#National Farm Machinery Show

[incorrect-mtg]

The Warlord and the Artificer

There's a saying among the Keldon, that a friendship is only true when it is forged in the fires of battle.

Radha would argue that Venser was never a warrior, so his contributions in battle were laughable, but saving the multiverse together should count for something.

That is why when he arrives severely injured on Keld, almost a decade after the mending, she orders her people to take care of him as they would herself, clearing a room for him to use and affording him the best healers Keld and Skyshroud could provide.

It takes him 3 days to heal enough for a coherent conversation, which is good enough for her to demand an explanation of what happened to him and what led him to Keld in the first place. The answer involved places and people she didn't know — from another plane entirely — but boiled down to Venser being unprepared for an ambush and almost getting himself killed, then not knowing where to go for help.

"So" she says, when he's done "your best plan was to seek charity from Keldons?"

"Well, it was more seeking charity from a friend, but yes" is his reply

Her answer is to snort and roll her eyes, before leaving the artificer to finish healing. Unlike him, she has a nation to wrangle together.

When he fully recovers days later, she does make sure to tell him he can come back, if he gets himself almost killed again in the future. Venser apparently takes that as a general invitation, showing up every few months to supposedly recover from his planeswalking mishaps or the miasmic atmosphere of his workshop in Urborg.

At some point the room he had first stayed him becomes HIS room, filled with random trinkets.

His stays are always short: it hadn't taken them long to realize that, no matter how much respect they might have held for one another, their personalities were just incompatible enough that they would inevitably find the other grating when interacting for long enough. Usually this would end with her calling him some variation of a "machine-obsessed coward" or him calling her a "battle-obsessed brute" and things descending into almost (or sometimes actual) violence.

So Venser would come, they annoy each other, he'd go away, rinse and repeat. One would think the constant annoyance would lead to her kicking him out for good. And yet…

One thing she is sorely lacking in her quest to rebuild her home is perspective. There is wisdom in both Keld and Skyshroud, but not the kind she needs to build a nation. Venser is the type of man who might not know everything, but who will voluntarily think and research in a way that would have her wanting to punch down a wall. Moreover, he's from Urborg, a place where people make a life out of scraps and gumption, exactly what Keld needs.

For his part, Venser seems happy to share all he knows freely, be it obtained in his workshop or on any of the many planes he keeps visiting and bringing back souvenirs from to decorate his room. As the years pass he even decides to teach her people directly, showing them how to build machines for farming and manufacturing and put to use the many scraps of phyrexian machinery that litter the land. It is the kind of knowledge that can truly change their lives, that means less people go hungry in winter, if any at all.

As for how she repays him, well…

"Training for the newest recruits will start tomorrow," she tells him one day "you should join in. My healers are tired of patching you up from your interplanar adventures."

"You want me to train… With a bunch of hotheaded Keldon kids" is his incredulous reply "You do see the problem in that, right? At best they'll laugh at me."

"You're a foreigner, they'll assume your lack of training is due to that. Also you don't look much olderthan them, which I've been meaning to ask about. What's up with that?"

"Exposure to the time rifts?" he says, shrugging. Her guess is as good as his, but it is undeniable that something is up with his aging. She is a a half-elf keldon and yet Venser doesn't look any older than her, despite the fact he should look like the human adult he actually is.

Regardless, she won't take no for an answer and the next few months see him going through all of the battle training anyone she calls a friend should have. The fact that the number of times he arrives in Keld injured drastically decreases afterwards only serve to validate her.

Things settle into a routine afterwards with her consolidating her position as "de facto" ruler of Keld ("maybe if I can sit you down long enough to write a proper legal code you can be de jure as well!") and gradually unmaking and remaking centuries of Keldon traditions into something new with Venser's help and constant planeswalking anecdotes ("Youd love Zendikar. Its like if a plane had your temperament"). Sure, they're a weird pair of friends, the keldon warlord and the ageless artificer. But she appreciates his wisdom and he's probably annoyed everyone else who'd listen to his tales.

Then one day he arrives from Urborg with a look on his face she knows means he either has a genius idea or a stupid one. The kind of look that means he's better left alone until he's thought his way through it and either decided on something or came to her for her perspective.

"Do you ever think about Karn?" he asks her, a day after arriving. "how he told us not follow him, all those years ago?"

"Not really" is her reply "I couldn't follow him even if I wanted to, why would I care?"

"But don't you ever wonder where he went? If he's still alive, even?"

She shrugs "He told us not to follow him. If he wanted help, he'd have asked for it."

"But what if he needed help? Or got himself into something he couldn't deal with?"

"Then that's on him, Venser" she says, the topic already irritating her "If I went out and told my people to not follow me, it means I don't want help. If I got myself killed that's on me, but if someone went after me when I told them not to I'd rip them a new one! Now, why are you thinking about this? We haven't thought about Karn in decades, what brought this on?"

He's quiet for a moment, before sighing and finally explaining "Some planeswalkers found me in my workshop. They want me to go with them to Mirrodin- that's Karn's plane" he explains when she gives him a questioning look "apparently it's been taken over by Phyrexians. I assume that's why Karn was so alarmed in the first place."

There's only thing to say to apossible return of Phyrexia.

"Shit."

"Yeah… They think I can help, somehow, and I got the impressioneither I go with them or get very far away to shake them off."

"Huh… Ok. So, you going?"

"Wha- Radha, if they're right, this would be like planeswalking directly to phyrexia! It would be suicide!"

"Maybe. Would be dangerous for sure. So, you're not going?"

"I don't know! If they're right, then Karn might have been caught by them. He might be dead" he says, now rubbing his temples "or he might need help, and nobody knows."

"Look, this is going nowhere" she says, thinking she might soon get a headache of her own "so Karn might be in trouble. Or maybe he's dead. You want to go and check. So go, what's the issue?"

"It's not that simple, Radha!" He replies, almost shouting.

"Yes. It. Is. What's so complex about it?!" she answers in kind.

"Not everyone is a suicidal keldon! I. Could. Die! Probably will, if I go!"

"Then make sure to die gloriously while taking down a legion of phyrexian horrors, Venser! If you want to do something, do it. If there are consequences, face them. If there's a cost, pay it. That's all there is to it. If you think Karn might need help, then sitting here complaining about it won't save him. If you think he's dead, either let it go or avenge him. End of story!"

As she ends her impromptu speech, she sees he's barely containing his anger. Good, if he punches first she might as well knock some sense into his stubborn head.

"Fine!" he finally replies "I'm going. If I come back I'll make sure to bring you the head of a negator or something. If I don't, get your bards to write a song about how I died gloriously against the ultimate enemy or whatever!" And then he's gone, planeswalking away in an instant.

It's the last time Radha sees him alive.

Radha doesn't have time to wonder about his whereabouts in the years that follow. Be it her ongoing duties as warlord or the resurgence or the Cabal, there is never a time to relax, to focus on the past. Not when people are counting on her.

Keldons learn not to mourn the ships that leave port never to return.

She does wish he would come back, of course. Particularly when she's foolishly captured by the Cabal herself. If he knew he'd probably plan some elaborate rescue just to laugh at her for getting caught in the first place.

When she is actually rescued by the Gatewatch, when she sees Karn among them, she lets herself hope just a bit. When all is done and Belzenlok is defeated and the Gatewatch leaves to handle Nicol Bolas of all things, she asks the golem about Venser.

Coming back to Keld, she takes the time for a funeral, even if there's no corpse. He might not have been born keldon, but he lived among them long enough to count, and what is more keldon than dying against the greatest of all enemies, making sure they lose their prize?

At least he was considerate enough to leave some phyrexians for her. The second phyrexian invasion comes with a wave of sleeper agents and whole new mechanical horrors, and apparently they dedicate a significant portion of their forces just for Keld. She'd be flattered if she wasn't busy unearthing sleeper agents and tearing apart ground soldiers. It takes her people weeks to find their footing and finally clear out the core of Keld and Skyshroud, which is when the enemy deploys their omenpaths, each spewing wholes armies of new enemies.

Leading them is a familiar face, if covered by layers of phyrexian butchery. Most of his body is gone, surrounded by a floating shell whose tendrils move every which way. Even as it appears to send out orders to its soldiers, the face at the center barely moves, like it is nothing more than a blank mask or decoration.

She has seen far too many familiar faces put to use by phyrexia. Their sleeper agents had sunk deep in Keld before they'd even realized something was wrong. She knows what phyrexian deception looks like.

This isn't deception. This is mockery.

Keldons do not take kindly to mockery.

The cold anger she had been holding onto since the beginning of the invasion heats up into an inferno but, for once, she does not let it down immediately. She's smarter than that: Phyrexia had fought them tooth and nail, but this is not a battle of attrition, it's an overwhelming show of force. A final act to break her and her people, in body and spirit. So she needs to throw all she has back at them.

Rather than roaring at the sky above, she closes her eyes, reaching back to the oldest lessons she had been given. The knowledge of the elves of Skyshroud, of reaching out to nature itself. She calls for the anger in Keld's mountains, and the indignation in Skyshroud's forests. Draws the mana from the leylines themselves to her. It is crude and painful, but good enough for what she needs.

When she finally lets out a war cry, it is with the power of all the earth under her feet. The mana shining so bright it is almost blinding as it spreads from her to each person standing beside her, then everyone already fighting then every non-phyrexian she can reach. As one, they charge.

And at last the phyrexians learn fear.

[beardedmrbean]

Three Mexican suspects were arrested with two South Africans when elite police units raided a multimillion-dollar crystal meth lab hidden in a remote farm north of Johannesburg, police said Tuesday.

The owner of the farm near Groblersdal, about 125 miles from Johannesburg, was among four men arrested on Friday, police said.

A third Mexican was picked up on Monday, the spokeswoman for the elite Hawks unit told AFP.

"The drugs were obviously intended for local and international sale," Brigadier Thandi Mbambo told AFP, adding that the manufacturing facility was operating "at a large scale."

Authorities also seized large quantities of chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs, including crystal meth and acetone, valued at around two billion rands (more than $100 million), police said.

