I had a great time at the Node Forum in Frankfurt this weekend. I got to meet my software art hero Julian Oliver finally, who gave an excellent and provocative talk on the technological ideology of seamlessness from a critical engineering perspective. Kyle McDonald gave an excellent related talk on the boundaries between on-line and off-line life, and I particularly liked his work on "computer face", which is a highly relevant topic for any critical view of live coding performance.
What do you mean by embodied programming?
Perhaps the concept of "embodied programming" relates to a slightly delicate point I made during my talk (and have tentatively explored here before), that programmers do not know what they are doing. Instead, programs emerge from a coupling between the programmer and their computer language. Therefore, programmer cognition is not something that only happens in the brain, but in a dynamical relationship between the embodied brain, the computer language and perception of the output of the running code.
I am very much speaking from my own experience here, as someone fluent in a range of programming languages, and who has architected large industrial systems used by many people. This is not to boast at all, but to take the very humble position that I build this software without really knowing how. I think we have to embrace this position to take a view based on embodied cognition; that is, a view whereby the process of programming is viewed as a dynamical system that includes both computer and programmer.
This view strongly relates to bricolage programming, where programmers follow their imagination rather than externally defined, immutable goals. And of course live coding, where programmers use software by modifying it while it runs. Rather than deciding what to do and then doing it, in this case the programmer makes a change, perceives the result, and then makes another change based on that. In other words, the programmer is not trying to manipulate a program to meet their own internal model, but instead engaging heuristics to modify an external system based on their experience of it at that moment.
Mark Fell wrote a really great piece recently which criticises the idealistic goal of creating technology which "converts .. imagined sound, as accurately as possible, into a tangible form." Underlying this goal is the view of technology "as a tool subservient to creativity or an obstacle to it", providing a "one-way journey from imagination to implementation". The alternative view which Fell proposes is of dialogue with technology, of technology which can be developed through use, providing creative constraints or vocabularies which artists explore and push against. (I may be misrepresenting his viewpoint slightly here, which is quite subtle – please read the piece).
It may seem counter-intuitive to claim that the rich, yet limited interfaces which Fell advocates supports an embodied approach to technology. You might otherwise argue that a more embodied interface should provide a "more direct" interface between thought and action. But actually, if we believe that cognition is embodied, we see human/technology interface as supporting a rich, two-way dynamic interaction between the artist and technology. To argue that technology should be invisible, or to get out of the way, is to ignore a large part of the whole embodied cognitive system.
To borrow Fell's example, the question is, how can we make programming languages more like the Roland TB303? The TB303 synthesiser provides an exploratory interface where we can set up musical, dynamic interactions between our perception of sound and the tweaking of knobs. How can we make programming languages that better support this kind of creative interaction? For me, this is the core question that drives the development of live coding.
TL;DR – Embodied programming is a view of programming as embodied cognition, which operates across the dynamical interaction between programmer and computer/programming language.


text:
ComEd Awards Scholarships to Help DePaul College Prep Students from Diverse Chicago Communities Pursue STEM Careers
ComEd Scholars recipients also receive mentoring and internship opportunities
CHICAGO (May 13, 2021) – ComEd has selected three DePaul College Prep students interested in pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) to receive financial support as part of this year's ComEd Scholars cohort. The scholarships, awarded annually, support DePaul College Prep juniors and seniors from underserved communities.
This year's recipients – all juniors at DePaul College Prep – receive academic scholarships that run through the remainder of their academic careers at DePaul College Prep and continue should they enroll in STEM-related studies at DePaul University. DePaul College Prep has partnered with ComEd since 2017 to offer the ComEd Scholars program.
"We are proud of our ongoing partnership with DePaul College Prep and our commitment to uplift students who have an interest and passion for the field of STEM," said Michelle Blaise, ComEd's senior vice president of technical services. "This school year has been challenging for students, educators and parents. By providing support to these students through mentorship and financial support, we hope they will continue to pursue their passions and pay it forward to their communities in the future."
ComEd is dedicated to supporting students interested in pursuing STEM-focused careers and believes that empowering young leaders is the key to increasing participation of underrepresented communities in the energy workforce. Upon enrollment in STEM-related studies at DePaul University, cohort participants have an opportunity to interview for internships at ComEd and participate in a mentorship program with ComEd employees.
"For the past four years, students at DePaul College Prep have had the opportunity to explore their passions for STEM, thanks to ComEd's support," said Mary Dempsey, president of DePaul College Prep. "The tremendous impact of these scholarships and the meaningful relationships students build with the great mentors at ComEd are immeasurable. Eight DePaul Prep graduates continue to thrive as ComEd Scholars at DePaul University and six of our DePaul Prep students are privileged to be part of this outstanding program on our campus. We are proud of this incredible partnership between DePaul Prep, ComEd and DePaul University."
The 2021 ComEd Scholars from DePaul College Prep are:
Téa Byrd, a junior at DePaul College Prep and Ogden Elementary School alumna from downtown Chicago, is interested in pursuing a degree in engineering.
Jocelyn Silva, a junior at DePaul College Prep and The Frances Xavier Warde School alumna from Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood, is interested in pursuing a degree in structural engineering.
Lulia Tekeste, a junior at DePaul College Prep and Prussing Elementary School alumna from Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood, is interested in pursuing a degree in biology.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you just want to insure your orchestral instrument(s) then look no further. We can offer a standalone insurance product that will cover these items without having to take out a basic level of possessions insurance with us.
Our student orchestral instrument cover is designed to cover your instrument(s) such as brass, woodwind, orchestral stringed instruments etc.
You can get a quote in seconds; all we need to know is the total combined value of your orchestral instruments that you wish to insure.
We also offer a 14 day cooling off period meaning, if you decide for any reason that the policy does not meet your requirements within 14 days, we offer a full refund of your premium guarantee if you decide to cancel provided no claim has been made or pending.
At Cover4students we understand that you may already have student contents insurance within your accommodation via a University Block Insurance scheme (i.e. If you are in halls of residence) or by your parents' home insurance policy – so why should you have to take out a full contents insurance policy to get insurance cover just for your orchestral instrument(s)? Well now you don't, Cover4students have developed a product insurance cover that allows you to just cover the items you require such as your cello, violin, clarinet, saxophone etc.
Orchestral instruments cover up to £3,000 in total.
Theft – Covers your orchestral instrument(s) if it is stolen from your person or your property.
Please note that there is no forcible violent entry or exit to the property requirement for your instruments to be covered.
Accidental damage cover – e.g. you drop your saxophone.
Covered overnight in entertainment venues provided that the orchestral instrument(s) are handed to the management and placed in a securely locked room, with any security devices in operation- up to a maximum of 72 hours at a time.
Cover up to £100 for the cost of hiring a temporary replacement of your orchestral instrument whilst the insure item is being repaired or awaiting replacement.
Orchestral Instruments are defined as brass, woodwind, stringed orchestral instruments and non-electric pianos.
For example: Piano, Violin, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, French horn, Trombone, Saxophone, Trumpet, Harp, Double Bass. Tuba, Cornet.
If you also have a musical instrument(s) such as an electric guitar or drum set, then you can add these to the quote if you like by selecting the musical instrument option during the quote process along with the orchestral instrument option. If you have an orchestral instrument as defined above we can also cover this under the orchestral section of the quote process.
To Get A Quote for your orchestral instruments insurance, all we need to know is the total cost of all your orchestral instruments and we can cover all these items under one policy.
For example: Violin £500, Clarinet £600 and a Saxophone £500 = £1,600 in total.
Any amount above the sum insured selected for orchestral instrument(s).
Loss or damage to your orchestral instruments whilst left in an unattended vehicle.
Depreciation or diminution in value of your orchestral instrument(s) following repair.
Loss or damage to your orchestral instrument(s) occurring at any place of entertainment where they have been left overnight, unless handed to the proprietor or manager of the place of entertainment for safe keeping locked away in secure storage with any installed security devices in operation.
Damage to your orchestral instrument(s) sustained in travel unless they are securely packed in purpose designed, rigid bodied case.
Where your orchestral instruments are kept temporarily in any place which is not your insured address. Except where they have been handed to the management of an entertainment venue for safe keeping, the cover is operable providing that the orchestral instruments are in a secure locked room with any security devices in operation, up to a maximum period of 72 hours at a time.
My orchestral instrument (violin, cello, clarinet etc.) was purchased outside of the UK can I still insure it?
Yes, we can insure your orchestral instrument– but if the item needs to be replaced it will be replaced with a UK model /version to the closest specification.
What does orchestral insurance cover?
Orchestral instrument is intended to pay out when your instrument is accidentally damage or stolen. Not to be confused with a product warranty insurance – this insurance will not cover you for breakdown of the instrument due to mechanical failure, electronic faults or problems with instruments construction.
Does this cover the computer equipment associated with my orchestral instruments?
No, if for example you have mixing deck software on your laptop that you use with your keyboard you would need to cover the laptop separately. Our student product(s) policy will allow you to add computer equipment to your orchestral instrument policy.
Am I covered for 'Walk in Theft' for my orchestral instruments?
What is accidental damage to orchestral instruments?
Does the policy cover my orchestral instruments outside of the property?
Yes, you are automatically covered for your orchestral instruments anywhere within the United Kingdom.
Does the policy cover my orchestral instruments outside UK? Will you cover my orchestral instruments when I am overseas?
Under this product we cannot cover your orchestral instruments outside of the UK.
Yes, you will just need to insure up to the total cost of the multiple items i.e. bass guitar £500 + electric guitar £500 means you should select £1,000 for orchestral instruments cover.
Will my home insurance cover orchestral instruments?
Do you need orchestral instrument insurance?
Orchestral instruments are expensive to replace, so it pays to have a good insurance policy to protect them, but it is not compulsory.
Our orchestral instrument insurance can cover all types of orchestral instruments up to £3,000 in total such as traditional instruments (acoustic and electric guitars, drums, strings and pianos) and their accessories (cases, pedals, adaptors, drum sticks and bows), if they are damaged or stolen at the same time.
We will also cover the cost up to £100 of hiring temporary replacement orchestral instruments whilst your insured instrument is undergoing repair or awaiting a replacement.


