text:
On Milton Friedman and Hayek on Consensus
I venture the judgment, however, that currently in the Western world, and especially in the United States, differences about economic policy among disinterested citizens derive predominant from different predictions about the economic consequences of taking action - differences that in principle can be eliminated by the progress of positive economics - rather than from fundamental differences in basic values, differences about which men can ultimately only fight.--Milton Friedman (1953) "The Methodology of Positive economics" in Essays in Positive Economics, p. 5
Friedman relies here on [A] a tacit distinction between basic values and not-so-basic values. When there is (fundamental) disagreement over these society returns, we can say, to the state of nature. So, not unlike one of his Chicago mentors, Henry Simons, he relies on the idea (recall) that states presuppose considerable consensus. (I have noted the somewhat disastrous afterlife of this idea in Chicago economics elsewhere; e.g. here and here.) Another, no less consequential, distinction he relies on [B] is that between disinterested and (ahh) self-interested citizen. Presumably the disinterested citizen advocates the public or common interest, whereas the self-interested citizen promotes a self/sinister interest.
This means that in a functioning political unity -- i.e., one with considerable background consensus -- if we encounter public disagreement, there are for Friedman three possible sources of controversy: (i) disagreement over likely outcomes of policy; (ii) disagreement over which no-so-basic value to prioritize [in the context of major agreement]; (iii) people advocating their own interest as opposed to public interest. In principle, and this is the point of Friedman's essay, (i) can be eliminated as positive (that is empirical) economics progresses. This suggests, and again this is no surprise, that for Friedman a mature positive economics will be characterized by consensus over the relationship between policy and outcomes. In addition, in principle, (ii) can be eliminated as normative economics progresses. Friedman does not spend much time on this, and it is unclear if he agrees with Robbons who does not expect such convergence in normative economics, or with later more optimistic professional philosophers.
An important consequence of Friedman's stance is that it entails that if, one agrees with him and understands oneself as a policy-scientist (and Friedman often does), one can model public policy debates with representative agents who exhibit public spirit. For these will all agree on the common good. For those who think of 'Chicago' as a bastion of self-interest this is surprising. It is worth noting this because it makes clear that the subsequent public choice (Buchanan/Tullock) and rent-seeking (George Stigler, etc.) revolution (by his Chicago trained contemporaries) also impacts Friedman's own program.
Another important consequence of Friedman's stance is that one cannot assume that public spirited representative agents will agree across space and time, especially as they become culturally more distant. This has obvious consequences when one aims to do comparative policy work.
I could end here, but I want to call attention to a feature in Hayek's thought (ca 1945). Consider the closing two sentences, in particular, from the following passage from a justly famous essay:
The price system is just one of those formations which man has learned to use (though he is still very far from having learned to make the best use of it) after he had stumbled upon it without understanding it. Through it not only a division of labor but also a coordinated utilization of resources based on an equally divided knowledge has become possible. The people who like to deride any suggestion that this may be so usually distort the argument by insinuating that it asserts that by some miracle just that sort of system has spontaneously grown up which is best suited to modern civilization. It is the other way round: man has been able to develop that division of labor on which our civilization is based because he happened to stumble upon a method which made it possible. Had he not done so he might still have developed some other, altogether different, type of civilization, something like the "state" of the termite ants, or some other altogether unimaginable type. All that we can say is that nobody has yet succeeded in designing an alternative system in which certain features of the existing one can be preserved which are dear even to those who most violently assail it-such as particularly the extent to which the individual can choose his pursuits and consequently freely use his own knowledge and skill. F Hayek (1945 "The Use of Knowledge in Society," 528
In the paper, Hayek treats the price system as a natural machine with a clear purpose: "We must look at the price system as such a mechanism for communicating information if we want to understand its real function." (526) This is compatible with the thought (a) that the price system has many derivative functions and (b) that the real function can be undermined or obstructed. (For Hayek's argument, (b) is very important.) And one can easily see, that the gap between Hayek and Ordoliberalism is fairly small, if Hayek were to grant the Ordos that (c) one of the key functions of the state is not just not to interfere with, but to maintain actively the conditions that enable the proper functioning of the price system.
Now, one may well wonder, why Hayek assumes that there is one and only one "real function" of the price system. I think he helps himself to this claim without argument. But let's stipulate he is right about this, and that it's methodologically kosher to attribute functions to social systems at all. Even so, one may well wonder what function the communicating of information serves. In this paper he is rather silent about this more fundamental end. And here it is clear that whatever it is, not unlike Friedman later, Hayek relatives this more fundamental function to "our civilization."
And somewhat surprisingly, not unlike Simons and Friedman, Hayek also assumes considerable agreement over what Friedman calls basic values. This is clear from his response tho those who reject the price system as privileged machine. To them he de facto says, 'we agree about some of these fundamental ends -- which may call in short-hand individual 'freedom' and 'autonomy' -- and any replacement of the price-system will have to secure these, too.' My interest here is not whether this is an accurate claim about either the status of these ends in our civilization nor the extent to which illiberal critics of the price-system would endorse these. (I am, it should be clear, skeptical of both.) But rather that Hayek, too, ends up suggesting that if there is any disagreement over the functioning of the price system, it will not be due to disagreement over fundamental ends. And this suggests, that if there is disagreement, the other side(s) is/are engaged in special pleading.
Not for the first time I am struck by the lack of space for genuine pluralism over ends in twentieth century liberalism. As regular readers know I think this plays no small role in the predicament it finds itself today.
Posted at 02:16 PM in Becker, Chicago Economics, economics, Frank Knight, GJ Stigler, Hayek, Milton Friedman, political philosophy | Permalink | Comments (0)
The road to serfdom before Hayek (Knight, Lippmann, and a note on Weber today)
The author insists earnestly and at length that a regime of collectivism will inevitably be a dictatorship, a tyranny over the whole cultural and personal life of man as well as over economic activity, however defined. The turning-point from liberalism as laisser faire to liberalism as collectivism, miscalled liberalism, is set at about 1870.
The current phase of the movement toward collectivism in the United States, as regards the structure and process of government, is the active development of pressure groups under the wing of the government itself, together with the displacement of the activities of legislature and courts by administrative organs and processes. The original liberal movement was, more than any other one thing, a struggle for an effective legal order. Our self-styled liberals of today are doing their utmost to get away from legality. Ostensibly they would have the administration operate under a general legislative grant of power. But it is obviously a short step to a condition in which the legislative mandate will be under the control of the administration of the day itself-and then a shorter, relatively immaterial step to the adjournment "without day" of all lawmaking by elected representatives as a superfluous formality or an impediment to action. This means the end of all popular control of government, all "responsibility." Only an omnipotent and irresponsible state can deal with or suppress the organized pressure groups-or all but one of them, which one would become the state. All this seems to the reviewer as clearly as it does to Mr. Lippmann not only historically inevitable but actually necessary if there is to be any political order at all in a country where the leading economic and (perhaps other) special interests have been taught to think that it is the business of government to fight their battles against "business" and have been organized, or encouraged or allowed to organize, to get "justice" for themselves, or their "rights" -or simply what they want. [p. 865]...
Perhaps even more "glaring" is the absence of any real argument on the question as to why a collectivist regime must be a despotism. Even in a book of this sort, intended for a wide audience, it is somewhat jarring to have it simply asserted as the proclamation of an "inexorable law" (or a plain dogma), not merely that collectivism means tyranny but apparently that it is impossible, or at least theoretically incompatible with social life above the level of savagery. We read: "The really inexorable law of modern society is the law of the industrial revolution, that nations must practise the division of labor in wide markets or sink into squalor and servitude." ...... And again, "There is no way of practising the division of labor, and of harvesting the fruits of it, except in a social order which preserves and strives to perfect the freedom of the market" (pp. 206 and 207).--Frank Knight (1938) reviewing Walter Lippmann's The Good Society in the Journal of Political Economy. 867 [Ht Ross Emmett]
Frank Knight, who is now primarily known as author of Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit and the Godfather of Chicago economics, was also one of the first, prominent Weberians Stateside. (Among other things he published a translation of Weber's Wirtschaftsgeschichte (General Economic History)—as Ross Emmett (the greatest Knight scholar) taught me --,the first book by Weber to appear in English in 1927.) I return to Weber below.
Knight is clear that by 1938, by then then in the second FDR administration, the sense of the state of crisis in liberalism had not been abated. The idea of crisis frames the review; and as he puts it near the end of his review, "It is not too much to say that the history of modern democratic systems leaves the issue unsettled as to whether representative machinery of any kind, or government based in any way on popular discussion, can meet such a crisis and survive." (271) On the very page cited by Knight above (207), Lippmann himself speaks of "the debacle of nineteenth-century liberalism." According to Lippmann (this is not in Knight), liberals started to loose the battle of ideas from 1848 onward, and subsequently to loose political battles, too.* It was not at all obvious, subsequent the first world war, the Russian revolution, and the great depression, that liberalism would survive the century. It is no surprise that much of the most arresting writing of the period is so illiberal in character.
In the review, Knight treats liberalism as primarily characterized by three features: the rule of law (an "effective legal order"), representative democracy, and government by "popular discussion." Contemporary readers may suspect that "the rule of law" is primarily about property rights, but Lippmann is explicit that he thinks of something more expansive with an "effective legal order;" that is, it involves commitment to the idea that "individuals have equal and reciprocal rights and duties." (The Good Society, 267) In fact, Lippmann is extremely critical of late nineteenth century liberal jurisprudence which, disguising the role of power and utility in generating property rights, had turned property rights into a universal law (e.g Good Society, 258). I mention this because both Lippmann (and Knight) are notable among liberals of the crisis-ridden age for their continued adherence to democratic norms.**
Knight's response to Lippmann's book is notable because he calls attention to (what we may call) the road to serfdom before Hayek thesis he attributes to Lippmann. I am not just making a joke. Hayek read The Good Society (he participated in a famous colloquium on the book in 1938 in Paris). And as scholars have noted he engaged with Lippmann's writings in the period prior to the Road to Serfdom (1944). Lippmann almost wrote the preface to the Road to Serfdom. And Hayek almost added a "postscript to The Road to Serfdom, written in 1948," in which Hayek noted that "although he had written the book chiefly on the basis of his knowledge of Britain and Germany, he was aware that American writers had made similar points about the situation in the United States, including ''such well known books as Mr Walter Lippmann's Good Society, which of course I knew and to which I ought to have acknowledged greater indebtedness.''"+
I take the 'road to serfdom thesis' to entail that once one switches to an extensively planned economy ('collectivism" in Knight's and Lippmann's terminology), the needs of planning and stability will ensure that a dictatorship will follow. I read Knight as attributing a version of this thesis to Lippmann. [There are passages that suggest Hayek may have flirted with the idea that even the welfare state would inevitably generate dictatorship (as Andrew Farrant and Edward McPhail argue), but for present purposes I remain agnostic on that more expansive version of thesis.]
What's striking about Knight's interpretation of Lippmann is that the road to serfdom is taken to be immanent in the New Deal policy of organizing interest/pressure groups. In Lippmann's book, however, pressure groups precede the New Deal by "sixty years."His main example of the role of pressure groups in what he calls "gradual collectivism" is the tariff of the Hawley-Smoot Bill in 1930. It is the case, however, that Lippmann claims that "the one certain thing is that in a democratic society the granting of some privileges must be followed by the granting of more privileges." (116) This suggests an open-ended process to ever more collectivism.
Even so, the thrust of Knight's review is peculiar because after thanking Mises and Hayek, Lippmann writes in his acknowledgments of his indebtedness to "John Maynard Keynes, who has done so much to demonstrate to the free peoples that the modern economy can be regulated without dictatorship." (viii) That is to say, from the start of his book Lippmann thinks democracies can find ways to prevent the road to serfdom.
In fact, the very pages in The Good Society that Knight cites and quotes also claim "the renascence of liberalism may be regarded as assured." And Lippmann thinks this is the case because he thinks (i) something like liberalism is the natural accompaniment of an economy with advanced division of labor (206); (ii) he thinks collectivism, "in practice" (that is peace-time) is impossible and leads to a decline in living standards, terror ("brutality" 2o6). In addition, (iii) he thinks the collectivist states become "prey" and risk "conquest." (207)
Somewhat striking, and ironically, Lippmann's confidence that collectivism in practice is impossible (ii) is grounded in the apparent retreats from communism by Lenin and Stalin (205-8). Knight clearly suspects (867), however, that Lippmann's confidence is influenced not just by these historical developments in Russia, but also, and primarily, by Mises' contributions to the socialist calculation debate ,which Lippmann had discussed earlier in the Good Society and had praised (94ff; in fact, Lipmann's accompanying footnote treats Hayek and Weber as fellow contributors to this argument. (It is the only mention of Weber and one of two mentions of Hayek in text of the The Good Society.)
