Abraham Lincoln experienced a unique initial year in the presidency. No other incoming president has faced a comparable challenge to the stability of the country. Because of the special circumstances in 1861, no candidate in 2016 should be compared to Lincoln. Yet there are broad parallels between his first year as president and our current political situation. In both instances, national party structures suffered internal fracturing, though it remains to be seen whether either of the current major parties matches the Democratic Party's collapse in 1860-61.
A second parallel lies in widespread unwillingness to engage in anything approximating bipartisanship, with people all along the political spectrum expecting the worst from their opponents, routinely accusing them of lying, and predicting dire consequences should the election go badly. Finally, the two eras underscore the need to bring different voices to bear on major national problems—in Lincoln's case, reaching out to Democrats and filling his cabinet with leading figures who held divergent opinions about such issues as emancipation but could be trusted to cooperate in the overriding task of saving the Union.
When President Lincoln delivered his first inaugural address in March 1861, seven southern states had left the Union and established the Confederacy.
Lincoln's actions illuminate the importance of dealing with the most critical issue or problem and the difficulty of forging policy in the face of opponents loath to trust presidential motives or statements.
When Lincoln delivered his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, seven states had left the Union and established the Confederacy. The future of eight other slaveholding states remained uncertain, a dangerous situation at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor simmered, and political divisions within the loyal populace remained deep. Lincoln and members of his party often worked in concert, but sometimes their differences over how best to define the war's goals, especially pertaining to emancipation, placed them at odds. A large Democratic opposition criticized the president's use of executive power to suppress the rebellion and distrusted his disavowal of any intention to strike at slavery where it existed under the protection of the Constitution.
The key to understanding Lincoln's first year is his unwavering focus on restoring the Union. Pursuit of this goal raised a number of questions. Could Lincoln prevent more states from seceding? Could he unite Republicans and Democrats, including residents of loyal slaveholding states, in a military effort to bring the Deep South back into the national fold? Could he negotiate a course relating to emancipation that would satisfy both the radical and more conservative wings of the Republican Party, while at the same time not alienating Democrats and residents of the Border States? And would success in all these arenas result in a restored Union?
The Confederate $100 banknote showed slaves at work. In his first Inaugural Address, President Lincoln emphasized slavery's role in the political fracturing of the nation.
After the Confederates open fired on Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor, President Lincoln moved to crush the Confederate rebellion.
Lincoln continued to stress Union throughout his initial year in office. When efforts to manage the volatile standoff at Fort Sumter failed in mid-April, he used George Washington's precedent during the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 to call forth 75,000 militiamen to crush the Confederate rebellion. "I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort," he wrote, "to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuation of popular government." Four states of the Upper South reacted to Lincoln's call for volunteers by joining the breakaway slaveholding republic, prompting the president to comment that in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas "the Union sentiment was nearly repressed, and silenced." This evaluation overlooked the fact that solid majorities in all these states clearly supported secession rather than participation in a military effort to coerce the Deep South back into the Union.
With 11 states gone, Lincoln allocated a great deal of energy to keeping Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri—three of the four remaining loyal slaveholding states—in the Union, as well as to framing mushrooming demands for men and materiel in such a way as to keep northern Democrats on board with the war effort. In both endeavors, he consistently highlighted the importance of Union, as well as the necessity of taking an array of sometimes controversial actions to save it.
At the start of the Civil War, President Lincoln doubled the size of the regular army and navy and began enrolling thousands of federal volunteers.
Lincoln understood that Republicans could not restore the Union without help from the 45 percent of the loyal citizenry who called themselves Democrats. He knew as well that only a war in the name of Union could galvanize Republicans and Democrats to fill the ranks of large national armies, pay an array of federal taxes, and accept other burdens related to the conflict. To promote a unified war effort, Lincoln walked a delicate line regarding emancipation. Most Democrats expressed vociferous opposition to the idea of fighting a war to end slavery, and a large majority of unionists in the loyal slaveholding states especially balked at risking white lives to achieve black freedom. Within the Republican Party, some conservatives echoed Democrats while members of the radical wing pushed early and often for the addition of emancipation to Union as a goal for the U.S. war effort. Tensions between the president and Democrats and between him and the radicals grew during 1861 and into the first three months of 1862.
Lincoln knew such sentiments would outrage those who sought restoration of the Union as quickly and with as little bloodshed as possible. During his first year, almost 750,000 citizen-soldiers donned blue uniforms, news from battlefields such as Bull Run, Wilson's Creek, Ball's Bluff, and Forts Henry and Donelson buffeted Washington and the northern home front (all but the forts marked Union defeats), and officers such as George B. McClellan, Henry W. Halleck, and U.S. Grant rose in prominence. The attention of the populace, and of the president, typically centered on operations conducted by U.S. forces.
As a private citizen, Lincoln would have joined abolitionists such as Wendell Phillips in cheering for slavery's demise, but as president, he had to balance competing political interests.
Against that compelling military backdrop, Lincoln wrestled with the question of emancipation. As a private citizen, he would have joined Sumner and Phillips in cheering for slavery's earliest demise. But as president he had to balance competing political interests that came into play as the United States created and supplied armies on an unprecedented scale and dealt with the consequences of battles across a vast strategic landscape. On August 6, 1861, he reluctantly signed the First Confiscation Act, which freed slaves directly involved with supporting the Confederate military resistance, but three weeks later instructed Major General John C. Frémont to rescind an order liberating all slaves belonging to pro-Confederate residents in Missouri. Frémont's action, counseled the president, "will alarm our Southern Union friends, and turn them against us—perhaps ruin our rather fair prospect for Kentucky." The general, added the president, should bring his order into conformity with the more limited reach of the First Confiscation Act.
In his first annual message to Congress on December 3, 1861, Lincoln again sought to reassure all friends of the Union. "The Union must be preserved," he stated, and all "indispensable means must be employed." But he set strict limits, arguing, with emancipation at least partly in mind, "We should not be in haste to determine that radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the disloyal, are indispensable." He did not want the conflict to "degenerate into a violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle" and "therefore, in every case, thought it proper to keep the integrity of the Union prominent as the primary object of the contest on our part, leaving all questions which are not of vital military importance to the more deliberate action of the legislature." If another congressional law relating to confiscating rebels' slaves were to be proposed, concluded Lincoln, "its propriety will be duly considered." A flurry of congressional actions relating to slavery would reach Lincoln's desk during the next several months—ending slavery in the District of Columbia and the federal territories, vastly expanding the reach of the First Confiscation Act with a Second Confiscation Act, and addressing the status of black refugees reaching Union military lines—but none arrived before the first anniversary of his inauguration.
Lincoln supported voluntary colonization for freed slaves, likely stemming from an honest belief that African Americans could not achieve true equality in the United States.
In line with his desire to court Democrats and border state residents, Lincoln insisted that emancipation in loyal states must follow constitutional guidelines. He sought to persuade the border states to adopt individual plans that would yield gradual emancipation with compensation for owners. The newly liberated black people, he thought, and perhaps those already free in the northern states, should be urged to colonize, as he put it in his December message to Congress, "at some place or places in a climate congenial to them." Lincoln urged Congress to vote money to help compensate owners who lost slaves and to defray the cost of colonization. His support for voluntary colonization, which continued late into the war (he never recommended forced emigration), likely stemmed from an honest belief that African Americans stood little chance of achieving anything approaching true equality in the mid-19th Century United States. But it also represented an attempt to gain support from Democrats and others who detested the idea of integrating large numbers of free black laborers and their families into the nation's social and economic structures. Most black Americans, abolitionists, and many Radical Republicans stridently opposed Lincoln's thinking about colonization, while the border states rebuffed his recommendation that they draw up plans for emancipation.
Lincoln closed his first year in office as an executive who had taken bold actions to combat a vast rebel insurgency. He realized that only a war unequivocally waged to save the Union would inspire widespread support among the loyal citizenry of the United States. Assailed by Democrats on a range of issues, he also endured sustained criticism from Radical Republicans for his handling of emancipation. On March 6, 1862, two days past the first anniversary of his inauguration, he sent a message to Congress. If rebel intransigence continued, Lincoln remarked, "the war must also continue; and it is impossible to foresee all the incidents, which may attend and all the ruin which may follow." Neither he nor anyone else could imagine what was to come. The massive bloodletting at Shiloh, just one month hence, would recalibrate the scale of military slaughter, after which three years of escalating political upheaval, profound swings in civilian morale, and a stark pivot toward more revolutionary outcomes more than once threatened a permanent sundering of the Union.
Gary W. Gallagher, Faculty Associate at the Miller Center, is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia. He graduated from Adams State College of Colorado and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Texas at Austin. Gallagher is one of the leading historians of the Civil War. His books include Becoming Confederates: Paths to a New National Loyalty; The Union War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and Lee and His Army in Confederate History. He has received many awards for his research and writing, including the Tom Watson Brown Book Prize for the best book in Civil War studies, the Lincoln Prize, and the Laney Prize for the best book on the Civil War.


