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Route of the Warbonnets-Stout
Route of the Chiefs: Santa Fe in the Streamlined Era. By Greg Stout. White River Publications 2017
Route Of The Chiefs: Santa Fe In The Streamlined Era – A Second Look
By Greg Stout. White River Productions. 256 pages library bound. $79.95 2017. Reviewed by Michael W. Flick
This large and well-illustrated book on Santa Fe passenger trains and service was released in the second half of 2017. I had a chance to glance at the book quickly when first released, but did not purchase it, as I hinted strongly to my family that it would make a good Christmas gift. The Fourth Quarter 2017 issue of The Warbonnet had a review of the book which was mostly positive and did not raise any questions as to my wishing to have the book. I did receive the book for Christmas, and I know several other Society members did as well. In the weeks after receiving the book, I casually sat down and paged through the book a couple of times, not reading it, but going through page by page, occasionally stopping to look at a photo and read its caption.
Overall, the appearance of this book is very positive and appealing. Though it is not all-color, there are many high quality color photos, plus some black and white, as well as other illustrations such as Santa Fe passenger timetables and brochures. Many of the photos I had not seen before, or at least not in publication. The layout of the book is well done, and the photo reproduction, including photos filling a full page, is of high quality. There is coverage of Santa Fe passenger trains from the Super Chief and El Capitan, to the La Junta-Denver and Amarillo-Lubbock connecting trains, and many more in between. A casual look through of the book is very positive and entices one to want to read the book thoroughly.
So I did sit down to read the book. I try not to "speed read" through books, I simply begin from the title page and read, usually to a convenient stopping point, usually the end of a chapter; and continue throughout the book in that manner. But, from the early pages of this book, and continuing throughout the book, including its Appendix rosters, there are multiple problems or issues, which end up making the book very unenjoyable. Basically, the text of the book is full of factual errors. This is not a subjective view, and not a matter of differing opinions with conclusions the author may make; there are simply multiple errors of fact. I will offer a few, but certainly not all, of these errors to illustrate the depth of the problem.
Page 21 – "…following the introduction of the original streamlined Super Chief consist in 1938" The Super Chief began as a heavyweight train in 1936, and the original streamlined Budd consist debuted in 1937.
Page 25 – "…lounge Aglatha took the place of Acoma" Acoma was the mid-train lounge in the 1937 Super Chief consist, Agathla (not Aglatha) was the mid-train lounge in the 1938 consist, not a replacement.
Page 28 – regarding the Valley series smooth side 6-6-4 sleeping cars as delivered "… the cars were painted medium gray with white lettering and silver roofs" The paint scheme described is how most of these cars appeared in the 1960s, they were delivered in the Pullman pool scheme of two-tone gray with black roofs. Later on page 241, the author describes a different as delivered paint scheme and initial assignment for these same cars, that description of paint and assignment is also inaccurate.
Page 77 – regarding The Chief "…in 1954, the Vista-series observation lounges were withdrawn and rebuilt…" The Vista-series cars were never regularly assigned to The Chief; the observation lounges which were withdrawn and rebuilt in 1954 were the prewar Denehotso series cars. The Vista-series cars were assigned to the Super Chief, and not rebuilt until 1956.
Page 97 – "The RDCs were subsequently sold in 1970 to the Baltimore & Ohio…" Only RDC DC-191 was sold to the B&O.
Page 98 – regarding Alco PA diesels "…this is the trio that was re-powered with 2,000-hp EMD 567-series prime movers…" The EMD prime movers were rated at 1750-hp, not 2000.
Page 111 – regarding the Tulsan "…was a heavyweight café-observation…" No heavyweight café-observation cars were regularly assigned to the Tulsan, a heavyweight café-lounge did operate between 1949 and 1954. The author repeats this same error again on page 133.
Page 131 – "The Oil Flyer received an upgrade of sorts in the fall of 1946 as it was assigned a heavyweight café-lounge observation…" The Oil Flyer and other unnamed Tulsa-Kansas City heavyweight trains had operated with café-lounge observation cars continually since the 1920s until 1954.
Page 135 – regarding the Oil Flyer "…and the sleeper, along with the Chicago-Tulsa through coach, was removed for good in September 1967." The Oil Flyer never had a through Chicago-Tulsa coach assigned; the through coach which was discontinued in September 1967 had operated on the Tulsan.
Page 185 – "…the 24-roomette cars were being withdrawn from service for rebuilding into 12-double bedroom cars…" The Indian 24 roomette cars were rebuilt as 11 double bedroom sleepers.
Page 207 – regarding Santa Fe Baldwin diesel switcher 2291 "The 2291 is one of 41 2260-class S-12…" Santa Fe had no Baldwin S-12 diesels, the class in question were Baldwin DS-4-4-1000.
Page 215 – "…leaving the Texas Chief as the last Santa Fe train operating in the Lone Star State." The San Francisco Chief continued to operate in Texas for the Santa Fe until Amtrak in 1971. This error is also ironic, as it is contained within the chapter on the San Francisco Chief.
Page 218 – "…coach observation car, a 1947 Pullman-Standard product that had been built along with two sister cars for El Capitan and Texas Chief service." No observation cars were built for the Texas Chief, nor were any ever regularly assigned to the Texas Chief.
Page 226 – "Trains 25/26 – which carried the unofficial name of "The Cavern"" Trains 25 and 26 were officially named the Cavern between 1940 and 1954.
Page 238 – cars 1378, 1507, 3197, and 3482 are all listed in the Appendix roster as being built by Budd; they were all built by Pullman-Standard
Page 240 – Dormitory-lounge cars 1339-1344 are called Dormitory cars, and listed as being built for General Service. These dormitory-lounge cars were built specifically for the Super Chief, and that is the only train these cars were ever assigned to. The Appendix passenger car roster contains numerous instances of cars being listed incorrectly as being built for a specific train (usually listing the incorrect train as built for), or built for general service when many had a specific assignment when built.
The above specific errors are not a complete list; this is only about one third of the specific factual errors I found by simply reading the book, I was not intentionally looking for errors.
Of a more subjective nature, the author also sometimes makes odd usage of words or terms. Several times throughout the text, the author refers to original box cab road diesels 1A and 1B (which he erroneously indicates as 1 and 1A) by the nickname of "Mutt and Jeff." Most of the time, these two diesels have been nicknamed as "Amos & Andy" or the "One Spot Twins." I tried searching various sources, and could find exactly one other reference to these locos as Mutt and Jeff. On page 70 discussing the competing RI/SP Golden State, it is said that "…partner Southern Pacific crawfished at the last minute…" In reality, the SP never followed through on ordering new equipment; I find the usage of informal contemporary slang terms (crawfished) in what is supposed to be a history rather odd. On page 113 in a discussion of the Kansas City Chief heavyweight lounge Centennial Club cars, the author suggests their interior décor was reminiscent of "cat houses." Again, a rather subjective odd term! Then there is the Appendix locomotive fleet roster. The author indicates "…that this is a road number roster, not a locomotive roster." This means that the roster is numerical by loco number, even if a loco was renumbered, so that more than one loco may be listed with the same number, and one loco may be listed under more than one number. The author has also chosen to use the term F5 for any passenger F3 numbered 30 and above, even though he acknowledges that "…model "F5" was not officially listed in the EMD catalog." This entire loco listing is therefore confusing and difficult to use.
Finally, there is an assertion on page 36 that the Santa Fe considered a Hi-Level Super Chief, with full width sleeping rooms on the upper level. This is a claim that I have never seen before, and I will not state it to be false nor correct. For such a claim, I would have hoped that the author would have cited a source for this information; alas, there is no citation mentioned, and the book also lacks any bibliography; even the Acknowledgements page has virtually no reference to source material of any kind (the author does cite the many photographers for their photos). Thus, without any source mentioned, I find this claim to be rather dubious.
For individuals such as myself that already own this book, we can take solace in looking at its fine photography; for someone considering this book, especially at what is a rather high retail price even by today's standards, I cannot suggest using this book as any type of reliable source for information, it is much more of a very nice pretty picture book. The author states that the manuscript for this book was complete in 1999, and that 17 more years went into the book before publication; it is too bad that someone did not do even minimal fact-checking during that 17 year period of time.
Additional comments from Michael W. Flick
Route of The Chiefs Santa Fe In The Streamlined Era – A Second Look
Following the publication of this title's book review in the The Warbonnet, Second Quarter 2018, the reviewer received suggestions to provide a complete listing of errors found in this book which were not included in the book review. The following is the list of additional errors and issues found in this book by the reviewer from his reading; it is likely that there are additional errors not included in either the book review or this addendum.
Page 25 – "Apart from changes in schedule frequency and equipment, the Super Chief ran for the next two decades in more or less its original form." In fact the Super Chief went from weekly, to twice-weekly, to every other day, to daily operation, all within twelve years from inauguration. It went from heavyweight to lightweight equipment; from custom box cab diesels, to the first warbonnet paint scheme E1 locomotives, to newer E type locomotives, to F unit diesels in the same timeframe. Streamline passenger equipment was replaced and updated multiple times; the first dome cars on the Santa Fe appeared fifteen years after inaugural; coast to coast sleeping cars in conjunction with three other railroads appeared eighteen years after inaugural. The types of sleeping car accommodations were greatly changed and updated from open section style sleepers to an all private room train. The first private dining room on any passenger train also was placed into service fifteen years after the train's inaugural. Very little remained of its original form after two decades of operation!
Page 31 –"(10-2-3) cars in the Blue series." The Blue series sleeping cars were the only sleeping cars built for any railroad in the 10-3-2 configuration – 10 roomettes, three bedrooms, two compartments. This error of calling these cars 10-2-3 sleepers was repeated throughout the book.
Page 74 – regarding through transcontinental sleeping car service "The usual New York Central car was a 4-4-2 or a 10-5." When the service began in 1946, the NYC car was a 4-4-2 sleeper; in 1948 a second through NYC car was added, a 10-5; in 1950 the 10-5 sleeper was changed to a 10-6.
Page 74 – regarding through transcontinental sleeping car service "…a colorful assemblage of stainless steel, NYC two tone gray, B&O blue and gray…" No B&O sleeping cars were ever assigned to the through service with the Santa Fe. The ATSF provided all of the necessary cars, initially Valley series 6-6-4 cars, later Pine series 10-6 sleepers.
Page 77 – regarding The Chief "Also in 1954, the Vista-series observation lounges were withdrawn and rebuilt with squared-off ends" The Vista sleeper-lounge observation cars were not assigned to The Chief, its observation cars were from the pre-war Denehotso series. They were withdrawn in 1954 and rebuilt with squared off ends; the Vista cars, assigned to the Super Chief, were not rebuilt until 1956.
Page 91 – regarding the original consist of the San Diegan in 1938 "…chair cars from the 3072-3101 pool…were assigned." The original consist of the San Diegan included chair cars 3113 and 3114; cars from the 3072-3101 series were added as the service gained popularity resulting in enlarged consists and a second train set.
Page 112 – regarding the Chicagoan/Kansas Cityan, it is indicated that at the same time that the Big Dome lounge cars were added in mid-1954, "…parlor observation returned to its original Chicago-Tulsa routing." The parlor observation cars were actually returned to Tulsan service between Chicago and Tulsa in January 1953.
Page 113 – regarding the Chicagoan/Kansas Cityan trains "In 1960 the dome lounge cars were withdrawn" Three paragraphs later with no further comment the author lists the Big Dome lounge cars in the train consist. The Big Dome lounge cars were not withdrawn in 1960, and remained in assigned service on these trains from 1954 when the cars were built until 1968 when the trains were discontinued.
Page 115 –""class" (of two) engine E3 11…with mate 11A" E3 locos 11 and 11A were not the only locos in the 11 Class. The E6 locos numbered 12-15 and their B units (except no B unit for 14) were also included in the 11 Class.
Page 122 – "Equipment purchased for the new Golden Gate trains included…coaches 3090, 3091, 3093, and 3095" These four cars were all part of the 3072-3101 series of cars built for the Scout and general service in 1937. The Golden Gate trains did not debut until mid-1938; the assigned chair cars at that time were 3115, 3116, 3117, and 3118.
Page 122 and 236 – Author indicates cars 3117 and 3118 built for the Golden Gate trains were coach-lounges. These two cars were delivered as chair cars in the 3103-3118 series; very quickly 3117 and 3118 had their interiors modified to chair-lounges.
Page 127 – "Platform signs at Tulsa for trains 212 and 48." In reality there was one sign, with different train information on each side of the sign. The author also suggests that "the signs implied" that the trains operated to California. It is obvious that the signs show the primary routing of the trains as Chicago and Kansas City, with connections to the west.
Page 133 – regarding the Tulsan "parlor observation was withdrawn in favor of a heavyweight café-observation." No heavyweight café-observation car was ever assigned to the Tulsan. A heavyweight café-lounge (not an observation) was assigned for several years.
Page 133 – "In 1959, the Tulsan began handling through coaches from Chicago" The Tulsan had a through Chicago-Kansas City-Tulsa chair car assigned beginning June 2, 1946.
Page 146 – regarding Los Angeles Union Passenger Depot "Today, it is the only one of the four depots presented in this chapter…" The depots discussed in the chapter are Dearborn Station in Chicago, Kansas City Union Station, and LAUPT – which is a total of three depots, not four.
Pages 157 and 159 – photos of Texas Chief are Amtrak trains, not Santa Fe (contributed by Ralph Back)
Page 196 – "…on the same day the Texas Chief departed Chicago" The train being discussed is actually the San Francisco Chief, not the Texas Chief.
Page 197 – "That container "flat" directly behind the power set is one of several built at Barstow, California, in 1962 from the 200-225 series of surplus heavyweight dining cars." These mail container flats were rebuilt from heavyweight cars, but the rebuilt flat cars were the ones numbered 200-225, not the original heavyweight cars.
Page 204 – regarding the San Francisco Chief "only the 48 seat coaches and the Big Domes were new" The only cars built specifically new for the San Francisco Chief were Big Dome lounge-dormitory cars 550-555; the 2816-2860 series of 48 seat chair cars were delivered in 1953 and operated on The Chief and other trains prior to the June 1954 inaugural of the San Francisco Chief.
Page 204 – here and elsewhere throughout the book, the author describes various 48 seat or 44 seat or 60 seat lightweight 'coaches.' On the Santa Fe, there were no lightweight coaches ever built! The cars were referred to by the Santa Fe as 'chair cars' as they contained individually adjustable chair seats. On the Santa Fe (and several other railroads), a 'coach' seat was a common non-adjustable back for two passengers. Even when considering heavyweight cars, Santa Fe used the same nomenclature for chair cars and coach cars.
Pages 204-205 – regarding the San Francisco Chief "…and a 4 drawing room – 1 double bedroom lounge. The lounge was one of the old Vista-series observation cars…" The rebuilt observation cars added to the San Francisco Chief in 1955 were not the Vista series cars, rather they were the rebuilt pre-war Denehotso series cars. The Vista cars were not rebuilt until 1956. Beginning in 1958 these two series of rebuilt observation cars were assigned together on the San Francisco Chief in mid-train service.
Page 210 – "…we see five coaches ahead of the Great Dome Lounge." The term 'Great Dome Lounge' was a description used by the Great Northern for their full length dome lounge cars on the Empire Builder. The Santa Fe terminology was either Big Dome lounge or simply full length dome lounge. And again, there are no 'coaches' in the train, rather they are chair cars.
Page 232 – A number of cars are listed as being built for the 1938 Super Chief, but they were actually built in 1938 for The Chief. Cars incorrectly listed as being built for the Super Chief are: Chinle, Wupatki, Klethla, Polacca, Yampai, Chaistla. These cars substituted on the Super Chief, and some later did regularly operate on that train, but all were built for The Chief.
Page 235 – "baggage-dormitory-coach 3481 was built by the Budd Company in 1938 for El Capitan and Kansas Cityan/Chicagoan service." The 3481 was built by Budd in 1938, but it and 3480 were built for and assigned to the El Capitan.
Page 236 – dormitory lounge car 1371 Nambe mis-spelled as "Nambre"
Page 238 – Hi-Level chair cars 726-730 and 733 are listed in the roster as being 68 seat cars configured with step-down stairs. The series of Hi-Level chair cars 725-736 were built as convertible cars; as normally configured they seated 72 and operated with both end doors arranged for Hi-Level height; but they could be reconfigured with steps down at one end. Some of these cars were configured as such after 1968 when Hi-Level service was expanded to the Texas Chief as well as the El Capitan and San Francisco Chief.
Page 240 – 4-4-2 sleeping car Saydatoh mis-spelled as "Saydatch"
Page 241 – regarding the Valley series 6-6-4 sleeping cars "The 26 cars in this series were built for transcontinental service involving the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad." "After the transcontinental service ended, the cars were repainted solid gray." These sleeping cars were delivered in 1942. The inauguration of through transcontinental sleeping car service did not begin until 1946. These 6-6-4 sleepers were never assigned to the through service with the New York Central, and were only assigned in through service with the Pennsylvania for one month. The 6-6-4 sleepers were used in through service with the Baltimore & Ohio from 1946 until 1951; the end of transcontinental sleeping car service did not come until 1958. Initially the 6-6-4 cars were painted in the Pullman two tone gray scheme with black roofs and underbody; while in through service on the B&O most of these cars were repainted into the shadow line paint scheme, and then once again repainted into a Santa Fe version of two tone gray with silver or aluminum roofs and underbody. Though many of these cars ultimately did receive a solid gray paint scheme, others went to retirement or scrap still in two tone gray.
Page 254 – "Santa Fe's three H-12-44TS switchers were designed expressly for heavy-duty passenger switching at major terminals like Chicago and Los Angeles." These three Fairbanks-Morse switchers were assigned exclusively to Chicago, never in Los Angeles.
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There have been recurring themes about there internet this year, and one of them is growth. As previously predicted, it has indeed grown. The world average internet penetration stands at about 26% ( for 2009) and interestingly enough, Africa has surpassed the middle east in the number of internet users by Geographic region. it stands at about 86.2% while the middle east is at about 58.2%.
The State Of The Internet from R. Deniz ÖNER on Vimeo.


