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Firstly for smooth running of the presentations it would be ideal if laptops were provided for displaying all presentations (obviously this wouldn't work for live software demos but it would work well for the slide-show
presentations). Such laptops need to be tested with the presentation files that will be used for the talks (or pre-release versions that are produced in the same formats). It's a common problem that the laptops owned by the speakers will have problems connecting to the projectors used at the conference which can waste time and give a low quality display. Another common problem is that laptops owned by the conference often have different versions of the software used for the slides which renders them differently, the classic example of this is OpenOffice 1.x and 2.x which render presentations differently such that using the wrong one results in some text being off-screen.
The easy solution to this is for the conference organizers to provide laptops that have multiple boot options for different distributions. Any laptop manufactured in the last 8 years will have enough disk space for the
latest release of Debian and the last few Fedora releases. As such machines won't be on a public network there's no need to apply security updates and therefore a machine can be used at conferences in successive years, a 400MHz laptop with 384M of RAM is quite adequate for this purpose while also being so small that it will sell cheaply.
A slightly better solution would be to have laptops running Xen. It's not difficult to set up Xephyr in fullscreen mode to connect to a Xen image, you could have several Xen instances running with NFS file sharing so that the speaker could quickly test out several distributions to determine which one gives the best display of their notes. This would also allow speakers to bring their own Xen images.
This is especially important if you want to run lightning talks, when there is only 5 minutes allocated for a talk you can't afford to waste 2 minutes in setting up a presentation!
In other news Dean Wilson gave my talk yesterday a positive review.

subset: commoncrawl


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A hint of health-care compromise
Despite a few partisan jabs, President Obama's speech touched on conciliation - and even a big concession. But can conservatives take him at his word?
WASHINGTON (Fortune) -- So did President Obama's remarks last night signal a serious willingness to work with Republicans on health care -- or not? A determination to incorporate the GOP's "legitimate concerns" -- or not? It sure wasn't clear from the tone or the substance of his prime-time address, a conflicted cocktail of sour grapes and honeyed outreach to his critics.
The Obama White House and Democratic-led Congress are pressing forward on plans this fall to remake one-sixth of the nation's economy and enact the most sweeping social reform in 44 years. Technically, it is possible to achieve this monumental feat without a single Republican vote -- even without the support of a few particularly queasy centrist Democrats.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has the votes in her chamber, and in the Senate a rule change could pave the way for a narrow 51-vote victory, rather than the usual 60-vote margin required. But politically, the legacy costs would be high, for Obama's Democratic Party and for Americans deeply divided over an issue that so directly impacts their own lives.
Liberals such as former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean make the argument that the great social programs of our time -- now widely embraced -- were accomplished without Republican support. In fact, Lyndon Johnson's 1965 Social Security Act, creating Medicare and Medicaid, passed a Democratic-controlled Congress with the support of 70 Republicans in the House and 13 in the Senate.
The divide over health care reform today is so wide-and so animated-that it's hard to imagine even that level of GOP support, and President Obama is correct in calling out political opponents bent on killing any plan, not negotiating for a better one.
Still, there remain a few points of bipartisan agreement. As heart surgeon Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana noted in the televised Republican response last night, both sides want an end to insurance companies barring patients with pre-existing conditions; both parties want individuals and small businesses to be able to pool together to gain access to insurance; and there is broad agreement that the government needs to help those who can't afford coverage.
In addressing a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama highlighted other common ground, embracing Arizona Senator John McCain's call for immediate low-cost catastrophic insurance to protect ill Americans from financial ruin. "This was a good idea when Senator John McCain proposed it in the campaign, and it's a good idea now," the President said of his former presidential campaign opponent.
Obama also offered tepid support for Republican concerns over medical malpractice suits. "I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet," he said, "but I've talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs." He said his administration will launch demonstration projects in states "to test these ideas," noting that the Bush White House had supported this.
Strikingly, the President incorporated a major concession to his critics -- without giving them credit. Obama and his allies have long stated that 47 million Americans are uninsured. Free-market advocates have argued that once illegal immigrants and young, healthy people who opt not to buy insurance are factored in, that number becomes much lower. Last night, Obama used the number 30 million uninsured Americans, which -- judging by 2007 Census figures -- leaves out illegal immigrants and others.
