text:
EA900-0031 Claydoll
anthropology, clay, claydoll, collections, doll, eastafrica, ethnography, hadza, moesgaardmuseum, momu, namestick, naricanda, olanakwete, olanakwiko, tanzania, theaskaanes
In the beginning of October our last blog post presented a pair of fluorescent green foam shoes from Tanzania. Through a conversation with curator Thea Skaanes*, the reader was invited to ponder the importance of shoes in both every day and ritual life. Today, we continue that conversation, as the foam shoes opened up for a discussion about how anthropology had previously (mis)understood the Hadza. However, it was not the shoes by themselves who sparked this discussion, but instead the story of how the above clay doll became part of the collections.
Anthropologist James Woodburn was one of the first to describe the Hadza people. Besides describing the Hadza as 'semi-nomadic, immediate return – hunter gatherers', he also classified their society as one of the most egalitarian in the world. However, the Hadza have also, some would argue, been unfairly cast as being a group of people closest to mankind's primordial starting point – they have been described as being without a complex cosmology or imagination, and without strong bonds of kinship or friendship among members of the group. In James Woodburn's conclusion to his 1982 article Egalitarian Societies** he states that the Hadza feel no obligations towards one another and will leave their elders or sick behind.
Curator at Moesgaard Museum, Thea Skaanes, however, argues that the clay doll above challenges this view of the Hadza, simply by its own existence. She has been working with the Hadza since beginning her PhD in anthropology in 2011 and has lived together with the group for a year. She has together with the Hadza created a collection for Moesgaard Museum, that includes objects of both everyday and ritual life, of which the clay doll belongs to both.
The Hadza live in the central part of Northern Tanzania. They are completely surrounded by game reserves and the Serengeti is just north of their territory, as with other savannas. The area has since the 1960s been thought of as being unfit for human settlement because of the seasonal extremes (flooding in rain season and draught in dry season) and because of dangerous animals – the big cats, but also Tsetse flies especially. There is estimated to be around 1200 Hadza in total, but only a small group of these, around 300 people, still live as hunter-gatherers. Their lives are characterized by a great degree of pragmatism, as they have to be ready to leave in an instant in case of an emergency or if better opportunities arise elsewhere.
The clay doll, also known as olanakwiko (femine) or olanakwete (masculine), above is made from unburned clay and decorated with glass beads, inserted on its face and chest. It resembles a newborn child both in appearance and size – it weighs about 4 kilograms and 30 cm tall. It has two separate necklaces tied around its neck and small marks on its arms from where it was repaired after being unlucky during the journey from Tanzania to Denmark. It is this journey, which Thea Skaanes underwent twice, that our conversation on the Hadza culminated in, and which you are now invited to partake in.
For how long have you been working with the Hadza? I seem to remember from being part of a grant committee, to have seen an application from you regarding a clay doll, is that correct?
'I first visited them in 2011, when I began my PhD. But I have spent just about a year together with them in total.'
'And it was a total drama with the doll! The doll was animated – it had a soul. The Hadza decided that I should be given different objects and stories to keep for them for the future. The idea of the museum made so much sense to them! It was a huge investment for them – they thought 'great, we'll use you!'. So they chose me to take care of these things, and also of the secret things. Which is a challenge, as I have to keep it safe for future generations, but they also have to remain secret. So the museum and I are keeping the objects for them to know about them, but also the things only few of them are allowed to know…'
Sounds easy…
'They have given me all these things and then this clay doll, which was animated because it had been named. And I actually wrote about this in my PhD dissertation – what's in a name. I looked into three objects and they all turned out to be names – they had to be understood as being names.'
'Names are this technology, through which a soul or spirit is transferred from one body to another. So my dissertation went from having this very material focus to quickly shifting to the immaterial and the cosmology of the Hadza. And this doll was just as much a person as I was, since I was also given a name.'
'So there was a complete overlap between me as a person and this doll as a person. And therefore, I was told that when it died, it had to be buried just like a human. And so, I was repeating what they had told me about the burial rites, and there was this thing about having its head point towards a specific mountain, where the deity resides, right? And so when I was repeating it, I said I would point the head south and they screamed 'ARE YOU SAYING YOU WANT TO POINT THE HEAD SOUTH!? Are you completely mad!? The Sun rises here and sets here and HERE is the mountain – YOU HAVE TO POINT IT IN THAT DIRECTION!' – I wanted to make the point that when I was to bury it in Denmark it would have to be pointed south, but I just thought 'Oh no…'. But I had to promise that when it died, I would bury it. And then it died.'
How does a clay doll die?
'It basically dried up and then shot off its head – it was obvious that it was dead. It hadn't just lost an arm.'
What!? How!?
'It dried up and well, we hadn't been able to find the best clay for it. There is this clay, which is also animated, and comes from a termite nest. We had to go to the swamp and make it out of swamp clay, which You can also do. But it is a bit trickier and the doll was very heavy as it was completely made out of clay.'
And it had made it back to Aarhus at this time?
'Yes it had come all the way here. And it was a huge concern to have this dead doll lying – here in the office. And for a really long time. But then of course, I got the funds to return to the Hadza and get it properly buried. And when I returned and showed her – she was a girl – to this really amazing woman from the group, she just shrugged and told me to follow her. And so we hurried to find a termite nest and then she made a new one. When we returned to camp, I couldn't find the old one! I was stressed! I had one job – to bury the doll! And then I saw its head lying next to some trash and I just thought 'NOOO!' – but then it turned out that the new doll we had just made – it had just been given the same name.'
The same name?
'The same name! I waited to tell them not to give the new doll a name, because I was worried we would be in the same situation later, but it turned out that it was already given the same name and that in this process, the spirit from the old doll had moved to the new doll. Which turned the old doll into – essentially a pile of dirt – it was no more. It makes you wonder about the status of people who are not part of this named community. Well, but it didn't have to be buried and all that. It was just residue, scrap, or remains, but if we hadn't made a new one, then we had to send this soul back to the god through the proper burial and so on. So in that way – the doll is this kind of future oriented technology – the future is created through this doll and it also created its own future, even though it was supposed to have died. Completely. It was supposed to have been terminated and the soul was meant to return to the others. So in a way it created its own rebirth – the spirits really have some powerful technology there.'
And what happened to the new doll?
'It's here at the museum. And it's in good shape – it's made from good clay after all. The clay from termite nests really has excellent cementation qualities.'
How do you take care of it then?
'Yeah, actually, I should be taking care of it like it was a child. Sitting with it, putting it to bed. Feeding it and carrying it around in a kanga.'
It sounds like a lot of work to have a doll…
'It is an insane amount of work! It is in way a way of making room in the world for a new child. So that everything is in place when the new child comes – because You are ready.'
But how does that add up to the description of the Hadza as 'immediate returners'? It seems like a pretty long process with no immediate return…
'There are these things that contradict this understanding of the Hadza. I have written a piece for Jordens Folk*** about meat and how some pieces of meat have completely egalitarian connotations while others have the complete opposite. Some meat is secret and hierarchical and not everything can be shared. So there are these contradictions – there will always be. The same goes for immediate and delayed return systems. In the Hadza case, we find prominent aspects of both. There are striking examples of immediate-return system, for instance that there is no storage facilities for storing food, nor do they keep cattle or other husbandry. So they indeed do rely on going out to get it. In that sense it is immediate-return: they hunt, then they eat. But, at the same time, there are there long stretched out processes that do not comply with the idea of 'immediate return'.'
'There are these rituals every month which don't fit with the idea of immediate return – that you put in effort and get immediate results. The Hadza have been used as a major case study in evolution anthropology. And what makes them interesting to this kind of anthropology is that they are thought of as being very close to our primordial starting point as humans. They are seen as a good opportunity to study morals and religion, because they are not believed to have 'invented that yet' – ugh! So they are thought to be at the absolute lowest stage of 'societal complexity' together with the Mbuti pygmies.'
'And in the other end You have Japan – traditional Japanese society. And you know all these stories about the Hadza being such a simple people, as living in the instant or the instantaneous as Meillassoux**** has described them – it simply isn't the whole truth! What I have shown in my work and what I experienced when I lived together with them is that there is a huge degree of manipulation of the future. This one – the naricanda sticks – is the craziest manifestation of the past! It is 'name-sticks' on which the Hadza carry their past with them and all the family relations.'
EA900-180 and EA900-181 Naricanda sticks – or name sticks
'The story about the Hadza has also been that they have 'no care for the morrow', 'family relations don't matter very much – even to close of kin' – it has always been this story of an almost primary group of humans before You started developing all these things. Before 'We' were really cultivated. And that has been the story about them for so long! And what I am trying to do – just through all these little things is to show that there is so much more.'
'There is a very active belief in the afterlife for example, which they weren't believed to have for so long! There is this very active manipulation of the past and of the future. So this thing with 'the instantaneous' – it's misunderstood. There are so many of these things – the monthly rituals which are essential and some of the most touching – here they let the soul of other family members enter themselves – it is one of the most affectionate ways of taking care of the family! And all of this, fits very poorly with them supposedly having a loose family structure – their families matter and these untold stories are so important.'
The clay doll, which now lives at Moesgaard Museum, is thus a testament to the complex cosmology of the Hadza and poses a challenge for what anthropologists thought they knew about the Hadza and potentially other hunter-gatherer societies.
//Katrine Mandrup Bach
To read more of Thea Skaanes' work see her article "Notes on Hadza Cosmology. Epeme, objects and rituals" Hunter Gatherer Research 1 (2), 2015.
*See the previous post 'These shoes aren't made for walking – a conversation with curator Thea Skaanes' https://ethnographica.net/2019/10/02/these-shoes-arent-made-for-walking-a-conversation-with-curator-thea-skaanes/
**Woodburn, J. 1982 "Egalitarian Societies" Man, New Series, 17 (3), pp. 431-451
*** Skaanes, T. 2019 "Kødkraft. En historie om køddeling fra feltarbejde blandt hadza i Tanzania" Jordens Folk, 55. årgang, nr. 2
****Claude Meillassoux was an anthropologist known for his work describing the Mbuti people in Congo and his Marxist analysis of their production methods.


