#analysis with only one measure of central tendency)

[literaturereviewhelp]

This research follows the random process of data collection, data analysis, interpretation, representation, conclusion and recommendation. From the results of the analysis, this study draws conclusion. The hypothesis is then to be tested to establish the existence of the relation between the variables chosen, the peoples heights and the BMI. The statistical method involved in this research is quantitative analysis, with random sampling of data. From the whole sample set of 277 athletes, only 40 were collected without any systematic order. In the selection of the rows, after selecting one or two rows, the next three or four rows were skipped before selecting another row. The samples are then subjected to quantitative analysis. The fields to be used in data analysis are of numerical nature. The approach is suitable because two variable fields of measurable quantities. The random sampling presents the selected data set in the selected sample tab in the spreadsheet for the analysis purposes: The extract for the runners’ heights and the corresponding BMIs are shown in table 1 below: The analysis of the sample data was conducted using quantitative approach, in relation to the study question and hypothesis. The analysis was based on the central tendencies and the measures of dispersion in the normal distribution of the two variables. For the sample that was collected, the findings indicate that there is a positive linear correlation between the height of the athletes and the BMI. The coefficient is less than 1, showing that the even though there is a positive linear correlation, the influence of the height of athletes on the BMI values is weak. The study question was whether there is a relationship between the height and the BMI of the athletes. According to the hypothesis, the findings are true that there is a positive relationship. The strength of this relationship is however very low. This indicates that Read the full article

[farasexcelr]

The Role of Statistics in Data Analyst Course

Statistics play a fundamental role in Data Analyst Courses, serving as the backbone of many analytical techniques and methodologies. As data becomes an increasingly valuable asset for decision-making across industries, understanding statistical principles is crucial for aspiring data analysts. In a Data Analyst Course, statistics not only enhance analytical capabilities but also provide the tools needed to interpret data accurately and make informed decisions. This exploration into the role of statistics in Data Analyst Courses highlights why these principles are essential and how they are integrated into the curriculum.

1. Foundation of Data Analysis

Statistics form the foundation of data analysis, providing the methods and techniques used to summarize, interpret, and draw conclusions from data. In Data Analyst Course, students learn about descriptive statistics, which involve summarizing data through measures such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation. These basic statistics help analysts understand the central tendencies and variability of data, laying the groundwork for more complex analyses.

2. Data Distribution and Probability

Understanding data distribution and probability is another crucial aspect of statistics taught in Data Analyst Courses. Students learn about different types of data distributions, such as normal, binomial, and Poisson distributions. Probability theory, including concepts like probability distributions and statistical inference, is used to make predictions and assess the likelihood of various outcomes. Mastery of these concepts enables analysts to model data accurately and make probabilistic forecasts.

3. Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics is a key component of Data Analyst Courses, focusing on making inferences and predictions about a population based on a sample of data. Techniques such as hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and p-values are essential for determining whether observed patterns in data are statistically significant or occurred by chance. This aspect of statistics allows analysts to generalize findings from sample data to the broader population and make data-driven decisions with a quantifiable level of confidence.

4. Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a vital statistical method covered extensively in Data Analyst Courses. It involves exploring relationships between variables and making predictions based on these relationships. Students learn about various types of regression, including linear regression, multiple regression, and logistic regression. These techniques are used to model the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables, helping analysts identify trends, make forecasts, and understand the factors influencing outcomes.

5. Data Cleaning and Preparation

Before conducting statistical analyses, data cleaning and preparation are critical steps. In a Data Analyst Course, students learn how to preprocess data by handling missing values, outliers, and inconsistencies. Statistical methods are employed to detect anomalies and ensure data quality. Techniques such as imputation, normalization, and transformation are used to prepare data for analysis, ensuring that statistical results are accurate and reliable.

6. Advanced Statistical Techniques

Beyond basic statistics, Data Analyst Courses delve into advanced statistical techniques that provide deeper insights into data. Topics may include multivariate analysis, time series analysis, and Bayesian statistics. Multivariate analysis allows analysts to examine relationships between multiple variables simultaneously, while time series analysis is used to analyze data points collected over time to identify trends and seasonal patterns. Bayesian statistics offers a probabilistic approach to data analysis, incorporating prior knowledge and updating beliefs based on new evidence.