But even as he repeatedly said he wants to work with his critics, Obama used his speech last night to denounce them. He dismissed the summer's lively debates over health care reform -- which played out in lawmakers' town hall forums across the country -- as the "same partisan spectacle." And he labeled as "wild claims" the concerns that critics of a public option have voiced-that a subsidized government-run program would squeeze out private insurers.
Moreover, the president who repeatedly claims he's above all this political "bickering" offered his own gratuitous partisan jab at Republican policies of the past. "The plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years -- less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration," he declared to a round of robust applause from Democrats in the chamber.
Probably the best person's temperature to take after this alternately accommodating and feisty presidential address was that of Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, who has been ferrying between the White House and Capitol Hill for weeks trying to broker a compromise that moderates of both parties can support. In a statement released after the speech, she expressed disappointment that the president did not take the public option off the table. The idea, she noted, "will not pass the Senate, and this divisive subject is unnecessarily delaying out ability to reach common ground."
"The fact is," she added, "all Senate Republicans as well as some Democrats do not support the public option, which has also been generating concern across the country about a government takeover of health care that distracts from the legitimate necessity of providing more accessible and affordable health care for all Americans."
Snowe has proposed what she calls a "fallback" -- and what others have dubbed a "trigger" -- that would authorize a public plan in certain markets where private insurers fail to provide affordable coverage. Obama did give a nod to that idea, even while extolling the benefits of the public option supported by his liberal allies.
Republicans who hoped President Obama would use last night's address to hit a "reset" button -- dropping the sweeping reforms now traveling through the House for a more narrow approach -- were sorely mistaken. Still, some GOP lawmakers plan to take the President at his word when he said he wants to work with them. "I do think the President did leave open the door for Republicans to bring our ideas forward," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor told ABC this morning.
The retail giant tops the Fortune 500 for the second year in a row. Who else made the list? More
This group of companies is all about social networking to connect with their customers. More
The fight over the cholesterol medication is keeping a generic version from hitting the market. More
Bin Laden may be dead, but the terrorist group he led doesn't need his money. More
U.S. real estate might be a mess, but in other parts of the world, home prices are jumping. More
Libya's output is a fraction of global production, but it's crucial to the nation's economy. More
Once rates start to rise, things could get ugly fast for our neighbors to the north. More


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Photo Pocket Pages - Design F
Photos, memorabilia, and Becky Higgins' Journaling and Title cards slip right into these pocket pages. Use with your favorite Project Life album or in most 3-ring 12" x 12" albums (not included). Pockets are 4" x 6" horizontal and 3" x 4" vertical. Page size is 12" x 12". Package contains (12) Design F Photo Pocket Pages.


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Duelists everywhere can kick their Decks into overdrive with Stardust Overdrive. Stardust Overdrive features monsters from all 3 series of the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series, including many of the monsters used by and against the Dark Signers on current episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
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A Yankees fan has filed a $10 million lawsuit against two ESPN announcers contending they mocked him when he was caught on national television sleeping in his seat during a game at Yankee Stadium.
Andrew Robert Rector admits in court documents he "napped" during a game against the Boston Red Sox on April 13, but says commentators Dan Shulman and John Kruk unleashed an "avalanche of disparaging words" against him. The suit says they used words like "fatty" and "stupid."
Rector says he suffered "substantial injury" to his "character and reputation" and "mental anguish, loss of future income and loss of earning capacity."
The lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court Thursday also names ESPN, Major League Baseball and the Yankees as defendants. They didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.