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New authoritarian tendencies – a legacy of the past?
August 13, 2015 New authoritarian tendencies, Virtual assembliesauthoritarianism, Bosnia, communism, danijela_majstorović, democratisation, Europe, gezim_krasniqi, Kosovo, neoliberalism, privatisation, socialism, tanja_petrović, vladimir_unkovski_korica, YugoslaviaAdmin
Political parties that serve as employment agencies and hence engender and perpetuate entrenched corruption and clientelism, weak state institutions, political control over the media, rampant inequality, dismantling of the welfare state. The 'authoritarian temptation' proved too big for most of the new post-Yugoslav elites to resist. While across the political spectrum, to varying degrees, there have been prominent tendencies of portraying the socialist past as a deviation and essentially criminalising it, neglecting it or purposefully erasing it from the public space and public history/memory, there has been an uncritical appropriation in intellectual and media discourse of a linear, simplistic narrative – common in the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe – ascribing all contemporary negative phenomena to the 'totalitarian' socialist past.
The Yugoslav successor states have not been immune to what can be termed nesting anti-communism. In Macedonia, all the while insisting on the undemocratic nature of the socialist 'regime', the ruling political elite engineered (through a highly controversial Lustration Law, the establishment of a Museum to the victims of communism and the deliberate destruction of the socialist/modernist architectural legacy in the capital) a hegemonic official memory regime which in many ways mirrors the worst practices of the system they seek to demonise. Nevertheless, the question of whether and to what extent the new authoritarian political culture in the region is a legacy of the one-party, socialist past is worth asking.
Generally, and in the Macedonian case more specifically, ascribing the blame for contemporary ills and for a 21st century authoritarianism to Tito, his comrades, or 'communism' is nothing but an easy way of self-vindication for the appallingly corrupt and irresponsibly elites. What is shocking is that in some crucial aspects, Macedonia in 2015 is doing far worse that it did 40 years ago. The income inequality (Gini) index rose from 28.1 in 1998 to 43.6; almost a third of the population lives below the poverty line; the country plummeted from 34th in 2009 to 117th place in 2015 in the World Press Freedom Index; around a quarter of the population emigrated abroad; and it has become impossible to find employment without connections and party membership (contrary to popular opinion that even in socialist Yugoslavia Party membership was crucial, as a matter of fact, the League of Communist of Yugoslavia for most of its existence had around 1 million members).
Pointing out some of the positive features of the socialist period does not imply an uncritical glorification or idealisation of that system; it is above all an attempt to emphasise the fact that what was positive in it (the emancipatory practices, workers' rights, social protection and solidarity, equality, social mobility, relative meritocracy, active foreign policy and highly competent diplomacy) has been severely diminished or completely destroyed, while that which was negative (political authoritarianism, personality cult, lack of freedom of speech) has been amplified and 'perfected'. Hence, Nancy Fraser's vision of 'another "postsocialism"' – 'one that incorporates, rather than repudiates, the best of socialism' – still seems pertinent.
This assembly brings four perspectives that zero in on the post-Yugoslav space:
Forwards to the legacies of 'post-communism' in the Balkans! – Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Longing for lost agency – Tanja Petrović
New authoritarianism and new struggles against 'old demons' – Gëzim Krasniqi
Authoritarian tendencies in the region between "then" and "now": the lacking visibility of materiality of regional authoritarianism – Danijela Majstorović
Assembly editor: Ljubica Spaskovska
Photo: Ljubica Spaskovska
Forwards to the legacies of 'post-communism' in the Balkans!
August 13, 2015 New authoritarian tendenciesauthoritarianism, communism, Europe, neoliberalism, vladimir_unkovski_korica, YugoslaviaAdmin
Part of the regular assembly "New authoritarian tendencies – a legacy of the past?". Author: Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
In the years following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Soviet bloc and Yugoslavia were subjected to a major experiment. Treated as a tabula rasa, these societies became a laboratory for neoliberalism. The recipe is now familiar to most of us: privatisation, liberal democracy, debt-driven export orientation, European integration… The question was not whether to apply these measures, but how much, at what pace, by which interest groups, using what kind of institutions. It soon became clear, however, that major divergences between countries were emerging, often unrelated to substantial policy differences. Thus, a new science began to emerge: how to explain these differences according to differing legacies, often legacies of Communism.
In the Balkans, and particularly Yugoslavia, the legacies of Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire came to the fore, but so too did the particular legacies of so-called 'communist ethno-federalism', 'workers' self-management', 'the withering away of the state', etc. What had been seen as sources of relative 'liberalism' in the 'Communist' world now turned to major disadvantages in terms of 'transition'. Thus weak states could not establish strong democratic governance, property rights and rule of law. Ethnic diversity initially slowed down the strengthening of democratic process or even derailed it as different groups tried to assert, often violently, national exclusivity to territorially granted rights. Welfarist instincts in the mass of the population prevented full economic liberalisation giving rise to populist and authoritarian leaders who craved power and disregarded due process.
Much of the wisdom therefore turns to the need for further external intervention to fix the problem. What is particularly necessary in the new orthodoxy is the need for the EU to use various sticks and carrots to lure elites and civil societies away from their recalcitrant ways, and often their flirtation with their age-old Great Power sponsors in Moscow or Istanbul, towards true democracy. If only the EU were tougher on bad leaders, more generous with good civil society initiatives, and more willing to expand quickly, then the sources of backwardness would be expunged, and the Balkans brought closer to Europe, as had occurred with East-Central Europe or the Baltic states. Perhaps this also explains why so many East-Central European and Baltic states ironically backed Germany in the recent struggle to make Greece accept the rules of the Eurozone or quit and become Balkan once more.
The trouble is precisely that, when we look up from the neoliberal textbook at the realities of Europe as a whole, what we see is that Europe itself is at odds with democracy and is ever more reminiscent of an undemocratic, post-modern Austria-Hungary, where the elites of the core countries and the bureaucracy they use to rule the empire, far from liberating peoples of national feelings, are in fact reinforcing old national divisions in new ways. Digging deeper, we even find that this European project has in fact been around for much longer than the last quarter of a century. Yugoslavia's trade links with Germany and Italy were dominant through the twentieth century, not excluding the so-called Communist period. Yugoslavia's dependency on American credits started as early as 1949, and its first of many IMF arrangements came in the mid-1960s. Several other bloc countries followed suit in the 1970s and 1980s as part of détente. European integration stretches back many decades.
Unsurprisingly, workers often rebelled against so-called workers' states, Poland being the most famous example, but Yugoslavia following close behind in the number of strikes in the 1980s. As modernisation resembled in many ways what had gone on in the West too, workers popularly joked that, in capitalism, man exploits man, but in communism, it is the other way around. Now another transition-era joke appears ever more pertinent: that what the communists had told us about communism had all turned out to be false, but what they had told us about capitalism is coming true. It should be unsurprising that many communist parties became proponents of neoliberal transformation, only to be electorally eclipsed since. This is again not unlike the parties of the centre-left in Western Europe, like Greece's PASOK. The authoritarianism that grew up with corportatist responses* to Europe's failures is therefore only tangentially a legacy of 'Communism' – or its failure, and the popular belief that there is no alternative. As new generations enter the political arena, they come to realise that an alternative is necessary, since capitalism works against democracy, not just in Greece or Spain, but also in Macedonia and Slovenia. They may even realise that Europe means austerity and nationalism, while the Balkans can mean solidarity and diversity. New generations do not need to go backwards to a past that is widely discredited, though for more complex reasons than mainstream commentators would have it. Instead, they can recover forgotten forms of resistance to previous authoritarian rounds of European integration before European integration. And they can move forward in confidence, towards the legacies of 'post-communism': the rebirth of an authentic left in opposition to capitalism and the overdue death of the myth of Europe.
* corportatism, rooted in the Latin word corpus, meaning body, refers to the sociopolitical organisation and control of a society by large interest groups.
New authoritarianism and new struggles against 'old demons'
August 13, 2015 New authoritarian tendenciesauthoritarianism, democratisation, gezim_krasniqi, Kosovo, YugoslaviaAdmin
Part of the regular assembly "New authoritarian tendencies – a legacy of the past?". Author: Gëzim Krasniqi
A quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, authoritarian and semi-authoritarian tendencies and practices remain very much present in the post-Yugoslav states and even wider. Scholars and local commentators attribute this either to the lack of a liberal democratic tradition, in particular when it comes to civil society, the long lasting legacy of communism or, worse, revert to the well-known self-orientalising tendency that sees the region incapable of modern state-building and democratisation. Although causes of the present phenomenon of limited democratisation are multiple and complex, this is often seen through the lens of historical determinism in general, and communist legacy in particular.
Irrespective of the fact that one cannot dismiss half of century of communist rule in the analysis of the current situation, it nevertheless does not suffice. Moreover, it represents an oversimplified view of the past and present situation and the determining socio-economic factors. The direct correlation that is often built between the pervious system and current (semi) authoritarian regimes is misleading for a number of reasons. Firstly, this view is mostly embraced by right wing, anti-communist and nationalist parties and their affiliates whose raison d'être has become opposition to ideological 'other', i.e. socialist Yugoslavia, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) and its respective successor parties. As such, their discourse implies that what we have today is only a different version of the old party system and its institutions. However, in practice, across the post-Yugoslav political space, anti-communist and right wing parties have particularly embodied authoritarian tendencies.
Secondly, and most importantly, today's political systems in the region often display worse tendencies of monopolisation and centralisation than in the socialist period. For the most part, post-Yugoslav countries have established a façade of institutional democracy. With the exception of Slovenia and to a certain extent Croatia, the other states are what Lucan Way and Steven Levitsky (2010) defined as 'competitive authoritarian regimes', i.e. civilian regimes in which formal democratic institutions exist and are widely viewed as the primary means of gaining power, but in which incumbents' abuse of the state places them at a significant advantage vis-à-vis their opponents. Mostly nationalist right wing parties and 'strongmen' have managed to create an illusion of multi-party democracy at the local and national levels while effectively stripping elections of efficacy. Due to state-capture, media control, vote buying, fragmentation of opposition they have violated one of the key principles of democracy – unpredictability of the electoral process and change of power. Moreover, monopolisation of power by the current tiny economic, political and often criminal elites in the region is far wider and deeper than in socialism. Clearly, in socialism there were no multi-party elections, but the social, political and economic institutional setting was in many respects far more inclusive, decentralised and fair.
Ultimately, this leads to a wider paradox related to post-communism. On the eve of major systemic changes in the late 1980s, anti-communist forces in Yugoslavia promised democratisation and freedom, to be installed through free multi-party elections, and economic prosperity to be realised through liberal economic reforms and privatization. 25 years down the road, none of these promises have been materialised. Open and democratic institutions exist only on paper; civil society is reduced to a handful of foreign-funded NGOs; the gap between a tiny minority of rich people and a struggling majority increases constantly. At the centre of all this is the new 'post-communist' type of party that has its members and voters in public institutions, media, economic enterprises, police, army, diplomatic service, schools and universities. In a word, the post-communist elites brought neither democratisation nor economic progress. The only real change is in the economic sphere with the introduction of economic policies of privatisation and deregulation, championed by the 'New Right' in the 1980s. But this is not something right-wing parties can be proud of. Ironically, China's and Vietnam's Communist Parties have proven even more capable of managing state capitalist economies than right-wing parties in post-Yugoslav multi-party systems.
