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Alternative splicing of competing 5' splice sites is regulated by enhancers and silencers in the spliced exon. We have characterized sequences and splicing factors that regulate alternative splicing of PLP and DM20, myelin proteins produced by oligodendrocytes (OLs) by selection of 5' splice sites in exon 3. We identify a G-rich enhancer (M2) of DM20 5' splice site in exon 3B and show that individual G triplets forming M2 are functionally distinct and the distal group plays a dominant role. G-rich M2 and a G-rich splicing enhancer (ISE) in intron 3 share similarities in function and protein binding. The G-rich sequences are necessary for binding of hnRNPs to both enhancers. Reduction in hnRNPH and F expression in differentiated OLs correlates temporally with increased PLP/DM20 ratio. Knock down of hnRNPH increased PLP/DM20 ratio, while hnRNPF did not. Silencing hnRNPH and F increased the PLP/DM20 ratio more than hnRNPH alone, demonstrating a novel synergistic effect. Mutation of M2, but not ISE reduced the synergistic effect. Replacement of M2 and all G runs in exon 3B abolished it almost completely. We conclude that developmental changes in hnRNPH/F associated with OLs differentiation synergistically regulate PLP alternative splicing and a G-rich enhancer participates in the regulation.


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Forget Bellingham: Liverpool may live to regret not signing "extraordinary" £85.3m ace
September 3, 2022 Deputy Liverpool, Transfers 0
Forget Bellingham: Liverpool may live to regret not signing "extraordinary" £85.3m ace
Liverpool appeared to finish all their transfer activity fairly early in the summer window, with Jurgen Klopp bringing in Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay, and Fabio Carvalho all before July had even started.
However, as time ticked on and more midfielders succumbed to injuries, Klopp's attitude turned from "it doesn't look like" while discussing further incomings to admitting he was "wrong" and the Anfield side were actively looking to add another midfielder to the squad as the last days of the window approached.
Ultimately, the club didn't get any of their original targets through the door, with Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham high on Klopp's list, but it looks like they might try again next summer for the youngster.
The one deal that the club may live to regret however is missing out on Aurelien Tchouameni, who joined Real Madrid in a €100m (£85.3m) deal.
The 22-year-old joined the La Liga giants from French side Monaco after impressing in his homeland, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists from 95 matches, a decent return from a player whose predominant position is defensive midfield.
With the injuries mounting at Anfield, the Frenchman would have been an ideal signing and someone who would command a starting XI spot straight away.
He has made an excellent start to life in Spain, holding an average SofaScore rating of 7.23 after his first three matches.
Tchouameni has registered one assist, made two key passes per match, and has had on average 76 touches in each game, showing his ability to constantly get on the ball and dictate the play.
It's been an auspicious start for the midfielder at arguably the biggest club in the world. Klopp doesn't make many mistakes in the transfer market but losing out on the player that Paul Pogba described as "extraordinary" following his debut for France in 2021 may be a slight erring on his part.
The German has had to settle for signing Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo on loan until the end of the season in order to alleviate his injury crisis and considering their earlier summer targets, it appears to be more a panic buy than one that can add genuine star quality to the side.
"He trained yesterday for the first time and will today" – Klopp offers fitness update on 25y/o Liverpool star
Arsenal lineups vs Manchester Utd: Odegaard misses out, Ben White boost, Smith Rowe chance

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


February 2017 - Lancaster, PA~~This was our 4th stay at Bear Tracks Cabin. We had a great time, as always. It was nice to unplug for the weekend and spend time together. The Winter Fest in Wellsboro was a lot of fun. We also enjoyed breakfast at Gramma's Kitchen. We look forward to our next visit!
October 2017 - Bethel Park, N.Versculles, New Kensington, PA~~A great place for camp fire, sing alongs, and pass the pigs! PA Grand Canyon and getting lost until 2AM trying to find it. Love it here!!
October 2017 - Columbus, Chardon, OH~~Loved our time at Bear Tracks Cabin! Great place to get away from it all but still have lots to do nearby. Went to the Grand Canyon for the first time and loved it. Revisited Williamsport and High Nob in the World's End State Park. Saw alot of deer and wild turkey. Hope to come back soon!
September 2017 - Birdsboro, PA~~Thank you Meech & Erica! Lovely cabin, very clean! Not sure what the howling in the woods was about last night but always an adventure!
September 2017 - NJ~~We loved marshmallow night at the campfire ring! Go-go girls weekend! Very clean and comfortable cabin. Saw Grand Canyon of PA and Watkins Glen in NY! When we leave cabin today, we will be riding the Conestoga Wagon in Grand Canyon. We saw many deer, mama turkey and 8 baby turkeys, chipmunks and salamanders on the road. Beautiful weekend!
August 2017 - Narvon, PA~~Really enjoyed the quiet, secluded, cozy place! This has been our family's second time here. After a busy summer for all of our family, this cabin was what we needed...R&R. Thank you for sharing your treasure. A great time of laughter, games, tears and connecting.
August 2017 - Lititz, Reading, PA~~I love the beautiful and clean house. Also I love the outside and decorations! Thank you!
July 2017 - Dunn, NC~~Wonderful stay-enjoyed Grand Canyon & Wellsboro & Dunham Department Store. Saw 3 deer out front one morning. Thank you for a lovely place to stay-very clean and wonderful country backwoods atmosphere. Love your bears! Wish we might have been able to see some real ones-but that's OK.
July 2017 - Akron, PA~~We had a very relaxing vacation, enjoyed the campfire and eating outdoors at the picnic table. Saw a bald eagle at PA Grand Canyon. Fascinated by Corning Museum of Glass.
July 2017 - New Holland, Kinzers, PA~~Enjoyed our time here at a beautiful cabin. Very relaxing & perfect weather. Spent one day in Wellsboro/PA Grand Canyon. Spent another day at the Corning Museum, which is highly recommended! A great family vacation! Saw deer, turkey, porcupine, chipmunks, but no bear. (Bald eagle).
June 2017 - FL an PA~~Beautiful & relaxing. Great place for our family get together. Thank you!
May 2017 - Bath, PA~~We had an awesome time staying in your beautiful cabin. Thank you for thinking of so many details to make our stay so comfortable. We can't wait to return...soon! Happy Memorial Day!
April 2017 - Staten Island, NY~~Wonderful cabin, had a great time with my boys! Thank you so much. Left flowers for you. Happy Easter.
March 2017 - Multi-state get together~~This was a great location for a group of friends to meet and relax. Very much enjoyed the cabin and the campfire area. We even got a warm sunny day between the drizzle and rain. So, we enjoyed some quality outside time. Pretty sure all our laughing scared off everything but the grouse. Thanks very much!
December 2016 - Eagleville, PA~~Cozy! My 11 year old's perfect description of Bear Tracks. Very clean and stocked with everything. We rode ATV's to windmills and on roads, took nice long walks. Campfire was perfect to warm up next to after each day's activities. I only wish our trip could've been longer. This cabin truly is exceptional!
December 2016 - Christmas- Concord, NC~~The cabin was perfect! We loved tracking the bear and animal tracks through the snow. Thank you for providing the firewood. We had smores at the fire, watched a few movies, completed several puzzles as a family, went on a coupe walks, had Christmas presents and reading of Scripture around your Christmas tree and fireplace. THANK YOU! We loved it!
October 2016 - Orefield PA, State College PA~~Beautiful cabin, nicely appointed - a vision bearly rivalled:) Had a delightful campfire. Peaceful surroundings. Thanks for a needed break from our frantic lives.
October 2016 - Apple Creek, OH~~Very peaceful! Beautiful Scenery. I think the leaves are in their prime. We didn't see any bears up here by the cabin, but children saw 5 bears - while they were hiking one of the trails - about an hour from here. We saw deer and a porcupine and heard the ruffed grouse - drumming. You have a very, nice, clean cabin. Thanks so much for letting us use it. We greatly enjoyed our time here in PA.
September 2016 - Jonestown, PA~~This is our 2nd time here, first time was Thanksgiving several years ago. This is our first trip together the 3 of us. Beautiful & relaxing place to get away & spend time with grandparents. We prefer this time of year to spend more time outdoors. Already we are thinking about our next trip! Thank you!
September 2016 - Cochranville, PA~~Came up for a mini vacation and attend a wedding. Bear Tracks Cabin is as sweet as remembered, maybe more. Our 2nd time here and we agree that we need to visit more often. Took our grandson to see the PA Grand Canyon for his first time. Thank you. To the owners-so grateful I met you and found out about the cabin-only thing missing was a bear sighting. Maybe next time.
