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Four decades of guitars from Czechoslovakia.
When I wrote my original article about Eastern European guitars [Guitars of the Cold War, Vintage Guitar Magazine, January 2002], I was still in the process of researching the roots of these instruments. In the first two installments, I had focused on Russia almost exclusively, though I did mention Jolana guitars briefly. Since then, a lot of new information has come to light, enough to dedicate this third installment of "Guitars Of The Cold War" exclusively to guitars built in Czechoslovakia. This is their story.
The Czech Republic has a rich musical instrument building heritage. The Bohemia region is renowned for string instrument manufacture. Some of the world's best violins and cellos come from this part of the world. Petrof pianos have been built in Hradec Kralove since 1864, Hofmann & Czerny in Jihlava since 1871. Amati of Kraslice has been in the instrument-manufacturing business for over 180 years. The company is one of the world's largest brass and woodwind manufacturers and is known especially for the quality of their saxophones. There were over fifty different companies producing musical instruments in Czechoslovakia before World War II.
Czechoslovakia's biggest contribution to American guitar building was of course made by John Dopyera. Dopyera and his family emigrated from Slovakia in 1908 and settled in Los Angeles. In a quest for increased volume during the pre-electric era, Dopyera invented the resophonic (resonator) guitar. In 1928, Dopyera and his brothers formed a company to produce these guitars. The company was called DOBRO for DOpyera BROthers, but the word also means "good" in the Slovak language. Dobro was eventually purchased by National, which in turn became part of the Valco company, which went bust in 1968, but that's a separate story. The Dobro brand is currently owned by Gibson and the Dobro resonator guitar is an American classic. This tradition is alive in the Czech Republic today as well. The Amistar guitar company has been producing fine resophonic guitars in Prague since 1992.
After the war, Czechoslovakia was re-established as a communist state. In 1948 all private companies started to become nationalized. The last independent firms were forcibly nationalized by the early 1950's. Once the collectivization was complete, centralized control was forced on everything and any private venture was strictly forbidden. No until the Velvet Revolution in 1989 were there any new opportunities for private enterprise. All guitar production was likewise centralized. The Ministry of Industry of the Czechoslovak Republic established one big national company called CSHN (Ceskoslovenske Hudebni Nastroje, meaning Czechoslovak Musical Instruments) and set a production plan: so many acoustic guitars from this factory, so many electric guitars from that factory, and so on.
As we will see, Jolana wasn't the only Czech guitar brand. There were others, including Resonet, Neoton, Lignatone and others. But these were all just different brands, produced by various factories in different cities. Technically, there was no such thing as the Jolana or Resonet guitar companies. The names were only labels used on certain guitars by one big mother company, regardless of where they were actually built. Under this centralization, the identities of the original companies became blurred into one faceless mass, and the lack of surviving records only adds to the confusion. That is why some Jolana guitars are marked "Krnov" and others "Horovice", for example, and that is why it is so difficult to reconstruct the history timeline today.
The Selmer Futurama guitar, a.k.a. the Grazioso (original ad from Melody Maker magazine c. 1958).
Resonet
We do know exactly how the first Czech electric guitar came about. The year was 1953, the city was Blatna, and the company was the Drevokov Cooperative. "Drevokov" means something like "Woodcraft" ("drevo" is "wood" in Czech) and the Drevokov Cooperative was a nationalized furniture company which specialized in producing wall paneling and other wood products. That year, the company got a new manager, a certain Josef Ruzicka. It was Ruzicka's decision to experiment with electric guitars, and by 1954 Ruzicka and the designer Vlcek produced the company's first electric instrument. This was a Hawaiian-style lap steel guitar which had a slotted head with classical-style guitar tuners, and it was the first guitar to bear the Resonet brand. This model was called the Resonet Akord, and with it the manufacture of electric guitars in Czechoslovakia takes its start.
Resonet was a name that Drevokov subsequently used on all their guitars. There was no such thing as the Resonet company, it was just a label. As it says on a 1957 warranty card, "Resonet: the mark of the first Czechoslovak electrophonic instruments". Since the name refers to electronics and electric sound, it is usually found on pickups and pickguard assemblies, not on an instrument's headstock. Unlike the typical American conventions, which favor a strong brand identity, it was in fact a common feature then to have a guitar's model name on the headstock, while the company brand was marked elsewhere, if at all. This makes sense if you consider that only one big national company was responsible for the guitars' production, and the identity of the individual factories wasn't considered to be as important. Soviet guitars were produced under a similar system and had similar labeling.
The Resonet Akord lap steels proved to be very popular, and the following year Drevokov decided to build a solidbody Spanish style instrument, a regular electric guitar. The prototype for this project was a brand new 1955 Fender Stratocaster, specially brought in from the USA. However, the Czechs did not merely copy the American instrument, as they would later do. The Fender guitar was carefully examined and completely redesigned. The Strat's shortcomings were actually improved upon in several respects, in particular the controls and the vibrato tailpiece. The new Resonet guitar had futuristic on/off pushbuttons for each pickup, which allowed every possible pickup combination. This was miles ahead of the Stratocaster, which in 1955 had just a basic 3-way switch. There was a single master tone control that worked on each pickup, while the Strat does not have a tone for the bridge pickup. The vibrato system was totally re-engineered and was actually more advanced than the Fender unit, probably the most precise vibrato design on the market at the time. It pivoted on two posts, as a Floyd Rose would later do, and had a separate, fully adjustable spring for each of the six strings. The pickups had individually adjustable pole pieces, which the Fender also did not have.
Other differences included a 3+3 headstock with straight string pull and a more compact, squared-off body. Similarities taken straight from Fender included a recessed metal jack cup and the two-tone sunburst finish. Solid colors such as black and red were also available, though the vast majority of guitars produced were sunburst. The necks were made from natural finished beech, without a separate fretboard. The bodies were also beech, though sometimes maple was also used. This new model was called the Grazioso, meaning "graceful", and it was a smashing success. At the 1958 Expo, the model won a gold medal. The Czech electric guitar had arrived!
In late 1957, Drevokov signed an agreement with the Selmer company to export the Resonet Grazioso guitars to Great Britain. At the time, most British firms imported guitars from the Continent. Boosey & Hawkes had Egmond guitars, marketed under the Rosetti brand. Rose Morris had Levin and Goya from Sweden. John Dallas & Sons had Framus. Selmer itself had Hofner, but the Resonet guitars were needed as a second line. Selmer renamed the Resonet Grazioso guitar the Futurama and marketed it as "the world's most advanced electric guitar". For once, the marketing hype was true. While the overall construction quality was perhaps no match for Fender, the actual design was in fact very advanced for its day. It was certainly a very modern instrument, compared to anything available in Britain at the time. The new Futurama guitar sold for 55 guineas, including a felt-lined shoulder strap. A case cost 6 guineas extra. This made the Futurama an expensive, high end instrument at the time when a Hofner Club 40 could be had for 32 guineas and a Rosetti Solid Seven for a mere 18 guineas. Subsequent Futurama models were marketed as a lower end line by Selmer, especially towards the late 1960's, but this first Futurama was definitely upscale.
It is often forgotten that Britain had an embargo on American goods at the time, which was not lifted until 1959. Therefore, it was impossible to buy a Fender guitar in Britain, and the Futurama was the closest thing to a Stratocaster that could be bought. With it, Selmer had the next best thing. Many influential guitarists owned one, including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, and the young Jimmy Page. But the most famous Futurama owner was, of course, George Harrison. George used his Futurama extensively during the Beatles' early career. It was his main instrument during the group's sojourn in Hamburg and can be heard on "My Bonnie" and other early Beatles recordings.
Of course, once the embargo was lifted and American instruments became available, most British rock stars immediately forgot about their Futuramas. Hank Marvin of the Shadows was soon seen with a special-ordered red Fender Stratocaster, possibly the first one in Britain, and after that everybody had to have one. Suddenly, the Futurama wasn't so futuristic anymore. As the quest for increased stage volume started to gather momentum in the mid 1960's, the Grazioso/Futurama would no longer cut it. The guitar's pickups were not very powerful, measuring only about 3.3K. According to Grazioso collector and historian Dusan Palka, this was actually done on purpose at the factory. In those days before Marshall stacks, most people sought a clean sound without distortion and guitar amps were of much lower wattage. People would often plug their guitars into phono inputs of small tube amps made for hi-fi equipment. Especially in communist Czechoslovakia, where there really weren't any guitar amps on the market, anyway, when this first electric guitar model came out. One must remember to keep these things in their proper historical perspective. It would be unfair to demand modern performance from a vintage instrument, from another time.
Other innovative Resonet models included the improved and much fancier Art Deco style Arioso lap steel and the Arco upright electric bass. The Arioso, introduced in 1955, had an interesting pickup with two reverse wound coils… yes, the Czechs had independently invented the humbucker and did not even notice! For some strange reason, this innovative pickup was never developed further and was never again used on other Resonet guitars.
The Arco solidbody upright bass was another futuristic instrument, many years ahead of Ampeg (which would not introduce the famous "baby bass" until 1962) and other similar electric uprights. It had a distinctive angular shape, an adjustable knee rest and a volume control on the back of the instrument, for easy reach. The Arco was also imported to Britain by Selmer as the Futurama Bass, priced at 52 guineas. "Set the pace with the Futurama Bass!" - ran the original ad copy - "Unbelievable, but here's a bass you can take on a bus, a gigster's dream!"
The Selmer Futurama bass, a.k.a. the Arco (original ad from Melody Maker magazine c. 1958).
In transition
1959 marked the beginning of the end for Resonet. Drevokov got a new director, a man who did not much care for music. Ruzicka and his team moved to a new factory in Hradec Kralove. By 1960, the main guitar production gradually shifted to Hradec Kralove and eventually also to Krnov and Horovice factories, all three now under CSHN. It is possible to find guitars from this transition period that don't quite match the specifications. The reason for this is simple: as the Hradec Kralove factory built the new models, leftover stock was still being used up at Drevokov in Blatna. The new 1959-60 models from Hradec Kralove had a rosewood fretboard and the input jack was moved from the top of the guitar to the bottom edge. The vibrato unit was also slightly different. This redesigned Grazioso was called the Futurama III in Britain. A new model was also introduced called the Star I, a much simpler 2-pickup beginner instrument with a 6-in-line headstock. It had a primitive recessed vibrato modeled after the Fender Jazzmaster unit and a wooden floating bridge with small metallic saddles under each string. These guitars were also built in Hradec Kralove and imported to Britain by Selmer as the Futurama II.
It is interesting to compare the chronology of the original Czech models and the British Futuramas, trying to keep them all straight. By 1961, the Futurama III also had a 6-in-line head, and by 1963 it had a different, smaller pickguard, different pickups with metallic inserts, and a slightly different overall shape. These later guitars were no longer direct descendants of the original Grazioso, but rather the various Star series models, very much down-market and a far cry from the first Grazioso/Futurama. Very soon it became obvious that these guitars could not compete with the latest British and continental models, not to mention the newly available Fenders, Gibsons, Gretsches and Rickenbackers imported from the USA. Quite a few of these guitars were sold due to their low price (at 25 guineas, half the cost of the original Futurama) but even as beginner instruments, these 1961-1963 Futuramas left a lot to be desired.
Another interesting instrument from this period was the Pedro six-string bass, also far ahead of its time. It is extremely rare today and remains elusive. Very few were produced, as most bassists then probably had no idea what to do with the extra strings.
Guitars continued to be built in Blatna until 1963, after which Drevokov resumed the production of furniture. A few left-over parts were assembled into guitars as late as 1964, and those were the last of their kind. Some collectors conducted an extensive search in Blatna during the late 1980's for guitars, parts and historical documents, without success. Any remaining parts had been picked clean long ago, while all the paperwork was long since moved to storage and lost among the records of some national archive. In 1964, Selmer discontinued the importation of Czech guitars into Britain, and the Futurama name was applied to an all-new line of guitars built in Sweden by Hagstrom. "The world's most advanced guitar" was history.
Early 1960's Futurama II.
Some of the earliest models built in Hradec Kralove bore the Neoton label. At least one of these was the Cutaway I, which, as the name suggests, was an archtop with a cutaway. Soon, however, a new name was introduced, one that we collectors of cheesy Eastern European vintage guitars know and love: Jolana. Jolana guitars were named after Ruzicka's daughter, Jolana Ruzicka, much like Gottlieb Daimler named his cars after his partner Emil Jellinek's daughter Mercedes. The first model to bear the new name was the Jolana Marina, an archtop electric with two pickups and controls mounted into a triangular metal pod right where a normal archtop would have a pickguard. This guitar, introduced in 1960 or 1961, was a full-depth hollowbody with a cutaway and had Gretsch-like cat's eye soundholes. The guitar came in two-tone red/black sunburst with a silver sparkle headstock overlay and had the same "Brilliant Deluxe" pickups as found on the Star I solidbody. The neck was bound and had diamond-shaped pearloid inlays. The Jolana name was a decal on the upper bout of the body. The equivalent bass version was called the Jolana Basora. From the very beginning, Jolana guitars would come in pairs. Practically every Jolana guitar model had a matching bass.
In 1997, there was an exhibit on the history of the Czech guitar in Prague at the Muzika-97 fair. The collection of Jiri Tutter - probably the largest collection of vintage Czech guitars in the world today - was on display, and the list of guitars from the Tutter collection is probably the closest thing we have to a chronological list of models. According to this list, the next few models produced in the early 1960's included the Diskant, the Basso IV and the Big Beat.
The Diskant was an archtop electric, similar to the earlier Marina but with a more conventional control and pickup layout. It was available in sunburst and cherry, and did not have the silver sparkle accents. The Basso IV was the bass equivalent of the Star I (the Futurama II). Introduced in 1960, this was the first solidbody bass made in Hradec Kralove. It was a simple instrument featuring 2 pickups, a 4-in-line headstock, and an archtop-style floating bridge. It is unclear whether this bass was ever imported by Selmer, as every Basso IV that I have seen is marked Jolana, not Futurama. The extremely rare Big Beat was an experimental model that had a built-in speaker and amplifier in a detachable pod, powered by an onboard battery. Reminiscent of the most bizarre Wandre creations, this oddity was produced very briefly in 1963.
Late 1960's Jolana Tornado.
1963 was also the year that Jolana introduced its most famous model, the Tornado. The Tornado was extremely popular in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union throughout the 1960's and 1970's. It is a large double-cutaway thinline electric with semi-hollow center block construction. It features a 6-in-line headstock with the distinctive Jolana shape, a bolt-on neck, a Melita-type bridge with a flip-up mute attached, and a Bigsby-style vibrato. The unusual construction of these guitars involves a large pickguard covering extensive routs in the body. The guitar is stuffed to the gills with electronics - three single-coil pickups, lots of oversized military-grade wiring and nine different pushbuttons, knobs and roller switches. A Tornado can produce a very wide range of sounds, though the controls are rather idiosyncratic. The overall feel of the guitar is rather clumsy, but given a chance, its little oddities grow on you.
The Tornado, like most subsequent Jolanas, has one neat little feature: the bottom strap button screws out and turns into a handy little screwdriver. Ever needed to adjust pickup height or fiddle with a loose input jack in the middle of a recording session? With a Jolana, there's no need to run around looking for tools. The original gig bag for these guitars is also very unusual. It comes in two pieces; the first piece is a sleeve that fits over the neck, and then the main second piece zippers over it. It looks just like a shopping bag a babushka would take to the market, except that it has a guitar neck sticking out of it!
Like most Jolana models, the Tornado had a matching bass, called the Pampero. Tornado was also the first Jolana model to feature a standard input jack. Prior to that, all Jolanas had a DIN-5 plug receptacle. In those days, European guitarists would need to own both types of cables when they traveled, because one never knew whether the club sound system would be configured to accept the DIN-5 or the newer quarter-inch plug.
The strap button unscrews and becomes a handy little screwdriver - an exclusive Jolana feature!
The late 60's
The late 1960's was arguably Jolana's heyday. Now operating from three different factories in three different cities - Hradec Kralove, Krnov and Horovice, all of course under CHSN - Jolana produced several popular and innovative models. Quality was reasonably high for these inexpensive guitars, and the brand built up a reputation among Eastern European guitarists second only to the Germans. In those days, with most Western guitars being both unavailable and unaffordable, Musima guitars from East Germany were considered top of the line, but Jolana ran a close second. Untold thousands of Jolana guitars were exported to the USSR and other Eastern Bloc nations and often turn up there as used guitars even today.
Besides the Tornado, there were several other thinline models. The Special and the Rubin were similar to the Tornado except for cosmetics and pickup variations. The Special was basically a Tornado with a different headstock shape and slightly different, simplified controls. It only had only one soundhole on top, a squared-off head, four control knobs (Gibson style) and a slightly smaller pickguard. From a few feet away, the two guitars were hard to tell apart. The Rubin, introduced a bit later, in the early 1970's, had replaced both the Tornado and the Special. It had a more conventional layout with two pickups in trapezoidal metallic surrounds, controls mounted in a matching metal strip, Telecaster style, plus a 3+3 headstock and a very cool pickguard made of clear Plexiglas. This model did not have the vibrato, though apparently one was either available as an option or was a popular retrofit. Like the Special, it only had one soundhole. One often finds these guitars trashed and modified, as many had been abused by hard rock groups in the 1980's, when the demand for guitars far outpaced supply and anything a young punk could find was pressed into service. But a clean early example can still be a lot of fun, especially for playing the kind of 60's pop music they were originally designed for.
The respective bass versions were the Studio, the Rubin and the Kolorbas. The Kolorbas, like the Rubin, was often available in various fun colors such as bright red and powder blue. The Kolorbas ("Color Bass") models had controls on a metal plate, like the guitar, and a 4-in-line headstock. The Rubin was an exact bass version of its namesake guitar, complete with the metal pickup surrounds and clear Plexiglas guard. It featured a 2+2 head, a slightly different tailpiece and conventionally mounted controls. The Studio bass was similar, except for different pickups and yet another, pointier 4-in-line headstock shape. In c.1972, the Kolorbas was replaced by the Rubin Bass, The main difference between the Rubin and the Kolorbas was the neck. Besides the headstock difference, the Rubin also had a slightly thicker neck and newer, classic chrome Jolana tuners. The Kolorbas neck had a better feel, but was saddled with dinky little old-style tuners with plastic buttons that tended to crack. The Rubin also lacked the gold crown decal found on the upper horn of the Kolorbas. All three models - the Kolorbas, the Rubin and the Studio - were otherwise very similar.
Slightly more upscale was the Alexandra. This was Jolana's best thinline model. It featured a slightly wider body with more traditional, Gibson-style contours, two pickups, a vibrato, a small archtop-type suspended pickguard, master volume and tone controls, a pickup selector switch mounted in the lower horn and a 3+3 headstock. Basically, it was a very conventional ES335-style guitar with few idiosyncratic features. The Alexandra was also the only one to be available as a 12-string. The bass version was called the Alexis. Another thinline model made in the mid-1960's was the Graziella. The Graziella was a two-pickup model with a switch on the lower horn, a crown decal on the upper horn and a suspended pickguard of white pearloid plastic. Compared to the other Jolana thinlines, the Alexandra and Graziella are fairly rare.
Occasionally, one comes across a Jolana thinline that seems to be a strange mix of parts. Such guitars have common Jolana features but do not match the specification of any specific model. This often happens because many parts were interchangeable and it was easy for a Tornado owner to put an Alexandra neck on their guitar, or for a Rubin owner to retrofit a Tornado vibrato onto a Rubin, and so on. Some examples also show up with a non-vibrato tailpiece and a simpler bridge without the attached mute, when they originally should have had both the mute and the vibrato. Adding to the confusion is the fact that this was also done at the factory! Jolana would occasionally ship batches of "floor sweep" guitars made up of various leftover parts whenever a model was discontinued.
Changes in a model design and specifications would also be made without notice. Sometimes, a very minor difference could mean a new model name. This can be explained by the realities of command economy under communist rule, when a factory's only goal was to meet the production plan, without any concession to the laws of supply and demand. The company's management could easily report having introduced new models if they had to meet the quota, without actually doing anything but altering some cosmetics and giving the instrument a new name. In Russia, "Tornado" practically became a generic name for any hollowbody electric guitar made in Czechoslovakia, because nobody could be bothered to keep up with these changes.
Jolana's solidbody guitars of the 1960's were mostly part of the Star series, each new model given a new Roman numeral. The original Star I was introduced in 1959 as a cheaper alternative to the Grazioso and was exported to Britain under the Futurama brand, as mentioned above. Several subsequent Futurama models were also re-branded Jolana Stars. The early Stars were very simple instruments, but starting with the Star VII, these guitars began to acquire fanciful colors and shapes. The guitars were now available in dark metallic blue, greenburst and silver. Hardware remained primitive, but cosmetics were fun. The last of the line were the Star IX and the Star X, both introduced circa 1968. The Star IX reintroduced the unusual quadrilateral body shape of the old Arco stand-up bass, now as a guitar. In Russia, this model was nicknamed "The Screwdriver" because of its shape, which resembles a more equal-sided, squared-off Vox Phantom. The Star X had a very futuristic "Jetsons"-like double cutaway body and a built-in fuzztone effect. Most of these models also had bass equivalents, many simply called Basso or Star Bass.
The Alfa was another solidbody electric from 1965 with some unusual cosmetics. The headstock, the general body shape and the hardware are all typical of the various mid 1960's Jolana Star series models, but the three piece pickguard is straight out of the Burns design book, and the decorative stripes are pure Hofner. Decorative stripes? Look closer, and you'll find that these are actually two banks of switches! Another, fairly uncommon model was the Hurricane, which was basically a solidbody version of the Tornado, with the same exact wiring and controls. The bass version was called the Typhoon.
While not as popular as the thinline models, Jolana solidbodies of the 1960's were still very well received at the time. Not because they were anything special, but because the demand for guitars was great and nothing better was available. Unlike in the West, the Eastern guitar boom continued into the early 1970's. These guitars sold in large numbers and remain fairly common in Europe and Russia. The Star IX and Star X are the exception; these are rare and very collectible today. The Star IX is easier to find, but everybody loves its crazy shape and it is therefore seldom offered for sale. The Star X is the rarest one, because this model was never exported.
Late 1970's Jolana Diamant. This is the first version with the "Gibson" headstock.
The Diamant
In 1968, Gibson reissued the Les Paul guitar, which had been out of production since the early 1960's. This was noted by Shiro Arai of Aria and subsequently by several other Japanese companies, who started producing their own "reissues" of classic American designs. The copy era had begun.
By the early 1970's, Eastern European guitar companies also began to build copy guitars. Copies were never made in the Soviet Union, where they didn't even build any electric guitars at all until the early 1970's. Soviet guitars were all original designs - and suffered for it - right up to the end. The Czechs, however, kept up with the times. In the 1950's, they took an American guitar, the Fender Stratocaster, and re-designed it. In the 1970's, they merely copied. Innovation, it seemed, was a thing of the past. In 1972 and 1973, Jolana introduced several models that were clearly copies of Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker.
The biggest hit from Jolana's copy era was the Diamant, the first communist "Gibson". Built in Horovice, this was a direct copy of the Les Paul Custom. The Jolana "Les Paul" had a bolt-on 22-fret neck with a 628mm scale, plus other typical Jolana features such as an aluminum nut, a zero fret, the ubiquitous four-way rotary switch and the bottom strap pin that unscrewed into a handy little screwdriver. The pickguard was permanently screwed to the body, instead of being suspended over it on a bracket. Other than these minor details, the Diamant was a fairly close copy of the Les Paul, right down to the celluloid binding, pearloid block inlays and "open-book" headstock. Most Diamants were black with white binding and therefore reflected the "Black Beauty" vibe quite nicely. The top was moderately arched and had the standard Gibson configuration of two humbuckers, four control knobs, a tune-o-matic bridge and a stop-tail. The feel of the instrument was also very Gibson-like, solid and substantial. The letdown was in the wood. The body was made of alder capped with a beech plywood top, a far cry from the Gibson standard of mahogany and maple. Needless to say, the sound suffered in comparison.
The guitar came equipped with a pair of "Spektrum" humbuckers. The big chromed rotary switch had three marked positions, "1" for the neck pickup, "2" engaging both pickups, and "3" for the bridge pickup. Turning the switch away from the three marked positions shut the guitar off. But in any position, the humbuckers sound more like underpowered singles, thin and brittle. It is something of a shock to plug in such a Gibson-ish instrument and get a totally unexpected sound that is much closer to a slinky thinline warble than a crunchy Les Paul bite. This model's poor reputation today stems mainly from the Diamant's vilification by the punks and headbangers of the 1980's, who were disappointed by its completely un-Gibson-like sound. Despite its businesslike looks, the Diamant is totally unsuited for hard rock unless the pickups are replaced, and even then this poor man's Les Paul would lack sustain because of its construction.
Taken on its own merits, however, the Diamant is not a bad guitar. The 3-piece neck is very comfortable, the oversized Tesla control pots seem to last forever, and overall this is one instance where Jolana has actually left its arch rival, Musima, far behind with their Deluxe 25 Les Paul contender. The Diamant is no match for any Gibson, but it would certainly give any bolt-neck Asian copy a good run for the money, even today. In the 70's, when the classic Les Paul design was at the peak of popularity, it was something of a revelation to many.
The Diamant had remained in production for almost two decades. It remained in the line-up until the very end (1989) and a very large number of them was produced. Its official price in the USSR in 1989 was 435 rubles, including gigbag, strap, cable and a spare set of strings. The cable was coiled like a telephone wire, which was de rigueur in the 1970's. Like the Model T Ford, the Diamant was available in any color as long as it was black. As such, it was the most generic Jolana, but also one of the better models in terms of overall playability. Occasionally, examples do show up in sunburst and other colors, but these are pretty rare.
Early examples have a script "Diamant" logo on a Gibson-style "open book" headstock, as well as a plain neckplate and the rotary switch. Later models from the 1980's have a thicker block logo, with a big solid "Jolana" and a small "Diamant I" underneath. These guitars have a different headstock shape with a center peak instead of a dip, as well as a regular 3-way switch and a fancier neckplate, also stamped with the Jolana logo. The Diamant I was in reality the Diamant II, considering that it was a cosmetic update of an earlier model, but such inconsistencies in model numbering were common. Of course, there was also a matching Diamant bass, which was short-scale and looked just like the guitar, except that it only had two control knobs instead of four.
The Diamant Bass.
The 1970's and 1980's
One of the earliest Jolana copy guitars was the Iris, which was based on the Fender Telecaster and was produced in Krnov. This guitar had either one or two slanted single coil pickups, a slightly elongated pickguard and a single decorative soundhole, like the Tele Thinline. The bridge was the standard Jolana floating bridge, modified to work on a solidbody, and the tailpiece had an "ashtray" cover. The pickup switch was a four-way rotary, also typical of Jolana. The positions were neck, bridge, both and off. The fretboard was beech, stained to look like rosewood. Everything else was very Fender-like. The Iris proved to be quite popular and remained in production well into the 1980's.
There was a matching Iris Bass, also with the soundhole, which was even more popular than the guitar and served as a basic workhorse instrument for an entire generation of bands throughout the 1970's and early 1980's. The Iris was arguably the best solidbody bass available in Eastern Europe during those years. It is also quite an interesting design concept: this is what the single-cutaway Telecaster bass might have looked like, had Fender chosen to really make one in the 1970's, instead of merely reissuing the early double-cutaway Precision as the Telecaster Bass. Early examples had pickups with eight pole pieces and a metallic cover over the bridge pickup. Later models featured blade pickups, same as those found on the guitar, and dispensed with the cover, which was, granted, quite useless.
The Jolana Galaxis of the late 1970's took after the Fender Stratocaster. This model copied the basic Strat outline, but wreaked havoc with the hardware and electronics. The vibrato tailpiece, recessed into the body, was the same primitive Japanese Jazzmaster copy found on the early 1960's Star I, while the bridge was the standard Jolana floating type. The guitar came equipped with two oversized double-blade humbuckers called the "Sapphir", each with its own volume and tone controls. The 6-in-line headstock had a "towel bar" string retainer, as also found on the Star I and some early Japanese guitars. The bass version had the exact same pickups as the guitar, while the bridge, the tailpiece and the "ashtray" cover were the same as those on the Iris bass.
Another similar model was the Disco, which was a copy of the Gibson RD. Other than the body shape, it was exactly the same as the Galaxis, with the exact same pickups and hardware. Very cheesy. The Galaxis and the Disco were probably Jolana's nadir, as these models showed no design innovation whatsoever and featured decades-old technology. Construction quality also suffered during the early to mid-1980's, right at the time when it was becoming easier to buy a used Western guitar behind the Iron Curtain. It is very difficult to find anything in those guitars that has any link, however tenuous, to the original Grazioso, which was as fresh and innovative in its day as these Jolanas were stale and dated.
Other models available included the Vikomt, the Jantar, the Proxima (another stratozoid) and the Onyx (styled after a Gibson Sonex, of all things). In the mid-1980's, the last new models were introduced, including a more exact approximation of the Stratocaster (actually called the "Jolana Strat" on the headstock, trademarks be damned!), and the D-bass, which was modeled after a Rickenbacker. These were worthy replacements for the Galaxis and the Disco, especially the D-bass, which was well-balanced and overall, a good quality instrument. The most luxurious, modern Jolana bass was the Superstar, introduced late in the decade and modeled after the Peavey T-40. But the handwriting was already on the wall. Jolana guitars could not compete on the open market and the brand would not survive the fall of communism in 1989. The last Jolana model was the Syrix in 1992. These were built in cooperation with Kramer, using some Kramer parts.
Early 1970's Jolana Iris Bass.
Common Jolana features
The most interesting and innovative feature found on Jolana guitars is the strap button that unscrews to become a little screwdriver, as described above. As far as I know, this is an exclusive Jolana feature that no other brands have. It is always fun to demonstrate to someone who has never seen it before. Another common Jolana feature is the combination of aluminum nut and zero fret. The nut has two small stalks on the bottom that fit into grooves on the neck.
A neat touch is the Art-Deco style tuners with distinctive grooved buttons. These are heavy, with chrome over solid brass. The early models are open-gear, later ones are enclosed with stamped metal covers. Some of the covers are plain; others have the letter "J" stamped on them. The Art Deco grooved buttons, however, have remained the same throughout the company's history. While no match for modern sealed tuners, these were by far the best tuners on the Eastern European market at the time, far better than anything found on Musima, Orpheus or the various Russian guitars.
Practically all two-pickup Jolanas feature a four-way rotary switch with a chicken-head knob. The positions are neck, bridge, both and off. This "varitone" with the stand-by mode is a very common Jolana feature. Models with more than two pickups usually have pushbutton switches for turning each pickup on and off individually. While somewhat cheesy, this allows for every possible combination and a wide variety of sounds. Jolana pickups were never anything special, but the wiring and electronics are always solid and extremely well-made. The Tesla potentiometers, found inside every Jolana, almost never wear out. These guitars were built to last, even when construction quality suffered. The wiring of those models that have multiple switches, built-in effects or other extra components can be fascinating in its precision, complexity and heavy-duty overkill.
Jolana bridges are also atypical. Most of them are of the floating type, even on the solidbodies. The top part is clearly based on the Gibson Tune-O-Matic bridge, with its individually adjustable saddles. However, instead of the little thumbwheels that adjust height by pushing the two bridge sections apart, Jolana bridges have oversized threaded shafts that work like a clamp, pushing against the top of the guitar. Another unique feature is the Jolana non-vibrato tailpiece, which has six individual stalks (four on the basses) for each string. There is no top cross-bar. While this does not serve any practical purpose, it is a very distinctive design that's unique to Jolana. Some 1970's models feature a more typical trapeze tailpiece with the letter "J" on it, but these are not as much fun visually.
Dating Jolana guitars
Most Jolana guitars do have a serial number, usually pressed into the wood. However, there is no way to accurately use these numbers in dating a guitar. Even if any records were kept at the time, none survive today. The numbers themselves are random and do not have any consistency. For example, an early Tornado can have a four-digit number that's actually higher than the number on a much later Iris, and the difference can be measured in only hundreds, despite a decade-long gap between the manufacture of the two instruments and presumably tens of thousands of guitars produced in between.
It is possible to narrow down a guitar's age by comparing the number to the numbers of other instruments with known years of manufacture. If the serial number is more than four digits, it is also indicative of later manufacture. It also helps a little to know where the number itself is stamped. Most 1960's models were stamped on the back of the headstock, while on most 1970's and 1980's guitars, the serial number can be found on the back of the neck at the bottom, right above the neckplate. However, there are many exceptions, as nothing with these guitars was ever fully consistent.
Other clues would be script versus block logos and plain neckplates versus neckplates stamped with the Jolana logo. The latter features are found on later models. Otherwise, it is necessary to simply learn the chronology of various models and their features. There is no sure-fire way to date a Jolana.
The Jolana logo, as seen through the soundhole of the Iris Bass.
Occasionally, an even more obscure oddity would show up alongside the better known Resonet and Jolana models. AXA, Lignatone and Broyer guitars are instruments that do not fit into the general timeline.
The AXA, appearing briefly in 1962, was nothing but a converted Cremona acoustic fitted with an electric pickup. Cremona, in Luby, was the largest producer of acoustic guitars in Czechoslovakia. It is unclear where these electrified Cremonas were made, but one source mentions the maker being sued by Cremona.
The Lignatone brand appears on cheap acoustics and electrics of similarly obscure origin. The one Lignatone acoustic guitar I have seen, a late 1960's model, was an unplayable student-grade plywood horror from the absolute bottom of the barrel. Lignatone electrics are much rarer, but just as cheesy.
The Broyer was a line of fine archtops from the early days, before the communist takeover. Nothing is known about these guitars, except that they were made by a small company better known for their violins. That part of Europe has always had plenty of violin makers, some of whom would periodically branch out into producing mandolins, banjos and guitars. If a totally obscure and off-the-wall, but good quality archtop shows up from Eastern Europe, it was probably built by one of these numerous small string instrument manufacturers from Bohemia and Sudetenland.
After the fall
After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the national CHSN company fell apart. Its various, formerly state owned factories have either regained their original identities as smaller private companies, or stopped producing guitars altogether. This was the end of Jolana. The Cremona Luby factory was re-established as a private company, now called Strunal. They still produce inexpensive, low to mid-quality acoustic guitars, as they have done for decades.
The Horovice factory re-emerged under its original name, Delicia, and continues its tradition of string instrument making that dates back to 1920. In the early 1990's, they struggled on for a while under a deal with Kramer. At the time Kramer was courting Russia and Eastern Europe with such instruments as the Gorky Park signature model, but they were having problems of their own and would soon be as extinct as Jolana. Later, Delicia had produced a line of Epiphone guitars for Gibson that were available exclusively on the European market. Today, they build world-class electric guitars and basses under their own brand. They also continue to produce accordions, which has been their main product all along. In fact, under communist rule the factory was known as "Zavod Harmonika Horovice", with the emphasis on "Harmonika", but these days the company is simply "Delicia" again.
A new company emerged called Furch (pronounced "Foorkh") in Velke Nemcice, near Brno. Frantisek Furch started out as an underground luthier, building guitars for fellow musicians during the 1980's, when private enterprise was outlawed and skilled craftsmanship was sorely lacking. Furch developed an excellent reputation by word of mouth and his instruments were in great demand among Czechoslovakia's top guitarists. Today, Furch is a small independent company that builds quality high-end acoustic guitars. Furch guitars feature an innovative bracing system developed by the company and are one of the best values in Europe today.
As far as vintage guitars go, the Czech Republic is no different today than the rest of Europe. Gibsons and Fenders bring a premium, while an old Diamant or Tornado would most likely bring a nostalgic smile.
An interesting and unexpected development came in late 2003, as Delicia reintroduced the classic Jolana brand to the European market. The new Jolana guitars are a world apart from the old communist-era models. While a Tornado is still a hollowbody thinline and a Diamant is still shaped like a Les Paul, these are high-quality modern instruments, not the ugly ducklings of yore. These short-lived "reissue" Jolanas were discontinued in 2005.
Czech guitars are not commonly found in the USA, though occasionally one comes across an old Jolana on eBay or elsewhere. Well, now if you see one, you'll know where it came from.
Sources, links, acknowledgements and special thanks:
Ward Meeker, Dusan Palka, Steve Russell, Studio 1525, Cheesyguitars.com, Efim Fish.
© 2003 - 2008 JunkGuitars.com. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in the November 2005 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine.
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Use this sort to declare a reservation for air journey. As you might be so curious to know the explanation why the Embassy or Consulate needs a Proof of Flight Ticket Booking" from visa applicants. The second you own a Flight Ticket, you may have in your hand the ticket with which you can travel to your destination, as soon as getting the visa. Don't worry about risking your money on a flight ticket before getting the visa!
The service supplies the consumer with various affirmation numbers and wishes the user a superb vacation. It is vitally unlikely to be able to find available seats for a group close to the departure date. Earlier than completing the reserving, each member of the group should offer you travel arranger rights. You'll be able to e-book multi phase bookings on the House Search page for Air journey reservations underneath search possibility "Multi Metropolis".
Sometimes, they may even ask you to submit the precise Air or Flight Ticket to your meant destination. If you should not have your Firm ID number, please contact your Company Journey Supervisor. It is advisable to promote smarter, launch sooner and ship error-free bookings to your customers. This as the company may cancel your reservation if you don't buy the flight ticket until then – risking to lose money you've got spent on the reservation.
The journey agent service requests an outline of how to communicate with the service found. There is a nice likelihood of reserving cancellation before you recognize if you will or won't get a visa. Description language: used by the airlines to describe their query services to the travel agent service. – Upon getting accomplished the above one time course of you would go to for access to the Sprint Portal for travel dashboard and profile data and click on "Book a visit" to go to Concur(direct link ) to make bookings.
The journey agent service presents the results of the queries to the user letting him select the best choice, along with the payment options offered. If not, you possibly can contact the journey agent or the corporate and ask them to make the mandatory adjustments in the reserving system. You may work with both of the contracted travel businesses, who specialize in group bookings.


