Freedom fighters family gets back 7.83 acre land in Kancheepuram district

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The family of a freedom-fighter is all set to get back 7.83 acres in Kancheepuram district, which was acquired 28 years ago, thanks to a Madras High Court directive.

The assets of freedom fighters, defence personnel and their family members should not be disturbed at any cost. This was because they were shouldering the security of the people, observed Justice C.S.Karnan.

The petitioner, S.Balasubramaniam, submitted that his father, Subbaiah, was a freedom fighter. On his father's requests to the government to assign him lands as honorarium under the special category of freedom fighters for cultivation, 7.83 acres at Kattankulathur were granted to him. Subbaiah died in March 1973. Mr. Balasubramaniam said he, his brothers and a sister were enjoying the property.

Then a notification for acquiring nearly 123 acres, including that of the petitioner, was issued in August 1974. An award was also made in 1986. The petitioner challenged the acquisition at every stage. No compensation was also paid to him.Now, he challenged the acquisition and prayed the court to give back the lands to the family.

Allowing the petition, Mr.Justice Karnan said freedom fighters/political sufferers had occupied property as per a G.O. as late as December 1948. But the Housing and Urban Development acquired the lands as per a G.O. of August 1974 which ran against the earlier order. Hence, the latest G.O was not sustainable.

As such the acquisition proceedings pertaining to the petitioner's land had lapsed. Also, originally the lands had been acquired for a Satellite Town at Maraimalai Nagar.

However, the CMDA's counter-affidavit revealed that the acquired property had been utilised for industrial purpose which was against the purpose for which the lands had been acquired.

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Freedom fighters family gets back 7.83 acre land in Kancheepuram district

General Assembly may finally move on Virginia eugenics reparations

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Efforts to get compensation for victims of Virginias forced sterilization policy appear to be on stronger footing this year with a brighter state budget outlook and continued backing from House of Delegates leaders.

I think it has a better chance of getting out this year than it did last year. Last year, we ran out of money, said Del. John OBannon, R-Henrico, a subcommittee chair on the House Appropriations Committee.

The House, for a second year, is proposing to set aside money for people who were sterilized without consent under a decadeslong eugenics policy carried out by the state.

Thousands of people deemed mentally unfit or inferior were sterilized between the 1920s and 1970s. Many of the procedures were carried out at what is now the Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights.

Virginia has since renounced the practice and issued a formal apology. In recent years, advocates have been working in Richmond to get financial compensation for the remaining victims of sterilization.

The pool of living victims is small only 11 currently confirmed and it is an aging population. Two victims died last year.

The House budget, released last weekend, creates a compensation fund that would pay $25,000 to each confirmed victim.

This is the second year the proposal has made it into the House plan. Last year, it was one of many new spending measures ultimately cut out of the final budget in light of plummeting state revenue projections.

This year, projections are stronger, enabling lawmakers to propose pay raises, capital projects and other new items. OBannon said hes optimistic about the chances of pushing through the compensation fund, although he noted it still must pass muster with the Senate, where the issue hasnt received as much attention and is not part of the chambers budget proposal.

I think part of the challenge is going to be getting them up to speed on this issue, but Im hopeful we will be able to do that, he said.

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General Assembly may finally move on Virginia eugenics reparations

Warm Valentines Day Boosts Crowds At Southland Beaches

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SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) While the East is preparing for yet another round of winter weather, beaches in the Southland saw big crowds trying to escape the heat on Saturday.

CBS2s Adrianna Weingold reported that it looked nothing like winter on the Santa Monica pier, with tourists and locals taking the opportunity to soak up some sun or seek some shade.

I dont know whether I could handle your summer, being from England I think I would just burn, said Kayleigh Davis, who was visiting Southern California. Already Im having to apply factor 50 sun cream.

Saturdaywas a perfect day for parasailing, bike riding, and sunbathing, pretty much anything involving the sun, sand and surf was a sure bet for a fun and relaxing time.

Its amazing, its sunny, its, its a dream, said 11-year-old Spencer Hodkinson,

On a picturesque day that drew in thousands to the beach, lifeguards kept a close eye on the water, as people splashed around and cooled off.

Yeah, I jumped over waves, said Sherman Oaks resident Alexa Schensul,

Some tourists, like Rebecca Abbott, were caught off guard by the heat. Shes visiting from Australia, and thought she would get a break from the sunshine on her winter getaway.

Wewere expecting it to be cool and we brought jumpers and things like that, and we havent had to wear them, said Abbott, who is from Sidney.

Quite the opposite of the East Coast. where one storm after another continues to pummel the region.

