text:
UPDATE: If you're still unsure of the power of satellite TV and instant communication to the people, consider this. Over the past few days, it seemed that the power of the protests was flagging a little, after the Obama administration (foolishly, in my opinion) decided to throw its support to a very slow transition led by Vice President (and Army general) Omar Suleiman. Then yesterday, Wael Ghonim, one of the bloggers who helped to spark the protests with his Facebook page, (and who is a high-ranking executive for Google in the region,) went on satellite TV hours after he was released from custody, where he had been detained for the past 12 days. Today, this is the response in Tahrir square.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Roots of a Revolution.
UPDATE: If you're still unsure of the power of satellite TV and instant communication to the people, consider this. Over the past few days, it seemed that the power of the protests was flagging a little, after the Obama administration (foolishly, in my opinion) decided to throw its support to a very slow transition led by Vice President (and Army general) Omar Suleiman. Then yesterday, Wael Ghonim, one of the bloggers who helped to spark the protests with his Facebook page, (and who is a high-ranking executive for Google in the region,) went on satellite TV hours after he was released from custody, where he had been detained for the past 12 days. Today, this is the response in Tahrir square.
70 comments:
- Phil said...
As far as I'm concerned, you are welcome to deviate from the Royals all you like. Especially when it comes to politics and religion in the Middle East.
- February 7, 2011 at 4:02 PM
- Unknown said...
Thanks for the post -- it's good to see your perspective. I've got a friend from Iraq that got out to go to school about 40 years ago, and he has family left behind. He has a fascinating presentation about Iraq and how it got to this point. I was never satisfied with the fakery that led to the invasion, but after hearing him describe so many of Saddam's (and his sons') atrocities, I had to agree that "Saddam had to go." I'm going to forward your post to him, and I know that his reply will be very interesting, too.
- February 7, 2011 at 4:23 PM
Great reading. I, for one, really appreciate your perspective.
Please continue to let us know your thoughts on these subjects. - February 7, 2011 at 4:38 PM
- iberoyalsfan said...
I have to admit when I seen your twitter post you started a new blog talking about the Egyptian uprising I was leery. Turns out it was an awesome post, thanks for your take on the conflict I was quite impressed.
- February 7, 2011 at 5:00 PM
It's quite refreshing to hear from someone who is not necessarily a die-hard Bush supporter/right winger but nonetheless does not see the 2003 Iraq invasion as being an act of evil or stupidity or both.
How well the United States government supports these new democracy movements is a major test that I hope to heaven it passes. - February 7, 2011 at 5:04 PM
- niggledork said...
Well said. Thank you Rany.
- February 7, 2011 at 5:21 PM
- Chris H said...
I'm also glad that you don't completely condemn the invasion of Iraq. However, I think you need to temper your statements about the right war for the wrong reasons. First of all, WMD were not found, but that does not mean that that purpose was pretextual. Based on the information at the time...you know how it goes. Second, we have not and are not siphoning oil out of Iraq. We secured the wells, yes, but we wouldn't have had to unless we invaded. Once we had invaded, we secured our interests. And I appreciate you recognizing that America's interests should be high priority. Last, we still buy that oil, so it's not like it's free.
Anyway...Good column. Always a different perspective accompanied by a history lesson. I'm interested to read more about how you see all of this affecting Isreal. Yes, Egypt is not looking for a fight but could we eventually see a redux of 1963 and 67? Syria, egypt, Lebanon, etc decide to put the hammer down together? And would Iran have anything to do with it? - February 7, 2011 at 5:30 PM
- Unknown said...
Thanks for the blog post and also thanks for turning me on to the ahmed rehab blog.
"baptists taking orders from the vatican" that was very helpful to my uneducated mind in explaining the sunni/shia difference - February 7, 2011 at 6:36 PM
- Xiane said...
Very well said. I am generally of the belief that the USA does not often fail when it genuinely tries to live up to its founding principles. It fails rather, when it supports ideologies in direct conflict with its own for the sake of stability or business.
That said, I think it is fair to wonder what sort of democracy might emerge in Egypt. Whether it will be procedural only and then quickly devolve into a another repressive situation when a ruling party can't deliver on rhetoric yet refuses to relinquish power.
I think the USA would like to see a genuine Arab democracy, but it can legitimately wonder about the risk replacing Mubarak with a situation like Iran. You make a good point about Egypt not taking orders from Tehran, but that doesn't mean a virulently anti-US and anti-Israeli theocracy is impossible in Egypt post Mubarak - the theocrats may only need to be elected once to stay indefinitely. - February 7, 2011 at 7:33 PM
- Benignuman said...
"Unless you plan to consign the Egyptian people to being ruled by dictators in perpetuity, at some point you have to let democracy flourish and take your chances"
For this line alone the whole article was worth it. Rany you have convinced a skeptic. - February 7, 2011 at 8:12 PM
- Mr. OK Jazz Tokyo said...
Excellent piece here Rany, thank you very much.
The comparisons to Iran in the US media reveal how ignorant most journalists really are about the Middle East. Additionally, the "oh my god what about Israel!?!" commentary is oddensive..are 5 million Israelis more important than the well-being and freedome of 80 million Egyptians? - February 7, 2011 at 8:22 PM
- Kyle D said...
Great article. I was waiting to hear your opinion on the subject. One bone to pick:
"Please don't try to conflate this with taxation; this was protection money to the mafia that ran the country."
Why is it that people cannot accept that taxation is exactly the same thing? The idea that because government holds a monopoly on services, such as firefighting, and then demands protection money in the form of taxes, is only different in the strength of that service provided. Granted, services via government in America are better than nearly anywhere. That still does not remove the fact that taxation, at it's base definition, is equally theft as the mafia demanding money for protection. - February 7, 2011 at 9:23 PM
- garik16 said...
Kyle, taxation is meant so that the government can provide services that the private market does not produce efficiently (externalities). Taxation is essentially the government's way of ensuring that everyone pays for the benefit.
That said, taxation is something you get something for, and is not extreme. What Rany is talking about is a mafia protection racket-like thing....pay us or we hurt you. The mafia in this case isn't providing any benefit, they're just threatening force. That is not taxation. It's not even close. - February 7, 2011 at 9:29 PM
- Mr. OK Jazz Tokyo said...
Ioran16, great response. I am always confused by the hostility towards taxes among most Americans. I personally am happy to pay tax in return for clean streets, efficient law enforcement, social services like education and health care,etc. Then again, I live in Japan where these things ARE a return on my taxes. If I were back in the US with my tax money going to "defense"...
- February 7, 2011 at 10:10 PM
- Nathan said...
I am thankful to hear about these events from somebody who knows what he's talking about! Your uncle's insight about the power of satellites exceeding that of war is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be part of the dialog. Much more interesting and useful than the usual right-vs-left bickering!
- February 7, 2011 at 10:29 PM
- Collin said...
Regarding Mubarak - I've heard that if he were to step down immediately the Egyptian constitution would require elections to be held within 60 days -- and apparently the US doesn't feel like 60 days is long enough for all of the oppressed groups to raise up candidates and start / run a campaign successfully. What are your thoughts on this? The undertone of that notion is that perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood is most poised to run a campaign within 60 days and perhaps they'd win more power than they would if the elections were held in the Fall.
Thanks for the article - I really enjoyed it as much as your other non-Royals-related work. - February 7, 2011 at 10:35 PM
- pjbronco said...
As a lifelong Royals fan, I look to you for your "diehard fan" perspective on my favorite baseball team. While I would not want you to completely forget the Royals, just wanted you to know that this piece is fantastic. I teach English to adults. Two of my students are Libyans. The events of the past six weeks are very important to them and your writing gives me a better understanding of what is happening from a balanced viewpoint. Thanks Rany. Now tell me that the satellites will sometime make Royals fans take action and change the state of our sorry franchise!
- February 7, 2011 at 10:36 PM
- Nathan said...
I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as Rany, but your question is interesting to me. It sure does seem like the Muslim Brotherhood, with an organization already on the ground, will have an advantage over other groups if elections are held in 60 days.
On the other hand, pushing elections back to this fall will give outside groups--everyone from the US to Al Queda--far more time to pump money and influence into the Egyptian elections. I think that would be a massively bad thing. Outside forces won't care about the well-being of Egyptians. (If anything, they might prefer an oppressive government to make democracy look less appealing.) They will care a great deal about the new government's stance toward Israel and the US. Such machinations would not benefit the people. Remember, Egyptians aren't used to elections, so they might be more easily manipulated by clever enemies than are most electorates. (And let's face it: even jaded electorates have their hands full trying to wade through all the misinformation out there.) There is also the possibility of overt cheating.
So, while you offer one good reason to worry about elections taking place soon, I think there is also a reason to worry about having them too far off. If elections are held quickly, they're more likely to catch powerful people by surprise, and actually represent the desires of the people. As for which problem is more serious, I'll leave that weighing to folks like Rany, who actually know something about the Arab world's internal politics. - February 7, 2011 at 11:06 PM
- Jim M said...
Hi Rany,
I have been wanting to send you a note of thought just saying that I am so glad for you and NPR (and I intend to connect up with Al Jazeera to at least see what their viewpoint is) for providing me with in depth points of view on the magnitude of this situation in the Arabic world. I am helping to build some satellites that will hopefully have connections to various locations throughout the developing world, so this post has all kinds of bonuses for me. thank you once again for the fabulous writeup on this. - February 7, 2011 at 11:14 PM
- RickMcKC said...
I enjoy your occasional deviations from all things Royal. It's very insightful to your perspective.
I have to agree, however, with an earlier poster who wrote that it's a mistake to presume that WMD was a made-up story. If it was, it was and still is one of the most successful intelligence conspiracies ever, spanning several continents and agencies.