text:
een stad in Italië, zie Saluzzo (stad)
 het middeleeuwse markgraafschap Saluzzo
 de voetbalclub ACSD Saluzzo
 bisdom Saluzzo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Releases, Media and Public Affairs
2016 Trafficking in Persons Report
Country Narratives
Trafficking in Persons 2013 Report: Country Narratives
Russia (Tier 3*) is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking remains the predominant human trafficking problem within Russia; the Migration Research Center estimates that one million people in Russia are exposed to "exploitative" labor conditions characteristic of trafficking cases, such as withholding of documents, nonpayment for services, physical abuse, or extremely poor living conditions. During the year, workers from Russia and other countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Asia, including Vietnam and North Korea, were subjected to conditions of forced labor in Russia. Instances of labor trafficking have been reported in the construction, manufacturing, agriculture, repair shop, grocery store, and domestic service industries, as well as forced begging and narcotics cultivation; there were a number of cases discovered during the last year in textile or garment factories. In some of the labor trafficking cases throughout the country, foreign workers died while locked in factories or employer-provided housing. In a factory in the Moscow suburbs, textile workers were beaten, poorly fed, refused medical care, and prohibited from leaving the factory. Human Rights Watch reports that construction of facilities for major events drew estimated tens of thousands of migrant laborers to Russia; Human Rights Watch also documented that employers of construction projects related to the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi withheld pay, disregarded contracts, and seized passports and work permits to keep workers in conditions of exploitation. There is anecdotal evidence of Russian police officers allegedly facilitating trafficking, including by returning trafficking victims to their exploiters, and of employers bribing Russian officials to avoid enforcement of penalties for engaging illegal workers. North Korean citizens imported under Russian government arrangements with the North Korea government for work in the logging industry in Russia's far east reportedly are subjected to conditions of forced labor. There were also reports of Russian citizens facing conditions of forced labor abroad.
Reports of Russian women and children subjected to sex trafficking both in Russia and abroad continued in 2012. Russian citizens are reportedly victims of sex trafficking in many countries, including in Northeast Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. There were also reports of citizens of European, African, and Central Asian countries being forced into prostitution in Russia.
The Government of Russia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has been placed on Tier 2 Watch List for the last nine consecutive years. In the 2011 and 2012 TIP Reports, Russia was granted consecutive waivers from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 on the basis of a written plan to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) authorizes a maximum of two consecutive waivers; a waiver is no longer available to Russia, which is therefore deemed not to be making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards and is placed on Tier 3.
Prosecutions in Russia during the reporting period remained low compared to estimates of Russia's trafficking problem. While the government issued a brochure to raise awareness on trafficking, no other efforts were made to fund a national awareness campaign. An interagency committee was established to address human trafficking issues, but it has not yet met. The city of St. Petersburg allocated a building and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Red Cross to open and operate an eight-bed shelter for the care of trafficking victims in St. Petersburg. When implemented, these efforts have the potential to achieve significant progress in combating human trafficking. During the reporting period, the government had not established any concrete system for the identification or care of trafficking victims, lacking any formal victim identification and referral mechanism, though there were reports of victims being identified and cared for through ad hoc efforts. In 2012, the government deported hundreds of labor trafficking victims found in squalid conditions in a Moscow garment factory and levied criminal charges against other trafficking victims allegedly held in servitude for a decade. The government reported minimal efforts to identify or care for the large number of migrant workers vulnerable to labor exploitation, include those preparing for international events.
Recommendations for Russia: Develop formal national procedures to guide law enforcement and other government officials, including labor inspectors and health officials, in identification of trafficking victims and referral of victims to service providers; allocate funding to state bodies and anti-trafficking NGOs to provide specialized trafficking victim assistance and rehabilitative care; increase efforts to identify and assist both sex and labor trafficking victims, particularly among exploited labor migrants in Russia; implement a formal policy to ensure identified victims of trafficking are not punished or detained in deportation centers for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; ensure that victims have access to legal alternatives to deportation to countries where they face hardship or retribution; increase the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions for trafficking offenses, and investigate and criminally punish government officials complicit in trafficking; create a central repository for investigation, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing data for trafficking cases; increase efforts to raise public awareness of both sex and labor trafficking; and take steps to investigate allegations and prevent the use of forced labor in construction projects and also North Korean-operated labor camps.
The Government of the Russia demonstrated law enforcement efforts during the reporting period. Articles 127.1 and 127.2 of the Russian criminal code prohibit both sex trafficking and forced labor, although they also cover non-trafficking offenses. Other criminal statutes were also used to prosecute trafficking offenders, such as Articles 240 and 241 for involvement in or organizing prostitution. Article 127 prescribes punishments of up to ten years' imprisonment. These penalties are commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government investigated an increased number of cases as compared to 2011: 70 sex trafficking cases under Article 127.1, and 17 labor trafficking cases under Article 127.2 in 2012, up from 46 sex trafficking investigations and an unknown number of labor trafficking cases in the first 10 months of 2011. The government prosecuted 22 cases of sex trafficking and 10 cases of forced labor in 2012, compared with reports of at least 17 sex trafficking prosecutions in the first 10 months of 2011 and at least two labor trafficking prosecutions in 2011. Russian authorities report they often charge sex trafficking cases under Article 241 (organization of prostitution), as the elements of that crime are often easier to prove, although there is no public information on how many such cases involved forced as opposed to voluntary prostitution. In 2012, 29 trafficking offenders were convicted under Article 127.1, the article typically used for sex trafficking crimes, and five traffickers were convicted of the use of slave labor under Article 127.2, compared with a total of 32 people convicted under Article 127.1 and 11 convicted under Article 127.2 in 2011. The government reported 26 trafficking offenders were sentenced to imprisonment, seven were given suspended sentences, and two were sentenced to other dispositions. Unofficial reports confirmed sentences of a few months' to 12 years' imprisonment, the same range of sentences reported in the last reporting period.
The government investigated sex and labor trafficking cases throughout the country, including a case involving 30 victims of sex trafficking; however, it did not pursue trafficking charges in at least two high profile cases despite indicators of coerced work and large numbers of trafficking victims. In a case involving approximately 170 Vietnamese labor trafficking victims held in a garment factory, the government did not initiate charges. During the reporting period, the interior ministry (MVD) issued a roadmap for its reform, which included the formation of an interagency anti-trafficking commission with representation of the prosecutor general's office, the ministry of foreign affairs, the federal migration service, the federal security service, the investigative committee, and other agencies. Although the interagency commission had not met during the reporting period, this commission has the potential once implemented to achieve significant progress in combating human trafficking.
The government did not report specific progress on any of the alleged cases of official complicity in human trafficking from the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 TIP Reports. During the reporting period, a court in the Chuvash Republic tried the case of a former criminal investigation unit police chief who provided cover for a criminal group, the members of which were charged with inducing to prostitution, organization of prostitution, trafficking in persons, and use of slave labor. In the Samara region, a former senior investigator was charged with refusing to initiate a criminal case of deprivation of liberty of two women by a criminal group who were charged in a separate case of trafficking in persons and related crimes. In Moscow, the investigative committee initiated a criminal case against a police officer who allegedly forced two women into prostitution. The North Korean government continued to export workers for bilateral contracts with Russia and other foreign governments. Despite media allegations of slave-like conditions in North Korean-operated timber camps in Russia, the Russian government did not report any investigations into this situation. There were also no reported investigations of media reports of North Korean forced labor in the Moscow region.
The Russian authorities reportedly collaborated with some foreign law enforcement bodies on the investigation of transnational trafficking cases and sharing best practices. There were, however, reports that Russian law enforcement was not always cooperative or responsive to investigative requests from foreign governments. The government extradited an alleged trafficking offender to Uzbekistan during the reporting period. The ministry of internal affairs, the lead law enforcement agency in the majority of trafficking cases, conducted regular training during the reporting period designed to guide its officers in handling trafficking cases. According to government officials, the general procuracy, the investigative committee, the Russian Academy for Justice, the Russian Academy of Advocacy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Advanced Training Institutes, and the Federal Security Service provided periodic training as well.
The Russian government demonstrated minimal progress in efforts to protect and assist trafficking victims during the reporting period; a majority of foreign labor trafficking victims remained outside of the scope of victim protection. The government did not develop or employ a formal system to guide officials in proactive identification of trafficking victims or referral of victims to available services, and there continued to be no available official statistics on the number of trafficking victims identified or assisted by the government or NGOs. The government did not publicly report any funding or programs for specific assistance to trafficking victims, and the government did not verify how many trafficking victims benefitted from funding or programs intended for other general purposes, such as witness protection, child protection, or government crisis centers, which were unlikely to accept victims who were not registered in the district in which the center is located. Foreign trafficking victims, the largest group of victims in Russia, were not entitled to access state-provided rehabilitative services. During the reporting period, the St. Petersburg municipal government granted the Russian Red Cross the space to open an eight-bed trafficking shelter. The shelter was not yet open during the reporting period. An NGO that assisted victims of labor trafficking in a high-profile case received office space from the city of Moscow in June 2012.
The government reported that it encouraged victims to participate in anti-trafficking investigations by offering witness protection provisions on a case-by-case basis to those who cooperate with officials. There were no formal legal alternatives to deportation for foreign victims. Russian authorities did not demonstrate a systematic approach to preventing trafficking victims from being punished for crimes committed as a direct result of their trafficking experience. There were reports of Russian authorities charging some suspected trafficking victims with residing illegally on the territory of Russia without the proper papers and reportedly deporting trafficking victims without offering assistance.
Russia's national government demonstrated limited efforts to prevent trafficking over the reporting period. During the reporting period, there were no efforts to develop public awareness of possible forced labor. During the reporting period, the MVD published and distributed an informational brochure warning on the dangers of becoming a victim of trafficking. In some parts of the country, the MVD partnered with community councils to distribute the pamphlets in public places, such as educational centers. The Commonwealth of Independent States anti-trafficking plan remained the Government of Russia's sole anti-trafficking plan.
The government did not have a body to monitor its anti-trafficking activities and make periodic assessments measuring its performance. The MVD cooperated with U.S. authorities on the investigation of seven child sex tourism cases and one exploitation case, which resulted in 88 arrests worldwide. The government did not report any specific measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or to ensure that its military personnel, when deployed abroad as part of peacekeeping or other similar missions, did not engage in or facilitate human trafficking.
* Auto downgrade from Tier 2 Watch List