Miguel Cruz Marques is PhD in Agronomy and Winemaker. He belongs to a family traditionally devoted to grape growing and winemaking.
- He holds a wine and directs laboratory processes making, aging and issuing several wineries and cooperatives.
- Author of many agricultural industries projects, especially wineries.
- Continuing the family tradition since 1985, he produced, packaged breeding and winery Bodegas Lagar Blanco.
- He has been professor of Enology and Enology at the INEM Microbiology.
- Professor in Oenology courses organized annually and Tasting Wine Classroom Córdoba and a Masters of Enology.
- Assistant professor at the University of Cordoba in teaching and research projects.
- Lecturer, Technical Conferences, seminars and wine tastings in various fields.
- Member of the Board of the Andalusian Association of Winemakers for twelve years.
- Participates annually in the International Competition ECORACIMOS organic wines, which has been Director on two occasions.
- "PREMIOS MANOJO" in Tordesillas(Valladolid) on 2.004 and 2.012.
-"VINITALY" held in VERONA(Italia) on April 2.010.
- Member of the Andalusian Academy of Wine.
- Member of Cordoba Wine Classroom.
- Member of the organizing committee of the Wine Trade Andalusia.
- Coordinator of the 1st Convention of Vine and Wine.
- Member of the Wine Guild of Montilla.
- Guild of Merit of the Brotherhood of Rioja wine.


my egg, genturfahi, uses this one somewhere.
this at spots I'd consider critical.
checked it carried a comment that this needs a better implementation.
But: there is hope that nobody needs to step up and dive into that code.
Long time ago I modified scheduler.scm and srfi-18.scm in my code base.
tree (a left leaning red black tree that is).
(see ball.askemos.org) reasonably without those modifications.
source control.  Sadly I can't recall what the problem was.
of threads per process life time are well handled.
However I might need some help to properly feed those changes back.
tested state of affairs now and have me tampering later.
At the other hand I understand that this would be a non-trivial modification. It might be better to find some testers on a separate git branch. So much for the personal help: I'm so far git-illiterate.
would be one more thing to avoid.
obviously add overhead to each and every major garbage collection.
Prev by Date: Re: [Chicken-users] severe bug in file-exists?


The Oil & Gas Technology Centre has been awarded grant funding of £1.9 million from the Scottish Government's Decommissioning Challenge Fund to invest in the recently-announced National Decommissioning Centre in partnership with the University of Aberdeen.
Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy confirmed the award during a visit to the University's Oceanlab facility, where the new Centre will be based.
The National Decommissioning Centre scheduled to open in late 2018, will tackle current and future challenges with world-class research and development in partnership with the oil and gas industry in the UK and internationally.
We're developing a unique collaboration environment, equipped with the latest digital technology, that will allow academics and oil and gas companies to work together in an entirely new way. The immersive space will provide opportunities for asset and downhole visualisation, 'digital twin' models and virtual geology.
We're investing in an industrial laser to develop an underwater cutting solution that could save the oil and gas industry up to £90 million. The University of Aberdeen has a proven track record in underwater laser applications, and we're aiming to partner with industry to create a technology solution that will be trialled on the UK Continental Shelf.
We're developing a powerful computing cluster to allow the fast simulation and modelling of innovative, knowledge-based, high-value decommissioning solutions and scenarios. This dedicated IT infrastructure will enable the Centre to tackle complex projects, processing vast quantities of data quickly and effectively.
The National Decommissioning Centre of Excellence aims to rapidly develop new technology for testing, certification and deployment. To achieve this, we're enhancing the existing manufacturing and workshop facilities at Oceanlab with new state-of-the-art engineering resources.
We are now seeking industry partners with experience, ideas and equipment, who want to co-invest with us to deliver a step change in performance and help deliver at least a 35% reduction in the cost of decommissioning.
"The Decommissioning Challenge Fund has been a successful vehicle for funding a broad range of interesting decommissioning projects and levering in private sector investment.
"We're delighted to have secure this important investment from the Decommissioning Challenge Fund. We want to transform the future of decommissioning and the funding will help create an environment that fosters innovation, and where academia and industry can work together on cutting-edge solutions.
"This investment from the Scottish Government is testament to our plans for a world-class centre for research and development, where our academics will work alongside industrial partners to create solutions that will establish the National Decommissioning Centre at the heart of this important industry.
"Based at the University's Oceanlab facility, the new centre will build upon and enhance the work that already takes place here across a range of decommissioning disciplines, from engineering to legal, regulatory and environmental considerations.


Margaret was the eldest child of Harry and Adie Ewart, her only sibling a brother called Harry Junior (nicknamed Boy) was born in 1926, was two years her junior.
Her childhood was spent moving with her family from place to place as her father sought work. I remember her telling me of how she left school in Grade 4 after attending quite a lot of different schools. She never had a chance to settle anywhere as the family moved about every 3 months. Despite her lack of formal schooling, Margaret taught herself a great deal and I remember her confidently taking voluntary positions on committees as secretary, president and treasurer when we were in school.
The family moved from the south of the state to Prossers Forest (north-east of Launceston) and it was here that Margaret met the large, happy and musical family of Blyths who lived at Patersonia and Myrtle Bank. She used to ride her horse, Peter through the bush to go to dances and parties with Phyll and Dot Blyth. I suppose it was here that she first met my father Vin Blyth, I don't know how old she was then but they married when she was 23. She joined the WRAAF for a short time and then in 1947 married Vin at a ceremony at St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Launceston.
Launceston Examiner newspaper in February 1947.
Silver sequins trimmed the waistline of the satin lined catelli gown worn by Margaret Isabel Ewart, daughter of Mr & Mrs H Ewart, Prosser's Forest, when she was married on Saturday to Vincent Alfred Blyth. Rev A. Thomas performed the ceremony at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and Mr Ewart gave his daughter away.
The bride wore a long lace veil which has been in her family for more than 100 years. Her bouquet was of water lilies and white gladioli. Miss Shirley Johnson was bridesmaid. Her frock of white marquisette had an off-the-shoulder neckline and her hooped skirt was trimmed with red satin ribbon. In her hair she wore a white halo of flowers and she carried a bouquet of red gladioli and dahlias. The bride's brother Mr H. Ewart was best man and Mrs C.P. Andrewartha sang "I'll Walk Beside You".
When receiving guests at the reception at The Lounge, the bride's mother wore a black lace and silk frock and her velour toque was studded with gold. The groom's mother was a smart figure in a black and white silk dress. Her black hat was trimmed with white veiling. When leaving for the honeymoon on the North-West Coast, the bride changed into a pink linen suit trimmed with black. Her black velvet hat was trimmed with contrasting flowers and black veiling, and her accessories were black. Mr & Mrs VA Blyth will live at Echuca, Vic.
The Belgian lace wedding veil that Margaret wore belonged to her great grandmother Elizabeth Barlow (nee Cooley). It had been worn by many members of the family before Margaret wore it in Feb 1947. I was the last person to wear it, that was in 1977. Click on the names to see wedding photos that I have.
Peter Harold Blyth was born in Echuca, Victoria to Vince & Margaret Blyth.
John Richard Blyth was born in Devonport, Tasmania to Vince & Margaret Blyth.


Have To Find Barb Wire Fence Maintenance in Brazos County?
Have College Station Fencing Provide Your Yard Enclosure Necessities!
If you own a home in Brazos County, it perhaps has a security perimeter encircling it and you will at some time be forced to look at Barb Wire Fence Maintenance since things can occur!
Maybe you are handy at taking care of Barb Wire Fence Maintenance – but if you are not, you have to find technicians who are well-trained and know about Barb Wire Fence Maintenance - an organization like College Station Fencing!
So why does College Station Fencing do better than other providers that do Barb Wire Fence Maintenance in Brazos County?
If something happens to your security perimeter, never waste any effort seeking good help with your security perimeter. Phone the professionals at College Station Fencing to handle Barb Wire Fence Maintenance– you'll be pleased you had them come out!
Got Dilapidated Fencing in Brazos County?


Information Minister Punjab, Fayyaz ul Hasan Chauhan denying reports that Asia Bibi has flown out of country.
'Asia Bibi is in Pakistan and she's has gone nowhere," said the minister while talking to media here. He confirmed that the woman was released from Multan jail and was then flown to Islamabad under tight security.
The Supreme Court on October 31 set aside the conviction of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman condemned to death for blasphemy.
Asia Bibi was arrested in 2009 after three women went to a local cleric in Sheikhupura, to report her and the trial court convicted and sentenced her to death.


