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‘We’re on the right ladder of AI this time’: Satya Nadella – Mashable

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

'We're on the right ladder of AI this time': Satya Nadella
Mashable
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke at a public event in India on Monday, stressing upon the immense potential of artificial intelligence (AI), calling it the "ultimate breakthrough" in technology. SEE ALSO: Here's why those tech billionaires are ...
Nadella woos India Inc. with artificial intelligenceThe Hindu
Without reskilling, artificial intelligence will impact jobs, warns NadellaBusiness Standard
Flipkart, Microsoft partner up; Flipkart incorporates Microsoft Azure to improve the e-commerce experience for IndiansIndia.com
Times of India -Financial Express -Microsoft News Center
all 70 news articles »

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'We're on the right ladder of AI this time': Satya Nadella - Mashable

"brain scans" of artificial intelligence processes – Boing Boing

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Graphcore produced a series of striking images of computational graphs mapped to its "Intelligent Processing Unit."

The graph compiler builds up an intermediate representation of the computational graph to be scheduled and deployed across one or many IPU devices. The compiler can display this computational graph, so an application written at the level of a machine learning framework reveals an image of the computational graph which runs on the IPU.

The image below shows the graph for the full forward and backward training loop of AlexNet, generated from a TensorFlow description.

Our Poplar graph compiler has converted a description of the network into a computational graph of 18.7 million vertices and 115.8 million edges. This graph represents AlexNet as a highly-parallel execution plan for the IPU. The vertices of the graph represent computation processes and the edges represent communication between processes. The layers in the graph are labelled with the corresponding layers from the high level description of the network. The clearly visible clustering is the result of intensive communication between processes in each layer of the network, with lighter communication between layers.

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"brain scans" of artificial intelligence processes - Boing Boing

Top 3 Trends Impacting the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector Through 2021: Technavio – Yahoo Finance

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Technavios latest market research report on the artificial intelligence market in the US education sector provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2017-2021. Technavio defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170220005208/en/

Jhansi Mary, a lead analyst from Technavio, specializing in research on education technology sector says, The artificial intelligence market in the US education sector is expected to grow at a spectacular CAGR of more than 47%. The US education system is the pioneer in implementing education technology solutions with the objective to improve the quality of education imparted to students and consequently the graduation rates. Therefore, many public and private educational institutions in the US are investing large resources in implementing the digitization of education.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=56665

Technavios sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

The top three emerging market trends driving the artificial intelligence market in the US education sector according to Technavio education research analysts are:

Artificial intelligence-empowered educational games

Educational games provide teachers a useful medium to teach education concepts in an interactive and engaging manner. Such a method not only generates curiosity but also motivates through reward points, badges, and levels. Vendors are incorporating features of artificial intelligence in games to enhance the interactivity element. These games embody the adaptive learning feature so that students can be given frequent and timely suggestions for a guided learning experience. These games improvise adaptive learning features while deploying machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence.

Duolingo, an open-source provider of language learning courses and games, received an investment of USD 45 million from Google Capital in 2015. This investment was used to bolster the deployment of machine learning and NLP technologies in their products.

Assists collaborative learning model

With new learning models, such as blended learning and flipped classrooms, evolving there is a growing focus by educators to create an environment that facilitates collaborative learning among students. Teachers have been introducing various group activities, such as role plays and problem-solving exercises, to motivate students to learn together.

Artificial intelligence will yield a more scientific outlook toward developing collaboration with practical methods such as virtual agents, adaptive group formation, intelligent facilitation, and expert moderation. Such defined models will ease the implementation and assessment of collaborative learning models.

All these methods have been designed to foster efficient group activities by considering each student's learning needs and cognitive skills. While performing activities, students are provided with appropriate guidance, advice, and inputs by the artificial intelligent system. This ensures teachers obtain the desired outcomes, says Jhansi.

Facilitates better course designing activities

Content analytics consist of techniques that assist course content designers in designing, developing, modifying, and upgrading content based on the needs of learners. Owing to the benefits it provides it has increasingly become a part of the technology-enabled education system. Artificial intelligence has taken this technique a step forward ever since its introduction.

Companies, such as IBM, are combining cognitive neuroscience and cognitive computing to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence in educational content. It uses research in the field of cognitive neuroscience to understand human learning and other cognitive processes. These inputs help to create content that will be more engaging and interactive for learners.

Coursera, a massive online open course (MOOC) provider, offers content backed by artificial intelligence software. It helps in closing loopholes present in the education content, such as differences in lecture notes and educational materials. Therefore, the presence of such smart software will positively impact the market growth.

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Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as theyre published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like K12 and higher education, and school and college essentials. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavios constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

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Top 3 Trends Impacting the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector Through 2021: Technavio - Yahoo Finance

If I Only Had a Brain: How AI ‘Thinks’ – Daily Beast

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Daily Beast

If I Only Had a Brain: How AI 'Thinks'
Daily Beast
So can AI, thanks to the development of artificial neural networks (ANN), a type of machine learning algorithm in which nodes simulate neurons that compute and distribute information. AI such as AlphaGo, the program that beat the world champion at Go ...

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If I Only Had a Brain: How AI 'Thinks' - Daily Beast

This New Supercomputer Will Help Meet Demands Of Artificial Intelligence And Big Data – Forbes

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Forbes

This New Supercomputer Will Help Meet Demands Of Artificial Intelligence And Big Data
Forbes
The Tokyo Institute of Technology Global Scientific Information (Tokyo Tech) and Computing Center (GSIC) have begun the development and construction of a supercomputer that's expected to meet the demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data ...