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Most regular way to triangulate $\mathbb{R}^3$? By "regular", I'm going by a property of Delaunay Triangulation, which is to maximize the minimum angle. In $\mathbb{R}^2$, tiling with equilateral triangles gives you a minimum angle of 60 degrees. Any other triangulation would give you a smaller minimum angle, so in this sense, triangulating $\mathbb{R}^2$ with equilateral triangles is the most regular way.
What's the best way to triangulate $\mathbb{R}^3$ so that the minimum solid angle of the tetrahedra is maximized?
I assume that the dual tessellation of closely-packed spheres would give a good triangulation since that works in $\mathbb{R}^2$. You get some regular tetrahedra and regular octahedra which can be divided into 4 congruent tetrahedra which contain the minimum solid angle. Is there a way to check if this is maximized?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Tipping the lion
More on the Mohocks (I'm interested in the way that street gangs were taking their names from what were perceived to be violent Americans at this early date – another London gang 1711-14 called themselves Hawkubites, derived from the name of another American Indian tribe). Further research regarding the 'fish-hook through the cheek outrage' mentioned by Gay in The Mohocks (1712), indicates that the other traceable mention of this offence appears in An Argument, proving from History, Reason, and Scripture, that the present Race of Mohocks and Hawke-bites are the Gog and Magog mentioned in the Revelations; and therefore that this vain and transitory World will shortly be brought to its final Dissolution. Written by a Reverend Divine, who turns out to be John Gay, writing in 1712.
But, lest anyone should think this is trivialising the whole business (which many felt at the time was being whipped up by the two political parties to discredit their opponents), it must be remembered that the panic that kept Londoners indoors was brought about by some very real physical assaults. One offence perpetrated by the Mohocks was 'tipping the lion', found in The Spectator, No 324, 12 March 1712 and in Gay's The Mohocks. Jonathan Green's new Slang Dictionary (2011) gives references for the phrase from between 1785 and 1823, but Hotten (1865) does not include it at all, so it may have gone by then. Francis Grose in The Vulgar Tongue (1785) interpreted 'tipping the lion' as 'to flatten a man's nose with the thumb, and at the same time to extend his mouth with the fingers, thereby giving him a sort of lion-like countenance'. Not pleasant at all, and none too safe for the perpetrator, who would be likely to have his fingers savaged. Richard Steele, writing in March 1712, gave a definition of a much more aggressive action – 'Some are celebrated for a happy Dexterity in tipping the Lion upon them; which is performed by squeezing the Nose flat to the Face, and boring out the Eyes with their Fingers'. The editors of the OED were evidently so affected by this phrase that they used it as an illustration both for 'tip' and 'bore', the only occasion I have found where a quotation is used for more than one word.
While I can see that the act described in Grose may give the impression of a lion's face, something about it does not ring true. Daniel Statt (The Case of the Mohocks: rake violence in Augustan London, Social History, Vol 20 No 2, 1995) examines the extreme physical violence, with fists and feet rather than weapons, used by the Mohocks against women rather than men, and points out that the few men indicted for Mohock violence had recent military combat experience; but he does not mention 'tipping the lion' or whether it was carried out against men or women. In Gay's The Mohocks, while the captured watchmen are being paraded before the justices by the Mohocks pretending to be watchmen, the phrase is 'tip the lion upon five several of her Majesty's true-born subjects', similar to the way Steele uses it. 'Tip' here was used in the sense of 'give' – 'tipping the lion' would mean 'giving someone [the characteristics of] a lion'. Poking someone's eyes while squashing the nose would inevitably produce a screwed up face, raised upper lip and a roar of pain.
Despite the moral outrage of the government and city authorities very few of the Mohocks were indicted, tried or found guilty. For four of those wealthy gentlemen who were found guilty of assault and riot, the punishments were modest fines, in one case of three shillings and four pence; the fines were, as Statt points out, given 'at the same session in which [the court] was meting out penalties of a day in the pillory and whipping at the tail of a cart to women and men who had committed petty property offences.' Statt points to this as evidence of one level of punishment for offences against the person and another for offences against property, as well as a sense of certain classes of society being above the law.
Perhaps not unlike some recent discrepancies in sentencing.
More poo, and some words from tanning
Pure filth
Banerk
Re Orientation
Another mistake
Arrowheads and prisoners' uniforms
Bibs and bobs
Fecking Mohocks
And all the trimmings


