text:
Getting started with the Xiaomi Mi 9: a racing beast that will shade the competition
admin 24 février 2019 0
Xiaomi took advantage of the Mobile World Congress to formalize its Mi 9 in France, the smartphone had been presented in China a few days ago. So it's not a surprise … but we were finally able to get our hands on it to deliver our first impressions before testing and availability.
6.39 inches diagonally, this Mi 9 is great!
First thing you notice once the Mi 9 is in hand is the iridescent finish on the back, which changes color depending on how you look at it. This effect is particularly noticeable on the purple and blue model, although the Mi 9 is also available in a more classic black color. It is the latter that we could use a few hours to give you a first opinion.
No headphone port or microSD slot, but its button dedicated to voice assistants launches Google Assistant (or whatever you want). We are not forced to launch an unknown voice assistant to the battalion.
The Mi 9 features a 6.39-inch OLED display with Full HD + definition and a Gorilla Glass 6 anti-scratch treatment and DCI-P3 and HDR10 support. This is the same screen as the Mi Mix 3, but with the teardrop shaped notch for the camera. The display on the Mi 9 seems – at first glance – very good, it is up to its main competitors in terms of sharpness, brightness and reflectance.
Like the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro, there is an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen. This sensor is a camera (provided by Goodix as Huawei and Oppo-OnePlus) which requires to turn on the pixels to illuminate the finger when unlocking. It is fast and reliable, the circle is illuminated under the finger like a well of light very quickly when the finger comes into contact with the screen. We would have liked to find the new ultrasonic sensor Galaxy S10, but we must remember that we are on a much cheaper product.
The location of the fingerprint sensor is reported
Inside, the Mi 9 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, with 6 or 8 GB of RAM and a storage capacity up to 256 GB. Xiaomi joins the long list of manufacturers who have taken the the only solution available on the market, the Snapdragon 855, like Sony, Oppo, OnePlus, Nubia … finally, only Huawei-Honor, Apple and Samsung have different solutions for their premium smartphones.
The only benchmark we have launched (for the moment)
We performed AnTuTu 3D and the result is 369,276 points, which surpasses all other smartphones tested. We will perform more performance tests when we have the product in the editorial. Nevertheless, I can certify that the Mi 9 is a racing beast, the applications are launched very quickly, the camera shows no delay, and gesture animations are displayed very smoothly.
The three cameras that are prominent at the back, which does not allow to lay flat on a flat surface
Like the Galaxy S10, the three-camera triple-rear camera is the big novelty of the Mi 9, with wide-angle, telephoto and super-wide angle lenses (117-degree field of view). The main camera has a 48-megapixel (f / 1.75) Sony IMX586 (1/2 inch) sensor, similar to the Honor View 20, and produces 12-megapixel photos. The 12 megapixel Samsung S5K3M5 (1 / 3.4 inch) telephoto lens provides 2x zoom, while the Sony IMX481 (1/2 inch) ultra wide angle 16 megapixel (f / 2.2) camera lets you capture a field much wider vision.
In full brightness, the main module makes good shots, but it shows less fine details than those of competitors such as iPhone XS and Huawei Mate 20 Pro. In low light, the night mode saves the bet, but in these conditions where the trio of cameras is less powerful than smartphones to 1000 euros. Note that the Mi 9 got a very good score at DxOMark, including the best score in video.
The portrait mode is rather convincing at the back, we can change a postiori the opening of the lens to vary the bokeh in the background. The contours of the face are properly cut when good light conditions are met. In passing, thank you to Thomas Delozier (Digital) for his participation.
Another new addition to the Mi 9 is the new "Charge Turbo" wireless charging mode, which allows a 20W wireless charge on the optional Xiaomi Charge Turbo Charging Stand. According to the company, this is the fastest wireless charging on the market – most other phones charge at 7.5 W or 10 W – and can charge the battery of 3,300 mAh Mi 9 of 0 100% in just one hour and 40 minutes. For comparison, that's what we got with the Galaxy S9 in wired load. If you place it on a standard Qi charger, the Mi 9 will return to classic speeds. The Mi 9 also comes with a 27W charge that requires one hour for a full charge.
I also had the good surprise to rediscover MIUI through its tenth version (MIUI 10.2 more precisely) based on Android Pie. An interface that has gained sobriety with fluid and effective animations, and a convincing dark theme. Small flat: there may be advertisements that appear in some systems applications. Not very cool.
Disappointments to "justify its price"
Xiaomi has never launched a waterproof smartphone and if you expect the Mi 9 to have an IP rating, you will be disappointed. Note also the lack of 3.5 mm headphone port and stereo speakers. This last point is difficult to explain since even the Pocophone F1 had two speakers. The SD slot is also missing, so you will not be able to expand the storage space. As a reminder, the MI 9 exists with 128 and 256 GB of internal storage.
Regarding autonomy, it is difficult to say for the moment but the battery capacity is modest: 3300 mAh. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to relativize this point: the Mi 8 Pro and the Mi Mix 3 have obtained good results with very similar configurations.
Finally, let's talk about design. The finishes are excellent, but it will be noticed that it is not quite borderless as suggested by the published visuals of the ad, one clearly distinguishes the borders especially above and below (the chin) of the screen. Nothing prohibitive, but the comparison with the competition like at Huawei, Apple and Samsung brings to this level of detail. Finally, note that his glass back is slippery. Watch out for falls.
Does it make us forget the Galaxy S10 and the Mate 20 Pro?
With the Mi 9, Xiaomi has set a goal to make us forget the Galaxy S10 and Mate 20 Pro, and I'm surprised that Xiaomi has not completely failed in this direction. The Mi 9 has a trio of versatile cameras, good finishes, excellent performance, fast wireless charging, fingerprint unlocking under the screen and, in my opinion, an excellent screen. What complicates things for Samsung and Huawei is obviously the price of Mi 9: 500 euros in France, with a rebate of 30 euros for the launch is … 470 euros.
The Mi 9 has a trio of versatile cameras, good finishes, excellent performance, fast wireless charging, fingerprint unlocking under the screen and, in my opinion, an excellent screen
Even if you do not quite agree with me that the Mi 9 is a viable competitor of the Galaxy S10 and the Mate 20 Pro, the fact remains that this Mi 9 is the alternative to consider facing Honor View 20 or OnePlus 6T. The Xiaomi Mi 9 is a good combination of Mi 8 Pro and Mi Mix 3 … Xiaomi is very aggressive on the market by announcing a new flagship every 3 to 4 months.
Xiaomi is very aggressive in the market by announcing a new flagship every 3 to 4 months
The Xiaomi Mi 9 is available from Monday at most e-merchants online, but also directly from Xiaomi in the Mi Store Paris and the online store. Its price and availability are available on this dedicated article.
Where to buy the Xiaomi Mi 9 at the best price?
All the live news from MWC 2019
The Xiaomi Mi 9 officialized: design, price and features of the flagship with Snapdragon 855
Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 9 in China. He will arrive in a few weeks in…
The Xiaomi Mi 9 will be a premium and full smartphone
A few days before the presentation of the Xiaomi Mi 9, the Chinese firm is…
Xiaomi Mi 9: here is the transparent version with 12 GB of RAM
Xiaomi continues to give her official information on the Mi 9 dropper. A transparent model…
Huawei Mate X: Huawei's collapsible smartphone leaked again before its announcement – MWC 2019
3 news that marked the week: Galaxy S10 and Fold officialized, lifetime reduction at Free and OLED 4K HDR for the Xperia 1


