Western blot analysis of extracts from 293T cells, transfected with 100 nM SignalSilence® Control siRNA (Unconjugated) #6568 (-), SignalSilence® Cbl-b siRNA I #12130 (+), or SignalSilence® Cbl-b siRNA II (+), using Cbl-b (D3C12) Rabbit mAb #9498 (upper) or GAPDH (D16H11) XP® Rabbit mAb #5174 (lower). The Cbl-b (D3C12) Rabbit mAb confirms silencing of Cbl-b expression, while the GAPDH (D16H11) XP® Rabbit mAb is used as a loading control.
CST recommends transfection with 100 nM SignalSilence® Cbl-b siRNA II 48 to 72 hours prior to cell lysis. For transfection procedure, follow protocol provided by the transfection reagent manufacturer. Please feel free to contact CST with any questions on use.
SignalSilence® Cbl-b siRNA II from Cell Signaling Technology (CST) allows the researcher to specifically inhibit Cbl-b expression using RNA interference, a method whereby gene expression can be selectively silenced through the delivery of double stranded RNA molecules into the cell. All SignalSilence® siRNA products from CST are rigorously tested in-house and have been shown to reduce target protein expression by western analysis.


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Home Blog Walsh Whiskey Distillery Secures €4m Contract in Ontario, Canada
Walsh Whiskey Distillery Secures €4m Contract in Ontario, Canada
Eleanor Reynolds
Bernard Walsh, Founder & Managing Director of Walsh Whiskey Distillery and Russell Woodman, Chief Executive, Woodman Wines & Spirits Inc (Toronto) shake on a €4m contract over four years for the exclusive distribution of Walsh Whiskey's full portfolio of 10 super-premium whiskeys under the Writers' Tears and The Irishman portfolios in Ontario, Canada.
Woodman Wines & Spirits Inc Become Exclusive Agent in Ontario for Entire Writers' Tears & The Irishman Whiskey Portfolios!
Walsh Whiskey Distillery, one of Ireland's leading whiskey producers, has agreed a €4m contract over four years with Woodman Wines & Spirits Inc. for the exclusive sale of its full portfolio of 10 super-premium whiskeys under the Writers' Tears and The Irishman portfolios in Ontario, Canada. The contract was signed as part of the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine's Trade Mission to Canada and the United States led by Minister Michael Creed T.D.
Canada is a Top 10 market and one of the fastest growing markets worldwide for Irish whiskey, growing by 20.5% for the first 10 months of 2017. Walsh Whiskey has been exporting Writers' Tears to Canada since 2013 in association with Woodman Wine & Spirits. Ontario's economy is valued at €495bn (C$763bn) and is Canada's most populous State with 14 million people, many of whom live in the Canadian capital of Ottawa and cosmopolitan Toronto.
Under the contract, Woodman Wines & Spirits Inc. becomes the exclusive agent for the complete Walsh Whiskey portfolio of 10 premium and super-premium whiskeys. There are three SKUs under the Writer' Tears' range, namely: Writers' Tears – Copper Pot; Writers' Tears – Red Head and Writers' Tears – Cask Strength. The Irishman range includes 7 SKUs – The Irishman – Founder's Reserve; The Irishman – Single Malt; The Irishman – 12 Year Old Single Malt; The Irishman – 17 Year Old; The Irishman – Founder's Reserve Marsala Cask Finish;The Irishman –12 Year Old Single Malt Marsala Cask Finish and The Irishman –Cask Strength.
The contract is being announced today as part of a trade mission by the Irish government's Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in association with Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board.
The trade mission is led by Minister Michael Creed T.D., who said: "This partnership between Walsh Whiskey and Woodman Wines & Spirits is an exemplar of what we believe many other Irish and Canadian companies can do together. It is the result of a partnership based on an excellent product and an excellent service, cemented by trust that they have built since their first commercial steps together a few years ago."
Welcoming the deal, Bernard Walsh, the Founder and Managing Director of Walsh Whiskey said: "Having watched Writers' Tears – Copper Pot achieve great success under Woodman's guidance, especially in places like Toronto, we now have great confidence in what Woodman Wines & Spirits can do with our entire portfolio. If my own experiences here as an Irish man are anything to go by, then The Irishman range of whiskeys will soon be beneficiaries of a great company and beneficial to great company…if you see what I mean!"
Jason Woodman, Vice President, of Woodman Wines & Spirits said: "As the success of Writers' Tears has shown, there's tremendous interest in authentic, Irish whiskey here in Ontario. With the introduction of The Irishman range of whiskies, to complement the Writers' Tears range, we're going to further grow the category, and work hard to bring it to the attention of enthusiastic consumers. We are priviledged to represent some of the top brands in the world and count Walsh Whiskey Distillery among our key suppliers."
Bernard Walsh
Minister Michael Creed T.D.
WalshWhiskey
Woodmans Wines & Spirits
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ReJoyce! It's Our 34th Annual Bloomsday Celebration Sunday June 16,


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Great Panther Makes Positive Production Decision for Coricancha
Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX: GPR; NYSE American: GPL) ("Great Panther", the "Company") is pleased to report that it has approved a positive production decision for its 100% owned Coricancha gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper mine ("Coricancha") in Peru. The decision was based upon the final results of the trial stope and bulk sample program (the "Bulk Sample Program" or "BSP"), which confirmed the key operating assumptions for Coricancha contained in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") and detailed in the Company's May 31, 2018 press release.
"We are pleased with the results of the BSP and look forward to advancing Coricancha towards commercial production," stated James Bannantine, President and CEO. "The actual restart date is expected in the first half of 2020 and will be aligned with our other mining operations to ensure the project has the necessary planning and resources in place to optimize operations and profitability. Coricancha is expected to produce approximately 40,000 gold equivalent ounces annually and will be an important addition to Great Panther's production portfolio going forward."
BSP Summary
The objective of the BSP was to validate key mine and processing plant operating parameters in the PEA, (PEA technical report can be found here). A total of 5,089 tonnes of mineralized material mined from the Constancia and Escondida veins was processed through the plant. The BSP produced 15,561 ounces of silver, 303 ounces of gold, 107,319 pounds of lead, and 99,889 pounds of zinc through the production of a zinc concentrate and a lead concentrate.
Highlights of the BSP
The BSP utilized an overhand cut-and-fill mining method to mine an average vein width of 40 cm. The mining widths experienced during the BSP were between 94 – 110 cm. The PEA assumed a minimum mining width of 90 cm for vein widths of less than 50 cm.
The BSP achieved development rates in the range of 3.2 m/day, which were consistent with the development rates assumed in the PEA (3.0 m/day).
Metallurgical recoveries of the BSP were 90.3% Ag, 76.0% Au, 85.7% Pb and 82.9% Zn. These recovery levels are in line with those in the PEA.
Opportunities to Enhance Economics
The Company identified several opportunities during the BSP to enhance overall economics of the project. These include opportunities to reduce dilution levels, lower transportation costs, improve plant recoveries, and optimize tailings management.
During the BSP, the Company did not utilize the bio-oxidation circuit due to the sample size and lead time required to initiate the process. The tradeoff between operating cost and additional gold recovery associated with the utilization of the bio-oxidation will be analyzed and optimized in advance of a restart. In addition, a copper concentrate was not produced due to the low copper grades of the mined sample, however, a copper circuit exists and will be available for processing higher grade materials.
There is also potential to increase the life of the mine through developing a mine plan for the resources not incorporated into the PEA, which utilizes only approximately 28% of the overall resource. The restart of Coricancha also opens a significant exploration opportunity through additional underground drilling and development.
With the BSP completed, the Company will keep Coricancha on care and maintenance while additional engineering and operational planning is completed prior to start-up to further optimize and de-risk the project. The development timeline necessary to restart Coricancha and reach full scale production is expected to be less than one year.
http://www.greatpanther.com


A small group of believers that 316NOW is working with in one of China's cities is served by a leader who has no formal training as a pastor. He has taken no college courses and has not attended a seminary. But 316NOW's online Bible institute has provided him with many courses in theology and pastoral practice. We have mentors who work with this leader.
One of our U.S. mentors reported how this leader and his group have been developing a plan for their ministry this year. It includes short-term mission programs, as well as long-range ministry goals.