text:
Sportscar Challenge gets season started at WGI
Three-day weekend marks the first spectator event using the newly repaved track at the road course.
alegare@stargazette.com | @SGAndrewLegare
Following a busy week at the racetrack that included two days of NASCAR testing, the spectator racing season at Watkins Glen International gets started this weekend with the North American Road Racing Association Sportscar Challenge.
The event begins Friday and continues through Sunday, with the feature race the Trans-Am Championships Classic Tube 100 on Sunday.
Weekend tickets will be available at the gate for $30 and they include access to the paddock and garage areas. All of the track's grandstands will be open. Camping will also be available for $60 at the gate. Pit Road RV camping, which includes electrical hook-ups, is $175.
Cars will be on the track starting at 8 a.m. all three days. Racing is scheduled to continue until about 5 p.m. each day. Friday's schedule includes practices, with qualifying and races Saturday and Sunday.
This will be the first spectator event using the newly repaved track at the road course. Five Sprint Cup drivers particpated in a two-day tire-testing session at Watkins Glen on Tuesday and Wednesday. The repaving cost nearly $12 million and was the first full repave for the track since 1998.
This will mark the 28th overall appearance for Trans-Am at the circuit. The series last competed at the track in 2013.
The North American Road Racing Association started its season at Road Atlanta in early April. Other scheduled events will take place at Virginia International Raceway in Alton from June 3-5, and at Pittsburgh International Race Complex from Aug. 5-7 and again from Sept. 23-25.
On Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare


text:
Friday, July 19, 2019 | Week's Newspaper | NY 91 F | Αθήνα 74 F | EUR → USD 1.12 | Newsstands
History & Science
NY Region
Letter from Athens
Dear Stavroula
50 Greek Restaurants
Hellenic Leaders
Metropolitan Emmanuel of France Visits Finland
By TNH Staff March 28, 2019
Metropolitan Emmanuel of France speaks to the clergy meeting of the Church of Finland Photo courtesy of the Metropolis of France
HELSINKI – Metropolitan Emmanuel of France was invited by Archbishop Leo of Helsinki and all of Finland to give a lecture at the meeting of the clergy of the Church of Finland.
The event was held in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Helsinki and the subject of the lecture was The Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church.
In addition to Archbishop Leo, Metropolitan Ilias of Oulu and Bishop Arsenios of Joensuu attended the meeting.
The Orthodox faith was the earliest form of Christianity to arrive in Finland. It spread to southern Finland and to the people of Karelia around Lake Ladoga through trade and other contacts with the East over 1,000 years ago.
During 19th century Russian rule in Helsinki, Viipuri (Vyborg), and the Karelian Isthmus, Orthodoxy was associated with the country's ruling elite. However, many rural Finns, Sami, and Karelians are also members of the Orthodox Church.
After the Grand Duchy of Finland was formed under Russian rule during the early nineteenth century the Orthodox believers in Finland were placed under the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of St. Petersburg. In 1892, Finland was established as a separate diocese with its bishop's see in Vyborg, separate from the Eparchy of St. Petersburg. Archbishop Anthony (Vadkovsky) was enthroned as the diocese's first ruling hierarch.
Shortly after Finland declared independence from Russia in 1917, the Finnish Orthodox Church declared its autonomy from the Church of Russia. In 1923, the Finnish Church completely separated from the Russian Church, becoming an autonomous part of the Church of Constantinople. The New Calendar was also adopted, including the Western Gregorian Paschalion that sets the date for Easter, making it distinct from the rest of the Orthodox churches, whether following the New or Old Church calendar. Other reforms introduced after independence include changing the primary liturgical language from Church Slavonic to Finnish (other languages are used depending on the parish and its situation, e.g. Church Slavonic, Swedish, English).
The Archepiscopal seat was also transferred from the multicultural city of Viipuri to the Finnish-speaking city of Sortavala.
Until World War II, the majority of the Orthodox Christians in Finland were in Karelia. As a consequence of the war, many residents of that border province evacuated to other parts of the country. The monastery of Valaam was evacuated in 1940 and the monastery of New Valaam was founded in 1941 at Heinävesi. Later, the monks from Konevitsa and Petsamo monasteries also joined the New Valaam monastery. The nunnery of Lintula at Kivennapa (Karelian Isthmus) was also evacuated, and re-established at Heinävesi in 1946.
A new parish network was established, and many new churches were built in the 1950s. After the city of Viipuri was lost to the Soviet Union, its Diocesan seat was moved to Helsinki. A third Diocese was established at Oulu in 1979.
The Church of Finland has about 60,000 members and in recent decades, the membership has been steadily growing.
The principal Orthodox church in Finland is the Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki, which is the largest Orthodox church in western Europe.
Its current primate is His Eminence Leo, Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland.
Within the one autonomous Church of Finland, there are three dioceses – Karelia, Helsinki and Oulu – administered by four bishops.
Zaras Sidaronis says:
He must feel right at home. Finland speaks a Turkic language.
repanidi1908 says:
Well, let's hope that when he becomes the GOA archbishop he doesn't bring along any of the innovations.
Spiro says:
Take an honest look at the picture. Overweight guys in robes, half asleep.They are rolling out the new GOA boss on a photo op series of trips. He's not exactly generating the same excitement as a Trump Rally, is he?
This looks to be about the size of most GOA non-big city parishes. That's our 2019 reality while Manny and his bosses are living in 1319.
The King is dead!
Long live the King!
Hail, O Great Emanuel !
And…..the metro giving the talk has headgear but the two others don't, and in church?
Dr. Limberakis Addresses Guests at Dinner in Honor of Archbishop Elpidophoros
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Meets with President Trump (Photos)
Elpidophoros: "Astoria is the Heart of the Archbishop"
Week's Paper
© Copyright 2015-2019 - The National Herald, Inc
Job @ TNH


Pictures 1 and 2 show a 22'3"x18'1" garage with optional upgrade to a steel personnel door. Picture 3 shows a close up view of the Canterbury Spar finish. Picture 4 shows an internal view of a garage with the optional internal mortar fillet.
These apex roof concrete garages range in size from approximately 20'x14' to 26'x30' and include free installation. The attractive and durable pebbledash finish features colourful Canterbury Spar chippings. Standard features include two fully retractable steel up and over doors and a steel personnel door in the front wall. The standard grey finish cement fibre roof sheets are robust and offer excellent drainage properties. The steel roof structure features welded steel trusses with a red oxide finish. Timber gables and fascias and two 4' wide timber windows are also included. All timber is pressure treated as standard. Pressure treatment is a lifetime preservative treatment. PVCu fascias and guttering are available as optional extras. Other options include remote control door opening and an internal mortar fillet. Roof upgrades include decorative granular steel tiles and insulated tile-effect steel sheets.