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U.S. Senate to vote on: 'Climate change has already caused devastating problems in the U.S. and around the world'
The Sanders amendment takes direct aim at Republican climate change deniers:
It is the sense of Congress that Congress is in agreement with the opinion of virtually the entire worldwide scientific community that—
(1) climate change is real;
(2) climate change is caused by human activities;
(3) climate change has already caused devastating problems in the United States and around the world;
Sen. Sanders said, "The American people need to know whether Congress is listening to the overwhelming majority of scientists when it comes to climate change. On this issue, the scientists have been virtually unanimous in saying that climate change is real, it is caused by human action, it is already causing devastating problems which will only get worse in the future and that we need to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel. Do members of Congress believe the scientists or not?"
By: Marc Morano - Climate DepotJanuary 13, 2015 7:39 PM
Filed under: gop, keystone, polling, science
« Climate Depot home
An Inconvenient Truth for Environmentalists: Offshore Wind Endangers Whales
Climate Hysteria & Groupthink From Billionaires Who Want Your Money To Save The World
Climate Extremists' Hideous Wind Farms Are Coming To Your Backyard
Watch: Transportation Sec Pete Buttigieg: 'EVERY Transportation Decision in the 21st Century Is A Climate Decision'
Bjorn Lomborg: Partisan 'fact checkers' spread climate-change misinformation
Net Zany: Too many politicians think Net Zero more important than Britain's prosperity
With Russian gas gone, coal makes EU comeback as 'traditional fuel' – As Energy prices could double long-term in Germany
Net Zero's Global Winner is — China! 'US hasn't noticed yet that China-Made cars are taking over the world' – Poised to become No. 2 exporter of cars, surpassing US & S. Korea
The Great Food Reset: 'Lab-grown meat' harvested in 'massive steel vats' edges closer to fed approval & U.S. dinner plates – As EU approves human consumption of worms & crickets
Watch: Morano on OAN TV on Great Food Reset – U.S. soon to be eating 'lab-grown meat'
Watch: Climate King John Kerry fails to dodge questions about his private jet hypocrisy – Kerry now claims 'I fly commercial exclusively'
Watch: Morano on Rebel News talking Davos: The 'elites' know corporate media is on their side – 'They don't think the government would lie about COVID, or terrorism or climate?!'
Jane Fonda links the 'climate crisis' to racism: 'Everything's connected' – 'There'd be no climate crisis if it wasn't for racism'
Bill Gates wants to stop cows from burping & farting in latest investment – Funds Australian-based company to reduce livestock emissions
European Union Approves Mealworms & Cricket Powder For Use in Bread, Crackers, Chocolate, & Soups Despite 'Inconclusive' Allergy Data
Lab-grown meat moves closer to American dinner plates – 'Grown in enormous steel vessels called bioreactors & processed' into meat-like substance
Klaus Schwab at 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Issues a Call to 'Master the Future
China's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are Double U.S., India Close To Surpassing USA
Klaus Schwab: Current global crises are 'serving as catalytic forces for the economic transformation'
Wash Post headline: 'Dead whales and tough economics bedevil Biden's massive wind energy push'
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Data collected by Buffalo, N.Y.'s 311 Center determines where its multi-jurisdictional Clean Sweep program will conduct operations.
When the City of Buffalo, N.Y., began experiencing challenging economic times, officials decided not to scale back and cut city services. Instead, Mayor Byron W. Brown and his staff decided that it was time to connect to citizens.
Under former Mayor Anthony M. Masiello, the city started the Operation Clean Sweep program that began primarily as a law enforcement initiative and has since evolved into a collaborative community-based program. On a weekly basis, city, state, county and federal partners, along with health and human service providers, go door to door to talk to residents. During these neighborhood visits, they provide essential information about how to access available government, employment, and health care services. The city brings along teams to seal vacant homes, trim overgrown trees, mow lots, remove debris, remove graffiti, replace and repair street signs and fill potholes.
The city identifies which neighborhoods to visit based on data collected via its 311 Call and Resolution Center. Complaints are verbally taken from residents and then entered into Buffalo's KANA Lagan CRM system for case management and resolution.
In 2012, the Clean Sweep Task Force -- which includes 30 to 40 different departments — conducted 27 sweeps citywide. The program's partners have volunteered 6,075 hours and addressed issues at approximately 5,400 properties.
The Mayor's Office catalogues various quality of life issues compiled by the 311 calls. Calls include requests for streetlight repairs, property inspections, rodent containment and pothole fixes, to name a few.
In addition to 311 data, the city also uses 911 data and statistics on area poverty levels to identify candidate neighborhoods. Law enforcement officials and various city departments will also contribute additional information on identified areas, and then a task force member drives through the area to confirm that the data matches the composition of the neighborhood.
When a neighborhood is chosen for a sweep, the various city, county, state and federal departments understand the makeup and issues of the area based on the same data sets — as opposed to disparate information. Additionally, the city's data system allows individual departments to prioritize and respond in a more timely fashion to 311 complaints that fall under their jurisdiction.
By using the data to prioritize and respond to the people, Mestre said that the city is empowering residents to be connected to local government. In a sense, 311 creates a direct line to the Mayor.


text:
Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains
Sharona L. Rab, Roee Admon
Exposure to stressful events is omnipresent in modern human life, yet people show considerable heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure(s) on their functionality and overall health. Encounter with stressor(s) is counteracted by an intricate repertoire of nervous-system responses. This narrative review starts with a brief summary of the vast evidence that supports heart rate variability, cortisol secretion, and large-scale cortical network interactions as kay physiological, endocrinological, and neural mechanisms of stress responsivity, respectively. The second section highlights potential sources for inter-individual variability in these mechanisms, by focusing on biological, environmental, social, habitual, and psychological factors that may influence stress responsivity patterns and thus contribute to heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure on functionality and health. The third section introduces intra-individually variability in stress responsivity across functional domains as a novel putative source for heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure. Challenges and future directions are further discussed. Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in nervous-system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains is critical towards potential clinical translation.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
Preparation of this article was supported by grants from the Israeli Council for Higher Education (Alon Scholarship), the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (Formerly NARSAD) Young Investigator Award (Grant ID: 25993 ), and the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI; 202-17-18 ) awarded to Dr. Admon. The authors would like to thank Ido Rab for his aid in preparing the figures.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Default mode network (DMN)
Heart-rate variability (HRV)
Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
Dive into the research topics of 'Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Nervous System Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Heart Rate Medicine & Life Sciences 44%
Direction compound Medicine & Life Sciences 44%
Rab, S. L., & Admon, R. (2021). Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 120, 550-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
Rab, Sharona L. ; Admon, Roee. / Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains. In: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2021 ; Vol. 120. pp. 550-564.
@article{0ef88e962623411eb1f2efb40f9c4fec,
title = "Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains",
abstract = "Exposure to stressful events is omnipresent in modern human life, yet people show considerable heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure(s) on their functionality and overall health. Encounter with stressor(s) is counteracted by an intricate repertoire of nervous-system responses. This narrative review starts with a brief summary of the vast evidence that supports heart rate variability, cortisol secretion, and large-scale cortical network interactions as kay physiological, endocrinological, and neural mechanisms of stress responsivity, respectively. The second section highlights potential sources for inter-individual variability in these mechanisms, by focusing on biological, environmental, social, habitual, and psychological factors that may influence stress responsivity patterns and thus contribute to heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure on functionality and health. The third section introduces intra-individually variability in stress responsivity across functional domains as a novel putative source for heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure. Challenges and future directions are further discussed. Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in nervous-system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains is critical towards potential clinical translation.",
keywords = "Cortisol, Default mode network (DMN), Heart-rate variability (HRV), Individual differences, Neural networks, Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), Stress",
author = "Rab, {Sharona L.} and Roee Admon",
note = "Funding Information: Preparation of this article was supported by grants from the Israeli Council for Higher Education (Alon Scholarship), the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (Formerly NARSAD) Young Investigator Award (Grant ID: 25993 ), and the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI; 202-17-18 ) awarded to Dr. Admon. The authors would like to thank Ido Rab for his aid in preparing the figures. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd",
doi = "10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007",
journal = "Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews",
Rab, SL & Admon, R 2021, 'Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains', Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 120, pp. 550-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains. / Rab, Sharona L.; Admon, Roee.
In: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 120, 01.2021, p. 550-564.
T1 - Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains
AU - Rab, Sharona L.
AU - Admon, Roee
N1 - Funding Information: Preparation of this article was supported by grants from the Israeli Council for Higher Education (Alon Scholarship), the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (Formerly NARSAD) Young Investigator Award (Grant ID: 25993 ), and the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI; 202-17-18 ) awarded to Dr. Admon. The authors would like to thank Ido Rab for his aid in preparing the figures. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
N2 - Exposure to stressful events is omnipresent in modern human life, yet people show considerable heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure(s) on their functionality and overall health. Encounter with stressor(s) is counteracted by an intricate repertoire of nervous-system responses. This narrative review starts with a brief summary of the vast evidence that supports heart rate variability, cortisol secretion, and large-scale cortical network interactions as kay physiological, endocrinological, and neural mechanisms of stress responsivity, respectively. The second section highlights potential sources for inter-individual variability in these mechanisms, by focusing on biological, environmental, social, habitual, and psychological factors that may influence stress responsivity patterns and thus contribute to heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure on functionality and health. The third section introduces intra-individually variability in stress responsivity across functional domains as a novel putative source for heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure. Challenges and future directions are further discussed. Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in nervous-system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains is critical towards potential clinical translation.
AB - Exposure to stressful events is omnipresent in modern human life, yet people show considerable heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure(s) on their functionality and overall health. Encounter with stressor(s) is counteracted by an intricate repertoire of nervous-system responses. This narrative review starts with a brief summary of the vast evidence that supports heart rate variability, cortisol secretion, and large-scale cortical network interactions as kay physiological, endocrinological, and neural mechanisms of stress responsivity, respectively. The second section highlights potential sources for inter-individual variability in these mechanisms, by focusing on biological, environmental, social, habitual, and psychological factors that may influence stress responsivity patterns and thus contribute to heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure on functionality and health. The third section introduces intra-individually variability in stress responsivity across functional domains as a novel putative source for heterogeneity in the impact of stress exposure. Challenges and future directions are further discussed. Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in nervous-system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains is critical towards potential clinical translation.
KW - Cortisol
KW - Default mode network (DMN)
KW - Heart-rate variability (HRV)
KW - Individual differences
KW - Neural networks
KW - Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
KW - Stress
U2 - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
DO - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007
JO - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
JF - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Rab SL, Admon R. Parsing inter- and intra-individual variability in key nervous system mechanisms of stress responsivity and across functional domains. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2021 Jan;120:550-564. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.007