The Hawks and other specialized units raided the farm in the Limpopo province after a tip-off of suspicious activity there. Police photographs showed the operation was fairly sophisticated and included large machinery.

So far this year, the Hawks have uncovered ten 10 clandestine drug laboratories and made 34 arrests, police said in a statement.

South Africa is a major consumer of meth and the market is growing in neighboring countries and elsewhere in the region, according to a 2021 report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

"The consumer base for meth in South Africa appears to be significantly greater than initially imagined, marking it potentially among the largest meth consumer markets in the world," the report says.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2023 report that South Africa is an appealing hub for illicit drugs destined for other countries.

"South Africa's geography, porous borders and international trade links with Asia, Latin America, Western Europe and North America have made it an attractive drug transit country," the report says

The country's ports are believed to regularly receive containers of cocaine that are in transit and do not even land ashore, the drugs agency said.

The crystal meth bust in South Africa comes about two months after police in Spain said they had seized 1.8 tons of crystal meth that Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell in Europe, the country's "biggest-ever seizure" of the narcotic.

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

Israel's Good News Newsletter to 17th Dec 23

In the 17th Dec 23 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Two emotional family reunions during the war.

Two breakthroughs that help us understand how our brains work.

The world’s first approved laser cure for glaucoma.

Two typical examples of the IDF showing compassion, even in war.

Israelis are making the world’s most powerful telescope and miniature cameras.

Two private initiatives to regenerate Gaza border agricultural communities.

A national Torah scroll is being written to immortalize victims of Oct 7.

So many positive news articles last week focused on regenerating life for individuals, communities and in other areas. Medical regeneration involved rehabilitating wounded IDF personnel; reuniting separated families; two Israeli therapies for regenerating the lives of traumatized children, and another that generates companionship for the elderly. Israelis are able to generate thousands of clinical trial simulations, regenerate eye functionality in glaucoma patients, and can show how dormant bacteria regenerates. An Israeli female Israeli professor is responsible for generating three startups including one that regenerates spinal cords. And an Israeli IDF reservist donated her bone marrow to regenerate a patient's immune system. Read about the The volunteers and organizations that have been regenerating neglected farms in Israel's south; and the food rescue startup that has been regenerated after shutdown during the Covid pandemic.  Israel is 3rd in the world for Generative AI startups (see newsletter for details) and one startup even generates responses to hate speech.  Other Israeli startups regenerate machinery at risk of breaking down and recharge electric buses wirelessly. Many startups have relocated to safer areas in Israel and begun regenerating their businesses with increased productivity.  Finally, a combined religious and secular project to write Torah scrolls is regenerating the spiritual unity of the Jewish State. The photo is of Hanukkah celebrations in Herzliya, which regenerated a much needed happy diversion among children and adults alike.

[pb-dot]

WIP Wednesday: The Coal Wars Pt. 1

Good WIP Wednesday to all. Today I plan to talk a bit about an important bit of lore from the setting of The Clockwork Boy. I generally don't talk much about worldbuilding for my writing unless prompted because it's not something I spend a lot of time on by itself. I'm usually more comfortable with having whatever happened to make the world and the characters the way that they are be explained together with the plot or the characters themselves.

This one bit though is quite pivotal to explain the status quo of the setting, which I will admit is rather unusual. Hopefully the thing will be fine and comprehensible when reading the whole thing, but for my out of context pals here on tumblr dot com, it may be useful to have some info about The Coal Wars.

Note: This turned out considerably longer than I had thought it would, so I won't even get around to the part that's the most relevant for our story this time around. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this particular bit next week!

The city in which our story takes place used to be part of The Imelian Empire, an expansive maritime empire headed by a hereditary bloodline of emperors and empresses, although it was more uncles and third cousins once removed carrying the line as of late as a problem with infertility had plagued the dynasty for some time.

The City was known as Imil in those days, and as the capital of the imperial core regions, it was in many ways the grandest city mankind had ever seen. At the start of what would be the nation's steam era, industry flourished thanks to bountiful ore and coal deposits in the hills and mountains in the north, while the bountiful plains between the city and the sea fed the city's explosively expanding population.

The invention of steam-powered machinery made the then-Kingdom of Imelia enter what could be constituted a golden age, as the increased efficiency of industry freed up sufficient manpower that Imelia was able to wrest much-contested land along its borders away from its neighbors. By the time those neighbors had become part of Imelia proper, the nation was a kingdom no longer but had proudly proclaimed itself as The Imelian Empire. Satirists of the time liked to make hay about how this was because "there was hardly a drop of kingly blood left in our so-called royals" due to a string of rather opaque successions, but the line of Emperors and Empresses nonetheless enjoyed wide popular support in the imperial core all the same.

The source of Imelia's power as an empire was its breadth of steampowered technology that facilitated production and logistic on a level hitherto thought impossible. Fast, durable ships allowed the empire to subjugate and keep tabs on smaller nations across the vast seas, as well as shipping the riches of the imperial periphery back to the core with unmatched efficiency.

The Coal Wars, one could argue, started long before any military conflict. If one were to define the start of a war as the point at which it became an inevitability rather than a possibility, the Coal Wars started once the last coal mine in the Imelian hills was closed due to a tunnel collapse in the last yielding tunnel making retrieving what little coal unprofitable. In the public eye, this piece of news registered as little less than a curious piece of trivia, as the vast coal mines of Pelia, the empire's biggest colony had outproduced Imlish mines for about a decade and showed no sign of slowing down.

In the halls of government, though, worry was brewing as Imelian reliance on colonial goods and resources was already at worrying levels as industrial pollution had rendered many farms and logging operations in the imperial core unviable. To further add to these anxieties, the political landscape in Pelia had grown unstable as the sheer number of native-born Pelians in the colony made whispers of emancipation all but inevitable.

Fearing the loss of Pelian coal functionally crippling the empire, Imelia cracked down hard on the Pelian Independence Movement. Unfortunately, this had the effect of further radicalizing the group, leading to an armed mob delivering an ultimatum to then-viceroy Aron Loams demanding a formal declaration of self-emancipation. Loams complied, giving him the sobriquet of "The Traitor Viceroy" in Imelian media and culture.

Voices in the Imelian government called for a swift and immediate war to chastise the wayward colony, but one very notable voice opposed this. Empress Laiane of Imelia had seen her power wane in favor of the Imperial Council over the last decades, but a firm no from her was still enough to silence the voices of all but the most insistent Warhawks. The empress's solution was to send an elite squad from the 3rd Imelian Steampowered Brigade to apprehend Loams for treason and install a loyal viceroy.

Unfortunately, it matters little whether the empress wished to avoid war for ideological or practical reasons, as her actions hastened war all the same. The attempted apprehending of Loams was thwarted by loyalist forces who drove out the Imelian invaders in the first military action of the cascade of wars that were to be named The Coal Wars. In the heat of the fight, Loams and his wife were both killed, but this cold comfort turned out to be anything but.

In their efforts to removing Loams from power, the Imelians had made him into a martyr, and their attempt at installing a loyal viceroy had failed. The people of Pelia, on the urging of the independence faction, elected its first government, whose platform, nicknamed "The Loams Plan," called for mobilization and a sustained war against their former imperial masters.

This, alone, would prove a sizable headache for Imelia as the rocky coasts and well-guarded harbors of Pelia were a tough nut to crack even under ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, Pelia was not the only colony to rise up. Emboldened by the relative weakness of Imelia and the apparent success of Pelian independence, several of Imelia's smaller and less powerful colonies also seized upon the chance. Not all demanded independence, but the vast majority sent either demands for freedom or strongly worded suggestions for more favorable trade and taxation.

Driven into a fervor by their own war propaganda, the Imelian Imperial council formulated a plan to send its armies on a world tour of subjugation, using apropriated resources from the defeated colonies to reinforce supplies, while Imelia's superior navies would blockade Pelia to "soften them up" for a large-scale invasion.

Fortunately for Imelia's former colonies, this plan did not work as intended, as the technologically superior Imelian troops found themselves stuck in quagmire after quagmire as resistance in even minor colonies turned out difficult to entirely uproot thanks to an emphasis on guerilla tactics and exploiting Imelia's poor standing among colonists to sabotage supply lines. Several of the intended "easy targets" dragged on for so long that even the more prosperous colonies ended up as net losses for the invaders.

Growing frustration with the lack of clear victories was only compounded by the news that the Pelian blockade had very little impact on both morale and logistics of the young nation. Granted, there was not a force in the world that could break the blockade by the top-of-the-line Imelian navy, but Pelia had produced more than it used for decades, and the lack of certain Imelian luxuries did little to dampen the fervor of the Pelian people.

As Imelian coal reserves grew perilously low and the smoke of charcoal burners contributed to Imils already considerable smog problems, the decision to invade Pelia despite both logistical and strategic challenges came up in the Imelian Council. Unlike the last time the topic of war with Pelia came up, no strong voices rose to oppose the motion.

During the prosecution of the war, Empress Laiane had died without an heir, which left the Council as an interim ruling body until a sufficiently relevant member of her dynasty could be located. As the Council called for a full-scale invasion of Pelia, it was with a cold certainty that the age of Emperors and Empresses in Imelia was over.

Tune in next time for the conclusion to the story of The Coal Wars where we cover the rise of capital and the fall of a once great empire, as well as get around to connecting this whole sordid tale to the status quo of The Clockwork Boy

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[scotianostra]

On April 21st 1838, John Muir, the Scottish-born American naturalist, was born.

Muir is known as John of the Mountains and the Father of America’s national park, as well as patron “saint" of the American wilderness, he was born in Dunbar in East Lothian and emigrated when he was around 11 years old in 1849. The third of eight children Muir recalled in The Story of My Boyhood and Youth that his father was religious and extremely strict, keeping his children in line with frequent whippings.

The settled on farmland near Portage, Wisconsin. Muir’s father worked him hard on the farm and would not allow him to waste daylight hours on reading. Muir asked for and received permission to rise early in order to study.

