text:
\section{Introduction}

In many applications, such as virtual assistants, speech signal is sent from the
user device to the service provider's servers in which data is collected, processed, and stored.
Recent regulations, e.g., the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) \cite{gdpr} in the EU,
emphasize on privacy preservation and protection of personal data.
As speech data can reflect both biological and behavioral characteristics
of the speaker, it is qualified as personal data \cite{nautschGDPRSpeechData2019}.
The research reported in this article has been done using the Voice privacy Challenge framework \cite{tomashenkoVoicePrivacy2020Challenge}, which is one of the first attempts of the speech community to evaluate research on this topic,
by producing dedicated protocols, metrics, datasets and baselines.

Speaker anonymization is performed to suppress the personally identifiable paralinguistic information from a speech utterance while maintaining the linguistic content.
This is also referred to as \textit{speaker
anonymization}\cite{fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019}
or \textit{de-identification} \cite{magarinos2017reversible}.
Recently, Fang et al. \cite{fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019} proposed an x-vector-based speaker anonymization system based on voice conversion where one of the hyper-parameters used to transform the voice is a target pseudo-speaker identity. In order to choose the anonymization system and hyper-parameters, for a given use case, we must evaluate and rank the performances of each anonymization method.
In this first edition of the Voice privacy Challenge, the quality of anonymization is assessed by using state-of-the-art speaker verification system \iffalse(i.e., not considering human recognition)\fi together with an automatic speech recognition system that is used to evaluate the preservation of the linguistic content.
In the context of privacy, a game-theoretic reasoning with two agents is defined as follows: one who wishes to anonymize a user's speech (the service provider) and the other (the attacker) who will do everything possible to "break" this anonymity.
Introduced in \cite{EvaluatingVoiceConversionbased2019}, the notion of attacker's knowledge of the anonymization method was introduced, it defines three possible attack scenarios: black-box, white-box, and grey-box.
In all approaches, privacy is evaluated by comparing original speech (accessible to the attacker) and anonymous speech published by a service provider.
The goal of an effective anonymization system is to allow the publication of speech whose identity is difficult to link to a user's identity, even if the attacker has some knowledge of the anonymization mechanism.
In the black-box attacker scenario, privacy is measured by comparing clean, non-anonymized enrollment speech, and anonymized trial speech. In this scenario, the attacker is not aware that speech has been anonymized.
In contrast, a white-box attacker is fully aware of the anonymization system and hyper-parameters.
Grey-box attackers cover the whole range of possible scenario in-between black and white boxes, when the attacker has a partial knowledge of the anonymization system.

The target pseudo-speaker identity used to anonymize the voices can be generated following multiple strategies \cite{EvaluatingVoiceConversionbased2019}.
In the \textit{permanent} strategy, used in the VoicePrivacy challenge, all utterances from a speaker are converted using the same target pseudo-speaker.
The challenge defines a grey-box attacker that has access to the anonymization toolkit, and thus is able to transform any utterance from her enrollment dataset using the same system and target strategy.
However, for a given source speaker, the target pseudo-speaker used by the attacker differs from the one used by the service provider due to the random pseudo-speaker selection process included in the \textit{permanent} strategy.
In case the attacker knows the pseudo-speaker, this grey-box scenario turns into a white-box scenario.

We modify the Voice Privacy Challenge scenario into a white-box assessment by targeting a same speaker identity for all utterances from all speakers.
This target selection strategy allows us to evaluate the performance of the x-vector-based anonymization system on its own, and generate a report that does not assume that the attacker has knowledge deficiencies.
Experiments are performed with a large group of target speaker identity in order to investigate the effect of this identity on the quality of the anonymization.

In the remaining of this article, we first describe the baseline system and voice conversion method in Section \ref{sec:baseline}.
We then introduce our experimental protocol in Section \ref{sec:experiments} and present our experimental
results in Section \ref{sec:expe}. Eventually, we draw our conclusions and propose future avenues in Section \ref{sec:conclusion}.

\section{Anonymization Technique}

\label{sec:baseline}

The anonymization of speaker's identity can be performed with various methods \cite{F0_Bahmaninezhad2018ConvolutionalNN,fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019,mcadams,mohanPrivacyPreservingAdversarialRepresentation2019,EvaluatingVoiceConversionbased2019}. In this article, our contributions are based on the \textit{Baseline-1} (referred to as the \textit{baseline} in this article) of the VoicePrivacy challenge that anonymizes speech using x-vectors and neural waveform models \cite{fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019}.

\subsection{The Voice Conversion System}

\vspace{-1em}

\begin{figure}[ht]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{figures/vpc_system.pdf}
  \caption{The speaker anonymization pipeline. Modules A, B, and C are parts of the baseline model. Module D is an enhancement used to coherently alter the F0 values with respect to the selected pseudo-speaker identity.}
  \label{fig:baseline.png}
\end{figure}

\vspace{-1em}

The baseline system introduced in \cite{fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019} aims at separating speaker identity and linguistic content from an input speech utterance.
Assuming that those features are disentangled, an anonymized speech waveform can be generated after altering only the features that encode the speaker's identity.
The anonymization system illustrated in {Figure \ref{fig:baseline.png}} can be decomposed into three groups of modules.
Modules from the \textit{group A} extract different features from the source signal: the fundamental frequency, the phonetic features encoding articulation of speech sounds (Phoneme Posterior-Grams (PPGs) \cite{ppgs}) and the speaker's x-vector.
\textit{The module B} derives a new pseudo-speaker identity. The x-vector from each source input speaker is compared to a pool of external x-vectors to select the 200 furthest vectors; 100 of them are randomly selected and averaged to create an anonymized pseudo-speaker x-vector identity.
Finally, \textit{the module C} synthesizes a speech waveform from the pseudo-speaker x-vector together with the original PPGs features and F0.

As an enhancement to this baseline, \cite{f0_mod_moi} proposed to modify the F0 values (cf. module D in Figure \ref{fig:baseline.png}) using the F0 mean and variance statistics associated with each of the x-vector of the pool.

\subsection{Design Choices for Anonymization}

\begin{figure*}[!hb]
\hspace{-0.16cm}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.47\linewidth}
  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/anon_choose_perm.pdf}}
  \vspace{0.2cm}
  \centerline{\begin{minipage}{1.5in}\centering a) VoicePrivacy using the \textit{permanent} strategy\end{minipage}}
\end{minipage}
\hfill
\hspace{0.2cm}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.47\linewidth}
  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/anon_choose_const_pierre.pdf}}
  \vspace{0.2cm}
    \centerline{\begin{minipage}{1.7in}\centering b) Our evaluation using the \textit{constant}
  strategy\end{minipage}}
\end{minipage}
\caption{Overview of target selection strategies. In the \textit{permanent} strategy pseudo-speakers are randomly selected, first for the trial dataset and then for the enrollment dataset. While our \textit{constant} strategy, always targets the same pseudo-speaker.}
\label{fig:target_selection}
\end{figure*}

In the evaluation plan of the VoicePrivacy Challenge, all utterances of a given speaker should be converted to match a single target pseudo-speaker. This strategy, described as \textit{permanent} in \cite{EvaluatingVoiceConversionbased2019}, ensures that a one-to-one mapping exists between the source speaker identity and the anonymized speaker identity.
This requirement allows anonymized voices to be distinguishable from each other.
This one-to-one mapping does not apply in-between speech anonymized by the service provider and speech anonymized by the attacker.
Speech data anonymized by the service provider corresponds to the trial dataset, and speech available to the attacker corresponds to the enrollment dataset, see Section \ref{data} for more detail.
Figure \ref{fig:target_selection}a shows how the \textit{permanent} strategy converts enrollment and trial speech to different anonymized pseudo-speakers.

To select the target pseudo-speaker identity, module B (from Figure \ref{fig:baseline.png}) has many hyper-parameters that affect the selection mechanism.
According to \cite{f0_mod_moi,brij_journal,brij_vpc_design}, the best anonymization results are achieved by picking the pseudo-speaker in a dense region of the x-vector space, randomly targeting male or female gender pseudo-speaker, and modifying the F0 values of the input speech so that it matches the F0 statistics of the real speakers used to generate the pseudo-identity.

The VoicePrivacy challenge's protocol assumes that attackers have access to anonymized trial utterances and original enrollment utterances.
During the challenge, two sets of tests are performed following black-box and grey-box attacker scenarios
corresponding to situations where the enrollment utterances are original or have been anonymized.
In the latter scenario, the attacker has partial knowledge of the system and is able to anonymize the enrollment utterances using the same anonymization system and \textit{permanent} target selection strategy.
The pseudo-speaker chosen for each of the enrollment speakers differs from the pseudo-speaker chosen for the trial speakers as the attacker does not have knowledge of the randomly selected speakers used to generate the pseudo-speaker identity.
As the voices of the same speakers once anonymized by the service provider (trial) and the attacker (enrollment) are different from each other, this leads to a rather good anonymization performance \cite{tomashenkoVoicePrivacy2020Challenge}.

With the \textit{permanent} target selection strategy used in the challenge, anonymized voices remain distinguishable and all utterances from the same original speaker are anonymized with the same pseudo-speaker. This process is referred to as pseudonymization.
Providing attackers the target's identity of each speaker in the \textit{permanent} strategy evaluates the quality of the voice conversion system and the preservation of the voice distinctiveness \cite{similarity_matrices}.
In this paper, we evaluate the privacy of the anonymization technique with the best attacker, that is using the \textit{constant} selection strategy.

\section{Experimental Setup}

\label{sec:experiments}

In this evaluation, we want to provide a comprehensive assessment of the voice conversion toolkit under a white-box scenario where the attacker has full knowledge about the system.
We change the game between the attacker and the service provider to use the \textit{constant} identity selection strategy defined in \cite{EvaluatingVoiceConversionbased2019}.
In contrast to the anonymization performed in the VoicePrivacy challenge, the \textit{constant} strategy defines a single pseudo-speaker identity for all speakers in a given dataset.
We extend this property to all speakers of the trial and the enrollment datasets so that all of them should have the same anonymized voice identity.
We expect good anonymization performance \iffalse against white-box attack\fi as the voices of all speakers should appear to be spoken by a single identity. This breaks the
one-to-one requirement of the challenge, speakers will not be distinguishable from each other.
Still, we believe this assessment is complementary to the realistic attacker-based evaluation of the challenge.
Figure \ref{fig:target_selection} shows the differences in the target selection strategies between the VoicePrivacy strategy (\textit{permanent} strategy), and the strategy chosen for this study (our \textit{constant} strategy).
Experiments are performed with different target speaker identities to provide averaged global results about the voice conversion toolkit, and detailed analysis of the target identity effect on multiple source speakers.

