text:
Yuri Yemelianov
The collapse of the socialist order in the Soviet Union and some other countries in Europe, the disintegration of the socialist bloc and the USSR were preceded by active Anti-Soviet propaganda. This propaganda was sponsored by the West and organised by the local Fifth Columns (in the USSR the most influential Fifth Columnists were such leaders of the CPSU as M. Gorbachev, A. Yakovlev, B. Yeltsin and others). The goal of the propaganda was to portray capitalism as a social system of freedom and respect for human rights and to depict socialism as a system of terror, human deprivation and misery. During the end of the 80's and beginning of the 90's many popular journals and magazines of the USSR and all TV channels spread lies about socialism and its history. The greatest distortions concerned Stalin's period of the Soviet history. Using the false interpretations of the Soviet history made by N.S. Khrushchev at the XX CPSU Congress (1956) the enemies of Socialism bitterly attacked Stalin and his policies. Almost all the Soviet history was limited to the story of mass arrests and executions of 1937-1938. At the same time Stalin and his supporters were made responsible for gross violations of law, arrests and executions of many innocent people.
Now 15 years after the fall of socialism in Europe the vast majority of the peoples of the former socialist countries became aware of the evils of capitalism and as a result mass nostalgia for the lost advantages of socialism develops. It makes the present capitalist rulers of Russia and other former socialist countries renew their anti-socialist and anti-communist propaganda efforts. As the Anti-Soviet propaganda continues Stalin remains its central target and the object of fantastic lies. The authors of 'documentary' films shown over TV speak about 100 million people killed on Stalin's orders. (The whole population of the USSR was about 200 million at the time of Stalin's death and it is a mystery how a country so much weakened by arrests and executions could win over Nazi Germany and its allies.) The hackneyed phrases about 'Stalin's reprisals' and 'Stalin's camps' are in everyday use in the modern Russian political jargon.
However, the experiences of the last 15 years have made many people in Russia to be more distrustful of the official propaganda. Despite the strong pressure of the authorities, museums and monuments dedicated to Stalin appeared in one town after another all over Russia. More and more authors write articles and books in which they refute official lies about the Soviet past and give tribute to Stalin.
Not all of these authors are Marxists. But the experience of the collapse of their country made them search for true explanations of Russia's history. Their acquaintance with the real facts of history and their professional integrity have made them refute the falsehoods of official propaganda and bring to life new facts about the Soviet society, its development and its leaders. One of such authors is Yuri Zhukov. His book 'Different Stalin' ('Inoi Stalin', Moscow, 2003) caused a real sensation among all those who are interested in Soviet history.
The title of the book is somewhat misleading. Zhukov does not try to probe deeply into Stalin's personality and his book does not represent Stalin's biography. The book covers only 5 years of Stalin's political activity. As it is stated in its subtitle, the book is devoted to the political reforms of the USSR in the middle of the 30's sponsored by Stalin.
Yet to a certain extent Yuri Zhukov was right in his choice of the title for his book. Though his book, as the author recognises, does not answer all the questions about the complicated and controversial period of the Soviet history, the facts used in it and the conclusions which follow them destroy the stereotypes which were widely spread all over the world since Khrushchev's report at the XX Congress of the CPSU. Presenting a vast body of irrefutable facts Yuri Zhukov makes convincing conclusions which make Stalin look completely different from what he looked like in Khrushchev's report and in the later fabrications of the Anti-Stalinist propaganda.
Khrushchev and those who repeated his false accusations tried to make people believe that the arrests and executions of many Party members in 1937-1938 were caused by the arbitrary methods of Stalin or his persecution mania. They claimed that no Communist party officials participated in subversive activity against the Soviet state and that there were no plots against the Soviet governments in the pre-war time whatsoever.
Though Yuri Zhukov does not make a detailed analysis of the subversive activities against the Soviet Government in the 30's he shows in his book that the struggle of the Secretary of the USSR Central Executive Committee of the USSR A. Yenukidze against J. Stalin eventually led him to organise a plot in order to overthrow the Soviet government. Among the participants in this plot were the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (the chief of the USSR NKVD) N. Yagoda and those who were supposed to provide the security of the Kremlin.
While according to Khrushchev Stalin together with his Politburo colleagues (V. Molotov, K. Voroshilov, L. Kaganovich) were the arch-enemies of democratic procedures, Yuri Zhukov presents quite a different picture: Stalin brought forth a programme of democratisation of the Soviet life, with Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich wholly supporting Stalin in his initiatives, while Yenukidze and many other Party officials were strongly opposed to Stalin's democratic reforms.
Quite correctly pointing out the democratic principles of Stalin's political reforms, Yuri Zhukov fails to show that they organically corresponded to the democratic nature of the Communist ideology and resulted from the natural development of the Soviet political life. While correctly reminding us of the attempts of the Soviet Government to organise a united international front against Hitler before the Second World War Yuri Zhukov tries to explain the political reforms inside the USSR by the foreign political goals of Stalin. According to Zhukov it appears that in order to consolidate the struggle against Hitler Stalin tried to build political life in the Soviet Union along the lines of bourgeois Western democracies. At the same time Zhukov considers that Yenukidze's opposition to these reforms was caused by his fidelity to the ideals of communism and the world communist revolution and this caused his animosity both towards establishing closer political relations with the Western bourgeois democracies before the War and democratic reforms of Stalin.
Zhukov avoids dwelling on the democratic principles of communism and therefore distorts the reason why Yenukidze and others opposed Stalin's reforms. Though A. Yenukidze and others supported Stalin in his struggle against opposition in the Party in the 20's they eventually established alliance with the Trotskyites. This alliance developed due to the growing conflict between their personal interests and the goals of socialist development. Yenukidze's opposition reflected curtain unhealthy tendencies which were spread among many Party and Soviet officials at that time.
It must be said that by the middle of the 30's most of the Party and Soviet officials occupied their ruling posts since 1917-1918. At that time the Communist Party lacked educated members and many of the Party functionaries had an insufficient general and political education. Besides their first years of administrative jobs coincided with the Civil War. During these years they grew accustomed to resort freely in their work to military coercion rather than political arguments. This also explained to a great deal the excesses of collectivisation of 1929-1930. The much needed collectivisation of individual peasant farms turned into a veritable military campaign and many local first secretaries resorted to violence in order to make peasants join collective farms. In March 1930 Stalin censured these Party functionaries and wrote that they suffer 'giddiness because of successes' of the Soviet socialist construction.
Some of the Party functionaries were accustomed to their high administrative posts and many of them did their best to retain them at all costs. Many Party committees turned into hotbeds of intrigues and battlegrounds between politicians fighting for power. The competing groups accused each other of various ideological deviations. The purges which were periodically conducted in the Party in order to get rid of corrupt members were used by many of the first secretaries in order to expel from the Party those whom they consider to be their personal enemies.
Yuri Zhukov reminds that Stalin criticised the first secretaries of republican, regional and local organizations for creating 'personal clans', consisting of people who were devoted to them and flattered them. Stalin also said that whenever these party leaders get new appointments to other republics and provinces, they transfer 'their personal clans' with them.
At the same time Stalin said that the Party purges of 1935-1936 resulted in the expulsion of many Party members who were not guilty of any deviations from the Party line. Stalin pointed out that a number of those expelled from the Party by far exceeded the total quantity of those who supported Trotsky, Zinoviev and other leaders of opposition groups. He accused these Party leaders of the high-handed treatment of ordinary Party members and claimed that the purges only caused the anger of those expelled from the Party.
Yuri Zhukov also quotes the statement made by V. M. Molotov at the June (1937) plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee: 'Lately comrade Stalin said several times that our old way of evaluating people is completely insufficient. A person may have a pre-revolutionary experience of Party membership. Then he has a good quality of having participated in the October revolution. He performed well in the Civil War. He fought against Trotskyites and the Rightists... But this is not sufficient. At the present moment we need... that the Party leaders are able to find appropriate understanding of people's needs, to move ahead new people instead of those who have turned into bureaucrats".
Stalin feared that the bureaucratisation of the Party may lead to its downfall. In 1937 he compared Soviet communists with Antaeus from the Greek mythology whose strength was invincible so long as he remained in contact with his mother Earth. Stalin said that until Communists 'remain in contact with their mother -- the people, who gave them birth, nourished and educated them, they have all the chances to remain invincible'. These words implied that when the Communists lose their contact with the people they may lose their strength and may be overwhelmed.
Though partly ignoring and partly distorting profound political and ideological issues behind the opposition of Party officials, Yuri Zhukov is quite right in stating that the struggle of Stalin and his opponents developed over the draft of the new Constitution of the USSR, which was worked at in 1935-1936, especially over the new order of elections.