We know a bit about Muir and his work with the American National Parks but dd you know he was also a bit of an inventor? He invented an “early-rising machine” that dumped him out of bed at one o'clock each morning so that he could read. In 1860 he displayed this and other inventions at the Wisconsin State Fair.

The pic shows the contraptions consisting of a clockwork desk attached directly to a collapsing bed. Built out of wood, it gently but firmly slid the sleeping Muir to the floor, while also lighting a lamp.

Once launched, the clock then graciously allotted Muir a few minutes to get dressed before it quickly began ejecting and retracting his books based on a pre-set time schedule the inventor had assigned to each topic: Latin, Greek, mathematics, botany, chemistry and geology. Muir described it as such,

“I still indulged my love of mechanical inventions. I invented a desk in which the books I had to study were arrange in order at the beginning of each term. I also invented a bed which set me on my feet every morning at the hour determined on, and in dark winter mornings just as the bed set me on the floor it lighted a lamp. Then, after the minutes allowed for dressing had elapsed, a click was heard and the first book to be studied was pushed up from a rack below the top of the desk, thrown open, and allowed to remain there the number of minutes required. Then the machinery closed the book and allowed it to drop back into its stall, the moved the rack forward and threw up the next in order, and so on, all the day being divided according to the times of recitation, and time required and allotted to each study”

More about Muir and his inventions here https://makezine.com/2012/03/27/john-muirs-maker-days/

[blahblahblaw18]

Grammar of Anarchy in Modern India

“...it is quite possible in a country like India – where democracy from its long disuse must be regarded as something quite new – there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. It is quite possible for this newborn democracy to retain its form but give place to dictatorship in fact.�� These lines are excerpted from Dr Ambedkar’s famous speech “The Grammar of Anarchy”, delivered on November 25th 1949, the eve of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. In this address, Babasaheb defined the difference between a real democracy and a facile one and laid down certain principles that he expected the future generations to adhere to, if they wished for the Indian constitutional democracy to coincide in form and in fact.

It was indeed amid much pomp and publicity that in 2015, the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, the current government decided to attest the tag of National Constitution Day to November 26th. It was just one of the many ways in which governments, over the years, have tried to appropriate the idea of Ambedkar for their vested interests without giving any thought to his ideals. Seen in this context, it becomes important to analyse whether today’s democratic India has lived up to the expectations of the architect of its constitution.

The first principle that Ambedkar mentioned in his speech was that in a real democracy, progress should be brought about only through constitutional methods. He sought an end to methods of Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience which, unless restricted, could paralyze development and saw protests as a symbol of facile democracies. Today’s India is far from realising that goal. We are a country that protests at the drop of a hat. However, more often than not, these protests, far from stifling development, have been used to coerce those in power to take the right step. Be it the 2011 anti-corruption dharnas pushing for passage of appropriate legislations or the CAA-NRC protests or the more recent anti-farm law sit-ins appealing for retraction of unpopular legislations, agitations against the ruling dispensations have been the guiding light of our democracy, seeking adherence to the constitution. So does this mean Ambedkar was wrong in his assessment of protests? No. In his speech, Babasaheb, while advocating for an end to unconstitutional protests, specifically spelled out that when there is no possibility of achieving change through constitutional means, resorting to unconstitutional methods was the only way forward. When constitutionally elected governments show apathy towards the needs or worse, go against the wishes of the very people who put them in power and constitutionally established courts and politically established opposition also leave people in the lurch, the only recourse left for the people is to mobilise and swerve those in power in the right direction. Thus, the very fact that today mass mobilisations and protests are needed to exhort governments to do what they’re elected to do, points towards the disuse and misuse of constitutional machinery.

His second prescription of eschewing the deification of leaders, is perhaps also the most pertinent advice in contemporary times. Today we have downgraded ourselves into a nation of hero-worshipping fanatics, divinizing our political leaders to the point where we fail to accept that they can ever err and ignore them when they actually do so. Living in times when being anti-Modi is routinely equated to being anti-India, Babasaheb’s warning that in politics Bhakti is a sure road to eventual dictatorship rings truer than ever.

Finally, Ambedkar in his speech, recommends us to evolve into a social democracy i.e., we mustn’t be content with the mere political sanction of liberty, equality and fraternity, but should strive to make these ideals, a way of life. Acknowledging the chasm between ‘constitutional guarantees’ and ‘social realities’, Babasaheb had famously remarked that India would, on January 26th 1950, enter into a life of contradictions where political equality would stand in contrast with socioeconomic inequalities. In calling for a social democracy, it was this gap that he sought to bridge. However, it is the sad reality of our times that, even in this aspect we have failed him. 70 more 26th Januarys have passed since that observation was made and still, we find ourselves stuck in the same quagmire. Obdurate lines of caste, class and religious inequalities have been redrawn by politically motivated leaders who find benefit in refusing to let these lines fade; Sectarian affiliations continue to override national unity, crumpling up the ideal of fraternity. And liberty, attacked by both state and non-state actors, has become a mere chimaera.

Thus, our country’s current socio-political standing is far from what the creator of our constitution had hoped it would be. It’s indeed impossible for a country as vast and diverse as ours to embody an ideal democracy, but that shouldn’t mean that we retrograde into becoming a facile democracy. Superficially celebrating the Constitution Day or Mahaparinirvan Diwas will only amount to lip service unless we reinstate adherence to these principles which add life into the soul of India’s democracy, principles prescribed by the father of the constitution himself and principles which will otherwise end up being mere quixotic embellishments for a bleak reality.

[swldx]

BBC 0507 2 Nov 2024

9410Khz 0458 2 NOV 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from ASCENSION ISLAND. SINPO = 45333. English, s/on @0458z with Bowbells int. fb ID, pips and Newsroom preview. @0501z World News anchored by Chris Berrow. § Donald Trump has suggested that one of his most vocal Republican critics Liz Cheney would not be a "radical war hawk" if she was in a war herself and had guns "trained on her face". Kamala Harris slammed Trump's remarks as "disqualifying" while speaking to reporters on a tarmac in Wisconsin on Friday. “Trump is increasingly, however, someone who considers his political opponents the enemy, is permanently out for revenge, and is increasingly unstable and unhinged,” she said. "Liz Cheney is a tough person, she is an incredible American and I have an incredible amount of respect for her." § Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says a widely circulating online video that questions the validity of Georgia’s voting security measures is “targeted disinformation” likely created by Russian troll farms. The clip shows a man who claims to be a Haitian immigrant who has voted multiple times using fake Georgia IDs. The video has garnered over half a million views, causing outrage and confusion among voters both in and outside of the state. “We are working to combat this and identify the origin of it with our state and federal partners. [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] is currently investigating,” Raffensperger continued. "we ask Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to take this down. This is obviously fake and part of a disinformation effort.” § Nvidia is joining the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Friday, replacing its rival Intel, which held the position for 25 years. § Serbia wound up a rescue operation and opened an investigation on Saturday into a roof collapse at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad that killed 14 people and injured three others. The disaster happened on Friday when a length of roofing along the entrance to the station collapsed. Rescuers using heavy construction machinery worked through the night to free the dead and wounded from under the rubble. § Spain has been coming to terms with devastating floods which have left more than 200 people dead and dozens missing this week. Thousands of emergency services staff and military personnel have been working on search and rescue operations in flood-hit regions, while locals have started to clean up and assess the level of damage caused. More rain is expected over the weekend, with a warning in place along the coastline of Huelva in the south-west, where residents are being told to stay at home. § The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is "apocalyptic" as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials warned on Friday. "The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence," they said in a statement signed by the acting U.N. aid chief Joyce Msuya, heads of U.N. agencies, including U.N. children's agency UNICEF and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups. § Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon, the country’s news agency said, raising the death toll from eight there. It was the latest deadly toll in the area since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah escalated last month. @0506z “The Newsroom” begins. 100' (30m) of Kev-Flex wire feeding "Magic Wand" antenna hanging in backyard tree w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D, 125kW, beamAz 27°, bearing 103°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 9763KM from transmitter at Ascension Island. Local time: 2358.

[sunaleisocial]

MIT researchers use large language models to flag problems in complex systems

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/mit-researchers-use-large-language-models-to-flag-problems-in-complex-systems/

MIT researchers use large language models to flag problems in complex systems

Identifying one faulty turbine in a wind farm, which can involve looking at hundreds of signals and millions of data points, is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Engineers often streamline this complex problem using deep-learning models that can detect anomalies in measurements taken repeatedly over time by each turbine, known as time-series data.

But with hundreds of wind turbines recording dozens of signals each hour, training a deep-learning model to analyze time-series data is costly and cumbersome. This is compounded by the fact that the model may need to be retrained after deployment, and wind farm operators may lack the necessary machine-learning expertise.

In a new study, MIT researchers found that large language models (LLMs) hold the potential to be more efficient anomaly detectors for time-series data. Importantly, these pretrained models can be deployed right out of the box.

The researchers developed a framework, called SigLLM, which includes a component that converts time-series data into text-based inputs an LLM can process. A user can feed these prepared data to the model and ask it to start identifying anomalies. The LLM can also be used to forecast future time-series data points as part of an anomaly detection pipeline.

While LLMs could not beat state-of-the-art deep learning models at anomaly detection, they did perform as well as some other AI approaches. If researchers can improve the performance of LLMs, this framework could help technicians flag potential problems in equipment like heavy machinery or satellites before they occur, without the need to train an expensive deep-learning model.

“Since this is just the first iteration, we didn’t expect to get there from the first go, but these results show that there’s an opportunity here to leverage LLMs for complex anomaly detection tasks,” says Sarah Alnegheimish, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student and lead author of a paper on SigLLM.

Her co-authors include Linh Nguyen, an EECS graduate student; Laure Berti-Equille, a research director at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development; and senior author Kalyan Veeramachaneni, a principal research scientist in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems. The research will be presented at the IEEE Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics.

An off-the-shelf solution

Large language models are autoregressive, which means they can understand that the newest values in sequential data depend on previous values. For instance, models like GPT-4 can predict the next word in a sentence using the words that precede it.

Since time-series data are sequential, the researchers thought the autoregressive nature of LLMs might make them well-suited for detecting anomalies in this type of data.

