PublicSquare

publicsquare

China and Vietnam May Have Cracked The Perfect Recipe for Digital Complacency

China y Vietnam podrían haber encontrado la receta perfecta para la complacencia digital

Baliteke Txinak eta Vietnamek konplazentzia digitalaren errezeta perfektua hautsi izana

China e Vietnam poden ter a receita perfecta para a compracencia dixital

中国とベトナムはデジタル社会の自己満足の完璧なレシピを解明したかもしれない

ჩინეთმა და ვიეტნამმა შესაძლოა დაარღვიეს ციფრული თვითკმაყოფილების შესანიშნავი რეცეპტი

Қытай мен Вьетнам цифрлық қанағаттанудың тамаша рецептін бұзған болуы мүмкін

Kinija ir Vietnamas galėjo išnaudoti tobulą skaitmeninio pasitenkinimo receptą

چین او ویتنام ممکن د ډیجیټل اطمینان لپاره مناسب ترکیب مات کړي

Kina dhe Vietnami mund të kenë thyer recetën perfekte për vetëkënaqësinë dixhitale

Чин ва Ветнам шояд дорухатҳои комили қаноатмандии рақамиро шикастанд

จีนและเวียดนามอาจค้นพบสูตรสำเร็จสำหรับความประมาททางดิจิทัล

Maaaring Nabasag ng China at Vietnam ang Perpektong Recipe para sa Digital Complacency

The Crypto Lobby Seeks to Influence US Politics: A Peek at Their Smear Campaign and False Narrative

Scientific American, Volume XXIV., No. 12, March 18, 1871 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . A MUSEUM OF ART AND NATURAL HISTORY. here A MUSEUM OF ART AND NATURAL HISTORY. Our recent articles on "Scientific Destitution in New York" and "The Scientific Value of the Central Park," have called forth numerous letters from correspondents, and have been extensively noticed by the press. We now learn that the legislature of the State has taken the matter in hand, and there is some prospect, with an honest administration of the appropriations, of something being done to relieve our city of the opprobrium that rests upon it. A bill is pending, before the Senate, authorizing the Park Commissioners to build, equip, and furnish, on Manhattan Square, or any other public square or park, suitable fire-proof buildings, at a cost not exceeding $500,000 for each corporation, for the purpose of establishing a museum of art, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and of a museum of natural history, by the American Museum of Natural History, two societies recently incorporated by the Legislature. This is a million dollars to begin with, and an ample site, without cost, to the aforementioned corporations. Manhattan Square extends from Seventy-seventh to Eighty-first streets, and from Eighth to Ninth avenues, and spans about eighteen acres. Until it was set apart by the state Board of Commissioners, for the purposes of a Zoological Garden, it was proposed, by a number of enlightened citizens of New York, to devote it to the uses of four of our existing corporations, giving to each one a corner, and an equal share in the allotment of space. The societies were, "the Academy of Design," for art, "the Historical Society," for public records and libraries, "the Lyceum of Natural History," for science, and "the American Institute," for technology. These have been incorporated for many years, and are known to include the leading artists, men of letters, science, and the arts, of the city, on their lists of members. The committee went so far as to have plans of the building drawn by competent architects; but, like many other well-meant schemes, want of money compelled the originators of the plan to abandon any further attempts. In the meantime, the Legislature chartered the American Botanical and Zoological Society, and gave the Commissioners of the Park authority to set apart a portion of it, not exceeding sixty acres, for the use of the Society, for the establishment of a zoological and botanical garden. This society was duly organized under the act, and Mr. Hamilton Fish was made its president, and considerable sums of money were subscribed. But, according to the sixth annual report of the Board of Commissioners, "the society never manifested its desire for an allotment of ground." It appears to have died, and made no sign. Some of our citizens, fearing that the Central Park would go the way of every other public work in the city, made strenuous effort to revive the Zoological Society, for the purpose of obtaining a perpetual lease of a suitable site, on which to establish a zoological garden, similar to those in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cologne. Their object was to remove this part of the Park beyond the reach of political intrigue. Subsequent events have shown that the fears of these gentlemen were well founded. The Legislature of the State, on the 25th of March, 1862, gave ample powers to the New York Historical Society to establish a Museum of Antiquity and Science, and a Gallery of Art, in the Central Park. They have submitted designs for a building, but, for some reason, no decisive steps have been taken towards its construction. The Lyceum of Natural History was also negotiating with the Commissioners, for the use of the upper rooms of the arsenal for its collections, and there is no doubt that an arrangement to this effect would have been made, if a fire had not destroyed the entire collections of the Lyceum. The Lyceum made great effort to raise money to purchase a new collection, but without avail; and, although this is the oldest scientific society in New York, and has inrolled in its list of members, nearly every professional scientist of the city, it is probably the poorest, in income and resources, of any academy of sciences in the world. We do not know that the Academy of Design has ever applied for a home in the Central Park; and we cannot speak for the American Institute, nor for the Geographical Society, in this particular. As we stated in our former article, the old Board of Commissioners appears to have become weary of the unsuccessful attempts on the part of numerous societies to divide up and apportion the Central Park, and they applied to the Legislature for authority to conduct matters in their own way. An act was duly passed, authorizing the Board "to erect, establish, conduct, and maintain, on the Central Park, a Meteorological and Astronomical Observatory, a Museum of Natural History, and a Gallery of Art, and the buildings therefor, and to provide the necessary instruments, furniture, and equipments for the same." Here would seem to be ample power for the establishment of museums of science and art, but nothing is said about the manner of raising the money. One would suppose, however, that, by means of the "Central Park Improvement Fund," abundant means could have been raised. The bill now before the Legislature puts matters in a new light. If it does not conflict with previous enactments, nor destroy vested rights, it has the appearance of being a thoroughly practical way of solving the question of art and science for the city. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History are in the hands of the most respectable citizens of New York. It would not be possible to find a body of men of more unimpeachable integrity and greater worth, than the gentlemen who have founded these two societies. It is impossible that they should lend their names to anything that will not bear the closest scrutiny; hence the proposition, now before the Legislature, to put up buildings for them, at a cost of a million dollars, must attract unusual attention. If the State would appropriate the money to these corporations, giving them the control of its expenditure, we should have considerably more confidence in its honest administration than, we are grieved to say, we can feel under the present circumstances; and if we knew what other institutions are to have the remaining portions of Manhattan Square, it would be a great relief to our minds. "We fear the Greeks bringing gifts," but are willing to accept the gifts, if the officers of the two organizations are certain that it is all right. The need of a Museum of Natural History, and of a Gallery of Art, in New York, is so pressing that there is some danger of our accepting the appropriations without a proper regard to consequences. The Court House is not yet finished, and the foundations of the Post-office are scarcely laid. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2006). Scientific American, Volume XXIV., No. 12, March 18, 1871. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19180/pg19180-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