Alfalfa's are categorized by their dormancy and winter hardiness. (see Alfalfa management guide in references.) The lower the number i.e. Dormancy 2, the more fall dormant and winter hardy the alfalfa is. So a Dormancy 2 works well at high altitudes and in extremely cold winters and a Dormancy 8 alfalfa is suited to warm climates and long growing seasons.
Min. Precipitation: 10" - 40"


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Baylor Scott & White Rehabilitation – Dallas Carroll Avenue is located at the intersection of N. Carroll Ave. and Gaston Rd. This clinic is designed with the athlete in mind. With a strong focus on orthopedic sports injuries, our staff of licensed physical therapists specialize in sports medicine and orthopedic physical therapy. We also treat a wide range of individuals suffering from back/neck pain, joint problems, balance disorders and work-related injuries. We will work with you to design a therapy plan around your needs so you can get your game back as quickly as possible.


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Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online
Authors: Editors Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp I - XX
The Interpretation of Security Council Resolutions, Revisited
Authors: Michael Wood
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 1 - 35This article first considers whether there is any general theory of interpretation in international law. After revisiting the way in which Security Council resolutions are drafted, it reviews developments in regard to the interpretation of Security Council resolutions, including controversies, case-law, and writings. Also considered is the relevance to the subject of the Dutch and United Kingdom Iraq inquiries. The conclusions re-examine, and largely confirm, the approach taken in an article published in 1998.
The Work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf: Current
Accomplishments and Challenges on the Verge of Its 20th Anniversary
Authors: Paula M. Vernet
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 36 - 702017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), in coincidence with its 43rd session. This session has been the last before the expiration of the term of office of its current members. Elections were held in June. During this five year period, the CLCS faced great challenges: the workload of the Commission increased dramatically, stays in New York became longer, conditions of work became an issue; the complexity of the Submissions required new interpretations and more time for their consideration; new revised Submissions were made and brought new alterations in the order of Submissions on the list waiting to be analysed. This article provides some views on the work carried out by the CLCS following the election of members of the Commission at the twenty-second Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, held in June 2012, up to December 2016, in an attempt to assess the accomplishments and challenges of the last five years.
Marine Genetic Resources in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Issues
with, in and outside of UNCLOS
Authors: Natalie Y. Morris-Sharma
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 71 - 97The negotiations for a new international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS, on marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, has brought to the fore interesting questions over the applicable regime for marine genetic resources, including issues of benefit sharing. This article examines the different principles that have been suggested as applying to marine genetic resources, as well as suggestions of middle-of-the-way approaches. The freedom of the high seas, common heritage of mankind, common concern of humankind, Part xiii of UNCLOS on marine scientific research, and the Nagoya Protocol, are reflected on in turn. Brief reflections are also offered on the matter of intellectual property rights. This article recognizes the need for coherence with the existing UNCLOS regimes that apply to the areas beyond national jurisdiction, whilst taking into account the specific characteristics of marine genetic resources. There is potential utility in distilling means by which the seemingly diametrically opposed notions in Part vii and Part xi of UNCLOS may overlap. Perhaps the best point of entry for successful navigation of the issues is through the regime for marine scientific research, appropriately informed by other experiences, other existing agreements, and related regimes. Ultimately, the new implementing agreement, like its parent treaty (UNCLOS), will need to maintain a balance of interests.
Non-discrimination, Accommodation, and Intersectionality under the CRPD:
New Trends and Challenges for the UN Human Rights System
Authors: Wiebke Ringel
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 98 - 130On 3 May 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) entered into force. The CRPD is the first human rights treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly in the 21st century. It is also the first binding international law instrument that specifically and comprehensively addresses disability from a human rights perspective. Building on existing UN human rights treaties, the CRPD aims to strengthen the effective enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities. Specifically, the new convention seeks to remedy the neglect and marginalization of the rights of persons with disabilities not just at the national level but also at the international level, most notably within the UN treaty system. In this regard, the new convention endorses innovative and new approaches relating to, inter alia, the notions of disability, nondiscrimination, and intersectionality. This article analyses selected emerging key issues, including the principle of reasonable accommodation and the intersectionality of disability and gender. A specific focus will be on the emerging jurisprudence of the responsible treaty body, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While some of the aspects discussed may appear to primarily arise under a disability-specific perspective, it is suggested that they could potentially provide an impetus to advance the UN human rights system in general, beyond the context of disability.
The Realization of the Ethical Mandate of UNESCO in 2015 and in 2016
Authors: Fruzsina Molnár-Gábor
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 131 - 149UNESCO has fulfilled its ethical mandate in 2015 and in 2016 foremost by standard-setting activities within its various ethics committees. The IBC' and IGBC'S work focused on the principle of benefit sharing, on the update of IBC'S reflection on the issues of the human genome and human rights as well as on big data in health care and health research and on bioethical questions arising from conditions of refugees and migrants. In the meantime, COMEST has concentrated its efforts on climate change and on elaborating on a post-2015 agenda for the context of science, technology and society as well as on the ethics of water and oceans and the ethics of robotics. Common feature of the standard-setting work of these bodies in 2015 and 2016 remains that UNESCO establishes a strong link between bioethical principles and the human rights framework. However, the developed global principles in different areas have again not resulted in a declaratory standard-setting and thus remain beyond any factual binding force of the already established three international and universal declarations of UNESCO in the field of bioethics. Although an intensified cooperation between the different bodies can be observed, it remains to be seen, which results the external auditing of the work of UNESCO brings about on the issue of governance within the organization.
The Complexities of the Gravity Threshold in the International Criminal
Court: A Practical Necessity or an Insidious Pitfall'
Authors: Ghazia Popalzai; Hiba Thobani
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 150 - 169The issue addressed in this article is whether and to what extent the gravity thres-hold in the Rome Statute serves its purpose in determining case admissibility to the ICC. To answer this question, the article analyses the problems and pitfalls inherent in the concept and drafting of the threshold. These problems include, (1) the lack of a definition for the term 'gravity' and the difficulty of drafting a definition, (2) the problems associated with using the threshold as a justification for choosing some cases over others, (3) the overlap with the ICC'S subject matter jurisdiction and (4) the loose justiciability of the Prosecutor's discretion in case selection.
The Status and Criminal Accountability of Members of Formed Police Units:
Conflicting Positions, Current and Future Prospects
Authors: Zsuzsanna Deen-Racsmány
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 170 - 212Introduced in 1999, formed police units (FPUS) constitute a relatively recent invention in the history of UN peacekeeping. Yet, currently more than 10,000 individuals are deployed in such units. Their members are un civilian police officers but – like military personnel – they may be given executive mandates. Consequently, (the optimal regulation of) their legal position (i.e. whether equivalent to that of military members of national contingents or of UN experts on mission) and (of) their criminal accountability (i.e. exclusive contributing State jurisdiction and/or permissibility of host State criminal jurisdiction) have been a subject of prolonged disagreement. The legal-political struggle between the UN Secretariat (Office of Legal Affairs) and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations concerning these issues has triggered important clarifications of the existing rules and led to revisions of legal instruments, including the most recent amendments to the UN Model Memorandum of Understanding.Through a study of this process, the present article aims to clarify the legal status and criminal accountability of FPU officers, as well as to predict the stability of the current legal status quo. In addition, the analysis of these issues provides valuable insights into the relevant practice of and priorities within the UN and among troop and police contributing countries. It thus even helps assess chances that military members of national contingents may in the future be subjected to the criminal jurisdiction of host States. Last but not least, the study highlights the importance of accurate and up-to-date information.
Autonomy and Accountability of the UN in Peacekeeping Operations: The Case
of the Central African Republic
Authors: Ginevra Le Moli
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 213 - 238This article explores the tension between autonomy and accountability of international organizations with a focus on the role of the United Nations in the context of peacekeeping operations. What triggered the interest in this particular matter was the recent failure by the UN in the Central African Republic to prevent and respond to allegations of sexual exploitation and/or abuse crimes committed by UN peacekeepers.A more theoretical analysis of the meaning of autonomy in the law of international organizations will be followed by a practical examination of issues of accountability and existing mechanisms to address them. The assessment of the current legal and judicial framework is followed by a further exploration of the main challenges and possible alternative solutions to bridge the gap between two mutually constitutive concepts. The primary (and modest) purpose of this analysis is to attempt to plant legal seeds that can not only grow into an ethical and accountable culture within the un but also be instrumental in preventing abuses and be strong enough to remain in place when the public spotlight on crimes has been turned off.