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This New Supercomputer Will Help Meet Demands Of Artificial Intelligence And Big Data - Forbes

Seeing Sabon Tasha in new light – Daily Trust

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Since thepartial opening some years ago of Kadunas eastern bypass road thatsnakes past Rido and right behind the Kaduna Refinery, I alwaystake this route into and out of Kaduna. It passes right throughSabon Tasha, a place recently thrust into national consciousnesswhen EFCC agents raided a rusty house in this ghetto and foundmillions of crisp American dollars and British pounds. Before thisraid opened our eyes I always drove through Sabo, as Kaduna folkscall it, without a second look at its zinc sheds, wrought ironroofs reddened by rust, mud and cement walls reddened by dust frompassing petrol tankers and even the goats, sheep and pigs that dartacross the newly paved road. Most of the dwellings and shops inSabo look so hard up that I didnt expect to find a million nairain any of them.

Actually, I have been a more or less frequent visitor to Sabon Tasha since 1990, when I first went to live in Kaduna City. Even then Sabon Tasha was a sprawling slum. Merely driving through it was a motorists nightmare because dozens or even hundreds of petrol tankers lined up on both sides of the narrow highway that passed through it, the main gateway to southern Kaduna State. They were waiting for their turn to load fuel at the Kaduna Refinery. In 1990 we had not yet starting hearing about problems with the refinerys Fluid Catalytic Cracking [FCC] unit or the vandalisation of oil pipelines. Passing through Sabo in those days, one could see hundreds of tanker drivers whiling away the time in various sheds and under tree shades. Tanker drivers are relatively well to do and their presence was a boon for Sabos landlords, hoteliers, food sellers, shop keepers and women of easy virtue, as the UN called them then; it had not yet invented the phrase commercial sex workers.

Since 1990 Sabon Tasha has been hit by three consecutive socio-economic calamities. One was the virtual collapse of the Kaduna refinery. The second was the serial inter-communal riots that bedevilled Kaduna between 1987 and 2012, leading to mass relocation of people to Sabo and its severe crowding. The third, more recent hit has been the economic recession affecting the whole country. Before the discovery of Andrew Yakubus dollars I was beginning to compare Sabo with the slums of Cairo, Manila or Mexico City. Now however, I am reassessing my view of Sabon Tasha and I am looking at its reddened iron roofs in a new light.

Quite often in life we are reminded that appearances could be deceptive. One should never judge a book by its cover. Everyone thought that the centre of dollars in Kaduna is the bureaux de change right by Hamdala Hotel. It now turns out that all of them combined do not have the dollars found in one shack in Sabo. I once thought of mansions in Asokoro and Maitama as unofficial vaults of the Central Bank. Since EFCCs Eagleclaw software made hiding money in bank accounts a hazardous business, Nigerian officials that milk government coffers dry have looked for alternative places to hide money. It turned out that fire proof safes and deep freezers hidden in ghettos was the answer.

For me, this episode was only a reminder of a fact I knew long ago, that looks can be deceptive. In 1991 I was driving my old Fiat car from Kaduna to Sokoto when the shaft broke at Samaru. I chartered a taxi that took me back to Kwangila where I bought another [second hand] shaft. I carried it from the spare parts dealers shop, past two Igbo men who were playing draught under a tree, to the taxi. Presently I saw my taxi driver with both hands on his head, his eyes popping out. I asked him what was the matter and he said, See dat man under di tree! Him get 100 taxis and buses for dis Zaria! I glanced back at the man playing draught. He was wearing short knickers. Half his shirts buttons were open, revealing most of his chest and abdomen. I had almost trampled on the mans feet as I carried the heavy shaft back to the car. Now, with the taxi drivers revelation, I suddenly saw him in a new light.

Sabos new status as a secret extension of the US Federal Reserve Bank suddenly made me less awestruck by the huge mansions of Asokoro, Maitama and Wuse II. Very few if any of them hold ten million dollars in cash. Nobody will keep a lot of money in those mansions, not after DSS agents clambered up the houses of Supreme Court judges in the dead of night looking for evidence of bribery. Not after DSS searched a former National Security Advisers house and carted away five rifles as exhibits. And certainly not after government blew the whistle on its whistle blower policy.

There have been long running arguments in Nigerian joints as to who, between political office holders and mainstream civil servants, has creamed off more money from the public till. Most Nigerians think politicians have creamed off more money because they are constantly sharing it with supporters. Civil servants on the other hand hardly share out money outside their circle of relatives. They often sit under trees and spill out the secrets of politicians, but not their own. They tell stories about all the vouchers that passed through the treasury that day; which financial rules were broken; which tender was selectively opened; which contract was awarded without due process; which audit queries were ignored; which subhead was overdrawn and which vote underwent virement. They spill politicians secrets but they keep mute about their own roles. Andrew Yakubu is the biggest evidence yet that primed and proper technocracy could be more deadly than rambunctious politics.

Whistle blowers are now scrambling after every kind of official. Security men, butlers, chefs, gardeners and cleaners now have their necks stretched out like so many giraffes and their ears strained like so many hippos, hoping to blow the whistle on someone and get a cut that will change their lives once and for all. One newspaper claimed that it was a woman that blew the whistle on Andrew Yakubu and that she is about to earn N256million in accordance with Governments whistle blower policy. Phew. I thought about it for a while. I have worked in five different academic and media establishments over three decades and have not made a fraction of that money. If I can get N256m for just blowing a whistle, what is the use of sitting up all night punching computer keys?

My only cause for pause is that millions of Nigerian youths who have been looking for opportunities to make fast money have already jumped at the whistle blowing opportunity. I hear that already, there are thousands of bands of youths roving around the streets of all Nigerian ghettos, searching for an Andrew Yakubu-like safe house to blow the whistle on. Although government has adequately advertised the rewards of successful whistle blowing, it did not advertise the perils of unsuccessful whistle blowing.