Antroposofi – Historien, det är vi!
August 27, 2008, the Swedish Christian daily Dagen (The Day) published an interview with Alicia Hamberg, an intelligent, sensitive and humorous former Steiner Waldorf pupil, 30 in 2008. She went to "Kristofferskolan" (The Christopher School) in Stockholm between the ages of three and 12 during the 1980s, at first in Kindergarten and then during the first six grades.
The interview was made after she had supported and promoted a crusade against Steiner Waldorf education in an English discussion forum during the Spring, with the discussion extending over thousands of postings during five months. The crusade was pursued by a small group of rabid members of a small fringe anti-Waldorf group, on whose board she participated as its "European representative", and that she had drawn to the discussions.
The reason was that the undersigned had started to participate in the forum to address a long discussion defaming Steiner Waldorf education, introduced by one participant by referring and linking to an article by a Peter Staudenmaier, who started his career as solo writer on anthroposophy as part of the basis for Steiner Waldorf education with an invented, defamatory untrue con story about a lecture series by Rudolf Steiner now 100 years ago in Oslo, Norway.
The culmination of the lecture series is a prediction by Rudolf Steiner that an increasing number of people from the middle of the 20th century will have a similar experience of Christ as Saul had at Damascus. In Sweden Peter Staudenmaiers's con stories about the lecture series is published and promoted by the missionary secular humanist association "Science and Education of the Public" since 2000.
When his untruth abut the lecture series was exposed, he invented a number of further con stories to cover up for his original untruthfulness, without being able to document their truthfulness either.
Staudenmaier plays a similar role to critics of Steiner Waldorf education as David Irving does to antisemites, (though Staudenmaier is much younger) and Alicia Hamberg always defends him when he is criticized for being untruthful in his writings, or criticized in any way.
(The latest example of this is January 12, 2013.
The following day, January 12, Alicia lies about this in a comment at her blog, aptly titled "Mind games", to – again – faithfully – protect Peter Staudenmaier from exposure.
As he publishes libel in what he writes, I pointed out to the forum owners and moderators that postings that directly or indirectly linked to his writings as "explanation" of the experiences of parents at one or other Steiner Waldorf school constituted promotion of libel that violated UK legislation. On this ground a number of the postings were deleted, something critics in continued anti Steiner Waldorf campaigns and arguments polemically have described as suppression of free speech.
During the year, the education of Steiner Waldorf teachers had been moved from the Teachers College in Stockholm to the University of Stockholm. In connection with the transition, the University decided that a number of the courses did not fulfill what it considered to be the necessary academic standards for the education of teachers. It is part of a process still going on in Sweden to remove all courses not primarily based on academic research from higher education at universities and colleges. Following the transition, the Board of the Faculty of Science at the university decided to terminate the cooperation between the Teachers College and the Rudolf Steiner College that had been going on since 2002 in a joint education of Steiner Waldorf teachers.
In connection with a public discussion of the decision, the Christian daily "Dagen" (The Day) made the mentioned interview with Alicia, and another interview with Bo Dahlin, Professor of Education at Karlstad University about Steiner Waldorf education.
Who is Alicia Hamberg, or Zooey/Zzzooey as she calls herself on the net, this relentless critic of Steiner Waldorf education?
On the internet, she has described herself as obsessed with words and letters and in a personal correspondence 2007/2008 described how difficult she finds it to listen to people and for that reason hardly watched TV.
As reason for her parents to put her at "Kristofferskolan", the main Steiner Waldorf school in Stockholm, she has stated that she was more difficult to handle than the average child, as she expressed it.
She also told how much she disliked doing especially that which is done a lot at Steiner Waldorf schools; paint, sing, play different instruments, handicraft, and eurythmy, a dancelike form of art movement.
Her difficulty to listen to people probably made it especially difficult for her to go to the Steiner Waldorf school she went to as Steiner Waldorf education, much based on anthroposophy as philosophy and view of man, to such a high degree is built on the spoken word. During her school time, according to herself, she refused to go to school without her watch, making it possible to see how many minutes remained till class was over.
With her great interest in numbers and written text, her difficulties to listen to others (according to herself, she did not care much about what they said) and her deep aversion towards especially the artistic and handicraft elements that distinguish Steiner Waldorf schools from other schools, she soon seems to have become an outsider in her Kindergarten group and later in grade school, and as such bullied by especially one other pupil.
The strife to integrate also a developmentally challenged pupil with outbursts at time in her class also put its mark on the situation of her and others during the time she went there, something she has described with bitterness on the net.
Since the end of 2007, she has started to work through her experiences at school and criticize and heckle everything related to Steiner Waldorf education at a blog and in different discussion forums in an often well formulated way, that however can stand out as somewhat obsessive.
She is a secular humanist and the interview describes how she is a member of what is described as "a network that reviews Rudolf Steiner, anthroposophy and Steiner Waldorf schools". (It refers to this group …) As such, she is one of the, if not the most active Steiner Waldorf critic on the net since 2007.
Since 2008 she has made some 3.000+ postings in different waldorf critical discussions and in addition has written (March 2011) 20,000+ tweets at Twitter. (Since then, she has added 18,000 more tweets.) So she's a little talkative, internet-wise. She has also told that she's constantly febrile and how she can't sleep without sleeping pills. An important part of what she writes – like before – consists in promoting and spreading criticism of everything connected with Waldorf education and anthroposophy, now in cooperation with three British "Humanists".
But she has also, after among other things having read descriptions of Steiner as autistic as a child and the peculiarly challenging way he at times describes things, developed an expressed sympathy for him (she has described how she experiences herself as a creature from outer space).
She has described how much she likes the architectural form language in the second Goetheanum and thinks that an exhibition "Rudolf Steiner – Die Alchemie des Alltags" on display in Germany from May to October 2010 also should be shown in Sweden. At her blog, she has written several (so far 16) postings with "Love greetings" to Jaerna (a center of anthroposophical activities in Sweden) with pictures she has taken herself of the anthroposophical "Kulturhuset" (House of Culture) and the garden of the Rudolf Steiner College.
Maybe this (some comments on her ambivalent attitude to anthroposophy and biodynamic farming) can complement the somewhat complex picture through which she expresses herself on the net.
What the Christian "The Day"-article does not link to is an extensive answer to what the waldorf critics (WC) write.
While it links to a study of Steiner Waldorf education by prof. Bo Dahlin at the University of Karlstad, Waldorfskolan – en skola för människobildning? (The Waldorf school – a school for the cultivation of humanity?), it could also have included a link to one of the most extensive sites on the internet on Steiner Waldorf education, Waldorf Answers. A similar site in Swedish is under construction.
Since 2008, she pursues a personal campaign against the undersigned for my description here in this posting of parts of what she has written about herself on the net, to make her understandable. She also does not like what I have written about Peter Staudenmaier after having analyzed his writings in relation to the sources he refers to as basis for them, or an anti-Steiner crusade by one of the most rabid Steiner Waldorf critics on the net the last years.
August 30, 2008, I wrote this posting in its first form, based on and describing what she has written about herself on the net.
After the banning of the rabid mostly American anti Steiner Waldorf crusaders from the British discussion forum, she developed an extensive personal criticism of the undersigned in the discussion forum of the Swedish missionary secular humanist group "Science and Education of the People", where I did not participate.
I instead invited her for a cup of tea at the Tea House in Stockholm (famous for its location under a group of Elms, that were the center for the "Battle of the Elms" in 1971 in the "Kings Garden" in the center of Stockholm. The City planners had planned to cut them down and replace them with a subway station, but failed to implement this when Stockholmers of all ages protested against it, some by climbing the trees when the police was called in to support the cutting of the trees.).
I wanted to hear more from herself about the background of her intense antipathy against Steiner Waldorf education, but she answered that she'd rather have tea with "Ahriman" (the representative of Satan in Persian Mythology) and was somewhat later interviewed by the Christian daily "The Day". I did not quite think the interview did her or the "Kristoffer school" justice and therefore wrote this blog posting in its first form, based on what she had written about herself, to make her understandable.
Later, she continued with among other things a long posting that mainly consisted of a list of links to 74 pages on the net, that I had written over the last ten years as comments on different discussions of Steiner Waldorf education, which has upset her, and that she described as "drivel".
As she hasn't seemed to feel that well, since last year, I try as much as possible to avoid public discussions with her, and have only as an exception commented on what she has written, beyond this blog comment.
Someone else, who seems to have read her blog and commented on it is Marlene Olsson, a Waldorf mum with radically different experiences of her children's Steiner Waldorf school than Alicia.
Outside internet discussions, we however have had friendly mail exchanges and during late Autumn (2010) she mainly seems to have felt better. At the beginning of the year, a support teacher at the "Kristoffer school", where she went to school during the 1980s, asked me for help to contact her, after having read what she had written on the net. I did, they are now Facebook friends, and Alicia has expressed her gratitude for the contact with the support teacher.
At the beginning of August (2010), I happened to see a comment by her at Twitter, telling how difficult she found it to log out from a yahoo account. As I had had similar problems at one time, I wrote to her and told where she could find the log out text.
Funnily enough, I succeeded in logging out 5 minutes ago. After having gone out at yahoo outside the mail itself. Then suddenly that small 'log out'-thing appeared at the top of the page. Small it was, but it was visible. I think I have a rather high resolution at my screen. It is actually rather peculiar. I tried to log out already a week ago, but gave up. I have two yahoo email addresses and sometimes I have to log in to the second one to see what new offers I have gotten from Burkina Faso and such places where the forgotten accounts grow on trees. The billions rattle in.
So what she writes varies, but the comment feels like an expression of her actual basic positive attitude to life, when nothing troubles or disturbs her.
After the internet discussions in 2008, I suggested to the Swedish Federation of Steiner Waldorf Schools that they employ me part-time as media consultant to follow and report what is published in different media on and related to Steiner Waldorf education, mainly in Sweden, but partly also abroad and they agreed. My work only included reporting about it, and not to write for or in any way represent the Federation. Last December (2011), I stopped working for the Swedish Federation of Steiner Waldorf schools.
Outside of my part time employment I continued and continue to participate in discussions of Waldorf education as a free debater the same way I have done the last decade before and after the employment. In those discussions, as in all discussions, I only represent myself and my own personal views.
1. Vem var Rudolf Steiner?
1. Who was Rudolf Steiner?
2. Who are "waldorf critics"?


