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Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism - Part II
Human Nature: Justice versus Power - Noam Chomsky debates with Michel Foucault - 1971
If you like, I will be a little bit Nietzschean about this; in other words, it seems to me that the idea of justice in itself is an idea which in effect has been invented and put to work in different types of societies as an instrument of a certain political and economic power or as a weapon against that power. But it seems to me that, in any case, the notion of justice itself functions within a society of classes as a claim made by the oppressed class and as justification for it.
Well, here I really disagree. I think there is some sort of an absolute basis--if you press me too hard I'll be in trouble, because I can't sketch it out-ultimately residing in fundamental human qualities, in terms of which a "real" notion of justice is grounded. I think it's too hasty to characterise our existing systems of justice as merely systems of class oppression; I don't think that they are that. I think that they embody systems of class oppression and elements of other kinds of oppression, but they also embody a kind of groping towards the true humanly, valuable concepts of justice and decency and love and kindness and sympathy, which I think are real. And I think that in any future society, which will, of course, never be the perfect society, we'll have such concepts again, which we hope, will come closer to incorporating a defence of fundamental human needs, including such needs as those for solidarity and sympathy and whatever, but will probably still reflect in some manner the inequities and the elements of oppression of the existing society.
finally this problem of human nature, when put simply in theoretical terms, hasn't led to an argument between us; ultimately we understand each other very well on these theoretical problems. On the other hand, when we discussed the problem of human nature and political problems, then differences arose between us. And contrary to what you think, you can't prevent me from believing that these notions of human nature, of justice, of the realisation of the essence of human beings, are all notions and concepts which have been formed within our civilisation, within our type of knowledge and our form of philosophy, and that as a result form part of our class system; and one can't, however regrettable it may be, put forward these notions to describe or justify a fight which should-and shall in principle--overthrow the very fundaments of our society. This is an extrapolation for which I can't find the historical justification. That's the point.
Hedges refers to an apparently diverse group of "political philosophers" in the opening essay of The World As It Is, including Sheldon S.Wolin, as one who "saw it coming," who "rang the alarms bells."
Under inverted totalitarianism "Economics dominates politics - and with that domination comes different forms of ruthlessness." In conversation with Wolin, Hedges writes, the author of Democracy Incorporated said "I keep asking why and how and when this country became so conservative. This country once prided itself on its experimentation and flexibility. It has become rigid. It is probably the most conservative of all the advanced countries."
Wolin told Hedges that "if an extreme Right gains momentum,there will probably be very little organized resistance. The Left is amorphous," he said, continuing: "I despair over the Left. Left parties may be small in number in Europe, but they are a coherent organization that keep going. Here, except for Nader's efforts, we don't havve that. We have a few voices here, a magazine there, and that's about it. It goes nowhere."
Like the cacaphony of the chorus hereabouts, eh?
But if "economics dominates politics," and that certainly would seem to be the case, wouldn't talk of reform concern itself at some point with economics? Even a workable scheme for reostructuring at the end of the revolution? :)
We have a few voices here, a magazine there, and that's about it. It goes nowhere." Like the cacaphony of the chorus hereabouts, eh? But if "economics dominates politics," and that certainly would seem to be the case, wouldn't talk of reform concern itself at some point with economics? Even a workable scheme for reostructuring at the end of the revolution? :)
Here is where the cacophony should least concern us. It's the daily regurgitation of nonsense from our political representatives that we're being expected to re-consume is what should have us all bent over with nausea. Economics dominates politics in the same way a machine gunner employs that particular weapon of choice due to its effectiveness in performing the task it was designed to do. Politics is a hammer wielded by economy, a sleeve put to use by a conjurer intent on convincing the audience that something can be made to appear or disappear if they focus enough of their attention away from what is actually being done. If a cursory examination of capitalism reveals a system of wondrous bounty for some, a hand to mouth existence for others in exchange for labour, and for others still as a death sentence imposed at birth, then the logical and least destructive alternative would be to appropriate the excessive bounty in an attempt to sustain life for everyone.
Sj, the 1970s brought us an economic system (out of Chicago) that invites us to choose between playing ball or assuming the dynamics of a backwater. We have to bring the bastards back to a less larcenous game. And you have to be able to talk about current economic world events with your supporters out there to accomplish that - or just be written off as a threat to their jobs, income, savings invested in the corporate world.
We're talking about the need for reform, but we have to stop generalizing and philosophizing - we have to talk to working people at their level of understanding, or just wind up building little dream worlds to humour ourselves. Any attempt here to get people openly talking about where their retirement funds are invested would bring a pall of silence. Too many contradictions.
Talk about pensions and the increasing demands on organized labour, the working poor and the environment in exchange for diminishing returns is all very well and good. In order to carry such a conversation, I'm afraid one has to engage in the same pie in the sky discussion as someone attempting to more broadly situate the prevailing circumstances. What leader has gone down to the occupy zones to say they've seen and heard, and as a result will promise to do better? Instead riot police are arresting more and more people, while ultimatums are tabled elsewhere. I would say that the reverse is true from the way you describe things. Classic political engagement constitutes the various little dream worlds where at best, the steady state to oblivion is the best that can be hoped for. You're trying to bring together enough shuffleboard players for a game aboard a sinking ship on auto cruise.
I'm after coherence, Sj, for a message that working folks can understand. Nothing, above, points to a believable approach to changing the economic structure now in thrall to the powers that be. Pored over, it's a description of our situation, but contains no hint of a solution.
There is only one obvious approach, which won't be found by applying to the existing structures. It is somewhat surprising, but not very much so if we're being up front about it, that despite the entire array of deliberations which appear as a specialty for today's crop of social democrats, in addition to their comprehensive if not exhaustive suggested reading lists, that the one last gasp solution never occurs, or if it does, such thoughts are subjected to a ritual which closely resembles confession and pennance. The only important consideration, for which I am more confident than ever of the answer, is the question of which will arrive first; solutions grounded in classic politics as it currently exists, or by another means grounded in politics of another sort entirely, and for which history has already furnished ample precedent.
I'm after coherence, Sj, for a message that working folks can understand. Nothing, above, points to a believable approach to changing the economic structure now in thrall to the powers that be. Pored over, it's a description of our situation, but contains no hint of a solution.
Great so am I.
Please tell us what you propose.
One has to suspect that what can be gained here is most likely to consist of an appreciation for the fact that reading and reading comprehension, observation and analysis, are entirely distinct disciplines for which not everyone is able to ascertain where the intersections are, let alone be expected to function effectively within them.
Seems to me that popular uprisings are one method of getting change. A message for working people is a good idea but when the people take to the streets the only chance for success is in non violent protest led by all of the community. The people will rise when the daily struggle gets so bad that the caregivers take to the streets because they can't manage. In Egypt there is a long tradition of ongoing strikes and protests with thousands of people on pretty much a weekly basis. North America does not have types of factions of workers and illegal political parties that regularly took to the Cairo streets before the Arab spring. And when it comes to car burnings and running battles with the police they make our Black Bloc look like peacenics. That happened before and is still happening now even after the Arab Spring. The Arab spring occurred because the women took to the streets and professional organizations like the lawyers and judges and teachers all joined in to demand reform.
So the question is how to get to mass peaceful protest without a long history of illegal civil disobedience as they have in many countries. China has more strikes these days than Canada. Some of them are legal and others are in defiance of the Chinese labor laws. The workers don't care they strike anyways. In Canada the head of the CLC writes a tersely worded letter to the government when Local 6500 is on strike and under attack and trying to defend a pension system without selling out their children in a two tiered scheme. Our government is preaching a neo-fascist labour policy that says the rights of workers should be subordinated to the business dictates of the economy and our cites go undisturbed. The MSM does not address issues and without the disruptions there is no consciousness building among the people.
The Occupy movements in North America and the protests across Europe are to me the beacon of hope. I have faith in the people of places like Greece, Spain and Italy because fascism is within living memory especially in Greece and Spain. They have elders to tell them they have seen this shit before and it does not end well for the people.
In Canada we are like the proverbial frog in the water. The pot was a nice cool temperature in the 1970's but it has been slowly heating since and now it is hot enough to boil us but we are so lethargic that we can't jump out. Maybe the Occupy movements will be the cold water required to wake up us dozing toads. If nothing else they have forced the debate.
