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December 28, 2009
Y chromosomes of Dagestan highlanders
The key role of patrilineal inheritance in shaping the genetic variation of Dagestan highlanders
Laura Caciagli
The Caucasus region is a complex cultural and ethnic mosaic, comprising populations that speak Caucasian, Indo-European and Altaic languages. Isolated mountain villages (auls) in Dagestan still preserve high level of genetic and cultural diversity and have patriarchal societies with a long history of isolation. The aim of this study was to understand the genetic history of five Dagestan highland auls with distinct ethnic affiliation (Avars, Chechens-Akkins, Kubachians, Laks, Tabasarans) using markers on the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. The groups analyzed here are all Muslims but speak different languages all belonging to the Nakh-Dagestanian linguistic family. The results show that the Dagestan ethnic groups share a common Y-genetic background, with deep-rooted genealogies and rare alleles, dating back to an early phase in the post-glacial recolonization of Europe. Geography and stochastic factors, such as founder effect and long-term genetic drift, driven by the rigid structuring of societies in groups of patrilineal descent, most likely acted as mutually reinforcing key factors in determining the high degree of Y-genetic divergence among these ethnic groups.
58 comments:
- ashraf said...
is Daghestani J1 related to Arabian J1?
- Monday, December 28, 2009 9:26:00 pm
- Bedros said...
No it is not related to Arabian J1. it is all of the J1* with DYS388=13 variety.
According to the authors: "we did not detect the high repeat numbers (X15) for DYS388 as reported in the Arab and Jewish populations from Near East nor did we find the single-banded motif YCAIIa22-YCAIIb22, associated with the diffusion of Arab people in Near East and North Africa. The Cohen, Galilee and I&P Arab modal haplotypes, which were reported in the Turkic populations from Anatolia were not found in the Dagestan samples.
They also estimated the TMRCA at 11.700 years and observed that "this estimate is in agreement with the archeological record which indicates that some of these ethnic groups have lived in the Dagestan mountains for over 10 000 years. These results suggest that colonization of Dagestan probably took place during an early phase of the peopling of Eurasia. - Monday, December 28, 2009 10:02:00 pm
- Maju said...
That's quite interesting information for those of us who do not have access. Thanks, Bedros.
Also I find interesting that R1b1 is almost non-existent north of the ridge. - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 4:45:00 am
- Maju said...
And now that I notice, it's curious that the Turkish sample shows much less J2 than usual, while in turn reporting very high levels of I (c. 25%). Am I reading wrong the shades code (admittedly a little difficult to discern) or is this that way? If so, can it be explained by some peculiarity of the sample?
- Tuesday, December 29, 2009 4:49:00 am
- Ebizur said...
Maju said...
"Also I find interesting that R1b1 is almost non-existent north of the ridge."
Y-DNA haplogroup R1b is quite frequent among Turkic peoples of the North Caucasus (e.g. Balkars, Kumyks) according to the data of Yunusbaev et al. (2006) and Battaglia et al. (2008), and as many as 68% of the Bagvalins and 40% of the Tabasarans of Daghestan carry R1b Y-DNA according to Yunusbaev et al. (2006).
Maju said...
"And now that I notice, it's curious that the Turkish sample shows much less J2 than usual, while in turn reporting very high levels of I (c. 25%). Am I reading wrong the shades code (admittedly a little difficult to discern) or is this that way? If so, can it be explained by some peculiarity of the sample?"
The authors of the present paper have cited the work of Nasidze et al., whose data regarding the composition of the Y-DNA pools of populations of the Caucasus and Southwest Asia do not agree with any other published data set. - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 5:41:00 am
- terryt said...
From my understanding of the situation various waves of human migration have broken along the Caucasus Mountains since Homo erectus first arrived there.
Although the Ossetians have managed to establish themselves in a small region along a pass through the mountains isn't it taken for granted that most movements north or south through the region between the Caspian and Black Seas has been east of the Caucasus, through Daghestan to Azerbaijan? Presumably these movements have left their mark in the hill country as well, and are responsible for some of the haplogroups mentioned in this study.
Although most movement through the region would be east of the hills I'd further guess that the Daghestanis are not the only group of people in the region to 'share a common Y-genetic background, with deep-rooted genealogies and rare alleles, dating back to an early phase in the post-glacial recolonization of Europe'. Comparison with these other groups would be a most interesting add-on excercise. - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 4:49:00 am
Articles about the circassians would be interesting too.
- Wednesday, December 30, 2009 7:24:00 pm
- Unknown said...
"is Daghestani J1 related to Arabian J1?"
Most Arabian J1 belong to downstream lineages that were able to spread fast from 3000 BC & on, they J1 subclade L147 is associated with the Semitic tribes that pressured all other lineages & outbred them by taking away their resources & females.
Dagestan J1* are mainly archaic isolates who protected themselves in the highlands from R1-M173 hordes & later added.
*IJK-L15------------> Caspian
**K-M9--------------> East Caspian
**IJ-429------------> West Caspian
***I-M170-----------> Europe
***J-M304-----------> Anatolia
****J2-M172---------> Mesopotamia
****J*-458.2--------> South Arabia
*****J1-M267--------> Anatolia
******J1e-P58-------> Levant
*******J1e3-L147----> South Arabia - Friday, January 01, 2010 8:27:00 pm
- Unknown said...
"through Daghestan to Azerbaijan?"
The Northern part of the Rep of Azerbaijan is Lezginstan which is an Ethnically populated Dagestani region - Friday, January 01, 2010 8:39:00 pm
- ashraf said...
- Friday, January 01, 2010 9:18:00 pm
- Maju said...
Most Arabian J1 belong to downstream lineages that were able to spread fast from 3000 BC & on...
Who says 3000, says 4000, right? I say because it's a much more historical date for Semitic expansion.
But we should not forget that apart of Semitic expansion as such, there might have been previously other flows, associated to Neolithic and even maybe Epipaleolithic cultures.
Also about a good deal of J1 haplotypes appear (Semino 2004) quite tightly associated to North Africa (though also West Asia) and could represent a pre-Semitic J1 presence in that area (J1 is way too common to be claimed to have spread there only with Islamic expansion). I would seriously consider this cluster to represent some other flow. After all J1 must be a very old lineage and can't be only associated with the Semitic language family, whose influence in North Africa is too recent and shallow.
The Northern part of the Rep of Azerbaijan is Lezginstan which is an Ethnically populated Dagestani region.
There is not any Daghestani ethnicity: Daghestan is a republic with many different ethnicities. However Lezgians are speakers of a NE Caucasian language, phylum also present in Daghestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia. - Friday, January 01, 2010 9:41:00 pm
- ashraf said...
J1 should be rather associated with north afrasan languages(semitic,egyptian and berber).
Whereas J2 with proto semitic substratum in indo-european languages.
And also with the north afrasan substratum in indo-european languages(please read the very interesting Black Athena book)
Arnaud Fournet
The document describes some sections of the Chamito-Semitic morphology and their counterparts
in the lexical and morphological evidence contained in the Indo-European languages. The explicit
conclusion of the author is that Indo-European languages are a branch of Chamito-Semitic and that
the material described and analyzed constitutes inherited features that prove the relationship of
Indo-European to Chamito-Semitic.
Perhaps the most known common feature of Indo-European and Semitic languages is a less or more developed system of vowel alternations in inflexion and in word-formation, called apophony or ablaut. It should be emphasized that this phenomenon is rare in other language groups, and at least less universal.
According to last theories,ie languages homeland is khorassan/sogdiana(current afghanistan,tadjikistan...)and suggestingly were peoples used to call themselves Aryans.
This region is linguistically very homogenous(presence of just 1 ie branch=indo-iranian)same as Arabia for aa languages(with the presence of just 1 aa branch=semitic)
It could be that successive waves occured from the homeland in different historical times resulting in genitical indo-europeinisation of neighbouring peoples than a lingistical indo-europeinisation of more distant peoples by first indo-europianised peoples and so on.
The closest branches to indo-iranian are slavic and armenian(which have a strong pre indo-european substratum).
Proto indo-europeans could be the result of a mixture between pre proto semitic speaking J2 farmers coming from middle east and borean speaking local R1a populations of afghanistan.
This will explain the presence amongst pashto of J2 haplotype and also explain the shared lexicon(three,six,seven,star,bull,goat,boat,barley,town,home,sparrow,ear,eye,tongue,head,field...)and shared apophonic* inflective morphology of semitic and ie languages - Friday, January 01, 2010 11:09:00 pm
- ashraf said...
*Ehret groups Egyptian, Berber, and Semitic together in a North Afro-Asiatic subgroup
Berber,Semitic and Egyptian are distinct from the other aa languages in the facts that they have a SVO apophonic morphology whereas kushitic and tchadic have a SOV agglutinative morphology.
The few lexical and grammatical features shared by north afrasan and kushitic-tchadic are most likely due to a proto north afrasan superstratum or sprachbund over a nilotic or niger kongo speaking E1b1b peoples as a result of J+R1 people migrations into Africa.