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In Flames Tease Return With 'I Am Above' Video Snippet
YouTube: In Flames
Start counting the days, In Flames fans. The rockin' Swedes will soon be back on the scene with new music. In fact, you can circle Dec. 14 on your calendar as they've announced plans to release the single and video for "I Am Above."
For those looking for some instant gratification, the band just issued a teaser for the clip. The 20-second piece finds a close-up shot of a man, while singer Anders Frieden belts and heavy distortion-filled guitars provide the backing soundtrack. Check out the "in-his-face" teaser below.
The video, when it arrives, will feature the visual work of Patric Ullaeus, who has helmed videos for Amaranthe, Lacuna Coil and Dimmu Borgir among others.
In Flames have seen a turnover since their last album, with singer Anders Friden, guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Niclas Englin remaining. Bassist Bryce Paul, keyboardist Niels Nielsen and drummer Tanner Wayne have rounded out the group on the road. The group is currently wrapping up the year on tour in the U.S., and will be playing in Lawrence, Kan. tonight. (Nov. 28). See the remaining U.S. stops here, as well as their European appearances scheduled for summer 2019.
Source: In Flames Tease Return With 'I Am Above' Video Snippet
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1 August 2012 Thermal Insulation in High Mountainous Regions
Christoph Wiedemann, Stefan Salzmann, Iftikhor Mirshakarov, Heike Volkmer
Mountain Research and Development, 32(3):294-303 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00093.1
Thermal insulation in Murgab
Demand for thermal insulation
Results of thermal insulation
Teresken consumption
As in many other high mountainous regions, local people in the Eastern Pamirs (Tajikistan) use biomass fuels, mainly teresken shrubs, to heat their houses during the winter months. This overuse of already scarce natural resources results in serious land degradation. Since 2006, thermal insulation measures have been disseminated and financed through microloans. This case study analyzes the impacts of thermal insulation in Murgab, the main town in the Eastern Pamirs, where thermal insulation measures have been implemented in 159 households since 2008. Although clients are more interested in increased comfort than in fuel savings, according to quantitative data collected in 2010 and 2011, thermal insulation measures led to a 20 to 30% savings in heating energy on average. However, it is mainly better-off households that are aware of energy efficiency issues and willing to invest in thermal insulation. In contrast, poorer households are the main teresken users, but they rarely have their houses insulated due to a lack of awareness and a low ability to repay loans. Therefore, the approach to introducing thermal insulation has only had a small effect on teresken consumption until now.
The overuse of biomass fuel as a source of energy is considered one of the main reasons for land degradation. However, in many rural regions, households have limited access to electricity and fossil fuels, and, therefore, are dependent on biomass fuels to satisfy their urgent needs for energy for cooking and heating (OECD/IEA 2006: 419). In the scientific and development discussion about household energy efficiency, the improvement of cooking stoves has been widely addressed as a way to reduce indoor air pollution and the consumption of biomass fuel (Mäkelä 2008, World Bank 2011).
High mountainous regions with long, cold winters face an additional challenge, because most of the energy is used for heating rather than for cooking. With a warm winter room being a crucial livelihood asset, households spend a high percentage of their financial and time budget to acquire fuel for heating. Under such conditions, thermal insulation is considered to be the priority measure to reduce the loss of heat and the consumption of biomass fuel (Nienhuys 2012: 32).
This article presents a case study in Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan, where the thermal insulation of private houses financed through microloans has been introduced by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. To convey important lessons learned that are relevant to the transfer of this approach to other high mountainous regions, the article outlines some of its strengths and shortcomings. It analyzes the demand for thermal insulation, the saving of heating energy, and the impact on the consumption of biomass fuel. The study focuses on Murgab, a town in the eastern part of GBAO at an altitude of 3600 masl (Figure 1), which is characterized by a high concentration of households that are clients of the thermal insulation program.
Murgab with its about 7000 inhabitants is the only major settlement on the high plains of the Eastern Pamirs. The urban centers of Khorog (Tajikistan), Osh (Kyrgyzstan), and Kashgar (China) are each more than 300 km away and accessible only via high mountain passes. (Map modified from Kraudzun 2012: 92)
Murgab (38°10′6″N; 73°57′51″E) has approximately 7000 inhabitants and 1500 households (Kreczi 2009). The landscape is characterized by wide, flat valleys. The climate is extremely arid and cold, and the short growing period and lack of water enable only sparse vegetation. Mainly teresken shrubs (Krascheninnikovia ceratoides) survive these difficult conditions and stabilize the soil and serve as fodder for wild animals and livestock (Domeisen 2002: 19–21; Hergarten 2004: 5–6). In Soviet times, the growth of the town was driven by the supply of fossil fuels almost free of charge, which encouraged inhabitants to build large houses without paying any attention to energy efficiency. This supply came to an abrupt end with the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991. People had no other choice but to use the only locally available energy source, teresken shrubs (Figure 2), which has led to significant land degradation around human settlements (Droux and Hoeck 2004) in addition to overgrazing of winter pastures (see the article by Vanselow et al in this issue).
On the arid high plains of the Eastern Pamirs around Murgab, dwarf shrubs form the only vegetation. (Photo by Christoph Wiedemann)
GIZ started to work in the field of thermal insulation by insulating a school in the village of Chechekty (20 km north of Murgab) in 2006. In 2007, a handful of private houses were insulated in Chechekty and Murgab by focusing on the insulation of ceilings and floors with locally available natural materials. Since then, thermal insulation measures have been implemented in 407 houses all over GBAO, including 159 in Murgab. Four key innovations have taken place:
It soon became clear that interested households rarely had sufficient financial resources for an investment such as thermal insulation. Therefore, in 2007, a microloan organization was involved and started offering financing to interested households for the necessary materials.
Carpenters in the province capital of Khorog have been trained in producing double-glazed wood-frame windows and hermetic doors since 2009. A craft workers' cooperative was established in 2010.
Because most heat is lost through thermal radiation, reflective foil has been used in addition to natural insulation materials since 2010.
There were significant problems with clients who used the microloan for other purposes than thermal insulation or who poorly implemented the thermal insulation measures. Therefore, a new system of in-kind loans was introduced in 2010. The microloan organization provides wooden construction elements and insulation materials, and coordinates trained construction workers and transport. Clients reimburse the equivalent of these products and services in cash as they would a standard loan.
By 2011, the production of double-glazed wood-frame windows and hermetic wooden doors was managed by the crafts cooperative Zindagi, based in the provincial capital, Khorog. The microloan organization Madina va Hamkoron offered technical consultation and provided in-kind loans of up to US$ 500 for thermal insulation, and required reimbursement within 1 year, at a comparatively low interest rate of 2.5% per month. Two teams of construction workers trained in properly installing wooden constructions and insulating ceilings, floors, and walls were working in Murgab and received orders from Madina va Hamkoron (see Fabian et al 2010) (Figure 3).
Construction workers in Murgab are installing a hermetically closing wooden door produced by carpenters in Khorog. (Photo by Rustam Zevarshoev 2010)
The following study is based on quantitative and qualitative data. In spring 2010 and 2011, the impact of thermal insulation on fuel consumption and living comfort was investigated by staff of the GIZ project (Dmitrieva 2010; Salzmann 2011). Quantitative interviews were conducted in households that had insulated their winter room the year before (13 of 33 households in 2010, 10 of 54 households in 2011) to compare the situation before and after insulation. The household heads drew seasonal calendars and estimated or measured the amounts of different types of fuel (coal, manure, teresken, and firewood), which were then translated into energy units (megajoules). Results may be biased by subjective assessments of the interviewees, who often could not exactly remember the amount of fuel and used nonstandardized measurement units. Apart from this, varying climatic factors make it difficult to isolate the influence of thermal insulation on energy consumption. Therefore, in 2011, the monitoring also included a control group that consisted of one randomly selected neighbor household per interviewed client household.
