WHATEVER THE THEORETICAL and empirical problems with the economics of the labor aristocracy thesis, its defenders still claim that well paid workers have generally been more reformist and conservative in their politics than lower paid workers. They point to the example of mostly white New York City construction workers ("hardhats") attacking antiwar demonstrators in the Spring of 1970; and contrast them with the militancy and progressive politics of some of the recent "Justice for Janitors" campaigns.
A more systematic examination of the history of workers' struggles in the global North in the past century, however, does not bear out the claim that well paid workers are generally reformist or conservative, while poorly paid workers are more revolutionary or radical.
In fact the mass base of the left, antiwar wing of the pre-First World War socialist parties and of the postwar revolutionary Communist parties were relatively well paid workers in the large metalworking industries. These workers led militant struggles against speedup and deskilling that became political struggles against conscription and the war.
Well paid workers were also in the vanguard of proto-revolutionary mass struggles in France (1968), Italy (1968-69), Britain (1967-75), and Portugal (1974-75). Relatively "aristocratic" workers in trucking, auto, telecommunications, public education and the postal service were at the center of the unofficial, wildcat strikes that shook U.S. industry between 1965 and 1975.
In France in 1995, well paid workers in telecommunications, public transport, postal, health care and education led the public sector strikes that mounted the first successful workers' struggles against neoliberalism. In the Fall of 2004, auto workers, some of the best paid in Germany, stood up to layoffs, defying their own union leaders in an unofficial strike.
In the U.S. working class during the past decade, relatively poorly paid workers (janitors, hotel workers, and grocery clerks) have engaged in strike actions much more frequently than relatively well paid workers. However, better paid workers – from UPS workers in 1997 to New York City transit workers in 2005 — have not been absent from militant workplace struggles.
Nor is this pattern of militancy and radicalism among relatively well paid workers limited to the global North. In Chile between 1970 and 1973, and Argentina between 1971 and 1974, copper miners and metal workers engaged in industrial struggles and took the lead in mass mobilizations against the military and the right. In Brazil, it was the well paid metal workers in the "ABC" suburbs of San Paolo who led mass strikes in the 1970s that created the CUT (United Workers Confederation) and eventually the PT (Workers Party) in the early 1980s.
Similarly, it was the highest paid Black workers in South Africa – in mining, auto, steel – whose struggles in the 1970s created the radical and militant FOSATU trade union confederation. FOSATU and its successor COSATU were able to build on workplace organization and power in the political struggle against apartheid in the 1980s and 1990s.
It is not surprising that relatively well paid workers have been at the center of the most militant and radical workers' struggles of the last century. These workers tend to be concentrated in large, capital intensive workplaces that are often central to the capitalist economy. These workers have considerable social power when they act collectively. Strikes in these industries have a much greater impact on the economy than workers in smaller, less capital intensive workplaces (garment, office cleaning, etc.) Workers in capital intensive industries are also often the first targets of capitalist restructuring in periods of falling profits and sharpened competition.
How do we explain the fact that most workers, most of the time, do not act on their potential power? Why do workers embrace reformist politics – support for bureaucratic unionism (reliance on the grievance procedure, routine collective bargaining) and Democratic party electoral politics – or worse, reactionary politics in the forms of racism, sexism, homophobia, nativism, militarism?
The working class cannot be, as a whole, permanently active in the class struggle. The entire working class cannot consistently engage in strikes, demonstrations and other forms of political activity because this class is separated from effective possession of the means of production, and its members compelled to sell their labor power to capital in order to survive. They have to go to work!
Put simply, most workers, most of the time are engaged in the individual struggle to sell their capacity to work and secure the reproduction of themselves and their families – not the collective struggle against the employers and the state. The "actually existing" working class can only engage in mass struggles as a class in extraordinary, revolutionary or pre-revolutionary situations. Because of the structural position of wage labor under capitalism, these must be of short duration. Most often, different segments of the working class become active in the struggle against capital at different times.
In the wake of successful mass struggles, only a minority of the workers remain consistently active. Most of this workers' vanguard – those who "even during a lull in the struggle…do[es] not abandon the front lines of the class struggle but continues the war, so to speak, 'by other means'"6 – attempts to preserve and transmit the traditions of mass struggle in the workplace or the community. However, a sector within this active minority, together with intellectuals who have access to cultural skills from which the bulk of the working class is excluded, must take on responsibility for administering the unions or political parties created by periodic upsurges of mass activity.