text:
Foreign Minister Steinmeier at the final press conference after E3+3 nuclear talks in Vienna
working translation
Foreign Minister Steinmeier said today (14 July) at the final press conference after E3+3 nuclear talks in Vienna:
"Today is a good day, maybe even a historic day for everyone who wants to see this dispute settled peacefully. It's also a great moment for me personally. It is historic because we have shown that major international conflicts, can be resolved through dialogue and perseverance. And that this is also possible where mistrust and even open hostility initially appeared to be insurmountable.
Today, we have agreed with Tehran on a comprehensive deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme. After more than a decade, we can settle a dispute which has brought the world to the edge of a military confrontation.
In more than 100 pages, we have spelled out in great detail what we already agreed in principle in Lausanne back in April, watertight and without loopholes:
More than two thirds of the centrifuges will be mothballed and monitored by the IAEA. 95% of the enriched uranium will be sent out of the country or destroyed, with Iran's stockpile strictly limited for 15 years (a maximum of 300 kg).
Everything agreed upon will be closely monitored. We have reached agreement on a robust mechanism which guarantees that the IAEA has access wherever it requires. And this will apply for up to 25 years, even beyond the IAEA's standard rules.
Should Iran breach the agreed rules, sanctions could be immediately re-imposed – without a new resolution from the Security Council.
With this deal, any attempt by Iran to develop nuclear weapons will be reliably and verifiably ruled out for the foreseeable future.
I can say with complete confidence that this agreement will give the world, the region and, in particular, Iran's neighbours, more security.
I am under no illusion that all of the problems relating to Iran will be resolved as a result of this agreement. Nor can it be ruled out that those opposed to a deal will now attempt to sabotage its implementation.
However, I am convinced that today's agreement will strengthen the hand of those in Iran who support peaceful relations with its neighbours because they know that people in Iran expect more than the old rhetoric of war and conflict.
My hope is that this agreement will be more than just the settlement of the Iranian nuclear dispute, more than a milestone for nuclear disarmament. It could also be a first, a major step towards a more peaceful Middle East."
Joint Statement by EU high Representative Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
17.01.2020 Interview
Libya Conference: "The participating states must prove how serious they are about supporting the Berlin Process".
Using all available mechanisms to preserve the nuclear agreement
Vienna nuclear agreement on Irans nuclear programme


text:
Q: How to get NSToolbar Height? How do I know NSToolbar height? When I place a NSView inside a NSWindow with a NSToolbar on, how do I set the height of the NSView so it can take all available height in the window?

A: In macOS 11 or newer, you can make use of safeAreaInsets to determine the height of the toolbar in case you have enabled setting 'Full Size Content View':
guard let contentView = window?.contentView else {
    return
}

let toolbarHeight = contentView.safeAreaInsets.top

A: If you set/replace the contentView of the window, the window will automatically and necessarily resize it to the right size (or resize itself if the view's size is constrained with greater priority than NSLayoutConstraint.Priority.windowSizeStayPut).
If you're putting your view within the provided content view, then the content view's bounds indicates the rectangle within which your view will be placed.
If you just want the content rect of the window, you can get that with window.contentRect(forFrameRect:window.frame).

A: In my experience you don't need to account for the toolbar height; the runtime does that for you automatically.  Just add the view as you ordinarily would.  Programmatically it would look like this:
let view = CustomView( frame:NSMakeRect(0, 0, _wndW, _wndH) )
 window.contentView!.addSubview (view)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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NEW YORK (AP) _ There was a time when the newsweeklies set the agenda for the nation's conversation _ when Time and Newsweek would digest the events of the week and Americans would wait by their mailboxes to see what was on the covers.
Those days have passed, and come the end of the year, the print edition of Newsweek will pass, too. Cause of death: The march of time.
"The tempo of the news and the Web have completely overtaken the news magazines,'' said Stephen G. Smith, editor of the Washington Examiner and the holder of an unprecedented newsweekly triple crown _ nation editor at Time, editor of U.S. News and World Report, and executive editor of Newsweek from 1986 to 1991.
Where once readers were content to sit back and wait for tempered accounts of domestic and foreign events, they now can find much of what they need almost instantaneously, on their smartphones. Where once advertisers had limited places to spend their dollars to reach national audiences, they now have seemingly unlimited alternatives.
So on Thursday, when Newsweek's current owners announced they intended to halt print publication and expand the magazine's Web presence, there was little surprise. But there was a good deal of nostalgia for what Smith called "the shared conversation that the nation used to have,'' when the networks, the newsweeklies and a few national newspapers reigned.
Before Newsweek, there was Time _ the brainchild of Henry Luce and Briton Hadden. The first issue of the first newsweekly came out in 1923, and the formula, from the first, was to wrap up the week's news and tie it with a bow, telling it with a singular voice.
Newsweek, or as it was originally called, News-week, came along in 1933.
The magazine struggled for four years, until it merged with another magazine, Today, lost the hyphen, and emerged under the ownership of Averill Harriman and Vincent Astor, two of the country's wealthiest men.
The modern era at Newsweek began in 1961, when it was purchased by the Washington Post Co. Benjamin Bradlee, who was Newsweek's Washington bureau chief at the time and later executive editor of the Post, helped negotiate the sale.
Edward Kosner, who worked at Newsweek from 1963 to 1979, ending as executive editor, recalled the time as a kind of golden age of the newsweeklies.
"It's a lost world,'' he said. "It's like talking about the 19th century.
He recalled with pride Newsweek's coverage of civil rights in the 1960s, the end of the Vietnam War and economic issues in the 1970s, the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Perhaps because of Time's Luceian origins _ he and his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, were major Republican figures _ Newsweek was often perceived as a more liberal counterweight. Its readers loved the weekly Periscope section, with its editorial cartoons and hot-off-the-presses news blurbs. Where Time only later started providing bylines for its stories, Newsweek offered star columnists like George Will, Eleanor Cliff and Anna Quindlen.
Life in the newsweeklies, Stephen Smith recalls, was nothing like today's frenetic media sprint. At the start of each week, reporters would come into work for a couple of days and think about story ideas and how to pitch them. The correspondents were far flung; the editing and fact-checking were meticulous.
"That world doesn't exist anymore,'' he said.
The magazines have tried to adjust. They do not rehash the week's events as they once did. They offer more opinion, more analysis.
Newsweek often struggled over the years, and the Post sold it to stereo equipment magnate Sidney Harmon in 2010 for $1. He died the next year, but not before the magazine was joined to The Daily Beast Web operation.
The cost of maintaining a network of correspondents has risen dramatically, along with the costs of printing and postage. Meanwhile, Newsweek's circulation dropped from 3.14 million in 2000 to 1.5 million in 2012. Time, too, has dropped, but not as precipitously, from 4.2 million in 1997 to 3.38 million now.
Other newsweeklies have done better: The Economist, with its upscale readership, went from less than 1 million in 2000 to 1.5 million in 2012, and The Week also has made gains.
Regardless, it is clear that the golden age of newsweeklies will not return.
Kosner recalled a time when there might be a presidential debate on a Tuesday night, and his readers would eagerly await the arrival of the next issue of Newsweek _ five days later _ to find out the story behind the story, to hear what the newsmagazine had to say about what had happened. Now, he says, they merely go to CNN, or log on to Slate.
"Time marches on,'' he said.