August 2016 - Langhorne, PA~~We have been coming here for over 20 years. First time staying at this cabin was one of our favorite years. We hiked down Turkey Path at the PA Grand Canyon but were disappointed to find Animaland closed. We hiked down West Rim and went to lookout tower. Thank you very much for a relaxing, enjoyable vacation. We will be back.
July 2016 - York, PA~~We had a great time at our stay at Bear Tracks Cabin! We road our four-wheeler and had the best campfire food (mountain pies, smores, and hot dogs). We took a tour of Mansfield-his alma mater. (TKE bros for life). Lots of memories made! We loved Yorkholo: great food, wine and brews!
July 2016 - Gardners, PA~~While enjoying toasted marshmallows at the campfire, a nearby bear must of caught a scent Approximately 1 hour later a bear (250+ lbs.) walked right past my husband who was sitting on the deck talking on his cell phone. It was probably only 20 ft. away. We were excited, but then a bit nervous when the bear came back, 30 minutes later, with no fear of humans as we were outside talking when he came back. No food was left outside. During the remainder of our stay we stayed on alert, however did not spot any more bears. Great cabin, enjoyed our stay and bike rides around the loop. Thanks for sharing your cabin!
June 2016 - Erie, PA~~Beautiful cabin! We did have a bear pass by at 6:15AM Sunday. He was young and we got a few quick pictures before he beat it out of here He wanted nothing to do with people which we were happy about. We saw a variety of birds. There are a pair of waxwings starting a nest in the tree by the wood shed. I was able to see 6 Luna Moths, 5 silk moths and a variety of others. The skies here are beautiful and we were able to do some great astrophotography. Also visited Yorkholo Brewery as others suggested and enjoyed their craft beer. Thank you to the owners for sharing this peaceful place.
PS-at dusk you can hear the male ruffed grouse drum and also the owls hooting "who cooks for you" at night. Loved it!
June 2016 - Parkesburg & Gap, PA and Boonsboro, MD~~This was our first stay at Bear Tracks Cabin. The cabin was just like we imagined. It's a lovely place to stay and relax. Beautiful scenery, quiet & peaceful. We didn't see a bear....but we did see 2 fox, 2 porcupine & 2 chipmunks and a beautiful Lunar moth and 2 deer too! We hope to come back again. Thank you for a lovely stay.
May 2016 - Poconos, PA and Syracuse, NY~~We had a great time strolling through Wellsboro & hiking the Canyon. It was nice to "unplug" for the weekend.
Had a great time. Cabin was clean and comfortable. Quiet & peaceful! Be sure to go to Yorkholo in Mansfield-great beer and food!
April 2016 - Yeagertown, PA~~Wonderful time. Very nice, clean and quiet. Thank you.
March 2016 - York, PA~~Came up for a three day getaway from our hectic life to spend some quality time together. We visited some local breweries (check out Yorkholo!), went to Corning NY for the day, it was beautiful. Spent our evenings by the fire. Can't wait to come back with our kids. Beautiful cabin!
January 2016 - Kempton, Kutztown, PA~~Girls weekend! Wonderful. No kids. No husbands. Wahoo!! Great place to relax and do nothing! No bears this time of year! Lots of wine and laughs! We will be back!
July 2015 - Ephrata, Manheim, PA~~Enjoyed your cabin very much Nice, cool nights. We liked the roads for biking and even saw some deer. Might come back sometime! Your cabin was very accommodating and beautifully furnished! We loved the pine boards and bear decor. Thank you very much!
July 2015 - Lancaster, PA~~What a well maintained and peaceful cabin! We thoroughly enjoyed our little getaway and the kids loved exploring the woods and sitting around the campfire. It was so nice to get away from the cell phones and video games! We didn't see any bears this time, so I guess we'll have to try again next year. Thanks for a great stay!
July 2015 - Elizabethtown, Leola, PA~~Enjoyed the comfort of the cabin, ambiance of the woods even though we didn't see any bear. Thanks for helping to make our family weekend affordable and enjoyable.
April 2015-Kirkwood, NY~~We very much enjoyed getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was peaceful and quiet. The cabin is very beautiful and relaxing.
April 2015-Lancaster and Hummelstown, PA~~Very much enjoyed your homey cabin and the bear theme throughout. Inside we stayed on the subject, watching a movie on bears-"Bear With Me". We visited the Grand Canyon and Corning Glass Museum, and both sparkled in their own way. Our constant companion-always in ear shot-was the ruffed grouse, whose drumming gave our stay an appropriate beat! Very relaxing stay. Thanks.
April 2015-Chester, Eddystone, Ridley Park, PA~~Had a great time. Your cabin is beautiful inside and out. Some of the roads up to the cabin were treacherous. Our cars look like we went mudding-LOL. Can't wait to come back! PS-Went to PA Grand Canyon, only thing to say about that-BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for everything. Seen 2 deer and Ruffed Grouse. Last night nothing but a sky full of stars.
April 2015-Spencerport, NY, Montgomery Village, MD~~It is beautiful here! It was an interesting snowy drive up the hill on Easter. We didn't see any bears, but we saw bear tracks! It's a lovely, peaceful place to visit.
February 2015-Delaware County, PA~~We had a great time here at the Bear Tracks Cabin. The privacy and quietness was the best. You supplied everything we needed and can't wait to come back.
K and E Cabin Rentals thanks everyone who has stayed at our cabin and are glad that you have enjoyed your stay.


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We are a Biblical church, giving God's Word first place in our faith and life.
We are a Christian church which gathers to praise God for his saving love in Jesus, to share in Christ's eternal blessings with one another, and to share this message with those around us.
We are a Lutheran church which proclaims the forgiveness of sins as we gather around the Word of God and his sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion, which continue to strengthen our faith in Christ.
Blended worship of old and new. We have liturgical portions, but also use newer hymns and songs. We blend different types of instruments of Organ, Piano, Violin, Cello, etc.
Very friendly and feels like your second family. We all join together to worship, encourage, laugh, and cry.
We welcome you with open arms and want to share the love of Jesus with you.
Go here? Tell us why you love Shepherd Of The Plains Lutheran Church. Visited? Tell us what a newcomer can expect.
Enter your email address to receive an informative welcome email from Shepherd Of The Plains Lutheran Church.


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Deep-sea mining must prove sustainability to join energy transition
Deep sea mining must prove sustainability to join energy transition
Global | Publication | June 2021
Commercial deep-sea mining is close to becoming reality. After much discussion and stakeholder input, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an arm of the UN, is soon to publish the final part of the legal framework to enable commercial production. But given the increased impetus for investment to be linked to sustainability or green projects, can deep-sea mining vessels and projects realistically fall into this category, and play a role in the energy transition?
Seabed mining has been conducted for some time, with companies harvesting diamonds off the coast of Namibia and Canadian company Nautilus' shallow mining project off the coast of Papua New Guinea. But the real treasure of rare earth minerals and commodities essential to the production of next-generation technology is ready and waiting in the depths of the Pacific Ocean in the form of polymetallic nodules.
These nodules, created by tectonic plate movements, lie unattached on the ocean floor ready to be scooped up, smelted and processed, and are a dense mix of precious metals and commodities. The types of minerals found underwater are becoming essential to supporting and strengthening the renewables industry.
The rise of electric vehicles and large-scale electricity storage will only increase demand for cobalt, a commodity essential for producing lithium batteries. Polymetallic nodules are rich in cobalt, at a time when many battery manufacturers have claimed to be unable to secure much-needed future supply at a commercially acceptable price. Tellurium is a rare earth metal often likened to platinum for its scarcity, and present in the Earth's crust in about 0.001 parts per million. It is used for building wind turbine blades and solar panels and so is an essential component in the renewable energy supply chain. Ferromanganese crusts, many of which are found around the Canary Islands, are rich in this key commodity.
There are objections to deep-sea mining on the basis that it will disturb the sea floor, and some express severe concerns over the disruption of the ecosystems which have taken centuries to grow and mature. In response, technological solutions are being designed specifically to ensure minimal disruption. One of the key issues is the 'plume' that would be discharged in any mining process - the polymetallic nodules would need to be 'vacuumed' up from the seafloor, which would bring a certain amount of the seabed with them. Although the technology is designed for minimal disturbance, there will still be some displacement when that mix of water and seafloor/sand is released back into the sea. Many are concerned that the plume would drift for miles and have as yet unknown effects on other parts of the sea, although some control studies provide an element of comfort to this concern, but are yet to be made publicly available. A number of car manufacturers and technology companies have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, together with the WWF, until more is known about the effects of the mining processes.