Knight uses the occasion of the review to lampoon Mises's argument ("wishful thinking"). The core point of Knight is that Mises argument is entirely too abstract, and that science lacks the expertise to make any claims about what is possible or not in reality: "No one knows at all definitely what is politically possible....There is practically no science in terms of which any fairly certain prediction can be made as to how a government will operate under any given conditions." (868) While I do not want to imply that Hayek read the review, what is striking about Hayek's great breakthrough in the social calculation debate in "the use of knowledge in society" is to turn away from questions of possibility, and, instead, to turn the attention to the nature of the "a process by which knowledge is constantly communicated and acquired" (Hayek 1945: 530). [We might say the debate went from metaphysics/modality to epistemology.]
Knight, by contrast, thinks there is no reason to be sure that collectivism is impossible. So, in this respect he is much more pessimistic than Lippmann. And he is confident that full blown collectivism must devolve into dictatorship (868-869). So, Knight clearly holds a point of no-return version of the road-to-serfdom. However, he does not think that point has been reached yet or that reaching that point is especially likely.
So, here's my hypothesis. The road to serfdom thesis was if not inspired by Lippmann, at least prompted, in part, by him. But Lippmann did not hold the thesis; it is articulated by Knight in his review of Lippmann and (mistakenly) ascribed to Lippmann. Knight, however, thinks there is nothing inevitable about the thesis because he thinks the future is still very much open. I cannot prove that Hayek read Knight's review of Lippmann. (Knight was later a somewhat ambivalent referee for The University of Chicago Press of Road to Serfdom.) But Knight articulated several major challenges to liberal self-reflection in his review of Lippmann. And some of Hayek's major contributions to the liberal self-imagine, for good and ill, can be fruitfully interpreted as responses to that review.
This Digression is somewhat long. But even so, I promised a comment on Knight's Weberianism. It can be discerned in the following passage:
It might have been thought self-evident, if anything in the field of politics can be called such, that the first essential function and task of government is to preserve unthreatened its own monopoly of political power, and that this means prevention of the development of dangerous power groups outside itself.
Knight has turned Weber's "monopoly of legitimate violence/force" (in Politics as a Vocation) into a "monopoly of power." The substitution may be thought innocent given that one may reasonably hold that power equals possible violence. But in Knight's hand the state does not tolerate what we may call ([recall]) following Bagg) concentrated power. And so one of the tasks of the state is to prevent the growth of concentrated power and doing so without devolving in fascism.
Continue reading "The road to serfdom before Hayek (Knight, Lippmann, and a note on Weber today)" »
Posted at 04:54 PM in Chicago Economics, Frank Knight, Hayek, Keynes, political philosophy | Permalink | Comments (0)
On Marxism and Normative Human Nature
But don't wrangle with us so long as you apply, to our intended abolition of bourgeois property, the standard of your bourgeois notions of freedom, culture, law, &c. Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class made into a law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economical conditions of existence of your class.
The selfish misconception that induces you to transform into eternal laws of nature and of reason, the social forms springing from your present mode of production and form of property – historical relations that rise and disappear in the progress of production – this misconception you share with every ruling class that has preceded you. What you see clearly in the case of ancient property, what you admit in the case of feudal property, you are of course forbidden to admit in the case of your own bourgeois form of property.
"Undoubtedly," it will be said, "religious, moral, philosophical, and juridical ideas have been modified in the course of historical development. But religion, morality, philosophy, political science, and law, constantly survived this change."
"There are, besides, eternal truths, such as Freedom, Justice, etc., that are common to all states of society. But Communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience."
What does this accusation reduce itself to? The history of all past society has consisted in the development of class antagonisms, antagonisms that assumed different forms at different epochs.
But whatever form they may have taken, one fact is common to all past ages, viz., the exploitation of one part of society by the other. No wonder, then, that the social consciousness of past ages, despite all the multiplicity and variety it displays, moves within certain common forms, or general ideas, which cannot completely vanish except with the total disappearance of class antagonisms.--K. Marx & F. Engels (1848) Communist Manifesto, Chapter 2. Translated by Samuel Moore
It is often asked to what degree Marxism has a "moral foundation." For example, writing in the venerable SEP, Jonathan Wolff (Oxford) treats this as a "conundrum." I think part of the problem here is a post-Rawlsian artifact that influences Rawlsians and non-Rawlsians alike. For, what is meant by a moral foundation is often (mistakenly!) reduced to 'does Marx think capitalism is unjust? And since Marx seems thinks that 'justice' expresses the ideology of the ruling classes, he can't really think that. And if he did think that, he thought it -- paraphrasing Cohen -- despite himself. Moreover, one often hears that since historical materialism is supposed to be a scientific theory, there shouldn't be room for moral foundations at all.
Even so, again quoting Wolff, it "simply seems obvious that Marx's critique [of capitalism] is a moral one. One way to to go is to suggest that Marxism involves an immanent critique. But this strikes me as unpersuasive because the whole tendency of immanent critique is to reform the status quo not to overthrow it. (In political terms: think of the Rawlsian theory of civil disobedience.)
Another, more persuasive route, is to suggest that the ethically rich language we find in Marx's writings is supposed to work on our reactive attitudes and promote political action, even revolution. This seems clearly the case. But it would involve a kind of bad faith, if simultaneously these reactive attitudes are to be unmasked as themselves ideological.
A better way to go is to note that in some crucial ways Marx's thought is more akin to eighteenth century philosophy. In particular, he has a view of human nature that in our terminology is normative: he offers an account of (what we may dub) proper human functioning in which there are fundamental, even "essential" human needs that any society ought to meet. This is in Norman Geras' useful terminology the "ethical standpoint" of Marxism. That ethical standpoint is compatible with the thought that the content of these needs may be culture-relative, determined by historical forces, or trans-historical. (My own understanding of Marx inclines to the former, but there is evidence for the latter.) And the ethical standpoint is compatible with the thought, and seems to imply, the idea that when our essential needs are met human flourishing becomes possible.
This is akin to eighteenth century philosophy in three ways: (i) their science presupposes such an account of proper functioning. It is a mistake to project on to them the idea that science must abhor such a proper functioning account of human nature because (a) it is too Aristotelian, and they are known critics of Aristotle or (b) it mistakenly mixes facts and values. On (a): it is true they (and Marx) are critics of Aristotle in some senses, but proper functioning accounts can come in many varieties and even the ones influenced by Aristotle (need not inherit Aristotle's factual or normative mistakes). On (b): this is a species of pernicious anachronism. In addition, (ii) the idea that there are basic human needs which require development is, in fact, a core agreement between Marx and Enlightenment thought (which are both emancipatory; for references to wide variety of Marx's texts, see p. 85 of Geras' Marx and Human Nature: Refutation of a Legend).* And (iii) in proper functioning human nature, the reactive attitudes are indicative of a shared normativity.
So, while the ethical standpoint of Marxism is not exhausted by its theory of human need (grounded in human nature) this is one of its foundations. (It is not exhausted because there are also other normative commitments (recall)). This is not to say there are no tensions at all. Part of the (Marxist) drama of human history starts when production becomes the means of satisfying needs (Geras: 69).
Yet, the manner in which our needs are expressed as "wants" is determined by the constantly evolving production process. [There are, in fact, times where Marx comes close to suggesting all wants are adaptive (in the sense of Stockholm syndrome).] For Marx it is important not to conflate our objective needs with our socially developed wants. The adoption of the ethical standpoint mentioned above prevents this conflation in so far as our needs are objective (and objectively conducive to proper functioning, even human flourishing).
I would want to close here. But let me make two points: first, even if it is not grounded in a theory of justice, Marx's ethical standpoint is not beyond normative (or properly self-aware scientific) criticism. Second, this ethical standpoint is not far removed from ideals prevalent within liberalism, even the skeptical liberalism of bourgeois theorists like myself. I am not bothered by this, but that's because liberalism is an emancipatory, even revolutionary project.
Continue reading "On Marxism and Normative Human Nature" »
Posted at 01:39 PM in Adam Smith, economics, Frank Knight, history of philosophy, history of science, Marxism, Max Weber, scientific philosophy | Permalink | Comments (0)
On the Crisis of Liberalism (I)
Regular readers know (recall) that I believe the second wave of liberalism+ has ended and that it may not survive the present darkness. (In brief: first long wave: 1776-1914; second wave: 1945-2009. Some readers will say, good riddance, and to you I say, I hope you do better.) The present crisis is much visible in our daily politics (and headlines), shifting public norms, and the rising confidence of regimes and thinkers who, again, openly espouse hierarchical, ethnic, zero-sum, eugenic, and violent solutions to present conflicts.* While there is much urgent, practical work to be done to salvage institutions that may be at the core of a renewal, some reflection away from daily politics is also required. Perhaps, a way forward can be found if we articulate and invite reflection on unresolved short-comings of the liberal tradition today. I think this is urgent not just because we need polities that make minimal decency possible,** but also because we need (or so I assume today) liberal institutions to meet humanity's great challenges -- environmental disaster, genetic engineering, drone warfare -- ahead.
Before I do so I mention two qualifications: first, even though there is no shortage of criticism, much of it has been calling attention to features not bugs of liberalism: that it is disruptive of tradition, that it embraces markets, that it is cosmopolitan, that it prefers muddling through and compromise over decisive action, that it requires living with uncertainty, and that it effaces any distinction between higher and lower pleasures and goods. The critics who complain about these features can show us what is found unattractive in liberalism, and surely teach us much about the costs of embracing liberalism, but they cannot point the way to a better, revived form of liberalism.
A second is offered by two kinds of self-described friends of liberalism; some claim ignorant voters are the problems (for a series of posts see here). This is peculiar because liberalism is, in fact, the response to that very same diagnosis--liberalism learned from the failures of direct democracy and elected kingship. Representative democracy (an elected aristocracy), judicial review, separation of powers, and technocratic control over major policy areas are, in fact, the status quo not some distant ideal. Of course, it's possible that voter ignorance is fatal to liberalism, but that's just to say it will end in this crisis.
Others claim that the state needs to do a better job educating its citizens into democratic values.*** This is especially notable in Europe with rising panic over the presence of an Islamic population. That this is a panic is betrayed by the eagerness by which the state is marshaled to undermine once cherished, individual freedoms (of religion, association, asylum, etc.); the panic betrays a complete lack of confidence in the vitality of liberal ideas, that if children are left free to discover their own way in the world they will fail to find a liberal way of life attractive. Instead, conformism to a narrow way of life is promoted even coerced in the curriculum (or as a requirement on full citizenship). What's missed by such false friends is that the liberal experiment consists precisely in the ever-present-possibility that our children will reject our ways, and that in their vital conflicts over ends, they will discover new paths.
What follows, then is the start of an attempt to display the existential challenges to liberalism that arise from within. I do not offer solutions to these challenges and so invite readers to chime in.
For profit media. Liberals value a free press and commerce. It's not obvious the combination is fruitful when the press is subsumed under a business model that consists in attracting eye balls by way of outrage and in order to outrage. Cycles of outrage undermine even minimal mutual trust (recall) and the possibility of keeping even a stuttering conversation going. Outrage displaces and distorts hope, which is the central emotion of liberalism. As Mill already noticed with admirable frankness, even despair, outrage (because founded in the sense of justice) is an important political weapon against the powerful, but manufactured and facilitated outrage can be a dangerous conformist and oppressive tool when wielded against minorities. There is no reason to assume that competition among media companies with such a profit model will produce good outcomes and every reason to expect it to cheer us into mutual hatred or civil war. (Mill himself did not share in the providential optimism often attributed to him.) I don't know of a good response given well-founded liberal suspicion of state oversight of the press.
The free press was once sustained by a political economy which was completely upended by the internet (which changed viewing habits and undermined the subsidy of [classified] advertising to the press). But the more fundamental problem is the inability of a set of values (focused on objectivity, reporting news, exposing malfeasance, etc.) to sustain itself (such that the life-styles of the rich and famous passes for shaping public opinion). And that's because of the following challenge.
Financialization of the economy. When this started the greatest danger of such financialization was already perceived by Hume, Smith, and Kant: it made open-ended warfare possible (because cheap) and it would distribute the costs of war away from those that benefit. In recent decades we have also seen that because of rent-seeking and the intellectual power of financial interests, the financial sector continues to socialize risk for relatively narrow private gain. This means that in many economies in good times the increase in general welfare primarily accrues to those with assets, and in bad times social services and public goods are cut (in order to pay for bail-outs). This state of affairs offends a sense of fair play and almost certainly is a contributing cause in stagnating productivity. When fair play seems naive, people embrace zero-sum frameworks.
It's clear that existence of central banks, lenders of last resort, facilitates this state of affairs. Liberal alternatives, such as free banking or the Chicago plan (100% reserves on demand deposits), have serious drawbacks. Advocates of crypto-currencies have not yet offered a truly workable alternative that will address the problems mentioned here.
Ideally, there would be competing interests that can systematically resist financialization. But most of the institutions and great intermediary social orders that may be once thought so capable -- military, law, health, education, research, clergy, press, etc.++-- are all embracing or have already been embraced by financialization. I think that's not just due to self-interest or capture by extrinsic interests who disrespect experts. For reasons that are worth exploring some other time, financialization often enters a social order under the guise of meritocracy (recall my reflections). This suggests that prior to financialization, hierarchy and status within such orders must have come to be felt unearned or inadequately rewarded (or both). Critics of neo-liberalism are surely right, then, that the public sphere and the great intermediary social orders have been undermined by financialization. But they have misdiagnosed the problem; these great intermediary social orders lacked the self-confidence and we may say (ahh) spiritual will-power to resist encroachment. This matters for those orders themselves, but also undermines the pluralism and moderation that is constitutive of a liberal political order.