\subsection{Dataset}

\label{data}

All evaluation tasks for the experiments follow the conditions presented on the publicly available VoicePrivacy challenge\footnote{\url{https://github.com/Voice-Privacy-Challenge}}.
The triphone extractor has been trained on the \textit{train-clean-100} and \textit{train-other-500} subsets of LibriSpeech. The x-vector extractor has been trained on VoxCeleb-1,2. The speech synthesis system has been trained on the \textit{train-clean-100} subset of LibriTTS. Finally, the \textit{train-other-500} subset of LibriTTS has been used to create a pool of x-vector and F0 statistics.
The evaluation dataset is built from LibriSpeech \textit{test-clean}.
Details about the number of speakers and utterances in the enrollment and trial dataset are reported in Table \ref{tab_data_asv}.

\begin{table}
\caption{Statistics of the evaluation dataset~\cite{tomashenkoVoicePrivacy2020Challenge}.}\label{tab_data_asv}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{c@{\hskip 0.15in}l@{\hskip 0.15in}r@{\hskip 0.1in}r@{\hskip 0.1in}r@{\hskip 0.1in}}
\toprule
  \textbf{Subset} & & \textbf{Female} & \textbf{Male} & \textbf{Total} \\\midrule
  \multirow{3}{*}[-2mm] { \parbox{1.6cm}{\centering Librispeech test-clean}} & Speakers in enrollment & 16 & 13 & 29

\\ \cline { 2 - 5 } & Speakers in trials & 20 & 20 & 40
\\ \cline { 2 - 5 } & Enrollment utterances & 254 & 184 & 438
\\ \cline { 2 - 5 } & Trial utterances & 734 & 762 & 1496
\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

\subsection{Utility and Privacy Metrics}

To evaluate the performance of the system in both privacy (\textit{speaker's concealing} capability) and utility (\textit{content intelligibility}) two systems and metrics are used.
To quantitatively evaluate the privacy, an x-vector-PLDA based Automatic Speaker Verification (ASV) architecture provided by the challenge organizers is used. The privacy protection is measured with the linkability metric: \cite{linkability} introduced two different measures that are calculated based on mated and non-mated likelihood score distributions.
In this case, mated scores are computed comparing anonymized speech of the same user. Whereas non-mated scores are computed comparing anonymized speech of different users.
The local measure $D_{\leftrightarrow}$ is the local score-wise measure depending upon the likelihood ratio between the mated and non-mated sample's score.
The global linkability measure $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ is the average value of $D_{\leftrightarrow}$ over all mated scores.
To obtain the linkability score for a given speaker, the average is taken from all mated scores of this specific speaker.
Work in \cite{comparative_metric} advocate the use of $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ as a robust privacy metric.
The lower the $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$, the better the speakers are anonymized.
As the Equal Error Rate (EER$_\%$) measure is more often used in speaker verification, we present our result in terms of both EER$_\%$ and $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$.
The higher the EER$_\%$, the better the speakers are anonymized.

For the utility, the pre-trained Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system provided by the challenge organizers is used to decode the anonymized speech and compute the Word Error Rate (WER$_\%$). In this evaluation, the WER$_\%$ measure is used to evaluate how the content is kept intelligible.
The lower the WER$_\%$ is, the more intelligible the anonymized speech is.
Both ASR and ASV systems are trained on LibriSpeech \textit{train-clean-360} using Kaldi \cite{KaldiPovey}.

\subsection{Evaluation Methodology}

\label{protocol}

In this experiment, we run the anonymization and evaluation on 40 real target speaker's identities that cover as best as possible the speaker space. Thus, to select the target speakers, we identify 20 female and 20 male clusters of x-vectors in the anonymization pool (\textit{LibriTTS train-other-500}) using K-Means. We then pick the speaker x-vector that is the closest to the centroid of each cluster. The assessment of the anonymization performances will be done for each of those 40 target speaker identities. Real speaker identities are used instead of pseudo-speaker identities derived from multiples speakers.

To evaluate the performances of the anonymization system, we perform the following procedure for the 40 selected target speaker identities.
First, we convert all utterances of \textit{Librispeech test-clean} (data corresponding to enrollment and trial) and \textit{Librispeech train-360} to the selected target speaker.
Then, we train the ASV model on the anonymized \textit{Librispeech train-360} dataset.
Lastly, we evaluate the privacy performances for each of the speakers of \textit{Librispeech test-clean} using the specially trained ASV model.
As a result, we obtain one score for each trial speaker of \textit{Librispeech test-clean} and target identities (that is a total of $29\times40$ scores).
To evaluate the quality of the conversion process in terms of utility (linked to speech recognition performance), we use a pre-trained ASR model released for the VoicePrivacy Challenge.
To study the effectiveness of the F0 anonymization (module D of Figure \ref{fig:baseline.png}), we perform the anonymization process, and the associated evaluation, with and without the F0 transformation enabled.

\section{Experimental Results}

\label{sec:expe}

\subsection{Global Results}

Table \ref{table:all_eer_dsys} compares the anonymization performance on a global scale.
The first line presents the linkability when no anonymization is performed (i.e., on original speech data), clean speech encapsulates the speaker's information to a high degree ($D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ scores $>$ 0.90).
The second and third lines display the linkability when using the voice anonymization system without and with the F0 transformation.
\begin{table}
  \centering
  \caption{Linkability ($D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$) and EER$\%$ scores
  for original and anonymized speech. For the anonymized data, the mean and standard deviation values are calculated over the 40 experiments (i.e., one for each target speaker). Results on anonymized data are given without and with F0 transformation.
  }\label{table:all_eer_dsys}
  \begin{tabular}{
    l@{\hskip 0.2in}@{\extracolsep{0.1in}}
    S[table-format=1.2]@{\,\( \pm \)\,}@{\extracolsep{0.03in}}
    S[table-format=1.2]@{\extracolsep{0.2in}}
    S[table-format=2.1]@{\,\( \pm \)\,}@{\extracolsep{0.03in}}
    S[table-format=1.1]@{\extracolsep{0.4in}}
    S[table-format=1.2]@{\,\( \pm \)\,}@{\extracolsep{0.03in}}
    S[table-format=1.2]@{\extracolsep{0.2in}}
    S[table-format=2.1]@{\,\( \pm \)\,}@{\extracolsep{0.03in}}
    S[table-format=1.1]@{\extracolsep{0.4in}}
    }
    \toprule
   & \multicolumn{4}{c}{Female speakers} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{Male speakers}  \\[0.05in]
    &  \multicolumn{2}{c}{$D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{EER$\%$}   &  \multicolumn{2}{c}{$D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{EER$\%$} \\
    \midrule
    Original     & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\hspace{-4mm}0.90} &  & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\hspace{-0.5mm}7.66} &  & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\hspace{-4mm}0.96} & & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\hspace{-0.5mm}1.11}  &  \\
    Anon. without F0  & 0.72 & 0.01 & 12.1 & 0.6 & 0.77 & 0.01 & 9.5 & 0.6 \\
    Anon. with F0   & 0.74 & 0.01 & 11.6 & 0.6 & 0.75 & 0.01 & 10.6 & 0.8 \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

In contrast with the original speech results, the anonymized results come from 40 ASV tests, each using a different speaker identity.
The mean and standard deviation values are calculated from the 40 evaluations.
From the linkability score difference between original and Anon. lines of table \ref{table:all_eer_dsys} we can conclude that speakers are less linkable to their true identity after applying the x-vector base anonymization system. From the original data to the anonymized speech, linkability scores drop by at least 17\%, meaning the anonymization system has some effectiveness.
The comparison between the last two lines shows that modifying the F0 values does not help to remove speaker information from the speech signal, as shown by the standard deviation values.
This means that the transformation applied was not strong enough to actually remove extra speaker information or that the ASV system is quite robust against such modification.
The rather low standard deviation values across all scores show that there is no large variation when changing target speaker identity, this indicates that a given target speaker isn't more suited than another to anonymize the whole dataset.
As there are not large scores differences between voice conversion without or with F0 values transformation, the following sections will only analyze the results of the anonymization system that includes the F0 linear transformation.

\subsection{Detailed Analysis}

\vspace{-1em}

\begin{figure*}[!h]
\begin{minipage}[b]{1\linewidth}
\vspace{-0.2cm}
  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.6\linewidth]{figures/radar_ori.pdf}}
  \vspace{0.2cm}
  \centerline{Results on a single test speaker (speaker 5105)}
\end{minipage}
\caption{Linkability scores ($D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$) obtained using the ASV retrained on anonymized data for each of the 40 target speakers (colored solid line) and on original speech (dotted black circle). Each axis corresponds to a target speaker. The anonymization system lowered the linkability scores, meaning better privacy is achieved.}
\label{fig:ASV40-res}
\vspace{-0.2cm}
\end{figure*}

We conducted a detailed analysis to check whether a specific target identity is more suited to anonymize one or more speakers of our test dataset.
Figure \ref{fig:ASV40-res}~ illustrate the visualization used for this study in the case of a single source speaker. The linkability $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ scores are computed for speech anonymized with 40 different x-vectors and F0 statistics.

The black-dot circle indicates the linkability of the speaker on clean original speech signal (note that the original speech does not depend on the target speakers, hence the circle). And, for each of the 40 target speakers, the linkability is presented by the colored solid line.
After transforming the speech with 40 target speakers, we can observe that none of the 40 targets are significantly better to anonymize this speaker's voice.
The variation between the anonymized linkability scores is more likely due to the difference between the ASV model training rather than a better target choice.
This observation also applies to the 29 other speakers of our test dataset.
It is also noteworthy that, out of the 40 target identities, 20 of them induce cross-gender voice conversion.
Results for same-gender and cross-gender voice anonymization were found similar.