A MUSEUM OF ART AND NATURAL HISTORY

Christian Science by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . MONOPOLY OF SPIRITUAL BREAD here MONOPOLY OF SPIRITUAL BREAD Very properly, the first qualification for membership in the Mother-Church is belief in the doctrines of Christian Science. But these doctrines must not be gathered from secondary sources. There is but one recognized source. The candidate must be a believer in the doctrines of Christian Science “according to the platform and teaching contained in the Christian Science text-book, 'Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures,' by Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy.” That is definite, and is final. There are to be no commentaries, no labored volumes of exposition and explanation by anybody except Mrs. Eddy. Because such things could sow error, create warring opinions, split the religion into sects, and disastrously cripple its power. Mrs. Eddy will do the whole of the explaining, Herself—has done it, in fact. She has written several books. They are to be had (for cash in advance), they are all sacred; additions to them can never be needed and will never be permitted. They tell the candidate how to instruct himself, how to teach others, how to do all things comprised in the business—and they close the door against all would-be competitors, and monopolize the trade: “The Bible and the above—named book [Science and Health], with other works by the same author,” must be his only text-books for the commerce—he cannot forage outside. Mrs. Eddy's words are to be the sole elucidators of the Bible and Science and Health—forever. Throughout the ages, whenever there is doubt as to the meaning of a passage in either of these books the inquirer will not dream of trying to explain it to himself; he would shudder at the thought of such temerity, such profanity, he would be haled to the Inquisition and thence to the public square and the stake if he should be caught studying into text-meanings on his own hook; he will be prudent and seek the meanings at the only permitted source, Mrs. Eddy's commentaries. Value of this Strait-jacket. One must not underrate the magnificence of this long-headed idea, one must not underestimate its giant possibilities in the matter of trooping the Church solidly together and keeping it so. It squelches independent inquiry, and makes such a thing impossible, profane, criminal, it authoritatively settles every dispute that can arise. It starts with finality—a point which the Roman Church has travelled towards fifteen or sixteen centuries, stage by stage, and has not yet reached. The matter of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was not authoritatively settled until the days of Pius IX.—yesterday, so to speak. As already noticed, the Protestants are broken up into a long array of sects, a result of disputes about the meanings of texts, disputes made unavoidable by the absence of an infallible authority to submit doubtful passages to. A week or two ago (I am writing in the middle of January, 1903), the clergy and others hereabouts had a warm dispute in the papers over this question: Did Jesus anywhere claim to be God? It seemed an easy question, but it turned out to be a hard one. It was ably and elaborately discussed, by learned men of several denominations, but in the end it remained unsettled. A week ago, another discussion broke out. It was over this text: “Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor.” One verdict was worded as follows: “When Christ answered the rich young man and said for him to give to the poor all he possessed or he could not gain everlasting life, He did not mean it in the literal sense. My interpretation of His words is that we should part with what comes between us and Christ. “There is no doubt that Jesus believed that the rich young man thought more of his wealth than he did of his soul, and, such being the case, it was his duty to give up the wealth. “Every one of us knows that there is something we should give up for Christ. Those who are true believers and followers know what they have given up, and those who are not yet followers know down in their hearts what they must give up.” Ten clergymen of various denominations were interviewed, and nine of them agreed with that verdict. That did not settle the matter, because the tenth said the language of Jesus was so strait and definite that it explained itself: “Sell all,” not a percentage. There is a most unusual feature about that dispute: the nine persons who decided alike, quoted not a single authority in support of their position. I do not know when I have seen trained disputants do the like of that before. The nine merely furnished their own opinions, founded upon—nothing at all. In the other dispute (“Did Jesus anywhere claim to be God?”) the same kind of men—trained and learned clergymen—backed up their arguments with chapter and verse. On both sides. Plenty of verses. Were no reinforcing verses to be found in the present case? It looks that way. The opinion of the nine seems strange to me, for it is unsupported by authority, while there was at least constructive authority for the opposite view. It is hair-splitting differences of opinion over disputed text-meanings that have divided into many sects a once united Church. One may infer from some of the names in the following list that some of the differences are very slight—so slight as to be not distinctly important, perhaps—yet they have moved groups to withdraw from communions to which they belonged and set up a sect of their own. The list—accompanied by various Church statistics for 1902, compiled by Rev. Dr. H. K. Carroll—was published, January 8, 1903, in the New York Christian Advocate: Adventists (6 bodies), Baptists (13 bodies), Brethren (Plymouth) (4 bodies), Brethren (River) (3 bodies), Catholics (8 bodies), Catholic Apostolic, Christadelphians, Christian Connection, Christian Catholics, Christian Missionary Association, Christian Scientists, Church of God (Wine-brennarian), Church of the New Jerusalem, Congregationalists, Disciples of Christ, Dunkards (4 bodies), Evangelical (2 bodies), Friends (4 bodies), Friends of the Temple, German Evangelical Protestant, German Evangelical Synod, Independent congregations, Jews (2 bodies), Latter-day Saints (2 bodies), Lutherans (22 bodies), Mennonites (12 bodies), Methodists (17 bodies), Moravians, Presbyterians (12 bodies), Protestant Episcopal (2 bodies), Reformed (3 bodies), Schwenkfeldians, Social Brethren, Spiritualists, Swedish Evangelical Miss. Covenant (Waldenstromians), Unitarians, United Brethren (2 bodies), Universalists. Total of sects and splits—139. In the present month (February), Mr. E. I. Lindh, A.M., has communicated to the Boston Transcript a hopeful article on the solution of the problem of the “divided church.” Divided is not too violent a term. Subdivided could have been permitted if he had thought of it. He came near thinking of it, for he mentions some of the subdivisions himself: “the 12 kinds of Presbyterians, the 17 kinds of Methodists, the 13 kinds of Baptists, etc.” He overlooked the 12 kinds of Mennonites and the 22 kinds of Lutherans, but they are in Rev. Mr. Carroll's list. Altogether, 76 splits under 5 flags. The Literary Digest (February 14th) is pleased with Mr. Lindh's optimistic article, and also with the signs of the times, and perceives that “the idea of Church unity is in the air.” Now, then, is not Mrs. Eddy profoundly wise in forbidding, for all time, all explanations of her religion except such as she shall let on to be her own? I think so. I think there can be no doubt of it. In a way, they will be her own; for, no matter which member of her clerical staff shall furnish the explanations, not a line of them will she ever allow to be printed until she shall have approved it, accepted it, copyrighted it, cabbaged it. We may depend on that with a four-ace confidence. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Mark Twain (2004). Christian Science. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3187/pg3187-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