7. Statistical Software and Tools

A Data Analyst Course often includes training in statistical software and tools that facilitate the application of statistical techniques. Students gain hands-on experience with tools like R, Python, SAS, and SPSS, which are essential for performing complex statistical analyses. These tools provide functionalities for data manipulation, statistical modeling, and visualization, allowing analysts to execute analyses efficiently and accurately.

8. Interpretation of Statistical Results

Interpreting statistical results is a crucial skill developed in Data Analyst Courses. Students learn how to analyze the output of statistical tests and models, understand the meaning of statistical metrics, and draw valid conclusions. This involves understanding how to interpret coefficients, confidence intervals, and significance levels, and how to communicate findings effectively to stakeholders who may not have a statistical background.

9. Ethical Considerations in Statistics

Ethical considerations are an important aspect of statistics covered in Data Analyst Courses. Students learn about the ethical implications of data analysis, including issues related to data privacy, consent, and the responsible use of statistical methods. Understanding these ethical considerations ensures that analysts conduct their work with integrity and respect for individuals and data sources.

10. Practical Applications and Case Studies

To reinforce theoretical knowledge, Data Analyst Courses often include practical applications and case studies. These exercises allow students to apply statistical methods to real-world problems and datasets. Through case studies, students explore how statistical techniques are used to solve business problems, make data-driven decisions, and provide actionable insights. This hands-on experience helps bridge the gap between theory and practice, enhancing students’ ability to apply statistics in diverse contexts.

11. Data Visualization and Reporting

Statistics also play a role in data visualization and reporting, which are key components of Data Analyst Courses. Students learn how to create visual representations of data that effectively communicate statistical findings. This includes designing charts, graphs, and dashboards that highlight key trends and insights. Statistical principles guide the choice of appropriate visualization techniques and ensure that visualizations accurately represent the data and support decision-making.

12. Enhancing Decision-Making Skills

Ultimately, the role of statistics in a Data Analyst Course is to enhance decision-making skills. By understanding and applying statistical methods, students are equipped to analyze data rigorously, make informed predictions, and support strategic decisions. Statistical analysis provides a framework for evaluating data objectively, identifying patterns and trends, and deriving actionable insights that drive business and organizational outcomes.

Conclusion

Statistics are integral to Data Analyst Course in kolkata, forming the foundation of many analytical techniques and methodologies. From basic descriptive statistics to advanced techniques like regression analysis and time series forecasting, statistics provide the tools needed to interpret data accurately and make data-driven decisions. By mastering these statistical principles, students gain the skills necessary to tackle complex data challenges, enhance their analytical capabilities, and contribute valuable insights in various professional contexts. The comprehensive understanding of statistics gained through a Data Analyst Course equips students with the expertise needed to excel in the data-driven world and make a significant impact in their careers.

Name: ExcelR- Data Science, Data Analyst, Business Analyst Course Training in Kolkata

Address: B, Ghosh Building, 19/1, Camac St, opposite Fort Knox, 2nd Floor, Elgin, Kolkata, West Bengal 700017

Phone: 08591364838

[swadesqms]

A Beginner's Journey through Statistical Process Control Training

As the world becomes increasingly data-driven, the importance of statistical process control (SPC) cannot be overstated. SPC is a method of monitoring, controlling, and improving processes through the use of statistical analysis. It is widely used in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and finance to ensure quality and efficiency in operations.

As a beginner, the concept of SPC can seem daunting and overwhelming. However, my journey through SPC training has been an eye-opening experience that has not only enhanced my understanding of statistical analysis but also improved my problem-solving skills. In this blog post, I will share my insights and learnings from my beginner's journey through SPC training.

The first step in my SPC training was understanding the basics of statistical analysis. This included learning about data distribution, measures of central tendency, and variability. I also learned about the different types of data, such as continuous and discrete, and how to choose the appropriate statistical tools for each type.

Next, I delved into the world of control charts, which are the backbone of SPC. Control charts are graphical representations of data over time, and they help identify any variations or patterns in a process. I learned about the different types of control charts, such as X-bar and R charts, and how to interpret them to make data-driven decisions.

