I stand with @PoliticalKathy, a Chinese-American immigrant, Trump supporter, and a powerful voice against discrimination who was wrongly stripped of her Miss Michigan title. pic.twitter.com/wEPc6p4bap
Suggestion: reach out to Lee Plakas, the super-lawyer in Canton, OH who successfully pulled off a miracle and won a defamation lawsuit against the Oberlin thugs.
[ToloNews] Mohib says the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... wanted to overrun several provinces but they failed.
The National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib on Thursday said the Talibs had plotted major attacks on the start of the current year to occupy Kabul, but the group failed to take over a single district in the country.
While assessing the security situation in the northern province of Parwan on Thursday, Mohib said that the Afghan cops managed to recapture several areas which had fallen to the Taliban in the past.
"This year, the enemy was looking to enter Kabul or at least take over several provinces," Mohib said.
He said that Afghan people will not accept the peace in which they do not see the interests of their country.
"If the peace comes in the shape of a project or conspiracy in which our system will be disrupted, we all will retaliate against it," added
"We want peace, but a dignified peace, a peace which is lasting, a peace which comes on behalf of the people of Afghanistan," said Ghulam Bahauddin Jailani, head of Parwan Provincial Council.
Mohib pledged to work together with the security institutions to improve security in some restive regions of the province.
BREAKING: Peace must be returned to Yemen in accordance with the UN council’s resolutions, the United Nations envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths says. https://t.co/8lmZF2xnN5pic.twitter.com/21Q2CL6ksm
[DAWN] The US House voted Wednesday to block $8.1 billion in arms sales to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and other allies, a rebuke of Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... that will likely lead to a veto by the president.
Lawmakers, many of whom are outraged with the kingdom over Riyadh's role in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, approved three resolutions that would prevent the controversial sales announced under emergency measures earlier this year by Trump.
The resolutions blocking the sales have already cleared the US Senate, and now go to the White House, where Trump is expected to issue a veto, the third of his presidency.
While the House blocked the sales with a comfortable majority, it was about 50 votes shy of the two-thirds needed to override Trump's veto.
Trump is seeking 22 separate sales of aircraft support maintenance, precision-guided munitions and other weapons and equipment to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan at a moment of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2019 00:00 ||
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[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
Where is their damn outrage about illegal immigrants coming here raping and murdering and only God knows what else.
Posted by: chris ||
07/19/2019 10:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Opposition Party Kabuki Theater™ in the Democratic Party controlled US House of Representatives...
[IsraelTimes] Israel’s EMT service Magen David Adom this week carried out a training seminar in Milwaukee on response to attacks on public religious institutions.
The training session was held in response to recent attacks in schools and houses of worship in the US.
Magend David Adom says it is uniquely trained in responding to such attacks due to its experience with terror attacks in Israel.
Organizers say over 150 people from dozens of faith-based groups completed the course.
"Unfortunately, over the years, we had a lot of experience with terrible events and one of the things that we saw is everybody can save lives," MDA paramedic Raphael Herbst tells ABC News. "It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Moslem, religious, nonreligious, it’s for everyone. Every human being should be able to know how to save people’s lives."
[DAWN] The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday announced that Pakistain will grant consular access to Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav.
"As a responsible state, Pakistain will grant consular access to Commander Kulbushan Jadhav according to Pak laws, for which modalities are being worked out," a blurb issued by the FO read.
According to the statement, the decision was made in pursuant to the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"Commander Kulbushan Jadhav has been informed of his rights under Article 36, paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations," the FO added.
In its verdict, the ICJ had ruled that Jadhav be allowed consular access immediately and asked Pakistain to ensure "effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences".
The ICJ, however, had rejected all other remedies sought by India, which included the annulment of the military court decision convicting Jadhav, restricting Pakistain from executing the sentence, securing Jadhav's release and ordering his return to India.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2019 00:00 ||
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[11134 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi with regards to a petition filed by the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government challenging a Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to grant bail to Rizvi.
The firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... holy man was booked for launching violent protests against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi last year.
A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed, took up the provincial government's petition at the Supreme Court Lahore registry.
The bench asked the Additional Prosecutor General Mazhar Sher Awan what Rizvi's main crime was.
Awan responded that the TLP chief had given speeches against the judiciary and riled up people.
"These are the facts of the case, speak about the law and tells us Khadim Hussain Rizvi's crime," said Judge Malik.
"What is wrong with the high court's decision to release Khadim Hussain Rizvi on bail?" he asked.
The apex court expressed displeasure with the additional prosecutor general for being unable to provide the court with proper assistance.
"You don't know the merits of the case; who drafted it?" Judge Malik asked, adding: "How many individuals' bail do you want to have cancelled?"
Awan said that they had only submitted a petition for the cancellation of bail for Rizi and Ata Mohammad.
The judge asked if Awan had read the case file, as Mohammad was the complainant of the case and the additional prosecutor general was referring to him as a suspect.
The SC issued notices to the TLP chief on the Punjab government's appeal and adjourned proceedings.
Rizvi and the then TLP patron-in-chief, Pir Afzal Qadri ‐ who is also nominated in the same case ‐ were granted bail in May this year. Qadri's bail expired on July 15 but was extended on medical grounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2019 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/19/2019 11:49 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Gosh, it's almost as if facial recognition is an over-hyped, lame-ass technology that shouldn't be let loose outside the lab. Prolly good money in sales, though. And I say that as a machine-learning fanboi.