This pattern of all-powerful and omnipresent parties than run competitive authoritarian regimes is present throughout the region, with different degrees and nuances. As regards Kosovo, the most complex and atypical post-Yugoslav state, both the post-1989 'Kosovar Alternative' led by LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) and Ibrahim Rugova and the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK) and its successor party PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo) had a clear anti-Yugoslav and anti-communist attitude. Due to Kosovo's unique history in Yugoslavia as well as developments in the late 1980s, socialist Yugoslavia, Serbia and communism came to be seen almost as synonymous. LDK emerged as a popular and national movement that opposed both a Yugoslav state that does not treat Kosovo equally and communism in the name of Democracy, Freedom and Independence. Yet, irrespective of its unmatched restraint and commitment to peaceful resistance, in practice it demonstrated a rather authoritarian tendency to control the whole Kosovo Albanian 'parallel system' in the 1990s. Although its power was very limited under the total Serbian police and military control, it was not very tolerant to dissenting voices from inside. Similarly, UÇK's and then later on PDK's leadership has shown increasing tendencies of controlling political, public and economic institutions.
Nonetheless, state-capture and authoritarianism in Kosovo is less consolidated than in countries like Macedonia, Serbia or Montenegro. However, this does not stem from the open-mindedness and commitment to democratic values of Kosovo's present politicians. Rather, it is a result of international supervision, a fragmented political scene and a proportional representation electoral system (with one constituency).
In sum, current authoritarian regimes do not stem directly from the communist past. Rather, they are a product of a failed democratisation process that brought national conflicts, economic and social stagnation and a new type of political parties that have managed to capture the state while projecting an illusion of a multi-party democracy.
Civil resistance: cohesion, growth, representation (part two)
July 23, 2015 Resistance, Virtual assembliesarianit_xhaferi, biljana_ginova, bojan_marichikj, democratisation, environment, jordan_šišovski, opposition, protests, resistanceAdmin
The second part of this ad-hoc assembly engages different experiences of political organising and civil resistance against the ruling regime in Republic of Macedonia.
The call for this assembly is inspired by the mass protests in Macedonia that kicked off May 5, 2015. That day people rallied for justice and against police brutality. Protests persisted on each consecutive day and grew with demands for resignation of the entire government and criminal charges, building on a years of public outcry over the unjust and discriminating policies and actions by the Macedonian government. Citizens-activists and different organisations had already opened fronts of struggle demanding greater control by the people over institutions that politicians use to make decisions on their behalf. For years now, protests had been held against police brutality, urbanisation, pollution, in defense of students rights and for access to quality public education, demanding equality before public institutions, in the name of social justice and workers' rights, against homophobia and heteronormative laws and for media freedom.
The goal of the second part of this assembly is to engage experiences that critically address questions about the growth of civil resistance, the cohesion and modes of representation (who speaks, on whose behalf and towards what were actions directed). In the first part we presented international experiences, while the second part zeroes in on civil resistance experiences in Macedonia. We ask, what has civil resistance been directed against and how has it build up, as it has been in the making?
The second part of this assembly presents four perspectives:
The urban protest: Waging an ecological war – Arianit Xhaferi
"From May 5, until the end" – Biljana Ginova
The citizens in the midst of politics – old struggle for new values – Bojan Marichikj
David versus Goliath – Jordan Šišovski
Assembly editors: Elena B. Stavrevska, Mila Shopova, and Anastas Vangeli
Photo: Nebojša Gelevski
The urban protest: Waging an ecological war
July 23, 2015 Resistancearianit_xhaferi, environment, pollution, protests, resistanceAdmin
Part of the ad-hoc assembly "Civil resistance: cohesion, growth, representation". Author: Arianit Xhaferi
The winter season is usually the time when people lock up in the comfort of their homes and 'hibernate' for some time, while foregoing many outdoor activities. It is also the time when the air is polluted the most due to many different factors and contributors. It was on December 2013 when a group of concerned citizens of different professional backgrounds (now known as Eco Guerilla) decided to do something about the polluted air while calling on a protest which was meant to wake up the 'hibernating' citizens of Tetovo and the Pollog region.
The local and national media were informing the viewers on the very high concentration of carcinogenic particles in the air of Skopje and Bitola, but nothing was being said about Tetovo, which indeed was even more polluted compared to the other cities of Macedonia, according to data publicly provided by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. Eco Guerilla (then called 'the Council') decided it was time to do something in this regard. We met and discussed the forms of pollution and the potential contributors to each form, identified the biggest regional polluters, checked the Constitution and the regulations, and realised that there was a major violation of the national Constitution and many other laws and international agreements our country had signed, and which were related to environmental protection. Once we had enough information, we created a list of demands directed to the responsible authorities (both central and local) where we asked them to do something about the problem. In order to raise people's awareness, we called a protest in December 2013. (For the exact dates and more details about all the protests, see www.ecoguerilla.mk). It was the very first time that some 200 people turned up at a protest which had nothing to do with national or political agenda. Although we considered this a fiasco, it helped get the attention of the local and at least one national media, thus more people got informed. As we also failed to bring more people to the second protest in a row (January 2014), we decided it was time that we built a new strategy which would raise awareness faster and wider, and which proved to be successful.
At first, it was difficult to get all the people to work together and voluntarily in this series of activities, but eventually we managed to 'recruit' many doctors, lawyers, journalists, and hundreds of field activists, to whom we were very honest as we spent lots of energy and time sharing all the information with each one of them. Journalists wrote about the problem as they were informed by doctors on all the health issues that air pollution brings, lawyers prepared different documents and acts as per our Constitution, activists made sure the information was disseminated as much as possible.
Neither ruling nor opposition political parties showed interest in our demands or activities, until we 'took the war' to their skin. It was only then that some opposition MPs spoke up and said a few words to the media. In general, Eco Guerilla has found more support and understanding with the opposition political parties that have no representatives in the National Assembly yet.
As mentioned above, Eco Guerilla's strategy was to align doctors, journalists, lawyers and activists all together, in order to have the word spread the most. People only react out of personal interest or fear. The air is a very abstract concept for many to understand or tell the pollution, thus we focused on telling the citizens what damage the pollution causes to their health. Of course, we used official data when informing them about the 80% jump of carcinogenic diseases in three years, the raise of asthmatic and other respiratory related illnesses, the increasing number of miscarriages and the infertility rate of our fellow citizens, and many other health issues. The reaction was immediate. The protests organised later in 2014 had a much bigger attendance then any protests before, and the numbers rose even more with every other event.
Eco Guerilla has yet to succeed in making the government force the polluters to apply ecological standards and stop contaminating our air, water and soil. Yet, we must be proud and happy to say that we have managed to create a critical mass. The citizens of Tetovo are now much aware of the quality of air they breathe, and they are not happy with it. However, the political turmoil and the security related issues that have recently occurred in our country have thrown the whole ecological war in a secondary position, and the government has totally lost track of environmental issues.
"From May 5, until the end"
July 23, 2015 Resistancebiljana_ginova, democratisation, protests, resistanceAdmin
Part of the ad-hoc assembly "Civil resistance: cohesion, growth, representation". Author: Biljana Ginova
On May 5th, the leader of the opposition publicly presented the 29th set of leaked materials, or the 29th 'bomb', in which we heard a confirmation of all that we suspected regarding the murder of Neshkoski and against which we protested for days in 2011. That was the trigger to get out on the streets, but the revolt of the citizens gathered there was much older than Zaev's 'bombs'. The anger that we swallowed for years, condensed like a big lump in the throat that will not let you utter a word without your whole body twitching in pain erupted in jumping the barricades and occupying the government yard.
Thousands of people, crossing the fence were crossing their own expected boundaries and by occupying the government yard they were taking the political responsibility back into their own hands. That day, every inch of anger amassed through the oppressive history of independent Macedonia was released: from the Bucharest disappointment and the pain from the blows on the architecture students, through the hunger strike of the workers laid off due to bankruptcy in front of the Parliament and the anger of the murder of Martin Neshkoski, to the oppression with one after another bad laws for protection against discrimination, for abortion, for honoraria, for higher education, for everything to culminate with the meaningless of the human life for the ruling elite.
The protests that started on May 5th united thousands of citizens in the movement which was both individual and universal at the same time – #Protestiram. The people in this movement, each with their own story, came to the fore as politically responsible subjects, dedicated to the changes we want to see in this country. As the movement came into being, the demands were defined at a street plenum and united all the personal struggles and aspirations in the given context. Even though the natural partner in the realisation of those demands was the party opposition, a big part of the citizens were skeptical of their methods and their dedication to a complete revision and democratisation of the society.
Just like for many others, May 5th was also a surprise for the opposition. It turned out that they wanted people on the streets, but people who would give them bargaining power and would follow their plan and pace, not self-organised citizens who will finally demand a substantial change. As a result, even though understandable, instead of joining the self-organised civi resistance, after May 17th the opposition attempted to place the revolt under one umbrella and to direct it towards the partisan resistance in the form of a camp in front of the government building. In addition to that came the ad hominem attacks and labelling by the activists gravitating towards this resistance in an attempt to delegitimise #Protestiram and the activists who criticised the (lack of) influence of the negotiations that started in the meantime.
The negotiations among the four leaders of the biggest political parties took place far from the public eye, without any civic participation and without guarantee that the citizens' demands will be represented in the talks. Having no insight into the negotiations, the only source of information were the leaders' statements following the meetings which were often different, and sometimes opposite to each other. The June 2 agreement, on the other hand, which was expected to provide the framework for further negotiations, left many questions unanswered. What was also noticeable in the agreement was the absence of the key citizens' demands. With the start of the negotiations, the sense of resistance on the streets was lost and the panic among the ruling elite that we witnesses with the very announcement of Zaev's 'bombs' was gone. The negotiations were concluded by all negotiating parties claiming victory. At the negotiations, however, at no moment in time, in no way was there an involvement of the citizens who were not represented by the political parties whose leaders negotiated until the very end.
Despite the challenges and the suffocation of the protest, I consider them successful. They made the street a place for political articulation of the citizens, but they also showed that in the current context of the country, the resistance should separate from the party opposition and should evolve in a different form of political participation. We will see in the coming days what form that will take, but I will certainly like to see a positioning of as many citizens in the country as possible as independent political subjects, offering a personal vision without or regardless of party affiliation.
The citizens in the midst of politics – old struggle for new values
July 23, 2015 Resistancebojan_marichikj, democratisation, opposition, protests, resistanceAdmin
Part of the ad-hoc assembly "Civil resistance: cohesion, growth, representation". Author: Bojan Marichikj
The few massive student demonstrations and the free student zones at universities across Macedonia towards the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 encouraged multiple disparate groups of citizens (journalists, workers without permanent contracts, etc.) to organise protests occupying the streets as spaces of political activism. In this article I elaborate on the most massive form of civil resistance against the government in Macedonia and Gruevism as a model of governance, which emerged from this wave of activism – the coalition "The citizens for Macedonia".