One of the most crucial aspects of SPC training is understanding process capability. This involves measuring the ability of a process to produce outputs within a specified range of values. I learned about process capability indices, such as Cp and Cpk, and how to use them to assess and improve process performance.

Apart from the technical aspects, SPC training also emphasized the importance of teamwork and communication. SPC is a collaborative effort, and effective communication is crucial for the success of any SPC project. I learned how to work in a team to identify and solve problems, and how to effectively communicate the results of our analysis.

One of the most significant takeaways from my SPC training was the importance of continuous improvement. SPC is not a one-time process; it is an ongoing effort to monitor and improve processes. I learned about techniques such as root cause analysis and the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, which are essential for continuous improvement.

Also Read: Minitab Training

Overall, my beginner's journey through SPC training has been a challenging yet fulfilling experience. I have gained a deeper understanding of statistical analysis and its practical application in various industries.

[excelrthane]

Unveiling the Basics of Statistics, Probability Theories, and Their Application in Data Analysis

Statistics and Probability Theories serve as the backbone of data analysis, providing the tools necessary to make sense of the vast amounts of information generated in our data-driven world. These mathematical concepts empower Data Analysts to extract meaningful insights, make informed decisions, and predict future trends. In this article, we will understand how the basics of statistics and probability theories find application in data analysis. We will also understand how Data Analysts can keep themselves updated on the latest developments through a comprehensive Data Analyst Course, especially a Data Analysis course in Mumbai.

First, let us understand the basics of statistics and probability theories:

Statistics: Statistics involves collecting, organising, interpreting, analysing, and presenting data. It plays a pivotal role in summarising information and making informed decisions. Key concepts in statistics include measures of central tendency - mean, median, and mode, which provide a central value around which data points cluster. Measures of dispersion, like standard deviation and range, highlight the spread of data, providing insights into its variability.

Probability Theories: Probability is the likelihood of an event occurring. It is denoted by a value between 0 and 1, where 0 indicates impossibility, 1 denotes certainty, and values in between represent varying degrees of likelihood. Probability theories help quantify uncertainty and randomness, making them indispensable in statistical analysis.

Basic Probability Concepts:

Probability Distribution: Probability distributions describe the likelihood of different outcomes in a given set of events. Common distributions include the normal distribution, binomial distribution, and Poisson distribution.

Conditional Probability: Conditional probability is used to measure the chances of an event occurring, given that another event has already occurred. It is expressed as P(A|B), where A and B are events.

Independence: Events are considered independent if one event occurs but does not affect the probability of the other event. Independence is a crucial concept in probability theory.

Applications of Statistics and Probability in Data Analysis:

Descriptive Statistics: This is used to describe the main features of a dataset and summarise it. This includes measures of central tendency, like mean and median, and measures of dispersion, like standard deviation.

Inferential Statistics: Inferential statistics involve making predictions for a population based on a sample of data. This includes hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and regression analysis.

Predictive Modeling: Probability theories play a vital role in predictive modelling, where analysts use statistical methods to make predictions about future events. Machine learning algorithms often rely on probability theories to make accurate predictions.

Quality Control: In manufacturing and business processes, statistical methods are employed for quality control. Control charts, process capability analysis, and hypothesis testing help ensure consistency and quality in production.

Risk Assessment: Probability theories are essential in assessing and managing risks. In finance, for example, probabilistic models are used to estimate the chances of different financial outcomes. This is a core concept taught in the Data Analysis Course in Mumbai, the financial capital of India.

The basics of statistics and probability theories form the foundation of data analysis. These mathematical tools enable Data Analysts to uncover patterns and make informed decisions through meaningful conclusions in a world inundated with data. The importance of these concepts in various fields, including business, science, and healthcare, will only continue to grow, even as technology advances. A solid understanding of statistics and probability through a Data Analyst Course is indispensable for anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of the data-driven landscape.