This is also confirmed by the presence of sumerian and hurrian loanwords in african branches of afrasan. - Friday, January 01, 2010 11:18:00 pm
- Maju said...
While ethnic and hence linguistic flows may be somewhat related with haplogroups, it is always good to keep clear the difference. After all people learn new languages and lose old ones all the time.
Whereas J2 with proto semitic substratum in indo-european languages.
I don't agree with this. J2 seems more associated with the "highlander" Neolithic (in contrast with the Palestinian Neolithic that was surely related to J1 and some E1b1b) and its expansion into Europe and South Asia. IMO, neither Indoeuropean nor Afroasiatic phylums are in fact related with this Neolithic flow and what you call "Semitic substratum" is probably pre-Semitic substratum in Semitic itself. The influence of Semitic and other possible Afroasiatic languages before the Semitic expansion of the 4th millennium BCE was probably restricted. There must have existed other language families in West Asia and related areas of which we only know so much (some survived long enough as to be recorded like Sumerian, Hurro-Urartean, Hattic, Etruscan... but others surely did not). The modern Afroasiatic+Indoeuropean almost total hegemony in West Eurasia is with all likelihood not reflective of the situation in the Neolithic period. The fact that some J1-dominated ethnicities speak NE Caucasian (possibly associated with Hurro-Urartean) or that some R1-dominated ones speak Basque is witness to that. - Saturday, January 02, 2010 12:35:00 am
- Unknown said...
Who says 3000, says 4000, right? I say because it's a much more historical date for Semitic expansion.
L-147 is about 5000years old ~ so yes 3000 BC fits perfectly
In North Africa (Berberized J1e) were already present before Islam (via Jewish exiles, Phoenicians & possibly even the offspring of loose Roman Neareastern Soldiers) so the 5%-10% J1 amongst Berber makes alot of Sense (J1e Phoenician Elites -not all Punics were J1 we know that! some where- who had access to more females, Promsicuious Jews, Soldiers & obviously the 1400yrs of Peninsular influence left some J1 amongst the Berber)
Moderate Pre-Islamic J1e amongst Berbers? Yes
Neolithic J1e amongst Berbers? Minimal at best
Same thing applies to Ethiopia is it a coincidence that J1e jumps to 33% amongst Christian Amhara Semitic Speakers, while it drops to an eye catching 2% amongst Non-Semitic speaking Cushite Natives who live right by them! even the Muslim Somalis! - Saturday, January 02, 2010 1:50:00 am
- Unknown said...
Ehret groups Egyptian, Berber, and Semitic together in a North Afro-Asiatic subgroup
Although Semitic languages spread mainly by J1e-P58, Semitic was passed to J1e via E1b1b1c-M123 in Western Arabia which is both a highe % region for E1b1b1c & J1e who made J1e-P58 speak the new language thats completeley diff than the language spoken by their genetic relatives (Sumerian J2 or NE Caucasian J1*)
Proto-Egyptian---- E1b1b1a-M78
Proto-Berber------ E1b1b1b-M81
Proto-Semitic----- E1b1b1c-M123
*M81 Exclusively Berbers
*M78 Core -spreading North & South-
*M123 the Proto-Semitic group that interacted with J1e-P58 producing the Semitic language, the homeland of E1b1b1c-M123 was SW Asia, possibly pressured into the Sarawat mountains-Taurus in later times - Saturday, January 02, 2010 2:02:00 am
- Unknown said...
don't agree with this. J2 seems more associated with the "highlander" Neolithic (in contrast with the Palestinian Neolithic that was surely related to J1 and some E1b1b)
How about these folks?
J1 Dagestan Highlands (land of Mountains!) which happens to be the highest J1 % region outside of Arabia
J1 Yemen highlands are the most populated region of Arabia are also high % J1
J1 Amhara highlands those folks choose the highest peaks in Eastern Africa non-other than the Amhara highlands of Ethiopia.
J2 Mesopotamia Lowlanders although invaded over & over, J2 presists in high %, that tells you J2 people love the lowlands were the river flows & are willing to switch their language to Semitic, Turkic, IE aslong as they can hold on to their land.
J2 S Azerbaijan lowlanders the higher populated Turkic speaking Azerbaijan lowlands (south Azerbaijan), opposed to Northern Azerbaijan (highlands Lezginstan), J2 amongst Turkified Lowlanders -who Turkified to survive or were Anatolian arrivals
All in All you can hold on to your theory, but you need to accept that J1 are highlanders per excellence & that many J2s are lowlanders ;) - Saturday, January 02, 2010 2:17:00 am
- Maju said...
L-147 is about 5000years old...
1. Who says that?
2. "is about X years old" in genetics is always relative.
In North Africa (Berberized J1e) were already present before Islam (via Jewish exiles, Phoenicians & possibly even the offspring of loose Roman Neareastern Soldiers) so the 5%-10% J1 amongst Berber makes alot of Sense...
Doesn't make any sense if you compare with the other major Phoenician colony: Iberia, where J1 is ridiculously low, or with the Phoenician homeland, where J2 is surely more important.
Jewish influence is negligible, as Jewish (Sephardim) have similar amounts of J1 and J2 (Ashkenazim have the apportion much more slanted to J2) and it is much more likely for what we know that Berber blood impregnated Jewish one than viceversa (lots of Berbers converted to Judaism in the early Middle Ages).
So J1 in North Africa cannot be attributed only nor mostly to these historical Semitic influences without forcing the evidence.
As for "the highlanders", Gulu, you misunderstood me (and/or I did not explain well): I did not mean as an absolute term but as term relative to West Asian Neolithic, with Palestine and nearby areas being the "lowlands" and the Taurus-Zagros arch being the "highlands".
Mesopotamian lowlands (Sumer) were settled most likely by an offshoot of some of those "highlanders" from the Zagros area, so it is only logical they are overwhelmingly J2.
Sorry about the confusion. - Saturday, January 02, 2010 4:20:00 am
- ashraf said...
"Although Semitic languages spread mainly by J1e-P58, Semitic was passed to J1e via E1b1b1c-M123 in Western Arabia which is both a highe % region for E1b1b1c & J1e who made J1e-P58 speak the new language thats completeley diff than the language spoken by their genetic relatives (Sumerian J2 or NE Caucasian J1*)"
You have to explain why you associate J2 with sumerians and J1 with NE Caucasian,what about other distinct languages of this area such as hurrian,kassite,elamite,NW caucasian to which haplogroup could they be associated?
NE caucasian is remotely connected to NW caucasian so it could be that NW caucasians G's assimilated proto semitic J1's of NE caucasus.
Also why E1b1b should be original afro-asiatic speakers when their genetic relatives are Niger-Kongo and Nilotic speakers.
How could you explain the presence of hurrian loanwords in african branches of Afro-Asiatic.
How could you explain that the amount of J1 amongst Egyptian copts is much more important than amongst muslim ones.
How could you explain that J1 pic in Maghreb coincides with Tashawit speaking Berber populations and that isolated mountainer Kabyle Berbers have as high as 20% J1.
How could you explain the(universaly very rare)shared apophonic(with universaly very rare dual and feminine pronouns) morphology and lexicon between north afro-asiatic and indo-european.
How could you explain that Semitic Eblaite language(which has the pecularity of containing both east semitic and west semitic features) is considered by some linguists to be 8000 years old and have no foreign loanwords.
How could you explain that shared semitic-ie roots have a semitic etymology for example:
sab'a(ie septa=7)came from semitic sababa=index finger.
thuraya(ie star)came from semitic sara=to travel by night. - Saturday, January 02, 2010 4:08:00 pm
- ashraf said...
According to this paper,eblaite(which both have west semitic and east semitic features=an indice of its closeness to proto semitic)could be as old as 8 ky. - Saturday, January 02, 2010 4:24:00 pm
- Maju said...
Ashraf, I do agree pretty much with your objections to Gulu. But...
NE caucasian is remotely connected to NW caucasian -
This is very controversial. I'd rather be safe and consider them separated phyla. Other theories relate them with historical Hurro-Urartean and Hattic respectively.
proto semitic J1's
Why proto-Semitic? Non-Semitic I'd say. There is no and there has never been any Semitic or Afroasiatic language in the Caucasus, at least out of the mosques and synagogues.
Also why E1b1b should be original afro-asiatic speakers when their genetic relatives are Niger-Kongo and Nilotic speakers.
Precisely. Because these are African phyla and Afroasiatic is too (with the only exception of Semitic). Anyhow it's like comparing the "genetic relatives" of Indoeuropean speakers (if we associate them with macro-haplogroup F (or even with subclades K and P) speaking Papuan, Guarani, Chinese or whatever else. The level of time deph you are talking about is way too deep to matter in comparison with what we may know of languages.
How could you explain the presence of hurrian loanwords in african branches of Afro-Asiatic.
This is interesting, can you lead me to where can I read more on this? However it can be explained by Neolithic influences, I presume.
How could you explain that shared semitic-ie roots have a semitic etymology for example:
sab'a(ie septa=7)came from semitic sababa=index finger.
thuraya(ie star)came from semitic sara=to travel by night.