Sierra Leone has some of the highest quality diamonds in the world. Like a lottery winner who wastes his fortune and sinks into misery, however, the country has been unable to cope with its windfall. "Blood diamonds" have been blamed for causing its horrific civil war, which saw rebel militias, Liberian thugs, mercenaries, Sierra Leone's army, and UN and Nigerian "peacekeepers" killing and maiming in a desperate struggle to gain control of the gem trade.
Since the war finished in 2002, Sierra Leone has languished among the world's poorest countries, with nothing to show for its rich treasure trove of minerals. Economists see it as a classic example of the resource curse, which plagues many poor nations endowed with valuable natural commodities: mineral wealth allows governments to neglect the rest of the economy, enrich themselves, and ignore those outside their circles, forcing the excluded to resort to violence to obtain a share of the loot.
But the failure of resource-rich nations is not inevitable. Botswana has thrived on the back of its diamond mines. South Africa, brimming with gold and diamonds, is Africa's largest economy. Australia, another diamond producer, doesn't do too badly.
Earlier this week we spent the day at a diamond mine near Kenema. Johnny, a Sierra Leonean who has spent most of his life in England, has come back with his wife Suzy to dig for diamonds. Using borrowed money, they have leased an acre of land deep in the jungle and hired fifty men from surrounding villages to dig a forty-foot-deep pit and sift through the mud and gravel it throws up.
It is easy to see the allure. When we arrive, Johnny shows me yesterday's haul of eight small stones. The first looks like an undistinguished lump of glass, but the second, flawless, looks like a diamond and, although rough (it will be cut in India or Antwerp), its different facets glitter as I turn it around in the sun. It is worth about £1,000. On the neighbouring plot last year, a Lebanese found a thirty-carat diamond worth £4 million. From one moment to the next, Johnny could get rich.
Or die trying. Another nearby plot was mined for two years by some Americans. They didn't find a single gem. Prices fell by 80% in the recession, prompting many miners and dealers to switch to gold, which provides a steadier, less risky income. Ali's business partner almost bankrupted him by giving him a fake cheque for £100,000-worth of diamonds. "We say the profit from diamonds reaches from your toes to your knees, but the losses reach up to your throat," he says, making a strangling gesture. He is currently pursuing the man through Interpol.
Nearly everything at Johnny's mine is done by hand. The only sound other than the chink of pickaxes on rock is the drone of the baling machine, which pumps water from the bottom of the pit and spits it out in the washing area, where four muscly young men, bent at the waist, shake mud from large flat sieves and peer intently at the residue, searching among the pebbles and gravel for that elusive glint.
It is sweltering, backbreaking work, but the miners are well remunerated by local standards and are promised significant bonuses if they find something big. Everything is above board: Johnny and Suzy acquired a licence to mine from the government, and every diamond they find is certified, packaged and sealed with a wax stamp under the UN-approved Kimberley Certification Scheme before being shipped to Europe.
The Kimberley Process was initiated in the wake of Sierra Leone's civil war. It aims to show that a diamond has not come from a conflict zone. Sierra Leone is currently at peace and legal diamond exports have increased since the scheme began. It was not the gems themselves that caused the war, however, but the venality surrounding them, and Kimberley does nothing to tackle corruption.
To acquire a mining licence, you must pay a £70 bribe. If you find a large stone, locals advise you to take it away from your mine immediately, before government helicopters arrive to seize it. Although the diamonds are conflict-free today, therefore, the Kimberley Process will not stop them sparking a new war tomorrow.
On our day at the mine, we don't bring Johnny and Suzy, who are as superstitious as any gambler, much luck. The washers find four small one-carat stones and a couple of tiny grey specks that can be used industrially. The most valuable is worth about £500. It would take the washers nearly a year to earn that amount, so it is not surprising at the end of the afternoon to hear one of them grumbling that what he has just found in the sieve could be worth trillions of leones (he earns 10,000 a day, about £1.70). The miners may be well paid by Sierra Leonean standards, but they are very cheap labour for their employers. Worried that the washer is planning theft, Johnny relieves him of his duties and sends him to dig in the pit.
This entry was posted in Africa, Conflict and security, Economics and development and tagged diamond, Kimberley Process, resource curse, sierra leone by Mark Weston. Bookmark the permalink.


Nether_ U _ Nor_ Me_ ..........._ !
Thank you, and next time you had any problems with my post, PM ME, do not make a Thread about it, I will call someone like you a trouble maker! And If you can see, I am a VIP member, and I have my own forum, and Tony is a good friend of mine, and Ayushpaltalk is moderator in my forum, so I dont know why I should lie about something like PALTALK COLOR? Please reply back, and dont use my Photos in your threads, thank u!
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text:
UVic soccer teams rally behind former men's captain
Sports Sports | Lifestyle
Alec Lazenby
Vikes Kick Cancer fundraiser has already raised over $50 000
Photo via UVic.
Mackenzie Rigg was planning to attend law school at the University of Calgary this fall. Instead, he's been travelling between Kelowna and Vancouver to receive chemotherapy for a brain tumour. The 25-year-old former captain of the UVic men's soccer team has been trying to remain positive, but he says he faced a lot of uncertainty. He was diagnosed this August with an aggressive type of tumour called Astrocytoma Grade IV.
"From the initial diagnosis, there was just kind of this total limbo period," he told the Martlet. "Where you're just starting to grapple with what you were told, and how this was gonna affect me, and how my life was gonna change."
Rigg's girlfriend Trinity Kettyls, who plays soccer for UVic, and several of Rigg's university friends have set up a fundraiser for research into Astrocytoma Grade IV. The fundraiser, called Vikes Kick Cancer, will see members of the men's and women's soccer teams at UVic participate in a 270-kilometre relay from Nov. 20-22. So far, the fundraiser has raised over $50 000, far surpassing its initial goal of $27 000.
Recent statistics from the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada estimate that 27 Canadians are diagnosed with brain cancer every day, and that over 55 000 Canadians are currently living with a brain tumour. Astrocytoma Grade IV is the most common and the deadliest of brain tumours found in adults. Only four per cent of those with that type of tumour live more than five years past their diagnosis.
Organizers of the fundraiser are raising money to support research, develop new treatments, and improve the quality of life of those impacted by brain cancer.
The initial idea for a fundraiser was formed by Kettyls, Rigg's roommate Griffin Fougner-Rukus, and UVic men's soccer players Will Adams and Logan Fisher. Adams, Fisher, and Kettyls reached out to the players and coaching staff of UVic's soccer teams about organizing a run to raise money for cancer research following Rigg's diagnosis. Adams and Fisher say that the support so far has been outstanding.
"It's been pretty cool to watch," said Adams.
"There's days where I'm working hard at school, and I'll just go and check the [fundraiser] and I'll be like 'how did it get like this?'" Fisher explained.
Bruce Wilson, head coach of the men's team, praised the efforts of the organizers and said that the entire team is behind them.
"They have really, really done the job on it themselves with not a lot of help from me, that's for sure," he said. "We really feel for [Mackenzie], and we would certainly like to do whatever we can for him."
Wilson has known Rigg since he was in high school. Wilson recruited Rigg to the Vikes himself after awarding him the MVP trophy at a tournament in Burnaby. Wilson says that he keeps in regular contact with Rigg and that he hopes for a speedy and full recovery.
"I have been in touch with him and he sounded very positive to me on the phone, and he was ready to battle," said Wilson.
Adams and Fisher say that they have not only received widespread support from the school and broader UVic community, but also from local businesses, organizations, and competitors. They say they were especially excited when they were contacted by professional soccer teams Vancouver Whitecaps and Pacific FC.
Adams and Fisher hope that the fundraiser shows Rigg that the entire community is behind him.
"The support has been absolutely overwhelming, greater than our wildest expectations, honestly, and means the world to Mac as he's going through treatment," said Fisher. "And that's all we can really hope for, keep his spirits up as he battles something that's just a tough thing to overcome."
Adams and Fisher hope to turn the fundraiser into a yearly Vikes initiative and say that all the support so far has been encouraging.
Rigg says that he feels supported and that he has been overwhelmed by the messages he has received from family members, old friends, and colleagues since his diagnosis. Rigg reserved special mention for his girlfriend, who he says has remained positive throughout the whole experience thus far.
"Trinity is probably one of — if not the most — positive person I think I've ever met," he said. "And so I think that's really helped her get through this."
Having just completed a six-week round of chemotherapy, Rigg is now in the midst of a rest period during which he is taking the time to visit with family and old friends. Although he says that he would love to be able to get out and play soccer, due to his condition and COVID-19 restrictions he has been forced to content himself with going for long walks.
It will be 2021 the next time Rigg undergoes treatment. First though, he will wait to have an MRI that will tell him where he stands.
"Because of the levels of radiation in my brain [doctors] can't actually get an accurate MRI," he said. "So I will be waiting until 2021 to get an accurate MRI, and then going from there."
Although he has a long road ahead of him, Rigg says that the support he has received has made the experience less difficult.
"In so many ways, you think a cancer diagnosis would have such a negative impact on you, but in so many ways, it's just been so many positives," said Rigg.


