Build up your post production library with the the best free plugins and filters for AE!Take your After Effects work to the next level with these free plugins and filters. From color presets to advanced lighting and 3D tracking, these free AE effects can enhance your projects and save you time. Let’s dig in…3DCG – Normality & AtlasNormalityis a free lighting and shading plugin for After Effects. No longer supported by the developer, but packed with a set of professional features. DOWNLOADNormality in Action (from 3DCG)Atlas is a free tone-mapping/HDR plugin for After Effects – bring out loads of detail in your video footage. DOWNLOADAtlas in Action (from 3DCG)Digital Anarchy’s Ugly BoxMake your talent uglier! Most editors try to smooth out skin and make talent better looking. Ugly Box is a free After Effects plugin does the exact opposite. Great for Halloween or zombie related content. From the makers of the popular skin smoothing software, Beauty Box. Although free, you will need to register your info to DOWNLOADNoise Industries Free AE PluginsWhen you install FXFactory by Noise Industries (free) you’ll have access to several free After Effects plugins. You can get more info and download each of these AE plugins here. Note: FXFactory is only supported by Mac/OSX. Let’s highlight a few of these AE effects:Swish pans are a popular choice for transitions in television programs. Andy’s Swish Transitions brings this effect into AE and won’t cost you a dime:Pan and Zoom is another FXFactory based After Effects plugin. This effect simplifies the process of creating a slideshow or giving your photos/videos the classic “Ken Burns” effects. Add motion to your images/video in After Effects without having to create keyframes:CoverFlux 2 is a neat After Effects plugin that allows you to quickly create a coverflow style slideshow – perfect for showcasing images or creating a highlight video. You may recognize the coverflow look from iTunes or Mac OSX Finder:Create unique effects with the Random Text generator from Luca Visual FX. This free AE plugin is ideal for sci-fi or business projects that require a high tech feel:Copy Image Plugin for AECopy Image is a simple utility plugin that allows you to copy the current composition as a flattened image. By using Copy Image you can paste a ‘screenshot’ of your AE comp in another application (like Photoshop) without having to export out a still image and reopening in another app. DOWNLOADVFX Bro: Camera Shake and Camera Shake ProOur friend Aaron at VFXBro.com has created several free After Effects plugins for manipulating your footage.Real Camera Shake is a preset that can add realistic camera movement to your still video shots. This is ideal for footage that requires a handheld look but may not have been shot that way. Real Camera Shake Pro applies similar effect but to a virtual camera inside of After Effects. DOWNLOAD both here.Real Camera Shake:Real Camera Shake Pro:Coremelt EQ Animator and Plugin PackCoremelt makes industry leading plugins for After Effects and video editing apps. Luckily, they give away two products FREE.VeeYou is an After Effects plugin that reacts to audio in your project. Apply these EQ, VU, analog dials and waveform generators to an audio layer in AE. Watch as the visuals react to the sound. DOWNLOADCoremeltFREE is an effects bundle of 39 free plugins for After Effects (also works with FCP, FCPX and Premiere Pro). Included in the pack are color effects, dynamic transitions and filters. See the full list of effects here or DOWNLOAD here.VideoCopilot Free AE PresetsAside from being a fantastic online training resource, Andrew Kramer from VideoCopilot.net has made available 15 free After Effects presets. Among the presets are film grains, day for night color preset, a reflection plugin (great for logos) and a tool for better controlling the AE 3D camera. Big bonus: with each of these AE presets you can also view a video tutorial on how to use them. Head over to VideoCopilot to check them out and DOWNLOAD.AEFlame: Free Fractal Plugin for AEAescripts.com is a great resource for the latest After Effects tools. The following plugin, AE Flame, alows you to create beautiful fractal images in AE. DOWNLOADCineblur’s Instagram PluginPremiumbeat blogger Brent Pierce created a set of AE color filters that mimic the looks popularized by Instagram. With one-click you can apply these looks to your video – great for experimenting with your footage. DOWNLOADDigital Typewriter Text PresetIf you’re working on a project with futuristic or Internet-related content this free After Effects plugin may come in handy. Typominal creates a ‘digital typewriter’ look, characteristic of Apple’s Terminal or MS-DOS. See our previous post on this AE plugin or go here to DOWNLOAD.
