text:
Gazprom Neft has begun production of its new “Vanguard-series” catalytic-cracking catalysts at its Omsk Refinery.* The development of innovative technologies in catalyst production is being undertaken by Gazprom Neft in conjunction with major Russian research and development centres specialising in catalytic processes. The new Vanguard-series catalyst, in particular, has been developed by Russian academics at the Institute for Problems of Hydrocarbon Refining (a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Scientists) together with specialists at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery. Improvements to the Vanguard catalyst are making possible an increase in the production of components for high-octane Euro-5 gasolines. Approximately 10,000 tonnes of new-generation catalysts will be produced at the Omsk Refinery every year.
Production of the new Vanguard-series catalysts at the Omsk Refinery has been made possible by the installation of an additional zeolite filtration and stabilisation facility — key components in cat-cracking catalysts. Improvements to the structure of the zeolites produced makes possible the adjustment of a catalyst’s composition in line with feedstock (crude) and product quality consistent with client requirements. High-precision blending of the catalyst components with specified properties is made possible by the use of ultra-sonic and electromagnetic flow meters.
Vanguard-series catalysts are already being used at the Omsk Refinery catalytic cracking facility. Following the completion of pilot testing, new-generation catalysts are also expected to be used at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery. According to company specialists, the economic benefit of using these new-generation catalysts at catalytic cracking facilities at both refineries is expected to reach approximately RUB1.3 billion per year.
«Gazprom Neft is pro-active in financing research and development: we are working closely with the domestic scientific community and use the results of scientific research in developing new kinds of products and technologies. One outcome of this extensive and ongoing work is the start-up of production of the innovative Vanguard catalyst at the Omsk Refinery, improving the effectiveness of one of the key processes in secondary refining — catalytic cracking».Oleg Belyavsky General Director at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery
* Catalytic cracking is one of the key processes in secondary oil refining, used in the production of Euro-5 gasolines.
Catalysts used in oil refining processes are nano-structured agents which, when introduced into immediate chemical interactions, speed up chemical reactions in oil refining.
This national Gazprom Neft project for the development of catalyst production at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery, in which the company will invest more than RUB15 billion by 2020, envisages the establishment of a cutting-edge high-technology complex producing domestic catalysts for use in catalytic cracking, as well as catalysts for hydrogenation processes. These catalysts are used for key processes in secondary oil refining, making possible the production of Euro-5 motor fuels.
By 2020 Gazprom Neft will establish a cutting-edge facility to produce catalysts for hydrogenation processes (with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes per year) and catalysts for catalytic cracking (with a capacity of 15,000 tonnes). On which basis, total catalyst production capacity at the Omsk Refinery will reach 21,000 tonnes, allowing the company not just to meet current domestic demand for catalytic cracking and hydrogenation catalysts throughout Russia’s refining industry, but also to supply products for export throughout the CIS and neighbouring countries.
Existing capacity at the Omsk Refinery currently allows production of approximately 3,000 tonnes of catalysts every year.
The development of innovative technologies in catalyst production is being undertaken by Gazprom Neft in conjunction with major Russian research and development centres specialising in catalytic processes. The company’s partner on this national project, specifically, is the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Novosibirsk (a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) which is developing technology for the production of catalysts for hydrogenation processes. The Institute for Problems of Hydrocarbon Refining, Omsk (also a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), is also working with the company in developing new technologies and improving existing processes in the production of catalysts for catalytic cracking.
Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery photo gallery:

domain: chemistry


South of Leipzig, special solar technology for vehicles such as trucks, motorhomes and buses is to be produced on more than 12,000 square meters from the end of this year. Opes Solar Mobility plans to create around 120 jobs in the small town of Zwenkau over the next two years, the German company announced on Monday at the handover of the building.
The solar modules developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) are primarily intended to reduce the energy consumption of vehicles. The modules thus ensure lower costs and longer ranges. Every year, several hundred thousand vehicles are to be equipped with the mobile modules from the plant.
"Solar modules for vehicles are particularly light and robust special developments that we are constantly researching and developing to optimize," said Managing Director Robert Händel. He justified the choice of location with its proximity to the Fraunhofer CSP in Halle and the University of Leipzig. The good transport links and proximity to the company's European customers were also decisive factors. "Vehicle manufacturers today also select their suppliers based on the security of the supply chain," said Händel. Production outside the EU would entail significantly more risks.
In the beginning, the company was looking for engineers, logistics and software experts, production managers and purchasers, among others. Later, skilled workers with various qualifications will also be recruited.
"Opes Solar Mobility" is a joint venture between the solar module specialist "Opes Solutions" and a strategic investor from Germany. "According to Opes Solutions, it has already produced more than 10 million compact solar modules at its first plant in China since 2015. Unlike in Zwenkau, mainly customer-specific products are manufactured in China.
Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved


text: We haven't posted anything to the Collide news page in a while, but that's only because we've been busy in the studio. We have narrowed in on the new songs and now have 11 or 12 that we are sure will make it to the final cut. All in all, they are probably 80% done (except for mixing). cEvin Key has played drums on one song, and a majority or programming, vocals, and guitar are finished. We are very happy with how it is all turning out. We are hoping to be done in Sept. for a release later in the year, but we still haven't decided on a title or artwork yet.

domain: artistic


A Larbert-based cake and dessert manufacturer has installed a Loma Systems X5 Spacesaver x-ray machine at its production facility.
Mathiesons produces a wide range of products for retailers, bakeries and supermarkets around the UK. The firm operates six production lines at its BRC (British Retail Consortium) accredited plant.
The new X5 Spacesaver is said to be inspecting fresh cream products for contaminants at speeds “up to 1500 packs per hour” and complements two Loma metal detectors already in use at the company’s premises.
Nick Wills, managing director at Mathiesons said, “The investment in the X5 Spacesaver follows on from the successful installation of two Loma metal detectors several years ago.
“As a food business, we are committed to utilising the best production equipment on the market and we felt that this new x-ray model met our brief perfectly. It is also important that we harness technology that is future proof and keeps up with changing BRC standards and retailer codes of practice.”
Loma says its X5 Spacesaver offers “25% improved detection performance, 20% smaller footprint than similar machines and ultra-hygienic design for quick clean and low maintenance and serviceability”.
Nick added, “Space is always at a premium so the X5 Spacesaver’s compact, slimline size is a big advantage.
“It also has a very hygienic design including sloping shoulders so food particles do not gather in the crevices and easy access for efficient strip down, cleaning and maintenance.
“The X5 Spacesaver is easy to install and operate plus offers instant operator access to a wide range of invaluable quality control information and data.
“Having used Loma equipment for some time, we know their support packages meet all our criteria. The Scotland-based engineers are a major advantage and their overall service is good. They do what they say they are going to do.”


text:
1. "Senior White House adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner reported 77 undisclosed assets and more than an additional $10 million in previously unreported holdings, according to revised financial documents filed Friday, which his legal team said were "inadvertently omitted" from prior financial disclosure filings.
The Office of Government and Ethics certified the updated financial disclosures listing the unreported assets and holdings as a part of an "ordinary review process," according to the filings."
Some people might lose their security clearances for this.
2.Another 'prostitute' and 'sycophant' joins the White House staff.
"He frequently praised Trump, [in his long opening speech to the media] saying he loved the president, and that he was "very loyal" to him.
"I love the mission that the president has since the early days of the campaign," Scaramucci said.
Scaramucci in recent months had become one of the most vocal defenders of Trump and his family. During an appearance on CNN in April, he compared the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Alexander Hamilton.
His effusive praise for the president was on full display during the briefing, as he pledged his commitment to Trump’s “America first” agenda and defended the president's use of Twitter.
“To me, I think it’s been very effective use of reaching the American public directly and so listen, I welcome him continuing to do that. I think it’s very, very important for him to express his identity.”
Scaramucci also praised the president on his competitive nature and athletic skills."
[I'll spare you the rest of this sickening idol-worshipping interview. Scar sounds like a teen-age girl who just found the best boy friend in the whole world. What is it with bromancing Trump?]