However, they wanted to develop a technique that avoids fine-tuning, a process in which engineers retrain a general-purpose LLM on a small amount of task-specific data to make it an expert at one task. Instead, the researchers deploy an LLM off the shelf, with no additional training steps.

But before they could deploy it, they had to convert time-series data into text-based inputs the language model could handle.

They accomplished this through a sequence of transformations that capture the most important parts of the time series while representing data with the fewest number of tokens. Tokens are the basic inputs for an LLM, and more tokens require more computation.

“If you don’t handle these steps very carefully, you might end up chopping off some part of your data that does matter, losing that information,” Alnegheimish says.

Once they had figured out how to transform time-series data, the researchers developed two anomaly detection approaches.

Approaches for anomaly detection

For the first, which they call Prompter, they feed the prepared data into the model and prompt it to locate anomalous values.

“We had to iterate a number of times to figure out the right prompts for one specific time series. It is not easy to understand how these LLMs ingest and process the data,” Alnegheimish adds.

For the second approach, called Detector, they use the LLM as a forecaster to predict the next value from a time series. The researchers compare the predicted value to the actual value. A large discrepancy suggests that the real value is likely an anomaly.

With Detector, the LLM would be part of an anomaly detection pipeline, while Prompter would complete the task on its own. In practice, Detector performed better than Prompter, which generated many false positives.

“I think, with the Prompter approach, we were asking the LLM to jump through too many hoops. We were giving it a harder problem to solve,” says Veeramachaneni.

When they compared both approaches to current techniques, Detector outperformed transformer-based AI models on seven of the 11 datasets they evaluated, even though the LLM required no training or fine-tuning.

In the future, an LLM may also be able to provide plain language explanations with its predictions, so an operator could be better able to understand why an LLM identified a certain data point as anomalous.

However, state-of-the-art deep learning models outperformed LLMs by a wide margin, showing that there is still work to do before an LLM could be used for anomaly detection.

“What will it take to get to the point where it is doing as well as these state-of-the-art models? That is the million-dollar question staring at us right now. An LLM-based anomaly detector needs to be a game-changer for us to justify this sort of effort,” Veeramachaneni says.

Moving forward, the researchers want to see if finetuning can improve performance, though that would require additional time, cost, and expertise for training.

Their LLM approaches also take between 30 minutes and two hours to produce results, so increasing the speed is a key area of future work. The researchers also want to probe LLMs to understand how they perform anomaly detection, in the hopes of finding a way to boost their performance.

“When it comes to complex tasks like anomaly detection in time series, LLMs really are a contender. Maybe other complex tasks can be addressed with LLMs, as well?” says Alnegheimish.

This research was supported by SES S.A., Iberdrola and ScottishPower Renewables, and Hyundai Motor Company.

[jcmarchi]

MIT researchers use large language models to flag problems in complex systems

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-researchers-use-large-language-models-to-flag-problems-in-complex-systems/

MIT researchers use large language models to flag problems in complex systems

Identifying one faulty turbine in a wind farm, which can involve looking at hundreds of signals and millions of data points, is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Engineers often streamline this complex problem using deep-learning models that can detect anomalies in measurements taken repeatedly over time by each turbine, known as time-series data.

But with hundreds of wind turbines recording dozens of signals each hour, training a deep-learning model to analyze time-series data is costly and cumbersome. This is compounded by the fact that the model may need to be retrained after deployment, and wind farm operators may lack the necessary machine-learning expertise.

In a new study, MIT researchers found that large language models (LLMs) hold the potential to be more efficient anomaly detectors for time-series data. Importantly, these pretrained models can be deployed right out of the box.

The researchers developed a framework, called SigLLM, which includes a component that converts time-series data into text-based inputs an LLM can process. A user can feed these prepared data to the model and ask it to start identifying anomalies. The LLM can also be used to forecast future time-series data points as part of an anomaly detection pipeline.

While LLMs could not beat state-of-the-art deep learning models at anomaly detection, they did perform as well as some other AI approaches. If researchers can improve the performance of LLMs, this framework could help technicians flag potential problems in equipment like heavy machinery or satellites before they occur, without the need to train an expensive deep-learning model.

“Since this is just the first iteration, we didn’t expect to get there from the first go, but these results show that there’s an opportunity here to leverage LLMs for complex anomaly detection tasks,” says Sarah Alnegheimish, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student and lead author of a paper on SigLLM.

Her co-authors include Linh Nguyen, an EECS graduate student; Laure Berti-Equille, a research director at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development; and senior author Kalyan Veeramachaneni, a principal research scientist in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems. The research will be presented at the IEEE Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics.

An off-the-shelf solution

Large language models are autoregressive, which means they can understand that the newest values in sequential data depend on previous values. For instance, models like GPT-4 can predict the next word in a sentence using the words that precede it.

Since time-series data are sequential, the researchers thought the autoregressive nature of LLMs might make them well-suited for detecting anomalies in this type of data.

However, they wanted to develop a technique that avoids fine-tuning, a process in which engineers retrain a general-purpose LLM on a small amount of task-specific data to make it an expert at one task. Instead, the researchers deploy an LLM off the shelf, with no additional training steps.

But before they could deploy it, they had to convert time-series data into text-based inputs the language model could handle.

They accomplished this through a sequence of transformations that capture the most important parts of the time series while representing data with the fewest number of tokens. Tokens are the basic inputs for an LLM, and more tokens require more computation.

“If you don’t handle these steps very carefully, you might end up chopping off some part of your data that does matter, losing that information,” Alnegheimish says.

Once they had figured out how to transform time-series data, the researchers developed two anomaly detection approaches.

Approaches for anomaly detection

For the first, which they call Prompter, they feed the prepared data into the model and prompt it to locate anomalous values.

“We had to iterate a number of times to figure out the right prompts for one specific time series. It is not easy to understand how these LLMs ingest and process the data,” Alnegheimish adds.

For the second approach, called Detector, they use the LLM as a forecaster to predict the next value from a time series. The researchers compare the predicted value to the actual value. A large discrepancy suggests that the real value is likely an anomaly.

With Detector, the LLM would be part of an anomaly detection pipeline, while Prompter would complete the task on its own. In practice, Detector performed better than Prompter, which generated many false positives.

“I think, with the Prompter approach, we were asking the LLM to jump through too many hoops. We were giving it a harder problem to solve,” says Veeramachaneni.

When they compared both approaches to current techniques, Detector outperformed transformer-based AI models on seven of the 11 datasets they evaluated, even though the LLM required no training or fine-tuning.

In the future, an LLM may also be able to provide plain language explanations with its predictions, so an operator could be better able to understand why an LLM identified a certain data point as anomalous.

However, state-of-the-art deep learning models outperformed LLMs by a wide margin, showing that there is still work to do before an LLM could be used for anomaly detection.

“What will it take to get to the point where it is doing as well as these state-of-the-art models? That is the million-dollar question staring at us right now. An LLM-based anomaly detector needs to be a game-changer for us to justify this sort of effort,” Veeramachaneni says.

Moving forward, the researchers want to see if finetuning can improve performance, though that would require additional time, cost, and expertise for training.

Their LLM approaches also take between 30 minutes and two hours to produce results, so increasing the speed is a key area of future work. The researchers also want to probe LLMs to understand how they perform anomaly detection, in the hopes of finding a way to boost their performance.

“When it comes to complex tasks like anomaly detection in time series, LLMs really are a contender. Maybe other complex tasks can be addressed with LLMs, as well?” says Alnegheimish.

This research was supported by SES S.A., Iberdrola and ScottishPower Renewables, and Hyundai Motor Company.

[solisworldtractor]

With Solis, You Got The Opportunity To Choose From the Range Of Farm Champions.

The machinery that fuels this essential industry has undergone a remarkable transformation in the vast expanse of Germany’s verdant countryside, where agriculture is a cornerstone of the nation’s economy. Among the various players in the tractor market, one name has risen steadily to prominence – Solis Tractors. With an unwavering commitment to innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction, Solis has captured the hearts of German farmers and is steadily etching its mark on the agricultural landscape. 

Hop inside the cab and observe the number of hours of operation the tractor has performed. On the other hand, diesel engines can go for much longer. In general, diesel engines are considered to still be good at 6,000 to 10,000 hours of hard work. If they are well-maintained some tractor models can exceed even 12,000 hours and still operate like new. It solely depends on the tractor model and maintenance. Do your complete homework and do not be afraid of a bit larger number of operating hours, sometimes the tractor may still be in excellent shape if the previous owner or owners have maintained it really well.

With Solis, you have got the opportunity to choose from an extensive range of farm champions. We have a wide range of distinct tractors for you to boost yield with every one of them on your farm, lawn or garden. With our garden tractors, compact tractors, Mini Tractor and narrow tractors, you can take your endeavours to a new level at your comfort. Solis has a strong foothold in over 150+ countries that effortlessly serves the interests of farmers. With more than 1,500,000 happy and satisfied customers globally, Solis is currently the world’s top 5th tractor manufacturer, offering a wide range of 16-125 HP tractors while setting new benchmarks in the tractor industry through powerful competence and advanced technologies. On top of that, our work boasts for itself, whether it’s about growth or success. With a workforce of 6000+ dedicated employees and 500+ engineers in R&D, we have come a long way.

At times, it may be very easy to figure out when your farm champion needs a new spare part; sometimes the machine can even tell you if it’s time to replace something. Signals may include a sudden drop in performance or a strange malfunction that can’t be explained otherwise. Inspecting your Agri expert on a daily basis can help you to keep tabs on any parts of your tractor that are starting to show their ageing. If you come across a situation and find a damaged part, always replace them before they become a serious problem to you as well as for others!