This layer of fulltime officials – the bureaucracy of the labor movement – is the social foundation for "unconditional" reformist practice and ideology in the labor movement. Those workers who become officials of the unions and political parties begin to experience conditions of life very different from those who remain in the workplace.
The new officials find themselves freed from the daily humiliations of the capitalist labor process. They are no longer subject to either deskilled and alienated labor or the petty despotism of supervisors. Able to set their own hours, plan and direct their own activities, and devote the bulk of their waking hours to "fighting for the workers," the officials seek to consolidate these privileges.
The consolidation of the labor bureaucracy as a social layer, distinct from the rest of the working class under capitalism, gives rise to its distinctive political practice and world-view. The preservation of the apparatus of the mass union or party, as an end itself, becomes the main objective of the labor bureaucracy. The labor bureaucrats seek to contain working-class militancy within boundaries that do not threaten the continued existence of the institutions which are the basis of the officials' unique life-style.
Thus what Ernest Mandel called the "dialectic of partial conquests," the possibility that new struggles may be defeated and the mass organizations of the working class weakened, buttress the labor bureaucracy's reliance on electoral campaigns and parliamentary pressure tactics (lobbying) to win political reforms, and on strictly regimented collective bargaining to increase wages and improve working conditions.
While the unconditional ideological commitment to reformism grows organically from the privileged social position of the labor officialdom, how do we explain the conditional reformism of most workers? Why do most workers, most of the time accept reformism? Put bluntly, why is this conditional reformism the normal state of working class consciousness under capitalism?
In "normal times" – of working class quiescence and passivity – the majority of workers come to accept the "rules of the game" of capitalist competition and profitability. They seek a "fair share" of the products of capitalist accumulation, but do not feel capable of challenging capitalist power in the workplace, the streets or society. For most workers during "normal times," mass, militant struggle seems unrealistic; they tend to embrace the labor officialdom's substitution of liberal and reformist electoral politics, institutionalized collective bargaining and grievance handling.
When capitalism enters one of its unavoidable periods of crisis and restructuring – like the one that began in the late 1960s through most of the capitalist world – the paradox of reformism becomes manifest. In a world of declining profits and sharpened competition, capitalists throughout the world went on the offensive at the workplace and at the level of the capitalist state. The restructuring of the capitalist production along the lines of lean production, and the neoliberal deregulation of capital and labor markets,(9) required all-out war against workers and their organizations across the capitalist world.
At this point, reformism becomes ineffective. Workers can and have made gains against their employers in the past fifteen years – the success of the UPS strike and the "Justice for Janitors" campaigns in various cities cannot be ignored. However, these victories often required substantive rank-and-file organization and mobilization – including independent organizations, like Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).
Eschewing militancy and direct action by workers and other oppressed people, the labor bureaucracy and reformist politicians in the West have no choice but to make concessions to the employers' offensive and to administer capitalist state austerity. The spectacle of reformist bureaucrats shunning the struggle for reforms has been repeated across the capitalist world in the last three decades, with tragic results.
Again and again, the reformist bureaucrats have surrendered to the requirements of capitalist profitability. The Italian Communist party embraced austerity in the 1970s. The U.S. AFL-CIO officials have accepted concession bargaining since 1979, usually without even the pretense of struggle. Social-democratic regimes across Europe (Mitterand and Jospin in France, Blair in Britain, Schroeder in Germany) embraced neoliberal realism – cutting social services, privatizing public enterprises, and deregulating capital and labor markets.
Nor has the reformist retreat been limited to the imperialist countries. In the early 1990s, the ANC-COSATU-led government in post-apartheid South Africa has embraced what some have called the "sado-monetarism" of the IMF and World Bank. The debacle of the Lula regime in Brazil – attacking workers' rights, opening the agricultural economy to transnational investment and systematically retreating from its promise of popular reform – fits the pattern all too well. Today, even the most moderate forms of social-democratic gradualism have become utopian, as the labor bureaucracy across the world has been unable to defend the workers' past gains much less win significant new reforms in an era of crisis and restructuring.
