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Tinkoff (UCI Team Code: TNK) er et tidligere professionelt russisk cykelhold ejet af Tinkoff Sport. Idéen til holdet fremkom i 1996, og dets første sæson var 1998. Holdet blev finansieret af sponsorindtægter, og dets resultater fik på få år placeret det blandt verdens elitehold i cykling. Det kvalificerede sig allerede til deltagelse i Tour de France 2000.
Holdets ryttere opnåede gode placeringer, både i endagsløbene tidligt i sæsonen og i de store etapeløb, hvor det blandt andet er blevet til samlet sejr i Tour de France 2008 ved Carlos Sastre og Italien rundt (2006) ved Ivan Basso.

Blandt toprytterne på Team Saxo Bank gennem tiden er bl.a. Laurent Jalabert, Tyler Hamilton, Carlos Sastre, Ivan Basso, Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck, Peter Sagan og Alberto Contador, men et element i holdets filosofi er, at selv kaptajnerne kan være hjælperyttere, hvilket måske forklarer, at holdet også klarer sig godt i holdkonkurrencer. Holdet har således domineret UCI's ProTour-holdkonkurrence siden dennes oprettelse i 2005.

Historie

Grundlæggelsen
Ideen til holdet opstod tilfældigt ved en sammenkomst i efteråret 1996 på Hotel Eyde i Herning, arrangeret af Herning Cykle Klub (HCK) i anledning af Bjarne Riis' triumf i sommerens Tour de France. Blandt deltagerne i sammenkomsten var foruden HCK's formand Torben Kølbæk og Bjarne Riis bl.a. den tidligere verdensmester Alex Pedersen og Brian Holm, der kørte hos Telekom, samt direktør Finn Poulsen fra Bestseller A/S.

I løftet stemning diskuteredes helt uformelt muligheden for et dansk, professionelt cykelhold, og inden sammenkomsten var slut, var der udformet en "kontrakt" på en serviet med ordlyden: "Jeg kører for HCK, inden jeg forpligter mig til andre ting, og som honorar skal jeg have en Jack & Jones-skindjakke". "Kontrakten" blev underskrevet af Torben Kølbæk, der skulle fungere som direktør, Alex Pedersen, der skulle fungere som sportsdirektør, Finn Poulsen, der skulle levere sponsoratet fra Jack & Jones, og Brian Holm, der skulle fungere som holdkaptajn.

På grundlag af denne løse skitse arbejdedes der videre med ideen, og den 24. april 1997 skrev Jyllands-Posten om stiftelsen af selskabet Professional Cycling Denmark A/S, der skulle drive cykelholdet. Efter offentliggørelsen blev det nødvendige økonomiske fundament lagt, blandt andet med sponsorater fra Post Danmark og ejendomsmæglerkæden Home. Undervejs var holdets budget steget fra 1-2 mio. kr. til omkring 8 mio. kr.

Den 16. januar 1998 fejredes den officielle oprettelse af cykelholdet, der fik navnet Team Home Jack & Jones, ved en festmiddag for 700 gæster. Foruden Brian Holm bestod holdet af bl.a. Jesper Skibby, der skiftede fra TVM, og Christian Andersen.

Holdets gode økonomi betød, at det blev placeret direkte i 2. division, hvorfra det ved hjælp af gode forbindelser allerede i første sæson fik adgang til en del større løb.

De første op- og nedture

Sæsonen 1998 – Team Home Jack & Jones

Team Home Jack & Jones havde haft megen fremgang i medierne efter starten som professionelt dansk cykelhold, men allerede i april opstod der uoverensstemmelser mellem holdets ledelse og kaptajnen Brian Holm, der som følge heraf blev sendt hjem fra Amstel Gold Race. Kort efter afbrød Brian Holm samarbejdet med Team Home Jack & Jones under stor opmærksomhed fra pressen.

Sæsonen bød dog også på den første sejr, idet Christian Andersen vandt anden etape af forårsløbet Étoile de Bessèges. Det er ikke et stort og traditionsrigt løb, men alle sejre var et skridt fremad for det lille, nystartede hold. Sejren betød omtale på DR og TV 2, og de mindre betydningsfulde ryttere på holdet fik vist, at andre end Jesper Skibby og Brian Holm kunne levere resultater.

Jesper Skibby skulle overtage rollen som kaptajn, men under årets cykelløb Danmark Rundt nægtede han, syg og svækket, at gå op på podiet og modtage løbets bjergtrøje, og han forlod senere løbet. Han vendte dog tilbage til holdet i september. Ledelsen forsøgte på dette tidspunkt at få Bjarne Riis på kontrakt som rytter.
Mediemæssigt blev Team Home Jack & Jones ramt af dopingafsløringerne under Tour de France 1998, hvor først Festina-holdet og senere TVM-holdet, hvorfra Jesper Skibby var kommet, måtte erkende systematisk misbrug af EPO. Torben Kølbæk og Alex Petersen havde desuden et tæt forhold til TVM's hollandske sportsdirektør Cees Priem, der viste sig, at være delagtig i doping-misbruget.

Trods de interne problemer opnåede holdet ni sejre i sæsonen 1998, og sponsorerne gik med til, at holdet kunne udvides til 14 ryttere.

Sæsonen 1999 – Team Home Jack & Jones

Ved sæsonens start præsenterede holdet nye ryttere: belgieren Marc Streel, der havde vundet Danmark Rundt 1998, og tempospecialisten Nicolaj Bo Larsen. Holdet havde taget et stort skridt fremad i ambitionerne om at kunne deltage i Tour de France året efter, og flotte resultater i første halvdel af sæsonen betød endda, at holdet allerede var tæt på at kvalificere sig til deltagelse i Tour de France 1999.

Desværre kom også dopingproblemet helt tæt på: I enkeltstartsløbet Grand Prix des Nations blev det umiddelbart før løbet konstateret, at Marc Streels hæmatokrit-værdi var 53,4, hvor grænsen er på 50. Belgieren blev forment adgang til løbet  og afskediget fra holdet. Han opgav senere en påtænkt sag mod holdet for at få erstatning for tabt arbejdsfortjeneste.

Sagen medførte, at Home efterfølgende valgte at trække sig fra samarbejdet med holdet, hvis økonomiske grundlag dermed var truet, også fordi man midt i sæsonen havde skrevet kontrakt med Tristan Hoffmann, der var den dyreste rytter, holdet havde haft, og som skulle tiltræde året efter. Ledelsen fik dog redet stormen af ved at indgå en ny sponsorkontrakt med memory card-producenten Memory Card Technologies  og Bestseller A/S, der ejer Jack & Jones, der efter planen skulle være udtrådt, bestemte sig for at forlænge sponsoratet med et år, da man havde en slags faderskabsfølelse for det hold, man havde været med til at starte.

Holdet, der havde gjort det godt sæsonen igennem, lå i slutningen af sæsonen på en samlet andenplads i 2. division med 2.546 point. Men det førende hold, Ballan Alessio, der havde 2.724 point, havde erklæret ferie, og Team Home Jack & Jones, der var opsat på at tage førstepladsen, og øjnede en lille chance: det australske etapeløb Vic Health Herald Sun Tour. Rytterne var næsten slidt op, men løbet skulle vise sig at blive en massiv succes: Nicolaj Bo Larsen vandt anden etape, Christian Andersen niende, Bo Larsen igen 10., og Michael Blaudzun vandt enkeltstarten på 13. etape samt den samlede sejr.

Satsningen viste sig at bære frugt: På UCI's næste verdensrangliste var holdet på førstepladsen i 2. division med 2.756 point, og dermed var oprykningen til 1. division en realitet.

Drømmen går i opfyldelse

Sæsonen 2000 – Team Memory Card Jack & Jones

Med Homes udtræden og Memory Cards indtræden ændredes navnet før 2000-sæsonen til Memory Card Jack & Jones. Blandt de nytilkomne ryttere på holdet var som nævnt Tristan Hoffmann, med hvem man havde indgået kontrakt i forudgående sæson.

Holdet kvalificerede sig til Tour de France 2000 og indfriede dermed målsætningen fra holdets start, men det blev langtfra den succesoplevelse, man havde regnet med. Rytterne havde kæmpet hårdt for at komme med, og det kom til at påvirke deres indsats i negativ retning.

Holdet havde derfor ikke de store forventninger, men man håbede på at komme med i et udbrud eller to for sponsorernes skyld – måske endda at opnå en etapesejr. Det lykkedes ikke, og det var et lidt demoraliseret hold bestående af seks ryttere, som kæmpede sig over målstregen i Paris. Ved den efterfølgende festbanket oplyste Alex Pedersen, at han ikke længere ønskede at være med omkring holdet, da han følte at hans arbejdspres var blevet for stort.

Memory Card Technologies viste sig ikke at være en perfekt sponsor, idet firmaet løb ind i økonomiske vanskeligheder, og holdet modtog kun lige under halvdelen af det lovede sponsorbeløb, Efter sæsonen valgte Memory Card Technologies derfor at trække sig ud af cykelsporten igen.

Riis kommer til
I slutningen af året overtog Bjarne Riis holdet, og det lykkedes ham at sikre sig to nye hovedsponsorer, it-firmaet CSC og telefoni-selskabet WorldOnline, der kort efter fusionerede med Tiscali og derfor skiftede navn.