One of the other challenges for deep-sea mining has been lack of proven technology to operate in 5-km depths on the seafloor. Although the concept was proven as far back as the 1970s, further work needs to be undertaken to ensure that equipment can be safely operated on a commercial scale. Projects such as Blue Nodules were granted EU funding to develop the relevant capability, systems and tools in an environmentally sustainable manner, with industry players and research specialists working in close collaboration. A number of states, state-owned enterprises, and private companies are working on competing technology. China and Chinese-sponsored entities have become increasingly acquisitive in this sector, purchasing key technology manufacturers with proven concepts.
Look but do not take
Another challenge has been the lack of legal framework to regulate and support these activities. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, located in the Pacific Ocean, lies in an area pursuant to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Under UNCLOS it therefore belongs to, and is for the benefit of, the whole of mankind, and is regulated by the ISA. The ISA have granted exploration licences to companies and states to explore in the area, but have not yet published final regulations governing exploitation or harvesting within it. So one can go and look, but one cannot yet take.
The exploitation regulations have been developed during a time of increasing environmental scrutiny. They are on their third iteration, with open public consultation at each stage including with governments, private bodies, stakeholders and NGOs. They go a long way to providing a clear framework for exploitation or harvesting of minerals and, more importantly, commercial viability. They set out a well-drafted pathway to obtaining an exploitation contract for 30 years (with an option to renew) and, as would be expected, detailed provisions relating to environmental responsibilities and reporting.
Importantly, the regulations require that any entity applying for a licence must publish their individual environmental and social risk plan for public consultation at least 60 days in advance of approval and take into account all views in order to be even eligible for consideration. They must also provide a dedicated environmental performance guarantee and report (and be inspected) regularly. Failure to comply with their plan or concerns over their performance may lead to their licence being suspended. The real strength is that an organ of the ISA is to enforce the regulations; rather than a financier or a government directly benefiting from royalties.
One of the key areas which still does require further development is the payment of royalties. If the exploitation area were in the jurisdiction of a country, then the government of that country would be setting the mechanics for calculation of royalties. Given that the area is for the benefit of all mankind, the ISA proposes to collect the royalties. The royalty payment mechanism under the proposed draft exploitation regulations looks at the different minerals or commodities making up the polymetallic nodules and requires that the relevant company or state to pay a royalty based on the value and amount of each such mineral or commodity.
The difficulty with this approach is that deep-sea mining companies may be looking to capitalise on whichever mineral or commodity is most valuable to them at that time; if they have to pay royalties on commodities they are not looking to produce, then the activity could quickly lose its commercial viability. On the other hand, streaming structures do allow mining companies to potentially capitalise on unwanted byproducts and therefore create a potential separate revenue stream. Further consultation and review is needed to ensure there is sufficient certainty to attract commercial investment.
With sustainability and environmental concerns rising up the global agenda, this is the perfect time for a new industry to develop with those principles in mind, both in terms of the technology used and the regulatory framework under which it will operate. Not only that, but the commodities supplied would support and perhaps speed up the energy transition, potentially enabling those decarbonisation goals to be met more quickly. With shipping already viewed as one of the least polluting forms of transport, and getting ever greener with the International Maritime Organization regulations on emissions coming into force, it could just be that deep-sea mining starts to look more attractive. But the keys to unlocking the industry are the environmental surveys and studies showing the actual and real effect of deep-sea mining, and these will not be sufficiently available until exploitation starts.
Eleanor Martin
eleanor.martin@nortonrosefulbright.com
DORA – Digital Operational Resilience Act
On December 27, 2022, the European Regulation on digital operational resilience for the financial sector was published. It entered into force on January 17, 2023 and will apply as of January 17, 2025.
Global | January 25, 2023
The EU Foreign Subsidy Regulation: A new set of wide-reaching powers for the European Commission
The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Foreign Subsidies Distorting the Internal Market (the FSR) entered into force on 12 January 2023 and will apply from 12 July 2023. The European Commission (EC) will soon launch a public consultation on an implementing regulation that will provide details regarding notifications, file access and other procedures under the FSR, and is setting up a sizeable taskforce to handle FSR cases.
Financial services M&A
According to the international media agency Thomson Reuters, financial services are among the three sectors, along with TMT and automotive, where public M&A activity has picked up at the fastest pace in Luxembourg since the 2020 covid-19 pandemic.
Global | December 21, 2022
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The classic features of the decline and fall of civilizations in historical times have been well documented. So have the economic and other macro-level problems besetting our own society in recent decades that strongly suggest it, too, has now started down its own inexorable path of decline. What have not been so well described, though, are the more intangible but equally real aspects of modern civilization's decline that we experience in our everyday personal lives.
Since this post is lengthy… If your time is limited, you can jump straight to the concluding side-by-side comparison chart summarizing the numerous ways our personal lives today differ from the USA's pre-decline years.
A lot has been written in certain corners of the blogosphere about the macro aspects of the long decline of modern Western civilization ahead of us, like that of ancient Rome, currently in the initial stages of washing over our world. There are plenty of predictions about where it will take us, debates among fast-crash advocates vs. slow-crash, the forms it may or may not assume, and so on.
Of course, outside this circle, many if not most probably believe the current ills of our technological civilization are a temporary detour that will be righted once we get back on course — whatever that is thought to be. In conservative religious circles it is believed the proper moral course is all that is needed. In the business community, the right economic policies will be our savior. In the high-tech community, innovation. (Innovation in computers and iPhones continues! What, me worry?) For those of political bent, no matter what political party, it is a better vision and stronger leadership in government that will save the day.
The decline does affect just about all of us, not only those who have been directly hit by one or another personal disaster.
Direct vs. indirect effects. However, while there are numerous statistics about the more or less stagnant economy, joblessness, the increasing number of families with children on food stamps, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor along with the hollowing out of the middle class, little has been written about how breakdown and decline are experienced by those of us seemingly buffered from the worst impacts — what most of us feel at the personal, individual level. And the decline does affect just about all of us, not only those who have been directly hit by one or another personal disaster.
Blind spots and self-blame. Certainly many people these days are affected acutely by job loss or income decline — or perhaps are managing to maintain their income by working longer and harder, only to see prices for essentials continue to rise, and these are serious impacts. I know a few people myself who have gone through or are going through such trials. To me, all of this is a given. But it has also become apparent to me how even the more commonplace, everyday aspects of our lives are affected by the decline going on around us. Yet these characteristic experiences we share tend to be "blind spots" in terms of failing to realize how strongly they point to the larger decline going on around us, or blaming ourselves for our responses, until one wakes up to the larger picture.
For those who aren't familiar with the perspective that the Western world is now in the early stages of long-term civilizational decline — as the lens of history would suggest — I've included some links below laying out the case for that larger picture as preface to the rest of this discussion. Most people who are unaware of the wider forces at work probably assume today's societal ills are either temporary problems or relatively simple things that could be fixed "if only everyone would simply do blah-blah-blah." For example, most commonly: get government off the backs of businesses and let the free market handle things.
Systemic breakdown, no quick fixes. But the plight we're going through is systemic — the many decades of downward change that we face are not going away anytime soon, due to overarching forces that circumscribe any efforts we might mount. Ours isn't the first nor the last society to experience decline, and the challenges ahead will only become more pronounced over time until the root causes play themselves out.
Fundamentally, these causes amount to too many people chasing declining resources within an environment and ecosystems that have now been heavily exploited, degraded, and ripped apart by 300 years of industrialization on a finite planet. In turn, our era of industralization has been financed by raiding the one-time cookie jar of fossil-fuel deposits that took hundreds of millions of years to form in the first place, and that drive the very motor of today's high-energy, high-tech world.
Gaining this perspective on the place of our current civilization along the arc of history provides a very helpful context for more objectively evaluating our own experiences.
Current shift underway likely centuries-long. While Earth's biosphere will eventually recover, "eventually" in this context likely means decades or centuries for some renewable resources (perhaps soils in cultivated areas, if helped along by rebuilding techniques) to centuries or millennia in the case of others (depleted underground aquifers, for example), too long to provide any quick fixes for those currently living, or for the immediately following few generations. Other resources — nonrenewables — once mined, used up, and dispersed (metals and ores of all types) are effectively gone except for the reuse of artifacts and implements, or scrap-mining future industrial ruins embodying them. Which will leave us once again primarily with Earth's annual renewable resources as our energy future, the same one that prior civilizations were built on.