I'm much more inclined to go with the Occams Razor principle and conclude they just blew it.
Peace - February 8, 2011 at 2:23 AM
- Xiane said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- February 8, 2011 at 3:03 AM
- Xiane said...
@Jazz Tokyo - I appreciate your comments. I wouldn't place the security of Israel as being superior to the right to self governance of 80 million Egyptians.
I don't think a general war between Egypt and Israel's other neighbors is a good outcome in any sense. No one can say that will happen, but the fear gripping many is that no one can say such a war won't be an outcome of the fall of the government in Egypt.
Being concerned about another Arab Israeli war as a possible outcome of revolutions sweeping the middle east doesn't strike me as unduly alarmist.
However, Rany's catalog of dictators doesn't go astray. It is these dictators who have historically fomented war with Israel, and hatred of Israel as a prop for their own failed regimes. I'd like to think that a true democracy in Egypt and elsewhere would follow the pattern of other democracies with disputes and find a peaceful resolution.
In the main I think we (meaning Americans in particular) should support democracy, but provide our best help the democratic leaders and parties we find acceptable. - February 8, 2011 at 3:06 AM
- Unknown said...
I cam to this by way of Jonah Keri's tweet, and he was right: this is a fine article, sir.
- February 8, 2011 at 7:39 AM
- Seth Feldkamp said...
Well said Rany, deviate from the Royals anytime you like. I love to see your perspective on events like these, it's not commonly available.
I've been very impressed with the militaries in both Tunisia and Egypt and their surprising unwillingness to choose sides or step in and take power themselves. Is this independence of the military common anywhere else than Egypt and Tunisia? It seems like a key ingredient for the kind of revolutions we've seen. - February 8, 2011 at 8:29 AM
- Karte said...
It looks like the First Amendment is right again - for the people to be free, the press must be free.
- February 8, 2011 at 9:09 AM
- Collin said...
Thanks for the response. I hadn't thought of the consequences of holding elections at a later date. I have no idea what's best for Egypt but I do find this point in history to be very interesting. Thanks for keeping the discussion going, Nathan (and Rany, of course). - February 8, 2011 at 9:35 AM
- Rany said...
You are technically correct, that if Mubarak were to resign suddenly, there would be a constitutional crisis of some sort. The solution, which has been advocated by the opposition, is that Mubarak amend the constitution (which he has the authority to do) before stepping down. This is a moot point, since Mubarak would rather hold on to the bitter end.
My perception as to the timing of the elections is that holding the elections as scheduled in September isn't the problem. The problem is that the longer this drags out with Mubarak and his cronies still in power, the more chance that they will have to ride out the protests and renege on their promises. No one will believe Mubarak is gone until he's gone. And maybe not even then. - February 8, 2011 at 10:03 AM
- RCHIII said...
I found your blog quite fascinating conerning the uprising. Your political striping of the unabomber was a bit off. Old Ted was anti-gov, but it was in the context of being anti-technology and primarily an environmentalist. That's a Lefty not a Righty.
I was particularly interested in your take on the Muslim Brotherhood. I can only hope you are right.
Concerning the "satellites" issue - I think you have given too much credence to "the street". If this had happened under Hussein, you have to ask yourself what he would have done. Answer - annhilation (which, by the way, is why dictators make sure their populace is unarmed). I think Mubarek was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because he relied so heavily on aid from the West, "annhilation" probably wasn't a realistic option plus there is an issue whether the military really supported him anymore. So, I think your original take on the Iraq invasion was probably correct. Whether we should still be there, etc., etc., is open for debate and I think you properly noted that how it is to be judged in the future remains to be seen.
The real question seems to me to be if the Egyptian military had wanted Mubarek succeeded by his son would this have played out the same. I tend to think not.
Let us hope this change is for the positive. While I have my doubts, no harm in hoping. Personally, I think the military will just install their next dictator du jour.
Democracy works among a populace that wants it. Lebanaon/Hezbollah and Gaza/Hamas certainly bring that into question. In those cases, democracy just provided a platform from which extremists were able to take control. - February 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM
@OK Tokyo Jazz: No one is suggesting that Israeli lives are more important that Egyptian ones. But historically, wars between Egypt and Israel have been instigated by the Egyptian side. If a new Egyptian regime does not feel bound to honor agreements signed by Sadat (Mubarak's predecessor), it is natural to be concerned about the likely targets of their aggression.
- February 8, 2011 at 11:20 AM
- Kyle D said...
The government comes in and says that the private market cannot provide those services, they were not available to the free market. Even places that were once available inevitably gets touched by government, thereby creating problems which the government then takes more power to solve(healthcare).
As to the mafia "pay us or we'll hurt you" deal, if I were to withdraw my consent from the united states government by not paying taxes, what exactly do you think would happen to me? Even if I specifically chose not to use your services, including roads? Exactly.
If you do not condone an individual going to another individual and forcibly taking their money/production then you cannot condone taxation. They are equal. Just because you personally feel great about how your taxes are allocated does not mean all are. We all should be free to voluntarily give our money to the services that we want provided. I know for certain I wouldn't have been sending tanks, jets, and tear gas to Egypt(or anywhere else). You're fine with that service being rendered? - February 8, 2011 at 11:45 AM
- Justin Bourne said...
Beautifully written, thoroughly explained. Thanks for sharing that.
- February 8, 2011 at 11:51 AM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Perhaps a brief residence in Syria would cure you of your hysteria.
There is a very simple and perfectly legal choice that you can make to avoid paying taxes to a particular nation: do not own property in that nation or participate in the economy of that nation. Nations are not ala carte. You either are or are not a citizen of a particular nation and if you are a citizen you agree to the whole package, the benefits, rights and privileges AND all of the duties and obligations. A nation wherein any citizen has the right to pick and choose which laws they follow isn't a nation, but anarchy.
In a democracy the government is not "an individual" as you state in your equation of taxes to theft, but a representative of all of its citizens. The United States is not Wal-Mart. When paying taxes you are not purchasing services, but paying a fee to be a citizen of a nation. How that money is collected and spent is determined by the collective will of the people expressed through their elected representatives. If you feel your democratically elected government is not accurately representing the collective will of the people, then your problem is with the representation and not the taxation. - February 8, 2011 at 2:08 PM
- Kyle D said...
Are you aware that as a citizen of the United States, if I were to move to another country, the United States government still claims the right to tax me on wages/production earned outside of their jurisdiction? Even rununciation of one's citizenship must be approved by government. What is that about? Moreover, why does one government or another(or one gang or another) claim the right to me? Because by luck I was born within a geographical area. I never signed the constitution or voted or consented in any way to this mess.
I'm amazed at how many people use the "move somewhere else" tack. It's baseless. Why don't you move to a socialist utopia like in Europe instead of bringing it here? I'd be happy to allow you to do whatever crazy program you'd love to here, as long as you allow me to opt out if I don't want to participate. The problem is, you need me and other productive people to leach off of.
The representation you speak of routinely has approval ratings lower than 30%, and yet government seems to grow all the time. Why do you think that is? Because government itself is the problem.
Yes, without government it would be anarchy. But anarchy does not mean no rules like you believe it does; it means no rulers. - February 8, 2011 at 2:24 PM
- Unknown said...
Great stuff, as always. I thought you might be interested in this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110208/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria_internet - February 8, 2011 at 2:29 PM
- Kyle D said...
My statement about buying services was in direct response to an above poster. Personally, I pay taxes and see it as keeping the government from using force against me; a bribe in it's true sense of the word. If I chose not to, they'd kick my door in and lock me up. This is the base of all government. Do as we say or we'll harm you. Egypt is only different from America in degree/or how far along the path they are.
- February 8, 2011 at 2:30 PM
- Menzes said...
I am glad that I took the time to read your non-Royals thoughts. Your perspective on the happenings in the Middle East has to be much different then 99% of your readers, since you have a famalia interest in the region.
@skeptic- The man you know is somewhat correct. He might be completely correct in his actual take, but either didn't (or you didn't) communicate it clearly. The English/Arabic are not even close to the same, but I would not characterize the difference as anti-American. Rather it is anti-Western culture. This is a HUGE distiction that is often lost on people here in the states.
The reason for that is that it takes lots of study of the culture of the region to truly understand this distinction. Unfortunately we have neither the time nor the space for even a quick cliff notes version of this, but I will use one key point that Rany already hit on.
The vast differences between the religious sects with Islam itself makes what Al Jeezera is saying quite dangerous to all of the western world. The way that they tend to characterize America and its allies in the region is how the extremists like Al Qaeda, the Ba'Ath party, and others can justify the insurgency efforts. - February 8, 2011 at 2:31 PM
- christopher said...
I think you are taking too simplistic view of Obama's actions during the Egyptian uprising. By all accounts, our diplomats are putting tremendous pressure on Mubarack to step aside, but they are trying to work out a plan that won't lead to chaos (which as you know, happens when the opposition is disorganized like Iraq).
Also, I think a quick comparison of the uprising last year in Iran vs. currently in Egypt argues for the US to always try to maintain close relationships with ALL governments, even dictators. When the protests began in Iran, the U.S. had zero leverage to push out the old regime because we were hated. In Egypt, we are actually able to bring about positive change BECAUSE we are so close to Mubarrack and can dangle big carrots and sticks that matter.
I am amazed at how much criticisim Obama gets from everyone -- he generally does the rational action that actually helps and shys away from "making points" that accomplish nothing. - February 8, 2011 at 3:17 PM
- Menzes said...
@ KyleD
"Are you aware that as a citizen of the United States, if I were to move to another country, the United States government still claims the right to tax me on wages/production earned outside of their jurisdiction?"
This statement is flat wrong. There is a possiblity that you could owe some taxes, if YOU choose to retain your residency in the US when working outside it, but that is not even normally the case. Normally any income made outside of a US posession is not taxed by the government. That is why it is so attractive to people that have certain skills to work outside this country. - February 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM
- Gabriel Anello said...