Transnational Criminal Investigations in Cyberspace: Challenges to
Authors: Ulrich Sieber; Carl-Wendelin Neubert
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 239 - 321The internet has become a major place of business for criminals. Due to the properties of cyberspace, crime committed on or by means of the internet is typically transnational in nature. This poses a significant obstacle for law enforcement authorities. As a rule, transnational exercise of enforcement jurisdiction traditionally constitutes a violation of another State's territorial sovereignty. But do the same rules apply in the 'global cyberspace''This article examines the applicability of the principle of territorial sovereignty in cyberspace. It rejects solutions that treat cyberspace as a common good and argues that transborder online criminal investigations infringe the territorial sovereignty of the State where the accessed data are located. Consequently, the analysis assesses justifications for such infringements on the basis of international treaty law, customary international law, and circumstances precluding wrongfulness. For the most intricate cases of loss of location, the analysis develops a carefully delimited, new solution based on the principle of necessity. The article also sheds light on future perspectives and advocates for a 'cooperative cyberspace' of investigators to counterbalance the unfettered global cyberspace of perpetrators.
Regulatory Safeguards in Mega-regionals against Sovereignty Loss
Authors: Christian Riffel
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 322 - 366Trade and investment agreements are disputed because they limit the regulatory autonomy of national legislatures of participating countries. This is particularly true of mega-regionals given their expanded scope. On that account, negotiators build safe-guards into the agreements with a view to containing the intrusion into the national legal order. The debate revolves around whether the envisaged safeguards are sufficient to achieve that goal or whether, de lege ferenda, more needs to be done to find the right power balance. The present essay, first of all, elucidates the extent of sovereignty loss as a result of mega-regionals, and secondly, explores some options to secure policy space for national lawmakers, such as the use of broader exception clauses or the setting of guidelines for the calculation of damages.
South China Sea Arbitral Awards: Main Findings and Assessment
Authors: Jin-Hyun Paik
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 367 - 407The South China Sea arbitration was an unusual case involving many intricate legal and factual issues. The proceedings were both procedurally and substantively complex. In addition, the arbitration was marred from the beginning by China's refusal to participate in the proceedings. Nevertheless, an arbitral tribunal was constituted in accordance with Annex vii to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Once constituted, the Tribunal was able to conduct the proceedings expeditiously while assuring procedural fairness to both parties. The arbitral proceedings, which lasted three and half years since its initiation by the Philippines in January 2013, eventually produced two voluminous Awards. Both Awards were decided unanimously. The Awards marked an important milestone in terms of clarifying various provisions of the Convention. In particular, the Tribunal clarified the relationship between the Convention and prior historic rights that are at variance with its Convention. The Tribunal also undertook an unprecedented task in determining how Art. 121 (3) of the Convention should be interpreted and applied. The Tribunal took a broad and proactive approach towards the scope of the marine environment as well as that of the obligation of States to protect the marine environment. The Awards, however, are not free of controversy. Questions can be raised as to several aspects of the Awards. The Awards would have implications that go far beyond the immediate dispute. For the dispute between the Philippines and China, it remains to be seen whether the Awards, by addressing some of the most contentious legal issues, would help the Parties to find a constructive solution to their dispute in the South China Sea.
Protection Gaps and Temporary Protection
Authors: Meltem Ineli-Ciger
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 408 - 435The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the 1951 Convention) does not address all the challenging questions posed by contemporary forced migration. The 1951 Convention does not deal with persons fleeing armed conflict, admission and large-scale movement of forced migrants in a clear and comprehensive manner. In addition to this, restrictive interpretation of the refugee definition provided in Art. 1 A (2) of the 1951 Convention by State authorities, popularity of non-entrée policies and the absence of solidarity in response to large-scale forced migration movements create protection gaps. A number of initiatives have been adopted at the national, regional and international level to remedy these gaps and one of them is temporary protection. This article focuses on protection gaps and temporary protection. The first part of the article explores the extent to which the 1951 Convention deals with persons fleeing armed conflict, admission and mass-influx situations, and it seeks to clarify the reason why there are protection gaps concerning these issues. Building on this analysis, the second part of the article defines temporary protection by reviewing temporary protection policies in Turkey, the United States and the European Union and it explores to what extent temporary protection regimes can remedy protection gaps and provide effective protection to forced migrants.
Prisoners Dilemma: Ascertaining and Augmenting the Multinational NIAC
Detention Regime
Authors: Yateesh Begoore
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 436 - 458While International Humanitarian Law (IHL) contains a comprehensive framework of rules and procedural protections for detainees in international armed conflicts (IACS), there is a conspicuous absence of such rules and protections for detainees in the case of non-international armed conflicts (NIACS). In fact, as the recent Serdar Mohammad v. Ministry of Defence case pointed out, the rules pertaining to NIACS make no mention of detention authority at all, leading some scholars to conclude that International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and not IHL, governs NIAC detention.Contrarily, this paper contends that not only does IHL govern (as well as grant authority for) NIAC detentions, the regime's shortcomings regarding procedural safe-guards and treatment standards may be remedied through the application of the Copenhagen Process Principles – as evolutive interpretation or interpretation based on subsequent agreement – to Common Art. 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
Key Legal and Political Developments at the United Nations in 2016
Authors: Tilmann J. Röder; Maximilian Spohr
Impartiality and Independence of Arbitrators in International Arbitration:
Issue Conflicts as Grounds for Disqualification with Special Regard to
ICSID Arbitrations
Authors: Pablo Agustín Alonso
Abstract: Source: Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 535 - 601The grounds for disqualification of arbitrators provided by most arbitration rules refer to the relationships of arbitrators with the parties or the subject matter of the dispute – i.e., issue conflicts. However, some of those rules used to be vague or unclear, which resulted in incomplete arbitrators' disclosures, unfunded challenge requests and awards that lacked homogeneity. Following a case-study research method, the paper focuses on the ICSID investor-State dispute settlement mechanism. It analyses and compares the ICSID Convention and Arbitration Rules, the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in light of challenge awards. The paper stresses the relevance of arbitrators' disclosure duty and the importance of clearly defining the scope and content of 'impartiality' and 'independence' as a guidance for parties and deciding authorities when raising or deciding upon a challenge request. In particular, the study aims to show how international investment arbitrations deal with issue conflicts as grounds for disqualification, by analyzing their main causes: multiple appointments of arbitrators, similar legal issues to be decided and permission to serve both as counsel and arbitrator.
Charles Fombad (ed.): Separation of Powers in African Constitutionalism
(Stellenbosch Handbooks in African Constitutional Law, Oxford: oup 2016),
512 pages, isbn 978-0-19-875979-9
Authors: Daniel Heilmann
Cameron S.G. Jefferies: (Oxford: oup 2016), xii + 401 pages
Authors: Johannes Fuchs


Sounding Jewish Tradition: The Music of Central Synagogue. New York: Central Synagogue, 2011.
[Co-edited with Gregory Barz:] The Culture of AIDS in Africa: Hope and Healing Through Music and the Arts. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
"Rewriting the Grand Narrative of Jewish Music: Abraham Z. Idelsohn in the United States." Jewish Quarterly Review 100, #3 (Summer 2010): 417-453.
"Inscribing Ourselves with History: The Production of Heritage in Today's Caribbean Jewish Diaspora." In Jane Gerber, ed., The Jewish Diaspora in the Caribbean. Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2014, pp. 361-387.
The Making of a Reform Jewish Cantor: Musical Authority, Cultural Investment. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.
Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 2004.
"Music Institutions and the Transmission of Tradition." Ethnomusicology 53, #2 (Spring/Summer 2009): 308-325.
"Hip-Hop Judaica: The Politics of Representin' Heebster Heritage." Popular Music 28, #1 (Winter 2009): 1-18.
"Musical Tradition and the Crisis of Place: Reform Jewish Songleading, Shabbat Shirah, and the New Dining Hall." Western Folklore 67, #4 (February 2009): 321-349.