I have been doing some research into the funding given out by the Waiheke Local Board over the past 20 months. It shows significant ratepayer money going to a couple of favoured Trusts, the Waste Resources Trust, and the Anne Audain Charitable Trust. Different funding buckets administered by the Waiheke Local Board (Community Fund, Accommodation Fund, Events Fund and Small Local Improvement Projects) have been raided to support these entities.
The Waste Resources Trust and Anne Audain Charitable Trust might call themselves trusts but, as you will see, they are trusts in name only.
The Waste Resources Trust is not a registered Trust but a 100% owned subsidiary of a limited liability company, Clean Stream Waiheke Limited, in other words a profit-making company. As a private company its accounts are not available for public scrutiny. Clean Stream Waiheke Ltd has three directors listed. They are John Stansfield (partner of hard left, Green Party List MP Denise Roche), Michael Tavares (wannabee Green Party politician and eco-terrorist) and local William (Bill) Kinghorn.
Apart from the Directors of Clean Stream Ltd, the Waste Resources Trust has three others on their team. They are Dawn Jeffries, Ivan Kitson and Susan Barker (also of Kai Conscious Waiheke). This is significant because Dawn Jeffries is also the recipient of large amounts of Local Board funding (that's ratepayers' money) in other ways.
The Waste Resources Trust has received nearly $15,000 for its 'Project Little Oneroa'. Dawn Jeffries has herself further received almost $8,000 for putting on the 'Good Life Eco Fest' event.
The Anne Audain Trust simply does not exist as I have said before. It is an entity used by the Waiheke 'Ask' Church run by Sergio Rodriguez and his wife (website now discontinued), which is based on a residential property in Ostend, to obtain funding from the Local Board. To date, this so-called 'Trust' has received three tranches of funding from the Board totalling over $9,000, all of it to pay for hire of the High School gym (aka the Waiheke Recreation Centre).
A LONG time ago ( early 80's) a group of Waiheke residents came to me to begin the Anne Audain Charitable Trust to run Outward Bound style camps on the island for underprivileged city kids. It was lead by Dennis Mardle and was legitimate, had a board of directors who I met with a few times when I trained on the island during the NZ summer. .
However Dennis and his wife moved from the island quite a long time ago and I understood the AA Trust was shut down.
Can you get me the name and address of the person I need to contact and I will get my lawyer to ask they cease using my name.
Search as I might I have found no documentation on the Waiheke Local Board Agendas and Minutes giving any financial costing (as required by Auckland Council) for the ratepayer funds handed out to businesses, individuals and Churches. At the least, one would expect someone to have done 'due diligence' and clearly established the legal status of these groups before a single cent of public money was handed over to them.
There should also be great caution when granting public money to Trusts because Trusts are able to keep their accounts from being viewed by the public. This means ratepayers lose oversight of where their money gets spent and there is a lack of accountability. A case in point is the 'Heart of the City' Trust set up by Alex Swney, now a convicted fraudster. Swney was able to siphon off millions of dollars of public money (much of it belonging to Council ratepayers) because it was a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind for the Trust's own Board, as well as Council officers. Swney also established the Pathway Trust set for Skypath.
Since the Supercity amalgamation, the traditional checks and balances that ensure transparency and accountability when the public's money is being doled out have been sadly lacking. Helped by the dumping of experienced staff and the amateurish blunderings of a wet-behind-the-ears, new crew, this has permitted Local Boards with distinctly political agendas (such as the second Waiheke Local Board) easy access to public funds.
It is no secret that Green Party insiders are pulling the strings of the Waiheke Local Board. You can see how successful their Green businesses and associates have been in applying for, and receiving ratepayer funding.
It is also no secret that Chair Walden and at least one other Board member are fundamentalist Christians. It is therefore, no surprise that the 'Ask' Church (affiliated to the Assembly of God Church) has been another successful recipient of funding as a favoured group.
It's a question of trust. Can you trust politicians who divert your hard earned rates money to a Church that takes someone's name in vain? Can you trust politicians who openly favour their party political mates and give them preferential treatment over other legitimate community groups and who fund a private business when other businesses pay huge business rates and receive nothing? No, you can't and neither do I.
I can imagine this is only the tip of the ice burg across Auckland.
I think the word corruption comes to mind especially when diverting public funds to politically aligned or like minded parties.
There seems to be no accountability whatsoever within this so called Super City.
But then again you just have to look at the disgraceful mayor brown.
Excellent article. I hope it is widely read and taken on board. More examples of me me me (and my mates) short term thinking which is ultimately divisive rather than us us us and the building of a real and inclusive community long term thinking. Shame on them. They need to get a grasp on what being a Christian really means!
This is the EXACT same problem we are having in our West local board. Complaints to our democracy advisor said "get used to it is the new council model" empowering community groups, except it appears to be empowering politicians and there allies. Our West auckland Ecofest cost us $285k! minutes stated we also paid for the North Shore. After I complained they changed the number seems to have been changed in subsequent documents to $85k. The money went to a trust who's trustees includes our Board Member, the boards secretary and ex-council staff, and a local mps assistant. It is the number one issue facing Auckland IMHO. The trusts I complained aobut all received well over 100k but are not listed as cco's and are not listed in the councils' awarded contracts list.
Ha sounds like sour grapes Jo. The WRT does fantastic work engaging the local community to actively work together to reduce waste, use sustainable practices and care for the local environment. The fact is that for far to long things like our local waterways etc have been ignored by council leaving a trail of polluted areas which our kids play in. I can see the environment is clearly not on your agenda and that is why you are not on the local board. Change is coming weather you like it or not. All i see is someone who bitter and looking for dirt where there is none.
I for one support people who are active in the local community and support local initiatives to improve our lives on this special island..


text:
Q: Make bootstrap modal work with another website using greasemonkey/tampermonkey (eg SO) I'm just trying to add a couple of buttons, which when clicked a bootstrap dialogbox/modal should pop up. Something like this demo: http://jsbin.com/wiruhepere/1/edit?html,css,js,output
However when applying this using greasemonkey/tampermonkey on a real website, let's say stackoverflow: It's not working at all !!
I'm suspecting some script/css conflict maybe but I don't have the knowledge to track that down :<
What I'm looking for is:

*

*Make the modal appear when clicking on the "Delete" button

*When clicking on "OK" to confirm, grab/intercept that answer to do some other stuffs...

Please bear in mind I'm a beginner in this, so if soemthing isn't clear enough, feel free to ask :-)
Updated GM code based on wOxxOm comments:
// ==UserScript==
// @name        Bootstrap Test
// @namespace   http://tampermonkey.net/
// @description Why the hell the modal isnt working :<
// @author      Enissay
// @include     http://stackoverflow.com/*
// @include     https://stackoverflow.com/*
// @resource    jqueryJS https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.12.4/jquery.min.js
// @resource    bootstrapJS https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/js/bootstrap.min.js
// @resource    buttonCSS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-buttons.css
// @resource    bootstrapCSS https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css
// @resource    githubButtonIconSet https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-icons.png
// @grant       GM_addStyle
// @grant       GM_getResourceText
// @grant       GM_getResourceURL
// ==/UserScript==

(function() {
    //--- Inject scripts & css including myCode/Func
    $("head").append("");
    $("head").append("");
    $("head").append("");

    var githubButtonIconSet = GM_getResourceURL ("githubButtonIconSet");
    var buttonCSS = GM_getResourceText("buttonCSS");
    buttonCSS = buttonCSS.replace (/gh-icons\.png/g, githubButtonIconSet);
    $("head").append("");

    $("body").append("");
})();

function myFunc () {
(function() {
    'use strict';
    var deleteButtonHtml = `

    <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">
        Launch demo modal
    </button>

    Edit
    Delete

`;
    var modalHtml = `

        <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close">×</button>

Modal title

        ...

        <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button>
        <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Save changes</button>

`;

    //--- Add nodes to page
    $("body").prepend(deleteButtonHtml);
    $("body").prepend(modalHtml);

    //--- Attach event to button
    $(".button-group").find(".remove").click(function(evt){
        //debugger;
        $('#myModal').modal({
            keyboard: true
        });
    });
})();
}

Initial GM code bellow:
// ==UserScript==
// @name        Bootstrap Test
// @namespace   http://tampermonkey.net/
// @description Why the hell the modal isnt working :<
// @author      Enissay
// @include     http://stackoverflow.com/*
// @require     https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.12.4/jquery.min.js
// @require     https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/js/bootstrap.min.js
// @resource    buttonCSS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-buttons.css
// @resource    bootstrapCSS https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css
// @resource    githubButtonIconSet https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-icons.png
// @grant       GM_addStyle
// @grant       GM_getResourceText
// @grant       GM_getResourceURL
// ==/UserScript==

(function() {
    'use strict';

    var deleteButtonHtml = `

    <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">
        Launch demo modal
    </button>

    Edit
    Delete

`;
    var modalHtml = `

        <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close">×</button>

Modal title

        ...