The inability of reformism to "deliver the goods" for most working people also helps us make sense of the appeal of right-wing politics – racist, sexist, homophobic, nativist and militarist – for a segment of workers. The objective, structural position of workers under capitalism provides the basis for collective, class radicalism and individualist, sectoralist and reactionary politics.
Bruce Nelson's recent study of steelworkers details how relatively white workers in the steel industry struggled to defend their privileged access to better paying and relatively more skilled work after the establishment of industrial unionism. The rise of the CIO opened the possibility of classwide organization that began to reduce the racial/national segmentation of the working class.
As Marxists, we understand that such strategies are counter-productive in the medium to long term. Divisions among workers and reliance on different segments of the capitalist class only undermine the ability of workers to defend or improve their conditions of life under capitalism.(14) However, when reformism proves incapable of realistically defending workers' interests – as it has since the early 1970s – workers embrace individualist and sectoralist perspectives as the only realistic strategy.
Only through the experience of collective, class activity against the employers, starting at but not limited to the workplace, can workers begin to think of themselves as a class with interests in common with other workers and opposed to the capitalists. Workers who experience their collective, class power on the job are much more open to class – and anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-militarist, anti-nativist – ways of thinking.
As Marx pointed out, it is through the workplace and union struggles that the working class "becomes fit to rule" – develops the organization and consciousness capable of confronting capital. Such organization will require a struggle not only against "backward ideas" among workers, but against the officialdom of the unions and other popular mass organizations that are committed to reformist strategies, no matter how blatantly ineffective.
This does not mean that workers of color, women and other oppressed groups in the working class should "wait" to fight until white and male workers are ready to act. White and male workers, because of the temporary but real advantages they gain in the labor market – preferential access to better jobs -are not likely to initiate struggles against racism, sexism or homophobia in the workplace or anywhere else. Self-organization and self-activity of racially oppressed groups are crucial to the development of anti-racist struggles and anti-racist consciousness.
However, a mass working-class audience for anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-militarist ideas will most likely be created in the context of mass, class struggles against capital. Today, the main audience for the idea that workers need to stand up to right-wing ideas and practices are the small layer of rank and file activists who are trying to promote solidarity, militancy and democracy in the labor movement.
Only if these activists, with the help of socialists in the labor movement, can succeed in building effective collective fight back will these ideas – the politics of class radicalism – achieve mass resonance.
David Mandel, The Petrograd Workers, Volumes I and II (London: Macmillan, 1985).
Mike Davis, "The Barren Marriage of Labor and the Democratic Party" in Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso Books, 1986), Chapter 2.
My alternative theory of working class reformism and conservatism is drawn from Mandel, "What is the Bureaucracy?" and Robert Brenner, "The Paradox of Reformism: The American Case," in M. Davis, F. Pfeil, M. Sprinker (eds.) The Year Left: An American Socialist Yearbook (London: Verso, 1985); Robert Brenner, "The Problem of Reformism," Against the Current (New Series) 43 (March-April 1993).
Clearly, successful economic and political struggles under capitalism can also encourage the development of a "militant reformist" consciousness among many workers. Some combination of successful self-activity and organization, which allows workers to experience their collective power; and the experience of the limits of struggles that accept capitalist economic and political rule are necessary for the development of revolutionary consciousness among a minority of workers.
Ernest Mandel, "The Leninist Theory of Organization: Its Relevance for Today" in S. Bloom (ed.), Revolutionary Marxist and Social Reality in the 20th Century: Collected Essays of Ernest Mandel (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, Inc. 1994), 85.
The process of bureaucratization of trade unions and working class political parties, and the resulting development of reformism, goes on in all capitalist societies where the labor movement achieves legal recognition and institutional stability. Put simply, reformism is not limited to the working classes of the global North. Thus, it is not surprising that in periods of declining mass struggle, the mass industrial unions and political parties of the Brazilian (CUT and PT) and South African (COSATU) working classes have become bureaucratized and their leaderships embraced reformist-and ultimately neo-liberal-politics.
Brenner, "The Paradox of Social Democracy," 42.
Mandel, Power and Money: A Marxist Theory of Bureaucracy (London: Verso, 1992), 236.
I want to acknowledge my debt to the seminal essay by Johanna Brenner and Robert Brenner, "Reagan, the Right and the Working Class," Against the Current (Old Series) 1, 2 (Winter 1981).
Brenner and Brenner, "Reagan, the Right and the Working Class, 30.