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Minister sowing confusion on Affordable Childcare Scheme
Seán Sherlock
Labour Children spokesperson Séan Sherlock has criticised the failure of the Minister for Children to clearly outline to parents what the changes in Budget 2019 on Affordable Childcare Scheme will mean.
There is no one-stop-shop or information source available where parents can find out what they are entitled to under the Affordable Childcare Scheme.
Deputy Sherlock said:
"The extra €61 million to support parents (not €89m as announced yesterday) through the Affordable Childcare Scheme is welcome but won't come into play until late 2019 so parents will continue to shoulder the growing cost of childcare for the next year to come.
"The information shared by the Minister for Children today on her budget increases provides some case studies. These are based on net income with some examples of possible gross pre tax incomes.
"There is no clear information on who gets what, and for what reasons. Parents will be at a loss to figure out what changes have actually been implemented. Where are the eligiblity guidelines or criteria?
"No other Minister would get away with announcing such changes without clear guidelines and information on who is eligible, and for what subsidy. The Minister should clearly outline the eligibility criteria for each band, the subsidy available, and how a parent's net income will be calculated.
"We won't get that information until the Affordable Childcare Scheme is actually launched and the regulations published under the Act, and we still don't know the date for that. There will be an IT system to determine a parent's eligibility but again we don't know when this will happen.
"The measures as announced also do little for those parents who are both working in full time jobs, with children in childcare. The Minister has left behind an information vacuum that she should address immediately."
Labour calls for formal bi-lateral process with the UK on decolonising Irish artefacts
Mallow Hospital must be a solution to Cork overcrowding
Minister must provide clarity on Disability Grant cut to National Learning Network students – Sherlock