I suspect there are dangers. Even professional referees sometimes blow the whistle wrongly. During the Challenge Cup final in 1972, referee Sunny Badru glaringly allowed a goal wrongly scored by Enugu Rangers and he glaringly disallowed a good goal scored by Mighty Jets of Jos. The Nigeria Football Association cancelled the match, suspended the referee and ordered a rematch. So, if a desperate young whistleblower alerts EFCC and it undertakes a costly raid in a dozen vans and nothing is found, what is the penalty? I want to hear the answer before I change my career from column writing to professional whistle blowing.

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Seeing Sabon Tasha in new light - Daily Trust

Henry Rollins Doesn’t Smoke Pot, But Demands The Right to Choose To – Weed News

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Legendary renaissance man, TV host, best-selling author, and punk icon Henry Rollins was the keynote speaker for the 3rd Annual International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco.

During his talk, he spoke about cannabis and other drugs, as well as theexperience of facing government oppression and censorship during his punk years with Black Flag and his solo project, Rollins Band. While Mr. Rollins doesnt use cannabis or other drugs himself, he explained how if someday he wants to use cannabis, the government should recognize that choice.

"Radical" Russ Belville, as he is known on-air, hosts The Russ Belville Show, a two-hour news and talk radio program for the cannabis community, weekdays at 3pm Pacific on CannabisRadio.com. With well over 2,000 shows heard by hundreds of thousands of listeners, "Radical" Russ is one of the most recognizable voices in the marijuana media. Russ is based in Portland, Oregon, and travels extensively, lecturing and presenting on marijuana law reform issues. In addition to his writing for WeedNews.co, Russ's writing is featured in print in HIGH TIMES, Cannabis Now Magazine, and Oregon Cannabis Connection, and online on HIGHTIMES.com, Pot.TV, Alternet, Huffington Post, and many other websites.

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Henry Rollins Doesn't Smoke Pot, But Demands The Right to Choose To - Weed News

Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul – Stars and Stripes

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Stars and Stripes

Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul
Stars and Stripes
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the latest operation on state TV. Using the Arabic acronym for IS, he said government forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression and terrorism forever." Police units ...
Iraqi forces launch offensive to drive IS from western MosulNews Chief
Iraqi forces push to retake western MosulThe Australian
Iraq launches offensive to 'liberate' western Mosul from ISISABC News

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Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul - Stars and Stripes

Why we can’t seem to end the War on Drugs | TheHill – The Hill (blog)

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Clarence, a client of mine, should have never been prosecuted for a felony drug offense. He is a 54 year old African-American man who has always lived in Baltimore.

He has a tight knit family and several part-time jobs. He also suffers from mental health problems and a drug addiction that he's labored with for years. His criminal record is non-violent.

Clarence should not have spent four months in jail awaiting his court date for allegations that he aided two individuals, half his age, in selling heroin in a public market- which he disputes. The State ended up dismissing his case.

Legislative

Most criminal laws, at the state or federal level, come about as a reaction to fear. Drug laws are no different. High profile, headline capturing stories of pain, loss and despair are powerful tools that force legislators to act.

Lawmakers act by making laws. As a society, we've been conditioned to believe that creating new crimes and increasing penalties for existing offenses will deter future crimes like the high profile instance for which the new law was enacted.

There is no better response to this fallacy than the fact that the death penalty, the ultimate sentence, is proven to be an ineffective crime deterrent. In the early 1980s, fears of drug epidemics and crime waves spilling out of urban areas coupled with blatant racist motivations allowed for the passage of stiff drug laws across the country.

Mandatory sentencing based on the amount of drugs involved in a case or someone's prior record combined with new ways of charging drug cases like possession with the intent to distribute (to close the gap between dealing and possessing) to become foundations for drug laws that underlie our War on Drugs. The laws don't account for someone like Clarence.

Law Enforcement

Once strict laws are in place, police serve as the government's enforcement soldiers in the war.

But policing in cities, particularly in black neighborhoods, is much more visible and aggressive than elsewhere. Quotas and arrest numbers drive cops to carry out too many stops and searches. Even after the release of a scathing DOJ report detailing illegal activities of the Baltimore Police department, black people are still being stopped in ways that don't happen to white people. I see it on body camera footage in my cases.

Police violations of people's' rights can never be rectified in hindsight with evidence cops recover. This rationale has driven a wedge of mistrust between entire communities and law enforcement. The reality though, is danger exists for both sides. Civilians are brutalized and killed by police all too often, but cops risk their lives as they make arrests, go undercover or search residences.

Yet, cops faithfully enforce drug laws by fishing with a large net, and if that net nabs someone like Clarence, so be it.

Prosecution

Prosecutors take control of cases once the police make their arrests. Prosecutors have tremendous discretion as to what happens at that point, but have been reluctant to step back and consider justice alternatives for many drug offenses.

In Baltimore and most jurisdictions around the country, defense attorneys like myself often see less experienced prosecutors handling drug cases without understanding a drug case's relative importance to victim crimes. Having this insight is vital in an overburdened and under resourced system.

Also, prosecutors typically refuse to allow defendants to accept reduced pleas to lesser counts and insist on felony convictions when they have options. Even drug treatment courts, which guarantee probation sentences with treatment components will often require pleas to felonies.

Numbers, statistics and punishment still seem to drive prosecutions rather than focusing on the root of why someone is involved in a drug case The State has showed little interest in addressing Clarence's addiction, only in shoring up their case against him.

The Court System

The final front in the War is the courtroom; where justice rarely prevails. A judge should not set an unaffordable bail amounts for minor drug offenders (In Clarences case bail was set at $25,000). After 4 months of incarceration and help from social workers in my office to find a community treatment program, a second judge decided to release Clarence before trial, a rarity.

In Baltimore, judges too often set unreachable, unconstitutional bails for poor defendants, leaving them in jail, presumed innocent, as they await trial, a pattern seen in cities across the country.