From 1918 to 1936 deputies of local Soviets were elected by open voting at people's assemblies. The local Soviets elected deputies to the provincial Soviets at open sessions. They in turn elected Republican Soviets, which elected the USSR Supreme Soviet. The representation of the townspeople was five times bigger than that of the villagers. Besides, all representatives of former exploiting classes as well as priests were banned from voting.
The new election system established direct and proportionate election with secret voting. The limitations put on former representatives of exploiting classes and priests were lifted. Using a Russian proverb ('If you are afraid of wolves, you need not go to the forest'), Stalin mocked at attempts to preserve these limitations. At the All-Union Congress of the Soviets in November 1936 Stalin said: 'First, not all former kulaks, white guardsmen and priests are alien to the Soviet power. Second, if people somewhere choose persons alien to the Soviet power, it would just mean that our propaganda work is good for nothing and we deserved such a shame. But if our propaganda develops in the true Bolshevik manner, then people would not let alien people to the supreme bodies'.
Besides, as Yuri Zhukov especially stresses, Stalin with the support of Molotov, Voroshilov, Kaganovich and others wanted to have elections on alternative basis. In the draft of the ballot for the first election to the USSR Supreme Soviet there were mentioned several candidates for one seat in the Soviet.
Yuri Zhukov correctly points out that changes in the election system to the Soviets were supplemented by Stalin's proposals of vast changes in the Party leading personnel. Mentioning the speech of Stalin at the February-March (1937) plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee, Yuri Zhukov writes about the profound dissatisfaction of Stalin with the political and personal behaviour of many Party officials.
After the Moscow trials of August 1936 and January 1937, which revealed many cases of sabotage, after uncovering the Yenukidze plot in February 1937, Stalin and other Soviet leaders became convinced that many of the Party functionaries were so much engrossed in personal feuds that they did not care to pay attention to the activities of the Anti-Soviet plotters. Stalin came to the conclusion that it is necessary to re-educate the Party functionaries. In March 1937 at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee Stalin suggested that all Party secretaries from the highest to the lowest level (over 100 thousand functionaries) should attend courses of political education.
At the same time Stalin suggested that while the first secretaries study at such courses their jobs should be filled by other Party members. By the middle of 30's due to the fast growth of the Soviet education the number of Party members who were University graduates immensely increased. After graduating from universities and other high education establishments these Party members acquired ample experience of work at the newly built Soviet plants. They actively participated in the socialist construction and were not involved in the intrigues of the Party provincial and Republican committees. Stalin, Molotov and others perceived these people as a fast growing reserve for the Party leadership.
Stalin's proposals were meant to change drastically the composition of the Party leadership in the spirit of the new Soviet constitution. The old leadership would get better political and general training. At the same time many of the older officials would be replaced by persons with better education and sufficient experience of work at the modern enterprises.
Yuri Zhukov brings many facts to show that while Yenukidze, Yagoda and others resorted to secret plotting, many of the Republican and provincial Party leaders began silent but active sabotage of Stalin's reforms. Citing articles written by the first Secretary of the Transcaucasus Party organisation L. P. Beria and by the first Secretary of the Moscow Party N.S. Khrushchev, Yuri Zhukov shows that the leading party functionaries either ignored the new Constitution and the elections according to the new system, or expressed exaggerated fears that class enemies may use the elections according to the principles of the new Constitution in order to become deputies to the USSR Supreme Soviet.
Yuri Zhukov asserts that the opposition of the first secretaries of republics and provinces to the new Constitution was caused by their fears of losing their seats in the Soviets during the elections. Many peasants (and not only kulaks) remembered the excesses of collectivisation and they could vote against those who in 1929-1930 tried to overfulfil plans of collectivisation at all costs disregarding attitudes of peasants. Yuri Zhukov correctly points out that if such Party secretaries failed to be elected to the Soviets, their positions as Party leaders might be questioned as well.
According to Yuri Zhukov the major effort to undermine the democratic reforms urged by Stalin, Molotov and others was undertaken by the alternate member of Politburo and the first Secretary of the Western Siberian province Party organization R.I. Eikhe. At the end of June 1937 he presented a memorandum to the Politburo with proposals which ran counter to Stalin's political reforms. Though the text of the memorandum is not found, there is ample evidence of its existence in allusions and decisions taken on the basis of the memorandum.
According to Yuri Zhukov, R.I. Eikhe asserted that there are in Western Siberia many exiled former kulaks who planned to organise a counter-revolutionary uprising. Eikhe asked the Party Central Committee for a sanction to form a so called 'troika' composed of the Attorney of the province, the provincial chief of the NKVD and Eikhe himself. The 'troika' should have extraordinary powers in order to investigate the counter-revolutionary activities and take judicial decisions concerning the plotters.
Yuri Zhukov compares the Eikhe memorandum with 'a small stone that causes an awful avalanche'. It was soon followed by a decision of Politburo of July 2 which supported the contention that many former kulaks and ordinary criminals, who returned to their original places of residence after their prison terms expired, launched counterrevolutionary activities. The decision claimed that these people 'are major instigators of Anti-Soviet activities and sabotage acts in collective and Soviet farms, as well as at transport and several branches of industry'. The decision demanded that the most active instigators of Anti-Soviet activities and sabotage should be immediately arrested and shot, while less active enemies should be exiled. The decision demanded that in five days' time the provincial party leaders should send to the Party Central Committee lists of 'troikas', number of persons to be arrested and shot, number of persons to be arrested and exiled.
Why did such a radical change in the position of Stalin and other members of Politburo take place? Yuri Zhukov contends that this occurred due to a strong pressure put by a big number of the first secretaries upon Stalin. Having mentioned a number of visits paid to Stalin and Molotov by the leading provincial Party functionaries who shared the position taken by Eikhe, Zhukov suggests that they presented a veritable ultimatum to Stalin, Molotov and others.
In order to understand why Stalin, Molotov and other Politburo members changed their policy, one should also take into account some facts which are mentioned in Zhukov's book, but briefly. First of all one should bear in mind the exposure of Marshal Tukhachevsky's plot which took place in May. The plotters had connections with the German generals and planned a coup d'etat. While the majority of the participants of the plot were military persons, there were several civil members of the Party Central Committee among them. The People's Commissar for Inner Affairs (chief of NKVD after the dismissal of G. Yagoda) N.I. Yezhov made a report at the June plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee asking their members for permission to arrest 11 full members and 14 alternate members of the Central Committee involved in the Tukhachevsky plot.
For some reason Yuri Zhukov does not take into account the facts narrated in a book written by Vladimir Pyatnitsky 'The Plot against Stalin', which is specifically dedicated to the June (1937) plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee. Though the author of this book attacks Stalin, he recognises that during this plenary meeting there were a number of speeches made against prolonging the extraordinary powers of the NKVD and Yezhov. An especially vehement protest was made by I.А. Pyatnitsky (the father of the author) who was the chief of the Political-administrative department of the Party Central Committee and for a long time was the secretary of the Central Executive Committee of Comintern.
Stalin tried to come to terms with Pyatnitsky during the plenary meeting. After Pyatnitsky's speech an interval was announced. Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich talked to I.А. Pyatnitsky and said that Stalin believed in his personal honesty and values, his talent as a good organiser and administrator. They asked Pyatnitsky to retract his statement. But Pyatnitsky was adamant. Afterwards 15 other Central Committee members supported Pyatnitsky and demanded the cessation of the extraordinary powers of the NKVD and Yezhov.
At this time one of the Central Committee members Filatov told Stalin that the opposition of Pyatnitsky and others to NKVD was a result of the decision reached at a secret meeting at Pyatnitsky's apartment. Filatov was the only participant of this meeting who informed Stalin about it. Just a month ago in May Stalin got informed about the Tukhachevsky plot exposed by NKVD. Now he learned about a secret meeting attended by dozens of Central Committee members who tried to stop further investigations by NKVD.
So when Eikhe and other Central Committee members came to Stalin and Molotov with requests not to curb NKVD activities but increase them though redirecting them against former kulaks Stalin and his closest colleagues had a reason to suppose that these suggestions came from quite an opposite quarter. In reality Stalin faced opposition to his policy on two fronts. While Pyatnitsky and others demanded the end to arrests of high functionaries involved in anti-government plots and blamed NKVD of arbitrariness, Eikhe and others praised the NKVD but just wanted to direct it to other goals.