That's to say, and to get to a preliminary and my first conclusion -- this digression has been too long anyway -- that one of the roots of the crisis of liberalism is a spiritual or, if one dislikes such elevated language, a value crisis. So before one can articulate an institutional response or a political program, this crisis must be better diagnozed. To be continued...
Continue reading "On the Crisis of Liberalism (I)" »
Posted at 12:32 PM in Adam Smith, David Hume, Epistemocracy, Frank Knight, Milton Friedman, political philosophy, politics | Permalink | Comments (2)
On the Fate of Conservative Intellectuals, and Their Ideas
It is an unfortunate, but fairly obvious truth that most intellectuals, both on the left or right, don't have particularly original ideas. Go to the Aspen Ideas Festival, or TED, or any of their ilk and you won't find much that is genuinely surprising or exciting. Instead, you will find a lot of people whose stock-in-trade is not so much innovation as influence.
This used to be true in some quite specific ways of conservative intellectuals. The conservative movement perceived the need for intellectuals, both to hold their own fractious coalition together through 'fusionism' and the like, and to justify their goals to liberals, who dominated the space of serious policy discussions, and could possibly stop them. Liberal policy types, for their part, needed to understand what was happening among conservatives, and perhaps hoped to influence it a little. The result was that conservative intellectuals were in a highly advantageous structural position, serving as the primary link between two different spheres, which didn't otherwise come much into contact. As network sociology 101 will tell you, this allowed them a fair amount of arbitrage and enough slack that e.g. people like Jonah Goldberg were treated as serious thinkers.
Now, however, the game is up, thanks to an unfortunate concatenation of events. Conservative intellectuals defected en masse from Trump, thinking that it was a fairly cheap gesture of independence, but Trump got elected. Not only did this damage these intellectuals' personal ties with the new administration and the conservative movement, but it opened up the way for a conservatism that basically didn't give a fuck about policy ideas and the need to seem 'serious' any more. The result is that conservative intellectuals don't have all that much influence over conservatism any more.
The problem is that without such influence over conservatives, these intellectuals' capital with liberals and the left is rapidly diminishing too. If conservative intellectuals don't have much of an audience within conservatism itself, why should people on the opposite side listen to them any more? Their actual ideas are … mostly not that strong. Some of them are good writers (David Frum, for example), but good writing only goes so far. The only plausible case for paying attention to conservative-intellectuals-qua-conservative-intellectuals, is that perhaps the pendulum will swing back after Trump, and the old regime be restored. That might happen, but you wouldn't want to betting serious money on it.--Henry Farrell "Who has any use for conservative intellectuals?" @CrookedTimber
First, it is important to note what Farrell really gets right here. Most conservative (quasi) public intellectuals really (recall and here)rejected Trump. (And this explains why conservative support for Trump was of such mediocre intellectual quality.) However much they were willing to be in the same party with white nationalists before, and even were partially complicit in facilitating their seat at the table, once they saw that Trump could win most really did become anti/never-Trump figures. (In fact, their rejection really predates that; recall this post and look at the date.) I suspect some of these intellectuals really have suffered not only loss of status but also of income and friendships. I am not suggesting we need to engage in massive (to use Kate Mann's useful term) himpathy toward them; but if civilization is possible such acts of local courage are required and it is useful to acknowledge these. (Even if, as seems likely, a lot of them are, thereby, emulating in reverse Oedipal direction the turn from New Deal Democrat to neocon of their (intellectual and real) fathers.)
Second, there is indeed very little original thought at the Aspen Ideas Festival, or TED, for folks like (ahh) us (you know, serious academics who stay abreast or even produce the really real intellectual innovation). This lack of genuine thought is true of most of the technocratic liberals, the technological utopians, the eloquent entrepreneurs, and conservative intellectuals that may be showcased in such places. This is one reason to be suspicious of inviting people whose primary intellectual habitus is that world to campus events and to treat them as genuine academics as opposed to cognitive entertainment events [recall this post on Charles Murray whose ideas never survived serious intellectual scrutiny]).
But Farrell also underestimates and so misrepresents the role of political intellectuals. First, there is great skill involved to transform original ideas into ideas that can be discussed by policymakers, opinion-makers, bureaucrats, lobbyists, and the general public. My proof for this is introspective. Most academics are awful at it and we know it--yes, such 'we' should be mistrusted (I hear you, Dotson!). But look into your heart of hearts and convince me otherwise [unless you are Martha Nussbaum, Dan Dennett or Danielle Allen]. (And this is why I have argued that public philosophy should be recognized as a distinct intellectual achievement.)
Second, there is also a serious gap between original ideas and actual policy. Such political intellectuals mediate between the two. By this I do not merely mean the familiar distinction between pure and applied research or original model and policy. For it is extremely rare that genuinely original ideas in the policy sciences (public health, economics, political science, etc.) offer actionable policy solutions. And, alas, what society and policy-makers want and believe that they desperately need is actionable would be solutions that can, in addition, benefit/strengthen one's movement, party, interest group, or ideology (etc.).
Third, those of us who do not share, say, the conservative outlook read them not just because of their perceived influence. To be sure this is one good reason to read them (especially when they are good writers--as the recent generation of conservatives often are, alas.) But also because they help challenge us to consider what is thought possible in alternative political bubbles. This is interesting in its own right and also can generate useful ideas for one's own side.
Let me close with an example. The economist John Quiggin responded to Farrell's piece also (here) at Crookedtimber. As it happens, Quiggin is focused on academics who turn hacks. (That's a different type then the conservative intellectuals Farrell writes about.) In particular, he focuses on academics who are both thought leaders within the profession and have the would be ear of some policy-makers. (In my research on scientific communities I call such people Aggregators. I think such Aggregators are an important site of moral and epistemic responsibility. And Aggregators can be politically motivated and still be excellent academic scientists/researchers.) One point he makes as illustration is the following:
There was a time when free-market economists like Milton Friedman saw defense spending as the exemplar of the rent-seeking "iron triangle" (interest groups, bureaucrats and politicians) ensuring that public expenditure is always wasteful. I Don't suppose that Boskin and the rest have looked at the evidence and concluded that Friedman was wrong. Rather they've correctly calculated that heresy on defense spending would see them cast into the outer darkness of irrelevance.
In response I noted (on facebook) that rent-seeking and crony capitalism was once a core theme of the (Chicago school) right. In addition to Friedman, I am thinking of his buddy Stigler, who (recall my post) made important contributions to theorizing rent-seeking behavior. It was also a key element in public choice economics (associated with Buchanan and Tullock [see especially here]).* In part that was animated by their aversion to social planning and the welfare state. But it is often forgotten that a theory of rent-seeking was already available to and deployed by (nineteenth century) good government Progressivists, who were studied by Max Weber (an important influence on Frank Knight the teacher in some way or another of Stigler, Friedman, and Buchanan (and more indirectly of Tullock). Some other time I'll return this. The point I wish to make is this: while there are Libertarians and conservatives left who have concerns over rent-seeking and crony capitalism, in light of Trump's massive (supply!) shock to the system it seems the theme and ideas associated with it is drifting back to the left including first rate academics, Aggregators, and progressive intellectuals. And it does not require reinventing the wheel if one is familiar with the ideas of one's opponents. For good actionable policy and anti-policy ideas are often adaptable to different ends.
Continue reading "On the Fate of Conservative Intellectuals, and Their Ideas" »
Posted at 10:18 PM in Chicago Economics, Frank Knight, Freud, Political Economy of Science, political philosophy, politics | Permalink | Comments (0)
A Phenomenological Observation on The Capitalist Way of Life
Critics of market capitalism often emphasize the exploitation, coercion, alienation, worker (lack of) safety, sheer misery in employment. In a broader, less individualistic perspective one may add distributional unfairness, environmental catastrophe, corruption of the political system, the socialization of (speculative) risk by the well-connected rich at the expense of the rest of society, and the lack of responsibility of the for-profit (social) media which generates destabilizing cycles of anger and misinformation. More conservative critics will add that capitalism undermines craftsmanship and that its incessant adaptive-ness/change destroys local community and social order (and desirable forms of hierarchy/authority) and that it promotes cosmopolitan lack of rootedness. Even if one can debate to what degree all of these are all problems or essential to capitalism, and to what degree these are products of political interventions in the market, these are not negligible problems that are natural byproducts of really existing capitalism.
When one reads defenses of capitalism, one often encounters instrumental or consequentialist arguments: the system is praised for the relatively efficient way of organizing the economy, the material goods, technological innovation, and wealth it generates (including means to tackle environmental damage). Defenders of capitalism praise the reduction of famine and poverty it promotes and the diversity of lives it permits. Adam Smith hoped that capitalism would undermine servility and that it could promote more pro-social forms of interaction. Hayekians will also emphasize the epistemic functions of the market. Sometimes one even encounters the argument that market capitalism undermines the racist's ability to promote his preferences without cost. I do not mean to suggest there are only consequentialist defenses of market capitalism; on certain (somewhat Lockean) conceptions of freedom and even justice, market capitalism follows naturally (say, from the right to contract, right to property, etc.).
Obviously, critics and friends of market capitalism are divided over the content and evaluation of the claims in the previous two paragraphs. These matters are often contested all the way down. They are also divided to what the degree the system promotes peace and international brotherhood. After all, networks of trade create increased interaction and friction, but they also increase the costs of going to war.
Even so given the enormous costs associated with market capitalism one may wonder how come it has lasted as long as it has. Obviously, the answer to that question will involve questions of power, ideology, and morality (of the sort I have just suggested are contested). But I would like to add a modest phenomenological observation that is the result of some recent (completely unscientific) discussions with a wide range of business-people from my own generation (again this is not scientific). By business-people I mean entrepreneurs, the self-employed, and what we may call management types. (So if I were a sociologist I would make important distinctions here.) All of them had some higher education, but not beyond Masters and generally focused on 'practical' degrees (accounting, business, law, etc.)
What struck me is that while income to buy stuff -- and not negligibly being able to help provide for others -- and authority, status (due to the jobs, goods, or role in the community) were all very important for all of them, a lot found intrinsic and highly motivational pleasure in their jobs. That is to say: my point today is that making money and organizing of the making of money can be fun. It's fun not primarily from avarice or from what can be done with money; but rather because in a global, capitalist economy, making money is both a creative and social activity. Sure, everybody complains about bad service from airlines, travel exhaustion, and the challenge of juggling meetings, family, and leisure. But the bottom line is that for certain kinds of people, business just is fun.
It is worth reflecting on why this is so. Here I ignore the joys of accumulation or what can be done with one's income. In what follows, I make no claim to originality (although I do suspect the point is under-appreciated). I think the lure of business -- when one is doing it! -- consists of two facets: first, business-people have to solve lots of tactical and strategic problems on a day to day basis; this means that their activity is intrinsically creative. By this I do not mean to refer either to the kind of (mock-Nietzschean) heroic, Schumpeterian agent of creative destruction nor to the images of latte-sipping hipsters embodying the so-called 'creative' industries to be found in glossy magazines beloved by city-planners and urban boosters. But rather the more mundane activities involved in planning, allocation, satisficing, prioritizing, winging it, networking, etc. All of these take place under relative intense time and resource scarcity. These are challenging even stressful activities, but it also involves considerable agency and ingenuity.
Second, business people have to engage with a whole range of other folk. Obviously, there is a class of CEOs and rich and famous business-people that primarily interact with the 1% (and would-be-1%) and their enablers in the service professions. But the vast majority of business people are not part of this class, and generally do not aspire to be in it (even if they read about them and may admire them). For, business satisfies the all-to-human-needs of recognition, sociability, haggling, collaboration, team-playing, desire for power, and coalition-formation. (Again, all of these involve ingenuity and strategic creativity.)
In both facets there is a real uncertainty about outcomes and frustrated ambitions. But precisely in virtue of these, the satisfactions of achievement make the creativity and sociability worth it regardless of the further rewards (of accumulation, status, material comfort, etc.) that follow from one's job.
Let me wrap up. I am not suggesting that the pleasures associated with business activity are the initial draw or main justification for these activities. Nor do I suggest that these can address the challenges that emanate from the moral and political critics of market capitalism. I do not even suggest that these satisfactions are central to the moral justification of market or even explain the attachment to capitalism by the propertied classes. But rather I suspect that these unnoticed, quiet daily satisfactions, help explain why for a few centuries now a capitalist way of life has survived and managed to sustain allegiance from ordinary individuals despite the collapse of Protestantism, the planning and destruction associated with several world wars and the despair and loss induced by stock-market crashes; this way of life has thrived despite enormous social transformations in the nature of the family, technology, and the political landscape. Maybe this is the effect of ideology, but the more likely explanation is that it satisfies many daily, fundamental psychological needs.
Posted at 04:22 PM in Adam Smith, economics, Frank Knight | Permalink | Comments (0)


