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Tanzania: $3m Invested in Tourism Venture
The fifth Phase Government's efforts to open up remote areas of tourism attractions in terms of investment is now being augmented heavily by the private sector, with transformed investment of 3m US dollars.
In a move that would tangibly contribute to the growth of Tanzania's economy by initial support to local people and the 'Friedkin Conservation Fund', Mwiba Holdings have invested over that amount in Tanzania by building three new camps to operate in the north and west of the Serengeti National Park as well as Maswa Game Reserve.
That will see a new age of sustainable development in remote regions of northern Tanzania with investment from Legendary Expeditions, with Mila Camp opening its doors today, followed by two new mobile camps that will be moving with the footsteps of The Great Migration.
The Managing Director of Mwiba Group and Friedkin Group, Mr Jean Claude, reveled on Friday that the substantial investment has been focused within Tanzania, employing over 120 local craftsmen to create new fabrics, tents, furniture, décor and structures to allow the camps to welcome international guests and boost tourism in the remote areas.
Mwiba Holdings is a conservation company driving sustainable tourism in important ecological areas within northern Tanzania.
The camps will add more than 50 beds to the Tanzanian tourism industry and through conservation and community fees give much needed support to the region as well as utilize the vast wilderness areas that are protected through the Friedkin Conservation Fund.
"Building new camps such as Mila while expanding our experiences that now include various helicopter charters and tours in northern Tanzania, shows our continued commitment to Tanzania as well as its people," said Mr Claude.
He noted that Mwiba Holdings is a proud partner of Tanzania; would continue drive awareness on a global stage for tourism and bring renewed growth to the regions in which it operates.
He said the company has a responsibility to the people of Tanzania as well as the wildlife and land to make the tourism venture viable, hence maintain integrity and transparency.
Credit: Daily News
Why it's dangerous for Tanzania to withhold information about Ebola fears
In the past few weeks there have been unofficial reports that some people in Tanzania, including one in Dar es Salaam, had died of what was suspected to be Ebola virus disease. As we know, there is an ongoing outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in which thousands have died.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised Tanzania for failing to provide details about suspected cases of Ebola in the country. While Tanzania insisted it had no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola, it did not directly address the case of the woman mentioned by the WHO and provided no further information.
The reports are a cause for concern because they followed earlier cross-border Ebola cases and fatalities in neighbouring Uganda which were clearly linked to the DRC outbreak. The ongoing concern is that the disease might spread in the region, and potentially even globally.
The DRC outbreak was declared a global public health emergency in July and regional countries were advised to proactively monitor the situation and report any suspected cases of Ebola.
The cases in Tanzania, if confirmed, are also highly likely to be related to the ongoing outbreak in the DRC.
What is different and a departure from international norms in Tanzania's case is the lack of transparency, and information sharing. No clinical data, investigation results, contact tracing and laboratory tests performed have been shared by the government.
Why the government has taken this route is unclear and some observers are alleging a cover-up in which for whatever reason, the authorities in Tanzania seem deliberate about not providing the information that have been requested for by WHO. Fear and concerns among international travellers are spreading fast.
One possible explanation might be that the government is reluctant to give out details for fear of alarming the public and the international community. Providing information could spread panic while also affecting international travel, tourism and business.
The problem with this thinking is that it means missing the opportunity to contain the outbreak before more people are exposed. When this happens, a much better response is needed. And panic, as well as travel and business disruptions, may end up being even greater.
Why information matters
The importance of sharing information cannot be over-estimated. Ebola can spread at a phenomenal speed – as was shown in the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa. The only way to ensure this doesn't happen is to provide information to the public, stakeholders, put service providers on high alert, provide necessary suppliers, and ensure a functional laboratory capacity is in place. Those who have come in contact with people who have contracted the virus need to be isolated while the infected need supportive care.
Getting all stakeholders on board lessens the burden of containing an outbreak. For example, in Ebola outbreak situations we have seen before, the WHO is often willing and ready to provide technical capacity where these are lacking. These include personnel, laboratory and supplies. No such requests have been made in this case.
The WHO provides extensive guidance on a range of issues. These include definitions of suspected Ebola virus disease cases, setting up surveillance systems, contact tracing, infection prevention among health care providers and handling deaths. Under the International Health Regulations, Ebola is classified as a notifiable disease. This means that countries are obligated to report suspected and confirmed Ebola cases.
The first action on any suspected case of Ebola is to isolate the person and to provide supportive treatment. At this stage, samples are taken to a reference laboratory for testing. The next step is to trace all the people with whom the person had contact with and to try and establish whether they are showing symptoms or not.
Most of the outbreaks that have caused lots of infections and deaths have been as a result of a poor response in identifying and isolated early cases. For example in Guinea it took about three months to establish Ebola as the cause of the epidemic. This usually happens where health systems are weak, as was the case with the west Africa outbreak and in the DRC. Insecurity is an additional layer to the challenges of containing the outbreak in the DRC.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through body fluids. Risk of exposure is high in particular settings. These include health facilities such as laboratories, during burial rituals involving the washing of corpses, and other intimate acts such having sex with an infected person. The web or network of exposed people can grow quickly from one case if steps aren't taken early on to avoid further onward transmission.
Research has shown that the number of new cases generated from a single case in the absence of control measures can be as high as two. Given the relatively short incubation period of two to 21 days, several new cases can develop and a full blown outbreak may manifest.
In the event that Ebola cases are confirmed in Tanzania, the logical thing to do is to act fast to stem further spread. Isolation of infected people and their contacts is critical.
New vaccines are being tried in the DRC and Uganda especially among front line health workers who are more likely exposed to virus through attending to patients. This could also be considered to protect those at the highest risk of exposure.
The WHO and other UN agencies discourage countries from imposing travel bans. The WHO argues that travel bans are detrimental and ineffective in the control of Ebola outbreaks. Nevertheless, there is usually nervousness among potential travellers which ultimately affects businesses and normal life.
Abdhalah Ziraba, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center
Tanzania sees 2019/20 cashew nut output up 33 percent - minister
Tanzania expects to raise cashew nuts production by 33.5% in the year to September 2020, helped by favourable weather conditions and increased plantings, its agriculture minister said on Saturday.
Output in 2019/2020(October-September) is seen reaching 300,000 tonnes, up from the 225,000 tonnes produced in the 2018/2019 season.
"We expect to get a bigger harvest in the coming season, with our cashew nut production likely to rise to more than 300,000 tonnes," the minister, Japhet Hasunga, told Reuters.
"This forecast of increased output is attributed to good weather, widespread availability of farming inputs and increased plantings."
Last year, the government blocked traders from buying the crop from farmers after they could not meet the minimum indicative prices set by the president, and bought the entire crop itself.
President John Magufuli had ordered a 94 percent hike in prices, arguing that farmers were receiving too little for the most valuable of Tanzania's crop exports.
He then deployed the army to collect the entire crop of over 200,000 tonnes of cashew nuts from farmers.
But in November he sacked two ministers, saying they had failed to secure buyers.
Hasunga told Reuters that the government had eventually sold the 2018/2019 crop to a Vietnamese firm, but would allow private traders to resume buying in 2019/2020.
Tanzania inks deal to buy two passenger planes from Airbus