I love the frog in the pot analogy, NS, and particularly the dating ...from the 1970s. All political economy now uses the 1970s as a base line, when "things changed," ...the worker's standard of living stopped improving (and the credit economy appeared), unions came under threat, beginning with the move of industry to lower-wage areas in the south and abroad. And finance capital came to the fore as larger and larger pools of savings became available. And billionaires became a dime a dozen.
And the frequency of crashes increased from occasional to regular as clockwork. Greed was most evident in the last one, and got a dean from Mennonite country, writing. I still think deans of schools of management have consciences.
The dean of the Rotman School of Management at the U.of T. , Roger L. Martin points precisely to the moment when it all began to go "wrong" , the publication of a paper by two profesors at another school of business offering another theory of the firm. They said that shareholders are the ones who should be uppermost in the minds of the managers, not the customers buying the firm's products. Market crashes since then are largely attributable to acceptance of that idea.
Of course, Martin is only out to fix the market. He doesn't mention the parallel appearance of the Chicago School in that decade. That's the one dependent on the idea that, with maximization of stock values as the goal, industry shold simply take its little red wagon and play elsewhere if any political jurisdiction, state,province, country, didn't play ball...lower taxes etc. Moving away lowered the wages. And the people wielding all those pension funds went whereever the yearly gain was greatest.
Now that's all just a very rought idea of changes in the economic climate that brought us here. Hedges is more concerned about degradation of the accompanying social institutions, church "morality", etc., and I'm trying to find the "materialist' argument in an essay "The American Em;pire is Bankrupt" wrom June, 2008. But it's not there. This is not the work of an economist, a Jim Stanford, or a Naomi Klein (who Hedges praises as one of the prescient.)
In answer to your question,then, what do I propose, NS ? I guess I'm all for going backwards and re-working that Market as Martin proposes (he suggests five steps to accomplish that) and selling a restructuring of our society to folks as a rational process that isn't going to cause a 1930s scenario for all, and giving serious assistance to the marginalized throughout the process.
Pie in the sky? I can't find any proposals from political economy in Hedges' incredibly lucid explanations of how we got here. He has hopes for the Occupy movement, but it is not moving enough of the middle. It's mostly just demonstrating how bad things are on the jobs/income front, and how diverse the communities affected. There's mostly a hunkering down on mainstreet.
A message for working people is a good idea but when the people take to the streets the only chance for success is in non violent protest led by all of the community.
Not the only chance, and as desirable as it might appear, it is questionable as to whether desirable is the right word. Such a determined movement would have to at least steel itself for initial casualties as the state experiments with different methods of control. It was enough for the security forces to fire into crowds of people in Winnipeg and Regina. In essence, the movement would have to understand that certain sacrifices will have to be made up front, if not throughout, until the stench of state violence reaches the nostrils of everyone, including as a necessary pre-condition to an eventual success, the ones actually doing the shooting, to the extent that they throw down their arms and replace the demonstrators who have just been shot. It is when you run out of people who are willing to fire into crowds of peaceful demonstrators that the days of the state become numbered. Other questions here would need to be asked at this point, such as who would organize such a strategy, and if they are not to be found among the first victims, we would have to suspect their willingness to send other victims to other situations that might arise once they consolidate power as a new organization or 'organizers.'
So the question is how to get to mass peaceful protest without a long history of illegal civil disobedience as they have in many countries.
Here it will have to await the spread of deprivation everywhere. Comparatively speaking, we're far from that at the moment. Elsewhere of course the conditions for mass organization of any sort couldn't be better. For us however, at least in the memory of most people; these things have always taken place somewhere else, concerning people we do not know.
The MSM does not address issues and without the disruptions there is no consciousness building among the people.
Most movements recognize early on that airways and other media sources have to be denied to the traditional sources of information.
The Occupy movements in North America and the protests across Europe are to me the beacon of hope. I have faith in the people of places like Greece, Spain and Italy because fascism is within living memory especially in Greece and Spain. They have elders to tell them they have seen this shit before and it does not end well for the people. In Canada we are like the proverbial frog in the water. The pot was a nice cool temperature in the 1970's but it has been slowly heating since and now it is hot enough to boil us but we are so lethargic that we can't jump out. Maybe the Occupy movements will be the cold water required to wake up us dozing toads. If nothing else they have forced the debate.
I would share your optimism were it not for the fact that all of these outbursts, at least in North America, share the common characteristic of obeying local ordinances almost to a tee, and have collectively done very little in response to the ongoing campaign of state violence, beatings, mass arrests etc, ordered up by their democratically elected representatives. Unless these challenges are met I'm afraid we can't entirely avoid the sensation that comes from witnessing a farce being played out.
Don't get me wrong SLumberjack I have no delusion that the Occupy movement is about to over turn the status quo. I see it more as the beginning of the awakening of the generation that is being screwed the most. I'm 60 years old with bad knees so engaging in running battles with police is no longer in my realm of potential protest styles.
Canada's economy will get meaner and nastier very quickly if the global system does a repeat of 1934. We already have the greatest disparity in Canada since the Great Depression Era so when it goes bad now it is going to really hurt people especially young families trying to make it on retail and service jobs. The Occupy Movements are now in the consciousness of the people in that demographic and that to me is the start of something positive.
I should be clear as well that I don't think the answer is to summon everyone to oil up their machine guns and head out into the streets. I would just say that in considering the totality of the levels of violence routinely employed by corporatist states, one could at least begin to understand why people might be driven to those particular means of response. I would also argue that there is more understanding to be acquired here, objections aside, than there is for people who label rock throwers and molotov cocktail slingers as troublemakers and assholes, as if they were the final arbitrators of what constitues proper decorum in a corporatist world that stinks for a lack of it, and where its rule is felt more directly in so many areas.
The folks in the streets don't have machine guns to oil for sure. They tend to find even BB guns nasty. And only people in black hoodies and masks hurl rocks.
The occupier folks are the apolitical Lillies of the Field in Distress, hoping that some people somewhere have some suggestions. We all look forward to suggestions.
I'm after coherence, Sj, for a message that working folks can understand. Nothing, above, points to a believable approach to changing the economic structure now in thrall to the powers that be. Pored over, it's a description of our situation, but contains no hint of a solution.
The same could be said of the occupy movements, as you suggest. I think if we were to examine the effectiveness of parliamentary politics in terms of its potential to effect change to the existing economic structures, similar descriptions could apply. It seems to me that with the question you keep repeating in terms of solutions, you are looking for an answer that is quite similar to that which has already been given ample space for on this board alone, and which you have already provided it seems on more than one occasion; one where if its maximum effectiveness were deployed within the existing avenues provided to it, would in the best case scenario amount to preserving in the short term, a matter of a few decades if we were to draw a little further on optimism, what there is to preserve in the wake of neo-liberalism's passage.
To envision a major shift to the way in which things are structured from within the order, to me appears as a question without an answer that one might apply to the long term. On the other hand, if the scope of the discussion with all of its implications is too broad to contemplate, because it might be just as well not to look too far, or perhaps for some other reason, then we are essentially reduced to the present and to short term preservation at best. We're talking then about a combination of today's creature comforts, pensions, day to day sustenance, health care in all of its precariousness these days, what have you.
When European and North American austerity measures and bail out arrangements only serves to temporarily shore up the daily drama played out in the market, we should already know the answer as to where future growth is coming from. In any event, I think it is possible to see these near term examinations as having just as much work cut out for it as any utopian opinion.
The folks in the streets don't have machine guns to oil for sure. They tend to find even BB guns nasty. And only people in black hoodies and masks hurl rocks.
The occupier folks are the apolitical Lillies of the Field in Distress, hoping that some people somewhere have some suggestions. We all look forward to suggestions.
When a leading McGill economist can get away with this (in the Globe and Mail), you know that Hedges ideas of the role of the MSM are right on. Here we see the well-paid prof. lecturing the Occupiers to sort of think about the starving children of China while they agitate against the marvelous mysteries of free trade (and foreign invesment saves the ass of all on the market).
Can you believe?
You probably read the comments from the Globe readers, Sj. I could not find one that did not find the good professor moronic.
Not only is this NOT " a rehash of the same trickle down mumbo jumbo from the 80s...and a half assed re-stirring at that of the same crock of leftover shit that people are still being forced fed."