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Astronomy – Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (15 of 16) The Giants of Astronomy: Issac Newton – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (15 of 16) The Giants of Astronomy: Issac Newton
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will some of the history, laws, and theories of Issac Newton. Next video ...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Comments of the Week #48: From gravitational waves to seeing black holes [Starts With A Bang]

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Life is strong and fragile. Its a paradox Its both things, like quantum physics: Its a particle and a wave at the same time. It all exists all together. -Joan Jett

Weve reached the end of yet another weekhereatStarts With A Bang,which means its time to take a look back at everything weve covered. It also means its time foryou to catch up on any of the (amazing) articles you missed, which includes:

Im so excited by what weve taken a look at so far not only this week but in all of 2015, and you continue to respond with some incredibly thought-provoking material. Lets dive in to the best of it on this edition of ourComments of the Week!

Images credit: NASA / GSFC, created at https://imgflip.com/gifgenerator.

From Hank Roberts on (interestingly) viewing the Moon: So DSCOVR is going to be at the L1 Lagrange Point 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles) sunward from Earth.andThe average distance to the Moon is 384403 km (238,857 miles) So anyone know the quality of the camera on DSCOVR? Field of view? How often will we see Earth and Moon in that field of view?

As beautiful as the animationabove is, you have to realize that even this isnt animage of the Moon or of the Moon-and-Earth, but rather a computer simulation that was constructed based on the mosaic of the Moon that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was able to construct usingthousands of unique images.

Image credit: NASA / WMAP, via http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/observatory_l2.html.

What weve got as far DSCOVR goes the deep space climate observatory isnot something thats going to be observing the Moon and the Earth, but rather something thats going to be at the L1 Lagrange Point (above), in between the Earth and Sun, in order toobserve the Sun. L1 is particularly useful because it gives us an uninterruptedview of the Sun, and places us in between the Sun and the Earth.In particular, its designed to be an early warning system for intense ion fluxes headed towards Earth, giving us 15-to-60 minutes of lead time to prepare in the event of a potentially catastrophic solar storm. Have a look at the NASA video itself:

Image credit: 2013 Constantinos Emmanoulidis, 2014 Miloslav Druckmller, via http://www.zam.fme.vutbr.cz/~druck/Eclipse/Ecl2013g/TSE_2013wa_ed/0-info.htm.

From Ragtag Media on a super-short solar eclipse: Cool. Thanks.

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Comments of the Week #48: From gravitational waves to seeing black holes [Starts With A Bang]

RI Seminar: Michael Tarr : I would kill for a pigeon (CMUs new BrainHub) – Video

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RI Seminar: Michael Tarr : I would kill for a pigeon (CMUs new BrainHub)
Michael Tarr Professor and Head, Psychology, Carnegie Mellon February 13, 2015 Abstract The study of biological intelligence can be summed up by this quip from Terry Pratchett: "Real stupidity...

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RI Seminar: Michael Tarr : I would kill for a pigeon (CMUs new BrainHub) - Video

Her – Elements of Science Fiction Showcasing The Human Condition – Video

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Her - Elements of Science Fiction Showcasing The Human Condition
A look at Spike Jonze #39;s Her, an incredible work of Science Fiction set in the not-too-distant future explores our relationship with virtual technology while giving thorough consideration to...

By: Elements of Science Fiction Movie Reviews

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Her - Elements of Science Fiction Showcasing The Human Condition - Video

Is Cortana a dangerous step towards artificial intelligence?

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Artificial intelligence is close to entering our everyday lives.It might not be the Skynet-style system that comes to mind when we think of AI, but virtual assistant software designed to learn about its user could well be the first step towards full-blown machine intelligence.

Just last month, Bill Gates made headlines across the web when he stated thathe is concerned about super intelligence as part of a Reddit AMA. Gatestrepidation regardingthe technology came as something of a surprise to many, but hes far from the only siliconsuperstar calling for caution.Should we be more concerned than we are about this sort of technology?

Speaking to MIT students in 2014, Elon Musk described artificial intelligence asour biggest existential threat.Last month, the Tesla and SpaceX CEOcontributed $10 million to the Future of Life Institute, a Boston-based volunteer organization that works to nip threats to our species survival in the bud. Artificial intelligence is one of many perceived threats that the institute has its sights set on.Musk sits on the groups board of advisers alongside Stephen Hawking, who himself has been quoted saying AI could spell the end of the human race.

Elon Musk describesartificial intelligence asour biggest existential threat.

With Gates, Musk and Hawking assembled, it might seem like the backlash against artificial intelligence is about to begin. But, while the three have utteredattention-grabbing warnings on the far-flung future of AI, theyve been referring to a level of intelligence that isnt on the table just yet.Bill Gates followed his concerns about the technology with a caveat that thehaving thesemachines take care of jobs for us should be positive if we manage it well.