MONOPOLY OF SPIRITUAL BREAD

Urbain Grandier by Alexandre Dumas, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Chapter X URBAIN GRANDIER - CHAPTER X The next day a still more extraordinary scene took place. While M. de Laubardemont was questioning one of the nuns, the superior came down into the court, barefooted; in her chemise, and a cord round her neck; and there she remained for two hours, in the midst of a fearful storm, not shrinking before lightning, thunder, or rain, but waiting till M. de Laubardemont and the other exorcists should come out. At length the door opened and the royal commissioner appeared, whereupon Sister Jeanne des Anges, throwing herself at his feet, declared she had not sufficient strength to play the horrible part they had made her learn any longer, and that before God and man she declared Urbain Grandier innocent, saying that all the hatred which she and her companions had felt against him arose from the baffled desires which his comeliness awoke—desires which the seclusion of conventional life made still more ardent. M. de Laubardemont threatened her with the full weight of his displeasure, but she answered, weeping bitterly, that all she now dreaded was her sin, for though the mercy of the Saviour was great, she felt that the crime she had committed could never be pardoned. M. de Laubardemont exclaimed that it was the demon who dwelt in her who was speaking, but she replied that the only demon by whom she had even been possessed was the spirit of vengeance, and that it was indulgence in her own evil thoughts, and not a pact with the devil, which had admitted him into her heart. With these words she withdrew slowly, still weeping, and going into the garden, attached one end of the cord round her neck to the branch of a tree, and hanged herself. But some of the sisters who had followed her cut her down before life was extinct. The same day an order for her strict seclusion was issued for her as for Sister Claire, and the circumstances that she was a relation of M. de Laubardemont did not avail to lessen her punishment in view of the gravity of her fault. It was impossible to continue the exorcisms other nuns might be tempted to follow the example, of the superior and Sister Claire, and in that case all would be lost. And besides, was not Urbain Grandier well and duly convicted? It was announced, therefore, that the examination had proceeded far enough, and that the judges would consider the evidence and deliver judgment. This long succession of violent and irregular breaches of law procedure, the repeated denials of his claim to justice, the refusal to let his witnesses appear, or to listen to his defence, all combined to convince Grandier that his ruin was determined on; for the case had gone so far and had attained such publicity that it was necessary either to punish him as a sorcerer and magician or to render a royal commissioner, a bishop, an entire community of nuns, several monks of various orders, many judges of high reputation, and laymen of birth and standing, liable to the penalties incurred by calumniators. But although, as this conviction grew, he confronted it with resignation, his courage did not fail,—and holding it to be his duty as a man and a Christian to defend his life and honour to the end, he drew up and published another memorandum, headed Reasons for Acquittal, and had copies laid before his judges. It was a weighty and, impartial summing up of the whole case, such as a stranger might have written, and began, with these words. “I entreat you in all humility to consider deliberately and with attention what the Psalmist says in Psalm 82, where he exhorts judges to fulfil their charge with absolute rectitude; they being themselves mere mortals who will one day have to appear before God, the sovereign judge of the universe, to give an account of their administration. The Lord’s Anointed speaks to you to-day who are sitting in judgment, and says— “‘God standeth in the congregation of the mighty: He judgeth among the gods. “‘How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? “‘Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. “‘Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. “‘I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. “‘But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.’” But this appeal, although convincing and dignified, had no influence upon the commission; and on the 18th of August the following verdict and sentence was pronounced:— “We have declared, and do hereby declare, Urbain Grandier duly accused and convicted of the crimes of magic and witchcraft, and of causing the persons of certain Ursuline nuns of this town and of other females to become possessed of evil spirits, wherefrom other crimes and offences have resulted. By way of reparation therefor, we have sentenced, and do hereby sentence, the said Grandier to make public apology, bareheaded, with a cord around his neck, holding a lighted torch of two pounds weight in his hand, before the west door of the church of Saint-Pierre in the Market Place and before—that of Sainte-Ursule, both of this town, and there on bended knee to ask pardon of God and the king and the law, and this done, to be taken to the public square of Sainte-Croix and there to be attached to a stake, set in the midst of a pile of wood, both of which to be prepared there for this purpose, and to be burnt alive, along with the pacts and spells which remain in the hands of the clerk and the manuscript of the book written by the said Grandier against a celibate priesthood, and his ashes, to be scattered to the four winds of heaven. And we have declared, and do hereby declare, all and every part of his property confiscate to the king, the sum of one hundred and fifty livres being first taken therefrom to be employed in the purchase of a copper plate whereon the substance of the present decree shall be engraved, the same to be exposed in a conspicuous place in the said church of Sainte-Ursule, there to remain in perpetuity; and before this sentence is carried out, we order the said Grandier to be put to the question ordinary and extraordinary, so that his accomplices may become known. “Pronounced at Loudun against the said Grandier this 18th day of August 1634.” On the morning of the day on which this sentence was passed, M. de Laubardemont ordered the surgeon Francois Fourneau to be arrested at his own house and taken to Grandier’s cell, although he was ready to go there of his own free will. In passing through the adjoining room he heard the voice of the accused saying:— “What do you want with me, wretched executioner? Have you come to kill me? You know how cruelly you have already tortured my body. Well I am ready to die.” On entering the room, Fourneau saw that these words had been addressed to the surgeon Mannouri. One of the officers of the ‘grand privot de l’hotel’, to whom M. de Laubardemont lent for the occasion the title of officer of the king’s guard, ordered the new arrival to shave Grandier, and not leave a single hair on his whole body. This was a formality employed in cases of witchcraft, so that the devil should have no place to hide in; for it was the common belief that if a single hair were left, the devil could render the accused insensible to the pains of torture. From this Urbain understood that the verdict had gone against him and that he was condemned to death. Fourneau having saluted Grandier, proceeded to carry out his orders, whereupon a judge said it was not sufficient to shave the body of the prisoner, but that his nails must also be torn out, lest the devil should hide beneath them. Grandier looked at the speaker with an expression of unutterable pity, and held out his hands to Fourneau; but Forneau put them gently aside, and said he would do nothing of the kind, even were the order given by the cardinal-duke himself, and at the same time begged Grandier’s pardon for shaving him. At, these words Grandier, who had for so long met with nothing but barbarous treatment from those with whom he came in contact, turned towards the surgeon with tears in his eyes, saying— “So you are the only one who has any pity for me.” “Ah, sir,” replied Fourneau, “you don’t see everybody.” Grandier was then shaved, but only two marks found on him, one as we have said on the shoulder blade, and the other on the thigh. Both marks were very sensitive, the wounds which Mannouri had made not having yet healed. This point having been certified by Fourneau, Grandier was handed, not his own clothes, but some wretched garments which had probably belonged to some other condemned man. Then, although his sentence had been pronounced at the Carmelite convent, he was taken by the grand provost’s officer, with two of his archers, accompanied by the provosts of Loudun and Chinon, to the town hall, where several ladies of quality, among them Madame de Laubardemont, led by curiosity, were sitting beside the judges, waiting to hear the sentence read. M. de Laubardemont was in the seat usually occupied by the clerk, and the clerk was standing before him. All the approaches were lined with soldiers. Before the accused was brought in, Pere Lactance and another Franciscan who had come with him exorcised him to oblige the devils to leave him; then entering the judgment hall, they exorcised the earth, the air, “and the other elements.” Not till that was done was Grandier led in. At first he was kept at the far end of the hall, to allow time for the exorcisms to have their full effect, then he was brought forward to the bar and ordered to kneel down. Grandier obeyed, but could remove neither his hat nor his skull-cap, as his hands were bound behind his back, whereupon the clerk seized on the one and the provost’s officer on the other, and flung them at de Laubardemont’s feet. Seeing that the accused fixed his eyes on the commissioner as if waiting to see what he was about to do, the clerk said: “Turn your head, unhappy man, and adore the crucifix above the bench.” Grandier obeyed without a murmur and with great humility, and remained sunk in silent prayer for about ten minutes; he then resumed his former attitude. The clerk then began to read the sentence in a trembling voice, while Grandier listened with unshaken firmness and wonderful tranquillity, although it was the most terrible sentence that could be passed, condemning the accused to be burnt alive the same day, after the infliction of ordinary and extraordinary torture. When the clerk had ended, Grandier said, with a voice unmoved from its usual calm— “Messeigneurs, I aver in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and the Blessed Virgin, my only hope, that I have never been a magician, that I have never committed sacrilege, that I know no other magic than that of the Holy Scriptures, which I have always preached, and that I have never held any other belief than that of our Holy Mother the Catholic Apostolic Church of Rome; I renounce the devil and all his works; I confess my Redeemer, and I pray to be saved through the blood of the Cross; and I beseech you, messeigneurs, to mitigate the rigour of my sentence, and not to drive my soul to despair.” The concluding words led de Laubardemont to believe that he could obtain some admission from Grandier through fear of suffering, so he ordered the court to be cleared, and, being left alone with Maitre Houmain, criminal lieutenant of Orleans, and the Franciscans, he addressed Grandier in a stern voice, saying there was only one way to obtain any mitigation of his sentence, and that was to confess the names of his accomplices and to sign the confession. Grandier replied that having committed no crime he could have no accomplices, whereupon Laubardemont ordered the prisoner to be taken to the torture chamber, which adjoined the judgment hall—an order which was instantly obeyed. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Alexandre Dumas (2004). Urbain Grandier. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2746/pg2746-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The next day a still more extraordinary scene