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I withdrew yet farther into my shell, snug as a meadow louse in a weedy mausoleum. I survived on porridge and my own brand of boosterism, which had me pacing the room and inciting imaginary riots in support of my seclusion: who wouldn't have done the same thing in my shoes, I demanded, and proceeded with an impassioned defense of a purely subjective causality, at least one for each of us, which would naturally require a renewed faith in each other's motives and desires, ulterior or otherwise. What I mean to say is just let me be. Of course, like all great ideas, this seems like common sense to us now that the peace accord has been signed again, as clear as the daylight coming through the porthole and the sight of my fair weather friend descending to bring me provisions. How der doo, he said, as if nothing had happened to make that greeting as silly as a jackdaw wearing a domino. You seen the traffic out there, he asked as he put the hogshead down. I don't pay much attention to all that stuff and such; I always feel like, somebody's watching me, and I have no privacy, so if all you plan to do is tell me about the circus that's made camp in the field out there, I'll point the way to the egress myself, I said. But as he left memories of my time as a carnival barker flooded my mind, and the mere thought of canvassing a crowd got me all hot and bothered; this is what I had been waiting for, after all, and no trembling delirium was going to stop me from trampling the wormwood and beggar-ticks on the way to my fame and fortune. Goodbye Alaska!
Duncan Dobbelmann has a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center and has published a chapbook of prose poems called Tronie (Harry Tankoos Books). He has published an article on the poet George Oppen in Paideuma and co-authored (with Isabel Roche) an essay on the Bennington College curriculum for The College Curriculum (Peter Lang).