Transform your next event with our balloon ice cream cone centerpiece. This design includes 1 ice cream cone balloon centerpiece (approximately 4 ft tall) which includes a variety of latex balloons on a weighted stand. This design includes your choice of up to 4 colors.


text:
Q: how to use amixer plus alsactl for microphone input volume Using sudo alsamixer (a GUI interface) followed by sudo alsactl, I have been able to adjust an external USB microphone gain (volume).  Whenever the USB microphone is removed, the whole procedure must be repeated.  amixer is a text shell based command that has the same results as alsamixer so that I could write a shell script to execute each time the external USB microphone is plugged-in.  I have read man amixer; amixer -c 1 sset Line,0 80%,40% unmute cap from man is the closest to what I need but the syntax is not that clear. I have read https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/amixer-command-in-linux-with-examples/
but that too is not that clear.  I assume there is no alsamixer setting to produce the equivalent amixer command.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  Take care.  Stay safe.

A: From:
Howto save AlsaMixer settings?
ou could also save the mixer settings into a custom file with alsactl:
alsactl --file ~/.config/asound.state store
Reloading:
alsactl --file ~/.config/asound.state restore
Note that until some posts a how-to or I can track it down, the above alsactl ... restore needs to be done each time the USB microphone is plugged into the computer.  Presumably, there is some USB mounting/opening/attaching initiation configuration file to the USB function that actually identifies the USB microphone as what alsamixer claims to be a "sound card"; modifying that file should make the restore unnecessary as the fix would be permanent to the system and used for every instance of the USB microphone.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Topaz iPhone 6 3D Glass Protector is for iPhone 6 products where you can protect your screen with using FillGlass Nanotechnology. Find out more by reading this infographic below. For those on the front page, click the read more link.


Added task list. Set default values.
Fixed indentations. Save with indentation.
TASK MANAGER: Implemented column sorting.
Marked bounty bug #359478 completed.
Marked bounty bug #359478 completed. And checked older bounties 'Done'.
Relocate 'Autoformat' code from document-manager plugin to language-support-cpp-java plugin.
Currently Autoformat code that is specific to c and c++ (uses indent program) is located in document-manager plugin (legacy). It should now be moved to language-support-cpp-java plugin that specializes in c/c++ processing. Preferences, UI, and processing should all be moved to the new place. At the same time, the indent configuration dialog should be fixed to fit in smaller size, presumably using notebook widget (currently it is huge and not screen appropriate for lower resolution).
<comment>Do not destroy plugin objects when they are deactivated.
We have problem with dynamic class registeration.
Fixed text wrapping and item edit dialog.
Added bounty for on-demand preferences.
Currently, preferences are registered at plugins activation time. This has a real drawback that we spend unnecessary time at startup that could easily be avoided by on-demand creation of the preferences. One reason why it isn't straightforward is because preferences dialogs contain the schemas for preference keys, so unless the glade files (of the plugin preferences dialogs) are loaded, the default values of the keys are not available.
It should be fixed such that gconf schema files are automatically generated from the dialogs by grepping for the preferences keys schemas defined in the widget names (in the glade files) during build time and installed correctly during install time.
IAnjutaEditor, IAnjutaMarkable and IAnjutaFileSavable interface.
Added message output showing conditional plugins to build or not.
<comment>Add target and source selected signals in gbf project.
Export currenct selected target or source.
Added developers for other projects. Updated. Updated.
<comment>Implement "Configure" method in gnome-build for the automake backend.
Assied a bounty to Massimo.
Fixed glade function calls. Fixed a typo. Updated.
<comment>Remove text nodes between tags that do not have text contents.
As a bad trend from the beginning, all plugin classes (derived from AnjutaPluing class) do not define any class macros, resulting in bad type castings in wherever these classes are used. These need to be fixed to follow the right procedure.
The work is mostly search and replace work and could possibly be done quickly using sed and friends. Go through all the plugins in plugins/ directory, locate the class definitions of plugins (usually defined in plugin.h), add class macros and use them wherever there are force typecasting used.
Added a few debugger tasks from Sebastien (two bounties).
Updated for 2.4.0 stable release. Version bumped to 2.4.0 Updated.
Updated and marked debugger bounties completed.
There are some warning when compiling the gdb plugin code and some useless code that should be removed.
<comment>Add a label before the list of loaded glade projects ("Files:").
We already have glade3 integration in anjuta working. But the implementation is incomplete and not fully usable. It should interface with Anjuta glade plugin for signals navigation, stubs creations and project files negotiations.
Signals navigation" means when user selects a signal in glade properties editor, Anjuta automatically brings up the implementation of that signal in its editor. This can be accomplished with SymbolBrowser plugin in anjuta, that keeps tab on all symbol updates in the project. Using the signal handler signature, Anjuta glade plugin can take help of symbol-browser plugin to find the location of function definitions in the project.
"Project files negotiation" means when user adds file via glade (e.g. images in dialogs), glade will notify anjuta to add the file in project and give a change to relocate it within the project. Anjuta needs to handle this request and add the files in project (possibly prompting user for relocation). Anjuta also needs to make sure glade is able to find them later.
Fixed bug #377903 (improve message color defaults).


text:
================================================
Taylor decomposition of the limit state function
================================================

.. currentmodule:: openturns

Quadratic cumul algorithm
=========================

.. autosummary::
    :toctree: _generated/
    :template: class.rst_t

    QuadraticCumul

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Package £60-100k per annum plus bonus structure. Negotiable for the right candidate.
This is a great opportunity for a top level professional with strong managerial, analytical and strategic background, who speaks Russian and English and knows both business cultures very well.
This is a deputy managerial role for a successful business owner with stakes in various businesses and dynamic business approach. He is a looking for a 'right-hand man', who can work very closely with him on various projects, manage top level personnel and line managers of various businesses and report directly to the owner about any ups and downs. You will also be trusted with making strategic decisions to increase the efficiency of the group, so you have to be able to see a big picture as a result of analysing smaller details too.
If it sounds like you, please send your CV ASAP.