LOS ANGELES, CA – Comedy Dynamics announced today it will release Andy Sandford's second comedy album Shameful Information on all digital audio retailers on July 27, 2018.
Returning to his home club, Atlanta's Star Bar, Andy's sharp wit is showcased in his first hour special. In Shameful Information, Andy tackles a vast array of important issues, such as burrito privacy, farting on airplanes and how a mixup at McDonalds can lead to the greatest day of your life.


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The power of outsourcing has proven time and time again to be the most successful resource available to companies with late payments and bad debt issues. By instructing a third party it affirms the seriousness of the situation to the debtor which in itself can prompt them into action.


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text:
En ajedrez, una columna semiabierta, es una columna sin peones de un color.

En el diagrama, la columna e es una columna semiabierta para el Blanco y la columna d es una columna semiabierta para el Negro. Una columna semiabierta puede proporcionar una línea de ataque para una torre o una dama.

Véase también
 Columna abierta

Términos de ajedrez
Estrategia de ajedrez

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: X11 connection rejected because of wrong authentication in Mininet I am getting this message whenever I run xterm from within mininet:
mininet> xterm h1
mininet> X11 connection rejected because of wrong authentication.

However, if I run it as:
mininet@mininet-vm:~$ xterm

It shows the window as normal.
I only experience this issue with Mininet running on virtual box with ubuntu 20.04.02.
With other ubuntu version (14.04.06), xterm works fine.
Any help on this would be appreciated..

A: I struggled with the same error but adding -E while creating the topology fixed it for me.

*

*sudo -E mn or sudo -E mn --custom.... for custom topologies

*xterm h1 h2

xterm works as it normally would.

A: Had a similar issue at some point. The problem was that when you are running the mininet console you do that as root and not as the ssh'ed user - mininet in your case. I vaguely remember resolving it by creating .Xauthority files and giving the root user and the mininet user permissions to them... Can't remember the whole procedure now, hopefully this would give you a clue.
Page #27 of this document suggests a possible resolution.
What they suggest is:

*

*As your non-root user do xauth list $DISPLAY. This should return a line describing the display. in my case,
ubuntu-bionic/unix:0 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 SOME_HASH. Copy that line.

*Now, log-in as the super user sudo -s

*Authorize that display information for the root user xauth add LINE_YOU_COPIED_IN_1.

*That should be it
If you see an error about .Xauth not existing follow this link to create one and go back to step 1.


Ideal for anyone planning a large group holiday or celebrating a special occasion, Pizzo dell'Ovo is a luxurious villa complex with extraordinary panoramic views over the Sanctuary of Tindari and the Tyrrhenian sea. With two infinity pools and set amidst olive and oak trees in the glorious Sicilian countryside, this is the ultimate place for a big gathering of friends or extended families.
Pizzo dell'Ovo offers hotel-style villa accommodation at its very best: bedrooms and bathrooms are effortlessly stylish, but you'll also enjoy the benefits of sophisticated living space and, of course, your own private garden and pool. With a choice of day trips to the Nebrodi mountains or the volcanic Aeolian Islands and a selection of beaches just ten minutes away by car, there's plenty to keep everyone amused.
The complex is loosely divided into two main properties, newly-built Villa Dionisio and the complex of restored farmhouses that make up Le Case di Tindari. The two are completely independent, with their own pools, and separated by a brief 200m stroll. At Villa Dionisio, bedrooms are divided between the main villa (sleeps 6) and a guesthouse (sleeps 4), with the main villa easily accommodating 10 for mealtimes, inside and out. Outside, sweeping terraces surround a gorgeous infinity pool, with sea views. The guesthouse has its own living room, kitchen and dining area, offering extra flexibility for those looking for a little more independence.
The décor and attention to detail at Le Case di Tindari (sleeps 21) is equally impressive. Antiques and tradition meet contemporary style in the main villa (sleeps 7) which has a large ground floor dining terrace with an outdoor kitchen. The rest of the accommodation is split over a cluster of bougainvillea-clad cottages, each with their own kitchen and living room. At the heart of the complex is a magnificent 18m infinity pool with an adjacent pool house with shower and barbecue area.
Pizzo dell'Ovo is located nearby the Nebrodi mountains with impressive panoramic views of the Tyrrhenian coast and the splendid Aeolian Islands (UNESCO). Boat trips and SCUBA diving to the Aeolian islands are available with daily departures from Milazzo port.
Shops and restaurants can be found either in the closest town of Patti or the nearby resort of Oliveri. The sea is a few minutes by car, guests can choose between the sandy beach and lakes of Marinello, a protected natural oasis.
Nearby (10 minutes' drive) we suggest to our guests to pay a visit to the archaeological site of Tindarys and the popular Sanctuary. The villa is very well connected via motorway to the most popular places of interest of northern Sicily. To the west guests can easily reach the renowned fishing village of Cefalù, to the east Messina, Taormina Sicily's best-known and charming resort, and the Etna Volcano.
Pool heating euro 50/day to pay locally.
Local city tax Euro 1,50 per person/night.
We stayed at Pizzo dell'Ovo with our two teenager girls and our 6-year old boy and had an amazing holiday. The cottages were charming and the swimming pool was so relaxing that there were days when we never left the property! We took a boat trip over to Stromboli to see the active volcano spurt out lava, which was a real highlight, as were the catacombs in Palermo. The hosts, Cristosomo and Paula, live just down the road and were available for any queries. I can thoroughly recommend these cottages for a family vacation.
We had the most lovely stay during Easter week at this absolutely charming villa, with the very friendly hostess Crisostomo and Paula. We were a party of 6 adults where of one with limited capabilities to walk, and 7 kids (12-20) and everybody was happy! The pool area is fantastic. It is one of those few instances where you have high expectations, but they are actually exceed. And all of this inspite of rain and 10 degrees for 4 days. Thank you Crisostomo and Paula.


