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Nick Castro and the Poison Tree - Further From Grace
Nick Castro and the Poison Tree - 2005 - Further From Grace
SAAH030 CD
Nick Castro - Voice, Piano, Organ, Guitar, Mijwiz, Whistles
The Poison Tree:
Otto Hauser - Percussion, Dumbek, Trap-Kit
Helena Espvall - Flute, Cello, Percussion
Chris Smith - Bass
Adam Hershberger - Flugelhorn
Meg Baird - Lap Dulcimer on "Sun Song"
Josephine Foster - Voices on "Sun Song"
01 Sun Song (4:09)
02 To This Earth (3:29)
03 Unborn Child (3:40)
04 Won't You Sing To Me (4:26)
05 Waltz for a Little Bird (4:18)
06 Guilford (5:13)
07 Music for Mijwiz (2:42)
08 Deep Deep Sea (8:09)
09 Walk Like a Whisper (4:29)
Beaming warmly from the underground enclaves of Los Angeles, CA like a lambent ray of soft sunlight, the music of Nick Castro is breathing fresh life and pristine wonderment into an old sound. Castro released a beguiling album called A Spy in the House of God in 2004 on his own imprint Records of Ghaud, and it caused quite a stir in the new acid folk circles. Imagine a melding of More-era Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett solo and a touch of Incredible String Band with modern fractured folk sound weavers like the Tower Recordings and maybe you are in the right sphere. For his follow up, Castro has assembled a cast of players calling themselves The Poison Tree, boasting amongst its ranks underground folk icons Josephine Foster and members of Espers. It is a heavenly match as evidenced on Further From Grace, a simply mystical sophomore effort illustrating with a feathery wallop that Castro is a major voice amongst the new insurgence of THC troubadours.
Further From Grace bewitches with an intoxicating mood sustained throughout. Instrumentation is lush and exotic, but in the hands of Nick Castro and The Poison Tree, otherwise disparate implements such as flugelhorn, lap dulcimer and mijwiz are deftly melded into a pan-cultural elixir comprised of American and British folk traditions, classical balladry and Middle Eastern. Masterful songwriting, ornamented by Castro's ardent vocals and dreamlike lyrics, are relieved by hypnotic and utterly stoned instrumental passages. Opening with "Sun Song", ripe with visions of Castro's native California as filtered through a heavy-lidded hashish haze, Further From Grace weaves along through song after striking song, melody after beautiful melody. Instrumental excursions like "Music for Mijiwiz" kick up acoustic mini-ragas along the way, until the whole journey cascades into the shimmering, hum-along outro of "Walk Like a Whisper".
Induced by flourishes of psychedelic 60's folk bards like Tom Rapp (Pearls Before Swine) and Bert Jansch, laced with flashes of Amon Düül-like acoustic communal atmosphere (circa Paradieswärts Düül), Further From Grace is a graceful tab of Nick Castro's own heady universe, an acid-folk masterpiece advancing today's sound into sparkling new frontiers.
Posted by Opa-Loka at 11/08/2006 11:16:00 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: C, N, Opa-Loka, P
Yesterday's Thoughts - Searchin In Shadows
Yesterday's Thoughts - 2002 - Searchin In Shadows
Greece's garage band, that's gonna blow your mind out out with their fuzzy guitar sound, backed uo by gorgeous organ and dynamic vocals. Straight from the past, straight from the heart.
The Yesterday's Thoughts were formed in September of 1997. They started playing covers of their favorite 60s garage/punk standards, but soon they began composing their own songs. 4 such original tracks are featured in the band's debut 7inch EP, released by Action Records. During the recording sessions their bass player was Stelios Adamoudas, who left the band right afterwards and was replaced by Lefteris Galanis.
The Yesterday's Thoughts drag their inspiration from the 60s garage/punk and psychedelic scene, and that's the feeling of their debut EP.
TITLE: "Searching in Shadows"
Limited Edition of 1000 copies
After their EP (1999 - Girl You're Gonna To Cry) before 2 years this is their first full LP. The band keeps their spirit with haunting vocals and wild organ. They welcome you at their Garageland.
Posted by innocent76 at 11/08/2006 08:22:00 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: innocent76, Y
Heldon I & III
Heldon - 1974 - Electronique Guérilla
1/ Zind (2: 18)
2/ Back to Heldon (8: 31)
3/ Northernland Lady (6:57)
4/ Ouais Marchais mieux qu'en 68 (Le voyageur) (4: 22)
5/ Circulus Vitiosus (8: 43)
6/ Ballade pour Puig Antich (révolutionnaire assassiné en Espagne) (2: 19)
Richard Pinhas: AKS synth, 1957 Gibson Les Paul guitar
Alain Renaud: guitar (3)
George Grunblatt: VCS3 synth (4)
Patrick Gauthier: piano and VCS3 synth (4)
Coco Roussel: drums (4)
Pierrot Roussel: guitar bass (4)
Gilles Deleuze: voice (4)
Heldon - 1975 - It's always Rock and Roll
1/ ICS Machnique (4: 11)
2/ Cotes de cachalot à la psylocybine (8: 35)
3/ Méchamment rock (3: 33)
4/ Cocaine Blues (9: 42)
5/ Aurore (18: 13)
6/ Virgin Swedish Blues (7:27)
7/ Ocean Boogi (5: 53)
8/ Zind Destruction (8: 22)
9/ Doctor Bloodmoney (16: 49)
Richard Pinhas: ARP & VCS3 synthé, guitars, bass, tapes, mellotron
George Grunblatt: mellotron, guitars (2 & 7)
Patrick Gauthier: ARP synth (9)
Gilbert Artman: drums (3)
Jean My Truong: drums (9)
Ariel Kalma: indian harmonium (5)
Between 1974 and 1982, Frenchman Richard Pinhas recorded at least twelve LPs either under the Heldon name or his own, alternating between guitars and keyboards himself and accompanied by a variety of associates on guitars, drums and analog synthesizers. This double CD reissue includes Heldon's very first release, Electronique Guerrilla, and their third, It's Always Rock 'n' Roll (itself a double LP originally). These releases are sometimes referred to as Heldon I and Heldon III (Heldon II, otherwise known as Allez Teia, was recorded earlier in 1975). In spite of the rather aggressive album titles, these early recordings are mellow to the point of ambient, and inscrutably (or perversely), there's very little music in the entire program which would be considered rock & roll by any stretch of the imagination. (Very unobtrusive drums appear only on several of the later tracks on the Rock 'n' Roll reissue.) Most musical biographies of Heldon/Pinhas speak of the Eno/Fripp influence, and indeed, Pinhas encouraged the connection in early interviews by referring to the two English musicians in terms bordering on hero worship. But Pinhas is too modest. Much of the better-known electronic trance music that Pinhas and Heldon seem to be imitating, e.g., early Tangerine Dream, Soft Machine, Fripp and Eno, etc., actually comes after these early Heldon recordings -- or is occurring at roughly the same time. Aside from Fripp/Eno's No Pussyfooting, only the first edition of Fripp's King Crimson band could be considered as an obvious influence, but Pinhas doesn't use vocalists, and seldom demonstrates any delusions of prog-rock grandeur on these releases. If Pinhas is paying homage to Fripp on these recordings, then he is also extending Fripp as well, with the wailing sustain of Pinhas' heavily processed guitar gliding over the top of a number of looped and sequenced synthesizer patterns to good effect. By later standards, the electronic equipment used by Heldon is almost laughably antique, and the concepts may also seem simple and predictable to a more sophisticated audience. Nonetheless, there is a purity and conviction to this music, and a dark, slightly sinister element perhaps best exemplified in the long "Dr. Bloodmoney," a title inspired by the great sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. Like Dick, Pinhas has a talent for messing with your head, and combines overlapping patterns in such a way that time itself sometimes seems suspended. ~ William Tilland, All Music Guide
Led by guitarist Richard Pinhas, the French group Heldon released seven groundbreaking albums, melding electronic and rock forms, from 1974 to 1978. Pinhas also recorded six albums under his own name. Pinhas was heavily influenced by Robert Fripp; this shows in his guitar playing, and in the titles of several of his compositions. While early LPs sometimes evoked the sound of Fripp and Eno, Heldon evolved in its own direction. The release of Heldon IV: Agneta Nilsson saw the group heading toward a more intense, menacing sound. Heldon V: Un Reve Sans Consequence Speciale was the first to feature the "classic" lineup of Pinhas, drummer Francois Auger, and keyboard player Patrick Gauthier. These three would be the key personnel on Heldon's last four albums. The entire Pinhas/Heldon catalog was reissued on CD by Cuneiform, several featuring bonus live tracks. ~ Jim Dorsch, All Music Guide
Labels: H, Opa-Loka
Rhinoceros - 1968 - Rhinoceros
RHINOCEROS (1968)
01. WHEN YOU SAY YOU'RE SORRY (Gerber)
02. SAME OLD WAY (Finley)
03. APRICOT BRANDY (Weis/Fonfara)
04. THAT TIME OF THE YEAR (Gerber)
05. YOU'RE MY GIRL (I Don't Want To Discuss It) (Cooper/Beatty/Shelby)
06. I NEED LOVE (Williams)
07. I'VE BEEN THERE (Gerber/Finley)
08. BELBUEKUS (Weis/Finley)
09. ALONG COMES TOMORROW (Gerber)
10. I WILL SERENDADE YOU (Finley)
Produced By PAUL A. ROTHCHILD
JOHN FINLEY – Vocals
ALAN GERBER – Vocals.Piano
DANNY WEIS – Guitar, Piano
DOUG HASTINGS – guitar
MICHAEL FONFARA – Organ, Piano
JERRY PENROD – Bass
BILLY MUNDI – Drums, Percussion
Rhinoceros: Story Albums Discography
Labels: Opa-Loka, R
Barry Ryan - Singing The Songs Of Paul Ryan
Barry Ryan
1 SINGS PAUL RYAN (MGM MGM-C(S) 8106) 1968 SC
2 BARRY RYAN (Polydor 583 067) 1969
3 ELOISE (Polydor 2872 109) 1982
45s: 1 Goodbye/I'm So Sad (MGM MGM 1423) 1968 - 2 Eloise/Love I Almost Found You (MGM MGM 1442) 1968 2 3 Love Is Love/I'll Be On My Way Dear (MGM MGM 1464) 1968 25 4 The Hunt/Oh, For The Love Of Me (Polydor BM 56348) 1969 34 5 Magical Spiel/Caroline (Polydor BM 56370) 1970 49 6 Kitsch/Give Me A Sign (Polydor 2001 035) 1970 37 7 It Is Written/Annabelle (Polydor 2001 154) 1971 - 8 Can't Let You Go/When I Was A Child (Polydor 2001 256) 1971 32 9 From My Head To My Toe/Alimony Money Blues (Polydor 2001 335) 1972 - 10 I'm Sorry Susan/LA Woman (Polydor 2001 362) 1972 - 11 Do That/Summer's Over (Dawn DNS 1109) 1975 - 12 Where Were You/Making Do (Private Stock PVT 70) 1976 - 13 Brother/Life's So Easy (Private Stock PVT 87) 1977 -
Reissue 45s: 14 Eloise/Love Only Comes Tomorrow (Polydor 2001 630) 1976 - 15 Eloise/(Flip by different artist) (Old Gold OG 9440) 1984 -
Barry along with his brother, Paul, who were both identical twin sons of Marion Ryan, a fifties pop singer, were signed by Decca in 1965. With neat long hair and carefully selected fashionable clothes they were skilfully marketed by Decca although thankfully none of the slushy songs written for them (I haven't bothered to list them in this book) met with much success. In 1968 Barry Ryan went solo and Paul took to songwriting. An early result of this new partnership was Eloise, a stunning single with its melodramatic vocal style and heavily orchestrated backing. This was certainly Barry's magnum opus and he soldiered on for several years after without achieving the same heights again.
Compilation appearances include: There You Go on The Mod Scene (CD), Pop Inside The '60s, Vol. 2 (CD), Sixties Lost And Found, Vol. 3 (LP) and Sixties Explosion, Vol. 1 (CD); Gotta Go Out To Work on A Whiter Shade Of Pale (LP); I Can't Make A Friend on Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks (CD).
Review by w*w.revola.co.uk
When Paul and Barry Ryan split as a performing duo in 1968 nobody expected to hear from them again. Their fine Britpop singles and overlooked semi-Freakbeat/Pop albums weren't selling, they were trapped on a cabaret circuit they loathed. The image of the handsome swinging, singing twin brothers was under severe strain. So when Barry reappeared at the end of the year and scored a colossal worldwide hit (reaching number one in six countries!) with the epic, Paul-penned "Eloise" it was akin to a particularly unlikely phoenix rising from the ashes. The single was a stunning five and a half minute tour de force of grandiose orchestral pop and Uber-Jim Webb-ism which sounded unlike anything else in the charts at the time, and is fondly remembered and covered worldwide still! The subsequent entirely Paul-penned album, imaginatively entitled Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan, received rave reviews and has become something of a cult favourite amongst fans of contemporary orch-pop works by Scott Walker, Glen Campbell and even Tom Jones. Other hits including "Love Is Love" and "The Hunt" followed into the '70s, as did five more solo albums, none of which have ever been reissued on CD.... until now! "Barry Ryan: Singing The Songs Of Paul Ryan (1968-69)" couples that classic debut with its remarkable eponymous 1969 follow-up and adds two ultra-rare tracks found only on the German version of the second album, all remastered for your sonic delight! It also features in-depth liner notes containing new interview material with Barry, previously unseen photographs, rare cuttings and memorabilia. A great rediscovery awaits
Tracklist...
Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan:
01 Theme To Eutopia
02 Why Do You Cry My Love
03 The Colour Of My Love
04 Crazy Days
05 Eloise
06 My Mama
07 I Will Bring You Love
08 Love Is On The Way
09 What's That Sleeping In My Bed?
10 You Don't Know What You're Doing
11 Kristan Astra Bella
Barry Ryan:
12 The Hunt
13 Sunday Theme
14 Swallow Fly Away
15 Sunrise In The Morning
16 Isn't That Wild
17 Man Alive
18 Makin' Eyes
19 No Living Without Her Love
20 Sea Of Tranquillity
21 See You
22 Feeling Unwell
23 Where Have You Been?
24 Look To The Right, Look To The Left
25 Oh For The Love Of Me
Cheers! PT1 PT2
This Album it's not available for Downloading,
But you can Buy it here :
http://www.revola.co.uk/
Reason : At Comments
Posted by Arcadium at 11/08/2006 03:05:00 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: Arcadium, B, R
Asylum Choir - Look Inside The Asylum Choir
The Asylum Choir
Personnel: MARC BENNO vcls, drms A
LEON RUSSELL vcls, gtr, keyb'ds A
ALBUMS: 1 LOOK INSIDE THE ASYLUM CHOIR (Smash 67107) 1968 2 THE ASYLUM CHOIR II (Shelter 8910) 1971
NB: (1) reissued in 1971 (Smash SRS-67107, group photo cover), (2) also issued in Holland (Philips 6369107) 1971. (2) reissued in 1974 (Shelter 2120), 1976 (Shelter 52010) and 1979 (MCA 684).
45s: 1 Soul Food/Welcome To Hollywood (Smash 2188) 1968 2 Indian Style/Icicle Star Tree (Smash 2204) 1969 3 Straight Brother/Tryin' To Stay Alive (Shelter 7313) 1971
A Los Angeles-based venture, which for Russell and Benno represented a largely unsuccessful journey into psychedelia. After a first single as Le Cirque, their debut album was released. This sold badly, partly because the cover featured a toilet roll, but mainly because the music was quite patchy. A mix of pop, R&B and psych, with arrangements (especially on the second side). Smash later reissued it with a group cover. Benno and Russell wrote all the songs, with the assistance of Greg Dempsey (Daughters Of Albion), Bill Boatman, Jerry Riopelle and the mysterious Markham and Wilson, who may have played on the backing group.
Although the second album was recorded in April 1969, Mercury did not release it on their Smash subsidiary and Russell bought the tapes to release it on his own Shelter label two years later. It's bluesier than the debut and contains some good songs (notably an anti Vietnam song Ballad To A Brother).
Russell and Benno's involvement is the main reason why collectors seek out these albums.
Born in 1947 in Dallas, Benno would later play with The Doors (on L.A. Woman), Rita Coolidge and Rick Roberts. He also released three excellent albums on A&M between 1970 and 1972, recorded with Ry Cooder, Jesse Ed Davis and Clarence White. Afterwards he disappeared only to return in 1979 with Lost In Austin (with Eric Clapton). In the nineties, he has recorded two good texas blues albums.
(Vernon Joynson/Stephane Rebeschini)
Welcome to Hollywood
Icicle Star Tree
Death of the Flowers
Indian Style
Episode Containing 3 Songs: N.Y. Op. Land of Dog Mr. Henri the Clown Thieves in the Choir
Black Sheep Boogaloo
Posted by Arcadium at 11/05/2006 10:49:00 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: A, Arcadium
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Volume 3 : A Child's Guide to Good and Evil
With their soaring psychedelia, achingly pure folk-rock and Zappa/Beefheart strangeness, these seminal underground gems from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band--Part One, Vol. 2 and A Child's Guide To Good & Evil--can be seen as encyclopedic primers of the late-'60s Los Angeles musical experience.
The band reached a creative peak with A Child's Guide To Good And Evil, which offered an enthralling patchwork of material ranging from sumptuous harmony pop (Eighteen Is Over The Hill) to off-the-wall eccentricity (Our Drummer Always Plays In The Nude).
Ron Morgan now became more or less an unofficial member of the band. The back-cover picture shows front: Shaun Harris (bass), middle: Bob Markley (percussion) and top: Ron Morgan (lead guitar, electric sitar).Danny Harris involvement with this album was minimal or non-existent.
http://rapidshare.com/files/2047307/WCPAEB1968Vol3AChild_sGuideToGood_Evil.rar
Labels: innocent76, W
Purple Overdose - Reborn
THE BAND:
Costas Constantinou: Electric & acoustic guitars, E–Bow guitar, Lead & backing vocals, Cymbal, effects
Vasilis Kapanikis: Organ, Mellotron, Synthesizer, Flute, and S &T Recorders
Andreas Andriopoulos: Bass guitar
Chris Triantaphilopoulos: Drums & percussion
Stavros Eleftheriou: Congas, Jug & assorted percussion
Stelios Drisis: Sitar
Aris Christou: Backing vocals & effects
ALBUM TRACKS :
01. (It's a) FORTUNE TELLER 12.00
02. GONNA BE TOMORROW, TODAY 4.55
03. NOBODY THERE 8.04
04. HER ARMS EMBRACED THE SUN 8.11
05. FADING SOUND OF LOST THOUGHTS 3.22
06. THE DRONE 1.29
07. LONG WAY DOWN 3.06
08. THE FLIGHT (Part 1) 2.22
10. REBORN 5.00
They're considered by their fans and music experts in Greece and abroad as the one and only band of the 90's which faithfully revives and improves the fine psychedelic music of the 60's and 70's. The band was formed in Athens, Greece in 1987 by Costas Constantinou (born Athens, 1960), a gifted and inspired man who plays guitar, sings, composes music and writes lyrics of exceptional sensitivity and beauty, in the fine tradition of the futuristic psychedelic philosophy. The band recorded their first album which was released in June 1988 andtitled '' E X I T # 4 '' At the beginning of 1990, PURPLE OVERDOSE, started the recording sessions for their next album, which was finally released in April of the same year, again by ''PEGASUS Records'' and titled ''INDIGO''. Another small independent record label outside Athens ,''FIFTH DIMENSION'', asked PURPLE OVERDOSE to record a couple of new songs in order to release a 7''single . They remixed an outtake track from the album ''INDIGO'', '2008 Old View' and recorded a new one 'You Lose It'. On both tracks they hired as organ player an old pal Vasilis Kapanikis (who soon after that joined the band) and on drums the session musician Makis Bellos. The above single was released in 1993 to a limited edition of abt.1000 copies. When their drummer returned from the army PURPLE OVERDOSE started the recording sessions on March 12, 1994 at the studio 'PERIPOU'.. By the end of the sessions on April 7 they realized that they had created an exceptional album which was simply titled ''PURPLE OVERDOSE'' as a sign of their new beginning. The new album was released on June 7,1994 by 'PEGASUS' with an extraordinary cover which was a giant poster of a painting by Iliana Noea. Inside the multicolored cover was a vinyl record with 8 new masterpieces of psychedelic music. PURPLE OVERDOSE'S album received a very warm reception from the Greek musical press and also from abroad, describing it as one of the finest psychedelic albums worldwide. ''PEGASUS Records'' soon after that released their two earlier albums in coloured vinyl (EXIT #4 in yellow and ''INDIGO'' in red). A new album is ready by early 1996. Recorded by the band from December 16, 1995 to February 21, 1996 at PERIPOU' studios with Andreas Troussas once more as recording engineer and co-producer with the band. 'PEGASUS' released the album on May 13,1996 which was titled ''SOLEMN VISIONS''. By mid 1998 they had signed to a new independent small company ''ACTION RECORDS'' and in November of the same year recording sessions began at ''ACTION'' studios in Athens. Recording engineer was Aris Christou. After 180 hours of recordings everything was ready. It's a concept album and the first PURPLE OVERDOSE material to be released on CD. The title of the new album is ''REBORN'' and it was released on April 22,1999. How can one describe a masterpiece? PURPLE OVERDOSE steals the heart of every listener of 'REBORN'. A hopeful message of sensitive and optimistic viewS about the coming of the new century, is the meaning of 'REBORN' . In Spain, magazine 'ATROPOS' rated this album with the maximum and wrote the following as a conclusion to the review….''probably is the best psychedelic band in the world. But what a pity! They are not from England….'' (JAN. 2000). A series of selected performances, electric and unplugged, were recorded in the spring of 2000 in various clubs and the material collected was very good and more than enough for a CD and a double vinyl record set. During September the band spent time remixing the recorded material and the album released February 7th on CD and June 7th 2001 on a limited edition vinyl containing different songs from the CD. The title of the album ,''THE SALMON'S TRIP LIVE! ,was an idea of their manager Steven Panagiotakis trying to describe the 13 hard years of the band's history in the rock scene of Greece, identical to the counter-current voyage of salmon trying to fulfill its destiny in life, against all odds… The band throughout the years deserves an unexpected publicity in Greece and abroad.Many radio stations,especially European and American ones include tracks from the "Salmon's Trip Live" in their playlist. By the June of 2004 a small but devoted new record company from Salonica,"ON STAGE Records" interested to release a tape with early but unreleased recordings and a demo of "Indigo" which recorded in 1989 with alternates.Band agreed and on August 12th a brand new quality vinyl album was available.Soon after a new circle of interviews started in magazines, tracks from this album entered the playlists mostly in USA and Europe (as usually). After all these 19 years, PURPLE OVERDOSE, remains an underground band devoted completely to its dream: The evolution of the futuristic and visionary psychedelic music of the 60's.
Download-Link :
http://rapidshare.com/files/2093471/overdose.rar.html
The Bolshoi - Friends
Extracts from press releases Autumn 1984 - singer / guitarist Trevor Tanner and drummer Jan Kalicki emerged from deepest Wiltshire to form the Bolshoi. Having hitch-hiked to the darkest wastelands of Woolwich to seek their fame and fortune, the boys recruited bassist Nick Chown and within 3 months had guested live with The Cult, Lords Of The New Church, Wall Of Voodoo, The Redskins, March Violets, culminating with a headline show at Londons famous Marquee club in January 1985, selling it out on word-of-mouth alone.Their first single,'Sob Story', was released that spring, followed by a mini-album 'Giants' which included the irresistably anthemic 'Happy Boy'. "I don't think we sound like anyone else" concedes the charismatic Trevor. "That's not a conscious thing - we simply do what we do. We're like a 'real' band... we're real people who actually enjoy what we're doing, work well together and are unaffected by what's going on musically outside. I'm not saying we're different, but people have diverse impressions of us. I don't know what we sound like, and I don't think anybody else knows what we sound like either!".Growing to a four piece with the addition of Paul Clark on keyboards, the band continued to build on their live following and finally released a full length album 'Friends', in September 1986 which included singles 'AWay' ("an understated mini-epic which easily overruns the chronically abbreviated runway of charts '80's style" - Sounds) and 'Books On The Bonfire'. Sounds again applauded "the musical artistry of this album... this flowing stream of vinyl perfection... if you've seen this group you're already hopelessly addicted"."So who are these four young men and what makes them so special? Firstly, let us introduce Trevor Tanner, the groups self appointed visionary and lyricist. Outwardly extrovert and with a mesmerising stage presence, The Bolshoi's lead singer and guitarist belies a dark and pensive nature. He is acutely observant of society's shortcomings and is not scared to draw attention to them in his songs. Next, Jan Kalicki, the polish connection, on drums - a sensitive and artistic soul. Nick Chown is the affable bass player and last, but not least, is Paul Clark who is a northerner with an appalling sense of humour - something which the whole band share.""Adventurously entertaining at the best of times, with live performances that dramatically demand attention and equally powerful vinyl workings, The Bolshoi's subtly humerous melodies, effective dance beat rhythms and memorable choruses easily entice the listener. Sagaciously confident performers, The Bolshoi produce clear, charismatic pop that's effervescent, bold and ultimately longlasting. They are a very special band".In January 1987 The Bolshoi released a remix of their finest single so far, AWay, entitled AWay II, which also featured in the soundtrack of Jonathan Demme's 'Something Wild'. A hectic touring schedule took them to the USA, across Europe from Norway to Italy, the UK supporting Peter Murphy and Spear Of Destiny as well as headline London dates (in fact the band became very well travelled, with a South American tour and even shows behind the iron curtain in Poland, East Germany Hungary and Russia.)Apart from touring, 1987 saw the band recording new singles, 'Please' and 'T.V. Man' and their second full length album, 'Lindy's Party' which was released that September. Despite favourable reviews and further international touring it was all over and the band drifted apart. The final postscript is left to Trevor Tanner in his sleeve notes for The Bolshoi's long overdue 'Best of'..."Furtive, backward glances from a speeding car, intense apathy followed by spontaneous combustion. Long international flights with visits to the cockpit to discuss philosophy with the Brazilian pilots. Sad, introspective binges in various 'old mens' pubs in South London. Ridiculous outbursts, followed by reconstructive surgery. These are some of my immediate recollections of life with The Bolshoi, never the easiest band to be in. From the humble beginnings of a broken face (making too much noise) in the darkest regions of the west country, to the dizzy heights of malaria shot madness, on a 'chart topping' tour of South America. It was never, ever dull. I suppose the main thing that kept us together was our friendship, we were all great mates, honest. When we weren't 'working', we spent a lot of time in those aforementioned pub, arguing about anything we could disagree about. I honestly do not know another band who spent as much time together. We were best friends with our management too, like a big, dysfunctional family, always, well nearly always, fun. The question I am most often asked is, "what went wrong?" Well nothing really, it just wasn't fun anymore. We didn't want to go into a stuka like spiral of decline (like so many others) so we just ..stopped.
http://rapidshare.com/files/1940952/bolshoi.rar.html
Posted by innocent76 at 11/05/2006 03:32:00 PM
And Also The Trees - the evening of the 24th
From a rural village in Worcestershire, England, brothers Simon (vocals) and Justin Jones (guitar) formed And Also the Trees in 1979 with bassist Steven Burrows and drummer Nick Havas. In response to an ad by the Cure looking for support bands on their English tour, the Jones brothers sent a tape and ended up doing several dates and later an entire tour with Robert Smith and co. in 1981. And Also the Trees still hadn't released any material at that point, so the Cure's Lol Tolhurst produced a single ("Shantell") and the band's eponymous debut album, released in February of 1984. Tolhurst's work made the Cure an easy pointer for And Also the Trees' sound, though the fragile beauty of Joy Division and the Chameleons also lend comparisons. The band contributed a session to John Peel's BBC radio show, and Continental critics lavished praise on subsequent albums Virus Meadow (1986), The Millpond Years (1988) and the live LP The Evening of the 24th (released 1987). The notoriously fickle U.K. music press, however, deserted the waning Goth fad and the group was left drifting. Farewell to the Shade, released in 1989, was And Also the Trees' final British release, as well as the only album available in America (on Troy Records). The group moved to the German label Normal for 1992's Green Is the Sea and The Klaxon, released the following year. The Evening Of The 24th Recorded at a Swiss gig for the Virus Meadow tour, Evening captures the Trees in their early prime, with their theatrical/Romantic with a capital R art goth style running at full blast. Simon Jones sings at points like his breath is being ripped from his body, as the band demonstrates solid abilities at being able to create lush musical tapestries as much as full-bodied but elegant thrashers. Justin Jones' ability to flesh out the live sound on his guitar proves especially compelling, using what must have been a fair amount of effects pedals to reproduce the Trees' trademark sonic touches, often sounding like a mandolin producing amped-up folk for a electric post-punk world. Opener "A Room Lives in Lucy" sets the initial tone perfectly, with an especially impassioned vocal from Simon Jones, and the band never lets up throughout, to the cheers of an understandably enthralled crowd. Songs like "Wallpaper Dying" and an especially intense take on "Slow Pulse Boy" sound just fantastic, practically miniature Grand Guignol dramas; early tunes like the debut single "Shantell" have an even more concentrated power live than the sometimes murky studio production allowed. Wrapping up with frazzled, live-wire versions of "So This is Silence" and an thoroughly ominous take on "The Renegade," Evening is that rare live album worth its salt !
http://rapidshare.com/files/1968679/andalsothetrees.rar.html
The Meanie Geanies
The Meanie Geanies - 1998 - I'm On My Way [single7'']
01 I'm On My Way
02 You Left Me Blue
The Meanie Geanies - Live [02-02-2004]
01 Won't Be By Your Side
02 Every Night
03 Love Has No Tyme
04 Anglo Girl Desire
The Meanie Geanies , the only New Greek 60's garage girl band, were formed in the Spring of 1996, in Athens/Greece, by girls that shared the same love for the mid 60s spirit, music, styles, movies and philosophy. They got their name from Tony Brook's and The Breakers song named "Meanie Geanie", when they listen to it played as a cover from their favourite band The Sound Explosion.
A female 60's Garage - Punk band was the dream and Meanie Geanies is the dream came true. Their music was a mixture from the innocent and primitive 60's Garage!!! Back From The Grave style, row surf and moody 60's punk.
The band's sound was the… purest possible, using equipment and recording techniques straight from the 60's. .
Meanie Geanies performed in several live shows with bands like Cardinals , Walking Screams and Outtasites . At the end of 1998, after some necessary changes in formation , they recorded their first 7" 45 rpm single for Action Recs (I'm On My Way / You Left Me Blue ) and in 1999 they stopped playing together . After that , the singer and the Farfisa player made another band ( Six Tin Trash) and the bassist formed the Teardrops. In spring of 2002 they met again (!) deciding to reform M eanie Geanies.
Since then they have performed in several live shows with many international bands like Fuzztones , Electralane , Sky Saxon & The Seeds as well as with main Greek bands like Sound Explosion , Frantic V , Psykicks , Teardrops in the greatest live spaces ( Gagarin , Mylos, An Club… ) and festivals ( Garage Festival , Vavel Comics Festival , Indie Free Festival ...). In the last three years they have visited several cities all over Greece for performing ( Thessaloniki , Komotini, Florina, Agrinio, Kalamata …).
In July 2005, they recorded their first LP ( Bloody Date ), that would be released in late 2006 . Recently they recorded a live bootleg in order to present their favorite covers . The title of this release could not be other than … Cover Ups !.
Their sound is more wild and primitive than ever before, full of swirling farfisa sound, tons of fuzz, pounding drums, screams and tambourines!
The Meanie Geanies are :
Mary Jane : Vocals, screams, tambourine
Eve deVille : swirling Farfisa organ
Angel LoVerde : fuzz Guitar, backing vocals
Nandia Insane : Bass, backing vocals
Rigo Starr : pounding Drums
So, be aware! These Geanies are really Mean!!!
Labels: M, Opa-Loka
Dr Z - Three Parts To My Soul - 1971
Dr. Z Three Parts To My Soul(1971)
The basis of the record is the concept of the division of the soul into three - the Spiritus, which represents the inhereent good side of Man, the side of beauty, gentleness and goodness; the Manes or the part of the soul which inhabits the underworld, more benevolent than malevolent but mixing with the damned; and lastly the Umbra, the shade of the soul which refuses to leave the earth, and stays to haunt the world. Only around 80 copies were reputedly sold of this keyboard dominated progressive album, making it one of the most difficult major label (Vertigo) releases to trace. It was, however, better than it's reputation would suggest. The band were the musical vehicle of a North Wales professor called Keith Keyes. They were signed to Vertigo by Patrick Campbell-Lyons after he'd been sent a tape of Keyes' singing accompanied only by a piano. The lyrics are all written by professor Keyes, and his philosophical point of view is strongly reflected in the lyrics. Although this inevitably hanged heavy on the music, the careful approach applied to most of it saved a lot. The parts where the shadow side of the soul plays the cardinal role are full of real despair and get a convincing musical treatment. The sparse instrumentation, virtually without guitar, is skillfully used by this English trio. The cover had been designed by Barney Bubbles, who was better known for designing Hawkwind's sleeves. Sadly, little is know about this recording, which became the only album Dr. Z ever made.. Tracks:
1. Evil Woman's Manly Child (4.47)
2. Spiritus, Manes Et Umbra (11.36)
3. Summer For The Rose (4.28)
4. Burn In Anger (3.26)
5. Too Well Satisfied (5.51)
6. In A Token Of Despair (10.13)
Band Members: Keith Keyes - Piano, harpsichord, organ and vocals Bob Watkins - Drums and percussion Rob Watson - Bass guitar --- Produced by Keith Keyes Executive Producer: Patrick Campbell-Lyons Recording Engineer: Richard Digby Smith Assistant: Trevor Lucas Design: Barney Bubbles/Phil Freaks Compositions published by Chappell and Co Ltd Recorded at Island Studios, London Release info: Released by Vertigo (Vertigo 6360 048) 1971 R3 Reissued on CD (Vertigo/Second Battle SB 012) 1991. Reissued on CD (Si-Wan Records SRMC 0015) 1994. The 1991 CD reissue came in two formats and included both sides of their earlier non album 45:Lady Ladybird/People In The Street (Fontana 6007 023) 1970, which was a fine example of inventive late sixties pop (without any occult matters thus not included at this page). Aside from the straight-forward CD reissue, there's also a lavish 7" sleeve CD package which tries to replicate the original open out sleeve.The 1994 CD reissue also came in the original open out sleeve, with their earlier non album 45 songs as bonus tracks.
Review:This album is quite a concept. I guess you really have to be a professor to write such lyrics and know so much about "the voyage of the soul" and the afterlife. Musically, this record reminds me of early Black Widow stuff, but with some exceptions. The voice of the singer sounds more sinister and pissed off, or evil for that matter, on this record. The voice is sung double on the tracks "Evil Woman's Manly Child" and "Burn In Anger". By double I mean one ordinary voice and one whispering one. The whispering one is quite creepy. Also, the music is of course very harpsichord dominated (since no guitar is used), and that gives this band their own sound in a way. There are actually some flute (may be a keyboard-flute) on the song "Burn In Anger", which is quite a nice touch. The song "Spiritus, Manes Et Umbra" has a cool intro, with a choir (echo) voice singing "Spiritus, Manes Et Umbra" over and over again. Later the track falls apart by a long, uninteresting drumming part, like a drum solo that goes on for 5 minutes...it is far from the best part of this album. The best part is saved to the last track, "In A Token Of Despair", which is a pretty, calm and peaceful song. It also includes some choir parts where the soft choir (echo) sings "Dies Irae, Dies Illa" - my favorite part of the album. Very beautiful.... In all I would recommend this album if you like what you've read here, might be interesting to give it a listen. B. E. Eide
ENJOY PT1 PT2
Labels: Arcadium, D
V.A. - Greasy Truckers Live at the Dingwalls
Greasy Truckers Live at the Dingwalls
Dingwalls Dance Hall, Camden Lock, on October 8th 1973
God of Light Revisited (Parts One, Two and Three)
HENRY COW
Keeping Warm In Winter
Sweet Heart Of Mine
GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING CO.
Look Into Me
Earl Stonham (The Gunslinger)
You're A Floozy Madame Karma (But I Love Your Lowdown Ways)
Everybody Needs A Good Friend
General Flash Of The United Hallucinations
Floating Anarchy (Part 32)
Labels: Opa-Loka, Various Artists
Chris Lucey - Song Of Protes And Anti-Protest
Ripped By @rcadium @320kbps from cd.
Chris Lucey
ROBERT PARKER JAMES aka CHRIS LUCEY/BOBBY JAMESON hrmnca, vcls A
1(A) SONGS OF PROTEST AND ANTI-PROTEST (Surrey SS 1027) c1965/6
NB: Mono and stereo versions exist. There were also two different label colors: red and purple, red being the somewhat rarer one and the purple label crediting "Chris Ducey". Mint copies can fetch upwards to $150-300. (1) also issued in the UK as by Bobby Jameson, but entitled Too Many Mornings. Also issued in Canada, some copies say "Chris Lucey" on cover and labels, some say "Chris Ducey" on cover and labels!
Robert Parker James was born in Tucson, Arizona but took the pseudonym Bob Jameson and was most likely based in California. In the US, this album was released under the alternative pseudonym Chris Lucey, but in the U.K. it was released as Too Many Mornings as by Bob Jameson. Produced by ex-surfer Marshall Lieb and issued in the U.S. on the same budget label as The Leaves debut, no info is given on the cover other than the picture of a Byrd look-alike with his mouthharp(*). The album also includes an excellent version of Girl From The East similarly featured on the Leaves album.
The music is laidback folk/rock with echoes of Byrds, Tim Buckley, Steve Noonan and Lovin' Spoonful. Many of the songs feature charming guitar parts, dreamy arrangements, jazzy even Lee Underwood-ish backing. Some of the highlights are I'll Remember Them and Girl From Vernon Mountain, both of which are excellent introspective pieces. Most of the album is filled with a haunting atmosphere and all the tracks are originals.
Collectors may wish to note that the Mono copies differ considerably to the Stereo ones.
Surrey was a sort-of subsidiary label of VeeJay operated by their West Coast promo team, led by Randy Wood and Steve Clark (the link between BJ and Boettcher). They cut Hoyt Axton and various others on the budding folk-rock club scene in L.A. According to Axton, he went over to the office one day, and everything was gone, even the desks and chairs!
Jameson's records were promoted by Tony Alamo, who also worked with many other artists and John and Bobby Kennedy. L.A. musician Denny Bruce recalls: "To introduce Bobby Jameson to the 'industry' Tony Alamo took out a 7-page fold out ad (four color in Billboard) that showed Bobby standing on top of a limo somewhere on the Pacific Coast Highway. With the ocean in the background, so he was not lit, you just saw this guy with a cowboy hat, with his staff next to the limo: very much like the Village People- wearing the very obvious uniforms of their jobs: chef, nurse, barber, bodyguard, driver, etc. There were at least 10 of them. Tony arranged for Bobby to be the opening act for another new act that had signed to Atlantic and were getting a buzz. The showcase was to be at lunch time, so with food being served, everyone came. The act was Caesar and Cleo, wearing togas with olive wreaths in their hair. They of course, became Sonny and Cher. They went on first. Needless to say, when Tony took the mike and had Bobby backlit, behind some see-through screen and was saying "Ladies and gentlemen, here's an act that can act as well as James Dean, sell as many records as the Beatles, on and on, everybody got up and started walking out while a four-track demo was playing, with Bobby is lip-synching to an almost empty house."
NB: (*) This picture, according to Denny Bruce, was actually a photograph of Brian Jones, pictured at a Hollywood club called 'The Action'.
(Claus Frisenberg Povlsen/John Paul Jones/Michael Johnson/Joe Foster)
01 That's The Way This World Has Got To Be
02 I'll Remember Them
03 Girl From Vernon Mountain
04 I Got The Blues
05 Saline
06 That's The Way This World Has Got To Be (Part Two)
07 With Pity, It's Too Late
08 You Came, You Saw, But You Didn't Conquer Me
09 Girl From The East
10 Don't Come Looking
Bonus tracks never before released:
11 Metro Man
12 There's a War Going On
13 Insecure Little Person
14 World War 3
Labels: Arcadium, C, L
V.A. - Greasy Truckers Party
Greasy Truckers Party
Chalk Farm, The Roundhouse, London
Spunk Rock
Angel Easy
MAN:
Martin Ace--Bass guitar, Vocals
Michael Jones--Guitar, Vocals
Roger Leonard--Guitar, Vocals
Terry Williams--Drums
ANDY DUNKLEY (Speech Only)
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ
It's Just My Way of Saying Thank You
I'm Ahead If I Can Quit While I'm Behind
Surrender To the Rhythm
Bob Andrews Keyboards, Vocals
Billy Rankin Drums
Nick Lowe Bass, Vocals
Brinsley Schwarz Guitar, Vocals
Ian Gomm Guitar, Vocals
MAGIC MICHAEL
Music Belongs to the People
Born to Go
Bob Calvert: vocals
Dave Brock: guitar, vocals
Lemmy: bass guitar, vocals
Nik Turner: saxophone, vocals
Dik Mik: audio generator, electronics
Del Dettmar: synthesisers
Simon King: drums
Stacia: mime & dance
Get It Here !!!