Sæsonen 2001 – Team CSC Tiscali

Igen i 2001 var Team CSC World Online ikke automatisk udtaget til Tour de France, og da man ikke havde præsteret noget specielt i løbet af foråret, måtte man sætte sin lid til, at holdets nyindkøbte stjerne, Laurent Jalabert, var en stor nok faktor til, at holdet kunne få billetten i starten af maj. Men selve udtagelsen var ikke det eneste problem; selve tøjet voldte også problemer. For selvom man skulle tro det modsatte med de mange navneskift i moderne cykelsport, så er det et stort arbejde, der ligger bag – og i CSC World Onlines tilfælde var det tøjet, der kom i vejen. World Online var fusioneret med italienske Tiscali, og dermed var deres navn også ændret. Dette skete med omkring en måneds tid til Tour de France, og så skulle der arbejdes hurtigt for at få tøjet klar. Holdets hidtidige tøjsponsor, Assos, kunne ikke levere hurtigt nok, og derfor skiftede man til den noget dårligere kvalitet fra Nalini.

Det var dog ikke kun på den økonomiske side, med de to nye, stærke sponsorer, det danske cykelhold blev forstærket frem til den nye sæson. Laurent Jalabert havde kørt ni sæsoner på spanske ONCE, men da han fik tilbuddet om at komme til det lille danske hold, sagde han ja, og trak samtidig en del andre forstærkninger med sig, bl.a. sin lillebror Nicolas Jalabert. Den franske stjernerytter faldt hurtigt til på holdet, og da det lykkedes Team CSC Tiscali at komme med til Tour de France igen i 2001 slog Jalabert til, vandt to etaper – den ene endda på den franske nationaldag Bastilledagen – og samlede så mange bjergpoint, at han kunne køre ind i Paris iført den prikkede bjergtrøje.

Sæsonen 2002 – Team CSC Tiscali

I de sidste dage af Tour de France 2001 kunne Bjarne Riis fortælle, at holdet havde sikret sig Tyler Hamilton, der ville støde til holdet fra næste sæson. Tyler havde i mange år kørt som hjælperytter for Lance Armstrong og denne stod i vejen for hans drømme om at blive kaptajn for US Postal-holdet. Johnny Weltz, der havde været sportsdirektør på US Postal-holdet under Lance Armstrongs sygdom, kunne derfor hente rytteren til CSC Tiscali.
Hamilton lagde ud med, sammen med Michael Rasmussen, der var blevet hentet til holdet i efteråret 2001, at køre Giro d'Italia 2002 for CSC Tiscali. Til trods for, at han styrtede 2 gange – på prologen, der var blevet lagt i Holland, og på 5. etape – sluttede han løbet på en samlet 2. plads, kun overgået af Paolo Savoldelli. Efter løbet kom det frem, at Hamilton havde kørt rundt med en brækket skulder.

Næste udfordring for Riis, Hamilton og resten af CSC Tiscali-holdet var Tour de France 2002. Riis var opsat på at vise omverdenen, at han havde hentet en rytter til holdet, der både kunne køre Giroen og Touren – og gøre det overbevisende godt. Desuden havde CSC Tiscali stadig den franske verdensstjerne Laurent Jalabert på holdet – men det var Hamilton, der var kaptajnen. Men dette år skulle Riis' drømme vise sig ikke at blive virkelighed: Hamilton kunne ikke følge med på nøgleetapen, der gik til toppen af Les Deux Alpes, og faldt langt tilbage i den samlede stilling. På toppen kritiserede Riis i stærke vendinger US Postal for at havde ødelagt Hamilton, der var blevet gjort til en hjælperytter, der bare skulle trække Lance Armstrong, og som derfor var blevet frataget sin evne til at lave de eksplosive ryk, der kræves for at vinde en Tour de France-etape.

Hamilton selv udtalte, at Riis sikkert havde ret i, at han var blevet omskolet til det værre hos US Postal, men at han nok skulle vise den klasse, der havde bragt ham til CSC Tiscali. Han havde kun været på det nye træningsprogram, han havde fået skræddersyet af en af holdets tilknyttede, Luigi Cecchini, siden foråret. Derfor regnede han med, at han først næste år ville være den kaptajn, Bjarne Riis havde udset ham til at blive.

Tour de France 2002 var dog ikke en udelt skuffelse, idet Jalabert i sit sidste Tour de France sikrede sig den prikkede bjergtrøje for andet år i træk. Sæsonen 2002 markerede afslutningen på hans karriere og den blev også sidste med navnet CSC Tiscali, idet Tiscali trak sig ud. Fra nu af ville holdet køre under navnet Team CSC.

Sæsonen 2003 – Team CSC

Året efter, i 2003 vandt den lille amerikaner Liege-Bastogne-Liege, og stod bag et overbevisende solo-ridt i Tour de France, trods et brækket kraveben. Tour de France blev alt i alt særdeles god for Team CSC, der fik tre ryttere i top-20, tre etapesejre samt samlet sejr i holdkonkurrence. 2003 blev dog samtidig sidste år med Tyler Hamilton på holdet, idet han skiftede til schweiziske Phonak.

Sæsonen 2004 – Team CSC

Tabet af Tyler Hamilton blev dog hurtigt glemt, da holdet havde sikret sig det italienske stortalent Ivan Basso, der hidtil havde kørt som evighedstalent hos Fassa Bortolo. I sæsonen 2004 dominerede Team CSC forårsklassikkerne, og holdets nye kaptajn blev samtidig samlet 3'er i Tour de France.

Verdens bedste cykelhold

Sæsonen 2005 – Team CSC

2005 blev endnu en stor sæson for holdet, der fortsatte med at dominerede foråret og blev samlet vinder af holdkonkurrencen i den nye ProTour. Samme sæson rykkede Ivan Basso et trin op på podiet, og blev samlet nummer 2 i Tour de France. Alt i alt vandt Team CSC 54 sejre i 2005, som blev deres rekordår.

Sæsonen 2006 – Team CSC

2006 blev endnu engang et godt år for Team CSC. De vandt bl.a. Paris-Roubaix (Fabian Cancellara) og Giro d'Italia (Ivan Basso). Men Dagen før Tour de France skulle skydes i gang blev Ivan Basso suspenderet fordi hans navn optrådte i den spanske dopingsag Operacion Puerto. Derfor blev Team CSC's nye kaptajn Carlos Sastre. Han klarede kaptajnrollen godt og sluttede samlet nummer 4. (er senere rykket op på en 3. plads, da Floyd Landis fik frataget sejren pga. doping) Team CSC fik desuden 2 etapesejre i Touren (Fränk Schleck og Jens Voigt). I Post Danmark Rundt dominerede Team CSC igen løbet fuldstændig, hvor stjernerytteren Fabian Cancellara tog 2 etapesejre undervejs og vandt løbet samlet. Alt i alt vandt Team CSC 51 sejre i 2006. Og vandt desuden, for andet år i træk, ProTour'rens holdkonkurrence.

Sæsonen 2007 – Team CSC

Tour de France blev i 2007 præget af Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans og Levi Leipheimer, der endte i nævnte rækkefølge på podiet men kun 31 sekunders afstand. CSC's kaptajn Carlos Sastre endte som "den bedste af resten" på fjerdepladsen 7,08" efter den gule trøje.

CSC havde dog selv den gule trøje i starten af løbet, idet temporytteren Fabian Cancellara vandt prologen i London og lå på løbets førsteplads helt indtil de første alvorlige bjerge på 7. etape. Også tyske Jens Voigt markerede sig med flere gode udbrud uden at der dog kom en etapesejr ud af bestræbelserne.

Sæsonen 2008 – Team CSC

13. marts meddeler CSC, at de trækker sig som hovedsponsor for cykelholdet efter denne sæson. Virksomheden lover efterfølgende, at den vil hjælpe Bjarne Riis med at finde en ny hovedsponsor. 10. juni meddeler Saxo Bank at de vil sponsorere holdet 3 år frem som ny hovedsponsor. Team CSC skifter efterfølgende navn fra Team CSC til Team CSC-Saxo Bank.
Team CSC har i foråret haft en impornerende sæson med flotte placeringer og sejre i de kendte klassiker løb.
Drømmen om at vinde Tour De France blev endelig til virkelighed i 2008. Team CSC Saxo Bank kom til touren med tre mulige kaptajner: Fränk og Andy Schleck samt Carlos Sastre, men holdet havde udmeldt, at de ville køre for Carlos Sastre. Fränk Schleck blev dog den første af de tre til at komme i gult, men mistede trøjen igen.
På 17. etape til l'Alpe d'Huez kørte Carlos Sastre solo og vandt etapen på det legendariske bjerg, og han kom samtidig i den gule trøje med et forspring på 1'34" ned til Cadel Evans.
På den afgørende enkeltstart tabte Carlos kun 29 sekunder, hvilket holdt hans nærmeste rivaler væk. Sastre havde dermed vundet Tour de France 2008!

CSC Saxo Bank vandt også holdkonkurrencen og den hvide ungdomstrøje med Andy Schleck.

Under linjeløbet ved VM, fortalte holdejer, Bjarne Riis, til et pressemøde, at man havde fundet endnu en sponsor til holdet næste år, nemlig det danske firma IT Factory. Holdets navn skulle så fra år 2009 være Team Saxo Bank – IT Factory.