The geode wedding trend has officially proven it has staying power. We admit that at first, we were hesitant to embrace the look. But over time, it's evolved into something so beautiful.
Let's start by talking about your wedding colors. Agates and geodes are best known for their bright and shimmering hues. Magenta, amethyst, aqua, cobalt…there are so many beautiful choices! But here at Dawn, our hearts are with wedding-day style that will stand the test of time. Instead of a day washed in color, consider choosing neutral palette. Think bright white, soft cream, smoky gray and brilliant silver.
Geode gems are a little rough around the edges. Like, literally. It's part of their charm! But you don't want your wedding-day look to be cold and sharp, right? Think carefully about how to create a balance between hard and soft. Start with your venue. Instead of saying your vows in a modern industrial space, consider choosing a lush garden. When trying on dresses, pay special attention to the fabric and silhouette. We love the layers of organza tulle featured here! And top it all off with a velvety tiered cake decorated with sweet candy geode.
We always say…your wedding day starts with your invitation. Trust us, seeing your names in print is going to give you goose bumps and may trigger some happy tears. From your guest's perspective, it's their first look at your wedding day and sets the tone. For a wedding inspired by agate, we absolutely love this new elegant Geode and Foil wedding invitation. The agate detail is stamped in pearl and silver foil that shines and the printing is raised ink thermography with a hint of sparkle. Simply add your details and you'll have a custom invitation in your hands in days.


text:
\subsection{Dataset}
We use the VoxCeleb dataset \cite{voxCeleb,voxceleb2}. We train on VoxCeleb2 dev set which contains 5994 identities and test on VoxCeleb1 test set which contains 40 identities.
\vspace{-0.3cm}
\subsection{Model and Evaluation Scoring Method}
We apply the backbone (Thin-ResNet34+SAP) proposed in \cite{metric} as baseline model, where SAP is self-attentive pooling \cite{SAP}. We adopt Equal Error Rate(EER) as evaluation metric, where the similarity score is computed using the same method with \cite{voxceleb2, metric}: 10 features are sampled using a specific window size for each utterance in a pair, then the mean of $10\times 10$ Euclidean distances are computed as the distance measurement. Note that these 10 features cover the full utterance. That is to say, during testing, the full utterance rather than a fixed-length sample from the raw audio is evaluated. Details for evaluation method can be found in \cite{voxceleb2, metric}.
\vspace{-0.3cm}
\subsection{Implementation Details}
\label{implementation}
The experiments are performed on Nvidia Tesla V100 platform using PyTorch. We denote $\tau$ as audio duration. We apply fixed $\tau=2s$ and $\tau=4s$ random segments respectively during training while using the full utterance during testing \cite{metric, voxceleb2}.
We employ the Mel-Spectrogram feature with 40 frequency channels. In accordance with \cite{metric}, we adopt the window size of 25ms and step size of 10ms. Sampling rate is set as 16k.

We experiment with Proxy NCA, Proxy Anchor, MP and MMP on Thin-ResNet34. When experimenting with Proxy Anchor, different sets of hyper-parameters are explored. To be specific, margin is varied from 0.1 to 0.5 with an increment of 0.1 and smoothing factor is varied from 10 to 70 with an increment of 10. The balancing factor $\lambda$ is varied from 0.1 to 1 with an increment of 0.1. While training with MP and MMP, the initial margin $\beta$ is set to 0.1 and smoothing factor $\alpha$ is set to 10.  Inspired by the idea that balanced training samples matter \cite{GE2E,Prototypical, metric}, we also adopt this manner in MP and MMP. Concretely, the number of samples for each class is a fixed value $M$ which is a hyper-parameter. In this experiment, we set $M$ as 2 based on the fact that \emph{fewer shot} learning matters in Angular Prototypical loss \cite{metric}. We call this manner \textbf{MP-Balance} for Mask Proxy and \textbf{MMP-Balance} for Multinomial Mask Proxy. We adopt the *expected batch size* $B$ of 800 and 400\footnote{For MP/MMP-Balance, input size is 2 $\times$ {[$batchsize$, feature size]} and *expected batch size* is $batchsize \times 2$, which is consistent with \cite{metric}. For MP and MMP, input size is [$\sum_{i=1}^{batchsize}M_i$, feature size], where $M_i$ is number of features for a certain class $i$. $M_i$ is randomly determined to be 2 or 3, and  $\sum_{i=1}^{batchsize}M_i=batchsize\times2.5$ is the *expected batch size*. E.g. for *expected batch size* 800, the $batchsize$ is set to 320.} respectively. We apply SGD as optimizer with a starting learning rate of 0.2 and ReduceLROnPlateau as learning rate scheduler with a factor of 0.8, patience of 3 and $EER\%$ as metric.

Based on the aforementioned statement, three experiments are performed and we denote them as $\textbf{E1}(\tau=2s, B=400)$, $\textbf{E2}(\tau=2s, B=800)$, $\textbf{E3}(\tau=4s, B=400)$ respectively. We also duplicate the experiments in \cite{metric} using Triplet, Prototypical, GE2E and Angular Prototypical respectively.  To analyze the training speed over different loss objectives, in each epoch, we compute the $EER\%$ on test set and record the results in Fig. \ref{convergence}. Based on our experiments, there is no significant difference on training convergence over $E1$, $E2$ and $E3$. Thus we just take $E1$ into consideration in Fig. \ref{convergence}. The final results are displayed in Table \ref{table2}. The hyper-parameters in both Table. \ref{table2} and Fig. \ref{convergence} are the best ones that we have explored.

\subsection{Discussion}
 \textbf{Results Analysis}. Table \ref{table2} presents the EER achieved using different loss functions under certain settings. The performance for Proxy NCA and Proxy Anchor are similar to that of Prototypical.
 Based on the current best smoothing factor and margin, Proxy Anchor reaches slightly lower EER than Proxy NCA. The potential reason is that Proxy Anchor indirectly leverages the fine-grained data relationship.

The proposed loss functions including Mask Proxy and Multinomial Mask Proxy outperform the existing state-of-the-art Angular Prototypical loss objective.
Based on these results, we speculate that both fine-grained data-to-data connection and number of classes incorporated in the mini-batch are the major contributing factors for a lower EER achieved by the proposed loss functions.
\vspace{-0.6cm}
\begin{figure}[!ht]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.24]{training_epoch.png}
\caption{\small EER on the test set - VoxCeleb1 dataset using different loss objectives over epochs. Details can be found in Sec.  \ref{implementation}}
  \label{convergence}

  \vspace{-0.3cm}
\end{figure}

\textbf{Ablation Study}
Based on the results in Table. \ref{table2}, balanced data inputs always result in lower EER for both MP and MMP. Both larger batch size $B$ and larger training audio duration $\tau$ give lower EER for MP, MMP, MP-Balance and MMP-Balance. These conclusions hold for all three experiments $E1$, $E2$ and $E3$.

\textbf{Training Complexity and Speed}.
Based on our experiments, both training audio duration and batch size make no difference in the training speed. To be concise, we just choose the training process of $E1$ in Fig. \ref{convergence} for the illustration of training speed over different loss functions. It is observed that Triplet converges the most slowly due to its largest training complexity as shown in Table. \ref{table1}. Other non-proxy-based losses converge faster than Triplet due to its smaller training complexity. Proxy-based losses converge fastest. Note that though Proxy NCA and Proxy Anchor give a larger final EER in comparison to that of Angular Prototypical, they still converge faster than Angular Prototypical. Our proposed loss functions give the best EER as well as training speed.

\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}
\input{intro2}
\section{Related Works}
\input{relatedwork}

\section{Proposed Masked Proxy Methods}
\label{sec:loss}
\input{training}

\section{Experiments}
\input{experiments}
\section{Conclusion}
The proposed loss objectives in this paper achieve state-of-the-art speaker verification performance on the VoxCeleb dataset. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first work that applies proxy-based losses on the task of speaker verification. The proposed Masked Proxy losses leverage real data-to-data relationships more than other proxy-based objectives in a novel manner. Our future work will focus on self-supervised and low-resource speaker recognition.

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}

\subsection{Deep Metric Learning(DML)}

\subsection{Proxy-Based Loss}

In contrast to pair-based metric learning which computes losses entirely from authentic data instances, proxy-based losses utilize synthetic, learnable proxies
to compose triplets.