domain: politics


text:
Europe is divided by conflict yet again between the East and West, between the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation, in a way arguably not seen since the fall of the USSR in 1991. Despite efforts by the EU and Russian Federation to develop peaceful relations, political conflicts exist between these two entities over the economic, political, and cultural arenas of Eastern Europe. Blame for these conflicts is usually attributed to one side or the other and there is a lack of meaningful explanation as to why tensions persist. This lack of understanding perpetuates the continuous political conflicts between the two sides, and unless conscious steps are taken to resolve the problem, continued conflict between these two entities is inevitable. This is because, as this paper will show, these conflicts are primarily driven by each side’s different dominant metanarrative.
I. Metanarratives and Conflict
Culture is essentially all of the fundamental human influences that exist within a society, including moral values, language, ideology, rituals, and symbols, which produce the culture and worldview one inhabits and from which one operates. The combination of these influences has a profound impact on the way people act as a collective. However, simply combining each individual factor does not create a unique culture. Culture is more than its individual parts. All foundational parts of a culture must be able to connect to each other in a comprehensible and relatively consistent way.
As these separate ideas within a culture merge together to form the culture itself, a metanarrative appears to explain the culture. This metanarrative expresses what it means to be a person; it states what is good, what is bad, and why. It tells the history of those who are a part of the culture and explains how the truly objective world must be interpreted. This works to bind all of the particular parts of a culture into a single whole (Chatterjee 2014). Cultures work to reproduce and reinforce themselves in an almost organic way as the binding metanarrative is passed from person to person. The socialization of children is based completely on transferring this narrative, and the culture that depends on it, from one generation to the next. Once this narrative becomes the primary influence on a society, it becomes the society’s dominant metanarrative and serves to bind the people as a group and justify their existence. While other smaller metanarratives may exist alongside the dominant one, only one can hold a primary position. Equally dominant metanarratives would damage social cohesion and lead to the groups socially diverging.
Because a metanarrative is so all encompassing, it becomes invisible. It acts simply as truth to the minds of those who exist within it. Of course, this is subjective truth, but it is extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible in some cases, to differentiate between subjective and objective truth. A simple example should suffice: the current modern trend in the West is to recognize adulthood once a person reaches the age of 18-21. However, in the past, adulthood was defined as beginning at much younger ages, or even simply based on accomplishing a rite of passage. While to the modern Western mind marriage for a woman at the age 14 is unnatural and wrong, this was considered appropriate, even in Western societies, only a few generations ago. Thus, while this concept now elicits very strong and nearly universal responses in Western society, its moral wrongness cannot be considered an objective truth because it has been interpreted subjectively over time.
The importance of the role of the subjective truth of metanarratives to the realm of international relations is all too often overlooked. Yet the connection between these two realms is clear. John Hutnyk expanded on this when he explained how politics and culture cannot be separated. As Frantz Fanon argued, “A national culture is the whole body of efforts made by a people in the sphere of thought to describe, justify and praise the action through which that people keeps itself in existence” (Hutnyk 2006, p. 365). Each group of people has its own metanarrative that defines its truth. All political forces that represent or rule over their people must connect with the people’s culture in order to persist. Even a warlord depends on his connection to his troops to ensure he is not replaced. While those rulers who come from within the metanarrative connect to it in a natural way, belonging to the culture is not always required to be able to connect with and manipulate a metanarrative. However, the consequences of deviation from the metanarrative by a ruling political power are severe, as is a repeated theme of history. For example, the Catholic King James II of England violated the metanarrative of England at that time, which included opposition to Catholicism as a basic tenant. James’ religious beliefs conflicted with the English metanarrative in which the Church of England dominated; this was a major part of what eventually cost him his throne (Willcox and Arnstein 2001). So contrary to the idea of greater freedom which ruling provides to political forces, these forces are in reality fairly strictly confined by the invisible yet pervasive bond of the metanarrative.
By placing limits on cultures and governments, metanarratives directly, yet subtly, play an important role in international conflict. Conflict is an inevitable part of human existence, as it is based on natural competition over limited resources such as energy, prestige, power, and material goods. The extent to which two narratives align helps dictate the amount of cooperation that can exist between different cultures. When two cultures contradict, a zone of conflict exists between them, producing a heightened possibility of violence. Such a fault line exists within Eastern Europe because of its position between the two dominating metanarratives of Europe: those of the EU and the Russian Federation.
II. Elite Culture and Common Culture
Although abiding by the dominant metanarrative is essential to maintaining cultural cohesion, significant subcultures can exist within any society. One important such subset that can contribute to a society’s internal or external conflicts is the division between a society’s elite and common people. Elites are those people who have significant direct political and economic influence within a society. Because of their unique position of power, they often develop a distinct subculture within their society, and like all subcultures, a society’s elites may develop a related but different metanarrative from the rest of their society.
It is important to keep in mind that a nation’s political and economic leaders are not neutral agents; they have their own agenda or agendas in which they use the common people to advance their goals. Mark Beissinger has shown how elites use common symbols that evoke strong emotional responses to draw broad base support, which is then channeled for a particular purpose (2013). As elites tend to monopolize the media space in modern societies, this strategy is widespread. The more successfully elites monopolize and fulfil the role of the common metanarrative’s symbols, the more powerfully positioned they are in order to politically impose their own metanarrative upon others, or, in other words, enforce an ideology. The fact that the metanarrative of the majority can be manipulated by the elite is important to keep in mind when discussing metanarratives, as such a situation is visible in both Russia and the EU.
III. The Culture of the EU
Western Liberalism has helped drive the EU expansion into Eastern Europe. This political ideology is heavily associated with the EU’s metanarrative. Robert O. Keohane defines Western Liberalism, or “Institutional Liberalism” as he calls it, as the mixture of power with a social cause such as democracy or human rights. Interestingly, this has led to morality becoming a leading impetus for the creation of laws, rather than attempting to base laws on objective reality (Keohane 2012). Thus, Anthony De Jasay explains that Modern Liberal Democracy, his term for what I call Western Liberalism, is opposed to Classical Liberalism. The latter argues that unless a man is denied a right he has it, meaning that the role of government is limited in nature, as it must constantly justify its actions. However, this actually contradicts the idea of democracy, which states that the majority has a right to impose their will upon all of society. Essentially, democracy transfers power to governments whereas liberalism seeks, in principle, to take power away from government. This produces a contraction at the core of Western Liberalism (De Jasay 2010). A result of the moral social cause is an underlying requirement to intervene everywhere the social cause is not being respected. This belief in universality is part of what drives the EU to expand.
That the EU has become an ideological rather than an effective economic or political vehicle is well-established. Marshall Auerback and Florin Bonciu offer the common argument that the EU is a modern expression of an older West European elite dream of a united Europe (2010; 2012). In its earlier stages, the focus of the EU was economic integration, which initially helped it to expand. However, Nina Bandelj has pointed out that the economic benefits of the EU are overemphasized, as most of the economic growth of EU countries actually occurred prior to their joining the EU (2010). Bruce Jackson has written extensively on the modern developments of the EU, explaining how, due to economic difficulties beginning in 2008, there has been a shift from simply economic integration to ideological and cultural integration (2010). While Jackson claims that the EU is the only Western force capable of uniting Europe, he holds that the expansion opportunities of the EU are being squandered by poor policy planning (2011). Ioana-Bianca Berna explains how such difficulties in policy coordination largely stem from the fact that policy planning occur at multiple levels of the EU (2013). Nathaniel Copsey and Karolina Pomorska clearly show how convoluted and complicated power relations are within the EU, the goals of many members drastically differing from each other (2010). Rikard Bengtsson and Geir Flikke, among many others, have further mention that the EU is struggling to expand further because the EU’s international power is almost exclusively based in its self-assumed role as a representative of democracy, human rights, and liberalism (2012; 2012). According to several other scholars, the EU is becoming more aware of the importance of using culture as a political tool both within and without its boarders in order to create a popular EU culture instead of simply an elite-centered one (Benson-Rea 2012; Corcoran 2009; Vidmar-Horvat 2012).
So, if the EU must expand in order to fulfill its political ideology, where does it find the ability to expand? After all, such expansion requires significant expenditures of political and often economic capital. Rikard Bengtsson and Ole Elgström offer the theory that the EU is dependent upon soft power, positioning itself as the literal embodiment of the goals of Western Liberalism and the champion of Western Liberalism throughout the world. As such, its power in the international arena depends on two things. First, to maintain its position as the representative power of Western Liberalism its metanarrative must conform to the principles of Western Liberalism. Second, the EU can have direct influence only upon those groups accepting of its position as the champion of Western Liberalism and who themselves share in the metanarrative of Western Liberalism (Bengtsson 2012). Geir Flikke additionally describes how the EU promises financial assistance to new EU members on the prerequisite that they make significant legislative and structural changes to conform to EU ideology. The EU’s ability to offer financial assistance and thus grow also depends upon the group’s economic standing; there is little motivation for new governments to join an economically struggling EU (Flikke 2012). While EU expansion eastward seems to have halted for the time being, the EU does want to change the internal policies of its neighboring countries so that they fall in line with the EU’s philosophy (Flikke 2012).
While the argument that joining the EU will better the economic standing of a nation’s citizens seems questionable, the expansion of EU influence is not dependent on direct support from the majority of citizens but rather on the support of a country’s elites. This is because the EU project is essentially an elite-based project. Farrel Corcoran and Declan Fahy provide compelling evidence of this. In summarizing their interviews with pro-EU media, they state that “reporters are divided on whether or not a European public sphere exists, but all agree that a smaller, elite public sphere does, and it extends, in Tony Barber’s words, ‘far beyond the boundaries of Brussels.'” It consists of senior business people, national and EU politicians, diplomats, civil servants, and journalists” (2009, p. 109). They conclude based off their study that “While there are strong indications that a European elite sphere is developing, a European public sphere shows few signs of life at this stage” (2009, p. 110). Ksenija Vidmar-Horvat further clarifies important aspects of the nature of EU institutions. In her article, “The Predicament of Intercultural Dialogue,” Vidmar-Horvat comes to three basic conclusions. The first is that the use of culture by the EU as a key focus of its political identity is a relatively recent development; prior to its shift to culture over two decades ago, the EU focused purely on economics. The second is that the language used by the EU is imperialist in nature. It argues that its cultural outlook is superior to those of nations not living according to Western Liberalism, and that it has a duty to enlighten them. The third point she clarifies is how the EU’s ideology arises out of Western Europe (Vidmar-Horvat 2012). This is interestingly paralleled in Maureen Benson-Rea and Cris Shore’s findings that the diplomats representing the EU largely came from Western European countries, with 48.6 percent of the commission staff coming from just Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. They also find that in the diplomatic service, these political elites tend to fully adopt the idea of the single European identity, which the EU argues exists and that transcends nationality. The irony is that despite the EU being domestically an elite-based organization, when representing itself abroad it tends to try to appeal directly to the masses and circumvent traditional diplomatic lines of communication (Benson-Rea 2012).
The EU’s metanarrative and its drive to expand is based on an attempt to reconcile several contradictions. The metanarrative of the EU says that all people living on the European continent are European and heirs to the teachings of the Renaissance and Enlightenment: that all men have certain rights to freedom of property, to liberty of action, and from restrictions by government. Individual effort is good, wealth is a meaningful goal in life, and anything which limits an individual’s rights to gain wealth is evil.
World War I and II added to this narrative significantly with the idea, for example, that democracy is the key to ensuring peace and individual prosperity. Nations that do not listen to the will of the majority (whether their own majority or the majority of European nations) are bad, while those that do are good. What constitutes the majority changes based on the context. Rights considered essential to individual happiness are merged into a single idea: human rights. Thus, a good government must encourage and uphold these human rights based on the individualistic and liberal ideas of the Enlightenment—for example, that governments must limit the power of the majority of its citizens so as to protect the individual from loss of liberties and property. Also, a stable Europe would require a united Europe, as only a united Europe would be able to erase the divides that damaged Europe in the past. To summarize this Western Liberal elite narrative, a government must be chosen by the majority to limit the rights of society in order to protect the wealth and lack of restrictions of the individual, which alone will ensure that the majority receive the greatest amount of wealth, liberty, and power. Of course, in practice this position must be compromised due to logical contradictions. To further complicate the matter, according to the metanarrative, only by such a system can true and lasting peace be created, meaning that it must be spread worldwide.