To gain a better understanding of some unexpected results, in August 2011, nonstructured qualitative interviews were conducted by the authors of this study with 9 client and 9 nonclient households in Murgab and Chechekty, which focused on socioeconomic aspects, fuel consumption patterns, and attitudes toward thermal insulation. In addition, key informants (staff of the GIZ project and of the microloan organization, craft workers, and officials in Murgab) were interviewed.
According to the microloan organization Madina va Hamkoron, the number of households in Murgab that took a microloan for thermal insulation steadily increased: 26 in 2008, 33 in 2009, 54 in 2010, and 40 in 2011. In 2011, the number of applications (102) was much higher than the number of actual clients. The demand is no longer the result of direct marketing efforts but rather of self-sustaining dissemination of information. Usually, satisfied clients create interest among neighbors and relatives by showing the insulation measures to them and telling them about the positive effects.
The maximum amount of the microloan (US$ 500) often does not allow complete insulation of the winter room. Therefore, decisions about the measures to be implemented are driven not only by technical but also by financial feasibility. However, some clients take additional microloans in subsequent years and insulate their winter rooms in several steps. Clients perceive the increase in inside temperature during winter as the primary advantage of thermal insulation and fuel savings as secondary. In 2010, 12 of 13 interviewees answered that it had become warmer inside their winter room, whereas only 6 interviewees highlighted that they had consumed less fuel.
Many clients are particularly enthusiastic about the double-glazed wood-frame windows (Figure 4). They are considered to make the room brighter, give the house a more beautiful outward appearance, and prevent dust passing through. As the only thermal insulation measure that is visible from the outside, the wooden windows also play a role as an "eye-catcher": when applying for a microloan, new clients usually want to buy a new window. Only during further consultation they are persuaded to implement more comprehensive thermal insulation measures.
The new wooden windows are double glazed and hermetic. In the past, many windows were only single glazed, had broken glass, and were covered with plastic foil during winter to reduce the loss of heat. (Photo by Stefan Salzmann, 2010)
A mapping of client households by key informants has clearly demonstrated that neither geography nor ethnicity has a significant influence on the demand for thermal insulation. Instead, socioeconomic status appears to be the main influencing factor. An analysis of data collected by Madina va Hamkoron about its clients in 2009 shows that they had an average monthly income of US$ 255, which is significantly above the average income of Murgab households of US$ 183 (Kreczi 2009: 50). The mapping of client households by the local representative of Madina va Hamkoron also indicates that, in 2010, they mostly belonged to the middle and upper strata of Murgab society, which can easily be explained:
When selecting clients, the microloan organization has to consider the ability of the clients to repay the loan, which makes households without sufficient income ineligible.
Many poorer households fear the obligations related to microloans and do not even consider applying.
Poorer households also usually have little awareness of energy efficiency and thermal insulation (see also Mirshakarov et al 2009).
The project approach has made it possible to reach households that have enough income to repay a microloan. Several applicants, clients, and key informants have highlighted the fact that the offer is particularly attractive due to its comprehensiveness, which combines quality wooden constructions ready for immediate installation, insulation materials, and a qualified workforce with a financing mechanism. However, because the approach is based on market mechanisms, it fails to attract poorer households.
By 2011, some 10% of households in Murgab town had taken a microloan for thermal insulation. The demand is much higher than in the Western Pamirs (1.5% in 3 districts) for 2 reasons:
When considering the high altitude, long heating season, and extremely cold winters, keeping the winter room warm is a survival issue, and thermal insulation makes a huge difference in living comfort.
Due to the remoteness of the region and the sparse vegetation, households in Murgab spend a high percentage of their household income on fuel (imported coal, teresken, and manure transported over long distances). In contrast, villages in the Western Pamirs are close to floodplain forests (providing firewood) and pastures (providing manure). Therefore, the financial incentive for saving energy is stronger in Murgab.
Key informants estimated that 30 to 60% of Murgab households were both willing and able to finance thermal insulation measures. Some households from villages in Murgab district (14,000 inhabitants, Kreczi 2009: 17) started applying for microloans to implement thermal insulation measures in 2011. However, the microloan organization is not yet ready to respond to this demand due to difficult logistics in the remote area and limitations in its organizational capacity and microloan portfolio.
In the framework of the project Habitat Improvement in the Hindu Kush, the Mountain Societies Development Support Program (MSDSP) comprehensively insulated corridors and classrooms in several schools in Murgab district in 2010 by using technologies similar to those disseminated by Madina va Hamkoron. Comparisons of an insulated and a noninsulated classroom of the same size showed that, under experimental conditions, approximately 40% of the heating energy was saved (MSDSP Murgab 2011).
On average, the 13 client households interviewed in 2010 had saved 26% on heating energy compared with the season before thermal insulation, whereas the 10 client households interviewed in 2011 had saved 22%. A comparison with the control group interviewed in 2011 gives a similar result. The 10 households with thermal insulation had consumed on average 31% less heating energy than the 10 households without thermal insulation. All in all, the available data indicate that the thermal insulation measures led to a reduction of energy consumption by 20 to 30%, which is significantly less than the 40% recorded in the MSDSP test, which can be explained by several factors. First, due to the maximum amount of the microloan, winter rooms usually had only been partly insulated. Second, the so-called rebound effect played a significant role, which has often been observed in similar contexts: "Many energy efficiency improvements do not reduce energy consumption by the amount predicted by simple engineering models. Such improvements make energy services cheaper, so consumption of those services increases" (Sorrel 2007: V). Almost all interviewed clients recognized that, after thermal insulation, it was warmer in their winter room than before. Obviously, the gains in energy efficiency were not completely invested in a reduction of energy consumption but also were used to reach a more comfortable living room temperature.
Finally, one household in Murgab in 2010 took an exceptionally large loan to install 2 double-glazed windows and to insulate the floor and the ceiling. In spite of the almost comprehensive insulation, energy savings remained relatively low (11%). Asked about the reasons, the family answered: "It was so warm in the room—we had the windows open every morning until noon, otherwise it would have been too hot" (Salzmann 2011: 8). In spite of thermal insulation, they had not changed their habits but had overheated the room and consumed almost the same amount of fuel as before. Insufficient awareness, a slow change of behavior, or insufficiently adjustable stoves may also contribute to low savings in heating energy in other cases.
There are clear indications that the above-mentioned household is a rather extreme case. Before thermal insulation, 9 of 10 client households interviewed in 2011 had heated continuously during daytime. After thermal insulation, 8 of these households had reduced heating frequency and used the stove only 2 or 3 times a day. This is certainly due to the increased stability of temperature. The client households interviewed in 2010 and 2011 clearly indicated that heat was kept inside the room for a much longer time after firing the stove (an average of 1.3 hours before thermal insulation and 3.3 hours after thermal insulation).
The role of teresken as the main energy source, and the negative effect on pastures of its overuse, has often been highlighted in academic literature (Domeisen 2002; Zibung 2002; Droux and Hoeck 2004; Breckle and Wucherer 2006; Hoeck et al 2007). The average annual teresken consumption per household in Murgab district has been estimated at 7900 kg (Droux and Hoeck 2004: 149).
When it comes to the client households in Murgab town, the monitoring data show that on average they consumed only 1150 kg of teresken per heating season before thermal insulation (Figure 5). Significant quantities of coal imported from Kyrgyzstan and China had become available around 2005. Murgab inhabitants consider coal to be a much better heating fuel than teresken. However, coal has to be bought on the market and is perceived as expensive. Teresken, in contrast, can easily, although illegally, be harvested by the family members themselves, which requires financial outlays only for transport. Therefore, contemporary fuel consumption patterns in Murgab are closely related to the socioeconomic situation of households.
The average energy mix of client households before and after thermal insulation. In addition, a control group of households without thermal insulation was interviewed in 2011. (Graph based on monitoring data from Dmitrieva 2010 and Salzmann 2011)