\subsubsection{Proxy NCA}
Proxy NCA \cite{Proxy-NCA} assigns a proxy to each data point according to its class label.
The objective is to make each embedding closer to its proxy than other proxies, as shown below:
\begin{equation}\label{nca}
    L_{NCA}=-\frac{1}{N}\sum_{i=1}^{N}\mathrm{\log}(\frac{e^{-d(x_i,p_i)}}{\sum_{j=1,j\neq i}^{N}e^{-d(x_i,p_j)}})
\end{equation}
where $d$ denotes Euclidean distance.
\vspace{-0.2cm}

\subsubsection{Proxy Anchor}
In contrast to Proxy NCA, Proxy Anchor \cite{Proxyanchor} regards the proxy as an {\em anchor} that instances are drawn to. Both positive and negative pairs contribute to the loss objective by their hardness, which is illustrated in Equation 6 in \cite{Proxyanchor}.

\begin{equation}\label{anchor}
    \begin{split}
        L_{Anchor}&=\frac{1}{\left | P_+ \right |}\sum_{\substack{p\in P_+ }}\mathrm{\log}(1+\sum_{x\in X_p^+}e^{-\alpha(s(x,p)-\delta)})\\&+\frac{1}{\left | P \right |}\sum_{\substack{p\in P }}\mathrm{\log}(1+\sum_{x\in X_p^-}e^{\alpha(s(x,p)+\delta)})
    \end{split}
\end{equation}
Here $P$ represents the proxy set, $P_{+}$ represents the set of proxies for all classes represented in the minibatch, $X_p^+$ denotes the set of all instances (from the minibatch) belonging to the same class as proxy $p$, and $X_p^-$ denotes set of instances {\em not} from the same class as $p$. $\alpha$ is a scaling factor, $\delta$ is a margin and $s$ refers to cosine similarity.

Note that neither Proxy NCA nor Proxy Anchor invoke actual entity-to-entity distances, thus not leveraging the fine-grained distance/similarity relations within a minibatch.
\subsection{Masked Proxy (MP)}
As seen in Equations \ref{nca} and \ref{anchor}, both Proxy NCA and Proxy Anchor only deal with entity-proxy pairs. In our proposed loss, both entity-proxy pairs and entity-entity pairs are taken into consideration. Specifically, for all classes represented within a minibatch we will compute entity-based distances, and compute entity-proxy distances for the remaining classes. In the following discussion, all computations are over a minibatch.

Let $L_i$ denote the class label of $x_i$ and $L_{p_i}$ denote the corresponding class label of proxy $p_i$. $L_M$ is the label set of classes represented in the minibatch. $c_{L_i}$ is the centroid \cite{Prototypical} of embeddings whose labels are $L_i$. $N_{L_i}$ is the number of instances in the minibatch with labels are $L_i$. Similar to \cite{GE2E,Prototypical, metric}, we reserve one instance from each class in the minibatch as a ``query'' for the class embedding as query for each class, and we define $X_Q$ as the query set for the minibatch, without duplicates. The centroids can be represented as follows:
\begin{equation}
    c_{L_i} = \frac{1}{N_{L_i}-1}  \sum_{\substack{j\\
                  j\neq i,
                  L_j=L_i}}x_j
\end{equation}
For each query instance in $X_Q$, we compose the following loss:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:maskproxy}
    l(x_i)=-\mathrm{\log}(\frac{e^{s(x_i,c_{L_i})}}{\sum\limits_{\substack{L_j\neq L_i \\ L_j\in L_M}}e^{ s(x_i,c_{L_j})}+\sum\limits_{\substack{p_k\\
        L_{p_k}\notin L_M
        }
}e^{s(x_i,p_k)}})
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation} \label{distance}
    s(u,v) = \alpha ((u^Tv)-\beta)
\end{equation}
Both embeddings and proxies are normalized by length. $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are learnable smoothing factor and bias.

The numerator in Equation \ref{eq:maskproxy} considers the similarity of the instance to its own proxy. The first term in the denominator invokes the similarity of the instance to the {\em mini-batch centroids} for all classes in the minibatch, and is effectively entirely entity-based. The second term refers to the similarity of the instance to the proxies of all classes that are not in the minibatch and is proxy-based. The loss objective over the entire minibatch is formulated as follows:
\begin{equation}\label{eq:minibatchmaskproxy}
    l_1=\frac{1}{\left | X_Q \right |}\sum\limits_{x_i \in X_Q}l(x_i)
\end{equation}

Equation \ref{eq:minibatchmaskproxy} does not refer to the proxies of classes represented in the minibatch. In order to be able to also update these proxies classes, we include a {\em Mask Proxy Regulator} (MPR), which minimizes the distance between these proxies and the centroid for their class, while maximizing their separation to other centroids:
\begin{equation}\label{l2}
    l_2=-\frac{1}{\left | L_M \right |}\sum\limits_{\substack{c_{L_i}\\
    L_i \in L_M, L_{p_i}=L_i}}\mathrm{\log}(\frac{e^{s(c_{L_i},p_i)}}{\sum\limits_{\substack{L_j\neq L_i}}e^{s(c_{L_j},p_i)}})
\end{equation}
Mask Proxy loss can be defined as the weighted summation of Equations \ref{eq:minibatchmaskproxy} and \ref{l2}:
\begin{equation}
    l_{mp}=l_1+\lambda_{mp} l_2
\end{equation}
where $\lambda_{mp}$ is balancing factor, which is set to 0.5 in this paper.

\subsection{Multinomial Masked Proxy (MMP)}
Multinomial-based loss functions can leverage both {\em multi-similarity} among pairs \cite{MSLOSS} and hardness of positive pairs \cite{Proxyanchor} as compared to softmax-based functions. The multinomial form of Equation \ref{eq:minibatchmaskproxy} can be formulated as follows:
\begin{equation}\label{l1M}
    \begin{split}
        l_{1m}&=\mathrm{\log}(1+\sum\limits_{x_i \in X_Q}e^{-s(x_i,c_{L_i})})\\&+\frac{1}{\left | X_Q \right |}\sum\limits_{x_i \in X_Q}\mathrm{\log}(1+\sum\limits_{\substack{L_j\neq L_i \\ L_j\in L_M}}e^{ s(x_i,c_{L_j})})\\&+\frac{1}{\left | X_Q \right |}\sum\limits_{x_i \in X_Q}\mathrm{\log}(1+\sum\limits_{\substack{p_k\\
        L_{p_k}\notin L_M
        }
    }e^{s(x_i,p_k)})
    \end{split}
\end{equation}
In Mask Proxy loss, every positive entity-centroid pair contributes equally to the loss objective, which can be illustrated through Eq. \ref{derivative}.
\begin{equation} \label{derivative}
    \frac{\partial l_{MP}}{\partial s(x_i, c_{L_i})}=\frac{\partial l_1}{\partial s(x_i, c_{L_i})}=-\frac{1}{\left | X_Q \right |}
\end{equation}
However, multinomial loss will assign a dynamic weight to each positive pair. As shown in Equation  \ref{derivative_mmp}, this dynamic weight is dependent on the pair itself, meaning the harder positive pairs with lower similarity would contribute more to the loss objective.
\begin{equation} \label{derivative_mmp}
    \frac{\partial l_{1m}}{\partial s(x_i, c_{L_i})}=-\frac{e^{-s(x_i,c_{L_i})}}{1+\sum\limits_{x_i \in X_Q}e^{-s(x_i,c_{L_i})}}
\end{equation}
The expression of MMP can be formulated as follows:
\begin{equation}
    l_{mmp}=l_{1m}+\lambda_{mmp} l_2
\end{equation}
Where the regulator $l_2$ is kept as its original form and $\lambda_{mmp}$ is a balancing factor. $\lambda_{mmp}$ is set to 0.5 in this paper.

A comparison of the different metric learning objectives described in this section and other standard metric learning objectives is shown in Fig. \ref{fig:images}.

