at Sidcup, Kent.
It never shook off comparisons with a plot in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses, set just nine miles away, where Delboy Trotter bottled mains water and sold it as Peckham Spring.
Consumer groups had also derided Coca-Cola for selling 500ml bottles for 95p when the same amount of tap water costs only 0.031635p and said the label of 'Pure, Still Water' was misleading.
The company said yesterday that after the drink's withdrawal over a 'quality issue' the timing of the launch was 'no longer considered optimal'.
Bosses have also decided to put off selling Dasani in France and Germany.
Ed Mayo, chief executive of the National Consumer Council, said: 'This is a success for consumer power. Let's toast their decision with tap water.'
Coca-Cola has already spent £7m on marketing and had hoped for sales of £30m a year in Britain, with similar success in Europe.
Daniel Rogers, deputy editor of Marketing Magazine, said the multinational was not 'sensitive enough' to the differences between Europe and the US, where Dasani sells well.


UA Base 3.0 is built to fight the bitter cold without weighing you down. Soft, brushed negative grid interior traps hot air, providing superior warmth. 4-way stretch fabrication allows greater mobility in any direction. Moisture Transport System wicks sweat away from the body.


Da Nang tour from Singapore will help you discover all famous places in Central Vietnam such as Marble Mountains, Ba Na hills in Da Nang, Hue ancient capital with special royal dishes, tombs, palaces of Nguyen family, Hoi An ancient town is known for tailoring, café, restaurants or ancient Hindu temples in My Son Holy Land. Once you have visited these places, they will touch your heart with special emotions.
The driver and tour guide will meet and pick up at Da Nang airport and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is on your own.
Leave Da Nang for Ba Na hills which is 1400m high above sea level. The place features 4 seasons in one day: in early morning (spring), at noon (summer), late afternoon (autumn), at night (winter). We get to the summit by cable car and you will be impressed by the charm of mountain, rainfall, the old forest. This fairyland with fabulous places waiting for you to discover such as French wine cellar, Le Jardin d'Amour flower garden, Wax showroom, Linh Ung Pagoda ect and Ba Na Hills is also known as the biggest indoor amusement zone in Vietnam. After that, you can enjoy lunch in a local restaurant and we transfer back to danang city.
After that, we come to visit Marble Mountains, 5 marble peaks named after five elements Water, Wood, Fire, Metal and Earth. The site is known for its holy sanctuaries, natural beautiful caves, Buddist temples, pagodas; there is a small cave leading you to the summit of the mountain with panaromic view of the beach and even the nicest cave Huyen Khong formerly used as hospital during the war.
Today, we continue the tour by a visit to My Son Holy land. It is Hindu temples which were built by Cham people from 7th to 13th centuries. My Son became an important centre for spirituality and worship of Champa people. My Son Holy Land is a large complex of religious monuments originally consisting of more than 70 structures; but the bombing in 1969 smashed around 50 temples and only 25 of which remain today. We will stroll around to visit groups of B,C,D,G and admire the talent and skillful hands of Cham ethnic people in building the temples without using mortar. Those temples built such a long time ago but they still stand strong with time. After that, we visit a rice – paper making factory on the way back. It is an enjoyable time for you to see how the locals make rice paper from rice powder. The owner will tell you some steps to make it then you can demonstrate by yourself. Enjoy rice paper with crispy cracker and having a talk with the host before we take you back to Hoian ancient town.
On arrival, we enjoy lunch in a local restaurant and after that we are going to stroll around Hoi An ancient city to discover Chinese temple, merchant houses, Japanesed bridge and enjoy traditional performance in theatre. When we finish, we come to enjoy basket boat ride inside water coconut jungle. We might try to catch some little crabs and enjoy the show of basket boat spinning performed by the local guy. You might take some pictures as well. Finally, we take you back to Da Nang.
Start the day by car drive to Hue ancient capital – World Heritage of Vietnam in 1993. Hue is very peaceful city with Citadel – Vietnam's former imperial capital and a recognized UNESCO World heritage site. With an area of 500 ha and a system of 3 circles of ramparts, this Citadel is far more elaborate than those constructed by previous empires. Then take boat trip on Perfume river to visit Thien Mu Pagoda (Pagoda of Heavenly Lady). Enjoy lunch in a local garden restaurant with finest foods of Hue. In the afternoon, the guide will take you to visit Khai Dinh tomb – one of the most typical architectural structures in Hue. Then we take you back to the hotel.
Day 5: Check out and transfer to Da Nang airport for departure flight.
Free time at your leisure and the car and driver will come to take you to da nang airport for flight back home. We will finish da nang package tour from singapore and we hope to see you in the future.
