Recent Neolithic studies suggest that social relations, as well as their material manifestations, can be envisioned as amalgamations of social practices that alternatively serve to highlight elements of social differentiation and egalitarianism in communities. This perspective relies on ethnographic and anthropological research that illustrates three aspects to social relations in present and past middle-range communities: (1) social inequality is ubiquitous and found in all societies (Blanton 1995;Feinman 1995;Hayden 1995a, b; Kelly 1993; Paynter 1989); (2) "egalitarian" social systems require highly complex codes of social behavior, codes that are as complex as those seen within cultural contexts where systems of hereditary power exist (Flanagan 1989;Gerlach and Gerlach 1988;Rayner 1988); and (3) hierarchy and egali-tarianism are fundamentally interrelated and coexist in many, if not most, social systems (Berreman 1981; Kan 1989; McKinnon 1991; Myers 1986; Plog 1995). A number of recent ethnographic studies (Flanagan 1989; McKinnon 1991; Schiller 1997) have clearly demonstrated that most forms of governance in small-scale agricultural or horticultural communities combine hierarchical and egalitarian dimensions, and several archaeologists have applied this framework to explore social relations in different archaeological contexts (e.g., Blanton 1995;Feinman 1995;Plog 1995; Renfrew 1974). For example, Plog (1995:190) notes that ethnographic accounts from historical periods illustrate egalitarian dimensions in Pueblo society as well as hierarchical ones, leading him to conclude that "rather than trying to characterize Pueblo social relations using a single label, it seems more accurate to concluded that there are both egalitarian and hierarchical aspects of Pueblo societies, a point that has tended to be under-emphasized, if not over looked, during much of the previous discussion in the archaeological literature."
As with Plog's recognition of the coexistence of hierarchical and egalitarian dimensions in Pueblo societies, the authors in this volume introduce important implications for how researchers can understand Neolithic social systems. On one level, adoption of this approach moves discussions beyond consideration of the initial appearance of social differentiation, or, for that matter, how archaeologists should label Neolithic specific social systems, to explorations of the nature of social relationships. Second, this perspective encourages researchers to understand variations in Neolithic social organizations through time and space and at different scales. In the models we have developed to describe Neolithic social systems, we too often fail to acknowledge variations in time and space, and as a result often produce highly simplistic and broad formulations of social systems. Such a trend risks the intellectual homogenization of the Neolithic and the multiple pathways to power and authority, ultimately producing monolithic reconstructions that overlook the subtle, yet significant, differences between different kinds of Neolithic communities in different places and times. Finally, researchers recognize that internal social relations in Neolithic communities were more dynamic and complex than most of our models allow. Despite the rich archaeological record of the Neolithic of the Near East, remarkably little literature has focused on modeling social relations at any scale. Acknowledging that egalitarian and hierarchical relations are likely to have coexisted in select periods releases researchers from the focus on labeling societies and facilitates the development of realistic and comprehensive models of cultural dynamics, including the possible pathways to power and authority in Neolithic communities.
Neolithic Social Organization Heterarchy, Hierarchy, or Both?
There are many possible ways to conceptualize how power and authority might have been controlled and/or shared in Neolithic communities. While often unrecognized, many discussions of Neolithic social systems are also situated within the much broader discussion of if, or how, social relations in agricultural communities are organized along hierarchical and heterarchical lines (Crumley 1987). In the case of the Neolithic, these positions differ in whether the pathways cf power existed as either a single hierarchical system or one in which there were numerous coexisting hierarchical power structures. While there is no consensus on the matter, I suspect that most archaeologists working on the Near Eastern Neolithic would agree that there is no convincing evidence for some form of organized central social hierarchy, exemplified by the existence of hereditary elites, and ethnographically exemplified by chiefdom-level organizations. To the same extent, however, many researchers note evidence for some form of social differentiation among individuals, households, or communities, especially in the later periods of the Neolithic. While almost no archaeological research has directly addressed the topic, I suggest that it is likely that social differentiation in the Neolithic was derived from the authority of ritual practitioners, civic leaders, or perhaps community/household elders.
If there are insufficient grounds to argue for a hierarchically organized system of leadership focused on an individual or group of individuals with differential access to resources and authority, then it may be more profitable to alternatively envision Neolithic social relations as an organized series of interrelated, coexisting hierarchical units. From some perspectives, archaeological evidence from the Near Eastern Neolithic reflects several forms of hierarchical ritual and civic administration. For example, it appears that some dimensions of ritual practice found expression on the community level and would have undoubtedly involved ritual practitioners who controlled the timing, nature, and context of some, but not necessarily all, community rituals (see Chapter 5, this volume; Kuijt 1996; Mellaart 1967; Rollefson 1986;Voigt 1983). Researchers have also reflected on the importance of civic leadership for other tasks, such as the construction and maintenance of community buildings (Byrd 1994,Chapter 4, this volume; Kafafi andRollefson 1995; OzdoganandOzdogan 1989; Schirmer 1990; VoigtChapter 11,this volume). In light of the number of people living in some of these Neolithic communities, it is also possible that some form of civic, community-oriented leadership would have been necessary for organizing the planting and harvesting of crops. Based on spatial patterning of lithic waste materials from 'Ain Ghazal, Quintero and Wilke (1995) note that there is evidence for stone tool workshops in the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic and that the high degree of standardization may well reflect some from of craft specialization.
Given the absence of differentation in residential architecture and mortuary practices, however, I would suggest that collectively we construct a picture of Neolithic communities in which we see a balance of economic centralization and autonomy and of coexisting dimensions of egalitarianism and hierarchy. Moreover, to understand the shifting nature of these relationships through time, it is helpful to conceptualize Neolithic community relations as focused on a series of interrelated coexisting social units that might have included, but were not limited to, kin groups, the household, ritual sodalities, and the community. Ultimately the point here is not to argue that Neolithic community relations should be viewed only as heterarchically organized, for this argument is admittedly more observed than demonstrated. Instead the papers in this volume encourage researchers to explore the diversity of social relations through material culture and the built environment, and to abandon the predetermined position that these material manifestations are linked to a single hierarchical thread. I believe that the studies in this volume provide an initial foundation upon which to understand some dimensions of different, yet interrelated, pathways of power and authority existed in the Neolithic of the Near East.


Americas|What Artifacts Were in the National Museum of Brazil?
What Artifacts Were in the National Museum of Brazil?
More than 20 million items were at risk in a fire at the National Museum of Brazil, a staggering cultural toll that includes prehistoric fossils and rare pieces dating back several millenniums.
It was not immediately known how many artifacts, if any, were salvaged from the fire, which engulfed the museum on Sunday night, to the despair of Brazilians and history lovers worldwide. The museum, which opened in 1818, held an extensive collection of Brazilian artifacts, but also featured items from around the globe.
• One of the world's largest meteorites, which was found in 1784 and had been on display since 1888.
• Fossils from the oldest human remains found in the region, known as Luzia, and from dinosaurs and other creatures.
• An Egyptian collection that included a coffin from the 11th century B.C., a mummified cat and a collection of masks, vases, amulets and statues, like one of a young Egyptian woman from about 1500 B.C.
• Items from a large swatch of Brazilian cultures, including funeral urns from around the year 1000 in the region of the Maracá River, statues and vases from the Santarém culture in the region of the lower Tapajós River, a mortar from the Trombetas River area and a rare mummy found in Brazil.
• A Greco-Roman collection with more than 700 pieces that arrived in Brazil in the 1850s.
• Artifacts from indigenous Brazilians, including dolls, baskets, masks, pots, pendants and other jewelry.
• Items from ancient civilizations across South America, including wedding accessories from the Incas and a mummy from northern Chile.
• A vast bird collection almost 200 years old, representing the range seen in Brazil.
• A collection of gems and other geologic samples.


text:
from datetime import (
    datetime,
    timedelta,
)

import numpy as np
import pytest

import pandas.util._test_decorators as td

from pandas import (
    DataFrame,
    Series,
    bdate_range,
)

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def raw(request):
    """raw keyword argument for rolling.apply"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(
    params=[
        "sum",
        "mean",
        "median",
        "max",
        "min",
        "var",
        "std",
        "kurt",
        "skew",
        "count",
        "sem",
    ]
)
def arithmetic_win_operators(request):
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def center(request):
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[None, 1])
def min_periods(request):
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def parallel(request):
    """parallel keyword argument for numba.jit"""
    return request.param

# Can parameterize nogil & nopython over True | False, but limiting per
# https://github.com/pandas-dev/pandas/pull/41971#issuecomment-860607472

@pytest.fixture(params=[False])
def nogil(request):
    """nogil keyword argument for numba.jit"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True])
def nopython(request):
    """nopython keyword argument for numba.jit"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def adjust(request):
    """adjust keyword argument for ewm"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def ignore_na(request):
    """ignore_na keyword argument for ewm"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False])
def numeric_only(request):
    """numeric_only keyword argument"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=[pytest.param("numba", marks=td.skip_if_no("numba")), "cython"])
def engine(request):
    """engine keyword argument for rolling.apply"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(
    params=[
        pytest.param(("numba", True), marks=td.skip_if_no("numba")),
        ("cython", True),
        ("cython", False),
    ]
)
def engine_and_raw(request):
    """engine and raw keyword arguments for rolling.apply"""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture(params=["1 day", timedelta(days=1), np.timedelta64(1, "D")])
def halflife_with_times(request):
    """Halflife argument for EWM when times is specified."""
    return request.param