"The Jewish Sound of Things." Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art & Belief. 3(3) (2007): 336-353.
My training as a musicologist and an anthropologist, and my professional activity within Jewish studies, has allowed me to explore many aspects of Jewish culture and history. As a child, I spent two years in St. Thomas, USVI; and I returned to this island in my first book (Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, USVI), which is both a historical narrative and a meditation on writing the history of a small community. In my doctoral work, I explored the meaning of becoming a Reform Jewish cantor at the turn of the twenty-first century, based on three years of ethnographic study with cantorial students. Subsequent projects have led me to investigate the history of Jewish music scholarship in the United States, musical theater works that address Holocaust memory, contemporary forms of Jewish musical expression, and musical representations of such cultural figures as Anne Frank and Shylock.
Throughout my research, I have focused on the idea of Jewish cultural expression as a dynamic and ever-changing process, created and recreated over time by artists, religious leaders, philosophers and activists. I have aimed to understand this idea largely through the prism of sound, and its relationship to ideas of Jewish identity.


OWN A REAL IMMACULATE PIECE OF AVIATION HISTORY!
BOEING 737-300 Classic full cockpit with avionics. This is one of the most complete 737 flight-decks that we have ever seen and worked on.
The sale includes the entire nose structure of the 737 Classic 300 aircraft as well as everything that you see in the pictures on the interior. It is very rare to find a cockpit that is not cannibalized for parts after the plane retires. The cockpit was a United 737 and was kept in an enclosed storage facility after removal. It did not come from a desert location or stayed under the sun which damages the interior very quickly once the windows are removed.
The cockpit will come with the aluminum fuselage and will include the cockpit bulkhead and the cockpit door in the back. All of the structure and the components of the yokes, rudders and throttle are also included.
All internal trim, genuine instrument panel avionics panels, overhead panels, rudders, yokes, throttle quadrant, intact circuit-brake panels, fold-down jump-seat, and all of the accessories like communication units and everything that is still in the cabin.
The sale will also include the access stairs you see in the pictures. The staircase is mobile and very easy to move.
We can supply a set of 737 flight deck crew seats on request. This would be an additional item and would be executed as a separate item and would not be a part of this auction/sale.
Currently, the unit is not on a special base structure. If needed, we are more than happy to engineer and manufacture a fully movable base structure that will support the entire cockpit, make it easily to move and relocate as well as allow the maximum access to the underside of the cockpit. Sample shown in the pictures under our 747- 400 cockpit.
This 737 cockpit would make the perfect core foundation shell for any serious simulator builder or a dynamic display for aviation museum or event. The shell shares the dimensions of the popular 737 NG (Next Generation) as well as the (currently unpopular) 737-MAX.
Concord Aerospace would be more than happy to assist with the planning, development and of the execution of such project as well if needed. We can also supply real 737 hardware that can be utilized in such serious projects.
The cockpit would ship via freight and we can organize the shipping and the transportation Worldwide. We can get you in touch with our logistics suppliers directly if you prefer to organize that operation yourself. The cockpit will have to be prepped, wrapped and possibly crated depending on the final delivery location. At this point, the cost of that amount is not included in this eBay sale.
HEIGHT: 85 inches at the highest point which is the bulkhead over the cockpit door.
At this point, we are not looking to part this cockpit out and sell individual components such as just the throttle or yokes, rudders etc. If you are in need of individual components, feel free to reach us. We are happy to answer any questions as best as we can and hope to see this cockpit find a new home.
Thank you and don't miss out on this rare cockpit.


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text:
Review of Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: I'M OBSESSED
Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes&Noble
Private detective/wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden is suckered into tangling in the affairs of Faerie, where the fate of the entire world-and his soul-are at stake.
Of course I'm obsessed. I'm so invested in Harry Dresden's character that I don't think Butcher could do any wrong. Luckily for me, I'm in no danger of him trying to do so. I think I'm appreciating Butcher's brilliance the more I read. It's not just his writing that seems to come more alive with each book, it's his knack for storytelling.
I have no doubt that this series is going to get darker. It has since the first book I read. And I love it. I love how Harry is constantly tested, how odds pile up around him, how beaten he is, how close he comes to giving up, but he pushes on.
In this book we get a few visitors from Harry's past, and boy does one of them throw you. The other one gives a few insights into Harry's past and View Spoiler »what happened after he killed his uncle « Hide Spoiler. Just tiny bits of information, but tasty ones all the same. We also get to meet the Council and it was enlightening and entertaining.
I'm not going to make this review long. If you've followed along this far, either you've decided to pick up the books or not. If you have, you're in for a treat. I think instead I'll just fangirl over Butcher. He truly has a knack for storytelling. He can unravel a plot slowly yet have you ensnared after the first book. He can maintain Harry's humor when things look bleak without breaking down the intensity of the scene. He can spout descriptions that make you sure you're feeling what Harry does. His prose might not be poetic, but it slips me into a reading trance to the point I lose track of time, meals, and showers. It's comforting, like a blanket and hot chocolate on a cold day. I'm lost when in his world. I've come to trust him to deliver me a wonderfully entertaining story that I can't put down, to make me laugh out loud in every book, and to make me tear up or ache in sympathy with his characters. He's just a damn good writer.
So there you have it. I'm obsessed.
About Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher read his first fantasy novel when he was seven years old–
the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. By the time he turned eight,
he'd added the rest of the Narnia books, the Prydain Chronicles, every
book about Star Wars he could find, a great many Star Trek novels and
the Lord of the Rings to his count.
So he was pretty much doomed from the start.
Love of fantasy, his personal gateway drug, drew him toward a fairly
eclectic spread of interests: horseback riding (including trick riding,
stunt riding, drill riding, and competitive stunt racing), archery,
martial arts, costuming, music and theater. He played a lot of role-
playing games, a lot of fantasy-based tactical computer games, and
eventually got into live-action roleplay where players beat each other
up with boffer weapons.
So, really, he can fly his nerd flag with pretty much anyone, and
frequently does.
He took up writing to be able to produce fantasy novels with swords and
horses in them, and determinedly wrote terrible fantasy books until,
just to prove a point to his writing teacher, he decided to take every
piece of her advice; fill out outlines and worksheets, and design
stories and characters just the way she'd been telling him to do for
about three years. He was certain that once she saw what hideous art it
produced, she would be proven wrong and repent the error of her ways.
The result was the Dresden Files, which sure showed *her*.
She has not yet admitted her mistake and recanted her philosophy on
Jim has performed in dramas, musicals, and vocal groups in front of
live audiences of thousands and on TV. He has performed exhibition
riding in multiple arenas, and fallen from running horses a truly
ridiculous number of times. He was once cursed by an Amazon witch
doctor in rural Brazil, has apparently begun writing about himself in
the third person, and is hardly ever sick at sea.
He also writes books occasionally.
Jim stands accused of writing the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera.
He's plead insanity, but the jury is still out on that one. He lives in
Missouri with his wife, romantic suspense and paranormal romance writer
Shannon K. Butcher (who is really pretty and way out of his league),
his son, and a ferocious guard dog.
By Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files Series
Review of Draven's Light by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Review of Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe
Review of Dragon Dodgers by V.R. Cardoso
Review of The Red Knight by Miles Cameron
Review of The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Review of Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Review of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Review of Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Review of Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Review of Death Masks by Jim Butcher
Review of Nightlife by Rob Thurman
Review of White Night by Jim Butcher
Review of Skin Game by Jim Butcher
Review of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Book Review | booksbylkevans | October 16, 2014 | #bookreview #fantasy #obsessed
Review of Blue Dawn by Timothy C. Ward
The Cloudstone Key by Darren Patrick


U.S. Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Va.
Color postcard of exterior of Main Building U.S. Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Va. Published by Frank G. Ennis Paper Co., Norfolk, Va. Blank on Verso. Note: This beautiful group of buildings surrounded by the Elizabeth River and Extensive foliage is an ideal spot for the sick of our navy. It is in close proximity to the Navy Yard and only a short distance from Hampton Roads. Date approximated.