Sæsonen 2009 – Team Saxo Bank

Fra starten af 2009 blev Saxo Bank og IT-Factory's samarbejde dog stoppet da IT-Factory's ejer og direktør, Stein Bagger viste sig at være en bedrager og havde svindlet for op imod én milliard danske kroner.

I 2009 blev det til i alt 10 sejre:
 Fabian Cancellara tog prologen i Tour of California.
 Juan José Haedo Vandt GP Cholet.
 Jens Voigt vandt Criterium International for 5. gang, Og for 3. gang i træk.
 Men Team Saxo Bank's største sejr kom da det efter to 2. pladser til holdet i henholdsvis, Amstel Gold Race og Flèche Wallone. Andy Schleck vandt med fantastisk solo-kørsel på de sidste 20 kilometer Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
 Fabian Cancellara vandt endnu en prolog – denne gang under Tour de France 2009
 Nicki Sørensen vandt 12. etape af Tour De France 2009, efter et flot solo-udbrud.
 Fränk Schleck vandt 17. etape af Tour De France 2009 – Lillebror Andy Schleck blev nummer 3 på etapen.
 Andy Schleck vandt den Hvide ungdomstrøje under Tour de France 2009 – han blev samlet nummer 2.
 Matti Breschel vandt 1. etape af Post Danmark Rundt 2009
 Nicki Sørensen vandt 2. etape af Post Danmark Rundt 2009
 Jakob Fuglsang vandt 3. etape af Post Danmark Rundt 2009
 Jakob Fuglsang vandt samlet Post Danmark Rundt 2009, så derfor forsvarede han sin titel. Og det er første gang rytter vinder Post Danmark Rundt 2 gange i træk.

Nye ryttere – Afgange

2011 Team Saxo Bank-Sungard

3. august 2010 annoncerede Bjarne Riis at Saxo Bank forbliver som sponsor og suppleres med Sungard fra USA. Dermed går holdet under navnet Team Saxo Bank-Sungard fra 2011. Samtidig præsenterede han Alberto Contador som ny rytter fra 2011 og to år frem. Senere blev Contadors tre hjælperyttere Benjamin Noval, Jesus Hernandez og Daniel Navarro også hentet, mens man mistede navne som Matti Breschel, Jens Voigt, Schleck brødrene, Jakob Fuglsang, Anders Lund, Stuart O'Grady og Fabian Cancellara.

2012: Team Saxo Bank og Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
Sæsonen 2012 bød på en karantæne til holdets stjerne Alberto Contador. Dernæst var holdet frem til årets Tour de France dårligst hold på World Tour'ren.

Den 25. juni 2012 offentliggjorde Bjarne Riis at den russiske bank Tinkoff Bank gik ind med et hovedsponsorat i holdet, hvilket betød at holdet ville ændre navn til Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank med effekt fra dags dato. Aftalen indebar også at Saxo Bank forlængede sin aftale med holdet, så den også gjaldt 2013.

Ryttere på holdet i 2012:
 Manuele Boaro
 Jonathan Cantwell
 Mads Christensen
 Alberto Contador
 Volodymir Gustov
 Lucas Sebastian Haedo
 Juan José Haedo
 Jesús Hernández
 Christopher Juul Jensen
 Karsten Kroon
 Kasper Klostergaard
 Anders Lund
 Rafal Majka
 Ran Margaliot
 Jaroslaw Marycz
 Takashi Miyazawa
 Michael Mørkøv
 Daniel Navarro Garcia
 Benjamin Noval
 Nick Nuyens
 Sérgio Paulinho
 Bruno Pires
 Luke Roberts
 Nicki Sørensen
 Chris Anker Sørensen
 David Tanner
 Matteo Tosatto
 Jonas Aaen
 Troels Vinther

Ryttere på Team Saxo-Tinkoff i 2013

2015

2016

Udstyr
Listen over Team Tinkoff beklædningssponsorer
 Beklædning: Sportful
 Biler: Citroën C5 Tourer
 Cykler: Specialized
 Ernæring: Panacea Science in Sports
 Gear: Shimano Dura Ace
 Hjelme: Specialized
 Hjul: Zipp
 Pedaler: Speedplay

Referencer

Eksterne henvisninger

 DR Sporten: Smertens Sejr, 2003.
 Tomas Gislason: Overcoming, 2005.
 Werge, Lars: Drømmeholdet – Historien om CSC, Ekstra Bladets Forlag, 2005.
 Team Saxo Banks officielle website.