        <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button>
        <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Save changes</button>

`;
    //--- Add nodes to page
    $("body").prepend(deleteButtonHtml);
    $("body").prepend(modalHtml);

    //--- Attach event to button
    $(".button-group").find(".remove").click(function(evt){
        $('#myModal').modal({
            keyboard: false
        });
    });

    //--- Style our newly added elements using CSS.
    GM_addStyle (GM_getResourceText ("bootstrapCSS"));
    var githubButtonIconSet = GM_getResourceURL ("githubButtonIconSet");
    var buttonCSS = GM_getResourceText("buttonCSS");
    buttonCSS = buttonCSS.replace (/gh-icons\.png/g, githubButtonIconSet);
    GM_addStyle(buttonCSS);
})();

A: There's so many things wrong with the script, let me list them:

*

*Manually appending javascript to DOM - for requiring other javascript resources, use @require such as:
// @require     https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.12.4/jquery.min.js

*Mistaking string and a variable - bellow, you're using getResourceText but giving it a CSS string, not resource name:
var buttonCSS = GM_getResourceText("buttonCSS");
buttonCSS = buttonCSS.replace (/gh-icons\.png/g, githubButtonIconSet);
// Button CSS does not contain name of resource, but actual CSS
$("head").append("");

*Unnecesary closures - this doesn't cause any errors, but why would you wrap whole function body in self invoking closure? This is crazy:
// WARNING: Crazy code, do not use!
function myFunc() {
    (function() {

    })()
}

*Executing function by appending it to HTML - while not exactly an error in general, people just normally do this to call myFunction:
// Call my function
myFunction();

Not sure why did you do this instead:
$("body").append("");

This also cannot work, because greasemonkey variable scope is hidden from global scope. So it is impossible to call myFunction from HTML. This means in your case it just cannot work.
I fixed most of the problems for you, but you still need to figure out how to resolve CSS conflicts for the dialog on stackoverflow, that problem is out of scope of answer to your question.
The script below works on http://blank.org:
// ==UserScript==
// @name        Bootstrap Test
// @namespace   http://tampermonkey.net/
// @description Why the hell the modal isnt working :<
// @author      Enissay, Tomas Zato (http://stackoverflow.com/users/607407/tom%c3%a1%c5%a1-zato)
// @include     /https?:\/\/stackoverflow\.com\/*/
// @include     http://blank.org/*
// @require     https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.12.4/jquery.min.js
// @require     https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/js/bootstrap.min.js
// @resource    buttonCSS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-buttons.css
// @resource    bootstrapCSS https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css
// @resource    githubButtonIconSet https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necolas/css3-github-buttons/master/gh-icons.png
// @grant       GM_addStyle
// @grant       GM_getResourceText
// @grant       GM_getResourceURL
// ==/UserScript==
console.log("Start");

document.head.appendChild(cssElement(GM_getResourceURL ("githubButtonIconSet")));
document.head.appendChild(cssElement(GM_getResourceURL ("buttonCSS")));
document.head.appendChild(cssElement(GM_getResourceURL ("bootstrapCSS")));

function cssElement(url) {
  var link = document.createElement("link");
  link.href = url;
  link.rel="stylesheet";
  link.type="text/css";
  return link;
}

function myFunc () {
    'use strict';
    var deleteButtonHtml = `

    <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">
        Launch demo modal
    </button>

    Edit
    Delete

`;
    var modalHtml = `

        <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close">×</button>

Modal title

        ...

        <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button>
        <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Save changes</button>

`;

    //--- Add nodes to page
    $("body").prepend(deleteButtonHtml);
    $("body").prepend(modalHtml);
    //--- Attach event to button
    // NOT NECESSARY, bootsrap creates event listeners automatically
    /*$(".button-group").find("button").click(function(evt){
        console.log("Click.", $('#myModal'));
        $('#myModal').modal("show");
    });   */
}
myFunc();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Cocktail Drinks
Documentary Screening
French Vodka
Record Of The Week: Y Niwl, 4
11.Mar.2015
Y Niwl continue to play their own brand of instrumental surf rock on their fourth release, appropriately titled "Y Niwl 4". With a blend of tremolo-ridden guitars, driving lo-fi drums, and simple infectious bass lines, this four piece from North Wales truly sounds like a reincarnation from the 1960's surf rock scene. In addition to their surf rock sound, they include textures indicative of spaghetti westerns and old spy films. "Y Niwl 4" contains Y Niwl's most confident and mature tunes to date.
"Y Niwl 4" starts out with Dauddegtri, their most energetic tune, clocking in at 1:44. With a heavy electric organ and a splashy guitar trading sloshy solos, it sounds like Y Niwl's response to the classic Wipeout. The rest of the tunes on the record are mellower, usually sticking to a light yet playful tempo. They ditched their heavy electric keyboards for most of this album and replaced it with feel-good single-coil guitar riffs, which serve as the melody on most of "Y Niwl 4." Dauddegun, their standout track, sums up what Y Niwl does best; interlacing a lifting melody with moody minor-key surf guitars over a marching rhythm section, creating a vibe so contagious that it would have certainly caught the attention of Quentin Tarintino when he was assembling the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction.
Whether it conjures up images of Greg Noll in his famous striped boardshorts (Undegnaw), a young Sean Connery as Bond handling his Walther PPK (Dauddegpedwar), or Clint Eastwood galloping through the arid desert (Dauddegun), this band is all about the mood it creates. Enunciating the band's name (apparently pronounced "uh nule") is difficult enough, so never mind trying to say the song titles. But if you are looking for the perfect record to spin at a retro beach party, this is the record for you. Y Niwl continues to create music that takes us back in time. And whether they're riding surfboards or horses, we just hope they keep on riding.
How to Make a Vodka Martini
OF A KIND's 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Album Of The Week: No Doubt, "Push & Shove"
"Where's Home" A Documentary Screening / Fundraiser

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. India is the leader in production of Cumin, fennel and coriander.