text:
Finding Nemo but Losing My Dignity
November 2, 2021 November 3, 2021 jimdroberts1 Comment
When I woke up this morning I realized I was Lester Burnham, nothing more than a cliché of a midlife crisis. What made my realization even worse was that this isn't even my own midlife crisis but a parody of one from a 1999 movie.
My name is James Roberts. This is my blog; these are my words; this is my life. I am 45 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and in a way, I was dead already. Or at least I thought I was.
I should explain: Lester Burnham is the protagonist from the 1999 multiple Oscar winning movie, American Beauty. American Beauty is one of those movies that would never be made today. It makes the audience feel uncomfortable, requiring them to think. It gets the audience to ask themselves questions that we'd all rather ignore. American Beauty asks two questions; what is personal identity? and how does society stop us from becoming our authentic selves?
These questions are explored as the viewer follows Lester Burnham, forty-two years old, go through a midlife crisis. Trapped inside a job in which his employer doesn't value him and he doesn't care. Surrounded by a family, one daughter and a wife, who he feels value the material belongings he provides more than they value him. At forty-two he's discovering that his regrets have started to outnumber his dreams.
As screenwriter Alan Ball put it in a 2000 interview, "It's becoming harder and harder to live an authentic life when we live in a world that seems to focus on appearance."
Ball's observation is borne out by the title. Roses are a recurrent symbol in the movie, fulfilling their traditional function of symbolizing all forms of love. American Beauty is the actual name of a specific rose cultivated by Henri Ledéchaux. Ledéchaux's goal was to recreate a rose with the aesthetic characteristics of an archetypal specimen. In short it looks beautiful, but its fake. A metaphor of the postmodern idyll of middle-class suburban America. In 1999 the internet was still in its infancy, if Ball considered authenticity harder to find then, just where does that leaves us today?
Valium quietens the noise. It also suppresses the pulmonary system making it harder to breathe. Really all it does is substitutes one problem for another, the immutable law of the kinetic energy of suffering. Suffering can neither be created, nor destroyed only converted from one form to another.
I like chess, I've played every day for the past decade and I suck. But I still play every day, because whether I suck or not isn't what matters to me. What's important to me is that it focuses my mind on one thing. It distracts me from my constant fear and loathing of what is happening in real life. When I'm playing chess, my life is reduced to sixty-four chequered black and white squares. King safety, pawn structure, castle queenside or kingside, open game or closed game, open files, open diagonals, threats, captures, and checks. Sure, playing chess might be a way of me avoiding my responsibilities, so what?
I'm sorry if my train of thought is somewhat incongruous, it's the ebb and flow of medication. It might even be incoherent, but that's the effect I'm after, it captures who I am. Syntax, grammar, punctuation are all constraints on human expression. At least that's what I'll be telling my students next semester.
Being isolated in a small Thai town, my workplace closed since February due to Covid-19, I was lured into finding entertainment on the internet. As we all know Pornhub's traffic boomed, as the western world confronted its existential crisis by attempting to masturbate themselves into oblivion. I however received a tweet on my Twitter feed, from a chess player, playing a tournament in Poland. I get a lot of chess tweets, I follow a lot of chess related things, but this tweet stood out from all the others, it was from a girl, a cute chess playing girl. I don't wish to promote such superficial objectifications, but, this was a cute chess playing girl, with a smile you'd be happy to look at forever.
Covid had restricted my social interactions, I was a forty-five year old wrestling with a midlife crisis; what else was there for me to do other than to start digitally stalking her?
Please note, I never digitally stalked her; firstly, that's morally reprehensible, no matter how bad a frame of mind you find yourself in; secondly, I lack the internet skills to be able to do it. But, if you are currently stalking someone please get help. Stalking can lead to more serious behaviours, and it ruins lives. Don't stalk.
I didn't stalk this girl, of course that's exactly the the sort of thing a stalker is going to say, but I didn't. I just clicked the links that were on her Twitter profile and before I knew it, I found myself in the depraved, warped, twisted, egomaniacal world of Twitch.
Twitch is the internet's answer to Dante's, Divine Comedy, only not divine or funny. Twitch is what you find at the bottom of the internet and cultural barrels. The psychological motivations that power this platform of self-absorption and egotism make your skin crawl. If you've read my blog before you'll be aware that I'm sceptical of the benefits the internet offers society. When it comes to Twitch, I'm not sceptical, I'm terrified.
But I persisted and watched her stream (I wasn't stalking). I wanted to learn more about this platform, I wanted to learn more about the cute chess playing girl.
I discovered her name to be Nemo, this did nothing to strengthen her allure. It's not easy to develop a fantasy for a person named after a cartoon fish. Again, not wishing to judge a person on such a superficial objectification as their name, and having nothing else better to do, I continued to watch Nemo's stream.
It didn't take long for me to become aware that Twitch users have a vernacular all of their own, oddly they feel it necessary to add the suffix 'dge' at every opportunity. Sad, becomes sadge, mad gets changed to madge, glad – gladge, weird – weirdge, okay –okaydge. I'm sure it's far more extensive than this, but if I'm honest this unavailing vocabulary is pretty standard for adolescents striving to become independent of their parents, so I don't give a shitdge.
Despite Twitch being the digital version of an insane asylum, I quickly became captivated by Nemo, real name Qiyu Zhou, a name which scores heavily in a game of Scrabble, but is unpronounceable to anyone outside of China. For those who might be interested, Qiyu Zhou scores twenty -eight points in Scrabble without it being placed on any bonus squares.
I'm comfortable saying flippant, facetious comments, but that tone is inappropriate when talking about Nemo. Why? Because she's someone I actually have respect for. When I started to watch her stream, it felt like jumping down a rabbit hole of insecurity and vulnerability, whilst trying to cling on to whatever sanity remained. It was a feeling I could relate to.
When it comes to chess, she's an absolute freak. Watching her solve chess puzzles, is like watching a master painter, paint. She's elite. But she doesn't take it all that seriously, instead she wrestles with finding her authentic self. Existential philosopher Martin Heidegger believed that authenticity is achieved by choosing the nature of one's existence and identity. Existence and identity, the themes covered in American Beauty, the questions Nemo wishes to answer, the questions we've all asked ourselves.
Having played chess since the age of three, she takes her ability for granted. I'm certain she can't remember a time when she wasn't a chess prodigy (a label she denies). It's hard for us mortals to comprehend, but maybe excelling at one thing and being known for that, can start to become tiresome. Accepting how lucky she was to have found her calling at such an early age might not be as appealing as it seems to the rest of us. Her feeling this way is understandable, but watching Nemo stream is to watch an exceptionally gifted person trying to runaway from who they are.
She started to play chess at three, at five she won the Finnish under-ten national championship, definitely not a profit, by fourteen she was a junior world champion. They say the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire, well Nemo has been testing herself at the highest levels from an early age. Whilst on a chessboard she's nigh unbreakable, as a person she's all too human.
Nemo's decision to start streaming chess on Twitch was controversial, much of the criticism motivated out of jealousy. People criticized her for no longer pursuing the game to fulfill her potential. She was accused of selling out. There might be legitimacy to these comments, but this wasn't their decision to make and not their place to criticise. Her decision to stream was her own, and one I imagine she took a considerable amount of time to come to. When deciding to stream chess she stated she wanted to help promote the game, especially to girls, something she's having a degree of success with. What makes any reasonable person feel for the girl is the level of abuse that gets thrown at her.
Nemo is the very paragon of politeness. She doesn't get drawn into political discussion, and is cautious about saying anything divisive or contentious. Her stream is not a forum for polemic discussions, it is after all a chess stream. Despite this she often faces undignified comments, which she always handles with dignity and maintains her poise. It's her manner more than her chess skills that make her so engaging.
Nemo's streams aren't only about chess, she plays poker as well. But Nemo's streams are more than this, they are the existential narrative of the journey of a young woman trying to understand her identity and where she fits into the world. A woman who's grown up in a variety of cultures is inevitably going to find it a challenge to understand exactly who she is. What she is though is beguiling, polite, and creative whilst also being vulnerable, uncertain and insecure. How many of us are that different?
I'm forty-five, the students I teach are the same as age as Nemo. Nemo helped replace the interaction with my students when my university was closed due to covid. She provided access to the outside world during lockdown, albeit through the warped, disturbing lens of Twitch.