Etableret i 1998


I know the feeling of being stuck in the corporate rat race. I made the decision to take control of my career and do something that I love to do. Now, it's your turn!
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text:
World, US, Politics
Paramesh Karandikar
PAX AMERICANA, OR: "HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE HEGEMONY"
American foreign and domestic policy over the past few decades is deeply unpopular. The undercurrents of this distaste have their roots in the Vietnam War protests and are carried forward to this day. For many, the mere mention of the overarching role that the United States plays in global affairs evokes snide remarks and cynicism. But it's difficult to mock American interventionism while carrying an iPhone made in China, wearing clothing assembled in Vietnam, and being transported by vehicles burning Arab petroleum –– these conveniences are largely due to the dominant role of the US in the global economy. This results in an ideological contradiction. One cannot decry "imperialism" on the part of the American political and economic apparatus while simultaneously enjoying the comfort and material trappings that result. Even so, the existence of this tension doesn't answer whether this interventionism is justified. Nor does it answer how, if it is justified, it can be conducted in a manner that avoids the incredible human and material costs associated with current American global involvements. A reasonable answer to these questions can be obtained by charting the history of American hegemonic influence, identifying possible beneficial modifications to the current model, and considering the alternatives.
Since the end of the First World War, the United States was thrust into the forefront of global affairs. While the resource-poor European powers scrambled over colonies in Africa and Asia, the US (aside from a flirtation with traditional imperialism in the Philippines) maintained a non-interventionist posture. As a result, the outbreak of fighting in 1939 and concurrent Imperial Japanese push into Southeast Asian colonies did not directly affect the United States to the extent it did England or the Netherlands. Thus, I argue that the Pearl Harbor attack catalyzed the American war effort, and that the US still entered the Second World War largely on its own terms. This entry was not at the behest of another nation or treaty obligation, making it America's first assumption of the role of global arbitrator.
The fact that the establishment of the United Nations and NATO were, respectively, spearheaded by Roosevelt and Truman supports this notion. In the 20th Century, the United States took the initiative in dealing with various global threats –– namely the Axis powers, the Soviet Union, nascent petroligarchies, and the spread of Communism through Asia and South America. This initiative was not limited to the geopolitical spectrum; vast advancements in science and technology raised the American standard of living to the global forefront and solidified the military advantage. These advancements were largely a result of the Arms Race against the USSR, a possible contender for hegemony. Even after the end of the Cold War, American interventionism continued throughout the Middle East, resulting in multiple ground conflicts and widespread counterinsurgency actions. In these situations, the US was not the only nation to take an active interest in the internal affairs of others for material and economic benefit. However, no other nation matched the scale and leverage with which the US did –– they lacked the hegemonic potential.
I do not attempt to prove the status of the United States as a hegemon –– most detractors indicatively label it the "bully of the world" or "imperialist." In spite of these phrases, I believe that the notion of an American hegemony, when implemented effectively and analyzed through a Realist political lens, has the potential to be a globally beneficial force. This system of political analysis focuses on conflict between state actors. Thus, it is only fitting that the notion of hegemonic stability, proposed by the economist Charles Kindleberger, was first utilized in the Cold War. However, it has yet to be realized in the modern geopolitical context.
According to Kindleberger's Hegemonic Stability Theory, a hegemon is characterized by a tremendous amount of social, military, and economic power and the wherewithal to wield it on a global scale. "The hegemony" includes all the nations within the hegemon's sphere of control. This geopolitical volume can be further subdivided by type of control. For example, Japan, South Korea, the EU, Mexico, and Canada fall under the economic section, while Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, parts of North Africa, South Korea, and Japan fall under the military section. In turn, American media and cultural exports have made practically the whole globe part of the social sphere of control. Social, military, and economic powers are then used to either maintain or establish a status quo favorable to the hegemon. One such example is the United States' invasion of Iraq. The questionable existence of weapons of mass destruction aside, the whole situation can be distilled as such: Iraq, an erstwhile ally during the 80s, began to disagree with the US restriction of its territorial ambitions. After the de facto "slap on the wrist" of international sanctions and the First Gulf War failed to dissuade Saddam Hussein, ephemeral WMDs and the nebulous associations between the Iraqi Intelligence Service and Al-Qaeda were more than enough to permit mobilization of the American military apparatus. Thus, the threat of an unfavorable situation (Iraq invading Kuwait, an American petroleum partner, or attacking Israel) was mitigated.
Ironically, this most recent and infamous example is also the foremost argument for responsible hegemony. There is no debate that the neutralization of Saddam Hussein's military and governmental apparatus was not a sweeping military victory –– the military forces and governmental apparatus of Ba'ath Iraq were neutralized within months. However, the subsequent occupation and horribly misguided de-Ba'athification policy were both failures of foreign policy and missed opportunities for American enforcement of hegemonic stability. In order for Kindleberger's theory to apply, the hegemon must both be aware of their hegemonic status and then view their actions in the context of long-term geopolitical repercussions. After all, Great Britain's failure to consolidate control over its colonies following WWII and subsequent disintegration is an excellent example of what happens when potential hegemons fail to be farsighted within their spheres of influence. In the cases of Iraq and its precursor, Afghanistan, the United States acted as a hegemon without cognizance of the accompanying mantle of responsibility. This mantle can be developed in three ways: bolstering American public image throughout the world; working to maintain the political, economic, and military lead; and exhibiting a more decisive foreign posture.
With regards to image, the global perception of the United States could use a facelift –– the majority of the world sees it as obese, ignorant, and arrogant. Since hegemony is inherently based on a power differential, a beneficial and stable situation would be one in which the dynamic is not threatened because it is comfortable for both sides. Consider the military presence in Okinawa, Japan. A growing number of Japanese are pushing for their government to not renew the US military leases on the island. A large fraction of this opposition is based on the highly negative global perception of American military presence and militaristic stereotypes as well as a spate of crimes and disorderly behavior involving American servicemen. In this case, the power dynamic is heavily in favor of the US, since Japan does not have an offensive military capacity and relies on the American presence there to keep China and North Korea at bay. Furthermore, the protests against the Okinawan bases indicates an unstable dynamic between hegemon and hegemony. If a concerted effort to address Japanese grievances against the Okinawan bases was made, the power dynamic may find a sort of equilibrium.
This notion of public perception also applies to American relations with allies. One major bone of contention is the continued unconditional geopolitical and military support for countries such as Saudi Arabia and Israel. The rest of the world notes the hypocrisy with which a nation that labels itself as the "land of the free" simultaneously arms and supports notorious human rights abusers. In fact, it's no surprise that Yemeni alignment with Iranian paramilitary groups and hostility against the US has risen after Saudis started using American munitions against them. A total cessation of relations is unrealistic, but conditional aid with real consequences for non-compliance can do a great deal to rectify that perception. In a sense, while better public perception amongst US allied countries may not fully remove the yoke of hegemony, it would certainly make it easier to bear.
On a similar note, the US won the Cold War largely due to its excellence in its own economic, political, and technological sectors. For prospective members of the American or Soviet proto-hegemonies, the fact that the average US citizen could live a comfortable life under a stable political structure and robust economy while enjoying the latest technologies was simply a better option compared to the growing discomfort and upheaval of Soviet life. This in turn had a cyclical effect, as greater military alliances protected happier citizens who contributed more to the economy to enable the purchasing of better military technology. Compared to that, our current state is one of outright disunity, national scandal, cultural disharmony, and flagging economic and technological leadership. In that context, hesitancy and a growing desire to no longer associate with the hegemon is understandable for erstwhile allied nations. After all, why should they feel confident in the American hegemony when we can't even take care of ourselves? It should be noted that the United States is not actually doing poorly, but the lead is narrowing. In geopolitics, perception is reality; any sense of weakness will be picked up and taken advantage of. The manner in which these weaknesses can be addressed is a separate matter, but the American position on the food chain will slip unless we can collectively redevelop a positive global impression and once again represent an ideal.
The notion of a more aggressive foreign posture is both the most important and most controversial of the three means of reinforcing American global responsibility. I am not advocating mindless jingoism, but a measured realism regarding the commitment of American military and economic power. Theodore Roosevelt framed the mannerisms of an ideal hegemon when he said, "speak softly and carry a big stick." Inasmuch, the power a hegemon wields must be applied violently and with extreme discretion –– anything less emboldens both dissenters and possible contenders to the title. Two infamous examples of this are President Obama's "Red Line" against chemical weapons in Syria and President Trump's "Fire and Fury" on North Korea's missile tests. As a result, Al-Assad continues using chemical weapons, while his ally Russia openly encroaches on the regional US sphere of influence, and Kim Jong-Un has completed his ICBM program and thereby consolidated his power; Roosevelt might refer to this as speaking loudly and carrying nothing at all. Similarly, the premature proclamations of victory that have precipitated the seemingly endless engagement in Afghanistan must be retired in favor of concrete, achievable objectives. Nevertheless, I do not think that every geopolitical crossroads should be solved with a flurry of cruise missiles; explicit threats should be made infrequently, but, if necessary, acted on overwhelmingly. The overall geopolitical posture of the hegemon should be that of the open hand and closed fist: one presented in friendship and the other a silent indicator of force. This strategy may involve situations in which American servicemen and women are put in harm's way, but for the hegemon, keeping a grip on power necessitates a tightening of the fist.
Notions of beneficial hegemonic stability aside, isolationists and non-interventionists will claim that American hegemony does more harm than good to the American people and advocate extrication from our spheres of influence. This is all well and good, but it's naïve to think that the role of hegemon will remain vacant for long. If not us, then who? China and Russia are already encroaching on traditionally American spheres of influence such as the Philippines and Turkey, respectively. This is not meant as a clarion call but as a reminder that there are others in line for the position. If, per se, the roles were in fact reversed, what guarantees would there be for the continuation of the American standard of living? Without the authority to negotiate beneficial trade deals, where would we buy our cheap goods or outsource the production of our electronics? One of the major complaints about US relations with its hegemony is potential for suffering created by an US occupation. This is a valid issue and should certainly be addressed, but is it reasonable to think that China and Russia, with their own checkered human rights records, will act in a better and more humane fashion?