"What we have here" is an indication of the complete bankruptcy of ideas within the intellectual core of Capitalism, the university that gave us the Chicago School - so confidently - just three decades ago. We even have the dean of the Rotman School of Maqnagement Studies at U of T talking about reo-writing the rules of the firm and the market. Head for the friggin hills.
The idea that the rich are getting richer, etc., is profoundly incorrect for the world at large. It is the sad ideological remnant of the Fabian (and worse) fable. Low-income folks, especially in Asia, no longer die by the millions at the hands of Communist "leaders"; they do not starve by the millions in famines, floods and pandemics. They do have a real chance to leave their children a patrimony that includes a decent quantity of leisure, better government, and improved education.
That might be true in communist China and even India to some extent, but it is woefully untrue of most of the third world capitalist hell holes where neoliberalism ensures that millions of human beings live in abject poverty and despair. They are still desperately poor just a few day's drive from Texas. Counries following Washington consensus for neoliberal ideology, like Pakistan and Thailand and Haiti etc, will not be transformed into rich countries with widespread prosperity anytime soon by trickle-down Reaganomics or Thatherite policies. Those countries should probably take pointers from the likes of Singapore and China than countries where Washington consensus has been followed to a tee and still mired in poverty and suffering from corruption at the highest levels.
And a professor of economics not understanding - or pretending not to understand - that. Just imagine.
You probably read the comments from the Globe readers, Sj.
I don't read the Globe and Mail.
What you have there is a rehash of the same trickle down mumbo jumbo from the 80s...and a half assed re-stirring at that of the same crock of leftover shit that people are still being forced fed, with the analytical assistance of what has to be seen today by any nincompoop as coming from a half assed academic discipline without a shred of credibility. Africa is once again being re-engaged with neo-slavery in mind as corporatism's latest 'on the cheap' frontier. If that weren't bad enough; without the ability to look into the mirror while fooling ourselves with notions of an eventual rescue from somewhere within the current paradigm, we'd be better off facing the reality of there being absolutely nothing in the domain of politics as we know it that is capable of representing itself as a solution and an alternative, and there likely never will be. It's a bitter pill to swallow there's no doubt about that. What you see is all we're ever going to get as a species from it...and then some in the years ahead.
.....be right back with an "unbroken web" link.....I hope
And then there's this kind of academic comprador/prostituting his profession for a tidy pay packet and pension .
Posted yesterday in a political thread. The Globe reader comments following it do not fit your idea of a Globe reader...if you can bring yourself to take a peek
Boomerang! Is the Pentagon Field-Testing 'Son of Stuxnet'?
As part of Washington's on-going commitment to the rule of law and human rights, as the recent due process-free drone assassination of American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki, followed by that of his teenage son and the revenge killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi by--surprise!--Al Qaeda-linked militias funded by the CIA clearly demonstrate, the "use of any cyber-weapon would have to be proportional to the threat, not inflict undue collateral damage and avoid civilian casualties.
Anthrax gladio, 9/11 gladio, panty and shoe bomber gladios, now al-Duqu puter gladio?
Full spectrum fascism is no longer on the backburner. It's what we currently have in the here and now.
I think you just flew past Hedges and Wolin and J.R.Saul, Naomi Klein et. al. there navigator..
And then there's this kind of academic comprador/prostituting his profession for a tidy pay packet and pension. Posted yesterday in a political thread. The Globe reader comments following it do not fit your idea of a Globe reader...
If there's any justice...they'd be his present and former students carrying on with their revolt outside of the lecture hall.
Here's a vacation package better suited to your interests. I assume you're already quite familiar with the entertaining lineup aboard the slow boat to oblivion.
I normally don't link to this website because of some of the reader comments which often accompany the articles, but I suppose if CBCNewz.ca articles keep getting linked on the board, and in considering the peanut gallery of comments there...I suppose it should be ok this one time.
Argentina: Why President Fernandez Wins and Obama Loses
Between 1998 - 2002, Argentina experienced the worse socio-economic crises in its history....The economy nose-dived from recession to full scale depression, culminating in double digit negative growth in 2001 - 2002. Unemployment reached over 25% and in many working class neighborhoods, over 50%. Tens of thousands of impoverished middle class professional lined up to receive bread and soup only blocks away from the Presidential palace. Hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers, 'piqueteros' (picketers), blocked major highways and some raided trains shipping cattle and grain overseas. Banks closed depriving millions of depositors of their savings. Millions of middle class protestors organized radical neighborhood councils and linked up with unemployed assemblies. The country was heavily indebted, the people deeply impoverished. The popular mood was moving toward a revolutionary uprising. Incumbent President Fernando De la Rua was overthrown (2001) scores of protestors were killed and wounded, as a popular rebellion threatened to seize the Presidential palace. By the end of 2002, hundreds of bankrupt factories were 'occupied', taken over and run by workers.....The most popular slogan, of the multitudinous movements occupying the financial districts, factories, public buildings and the streets was "Que se vayan todos" ("All politicians get out'). The entire political class, parties and leaders, Congress and presidents were rejected outright. But while the movements were vast, militant and united in what they rejected, they had no coherent program for taking state power, nor national political leadership to lead them. After two years of turmoil, the populace turned to the ballot box and elected Kirchner with a mandate to produce or perish. Kirchner heard the message, at least the part which demanded growth with equity.
Today of course represents a vastly different picture for Argentina. What it says about today's circumstances in 2011 and heading into 2012 is that in the absence of a traditional line of coherence that the elite typically ignores every other day at any rate.....just like every well thought out and well sourced academic argument put to them these days about poverty, inequity and the environment....they appear instead to react more quickly when directly confronted by their own fear, which is a far more effective motivational message....at least it would appear to be the case in Argentina. Fear = coherence. The Argentineans provided a coherent message to power after all. And so in North America we witness these polite attempts to find the ways and means of making power understand the predicament....with the boot heels of the corporate police never positioned very far from the people's necks...and we still have people who have never read enough to understand the reality staring them in the face, challenging others about answers and solutions which would otherwise never occur to them.
SJ It occurs to me that the people in the streets of Greece probably understand the Argentinean experience. Both had fascist governments in the 70's which is well within living memory. To me that societal memory is a very important ingredient in the mix that brings people out to fight in the streets.
In Canada we have not had the open coup and the rule of Generals. The slow boil we have been subjected too has left us lethargic and ill prepared for the police state tactics like the ones employed at the G20 summit. Despite the abuse of thousands of peaceful protestors the general population did not see themselves in the demonstrators shoes enough to even make it a serious election issue in Toronto itself. People who grew up under overt totalitarian governments seem to be able to see the current liberal democracy game for what it is. They've been coup'ed before and will not be cowed again.
Yes, the 'in living memory' point is the issue here. Slightly beyond that however we do have instances of police firing into crowds of demonstrators in Winnipeg and Regina, and where coincidentally and after the fact, the government of the day placed a few popular demands on the agenda for consideration. The motivation to enact some structural reforms seem to flow from deliberating whether to continue shooting people in the streets and how long such a strategy could be sustained, or trying something else.
Watched Hedges break out in tears in a long interview with him at the Wall St. site on Oct.15. He had just said that turning around the corporate/state apparatus of control was not going to be accomplished in his time, but there were his children, particularly his three-year-old...I used to think of Canada in isolation from events in Greece and Argentina, but now this grandad can't. Not in a democracy riddled with fear, ignorance and greed. Chris Hedges' tears are so very understandable.
And yet in Oct. '62 we were waiting for nuclear bombs to rain down eh? There, needed that bit of rationalization from a relativist's backpack. What a sad species we are.
Even respectable Left-media reports on the OWS movement reflexively resort to this crude dichotomy, identifying protestors as either "peaceful," and therefore legitimate, or "violent" and therefore not. Chris Hedges, an outspoken supporter of the movement and a reasonably good journalist, is a case in point. In his column from yesterday, he offers a vigorous denunciation of the American capitalist-imperialist system. But then, advancing his own completely ahistorical understanding of the process through which the security apparatuses of the state begin to internally dissolve and switch sides, he advances the following argument, which relies on a complete non sequitur: "The process of defection among the ruling class and security forces is slow and often imperceptible. These defections are advanced through a rigid adherence to nonviolence [sic], a refusal to respond to police provocation and a verbal respect for the blue-uniformed police, no matter how awful they can be while wading into a crowd and using batons as battering rams against human bodies."