text:
'Legacy of Violence' documents the dark side of the British Empire
Fresh Air | By Arun Venugopal
Published July 11, 2022 at 1:33 PM EDT
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week that he would be resigning. In 2002, in an article in The Spectator about how he thinks people wrongly blame British colonialism for Africa's problems, he wrote, (reading) the continent may be a blot, but it is not a blot upon our conscience. The problem is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge anymore.
Our guest, historian Caroline Elkins, documents the dark side of the British Empire in her new book, "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire." That empire became the largest empire in history and by 1920 included 24% of the Earth's landmass. Elkin spoke with guest interviewer Arun Venugopal, who's a senior reporter in the Race and Justice Unit at public radio station WNYC in New York. They spoke before Johnson's resignation announcement. Here's Arun with more.
ARUN VENUGOPAL, BYLINE: This year marks the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, her 70th year as the Queen of England. It's the first time any British monarch has celebrated a Platinum Jubilee. When Queen Elizabeth II took the throne in 1952, the British Empire encompassed parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific and included 700 million people. In her new book, our guest, Caroline Elkins, looks at how the use of violence was central to the spread and maintenance of the British Empire, even as it portrayed itself, self-servingly, as a benevolent force. The book is called "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire," and it explores how colonial officials from India to Malaya to South Africa hid evidence of their violent practices while building the largest empire in human history.
In the 1990s, Caroline Elkins began to write her dissertation about Britain's civilizing mission during the last years of colonial rule in Kenya, but then she discovered British officials had created a vast network of secret detention camps that housed as many as 1 1/2 million members of Kenya's Kikuyu community. In those camps, officials practiced unimaginably sadistic forms of torture upon Kikuyu men and women, along with sexual violence. Her revelations were published in her first book, "Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story Of Britain's Gulag In Kenya," for which she won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006. Caroline Elkins is professor of history and African and African American Studies at Harvard University and the founding director of Harvard's Center for African Studies. And she joins us now.
Caroline Elkins, welcome to FRESH AIR.
CAROLINE ELKINS: Thank you so much for having me, Arun.
VENUGOPAL: Much of your book deals with the idea of liberal imperialism. What does that mean?
ELKINS: Yeah, liberal imperialism is Britain's civilizing mission, right? It's white man's burden - this idea that it was going to bring democracy and rule of law and free market to, you know, 700 million subjects across a quarter of the world's landmass. And, you know, all empires are violent, but it takes a particular form in the British Empire because coercion isn't just about establishing and maintaining authority over subject populations; it's actually part of reform, this idea that you have to have local populations feel suffering, to feel pain, to experience forced labor, that these, in fact, bring about a kind of developmentalism, a kind of movement into, if you will, adulthood and eventually into independence.
As Britain begins to expand its empire overseas and confronts distant places with so-called backward people with these strange religions and dependent relationships, the question becomes, can these people with different skin colors become like us? And skin color becomes the mark of difference.
VENUGOPAL: Let's talk about the moral effect that you referred to earlier. A leading British military theorist you quote, Colonel Charles Callwell, said, "the enemy must be made to feel a moral superiority throughout" (ph). You say his approach was embraced across the empire, that it helped fuse battlefield strategies with the white man's burden. But what does it mean in practice?
ELKINS: You know, in practice it means untold suffering, Arun. It means that gloves are off and that any kind of sort of coercive tactic, whether it be the use of detention camps, whether it's torture, whether it's scorched earth policy, the level of violence is extraordinary. And what it means for somebody like Callwell is that you can explain the violence by the fact that it has a moral quality to it. It has a moral, if you will, redemptive effect. Battlefields, soldiers, colonial administrators, missionaries, they - many of them believed in the sort of - you know, the nature of coercion and the ways in which it was part and parcel of this civilizing mission.
VENUGOPAL: British legal experts, you write, wrestled with distinctions between civilized and uncivilized. Some went so far as to create categories of civilized, barbarian and savage. These categories, I guess, relied on all the Western anthropologists and other academics who are crisscrossing the empire, measuring skull sizes and whatnot of Natives and deciding how civilized a tribe was. Scholarship was quite critical to the imperial project, wasn't it?
ELKINS: Yeah, it absolutely was. And I think that the nature by which, if you will, academics - people who are, as you're saying, scholars at the time - were complicit in the colonial project, lending credence, lending sort of scholarly heft. And it's also important to bear in mind that this is an era in the 19th century of the upswing of scientific racism. And what becomes the marker of difference is skin color. Whites are at one end and the Brits at the top of that of that sort of - you know, top of the pile. On the far end of the other spectrum are Blacks from Africa, with all other shades in between. And, of course, you know, the Brits and others are capable of racializing subjects such that Afrikaners in South Africa and the Irish also become racialized such that they are seen as being, you know, sort of a lesser breed, if you will, than Anglo Saxons in Britain.
VENUGOPAL: One economist, Utsa Patnaik, who received her doctorate from Oxford, estimated that over the course of 200 years, the British siphoned off an amount of around $45 trillion from India. How did they do this?
ELKINS: You know, look; it's a rather extraordinary arc, right? When we think about the nature of the East India Company is set up back in the early 17th century and endures all the way into - you know, becomes the Raj in 1857 and endures until 1947. So you have a very long period of time. And there's all sorts of ways in which this takes place, and some of which is by establishing taxation policies, squeezing local peasants. We see the - frankly, the - you know, some of the diamonds that are sitting in the - that are part of the monarchy's crown jewels, as you well know, are being demanded, you know, to have them returned. And these are - we're talking massive sums of money.
And then, of course, you know, the East India Company and then eventually the Raj is a huge, you know, enormous cash cow for the British Empire in a whole range of ways, whether it's from exports, whether - certainly, during the Second World War, many would argue that the contribution to the war effort in the Second World War by India really tipped the scales for Britain, holding back, you know, the Japanese coming into the region and, again, costing dearly. And in fact, Britain becomes a borrower from India during wartime. And so it is of no surprise to me that we see that kind of number. And the question, of course, that it raises is, you know, what accounting has to take place in the here and now for that? And arguments are made from other parts of the empire in a similar fashion.
VENUGOPAL: It's not unusual even these days to hear about, I guess, the benefits of empire upon a place like India - oh, you know, we gave them the railroads, the gift of English - when, in fact, the British - or, rather, the Indian economy was something like 25%, I think, of the world's GDP in the 18th century and then about 3% when the Brits left. It's enormous disconnect from the reality of what happened, right?
ELKINS: Absolutely. And, you know, we can take that and once - and, you know, Britain, you know, quote-unquote, "loses" India in '47, Malaya steps in and becomes the cash cow in the post-war period. And, you know, I just think that the - you know, the degree to which we, you know, understand this period of time and the degree to which these colonies are extremely important, you know, to, as I said, both the material and the social and nationalistic views of empire. And - but, you know, I think we also have to step back for a moment. If we think about empire as a balance sheet - right? - we add it up on both sides like a ledger, all the good, all the bad, at the end of the day, the conversation doesn't get us very far, in my view. And I think where we need to sort of move ourselves in the direction of is to accept, to be frank, as historical fact that this was a course of empire, that it drained enormous resources. And I think this question about liberal imperialism, the nature of reform and coercion, it makes it very hard to have arguments about violence and exploitation stick if we don't see that we have both coercion and reform as two sides of the same coin. And that's really what I think I'm trying to get at in what is a rather lengthy but troubling story that unfolds over about 800 pages or so.
VENUGOPAL: Our guest is Caroline Elkins. Her new book is called "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire." We'll be back after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF GERALD CLAYTON'S "ENVISIONINGS")
VENUGOPAL: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Arun Venugopal, back with Caroline Elkins. Her new book is called "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire."
The U.S. essentially becomes the dominant world power in the 20th century. Did it also practice similar sort of, I guess, a paradox of, you know, upholding freedoms, certain liberties, while at the same time, you know, maintaining in the same way the British Empire had a coercive tactic against nonwhite populations?
ELKINS: Sure. I mean, we can certainly see this. We can take it in turn - right? - both internationally and domestically. Internationally with our counterinsurgency policies, we quite literally took the book from Britain. So Robert Thompson was sent over from Malaya to advise the Johnson-Kennedy-Nixon administrations in Vietnam. Strategic Hamlet is taken directly from the villagization policies with all of the kinds of terror and dislocation and suffering that come along with it. And we can go all the way to - all the way down to the present day to Iraq and Afghanistan, right? When we think about the ways in which the Petraeus report looks to Britain, looks to Britain and say they got counterinsurgency right in places like Malaya, what I'm saying is it depends on what you mean by right. But certainly these are incredibly, incredibly coercive systems. So this notion of hearts and minds campaigns that the United States ostensibly brings to the rest of the world today - we call it freedom and democracy, whatever the case may be - comes directly from Britain.
And then, of course, domestically, when we also think about the ways in which we deal with so-called, quote-unquote, "subject populations" in the United States, those who are not some of the original sort of, if you will - if you're an originalist with our Constitution, thinking about those who sort of wrote that and were benefiting from it back at the founding of our own nation. And we certainly see the similar kinds of ways in which exclusion and inclusion happens under the banner of liberalism, and they're able to get away with it. And we see that happening all the way down to the present day.