B. Nelson, Divided We Stand: American Workers and the Struggle for Black Equality (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), Part Two.
Michael Reich's Racial Inequality: A Political-Economic Analysis (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981) presents substantial evidence that a divided working class is less capable of defending itself against capital. He finds that those areas in the US that had the greatest racial inequality in wages (an index of working class racial division), also had the lowest average wages (an index of working class weakness in relation to capital).
C. Post and K.A. Wainer, Socialist Organization Today (Solidarity Pamphlet, 1996).


This guest post comes to us via Alicia of Jaybird fame. When she's not making a mess in the kitchen, she tries her hand at home DIY projects and elaborate picnics. Go be friends! Twitter /Facebook.
There are moments in life when we crave answers. We need to push, hard, to find meaning in something that has happened, and to find a way to leave it behind us and keep moving. Wild is the story of a time like that. Cheryl Strayed's memoir dives deep into her story of losing her mother and the steps she took to find peace–steps that eventually took her to the Pacific Crest Trail and one incredible hike.
Sometimes in the depths of difficulty, simplicity becomes a safety net. Its ease gives us comfort, and it removes the challenge of making one more decision when we're already struggling. Though I can't say I know exactly how Cheryl Strayed felt, I can empathize with the feeling of overwhelm. That's how I've been feeling, too, albeit on a less grand scale.
Wild has inspired me to make small changes and to start taking regular steps toward health and happiness. Though I'm not out hiking the PCT, I got started with an easy step: simplifying my morning routine. I have a long commute, but I really enjoy having a homemade breakfast. I often cook something for myself (eggs and a salad or old-fashioned oats, either of which takes about 20 minutes), but when I don't, I head out the door with an empty stomach. One option makes me scramble to get out the door, and the other makes me hungry until I cave and eat lunch at 10:00am. Clearly it was time to try something a little different.
Last weekend, I took Sunday afternoon to make homemade granola inspired by Cheryl's trail snacks and classic GORP: good old raisins and peanuts. I swapped almonds for the peanuts and added a few mix-in options straight from the bulk bins of the grocery store.
Every morning this week, I got to enjoy a bowl (or a to-go cup) of yogurt, homemade granola and honey. One less choice to make, one happier morning. I hope you enjoy this recipe…and the extra comfort of simplicity in your day.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except cranberries and toss by hand. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly distribute mix. Bake for 15 minutes, then add dried fruit if desired. Shake the pan to turn ingredients so they will cook evenly, then bake for another 10 minutes or until golden-brown. Let sit until cool.
Though Wild isn't a book about food, any subject matter can inspire some reflection on life and fun in the kitchen.Have you read Wild? Are you looking forward to the upcoming movie version, or sticking to the text?
At first glance that close up looked like fallen autumn leaves – who knew breakfast food could be so beautiful!
Oh, that's so sweet! I did think that the whole pan was lovely. It does seem rather autumnal even though I've enjoyed eating it in the winter and spring!
Loved WILD–how did I not know that it was becoming a movie?
I really want to hike the Superior Hiking Trail here in Minnesota so I tend to read everything about hiking trails and the fact that WILD was written by a woman was the extra bonus for me. This is the second post I've read about granola today. I think the Uni is trying to tell me something. Thanks for the recipe!
I've done parts of that trail, Manisha and it's goooorgeous!
Ooh I hope you do! That sounds like a wonderful life event.
Oh man, I've read this book and it is up there in the top ten of the worst books I've ever read. Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" is far better about having actual plot, using reasonable plot devices (Why start off with your lost shoe, when it ends up not being a big deal at all?), actual character development, and not incorporating tons of meaningless detail/sub-plots that go nowhere.
However, that being said, this granola looks lovely. With a bit of brown rice syrup, you can even make them into granola bars if you like.
Wow that's so interesting–I actually strongly disliked Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods." I think in both stories it was the main character that stood out to me, and Bryson seemed egotistical and condescending while Strayed seemed empathetic and troubled. I think there were also more specific parts of her story that resonated with me, so even if there were parts where I felt she was acting ridiculous, I understood it overall as part of her story and natural progression.
Yeah, Strayed might be a more likeable character, but her writing is terrible. Maybe she should have hired a few more developmental editors.