How interesting Da Nang Package Tour from Singapore is?
The tour is the mixture of culture, eco tour and history and nature. When visitors join in this tour, they have many chances to explore the beauty of Da Nang – the best city to live in Vietnam: Marble Mountains, Ba Na Hills, Linh Ung pagoda, Han market. Besides, Hoi An ancient town is so charming, lovely town by Thu Bon river, discovering Hoi An is an unique experience for every tourist. Joining basket boat and how the locals perform and spin around this round boat will be a huge fun for you. Moreover, Hue ancient capital well known for its historic palaces, temples and royal cuisine. All is combined in this trip will make a special holiday for Singaporeans.
Please contact us at premiumvietnamtravel@gmail.com or Whatsapp/Viber at 0084 979613777 for more details. We are grateful to assist you.
How to book Da Nang package tour from Singapore?


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Civil war stories from Sri Lanka contribute to French film Dheepan
Actor Antonythasan Jesuthasan, director Jacques Audiard, actors Claudine Vinasithamby and Kalieaswari Srinivasan from the film Dheepan in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, 21 May 2015 Reuters/Benoit Tessier
Text by: Rosslyn Hyams in Cannes
French director Jacques Audiard's film Dheepan, in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival, combines refugees from Sri Lanka's former civil war with gang warfare in French housing estates.
Dheepan opens in a refugee camp in Sri Lanka. It swings swiftly to a remote housing estate where the three main characters, a man, a woman and a child, who pretended to be a family to make their escape, are trying to start a new life. They find themselves in drug-dealer territory, and embroiled in a different type of war.
Each character has challenges to face as new arrivals. The nine-year-old Illayaal, whose school in Sri Lanka she says was "burned down by the government", doesn't want to go to a school where she can't speak the language. The man is trying to put his own rebel days behind him. They all seem to have lost family - siblings, spouse, children, parents - in the war which lasted more than four decades and ended in 2008.
The story could be at least partly that of actor/writer Antonythasan Jesuthasan, who plays the lead role of a man who had been enrolled as a child soldier at 16 by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. He successfully develops his character from washed-up soldier to determined refugee, to surrogate-father, to hero, lover and to contented dad.
Anthonythasan says he feels about 50 per cent of the character is actually him.
The woman, who desperately wants to get to her family in London, is played by Kalieaswari Srinivasan from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, across the strait from Sri Lanka.
She said that it was no big challenge for her to play a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka.
"We have a history with Sri Lanka, a connection," she said. "Tamil people in Chennai are concerned about what happens in Sri Lanka, so I had some knowledge. Also I am a theatre actress. You have to let the story, the character, the emotion, take over. "
Although you hear a lot of Tamil spoken in Dheepan, the Sri Lankan story is secondary. The film is French social realism about local, domestic issues, including the unhappy treatment of refugees thrown from one life-threatening situation to another.
Less punchy, literally, than some of Audiard's previous films, and definitely less maudlin than Of Rust and Bone which was at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, Dheepan is a deceivingly straightforward film. However, Audiard, along with co-writers Noé Debré and Thomas Bidegain who wrote Audiard's Cannes and Bafta award-winning Un Prophète in 2009, throw in some effective twists to the story.
Audiard steers clear of explaining the civil war in Sri Lanka and went as far as saying that he'd willingly kept a distance. The characters attempt to tuck away their pasts from themselves and from each other, and in so doing, build a new, happier life. The result is effective in that nobody, except the reconstituted family, gets too close.
Two distinct worlds in Chinese-language cinema meet in Cannes
A fresh crop of films from India dispels the Bollywood-only myth at Cannes
US film Carol wraps homosexual love in elegant style
Pension reforms Hong Kong-style a far cry from France's social unrest
French director of 'Amelie' signs up for project with Netflix


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Featured Posts, Features December 22, 2018December 26, 2018 Local 706
The Coen Brothers Create an American Western Anthology
by Christien Tinsley | Department Head Make-up
with Cydney Cornell | Department Head Hair
"Harry Melling plays an armless and legless Shakespearean actor whose caretaker, the Impresario, is played by Liam Neeson. A traveling carnival of two that ultimately ends unfairly for one of them."
"A story of a lonely prospector played by the singer/songwriter Tom Waits shooting in the town of Telluride, Colorado, with a humorous and bloody ending."
"A caravan on its way to the underworld … a singing cowboy. Hoards of Indians. Tim Blake Nelson. James Franco. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Brendan Gleeson. Zoe Kazan … etc."
