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Home Unlabelled Arun Jaitley Gets Elected As Rajya Sabha MP From UP
Arun Jaitley Gets Elected As Rajya Sabha MP From UP
Let me begin at the very beginning by pointing out that Arun Jaitley who is not just the Finance Minister of India now in Narendra Modi's term as PM but also was Law Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's term as PM and also was an eminent Supreme Court senior lawyer before venturing in politics has now finally been elected to Rajya Sabha as MP from UP. This is really a very good news for the state of UP as a whole. Who can be better than Arun Jaitley to raise the unheard voice of millions of people from different parts of Uttar Pradesh?
Let me be candid enough to admit that I have myself noticed that Arun Jaitley's election as MP from Uttar Pradesh has suddenly brought a very big smile on the face of many lawyers especially from Western UP! They now feel that their more than 70-year-old legitimate demand for a high court bench in West UP will be effectively raised in Parliament by none other than the best Speaker – Arun Jaitley himself! They recall that it was at the assurance of Arun Jaitley that in 2014-15 that they had ended their 3-4 months of strike demanding a high court bench in West UP but as Modi himself had assured the lawyers of Allahabad that no decision on bench would be taken without their consent that this all-important-issue once again got struck!
Arun Jaitley being a lawyer himself knows fully well how the litigants from West UP in more than 26 districts have to travel more than 700 to 800 km all the way to Allahabad many times without reservation all the way to Allahabad to attend court hearings and face innumerable woes which they would never have faced if a high court bench was established in any of the 26 districts of West UP! He also knows that most of these districts are so close to Delhi like Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, etc yet for attending court hearings people who have to go to high court for any work are compelled to travel not to Delhi High Court but to Allahabad High Court which is so far away as there is not even a single bench here of high court! The lawyers of West UP are sure now that Arun Jaitley will raise their legitimate age old demand for a high court bench in Parliament most effectively!
Why talk about lawyers of West UP alone? Even the lawyers of Bundelkhand too are very happy as they too feel that now Arun Jaitley will raise their demand for a high court bench in Jhansi also! Not just this even the lawyers from Gorakhpur will now feel that their legitimate age old demand for a high court bench which none other than present UP CM Yogi Adityanath had himself raised very effectively long time back about 20 years ago in 1998 when he was MP representing Gorakhpur will again be raised by Arun Jaitley as he is Rajya Sabha MP from UP! Even the lawyers of Varanasi too will feel that Arun Jaitley will raise their voice for a high court bench which is the Prime Minister's constituency and yet has no high court bench!
It may be recalled here that Dr Satyapal Singh who is former Mumbai Police Commissioner and represents Baghpat constituency as MP and was also made a Union Minister recently had last year demanded strongly right inside Parliament the setting up of 5 high court benches at least in UP at Meerut, Agra, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Jhansi! He has an absolutely valid point! UP is one of the biggest state of India with maximum pending cases from where maximum MPs and MLAs are elected and yet has least high court benches in India only one at Lucknow!
It was rightly pointed out in the Dainik Jagran newspaper in Hindi sometime back that the pending cases in Allahabad High Court is 17 lakh and the number of pending cases is steadily increasing still there is just one Bench of High Court and that too created by Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1948 on July 1 at Lucknow which is just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad and nowhere else! It must be placed on record that no other state has not even 16 lakh or 15 lakh or 14 lakh or 13 lakh or 12 lakh or 11 lakh or 10 lakh or 9 lakh or 8 lakh or 7 lakh or 6 lakh or 5 lakh or 4 lakh or 3 lakh or even 2 lakh cases yet some states like Assam and Maharashtra have 4 High Court Benches and Karnataka has 3 Benches and UP most shockingly has just one bench near Allahabad! How ridiculous!
It has been one year since Yogi Adityanath came to power but we don't see BJP setting up a Bench anywhere not just in West UP but anywhere in UP! Who can be better than Arun Jaitley to demand that when one bench can be created in Lucknow in 1948 then why can't more benches be created 70 years later in 2018 in different parts of UP when we all know fully well that UP has maximum population more than 22 crore as CM Yogi keeps proudly declaring every now and then, maximum pending cases in High Courts more than 17 lakhs, maximum pending cases in lower courts more than 62 lakhs, maximum PM, maximum MPs, maximum MLAs, maximum Mayors, maximum districts, maximum tehsils, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities, maximum crime, maximum lawlessness which even UN secretary General Ban ki moon had slammed as the "rape and crime capital of India", maximum riots, maximum Judges, maximum courts and what not still has just one High Court Bench created by our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1948 at Lucknow and not anywhere else even 70 years later! This despite the fact that former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had thundered in Parliament way back in 1986 as Opposition Leader demanding the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP and Yogi Adityanath who is now UP CM also himself thundered while demanding for a High Court Bench at Gorakhpur way back in 1998 right inside Parliament but 20 years later we don't see any High Court Bench anywhere being created other than the one which Nehru created 70 years ago in 1948 at Lucknow!
Arun Jaitley will now certainly demand that when for just 6 districts of Kolhapur, Solapur, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra the Centre has approved a highcourt bench at Kolhapur then why nopt for 26 districts of West UP and why not for other regions of UP like Gorakhpur, Bundelkhand etc? Jaitley will certainly ask that Allahabad High Court is the oldest and also the biggest court in whole of Asia and still has just one high court bench which is minimum in whole of Asia then why can't more high court benches be created in UP in different parts as Rajnath Singh who is Union Home Minister also wants which he vindicated also recently when he asked the delegation of senior lawyers from Agra meeting him that if a high court bench is created in parts other than Agra apart from Agra then do they have any problems and lawyers of Agra kept quiet implying that they had no problems with it as long as a bench is established in Agra! Lawyers all across UP will now be happy that now their voice for a high court bench in different parts of UP will be most effectively raised inside Parliament as now Arun Jaitley will not be MP from Amritsar from where he had contested earlier but now he will be a Rajya Sabha member from UP and not from Punjab or any other state of India! Why talk about just high court bench issue alone? Even on other issues affecting common man in UP, Arun Jaitley will raise their voice prominently in Parliament as people reasonably expect also and I am sure that he won't disappoint them!
Let me add a caveat here: It may be that he may raise other issues also which may come to his notice. Jaitley has many other important issues also afflicting common man which he will certainly now raise in Parliament! But one thing is certain: He cannot now feign ignorance on the all important issue of setting up more high court benches in different parts of UP! Now the MPs from different parts of UP will meet him more confidently because he is MP not from Punjab or Assam or Gujarat or Karnataka or any other state but from UP and so the bond between MPs and MLAs of UP and Jaitley who is now MP from UP will further deepen and this is certainly good news not for just UP but for whole of India because UP represents the heart of India which no one can ever deny! Jaitley fully knows that if heart fails the whole body fails similarly if UP fails which is the heart of India then whole India fails which alone explains why PM Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are all from UP! This is why he has preferred UP! Wish him always the very best in all his future endeavours!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.


Slyck.com • View topic - The CNY 260 million fine on QVOD is final!
On 29th December 2018, in a final ruling the Higher People's Court of Guangdong Province upheld the hefty fine of CNY 260.148 million (approximately EUR 33.3 million) for copyright infringement issued against video-sharing player QVOD (case details: Administrative Judgment No. 492 , Final, the Higher People's Court of Guangdong Province).
Essentially, QVOD is a peer-to-peer video streaming and sharing platform. It is similar to BitTorrent in that it works through the basic principle according to which the more 'seeds'/peers, the faster the download speed. Besides basic file transfers, QVOD also provides video playback services, such as the ability to share files whilst watching them.