Why "The citizens for Macedonia"?
The publication of a series of so-called bombs by the opposition party SDSM confirmed the long-held fears and assumptions of the majority of civil activists and civil organisations. The recordings showed, namely, that the institutions have been hijacked by a small clique of power-holders, that the ruling parties control all branches of power (legislative, executive and judicial), that there is practically no single institution, independent body or a political process in which the citizens can place their trust or upon which they could have any influence.
The expected role of civil society in democratic societies is to be a corrective of government policies on behalf of the public, thereby not participating directly in political power struggles. This is the key distinction between the viewpoint of the civil society and that of the political parties, who realise the public, but also the particular interest of their ideological platform via the political and electoral process to ensure influence in the institutions of the representative democracy. However, in abnormal circumstances whereby civil organisations and activists are constant targets of demonisation, hate speech, institutional repression, and media lynching, it is impossible not to blur the delineation between political and party activism, at least temporarily.
The need for unification of the opposition front against Gruevski and his political clique arises from the impotence of any single political group (regardless of whether they fight for votes or influence on behalf of the public interest) to independently form a wide and successful front that would surpass the limits of their own activism hitherto, in conditions of total control over media, captured institutions, and orchestrated repression by the government. Since the Macedonian society is no longer a democratic one, and the government refuses to change its course, the last remaining option was to form a civil coalition of political parties in opposition led by SDSM and civil organisations and activist groups (as well as individual activists), which was launched in May 2015 under the name "The citizens for Macedonia" and issued a common declaration.
New values created by the struggle
The coalition "The citizens for Macedonia" enabled the unification of the most part of those smaller fronts against Gruevski and Gruevism as a concept into a large front that neither Gruevski nor the international community would be able to ignore anymore. Furthermore, the camp in front of the Government building became a symbol for endurance and resolution of the common struggle against the current regime. The presence of a significant number of citizens in this camp, that do not necessarily come only from the opposition parties, put pressure on Gruevski and his collaborators who now have to face the citizens' revolt every day. This is not the only pressure point of revolt, but it is the only one that lasts for 24 hours a day on a single visible space.
Furthermore, it is a symbolic space which was held shut for civil protests from May 6th to May 17th, the period during which citizens protested every day following the publication of the recordings in which the government tried to hide details about the tragic murder of Martin Neshkoski in June 2011. With the reclaiming of this space from May 17th onwards, the government was forced to accept that the people will not accept the existence of "forbidden zones" limiting their right to protest and that the citizens' revolt will be expressed every day just below the window of the man in power.
"The citizens for Macedonia" as a concept encouraged many who see themselves as "neutral", "apolitical", "undecided", and yet at the same time extremely unsatisfied by the current government. In this sense, the concept showed that the confrontation with the clique in power goes beyond an ordinary inter-party struggle for power between VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM. This platform has shown that a fundamental clash is actually taking place – between the majority of citizens demanding democracy, freedom, and social justice on one side and Gruevski and his party and ruling elite on the other, who use anti-democratic methods and abuse power in order to stay in power.
The coalition "The citizens for Macedonia" gave birth to a new civil spirit of community that overcomes the usual ethnic, religious, gender, moral, ideological differences, and goes even beyond special interests politics. The decision to not display party flags at the massive civil protest is more than purely symbolic. It also proves the readiness to sacrifice the domination of political parties within the opposition camp and to open a forum for unified activism without any conditions or blackmailing. The camp also provided space for different people with the same goal to be on the same spot to learn from one another; it enabled communication between citizens from Skopje and other cities, people from different ethnic affiliations, people ready for open discussion and action that would contribute to the democratic process.
"The citizens for Macedonia" is the largest and the most powerful front with over 15 political parties and over 80 civil organisations or activist groups. This front is not, nor does it pretend to be the only one in the fight against Gruevism as a method of governance. The side fronts outside "The citizens for Macedonia" can only help us comprehend the multiplicity of the fight against the ruling regime in Macedonia.
One of the messages of "The citizens for Macedonia" is that the power of any future government has to be decreased and that conditions, support and motivation must be created for active, vocal and critical citizens. This means that every future government must give up use of the available repressive instruments against political opponents as well as its methods for quenching any criticism and civil activism via media, institutional or non-institutional interventions.
Lastly, the duration of this coalition is limited by the fall of Gruevski. The harder part of exterminating Gruevism as a method of ruling remains to be a common goal of all subjects in "The citizens for Macedonia". However, that struggle will be led independently by each subject – we will act from our position of citizens that are self-organised to fight for the public interest at large without any aspirations to power, whereas the parties will fight in the political arena to realise their political platforms. This coalition will not be an obstacle for the civil organisations to criticise SDSM as a future ruling party, on the contrary. The civil society has an obligation to show that it does not give up on politics nor does it leave it only up to politicians to manage, and it will always be there to criticise and control those who hold power.
David versus Goliath
July 23, 2015 Resistancejordan_šišovski, opposition, protests, resistanceAdmin
Part of the ad-hoc assembly "Civil resistance: cohesion, growth, representation". Author: Jordan Šišovski
After May 17th, the resistance entered in a deep crisis. The protests deflated and the awaited turnaround did not happen. To be able to even consider the strategic course of action we first have to examine the identity of the resistance and the nature of its crisis.
The rally on May 17th only showed what has been evident for many for a long time: SDSM has neither strategy, nor vision, nor strength to cause a substantial change in the society. The long-awaited 'bombs' unfoundedly raised the expectations of a desired change, while at the same time the leadership of the party, of the coalition parties and of the coalition non-governmental organisations, united under the "Umbrella", completely failed in their assessment of: (1) the strength and the determination of the regime, (2) their own forces and capacity, (3) the interest of the 'international community' in the democracy in the country, and (4) the trust of the people. The last and most important assessment error indicated that the people are fully aware of the extent of corruption of the elites and that having been continuous faced with choosing between two evils, they no longer intend to choose evil, even if it was the lesser one! The people chose resignation. The rally was announced as a pompous event with the pathetic "We are coming!" There were many people on the streets on the day of the event, but their expectations of change were deceived. SDSM showed they did not know why they took so many people to the street. In the days that followed, the uninspired project managers of the 'Freedom camp' managed to transform the false hope into apathy.
It is in light of this that we ought to consider the nature of the crisis in the resistance that showed great energy on May 5th and soon took the form of the #Protestiram movement. Even in the first days after May 5th, the identity problems within this movement were apparent. It was an ideologically incoherent body. On the one hand there were activists who gravitate towards SDSM and on the other, there were activists who tried to suppress their distrust of SDSM in the name of the struggle against the greater evil – the authoritarian regime. The main disadvantage of the movement was in the fundamental unsustainability of the idea of burying all differences until the fall of the regime. It became evident that the differences were substantial and ideological. While some showed strong liberal and anti-authoritarian tendencies, the pro-SDSM group acted in quite an authoritarian fashion. The constant insistence on a complete and blind support of the SDSM leadership, the 'you are either with us or against us' logic, and the demonisation of everyone who did not give their wholehearted support to SDSM with the derogatory "neutrals" only went to show the authoritarian tendencies in the ranks of the pro-SDSM wing of the resistance.
With the pompous "We are coming!" on May 17th, the pro-SDSM wing was completely drawn into a false victorious euphoria resulting from the disastrous assessment of SDSM. The false sense of size and strength stemmed from wrong Hegelian assumption that the quantity by itself turns into quality. The impressive number of citizens on the streets was not a guarantee that they were also motivated for action. This was perfectly estimated by the security forces – while on May 5th, there were thousands of special forces, so called "turtles", on the streets of Skopje, on May 17th and the period after the government was 'kept safe' by a ridiculously small number of policemen. The 'coming' actually meant replacing the political with a politically impotent spectacle. The massive rally with its gravity completely pulled much of the (pro-SDSM) activist core into the orbit of SDSM/GM. It got a false aura of triumphalism and before the regime had even fallen, they started with a vulturous tearing apart of the 'pie' of the projected power and a calculation of the projected contenders to the 'throne'. This thwarted its last, desperate battle with the regime.
Moral. People have completely lost confidence in the political caste. They are not willing to invest themselves once again in replacing one evil with a lesser evil. 'The internationals' are not ready to risk a change of the status quo in Macedonia. The regime shows a high degree of rational self-interest, flexibility and power to remain in place at all costs, while completely lacking morality, responsibility, and interest in the future of the country. SDSM and the 'Citizens for Macedonia' coalition show a complete absence of strategy, vision, and power to change both themselves and the society. This is also evident in the Przino agreement of July 15th, which is a mere technical agreement on the division of power between the coalition partners. In it, there is not even a mention of the values such as freedom, democracy, justice! It follows that all progressive and liberal forces in the society should prepare for a long David-against-Goliath battle. SDSM is a futile political apolitical entity that is neither a useful ally, nor a worthy opponent. The struggle against the regime is not a struggle against a person or a group. It is a struggle agains two-decade long authoritarian and reactionary tendencies. This devaluation should be resisted by a force with clear liberal and progressive values. Only by practicing radical liberty, democracy, and transparency of the actions can the rigid authoritarian logic of the political caste be ruffled. It is necessary to open new venues of resistance, to politicise the quiet majority, and encourage grassroots and one's own resistance.
We will need mad hope and faith in the power of our weakness!
We shall overcome!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Discover the latest science and technology news from Sputnik including the inventions and scientific breakthroughs that are shaping the world.
https://sputniknews.com/20130215/Meteors-Injure-Over-150-in-Chelyabinsk-Region-179481989.html
Meteors Injure Over 150 in Chelyabinsk Region
More than 150 people have sought medical help in one of three Russian regions hit by a meteorite shower on Friday, the Interior Ministry reported. 15.02.2013, Sputnik International
https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/17948/19/179481952_0:0:0:0_1920x0_80_0_0_d9b851fda13f222081c73442a9955d72.jpg
kazakhstan, chelyabinsk, society, newsfeed
© Photo : Alexei BulaevMeteorite shower hit three regions of Russia, and Kazakhstan
© Photo : Alexei Bulaev
More than 150 people have sought medical help in one of three Russian regions hit by a meteorite shower on Friday, the Interior Ministry reported.
MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) – More than 150 people have sought medical help in one of three Russian regions hit by a meteorite shower on Friday, the Interior Ministry reported.
Dozens of people suffered cuts from broken glass as the meteorites smashed windows in numerous buildings across the Chelyabinsk Region, but "no-one suffered serious injuries," the Interior Ministry said.
The meteorite shower hit three regions of Russia, and Kazakhstan, Russian state officials confirmed on Friday,
The police are searching for the fallen meteorite pieces and protecting affected buildings from looting.
Reports are inconclusive about whether the storm was caused by was one large meteorite, or several smaller ones.
Residents of three villages in the Sverdlovsk region reported witnessing the shower, but no-one there was injured.
meteorite shower