Coen brothers characters
These were some of the descriptive words first used to express to me the latest Coen brothers film in spring of 2017. When asked by the long-standing producer of the Coen brothers films Bob Graf if I would be interested in department heading The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the answer was immediately … ummmm, yes.
Make-up artist Jean Black first introduced me to the brothers on the film No Country for Old Men. Jean normally department heads the Coen brothers' films but unfortunately was unavailable so I became the recipient of good fortune with the phone call. Cydney Cornell was called upon to be Department Head Hair and has previously worked with the brothers on a number of films. Having recently worked with Cydney on HBO's Olive Kitteridge, I was very excited to get started on what was sure to be a great adventure.
One great thing about a Coen brothers' movie is their appreciation for characters. They are certainly well awarded for developing characters on paper and then bringing them to life on film. Usually offbeat and slightly skewed from the norm, the brothers tend to have a magnificent ability to cast actors that are perfect for the roles they are playing and somehow already embody a persona that only sometimes needs to be enhanced by make-up and hair. As organized and relaxing as a Coen brothers' movie can be day-to-day, it is no exception to the normalcy of productions. They don't want actors in the chair too long. They don't want to fuss with make-up and hair on set too much and are commonly restricted with budgets. However, one of the great things about their films is that they tend to be very well planned in advance. Getting answers and time to test with the actors allows for the efficiency on set.
The brothers are big fans of having all the characters created, critiqued and approved prior to shooting. It is rare that you would ever get an actor on the day they first work and in this case, you have usually scoured hundreds of reference photos and have been given approval for a very specific direction of hair style, facial hair, prosthetics, etc. The brothers even go as far as having the entire show storyboarded prior to the first production meeting. Informing you as to angles and frame compositions so you know what you will be seeing and what will be expected of you. It is a shot list bible and is an essential tool.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs being six different stories was new for the brothers and similar to shooting that of an episodic television show. Being filmmakers each "episode" was more like a mini-film.
Our first story follows Buster Scruggs, played by Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). A hair trigger shooter who sings his way from one town to the next being challenged as the notorious gunslinger Buster Scruggs. When speaking with the brothers, Cydney and I discussed bringing that early Hollywood cowboy look to the Buster Scruggs' character in order to juxtapose his surroundings. Referencing the silent film cowboy Hoot Gibson, I wanted to give Buster a smooth finish to his skin that looked more theatrically using a pancake make-up. The supporting cast were all grounded in a more dirty dusty reality of the West. I accented Buster's features with a Jean Paul Gautier Eyeliner, penciled in eyebrows with Tricia Sawyer, dusted the face with Benefit Georgia Peach powder and the cheek blush was Ben Nye Pink Cake. The lips were given a healthy pink glossy coating of Make Up For Ever. Cydney gave Buster two hair looks. One was clean and neat as not to take any attention away from his ears poking out of his ten gallon hat. The second was a baroque, angelic style while he gets spirited away. As funny as it may seem, this second hair look was based on an authentic photo found from the period.
NEAR ALGODONES and THE GIRL WHO GOT RATTLED
There are two stories that incorporate two very distinct Native American tribes. The brothers were very specific about the fact that these two tribes not look alike. We set out to creative distinctive coloration differences while following traditional warrior markings. We had some latitude in design seeing how the brothers were set on playing slightly more fictional but with a level of authenticity. Our stories take place in two very different geographical locations separating the type of markings and types of Native American tribes. We had the Northern Native Americans (Sioux) and Southern Native Americans (Comanche) as our point of reference. Native Americans were known to use very bright and colorful pigments mixed with clays and oils to create their markings. However, from the palette of color choices, the brothers tend to steer clear of blue, green and white. This limited us to RED, BLACK and YELLOW OCHRE. We divided the north from the south by predominant colors to be used. Southern would be yellow and black with hints of red accent and the northern would be red and black with accents of yellow.