The American Hegemony is not perfect, and the concept of Pax Americana is not without its own fair share of flaws. But the fact of the matter is that the United States has borne the mantle of hegemonic responsibility for almost a century, and it is not possible to relinquish that title without subsequently giving up the way of life we take for granted. Nevertheless, by being aware of its shortcomings and actively striving to improve in its capacity as hegemon, the United States can be a stabilizing influence on the world.
Tagged: Globalization, american exceptionalism, hegemony, imperialism
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Eco-Heroes: 10 Leaders Showing That Fighting Climate Change Can Be Good for Everyone's Bottom Line
Think you can't mix a healthy climate with a healthy economy? These business leaders and innovators are betting the world on the fact that we can.
There's a persistent, if inaccurate, perception that fighting climate change will hurt the global economy. These 10 international business leaders and innovators think differently; they understand that the uncertainty brought by a warming world won't be good for anyone's bottom line. (In fact, the World Bank just estimated that climate change could send 100 million people into extreme poverty.)
Some of the "onEarth 10" are helping poorer countries adapt and actually grow in a warmer world, some are spurring investment in the renewable industries that will power our future, and others are simply building better products in better ways and teaching others how to do the same. Whatever their wheelhouse, these trailblazers are leading an economic and technological transformation that will help drive the world toward climate action.
Many of those on our list were in Paris for the United Nations climate conference, meeting with political leaders and speaking to the public about how ignoring carbon emissions is not a good business plan for the planet. Here's your chance to meet them now.
NAWAL AL-HOSANY
(Photo: Power & Water Middle East)
You might think clean-tech advocate Nawal Al-Hosany would be daunted by the state of affairs in her home country, the United Arab Emirates. The UAE was the sixth-largest oil producer in the world last year, and the government plans to ramp up production 30 percent by 2020. The country's national climate pledge, submitted to the U.N. ahead of the Paris conference, makes no specific emissions reductions targets, even though a global business-as-usual scenario, studies suggest, would harm the Gulf region even more than most. (It's already really, really hot there.) But where others may see an economy wedded to unsustainable practices and climate extremes, Al-Hosany sees an ideal opportunity for the UAE to emerge as a global leader in clean energy technology.
Al-Hosany currently serves as the director of sustainability for Masdar, a planned urban community in Abu Dhabi that claims to be "the world's most sustainable eco-neighborhood." Masdar certainly proves that a little ingenuity (and a lot thoughtful planning) go a long way: By using architectural techniques to capture prevailing winds, this city-within-a-city is cooler by 10 degrees Celsius than anywhere else in Abu Dhabi. But one of Masdar's most important functions is to start diversifying Abu Dhabi's economy by making it the intellectual epicenter for alternative energy. In 2011 the UAE won a bid to have the International Renewable Energy Agency's first headquarters built in Masdar by offering rent-free offices and up to $350 million in grant funding for energy projects in developing countries, among other perks.
Incentivizing innovation is a big part of Nawal Al-Hosany's work—she is also the director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, an award for achievements in renewable energy and sustainability, which, at $4 million, is the largest of its kind in the world. Al Gore, one of our other "onEarth 10" honorees, incidentally, was one of this year's award winners. Perhaps we'll see the pair schmoozing it up.
FELIPE CALDERON
(Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/iStock)
During his tenure as president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, Felipe Calderón made clear his belief that countries of all prosperity levels could come together to solve the climate crisis. In 2010, he presided over the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun, which established the Green Climate Fund, and in 2012 he passed the General Law on Climate Change, which set carbon reduction and renewable energy goals. The progressive move made Mexico the second nation ever to issue binding emissions-reduction targets, and the first in the developing world.
Now Calderón is leading an international effort to upend a pet theory of climate deniers: that fixing the climate is bad for business. He chairs the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, whose flagship project, the New Climate Economy, researches how countries can achieve sustainable economic growth while mitigating climate change. With the support of seven governments, the project has now published two aptly timed reports that gave give decision-makers a nudge ahead of the Paris climate conference. Calderón calls the choice between climate action and economic prosperity a "false dilemma," and thanks to him, other leaders are beginning to see that truth.
HELA CHEIKHROUHOU
(Photo: JeonHeon-Kyun/epa/Corbis)
Directing the U.N.'s Green Climate Fund is to live a series of contradictions. Tunisian Hela Cheikrouhou is both a beggar, asking the leaders of the world's richest countries to spare a few hundred million dollars, and a benefactor, disbursing billions of dollars to developing nations for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. She likewise shifts between cheerleader and stoic. In the same speech, she mixes impenetrable jargon ("accredited entities" and "significant multiplier effect") with Churchillian imperatives ("We have no choice but to succeed.")
Public exhortations, although part of the job, seem slightly out of character for Cheikhrouhou, who started her career at Citibank and has worked at development banks in Latin America and Africa. She is a career technocrat.
Her technical background will be crucial in getting the Green Climate Fund up and running. Rarely has an institution been given so much money, so quickly, with so little precedent to look to. Established in 2009, the GCF currently has $10 billion in commitments from donor nations and will have to set standards that determine which projects will be funded and on what terms.
There has been plenty of controversy thus far. In March, for instance, environmentalists howled when the fund left open the possibility of supporting coal-fired power plants. Cheikhrouhou also faces the daunting task of convincing China that it should channel its support for green initiatives through the GCF, rather than make side deals with developing countries. Hela Cheikhrouhou controls billions of dollars, but can she control the world's sometimes stubborn, always self-interested leaders?
(Photo: Helga Esteb/Shutterstock)
Since 2010, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has awarded more than $30 million to projects in over 40 countries to protect wildlife, preserve marine ecosystems, restore wetlands, and empower communities to defend their lands and livelihoods against anything from oil development to deforestation to overfishing.
But for DiCaprio, it's not just about where he sends money—it matters where the money comes from too. That's why the actor and his foundation have joined the divestment movement, promising to no longer profit from fossil fuel companies. So far, more than 400 institutions and 2,000 people have pledged to rid their financial portfolios of any investments supporting industries that contribute significantly to climate change. As of September, those divestments amounted to $2.6 trillion in assets. That's sounds like a lot of "fun coupons," but DiCaprio hopes more of us will join in and show leaders that we are doing our part, so it's time for them to do theirs.
(Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Soon after An Inconvenient Truth hit theaters in 2006, Al Gore's name became practically synonymous with the climate movement. In the Oscar-winning documentary, Gore is adamant that the moral obligations to curb climate change are not at odds with economic prosperity. "If we do the 'right' thing, then we're going to create a lot of wealth," he says. "Because doing the right thing moves us forward."
The former vice president backs that idea up with his current venture, Generation Investment Management. With former Goldman Sachs Asset Management CEO David Blood, Gore co-founded the investment firm with the goal of integrating long-term sustainability into the investment process. The Atlantic calls the approach a "new version of capitalism," one that makes more money by treating socially and environmentally responsible business plans as the rule, not the exception.
So far, Blood and Gore's brand of eco-capitalism is paying off. The firm currently manages $12 billion in assets, and, according to data from the United Kingdom–based consulting firm Mercer, Generation's 10-year returns rank second out of more than 200 global equity managers. And those are just the monetary returns....
STEVE HOWARD
(Photo: Stuart Isett)
Formerly the CEO of The Climate Group, a non-profit that works with governments and businesses to shrink their carbon footprints, this Englishman has been the chief sustainability officer for the Swedish furniture giant IKEA since 2011. For years, wind turbines and solar panels have adorned the rooftops of IKEA stores, but now the company is stepping it up. The multinational is recycling more wood, making sure the forests that supply it (largely in Russia, China, and Poland) are managed responsibly, and packing more products onto each one of its trucks and boats to lower shipping emissions.
What's more, IKEA has pledged $1 billion for renewable energy and climate adaptation projects. That's more than some nations have given to the U.N.'s Green Climate Fund (Germany contributed around $800 million). Steve Howard is on a mission to encourage other companies to put sustainability "into the heart of [their] business model[s]" in order to "make sustainability affordable for the many people, not a luxury for the few." It's kind of the BESTÅ.
LISA P. JACKSON
(Photo: Twitter)
This former chemical engineer was tough on carbon pollution when she ran the Environmental Protection Agency from 2009 to 2013. Under her watch, the agency classified greenhouse gas emissions as a threat to public health, which gave the EPA more power to regulate them. Moving from the public to the private sector in 2013, Jackson became the vice president of environmental initiatives for Apple. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, Jackson said she believes the $733 billion company "owes something back" and should apply its knack for innovative technologies to the field of clean energy.
Renewable energy currently powers all of Apple's U.S. buildings and data centers and 87 percent of its international operations. Apple products—many of which are designed for obsolescence—could be made more sustainably, but in recent years the company has taken steps to green its supply chain. For instance, changes to how the aluminum is manufactured for the latest generation of iPhones have cut the devices' carbon footprint by up to 16 percent. In July, Apple signed President Obama's Businesses Act on Climate pledge, making it known that the tech giant wants to see big action in Paris.
HE JIANJUN
(Photo: Getty Images)
There is no U.S. equivalent to He Jiankun, director of Tsinghua University's Low Carbon Economy Lab and deputy director of China's Expert Committee on Climate Change. Part scientist, part economist, part policy guru, He is so influential in China's carbon emissions planning that reporters often mistake his statements for official government decisions. Last year, Reuters quoted him stating that China would control carbon emissions in the upcoming five-year plan, using both intensity limits and an absolute cap. Since He supposedly said it, the news spread quickly. The Guardian and USA Today ran with the Chinese carbon cap story, forcing the professor to remind reporters that he is an adviser, not a government official; his ideas are merely suggestions.
He was being too modest. The Expert Committee on Climate Change provides the scientific basis for China's climate change planning. It also forms partnerships abroad to produce risk assessments and supports international research on climate change mitigation. He Jiankun is the dynamic center of those efforts. When he talks climate change, Chinese officials listen. So should you.
PAUL POLMAN