\vspace{-1em}

\begin{figure*}[!h]
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
\vspace{-0.2cm}
  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/radar.pdf}}
  \vspace{0.2cm}
  \centerline{Statistics from $N=15$ speakers}
\end{minipage}
\hfill
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/radar_anon_effective.pdf}}
  \vspace{0.2cm}
  \centerline{Statistics from $N=14$ speakers}
\end{minipage}

\caption{Mean and standard deviation $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ scores obtained for $N$ speakers using retrained ASVs on anonymized data for each of the 40 target speakers (mean and standard deviation corresponding to the colored solid line and light area) and on original speech (dotted black circle and grey area). Each axis corresponds to a target speaker.}
\label{fig:ASV40-res-more}
\end{figure*}

\vspace{-1em}

Figure \ref{fig:ASV40-res-more} shows the linkability $D_{\leftrightarrow}^{\mathrm{sys}}$ scores of two groups to illustrate the common anonymization behavior: one for which the anonymization system did not remove speaker information, and the other for which the anonymization did remove some speaker information.
For the poorly anonymized speakers, we observe that the distributions of linkability scores on anonymized speech (colored area) completely overlaps the distribution of linkability scores on original speech (grey area).
The anonymization system did not remove any speaker information for half of our test speakers.
On the other hand, for the well anonymized speakers, the anonymized speech and original speech scores distributions diverge.
The difference is distinct, speaker information was removed by the anonymization system for the other half of our test speakers.

\subsection{Utility Results}
Across all experiments, we evaluated the utility for each 40 target identities.
We performed the intelligibility test with the pre-trained ASR system of the VoiecPrivacy challenge.
Figure \ref{fig:ASR40-res} shows the utility scores after anonymization considering each of the 40 target identities. On original clean speech signal, the ASR systems score 4.15 WER$_\%$.
When using the same model (trained on clean data) the overall WER$_\%$ on the anonymized data reaches 7.30 WER$_\%$ (average value over the 40 experiments).
Retraining the ASR system on anonymized speech improves the WER$_\%$ significantly \cite{tomashenkoVoicePrivacy2020Challenge}.
The very high utility loss yielded when using speaker 2487 is due to a generalization issue of the anonymization system (with happens with and without the F0 modification), in this case, non-intelligible speech was generated at the beginning of some segments.
We conducted an additional test using 100 randomly selected target speaker identities, and were able to find 3 target speaker x-vectors that have the same behavior, with the worse case having a score of 59.37 WER$_\%$.
Informal listening test reported that the original speech that produced the faulty x-vector contained singing segments. Further analysis needs to be conducted.

\vspace{-2em}

\begin{figure*}[!ht]
\begin{minipage}[b]{1\linewidth}

  \centering
  \centerline{\includegraphics[width=1.2\linewidth]{figures/wer.pdf}}
  \hspace{2cm}
\end{minipage}
\caption{WER$_\%$ scores obtained by the VoicePrivacy ASR evaluation systems for each of the 40 speakers and on original speech (dotted black line).}

\label{fig:ASR40-res}
\end{figure*}

\vspace{-2em}

\section{Conclusion}

\label{sec:conclusion}

In this work, we evaluated and analyzed the x-vector-based speaker anonymization system proposed in \cite{fangSpeakerAnonymizationUsing2019} and F0 extension proposed in \cite{f0_mod_moi} under a white-box attack scenario approach and a \textit{constant} target selection strategy.
To assess the long-term performance of the voice conversion system and the impact of each of the hyper-parameters (i.e. the x-vector target identity, the F0 linear transformation, and the  random gender selection), the use of a \textit{constant} target selection strategy is beneficial.
This target selection strategy allows the attacker to have complete knowledge about the system,
under those circumstances models and hyper-parameters design choices can be compared as the best attacker will be used to evaluate the anonymization performance.

The experiments done in \cite{f0_mod_moi,brij_vpc_design} showed that black and grey-box attackers can easily be fooled when enrollment speech and trial speech are anonymized in a different manner, i.e. by selecting the x-vector in different regions, applying the F0 linear transformation and random gender selection.
On the contrary, we observed that neither the x-vector target, F0 transformation, or cross-gender conversion actually help to remove the speaker information from the speech signal.
We showed that regardless of the hyper-parameters used, privacy protection stays the same.
The detailed analysis showed that a given set of hyper-parameters does not help the anonymization system to better anonymize a given source speaker. Furthermore, we concluded that the anonymization system performance depends on the speaker to anonymize, half of our test speakers did not have their privacy improved.

We raise caution on the privacy evaluation procedure, as we've shown that system performance varies depending on the attacker's knowledge and ASV system used.
In future work, we plan to evaluate the source of the speaker information leakage that occurs through the phonetic features (PPGs).

\vspace{-1.2em}

\subsubsection{Acknowledgments.}

This work was supported in part by the French National Research Agency under project DEEP-PRIVACY (ANR-18-CE23-0018) and Région Grand Est. Experiments were carried out using the Grid'5000 testbed, supported by a scientific interest group hosted by Inria and including CNRS, RENATER and several Universities as well as other organizations.

\bibliographystyle{splncs04}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Five women Nobel Peace laureates today called for Guatemala to respect the rights of the survivors of atrocities committed under the rule of former de facto head of state Efrain Rios Montt.
The women, convened in Northern Ireland for a conference organized by the Nobel Women's Initiative, issued this statement after a dizzying turn of events in Guatemala in recent weeks. These events included Rios Montt's conviction on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, a high court's rejection of that conviction, and now the same court considering the former dictator's appeals for amnesty.
"The genocide committed against Guatemala's indigenous populations during the country's past military dictatorships must not be forgotten or denied," said Jody Williams, U.S. activist, and winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for her work to ban landmines.
Rios Montt ruled Guatemala with an iron fist for 17 months in 1982 and 1983. According to a United Nations truth commission, more than 80% of the victims of violations committed during Guatemala's internal armed conflict were from Maya's indigenous populations. According to the same commission, over 90% of the perpetrators were state security personnel and paramilitaries.
"After the brutality of these egregious violations and the cowardice of decades of denying their significance, Guatemala has an opportunity—and an obligation—to reckon with its painful past," said Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian activist who received the Prize in 2011.
In a historic judgment—the first of its kind in a domestic court—a three-judge trial court convicted Rios Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity on May 10. A trial court issued a 700-page sentence delineating the evidence that supported the conviction.
However, only ten days later, a divided Guatemalan Constitutional Court overturned the conviction on procedural grounds with a decision that created ambiguity about if or how the case would continue. On May 29, the Constitutional Court considered Rios Montt's claim that a 1986 historic amnesty, decreed by the military dictator who succeeded him, should prevent his prosecution.
"Recent events in Guatemala are a slap in the face to the victims of horrific crimes," said Williams.
"Thirty years after the crimes, indigenous victims of the most terrible crimes recounted their experiences in a court of law," said Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Guatemalan activist and 1992 Nobel Prize winner. "Guatemala must not again victimize these communities." Menchú Tum brought a related case to a Spanish national court in 2000.
The laureates noted that the Guatemalan genocide trial has been an example for the world of what is possible with a courageous and independent judiciary confronting impunity head and what is possible when a country holds its own former leaders liable for egregious violations. They said that this case must not come to represent a failure of justice and a victory for impunity for those who suffered huge loss and suffering during the genocide.
The signatories are Nobel Peace Laureates and members of the Nobel Women's Initiative.
- See more at: http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/2013/06/nobel-laureates-end-impunity-fo... women Nobel Peace laureates today called for Guatemala to respect the rights of the survivors of atrocities committed under the rule of former de facto head of state Efrain Rios Montt.


Snapshot: With the Moon in Pisces, the energies of the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse are building. We have some magical expression and some potential 3D pain around our motivations. Then the skies are quiet until the Eclipse exacts.
At 11:15pm on Thursday, Mercury Retrograde at 17:38 Virgo Biquintiles Uranus Retrograde at 23:38 Aries.
Here we have the hope of some 'abracadabra' words that will unlock some new ways of being in our lives. Anytime Mercury meets a Higher Mind Planet, the results are very beneficial. We can express what the Higher Mind Planet is telling us. Mercury is Retrograde and reviewing things so the awareness from Uranus will be VERY helpful, but the fact it is magical means that the possibilities are quite delightful to consider.
This entry was posted in Metaphysics on September 14, 2016 by Grandtrines.


I Have a Dream vs. I Have a Drone: Dr. King v. Barack Obama - iMWiL!
Margaret Kimberley, senior editor and commentator with BlackAgendaReport.com, joined us this week to honor Dr. King and discuss the many attempts to construct a fraudulent lineage between King, the movement to which he belonged and Barack Obama.* As Obama and his handlers attempt yet again to pose the president as an heir to King's legacy many of the important differences between the two continue to be submerged beneath that powerfully false construct. Kimberley helped greatly in making clear those differences as she described the the suppressed realities of both men and the politics they represent.
Pingback: Dr. King Must Never Be Remembered - imixwhatilike!
Pingback: IMiXWhatiLike's Dr. King Collection | I MiX What I Like!