One may suppose that at that time N.I. Yezhov was not quite sure of his position. As a chief of the Political-administrative department of the Party Central Committee Pyatnitsky controlled the NKVD. Yezhov knew that Stalin trusted Pyatnitsky. Yezhov might have feared that he might lose his position as the chief of NKVD if Pyatnitsky and his supporters would prevail. Therefore Yezhov joined with Eikhe and others. Zhukov is quite right in supposing that 'Yezhov easily came to terms with Eikhe, many first secretaries and agreed with the necessity as soon as possible to do away with the those who were certain to vote against them'.
Thus Stalin and his staunch supporters found themselves opposed not only by the influential groups constituting the majority of the Central Committee members but also by the NKVD armed with extraordinary powers. This may explain why Stalin and others made a sudden turn in their policies.
Meanwhile, as Zhukov states, the first secretaries presented their requests for the exile and executions of underground counter-revolutionaries which they promised to discover in their provinces and republics. Zhukov points out that 'the most blood-thirsty turned out to be two persons -- R.I. Eikhe, who declared his intention to shoot 10,800 inhabitants of Western Siberia... and N.S. Khrushchev, who suspiciously quickly managed to find and count in Moscow province 41,305 former kulaks and criminals and then insist on their expulsion and execution'. It is noteworthy that in his report at the XX Party Congress Khrushchev said not a word either about the Eikhe memorandum, or about the requests for exiles and executions filed by Eikhe and himself. Instead Khrushchev praised Eikhe and depicted him as an innocent victim of Stalin's terror.
Showing that Stalin and his closest colleagues temporarily lost control over the situation, Zhukov points out that many of the active supporters of Stalin in his democratisation reforms (Y.A. Yakovlev, B.M. Tal, A.I. Stetzky) lost their jobs and then were arrested. It is clear that Stalin was unable to defend some of his supporters. There is other evidence that Yezhov did not want to limit himself to executions of smaller figures among Stalin supporters. Later, when Yezhov was arrested papers were found in his personal safe which he collected in order to prepare 'a case' against Stalin.
At the same time Yezhov, Eikhe and others could not risk overthrowing Stalin and his supporters. The name of Stalin was the very embodiment of socialism. The popularity of Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich was also great. Many cities, factories, collective farms were named after them. Yezhov and others covered their opposition to Stalin by constant flattery and statements of fidelity to him. Yezhov even proposed to name Moscow after Stalin and to call it Stalindar. The proposal was resolutely rejected by Stalin.
Paradoxically the attempt of Eikhe and others to divert NKVD activities from investigations of plots among the Party functionaries did not stop their arrests. Getting permission to uncover Anti-Soviet counterrevolutionary plots, some of the first secretaries hastened to demand arrests of their rivals for high posts. Thus the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbekistan Communist Party A.I. Ikramov asked the Politburo on June 24 1937 to replace the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Uzbekistan Faizulla Hodzhaev 'for his counterrevolutionary connections'. Later Hodzhaev was arrested.
However, the supporters of Hodzhaev managed to incriminate Ikramov. As Zhukov points out Ikramov himself was expelled from the Party in September 1937 and then arrested. In March 1938 both Hodzhaev and Ikramov were executed on the accusations of high treason and espionage during the Moscow trial.
Many rivalries were settled in 1937 in the similar manner, as many of the Party functionaries tried to do away with those who might successfully compete with them for the vacancies in the Party and Soviet hierarchy. Soon the campaign of false accusations spread all over the country. Many people slandered their colleagues and they were arrested by the NKVD. This period of mass violations of law was later called the 'Yezhovshina'. It is obvious that the illegal practices unleashed initially by a number of the Party functionaries ran counter to the principles advocated by Stalin and his policy of democratisation. This allows Yuri Zhukov to make a conclusion that 'the attempt of Stalin to reform the political system of the Soviet Union resulted in a complete fiasco'.
This categorical statement by Yuri Zhukov might be contradicted. First, despite stubborn opposition by the influential body of the Party functionaries the Stalin Constitution was adopted and the first election to the USSR Supreme Soviet was conducted in a new way (direct, equal, secret). Second, Stalin with the support of many Communists gradually began to restore legality, which was violated by the provincial secretaries and NKVD. In January 1938 the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee condemned the 'formalistic and bureaucratic approach to the appeals of people expelled from the All-Union Communist Party' and demanded to take resolute measures in order to stop such practice. The decision of the Central Committee paid attention to a number of arbitrary expulsions of Party members in the second half of 1937. The decision proclaimed a return to the principles advocated by Stalin in March 1937 at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee.
Though the decision put all the blame for the violations of legal norms on the local Party functionaries, the position of Yezhov began to weaken. In August 1938 the Politburo began investigating the work of NKVD. In November 1938 Yezhov lost the post of chief of NKVD. In April 1939 he was arrested and accused of gross violations of legal norms. Eikhe and other secretaries who were active in launching a campaign of exiles and executions were also arrested.
At the same time many thousands people arrested during the Yezhovshina were released. Among them was a number of Soviet generals, including K.K. Rokossovsky, who played an important part in the Great Patriotic War.
Despite the heavy losses inflicted by the Yezhovshina, the Soviet Union was not fatally weakened by it. First, among those arrested and executed in 1937-1938 were real spies and enemies of socialism. Unlike the countries of Western Europe the USSR proved to be free from the 'Fifth Column' which let Hitler win victories. German generals complained during the first months of the war that they lacked true information about the Red Army and the Soviet defence industry as they did not have sufficient numbers of their agents inside the USSR. With the exception of general Vlasov who surrendered to the Germans in 1942 and later collaborated with them, Hitler failed to find support among the high ranking Soviet ruling body.
Second, many of career-minded politicians who cared only for their power lost their jobs, freedom and lives during the inner strife of 1937-1938. Their jobs were eventually taken by others. Yuri Zhukov recognises that one of the results of the events of 1937-1938 was the emergence at the top Soviet leadership of persons who were better educated and had better experience in modern economy. The jobs of marshals and officers involved in the Tukhachevsky plot were taken by younger officers who had better military education. The new Party functionaries who replaced those arrested in 1937-1938 were sincerely devoted to the cause of communism and were better educated politically unlike many of older functionaries. The new leadership of the Party, Soviet economy and the Red Army proved its worth during the Great Patriotic War.
And the last, but not the least consequence of the events of 30's was the consolidation of the Soviet people around Stalin and his policies. It should be noted that the mass reprisals of the 30's touched mostly the social strata which constituted only a minority of the Soviet people. At the same time the adoption of the Stalin Constitution which proclaimed the principles of socialist democracy and embodied the achievements of socialist construction, made most of the Soviet people realise the obvious advantages of the new socialist order. The devotion of the Soviet people to this order was demonstrated by its heroic struggle during the Great Patriotic War.
Yet Yuri Zhukov is correct in pointing out that in 1937-1938 Stalin failed to implement some of the essential features of his political reforms. Zhukov specifically mentions the fact that due to the stubborn opposition of many Party functionaries in 1937 Stalin had to forsake his plan of conducting elections with alternative candidates. The only relic of Stalin's idea was an inscription at the top of every ballot at each election held in the Soviet Union until it ceased to exist in 1991 which said: 'Leave in the ballot the name of ONE candidate, for whom you vote, striking out all the rest'. Though in practice the inscription did not make sense, as during these elections there was just ONE candidate, the inscription reminded that in principle the voters should have a choice out of a number of candidates.
Zhukov fails to mention also an obvious fact that Stalin's plan of political education of Party functionaries which he unveiled in March 1937 also failed to be materialised. Perhaps the difficulties of the pre-war period, the war and later the cold war did not allow Stalin to organise the education of all acting Party functionaries. As a result many important posts were still occupied by functionaries who lacked appropriate political and general education. Among them were such persons like N.S. Khrushchev and L.P. Beria. Initially they silently sabotaged Stalin's reforms. Then they were active in the Yezhovshina. But they were quick-witted enough to see the change in the political climate and they became active in fighting Yezhov and his supporters. Though Stalin was aware of their low level of general and political education and their other faults he valued their energies. Both Khrushchev and Beria continued to occupy important jobs.
While Stalin constantly tried to move forward persons who were whole-heartedly devoted to the cause of communism, had a good education and experience in practical work, it seems that he understood the shortcomings of the existing political leadership of the Soviet Union. During the XIX Congress of the CPSU Stalin made another effort to change the composition of the high ranks of the Party. He suggested the enlargement of the body of the newly created Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee by recruiting to it a number of outstanding leaders of the Party provinces, organisers of economic production and theoreticians. In the first months of 1953 Stalin prepared a document in which he suggested that he would resign from the post of the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and this job would be taken by the former first secretary of Byelorussian Communist party and former chief of the General headquarters of the USSR partisan movement during the War P.K. Ponomarenko.