Excellent post. Consider me a follower. Thank you.
- February 8, 2011 at 4:20 PM
- CesarTovar said...
Thank you for providing what no other media outlet has been able to -- a cogent historical perspective on world-altering events and a reasoned and passionate argument in support of expanding a much-needed journalistic voice from that part of the world. Now if you could give me a good reason why I should go to the "K" this year, I am all ears.
- February 8, 2011 at 4:39 PM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Scott's exactly right. While working in Europe for a multinational I had to file tax returns every year and had a cap on how many days I could spend in the U.S. on business, but I only paid taxes to my host country (and financially I would have been better off had I paid the significantly lower U.S. rates).
If you don't believe there are benefits to U.S. citizenship then you, my friend, are delusional and I am certain that there are millions and millions of people in the world that would agree with me and would joyfully pay our tax rates for the privilege of being a U.S. citizen.
Low approval ratings are inherent to democracies and the tension created by their adversarial nature. They're also a good indication that our freedom of speech is alive and well. I would be more concerned if they were high. The United States government is large and operates relatively openly (compared to private businesses) and under the 24 hour glare of political opponents and a critical media spotlight looking to fill air-time/column space and create headlines. It shouldn't be a surprise that to the average citizen it looks like a whole mess of fail. Put Corporate America into the same situation and the ratings would be even worse.
The government is far from perfect, but provides a lot of good to its citizens. To equate taxation to theft is to deny the whole idea of government.
Where did you ever get the notion that citizenship should only provide rights and privileges? Don't they teach civics in high school anymore? - February 8, 2011 at 5:23 PM
- Kyle D said...
"The government is far from perfect, but provides a lot of good to its citizens. To equate taxation to theft is to deny the whole idea of government."
Well we agree there. I'm a voluntarist, or anarcho-capitalist (there are some socialist anarchists, believe it or not), and I don't believe in coercion as a moral principle. It's precicely because I don't agree with what I was taught in civics class. It took many years to straighten that out, much after I joined the USMC to fight in the war. I had completely bought into the stuff taught in school. Now I know better. Call me crazy, but I believe first in being moral, second in being lawful. There is a distinct difference.
From the IRS website:
"If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside."
perhaps there are exemptions, as we all know there are many, that you happened to have fallen under while working overseas. That's beside the fact that wages earned outside are subject to US income tax regardless of your residence. - February 8, 2011 at 6:17 PM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Right..."subject to the same rules" and the rules are that income earned abroad from a foreign source while working in a foreign country is not taxable in the U.S. My first two paychecks, before I'd been transferred to the payroll of the foreign division, i.e., when I was paid in dollars, were taxable in the U.S. Both the source of the income and work location determines taxability. Other income from U.S. sources was, of course, still taxable in the U.S.
But all that's beside the point, because I suspect that what really irks you is that somewhere some poor person's getting help that in your judgment they're unworthy of.
And yeah...anyone that calls themselves anarcho-anything I'll call crazy. - February 8, 2011 at 6:49 PM
- Phil LeBlanc said...
I suspect that what really irks you is that somewhere some poor person's getting help that in your judgment they're unworthy of.
The U.S. defense budget in 2010 was $663.8 billion. That's as much as the defense budgets of the rest of the world combined and more than eight times larger than the second highest defense budget which belongs to China. Tax money went towards the murder of 300,000+ Iraqis this past decade alone plus countless others. Paying taxes isn't the problem, but if I pay my taxes under the condition that not one cent be used to fund the military I will be locked up. That's just the tip of the iceberg, but I believe that is at least part of what Kyle D has in mind when having regrets about taxation and the way the U.S. government uses those funds. - February 8, 2011 at 10:41 PM
- Tim said...
I'm going to echo many here and applaud Rany for clearly articulating the situation in Egypt and the Middle East.
I do wonder, though, about the contradiction that I perceive from an Arab world which seems to want the US to keep out of its business right up until it needs the help of the US government to push out their dictators.
Rany (or others fit to answer this question), how do you reconcile this? Am I mistaken on my perception of the Arab world's antagonism towards the US? This isn't snarky criticism; it's a genuine question. - February 8, 2011 at 11:01 PM
- Rany said...
It's a good question, with a straightforward answer. Most Arabs don't want the US to force the dictators out. They simply want the US to stop propping those dictators up. We give $1.3 billion annually to Egypt, most of it used to purchase expensive weaponry from us.
The Arab people see the US as a potential voice for democracy in the region, and if the US simply stayed out of their affairs while encouraging the democratic process from afar, the Arab world would have a high opinion of us. Instead, they see a superpower that claims democracy for itself but spends money and effort keeping unelected leaders in place to serve our short-term interests, and they seethe at the hypocrisy. - February 8, 2011 at 11:41 PM
- Kyle D said...
"It's a good question, with a straightforward answer. Most Arabs don't want the US to force the dictators out. They simply want the US to stop propping those dictators up. We give $1.3 billion annually to Egypt, most of it used to purchase expensive weaponry from us."
+1 Rany. It's not our business. It's their business, and it's directly counter to the words politicians spew about wanting to allow people to control their own destiny, consent of the governed, etc. Sorry if I've spammed your blog a bit with anarchism lol.
I'd be happier to use theft to fund domestic welfare programs or free/subsidies healthcare than to use tax money to prop up a warfare state that tries to control the world. It's really hard to do one, and this country seems to be trying to do them both. It's an empire, and it will end like all the rest; due to economics. Really the talk of taxes as theft is semantics. We all know sociopaths always wish to take power and exert force over the rest of us. Another group will seize power after this one. I just want to be left alone to live out my life as I would choose to do so. - February 9, 2011 at 12:18 AM
- Karte said...
Kyle D.
Take a look at the money in your pocket - it says "United States of America" on it. It doesn't say "Kyle" or "Jim" on it.
If you don't want to pay taxes, don't make income - it is that simple.
Or, you can "live off the grid", using the barter system to obtain what you need. It's a great system, and was widely used before money was invented. - February 9, 2011 at 6:13 AM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Okay something we can agree on. +1. I hate that my taxes are being used to fund imperialism and the war, torture and repression that go along with that. But...cue Realpolitik. In our absence I'm certain someone else would be more than willing to provide these countries with tools of repression and lots of dictators have managed to survive just fine without U.S. support and even in the face of overt U.S. opposition. (Which isn't necessarily to say that our support is morally justified.)
This is also the fundamental problem with anarchism of any kind. There are ALWAYS rulers. If the vacuum exists, someone will always step into it. It might be the guy with the most guns or the guy with the most money or the guy with the most connections, but someone will always fill that role. The only hope we have as individuals is to influence how that ruler is selected, thus my argument that taxation isn't the issue, but representation is.
I'm familiar with the "starve the beast" argument, but in my analysis a weaker federal government only creates a vacuum that in this country is likely to be filled by people with the most money, who also happen to be the people that benefit the most from our imperialism and ultimately will result in an outcome the direct opposite of the one you prefer.
When the founding fathers debated the estate tax, a significant part of the argument had nothing to do with revenue, but instead was concerned with preserving democracy by preventing oligarchy. Since the 1950's tax rates on corporations and the wealthiest individuals have fallen dramatically. Over this same time frame corporations and the wealthiest individuals have acquired more influence over our representative bodies than any time since the 1890's and appear to be using their influence to acquire more. Is this merely a coincidence?
I think we can agree that we would like to have more influence over how our tax dollars are used. I still disagree that taxation is theft, but I do think taxation is a form of control. It is the means by which "the people" attempt to control the individuals that may not have the best interests of "the people" at heart. - February 9, 2011 at 8:27 AM
- Kyle D said...
"It is the means by which "the people" attempt to control the individuals that may not have the best interests of "the people" at heart."
That's an interesting point. Do these individuals not count? Why is their best interest overruled? If only the people would allow them to opt out of what they did not want to participate in, what's the harm? Obviously, that would not include opting out of things like murder, theft, rape, etc.
The opting out would suffice for me. - February 9, 2011 at 8:36 AM
- Kyle D said...
The barter system is still subject to theft via taxation. - February 9, 2011 at 8:37 AM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
"Why is their best interest overruled?"
Their "best interest" is limited to preserve the power of individuals to have control over their own lives. Money can be just as much an instrument of repression as guns. Stalin killed as many with famine as he did with his police and army, if not more. The distribution of power/influence in the U.S. roughly correlates with the distribution of wealth and over the last 30 years that correlation has grown stronger, but unlike the generation of wealth in which "all boats can be raised", the distribution of power/influence IS a zero-sum game and when one individual gains power/influence one or more other individuals lose it. If you run that equation out to its limits you end up with only a small group of individuals holding all the power. To maximize freedom and liberty for all individuals, which I think most would agree is a morally good outcome, the power that any one individual obtains must be capped or at the very least progressively restrained.
Morality and ethics are easy when an action helps or hurts everyone and the consequences end immediately with that action, but all black and white systems of morality and ethics break down when actions help some and hurt others and consequences reverberate into the future, i.e., in the real world. Even religions have been arguing continuously for thousands of years about what their "divinely-provided" moral codes really mean. Laws are our attempt to implement a moral/ethical code in the real world, thus in democracies government and laws comprise a contract that all citizens make with each other about which rules they will follow, how those rules will be enforced and adjudicated, and how they will be modified.
But if you really want to claim some sort of moral superiority and that taxes are theft then you need to explain how you're going to return all the lands, their minerals, flora and fauna stolen from indigenous peoples and pay reparations to all the descendents of slaves, because by your moral principles all of us non-native U.S. citizens are either squatters, in possession of stolen property and/or beneficiaries of stolen property. Yeah, it's a lot to untangle. Morality in the real world gets pretty sticky.