Coincidence is my signal that the Universe has got my back. And after reading Sarah's articles on blogging, a minute ago I made my way to Yes and Yes for the first time. And earlier today I borrowed the audiobook version of "Wild" from my library. I loved Cheryl Strayed's writing in "Tiny Beautiful Things" and love Bryson's writing (although "A Walk in the Woods" is not one of my favorites.) Both have made me laugh and cry in public. It'll be interesting to find out whether I'm enchanted or underwhelmed. Reality itself has such a meandering plot line and its characters age but don't always develop…it's always interesting to see how memoirists make highly implausible but true events interesting. But the granola looks scrumptious, although my non-nut-eating-gluten-sensitive-vegan spouse couldn't share it. More for me, I guess. Yum.
I love that you got inspired to make a small change because of the book.
I read this book and loved it. It became very personal to me…I was actually reading it the very night my father was murdered. Her description of losing a parent was so spot on and resounded loudly. I was hesitant to pick it back up after my dad passed, but I forced myself to and I believe that helped start my grieving process.


This is the first of two assessments for this course. This assessment is made up of two parts; a research-based case study analysis and a presentation. You are required to undertake research to analyse and discuss the function of financial management to achieve the strategic objectives of an organisation. Upon completion of the research, you are required to apply your findings to a given organisational case to resolve complex financial situations and challenges included in the case.
You are required to submit your assignment as a business report and an oral presentation suitable for the purpose of communicating key recommendations to the senior management of the company.
7. You are required to present your work in a word-processed format using headings and section numbering as appropriate. Where necessary, use indentations, figures and tables, appendices.
9. Please submit a soft copy to http://abacusconnect.co.nz/ by the due date. Alternative arrangements may be made for presenting and submitting your work with help of the Teacher - (Refer to QMS Policy 7.7 (Clause (l) for uploading of assessments to Turnitin).
10. All parts of your submitted assessment must be completely your own work and references must be cited and referenced appropriately using APA 6th Edition referencing. It is recommended that you use EBSCO and cite from peer reviewed journals and articles.
This assessment will need to be completed by: 01 February 2019.
Note: Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be assessed in Assessment 2.
This assessment requires you to demonstrate your ability to undertake research to analyse and discuss the function of financial management to achieve the strategic objectives of an organisation and to apply findings to a given organizational case to resolve complex financial situations and challenges included in the case.
1. Research and reflect on principles and practice of financial management for the strategic management of an organisation.
2. Read through the case study on Folkstone Limited and consider how your research on financial management could be applied to the main requirement of the assessment, i.e. to assess the feasibility of raising a bank loan or other source of finance. To do this you will need to research, interpret and analyse the performance of the Folkstone Limited its efficient and effective performance.
Your report must meet the standards of a business document suitable for presenting to senior management. i.e. use of appropriate formatting, has been spell checked, uses an appropriate standard of business English, inclusion of a table of contents and headers and footers (as appropriate) and suitable use of information which should be referenced using the current APA format.
As an accountant at Folkstone, you are required to present your financial analysis to the senior management of Folkstone to assess the feasibility of raising a bank loan or any other source of finance and make recommendations for improvements accordingly.
• It should communicate the major findings of the financial analysis briefly and present recommendations to senior management for the efficient and effective performance of the organisation in a given scenario.
• Be of a high standard in all ten assessment criteria (See Appendix 1), i.e.
• The presentation should be 10 - 15minutes in length.
• As the assessor is looking for presentations that meets the expectations of business professionals (i.e. senior management), you should dress smartly, use your words carefully, be punctual and use information in recommending and supporting a solution whether the business should source a bank loan or source or forms of finance.
• Your presentation will be video recorded for quality assurance purposes.
Write an executive summary (maximum 500 words) which clearly and accurately reflects the overall scope of the report together with the major findings as drawn from the analysis and the recommendations made.
You are required to include an accurate table of contents. It is recommended that you use the automatic table of contents function to complete this.
You are required to provide a financial analysis of the case study information which applies your research of the principles and practices of financial management for the strategic management of the organisation.
1. Discuss at least 3 principles and practices of financial analysis.
2. Discuss the importance of financial analysis for at least 3 users for the strategic management of the organisation.
Note: The table on the next page details some of the industry benchmarks for your comparison. However, you will need to research the latest available industry benchmarks from the IRD & Statistics New Zealand websites to complete the table and apply them to your financial analysis above.