As a teacher, the bare minimum expected of me is to care about the wellbeing of my students. Now it's self-evident that Nemo isn't one of my students, but being the same age, and with her being someone I saw frequently during lockdown, she became the focus of my concern for younger people in the absence of my students.
Nemo concerns her viewers. She's prone to being consumed by the shadows. She's said things that have frightened me. She speaks the language of the lost. She doesn't speak it often, but it's a language I'm fluent in. She's enigmatic. Beauty often being an emergent quality of complexity.
Lockdown during covid was a psychological challenge affecting people all over the world. People felt isolated, people became depressed, nobody was spared its inconvenience. Cynics say that Nemo exploited the situation; in reality she provided a service people needed, she helped to spread hope and shared her joy of chess with anyone willing to listen. She isn't exploitative, she's a visionary, only she doesn't understand this.
Twitch sucks. Watching Nemo is a journey. A work in progress. A masterpiece in the making.
Yes, it's like, The Truman Show.
I apologise for the incoherent nature and the lack of structure of this post. I'm taking a lot of Valium right now and trying to come to terms with the fact that I've been stalking a girl less than half my age on the internet. If Lester Burnham had Google, this is what American Beauty might have looked like.
I'm not even capable of having a midlife crisis of my own, only parody one of a fictional character.
You can find more information about Nemo at the links below:
Nemo's Wikipedia page can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiyu_Zhou
Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/akanemsko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akanemsko/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/akaNemsko
Chess, COVID-19, Mental Health, midlife crisisChess, COVID-19, Mental Health, midlife crisis
A Renaissance
August 17, 2021 August 17, 2021 jimdroberts1 Comment
Out of the night that covers me,
black as pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
for my unconquerable soul.
I've taken a hiatus from writing. In fact over the last eighteen months I've given up a lot of things: socializing, friendships, shaving, hair cuts, washing, and hope, to name a few. But out of chaos comes order.
To give this some context it's important to understand that I'm still living in rural Thailand, where at present we are suffering our worst Covid outbreak so far. Each day I read the deaths and infections statistics as if they were the scores of yesterday's cricket matches. I read the statistics in my head in the voice of Richie Benaud: "Twenty four thousand infections for the loss of only a hundred and fifty lives, a good day for the doctors there." Invariably this is followed by: thirty five thousand infections for three hundred dead, and Richie adding, "doctors pay the price for maintaining an undisciplined line and length".
Over the course of the past two years I've become desensitized to death. It's only natural that we all take life for granted, and it's easy to be blasé about death, especially when it's not your own. This is what it means to be desensitized.
I've found it tiring to read the the endless line graphs put out by the media. At present Thailand's has a profile resembling a billionaire rocketing into space, but it's easy to forget that these lines actually represent people's lives, and more tellingly deaths. Over time the numbers gradually lose their meaning, figures being afforded a casual glance in the same way I might check the weather forecast before going to work. Except I no longer go to work, haven't set foot inside a classroom since February.
At least Sisyphus could see the rock and the hill. The objectives of teaching online are less clear and equally futile.
Online teaching is a Sisyphean task, that's to say, in that it's a complete waste of time. People are quick to remind me that, it's better than nothing. That might be the case, but how much better than nothing has yet to be proven. I've often pondered whether a scrupulous teacher would even participate in the online façade. Belarussian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky has been the golden boy of educational psychology for the last forty years. The central theme of his educational theory is that students learn best in social settings. Students do an enormous amount of their learning when talking with one another, clarifying and reinforcing their understanding through informal discussions. And to be honest with you, online teaching doesn't facilitate this essential part of learning anywhere near adequately.
The other day my students told me they were worried about the future. I told them that there's no point in worrying, it's not going to last that long.
I've not set foot in a classroom since February. I love to teach. The best part of my day, maybe even my life, has been standing in front of my students and trying to get them to understand something new. Teaching is an interpersonal activity, treating each student according to what motivates them best. It's immensely challenging, physically demanding, and it's the best job in the world. And I miss it. And I want to be back with my students.
I've not written anything because I've been unable to make any sense of the past eighteen months. Do facemasks work? Can you get reinfected? Which vaccine works best? How long should I wait between my first and second jab? can you mix vaccines? What is a high viral load? In the Greek alphabet what letter comes after Delta? Do children need to be vaccinated? What is the r number? Do lockdowns work? Is it possible to teach online? Will there be a shortage of toilet paper? Has the idea of foreign travel been shelved? Are airplanes still flying? Do I have any underlying medical conditions? How many people am I allowed in my support bubble? What if I don't have enough friends to form a support bubble, should I advertise on Craig's List? The chaos of Covid follows on from Trump and Brexit, both of which I found to be riddles, wrapped in mystery, inside an enigma. So all told, I've been confused for at least the last five years.
One thing I am fairly sure we have learned from this is that we all need to think very seriously before eating anymore bats.
COVID-19, pandemic, Uncategorized
Chicken Soup for the COVID Soul (Part II) – Surviving COVID-19, and Knowing where to Find Hope
June 20, 2020 June 21, 2020 jimdroberts1 Comment
If you are reading this after reading my first part, I'm honoured by the time you're affording me. It's my responsibility to make this time worth your while. If you didn't read the first part and you want to, click the link:
https://theexaminedlife.press/2020/06/15/chicken-soup-for-the-soul-part-i-surviving-covid-19-isolation-race-wars-rioting-and-the-inevitable-economic-collapse/
Get Ready for the Long Haul
Prepare Yourself to travel the road less traveled, and prepare for that road to be long. Prepare for a second wave of infection, economic, political and social chaos.
We are a part of a physical universe, one determined by cause and effect. As causes go, COVID-19 has been the mother-load and will go on to reaping unprecedented effects on our development as a species. This might sound dramatic, I hope so, but the truth is even more extensive and frightening. The road we chose as individuals and as societies will determine the future of humanity.
Financial Collapse?
The economy of the United States is expected to contract by between 20 and 30 per cent. Meanwhile, The United Kingdom last week announced that for the month of April, their economy collapsed by 20.4 per cent from the previous month. We know that these numbers sound bad, but statistics have a way of divorcing themselves from reality, so what do these figures mean for our futures?
A greater than 20 per cent reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at it's most basic, means that there's 20 per cent less cash, an economist will try telling you it's more complicated than that, and I know they're right, but they will agree it it means that we've all got a shed lot less money. This in turn might lead to societies losing confidence in the value of their money, causing either hyper-inflation or deflation, and the economic collapse of some currencies.
It's difficult to explain how profound a 20% drop in GDP is, but let's give it a try anyway. Less money for people to buy things equals less tax revenue, this results in a degradation of society's infrastructure and services. Meanwhile causing a dramatic increase in unemployment, (In the United States unemployment through march and April, has been at 14%, a total of 21 million people, but here's the catch, 15 million of these are recorded as short term unemployed. Meaning that when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, they should be returning to their old jobs. Entertaining the idea that everyone will return to their old job is infantile at best. A percentage of those 15 million will return to their old jobs. That percentage is a critical variable, because it's unemployment that is the key to how long this depression lasts.
It's hard, and probably wrong, to joke about poverty, but the guy with the "Are We Aliens?" sign. Is he objecting to the possibility of extraterrestrials having great employment prospects, or, as is more likely the case, making unemployment a race issue?
Unemployment will be the engine that fuels this economic collapse. Unemployed people go from tax paying citizens contributing financially to the state, to citizens on welfare taking money out of the state. Looked at as a number on a spreadsheet, an unemployed person goes from being an asset to the state, to an economic liability. The reduction in wages being paid, leads to less money being spent on goods, services and taxes, is, likely to drive the prices of things down, based on the simple premise that demand will be so low in non essential items. Essential items, i.e. food and medicines, could see dramatic inflation as supply lines have been so disrupted that demand will come close to, and in some cases might, out strip supply. So things you don't need, luxury items, will become cheaper. Things you need to live will become more expensive. So, from what I can tell ,,in the future millions will die of starvation whilst immersed in an alternative universe projected by their iPhone X50 Deluxe. This leads to a rabbit hole question scenario:
If I die of starvation in the four dimensional reality I've lived in thus far, does my avatar go on living as meaningless an existence as I did?