text:
Q: Passing variables from chef to powershell I am using the powershell_script cookbook. The powershell script that I would like to use takes command line inputs. Is there a way to pass variables from chef and pass them into the powershell script?
input1 = "input1"
input2 = "input2"

powershell_script 'example' do
  code "...\example.ps1"
end

So if my example.ps1 took input1 and input2 as command line arguments how would I pass them into:
code "...\example.ps1"

A: The code property on the powershell_script resource takes the literal PowerShell code you want to run, not a path to it. Regardless, you would handle it via string interpolation. For example:
execute "C:/path/to/example.ps1 #{node['foo']} #{node['bar']}"


text:
The work of architects is essential to the well-being of every citizen. The voice of AIA architects, as thought and action leaders, is essential to designing a better future for our country, states, cities, townships and neighborhoods. By advocating solutions within the built environment to address issues like school safety, climate change and affordable housing, architects are at the forefront of solving these critical challenges.
STATE AND LOCAL ISSUES
Architects must have a seat at the table when important civic decisions are made and must play a vital role in crafting public policy solutions that address the most prominent issues facing states and cities.
The more architects work with state and local elected officials, the greater the positive impact on these and other important issues facing the profession, the business, and our communities.
The AIA Delaware Government Affairs Committee welcomes all interested AIA Delaware members who wish to participate in AIA Delaware's advocacy efforts. Contact director@aiadelaware.org if you would like to become engaged.
The AIA represents the interests of architects before federal government and policy-making bodies.
By taking action, being involved in their communities, and engaging legislators, Citizen Architects are the driving force behind AIA's advocacy efforts.
AIA is the voice of architecture to legislators at the federal, state, and local level. Here you can engage your legislators and use AIA tools and resources to develop skills as an advocate to build power for architects.
Learn more at aia.org/advocacy.