Beyond bail, with sentencing, judges have to understand the impact that drug convictions have as permanent stains on people's lives because expungement rights (to wipe clean a record) are generally not available.

Procedurally, the bench also has to realize that drug cases need to take a back seat to more serious violent and property crimes. More importantly, courts are also where policing can be improved through closer scrutiny over challenges to police stops and searches. In many ways, courts sanction the misconduct of officers by consistently ignoring violations of citizens' fourth amendment rights.

Trial courts need to recognize the realities of the streets and appellate courts have to understand they they are giving cops carte blanche to overstep their bounds. What starts off as an illegal rummaging through someone's pocket can spiral into an injury or death. Fortunately for Clarence, the court didn't have to weigh in on his case since the State dropped the charges when he first appeared for trial. He is better off having benefited from treatment, but what he went through was not justice.

Hope

The War on Drugs is like an onion with its many layers, but some hope is out there for change. Baltimore's new pilot initiative to redirect petty drug offense arrestees in a tiny pocket of the city to treatment and services prior to booking is a great start. Movements for Justice Reinvestment are also sweeping the country focusing on creating new ways to address drug cases rather than punishment.

A big victory for reinvestment in Maryland came with the rollback of several mandatory sentencing laws surrounding drug offenses.

Now that our justice department has told us how discriminatory police practices have been; now that we know that drug laws aren't evenly enforced across races and jurisdictions; and now that we know that punishment isn't as effective as treatment, we have to push forward for more reform on every front until the last battle is fought in the war.

Todd Oppenheim is a public defender in the city of Baltimore. He ran for Baltimore Circuit Judge in 2016. His writing has been published in the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

Originally posted here:

Why we can't seem to end the War on Drugs | TheHill - The Hill (blog)

Philippine’s Rodrigo Duterte urged to drop charges against leading war on drugs critic – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Duterte ordered the military to play a role in his crackdown after police drug squads were suspended last month over corruption charges and the murder of a South Korean businessman.

De Lima, who denies the charges against her, has called in the past for an international investigation into state-inspired extrajudicial murders. She has expressed fears that her own life is in danger because of her outspoken views.

I have long prepared myself to be a political prisoner under this regime, she said in a statement over the weekend after the charges were filed.

If the loss of my freedom is the price I have to pay for standing up against the butchery of the Duterte regime, then it is a price I am willing to pay, she said. But they are mistaken if they think my fight ends here. It has only begun.

The rest is here:

Philippine's Rodrigo Duterte urged to drop charges against leading war on drugs critic - Telegraph.co.uk

Losing the war on drugs – The Review

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

An elementary student in Moundsville, W.Va. about an hours drive south of East Liverpool was selling marijuana to classmates earlier this year, police say.

Let that sink in for a moment. A child, probably no more than 10 or 11 years old, was selling an illegal drug to other youngsters.

If you did not realize it before, you should now: Drug abuse is a crisis. Up and down the Ohio Valley. Nothing should take precedence over taking it on and defeating it if that is possible.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man with whom the child lived. Inside the home, officers say they found marijuana, drug paraphernalia, three oxycodone pills and a list of names.

The youngsters case was referred to Child Protective Services.

It also recently was reported the Ohio County Board of Education has approved stocking Narcan at Wheeling Park High School and the countys middle schools.

Narcan is an antidote used to treat people who have overdosed on opioid drugs.

Substance abuse has killed hundreds of West Virginians and Ohioans. It has ruined the lives of thousands. It has wrecked families.

We say we are doing everything in our power to battle the scourge.

It isnt enough.

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Is online gambling driving additional business at Atlantic City casinos? – New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Internet gambling revenue in New Jersey surged more than 32 percent in 2016, and a new study from gaming industry research group Eilers & Krejcik anticipates additional growth of 17 percent this year.

But perhaps the best news for Atlantic City in this study is the perceived impact online gaming is having on the seven remaining brick-and-mortar casinos.

Online gambling is becoming a highly effective tool for Atlantic Citys casinos, the report stated. Increased integration between the online and live casino appears to be driving additional play and visitation at land-based properties.

With the gambling seaside town already decimated by competing casinos in neighboring states, its been debated for some time whether the ability to wager online would suck even more potential customers out of Atlantic City.

But the report insists online gambling revenue is not coming at the expense of casinogambling revenue. In fact, operator commentary consistently confirms that the online product is capturing new customers and reactivating existing ones, the report said.

What internet gaming is doing is allowing people to be familiar with gaming in the comfort of their own home, said Rummy Pandit, executive director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at Stockton University. Now once a player becomes familiar online with your internet gaming typically when they want to go visit a brick-and-mortar property, they are probably going to visit your property.

Also getting online customers old and new out of their homes and to the casinos themselves are player rewards that can only be used in person, such as free meals and discounted overnight stays.

Pandit said its no surprise that online gaming may be leading to more brick-and-mortar business, as many gamblers seek an experience. Some players prefer to wager in their pajamas in the comfort of their own home, but others may crave the real casino atmosphere from time to time, interacting with others and having several entertainment and dining options just seconds away.

Compared to the same month one year ago, Atlantic Citys casinos posted a 7.7 percent gambling revenue gain in January. Internet gambling provided $18.8 million for the month.

Video gambling cash payouts violate state law – MDJOnline.com

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

At a gas station on Austell Road, a line of video gambling machines displays a colorful spinning reel. The demonstration video on the machines shows three BAR symbols lining up. The word jackpot appears on the screen in large, capital letters.

But the only jackpots these machines are supposed to give out are lotto tickets, free replays and store merchandise worth less than $5, according to state law. Giving out cash prizes for video gambling devices is illegal.

I get people coming in all the time asking if I pay cash, said the owner of the station. I always say no. Its not worth it. I dont want to go to jail. You can get lottery tickets or you can get gas.