\subsection{Training Complexity}
We denote $N, B, P$ as training size, batch size and proxy size respectively. For each data point in Eq. \ref{eq:minibatchmaskproxy}, we compute distances over C pairs, which gives rise to a training complexity of $O(NP)$. In Eq. \ref{l2}, complexity should be $O(P^2)$ to visit all possible proxy-centroid pairs.  Hence, the final training complexity should be within $O(NP+P^2) \sim O(NP)$, The same result can be derived for MMP. Table \ref{table1} is a comparison of training complexity over different loss functions.

\begin{table}[h!]
\centering
  \begin{threeparttable}
    \begin{tabular}{ |c|c| }
     \hline
     Loss Criterion & Training Complexity\\
     \hline
     Triplet & $O(N^3)$\\
     Semi-hard Triplet \cite{Semihard} & $O(\frac{N^3}{B^2})$\\
     Smart Triplet \cite{smart_triplet} & $O(N^2)$\\
     (Angular) Prototypical \cite{metric} & $O(N^2)$\tnote{*}\\
     Proxy NCA \cite{Proxy-NCA} & $O(NP)$\\
     Proxy Anchor \cite{Proxyanchor} & $O(NP)$\\
     \textbf{MP/MMP} & $O(NP)$\\
     \hline
    \end{tabular}
     \caption{Training Complexity Comparison}
     \label{table1}

    \begin{tablenotes}
   \item[*] \small Here we discuss the case where number of data points is 2 for each class within the mini-batch.
  \end{tablenotes}
  \end{threeparttable}
  \vspace{-0.6cm}
\end{table}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Monitoring of "Our House", dedicated to repressions against clergy and believers of different confessions
Home > All Articles > Monitoring of "Our House", dedicated to repressions against clergy and believers of different confessions
This monitoring is dedicated to state persecution and repressions against clergy and believers of various confessions which took place between August and November 2020. In this report, we show only cases related to repressions against people who suffered during prayer or in the church or calling to stop the violence with icons in the hands or in the clothes of clergy. It is clear that among more than 30,000 repressed there were many more believers.
For the period between August and November 2020 in Belarus:
– At least eight clergymen faced administrative charges
– At least 24 believers were detained during prayer and faced administrative charges
– Three detained believers were subjected to beatings, torture and use of special equipment such as truncheons, tear gas, handcuffs
– Administrative pressure was applied to three clergymen
– One priest was convicted of a criminal offence
– Children were removed from the family of one believer
– One believer was convicted of a criminal offence
– Leading Catholic Pastor has been banned from entering Belarus
– Press secretary of the Belarusian Orthodox Church had to resign after he condemned the destruction of the Roman Bondarenko memorial by the security forces.
Below are some examples of repressions against clergy and believers of various confessions.
August 10, Minsk
Believer of the Baptist Church Sergei Melianets who did not participate in protests was beaten by riot police in the center of Minsk while praying. During the beating, special means were used: a stun gun and a baton. Because of the electric shock, Sergei was hospitalized and diagnosed with a heart attack, tachycardia and clouding of consciousness.
Baptist Nikolai Melianets was detained, beaten, and electrocuted for praying on the street. He was later placed in a pre-trial detention center in Zhodino where he was illegally held for several hours and later released.
Baptist Aleksey Melianets was arrested on the street during prayer. While detained he was subjected to tortures and beatens. He was released several hours later.
August 15, Baranovichi
Catholic priest Alexander Fedotov was sentenced to 8 days of administrative detention under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus for a walk around the city on the 9th of August with friends and relatives.
Catholic priest Eduard Sinkevich was sentenced to 10 days of arrest under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code for a walk around the city on the 9th of August.
August 20, Brest
Greek Catholic priest Igor Kondratyev was invited to the prosecutor's office after the speech on the 16th of August in Brest. He called on the mayor of the city, Alexander Rogachuk, to personally deal with the release of the detainees from the pre-trial detention center during the meeting with town administration and security officials. He received threats to remove his community from the list of registered religious groups.
Protestant Vladimir Mayorov was detained for trying to preach to riot police. He was prosecuted under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus (Violation of the order of holding mass events) and sentenced to 10 days of arrest.
Blogger and Christian activist, Protestant Taras Telkovsky was detained while walking in Minsk. He was prosecuted under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus and fined 810 bel. rub.
August 30, Vitebsk
Catholic Marina Bulatovskaya was detained during the women's "March of Solidarity". She later faced administrative charges under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus.
August 31, border of Poland and Belarus
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz who is a Belarusian prelate of the Catholic Church, Archbishop of Minsk and Mahilyow since 2007 was banned from entering Belarus without explanation. He was later informed that his passport of a Belarusian citizen had been declared invalid by the internal affairs authorities. Earlier, Kondrusevich publicly criticized government and called 2020 elections in Belarus 'not fair'.
September 18, Gomel
The Orthodox priest Vladimir Drobyshevsky was summoned for interrogation at the District Department of Internal Affairs. On the same day he faced two charges of the administrative offence under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus, was found guilty of both offences by the court and sentenced to a total of 25 days of arrest.
While in prison the priest was humiliated, forced to take off his underwear for a search, his cross was confiscated. There were also attempts to take the cassock away. He was receiving less food than was actually sent by his relatives.
During a protest action, Old Believers, spouses Natalia and Herman Snezhkov, as well as their two minor children were detained. On September 28, Herman was sentenced to 14 days of arrest under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences, and was prosecuted under Article 2, 363 of the Criminal Code (resistance to an internal affairs officer, which involves violence or the threat of it). In the night of September 30, police officers arrived at Snezhkov's house with a search, seized a laptop and a phone. Natalia Snezhkov was sent to the institution for temporary detention, and the two children were taken to a shelter.
Police are also looking for Snezhkov's adult children, who live separately from their parents. Snezhkovs managed to escape with their minor children, now they are abroad.
September 30, Volkovysk
The court issued a warning under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences to the Orthodox priest Alexander Bogdan for laying flowers near the Volkovysk Military – Historical Museum of Bagration in memory of K. A. Shishmakov, his former director, who died under unclear circumstances.
September 30, Grodno
Alexander Tsilindz, a vascular surgeon at the LODE clinic in Belarus, was detained for praying in the street. He was brought to justice under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences, his trial was to take place on September 30, 2020. On that day plenty of people gathered in front of the court to show their support.
October 4, Volkovysk
People who gathered for prayer near the temple of St. Kirill and Methodius on the outskirts of the city were selectively detained and taken to the police department by interior ministry officers.
In total, 13 people were detained and taken to the police department. They were interrogated without a protocol, demanded to hand over their mobile phones for review. The detainees were later released.
October 16, Volkovysk
Orthodox priest Alexander Bogdan was brought to trial for the second time under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences, for participation in the concerted action, which took place on August 16, 2020 and received a warning.
At the time of the collection of investigative materials, the Interior Ministry tried to forge a report and denyed Bogdan the right to a lawyer.
October 19, Lida
The Catholic Irena Bernatskaya was brought to administrative responsibility under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences and fined 810 Belarusian rubles for participation in prayer near the Catholic church in Lida.
November 19, Minsk
The Prosecutor General's Office announced official warnings about the inadmissibility of violation of the law to the chairman of the Synodal Information Department of the Belarusian Orthodox Church Sergei Lepin and the vicar bishop of the Minsk-Mogilev Archdiocese of the Catholic Church Yuri Kosobutsky.
They both criticized the dismantling of the spontaneous memorial to Roman Bondarenko.
November 30, Ivatsevitchi
The court of the Ivacevich district heard an administrative case against the priest of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church Vitaly Bystrov, who was charged with Article 23.34 of the Belarus Code of Administrative Offences. The cleric was detained for standing next to a detained cyclist with a white-red-white flag. He pleaded not guilty.
The court sentenced the priest to 10 days of administrative arrest.
December 8, Vitebsk
Police officers detained the priest Viktor Shchuk, Greek Catholic priest Alexei Voronko and their friend Alexei Koryakov during prayers in the street and drew up protocols under Article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences on them. On December 9, they were tried in Vitebsk, and the case materials were sent for revision.
December 8, Brest
An Orthodox priest Sergei Rezanovic has been detained on suspicion of participating in a terrorist organization. According to the investigation, he was involved in arson of the house and the car of policemen in complicity with political prisoner Nikolai Autukhovich.
The cleric is currently in pre-trial detention.
The head of the Synodal Information Department of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Sergei Lepin had to write a letter of resignation after on his Facebook page he condemned the destruction of the Roman Bondarenko memorial at the scene of the murder by the security forces. After the publication, Lukashenko instructed the head of his administration, Igor Sergeenko, together with the Prosecutor General, to "assess these statements". The Prosecutor General's Office issued an official warning to the press secretary of the BOC Sergey Lepin about the inadmissibility of breaking the law.
The materials are based on media reports, communication between volunteers and human rights activists of "Nach Home" with victims and their relatives, as well as information received from other human rights organizations and initiatives.
The monitoring of repressions against art activists and people from the cultural sphere during the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus The monitoring of repressions during the 2020 presidential elections (Until June 16, 2020) Repressions in the pre-election race in Belarus (the period from May 1 to August 5, 2020) The Urgent Appeal of "Our House" about repressions against children in Belarus. Official Statement by the International Centre of Civic Initiatives "Our House" Political repressions against minors (part 2)
2020-12-22 at 02:44 Aleh Barshcheuski All Articles, Defence and Solidarity (ZiS)