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Home » Blog » ERI Staff's Book Recommendations
ERI Staff's Book Recommendations
Gillian Wilson
Looking for new books to read in 2018? We recently asked our staff to share the books they enjoyed reading this year. Whether you're looking for an entertaining and heartwarming account of the friendship between Red Sox baseball legends from the Great Depression to World War II or a nail-biting novel that tells the story of how climate change leads to the second American Civil War, we're sure you'll find something that interests you!
Katie Redford, Co-Founder and Director
The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam
I loved "The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship" by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam, an understated gem that combines some of my favorite things: a road trip, a great baseball story, and compelling characters. Halberstam describes the October 2001 journey of Red Sox legends Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio as they drive from New England to Florida to visit the dying Ted Williams for the last time. Although their close friend Bobby Doerr was too frail to travel with them, his presence in that car is very much felt through the stories they tell about their shared experiences of baseball and America from the Depression, through WWII (during which time all four of them interrupted their major league careers) to the 21st century. The 3-day drive is filled with (often hilarious) baseball lore and American history, and reminisces about a time that baseball was about prestige and the love of the game and when friendship and common experience transcended personal opinions and politics. It's a refreshing, heartwarming, and entertaining read even if you're not a baseball fan!
Nyein Tun, Myanmar Alumni Program Coordinator
Ancient Futures by Helena Norberg-Hodge
"I love the book as it gives me a lot to think about regarding current development trends and how our society reacts. The author shares a lifetime of learning experiences in her book, and they are very relevant to what is happening in our society nowadays."
Upasana Khatri, Staff Attorney
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
"Given this administration's increased crackdown on immigrants, particularly those of Latin American origin, both legal and undocumented, it is important to humanize the nameless victims of xenophobia, many of whose stories are overwhelmingly heartbreaking and yet more relatable than we could ever imagine."
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
"In light of the Dakota Access Pipeline and other examples of our nation's ongoing mistreatment of this country's native peoples, this book is helping me better understand present-day struggles within the context of a centuries-long history of systematic violence, marginalization, and cultural and physical genocide. I believe this book should be required for all U.S. citizens, new and old."
Jeremy Goldie, Southeast Asia Development Coordinator
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
"Set during the height of Malaysia's communist insurgency, this is a beautifully written novel about a young woman who moves up to the highlands to build a memorial garden for her late sister, killed during the Japanese occupation."
Sara Stiehl, EarthRights School Teacher
Exit West by Moshin Hamid
Land's End by Tania Li
Activist Archives by Doreen Lee
Brendon Thomas, Grant Writer
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
"The book has inspired generations of environmentalists and I appreciate Abbey's emphasis on direct action, "sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul". Even though Monkey Wrench Gang was first published in 1975 it is more relevant than ever given Trump's illegal move of stealing land by reducing the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments."
Elena Gartner, EarthRrights School Coordinator
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
"This book overturns stereotypes about Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S. and touches on issues of war and radical ideology while managing to be a page-turner–it kept me up at night laughing and nearly crying."
A Land on Fire by James David Fahn
"James Fahn's narrative description of Bangkok–in its charm, and its disorder, and its mind-boggling juxtapositions–was the most spot on I have ever come across, and spoke to me about the place I had lived for two years."
Michelle Fantone, Development Manager
American War by Omar El Akkad
"Climate change leading to the Second American Civil War. An untrustworthy and unsympathetic main character. A tale of indoctrination and pure survival. All disturbing topics, but I couldn't put the book down! And it serves as a warning for why we must fight for a healthy planet and a sustainable future."
Kelsey Jost-Creegan, U.S. Bertha Legal Fellow
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
"The book is a powerful reexamination of U.S. history from the perspective of indigenous communities, and is thoroughly researched and thought-provoking."
El Derecho Como Conjuro: Fetichismo legal, violencia y movimientos sociales by Julieta Lemaitre
"Another great book I read this year that really challenged the way I think about the law, legal strategies, and social movements was 'El Derecho Como Conjuro: Fetichismo legal, violencia y movimientos sociales' by Colombian legal scholar Julieta Lemaitre."
What books did you enjoy reading this year? Let us know!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