Tanzania has signed a contract with Airbus for the European planemaker to supply two passenger jets for the country's national airline to help expand its small fleet and extend its network of destinations, a government official said on Friday.
Benjamin Ndimila, the Chief Executive Officer of Tanzania Government Flight Agency (TGFA), told Reuters that under the contract Airbus would supply two A220-300 aircraft.
President John Magufuli has been personally championing the revival of Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), joining other regional governments that are launching or revamping national carriers to share in Africa's growing aviation business.
Last month, neighbouring Uganda also relaunched its national carrier.
TGFA, under the president's office, leases aircraft to Air Tanzania. Air Tanzania's existing fleet includes one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, two Airbus A220-300 jets and three DHC Dash 8-400 aircraft, formerly known as the Bombardier Q400 turboprop.
Ndimila said the new Airbus planes would have a more luxurious interior than in the existing aircraft.
"The new planes will have an improved entertainment system including screens in each seat," he said.
Airbus, he said, had told Tanzania the planes would be ready in about a year. He declined to say how much they would cost. Magufuli's government reckons a more efficient national airline will help tourism, a mainstay of Tanzania's economy.
On Monday, he said the airline carried 75% of domestic air traffic, up from 3% three years ago.
"So far the business is doing very well. We are overwhelmed by the demand ... we wish these planes could be delivered even tomorrow," Ndimila said.
Tanzania is building fourth largest hydro dam in Africa
Tanzania is starting the process of building the fourth largest hydro dam in Africa and the ninth largest in the world.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli is to lay the foundation stone for the construction of Stiegler's Gorge hydroelectric power project.
The project according to government officials will cost $3 billion. The 2,115 megawatts hydroelectric dam when completed will produce 5,920GWh of power annually.
The project was an original idea of Tanzania's founding President Julius Nyerere. It was abandoned due to financial and environmental concerns but the project is back on. Current president, Magufuli is however committed to industrializing his country with such projects.
The project is part of Tanzania's power master plan, to interconnect the grids of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. The government's plan is to execute such industrial projects to alleviate constant power outages hampering the manufacturing sector.
But there are concerns from environmentalists who say the dam is situated in middle of Selous Game Reserve. The reserve is the main elephant sanctuary in Tanzania and a World Heritage Site.
There are fears the dam will destroy wildlife habitat. Tanzania is part of some East African countries trying to ensure that they have enough power generation capacities. Kenya is now home to Africa's biggest wind power plant. The plant in the Marsabit County is to provide nearly a fifth of the country's energy needs.
The project is to support the Kenyan government's commitment to increase electricity generation to 5,000W.
Source: Africafeeds.com
World Bank contradicts Tanzania's rosier growth estimates, what you need to know
Tanzania's economy expanded 5.2% in 2018, the World Bank said, the second major report this year from a multilateral financial institution contradicting rosier government figures.
Tanzania's finance minister had told parliament last month that growth was 7% last year
In a report, the World Bank, which makes its calculations based on state data, also forecast 2019 growth at 5.4% – again lower than the government's estimate of 7.1%.
Last year's growth was affected by a decline in investment, exports and private lending, the report said.
"Data related to consumption, investment and net trade suggest that growth softened in 2018," it said.
President John Magufuli embarked on an ambitious programme of industrialisation after coming to power in 2015, investing billions of dollars into infrastructure, including a new rail line, reviving the national carrier and a hydropower plant.
But government interventions in mining and agriculture have led to declining investment in east Africa's third largest economy. Foreign direct investment has more than halved since 2013, while private sector lending growth plummeted to less than 4% in 2018, far below the 20% average between 2013-16.
The World Bank report follows an unpublished International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in April that also raised questions over Magufuli's handling of the economy.
A leaked version of the report, seen by Reuters, accused the government of undermining the economy with "unpredictable and interventionist" policies, saying medium-term growth would be around 4-5 percent, again below official forecasts.
In its report, the World Bank said investment growth was subdued partly because of government struggles to meet spending targets in development projects. The economy could grow to 6% by 2021 "with a modest improvement of the business climate and a pick-up in [foreign direct investment] and other private investment," the bank said.
Other economic indicators also point to a slowing economy.
The current account deficit widened to 5.2% percent of GDP in the year ending January 2019, up from 3.2% a year earlier, the bank said. The value of exports dropped nearly 4% last year, partly because the government banned cashew exports, a major foreign exchange earner, due to low prices.
On the other hand, the construction of the standard gauge railway and expansion of Dar es Salaam port helped drive up the value of imports by 7.8%, the World Bank said. The government should minimise economic risk by improving the business environment and fiscal management, it recommended.
Globally, Tanzania is also vulnerable to weaker demand, tighter financing conditions, and higher international energy prices, it said.
Mozambique says militants kill 11 in attack near Tanzania border
Eleven people were killed in an attack last week by an Islamist militant armed group in northern Mozambique near its border with Tanzania, Mozambican police said on Wednesday.
Several of the attackers from the Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama (ASWJ) group were later arrested, police added, referring to a militia operating in the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado province since at least 2014.
Six people were wounded in the raid, said Orlando Mudumane, spokesman for Mozambique Police's General Command, adding that the arrested gunmen included both Mozambicans and foreigners.
"On 26 of June, 2019, a group of bandits perpetrated an attack in the village of Itole, in Palma District, killing 11 civilians; 9 Tanzanians and 2 Mozambicans," he said.
He dismissed reports the that deaths were by beheading, a method of killing used by the group in some previous attacks.
"All of them died of gunshot wounds, no beheadings. The defense forces combed the area and have already detained some elements of the group, foreigners and nationals."
Information about the attack has been scarce, with conflicting accounts from local and international media on the number of deaths and nature of the attack in the Muslim-majority region of the southern African nation.
Last week's ambush was the latest in a spate of execution-style attacks in the area since 2017 that have so far killed more than 100 people, while forcing hundreds to flee into the interior. Tanzanian security officials on Saturday also confirmed the attack and number of deaths, but were unsure of the identity of the suspects.
"The attack took place on June 26 in Mozambique where the Tanzanians had gone to work in paddy fields," Tanzania's police chief Simon Sirro said at a weekend briefing near the border.
"According to eyewitness accounts, unidentified gunmen raided the paddy farmers and carried out the attack."
Sirro said Tanzanian and Mozambique police had launched a joint investigation into the incident.
Impoverished Cabo Delgado, surrounded by dense forests and isolated villages, houses a growing clutch of multinational companies developing one of the biggest offshore gas finds in a decade - estimated to be worth at least $30 billion.
Whilst the attacks have mostly targeted civilians and government buildings, in February U.S. energy giant Anadarko said one worker was killed and several others injured in two attacks near the construction site for its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Cabo Delgado.
The attacks by the Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama, or "followers of the prophetic tradition", have drawn comparisons to Islamist groups in Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya and the Great Lakes region.
In common with Boko Haram in Nigeria, it touts a radical form of Islam as an antidote to what it regards as corrupt, elitist rule that has broadened gaping inequality.
East Africa tackles irregular migration to the South
The problem of irregular migration from the East and Horn of Africa to southern Africa presents a formidable challenge for countries along this route.
As they device ways of managing the flows while at the same time ensuring that the human rights of migrants are respected and protected, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya, held a three day high level inter-governmental consultative conference which was expected to deliver a final comprehensive roadmap to address the situation of stranded migrants on the Southern route.