The owner did not want to give his name because he said he did not want to be associated with operations that do not play by the rules.

He was referring to a recent case in which three men were arrested on charges of allegedly running illegal gambling operations out of convenience stores on Franklin Gateway and Windy Hill Road in Marietta.

According to warrants, Khubaib Hussain, the owner of Gantt Foods on Franklin Gateway, operated the two locations, and Arif Muhammad and Samson Beye handed out the cash.

Other owners of gas stations in Marietta and Smyrna said they could not or did not want to speak on the record about gaming machines. Some said they only gave out lottery tickets as prizes, others also offered gas, but they all said they never give out money.

The MDJ looked at machines at 12 convenience stores. All had inspection stickers from the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and they all had stickers advertising a helpline for those with gambling addiction.

The Georgia Lottery began regulating what they call Coin Operated Amusement Machines, or COAMS, in 2013.

In addition to posting the stickers on their machines, owners of COAMs in the state must pay a licensing fee, and all machines need to be connected to a central accounting system to ensure they are being used properly.

Warrants allege Hussain operated at least 14 COAMs outside of compliance with the state regulations at the two locations.

Marietta police said the investigation into the operation began as an investigation into drug trafficking in mid-2014. It since expanded into an operation involving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the department of revenue and Cobb and Douglas County Police Departments.

On Feb. 13, officers served warrants on the stores and Hussains home in Douglasville, seizing $250,000 in cash, a large tote full of gold jewelry, eight computers, one cellphone and five high-end vehicles.

In a post on his law firms website, criminal defense attorney Sandy Wallack of Wallack Law said paying out cash for COAM games can incur harsh penalties, including seizure of cash and bank accounts as well as revocation of the owners lottery license and privileges.

While there are a plethora of ways you can violate Georgia law and/or (Georgia Lottery Company) rules and regulations pertaining to COAMs, the cardinal sin remains paying cash as a reward for successful play of a COAM, Wallack wrote.

The three men arrested in connection with the recent case are currently out on bond; Beye and Muhammads bonds were set at $2,970 each, and Hussains was $38,720.

Marietta Police said the investigation was ongoing and could involve charges of money laundering.

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Video gambling cash payouts violate state law - MDJOnline.com

Video gaming company that says it can adapt existing games to gambling, moving to Vegas – News3LV

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

From apps to coding to tournaments that can win big money, the video game industry is a $113 million industry that employs some 1,500 people in Nevada, says the Entertainment Software Association's estimates. (KSNV)

In a town known for shows, gambling and resorts, there's an industry blooming video games.

And, now, you can add a new name to that growing list of companies GameCo. It is moving its corporate offices from New York to Las Vegas.

"We have a belief that Las Vegas is the perfect home for these types of activations and events and a lot of it has to do with that built-in ability for ... unique experience for gamers," said CEO Blaine Grayboyes.

GameCo's move to Las Vegas could signal another change long rumored to be coming.

The company specializes in taking existing gaming from the ones you pick up at the app store to the first-person games that make headlines and converts them to gambling.

"We're really focused on the idea of video game gambling so we created a hardware and software platform that makes it easy to adapt existing games to play inside regulated casino environments," Grayboyes said.

While GameCo's move has begun, it won't happen overnight. For now, its corporate offices are moving to Las Vegas with other operations to follow.

GameCo website: http://gameco.com/

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Video gaming company that says it can adapt existing games to gambling, moving to Vegas - News3LV

Bill to lower gambling appears to be DOA in Nevada Legislature – Las Vegas Review-Journal

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

If youre old enough to fight and die for your country, you should be old enough to play blackjack and drop a few dollars into a slot machine at the local casino.

At least, thats the logic of Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, R-Gardnerville, who brings to the table Assembly Bill 86, which, with any luck at all, will be 86d right out of the Legislature.

The bill would reduce the legal age to gamble in Nevada from 21 to 18.

Credit to Wheeler for introducing a philosophical debate among lawmakers. But with just four months to complete the business of the state and the introduction of a solution to a problem that doesnt seem to exist, it makes no sense to spend any time on a proposal that isnt going anywhere.

Dead on arrival, one gaming regulator said at a recent meeting.

Colleague Colton Lochhead reached out to Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo about the proposal, and he was as puzzled as everybody else about it.

The industry has not come to us with any wants for dropping this, Alamo said. Everyones happy with 21 years of age.

Indeed, Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resorts Association, said her membership isnt bucking to change the law.

Weve never supported it in the past, she said. Theres really no compelling reason to change that position.

In fact, the change could create a problem.

With a legal gambling age of 18 and a legal drinking age of 21, drink servers at casinos would be compelled to card patrons to see if they could be served a drink.

Of course, the argument could be made that carding a customer might be a good thing because casinos could guard against underage drinking as well as underage gambling.

Some observers say that adding players who are 18, 19 and 20 could increase play and thus generate additional tax revenue for the state.

But really, just how much money would the average 18-to-20-year-old spend gambling? For the state, it looks like a big investment with little return.

Nevada is no longer the only state with casinos. Whats the legal gambling age everywhere else?

For most, its 21.

According to the casino.org website, the legal age to gamble at tribal casinos in Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota and Wyoming is 18.

In some states, the legal age is 18 or 21, depending on the game. For example, the age to legally place pari-mutuel bets the type most commonly associated with horse racing is 18 in Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington.

If youre 18, you can play bingo at casinos in Connecticut, Florida, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin and at tribal casinos in South Dakota (but not the commercial sites in Deadwood).

For real confusion, the legal gambling age is 18 or 21, depending on the casino, in California, New York and Oklahoma.

Its easy to sympathize with 18-year-olds who wonder why they can drive, vote and go to war but cant consume alcohol or gamble. It doesnt make sense.

But its a debate from which legislators should keep away.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.