Solis compact tractors are possessed with versatile features that make them an Agri professional. With unmatched versatility, we aim to make a healthier and greener ecosystem. Our farm tractors are integrated with marvellous features that offer versatility in every manoeuvre and venture. With hydraulic trailer brakes and dual lines pneumatic trailer brakes, you can ensure safe tread on your farm and construction site. Additionally, with a front PTO, quick attach TPL and mechanical self-levelling loader, you can take your manoeuvres to the next level. Versatile and precise, the quick attach loader brings innovative design and user-friendly functions like automatic self-levelling for the highest levels of efficiency. The level indicator is simple & easy to use and easy to store with a stand. Moreover, the quick-change attachments & lever system help in precise loading and unloading seamlessly.

Although Industrial Tractors (previously called Tuggers) are a type of tractor for the construction industry, this tractor type can also be utilised in agriculture to haul heavy loads or carry heavy weights around, when attached to a crane. What makes farming tractors distinct from industrial tractors is that they feature a drawbar instead of a three-point linkage. They are also available in numerous models with different horsepower strengths to suit your specific needs. Garden Tractors have a wide horsepower variety ranging from 1 HP to 20HP, they can still fit in super small construction sizes as well. These tractors are often utilised to cut grass or plant new flower beds in your garden beds thus helping you groom your lawn too. Rotary Tillers also known as Walking-Type Tractors are primarily utilised in small-sized farms or farms located at different height levels. Rotary Tiller Tractors are known to feature blades that can handle even hard or chunky soil and turn it into a fine, clod-free bed ready for planting.

We at Solis are there for you to provide solutions to prepare your next yield. Solis is not just the name of a tractor and farm implement manufacturing company; it is a name that defines productivity and success. We at Solis Tractors are the pioneers of innovation in the tractor industry that has revolutionised the way of farming. In the span of merely 25 years, we have set new benchmarks of power and covered milestones that have made us the number one farm machinery exporter firm from India and the leading tractor brand across Europe.  At Solis, we are extremely delighted to offer you our robust and power-packed tractors that come equipped with a heavy-duty engine to provide high power in fields with breathtaking results. Our Agri experts, are known to conquer every terrain or construction site that you can think of under minimal to low maintenance.

With more than 1,500,000 happy and satisfied customers globally, currently, Solis is currently the world’s top 5th tractor manufacturer, offering a wide range of 16-125 HP range of tractors while setting new benchmarks in the tractor industry through powerful competence and advanced technologies. Today the world is in chaos with lots of questions for better yield, thankfully we have the answers. To know more about different kinds of tractors and other efficient farm implementation tools visit Solisworld. We would be more than happy to serve you with nothing but the best.

[brookston]

Holidays 2.14

Holidays

Bird Mating Season begins [Traditional]

Blessing of the Salmon Nets (Northumberland, UK)

Communist Martyrs Day (Iraq)

Day of National Mourning (Mexico)

First Day of Disco

Fjortende Februar (Denmark)

Frederick Douglass Day

Gaekkebrev/Fjörtende Februar (Denmark)

Generalissimo Day (North Korea)

Gold Heart Day (UK)

Haya Day (Pakistan)

International Book Giving Day

International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

Jimmy Hoffa Day

League of Women Voter's Day

Liberation Day (Afghanistan)

Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School Remembrance Day (Florida)

National Black Literacy Day

National Boone Day

National Chance Day

National Christine Day

National Donor Day (a.k.a. Organ Donor Day)

National Ferris Wheel Day

National Impotence Day

National Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD) Awareness Day

National Regenerative Agriculture Day

National Servicemen’s Day (Australia)

National Sports Day (Qatar)

No Smoking Day (Ireland)

Organ and Tissue Donor Day

Parents' Worship Day (India)

Pet Theft Awareness Day

Pris Inception Day (Blade Runner)

Pulwama Attack Day (India)

Race Relations Day

Rafik Hariri Memorial Day (Lebanon)

Read to Your Child Day

Small Soap Day (Mexico)

Valentine's Day (a.k.a. ... 

Beer & Chocolate Day

Have a Heart Day (Canada)

Heart to Heart Day

International Quirkyalone Day

Juno Februa's Day (Goddess of Love)

Library Lovers Day

National Call in Single Day

National Condom Day (Australia)

National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day

National Have-A-Heart Day

National Organ Donor Day

National Simp Day

National Women’s Heart Day

Singles Appreciation Day

Sister’s Day

Think About Sex Day

Thinking About Sex Day (UK)

V-Day

World Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

Woad Day (French Republic)

World Bonobo Day

World Day of Energy

World Sound Healing Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Creme-Filled Chocolates Day

Wine-Growers Day (Bulgaria)

2nd Wednesday in February

National RA Appreciation Day [3rd Wednesday]

Waste-Not Wednesday (UK) [Wednesday of Go Green Week]

Weekly Holidays beginning 2nd Wednesday in February

Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Staff Education Week [thru 2.21]

Love Teaching Week [thru 2.21]

National Condom Week [thru 2.21]

National Nestbox Week [thru 2.21]

Independence & Related Days

Arizona Statehood Day (#48; 1912)

Oregon Statehood Day (#33; 1859)

United Republic of Arlberg (Declared; 2003) [unrecognized; Dissolved in 2006]

Festivals Beginning February 14, 2024

Lent (Christian) [thru 3.30]

National Farm Machinery Show & Tractor Pull (Louisville, Kentucky) [thru 2.17]

Singha Park Chiangrai International Balloon Fiesta (Chiang Rai, Thailand) [thru 2.18]

Feast Days

Abraames, Bishop of Carres (Christian; Saint)

Adolf of Osnabruck (Christian; Saint)

Alfred Thomas Agate (Artology)

Antoninus of Sorrento (Christian; Saint)

Ash Wednesday [1st Day of Lent, 46 Days before Easter] (a.k.a. …

Askeonsdag (Denmark)

Carnaval (Panama)

Cussing Day

Hash Wednesday (Church of the SubGenius)

Jour Chômé d’Usage (Guadeloupe, Martinique)

Lent begins

Mercredi des Cendres (French Guyana)

National No Smoking Day (Ireland)

Oskudagur (Iceland)

Pulver Wednesday

Auxentius of Bithynia (Christian; Saint)

Aztec Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Bullwinkle Sneaks a Peek or There’s Room in the River (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 346; 1965)

Conran, Bishop of Orkney (Christian; Saint)

Cornelius the Crab (Muppetism)

Cyril and Methodius (Roman Catholic Church) [Europe]

Feast of Dylan Ail Ton (Celtic Book of Days)

Feast of Vali (Asatru/Salvic Pagan archer god)

Frederick Douglass (Writerism)

Juno-Lupa (Everyday Wicca)

Louse or 92nd Street, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 345; 1965)

Lupercalia, Day 2 (Pagan pastoral festival)

Lupercalia: Day of the Wolves (Pagan)

Manchan (Christian; Saint)

Mare, Abbot of Syria (Christian; Saint)

The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene (Novel; 1940)

Pretend to Be Romantic Day (Pastafarian)

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church)

Seka Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Self Love Magick Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Tales of Kelp-Koli (Shamanism)

Terence (Positivist; Saint)

Trifon Zarezan (a.k.a. Viticulturists' Day; Bulgarian Dionysus Festival)

Tryphon (Christian; Saint)

Valentine (Christian; Saint)

Zadoushnitza (Bulgarian All-Souls' Day; Κυρμιληνός)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 7 of 60)

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because so many reasons.)

Premieres

Adult World (Film; 2014)

Alita: Battle Angel (Animated Film; 2019)

Beat It, by Michael Jackson (Song; 1983)

Beautiful Creatures (Film; 2013)

Bluebird’s Baby (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1938)

Captain America: Brave New World (Film; 2025)

China Jones (WB LT Cartoon; 1959)

Cooleyhighharmony, by Boyz II Men (Album; 1991)

Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other, by Willie Nelson (Song; 2006)

Daredevil (Film; 2003)

The Dead End Cats (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1947)

The Deep Six or The Old Moose and the Sea (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 23; 1960)

Definitely, Maybe (Film; 2008)

Dracula (Film; 1931)

Essay on Pigs, by Hans Werner Henze (Concerto; 1969)

The Eye, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1930)

Fighting with My Family (Film; 2019)

Fools Rush In (Film; 1997)

Forward March Hare (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

Grease (Off-Broadway Musical; 1972)

The Hours (Film; 2003)

The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde (Play; 1895)

Jumper (Film; 2008)

King David, by Lionel Hampton (Jazz Symphony; 1957)

Liar, by Queen (Song; 1974)

The Little Whirlwind (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Live at Leeds, recorded by The Who (Live Concert Album; 1970)

The Lorax (DePatie-Freleng Dr. Seuss Animated TV Special; 1972)

Love Story, by Erich Segal (Novel; 1970)

Madame Web (Film; 2024)

Margaritaville, by Jimmy Buffet (Song; 1977)

Oz the Great and Powerful (Film; 2013)

Pocket Money (Film; 1972)

Pop and Mom in Wild Oysters (Animated Antics Cartoon; 1941)

The Popeye Valentine Special: Sweethearts at Sea (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1979)

Reflections in a Golden Eye, by Carson McCullers (Novel; 1941)

Respect, recorded by Aretha Franklin (Song; 1967)

Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Silence of the Lambs (Film; 1991)

The Slippery Helm or Captain’s Outrageous (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 24; 1960)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Animated Film; 2020)

Spamalot (Broadway Musical; 2005)

Sportickles (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

Tarzan of the Apes (Film; 1918)

Vegas Vacation (Film; 1997)

Wayne’s World (Film; 1992)

Whitney Houston, by Whitney Houston (Album; 1985)

Wildcats (Film; 1986)

Winter’s Tale (Film; 2014)

Working Class Dog, by Rick Springfield (Album; 1981)

The World’s Greatest Athlete (Film; 1973)

YouTube (Social Media App; 2005)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Method, Valentin (Austria)

Valentin, Zdravko (Croatia)

Valentýn (Czech Republic)

Valentinus (Denmark)

Valentin, Valjo, Valju, Valle, Vallo, Vallot, Vallut (Estonia)

Tino, Valentin, Voitto (Finland)

Valentin (France)

Cyril, Method, Valentin (Germany)

Valentina, Valentine, Valentini, Valentinos (Greece)

Bálint, Valentin (Hungary)

Valentino (Italy)