text:
In pictures: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Updated 1:58 PM EST, Tue January 3, 2023
Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in 2008.
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Nancy Pelosi announced in November that she would not run for a leadership post in the 118th Congress.
The move set the stage for a major shakeup in House Democratic leadership and marked the end of an era in Washington.
Pelosi is a towering figure in American politics with a history-making legacy of shattering glass ceilings as the first and so far only woman to be speaker of the US House of Representatives.
When she was first elected speaker in 2007, Pelosi reflected on the significance of the event and what it meant for women in the United States.
"This is an historic moment," she said in a speech after accepting the speaker's gavel. "It's an historic moment for the Congress. It's an historic moment for the women of America."
Pelosi served in the role until 2011, when Democrats lost control of the House. In 2019, she was again elected speaker after Democrats won back the House from Republicans.
A young Pelosi is seen with her mother, Annunciata D'Alesandro. Pelosi was born in Baltimore on March 26, 1940.
From House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi is seen in a high school yearbook photo from when she was 18. In 1958, she graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic school in Baltimore.
Archivio GBB/Redux
Pelosi, left, and her mother watch as her father, Thomas D'Alesandro, speaks with President John F. Kennedy at the White House in 1961 after taking the oath to become a member of the Federal Renegotiation Board. Her father was previously the mayor of Baltimore and a US congressman.
William Allen/AP
Pelosi is seen at her election headquarters in California on primary night in 1987, the year she was first elected to the House.
Eric Luse/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images
Pelosi celebrates in San Francisco on election night in 1987. She won a special election to fill a seat representing California's 5th Congressional District.
Eric Luse/Hearst Newspapers/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Pelosi and fellow US Reps. Ben Jones, left, and John Miller unfold a banner during a trip to Beijing in 1991. The banner says, "To those who died for democracy in China," honoring the victims of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989. Throughout her career in Congress, Pelosi has a long history of representing the US to Chinese officials, including standing up to Beijing as well as presidents from her own party.
Pelosi delivers the minority report during the Democratic National Nominating Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1992.
Mark Reinstein/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Pelosi, right, votes during a House Appropriations Committee meeting on budget cuts in 1995.
Joe Marquette/AP
Pelosi is sworn in as the new House Minority Whip by House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt in 2001. Outgoing House Minority Whip David Bonior, center, was resigning to run for governor in Michigan. Pelosi is standing with her is husband, Paul; daughter, Nancy Corrine Prowda; and grandsons Alexander Prowda and Liam Kennealy.
Scott J. Ferrell/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images
Pelosi attends a fundraiser at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington in 2003. The Democratic National Committee raised about $1.7 million at the event, which drew seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates.
Stefan Zaklin/Getty Images
Pelosi sits with her grandchildren while being nominated as the next House Speaker during a swearing-in ceremony for the 110th Congress in 2007. She became the first female Speaker of the House.
Pelosi looks at a new street sign bearing her name after its unveiling in 2007 in front of the corner row house where she grew up in Baltimore.
President George W. Bush shakes hands with Pelosi as Vice President Dick Cheney looks on after Bush delivered his State of the Union address in 2007.
Pelosi listens to Afghan President Hamid Karzai as other delegation member looks on during a 2007 meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Pelosi signs the financial bailout bill at a news conference after it passed through the House Floor at the Capitol in 2008. Congress approved a $700 billion bailout package for US banks as efforts to head off a spreading global financial crisis hung in the balance.
Mitch Dumke/Reuters
The Dalai Lama greets Pelosi during The Lantos Human Rights Prize award ceremony in Washington in 2009. The Dalai Lama was the inaugural recipient of the award.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Pelosi is congratulated by her staff after the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 was passed by the House in 2010.
Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images
President Barack Obama greets Pelosi at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.
Larry Downing/Reuters
Pelosi rides in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade in 2015. The parade came two days after the US Supreme Court's landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence meet with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Oval Office at the White House in 2018. They clashed over funding for the border wall and the prospects of a government shutdown.
Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux
Pelosi and Schumer walk out of the West Wing to speak to members of the media outside of the White House in 2018 following the meeting with President Trump. Pelosi's attire caught the attention of the internet, and the apparent popularity of her coat caused such a stir that the designer, Max Mara, decided to bring it back.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Pelosi is surrounded by children after being elected as the House Speaker in 2019.
Ting Shen/Xinhua/eyevine/Redux/
Pelosi arrives for a group photo with the House Democratic women members of the 116th Congress on the steps of the Capitol in 2019. There were record numbers of women sworn in that year.
Pelosi bangs the gavel after the House voted to impeach President Trump in 2019. The House voted almost entirely along party lines to charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress
Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images
President Trump's shadow is seen behind Pelosi during the Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the US Capitol in 2019.
Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/Getty Images
Pelosi points at President Trump during a contentious White House meeting. Democratic leaders were there for a meeting about Syria, and Senate Minority Leader Schumer said they walked out when Trump went on a diatribe and "started calling Speaker Pelosi a third-rate politician." Pelosi said, "What we witnessed on the part of the President was a meltdown." Trump later tweeted this photo, taken by White House photographer Shealah Craighead, with the caption "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!" Pelosi then made it the cover photo for her own Twitter account.
Shealah Craighead/The White House/Getty Images
Pelosi rips up her copy of President Trump's State of the Union speech after he finished in 2020. During the speech, you could feel the tension in the room between the President and the Democrats who impeached him in December 2019. Pelosi, sitting behind Trump, stretched out her hand to shake his before the speech. He didn't take it.
Patrick Semansky/AP
About two dozen Democratic lawmakers, including Pelosi, kneel in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds as they pay tribute to George Floyd. They wore stoles made of Kente cloth, drawing criticism from observers who felt they made the traditional African textile into a political prop.
Vice President Mike Pence and Pelosi preside over the joint session of Congress that officially certified Joe Biden's electoral win after the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. "To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win," Pence said. "As we reconvene in this chamber, the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy, even in the wake of unprecedented violence and vandalism in this Capitol."
Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Pelosi meets with the House impeachment managers meet in her office at the Capitol ahead of Trump's second impeachment vote in January 2021. Trump is the only president in history to be impeached twice. He was acquitted both times.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Redux
Vice President Kamala Harris greets Pelosi with an elbow bump before President Biden's address to Congress in April 2021. It was the first time in history that two women were seated behind the President for a joint address.
Jim Watson/Pool/Getty Images
Pelosi and Schumer talk to reporters after a bipartisan group of Senators and White House officials came to an agreement over the Biden administration's proposed infrastructure plan in 2021.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Harris and Pelosi look on as President Biden arrives to deliver the 2022 State of the Union address.
Saul Loeb/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Pelosi before their meeting in Kyiv in April 2022. Pelosi became the most senior US official to meet with President Zelensky since the war with Russia broke out.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
Pelosi is joined by House Democrats and pro-choice advocate for a press conference about the leaked Supreme Court draft decision on Roe v. Wade in May 2022.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Pelosi shakes hands with a pro-choice advocate prior to a press conference about the leaked Supreme Court draft decision on Roe v. Wade in May 2022.
Pope Francis greets Pelosi and her husband, Paul, before celebrating a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in June 2022. Pelosi received communion during Mass despite her support for abortion rights.
Vatican Media/AP
Pelosi and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy attend an event on Capitol Hill in July 2022.
Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times/Redux
Pelosi, left, speaks alongside Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen after receiving Taiwan's highest civilian honor in August 2022. Tsai thanked Pelosi for visiting and praised her long commitment to democracy and human rights.
Chien Chih-Hung/Office of The President/Getty Images
Lawmakers applaud after Pelosi signed the Inflation Reduction Act after the House of Representatives voted 220-207 to pass it in August 2022.
Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Pelosi is escorted to a vehicle outside of her home in San Francisco in November 2022. Pelosi's husband, Paul, was attacked with a hammer at the couple's home in October.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Pelosi participates in a ceremonial swearing-in photo opportunity for US Rep.-elect Rudy Yakym in November 2022.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Lawmakers applaud Pelosi in November 2022 when she announced that she would not run for a leadership post in 2023.
Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Pelosi holds the gavel after ending the 117th Congress in January 2023.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


After knocking about for a couple of years, Bunny is moving in with her baby sister, Kitsune. Bunny will strut her stuff during the day and Kitsune will take over at night.
Bunny will take some of Chef Regan's most beloved creations and give them every day accessibility. We will take a few key items and make them in the best possible way we can. Bunny will serve breakfast and lunch, classic pastries, breads, and ice cream sodas, while Kitsune will continue to serve dinner.
We are running this campaign because we feel it would be a fun way to support the onset of the project by those who love our food and believe in our ideas. The money would pay for additional equipment and improvements to the restaurant to accommodate Bunny. We've got somethings to switch around and it's not easy.
If you donated to the campaign for the original Bunny and didn't get the opportunity to collect your rewards before she tragically closed, fret not. We make it up to you. Email us at bunnybakeryandworkshop@gmail.com with a copy of your receipt for the original campaign and we'll be in touch with the details. We are happy to serve you in the best way we can. Thank you again for always being supportive and understanding.
There are hundreds of risks when opening a food business. To date, our team has several successful businesses behind them. They continue to push forward and stay creative. Their combined talent, brain power, and relaxed demeanor will allow them to find solutions rather than sit in problems. Having learned the pitfalls from the initial run of Bunny, they are far better prepared to succeed.
We love you, you love us!
Delicious Bread for 1 month!
An all natural beauty box with ingredients you can understand. We use oils, glycerins, extracts, and dried products from the earth to make bar soaps (shapes of: flowers, brains, storm troopers, honey comb, etc.), cream cleansers, toners, masks, scrubs, face creams, and body lotions. All products will contain ingredients left from our restaurant like our dried flowers, herbs, cucumber skins, tomato seeds, dried beets, and other aromatic and beautifying ingredients. You'll receive a list of each product along with its ingredients and the intended benefits and how they work on your skin.
Get a signed copy of Chef's memoir. Sit with her and your guest at Kitsune for dinner and bring all your questions. Pledge included the dinner cost, tax, and gratuity.
Ramen Class for 2 people.
Bread class for 2 people includes bread starter.
Hang out with us at Bunny, Elizabeth, or Kitsune, eat as much as possible and learn some tricks of the trade.
Chef Regan, you, and a guest. She'll clean them and give you a few recipes.
The bakery is yours for the morning.
Bring in all your friends and fill up our seats for 1 morning of your choice.
Chef Regan and Kitsune Chef de Cuisine, Ian Jones, will come to your house and cook dinner for you and 9 of your friends.
Have dinner at Kitsune on a week night of your choice for up to 20 people. Chef de Cuisine, Ian Jones, will work with Chef Regan to develop a 5 course menu, and we'll pair each course with sake.
A weekend at Milkweed Inn for 10 people. See milkweedinn.com for details.