text:
Towards a Formalisation of Returns on Cognitive Reinvestment (Part 1)
by DragonGod16 min read4th Jun 20228 comments
AI TakeoffRecursive Self-ImprovementIntelligence ExplosionAI
Some Prior Contextualising Work
Some Necessary Apparatus
Some Needed Terminology and Yet More Apparatus
Some Assumptions and Lemmas
Self-Modification Assumption (SMA)
Self Succession Assumption (SSA)
Successor Existence Lemma (SEL)
Successor Parity Lemma (SPL)
Successor Superiority Assumption (SSA)
Aligned Children Assumption (ACA)
Genealogy of Agents
Which Lineage?
Some Next Steps
Areas of Improvement
There'll be a Sequel Right?
Even Further Future Directions
Estimating RCR From ML History
Directly Measuring RCR in the Subhuman to Near Human Ranges
This is a rough draft of the first part of the nth post of what I hope to turn into a proper sequence investigating AI takeoff dynamics. It's not entirely self-contained material. There's a lot of preceding and subsequent context that I have not written.
If you don't immediately understand the problem I'm trying to solve, why it's important, or why I chose the approach I did, that may be why. I will try to briefly explain it though, and do what I can to contextualise it.
I've written some tangible material on one aspect of the problem and share it for feedback and validation.
My vision for where this fits into my broader attempt to investigate takeoff dynamics is in a thesis about the "hardness" of intelligence, and especially the hardness of intelligence with respect to itself (reflexive hardness?). I haven't written up my thoughts on the hardness of intelligence in a version that I fully endorse, but here's an even rougher draft that sketches up what the concept means and how it might affect takeoff dynamics.
Do note that I don't fully endorse that draft, and my notation and formalisms in it are strictly superseded by any notations and formalisms I use here. A polished up and refined version of the ideas in that draft will probably serve as the introductory post in my sequence on investigating takeoff dynamics (once I get around to stitching together all my disparate thoughts on the topic).
In the broader literature, this post can be viewed as an attempt to formalise how to measure "returns on cognitive reinvestment" as outlined by Yudkowsky in "Intelligence Explosion Microeconomics".
A significant (and important) way in which I disagree with Yudkowsky's framing of "returns on cognitive reinvestment", is that I'm thinking almost entirely about architectural and algorithmic improvements and not improvements from access to more computational resources (FLOPs, training data, hardware, etc.).
I have some other disagreements with some of Yud's framing and approach, but they wouldn't be addressed in this post.
I would like to describe how to measure returns on cognitive reinvestment (RCR) in a more structured manner. The aim is to define — or specify how one might define — a function that captured the concept. I am most interested in the shape of that function (is it sublinear, linear or superlinear? Does the shape change across different intervals on the capability curve?) and its complexity class (logarithmic, sublinear polynomial, superlinear polynomial, exponential, superexponential, etc?). An exact specification of the function would be informative, but it's not strictly necessary.
Specifically, I want to define upper bounds on RCR. My interest in upper bounds is for reasoning better about takeoff dynamics. An upper bound on RCR constrains takeoff dynamics and gives us some form of safety assurances. E.g. we might be able to make predictions like:
Given that it took x time to transition from 2022 SOTA to near-human generality, it will take at least y time to transition from near-human generality to par human.
Given that it took v time to transition from the near-human domain to the par human domain, it will take at least w time to transition from the par human domain to a strongly superhuman domain.
And retrodictions like:
Given that it took b time to get from sub-human to beginner human on this battery of cognitive tasks, we can expect that it would take at least c time to transition from beginner human to average human.
Given that it took k time to get from beginner human to average human on this battery of cognitive tasks, we can expect that it would take at least l time to transition from average human to expert human.
The accuracy of the retrodictions could inform how confident we are in the predictions. And if the model's retrodictions/predictions are sufficiently accurate, we could use its further out predictions as a form of safety guarantee.
An interest in determining what safety guarantees we do in fact have on AI takeoff dynamics is my sole motivation for this line of inquiry.
(The course(s) of action I would pursue in a world in which superhuman AI was 8, 20 or 50 years away are pretty different. To better plan what to do with my life, I want to have a better handle on how AI capability development will evolve).
Some apparatus that I'll be using in this piece:
A function for measuring RCR
I'll denote it as Ξ
I'll specify desiderata for and demonstrate how we might measure/calculate Ξ later.
Agents will be denoted as αk(k∈R)
The set of all agents will be denoted A
A measure of intelligence or cognitive capability (I'll freely equivocate between the two).
I'll denote it as ξ.
ξ:A→R+
ξ(αk) gives the intelligence of αk. If ξ(αk)=z, then I could write αzk to specify αk alongside its cognitive capability.
If two agents (αx,αz) are equivalently capable/intelligent then we'll represent it as: αx≡αz
Characteristics of ξ:
If you have two pairs of agents (αxj,αx+ci)&(αzk,αz+cl) then the difference in intelligence between (αj&αi) and between (αk&αl) is the same (c).
Other apparatus would be introduced as and when needed.
Given a sufficiently intelligent agent, it would be able to instantiate another agent:
The new agent would be a "child".
The original agent would be a "parent".
The process of instantiating the new agent is "procreation".
Let us consider the most capable child that a parent can create using all their resources within a given time frame to be the "successor" of that parent.
For a given agent αi, I will denote its successor thus: αi+1.
A successor can of course create its own successor, and the "growth rate" of cognitive capabilities across generations of agents is what we're trying to determine.
To allow a sensible comparison across generations of agents, we'd fix the given time frame in which a parent has to instantiate their successor. That is, the length of time defining a generation is held constant.
Let the length of a generation be: τ.
Self-modification is a particular case of procreation in which the child and the parent are the same agent. The cases of self-modification, that are most interesting to us are those in which the parent succeeds itself (this particular case is what arises in "recursive self-improvement").
So for subsequent considerations of self-modification here, we'll be considering self-modification as succession.
In those cases, it can be treated analogously to other forms of self-modification without loss of generality.
Note that we'll be considering agents that undergo significant self-modification to be distinct from the original agent.
Given an arbitrary agent αv, if αv undergoes significant self-modification within a generation to succeed itself, the new agent will be represented as αv+1.
I will not be justifying this assumption, just take it as axiomatic.
Suppose that we permit agents to take self modifications of "no significant action" within a generation, then the original agent (modulo whatever resources it had acquired) would become its own successor.
We'll grant this allowance and refer to the cases where an agent succeeds itself without significant self-modification as "self succession". Whenever self succession occurs, we'll represent the successor using the same symbol as the original agent.
Given an arbitrary agent αv, if αv succeeds itself during a generation, the resulting successor will be represented as αv.
We'll refer to cases where the agent does not succeed itself (including by self-modification) as "distinct succession".
The notation used to refer to the successor will allow us to distinguish self succession from distinct succession.
A case where self succession will prove useful will be if the agent was not able to create a more capable child within a generation. By allowing the agent to default succeed itself and acquire new resources, we can permit the agent to "roll over" the creation of a successor across generations. This will enable us to more accurately measure RCR even if the returns diminish over time such that distinct successors do not emerge in some generations.
SSA has many ramifications on our considerations for τ, and the measurement of Ξ. These ramifications will be considered at more length in a subsequent post.
∀αx∈A∃αx+1(αx+1∈A)
That is: "for every agent, there exists a successor to that agent".
This follows trivially from SMA. Via SMA, the agent can succeed itself. If a self-modification of "no action" is taken during a generation then the resulting agent (the original agent) becomes its successor (assuming the agent does not create any more capable children during that generation).
I will refer to cases where the agent becomes its own successor without taking significant self modification actions as "self succeeding".
∀αx∈A,ξ(αx+1)>=ξ(αx)
That is: "The successor of every agent is at least as intelligent as the original agent".
This follows trivially from SEL:
ξ(αx+1)={ξ(αx)αx=αx+1ξ(αx)+k(k∈R+)αx≠αx+1
In cases where the successor is the original agent, then they are both equivalently capable.
In cases where the successor is not the original agent, then the successor is more capable
This follows from the definition of the successor as the most capable child an agent can create within a generation.
∃αv with successor αv+1:ξ(αv+1)>ξ(αv)
That is: "there exists an agent whose successor is strictly more intelligent than itself".
This assumption is not as inherently obvious as SMA, so it does need justification. It's not necessarily the case that agents are able to instantiate agents smarter than themselves.
However, the entire concept of AI takeoff dynamics (the sole reason for which I decided to investigate this topic) takes it as an implicit assumption that we will eventually be able to create par human (and eventually superhuman) AI. Perhaps we will not. But as I'm situating my investigation within the context of AI takeoff dynamics, I feel confident making explicit this implicit assumption.
Note: I'm not saying that all agents would have successors smarter than themselves, just that there is at least one such agent. (Even if there is only one such agent, then the assumption is satisfied).
I'll refer to those agents who have successors smarter than them as "SSA-satisfying agents" or "SSA-S agents".
Let A∗={αx|ξ(αx+1)>ξ(αx)}
That is: we're using A∗ to represent the set of all agents whose successor is more capable than them.
"All children are fully aligned with the values and interests of their parents."
This is not necessarily a realistic assumption. Nonetheless, I am choosing to make it.
My reason for this is that I'm (most) interested in upper bounds on RCR, and if all agents have aligned children within a generation, they can use said aligned children to build even more capable children (the most capable of which becomes the successor).
I guess this can be thought of as a best-case analysis of RCR (what's RCR like under the most favourable assumptions?). Analyses trying to demonstrate a lower bound to RCR or to measure it more accurately should not make this assumption.
I will refer to a line of succession involving an agent as a "lineage". I'll attempt to specify that more rigorously below.
For any two given agents (αk,αv), let:
αk=αv:αk is equal to αv (e.g. in cases where the agent is self succeeding.)
αk≻αv:αk is descended from αv
αk⪰αv:αk is descended from or equal to αv
αk⊁αv:αk is not descended from αv
αk⋡αv:αk is neither descended from nor equal to αv
αk≺αv:αk is an ancestor to αv
αk⪯αv:αk is an ancestor or equal to αv
αk⊀αv:αk is not an ancestor to αv
αk⋠αv:αk is neither an ancestor nor equal to αv
For a given agent αx, let:
Aαx:{αy∈A|αy⪯αx} (the set of all the agent's ancestors [and itself])
Dαx:{αy∈A|αy⪰αx} (the set of all the agent's descendants [and itself])
Lαx:Aαx∪Dαx (the agent's lineage)
I would like to define two more concepts related to a given lineage: "head" and "tail" (as for why I chose those names, you might have noticed that a lineage can be modelled as a linked list.)
For a given lineage Lαx, I'll denote the "head" (think root ancestor) as hαx .
You could read this as "the head of the lineage containing αx".
hαx:αy∈Lαx|∀αk∈Lαx,αy⪯αk (the agent that is an ancestor of or equal to all other agents in the lineage.
For a given lineage Lαx, I'll denote the "tail" (think final descendant) as tαx .
You could read this as "the tail of the lineage containing αx".
tαx:αy∈Lαx|∀αk∈Lαx,αy⪰αk (the agent that is an descendant of or equal to all other agents in the lineage.
Our core investigation is the nature of the change in cognitive capabilities change across agent lineages (and explicitly for the purpose of reasoning better about takeoff dynamics). To a first approximation, we might pick a reference lineage to examine.
It seems that a natural method of inquiry is to pick a "head" (α0) and then investigate how cognitive capabilities change across its descendants with each generation.
Because of our interest in takeoff dynamics, I suppose that our initial starting agent must be a member of A∗. This is because if it wasn't, its successor would be itself, and its lineage would only contain the original agent (the demonstration of this is left as an exercise for the reader).
One might even take a stronger position. We might insist that our starting agent be the least intelligent agent capable of creating a more intelligent successor. The reasons for this might be:
Starting with less capable agents allows you to capture more of the "curve".
Starting with the least capable agent will allow you to capture the entirety of the curve.
An underlying assumption behind this view is something like: "it doesn't matter where you start your lineage from, in the limit, the intelligence of successors would converge to the same value (e.g. if they run into fundamental limits [thermodynamics, computational intractability, computational complexity, etc.])
I did not specify this assumption earlier, because I am not convinced that it is true, and I want to make as few assumptions as possible.
A way in which it might easily be false is some genealogies might get trapped in local optima.
One seeks to be conservative in general.
E.g. one might suspect that the first SSA satisfying agent we create is the simplest SSA agent possible.
One might think the starting point doesn't matter and RCR will show similar behaviour for most SSA-S agents.
Intuitively, the more capable SSAS agents are closer to the peak/plateau of capability.
Agents that do not satisfy SSA are not able to create more capable successors. These agents will probably cluster in two groups:
1. Those too stupid to create successors.
2. Those too smart to create successors (they have plateaued in their lineage or have run against some fundamental limits).
Thus, there's some concern that picking significantly more capable agents in which to root our lineage could be distortionary.
I am not fully convinced on all of the above reasons, but we do need to pick a particular member of A for \alpha_0, and the only choice for which there seems to be reasonable arguments is the least capable member of the set.
Thus, one potential definition of α0 might be:
α0=argminαx∈Aξ(αx)
There are other ways we could potentially define α0, but I think I'll tentatively accept the above for now.
An extra constraint on α0 that I find interesting is insisting that α0 has a lineage which contains the global optima.
My reason for adding this extra constraint is again that I am most interested in an upper bound on RCR.
One way to formalise the above constraint is:
α0:∀αk∈A,ξ(tα0)≥ξ(αk)
That is: our chosen "head" has a "tail" who's more capable than or equally capable as every other agent.
Some things I might like to do for my next part(s), or in future rewrites of this part.
Places where I can improve my draft of this part
Clean up the notation (my current notation for referring to arbitrary agents (e.g. αk) and their successors (αk+1) may be causing unneeded confusion.
Alternatively, defend my current notation (one reason the subscript of the agent's is constrained to the Reals instead of the Naturals is that we might e.g. consider all "heads" to be denoted with subscripts between 0 and 1, and the rest of the positive Reals could be used to denote their descendants).
It's possible that agent space might be larger than the Reals, but I don't think it particularly matters. I expect the Reals to be large enough to adequately address the kind of agents I would be interested in talking about).
Other missing pieces from my notation:
I don't have notation for referring to non-successor children created within a generation.
This will be needed to talk about children assisting their parents.
I don't have notation for referring to groups of agents (agencies).
This would be needed for generalising to agencies.
I don't have notation for indicating which generation a particular agent in a given lineage belongs to.
I might also want to specify the generation length if I ever tried to specify lineages and the position of an agent within a lineage.
Consider some special cases of agents
Agent who's ancestor is itself.
Agent who's successor is itself.
An agent that is both ancestor and successor to itself
Consider some special cases of lineages:
A "trivial lineage": only one member
A vacuous lineage: no members
Model lineages graphically
My current idea is to use linked lists for direct successor chains.
If we consider arbitrary children, we could use trees to model them.
Generalise to agencies.
Something somewhat pointing in this direction is the ACA which permits children to assist their parent within a generation.
We may also want to consider other kind of agencies that didn't share common ancestors.
Stuff I'd like to cover in sequels to this post:
Highlight some considerations to be considered when choosing a value for τ.
Consider their pros and cons.
Recommendations for how to pick a value from empirical results.
Specify desiderata for Ξ.
Defend the desiderata.
Highlight various approaches to measuring/calculating Ξ.
Consider their pros and cons
Pick the most compelling approach.
Formalise a definition of Ξ.
Using the apparatus I have highlighted.
Specify what I meant by "shape" of the function.
Specify what I meant by "complexity class" of the function.
Formulate several theses for RCR in terms of Ξ:
Proportionality thesis
Some foom scenarios
Some fizzle scenarios
Some stuff I might like to do (much) later on. I would like to eventually bridge this theoretical framework to empirical work with neural networks. I'll describe in brief two approaches to do that I'm interested in.
We could try to estimate the nature and/or behaviour of RCR across particular ML architectures by e.g. looking at progress across assorted performance benchmarks (and perhaps the computational resources required to reach each benchmark) and comparing across various architectural and algorithmic lineage(s) for ML models. We'd probably need to compile a comprehensive genealogy of ML architectures and algorithms in pursuit of this approach.
This estimation may be necessary, because we may be unable to measure RCR across an agent's genealogy before it is too late (if e.g. the design of more capable successors is something that agents can only do after crossing the human barrier).
I am not fully convinced in the assumption behind that danger though. There is no complete map/full description of the human brain. No human has the equivalent of their "source code" or "model weights" with which to start designing a successor. It seems plausible that we could equip sufficiently subhuman (generality) agents with detailed descriptions/models of their own architectures, and some inbuilt heuristics/algorithms for how they might vary those designs to come up with new ones. We could select a few of the best candidate designs, train all of them to a similar extent and evaluate (the same computational resources should be expended in both training and inference). We could repeat the experiment iteratively, across many generations of agents.
We could probably extrapolate the lineages pretty far (we might be able to reach the near-human domain without the experiment becoming too risky). Though there's a point in the capability curve at which we would want to stop such experiments. And I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that the agents could reach superhuman ability in designing successors (able to improve their architectures faster than humans can), without reaching human generality across the full range of cognitive tasks.
(It may be wise not to test those assumptions if we did decide to run such an experiment).
Such empirical projects are far beyond the scope of this series (and my current research abilities). However, it's something I might try to attempt in a few years after upskilling some more in AI/ML.
AI Takeoff4Recursive Self-Improvement4Intelligence Explosion4AI3
10The Hard Intelligence Hypothesis and Its Bearing on Succession Induced Foom
8 comments, sorted by
Click to highlight new comments since: Today at 9:21 AM
[-]DragonGod8mo
It's crushing my motivation to see no engagement with this post.
I'd like to continue posting my thinking on takeoff dynamics here, but it's really demotivating when no one engages with it.
[-]gwern8mo
I don't see anything to engage with here. It's all setup and definitions and throat-clearing so far; of course one could argue with them, but that's true of every formalization of everything, they're always unrealistic and simplifying, that's the point of having them. Perhaps it leads to some interesting conclusion one doesn't want to believe, at which point one could go back and ponder the premises to think about what to reject or learn about the bare formalization itself, but as it is...
That's fair. I'll update on this for the future.
I do think/hope sequels to this would have more content to engage with.
P.S: I sent you a follow request on Twitter. My UN is "CineraVerinia".
I would be grateful if you accepted it.
It is impossible to look up specific follow requests, sorry.
[-]delton1378mo
The thing you are trying to study ("returns on cognitive reinvestment") is probably one of the hardest things in the world to understand scientifically. It requires understanding both the capabilities of specific self-modifying agents and the complexity of the world. It depends what problem you are focusing on too -- the shape of the curve may be very different for chess vs something like curing disease. Why? Because chess I can simulate on a computer, so throwing more compute at it leads to some returns. I can't simulate human biology in a computer - we have to actually have people in labs doing complicated experiments just to understand one tiny bit of human biology.. so having more compute / cognitive power in any given agent isn't necessarily going to speed things along.. you also need a way of manipulating things in labs (either humans or robots doing lots of experiments). Maybe in the future an AI could read massive numbers of scientific papers and synthesize them into new insights, but precisely what sort of "cognitive engine" is required to do that is also very controversial (could GPT-N do it?).
Are you familiar with the debate about Bloom et al and whether ideas are getting harder to find? (https://guzey.com/economics/bloom/ , https://www.cold-takes.com/why-it-matters-if-ideas-get-harder-to-find/). That's relevant to predicting take-off.
The other post I always point people too is this one by Chollet.
I don't necessarily agree with it but I found it stimulating and helpful for understanding some of the complexities here.
So basically, this is a really complex thing.. throwing some definitions and math at it isn't going to be very useful, I'm sorry to say. Throwing math and definitions at stuff is easy. Modeling data by fitting functions is easy. Neither is very useful in terms of actually being able to predict in novel situations (ie extrapolation / generalization), which is what we need to predict AI take-off dynamics. Actually understanding things mechanistically and coming up with explanatory theories that can withstand criticism and repeated experimental tests is very hard. That's why typically people break hard questions/problems down into easier sub-questions/problems.
So basically, this is a really complex thing.. throwing some definitions and math at it isn't going to be very useful, I'm sorry to say. Throwing math and definitions at stuff is easy. Modeling data by fitting functions is easy. Neither is very useful in terms of actually being able to predict in novel situations (ie extrapolation / generalization), which is what we need to predict AI take-off dynamics.
I disagree. The theoretical framework is a first step to allow us to reason more clearly about the topic. I expect to eventually bridge the gap between the theoretical and the empirical eventually. In fact, I just added some concrete empirical research directions I think could be pursued later on:
We could try to estimate the nature and/or behaviour of RCR across particular ML architectures by e.g. looking at progress across assorted performance benchmarks (and perhaps the computational resources [data, flops, parameter size, etc.] required to reach each benchmark) and comparing across various architectural and algorithmic lineage(s) for ML models. We'd probably need to compile a comprehensive genealogy of ML architectures and algorithms in pursuit of this approach.
I am not fully convinced in the assumption behind that danger though. There is no complete map/full description of the human brain. No human has the equivalent of their "source code" or "model weights" with which to start designing a successor. It seems plausible that we could equip sufficiently subhuman (generality) agents with detailed descriptions/models of their own architectures, and some inbuilt heuristics/algorithms for how they might vary those designs to come up with new ones. We could select a few of the best candidate designs, train all of them to a similar extent and evaluate. We could repeat the experiment iteratively, across many generations of agents.
Recall that I called this "a rough draft of the first draft of one part of the nth post of what I hope to one day turn into a proper sequence". There's a lot of surrounding context that I haven't gotten around to writing yet. And I do have a coherent narrative of where this all fits together in my broader project to investigate takeoff dynamics.
The formalisations aren't useless; they serve to refine and sharpen thinking. Making things formal forces you to make explicit some things you'd left implicit.
[-]Tom Davidson8mo
Glad you added these empirical research directions! If I were you I'd prioritize these over the theoretical framework.
Theory is needed to interpret the results of experiment. Only with a solid theoretical framework can useful empirical research be done.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: What system table contains filegroup I'm trying to get statistics about my databases and can't seem to find out where to get the FileGroup from any of the system tables.
I'm selecting from sysfiles to get the filename, but I'd like to know the actual filegroup as well.  I can see the filegroup by using sp_helpfile, but I was wondering if anyone knows what system table I can use to get it?
I'd like to join to sysfiles to include some of the data available there.
Thanks,
J