It was against the backdrop of this challenge that the three countries affected by the flux, namely The 'Southern Route' – as this migration route has become known – is reportedly used by scores of irregular migrants journeying southward in the hope of reaching South Africa.
A release from the International Organization for Migration has indicated that the consultation involved was held in partnership with both the International Organization for (IOM) and the European Union (EU). Running from Tuesday to Thursday, (April 2-4, 2019), the meeting takes place with the support of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa. The programme, backed by the Africa Trust Fund, covers and has been set up in close cooperation with a total of other 23 African countries.
According to the IOM, the initiative is motivated by the desire to strike that delicate balance between managing the movement and ensuring appropriate human rights consideration in the treatment of the migrants. It follows several bilateral and trilateral technical meetings between the abovementioned countries, since 2014.
Technical experts from the three countries, with the support of IOM, were scheduled to develop a draft outcome document to be adopted by the states at senior political level on the third day, which was this past Friday.
In light of the above, chief of mission of the IOM in Tanzania, "Dr. Qasim Sufi, had expressed optimism that the donor community would continue to step forward to support efforts for the safe return and reintegration of vulnerable migrants." He did in the same vein acknowledge the efforts of both the United Republic of Tanzania and Ethiopia to jointly assist migrants who are stranded in Kenya.
A key priority of the Joint Initiative, according to IOM, was to support partner countries in the region to develop capacities for safe, humane and dignified voluntary return as well as sustainable reintegration processes. In that regard, a roadmap aimed at addressing issues pertaining to the trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in the region, as well as the sharing of good practices and developing holistic approaches in tackling irregular migration on the Southern Route is reported to have been crafted at the consultation conference.
Other issues to be addressed by the proposed roadmap include considering alternatives to detention practices and exploring better coordination mechanisms to protect vulnerable migrants and as well improving existing voluntary return and reintegration processes and policies.
This publication made efforts to obtain comments from Wison Johwa, the IOM East Africa Regional communications officer regarding the outcomes of the EU-IOM sponsored Tri-nation initiative, which also linked me with both Alem Makonnen and Abbibo Ngandu, both based in Pretoria. The effort notwithstanding, hit a snag.
Source: Sunday Standard
Jiji takes over OLX in Ghana, four other countries
An e-commerce platform, Jiji has announced the acquisition of OLX in Ghana and four other counties in Africa.
The details of the deal was made available via a statement by Naspers on Wednesday.
Consequently, OLX users in Ghana would be directed to Jiji marketplace in a transaction backed by one of Jiji's cornerstone investors, Digital Spring Ventures.
According to the statement, both companies have also reached an agreement to acquire the other OLX businesses in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, subject to regulatory approvals.
The statement noted that all users of the sell-and-buy classifieds websites of OLX Nigeria, OLX Ghana, OLX Kenya, OLX Tanzania, and OLX Uganda would be redirected to Jiji.
The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Jiji, Anton Volyansky, while making comment on the deal, said, "Users will always come first for us. We warmly welcome OLX's customers to the Jiji family and we look forward to our new customers joining Jiji on its …online shopping experience."
OLX shut down business in Nigeria last year February while it maintained its online marketplace as workers were laid off.
Tanzania to conclude talks for delayed LNG project in September
Tanzania says it plans to conclude talks in September with a group of foreign oil and gas companies led by Norway's Equinor on developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the East African country.
Construction of an LNG export terminal near huge offshore natural gas discoveries in deepwater south of the country has been held up for years by regulatory delays.
"The government has officially decided to begin talks in early April for construction of the LNG project," Tanzania's energy ministry said in a statement issued late on Friday.
"We are keen to implement this key project for the economy and we plan to ... conclude the talks in September this year," the ministry said.
The country's central bank believes just starting work on the plant would add another 2 percentage points to annual economic growth of around 7 percent. The talks are aimed at negotiating a host government agreement, which is seen as a crucial step towards reaching a final investment decision for the long-delayed project.
The decision to speed up the talks was reached following a meeting on Friday between the African country's energy minister, Medard Kalemani, and Mette Ottøy, a senior vice president at Equinor, who is also the company's country manager in Tanzania.
Equinor, alongside Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Ophir Energy, plan to build a $30 billion onshore LNG plant. The firms plan to develop the project in partnership with the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).
Tanzania invited bids in April 2018 for consultancy services to help the government conclude negotiations for the host government agreement. Tanzania has estimated recoverable reserves of over 57 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.
Tanzania President John Magufuli wants to speed up negotiations to set the commercial and fiscal framework for the LNG terminal development to boost revenues to finance other infrastructure projects.
- Reuters
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Jan 15, 2020 Business
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Shaenon Garrity is posting some Anne Cleveland and Jean Anderson cartoons on her Live Journal. posted am PST | Permalink I apologize as my French pulled a major Vinko Bogataj trying to sort this out, but this article indicates that one of the more historically well-known Parisian BD shops may close at the end of September. The original article also seems to give multiple dates all of which end in a three -- 1963, 19 -- so I'm not exactly sure of the store's background.If someone can help unpack this for me, Xavier Guilbert Writes To Save Us All: Here is a short summary of the article you refer to -- which, to reassure you on your mastery of French, is not very clear with some puzzling points.According to the article, the bookstore is on the brink of closing down because of an impending expulsion, following rough litigation with their landlord and the real estate manager who represents them. The fuzzy part regards the 1983 date -- they mention that "Glenat Editions created the bookstore" at this date but in another location, and that they operate the current store with the Album company.The relation to the rest of the article is not clear, and there is an asterix that indicate that it could be a footnote to some part of the text that didn't get reproduced there.This is pertinent to comics because of the current, ongoing massive shift to on-line reportage and additional resources for existing on-line bodies taking place this summer.Speaking of shifts to on-line reportage and Internet magazine-type presences: Todd Mc Farlane is launching such a site.The piece goes on to contrast filing an official complaint with a violence-filled series of protests demanding government intervention, and points out a little less directly that both this incident and the Danish Cartoons Controversy exist in the context of some violence that has nothing to do with freedom of expression issues.posted am PST | Permalink A new survey by Editor & Publisher indicates that the general shift from print to on-line news sources has perhaps stabilized.
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 625 Whois Server: com Referral URL: Name Server: NS100. There's also mention of a completed 30-page introduction to Fagin that was scrapped that one hopes might see the light of day at some future date.posted am PST | Permalink In our latest attempt to get this site firing on all cylinders, our ongoing bibliography project "The Comics Registry" returns with an entry on Anne Cleveland. Germain, which once went by the name "Librairie Dupuis" -- it does in New York Times travel article"this New York Times travel article -- and may go by a different name now.· Find Your Local Comic Shop · Find an Indy/Alt-Comic Shop · General Industry Data and Analysis · Characters, Titles, Publishers, and Creators Database · Buy My Book (2003) · Syndicate This Site (RSS 1.0) · Syndicate This Site (Feed Burner) The conservative blog Brussels Journal is on its way to becoming comics news source of the year, following up its close attention to the Danish Cartoons controversy by tracking in English the complaint filed against a recent cartoon about the military conflict in southern Lebanon using imagery from the movie Schindler's List.According to the blog entry, Miryam Shomrat, Israel's ambassador to Norway, filed a complaint at the Pressens Faglige Utvalg, a body set up to receive complaints about press articles.