text:
Q: Capistrano and EC2: sh: 1: kill FAILED I am trying to deploy new code to Amazon EC2 instance with using capistrano and suddenly, I got this error:
servers: ["IP"]
[IP] executing command
*** [err :: IP] cat:
*** [err :: IP] /home/deployer/fileto/current/tmp/pids/unicorn.pid
*** [err :: IP] : No such file or directory
*** [err :: IP]
*** [err :: IP] sh: 1: kill:
*** [err :: IP] Usage: kill [-s sigspec | -signum | -sigspec] [pid | job]... or
*** [err :: IP] kill -l [exitstatus]
*** [err :: IP]
    command finished in 371ms
failed: "sh -c 'kill -s USR2 `cat /home/deployer/project_name/current/tmp/pids/unicorn.pid`'" on IP

Two hours ago I deployed code successfully, but now I when I try it, I get this error message.
What happened with the instance and the whole deployment process if 2 hours ago was everything working well?
EDIT: When I run
kill -s USR2 cat /home/deployer/fileto/current/tmp/pids/unicorn.pid
I get
cat: /home/deployer/fileto/current/tmp/pids/unicorn.pid: No such file or directory
kill: usage: kill [-s sigspec | -n signum | -sigspec] pid | jobspec ... or kill -l [sigspec]