Trashing multinational corporations is de rigueur among many political factions, but global businesses have a unique and valuable perspective on climate change. Netherlands– and U.K.–based Unilever, for example, has operations in more than 100 countries. According to the company's chief executive, Paul Polman, this broad wingspan means "companies are the first to see the cost of climate change." When extreme weather strikes, their supply chains collapse and their customers stop buying. Polman believes that climate change already costs Unilever more than $325 million annually.
The Dutchman is not prepared to tolerate that much red ink. Along with Richard Branson of the Virgin Group and Ratan Tata of Tata International, he helped bring together 12 CEOs and policymakers last February to demand a zero balance of greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
Frustrated by government inaction, Polman believes the responsibility to save the world from climate change now falls to his fellow businesspeople. He suggested earlier this year that the international carbon pledges coming in would likely achieve only 40 percent of the emissions reductions necessary to avert a disaster. Paul Polman says the private sector must close that gap.
NIGEL TOPPING
(Photo: We Mean Business)
Businesses hate uncertainty, and climate change is, at its core, a massive collection of uncertainties. If carbon emission levels continue to grow unabated, we don't know where coastlines will be in a century, how hot it will get, where extreme weather may hit, how much food will grow—the list is endless. This is the pitch that Nigel Topping makes to business leaders through his We Mean Business Coalition. The Brit, a former automotive executive, has collected an impressive panel of supporters, with representatives from IKEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Nike, Unilever, Starbucks, and many other major companies working together to push national governments to take action on climate change.
A 2013 analysis showed that 90 companies were responsible for two-thirds of our cumulative carbon emissions. Topping's movement recognizes that businesses can quell humanity's fossil fuel addiction even if governments cannot or will not act. We Mean Business puts peer pressure on large corporations. Topping's partner companies voluntarily set carbon emissions targets, report their emissions, and invest in low-carbon technologies.
If you want to solve climate change, you'll have to vote with your wallet as much as your ballot. Nigel Topping is giving you that opportunity.
This story originally appeared on Earthwire as "The OnEarth 10" and is re-published here under a Creative Commons license.
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Humans: The Ebea 3.2*
Written By: Joan Milligan
Posted: 07/31/06 [1 Comment]
article by Joan Milligan
The Ebean culture initially evolved on the peninsula of Ebea, an arid desert region with roughly Mediterranean conditions on the rocky coastline giving rise to a culture of rivaling and trading city states. What was once a powerful coalition rapidly expanding towards its eastern borders began to fail as inbreeding brought the aristocracy low, granting more power to the dissenting people. The last viable alliance between city-states dissolved about a hundred and fifty years ago.
Although much better organized and technologically advanced, their sorry current state left the Ebeans easy prey to the "barbaric" tribes living east of them just waiting to leave their barren deserts and descend upon the empire's riches. The Suftic tribes have been growing stronger and more unified for years, and their blow to old Ebea could have been its demise, if it weren't for the Sufts' disinterest in destruction for its own sake.
An honorable, intelligent people honed to survival under merciless conditions, the tribesmen conquered Ebea � and proceeded to melt right into it. They bred with its people birthing a generation of prodigies, Suftic toughness and brilliance tempered by Ebean refined culture. As the tribesmen adopted the Ebean gods and lifestyle, the empire's children were saved from degeneration by Suftic philosophy. Most importantly, Ebean parliaments, now forced to cooperate, came under the power of Suftic Matas, matriarchal absolute rulers, and a new, healthy system of a Mata and her small senate/government evolved gradually. The Suftic conquest of Ebea saved it in the nick of time.
All this happened less than two hundred years ago. The new empire has not yet had a chance to develop new problems. It revels in a golden age.
The Ebeans have naturally smooth, dark skin, varying in shades from the coffee-and-cream of the empire's natives to the polished ebony of the Suftic tribes. The Sufts also brought with them the black hair and eye color, but that proved recessive against the burnished copper and deep brown of the city dwellers. The hair is thin and stiff � men cut it above their ears or shave it altogether, while women grow it long to their mid-backs then pin it up in elaborate styles.
The average male Ebean stands five feet six, the average female an inch or two shorter. They have toned and supple bodies, narrow shoulders and long legs, however standards of beauty demand men be muscular and straight as blades, and women curvy, soft and full. A skinny woman is considered ungainly and probably infertile; an overweight man is repulsive. Ebeans have very fine features, with strong cheekbones, full lips and almond-shaped eyes. Those of thicker Suftic blood have more body hair and distinctly high brows and square jaws.
With the Suftic conquest, ways were open to bring all types of dyes and fabrics once unknown into Ebea, and this change shows in the gaudy, bright fashions now popular throughout the empire. A hybrid has grown there as well � Ebean men have adopted the functional tribal outfits of the Sufts, while Suftic women wrap themselves in capes, silks skirts after the empire's fashion. An Ebean man wears a long shift, sleeveless, usually in white or pale blue or red, over that a long-sleeved vest dyed a rich shade decorated with many beads, and over that the long coat the Sufts call the tuyma, which is ankle-length and comes with a wide hood, wrapped at the top like a turban against the desert heat. Leather leggings, once ideal for long rides, have developed into a softer form for everyday use and joined, instead of riding boots, with Ebean sandals.
The women both enjoy and are expected to dress up, displaying both the riches of their men and their own revered status. The knee-length skirt with scores of ribbons trailing it is the trademark Ebean fashion article, often made in two layers so that the ribboned one can be comfortably removed indoors. Shirts have generous cleavages concealed by airy shawls, and very puffy sleeves that tighten again above the wrists, leaving the hands free to the woman's two most important tasks � cooking and writing. But the true fancy of the Ebean woman is in jewelry: anklets, medallions and hairpins.
It's important to understand that Ebeans recognize differences between men and women, not superiority in one or the other. Both traditionally and more powerfully due to Suftic influence, the Ebean man is the provider, not only to his family but to his entire society. The man is the arms and hands of the city-state and of the empire, who toils in the fields and with the livestock, plants and harvests and slaughters, and usually is a bit of a stranger is his own home. In that home, the woman rules, charged with raising her children, home-bound tasks like sewing and cooking � and with culture on all its aspects. Women are the politicians, engineers, writers, scholars and artisans of Ebea. The proverb goes: "Men's work feeds the talking women; women's talk drives working men."
One thing Ebean culture has not been able to wean the Sufts off is the structure of the family, and so today most households are Suftic in nature, made of two or three kukotas or sibling groups. Marriages are arranged by the kukota when the children in question are very young. The girl is given to her future husband's family when she is seven, and becomes the total responsibility of his parents. She, her husband to be, his brothers and their wives and wives to be form a kukota which lives in its own wing of the house. As their parents' kukota ages and dies off they gradually take its place. The household is headed by the oldest married pair. There are still traditional Ebean households, nuclear families of which the husband is the head, but those are getting rarer. What the Ebeans did manage to integrate into Suftic society is the practice of planned parenthood, and so most married pairs have four children at most, forming kukotas of eight.
Religious belief:
A thousand years ago, Ebean religion was animistic and totemic, revering any number of spirits. As thought and theology advanced, the concept became refined into a concept of a Platonic world of ideas. Some of the old religious practices remained as folklore, but most Ebeans no longer view the "spirits" in any anthropomorphic light, or even as sentient beings.
The Suftic tribes brought with them an array of divinities, a mythological jigsaw where no single story had only one version. At its most simplified, Suftic myth has four major gods, presiding over four pillars of human existence: hunting and foraging, breeding and child-rearing, warfare and defense, art and craftsmanship. These four gods are sexually ambiguous and are usually only addressed as their many various titles � the Hunter, the Mother, the Rider, the Smith and so on. All four are absolutely benevolent, the Sufts never believed their gods meant them harm or struck them down. That was the work of the devils, the greatest of which were Old Bastard Sun and the Howling Beast Sandstorm. The Sufts viewed most forces of nature as sentient, malevolent entities out to destroy them, held back by the hard work of them and their gods.
Suftic faith and Ebean theology made strange bedfellows. The latter did not so much change the former's structure as shift its focus. The four gods are still worshipped in private shrines especially in families of strong Suftic ancestry, but they mostly serve as the basis to a rich mythology hanging between being viewed as truth or literature. The concept of nature's demons, however, powerfully caught onto Ebean imagination, and the intangible Platonic ideals took on nefarious casts. Nature is full of demons bringing famine, frost, plague, infant death, storms, bad food, and so on, to mankind, who labors against them with the flimsy aid of civilization's gods. The Ebeans have no supernatural entity to appease, only to fight, and few to pray to. If there's anything they are not tolerant of in other cultures, it's "superstitions".
Art and design:
The trademark Ebean craft, before and after the conquest, is glassblowing. Natural conditions make Ebea's sands perfect for making glass in all colors, and the empire's artisans have an amazing proficiency in the art. Glass is spun into vessels both for use and decoration, into beads, religious symbols, necklaces and bracelets, and any number of artifacts both for the art gallery and the household. An Ebean specialty is the glass image or miniature statue, usually portraying a mythological scene rich in color and detail.
Ebean visual art is usually abstract; their artists never developed a still life or landscape painting school, and portraits are rare as well. Paintings, most often frescos, focus on an aesthetic of color and geometry rather than portraying reality or myth. Sculpture has fallen mostly out of favor in recent times, and any material other than metal or glass has always been considered artistically inferior, anyway. Ebean jewelry has been powerfully influenced by its Suftic counterpart, and features mostly gold and copper in motifs of heavenly bodies and desert flowers. The most common precious stones in use in Ebea are the ruby and topaz.
The empire's natives focused more on philosophical debate and poetry in free verse before the conquest. Ebean poetry is mostly based upon puns, wordplay, sound-play, an internal meter and music. Internal rhymes are common � lines rarely rhyme. The Ebean poets strive towards biabat, "sublime speech", in which both the sound of the words and their meaning would conjure exactly the same thoughts and images. They conceive of it as a sort of telepathy-through-language � similar to what Elves experience when sending.
The Sufts brought with them a new tradition � one of great mythological epics. Rather than writing poetry, Sufts memorize lengthy stories of their gods, heroes and ancestors, which the Ebeans put to writing and now greatly enjoy. Ebean written culture has been slowly but surely doing away with Suftic storytelling tradition since the conquest. What the Sufts did keep is their music � stormy dancing tunes played on many instruments, an ancient "hard rock", a sharp, shocking contrast to Ebean music, which was as delicate and precise as their poetry. Ebean instruments of choice are the lute and harp; the Suftic, the pipes and huge mutha, barrel drums. Fashion has only just begun to put the two styles together, and the results so far are� interesting.