This is a part of the problem in Russian-EU relations. As the EU has marketed itself as primarily an economic union, yet behaved much more like a cultural and ideological union, each side has felt that they are being deceived or cheated. Furthermore, Russia’s overall rejection of Western Liberalism means that the EU has little direct influence on Russia (Bengtsson 2012). Further, Jackie Gower argues that Russia originally viewed the EU in a neutral or positive manner, seeing it as an emerging sphere of power that would eventually break from the US’s interests. However, as the EU has developed, several points of contention have emerged between these two powers, especially with regards to Eastern Europe (Gower 2000).
IV. Russian Culture
Joachim Willems has produced a unique look at what composes Russia’s modern metanarrative by examining religious education in the country. Religion is often a critical aspect of any metanarrative, but because the Russian Federation is a religiously diverse and multiethnic country, establishing a single religious narrative for Russia is a challenge. In providing moral and religious education, the Russian government has allowed each different major belief system to help shape what education about that belief will be. While attending such a course is manditory, each citizen can choose which religious education they wish their children to receive. What stands out in this education is that regardless of the religious choice, the classes argues for a common Russian identity built on the ideas of tradition and a shared history as the underlying features of what it means to be part of the Federation (Willems 2012).
After the fall of the USSR, Western Liberalism quickly spread in Russia. The decade of the 1990s was spent attempting to fit this ideology on top of the Russian metanarrative. The results were a disaster, with political and economic troubles ruling Russia for much of that decade. This disaster led to a widespread rejection of Western Liberalism as a political ideology. V. I. Pantin argues that a strong sense of political identity does not exist in Russia. Political parties are judged based on their relationship with the President, and each election serves essentially as a referendum on his policies. One of the problems with Russia’s electoral democracy is that “the Russian political system serves to represent the interests chiefly of various elite groups rather than the mass strata of society” (Pantin 2010, 19). Of course, this completely contradicts the foundational ideas of democracy as understood (although not necessarily practiced) in the West. This should come as no surprise though, as openly elite-based rule is a foundational part of Russian political culture, which has survived for centuries (Keenan 1986). In summarizing the crucial aspects of the political ideology of the common Russian citizen, V. I. Pantin found a strong preference for an authoritarian state, little economic or social stratification, rejection of liberalism , and a focus on Russian culture and tradition. Pantin also found a general rejection of communism, despite a communist party’s national presence, which suggests a disconnect between what the communist party argues it is, and what it really argues for. A certain suspicion of the EU and United States are also critical tenants of the current popular stance. This kind of Russian nationalism has become the dominant ideology (Pantin 2010).
Every ideology is based on a particular metanarrative and may be viewed as the political realization of such a metanarrative. In examining the underlying metanarrative of Russia, what emerges is the realization that those elements listed by Pantin align with two historical ideologies that existed in the Russian Empire. Both are clearly summarized by Denis Vovchenko. The first major trend is Pan-Slavism. The second major trend occurring in Russian society shares many fundamental similarities with Pan-Slavism and is called Pan-Orthodoxy. Both of these ideologies arose as ideologies of opposition to the West, positioning the idea of the West as Russia’s significant ideological and cultural standard of comparison. They struggled to resist arguments by part of the Russian elite of that time that Russia needed to become like other European nations. One of the key ways they did so was by arguing against the universality principle in Western Liberalism.
Pan-Slavism was a belief system that, like Western Liberalism, emerged as a product of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its basic tenants were that Russians had an ethnic tie to their Slavic neighbors and should work to see the creation of a broad-based Slavic confederation based on Orthodox Christianity in order to liberate the Slavs from rule under other ethnic groups, as was the situation in places such as the Austro-Hungarian or Turkish Empires. It would develop alongside Western Europe, but on its own path adjacent to the rest of Europe. There was a strong focus on both tradition and ethnicity. Pan-Slavism saw Russia as neither a truly European nation nor an Asian one.
Pan-Orthodoxy is similar to Pan-Slavism in that the Orthodox Church was seen as a key component of Russian identity. Russia was seen as the force to which the oppressed Orthodox people of Eastern Europe must turn in order to find full expression and freedom. Russia in return was to have an important paternal role in establishing this new union. A critical element of this 19th century movement was the legacy of Byzantium uniting all Orthodox believers, as this provided a sense of historic legacy and justification for the movement. Pan-Orthodoxy also sought to develop independently from Western Europe and was an alternative path from the liberalism which was developed there. The essential difference between Pan-Orthodoxy and Pan-Slavism is that while Pan-Slavism focused on a politicized ethnic and national base, Pan-Orthodoxy focused on the idea of Byzantium and the Orthodox religion. However, there are many overlaps and both groups of intellectuals associated with one another (Vovchenko 2012).
Much of Russia’s metanarrative has also been defined by its geography. The core of Russia, located from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, is a relatively cold and wet region. The growing season is short and famine has historically been common. Beyond this forested heartland lie vast steppes, which have brought the constant threat of raiding tribes including the Mongolian Hordes from the East and numerous nations from the West. Lacking natural defensive boundaries, the need for constant defense became a large and continuous theme in Russia’s history. Thus, Russian society turned inward for protection against the outside and against famine. Moreover, the influences of both East and West deeply impacted Russia and played a critical role in Russian intellectual thinking. Russia has often felt both a part of Asia, and yet also a part of Europe. From Europe it inherited many aspects of the foundation of its culture, such as Christianity. From Asia, it saw itself as inheriting communal values and a strong authoritarian state (Hosking 2011).
Peter Gatrell argues that Russia’s historical disadvantage lies not so much in this cultural dichotomy but rather in its lack of intensive growth. For most of Russia’s existence, expansive physical growth was a critical aspect of economic growth and the power of Russia abroad. Yet the common occurrence of famines and the resulting economic disruptions discouraged saving and investing in future years both by private citizens and by the government who might have invested in more extensive infrastructure beyond what defense demanded. Gatrell argues that Russia’s government has been plagued by two factors. First, as mentioned previously, the need for a large defensive army has been a constant issue for Russia’s government. This has drained wealth away from the populace. The second issue is that, contrary to popular belief, Russia has suffered a chronic shortage of governance. Ruling such an extensive expanse of land has been challenging, and the presence of the ruling power has always been weak outside the major cities. Furthermore, Russia has seen very little friendly international engagement compared with neighboring powers. International trade with Russia has historically been weak and most important contact has often occurred in defending itself from another power. Russia has been in relative isolation in the international arena for centuries (Gatrell 1996).
Russia’s historical inward focus has persisted into the current day according to Dmitry Trenin. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has attempted to maintain a sphere of influence, but has been relatively unable to do so because of this very inward focus. In his works “Russia and the New Eastern Europe” and “Modernizing Russian Foreign Policy,” Trenin lays out the case that contrary to many claims in the West, Russia is actually a non-aggressive regional power seeking to exert influence on neighboring countries in order to preserve a cultural and economic buffer zone (2011; 2011).
So where does Russia’s metanarrative contradict the metanarrative of the EU? Russia is driven by the idea of itself as a “third way,” neither Asian nor European. In direct opposition to the idea of a single universal policy that is correct for all people, Russia’s metanarrative argues that the Russian people have their own path of development and that all Slavic people are a single, unique kin group who are the champions of a distinct religious tradition. Russia is inwardly focused, yet not truly isolationist as it is not opposed to international engagement. While it is not hostile to the EU per se, any attempts by the EU to infiltrate Russia’s perceived sphere are seen as a hostile attack.
V. Drawing Conclusions
Confrontation between the EU and Russia will likely continue to occur into the foreseeable future. This is because their tensions are rooted in each group’s metanarrative and these two metanarratives are naturally opposed to each other. The fact that there has been almost constant tension between the West and East of Europe for centuries already shows the depth and seriousness of these contradictions. However, it is possible to reduce these tensions, but this requires action on the part of both sides.
In regards to the EU, it must shift its ideology. The universal demand required by Western Liberalism will endlessly drive the EU to take an aggressive attitude towards its neighbors. Because a major part of EU relevance is based on the continued fulfillment of its promise to champion Western Liberalism, it must engage in finding and criticizing nations, such as Russia, which do not fit its ideal model. Thus, to reduce hostilities with Russia, the EU must give up their principle of universality. This would require finding a different reason for the EU to be a relevant entity rather than the champion of a universally desirable Western Liberalism.
The EU must also stop its informal diplomacy directed to the citizens of other countries and begin working through formal diplomatic channels. The EU focuses on reaching out to citizens to create change, and thus Russia is correct in its understanding that the West supports and encourages revolutions, as this is the most natural outcome of radically shifting a society’s metanarrative. Granting the benefit of the doubt to the EU, it is understandable that, because of its stated belief in the universality of democracy, it would appeal to the people as the ultimate arbiters of political power and social change. However, this is an incorrect model in at least Russia, if not elsewhere, as Russian politics are not, even by the standards of the majority of individual citizens, directly dictated by the will of the people.
For Russia’s part, it is important to ensure that Pan-Slavic and Pan-Orthodox rhetoric is kept within acceptable levels that do not create a climate of fear in neighboring states. While again granting the benefit of the doubt to Russians, such claims are easily understood as imperialist ambitions by others. Further, Russia’s desire to be both part of the idea of Europe and simultaneously not part of that idea, is incredibly problematic. The European metanarrative emphasizes EU unity. There is no room for a country that is both part of Europe and not part of its integrated, harmonious whole. Thus, if Russians do not generally want to be part of the EU metanarrative, they must be willing to say that they are not a part of Europe. This can help alleviate the EU’s tendency to want to urgently change Russia’s metanarrative and provide greater clarity to both sides of the conflict.
Whether or not such major changes to the core of the EU and Russian metanarratives are possible in practice is another question entirely, and beyond the scope of this paper. What can be concluded here is that, while working to make the metanarratives of Russia and the EU more compatible would not be easy, it would help to create workable conditions for the necessary trust required to ensure that peaceful relations become the normal state of affairs rather than the exception.
Auerback, Marshall. 2010. “A “United States of Europe” or Full Exit from the Euro?” International Journal of Political Economy. 39 (4): 87-102.
Bandelj, Nina. 2010. “How EU integration and legacies mattered for foreign direct investment into Central and Eastern Europe.” Europe-Asia Studies. 62 (3): 481-501.
Beissinger, Mark R. 2013. “The Semblance of Democratic Revolution: Coalitions in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution.” American Political Science Review. 107 (03): 574-92.
Bengtsson, Rikard, and Ole Elgström. 2012. “Conflicting Role Conceptions? The European Union in Global Politics.” Foreign Policy Analysis. 8 (1): 93-108.
Benson-Rea, Maureen, and Cris Shore. 2012. “Representing Europe: The emerging ‘culture’ of EU diplomacy.” Public Administration. 90 (2): 480-96.
Berna, Ioana-Bianca. 2013. The Diplomatic Process within the EU. Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice. 5 (1): 64-9.
Bonciu, Florin I. 2012. “The United States of Europe: A Conceptual Assessment.” Romanian Journal of European Affairs. (4): 34-44.
Chatterjee, Suparna. 2014. “Engaging with an emergent metanarrative: A critical exploration of the BOP proposition.” Organization. 21 (6): 888-906.
Copsey, Nathaniel and Karolina Pomorska. 2010. “Poland’s power and influence in the European Union: The case of its eastern policy”. Comparative European Politics. 8 (3): 304-26.
Corcoran, Farrel, and Declan Fahy. 2009. “Exploring the European Elite Sphere.” Journalism Studies. 10 (1): 100-13.
De Jasay, Anthony. 2010. “Inspecting the Foundations of Liberalism.” Economic Affairs. 30 (1): 6-12.
Flikke, Geir. 2012. “Eastward Bound? Options and Limitations in the EU’s Eastern Dimension.” Studia Diplomatica. 65 (1): 79-90.
Gatrell, Peter. 1999. “‘Poor Russia’: environment and government in the long-run economic history of Russia.” in Reinterpreting Russia, ed. Edward Arnold, (London).
Gower, Jackie. 2000. EU-Russian Relations and the Eastern Enlargement: Integration or Isolation? Perspectives on European Politics and Society. 1 (1): 75-93.
Hosking, Geoffrey. 2011. Russia and the Russians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Hutnyk, John. 2006. “Culture.” Theory, Culture, and Society. (3): 351-358.
Jackson, Bruce P. 2010 “A Turning Point for Europe’s East: The Next Decade Will Determine its Direction.” Policy Review. (160).
Jackson, Bruce P. 2011. “The European Union Goes East.” Policy Review. (166): 53-64.
Keohane, Robert O. 2012. “Twenty Years of Institutional Liberalism.” International Relations. 26 (2): 125-138.
Keenan, Edward L. 1986. “Muscovite Political Folkways.” The Russian Review. 45: 115-181.
Mitrokhin, Nikolay. 2010. “Orthodoxy in Ukrainian Political Life 2004-2009.” Religion, State & Society. 38 (3): 229-51.
Pantin, V. I. 2010. “The Political and Civilizational Self-Identity of Contemporary Russian Society in a Global Context.” Russian Social Science Review. 51 (1): 4-20.
Plokhy, Serhii. 2011. “Between history and nation: Paul Robert Magocsi and the Rewriting of Ukrainian History.” Nationalities Papers 39 (1): 117-24.
Trenin, Dmitry. 2011. “Modernizing Russian foreign policy.” Russian Politics & Law. 49 (6): 8-37.
Trenin, Dmitry. 2011. “Russia and the New Eastern Europe.” Russian Politics & Law. 49 (6): 38-53.
Vidmar-Horvat, Ksenija. 2012. “The Predicament of Intercultural Dialogue: Reconsidering the Politics of Culture and Identity in the EU.” Cultural Sociology. (6): 27-44.
Vovchenko, Denis. 2012. “Modernizing Orthodoxy: Russia and the Christian East (1856–1914).” Journal of the History of Ideas. 73 (2): 295-317.
Willcox, William and Walter Arnstein. 2001. The Age of Aristocracy: 1688-1830. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Willems, Joachim. 2012. “Foundations of Orthodox Culture in Russia.” European Education. 44 (2): 23.