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Bill to lower gambling appears to be DOA in Nevada Legislature - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cuomo wants to resurrect charity gambling. Is it too late? – Buffalo News

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

ALBANY Gov. Andrew Cuomo embraced the spread of state-sanctioned gambling during his first six years in office, from expanded lottery and commercial casinos to daily fantasy sports wagering.

One of the outcomes, though, was that churches, fire halls and veterans posts that run bingo games, raffles and other games of chance suffered with the saturation of new gambling opportunities across New York.

So Cuomo now is pressing for major changes to the states charitable gambling laws. He wants to help the charitable groups reverse the slump in revenues that has eaten into their support of local activities, such as youth sports leagues, scholarship funds or veterans programs.

Its an acknowledgement that this is an important activity in New York that requires some care and nurturing, Robert Williams, executive director of the governors state Gaming Commission, said of the proposals tucked into 42 pages of legislation in Cuomos budget for this year.

The governor's proposals include:

But is it too little too late?

Thats what some charity groups are wondering. Walk into a bingo hall, and you see their clientele: old and getting older.

And that group is not being replaced by millennials who, if they do gamble, are attracted to claims of bigger and faster payoffs at more upscale casinos or through illegal off-shore internet sites they can access on their phones.

Consider also that the total amount of money wagered on bingo across New York in 1980 was $223 million. In 2015, that sum had slipped to $31 million

Charities unable to compete

Competition from lottery games, like the omnipresent Quick Draw electronic games, is far and away the key reason for declining bingo and raffles of charitable groups.

Casinos that dot the landscape across the state, particularly upstate, also havent helped.

Charities in Western New York face competition from three Seneca Nation casinos, two racetrack-based casinos and gambling offerings in Ontario.

Now add state rules that kept these charities operating games stuck in a kind of time warp with paper slots called bell jars and often retrieved by gamblers from a fancy or otherwise container.

Volunteer Valerie Schmarje, right, sells Joanne Lorenz some pull tabs at Fourteen Holy Helpers in West Seneca on Feb. 16. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

Charities say they cant go up against a casino and its array of slots, table games, entertainment, alcohol and food.

Ive been in local casinos and seen some of our players there, said Paul Podsiadlo, one of the volunteer chairmen who runs the weekly bingo nights held for more than 40 years at Fourteen Holy Helpers church in West Seneca.

I hear players talk and say, I couldnt come last week because I went to the casino. They only have so much money to spend in a week, and if they spend it at the casino they dont come to bingo, he said.

Catholic churches once were synonymous with bingo. Today, many have shut down their money-losing operations, unable to draw gamblers or volunteers to run the games.

Those that remain try to offer amenities to lure consumers. Some of those give a bow to their aging clientele. One bingo hall in Western New York now offers earlier evening hours that promises to get bettors home sooner.

Another key attraction: no stairs to climb.

Bingo attendance statewide has dropped so much since 1997 when 10 million bettors played that the state no longer even bothers to count how many people play. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

At Fourteen Holy Helpers, parishioners are dealing with the Catholic Dioceses decision to close its school in 2014. The parish still needs to raise money to subsidize the cost of sending its students to another Catholic school. Thats where the churchs weekly bingo games come into play as a longtime fundraising device.

But revenues from bingo and other games of chance are off more than 25 percent from peak years at Holy Helpers.

And that is the case throughout New York.

Bingo halls across the state in 1997 reported 10 million bettors, according to the then-Racing and Wagering Board.

By 2005, bingo attendance had been cut in half.

Now, the state doesnt even bother to put a number on how many people play bingo, according to that agencys successor, the state Gaming Commission.

Thirty years ago, about 550 groups offered regular bingo fundraisers in an eight-county region of Western New York, recalled Charles Gajewski, owner of the sole remaining supplier of gambling products to charities in the Buffalo area. Today, the number of organizations offering bingo has fallen to about 150, he said.

Bingo and bell jars

While bingo is often the poster child of charitable gambling, the sale of bell jar tickets, or pull tabs, is now the big draw for charities.

Bell jars accounted for $215 million of the $250 million charities reported being wagered in New York in 2015, according to the Gaming Commission.

In contrast, bingo players put down $31 million in wagers in 2015 while raffles accounted for about $3 million.

Among Cuomos proposals is to raise the top prize for bell jars from $500 to $1,000.

Gambling tickets ready to be used at Fourteen Holy Helpers. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

Bell jars are cards, usually sold for less than $2 apiece, drawn from a jar or machine and they contain numbers, colors or symbols that, when uncovered, reveal a prize or not.

Kirby Hannan wants lawmakers to let charities use enhanced bell jar machines that come with video screens and encourage a quicker play by gamblers.

Charitable gaming technology has not been revitalized in way more than 30 years, said Hannan, legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in New York. The young people were trying to attract are not pulling pull tabs from a jar. They prefer to see a video screen.

Without modernizing the bell jar games that many vet groups offer as their sole gambling option, Hannan said, 90 percent of the organizations I represent would probably not benefit significantly from Cuomos proposal.

Charitable gaming was initially designed to help non-profits, such as military service organizations, churches and fire houses to help them raise funds. And yet were the once stuck in the paper world, said Marlene Roll, an Alden resident and past statewide commander of the VFW in New York.

Wholesale modernization

Cuomo administration officials say the governors plan amounts to a wholesale modernization of charitable gambling.

His plan would lift restrictions on advertising, such as on the internet.

To deal with shortages of volunteers working the gambling ventures, Cuomo wants to lift barriers that prohibit people with certain criminal backgrounds such as a public drunkenness charge when they were a teenager from working at a bingo parlor.

Cuomo also seeks to reconcile competing statutes to make clear that all charitable gambling can be conducted on Sundays.