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08/23/2012 | WX4NHC, HWN and VoIP to Activate in Advance of Tropical Storm Isaac
According to WX4NHC Associate Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC -- the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida -- along with the Hurricane Watch Net and the VoIP Hurricane Net -- will activate in advance of Tropical S
Learn More -
08/07/2012 | Tropical Storm Ernesto Heads Toward Yucatán; WX4NHC, VoIP Weather Net and Hurricane Watch Net Activated
As Tropical Storm Ernesto barrels toward Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for the entire coast of Belize and from Chetumal to Punta Allen on the East Coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Ernesto is expected to reach hurri
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11/04/2010 | Storm Spotters on the Lookout for Tropical Storm Tomas
With Tropical Storm Tomas expected to move through the Caribbean over the next 48 hours, WX4NHC -- the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) -- will activate at 9 AM (EDT) on Saturday, November 6. Hurricane Warnings have been issued
Learn More -
09/01/2010 | Earl Possibly to Upgrade to Category 4 Storm, US Atlantic Coast on Alert
On August 30, Hurricane Earl intensified into a Category 4 hurricane -- sustained winds 131-155 MPH -- before leveling out back into a Category 3 storm. But even as a Category 3 hurricane, Earl is still a major storm with hurricane-force winds extending o
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08/30/2010 | Hurricane Earl Continues to Strengthen, Watch Nets Activated
With Hurricane Earl now a category 2 storm -- and expected to become a major hurricane -- WX4NHC and the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) -- activated at 8 AM EDT on Monday, August 30; WX4NHC is the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in
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06/30/2010 | WX4NHC, VoIP Weather Net and Hurricane Watch Net Activated for Hurricane Alex
With Tropical Storm Alex now Category 1 Hurricane Alex, three Amateur Radio mainstays during the Atlantic hurricane season -- WX4NHC, VoIP Hurricane Net and Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) -- activated at 8 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 30; WX4NHC is the Amateur Ra
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06/29/2010 | Tropical Storm Alex Headed for South Texas, Mexico; Hurricane Warning Issued
Tropical Storm Alex is on the verge of becoming the first hurricane of the season. As of 11 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 29 (1500 UTC), Alex was located about 355 miles to the southeast of Brownsville, Texas with top winds of 70 MPH. On its current forecast tr
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The Dashwood house is one of London's key business centres. Situated with a stunning skyscraper and premium-grade building the Dashwood house is juxtaposed against the traditional Victorian architecture of 'The City'.
Situated directly above Liverpool Street tube station, with direct access to four central train lines, including the Central, Hammersmith and City, Circle, and District lines.
Stansted Airport is less than 45 minutes away via the Stansted Express; Heathrow Airport can be reached within 45 minutes by taxi.
The prestigious and modern look of the office includes glass sliding doors and original commissioned artwork.
Breath-taking views of the City of London including landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral, Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, The Gherkin and Europe's tallest skyscraper, The Shard are near this office location.
Standing at 74 metres high, the refurbished Dashwood House is located in London's prime financial and business centre of the City of London. Also referred to as the 'Square Mile', it is ranked alongside New York City as the leading centre of global finance. This new high-rise is situated just off Broadgate and above Liverpool Street Tube Station, in the business centre, providing direct access to London's three central train lines and an abundant range of retail, café and bar options.
Servcorp Dashwood House offers its visitors a first-class, exclusive atmosphere coupled with spacious, high-ceiling facilities and multi million pound five star fit out. On the 17th floor, as you walk out the elevator, the large granite reception area with expansive views offers an unforgettable experience to any visitor. Besides great views, the impressive boardrooms, meeting rooms, coworking space and exclusive kitchen make this office location one of the best serviced offices within the business centres of the City of London.
The entire building benefits from sustainable environmental technology, including solar panels on the roof, rainwater capture and recycling, and a high-performance coating on the external glass cladding to control heat and light levels.
45 minutes to Heathrow Airport on the M4 by Taxi, or 45 minutes to Stansted Airport on the Stansted Express train.
Located directly above Liverpool Street tube station providing direct access to four central train lines, including the Central, Hammersmith and City, Circle, and District lines.
Various bus services available from Liverpool Street Station
Taxis are available outside the building entrance of Dashwood House
Within 5 minutes walking distance:


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HOUSTON (AP) The Rockets are back home in Houston, looking to leave behind the distractions from their trip to Asia.
Their two games in Japan were overshadowed by the aftermath of a tweet by general manager Daryl Morey in support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, angering fans and officials in China.
In their first practice since returning, the Rockets insisted they wouldn't let the fallout distract them from preparing from the season.
"Guys can handle it," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We still got good work in. Everything's fine, but you know what happened (is) regrettable, and it happened, but as I said, our work will get done."
Veteran P.J. Tucker denied that dealing with this situation has been a distraction to this team trying to contend for its first title since winning back-to-back championships in 1994-95.
"Not really, honestly," he said. "This time of season, everybody's getting in shape, getting ready for the season, focusing in. So with all of the things that go on in life, and whatever, this is still our job, so we still come in and do our job every single day."
The Rockets were in Hawaii on Oct. 4 to play a preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers on the first leg of a trip that included two games in Japan when Morey tweeted an image that said: "Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong." His tweet was in reference to pro-democracy demonstrations in the semiautonomous Chinese territory that has been mired in escalating violence between protesters and law enforcement.