Ebean thought and theory are highly advanced, and can give 500 BC Athens competition; Ebean practice, less so, best compared to Babylon at its height. The one thing the Sufts have been unable to contribute to at all has been technology. Ebean thinkers � for the most part women � have made exact astronomical calculations and measurements, are well-aware that the world is round and revolves around the sun, and know the length of the solar and lunar years, including a precise and useful calendar. Mathematics is a rich and highly developed field � analytical geometry is the latest rage in the empire. They have a primitive concept of atoms, and have been delving into a zoological and botanical classification system for some time, right now busily debating a very simplified theory of divinely-guided evolution.
But all this thought does not necessarily find its practical use in a land where thought and practice are very separate indeed. The Ebeans have yet to catch on to the fact that their strict gender separation hampers them a great deal in applying mathematics and engineering to everyday life � the transition from "women's talk" to "men's work" is a difficult one. As such, save for its system of wells and canals, Ebea had never truly taken on any remarkable feats of engineering. Construction techniques for houses are still rather primitive � most houses are built from wood and some white sandstone. Both the Ebeans and the Sufts are lacking at the forge, much prefer spears and bows to swords, and have no conception of a metal armor. Medicine, of all the sciences, is actually rather well-off, due to a weak taboo on examining dead bodies. The Ebean doctors angrily did away with Suftic practices of bleeding patients and drilling holes in bones to release demons living within, and spread instead the words of disinfection and a correct diet. Infant mortality is extremely low in the empire due to a real understanding of the mechanism of giving birth, and herbal contraceptives have been in regular use for hundreds of years to keep the population in check, instead.
The Ebean age of exploration and colonization, now at its height, is very swiftly perfecting maritime technologies. The compass is old news to the Sufts, in whose desert homeland there are magnetic rocks aplenty, but it was a shocking revolution to Ebean sailors, who are enamored with it enough to compose poems just in praise of this one invention. Ebea lacks proper wood to built truly durable ships � the ships of choice for the empire's sailors are clever little bireme galleys that travel in fleets of ten to fifteen, very often losing a ship on the way but no cargo or crew. It's an ironic turn that the Sufts, incredible navigators that they are, are genetically inclined to seasickness � the art of seaside navigation is still evolving for Ebea.
Education takes an important place in the lives of the empire's children. Young children are taught reading, writing, basic mathematics and a smattering of literature and history by their grandmothers, members of their family's oldest kukota. Children from all ends of society attend schools for three years between seven and ten, expanding their education; boys of richer families often complete six such years, and girls reach as many as eight years of schooling.
Government and economy:
The empire and the tribes had very different and yet complementary systems of rule. Ebea has long been a coalition of city-states each ruled by a powerful family of aristocrats with unlimited power over the people. This power has been their undoing: eager to preserve the blood they saw as superior, they married within their own group of elevated families so often that the generation to face the Suftic invaders was composed almost entirely of the borderline retarded.
Thankfully, as their rulers degenerated, the Ebean people found ways to adapt. In most city-states, a form of participatory democracy grew slowly that was open to all citizens over fifty. It was those huge "senates" that brought down the aristocrats, not the Suftic conquerors. The Ebeans were perfectly willing to accept Suftic authority by that time.
The Sufts were traditionally led by Matas, tribal mothers, councils of elderly women of which the oldest was senior. However, they quickly recognized that this system will not work on the level of a city, not to mention several cities. The system required some ironing out, but was at last established with minimal bloodshed.
In the Ebean city today, all citizens have a right to elect a "voting council" of sixty men and women over fifty years old, which function as a local senate. This council votes within itself and elevates two of its members � a city Mata, who is always a woman, and a male or female Ku-I-Mata, empire's Mata (or Maka, if the position is given to a man) who will represent them in the Council of Councils. This Council of Councils' seat is at Kariata, the Ebean capital, and it runs the empire as a powerful centralized ruling body. It is Kariata's own Mata who is, in practice, the empress, although her right of veto is very much limited. Elections to the city's council take place every three years; elections to the Council of Councils, every five .Elections are never held in two cities at the same time.
Taxes in Ebea are quite high, charged in currency with about 30% being sent to the capital, but civil service is absolutely exemplary. Bureaucrats are held up to an almost saintly standard and are summarily replaced, usually within the day, if they prove incompetent or abuse the position. Ebea does not practice redistribution of resources: the money goes into a number of civil institutions such as public medical clinics, schools, "houses for the poor" where both hot meals and job openings are offered, and of course the maintaining of the wells and channels system, the cities themselves, the ports, and sanitation.
Ebean agriculture is quite advanced, making use of the plough and primitive seeding devices, animal power, and an efficient system of expertly dug wells and channels. Not many crops grow, but those that do are well-adapted to the climate and prosper: wheat and barley, grapes, olives, figs, dates, blood oranges, and the pride of the empire � pomegranates, the Ebean national fruit, some of which grow to be the size of a child's head. Goats and sheep are the livestock of choice, and oxen are prize animals. The Sufts brought three important new animals with them � horses, a fast, foul-tempered breed; the vumi, a sort of tame goat antelope with bristly white fur; and large, docile sheepdogs with coats the colors of the desert.
Except in times of drought, shortage was never an Ebean problem, and the empire had a fairly sufficient surplus to support the influx of the nomadic tribes. The shores of Ebea are rich and fertile, in shocking contrast to the depth of the desert beyond the narrow strip in which the city-states are built. But Ebean economy is also dependent on the low mountains of that desert for a supply of metals � copper and iron highly abundant, gold is almost common, and gems come from the much deeper mines. The mountains also provide the colorful sands that go into Ebean glass art.
Ebean currency is made of copper and bronze and includes three basic units � the basic Tab (pure copper), the quarter-Tab (bronze) and the Ten-Tab (copper with a dusting of gold). A quarter-Tab is the price of a handsome clutch of grapes, and the price of a pair of healthy full-grown oxen � or a daughter for marriage � is about a hundred Ten-Tabs.
Despite a tradition of plenty, what really spurred on the Ebean golden age is the founding of colonies. Initially, worry about the growing population was what encouraged the first sailors out � now, Ebean economy is slowly becoming dependant on an influx of trade goods from any number of colonies in any number of neighboring lands. Spices, silks, ivory, exotic fruits (especially tomatoes), healing herbs and animal hides all flow into Ebea's ports regularly, and they have not been pricey for several decades now.
Suftic and Ebean are both dialects of a proto-language spoken by the first humans to arrive to the peninsula; they are about as compatible as Modern Hebrew and ancient Akkadian, not mutually comprehensible, but knowledge of one makes the other very easy to master. Ebean is much more commonly spoken today, as it is a much richer and versatile language.
Ebean is an agglutinative language, in which words are composed of distinguished morphemes rather than variants upon a root. It has a hard sound and staccato rhythm; like Japanese (and unlike Suftic, it should be noted), Ebean does not tolerate two consonants in succession, although diphthongs are common enough. The "i" sound is the most common vowel used. Ebean is characterized by a very precise approach to terminology, breaking down nouns to extremely exact descriptions, and is as such quite ideal for scientific and philosophical writing. While Ebean does not have different sociolects distinguishing social classes, as Suftic does, it does maintain a clear separation of pronouns regarding gender. The male words for "I", "me", "mine" are completely unlike the female words.
Suftic is softer in sound, ends most of its words on a vowel, and is much duller in its vocabulary but much richer in its grammatical forms, listing seven different tenses for the verb while Ebean lists three. A Suft's social status can be easily gleamed from their use of language, as can their age, as they have an easily distinguished "children's language". If Ebean is a natural language for nonfiction, Suftic was created to be sung. Many of the words in the two languages differ in pronunciation only.
Suftic has no written alphabet; Ebean writing began on parchment and is written as a flowing script resembling Cham script. The greatest masters of Ebean biabat sometimes dedicate years to composing poems that not only both mean and sound like the same thing, but look like it as well.
A note on names: Ebean names should be "translated" as the elves' names are, and are mostly one word or two-word combinations derived from various plants, weather phenomena, precious metals and colors � never adjectives. Some select members of the colony are named Coriander, Saffron, Thunderchild, Silvercoil.
Foreign relationships:
As foreign ties go, the Ebeans are perhaps the most benevolent colonialist empire that ever existed, for clear reasons. Once, the empire held the Suftic tribes in contempt; now that the Suftic conquest saved the empire, no Ebean will ever speak ill of another culture again. Intolerance is perhaps the strongest taboo in Ebean society.
The Ebeans treat the other human cultures they meet when building their colonies much as the Sufts treated them � moving in, integrating, teaching, sharing, and striving to establish a union that would be better than the sum of its parts. They don't always succeed, but they try their very hardest to never return hostility � only one colony to date ended up in a war, and the senate swiftly recalled the colonists all while still debating the empire's response.
"Ebea does not make war," the empire's children say. "There is enough of Ebea for everyone."
The Ebean Colony:
The colony on the land that the Ebeans call Eya-Lu-Ranat, land of rich forests, is government-licensed, composed for the most part of expert workers and their families, come to harvest the unique tree sap. Since it is not the most prized resource, the colony is small � only about a hundred men and women, two dozen families made up of "half-kukotas", living in a small colonist village the likes of which the Ebeans are already experienced in building and managing. The colony lives mostly off gardens where they grow whatever Ebean crops that thrive in the unfamiliar climate, and off regular shipments from their motherland. They harvest the sap and sell it to the senate, which pays their venue in goods.
Family life in the colony is strictly regulated to make sure the population remains steady and that there are always enough working hands. The colony is not meant to be more than a trade outpost. Instead, the colonists, who are all of long-mixed Ebean and Suftic blood, live a rich communal life preserving and celebrating the traditions of the empire. The Ramat Colony is really a lot like an early kibbutz.
The colony is ruled by a senate-appointed Mata, Coriander, and a senior engineer, who happens to be her husband, Thunderchild. Theirs is the final say, although a participatory democracy is practiced on most decisions. Coriander is an impressive woman with a host of personal problems she sets aside using her hard work, and while she isn't very loved by the colonists, her husband is, and together they command a great deal of respect.
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Las Vegas / Lifestyle / Travel
Top Travel Destinations in 2022: Las Vegas, South Florida, Los Cabos
2021 is winding down and the holiday season is upon us. What will be the top travel destinations in 2022? Of course, there are many to choose from all around the world. COVID-19 is still gripping the travel industry, as most countries battle this ongoing pandemic.
We want to share three top travel destinations in 2022: Las Vegas, South Florida, Los Cabos
Slated to open its doors in early 2022, Illuminarium Experiences, a breakthrough global experiential entertainment company created by worldwide leaders in cinematic and interactive content, architectural and theatrical design, and venue operations. They will open its second Illuminarium at AREA15, Las Vegas' newest immersive events and entertainment district.