Huh? Aside from failing to provide an accurate description of how this process has actually unfolded historically- in Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam, etc.- there is absolutely no logical reason why the henchman of the powerful will begin to switch sides only if they see protestors endlessly enduring punishing cop brutality. One could just as well say, and much more plausibly, that cops, soldiers, and sailors will be inspired by revolutionaries scoring there own victories, refusing to sit back passively, and showing the ruthless security apparatuses of the state that they're prepared to fight for victory by any means necessary. But there's no logical connection either way.
It is understandable that Americans have such a strange fixation with non-violence. Every schoolchild grows up hearing about Gandhi and Dr. King and peaceful protest. For many, images of Dr. King speaking at the Washington monument represent the high water mark of American protest politics. These historical images, worthy in and of themselves of course, have infected the consciousness of many American political movements, and hampered the Left, forcing it to abide by an old, completely ahistorical American political myth, that non-violent protest is the sine qua non of protest movements, or a panacea applicable to all political situations. This plays right into the hands of the media-spectacle and the interests of the power-elite. The inherently unstable and imprecise definition of violence makes it possible for almost any behavior to be called violent, and, conversely, for any obviously violent act perpetrated by the state to be declared nonviolent. Again, witness Berkeley: it is apparently sometimes violent to hold hands.
Where does this guy get off referring to those gentrified elements of the left as tools of the power-elite.
Chris Hedges, an outspoken supporter of the movement and a reasonably good journalist, is a case in point.....advancing his own completely ahistorical understanding of the process through which the security apparatuses of the state begin to internally dissolve and switch sides, he advances the following argument, which relies on a complete non sequitur: "The process of defection among the ruling class and security forces is slow and often imperceptible. These defections are advanced through a rigid adherence to nonviolence [sic], a refusal to respond to police provocation and a verbal respect for the blue-uniformed police, no matter how awful they can be while wading into a crowd and using batons as battering rams against human bodies."
Huh? Aside from failing to provide an accurate description of how this process has actually unfolded historically- in Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam, etc.- there is absolutely no logical reason why the henchman of the powerful will begin to switch sides only if they see protestors endlessly enduring punishing cop brutality.
The Centurian from Mark 15:39!! No wonder about his failure to provide an example!
Phone surveillance software maker tries to silence whistleblower
A data-logging software company is seeking to squash an Android developer's critical research into its software that is secretly installed on millions of phones, but Trevor Eckhart is refusing to publicly apologize for his research and remove the company's training manuals from his website.
Though the software is installed on millions of Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones, Carrier IQ was virtually unknown until the 25-year-old Eckhart analyzed its workings, recently revealing that the software secretly chronicles a user's phone experience, from its apps, battery life and texts. Some carriers prevent users who actually find the software from controlling what information is sent.
The Stasi never dreamed of possessing the technical capabilities for surveilling millions of peoples' personal lives like this. It's hyperfascism run amok.
Alas, Emannuel Goldstein is slain from the foundations of the netherworld. It's a nightmare, and you're in it.
The government has some checks on its actions. Corporations have no such restraints. Look at the World News Murdoch story and imagine that the boardrooms of many major corporations are filled with people with the same distain for democracy and peoples rights.
There is no collective 'us' on one side, and a relatively smaller collective of 'them' on the other, although it certainly cannot appear that way when inhaling pepper spray, or when tasting a swing of the riot baton from other 99%ers. The fate of the hypothetical 99% and 1% are bound together, and only the 99% has the inherent power to cut the bindings. Neither can perish if the other is to maintain its current consistency. If the one percent were to be strung up on the lamp posts, and as desirable an outcome as that might be for some, the 99% would briefly disappear to become the 100%, until such a time, and in short order I would argue, as a newly reconstituted 1% emerges within the existing structures of governance, or within the potential variants which are required to support and direct governance.
With the way humanity typically engages in the political, new cycles of repression and revolt are inevitable and historical facts. Even as Marxism summoned people to appropriate the means of their subjectivity, namely the mechanisms and structures of work, such occurrences to date have only ever resulted at best in maintaining people as subjects within a system of quotas, surpluses and shortages, supervised by loyal individuals better 'suited' to such tasks; while being pandered to with recognition by supervisors and the political class alike as the best industrial furnace worker, or the most prolific widget maker, even if it means your poster adorning the factory wall...is in itself essentially nothing but another means of control.
The collective 100%, at least in the western context, has done nothing but build, support, maintain, widen and deepen everything that some have otherwise managed to be convinced and rightly so, to despise. The 99% and the 1% remain fused into one of several available paradigms, which for a significant percentage of them includes varying degrees, depending on ones relative position or station, of remaining unconvinced against all evidence of the system's detrimental effects, at least enough to despise it in the same way as the more politically astute say they do. Another alternative involves coming around enough to view Capitalism's unchangeably destructive nature, and seeing no viable way out except through cyclical and ritualized processes which are designed to promptly dispose of the applicant back to square one without ever making substantive progress; the fact of which remains oblivious to those who insist that another turn of the mouse wheel will make all the difference in the world if we would only apply ourselves within the system to the desired outcome. Then there are people who ditch out completely, having recognized the game for what it is, but who are nonetheless mired in the collective muck.
Expecting a pension from government for instance, within any conceivable modern economic construct, and having them provide one on the basis of ensuring the very bare essentials of survival, against the threat of an 'or else' from the populace [and wasn't that the original purpose of social safety nets?...a stipend from the appointed managers of society...where in return the rest of the population would leave them in peace to continue their supposed work on our behalf?] on today's globalized terrain means supporting the ever widening and deepening processes of Capitalism and its attendant environmental effects, along with easy choices it seems these days between the exigencies of profit and the welfare of populations in general.
good one SJ...
The New Authoritarianism: From Decaying Democracies To Technocratic Dictatorships and Beyond
"This essay explores major ongoing regime changes that have a profound impact on governance, the class structures, economic institutions, political freedom and national sovereignty.
We delineate a two-stage process of political regression. The first stage involves the transition from a decaying democracy to an oligarchical democracy; the second stage currently unfolding in Europe, involves the transition from oligarchic democracy to colonial-technocratic dictatorship.
The penultimate section will highlight the reasons why the imperial ruling classes and their national collaborators have overturned the pre-existing 'democratic' oligarchical ruling formulas of 'indirect rule' in favor of a naked power grab. The turn to direct colonial rule (a coup by any other name) was consummated by the major financial ruling classes of Europe and the US.
We will evaluate the socio-economic impact of rule by imperial, appointed colonial technocrats, the reason for rule by fiat and force over the previous process of persuasion, manipulation and co-optation.
What is at stake goes beyond the current regime changes to identifying the most basic institutional configurations which will define the life choices, personal and political freedoms of future generations for decades to come.."
Be really great if the author had spelled out the driving force of all that change...the co-optation of the masses by FINANCE capital, beginning in the 1960s. Pension funds and all. :)
I think Chomsky had mentioned something about human nature, a slightly optimistic and perhaps mythical elaboration of which having been recorded long ago, comparatively speaking, in the Foucault debate up thread. But pensions and social spending can hardly be described as a co-optation by Capital. It seemed as though these things were the preferred choice of the planners in society, from that of continuing to shoot desperate people in the streets who might have otherwise been persuaded by Soviet style communism. They were calming devices more than anything else. Nowadays though control is nearly complete, and alternate repressive measures are available. You just have to make people go away with a few arrests, bloody noses or lacerated spleens, and in any event there is no alternate theory or viable practice to experiment with, or indeed permitted to be entertained within contemporary corporate politics.
Sj: "But pensions and social spending can hardly be described as a co-optation by Capital."
Dangling a decent end of life (with good wine) in front of the Greek worker when she/he reached 50-55 was not co-optatiion? Turning all those retired autowaorkers in Oshawa into follopwers of the market and voters of Wee Jimmie and his clan, was not a product of co-optation by capital? Heck, finance capital was crowing about it a half century back, as one can read in Richard Parker's bio on John Kenneth Galbraith.
You might say they made up your mysterious "planners in society."