No island paradise is complete without emerald green palm trees gently swaying in the breeze, and a few coconuts strewn underneath ready to be cut open for a thirst quenching drink. As Trans Maldivian Airways flies you to the island of your dreams the view that unfolds below will leave you lost for words. The turquoise Indian Ocean fading into aquamarine lagoons that gently laps the sugar white beaches all topped off by the emerald green palms like the icing on the cake.
Maldivians place tremendous importance on the abundant coconut palms – they are represented in the national flag of Republic of Maldives by the green rectangle; the coconut palm is also the national tree.
Known as the 'Tree of Life', the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera L., or, Dhivehi ruh, as it is known locally, is considered to be one of the 10 most useful trees in the world. All parts of it can be used – there is no waste.
The coconut fruit is an important food source for people, animals and insects and is an essential part of Maldivian cuisine, the juice of a young fruit, 'kurumba', is a delicious, refreshing drink. The ripe coconut is used with dried fish, in short eats or as coconut milk. Leaves and branches are used in roofing; the branches are also used for making local brooms, essential for the daily sweeping of the roads and paths on the islands. Often in the resorts you can admire decorations, baskets and hats made out of these branches. Coconut shells are a good source of fuel keeping a fire burning for a long time. Starch can be extracted from the stem and made into flour. Fibres, called coir, are woven into mats, rope and bags and can also be used as padding in mattresses. Palm wood is carved into ornaments and the root can be used as a dye. The coconut and root are also used medicinally.
Once your Trans Maldivian Airways flight has landed at the island of your dreams see how many uses of palm trees you can spot – start off with: a natural sunshade whilst sipping a welcome cocktail!