A: Is this an error condition that needs to stop deployment? You can add || true to the end of the kill command, add :on_error => continue to the task, or prefix with [ -d /home/deployer/fileto/current/tmp/pids/unicorn.pid ] before the kill command.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Find Out How You Can Own A Game Of Thrones Castle
August 20, 2018 Editor Architecture
Find Out How You Can Own A Game Of Thrones Castle ⇒ If you're reading this, you're probably a fan – or at least you've heard – of the cult HBO series, Game of Thrones, and you're suffering with the extensive wait for the 8th and final season. To help you cope with the pain, Interior Design Blogs brings you wonderful news! One of the castles used as a set for the series is now for sale, with offers starting at £500,000.
Gosford Castle is one of the many castles that was used as a set for the Emmy-award winning show, and it has just hit the market for offers of £500,000. Located on Mullaghbrack Road in Markethill, Northern Ireland, the 15-plus bedroom, 10 bathroom estate was previously used as a hotel and movie set for Game of Thrones. Its exterior, which you might recognise, was used as Riverrun in Season 3 of the series.
Known in the show as the home of House Tully and, therefore, the ancestral home of Catelyn Stark and the birthplace of Robb Stark, in real life, Gosford Castle was built in the mid-1800s by Archibald Acheson, the 2nd Earl of Gosford.
According to the listing, the exquisite castle was designed by London architect Thomas Hopper and occupied by successive Earls of Gosford up until 1921.
During World War II, the castle was used to accommodate troops and keep prisoners of war. It was then sold to the Ministry of Agriculture and turned into a park, then used again as a military camp, before being transformed into a rustic hotel in 1983.
The castle has been in a process of restoration and development since 2006, with a view to transforming it into 23 luxury residences. While only a portion of the castle is for sale, it is expected buyers could transform the section available into a set of luxury apartments or even a hotel.
Even though the possibilities for this property are vast, we can't imagine any buyer would want to be moving in straight away. Looking at the photos of the interior, you can see it has a rustic appeal, although there's one major drawback. According to the listing, there's no heating – but it's the perfect opportunity to joke that "winter is coming". You can check out the space at maisonni.com.
BRHANDS FOUNDATION OPENS ITS DOORS TO ARTISANS AND DESIGNERS
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MIAMI'S VERSACE MANSION
This post was originally from Best Interior Designers.
exquisite castle game of thrones Gosford Castle HBO series House Tully luxury apartments luxury residences rustic appeal Thomas Hopper World War II
Discover The Indoor/Outdoor Living Design of The Keeshen Residence
Take A Look At Yves Saint Laurent's Iconic Marrakech Home