It's a marvelous essay and takes me back to the days of my Brit marxist sociologists. Heavy slogging, but if you analyze it carefully, you'll find the co-optation by capital...not unexpectedly in marxist analysis, of course. :)
"Ask the American public if they want an FBI wiretap and they'll say, 'no.' If you ask them do they want a feature on their phone that helps the FBI find their missing child they'll say, 'Yes.'" --Louis Freeh, former FBI Director


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MALACCA: The hearing of former state executive councillor Datuk Sahar Arpans appeal in the Court of Appeal has been postponed.
The panel judges Datuk Mokhtar Sidin, Datuk Alauddin Md Sheriff and Datuk Vincent Ng agreed to postpone the hearing yesterday on Sahars new counsel Manian Raju and Edmund Ponniah's application after Jagjit Singh discharged himself as counsel.
DPP Vong Poh Fah and DPP Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin did not object to the postponement for Sahars new counsel to obtain the appeal records.
Mokhtar told Manian to get ready in two to three months.
Sahar, 49, the former state assemblyman for Durian Tunggal, was convicted of three counts of corrupt practice by a High Court on April 19, 1999.
He was sentenced to six years jail and fined RM60,000 but the then High Court judge Datuk Suriyadi Halim Omar ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently.
He was sentenced to two years jail and fined RM20,000 on each charge.
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Dental experts happen to be hard at the office picking out an innovative option to veneers. Prospects complain which veneers require an excessive amount of prep work and therefore are very costly.
This is the reason why dentists possess designed a brand new style associated with veneers known as Lumineers.
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Here really are a few dental care tips that will help keep your own Lumineers within great form:
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-DO NOT REALLY smoke cigarettes or drink lots of dark drinks. This may cause your Lumineers to look stained as well as unattractive.
Many of these tips affect regular teeth too. It is essential to keep a proper smile to prevent serious dental care problems such as gingivitis.
Gingivitis, also called oral most cancers, can end up being detrimental for your health. It may spread to other areas of the body if remaining untreated for a long time of period.
It is essential to go to the dentist a minimum of twice annually. During these types of visits you'll receive a good oral screening the place where a doctor may inspect the mouth area for cavities, dental cancers, and every other dental problems.
You may prevent gingivitis through performing all the dental ideas above. Should you bleed following flossing your own gum, there isn't any doubt you have some kind of oral most cancers.


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Mina of Gugudan will be stepping down from her position hosting MBC's Music Core!
This Saturday, May 30, will be Mina's last broadcast as one of the MCs of the show. She helped host the weekly music show for two years and three months, working alongside NCT's Mark, Ong Seongwu, SF9's Chanhee, and Stray Kids's Hyunjin.
Mina shared her thoughts on leaving the show, saying: "Thank you to the staff who are like family, the fans, and everyone who always treated me so warmly on Music Core. I was always so happy to take part in 'Music Core' and for all of the love I received through it. I'll return even better than I am now. Thank you."
Source: https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/076/0003575693


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Rellena el siguiente formulario y obtén más información sobre cómo realizar un tour virtual de la propiedad elegida
This house is located in a quiet residential area, with easy access to the urban center of Calpe and the beaches of La Fustera or El Arenal del Bol, and consists of 2 double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes and a simple third that can be used as office or study, a living room with fireplace, an independent kitchen and equipped a toilet and a bathroom, access from the living room to the terrace with barbecue and the garden, in addition to a small storage room where a pool is easily buildable, all in one plant (without stairs) all in a total area of 98 square meters and a plot of 820 square meters.
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by Emily McBride
(last updated September 30, 2019)
If you have carpet in your home or apartment, vacuuming is an essential skill, one that you hopefully use often. Vacuuming is a very simple cleaning skill, and the quality of your vacuuming usually will depend on the quality of your vacuum.
Keep some of these tips in mind to make your vacuuming more worth your while! A clean carpet is always a plus.
The Power of Microfiber! Zwipes Microfiber Cleaning Cloths will become your favorite tool for every cleaning task. This 36-cloth package is perfect for hundreds of uses in the garage, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and all around the house. Each cloth is tough, streak-free, lint-free, reusable, and washable. Check out Microfiber Cleaning Cloths today!
These ten steps outline the way to properly vacuum-clean a room. You'll learn how to prepare the room and machine for ...Discover More
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Justin Schmidt, "Connoisseur of Pain"
Justin Schmidt, an entomologist at the University of Arizona, has been stung by insects hundreds of times over the course of his career. In the mid-1980s, he decided to categorize these experiences scientifically. The result is a "pain index" that reads almost like a wine tasting guide. At the low end of the scale, you'll find species like pharaoh ants and the Costa Rican wasp Polybia diguetana. At the scale's upper limit are the tarantula hawk wasp (top photo) and bullet ants. Read the full article.


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Aim and scope of project: Universities and institutes from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have teamed up to develop global water quality monitoring systems to contribute to the management of water resource use. This collaborative project involves Rivers of Life specialist via the University of Mpumalanga who are working on the FISHTRAC approach and Russian smart technology in the Olifants River. And collaborative work in India primarily. Plans for regional travel to stimulate research is in place and should result in more collaboration opportunities in 2021.
Client and or collaborating stakeholders: National Research Foundation of South Africa in collaboration with:
Interesting and important outcomes or prospects: The collaboration has already resulted in the development of and testing of new technologies and opportunities to improve water management systems in South Africa and the collaborating countries. Watch this space!
For more information contact: email@example.com


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Disposable gloves
The proFood Safe-Knit disposable nitrile glove is a medium-weight, cut-resistant glove made with Dyneema yarn.
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Al Meera group to sponsor Doha para-sport event
The IPC Athletics World Championships, which is the largest para-sport event to come to the Middle East, has found a sponsor in local supermarket chain, Al Meera
Al Meera Group has announced it will sponsor the Doha 2015 IPC Athletcis Wold Championships.
The para-sport event, which will run from 21-31 October at the Qatar Sports Club, will see 1,300 para-athletes from 100 countries compete in the hope of qualifying for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
The supermarket chain will provide fresh fruits to athletes and organisers during the event.
Free ticket vouchers will be provided to its customers for the IPC Athletics World Championships at its Thakhira, Mansoura, Legtaifiya, Hazm Markhiya, Nuaija branches in addition to Géant hypermarket in Hyatt Plaza mall with terms and conditions applied.
Tickets to event are also being given away for free on Al Meera's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Mohammed Nasser Al Qahtani, Deputy CEO of Al Meera, said: "Al Meera continuously seeks to support national initiatives that benefit the people of Qatar, especially those that support and promote healthy living, such as nutrition and sports, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030."
"We are very happy to witness such a massive turnout, which indicates how much people look forward to such activities and value the importance of sports, which is an important aspect to both Al Meera and Qatar. We look forward to supporting similar events in the future," he added.


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Ruthin Castle - Haunted History
Ruthin, Denbighshire
The castle has many ghost stories, the most famous being that of the Grey Lady. It is said that she was the wife of the second in command of the castle. She discovered that her powerful husband was having an affair with a local woman and in a jealous rage, she murdered the woman with an axe. She was tried, found guilty and executed, but as she was buried inside the castle ground, her ghost is said to walk the building.
In the abandoned rooms on the upper floor, people have witnessed the sound of children running around and playing, but when they check inside the room, there's nobody there.
When the castle was a hospital, the basement was used as the mortuary. In this area since, people have witnessed hearing the sound of crying and moaning as if people were in desperate pain and need.
In the banqueting room, the ghost of the Grey Lady has been seen on several occasions, dark shadows have been seen dancing across the walls and the banqueting table has even been said to lift off of the floor.
The Lillie Suite, one of the guest bedrooms, is named after Lillie Langtry, a famous British actress and one of Edward, Prince of Wales' lovers. She used to frequently visit the castle and this was her favourite room. She is now said to haunt the room.
Haunted Ranking
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100 Most Haunted Places In The UK 2020August 1, 2020
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100 Most Haunted Places In The UK 2019August 1, 2019
Ruthin Castle Map
Daily Horoscopes
You may find that your family is a little challenging right now. You could be forgiven for wanting to find some liquid escape, but that kind of refreshment could come back to haunt you tomorrow. Expect the unexpected, and keep... Read More
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Hillview Lodge
Hillview Lodge luxury accommodation is a family run self-contained guesthouse with hotel standards. All rooms are ensuite with power shower. Guests can relax in our sun lounge or outside decking with panoramic views. Spacious bedroom equipped with FREE Wi-Fi internet access and 32" Flat Screen TV, and tea/coffee making facilities. Rooms have Iron & Ironing board. Ground floor rooms available with disabled facilities. Floodlit Golf Driving Range on premises. We are situated on the outskirts of the Oldest City in Ireland ARMAGH.