Welcome to a comprehensive exploration of multi-object tracking. Given the complex nature of the environment, handling the uncertainties and fluctuations in a sensor's field of view has been a long-standing challenge in the field of sensor fusion and tracking. Traditional techniques have struggled to maintain an optimal balance between accuracy and computational efficiency. In this article, as an outcome, you can consider the PMBM filter as one of the most modern and high-performance algorithms in this domain. We will be unraveling its mathematical foundation and highlighting its practical implications. Whether you're an engineer, a researcher, a student, or simply a curious mind fascinated by the world of multi-object tracking, I hope to equip you with a solid understanding of the Poisson Multi-Bernoulli Mixture filter by the end of this article, thus enabling you to appreciate its remarkable contributions to the realm of multi-target tracking. Problem statement The primary task at hand revolves around multi-object tracking, a problem rooted in the complex and dynamic nature of real-world environments. This problem involves continuously estimating the states of multiple objects over time using sensor observations. The four primary challenges in this problem are clutter, object appearance and disappearance, the unknown number of objects, and sensor fusion. : Tracking can be complicated by 'clutter,' which refers to misleading sensor readings that are not associated with the objects of interest. This can be due to various factors such as environmental noise, sensor errors, or the presence of irrelevant objects. For instance, in radar tracking, clutter could be caused by reflections from buildings, terrain, or other non-target objects. In image processing, clutter can be introduced by reflections in mirrors, glass surfaces, or water bodies Clutter This occurs when an object of interest is not detected by the object detection system. For example, a camera might miss a person who briefly steps behind a pillar. Miss Detection: The spontaneous appearance or disappearance of objects within the sensor's field of view adds complexity to tracking. For instance, in a public square, people can enter or leave at any time. This dynamic nature, coupled with the uncertainty in the total number of objects, makes consistent and accurate multi-object tracking a challenging task." Dynamics and Uncertainty in Object Count: This refers to the complex task of merging data from multiple sensors, each with unique characteristics. For example, a self-driving car might need to integrate data from cameras, radars, and lidar, despite their potential inconsistencies and time delays. Sensor Fusion: The goal is to develop a robust multi-object tracking system that can accurately track multiple objects in cluttered environments, handle object dynamics, adapt to changing object counts, and effectively fuse data from various sensors. Models In this article, we focus on model-based methods. These algorithms are effective under the assumption that the processes involved can be accurately represented by a model. Sensor model In our simplified 2D model, we're examining an algorithm for a basic problem: tracking the 2D movement of an object starting from a known position, amidst significant sensor inaccuracies and clutter. Before we can start tracking, we first need to model the measurements, which includes modeling the clutter. Missdetections are modeled using the concept of detection probability (P_D). This parameter indicates the likelihood of an object being detected by the sensor. A P_D less than 1 implies a chance of missdetection. For example, a P_D of 0.9 suggests the object will be detected 90% of the time, and missed 10% of the time. class SensorModelConfig:
    def __init__(self, P_D, lambda_c, range_c):
        # P_D: object detection probability
        self.P_D = P_D
        # lambda_c: average number of clutter measurements per time scan, Poisson distributed
        self.lambda_c = lambda_c
        # range_c: range of surveillance area
        self.range_c = range_c
        # V: Volume of the surveillance area
        self.V = np.prod(np.diff(self.range_c))  
        # pdf_c: Spatial PDF of clutter
        self.pdf_c = 1 / self.V  
        # intensity_c: expected number of clutter detections per unit volume
        self.intensity_c = self.lambda_c / self.V  
    
    def handle_missdetection(self, objects):
        """Handles missdetection based on the detection probability."""
        # Generate a random number for each object
        random_numbers = np.random.uniform(size=len(objects))
        # Determine which objects are detected
        detected_objects = objects[random_numbers < self.P_D]
        return detected_objects