It is known that L.P. Beria and N.S. Khrushchev were bitter enemies of Ponomarenko since the War years. Also the appointment of Ponomarenko might signify that other changes should soon to follow. The sudden illness and then death of Stalin later caused many suspicions. It was claimed that Stalin was poisoned by his colleagues. At least it is clear that Beria, Malenkov and Khrushchev who visited Stalin after he was found lying unconscious on the floor in his residence, did not even call a physician to examine him. Three years after Stalin's death Khrushchev began his Anti-Stalin campaign.
The faults of the Soviet way of selecting persons for ruling positions became evident during the 11 years when N.S. Khrushchev occupied the job of the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee. These were the years which became notorious for a number of gross mistakes in ideology, economic and political spheres as well as in the foreign policy of the USSR. Though Khrushchev was dismissed by the unanimous vote of the Party Central Committee in October 1964, there was nothing done to modify the political system of the USSR and CPSU. The subsequent events showed that the political system of the CPSU and the USSR did not prevent coming to power such traitors of communism and their own country like Gorbachev, Yakovlev, Yeltsin. It is quite probable that if Stalin and his supporters had managed to implement the political reforms the USSR might have had a better system of selecting their political leaders and thus prevent Khrushchev, Gorbachev and others from coming to power.
It is also obvious that though Yuri Zhukov does not share the communist ideology, he, like a true Russian patriot, is sorry that Stalin's political reforms were not completed. Though Yuri Zhukov recognises that his quest for true explanations of the events of 30's in the USSR is incomplete as many documents related to the period are still kept secret or were destroyed on the orders by Khrushchev, his book demonstrates the falsehood of fabrications made by Khrushchev and his followers about the events of 1937-1938. With all its obvious faults and shortcomings Zhukov's book made a new and important inroad into the study of the Soviet history.
Yuri Yemelianov is the author of 'Notes on Bukharin: Revolution, History, Personality', Moscow, 1989; 'Stalin' (Two Volumes), Moscow, 2002; and 'Khrushchev' (Two Volumes), Moscow, 2005, all in Russian.
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April 30, 2008
Google/YouTube Priorities
In other YouTube news, Eric Schmidt said in an interview for CNBC that the highest priority for YouTube this year is figuring out how to make money. "We believe the best products [for monetizing YouTube] are coming out this year. And they're new products. They're not announced. They're not just putting in-line ads in the things that people are trying."
Asked whether gaining a larger share of the ad market is Google's biggest priority, Eric Schmidt changed his mind. "Well, our number one priority is end-user--end-user happiness. Literally, are people happy with the results that they get using Google search? So it's literally search, and every day we bring out new improvements and indices that are--taxonomies that are understanding of language, more content, bigger--all of the things that make Google such a great search experience. That's our number-one priority, even more important, for example, than advertising."
It makes you wonder if the new minimalistic YouTube player intends to improve user experience or make room for the cutting-edge monetization features that will be announced later this year. "Well, our number one priority is end-user--end-user happiness. (...) I don't think we've quite figured out the perfect solution of how to make money [from YouTube], and we're working on that. That's our highest priority this year."
But maybe the two priorities converge at some point. "Google believes that advertising itself has value. The ads literally are valuable to consumers. Not just to the advertisers, but the consumers," said Eric Schmidt in the same interview. Maintaining the right balance between all these priorities is a difficult challenge for Google and one of the reason why, after one year and a half since the acquisition, YouTube still doesn't make significant money.
{ Thanks, Daniel. }
26 comments:
- AnonymousApril 30, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Thanks for the heads up!ReplyDelete
Do you know how to turn off the auto load/play when there are more than one part in a list? I like it but it's loading different parts than the one I am currently watching.
- AnonymousMay 1, 2008 at 1:07 AM
Talking about the future of Youtube, this might be interesting: http://scobleizer.com/2008/04/30/youtube-working-on-live-streaming/ReplyDelete
The only problem with the new player is that adding &fmt=18 does not load the MP4 video anymore...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 1, 2008 at 3:26 PM
What I read into those comments, is that they are looking for ways to make more money. The comment about search follows that tune when you read between the lines a little, as the happier people are with Google Search - the more pople will use their services over the competition which indirectly means they'll make more money via their paid advertising platform.ReplyDelete
Still waiting for CC in YouTube.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 23, 2008 at 1:03 AM
Although Youtube is best online videos resource ,but i face some difficulties in video search and it is not as user friendly like google search engine.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 23, 2008 at 1:04 AM
youtube video search is some time not appropriate what we wants from it.ReplyDelete
YouTube player makes room for the cutting-edge monetization features and the best online video source platform for video viewer and i think google also should start such type of facility hope it would be done very soon.ReplyDelete
Google you tube is agood option . I love to work with it.ReplyDelete
Google Operating system is better then all others so we can say it is best.ReplyDelete
As the happier people are with Google Search - the more pople will use their services over the competition which indirectly means they'll make more money via their paid advertising platform.ReplyDelete
interesting enough, this is an old article, more then a year old actually, and I see few new things on youtube.. it has even stoped working on my ipone :(ReplyDelete
I would say the Google's Youtube priority are Ads. We will see in the feature more and more methods for monetize youtube videos.ReplyDelete
Google made the right decision when bought YouTube. They will monetise it much, much better throu ads.ReplyDelete
Google made a good choice when bought You Tube, and I guess You Tube made a good choice to by selling it. It definitely was a good turn for the You Tube owners too.ReplyDelete
I think YouTube is awesome I can teach many people guitar all over the world. Google made the right decision in purchasing YouTube. Before you know it they will own everything online.ReplyDelete
YouTube is a great tool for many people. I use it to broadcast my opinions in a vlog, whilst others can use it to showcase their talents at making movies or parodies. It deserves to be worth the vast amounts that Google paid for it, and in time, it will make them an astronomical return.ReplyDelete
The search feature does not really work that well on youtube imo. tried looking for videos that I put on but could not find with ease. Any tips?ReplyDelete
Youtube is great for learning new things. I have used this site to solve many problems.ReplyDelete
As good as the new Youtube interfaces are my biggest gripe is the search results interface in Youtube. It doesn't always seem to return the results I'm looking for.ReplyDelete
i like the newer interface for youtube plus the added tools.. it took a little time to get used to but like anything it is just an adjustment...ReplyDelete
Youtube is very famous today.. This is the best site for me because they allow any videos except those porn videos. They offer a big space for everyone.ReplyDelete
I think it's safe to say, Google is happy with their investment in YouTube!!!!ReplyDelete
With Video views on the increase and fast becoming the second most popular way people research information. Youtube will definitely be a winner for Google.ReplyDelete
I'm not too impressed with the new Vevo viewer now, only because of the advertisements it shows before you can actually watch the vids. Advertisements on YouTube were bound to happen though.ReplyDelete
The good ol' days...ReplyDelete

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Coreboot conference San Francisco 2016
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The wiki is being retired!
Documentation is now handled by the same processes we use for code: Add something to the Documentation/ directory in the coreboot repo, and it will be rendered to https://doc.coreboot.org/. Contributions welcome!
Presentations from the 2016 coreboot conference in San Francisco, CA, USA
- Verified Boot: Surviving in the Internet of Insecure Things: Randall Spangler ( slides )
- coreboot on RISC-V: Ron Minnich
- Talos, Openpower, and the World Beyond X86: Timothy Pearson ( slides )
- EDK-II & CorebootPayloadPackage: Lee Leahy & Vincent Zimmer
- coreboot on ARM: Julius Werner
- An Open Source Embedded Controller: Bill Richardson ( slides )
- KB9102 EC Firmware Reverse Engineering: Paul Kocialkowski
Date and time
The date of the coreboot conference was Monday, June 13 to Thursday June 16, 2016.
Conference location
This conference was hosted by the coreboot project and held in San Francisco, CA, USA at the Google office at 345 Spear St. Google has been a significant contributor to the coreboot project, and several key members of the community work for Google. Google's chromebooks and chromeboxes use coreboot as a significant piece of their verified boot security model.


text:
Is your political outlook in your genes? Researchers have identified a gene variant that could predispose adolescents to becoming liberal adults — but only if they have an active social life.
An article published in the Journal of Politics looked at 2,000 subjects from the National Longitudinal Study
of Adolescent Health, examining their genes, social networks, and political affiliations. What they found was that adolescents who possess a certain variant of the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 were more likely to grow up to be liberal adults. Furthermore, that correlation only existed when adolescents had active social lives.