Trying to add another layer of separation to the look, we decided the southern tribe would be based with clays that would give a dry and somewhat cracked earth-bed look whereas the northern tribe would be more oil-based pigmentations that would have a bit of a sheen to them. We were able to get some of the stunt riders in advance and do tests, as well as design in advance the difference markings between the characters. These would become the blueprints for the additional make-up crew to follow on the day of shooting. For the southern "Yellow" tribe, I used a combination of water, Kaolin powder, Gafquat K-Y Jelly and dry pigments. For the northern "Red" tribe, I had many more options to choose from but was restricted in some ways by the speed in which we needed to apply the organic way in which we wanted to apply and ultimately, the staying power we were looking for. The solution came from four different products. The first two products were blended together. It was a mixture of Silicolor and Kryolan Aquacolors. This mixture adheres to the skin fantastically and without movement. We accented with MAC Micronized Airbrush Paints and topped it off by adding a silicone-based gloss from PTM. This hydrophobic gloss helped seal in the make-up, as well as add that long-lasting gloss quality without drying out or needing to re-apply. The real magic came with Cydney Cornell's beautiful handmade hair dresses. Cydney researched and planned every feather and hair used with meticulous detail. Ultimately, creating hair styles to make both tribes look different and dangerous. The result was that the southern tribes (Comanche) wore braids, had hats, feathers, otter fur and used make-ups war paint to apply streaks into the hair. The hair was human hair that was long black and greased with middle part. The wigs were all treated differently in terms of cuts too. Techniques that were often used for applying stunt man wigs prior to 706 union testing (going way back in time) had to be used in order to accommodate the schedule and create secure fittings. For the northern tribe (Sioux), many of the same actors plus new additional stunt riders were used. Many of these actors were willing and shaved their heads. To get the Mohawk silhouette that was so terrifying, Cydney personally ventilated and applied hairpieces decorated with beads, feathers, roaches, deer tail hair, horse hair and, porcupine hair. The roaches were made by hand after observing authentic pieces in museums and researching techniques used. Cydney is an insane talent!
ALL GOLD CANYON
Exit wound
Starring Tom Waits as a lonely prospector who is being tracked by a young rogue thief, we were presented with less of a canvas to play with then our other stories. The young boy (Sam Dillon) playing the thief had very smooth skin and had very short blond hair. Cydney repurposed a wig used from the film Hail, Caeser! It was fondly referred to as "The Boupee" by the actor. It didn't cover the top, in fact, the top was cut away and only the temples and back were used. Wanting to add a more disheveled look to the young man, I decided to give his skin texture in the form of acne scarring. I felt this provided a bit of an edge to his overall look and painted a more realistic picture of the wandering youth. The make-up was accomplished using prosthetic transfers. Because the pieces were so incredibly thin and would be difficult to remove at the end of the day, I decided to paint the surface of his face with a thinned-down version of Super Baldies (a alcohol-based vinyl plastic material). The advantage was to create a barrier between the surface of the skin and the transfer that would allow easier removal through alcohol activation. It worked beautifully and the full face removal took around 10 minutes. The pieces were not affected by the long shoot days or the elements of sweat and heat. We had a youthful stunt man playing for Tom Waits due to some of the high altitudes and demanding physical work. Cydney had an amazing wig for the prospector, creating an ideal silhouette. The stunt man with added facial hair and make-up looked and acted so much like Tom that he was used as a double for a majority of the shoot. Cydney and I really spent our time with Tom in the chair if only because he would sometimes sing and tell amazing stories. No reason to rush him away!
MEAL TICKET
Certainly the darkest of the six stories. The palette for this story was much darker and certainly more drab. Taking place in the winter months of the wilderness, its cold climate matches the heart of the story. Liam Neeson was no exception and was given the once-over with a lot of slap and teeth coloration. Harry Melling (of Harry Potter) plays the limbless Shakespearean actor.
Self-sticking silicone prosthetic
With today's technology, you could imagine "limbless" wouldn't be to difficult, however, the brothers did not want to rely on digital, seeing how most of his scenes he is fairly static with only some small movement as he rocks himself forward and side to side. The brothers were very keen on seeing the ledge of his thigh (where the limb ends) with depth and to notice weight and space as he moved. Tinsley Studios built a slanted prosthetic that tapered from his chest down to Harry's mid-thighs. The taper increased in height from his chest down to his thighs by almost two inches in thickness. The piece was made out of a silicone gel. The thing that made this prosthetic truly was that it was a new process not yet used until now consisting of a self-sticking silicone gel that does not stick to hair but does not attach itself to hair and can be reused over and over. One prosthetic was produced and used for the six days of application and abuse. The actor who had a somewhat hairy torso never had to shave or prep in any way and the application took about three minutes to apply and remove. Harry also wore a roguish look and a show look. Cydney would use the old-time tongs to marcel the front of his hair up.
Where the mortal and immortal meet. The brothers carefully crafted dialogue that gives very little away. Through make-up, hair and lighting, we all tried to support the story with subtle changes. As we see our carriage and passengers come ever closer to their destination and realization of their immortality, we continued to create a paler look to all the actors. Reducing the reds in their skin and adding slightly more blue/bronze tones to the faces. We wanted to parallel their own discovery and match the journey's lighting. For the "Lady" (Tyne Daly), Cydney had two white wigs that rolled up and coiled that pinned onto her hair in back.