    def generate_clutter(self):
        """Generates clutter based on the clutter intensity."""
        # N_c: Number of clutter measurements, Poisson distributed
        N_c = np.random.poisson(lam=self.lambda_c)
        # Generate clutter within the surveillance area
        clutter = np.random.uniform(self.range_c[0], self.range_c[1], (N_c, 2))
        return clutter To model clutter, we assume it's uniformly distributed within a certain area. The quantity of clutter is modeled using a Poisson distribution, which represents the number of events (in this case, clutter) occurring in a fixed interval, given a constant mean rate. This aligns with our assumption of uniformly distributed clutter. The average number of clutter measurements per time scan is defined by the parameter . We randomly generate the number of clutter measurements, , based on this Poisson distribution. This provides us with the flexibility to model varying levels of clutter in different scenarios. lambda_c N_c Let s how it looks like for single object and P_G = 0.8, lambda_c = 0.5, range_c = [[-1000, 1000],[-1000, 1000]. Single object tracking We consider a state space model where we have one object and one measurement from the real object at each step. To represent our state, we adopt a Gaussian distribution. This choice is optimal under the assumption of normally distributed measurement noise, as it allows us to effectively estimate the object's true state. By incorporating motion and measurement models, we can predict future states based on previous observations. Assuming we know the initial position of the real object, we create a Gaussian distribution around it. As time progresses, we observe multiple measurements, some from the real object and others from clutter. To update the state, we employ the nearest measurement heuristic. However, since our state is represented by a Gaussian with mean and covariance, we need a way to measure the distance between the state and the measurements. The Mahalanobis distance, which takes into account the covariance matrix, provides a suitable solution. In scenarios where we have missdetections and can only rely on measurements from objects part of the time, we need a sensor model. We introduce a detection probability, denoted as P_D, to represent the likelihood of detecting the object. Additionally, we model the clutter by utilizing the Poisson distribution. The clutter rate, lambda_c, and the intensity_c, representing the expected number of clutter in one time interval, play crucial roles in this modeling approach. Returning to our problem, we calculate the weights of detection and missdetection as w_detection and w_missdetection, respectively. If w_detection is greater than w_missdetection, we update the state using the measurements. Otherwise, we return the state after the prediction step. This decision is based on a comparison between the weights, enabling us to make informed updates to the state estimate in the presence of missdetections. Object tracking with known number of objects The n-object tracking problem involves tracking multiple objects simultaneously. Unlike the previous single-object tracking problem where we worked with Gaussian distributions, in this case, we need to handle n Gaussians representing the multiple objects. At each step, we receive k measurements and consider missdetections and k association hypotheses for each Gaussian component. We calculate weights for each hypothesis using a similar approach to likelihood calculation. The challenge lies in finding the association between n Gaussians and k + n hypotheses. To solve this, we formulate the problem as a linear assignment problem. We construct a cost matrix of size n x (k + n) and assign a value of +inf to each field. We fill each field with negative likelihood values. Using the Hungarian algorithm, we minimize the sum of the costs to find the associations between Gaussians and hypotheses. While the Hungarian algorithm provides a greedy approach, it may not be suitable when dealing with unknown objects due to uncertainties. In such cases, alternative algorithms like Murty or Gibbs sampling can be used. These algorithms calculate the top k good solutions, taking into account the uncertain nature of the problem. Multi object tracking In the more complex scenario of multi-object tracking with unknown object appearances and disappearances, we employ the Poisson Multi-Bernoulli Mixture (PMBM) algorithm. This algorithm handles the uncertainty in the number of objects and their dynamic behavior. To begin, we introduce the concepts of the birth model and the death model within the framework of Random Finite Sets (RFS). The birth model can be represented by either a Bernoulli or a Poisson point process, while the death model incorporates a survival probability to represent the likelihood of an object continuing to exist in the next time step. In the case of a Bernoulli Random Finite Set, we describe the state of each object using Bernoulli components. These components consist of a Gaussian density representing the object's state and an existence probability (r) indicating the likelihood of the object's presence. Consider an example where we have one Bernoulli and receive a single measurement. This measurement generates two hypotheses: one assumes it is from a new object, while the other associates it with the existing Bernoulli (representing a detection). By extending this concept, if we have a set of Bernoullis, we create new Bernoullis for missdetections and associations for each existing Bernoulli, resulting in a Multi-Bernoulli Mixture. The PMBM algorithm allows us to consider uncertainty in associations, providing multiple possible outcomes. Each association represents a global hypothesis. We construct a cost matrix and aim to find the top m associations since the problem may not have a unique solution. The output of the tracker is the most probable hypothesis. For each global hypothesis, we repeat the same procedures in the next step, resulting in an exponential growth of global hypotheses. However, we can store only the most probable ones. The core of the PMBM filter relies on conjugate distributions. By parameterizing a distribution, the model remains unchanged after an update, and only the parameters are updated. This enables us to calculate these parameters and utilize them in subsequent steps. The PMBM algorithm involves several steps: Prediction Step: Predict the states using the motion model, including the prediction methods for both the Poisson Point Process and the Multi-Bernoulli Mixture. Update Step: Update the predicted states based on new measurements. Pruning Step: Remove unlikely hypotheses to manage computational complexity. Estimation Step: Generate estimates of the current state based on the updated and pruned hypotheses. By following these steps, the PMBM algorithm effectively handles the complexities of multi-object tracking with unknown object appearances and disappearances. References García-Fernández, Ángel F., Jason L. Williams, Karl Granström, and Lennart Svensson. 2017. “Poisson Multi-Bernoulli Mixture Filter: Direct Derivation and Implementation.” . arXiv. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAES.2018.2805153. arXiv [cs.CV] . Multiple Object Tracking Youtube Channel

Demystifying the Poisson Multi-Bernoulli Mixture Filter: A Leap Forward in Multi-Target Tracking

It’s been quite a while since I wrote about specific products. Today, I am going to write about Threads, Instagram’s Twitter counterpart, or in other words, the content generator for meme creators for the next few days. There are numerous amazing articles that did a great job of covering Threads. Adding one of the best articles I came across — . Link I had some interesting thoughts and facts I could think of immediately after reading the article and using the product. Twitter threatening to sue Meta for stealing its “trade secrets?” I wonder how Twitter came up with the idea of Twitter Spaces. Hi Clubhouse 👋🏼 There were other Twitter alternatives that came up like Mastodon and Bluesky, but they weren’t able to achieve mass adoption. How did Threads go about 70 million (and counting) downloads so quickly? It’s simple. Other apps are actual downloads, and they were acquiring new users, but these were funneled users from Instagram. This is so stupid to compare how many days Facebook or WhatsApp took to reach 1 million users as the user base with smartphones and internet connections was so low when those products came into the market. Unfortunately, there is no inflation adjustment that can be done for these numbers. As someone who loves numbers, if you take a look at your Instagram profile after you installed Threads, you would be able to see which user you are. I am user #4,653,803. Let’s be honest, Twitter is a disaster after Elon Musk’s takeover. Especially limiting the posts to 600 tweets per day for free users but also premium users (who pay $8/month for Twitter Blue) to 6000 tweets per day. Feature comparison: Source: Twitter and Meta *Not applicable to Twitter Blue users. Verification is only for paid members on Twitter but it’s for both verified and paid members on Instagram. I started using Twitter only because I did not have many followers, and I followed only a few pages or people. My feed used to be clean, but Threads is definitely chaotic for me right now. Can’t delete Threads account Moving into the product perspective of these two products by digging into their company mission, vision, problems they try to solve, etc. Twitter : To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. Twitter’s mission Vision: We believe in free expression and think every voice has the power to impact the world. Twitter focuses on providing a real-time, public platform for users to share their thoughts, opinions, and news and engage in conversations. This enables users to connect with a broader audience, stay updated on current events, trending topics, and hashtags and follow accounts of interest or celebrities of interest. Basically, it helped amplify the voices of everyday people and built a community that engaged on a global scale. Threads (Instagram/Meta) : Giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Meta’s mission Vision: People use Meta products to stay connected with friends and family, discover what’s going on in the world, and share and express what matters to them. Instagram’s mission statement is the same as above, but the statement is slightly a modified version of the above: We bring you closer to the people and things you love, and the of Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas. vision vision If we analyze the mission statements above, it does seem very clear that Threads definitely is helping Meta achieve their mission and vision. As Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri mentioned in an : “The goal isn’t to replace Twitter. The goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter.” interview So technically, the problem Threads is solving is the same as Twitter, and it also helps them with their goals. But why now? Instagram’s user base is 2 billion while Twitter’s is around 300 million (rough estimate based on Google search). While we can give full credit to Twitter for what it has achieved so far, it’s not easy for new competitors in the space to reach this user base as they need to start right from scratch. Whereas Instagram can utilize its existing userbase and also given the current situation at Twitter with no real product people to lead the vision, Meta is taking full advantage and increasing their market share. While this may go either way given Meta’s reputation in data and security, they are making hay while the sun shines. It’s too early to say if it’s a Twitter killer, but if Elon keeps taking decisions similar to today, Threads might actually become a Twitter killer. But what scares me the most is the monopolization of Meta in the social media space. Feature Image Source: AI-generated from https://gencraft.com/generate using the prompt Twitter bird on fire.