This particular variant has previously been linked with novelty seeking behavior. Lead researcher James H. Fowler of UC San Diego has speculated that the combination of the novelty-seeking and a broad social network tends to steer adolescents toward a liberal worldview:
[He] hypothesized that people with the novelty-seeking gene variant would be more interested in learning about their friends' points of view. As a consequence, people with this genetic predisposition who have a greater-than-average number of friends would be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which might make them more liberal than average.
The research also indicated the popular kids with the DRD4 variant tended to be liberal independent of gender, ethnicity, culture, or class.
Researchers find a 'liberal gene' [PhysOrg]


text:
It's Landry! Hobnobbing with Opes and Denzel!
Last night at The Great Debaters premiere, here's Jesse Plemons of Friday Night Lights – the show you're not watching…because it's too good?
For FNL fans – am tired of Anxiety Landry. Bring back Best Zingers Landry. And bring back his Christian Rock band Crucifictorious. And bring back Riggins watching his Christian Rock band Crucifictorious! That scene was amazing.
Get Season 1 on DVD over the holidays!!! You will love. Promise.
Photos from Wenn
Bring Back Crucifictorious!
It's Landry! Hobnobbing with Opes and Denzel!


text:
I recently heard an ominous NPR story on the rise in trips to the emergency room by people seeking dental treatment. In 2009 alone, Tennessee's emergency rooms had more than 55,000 dental-related visits — five times as many as for burns. Florida's emergency rooms experienced over 115,000 ER visits for dental matters in 2010. Charges for those visits totaled $88 million.
This is a big problem. Emergency rooms aren't set up to treat dental patients, and the charges they impose dwarf those dentists charge for emergency work, much less for the sort of routine dental service that prevents dental emergencies in the first place. A huge amount of money could be saved if people — especially the poor folks who tend to use the emergency room for dental work — would just go to the dentist.
One approach to the problem would be to try to reduce the cost of preventive dental care. The vast majority of routine dental care can be (and, it seems from my own experience, usually is) provided by technicians who have some relatively low-cost specialized training but are not licensed dentists who have earned an expensive degree from a dental school. If regulators gave these folks more leeway to provide routine services without having to send their bills through a dentist who is sure to mark them up, the price of routine preventive services would fall, and more low-income folks would purchase them. The dental lobby, however, fights tooth and nail against this sort of reform.
A more likely policy response may come under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). As we've recently seen in the brouhaha over the Obama Administration's contraception mandate, the Affordable Care Act requires that insurers fully cover, without any copayment requirement, any preventive measures that the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has rated "A" or "B" in terms cost-effectiveness. Birth control and the so-called "morning after" pill were so rated, which is why the Obama Adminstration is requiring that employer-provided insurance policies cover them.
Isn't basic dental service (routine cleanings, check-ups, etc.) a cost-effective preventive measure? It certainly prevents serious and costly disease. According to the USPTF's grade definitions, a preventive measure will receive an A or B rating if there is at least a "moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial." The NPR report and the Pew Study on which it's based suggest that routine dental services would surely earn an A or B rating. If they're so designated by USPTF, then it would seem that employer-provided insurance policies would have to cover them. [Note that I use the awkward "it would seem" phrase because I haven't scoured the gazillion-page statute to see if there's some sort of exemption that would except dental services; there may well be.]
"So what?", you ask. Why would it be a bad thing if health insurance routinely covered dental procedures that would prevent serious ailments down the road? More people would then take the cost-effective precautions, thereby reducing the overall cost of health care.
Perhaps. But greatly expanding insurance coverage of dental services would likely have an unintended (except from the dentists' perspective!) consequence: It would drive up the price of dentistry. In the current environment in which most people lack dental insurance or have relatively stingy policies, consumers are intensely interested in the price of dental services. Dentists respond by competing on price or, what is the same thing, the provision of "free" services like teeth whitening for new customers. Cheapos like me just go to a different dentist for every routine cleaning in order to get a new customer discount each time.
If employer-provided health insurance begins to cover the full price of routine dental services — an outcome that would seem to be required by the Affordable Care Act — then we can expect these promotions to end. Why would dentists compete on price when the customers selecting the dentists have no skin in the game? Insurers might inject some price competition by setting maximum prices for "in network" dentists, but price competition at this level is far less vigorous than when the consumer is directly paying her own money out of pocket. (Compare, e.g., price competition over LASIK treatments, purchased out of pocket, to price competition for routine doctor visits, which insurance covers in large part.)
As economist after economist after economist explained in the debate over the Affordable Care Act, a primary reason for spiraling health care costs is the prevalence of generous third-party insurance that covers almost everything and thereby decimates patients' incentive to shop on — and thus providers' incentive to compete on — price. Expanding this pernicious dynamic into the realm of dental services would be disastrous for all except dentists.
A far better way to address the problem of underutilization of preventive dental services would be to lower the cost of those services by liberalizing dentistry regulation (i.e., allowing trained non-dentists, who are cheaper, to do more). The dental lobby will oppose such a move, and the Affordable Care Act, I fear, provides it with an alternative policy to endorse and pursue. Yet another example of how the Affordable Care Act's effort to increase insurance coverage undermines efforts to reduce costs.


text:
Tara St James is is an Adjunct Instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is the owner and head designer for the sustainable fashion label Study – New York. She was born and raised in Canada where she studied menswear tailoring.
Ms. St James teaches this awesome class:
JSX 050: The Fashion Cycle
This class will teach you the steps need to make your 'FASHION RUNWAY' dreams a reality. Learn how your designs travels through the fashion design process; how to translate inspiration into sketches and mood/design boards; why one fabric is better than another; what happens in the pattern room; how the factory works; what it takes to produce a runway show; and finally, how your designs end up in a store! After this class you will know how a real designer puts a line together and have a road map for your future.
Teaching Philosophy:
My teaching style combines a hands-on atmosphere where students are exposed to current industry techniques and innovations in textiles and finishes as well visits to museums for exposure to present day and historical inspiration. I like to create an environment conducive to sharing ideas and thoughts, allowing the students to learn from one another. I infuse sustainable thinking in all my courses as it is engrained in my business and lifestyle.
On Precollege Programs:
Teaching the Precollege programs allows me to introduce a new generation to the fashion industry I know and love. I am continually impressed by the students' motivation to learn and create above and beyond their current middle / highschool workload. Their enthusiasm motivates me to share as much as I can so the students have a realist understanding of all this industry can offer them in the future.
Industry Experience:
- Owner, creative director for Study NY, casual ethical contemporary womenswear made in New York City
- Designer of womens jeans for Brooklyn Denim Co
- Launched Covet, mens & womens casual streetwear
- Designed for Parasuco, Dex, Azzure and Spiewak


text:
Someday, millions of electric cars will be on America's roads, gulping down the juice from tens of thousands of charging stations scattered around the country. But "someday" isn't here just yet — which is why I'm so happy I found a space in the parking garage next to an electrical outlet for my .
Over the next couple of days, we'll be putting the all-electric Leaf to a real-world test here in the Seattle area, thanks to Nissan's nationwide The folks at Nissan were kind enough to lend us a car for a couple of days in between their Seattle and San Francisco stops.
It's one thing to drive the Leaf around on a two-hour test drive, as , but quite another to work it into your day-to-day driving routine. Fortunately, my routine is a perfect fit for the Leaf: I have a commute of as little as 7 miles to work at msnbc.com's mothership in Redmond. Because the Leaf has an estimated range of 80 to 100 miles per charge-up, I could easily bring the car back to Nissan on Tuesday without ever plugging it in.
But where's the fun in that?
This was an opportunity to take the neighbors for a ride, deal with the issues that early-adopting Leaf drivers will face and test my tolerance for "range anxiety" — the worries about having enough electricity to go where you need (or want) to go. Nissan says 20,000 customers have already ordered the all-electric subcompact, with deliveries due to begin next month. So there'll be lots of car owners going through a similar reality check.
The Leaf's basics
First, the basics: The Leaf is a hatchback that can seat five (we proved that on Sunday night with the neighbors) and still leave a good amount of cargo room in the back. The list price is $32,780, but that figure can be reduced by a federal tax credit (up to $7,500) plus state and local incentives. The car can also be leased for as little as $349 a month.
The Leaf is powered by an 80-kilowatt electric motor, and it runs totally on electricity that's drawn from a plug and stored in a 600-pound battery pack under the floor. Because the Leaf lacks a gasoline engine, it's quiet — so quiet that Nissan has built in a faint synthetic whine that comes on when the Leaf is traveling at 18 mph or less, just to let pedestrians know the car is coming their way. At higher speeds, the noises of the tires and the motor are enough to do the trick.
This is no glorified golf cart: Even though there's no vroom-vroom sound, the Leaf offers plenty of get-up-and-go.