I'd love to live in your anarcho-capitalist utopia, where no one tried to use their power to control others (I also wish the Royals had a budget like the Yankees,) but curse the fates or gods or luck, that's not the planet we were born on or the species we were born into. I don't know, maybe you could find your idyll somewhere amongst the Yanomami tribespeople of the upper Amazon, but I gather they're not doing so well. Marx's utopia, as flawed and disregarding of human nature as it is, is more realistic and practical than the anarcho-capitalist version. - February 9, 2011 at 11:20 AM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
I can't imagine how "opting out" would work in practice as Congress can't even pass a budget on time as it is and implementation would likely cost many times more than the taxes collected, but you can try this: I have a deal with a "pro-war right-wing," family member who constantly gripes about "lazy leeches stealing his money." We agreed that he will pretend that all of his taxes were used to buy 1/20th of a Tomahawk Cruise Missle (Mfg. Recommended Retail Value $569,000,) which he approves of, and I'll pretend that all of my taxes went to put 5-1/3 kids through Head Start (1 cruise missile ~ 76 Head Start kids). He's not funding "lazy leeches" and I'm not funding death and destruction and we both feel morally clear. It would be an interesting and possibly worthwhile experience to set up a website that let individuals virtually earmark their taxes for specific purposes just to see which programs actually achieved their current levels of funding and which didn't. - February 9, 2011 at 11:44 AM
- Kyle D said...
lol Chris I like your website idea.
And I'm glad the Royals don't have the Yankees payroll; I'd rather we built from the bottom up like we're trying to currently. My greatest hope is Kila tears it up this year allowing us to move Hosmer to RF or LF, if Gordon continues to suck and opposite of Myers. :) - February 9, 2011 at 3:12 PM
- ztarhini said...
Good article. Definitely ok to get away from the Royals when your going to talk about something so relevant and important. Very well written too. Not to change the subject back to the royals again, but there is a pretty good article written on the potential of each player and what to expect for the upcoming season. Take a gander if you have nothing else to do!
http://kcsportsspot.blogspot.com/ - February 9, 2011 at 4:28 PM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Yeah, but pitchers and catchers report in 5 days therefore your argument is invalid.
Actually thanks for the debate. I think that's the first political debate I've had on the internet that didn't devolve into shouting and name calling and stayed relatively on topic. - February 9, 2011 at 8:18 PM
- Unknown said...
Rany I enjoy your posts on the Middle East---It provides other points of view we don't get from our news sources. Thanks for the post----I enjoy reading all your posts
- February 10, 2011 at 11:58 AM
- Kyle D said...
I wanted to share this link with just you personally as I think I've spammed Rany's blog here enough. You don't have your profile open though, so I'll just post it here in hopes you get it, or someone else wants to read it.
http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=5519 - February 10, 2011 at 1:21 PM
- Chris said...
Kyle D,
Ah yes...the Libertarians. With all due respect, blah blah blah. I'm familiar with the Libertarian position. I once thought Libertarianism sounded pretty cool...like when I was 14. But it's a fantasy.
I don't pay taxes because I'm afraid of anything. I pay taxes in the same spirit that I repair my roof and change my oil and take out the garbage. I pay my taxes because I like the world I live in, because I benefit from the world I live in.
Can you provide even one example of a successful society based on libertarian principles in the history of the world? When I look around, the richest, most free and most liveable countries all have strong federal governments and high tax rates. - February 10, 2011 at 4:16 PM
- KCJoe said...
Kyle D & Chris (and Rany too),
I'm new to Rany's blog but certainly impressed in this short time. I am also quite impressed with a political discussion that did not devolve into crassness especially in the anonymity of the internet.
I must admit that at first I did form pretty quick judgements of Kyle and like a solid, albeit boring sitcom, it all worked out in the end.
Thanks to all. I feel a little bit smarter than I was an hour ago. - February 10, 2011 at 5:39 PM
- Kyle D said...
"Can you provide even one example of a successful society based on libertarian principles in the history of the world? When I look around, the richest, most free and most liveable countries all have strong federal governments and high tax rates."
No, I cannot.(unless you want to talk of extremely small communities, or non-physical communities like craigslist.org) It's fairly simple why though. Libertarians by definition are non-violent, except in direct self defense. They do not believe in using aggression of any kind against another person. The statist of any persuasion, from Socialism to fascism or anywhere along the left-right paradigm, has no problems whatsoever with using aggression against others. They seem particularly smitten by it when that other person happens to be of a different political ideology.
Even in a vaccum of authority there would be people who rush to fill the void. The libertarian will never be that person, though. Because of this rush to power human beings have come to define government as a necessary evil, or something that is inevitable. Some of you even get to thinking its a good thing, lol.
As to the most free and liveable countries all having strong federal governments and high taxes, I'd say thats not surprising at all. Naturally, if there is more loot to go around the parasite that steals from the host will be larger and stronger. Jamaica doesn't have a strong government. I'd say its because there's not as much looting to be done. Government can ONLY do one thing; grow. It cannot recede from where it has begun to touch, and it can only touch whatever it touches in a stronger manner. That holds for just about any bureaucracy. The fact that there are countries that have thrived in this environment is not because of government, but despite it. America is what it is not because the Constitution told us what rights we have and not because we vote every so often, but because of the people and that for the first time in history people were generally allowed to thrive to their greatest ability and were rewarded directly for doing so. That's not the case anymore. Why do you think that might be? Do you think it might have some coincidental link to the ever expanding government, at all levels?
Regardless if our current state may be more liveable than Somalia or North Korea, anyone who thinks the U.S. is in for a great 50 years ahead of us is in for a rude awakening.
How about this question Chris: Can you provide for me an example of any government that has lasted anywhere in the history of the world? I'll even let you choose from any system of government you'd like. - February 11, 2011 at 12:25 AM
- mark said...
Rany, I like the depth of your baseball writing but I'm not as fond of your current events postings. Like the Passion, not sold on the particulars.
"If they don't create jobs and make the trains run on time, they'll be thrown out of office in the next election just like every other political party"
"The Arab people see the US as a potential voice for democracy in the region, and if the US simply stayed out of their affairs while encouraging the democratic process from afar, the Arab world would have a high opinion of us"
Unless they grow skeptical of Democracy. How about a second option, the U.S. offers absolutely no opinion and no aid to anyone in Egypt. - February 11, 2011 at 8:44 AM
- John said...
Well, Hosni's gone.
Here's hoping that Iran, Saudi Arabia or Libya is next... - February 11, 2011 at 1:03 PM
- Kenneth said...
please don't be disuassed by all the posts and people passing by. Just because you are getting more hits on this political article; just because we love your writing style; just because I think we need to start a facebook campaign to get you to become a guest on the Daily Show with John Stewart; just because I loved reading an intelligent well thought out persuasional essay on the current events of the middle east ....
Kenneth - February 11, 2011 at 7:08 PM
- Dodd said...
Rany, you give me hope, but the first part of this op-ed captures my fears: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/02/11/goes-egypt-goes-middle-east/
Please convince me that Egypt and Tunisia won't turn into Iran, Afghanistan, or Somalia. - February 12, 2011 at 12:20 AM
- Kyle D said...
Dodd -
Iran, Afghanistan and Somalia are all direct examples of where US foreign policy went wrong by interfering with other countries business. Leave the Egyptians to their own choices, and lets mind our own business and start leading by example instead of force. - February 12, 2011 at 3:22 PM
- GregN said...
Sweet. Great writing and perspective as usual.
Thx. - February 13, 2011 at 6:11 PM
- Unknown said...
Sir, I have never commented, I enjoy your prospective on the royals very much. I have sat and watched the Egyptian revolution unfold and have wondered what this could mean for America, the middle east, and the world at large. I could guess and conjuncture on what it means for an average american, and even our country at large. But, until this, I have not seen, found, read, or heard an intelligent opinion or thought from someone well versed in the region and it's nueance. Thank you and well done.
- February 14, 2011 at 2:39 AM
- Bill said...
You know, Rany...you're the most unlikely conglomeration of two of my primary interests in life: the Royals and the Middle East.
Frankly, I'd prefer if you consistently wrote a Royals/Arab Current Events blog. But then again, I've thought about this for a long time...I just don't think it would work.
Very glad to hear your occasional non-Royals thoughts, though! - February 14, 2011 at 9:57 PM
- David said...
I know I'm very late to the party, but as always, thank you for your insight.
- February 28, 2011 at 3:45 PM


text: Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Not long ago on this program, we reported that food expiration dates are often meaningless. Let's take that concept into space. Researchers from the University of Hawaii and Cornell University are asking you to send them long-lasting recipes. They want to help NASA determine an extremely durable menu to keep astronauts fed, should the agency send people on a four-month journey to Mars. I got just one word for you, NASA: Cheetos. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Exposed is a compelling survey of 250 works that tackles subjects both iconic and taboo, questioning the ambiguity of surveillance and voyeurism.
The prolific use of mobile phones, cameras, CCTV, and the internet has ensured that we are never alone or unwatched, and that each of us is cast as unwitting voyeurs ourselves. New technology has enabled us to become amateur artists and removed the cloak of innocence that used to shroud candid, amateur shots. Dramatic as it may sound, we increasingly live in a Big Brother society where every move is watched and charted, in, for the most part, the interest of "safety". We are members of a post-9/11 society that is increasingly content to allow a higher degree of surveillance and intrusion into our private lives as this intrusion supposedly offers more protection. The inherently invasive quality of the photograph is discussed by critics, typically from a more theoretical standpoint than an actual examination of the historical use of photography as a tool of investigation and documentation.
Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera, opens this summer at Tate Modern, and takes as a starting point the unwitting subject – the focal point of the photograph captured innocent and unaware. The exhibition, co-curated by Sandra Phillips (of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and Simon Baker (of Tate), aims to complete this often negated aspect of art history through the thematic arrangement of five specific strands of photography: the hidden/unseen photographer; voyeuristic photography; the cult of the celebrity and paparazzi; the camera as witness to violence; and surveillance. Exposed demonstrates by its execution that the subject is never as innocent as it may seem. Whether one of Brassai's prostitutes who are, by their profession, always on stage and posing for a potential customer, or the celebrity figures photographed by paparazzi such as Ron Gallela, the audience is never wholly oblivious.
The exhibition includes more than 250 works of photography and film, brought together by Phillips and Baker in order to comprehensively illustrate each thematic strand. Surveillance photography, from a private eye photographing a cheating husband to international espionage, has perhaps been the least examined in an art historical and critical sense as it is usually seen as a scientific tool rather than an art object. Surveillance footage necessarily involves the use of film as well as photographic cameras and has been used as an artistic tool by artists, like Bruce Nauman, since the 1970s. Nauman's Video Corridor (1968) consisted of two surveillance cameras placed at either end of two parallel floor-to-ceiling walls so that the viewer was faced with concurrent images of themselves. Through the camera's placement and the spatial arrangement of the walls to create a claustrophobic space, the viewer stands within a panoptic enclosure in which they exist as both audience and subject. Video Corridor encapsulates the reality of contemporary Machiavellian society: how often do we walk into a store and see ourselves depicted on carefully situated observable camera screens? Works by Nauman, along with artists like Merry Alpern and Thomas Demand, examine and illustrate the prevalence of surveillance footage and the circulated image in mainstream society and how their availability impact our own perceptions of ourselves. By simply leaving one's house, the viewer steps onto an urban stage and becomes an unwitting performer.
The art critic and curator, Michael Rush, states that, "It is a short leap from looking (fixing one's gaze upon another) to voyeurism (taking delight in extended gazing) to spying (surreptitiously studying the actions of another)." As children we are told not to stare, because staring bridges that gap between innocently looking and the voyeuristic gaze. Photographers, like Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Weegee (aka Arthur Fellig), are difficult to categorise as they both look and spy, and have certain voyeuristic qualities to their work. Weegee originally worked as a freelance news photographer during the 1930s, chasing down often violent crime scenes via the police radios he kept with him in his car. The resultant images portray an often harsh reality, documenting the aftermath of crime and neglect. There is a vulnerable element to many of Weegee's images as he captures the fleeting emotions of crime: the fear, the cruelty, the misery, and the defeat. His photographs, in many ways, could thematically fall within each strand of Exposed.
Weegee, like Henri Carter-Bresson and Jacob Riis, among others, photographed the "decisive" moment, those moments lost by staged photography, but encapsulated by candid street photography. To differentiate between voyeurism and street photography has become an increasingly difficult task. Jacob Riis, an American journalist during the late 19th century, was perhaps one of the first street photographers. Riis used the element of surprise, often bursting into dark tenements and quickly taking a flash photograph before scurrying away. He was one of the first to use flash photography in this way – as a form of social awareness using the photograph in order to reveal the depravation and poverty existent in the New York tenements. Baker argues that it is the very fact that the tenement dwellers were caught unaware and by surprise that the images are so powerful, as the photographs capture the true reality of their existence. Walker Evans, whose work is also included in the exhibition, typifies an artist who would fall outside the category of a "street photographer" as his work is of rural early twentieth century society and is slightly more staged. However, Evans, like Diane Arbus after him, had the unnerving ability to emphasise with his subjects in such a way as to draw out the hidden emotions of the human psyche. His images of families and children can often be disturbing and uncomfortable as they depict people at the crossroads and in the throes of exploration.
The term "voyeuristic photography" is perhaps best exemplified by an artist such as Kohei Yoshiyuki. His photographic series "The Park", which was first exhibited in 1979 at Komai Gallery in Tokyo, depicts images of heterosexual and homosexual couples engaging in public sexual acts at night in Tokyo parks. Yoshiyuki focuses not just on the couples in his photographs, but the peeping toms that creep up to watch. These images spotlight the fascination with "looking" – an often morbid fascination that causes people to slow down when driving past a fatal car accident on the side of the road. Intrinsic to the act of "looking" is that of desire and fetish: the camera's eye captures a moment and thereby possesses that moment. Playboy and Hustler magazines have capitalized upon this relationship between image and audience. The viewer cannot touch the naked woman depicted, but they can own the magazine in which the image is presented; desire consummated in effect. Unlike Nan Goldin, who knowingly took on the role of peeping tom, Yoshiyuki distanced himself from such a label by placing an actual voyeur between himself, the camera, and the subject. Goldin's photographic series, Ballad of Sexual Dependency, documents the intimate and private moments of her friends, allowing her audience a glimpse into her world. Her subjects know her, and one assumes, had given some form of permission to Goldin to photograph at whim. There is thus a sense of familiarity and comfort in the photographs as they are less awkwardly staged than images by a photographer of an anonymous / unknown subject and consequently have an inherent eroticism. By inviting Goldin in on private moments, usually invisible to the camera's lens, they are inviting her to participate in that act which is photographed. Contemporary artists, such as Tracy Emin with her Unmade Bed (1999), follow in the footsteps of Goldin, inviting the audience to participate in her private life as she makes it public.
Goldin and Emin specifically invite the audience into their lives, thereby acting as their own subject, and raising questions about participation, distance, observation, and the sanctity of one's public image. The knowing subject, such as those captured by Shizuka Yokomizo, is an empowered subject as it can create an image of how they would like to be seen. Yokomizo's series Stranger (1998-2000) was centred on this idea of the participatory photography: subjects were sent an anonymous letter asking them to stand in front of their window at a specific time and date and to stand still whilst she photographed them (she stipulated in the letter that they should close their blinds should they not wish to participate). Yokomizo never revealed her identity and existed as an anonymous entity, appearing as nothing but a dark shadow committing an intimate act. The very participation of the subject in this series exhibits an extraordinary degree of trust and security in the unknown photographer as they are entrusting her with their public persona within that most private of places: the home. Exposed illustrates the difficulty that photographers have with creating a relationship between themselves and their subject, whether they want that relationship to be somewhat anonymous as with Yokomizo's works, or whether they want their relationship to be personal, as with Goldin.
The photograph is an inherently erotic object, because it visually captures the human form on paper. When photography was first introduced as an artistic medium during the nineteenth century, it was looked upon in fear by many who saw the image as "stealing" a part of one's soul. As a printed piece of paper the photograph was seen to contain a portion of the human element, thus the inanimate object became somewhat real and desirable. In much the same way that the camera's lens captured this human element, so does the audience through the act of looking. The politics of looking is an integral aspect to photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe, for whom the historic and prolific image of the "erotic" white female nude became a focus. Mapplethorpe took this subject and subverted it: his iconic images of the male form, and the inclusion of genitalia, shocked many conventional critics for whom this outright embracing of the male nude and of the New York S & M scene straddled the line between photography and pornography. Mapplethorpe photographed intimate sexual acts and captured them in an artistic and masterful way: his images are highly stylized, technically correct, and illustrate his interest in the inherent beauty of the human form. Although he generated a tremendous amount of controversy during his career, it is his images rather than the public backlash that will endure. The value of the erotic image as an art object could be debated ad infinitum, but Mapplethorpe proved, without a doubt, the cultural value of its inclusion within art historical discourse.
Phillips and Baker have chosen photographs that embody this element of the erotic and that illustrate the critical significance of the image as a provocative artistic tool. The photograph is the gaze made real, concretely exhibiting the dialectical relationship between observer and observed and calling into question the legitimacy of looking.
Exposed opened 28 May and continued until 3 October 2010 at Tate Modern. www.tate.org.uk/modern/.
Niamh Coghlan


text:
I'm off to Interbike for the rest of the week. So no more posts or e-mail until next week. Otherwise VO will be open and filling orders as usual, though the showroom will close at 3pm for the next 3 days.
The photo is of my new Pass Hunter. It's just back from the paint shop and I can't wait to build it up as soon as I get back. The plan is to use as many VO components as possible. Currently the wait for Pass Hunter semi-custom frames is about 6 months and the price is $1550.
23 September, 2008
Interbike and Pass Hunter
Posted by Velo Orange at 11:01:00 AM
40 comments:
- Greg said...
Looking forward to seeing a Velo-Orange bike.
- Anonymous said...
Chris, that color looks great. Is this a repaint of the previous Pass Hunter, or a new one? The color looks slightly darker than before.
- Velo Orange said...
That's the same frame and the same color, but a new fork. The color seems to change a lot depending on the light. I took that pic under florescent lights which tend to distort colors.
- Olle said...
chris, no braze on for vo front rack, or are they only missing on this fork. Are the frames close for shipment, or can you tell me about my frames delivery.
Olle in Sweden - 9/23/08, 2:19 PM
- Anonymous said...
Love that green!
- Velo Orange said...
Olle, You may remember that we decided to use the less expensive Nitto M-12 rack with these frames. The M-12 is a better choice with the canti brakes due to clearance issues.
The first frames should ship in about 6 weeks. - 9/23/08, 2:32 PM
- Felkerino said...
Wow. Well done. You're raising the bar with these, Chris. Next year you have to take a couple to the Dirt Demo and really stir the pot.
- Anonymous said...
Chris, who was the builder on this one? I assume it is a steel weld as opposed to a fillet braze. And if so those are some very nice welds.
I would like to see the older traditional horizontal dropouts on a frame like this but he that's my single speed mentality. And I still don't know why we don't still see those horizontal dropouts on a traditional steel frame. What is the real downside?
Phillip - 9/23/08, 5:13 PM
- C said...