@pytest.fixture
def series():
    """Make mocked series as fixture."""
    arr = np.random.randn(100)
    locs = np.arange(20, 40)
    arr[locs] = np.NaN
    series = Series(arr, index=bdate_range(datetime(2009, 1, 1), periods=100))
    return series

@pytest.fixture
def frame():
    """Make mocked frame as fixture."""
    return DataFrame(
        np.random.randn(100, 10),
        index=bdate_range(datetime(2009, 1, 1), periods=100),
        columns=np.arange(10),
    )

@pytest.fixture(params=[None, 1, 2, 5, 10])
def step(request):
    """step keyword argument for rolling window operations."""
    return request.param

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The worth of a particular currency increases based on the actual demand for such currency. The a lot more demand for a certain currency, the higher prices it will command. A currency that has been devalued or has a most likely likelihood of being devalued will not be actively traded. A country's political or financial crisis can cause the devaluation of its currency.


text:
English Arabic Urdu Spanish
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This edition saw a number of corrections and amendments to the text. It is one of the best-selling children's books on Islam in the world (over 200,000 copies printed), giving a co..
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Towards Understanding Islam offers a simple exposition of the essential teachings of Islam; its approach to life, the articles of its faith, its scheme of worship and the social or..
Muhammad in the Bible
Prof. Abdul Ahad Dawud, the writer of present series of articles is the former Reverend David Benjamin Keldani, B.D a Roman Catholic Priest of the Uniate-Chaldean sect. The book al..
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This book talks about the life story of Muhammad, may Allah exalt his mention, and his beautiful manners. It also brings to light statements for contemporary figures in Western soc..
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The Bible, the Qur'an, and Science is an objective study of the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Qur'an. This book seeks to spiritually unite by highlighting similarities in the ..
The Choice (Islam & Christianity) - 2 Volumes Combined
By debater extraordinaire and founder of the Islamic Propagation Centre in South Africa, this book of Ahmed Deedat's is a collection of his most popular series of booklets on Islam..

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Fireplaces, Cast-Iron Radiators, Stoves, Doors And More For Your Home.
Shop: 159 Bellenden Road, Peckham, London SE15 4DH. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 5pm. e: care@casaonline.co.uk Tel: (020)77323911.
We offer a free, no obligation home visit service for Stoves, Fireplaces and Radiators. Areas we cover include, South London, West London, Central London, East London, North London and North Kent. Call us on (020) 7732 3911 for more details.
We deliver or Courier all items Nationwide. From door handles to refurbished cast-iron radiators, we get them to you with minimum fuss.
Seasoned Hardwood Logs - 5 bags Plus 1 Kindling £30 - Ideal For Stoves.
With a drive towards fuel and economic efficiency, multi-fuel stoves are now very popular. Stoves have been the fire of choice in Scandinavian countries for over a century because of their efficiency and heat output. However, there are a range of stoves from UK and other manufacturers that compete and surpass these traditional brands in both style and design build. Westfire, Mendip, Churchill and Stovax to name a few. The modern multi-fuel stove with clean burn and air wash technology, and high efficience rating make a multi-fuel stove the numder one choice for 21st Century lovers of the naked flame.
All the stoves we supply comply with European standards and are fitted by our qualified H.E.T.A.S team. Defra approved multi-fuel stoves are also available.
We offer a free advice and consultation service to ensure you have the right stove to fulfil your needs, desires and budget. We take pride in our work and can organise the job from chimney sweep to fitting, ensuring your purchase is as smooth as possible. View The Multi-Fuel Stove Gallery here!
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We stock a variety of Period four panel pine doors. Internal doors; solid and glazed, room dividers and cupboard doors.
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Gas coal effect fires generate over 6Kw of heat, look good and are easy to use. However, unless they are serviced bi-annually, the level of efficiency drops and the coals / pebbles become tired looking. We now offer a gas fire service which can freshen up tired looking fires and improve performance. Read more about Gas Fire Servicing here!
There is something a little bit special about a reclaimed cast-iron radiator. The classic lines of Original Ideal or Crane radiators hold a beauty that can only be described as a work of art. More efficient and stylish than the standard pressed steel counterpart, our radiators can be painted any colour, are flushed through, pressure tested, old fittings replaced and come fully guaranteed. Our installers are experienced in working with reclaimed radiators. If you need help deciding where to place radiators in your house to maximise efficiency and space, working out the size of radiator for heat output requirements, we are able to assist.
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The following report is the transcript of a presentation by Redflow Limited Chairman Brett Johnson made to the Redflow Annual General Meeting at 10:30am – Friday 24 November 2017.
The following report is the transcript of a presentation by Redflow Limited Non-Executive Director Simon Hackett made to the Redflow Annual General Meeting at 10:30am – Friday 24 November 2017.
In July 2017, Redflow Limited announced a $14.5 million investment package, enabling it to target sustainable delivery of its zinc-bromine flow batteries to high demand areas such as telecommunications.
We reinstate coverage of RFX following its recent capital raising. We expect RFX to end FY16 with ~A$12.5m of net cash and sales ramping up.
After many years of trials, RFX recently received its first small commercial orders from a variety of system integrators. We expect sales to accelerate as commercial orders generate revenue and cash.
RFX now fully outsources contract manufacturing to global giant Flextronics, has a Battery Management System for ease of installation and use, and is generating small commercial sales, which places RFX one step closer to success, in our view.
That said, after a stellar share price performance, RFX is now trading in-line with our price target so we move to a Hold recommendation.
Please click here to read the full analyst research update.


It's safe to say that I'm a podcast fanatic. I listen while driving, cleaning, walking, and any other moment of the day that I can spare. I even listen to a podcast while I'm trying to fall asleep! This past weekend, I spent an inspiring two days listening to my favorite creators at PodCon2, a podcast conference started in Seattle last year.
In the last few years, this genre has really come into its own. Many news organizations have started podcasts to help keep you up to date with current events. (Try NPR's Up First or Global News Podcast by BBC.). When I browse Apple Podcasts, the wide variety of creators and subjects amaze me. Even here at Sno-Isle Libraries, we've started a podcast about the ins and outs of our very own library system.
When Phoebe Robinson and Jessica William's stand-up comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens aired in April 2016, it became the #1 podcast on iTunes within 24 hours. It remained in that position for the following week! Robinson published her first book, You Can't Touch My Hair, later that year and became a New York Times bestseller. Her skills as a writer and stand-up comedian shine through in this engaging collection of essays about being a Black woman in America. While 2 Dope Queens said its farewells in 2018, you can still tune into Robinson's other podcast, Sooo Many White Guys. Her second book, Everything's Trash, But It's Okay, came out in October 2018.
Gaby Dunn is trying to understand the American financial institution and she's here to help you do the same. Her podcast Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn is an authentic look at how we interact with money. The first two seasons focus on Dunn's personal experiences, while the third looks at American society as a whole. Dunn provides a queer and feminist lens to help us all become a little less bad with money. Her new book came out January 1, just in time for your finance-related New Year's resolutions. Dunn also coauthored the young adult novel I Hate Everything But You with her YouTube co-creator Allison Raskin. A sequel will be coming out later this year.
Erin Gibson is the co-host of the podcast Throwing Shade, a political comedy podcast about women and LGBTQIA+ issues. The term "feminasty" comes from Gibson's nickname on the podcast and it's a role she has fully embraced in her first book. Gibson shows her stuff in these witty and provocative essays about issues that women face today, tackling topics like healthcare and the male-dominated cosmetics industry. I recommend Gibson's audiobook version of Feminasty, which we have available as a downloadable audiobook. Because of her podcasting background, the book lends itself to being listened to. You do not want to miss her stunning witch cackle.
The McElroy family is a podcasting dynasty. The three brothers (Justin, Travis, and Griffin) got their podcasting beginning with the advice show My Brother, My Brother, and Me back in 2010. Since then, they've gone on to create numerous other podcasts and even a TV show. Last year, the first story arc of their hit show The Adventure Zone (a D&D podcast by the brothers and their dad) was transformed into a colorful graphic novel. Another graphic novel based on the second story arc, "Murder on the Rockport Limited", will be coming in July of 2019. The McElroy's also recently announced that they will are writing for Marvel Comics! War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery will be available April 2019.
What started as one quirky and creepy serial fiction podcast about the town of Night Vale, turned into a diverse and independent podcast network with thirteen unique podcasts. Night Vale Presents has published several books over the past few years, including Welcome To Night Vale, a standalone fiction novel about the on-goings of this mysterious town. They have also published It Devours!, another standalone Night Vale novel, as well as Mostly Void, Partially Stars and The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe, which are collections of podcast episodes with commentary and illustrations. Their newest book, Alice Isn't Dead (based on the podcast of the same name), was published last October.
What are some of your favorite podcasts? What other podcasts would be great in book format?
For other podcast books, check out a list of titles we have at the library below. And be sure to tune in to Sno-Isle's Check It Out!
Oh cool! I haven't heard of that podcast! I'll have to check it out. That's the great thing about podcasts: there are always more to get hooked on.
I'm so happy about the podcast resurgence we've been seeing. In some cases I read the book before I listened to the podcast, like in the case of Adventure Zone, but now my brother and I are both fully immersed in their campaigns. I'm really pumped for the My Favorite Murder dual memoir coming out this spring, too! I was glad to see the Sawbones book in this list. I was just flipping through that and I'm not surprised it has a longish hold queue! Anyway, I love this topic.
I'm obsessed with The Adventure Zone. I started with Amnesty in November and was completely hooked. I think I binged the entirely of Balance in the month of December! I also hadn't heard about the MFM memoir yet! Very exciting!
Great list! I loved Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours. I actually read the two books first, and they got me interested in the podcast. The same with Aaron Mahnke's Lore.
Thanks! That's what's so great about podcasts expanding to books…they hook readers into a new podcast and podcast listeners into a new book! I would also highly recommend Within The Wires, which is another podcast by the Night Vale folks. It's a sci-fi dystopian fiction podcast, told nonlinearly through meditation tapes, museum audio guides, and more!
It's interesting that under the section of "audiobooks", everyone here are podcast fans. I don't ever listen to podcasts – I'm an audiobook fan through and through! I listen to them on my hour and a half commute, to and from work, on every break at work, when I'm walking and exercising – all the time! You'll see me laughing in the stores as I'm shopping, focused intently walking down the sidewalk – all as I'm listening to mysteries, thrillers, comedies – y'all can have your podcasts! I love the escapes from all the serious garbage I live through and listen to all day long! And since time is so precious and short these days, every minute I can get some "reading" in is a treasured minute to me!
I love audiobooks too! Especially when I'm reading memoirs or biographies. Some of the fiction podcasts I listen to are very similar audiobooks that I have enjoyed as well. Many of them are serial so it's like getting a new chapter every week!