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We were in that unique group of New Jersey "kids" who were grandfathered in when the legal drinking age went from 18 to 21. And while we could legally drink at 18, we were certainly partaking well before that, both at house parties and at local clubs. Some of my fondest high school memories were of Patty and me drinking in a parking lot before hitting a club or a party, laughing, always laughing.
We were an unlikely pair in some ways, but in retrospect I can see that her free-spiritedness and ease with things were a superb complement to my insecurity and penchant for following rules. She was comfortable in her body, freely affectionate, while I was neither. She introduced me to blackberry brandy (or was it apricot?) and couldn't believe I hated it, preferring cloying Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill instead. I feel like I spent much of my senior year riding shotgun in her vintage Mustang, The Logical Song or Shattered blaring from the radio.
All of this has been looping in my mind since last week when I learned that Patricia Lyon Wahlman died of a heart attack at age 54, leaving behind a loving husband and three sons. I can hear the lilt in her voice, see the smile on her face, and picture her dancing freely, her arms out-stretched if the song was particularly good. She would let it take her.
Patty and I lost touch for years, but reconnected at our 30-year reunion in 2009. We danced with our friends that night and it felt like years melted away on the dance floor as we sang every word of Paradise by the Dashboard Light. When another classmate had a group of us to her home the following year, Pat picked me up at the train station on a gorgeous day. I got in the car and when I saw that familiar smile I said, "Oh my God, this is like high school. You're driving. I'm in the passenger seat." We laughed and reminisced and missed the turn for our friend's house, arriving late in true Pat fashion.
Lately we had stayed in touch on Facebook and I could not be more grateful for Mark Zuckerberg's creation than I am this last week. In February a 'Throwback Thursday' photo of me drinking with three blue Gumbies in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, 1985, prompted Patty to post a flurry of her own. She had gone to college at LSU and when I visited her (and her new husband, Bob) there, we immersed ourselves in the scene. The bonus was that they knew the area like locals, so we experienced the best of both worlds. There we were, our faces painted, drinks in hand, decked out in beads, posing with strangers.
How could I have known that exchange would make my heart ache just these few months later?
I don't want to reduce Patty's life to some kind of lesson or platitude. I have no regrets. We had built our respective lives and maintained a deep affection for one another even though we didn't see each other much. But I'd be lying if I said I'm not deriving a lot of meaning these last few days from how she lived and even how she died.
Patty had a master's degree in nursing. She raised seeing eye dogs. At her memorial service, her shaken husband delivered a moving eulogy expressing pride and love in the woman she was. They had agreed as a couple to stay fit, he said, so they'd live long lives together; she was an avid walker and tennis player. He spoke of a woman who had recently taken up gardening and was serious about it. He told the story of how they met 34 years ago and he knew almost immediately that he had met his life partner. My dear friend Patty was so well-loved. I take solace in that.
The week before Pat died I posted a rant on Facebook about my visit to the doctor and my frustration with ongoing hypertension. I expressed dismay that doctors didn't seem to be interested in my dietary changes and all the work I'd done around exercise and seeking out a physical therapist and trainer. I railed at genetics and prescription drugs.
"If only, if only we had total control!!! But good job on all you've done!" Patty commented.
An apt reminder from a nurse, a friend, a kind soul whose history is intertwined with mine.
If only, Patty. If only.
NextWould You Work for a Trump-Loving Boss?
Thank you for this, Nancy. I was Pat's tennis partner for many years, and we were close. The Pat you knew in high school sounds like the same woman I came to know 14 years ago. Still down to earth and warm. I hear her voice, can still see her graceful tennis serve, and can picture her wink as she smiled.
This makes me so happy, BJ. I love how this landed on you. May we all continue to feel her spirit with us.
Such an out pouring of love, affection for your special friend, a time in your life that will be with you forever.
I can relate to the disbelief and the empty feeling left in your heart, it does put things in prospective as you point out.
Please accept our sincerest expression of sympathy for the loss of Patty.
Thank you so much, Castellano family. I really appreciate it.
Lovely. Reading your memories are mine with my best friend in high school. Right down to the Boones Farm and drinking age of 18.
I'm happy you reconnected and each knew of your love for one another. So sorry for your loss❤ Blessings to her family.
Wow, Kate, thank you. I'm so happy it resonated on several levels.
Thanks for sharing the heartfelt story, Nancy. So sorry for your loss.