domain: sociology


text:
I’ve made several versions of barbecue sauce, and we like this one best. We use it to top pulled pork for pulled pork sandwiches. It’s also good on burgers or barbecue french fries.
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup very finely minced onion
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons water
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 Tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
black pepper to taste
Directions and Notes:
1. In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for just a minute or two until fragrant.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Note: I haven’t been able to find liquid smoke in China thus far, but some of our friends recently brought some to us when they came to visit– I think it made a big difference in the flavor here and was a very “worth it” thing to request from the States.
Recipe adapted from: About.com

domain: food


Progress Rail and Etihad Rail Sign MoU to Discuss Areas of Cooperation to Support Sustainability in the Railway Industry
The two parties will discuss potential opportunities for the development and deployment of an autonomous, zero-exhaust emissions yard concept
BERLIN, Germany – Today, Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, and Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Railway Network, are continuing their long-standing relationship and demonstrating their commitment to an innovative, sustainable future by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to discuss potential opportunities for the development and deployment of an autonomous, zero-exhaust emissions and port-to-port concept, which could serve as the foundation for future rail operations globally.
“Etihad Rail is always keen to develop new relationships that drive growth of a modern, safe, and sustainable railway sector in the UAE and the region,” said Ahmed Al Musawa, executive director of Passenger Sector at Etihad Rail. “By developing the UAE National Rail Network, Etihad Rail is already contributing to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 70-80%. The agreement comes in line with Etihad Rail’s vision of safely and sustainably connecting regions and communities and integrating people and industries through rail transport.”
The MOU aims to discuss areas of future collaboration for a potential fleet decarbonization, taking sustainable operations to the next level.
“Progress Rail is committed to providing sustainable solutions for customers like Etihad Rail,” commented Marty Haycraft, president and CEO of Progress Rail. “The foundational suite of technologies we are developing will serve railroads around the world with their decarbonization journey.”
In August 2022, Progress Rail delivered the first batch of new EMD® SD70 locomotives to Etihad Rail. Each of the fleet’s diesel-and-electricity-operated locomotives provides 4,600 BHP, which makes it one of the most powerful engines in the Middle East. The locomotives are equipped with the latest filtering innovations such as the pulse sand filtering system, ensuring the train operates at high effectiveness and efficiency when passing through desert regions. They also incorporate and comply with the latest technologies and standards for reducing emissions.
Rumo in Brazil is taking delivery of the first hybrid locomotives from Progress Rail in 2022. Two GT38H intermediate power locomotives are being delivered in 2022 for trials in regional freight services.
“These hybrid units will provide fuel and emissions reductions with lower upfront investment for our valued customers like Rumo.” commented Marty Haycraft, president and chief executive officer of Progress Rail. “We are pleased to support our customers with solutions that help them reach their sustainability goals.”
These locomotives use modular architecture to remain flexible to future fuels, retain the capability of their diesel counterparts, and are capable of both regenerative and external battery charging.
BERLIN, Germany – Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company, is an international leader in developing and maintaining Control-Command and Signaling (CCS) and Traffic Management System (TMS) solutions for railway and mass transit systems, ranging from standalone interlocking systems to fully integrated CCS/TMS systems equipped with ERTMS/ETCS (L1 and L2/3).
The company was recently awarded a tender to supply its ECM European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 wayside product to Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Italiane Group).
“This opportunity will help us further grow our signaling services in Italy as we develop ETCS Level 2 projects in the future,” commented John Newman, executive vice president of infrastructure for Progress Rail. “As an international provider of signal solutions and technologies, Progress Rail is devoted to the safety and enhancement of railway infrastructure.”
The ECM Radio Block Center (RBC9) system is Progress Rail’s solution for ERTMS L2/3 signaling, with the highest level of safety, compliant with Baseline 3 Release 2 of ERTMS/ETCS specifications, and with high reliability and modularity.
Through product demonstrations, attendees will experience Talos™ Energy Management, the Nitro Suite of Decision Support Solutions for movement and yard planning, and ECM signals. Interactive touchscreens will display locomotives, engines, PowerView, advanced energy, advanced rail technology, trackwork and rolling stock, with speakers interviewed on the hour each day on these topics.
“We are excited to showcase our commitment to alternate energy and carbon reduction, train automation, yard and network optimization, and digital solutions at InnoTrans 2022,” commented Paul Denton, senior vice president of global rolling stock sales, technology, and marketing for Progress Rail. “These are just a few of our broad product offerings that will be on display at the world’s largest transportation show.”
InnoTrans is the world's leading international trade fair for transport technology, with an estimated 3,000 exhibitors from 60 countries, occupying all the Berlin exhibition grounds. More than 150,000 visitors from 150 countries are expected to fill the 40+ exhibition halls, outdoor display, track area, and bus display, with the opportunity to experience Progress Rail’s exhibit in Hall 2.2, Stand 130.