During the qualitative interviews and the drawing of seasonal calendars in August 2011, a clear picture of this interdependency emerged (see also Mirshakarov et al 2009; Förster et al 2011: 311–312):
Better-off households with sufficient financial resources buy most of their fuel on the local market. For heating in winter, they prefer long-burning fuels such as coal (US$ 0.15 per kg) and manure (US$ 0.04 per kg). The quickly burning teresken (US$ 0.15 per kg) is used only for lighting the fire. In summer, however, all households primarily use teresken and manure for cooking and baking. For this purpose, coal is not an economic option because it provides a long-sustained heat, which is unnecessary in summer. A small but increasing percentage of these households uses electric or gas stoves for cooking in summer.
Poorer households usually cannot afford to buy fuel (Figure 6). Members of these households spend every second or third day harvesting teresken, either in the mountains close to the settlement (individually) or in the high plains at a distance of some 30–70 km (in groups with a truck). To pay for fuel for the truck, they sell part of their harvest at the local market. If they own livestock, they also have manure available at low cost. They buy coal on the local market only when extra money is available.
In Murgab town, it is mainly poor households that dig out teresken shrubs and fire them in the stoves for heating and cooking. (Photo by Stefan Salzmann, 2010)
According to rough estimations by key informants, approximately 50% of households in Murgab town have enough financial resources to buy most of their fuel at the local market. The other households mostly depend on teresken, which they harvest themselves. In the village of Chechekty, only some 10 to 20% of the households get sufficient manure from their own livestock or can afford to buy coal.
Almost all client households can afford to buy higher-quality fuel and are less dependent on teresken. Because they mainly save on expensive heating fuels (coal and manure) through thermal insulation, their investment quickly pays off. In contrast, poorer households use mostly teresken because they cannot afford higher-quality fuel. Because they do not spend much money ("only" their time) to acquire fuel, thermal insulation would hardly pay off for them financially. Client households use teresken mostly for lighting the fire rather than for heating. In winter 2010–2011, 9 client households in Murgab were each provided with an energy-efficient heating stove and 3 m3 of firewood from sustainably managed floodplain forests in the Western Pamirs. In these households, teresken consumption decreased significantly and was compensated by the additional firewood (see Figure 5). This indicates that firewood is regarded as a substitute for teresken, which has been confirmed by several interviewees. If dry firewood were delivered to Murgab and the prices were similar to those for teresken, then these households would clearly prefer firewood both in winter and in summer, and thereby reduce their teresken consumption. However, they belong to the medium and upper strata of Murgab society, and paying for firewood would hardly be an option for poorer households.
The story of thermal insulation in Murgab is far from finished, but it has already provided important conclusions and lessons learned:
Demand depends heavily on climatic conditions and fuel consumption patterns. The more people suffer from long, cold winters, and the more financial resources they spend on heating fuel, the more interested they are likely to be in thermal insulation.
The effect on energy savings is lower than under ideal experimental conditions due to additional influential factors. However, thermal insulation does yield significant energy savings (20–30%) and does increase comfort, effects that can be increased by using improved cooking and heating stoves.
The use of microloans as a market mechanism for dissemination, the focus on high quality, and the design of a comprehensive service package have triggered a self-sustaining demand for thermal insulation in Murgab, which is expected to involve about half of the households in the town during the coming years.
The impact of thermal insulation on teresken consumption is rather small, because the main teresken users have not participated due to a lack of awareness and financial resources. This poses a dilemma for development agencies. To reduce teresken consumption, the main teresken users, the poorer households, need to be involved. But, in the short term, this is only possible by subsidizing thermal insulation, which might disturb the successfully established market mechanisms. The low awareness of poorer households and the low financial benefits for teresken users are additional challenges.
Further research is desirable on fuel consumption patterns and the potential demand for thermal insulation by poorer households and households in the villages that surround Murgab. Thermal insulation can only be part of an integrated strategy to solve the energy crisis in the Eastern Pamirs. In addition, the provision of alternative fuels (firewood, coal, gas, solar energy, and hydropower) and the dissemination of energy-efficient technology (heating and cooking stoves for winter, cooking stoves for summer) are necessary.
In the end, the problem of overusing teresken is mainly related to poverty. It can only be solved if the poorer households are able and willing to spend money on alternative fuels and/or invest in energy efficiency. Any comprehensive strategy needs to tackle the root causes by investing in rural development, social infrastructure, and poverty reduction. Once awareness about energy efficiency has sufficiently grown, incentives for poorer households to invest in thermal insulation might be developed and piloted, for example, a public investment program or subsidized microloans for households defined by participatory poverty assessment, but care should be taken not to distort market mechanisms. Mere enforcement of the legal prohibition of teresken harvesting is unrealistic under the socioeconomic, political, and geographic conditions of the Eastern Pamirs.
The case of Murgab shows that it is possible to create self-sustaining and increasing demand for thermal insulation through market mechanisms, even if a complex approach with 4 complementary elements, technical consultation, supply of material, installation and insulation services, and a financing mechanism, has proved to be necessary. This approach may be transferable to other high mountainous regions with long, cold winters and fuel scarcity. In such cases, dissemination strategies should not only focus on saving fuel resources but also should use the arguments of increased living comfort and better aesthetics. Dissemination should be initiated in regional centers due to their higher potential demand and lower transaction costs. Awareness building on efficient heating, use of fuel, and ventilation should not be forgotten, in addition to the technical measures.
This approach has the potential to significantly reduce natural resource use. However, at least in the short term, market mechanisms insufficiently involve poorer households, which tend to be the main users of natural resources. To what extent they can succeed in doing so, in the long term, still needs to be investigated.
Open access article: please credit the authors and the full source.
Research for this article was funded by the regional program Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Central Asia of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH. Special thanks to Gulnara Apandieva for interpretation during the interviews in Murgab and to the team of the GIZ regional program for reviewing the manuscript and making invaluable contributions to its improvement.
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S. Nienhuys 2012. Calculation Examples on Thermal Insulation Technical Working Paper Number 2. [No place:] Huys Aadvies. http://www.nienhuys.info/mediapool/49/493498/data/HA_TechWorkPaper-2_Calculation_TI_February_2012_.pdf; accessed on 4 May 2012. Google Scholar
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K. A. Vanselow, T. Kraudzun, and C. Samimi . 2012. Grazing practices and pasture tenure in the Eastern Pamirs: The nexus of pasture use, pasture potential, and property rights. Mountain Research and Development 32 (3):324–336. Google Scholar
World Bank 2011. Household Cookstoves, Environment, Health, and Climate Change: A New Look at an Old Problem. Washington, DC The World Bank. http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/documents/Household%20Cookstoves-web.pdf; accessed on 24 June 2012. Google Scholar
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Christoph Wiedemann, Stefan Salzmann, Iftikhor Mirshakarov, and Heike Volkmer "Thermal Insulation in High Mountainous Regions," Mountain Research and Development 32(3), 294-303, (1 August 2012). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00093.1
Received: 1 May 2012; Accepted: 1 June 2012; Published: 1 August 2012
biomass fuel
impact monitoring
Murgab
Pamirs
Rebound effect
teresken
Factors Influencing the Energy Efficiency of Tourism Transport in China
Knowledge for Sustainable Development in the Tajik Pamir Mountains
The Impact of Land Reform Legislation on Pasture Tenure in...
Combating Energy Poverty in Mountainous Areas Through Energy-saving Interventions
Grazing Practices and Pasture Tenure in the Eastern Pamirs
Agricultural Biodiversity in the Tajik Pamirs
Factors Influencing Households' Firewood Consumption in the Western Pamirs, Tajikistan
Christoph Wiedemann, Stefan Salzmann, Iftikhor Mirshakarov, Heike Volkmer "Thermal Insulation in High Mountainous Regions," Mountain Research and Development, 32(3), 294-303, (1 August 2012)