This didn't have the desired impact however. If I wanted to do this, would I need to reduce the values in 'Run-off area' columns?
Is there a recommended way to carry out a surface water separation assessment?
Yes, it's the runoff areas you need to reduce. I don't know of a better way to do a "quick" impact assessment. But beware of using it as anything more than identifying potential, doing it in real life is another matter altogether and my experience is that separation schemes are often only partially successful.


stain concrete countertops how to build stain concrete a construction repair acid staining concrete countertops youtube.
stain concrete countertops image of concrete stain colors stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops concrete stain and sealer best concrete sealer photos stained concrete s best ideas on concrete stain how much do stained concrete countertops cost.
stain concrete countertops very rustic stained concrete counter tops acid staining concrete countertops youtube.
stain concrete countertops concrete concrete table category stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops concrete stain stained concrete countertops pictures.
stain concrete countertops concrete over laminate concrete kitchen beautiful concrete counters poured over laminate lane stained concrete over laminate stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops how much does concrete cost how much do concrete counter tops cost polished concrete staining how much does concrete cost stained stained concrete countertops colors.
stain concrete countertops image of pour in place concrete staining concrete countertops to look like granite.
stain concrete countertops fiber optic concrete concrete with epoxy staining concrete countertops black.
stain concrete countertops cost of concrete polished cost concrete stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops concrete polished throughout stained decorations stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops cost of concrete concrete pricing concrete staining concrete countertops white.
stain concrete countertops refinish concrete refinish concrete best ideas about living rooms with white brick walls concrete refinishing staining concrete countertops youtube.
stain concrete countertops acid stain concrete the life staining concrete countertops to look like marble.
stain concrete countertops concrete stained concrete countertops pictures.
stain concrete countertops kitchen gallery stained concrete on cheap stained concrete countertops pictures.
stain concrete countertops concrete stained concrete countertops cost.
stain concrete countertops bath concrete after acid staining how much do stained concrete countertops cost.
stain concrete countertops waxed concrete staining concrete countertops to look like marble.
stain concrete countertops acid stain concrete colors interior concrete stain fresh acid stained concrete bedroom of interior concrete stain acid stain concrete acid staining concrete countertops yout.
stain concrete countertops images of concrete concrete images of stained concrete how much do stained concrete countertops cost.
stain concrete countertops together we will create a more affordable and unique than conventional materials can offer staining concrete countertops white.
stain concrete countertops stained concrete images how to acid staining concrete s com stained concrete countertops vs granite.
stain concrete countertops acid stain leaf design acid staining concrete countertops youtube.
stain concrete countertops concrete sinks st acid stain stained concrete countertops price.
stain concrete countertops best stain for concrete cozy with concrete a how to properly stain a concrete floor stain best stain for concrete staining concrete countertops to look like granite.
stain concrete countertops concrete tutorial how much do stained concrete countertops cost.