Profitability Gross profit margin % ?
Net operating profit Margin % ?
Return on assets % ?
Return on Equity % ?
Short term Solvency Current ratio x:y ?
Long term Solvency Debt to Assets (%) ?
Efficiency Stock turnover (times) ?
4. Discuss the limitations (At least 2 for each) related to process (general) and results (specific) of financial analysis performed above in requirement 2.
You are required to reflect on your financial analysis and draw conclusions (minimum 300 words) from each ratio calculated.
In the light of your financial analysis and conclusions make recommendations for improvements for Folkstone Limited for 2017 & 2018. These must include but are not limited to the feasibility of raising a bank loan or other finance.
Folkestone Ltd. (henceforth Folkestone) is a New Zealand company which produces and sells a variety of products, including bikes. Their top product is the new Bison electricassist pedal bike, which they are very excited about. It is a fast-growing company in terms of sales and in assets and is looking to continue this growth.
Folkestone is going to be listed on the NXT (a division of the NZX) and must comply with all NZ IFRS and NZ tax regulations for reporting purposes. Financial statements and financial information are all presented on a GST exclusive basis.
As an accountant at Folkstone, you are required to prepare a formal business report which presents a detailed financial analysis to the senior management of Folkstone to assess the feasibility of raising the bank loan or any other source of finance and make recommendations for improvements accordingly. The report may also be used by other internal and external stakeholders of the company.
NB: Must Pass all competency components = Achieved grade.
captured audience with purpose and objectives and engaged the audience.
slides, Speaker used 5% of slides with graphics, diagrams, but mainly text Speaker used 50% of slides with graphics and 50% text Speaker used 70% of slides with graphics and 30% text.
Free of spelling, grammar errors Speaker used 90% of slides with graphics and 10% text. Free of grammar spell errors.
understanding Speaker clearly understood topic and explained concepts in own words Speaker clearly understood topic and explain concepts with good examples.
presentation Speaker gave a lot of time to the 'body' structure of the presentation.
Conclusion provided for each ratio.
Recommendations made for improvements for Folkstone Limited for 2017 & 2018.
Must include but are not limited to the feasibility of raising a bank loan or other finance.
Report meets the standards of a business document suitable for presenting to senior management. i.e. use of appropriate formatting, has been spell checked, uses an appropriate standard of business English, inclusion of a table of contents and headers and footers (as appropriate) and suitable use of information which should be referenced using the current APA format.


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To quote the article, "Nano-sized entities made of DNA that are able to perform the same kind of logic operations as a silicon-based computer have been introduced into a living animal" (the cockroach). This experiment is a type of "biological therapy" in which the robot-DNA can travel around the body and do productive things like release drugs. According to the research, this type of procedure has potential to create new treatment for cellular illnesses such as cancer. So they try it first on cockroaches, inserting fluorescently marked robotic DNA into their insect bodies to track the nanobots' progress.
This painting, the third in my Big Bugs series of four paintings, was inspired by the not-so-little roaches that, without contributing to rent, took residence in the nooks and crannies of the Highland Park, Los(t) Angeles apartment I lived in from 2011-2013. I have never been one to be particularly moved by bugs in a negative way; as one can immediately tell from my art, I have a soft spot for them. Or at least find them immensely fascinating. Still, when reaching to fix up a late-night bowl of Raisin Bran and finding a long, twittering antennae and stick legs peering around the inner lip of the cupboard, an instinctive chill shivered up my spine. Yet again when, coming home from a weekend away to find a baby one just sitting in the sink, unable to climb out. And before you can complain to the landlord, your craziest neighbor comes staggering to your back door rambling about the dozens of cockroaches that hunker behind the pictures on her walls, and to which no amount of self-administered pest control can seem to manage. Such are crazy neighbors, and such are cockroaches.
Though I never witnessed more than a few in my apartment, the few I did experience made a lasting impression on me. With their precise, intricate anatomy, their craftiness and cunning, and their unavoidable reputation within human history, I could not help but study them with fascination. They possessed the power to simultaneously intrigue and repel me; they were both controversial and a part of my local ecosystem. I could see the workings of a creature whose computational speed surpassed my own, in ways I cannot logically describe, only to be experienced one-on-one. In short, like all other living things, they have an intelligence of their own. Not only can we learn about other ways of being in the world from our uninvited guests, but we can use their intelligence to enhance our own. The fluorescent-Nano-DNA-infused cockroach being a case in point.