This is very speculative and would in any case refer to mere isolated "coincidences", unless you apply a consistent methodology through all the dictionaries (in which case it'd be still somewhat controversial until you work also with the grammar).
Anyhow the Arabic number that sounds more to sept and similar IE forms is in fact six (sitta, from my parcheese nights in Morocco, so similar to Spanish "siete", seven). Thuraya is not more similar to star or equivalent than Basque izar (star too). It's not impossible that some words have permeated from Semitic, via Phoenicians, Arabs or even the Assyrian traders of history into some Indoeuropean languages but I don't see the similitude you claim consistent enough to draw any conclusions.
Even the origin of sababa in sa'ba is surely not universally accepted. Linguistics is very slippery, be most cautious and rigorous if you want to reach to anything minimally solid.
According to this paper,eblaite(which both have west semitic and east semitic features=an indice of its closeness to proto semitic)could be as old as 8 ky.
Your link only includes a dated tree with no mention of Eblaite and that tree dates Semitic (its bifurcation) c. 6000 BP, almost exactly when Semites appear first in historical records and the archaeological record. However proto-Semitic may have existed in the Levant and/or the circum-Arabian pastoralist complex before that date. i.e. since any date from its divergence with Egyptian (dated in your tree to 9000 BP). - Saturday, January 02, 2010 11:03:00 pm
- ashraf said...
Thank you for the explanation,so afro-asiatic languages homeland is in Africa and (originally)they are most probably connected with the E1b1b haplotype.
For the Sumerian and Caucasian loanwords in African branches of Afroasiatic it's written in wikipedia.
However, an opposing theory is that Afroasiatic originated in the Middle East, and that Semitic is the only branch to have stayed put; this view is supported by apparent Sumerian and Caucasian loanwords in the African branches of Afroasiatic. - Sunday, January 03, 2010 5:15:00 pm
- ashraf said...
"Precisely. Because these are African phyla and Afroasiatic is too (with the only exception of Semitic). Anyhow it's like comparing the "genetic relatives" of Indoeuropean speakers (if we associate them with macro-haplogroup F (or even with subclades K and P) speaking Papuan, Guarani, Chinese or whatever else. The level of time deph you are talking about is way too deep to matter in comparison with what we may know of languages."
Why E1b1a,which is not merely a sister haplotype(as Q and R)but a sister sub-sub-sub clade of E1b1b,is associated with Niger-Kongo and Nilotic(Nilotic family expands sporadically from south Sudan to Western Algeria=indice of being the pre-afrasian language of north Africa?)languages when E1b1b would be associated with afrasian languages?
Keeping in mind that Afrasian languages are morphologically and lexically closer to indo-european languages than to Niger-Kongo and Nilotic languages.
Also some linguists suggest a proto semitic/proto akkadian substratum in daghestani languages.
As for Arabic thuraya,it's way distant from "star" but if we look more inside we can see the similarities between ie and aa related words.
Hebrew esther,Akkadian ishtar,Berber ithri,French etoile,Romanian steaua,Deutsh stark.
Same for numbers
We have semitic akkadian shishu and ie persian shesh and semitic amharic sabat and ie french sept,also semitic akkadian samane and ie slavic osam=8,semitic arabic thalath and ie english three,semitic akkadian ishten and ie slavic jeden=1.... - Sunday, January 03, 2010 5:40:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
These ethymologies are ridicolous, they are like the comparisons of Geneticists who compare DYS426 of Hg. R1b1b2a1b with the clades (except one) of R1b1*: between them there are many thousands of years and many mutations. Linguists compare reconstructed forms, like Geneticists must compare values of the same time (if it is possible). Indo-European "7" was probably *septm at least 5000 YBP. Which was the Semitic "7" of that date?
- Sunday, January 03, 2010 6:54:00 pm
- ashraf said...
Have you a source of an attested ie text with septm,of course no.
But,there are attested written texts of afrasian sabat as early as early as 2800 BC(Akkadian).
Also you have north afroasiatic Egyptian safx/sapx=7.
Sabat has a semitic etymology sababa=index finger whereas ie septm does not have an ie etymology. - Sunday, January 03, 2010 7:12:00 pm
- ashraf said...
Have you a source of an attested ie text of 5000 BC with septm?,of course no. - Sunday, January 03, 2010 7:14:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Linguists work by reconstructing the ancient not attested form. Indo-European linguistics is a science from at least two centuries: *septm is the form reconstructed from Latin "septem", Greek "'eptà" English "seven" and infinite other languages. I think you care of a little bit of Western science, in many fields.
- Sunday, January 03, 2010 7:26:00 pm
- ashraf said...
But semitic roots too are reconstructed and semito-egyptian is older than indo-european.
http://indo-european-migrations.scienceontheweb.net/semitic_numbers.html - Sunday, January 03, 2010 7:50:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
It is the same to say that your ancestors are older than mine. Languages, like men (and any other living being), have the same age. We all come from a cell of about 4,000,000,000 of years ago. So languages come from the first form of human speaking, old how homo sapiens sapiens probably.
- Sunday, January 03, 2010 8:07:00 pm
- ashraf said...
The same website states that proto semitic sabat is related to proto ie septm along with many other words(including the numerals 1,2,3,6...)
http://indo-european-migrations.scienceontheweb.net/PIE_semitic.htm - Sunday, January 03, 2010 8:12:00 pm
- Maju said...
... it's written in wikipedia.
Ok. A brief reference in the balancing section of NPOV policy. I hoped to get a PDF link... :(
Phylogeny levels:
CF > F > IJK > K > MNOPS > P > R > R1 > R1a (typical IE)
DE > E > E1 > E1b > E1b1 > E1b1b (typical Afroasiatic)
E1b1b is at the level of R, P is at the level of E1b1. Not that this means too much (as timelines were surely somewhat different and maybe new nodes can be discovered eventually) but is convenient to keep in mind for a quick reference.
Keeping in mind that Afrasian languages are morphologically and lexically closer to indo-european languages...
Are they? I never heard that (except from some old proponents of the discredited Nostratic super-family, who anyhow have already dropped AA as part of their fantasy).
Also some linguists suggest a proto semitic/proto akkadian substratum in daghestani languages.
There's no such thing as "Daghestani languages". You must mean NE Caucasian (or Turkic, or...). If you mean NE Caucasian, on first sight I'd suggest a link with Sumerian via Hurro-Urartean within the Zagros Neolithic area. So it'd be pre-Semitic (before Semitic but in another group) rather than proto-.
As for Arabic thuraya (...) Same for numbers...
I could consider them but in any case they'd be more like loanwords within the context of Mediterranean cultural interactions. You can't really argue that they are originally Semitic, though it might be the case (i.e. via Phoenicians, who were very influential). They are isolated words in any case and nobody is denying that loanwords do exist. Numbers above 5 are not basic in any case (Sumerian for instance used a 5-based system, so six is five-one, etc.) - Sunday, January 03, 2010 10:22:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Ashraf, those ethymologies aren't worth.
To Maju I would say that Sumerian is certainly a Sino-Tibetan language. This is clear if you compare it not with Chinese but for instance with Ladhaki and other Himalayan Sino-Tibetan languages. - Sunday, January 03, 2010 10:41:00 pm
- Maju said...
Sino-Tibetan? OMG!
Sino-Tibetan itself is a controversial phylum. It may well be that Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman are two distinct families that just have influenced each other by sprachbund.
It makes little or rather absolutely no sense in the great picture to consider West and East Eurasian languages as potentially related beyond the common ancestral MP Eurasian origin, impossible to discern in linguistics anymore. Only some steppary/Siberian flows may escape this rule but they are well known.
Instead from the archaeological viewpoint a Sumerian-Hurro-Urartean-NE Caucasian link makes perfect sense. Now, I don't claim that I have deciphered it in linguistic parameters, just that it would be totally logical. - Sunday, January 03, 2010 11:50:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Maju, I know you are sceptic about the great families, but Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Na Dené, Sumerian (I think) and your Basque are thought to be in this same philum. Of course they separated so many years ago that very few has remained common, but you can see something also today in the construction.
- Monday, January 04, 2010 8:22:00 am
- Maju said...
Nah. It's a total rant. I studied Chinese for some time and it's simply impossible that has any connection with Basque.
Also, as I said before, it would make no sense, considering that we know (mostly from genetics but not contradicting archaeology) that Eurasia was colonized in a U pattern from tropical Asia. Hence East Asians and West Eurasians just have too distant common ancestors to share linguistics at any level that is not the highly speculative of proto-Eurasian. - Monday, January 04, 2010 9:24:00 am
- Gioiello said...
There are many great linguists who take care of these questions and If I was you I would be less presumptuous.
If you study today Chinese of course a link would seem unlikable, but today "6" liu, Min le was *drug a few thousands of years ago. And to compare Sumerian with Sino-Tibetan take Ladakhi or other conservative languages, not Chinese. If you know Min you would know that there are again some cases markers: wo ai ni /wa ai DI nu. - Monday, January 04, 2010 1:22:00 pm
- ashraf said...
mr Maju,I think that your difficulity is that you are not familiar with so different languages.