The common refrain you hear about the Leaf as well as the Chevy Volt, the battery-plus-gasoline-powered electric car , is that they drive "just like a regular car." In normal mode, the Leaf does perform like a regular car, or perhaps a regular hybrid — a verdict that was seconded by my Prius-driving neighbors. But if you want to find out what driving a not-quite-regular car feels like, you can use the Leaf's "palm shift" drive selector to toggle the drive train from normal mode to "eco-mode."
In eco-mode, the accelerator seems a bit less responsive, and the brakes grab a bit more aggressively. Those tweaks help the Leaf hold onto more of its electric power and recover more electricity from the regenerative braking system. The payoff comes in the form of a in the car's range.
You can also increase your range by going without the heater on a cool, misty Seattle morning. At one point, I could fiddle with the Leaf's controls to show a variety of readings for how many miles I had left: 55 miles (normal mode with climate control), 59 miles (normal without climate control), 60 miles (eco-mode with climate control) or 65 miles (eco-mode without climate control).
Looking for a charge
I have to admit I was fixated on the routine for recharging the Leaf, since that's likely to be a key sticking point for potential buyers. Nissan says it can take as long as 20 hours to charge up the car using a standard 120-volt circuit. If you hook up to a 240-volt Level 2 charging station — which can be installed in your home for the estimated cost of $2,200 — you can cut that time down to eight hours or so for a full charge. A 480-volt Level 3 charging station can bring the Leaf's lithium-ion batteries to full power in 30 minutes or less. Once you're fully charged, you're good to go for another 100 miles or so.
Chevrolet went with a different strategy for the $41,000 Volt. Its all-battery range is lower (25 to 50 miles), but it takes just 10 hours to charge up from a 120-volt outlet, or four hours at 240 volts. And because the Volt also has a gasoline engine on board, you can go 350 miles or so before filling up again at a gasoline pump.
Because of this fundamental difference, the installation of fast-charging stations is more important for Leaf owners than Volt owners. The federally supported aims to get 15,000 publicly available charging stations installed in six states and the District of Columbia over the next year, and thousands more will no doubt join the list.
Today, however, the pickings are slim: The number of publicly available 240-volt charging stations in the Seattle area can be , and I haven't yet located a place to plug in at 480 volts if need be. Because we're gearing up for an extended test drive, I wanted to make sure I could top off the batteries as much as possible. And that's what motivated my search for an outlet in the parking garage nearest to msnbc.com's headquarters.
At first, I hunted around the edges of the parking level, to no avail. Then I wandered around the stairwells and access doors — and found my first prospect, near the door to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the spaces surrounding that outlet were all marked for disabled parking. It wouldn't have been P.C. to park there, even with an zero-emissions car.
Finally, I came across the perfect place: An open "compact car" slot right next to an elevator lobby, with an electrical outlet just inches away. I eased my car into position, flipped open the plug-in door on the Leaf's hood, grabbed my recharging cord and let the juice flow in. Victory at 120 volts!
Every hour of recharging lets you recover about 4 miles of range, so while I've been tapping away at my computer, the Leaf has regained all the power it lost during my drive to the office.
This exercise in power-hunting made me realize that plug-in parking places will become more highly prized as more electric cars enter the market. They'll be as sought after as the electrical outlets in airport terminals. It's not too early to start reserving some of the prime parking spots for electric vehicles — or to installing more 120/240-volt charging outlets in parking ramps and public places.
The alternative isn't pretty: In the months ahead, there just might be a lot more people like me, lurking around the garages like voltage vampires.
After charging up, I'm all set for an adventure. Keep checking our section for more about electric cars and our Connect with the community by "liking" the log's or following . You can also check out my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.


text:
Author: Michael Evamy
This book by Michael Evamy is a huge collection of contemporary logotypes, monograms, and other text-based international corporate marks.
The book is available on Amazon.com
"Logotype is the definitive modern collection of logotypes, monograms and other text-based corporate marks. Featuring more than 1,300 international typographic identities, by around 250 design studios, this is an indispensable handbook for every design studio, providing a valuable resource to draw on in branding and corporate identity projects.
Logotype is truly international, and features the world's outstanding identity designers. Examples are drawn not just from Western Europe and North America but also Australia, South Africa, the Far East, Israel, Iran, South America and Eastern Europe. Contributing design firms include giants such as Pentagram, Vignelli Associates, Chermayeff & Geismar, Wolff Olins, Landor, Total Identity and Ken Miki & Associates as well as dozens of highly creative, emerging studios.
Retaining the striking black-and-white aesthetic and structure of Logo (also by Michael Evamy) and Symbol, Logotype is an important and essential companion volume."
via laurenceking.com


text: Back Bacterial Endocarditis What is bacterial endocarditis? Bacterial endocarditis is an infection of the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves. This infection can occur in any person (infant, child, or adult) who has heart disease present at birth (congenital heart disease), or can occur in people without heart disease. Bacterial endocarditis does not occur very often, but when it does, it can cause serious heart damage. It is very important to prevent this infection from occurring, if possible. How does the infection occur? Bacterial endocarditis occurs when bacteria (germs) enter the bloodstream and lodge inside the heart, where they multiply and cause infection. A normal heart has a smooth lining, making it difficult for bacteria to stick to it. However, persons with congenital heart disease may have a roughened area on the heart lining caused by pressure from an abnormal opening or a leaky valve. Even after surgery, roughened areas may remain due to scar tissue formation or patches used to redirect blood flow. These rough areas inside the heart are inviting, opportune places for bacteria to build up and multiply. How does the bacteria get inside the body? Bacteria can enter the body in many ways. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), some of the most common ways include the following: Dental procedures (including professional teeth cleaning) Tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy Examination of the respiratory passageways with an instrument known as a rigid bronchoscope Certain types of surgery on the respiratory passageways, the gastrointestinal tract, or the urinary tract Gallbladder or prostate surgery Who is at risk for bacterial endocarditis? Individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) may be at increased risk of developing an infection inside the heart. There is greatest risk in those with chronic cyanotic heart conditions and/or pulmonary hypertension/Eisenmenger's syndrome. Other congenital conditions that remain at risk are those with residual defects causing turbulent blood flow through heart chambers and/or areas of surgical repair with artificial materials, such as patches or valve replacements. Extensive review of research by the AHA's Endocarditis Committee and international experts developed new guidelines for prevention of bacterial endocarditis in 2007. The new guidelines have also been endorsed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, and the American Dental Association. Previously all people with CHD received antibiotics before dental and invasive procedures to prevent endocarditis. The new guidelines, however, require antibiotics prior to dental procedures only for cardiac conditions associated with the highest risk of complications from endocarditis. You will need to discuss your child's congenital condition with his or her health care provider to determine if your child needs antibiotic prevention. Note that antibiotic prophylaxis may change if your child has more surgery or any new concern with his or her heart condition. Some of the simple patch or valve repairs only require antibiotics for the first six months after surgery until the artificial material undergoes endothelialization, a process in which natural tissue grows over the artificial material and makes it smooth. Antibiotic prophylaxis is now recommended only for the following cardiac conditions: Prosthetic (artificial) heart valves A previous history of endocarditis Congenital heart disease only in the following categories: Unrepaired cyanotic congenital heart conditions, including those with palliative shunts and conduits Congenital heart conditions completely repaired with prosthetic material or device, whether placed by surgery or catheter intervention, during the first six months after the procedure Repaired congenital heart conditions with residual defects at the site or adjacent to the site of a prosthetic patch or device (which inhibit endothelialization) Cardiac transplantation recipients with cardiac valvular disease Consult your child's health care provider with any further questions you may have about risk factors. How is bacterial endocarditis diagnosed? In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination of your child, diagnostic procedures may include: Echocardiogram (echo). A procedure that evaluates the structure and function of the heart by using sound waves recorded on an electronic sensor that produce a moving picture of the heart and heart valves. Complete blood count (CBC). A measurement of size, number, and maturity of different blood cells in a specific volume of blood. Blood culture. A test that assesses for and determines the specific type of bacteria in the bloodstream, if any. How is bacterial endocarditis prevented? Helping your child maintain excellent oral hygiene is an important step in preventing bacterial endocarditis. Regular visits to the dentist for professional cleaning and check-ups are essential. Proper oral hygiene is crucial, including regular brushing and flossing. According to the AHA guidelines, prior to procedures that put your child at risk, one dose of an antibiotic should be given. In most cases, the antibiotics can be given by mouth instead of through a shot or an intravenous (IV) line. Your child's dentist, pediatrician, or cardiologist can give prescriptions for the antibiotics to you. Treatment for bacterial endocarditis Specific treatment for bacterial endocarditis will be determined by your child's health care provider based on: Your child's age, overall health, and medical history Extent of the infection Cause of the infection Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies Expectations for the course of the infection Your opinion or preference Bacterial endocarditis is serious. This infection can cause severe damage to the inner lining of the heart and to the valves. The infection can be treated in most cases with strong antibiotics given through an IV over the course of several weeks. However, heart damage may occur before the infection can be controlled. Surgery may be required to repair or replace a damaged heart valve. Consult your child's health care provider for more information.