#4
Actually facial recognition is very easy to do.
Most of the algorithms are now open source. The quality of the predictions/outputs of these algos depends mainly on the quality of the data, ie the # and variety of the facial image inputs.
The field is just an offshoot of computer graphics, with relies on solutions to a set of math problems involving topology, parametric surfaces and other branches of geometry that have been well understood by the industry for decades.
All that was missing was a reliably large data set of facial images.
If the input variables now include billions, or even trillions, of facial images, then it's a certainty that we will get to 99.9% reliable facial recognition for most of the population in the near term.
#5
I didn't say it was hard to do. I'm questioning the accuracy of the implementations. There is no question the algorithms are well known, but you still have to train the model. And there, the devil is in the details.
There is a big difference between finding a face in an image and recognizing a specific face. While we have lots of data in terms of pictures of faces, we don't have lots of data for a specific face. And lots of data is the key for training neural networks.
#7
SteveS - I am indeed saying it is easy to train models that ACCURATELY predict the face owner's identity. Especially if the prediction need not be processed in near-real time.
This is entirely a data quantity problem, not a hard data science or data engineering problem.
[C4ISRNET] NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. ― A U.S. Marine Corps experiment that has deployed a counter-drone system on a Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle to the Mideast is winding down, according to a Corps official.
The Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or LMADIS, comprises two MRZR vehicles, a command node and a sensor vehicle, that uses RF to jam flying drones. The capability has been deployed by U.S. Central Command, though the Marine Corps is not disclosing exactly where the system is operating or how many are deployed.
It’s an offshoot of the MADIS program of record, which is expected to support the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, with counter-UAS and a "hard kill" weapons systems. The highly mobile "gap-filler" LMADIS can be carried on a CH-53 or V-22 Osprey to detect, track, and defeat drones via an electronic warfare system.
"We’re aligned with a deployment schedule so they go out with certain units at a certain point in time," Capt. Forrest Williams, LMADIS project officer for the Program Executive Office for Land Systems said of the capability. "This effort ends by the end of FY19, but it’s going to be sustained, not by money, but by the amount of equipment that we have. As long as Marines are using the equipment, the program office will supply them."
PEO Land Systems displayed the LMADIS system at the Sea Air Space show here.
Increasingly, drone technology has found its way into the hands of terrorist groups and ragtag militias. ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria have been known to weaponize small commercial quadcopter drones, dropping small munitions and hand grenades on Iraqi and partner nation forces. Even the Taliban in Afghanistan have gotten in the game, using small drones to film attacks on remote Afghan army outposts.
In U.S. Central Command, Marines are using LMADIS on-the-move to protect convoys or provide a forward operating base with protection from unmanned aerial systems, according to Williams.
[USAToday] Iran denied Friday it lost a drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the United States said it had "destroyed" an Iranian drone that was threatening a U.S. ship.
"We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) by mistake!," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Twitter.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted military spokesman Gen. Abolfazl Shekari as saying that "all Iranian drones that are in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, including the one which the U.S. president mentioned, after carrying out scheduled identification and control missions, have returned to their bases."
The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway for the seaborne transportation of about a fifth of the world's global crude oil exports.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the drone was threatening a U.S. ship and was "immediately destroyed." He said the drone came within 1,000 yards and ignored "multiple calls to stand down."
"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," the president said. "The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities, and interests."
He called on other countries to condemn Iran's "attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce."
"I also call on other nations to protect their ships as they go through the strait and to work with us in the future," Trump said.
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, was in international waters in the Strait at roughly 10 a.m. local time when a drone approached and "closed within a threatening range."
"The ship took defensive action against the (drone) to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew," he said.
The apparent downing of the drone followed Iran's apparent seizure of an oil tanker, the nation's state media announced Thursday. Twelve crew members were on the Panamanian-flagged vessel when it was taken near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful organization with links to the military and business, said the tanker tried to smuggle a million liters of oil.
Tensions have escalated since the United States pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions.
Iran shot down a U.S. drone in June, claiming it had violated Iranian airspace, an assertion U.S. officials said was false. The president pulled back on a planned retaliatory strike against Iranian targets at the last minute. U.S. officials at the time cautioned the move should not be interpreted as weakness.
"Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness," National Security Adviser John Bolton said during a trip to Jerusalem. "No one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East. As President Trump said Friday, our military is rebuilt, new and ready to go."
On Tuesday, Trump's nominee to be the next defense secretary, Army Secretary Mark Esper, told lawmakers the United States is pursuing a strategy of "passive patrolling" in the area with coalition partners as part of an initiative dubbed "Operation Sentinel."
He said the goal was to deter further provocative actions by Iran.
"At the same time, from the highest levels of government from the president himself, we said we will meet anytime, anywhere, without precondition to discuss issues with the Iranians to get us on the diplomatic path," he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minster Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in New York on Thursday that Iran would offer a deal to the U.S. in which it would offer it enhanced inspections of its nuclear facilities in return for the permanent lifting of economic sanctions.
Posted by: gorb ||
07/19/2019 12:47 ||
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[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Zarif: Nope, uh-uh, not ours, (aside: did those dam Houthis lose ANOTHER one?) dunno how you got such an ideer, nyet, non, nein, nullo, nada, minime, nichevo.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