In recent years, the use of and access to archives have started to form an increasingly prominent role in contemporary fashion and design culture.
When the first issue of Archivist launched in 2012, it was unlike any other fashion magazine. Instead of highlighting the new season's trends, it was dedicated to showcasing the history of garments, digging into the archives of fashion brands and reframing their contents using a contemporary lens.
The fast-paced nature of fashion means that it rarely gets this kind of moment for pause or reflection. Instead, its output is quickly lost amid the continuous cycle of new seasons and new trends. Archivist provided a refreshing take on an industry that has, at times, lacked analysis, scrutiny and appreciation.
But while Archivist tried to steer clear of trends, its launch nevertheless captured a certain mood – a trend for archives. In recent years, the use of and access to archives have started to form an increasingly prominent role in contemporary fashion and design culture. Pieces based on archival material frequently feature in new furniture collections such as Molteni&C's work with the Gio Ponti Archives, while Swedish label Acne retails older collections under its Acne Archive brand. New digital ventures, such as Google's We Wear Culture initiative, have also aimed to make certain archives more widely available. So why are we suddenly seeing this interest in the archive, an entity that has historically been seen as a dusty repository of ideas from the past?
It seems one of the key reasons is a drive towards accessibility in design – an effort to make archival treasures available to the many, rather than the few experts traditionally granted access to these kinds of resources. We Wear Culture presents digitised collections from more than 180 museums, fashion institutions, schools and other archives from around the world, placing three millennia of fashion history at the casual browser's fingertips. "It allows more democracy and more accessibility for the pieces that we have in the museum," said Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York and one of the partners in the project, when it launched in 2017. The initiative now reaches millions of people globally.
Last year, British publisher Bloomsbury launched Design Library, which provides a similar service for academic writing on design: an archive of more than 1,700 articles by leading scholars, spanning from 1500 BCE to the present day. Although it's a paid-for service, it nevertheless makes available material that would otherwise be difficult to source from one place. In that sense, it capitalises on something that internet search engines have made us dependent on: instant access to all types of information without any time spent in libraries or actual archives.
But physical archives have also enjoyed a revived interest, especially within design. In Italy the design archive has become somewhat of a phenomenon of late – a rare opening into a brand's or person's past. The organisation Museimpresa assembles them under various different categories and its website guides you to weird and wonderful places across the country, often associated with places of manufacture. The Alessi archive at Museo Alessi in Crusinallo is one such example, right next to its manufacturing facility. Here a collection of prototypes, a complete back-catalogue of products and rare examples of print graphics encourage exploration of Alessi's history.
In furniture design, archives have also become an important tool for the creation of new pieces. When Gio Ponti died in 1979, he left behind a rich collection of architecture and design drawings, housed in his old Milan studio on Via Dezza. In recent years, the designer Pierluigi Cerri has been browsing through the furniture archives with Ponti's nephew, Salvatore Licitra, to select new pieces to resurrect for the Molteni&C collection. Furniture such as Ponti's chair for the Montecatini building (D.235.1) and the bookshelf he designed for his residence on Via Dezza (D.357.1) has been revived for a new generation of consumers.
Meanwhile Molteni&C consolidated its own archive ahead of its 80th anniversary in 2015, creating a museum at its Giussano headquarters that brings some of the company's history to life.
This decision has lead to new releases of older Molteni&C products by designers such as Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Yasuhiko Itoh and Werner Blaser.
Here, it seems that the archive is coming to serve a more active role in shaping contemporary culture, not just defining the past.


text:
Q: Why my JavaScript functions are not read by Meteor? I have the following js archive in the meteor client folder:
var o1, o2, o3, o4, o5, o6, o7, o8, o9, o10;

window.onload = function() {

    o1 = document.getElementById("oculta1");
    o2 = document.getElementById("oculta2");
    o3 = document.getElementById("oculta3");
    o4 = document.getElementById("oculta4");
    o5 = document.getElementById("oculta5");
    o6 = document.getElementById("oculta6");
    o7 = document.getElementById("oculta7");
    o8 = document.getElementById("oculta8");
    o9 = document.getElementById("oculta9");
    o10 = document.getElementById("oculta10");

    o1.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o2.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o3.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o4.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o5.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o6.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o7.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o8.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o9.style.visibility = "hidden";
    o10.style.visibility = "hidden";

};

function desplegar1() {
    o1.style.visibility = "visible";
    o5.style.visibility = "visible";
    o9.style.visibility = "visible";
    alert("hola");

}

function desplegar2() {
    o2.style.visibility = "visible";
    o6.style.visibility = "visible";
    o10.style.visibility = "visible";
}

The problem is that only the first function is executed, the rest of all them(desplegar1,desplegar2...) don't work. Someone can help me?

A: Welcome to SO!
Inline code in the HTML is rather Angular style. If you want to code that way, you should look at angular-compilers Meteor package.
If you use Blaze, there is a high chance each of your JS file is scoped, so the HTML cannot directly access the functions declared with var in a JS file through its name. The function name may even be modified during build / minification.
The usual way with Blaze is to attach events to your template (Template.<templateName>.events(eventsMap))
For example in your case:
Template.myTemplateName.events({
  'mouseover td': desplegar1
});

function desplegar1() {
  o1.style.visibility = "visible";
  o5.style.visibility = "visible";
  o9.style.visibility = "visible";
  alert("hola");
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A timeless Flap Panel Sleeveless Sheath dress that's chic & contemporary. Sleeveless and figure-flattering with an eye-catching front panel feature. Team up with bright accessories for maximum impact. Also available in black.


Hotels might offer excuses that they should oversell to make up for the losses from the growing variety of travelers who make reservations however by no means keep them. The Large Island of Hawaii is really stunning and we have been to see far more of it within the following days of our trip. Distribution of providers continues inside your hotel and includes each your staff and your means to speak along with your company (i.e., cellphone systems, TELEVISION ordering, even doorknob signs).
Weekly Mansion Tokyo in Akasaka is a luxury hotel situated within the very heart of the city. An upscale full-service hotel facility offers luxury facilities, full service accommodations, an on-website restaurant , and the best degree of customized service, resembling a concierge , room service and clothes urgent workers.
"From the second friends and visitors arrive at the TWA hotel, they'll discover themselves immersed in the ethos of 1962's wealthy tradition, structure, sights, sounds and ambiance," explains Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR and MORSE Growth, the developer and lead investor of this buzz-worthy undertaking.


text:
In Europe, illegal downloading takes a slap in the face
The European Union for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) has carried out a large-scale study on the habits of Europeans in terms of consumption of pirated content. Conducted in the European Union and the United Kingdom, this analysis allowed the compilation of data comprising more than 100 billions of access.
To obtain results in line with European habits, the EUIPO analyzed films, series, but also television programs and music. All means of distribution have been studied, from streaming to direct downloads, including torrents or extraction software. Finally, let us specify that this study was carried out between January 133 and December 2020 or three full years.
The shipwreck of the pirates
According to the conclusions of the report, the consumption of pirated content has been halved in three years (- 50, 4%). In 133, Internet users downloaded pirated content on average , 7 times a month. In 2020, they were at 5.9 times. Better yet, this decrease did not experience a burst but followed a regular descending curve: – 11% in 2017, -6% in 2019 and in 2020.
This shipwreck of pirates is explained by the increasingly complete legal offer , both in the music and film industries. And if in France the chronology of the media (which should be reformed soon) still poses problems of distribution on streaming platforms, the rest of Europe has more flexible legislation.
For several years now, it has been possible to access catalogs of films / series or music at a lower cost. A monthly subscription to Spotify or Deezer costs half the price of a CD. We can draw the same parallel between Netflix, Disney + or Apple TV + with DVD and Blu-ray.
In 2020, most of the piracy was based on the pirating of television programs , in particular the streaming of sports events like the Champions League . The EUIPO figures in any case go in this direction since of the 5.9 times Internet users have engaged in pirating, 4.1 are devoted to pirated television programs, 1.2 times to films and 0.6 times only to music.
"Our report on digital piracy shows that while much remains to be done to resolve the issues of piracy and copyright, in particular in a world where the digital market is more and more important, we seem to be on the right track ", explains Christian Archambeau, director executive of the EUIPO.
Moral of the story: faced with an interesting legal offer, Internet users are ready to pay. Still, the proliferation of services is starting to seriously affect families' budgets if they wish to subscribe to all platforms.
Between Spotify Premium, Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, Canal + or OCS, the monthly invoice is around 100 euros. If packs grouping several services exist, this still represents a certain budget. And this is undoubtedly what is still slowing down the last followers of illegal downloading. Piiiiirates!
Newsletter 🍋 Subscribe, and each morning receive a summary of the tech news in your mailbox.
FC Barcelona: Gerard Piqué wins his match against the Spanish tax authorities
2022: the year of all dangers
CAN 2022 / Cameroon – Gambia: "We know their strengths" says the Indomitable Lions coach
Stade Toulousain: Dupont back against Racing before joining the Blues
CdF: Ludovic Blas propels Nantes to the quarter-finals
A mother discusses the responsibility of Meta and Snapchat for the suicide of her daughter
The Nike Air Max 97 will make a comeback
Euro 2022 handball: on the wire, the French team loses in the semi-final against Sweden
Jean-Luc Reichmann physically diminished, his drawn features visible on the air
Mali: the junta insupports its Western partners
The public establishment Yvelines – Hauts-de-Seine maintains its budget for 2022


text:
Q: How to handle blocked scripts in requirejs I am using require js to load google analytics.
In config I have
requirejs.config({
    "paths": {
        "ga": "//www.google-analytics.com/analytics",
        ...
And I have a module that depends on ga that initialises analytics.
Everything works fine until someone uses a browser plugin that blocks google analytics.
When that happens, the resulting javascript error breaks everything.

*

*failed to load resource : blocked by clien

*uncaught error: script error for: ga

How can I tell requirejs not to have a fit if a certain module fails to load?
How can you make a module optional?
Thanks.

A: require takes a 3rd argument which is an error callback, so you can assign window.ga to a function which always returns undefined.  This avoids errors when calling google analytics functions elsewhere in your code.
require(['ga'], function(data) {
  window.ga('create', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-X');
  window.ga('send', 'pageview');
}, function() {
  window.ga = function(){};
});

A: You could require the module within your own module code but outside of the module definiton requirements, but this does mean you can't quite as easily chain on dependencies you need. i.e.
define([ /* Normal dependencies here ... */], function() {

    try {
        require(['ga']);
    } catch (error) {
        // Handle lack of GA if needed
    }

};

Alternatively you'd have to write your own module wrapper which synchronously blocks as it attempts the above, then returns GA if it was successful, or null otherwise.