AA morphology is apophonic inflective with dual and feminine pronouns and its basic lexicon has eursiatic counterparts,this is very clear for everyone that knows ie and semitic languages.
And this shared apophonic inflective morphology with feminine and dual pronouns is almost absent in other language families of the world.
There is no shared morphology or lexicon between nilotic/niger-kongo with aa.
If you take a look at nostratic dictionnary you will see that aa not only is listened as nostratic,but is considered the closest branch to indo-european(morphologically and lexically speaking and cluster together under the lislakh subfamily)as both they are aophonic inflective
language phylums.(you could see the works of linguists Allen Bomhard,Carleton Hodge and Dolgopolsky..)
All your arguments are logical and can be true except the one stating that aa is closer to niger-kongo and nilotic than to indo-european. - Monday, January 04, 2010 4:59:00 pm
- ashraf said...
Also R1a(*18,000 bp)and E1b1b(**22,400 bp) have not very distant time of origin.
The time of origin of
R1a is far older than proto ie whereas E1b1b would have been well fitting with proto aa if its sister subclade E1b1a was not connected to very distinct Niger-Kongo phylum.
Some linguists(Greenberg)group Niger-Kongo and Nilotic together under a larger African Family so it could be very probably that E1b1a is related(originally)to Niger-Kongo phylum and E1b1b is related(originally)to Nilotic phylum.
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1b_(Y-DNA) - Monday, January 04, 2010 5:14:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Re: the Basque-Caucasic-Sino Tibetan- Na Dené philum, genetically, I think it woulden't be absurd to think to hg. R1b as to the carrier: Basque are R1b, R1b is diffused in the Caucasus, Burushò (Burushaski is another isolated language of this philum) have an high percentage of R1b, R1b is residual in North China and Korea, there is a disputed R1b in North America, that some genalogists are think as an European introgression, but others, like the great Brazilian geneticit Bortolini, are thinking present in America with the first arrivals.
- Monday, January 04, 2010 5:41:00 pm
- Ebizur said...
Burusho (Firasat et al. 2007)
C3-Pk2: 8.2% (8/97)
F-M89(xG-M201, H1-M52, H2-Apt, I-M170, J-12f2, K-M9): 1.0% (1/97)
J-12f2(xJ1-M267, J2-M172): 1.0% (1/97)
J2-M172(xJ2a4b1-M92): 7.2% (7/97)
K-M9(xT-M70, L-M20, N1-LLY22g, O2a1a-PK4, O3-M122, P-92R7): 1.0% (1/97)
L-M20(xL1-M27, L3-M357): 4.1% (4/97)
L3-M357(xL3a-PK3): 12.4% (12/97)
O3-M122(xL1Y): 3.1% (3/97)
P*-92R7(xQ-M242, R-M207): 1.0% (1/97)
R-M207(xR1-M173, R2-M124): 10.3% (10/97)
R1-M173(xR1a1a-M17): 1.0% (1/97)
R1a1a-M17(xR1a1a5-PK5): 25.8% (25/97)
R1a1a5-PK5: 2.1% (2/97)
Gioiello, where is the evidence for a significant presence of haplogroup R1b in the Burusho population of which you have spoken? - Monday, January 04, 2010 6:25:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Perhaps I should speak of Hg. R, which is more than the half of Burushò's DNA, and R is more credible for the ancientness. But of course, we should explain the origin of its subclades. Probably R had already many subclades and the survival of one rather than another can be due to many factors.
At this poit it would be decisive to state the ancientness of R and its subclades. Perhaps you know that I think its ancientness is greater than others are thinking.
Of course mine is only an hypothesis and I am the first to require proofs. - Monday, January 04, 2010 8:28:00 pm
- Maju said...
mr Maju,I think that your difficulity is that you are not familiar with so different languages.
Of course, nobody is. You are only truly familiar with the languages you can speak. You are not familiar with so many different languages either. Even the greatest polyglotes could only speak, what?, 20 languages?
But regardless if I'm familiar or not, what is clear is that MOST LINGUISTS do not accept such hypothetical phyla based on nothing but speculation carried to the extreme, almost true madness.
Anyhow, Dienekes has complained before about linguistic discussions unrelated to the topic and hence I'm dropping this here. - Monday, January 04, 2010 8:48:00 pm
- Maju said...
Burusho (Firasat et al. 2007)
C3-Pk2: 8.2% (8/97)
F-M89(xG-M201, H1-M52, H2-Apt, I-M170, J-12f2, K-M9): 1.0% (1/97)
J-12f2(xJ1-M267, J2-M172): 1.0% (1/97)
J2-M172(xJ2a4b1-M92): 7.2% (7/97)
K-M9(xT-M70, L-M20, N1-LLY22g, O2a1a-PK4, O3-M122, P-92R7): 1.0% (1/97)
L-M20(xL1-M27, L3-M357): 4.1% (4/97)
L3-M357(xL3a-PK3): 12.4% (12/97)
O3-M122(xL1Y): 3.1% (3/97)
P*-92R7(xQ-M242, R-M207): 1.0% (1/97)
R-M207(xR1-M173, R2-M124): 10.3% (10/97)
R1-M173(xR1a1a-M17): 1.0% (1/97)
R1a1a-M17(xR1a1a5-PK5): 25.8% (25/97)
R1a1a5-PK5: 2.1% (2/97)
10% R(xR1,R2)! Whoa! How could I ignore this crucial info? Great data again, Ebizur. =)
They look like a great candidate for the ancestral R, as they do not only have 10% R* but very high basal diversity within the haplogroup and even some upstream P(xQ,R).
Which is the source of this data, in particular the R(xR1,R2)? I ask because I might need to cite it in the future. - Monday, January 04, 2010 8:54:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Of course R1a1... is a back migration from West, anyway they are good candidates for the place of origin of R, but they lack all the subclades of R1b, that I think was born in Western Europe: you know how: R1b1* in Hiberia, R1b1b2/L23-, L23+ L150-, L150+ in Italy. Then the subclades in Central Europe with the first expansion after the Younger Dryas. Of course my calculation of MRCA isn't that of Nordtvedt, Klyosov etc.
- Monday, January 04, 2010 9:33:00 pm
- Ebizur said...
I have transcribed those data regarding the composition of the Y-DNA pool of the Burusho population from Figure 1 of the article by Sadaf Firasat, Shagufta Khaliq, Aisha Mohyuddin et alii, "Y-chromosomal evidence for a limited Greek contribution to the Pathan population of Pakistan," European Journal of Human Genetics (2007) 15, 121–126. This article should be accessible via the following URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2588664/
- Monday, January 04, 2010 10:52:00 pm
- Maju said...
Of course R1a1... is a back migration from West...
Or not. Remember that paper claiming that deeper phylogenetic diversity was detected in certain Indian tribe? R1a is not fully clarified and, considering that R and maybe even P have a likely South Asian origin, I can't discard that Hunza R1a1a is native at this point.
.. anyway they are good candidates for the place of origin of R, but they lack all the subclades of R1b, that I think was born in Western Europe...
R1b origins rather look West Asian. Otherwise is virtually impossible to explain not just local West Asian diversity and deep phylogeny within this clade (or at least R1b1b2) but also the presence of certain subclades in Africa (via Sudan probably) and in East Turkestan (Xinkiang, Uyghuristan).
R1b1b2a1 is the clearly European (or West European) clade, regardless that some other minor R1b1b2 clades (and maybe "Sardinian" R1b1a (which may be rooted in SE France) could also share such origin.
Another thing is the time depth, which I suspect much older than usually claimed. I suspect that R1 or at least R1b was active in West Eurasia already at the early UP. There's no other logical explanation within the known archaeological data. I am also every day more and more tempted to associate the westward migration of mtDNA N (particularly subclades R and N1) with a similarly westward migration of the recently proposed MNOPS haplogroup, which would manifest in this region essentially as P (or R, or R1, or R1b). Both mtDNA N and Y-DNA MNOPS look to me as having a SE Asian origin, soon after the early human expansion in Asia, best represented by Y-DNA F and mtDNA M.
you know how: R1b1* in Hiberia, R1b1b2/L23-, L23+ L150-, L150+ in Italy.
I have not seen anything within R1b1b2 in Europe that looks different from what is found in Anatolia. However I remain open to further discoveries and eager to know about them. - Monday, January 04, 2010 11:06:00 pm
- Maju said...
Thanks for the reference Ebizur. Looks like the Kalash also look pretty high in R* (7%).
- Monday, January 04, 2010 11:34:00 pm
- Ebizur said...
You're welcome.