text:
Carrie Prejean's Mom Accused Her Dad Of Being Gay; Jon and Kate Dad's Mistress Has A Sex Tape
Margaret Hartmann
Filed to: Dirt Bag (After Dark)Filed to: Dirt Bag (After Dark)
Dirt Bag (After Dark)
Carrie prejean
jon gosselin
Jon and kate plus 8
Travis McCoy
Peaches Geldof
Trent Reznor
When Carrie Prejean said she was against gay marriage because "that's how I've been raised by my mother" she wasn't kidding. During her parents divorce, both parents hurled accusations of homosexuality at the other side.
Her parents filed for divorce in 1988 and now TMZ has routed through more than ten years of divorce and custody lawsuits. In one document, Carrie's dad said, "Ms. Prejean accused me, in front of our daughter, of homosexuality." A court appointed doctor said, "The mother questioned [within hearing of the girls] whether [her father] was a homosexual or had a homosexual roommate." Another counselor said, "The mother also alleges the father told the girls their stepfather was gay, that all men with mustaches are gay." [TMZ]
Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA franchise, will hold a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the fate of Miss California Carrie Prejean. [Perez Hilton]
Kiefer Sutherland was supposed to turn himself in to police today for headbutting designer Jack McCollough and get what is basically a ticket to appear for an arraignment at a later date. But, it's not clear if a non-resident can do this, so he may be arrested, taken into custody, and arraigned immediately. [TMZ]
As if having her brother give a lengthy interview to Us alleging that she's having an affair with Jon Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8 wasn't bad enough, now one of Deanna Hummel's ex-boyfriends has set up a website to try to sell the amateur sex tape he made with the elementary school teacher. The site features several screen grabs of a woman he claims is Hummel having sex. He writes, "The Deanna I knew wasn't above cheating, even with married men, hence our eventual breakup. During our time together we made a secret amateur sex tape. It wasn't a hidden cam or anything, she was totally aware of the fact that I was taping ... I am shopping this tape and am currently in negotiations with sites like porn.com about selling it." [Perez Hilton]
Over the weekend, Lindsay Lohan flew to Montreal for an appearance at a nightclub. She was detained at the airport by Canadian officials who considered banning her from Canada due to her DUI convictions. After an hour-long interrogation, they let her in. [Jam]
Chris Brown's lawyer has filed a discovery motion stating that, asking for written statements and reports from the LAPD regarding the photo of a beaten Rihanna. He writes, "I intend to use such evidence at the preliminary hearing to attack their credibility. The defense intends to prove and argue that the afore-mentioned officers are not credible and that the Court should not believe some of their statements," and adds, "I believe there is a reasonable likelihood that the case will be dismissed at the preliminary hearing." [TMZ]
Oprah Winfrey's crew toured Susan Boyle's home in Scotland for an episode that will air on Monday. Boyle is expected to Skype in. [E!]
Singer Cassie's computer was hacked and now topless pictures of her are circulating on the internet. Her Twitter response is awesome: "IT SEEMS THAT SOMEONE HAS HACKED INTO MY COMPUTER...THAT'S REAL FOUL AND EVIL. NOW STOP ACTING LIKE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN A TITTY BEFORE." [Fleshbot (NSFW)]
Jennifer Aniston stopped speaking to her mother, Nancy Dow, when her book From Mother And Daughter To Friends: A Memoir was published in 1999, but now Jen says the feud is over. She says of their relationship, "It's good. It's OK. Things are now fine between us. All of that is over, and we're in touch with one another. Today Mom has moved from California and she's living in Colorado, and we speak, and it's all over." [The Daily Express]
This summer Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child will head to London to star as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. [The Daily Express]
Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to Cher's house because someone hit the panic button, but it turns out someone working on her alarm system hit it accidentally. A law enforcement source said in Malibu, that happens a lot. [TMZ]
Katy Perry and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes are back together. [The Daily Mail]
Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans has died after a long battle with cancer. In January, the band's former keyboardist, Billy Powell, also died. [TMZ]
Anne Hathaway used to live in a $37,500-a-month rented Trump Tower penthouse when she was dating scam artist Raffaello Follieri. Now she lives in the Avalon Bowery rental complex, where one-bedrooms start around $4,000 per month. [NY Post]
Mary Stuart Masterson and her husband Jeremy Davidson are expecting their first child together. [People]
Michelle Obama is getting her own permanent page on People's website. [Time]
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba have released several new singles, their first new pop songs in more than 15 years. [BBC]
Goldie Hawn met with Ted Kennedy's staff today. [Politico]
Jessica Alba, Keri Russell, and Chris Rock's wife Malaak Compton-Rock are in Washington, D.C., talking to legislators about affordable health care. [Politico]
David Lynch is launching Interview Project on June 1, a black-and-white online video series, he describes as "a road-trip where people have been found and interviewed … hundreds of people." [NY Magazine]
Peaches Geldof has been threatened with legal action because she didn't pay the $575.60 gas bill for her New York apartment. [The Daily Mail]
Liam Neeson made his first public speaking appearance since the death of his wife, Natasha Richardson, to accept an award from his alma mater, Queens University Belfast. Liam quoted poet Paul Muldoon at the ceremony, saying art "builds from pain, from misery, from a deep-seated hurt, a monument to the human heart that shines like a golden dome among roofs rain-glazed and leaden," and adding, "I think it is a message that a university always gives its students in the end: It's time to move on, get on with your life. I got on with mine, and I'm still getting on." [Entertainment Tonight]
In response to Kirstie Alley complaining to Oprah that Valerie Bertinelli lost weight while she put on 83 pounds, Bertinelli says, "She should come work out with me! She should remember you can't do everything in one day [and] her exercise has to be consistent. She can do this. There's no doubt in my mind." [People]
Today The New York Times ran a story about an increasingly popular technique in which actors use Jungian theories of dream interpretation to try to act their roles in their dreams before playing them in real life. "We do some things that might be construed as voodoo, but nevertheless it gets results," says Harvey Keitel in the story. "I question everything, but I haven't been able to puncture any holes in this dream workshop." [NY Times]
This weekend PBS is running the BBC miniseries Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh as a "physically bloated, emotionally broken and proudly Swedish detective." Branagh says, "The great thing about Wallander is that he is an extreme and flawed version of parts of all our own personalities, I think of him as an everyman. He is sort of an antihero. He could take better care of himself physically, in terms of his personal wardrobe. He might make more of an effort. He might dress for success a little more, be a little aware. I know he wants to have a relationship. God! I'm talking as if I'd been on the phone with him." [Yahoo]
Lily Allen says, "People always go: 'God, you're so outspoken' … That's like someone speaking out of place. If someone asks me a question, I'm going to answer … I don't protect myself." [Sydney Morning Herald]
Earlier this week Rosie Perez went on NPR to talk about gentrification in Brooklyn, where she grew up and still lives. She said, "When I walk out of my house, I used to know everyone on my block in Clinton Hill. I walk out there now, people move away from me because I'm a person of color and then once they recognize me, they go, oh. That's a horrible feeling. That's a feeling I didn't grow up with." Now she says, "Let me tell you, since I said that [on the radio], now everybody is saying hello to me. Be careful what you wish for." [NY Magazine]
Keith Urban says of the paparazzi, "I'm as protective of my family as any father and husband can be. It can be just a bit intrusive, you know," adding that he and Nicole Kidman "what we can to keep (Sunday Rose) safe, because she didn't choose to come into this lifestyle. It's just what her mother and I do, so we do what we can to try and keep some civility about the whole thing." [Yahoo]
When Trent Reznor was asked if he has any unreleased Nine Inch Nails recordings, he said, "I'm not Prince or Rivers Cuomo, who brags about having hundreds of great songs. And to that I would say, 'Prince, if you have a hundred great songs or a thousand, how about picking a few and putting them on your record that you've put out, because your last several have sucked.' Same for you, Rivers. I say that constructively, you know." He then added, "I may be happy and engaged but I can still be a prick." [Rolling Stone]
Elizabeth Hurley has some sex tips for you, if you're heading to the English countryside. "Next time you go to someone's house in the country, be sure to check out if they have warm, possibly fluffy, rugs in front of their fire. No prizes for guessing why they're there! I can also shyly confess to having two sheepskin rugs in front of all my fireplaces!" she said, "When I close my eyes and think of England, I'm not in a fancy restaurant in Knightsbridge, but am instead lolling, scantily clad, in front of a roaring fire." [The Sun]
In a parentdish.com poll, Jennifer Garner was voted the top celebrity mother, beating out Michelle Obama and Reese Witherspoon. [The Star]
Gisele Bundchen said of planning her two secret weddings to Tom Brady, "We tried very hard to keep it private. Oh my God, you have no idea how hard that was." She added that they didn't even know the scuffle between security and the paparazzi was going on. "The next day people were calling, and I'm like, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' I didn't even know it was happening. Later on, I was like, 'What? What happened on my day?' " [People]
Michael Caine explains why he's still in movies, even though he claims he's retired. "I do very few movies now, and I wait for ... what I call to myself 'the offer I can't refuse.' It doesn't have anything to do with money, it's just a script I can't refuse," he said. [CNN]
Tilda Swinton was asked about what she drinks when she goes out, because she's playing an alcoholic in Julia. She said: "This is where I have to come out of the closet and declare that I do not drink. If I'm around champagne drinkers, my drink is ginger ale. Because it means that I can look like I'm jolly and pretend to be getting drunk as well. I become infected by other peoples' drunkenness. And when I came to play the drunkenness in Julia, I realized that it was actually very easy for me because I'd been pretending to be drunk around my friends for years. Just getting high off their highness. But then the great thing is then I'm sober so when the police are called I just let them in tell turn the music down and send everybody home." [BlackBook]
Recent from Margaret Hartmann
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Teddy Bear-Holding Children Are the Newest Weapon in the War on Abortion