In any business forum, magazine or even articles, you are almost sure to find someone talking about the need for any business to employ modern technology. Whereas this is a good idea, it also very important for someone to tell you that, you need to know which technology will work and the one that will not work for you. Nothing is as disappointing as for you to invest in a certain technology, only for it not to work. Just like when choosing consulting firms, care should be taken to ensure that you don't waste your money and resources employing a technology that will do you no good. So what should you consider?
1.The needs of your business.
Before choosing any technology, it is very important that you consider your business needs. Analyze the needs and then identify the options that you have. Look into your existing technology and identify all the loopholes. Change what can be changed and discard the whole technology if need be. Go out there and do research on the available technologies that can be used to solve your problem. Talk with experts, do experiments and finally employ the best technology. Well researched for technology should never fail you.
2.Is the technology likely to grow?
Technology is usually an expensive investment. It is therefore very important that you consider the technology with the potential of growing with your company or firm. Technology is not something that you change every other day, on the contrary, a technology that grows with you is likely to be more beneficial than a new technology employed in the business in its later stages. The best way that you can identify a long term technology is by analysing other similar firms and the technology they have been using. Identify the difficulties they have been encountering and look for the various options. This coupled with further consultations with the experts should ensure that you get the best technology and with the desired growth potential with your business.
3. What is your backup plan?
No any specific technology can be said to be perfect. Technologies are always failing. It is therefore very important for you to have a plan B, just in case your employed technology fails. Failing of your technology can completely cripple your business operations. You must have another way put up in place as the recovery path. Before you employ any technology, consider the consequences of its failure and also know how to get prepared in case it fails. Your business operations should not stop just because your technology is not working anymore.
Most firms are so obsessed with the issue of installing technologies in their firms, but they forget a very important point; that they need experts and professionals to install the software and to set the machinery in their firms. The survival of any technology is very much dependent on the level of expertise employed when setting up the new technology. Make sure you go for the right people with the required skills and make sure they know what they are doing. Avoid getting back to square one, just because you could not invest on the right experts!


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text:
from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function

from requests import HTTPError

class YOURLSAPIError(Exception):
    """Base exception."""
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(YOURLSAPIError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)

class YOURLSHTTPError(YOURLSAPIError, HTTPError):
    """Raised when YOURLS API returns HTTP error with response."""
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(YOURLSHTTPError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)

class YOURLSNoLoopError(YOURLSHTTPError):
    """Raised when trying to shorten a shortened URL."""
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(YOURLSNoLoopError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)

class YOURLSNoURLError(YOURLSHTTPError):
    """Raised when trying to shorten an empty URL."""
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(YOURLSNoURLError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)

class YOURLSKeywordExistsError(YOURLSAPIError):
    """Raised when a chosen keyword already exists.

    .. attribute:: keyword

       Existing keyword.

    """
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.keyword = kwargs.pop('keyword')
        super(YOURLSKeywordExistsError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)

class YOURLSURLExistsError(YOURLSAPIError):
    """Raised when a URL has already been shortened.

    .. attribute:: url

       Instance of :py:class:`~yourls.data.ShortenedURL` for existing URL.
    """
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.url = kwargs.pop('url')
        super(YOURLSURLExistsError, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)


text:
Xiaomi Mi Band Review
Xiaomi has managed to take the Indian smartphone market by the storm. All the devices it launched in the Indian market turned out to be runaway successes, so when it launched a fitness band in India, this April, all eyes were on them. So, will Mi Band revolutionalize the wearable space in India? Let's try to find that and more in this review.
It is a fitness band that cost Rs 999 and helps you track your basic exercise, sleep patterns and even gives you third-party app notifications (if you choose to get the same).
Anyone and everyone looking for an affordable wearable device either to show off or to seriously monitor their health and fitness activities.
After opening the box, all you need to do is get the Xiaomi Mi Band around your wrist. The initial two times, it took some effort getting the capsule in the band. It can be paired with any device that is running Android 4.4 (Kitkat) or higher and even iOS 7 (or higher). Pairing the same was a fairly easy task.
Using it
I have been using this device for over three weeks now. The first thing that I would like to point out is that the Mi Band does come with an exemplary battery. The company claims that once fully charged, the device can go on for 30 days + on a single charge. Though I have not used the device for 30 days, but it sure looks like (from the battery indicator lights on the capsule) it will last me a full one more week with ease.
There are three battery indicator lights on the capsule, which blink while charging. Also when you get any notification on the connected device these light blink and the capsule vibrates.
By default, the Xiaomi Mi Band comes with a black strap but you other colors are available too. You can choose from orange, blue, yellow, green and pink. Forget colors and come to the basics; the strap is pretty comfortable to wear, is dust-resistant and water proof. This means you don't really need to remove it any time of the day and can comfortably wear it for longer hours.
All the data that this device captures can be accessed through the Mi Fit app. When I first connected, I faced some issues. For instance, I was unable to switch devices for a bit but later it turned out to be Xiaomi servers' fault. Once that bit was solved, I faced no probs at all.
What I really liked about the band was that it managed to capture data even for those three days when I had no access to the app; the entire data was available when I managed to login and sync the band with my phone.
The thing with most fitness trackers is that they are not very accurate about what constitutes a workout. This is also true for Mi Band. While it does accurately count your steps that you walk every day, but at the same time, it also counts your e-rikshaw journey as steps. There have been times when I have been driving and the Mi Band had added a few steps in my daily log.
Having said that, it does manage to do a decent job of capturing the data; especially given the price it is being offered at. It excellently captures the sleep time and also tells you that out of our total sleep for how much time were you in the light sleep phase and the deep sleep phase.
However, in case you are habitual of catching naps, the same are not reflected in data. The app lets you choose your goals and you can monitor how you have been doing. You can also know the progress of the goal through the capsule, which has three LED indicator lights. For example if you set a target to do 3,000 steps a day and managed to take 1,000 steps in a given day then if you do "look at your watch" gesture, the Mi Band will blink one light out of the three. Similarly on completing 2,000 steps you will see two lights and on goal completion, and all three lights will light up and it will also vibrate once you have completed your daily target
Most fellow reviewers, I spoke to had issues with "look at your watch" gesture. However, for me it worked well 8 out of 10 times.
The third-party notifications to work well on the device, but given that there is no display sometimes you are left to wonder why exactly your Mi Band is vibrating. It is almost like you have an infant crying and you are looking whether he is wet or hungry or has stomach ache and scratching your head over it. We do realize that adding a display to this unit may have increased the cost of the unit and even compromised the battery life but there are a certain times that one missed it.
Also there is a new competition that has come up for Xiaomi Mi Band in the form of YuFit, which costs the same and does offer an OLED display. At the launch of Yu Yuphoria the company had mentioned that it will be launching in June and we are eagerly waiting to pit the two against each other and to find out which is the best affordable fitness tracker. But for that you will have to wait a little more time.
The good part
Price: Till the time Xiaomi had not started offering the Mi Band, it was hard for us to even imagine that there can be a fitness band available under Rs 1,000
Battery: The company claims that the Mi Band's battery last at least a 30 days and some of us can even manage to squeeze it to two months. While we have not been able to get to that point, but we sure can vouch that it does give a decent battery performance.
Comfortable and easy: The device is hassle free to install and comfortable to wear even for long hours.
The tragic flaw
Calculating steps: While we agree that most fitness trackers are unable to distinguish between various wrist movements and are prone to reporting more steps than you may have walked. However, at the end of the day, we do get a rough estimate on how much workout we did manage to get and what is the deficit.
Lack of screen: Like we said though we understand the need for not having a display on the Xiaomi Mi Band but sometimes one really misses it.
A week ago, it was a no brainer to ask any fitness enthusiast to get Xiaomi Mi Band wrapped around their wrists. However, with the announcement of YuFit we would ask people to wait and watch. Yes, Xiaomi Mi Band is a great value proposition, which manages to deliver all but who knows if YuFit would be better.
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This week, fans and hate-watchers alike mourned the dissolution of Hiddleswift, the definitive celebrity romance of summer 2016 (which, as a bonus, came with an awesome name like a Hogwarts house).
Just as the relationship was born in public (with Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston kissing on the beach in Rhode Island) and played out in public (with canoodles atop the Colosseum and more beach strolls with Hiddleston's mother in England) so too will their breakup unfold in the glare of paparazzi flashbulbs. Who will emerge the victor, and who will play themselves in this high-stakes post-breakup PR game? So far, Swift is coming out on top—and how. Watch and learn for her unofficial guide to winning the breakup.
Step 1: Go to the gym. If you can, in mesh-panel leggings, for emphasis.
When Swift hit up a New York gym yesterday, she publicly proved that she is not wallowing beneath a blanket while listening to Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and is probably going to strike Hiddleston from her mind with an old-fashioned endorphin high. The only way this could have been better would be if she'd worn Hiddleston's old "I Heart T.S." tank top for maximum trolling.
Step 2: All smiles, no comments.
Though the breakup has been reported by People, Swift has yet to comment—and has only flashed Cheshire cat smiles when out in public, sending a flippant, "whatever" message to the universe.
Step 3: Cultivate social media mystery.
The best way to make an ex squirm? Make yourself unstalkable online. Don't put a single nugget out there to let him or her know where you are, what you're doing, or what your current mood is (in Swift's case, in between public appearances). This includes eggs Benedict photos, Aperol Spritzes, and Snapchat dog faces. Swift has done just this, with nary an Instagram or tweet since the breakup news (and even before), leaving Hiddleston and the universe, to ponder what she's thinking. What does it all mean, Taylor? Give us a sign!
Step 4: The requisite girls' night out.
Swift's pièce de résistance? Going out with Lily Aldridge, revenge-dressing in a deep V-neck and mini skirt. This is one post-breakup move that never goes out of style.