The tweet was deleted soon after it was posted, and Rockets owner and billionaire casino and restaurant owner Tilman Fertitta quickly rebuked his GM with a tweet saying that Morey does not speak for the team. He added: "Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization."
Despite the swift response from Fertitta, the damage was already done. Former Rockets star Yao Ming took offense to Morey's support for the anti-government protesters and as president of the Chinese Basketball Association, suspended its ties to the Rockets over the tweet.
Events in China promoting the Lakers-Nets series were canceled, NBA media partner Tencent said it was evaluating its plans to cover the league, and China state broadcaster CCTV did not air either preseason game.
The tweet also caused some Chinese corporations to suspend relationships with the NBA and it is unclear what can be done to mend the relationship.
D'Antoni was asked if there is anything the coaches and players can do to help repair things with China.
"We've just got to keep playing and keep trying to be good ambassadors for the game, that's all the players can do," he said. "And then we'll let the NBA and the Houston Rockets sort things out."
Morey hasn't spoken publicly since the tweet, with his only comments on the issue coming in two more tweets on Oct. 6. In those tweets he did not apologize for his initial tweet but did say that his tweets "in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver backed Morey's right to express his opinion and said: "We are not apologizing for Daryl exercising his freedom of expression."
Morey was at the Toyota Center on Sunday but did not speak to reporters and was not at the small portion of practice that media was permitted to attend. While Morey stayed out of the spotlight it was up to the players and D'Antoni to address how the Rockets can move past what happened.
James Harden understands that as the face of the team, people want him to be a spokesman for the Rockets in all issues, but right now he wants to keep his comments on basketball.
"We've just been focusing on us and getting better," he said. "Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. We focus on what we can control in this locker room ... we had an unbelievable road trip, a great experience in those cities, and now we're back and just trying to get better."
AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports


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Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology
What's New
Updated to include coverage of Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), this guide walks the reader through the process of selecting the right virtualization technology for each workload—in seven steps or fewer. This enables the reader to quickly move from technology selection to the design process for the virtualization infrastructure, using the most appropriate IPD guide.
Download Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology Guide
Launch the download of the IPD guide for Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology.
Launch the download of the entire Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide series.
About This Guide
The Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology guide enables you to rapidly and accurately select which Microsoft virtualization technology or technologies to use for specific scenarios. There are several different forms of virtualization that need to be understood as a basis for making the right technology choice. This guide addresses the decision steps that need to be taken in order to select the best virtualization approach for specific application requirements. The most effective decision points in the sequence are presented for determining which virtualization technology should be used. When considering virtualization for multiple applications, you should iterate through the entire process individually for each type of application.
Figure 1. Decision flow chart
The Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology includes the following seven-step process:
Step 1: Determine Whether Virtualization Is Appropriate. This step involves determining whether virtualization is appropriate for a specific situation.
Step 2: Categorize the Workload. This step involves determining whether the workload is designed to run on a Windows Server–based server or on a client computer.
Step 3: Select Server Hardware or Server Software Virtualization. This step involves determining which product will deliver the most appropriate platform for virtualization, based on the technical needs of the environment.
Step 4: Determine Client Connectivity. This step focuses on narrowing the options for virtualization, based on the network requirements of client computers.
Step 5: Determine Workload Location. This step involves determining where the workload should be run.
Step 6: Select Desktop or Session Virtualization. This step involves choosing between session virtualization and desktop virtualization.
Step 7: Choose Application Virtualization or Virtualization on the Desktop. This step involves determining whether the workload being considered is better implemented in application virtualization or in virtualization on the desktop.
Related Resources
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From the One, Many: Prospects for a New Universalism
I feel sorry for the kids today who are taking geography in school for the first time. When I was in school, unless you got really interested in the history of Iraqi Kurdistan, there was a chance you could get all the way through geography class without ever having to know learn to spell Sulaymania. But these days, places that were footnotes in history are back on the front pages, with a vengeance.
Almost every week's current events seem to bring a further explosion of geographic diversity that represents one more headache in international diplomacy and on the final exam. Whereas we could happily point out on the map of the world where Yugoslavia used to be, kids today have to know Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Even worse, whereas we used to be able to point out 20% of the world's land mass with one finger and four letters (U.S.S.R.), we now have to remember Kazakhstan, Moldavia, and Ukraine, not to mention Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
For those of us fortunate enough not to have anxiety about being examined on all this more complicated place-name identification, these ongoing political developments can be contemplated more calmly, but with a great deal more bewilderment and sorrow. After all, these new places that our kids have to learn about are not new places at all. They are old places. They are places that were there well before the states that absorbed them. It is nations that are the really durable social entities in our world, while states are more often bureaucratic fictions, created from the spoils of war.