For comparison, here are the Hunza Y-DNA data from Table 1 of the paper by Peter A. Underhill, Peidong Shen, Alice A. Lin et alii, "Y chromosome sequence variation and the history of human populations," Nature Genetics, Volume 26, November 2000:
1/38 = 2.6% C-M130(xC2-M38, C3c-M48/M77/M86, C3a-M93, C1-M8/M105/M131)
1/38 = 2.6% J2-M172(xM137, M67, M12, M68, M47, M158)
3/38 = 7.9% J2b-M102(xJ2b2a-M99)
1/38 = 2.6% H1a1-M36
2/38 = 5.3% H1a-M82(xH1a1-M36, H1a2-M97, H1a3-M39/M138)
1/38 = 2.6% F-M89(xI-M170, J2-M172, H(1?)-M52/M69, M62, K-M9)
1/38 = 2.6% O3a3c-M134(xO3a3c1-M117/M133)
2/38 = 5.3% K-M9(xO-M175, T-M70, K1-M147, L-M11/M20/M22/M61, N1c-M46, N1a-M128, M1-M4/M5/M106, P-M45/M74)
3/38 = 7.9% L-M11/M20/M22/M61(xL1-M27/M76)
3/38 = 7.9% R1-M173(xM160, M126, M18, M65, M153, M167, M37, M17, M73)
11/38 = 28.9% R1a1a-M17(xM157, M56, M64/M87)
2/38 = 5.3% P-M45/M74(xQ1a1-M120, Q1a2-M25/M143, Q1a3a-M3, R1-M173, R2-M124)
7/38 = 18.4% R2-M124 - Tuesday, January 05, 2010 12:34:00 am
- Gioiello said...
Maju writes: "I have not seen anything within R1b1b2 in Europe that looks different from what is found in Anatolia. However I remain open to further discoveries and eager to know about them".
We are waiting for two tests that can change our knowledge of R1b1b2:
1) The distribution of R1b1b2/L23+/L150- so far found only in Italy in Romitti father and son.
2) To test R1b1b2 for these two SNPs found from Rozen et al. I have written on this on Worldfamilies. - Tuesday, January 05, 2010 9:11:00 am
- Maju said...
What would all that prove, Gioello? Does L150 (a marker not even listed in YSOGG) represent anything in regards to the rest of R1b1b2 or is just some sort of minor "private" lineage? We'd need something much more solid than that. It's like the Iberian R1b* you mention (not sure what amounts or correlations with other regions' lineages it may have): it could be just any random post-Neolithic or even pre-Neolithic arrival. Minor erratics usually don't tell much unless they are central to the phylogeny.
- Tuesday, January 05, 2010 10:26:00 am
- Gioiello said...
When something is dangerous for our theories, we speak of "private mutation", like Vizachero does. But L150 is very important, because all persons after R/L23+ are derived, and only Romitti and his son are ancestral. Vizachero says that this is a back mutation, but I have said many times that this is very unlikable, being this mutation recent and not happened 50,000 years ago. Anyway we shall see. About the other two mutations of R1b1b2 (see the paper of Rozen et alii)we don't know anything. Let's wait for the first results. If my hypotheses are right, it could be very important, decisive.
- Tuesday, January 05, 2010 2:14:00 pm
- Maju said...
A "private" lineage is a lineage that has very few members. It is a standard phylogenetic term and makes total sense.
But L150 is very important, because all persons after R/L23+ are derived.
Is it? Can you document that claim? Can you provide a link (or at least more clear data on that Rozen et al. paper?
I am confused because you make claims without providing the necessary evidence backing them. - Tuesday, January 05, 2010 6:58:00 pm
- Gioiello said...
Maju, that all subclades of R/L23+, beginning from mine, are L150+ you can see easily on the Adriano's spreadsheet. The only one who is L150- is Romitti (and I have seen also the son's results).
Re: the Rozen's paper you can see my topic on Worldfamilies: "Let's reconsider the Cantabrian refugium".
Unfortunately Dienekes hasn't open a topic here, but the Rozen's paper is extremely important. - Tuesday, January 05, 2010 8:37:00 pm
- Maju said...
What is "the Adriano spreadsheet"? Can you post a link?
It's very difficult to obtain precise info from you. - Wednesday, January 06, 2010 12:38:00 am
- Gioiello said...
- Wednesday, January 06, 2010 12:46:00 am
- Gioiello said...
Maju, difficulty isn't mine. Everybody knows the spreadsheet of Adriano Squecco, that first was of Ann Turner. Each of us has had a decODEme test or 23andME has published his data on this spreadsheet and it had helped and is yet helping to discover new SNPs. Now there is the WTY of FTDNA, which hasn't a public spreadsheet for what I know, but from there are coming the new SNPs.
After having gone on the URL, you must click on "Y-chromosome comparison", then http://www.webalice.it/asquecco/Y_DNA-Forums.zip and you 'll be able to see the "Adriano's spreadsheet". L150 is N°682. - Wednesday, January 06, 2010 2:56:00 am
- Maju said...
Then I must be nobody, like Ulysses. ;)
Anyhow, thanks for the links I have downloaded them and hope to be able to open after system reboot. - Wednesday, January 06, 2010 4:15:00 am
I´m Caucasian from Swan people.
i have J2* can u explain what it´s mean?our nation is believed are from north of mesopotamia and comes from Hurrians like chechens and ingushs - Wednesday, February 24, 2010 1:17:00 am


text:
ATHENS, Greece – A sign taped to a wall in an Athens hospital appealed for civility from patients. "The doctors on duty have been unpaid since May," it read, "Please respect their work."
Patients and their relatives glanced up briefly and moved on, hardened to such messages of gloom. In a country where about 1,000 people lose their jobs each day, legions more are still employed but haven't seen a paycheck in months. What used to be an anomaly has become commonplace, and those who have jobs that pay on time consider themselves the exception to the rule.
To the casual observer, all might appear well in Athens. Traffic still hums by, restaurants and bars are open, people sip iced coffees at sunny sidewalk cafes. But scratch the surface and you find a society in free-fall, ripped apart by the most vicious financial crisis the country has seen in half a century.
It has been three years since Greece's government informed its fellow members in the 17-country group that uses the euro that its deficit was far higher than originally reported. It was the fuse that sparked financial turmoil still weighing heavily on eurozone countries. Countless rounds of negotiations ensued as European countries and the International Monetary Fund struggled to determine how best to put a lid on the crisis and stop it spreading.
The result: Greece had to introduce stringent austerity measures in return for two international rescue loan packages worth a total of €240 billion ($313 billion), slashing salaries and pensions and hiking taxes.
The reforms have been painful, and the country faces a sixth year of recession.
Life in Athens is often punctuated by demonstrations big and small, sometimes on a daily basis. Rows of shuttered shops stand between the restaurants that have managed to stay open. Vigilantes roam inner city neighborhoods, vowing to "clean up" what they claim the demoralized police have failed to do. Right-wing extremists beat migrants, anarchists beat the right-wing thugs and desperate local residents quietly cheer one side or the other as society grows increasingly polarized.
"Our society is on a razor's edge," Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said recently, after striking shipyard workers broke into the grounds of the Defense Ministry. "If we can't contain ourselves, if we can't maintain our social cohesion, if we can't continue to act within the rules ... I fear we will end up being a jungle."
Vassilis Tsiknopoulos, runs a stall at Athens' central fish market and has been working since age 15. He used to make a tidy profit, he says, pausing to wrap red mullet in a paper cone for a customer. But families can't afford to spend much anymore, and many restaurants have shut down.
The 38-year-old fishmonger now barely breaks even.
"I start work at 2:30 a.m. and work 'till the afternoon, until about 4 p.m. Shouldn't I have something to show for that? There's no point in working just to cover my costs. ... Tell me, is this a life?"
The fish market's president, Spyros Korakis, says there has been a 70 percent drop in business over the past three years. Above the din of fish sellers shouting out prices and customers jostling for a better deal, Korakis explained how the days of big spenders were gone, with people buying ever smaller quantities and choosing cheaper fish.
Private businesses have closed down in the thousands. Unemployment stands at a record 25 percent, with more than half of Greece's young people out of work. Caught between plunging incomes and ever increasing taxes, families are finding it hard to make ends meet. Higher heating fuel prices have meant many apartment tenants have opted not to buy heating fuel this year. Instead, they'll make do with blankets, gas heaters and firewood to get through the winter. Lines at soup kitchens have grown longer.
At the end of the day, as the fish market gradually packed up, a beggar crawled around the stalls, picking up the fish discarded onto the floor and into the gutters.
"I've been here since 1968. My father, my grandfather ran this business," Korakis said. "We've never seen things so bad."
Tsiknopoulos' patience is running out.
"I'm thinking of shutting down," he said, "I think about it every day. That, and leaving Greece."
On a recent morning in a crowded civil cases court in the northern city of Thessaloniki, frustration simmered. Plaintiffs, defendants and lawyers all waited for the inevitable — yet another postponement, yet another court date.
Greece's sclerotic justice system has been hit by a protracted strike that has left courts only functioning for an hour a day as judges and prosecutors protest salary cuts.
For Giorgos Vacharelis, it means his long quest for justice has grown longer. Vacharelis' younger brother was beaten to death in a fairground in 2003. The attacker was convicted of causing a fatal injury and jailed. The family felt the reasons behind the 24-year-old's death had never been fully explained, and filed a civil suit for damages. Nearly 10 years later, Vacharelis and his parents had hoped the case would finally be over.