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At Ben Law Photography we love capturing you and your story. Capturing the excitement and love that surrounds a wedding day is one of the most amazing events to photograph!
Being able to celebrate your accomplishments as you move to a new phase in life through senior portrait photography is so important.
I love to be able to capture you as you celebrate new life in your family through maternity portraits. Or maybe you've been married for a year -- or sixty -- and want to showcase your love. Let's create it. Let's Tell Your Story.
For the latest in Traverse City Photography, head over to the blog. Ben Law Photography loves the opportunity to share full stories and showcase the wonderful people we photograph. We can't wait for you to see the artfully crafted images we've made for others, and we can't wait to create new images with you.
Head over to the gallery to see wedding photography, engagement photos, senior portraits, maternity photo sessions, and more! You can view beautiful, hand-crafted images from Traverse City weddings, and Grand Traverse Area Portrait Sessions.
Traverse City Photographer, Ben Law Photography captures your life in photographs. Whether it's documenting the beauty of a marriage, highlighting you as you graduate, or helping you complete you vision for your product, Ben Law Photography wants to tell your story. We also love getting to know new people and explore new places!
As a photographer, I want to tell your story though photographs by combining artistic and technical approaches to capturing light, all with exceptional service.
So go have a look around, and let me know what catches your eye! See the most recent Northern Michigan Wedding and Engagement photos on the blog.
Beautiful photographs can be taken anywhere. Ben love's taking photos in Traverse City, Leeland, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Kingsley, Northport, Cedar, Cleveland, Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, The Milestone Barn, Cobblestone Farms, The Homestead, The Park Place Hotel, Ciccone Vineyard, The Boathouse Restaurant, The State Hospital, Old Mission Peninsula, Inspiration Point, Point Oneida, Ciccone Vineyard, Pyramid Point, Central United Methodist Church, First Congregational Church, The Parkshore Resort, The Corner Loft, Empire Bluffs, The City Opera House, The Hitching Post, Visions at CenterPointe, Rialto Beach, Petoskey, Harbor Springs, and more!