There are five thousand nations in the world today, but there are only about one hundred and ninety states, and most of those states have been around only since the end of World War II. A nation is a much more durable community than a state because, along with a sense of place, a territory to call their own, nations have a language, a culture, a preferred form of political organization, and a shared history. All these will sustain a nation's identity even if the flag that flies over its territory changes its colors, and even if the people of the nation are forced to leave their territory altogether. We have learned that over and over again, in Palestine, in Tibet, in Kurdistan, to kill a nation, you have to kill all the people of the nation.
A great deal of what's going on in the world these days has to do with conflicts between nations and the states that claim to represent them: how autonomous can these nations be? Who controls their resources? How free are they to speak their own language, to express their own culture, to believe in their own religion?
Even before the dramatic breakup of the Soviet Union and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the dilemma faced by states that are trying to get their nations in line came home to me when I was visiting my family in Manitoba, Canada, way back in 1990, at the time of Elijah Harper's famous No Vote. You may know that for years, the federal Canadian government has been trying to work out a new constitution that will accommodate the political and cultural concerns of Canada's large French-speaking population. In 1990, a lengthy negotiating process had led up to an agreement called the Meech Lake Accords, which needed to be ratified by enough provinces to make it binding. Manitoba was one of the last provinces to take its vote on the accords, and was approaching a midnight legislative deadline that, if ignored, would scuttle the whole agreement.
The point in the legislative debate came when unanimous agreement of all the members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly was required to extend the time of the session so that the final vote ratifying the Meech Lake Accords could be taken before the deadline for ratification expired. On that occasion, when a new constitution for the entire country required unanimity, one voice was heard in that Legislative Chamber calling out:
The voice belonged to Elijah Harper, the only Native Canadian Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. Harper voted No because the aboriginal peoples of Canada are a nation too, and in the course of years of constitutional squabbling between French and English speaking Canadians, their concerns, which are quite parallel to those of the Francophones, had been set aside or ignored. So this carefully crafted constitutional package, a symbol of what federalism might have to become in this new world we were moving towards, went down the tubes on the strength of one man's vote, and all because his people did not have their seat at the table.
In Canada, Harper's vote symbolized the new strength of aboriginal people's demands to be heard and to be treated with respect, but, viewed in a global context, it was one more reminder of the new tribalism and ethnic nationalism that has asserted itself in every corner of the globe.
There are some among us, scholars, political scientists, clergy, who are greatly disturbed by this new tribalism, some who decry the allegiance people feel to their nations, to their ethnicity, their religions, to the ancient roots of their cultures. This despair at the new tribalism is of course influenced strongly by the human tragedies we have seen associated with these loyalties, and particularly with their violent suppression. Who among us can see any good in the continuing tragedy of the Sudan or Chechnya? These tensions and the sudden breakup of larger states into smaller nations have turned the tables on the motto that has been an inspiration for this American State. Instead of "E Pluribus Unum—From the Many, One," we seem to be living in a time when the world's motto is exactly the opposite "From the One, Many." The despair we feel therefore goes beyond our horror at the bloodshed occurring in these specific places. The despair we feel is rooted in the perception that this new tribalism and religious exclusivity seems to be the repudiation of a fondly held dream: the dream of national and cultural boundaries dissolving, the dream of people coming together instead of splitting apart, the dream of one world. "From the Many, One" has been a theme of liberal religion in all of its forms for generations. In all the diversity of worship, we discern one God; in all the diversity of creation, we discern one interdependent web of life; in all the diversity of beliefs and expressions, we discern one faith that has motivated the great religious teachers and leaders throughout history.
This was a dream that was at the heart of the Universalism that was being proclaimed in the first half of the 20th century. Fifty years ago, there was no stronger voice for this religion of unities and universals than Clarence Skinner. He combined a compelling social conscience and critical analysis of the evils of society with a mystical optimism that the unity of creation would manifest itself in the advance of humanity towards greater justice, compassion, and knowledge.