Threads — From the Perspective of a Product Manager

The Hidden Pitfalls of APIs: XSS Attacks in Single Page Applications (SPA)

Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1931, by Astounding Stories is part of HackerNoon’s Book Blog Post series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Tentacles From Below - Chapter VI: The Monster with the Armlets of Gold CHAPTER VI. The Monster with the Armlets of Gold Hemingway Bowman's ardent wish, after he was whipped quickly through the round exit port of the octopi submarine, was for a quick, clean death. The horror and mystery of his situation had left him with one conscious emotion, that he was afraid. The worst had been when he was hauled through the port; when, expecting anything, he had been able to see nothing in the dark, water-filled mystery ship. Deliberate tentacles had stroked over every inch of his body—tentacles that were not metal-scaled, as had been the arms of the creature that captured him. It was then that he guessed the true purpose of the metal suits the octopi wore—to protect their bodies against the lesser pressure near the surface of the sea. Inside the submarine they did not need them. He decided that the ship was used for rapidly transporting large numbers of the octopi to distant regions, and also for a weapon of offense and defense. The intelligence of the cuttlefish astounded him. Keith had got away. At least he knew that, and he thanked God for it. His bold stroke had not been in vain, his sacrifice not useless. After the inspection of the tentacles, Hemmy had been shoved to a corner of the octopi submarine. He had felt cords wrapped around his body. After being thus secured, he was left to himself. He was utterly alone, except for strange, vague shadows that floated through the darkness—shadows that heated his brain as he realized how many of the devil-fish there were. Hours that seemed like endless days passed. Bowman concluded that the submarine had gone straight through the cavern and emerged finally into what seemed to be another sea. Dead silence filled the ship. What was happening, he could only guess. The craft seemed to run on forever. Never once did tentacles brush or inspect him again. Finally the ship stopped, and a great round door opened in one wall. By the soft bluish glow that seeped in Hemmy caught a glimpse of his surroundings, and his gorge rose at the sight. The ship was literally filled with a slowly waving forest of long black tentacles. Weird instruments, unlike anything he had ever seen, were grouped around the walls, and before them attendant octopi poised, their hideous eyes fixed and steady. There were no dividing decks as in the NX-1; the craft was one huge shell. Then came furious activity. The door fell shut again, and the ship shot off at great speed. Hemmy felt sure that they were advancing to again attack the NX-1, and at once began to try to reach his comrades through radiophone. He knew that Wells would come back. Finally he caught a human voice, and heard the NX-1's radio operator shout to the commander that he, Bowman, was alive and calling. But when he tried to speak further, the American craft's radio was silent. And then, in the octopi submarine, had come a soft glow of violet.... Was it a more deadly weapon than the paralyzing ray? In great suspense the prisoner waited. Silence—silence! Horrible doubts beset his mind. Was Keith refraining from firing his torpedoes because he, Bowman, was on board the enemy boat? The thought stung him. He tried desperately again to reach Wells; but there was no answer. Were the Americans dead? Age-long minutes passed. Then the exit port opened and several metal-clad octopi swam out. Hemmy had a glimpse of the NX-1 lying silent and apparently lifeless on the sea-floor, a gaping hole in her bow! As if to taunt him with the sight, the creatures left the round door open, and presently Bowman beheld the octopi open the NX-1's starboard exit port and enter. Later the port swung open again, and he saw the monsters emerge, each gripping several men clad in yellow sea-suits! That they were dead, or victims of the ray, was obvious from the way they limply dangled. The exit port closed, and darkness filled the octopi ship. Hemmy Bowman panted with the futile effort to break his bonds. "You devils!" he yelled in blind rage, exhausted. "Why don't you take me with them? Take me! Take me, damn your stinking hides!" When Keith Wells was taken from the silent NX-1, a host of astounding impressions swarmed his brain. Swinging lightly at the end of his captor's tentacle, he strove as best he could, with eyes rigidly fixed straight ahead, to grasp his new surroundings. He had, first, one flash of the octopi ship lying quite close to them, its hulk, as always, immobile and apparently lifeless. And inside it, he was sure, was his friend and first officer, Hemmy Bowman—a captive. He saw that the octopi submarine had towed the NX-1 into one of the weird mound cities. His own ship was lying in what seemed a kind of public square, and crowds of black octopi were swarming around it as he and his crew were brought out. Shooting straight off the square ran one of the wide streets he had previously seen from above, and on each side the brown mound-buildings rose. Their details were hazy, because of the cuttlefish inhabitants who swam thickly in front of them. His captors started their march down this broad street. Great crowds of reddish-colored octopi clustered on each side of it; other swarms hung almost motionless—except for their constantly writhing tentacles—above, so that their line of progress was through what resembled a restless, living tunnel of repulsive black flesh, snaky arms and huge, unblinking eyes. Keith felt faint from the horror of it. Thousands of the monsters were there, all hanging in the soft, blue-glowing water; and occasionally, as he floated almost horizontally in his captor's firm grip, his legs would brush the wall of clammy flesh; or perhaps one of the tentacles would reach out as if to touch him. The octopus that held him swam some five feet off the street bed itself; at intervals the thick swarm on either side would part for a second, and Keith could glimpse the huge mound-buildings, ever growing larger, with round entrance holes dotted all over their smooth surface, above as well as the sides. The march was ghastly. Their captors were taking them through the heart of the water-metropolis; displaying their human captives as did the Caesars in Roman triumphs of old! The swarming crowds of tentacled monsters grew thicker as they progressed, and their tentacles began to whip more quickly, as if anger was burning in their loathsome bodies. Keith noted the menace of their sharp-beaked jaws, and the sickening sucker-discs on the livid under-side of the tentacles. As far as he could see, the swarms fell in behind the procession after it had passed. Following them—where? Just as Wells felt himself on