They say that the best defence is attack. When you've not got a leg to stand on, when you've been found out for the despicable muckraker you are, then bare your teeth and snarl, then whine and whimper.
Apparently that's what Graham Lloyd, denier in residence at a newspaper called The Australian, thinks. He has no credibility in scientific circles. I know that sometimes scientists have to respond, just because he publishes his tripe in a national daily.
Graham Lloyd bills himself as an "environmental editor". What he does is quite different. He's a gutter press style of hack. He is so lazy that he's been known to copy disinformation from other gutter press rags - like that of his counterpart in the UK who writes for a sensationalist tabloid.
Attacking climate scientists and misleading the public about climate change seems to be part of Graham Lloyd's job description. I don't know if The Australian had the gall to write that in to his job description or letter of appointment, but maybe Graham figures that if he doesn't pull his weight in that regard, he'll be out on his ear. Facts aren't an issue for Graham. He doesn't let such details get in the way of his disinformation campaigns.
Take what he's written today. He's fakes a whine and a whinge and makes up allegations out of thin air. All rhetoric no substance. A slimy attack by innuendo.
IT reflects poorly on key members of Australia's climate science establishment that tribal loyalty is more important than genuine inquiry.
See the rhetorical trick? Graham comes out with a whine as if there really was "tribal loyalty" and as if there was some "genuine enquiry".
No, Graham. There was no genuine enquiry. This isn't a matter of tribal loyalty. The only thing your denialist propaganda brigade is genuine about is spreading FUD. Genuine but not open. You hide behind slimy innuendo and rhetoric. Just like that opening sentence of yours. What you have been engaged in for years now, is spreading disinformation about climate and attacking the integrity of hard-working scientists. It's your modus operandi. It's the essence of how you wage your ongoing war on science.
Openness not ad hominem histrionics was always the answer for lingering concerns about what happened to some of the nation's temperature records under the Bureau of Meteorology's process of homogenisation.
Pure histrionics from Graham Lloyd. More rhetoric. More slimy innuendo. See what he's done? Was this the end game from the start? Make up some fake allegations. Call them "concerns" - in true concern troll fashion. Then when they are shown to be without foundation insinuate that the Bureau wasn't open from the start.
There were no lingering concerns by anyone. Graham concocted them. He manufactured a controversy when there was none. Was it all so that he could fill his slot for a few days? He could have written this latest piece three weeks ago and barely changed a word. He could have planned it out from the beginning. His sleazy tactics had a predictable outcome.
Graham thinks "oh, this is a good trick. Now I'll insinuate that the Bureau isn't transparent."
BoM's independent peer review panel called for greater transparency. BoM did not heed the call and when questions were raised the reflexive response of its supporters has been to shoot the messenger.
The Bureau is transparent. It publishes more information than Graham ever bothered to look for. And shoot what messenger? Why should an organisation like the Bureau of Meteorology pay any attention to a messenger from the Denial Propaganda Machine? Does Graham really think that a worm like himself should be paid any attention at all? Someone so mired in the murky world of science denial that he goes to denialist bloggers instead of scientists, just so he can manufacture doubt where there is none?
For BoM's defenders, the fact that scientist Jennifer Marohasy once worked for the Institute of Public Affairs is somehow more important than her call for clarity on why a cooling trend at several weather stations has been turned into a warming one by BoM.
Melbourne University professor David Karoly has called BoM's inquisitors amateurs. And in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, Monash University astronomer Michael Brown said asking questions was an "attempt to deny a century of science that proves global warming has occurred and will continue to do so".
If Professor David Karoly said that, he is correct. Dr Michael Brown is spot on. Jennifer Marohasy does not call for "clarity". She is a disinformer. Like Graham himself, I doubt she is the least bit interested in "clarity". Her business is the creation of uncertainty and doubt. Clarity would be the last thing that she or Graham wants. Take this very article from Graham as an example.
Graham continues with his unfounded innuendo. More rhetorical tricks.
It is entirely appropriate to ask public institutions to be open with real facts about actual events.
There you go. That's exactly what I was talking about. Graham has done a great job of creating a straw man. The Bureau of Meteorology is more transparent than almost any other agency. But Graham has gone out of his way to sow the seed of doubt and suggest otherwise.
The belated compliance by BoM to publish its reasoning is proof enough of what was the right thing to do all along.
What "belated compliance" is he talking about? He doesn't say in that article, but I found another article of his where he says there is a new page of information about ACORN-SAT. He doesn't link to any "publication of its reasoning". Perhaps it is this explanation of ACORN-SAT. Oh no - that one's been up for ages. Perhaps it's this technical document with a detailed explanation of homogenisation and the The Australian Climate Observations Reference Network. Oh, no - that's been up on the website for ages. It was published in March 2012. Maybe it's this 2012 paper from the Bureau's Blair Trewin, if Graham ever bothered to read any science. Oh no - that's behind a paywall. You can't expect the "environment editor" of an Australian national daily to go to the trouble of reading science.
What Graham Lloyd is referring to is this page. A new tab on the ACORN-SAT information website, that describes adjustments in simpler terms so that even a nong like Graham Lloyd might, if he tried hard, be able to understand.
The other thing that Graham is saying is that if some denier blogger makes up stuff on a blog somewhere on the internet, Graham Lloyd expects the Bureau of Meteorology to shut down all its important ongoing work, and pay it any mind at all.
If the Bureau of Meteorology stopped what it was doing to respond to every attack on its integrity from piddly disinformers on denier blogs somewhere on the internet, it would never release any weather forecasts. Then Graham Lloyd might have something to complain about.
Graham Lloyd in his article was being a concern troll. He was pretending to be "concerned" about openness and transparency when there is already more openness and transparency than anyone could hope for. What he did was manufacture a controversy when there was none. When it was shown there was no controversy he resorted to slimy innuendo.
Graham Lloyd demonstrates not just a complete lack of integrity, but a determination to impugn the integrity of others. He is without honour. Without principles. A paid hack who long ago sold his soul to the disinformation devil.
If you want to read more about The Australian newspaper's attack on the Bureau of Meteorology, Graham Readfearn has been keeping tabs on it. Not to forget Tim Lambert's excellent record of The Australian's "War on Science", going back over time.
The new tab on the ACORN-SAT webpage is the contents of media release issued by the BOM on the 5th September in response to Lloyd and Marohasy's trolling.
Marohasy and Bill Johnston, one of the silly old plonkers who has been feeding this particular conspiracy theory are in action in the comments on this article.
Johnston was cited by Marohasy and Lloyd as evidence that the Rutherglen station had never moved. He was repeatedly challenged to confirm that he said this but he refused. That did not stop him from claiming that the BOM was engaged in fraud. While Marohasy is a IPA ideologue, Johnston is more likely just a fool as well as a sea-level rise denier. He claims AMOJ (http://www.bom.gov.au/amoj) blocked publication of his article "proving" that there was no sea level rise at Tuvalu so his conspiracies re the BOM are not restricted to temperature.
The other popular talking point among the conspiracy theorists is that the BOM adjusted the Rutherglen temperature based on the temperature record at Hillston in NSW which is about 370Km away. According to one of the pseudo-sceptics, Hillston was in a list of 17 stations used in the normal regional comparison algorithm. What they neglect to mention is that the comparison algorithm uses a weighting factor which is reduced the further away the station is. The weighting factor for Hillson would be about 0.025 ( 1/exp((d/200)**2 where d is the distance in kilometres between location s and the candidate location).
The details of the weighting factor are here. Pages 34-38 explain the sophisticated algorithm used for conducting the regional comparisons.
And then there is Berkeley Earth. Asked to explain how BE come up with the same homogenised temperature trend as the BOM, the question was either ignored or more conspiracy was invoked e.g. John Nicol, chairman of the Heartland funded Australian Climate Science Coalition claimed "The Berkely site you sent us to is nothing more than a private couple trying to support the theory of Global warming ...".