I hope you and your family are staying healthy!
We have great news. The CARES Act just passed the House of Representatives this afternoon. The President indicated that he will sign it and it will become law.
The law contains a lot of benefits – $2 Trillion. The Paycheck Protection Program may directly help you cover the costs of your employee’s payroll and health insurance for up to 8 weeks!
The program gives loans to small businesses that may be forgiven. The US Chamber of Commerce has a great summary of this program indicating:
“Yes, small businesses that take out these loans can get some or all of their loans forgiven. Generally speaking, as long as employers continue paying employees at normal levels during the eight weeks following the origination of the loan, then the amount they spent on payroll costs (excluding costs for any compensation above $100,000 annually), mortgage interest, rent payments and utility payments can be combined and that portion of the loan will be forgiven.”
Click on the link below for the full summary:
Families First Coronavirus Response Act FFCRA Update:
The Department of Labor released much needed guidance that addresses many of the questions we have been receiving. Please click on the following link to view the Questions and Answers: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions
I highly recommend you read the document. Of note; the document indicates that that the sick and FMLA leave starts April 1 (Q1), is not retroactive(Q13), and does not apply to employees who are not at work because their workplace is closed (Q23). It appears that the CARES Act will offer the most help to small businesses and employees who are shut down due to the Stay at Home order.
Tuesday Morning Webinar:
Every Tuesday morning at 8am, our Law Firm Maynard Cooper is hosting webinars with updated on the latest COVID laws and news. If you can not make the live webinar, I will send out the recording later that day. To sign up for the webinar, go to: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=n90lvz6pn7b0&campaign=172n2warnie5 I hope you have a great weekend. Please stay tuned for additional updates and stay healthy!


text:
We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The TripAdvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers: Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
i stayed here for 1 night in this hotel.the main advantage is it is centrally located.the ac is fully functioned.house keeping is average.the staff has to be active in the cleanness of the hotel.for 1 night stay it is ok.
Very rubbish hotel. Room is full of dirt, unwanted smell, cockroaches and lizards. Just hated the room. Not at all good for a leisure stay. Bathroom was smelly. Bed was old and stinking. Totally an unpleasant stay at this hotel. Readers are advised to stay...More
This hotel is very close to the railway station and Brihadeeshwara temple. However in terms of cleanliness and maintenance, it has a lot of room for improvement..
The good thing was that the AC was working fine and it helped us sleep better in the...More
We stayed in Tanjore for a night and half a day which was required to see the Brihadeshwara temple. The hotel looks dated and not very new looking. The room was not bad, there was a lot of noise from the street that was heard...More
24 hr check in
Kind people, who allowed us to stay for a few more hours past check out for a small sum
Midway between rly. station & periya kovil. (10 min walk each)
Good restaurants nearby. Suggest buhari for nv & ananda...More

domain: travel


I personally have to go all the way back to my childhood to remember any moment in time when I can honestly say I experienced complete satisfaction – that moment when you finally get exactly whatever it is your heart desires. I guess it’s just one of those joys of being a child we’re never really aware of until we grow up, but this got me thinking about the world we live in, which appears to be a big world of unmet expectations. You turn on the television and while enjoying any show aimed at the female demographic, all one really gets is a message that we’re not good enough in some way or the other, and that trying to better ourselves is as easy as buying some or other beauty product, weight loss product, or just some or other clothing item.
Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping and I love dressing up and looking gorgeous, but I just wish we weren’t made to feel like we’re just not good enough the way we are. I get the sense that you can buy all the beauty products on sale, each and every last one of them, and yet somehow they’ll always be someone else trying to sell you something else, motivating your need to buy their product by either directly or indirectly telling you that you aren’t good enough the way you are.
It goes beyond TV though, with the internet in a sense amplifying this idea that there are more unmet expectations than there are those expectations which we can realistically meet. Look, a healthy body on the inside feels and looks good on the outside too, so I’m all for watching one’s weight and engaging in a healthy fitness and nutrition plan, but only as far as it’s for health reasons and not to fuel some vanity-driven offensive for profit-pushers to bump up their sales.
Weight seems to be one of those issues which the media just loves to play on, mostly through their promotion and somewhat of an elevation of a certain look, reinforced by a certain weight-range, heavy make-up that makes the wearer almost completely unrecognisable and even lifestyle choices. You see it quite clearly in an analysis of the UK’s most popular fitness questions as typed into Google’s search engine, that being the fact that we seem to have internalised these expectations the media has forced down our throats – expectations which in reality are out of our reach.
For as long as search terms such as HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST will keep outnumbering more realistic searches like BEST EXERCISE TO LOSE WEIGHT, we’ll just keep perpetuating the cycle of unmet expectations. It would’ve been more encouraging for searches such as those looking for sports supplements to appear somewhere near the top of the most searched phrases in the UK as this would demonstrate a little bit more of a realistic approach to bettering our bodies through the likes of fitness, exercise and nutrition. This would’ve indicated that we have a better understanding of how leading an active lifestyle should be just that – a lifestyle, as opposed to chasing quick-fixes that prove time and again that they just don’t work.


text:
Reprinted from Politicus by Leo Vidal on April 13, 2018.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Koch Brothers are funding a right-wing network that is behind a new secret initiative attempting to discredit teacher walkouts while harming teachers’ unions.
There is a nationwide network of right-wing thinktanks that has begun a public relations offensive to counter the positive press being received by the teachers’ strikes that have occured in several states and seem to be spreading throughout the country. The strikes have erupted as the nation’s educators finally are taking action to protest cuts in education funding that have led to low pay, underfunded schools and intolerable working conditions.
This network has been distributing what they call a “messaging guide” for anti-union activists, which is essentially a three-page document filled with anti-teacher and anti-union talking points. The guide describes the teacher walkouts as hurting low-income parents and their children. …

domain: news


text: Hands on "making" using a real material from nature, children love working with wood and playing with toys made from wood. Embellish with wool felt or add some color by painting or dipping into a dye made from paint or another colorant. Anything unvarnished, and all of our wood dolls, blanks and beads are, can be painted. Choose non-toxic water-based paints like our Stockmar Opaque Watercolors or the Stockmar Watercolor concentrates - both available in our Painting Section. Watercolor pencils work well, too. We love the Lyra Rembrandt Aquarells. You could also try out food dye, natural dyes, turmeric, kitchen dyes, Easter egg dyes, even Kool-Aid. Most of all, have fun creating - for yourself, for gifts, or for the children in your life!


Introduction: Rotation Machine
This instructable will guide you in making a telekinetic rotation machine that demonstrates Faraday's and Lenz's laws. This works by using the phenomenon that changing magnetic fields generate eddy currents in a nearby conductor. These eddy currents result in a drag force and a lift force on the conductor and the magnets. This project will focus more on the drag force.
If you can get an electric motor that is strong enough, demonstrating the effects of the lift force will be possible.
We will make a model to show this phenomenon. In which a aluminium disk will rotate without touching directly being driven by the motor.
- 8 cubic neodymium magnets (12mm)
- 12V DC electromotor
- Power Supply
- Cables to connect the motor to the power supply
- Stand and clamps
- Aluminium Disks
- 3D Printer
For this project we will need to 3d print a few components:
- A mounting unit for the magnets
- A rod with an attached disk
Here you can download the printer file which can be used in the "Ultimaker 2" 3d printer.
Step 1: Attaching the Magnets to the Magnet Holder
After printing the magnet holder you can attach the magnets to it. The sockets are deliberately the same size as the magnets so that by hammering the magnets into the sockets they will be clamped. This does mean that it will not be the easiest of tasks.
The magnets are to be put in a halbach array to generate a strong magnetic field in the upward direction. The orientation of the magnets are rather important. You can follow these few steps;
- When the magnets are still stuck together, all in a row, draw a arrow on every magnet in the same direction to visualize the direction of the magnetic field. (This makes it easier to place them in the correct orientation.)
- Place the magnets in the holder like shown in the picture;
- In the image the crosses reflect an arrow pointing downwards through the magnet and the dots an arrow pointing upwards.
Since every magnet is pointed in a different direction, they will repel each other. Putting the magnets in can be tricky because they will push each other out of position.
It's advisable to put some glue in the gap that you want tot put the magnet in before inserting them. This way you will make sure they will stay in place.
Step 2: Connecting the Motor
We used a 12V DC electromotor and a power supply (shown in the image), but you can also use more powerful versions of these. This will only increase at the end the lift force on the disk.
To attach the magnet holder to the motor we used a small shaft sleeve to widen the motor shaft so we could clamp it in the center of the magnet holder. This will depend on the motor you use as not every motor has the same shaft thickness.
For powering the motor we used a 30V 1A powersupply. (ofcourse we did not use more than 12V as to not fry the motor)
We fixed the motor to the stand using a clamp. (shown in the image)
Step 3: Placing the Disk Above the Motor
After the motor with the magnets are fixed in place we can place the aluminium disk above the motor. It is very important that the distance between the disk and the magnets is as small as possible. This will create a stronger effect.
We 3D printed the part that holds the disk as well. When this was printed we've put the disk in it and clamped it above the magnets to the stand. (see image)
Step 4: Make the Machine Work
After following all the previous steps the machine is ready to be used. By turning on the motor, the magnets will start rotating. This will also make the disk rotate, due to the eddy currents. Have fun!