Residents can easily settle at Mandaluyong City with Tivoli Garden Residences' semi furnished two bedroom unit. It is installed with basic appliances such as a refrigerator, a television set, and an air conditioning unit, making the stay more comfortable. It has a high standard kitchen, a warm living and dining area, and a modern bathroom. Upon choice, residents can also have a balcony, where they can appreciate the view of the city.


In June 2008 the Friends of Yeoman Hill Park (FOYHP) was formed with the sole aim "to enhance Yeoman Hill Park for the benefit of local people and wildlife".
The Friends of Yeoman Hill Park were chosen as Volunteer Group of the Year at the Mansfield Volunteer Awards ceremony in June this year.
Yeoman Hill Park was awarded the Green Flag in August 2013.
If you are interested in being a Friend of Yeoman Hill Park, please contact us. Everyone is welcome to join!


"Charlie was amazing and very professional. Great guy"
You chose Doves Vauxhall Southampton.
Great features to make your drive easier and safer and comes with low mileage.
An astonishing number of Honda Jazz owners buy another and the third generation version we're looking at here in its original form aimed to keep them loyal. Plus, with smarter looks, a better driving experience and unrivalled practicality, it aimed to widen this model's circle of buyers. For very good reasons, this is the supermini that industry insiders most commonly recommend.
The Honda Jazz has always offered something rather different to supermini buyers. You don't get a vast choice of engines or sporty handling but what is provided is arguably more useful. The biggest and cleverest cabin in the class and a thoroughly engaging ownership experience. This third generation version continued to offer just that. From launch in 2015, this MK3 model was available with just a single 1.3-litre i-VTEC petrol powerplant option. Still, there are plenty of positives to set against the lack of engine choice. The brilliant 'Magic Seat' system that made the cabin of earlier versions so superbly versatile was retained with this design and for this third generation car is now even more impressive as part of a significantly larger bodyshell that offers a longer wheelbase, so extra interior space. As a result, the Japanese brand claimed at launch that this Jazz 're-defines' what a supermini can be. Honda tried to improve the driving experience too, with the Global Compact Platform that enables this MK3 model to offer all that space also stiffer than the previous model's platform and linked to a revised front suspension system that's supposed to enhance both ride and refinement. Sharper steering and an 'Agile Handling Assist' torque vectoring system help this car feel a little more nimble through the corners too. This third generation design was lightly facelifted in 2018 but here, we focus on the pre-facelifted MK3 model as a potential used buy.
This MK3 model Jazz focuses on sense and sensibility - no futuristic Civic-style flourishes here. If you happened to be familiar with previous generation versions of this car, then first impressions will be that this supermini is slightly larger this time round and, perhaps, just that little bit more. grown-up. That'll suit the target market. Across the grille and headlamps at the front, Honda's stylists have pursued the 'solid wing' theme that sees strong lines emerge from the bold 'X-shape' of the bumper and grille to then rise around the lower edge of the headlamps and over the bonnet, creating what the brand hopes is 'a secure, planted look'. And inside? Well, we've always thought that Honda is very good at front-of-cabin design. Other manufacturers might deliver classier ambiences and higher-quality materials but in terms of driving comfort and ease of use, this Japanese brand seems to be more precisely tuned-in than most when it comes to creating an at-the-wheel experience that feels just right from the moment you set off. Through the three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, you're presented with a prominent speedometer deeply recessed into a silver-bezelled binnacle and flanked by two smaller circular gauges, the left hand one showing revs and that on the right being a TFT screen that shows key driving data. Anything this display can't tell you will be covered by a glance at the centre panel, angled towards the driver and incorporating the key addition to the interior of the third generation Jazz model - a 7-inch 'Honda CONNECT' colour infotainment touchscreen. And in the rear? Well, the Jazz has always been the most spacious car in its class and, thanks to the 30mm wheelbase increase made to this third generation version, it still is. What really marks this Jazz apart from its contemporaries though, is the packaging brilliance that allows it to stand out, made possible by the way that the fuel tank has been positioned under the front seats to liberate the floor of the cabin and allow the seats to be folded into all sorts of permutations. Let's take just one of them, the so-called 'Refresh mode'. People in the back exhausted on a longer trip would use this when there's no one in the front passenger seat, this setting allowing that front seatback to be reclined into a flat position meeting the rear seat base. Perhaps though, you're in need of greater practicality, specifically for the carriage of the kind of tall items you normally wouldn't expect to be able to accommodate in a car like this. Maybe a small potted tree you've bought from the garden centre; or perhaps a bulky item of electrical equipment. That's when you'd use the 'Magic Seat' 'Tall mode' where the front of the rear seat base rises up and can be locked in a vertical position to leave a cargo height of 1,280mm from floor to ceiling, allowing the object in question to be placed behind the front seats. The other two 'Magic Seat' settings relate to more conventional cargo configurations. Raise the rear hatch and you'll note the wide cargo opening and low loading lip that pave the way towards a class leadingly-large 354-litre boot that's 17-litres bigger than that of the previous generation model. But let's say you need more room and want to push forward the 60:40 split-folding rear seats to, for example, store something like a bicycle. That's when you move into the 'Magic Seat' system's 'Utility Mode' and the first thing you notice with that is the ease of the folding process. Here, you've only to release a simple lever mechanism, push forward from the rear and watch as backrest and seat base retract together into the rear footwell in one quick, fluid motion. If you're not using the front passenger seat, there's the option to recline it as part of the final 'Magic Seat' 'Long mode'. With that done, items as long as 2,480mm can be accommodated.
Not a lot goes wrong with any third generation Jazz. Buyers are, on the whole, a contented lot if customer satisfaction surveys are anything to go by. However, we did come across a few issues. One owner complained of problems with intermittent front headlight electrics. Another said his car got through front brake pads excessively quickly. Otherwise, just check the interior for signs of damage from unruly kids. And inspect the alloy wheels for kerbing damage. Otherwise, it's only a case of insisting on a fully stamped-up service book.
(based on a 2016 Jazz - ex VAT): A front brake pad set is about £33. A front brake disc is about £27. An air filter is around £15. A wiper blade set is around £18-£23, while an oil filter is about £8.
Jazz buyers get a single engine option, a 1.3-litre i-VTEC petrol unit offering 102PS and mated to a sweet-shifting six-speed gearbox. The engine has to be worked quite hard to give of its best, but if you push along, 62mph from rest can be covered in 11.2s en route to 18mph. Optional is a CVT automatic gearbox, which enables the Jazz to return very reasonable efficiency figures - 61.4mpg on the combined cycle and 106g/km of CO2. We'd suggest this variant to be appropriate for urban-based buyers only though. Around the corners, this third generation model feels a little sharper then before thanks to more feelsome steering and an 'AHA' 'Active Handling Assist' system that helps get traction down through the bends. Over longer distances, you'll notice the improved refinement too. There's some clever technology too, like the 'Intelligent Speed Limier'. Working in conjunction with a 'Traffic Sign Recognition' system, this set-up knows what the prevailing speed limit is and limits your pace accordingly, so here's no chance of absent mindedly creeping past 30mph and getting zapped by a roadside camera.
Ask almost any motoring expert to recommend the supermini they'd buy with their own money and a large number will plump for this one. It isn't the feistiest car of its kind on a twisty road, but we'd trade that for this model's superb gearbox and long journeying refinement. At the end of the day though, that isn't really why we'd suggest that so many supermini buyers might really like this Honda. No, for us, it's still the cleverness of this car's packaging that impresses most, with its neat 'Magic Seat' flexibility and tardis-like cabin. It's also a pleasant surprise to find this Jazz to be so relatively affordable, this despite the fact that it's one of the best-equipped models in its segment. It's also one of the safest too. Add all of this together and you begin to appreciate just why this car has such a dedicated following. Try one and you'll understand.
I switched to the new Jazz Sport as I wanted more power in the car. I am not disappointed in its performance. To achieve this I had to sacrifice the extras that the Ex Jazz offers e.g. no reversing camera, climate control, keyless entry etc., which I miss. Hopefully Honda will one day see fit to fit the 1.5 engine to the executive model that I would purchase without any doubt.
I love my 2017 reg Honda Jazz, although there are a few irritations. I do quite a bit of motorway driving, and would have preferred a slightly larger engine. Less tiring. Absolutely fine for town driving though. I have only used the satnav once, but was not impressed. It appears that sometimes 'keep right' means 'turn right'. It also took me up a no through road on one occasion, and on another occasion when I reached crossroads it said nothing, so I went straight on. Apparently I should have turned left! All those on an hour long journey. The next time I needed a satnav to get me somewhere on time, I plugged in my portable tomtom and did not have to turn back at all! Hope the in-built satnav is updated on its service? Other than that, the car is a dream.
Decided to downsize from my Honda Civic to Jazz. So Impressed by the service of my old Honda car, I was determined to stay with Honda for my new replacement. So far, very impressed with the performance and handling. Very satisfied.
I am gradually getting used to my new Honda Jazz but it still seems to me to be taller and larger than my previous Jazz. Also, the front headrests are too tall and obscure the driver's view when looking left. I would feel happier if they were half the size but I know that this is not so. It is good that the lights automatically come on and off but sometimes this is not necessary when it is still daylight! I found out that the headlights turn themselves on and off which saves me thinking about this. The car runs very smoothly, picks up speed quickly and is very economical to run. It also gives me the speed of the area I am entering. I am sure the sound given to me when I am slightly over the middle of the road is for my safety but sometimes it can be a little irritating when I can't help to overtake parked cars to my left. My views are not meant to be negative but I am still slightly reluctant when driving it in case I have an accident!! With use, this will pass.
It meets our requirements for an easy to use car.
Wonderful little car. Very roomy indside, especially with the magic seats. Smooth and easy gearbox. All gadgets close to hand for the driver. Very nippy considering the size of the engine. Extremely economical petrolwise.
Very pleased with the car - comfort and petrol consumption very good.
It is not as powerful as our last Jazz and has taken me time to adjust the acceleration because of that. Also to learn how to use the automatic features! Otherwise it's alright. We haven't done many miles as yet as we've been away throughout most of January!
Very pleased, still finding my way round. Comfortable car to drive and sit in.
My new Jazz has been a joy to drive. It is smooth, comfortable and has the power to make driving fun. The many extras were easy to understand, helpful and add to the feeling of safety.