"And I still don't know why we don't still see those horizontal dropouts on a traditional steel frame. What is the real downside?"
Not as fender friendly. Also not as traditional as you might think. Take a look at Herse and Singer frames and you'll see many were built with vertical drops.
Also outside of single speed conversions, what advantage does a horizontal dropout have to offer? - 9/23/08, 5:37 PM
- Anonymous said...
Phillip, Ahren Rogers is the builder.
- Anonymous said...
Love it. If I had the funds I'd be on the waiting list for this frame as we speak. Lately I've developed a new appreciation for expert TIG welding, largely because, after painting, they remind me of the old constructeur fillet brazed frames. Those often had very minuscule fillets, and a smooth weld under thick paint looks about the same.
- Mike said...
Looks fantastic, nice color but be wary of yellow parts as the "John Deer" luck has struck before.
- Anonymous said...
mmmmm split pea soup . . . so delicious and good for you too!
--mw - 9/23/08, 10:05 PM
- Anonymous said...
"And I still don't know why we don't still see those horizontal dropouts on a traditional steel frame. What is the real downside?"
Axle breakage (although that has more to do with freewheel vs. cassette hubs), the aforementioned fender issue, fussing with wheel centering (without infernal, delicate dropout screws), and heavier QR skewers. Heavier because they need to hold the wheel horizontally as opposed to just vertically. You can't have a carbon skewer and some monster pounding on the pedals with horizontal dropouts, it'll just drag the wheel out of center. It's a little safer with vertical, because the frame is in the way of any movement.
That said, my race bike is an old Raleigh Pro with horizontals, and my city bike is a '60s path racer with huge long track ends and fender eyelets. Try that one out! I've got wingnuts to loosen the fender stays in order to remove the rear wheel, but it's a monster pain. - 9/23/08, 10:30 PM
- Anonymous said...
Sorry Chris, I´m missed that info.
I was looking forward to use your nice looking VO front rack, it´s nothing wrong with Nitto.
But I have Nitto front racks on my Atlantis, Heron, Rivendell but they have clamps on th fork instead on braze on fittings.
My goal with this frame is to build nice, versitile, light, simple bike for randonneuring with h´bar bag.
/Olle in Sweden - 9/24/08, 8:04 AM
- nordic_68 said...
Yup, singlespeed and fenders will always be a ball of wax. I prefer a vertical dropout for the reasons mentioned above, and an ENO hub. My ENO setup jacks the fender line, but perhaps with a half-link the wheel will have a better fore-aft position. As I've focused more on versatility, I've concluded that wheel changes are the solution. Touring wheel vs ENO wheel etc.
"You can't have a carbon skewer and some monster pounding on the pedals with horizontal dropouts"
Doesn't sound like VO's target audience. Anyone who's using a boutique skewer, carbon or otherwise, with an external cam will have less reliability... - 9/24/08, 3:32 PM
- Anonymous said...
Thanks for the answers to my questions . Ahren Rogers ... now I remember seeing that in the blog way back when Chris mentioned this Pass Hunter frame design.
Now this issue of vertical versus the common older horizontal dropouts. If the axle is fastened properly and is a good steel one not some cheap-o aluminum or some very costy carbon-bit racy one I can't see the breakage problem as mentioned. On one of my single speeds with real track dropouts I use genuine track bolts. And other than the inconvenience of carrying a wrench it is a damn good way of attaching the wheel on a single or fixed gear bike. Hands down!
I have another single speed built from a classic early 1980's Columbus tubed touring frame with campy horizontal dropouts. And it seems to work fine with the older Record QR.
Because of issues like fenders, racks and differential tire sizes and brake reach issues some one is going to have to come up with some better arguments to get me to believe the vertical drop out is the way to go on a semi-custom or custom build that may require differing setups for various rides and tasks. And I may point out I'm one of those older dudes that try and hang on to a great riding frame forever (I should put it into my will that I be buried with these frames ... because you never know if you come back into a world of crappy bicycles). So having the option of making it a single speed and adding fenders and etc. should always be an open option.
As usual arguments are welcome.
Phillip - 9/24/08, 6:22 PM
- Mike said...
My only argument for vertical dropouts is this:
Put the wheel in and it's always centered. No eyeballing, no fussing, it's simply always centered and not going anywhere. You could even forget to tighten the QR and your wheel wouldn't move. - 9/24/08, 8:12 PM
- Anonymous said...
Does anyone know what the difference between this and the VO Randonneur frame are, other than lugs?
Bill - 9/24/08, 9:59 PM
- Anonymous said...
One other difference is that
the Pass Hunter is designed for
cantilever brakes. The Randonneur
is designed for center pulls, but
both frames have brazed-on mounts.
Preston - 9/25/08, 12:25 AM
- Anonymous said...
I guess I do not follow what you are saying in your second post. You list all the good reasons for vertical drop outs on a bike that is meant to have fenders and be ridden on the mountain roads, far from bike shops or easy support options. Without any counter to why these are good arguments, you ask for more reasons to go vertical.
Vertical dropouts work better with fenders, are easier for the road side mechanic (believe me, letting all air out of the tire on my Trek 728 so I could get the wheel off then refilling is no picnic with a min pump). Easier wheel adjustments. Lighter components. All good reasons for vertical.
As for converting to a single speed - this is a pass hunter - a bike meant to climb mountain roads. Recall, mulit-speed bikes and derailleurs were developed because Tour de France riders figured there had to be a better way than getting off and walking their bike in the mountain stages. - 9/26/08, 10:13 PM
- Anonymous said...
I'm not trying to suggest that a specific use bike such as the Pass Hunter or any other one that some one claims is unique should have a specific rear dropout. To me a frame is a frame and should for my riding and commuting be as flexible as possible. Because one day you may no longer desire to hunt for mountain passes and just need a good riding bike that fits and rides well for those grocery store and other errands.
Based upon my many years of cycling experience and having one frame for over 34 years and two other frames for over 23 years that I still use on a regular basis tends imply that the more flexible a frame is to wheels and tire sizes is quite important in the long run.
I have nothing against vertical dropouts other than they are not nearly as flexible as a more horizontal one. And for some they may be easier to change a tire. But actually track rear ends are the easiest to use. But that was not my point. I'm simply talking about long-term flexibility in terms of the ever changing world of sizes and parts in the bike industry.
Most new production frames are nothing more than copies of racing designs. They are simply single use designs and unless one races offer little in terms of quality bicycle transportation in my opinion.
What I have been noticing is that some progressive independent builders are coming use with some very flexible and adjustable drop out designs based upon either single speed or internal hub gearing such as Rohloff or Nexus or Sturmey Archer. I am hoping that the future in bicycle transportation starts to slowly retire the 10 speed derailleur as we know it today. The concept of a straight drive line along with high quality flexible fitting components really does make sense to me.
Phillip - 9/28/08, 6:05 AM
- Anonymous said...
My camper is a Trek 728 with horizontal drop outs. The drop outs are the one thing I would change on the bike. I guess if I wanted to go single speed - hardly an option for a bike meant to carry all my gear over hill and dale - the horizontals have a plus over verticals. Otherwise, for almost every conceivable variation, long reach vertical drop outs are far more flexible.
If you think you may change from gears in the back to single speed, a quality eccentric drop out will provide more flexibility than horizontal drop outs. Horizontal drop outs make it more difficult to work with different tire sizes and fenders.
My town bike is custom built around a Rohloff Speed Hub. The OEM Rohloff drop outs would not work well with any other hub. You would really have to rig them just to get a different hub to stay put.
In my opinion, bikes built for sport - such as riding as fast as possible on mountain roads or speeding on a velodrome are far too compromised in too many ways to convert to an optimal every day bike. I know many people are using track bikes around the city. I see them every day. I also see their riders making silly compromises - such as carrying loads awkwardly on their backs that would be much better carried on a front rack - which they would not have to make if they had a town bike and a track bike.
If you ride for sport and commute by bike, the best way to manage is to have two bikes. - 9/28/08, 7:25 PM
- Velo Orange said...
Building this frame with horizontal dropouts would be a huge compromise. If you think that being able to turn a Pass Hunter or Rando into a fixie or 29er or loaded tourer is desirable, then please don't buy a VO frame. It would be a waste.
Our aim is to build a bike that is versatile, but this versatility comes from good design, superb handling, and integration with specific types of components and accessories. Properly built up, the Pass Hunter would be perfect for pass hunting and also excellent for brevets, inn-to-inn tours, daily transportation and even fast club rides. All this is possible without changing the build.
Being able to slap random components on a frame is not versatility; it is compromise. - 9/29/08, 11:46 AM
- Dad said...
A nice dropout design that incorporates the best of both worlds is that used on modern Gios bikes. It's a vertical dropout that can be moved forward and rearward. I had one of these bikes for a while and I thought it was a very fine machine indeed. Not sure why this type of dropouts isn't used in frames which might at some point be built up as fixed/singlespeed/internally geared bikes.
- Anonymous said...
My two cents agrees with Chris. As for the single speed thing, there does exist such a thing as half-links for your chain. Or there's that tensioner that fits on the drop-out. Besides, there are a billion other frames out there made specifically for fixed/single. If it's that important, save up some extra dough and get one of those, right? :)
- Anonymous said...
Another option for singlespeed/hub gears with vertical dropouts: an eccentric BB in a normal shell.
- Anonymous said...
I get the feeling some people have responded about my remarks in favor of a horizontal or a new form of an adjustable drop in a typical way as if I stated something about their religion or political beliefs.