Larger forces vs. personal responsibility. For me, gaining this perspective on the place of our current civilization along the arc of history provides a very helpful context for more objectively evaluating my own experiences, and what level of responsibility for them is primarily mine versus what is driven more by circumstances at large. I know a few people who are among the more seriously affected who probably don't believe anything really fundamentally problematic in the world around them is going on other than short-term market-based ups and downs: that their own misfortune is their own fault. But at some point, even those who still have good jobs and move in circles where everyone is sailing along seemingly unaffected will experience increasing difficulties. Whichever camp you might fall in, here are links to provide the larger context.
What if a Collapse Happened and Nobody Noticed? So far his most popular post ever.
Five Years into the Apocalypse. Probably the most well-written, balanced, and on-target assessment of Peak Oil's predictive hits and misses I have yet seen.
For a step back and a wide view of the ragged trajectory of collapse that typically plays out over a century or two or longer in declining civilizations, hop on over to John Michael Greer's historically informed The Archdruid Report.
The Era of Pretense. This is the first installment of Greer's discussion of his five phases of civilizational decline, the first one being pretense, i.e., denial that it's happening, which we're currently in the midst of.
The Era of Impact. Greer's second phase of decline and fall.
Whatever Happened to Peak Oil? Provides a higher-level perspective that looks at the ongoing depletion and affordability of the master resource — energy — that in its myriad forms (oil being the most versatile and useful in our society) fuels all work performed ("the economy"), powers our technological civilization, and enables the extraction of all the other resources that support our way of life.
Renewables: The Next Fracking? is a shot of sorely needed "green"-busting realism, discussing why solar and wind power, desirable as they might be in some ways (who can really be against renewables?), like biofuels before them simply can't produce enough energy on the industrial scale needed to continue powering our inherently energy-greedy, high-tech civilization, when looked at closely, even in theory.
While the above links provide a good crash course in how and why our current globally based, high-tech civilization is now beginning to decline, and furnish examples and statistics of the long-term economic decay emerging, there is another dimension I'd like to focus on and cover here. And that is to explore what the personal impacts are in our ordinary everyday lives, even for those of us who still have halfway decent jobs.
Unless one is more privileged than most — a part of the management class in business, or living in a gated community, say — when we look around us with our own eyes, truthfully, at what's happening, the overall feeling that things in general are going downhill is hard to avoid. And this is evident regardless of innovations in certain narrow sectors such as computing, the internet, cellular and wireless communications, 3D printing, materials science, nanotechnology, and so forth.
Are we simply imagining that our lives do not work as well as they used to? Are we just being complainers? Should we just shut up if we don't have anything positive to say?
Perception vs. consensus reality. But despite the overall impression, if we still have a job we are more or less satisfied with, often it's hard to put one's finger on exactly what these things are specifically, as they manifest in our personal lives. Are we simply imagining that our lives, that things in general, do not work as well as they used to? Are we just being complainers? Are we the type of person who, as some say, should just shut up if we don't have anything positive to say? Are things really so bad?
In part, I think a good deal of the difficulty is because of what has been termed "creeping normalcy" (or normalcy bias) or "the goalposts keep getting moved" for what's to be expected as customary in life. So Chad Hill's post mentioned above, "What if a Collapse Happened and Nobody Noticed?" gives a good antidote, detailing how, yes, in fact, we are going through collapse — right now. In America.
A continuing drop in the labor force participation rate.
Fewer good full-time jobs, accompanied by more part-time and minimum-wage service-sector jobs that don't make up the difference.
Working harder for less, or working two jobs to compensate, with consequently longer work hours.
Concentrating on just getting by day to day rather than planning for the future.
Less time for family and friends.
Increase in personal bankruptcy filings.
Deteriorating public infrastructure: roads, bridges, aging electrical grid and water mains, etc.
Deteriorating private property: homes often less well maintained due to overstressed budgets.
Homes that remain on the market for many months, even a year or more before selling.
Banks with foreclosed homes on the books keeping them off the market to avoid pushing down housing prices.
Desperate people stealing manhole covers, or copper tubing out of air conditioners, or copper plumbing and electrical wiring out of vacant homes to sell on the scrap market to make ends meet.
Healthcare system in shambles, Obamacare or not.
More and more costly healthcare with steadily worsening health outcomes, as evidenced by skyrocketing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
More cheaply built products that break down sooner or go obsolete more rapidly.
Large increase in white-collar crime and fraud, led by Wall Street.
And so on and so forth… The list is long but not particularly "dramatic" or "apocalyptic," at least not when the items are looked at individually in isolation. It is only in the overall pattern that one can discern the decline, and even then only when one takes the time to educate themselves about it.
Another part of the perceptual difficulty is that economic and civilizational decline, like civilizations themselves, aren't a unified monolithic event, but multifaceted, with various parts that may be moving out of phase with each other rather than in concert. To deal with perhaps the most obvious and oft-cited example of this, and the objection most often thrown up: "Yes, but what about our iPhones?!" Certainly there are some aspects of civilization still on the ascendancy and proceeding apace, such as the internet, computerization, and communications technologies.
Living inside the technosphere, blind to nature. On the other hand, many other aspects of life on this planet, particularly the wholesale destruction of the environment and ecosystems occurring worldwide — the very support system on which more complex life forms on Earth depend, such as mammals and human beings — are accelerating in an ever-downward spiral.
Especially when different parts of the system are out of phase, there are going to be certain things still on the way up, others on the way down. This is particularly so right as the moment of "peak civilization" is passed.
My phrase for this state of affairs is "best of times, worst of times." To me, such a constellation of factors is a feature of systems barely past their peak, before the reality of decline becomes more readily apparent. Especially when different parts of the system are out of phase, there are going to be certain things still on the way up, others on the way down. This is particularly so right as the moment of "peak civilization" is passed — which will also be the point of "peak confusion" due to what appear to be many conflicting signals.
But to tie these points back together in the form of a question, all of the above has made me wonder: what exactly does decline or breakdown of the overall fabric of our civilization translate to at the individual level in our own personal experience, i.e., beyond the macro-level events and statistics? What follows isn't meant to be a definitive statement of any sort, more of a start, as I think and mull over the various experiences and feelings coming their way into my own life these days.
Here is one example of what it is like living in today's age of decline: A good friend of mine and I who live in the same city have not been able to get together for a visit in months now. Why? It seems to come down to the fact that, in general, everyone is too busy. When my friend has had an opening in their schedule, I haven't. Or when I have, they haven't.
Sometimes I have weekends open, but those are the days they stake out for spending with family, the number-one priority for them. In the past, when I was exclusively self-employed with one primary occupation, my friend could drop by without much advance notice when they were out and about on a business or personal errand. Now that I have two or three part-time gigs going, with one involving daily appointments that have to be kept, my time during the week doesn't permit the "drop by when you have time" approach any longer.
Everyone sucked up in their own vortex. Or perhaps one of us gets so wrapped up in keeping the plates spinning in their own life that all else is forgotten or has to be put at bay for a time. My self-employment gigs keep me busy enough it is hard to eke out spare time — at least during the week — that might not cause hardship meeting deadlines. My friend, having lost employment a number of months ago, is constantly spinning their own wheels either dealing with the limitations and hardships of a life with insufficient income on the one hand (no functioning car for two months at one point, for instance, being unable to afford the repairs, or to make the repair themselves), or trying to get income flowing again on the other.
Everyone is far "too busy" and we still call this progress?
It doesn't seem to matter if people are working or not. Most are overly busy keeping their lives going. Even those who might otherwise not be too busy — the retired or semi-retired come to mind — if they are able-bodied, often pitch in to relieve the many burdens their children or grandchildren face in these times. So they may be busier than they would like too. Does being too busy describe your life as well?
Why are we all so busy? I would put it down to three or four things — at least two that are most obvious and important, and a third or fourth not so obvious.
The first obvious reason is that more of us are working too many hours and/or have too many obligations in life overall.
The second important factor is that our civilization has become much more complex over the years, pulling us in more directions than we can successfully cope with.
A third reason is that due to the cost of living increasing at a faster rate than income (for many of us), we cannot as easily afford what we used to have — or maybe even just the basics needed to get by month to month. Not, that is, without either working longer hours, or making repairs and doing things oneself in lieu of paying repair people or contractors, and not always with the best results given the complexity of technology these days.
And a fourth factor is that as a society we have become over-indebted, and therefore in many cases have no choice but to work longer hours. Over-indebtedness is another feature of decline, because a society that is no longer growing and generating more income typically takes on more debt in order to make up the difference. Or at least more debt is taken on if people do not exercise foresight (not one of the human species' most notable characteristics), or feel entitled to certain things in life they are loath to give up by reducing their standard of living to compensate for the lack of income they formerly had.