text:
Chapter: Introduction
« Previous: Front Matter
Page 1 Share Cite
Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 1998. Transforming Post-Communist Political Economies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5852.
The dissolution of the Soviet empire in Central and Eastern Europe and the demise of the Soviet Union have created unprecedented opportunities for social, political, and economic change in Europe and Eurasia. Current reforms will alter fundamentally the way post-communist societies, political systems, and economies function and interact. More than 5 years into the process, what do we know about social change at this pace and scale? What do we not know that we should know? What should we be tracking and analyzing in order to improve our understanding of this unprecedented transformation?
In 1994, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Office of Research and Development of the Central Intelligence Agency brought a series of issues relating to the post-communist economic transition to the National Research Council (NRC) for investigation. In response, the NRC established a Task Force on Economies in Transition. The task force's main charge was to improve understanding of the economic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, and to determine what we know about the interdependent economic, political, and social processes currently taking place in the region. The NRC also asked the task force to develop a research agenda that would direct efforts and funding to those areas, issues, and methods most likely to improve understanding of the complex and interrelated socioeconomic processes encompassed by the terms ''transition" and "transformation." This volume responds to that charge.
From its inception, the task force doubted that present versions of any existing theories—including various theories preferred by its own members—
could adequately encompass these extraordinarily complex processes and explain the very different rates and patterns of transformation across the post-communist world. Most established economic theory aims to explain marginal and incremental changes. It is therefore at best partial, and at worst misleading, in the context of sweeping, rapid changes in entire systems. More-over, conventional theory assumes the existence of underlying formal and informal institutional arrangements that are radically different from those pre-vailing in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. Similar difficulties beset our explanations of political change: models that fit more or less adequately the representative systems of capitalist democracies leave unstated both the underlying institutional forms and conditions for drastic transformation.
At the outset of the transformation, these shortcomings of Western theory and knowledge were compounded by the widespread assumption that these societies would "naturally" evolve into systems closely approximating those of the industrialized West. These teleological and deterministic assumptions are not inherent in existing theories, but nonetheless have had a powerful influence on policy advice and action in the post-communist world. The ascendance of neoliberal economic philosophy during the 1980s, both in the industrialized West and in poorer regions of the world, seemed vindicated by communism's collapse in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. For a brief period, many observers and advocates believed that Western models of market economies and democratic polities were the wave of the future, and that the post-communist world was embarking down the same road to the same destination (though some countries were expected to move more rapidly than others). Moreover, many people thought that road was plainly marked: stabilization, liberalization, and privatization would transform highly bureaucratized, statist economic systems into dynamic, competitive capitalist economies. Similarly, contested elections, political parties, and decision making by representative assemblies would provide the path to democratic stability.
Experience during the 1990s has confirmed the crucial importance of certain (mainly macroeconomic) policies as necessary, though far from sufficient, underpinnings to resumed growth. But the failures and disappointments of initial efforts at transformation in parts of the post-communist world and the varied patterns and ongoing problems in even the most successful cases have led most thoughtful reformers and analysts to back away from single-track assumptions. There is now much greater recognition that different paths of transformation, and different destinations, are likely to be generated by different histories (before and during the communist era); the different ways in which communism collapsed; and contrasting geography, social structure, ethnic composition, and cultural values. Some of these destinations may look similar to one or another of the multiple models of mainly market economies
already established elsewhere in the world, while others may look quite different from any existing market or communist model. Some of each group may thrive while others prove unworkable.
The task force began its work roughly at the same time that the initial phases of the transformation process were yielding to later phases, with different goals and emphases, in much of Central Europe and the Baltic states. Initially, the overwhelming priorities were stabilization and liberalization—particularly the dismantling of old controls on prices, trade, and investment. As these measures took hold in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Baltic states, the attention of policymakers and advisors shifted to the much more diverse and complex tasks of creating new institutions and frameworks for effective governance and economic growth, while continuing to keep a watchful eye on macroeconomic management. Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, and in most of the New Independent States, the early phases of transformation, characterized by the struggle for stabilization, liberalization, and privatization, has taken longer and been much less decisive. In these areas, the challenges of designing institutional reforms and creating new regulatory and social-sector frameworks appropriate to mainly market economies will be more difficult, and will have to be tackled simultaneously with the yet-to-be-completed initial phase of transformation.
As more post-communist countries move into later phases of transformation, the policy guidance provided by neoliberal economics becomes more limited and partial. While there are criteria for restructuring financial sectors consistent with the requirements of market economies, there is no single template from which one can draw the precise outlines of any of the components of an economic system (including central banks, monetary policies, investment incentives, monitoring systems, and savings institutions) that will foster both well-being and economic growth. Still less is there a single formula, or even a great deal of technical agreement in the West, regarding how to design new pension or educational systems or the most appropriate labor market institutions. Indeed, many semi-industrial and industrial nations outside the post-communist world continue to grapple with similar issues. Far from being able to apply a well-understood model to achieve predictable outcomes, analysts and practitioners are groping at the frontiers of knowledge, seeking better insights and ways of grasping the complex, dynamic, and interacting processes of transformation.
In seeking to contribute to these efforts, the task force looked for innovative ways to determine what is occurring in these diverse systems, to unravel some of the unexpected consequences of policies, and to trace the strategies and networks different actors are using to cope with the uncertainties of transformation. The task force recognizes that many approaches are useful and that no single approach will be adequate in such a complex endeavor. It has, however, chosen to emphasize one approach in this volume—the analysis of
institutional change. It has done so for several reasons. First, task force members and those who participated in the workshops conducted for this study found this approach both thought-provoking and fruitful. Second, many of the papers included in this volume demonstrate the utility of the approach. Finally, this approach has been largely neglected to date in analyses of post-communist transformations. Rather than surveying all possible interpretations of current changes in post-communist economies, together with all possible objections to their major arguments, this volume aims to stimulate thought and discussion, identify crucial gaps in current knowledge, and motivate new research.
To address the challenges posed by its mandate, the task force:
Commissioned a series of reports from specialists in East European and Eurasian social change and the processes of economic transformation, ranging from broad conceptual surveys to investigations of developments in specific sectors of particular countries.
Organized a series of five workshops at which practitioners, analysts, and policymakers could debate those reports.
Produced a set of critical syntheses of the results, including the essays that introduce each section in this volume and the overall framework essay by Douglass North.
Four different components of the task force's mandate should be distinguished: (1) setting goals, (2) identifying potentially useful conceptual approaches and methodologies, (3) explaining current changes, and (4) identifying research priorities. For all four components, the stakes are high, and sharp disagreements exist among analysts, policymakers, and citizens as to the best course of action.
With respect to goal setting, for example, most observers and participants would welcome the eventual establishment of productive, prosperous, self-sustaining economies and democratic regimes throughout the zone of former state socialism. Disagreement begins, however, with the extent to which such economies and regimes must imitate existing Western models; whether the pursuit of economic growth and democratization conflict in the short run; the extent to which the social services and rights established under state socialism should be preserved; the relations post-socialist economies should have with the evolving international capitalist system; and the extent to which even long-run goals should differ for, say, Uzbekistan and Estonia. Among our contributors, the variation in views with regard to these issues is striking. Some think the immediate adoption of Western economic models is both desirable and feasible. Others argue that the future economies and polities of post-communist regions will inevitably differ significantly from those of present-day Western, capitalist democracies. The analyses included
here help identify and probe these goal-setting issues, but do not attempt to resolve them.
As noted earlier, many of the chapters and essays included in this volume stress the value of institutional analysis for understanding economic transformation and social change in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. To recognize the significance of institutions is not to announce a list of precisely six (or six hundred) social arrangements that underlie functioning markets or market systems, but to see that all systems of production and exchange rest on organizations, routines, guarantees, relationships, and understandings that are not themselves obvious elements of production and exchange. It should be understood at the outset that the term institution is used differently here than in common parlance or, for example, in the field of political science. The institutional approach defines institutions as the indispensable framework within which human interaction takes place—as the "rules of the game," the humanly devised constraints, that determine incentives and shape human interactions in all societies (North, 1990:3-4). Some institutions, such as laws, tax regimes, and the explicit operating rules of organizations, are formal, while others, such as cultural norms and established conventions, are informal. Formal rules are only a small subset of the constraints that govern choices and human interaction, while informal constraints and conventions are so pervasive that one is often misled into underestimating their role and importance. Institutions, both formal and informal, reduce uncertainty, structure incentives, define property rights, limit choices, and ultimately determine transaction costs (North, 1990).
Economic and political liberalization has dismantled a great many of the formal communist institutions—the laws, regulations, and organizations characteristic of the communist era. At the same time, however, informal institutions from the communist as well as the pre-communist past, including relationships, norms, and rules of behavior, persist in varying degrees and continue to shape expectations, incentives, and behavior. Moreover, new informal institutions are emerging alongside the new formal laws and organizations. While reformers and policy advisors are attempting to design and introduce new, formal institutions, it should be understood that these measures will confront and interact with remnants of old arrangements and spontaneously developing informal institutions (North, 1990). Conflicts and inconsistencies between formal and informal institutions can produce unanticipated consequences, including noncompliant behaviors and underground economic activities. No one has a formula for setting the optimum level of institutionalization, or even the certainty that a single such level exists. To the contrary, the task force wishes to emphasize the great diversity of institutions and institutional patterns that have existed, currently exist, and are emerging in the course of transformation.
Analyzing transformation in terms of institutional change alerts policy-
makers and scholars to the critical need for market infrastructure, without which markets can not form or function. It focuses attention on the necessity for secure property rights without which investors are unlikely to invest, and capitalists are unlikely to undertake the risks of entrepreneurship. It emphasizes how transaction costs—the costs associated with measuring, monitoring, protecting, and exchanging property rights—affect incentives for the production, trade, and use of goods and services. Finally, it highlights the importance of path dependence—the ways in which cultural norms and inherited ways of conducting business and governing societies structure a society's institutions, setting the parameters within which, and the stock of knowledge with which, change will occur.
The path dependence of economic, institutional, and political change means that major processes—such as monetization of exchanges, privatization of property, and integration into international markets—will operate differently in different socioeconomic systems as a function of previously existing social arrangements. Just as a skyscraper's lightning rod acts as a conduit for electrical discharges from storm clouds, established social, economic, and political connections and routines channel economic transformations. As a result, changes may sometimes proceed with unexpected rapidity, with an entrenched and previously clandestine second economy suddenly becoming a relatively unfettered legal vehicle of exchange. Changes may also move more slowly than reformers anticipate, encountering obstacles created by the old system. Path dependence governs the itinerary more than the speed of economic change.
Analysts concerned about institutional change and path dependence have no choice but to take concrete histories seriously. Starting with the synthesis provided in North's framework essay, many of the authors in this volume step back to examine the longer-term implications of the transformation taking place in underlying social and economic institutions. Most critically, they raise questions about which institutions are likely to impede, promote, or prove irrelevant to the emergence of productive economies and self-sustaining democracies. These inquiries examine changing property rights, transaction costs, power structures, household coping strategies, and interpersonal networks. They call attention to the paths and sequences by which institutional transformation actually occurs, with an eye to the likely perverse effects of attempts to install replicas of specific Western organizational forms where the necessary institutional contexts have yet to emerge.
Effective economic change depends on changes in formal noneconomic organizations, such as courts, schools, and hospitals. But it also depends on webs of understanding, expectation, and social relations that cut across formal organizations: norms of honest work and decent pay, networks of friends and relatives who pass on news of economic opportunities, devices for pooling capital, and much more. These arrangements constitute the informal and only
partially visible side of institutions underlying economic activity and change. They increase or decrease the likelihood that the performance of markets, investments, monetary flows, and producing firms in rapidly changing economies will be similar to that of their counterparts in long-established capitalist economies.
Authors in this volume display an acute awareness of institutional effects, both formal and informal. Rather than dismissing such pervasive and striking phenomena as official corruption, theft of government property, pyramid schemes, rising mortality, and mass emigration as obstacles or temporary misfortunes on the road to economic transformation, they seek to explain and trace the implications of ostensible setbacks, obstacles, and perverse effects. Such changes, properly understood, provide valuable signals concerning the extent to which post-communist economies and polities are actually behaving as conventional theories of market expansion and democratization would lead us to expect. Even more important, individuals' short-run responses to economic and political change depend heavily on their societies' inherited, and often entrenched, institutional arrangements. Their responses may be constrained or facilitated by patron-client networks, ethnic and religious solidarities, organized access to government resources, incentives for short-term profit taking rather than long-term investment, and social structures that facilitate the evasion of taxes. Therefore, actual behavior provides crucial information about institutional constraints on the array of possible choices and policies.
In each of the five workshops conducted for this study, the task force sought explicitly to integrate macroeconomic and microeconomic levels of economic analysis, while building bridges across the disciplinary divides between economics and the other social sciences and between Western and post-communist scholarship. Beginning at the base, the task force focused initially on transformation at the level of the individual household and the coping strategies employed by different actors to survive and surmount the challenges of change. Although the interrelationships between health and the stresses induced by socioeconomic change and uncertainty were discussed at the first workshop, papers addressing these issues were excluded from this volume in view of the fact that the NRC has just published a volume of papers on Premature Death in the New Independent States. Similarly, although the task force recognized the potential for ethnic and religious solidarities to influence the course of transformation, the NRC's recent work on Balancing and Sharing Political Power in Multiethnic Societies encouraged us to focus our attention elsewhere.
Progressing to increasingly complex levels of socioeconomic interaction, the task force examined the transformation of management, labor, and production; institutional change, property rights, and corruption; social trends, household behavior, and social-sector policies; and the transformation of the role of the state. The choice of topics was not intended to be exhaustive, but to direct
attention and research to key elements of transformation. This work plan also enabled the task force to highlight the complex interactions among processes that are frequently analyzed separately, or with other things being held artificially constant. For example, the opportunities for rent seeking created by privatization are integrally related to the criminalization and corruption of state structures. Similarly, while the appearance of extensive quasi-currencies in Russia and some other countries is a creative (though not necessarily constructive) response to the strains of transformation, it contributes to the alarming erosion of central government authority and revenues.
The task force's series of workshops provided opportunities for social scientists, policy analysts, legislators, and development specialists to confer, debate, and refine their preliminary understanding of critical aspects of the transformation process. This in turn enabled them to transfer insights gained at the workshops to contemporary policy issues without awaiting the publication of the volume
The volume opens with both an introduction and a framework essay. This introduction explains the task force's mandate, outlines its program of work, and provides a brief guide to the materials included in the volume. North's essay outlines the broad contours of the new institutional economics, demonstrates the analytic utility of the approach, and applies it to the study of economies undergoing transformation. His essay is followed by four substantively based sections: II "Institutional Change, Property Rights, and Corruption;" III "Management, Labor and Production;" IV "Social Trends, Household Behavior, and Social-Sector Policies;" and V "The Changing Role of the State." The chapters in each section were initially presented at one of the task force workshops, where they were subjected to intense debate, and were subsequently revised for publication. Compelled to make its selection from an extraordinarily strong and diverse group of papers, the task force chose to include those papers which provided cross-national and comparative analysis, addressed major problems of explanation, provided new conceptual approaches, connected explanations with policies for intervention, and shed the most light on institutions and institutional change.
Just as the volume opens with a framework essay, each section opens with a task force essay. These essays not only set the context for the specific papers included in each section, but, more important, provide an opportunity for the task force to synthesize the insights gained over the course of the project and elaborate their own views concerning the processes of transformation. In the final section of the volume, "Research Priorities for Post-Communist Economies," the task force raises a series of questions about the transformation. These questions include conventional issues such as how labor markets are forming and what is happening to capital accumulation, but they also emphasize:
Analysis of evolving incentives and transaction costs in the course of institutional transformation.
Careful monitoring and explanation of what might seem to be short-term disturbances.
Singling out of responses—successful or otherwise—to deliberate policy interventions as privileged evidence concerning the causal processes operating in post-communist countries.
Treatment of current changes as evidence about the plausibility of competing explanatory models.
Identification and explanation of different change trajectories within the post-communist world.
In general, the research agenda outlined in the final section of this volume stands as a warning against the straightforward application of models based on a stylized description of the world's richest economies, the assumption that the expansion of markets and private property will suffice to move post-communist economies to prosperity, and the use of checklists to gauge the approximation of any particular economy or polity to an idealized portrait of capitalist democracies. It also calls for broader and more penetrating efforts to identify and model the political, ethnic, and economic forces channeling institutional changes, and to determine the effects of these changes on incentives, perceptions, and relationships. What sorts of institutions, for example, guarantee contracts, promote productive long-term investment, discourage rent seeking and capital flight, give priority to state-backed legal tender, and encourage tax compliance?
The processes currently unfolding in the post-communist world challenge our capacity to limit the human costs and promote the potential benefits of this unprecedented transformation. They also offer a unique opportunity to expand our limited grasp of the kinds of changes that underlie economic restructuring and development more generally. Both the challenge and the opportunity demand broader and more flexible conceptual approaches than those which have dominated to date. This volume provides examples of such approaches, and marshals a formidable range of unanswered—and for the most part previously unexamined—questions for a larger and more probing program of research.
Next: Understanding Economic Change »