the verge of fainting, the procession turned to the right and entered the largest mound-building of all, a vast dome rising in the very center of the octopi metropolis. They continued through a corridor perhaps twenty feet high, from which at intervals other corridors branched. Held by one arm, and ever and again turning helplessly over in his horizontal transit, Keith caught glimpses of walls covered with intricate designs on a basic eight-armed motif—designs of artistic value, that gave evidence of culture and civilization. The passage ended as suddenly as it had begun, and they came into the main body of a gigantic building. The commander could hardly credit his eyes. The place resembled a stadium, and was so vast that he felt dwarfed to nothingness. The domed roof soared far above in misty bluish light. On the floor, exactly beneath the center of the great dome, was a raised platform, and on it a dais resembling a very wide throne. Around the dais a score or more of octopi—officials, Keith supposed—were grouped. Rapidly the creatures following the procession swam into the chamber. Monstrously large as the place was, the floor soon was filled with the thick flood of cuttlefish which swarmed in from many doors. Keith, held with the other captives just to one side of the hole he had entered by, began to think that they must soon refuse to let any more in—when, to his surprise, he saw the latest arrivals begin to form a gallery twenty feet above those on the ground floor, and, when this was extended far back and completely filled, start yet another above it—and another, and another.... In ten minutes the mighty hall was crowded with countless layers of the cold-eyed monsters, each layer angling up from the central dais so that all could see. "God!" the commander thought. "Nothing but solidly-packed devil-fish all the way to the dome! A slaughter pit! And we, of course, are to be the cattle!" Minutes passed. The throne was still empty, and the thousands in the amphitheater seemed waiting for an occupant. Keith wished he was able to close his eyes. The restless, never-ceasing weaving of the countless tentacles in the levels above made the scene a nightmare. Some waved slowly, others whipped excitedly, but never for an instant did one pause. The movements were like the never-ceasing shifting and swaying of the trunks and feet of elephants; in the dim glow the huge chamber seemed to be filled with one fantastic, million-tentacled monster that stared with its thousand eyes down on the forlorn group of puny human beings.... As if at a command the arms of the octopi on the platform suddenly began to weave in perfect unison in some weird ceremony. First they swayed out towards the waiting captives, then they swerved slowly to the empty throne. Then came a few quick, excited whippings; and once more the long arms reached out at the small group at the entrance. This went on for some minutes. Then, very suddenly, a creature swam up from what must have been an opening in the floor onto the dais-throne. Keith saw it well. It was an octopus, a giant amongst octopi, and Wells knew at once it was the ruler of the realm, the lord and master of the swarming galleries and the cities of mound-buildings. It was larger than its fellows by a full three feet. And, encircling each great tentacle just where it joined the central mass of flesh, was a broad, glittering band of polished gold—eight thick armlets that ringed the creature's revolting head-body with a circle of gleaming pagan splendor. Keith could almost fancy that a certain royal air hung over the monster. The huge, unblinking eyes of the king stared at the horror-frozen captives. One long tentacle lifted slowly upward, and their captors at once started towards the throne with them. The score of octopi on each side stilled their weaving arms. A battery of emotionless eyes drilled into Wells' paralyzed body. He felt faint. Unquestionably the horrible ceremony was leading up to some form of cold-blooded sacrifice.... The monarch stretched a mighty arm towards Keith, and, as in a dream, he felt himself lifted out of his guard's grasp. The snakelike tentacle gripped him about the waist, and held him dangling like a puppet twenty feet in the water while the two deadly eyes stared steadily at him. He was brought closer, until the hideous central mass, with its cruel beaked jaw and ink sac hanging behind, was no more than a foot away. Then another arm stroked slowly along the commander's helpless body. Once or twice it prodded sharply, and Wells felt a surge of fear, for his sea-suit might break. Deliberately the prying tentacle moved over him, delicately feeling his helmet, his weighted feet, his legs. Keith Wells grew angry. He was being inspected like a trapped monkey! He, commander of the NX-1, representative of one of the world's mightiest nations—prodded and stared at by this fish, this octopus! A great rage suffused him, and with a terrific effort he tried to jab his arms into one of those devilish eyes. But try as he might, his body would not respond. He could not move a finger. For a long time the loathsome inspection continued, until the monstrous king seemed satisfied. Wells was handed back. There followed an interminable period in which nothing whatever was done, as far as he could see. He was sure that they must be talking, debating, but no sound reached his ears through the tight helmet. All the time the endless motion in the swarming levels above went on. It became hazy, dreamlike, and in spite of himself the commander began to feel drowsy. The weaving and swaying was producing a hypnotic effect. At last the desire to sleep grew overpowering. Wells and his men were more than half unconscious when their original captors finally pulled them back from the royal presence and began a humble retreat from the throne room. Slowly they backed to the entrance. Keith's last drowsy glimpse was of a grotesque, gold-ringed monster on a throne, with a score of smaller tentacled creatures around him, and a vast haze of weaving tentacles and unblinking eyes above. They passed from the huge chamber. The commander felt delirious, as in a nightmare, but he knew that they were again in the long corridor, and that their captors were taking them further into the mighty building, further from the street outside. He glimpsed great rooms branching off the corridor, and swarms of black octopi inside them. The light became fainter; and at last the procession turned into a separate, rough-walled chamber, dimly lit and empty. Wells felt the grip around his arm loosen, and he floated limply to the floor among his men. He slept.... About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various. 2009. Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1931. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30124/30124-h/30124-h.htm#Page_172 . This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1931: The Tentacles from Below - Chapter VI