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Монастырь Святого Силуана Афонского — ряд православных монастырей, освящённых в честь Силуана Афонского.

 Монастырь Святого Силуана Афонского (Сен-Марс-де-Локене) — монастырь во Франции.
 Монастырь Святого Силуана Афонского (Сонора) — монастырь в штате Калифорния, в США.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Savoryslurper
\u2018Nailed It!\u2019 Host Nicole Byer Said If She Wins The Emmy, She'll Put It In Her Bathroom
ICYMI, Nicole Byer, host of the iconic and hilarious cake decorating competition, Nailed It!, was nominated for an Emmy this week for Outstanding Host (the show was also nominated for outstanding reality competition!). And it turns out Nicole has some pretty exciting plans for that Emmy if she snags it…and they have to do with home decor.
Nicole spoke with Vulture immediately following her super exciting and historic nomination. She's the first Black woman to be nominated in the category (which she told E! she found out via Wikipedia). But it took her a bit to find out about the nomination in the first place, and she told Vulture that at first she didn't realize that she ALONG WITH the show had been nominated and it took a second for it to all sink in.
"I woke up to like five texts that were like, 'Congrats on Nailed It! being nominated,'" she recalled: "I guess the announcements weren't over yet. And then one of the execs from Netflix was like, 'Nicole, congrats!' and I was like, 'yeah, the show got nominated again, what a treat!' She was like, 'No bitch, you!' And I was like, 'Wait what?' So it was honestly a very Nicole way to find out something."
Nicole also told the outlet that if (and when!) she scores this Emmy, she'll be storing it in the one place everyone who visits her home will see it…the bathroom. TBH, it's kind of genius.
In non-Emmy news, Nicole shared that like the rest of us, she's also been doing a bit of baking while socially isolating, and like the contestants on the very show she hosts, she's had her fair share of baking fails. Following baking cookies "out of a bag" she attempted her mom's cream cheese sugar cookies.
"They were really bad and they ended up being like weird little biscuits. But my roommate, he ate them instead of his boyfriend, so they weren't that bad," she said.
Now I really want sugar cookies…even bad ones. Also for Nicole Byer to win an Emmy! But don't we all?
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Wall of Grief
October 31, 2017 PaulR	20 Comments
Yesterday (30 October), Vladimir Putin attended the unveiling of the 'Wall of Grief', a monument erected in Moscow to the victims of communist repression. This is the third major such monument constructed in Moscow this year, the other two being the Sretenskii Monastery (about which I wrote earlier) and a memorial at the former Butovo firing range.
You might imagine that these strong signals of disapproval of communism would have some effect on how the media represents Putin and the state he leads. For instance, you might imagine headlines like 'Putin condemns Stalinism', or 'Russian state turns it back on communist past', combined with some analysis of how this connects to other similar official condemnations of the Soviet Union. Well, if so you'd be wrong. For the most part, Western media haven't bothered covering the story at all, but let's look at those which have.
Reuters sets the tone with the headline, 'Putin opens monument to Stalin's victims; dissidents cry foul,' and with an opening paragraph declaiming that, 'President Vladimir Putin inaugurated a monument to the victims of Stalinist purges on Monday, but Soviet-era dissidents accused him of cynicism at a time when they say authorities are riding roughshod over civil freedoms.' At the very end of its article, Reuters takes pains to tell us:
Monuments and memorial plaques honoring Stalin have sprung up in different Russian regions. State-approved textbooks have softened his image, and an opinion poll in June crowned him the country's most outstanding historical figure. By contrast, those who have helped document Stalin's crimes, from the Memorial human rights group to individual historians and journalists, have sometimes felt themselves under pressure from the authorities. A group of Soviet-era dissidents published a letter on Monday, accusing Putin of cynicism. 'We … consider the opening in Moscow of a monument to victims of political repression untimely and cynical,' they said in the letter, published on the Kasparov.ru news portal. 'It's impossible to take part in memorial events organized by the authorities who say they are sorry about victims of the Soviet regime, but in practice continue political repression and crush civil freedoms.'
The BBC takes its cue from Reuters. It gives a factual headline, 'Wall of Grief. Putin opens first Soviet victims memorial.' But, after presenting the basic story, the BBC then cites the same group as Reuters, telling us that 'critics accused him [Putin] of continuing political repression and "crushing civil freedoms." A group of dissidents from the Soviet era wrote to a news website that they considered the event to be "untimely and cynical".' The BBC notes that Putin said that, 'An unequivocal and clear assessment of the repression will help to prevent it being repeated,' and that, 'This terrible past must not be erased from our national memory and cannot be justified by anything.' But it then qualifies this by finishing with the words, 'In June, President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia's enemies were "demonising" Stalin excessively. Under his rule, the Soviet victory over the Nazis has become central to a new ideology of Russian greatness.' As with Reuters, a story about Putin condemning the crimes of Stalinism thus gets turned around and becomes a story about Putin 'crushing civil freedoms' and indirectly promoting the Stalin cult.
Next we have Deutsche Welle, which gives us the headline 'With new Wall of Grief, Russia grapples with Soviet crimes.' This starts off with a paragraph saying, 'As some worry that Josef Stalin is being rehabilitated in Russia's collective memory, a new monument to his victims has opened in Moscow. Survivors of his reign of terror are not convinced that it's enough.' It then recounts the opinion of Tatiana Nikolskaya, whose mother was imprisoned under Stalin, who says that she doesn't like the Wall of Grief very much and complains that state compensation for Stalin's victims has been 'virtually nonexistent.' Deutsche Welle, like the others, then turns the story around and tells us:
The unveiling of the Wall of Grief comes amid a period of rehabilitation of Stalin's legacy. A bust of Stalin was erected this year on Moscow's Alley of Rulers, glorifying the dictator alongside President Putin's other predecessors. In an interview earlier this year, Putin said foreign enemies had used the 'excessive demonization of Stalin' to attack Russia. And that message from the top seems to be having an effect on Russia's collective memory.
Deutsche Welle also takes care to note that in his speech at the unveiling of the Wall of Grief, Putin 'stopped short of mentioning Stalin by name.' The implication is clear – Putin isn't really anti-Stalin at all. By contrast, the newspaper approvingly cites Ksenia Sobchak as saying that Stalin was 'unequivocally a bloody hangman and criminal'. In this way, we are left with no doubt as to newspaper's preferred Russian presidential candidate.
It's interesting to see how this works. Putin unveils a monument to Stalin's victims, but Western reporting doesn't focus on that, nor link it to other memorials which repudiate communism (Butovo, Sretenskii, etc), but instead uses the event as what journalists call a 'hook' to write a story about political repression under Putin and the Russian state's alleged rehabilitation of Stalin. And the sources it cites are the likes of Sobchak and Kasparov.ru, who represent a tiny and extreme fringe of Russian public opinion. Unfortunately, this is all too typical of how Russia is reported. Caveat Emptor, as the saying goes; or to put it another way, let the reader beware.
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20 thoughts on "Wall of Grief"
jraortjens says:
I think you might be confusing Western media with Anglo-Saxon media. Quite a difference, especially concerning quality reporting of Russian politics.
melanf says:
Quite a difference? http://inosmi.ru/ website posted a translation of the Western press. There is no difference, the same Orwellian song
Castellio says:
Well, give us an example. In what language. I receive almost all of my news in the French language, and read the European publications. I am unaware of any difference.
Interestingly enough some other english language sources twist condemnation of political repressions to represent condemnation of communism.
It's always easy to predict what spin those "english language sources" put on things.
N'est-ce pas? =)
Pavlo Svolochenko says:
What's most insulting is that Germans feel entitled to an opinion about… anything, really.
Digby says:
And why, pray tell? Do you honestly believe some nationalities are more deserving of freedom of speech than others? Speaking for myself, I don't believe in censorship. (I mean, look what happened to Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning)
akarlin says:
Well, DW has a point – Putin pointedly avoided naming Stalin, or the NKVD, or… so you get phrases like "the repressions spared noone", and "millions of people were declared enemies of the people."
One naturally wonders, who was it that spared noone? What entity declared enemies of people? Did it just happen naturally? Through God? Maybe enemies of the people declared themselves. Hell if I know, listening to Putin's speech.
This is like a Jew saying that "millions of Jews were exterminated" and that the "Holocaust spared noone." Without bothering to mention Nazis or Hitler or Einsatzgruppen.
Ah, but Putin did explain his omission after all: "Но это не значит – призывать к сведению счетов. Нельзя снова подталкивать общество к опасной черте противостояния." (But that does not mean calling attention to accounts. You can not again push society to a dangerous point of confrontation.) That same old "don't rock the boat" spiel.
That same old "don't rock the boat" spiel.
Is that a bad thing?
He is actually right, because NKVD was not spared either. No one was spared except Stalin himself. Molotov even lost his wife, if I recall correctly. No one was safe.
"No one was safe."
Except lierally 95+% of country's population. And – no, Molotov "lost" no one. She did not "disappear".
She was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in a labour camp.
In response to this :
"What I did say is that the imperial elites who grew up under "Faith, Tsar, Fatherland" values were far less rapacious and far more patriotic than the late sovok elites who grew up under "Soviet values""
What a stinking pile of bullshit.
Honestly, Tolya, I have to wonder – what's more in your modus operandi? Laziness, stupidity or just bitter dogmatism, which forces you to lie constantly and with gusto? What, you think regurgitating all the myths popular among the French bread crunching neo-aristos will bring you feeling of belonging, of relevance? So far it only paints you even more incompetent than you (usually) are.
It were no blood y Bolsheviks who noted – very perceptively – that «Русь слиняла за два дня». It was the "elitarii" who took control of the country after the February Revolution – "people with good faces", excellent pedigrees, well fed and educated members of the (quite often – hereditary) elite. Baron P.N. Wrangel, who's immediate commander sent him to Petrograd with a tearful letter asking new powers that be to stop their madness and "Order №1", describes post-February Petrograd elite thusly:
"The first thing that struck me in Petersburg was the huge number of red bow-knots that adorned almost everyone. They were seen not only on the unbuttoned overcoats of the soldiers without weapons, on the clothes of male and female students, taxi drivers and carriage cabbies staggering through the streets, but also on dapper civilians and a considerable number of officers. There were elegant carriages with coachmen, decorated with red ribbons, their owners having red bow-knots pinned on the fur coats. I personally saw several old, well-deserved generals who did not disdain to decorate a uniform coat with a fashionable revolutionary color. Among others I met was one of the members of the Emperor's suite, also adorned with a red bow; [Nicholas II] monograms had been torn from his epaulettes; I could not help but express to him my perplexity to see him in this form. He was obviously embarrassed and tried to laugh: "What to do, I'm only dressed according to the form – this is a new uniform…" Many had overdone with cowardice, recreancy and servility to the new rulers. All these days I constantly walked around the city on foot in general's uniform with the monograms of the Heir the Tsesarevich on shoulder straps (and, of course, without a red bow-knot) and for all this time had not a single collision.
This cowardice and lackey servility of the Russian society was clearly manifested in the early days of the Troubles, and not only soldiers, junior officers and petty officials, but the people nearest to the Emperor and the members of the Imperial Family were an example. From the first hours of danger, the Emperor was abandoned by all. In the terrible hours experienced by the Empress and the Tsar's Children in Tsarskoe, none of those close to the Royal Family hurried to help them. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich himself brought the Guards sailors to the Duma and hastened to "appear" before M.V. Rodzianko. In a number of newspapers there appeared "interviews" of the Grand Dukes Kirill Vladimirovich and Nikolai Mikhailovich, where they most dishonorably defamed the renunciant Tsar., No one could read these interviews without indignation."
Oh, and speaking about Wrangel. Excellent pedigree – a noble clan that dates back at least to early 13 c., which have served in the militaries of several countries – including Russia. A crème de la crème of the "elite breeding", indeed! His grandfather – Egor (Georgiy) Ermolayevich Wrangel served in leib-guard, fought in several wars, was awarded (several times) and wounded. Upon resigning he resorted to the typical "capital building" of ½ XIX c. Russian noble – he married well and amassed several big estates all across Russia.
His son (and the "black baron's" father) Nicolay Georgievich was rather typical member of the noble class of the early post "Great Reforms" Russia – he was a sybarite, gambler, man of art and letters, who travelled extensively abroad for education, sights and games of chances (during which he could afford himself to bet and loose up to 150 000 rubles at once). He never properly (let alone illustriously) served, instead preferring to squander the remaining wealth which he inherited upon this or that "start-up enterprise" – which nearly always resulted in disaster. What became a straw to break a proverbial camel's back were his murky dealings when he took upon himself an obligation to supply foodstuffs to the Russian Army during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. He failed to do that and blew away 5 million rubles. What happened next he described in his own memoirs (which, arguably, are of better style than his son's):
"I was absolutely ruined and found myself without money, and, meanwhile, my wife was with a child. I hoped that I could partly compensate for the losses due to the money that I had to get from the treasury for the losses incurred… Thanks to my contacts, I managed to get a quick investigation into this case: it was decided in my favor and closed. The commission, engaged in this case, admitted that my losses should be compensated. It was decided to give me an amount of five thousand rubles with kopecks. But it was good that the case did not take years and ended indescribably fast. "Connections" in Russia are everything."
Indeed, they were – a corporate solidarity among the nobles was everything. Not personal talents or achievements – connections. If you failed somewhere – don't try harder. Find the right connection and use it. That's, btw, what Wrangel's father did next – again:
"[A]fter all the excitement and adventure, I wanted to rest and calm down. I did not talk about my failure with anyone. Moreover, I was surprised to receive a letter soon after all these events from [admiral] Chikhachev, who was never in correspondence with me. He wrote to me that the Azov office of the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade urgently needs an energetic and skilful person to represent the company, and asked me if I would agreed to become a representative of the company in Rostov-on-Don. The conditions suited me, I accepted the offer and had to start work in a few months."
Thus, the great descendant of the mighty and heroic Wrangels ended up in a provincial city having a cushy job, the most "thrilling" experience in his career – running for the post of Rostov's mayor (and losing).
"Protektsia" worked for Piotr Wrangel in his career climbing as well. He became enlisted into famous cavalry leib-guard ("kavalargard") regiment because all his ancestors had a place reserved there. Again, through connections and the simple fact that his last name was "Wrangel", he accomplished several feats of proper "connection massaging": in one year he turned officer, then resigned, then re-apped in order to participate in the Russo-Japanese War (he fought alongside another great and loyal member of Russian imperial nobility – one with the last name Skoropadsky), amassing ranks and medals. He participated in punitive actions in Siberia in 1906. In August 1907 he married an rich heiress, an imperial lady-in-waiting Olga Mikhailovna Ivanenko, which brought a necessary infusion of funds for a dashing capitol dwelling leib-guard officer, plus several estates, owned by his fiancé's family – one of which was in Austro-Hungary.
In emigration neither Wrangel, nor anyone one of his children managed to recoup their losses and with their own hard work achieve the same status and wealth as they had before. And they were the lucky ones – other members of the White emigration, both people with "big names" and ordinary ones, fell into complete penurity. Why? Because the aristocracy lost it's network of connection – the chief thing that allowed it to retain its higher level of wealth.
What you did? You talked out of your ass, Tolya. I know – one can confuse, especially when it's you who's talking, but there is a difference. You can't make ballsy claims and expect the people to take you word for it. Maybe your own net-hamsters, who take your "wisdom" as unquestionably zealous as Navalny ones. You claim that Ksyushad's is right and there was, indeed, the "genocide" of the best and brightest – go and prove it. It requires time and effort, it requires research and ability to work, and not just your tried and tested method of "пальцем в небо". Once again – where are comprehensive statistical data? Where is analysis? Where is number crunching? Do this or STFO, you, tit.
Try again. You proved nothing, Tolya.
"Many more of them ended up emigrating to the United States eventually."
Ah, yes – poor darlings and innocent lambs, brought to the US, fed and furnished – and in some cases provided a cushy job on the Radio Free Europe. Operation "Paperclip" and it derivatives.
"The family of one girl I knew first went to Manchuria, then to Brazil, then to the USA. This was not atypical. How many of them must have moved on from Germany during the 1930s alone, or after the war."
Whether it was atypical or not determines not you but statistic.
"By the same token, I hope you understand why some people consider commies to be a dangerous den of vipers, and recommend free helicopter rides as a prophylactic against their democidal zealotry."
Oh, cut the crap! Should I make innuendo about hanging the whole lot of rightward bastards on city squares like we, the Soviet people, did to Vlasov as well?
Because this is the hottest "meme" for the semi-closeted neo-Nazis like you, who are finding justification in their pathetic violent urges targeted at acceptable (for liberal and handshakable public) demographic. You, Nazis of all stripes, were judged and punished. You are the scum of the Earth. You are not normal. You, Tolya, if you support Nazism, even "ironic" one, as, according to you is the norm among the Western rightwards, is the scum. Not me. And, hopefully, not your parents, who grew up and received their (free, excellent, top level) education in the country of USSR.
A.I.Schmelzer says:
We Krauts are free to have an opinion, we are not however entitled to pretend that our opinion is better or more handshakeable or whatever.
I am not exactly a fan of Deutsche Welle.
As far as my own opinion of Stalin goes:
1: I am less then impressed with his leadership in Operation Barbarossa. He made the cardinal mistake of mistaking his own Propaganda as fact, as well as massively misreading Hitlers intentions. This was despite having fairly accurate information about German troop numbers.
2: His efficiency as a war leader improved during the war. With Hitler it was the opposite.
3: There is a considerable variance between the strategies various Soviet Generals (Zhukov, interestingly not Rokosovsky) claimed to have employed in WW2 (the claim is that they learned to focus on one front, and abandoned the broad front strategy, archival research by Glantz et al. shows that they were actually running broad front approaches throughout the entire war) and what they actually did. To me, it seems that, having been through World War 2 they post facto realized a better option, and then convinced themselfs that they did just that.
4: Stalin was a dictator, and clearly in charge. In the context of World War 2, this was a good thing. Having a plan and following it beats not having a plan, or having several plans, or the massive mess German actual command was, even if the plan is not optimized.
5: His achievments in moving industry to the Urals were incredible.
6: As far as purges go: I think, and Konstantin Rokososvky is pretty much my crown witness here, that he purged too many. One should note that there were no Quislings in the USSR, the Vlassov army was given a choice between fighting for the Germans and a KZ, which is different from being a Quisling. There were Quislings in the parts of the WW2 Soviet Union which were no affected by purges, meaning the Baltic states and Galicia. As such we can quite plausibly argue that the purges did reduce the population of possible Quislings to a very low level.
I would however state that the price in military potential wasted was too high. This is monday morning quarterbacking though. Given Stalins nature and personality, I would strongly expect someone like him to "overpurge".
7: I cannot claim to know how much slower the USSR would have industrialized without Stalin forcing this industrialization as strongly as he did (with the quite sizeable costs incurred in terms of famines). I simply lack the relevant expertize. My gut feeling, which may be quite wrong, is that the whole process could have been run more efficiently. In particular, it should have been possible to make economic use of the Kulaks rather then kill them.
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Ezekiel 18:19-20 ESV / 291 helpful votes
"Yet you say, 'Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
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i think its time to realistically approach this season by considering fewer teams. it may be a return of the original PSL format. i think its better to get some games started than to continuously wait for more people to come back to the game.
i for one am growing less interested by the day. lets get this started or call it a day.
Until then could we at least agree to show up for pickup games around the psycho time? im getting sick of nobody on!!
^ There were games tonight until about 11:45 EST. I don't know where you were, Bolo. There are usually games every night after 9:30 PM; and if there aren't, just sit in the server until people join. You'd be surprised how many join when they only see 1 player sitting in there.
PSL 20 WILL START SHORTLY; HOLD YOUR HORSES, GENTS!
hey guys, anyway I can still sign up? Just bought TT again from shockwave, haha... Cant find the map pack or the new radar though..