How to Shoot Close-Up Shots Like Sergio Leone
Close-up shots are perfect for building tension and guiding the audience’s focus. Let’s look at how they’ve been utilized by Sergio Leone and others.Top Image: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly via United Artist. Director Sergio Leone was a master filmmaker who worked with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda to create some of the greatest films in history. One thing that Leone did better than anyone else was to utilize the close-up shot.Close-up shots are one of the standard shots used in filmmaking. The most common use of a close-up shot is as a cutaway from a wide or long shot into a more detailed shot. They are always a detailed shot, but just like the other standard shots, they have different levels of framing from medium and extreme to the lean-in and lean-out.They also have very specific meanings behind them. Let’s explore some of the best instances of close-up shots in film history, and find out why they were used. Many of the shots we’ll explore are from master filmmaker and close-up guru Sergio Leone, but we’ll also explore the application of the shot by other master filmmakers.The Close-UpThe standard close-up shot will frame the subject’s face in such a way that it fills the frame. There is this unwritten rule that tells you not to place the subject of the close-up shot in the center of the frame, but rather frame them in respect to the golden mean, or golden section. As you’ll see, not every filmmaker takes this to heart.Image: From Once Upon a Time in the West via Paramount Pictures.In fact, this was a rule that Sergio Leone broke quite often when filming, especially in this shot from Once Upon a Time in the West. Here Sergio frames Charles Bronson directly in the center of the frame so that he’s looking directly at the audience. Leone used this frame to introduce the hero as a calm and collected man in a moment of real tension, which is a great use of the close-up.Image: From 2001: A Space Odyssey via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.Another master filmmaker that broke this rule often was Stanley Kubrick, who was known for his one-point perspective framing. In this close-up, Dave looks just off frame, but through the reflection in his helmet we get that famous one-point perspective with Dave being our focal point. By capturing this close-up shot, Kubrick was able to heighten the tension of this scene as Dave moves to deactivate HAL 9000.The Medium Close-UpThe medium close-up shot frames the subject or character from the top of their shoulders to the top of their head. This is the widest that a close-up shot will ever get. It’s really meant to be a bridge in terms of moving from a wide shot to a close-up.Image: From The Good, The Bad and The Ugly via United Artist.In the final duel of Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the director places the characters in a triangle formation as they get ready to draw down for the gold. Sergio begins the scenes with a standard medium shot. He then pushes in a little tighter to the medium close-up shot. And then he finishes even closer with the extreme close-up. The tension becomes almost unbearable as he films all three characters in the same manner.Image: From Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.While we old school Star Wars fans were pretty disappointed with the prequels, there is one thing we can all agree on: Darth Maul is a rad character. In one of the best shots of the film, we get this medium close-up shot of Darth Maul with a slight push in. This is cut in just after a prolonged lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. The shot’s framing is meant to heighten the dominance of Maul.Image: From The Shining via Warner Bros.Another great medium close-up shot that really enhances the dramatic tension is this scene from The Shining, also directed by Stanley Kurbick. Here we see Jack peeking through the door after he’s chopped open a gap and poked his head through to deliever one of the best lines in film history, “Here’s Johnny!” This was a perfect cut into the scene, as it really ramped up the chaos of the moment — not only for Shelley Duvall, but for the audience as well.The Extreme Close-UpAn extreme close-up shot is where you frame a specific feature of the subject or character, like the mouth talking or an eye looking around. These are mainly used as cutaways from a medium close-up, and more times than not, this type of close-up shot focuses on the eyes of the character.Image: From The Good, The Bad and The Ugly via United Artist.Once again, as we saw in the medium close-up, Sergio Leone jumps between each character, moving closer and closer to their eyes. Here we see Clint Eastwood looking toward the camera, which is in response to the previous shot where Van Cleef looks just off camera toward Clint. Here the close-up is used to connect the concentration of the characters and to once again heighten the dramatic tension of the scene.Image: From The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug via New Line Cinema.Another director that loves to utilize close-ups is Peter Jackson. In the above clip from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, actor Lee Pace turns toward the camera as Legolas and the other elves lock the dwarves away. The way Jackson uses the this extreme close-up shot is very interesting because it’s used as a reactionary cutaway. Even though Pace’s character isn’t present in the space, he can sense what is happening around him, so Jackson uses the extreme close-up shot to relay this to the audience.The Lean-In & Lean-OutThe final type of close-up shot that we’ll discuss is called the lean. While this isn’t exclusively a close-up shot, the lean shot does do one of two things… It either begins in a close-up shot or ends with a close-up shot. These two different versions of the lean are called the lean-in and the lean-out. Leans are used quite often in films and come in very different framing styles. Here are a few examples.Image: From Brazil via Brazil Productions.First up, we’ll look at a version of the lean-in shot from Terry Gilliam and his film Brazil. While it can easily be argued that this is merely a medium tracking shot, Terry utilizes the motion of the character to pull off this lean-in. As Jack Lint walks down the catwalk toward Sam, the camera tracks closely. But then Jack stops, turns back toward the camera and there is a slight lean-in to bring Jack and the baby mask into a close-up.By using a very wide-angle lens, Terry is reducing the normal close-up framing, but he’s also adding visual information in conjunction with the close-up shot.Image: From The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug via New Line Cinema.Again, Peter Jackson loves to use a type of lean-in shot with his dolly movement. In this scene from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Jackson frames Balin with a close-up shot as he delivers an impactful line. This line is highlighted and given more emphasis with a dolly-in from a medium shot to the close-up shot that you see. Again, it’s all about knowing when and where to utilize certain visual language like this to aid your narrative.Image: From Dawn of the Planet of the Apes via 20th Century Fox.Lastly, in the film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, we get the best of both worlds as director Matt Reeves bookends the film with extreme close-up shots of Caesar. In each instance he is using both the lean-in and the lean-out. Above we see the first frame of the film… the extreme close-up shot which then pulls back into a medium shot. At the end of the film the reverse is presented. This is utilized to draw the audiences attention to the eyes, which in turn make Caesar more human, and more sympathetic.Know of any other directors that utilize the close-up shot like Sergio? Which is your favorite type of close-up shot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Production Tips: How to Maintain the Stunt Double Illusion