This story was originally published on by . ProPublica Brooke Stephenson When the federal government enacted the CARES Act in March 2020, it boosted jobless aid and expanded the benefits to include people who weren’t typically covered, like gig workers. The legislation was designed to cushion workers against the massive blow of a partial economic shutdown during the pandemic. But if you haven’t already buried your memories of last year, you probably remember how difficult it was to those unemployment benefits. get Horror stories circulated about people , trying to get the money they needed to stay afloat. Maybe you remember spending long hours on the phone or the computer yourself. waiting on hold for weeks Delays in unemployment benefits heightened feelings of uncertainty that characterized much of 2020, and made the experience of losing your job even more frightening. But as Cezary Podkul reported for ProPublica this week, this expansion of benefits also attracted fraudsters from all over the world who sought to cash in on the CARES Act. In hindsight, the millions of phony unemployment insurance claims were a large part of what clogged states’ overtaxed computer systems, delaying payments to unemployed Americans filing legitimate claims. We don’t have a full accounting yet of how much the fraud will end up costing taxpayers. The federal government says it will be at least tens of billions of dollars, but some experts fear it may end up in the . hundreds of billions And on the micro level, every stolen identity fraudsters use to cash in belongs to a real person. If that person tried to file for unemployment themselves, it could take months for them to convince state agencies they were a real person and receive necessary support. We talked with Cezary about how he discovered the alternate universe of stolen identities and pseudonymous fraudsters selling how-to kits for scamming state unemployment agencies on the dark web. Here’s an inside look at a massive fraud wave. I was really curious how you went about finding these online forums where scammers were swapping their trade secrets. So I started off by reaching out to cybersecurity firms and asking them, “Hey, where are fraudsters trading tips and advice and talking about how to do this?” That pointed me to Telegram [an online messaging app]. I got the names of a few Telegram channels where this was happening, and I started looking at those. And then from there I did my own research and found lots and lots of additional ones; it certainly wasn’t hard, because there’s just so many of them. Did you have a strategy worked out for how you would reach out to scammers? To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, because I have never been to any of these forums. I realized that they’re open, public forums. I’m sure there’s some that are private, or invitation-only. But the ones that we wrote about in our story, anyone who wants to view them or access them can enter them as if you were entering a public square in a city. There was a big learning experience involved in this in the sense that there was a lot of unfamiliar language to me. It wasn’t as if you could just jump in and know exactly what’s being said. You had to see a lot of the traffic and read a lot of messages before you learned what certain acronyms were. For example, what does it mean for a state to be “lit”? It’s paying out state claims. At one point, I came across a message in one of the forums that actually had a dictionary, which was super helpful. That was kind of like the Rosetta Stone, and once I came across the dictionary I could translate a lot of this stuff into plain language. You quote one scammer’s response in the article that’s just two eye roll emojis. I was so curious what question you asked that prompted that response. Yeah, the eye roll emoji! So that was the user who we cite in the story named “VerifiedFraud.” He was the admin for one of these channels where there was something like 1,300 participants, and he posted what’s called a “sauce.” Sauce, in the language of these forums, is the secret sauce for filing fake unemployment insurance claims in a particular state. He gave away a free sauce to his channel participants. And I asked him about that: Hey, tell me about the sauce. I noticed that you put it on your forum for participants along with the “new month prayer” wishing them luck. When I messaged him about that I got the eye roll. And I guess you told him you were a journalist? Oh, yeah, absolutely. With all the people that I was contacting, I made it abundantly clear: “Hey, I’m a reporter, I'm writing a story about this. I noticed you said this or that and I wanted to talk to you more about it.” You know, “Tell me more about your ‘Fraud Bible.’ Does it work?” Did you ever try a sauce to see if it worked? Or send it to a state agency? No. As a journalist, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything illegal. I did send a bunch of these sauces — the ones that name specific states that were publicly available — to the states. I sent them to Pennsylvania, New York and California, and I asked them for comments. The states declined to comment on the specifics of whether they worked or anything like that. But they did say generally that they’re aware of them, that they’re monitoring these types of messages with their law enforcement partners. You have this quote from a scammer in the article: “Virtually all these wealthy entrepreneurs you see around 90% of them started with something illegal to make enough money to run their business.” It seems like some of these people consider themselves businesspeople, and they put some work into this. How different is what they’re doing from working an actual job? There’s probably some people for whom this has become a full-time endeavor, where this is the main way they’re trying to make money right now because of the opportunity that has been opened up. But there’s certainly people for whom they might have a day job doing something else. For example, one case involved a Nigerian national who ran an online shoe store. He was also accused of participating in a scheme to defraud states of unemployment insurance funds. And I think the total in was something like $489,000 across 15 states. [He’s pleaded not guilty to charges in the case.] that case So there’s certainly people who do other things, but there’s others who I’m sure have made this sort of their full-time path. I think it does kind of run the gamut. Did you get a sense of what percentage of people were working from outside the United States? There’s no way to tell what percentage. But in reading the messages in these Telegram channels, I definitely got the feel that this was a very international crowd, because you do see messages from people, for example, looking to meet up to do deals in Lagos, Nigeria. The statistic that really put a period on this for me came from one of the cybersecurity firms that we talked with. They said that one state they work with saw unemployment insurance applications coming from nearly 170 countries around the world. So these are supposedly state residents applying for unemployment insurance, but when you trace the internet traffic, you see this application is coming from … gosh, they had countries all over the world. It was like the United Nations. Normal people trying to get unemployment checks in the middle of the pandemic were really struggling, waiting on the line for days at a time and getting disconnected when they were trying to get their unemployment checks. Did you get any sense of if and how fraudsters were better at getting unemployment checks than real humans? One of the things that I think maybe hasn’t been talked about as much is the interplay between this huge wave of fraudulent claims that we saw and legitimate claimants. Because the information technology on which states are running their unemployment insurance systems is, in many cases, very dated. Like with North Dakota, they had to actually bring in computer programmers from ​​to help them run their unemployment insurance computer system last year, because it’s so hard to find anyone who can service the technology. It’s been around for decades. Latvia When you’re dealing with very dated technology, it doesn’t scale well. It can’t handle such huge volumes that we were seeing there during the pandemic. So when you had this huge influx of fraudulent claims, I think it did a few things. One is it definitely slowed down processing of legitimate claims, because you just end up with backlogs of applications that the states are still struggling to get through because there’s so many people who have applied. There are legitimate claimants mixed in with fraudulent claimants and you have to kind of triage those, and figure out which ones are high-risk, which ones look like they're very likely to be fraudulent, versus which ones are medium-risk and which ones are low-risk — and you put those through. The other thing that it spikes is the call volumes. When I asked [Texas officials], why was it so hard for an individual that we profiled in the story to get through to Texas, it was just because they had such a massive call volume. There’s so many people calling the fraud line reporting fraud, there’s so many people calling for help, so many people seeking states’ attention, they just become overwhelmed. That has an impact on legitimate claims. And then finally, you have legitimate claimants who are collecting unemployment insurance payments, and those payments either stop or are frozen because of suspected fraud. So someone else just stole your identity and used it to file a claim in another state, and all of a sudden you might see your benefits stop, which is what happened to Philip Payton, the individual we profiled in . our story By flooding the system with so many fake claims, not only did fraudsters, in some cases, get away with pocketing those fraudulent payments, it really caused a lot of hardship for legitimate claimants. The fraudsters are also probably working with the advantage of being able to send out 40 applications to 40 different states, and if they only get paid by 18 and get stuck in backlogs in the others, it doesn’t cost them very much. Exactly. It basically comes down to a game of numbers. Let’s say you go onto a dark web forum and you purchase some stolen identities. You pay $50, $70 for a stolen profile of someone. If you’ve got it, then it makes sense for you to file in all the different states where you think it might pay off, to all the different programs, to all the different government benefits you think that individual might be entitled to. If you don’t, you might be leaving money on the table. One of the most shocking statistics that I came across, just on a micro level, was in one of the . Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General reports They mentioned that one person used a single Social Security number to file fake unemployment insurance claims in 40 states, and 29 states paid up. They got something like $222,000. I think we’re now at that point where we’re starting to realize that this has been a huge problem. And to be fair, it wasn’t just unemployment insurance. You’ve seen our coverage of people creating in places that wouldn’t even have a farm, like farms on beaches or people claiming they had an orange farm in Minnesota, to apply for . fake farms PPP loans I’ll be curious to see if cybersecurity surrounding these leaks that led to IDs and social security numbers getting out are wrapped up in reform bills too. If I can put in a plug: If anyone knows where all of the leaked data came from, I would love to anyone who’s got information on that. talk with One of the terms that you see being used on these telegram chat rooms is the word “fullz.” Fullz is slang for the full suite of personally identifiable information like someone’s name, address, Social Security, driver’s license, the whole thing. If you’re going to be filling out an unemployment insurance claim form in someone’s name, if you just know their name and their address — okay, that’s one thing. But if you have a full suite of information on a person it just makes it so much easier for you to file a claim that has a significantly higher chance of getting through the system. So one of the questions that I was asking is: Where did all the fullz come from? This is a question that I became obsessed with in the reporting of this project, and I just couldn’t get a good answer to it. So if anyone reading this has a good answer for that, or a good theory, and I’ll be more than happy to talk to you. reach out to me Photo by on Towfiqu barbhuiya Unsplash

A ProPublica Reporter's Investigation Into the Scamming World

La investigación de un reportero de ProPublica sobre el mundo de las estafas

L'enquête d'un journaliste de ProPublica sur le monde de l'arnaque

घोटाले की दुनिया में एक ProPublica रिपोर्टर की जांच

ProPublica レポーターによる詐欺の世界への調査

A investigação de um repórter da ProPublica sobre o mundo dos golpes

Cuộc điều tra của một phóng viên ProPublica về thế giới lừa đảo

ProPublica 记者对诈骗世界的调查

Stories, News & Mentions about PUBLICSQUARE

Publicsquare’s Stories on HackerNoon