text: One of the more unique Bella Fleur creations, the mysterious light blue infinity rose, will complement any gift or will be a gift by itself. Mesmerizing colors and simple composition create a very dream-like view, and it is right on the shelf. It comes with a removable transparent case to protect the fragile blooms from dust and occasional falls. The composition itself consists of 9 rosebuds of a cosmic blue color with decorative foliage below. Plants are put in the frame of expensive-looking wood. It creates very elegant and tender looks. Light Blue Nueve Infinity Rose would be a perfect fit for Birthday, Ramadan or Mother’s Day.


text:
In "Velvet" #8 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, Velvet has succeeded in emptying the ARC-7 headquarters and has the run of the place for only a few precious minutes.
Brubaker ended "Velvet" #7 with the unforeseen twist of a bomb threat. Brubaker doesn't squander any of the energy of this cliffhanger in the first scene of "Velvet" #8, as he shows how Velvet gets into the building even while it's under lockdown. Just as Velvet relaxes, Brubaker ratchets up the suspense again when Sgt. Roberts calls her bluff.
This particular suspense trajectory is classic, most often used in television episodes as a teaser right before the opening theme rolls. While it's nothing new, it's very well-executed, especially since at this point the reader knows nothing about how Velvet set all this up, or why Roberts is onto her. Brubaker proceeds into flashback mode, giving the readers all of these answers in a satisfying way. All the puzzle pieces add up. Halfway through "Velvet" #8, the reader is back in the opening scene without a hitch in the transitions or the pacing. Brubaker's pacing is crisp and to the point. Epting's facial expressions give depth to Velvet's conversation with the Director, showing the regret and doubt underneath her upbeat and controlled demeanor.
While "Velvet" #7 was a great look into how two of the agents hunting Velvet thought of her and the whole situation, it's also a pleasure that Brubaker has switched back to Velvet's first person point of view. It's comforting to hear the wry humor in Velvet's voice again as she confides in the reader like a friend. As she deadpans, "bombs will make even an angry old man cooperative," it's hard not to laugh, especially since Epting has drawn the frowny-faced Director in the car alongside Velvet's voiceover.
As a protagonist, Velvet inspires trust. While the rest of the world doubts her loyalty, her innocence and her sanity, Brubaker gives the reader enough access to the character that there's little doubt in the reader's mind on those points, even though Brubaker holds back enough that the reader never knows exactly what Velvet's next move will be, until she puts her plans into action.
The last few issues have been moodier and slower as Brubaker fleshed out some of Velvet's past in multiple flashbacks while a detached cat-and-mouse chase played out in present time, so it's a good change that this issue is all action that leads somewhere, including some hand to hand combat. The central fight scene is a full four pages, but is tightly written and drawn. Epting's camera angles and reaction shots make the injuries count. While Sgt. Roberts and Velvet are both experienced agents, neither of them is young or super-powered, and Epting makes their physical vulnerability clear to the reader. When a gunshot is fired and when a blow lands on flesh, it feels harsh and dangerous, not only Velvet but for her opponent too.
Breitweiser's color work is subtle as usual. It's never distracting, and at the appropriate times, it reinforces and enhances the impact of Epting's art. She doesn't showboat, always keeping the look gray and quiet to fit the noir genre, but when she chooses to drop in some color, it's beautiful, like in the scene in the basement in which a spotlight casts overlapping prisms of peach and yellow light across the surface of a table and wall.
The final scene promises lots of juicy developments once Velvet's motorbike catches up with the car of the Cornwell Institute. The Mona Lisa smile of the unnamed former agent in the straitjacket is a wonderful bit of storytelling. With one facial expression, Brubaker and Epting indicate that despite what his guards think, he's neither crazy nor catatonic, and that he knows what Velvet's pursuit means. "Velvet" #8 is suspenseful from start to finish due to great creative teamwork between Brubaker's taut prose and plotting and Epting's dynamic and expressive artwork.

domain: literature


text:
Learn about our blood bank.
Blood Donor Requirements
Are you curious to know if your dog could be a hero? To be eligible for our donor program, the potential donor must be healthy and between the ages of 1 and 7. We are looking for dogs that are over 50 pounds, up to date on core vaccines, currently on heartworm and flea and tick preventatives (year-round), and well-mannered during vet visits.
Since a certain blood type is required to be a donor, the breeds we most commonly use for blood donations include German Shepherds, Boxers, Pit Bulls, Greyhounds, and some Mastiffs breeds, and any mixed breeds of the above.
Blood Donor Benefits
Our team offers many benefits to all of our active donors, including a free yearly heartworm test, CBCs (complete blood cell count), and well-pet exams. Our blood donors also receive a complementary nail trim on the day of donation. After the donation process, blood donors are presented with a bag of treats. Lastly and most importantly, you get to go home with your heroic dog knowing he or she saved a life.

domain: medical


text:
What is more fun than dressing up in an outlandish ensemble? Dressing in an outlandish ensemble with a character to match the outfit!
At last week’s Burning Man festival I went about my day with a character, complete with an English accent. With the help of my fellow camp mates, we decided on the name Cherry Poppins to go along with the red hair and sassy attitude.
I was so thrilled to finally have enough energy and fuel to go into the day. The whole week I had spent the days sleeping around camp wherever I could. This particular Burn was really hard on my body and energy levels. The first few days were spent acclimating to the harsh desert conditions and I wasn’t feeling well enough to spend a lot of energy getting all jazzed up during the days. By Thursday morning I was feeling well and ready to go out into the city as Cherry Poppins.
To top off the outfit I wore my incredible Burning Man medallion that I received as a gift at the 2011 Burn. This piece is absolutely stunning and is the greatest physical gift I’ve been given in my 4 years of participating in the festival. The pendant is double sided and on the other side, the Man stands in the center of the globe. A fantastic piece of jewelry indeed, and is adored by many. I feel so lucky to have been in the right place, at the right time… and had the right outfit on!!! (I was given this piece because the man loved my outfit.)


A supermarket in Sydney's north-west has given a new meaning to the term panic buying.
The appearance of a diamond python shocked shoppers at a Woolworths supermarket in Glenorie recently.
The snake found itself perched among the spice rack.
It is unclear how it got there in the first place.
The snake was eventually removed from the shelves by a snake catcher.
If you come across a snake, call a professional snake catcher to assist.


text:
HDQRS. THIRD Brigadier, FIRST DIV., NINTH ARMY CORPS,
October 29, 1864.
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report the operations of my command during the advance of the corps on the morning of the 27th instant: Struck camp at 3 a. m. and moved to the left by Squirrel Level road; passed beyond the picket-line and moved my command to the right of the road between the picket and vedette line. I ordered Major Doherty, with forty men from his regiment, to pass to the right and rear of the enemy's vedette post at the old rebel redoubt and capture the vedettes. He made the attempt but failed, owing to the premature discharge of a gun of one of his party, and he only succeeded in killing one man of the four stationed there. I immediately moved up the head of my column to the old redoubt and halted for General Hartranft to pass, when I followed, as directed by General Willcox. The First and Second Brigades having got into position, my command was placed in the second line to support General Hartranft and Lieutenant-Colonel Cutcheon. Remained in this position until about 5 p. m., when I was ordered to move one wing of my command to right and rear and support Roemer's battery, and move the other wing to the right to support General Ferrero's colored troops. About 12 m. 28th instant received orders to advance a picket-line and remain until the colored troops had withdrawn and uncovered my front, when I was to withdraw by the main road, the left of my skirmish line resting on the breast-works and the right connecting with General Hartranft. I then moved to the rear of the Smith house and went into line of battle; waited until the skirmishers were up, when I returned with my command to my old camp. My skirmishers arrived about twenty minutes after, without loss.
Appended please find list of casualties during the move: 1 enlisted man One hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteers killed; 1 enlisted man One hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteers wounded; 1 enlisted man Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers wounded; Lieutenant Stocking, One hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteers, wounded; Lieutenant Johnson, One hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteers, wounded.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
N. B. MCLAUGHLEN,
Colonel Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Vet. Vols., Commanding Third Brigadier
Captain JOHN D. BERTOLETTE,
Assistant Adjutant-General, First Division, Ninth Army Corps.
Numbers 205. Report of Bvt. Colonel Gilbert P. Robinson, Third Maryland Infantry, commanding Provisional Brigade, of operations December 8 - 14.
HDQRS. THIRD MARYLAND BATTLN. VET. VOL. INFANTRY,
Before Petersburg, Va., December 14, 1864.
SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the operations of the late Provisional Brigade, of which I assumed command December 9, 1864, in compliance with Special Orders, Numbers 115, headquarters First Division, Ninth Army Corps, dated December 9, 1864.
The brigade rendezvoused December 8, at 6 p. m., in the field designated, in rear of the line, and remained at that point, with orders "to be ready to move at a moment's notice," until the afternoon of December 10, at which time the brigade took the line of march along the Jerusalem plank road, in the direction of Hawkinsville, Va., located near the

domain: history


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La Tonnara Hotel
- Continental Breakfast
- Shuttle bus service
- Free High-Speed Internet
- Wheelchair accessibility
- Free parking
TripAdvisor Reviews La Tonnara Hotel Procida
Travel Blogs from Procida
... the company of good friends is truly living la dolce vita. At the table, we are nourished in body and spirit, and our soul is also healed in the midst of life's many challenges. Communion is more then just our Sunday Eucharist but extends to our daily nourishment at the table. A cappuccino at midnight is the extra bit of power and energy that pushes you through and revives your spirit, it is that continued conversation and communion with friends which heals the ...
... the medieval and sailor indicate "ground" the village or the city, almost as opposed outright to the sea. That the heart of the ancient city was right here, on this tufa rock with its 33 meters above sea level juts between the Gulf and Bay Nisida, had already been told by ancient authors, especially from the greek geographer Strabo , who lived in ' Age of Augustus, who in his "Geography" , after pointing out that Pozzuoli (or rather, as ...
... the 2 Sue's each found some goodies. We all then headed for the beach to find a restaurant for lunch and a glass of wine which included calamari, pizza and ravioli. Thinking we should do a bit more exercise to counteract the lunch we headed up the road to explore the other end of the road and to do a bit more shopping along the way. After a long walk up the road ...
... see a tunnel leading underneath the room, this was used by slaves to build fires underneath the floor. The final stop would be the fridgidarium, or the cold room, here the bather would take a plunge in a pool of cold water. The large atrium of the bath house is still covered in elaborate mosaic tiles, even 2000 years after it was built.
In Mark's Latin studies, he followed the story of Lucius Caecillius Iucundus, a powerful business ...
... in the Bath House. It was about this time we started trailing behind a group who had a guide. Unfortunately their guide was speaking Chinese so we didn’t know what they were saying but we could at least look at the same highlights of the ruins.
On our return from Pompeii we stopped for breakfast groceries in Minori, and because we were tired we bought some pizza opting for a relaxing evening in rather than venture out again. On the way ...