My point was reflected in an way that for me, my next custom or semi-custom frame will most certainly have them. And my reasons are that simply speaking from my standpoint all of my bicycles have to accommodate my own particular needs. A typical ride or commute for me may take me over various road or even off road conditions. Sometimes I find myself gong over train tracks, pot holes, gravel, dirt paths, along with two and three mile inclines. Never do I find myself in a criterium race, road race or any type of competitive bicycle event. My bicycle's main purpose is go from point a to b in a fun and enjoyable way. This includes normal work commutes and errands and just fun riding along the Southern California coast.
What I see out there when I ride is a true reflection of the consumer bicycle industry. Ninety percent of the riders I see are riding production bicycles influenced by the large commercial industry. Today this primarily means 14 pound carbon racing bikes with very small tires. The riders of these are dressed in racing costumes and pushing as large gears as they can. And their average age is about 20 years my junior.
I average about 150 or more miles per week in what is one of the more popular bicycling corridors anywhere, and that is the coastal routes between along north San Diego. And yes it's training ground at times for many team riders and wanna be Tour de France riders. But because of the year round conditions it is also simply a good commuting and recreational cycling mecca. So my picture is not a distortion of reality.
The point that I am trying to suggest is simply that there are many ingenuous frame builders out there that do not adhere to the common market beliefs of Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, and others. They understand things like straight chain lines and bicycles that work well under almost any condition and frames that can accommodate real world tires and wheels. And that was exactly my point from the get go. I'm not trying to be critical of a special use bike in general. I'm simply advocating the concept of a general use bike because of the real world conditions required that for the type of extended daily traveling I like to do. And that includes taking advantage of what a bicycle can do in terms of alternative transportation.
Here is one example of a what I call a real world bike:
Phillip - 9/30/08, 3:49 PM
- Anonymous said...
Oh for you fans of derailleurs here's a good example using the same concept:
Phillip - 9/30/08, 3:54 PM
- Anonymous said...
Respectfully Phillip, VO makes a City Bike. VO to its credit is also one of the best sources for hard to find components that make city bikes work well and look good while working well.
Moreover, if you look around Chris' site, you should notice he is one of the more ardent promoters of giving up cars for bikes out there.
This particular thread concerns a speciality pass hunter bike. Rather than post on one of the many threads here dealing with VO City Bikes, you criticize a wonderfully designed pass hunter because it does not contain a feature you think necessary to make it something it is not meant to be.
I have been car free for going on five years now. I am beginning to have a pretty good idea of what it takes to make a bike a good all around commuter, shopper and night on the town rider. That does not mean I cannot appreciate a bike designed for sport. Frankly, I find it difficult to understand why someone would come to a web store that is an excellent source for city riding and lecture us all for also liking sport. Why not say we should all be 1960's China and ride one style bike in out jump suits with pictures of Mao on every top tube?
As for your link: Ahearne makes good stuff, although many of his racks are more pizazz than substantive. In fact my city bike proudly sports a VO rack where the Ahearne half rack originally sat. - 9/30/08, 9:34 PM
- Anonymous said...
Oh, and by the way: Several of Ahearne's bikes in the gallery do have vertical drop outs.
Any builder worth half his/her salt knows there are many situations where vertical drop outs make sense. - 9/30/08, 9:37 PM
- Anonymous said...
Joel ... why do you take such offense at my comments on rear drop outs? I like the Pass Hunter and if you go back and read what I said you will see that I very much complimented the the frame. I simply made a comment that I'm into these new adjustable drop outs that I've seen on many bikes at the NABS back in March in Portland.
Maybe I'm preaching to the choir when it comes to bikes for transportation as opposed to sport or just recreation. All I'm saying is that I would like to see more really good quality designs being offered for transportation. Other than transportation and sport and/or recreation I see no other categories of cycling design. Nothing's wrong with sport or recreation cycling ... its just a little bit over done in the industry IMHO.
But please don't take simple comments so personal. I was thinking the blog is the place to present various ideas to improve the quality bicycling in general. So far it seems that Chris has very much encouraged people to comment and put forth different ideas. That's why I read his blog. - 9/30/08, 10:38 PM
- Anonymous said...
an open forum for thoughts is great . we all see it differently.frankly, i've ridden since 1971 and i have seldom thought about dropouts... i'm having too much fun riding my 33 year old mercian.
- Anonymous said...
My touring bike has vertical dropouts, and I probably would not have bought that frame if it had horizontal ones because horizontal dropouts and fenders make for an annoying situation I just do not need on a touring bike.
If horizontal dropouts are a must, then there are many, many options. I use nice old lugged steel road bike frames for single speed & fixie conversions. They are cheap and plentiful, even ones made of 531 and with good paint. Also, I hear there is a fresh batch of Quickbeams in the pipeline.
This thread is about the pass hunter, though. Looks like another home run there, Chris. Thanks again for moving the edge of the envelope in the direction we want it to go! - 10/1/08, 12:56 AM
- Anonymous said...
Phillip: There is no problem with your feelings about bikes.
There is a a problem with assumptions which you voice that somehow this spot and VO are a place that does not get your point. For instance, why link photos to Ahearne when VO makes bikes and racks just as practical and certainly more affordable?
There are a number of forums where most believe carbon and titanium are everything and bikes are only racing tools. Your points and attitude make sense there. Here they seem to miss the point about what VO has stood for from day one.
So it is not taking offense, but wondering what is the point? - 10/1/08, 6:10 AM
- Anonymous said...
Joel ... my only point was that I was expressing interest into a semi-custom frame that would incorporate many of the qualities shown on the Pass Hunter only with an adjustable rear drop out. And the reason for that is quite simple. I would like to get away from a derailleur system. How much more simple could that have been expressed?
Showing links to the other website was certainly no dig at Velo Orange and its offerings. And to interpret that way really puzzles me. For example Ahearne's wait time on a custom bike similar to the one shown would probably be well over three years. As Chris has stated that there is a considerable wait time for the Pass Hunter. And the wait time for bikes such as the very high end (very spendy no doubt!) Vanilla Cycles is now over 5 years! So my point is that if a new custom or semi-custom frame takes that long of a wait time one should be able to get it exactly the way they want ... right?
The discussion I assumed was custom or semi custom frames in general not just the Pass Hunter which is no doubt a very fine example of what most of the readers of this blog drool over.
I really can't explain my point any better. I'm just sorry you don't get it. If I didn't communicate it well enough than please accept my sincerest apologies. But I did get the impression that I some how offended you or the Velo Orange offering. And that was quite the opposite of my intention.
Phillip - 10/1/08, 2:28 PM
- Anonymous said...
We do "get it," since we are really not stupid. We just don't agree with you. Get over it.
- Anonymous said...
Why is everyone piling on Philip? He expressed a preference for horizontal dropouts, and suddenly the sharks are circling. Lighten up. This should be a place where people can express their opinions without being denigrated.
Matt - 10/2/08, 3:51 PM
- Anonymous said...
apparently my comment about came across as offensive and got deleted. To keep things in perspective, I like to think of all the poor people I see in Chicago riding the rusty ten-speeds and mountain bikes everyday without fail, sleet or shine because they can't afford even the bus. Personally, I think they put all of us to shame who have the luxury of debating about the proper bicycle for "real worl" everyday commuting. Myself included. :)
- Steve said...
An anonymous horizontal dropout lover said:
Joel ... my only point was that I was expressing interest into a semi-custom frame that would incorporate many of the qualities shown on the Pass Hunter only with an adjustable rear drop out. And the reason for that is quite simple. I would like to get away from a derailleur system. How much more simple could that have been expressed?
As Spock once said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The Pass Hunter isn't the frame for you. We get it, but it's time to give it a rest and go find a nice custom.
Let me suggest a Coho: wait time is something like 3 months and frames are around $1300. - 10/3/08, 8:51 AM


text:
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The road to retirement is seldom smooth. You need a sound savings strategy to help overcome obstacles in your path.
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Social Security and Medicare rules can be complex. To help maximize benefits, it pays to understand your options.
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Greater demand is being placed on the Social Security system as the baby boom generation has begun to retire.


text:
99 questions/80 to 89
This is part of Ninety-Nine Haskell Problems, based on Ninety-Nine Prolog Problems.
If you want to work on one of these, put your name in the block so we know someone's working on it. Then, change n in your block to the appropriate problem number, and fill in the <Problem description>,<example in lisp>,<example in Haskell>,<solution in haskell> and <description of implementation> fields.
A graph is defined as a set of nodes and a set of edges, where each edge is a pair of nodes.
There are several ways to represent graphs in Prolog. One method is to represent each edge separately as one clause (fact). In this form, the graph depicted below is represented as the following predicate:
edge(h,g). edge(k,f). edge(f,b). ...
We call this edge-clause form. Obviously, isolated nodes cannot be represented. Another method is to represent the whole graph as one data object. According to the definition of the graph as a pair of two sets (nodes and edges), we may use the following Prolog term to represent the example graph:
We call this graph-term form. Note, that the lists are kept sorted, they are really sets, without duplicated elements. Each edge appears only once in the edge list; i.e. an edge from a node x to another node y is represented as e(x,y), the term e(y,x) is not present. The graph-term form is our default representation. In SWI-Prolog there are predefined predicates to work with sets.
A third representation method is to associate with each node the set of nodes that are adjacent to that node. We call this the adjacency-list form. In our example:
[n(b,[c,f]), n(c,[b,f]), n(d,[]), n(f,[b,c,k]), ...]
The representations we introduced so far are Prolog terms and therefore well suited for automated processing, but their syntax is not very user-friendly. Typing the terms by hand is cumbersome and error-prone. We can define a more compact and "human-friendly" notation as follows: A graph is represented by a list of atoms and terms of the type X-Y (i.e. functor '-' and arity 2). The atoms stand for isolated nodes, the X-Y terms describe edges. If an X appears as an endpoint of an edge, it is automatically defined as a node. Our example could be written as:
[b-c, f-c, g-h, d, f-b, k-f, h-g]
We call this the human-friendly form. As the example shows, the list does not have to be sorted and may even contain the same edge multiple times. Notice the isolated node d. (Actually, isolated nodes do not even have to be atoms in the Prolog sense, they can be compound terms, as in d(3.75,blue) instead of d in the example).