Welcome to our 346th edition of the FDH Fantasy Newsletter, as we continue to bring you fantasy sports updates in addition to our usual content on FantasyDrafthelp.com. Our archive of past editions is available right here on The FantasyDrafthelp.com Blog and specific links to past editions are available at FantasyDrafthelp.com.
This week, we bring you our 2017 Fantasy Football Week 12 Preview.
Welcome to our 345th edition of the FDH Fantasy Newsletter, as we continue to bring you fantasy sports updates in addition to our usual content on FantasyDrafthelp.com. Our archive of past editions is available right here on The FantasyDrafthelp.com Blog and specific links to past editions are available at FantasyDrafthelp.com.
This week, we bring you our 2017 Fantasy Football Week 11 Preview.
Welcome to our 344th edition of the FDH Fantasy Newsletter, as we continue to bring you fantasy sports updates in addition to our usual content on FantasyDrafthelp.com. Our archive of past editions is available right here on The FantasyDrafthelp.com Blog and specific links to past editions are available at FantasyDrafthelp.com.
This week, we bring you our 2017 Fantasy Football Week 10 Preview.


When spring has sprung, you'll naturally want your exercise regimen to be fun. After all, everything is blooming and the sun is (sometimes slowly) making its way through residual winter weather. To keep your spirits and heart rate up, set your spring fitness regimen up for success by following our five, simple tips.
Ask a friend, family member, and even fitness expert what kind of exercise is best and you'll likely receive several different answers. And, most of the feedback you receive will has value, truth, and solid reasoning behind it. Yet, perhaps upon attempting a strictly cardio, strength training, or yoga workout recommended to you, you ultimately become frustrated or bored. Everyone enjoys different types of fitness. Often, individuals will enjoy a combination of exercise regimens. Take time to discover what works for you, then make a fitness plan. If you force yourself to engage in a fitness routine you hate, you ultimately won't continue.
If number one already has you stumped or you lack conviction in your ability to maintain a fitness routine, hire a health coach, fitness coach, or find a friend who you know won't let you off the hook. The advantage of hiring a coach is that he/she will not only hold you accountable; he/she will provide encouragement, nutrition tips, and insights into your overall health and wellness.
Boredom is the sad byproduct of a tired workout routine. Sometimes all you need to get back to your first fitness love is to take a break. Try something new to challenge your mind and body. Do something outside your comfort zone. If you've never climbed a rock wall, climb one. If you've never sprinted using a parachute, pull that ripcord! If you've never done yoga with goats or in a hammock, give it a go.
Spring Workout That's a HIIT!
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT has become a growing trend, but the concept behind HIIT has long been in existence. HIIT is founded in the idea of utilizing shorter, more high intensity workouts to burn fat and strengthen muscles. Think jump squats, sprints, mountain climbers, and burpees.
What is one of the biggest deterrents for taking time to exercise? Time! What better way to encourage spring fitness than by incorporating opportunities to exercise at work, or with your coworkers. Whether it's hiring a fitness instructor to come in to teach a Groove dance class, yoga session once a week in the breakroom or parking lot, or simply taking a group walk during the lunch hour, camaraderie, healthy competition, and accountability can provide you and your work buddies the push you need this spring.
Bumping up a spring fitness routine is a positive and encouraging mid-year refresher. For more ideas like these and additional ideas to inspire health and wellness in the workplace, Wellworks For You has an abundant amount of offerings. From small business to expansive corporate entities, we have customized comprehensive programs to accommodate the specific needs of your company.
To learn more about our diverse health and wellness services, contact one of our Wellworks For You experts today, 800-425-4657.


Review - Murphy USA & Pepsi Float | A Savings WOW!
On a warm Summer day like today, what better way to cool off than with a Pepsi float? It combines two of my favorite things – Pepsi and ice cream. I was given the opportunity to visit a Murphy USA location to purchase some of the supplies needed to make my Pepsi float.
The first thing I did before leaving the house was to make my list of what I would need to make my Pepsi float, which was Pepsi and vanilla ice cream.
Then I stopped by Murphy USA and saw that they have a special going on for their 20 oz. Pepsi products for "Buy 2, Get 1 Free." Each one was $1.49, so I was able to get 3 bottles for under $3.00.
Before leaving Murphy USA, I checked the current gas prices, which is still the best one I've seen around the area at $3.78 per gallon for Unleaded without a Walmart Shopping Card or $3.75 per gallon when you purchase it using a Walmart Shopping Card.
Since they didn't carry ice cream at this particular Murphy USA location, we (my daughter and I) went next door to Walmart and purchased some vanilla ice cream.
After arriving back home, I made my Pepsi float by pouring some of the Pepsi into a mug and then adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It's always fun to see the Pepsi foam up. Then I added a straw for the final touch.
As you can see here, I thoroughly enjoyed my Pepsi float and it made for a delicious treat on this Summer day! Stop by your Murphy USA location, pick up some Pepsi products, and make your own Pepsi floats – enjoy your Summer!
View the full slideshow on Intersect.com!
Disclosure: This shop/project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All views and opinions are my own.
Thanks, Mel! I sure did!


The Grampian Transport Museum in Alford is preparing to host its first Rides session of the School summer holidays on Thursday July 9.
'Big Stuff Rides' will give museum visitors the chance to jump in the passenger seats of some interesting and unusual commercial vehicles, including vintage buses from the Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust and a top of the range DAF XF FTG demonstrator lorry, provided by Norscot in Aberdeen.
Also on display at Big Stuff will be a state of the art Hydrogen bus - operated by FirstAberdeen and owned by Aberdeen City Council.
These buses emit only water vapour, reducing carbon emissions and air pollution. They also have the added benefit of being quieter and smoother to run.
A number of museum vehicles, including the oldest fully functional Sentinel Steam Waggon built in Scotland will also be taking to the circuit.
"Our museum is very fortunate in that we can regularly offer visitors passenger rides in all sorts of interesting vehicles as part of their visit.
The Junior Driving School, a fun 'learning through play' initiative for children aged 4 to 10 years old will also be open daily, along with the Travellers Rest Tea Room which is open 10.30am untill 4.30pm daily.


Information contained on this page is provided by NewsUSA, an independent third-party content provider. WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.
(NewsUSA/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ) – Medicare is stronger than ever with more benefits, better choices and lower costs to beneficiaries. Expanded Medicare benefits under the health care law (the Affordable Care Act) continue to be available. Whether you choose Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan — take advantage of Open Enrollment to review cost, coverage or both for next year (2013).
* More Benefits: Certain preventive benefits — including cancer screenings — are available with no cost to patients when furnished by qualified and participating health professionals. The annual wellness visit allows people to sit down and discuss with their doctor their health care needs and the best ways to stay healthy.
* Better Choices: Medicare will notify beneficiaries about plan performance and use its online Plan Finder to encourage enrollment in quality plans.
* Lower Costs: Average premiums for 2013 for prescription drug coverage and Medicare health plans will remain stable. People who are in the "donut hole" in Medicare's prescription drug benefit will enjoy approximately 53 percent discounts on covered brand name drugs and see increased savings on generic drugs.
It's worth it to take the time to review and compare. Medicare is available to help.