Aļģis, Valentīns (Latvia)

Liliana, Saulė, Saulius, Valentinas (Lithuania)

Hjørdis, Jardar (Norway)

Adolf, Adolfa, Adolfina, Alf, Cyryl, Dobiesława, Dobisława, Józef, Józefa, Konrad, Konrada, Krystyna, Lilian, Liliana, Mikołaj, Niemir, Niemira, Walenty, Zenon, Zenona (Poland)

Auxentiu, Avraam, Maron (Romania)

Valentín (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Metodio, Valentín (Spain)

Valentin (Sweden)

Lovell, Lowell, Valentin, Valentina, Valentine, Valiant (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 45 of 2024; 321 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 7 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Bing-Yin), Day 5 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 5 Adair I 5784

Islamic: 4 Sha’ban 1445

J Cal: 15 Grey; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 1 February 2024

Moon: 29%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 17 Homer (2nd Month) [Terence]

Runic Half Month: Sigel (Sun) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 56 of 89)

Week: 2nd Week of February

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 24 of 28)

Calendar Changes

February (a.k.a. Februarius; Julian Calendar) [Month 2 of 12]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.14

Holidays

Bird Mating Season begins [Traditional]

Blessing of the Salmon Nets (Northumberland, UK)

Communist Martyrs Day (Iraq)

Day of National Mourning (Mexico)

First Day of Disco

Fjortende Februar (Denmark)

Frederick Douglass Day

Gaekkebrev/Fjörtende Februar (Denmark)

Generalissimo Day (North Korea)

Gold Heart Day (UK)

Haya Day (Pakistan)

International Book Giving Day

International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

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League of Women Voter's Day

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Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School Remembrance Day (Florida)

National Black Literacy Day

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National Donor Day (a.k.a. Organ Donor Day)

National Ferris Wheel Day

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Read to Your Child Day

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Valentine's Day (a.k.a. ... 

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V-Day

World Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

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World Bonobo Day

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Food & Drink Celebrations

National Creme-Filled Chocolates Day

Wine-Growers Day (Bulgaria)

2nd Wednesday in February

National RA Appreciation Day [3rd Wednesday]

Waste-Not Wednesday (UK) [Wednesday of Go Green Week]

Weekly Holidays beginning 2nd Wednesday in February

Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Staff Education Week [thru 2.21]

Love Teaching Week [thru 2.21]

National Condom Week [thru 2.21]

National Nestbox Week [thru 2.21]

Independence & Related Days

Arizona Statehood Day (#48; 1912)

Oregon Statehood Day (#33; 1859)

United Republic of Arlberg (Declared; 2003) [unrecognized; Dissolved in 2006]

Festivals Beginning February 14, 2024

Lent (Christian) [thru 3.30]

National Farm Machinery Show & Tractor Pull (Louisville, Kentucky) [thru 2.17]

Singha Park Chiangrai International Balloon Fiesta (Chiang Rai, Thailand) [thru 2.18]

Feast Days

Abraames, Bishop of Carres (Christian; Saint)

Adolf of Osnabruck (Christian; Saint)

Alfred Thomas Agate (Artology)

Antoninus of Sorrento (Christian; Saint)

Ash Wednesday [1st Day of Lent, 46 Days before Easter] (a.k.a. …

Askeonsdag (Denmark)

Carnaval (Panama)

Cussing Day

Hash Wednesday (Church of the SubGenius)

Jour Chômé d’Usage (Guadeloupe, Martinique)

Lent begins

Mercredi des Cendres (French Guyana)

National No Smoking Day (Ireland)

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Pulver Wednesday

Auxentius of Bithynia (Christian; Saint)

Aztec Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Bullwinkle Sneaks a Peek or There’s Room in the River (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 346; 1965)

Conran, Bishop of Orkney (Christian; Saint)

Cornelius the Crab (Muppetism)

Cyril and Methodius (Roman Catholic Church) [Europe]

Feast of Dylan Ail Ton (Celtic Book of Days)

Feast of Vali (Asatru/Salvic Pagan archer god)

Frederick Douglass (Writerism)

Juno-Lupa (Everyday Wicca)

Louse or 92nd Street, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 345; 1965)

Lupercalia, Day 2 (Pagan pastoral festival)

Lupercalia: Day of the Wolves (Pagan)

Manchan (Christian; Saint)

Mare, Abbot of Syria (Christian; Saint)

The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene (Novel; 1940)

Pretend to Be Romantic Day (Pastafarian)

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church)

Seka Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Self Love Magick Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Tales of Kelp-Koli (Shamanism)

Terence (Positivist; Saint)

Trifon Zarezan (a.k.a. Viticulturists' Day; Bulgarian Dionysus Festival)

Tryphon (Christian; Saint)

Valentine (Christian; Saint)

Zadoushnitza (Bulgarian All-Souls' Day; Κυρμιληνός)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 7 of 60)

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because so many reasons.)

Premieres

Adult World (Film; 2014)

Alita: Battle Angel (Animated Film; 2019)

Beat It, by Michael Jackson (Song; 1983)

Beautiful Creatures (Film; 2013)

Bluebird’s Baby (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1938)

Captain America: Brave New World (Film; 2025)

China Jones (WB LT Cartoon; 1959)

Cooleyhighharmony, by Boyz II Men (Album; 1991)

Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other, by Willie Nelson (Song; 2006)

Daredevil (Film; 2003)

The Dead End Cats (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1947)

The Deep Six or The Old Moose and the Sea (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 23; 1960)

Definitely, Maybe (Film; 2008)

Dracula (Film; 1931)

Essay on Pigs, by Hans Werner Henze (Concerto; 1969)

The Eye, by Vladimir Nabokov (Novel; 1930)

Fighting with My Family (Film; 2019)

Fools Rush In (Film; 1997)

Forward March Hare (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

Grease (Off-Broadway Musical; 1972)

The Hours (Film; 2003)

The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde (Play; 1895)

Jumper (Film; 2008)

King David, by Lionel Hampton (Jazz Symphony; 1957)

Liar, by Queen (Song; 1974)

The Little Whirlwind (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Live at Leeds, recorded by The Who (Live Concert Album; 1970)

The Lorax (DePatie-Freleng Dr. Seuss Animated TV Special; 1972)

Love Story, by Erich Segal (Novel; 1970)

Madame Web (Film; 2024)

Margaritaville, by Jimmy Buffet (Song; 1977)

Oz the Great and Powerful (Film; 2013)

Pocket Money (Film; 1972)

Pop and Mom in Wild Oysters (Animated Antics Cartoon; 1941)

The Popeye Valentine Special: Sweethearts at Sea (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1979)

Reflections in a Golden Eye, by Carson McCullers (Novel; 1941)

Respect, recorded by Aretha Franklin (Song; 1967)

Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Silence of the Lambs (Film; 1991)

The Slippery Helm or Captain’s Outrageous (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 24; 1960)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Animated Film; 2020)

Spamalot (Broadway Musical; 2005)

Sportickles (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

Tarzan of the Apes (Film; 1918)

Vegas Vacation (Film; 1997)

Wayne’s World (Film; 1992)

Whitney Houston, by Whitney Houston (Album; 1985)

Wildcats (Film; 1986)

Winter’s Tale (Film; 2014)

Working Class Dog, by Rick Springfield (Album; 1981)

The World’s Greatest Athlete (Film; 1973)

YouTube (Social Media App; 2005)

Today’s Name Days

Cyrill, Method, Valentin (Austria)

Valentin, Zdravko (Croatia)

Valentýn (Czech Republic)

Valentinus (Denmark)

Valentin, Valjo, Valju, Valle, Vallo, Vallot, Vallut (Estonia)

Tino, Valentin, Voitto (Finland)

Valentin (France)

Cyril, Method, Valentin (Germany)

Valentina, Valentine, Valentini, Valentinos (Greece)

Bálint, Valentin (Hungary)

Valentino (Italy)

Aļģis, Valentīns (Latvia)

Liliana, Saulė, Saulius, Valentinas (Lithuania)

Hjørdis, Jardar (Norway)

Adolf, Adolfa, Adolfina, Alf, Cyryl, Dobiesława, Dobisława, Józef, Józefa, Konrad, Konrada, Krystyna, Lilian, Liliana, Mikołaj, Niemir, Niemira, Walenty, Zenon, Zenona (Poland)

Auxentiu, Avraam, Maron (Romania)

Valentín (Slovakia)

Cirilo, Metodio, Valentín (Spain)

Valentin (Sweden)

Lovell, Lowell, Valentin, Valentina, Valentine, Valiant (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 45 of 2024; 321 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 7 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Bing-Yin), Day 5 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 5 Adair I 5784

Islamic: 4 Sha’ban 1445

J Cal: 15 Grey; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 1 February 2024

Moon: 29%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 17 Homer (2nd Month) [Terence]

Runic Half Month: Sigel (Sun) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 56 of 89)

Week: 2nd Week of February

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 24 of 28)

Calendar Changes

February (a.k.a. Februarius; Julian Calendar) [Month 2 of 12]

[ryanrock0]

Iowa's Economic Backbone: A Closer Look at the State's Major Industries

Iowa, traditionally pictured as a vast expanse of cornfields under a wide, blue sky, is more than just picturesque farmland. While agriculture remains a cornerstone, this Midwestern state's economy is multifaceted, contributing significantly to the national GDP. Let’s delve into the significant industries that serve as the pillars of Iowa’s economic landscape.

The Agricultural Heartland

At its core, Iowa is synonymous with agriculture. The state leads the U.S. in corn and soybean production, a testament to its fertile soil and agrarian roots. Beyond these crops, Iowa is a major player in livestock, dairy, and biofuels, illustrating the diversity within its agricultural sector. Precision farming technology has further solidified Iowa's status as an agricultural powerhouse, with innovation driving efficiency in crop and livestock production.

Manufacturing and Industry: From Farm to Factory

Iowa’s manufacturing sector is robust, diverse, and intricately linked to its agricultural success. Food processing is naturally a significant component, with many plants turning Iowa’s raw agricultural produce into finished goods. However, Iowa’s manufacturing extends beyond the food industry, with heavy machinery for farming and construction being a substantial part of the state's industrial output. Companies in Iowa also specialize in the production of automotive parts and electrical equipment, showing the state's industrial versatility.