Location Description
Exit Armagh on A29 South, follow signs for Newtownhamilton on the B31, stay with tall stone wall on left and Hillview Lodge is fourth house on the right, beside the golf driving range.
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Closing dates: Christmas & New Year
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2006-5-11 · and in depth interviews with customer decision makers and subsequent analysis of collected data. In addition, a basic review of the cement production process was developed, and summary ... is a relatively small plant that produces white cement
MARKET ANALYSIS OF PLANT-BASED DRUGS - unodc.org
2017-6-21 · BOOKLET 3 MARKET ANALYSIS OF PLANT-BASED DRUGS Opiates, cocaine, cannabis BOOKLET 4 MARKET ANALYSIS OF SYNTHETIC DRUGS Amphetamine-type stimulants, new psychoactive substances BOOKLET 5 THE DRUG PROBLEM AND ORGANIZED CRIME, ILLICIT FINANCIAL F
Reinforced Concrete Quantity and Rate Analysis | Civil
In order to perform rate analysis for reinforced concrete, two steps are involved: 1- Estimation of number of labour and equipment, quantity of materials, miscellaneous items required for for a certain quantity of reinforced concrete.
Ready-Mix Concrete Market Size, Share | Industry Trends
The global ready-mix concrete (RMC) market size was estimated at USD 492.2 billion in 2015, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.7 % over the forecast period. The market is anticipated to witness immense growth on account of increasing spending for infr
Concrete plant
2019-8-28 · A concrete plant, also known as a batch plant or batching plant or a concrete batching plant, is equipment that combines various ingredients to form concrete. Some of these inputs include water, air, admixtures, sand, aggregate (rocks, gravel,
Concrete Box Culvert analysis and Design Spreadsheet
2019-9-1 · Concrete Box Culvert analysis and Design Spreadsheet A culvert is a structure that allows water to flow under a road, railroad, trail, or similar obstruction. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe,
How concrete is made - material, manufacture, making, how
In addition, concrete contains a wide range of chemicals that imbue it with the characteristics desired for specific applications. Portland cement, the kind most often used in concrete, is made from a combination of a calcareous material (usually limeston
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How Concrete is Made - cement.org
The longer the concrete is kept moist, the stronger and more durable it will become. The rate of hardening depends upon the composition and fineness of the cement, the mix proportions, and the moisture and temperature conditions. Concrete continues to get
2017-8-5 · ACI Manual of Concrete Inspection Reported by ACI Committee 311 ACI 311.1R-07 (ACI SP-2(07)) PREFACE This manual is intended to guide, assist, and instruct concrete inspectors and others engaged in concrete construction and testing, including f
(PDF) Analysis & Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures
The objective of this book is to develop an understanding of the basic principles of reinforced concrete structures analysis and design. ... that because its made as a ... from the batching plant ...
Statistical analysis of Portuguese ready-mixed concrete
This paper evaluates and compares the statistics of compressive strength data from three Portuguese ready-mixed concrete plants. A hierarchical model showed that different groups of concrete strength records are not statistically equivalent, even if they
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Markets: Ready-Mixed Concrete - University of Chicago
2007-9-28 · Markets Ready-Mixed Concrete Chad Syverson ... and reinforced structural members, are instead made by pouring concrete into molds and curing them on the factory site. In the government industrial classification systems, ready-mix concrete is S
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Cement analysis. Traditionally, cement analysis was carried out using wet-chemical techniques. Now, the days of flasks bubbling away over bunsen burners in the laboratory of a cement works are largely gone, replaced by X-ray analysis equipment of various
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|Xiangwen Zhang, Tingting Zhou, Wenbin Li, Taotao Zhang, Ninwei Che, Guo Zu
1Department of Gastroenterology Surgery, The Dalian Municipal Central Hospital Affiliated of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, PR China
2Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, PR China
3Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, PR China
|Pathology - Research and Practice, 2018, Vol.214 (8), pp.1105-1109
|Elsevier Journal
|Clinicopathological parameters; Prognosis; C/EBP homologous protein; Gastric cancer;
|Abstract(#br)Background(#br)Few studies have reported the clinical and prognostic significance of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) in advanced gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, the present study investigated the expression of CHOP in advanced GC patients to determine its potential prognostic role.(#br)Methods(#br)The levels of CHOP in 95 patients with advanced GC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were evaluated by qRT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the association of CHOP expression with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of advanced GC patients was analyzed.(#br)Results(#br)The levels of CHOP were down-regulated in advanced GC compared with non-cancerous tissues ( P <0.01). In addition, high CHOP expression more frequently occurred in advanced GC tissues... with depth of invasion of T 1-2 (P < 0.01), lower clinical stage (TNM Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage) ( P <0.05) and without lymph node metastasis ( P <0.05). No significant difference was observed between the expression of CHOP and age, gender, tumor size, lesion site and differentiation ( P >0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that the overall survival rate of advanced GC patients with positive CHOP expression was significantly higher than that of patients with negative CHOP expression ( P <0.01). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that low CHOP expression (OR = 0.314, 95%CI: 0.176~0.794, P = 0.003) was an independent factor for poor overall survival in advanced GC patients.(#br)Conclusion(#br)Low expression of CHOP predicts the poor prognosis of advanced GC patients, and CHOP may be a prognostic biomarker for patients with advanced GC.


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On episode 158 of Origin, Graphic Novelist Barry Renshaw Barry Renshaw is a UCLAN graduate living in the North West of England, a writer and artist working in comic book illustration, storyboarding and concept design using a mix of traditional and digital tools. Previous clients include Topps, Upper Deck, Dynamite, Rebellion A/S, Showmasters, and others.Continue reading "#158 Graphic Novelist Barry Renshaw"
Tag Archives: long-form conversation
#157 Stefan Tomasi
World traveler Stefan Tomasi, is a spiritual writer hailing from Florence Italy and living in Indiana. Origin: Stories on Creativity #157 spiritual writer Stefan Tomasi. On episode 157 of Origin, spiritual writer Visit http://www.bryanaiello.com for links to subscribe. On episode #157 spiritual writer Stefan Tomasi. On episode #157 spiritual writer Stefan Tomasi Website: https://t.co/YF8gGf2VlM?amp=1 Facebook:Continue reading "#157 Stefan Tomasi"
#156 artist and publisher Dan Nokes.
On episode #156 artist and publisher Dan Nokes Dan Nokes is a cryptozoological wonder that lives in the backwoods of Lusby, MD. When not foraging the local haunts for food and sundries. He is busy in his lair making comics, original art, graphic design, and other creative endeavors, in the vain hope that he canContinue reading "#156 artist and publisher Dan Nokes."
#155 Film Director Lisette DeJesus
Origin: Stories on Creativity #155 Film Director Lisette DeJesus Website: https://lisettedejesus.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dejesuslisette *** Music on this episode courtesy of: Kevin MacLeod Mountain Emperor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkxQFdMlZcw *** Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates on my other show Mirage: Speculating on Speculative Fiction. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSnMk6QPiULXmKDYmwCmIg Subscribe on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/origin-stories-on-creativity/id1247194933?mt=2 Subscribe on stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/bryan-aiello/origins-stories-on-creativity?refid=stpr On Google Play https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iywh2sype4wvtcuq4ose2fuxhqqContinue reading "#155 Film Director Lisette DeJesus"
#154 Speculative Fiction Author Jyvur Entropy
On episode 154 Speculative Fiction Author Jyvur Entropy Jyvur Entropy is an American Horror and Fantasy author. She is most well-known for Combustion, which premiered on wattpad in 2016. It has since gone on to acquire over 65,000 reads, was longlisted for the 2018 Watty's, and featured twice by wattpad. Her fantasy novels include OfContinue reading "#154 Speculative Fiction Author Jyvur Entropy"
#144 C.C. Hogan
On episode 144 of Origin Writer, novelist, singer-songwriter, pain in the neck (his words) C. C. Hogan. Hogan is the writer of the incredible Dirt fantasy series, The Stink YA romp, and is a prolific generator of poems and songs. He is also trying to become a teen pop-star. Or not, perhaps. He accepts donations in whiskey gratefully.Continue reading "#144 C.C. Hogan"


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Senior Account Manager, Central London / working from home during lock-down - Up to £42k dependent on experience Looking for an agency that will truly push your progression? You could be joining an a
Retail Design Agency / Email CV to SE @ northbanks . co •Pro-actively grow our network of contacts by developing & enhancing internal CRM sales database - gathering & populating & maintenance of cont
Governance, Risk and Assurance Manager. • Exciting opportunity to join MHRA and develop their risk management strategy • Utilise your leadership skills to enhance the profile of risk management Abou
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UX/UI Designer. UX/UI Designer Farnborough - Hampshire £40,000 - £50,000 per annum + benefits An experienced UX/UI designer is required for a high-tech software company based in Farnborough, Hamps
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text: These 30 easy recipe ideas for chicken, meat, seafood, and vegetables are cooked on the grill and made into easy main meals, skewers and salads, for easy outdoor, summer cooking. Ahhh June, the lazy-hazy-dog days-of-summer are officially upon us! Beach trips, cookouts, and ... continue reading... about 30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make in June


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Here is our first set of Saturday images from Wizard Word Reno 2014 on our website. To view more visit our Facebook.