The 33,000 square-foot, purpose-built building will be on the western side of the main AREA15 complex. Audiences will be transported to spectacles unlike any other, while participating in a shared and connected experience. In addition to the opening of Illuminarium, the first new hotel on the Strip in more than a decade recently opened. Plus, there are renovations at others properties: The Las Vegas Hilton, The Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords
From Miami's current beginnings of a dining golden era to West Palm Beach's expansion of endless cultural venues and museums, South Florida is as busy as ever. As of November, getting around the tropical destination has also never been easier. Brightline, the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail in America, is back in service after a 19-month hiatus. It runs between its Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach stations.
Brightline has relaunched with multiple service enhancements and investments. For example, its new fully integrated, door-to-door booking service Brightline+ which is powered by its app and supported by a new fleet of Brightline branded vehicles. In addition, they offer upgraded food and beverage options. Also relaunching with Brightline is Citizens, a new 26,000 SF culinary center by C3. They are the leading global food tech platform. They will house C3 by sbe's restaurant offerings that are inspired by globally renowned chefs. For example: "Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto, Chef Katsuya Uechi, Michelin Starred chef Dani García and Chef Dario Cecchini.
Los Cabos, Mexico
Coming out to the pandemic, Los Cabos is reporting a huge spike in tourism numbers. Cabo is Mexico's leading tourism destination. Airline seats are expected to increase by 45 percent from the U.S. from November 2021 to April 2022 compared to the same periods in 2019 and 2020.
After undergoing a $10 million renovation, one of the destination's leading hotels ME Cabo has reopened its doors. The luxury hotel will be a completely transformed resort. Every aspect of the property has been reimagined from guest rooms and lounges to food and beverage partnerships. As part of the Me by Meliá collection, ME Cabo embraces its beautiful location in Cabo San Lucas, overlooking the southernmost tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.
Hotel guests will find a new bold and contemporary design that will enrich each guest's experiences. All 170 guest rooms have been remodeled to embrace traditional Mexican design. They all boast an eclectic feel, mixing rustic wood furnishings with bright and vivid colors. In addition, rooms range from 425 to 3,000 square feet and feature a private, furnished balcony or terrace with garden or ocean views. Plus other amenities include: rainfall showers, fully stocked Maxibar, integrated room technologies and bath amenities by C.O. Bigelow.
The luxury Los Cabos hotel partnered with popular Mexican restaurant group Grupo Rosa Negra. Hence, they will to debut four new culinary hotspots: Confessions Skybar & Tapas, Taboo Beach Club & Restaurant, Funky Geisha, and Mamazzita Mexican Soul. The new culinary concepts are dedicated to serving locally sourced produce and ingredients that explore Latin American cuisine.
What top travel destinations do you want to visit next year? Please share your thoughts. The Life of Luxury offers luxury travel services to meet all of your travel needs. Please contact us today!
We hope you enjoyed reading about several of our top travel destinations in 2022: Las Vegas, South Florida, Los Cabos. Return again soon and follow our luxury blog.
Tags: FloridaLas VegasLos Cabos
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Ministry of Agriculture: By 11 July, Russia harvested 20 million tons of grain
16.07.2012 Category: UkraineAuthor: admin
By 11 July, Russia harvested 20 million tons of grain, which is 9.3 million tons more than, than July 11 last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Who is involved in the harvesting of Orenburg region.
Whole grains and legumes by 11 July collected from an area of 6.2 million hectares (13.7% to the area of sowing), which is 2 million hectares more than in July 11, 2012 The average yield increased to 32.1 c / ha against 25.4 c / ha in 2012
Wheat collected from an area of 5.1 million hectares (20.5% of the planted area), which is 1.5 million hectares more than in July 11, 2012 threshed 16.7 million tons (7.5 million tons more) an average yield of 32.8 q / ha against 25.8 c / ha in 2012
Barley harvested from an area of 523.5 hectares (5.9% of the planted area, at 337.2 thousand ha). Harvested 1.9 million tons (1.3 million tons more) an average yield of 35.9 q / ha against 31.8 c / ha in 2012
Potatoes are harvested from an area of 12.6 hectares, dig up the tubers 234.4 thousand tons with an average yield of 186.3 kg / ha. Other types of vegetables are removed from the area of 13 thousand hectares harvested 201.5 thousand tons with an average yield of 154.9 kg / ha.
According to the forecast of Ministry of Agriculture, the grain harvest in 2013 will reach 95 million tons.
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Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Republic of the Congo, speaks on Africa's relationship with the U.S.
In this exclusive interview, we catch up with Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Republic of the Congo to learn about Africa's relationship with the United States, terrorism, constitutional controversies and environmental conservation.
Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou N'Guesso arrives at the North Portico of the White House for a State Dinner on the occasion of the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit, August 5, 2014 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images Last week President Barack Obama hosted nearly 50 African heads of state for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first such event in the United States.
One of those guests stands out in a crowd. Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Republic of the Congo and two-time chairman of the African Union, is also one of the most experienced leaders in the global fight against terrorism.
As one the most respected politicians in the region, he is actively involved in bringing peace to this notoriously unstable region. Two weeks ago, he played a key role in an agreement that ended violence in the Central African Republic, and he is currently facilitating political dialogue between the opposition and President Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Leading the country with the second biggest rainforest area in the world, Nguesso is a vigorous advocate for environmental conservation.
But he is not free of controversy; Nguesso was criticized by the Washington for involvement in the constitutional change that would allow him to become president for the third time. Metro asked Nguesso about this controversy, his relationship with U.S. and the situation in his region.
Metro: Do you think that Congo is or should be an important partner of America's?
President Obama's initiative to invite the leaders of African countries to a U.S.-Africa Summit, and the enthusiastic response from our side, answers your question. In Congo, we see three areas of cooperation.
2. With some of the highest economic growth rates in the world, Africa should be a magnet for American investment and business. Congo is certainly no exception. It forms part of what I would like to call the world's new economic frontier.The backbone of our modern economy is the oil sector, where Chevron plays an important role. But there are plenty of other opportunities: telecommunications, eco tourism and financial services, to name a few.Our Atlantic port, Pointe Noir, has all the prerequisites for a major point of transit for the Central African area.
3. The time has come for a massive U.S.-African partnership in the field of education. Young Africans all over the continent yearn to attend American universities, whose reputation [places them] among the world's leading institutions.
Of course there is. We believe strongly in the benefits of American entrepreneurship and the ability of American business in general to help bring about economic development in our country. In Congo, as in Africa in general, there is room for everybody. We welcome American businessmen with open arms.
Many leaders proclaim democratic rule in their countries while human rights are being violated. What is the true state of affairs in Congo?
I will answer this question, but first I think that for most Africans, most Congolese, other problems seem far more important. Among these would be poverty, unemployment, lack of hope and future, a feeling of injustice and exclusion, frustration at inequitable divisions of natural resources, lack of educational opportunities; weakness of institutions of the state, threats of instability, unrest and armed conflict. Congo, like other African countries, is a young nation, thus it lacks the institutions and the strength of old, established states to effectively provide responses to these daunting challenges and problems.
Now to your question. Congo harbors no political or journalistic prisoners. Political parties and the press exercise their rights and freedoms without limitation. We have established a national watchdog for human rights, Observatoire National des Droits de l'Homme, in which all political parties are represented.
There is a debate whether to change the constitution of the country to allow a sitting president to run for a third term in office. Such constitutional change would enable you, subject to an election victory, to stay in office. Is this the "democratic way"?
First I want to point out that in 1992 I was defeated in a presidential election. I accepted this defeat and left the field to the winner. I therefore do not feel that I have to defend my democratic credentials. Now to your question, I believe in the sovereignty of the Congolese people, among whom the debate on this issue is freely taking place — and very publicly, too. If the people finally decide on a referendum on this matter, then who am I or any other politician to question this decision. It is not as if term limits signify a mark of democracy. Angela Merkel has just secured a mandate for a third period in office as chancellor. We all recall Margaret Thatcher's parliamentary victories, which three times secured for her the prime ministership of the United Kingdom.
I would like to add that the question for debate and public decision today is merely whether a sitting president in Congo would be able to present his candidacy three times instead of two times. The question is not whether I should be shooed in as president. Under the circumstances, I have not even decided on my course of action in this regard.
Through your country's mediation, and intervention, in the Central African Republic, located to the north of the Congo, and your work to establish political concord in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the south, you have gained a reputation as an effective promoter of African security? How do you view the state of peace and security in Africa — in particular, your region?
The inability of our continent to prevent crisis and reduce the number of bloody conflicts is aggravated by the humiliation of having to call upon the former colonial powers, first of all France, but also Great Britain, to solve them. The lack of logistic and modern military means is not the only cause. However, the most important thing is our own political will. In the past, there has not been enough of it, but now there is. I believe that it is time for Africa to take control of its fate by reacting more decisively, and earlier. Africa must take its destiny in its own hands.
Congo's security, stability and national development is directly threatened from different directions. From the Gulf of Guinea, where piracy at sea has taken on worrying proportions, to north Cameroun, not far from our border, where terrorists belonging to Boko Haram have set up bases. Terrorists are also present in the Central African Republic, where we have deployed forces and where I, myself, act as a mediator in this country's internal strife. To the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to experience much political instability, which over time repeatedly has translated into armed violence.
Congo hosts the second largest rainforest in the world. At the global environment conference "Rio+20" in 2012 you represented Africa, nominated by the African Union. What are your policy recommendations for the preservation of Congo's and Africa's ecology?
The Earth is in danger. Saving it is a battle in which all our states must stand on the front line. And each of our nations must face up to its responsibilities to do this and to do it now. For us, we know what the international community expects from us. First and foremost, it expects Congo, my country, to help save the vast Congo basin, which is the home to one of the largest terrestrial biodiversity conservation zones in the world. To this end, my country puts the sustainable management of forest ecosystems at the heart of its priorities and works tirelessly with a view to bringing about common policy and legislation for the forests of Central Africa.