A: I found the best way is to use the array notation for path definitions.  This way you can define the external URL for the module, and a local fallback, in your requirejs path configuration.  No need for additional try/catch blocks or module-specific error handling.
Documentation link:
http://requirejs.org/docs/api.html#pathsfallbacks
I defined a module named noop which defines an empty function, and then set up my paths like this:
requirejs.config({
    "paths": {
        "ga": [
            "//www.google-analytics.com/analytics",
            "util/noop"
        ],
        ...

A: The best solution, It works for me.

Open lib/mage/requirejs/resolver.js file.

   /**
     * Checks if provided module has unresolved dependencies.
     *
     * @param {Object} module - Module to be checked.
     * @returns {Boolean}
     */
    function isPending(module) {
        return !!module.depCount;
    }

Replace with this bellow code:

    /**
     * Checks if provided module is rejected during load.
     *
     * @param {Object} module - Module to be checked.
     * @return {Boolean}
     */
    function isRejected(module) {
        return registry[module.id] && (registry[module.id].inited || registry[module.id].error);
    }

    /**
     * Checks if provided module has unresolved dependencies.
     *
     * @param {Object} module - Module to be checked.
     * @returns {Boolean}
     */
    function isPending(module) {
        if (!module.depCount) {
            return false;
        }

        return module.depCount > _.filter(module.depMaps, isRejected).length;
    }

Thanks


text:
Jenny Lou Sherburne Pottery
At her studio in Bakersville, Jenny Lou Sherburne works to infuse a Dr. Suess-style joy with her own love of the functionality of pottery. Jenny states that her work celebrates the "beautiful excesses of both mother nature and human nature." She does this by utilizing bright colors, ornate textures, and fanciful forms.
Jenny Lou studied pottery at Berea College, where she was able to get college credit and a stipend for working in clay. She did her graduate work in Louisiana and spent time working in Chicago, West Virginia, and Florida before Jenny Lou Sherburne Pottery found a home in Bakersville. For Jenny Lou and family, it was a great place to raise children, and the beauty and creativity of Mitchell County were magnets.
Visitors to Jenny Lou Sherburne Pottery may find her throwing, assembling, carving, or glazing in her studio space. She insists that this work isn't always dramatic, but she's happy to welcome people into her artist habitat. She has a small display area of pottery and is always happy to answer questions, trade tips, provide directions to other studios, or just to visit.
Open by appointment.
Craft TrailsPottery
310 North Mitchell Avenue Bakersville, NC 28705Get DirectionsPhone: (828) 688-1367 Web: https://www.jennylousherburnepottery.comEmail: jennylouclayart@gmail.com Facebook Instagram
Located Nearby
Roan Mountain, near Bakersville, is famous for its spectacular annual display of rhododendron blooms. Every...
Penland School of Craft
From weaving school to world-renowned craft designation Penland School of Craft is an internationally-celebrated center...
Explore Crafts of the Blue Ridge
Follow the Blue Ridge Craft Trails to find makers of authentic handmade crafts that rely on the native materials of our mountains.
Find Craft Destinations
A Living Heritage of Craft
Discover the traditions of handmade craft passed down by generations in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.


Swipe your finger over the words that are scattered in the puzzle until the entire grid is cleared! Be careful, because the order in which you find the words matters! Once you're finished with the puzzles we created for you, dive into limitless mode for endless fun! Limitless mode will keep generating fresh random puzzles for you to keep solving so that you never run out! Battle it out on the high scores leaderboards by solving the most puzzles!


IS THE PERFECT FOAMING INSTANT OXYGEN MASQUE THAT HAS INSTANT AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS FOR THE SKIN.
It was developed by our scientists with major facial technology. This high-performing, yet gentle, most potent natural ingredients to help rebuild skin's youthful support system. Key to the formula is the exclusive targeting complex, a blend of natural extracts that provide the full benefits of the peptide, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants to detoxify, hydrate, and refresh the skin precisely where it's needed. It also dives deep into the skin's surface, rebuilding its support system to increase density, suppleness, and cushion while reducing the look of lines and wrinkles.
This Oxymasque helps to instantly revive dull, tired skin leaving it clean, soothed, glowing and refreshed. Provides immediate and long-term benefits, and also helps to increase the skin's plumpness and decrease puffiness. Special Ginseng Extract active complex provides healing and soothing effects to rejuvenate and purify the skin.
THE PERFECT FLASH RECOVERY MASK FOR YOUR GLOWING SKIN! CLICK HERE!
Oxymasque diminishes unsightly dark circles, reduce puffiness, and smooth fine lines and wrinkles.
It is also plant-based soy and rice peptides naturally encourage collagen synthesis on a molecular level.
Clinical study reported a 25% reduction in puffy skin, 32% diminishment in dark circles, and 30% fewer lines after a few weeks.
BRIGHTENS AND TONESVitamin E hydrates, nourishes, and corrects skin while providing protection against free-radicals.
Oxymasque repairs, restores, and rejuvenates regenerative elastin fibers to reduce wrinkle depth, and relieve tired, puffy skin.
This is a popular plant that has been used in skin care for many years. It is packed with minerals, antioxidants, enzymes, and vitamins A, C, and E, which all work together to reinforce the skin's barrier.
This is also natural skin lightener that promotes a healthy glow of the skin as it heals and restores its natural moisture content. Chamomile extract is hypoallergenic and helps to reduce skin irritants by neutralizing free radicals on the skin.
This is used in skincare as an anti-aging ingredient that helps to tone and brighten the skin. The herb can easily boost collagen, which firms the skin and helps delay the onset of lines and wrinkles.
Based on its bevy of beautiful benefits. In skincare, rosemary increases blood circulation to the skin's surface, smooths the appearance of wrinkles, moisturizes, tones, and can help with the treatment of sun and scars damaged skin.
This is rich in fatty acids and is excellent for moisturizing the skin. Also an addition to vitamin E, avocado oil contains potassium, lecithin, and many other nutrients that can nourish and moisturize the skin in a beautiful way.
This is extremely nourishing and revitalizing to the skin. Sea buckthorn oil is rich in Vitamin E, Lycopene, Linoleic acid, and Palmitic acid. It also helps repair damaged skin cells and a good skin nourisher which promotes glowing and healthy skin.
Globally, especially in urban areas, our bodies are continually bombarded with toxins. There is pollution in the air we breathe – outdoors and indoors, there are chemicals in the food we eat, the clothes we buy, the cleaning products we use and in the body, cosmetics, and hair care products that we use.
And also there is Electromagnetic field (EMF) pollution from all the modern technology like computers and cell phones. Combine all of that with sedentary lifestyles, poor attitudes, poor eating habits, high stress and poor quality of sleep and the result is always a body that can simply become overwhelmed by an ever-increasing toxic load.
PREVIOUS POST Previous post: If you don't use staircase while going to 30th floor why do you use it in Network Marketing?


text:
Q: Divisor of a function on a curve Let $k$ be an algebraic closed field with character not equal to 2, $a,b,c\in k$ be distinct numbers, and consider the curve $C: y^2=(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)$. Let $P=(a,0),P_{\infty}$ for the point at infinity. Then $div(x-a)=2(P)-2(P_{\infty})$. Here, the curve $C$ really means projective curve $C: y^2z=(x-az)(x-bz)(x-cz)$, so I guess $div(x-a)$ here should mean $div(\frac{x}{z}-a)$.
My problem is how to compute $ord_{P_{\infty}}(\frac{x}{z}-a)$. I konw the local ring at $P_{\infty}$ is $(k[x,z]/(z-(x-az)(x-bz)(x-cz)))_{(x,z)}$, and it is  a regular local ring. But I cannot find the uniformizer and prove $ord_{P_{\infty}}(\frac{x}{z}-a)=2$.

A: One way to compute the order is to look at the degree of the map and the fiber. Since the generic fiber of the map $x: C \to \mathbb{P}^1$ has degree two, but the fiber over the point at $\infty$ has cardinality one, the map $x$ must be doubly ramified there (by a general fact about compact Riemann surfaces*): in other words, the meromorphic function $x$ has a double pole at the point at infinity. This implies that $x-a$ has a double pole  there for any $a$.
(You might, similarly, try showing that $y$ has a triple pole at the point at infinity.)
*This fact is the following: if $X, Y$ are compact Riemann surfaces and $f$ a nonconstant holomorphic map, then the sum $\sum_{x \in f^{-1}(y)} e_f(x)$ is constant (the degree) where $e_f(x)$ denotes the ramification of $f$ at $x$ ( 1 if unramified).


Lawyer Packed Doctor in Central Israel Attorney in Tel Aviv-Jaffa Ibn Gabirol 124 Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Areas of Practice Ministry of Defense, Banking, Property damage, Public, Transport and more. Specializing in Appreciation Tax and Medical Institute. You can get advice with regard to Class action or Engineering, Doctor Packed A lawyer with extensive knowledge and experience in fields Capital Market Customs and Legal Advice. For further details enter to my card.
Lawyer Yaron Rosman in Central Israel Attorney in Tel Aviv-Jaffa Tubal 5 Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Areas of Practice Debts and execution, Banking, Citizens, Consumerism, Mediation and more. Specializing in Extradition and Invasion of privacy. You can get advice with regard to Custody or Receivership, Rosman Yaron A lawyer with extensive knowledge and experience in fields Capital Raising Street Accidents and Franchises. For further details enter to my card.
Lawyer Joseph Ronen (Vargas) in North Attorney in All cities Ein Harod 18965 All cities, Areas of Practice Banking, Property damage, Wills & Estates, Transport, Citizens and more. Specializing in Water Damage and Advertising and PR. You can get advice with regard to Citizenship or Driving recklessly, Ronen (Vargas) Joseph A lawyer with extensive knowledge and experience in fields Taxation of Capital Market The new scoring system and Shared parenting. For further details enter to my card.
Lawyer Gilad Ronen in Sharon Attorney in Herzliya Avraham Stern 13 Herzliya, Areas of Practice Medical Malpractice, Real Estate and Land, Mediation, Wills & Estates, Computers and Internet and more. Specializing in Taxes and Trusts Law. You can get advice with regard to Representing Employers or Hitting a pedestrian, Ronen Gilad A lawyer with extensive knowledge and experience in fields Tenders Ecommerce and Medical Board. For further details enter to my card.