The phrase "Baby Shower Trivia Games" is one of the most searched for terms on this website!
Once I discovered this interesting fact, it only made sense to find all of the trivia related baby shower games I could - and share them with you!
So here it is! A page that is all about fun and exciting baby trivia games!
Trivia games that you can purchase from other websites and have them shipped to you.
If you don't feel like typing your own baby shower game up, we have created a downloadable game that you can easily print from home. It has 9 random, off-the wall, baby questions that guests must try to answer!
The winner gets a prize! Maybe a Trivial Pursuit game? Since they are trivia buffs!
Type the questions out on the computer and make them into a multiple choice games, giving 3-4 answers to choose from for each question.
Hand a game sheet, pen, and magazine (hard surface to write on) to each guest at the baby shower. Give guests 2 minutes to complete the questions. The person that has the most questions right wins a prize!
If there is a tie, a great tiebreaker is to ask the winners how many children the mom-to-be wants to have. Have mom answer and the guest who comes the closest wins the game!
Here Are Several Amazing Baby Facts That Most People Don't Know..
Use these facts when creating your trivia questions. Turn them into multiple choice questions or fill in the blank style questions.
Babies can actually crawl right when they are born. It is called the "Breat Crawl." A study was done on several babies in 1987 - where immediately after the baby was born, they laid them on their mother's chest and they were able to find the mother's breast by crawling up to it, within an hour.
Newborns do not shed tears until they are 1-3 months old.
Babies have more bones than adults do. Babies have 300 bones and adults only have 206. As we age, our bones fuse together at the skull and spine, decreasing the total amount of bones we have.
Babies double their birthweight in 5 months.
In the womb, babies are covered with a thin layer of hair called lanugo.
80% of babies are born with birth marks.
A baby cannot taste salt until it is 4 months old.
Ann Turner was the original Gerber Baby.
Write down several facts about the expecting mom such as where she was born, favorite food, how many kids she wants, where she went to school, color of her eyes, dream place to live, etc.
Do the same for the dad-to-be.
Have guests determine which fact goes to which parent by writing MOM or DAD next to each fact.
The one that has the most answers correct wins a prize!
Who Knows Mommy? Who Knows Daddy?
Think you know the mommy-to-be the best? You are in for a surprise! This baby shower trivia game is similar to the game described above, only you can choose to play an "all about mommy" version or an "all about daddy" version. Have guests answer the questions and see who really knows mommy (or daddy) the best.
This is perfect if you are looking for coed baby shower games! (or jack and jill shower games - as some like to call it) Get the men together to see "Who Knows Daddy" the best! This is a printable game that you download right after purchasing. Great if you are in a time crunch and don't have time to make your own or have one mailed to you.
This is a traditional baby shower activity that is played at almost every shower! Have guests predict the babies birth date, weight, time of birth, and leave special wishes for the new baby.
The person who gets the most answers correct wins a prize! Usually something nice like a gift card or gift basket. Have guests write down their name and phone number so you can call the winner after the baby has been born.
Another way to play this game is to turn it into a raffle. If a guest wants to join in the fun, they must put $5 into the pot. Then the winner with the most correct answers, wins the pot of money!


text:
import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
import { InputNumber } from 'src/components/Input';
import { t, styled } from '@superset-ui/core';
import { debounce } from 'lodash';
import ControlHeader from 'src/explore/components/ControlHeader';

type ValueType = (number | null)[];

export type BoundsControlProps = {
  onChange?: (value: ValueType) => void;
  value?: ValueType;
};

const StyledDiv = styled.div`
  display: flex;
`;

const MinInput = styled(InputNumber)`
  flex: 1;
  margin-right: ${({ theme }) => theme.gridUnit}px;
`;

const MaxInput = styled(InputNumber)`
  flex: 1;
  margin-left: ${({ theme }) => theme.gridUnit}px;
`;

const parseNumber = (value: undefined | number | string | null) =>
  value === null || Number.isNaN(Number(value)) ? null : Number(value);

export default function BoundsControl({
  onChange = () => {},
  value = [null, null],
  ...props
}: BoundsControlProps) {
  const [minMax, setMinMax] = useState<ValueType>([
    parseNumber(value[0]),
    parseNumber(value[1]),
  ]);
  const min = value[0];
  const max = value[1];
  const debouncedOnChange = useRef(debounce(onChange, 300)).current;

  const update = (mm: ValueType) => {
    setMinMax(mm);
    debouncedOnChange([
      mm[0] === undefined ? null : mm[0],
      mm[1] === undefined ? null : mm[1],
    ]);
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    setMinMax([parseNumber(min), parseNumber(max)]);
  }, [min, max]);

  const onMinChange = (value: number | string | undefined) => {
    update([parseNumber(value), minMax[1]]);
  };

  const onMaxChange = (value: number | string | undefined) => {
    update([minMax[0], parseNumber(value)]);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <ControlHeader {...props} />
      <StyledDiv>
        <MinInput
          data-test="min-bound"
          placeholder={t('Min')}
          // emit (string | number | undefined)
          onChange={onMinChange}
          // accept (number | undefined)
          value={minMax[0] === null ? undefined : minMax[0]}
        />
        <MaxInput
          data-test="max-bound"
          placeholder={t('Max')}
          // emit (number | string | undefined)
          onChange={onMaxChange}
          // accept (number | undefined)
          value={minMax[1] === null ? undefined : minMax[1]}
        />
      </StyledDiv>
    </div>
  );
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