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Saudi crown prince visits Algiers without meeting president
Published at 09:59 am December 4th, 2018
File Photo: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Reuters
Local media says the 81-year-old president was in bed with a heavy flu
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called off a meeting with visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday because of ill health, the national news agency APS reported.
It said the 81-year-old president, whose health has been fragile since he suffered a stroke in 2013 and is rarely seen in public, was "in bed with a heavy flu".
Bouteflika postponed a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in February 2017 and was last seen on Algerian television on November 1 laying a wreath at the country's independence war memorial.
Prince Mohammed, on his first foreign tour since the October 2 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, held talks instead with Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, Algeria's presidency said, during a low-key visit that was kept largely out of the media spotlight.
The visit would focus on "partnerships and investment projects", the Algerian presidency said before the prince arrived in Algiers late Sunday on a flight from Mauritania.
Like a previous stop in Tunis, the crown prince's visit has drawn criticism from political and academic circles in Algeria over the Saudi-led war in Yemen and Washington Post columnist Khashoggi's grisly murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
It was jointly denounced by 17 intellectuals, journalists, Muslim scholars and other figures in the North African country, in a statement obtained by AFP.
They said the "whole world is certain that he ordered a terrible crime against the journalist Jamal Khashoggi".
Khashoggi's killing has put mounting pressure on Riyadh and Prince Mohammed, who Turkish officials -- and reportedly the CIA -- have concluded was behind the critic's death.
Saudi authorities have vehemently denied the crown prince was involved.
The prince flew out of Algiers later Monday without an announcement on his next destination.
With its traditionally neutral stand, Algiers has good relations with Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran but has also maintained cordial ties with Riyadh.
"Algeria finds itself half-way between the position of Iran and that of Saudi Arabia. It has never taken a position on their conflict," Rachid Grim, a political science professor at Algiers University, told AFP.
Spokesperson: Pentagon chief still hopes to meet Saudi crown prince
Iran welcomes Saudi change of tone, sees 'new chapter'
Saudi prince strikes conciliatory tone with rival Iran
UN confirms report on Saudi threat against Khashoggi investigator
Saudi prince pushes on with $500bn megacity as US points the finger over Khashoggi killing
Press watchdog RSF files lawsuit against Saudi prince over Khashoggi
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika


After a successful first competition, albeit with few entries, gmarcade have launched their second game making contest with the theme of 'time'.
The vulnerabilities discovered by James Rhodes in YoYo Games' Instant Play remain unfixed more than three months after they were bought to the attention of the website.
If you have never read any of Mr. Harbour's books, I highly advise buying one if you aren't entering the contest. They are EXTREMELY in depth and written in very good style. I myself own three of his books, and definitely want to get my hands on a copy of his Java programming book.
See the problem is, why would anyone make a whole game for a contest that isn't giving away any money? I don't care about GMArcade coins (I don't even know what they do) and don't need the book.


Breaking garden news! The crime spree has ended thanks to this sweet net situation I rigged up.
A friend suggested that my vegetable predator could very well be birds (instead of or in addition to rabbits), and seeing as how that stray cat had turned the bed into its litter box (I scooped out the very foul evidence of at least four visits), I decided to fully enclose the garden to protect against all comers.
I picked up this Dalen Bird-X netting, which is really fine – so thin that it's actually hard to photograph – and really strong.
The four posts in the middle to which the net is stapled are loose in the PVC sleeves so that I'm able to easily remove them. The net is simply draped over the two posts on either end and then stapled to a loose piece of wood to weight it down a bit. I also used a few garden staples along the sides to pin the net into the dirt. It's been in place for a week now and I'm really happy with the solution.
… or what I thought was a rat. Eventually I realized that it didn't move like a rat – I've never seen a rat high-step like this.
It was pretty adorable, as far as alley animals go. It didn't like that I was following it and kept wheeling around to do an open-mouthed hiss at me, but it was so young that it couldn't even make a noise.
Eventually s/he moved on down the line and slipped under a crack into my neighbor's garage.