Skinner's mysticism still sounds a chord that I can hear as I read his writings today, but his optimism is more difficult to embrace. There has been too much bloodied water under the bridge this past half century, too many wars, too much disappointment in the broken promises of technology, too much horror at the inhumanity of people to each other to jump on that bandwagon any more. Can the religion of unities and universals that Skinner preached speak to the world in which we live today? Or is it a religion that is hopelessly naive and deluded about the way things really are?
Let's talk first about the way things really are. It is all too easy to paint a bleak picture about the direction that the world is taking today, especially after the tragedy of 9/11 woke us up to the grim possibilities of the "failed states" left behind as the U.S.S.R. fell. And this is all I have done for you thus far this morning. Are there any places where we can find hope these days for the emergence of the kind of world about which Clarence Skinner dreamed? I think that there are.
It is easy to forget that it has been little more than a decade since our hearts were lifted up by the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, the most powerful symbol of the ideological division which had held the world hostage for a generation. In the midst of our enthusiasms for the freedoms that became possible with the end of the Cold War, we heard voices reminding us that this path toward a new world order would be very dangerous and very hard. They have been proven right. Yet along side of (and in spite of) the creation of vast swaths of lawless territory where criminal and terrorist organizations have been able to take root, there are many nation-states in Eastern Europe and Asia both new and old that managed to move through the difficult economic adjustments of the 1990's without civil war or anarchy.
Many of these former Soviet states have been accepted into the E.U., joining Western Europe's system of a unified citizenship and currency. Those of you in this room who lived through World War II—ask yourself if you ever could have imagined in 1945 that before your grandchildren reached adulthood a continent that had been so divided by war would unite together for purposes of common good and benefit, all the while sustaining their rich and diverse cultures.
Tribalism, ethnic pride and nationalism are not necessarily the demons that plague our world. But they do have their demonic side. The demonic side of tribalism is the tendency to make the people of other tribes into the agents of the devil. It is to misunderstand the religious revelation or spiritual insight of your tribe's religion as exclusive, and impossible to reconcile with that of the tribe next door. To fight the tribe next door then becomes not only a matter of pride or self-defense but a religious duty. All over the world, in places where religious obligation is combined with tribal economic and cultural interests, we find humanity creating hell.
In its earliest forms, the pioneers of Universalism saw as their task the liberation of the human mind and heart from the fear of hell. Today the Universalism we preach does not address hell as specifically as it once did, but the world around us is still imprisoned by hell's image. In the 21st century, our Universalist message is consistent with that preached by our religious ancestors when we proclaim that the face of the enemy is not that of any Great Satan or his agents, but instead the face of people well known to us—people who love their children and seek the best for them, people who face death with courage and wonder what lies beyond it, people whose aspirations are no different from the ones that we have. The Universalist message that makes sense in the 21st century can no longer be based on the belief in "E Pluribus Unum, From the Many, One." "From the Many, One," suggests an imposed unity, a phony syncretism, which no longer speaks to the aspirations of the many tribes and nations around the world. On the contrary, the Universalist message we must embrace will be grounded instead in the motto "From the One, Many," the belief that from the One, Within the One, which is behind our human drama in all its forms, there is a place for the each of the many cultures, many ways of worship, many revelations through which the One is manifest.
This country in which we live, the United States of America, has been among the finest examples of what "From the One, Many" can mean. The ideal of a liberal democracy, with individual liberty and economic opportunity for all, has attracted people of every nation and tribe to come here to make their home. This country is moving from the image of a melting pot to the image of a mosaic. Yet we see a disturbing trend within the political and religious right in this country. The strongest "tribal division" we see happening in this country today may not exist between diverse ethnic groups or denominations, and not even between the different races that make up this country. The strongest tribal division may be happening between the cultures of fundamentalist conservatism and the rest of society which it demonizes. When a President of the United States can consistently support using the views of the religious right to dominate our laws and culture, we should have cause for concern. A Universalism for today will have to seek the common moral ground that can transcend even these persistent, familiar animosities which have helped create this great cultural division—animosities such as those around gender roles and reproductive rights. To paraphrase Christopher Lasch:
The circumstances of our collective insecurity in the world make it necessary for us to trust those who cannot be subjected to our control. If American politics today represents the mobilization of resentment, (Universalism) represents the mobilization of trust conceived not as a favor we bestow on [others] but as a necessity imposed on us by our common weakness.