text:
Пуерто-Серрано () — муніципалітет в Іспанії, у складі автономної спільноти Андалусія, у провінції Кадіс. Населення —  осіб (2010).

Муніципалітет розташований на відстані близько 420 км на південний захід від Мадрида, 80 км на північний схід від Кадіса.

На території муніципалітету розташовані такі населені пункти: (дані про населення за 2010 рік)
 Посо-Амарго: 1 особа
 Пуерто-Серрано: 7115 осіб

Демографія

Галерея зображень

Посилання

 Пуерто-Серрано

Примітки

Муніципалітети провінції Кадіс

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


International Moving Countdown | Hansen Bros.
Whether you are moving overseas for the first time or you are a veteran mover, a comprehensive timetable and checklist is the best strategy to ensure a stress-free moving process. It's also a great way to involve the entire family in the move and to spread some of the responsibilities to each person, including your children. The checklist is set up for an eight-week timetable. If your timetable is shorter early action is required on a number of the more urgent items. This checklist from Hansen Bros. Moving & Storage will help ensure that nothing has been overlooked or omitted from your planning, and that alone will go a long way toward relieving some of your anxiety.
√ If you're moving at an employer's request, verify what expenses and responsibilities they will undertake and any volume allowance that is provided for your shipment.
√ Contact the IRS and/or your accountant for information on what moving expenses may be tax deductible. Look over your Will.
√ Review the Customs Information for the country that you are moving to. Be sure to check whether any permits are required for residency, vehicles or firearms, etc.
√ Confirm that all your passports are valid. If not, make the application for your passport, appearing in person at the applicable state office as soon as possible.
√ Confirm that all visas are in order. The consular representative for a particular country can advise you if visas are required and how to obtain them. Work permits are often imperative and must be obtained before leaving the country.
√ Arrange a power of attorney, if required.
√ Remove items from your attic, basement, storage, garage etc. Consider what you would like to move to your new home or what can be sold or donated to a charitable organization?
√ Determine overseas electrical requirements and what appliances you will ship or purchase. Check if there are restrictions or limitations on importing certain appliances to the destination country. Electrical services and broadcasting systems varies in different countries. Confirm if your TV will be usable in your new country.
√ Start to use up things you can't move, such as frozen foods, alcohol, and cleaning supplies.
√ Check with the consular representative of the country to which you are moving about required inoculations. The U.S. Public Health Services can advise you about optional immunizations.
√ Arrange medical and dental check-ups, obtain supply of prescription medication together with a letter from your doctor that your need for these.
√ Notify your children's school of their departure.
√ Begin to finalize travel plans and the services you will need at destination such as temporary accommodation, banking and financial services. The Embassy or Consulate in the destination country can supply you with the names of real estate representatives or rental agents. Do not commit yourself to any formal agreements until after you have inspected the premises on arrival.
√ Get a supply of passport-size photos to take with you.
√ Locate all auto licensing and registration documents. Make sure your driver's license and international driver's license are up to date.
√ Contact schools, doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, etc., and obtain copies of your personal records.
√ Obtain invoices for new purchases for customs import formalities.
√ Begin to learn some useful phrases in the language of your new country.
√ Talk to your children about the country you are moving to, and explain the reasons why you are moving.
√ Make a list of everyone you need to notify about your move: family, friends, professionals, creditors, magazine subscriptions, etc. Obtain a change-of-address kit from the post office and begin filling out cards.
√ Have your W-2s and other tax forms forwarded, check and clear any unpaid tax assessments.
√ Contact your local voter registration office if necessary to register as an overseas voter.
√ Contact utility and related companies (gas, electric, oil, water, telephone, cable TV, and trash collection) for service disconnects. However, remember to keep phone and utilities connected at your current home throughout moving day.
√ Contact insurance companies (auto, homeowner's or renter's, medical, and life) to arrange for coverage in your new home.
√ Read through the Customs Information for your destination country once again to make sure that you are prepared.
√ If you have not already done so, book travel and hotel reservations for your moving journey. Don't make airline reservations for the same day that you're moving out. House closings are often delayed and other unexpected situations can arise.
√ Arrange special transport for your pets. Call the veterinarian to schedule an appointment for 7-10 days before your departure.
√ Arrange to close local charge accounts and national accounts that you will not use, as well as savings and checking accounts. Consult the overseas representative at your local bank about currency exchange, letters of credit, traveler's checks or possible transfer of funds.
√ Obtain any appraisal for high value items in your shipment. Prepare the valued inventory. Separate inventories are necessary for air and sea shipments.
√ Consider opening a safe deposit box in which to store important documents and valuables you do not need to bring with you.
√ If you're moving out of a building with elevators, contact the building management to schedule use of the elevators.
√ Contact your Move Coordinator to review and confirm all arrangements for your move.
√ Arrange to service automobile and other appliances that you are moving.
√ Arrange to empty lockers at school and work.
√ Settle any outstanding bills with local merchants.
√ Pick up any dry cleaning, return library books, and rented DVD's, etc.
√ Take pets to the veterinarian for any needed immunizations. Get copies of pet's medical records.
√ Dispose of any flammable or explosive items, and give away plants.
√ Arrange a babysitter for moving day if required.
√ Make sure all necessary paperwork for customs clearance is filled out and made ready to be handed over to the packing crew on the day of the move. Keep it all in one place to avoid losing it.
√ Arrange with neighbors to leave sufficient parking space for the moving truck or shipping container.
√ Contact your Move Coordinator to confirm arrival time of the crew as well as to notify them of any last minute details. Also make sure that the Move Coordinator has the contact information necessary to be able to reach you at any time during the move.
√ Make sure you have the destination agent's name, address, and phone number.
√ Defrost your freezer and refrigerator. Block doors open so they can't accidentally close on pets or children.
√ Pack a box of personal items that will need to be delivered first at your new home. Have this box clearly marked and loaded last.
√ Start packing your suitcases.
√ Organize and set aside those things that you are taking with you in hand luggage so that they do not get loaded in error. Include: Credit cards, Checkbook, Travelers Checks, Passport, Visas, Driver's License, Airline Tickets, Entry Permits, Insurance Policies, Games and Books, Infant Supplies, Keys, Toiletries, Medications, Prescriptions, and Snacks.
√ Plan a simple breakfast for moving day to eliminate refrigeration or cooking. Use paper plates or plan to go to your favorite breakfast place.
√ Record all utility meter readings (gas, electric, water).
√ Don't forget to say good-bye to family and friends.
√ Get a good night's rest.
√ Make sure that someone is at home all day to answer the crew's questions.
√ Read inventory carefully before you sign it. Keep a copy of it, along with all other related papers, in a safe location.
√ Please keep all jewelry, important documents, coin and stamp collections in your possession. Do not have the moving crew pack these goods with your household goods.
√ Before you leave your old home be sure to check each room, closet, attic and basement. Make sure windows are closed. Turn off all lights and lock all doors.
√ Check in with your Embassy as soon as possible after arrival. The embassy can be of real help in answering questions and guiding you as to local registration and any other official procedures.
√ Contact your Move Coordinator at destination and inform him/her of your arrival and how to best reach you when your belongings have arrived and are ready for delivery.
√ In most cases, you will need to complete personal entry formalities and documentation so that your legal entry is complete.
√ Be present throughout the unloading and delivery and ready to direct placement of your furniture and belongings.
√ Check the condition of your belongings. If any items are damaged or missing, note this on the inventory list and report it to your Move Coordinator.