How the West Was Lost
Truth is that western culture has been killing itself off one bad movie at a time.
Why are western countries finding it much more difficult to get COVID-19 under control, compared to the majority of the world, and particularly East Asian countries? The amount of UV is a scientific hypothesis under review, but I'm well aware of fundamental societal issues that are having an impact.
I've lived in Southeast Asia for almost twenty years. I'm acutely aware of how western, and by western I'm referring to European and North American countries, have approached handling COVID_19 when compared with countries like South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam and Thailand.
The most obvious difference with the Asian countries is their capacity to mobolise their citizens at a moments notice. In Thailand, the government often declares that its people should wear a black shirt the following day in respect of someone significant having just died. That order could come late on in the day, but I can assure you that the next day 80% of people will be wearing black shirts.
This mentality to follow orders is out of respect of the hierachal structure; right down from village communities with the headsman, up to Kings, presidents, or prime ministers. Conformity is respected. It's regarded as having respect for others and foments a strong sense of community. Wearing face-masks, social distancing, isolation, shutdown, and implementing systems of contact tracing, has been easy in these countries where the community is regarded as more important than the individual.
Having suffered SARS, MERS, and oftebn chronic pollution, Asians have no problems wearing face masks.
During COVID-19, I've seen Western leaders repeating themselves with the same requests. Eventually their message attains a critical mass within the consciousness of the population, but this doesn't result in compliance. The next stage of public reaction is to start asserting your individual liberties, a perception that your government can't demand that you do anything. Hence we've seen the most bizarre reaction to governments asking their citizens to adopt wearing face-masks.
The contrast between western ideology of liberty, and eastern collectivism has gone unnoticed since the collapse of communism. But the United States, which is predicated on an ideology of liberty, individual freedom, has struggled to get its citizens unified to fight the common viral threat. In many of these countries when a leader tells their people to do something the people ask, why?
It begs the question of western democracy, why elect a representative who you will only go on to ignore?
The Ship of State – Demagogues, Democracy, and Socrates
In his book, The Republic, Plato defends the virtues of democracy to his teacher, Socrates, through what has become known as, The Parable of the Ship.
Plato describes society as a ship, with the electorate being represented by the ship's owner who must decide who captain's the ship. Each of the able seamen lobby the owner, making their case for why they should captain the ship. Plato even acknowledges the fact that it's reasonable to expect the candidates to get the owner drunk, or offer bribes. But one of these men must be chosen by the ship's owner. As the people in a democracy, the people must chose a leader.
Socrates disliked both the idea of democracy and his student's analogy. Socrates feared that such a system leads to demagoguery:
the action of winning support by exciting the emotions of ordinary people rather than by having good or morally right ideas
Hmmmmm… Demagoguery? Could never happen here.
As with the economy, change doesn't mean polar opposite, but to make different. There are many things that are perfect with democracy, it's just that as times change, so do means.
COVID-19 is likely to necessitate changes to our economy, such a moment in history makes it only obvious that we reappraise our democracies. Many countries have seen the standards onboard their ships of democracy degenerate, and start to resemble the conditions of , The Raft of Medusa.
Monday morning meetings, in the oval office.
Economic Recovery or Renaissance
Marx could've made a fortune in department stores at Christmas time.
If you say that today's economic system is unjust, what some people hear is, "I'm a Marxist, wealth is evil and can only be achieved through exploitation and the theft of other people's hard work." but there is a middle ground. There are ways to make our economies work more justly for everyone. (As soon as you use the words 'economy' and, 'everyone' in the same sentence, somewhere, somebody's Marxist alarm gets triggered.)
While I do say that today's system is unjust, I'm more opposed to Marxist philosophy solving the problem. We can't be so black and white, so absolutist in our rhetoric. The former Soviet Union and numerous eastern European countries provided us with categorical evidence that communism is an economic system that doesn't work. Meanwhile, the 2008 global financial crisis made it pretty clear that capitalism has its failings too. Think of adjustments as opposed to complete change, or reversal.
HOPE?
At the very start of Part I, I asked myself a question about these challenging times:
Am I changing for the better, or worse?
We're being asked to confront challenges of a nature no human has ever had to confront. Don't rely on others to deal with those changes for you. Don't expect someone else to come to rescue you. You alone are responsible for yourself and your dependents. It's your duty to protect them. Ask yourself, are you changing for the better, or worse?
You will get through COVID-19, but the question is how will you get through it? Remember, Noah didn't begin building the arc when it started to rain. Be smart, consider situations, be critical about the information you receive. There will be suffering, but how much you suffer is down to you. Are you changing for the better, or worse.
These are trying times, and they're likely to be time of great social change. It's when things are most difficult that change and progress happen. When we are tried, we become inventive. Adversity often brings out the best in us.
Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.
These days will pass, what we become might not be what we were, but that can be a positive. Although change comes with feelings of uncertainty, it always has the potential to be change can be for the good. But don't look to others to make your changes for you. You are your own work of art, and you are the sculptor. How you change, and what you become; you decide.
Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if take you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up — if you do these things, then the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today.
Admiral William. H McRaven
chicken soup, coronvirus, COVID-19, News, societal collapse, UncategorizedCOVID-19, Inspiration, Opinion
Chicken Soup for the Soul (Part I) – Surviving COVID-19, Isolation, Race Wars, Rioting, and the Inevitable Economic Collapse
We're at a point in human history when civilisation is changing faster and in ways that will leave it different forever. It only follows that the people must be changing too. During the long soulless hours of isolation I've found myself asking:
Am I changing for the better or worse?
There's no other way to describe these times other than terrifying. Societally and as individuals we're being forced into making decisions, and ways of living, that we've not been prepared for. The structure and order of our societies had to be rebuilt out of the wastelands of World War II, this structure and order is being threatened. If you're unable to see the pachyderm at your drinks party hitting on your spouse, let me make this easier for you; we are looking into the abyss.
Pandemic, collapse of the global economy, unemployment leading to an inevitable global depression; reduced manufacturing, oil scarcity, reduction in the capacity of food production resulting in famines that the Bible would consider hyperbole; civil disorder, racial tensions, the continuation of eternal religious conflicts, environmental collapse, and energy crises. If just some of these happen as a result of COVID-19, we're in trouble. If most of them happen, as I am compelled to believe the may well, we're on for a global reset.
According to the ancient Chinese Book of Change, The I Ching, the symbol of the Tao, dates back to at least 200 BCE. A circle divided in two halves, yin and yang. The symbol intends to represent the oneness of man and the surrounding cosmos. The two halves representing the complimentary pairs of male and female. The I Ching, as it's name infers, The Book of Change, tells us that mankind has been attuned to fluctuations between moments of chaos and order for thousands of years. Taoism is a religion based on the impermanence of the cosmos and that limitless shifts between hope and despair, life and death are the norm. It proves that such events are an immutable part of the cosmic order. And it's reasonable to say, that one such event is happening now.
Current circumstances tell us that in our area of the cosmos chaos has taken dominion over structure and order. It is inevitable that under such an existential, and environmental uncertainty, that many of us feel heightened levels of anxiety. (I'm freaking terrified right now, and it's the reason I'm writing this.)
Even though it might feel as if we have wandered into a metaphorical, valley of darkness, my purpose in writing these two posts, is to help reduce some of your suffering and put some love back into that sad, scared, and lonely heart.
It's nothing new for suffering to play a part in everyone's lives, the world's major religions use this foundational message at the core of their beliefs. But what feels unprecedented is the universality of the suffering in the world. As a person who doesn't subscribe to any faith, I'm uncertain of this being the actual apocalypse, but I'm keen on it being so. Some Christians might refer to their mythology and believe these times are the apocalypse. Christianity anthropomorphises the apoclypse through the symbolic Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Right now, maybe you're thinking that this is nothing more than another blog promoting fear-mongering. Such a thought is understandable, even inevitable for many of us. Fear porn, along with actual pornography are the most prominent genres of material to appear on the internet. It's my purpose to help you understand the gravity of the current situation. But it remains you're choice, whether you ignore the warnings I'm about to set out. You always keep the right to ignore the elephant in the room.