But the court date they were given in late September got caught up the strike. Now they have a new date: Feb. 28, 2014.
"This means more costs for them, but above all more psychological damage because each time they go through the murder of their relative again," said Nikos Dialynas, the family's lawyer.
Vacharelis and his family are in despair.
"If a foreigner saw how the justice system works in Greece, he would say we're crazy," said the 35-year-old.
"Each time we come to court we get even more outraged," he said. "We see a theater of the absurd."
In September, gangs of men smashed immigrant street vendors' stalls at fairs and farmers' markets. Videos posted on the Internet showed the incident being carried out in the presence of lawmakers from the extreme right Golden Dawn party. Formerly a fringe group, Golden Dawn — which denies accusations it has carried out violent attacks against immigrants — made major inroads into mainstream politics. It won nearly 7 percent of the vote in June's election and 18 seats in the 300-member parliament. A recent opinion poll showed its support climbing to 12 percent.
Immigrant and human rights groups say there has been an alarming increase in violent attacks on migrants. Greece has been the EU's main gateway for hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants — and foreigners have fast become scapegoats for rising unemployment and crime.
While there are no official statistics, migrants tell of random beatings at the hands of thugs who stop to ask them where they are from, then attack them with wooden bats.
Assaults have been increasing since autumn 2010, said Spyros Rizakos, who heads Aitima, a human rights group focusing on refugees. Victims often avoid reporting beatings for fear of running afoul of the authorities if they are in the country illegally, while perpetrators are rarely caught or punished even if the attacks are reported.
"Haven't we learned anything from history? What we are seeing is a situation that is falling apart, the social fabric is falling apart," Rizakos said. "I'm very concerned about the situation in Greece. There are many desperate people ... All this creates an explosive cocktail."
In response to pressure for more security and a crackdown on illegal migration, the government launched a police sweep in Athens in early August. By late October, police had rounded up nearly 46,000 foreigners, of whom more than 3,600 were arrested for being in the country illegally.
Police say that in the first two months of the operation, there was also a 91 percent drop in the numbers of migrants entering the country illegally along the northeastern border with Turkey, with 1,338 migrants arrested in the border area compared to 14,724 arrested during the same two months in 2011.
At a demonstration by the disabled in central Athens, tempers were rising.
Healthcare spending has been slashed as the country struggles to reduce its debt. Public hospitals complain of shortages of everything from gauzes to surgical equipment. Pharmacies regularly go on strike or refuse to fill subsidized social security prescriptions because government funds haven't paid them for the drugs already bought. Benefits have been slashed and hospital workers often go unpaid for months.
And it is the country's most vulnerable who suffer.
"When the pharmacies are closed and I can't get my insulin, which is my life for me, what do I do? ... How can we survive?" asked Voula Hasiotou, a member of an association of diabetics who turned out for the rally.
The disabled still receive benefits on a sliding scale according to the severity of their condition. But they are terrified they could face cuts, and are affected anyway by general spending cuts and the pharmacy problems.
"We are fighting hard to manage something, a dignified life," said Anastasia Mouzakiti, a paraplegic who came to the demonstration from the northern city of Thessaloniki with her husband, who is also handicapped.
With extra needs such as wheelchairs and home help for everyday tasks such as washing and dressing, many of Greece's disabled are struggling to make ends meet, Mouzakiti said.
"We need a wheelchair until we die. This wheelchair, if it breaks down, how do we pay for it? With what money?"
Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece contributed to this story.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Eschewing their mass-market traditions, new designers are increasingly looking towards the machine to invade the realm of haute couture, and reassess the idea of the unique.
Last year Aesthetica featured Decode: Digital Design Sensations, the V&A's groundbreaking exploration of digital technology and its movement and influences in the world of design and art. In 2010, it's fashion's turn to be interrogated by machinery as a new exhibition, Mechanical Couture, at the Design Museum, Holon, challenges the deeply traditionalist realm of haute couture and enacts the unthinkable by introducing machines to the craft. The concept of uniqueness is central to haute couture, and by virtue of being handmade, is re-assessed: "There are so many ways in which quality and individuality can be defined. The designers in the exhibition each present a new set of definitions."
Established in the Parisian ateliers of the late 19th century, haute couture is synonymous with wealth and prestige. A highly labour-intensive, and necessarily unique art form, the world of haute couture remains an exclusive, secretive section of fashion today. Comprising a tiny proportion of the fashion industry, haute couture is nevertheless hugely significant in terms of trend setting throughout the industry, despite its diminishing size. In contrast, the 20th century saw exponential growth in mechanical manufacturing of clothing, with the dawn of the 21st century witnessing the most aggressive exploitation of machinery and cheap labour to create an influx of disposable, catwalk copy clothing, at chillingly low prices. Whatever you may be wearing, chances are it was machine-made. As the high street competes to satisfy customers' ravenous appetites for new clothes, the assets of handicraft are rejected in favour of the far cheaper advantages of labour-light, machine-generated mass production in factories across the world.
The exhibition is described as "an intersection of strides in thinking about the expanded role of the designer with the prevalence of technology that surrounds us." At both ends of the fashion scale, the highly qualified seamstresses of couture houses appear to have little in common with the behemoths of Asian garment factories, but Mechanical Couture seeks to align the cutting-edge of machinery today, with the high quality, commissioning prestige of couture. Curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of Curatorsquared, Mechanical Couture explores the phenomenon of "mechanical luxury". In their mission statement, Curatorsquared argue that these new machine-led works are not an easy solution to the high costs of creating handmade couture, but a new frontier in innovation that defines fashion: "The machine is not simply a means to an end, but the driving force behind the process and design. This exhibition will feature designers who employ machines and technology not for their streamlining capabilities or to boost production, but as a means to realise completely new forms and products – so signalling a completely new interpretation of luxury design. These designers are inspired by machines as concepts, turning to the machine as collaborator in the design process." The works are provocative, and representative of more to come as the designer's imagination, coupled with extensive technological progress, means the works and their continued growth know no bounds. In creating the exhibition, Curatorsquared bore witness to a "number of designers working with a shared approach," and predicted a future for this type of work: "We are always looking at art and design, assessing what is going on and how it reflects or predicts larger issues in the culture [and] an exhibition of this work is pertinent."
This is an accurate assessment. An overview of the works engaging in these aspects of machinery quickly becomes extensive, overly technical and overwhelming, and at times the exhibition can reflect this. However, the role of the curator is to make sense of their works as a coherent whole and so the exhibition and catalogue are broken down to four different approaches, each described in aptly economical language: Designer + Machine = Product, Concept = Machine = Product, Product = Machine, and Designer Through Machine = Product.
Most obviously, Designer + Machine = Product manifests our usual conception of the machine work involved in manufacturing, but with the work of Marloes ten Bhömer and Shelley Fox, the machine becomes inherently involved in the design process as well as the creation of the work itself. Shelley Fox seeks to make the fashion industry's obsession with weight and size manifest in her dresses from the bodies of weight-loss volunteers. In collaboration with Nobel-prize-winning scientist, Sir Peter Mansfield, Fox scanned her subjects' bodies to create a series of "fat-maps", incorporating these fat-maps into the designs themselves they became a sort of blueprint, not only for the clothing, but also for the participants' own journey and medical history. Each piece was re-worked and adapted by each successive scan, and as the participants' bodies changed, so did the clothing created for them, while maintaining the memory of what it was before through excess fabric, vintage off-cuts and visible stitching – the history of the clothing (in a reaction to the mass-production of the new) and of the body are manifest in each garment. In focusing on weight-loss in a fashion exhibition, Fox's work is immediately contentious – raising the sociological issues over body dysmorphia of which the industry is all too aware. The politicization of work is nothing new in the realm of art, and Fox's work substantiates Curatorsquared's calls for creative community without boundaries: "We don't draw exclusionary lines around categories such as fashion, design, and art. They are all the same enterprise, presenting ideas and solving problems through thinking about and making objects," and as such all designers are readily equipped to raise their issues, without being stigmatised by the perceived frivolity of fashion.
While arguing for a flexible boundary between fashion, design and art, Mechanical Couture also focuses on the interactivity and increased user-participation popularised by children's museums in recent years, now in vogue in galleries across the world. The Designer Through Machine = Product segment of the exhibition challenges the role of designer as the only creative in the process – as the user and wearer's own interactions with the clothing create a completely new collaboration between designer, machine and customer. Simon Thorogood's label Phaison (signifying phase transition) has created SoundForms, whereby the images projected onto the body correlate with the music selected by the participant, who becomes a de facto designer themselves. In contrast to Phaison's prescription to involve the participant in the design process itself, Cedric Flazinski's work is theoretical and research-based, indicating a more pragmatic use for the machine in the design processes of the future. Flazinski's work occupies a compromised state between conglomerate-led customization (as illustrated by sportswear giants and their lucrative processes of manufacturing "uniquely" customized shoes) and the do-it-yourself ethic that has been discussed at great length since the economic downturn. Flazinski sought a user-based, as opposed to user-generated product, and through his visual questionnaire, he is equipped to couple the responses with his own research into signifiers and icons regarding certain personality traits and shoe shapes. Although each sub-category must necessitate a generalisation of sorts, the sheer volume of the research and the questionnaire process enable an unprecedented level of customization, by making the wearer central to the process, and creating a new definition of exclusive whereby, "the fact that clothing can be so very specific and reflective of and suited to its owner, is much more exciting than the idea that only a few people in the world have access to the most interesting and prized design."