The ever changing technologies of communication—wireless internet, digital media—have brought the world closer together than it ever has been before, and yet we know that technology itself does not hold the answer that we seek. When ancient hatreds, personal greeds, and demonizing the other all conspire to create tribal warfare and terrorism, the first thing that is sacrificed is the technology on which we are so dependent. There is a spiritual challenge that must be met for the technological miracles of which we are capable to make a difference in the world. Universalism today speaks to that spiritual challenge.
In an essay on Liberal Religion in the 21st Century, the former President of our Unitarian Universalist Association, Bill Schulz, offers a call to proclaim this renewed Universalism. He says:
Every race or nation—with their divergent appearances, customs, and interests—is a challenge to the self-sufficiency of every other, and in the face of such challenges, we forget our common roots and common tribulations. Surely one of the things about religion is to remind us not just that we are free but that we each will die, not just that we are different, but that we each are subject to grace and capable of praise…If we are to overcome nationalism, economic exploitation, and the accumulative mentality, we require a religious proclamation of that which binds us to one another, to the earth, and to the Holy.
The Universalism that we embody in our contemporary Unitarian Universalist churches must create a home for the diversity that exists around us if we are to be an authentic voice speaking for the One that is there to be found among the many. We need not worry that other ways of being in the world will dominate or overpower the ways of being to which we have become accustomed. We need not fear the new tribalism if we, ourselves, can begin to appreciate the strengths and insights of cultures different from that which predominates in our churches. A religious proclamation of that which binds us to one another, and to the earth and to the Holy must begin in this day and age with the words, "From the One, Many." Let us search for new ways to live this kind of Universalist faith in all that we do. So be it.
Author | Wayne B. Arnason |
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You should be able to go home on the day of, or the day after, your operation. Get an adult to take you home in a car or taxi and follow any instructions you're given by the hospital.
After the operation, your groin will feel sore and uncomfortable. You'll be given painkillers to help relieve this discomfort.
Looking after yourself
An adult must stay with you for the first 24 hours after your operation, in case you experience any problems.
If you're still in pain after going home, continue taking painkillers as advised by the hospital. Applying gentle pressure to your wound using your hand or a small pillow can make coughing, sneezing and moving between sitting and standing more comfortable.
Make sure you follow the instructions your nurse gave you about caring for your wound, hygiene and bathing.
Straining on the toilet because of constipation can cause pain around your wound. You can reduce your risk of constipation by drinking lots of fluids and eating plenty of vegetables, fruit and high-fibre foods, such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta. A mild, over-the-counter laxative may also help.
If the operation was carried out under a general anaesthetic, your co-ordination and reasoning may be affected for a short time. Avoid drinking alcohol, operating machinery or signing legal documents for 24 to 48 hours after any operation involving general anaesthetic.
Over time, you can gradually return to your normal activities as soon as you're able to do them without feeling any pain.
Most people are able to do light activities, such as shopping, after 1 or 2 weeks. You should also be able to return to work after 2 or 3 weeks, although you may need more time off if your job involves manual labour.
Gentle exercise, such as walking, can help the healing process, but you should avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activities for about 6 weeks. You should also not do sports like football and rugby for at least 8 weeks and 12 weeks respectively.
You may find sex painful or uncomfortable at first, but it's usually fine to have sex when you feel you are ready.
Speak to the medical professional in charge of your care for advice about when you can drive. It's usually advisable to avoid driving until you are able to perform an emergency stop without feeling any pain or discomfort. You can practise this without starting your car.
It will usually be 1 or 2 weeks before you reach this point after having keyhole surgery, although it may take longer after open surgery.
It's usually recommended that you contact your car insurance company before starting driving again.
When to call a doctor
Call your surgeon if you develop any of the following symptoms:
- a persistent high temperature
- persistent or heavy bleeding
- increased swelling or pain in your tummy
- pain that is not relieved by painkillers
- persistent nausea or vomiting
- chills
- persistent coughing or shortness of breath
- increasing redness around your incisions
- difficulty peeing
Page last reviewed: 11 January 2022
Next review due: 11 January 2025


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"Writing a book is not a crime."
These are the words of Alexander Ahndoril, one half of the husband-and-wife team who, in the summer of 2009, convulsed all of Sweden in a Primary Colors-esque manhunt for Lars Kepler, the utterly made-up author of their megahit, The Hypnotist. The story of detective Joona Limma and the clinical hypnotist Eric Maria Bark, their co-written tale of gruesome family murders, child abductions and, of all things, a teenage Pokemon crime ring hits shelves here June 21.