text:
This pistachio cake with honey vanilla buttercream frosting is a true celebration cake – with a light crumb and a delectable frosting, it's the kind of cake that you will never forget after that first bite.
This cake is just not a good listener.
I started out every morning for the past six days explaining to it that, yes, we'd had a good run but it was time to go our separate ways. Say adieu. Run away and never look back.
And then the end of the night would come and there it was. In my belly. Showing absolutely no remorse for its sordid ways.
And, well…what is a birthday girl to do but go along with these ridiculous antics?
(And shovel as much of it into her mouth as possible before birthday week is over)?
I'm so glad we agree.
And yes, in case you were wondering, this is going to be THE wedding cake! Made by the fabulous Baked boys themselves.
I fell hard for it at first bite when we tried it out in their bakery. It just has all the things that good wedding cakes are made of: a light, tender crumb with pistachio crumbs scattered throughout and smothered in a honey vanilla buttercream to tie it all together.
Simple, sweet, classic.
And the best part is that I can make it for us myself, whenever we want. So that even though we're probably only going to remember to eat one bite at the wedding, I can rest assured that I have had my fill this past week. And then some.
One of the best parts of birthday week is getting surprises in the mail (actually, that's the best part of any week) and one of my favorite surprises was my Food Blogger Cookbook Swap present! Oh, you don't know what the Food Blogger Cookbook Swap is? Let me tell you. Basically, everyone who signs up gets paired with another blogger and is set with the task of choosing a lightly used cookbook to send them that will align with their food preferences. And so, in addition to sending a cookbook, everyone also receives a new cookbook! To be honest, I'm not sure which is more fun…getting a new cookbook or figuring out just which cookbook from my collection would be perfect to send to someone else. Both rewarding in their own way.
My pair was Hannah of Blue Kale Road. I noticed that she posted a lot of Middle Eastern and Indian-spice infused meals, so I chose to send her One Spice, Two Spice: American Food, Indian Flavors, which I've made a few things from that I really loved. In return, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories sent me Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which I love. I haven't had a chance to bake anything from it yet, but it is pretty perfect as I often put off bread baking since I feel like I don't have the time to wait for dough to rise, though I do love having a homemade loaf on the counter. With this book, I'll get the best of both worlds…so thank you, Karen!
I truly hope this is more than just a one-time event because I really had a lot of fun with it! Thanks to Alyssa of www.EverydayMaven.com and Faith of http://www.anediblemosaic.com for hosting this fabulous event!
Be sure to check out the blogs of others who participated to see what they swapped and got in return!
A Baker's House, An Edible Mosaic, avocado bravado, Blue Kale Road, Blueberries And Blessings, Cheap Recipe Blog, Confessions of a Culinary Diva, Create Amazing Meals, Cucina Kristina, Culinary Adventures with Camilla, Cupcake Project, Dinner is Served 1972, Done With Corn, Everyday Maven, Flour Me With Love , From My Sweet Heart , girlichef , Great Food 360° , Healthy. Delicious. , I'm Gonna Cook That! , Je Mange la Ville , Karen's Kitchen Stories , Kitchen Treaty , Olive and Herb , OnTheMove-In The Galley , Our Best Bites , Paleo Gone Sassy , poet in the pantry , Rhubarb and Honey , Rocky Mountain Cooking, Shikha la mode , Shockingly Delicious , Sifting Focus , Spiceroots , Spoonful of Flavor , Tara's Multicultural Table , The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler , The Suburban Soapbox , The Whole Family's Food
Two years ago…Lentil-Pomegranate Stew with Spinach and Raisins
Three years ago…Spaghetti and Spaghetti Squash with Lemon-Garlic Sauce and Ricotta
Four years ago…Sesame Noodle Salad with Dried Pineapple
- 1 cup shelled pistachios
- 2½ cups cake flour
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cup flour
- 1½ cups milk
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, soft, cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp honey
- Preheat the oven to 325. Grease and line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachio meat until it is coarsely chopped. Remove 2 tbsp to a small bowl. Pulse the remaining pistachios until they have almost a powder-like consistency. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk together both the roughly chopped and fine pistachios with the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter in the stand mixer for 3 minutes. Add in the sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the egg and mix until just combined.
- Turn the mixer to low. Pour 1½ cups ice water into a measuring cup. Add the flour/pistachio mix to the batter in three additions, alternating with the ice water, mixing each time until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
- In a medium, clean bowl whisk together the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Flip the cakes out of the pans, onto the rack and let cool completely before frosting. Remove parchment paper from the bottoms.
- For the buttercream, in a medium heavy saucepan, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add in the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil and then thickens, 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer the hot milk mixture to a stand mixer bowl and mix with the paddle attachment on high speed until cool, about 9 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, a few pieces at a time, until it is full incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, a few minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and honey and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, chill it and mix again.
- To assemble the cake, place one cake layer top side up on a serving platter. Use a long serrated knife to cut the top so that it is flat and even. Spread a little over a cup of frosting on top. Add the next later and, again, trim so that it is flat. Top with another cup of frosting. Add the remaining cake layer and trim the top again. Spread cake with a very thin layer of frosting for the crumb coating. Put in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Spread the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate as desired.


text:
This generation of Android phones is faster, more powerful and generally awesome-er than anything before. But for whatever reason, they don't have one thing other smartphones take for granted: multitouch. Here's how to fix that, and so much more.
Google's Nexus one and Verizon's Motorola Droid are, in a sense, miles ahead their competitors in terms of hardware specs, but moreso because they've got much newer versions of Android's software, with 2.1 and 2.0, respectively. In the midst of a slew of new software features and despite base-level hardware and software support, Google, who has always been cagey about the multitouch issue, continues to leave it out of their core apps.
This is especially weird in the cases of the Droid and Nexus One, which don't just support multitouch on a hardware level, but fully support it on an OS level, too. It's really just the apps, like the browser, the photo gallery and the maps app, which exclude support for multitouch gestures such as pinch-zooming. Why can't all Android users have use the same gestures that iPhone, Pre and HTC Hero owners can, if their phones can already accept multi-finger input? Only Google knows. But there's something you can do about it. Actually, there are two things:
Rooting is most intensive method, and can actually do a lot more than add multitouch to your phone. What this does, basically, is give you deep, system-level access to all your phone's software and parameters, which lets you run unsanctioned tethering apps to writing apps to your SD card (by default, Android phones restrict you to the device's limited, onboard memory), modify the device's stock apps, and most importantly, swap your phone's software out completely, with what's called a new ROM. To get native multitouch apps on your phone, you can opt for an entire flash ROM, or just a more narrow set of hacks. But you will need to root your device.
So here's how to get multitouch on your new Android phone, natively:
• Google Nexus One
• Verizon Motorola Droid
Now, if the above instructions seem like overkill for a relatively minor feature, don't have any need for the other goodies that rooting promises, or aren't satisfied with the current state of Nexus One and Droid homebrew, you have another, easier option:
Downloadable Apps
As I mentioned before, the Droid and Nexus One's shared dirty secret is that they support multitouch out of the box, but don't support include the gestures necessary to get any use out of it. This means that unless you're willing to hack your phones, as seen above, you're not going to be able to get multitouch in your native browser, or for that matter any of your native apps. The easy solution? Download Dolphin, a browser that include multitouch gestures (and a lot more cool stuff, like swipe gestures, RSS feed subscriptions and a built-in Twitter client.
For photos, try Multi-Touch for Gallery, which is a full photo gallery replacement, or PicSay, which is a combination gallery/photo editor. All you've got to do is search for these apps in the Android Market, install them, and designate them as your default web and photo browsers.
There are other mulitouch apps in the App Market, from games to utilities to simple tech demos. Drop your favorites in the comments, and I'll add them to the post.
That's pretty much it! If you have any tips to tricks for getting the most out your phone's hardware, please drop some links in the comments-your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides. And if you have any topics you'd like to see covered here, please let me know. Happy pinch-zooming, folks!