My boyfriend and I visited for a wedding. No car - took the Amtrak up from Chicago. This was my first time visiting Milwaukee.
Posted by Benergy84 on March 17, 2016. Brought to you by tripadvisor.
Posted by dotwolver on March 17, 2016. Brought to you by tripadvisor.
Stay at Aloft Milwaukee Downtown, steps away from the scenic RiverWalk and Historic Third Ward District. Enjoy chic boutiques, eateries, and brew pubs right outside the door. After exploring, relax with a signature cocktail, pint, or pinot noir at W XYZ bar, or catch up on work with the fast & free WiFi.
Posted on December 18, 2018. Brought to you by skoosh.
Located in Downtown Milwaukee, this hotel is within a 10-minute walk of Milwaukee County Historical Center and BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World are also within 2 mi (3 km).


text:
Research Handbook on Child Soldiers
Research Handbooks in International Law series
Edited by Mark A. Drumbl, Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law and Director, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University, US and Jastine C. Barrett, Independent Human Rights Consultant and Honorary Researcher, Kent Law School, University of Kent, UK
Child soldiers remain poorly understood and inadequately protected, despite significant media attention and many policy initiatives. This Research Handbook aims to redress this troubling gap. It offers a reflective, fresh and nuanced review of the complex issue of child soldiering. The Handbook brings together scholars from six continents, diverse experiences, and a broad range of disciplines. Along the way, it unpacks the life-cycle of youth and militarization: from recruitment to demobilization to return to civilian life. The overarching aim of the Handbook is to render the invisible visible – the contributions map the unmapped and chart new directions. Challenging prevailing assumptions and conceptions, the Research Handbook on Child Soldiers focuses on adversity but also capacity: emphasising the resilience, humanity, and potentiality of children affected (rather than 'afflicted') by armed conflict.
Although child soldiers have received considerable media and policy attention, they remain poorly understood and inadequately protected. This Research Handbook addresses this troubling gap by offering a reflective and nuanced review of the complex issue of child soldiering.
This comprehensive Research Handbook showcases diverse experiences and unique perspectives. It unpacks the life-cycle of youth and militarization: from recruitment, to demobilization, and return to civilian life. Challenging prevailing assumptions and conceptions, this uplifting Research Handbook focuses on the child soldier's capacity to cope with adversity. In so doing, it emphasizes the resilience, humanity and potential of children affected – rather than 'afflicted' – by armed conflict.
The Research Handbook on Child Soldiers will be of interest to academics, practitioners and activists alike, with its extensive incorporation of cutting-edge fieldwork and the voices of the children themselves. Promoting equity between generations, this Research Handbook will also appeal to individuals from many walks of life who are concerned with the rights of the child in times of conflict, peace and the in-between.
'This Handbook is unique in combining different research methods and approaches across social, political and cultural studies of child soldiering. Thus, Drumbl and Barrett's edited book is a valuable resource that contributes in two ways: both as an introduction to the study of child soldiering and all of its complexity; and in showcasing important empirical work, particularly from scholars who have been engaged in child soldier research for a long time.'
– Kate Macfarlane, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding
'The Research Handbook on Child Soldiers is well balanced, and is less on abstractions and philosophizing, and more on offering erudite principle based solutions in respect of our efforts to conceptualise and understand child soldiers across disciplinary and professional divides. True to form, it also charts the way forward as the international community grapples with the ever changing nature of conflict. This book is not so much an idea whose time has come as it is an idea whose time is long overdue in coming.'
– Benyam Mezmur, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
'For this Research Handbook, Jastine Barrett and Mark Drumbl have assembled an array of scholars, drawn from six continents, with expertise in multiple fields of law, humanities, and social sciences. Their writings deploy methodologies as varied as empirical study and doctrinal analysis in order to examine situations of armed conflict and other systemic violence, across a temporal spectrum of past, present, and future. Together, these contributions place this exciting volume at the vanguard of scholarship on child soldiers.'
– Diane Marie Amann, University of Georgia, School of Law, US
'This Research Handbook of vivid research on child soldiers memorably exposes how some youth engaged in armed conflicts forget they are still children. Contributors bring rich expertise in law, sociology, ethnography, social work, psychology, political science, criminology, medical anthropology, and literary analysis to the cultural and political contexts for recruiting minors by armed groups and by national military organizations. Beyond dominant images of child soldiers as either merely passive victims or as violent terrors, the authors point toward legal and cultural reforms while cautioning against doing further harm.'
– Martha Minow, Harvard University, US
Contributors: O. Aijazi, G. Akello, A.A.S. Akima, D.N. Almarez, E. Amony, E. Baines, J.C. Barrett, M. Bloom, T. Bouwknegt, S. Casey-Maslen, P.M.S. Chua, R. Crilley, M. Denov, M.A. Drumbl, S. Freeland, W. Hall, K. Hanson, B. Holá, A.M. Jiménez, M. Kamara, N. Kaushik, Y. Lebrat, A.D. Malawani, N. McMillan, C. Molima, G. Odongo, V. Oosterveld, S. Parmar, P.C. Ragandang III, C. Ramos, J. Rikhof, D.M. Rosen, F. Shanahan, A. Van Engeland, L. Vastapuu, A. Veale, M. Wessells
Mark A. Drumbl and Jastine C. Barrett
PART I THE CONCEPT AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHILD SOLDIER
1. In Search of the Lost Kingdom of Childhood
Mohamed Kamara
2. Challenges for the Protection of Child Victims of Recruitment and Use in an Era of Complex Armed Conflicts: The Colombian Case
Ana María Jiménez
3. The Construction of Gender in Child Soldiering in the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Valerie Oosterveld
4. 'We Were Controlled, We Were Not Allowed to Express Our Sexuality, Our Intimacy Was Suppressed': Sexual Violence Experienced by Boys
Omer Aijazi, Evelyn Amony and Erin Baines
5. Getting Tambo Out of Limbo: Exploring Alternative Legal Frameworks that are More Sensitive to the Agency of Children and Young People in Armed Conflict
Karl Hanson and Christelle Molima
6. This is Belonging: Children and British Military Recruitment
Rhys Crilley
PART II CONDUCT: AGENCY, CAPACITY AND RESILIENCE
7. Child Soldiers in Historical and Comparative Perspective: Creating a Space for Data-Driven Analysis
David M. Rosen
8. The Voiceless Child Soldiers of Afghanistan
Anicée Van Engeland
9. Weaponizing the Weak: The Role of Children in Terrorist Groups
Mia Bloom
10. Retracing the Journey of Child Soldiers and Looking for the Path to Return Them Home: A Report from Southern Philippines
David N. Almarez, Ajree D. Malawani, Sittie Akima A. Ali, Princess Mae S. Chua and Primitivo C. Ragandang III
11. Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence within Armed Groups - A Case Study of Northern Uganda
Myriam Denov
12. Social Reintegration Following Armed Conflict in Northern Uganda: How Former Child Soldier Young Mothers Use Symbolic Tools
Fiona Shanahan and Angela Veale
PART III ENCOUNTERS WITH THE LAW
13. The Regional African Legal Framework on Children: A Template for More Robust Action on Children and Armed Conflict?
Godfrey Odongo
14. Minors and Miners: Accountability Beyond Child Soldiering in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Sharanjeet Parmar and Yann Lebrat
15. Crimes Committed by Child Soldiers: An Argument for Coherence
Nikila Kaushik and Steven Freeland
16. Child Soldiers in International Courtrooms: Unqualified Perpetrators, Erratic Witnesses and Irreparable Victims?
Barbora Holá and Thijs B. Bouwknegt
17. Dominic Ongwen on Trial: Problematizing Definitional Boundaries and Exploring the Possibilities of Socialization
Carse Ramos
18. Child Soldiers and Asylum – Duality or Dilemma?
Joseph Rikhof
PART IV AFTERWORLD(S)/AFTERWARDS: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND BEYOND
19. Navigating the Mystical: Child Soldiers and Reintegration Rituals in Northern Uganda
Jastine C. Barrett
20. Child Agency and Resistance to Discourses within the Paris Principles in Rehabilitation and Reintegration Processes of Former Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda
Grace Akello
21. Children Associated with Boko Haram: Disassociation, Protection, Accountability and Reintegration
Stuart Casey-Maslen
22. Do No Harm: How Reintegration Programmes for Former Child Soldiers Can Cause Unintended Harm
Michael G. Wessells
23. How to Find the 'Hidden' Girl Soldier? Two Sets of Suggestions Arising from Liberia
Leena Vastapuu
Nesam McMillan
Law and Development
Criminal Law and Justice Human Rights Law and Development Law and Society Public International Law Terrorism and Security Law Law and Politics Humanitarian Law Criminology
Human Rights Terrorism and Security Law and Politics
The Regulation of Tax Competition
Chidozie G. Chukwudumogu
Research Handbook on Economic Sanctions
Peter A.G. van Bergeijk
After Meaning
Jean d'Aspremont