Recipe : Wash & dress 500g. vegetable like egg plant, drum sticks, marrow, potatoes, peas, cauliflower etc. Boil 200g. Toor dhal in 800ml water for 40 minutes. Retain water. Soak 50g. tamarind in 100ml. warm water for 30min. & extract pulp. Sieve & transfer into boiled dhal. Separately fry 100g. coarsely chopped red onions & 100g chopped tomatoes. Add the vegetable, 20g. Sambhar Masala, salt & stir fry for 5min. Transfer boiled dhal along with water & simmer for 20min.
Ingredients : Coriander seeds, Turmeric, Cumin, Red Chillies, Iodised Salt, Fenugreek Seeds, Rai, Mustard, Black Pepper, Cassia, Dried Ginger, Cardamom Amomum, Nutmeg, Cloves, Mace, Asafoetida.


text:
Q: Either Sign Up and Log In should lead to different pages or one of those links should be removed When I tried to log in I noticed that Sign Up and Login will both bring you to this page :

Why would this page show up if I already clicked that I want to sign up ?
I says skip this page and bring me to the sign up section. Or remove one of the two buttons.

A: These links will very shortly be different pages.  We will be rolling out a new, very simplified, design for the login and sign-up pages using SSL after the holidays.


Resources – What Is this Song?
Because we want you to consume as much musical content as possible, we have thought about providing you with a list of websites that offer it. Musical knowledge and listening to music are important things that any individual needs.
These websites will bring you closer to the world of music by providing you with news about your favorite bands or singers. Also, some of them will offer you some valuable knowledge in case you want to become a musician yourself. As the path to success is a long one, you can learn how to gain exposure.
So, make sure you listen to your favorite songs and then check each of these resources to find one that is appealing to you. Hopefully, you will find something helpful and something that will have an impact on you. Browse them and open a new window to the world of music!


text:
Q: CreateSprocAccessor parameter issue with DB2 I'm using Enterprise Library 5.0 and can get the CreateSqlStringAccessor to work fine with a custom parameter mapper, but I get:
ERROR [42884] [IBM][DB2] SQL0440N  No authorized routine named "MySchema.MySPName" of type "" having compatible arguments was found.  SQLSTATE=42884
CreateSprocAccessor Code:
var database = EnterpriseLibraryContainer.Current.GetInstance<Database>("MyDataSource");
var storedProcAccessorCommand = database.CreateSprocAccessor<ObjectResult>("MySchema.MySPName", new PersonKeyParameterMapper());
var searchResult = storedProcAccessorCommand.Execute("123456");
var rowCount = searchResult.Count();

CreateSqlStringAccessor Code:
var database = EnterpriseLibraryContainer.Current.GetInstance<Database>("MyDataSource");
var command = database.CreateSqlStringAccessor<ObjectResult>("select FirstName, LastName, MiddleName from MySchema.MyTable where PersonKey = @PersonKey", new PersonKeyParameterMapper());
var searchResult = command.Execute("123456");
var rowCount = searchResult.Count();

ObjectResult:
public class ObjectResult
{
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string MiddleName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
}

PersonKeyParameterMapper Code:
public class PersonKeyParameterMapper : IParameterMapper
{
    public void AssignParameters(DbCommand command, object[] parameterValues)
    {
        var personKey = command.CreateParameter();
        personKey.ParameterName = "@PersonKey";
        personKey.DbType = DbType.String;
        personKey.Value = parameterValues[0];
        command.Parameters.Add(personKey);
    }
}

DB2 Stored Proc Interface:
CREATE PROCEDURE MySchema.MySPName (
    IN PersonKey VARCHAR(9)
)

I've read up that ParameterMappers are required for DB2, but not sure why it's working for SqlString and not Sproc. I tried passing the parameter as "@PersonKey" and as just "PersonKey", neither work. Thanks.


text:
package org.scalatest.examples.refspec.tagging;
import java.lang.annotation.*;
import org.scalatest.TagAnnotation;

@TagAnnotation
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target({ElementType.METHOD, ElementType.TYPE})
public @interface DbTest {}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Robert Griffin III is coming back to the D.C. area -- kind of.
The Baltimore Ravens have signed the former Washington Redskins quarterback to a one-year contract to back up starter Joe Flacco. The team announced the deal Wednesday morning.
"He came in last week, worked out, had a real good workout, and we were able to come to an agreement late yesterday," Ravens' General Manager Ozzie Newsome said during a press conference Wednesday. "He will probably be here early next week to sign the deal."
"I felt like he really wanted to be here, to be a Raven," Coach Jim Harbaugh added.
Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, then earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. But injuries plagued the remainder of his time with the Redskins.
He was benched in favor of Kirk Cousins during the 2015 season.
The Redskins released the former star quarterback the next year after he spent the season on the sidelines.
The Cleveland Browns signed Griffin that year, but injuries limited him to just five games that season. He was released the following year.


text:
The A.I. Age
Navy ship embarks on new career in fishing fleet
Originally published June 2, 2016 at 5:58 pm Updated June 3, 2016 at 8:21 am
Seafreeze America's $30 million conversion is the latest investment in the local fleet of catcher processors that work off Alaska.
Hal Bernton
Seattle's fishing industry on Thursday feted the latest addition to the fleet, a 233-foot former Navy oceanographic vessel overhauled at a cost of more than $30 million for a new line of work — catching and processing fish off Alaska.
The Lake Union ceremony drew several hundred people to watch the traditional breaking of a Champagne bottle across the bow of the former John McDonnell, newly christened as the Seafreeze America.
Later this month, the ship will head north to harvest yellowfin sole and other species in the Bering Sea.
In a Seattle increasingly swept up in a tech boom, the SeaFreeze Amercia offers a reminder of the vitality of an older and still potent Puget Sound industry.
"My whole thing is that it's important for Seattle to maintain a diverse infrastructure," said Matt Doherty, president of United States Seafoods, which owns SeaFreeze America. "Everyone is not a computer programmer."
The SeaFreeze America was overhauled in Seattle with the assistance of a wide range of maritime vendors.
United States Seafoods employs some 450 people with a fleet of nine vessels that will be fishing this summer. Some 50 to 70 will crew on the SeaFreeze America.
The ship will work in what is known as the Puget Sound-based "head and gut" fleet, a group of vessels that use trawl nets to scoop fish off the sea bottom, and then process them on board. Much of the harvest is sent to China, where it is reprocessed and then sent to markets in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Over the decades, the head and gut fleet has aged, and maritime tragedies — including the 2008 sinking of the Alaska Ranger that claimed 5 lives — raised safety concerns. Meanwhile, federal regulatory restrictions effectively prevented any new replacement vessels.
Those restrictions have been lifted, and several companies in the fleet are now investing in new vessels, said Chris Woodley, executive director of the Groundfish Forum, an industry trade association.
Under the harvest system now in place, United States Seafoods won't be able to catch more fish by operating the Seafreeze America.
But for crews who labor for days on end in often-rough seas, the Seafreeze America will offer a safer platform than the much smaller vessel it will largely replace. And the state-of-the-art processing operations will enable the company to turn out more high-value products and reduce discards.
"It allows us to maximize the use of the fish that we are already are catching," Doherty said.
Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com


text:
NDRANGHETA LATIN AMERICA
CRIMINAL MIGRATION
JUAREZ CARTEL
BRAZIL GROUPS
Home ᐳ News ᐳ Brief ᐳ Honduras Police Chief Says Officers Plotting to Kill Him
Honduras Police Chief Says Officers Plotting to Kill Him
HONDURAS / 14 DEC 2011 BY ELYSSA PACHICO EN
A week after the former security minister was gunned down, Honduras' chief of police said during a graduation ceremony that some officers have plotted to kill him.
According to Police Director Jose Ricardo Ramirez del Cid, some of his own officers have been involved in assasination attempts against him.
He added that the most recent attempt involved a group of seven gunmen arrested on December 8.
Authorities originally said that the gunmen were planning to bust an inmate out of a high-security prison. Other security officials later confirmed that the gunmen were charged with assasinating a top ranking police officer, but did not name Ramirez del Cid.
The comments came shortly after the former Honduran Security Minister Alfredo Landaverde was gunned down in Tegucigalpa.
Ramirez del Cid's allegations join a long list of complaints about corruption and abuse within the Honduran police. Police have been accused of selling guns to criminals, using excessive force and working with organized crime.
HONDURAS POLICE REFORM
Why Does Latin America Dominate the World's Most Violent Cities List?
BRAZIL / 24 MAR 2022
The 2021 ranking of the world's most violent cities predictably features a heavy presence by Latin American and Caribbean population…
InSight Crime's 2021 Homicide Round-Up
ARGENTINA / 1 FEB 2022
In 2021, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a marked increase in murders. Resurgent violence was to…
US Bounties Hit Honduran 'Transportista' Family
COCAINE / 6 MAY 2022
The US has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of leaders of the Montes Bobadilla…


text:
Pakistan To Cynically Free Daniel Pearl's Killers
by Tsionizm Staff April 4, 2020 13743
Image by Queerbubbles
UPDATE: Pakistani authorities on Friday ordered the detention of four men set to be released after being acquitted by a court over the murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, and the government said it would challenge the acquittal next week, reported Reuters.
Pakistan is set to cynically release the four terrorists convicted of murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi after investigating terror links to the Pakistani government. He was subsequently beheaded and the video was distributed around the world on Youtube, a preview of the atrocities to come with the Islamic State.
The United States slammed the ruling, with the top U.S. diplomat for South Asia writing on Twitter that the verdict "is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere," reported The Jerusalem Post.
"No evidence has been brought on record by the prosecution to link any of the appellants to the murder of Pearl and as such all the appellants are acquitted of murder," said a two-member bench of the Sindh High Court, in a ruling seen by Reuters.
"The prosecution cannot stop their release in this case, unless they produce a Supreme Court interim order," Muhammad Farooq, a lawyer at the Sindh High Court, said, adding that the government could also seek to keep them detained by using a law related to the maintenance of public order.
"Legally they cannot stop their release in this particular case," Farooq said.
You can read more on the story from The Jerusalem Post here.
Riots Break Out In Arab, Orthodox Neighborhoods Of Israel Over Strict Quarantine
THEY ARE COMING AFTER US
Daniel PearlIslamPakistanterrorism
Lentil Soup Four Ways
In Israel, The Political Weathervane Continues To Point To A New Election
Tsionizm Staff December 2, 2019 December 2, 2019
On The Passing Of A True Zionist
Baruch Pletner January 7, 2019 January 7, 2019
Major Traffic Arteries In Tel-Aviv To Close For A Protest By Members Of The Ethiopian Jewish Community
njlamer April 4, 2020 at 12:23 pm
Find their relatives where ever they are and Kidnap and execute them..Isn't that how the Pakistani's do it???