Renewable Energy: A Wind-Driven Revolution

Iowa is a national leader in wind power generation, a rapidly growing industry. With its vast open spaces, Iowa harnesses wind energy, providing over 40% of its electricity needs through wind turbines. This commitment to renewable energy has not only diversified the state's energy portfolio but also positioned it at the forefront of the green energy movement, creating jobs and attracting investments.

Finance and Insurance: The Prudent Planners

Another surprising yet vital industry in Iowa is finance and insurance. Des Moines, the state's capital, is often referred to as the “Hartford of the West” due to its high concentration of financial services and insurance companies. This sector employs a significant number of Iowans and contributes greatly to the state’s economy through a range of services, including banking, asset management, and insurance underwriting.

Technology and Innovation: Silicon Prairie

While Silicon Valley may be the United States' most famous tech hub, Iowa has earned the moniker "Silicon Prairie" due to its burgeoning tech scene. The state is fostering a growing information technology industry, with a focus on software development, data processing, and e-commerce. Iowa’s tech sector benefits from a collaborative environment that includes research institutions, startups, and government support, driving innovation and economic growth.

Education and Health Services: Investing in Human Capital

Education and healthcare are also prominent industries in Iowa. The state is home to several renowned universities and colleges that not only educate the future workforce but also drive research and development. In healthcare, Iowa boasts a comprehensive network of hospitals and clinics, making it a regional hub for medical services. These sectors not only provide employment for thousands of Iowans but also improve the quality of life within the state.

Transportation and Logistics: The Crossroads of America

Strategically located in the heart of the Midwest, Iowa is a key transportation and logistics hub. The state's extensive network of highways, railroads, and airports facilitates the movement of goods across the country. This logistical advantage supports other industries by ensuring efficient supply chain management and timely distribution of products nationwide.

Iowa’s economic tapestry is rich and varied, extending far beyond its agricultural stereotype. From the whir of wind turbines to the strategic planning of financial experts, the state thrives on a blend of traditional industries and modern innovation. Iowa demonstrates how diversification within an economy can lead to resilience and growth, securing its place as a vital contributor to the nation’s economy.

[redstarnotebooks]

Industry and Empire, Chapter 1 - Britain in 1750

Introducing us to Britain in 1750, Hobsbawm gives contemporary tourists' contrasting descriptions of London as the biggest city in Christendom, versus the green and orderly countryside. Our tourist can't visit any comparable cities in England but Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow are rapidly growing due to a burgeoning trade in slaves and colonial commodities.

Britain has 6000 mercantile ships with tonnage of half a million, nearly 6 times bigger than its nearest rival, France. This private merchant's fleet forms 1/10 of all fixed capital investment, with 100,000 seamen forming the largest group of non-agricultural workers. There is some machinery, basic lifts and steam engines, but was the country was better known for artisan manufacturing.

The overall impression is of a powerful, rich country, based on commerce and its navy, with a comparatively prosperous common people.

"Economic and technical progress, private enterprise, and what we would now call liberalism: all these were evident. Yet nobody expected the imminent transformation of the country by an industrial revolution -- not even travellers who visited Britain in the 1780s, when we know it had already started."

Importantly, Britain also had a national "monetary and market economy", with London providing a giant internal market for agricultural products and coal, little regional variation in prices, and a lack of famine outside of the Scottish Highlands and Ireland

There was little peasantry in the sense of small cultivators, villages had a cash economy with consumption of colonial goods like tea and tobacco, and land ownership was largely concentrated: "a few thousand landowners, leasing their land to some tens of thousands of tenant farmers, who in turn operated it with the labour of some hundreds of thousands of farm labourers..."

Manufacturing was largely rural, with villages starting to specialize in certain artisanal crafts. This meant that the big landowners had a direct interest in the mines and manufactures on their lands, and thus industry had a major influence on domestic politics in comparison to commerce, unlike the situation in other European countries

The British ruling class, due to the influence of the English Civil War, was much more interested in austere money-making compared to the more archaic and feudal aristocracy of the Continent, allowing them to adapt better when things did change.

A lot of what Hobsbawm is pointing to here -- the condition of town and country, the relative balance of industry and commerce, the concentration of land, and the essentially bourgeois nature of the aristocracy are all this that are about to rapidly change, or are relevant for understanding the politics of what is to come.

One thing I really like is Hobsbawm explaining the preconditions for the Industrial Revolution in fundamentally economic terms of land and production, and their attendance social relations, without too much appeal to national character or a kind of pure contingency. Those show up -- they aren't irrelevant -- but they play a mediating role rather than a basic one.

This is a short chapter, so I really need to improve my summarizing.

[agritech08]

Agronomy II - Grains

Discover How to Grow Grains WHY UNDERSTAND GRAINS? Cereals, pulses (like beans), and fake grains are covered in this subject (e.g. quinoa). - Discover the many varieties of grains. - Improve your selection of species and cultivars to grow. - For better harvests, grow better crops utilising better practises. https://agritech.college/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Agronomy.mp4   Cereals, pulses (like beans), and fake grains are covered in this subject (e.g. quinoa). Worldwide, farming is a large component, and grains are an important food for both human and animal consumption. This is a fairly extensive industry that includes dozens of other grain crops in addition to the more popular grains, like wheat and rice (e.g. amaranth and soybeans). Grain production on a vast scale and with a lot of mechanisation is done on very large farms all over the world. The production of many staple foods occurs in this manner. Though by no means the only method, this can be used to cultivate grains. Success in grain cultivation, whether on a small or large scale, is always based on the following conditions: - good germination rate and high-quality seed - Defend seeds from insects and disease - good seedbed preparation - adequate soil nourishment - Sowing at the right time under ideal climatic, moisture, and temperature conditions   Lesson Structure There are 9 lessons in this course: - Introduction to grains - Cereal/grain infrastructure and machinery requirements - Wheat, triticale, spelt, barley, oats, rye. - Maize, Sorghum, millet - Rice - Pulse crops - Pseudo cereals - Processing grains for human consumption - Grains for livestock consumption Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading. Aims - Classify significant current and emerging grains or cereals farmed around the world, and describe the large- and small-scale production processes used for producing, harvesting, and storing grains in various nations. - Identify key farm buildings, machinery, supplies, and natural resources needed for the successful cultivation of cereal and grain crops. - The qualities and production methods of the main "cool season" cereals, including wheat, triticale, spelt, barley, oats, and rye, should be discussed and compared. - Explain and contrast the characteristics and farming practises of the three main "warm season" cereals: maize, sorghum, and millet. - Provide an explanation of the various production methods employed within each of the four main habitats where rice is grown. - The production methods and applications of significant cool- and warm-season pulse crops farmed worldwide are described and compared. - Explain the development of "non-grasses" like chia, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat that are currently available or are on the verge of becoming significant "cereals." - Examine the numerous sales techniques in use and describe the post-harvest handling, processing, and storage techniques for cereals intended for human consumption. - Explain how essential warm- and cool-season grasses that are utilised for forage and livestock feed are produced. - Explain how to store, prepare, and sell cereals for use in livestock, and show how to calculate some example stock feeds. Harvest To get the best yield and quality from the harvest, grains must be harvested at the proper stage of their growth cycle. For thousands of years, subsistence farmers have manually harvested grain crops, and some still so today. However the majority of commercial grain crops will be gathered by machines. Large farming enterprises may own machine harvesters, but smaller operations may contract out the harvesting to someone who has the necessary equipment. Harvesting the crop when it is at its best is one of the primary concerns. It is when the moisture content is at the highest permissible level but not so high as to compromise quality or storage. Weather damage is another problem that might arise during harvest. Whenever rain falls on a ripe crop, crops are extremely sensitive to quality loss. Wind, hail, or heavy rain can cause crops to drop grain or shatter pods. A windrower is frequently used to lay the crop on the ground to reduce the chance that pods will shatter from bad weather. As a general rule, pulse crops such as chickpeas weather quite well for a short period of time because the grain is protected inside a pod. However, with canola, the pods become very brittle when ripe and can shatter very easily. Certain varieties of wheat can weather rather well, whereas barley has a relatively soft straw and can lodge (fall over) if too much rain falls onto a crop that is about to ripen. Because of this, farmers frequently have a grain storage facility. Keeping grains in storage can create a variety of marketing opportunities. Farmers can keep their harvests and sell them at a period when markets are priced more favourably if crop prices are not particularly favourable during harvest, which frequently occurs. In light of this, let's examine some fundamental storage alternatives for a farmer of grains. Silos Silos are the most durable way to store grains. Some silos have flat bottoms, but most are huge steel cylinder structures with cone bases. The cone base facilitates the flow of grain into a hopper at the bottom of the silo, where an auger can pump it onto a truck. Silos are a common feature of big grain farms (a number of silos for seed storage as well as grain storage during harvest). In order to operate grain dryers, silo complexes are typically powered. When a farmer needs to harvest grain at a higher moisture content to get the crop out of the field—whether because bad weather is predicted or because there are large areas of crop that need to be harvested—grain dryers are used to reduce the moisture content to a level that is acceptable to the grain receiver. Most contemporary silos have aerators installed. They are tiny fans that are attached to the silo's base and push air upward. They aid in maintaining the grain's quality by keeping the temperature steady. It is a good idea to conceive of grain as a living organism because poor storage conditions, such as high humidity levels, would destroy any grain preserved for seed viability. If you're going to build new silos, grain dryers are an excellent investment because they are particularly good at keeping grain insect-free. Silo Bags Silo bags are huge, bulky, sausage-like plastic bags that have a capacity of 220 tonnes for wheat. They can survive outdoors for up to 18 months. The grain must have the proper moisture content or it will sweat in the bag and become mouldy. They are especially handy for storing grain on the sides of fields after harvest. They are easy to use and work well for short-term storage, but if you place them on the edge of a field, you can have access problems when it comes time to unload them (as opposed to permanent silos that usually have a heavy gravel pad around them allowing for all weather access). They also need a specialised bag unloader, and if you intend to leave them in the field for an extended amount of time, you'll need to surround them with an electric fence because pigs and other animals can tear them apart like a ladder in a stocking, which can result in significant grain loss. Bunkers Grain storage facilities are known as bunkers. Often a plastic tarp is used to cover bunkers, which are vast piles of grain placed on the ground or a cement slab (which is most desirable to reduce weather damage). Grain is typically transported out of bunkers as rapidly as possible because they are only used as a very short-term type of storage. Raised ground is great for bunker sites because it directs water away from the grain. The majority of farmers would have a grader build up this area, known as the pad, and pack the ground firmly. Pest control for insects in grain storage In stored grain, grain insects can grow swiftly provided the correct conditions are present. Temperatures of roughly 20°C or less are ideal for grain storage because most grain pests may multiply quickly at those levels. This may be challenging to accomplish in some areas, although silo aeration can help. It is frequently required to use a combination of protectants because grain insects in some countries have already evolved resistance to some chemical grain protectants. The usage of protectants depends on the product's withholding period, therefore in some cases they won't be appropriate if grain needs to be sold within the withholding period. Protectants are intended to be applied to grain when it enters storage; they are not intended to be applied to grain that already has a noticeable insect infestation. We urge you to become familiar with the grain insects that are resistant. We also advise you to look into the primary grain pests in your country or region.   Milling Grain is flattened or ground during milling, sometimes referred to as grist milling. In the past, mills were powered by water and wind; currently, most mills are electric steel roll mills. In order to shatter the grains, they are rolled between two steel rollers with roughened edges or teeth. The endosperm (white flour) is then separated from the bran layers and germ by sieving the grains. The endosperm is then processed once more until it reaches the appropriate level of fineness. To create brown and wholemeal flours, in some situations, bran layers and germ are additionally ground more finely and incorporated back into the endosperm powder. WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE? - Farmers and agricultural labourers - Agricultural supply companies and related services - Agricultural professionals and students - Owners of small farms or hobby farms are thinking about developing "niche" crops - Livestock managers and owners who seek to make animal feed MORE COURSES IN AGRONOMY This course will be followed by other agronomy courses, tentatively: Agronomy -Fibre Crops Agronomy - Oil Crops Agronomy -Pulses (legumes) Agronomy -Biofuels Agronomy - Root Crops   Read the full article