The challenge was to put the hairpieces on in the right place to make her hat stay in the confined space of the carriage. It reveals beautifully as the actors emerge from the carriage toward the end. The "Trapper," played by Chelcie Ross, needed considerable enhancement. Short hair and clean cut. For this, Cydney added wefts into hair and I added a custom beard tied and provided by Georgia Allen. "The Reapers"as I call them, were contrasted and were full of color. A bit "dandy" as we described it. For Thigpin, played by Jonjo O'Neill we created sharp features with his facial hair. Again, eyeliner and blush (like Buster Scruggs) helped balance and create the innocent and childlike character to help support the actor's mannerisms.
Whenever I finish a project and reflect on the moments that made a project special, I tend to shorten my responses over time to bullet points. Here is what I took away from Buster Scruggs:
Love doing Coen brothers' projects
Cydney was an amazing friend, colleague and inspiration on this extremely challenging project
I've never put more blush or eyeliner on men dressing up as cowboys then this project
Self-sticking, reusable silicone prosthetics are the best, and I want to make more of them
Super Baldies helps under transfers for removal
Santa Fe is still one of my favorite places to eat and sleep
Telluride is magical
Liam Neeson embraced his Jedi and it was the coolest
Tom Waits is one of the greatest people you will ever meet and he sang me my favorite song of his
A singing cowboy played by Tim Blake Nelson is hilarious and worth the price of admission
Native American warriors are really exhausting to make up
The entire local Sante Fe make-up and hair team are really good at what they do
Cydney and I could not have done this project without our supportive teams and the talent they brought to the table every day.
Special thanks to Matt Danon, Corey Welk and Rolf Keppler for being amazing keys.
Special thanks but not "As Special Thanks" to (I'm kidding): Sheila Trujillo, Ed French, Hiroshi Yada, Corinne Foster, Jon Shroyer, Kelly Cappacio, K–Bobby, Andreya Joseph, Nichole Miller and Georgia Allen.
Thanks for reading. •
6th Annual Guild Awards Timeline


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News & Information/
New Online Search Tool Helps Scientists Explore Genes in Medical Literature
New York, Thursday, December 7, 2006
Computational biology researchers today announced a new Internet tool for the exploration of the scientific literature in medicine and biology. The freely accessible iHOP service provides fast, accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date summary information on more than 80,000 biological molecules by automatically extracting key sentences from millions of PubMed documents when a search is requested. PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes more than 16 million citations from life science journals for biomedical articles.
"By using genes and proteins as hyperlink sources between sentences and abstracts, iHOP converts the information in PubMed into a navigable information network, exploiting the power of the Internet for scientific literature investigation," said Sloan Kettering Institute postdoctoral fellow Robert Hoffmann, who started the iHOP project when he worked at the Protein Design Group in Madrid, Spain.
The most recent work of the Computational Biology Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), headed by Chris Sander, Chairman of the Sloan Kettering Institute's Computational Biology Program, has taken iHOP to the next level in terms of speed, accuracy, relevance, and coverage.
"This is a next-generation search tool that allows scientists to extract comprehensive information regarding the function of genes in signaling pathways, interaction networks, and biological processes," said Dr. Sander. "We are now able to provide daily updates, processing about 2000 new publications per day, which makes iHOP the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource for literature-derived gene information on the Web."
iHOP has been available at no cost to the public since 2004 and has become one of the most used resources for biomedical research, accessed by up to 200,000 different users per month. The new version provides current information on even more genes and chemical compounds, covering all organisms - ranging from human and chimpanzee to yeast and HIV - making iHOP useful to tens of thousands of biomedical researchers.
iHOP allows researchers to explore a network of gene interactions by directly navigating the pool of published scientific literature. Rather than providing long lists of entire abstracts upon keyword searches, iHOP selectively retrieves information that is specific to genes and proteins and summarizes their interactions and functions. The system adds value by filtering and ranking extracted sentences according to significance, impact factor, date of publication, and syntax.
The complexity of the information stored in scientific databases and journals and the growing number of scientific publications gave rise to the need for text-mining systems to help researchers navigate through these interrelated information resources. Openly accessible text-mining systems, such as iHOP, facilitate the integration of database and text information and support researchers in the formulation of novel hypotheses.
"We plan to extend the iHOP concept to full text sources and the algorithmic exploration of gene networks," added Dr. Hoffmann.
Access to iHOP, an acronym for the tool's original version, Information Hyperlinked over Proteins, is freely available at www.ihop-net.org. More information about computational biology research is at www.cBio.mskcc.org.
Computational & Systems Biology Program