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« Politik: Hur Washington fungerar!
Reklam: Doften av makt (och Churchill)! »
Politik: Långläsning om Obamas utrikesproblem!
3 december, 2013 av campaigndossier
USA | Inrikespolitiskt kan Barack Obamas skylla sina problem på republikanerna. Inom utrikespolitiken går det inte lika lätt att skylla på oviljan att kompromissa.
"Obama's Iran Gamble" av Michael Crowley, Time
Obama's vision didn't change the world overnight. For much of his first term, his critics claimed vindication, particularly when it came to Iran, which rejected his early olive branch and marched steadily toward nuclear weapons capability. But Obama's new nuclear deal with Tehran undermines that narrative. His biggest foreign policy gamble has achieved a success — a tentative and fragile one, to be sure — in a presidency desperately in need of forward momentum.
The deal could still go badly wrong, and the critics may yet be proved right. The U.S. and Iran are not friends, and serious people from Israel to Washington warn that Obama may find himself outfoxed by hard-liners in Tehran who still condone chants of "Death to America." It's also possible that the document signed by Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Nov. 24 is the first step toward a legacymaking accomplishment, one that leaves the U.S. safer and the world more peaceful and meets that early promise of transformation through communication.
The agreement, which trades temporary relief for Iran from international economic sanctions in return for limits on its nuclear program, lets Tehran off easy, Republican and even some Democrats complain. "We have just rewarded very bad and dangerous behavior," House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers told CNN.
"The man who used to walk on water", The Economist
When a president speaks, the world listens. That is why Barack Obama's credibility matters. If people do not believe what he says, his power to shape events withers. And recent events have seriously shaken people's belief in Mr Obama. At home, the chaos of his health reform has made it harder for him to get anything else done. Abroad, he is seen as weak and disengaged, to the frustration of America's allies.
Abroad, he has cool relations with foreign heads of government. The leaders of allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia scorn him. Europeans grumble that they are ignored when they want to be heard and spied on when they want to be left alone. Latin Americans feel neglected. Mr Obama's "pivot" to Asia has made China feel threatened, without reassuring other Asians that America will be there in a crisis. Many doubt Mr Obama's word—remember his "red line" over the use of chemical weapons in Syria?—and lament his inability to get things done.
At home, he seldom schmoozes with his political opponents—or even with his own side. Past presidents put in far more effort to charm and bully lawmakers, business moguls and anyone who could help them. Lyndon Johnson was famous for blackmailing congressmen to do the right thing, which is a hard art to practise if you barely know them. Mr Obama remains aloof—he has no regular breakfast or lunch even with the main Democrats in Congress. You cannot slap backs and twist arms if you are not in the same room.
"Asia's Obama Problem" av Michael Crowley, Time
He was supposed to be on the island paradise of Bali, rubbing elbows with Asian heads of state and showing China that America is serious about being a Pacific power. Instead, on Oct. 8, Barack Obama was in the White House's cramped briefing room, embarrassed and apologetic. Managing the shutdown of the U.S. government had forced Obama to scratch his long-planned trip to a pair of Asian summits that he'd been touting as critical venues for a display of renewed American leadership in the region. Now he was telling reporters at a White House press conference that his grounding was a setback for the country. "It creates a sense of concern on the part of other leaders," Obama said. "It's almost like me not showing up for my own party."
Happy to console the disappointed heads of state in Bali was China's President, Xi Jinping, who was the unchallenged heavyweight among the gathered Asian leaders. Xi, gloated the Hong Kong-based Communist Party newspaper Ta Kuang Pao, "has became the brightest political star on the Asian diplomatic platform. In contrast, America has lost an important chance to perform … The influence of the U.S. is questioned more and more."
A potshot, perhaps. But Obama's no-show fanned smoldering doubts about whether America has the will and the resources to meet the challenge of a rising and potentially aggressive China. Obama officials have even given the policy for doing so a name — the "rebalance" to Asia, although insiders call it the Asia "pivot," conveying a crisp turn of direction for U.S. foreign policy.
"Fight this war, not the last one", The Economist
Syria is not Iraq. The evidence that the regime has committed atrocities is clear beyond doubt. Even if Mr Assad defies America after a strike by unleashing yet more sarin, Mr Obama is not about to invade.
The arguments for intervening in Syria are narrower and less Utopian than they were in Iraq. First is the calculation of American interests. The international arena is inherently anarchic. Only laws and treaties that are enforced impose any order. By being the world's policeman, America can shape the rules according to its own interests and tastes. The more America steps back, the more other powers will step in. If it is unwilling to act as enforcer, its own norms will fray. If it is even thought to be reluctant, then they will be tested. China already prods at America; Vladimir Putin's Russia has begun to confront it—and not only over Syria. Whether Syria was a vital American interest before this attack was debatable, but not after Mr Assad's direct challenge to Mr Obama's authority.
Second is a reaffirmation of Western values. America's potency comes not just from its capacity to project force, but also from the enduring appeal of the values invoked by its founders. Those are stronger than Mr Obama seems to think. With China's economy slowing and its political corruption evident, the Beijing consensus will seem ever less enticing to citizens of the emerging world. Mr Bush tainted America's values with inept invasion, prisoner abuse and imperial overstretch. Meeting Mr Assad's atrocities with appropriate force will help to rebuild American moral authority in the world. If Congress must be involved, it should send that message just as loud and clear as it can—and so should Mr Obama's allies.
Tidskriftsomslag: Time den 9 december 2013 (europeiska utgåvan), The Economist den 23 november 2013, Time den 21 oktober 2013 (europeiska utgåvan) och The Economist den 7-13 september 2013.
Publicerat i Politik, Tidskriftsomslag | Taggad Barack Obama, Inrikespolitik, Långläsning, Michael Crowley, Politik, The Economist, Time, USA, Utrikespolitik | Kommentera