Time pressure: the bane of modern life. Being "too busy" as a result of the above factors leads to much of the time pressure we experience: the feeling of being rushed, that there is never enough time. Which also leads to not being able to relax. When we have "dead time," we may feel we need to do something with it to "catch up," or to keep from falling behind because of too much to do. The "Getting Things Done" movement of some years ago, "Inbox Zero," and numerous other strategies for keeping on top of the huge pile of things always clamoring for our attention — all are manifestations of too much complexity, being forced to work too many hours, because of either the higher cost of living, too much debt, or too many obligations.
The idea that over-complexity is a feature of declining societies is of course the central thesis of Joseph Tainter's well-known treatise, The Collapse of Complex Societies, that explores its role in the decline and fall of previous civilizations. Tainter explores how complexity in civilizations arises to deal with the challenges that arise as a society grows over the course of its existence. Eventually complexity reaches a point where it becomes an albatross around the neck and actually causes more problems than it solves — reaching and then exceeding the point of "diminishing marginal returns," in economic geek-speak.
If something can go wrong, it will. Over-complexity is a factor that fuels longer work hours on its own — many of them, I would note, unpaid hours that don't show up in any statistic, spent fixing problems (breakdowns) brought on by too much of said complexity.
An entire category of humor — Murphy's Laws — has even arisen, bemoaning the common frustrations people today experience with how often things go wrong due to the complexity in our lives.
There are entire careers built on dealing with complexity or its fallout as well: tech support, medical records technicians, and tax accounting, for example. An entire category of humor — Murphy's Laws — has even arisen, bemoaning the common frustrations people today experience with how often things go wrong due to the complexity in our lives: "If something can go wrong, it will go wrong." "Before one thing can be done, something else must be done first." "Murphy was an optimist." Et cetera.
Over-complexity: It just works. Not. How else do we experience over-complexity in our individual lives? One common experience is that "things don't work as well anymore." How so? When it comes to computers, it's often experienced as the incompatibilities or perhaps user-unfriendly interfaces that can arise and spoil what was previously working better for a given set of needs. When the problems reach a point that they become maddening enough, you might refuse to upgrade software that's critical to your daily tasks, because it causes too much disruption: too little extra benefit for the trouble it causes.
Too much friction everywhere. At a more general level, over-complexity is what we could term "too many moving parts," the result of which is that one weak link in the chain can cause breakdown in function. Too many moving parts not only cause frequent breakdowns in mechanical things, but also affect our interpersonal dealings. One aspect of this is what we call "too much red tape": Too many rules and regulations that take time to navigate, too many hoops to jump through, too many forms to fill out, eating up our time, or stymieing our efforts to get things done in our lives.
Another aspect is the scheduling difficulties I cited above, in the example where my friend and I can't seem to connect for a visit — too many moving "social parts" on top of longer work hours or time-consuming hardships.
In a business I once worked for that hung pictures and other items on the walls after commercial and residential construction and remodels, my work partner George commonly needed to reschedule and shuffle appointments. It was a continual, ongoing issue often requiring extra time out of the day to handle. Events would suddenly crop up in customers' lives, or unexpected developments would occur on jobs we were doing that meant we might miss an appointment later in the day.
Missed connections, scheduling overruns. Here's an example from this business that occurred one day. For our first of two appointments one afternoon, we had a couple of heavy items to hang on an exterior brick wall that required L-shaped screw hooks to do the job, set into the mortar courses between bricks with the use of anchors. For most hardware we required, George already had at least a minimal inventory on hand, but not in this case — the hooks required were heavier-duty than usual.
So beforehand, George went to the local Ace Hardware store where he'd gotten such hooks previously, but this time they weren't in stock. He called both the customer and me to let us know he'd have to go to Home Depot to get them, and we'd be fifteen minutes to a half-hour late arriving on the job. The L-hooks he was able to obtain weren't quite as long or heavy-duty as he would have preferred, but he thought they'd do the job.
In the meantime, I'm struggling a bit — while projecting the best air of confidence I can — internally sweating a few bullets trying to figure things out on the spot myself.
Oops. We get to the job, drill into the mortar courses, set the anchors, screw in the L-hooks, only to find out that while close, they weren't quite long enough or sturdy enough to hold the weight and thickness required by the items being hung. Next trip: Lowe's, where we finally found what we needed. Note here that just one of three stores in our area, all nationally franchised brands, had what we needed.
By this point we'd wasted enough extra time that we were overrunning our schedule and George realized we'd miss our next appointment unless we split up. So I go and handle the other appointment, but then run into an unanticipated snag — a picture-hanging issue I hadn't encountered before. (I was still learning some things at the time.) Normally, if George were there, he could have coached me right through it quickly. Unfortunately, the customer had set another appointment for a little later that afternoon anticipating our job would be done quickly (which it otherwise would have been), so they called to reschedule it, and fortunately were able to get another slot about 45 minutes later, right before the day's close of business.
Added stress. In the meantime, I'm struggling a bit — while projecting the best air of confidence I can — internally sweating a few bullets trying to figure things out on the spot myself. To work right, the job required tying a certain kind of knot with wire I hadn't done before. I eventually figured it out and everything turned out just fine, but it ended up stressing me out somewhat, and ran the customer down to the last minute before their other appointment.
The wonders of just-in-time inventory. The above chain of events was set in motion, as far as I can tell, because of "just-in-time" retail inventory practices, another complexity in how business is done these days with computer-driven supply chains. The drive for efficiencies of scale and the costs of excess inventory are such that stores don't want to carry much inventory these days. Also, the fewer items in inventory, the wider a selection they can carry. That they have to carry — because of the wide array and/or over-complexity of today's technology. And by so doing, they maximize the amount of sales per square foot of floor space.
While our situation above was run-of-the-mill and not dire, of course, still, it's a good example of how the little things today — when there are so many of them — create the continual burden of missed connections and balls dropped that we fight.
Then there is the sheer frequency of random yet not-really-unexpected snafus occurring in succession at increasing rates these days, due to over-complexity. Take a week that happened to me not long before the above workday gone wonky.
Website goes down. Some months ago my web host on which this blog and website runs was taken over by a larger firm, which issued a notice they would be migrating customer accounts from the previous company's servers to new hardware. In an advance email, they said they would notify account owners both before and after the server transition, and would communicate afterward the new IP address that each site had been shifted to, i.e., the site's numeric address (needed for certain behind-the-scenes tasks and settings) as opposed to its public domain name. They did notify everyone ahead of time, but failed to do so afterward.
The way I found out the transition had been completed was that my site suddenly went down. Ordinarily, not immediately being informed of what the new IP address was might not be a critical issue. However, I have things set up so that visitor traffic going to the site is first routed through a cloud-based firewall security service, which requires a record of the correct IP address for the site in order for web pages to be served after traffic has been filtered through the firewall. So, I found out the new IP address for my blog site on my own, changed the settings for the firewall service, and the site then loaded fine for visitors again. In itself, not a huge deal, except that if I had not been online at the time writing a post and updating some design items, I might not have noticed for another day or two.
After the web server migration was fixed, following two days of back-and-forth emails with tech support, I was good to go again. Then, three days later, our home internet went down.
But then after the server migration, I also discovered I could not log in to the WordPress admin panel to manage the site or write new posts. It took two days of back-and-forth emails with tech support for them to discover that the reason was firewall security rules on their own (new) server. A different set of firewall rules than those that had been running on the previous server were resulting in false-positives that refused me admittance to my own site. Once that was fixed, I was good to go again.
Then, three days later, our home internet goes down. A support call to the local cable TV/broadband monopoly diagnosed our cable modem as the culprit — supposedly one of the most reliable on the market — which would need to be replaced. Which was exasperating because the modem was not even quite two years old, and had now already gone bad. (Modems should probably last five years at a minimum.) I went out, purchased another, called tech support back to get the new modem provisioned for service on their network, but we immediately ran into problems.
On this second support call, the techs could detect and see the modem as connected and functioning properly, but our computers still had no internet connection, even when, as a test, we hooked one computer up directly to the modem itself instead of via our usual intervening router. After the techs said all signs indicated the problem was on our end and not theirs, I hung up, and got to work troubleshooting. I have a fair amount of experience with these sorts of issues, but a couple of hours later we still had no internet. Late in the evening, I gave up and went to bed an hour later than I had planned and hoped to.
The next day, I called tech support again, with another hour of fruitless results, other than them reaffirming the problem was ours, not theirs. After using my cellphone to try and surf around on the 'net for potential answers, I finally located a potential fix that had to do with deleting some network preference settings on our computers, then setting them up again from scratch. This enabled a brief connection once or twice, but the fix didn't last. After more research, it turned out that a second, closely related settings issue seemed potentially relevant. After deleting and reapplying those settings as well, we finally had internet service back.