Big Bug III, (nicknamed "Bach", for irrational reasons) though earthly fluorescent, is infused with a commonplace, non-nano-bot drug: Coca Cola. The appearance of Coca Cola in this image is only partly a commentary on the beverage and the company, Coca Cola being a giant-among-giants of modern-day consumer culture, and a socially accepted, widely used liquid drug. Its abstracted but instantly recognizable logo dominated by the giant-among-giants paint-by-numbers cockroach eludes the reading of a singular meaning or message. Viewers are swayed by their subjective experiences of cockroaches and Coca Cola, their vision swimming with the unusual psychedelia of the image. Unanswerable questions such as "What does Coca Cola have to do with cockroaches?", and "Is the can half empty or half full?" float to the surface of thought. Being third in the Big Bugs series, it represents a scene in the progression of modern-day agriculture where the initial food substance (sugar, corn syrup etc.) has reached full aesthetic commodification. The edible has now been branded, no longer a trademark of nature but of humanity. This aesthetic commodification represents the process of making an organic substance into an inorganic, non-symbiotic commodity for consumption. It is an end with no return. It is self-fulfilling and self-satisfied with its reverse alchemical maneuver of converting living matter into sterile advertising. Only the cockroach it seems can benefit from what is left after the item has been consumed to its end. And it turns out our beloved cockroach, the universal poster-child of the unwanted pest, loves this drug as much as we do.
As a stand-alone image, this painting has many connotations, references, meanings and suggestions interwoven into its visual fabric. I do not want to go into everything this painting speaks of, for it is primarily the job of the viewer to gather from it what they will, and to complete the work within their experience of it. I am just the artist, I create the image. Still, it is of interest to me to share some of my thoughts on the paintings I create. As for Bach, I could write a book on him! Nine months after the physical manifestation of this painting began, it was finished. Over time, more thoughts and feelings about him will undoubtedly surface. I plan to expound more upon him and the other three Big Bugs in the future. For now, we can rest assured that cockroaches are an integral part of our evolution, both scientifically and artistically.
Big Bug III (was) on display through June at the Atrium Lobby Gallery, Ventura County Government Center, 800 Victoria Ave. Ventura, California.
Where Are the Tomato Hornworms When You Need 'em?


text:
Formula V mourns passing of Race Pilot John Inman
4.11.09..........With deepest regrets, Formula V Air Racing has just learned of the passing away of John Inman. John was an easy going guy, but a very competetive pilot in all of the racers he flew. He was, without a doubt the best pilot I ever raced against. Formula V Air Racing has been engaged in giving John credit where credit is due. John won the "Seymour Shootout" race in 1999. That Championship race was conducted according to all the F/V rules including FAA waiver, flagman, pylon judges, ballast weight for John etc. It is listed elsewhere as an official race. Another pilot was awarded the National Championship twice for only racing once in each of the years. John is going to get the credit he deserves, albeit posthumously.................Dave Patterson.....president; Formula V Air Racing
Go to Formula V Air Racing Home Page
Entire contents © copyright 1996-2009 Formula V Air Racing Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The SHN engineering firm in Chemnitz is your competent engineering partner for base estimates, initial planning, and design.
Our planning and design services include: site analysis, process engineering design, factory design and logistics planning, construction design, environmental engineering: comparison of options for air pollution control and waste gas cleaning, energy design concepts, risk assessment, estimate of costs in line with DIN 276.
In order to be able to make investment decisions, it is necessary to carry out a site analysis and possibly also a site comparison, including a corresponding assessment, at the time of the base estimate.
In the process, site criteria are aligned with various aspects. On one hand, economic aspects have to be considered, such as investment costs, proximity to the customer, and sales opportunities. On the other hand, aspects of environmental legislation and process engineering come into play. Primary importance is assigned to the location of the future installation from a construction perspective, the proximity to property requiring protection, nature conservation and immission control, or logistics. Issues having to do with the essential design of the factory should also be considered in this work step and contribute to the decision making process.