text:
@interface UISegmentedControl (TFEasyCoder)

-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  segmentedControlStyle))set_segmentedControlStyle;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  momentary))set_momentary;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  apportionsSegmentWidthsByContent))set_apportionsSegmentWidthsByContent;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  selectedSegmentIndex))set_selectedSegmentIndex;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(UIColor *  tintColor))set_tintColor;

//superclass pros UIControl
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  enabled))set_enabled;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  selected))set_selected;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  highlighted))set_highlighted;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  contentVerticalAlignment))set_contentVerticalAlignment;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  contentHorizontalAlignment))set_contentHorizontalAlignment;
//superclass pros UIView
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(UIView *  maskView))set_maskView;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  userInteractionEnabled))set_userInteractionEnabled;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  tag))set_tag;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  semanticContentAttribute))set_semanticContentAttribute;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(CGPoint  center))set_center;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(CGRect  frame))set_frame;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(UIColor *  backgroundColor))set_backgroundColor;
//superclass pros UIResponder
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSUserActivity *  userActivity))set_userActivity;
//superclass pros NSObject
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSArray *  accessibilityElements))set_accessibilityElements;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSArray *  accessibilityCustomActions))set_accessibilityCustomActions;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  isAccessibilityElement))set_isAccessibilityElement;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSString *  accessibilityLabel))set_accessibilityLabel;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSString *  accessibilityHint))set_accessibilityHint;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSString *  accessibilityValue))set_accessibilityValue;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(unsigned long long  accessibilityTraits))set_accessibilityTraits;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(UIBezierPath *  accessibilityPath))set_accessibilityPath;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(CGPoint  accessibilityActivationPoint))set_accessibilityActivationPoint;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(NSString *  accessibilityLanguage))set_accessibilityLanguage;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  accessibilityElementsHidden))set_accessibilityElementsHidden;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  accessibilityViewIsModal))set_accessibilityViewIsModal;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(BOOL  shouldGroupAccessibilityChildren))set_shouldGroupAccessibilityChildren;
-(UISegmentedControl  *(^)(long long  accessibilityNavigationStyle))set_accessibilityNavigationStyle;

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
← "Tree Mansion" Has Archibald Walk Residents Up in Arms
ANC6B Votes to Oppose Tree House Extension in Public Space Over Archibald Walk →
January 12, 2016 · 12:59 am
ANC6B Commissioner Brian Flahaven to Resign Seat on Friday
Watkins School. Brian Flahaven Works the Polls, November 4, 2014
Last night, ANC6B09 Commissioner Brian Flahaven announced that he will resign his seat on ANC6B effective Friday, January 15. The reason, he said, is that he and his wife are expecting their second child in April. The couple had their first child last year.
Flahaven was first elected to ANC6B 2010 with a group of reform candidates determined to bring change to an ANC which was widely regarded as insular and unresponsive to community concerns. He drew support from residents in Hill East who sympathized with his claim that the proposed Barney Circle Historic District was being foisted on Hill Easters against the wishes of a majority of the community. The proposal, which had received ANC6B approval, died while before the Historic Preservation Review Board after Flahaven was elected. Flahaven went on to establish the ANC's Hill East Task Force largely comprised of community residents to advise the ANC on matters concerning Hill East.
Flahaven served two years as Chair of the ANC, in 2013 and 2014. During his tenure, he lead a successful effort against proposed residtricting changes for Hill East in 2011 and pushed the city to close DC Gerneral. Flahaven was regarded by many as a strong voice for development in ANC6B as evidenced by his support for the Hine Development, development of Reservation 13, RFK, and the new Southeast Boulevard as well as residential projects on Pennsylvania Avenue and along the 15th Street, SE, commercial corridor. Flahaven also pushed hard for redevelopment of the Boys and Girls Club in Hill East, but turned critical of the Department of General Services (DGS) restrictions which seemed to limit the financing to Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The community and Flahaven strongly supported a mixed income project. Community opposition eventually lead DGS to withdraw the RFP.
As ANC parliamentarian, Flahaven undertook the massive job of rewriting the ANC's by-laws and worked long to continue the work started by former ANC commissioner Brian Pate to update and modernize the ANC's website.
Flahaven's last ANC6B meeting will be tonight at 7:00pm in Hill Center. To read his statement announcing his retirement posted last night on his website, go here: http://bit.ly/1JH3nWz
Once the vacancy is official, the Board of Elections will announce procedures for a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of Flahaven's term through January 1, 2017.
5 responses to "ANC6B Commissioner Brian Flahaven to Resign Seat on Friday"
Brian was a great commissioner for ANC6B09, Hill East, and Barney Circle. He'll be missed on the ANC.
Thank you Brian for your work as ANC6B Commissioner. I'm a constituent of his and he has done an amazing job representing the interests of the neighborhood and keeping us informed on things that affect us.
Brian's dedication and commitment to our Hill community has been amazing. The incredible amount of hours he has donated to serving those who live on the Hill is commendable. If he were ever to run for a city office one day, I would vote for him in a second – just throwing that out there! Thank you Brian, and thank you to your family for their patience and support as you spent so many evenings and weekends at community meetings and drafting documents and doing the due diligence that so many who have "served" this city have neglected to do for far too long – we appreciate you!
CapitolHill Babe
In response to comments above for those who think there is no impact on neighbors, I suggest you take a walk on Archibald Walk a 10 ft wide alley that is the front door for neighbors. It's an unusual, possibly a one of a kind open space that neighbors share and hang out in. I have a friend who lives there and have followed the Barrack's Row Heritage Trail that features its unique character. The tree house is 10- 15 ft from neighbors' bedroom windows. Would you want to get out of the shower and start dressing with kids watching you? Its a public space shared by all. Why should one neighbor have private control of it? Especially, owners that are absentee owners and rent the house out? They come on the weekend to their investment property on Archibald to play in the tree house. The homeowners have to live with it the rest of the time.
Check it out and see how it impacts the neighbors and the historic character of such a cool space.
Brian Pate
During my time with Brian on the Commission, he was a paragon of integrity, comity, enthusiasm, strategic acumen and vision. He set an example for constituent communications that paid elected officials would do well to emulate. And he had great heart—I'll never forget the time he called Mayor Vincent Gray on the carpet for surreptitiously planning a Redskins training center at Res 13, or how he catalyzed his neighbors to fend off redistricting plans in 2011. I fully understand why he is vacating his seat, but he will be missed. Thank you for your service Brian!