Using stunt doubles can protect star talent and keep a production on track, but you need more than wardrobes and wide shots to pull off the switch.When it comes to stunts, not every actor is Jackie Chan or Tom Cruise. Most actors will require a stunt double for certain scenes, whether it’s a high fall, breaking through glass, or vehicle work. Even if the actor has gone through serious and disciplined stunt training, and even in the most controlled environments, accidents can happen. Having a double can help protect star talent from injuries that could put the entire production out of commission.For example, in a rooftop leap between buildings in the latest installment of Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise actually breaks his ankle in the take they use for the final product. Even though he was completely rigged with wires (which were digitally removed, of course) and had rehearsed the stunt and already done several takes, the slightest change in the angle of his foot caused his ankle to break against the wall, halting production for three months.Despite the risks of your lead actor doing their own stunts, the payoff is a captivated audience. The moment viewers notice a stunt double on-screen, they’re no longer paying full attention to your badass action sequence, and they become more critical of any subsequent stunts.What you need is a smooth, unnoticeable transition between actor and double. This goes beyond matching their clothes and throwing a wig on a look-a-like and cutting suddenly to a wide shot (which is honestly exactly what John Woo did in the climactic boat chase in Face/Off). Nearly every shot of Nicolas Cage and John Travolta is a mid to close-up. Once a stunt begins, Woo cuts suddenly to a wide, but even on a small screen, the stunt double switch is noticeable.A better way to go about this is to not just use the framing to hide a double’s face but to also use angles and editing to blur the lines between them. Don’t reserve close-ups for only the actor and wides only for the double. We see this done excellently in John Wick: Chapter 2.Yes, some shots do simply frame out the double’s face, but this is after we’ve seen Keanu Reeves do so many of his own smaller stunts and fighting that in that split-second moment, we believe it’s still him. But beyond that, we see a lot of Reeves in the wide shots, so when the double takes his place in a wide shot, it’s much harder for us to tell. What this does is help create “change blindness.”Change blindness happens when a change in someone’s visual field goes unnoticed. This phenomenon is more likely when the observer lacks interest, which is the exact opposite, hopefully, of those viewing your action scene. Since your viewer is so invested in the excitement on-screen, they’re more likely to notice small changes, especially between an actor’s face and their double in just a few frames. The more we blur the lines, the less we notice.However, the fact that Reeves does many of his own stunts and trains extremely hard to nail the fight choreography really helps this switch. The more time you can give your lead to train and work with your stunt coordinator, the more easily you will trick your audience.Another key factor is the double, well . . . doubling the actor! Body language is a huge communicator — and a red flag to the audience. If the double doesn’t move like the actor, then chances are they’ll get called out. In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven originally had a stunt double for the scene wherein Nancy lights Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) on fire. But Craven didn’t think the double moved like Englund, so instead he lit Englund on fire.Make sure the stunt double studies his actor’s movements. Don’t reserve one type of shot for either actor or double. And if possible, train your lead to take on at least some of his or own stunts to better blur the lines between actor and double and fool your audience.Cover image via Terminator 2: Judgment Day (TriStar Pictures).Looking for more filmmaking tips and tricks? Check these out.The Right Way to Give and Receive Feedback on a ScriptChoosing Aspect Ratio: A Guide to What You Need to KnowProduction Tips: Walkie Talkie Codes and Etiquette on SetDirecting Fight Cinematography: The Right Way and the Wrong WayFilm Study: How to Pull Off a Twist Ending in Your Feature
3 Things To Keep in Mind While Updating Your Demo Reel
Are you getting your demo reel ready for newer and bigger projects? Here are three considerations you should keep in mind when showcasing your work.As we head into another new year, cinematographers and DPs are taking inventory of the work they did last year. Despite the stock filmmakers take in their reels, the demo is an ever-changing currency. I talked to some directors and decision-makers about what they look for — or don’t — in a demo reel. Here’s their advice.Don’t Overestimate a Reel’s ImportanceDA Yirgou is a creative director, writer, photographer, and film director whose works include the LeBron James shortdoc “Long Live The King” for KITH and Nike. Yirgou’s visual style is a magical-but-hard-edged vantage that relishes nostalgia with light leaks and landscapes.This year he was named Creative Director of Matte Projects, a New York-based agency with clients like American Express, Christian Louboutin, and Alexander Wang. A reel isn’t as important to him when it comes to selling his own work or sizing up the work of others.“It used to be massive. A chance to show breadth,” Yirgou says. “But now it’s something I worry less about. There’s not enough time in between projects and work to really develop one every six months, if even that. Clients and production don’t keep up with portfolios in the traditional sense. It’s much easier for them to see your growth and activity through social.”Keep Your Collaborators in MindAmy Gardner is a sought-after artist and choreographer who’s worked with Madonna and Justin Bieber. She’s also an emerging director. Her first film to work on in that role, FUEL, called attention to the sculptural visions present in her body of film photography. Because Gardner works with filmstock — and her modern dance experiments sing in concert with specific camera choreo — there were high stakes when finding a director of photography for FUEL.She settled on Katelin Arizmendi, with whom she’d worked on a project for Kodak called “Girls on Film.”“I had been following and admiring her work for a while, and I had wanted to hire a female DP for FUEL, so I reached out. We met for coffee, and she was excited by the project, so we moved forward together,” Gardner says.“Truthfully, a reel isn’t the biggest component for me. I am more concerned about their taste and energy than their reel. I am also more concerned with how we connect, if we vibe on the same level and honor the same things.”Say Something SpecificCommunicate consistency in collected works, who you’re building relationships with, and how that’s all presented on social media, Yirgou says. Up-and-comers often cram disparate projects into their reel, which can drown out the voice they hope to cultivate.“I look for work that’s unique, representative of your style and aesthetic. That’s what immediately stands out when you have to review people you’re unfamiliar with,” Yirgou says. “Higher-profile brand work makes a quick statement on what your focus is, and if that is not 100 percent indicative of what you want to keep making, then it’s a disservice. If you don’t have the brand or paid work that shows off that vision, you have to invest in smaller projects — even if it’s just for your social, to make sure you’re getting seen for it.”Cover image via Amy Gardner.Looking for more film and video production tips and tricks? Check out these articles.Documentary Filmmaking 101: Effectively Researching Your Topic6 Things I Learned Shooting My Last Project on 16mm FilmIndustry News: The Clean Cache Lawsuit Against Adobe5 Ways to Add Value to Your Corporate Video Production ProjectsSome Lessons in Editing from the Best of Editing Modulations