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Demystifying Indian...
Demystifying Indian President's Powers: Interview With Debtoru Chatterjee, Author Of The Recent Book On Presidential Discretion
LiveLaw Research Team
2 Dec 2016 11:28 AM GMT
DEBTORU CHATTERJEE is a senior civil servant working with the Government of India. Rarely, civil servants find the time and the inclination to research and write on contemporary issues, let alone those which are extremely controversial. Therefore, when Chatterjee decided to research the subject of discretion of the President under the Indian Constitution, and write a book on it, both the...
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DEBTORU CHATTERJEE is a senior civil servant working with the Government of India. Rarely, civil servants find the time and the inclination to research and write on contemporary issues, let alone those which are extremely controversial. Therefore, when Chatterjee decided to research the subject of discretion of the President under the Indian Constitution, and write a book on it, both the academic world and a newspaper reader seeking insights beyond the headlines, stood to benefit from it. The book, published by the OUP, is available here and here.
In this interview with LiveLaw, Chatterjee answers questions which a reader of his book has, keeping in mind the historical background, and the contemporary issues concerning the role of the President or the Governor under the Indian Constitution.
LL: Thanks for writing this most insightful book on a facet of Indian Constitution, on which there has been no sufficient light earlier. To begin with, could you tell us what explains your interest in the subject, and your inspiration to write this book, although you have been a civil servant throughout?
DC : The origin of my book lies in the crisis of a hung parliament. The President's role immediately becomes obvious, as we have not adopted the German solution of casting the duty of electing a Prime Minister on the Bundestag (Lower House). Another inspiration was Justice Krishna Iyer's brief description of the President's discretionary powers (which he carefully qualified), in the Shamsher Singh case. The basic aim of my book is to settle and not raise a controversy about the President's powers, which have seen a lot of irresponsible speculation. Even stalwarts like Munshi and Tope erred, in my humble view, in investing the President with powers he did not possess.
LL: The President's primary area of discretion is in the choice of the Prime Minister, when an incumbent loses majority support in the Lok Sabha or a general election leads to an uncertain mandate. Your book shows that you are in support of a caretaker Government, till the parties reach a workable compromise among themselves on who should head a Government. But our Constitution is silent on the powers and responsibilities of a caretaker Prime Minister.
DC: Exactly. But the Court has stepped in to fill that void. Kindly recall that in Madan Murari Verma vs Choudhary Charan Singh, the Court very carefully defined the duties of a caretaker Council of Ministers , which was to carry on a day to day administration and not tender advice that belonged to the province only of a Council of Ministers responsible to the House of People. Venkatraman's memoirs gives a graphic description of a caretaker ministry actually at work, and what it could do and could not. If I recollect correctly, Churchill held the caretakership for months after the end of the war and before the swearing in of Atlee. I don't think that constitutional silence is an insuperable objection to the device of a caretakership till the forging of a stable coalition.
LL: Taking the analogy to the States which frequently experience situations when the chief ministers lose their majority support in the assembly, is President's rule a valid option or should the Government, which does not seem to enjoy the confidence of the assembly, be asked to continue in power till alternative arrangements are made as in the Centre?
DC: The Sarkaria Commission stiffly recommends that a governor ought not to recommend President's rule without exploring the possibility of an alternative government, where the ruling ministry had lost the majority. However, a governor cannot go on examining that possibility ad infinitum and thus give an indefinite lease of life to a caretaker ministry. One would have to go by the specifics of each case. On the issue of imposition of President's rule in Nagaland on 7th August 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that the governor should have allowed Vamuzo to test his claim on the house floor after the incumbent Chief Minister Hokishe Sema lost his majority, instead of recommending President's rule. But the governor was equally right in citing the collateral reason of the insurgency behind his recommendation for President's rule, thereby disallowing Vamuzo's claim. That is why my approach is historical and dispassionate and not didactical. Rigidities ought to be avoided as two situations may never be alike. But I definitely do not approve of caretakership as an alternative to President's Rule.
LL: What are your thoughts on the proposal to have One India, One Election, that is, simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. If the caretaker Government can continue in the interim till the next elections are due, will it not militate against the principle of representative democracy and democratic accountability to a legislature?
DC: One India one election is a far-sighted proposal, promoting a national outlook among citizens, apart from halving electoral expenses. The possibility of caretakerships can be obviated by considering some of the measures suggested by the NCRWC to reduce the multiplicity of parties.
LL: You refer to the situation when the former President R.Venkataraman disagreed with the suggestion of the then Congress President, Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, that his party could review its withdrawal of support to the minority Chandra Shekhar Government, because MPs were reluctant to face the elections within 15 months of the last election. Would you say that the then President's advice to Rajiv Gandhi to either form a coalition or think of a merger and nothing short of that would convince him, was sensible, given the circumstances? Was the discretion correctly exercised by the President then? Surely, if Government could be formed with outside support once, it could be formed again, if they sort out their differences?
DC: My book is not intended to pass value judgements on the exercise of discretion by the Presidents of India, but to dispassionately record, as a historian, the instances of that exercise. In that I beg leave to differ from the approach of foreign constitutional moralists like Austin (who have intemperately and, in my humble view, wrongly criticised President Reddy on the constitutional crisis of 1979 without any refutation, I am sorry to note, by Indian scholars).
LL: In 2004, the then President, A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, accepted the advice of the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee to prematurely dissolve the Lok Sabha, six months ahead of the date, when its normal term would expire. Although Vajpayee had enjoyed majority, President Kalam consulted legal experts to decide whether such a recommendation would be binding on him. Kalam, of course, accepted the PM's advice, and dissolved the Lok Sabha prematurely. But the question whether the President is always bound to accept such advice from a Prime Minister, who enjoys majority support in the Lok Sabha, remains. What if a Prime Minister recommends dissolution mid-term without any valid reason, but keeping in view his prospects of getting another term in view? Can an incumbent Prime Minister play havoc with periodical elections, simply because he has the majority mandate? In your view, following the British precedent, the President is bound to accept such advice from the Prime Minister, because if the Prime Minister resigns, then the President would have no option, but to dissolve, as the next minority Government, which he may instal would also make similar recommendation. But it misses the point that a Prime Minister, with a majority mandate, and still insisting on dissolution without any reason (as Vajpayee did in 2004), may change his view, if the President asks him to reconsider his recommendation.
DC: No, I disagree that a majoritarian Prime Minister has no right to advise mid-term polls. He has every right to call for pre-mature elections. Recall that the Khaki elections of 1918 were called prematurely by a British government when it was confident of victory. This is the settled convention both in England and in India, and a President thwarting a majority- commanding Prime Minister's recommendation of premature election would be acting unconstitutionally. The President would then become open to the charge of favouring the Opposition.
LL: According to you, President Sanjiva Reddy's non-invitation to Jagjivan Ram after the fall of Charan Singh Government in 1979, President Shankar Dayal Sharma's invitation to Atal Behari Vajapyee in 1996, before the Congress could finalise its support to the Deve Gowda Government, were both instances when the Presidents exercised their discretion wisely. Is there any instance which shows that President's exercise of his discretion in the choice of the Prime Minister was flawed?
DC: As I mentioned earlier, my work dispassionately records various historical instances of the exercise of discretion by Indian President. It does not seek to pass value judgements on that exercise. In the cases of President Sanjiva Reddy and President Shankar Dayal Sharma, I have pointed out the flaws in the arguments of their critics, based on facts and legal precedents.
LL: You have referred to one instance of the President, relying on his discretion, seeking the Supreme Court's opinion under Article 143 of the Constitution in the Kerala Education Bill matter, on the basis of the Attorney General's view. Did the then Government not make an issue of this?
DC: In the final instance, the advice of the cabinet would prevail, except in the unlikely event of that advice subverting parliamentary democracy itself. Nehru also had several issues with President Prasad and the latter conceded to the former, except on one issue in which Nehru made some concession.
LL: Should not the President have an advisory committee of experts, to advise him on issues which require exercise of his discretion?
DC: I don't think so. That would be to foist an extra-constitutional body on the President. Presidential discretion is very sparingly exercised, mostly during constitutional crises, and there cannot be an advisory committee of experts interposing between the President and his cabinet. The cabinet is the sole, constitutionally recognised, advisory body for the President (except for the Election Commission in a few specific matters). In matters where the President has, perforce, to exercise his discretion such as in the choice of a Prime Minister in a hung popular house, he may informally consult anybody. But that cannot be formalised and institutionalised through a committee of experts.
LL: Some Presidents had chosen to sit on the mercy pleas of death row convicts, if in their view, the recommendation of the Government to reject them was unjustified. Is it within the area of their discretion to do so?
DC: I do not think so. Delay in disposal of mercy petitions would lead to alteration of the sentences themselves according to the Supreme Court. Hence Presidents ought to abide by the recommendations of the government on mercy petitions where the evidence remains unchanged. President Pranab Mukherjee set a right precedent in quickly disposing off pending mercy petitions. Nothing can be more important than national security.
LL: In the recent judgment holding the Arunachal Pradesh Governor's action in advancing the state assembly's session by one month unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has held that Article 163(2) does not mean what it states expressly, that is, the Governor alone can decide whether a matter requires exercise of his discretion. In particular, the Constitution bench has held that the ousting of judicial review in this provision is inconsistent with the general scheme of the Constitution. By not making a similar provision with regard to the exercise of discretion by the President, did the framers suggest that the area of discretion of the Governor is more than that of the President?
DC: As would be clear from any text book on the Indian Constitution, the governor can act without ministerial advice in (a) reporting to the President under article 356; (b) keeping the Union informed about whether the state was complying with Union directives issued from time to time; (c) reserving a bill for the consideration of the President under article 200. Then there is the discharge of 'special responsibility' by the governor, in which, subject to the directions of the President, he has to 'act in his discretion'. We also have article 239(2) and para 9(2) of the 6th schedule. These are constitutional imperatives which are unique to the governor.
LL: In terms of the Constitution, the President has the power to ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice once, (Proviso to Article 74(1)) and can also return a Bill for reconsideration by Parliament once under Article 111. But the President does so in his discretion. While you have dealt with instances of the President seeking reconsideration of advice tendered by a Cabinet, one finds that Article 111 is not discussed in the book. The only instance of resort to Article 111 was when President Abdul Kalam returned the Bill on Office of Profit, which sought include more offices to the existing list, to protect the incumbents from disqualification as legislators or MPs, on the ground of conflict of interest. Do you think the Presidents should resort to exercise of discretion under these provisions, when justified, more often, to make the Governments and Parliament accountable?
DC: I do not think that the device of 'reconsideration' should be used frequently as that would set up an anarchical prerogative of obstruction of the cabinet. It should be used judiciously and sparingly. Cabinets are ultimately accountable to the parliament and not to the president. That is the difference between a parliamentary and presidential form of government.
This article has been made possible because of financial support from Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation.
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