↑ As always Click on a image for full size and best resolution ↑
All Images in this gallery taken by Perry Louie
Have you seen the new pop culture themed Rubik's Cubes from USA Opoly yet? Rick …


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Customer Reviews
I use them for my mountain bike. On the trails, everyone freaks out because I don't have $100 plus clip-in pedals. Had my last pair for 10 years before I broke the bolt. Luckily Stolen sells the replacement part for 5 bucks. Merely the best pedals you can get.
Lots of room for my feet. So I can pedal real fast. Great price. Great pedal.
I love these pedals! I had one pair since early 2015 that were still going strong when I bought a second pair in march 2020. I bought the rebuild kit for the old pedals and LOVE them on my commuter and the new pedals kick ass on my mountain bike! If you need bmx or mtb pedals, or just some flats for cruising around town- buy these effing pedals! You won't regret it and you'll receive smug satisfaction from knowing you got great pedals for 15 bucks while your friends all spend 50+... BUY THEM NOW!
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Ceruloplasmin, Haptoglobin, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Are Associated with Neurocognitive Impairment in Adults with HIV Infection. Mol Neurobiol. 2019 ;56(5):3808-3818.
Cerebrospinal fluid viral escape in aviremic HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy: prevalence, risk factors and neurocognitive effects. AIDS. 2019 ;33(3):475-481.
Chronic Distal Sensory Polyneuropathy Is a Major Contributor to Balance Disturbances in Persons Living With HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 ;80(5):568-573..
Cognitive Trajectory Phenotypes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 ;82(1):61-70..
Correlates of HIV RNA concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid during antiretroviral therapy: a longitudinal cohort study. Lancet HIV. 2019 ;6(7):e456-e462.
Impaired insulin sensitivity is associated with worsening cognition in HIV-infected patients. Neurology. 2019 ;92(12):e1344-e1353.
The integrated National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium database: a rich platform for neuroHIV research. Database (Oxford). 2019 ;2019.
Nuclear-Mitochondrial interactions influence susceptibility to HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment. Mitochondrion. 2019 ;46:247-255.
Peripheral Blood Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Obtained From Genome-Wide Genotype Data Is Associated With Neurocognitive Impairment in Persons With Chronic HIV Infection. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 ;80(4):e95-e102..
Differences in Neurocognitive Impairment Among HIV-Infected Latinos in the United States. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2018 ;24(2):163-175.
Higher Anti-Cytomegalovirus Immunoglobulin G Concentrations Are Associated With Worse Neurocognitive Performance During Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 ;67(5):770-777.
Impact of Antiretroviral Regimens on Cerebrospinal Fluid Viral Escape in a Prospective Multicohort Study of Antiretroviral Therapy-Experienced Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1-Infected Adults in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 ;67(8):1182-1190..
The Novel Roles of Connexin Channels and Tunneling Nanotubes in Cancer Pathogenesis. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 ;19(5)..
The role of connexin and pannexin containing channels in the innate and acquired immune response. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembr. 2018 ;1860(1):154-165..
Semaphorin4A and H-ferritin utilize Tim-1 on human oligodendrocytes: A novel neuro-immune axis. Glia. 2018 ;66(7):1317-1330..
Sex differences in HIV-associated cognitive impairment. AIDS. 2018 ;32(18):2719-2726..
Brain and liver pathology, amyloid deposition, and interferon responses among older HIV-positive patients in the late HAART era. BMC Infect Dis. 2017 ;17(1):151..
Cerebrospinal fluid cell-free mitochondrial DNA is associated with HIV replication, iron transport, and mild HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment. J Neuroinflammation. 2017 ;14(1):72.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of iron status are associated with CSF viral load, antiretroviral therapy, and demographic factors in HIV-infected adults. Fluids Barriers CNS. 2017 ;14(1):11.
Dopamine Increases CD14CD16 Monocyte Transmigration across the Blood Brain Barrier: Implications for Substance Abuse and HIV Neuropathogenesis. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol [Internet]. 2017 ;12(2):353-370. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28133717.
Efavirenz Is Predicted To Accumulate in Brain Tissue: an In Silico, In Vitro, and In Vivo Investigation. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017 ;61(1)..
Evaluating the accuracy of self-report for the diagnosis of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND): defining "symptomatic" versus "asymptomatic" HAND. J Neurovirol. 2017 ;23(1):67-78.
Frontline Science: CXCR7 mediates CD14(+)CD16(+) monocyte transmigration across the blood brain barrier: a potential therapeutic target for NeuroAIDS. J Leukoc Biol. 2017 ;102(5):1173-1185..
Genome-wide association study of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND): A CHARTER group study. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2017 ;174(4):413-426.
Histopathological Differences Between the Anterior and Posterior Brain Arteries as a Function of Aging. Stroke. 2017 ;48(3):638-644..


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The AI4Science Lab is fashioned after the successful Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) labs, which connect research institutes with industry or government in the area of artificial intelligence. The distinction is that the AI4Science Lab connects computer science and AI experts with scienctists from the different academic domeins within the Faculty of Exact Sciences at the University of Amsterdam..
A wealth of data is continuously produced from all sorts of experimental sources in the different academic research labs. Thanks to automatization, parallelisation, high-throughput setups, high-resolution instruments, and fast networks, "big data" has become a practical issue in a wide range of experimental research projects. Analysis of these large data streams is often a grand challenge. The current surge of AI machinery provides therefore a compelling opportunity to help with the analysis of these scientific data streams.
The FNWI Institute of Informatics (IvI) is at the forefront of the scientific research field of AI. IvI houses the Amsterdam Machine Learning Laboratory (AMLab) directed by Prof. Max Welling and also the head office of the aforementioned ICAI Network is at the Science Park in Amsterdam, well-connected to IvI.
At the AI4Science Laboratory, we develop and apply artifical intelligence and data-driven solutions for scientific discovery.
Who we are
Bernd Ensing
Patrick Forré
Lab Manager
Group leaders and consultants
Willem Bouten
Prof. Comput. Geo-Ecology
Leendert Hamoen
Prof. Life Sciences
Alfons Hoekstra
Prof. Computational Science
Martijs Jonker
Assoc. Prof. Life Sciences
Emiel van Loon
Asst. Prof. Statistical Ecology
Joris Mooij
Prof. Mathematics
Samaya Nissanke
Assoc. Prof. Physics
Bob Pirok
Asst. Prof. Analytical Chemistry
Antonia Rowlinson
Asst. Prof. Astrophysics
Max Welling
Prof. Comput. Science
Christoph Weniger
Assoc. Prof. Theor. Physics
Ralph Wijers
Prof. Astrophysics
PhD students
Jim Boelrijk
PhD student
Fiona Lippert
PhD student
Benjamin Miller
PhD student
Teodora Pandeva
PhD student
David Ruhe
PhD student


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In 2016, we asked ten prominent cultural figures to tell us their favorite movie that contained Buddhist lessons (explitly or otherwise). In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Big Lebowski, here's what Oscar-winning actor and Big Lebowski star Jeff Bridges' told us.