Giving flexibility to where charities can offer gambling is meant to prevent problems that arose last year that forced a Niagara Falls charity to cancel the annual Duck Race at the Canal Fest of the Tonawandas because it was to be held on state property. The state let the event proceed.

The Catholic Church is noncommittal regarding Cuomos proposals.

While bingo is used as a fundraiser by some of our parishes, its too early to determine what some or all of these proposed changes might mean to those parishes, said George Richert, a spokesman for the Diocese of Buffalo.

Groups concerned about the states gambling expansion say the irony is not lost that Cuomo now seeks to enhance charitable gambling operations after he led the support of the 2013 referendum for legalizing up to seven new Las Vegas-style casinos.

They also question Cuomos plan to allow gamblers to place their charitable bets on a credit card.

The proposal is yet another expansion of predatory gambling in New York State, said Dr. Stephen Shafer, chair of the Coalition Against Gambling in New York, a group that had its organizational roots in Buffalo.

More gambling options, even if run by charities, equates to more problem gambling, he said.

All these moves reflect the fallacy that legalized gambling is good for New York State because some money flows from it into support for education or charitable causes, Shafer said in an email response to questions.

Even if all of Cuomos charitable gambling proposals are cleared in state budget talks, few charities think the gambling times of the past will return.

With more and more casinos popping up in the last five to 10 years, I think we are now seeing the repercussions from that, said Roll, the past statewide VFW commander. The bank accounts of these groups have dwindled because were just not seeing the money come in like it did.

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Cuomo wants to resurrect charity gambling. Is it too late? - Buffalo News

Gambling, immoral activities: Seven suspects sent to jail on remand – The Express Tribune

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Judicial magistrates send seven accused to jail for 14 days on judicial remand

He also alleges that he was falsely charged with gambling. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE:Judicial magistrates sent seven accused to jail for 14 days on judicial remand over alleged involvement in gambling and immoral activities. A judicial magistrate sent on judicial remand three suspects who were arrested while gambling in Shahdra police jurisdiction. Police claimed they were caught red-handed from a gambling den.

However, the lawyers of the accused submitted their clients were implicated in forged cases by police to blackmail them and they had nothing to do with gambling. Meanwhile, another judicial magistrate sent four suspects to jail on remand for their alleged involvement in immoral activities at a guesthouse in Johar Town. Police told the court they were caught red-handed doing immoral activities. But their lawyers contended the suspects were arrested merely to show efficiency despite the fact the accused had nothing to do with this case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2017.

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Gambling, immoral activities: Seven suspects sent to jail on remand - The Express Tribune

Conservative leaders argued drugs, euthanasia, and fiscal policy in Langley – Langley Advance

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Ajax-Pickering MP Chris Alexander, right, debates as ReginaQuAppelle MP and former House Speaker Andrew Scheer, left, and former Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux, centre, listen at the Conservative Party leadership debate in Langley on Sunday.

image credit: Katya Slepian/Black Press

by Katya Slepian Black Press

More than 500 people packed the hall at Darvonda Nurseries Saturday afternoon to hear a dozen candidates fight to lead the Conservative Party of Canada.

The Langley debate, the only one in the Fraser Valley, might have failed to bring in Kevin OLeary orDeepak Obhrai, but the 12 candidates there didnt shy away from the hard issues.

The three-hour debate was moderated by Conservative senator Yonah Martin.

Following a round of opening statements, the 12 candidates were broken up into four groups of three to debate one policy question each before answering audience questions.

The emphasis for the entire three hours was on the return to Conservative values, something the party feels is lacking both in Canadian society and Parliament.

Justin Trudeaus plan to legalize marijuana didnt go over well with the first trio.

We dont need to legalize marijuana, said Brad Trost, MP for Saskatoon-University. In a rare bit of criticism for past Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Trost admitted that the Conservatives should have done more to educate Canadians on the dangers of the drug.

Safe injection sites were also unpopular with both Milton MP Lisa Raitt and Trost.

We need to take legislative action to stop these things from spreading, Trost said.

One candidate broke from the crowd.

"I favour the safe injection sites, having lived in Vancouver and done volunteer work with First Nations youth and others in the Downtown Eastside and having listened to people on the ground, said Rick Peterson. Peterson, a Vancouver-based venture capitalist, was the only one on the stage with no political experience.

Smimcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leith vowed to interview every single person who crossed the Canadian border and send those who are there illegally back.

"We have laws about this. These individuals should be detained. We should talk to them about whether they really are refugees and if they arent they should be sent home, she said.

Leitch drew on her experience as a former surgeon when questioning the federal governments euthanasia legislation.

Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong appealed to social conservatives.

I believe in freedom of conscience, Chong said.

Former North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton reminded the audience that he had voted against assisted dying.

I was concerned that people at their most vulnerable time would be making decisions that were irreversible, he said.

Trudeaus carbon tax was met with derision across the board.

Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Carbon dioxide exists naturally in the atmosphere, said ReginaQuAppelle MP and former House Speaker Andrew Scheer.

Scheer, former Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux, and Ajax-Pickering MP Chris Alexander all spoke out against the Liberals carbon tax, vowing to remove it if they took the top spot.

Beauce MP Maxime Bernier, Durham MP Erin OToole, andLvisBellechasse MP Steven Blaney all said they would reverse the Liberal deficit.

Cutting taxes was the popular choice across the board while some, like Peterson, advocated for getting rid of corporate taxes entirely.

Trost had one other idea.

"Let me offer a helpful suggestion where we can find $1 billion. Get rid of the CBC privatize it, he said. The Conservatives have tried to make cuts to CBC before the latest round launched the Save the CBC campaign in 2015.

Increased military spending, and particularly more ships for the Navy, received universal approval.

As a founding country in NATO, we should all be embarrassed that in the last generation, we have not made the two per cent commitment we pledged, said OToole. Alliance member nations pledge to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence funding.