The Fort Bliss and El Paso communities turned in a bewildering, somewhat scary array of ammo and explosives at last year's Ammunition Amnesty Day that's organized by the post.
Organizers of the event collected about 16,000 small-arms rounds, 1,000 20mm aircraft rounds, four or five small containers of commercial gunpowder used for reloading and even some homemade fireworks, said Wesley Wolski, a quality assurance specialist in ammunition with the Directorate of Logistics at Fort Bliss.
"We even got a World War II bazooka round," Wolski said. "I believe it was an old training round."
This year's event, set for July 6 at the Texas State Guard Armory, will be free and open to soldiers and the public.
People can drop off unwanted ammunition, explosives and fireworks that day with no questions asked, Wolski said.
"It should be interesting to see what gets turned in two days after the Fourth of July," he said.
Having the event off post makes it easier for the public to participate, Wolski said.
Organizers keep track of what kinds of ammo are dropped off for purely statistical purposes, but they don't ask who you are or take down license plate numbers, Wolski said.
"It's to get ammo out of the community and away from kids," Wolski said. "The important thing is to make the community safer. Bring in any ammo that you don't want, that's rusted, dented. We'll take it."
explosives that are turned in for safety purposes.
Any military-issued ammo that is turned in is inspected to see whether it is in good working condition. If it's still usable, it is reintroduced into Fort Bliss' inventory and used for soldiers to train with, Wolski said.
If it's not usable, it's destroyed. Any commercial ammo that's turned in is also destroyed within about a week.
"We don't want them to throw it in the trash," Wolski said. "Bring it in and get it disposed of properly."
Two weeks before the event, there's still plenty of time to go through your home, garage or storage areas to find any unwanted ammo, Wolski said.


Is it a card or is it a box that can hold a present? Maybe both! A close friend of mine once said that a card can express, but its best when accompanied with a gift. That's when it struck me that it will be wonderful to give a card that can hold a box in which you can put in cute gifts – it's a presents card!
It's been long I worked with my favorite monochrome look so I picked up black and white cardstock and paper designs and decided to go with the flow. The "Clover Box" file is downloaded from our very own Pazzles Craft Room and I absolutely love it. Once made, the clover box fits perfectly into the card and sits tight.
I chose a thick black card stock for the card as it will help hold the base for the clover box. There is a lot of space for decoration and you can do it as you wish. I used a few spellbinder dies and cute messages to decorate. I have been stamping quite a bit and so I grabbed a cute critter holding a heart with a cute message "Sending Love". It's a gorgeous card and I fell in love with it, who wouldn't?


This year has flown by and it's been another whirlwind. 2017 started with about a dozen weddings on the calendar, and will finish (yes I'm still going) with the final count hitting 47. Now that's a number even I'm surprised by. Each and every wedding this year has been amazing, and a BIG shout-out to all my brides & grooms who made this year so unforgettable and left me with some priceless memories.
I've been blessed to have seen so much of the country this year, having been at weddings as far south as Currawong, as far west as Orange, and north as Fullerton Cove. There was also a little trip down to Hobart.
These are just a few of the amazing weddings from 2017.
To my bride and grooms, you guys rocked! My images are only as good as the people I'm photographing, and I'm so glad you had enough faith and trust in me to allow me to work my magic.
To each of the different vendors who contributed along the way, I might not have had the chance to chat to you all but thank you for your professional and tireless work.
To everyone else who were part of all the weddings this year: parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, bridal parties, a big thank you for welcoming me and making sure I was ok throughout the day. I've lost track of how much kindness and generosity I've experienced in my travels, and it really makes the job so much easier.
Last year, I ran Ava Me Photography by juggling a number of spreadsheets and thought it would be sufficient for 2017. When things began to get hectic in the middle of the year, I knew I needed a decent customer management system. Studio Ninja has been a godsend, not only at keeping me organised but also saving me so much time. Cheers to Studio Ninja!
This legendary camera has been a game changer. It's a speed demon that doesn't miss a beat. I could go on and on, but if you want to find out more, head over to DPReview.
In the latter half of the year, with the weddings beginning to I began working with RAW Digital Lab and Image Salon to ensure I delivered my images on time. I can't believe I hadn't used them earlier. I still do retouch some of my weddings, but these guys have taken up much of the load, saving me so much time and bringing their retouching expertise to all my weddings.
Joel, your work is amazing-we couldn't think of a better photographer to capture our special day! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!