text:
موقع الدفاع عن الماركسية: أكثر 10 قراءات لعام 2021 17 January
Don't Look Up : Ce ne sont pas les libéraux qui vont nous sauver 17 January
[Book] Marxism and Anarchism
(Various authors)
Marxism and Anarchism
Marxist and Anarchist Theory
Anarchism and Socialism (Plekhanov)
Marx versus Bakunin
On Authority
Anarchism and Socialism (Lenin)
Michael Albert and Parecon
Why Marxists Oppose Individual Terrorism
Marxism and Direct Action
A Necessary Discussion with Our Syndicalist Comrades
The Anarcho-Syndicalist Prejudices Again!
Communism and Syndicalism
The Errors in Principle of Syndicalism
Monatte Crosses the Rubicon
The Mistakes of Rightist Elements of the Communist League on the Trade Union Question
The Communist International to the IWW
Makhno Anarchists, Kronstadt, and the Position of the Peasants in Post-Revolutionary Russia
Hue and Cry Over Kronstadt
Kronstadt: Trotsky Was Right!
Who Was Makhno and What Did He Stand For?
The Lessons of Spain: The Last Warning
Trotsky's 'The Class, the Party, and the Leadership'
Leon Trotsky
To serve in the discussion with Monatte and his friends
When I arrived in France in October 1914, I found the French Socialist and trade union movement in a state of the deepest chauvinist demoralisation. In the search for revolutionaries, with candle in hand, I made the acquaintance of Monatte and Rosmer. They had not succumbed to chauvinism. It was thus that our friendship began. Monatte considered himself an anarcho-syndicalist; despite that, he was immeasurably closer to me than the French Guesdists, who were playing a pitiful and shameful role. At that time, the Cachins were making themselves familiar with the servants' entrance to the ministries of the Third Republic and the Allied embassies. In 1915, Monatte left the central committee of the CGT, slamming the door behind him. His departure from the trade union centre was in essence nothing but a split. At that time, however, Monatte believed—and rightly so—that the fundamental historical tasks of the proletariat stood above unity with chauvinists and lackeys of imperialism. It was in this that Monatte was loyal to the best traditions of revolutionary syndicalism.
Monatte was one of the first friends of the October Revolution. True, unlike Rosmer, he had held aloof for a long time. That was well in keeping with the character of Monatte, as I was later convinced, of standing aside, of waiting, of criticising. At times this is absolutely unavoidable. But as a basic line of conduct it becomes a kind of sectarianism that has a close affinity to Proudhonism, but nothing in common with Marxism.
When the Socialist Party of France became the Communist Party, I frequently had occasion to discuss with Lenin the onerous heritage the International had received in the person of leaders like Cachin, Frossard and other heroes of the League of the Rights of Man, of the Freemasons, of parliamentarians, careerists, and babblers. One of these conversations—if I am not mistaken I have already published it in the press—follows:
"It would be good," Lenin said to me, "to drive out all these weathercocks, and to draw into the party the revolutionary syndicalists, the militant workers, people who are really devoted to the cause of the working class. And Monatte?"
" Monatte would of course be ten times better than Cachin and those like him," I replied. "But Monatte not only continues to reject parliamentarism but to this day he has not grasped the significance of the party."
Lenin was astonished: "Impossible! Has not grasped the significance of the party after the October Revolution? That's a very disturbing symptom."
I carried on a correspondence with Monatte in which I invited him to Moscow. He was evasive. True to his nature, he preferred in this case, too, to stand aside and wait. And besides, the Communist Party did not suit him. In that he was right. But instead of helping to transform it, he waited. At the Fourth Congress we succeeded in taking the first step towards cleansing the Communist Party of France of Freemasons, pacifists, and office-seekers. Monatte entered the party. But it is not necessary to emphasise the fact that this did not mean to us that he had adopted the Marxian viewpoint; not at all. On 23rd March, 1923, I wrote in Pravda: "The entrance of our old friend Monatte into the Communist Party was a great day for us. The revolution needs men of this kind. But it would be wrong to pay for a rapprochement with a confusion of ideas." In this article, I criticised the scholasticism of Louzon on the relations among the class, the trade unions, and the party. In particular, I explained that prewar syndicalism had been an embryo of the Communist Party, that this embryo had since become a child, and that, if this child was suffering from measles and rickets, it was necessary to nourish and cure it, but that it would be absurd to imagine that it could be made to return to its mother's womb. I may perhaps be permitted to say in this regard that the arguments of my 1923 article, in caricature, serve to this day as the main weapons against Monatte in the hands of Monmousseau and other anti-Trotskyist warriors.
Monatte joined the party; but he hardly had time to turn about and accustom himself to a house far vaster than his little shop on the Quai de Jemmapes when the coup d'état in the International burst upon him: Lenin was taken ill; the campaign against "Trotskyism" and the Zinovievist "Bolshevization" began. Monatte could not submit to the careerists who, by leaning on the general staff of the epigones at Moscow and disposing of unlimited resources, carried on by means of intrigue and slander. Monatte was expelled from the party. This episode, important but still only an episode, was of decisive moment in the political development of Monatte. He decided that his brief experience in the party had fully confirmed his anarcho-syndicalist prejudices against the party in general. Monatte then began insistently to retrace his steps towards abandoned positions. He began to seek again the Amiens Charter. To do all that, he had to turn his face to the past. The experiences of the war, of the Russian Revolution, and of the world trade union movement were lost upon him, leaving hardly a trace. Once again Monatte stood aside and waited. What for? A new Amiens Congress. During the last few years I was unfortunately unable to follow the retrogressive evolution of Monatte: the Russian Opposition lived in a blockaded circle.
Out of the whole treasure of the theory and practice of the world struggle of the proletariat, Monatte has extracted but two ideas: trade union autonomy and trade union unity. He has elevated these two pure principles above sinful reality. It is on trade union autonomy and trade union unity that he has based his newspaper and his Syndicalist League. Unfortunately, these two ideas are hollow and each of them resembles the hole in a ring. Whether the ring be made of iron, silver or gold, Monatte does not care in the least. The ring, you see, always hampers the trade unions' activity. Monatte is interested only in the hole of autonomy.
No less empty is the other sacred principle: unity. In its name, Monatte even stood out against the rupture of the Anglo-Russian Committee, even though the General Council of the British trade unions had betrayed the general strike. The fact that Stalin, Bukharin, Cachin, Monmousseau and others supported the bloc with the strikebreakers until the latter kicked them out, does not in the least reduce Monatte's mistake. After my arrival abroad, I made an attempt to explain to the readers of the Révolution prolétarienne (magazine published in the 1930s) the criminal character of this bloc, the consequences of which are still being felt by the workers' movement. Monatte did not want to publish my article. And how could it have been otherwise, since I had made an assault upon the sacred trade union unity, which solves all questions and reconciles all contradictions?
When strikers encounter a group of strikebreakers in their path, they throw them out of their midst without sparing blows. If the strikebreakers are union men, they throw them out immediately, without worrying about the sacred principle of trade union unity. Monatte surely has no objections to this. But the matter is entirely different when it is a question of the trade union bureaucracy and its leaders. The General Council is not composed of starving and backward strikebreakers; no, they are well-fed and experienced traitors, who found it necessary at a given moment to stand at the head of the general strike in order to decapitate it all the more quickly and surely. They worked hand in hand with the government, the bosses, and the church. It would seem that the leaders of the Russian trade unions, who were in a political bloc with the General Council, should have immediately, openly, and relentlessly broken with it at that very moment, in full view of the masses deceived and betrayed by it. But Monatte rises up fiercely: it is forbidden to disturb trade union unity. In an astonishing manner, he forgets that he himself upset this unity in 1915 by leaving the chauvinist General Council of the Conféderation Générale du Travail.
It must be said outright: between the Monatte of 1915 and the Monatte of 1929, there is an abyss. To Monatte it seems that he is remaining entirely faithful to himself. Formally, this is true, up to a certain point. Monatte repeats a few old formulas, but he ignores entirely the experiences of the last fifteen years, richer in lessons than all the preceding history of humanity. In the attempt to return to his former positions, Monatte fails to notice that they disappeared a long time ago. No matter what question is raised, Monatte looks backward. This may be seen most clearly in the question of the party and the state.
Some time ago, Monatte accused me of underrating the "dangers" of state power (Révolution Prolétarienne, No.79, 1st May 1929). This reproach is not a new one; it has its origin in the struggle of Bakunin against Marx and it shows a false, contradictory, and essentially non-proletarian conception of the state.
With the exception of one country, state power throughout the world is in the hands of the bourgeoisie. It is in this, and only in this, that, from the point of view of the proletariat, the danger of state power lies. The proletariat's historical task is to wrest this most powerful instrument of oppression from the hands of the bourgeoisie. The Communists do not deny the difficulties, the dangers that are connected with the dictatorship of the proletariat. But can this lessen by one iota the necessity to seize power? If the whole proletariat were carried by an irresistible force to the conquest of power, or if it had already conquered it, one could, strictly speaking, understand this or that warning of the syndicalists. Lenin, as is known, warned in his testament against the abuse of revolutionary power. The struggle against the distortions of the dictatorship of the proletariat has been conducted by the Opposition since its inception and without the need of borrowing from the arsenal of anarchism.
But in the bourgeois countries, the misfortune lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of the proletariat does not understand as it should the dangers of the bourgeois state. By the manner in which they treat the question, the syndicalists, unwittingly of course, contribute to the passive conciliation of the workers with the capitalist state. When the syndicalists keep drumming into the workers, who are oppressed by the bourgeois state, their warnings about the dangers of a proletarian state, they play a purely reactionary role. The bourgeois will readily repeat to the workers: "Do not touch the state because it is a snare full of dangers to you." The Communist will say to the workers: "The difficulties and dangers with which the proletariat is confronted the day after the conquest of power—we will learn to overcome them on the basis of experience. But at the present time, the most menacing dangers lie in the fact that our class enemy holds the reins of power in its hands and directs it against us."
In contemporary society, there are only two classes capable of holding power in their hands: the capitalist bourgeoisie and the revolutionary proletariat. The petty-bourgeoisie long ago lost the economic possibility of directing the destinies of modern society. Now and then, in fits of desperation, it rises for the conquest of power, even with arms in hand, as has happened in Italy, in Poland and other countries.
But the fascist insurrections only end in this result: the new power becomes the instrument of finance capital under an even more naked and brutal form. That is why the most representative ideologists of the petty-bourgeoisie are afraid of state power as such. The petty-bourgeoisie fears power when it is in the hands of the big bourgeoisie, because the latter strangles and ruins it. The petty-bourgeoisie also fears power when it is in the hands of the proletariat, for the latter undermines all the conditions of its habitual existence. Finally, it fears power when it falls into its own hands because it must inevitably pass out of its impotent hands into those of finance capital or the proletariat. The anarchists do not see the revolutionary problems of state power, its historical role, and see only the "dangers" of state power. The anti-state anarchists are consequently the most logical and, for that reason, the most hopeless representatives of the petty-bourgeoisie in its historical blind alley.
Yes, the dangers of state power exist under the regime of the dictatorship of the proletariat as well, but the substance of these dangers consists of the fact that power can actually return to the hands of the bourgeoisie. The best known and most obvious state danger is bureaucratism. But what is its essence? If the enlightened workers' bureaucracy could lead society to socialism, that is, to the liquidation of the state, we would be reconciled to such a bureaucracy. But it has an entirely opposite character: by separating itself from the proletariat, by raising itself above it, the bureaucracy falls under the influence of the petty-bourgeois classes and can by that very fact facilitate the return of power into the hands of the bourgeoisie. In other words, the state dangers for the workers under the dictatorship of the proletariat are, in the final analysis, nothing but the danger of restoring the power to the bourgeoisie.
The question of the source of this bureaucratic danger is no less important. It would be radically wrong to think, to imagine, that bureaucratism rises exclusively from the fact of the conquest of power by the proletariat. No, that is not the case. In the capitalist states, the most monstrous forms of bureaucratism are to be observed precisely in the trade unions. It is enough to look at the United States, Britain and Germany. Amsterdam is the most powerful international organisation of the trade union bureaucracy. It is thanks to it that the whole structure of capitalism now stands upright, above all in Europe and especially in Britain. If there were not a bureaucracy of the trade unions, then the police, the army, the courts, the lords, the monarchy would appear before the proletarian masses as nothing but pitiful and ridiculous playthings. The bureaucracy of the trade unions is the backbone of British imperialism. It is by means of this bureaucracy that the bourgeoisie exists, not only in the metropolis, but in India, in Egypt, and in the other colonies. One would have to be completely blind to say to the British workers: "Be on guard against the conquest of power and always remember that your trade unions are the antidote to the dangers of the state." The Marxist will say to the British workers: "The trade union bureaucracy is the chief instrument for your oppression by the bourgeois state. Power must be wrested from the hands of the bourgeoisie, and for that its principal agent, the trade union bureaucracy, must be overthrown." Parenthetically, it is especially for this reason that the bloc of Stalin with the strikebreakers was so criminal.
From the example of Britain, one sees very clearly how absurd it is to counterpose, as if it were a question of two different principles, the trade union organisation and the state organisation. In Britain, more than anywhere else, the state rests upon the back of the working class, which constitutes the overwhelming majority of the population of the country. The mechanism is such that the bureaucracy is based directly on the workers, and the state indirectly, through the intermediary of the trade union bureaucracy.
Up to now, we have not mentioned the Labour Party, which in Britain, the classic country of trade unions, is only a political transposition of the same trade union bureaucracy. The same leaders guide the trade unions, betray the general strike, lead the electoral campaign and later on sit in the ministries. The Labour Party and the trade unions—these are not two principles, they are only a technical division of labour. Together they are the fundamental support of the domination of the British bourgeoisie. The latter cannot be overthrown without overthrowing the Labourite bureaucracy. And that cannot be attained by counterposing the trade union as such to the state as such, but only by the active opposition of the Communist Party to the Labourite bureaucracy in all fields of social life: in the trade unions, in strikes, in the electoral campaign, in parliament, and in power.
The principal task of a genuine party of the proletariat consists of putting itself at the head of the working masses, organised in trade unions and unorganised, to wrest power from the bourgeoisie and to strike a deathblow to the "dangers of statism."
Constantinople, 21st October 1929