We determine the site and assessment criteria for the site analysis in consultation with you. We then independently source detailed information, assess the findings from an engineering perspective, and evaluate the results. At this point, a cost-utility analysis can also provide useful insights. Next, we compile the necessary data for you, produce drawings, and analyze exclusion criteria. Finally, we submit a recommendation for your decision.
To draft the process engineering design, we independently source detailed information, assess the findings from an engineering perspective, and evaluate the results. At this point, a cost-utility analysis can also provide useful insights. Next, we compile the necessary data for you, produce drawings, and analyze exclusion criteria. Finally, we submit a recommendation for your decision.
As part of our factory design and logistics planning service, we provide support in producing a design for your prospective plant that meets the criteria for approval and that is, above all, practical. It makes no difference whether the objective is a new building or the modification, redevelopment, or expansion of existing facilities.
We use a range of planning tools. Collaboration between our engineers and specialists ensures a holistic design concept by drawing together different fields of knowledge. Starting from your vision, and incorporating process engineering sequences and local and structural conditions, we create digital layouts, equipment and machinery layout plans, and process flow diagrams in accordance with DIN EN ISO 10628. These are used for further stages of design and implementation. The facility is then optimized by integrating additional criteria. In this phase, the primary concern is improving logistics (e.g. material flow). We are also happy to prepare and assess variants for you.
Construction design is a subprocess of construction planning whereby the client's vision is illustrated through the execution of the plans for the construction project. It is also often referred to as a planning phase known as "design documentation" in the German Fee Regulations for Architects and Engineers (HOAI). This is the phase in the planning process where the design is drawn up.
Construction design and design documentation are carried out by architects and engineers. The aim is to achieve a harmonious and realizable design concept that factors in all project-specific considerations. Responsible construction design must take into account current regulations as well as currently available technological developments. The construction design is also influenced by functional, constructive, and artistic planning decisions.
Air pollution control plays an important role in all industrial sectors – choosing an appropriate and efficient exhaust air or exhaust gas cleaning system is absolutely essential.
Based on information provided by you (description of the facility and processes, substances in the exhaust air, emissions) and the requirements of the TA Luft instructions on air quality control, we produce a design for a suitable exhaust air or exhaust gas cleaning system. When making our selection, we consider all the principal processes of physical, biological, and chemical cleaning and combinations thereof. The technical, economic, and ecological assessment of potential systems is at the heart of the design process, together with a consideration of advantages and disadvantages. We would also be more than happy to draw up tender specification documents for you as well as receive and evaluate bids.
We are in close contact with producers and suppliers of exhaust gas cleaning equipment and keep ourselves up to date on the latest developments. These innovations are, of course, included in our design concepts.
We determine the actual state of your company's power systems on site and assess these with respect to legal compliance and the latest technology. On the basis of this assessment, we submit recommendations for potentially improving your exploitation of energy sources. We also provide you with designs for the implementation of these proposed solutions, cost benefit analyses, and estimates.
The new Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC has been in place since 2010. The Directive further defines the requirements for a risk and/or hazard assessment and emphasizes the need to carry this out on the product during the planning phase. Accordingly, the manufacturer of a machine or plant has to identify which fundamental health and safety requirements are applicable and which measures are required right from the concept and design phase. There are a range of methods available for doing this, including FMEA, HAZOP and HACCP.
After completing or installing a plant or piece of machinery, we assess potential hazards on the basis of prescribed evaluation criteria, applicable legislation, provisions of the employer's liability insurance association or professional association, and DIN standards. We carry out a targeted inspection on site on the basis of DIN EN ISO 14121 and DIN EN ISO 12100, systematically identifying, describing, and recording hazards. We then assess these hazards, demonstrate the existing hazard potential, and establish the necessity of taking remedial action. As an output of the risk assessment, you will receive documentation including suggested improvements for eliminating machine- or plant-related hazards or reducing these to an acceptable level. With us, you'll be on the safe side from the moment you start up your new machinery or plant.
We carry out costing in line with DIN 276. This can provide the basis for financing, cost specifications, cost control, and cost management measures, or planning, tendering, and design decisions. As an alternative, an estimate of costs can also be used to substantiate accrued costs.
In construction, in line with DIN 276, costs are subdivided into the stages of budgeting, estimation of costs, calculation of costs, and establishment of total cost. These are specified according to their purpose, the necessary bases, and the degree of detail. The degree of detail increases from the budgeting stage through to the establishment of total cost.