text:
Home / Commercial / General Liability
Description News Wins
35% of GL claims result in a lawsuit
If a lawsuit is involved, defending and settling a general liability (GL) claim can average more than $75,000 per case. With 35 percent of GL claims resulting in a lawsuit, one incident could be disastrous for your clients.
Slip-and-falls are the most common GL claim, impacting 10 percent of small business owners in the past five years alone. Potential claims for personal and advertising injury, third party property damage and product liability also pose serious risks.
With access to exclusive markets and carriers and broad binding authority, Burns & Wilcox helps you provide your clients with General Liability Coverage that mitigates financial risks to these exposures. Burns & Wilcox also provides customizable packages to ensure your clients are properly covered.
Coverage Details and Features
Bodily injury and property damage
Products and completed operations
Personal injury and advertising liability
Medical payments
Target Classes
(including but not limited to)
Recreational and Leisure
Three Dangerous Myths About General Liability Insurance
Outlined are three myths pertaining to general liability insurance including financial losses and sub-contractors,.
The New World of Commercial Liability
How fresh coverage strategies and specialized products are protecting businesses in a world where Basic P&C Coverage no longer suffices.
How Does a CGL Policy Work?
Commercial liability policies provide coverage for the named insured and may extend to certain others, such as employees of the named insured. The policy coverage may also include additional insured(s), as specified in the policy through endorsement(s). The purpose of a commercial liability policy is to provide coverage for the possibility of the named insured becoming legally responsible for injury or harm to a third party. The most frequent types of injury or harm include bodily injury and property damage.
Comprehensive General Liability or Monoline Products?
Basic math says the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. So when a client recently asked Jeff Diefenbach, vice president and branch manager at Burns & Wilcox, to compare a multiline Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) policy to products liability insurance, one of its component coverage parts, the request didn't really add up.
The Virtues of Excess
How much can your client afford to lose? Consider the example of a banquet hall filled to capacity when a fire breaks out, destroying the building and resulting in the injury or death of patrons. The owner's General Liability Coverage has limits of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate; however, during the investigation it is determined that the banquet hall had numerous fire code violations and a verdict of $5 million is awarded to the claimants.
Optional Coverages: Not Included in Commercial General Liability Policies, But Still Necessary
Commercial General Liability: When is an option not an option? When it is not optional, of course. It is not a joke. In the world of liability, a handful of the so-called options or add-ons to the commercial general liability (CGL) policy may still be called "options," but for a significant portion of businesses, they really are must-have coverages
Commercial General Liability: Some Business Models Fit, Others Require More Flexibility
It is early morning and a big truck pulls up to the company gate. A large portable fence is quickly installed and almost immediately, a dozen sheep emerge from the truck and are herded onto the property that will be their pasture for a few hours. When the grass is sufficiently short, the fencing and the sheep will be moved to the next area. The job of shepherd may never again reach the stature it held in biblical times, but running a herd of sheep to "mow" lawns without polluting the air or relying on fossil fuels is one of a growing number of businesses emerging from the Green movement.
Competition Holds the Key
Caroline Dituri, a senior broker at Burns & Wilcox in Fresno, Calif., knows how to make competition work to her client's advantage. Nothing illustrates that better than what Dituri did for a new Burns & Wilcox account involving a contractor who installs and removes nontoxic plastic liners at California landfills.
Non-emergency transport service company
Energy drink manufacturer
Gymnastic equipment manufacturer
Construction of 12-unit condo complex
Roofing general contractor
Cosmetics manufacturer
Custom stainless steel manufacturer
Airport hangar
Welding/Fabrication
Fire suppression contractor
Paper contractor with $1.2M sales
Trailer manufacturer
Pool and spa contractor
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Home » COVID-19 Information for Massachusetts
COVID-19 Information for Massachusetts
Select a city or county.AmherstBostonCambridgeIpswichLawrenceNewtonNorth AndoverQuincyRevereWilliamstown
Low risk communities in Massachusetts are currently in Phase 3, Step 2 of the state's reopening plans. Under Phase 3, Step 2, gatherings at private residences are limited to no more than 25 people.
Any person over the age of two who is in a place open to the public, whether indoor or outdoor, must wear a face covering. Businesses may decline entry to individuals not wearing face coverings. This order is in effect until rescinded.
Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10, 2020.
Status: Eviction Cases and Enforcement Suspended
H. 4647
Action: Limits the rights of property owners to access the Courts to resolve disputes
Scope: Prohibition on terminating tenancies or sending any notices, including notices to quit, for non-essential eviction actions. Non-essential eviction actions include nonpayment of rent, foreclosure, for no fault or no cause, or for a cause which does not involve or include allegations of criminal activity or lease violations that may impact the health or safety of other tenants, health care workers, emergency personnel, persons lawfully on the property or the general public.
Duration: 120 days or 45 days after the state emergency declaration is lifted, whichever is sooner. The Governor may postpone the expiration of the bill for a period of time, which cannot go past 45 days after the emergency declaration is lifted. Currently, this order is set to expire on October 17, 2020.
COVID-19 Related Financial Impact Requirement: Yes, for the prohibition on charging late fees. Residents must provide notice and documentation no later than 30 days after a rent payment is missed.
Residents Responsible for Rent: Yes.
Additional Commentary: Allows property owners to utilize last month's rent (security deposit) to pay for expenses, if the housing provider notifies the tenant in writing. However, owners and operators must provide tenants with the same interest that would have accrued if the housing provider had not utilized last month's rent and prohibits housing providers from deducting money from the last month's rent for any non-payment of rent. See Greater Boston Real Estate Board's (GBREB) summary for more details.
The Massachusetts Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA) program will provide direct funding to eligible households who have suffered financial hardship during the State of Emergency put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
ERMA will expand eligibility for rental and mortgage assistance to more low-income households who have been impacted by the crisis by adjusting the income threshold beyond the state's traditional Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program. This includes households within the 50-80% range of Area Median Income (AMI). Like the RAFT program, ERMA will provide up to $4,000 for eligible households to pay rent or mortgage payments in arrears going back to payments due April 1, 2020. Beginning July 1, applicants can reach out to the eleven agencies that administer RAFT on the state's behalf, this includes the nine Housing Consumer Education Centers, as well as LHAND and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. $10 million is available for distribution.
No rent freeze is in effect at the state or local level. Local rent regulation is preempted by Massachusetts Code Ch. 40P § 4-5.
Under Massachusetts Code § 940.3.18, it is unlawful to sell any petroleum or gas product at an unconscionably high price. The statutory language does not apply to any other goods or services.
The town of Amherst allocated $250,000 for income-eligible residents who have lost their jobs or are making less money because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients must be Amherst residents and cannot live in public housing or receive other government rental assistance. A lottery system is in place to award the money. Preference will be given to families with children under 18.
The rental subsidy provides up to three months of payments, for arrears from April 1 forward. The grants will pay up to half of the recipient's monthly rent. The maximum subsidy amounts are $650 per month for a studio or one-bedroom unit, $800per month for two-bedroom unit, and $1,100 per month for three or more bedrooms.
The income eligibility limit is $47,850 for one person, $54,650 for a family of two, $61,500 for three, $68,300 for four, $73,800 for five, and $79,250 for a family of six or more.
Applicants must have a documented loss or reduction of income due to COVID-19, and insufficient income and/or assets to cover the rent for a three-month period.
Status: Moratorium has Expired.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, the Massachusetts Apartment Association, and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporation, a trade group for nonprofit affordable housing operators, joined Saturday (March 14th) in instructing apartment management staff to suspend eviction actions for 90-days.
Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB), said the moratorium could extend further. GBREB is urging smaller landlords to join in the effort.
On April 6, 2020, the City of Boston began providing $3 million in in rental subsidies to low-income renters experiencing COVID-19 related financial hardship.
Eligible applicants must earn less than 80% of the area median income and may be awarded up to $4,000 in assistance.
In response to the public health crisis created by COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis A. DePasquale activated the Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund on March 19, 2020 to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families in Cambridge who are experiencing financial hardship due to the virus outbreak. Thanks to the generosity of the Cambridge community, more than $3.3 million has been raised and the Fund continues to accept donations.
Funds will be allocated for rent and/or utility payments and other household needs. Funds will also be allocated for mortgage payments for homes purchased through the City's affordable homeownership programs.
Additional information about eligibility guidelines, the application process, and required supporting documentation are available below. For full details, see the Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund Application Instructions and Information (PDF).
Ipswich Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board has joined forces with Action Inc. to offer short-term rental assistance for Ipswich residents who have recently lost their jobs, been furloughed or lost significant income due to COVID-19.
Participants will pay up to 40% of their income toward their rent, and the program will pay the balance. If participants do not have income, Action Inc. will work with them to help them gain income. Each housing provider will be required to sign a contract in which they agree to accept the funds and not evict the tenant for the duration of the program.
Action will provide rental subsidies directly to the renters' housing provider. It is intended for participants to transition out of the program after six months. If hardships continue past the six-month mark, participants may remain in the program for up to six additional months.
Eligibility for this program is: Ipswich residency; present income less than 80% area median income, as defined by HUD, during the first 30 days of implementation; income less than 100% AMI after the first 30 days; ability to demonstrate lost employment or income as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., laid off, furloughed, suffered significant reduction in hours, etc.); and being an adult over 18 years of age.
Action Inc. will manage the application process and the distribution of funds. Visit the Action Inc. website to complete a short intake survey and schedule an appointment with a client services advocate. If approved, applicants may receive assistance with back or future rent, based on current income.
On March 18, 2020, the City Council unanimously approved Mayor Daniel Rivera's request for an emergency resolution calling for a 60-day moratorium on rent and mortgage payments for those who have lost pay because of school or business closures.
A virtual City Council meeting took place March 31, 2020 at which the council will be asked to determine parameters for the proposed ordinance. There has been no update since. A statewide moratorium is in effect.
The Newton City Council approved putting $2 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) money into the city's COVID-19 Emergency Rental & Mortgage Assistance Program to help those in need. The account will have $2.5 million total – the $2 million in just-approved CPA funds and an additional $500,000 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
According to the action plan, once applications are approved, renters and homeowners would be eligible to receive up to three months of housing assistance. The program will cover 70 percent of a household's monthly rent, with a maximum monthly assistance amount of $2,500 per household (or $7,500 per household for three months).
Renters need to live in Newton; have reduced income because of COVID-19 and be able to demonstrate this financial hardship; and earn at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income.
Households currently receiving rental assistance (e.g. Public Housing tenants, RAFT, Section 8, MRVP or other locally administered support) are also eligible for this program (program assistance is only applied toward tenant's portion of rent).
The North Andover Board of Selectman and the North Andover Affordable Housing Trust have established an emergency rental assistance program for those facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.
The $100,000 program will be available to those individuals and families making no more than 100% of the area median income. The monthly grant amount will be the difference between the monthly rent and 30% of the household's gross monthly income.
Per The Patriot Ledger, the Quincy Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee approved the use of $1 million to provide direct rent assistance for workers economically impacted by COVID-19. Criteria for the program has yet to be established.
Mayor Brian Arrigo has committed $1 million in federal funds to assist with rental assistance for Revere residents who are at risk of eviction or homelessness due to inability to pay rent.
Eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery to create an order of response and will be prioritized if there are more applicants than can meet available funds.
The board of the Williamstown Affordable Housing Trust will partner with Pittsfield's Berkshire Housing Development Corp. on an emergency rental assistance program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents of rental properties in Williamstown who make 100 percent or below the area median income and have "suffered financial setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic" will be eligible for grants would ranging from $500 to $1,000.


Our Transaction Services team in London has c.180 financial due diligence (FDD) specialists, supporting a wide variety of transactions in the UK and internationally. We advise both top and mid-tier, corporate and financial (private equity) clients, who invest in a range of assets, from smaller privately owned business to large household names.
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Home News Global News COVID-19 Delta variant detected in 98 countries, continues to evolve and mutate,...
COVID-19 Delta variant detected in 98 countries, continues to evolve and mutate, warns WHO
Children in Zimbabwe demonstrate safe social distancing behaviour - UN Zimbabwe
GENEVA, Switzerland – The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged leaders to push back against daunting new COVID surges through increased vaccination efforts and public health measures, warning that with Delta quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries 'we are in a very dangerous period of the pandemic'.
"In those countries with low COVID-19 vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of hospitals overflowing are again becoming the norm. But no country is out of the woods yet", said Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, during his biweekly press conference.
'Careful adjustment'
Tedros explained that the Delta variant is 'dangerous' and continues to evolve and mutate, and this requires constant evaluation and 'careful adjustment of the public health response'.
"Delta has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage", he warned.
During journalists' questions, WHO's technical leader for COVID-19 response, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, reminded that the virus has been evolving since it first emerged.
"It is what viruses do. The variants of concern that we are tracking are currently four: Alpha, Beta, Gama and Delta. They will continue to evolve: there will be more mutations, there will be more variants detected, and some of those will be variants of concern", she predicted.
Dr Van Kerkhove said there were 'sub lineages' of the Delta variant that experts are currently tracking and urged countries to expand their genomic sequencing efforts.
Two options
Meanwhile, the WHO chief explained that there are 'essentially' two ways for countries to push back against the new COVID-19 surges.
"Public health and social measures like strong surveillance, strategic testing, early case detection, isolation and clinical care remain critical. As well as masking, physical distance, avoiding crowded places and keeping indoor areas well ventilated", he said.
The second way, said Tedros, was through the global sharing of protective gear, oxygen, tests, treatments and vaccines.
"I have urged leaders across the world to work together to ensure that by this time next year, 70 percent of all people in every country are vaccinated", Tedros highlighted, adding that this was the best way to slow the pandemic, save lives, drive a truly global economic recovery and prevent further dangerous variants from getting the 'upper hand'.
Countries must step up
WHO is calling on leaders to vaccinate at least 10 percent of people as soon as possible, in all countries, to ensure that health workers and those most at risk are protected.
According to Tedros, ensuring this would effectively end the acute stage of the pandemic and save a significant number of lives.
"It's a challenge but we know it's possible because already three billion vaccines have been distributed. It is within the collective power of a few countries to step up and ensure that vaccines are shared, manufacturing is increased, and that the funds are in places to purchase the tools needed", he urged.
Although there is some vaccine-sharing happening now, it is still 'only a trickle', and being outpaced by variants.
"In those countries whose hospitals are filling up, they need vaccines and other health tools right now", he underscored.
Companies must also accelerate efforts
The UN health agency is also urging BioTech, Pfizer and Moderna to share knowledge and technology so that it is possible to accelerate the development of new mRNA vaccine manufacturing hubs.
"The sooner we start building more vaccine hubs and upping global vaccine capacity, the sooner we can diminish deadly surges", Dr Tedros said.
Vaccines working
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO's chief scientist, said a lot of data had been gathered on the efficacy of Pfizer-Biotech and AstraZeneca shots, but much less for other vaccines in use.
From its regional offices, WHO is currently promoting the idea of vaccine effectiveness studies and working with countries to obtain data so that they can reassure the public that vaccines will keep being effective against future variants.
"Now, the good news is that all of the WHO emergency use listed vaccines do protect against developing severe disease, hospitalization and death due to the Delta variant", she explained recently during a WHO video interview.
Dr Swaminathan reminded that a full course of vaccination is essential to provide full immunity against the Delta variant.
"None of the vaccines that we have currently are 100 percent protective. So this is why even if you're vaccinated, you can get the infection, but the chances are you will get very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, and that the chances of getting seriously ill are really, really low", she explained.
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Authorities: Houston was underwater in tub
A T-shirt, flowers and notes are left at a makeshift memorial for Whitney Houston outside the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Monday. Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday.Damian Dovarganes
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub, and she had prescription drugs in her room, authorities said Monday.
The regal pop star's family made arrangements to fly her body home to New Jersey for a funeral at the end of the week.
Authorities said that there were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston's body but that it could be weeks before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death. The 48-year-old singer had struggled for years with cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her behavior had become erratic.
Houston was found underwater Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by a member of her staff about 3:30 p.m., hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy Awards gala, police Lt. Mark Rosen said. She was pulled from the tub by members of her staff, and hotel security was promptly notified, Rosen said. She was pronounced dead about a half-hour later.
"As of right now, it's not a criminal investigation," Rosen said, refusing to release further details. "We have concluded our portion of the investigation at the hotel."
Los Angeles coroner's assistant chief Ed Winter said there were bottles of prescription medicine in the room. He would not give details except to say: "There weren't a lot of prescription bottles. You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet."
The coroner's office released the body to the family late Monday morning. Two people who spoke with Houston's family said the singer would be taken to New Jersey. The two, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for the family, said Houston's family raised the possibility of a wake Thursday and a funeral Friday at Newark's Prudential Center, an arena that can seat about 18,000.
Houston was born in Newark and raised in nearby East Orange. She began singing as a child at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music program for many years.
The White House said President Barack Obama's thoughts and prayers were with Houston's family, especially her daughter. Press secretary Jay Carney paid tribute to the singer's "immense talent" and called it a tragedy to lose somebody so gifted at such a young age.
House GOP have backup on payroll tax
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an abrupt about-face, House GOP leaders announced Monday that they are willing to extend the two percentage point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation's $15 trillion-plus debt.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy of California said the House could vote on the payroll tax measure this week, but that the fate of unemployment benefits for millions of the long-term jobless and efforts to forestall a scheduled cuts in fees to doctors who treat Medicare patients would remain in the hands of a House-Senate negotiating panel that's looking for ways to pay for them.
The GOP statement came after intense talks this weekend failed to produce an agreement. Republicans were pressing for pay cuts for federal workers and requiring them to contribute more to their pensions. They recoiled at a Democratic proposal to raise Transportation Security Administration per-ticket airline security fees.
"Democrats' refusal to agree to any spending cuts in the conference committee has made it necessary for us to prepare this fallback option to protect small business job creators and ensure taxes don't go up on middle-class workers," the GOP leadership statement said.
Without action by Congress by the end of the month, payroll taxes will rise for 160 million Americans. The two percentage point tax cut delivers about $20 a week to a worker making $50,000 a year and a tax cut totaling $2,000 this year for someone making a $100,000 salary.
Democrats were encouraged and said the development could break an impasse over the payroll tax proposal and the other expiring provisions.
"We've been making the point that when (it comes to) tax cuts for folks at the very top, the House Republicans went to great lengths to change their rules to say you don't have to pay for those," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "And yet they've been saying that when it comes to a short-term, 10-month payroll tax cut for middle-income people all of a sudden you have to pay for it."
The GOP move reflects a desire by party leaders to avoid a political hit if the payroll tax expires at the end of the month. And it would avoid burdening businesses with uncertainties regarding their payroll systems. On the other hand, jobless benefits lapsed for several weeks in 2010, and delays in adopting a so-called Medicare "doc's fix" can be dealt with by delaying the processing of Medicare claims.
The White House did not embrace the House leadership idea.
"We are willing to work with them to offset it in a responsible way," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. "And we expect Congress to get its work done and to extend it - the payroll tax cut, unemployment insurance and the doc fix."