And now we see [U.S.] President Donald Trump questioning NATO because of all the free riding countries like us."

Lemieux spoke out against the untouchability of Supreme Court decisions.

The Supreme Court is almost sacrosanct. Youre not allowed to breathe a sigh of concern about the Supreme Court of Canada and thats wrong, said Lemieux.

The most controversial issues of our day abortion, euthanasia, prostitution they havent been decided by parliamentarians, they havent been decided by Canadians. Theyve been decided with the Supreme Court.

Lemieux believes that all of those issues should be up for debate. That includes abortion, which Harper did not touch during his time in office.

Trost and Blaney joined in on the debate, both saying that they were willing to use the notwithstanding clause which allows Parliament to override portions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Conservative Party will choose a new leader on May 27 in Toronto.

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Conservative leaders argued drugs, euthanasia, and fiscal policy in Langley - Langley Advance

‘Simply unacceptable’: Northern Irish farmers remain soft targets for … – FarmingUK

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

Latest crime statistics in Northern Ireland has prompted farmers to explain that rural businesses and the countryside remain soft targets for criminals. Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the latest statistics for rural crime highlights that despite efforts to curb this, more needs to be done. The union says it will continue to press the Police to focus more resources to tackle this, while recognising that individual police officers do their best to engage with farmers, within the limits of the budgetary restraints forced on them. The UFU says those drawing up budgets must recognise that rural areas are exposed, and deserve as much protection as towns and cities in Northern Ireland. The latest statistics highlight a nine per cent increase in agricultural crime, with livestock theft an almost daily problem in some areas. Value of thefts 'rising' Figures from the NFU Mutual, the biggest farm insurer, also suggest the value of thefts is rising, as thieves target expensive machinery and livestock. The figures highlight our frustration, said the UFUs deputy president, Ivor Ferguson. We can see from them where the problem is worst Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry. In these areas we need the PSNI to respond to these statistics, he said. 'Simply unacceptable' The UFU says a major cause for concern is the split between theft in rural and urban areas. Despite much smaller populations and housing density, in many areas rural theft and burglary now account for a third and up to half the crime of this nature. That is simply unacceptable, said Mr Ferguson. He added that a further frustration for farmers was lenient sentences for criminals. The judiciary needs to realise that these are not victimless crimes but crimes that often leave people feeling vulnerable and isolated in rural areas, said the UFU deputy president.

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'Simply unacceptable': Northern Irish farmers remain soft targets for ... - FarmingUK

Why I do not call myself a liberal – The University News

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Danzig

I believe that words are important. We should be precise in our use of language and understand what it is we mean when we choose our words.

A word that does not, in my opinion, exemplify precision is used in political context. Tis word is liberal. It doesnt mean much these days. It is so particular to each individuals perspective of the world that it holds little universal value. It is a placeholder for deeper analysis of our beliefs, and it only manages to communicate a vague notion about which group we identify with, not the more nuanced reality of who we are.

I say this not to come off as pretentious but in an attempt to convince others that saying Im liberal provides an image that is unclear and misleading at best and deceitful at worst. This word is contaminated by various perceptions of its meaning. One person might say Im liberal and belong to a labor union. Another person might also identify as liberal but scoff at organized labor.

When people call themselves liberal, they assign themselves to one group or the other. The opposite in this scheme is typically conservative, and this word lacks meaning as well, but for now lets focus on the word liberal. One usually chooses to be liberal because of their parents or friends views but might not takethe time to investigate the deeper understanding of this label. What does liberal really mean? Do I share the same views as other liberals? Liberal divides us into in-groups and out-groups. Ultimately, I believe this word confines philosophical and political conversation into two camps and impedes introspection.

Let us explore this word and the philosophy behind it. Classical liberalism refers not to the policies espoused by the Democratic Party, some of which are wider freedoms for same-sex couples and a larger welfare state, but to political and economic freedom. This means a hands-off approach to the economy and to civil liberties. When one thinks of liberalism, one should think of figures like John Locke and Adam Smith. The actions of 20th century liberals like Franklin Delano Roosevelt would surely be seen as oppressive overreach by classic liberals. To call oneself a liberal today requires believing that the free market requires little to no government intervention. Most people dont mean that they are classically liberal.

Sure, words sometimes change in meaning. Today, some people use literally as an adverb that exaggerates a verb or noun. When used in this way, they mean something is figurative, not literal. But the word literally provides more hyperbolea stronger, bolder metaphor than to say figuratively. The problem is that one person sees literally as meaning exactly or strictly as the word suggests, but the other sees the word as an intensifier. The problem is that these people are playing different games with language.

This idea of a language game was formed by Ludwig Wittgenstein, an Austrian-British philosopher. He focused on language and communication throughout his life, specifically our failure to communicate. He believed that miscommunication occurs when people are playing different language games. These language games refer to the different ways we use words as tools in our communication with others. For instance, one type of game might involve discussing facts. The sentence The Gateway Arch is 630 feet tall deals with a game of facts. You never listen to what Im saying is a sentence that deals not with facts but expresses an emotion. One feels as though the other does not pay them enough attention.

These games are used for different purposes, and when two people are playing different language games and also do not recognize the differences in the games that they are playing, the meaning of the message is lost. When someone describes themselves with the vague adjective liberal or conservative, there is ambiguity as to what game they are playing and what they really mean when they use one of these words.

I believe that we should describe ourselves accurately and take more time to find out what it is we really believe rather than connecting ourselves with an in-group and an out-group. Todays version of liberal, even if you distinguish between social and the economic issues, is not descriptive enough to convey the complexity of ones views. Giving a language monopoly to this word sacrifices clarity for simplicity, but this simplicity reduces our meaning too far. Saying Im liberal only causes miscommunication.

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Why I do not call myself a liberal - The University News

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