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\section{Introduction}
Diversity\let\thefootnote\relax\footnotetext{This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants CCF-13-20237, CCF-15-24839, and CCF-15-26095.}
 coding and node repair are two fundamental ingredients of reliable distributed storage systems. This paper considers the problem of $(n,d)$ multilevel diversity coding with regeneration (MLDR), which was first introduced in \cite{TL-IT15}. In this problem, a total of $d$ independent messages $M_1,\ldots,M_d$ of $B_1,\ldots,B_d$ bits, respectively, are to be stored in $n>d$ nodes each of capacity $\alpha$ bits. Two requirements need to be satisfied: (i) \textbf{Diversity reconstruction}: For any $k=1,\ldots,d$, the message $M_k$ can be recovered by accessing any $k$ (out of the total $n$) storage nodes, and (ii) \textbf{Node regeneration}: For any $i=1,\ldots,n$, the data stored at node $i$ can be regenerated by extracting $\beta$ bits of information each from any $d$ other nodes. We call such a code an $(n,d,(B_1,\ldots,B_d),(\alpha,\beta))$ MLDR code. A normalized storage-capacity {\em vs}. repair-bandwidth pair $(\bar{\alpha},\bar{\beta})$ is said to be {\em achievable} for a given normalized message size tuple $(\bar{B}_1,\cdots,\bar{B}_d)$ if an $(n,d,(B_1,\ldots,B_d),(\alpha,\beta))$ MLDR code can be found such that
$\bar{B}_k=\frac{B_k}{\sum_{j=1}^{d}B_j}$ for $k=1,2\ldots,d$, $\bar{\alpha}=\frac{\alpha}{\sum_{j=1}^{d}B_j}$ and $\bar{\beta}=\frac{\beta}{\sum_{j=1}^{d}B_j}$.
A precise mathematical description of the problem can be found in \cite{TL-IT15}.

A natural strategy for this problem is to encode each individual message separately using an exact-repair regenerating code \cite{Dimakis-IT10,Kumar-IT11} of necessary parameters. More precisely, suppose that each message $M_k$ is encoded using an $(n,k,d,B_k,(\alpha_k,\beta_k))$ exact-repair regenerating code ({\em i.e.}, when storing a single message $M_k$ of $B_k$ bits, accessing any $k$ nodes of $\alpha_k$ capacity each can reconstruct $M_k$, and any node can be regenerated by extracting $\beta_k$ bits data each from any $d$ other nodes). Then, we have $\alpha = \sum_{k=1}^d \alpha_k$ and $\beta=\sum_{k=1}^d \beta_k$ for the resulting MLDR code. Let us define the individually normalized storage-capacity {\em vs}. repair-bandwidth pair as $(\bar{\alpha}_k,\bar{\beta}_k):= (\frac{{\alpha}_k}{B_k},\frac{{\beta}_k}{B_k})$ for $k=1,\ldots,d$. The overall storage-capacity {\em vs}. repair-bandwidth pair achieved by the separate coding scheme for the MLDR problem is thus given by:
\begin{align}
(\bar{\alpha},\bar{\beta})=\left(\sum_{k=1}^{d}\bar{\alpha}_k\bar{B}_k,\sum_{k=1}^{d}\bar{\beta}_k\bar{B}_k\right).\label{eq:SC}
\end{align}
A fundamental problem of interest is whether separate coding can achieve the {\em optimal} tradeoffs between the normalized storage capacity and repair bandwidth for the MLDR problem.

\begin{figure}[t!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth,draft=false]{Fig}
\caption{The optimal tradeoff curve between the normalized storage capacity and repair bandwidth (the solid line) and the best possible tradeoffs that can be achieved by separate coding (dashed line) for the $(4,3)$ MLDR problem with $(\bar{B}_1,\bar{B}_2,\bar{B}_3)=(0,1/3,2/3)$ \cite{TL-IT15}. The two new outer bounds \eqref{eq:B1} and \eqref{eq:B2} intersect precisely at the MBR point.}
\label{fig}
\end{figure}

This question was first answered in \cite{TL-IT15}, where it was shown that separate coding is in general {\em suboptimal}. For concreteness, Figure~\ref{fig} shows the optimal tradeoff curve between the normalized storage capacity and repair bandwidth and the best possible tradeoffs that can be achieved by separate coding (see \cite{TL-IT15}) with $n=4$, $d=3$, and $(\bar{B}_1,\bar{B}_2,\bar{B}_3)=(0,1/3,2/3)$. As illustrated in Figure~\ref{fig}, separate coding is suboptimal when $\bar{\alpha}\in(5/12,1/2)$. On the other hand, when $\bar{\alpha} \leq 5/12$ or $\bar{\alpha} \geq 1/2$, separate coding can in fact achieve the optimal tradeoffs. In particular, for this example, separate encoding achieves the minimum-storage-regenerating (MSR) point $(7/18,11/36)$ and the minimum-bandwidth-regenerating (MBR) point $(8/15,8/45)$. In addition, it was shown in \cite{TL-IT15} that the optimality of separate coding at the MSR point is {\em not} a coincidence and in fact holds for {\em any} MLDR problem. It is thus natural to ask whether the same generalization holds for the MBR point as well; this problem was left open in \cite{TL-IT15}.