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Algae could both provide biofuel and clean up wastewater
Algae could both provide biofu...
Algae grows in pools of wastewater in Houston, Texas (Photo: Rice University)
Algae may indeed be a potential source of biofuel, but it can also find use in things like nutritional supplements and cosmetics. When it's grown commercially, its growth is usually aided with chemical fertilizers. The cost of those chemicals cuts into the profits, however, plus the fertilizers are also needed for more traditional crops. That's why scientists from Houston's Rice University are looking into growing algae in municipal wastewater – the water would already contain its own free fertilizer, plus the algae would help clean it up.
Led by researchers Meenakshi Bhattacharjee and Evan Siemann, the Rice team experimented with growing various strains of oil-rich algae in open-air pools containing water from one of Houston's wastewater treatment plants. Although the solids had already been filtered from the water, it still contained the nitrogen and phosphorous that the algae needed to feed upon.
After 14 weeks, it was found that not only did the algae thrive, but that it consumed over 90 percent of the nitrates and 50 percent of the phosphorous in the water. If too much of these nutrients remain in wastewater after it's released back into the environment, it can cause major environmental problems such as algae blooms.
In a previous study, researchers in Kansas likewise attempted to grow algae in wastewater. In that case, the algae consumed much less of the phosphorous, which might have been due to the fact that the weather was cooler. That could mean that the technology is better suited to regions with warm climates, such as Texas.
The scientists are now examining other variables that might affect the process, along with evaluating the cost-effectiveness of the system. A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Algae.
EnvironmentBiofuelAlgaeSewageRice UniversityWastewater
Racqia Dvorak April 6, 2015 08:02 PM
Switching to bio-diesel is the most intelligent thing our country could do right now.
Gadgeteer April 6, 2015 11:53 PM
A similar concept was proposed in the 1970s, but with water hyacinths rather than algae. The plant filtered sewage with its roots and grew very quickly, to be harvested for various purposes including biofuel. A pilot plant was built in San Diego a few years later but there wasn't any more news after that.
Observer101 April 7, 2015 03:11 PM
Why not build algae pools along the edges of the Everglades in Florida, then after the algae is harvested the water can be pumped into the glades, to leach down into the aquifer (to stop salt water intrusion, as well as provide for water needs...)??? Win-win!
Doug Nutter April 7, 2015 11:44 PM
Origin Oil has a system to inexpensively separate the water from algae. Then the algae can be processed. Some varieties contain a lot of oil that can be refined to jet fuel, etc. Their system also reclaims water from fish farming and fracking.
New technique converts microplastics into CO2 and H2O
Recyclable alternative to Styrofoam made from paper waste
"Salmon cannon" successor automatically shoots fish up over dams
2020 ties for hottest year on record


This collection includes documentation material on the Saru dialect of Ainu, a language which is nearly extinct at present.
The collection includes a corpus of previously recorded and unpublished material of Mrs. Kimi Kimura (1900-1988) recorded by Hiroshi Nakagawa in 1977 to 1983 and a corpus of newly collected audio materials with time-aligned transcriptions, multi-tier annotations, as well as translations of transcripts into English and Japanese, collected by Anna Bugaeva between 2007-2009.
The materials have also been deposited with Chiba University which serves as a mirror site.
The Saru dialect of the Southern Hokkaido Ainu group is the only non-Japonic language of Japan, and is reportedly on the verge of extinction. The genetic affiliation of Ainu is unknown; at present it is classified as a language isolate. Ainu is presumably a remnant of some very old language family and very likely a legacy of earlier cultures in the Japanese archipelago.
The Ainu language is severely endangered as only a couple of persons aged 80-90 on the South of Hokkaido Island in Northern Japan remember and speak their native language.
For more information on the language see the Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture and the depositor's recent work see Anna Bugaeva's papers.
This is a digital corpus of previously unpublished audio recordings of Ainu folktales of the Saru Ainu dialect (South Hokkaido) recorded by Hiroshi Nakagawa in 1977 to 1983 with the very talented speaker and story-teller, Mrs. Kimi Kimura (1900-1988, born at Penakori Village, upper district of the Saru River) whose proficiency in Ainu considerably surpassed that of Japanese. The abundance, repertoire and tempo of the folktales are outstanding. The deposit includes 23 folktales, viz. 20 uepeker 'prosaic folktales' and 3 kamuy yukar 'divine epics'. The total recording time is about 7 hours and the total number of Ainu words is 44,717 and the collection has been fully annotated.
The material was recorded in Japan, Hokkaido prefecture, Saru district, Biratori town, Nioi village, between 24/08/1977 – 24/03/1983.
For example: K801029_1_UP.wav was recorded with Kimi Kimura on 29 October 1980, tape #1, of genre Uepeker 'prosaic folktales' and K780715_3_KY.wav was recorded with Kimi Kimura on 15 July 1978, tape #3, of genre kamuy yukar 'divine epics'.
This documentation captures the very last moments of living Ainu, and every recorded expression or even word is of great value. It is based on Anna Bugaeva's fieldwork with the last nine speakers of Ainu (Southern Hokkaido) of different ages (from 75 to 93) who had varying levels of productive skills. Since the greater part of the fieldwork sessions was in Japanese, 437 Ainu audio pieces, provided transcriptions, Japanese and English translations and annotations were selected for depositing.
Most files contain words or short conversational phrases, while some files contain children's songs, lullabies, prayers, fragments of folktales. The collected materials have contributed to the future study of Ainu dialects and have shed a light on the history of Ainu. They can be of interest to sociolinguists investigating problems of language decay, as well as to the community members aimed at revitalizing Ainu.
The material were collected in the following areas of Japan, Hokkaido prefecture: Saru district, Biratori town, Nibutani; Saru district, Biratori town, Nukibetsu Saru; Saru district, Hidaka town, Monbetsuhoncho; Yufutsu district, Mukawa town, Shiomi; Chitose city, Katsuragi and some data from Hidaka district, Shinhidaka town, between 06/05/2007 and 31/03/2009.
For example: A070506_001.wav was recorded with Seino Araida on 6 May 2007, reference number 001.
In addition to the Corpus of folktales of the Saru dialect of Ainu by Mrs. Kimi Kimura (1900-1988) and the Documentation of Southern Hokkaido Ainu (2007-2009) collections, and as a direct response to a strong demand for Ainu conversational materials in the Ainu community which was in the process of revitalizing its language, Anna Bugaeva worked with colleagues and community members to produce a Talking Dictionary of Ainu.
The materials were recorded in the following areas of Japan, Hokkaido prefecture: Saru district, Biratori town, Nukibetsu between 04/08/2008 and 20/08/2009.
All files (wav/tod(video)/txt/jpg) in this collection are distinguished by reference numbers 0001-3847 which are also the same in the text (Toolbox) file. Some files contain letters "a" or "b" which identify different (not interchangeable) parts of the same entry.