domain: geography


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Ghost hunts and zombie pub quizzes will form part of what Manchester Metropolitan University believes are groundbreaking efforts to target outreach at people with no prior connection to higher education.
According to Berthold Schoene, professor of English and director of Manchester Met’s Institute of Humanities and Social Science Research, universities’ public engagement efforts typically involve public lectures by visiting academics – “which are really for other academics”.
“That isn’t really outreach. The normal audience for this kind of thing would be the chattering classes. But we would like to reach others, particularly Neets [not in education, employment or training], who may then become interested in higher education,” he said.
To do so, the year-long Humanities in Public (Hip) programme, which launches this month, will push academics to meet the people halfway, Professor Schoene said.
“We have been thinking about what people already do in their spare time and how we could introduce higher education into those spaces,” he added.
The result is a series of off-campus activities such as city walks, pub quizzes and film screenings that Professor Schoene hopes will attract attendees to associated on-campus lectures, around which the university will attempt to create a “festival atmosphere” by framing them with performances by local dance and music groups.
Hip’s dozen or so themes, suggested by academics, include “contemporary Gothic”, “body images” and “21st century feminism”. The off-campus activities were devised by Helen Malarky, the institute’s recently recruited project manager and creative programme coordinator, a former administrator who is also doing a PhD in English.
“The problem with public engagement is that academics don’t have time to do things like that on top of everything else, so if universities want to take [outreach] seriously, they need to invest in additional posts. It has made a huge difference to what we do,” Professor Schoene said.
He predicted that many humanities and social science faculties would follow Manchester Met’s lead – not least to boost their income. Most events will be free, but Professor Schoene hopes that, if successful, the programme will attract significant commercial sponsorship.
“Other faculties are very good at [generating income from industry], but I don’t think the humanities can really do that. All they can do is more teaching. But I was keen to think of ways to make the most of the humanities identity. We are better at public engagement because the humanities are interesting and fascinating,” he said.
The “very positive feedback” Hip had already received indicated to him that the recent closure of many continuing education departments meant that “there are a lot of people out there desperate for some kind of intellectual, cultural stimulation”.
He admitted that most were middle class, but emphasised that they were welcome: “I am not telling the chattering classes not to come. That would be self-defeating. But hopefully there’ll be an interesting mix.”


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Male patients had a 38% lower risk of crashes when taking medication, researchers say
Female patients on medication had a 42% lower risk of crashes
Car accidents occur at dramatically lower rates among medicated ADHD patients in the United States than among those not taking medicine, according to a study of more than 2.3 million people published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.
Previous studies have documented a higher number of car accidents among people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The symptoms of ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, can include an inability to pay attention, impaired impulse control and hyperactivity, which is often expressed as excessive fidgeting, talking or tapping.
People with ADHD may have problems with one, some or all of the behaviors.
“Core symptoms of ADHD (e.g., inattention and impulsivity) may interfere with the competencies necessary to drive safely, predisposing those with the disorder to greater risk for accidents and injuries,” said Zheng Chang, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
People with ADHD who find it difficult to pay attention may be more prone to drive distracted, increasing their chances of a car crash.
Chang and his co-authors estimate that up to 22.1% of car crashes could have been avoided if the patients with ADHD had received medication.
“This is a prevalent and preventable cause of mortality and morbidity among patients with ADHD,” Chang wrote in an email, “and that is an important reason we investigated this issue.”
Driving: A complex task
Using health insurance claims for 2005 through 2014, Chang identified more than 2.3 million Americans over the age of 18 who had ADHD. Of them, 83.9% (more than 1.9 million) received at least one prescription for ADHD medication, and on average, they were about 32 years old.
Chang and his colleagues looked for emergency room visits resulting from car crashes in which these patients were driving during the same period. Then, the researchers compared the risk of a car crash during months when patients had filled a prescription for their ADHD medication with the risk during months when no prescription had been filled.
They found that 11,224 ADHD patients had visited an emergency room after a car accident.
To draw a comparison, the researchers looked at car crash data from a control group: age-matched and sex-matched people who had not been diagnosed with ADHD.
People with ADHD had a higher risk of car crashes than the control group, the researchers found.
Specifically, “male ADHD patients had a 38% lower risk of (motor vehicle crashes) when receiving ADHD medication compared to when not receiving medication, and female patients had a 42% lower risk of (motor vehicle crashes) when medicated,” Chang said.
The researchers acknowledge a few caveats: Their data include only emergency room visits, not fatal accidents or less severe accidents that don’t require medical services. The data include all car crashes, not just those caused by distracted driving; the percentage of total distracted driving accidents to which drivers with ADHD contributed has not been calculated. And finally, a filled prescription does not necessarily mean the medicine was taken.
Worldwide, car crashes claim about 1.25 million lives each year. In the United States, 32,744 people died on the road in 2015, and distracted driving accounted for 3,477 of those deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Stephen Hinshaw, an expert in the field of ADHD who was not involved in the new research, noted that a number of studies have revealed driving safety risks related to ADHD symptoms. In particular, he said, symptoms causing lapses in attention and rash judgments, whether due to hyperactivity or impulse control, have been implicated in unsafe driving behavior.
“This study–of a large population, is of major importance,” said Hinshaw in an email. “The results are compelling. Still, medication for ADHD does not constitute, in most cases, a complete ‘cure.’”
To gain competence as a driver would likely require combinations of medication with psychosocial treatments, such as behavior therapy, Hinshaw said.
According to Dr. Vishal Madaan and Daniel J. Cox, both of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia Health System, driving “represents a complex neurobehavioral task involving an interplay of cognitive, motor, perceptual and visuospatial skills.”
This task is not one that all people with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD, may fully master, they note in an editorial published alongside the study.
‘Practice is everything’
As patients reach adulthood, the natural course of ADHD is a decrease in hyperactivity but persistent inattention and impulsivity, according to Madaan and Cox. Doctors should keep this in mind when considering treatment options, they say, though health care professionals should also be aware that car crashes involving ADHD patients “often happen later in the evening when their medications may have worn off.”
“The study extends the literature by reporting that stimulant medication use is beneficial across the age span,” Madaan and Cox noted. “Given the reported findings, the unique data set and analyses in their study represent another endorsement of the use of ADHD medications for medication-responsive drivers.”
Christine A. Zalecki, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said ADHD medications – typically stimulants – increase the ability to focus and pay attention, so they “make sense” for driving.
Zalecki, who was not involved in the new study, noted that some drivers with ADHD are “more easily distracted by other people in the car, such as someone talking in the car,” she said. Another problem may be impulsivity.
“So whereas someone else might be able to inhibit grabbing their phone when it rings or answering a text, that might also be more difficult for someone with ADHD,” she said.
“As with any psychiatric disorder, there are going to be ranges of impairments, so there are big differences in just how distracted someone is versus not, just how impulsive someone is versus not,” Zalecki said.
In Zalecki’s own research – led by Hinshaw – no increased rate of car accidents could be found among young women diagnosed with ADHD, compared with women of the same age who did not have a diagnosis of ADHD.
Zalecki noted that her study is an anomaly, adding that “more often than not,” research supports the new study’s findings of increased car accident rates among ADHD patients.
“In general, the big finding that jumped out in our work with these girls over the years was that they were at greater risk for (cutting), suicidal ideation and suicide attempts,” Zalecki said. By comparison, the behavior of males with ADHD tends toward delinquency and antisocial behaviors and “similar, externalizing, acting-out kind of behaviors.”
When it comes to driving, Zalecki said, some ADHD patients try to minimize their difficulties by making a point of not having the radio on, asking others in the car not to talk to them or, simply, taking medicine.
However, she noted the potential for a “rebound effect” in which, as the stimulants wear off, the symptoms of ADHD can be greater than with no medication at all.
Join the conversation
Though medication could help with driving, some older ADHD patients may not want to take their pills, suggested Margaret Harper Sibley, an assistant professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Department at Florida International University.
Sibley, who was not involved in the study, said past research has highlighted a general trend among teens and young adults with a lifetime history of ADHD who do “not want to take medication once they reach a certain age because they don’t like the way it makes them feel.”
Hinshaw also noted that “beyond childhood, many individuals with ADHD question the need for medication… there’s often the sense that medication is either stigmatizing or stifling of one’s creativity or spontaneity.”
Still, not all people with ADHD have problems being careful drivers, Sibley said. “As the task of driving becomes more routine, it becomes less cognitively taxing and therefore ADHD symptoms would be likely to interfere less over time with experience,” she wrote in an email, adding that practice can help improve driving abilities.
In the end, Sibley believes that simple, practical efforts can make a difference for people with ADHD. “New drivers with ADHD should be encouraged to start practicing driving early and often under appropriate supervision so that the task becomes more routine and easier for them to navigate cognitively,” she said. “Practice is everything.”