COVID-19 and Religions
The spiritual texts of the Abrahamic religions have achieved an unprecedented level of success in their ability to remain valid. Even after two thousand years, they continue to influence and retain cultural relavence. It is the paragon of ignorance to deny this fact. I'm agnostic, but I'm very comfortable acknowledging the profound hold these faiths have had, and continue to have on our world. But how have they achieved this?
They achieved this because of one simple but profound reason, they contain ineluctable elements of wisdom that are fundamental truths of nature of the human condition. That might not sound so simple, basically these books tell us: who we are; why we behave the way we do; how it's desirable for us to behave; what we desire; virtues (good habits); and sins (bad habits). As well as generally encouraging us not to behave like complete dicks. They've provided the rules and laws that enabled humans to start living in ever bigger communities. And ever bigger communities generated greater wealth.
Earlier I listed the types of upheval and chaos that I expect COVID-19 to have and cause. And I genuinely see the potential for each of them occuring to a variety of degrees. But there is one area of society that upon which all other areas of our societies depend.
Economic failure will result in the systemmmic failure of our societies as we know them. Should our economies fail, the rule of law, public order, claims to property, food, healthcare, sanitation, medicene, the list is endless, but each of these will to some extent lessen, or cease to exist.
Economic Collapse Post COVID-19
Whilst I am certain that the consequences of COVID-19 will be far reaching in both their space and time. At the moment, COVID-19 is affecting almost every industry and community around the world, and it's likely to continue doing so for many, many, years to come. I'm thinking more in the terms of a generations 'ball park'. Denying a generation the hope of upward mobility and prosperity, and replacing it with decades of poverty is going to profoundly affect the lives Once the hope of upward mobility, and prosperity is denied to a generation of people.
Modern society is one that was built around the combustion engine and the burning of fosil fuels. The Baby Boomers grewp following World War II in the most prosperous generation, for the masses, in history. The world needed rebuilding, there was a population explosion there to build it. More people than ever before were in employment, producing more goods, buying more things and paying more tax. Land was affordable, they bought houses, the value of which they saw ascend on a never ending escalator. Baby Boomers worked hard, but the conditions for their economic prosperity were optimal.
Thre's nearly always a correlation in the relationship between the potential prosperity of an individual and the actual prosperity of their society. It's now become obvious that anyone aged betweeen 15 and 30, the younger Millennials and start of of Generation Z, that their prospects are going to be worse than both their parents, and their granparents, Genrations X and the Baby Boommers. Generation Z will become the second consecutive generation to inherit a period generational economic decline. The question that needs to be asked is: how do we expect these people to live lives of diminished hope?
This is important because it flouts a rule that is embedded in our evolutionary psyche. Nature determines whether species live or die, flourish or struggle. Because humanity's prospects are so tightly bound to their economy, it's becomming abundantly obvious to anyone aged betweeen 15 and 30, the younger Millennials and start of of Generation Z, that their prospects are going to be worse than both their parents, and their grandparents, Genrations X and the Baby Boommer generation to . Indeed, Generation Z will become the second consecutive generation to inherit a period generational economic decline. They are two generations for whom it's realistic that they will endure significant periods of unemployment. Will be employed in a number of jobs that have unrelated skills. Two generations that will in all likelihood see reductions in worker's rights. When unemployment is high people don't tend to care how they're treated, as long as they have a little bit of money to show for their effort. Temporary contracts, limited healthcare, maternity and paternity rights are realistic scenarios when unemployment s high.
Today's quality of life is almost a reflection of societal systems underwritten by an economy which is man's greatest work of fiction.
Why Economic Collapse Is Inevitable
This is an area I'll actually cover in more detail at a later date, it deserves a more thorough explanation than I have the room for here. Here I'll give an overview of the collapse, leaving the finer details in part II.
Understanding Definitions is paramount if we're to understand the severity of this current situation. When I refer to economic collapse I am referring to the end of our fiat based economies. Fiat economies are ones in which the government prints currency. It is then believed that this currency has a value that can be used in exchange for goods and services. I believe this to be quixotic fantasy, no less foolish than building castles on the sand. For further, more in depth information, I recommend reading the work of Dmitry Orlov.
New Yorker, reporter, John Cassidy wrote in a recent article:
In January of 2019, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, appeared before a House of Commons committee to discuss global threats to financial stability. At that time, the U.S. unemployment rate was below four per cent, the gross domestic product was growing steadily, and Donald Trump was busy boasting about "the greatest economy ever." But, despite these favorable statistics, staffers at the bank had identified a potentially serious problem on the horizon:
Cassidy suggests that, Carney, and the Bank of England became aware of high risk economic practices on Wall Street that haven't undergone the changes necessary to prevent the exact same thing happening as in 2008. The essence of his article implies that the Bank of England was aware, and concerned about a decline in the lending standards in corporate debt markets, is almost the exact equal of the sub-prime debacle
If you're still reading this I assume that you're in agreement that the economic fall out of COVID-19 is going to be signifiicant, but may be reluctant to agree with my prediction of a complete collapse of the fiat system, bringing an end to currency as we know it.
Okay, what does your more optimistic scenario look like? We know that there's going to be enormous recession/depression fueled by unemployment. In turn, this triggers a reduction in taxes received, resulting in sub optimal funding of public services. The unemployed will have to find money by fair means or foul, so an increase in crime is inevitable. The reduction in public funding means the police needed to deal with the increase in crime, will not exist. Poverty, results in poorer diets leading to obesity, diabetes, or other health complications. It causes stress which is known to heighten the risk of developing cancer. And if you've been lucky enough to survive all that, you have a proclivity to fall into drug and alcohol addiction, be at a greater risk of depression and according to a, 2003 study by a team of New Zealand doctors, proved that people between the ages of 18 and 64, who are unemployed are between two and three times more likely to commit suicide. If history's taught us one thing, it's that poverty sucks.
Ploughing the Fields of Hopelessness
And when one of these people do get a job, they're so grateful that they'll work till they drop to make enough to feed themselves. They can't afford aspirations to improve their lot, for fear of appearing ungrateful. Read, Steinbeck's, Grapes of Wrath. Mass unemployment and a depressed employment market erodes hope. And hope isn't just a word you expect to see appearing in the inscriptions of Hallmark cards. Hope can be is also a noun, and a verb. The noun names the feeling, whilst the verb is the feeling. To be robbed of the ability to feel hope is a desperate state of affairs. Hope is an emotion that has survived millions of years of natural selection. Hope and evolution has interested psychologists. What purpose does hope play in maximising our abilities to survive, procreate and pass on our genes?
Rats, Religion and the Power of Hope
Let me warn you that psychology experiments conducted soon after World War II are notorious for their ignorance of ethics.
In the 1950's Professor Curt Richter performed an experiment drowning wild and domesticated rats. At least when this is your line of work the neighbours never ask you to look after their dog.
The purpose of Richter's morbid interest, to compare how long domesticated rats survived compared to their wild counterparts. Richter discovered that the domesticated rats, despit not needing to swim in their day to day environments, far out performed the wild rats.
The explanation given is that the domesticated rats were used to being helped by handlers and were writing to be saved. While being far superior swimmers, the wild rats drowned sooner as once they had understood that there was no escape they gave up.
It's been recorded that individuals who survive disasters are disproportionately made up of those that practice faiths.This was discovered by scientists, they're not likely to put this down to divine intervention. What they concluded was that people with faith hold onto the belief of survival, of divine intervention. This hope is the edge that differentiates the victims from the survivors. Don't underestimate the power of hope.
If you've read all and been left to feel that has lingered in each and every sentence, you have started to understand what's about to happen. To have any chance of making good decisions over the next twelve months, it's imperative to understand the scale of the events that are resulting from COVID-19. Hope is essential in the challenges that lay ahead.
in Part II I promise hope, chicken soup for your soul.
It's in Part II. I Promise.
Part 2 can be read by clicking the link:
https://theexaminedlife.press/2020/06/20/chicken-soup-for-the-covid-soul-part-ii-surviving-covid-19-and-knowing-where-to-find-hope/
chicken soup, coronvirus, COVID-19, economic collapse, global depression, horsemen of the apocalypse, pandemic, societal collapse, Uncategorizedcoronavirus, COVID-19, economic collapse, global depression, societal collapse