Business name: ExcelR- Data Science, Data Analytics, Business Analytics Course Training Mumbai

Address: 304, 3rd Floor, Pratibha Building. Three Petrol pump, Lal Bahadur Shastri Rd, opposite Manas Tower, Pakhdi, Thane West, Thane, Maharashtra 400602

Phone: 9108238354, Email: enquiry@excelr.com

[deltainfoteklive]

Statistical Data Types: All You Need to Know

Statistical data is an essential part of any research or analysis. It provides valuable insights and helps us make informed decisions. In this article, we will explore the different types of statistical data and their significance. Understanding these data types is crucial for conducting accurate analysis and drawing meaningful conclusions. I. Introduction Statistical data types refer to the different forms of data that can be collected and analyzed in statistical studies. These data types help us categorize and understand the nature of the information we are dealing with. II. Categorical Data Categorical data includes variables that fall into distinct categories or groups. These variables are usually non-numeric and represent qualitative characteristics. Examples of categorical data include gender, occupation, and marital status. Categorical data can further be classified into nominal and ordinal data. Nominal Data Nominal data represents qualitative variables with no inherent order or ranking. For example, the colors of cars or the types of fruits belong to nominal data. Nominal data can only be categorized and has no numerical significance. Ordinal Data Ordinal data, on the other hand, represents qualitative variables with a natural order or ranking. Examples include movie ratings or levels of education. Unlike nominal data, ordinal data can be ranked or ordered. III. Numerical Data Numerical data, also known as quantitative data, consists of variables with numerical values. These variables can be further divided into discrete and continuous data. Discrete Data Discrete data represents variables that can only take on specific, exact values. These values are usually countable and have gaps between them. Examples of discrete data include the number of people in a household or the number of cars in a parking lot. Continuous Data Continuous data represents variables that can take on any numerical value within a specific range. These values are typically measured and can include decimals or fractions. Examples of continuous data include temperature, height, and weight. IV. Summary Statistics Summary statistics are used to summarize and analyze data. They provide a snapshot of the data set and help in understanding its characteristics. The most common summary statistics include measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode) and measures of dispersion (range and standard deviation). The choice of summary statistics depends on the type of data being analyzed. For categorical data, the mode (most frequent value) is commonly used. For numerical data, the mean (average), median (middle value), and mode can be calculated. V. Data Visualization Data visualization is an effective way to present and interpret statistical data. Graphical representations help in understanding patterns, trends, and relationships within the data. The choice of visualization depends on the data type. For categorical data, bar graphs are commonly used. They display the frequency or proportion of each category. Bar graphs can easily compare different categories and identify the most common or least common. For numerical data, histograms are commonly used. Histograms display the distribution of values and provide insights into the spread and shape of the data. They can be used to identify outliers or check for skewness. VI. Data Transformation Data transformation involves converting data from one type to another. This can be useful when analyzing data or when certain statistical methods require specific data types. Converting numerical data to categorical data can be done through the process of discretization. Discretization involves dividing the numerical values into range intervals and assigning each value to a corresponding category. Converting categorical data to numerical data can be done through the process of encoding. Encoding assigns numerical values to each category, allowing statistical analysis to be performed. VII. Conclusion Understanding statistical data types is crucial for accurately analyzing and interpreting data. By recognizing the different types of data, researchers can choose appropriate statistical techniques and draw meaningful conclusions. Categorical data and numerical data have distinctive characteristics that require different analysis methods. Summary statistics and data visualization techniques further enhance our understanding of the data. Additionally, data transformation techniques allow for flexibility in working with different data types. By mastering the knowledge of statistical data types, researchers can extract valuable insights and make informed decisions. VIII. FAQs FAQ 1: What are the different types of statistical data? There are four primary types of statistical data: categorical data, numerical data, discrete data, and continuous data. FAQ 2: How are summary statistics used? Summary statistics summarize the characteristics of a data set. They provide measures of central tendency and dispersion, facilitating data interpretation. FAQ 3: What is the purpose of data visualization? Data visualization helps in understanding patterns, trends, and relationships within the data. It provides a visual representation for easier interpretation. FAQ 4: What is data transformation? Data transformation involves converting data from one type to another. It can be useful for analysis purposes or when specific data types are required for statistical methods. FAQ 5: Why is it important to understand statistical data types? Understanding statistical data types is essential for accurate analysis and interpretation. It ensures that appropriate statistical techniques are used and meaningful conclusions are drawn. In conclusion, statistical data types are diverse and significant in any research or analysis. Categorical data and numerical data have distinctive characteristics that require different analysis methods. Summary statistics and data visualization techniques further enhance the understanding of the data. By mastering the knowledge of statistical data types and their analysis techniques, researchers can extract valuable insights and make informed decisions. Read the full article