Knowing and Doing
Dan Pink is one of my favorite writers. To Sell Is Human should be required reading, especially for non-salespeople who have to sell. His book Drive should be required reading for leaders and managers.I love Malcolm Gladwell, too. Like Pink, he is a tremendous writer and storyteller. The Tipping Point should be required reading for entrepreneurs and marketers. Blink should be required reading for salespeople. And Outliers should be read by all success-minded people.Both Pink and Gladwell are intellectuals. They both intellectualize the topics about which they write. You can learn a lot by reading them. But you can’t learn what you need to learn to be successful by reading intellectualized accounts of any subject.I have never played tennis, nor have I ever been on skis. I have never hit a tennis ball over a net, and I have never once made my way down the side of a mountain or a hill on two slick pieces of plastic. I could right now read a dozen books on tennis or skiing and still be completely unable to play tennis or ski better than I could by taking a couple of lessons. But having taken some lessons and spending some time on a tennis court or a hill, reading could help me understand my experience and how to improve it.You produce the best results in areas you are working to improve by coupling your experiential learning with your intellectual learning.If you read any good book on investing, that book will surely tell you that you must not be emotional about the investments you make. When you start losing in a position, you sell that position and protect yourself from losses. But you won’t know what it feels like to sell a stock that is down 10% when it is being hyped on television and when other people are building their position.You can read a good book on selling, and you will almost invariably find something about closing, or asking for commitments. You can read the words, you can understand the script, but until you ask a prospective client sitting across from you to sign an agreement, you won’t have any idea what that experience feels like (especially when they refuse to sign).You can read books about success and personal development, all of which have valuable messages and even more valuable guides to the actions you must take in order to succeed. But reading about personal development and success won’t make you successful. Only taking action will. (But if you take in enough success-oriented content, I promise you will start to take action.)There is a difference between an intellectual understanding of a subject and actually knowing the subject matter. Knowing something alone doesn’t produce any measurable results. Knowing something, having some chops, only works if you couple it with action (and if it’s something important to you, massive action). You will learn much of what you need to be successful by doing.You know enough already. But are you taking enough action?
BJP plans stir against Minister’s remarks
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday announced to launch a State-wide agitation taking strong exception to the statement of Odisha Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy, who said a farmer had committed suicide in Bargarh district due to family issues, not crop failure.The BJP’s farmers wing would burn effigies of Mr. Maharathy at all sub-divisional headquarters on Tuesday.“The Odisha government is responsible for the farmer’s suicide. Farmers in Bargarh had given advance for 8267 bore-wells while the capacity of the Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation for installing bore-wells is only 300 per year,” alleged Shivaji Mohanty, BJP farmers’ wing president.Functional bore-wellsMr. Mohanty said most of the installed bore-wells were yet to be charged while performance of functional bore-wells had dipped due to low voltage and frequent power outage.Hadu Bagarti, 55, had committed suicide by consuming pesticide in Kendpali village in Bargarh district on February 26. Making a statement in the Assembly on the issue on Saturday, Mr. Maharathy had said, “as per report received from the Bargarh District Collector, the farmer had committed suicide not due to crop failure or loan burden. Squabble with his wife could have been the reason.”Bagarti’s family members told reporters that no government official visited their house to inquire about suicide. “It sounds strange as to how the government arrived at any conclusion when nobody talked to us for recording our statement,” they alleged.The Minister’s statement had also not gone down well with farmer leaders. “There was nothing new in the statement. When the government did not find crop failure to be the reason in none of over 100 farmer suicides reported in 2015-16, it is futile to expect it making a factual statement this time,” said Lingaraj, prominent farmer leader.Number of suicidesHighest number of farmer suicides was reported from Bargarh district in 2015. Subsequently, PM Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had visited the district announcing to take steps for farm sector development.
Dera head treated like any other convict: Rohtak Deputy Commissioner
Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar on Saturday said that Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was being treated as an ordinary inmate in Sunaria Jail in Rohtak, and was being provided the same food that is provided to other inmates.With the CBI judge to be flown to Rohtak to pronounce the quantum of sentence in the case, the Deputy Commissioner said that the situation in the district was under control and that the police was prepared to tackle any situation.Appeal to peopleMaking an appeal to the people to not to enter the district without specific or urgent reasons, Mr. Kumar said that barricades have been set up at several places to check every person entering Rohtak and that a Duty Magistrate has also been deputed.If during the check, any person fails to produce proof of identity or specify a sound reason for visiting the district, then he would be taken into custody.The police have so far taken seven persons into custody, he added.As many as 10 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed.Mr. Kumar added that 18 columns of the Army had been requisitioned, and these would soon reach the district and carry out a flag march.Section 144 imposedApart from this, the District Administration, Rohtak, has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), prohibiting assembly of five or more persons and the carrying of firearms and other weapons.The administration has also directed the gram panchayats to deploy youth to carry out ‘thikri pehra’ (a vigil by the community for peace) for maintenance of law and order in their villages.