VENUGOPAL: Something that seems to go completely unremarked upon is that the U.S. went from fighting for its freedom from Britain and fought it again in the war of 1812 and yet eventually these two countries become extremely close allies. We refer to the special relationship between the U.S. and Britain. What's special about this relationship?
ELKINS: Let's start our story, for now, sort of around the time of World War II and obviously, you know, legendary relationship between Churchill and FDR. And FDR always sort of looked a little askance at Churchill, you know, thought he was a Tory - a real Tory of the old sort.
VENUGOPAL: What does that - what does that mean?
ELKINS: Well, that means, you know, really in many ways sort of believing in sort of the hierarchical nature of rule, of the exceptionalism of Britain, of the ways in which, you know, white population should be dominating throughout the world. And FDR, we so often, you know, associate him with the four freedoms and the like. And he was dogmatic about wanting to dismantle the British Empire after the Second World War. Now, what we see is that Second World War comes to a close, and the opposite happens. And in part, this happens because the United States needs Britain in the emerging Cold War. And so eventually, we see the United States not only allowing Britain, turning a blind eye to what's going on, but actually co-opting them and having them assist the United States for - British Guiana would be a great example where, you know, Britain is basically doing the dirty work for the Americans. And we see this playing out over time.
And we can then fast-forward it all the way up to, you know, New Labour under Tony Blair and George W. Bush and folks scratching their head about how could - you know, how could these two be such bedfellows? And it's no surprise whatsoever. And literally the language that Tony Blair uses at the time is that we're - or his government does - is that we were executing a, quote-unquote, "new liberal imperialism". And they are joined at the hip with the United States. And so the special relationship is such that it - and make no mistake. It's uneasy at times. Certainly, there are times when the United States is really pushing hard to dismantle the sterling area, to really - to insert itself as sort of the dominant economic force in the world. But this special relationship continues, and much of it - some of it at least - rests on these shared notions of racial hierarchy, on these shared notions of global dominance and certainly of maintaining a stronghold against the rising Cold War in the Soviet Union.
VENUGOPAL: In recent years, the debate over Western history and colonial sins has broken out of academic circles, and it's pretty much gone mainstream. I'd like to play a clip. It's a little raucous, but it's from the TV show "Good Morning Britain," and it primarily features a Black historian, Kehinde Andrews, engaging in a back and forth with Piers Morgan and other hosts - all of whom, I should add, are white. Let's hear that.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "GOOD MORNING BRITAIN")
KEHINDE ANDREWS: The reality is that the history of this country is built on racism. And therefore, everybody involved in it, it probably has a really racist past.
JAMES WHALE: What makes you think that's a problem we have?
ANDREWS: And it is a problem - I admit this is a problem for you.
WHALE: Look, look...
ANDREWS: I admit it. I said it.
PIERS MORGAN: You know what? My problem...
ANDREWS: (Laughter) But it's the truth (inaudible).
MORGAN: My problem - I'll be honest with you. Kehinde, you're a smart guy. My problem is with...
WHALE: He's a professor.
MORGAN: ...Smart people like you basically saying this country was built on racism...
ANDREWS: It was.
MORGAN: ...Is full of racism, and remains racist, right?
SUSANNA REID: Do you mean because it is built on colonialism?
MORGAN: Right, I know. I have a problem...
ANDREWS: Yeah, that's a really good argument, yeah.
MORGAN: I have a problem with that position. I think it's a load of old baloney when you say that.
ANDREWS: What?
MORGAN: I think it's a great country, right?
ANDREWS: You have to - I know. And you have to say that (ph).
MORGAN: A great country with great people.
ANDREWS: I understand why you're saying it.
MORGAN: But I'm not going to be...
WHALE: (Inaudible) this country?
ANDREWS: (Inaudible).
WHALE: Aren't you?
MORGAN: I'm not going to be told to feel ashamed of my country just 'cause you say we're a bunch of racists.
WHALE: Hang on, Piers. Just a minute, Piers, just a minute. Otherwise, I don't get to say anything (ph), Piers. Just calm down, all right? Why don't you like living in this country?
ANDREWS: Why don't I like living in this country?
WHALE: Yeah, because I think you're not...
MORGAN: Why do you live in this country?
WHALE: Piers, Piers.
ANDREWS: You know what? The unfortunate truth...
WHALE: What?
ANDREWS: ...Is that my parents - my family were taken in slavery to the Caribbean.
WHALE: Yeah.
ANDREWS: And they had to migrate here 'cause they were so poor in the Caribbean.
WHALE: But one of my best...
ANDREWS: Not my choice. Nobody's believing (ph) me.
MORGAN: But why do you still live here when you've been a successful man?
ANDREWS: Because...
MORGAN: You've got enough money to live somewhere else.
ANDREWS: Yeah, because...
MORGAN: Why do you live in this country you loathe?
ANDREWS: Because. And this is the problem with Churchill. Like, this colonialism...
ANDREWS: ...Imperialism has ruined the other parts of the world, or I'd go and leave.
MORGAN: But that's not my question.
ANDREWS: Ruined them.
MORGAN: My question is, if you're going to hate...
MORGAN: Do you hate everything this country stands for?
ANDREWS: I don't hate this country. But I do...
MORGAN: But you said that you believe we're a racist country...
ANDREWS: Yes.
MORGAN: ...Built on racism...
MORGAN: ...And remain racist.
ANDREWS: Yes. Hundred percent.
MORGAN: Why would you...
REID: And our heroes are racists.
ANDREWS: Yes, that's a good summary.
MORGAN: So why would you, a Black man who has the means to leave the country - why would you stay here?
VENUGOPAL: "Good Morning Britain" for you.
ELKINS: Defensive much (laughter)?
VENUGOPAL: Not at all. I mean, what struck me first thing was that they - on a morning show like this - I guess it's similar to "Good Morning America" - here, the hosts use a Black historian's criticism of imperialism as an excuse, basically, to ask him, why doesn't he just go somewhere else?
ELKINS: Well, that in and of itself should tell you something, right? And I think - look. I think all joking aside, it's a perfect clip. And even that statement, why don't you go somewhere else? Beginning in 1948, Britain instituted a set of policies to basically create a kind of imperial citizenship as they were beginning to lose their empire. Over the course of several decades, that does a complete turnaround - right? - 180 degrees such that immigration laws become tighter and tighter in Britain. We see a deliberate effort to, if you will, under sort of the banner of the Tory party at one point, you know, to keep Britain white.
And I raise this question in my book about this throughline - right? - and this question going back, Arun, to our conversation about developmentalism, the idea that one day, you too, brown and Black subjects, will be like us. But I raise this question of saying, for many in Britain - not all, but for many - the question remains, can these brown and Black subjects or former subjects really be British? And you just heard the answer to that, which is no, right? If you don't like it here, go somewhere else. And I think in that sense, it's a real, if you will, colonial reckoning. It's a kind of reckoning that we see in Britain. It's a kind of reckoning - and is similar to drawing the parallels that we see happening in the United States.
In this developmentalist model, are - you know, can these populations be like us? And, of course, developmentalism is always built around this principle of, they'll be like us one day, but not yet. Just not yet. And you know what, Arun? Not yet never comes. And recently, there was a Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report, 2021. And, you know, look. It's - it found in the report that, quote, unquote, "there's no systematic or institutional racism." He went on - the report goes on to describe empire and the rest.
And it talks about how, you know, there's - and it says that there's a new story about the Caribbean experiences that speaks to the slave period of not only being about profit and suffering but how, culturally, African people transformed themselves and remodeled themselves as African to Britain. And, I mean, think about what that report says. It's saying that slavery was kind of a good thing because it made them British. And this is happening in 2021.
VENUGOPAL: When did Britain become first involved in colonizing Kenya?
ELKINS: Yeah, I mean, Britain became involved in colonizing East Africa at the end of the 19th century, and it's really in the 20th century that it establishes - moves from the East Africa Protectorate and establishes Kenya as being sort of a standalone colony. And Kenya became the quintessential settler colony. Settlers were brought in. It was on their sort of backs and sort of their privilege that large plantations were established for the growth of tea and coffee. And land was taken from local Africans in order to do that. What became very famous was the White Highlands. And the White Highlands were some of the very best land in Kenya, which, of course, became exclusively white. None of the local population could own or cultivate this land outside of of the plantations owned by European settlers.
And, of course, Britain remains in Kenya from that period of time all the way until 1963, when it gains its independence after what was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the British Empire, the Mau Mau Emergency. It's during that period of time that Britain detained nearly the entire Kikuyu population of nearly 1.5 million in order to suppress this uprising that was demanding (non-English language spoken), or land and freedom. And it was during this period of time, of course, that we see some of the most horrific, systematized violence unfold, as I said, in the history of the British Empire.
GROSS: We're listening to the interview our guest interviewer, Arun Venugopal, recorded with Caroline Elkins, author of the new book "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire." We'll hear more of the interview after a break. And TV critic David Bianculli will review tonight's return of "Better Call Saul," which has just a few episodes before the series finale. I'm Terry Gross. And this is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF RANDY WESTON'S "GANAWA IN PARIS (INSTRUMENTAL)")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I am Terry Gross. Let's get back to the interview our guest interviewer Arun Venugopal recorded with Caroline Elkins. She's a professor of history and of African and African American studies at Harvard University and the founding director of Harvard's Center for African Studies. Her new book, "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire," is about how violence was central to how the British expanded their empire and maintained control over it. It was the largest empire in human history.
VENUGOPAL: When you were a graduate student setting out on your dissertation project back in the 1990s, you thought you'd be writing about the success of Britain's so-called civilizing mission during the last years of colonial rule in Kenya. It sounds like you once held the British Empire in fairly high regard. Did you?
ELKINS: You know, certainly, the - you know, I guess we're all young and naive at one point. Right, Arun?