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ALANIS MORISETTE GETS REALLY QUIET
By Andy Johnson
She's been known for most of her career for being rather loud.
But, for her latest project, Alanis Morrisette is turning down the volume and looking inward.
She's out with an 11 track, guided meditation album called "The Storm before the Calm"
The 47-year old Ottawa-born singer songwriter says meditation lets her connect with her interior to the point where she has access to ideas and visions and inspirations.
The album features hypnotic drums and drone sounds and is available now on digital platforms.


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The Father+Mother Storytelling Performance
Posted on September 16, 2013	by The Quest
In this conflab, Ade Adeniji & Paul Woodward discuss their upcoming storytelling performance – The Father+Mother Project.
Ade: I'm really excited about our upcoming Fathers+Mothers storytelling performance.
What was your inspiration for collaborating on the piece?
Paul: To be honest I've never considered myself a performer… I'd say I was a director and dramaturg first and for most.. but through a variety of chances and circumstance I found myself working in Melbourne with the legendary performance storyteller and gay activist Tim Miller from the US on an ensemble storytelling piece about bodies and memory… I performed a short piece about my relationship to my father's body and how this showed up in my relationships as an adult… And it was a revelation.
When I'd acted previously when I was much younger I kind of felt that there was this veil between myself and the audience… and the result was that they didn't seem to get me and I didn't seem to get them.. so I was never satisfied with performing and so went the directing route… In the show in Melbourne though something had changed and that veil just wasn't there… It felt amazing… as soon as I stepped out onto the stage I felt both seen and connected… the audience saw me and I saw them… they got me and I got them… and it was great.. I truly believe that this was a result of my work journeying with The Quest… I was able to be authentic on stage and it was electrifying… Tim took me to one side and INSISTED that I work on my existing material and develop it into a whole evening show… I was immediately challenged and was going to decline… but when one of your heroes tells you to do something… well I guess you do it… and so I did… I'm going to blame him if it's all a disaster! lol…
Ade: Storytelling has always been a core part of how I have expressed myself. For many years I had forgotten this, as I got lost in climbing the corporate ladder.
I remember visiting Nigeria in 2010 when my sister reminded me of how I would get the children in our building together at nighttime to tell them a range of stories. Her reflection came at a time when I was feeling dissatisfied with life generally and feeling disconnected from my TRUE Self. I had quit my full time/permanent job to go on a journey of reconnection and rediscovery. As part of that journey, I attended a range of storytelling and improvisation workshops and fell in love all over again with telling stories. This culminated with being on stage last year (and early this year) with guys from The Quest. With my mother passing away last year, I have been remembering my journey with her and I feel pregnant with all these stories that are dying to be born – dying to be told!
Paul: Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt about my father and the story of my relationship with him… it seemed in my memory there were all these jigsaw puzzle pieces that just didn't add up… I just couldn't (or wouldn't) put them together.. I just wasn't sure what I would find out when I did… when someone dies there is an enigma there… and in my case I didn't get to say goodbye to my father… so in terms of process there were two core impulses… to try to use story and theatre to piece together the puzzle… and to find the most powerful and creative and healing way I could imagine to say goodbye to my father… and hello to myself as a fatherless son… and to stand back and see and feel the power in that sense of ascendancy – if that makes any sense?
Ade: Yes, that does make sense and I can relate. I spent the last 2 years before my mother dying putting together this jigsaw puzzle of our relationship and it go to a point where I started to wonder what had really happened – in terms of truth and imagined truth. In one of my final conversations with my mother, we were talking about an event that had happened in my childhood and we had both remembered it differently. I also witnessed this when I went through the diaries that she had kept where some of the things she had written down did not match how I had remembered it. So for me, preparing for the performance has taken me on this journey of remembering – bringing memories back together; in terms of events and my interpretation of those events.
I feel very much like Hansel and Gretel following the breadcrumbs trying to make my way back home, but some of the crumbs have disappeared, so I am sometimes having to guess and re-imagine where they might have been!
Paul: Perfect analogy, in fact its the kind of idea I've been working on with The Haunting project too with the guys… both The Father+Mother project and that project have, at their core, a fundamental mystery – namely 'what happened'? – and this is told by a narrator, but there is that question when working with memory and story – can we actually trust the narrator, or are they 'unreliable' – as I get older I have begun to understand that what I have previously told as 'experiences' are in fact 'perceptions of that experience' – even though they happened to me, they happened to me as maybe a 4 year old, but I'm re-telling that as a 47 year old… and in the telling of that story there is a fundamental discomfort… a clash between the ideas and decisions about the world that I made as a child to get through childhood and those of an adult gay man in his 40's… its a wonderful and creative discomfort though.. a bit like the grit in the oyster.. the pearl here is enlightenment through resolution.
Making this piece has allowed me to go back in time to get to feel my 4 year old who still lives inside of me… to allow him voice and expression… to say 'I understand'… and then when I do, he's all ok and silent and happy again just because I acknowledged him… as much as I'm honoring my father I'm honoring myself through this process too… and I'm many ways it feels like the ultimate test of everything I have learned as part of my journey with The Quest.
Ade: Yes, autobiographical storytelling for me is often about a variety of things – making sense of the past, healing the wounds of the past, rediscovering how the past has influenced who I am today….. and to entertain the listener! Ultimately as the storyteller, remembering the past allows me to be more fully myself in the present. For I am no longer haunted by my shadows or ghosts. The process has been very much an exorcism!
What do you feel the audience will take away from The Fathers + Mothers project?
Paul: A fundamental strategy of The Quest is simply to 'speak from the 'I' – because when we generalize it can mean that we attempt to speak for others, and possibly not be fully committed to ourselves and our feelings in the process – but the knock on effect is that when a participant on the courses starts to learn to speak from the 'I' – they suddenly become relatable… and in doing so, suddenly I see my experience in their own now that they are owning it with clarity and bravery.
On one level this show is just me talking about me and my father as honestly and as authentically as I can… and in doing so I really hope my own investigation into my relationship with my father as a gay HIV+ man will be relatable to anyone that has had a relationship with a parent where its taken a while to be able to understand each other and find peace with them… that's the hope anyways… and in going there… maybe find some point of hope for change… Because in doing this work I do feel healed, and I do feel really really loved by my father… I don't think I would have ever truly found that out if I hadn't taken Tim's advice and pushed past my own fear to take on this project.
Ade: For me the power of autobiographical storytelling is that in the listening we get a glimpse of the Oneness that binds all of us – for on the surface we may be different in terms of what we look like and what may have happened or not happened to us, but beneath it all we are not that much different. Brene Brown in her work says that we are all hardwired for connection and I truly and deeply believe this. And this comes through in both our stories – you and your father, me and my mother – it's a story of connection, disconnection and everything in between.
Paul: Its been really interesting in that although we developed our stories apart, when we did finally start to rehearse together there were all these interesting points of connectivity – completely different geographical and ethnographic environments, but certain themes, and maybe more importantly, 'feelings', were there in both our pieces… I'm present to the fact that there are specifics in the lives of gay men – and during this process I've realized that I sometimes push my feelings about these specifics underground… maybe because I have judged them as too clichéd or something or not worth the airtime… but in honoring these through story and theatre I rediscover them… and I actually feel more well rounded as a gay man… its like I'm making a map of my journey… a specifically gay cartography… and this map allows me to find me… I really hope that other people can follow the map too.. and create their own in the process…
Ade: I can relate to that. In considering the stories I wanted to bring to the project I was conscious that I wanted to also connect with the many gay men who are not fully accepted by their parents for who they are. Even though we now live in a world that is more embracing on some level, there are still corners of the world where many parents struggle with accepting and celebrating their gay children, and in our youth we may have interpreted that as something to do with us – I know I did! In my longing for connection, I would sacrifice authenticity! And this also applied to my mothers journey… she sacrificed so much for connection. As I think about it now, I'd like the audience to also leave pondering on what they sacrificed in their own pursuit of connection.
Paul: Yeah that's brilliant – its funny because sometimes autobiographical storytelling is seen as a big old ego trip… but I've never seen it like that as I personally learn so much about myself from other peoples stories if told authentically and from the heart… if it was all EGO then I would switch off… but if its coming from SELF then I connect and somehow I feel less alone in the world… yeah… And I think in making these pieces I've become aware of the difference between these two modes both in myself and in the world in general… One thing that I've been asking myself all along is 'would dad approve of this and would I invite him to see it if he were alive' – and my answer is actually 'yes' because at the end of his life when he was at peace with his cancer he went through such a period of letting go of ego and embraced his true self… it was wonderful to see… but it took death to provoke this change… for me its not so much death… its creative theatre…
Ade: Oh, it can certainly be EGO driven and over indulgent, if the storyteller is not mindful – I'd like to feel that we are that, and congruent with where we are in our respective lives.
Not sure my mother would approve of me telling these stories – she would consider it washing our dirty linen in public. She struggled with me being openly gay and in fact her priest told me that someone had showed her some of my Facebook postings and she had felt shame. So in fact the title of my piece is really apt – for going on stage to tell my stories would 'kill my mother!'
Paul: I've got to say I'm really fascinated by the next phase of our project next year when we switch focus and you do a piece about your father and I do mine about my mother… how are you feeling about that prospect?
Ade: I'm so immersed in this one that I cannot see that far yet…. but when I do, I am sure that I will be equally excited!
Any final words?
Paul: Yeah.. I was talking to The Haunting cast about the challenges of solo shows… I think it would be great to get as many solo shows from Quest graduates out there.. It's like an ultimate test of authenticity and growth and courage to be yourself…. we are just pioneering the first shows… its over to our graduates next!
Ade: Yes, I am sure there will be many more shows to come, after all everyone has a story to tell! I'm really excited about the upcoming shows on 5 and 6 October!!!
Paul: Yeah me too… It will be great to see as many Quest graduates there as possible to help us through it! It's been a pleasure talking to you my lovely co-performer!
Ade: Likewise…… see you at the next rehearsal!
Category: Ade Adeniji, Conflab, Paul Woodward	Tags: Ade Adeniji, Brene Brown, Paul Woodward, storytelling, The Quest