All total, it took three separate tech support calls of about 45 minutes to an hour each, then another few hours of troubleshooting on my own. The new network settings were no different than the old, but for some reason the old ones were blocking access (it's still unclear as to why). And it was both the first and second sets of settings that in tandem were the culprit, not just one or the other by itself.
Yes, computers are wonderful in many ways — I get to do this blog, obviously — but something of a Faustian bargain. When you add to the above incidents the others that also occur every so often (with increasing frequency, in my experience), or the ongoing maintenance and upkeep that computers take to keep them running smoothly, there is a very serious time cost that impacts the rest of our lives.
It almost goes without saying that high-tech items go obsolete within a few years, and are often designed with that in mind or on purpose in some, if not many, cases. The tradeoff is supposed to be that we get the "latest and greatest." Change of this sort is supposed to be good. But the obvious downside that everyone knows about but few want to admit as a real problem — or if they do, are shouted down or else treated with disrespect for being old-fashioned (elders, perhaps) — is the additional churn and turmoil that all this replacement and upgrading creates in our lives.
Or on the other hand, if the person is a "trooper" and consents to the extra task or project, then they are burdened with yet another, often uncompensated, responsibility in their lives painting themselves into another type of corner.
Computerization today: diminishing or even negative marginal returns?
So… when one starts looking at the added complexity, maintenance, software updates, repeatedly learning new applications or features or the latest "new, new" things that render previous software or ways of doing things obsolete, we need to start asking the question: Have we reached the point of diminishing returns, or even negative returns?
The initial promise of computers was that of empowering individuals to do more. But the incompatibilities, the breakdowns, the endless emails and texts — all of it robs us of time, which we never seem to have enough of to accomplish all that we have to do to keep our lives afloat.
Many people would say yes. For one thing, we are now almost as much slaves to our computers as their masters. The initial promise of computers was that of empowering individuals to do more. But the incompatibilities, the breakdowns, the endless emails and texts — all of it robs us of time, which we never seem to have enough of to accomplish all that we have to do to keep our lives afloat in today's world. Now, computers often force us to spend more time on things perhaps we would rather not have to spend. Not to mention, it is arguable that they benefit government and large corporations far more than they do individuals due to advantages of scale. We are managed like sheep in many ways, not to mention spied on en masse, thanks to computers.
I don't know the answer to whether we have reached the point of negative returns yet with computers, but it's clear it's a question that we need to start asking.
Proliferating intermediation. Another result of over-complexity is mushrooming intermediation — all the "middlemen" that become involved in the sales and supply chain of almost anything. Since all of this intermediation takes time, and people have a limited amount, personal relationships and the amount of time available for personal contact in our business dealings suffers. Also, because of ongoing resource depletion at this phase of industrial civilization, the cost of most items is going up (with some exceptions such as computers and computerized tech such as flat screen TVs, cheap clothing from China, for example), so businesses are more and more interested in automation and cutting as many employees as possible to compensate.
Combine intermediation with reduced headcount, and what do you get? These opposing forces of increased intermediation with simultaneous workforce reductions mean the employees who are hired may be expected to do too much or handle things beyond what they were trained for, or that are outside their real talents and expertise. (You do know this from your own job, don't you?) They may have less time to deal with individual customers, while they are at the same time less expert in any one thing because they are expected to deal with more areas of knowledge that they know less about. Further, they may be from a foreign country because of wage arbitrage that large companies utilize to reduce employee pay to rock-bottom levels.
The opposing forces of increased intermediation with simultaneous workforce reductions mean employees may be expected to do too much or handle things beyond what they were trained for, or that are outside their real talents and expertise.
Is it any surprise, then, that they may follow scripts; that they speak with a heavy foreign accent you can't easily understand; that they may be judged on how many customers they serve in a given amount of time; with the result you get canned answers from someone you feel no affinity with, rather than individualized help from someone who takes a real personal interest? Does that sound anything like the last tech support call you had about your computer or other computerized appliance? Or perhaps your only avenue was via email or chat support with even less personal interaction.
One could go on, but as a way of winding things up, I've compiled the chart below to catalog in concise form the fallout our current industrial decline is having on many different dimensions of our personal lives compared to the civilization's zenith in prior decades.
Some, such as John Michael Greer, put the apogee of industrial/technological society in the mid-1970s, at least in America which, as he discusses, was the point when the economic decline of the country's manufacturing industries began, with the associated urban decay of the Upper Midwest and northeastern United States into the "Rust Belt." I would also note this is roughly the same time that the prior norm of single-breadwinner families began giving way to two-income households as the new norm to help maintain the prior standard of living, but at the cost of extra work time and less leisure.
My list here focuses on our own culture's specific circumstances, and isn't meant to be universally applicable to the declines of earlier civilizations that lived closer to the earth with much simpler technologies, though there may be some features that apply. It is part of the irony of our times that some of the characteristics listed here as those of societal decline may be touted by priests of the hyper-competitive free market or technological "innovation" as necessary or advantageous in today's age. And they may be, in terms of career advancement in the current regime, but are just as much recipes for human unhappiness and poor health instead.
Personal employee time respected by companies, clear limits. Other employees can fill in if needed when you're gone so company can operate without you. Corporations may make employment conditional on constant availability by cellphone, email, texts. Employee roles are so specialized, others may not be able to fill in easily for an absent worker.
Human body's healthy requirement for intermittent work/break cycles respected more Machines and machine rhythms disrupt human body's need for intermittent work/break cycles. Mental burnout, repetitive stress injuries, or other on-the-job health repercussions.
But we have iPhones, you say? Let's pull our heads out of that tiny myopic screen and look everywhere around us. By comparison with 40 years ago, the changes don't make for a pretty picture. The preceding chart details just what four decades of normalcy creep and moving the goalposts have led to. Which is perhaps exactly why we find it so much more attractive to bury our heads breathlessly in the new, new cyber world rather than look too closely at the declining physical one.
Perhaps with the awareness of what has been outlined here, one might expect to feel gloomy. However, I have found that the overarching perspective and understanding this knowledge provides, despite the anxiety for the future it may engender, also has a calming effect in the here and now. Instead of blaming primarily ourselves for the predicaments we face today, we can begin to recognize the much larger forces at work, and the current era's place along history's arc. Forewarned and forearmed, we have a better chance of adapting to the times, can shift our expectations to more realistic goals given the constraints we face, and rather than hanker after the "perks" of a bygone era that now may be increasingly out of reach, focus on the truly important things in life.


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The Kunsthalle: 7 centuries of art
The Kunsthalle in Hamburg is one of the biggest and most important art museums in Germany. The museum's 3 impressive buildings offer a total of 13,000 square metres of exhibit space. Art lovers marvel at thousands of paintings, drawings and sculptures from various periods, including Romanticism. The museum also displays classic 20th-century modern art.
The Height of Romanticism
Visitors can easily spend a full day browsing the enormous collection of the Kunsthalle. The permanent collection is divided into several categories, including Old Masters, 19th Century and Modern Art. The Galerie der Gegenwart displays art from the 1960s and onwards. The exhibition of Old Masters showcases religious art and North German works from the 14th century. The gallery also displays religious works by famous Dutch and Flemish painters such as Rembrandt, Van Ruisdael and Rubens. The exhibit of 19th-century art includes famous works by well-known German painters such as Philipp Otto Runge and Max Liebermann. The collection also includes 14 outstanding works by Caspar David Friedrich, including 'Das Eismeer' and 'Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer'. These works transport the viewer to powerful landscapes that evoke loneliness, a typical theme of that period. These intense paintings embody the height of the Romantic Movement.
The Kunsthalle's modern art collection is one of the largest and most important in Germany. It includes works from the period 1900 to 1960 by famous modernist artists such as Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Kirchner and Paul Klee. The works of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch include a version of his Madonna and several paintings of 3 girls on a bridge. Picasso's early cubist works hang next to paintings by German masters such as August Macke. The collection also displays some impressive works by Max Beckmann – look in particular for his painting 'Ulysses und Calipso'.
Hamburg is known as a Mecca for entertainment and with 40 theatres and concert halls it certainly measures up to cities like London and New York. Visit one of the spectacular musicals or treat yourself to a bold cabaret performance. Prefer something classic? Watch an opera or ballet at one of the elegant concert halls – there is no excuse to be bored in Hamburg at night.
An independent city until 1938, Altona lies across the 'border' from Sankt Pauli and still exudes a free spirit. This part of Hamburg is home to hip thirty-somethings, art students and other creative personalities. Pedestrian streets lined with boutiques, designer stores and galleries alternate with bistros and beach bars – a refreshing change from Hamburg's busy city centre.