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Steven Silver sends the following announcement:
We are pleased to announce this year's nominees for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The winners will be announced at Chicon 7, this year's Worldcon, in Chicago, Illinois during the weekend of August 30. The Sidewise Awards have been presented annually since 1995 to recognize excellence in alternate historical fiction. This year's panel of judges was made up of Stephen Baxter, Evelyn Leeper, Jim Rittenhouse, Stu Shiffman, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven H Silver. Congratulations and best of luck. Short Form * Michael F. Flynn, The Iron Shirts (Tor.com) * Lisa Goldstein, Paradise Is a Walled Garden (Asimov's, 8/11) * Jason Stoddard, Orion Rising (Panverse 3, edited by Dario Ciriello, Panverse Publishing) * Harry Turtledove, Lee at the Alamo (Tor.com) Long Form * Robert Conroy, Castro's Bomb (Kindle) * Robert Conroy, Himmler's War (Baen Books) * Jeff Greenfield, Then Everything Changed (Putnam) * Ian R MacLeod, Wake Up and Dream (PS Publishing) * Ian McDonald, Planesrunner (Pyr) * Ekaterina Sedia, Heart of Iron (Prime) * Lavie Tidhar, Camera Obscura (Angry Robot) The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were conceived in late 1995 to honor the best allohistorical genre publications of the year. The first awards were announced in summer 1996 and honored works from 1995. The award takes its name from Murray Leinster's 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time," in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with their analogs from other timelines. For more information, contact Steven H Silver at firstname.lastname@example.com or go to http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise.


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Our Story
Ruth's Chris Steak House 17803 La Cantera Terrace
The destination for prime steak
They call Ruth's Chris founder Ruth Fertel, the First Lady of American Restaurants. But before there were 150+ locations serving 40,000 prime steaks a day, there was a fearless single mother of two who tore an ad from the local newspaper that read "steak house for sale" and thought, "I can do that".
The year was 1965. It's a great American story of how one person- a woman, at a time and in a business dominated by men took an idea and made it sing. What Ruth lacked in experience she made up in hard work. But it wasn't just sixteen – hour days that made her steak restaurant an icon.
Good people, good times and the best steak around.
Ruth had the divinely simple, yet uncommonly magical way of touching people with genuine kindness- the way food and love and people just fit together in her hometown of New Orleans where the legend was born.
In 1976, there was a fire at the original Chris' Steak House, destroying the restaurant and leaving Ruth in a difficult situation. But Ruth was smart, and she learned to trust her instincts.
Ruth plowed forward and within seven days she was back in business in a new location just four blocks away on Broad Street in New Orleans. Tired of guests calling her Chris but not wanting to lose her loyal customer base who knew the restaurant by its longtime name, Ruth renamed her restaurant "Ruth's Chris Steak House"…and the rest is history.
You want to understand why Ruth's Chris is literally – universally – from New York to Hong Kong the temple of steak?
Just follow the sizzle….


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Brio Cargo Train & Tunnel
Haul the heaviest loads with the BRIO World Cargo Train & Tunnel. This toy train engine goes up and down hills and through valleys to deliver the cargo to any harbour or transport hub in BRIO World. There's even room for an engine driver on-board too. The clever packaging around the Travel Train also transforms into a stylish see-through tunnel – just place it into any BRIO World wooden railway track and off you go. Happy hauling! Cargo train and tunnel fit with all BRIO World railway track and sets for more open-ended play adventures.


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News Story
For Some States, Medicaid Expansion May Be a Tough Fiscal Call
Skeptics say the Republican governors who have pledged not to take part in the health-care law's Medicaid expansion are just posturing, and that eventually they will succumb to the lure of federal dollars. They note that several GOP governors initially refused stimulus money on political principle, but eventually accepted it because their states were desperate for help.
"I am confident that, in the end, virtually every state will expand its Medicaid program," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a non-profit group that advocates for expanded health care coverage. "Millions of people will gain coverage, and states will never have to pay more than a dime on the dollar to make it happen. It is therefore fiscal malpractice for governors to turn down the Medicaid expansion."
But even those governors who eventually accepted the stimulus money may be wary of participating in the expansion of Medicaid, the jointly funded federal-state health care program for low-income people.
The federal government currently pays 50 percent to 80 percent of the cost of Medicaid coverage in each state, with the poorest states getting the largest proportion of federal money. But many of the states that would qualify for the highest federal match already leave federal money on the table by maintaining Medicaid programs that are more restrictive than they have to be.
For the first three years of the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which takes effect in 2014, the federal government will pick up 100 percent of the new costs. But starting in 2017, the federal share will gradually decline until it reaches 90 percent in 2020, where it will remain. Even that 10 percent share may be too much for some states to bear.
In its June 28 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court ruled that if a state chooses not to participate in the law's Medicaid expansion, the federal government cannot take away its existing Medicaid money.
"States have made consistent choices over four decades to keep a modest Medicaid program, when they could have had a bigger one at an 80 percent federal match rate," says Chris Whatley of the Council of State Governments. "Why not turn down the expansion now at 90 percent? It's not that big of a difference."
Matt Salo, director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, notes that states already are struggling to cover their share of Medicaid, which is the fastest-growing part of state budgets. "Ten percent of a very large number is a lot of money," Salo says.
An optional program
If history is a guide, it might be years before the recalcitrant states agree to participate—if they ever do.
The federal government launched Medicaid as an optional program in January 1966. Today every state participates, but that wasn't always the case: Only six states signed up initially. Eight states didn't join until 1970, and Arizona didn't participate until 1982. And it took years for every state to join the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expansion Congress approved in 1997.
As of now, Medicaid covers about 60 million people, mainly children, pregnant women, disabled adults and the elderly with household incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $11,170 for an individual and $23,050 for family of four. But under the Affordable Care Act expansion, Medicaid would cover anyone with a household income at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level—roughly $15,400 per year for an individual and $31,800 for a family of four—including childless adults for the first time in many states.
In addition to the new people who will be eligible for the program under the new guidelines, millions of people who qualify now but are not enrolled are expected to sign up through health insurance exchanges and automatic enrollment programs.
As many as 13 million low-income people, who are likely to be sicker than most of the population, are expected to enroll through the exchanges, says Salo. States will have to pay for those new members at their regular Medicaid matching rate.
When you combine that enrollment bump—which will happen whether or not a state opts to expand its Medicaid program—with the steady increase in health-care costs generally, some states may decline to participate in the expansion, even if they do have to forfeit federal dollars.
Where states stand
Although the lineup is shifting, more than a dozen Republican governors have suggested they might decline to participate in the Medicaid expansion. Governors in Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas, South Carolina and Wisconsin have said they will not participate. GOP governors in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Virginia indicate they are leaning in that direction.
Meanwhile, about a dozen Democratic governors have said their states will opt in. The rest have not declared their intentions.
According to data from the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government would spend $923 billion on a full Medicaid expansion between 2014 and 2022, and states would spend about $73 billion. But nobody is sure how many people will enroll in the Medicaid expansion. According to a 2010 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, states' share of the Medicaid expansion could range anywhere from $20 billion to $43 billion in the first five years.
According to Kaiser, most states opting into the expansion likely would have to ramp up their Medicaid spending between 2014 and 2019, but four would spend less (Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont) and several others would have to boost state spending only slightly.
Mississippi's Medicaid program, for example, cost a total of $4 billion in 2011—the federal government paid $3 billion, and the state paid $1 billion. Expanding that program to everybody at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line would cost the state as much as $581 million between 2014 and 2019, according to Kaiser's 2010 study. That's a 6.4 percent increase in state spending compared to what Mississippi would spend without an expansion
The day after the Supreme Court ruled the Medicaid expansion was optional, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, a Republican, said: "Although I am continuing to review the ruling by the Supreme Court, I would resist any expansion of Medicaid that could result in significant tax increases or dramatic cuts to education, public safety and job creation."
Waiting for answers
One question that has cropped up since the high court's decision is whether the federal government will set a hard deadline for states to declare their intentions. Since the law considered the Medicaid expansion a done deal, no decision process was outlined.
Within state capitols, some officials are also questioning whether governors alone can make the decision. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers will have to weigh in on the Medicaid expansion choice in most states since millions of dollars are at stake.
Another question is whether states can cover fewer people—those with incomes at or below the poverty level, for example. Those above the poverty level would be eligible for federal tax credits to purchase insurance on the exchanges. States also want to know whether they can offer expanded Medicaid coverage initially and opt out later if the cost becomes too burdensome.
In a July 3 letter to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the Medicaid program, the National Association of Medicaid Directors posed these and dozens of other questions.
Until they get definitive answers, many states will be busy weighing the costs of expansion against the potential benefits of a healthier population, more health care jobs, and higher revenues for hospitals and other health care providers.
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