[jaimeartblog]

Light and Movement: A Stylistic Analysis of Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo

Looking through and comparing four of Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s most popular oil paintings reveals a lot about his stylistic tendencies and techniques, especially when it comes to light and shadows, as well as the movement of the viewer’s eye. The first painting, “The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace,” measures 45 x 62 inches and is set in a dark underground dungeon made of stone, with stairs on the upper left hand corner where a group of savage men are descending down into the darkness towards two women on the right who have both been stripped. The second painting is “The Boat of Charon,” whose 32 x 45-inch canvas depicts the boatman Charon naked on the right of the painting, where his face has been morphed beyond recognition, traversing wild and dangerous waters underneath an ominous black and yellow sky, with a landslide of intertwining naked human bodies coming from the left threatening to come onto his boat. The third painting is “Oedipus and Antigone,” measuring about 20 x 28 inches, shows the titular characters together, with Antigone at the center of the painting, kneeling on the ground with her hands on her face, mourning the dead Oedipus, whose legs and right hand can be seen peeking out from the left. Lastly, “A Lady in the Moonlight,” which measures 37 x 20, is a portrait of a lady wearing an orange dress with a translucent veil wrapped around her body and head with her arm raised up, standing in the middle of a dark field at night.   

What one first notices from afar are the strong contrasts of dark and light colors, brought about most prominently by the darkness of the surroundings and the lightness of the human figures. In “Christian Virgins” and “Boat of Charon,” Hidalgo employs chiaroscuro, with the dark backgrounds of the painting creating harsh contrasts against the more well-lit figures. Looking more closely, one can also see how their shapes and curves of their bodies are highlighted by the shadows created from the singular light source. For “Oedipus” and “Lady in Moonlight,” the contrast of dark and light is prominent with their garments. With the two paintings, it is not only the figures’ skin tone, but also their light garments -- Antigone’s white, flowy garments and the lady’s bright orange dress and white veil -- that contrast strongly against the dark backgrounds. 

Another similar use of contrast between the four paintings is Hidalgo’s use of smooth brushstrokes for human skin to contrast the rough brushstrokes used everywhere else in the frame. This contrast draws the eye to the human figures themselves, highlighting them within the sea of rough textures. The smooth skin of the figures -- the standing virgin, the back of the man in the landslide, the shoulder of Antigone, and the face of the lady in the dress -- stand out and grab the viewer’s attention against the aggression of the men in “Christian Virgins” and the ravaging waters of “Boat of Charon,” as well as the dark colors and textures around the main figures in “Oedipus” and “Lady in Moonlight.” 

As seen in the way I have been grouping the paintings, there are clear parallels between “Christian Virgins” and “Boat of Charon.” Looking at the first pairing, one notices that there are multiple figures in the painting, drawing the viewer’s eye across the canvas instead of focusing on a central figure. In “Christian Virgins,” the eye is first drawn to the bright virgins and is guided by the lined-up heads of the savage men to the left that glides across the canvas all the way to the staircase on the left. In the “Boat of Charon,” the eye is guided by the “invisible line” of the intertwined bodies to the boat, and to Charon himself at the other end of it. 

Likewise, one can also notice visual parallels with “Oedipus” and “Lady in Moonlight,” as both paintings only have one main figure at the center (not counting the parts of Oedipus on the side). Instead of being drawn on a horizontal axis, the viewer’s eye is drawn vertically in “Oedipus” from the garments of Antigone down to the ground where the lifeless Oedipus lay. In “Lady in Moonlight,” the eye is drawn from the face of the lady down to the details of her dress. The figure itself serves as the “invisible line” in these two paintings, and thus draws the viewer along their figure and down to the ground, where the eyes are led to explore the background as well.