Still, it seems that we have already set out on theroad towards super intelligence. A smart phone or a smart television may seem like a small step forward, but its a clear indication of the direction that wereheaded. Systems are being built that let computers learn our usage habits and build on that knowledge to serve theirpurpose better. A host of different companies are putting this sort of technology to a broad range of uses, but few projects wear their status as an artificial intelligence quite as proudly as Microsofts Cortana.

Debuting last year as acompetitorto services like Siri and Google Now, Cortana has been endlessly described as a virtual assistant by its creators. Microsoft also claimsthe software continually learns about its user and that its designers hope it will eventually be able to interact with users in an anticipatory manner. All in all, it sounds like it could be the first piece of artificial intelligence that really splits opinion with the mainstream. Its easy to see why these features could be very useful, but wecan also imagine users shying away from such familiarity with their virtual assistant.

Building on the sense of personality that gave Siri a novelty factor with users, Cortana is intended to be thought of as a entityrather than just a program. While Apple encouraged people to call Siri by her name, Microsoft isgoing one step further; a friendly Hey, Cortana is the default methodof calling the applications attention. Alongside the many lines of humorous banter that have been recorded as responses for stock questions, its clear that Cortana is meant to be an intelligence that charms users as it learns about them.

Cortana is meant to be an intelligence that charms users as it learns about them.

While seeing this product come from the company that the concerned Bill Gates once co-founded might seem like a contradiction in itself, you only have to look at the name Cortana to have other alarm bells begin to sound. Cortana first appeared as an artificial intelligence in the Halo video games, and the same voice actress that played the role in those games has been tapped to voice the personal assistant. However, the way that the character has been portrayed in Halo hasnt always made her out to be the sort of technology you would want in your pocket.

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Is Cortana a dangerous step towards artificial intelligence?

4 ways healthcare is putting artificial intelligence, machine learning to use

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Artificial intelligence and concerns over the long terms consequences has come up again in the news week in the form of a Scientific American blog musing over how artificial intelligence will evolve Is AI Dangerous? It Depends There is a certain amount of hand wringing over AI and, to a lesser extent, its branches such as machine learning and natural language processing. It also drew attention to notables who have voiced concern over AI including Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk.

The concerns tend to emerge from worst case scenarios and assume that even though AI can be used for beneficial purposes, what if the technology is turned against us?

But many people applying AI to make healthcare delivery more efficient and automated dont see it that way. Its worth a look at the diverse applications for AI across healthcare including biotech and health IT, since these are some areas where it is having a significant impact from informing healthcare decisions to speeding up the selection of targets for drug development.

Medication adherence AiCure uses mobile technology and facial recognition to determine if the right person is taking a given drug at the right time. It uses mobile devices to capture patient data from an application. It uses automated algorithms to identify patients, the medication and the process of medication ingestion. That date gets transmitted in real-time back to a clinician through a HIPAA-compliant network. Clinicians can confirm that the patients are taking their medication as directed. But its technology can also be used to flag adverse events.

Next IT developed Alme Health Coach to get a deeper dive on why people arent taking their meds. It is a relative newcomer to healthcare. It developed virtual assistants to guide and better understand consumer problems across areas like banking, retail and money management. Part of the AI component involves repeating what users say to verify and clarify thoughts that are transmitted back and forth by users. The health coach is designed to be configured for specific diseases, medications and treatments. The health coach may be synched with the users sleep alarm so it can trigger questions like how they slept and that can prompt questions about their medication. The idea is to collect actionable data that doctors can use to better work with patients (providing the patient agrees they can share the data).

Healthy behavior Welltok tapped IBMs Watson superbrain to support its vision of connecting consumers with personalized activities. Its Cafwell Concierge app uses Watsons natural language processing abilities to understand users goals and provide the right balance of nudges and alerts so it can meet those targets and reward them. Watson is also part of a broader mission in healthcare to provide more targeted care, such as guiding oncologists on the most appropriate cancer treatment options based on the patients medical history and other data.

Support care givers Automated Insights put its natural language generation platform Wordsmith to work in a collaboration with Great Call a mobile app developer.GreatCall Link is an app that allows friends and family members to learn about whats going on with a GreatCall device carrier the app connects with.The app creates a way to notify them when a connected device is used to call for help. The app is equipped with patented GPS technology so it also shows the location of the device (and the user). Underscoring the level of interest in AI, Automated Insights was acquired this week by Vista Equity Partners and Sports data company STAT.

Drug development Biotech companies are also combining artificial intelligence and big data to identify new drug compounds, such as Cloud Pharmaceuticals and Berg. Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi are using Watson to find new targets for FDA approved drugs.

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4 ways healthcare is putting artificial intelligence, machine learning to use