Hamburg has been endowed with parks, public gardens and playgrounds – there are almost too many to mention. These green oases of Hamburg have one thing in common: they are beautifully maintained and equipped with modern playgrounds so that children can safely play and have fun. From the vast Stadtpark in the north to the play islands in the south, take the whole family on an adventure in Hamburg's playgrounds.
Have you always wanted to take the train to the Swiss Alps, Las Vegas and across the fjords of Scandinavia? In Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway exhibition in the world, you can travel the world – in just one day. The 8-mile train track crosses the most beautiful model landscapes and tiny people head out to see the Northern Lights, taste some Swiss chocolate or go plane spotting.
It started with a collection of seals in 1848 and grew into one of the most beautiful zoos in Germany. Visitors to Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg enjoy a close-up look at elephants, orang-utans, sea lions, Siberian tigers and many other animal species. The magnificent habitats take you to the vast plains of the African savannah and the enormous Arctic Ocean.
Schanzenviertel is a lively neighbourhood in Hamburg that is very popular with young, trendy shoppers. 'Schanze' is the perfect place to shop for Hamburg's latest designer labels, look for a rare vinyl record or nab some great 1980s vintage bargains. Great news for hungry shoppers; this neighbourhood also boasts a very high density of restaurants. You will find everything from curry bratwurst to haute cuisine.
Hamburg is Germany's wealthiest city – as those who visit the neighbourhoods of Altstadt and Neustadt will notice straight away. The streets of Hamburg's prominent shopping district are lined with elegant department stores and upscale boutiques. Admire the sparkling jewellery, taste some caviar or try on a new suit.
From antique porcelain to modern designer furniture: The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MKG) is one of the most important European art and design museums. The exceptional and diverse collection offers visitors a unique perspective of 4000 years of creativity in Europe and beyond – the collection includes beautiful Islamic and Asian artefacts as well.
From an industrious Hanseatic city to a modern metropolis, Hamburg is known as the 'gateway to the world'. Since the Middle Ages, goods have been shipped here from every corner of the world. Hamburg's harbour is the third largest in Europe after Rotterdam and Antwerp. For a touch of Hamburg's trade history visit Speicherstadt. Built in red bricks, the largest historic warehouse complex in the world is one of the most photogenic spots in the city.
Visitors who stroll along the quays of the Kleine Alster will certainly notice the Alsterarkaden. These elegant white arcades along the water evoke a touch of Venetian elegance. These stylish shopping arcades are the showpiece of downtown Hamburg. Browse the shop windows of exclusive designers or grab a table at a patio on the water and watch the elegant, well-heeled shoppers.
Hamburg boasts many large churches, but the St. Michael's Church rises above all others. 'Michel', as Hamburg residents affectionately refer to the church, can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. This symbol of Hamburg is 132 metres high – those who make the effort to climb to the top of the bell tower will be rewarded with a spectacular view of Hamburg and the harbour.


Discussion in 'Official Microsoft News' started by Skype for Business Team, Dec 16, 2015.
Today we're pleased to announce availability of the Skype for Business app for Android. Over the past few months, we received valuable feedback from people participating in the preview program and we're excited to make the new app broadly available so that everyone can be more productive while on the go.
Let's take a look at some of the features of the Skype for Business app for Android.
A new dashboard design brings the contact search bar, your upcoming meetings and most recent conversations to one place. Simply tap the Quick Join icon to the right of your appointment name to join your meetings with one touch, or tap the name of the meeting to see its details. Your recent conversations are at your fingertips, no matter which device you had the conversation on. Additionally, full-screen video as well as larger call-control buttons to mute and add participants to a meeting make it easy for you to collaborate on the go.
The contact search bar allows you to search your Global Address List by name, email or even a phone number. You can also easily search for a contact within your organized Skype for Business groups and add or remove a contact.
The Skype for Business Android app now supports modern authentication, which is utilized by other Office clients and allows for a consistent authentication experience for your users. Moreover, since modern authentication is based on access tokens, user's credentials are not stored on their device.
Modern authentication also enables IT admins to configure multi-factor authentication for users of the Skype for Business Android app, increasing the security beyond just a user name and password. With multi-factor authentication, users are required to acknowledge a phone call, text message or an app notification on their device after correctly entering their user name and password.
Learn more about the modern authentication public preview program and how to use it for Skype for Business.
The new Skype for Business app for Android is now available in the Google Play store. Android users with Lync 2013 will be automatically updated to the Skype for Business app based on their device settings. If you are an IT admin, use the Skype for Business for Android productivity guide to learn more and prepare your users.
We will continue to bring new features to our mobile apps with regular updates. Look out for integration with Microsoft Intune, which simplifies application management and corporate data protection and lets your users access the app from their mobile devices even more securely. Join our Skype for Business IT Pro Yammer community to stay up to date with product news, participate in interactive Skype Meeting Broadcast sessions and to share and learn from the community.
The post Skype for Business for Android now available appeared first on Office Blogs.


Posted on January 10, 2007 June 6, 2008 by Debito Arudou Ph.D.
Hi Blog. Launching a series on what I see as a very serious issue (training people to be "patriotic" at the early stages of education, with "love of country" tests already happening in Kyushu and Saitama grade schools), here is an introductory article from The Economist (London) on Japan's reform of its Basic Education Law (Kyouiku Kihon Hou).
I don't quite share its analytical framework or its rosy conclusions, but it's a decent primer on the issue. Further links to this issue on debito.org included after the article. Further links to this issue on debito.org included after the article.
Below that follow two more Japan Times articles showing the most recent policy push in its genesis, back in 2002 and 2003.
I'm sure I'll be saying this many times in the course of analysis and argument from now on, but what of the international community and mixed-roots children getting their education in Japan? Will they have to make a choice about their national identity (one, not both?), or just be excluded altogether?
Moreover, given Japan's history of so much emphasis on Yamatoism as part or national identity, what sorts of guarantees do we have that this will not fall back into old patterns which ultimately devastated this country a world war ago? Might sound a bit alarmist at this stage, but public indifference is what permits policy creep.
SOMETHING has gone terribly wrong with Japanese education—or so say the Japanese. They fret that Japan has slipped down the international rankings for high-school literacy, mathematics and science. In the OECD's last assessment of 15-year-olds in 41 countries, Japan remained a healthy second in science, but had fallen from first to sixth in maths and from eighth to fourteenth in reading ability.
Parents are also worried about the resurgence of bullying and suicides among schoolchildren. Facing probable defeat in next summer's upper-house election, the fledgling government of Shinzo Abe has been casting around desperately for something—anything—to prove that it really is listening to people's concerns. Education is seen as a handy distraction.
The kind of reforms the government has in mind, however, are not designed to help young people make critical judgments in a fast-changing, information-driven, global environment. Instead, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito, have rewritten Japan's post-war education law with the aim of boosting patriotism among the young.
Bunmei Ibuki, the education minister, also believes elementary schools have no place teaching foreign languages such as English. The first requirement, he insists, is that pupils acquire what he calls a "Japanese passport"—ie, a thorough grasp of the country's history and culture, and perfection in their own language.
Parliament's lower house has approved legislation which, besides stressing the importance of parental guidance, requires schools to instil "a love of one's country" in children. The opposition parties boycotted the recent lower-house vote, but the ruling coalition's majority in the upper chamber has allowed the bill to scrape through and become law.
Because it was used in the past to fan the flames of militarism, teaching patriotism has long been taboo in Japan. With its heavy emphasis on morality and nationalism, the new legislation bears some resemblance to the Imperial Rescript on Education of 1890. In the decades up to the end of the second world war, children were forced to memorise the rescript and recite it, word for word, before a portrait of the emperor. Following Japan's surrender, the allied occupiers ended the practice, appalled by its demands for juvenile self-sacrifice in the name of the emperor.
The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform. The school system and curriculum were designed 60 years ago, when a generation of children from farming communities were being trained for long, uncomplaining hours on production lines. In the intervening years the economy has changed out of all recognition. Yet the education system—with its continued emphasis on facts and figures and drilling of mental arithmetic—has remained stubbornly rooted in the past.
Its continued economic success suggests that Japan's teenagers are paying less heed to all this, as they quietly master the creative skills needed to prosper in a modern world. In this context, perhaps those perplexing slippages in formal grades, mirrored in other post-industrial countries, ought actually to raise a cheer.
Few schools in Japan are complying with government guidelines suggesting that students be graded on how patriotic they are — and those that have face opposition from teachers, parents and citizens' groups.