When the edges are directed we call them arcs. These are represented by ordered pairs. Such a graph is called directed graph. To represent a directed graph, the forms discussed above are slightly modified. The example graph above is represented as follows:
Arc-clause form
arc(s,u). arc(u,r). ...
Graph-term form
Adjacency-list form
Note that the adjacency-list does not have the information on whether it is a graph or a digraph.
Human-friendly form
[s > r, t, u > r, s > u, u > s, v > u]
Finally, graphs and digraphs may have additional information attached to nodes and edges (arcs). For the nodes, this is no problem, as we can easily replace the single character identifiers with arbitrary compound terms, such as city('London',4711). On the other hand, for edges we have to extend our notation. Graphs with additional information attached to edges are called labelled graphs.
Arc-clause form
arc(m,q,7). arc(p,q,9). arc(p,m,5).
Graph-term form
Adjacency-list form
Notice how the edge information has been packed into a term with functor '/' and arity 2, together with the corresponding node.
Human-friendly form
[p>q/9, m>q/7, k, p>m/5]
The notation for labelled graphs can also be used for so-called multi-graphs, where more than one edge (or arc) are allowed between two given nodes.
Problem 80
Write predicates to convert between the different graph representations. With these predicates, all representations are equivalent; i.e. for the following problems you can always pick freely the most convenient form. The reason this problem is rated (***) is not because it's particularly difficult, but because it's a lot of work to deal with all the special cases.
Example in Haskell:
λ> graphToAdj Graph ['b','c','d','f','g','h','k'] [('b','c'),('b','f'),('c','f'),('f','k'),('g','h')]
Adj [('b', "cf"), ('c', "bf"), ('d', ""), ('f', "bck"), ('g', "h"), ('h', "g"), ('k', "f")]
Problem 81
Write a function that, given two nodes a and b in a graph, returns all the acyclic paths from a to b.
Example in Haskell:
λ> paths 1 4 [(1,2),(2,3),(1,3),(3,4),(4,2),(5,6)]
λ> paths 2 6 [(1,2),(2,3),(1,3),(3,4),(4,2),(5,6)]
Problem 82
Write a predicate cycle(G,A,P) to find a closed path (cycle) P starting at a given node A in the graph G. The predicate should return all cycles via backtracking.
Example in Haskell:
λ> cycle 2 [(1,2),(2,3),(1,3),(3,4),(4,2),(5,6)]
λ> cycle 1 [(1,2),(2,3),(1,3),(3,4),(4,2),(5,6)]
Problem 83
Write a predicate s_tree(Graph,Tree) to construct (by backtracking) all spanning trees of a given graph. With this predicate, find out how many spanning trees there are for the graph depicted to the left. The data of this example graph can be found in the file p83.dat. When you have a correct solution for the s_tree/2 predicate, use it to define two other useful predicates: is_tree(Graph) and is_connected(Graph). Both are five-minutes tasks!
Example in Haskell:
λ> length $ spanningTree k4
Problem 84
Write a predicate ms_tree(Graph,Tree,Sum) to construct the minimal spanning tree of a given labelled graph. Hint: Use the algorithm of Prim. A small modification of the solution of P83 does the trick. The data of the example graph to the right can be found in the file p84.dat.
Example in Haskell:
λ> prim [1,2,3,4,5] [(1,2,12),(1,3,34),(1,5,78),(2,4,55),(2,5,32),(3,4,61),(3,5,44),(4,5,93)]
Problem 85
Two graphs G1(N1,E1) and G2(N2,E2) are isomorphic if there is a bijection f: N1 -> N2 such that for any nodes X,Y of N1, X and Y are adjacent if and only if f(X) and f(Y) are adjacent.
Write a predicate that determines whether two graphs are isomorphic. Hint: Use an open-ended list to represent the function f.
Example in Haskell:
λ> graphG1 = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] [(1,5),(1,6),(1,7),(2,5),(2,6),(2,8),(3,5),(3,7),(3,8),(4,6),(4,7),(4,8)]
λ> graphH1 = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] [(1,2),(1,4),(1,5),(6,2),(6,5),(6,7),(8,4),(8,5),(8,7),(3,2),(3,4),(3,7)]
λ> iso graphG1 graphH1
Problem 86
a) Write a predicate degree(Graph,Node,Deg) that determines the degree of a given node.
b) Write a predicate that generates a list of all nodes of a graph sorted according to decreasing degree.
c) Use Welch-Powell's algorithm to paint the nodes of a graph in such a way that adjacent nodes have different colors.
Example in Haskell:
λ> kColor ['a','b','c','d','e','f','g','h','i','j'] [('a','b'),('a','e'),('a','f'),('b','c'),('b','g'),('c','d'),('c','h'),('d','e'),('d','i'),('e','j'),('f','h'),('f','i'),('g','i'),('g','j'),('h','j')]
Problem 87
Write a predicate that generates a depth-first order graph traversal sequence. The starting point should be specified, and the output should be a list of nodes that are reachable from this starting point (in depth-first order).
Example in Haskell:
λ> depthFirst ([1,2,3,4,5,6,7], [(1,2),(2,3),(1,4),(3,4),(5,2),(5,4),(6,7)]) 1
Problem 88
Write a predicate that splits a graph into its connected components.
Example in Haskell:
λ> connectedComponents ([1,2,3,4,5,6,7], [(1,2),(2,3),(1,4),(3,4),(5,2),(5,4),(6,7)])
Problem 89
Write a predicate that finds out whether a given graph is bipartite.
Example in Haskell:
λ> bipartite ([1,2,3,4,5],[(1,2),(2,3),(1,4),(3,4),(5,2),(5,4)])
λ> bipartite ([1,2,3,4,5],[(1,2),(2,3),(1,4),(3,4),(5,2),(5,4),(1,3)])


text:
Project Members
- Paul Heggarty
- Jakob Runge
'Sound Comparisons': New Tools and Resources for Exploring Language Family Diversity on the Web
This project arose out of the separate but related Language Relatedness and Divergence research theme, which has over a number of years invested a great deal of fieldwork to collect explicitly comparative recordings on regional accents, dialects and languages across both Europe and the Andes. It then further entailed many thousands of hours of phonetic analysis and transcription to create the databases from which its measures of linguistic divergence were calculated.
To make the most of this data collection and analysis, that research has always been accompanied by this Sound Comparisons project, to ensure that the recording and transcription data are made as available and relevant as possible not just to other researchers in linguistics, but also to the people who actually speak the language varieties concerned. Thanks to dedicated outreach funding on a previous project, this began with devising and programming 'hover to hear' websites, a user-friendly design to allow users to hear and compare instantaneously online the precise differences in pronunciation from one region to the next, across an entire language family at a time.
The first such website was created for the main language families of the Andes, and is currently still hosted at www.quechua.org.uk/Eng/Sounds/. A second project then established www.soundcomparisons.com, on Accents of English from Around the World, later extended to the entire Germanic family at www.languagesandpeoples.com/Germanic. Those original websites have become somewhat outdated, however, and were entirely reprogrammed by Jakob Runge, into a new structure, no longer of static html pages, but a real-time database lookup system. This also allowed a wide range of powerful new functions: displaying transcriptions and instantaneous sound files on a Google map view; advanced searching and filtering, of both spellings and IPA transcriptions; selecting and exporting transcriptions and audio files for users to download; and an interface to allow the entire website to be easily translated into new user languages.
The new website is launched in spring 2013, by combining the three existing databases, plus new components from a specific sub-project on the Sounds of the Andean Languages. Over the course of the rest of 2013 and 2014 the new site was further expanded with new coverage of the Slavic and Romance families. Ultimately the whole structure was made available as a template so that new websites can easily and swiftly be added for any other language family. Candidates to be targeted in the medium and long term include Basque, Turkic, Arabic, Bantu, Arawak, Celtic, and Indo-European itself.


text:
Farmers in California, where Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency last month, are facing hard choices as a drought threatens to ruin their crops. They must weigh the costs of paying for irrigation against the chance that their fields will never get enough water this season.
A striking picture illustrates the severity of the situation, as Northern California's Folsom Lake, a reservoir northeast of Sacramento, is seen in January at only 17 percent of its capacity. In July 2011, "the lake was at 97 percent of total capacity and 130 percent of its historical average for that date," according to NASA.
The federal agency says it is working with the California Department of Water Resources to help the state manage its water resources. Last month, NASA released other images showing the drought's severity. As NPR member station KQED reported, the state's snowpack is shown in January 2013 and last month. Much of it did not return.
Here are other updates on the situation:
NASA said today that it's working to share satellite and weather data with California farmers and water officials to help them avoid wasting water, and to use it in the most efficient way possible. The space agency says a trial run of its Satellite Irrigation Management Support system in 2012 and 2013 "demonstrated sustained yields while reducing the amount of water used by up to 33 percent relative to standard practice."
Growers of almonds — a state crop valued at $5 billion in 2012 — have been pulling trees out of the ground while they're still in their prime, in desperate actions driven by high water costs. The AP spoke to a grower who watched crews rip 20 percent of his orchard out of the ground. A man who does that work for a living says business is up 75 percent because of the drought, and his crews are working from sunup to sundown.
Forecasts of rain and snow were welcomed by many Californians, as parts of the state could see more rain this week than they've had in the previous eight months together. But Time's Bryan Walsh warns that even with that rainfall, "much of California will still be below average for precipitation this month. Since February tends to be the wettest month for California, that means that the state still has a larger and larger rainfall deficit to make up if this drought is to ever end."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.