User interaction in the arts is becoming increasingly popular as a way to broaden appeal and democratise the works for less culturally-literate audiences. However, the works of Mechanical Couture, in creating user interaction, risk pricing designers out of the market. Curatorsquared describe this as "the traditional place of product-creator," which gives way to "this newer place of process-creator," and the idea of the designer-genius, so central to innovation and experimentation, particularly in London's fashion industry, could become obsolete. Curatorsquared argue that Mechanical Couture is in fact re-structuring the boundaries and definitions of the creative genius: "As conceptual thinkers (though they are also traditionally trained designers) they are proposing a new place for the designer in the sequence of design and production, relocating it to the very core and inception of the enterprise." The issues raised by Mechanical Couture allow for a multiplicity of markets, expanding beyond those of today. By democratising the once elite arena of design Curatorsquared do not see a new identity for fashion, but rather "various approaches that co-exist, each one bringing something different of value to the market. There will still always be the designer genius and those who will not abandon the traditional market."
Moving into Concept=Product=Machine the designs are inspired by machinery and incorporate machines into the final product. Ying Gao's Living Pod and Walking City projects utilise micro motors and sensors to detect stimuli from their environment such as breath, light and visitors' proximity. Each stimulus initiates a transformation into new forms for the interactive garments, with shape and size altering in a unique attempt to rectify the invasions of privacy of our CCTV society. By rendering the garments unrecognisable from one hour to the next, Gao's work creates a playful game of hide and seek out of an issue that has encountered massive criticism from artists across the globe. Continuing the subversive playfulness of Gao's work, in Product=Machine Patrick Killoran's simple navy T-shirt enables the wearer to look down their own front, inside the T-shirt, and see their outside surroundings reflected on their body. With a small metal device inserted onto the T-shirt's front, the garment becomes a camera able to reflect our surroundings back onto ourselves. It is a witty and simplistic interpretation of using technology for entertainment in clothing, similar to the heat and light colour sensitive T-shirts so beloved of children of the 1990s. Coupled with the work of design-duo Kobakant however, Product=Machine is the most gimmicky part of the exhibition. Kobakant's use of a step-by-step guide, utilising easily available equipment, enables the wearer to transform their simple cotton T-shirt into a "wearable piano," an idea both enticingly hilarious, and arguably purposeless. The point of course is not to fill the gap in the market for wearable pianos (under-supplied though they are), but to demystify the idea of the technological, and to align itself with a notion as simple as the plain T-shirt. With, at times, ludicrous ideas, the exhibition risks falling into farce, but Curatorsquared recognise the need for fun and frivolity in the works: "Technology does not have to be as complex as we might think."
The exhibition's setup also identifies the work as new, cutting edge, and slightly gimmicky, at a risk of undermining what can be serious issues raised by the designers. For example, Alyce Santoro's and Shelley Fox's use of discarded material, audio cassettes and vintage fabrics respectively, address the very real issue of waste and landfill in the fashion industry, and provide an interesting contrast between the old and the new that could allow us to address these problems. Defending their display Curatorsquared explain that "in many cases the mannequin forms are part of their display and actually reinforce the idea of the continuity from concept through process and into runway show," and so in a sense, the curatorship illustrates the real world use of these pieces, albeit with a futuristic aesthetic.
By holding this exhibition in Israel, away from the very European traditions of couture's roots, Mechanical Couture engages with the zeitgeist of fashion, challenging its role as the less-challenging form of art. It's a notion that Hussein Chalayan has been working with for years, his recent exhibition at the Lisson Gallery is just the latest indication of the cross-over between genres. And, as Chalayan has been a pioneer of the futuristic, the technological, and the boundary breaking of fashion for the past 15 years to the point of domination, it is fascinating to witness the myriad of approaches by designers across the world and from Israel in particular, where Curatorsquared commissioned designers to emphasise Mechanical Couture's sense of place, and its relevance to fashion internationally, alongside a potential to bring couture around the world.
Mechanical Couture was showing at the Design Museum, Holon, Israel from 14 October to 8 January 2011. www.dmh.org.il.
Ruby Beesley


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Postvention refers to the provision of systematic crisis intervention, support, and assistance for those affected by a completed suicide. Suicide postvention strategies are designed to minimize contagion. Postvention services provide appropriate emotional support and information to those affected by suicide.General suicide postvention guidelines for schools:
From: Poland, S. (1989). Suicide intervention in the schools. New York: Guildford. ISBN: 0898622328; and American Association of Suicidology-www.suicidology.orgKey components of systematic suicide postvention planning are the set of written procedures (prepared in advance) and the identification of a postvention crisis team that has been trained in advance of a suicide. As part of the planning in advance, specific crisis response duties are assigned to specific team members (e.g., communication with family, students, and parents; media liaison). Additional information about postvention strategies for school personnel may be obtained on the "Related Sites" section of this web page.


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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The state of Michigan is stepping in to take over the finances of Detroit. Yesterday, Governor Rick Snyder, who is a Republican, said the city's $14 billion debt, impoverished city services and dire economic prospects amount to a financial emergency. Now under the plan, Detroit's city government will likely to be forced to hand over its authority in many areas to a state board and emergency manager chosen by the governor. Detroit is a signature American city, which gave birth to the U.S. auto industry and Motown. When a manager is appointed, it will become the largest American city ever to have state control over its finances. Now coming up, we'll hear more about this latest effort to save Detroit, but first we're joined on the line by Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder. Governor, thanks very much for being with us.
GOVERNOR RICK SNYDER: Happy to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: Detroit's been in a tailspin for years. Why did you choose to assume control now?
SNYDER: You can go back to 1950 when there were 1.8 million people in Detroit. Now, there's 700,000. And it really comes down to the fact that this decline just keeps going and it can't go on forever. It needs to be turned around. And a lot of great things are going on within the city of Detroit. So, the real issue is the citizens deserve better services, the finances need to be turned around and we need to grow the city of Detroit. So, we're at a crisis point now that my view it's time to bring all the resources to bear that we can. And it's not about fighting with Detroit; it's about recognizing it's Detroit, Michigan. And so let's bring all the city and state resources together to do the best job possible to simply solve the problem.
SIMON: Why not let the elected officials of Detroit, Mayor Bing and others, do their jobs without your interference?
SNYDER: Well, that's been a challenge for not just the current situation in terms of the mayor and city council, but this has been going on for years where the elected officials have been unsuccessful in turning Detroit around. I did a consent agreement with them back in April where they outlined a number of actions to be taken, and those actions haven't happened. Or a number of them didn't even get started to work on until a September timeframe.
SIMON: And emergency managers, I understand, can have almost absolute power in some areas - ending union contracts, take over pension funds, sell public assets. Do you think any of that's necessary?
SNYDER: Well, you're looking at both a short-term cash crisis and $14 billion of liabilities. And so the goal here isn't to cause hardship on the city; it's to actually stabilize its finances and turn them around. And the goal isn't just to simply tell everyone what to do. It's to really say, we have additional powers and resources that the state can bring. Let's partner with the city. Let's try and get the mayor and city council onboard to say in a collaborative fashion, shouldn't we all want to solve this problem and let's do it together to make Detroit a great place again.
SIMON: Governor, as I don't have to tell someone who's run for office statewide, Detroit is an overwhelmingly Democratic city politically. Would it be perhaps fair and wisest for you to choose a Democrat as an emergency manager?
SNYDER: Well, it's largely a nonpartisan position. 'Cause I've talked to a lot of citizens. The real issue is, is they just want results because they've been suffering through this for, again, as I said, decades. So, I'm looking forward to bringing in whether someone's Republican, Democratic, anyone who wants to help this problem, let's just go.
SIMON: Nevertheless, do you have any discomfort at the prospect of a governor who happens to be white and Republican taking over the management of a city that is predominantly black and Democratic?
SNYDER: Well, you always want to be sensitive to the racial issues in particular. And those are important, because there's a lot of legacy and history that needs to be respected and understood. So, it's to do it in the best fashion possible, but that's about - this is not just about me and it's just not about an emergency manager. It's about bringing people together to say a lot of good people have worked on trying to solve these problems in the past and they haven't been successful. But shouldn't we really redouble our efforts to say it's not about fighting, it's not about blame; it's just about showing results. And so that's the approach I'm taking to this; is I call it (unintelligible) positive action. Let's just solve the problem.
SIMON: Can you raise revenue for Detroit without tapping into state coffers?