Apple products are the one that creates a sensation in the market. The news of the latest gadget creates a wave of curiosity among the people who love this company and its products. The latest addition to the list of products offered by Apple has the newest member of their family named, HOMEPOD.
What Is HomePod?
The gadget that helps you to listen to music, movie, television series in a much better way. It enhances the voice quality and delivery of sounds is better than the normal speakers. The apple has come-up with the idea to sell the speakers in form of HomePod and they are having many nearby replacements all over the market. The things that can distinguish this product is the performance of the gadget. The expertise of the gadget to control the bass is one of its own kind. It can deliver the voice at high as 20mm.
The Prospective Features Of This Unleashed Gadget
The observation by the reviewers that can be seen all over the internet can be summarized below:
- HomePod is a smart speaker but is not as good as the other options available in the market. The product quality needs improvement.
- The sound of Siri is also awkward and not at all like the one which is produced by the iPhone.
- The price that is charged for the HomePod is way too much than the other near competitors are charging for providing alike technology.
- The sound quality is excellent and can impress the Apple customers to a great extent.
The procedure that is used to start-up the HomePod is unique as it senses the sound walls of the room in which the music is to be played. The smart speaker is a great attempt by the technicians but they fail to add the uniqueness expected form the company with their latest launch. It is a good product but not the best one. The company has targeted to reach their customer by offering every kind of gadget from smartphone to smartwatch and now the smart speakers.


State Park Designated As A National Wild & Scenic River
(Detail Below Photos)
The 2,072-acre White Clay Creek Preserve is in southern Chester County, three miles north of Newark, Delaware. The White Clay Creek Valley, which forms the core of the preserve, varies from steep to gradually falling terrain with some flat bottomlands, all drained by the creek. White Clay Creek Preserve shares boundary with White Clay Creek State Park of Delaware. Because White Clay Creek posses outstanding scenic, wildlife, recreational, and cultural value, it has been designated by Congress as a National Wild and Scenic River.
Find More Philadelphia Area


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|インターフェイス||低||解決済み||修正済み||2016-02-02 03:17||2016-02-26 16:58|
|詳 細||Not sure when this bug was introduced but it was in one of the more recent versions since I never used to have this issue before.|
If I map the SHIFT key to the Pause function in MAME, I can pause MAME, but I can't unpause. The issue happens whether the left or right Shift key is mapped to Pause.
Pretty sure this has to do with the Increment Frame function in MAME which is Shift + Pause, and I'm not sure when that was introduced, or if the issue started when that was introduced. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to disable or remap the Increment Frame function.
So you may ask, why map SHIFT to Pause? On my arcade cabinet with DreamAuthentics Ultra Quad console, the Pause button is an ideal button to access the "Shifted" functions of the buttons on the Ultimarc i-PAC controller. I have "Escape" mapped as a shifted button on the Player 1 Start button (which is beside the Pause button), so that pressing a combination of Pause + Player 1 Start exits MAME and other emulators. This prevents accidentally exiting an emulator with a single button press when you are quickly mashing buttons to insert coins or pressing Player 1 Start to re-join a game after dying.
|再現手順||1) Map left or right Shift key to the Pause function|
2) Start any game
3) Pause the game using Shift
4) Attempt to unpause the game using Shift.
The game will not unpause.

domain: hobby


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Drought cuts Greater Santo Domingo’s water supply 20%
Santo Domingo.- Santo Domingo water utility (CAASD) director Alejandro Montás on Wednesday called the aqueducts’ piped water production "alarming, disturbing and extreme" as result of the drought, and announced 20% lower supply to more than 40 sectors of Greater Santo Domingo.
The official, who visited the Haina-Manoguayabo, Duey and Isa-Mana aqueducts, said he found low levels of water.
He said the rains early Wednesday increased the supply from 320 to 342 million gallons per day, but is still 58 million fewer gallons per day. "The intake at Duey and the behavior of the others force us to take extreme measures during this week and next, to rationalize drinking water and increase the number of tanker trucks to help the population."


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On September 18th, 1944, day two of Operation Market Garden, a thunder in the sky alarmed the Dutch town of Heinkenszand. The citizens ran outside their homes, to see a burning bomber flying toward them and parachutes floating down. The American B-24 Liberator skimmed over the buildings and crashed in a polder. Two airmen lost their lives, German soldiers arrested six, and two mangaged to escape. Local resistance fighters came to the aid of the escaped airmen. This book, written by a grandson of one of the resistance fighters, describes the missions of the crew, the circumstances of the fatal crash and the grim faith of these airmen. This is also the story of the local resistance group that helped the two evaders to hide. We follow the trail of arrested radio operator Elton Southwell, as he takes us on a horrific journey through army bases and concentration camps to a final, cruel welcome at a Polish POW camp. He tells how he barely survived the infamous Black March and escaped from the German guards.
“A well made reconstruction, richly provided with photos.” NBD Biblion


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"With the vocals of Rob Halford and the moves of Freddy Mercury, I was transfixed... Hell’s Gazelles emerged as a veritable powerhouse and gave an outstanding, tight, kickass performance."- Manchester Rocks (live review)
"Hell's Gazelles and their energetic frontman, Cole Bryant, really rocked the room. He’s like an energiser bunny and just keeps going whilst keeping the melody and hardness in the vocal without wavering. Smashing the riffs and blasting the eardrums with cracking skin smashing, it was a strong set. A GREAT band." - Down The Front Media (live review)
"Phenomenally energetic and diverse Hard Rock... If these guys are the future of Rock, then Rock has a dazzlingly bright future ahead as Hell’s Gazelles are a sight to behold." - AC Rock Reviews (live review)
"Stage presence, charisma, good songs, great riffs, quality musicianship. Many upcoming young bands have some of these elements. Few have them all. But Hell’s Gazelles had absolutely everything – in spades." - Get Ready To Rock (live review)
"This is a rather wonderful first release by a young band who manage to take an old genre and make it fresh and alive again." - Planet Mosh
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HELL'S GAZELLES NEW EP 'TAKE YOUR MEDICINE' RELEASED 27TH JULY 2018.
Live dates confirmed!
UK hard rock four piece Hell's Gazelles deliver on the promise shown on their self titled debut and are preparing to release their brand new ep 'Take Your Medicine' this July.
Recorded and produced by Chris D'Adda (Wayward Sons, Toseland) at Vale Studios and mixed / mastered by Neil Kennedy(Creeper, Milk Teeth) at The Ranch Production House, 'Take Your Medicine' features five high-energy slabs of modern hard rock goodness tinged with metal influences! Hell's Gazelles have been making a name for themselves on the live circuit supporting the likes of Black Moth, The Treatment plus playing Bloodstock Open Air, HRH Roadtrip and more with their own brand of big hooks, bulldozer riffs and soaring vocal acrobatics courtesy of enigmatic frontman Cole Bryant. The new five track offering is set to heighten this young band's profile and strengthen them as a British rock group to must see!
Hailing from Oxford, ("It's more than just a university city; musically it has an extremely varied scene, with Rockers, Punks, Metalheads and even Blues fans all making up a rich and diverse undercurrent of alternative music", says frontman Bryant), Hell's Gazelles sonic delivery on the new ep will satisfy fans of classic rock/metal music with an edge , whilst the band hungrily continue to evolve.
"As musicians we made a point to embrace our modern heroes, not just those of days past, and we think the new ep is better for it. It all boils down to one simple thing: we're always looking at how we can craft the best songs possible. With 'Take You're Medicine' we’ve lost nothing in the transition since the release of our debut, we're four guys who love Rock music and are always looking to invite mass hysteria whether possible. Come join us!" - Hell's Gazelles.
To celebrate the EP launch Hell's Gazelles will play a special hometown show at The Bullingdon, Oxford on Friday 20th July. Herman Terrance Aubrey Boyce (better known as 'Boycie' from popular classic sitcom 'Only Fools And Horses', played by actor John Challis) had this to say about the event and new ep: https://youtu.be/U4hHLAryMUw
Frontman Cole Bryant talks about the new songs on the ep: "Much of the record deals with mental health, faith, faithlessness, and disillusionment, both in politics, and in our own personal experience of life. A lot of people feel disillusioned right now, I wanted to tap into that. With almost any Hell’s Gazelles lyric I’m generally making at least two points at the same time, so you have to read between the lines."
Encapsulating the energised, thought provoking and wild delivery of 'Take Your Medicine'; the EP artwork (by Very Metal Art) features the maniacal scientist 'Dr. Strangechild'.
Hell's Gazelles new ep 'Take Your Medicine' is out 27th July 2018.
Hell's Gazelles live:
19 May - ROYSTON, Melbourn Rock Club
26 May - LECHLADE, Music Festival
7 Jul - SWANSEA, Seven Sins Festival (w/ SKAM, Those Damn Crows and more)
8 July - QUARRYDOWNS, Amplified Festival (w/ Therapy, Xentrix and more) 20th July - OXFORD, The Bullingdon (EP launch show)


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By Gillian Clark
Meet PJ in Foreverland:
A land where he can talk about being 15, hitting the vape and smoking j’s, and watching mermaid porn with his bros. It is also a place where he can seek approval for his darkest secrets, like leaving 14 year old Wendy after getting her pregnant.
Meet Wendy in Neverland:
It is here that she talks about getting her ears pierced, getting drunk at field parties, and wanting to feel desired. Neverland is also the place she goes to attempt to make sense of the reality of her choices, like deciding whether or not to keep the baby.
Adventures follows the intertwining stories of PJ and Wendy as they navigate an unplanned pregnancy and a new relationship. A mash-up of sorts of A.A. Milne, J.M. Barrie and Youtube stick ‘n poke tutorials, Gillian Clark’s newest piece explores youth, ephemerality, and goodbyes. Currently being developed with Outside the March and Tarragon’s Playwright’s Unit, the play had its first work-in-progress readings in Toronto (Tarragon) and Halifax (Eastern Front) in May 2017.