Dera chief’s guards shown door
Five Haryana police personnel, who were part of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s security, were on Thursday dismissed from service for allegedly attempting to help the Dera chief escape. Haryana Director-General of Police B.S. Sandhu told reporters that the five policemen had been dismissed.“We have also arrested Diman Insaan, a Dera functionary, who was booked on sedition charge,” he said. The accused had been sent to seven-day police remand by a court in Panchkula. Mr. Sandhu said no untoward incident had been reported in the State and the overall ground situation was largely peaceful. The five police personnel allegedly attempted to help the Dera chief escape on August 25, after he was convicted in a rape case by a special CBI court. The Panchkula police had charged these police personnel and two private security guards of the Dera chief with sedition. They allegedly made an attempt to free Gurmeet when he was brought outside the Panchkula Court complex, the police said. IPC sectionsAll the accused were booked under several Sections of the IPC for obstructing government officers from discharging their duty, assaulting a public servant and waging war against the state. The arrested personnel were in the ranks of sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector, head constable and constable. Haryana had witnessed deadly violence after Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in a rape case by the special CBI court on August 25, leaving 36 people dead and injuring over 250 people.
Summons issued to Goa BJP Vice-President Anil Hoble in dowry case
A Panaji court on Friday directed that a summons be issued to Goa BJP Vice-President Anil Hoble to appear in court on January 12 to face trial for allegedly grievously assaulting and injuring his daughter-in-law, besides harassing her parents with persistent dowry demands. The summons was issued by Panaji Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Vijayalaxmi Shivolkar.The court has also summoned the other two co-accused, Mr. Hoble’s wife Sandhya and son Milind. Mr. Hoble is also Chairman of OBC Corporation.Also Read The victim on Friday moved an application before the JMFC seeking to assist the prosecution during the trial.Acting on a complaint filed by Suchitra Shirodkar, mother of the victim, over the alleged harassment and torture that was being meted out to her daughter, the Women Police in Panaji on July 12 this year booked Mr. Hoble, his wife Sandhya and son Milind under Sections 498-A, 323, 506(ii) read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 & 4 of Dowry Prevention Act. They were all chargesheeted on November 10.Also Read Goa court seeks police reply in dowry case Meanwhile, in a related development, drawing the attention of the Excise Commissioner that as per the amendment to Rule 90 of the Goa Excise Duty Rules notified by a notification dated August 4, 2016, no Excise licence can be granted to a person against whom a criminal case is registered.Lawyer of the complainants, Adv. Rodrigues, on Friday pointed out that on July 12 Sandhya Hoble along with her husband Anil and son Milind were booked by the North Goa Women Police under Sections 498-A, 323, 506 (ii) read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prevention Act and that they have now been even chargesheeted.Stating that the continuance of the Excise licences issued to Sandhya Hoble is now in rank violation of the law, Adv. Rodrigues has sought that the now illegal licences be forthwith revoked. Dowry case against Goa BJP leader: show cause notice to policewoman
In Assam, Congress leaders seek referendum on Citizenship Bill
A divided Congress in Assam has sought a referendum on the “controversial” Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as the Joint Parliamentary Committee ended its three-day hearing in Assam on Wednesday.Organisations batting for rights of the indigenous people are opposed to the Bill that the Bharatiya Janata Party had introduced on July 19, 2016 to grant citizenship to non-Muslim minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan fleeing religious persecution.“We want a referendum on the issue to make things clear,” former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Wednesday. His “public vote” suggestion coincided with a signature campaign against the Bill launched by the Asom Sahitya Sabha, an influential opinion-shaping literary body.“The BJP came to power in Assam on the promise of protecting jaati-maati-bheti (indigenous communities-land-foundation). This Bill bodes ill for the people of Assam besides threatening to lit a communal fire,” Mr. Gogoi said.Divided by valleyBut while the Congress in largely Assamese-speaking Brahmaputra Valley opposed the Bill, the party’s unit in the Bengali-speaking Barak Valley in southern Assam supported it. The Congress in Barak Valley was among 255 organisations that met the 16-member JPC headed by BJP parliamentarian Rajendra Agarwal over two days.Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Congress MLA from southern Assam’s Karimganj district, said citizenship should not be denied to anyone figuring in the 2014 electoral rolls even if his or her nationality is in doubt. Former Congress minister Gautam Roy, supporting the Bill, took the middle path. “The migrants should be distributed across India and Assam should not be made to bear their burden,” he said.The Congress had during Mr. Gogoi’s 15-year reign until 2016 batted for granting asylum to Hindus and other minorities facing religious persecution in Bangladesh. A cabinet resolution was taken in 2011 for giving refugee status to such minorities.A year later, Mr. Gogoi submitted a memorandum to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying people who flee due to discrimination and religious persecution should not be treated as foreigners.