There's something in the air (at Macworld)…and we'll soon know what it is!
Well, in about one-half hour, Steve Jobs will be taking the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif., for his highly-anticipated Macworld 2008 keynote.
The Apple Web site was updated yesterday to include the phrase, "There's something in the air." What this means will undoubtedly be explained by Jobs during his presentation. Rumors of an ultra-thin, ultra-portable MacBook-like wireless Internet device called MacBook Air have been circulating around the 'net in full force the past few days, and this slogan seems to lend credence to those reports.
But we shall soon find out what it all means…directly from Steve Jobs himself.


Firstly I wanted to say a massive thank you and well done to the team!
We have come a long way since the first conference in December. Not only have you created a fantastic idea, a magical world and inspiration to get Grimm mobile but you have inspired and engaged the children who we worked with over the course of the project.
As always when working in a large group it can be difficult to pull everyone's ideas together and in fact all meet up at the same time to progress but as the project developed I could identify that you realised communication was the key to achieving the final outcome.
Our final result was achieved and you have created a theme based workshop idea that inspired and engaged children in literacy. In particular I have to say my favourite bits of the final outcome were the subtle places you managed to get reading and writing into the workshops. Including, but not limited to, the boarding passes, the departure board, the writing inside the safari area, the extra potion examples and all the additions to each workshop station.
You were able to identify the strengths and weaknesses from the pilot and move our Easter workshops on, this again took a lot of collaboration and communication. I know you have been an extremely hard working team and I hope you have all been able to see the benefit of the amount of work you have put in in relation to the final outcome. From the beginning of the project I was not certain how much of the organising I was going to be needed for and I had always hoped that as this was your project you would be able to pick it up as a group and steer it in the direction you wanted to go. I am very happy to report that I felt you did just that and so I was able to take on more of a guidance and consultant role rather than Project Lead.
One aspect I found very interesting from the whole experience (and some of you may have already picked up on it) is you, as a group, have been through the same process the children we work with at Grimm & Co. As you will be aware Grimm and Co's ethos is very child led, the children are in charge of their own learning, I feel that your experience has mirrored this. In this approach, the more you engaged with the project and the more you invested and put in ultimately resulted in the more you got out of the experience. In addition, as a group, you chose the overall theme of the workshops which I also hope helped with your engagement and investment. Again this is an approach that we use at Grimm & Co to engage children in literacy, we allow them the space and opportunity to write about what interests them. Although this was unplanned I hope it helps you identify and unpick some of the pedagogy that links with this project.


The Velvet Devil (Merlot) has just arrived at Linwood Wine & Liquors. If you're a fan of Merlot then you need to give this Charles Smith wine a try… Especially for only $9.98!!!! Check out the link below for more info!
Linwood Wine To-Go Android App!
Join us on Thursday, November 3rd 4-7pm for a special ARDBEG ALLIGATOR tasting & see the Ardbeg CHOPPER!


text:
Who Killed Kenneka Jenkins? Chicago Teen Found In Hotel Freezer After Partying With "Besties"… (VIDEO)
Social media has been ablaze with questions after a 19-year-old Chicago teen was found dead in a hotel freezer.
Kenneka Jenkins was reportedly partying with her "besties" at a hotel when she somehow went missing.
The friends drove her car back to her mom's house and alerted the mom that Kenneka was missing which sparked an emotional search by family members.
Kenneka was ultimately found in the hotel's industrial freezer downstairs a day later, and now family members, acquaintances and social media investigators are all blaming the "friends" for her unexplained death.
According to the Cook County medical examiner?s office, the body of Kennesha Jenkins was discovered inside the Crowne Plaza Chicago O?Hare Hotel and Conference Center?s walk-in freezer after a nearly 12-hour-long search.
She was officially pronounced dead at 12:48 a.m. Sunday morning.
Police haven?t revealed an official cause of death for Jenkins nor have they confirmed whether or not foul play is suspected, but a number of people on social media are giving this story the side-eye and believe her friends may have had something to do with her mysterious death.
Kenneka Jenkins? story has gone viral on Facebook and people are looking at her friends with the ?side-eye,? believing that they had something to do with her going missing and her death.
The video below details how Kenneka's BFF went LIVE moments before she went missing and you can hear a male in the background trying to get Kenneka to "ride with him". Later, two of Kenneka's friends were spotted arguing on facebook, blaming each other for what happened.
Jenkins was last seen alive at a party at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O?Hare Hotel and Conference Center in Rosemont, a Chicago suburb.
According to Jenkins? mother, Tereasa Martin, the 19-year-old left her house (about 16 miles away from the hotel, a 20-30 min. drive) around 11:30 p.m. Friday night (Sep. 8) to hang out with a group of friends. Jenkins was said to be celebrating her new position at her job, a nursing home, according to a local news report.
Gary Mack, a spokesman for Rosemont village, said Jenkins? sister last spoke to her around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, just two hours later. Mack said witnesses told police they saw Jenkins a party on the hotel?s ninth floor.
In a press conference outside the hotel Sunday morning, Martin said she was having a hard time understanding exactly what happened. ?(I?m) horrified,? she said. ?It?s something that no one could ever imagine. It?s unbelievable.?
Many on social media have come up with their own theories about how Jenkins? friends (Irene Roberts, Monifah Shelton and Shamaya Winder) played a part in her murder.
If the 'net has anything to do with it, this crime will be solved soon. I just pray that Kenneka's family can find peace during this troubling time.
What are your thoughts about Kenneka Jenkin's unexplained death?
Lisa Nicole Cloud Did NOT Quit Married to Medicine (SHE WAS FIRED)!!!
In Featured,News Facebook, For Discussion, Instagram, Kennika Jenkins, OPEN POST, Twitter