In this paper, we proved two new outer bounds on the optimal tradeoffs between the normalized storage-capacity and repair-bandwidth for general MLDR problem, by which the optimality of separate coding at the MBR point follows immediately. Our proofs are based on the classical ``peeling" argument, which sequentially removes the effects of certain coding requirements by grouping the corresponding random variables under the conditional terms. The technique was first introduced in \cite{RYH-IT97} and subsequently used in \cite{TL-IT15} to prove the optimality of separate coding at the MSR point. The telescoping results here, however, are much more involved than those proved in \cite{RYH-IT97} and \cite{TL-IT15}.

{\em Notation}. For brevity, let $[i:j]:=\{i,i+1,\ldots,j\}$ for any positive integers $i\leq j$, $J_d :=\sum_{i=1}^{d}i$ for any integer $d\geq 0$, and $T_{d,k} :=\frac{1}{\sum_{i=1}^{k}(d+1-i)}$ for any integers $d \geq 1$ and $k\in [1:d]$. Without loss of generality, we assume $n \geq 2$ and $d\leq n-1$.

\section{Main Results}
\begin{thm}\label{thm}
Any achievable normalized storage-capacity {\em vs}. repair-bandwidth pair $(\bar{\alpha},\bar{\beta})$ for the MLDR problem must satisfy:
\begin{align}
\bar{\beta} & \geq \sum_{k=1}^{d}T_{d,k}\bar{B}_k\label{eq:B1}\\
\mbox{and} \quad \bar{\alpha}+J_{d-1}\bar{\beta} & \geq J_{d}\sum_{k=1}^{d}T_{d,k}\bar{B}_k.\label{eq:B2}
\end{align}
\end{thm}

When set as equalities, the intersection of \eqref{eq:B1} and \eqref{eq:B2} is given by:
\begin{align*}
\left(\bar{\alpha},\bar{\beta}\right
&=\left(d\sum_{k=1}^{d}T_{d,k}\bar{B}_k,\sum_{k=1}^{d}T_{d,k}\bar{B}_k\right).
\end{align*}
For any $k\in [1:d]$, the MBR point for the $(n,k,d)$ exact-repair problem can be written as \cite{Dimakis-IT10}
\begin{align*}
\left(\bar{\alpha}_k,\bar{\beta}_k\right)=\left(dT_{d,k},T_{d,k}\right).
\end{align*}
By \eqref{eq:SC}, we immediately have the following corollary.
\begin{coro}
Separate coding achieves the MBR point for the MLDR problem.
\end{coro}

When $n=4$, $d=3$, and $(\bar{B}_1,\bar{B}_2,\bar{B}_3)=(0,1/3,2/3)$, the outer bounds \eqref{eq:B1} and \eqref{eq:B2} can be explicitly evaluated as $\bar{\beta} \geq 8/45$ and $\bar{\alpha}+3\bar{\beta}\geq16/15$, respectively. As illustrated in Figure~\ref{fig}, they intersect precisely at the MBR point $(8/15,8/45)$. Interestingly, for this example at least, the outer bound \eqref{eq:B2} is tight {\em only} at the MBR point.

\subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{thm} via Peeling Arguments}
\begin{figure}[t!]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.65\linewidth,draft=false]{Fig3}
\caption{The repair diagram of Duursma \cite{Duursma-P14} for $n=4$ and $d=3$. The key data structures (a) $l^{(2)}$ and (b) $l'_{[2:3]}$ are illustrated as the collections of shaded variables.}
\label{fig2}
\end{figure}

To prove the outer bounds \eqref{eq:B1} and \eqref{eq:B2}, we may fix $d\geq 1$ and assume, without loss of generality, that $n=d+1$. This is because if $n>d+1$, then the subsystem consisting of the first $d+1$ storage nodes forms an $(n'=d+1,d)$ MLDR problem, which also needs to satisfy the same set of constraints.

The data stored at node $k$, $k=1,\ldots,n$, are denoted as $W_k$; the set $\{W_1,W_2,\ldots,W_k\}$ is written as $W^{(k)}$. The data extracted from node $j$ to regenerate node-$k$ is denoted as $S_{j,k}$. Let $S_{\tau,k}:=\{S_{j,k}:j\in \tau\}$ for any $k\in[1:d+1]$ and any $\emptyset \neq \tau\subseteq [1:d+1]-\{k\}$. Furthermore, let $l_0:=\emptyset$, $l_k:=S_{[k+1:d+1],k}$ for any $k=[1:d]$, and $l_{[i:j]}:=\{l_k:k\in[i,j]\}$ for any $1\leq i \leq j \leq d$. As we shall see, the data structures $l^{(k)}:=l_{[1:k]}$ for $k\in[1:d]$ and $\{W_1,l_{[2:k]}\}$ for $k\in [2:d]$, which are closely related to the repair diagram introduced by Duursma \cite{Duursma-P14}, play a key role in the peeling arguments for proving the outer bounds \eqref{eq:B1} and \eqref{eq:B2}; see Figure~\ref{fig2}.

Due to the built-in symmetry in the problem, we only need to consider the so-called {\em symmetrical codes} \cite{Tian-JSAC13} when discussing the optimal tradeoffs between the normalized storage capacity and repair bandwidth for the MLDR problem. For symmetrical codes, the joint entropy of any subset of random variables from $W^{(d+1)}\bigcup \{S_{j,k}: j,k\in[1:d+1],j\neq k\}\bigcup M^{(d)}$ remains {\em unchanged} under any permutation over the storage-node indices. Further note that $l_j$ is invariant (i.e., the collection of random variables from $l_j$ remains unchanged) under any permutation $\pi$ over $[1:d+1]$ such that $\pi(i)=i$ for $i\in[1:j]$; this fact is used repeatedly in proving the following telescoping results.

\begin{prop}[Telescoping over $l^{(k)}$]\label{prop:P1}
For any symmetrical $(n,d,(B_1,\ldots,B_d),(\alpha,\beta))$ MLDR code with $n=d+1$ and any $k\in[1:d-1]$, we have
\begin{align}
T_{d,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)}) \geq T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:P1}
\end{align}
\end{prop}

\begin{prop}[Telescoping over $\{W_1,l_{[2:k]}\}$]\label{prop:P2}
For any symmetrical $(n,d,(B_1,\ldots,B_d),(\alpha,\beta))$ MLDR code with $n=d+1$ and any $k\in[1:d-1]$, we have
\begin{align}
H&(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
&(d-k)T_{n,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\geq H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:P2}
\end{align}
\end{prop}

With the help of the above telescoping results, we can now prove Theorem~\ref{thm} using the peeling arguments as follows.

\begin{IEEEproof}[Proof of \eqref{eq:B1}]
We shall prove the following bound
\begin{align}
\beta \geq \sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+T_{d,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\label{eq:Induc1}
\end{align}
by induction. Note that
\begin{align*}
\beta & \stackrel{(a)}{\geq} \frac{1}{d}\sum_{i=2}^{d+1}H(S_{i,1}) \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} T_{d,1}H(l_1)\\
& \stackrel{(c)}{=} T_{d,1}H(l_1,M_1) \stackrel{(d)}{=} T_{d,1}H(M_1)+T_{d,1}H(l_1|M_1),
\end{align*}
and thus \eqref{eq:Induc1} holds for $k=1$. Here, $(a)$ follows from the repair-bandwidth constraints $H(S_{i,1}) \leq \beta$ for $i\in[2:d+1]$ and the fact that $T_{d,1}=1/d$; $(b)$ is due to the union bound on entropy; $(c)$ follows from the fact that $M_1$ is a function of $W_1$, thus a function of $l_1$; and $(d)$ is due to the chain rule for entropy.

Now assume that  \eqref{eq:Induc1} holds for some $k\in[1:d-1]$. Substituting the telescoping result \eqref{eq:P1} into \eqref{eq:Induc1}, we have
\begin{align*}
\beta &\geq \sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&\stackrel{(a)}{=} \sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)},M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})\\
&\stackrel{(b)}{=} \sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+T_{d,k+1}H(M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{13pt} T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)},M_{k+1})\\
&\stackrel{(c)}{=} \sum_{j=1}^{k+1}T_{d,j}B_j+T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k+1)}),
\end{align*}
which completes the induction and hence the proof of \eqref{eq:Induc1}. Here, $(a)$ follows from the fact that $M_{k+1}$ is a function of $W^{(k+1)}$, which is turn a function of $l^{(k+1)}$; $(b)$ is by  the chain rule for conditional entropy; and $(c)$ follows from the facts that all messages are independent and that $H(M_{k+1})=B_{k+1}$.

Setting $k=d$ in \eqref{eq:Induc1} and by the fact that $H(l^{(d)}|M^{(d)}) \geq 0$, we have
\begin{align}
\beta \geq \sum_{j=1}^{d}T_{d,j}B_j. \label{eq:Temp1}
\end{align}
Normalizing both sides of \eqref{eq:Temp1} by $\sum_{k=1}^{d}B_k$ completes the proof of the outer bound \eqref{eq:B1}.
\end{IEEEproof}

\begin{IEEEproof}[Proof of \eqref{eq:B2}]
We shall prove that
\begin{align}
\alpha+J_{d-1}\beta &\geq J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} J_{d-k}T_{d,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)}),\label{eq:Induc2}
\end{align}
by induction. Note that
\begin{align*}
&\alpha+J_{d-1}\beta\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{\geq} H(W_1)+\frac{J_{d-1}}{d}\sum_{i=2}^{d+1}H(S_{i,1})\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} H(W_1)+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(l_1)\\
& \stackrel{(c)}{=} H(W_1,M_1)+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(l_1,M_1)\\
& \stackrel{(d)}{=} H(M_1)+H(W_1|M_1)+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(M_1)+\\
& \hspace{13pt} J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(l_1|M_1)\\
& \stackrel{(e)}{=} (1+J_{d-1}T_{d,1})B_1+H(W_1|M_1)+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(l_1|M_1)\\
& \stackrel{(f)}{=} J_{d}T_{d,1}B_1+H(W_1|M_1)+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}H(l_1|M_1),
\end{align*}
and thus \eqref{eq:Induc2} holds for $k=1$. Here, $(a)$ follows from the storage-capacity constraint $H(W_1) \leq \alpha$ and the repair-bandwidth constraints $H(S_{i,1}) \leq \beta$ for $i\in[2:d+1]$; $(b)$ is by the union bound on entropy and the fact that $T_{d,1}=1/d$; $(c)$ follows from the fact that $M_1$ is a function of $W_1$, thus a function of $l_1$; $(d)$ is due to the chain rule for entropy; $(d)$ is by the fact that $H(M_1)=B_1$; and $(f)$ follows from
\begin{align*}
1+J_{d-1}T_{d,1}&=(d+J_{d-1})T_{d,1}=J_{d}T_{d,1}.
\end{align*}