[mariacallous]

It took a viral video for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to finally break his silence on ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur. The footage, which became public only last month, sparked outrage far beyond the state: Filmed on May 4, it shows a mob assaulting two women from the Kuki minority—stripped naked—before pushing them into an empty field. Reports citing the survivors’ families revealed the complicity of the state police. Ironically, the police station a few hundred yards from the site of the crime was awarded the “Best in the Country” title in 2020.

Violence between the Meitei ethnic majority and the Kukis has hounded Manipur since May, when a court order reserving some government jobs for Meiteis exacerbated tensions over land rights, poppy farming, and religious freedoms. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has carved out a role for himself as the Meitei community’s de facto leader. More cases of sexual assault have come to light in the past two weeks, but Singh—a member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—now denies that the women in the May 4 video were raped. His state government imposed an internet shutdown for weeks, hindering the spread of information.

The crisis has not subsided, and thousands of weapons stolen from police armories are still circulating among mobs. On Tuesday, India’s Supreme Court described the violence as “an absolute breakdown of law and order.” The presence of federal forces in Manipur hasn’t improved the situation: New Delhi’s strategy has instead divided the state, burning bridges between the Meiteis and Kukis. This apparent political ineptitude falls in line with the BJP’s Hindutva ideology, which identifies Hindus as India’s rightful inhabitants, justifying violence against religious minorities. In Manipur, the Meitei community sees itself as the state’s original inhabitants, replicating the use of violence against Kukis and others that it perceives as outsiders.

The use of state machinery to aid the majoritarian project in Manipur recalls the 2002 Gujarat riots targeting the state’s Muslim population, which occurred while Modi was chief minister. (An opposition politician has even invoked dark parallels to the Rwandan genocide, where the role of the state is well documented.) Manipur’s internet ban, now partially lifted, underlines institutional paranoia about controlling the narrative. Tensions have already spread into other Indian states as well as neighboring Myanmar, where the Kuki community shares ties with the Chin minority. The crisis raises serious questions about Modi’s governance model and his political ability to deal with India’s diversity and the tensions it raises.

In Modi’s statement about the viral video in Manipur, he invoked examples of sexual violence in opposition-led states, diminishing the specificity of the crime and seeking to deflect public outrage. His comments did not lead to any shift in national policy. And while sexual assault against women has captured attention, the scale of overall violence in Manipur is startling. More than 160 people are dead, and another 60,000 people are displaced. More than 4,500 weapons are missing from state armories, with officials estimating that almost all of them are with Meitei militias. More than half of these weapons are automatic—a stunning comparison with the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, where New Delhi has fought a three-decade-old insurgency in which many militants are armed with pistols.

Manipur’s state police force is not incompetent or careless; its inaction amid the violence borders on complicity. A bulk of the weapons stolen in Manipur have not been returned to or recovered by security forces, and it is not for a lack of personnel in the state. In addition to the 29,000-strong state police, New Delhi has sent 124 federal companies—each with between 80 and 100 troops—to Manipur. Then there are 164 columns of similar strength from the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary affiliate. For a state with a population of 3.2 million, this comes out to an average of nearly one security person for every 55 citizens.

In May, Modi’s government sent its army chief to Manipur and brought in a new police chief from another state to restore order, but both officials have failed to overcome the partisan state government. The state police forces are split vertically, with the new police chief asking cops to report to duty in areas where their ethnic group is in the majority. New Delhi also issued directions that cleave the state with a federally manned buffer zone between the Meitei-dominated valley and the Kuki-dominated hills. Rather than bringing the violence under control, this approach has cemented the divide between the ethnic groups. The Kukis now demand a new administrative structure separating them from the Meiteis, which is vehemently opposed by the majority community.

The administrative incompetence on the part of both the national government and the state government led by Singh reflects the majoritarian nationalism espoused by the BJP. The embrace of Hindutva in states led by the ruling party has led to the lynching of young Muslim men for the flimsy excuse of smuggling cows and to the creation of laws that seek to criminalize interfaith marriages. In Manipur, the same ideology is tailored at a subnational level: The majority Meiteis have found resonance between their indigenous Sanamahi faith and Hindutva, targeting the largely Christian Kukis. Although the fault lines of the conflict are not drawn explicitly around faith, there are religious undertones to the violence.

New Delhi’s failure to stop the violence in Manipur has not yet affected Modi on the international stage. In the wake of the Gujarat riots, which began after a fire in a train compartment killed 58 Hindu pilgrims traveling from Ayodhya, Modi described the ensuing attacks against Muslims as “a chain of action and reaction.” India’s Supreme Court at the time called Modi a “modern-day Nero,” and he was denied a visa to the United States on the grounds that he was responsible for violations of religious freedom. The ban was reversed only after he became prime minister in 2014. By contrast, in June, with violence escalating in Manipur, Modi chose to travel to Washington for an official state visit. French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed him to Paris in July.

All the while, he remained silent. In the three months since the violence began, Modi has not publicly chaired a meeting on Manipur nor issued an official statement for the victims, let alone traveled to the state. In a rare press conference for Modi following his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Indian leader responded to a question—only one was allowed—about the status of religious minorities in his country. Despite the question coming while churches were burning and women were being assaulted in Manipur, Modi blurted out meaningless paeans to Indian democracy. At the time, complaints to state police and federal authorities were still awaiting a response.

For New Delhi, hoping that the fires in Manipur will be doused on their own has not worked. India’s government was long able to pacify the state with support from friendly neighbors in Bangladesh and Myanmar. But as tensions spread beyond Manipur, it is at risk of losing those gains. India’s federalism is already under strain, driven by calls for “Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan,” the ominous idea of one language, one religion, and one nation defining India. States in the country’s south, where the BJP is relatively weak, have cited the decay of India’s federal structure to rally supporters, raising the possibility of some states demanding more autonomy—a demon thought to have been buried in the early years of India’s independence.

The situation in Manipur has also raised alarms about the capacity of the Indian state to clamp down on violence. Whether unable or unwilling to restore order in Manipur, the national government finds its credibility and authority frayed by the crisis. The state’s internet ban suggests a government that fears the free flow of information, using the suppression of violence as a pretext for broadly curtailing freedom of expression and depriving the citizens of their rights. No modern state can function in such digital darkness—and especially not as Modi boasts on the global stage that India’s digital public infrastructure is “highly secure, highly trusted, and highly efficient.”

In fact, the violence in Manipur is putting India’s desire to be recognized as a global power to the test. Apathy on the part of top leadership, targeting of minorities, and internet shutdowns are not the hallmarks of a country that hopes to be respected as an important player on the world stage—as much as Modi would like to avoid mentioning the issue. Furthermore, the violence in Manipur only draws attention to the fact that India has not held local legislative assembly elections in Muslim-majority Kashmir for more than a decade. The country christens itself as the “mother of democracy” and others hail it as the world’s largest democracy, but such hypocrisy overpowers any public relations campaign by New Delhi and its cheerleaders in foreign capitals.

India is no longer the world’s fastest-growing economy; Saudi Arabia is, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. Unemployment is a serious concern, as is widening inequality  and weak rural demand. Modi and the BJP head into national elections next year with an economic record that they cannot boast about. The Ladakh border crisis with China has stripped the prime minister of national security talking points. Amid the Manipur crisis, he cannot brag about his ability to make tough calls. If the BJP decides to double down on religious polarization ahead of the elections, as it has regularly done under Modi, it could render India’s minorities even more vulnerable.

India’s leaders once stressed that the country embodied the idea of unity in diversity, allowing it to manage social and ethnic differences without pandering to majoritarian impulses. The violence in Manipur serves as warning of just how far the BJP’s pursuit of such politics could drag India down.