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text:
Q: How to rewire only some object parameters during unit testing? I have one module that contains an object. I would like to rewire only some of the object's parameters. Let's say my module 'module.js' looks like this:
var obj = {
  param_A: 'valueA',
  param_B: 'valueB',
  param_C: 'valueC'
}

And in the test file I import the module and use rewire.
var rewire = require('rewire');
var module = rewire('../module.js');

describe('Unit-Test', function () {
  beforeEach(function () {
    module.__set__({
      'obj': { param_B: 'newValueB' }
    });
  });

...

});

Now I have overwritten the entire object and the parameters A and C do not exist anymore. How can keep them? The only thing that comes to my mind is something like this
module.__set__({
  'obj': {
    param_A: module.obj.param_A,
    param_B: 'newValueB',
    param_C: module.obj.param_C
  }
}

But I feel like there must be a better way.

A: Can I suggest that you take a look at the 'with' function in require. github/jhnns/rewire
myModule.__with__({
    port: 3000
})(function () {
    // within this function port is 3000
});
// now port is the previous value again

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

[assembly: AssemblyTitle("Mono.Embedding")]
[assembly: AssemblyDescription("")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("Mono.Embedding")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright © 2005-2014 AMMMa AG")]
[assembly: AssemblyTrademark("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCulture("")]

[assembly: ComVisible(false)]
[assembly: Guid("ded98013-149a-4973-96ea-4c35564857d5")]

[assembly: AssemblyVersion("1.0.0.0")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("1.0.0.0")]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Movie Advisor: The Spectacular Now
Entertainment Movies Movie Advisor: The Spectacular Now
7:30pm, Dec 4, 2013 Updated: 12:17pm, Dec 9
Susannah Guthrie Entertainment Editor @susguthrie
Director: James Ponsoldt
Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Duration: 95mins
Release Date: 5 December, 2013
The New Daily says: Adapted from Tim Tharp's novel of the same name, The Spectacular Now chronicles confident 17 year-old Sutter Keeley's transition from the careless exuberance of high school to the stark reality of the 'real world'. After splitting from his popular girlfriend, Sutter stumbles into a relationship with schoolmate Aimee Finicky, a girl with humble roots and big aspirations. Sutter's alcohol-tinged recklessness clatters and clangs against Aimee's wide-eyed innocence as the two struggle to navigate the world and each other. Directed by James Ponsoldt, The Spectacular Now won the dramatic special jury award for acting at the Sundance Film Festival.
Put simply, this movie is exquisitely truthful. It carries with it all the charms of a coming-of-age romance with none of the stereotypical pitfalls, like sugarcoated love scenes and people-pleasing plot developments. The film is well and truly carried by the two leads – an electric Miles Teller, who deserves every comparison to a young Tom Hanks or John Cusack, and an unfailingly innocent Shailene Woodley, who gives you the sense that she is merely being her usual self, just in front of a camera.
With pared-back presentation (Woodley doesn't wear makeup and Teller's zits and scars are on full display) the film is a return to the beloved John Hughes' teen flicks of the 1980's, where teenagers looked like teenagers and had some pretty significant personality flaws. Ponsoldt can be congratulated for refusing to shy away from the accurate portrayal of less comfortable topics; alcoholism appears in all its frustrating incarnations and, in the film's one sex scene, Woodley and Teller are jarringly vulnerable.
A few completely out of the blue twists and turns help to maintain the momentum, but The Spectacular Now doesn't need any cheap thrills. It's a sweet, wonderfully grounded snapshot of life on the cusp.
Rotten Tomatoes says: 92% – "The Spectacular Now is an adroit, sensitive film that avoids typical coming-of-age story trappings."
The New York Times says: "Much of this (the film's) patiently achieved success flows from Miles Teller's winning, seemingly effortless performance as Sutter, in all his laziness and charm, open-mindedness and fatalism, always with a glimpse of the unease beneath."
The Guardian says: "Ponsoldt elicits remarkably strong performances from his two young leads, who display a depth of feeling that's breathtaking in its simplicity and honest. Young adulthood is rarely portrayed with such conviction, in a manner that connects with both its core teen audience and a wider adult demographic."
Entertainment Weekly says: "The Spectacular Now doesn't shrink from being an all-out teen movie (it has hookups and a senior prom). Yet it's one of the rare truly soulful and authentic teen movies. It's about the experience of being caught on the cusp and not knowing which way you'll land."
BuzzFeed editor @chrisgeidner: "Yeah, The Spectacular Now was really excellent. Similar to The Way, Way Back, but without the "we're making a cool movie" self-awareness."
Actor @rainnwilson: "Just saw The Spectacular Now. It is exquisite & beautiful & you should see it this weekend."
Kids? Some heavier themes are explored in a relatively palatable manner, but under 13's will most likely miss the intricacies and feel confronted by a couple of traumatic moments.
Watch it: With anyone. The subject matter is teenaged, but the appeal is universal.
Walker crash not part of street race