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Author: asorockmirrornews
Ondo State has again recorded an outbreak of Lassa Fever that has left scores of persons currently hospitalised, SaharaReporters has learnt. Some medical practitioners, who pleaded anonymity while confirming the outbreak on Monday, said the disease had been recorded in…
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria is said to have concluded plans to quiz 92 doctors and the Medical Director of Nisa Garki Hospital, Abuja, following petitions and other allegations against the management of the hospital in relation to…
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC have arrested Badamasi Sule and Muhammad Muhammad, suspected money-doublers. The suspects arrested by the Abuja Zonal Office were alleged to be in the possession of counterfeit Naira notes totaling about N45…
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt; left the wine brands they had produced together and below their Chateau in France Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt went their separate ways last year after five years of marriage, but their chemistry is mixing…
Michelle Obama at a workout. Right is Burna Boy Former US First Lady Michelle Obama, like her husband Barack, has revealed her fondness for Burna Boy's music.In a Twitter post Sunday, Michelle listed the Nigerian singer's 'My Money, My Baby'…
Nigerian actress Rita Uchenna Nkem Dominic Nwaturuocha popular as Rita Dominic disclosed that she has been hospitalized but is back on her feet now. Rita wrote on Instagram: Was hospitalized but well now. See you soon in Kigali for #CAX…
Play was suspended just hours after the start of the Australian Open on Monday as heavy rain fell on Melbourne Park, causing further disruption after a build-up hit by smoke from bushfires. Umbrellas went up and fans were sent scurrying…
The pipeline explosion at Ile-Epo area of Abule Egba, in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria has left three persons burnt to death, 11 trucks and seven houses razed in the inferno. A massive explosion shattered the peace of the area around 7:45pm…
10 poorest countries in the world We have listed the poorest countries in the world and all of them are 1. The central African Republic The economy of Central African Republic is largely dependent on the export of diamonds, which…
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu is planning to come to Nigeria for his parents' burial on February 14, 2020. In a statement signed by the group's spokesperson, Emma Powerful, Kanu said that the ceremony would…


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Brian Howey: Senators, witnesses and censure
By BRIAN A. HOWEY, Publisher
Saturday, January 4, 2020 9:33 AM
President Trump campaigns for Mike Braun in the 2018 U.S. Senate race.
INDIANAPOLIS - Since House Democrats impeached President Trump on a mostly party line vote late last month, I've been pretty outspoken that his future should be determined by the voters at the ballot box in November. A historic first censure of a president should become a viable option.
Having stated that, we appear to be in for a Senate impeachment trial, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi is refusing to send the two articles to the Senate until Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allows witnesses. Specifically, Democrats maintain that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House counsel Don McGahn, former nation security adviser John Bolton, and several Office of Management and Budget officials should testify. President Trump wants Joe and Hunter Biden to swear an oath and talk before these Senate jurors.
Since polarized Washington has foisted this debacle on to the American people, then it's only fitting to have a real trial, with real witnesses. If Trump wants us to believe there was no transgression, he should allow senior aides to testify.
Indiana's two Republican Senate jurors, Todd Young and Mike Braun, are expected to acquit President Trump on the two articles that allege he abused his power by seeking a "quid pro quo" in upholding $390 million of congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine in exchange for political dirt on the Bidens that would aid and abet the Trump reelection campaign (which Bolton likened to a "drug deal"), as well as ignoring Congress in its constitutionally-stated role as a check and balance on the executive branch.
In essence, the President of the United States was attempting to extort a nation under attack from Russia (sustaining 13,000 deaths in the process as well as territorial loss), in exchange for domestic political advantage. Our Founding Fathers put the impeachment process in the Constitution over fears of just such foreign intervention in our electoral process.
Young told Indiana Public Media that in this impeachment trial, he will "Do my job, review the factual record, apply it against what I regard is the appropriate standard of high crimes and misdemeanor."
Young also said in a verbal wink and a nod, "My anticipation based on only anecdotal evidence from what I've heard publicly and read publicly is that there will indeed be a correlation between one's party affiliation on one hand and the votes that are cast on the other hand."
Braun, who owes his 2018 upset victory over Sen. Joe Donnelly to Trump for his MAGA rallies in Elkhart, Evansville and Southport, appears more predisposed, telling Fox59, "It is a political process. There's probably not one senator that would be seated as a juror in a regular trial because you bring that political predisposition point of view into it. I don't think though, there was anything tangible in the sense that there was no quid pro quo."
But last November in sensational congressional testimony, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who donated $1 million to the Trump campaign and received a presidential appointment as envoy to the European Union, had this to say under oath: "I know that members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a 'quid pro quo?' As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes."
And in an Oct. 17 White House briefing, Mulvaney was asked by reporters if there was that "quid pro quo," with Mulvaney replying, "We do that all the time. Absolutely. Did he also mention to me the corruption related to the DNC server? No question about it. But that's it. That's why we held up the money … I have news for everybody: Get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy."
America's Founding Fathers were wary of such foreign influence. Federalist No. 68 (usually attributed to Alexander Hamilton) said, "The desire [of] foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our counsels" was a source of corruption and "one of the most deadly adversaries of republican government."
In his 1796 farewell address, President George Washington issued this warning: "Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence ... the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government."
Thus, America has a contemporary dilemma. President Trump's own loyalists and appointees have confirmed under oath and on video such attempts of foreign influence. That's why Sens. Young and Braun should back the establishment of a true trial, with prosecution and defense witnesses.
For Sen. Braun not to see a "quid pro quo" when it has been confirmed under oath and on video is a "C'mon, man" moment. We saw it. Open your eyes, Senator.
The timing of all this is noteworthy. The July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Zelensky that kicked off this sordid mess came a day after President Trump appeared to have escaped criminal culpability from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia influence probe. The reason for that is Mueller's citation of a Department of Justice rule that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
President Trump not only did not learn a lesson there, he could barely wait 24 hours to repeat it. The question for Sens. Young and Braun would be this: If such a lesson went unheeded this past summer, why wouldn't there be a reasonable expectation that this president wouldn't resort to a similar tactic in the future?
The columnist is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com. Find Howey on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol.
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Parnas implicates Trump, Pence in Ukraine scandal
"The announcement was the key at that time because of the inauguration and I told him Pence would not show up, nobody would show up to his inauguration. It was particularly Vice President Mike Pence." - Lev Parnas, the indicted friend of President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, in an interview on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show, where he implicated Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General William Barr in the quid pro quo of the Ukraine scandal that prompted Trump's impeachment. Parnas said that Pence's attendance at Ukraine President Zelensky's inauguration was cancelled the day after Parnas called on Zelensky to announce an investigation of Joe and Hunter Biden, When asked if Pence was aware of the quid pro quo, Parnas said, "I'm going to use a famous quote from [Ambassador Gordon] Sondland. Everybody was in the loop."
Pence, Holcomb, Buttigieg head 2020 HPI Power 50
By BRIAN A. HOWEY in Indianapolis
and MARK SCHOEFF JR., in Washington
As we unveil the 2020 version of the Howey Politics Indiana Power 50 List, Hoosiers appear to be relatively satisfied with their state government, unsure about the federals and specifically President Trump, and are most concerned about health care and the economy.
These are the latest survey numbers from the We Ask America Poll conducted in early December for the Indiana Manufacturers Association. They accentuate the formulation of our annual Power 50 list headed by Vice President Mike Pence, Gov. Eric Holcomb, former South Bend mayor and Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg, and the state's two Republican senators who will likely sit in judgment (and acquittal) of President Trump in an impeachment trial later this month.
As Pence appears to be heading off thinly veiled attempts by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to get him off the 2020 ticket, Hoosiers by 47.4% approve to 47.7% disapprove of President Trump's job performance. This is consistent with 2019 polling by Ball State University and Morning Consult. On the national right/wrong track, just 37% of registered voters in Indiana feel that the country is headed in the right direction, while a majority, 52%, say that things have gotten off on the wrong track, including 51% of independents and 26% of Republicans. Among female voters, the right/wrong track split is 29%/58%.
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