text:
Mrs. Josephine Wray
Mrs. Josephine Wray, 86, passed away on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at her residence, in West Point. She was born on July 24, 1931, in Buena Vista, the daughter of the late Johnnie Elmore and Alice Bell Huffman Lawson. She worked as a Seamstress at Knickerbocker Manufacturing and was a Homemaker. She enjoyed reading cookbooks, cooking, canning, and flower gardening. She enjoyed taking care of everyone, especially pets. She was a member of the Old Aberdeen Road Church of Christ in West Point. She married Merritt Wayne Wray on January 19, 1952, in West Point. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother: Johnnie Harold Lawson. Funeral services will be Friday, April 20, 2018, at 11:00 A.M. from Calvert Funeral Home Chapel with Mr. Tommy Lawson officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Garden Cemetery in West Point. Calvert Funeral Home of West Point is in charge of arrangements. Survivors include Her Husband, Wayne Wray; Her daughter, Jo Alice Wray Vest (Greg); and Her son, Jerry Wayne Wray (Debra), all of West Point; eight grandchildren; Angela Millsaps (Shay Delarm) of Middleton, ID, Thomas Millsaps (Carrie), Alex Millsaps (Brittany), Sam Millsaps, and Wes Millsaps, all of West Point, Wendy Young (Chris) of Noxapater, Lacey Williams (Bubba) of Cumberland, and Josh "Zee" Miller of Clute, TX; seven great-grandchildren; Randy Millsaps, Jaxson Millsaps, Garrett Hendricks, Corbin Hendricks, Brayden Young, Hunter Williams, and Reagan Williams; her sister, Mary Alice Taylor of Branson, MO; her brother, Robert Lloyd Lawson (Deena) of Woodstock, AL and a sister-in-law: Mary "Judy" Lawson of West Point. Pallbearers will be Sam Millsaps, Thomas Millsaps, Wes Millsaps, Alex Millsaps, Frank Pettit, and Robert D. Lawson. Honorary Pallbearers will be Dr. Ed Miller, Jr., Brett Miller, NP, Nurses and Staff of Dugan Memorial Home and Sanctuary Home Hospice, and her caregivers: Martha Cohea and Anna Henderson. Memorials may be made to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, LeBonheur Children's Hospital, 848 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the West Point/Clay County Animal Shelter, 1212 Old Tibbee Road, West Point, MS 39773. Visitation will be Friday from 9:00-11:00 A.M. at Calvert Funeral Home. Friends may leave an online condolence at www.calvertfuneralhome.com
Mrs. Josephine Wray, 86, passed away on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at her residence, in West Point. She was born on July 24, 1931, in Buena Vista, the daughter of the late Johnnie Elmore and Alice Bell Huffman Lawson. She worked as a Seamstress... View Obituary & Service Information
The family of Mrs. Josephine Wray created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories.
Mrs. Josephine Wray, 86, passed away on Tuesday, April 17, 2018,...
Send flowers to the Wray family.


text:
Our Lives | JAPAN LITE
Returning the seaweed to the sea
by Amy Chavez
Imagine yourself out on the Seto Inland Sea in a boat. You're by yourself, floating along happily. You open a beer and kick back for a while letting the boat drift in tranquility. You can see the shore, but it's a bit far to swim to. Ahhhhhh. But wait — the boat is sinking!
What is your immediate plan of action?
1. Drink the rest of the beer, then start swimming to shore.
2. Drink the beer and use the beer can to bail the water out.
3. Drink the beer and eat the boat. By all means.
The correct answer is No. 3 — drink the beer and eat the boat. That's because your boat is made out of seaweed! Aren't you glad it goes down well with beer?
Now you're probably wondering: Why would anyone make a boat out of seaweed?
Lots of reasons, according to artist Tanotaiga, whose seaweed boat is a project of Heart Art Okayama, an NPO in the city of Okayama. Tanotaiga is tracing the history of seaweed-making in the Seto Inland Sea.
The artist, who hails from Sendai, came to Shiraishi Island in January looking for ideas for an art project. He saw our seaweed factory (nori kobo) and became interested in the origins of seaweed cultivation.
Nori is the Japanese word for seaweed. Why it has the same pronunciation as the word for "glue" is, hopefully, just a coincidence.
In the Edo Period, Shiraishi Island did a roaring trade in seaweed.
During the Genroku Era (1688-1703), the islanders transported the processed seaweed by boat to Fukuyama Port, where it was presented to the feudal lord of the Fukuyama Castle.
But the seaweed trade almost came to a complete halt around 1955. "These days the seaweed is not such high quality," the artist Tanotaiga says. "The sea is very different now from what it used to be."
Great changes to the sea were initiated in the 1950s and '60s when dams were built and land was reclaimed in various parts of the Inland Sea. The change in the natural currents affected the nutrients in the water and thus the quality of life in the sea.
Even the color of the seaweed has changed. Despite government involvement to try to save the industry on Shiraishi, it is questionable how much longer the seaweed business can survive here.
"Another problem," says Tanotaiga, "is that Japanese consumers are too picky. They won't buy sheets of seaweed if there is even one hole in them."
As a result, a lot of otherwise perfectly good seaweed is thrown out because it can't be sold. "So they actually lose money making it now."
It is this very "rejected seaweed" from our island that Tanotaiga is using to make his boat. "I would love to be able to take the boat to Fukuyama Port as a symbolic gesture," he said. "But the boat would sink."
I think a seaweed boat is a great idea. Japanese restaurants are famous for their sushi boats: small replica wooden boats put in the middle of the table for serving sushi and sashimi.
Often, previously live fish are poised in skeletal form next to their insides on the open boat. Add some wasabi and . . . voila! You've got the freshest, most delicious sashimi you can buy.
If you're eating from a sashimi boat in a restaurant in San Francisco, I've heard you can actually hear the fish souls singing "I left my heart in San Francisco."
For those who don't like raw fish, or for those who just have a hankering for marine algae with their beer, a seaweed snack boat is a nice alternative.
But, as Tanotaiga will tell you, it's not easy to make a boat out of seaweed. First, he had to find a place to build it. He finally found an old house on the port with sliding doors and an engawa (open corridor) where he could work on the boat in the living room but within full view of pedestrians and among a beautiful Japanese garden.
He has been working on his boat for two weeks now. The 3.4 m x 1.5 m frame is made out of pine wood and hundreds of 20 cm x 20 cm dried sheets of porphyra seaweed being affixed with a stapler. Bring your own rice.
The artist will put the finished seaweed boat on display on the beach through Tuesday.
At the end of the exhibition, he'll float it. I can't help but think it's the perfect boat for two people to have a romantic sinking. But at least the seaweed will just go back to where it came from.
And the couple on board? Well, they can sink or swim.


Dulux Trade is the UK's leading manufacturer of high performance trade paint systems supporting decorators, specifers, contractors and merchants. As an expert on environmental sustainability, colour and innovation, Dulux Trade creates solutions that deliver proven performance in the laboratory and in the real world, and sets a benchmark for quality in the coatings industry.
Guess the name of the Dulux Puppy & Take it Home in Time for Christmas!


Today the Times of India has published a story about Atul Kulkarni and his love for Belgaum.
I am very happy to read Atul kulkarnis views. He is so broad minded and understood the problem correctly. I hope every person in belgaum thinks in same way and solve this nonsense matter and focus on the development of belgaum and make belgaum a better place.
On We The People on NDTV from 9 to 11 mins Atul Kulkarni talks about Belgaum dispute. I am quoting his words verbatim here.
November 1st is nearing. I wish both the warring sides and their "savior" newspapers think on this prudent analysis and put efforts to better the present and future, rather than cribbing about the past and rubbing the wounds with salt.
Fantastic comment 🙂 worth a salute..!!
Kudos , I very much appreciate the views of Atul kulkerni.His views are broad minded and preaches multicultural milieu . Definately Belgaum will be a great and wonderful place on Earth if his views are followed by Belgaum people. More ever I am his great fan. The Blog posted by Uday is Excellent and Significant.
Atul is a proud son of belgaum ! Its very nice to know about him.


Adidas is currently in development of a new wearable fitness tracker called 'Chameleon' and is preparing a launch for the device sometime next year, if the latest rumor is to be believed. The tracker, which is being positioned as a lifestyle wearable, could get its namesake from the way it will allow customization, perhaps from the various color and finish options that are said to be available once the device launches, although this detail has not been confirmed as the device has not officially been outed by Adidas.
One thing to also consider is that "Chameleon" may simply be an internal codename, as it's typical for brands to refer to their products internally with a different name than what will be used for when the device hits store shelves. The tracker is rumored to come with a display that will be light on energy use with a suggestion that e-paper could potentially be the tech used for the screen. In addition to the new hardware from Adidas, it's being stated that the Chameleon tracker will be accompanied by a brand-new companion app called 'All Day' that will provide the interface for interacting with the spread of features and functions that are capable with the wearable.
According to the details, consumers will be able to use the wearable/app combo to track sleep data, various activities, and other important health data. There were no specifics mentioned, but consumers can probably expect it to track things like steps, calories burned, distance, and maybe specific stats like running. Nothing has been mentioned in regards to other hardware specifications, such as the battery capacity, or whether or not the Chameleon tracker will have a heart rate sensor or other tech that can commonly be found in fitness trackers, such as GPS. Furthermore, there has been no mention of an exact availability date or of how much the wearable will cost once it launches. While there is no official indication of a target market, it potentially being a lifestyle wearable suggests that it will be aimed at a more broad range of consumers, similar to that of some of Fitbit's trackers, as opposed to those that are solely focused on health and fitness performance.