"Fostering love of country" was added as a curriculum goal for sixth-grade social studies classes under guidelines first approved by the education ministry for the school year that ended last month.
Patriotism here is often associated with the jingoism trumpeted by Japan's militarist government and forced upon students in the decades leading up to this country's defeat in World War II.
The nonmandatory guidelines suggested that teaching patriotism would encourage children to take pride in their history and culture.
But according to a recent survey by a Japanese newspaper, less than 200 of Japan's 24,000 public elementary schools are complying. Parents and citizens' groups are protesting, and a spokesman for the nation's largest teachers union said in an interview that he questioned the constitutionality of the guidelines.
Japan's Asian neighbors, which bore the brunt of its past military adventures, have frequently criticized Tokyo for allowing wartime atrocities to be whitewashed in officially sanctioned textbooks.
Officials have defended the patriotism guidelines.
The old curriculum for sixth graders called on teachers to foster a "love of Japan's history and traditions." The new version adds "love of country" to that list, Sakashita said.
Such explanations have done little to placate critics.
"I think students are already taught enough about taking pride in their history and culture," said Noriyoshi Mukoyama, principal of Tokyo's Seisho Elementary School, one of the many schools that hasn't added "love of country" to its report cards.
"I didn't see any need to give a grade for that," he said.
Schools implementing the grades have significant leeway in deciding what constitutes patriotism, since the ministry guidelines provide few specifics.
The very idea of having such classes is upsetting some parents.
The matter is particularly complex for minorities, particularly the large Korean community. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, and many ethnic Koreans in Japan descended from workers brought here forcibly as laborers.
Educational reform is becoming a political issue in Japan. At the center of the controversy is the Education Basic Law, which took effect in 1947 when the Constitution was established. Earlier this year the Central Council for Education, an advisory panel to the education minister, published an interim report calling for a revision of the law.
The reform groundwork was laid last year when the National Conference on Educational Reform, a private advisory group to former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, released its final report saying the law should be rewritten. The central council is set to issue its own final report next spring. The education ministry plans to send a revision bill to the 150-day regular Diet session that opens in January.
The education charter, established during the U.S. Occupation, has been criticized by conservative politicians and educators as being out of touch with the "domestic situation." This is the first time, however, that the government has moved toward amending it.
Conservatives say the fundamental education law, already more than 50 years old, should be updated. In my view, though, there is no need whatsoever to change it now or in the foreseeable future.
Revisionists include former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who told the Yomiuri Shimbun Sept. 10, 2000, that the law had been enacted integrally with the Constitution, noting that the Imperial Rescript on Education and the Meiji Constitution also had been closely intertwined.
The debate on constitutional revision has only just started. Rewriting the basic education act at this stage is like putting the cart before the horse. The argument that a revision to the act, unlike a constitutional amendment, is procedurally simple ignores the historical background.
The emphasis on individual dignity reflects Japan's militaristic past when millions of young men were forced to sacrifice their lives for a reckless war. The education rescript urged the Japanese people to "come to the aid of the country in a time of crisis and promote the prosperity of the Imperial Throne." Those men were taught to memorize every word of it.
After the end of World War II, Japan adopted the Western idea of respect for individuals, but this principle is not yet fully observed in this nation. Bureaucracy continues to wield potent power. Promotions are still based more on seniority than merit. Employees are transferred with little regard for their wishes. And they put in a lot of "service overtime" without pay. Neighbors are bound by old customs and rules that stress "group spirit." The interim report, however, is oriented toward the state, not the individual.
In the early postwar years, there was, to my recollection, more individual freedom than now. In my high school days, when the education system was overhauled, voluntary student activity was encouraged. I enjoyed a pleasant campus life, although Japan at the time was a poor country. Students were free to organize various clubs as well as self-governing bodies. School trips were decided by vote. Few students attended cram school to enter college.
In subsequent years, however, the freewheeling mood on campus began to disappear. High schools appear to have become an "examination treadmill" with students cramming day and night to get into name universities. Vigor also seems lacking in college life, if what I observed during my three years as an instructor (till March 2001) at a newly established university is any indication.
Students there were unable, or unwilling, to set up a self-governing council. They couldn't start up a campus festival without the help of a teacher appointed by the faculty for the occasion. Almost no students asked questions in class. They were lazy, I thought, compared with exchange students from Asia.
In recent years the government has been tightening its grip on education. In 1999, a law governing the showing of the national flag and the singing of the "Kimigayo" anthem went into effect. Since then the education ministry has been urging public schools to hoist the flag and sing the song at entrance and graduation ceremonies. According to a ministry survey, the flag and anthem guidelines were observed by public schools in 40 of the 47 prefectures at graduation ceremonies last spring. Teachers who have refused to comply have been punished.
"Patriotism" is a new item for grading in reports from an elementary school in Fukuoka City. Teachers there evaluate each student in terms of "affection for the country and identity as a Japanese." This item, which was inserted beginning this fiscal year, has been criticized by Korean residents as a human rights violation.
School authorities say they are merely abiding by the ministry's curriculum guidelines. But promoting patriotic education under these nonstatutory guidelines is going to an extreme because it is still undecided whether to include the idea of patriotism in the Education Basic Law.
Fanning nationalism in such a way goes against worldwide moves to expand activity across borders amid the globalization of national economies and enlargement of the European Union. There is no convincing reason why Japan should encourage hoisting the rising-sun flag and singing Kimigayo.
The interim report gives a range of reasons for educational reform, such as loss of self-confidence among students, erosion of moral values, violent crime among the young and lack of discipline in the classroom. In other words, the report sees Japanese society and education as facing a serious crisis.
The real crisis, however, lies in the government's inability to pull the Japanese economy out of its protracted slump. It appears that politicians are trying to talk up a "crisis in education" as a way of easing the pent-up stresses of a recession-wary public. I think they are pursuing a nationalistic policy in order to deflect the public's mistrust of politics.
People are also frustrated that the government and the ruling parties have not taken any effective action to prevent political corruption. In recent years quite a few politicians have been forced to resign over money scandals, including misuse of their public secretaries' pay.
The interim report calls for an education that encourages students to develop a good sense of morality and ethics — a desire to observe the established norms of behavior. The urgent need, however, is to root out corruption in the political world and collusion in the public sector. That will have a far greater educational effect on the students.
Kiroku Hanai, a former editorial writer for a vernacular newspaper, writes on a wide range of issues, including international relations.


text:
Courtland Rogers: Out of Jail, Hoping to Win Back Jenelle Evans?
Back in November of 2015, Jenelle Evans' ex-husband, Courtland Rogers, was arrested for possession of heroin.
A month later Rogers was sentenced to three years behind bars.
A habitual offender with a rap sheet a mile long, Rogers didn't seem to be a candidate for early release, but it seems the parole board has taken mercy on the 31-year-old, possibly as a result of his long battle with addiction.
Radar Online is reporting today that Rogers will be released from Tabor County Correctional Institution on March 18.
"There is an advanced supervised release program," a prison authority tells the site.
"They have to meet a certain criteria and not get certain infractions and be in classes to have a reduced sentence."
Naturally, Rogers' release has raised one looming question in the mind of Teen Mom 2 fans:
Will Courtland try to get back in contact with Jenelle?
The idea might seem ridiculous, as Jenelle is engaged to David Eason these days, but she and Courtland shared a deep connection at one point.
It probably seems like a different life to Jenelle at this point (It was, after all, two baby daddies ago.), but it's been less than three years since Evans and Rogers divorced.
Of course, things move awfully fast in the Carolina Hurricane's world.
When Rogers went to prison, Jenelle was yet to get pregnant by Eason, and now the couple has a one-month old daughter together and are in the process of planning a wedding.
If it were any other Teen Mom cast member, or for that matter, anyone else on reality television, we'd say these are all signs of stability pointing toward a future of quiet domesticity.
Jenelle courts chaos, and nothing would throw her life into disarray like ditching her fiance for her deeply troubled ex.
We're not saying that's what's going to happen, mind you.
We're just saying when it comes to Jenelle, no possibility should be ruled out.
The fact is, Jenelle and Courtland were both pretty terrible to each other, but they were also both in the grips of debilitating addictions.
We hope for the sake of everyone involved that Jenelle doesn't try to rekindle her romance with Rogers, but we also hope she's open to the idea of getting back in touch with Rogers.
Exchanging hugs and apologies could prove tremendously beneficial for both of them.
And as a bonus, their reunion would make for a solid Teen Mom 2 special.
View Slideshow: 13 Shocking Jenelle Evans Facts Even We Didn't Know!
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