Now, it could be argued that there's no Buddhist theme in The Big Lebowski whatsoever. However, my buddy Bernie Glassman has another opinion. He said to me one day, "Did you know that the Dude in The Big Lebowski is considered by many Buddhists to be a Zen master?"
I said, "You gotta be kidding. We never talked about Zen or Buddhism while we were making Lebowski. The brothers never said anything about that."
"Yeah," laughed Bernie, "just look at their name—the Koan brothers."
Koans are Zen stories that only make sense if you can see that life and reality are different from your opinions about them. Most of the famous ones were written in China a long time ago.
Bernie went on: "The Big Lebowski is filled with koans. Only they're in the 'parlance of our time,' to quote the Dude. It's filled with 'em, like: The Dude abides—very Zen—or The Dude is not in—classic Zen—or Donny, you're out of your element, or That rug really tied the room together. It's loaded with 'em."
See also: Read Roshi Bernie Glassman's take on some classic Lebowski koans in "The Zen of The Dude."
Now, my buddy Bernie is a Zen master himself, and he convinced me that The Big Lebowski has a Buddhist theme. In fact, we wrote a book about it called The Dude and The Zen Master (a portion of my answer to this question is ripped off from the intro to that book).
So, yeah, my favorite movie with a Buddhist theme? Gotta say, The Big Lebowski. But, as the Dude might say, "That's just my opinion, man."
Can you help us at a critical time?
COVID-19 has brought tremendous suffering, uncertainty, fear, and strain to the world.
Our sincere wish is that these Buddhist teachings, guided practices, and stories can be a balm in these difficult times. Over the past month, over 400,000 readers like you have visited our site, reading almost a million pages and streaming over 120,000 hours of video teachings. We want to provide even more Buddhist wisdom but our resources are strained. Can you help us?
No one is free from the pandemic's impact, including Lion's Roar. We rely significantly on advertising and newsstand sales to support our work — both of which have dropped precipitously this year. Can you lend your support to Lion's Roar at this critical time?


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Recent automotive trends, reviews, test drives and the latest news from the world of cars
Nissan Frontier wins Platinum Series
Nissan has launched an exclusive new series of Frontier domestically. The Frontier Platinum Limited will have a thousand production units, all being equipped with diesel engine, automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.
Lexus wants to hit the track with RC F GT3 concept
The Lexus brand wants to establish itself as engaged in motoring and as sample also revealed during the Geneva Motor RC F GT3 concept. The model already meets all the requirements of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) categories to compete in GT3.
Toyota makes the Prius recall in Brazil
Toyota of Brazil convene a recall of Prius in Brazil. The information was confirmed by the National Consumer Ministry of Justice this Friday, February 14th.
Mercedes-Benz Launches Special A 45 AMG in Japan
The Mercedes-Benz presented a special series of the A 45 AMG created just for Japan OA 45 AMG Petronas Green Edition mentions the Formula 1 team Mercedes AMG and is based on Edition1 version has been launched at the CLA.


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Price crashes in the oil market often lead to M&A activity. Indeed, four of the five majors in the form we know them today were forged in the aftermath of the late 90s slump—Exxon and Mobil and Chevron and Texaco joined forces in the US, while Total, Fina and Elf did the same in Europe. BP crossed the Atlantic to hoover up first Arco, then Amoco.
And the last large-scale acquisition by a major—Shell's swoop for UK-headquartered BG— also took place post the 2014 fall in prices. It stands to reason that the current environment should also offer opportunities for deal making. But will the unprecedented physical constraints imposed as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic get in the way of M&A processes?
"There is still the potential for deals to happen," says Anthony Patten, co-head of oil and gas at law firm Shearman & Sterling. "There are willing buyers and sellers, and we are seeing some pre-crisis divestment processes continuing, in particular in Asia."
But there are clearly challenges posed by the current widespread global lockdown. "If you look at oil and gas, it is probably the most cross-border, cross-cultural industry there is," says Patten. "Assets are typically held among numerous partners in joint ventures; many companies have international portfolios; there are language and cultural considerations which make remote deal making quite challenging."
The bespoke nature of most deals in the sector is also an issue. "In our experience, during more complicated transactions, when sticky issues come up the real progress is made through senior people having face-to-face discussions," he cautions. But, encouragingly, the industry is adapting to its new circumstances. "While those conversations are obviously more difficult at the moment, they have proven possible, and indeed increasingly popular, using the technology with which we are all becoming very familiar," says Patten.
Fellow panellist Chris Rachwal, head of M&A at consultancy GaffneyCline, agrees with a theme of cautious optimism. "We have seen a reasonable amount of activity this quarter, even in the depths of oil price and pandemic despair," he says.
One potential bright spot is the midstream, Rachwal suggests. While, in the longer-term, midstream assets may be impacted by structural energy transition changes and reductions in demand, in the short-term the sector is relatively immune to oil price gyrations.
Another relatively oil price-immune asset class is gas production sold on fixed-price contracts, often to a state-backed buyer with a market monopoly. These were "ugly ducklings in the past," says Rachwal, given their lack of upside in a higher price environment, "but now they are stars". Any M&A involving them will likely proceed with gusto and probably close in the next three to six months." One favourable trend for getting deals done is that the M&A market was already on an upswing. "We came into 2020 on the back of a steady increase in 2018 and 2019," says Greg Zdun, head of oil & gas, power and utilities, Asia-Pacific at bank JP Morgan.
"In 2019, there were over 200 deals amounting to some c.$160bn, slightly up on 2018, and we were encouraged by what we saw at the start of 2020—at that time it looked like it was going to be an even better year," Zdun says.
Based on his experience of deals in the 2015-16 period, where there were "more conversations around structured solutions to bridge valuation gaps between buyers and sellers", he expects this year and next to also feature "discussions around the levers that help transactions complete in an environment of high price volatility".
Among those levers, Zdun singles out structures such as deferred payments, commodity price earn-outs, contingent payments, and royalties. He also notes that, while the focus may be on distressed sellers, would-be buyers may also face challenges around their own balance sheets, which may mean vendor loans feature in some future M&A activity.
Another key factor in getting deals done will be a reduction in volatility in the oil price. "As greater stability returns to the market, we expect to see an increase in the volume of potential transactions," says Zdun. "Part of that may be a release of pent-up demand where the plan had been to bring the asset to market in the first half of the year."
Shearman & Sterling had also been anticipating a busy first half of 2020 in upstream M&A, particularly around the majors' ongoing divestment programmes of non-core assets. It also supported Middle Eastern producers looking to invest in refinery and petrochemicals assets in Asia to provide a demand hedge for their supply.
"The reasons for doing those deals are still there," says Patten. "The geopolitical trend of Middle Eastern investment in Asia's largest demand markets will also not go away. It may not be the Middle East NOCs' immediate priority, but the battle for Asian customers will continue. So, we are hopeful that activity will pick up quite quickly once the market stabilises."
Despite the headwinds, only one of the five EMEA transactions that GaffneyCline was working on in March has been "deferred until more stable conditions" says Rachwal. Three, if not all four, may go forward to final bids, but Rachwal acknowledges that price will be a very challenging point in the current volatile environment.
And the firm has received inquiries on another four to five possible deals, he says, adding up to a "market that is as active as it was at the end of 2019, although yet-to-start processes are typically running 1-2 months late as people take stock".
The US market has a slightly more pressured picture, cautions Patten, although one still conducive to deal making. His colleagues in the US have, he says, "been very focused on distressed transactions".
"Quite a lot of focus in the US upstream is already on shale players in difficulties, and the different sorts of processes whereby assets might be acquired from those players, such as bankruptcy or similar procedures," he continues.
Oil and gas assets may also benefit—particularly at current prices—from looking more attractive as an asset class than they have been of late, at least in the short-term. "In a global market where everyone is trying to rebuild their economies and recover from very negative second, and possibly third, quarters of 2020, the opportunity to invest in future supply of reliable, and relatively inexpensive, energy may appeal," says Rachwal. In contrast, some more "exotic" clean energy alternatives are going to be considerably "less vital for economic recovery" in the next 12-18 months.
"In the medium to long-term, obviously the theme of energy transition will continue to be important for the industry. But I agree with Chris [Rachwal] —in the short term, incremental capital may not necessarily be deployed on alternative energy solutions at the same pace that was expected. The pressure on capital allocation, may offer a reprieve of sorts for more conventional assets," agrees Zdun.