Here is the Rutherglen analysis from BE.
I don't know what bee is in the bonnet of Bill Johnston but I've confirmed that he was never based at Rutherglen so he wouldn't know. There is a gap in the records there. It's highly likely that the weather station was moved but does it matter?
All this fuss about a single weather station is trivial. It's just an excuse for deniers to attack climate science. As Nick Stokes asks, why don't they query all the records that have been adjusted down. Why do they only pick out two or three stations that have been adjusted up? It's because they aren't interested in facts. They are in the business of hiding the facts.
The record at any single site is inconsequential. It's the overall pattern that's important when it comes to climate. And there is absolutely no doubt about global warming or what is causing it.
Deniers like Lloyd and Marohasy don't give a damn about temperature records. They indulge in innuendo attacks that have no foundation. So far they have probably stopped just short of sue-able libel, but they skate very close to it. I hope they tip over one day and get their comeuppance.
Their business is the manufacture of doubt. They sold their souls to the devil a long time ago. People like Graham Lloyd and Jennifer Marohasey are slimeballs of the lowest kind.
Re Bill Johnston, you say: "He claims AMOJ (http://www.bom.gov.au/amoj) blocked publication of his article "proving" that there was no sea level rise at Tuvalu so his conspiracies re the BOM are not restricted to temperature."
Yes, that could explain his attack on BoM if he's wanting personal revenge because a flawed paper didn't get published, if he thought that someone from BoM was one of the reviewers. Not very professional of him is it.
And I thought he was an agronomist or horticultural researcher or something, not a sea level expert. (Wagga and Rutherglen are inland. They don't do sea level research.) Has he taken up a career as a climate science denier these days?
Michael Brown said asking questions was an "attempt to deny a century of science that proves global warming has occurred and will continue to do so".
I never equated "asking questions" with denial. Clearly from my article I was discussing denial in the context of cherry picked raw temperature data and magic time travelling forces to produce cooling.
Michael, that was a really good article of yours at SMH.
Fudgery is only one of the weapons used by Graham Lloyd to attack science and scientists, along with strawmen, unsupported innuendo, copying fibs from the Daily Mail and elevating dumb denier bloggers to the status of "researchers" - among other things.
He can't even be honest about himself. If he were he'd call himself the "anti-environment editor" at The Australian.
Marohasy's link to a lobby group is of interest for a very obvious reason. Marohasy and Lloyd are not diligently writing papers on the Australian temperature record (rather than cherry picked towns) for high impact journals. Instead they are campaigning via a national newspaper and presumably want to have political impact.
Marohasy and Lloyd are concertedly working on building a new and enduring myth, one we'll be sure to hear mindless parroted ad nauseam from now until doomsday. Once stuck into the thick, sticky skulls of deniers there'll be no chipping it out, ever.
It's a horrible process to watch unfold.
A myth very similar to the one used in NIWA court case, which the climate change deniers lost.
It is worth noting that Karoly and myself are based at universities, rather than in CSIRO or government departments.
Marco, that situation in Canada was extreme. But it's not all that different here. It's a matter of degree.
Freedom to speak to the press depends who they work for. Government employees are not permitted to speak out here without following protocols - which means on some matters not at all. (Same would apply to many large organisation - public or private sector).
If they work for an inner government agency like a state government research institute they are more tightly controlled than ever. There have usually been some protocols to follow but things tightened up a lot in the 1990s.
If they work at a university, like David Karoly (and Michael Brown, Will Steffen etc) then they are able to speak freely in public on whatever topic takes their fancy. Public servants can't do that. They can't even speak on topics where they are experts without going through the right channels these days, as far as I know.
I think BoM probably lies somewhere in between.
Just to add - this plays right into the hands of mischief makers like Graham Lloyd and denier bloggers. They push the envelope a long way and make all sorts of veiled accusations (and some not so veiled) knowing that they probably won't be challenged by the people they are attacking, if they work for the government.
BoM is a much easier target for them than the Climate Council or David Karoly, Matthew England etc. who can hit back immediately without having to jump through hoops.
Hence probably why David Karoly and Michael Brown are speaking out. And why Graham Lloyd hides behind accusations of tribalism - Curry-style - while making it perfectly clear that he is loyal to the denialati, Rupert Murdoch, the fossil fuel barons and the extreme right wing ideologues.
On a related note, most of the scientists speaking out about "precious petals" (#PreciousPetal) are not associated with CSIRO and government departments.
McFarlane's comments remind me of certain men who claim not to be sexist because they 'like women so much that they married one' - or - wonder how could they be accused of being sexist when their mother was a woman.
Fact is, he likes science so much he's not just cutting science funding, he's decimating R&D.
Pedantic and off-topic: a 'muckraker' is not necessarily 'despicable'. I submit that those investigative journalists who turn up actual corrupt and sordid practices (the classic example being Upton Sinclair and his expose of the US meatpacking industry at the turn of the century) have done (and/or are doing) us a great service.
Agree with Anon. The use of muckraker as a derogatory term is, I believe, due to confusing muckrakers with yellow-journalism. Both terms entered the American lexicon prior to WWI and I think many have just conflated them.
The Murdoch's Sun publication appears to be on the brink of advising a Yes vote in the Scotland Independence Referendum . Why? Murdoch has twittered "Scottish Independence means a huge black eye for the whole political establishment". A mindboggling reason for voting 'yes'. In a similar vein, Graham Lloyd appears to be swinging wildly in the hope of achieving something similar with the climate science "establishment".
On a loosely associated event. Er ist weider da! Yes he's back. Monckton is in Australia for a low key visit, to talk to politicians, radio shock jocks, blah, blah, blah. No public presentations in Australia for Christopher who? nor in Scotland wrt independence. What a "precious petal"!
As I recall, last time Monckton was in Australia he announced that an important arrest of somebody related to the Climate Conspiracy Australian Chapter. This information, he claimed, was passed to him by a serving police officer. Leaving aside said officer's breach of duty (in a higher cause, naturally) nothing seems to have come of it. Perhaps he's trying to avoid having that brought up this time around.
As for Rupert, he sees two small countries as even more biddable than one larger one. I suspect an endorsement from him will see the Scottish Labour vote firm up on the 'Nae' side.
How many times did our beloved lord tour Australia ? To my loose account, it's at least 3 times for the last two/three years ... Does anyone have an idea why ? Money gained with conferences ?
Well, he does have the Lord Monckton Foundation, run by Chris Dawson in Melbourne.
Quite some years ago a senior scientist at CSIRO at my division wrote a letter to complain about the planned siting of a toxic chemical waste site near his pristine small farm in Heathcote. The ruthless might of the Federal Government via the Executive of CSIRO was very swift. This was on the directive of the then State Government who were planning this toxic chemical dump. I have never seen these turgid people move so efficiently. He was accused of using CSIRO's name in vain by referencing where he worked and his qualifications.
We all then got a notice that we should never say when giving an opinion on anything that you worked for CSIRO.
As I have been retired for ten years from CSIRO they most probably think I am outside the loop.
"The Murdoch's Sun publication appears to be on the brink of advising a Yes vote in the Scotland Independence Referendum . Why"
Colour me cynical, but it might just have something to do with a very high quality largely impartial media organisation that will need to be split apart if there's a yes.
Noting that Murdoch owns a very large low quality right wing biased media organisation this would seem an excellent political and commercial opportunity for Murdoch.
A lot of the nonsense of the last few weeks has resulted from denier arguments about whether adjustments are required for temperature data.
In some instances the jump is so large you can see it in a plot of temperature as a function of time, but often the jump is only detected by comparing with nearby weather stations.