Purported images of Apple's anticipated low-cost iPhone handset have surfaced online, all of which indicate that the upcoming smartphone will indeed feature a plastic polycarbonate shell and could be available in a number of different colors. The images, first spotted by Nowhereelse.fr, consist of the above plus two further photographs (included below), with all three showing only the rear shell of the rumored low-cost iPhone. The exhibited iPhone shells echo previous reports indicating that Apple's "budget" smartphone will be available in different colors. Though besides the pictured yellow, pink, and lime green, we've also heard that a black colored low-cost iPhone could also be in development. Despite earlier predictions claiming that Apple's budget iPhone could capture 11 percent of the low-cost handset market by the end of 2014, more recent reports have argued that the less expensive smartphone won't actually be all that "cheap." Either way, reports have consistently suggested that the handset, if it indeed launches later this year, will feature a polycarbonate plastic shell and will be available in a number of different colors. While the legitimacy of the above images can't be verified, the three photographs would suggest that more colorful iPhones are indeed in the cards. We'll keep you updated with more information as we receive it. In the meantime, for more of today's news, see: Today's Apps Gone Free: Balloon Stickies, Paper Camera, Ten Giggly Gorillas And More, Watch Mickey & Friends Cartoons Both Old And New With Mickey Video For iOS, and The AppAdvice Week In Review: Google Reader's Demise, iOS 7's Rise And Donald Duck.


You may think that using your signal light is optional but it's one of the most important habits to have. You should use your signal light whenever you are merging into traffic, pulling in or out of a parking spot, changing lanes, turning left or right, coming out of a traffic circle, and pulling to the side of the road.
There's nothing worse than a driver who rides your bumper on your entire commute. You should always give yourself three seconds of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. You can judge the safe following distance by looking at a stagnant object on the side of the road. When the car in front of you passes it, start counting until you pass it. As long as you've counted more than three seconds, then you are giving yourself a safe following distance. Keep in mind that your following distance should be increased when the roads are slick.
Texting and driving is something that people know they shouldn't do but do anyways. If you are someone who is tempted to answer your phone without a hand-free system while you are driving, then you should always keep your phone out of reach.
Coming to a complete stop at all stop signs is as important as stopping at a red light. Coming to a complete stop ensures that you will see any on-coming vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians.
Many of us are confused by roundabouts so it's a good idea to brush up on the rules of using them. First, yield to anyone already in the circle and then enter the circle. If it is a two-lane roundabout, then you can enter in either the right or left lane when the traffic is clear. If you enter in the left lane, then you must exit in the left lane and if you enter in the right lane, then you must exit in the right lane. You should not change lanes in the roundabout. If you cannot exit the roundabout safely, then continue driving around it until you can.
The left lane is the passing lane and the right lane is the slow lane. No matter if you are on the highway or in the city, you should follow this rule.
Follow the traffic signs no matter what they are but especially follow speed signs. Roads are designed for drivers to go the posted speed limit so ignoring the signs could result in a collision.
We want everyone to stay safe this holiday season and all throughout 2019. Follow the rules of the road and demonstrate good driving habits and we'll all get where we need to go safely.


Darrell is a native of Ashland, KY. He graduated from UK in 1973, was an executive with Valvoline for twenty-five years, and owned his own business in Lexington. He joined River Cities Courier in 2004. He enjoys spending time with his wife and traveling. As a University of Kentucky alumnus, he is obviously a huge UK fan.


Bertha Villalpando is no stranger to Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center (PSMEMC).
Each year, Villalpando gets an annual mammogram at the medical center. Each year, the 62-year-old also attends the medical center's annual cancer survivors' Mass and breakfast.
In 1998, the mother of three was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy at PSMEMC. Since then, she has been diligent about yearly mammograms. In 2006, a screening detected three benign lumps in her breast, which were surgically removed.
For the first time in October 2010, the Back of the Yards resident had a digital mammogram in PSMEMC's new digital mammography suite. She noticed a difference with the new equipment.
"I liked the change (the new digital equipment) and it felt more comfortable during the exam - the new equipment was gentler and there was less pressure," Villalpando said. She was satisfied with the care she received in breast imaging services. Her test results came back negative.
The new digital mammography system provides physicians with clear and precise all-digital images, rather than images on X-ray film. The suite features two new machines and a private, comfortable setting for patients. The new suite also is handicap-accessible. The medical center's mammography service is accredited by the American College of Radiology.
For more than 35 years, Villalpando has been a patient at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth. She has undergone 11 surgeries and procedures at the medical center - including the deliveries of her two sons (now ages 35 and 30). Villalpando recommended The Family Birthplace to her daughter-in-law, who delivered both of her children (now ages 5 and 9) at PSMEMC. Villalpando has received care from several PSMEMC physicians - including Korathu Thomas, M.D., a medical oncologist.
"The nurses are attentive and the medical center lets family members stay overnight," said Villalpando, who is an active member at St. Michael Archangel Church in Chicago. "I'm pleased with the hospital because the staff is caring and understanding."
The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older have a screening mammogram each year. Early detection is key in the fight against breast cancer. For patient convenience, mammogram scheduling is available seven days per week. Routine mammogram appointments can be scheduled within two days. A doctor's order is required.


It's a parallel universe where all of your favorite Disney characters have swapped genders! Or at least that 35 Of Your Favorite Disney Characters Reimagined As The Opposite Gender. Laura Hohenstein Anna - Frozen. TT Bret. Anna -. Frozen: Gender Swap Cambio De Género, Capas, Dibujos, Princesa,. Visit Change Jelsa, Disney Stuff, Disney Magic, Disney Frozen, Disney Fun, Walt.
This Pin was discovered by Jessi Raine Johnson. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest. genderbent frozen characters. Let it go - Famous Disney characters swap gender for TT Brent's series. Art student TT Brent admittedly spends.
And Chan's gender-swapped portraits of female Disney characters are a) very pretty, and b) Sakimi Chan's gender-flipped Elsa, from Frozen. princessesfanarts: Frozen: Gender Swap! by - "I'm not a fan of Reality" See more. Alsace, France - Belle - 18 Beautiful Locations That Inspired Disney Moives.