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text:
Get Melon from Amazon.com
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The Sense of an Ending
The Noise of Time
The Only Story
The Man in the Red Coat
Julian Barnes Biography | Author of Melon
This Study Guide consists of approximately 27 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Melon.
Nationality 1: English
Birthdate: 1946
Julian Barnes was born in Leicester, England, on January 19, 1946. His parents were teachers. He attended Magdalen College, Oxford, earning a B.A. with honors in 1968. After college, he held a variety of freelance writing positions. He wrote entries for the Oxford English Dictionary Supplement in the early 1970s then became a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. In 1977, he became a contributing editor for the New Review. He has been a literary editor for the New Statesman and the Sunday Times of London and has been a television editor for the New Statesman and the Observer. From 1990 to 1995, he was the London correspondent for the New Yorker, writing a regular column. He was also a contributor to the New York Review of Books.
Barnes published his first novel, Metroland, in 1980, followed by Before She Met Me in 1982. At the same time, he began...
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In her recent book Private Government , Elizabeth Anderson makes a powerful but pragmatic case against the abuses experienced by employees in conventional corporations. The purpose of this review-essay is to contrast Anderson's pragmatic critique of many abuses in the employment relation with a principled critique of the employment relationship itself. This principled critique is based on the theory of inalienable rights that descends from the Reformation doctrine of the inalienability of conscience down through the Enlightenment in the abolitionist, democratic, and feminist movements. That theory was the basis for the abolition of the voluntary slavery or self-sale contract, the voluntary non-democratic constitution (pactum subjectionis), and the voluntary coverture marriage contract in today's democratic countries. When understood in modern terms, that same theory applies as well against the voluntary self-rental or employment contract that is the basis for our current economic system.
The paper is published as: Ellerman, David. 2018. "Rethinking Libertarianism: Elizabeth Anderson's Private Government." Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs 61 (2): 156–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/05775132.2018.1443976.


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About Raj Rewal
Extract From Essays
CIDCO HOUSING - NEW MUMBAI
Year : 1988-1993
Location : Navi Mumbai
The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Pvt. Ltd. (CIDCO) Housing in Belapur Central Business District (CBD) was planned as extremely low-cost accommodation for the lowest income groups. The programme requirement of 1048 apartments was varied, mostly comprising one to two room units and some larger two-bedroom units that could be sold individually.
Creation of a humane habitation for very large numbers at the minimum cost was an exceptionally difficult problem. Building for large numbers is like writing a long novel. War and peace can be read through from the beginning to end with its different chapters and sub-plots sustaining interest. Similarly, the Mahabharta is a string of stories woven into the fabric of one major composition. The challenge of mass housing, likewise, can be either approached like one long story or as a series of interconnected episodes. Instead of building large monolithic parallel blocks of grim dimensions, we opted for a different kind of settlement pattern.
The design is based on a pedestrian vocabulary and created a housing ensemble of assorted clusters and enclosed spaces that rise from and merge into the hillside. Allowing an overall density of 55 units per acre, the unit sizes range from 18 to 105 square metres with nearly 77 per cent having an area of 42 square metres or less. The smaller units of 18 to 35 square metres are grouped within a precinct defined by two surrounding roads giving access to the inner pedestrian pathways and courtyards.
Bibliography
Raj Rewal – Humane Habitate at Low Cost
"Rewal's challenge in new Mumbai was to design humane tenements for mass family housing as part of an experiment in urban planning and design. The result is a project rich with sensual qualities which pragmatically improves the lives of its inhabitants. Seven neighbourhoods are defined by a system of roads at the periphery. Each of the 1,048 units was treated as a building block with floor areas varying from 20-100m2. The blocks were joined into low-rise, high-density chains and loops to create a diversity of spatial experiences. Intimate courtyards and narrow shaded pedestrian routes play an important social role. By recessing the top floors of the blocks many have private roofs terraces, allowing opportunities for individuals to add to their living spaces. Industrial manufacture of repetitive elements such as concrete blocks, doors and windows and the use of cheap wall material like roughcast plaster and terracotta tiles minimised construction coasts."
Dennis Sharp
Twentieth Century Architecture a Visual History
Copyright © [2020] Raj Rewal Associates |
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Q: Problem sharing files between two Windows 7 machines I have 3 machines.  Two of them running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, let's call them Windows 7-one and Windows 7-two.  One is running Windows XP SP3, let's call that one Windows XP-one.
I've shared some folders on one of the Windows 7 machine (Windows 7-one).  The XP machine (Windows XP-one) has no problems connecting to the machine and I can view and access the shared folders.
Just doing start->run, typing \Windows 7-one, a window pops up, showing the shared folders, just as expected.
The other Windows 7 machine (Windows 7-two) on the other hand, not so much.  If I try to open \Windows 7-one I get a prompt for a username/password with an error message at the bottom saying "Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password".
Why?  I thought I had enabled anonymous access?
What I've done:  Enabled the guest account, shared the folder, giving "everyone" full-control permissions, enabled everything under the advanced sharing options, etc. etc. etc.
The only thing I've not done is restarted Windows 7-one, perhaps that'll work ....
Any ideas?
EDIT Just figured out one thing that might have something to do with this.  All three machines have a user account with the same username.  On Windows 7-one and Windows XP-one, it's got a blank password.  The account on the Windows 7-two machine is password protected.  Should that matter at all? I cannot see why it should.

A: One thing that Windows 7 has is Credential Manager. This stored previously used credentials to avoid asking for login credentials all the time. Nifty! However, if the credentials change, it doesn't prompt again. To view the credentials, go to:
Control Panel → Credential Manager
Poke around and find the credentials you're looking for. You can delete them, then try to reconnect. It should ask you again. You can type in the necessary credentials.
It might also be an issue with your login domain. When typing in a username, use:
[machine-name]\\[username]

Using machine name specifies which machine the credentials are on.

A: OK, one thing I discovered.
I noticed that the the login prompt that I got stated that it was trying to use a domain for logging in, the domain being the current computer (win7-two).  I clicked "another user" and typed in the full name of the user on the other machine (\win7-one\username and a blank pwd) and that worked!
Still puzzled why it insists on using the current computer as a domain, the XP machine did not do that.  This doesn't really solve my problem since I'll always have to go through this user/pwd prompt.
I guess I'll just map this as a network drive and having it remember my credentials.  That will work for me for now.
Still would be nice If anyone knows why this behaves differently between two win 7 machines as opposed to win7 - winxp.

A: In a Workgroup, if the same username/password combination exists on all of the computers, no password prompt will appear.
For instance, at home, I put the username "mike" and the password "password" into all three of our computers.  I put the username "allison" and the password "password" into all three computers.

A: File sharing may not work with blank password. You might want to add password to all your machines.

A: If you have the 'User Logon failure' problem, try this in your XP machine:

*

*Open Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policies

*Go to Local Policies > User Rights Assignment

*Search for 'Deny access to this computer from the network'

*Remove 'Guest' account from the list

A: You could always try setting up a HomeGroup between Windows 7 machines...unfortunately, this will not work for Windows XP...
How to set up a HomeGroup: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/home-sweet-homegroup-networking-the-easy-way
Hope that helps...