Now assume that \eqref{eq:Induc2} holds for some $k\in[1:d-1]$. Substituting the telescoping result \eqref{eq:P2} into \eqref{eq:Induc2}, we have
\begin{align}
\alpha+J_{d-1}\beta
&\geq J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} \left[J_{d-k}-(d-k)\right]T_{d,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&= J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:Temp2}
\end{align}
Further substituting \eqref{eq:P1} into \eqref{eq:Temp2}, we have
\begin{align*}
&\alpha+J_{d-1}\beta\\
& \geq J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{25pt} J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{=} J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]},M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{25pt} J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)},M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{=} J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+(1+J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1})H(M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{5pt} H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k+1)})+J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k+1)})\\
& \stackrel{(c)}{=} J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j+J_{d}T_{d,k+1}H(M_{k+1}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{5pt} H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k+1)})+J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k+1)})\\
& \stackrel{(d)}{=} J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k+1}T_{d,j}B_j+H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k+1)})+\\
& \hspace{35pt} J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k+1)}),
\end{align*}
which completes the induction and hence the proof of \eqref{eq:Induc2}. Here, $(a)$ follows from the fact that $M_{k+1}$ is a function of $W^{(k+1)}$, which is in turn a function of $\{W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}\}$ and further a function of $l^{(k+1)}$; $(b)$ is due to the chain rule for conditional entropy; $(c)$ follows from the fact that
\begin{align*}
1&+J_{d-1-k}T_{d,k+1}=(T_{d,k+1}^{-1}+J_{d-1-k})T_{d,k+1}\\
&=\left[\sum_{i=1}^{k+1}(d+1-i)+J_{d-1-k}\right]T_{d,k+1}\\
&=\left(\sum_{j=d-k}^{d}j+J_{d-1-k}\right)T_{n,k+1}=J_{d}T_{d,k+1},
\end{align*}
and $(d)$ is due to the facts that all messages are independent and that $H(M_{k+1})=B_{k+1}$.

Set $k=d$ in \eqref{eq:Induc2}. By the fact that $H(W_1,l_{[2:d]}|M^{(d)})\geq 0$ and $J_0=0$, we have
\begin{align}
\alpha+J_{d-1}\beta &\geq J_{d}\sum_{j=1}^{k}T_{d,j}B_j. \label{eq:Temp3}
\end{align}
Normalizing both sides of \eqref{eq:Temp3} by $\sum_{k=1}^{d}B_k$ completes the proof of the outer bound \eqref{eq:B2}.
\end{IEEEproof}

\section{Proof of the Propositions}
\subsection{Proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:P1}}

We begin with a simple lemma, which is a consequence of Han's inequality \cite{Han-IC78} and the definition of symmetrical codes.

\begin{lemma}[Han's inequality]
\label{lemma:Han}
For any $k\in[1:d-1]$, $j\in[1:k]$, and $\emptyset \neq \tau\subseteq[k+2:d+1]$, symmetrical MLDR codes must satisfy
\begin{align}
\frac{1}{|\tau|}&H(S_{\tau,k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})\geq \frac{1}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)}).\label{eq:Han}
\end{align}
\end{lemma}

\begin{IEEEproof}
Consider any two nonempty subsets of $[k+2:d+1]$ of the {\em same} cardinalities, which are denoted as $\tau$ and $\tau'$. If $H(S_{\tau,k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})=H(S_{\tau',k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})$ in any symmetrical MLDR code, then the desired inequality \eqref{eq:Han} will follow directly from Han's inequality \cite{Han-IC78}.
To prove the desired equality, recall symmetrical MLDR codes preserve joint entropy under any storage-node-index permutation. Consider a permutation $\pi$ where only the indices in $[k+2:d+1]$ are permuted, and $\tau$ are mapped to $\tau'$. The set $l^{(j-1)}$ is invariant under this permutation. Thus the joint entropies involved in \eqref{eq:Han} are indeed preserved under this permutation.
\end{IEEEproof}

The following ``exchange" lemma plays an essential role in the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:P1}.

\begin{lemma}[Exchange lemma]
\label{lemma:exchange}
For any $k\in[1:d-1]$ and $j\in[1:k]$, symmetrical MLDR codes must satisfy
\begin{align}
& \frac{d+1-j}{d-k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{10pt} \geq \frac{d+1-j}{d-k}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:exchange}
\end{align}
\end{lemma}

\begin{IEEEproof}
Since $j \leq k$ by the assumption, we have $d+1-j >d-k$. Thus, we may write $d+1-j=i(d-k)+p$ for some integer $i\geq 1$ and $p\in[1:d-k]$. For any $q\in[1:i-1]$, let
\begin{align*}
\tau_q:=[j+p+&(q-1)(d-k):j+p+q(d-k)-1].
\end{align*}
Furthermore, let $\tau_0:=[j:j+p-1]$. Then we have $[j:k]=\bigcup_{q=0}^{i-1}\tau_q$. Next, let us show by induction that
for any $q\in[1:i]$
\begin{align}
&qH(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq qH(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:TT3}
\end{align}

To prove the base case of $q=1$, note that
\begin{align*}
H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)}) &= H(l_j,l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&= H(S_{[j+1:d+1],j},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&\stackrel{(a)}{=} H(S_{[j:k],k+1},S_{[k+2:d+1],k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&= H(S_{[j:k],k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
where $(a)$ follows by swapping $j$ with $k+1$ and the fact that $l^{(j-1)}$ is invariant under such a swap. Further note that $S_{[j:k],k+1}$ is a function of $W_{[j:k]}$, which is in turn a function of $l^{(k)}$. It follows that
\begin{align}
&H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&= H(l^{(k)},S_{[j:k],k+1}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{[j:k],k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{\geq} H(l^{(k)},S_{[j:k],k+1},l_{k+1}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\qquad+H(S_{[j:k],k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\label{eq:TT1}\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{=} H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{[j:k],k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& = H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-1}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),
\label{eq:TT2}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ follows from the submodularity of entropy, and $(b)$ follows again from the fact that $S_{[j:k],k+1}$ is a function of $l^{(k)}$. This completes the proof of the base case of $q=1$.

Next, assume \eqref{eq:TT3} holds for some $q\in[1:i-1]$, then
\begin{align}
&(q+1)H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\geq qH(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\quad +H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:TT3.5}
\end{align}
Consider a one-to-one swapping between the elements of $\tau_{i-q}$ and $[k+2:d+1]$, and note that $l^{(j-1)}$ is invariant under such swaps. We can write
\begin{align*}
H&(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&=H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},S_{[k+2:d+1],k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\\
&=H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}).
\end{align*}
It follows that
\begin{align}
&H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&=H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\stackrel{(a)}{=}H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
&\hspace{13pt} H(l^{(k)},S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\stackrel{(b)}{\geq} H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
&\hspace{13pt} H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\stackrel{(c)}{=} H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),\label{eq:TT6}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ and $(c)$ are due to the fact that $S_{\cup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1}$ is a function of $l^{(k)}$, and $(b)$ follows from the submodularity of entropy. Substituting \eqref{eq:TT6} into \eqref{eq:TT3.5} gives
\begin{align*}
&(q+1)H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\\
& \geq qH(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+\left[H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+\right.\\
& \hspace{13pt} \left.H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\right]\\
& = (q+1)H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\qquad\qquad+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which completes the induction and hence the proof of \eqref{eq:TT3}.

Set $q=i$ in \eqref{eq:TT3}. We have
\begin{align}
&iH(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq iH(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\tau_0,k+1},l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& = iH(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{\tau_0,k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})\label{eq:TT7}
\end{align}
where the last equality follows from the chain rule for conditional entropy. Consider a one-to-one swapping between the elements of $\tau_0=[j:j+p-1]$ and $\tau:=[k+2:k+p+1]$, and note $l^{(j-1)}$ is invariant under such swaps. We can write
\begin{align}
H&(S_{\tau_0,k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})=H(S_{\tau,k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{\geq} \frac{p}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|l^{(j-1)},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} \frac{p}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|l^{(k)},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& = \frac{p}{d-k}\left[H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})-H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\right],\label{eq:TT9}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ follows from Lemma~\ref{lemma:Han}, and $(b)$ is because conditioning reduces entropy. Substituting \eqref{eq:TT9} into \eqref{eq:TT7} gives
\begin{align*}
&\left(i+\frac{p}{d-k}\right)H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\\
& \geq \left(i+\frac{p}{d-k}\right)H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which is equivalent to \eqref{eq:exchange} by noting that
\begin{align*}
i+\frac{p}{d-k}=\frac{i(d-k)+p}{d-k}=\frac{d+1-j}{d-k}.
\end{align*}
This completes the proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:exchange}.
\end{IEEEproof}

Proposition~\ref{prop:P1} can now be readily proved from Lemma~\ref{lemma:exchange} as follows. Fix $k\in[1,d-1]$, add the inequalities \eqref{eq:exchange} for $j\in[1:k]$, and cancel the common term $\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})$ on both sides. We have
\begin{align*}
&\frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{10pt}\geq \frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(0)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which can be equivalently written as
\begin{align}
&\frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k+1}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&\hspace{20pt} \geq \frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(l^{(k+1)}|M^{(k)}),\label{eq:Temp4}
\end{align}
by the fact that $H(l^{(0)}|M^{(k)})=0$. Multiplying both sides of \eqref{eq:Temp4} by $d-k$ and writing $\sum_{j=1}^{k+1}(d+1-j)$ and $\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)$ as $1/T_{d,k+1}$ and $1/T_{d,k}$ respectively complete the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:P1}.

\subsection{Proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:P2}}

\begin{lemma}[Han's inequality]
\label{lemma:Han2}
Define $l'_r:=\{S_{1,r},l_r\}$ for $r \in [2:d]$. For any $k\in[1:d-1]$, $j\in[1:k]$, and $\emptyset \neq \tau\subseteq[k+2:d+1]$, symmetrical MLDR codes must satisfy
\begin{align}
\frac{1}{|\tau|}H(S_{\tau,k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)})\geq \frac{1}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)}).\label{eq:Han2}
\end{align}
\end{lemma}

The proof follows identical steps to those for Lemma~\ref{lemma:Han} and is omitted due to the space constraint.

\begin{lemma}[Exchange lemma]
\label{lemma:exchange2}
For any $k\in[1:d-1]$ and $j\in[1:k]$, symmetrical MLDR codes must satisfy
\begin{align}
& \frac{d+1-j}{d-k}H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq \frac{d+1-j}{d-k}H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:exchange2}
\end{align}
\end{lemma}

\begin{IEEEproof}
Since $j \leq k$ by the assumption, we have $d+1-j >d-k$. Thus, we may write $d+1-j=i(d-k)+p$ for some integer $i\geq 1$ and $p\in[1:d-k]$. For any $q\in[1:i-1]$, let
\begin{align*}
\tau_q:=[j+p+(q-1)(d-k):j+p+q(d-k)-1].
\end{align*}
Furthermore, let $\tau_0:=\{1\}\bigcup[j+1:j+p-1]$. Then we have $\{1\}\bigcup[j+1:k]=\bigcup_{q=0}^{i-1}\tau_q$. Next, let us show by induction that
for any $q\in[1:i]$, we have
\begin{align}
&qH(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq qH(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:QQ1}
\end{align}

To prove the base case of $q=1$, note that
\begin{align*}
H&(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\stackrel{(a)}{=} H(l'_{[2:j+1]}|M^{(k)})= H(l'_{j+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\\
&= H(S_{1,j+1},S_{[j+2:d+1],j+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\\
&\stackrel{(b)}{=} H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},S_{[k+2:d+1],k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\\
&= H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l_{k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
where $(a)$ follows by swapping $r$ with $r+1$ for all $r\in[1:d]$ and $d+1$ with $1$, and $(b)$ follows by swapping $j+1$ with $k+1$. We thus have
\begin{align}
&H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&= H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l_{k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{=}H(W_1,l'_{[2:k]},S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l_{k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} H(W_1,l'_{[2:k]},S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l_{k+1}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(c)}{=} H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{1,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& = H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-1}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)}),
\label{eq:QQ2}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ and $(c)$ follow from the facts that $\{S_{1,2},\ldots,S_{1,k+1}\}$ is a function of $W_1$ and that $S_{[j+1:k],k+1}$ is a function of $W_{[j+1:k]}$ which is in turn a function of $\{W_1,l_{[2:k]}\}$, and $(b)$ is due to the submodularity of entropy. This completes the proof of the base case of $q=1$.