Nitish may expand Cabinet soon for ‘social balance’
With alliance partners, the BJP and the Janata Dal (United), deciding to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on an equal number of seats in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to expand his Cabinet soon to accommodate leaders from the extremely backward and backward castes. The buzz in political circles in the State is that a Rashtriya Lok Samata Party leader could be inducted into the Cabinet to smooth ruffled feathers. RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who after meeting with Bihar incharge of BJP Bhupendra Yadav in Delhi on Tuesday, had said that as an NDA partner he was ready to accept losses [in the number of seats for the upcoming LS polls] but wanted to know why his party was being denied the benefits of an NDA government in Bihar.The Cabinet presently has 28 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, but its strength can go up to 36 as the State Assembly has 243 members. In July 2017, when Mr. Kumar parted ways with the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led grand alliance and joined hands with the BJP again, the other allies — the RLSP, the Lok Janshakti Party and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) — were offered one ministerial berth each in the Cabinet.The LJP made State party chief Pashupati Kumar Paras the Animal Husbandry Minister, but HAM(S) rejected the offer and later switched to the RJD-led grand alliance. Mr. Kushwaha wants loyalist party MLA Sudhanshu Kumar to be inducted into the Cabinet, but party sources told The Hindu that the Chief Minister was eager to take another RLSP MLA, Lallan Paswan, who has been critical of Mr. Kushwaha, into the Cabinet. The long-time political bitterness between Mr. Kumar and Mr. Kushwaha has been an open secret in Bihar.“So now in the changed political situation, Mr. Kumar may include RLSP leader Sudhanshu Kumar in the Cabinet under pressure from BJP top leadership to keep Mr. Kushwaha in the NDA with seats being offered to him for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” a senior State BJP leader told The Hindu. Besides, Mr. Kumar has an eye on the extremely backward class and women voters and would like to maintain a “social balance” in his Cabinet. A woman legislator is also likely to get a ministerial berth. After Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma’s resignation in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, there is no woman Minister in the Cabinet.Sources in the ruling JD(U) said that along with former Congress leader Ashok Choudhary, who had joined the JD(U) after being removed from the post of State party president last year, the name of another JD(U) leader, Shyam Rajak, is said to be in contention for a ministerial berth.
BJP fields cattle smuggling accused in Assam
The BJP has fielded a man accused of cattle smuggling as a candidate for the three-tier rural polls in Assam.The BJP nominated Sahidul Zaman for the post of Dholchhera village council president’s post a couple of days after the Asom Gana Parishad, the BJP’s ruling ally in Assam, fielded a man facing rhino poaching charges.The Congress too had fielded a man facing trial for killing rhinos in Kaziranga National Park but withdrew his candidature in less than 24 hours.The police in southern Assam’s Karimganj district had arrested Zaman, claiming to be a member of BJP’s minority cell, in a cattle smuggling case on May 30. Officials of Patharkandi police station said he was in prison for less than a month.“We are not aware of any cases against him,” senior BJP leader and former MLA Mission Ranjan Das said.
A Pari Maa in the rough and tumble of politics
Pramila Bisoi, a social worker from the nondescript Cheramaria village in Odisha, is fast spreading her wings as the Pari Maa (Fairy Mother) of the masses in the Aska parliamentary constituency, from where she is contesting as a Biju Janata Dal candidate.For the past five decades, this 68-year-old woman has been helping in safe delivery and proper care of newborns in her village. “Even 50-year-olds in our village call her Pari Maa in reverence,” says her nephew Arabind Bisoi. At public meetings in Purishottampur and Patapur earlier this week, crowds kept up the chants of Pari Maa all through. Ms. Bisoi, however, never utters a word against her opponents while campaigning. “I am a mother to all. How can I be against anyone just for elections?” she asks. “My greatest strength is that winning or losing has no meaning for me, I am just enjoying the responsibility given to me by Naveen Patnaik,” she says.Married off at the age of five and forced to leave school, Ms. Bisoi has been working towards social emancipation of women in her village ever since her days as a teenaged bride. “It all started with sanitation and women’s health during childbirth. Later I became the leader of a Women’s Self-Help Group and the local Van Surakshya Samity,” she reveals.Ms. Bisoi was cooking midday meal for students of a primary school in her village when she received a call from the BJD headquarters asking her to reach Bhubaneswar. Getting a party ticket for the Aska Lok Sabha seat came as a real surprise to her. But CM Naveen Patnaik had taken into account her organisational capacity among women. She is the secretary of WSHGs in Aska block. “Earlier I was only working for the women of my area. But with the blessings of Mr. Patnaik, I have taken up the responsibility of 70 lakh women linked to WSHGs under the ‘Mission Shakti’ programme in Odisha,” she says.Around 140 members of 14 WSHGs in Cheramaria are her regular campaign partners now. Wherever she goes for campaigning, hundreds of women reach out to greet her. Ms. Bisoi is facing a triangular fight in the Aska seat, where voting will take place on April 18. Her main opponents are CPI’s Ramkrushna Panda and BJP’s Anita Subhadarshini.