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Occupy L.A.: Campaign of dependency
Home /Opinion/Occupy L.A.: Campaign of dependency
Though, to some, it may be tempting to allow ones heartstrings to be yanked and twisted by the group of humans occupying Los Angeles, it is important to remember that theirs is a campaign of dependency that will slowly drain the love, the blood and the life from our great country.
Shaping the future of America is everyone's responsibility. The question then becomes "how". How can more love and light be brought to a country that appears to be plagued with so much pain and darkness? How can it be ensured that everyone's basic human needs will be satisfied
All parties have this goal in common. Where they differ is in how to go about these changes. From the perspective of Occupy Los Angeles, it is the responsibility of a small elite class called "the rich" to provide for the rest of the population, and that in doing so, a world of equality will be created in which all have equal shares and equal voices.
The end result of this however, is not equality. The engine of this movement is guilt. Guilt for survival, guilt for success, guilt for having achieved more than someone else, whether it be by merit, luck, grace or conspiracy. Greed does exist in this world, and it is true that everyone must work to fight it within themselves. This battle however, should be a personal and internal one, not one that is used to drag each other through the mud, demanding in repayment for the sin of greed more money, more blood, more life.
Humans are not called to judge each others' faults or weaknesses. They are called to love. People do not have the right to be Robin Hoods, to take from the rich and give to the poor. They do however have the right and responsibility to be loving, be generous, and to teach through example.
Those who are jobless, those that want change, those who see a world with out love and want to heal it, should take charge. Start a company, run for office, devote your life to a change you believe in. You will not be a millionaire, you will live a difficult and simple life, but you will be changing the world more than you ever will by standing outside City Hall begging for alms.
Protect these rights: the right to earn your living, the right to create with your mind, and the right to hold accountable a government that infringes upon these rights. California, give your state back to its people. Cut taxes, abolish laws that make it nearly impossible to start a business here, and trust that humans will choose love, choose to give, and choose to protect their neighbors.
If you need more examples, look for the stories of hope creeping into the news.
Look at the football team that has raised more than $60,000 for an injured player's hospital bills. Look at the basketball player who gave his winning scholarship money to others so that they too could attend college. Look for hope. Be hope. Rebuild America.
Football defeated by Southern California's top-ranked team
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By PlanTripLondon.com on	 05/04/2019 Accommodation in London
We know that trying to decide where to stay in London is no easy decision, so we've put together a short guide on popular London neighbourhoods and the best places to base yourself on a visit to the British capital. Hopefully this will help to make the process of looking for accommodation in London that little bit easier.
1 Where to stay in London: Recommended areas and neighbourhoods
1.1 1. Westminster, Pimlico and Victoria
1.2 2. South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Chelsea
1.3 3. Notting Hill, Bayswater and Paddington
1.4 4. Central London
1.5 5. The City of London
1.6 6. North London
1.7 7. South London
2 Recommendations for places to stay in London outside of Zone 1
3 Map: Where to stay in London
As London is such a large city, we recommend that you take two things into account when deciding on the best area to stay in London: The travel zone it's located in and the transport links to the airport.
Where to stay in London: Recommended areas and neighbourhoods
When it comes to looking for a hotel in London, you need to bear in mind that London has 9 transport zones, with zone 1 being the most central and therefore, the best place to stay in London. Zone 1 is home to many of London's most iconic places and tourist attractions like Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Kensington and Victoria. Therefore, staying within this zone or a few minutes away by bus or tube is always going to be the easiest option when looking at where to stay in London.
However, zone 1 is very large and offers many options for where to stay in London. Here is a guide to the different London neighbourhoods in zone 1. Each area has been given a colour and number so that you can easily identify it on the map below.
1. Westminster, Pimlico and Victoria
The areas of Westminster, Pimlico and Victoria are some of London's most central neighbourhoods. Westminster is home to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, as well as Victoria Station, one of the largest train stations in London with a direct train to Gatwick Airport. From these areas you can easily walk to the River Thames, the Big Ben and the London Eye, and other areas of central London are an easy and pleasant walk away. Next to Victoria Station, you'll also find the bus stop for the sightseeing hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus tour, as well as the Apollo Theatre which shows one of the most famous musicals in London.
The area around Victoria to Sloane Square is an attractive and exclusive London neighbourhood with many restaurants and shops. With this area being so central, it is undeniably one of the best places to stay in London but it's no surprise that this convenient location normally comes at a premium price. However, it is also possible to find affordable accommodation in the area.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: Premier Inn Victoria
2. South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London is also home to some great places to stay in London. Sloane Square is one of our favourite parts of London and although it's not in the typical tourist centre, we love the authentic Victorian streets and houses of this neighbourhood. The area around Earls Court exhibition centre has many reasonably priced hotels and restaurants, whilst South Kensington is also a good option, home to the Natural History and Science Museums. From here you can easily walk to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, and of course, the famous department store Harrods is also located in this neighbourhood.
Knightsbridge can be a bit higher in price as it's an exclusive area with many restaurants and shops, but we think it's one of the best areas to stay in London.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: Sloane Square Hotel
3. Notting Hill, Bayswater and Paddington
North of Hyde Park, the area around Bayswater underground station and the famous Notting Hill neighbourhood is popular with tourists when choosing where to stay in London. Hotels tend to be a bit cheaper around here and it's great for eating out, with plenty of restaurants and shops, as well as the famous Portobello Road Market. From here, it's an easy to walk to Hyde Park and there are frequent buses to central London, and of course, the underground connections too.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: The Lastlett
4. Central London
The most famous places in central London are: Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Trafalgar Square. Around these areas you'll find some of London's most exclusive hotels such as The Dorchester situated on Park Lane.
Bloomsbury is the area where the British Museum is located, and one of the most highly recommended places to stay in London. Here you can find some really nice hotels within walking distance to the centre.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: St Giles
5. The City of London
The area known as the 'City of London' is home to St Paul's Cathedral and from here you have easy access on foot to many of London's top attractions including the famous blue 'Tower Bridge'. The area right next to St Paul's Cathedral is a good place to base yourself on a visit to London but do bear in mind that as this is a big office district, it pretty much shuts down after the working week is done, with many of the shops and restaurants in this area not even opening at weekends.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: Grange St Paul's
6. North London
In the north area of zone 1, you will find Regent's Park, one of the most beautiful parks in London and a scenic walk from Little Venice to Camden Town. If you're going to stay in this area, we recommend around Marylebone or Baker Street where you'll also find the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Madame Tussauds – London's famous waxworks.
This area is also home to King's Cross, one of London's most important train stations with a direct connection to Luton Airport. Next to King's Cross is Euston and Russell Square which are also both good options when looking at where to stay in London, with their hotels, restaurants and great transport links. A bit further north is a place called Angel, a trendy neighbourhood that we also highly recommend.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: Premier Inn
7. South London
For the area south of the River Thames, we would recommend looking around Waterloo Station as there are several reasonably priced hotels, just 5 minutes from the London Eye. The area of South Bank is a lovely place to enjoy a walk along the River Thames, with its many restaurants and street entertainers along the river bank. Another convenient option in south London is around London Bridge Station and neighbouring Borough Market.
⇒ Recommended hotel in this area: Premier Inn County Hall
See all of our recommended hotels in London
Recommendations for places to stay in London outside of Zone 1
There are also some great neighbourhoods and places to stay in London outside of Zone 1. In theory, the further away you are from the centre of London, the cheaper the accommodation will be, unless you're in one of London's more exclusive neighbourhoods.
However, when looking for cheaper accommodation, don't be fooled by just the price of the hotel. Always remember to check the transport links to the centre of the city as often the reason why hotels are very cheap, is because there are no transport links to the centre. Also, what you save on the price of the accommodation, you end up spending on travel, plus it will take you more time every day to commute in and out of the city.
That said, we still definitely recommend some neighbourhoods outside of Zone 1 for a different and more relaxing experience. These include:
Hampstead (zone 2)
Belsize Park (zone 2)
Greenwich (zone 2)
Canary Wharf (zone 2)
Richmond upon Thames (zone 4)
Kew (zone 4)
Map: Where to stay in London
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Hello! We moved to London (Yes, the best city in the world) in 2010, and since then we have been discovering everything that this fantastic city has to offer. We regularly plan our friends' trips to London, so we thought we would create PlanTripLondon.com and share our suggestions with the world for everyone to be able to plan the perfect trip to London!
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