Assume that \eqref{eq:QQ1} holds for some $q\in[1:i-1]$. We have
\begin{align}
&(q+1)H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq qH(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)}).\label{eq:QQ3}
\end{align}
Consider a one-to-one swapping between the elements of $\tau_{i-q}$ and $[k+2:d+1]$, and note that $l'_{[2:j]}$ is invariant under such swaps. We have
\begin{align}
&H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-q}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})+H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&=H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},S_{[k+2:n],k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} +H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
&=H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt}+ H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{=}H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l_{k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} +H(W_1,l'_{[2:k]},S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} H(W_1,l'_{[2:k]},S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},S_{[j+1:k],k+1},l_{k+1}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} +H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(c)}{=} H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)}),
\label{eq:QQ4}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ and $(c)$ are true because $\{S_{1,2},\ldots,S_{1,k+1}\}$ is a function of $W_1$ and that $S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1}$ is a function of $W_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r}$ which is in turn a function of $\{W_1,l_{[2:k]}\}$, and $(b)$ is due to the submodularity of entropy. Substituting \eqref{eq:QQ4} into \eqref{eq:QQ3} gives
\begin{align*}
&(q+1)H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\\
& \geq (q+1)H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{\bigcup_{r=0}^{i-(q+1)}\tau_r,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which completes the induction and hence the proof of \eqref{eq:QQ1}.

Set $q=i$ in \eqref{eq:QQ1}. We have
\begin{align}
&iH(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq iH(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k+1)})+H(S_{\tau_0,k+1},l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{=} iH(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l'_{[2:j]}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt}H(S_{\tau_0,k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{=} iH(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)})+\nonumber\\
& \hspace{13pt} H(S_{\tau_0,k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)}),\label{eq:QQ5}
\end{align}
where $(a)$ follows from the chain rule for conditional entropy, and $(b)$ follows by swapping $r$ with $r+1$ for $r\in[1:d]$ and $d+1$ with $1$. Consider a one-to-one swapping between the elements of $\tau_0=\{1\}\bigcup[j+1:j+p-1]$ and $\tau:=[k+2:k+p+1]$, and note $l'_{[2:j]}$ is invariant under such swaps. We can write
\begin{align}
&H(S_{\tau_0,k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)})=H(S_{\tau,k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(a)}{\geq} \frac{p}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|l'_{[2:j]},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \stackrel{(b)}{\geq} \frac{p}{d-k}H(l_{k+1}|W_1,l_{[2:k]},M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& = \frac{p}{d-k}\left[H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})-H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})\right]\label{eq:QQ6},
\end{align}
where $(a)$ follows from Lemma~\ref{lemma:Han2}, $(b)$ is because $l'_{[2:j]}$ is a function of $\{W_1,l_{[2:k]}\}$. Substituting \eqref{eq:QQ6} into \eqref{eq:QQ5} gives
\begin{align*}
&\left(i+\frac{p}{d-k}\right)H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})\\
& \geq \left(i+\frac{p}{d-k}\right)H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(j-1)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which is equivalent to \eqref{eq:exchange2} by noting that
\begin{align*}
i+\frac{p}{d-k}=\frac{i(d-k)+p}{d-k}=\frac{d+1-j}{d-k}.
\end{align*}
This completes the proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:exchange2}.
\end{IEEEproof}

Proposition~\ref{prop:P2} can now be readily proved with Lemma~\ref{lemma:exchange2} as follows. Fix $k\in[1,d-1]$, add the inequalities \eqref{eq:exchange2} for $j\in[1:k]$, and cancel the common term $\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}H(l^{(j)}|M^{(k)})$ on both sides. We have
\begin{align*}
&\frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(W_1,l_{[2:k]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(k)}|M^{(k)})\nonumber\\
& \geq \frac{\sum_{j=1}^{k}(d+1-j)}{d-k}H(W_1,l_{[2:k+1]}|M^{(k)})+H(l^{(0)}|M^{(k)}),
\end{align*}
which is equivalent to \eqref{eq:P2} by the fact that $H(l^{(0)}|M^{(k)})=0$. This completes the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:P2}.

\bibliographystyle{ieeetr}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
ART IN THE CITY: NEW YORK CITY FASHION WEEK
Conception Arts Founder, Rachel Wilkins, discovers the magic of fashion mixed with art in a daring new designer and with icons of industry.
New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is the 'see or be seen' event where super-star designers dare to dazzle Manhattan with their boldest new creations. Art and fashion have been intertwined for centuries. The partnership makes sense and can be captivating when well executed. I set out to see that partnership in action and NYFW did not disappoint!
My first stop was the Manaola Runway Show. A lavish penthouse in Midtown was the setting for the young, Hawaiian designer's debut. From beginning to end the presentation was a sensory delight, though now I fear all other runway shows will pale in comparison. The event kicked off with a dressing ceremony known as Kakua Pa'u, it was ethereal and visually captivating. Manaola seemed to weave tradition and high fashion together effortlessly for his Manhattan debut. I was able to get a few minutes with the young designer when the show wrapped and he shared a little insight into his journey. "It took a lot to get here, thankfully we received a lot of support, both from investors and the Hawaiian government." Manaola was a humble gentleman with a clear passion for honoring his heritage and native roots.
Manaola's collection featured black flowing garments with gold accents. Everything from dresses to luggage, outfitted with tribal patterns. The final piece on the runway was a show-stopping black and gold floor-length dress, with a sweeping trail, and a sculptural headpiece appearing to cage-in the model's face. This design paid homage to the last queen of Hawaii, "Liliuokalani," who was imprisoned in her own castle. The design and symbolism were utterly breathtaking. I was an instant fan. I look forward to seeing what's next for the young designer.
Next up, I headed downtown to Clarkson St. to the Etihad Airline VIP lounge. The Space, host to celebrities and designers during NYFW, was outfitted with sultry fabrics and elegant lighting. The centerpiece of the space was a triptych painting entitled "Summer Breeze," by Uruguayan artist, Vicky Barranguet. Barranguet was selected for space by curator and Gallerist, Melissa McCaig-Welles; a visionary and long-standing trailblazer of the NY art scene. I spoke with McCraig-Wells and asked her what, as a curator, she hoped to communicate to the viewer. "I wanted to present something that would correlate with fashion– playfulness, imagination, ideas, color, and vibrancy. I immediately thought of Vicky's work as being a perfect reflection of these ideas and feelings.
Barranguet's work was indeed the perfect complement to this elegant space. "Her palette is vibrant and her strokes so gestural, full of emotion and energy. I think of this creativeness when I see a fashion show, the intensity, and display of one's imagination brought to life. Vicky's work has that same stunning effect." McCaig-Welles explained.
The Uruguayan artist's stunning works are in private collections around the world and this clearly was not her first collaboration. I asked Barranguet if she was inspired by any other art forms; "I am always finding inspiration in other art sources. Fashion has been a fun canvas for me, I have created several collaborations with fashion designers through my art."
In addition to the Manaola and the Etihad Airline VIP lounge I was able to get to a few other openings, however, fashion fatigue and sore feet, (from wearing my non-sensible shoes) soon kicked in. My final stop was an after-party hosted by designer, Patricia Field.
I'm a big admirer of Field's work, though I'm most definitely not cool enough to pull off most of her outfits. Field is best known as the designer responsible for the wardrobe in the Sex and the City movies. She has a decorated career that has often bridged the art and fashion worlds. A recent exhibit in Miami, during Art Basel, was entitled just that: 'Art and Fashion.' I had the pleasure of meeting Field and loved her authenticity, vibrancy, and her enthusiastic support of young designers and artists. She is an original rebel, a feminist force, and a woman to be reckoned with in the world of fashion.
Field's after-party was held at Troy; a new hip basement club in the heart of the trendy meatpacking district. Revelers and fashion aficionados were letting loose on the dance floor to upbeat tunes spun by DJ Ian Mellencamp. The outfits were showstoppers. From punk to fabulous! Platform heels and big, beautiful hair! My favorite reveler sporting a graffiti-esqe baseball hat with the words "Pussy not War" was front and center. Patricia Field, as always, did not disappoint. Still relevant, still cooler than cool, still evoking that shock factor.
Until next time, fashionistas! I look forward to seeing what exciting next!
PROJECT HOPE – REDEFINING THE FUTURE
The entire world was plunged into darkness a year ago as the COVID19 outbreak hit, causing so much turmoil. The panic, fear of the unknown and social unrest caused many…
NYC-ARMORY WEEK 2018
Mohau Modisakeng BY RACHEL WILKINS Storm Quinn battered down on the East Coast into the early hours of Thursday morning, but that didn't stop thousands of eager art lovers from…
ART IN THE CITY: RANDALL'S ISLAND
ELECTRIC ZOO AT NYC'S 6TH BORO Conception Arts Founder, Rachel Wilkins, brings to life the wild and visionary three-day festival of electronic music at Randall's Island. In my quest to…
ART IN THE CITY: 48 HOURS IN HOUSTON: A SOUTHERN METROPOLIS
Conception Arts Founder, Rachel Wilkins, takes us on a curated view of the diverse arts scene in Houston, Texas. BY RACHEL WILKINS After a four-hour flight from a bitterly cold…


text:
The women's 1500 metres event  at the 1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 5 and 6 March.

Medalists

Results

Heats
First 3 from each heat (Q) and the next 3 fastest (q) qualified for the final.

Final

References

1500 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships
1500
Euro

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


1. I will stop trying to find the few remaining clean pieces of carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.
2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc.
3. I will not eat other animals' poop.
4. I will not lick my human's face after eating animal poop.
5. I will not eat my own vomit.
6. I will not eat "kitty box crunchies".
7. I will not eat any more socks and then re-deposit them in the backyard after processing.
8. The diaper pail is not a cookie jar. I will not eat the disposable diapers, especially the dirty ones.
9. I will not chew my human's toothbrush and not tell them.
10. I will not chew crayons or pens, specially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.
11. When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside.
12. I will not drop soggy tennis balls in the underwear of someone who is sitting on the toilet.
13. I will not bark each time I hear a door bell on TV.
14. I will not walk under the big dog when he is peeing.
15. I will not steal Mom's underwear and dance all over the back yard with it.
16. I will not play tug-o'-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
20. I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.
21. I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.
22. The garbage collector is NOT stealing our stuff.
23. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house.
A lesson how consultants make a difference in an organization.
Did you hear about the blonde man that locked his keys in his car?
A dog's new year resolutions\n 1. I will stop trying to find the few remaining clean pieces of carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.