U.S. Senate Hearing on COMPETES Act Starts a Long, Tough Road to Reauthorization
The line to get into the hearing room yesterday afternoon snaked down two flights of stairs in the U.S. Senate’s Russell Office Building in Washington, D.C. Its length reflected a desire by science lobbyists to witness an increasingly rare phenomenon in Washington—bipartisan support for research from a congressional science committee.The hearing was the opening move by the Senate commerce and science committee to reauthorize the 2010 America COMPETES Act, which governs research and education programs at several agencies. There are several reasons that doing so will be an uphill battle—not least because the Republican leaders of the equivalent panel in the U.S. House of Representatives have a far different vision of the government’s role in research. But yesterday’s hearing was an old-fashioned lovefest, a warm embrace of the principles that the academic research community holds dear.The opening witness was a Republican, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. He urged the Democratic-led panel to “finish the job” of doubling the budgets of the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, a major goal of the original 2007 COMPETES Act that Congress has never come close to achieving.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)“Where will the money come from?” Alexander asked, before answering the question himself. “There are plenty of things we do that are less important” than research, he asserted. He also urged the panel to fulfill its role in the larger legislative process—“authorize what our goals should be, and then it’s up to the appropriations committee to decide how much to spend.”Alexander’s upbeat testimony set the tone for the 2-hour hearing. Members from both sides of the aisle pressed a second panel of witnesses from academia and industry to explain why federal support for basic research and for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is so important. They asked what additional steps the government should be taking to make sure that the United States remains an innovation powerhouse in the face of growing competition from the rest of the world. They were especially keen to hear from Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and a computer scientist, about the college’s success in boosting the number of women studying computer science by making the subject more appealing to them.“Should we be adding more faculty slots in computer science?” wondered Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), whose state is home to Microsoft and many other high-tech companies. “Absolutely,” Klawe said.There was one dissenting voice in the choir, however. Reducing the country’s massive debt, now at $17 trillion and growing daily, must be the government’s top priority, argued Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI). “I’d love to talk about spending more money on basic research,” he said. “But until we deal with the fact that two-thirds of our budget is out-of-control, on automatic pilot … we are really stealing the future of our kids.”Johnson was also scornful of what he perceived to be Harvey Mudd’s formula for attracting more women and non-Asian minorities into computer science. “I’m all for designing classes that are fun and cool,” he said in response to Klawe’s description of how women could overcome their “imposter syndrome” by doing programming and research in a supportive environment. “But achievement requires rigor and hard work, and that’s the message we need to convey to our young people.”Johnson then left the hearing room, but Klawe used the first part of her answer to a question from another senator to respond to Johnson’s comments. “I’d just like to say that making something cool and fun doesn’t mean that you are taking away the rigor. They are not in opposition.”In brief comments to ScienceInsider after the hearing, Chairman Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)—who is retiring next year—said that he “agrees completely” with Alexander’s prescription for the committee and that a budget doubling remains an important goal of the reauthorization. He said that the committee is “interested in all points of view” on the administration’s controversial plan to reorganize STEM education, which has drawn sharp criticism from the community and from many legislators.The commerce committee is taking the lead in preparing new legislation, which in previous rounds was a joint effort of the two other Senate panels that oversee energy and education. The fact that Alexander is the ranking member of the education panel, however, suggests that Rockefeller has already laid the groundwork for a bipartisan approach. Rockefeller declined to say when the committee would be ready to circulate a draft bill but noted that it was a top priority for the panel. Wikimedia Kickoff. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) chairs a U.S. Senate panel that hopes to renew a key piece of science legislation.
Getting Crops to ‘Talk’ to Insects
If you want to keep insects off your crops, you have a couple of options: Spray the plants with pesticides or confuse the bugs with pheromones. The latter—chemicals used by insects to communicate—are more environmentally friendly, but manufacturing them involves harmful chemicals. Now, scientists have devised a method that enables them to produce pheromones from plants themselves, a safer and potentially more economical approach.The work is a “breakthrough” and “a wave of the future,” says chemical ecologist Steve Seybold of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station in Davis, California, who was not involved in the study. “It will change the way that commercial pheromone outfits do business and will significantly enhance the quality and potentially lower the cost of the products that they provide.”Farmers have been using pheromones to keep insects off their crops for nearly 4 decades. Some pheromones help bugs attract mates; others are danger alerts. So farmers either employ them to trap insects or to confuse them so they can’t breed. Synthetic pheromones are nontoxic and biodegradable, but their production often involves use of harmful chemicals, such as the neurotoxins hexane and dichloromethane.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)Seeking a greener method, a team led by Christer Löfstedt, a chemical ecologist at Lund University in Sweden, turned to the tobacco plant. The researchers genetically modified the plants to make components of pheromones produced by the bird cherry ermine moth (Yponomeuta evonymella) and the orchard ermine moth (Y. padella). In the wild, female moths emit these sex pheromones to attract male suitors.The researchers extracted the pheromone components from the plant and prepared pheromone concoctions for the two species. They then pitted their plant-derived mixtures against synthetic pheromones on moth populations in the field.The plant-produced pheromones were effective at trapping insects, the team reports online today in Nature Communications. Traps baited with plant-derived pheromones attracted on average 130 male bugs per trap, approximately half the catches obtained with synthetic pheromones. “This is a high number for a proof of concept experiment,” Löfstedt says.Farmers have dramatically ramped up their use of pheromones to control pests, Löfstedt notes. “Total land area treated by pheromones has approximately doubled since the turn of the century.” He believes his method could be an easier and cheaper way to produce these chemicals. Pheromones are effective in very small amounts. “You need just tens of grams per hectare for trapping insects,” he says. “Right now, we derive pheromone components from plants and prepare baits for trapping from these products, but our next goal is to develop GM plants that can release these pheromones into the environment.”The work is an important advance, says Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. “The new technology promises to engineer plants for both synthesis and sustainable release of insect pheromones, bypassing the need to produce the compounds in the laboratory and formulate them.” It might reduce the labor costs associated in the deployment of mating disruption strategies, he adds.