The lovely Orchard Lane Pinot Noir is full of red berry and savoury characters that are complimented by a well rounded palate with soft supple tannins. Enjoy immediately or cellar for up to 4 years. Produced by Sugar Loaf wines. The 2016 Orchard Lane Marlborough Pinot Noir is a beautifully delicate wine.


Stay comfy, cozy and safe with the Caterpillar Tess. These steel toe works boots are safe and stylish with full grain leather uppers,rose gold metal eyelets and a cozy fleece collar. With ERGO technology for comfort and flexibility, Electrical Hazard protection and exceptional slip-resistance, you'll get all-day comfort plus style!


A woman's take on political, social, health issues, motherhood and life in general.
Advertise through popular social networking sites. There are a lot of sites that are available that will allow you to advertise for free. Be active in posting and you are bound to get noticed.
Open topics in forums that will help people recognize your brand name more.
Make sure that you have a contact number that will help people reach you when they have inquiries. If you are not available at all times, state the time when you can be reached.
Make your own website that will give more details about the items that you are selling.
Aside from the things mentioned above, you may be able to formulate other tips that will help your business become more successful. By persistent studying and searching, you would one day declare, 'this site had what I was looking for'.
What Can I Use My Tax ID Number For?
How Many EIN Numbers Can One Person Have?
This entry was posted in Business and tagged business, business ideas, business tips, home-based ideas on December 31, 2013 by Yami.
How To Choose a Criminal Attorney?


Authors: Alessandro Astolfi and Laurent Praly, IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (2012), pp. 4586- 4590, 10-13 Dec. 2012, Hawai, USA.
A weak version of the small-gain theorem is derived. Connections with the classical linear and nonlinear small-gain conditions are established. The necessity of the weak small-gain conditions is discussed.


00willybigcock . IvyLawrencee. BestLisabet. TracyCarter.
RosiexSweetCamerumHotmaurisaFlirtnoumsyoung .GorgeousMyah2Cumhottguys4uxGoldSquirtSuperAnna20 .PlayMeManMadpanbannedcatMatureBabyXXXhottguys4ux .SaraiPrincessEbonyRachelItalianomisshardcore232 .VioletVenomGoldSquirtSuperAnna20LovelyKassandra .VioletVenomCALENDULAItalianomissMuscledScott .NiceHornyTsElaMooreMissChambersCandyEmily .FireXRoxyAngelicPrincessxSquirtingDiva1couplechampion .ElaMooreSquirtingDiva1MsAbbienoumsyoung .1to1HotClaudetteTheQueenDevonwildsex77713SuperAnna20 .TylorBrandTheQueenDevonMissChambersNikkiAdler .
CamerumHotwildsex77713GoldSquirtSexysPareja .AriaNellsonDonnaDommeAreanaXXXSpeed2000 .couplechampionItalianomissNastYandHairYGoldora .LucasTheSexySexysParejaindianrazzleKuhalina .SpoiledPrincess1NiceHornyTsAngelicPrincessxSpoiledPrincess1 .DonnaDommeMuscledScottBella4UTSSuperAnna20 .SleepYreneRosiexSweetElaMooreSleepYrene .SexysParejaElaMooreCUMMINGSOONbigEbonyRachel .KristaraMadisonFetishdirtyfetishgameDonnaDomme .LeksaLoveVioletVenomindianrazzlea0SeductiveDoll .angelsLanaangelsLanaindianrazzlepamelaxxxporno .


text:
Edgard Derouet est un affichiste français né le  à Saint-Denis-en-Val (Loiret) et mort le  à Eaubonne (Val-d'Oise).

Actif de 1933 à 1955, il a réalisé, le plus souvent en collaboration, plus d'une centaine d'affiches, dont une trentaine pour le cinéma (notamment pour La Ruée vers l'or en 1945), et une célèbre série pour la Loterie nationale française.

Biographie

Edgard Derouet est né le  à Saint-Denis-en-Val dans le département du Loiret, où son père était garde-chasse au château de Melleray. En 1920, ses parents s'installent à Paris, dans un bar-tabac de la rue de Clichy.

Les moyens de ses parents ne lui permettant pas de faire une école de Beaux-Arts, il travaille d'abord au service de photogravure du Matin, tout en prenant des cours du soir. Il fait la connaissance de Géo Ham en 1924 et devient l'élève de l'affichiste Paul Colin en 1929. Sa carrière est lancée. Il rentre la même année comme dessinateur aux Éditions Île-de-France, où il restera jusqu'en 1933.

Il remporte plusieurs concours : pour le Salon de la coiffure et de la parfumerie en 1931, pour le  Concours Lépine en 1934, et surtout pour la Loterie nationale française, pour laquelle il crée en 1936 un homme en costume noir bondissant de joie, qu'il aura l'occasion de reprendre plusieurs fois. Il réalise des affiches pour la tisane Boldoflorine, la moutarde Dessaux fils (sur laquelle un mouton, un bœuf et un cochon contemplent tristement un pot de moutarde avec le slogan ), les Fêtes johanniques d'Orléans 1953, la Foire de Paris 1954, etc. Il travaille seul ou en collaboration, avec Georges Grillères († en 1937), puis Charles Lesacq († en 1940), et, à partir de 1941, Robert Clavel et Paul Fromentier.

Derouet continue son activité durant l'occupation allemande, réalisant des affiches de propagande pour le Régime de Vichy et pour le cinéma ( et Remorques en 1941, Simplet et L'assassin habite au 21 en 1942). Après la guerre, il réalise celle du film de Chaplin La Ruée vers l'or, pour sa ressortie française en version parlante (1945).

Il cesse de dessiner en 1954, en devenant directeur commercial de l'Imprimerie Bedos & Cie, spécialisée dans les affiches. Il prend sa retraite en 1980. Il reçoit en 1992 la médaille de la ville de Paris.

Edgard Derouet est mort le  à Eaubonne, dans le Val-d'Oise. Il est enterré à Saint-Cyr-en-Val (Loiret).

Une exposition lui a été consacrée du  au  à la Bibliothèque Forney à Paris.

Notes et références

Notes

Références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

Liens externes
 Biographie d'Edgard Derouet sur le site du Centre de l'Affiche de la Mairie de Toulouse

Affichiste français
Dessinateur français
Personnalité liée au Régime de Vichy
Naissance en octobre 1910
Naissance dans le Loiret
Décès en octobre 2001
Décès à Eaubonne
Décès à 90 ans


text:
What made Fear, Failure, Frustration, and Doubt so effective was the fact they could possess the minds of pessimistic people, especially those closest to people who were out to be self-sufficient. All it took was just a speck of negativity and they could overtake not only just one person's mind, but countless people, and all over the world as well. They were granted such ability thanks to Universe, who was a big fan of people pursuing their dreams, but, never wanted them to be obtained easily. He always told Success and company that struggle built character, while ease, pertaining to being self-sufficient, deteriorated the will, which eventually killed the desire.
The plan was that Frustration would overtake the mind of Stacy Simpson, who has known Jacqueline since they were children. Fear would have Kevin Gordon expose more of his truth, which would make him less appealing by the minute. While Failure would work from the mind of Jacqueline's older brother, David Parker, who was someone she loved dearly.
Stacy Simpson once had the same drive Jacqueline now has, that is until she placed all her time, effort and money in a venture, she was never meant to succeed in, so, she didn't. This failed attempt, which was really nothing more than a test of her desire, left her so devastated that she vowed to never think the thought of being self-sufficient again. She went back to helping someone else get more prosperous, and was attempting to convince Jacqueline to give up on her dream, every moment she had to do so.
David Parker had a promising career as a singer/songwriter; music was once all he thought of, that is, until one night he decided to get behind the wheel of his vehicle, intoxicated. The price for his bad judgment was him totaling his vehicle, spending a year in the hospital recovering from his injuries, another two-years in rehab learning how to walk again, and the loss of the ability to speak correctly, due to damaged vocal cords. Not being able to sing left him a bitter and broken. So, instead of seeing that he was blessed to still be able to write, he saw himself as nothing more than a failure, with no real purpose in life.
Jacqueline asked Stacy, Kevin, and David to come to her home. She decided she was going to give them all one last chance to change their minds about investing in her dream, she really wanted them all to be apart of the moment. They were all in the spacious, eye-catch living room portion of her home.
"Jac', I'm not going to help you experience the type of pain I did after my failed attempt. Nope, not going to do it. I love you too much, I'm just not going to do it," Stacy said sternly, but it was really Frustration hard at work, she had total control of her host mind. Like Kevin and David, forty-seven-year-old Stacy lounged on a leather sectional sofa. Like her closest female friend, she was easy on the eyes, in every aspect of her physical appearance.
"I'm with Stacy, Jac'," Kevin chimed in, but his words were all Fear's, who felt right at home in the mind of this man. "Think about the boys, if this doesn't work, what about their college funds?" He was a handsome man with short wavy hair, clean shaved and was dressed to impressed, most definitely did look like a man that was having financial problems.
"I am thinking about my sons, Kevin, and my thoughts are on securing a means to provide the brightest future possible for them. Stac', just because you didn't make it, doesn't mean I want. Have you ever considered that owning your own daycare center wasn't meant to be? Maybe you were meant to be a school teacher or a mentor to young women, have you ever thought about any of that?"
Stacy waved a hand at Jacqueline and rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Jac'. I was supposed to open that daycare center, people just made promises they didn't keep. Girl, you good at your job. Stop this foolish thinking of being your own boss."
"Foolish thinking? It's foolish for you to think I'm good at a job where I'm helping someone else get richer. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my job, it ensures I have the necessities for myself and the boys. But don't ever think I'm content with just settling, because I understand I have so much more to offer."
"Well Jac', I'm not going to invest my money in something I don't feel comfortable with," Kevin said sternly, though it was Fear working his magic.
"Well, it's about time you spoke your mind, Kevin," Jacqueline said with a whole lot of attitude, she gave him an icy look afterward.
"Jac', I'm just saying…"
"Man, you've said quite enough. In fact, I want you to leave my home…now!"
"Okay, okay. I hope you two can talk some sense into her. I wish I would invest my money in a restaurant you're thinking about opening, ain't gonna happen baby." Kevin got up and walked towards the front door.
Jacqueline was so furious that it took every ounce of her good nature not to get up from the recliner she was sitting in, and slapping Kevin into the middle of next week.
"Jac', Kevin was a bit harsh, he didn't have to go there. I'm going to have to pass on the investment also. It's not that I don't believe in you, because I do, it's that I no longer believe in dreams coming true, and you shouldn't either."
"With all due respect, Stacy, get your behind up out of my home before I forget I'm a lady," Jacqueline was pissed, and her facial expression let her friend understand this, without question.
"Alright, Jac'. I'll leave, but…"
"Woman, if you don't get up and get to step…"
Stacy jumped up and began moving towards the front door swiftly.
"The nerve of that bitch and that bastard," Jacqueline said angrily, "Excuse my language, big bro. I'm just really pissed right now."
"You alright, sis. Hey, you have a right to be upset. I'm just hoping you don't get more upset due to me," David said in a low tone, the damage done to his vocal cords left him speaking no louder than a whisper. "I believe in you. I believe in your dream. But what I don't believe in is me, I've failed you. I was supposed to be this big superstar that was going to take care of you and my nephews, but because I made a stupid mistake, it cost me everything," Failure was working his magic through his host.
Jacqueline immediately forgot about how Kevin and Stacy made her feel, and focused on how she felt about her brother, "David, you didn't lose everything. You still have me, your nephews, and your ability to write," she said softly.
"I'll never do anything pertaining to writing again, the pain I feel, numbed my senses to everything, outside of the love I have for you and the twins. My decision not to invest in your dream is due to the fact that if it doesn't go according to your plan, I'll believe that it was because of my involvement. I couldn't live with myself knowing that my money meant to help you, failed you."
"David, I'd never…"
"My mind is made up, sis. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I can't. I've failed you once, I'm a failure, and anything I'm involved in is going to fail because of it," David began to weep, Failure was pulling no punches.
The conclusion tomorrow