Recently, my town received a couple inches of snow. I was glad because my afternoon and night classes got cancelled (yay!). The other plus side to this snow was that no shoveling was needed! It's always great when you get to take an unexpected day off and relax at home. I decided to take advantage of this newly available time by venturing out into the ten degree weather to take some snowy pictures. This adventure lasted a total of fifteen-twenty minutes because my hands started to freeze up and snow was getting all over my camera. But in the end, I did capture some precious moments of my adorable pup, Elby. My friend also stopped by for a little while and took a frosty picture of me out in the snow. The night ended with me and my friend watching the second half of White Chicks while sipping on some yummy tea along with munching on snacks.


Published: Feb 06 at 1:36 p.m.
As we hope you all know by now, Big Brothers Big Sisters has relocated to North River.
We moved into what was previously Molly's Dairy Bar, and before that, the Fundy Dairy Bar. The Fundy Dairy Bar was built by James Paul Norrie in 1943 and was originally called Fundy Jersey Farm. In 2004, Bev and Gary Whidden purchased the building and renamed it after their nine-year old golden lab, Molly. In 2009, Bev and Gary Whidden demolished the aging building, and built what currently stands now, with our new addition, of course.
For years, this location has been a destination for families during the summer months. It's a place to stop on your way back from the cottage when you're not quite ready for the weekend to end. It's somewhere to celebrate your team's victory, or perhaps somewhere to take your grandkids right before you take them back to mom or dad's house. We hope it will continue to be a place where families gather and create lasting memories, which is what our organization is all about.
When the team here at Big Brothers Big Sisters was deciding what to name our new dairy bar, many great ideas were brought to the table. Our goal was to choose a name that really resonated with our local community and hopefully made all residents feel happy, and celebrate their own memories growing up.
"Fundy Scoops Dairy Bar will celebrate our region and our organization while acknowledging the family memories made when it was the Fundy Dairy Bar and Molly's," said Nick Sharpe, BBBS executive director.
Fundy Scoops anticipates opening in May and will be run by youth in the community. A mentoring co-ordinator will oversee the students as well as manage all aspects of the dairy bar. All these new positions are part of the new Learn to Lead Program, which provides opportunities for students to learn about things like financial management, program co-ordination, fundraising, marketing, child and youth services, public relations, and non- profit leadership.
"Our organization values mentorship, supporting local, youth development, relationships, experiences, and learning. This initiative is a blend of all our values and will support the impactful programs we provide to local children and youth," added Sharpe.
Fundy Scoops will also serve hot caffeinated beverages thanks to Aroma Maya. Owner and operator Sergio Garrido has offered to teach our summer staff how to make the perfect latte, cappuccino, or Affogato - an expresso poured over ice cream.
Sergio was a university student when he started Aroma Maya. He started the business out of his university dorm room and has grown it to be a successful manufacturing facility. That's the kind of spirit BBBS wants to inspire in young people in this community.
Aside from the ice cream and coffee, we have many other exciting things in the works to make Fundy Scoops the chosen family destination of the summer. Stay tuned to this column and on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colchester website for details leading into the spring.


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Q: Green's function for the Klein-Gordon equation diverging? I'm trying to work out the propagator for the free scalar field theory (i.e., the Green's function for the Klein-Gordon equation). On pages 23 and 24 of Zee's Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell  (you can also find the exact same derivation on page 5 of this) he puts this in the form of an integral over 4-momentum like so:
$$D(x) = \int \frac{d^4 k}{(2\pi)^4} \frac{e^{ikx}}{k^2 - m^2 + i\epsilon}$$
where the $+i\epsilon$ is equivalent to going under the pole in the left half-plane and over the pole in the right half-plane. So far, so good. He then does a contour integral over the energy component of four-momentum to get this:
$$D(x) = -i\int \frac{d^3k}{(2\pi)^3 2\omega_k}[e^{-i(\omega_k x^0-\vec{k}\cdot\vec{x})}\theta(x^0) + e^{i(\omega_k x^0-\vec{k}\cdot\vec{x})}\theta(-x^0)]$$
where $\omega_k = \sqrt{\vec{k}^2+m^2}$ and $\theta$ is the Heaviside step function. Again, I can't find anything wrong with this. But when I try to do the integral over three-momentum, either in Mathematica or by hand, it diverges horribly. I've tried to do this over a range of conditions ($x^0 = 0$ and $\vec{x} \neq 0$, $x^0>0$ and $\vec{x}=0$, etc.) and no matter what I get an integral over $|k|$ that fails to converge. What am I doing wrong here?

As an example: Suppose $x^0 = 0$ and $\vec{x} \neq 0$. Then our integral turns into
$$-i\int \frac{d^3k}{(2\pi)^3 2\omega_k} \cos(\vec{k}\cdot\vec{x}).$$
Writing this in a spherical coordinate system gives (since there's no $\phi$-dependence)
$$-i\int_0^\infty dr \int_0^\pi d\theta \frac{r^2\sin\theta}{8\pi^2\sqrt{r^2+m^2}}\cos(r|x|\cos\theta).$$
You can do the integral over $\theta$ pretty easily to get
$$-\frac{i}{4\pi^2 |x|} \int_0^\infty dr \frac{r\sin(r|x|)}{\sqrt{r^2+m^2}},$$ which diverges. It seems rather bad that a disturbance should have infinite amplitude to propagate somewhere else instantaneously, so obviously something has gone very wrong here.

A: You have found the reason that most 4D QFTs need to have renormalization: The propagator is (UV) divergent!
To "cure" the theory, you need to regularize the theory (make the divergences expressible in some simple parameter like a momentum cutoff) - e.g. by dimensional regularization - and then proceed with some renormalization scheme. That the theory is non-interacting means that there are only finitely many divergent things - the propagator itself - as opposed to the infinitely many divergent diagrams what would need to be organized in orders of perturbation theory in an interacting theory, but, as you see, it does not preclude the necessity of renormalization as such.

A: According to these lecture notes (page 18 in the pdf) and a few others I have found, the integral can in fact be evaluated and yields the modified Bessel function of the second kind, of order 1 (see Wikipedia).
The integral does not seem converge, but I am not sure if you can say that it diverges, because it oscillates (with increasing amplitude). The way physicists "solve" these integrals is by going to the complex plane, where they converge and then taking the limit as the integral approaches the real line. The fishy bit is that the integral does not commute with the limit, but the justification for doing it is that it works.
Another way would be noting
$$ K_0(xm)=\int_0^\infty\frac{dr\,\cos(xr)}{\sqrt{m^2+r^2}} $$
That's another Bessel function (I hope we can agree it converges). Then
$$ mK_1(xm)=-m\partial_xK_0(xm)=-\int_0^\infty \frac{dr\,r\,\sin(xr)}{\sqrt{m^2+r^2}}. $$
The first equality is a definition (I think), the second is a bit fishy, as promised (maybe a Mathematician can comment?).
For large $x$, this decays as $e^{-mx}$ (see the lecture notes I referenced), which is somewhat reassuring. But (again paraphrasing Tong's notes), the worrying bit is that it is at all non-zero, because, as you said, the interval is spacelike ("instantaneously" is reference frame dependent, and therefore not a physical property -- neither should be allowed though).
The resolution of the conundrum is that the actual, physical requirement is that operators evaluated at points separated by spacelike points must commute, such that measurements at the two points cannot depend upon each other. But luckily, even from your expression above, it can be seen that, because $r$ is just the magnitude of the spacelike separation, the commutator is always zero (try it explicitly if you like).


1. Galilei was the first person to think the earth revolved around the sun.
. This was not necessarily true. In fact, this is a huge generalization of facts. People realized that our planet wasn't the center of the universe in 300 BCE.
2. Alexander the Great had the biggest empire in human history.
. Alexander the Great created a huge empire not only by the standards of the time but even by today's standards. This is why he is believed to be the greatest conqueror of all time. But if we take a look at actual facts, we will see that the Mongol Empire was actually the biggest in the world.
3. In the Middle Ages, witches were burned.
. Many people truly believe that thousands of innocent women were burned in Europe in the Middle Ages. But in fact, up to the 15th century, the church denied the fact that witches existed. The mass witch hunt started in the 16th and 17th centuries. The reason for this was the plague pandemic.
I am a student of history for life. So this post is very much of interest to me. However, I would like to believe that it was the British Empire that was the largest in history.


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Q: Htaccess if doesn't exists, doesn't work I don't have much experience with htaccess. But I have this script:
Options +FollowSymLinks
ErrorDocument 404 /index.php
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*)$ index.php?doel_url=$1 [L,QSA]

But if there exists a file, he just listen to this rule.
Help!

A: website.nl/categorie is not a file and is not a directory.
if you need categorie to go to the file you will need to make sure it has a file extension (in your case .php) so it should be website.nl/categorie.php to avoid being redirected to the index.php page

A: Options -MultiViews should fix that.