In defamation case, PubPeer moves to quash subpoena to unmask anonymous commenters
PubPeer, a website that encourage researchers to share anonymous critiques of published research, is amping up its legal fight against a scientist who is trying to unmask some of its hidden users.Yesterday, lawyers for the website filed a motion to quash a subpoena filed on behalf of a cancer researcher who claims that PubPeer comments noting potential image irregularities in his publications cost him a lucrative new job. The researcher is suing the commenters for defamation, arguing they made baseless suggestions of misconduct. But PubPeer’s legal team yesterday submitted an affidavit from an expert in scientific image analysis that concludes there were in fact irregularities in several of the researcher’s figures.In a related development, PubPeer’s anonymous moderators yesterday laid out their position on the case in a Wired op-ed. And one anonymous commenter has gone to court in an effort to be dropped from the case.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)In October, Fazlul Sarkar of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, sued the PubPeer users who posted comments about some of his papers. He claims that their suggestions of misconduct caused the University of Mississippi to rescind its offer of a tenured faculty position that he had accepted. Sarkar filed suit in a Wayne County circuit court against multiple “John Does” for defamation and interference with a business relationship, among other claims. And because PubPeer’s moderators have refused to turn over any information the site has collected about these posters, Sarkar also subpoenaed PubPeer in an attempt to unmask them.Yesterday’s filings address a key issue that could determine whether the case moves forward: To persuade the court to unmask the commenters, attorneys say, Sarkar will need to show that his defamation suit has a reasonable chance of success.That could be a steep hill to climb, says Paul Rothstein, a professor of torts, evidence, and civil litigation at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. When it comes to matters of public interest such as the results of medical research, “the courts are usually very reluctant to interfere with the first amendment right to speak and criticize,” he says. And judges typically “tolerate vigorous and aggressive debate” in forums like PubPeer—meaning that Sarkar may need to show that the comments were actually defamatory to identify his John Does.In yesterday’s brief to the circuit court, PubPeer’s lawyers contended that the comments in question didn’t clear that bar. Many of the comments point out apparent similarities between images purported to represent different experiments, and several commenters also criticize Sarkar on the basis of these concerns. (“It’s not hard to imagine why Wayne State may not have fought to keep him,” one person wrote in June, after Sarkar’s new position was announced.) But the PubPeer lawyers argue that Sarkar’s complaint didn’t precisely lay out what parts of the comments he considers defamatory and that in fact no comment actually accuses him of research misconduct. “They express opinions, sarcasm and hyperbole, or facts that, even if false, would not be defamatory,” they write.Rothstein thinks that argument might be overstated—the posters do implicitly accuse Sarkar of “false research,” he says. But he strongly doubts the court will be convinced Sarkar could win a defamation case. That’s in part because PubPeer’s legal team went a step further: They hired John Krueger, formerly an investigator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Research Integrity (ORI), to take a look at the images in question. Krueger, who spent 20 years investigating claims of scientific image manipulation, reviewed 28 issues raised about Sarkar’s papers in PubPeer comments—most of them so-called Western blots that illustrate the presence of certain proteins in a sample. “With respect to every image or set of images that I examined, I concluded that there was strong evidence to believe that the images at issue were not authentic or contained other irregularities,” Krueger writes. He does not suggest that these issues are evidence of misconduct, but notes that if he were presented with the figures while working at ORI, he would have referred the matter to the researcher’s host institution to conduct an investigation using the original data.Presenting evidence that an allegedly defamatory claim might actually be true at this stage in the legal process is “unique but not unprecedented,” says Matthew Kelley, a media lawyer at Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz LLP in Washington, D.C. (The firm also represents AAAS, which publishes ScienceInsider.) Kelley, who has represented anonymous online speakers and is a co-author on an annual review of attempts to identify them, says it’s not clear what role the affidavit will play in a judge’s decision of whether to quash the subpoena. The standard for what a plaintiff must demonstrate to unmask a defendant differs from state to state, and in Michigan, it’s an open question whether Sarkar will need to present evidence that the statements on PubPeer are false before the court can force PubPeer to hand over identifying information, he says. But Michigan might have an occasion to resolve the issue if the parties keep fighting to the appellate court.Sarkar’s lawyer, Nicholas Roumel of Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard & Walker P.C. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told ScienceInsider he was out of town and unable to comment on the latest court submissions, “except to say we will fight hard.”Meanwhile, one of the PubPeer users in question is taking steps to be removed from the case. Yesterday, H. William Burdett, a lawyer at Boyle Burdett in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, filed an appearance on behalf of his client, identified only by a list of comments the person has posted on Sarkar’s papers. Burdett says he has asked Roumel if he will acknowledge that these particular statements are not defamatory, which would remove them from the case. Failing that, Burdett says he’ll file a motion to have the suit against his client dismissed.
Are yinz frfr? What your Twitter dialect says about where you live
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA—In the study of regional dialects, Twitter turns out to be a world of its own. By analyzing roughly 100 million tweets and accompanying GPS data, computational linguist Jacob Eisenstein of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta searches for geographical patterns. The maps above, from 2012, show a few examples of the variation he’s discovered. As he explained in a session today at the annual meeting of AAAS (which publishes Science), some of these variations are predictable: The plural pronoun “yinz” (as in, “I’ll see yinz later”) and the adjective “hella” (“That movie was hella long”) occur in tight clumps around Pittsburgh and around northern California, respectively. If you use “frfr,” it’s likely you’re tweeting from the American South, where the phrase “for real, for real” is most common. Eisenstein also notes that the use of more region-specific words seems to vary based on the size of a user’s intended audience. Tweets that contain a hashtag—a way of reaching more readers—are less likely to contain these “local variables” than tweets that start with another user’s handle—i.e., only readable by followers of both the tweeter and recipient. But the research has also raised a new question, Eisenstein says. It makes sense that Twitter language would vary when it reflects the way people actually speak. But why do abbreviations unique to the Web, such as “lls” (“laughing like shit”) also show variation—in this case, clustered around Maryland? He’s still looking for a legit explanation.Check out our full coverage of the AAAS annual meeting.What message would you send into space? Tell us on Twitter and Vine with #msgtospace!Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)
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