SNYDER: Well, I think there are opportunities to do that. In terms of better collection systems, in terms of what's owed to the city in many respects. There can be improvements there. And because ultimately, if you look at the citizens, they're not getting the services they really need. We need better public safety in Detroit, better lighting, better transportation. And as we turn the corner on those things, I think we'll have more people wanting to move in the city. There's a lot of good things going on in Detroit, besides its finances, that should be recognized.
SIMON: The governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, speaking with us from Ann Arbor. Thank you very much for being with us.
SNYDER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Created by Ina Garten – One of the top 10 most
saved recipes from The Food Network
1 side fresh salmon boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking.
While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits.
Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Serves about 6
Recipe: Kosher, fish


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Heading into their final regular season matchup, the Bishop Ireton Cardinals have strung together a pair of impressive wins against Carroll and McNamara.
Sophomore forward Ty Quarles and junior guard Da'von Wiley teamed up to push the Cardinals to a 68-38 win against Carroll on Sunday. Quarles netted 13 while Wiley scored 12 against the 13-11 Lions.
On Tuesday, it was sophomore forward Patrick Moseh and junior guard Louis Khouri who shined for the Cardinals. Moseh scored 18 points in the 62-42 victory over a 13-14 McNamara squad. Khouri, meanwhile, added a 13-point performance.
The two wins put Ireton at 14-13 overall heading into a final matchup against O'Connell on Friday.


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Dodgers match Lakers.
Kuroda matches Carpenter.
Broxton outmatches Pujols:
Sole possession of first place, for the first time this year!
Random rantings and ravings about the Los Angeles Dodgers, written by a small consortium of rabid Dodger fans. With occasional comments on baseball, entertainment, pop culture, and life in general.
Dodgers match Lakers.
Kuroda matches Carpenter.
Broxton outmatches Pujols:
Sole possession of first place, for the first time this year!
Yesterday once more!!
First Place Los Angeles Dodgers.
It sounds like heavenly music!
By the way, is it normal to wait anxiously for the other team's bullpen?
Karina: Yes, when the opposing team's ace is on the mound.
HFY first place. This year it seems a little sweeter.
Lower expectations will do that for you.
Just got home from the game - that pitching duel was AWESOME!!!!
Just got home. For some reason this game seemed as good or better than any game I've been to in a long time. Lots of passionate fans there who stayed the whole game...Brox bobble...pitching goodness...marriage proposal drama in the stands...Josh sighting...Manny coming through...Lakers win...first place...
Looks like another perfect day/I love LA!
1st place!
@Mr F
I think you meant to say, "1st place, mofos!"
Just read the GT. I think Karen's comment:
"Did you really think you were going to come into our house and no hit us, you dumb bastard!"
Cracked me up the most. That's the kind of shit I like to yell out at games but Mrs Dusty does not like me to.
I spotted one of the guys from Dodgerfan.net while walking around the Reserve. I can recognize bloggers in a crowd now. That's nuts.
So we've won the last...what, 5 games against Cards?
We've chatted at three separate games, not just two. I know we've won at least the two you mentioned. But do you know about the result of the third?
"One day, you can tell your grandkids that you saw Albert Pujols do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT DODGER STADIUM!!!"
I recognized Neeebs' mom in the crowd. She was the one with a mint julep in each hand.
@Dusty: We chatted Opening Day, Ethier bobblehead, and tonight, right?
Am I being lame and forgetting one?
Yeah, that's three. I thought in the GT you said two. Or did I just pull a Holliday?
You got hit in the nuts?
I said Dodgers were 2-0 in games where we had chatted.
Not as bad as Rick Monday, who on the post game show said the Blue Jays "were shut out 9-2" and the Angels "managed only one run, losing 10-8."
Ahhh. So we're either 2-1 or 3-0.
For the record, I'm not 8-1 in games attended.
So Alex and Dusty, do you guys think that marriage proposal was faked? My buddy and I both had our doubts.
Josh and I were in the breezeway playing footsie when it happened, so we missed it. but I saw a bunch of tweets from local writers so asked my wife and sis in law what happened. they saw it and thought it was fake.
But callers to Dodger Talk who sat near them seemed to have some consensus that it wasn't fake. Who knows...I was convinced it may be real by the one caller who said she saw an older man sit down next to the guy and seem to be consoling him.
We're 3-0 now, but we were 2-0 when I made the comment. I was trying to make the point in the GT that
the game was well in hand because we had already talked tonight.
Come to think of it, maybe I should have just said it that way.
Oh, well got dang, I get it now. I was reading it under the context of the game being finished. Duh.
Thanks for the scoop. What made it look fake (aside from their age) was that the dude's body language was all weird and the girl bolted so quick he didn't even get a chance to pop the question. Regardless, it was nice to see him close the deal.
At a Kings game once I saw a proposal up close. Poor sap got heckled from a drunk while he was down on one knee. Horrible and hilarious all at once
Anyone else think Brian Jordan would have sent Molina into the Dugout Club on that play at the plate?
The sad/funny part is that my household is still speculating on what happened with the marriage proposal, and it's 12:30AM on a "school" night.
My favorite part about last night was Hiroki pitching well again
Sorry for the late reply, but as soon as it happened, I turned to Mrs. Cora and said FAKE. I thought Josh Suchon's comments on Dodger Talk were funny "Regardless, it is a rocky start." and "Memorable first date". He he he.
4/3 vs. SF (W, 5-4): Sax
4/15 vs. WSH (L, 4-6): Dusty, Orel, Sax
5/6 vs. MIA (W, 6-3): AC, Sax
5/16 vs. CIN (L, 2-7): AC, Sax
6/12 vs. TEX (L,2-3): Sax


text: Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. It's finals week for many college students. And to keep the blood pressure down, one Canadian university opened a puppy room for students. It's full of borrowed therapy dogs to cuddle. Therapy animals are a proven stress reliever. The students who organized the puppy room at Dalhousie University say the idea has gone viral. Come to think of it, sharing the puppy story on social media sites might itself be therapeutic. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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DETROIT (AP) — The Tesla Model S electric sedan is Consumer Reports' top pick in this year's automotive rankings.
The magazine cited the Model S's sporty performance and technological innovations, including its 225-mile range. But it acknowledged that the car is expensive. Consumer Reports paid $89,650 for the Model S it tested.
For less than a third of that price, the Toyota Prius hybrid got the nod as Consumer Reports' top green car. The magazine also cited strong fuel economy in naming the Honda Accord as the top midsize car and the BMW328i as the best sports sedan.
The rankings, now in their 18th year, pick Consumer Reports' favorites among the 260 vehicles its team has recently tested. The rankings are closely watched in the auto industry, since shoppers consistently cite Consumer Reports as a main source of car-buying advice.
Consumer Reports buys vehicles anonymously and performs more than 50 tests on them, including evaluations of braking, handling and comfort. The magazine's testing team drives each vehicle for roughly 6,000 miles.
Winners must earn high marks on government and insurance industry crash tests and get at least average reliability ratings from Consumer Reports' subscribers, who are surveyed each year about problems they're having with their vehicles.
The Model S, which went on sale in 2012, got the highest score ever recorded in Consumer Reports' automotive testing last spring. But at the time, the magazine didn't have enough data from subscribers to rank its reliability.
Spokesman Doug Love said Tuesday that the magazine now has enough data to give the Model S a "good" reliability rating. More than 600 Model S owners submitted responses in the magazine's latest reliability survey.
Subaru was the top pick for both the small car category, with the Impreza, and the small SUV category, with the redesigned Forester. The Hyundai Santa Fe was the top large SUV, while the Audi A6 was the top luxury sedan. The Honda Odyssey was the top minivan.
For the first time in 16 years, Chrysler earned a spot in the magazine's top ten picks. Its Ram 1500 was named best pickup truck.
Lexus, Acura and Audi were the top brands in this year's survey. Jeep and Ford got the lowest scores. Consumer Reports said Jeep vehicles did poorly on road tests, while Ford's MyFord Touch touchscreen dashboard system has had reliability problems.
Consumer Reports said Japanese brands have historically dominated its top picks, but their hold is slipping. This year, Japanese vehicles were top picks in five of the 10 categories, the fewest ever.
"The competition in the marketplace has grown fierce. There was a time when a handful of brands dominated our top picks list, but in recent years we've seen a more diverse group make the cut," Rik Paul, Consumer Reports' automotive editor, said in a statement.
The magazine's annual automotive issue goes on sale next month.


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Earlier this week, Global Tech News reported that the 64GB Zune HD made an early appearance on the official Zune website. Although the link to the actual product was inactive, Microsoft's intentions were clearly made.
Today, Microsoft has officially confirmed the existence and upcoming release of the 64GB Zune HD. According to Microsoft, the new player will launch on April 12 at a price of $349.99. For comparison, Apple's 64GB iPod touch rings up at $399.
In addition to the pricing and availability information for the 64GB Zune HD, Microsoft also announced that the existing 16GB and 32GB models will each receive a $20 price reduction.
Updated 4/9/2010
Microsoft just let us know that the 64GB Zune HD is now available to order in Platinum, Black, Blue, Red, Green, Purple and Magenta.