Constantijn Huygens, Jr., an active participant in the literary, artistic, and scientific endeavors of his day, kept a secret diary during most of his life, from his youthful Grand Tour to France and Italy through his service as secretary to William of Orange. Until recently, historians have shied away from making use of this diary, because of its detailed discussion of the sexual mores of the Dutch and English elites. In fact, his diary offers a wealth of information about society and culture in the late Dutch Golden Age and the early Enlightenment, including family life, the Dutch and English royal courts, art and book collecting, warfare, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which brought William and Mary to the English throne. Even more importantly, the diary offers insight into the emergence of a modern conception of time, the development of diary writing, and the birth of a sociological view of society.
Rudolf Dekker taught history at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (1981-2010) and now directs a research group on autobiographical writing and history at the Huizinga Institute - Research School for Cultural History at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of Family, Culture and Society in the Diary of Constantijn Huygens, Jr. (2013); Child of the Enlightenment, Revolutionary Europe Reflected in a Boyhood Diary (2009), with Arianne Baggerman; Humour in Dutch Culture of the Golden Age (2001); and The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe (1989), with Lotte van de Pol.


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

<title>Admin Page</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" th:href="@{/css/home.css}" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css">

			<form th:action="@{/logout}" method="get">
				<button class="btn btn-md btn-danger btn-block" name="registration"
					type="Submit">Logout</button>
			</form>

			            Sign up

				</d	iv>

this is result

		                <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-hidden="true">×</button>

Signup

Add new Seed Starter

			       	  <form action="#" th:action="@{/seedstartermng}" th:object="${newCategory}" method="post">
			        	<fieldset>

				              Category Name

				            <input type="text" th:field="*{name}" th:errorclass="fieldError" />

					  	</fieldset>

            				<button type="submit" name="save" th:text="#{seedstarter.create}">Add Seed Starter</button>

					  </form>

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

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Get serial number of all hard disks and partitions in it I want to get all physical hard disk serial number(not volume serial number of drives) and partitions present in them.
Actually I used implementation from DISKID32 to get all hard disks serial number , but this will not give partitions in the hard disk.So I planned to use some other method.
Below code gives get serial number of physical hard disk and also find partitions in the each harddisks.
ComputerName = "."
Set wmiServices  = GetObject ( _
    "winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=Impersonate}!//" _
    & ComputerName)
' Get physical disk drive
Set wmiDiskDrives =  wmiServices.ExecQuery ( _
    "SELECT * FROM Win32_DiskDrive")

For Each wmiDiskDrive In wmiDiskDrives
    MsgBox "Disk drive Caption: " _
        & wmiDiskDrive.Caption _
        & VbNewLine & "DeviceID: " _
        & " (" & wmiDiskDrive.DeviceID & ")"
    MsgBox  "Serial number" _
                & wmiDiskDrive.SerialNumber
    'Use the disk drive device id to
    ' find associated partition
    query = "ASSOCIATORS OF {Win32_DiskDrive.DeviceID='" _
        & wmiDiskDrive.DeviceID & "'} WHERE AssocClass = Win32_DiskDriveToDiskPartition"
    Set wmiDiskPartitions = wmiServices.ExecQuery(query)

    For Each wmiDiskPartition In wmiDiskPartitions
        'Use partition device id to find logical disk
        Set wmiLogicalDisks = wmiServices.ExecQuery _
            ("ASSOCIATORS OF {Win32_DiskPartition.DeviceID='" _
             & wmiDiskPartition.DeviceID & "'} WHERE AssocClass = Win32_LogicalDiskToPartition")

        For Each wmiLogicalDisk In wmiLogicalDisks
            MsgBox  "Drive letter associated" _
                & " with disk drive = " _
                & wmiDiskDrive.Caption _
                & wmiDiskDrive.DeviceID _
                & VbNewLine & " Partition = " _
                & wmiDiskPartition.DeviceID _
                & VbNewLine & " is " _
                & wmiLogicalDisk.DeviceID

        Next
    Next
Next

It works perfectly in windows 8. But when I test in windows XP pc I got error while getting serial number i.e wmiDiskDrive.SerialNumber . All other objects are properly working.
Then I found that this property is not available in windows XP,windows server 2003 etc.
Now from above code I can get harddisk model number and the partitions in it,but I want serial number.
So how I can get hard disk serial number and their partitions( should work in all windows OS)? Any idea?

A: This should solve your problem..
Public Function GetDriveSerialNumber(DrvL As String) As Long

         Dim fso As Object, Drv As Object
        Dim driveletter As String
        Dim DriveSerial As String
         Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
        driveletter = DrvL

             Set Drv = fso.GetDrive(driveletter)

         With Drv
             If .IsReady Then
                 DriveSerial = Abs(.SerialNumber)
             Else
                 DriveSerial = -1
             End If
         End With

         Set Drv = Nothing
         Set fso = Nothing

         GetDriveSerialNumber = DriveSerial

     End Function