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
About Our Industry Affiliations
Family-owned and operated since 1934, Rome Monuments offers the best quality, service, value, and craftsmanship in the cemetery memorial and monument industry. Our success can be attributed to Rome Monuements' craftsmanship, value, and customer service. We are actively involved in many death care industry organizations. We are committed to becoming one of the best cemetery memorial and monument providers in the country. Some of these organizations include the Better Business Bureau and our national association, Monument Builders of North America. Rome Monument is affiliated with numerous death care industry organizations that provide services related to cemeteries, funerals, cremation, burials and memorialization. Rome Monument is one of the leaders in the cemetery monument and memorial industry.
Rome Monument owned showrooms are proud to be the ONLY memorialist in Western Pennsylvania able to offer Genuine Rock of Ages memorials backed by the Rock of Ages Perpetual Warranty that is protected by a Perpetual independent Trust Comapny. The company was founded in Vermont and today owns quarries in several states and Canada. Those quarries produce the highest combined volume of dimensional granite in North America. Rock of Ages has set the standard in quarried stone and memorialization worldwide. No matter the project, we offer legendary quality, superior service and an unmatched warranty. No one is more experienced in providing the best granite and versatile service than Rock of Ages. No one stands behind its product offerings like Rock of Ages.
Monument Builders of North America
The Monument Builders of North America (MBNA) is the voice of memorialists in North America and around the world, continuing to serve members for the betterment of their customers. Monument Builders of North America (MBNA) is the largest international association of persons and firms in the memorial industry. Rome Monument has been a long standing contributing member of Monument Builders of North America (MBNA).
Information About Rome Monument


Page 14, 28 February 1885 — POETRY.
[WRITTEN DURING SERMON.] Duu-ssarnaso,leaden-eyed, the preacher stands, And holds the sacred volume in his hands.
Something for heart and mind to feel and kuow, Not these sad phrases, following row on row.
Our souls refuse the weary watch to keep, And feel "God giveth his beloved sleep."
Grant, Lord, some help from heaven, some spirit-touch, Now that we feel so little, hear so much; And, as a set-off to our sins' amount, Pat this day's suffering down to our account.


I attended a grant briefing at MIROS Kajang today. This is a new research field that I am currently having interest in, that is on road safety. Still focusing on head injury, but instead of sports injury, it is now head injury due to road traffic accidents. Hoping to get this grant and collaborate more with MIROS in the future.


text:
Neil Pasricha | How to be Happy | www.motivational-speakers.ca
http://www.kmprod.com/speakers/speaker-neil-pasricha
A Harvard MBA, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning blogger, and one of the most popular TED speakers in the world, Speaker Neil Pasricha is "a pied piper of happiness"* who dazzles audiences with ideas and frameworks that skyrocket happiness into the stratosphere. With infectious enthusiasm, heartfelt authenticity, and a "what works" authority, Pasricha draws on the latest research in happiness to increase individual performance and create a more positive and productive workplace.
Pasricha spent a decade with Walmart, the world's largest company, directly working for two CEOs and as the organization's director of leadership development. He now travels all over the globe sharing messages on happiness to Fortune 500 companies, schools, and non-profits. In the past few years, he has spoken to over 200,000 people at hundreds of events, making him one of the world's most sought-after speakers. He has spoken to Royal Families in the Middle East, Ivy League Deans, and to CEOs at organizations such as Audi, Abbot, and GE.
His first book, The Book of Awesome, was a runaway #1 international bestseller with millions of copies sold. His second book, The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything (also an international bestseller), provides step-by-step guidelines to illustrate how to apply a unique set of principles to improving and managing everything—your time, your career, your bottom line, your relationships and ultimately, of course, your happiness.
In his twenties, Pasricha partnered with Harvard University to design one of the first global leadership development programs inside a Fortune 10 company. And, as a management consultant, he advised Fortune 50 companies on top level leadership strategies. He earned his Master's degree from the Harvard Business School, focusing on Leadership and Organizational Behaviour.
Pasricha's writing and work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Sunday Times, China Daily, The Jakarta Post, The Sydney Herald and Wired.
For more information & booking Neil Pasricha as your conference keynote speaker, contact us: 905.831.0404
http://www.motivational-speakers.ca
Why heart disease is prevalent in the black community – Cardiologist Dr. Paul Galiwango
Do You Know The Warning Signs of Heart Disease?
What is Cardiovascular Disease? Doctor Akshay Khandelwal Explains
SECOND OPINION | Racial Disparities in Cardiac Care | APT | Full Episode
"Checking Our Pulse" – Heart Disease
Preventing Heart Disease in Women – Dr. Holly S. Andersen
Powerful voices: Women's heart disease survivors-Mayo Clinic
Biomarkers for Heart Disease in African American Women with Lupus


text:
Solid Ground is a global advocacy campaign of Habitat for Humanity to improve access to land for shelter.
Providing Stability and Better Futures for Our Children: José and Martha, Santa Cruz
America Latina/Caribe
For a long time, José and his wife, Martha, struggled to figure out the path to homeownership. In Santa Cruz, land is in high demand and short supply. "There were people with land, but it was very expensive," José says. "With what I earn, if we could have somehow gotten the land, we wouldn't have had enough money to build a home."
They eventually discovered the answer to their problem. Through the advocacy efforts of Habitat Honduras and other community partners, the city of Santa Cruz adopted a housing policy aimed at helping families afford stable and decent homes. The city might acquire land, offer financial assistance, waive building permit fees, contribute construction materials and labor, put in roads or provide access to water and other services. It works with Habitat, private businesses and others partners to increase opportunities for affordable housing.
Through this collaboration, José and Martha were able to buy a Habitat home four years ago. José smiles when talking about life in the house, which is decorated with family photos, school diplomas marking the girls' progress from grade to grade, and artwork that Martha makes from glass bottles and other materials that she recycles. The younger daughter, Madelyn, is artistic like her mom, while Génesis is good with numbers like her dad.
"I remember when my wife used to ask me, 'When are we going to have our own home? I want to watch our daughters grow up in a home that is ours,'" José says. "I am smiling because she has her dream."
The house has made them better parents, José says. They no longer worry about where they are going to live, he says, which gives them more time and energy to put into their children. "I might come home from work tired, but I have to play with dolls and do homework because that's what it's about, right? Being attentive."
The children don't worry any more, either, José says. "I remember after we moved in, our younger daughter casually asking, 'Dad, we aren't going to move away from here, right?' I said, 'No, this home is ours.'"
Teaching algebra and trigonometry at the high school only has reinforced for José how important a stable home is to a child's academic and future success. Many of his students come from poor families that are constantly changing apartments to afford the rent. He has noticed that when some of those students finally move into a stable housing situation, their grades improve and they are more confident, making it more likely that they will lead lives of example.
While José is a father and a teacher, he also sees himself as a builder of sorts. "I am pouring the foundation for the future," he says.
Topics: Secure Tenure, Latin America and the Caribbean
Keep up with Solid Ground's progress
Input your email to receive the latest and greatest updates on Solid Ground.
Connect for the Cause
We want to hear from you! Email us at SolidGround@habitat.org.
© 2019 HFHI
© 2019 Habitat for Humanity International