I'm training an index e.g. FTSE100, where I have 8 years of past data (daily). I also have a list of its constituents.
I decided to predict whether to buy/sell the index. Instead of using close values, I decided to optimise for percent change, hence I create a new variable percent_change, which is not bounded by 1. Does this make it a bad metric, and should I use close prices instead?
Why I didn't use close values?
I wasn't sure how to scale it to run it properly. Currently, my model input is 10 previous percentage changes, e.g. [t0, t1, ... , t10] predicting [t11] where ti is the percentage change on day i.
If I was to use scaling, I would constantly come across new values. Additionally, if tomorrow brings a new all time high, I will need to rescale the data and re-train the model.
Additionally, I thought about replacing percent change by actual index denoted by pi. I thought about scaling just the moving window period [p0, p1, ... , p10], however, the predictor [p11] could be outside the bound of 1.
Question: Does LSTM easily handle inputs and outputs > 1?
Please advise me which independent variable to use: percent change or close price (and how should I scale it). I've trained the model on 2500 observations (500 epochs) giving me a 53% accuracy on the test set (is it good?). I also made 30% returns over 600 test days. Currently the only features I'm using are rates of change for the past 10 days.
Which features did my model learn?
I'm not sure. Did it learn moving averages, linear gradients/approximations volatility etc.? Or should I include them in my model as [t0, t1, ... , t10, MA10days, MA3days, Gradient3day, Volatility3day] ?
Since I have 100 constituents, would it make sense to run/pre-train the same model on all of these stocks? All stocks are highly correlated with the index, and I thought about calculating MA, Gradients and so on for each of the Close, Open, High, Low and then running PCA to select only a few components.
This is less of a problem of scaling than a problem of stationarity. A simple solution to this is to take first differences of close prices instead of raw close prices.
Depending on the software package that you used, it should have a results output or results object, which should give you feature scores or feature importances. However, neural networks are often used to combine features so the answer should be less of selecting features than finding new ones.
Did it learn moving averages, linear gradients/approximations volatility etc.?
These new features often have no simple, intuitive interpretation, so it can be quite meaningless to attempt to interpret the learned features as conventional quantities such as moving averages. This is a common weakness of neural networks.
Since I have 100 constituents, would it make sense to run/pre-train the same model on all of these stocks?
It depends on what you're trying to model. If there's reason to believe that whatever you're trying to predict is drawn from the same ground truth distribution across all constituents, then sure, it's worth trying.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged quant-trading-strategies algorithmic-trading models machine-learning or ask your own question.
Where can I find data source for structural models?
Scaling the data to train, then how to scale the input data?


text:
Student illness temporarily closes Valley school
by: Jacob Thompson
SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) – A whole school had to send home their students for the rest of the week. This time, it's not so much COVID-19 causing the problem but something else.
Saint Paul Elementary School in Salem has 126 students. As of Wednesday, 42 of them were out sick — a few with COVID-19 but more with another problem.
Valley school to review mask mandate weekly
"We have some kind of gastrointestinal situation going through," said Principal Dr. Jacqueline Mumford.
It started on Monday, the first day back from Christmas break. About a quarter of the school's students were out with stomach issues.
"And that day we, unfortunately, had several kids that arrived at school, and shortly after arriving, they were sick. They had stomach issues," Mumford said.
Those kids were sent home. The problem continued the next day.
St. Paul did report the numbers to the Salem Health Department. Outside of the pre-K kids, it was affecting the whole school.
"It affected families. So if one kid was sick, it seemed like we had the whole group would be getting sick here," Mumford said.
Neighboring county school district to go remote
So the school had to make a decision, no school or remote learning. School officials decided to go with the advice of the health department and the Diocese of Youngstown.
"Because a lot of the gastro-viruses can be passed on surfaces, we actually opted to not do remote and send home devices," Mumford said.
The hope is within the next five days, the virus won't be an issue.
In the meantime, the school will go through a deep clean.
The Salem City Health Department said there is no reason to believe that it is COVID-19, but health officials aren't ruling it out.
"Whatever this is, it kind of came on suddenly. It didn't match up with any of the foods we were serving or times or grades or classes," Mumford said.


text:
Q: log to stdout / stderr with Laravel 5.6 and php-fpm I want my laravel applications to run as well mannered 12 factor apps. Right now I'm struggling to get their to logs to and from stdout (stderr is also fine by me) under php-fpm. The php version is 7.2.1, the laravel version is 5.6.3.
I configured laravel to use the single driver to write to stdout:
<?php

return [
    'default' => env('LOG_CHANNEL', 'stack'),
    'channels' => [
        'stack' => [
            'driver' => 'stack',
            'channels' => ['single'],
        ],

        'single' => [
            'driver' => 'single',
            'path' => 'php://stdout',
            'tap' => [App\Logging\UseJsonFormatter::class],
            'level' => 'debug',
        ],
];

This works well with the test server, but fpm prefixes this with with dates and a warning: [19-Feb-2018 09:43:41] WARNING: [pool www] child 12 said into stdout: every ~1000 characters.
The problem seems to be known as issue 71880 (prefix) and issue 69031 (truncation). A Pull Request saw last action in June / November last year. Does anybody have a workaround that doesn't chunk or truncate the log messages (I'm logging json objects, and I like them complete)?
Why PHP-FPM prefixes a warning when writing to stdout? is related to this, but is still not solved either.
This is UseJsonFormatter.php if anyone is interested:
<?php
namespace App\Logging;

use Monolog\Formatter\JsonFormatter;

class UseJsonFormatter
{
    /**
     * Customize the given Monolog instance.
     *
     * @param  \Monolog\Logger  $monolog
     * @return void
     */
    public function __invoke($monolog)
    {
        $jsonFormatter = new JsonFormatter();
        foreach ($monolog->getHandlers() as $handler) {
            $handler->setFormatter($jsonFormatter);
        }
    }
}

A: This is fixed in PHP 7.3.
The config directive for the pool is decorate_workers_output = no as documented in the pull request.

A: With Monolog in general, if you want to keep for instance DEBUG to INFO messages in STDOUT and higher levels to STDERR, you could do something like this.
$log->pushHandler(
    new \Monolog\Handler\FilterHandler(
        new \Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler('php://stdout'),
            \Monolog\Logger::DEBUG,
            \Monolog\Logger::NOTICE
    )
);

$log->pushHandler(
    new \Monolog\Handler\FilterHandler(
        new \Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler('php://stderr'),
            \Monolog\Logger::WARNING,
            \Monolog\Logger::EMERGENCY
    )
);

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