ELKINS: And, you know, but I think it gets back to - and certainly, I wasn't so naive as to not - to think that there weren't one-offs, that there wasn't violence in empire. And that's how Kenya had always been written about, right? When there were violent episodes, you explained it as an aberration, as a one-off, as a bad apple of a colonial officer. And what I came to find at the end of my research was that, no, this - not only, in fact, was that not the case, but it was completely systemic. It was part and parcel of the structures of colonial rule, the ways in which coercion was infused within the civilizing mission that these played out with dramatic and just consequential effects in Kenya.
And that was a - you know, that was a sort of an eye-opener for me, obviously. It was about 10 years of doing research. And then the question became, which was raised with me, of - you know, is Kenya an exception? And that's how it was explained. And, (laughter) you know, I don't want to get off topic, but I debated Nigel Farage around this. And Nigel Farage is - as you know, is a leader of the UKIP (ph) Party...
VENUGOPAL: I've seen the clip (laughter).
ELKINS: ...And very far right.
VENUGOPAL: Yeah.
ELKINS: And he just went on and on about how Kenya was the exception - so sorry, hands up, we did terrible things. Let's move on. And so I spent, you know, about 15 years doing research, creating and writing "Legacy Of Violence," to really answer that question - was Kenya an aberration? And the answer to that is no.
VENUGOPAL: For your first book, "Imperial Reckoning," you didn't just wade through these old, dusty historical archives. You actually got to know members of the Kikuyu community. You had meals with them decades after they'd been imprisoned by the British, tortured by them as well. You also spent time at country clubs and in the suburbs of Nairobi with white settlers and missionaries and former colonial officials who would openly discuss, I guess, what happened in the detention camps with you as you wrote over tea or a gin and tonic served by African houseboys or waiters. What did they tell you?
ELKINS: It was extraordinary. You know, I think that - at that time, I was doing research in the 1990s. And the normative framework was still very, if you will, white colonial. And I would sit, as you said, and have their African waiters in white gloves sort of serve me a gin and tonic as the sun was setting. And they would talk about horrific forms of violence.
When I say torture that was just stomach-turning - extraordinary, like it was yesterday's weather. There was no sense that - from these individuals recounting these stories to me - in this thing in particular, some former colonial officials - that they'd done anything wrong, that this was part of what they were supposed to be doing in this so-called civilizing mission, and that when they were all finished, it was declared a triumph.
Many of these same colonial officers received OBEs, orders of the British Empire, from the queen. Some - you know, not in Kenya, but elsewhere - were knighted. And so the sense of confirming, creating a sort of historical fact out of political fiction maintained itself whether it was in Kenya or, you know, back in London.
VENUGOPAL: Your findings served as the basis for an unprecedented legal claim filed by five Mau Mau detention camp survivors against the British government. You also served as an expert witness in the legal proceedings. And in 2013, the British government announced a settlement with the Mau Mau claimants, offered an official apology expressing sincere regret, provided a 20 million-pound financial payout for several thousand survivors, helped establish a monument in Nairobi dedicated to all those who were tortured during the uprising.
I was struck though by the fact that some of the Kenyans who traveled to London for the court proceedings against the British government, they really wanted to meet the queen, Queen Elizabeth, and they seemed to be fans. What do you make of that?
ELKINS: It's a great question. And I was so - I was there with them in London during the context of - the trial happened at a few different moments in time. And they desperately wanted to have an audience with the queen. And when they were given an opportunity to visit around London and the rest, they wanted - the first place they wanted to go and see is Buckingham Palace.
Now, recall - her portrait hung in every detention camp in Kenya. They were forced to sing "God Save The Queen." And I think it gets to sort of - some of the very - the real complexities about the impact of colonialism and British imperial rule, which is the internalization of British power structures - the reverence for the monarchy and the sense in these claimants' case that they were coming to London to seek justice from Her Majesty.
Now, obviously, it's Her Majesty's government who they are suing. But really, for some of them in their minds, it was to the queen herself who was going to be the arbiter of justice. Yes, there were terrible things that were done. And at the same time, Her Majesty is still who we look to as our symbolic head of state.
VENUGOPAL: Do you yourself watch these costume dramas like "The Crown" or "Bridgerton"?
ELKINS: Oh, all the time. I can't get enough of them.
ELKINS: I'm a Netflix junkie (laughter).
VENUGOPAL: How do you explain their appeal - I mean, the enduring appeal of British royalty and the monarch? I mean - and that, too, across the world, really.
ELKINS: Make no mistake, there is not a single thing that came about with empire, monarchy and nation and the role of monarchy and projecting it that was not carefully choreographed, stylized, projected. The monarchy's power flows from two main sources - the Church of England and the empire. And so I think in that sense, this sense of an establishment, if you will, an institution that is greater and higher than all of us, and the degree to which we as viewers internalize this, the degree to which, you know, the claimants in that Mau Mau high court case that you referenced internalized it - and I think in that sense, I think we're at a crossroads when we think about sort of ultimately the queen passing in future years and what happens to the monarchy behind that.
But make no mistake, the monarchy has been exceptional in reinventing and inventing itself and maintaining its hold on these two sources of sort of the two wellsprings of power. So when you watch, you know, "The Crown" - loved it, watched it. I watched "Queen Victoria" (ph). I watch all of it. I'm actually looking for how these things are choreographed and how we understand and how the monarchy is projected. And it's - you have to respect it for being an incredible operation in maintaining its alure, maintaining its mystique and most importantly, of maintaining its sense of symbolic power.
VENUGOPAL: As someone who studies empires - I know you focus on the British Empire, but where would you place the U.S.? Where are we in our arc?
ELKINS: Well, you know, I think, as somebody who sees empires, the story is not good. We are certainly - I would see us in decline and rapidly declining, you know? Obviously, we've got one of the largest - you know, the largest economy in the world. And yet, at the same time, there are certain markers that we can look for, Arun. If we look at the nature of, for example, the educational level and health of our workforce, you know, do we have skilled and healthy labor? If you look at the nature by which our literacy rates, our math literacy rates, you know, if you look at all these kinds of benchmarks, we are so far behind. We're behind countries in the Global South.
When we think about sort of the move towards sort of socioeconomic rights, what we know - and this kind of sort of brings us in the realm of business, you know? Colleagues of mine at the - at Harvard Business School, Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin, write about, you know, how do countries stay competitive? Well, they stay competitive through growth and shared prosperity. And if you look at the nature in which we are missing the ladder dramatically in the United States, it begs the question of, where are we as an empire? We're certainly an informal empire. We had been for many years. You'd be hard-pressed not to see us in decline. You'd also be hard-pressed not to see us as tacking behind, if you will, certain Global South countries on certain benchmarks.
VENUGOPAL: Caroline Elkins, thanks so much for being here with us today.
ELKINS: Thank you so much, Arun.
GROSS: Caroline Elkins is the author of "Legacy Of Violence: A History Of The British Empire." She spoke with our guest interviewer, Arun Venugopal. Arun is a senior reporter for the WNYC Race and Justice Unit. After we take a short break, David Bianculli will review the return of "Better Call Saul." The final handful of episodes begins airing tonight. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF DON BYRON SONG, "SHAKE 'EM UP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Legend tells that when the Muiscas, the native culture of what is today Bogotá, Colombia, had to crown a new cacique, or chief, they congregated at the nearby Guatavita lagoon. Their candidate was then covered in gold dust, and he and the tribe's shamans would sail to the center of the lagoon in a raft loaded with offerings of gold, emeralds and other precious objects. As the shamans offered the precious objects to the god of the lagoon, the would-be cacique would jump into the icy waters. If he emerged unharmed, he became their new leader.
This legend, which later came to be known as the myth of El Dorado, lured many greedy Spaniards to Muisca territory with the promise of incredible wealth, but aside from some pieces of gold and jewelry found at Guatavita lagoon, no one has ever found the mythical place. But in 1939, to honor the memory of the Muisca and to preserve the Colombian archeological heritage, the Colombian government created its own Dorado: El Museo del Oro (the Gold Museum), a permanent collection of more than 35,000 ornaments, tools and art pieces made of gold by all the native prehispanic cultures of Colombia.
One of the most famous pieces of the exhibit is a representation of the legend of El Dorado. It is a raft with figures that represent the cacique and his priests made in solid gold. The level of detail of this piece and its historic significance have made it the image of the museum among Colombians. There are other fascinating pieces, such as the Poporo Quimbaya, a golden urn decorated with perfectly round spheres, an especially hard achievement since these cultures didn't know the metallurgical techniques used in Europe at the time.
The museum, located in downtown Bogotá, has three floors; the first floor houses temporary exhibitions. The second floor displays the main collection: a voyage through the history and customs of the tribes that lived in the center, south and north of Colombia organized according to the type of metallurgical process they used.
Along the way, visitors will also hear the legends, myths and stories that are associated with some of the pieces. Other pieces were made during the Spanish conquest and tell the story of the native resistance and defeat at the hands of the Spanish invaders.
The third floor contains a history of gold and its significance to the prehispanic cultures, along with an exhibit of pieces from cultures originally from the Colombian southwest. By 2007 the museum hopes to open two new exhibits about the cosmology and the technology of prehispanic societies.
The museum has its own stop on the Transmilenio, Bogotá's mass transportation system. To visit, get off the Avenida Jimenez line at the station Museo del Oro and walk two blocks to the museum.
Address: Carrera 6, 15-88, Parque Santander
Tel: 5-71-343-2222 Fax: 5-71-284-7450
URL: www.banrep.gov.co/museo/esp/home.htm
HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, holidays 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed Monday (including public holidays).
ADMISSION: Adults $1.70; children, indigenous and adults over 60 years old free. Free admission for all on Sunday.
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