text:
Autism Speaks Partners with Google to Make World's Largest Autism Database
Featured, Health, Research, Technology
Jo Worgan 8 years ago No Comments
CC BY-NC-ND by iFireDesign
New York – Autism Speaks has announced a collaboration with Google to develop the world's largest database of genomic sequence information on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their family members.
The collaboration represents a significant milestone in advancing genomic research of the disorder, and could lead to breakthroughs into the causes, subtypes and better diagnosis and treatment for ASD. The Autism Speaks Ten Thousand Genomes Program (AUT10K) is valued at $50 million dollars.
Autism Speaks will store data from AUT10K on the Google Cloud Platform that will be an open resource to support autism research. Autism Speaks has accumulated the largest private collection of DNA samples, known as the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) from 12,000 autism cases with diagnoses and detailed phenotyping.
In an article by Lecia Bushak on the Medical Daily website Rob Ring, chief science officer at Autism Speaks spoke of how this is a really exciting time for the organization adding:
"The goal is to build an open-access database for the entire research community."
Ring also claims that Google Cloud is "as secure as it gets" in terms of storing personal data.
"The important thing is that the data has been de-identified,"
This means that names and all other personal information will be removed.
He goes on to further add in the article that Autism Speaks will need Google's help to manage the database and make it simple and easy for researchers to use.
AGRE has been a strategic resource for the autism research community for over 15 years and is valued at $25 million dollars. The amount of data collected by AUT10K creates unique challenges for storing, analyzing, and providing remote access to the research. Google Cloud Platform provides the engineering innovation needed to address those challenges. Connecting biological discoveries with the very best in large-scale cloud storage and computation will advance the field of genomics research.
Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks said in a press release:
"This announcement represents an unprecedented intersection of business, science and philanthropy that will drastically accelerate the pace of autism research,"
Further adding:
"The insight and expertise the Google team brings to the table is unmatched. Utilizing Google Cloud Platform further advances Autism Speaks' commitment to advancing cutting-edge science."
Autism Speaks launched AUT10K in collaboration with the Toronto based Hospital for Sick Children's (SickKids) Centre for Applied Genomics. Dr. Steve Scherer, who directs the Center, and is a world pioneer in the study of genes, will be the director of AUT10K and said:
"The collaboration between a pioneering tech company and the foremost autism science organization has the potential to transform the autism research landscape in exceptional ways. No other organization outside of major health institutions and academia has accomplished this much this quickly."
Scherer oversees $10 million dollars in funding for genomic research, including contributions from Steven Wise, Chairman of the KRG Children Charitable Foundation as well as $7.5 million dollars from the Canadian federal government and the province of Ontario. In addition, in 2014, leadership contributions to AUT10K have totaled $5 million, including support from the Gordon & Llura Gund Foundation, Mel Karmazin Foundation and Allerton Foundation. With the AGRE collection valued at $25 million dollars, this represents most of the funding needed to complete the full sequence of 10,000 genomes.
Liz Feld who is president of Autism Speaks believes that this is the most promising autism research ever done and for those living with ASD will make a significant difference in the development of effective forms of diagnosis and treatment.
In an article by Jessica Guynn on the USA Today website they state that this isn't the first time that Google has explored opportunities in health care and science.
They backed Calico, which is analyzing genomes to better understand and fight aging as well as investing in a genetic testing company 23andMe.
David Glazer, engineering director for Google Genomics said in the press release:
"We are excited to be working with the Autism Speaks team on storage, processing, exploration, and sharing of the AUT10K data, and are even more excited about the opportunity for Google Cloud Platform to help unlock causes and treatments of autism."
App Review – Autism 2 Ability TALK app
Jo Worgan December 1, 2014
Andrew Wakefield's MMR and vaccination claim resurfaces
Dr. Paul A. Offit Helps Doctors Educate Parents on Vaccine Safety
Laurel Joss December 3, 2014
Martha Gabler author of Chaos to Calm
Jo Worgan April 20, 2020
Children with Autism from Ethnic Minority Communities Missing out on Support
ADN July 24, 2014
More States Debate Insurance Mandates to Cover Autism Treatments – Update
JoWorgan
Jo Worgan is a published author, writer and blogger. She has a degree in English Literature. She writes about life with her youngest son who is on the autistic spectrum. Jo tweets (@mummyworgan) and is also a freelance columnist for the Lancaster Guardian. 'My Life with Tom, Living With Autism' is her second book and a culmination of her blog posts, and available on Kindle now, along with her first book, Life on the Spectrum. The Preschool years.


We made a few portraits at the bride's parents' home before leaving for the wedding ceremony. The light is from a window in the living room. See more photos from this wedding at Elizabeth and Michael's Wedding at Essex Fells Country Club.
Planning a wedding in NJ, NY, CT or PA? Get in touch to book your photographer.


Introducing RMS's newest pallet the Signature Sets in A Pop and Mod Collection. Featuring a complete pallet to create glowing gorgeous skin wherever you may be!
The Mod Collection Includes: Master Mixer (rose-gold radiance), Living Luminizer (sheer, dewy luminizer), Lip2Cheek in Smile (a modern coral pink), Lip2Cheek in Spell (sophisticated dusty rose), and Cocoa Lip & Skin Balm.
The Pop Collection Includes: Buriti Bronzer (ultra-sheer creamy glow), Magic Luminizer (moonlit champagne opalescence), Lip2Cheek in Demure (bright pink with cool undertones), Lip2Cheek in Beloved (vibrant poppy red), and Vanilla Lip & Skin Balm.


Hey everyone, here are these weeks patches!
Will no longer get ED1 spotlight effects occurring in other Elite Dungeons.
The Ambassador's taunt messages will no longer override his chat in his final phase so it's easier to tell who he has targeted with his portal attack.
Unstable black holes can no longer spawn underneath the Ambassador.
The item search bar in the grand exchange now shows the correct keybind in its tooltip.
Fixed graphical stretching when using Revenant Pet skins as familiar override.
It is no longer possible to retain the barrelchest disguise transmog outside of braindeath island.
Fixed a black patch on Wicked Hood.
The top stones on the pillars in the Nature Rune Temple are no longer floating.
Removed a force walk tile in the Tree Gnome Stronghold.
Fixed an incorrect spelling of the word "pedestal" during Enakhra's Lament.
Scarab Swarms can no longer spawn outside the Pyramid.
The tool select menu will no longer get stuck when trying to create a single incense stick.
The Heart teleport tablets will no longer ignore teleport prevention checks.
I don't have a signature, but wanted to have some content here.
Ps. Still waiting on the crassian ability bug animation, seems to occur if you stun him prior to his ability.


I'm thinking it snowed more heavily at Bremerton National Airport on Tuesday night than anywhere in Kitsap. I'm saying three inches.
I was there to listen to a session in which Port of Bremerton staffers gave some updates to visiting members of the Bremerton City Council, and vice versa.
Here are some news tidbits I picked up.
THE PRISON: As you know, Bremerton is one of three finalist sites the state is considering to someday build a men's prison solely dedicated as a reception center. Once convicted, prisoners are taken to a reception center, where they stay several months before being sent to another prison where they will serve out their sentences. A portion of the Washington Corrections Center at Shelton currently serves that role, and the state projects a future need for more of that type of space.
McCleary and Shelton are the other finalist sites.
The 40-acre site would be in the South Kitsap Industrial Area on property owned by Overton & Associates. "And they are a willing seller," said Roy Runyon, a city councilman. An Overton representative currently is working with the city.
Port leaders were receptive to the idea of a prison in theory. For one thing, it would help get some infrastructure into the vast, undeveloped SKIA they can't get in now, they said. Maybe the arrival of the prison could bring funds to help finish a road the port is trying to build there. And it would add hundreds of jobs and inject money into the local economy. There is state money for selecting a site, but not a dime of construction money.
Port leaders were concerned however, about placement of the prison in SKIA. Like nursing home and hospitals, it shouldn't be in a flight path, they said. People are stuck there, they said. In the event of an air crash, they couldn't get away.
"Our first and foremost concern always will be the airport," said Tim Thomson, port CEO.
SAFEBOATS: Thomson said there hasn't been much movement on the effort to build port tenant Safe Boats International a bigger and more modern home. Business apparently isn't as robust there as port officials thought earlier when a new building was on everyone's lips.
"It looks like the expansion rate isn't going to be as robust as we expected last summer," Thomson said.
DRAG STRIP: Thomson said no one's giving up yet on a drag strip in a relocated Bremerton MotorSports Park, or even retaining the one that's on the far side of the runway now, and into the future.
"I don't think the drag strip is out of the picture," Thomson said.
BEDS: Runyon said the Bremerton Economic Development Study has been released. That's the study that prioritizes 30 years of future improvements mostly along Highway 3. It doesn't even mention rail capability along Highway 3, Runyon said. The Navy owns some track at the port, which conceivable could hook up to the Port of Grays Harbor and the national rail grid.
Runyon suggested the city or port talking to the people at the Port of Grays Harbor to encourage it to add crane capability. Costing about $3.5 billion, we could help, he suggested. If Grays Harbor had the capability to lift cargo on and off ships, Bremerton industries could ship their products out of there.
Thomson reminded Runyon that the Port of Tacoma is closer. Runyon reminded Thomson that ships save a lot of time on the water by going to Grays Harbor.
BREMERTON MARINA: According to Bremerton Marina manager Steve Slaton, the new marina continues to be mostly empty. Sixty percent of the marina slips are untaken. Only 10 percent of the slips in the Port Orchard Marina are empty.
"We're being impacted by the economic times," he said. Slaton said local boat sales are down 75 percent in the recession, and claimed that's the number-one driver of empty marinas.
A Bremerton councilman questioned whether covered moorage could make a difference.