Alexander, a stereotypical ghostly, Fargo-esque Swede, and Alexandra, a delicate, auburn haired beauty (yes, Alexander and Alexandra), are still bemused by the international maelstrom they caused, which came complete with a tip line and computer text analyses. When a Swedish tabloid finally broke the case, two reporters showed up in the middle of the night on the doorstep of the couple's summer home, greeting the two "in their jammies" with the flash of a camera, as if the authors were criminals themselves.
Luckily, unmasking perpetrators is the bedrock of the Ahndoril writing philosophy. "For me, crime fiction is optimistic," Alexandra declares. "You can actually find a hero to solve the crime."
For now, American readers are ignorant one ever occurred. Unless you are scanning trade journals and blogs obsessively for signs of the next Nordic invasion (or speak Swedish), you'll know nothing of Lasse Hallstrom's forthcoming film, or the couple's sequels, The Paginini Contract and The Witness of Fire, which promise to dwarf their predecessor. The Hypnotist has captivated Europe, with groundbreaking sales in 36 countries, and vaulted a little-known literary couple to superstar status. (Full magazine covers of the photogenic pair abound.) Here, passing mentions in Time magazine and The New York Times total a few dozen words. The book sold to Farrar, Straus & Giroux at auction at a steep price on the strength of success abroad. But will our mystifying devotion to Larrson's introduction to the Swedish social safety net, ancestral incest, and a raft of unpronounceable surnames lead us to embrace the imaginary Lars with the same enthusiasm?
Those expecting the next Dragon Tattoo will not get it. In some ways, The Hypnotist hews closer to the American gumshoe tradition. We'll all recognize the scene on the first page: a man awakened by a ringing phone at dawn who leaves his beautiful partner to speed off, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" on his car's stereo.
But, though it seems almost impossible, The Hypnotist is far grislier than Dragon. It launches with a family hacked to death by one of its members, the mother's abdomen reduced to "a bloody bowl of entrails." Children (extreme grossout-slash-spoiler alert) linger in cages for years, starving; are held in sexual slavery by a brother; are punished by having noses cut off with scissors. Even the chapters are shorter and choppier, like stab wounds, a far cry from Larsson's near-Talmudic tangle of dynasty and circuitry.
But the most abrupt departure comes with the novel's enemies. Larsson demonized men, letting his heroine, Lisbeth Salander, wield a taser in all the wrong places. InThe Hypnotist, it's--viva the literary meritocracy!--women and children who terrorize. You can see a Hollywood producer wracking her brain, then selling it as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle by way of Children of the Corn.
Yet, unsurprisingly for a book written by a married couple with children, it's also about family—the force of love, love's betrayals, and, most important, its barbarous underpinnings. Even the revelation of who wrote the novel involved the actual Ahndoril family. Alexander drew heavily on the work of his brother, a clinical hypnotist, for the complex and fascinating character of Bark—and that brother was the only one in a nation of ignorants to guess the authors' identity before it was officially revealed. (He kept the secret.)
Kepler is also a family affair. Far from a publicity stunt, the pseudonymous scribe emerged as the result of a private, longtime effort of the Ahndorils to find a project they could work on together without friction. Once they invented their productive third party, they sat side-by-side, writing in tandem, emailing or texting each other instead of speaking, then chattering about Kepler's plans on off-hours. "We didn't have to fight anymore when we created a pseudonym," Alexandra says. "It had a voice of its own."
Now, Lars maintains a place in the family, with hobbies and habits to match. According to the couple, he likes romantic comedies, and, like hypnotist Bark, "something has happened in his life" to put him in his semi-miserable circumstances. (Royalty checks, after all, must go to the corporeal.) "He wants to be a detective, like Joona, but he can't," Alexandra offers sympathetically.
The real-life Ahndorils are immeasurably grateful for their creation, who has given them the ability to dispense with the writer's burden of freelance reviewing and teaching. "Now we can actually afford to write," Alexandra says happily. They're not slavedrivers, but, as if to prompt Kepler, they keep a box in the house into which they drop clippings that might be of interest for him. ("Do you read them?" "Oh, no.")
It's a fair analogy for how The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo reached us—not by an ad campaign or critical praise, but by some mystical collective unconscious chanting to the globe, Swede now! Swede now! Kepler's moody, entrancing work is certainly Swedish, certainly compelling to much of the international reading public, and shortly on our shelves. It only remains to be seen if America's still on the same wavelength.