However, there is actually a similar movement in all four paintings: a semicircular J-shape. Though subtle, it allows the eye not only to observe the main figure/s, but also the surrounding background and details. In “Christian Virgins,” the eye may be drawn horizontally from the women to the men, but the heads of the few men still descending the staircase draw the eye slightly around and upwards towards the small light peering out from the top of the staircase, in an almost semicircular J-shape. In “Boat of Charon,” the eye is drawn down the line of the bodies and back up around to the face (or lack thereof) of Charon. In “Oedipus,” the invisible line flows down from Antigone to Oedipus in a similar semicircular J-shape. Lastly, in “Lady in Moonlight,” the eye is not only drawn down to the ground, but around the arm of the lady holding the shawl up, a shape which also appears in the quarter moon above her. There was a clear intent by Hidalgo to add dynamic movement to his works.

[96thdayofrage]

Panthers and their radical Black contemporaries are now the stuff of Hollywood -- but with more leather jacket than political substance. The Review Team offers some historical correctives.

Anti-fascism was central to Black Panther Party political praxis. Panther critiques of fascism drew, in part, on the writings of Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitrov, especially his 1935 report to the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International in Moscow. In the report, titled The Fascist Offensive and the Tasks of the Communist International in the Struggle of the Working Class against Fascism, Dimitrov wrote of the particularities of U.S. fascism in the 1930s. He spoke of the US state’s mobilization of patriotism as a means towards the elimination of “un-American” activities, of its assault on the formation of a working-class movement, and of the need for a broad-based united front to mobilize against the fascist threat.

The Panthers updated Dimitrov’s analysis to attend to the emergent  fascism of the late 1960s United States. They saw contemporary fascism as a system that combined militarized, police repression of radical social movements with the control of the state by finance capital and big business. In addition to this, fascism was extended overseas through the war against Vietnam and other acts of US imperial aggression. On a practical level, the Panthers adapted Dimitrov’s call for a united front across racial lines arguing, “the poor whites and poor blacks are exploited by the same white capitalists who maintain a racist antagonism between the two groups.” In a move that some saw as more reformist than revolutionary, the Panther’s organized a Revolutionary Conference for a United Front Against Fascism that took place in Oakland over four days in July 1969.

Although appearing almost a year before the United Front conference, Kathleen Neal Cleaver’s editorial, “Racism, Fascism, and Political Murder” captures the tone and tendencies of the Panther’s analysis of fascism. In a piece that is both combative and incisive, Cleaver , the Panther’s Minister of Communication and one of the few women in positions of leadership in the party, pulls no punches in her analysis of the U.S. fascist assault on domestic Black insurrection. Originally published in The Black Panther on September 14, 1968, we reproduce it below.

Racism, Fascism, and Political Murder

Kathleen Cleaver, Communications Secretary, “Racism, Fascism, and Political Murder,” The Black Panther  2 no. 6 (September 14, 1968), 8.

White racism has been called out as the National Scapegoat for the opening stages of the Black Revolution we are witnessing today in the Report of the President's Commission on Civil Disorders . However, white racism alone is harmless as long as there are no white racists; white racists without political power and without guns are nothing but a sick nuisance to society. Although the President's Commission managed to condemn the racism rampant in white society, it failed to condemn the racists who perpetuate the existing system and even more miserably failed to provide any significant solutions for destroying racism.

SURVIVAL. The Black Revolution is a struggle for survival, first and foremost. It is not white racism but white racists who are killing black people in the most blatant to the most subtle ways, from shooting us outright in the streets like dogs to immobilizing us in the political hierarchies of the mother country's government. The black leader who moves for political power is dealt with on whatever level the Establishment racists feel he is posing the most threat: Thurgood Marshall was placed on the Supreme Court. Adam Clayton Powell was kicked out of Congress. Rap Brown is jailed on the flimsiest pretext. Malcolm X was assassinated. Whereas Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young are given the full range of the mother country's resources to gun their game on their brothers, Huey Newton must be shot in the streets and lynched in the courts. It is the guns of the racists, their bullets tearing through the flesh of our leaders that have to be dealt with. The leadership of the racists, the federal, state, and city governments with their armed forces dispatched to the black community with orders of “shoot to kill” is destroying the leadership of the black struggle in order to be able to deal directly with the unorganized, defenseless, divided black masses.

The present black population in this country, approaching some fifty million, is more united and more aggressive and larger than it has been at any other time in the history of this country, while the present white population is decreasing and its government is under siege all over the world, the most hated power on the face of the earth. The key to attaining the political power that our history and culture and strategic location guarantee us is practical, competent revolutionary national leadership that can direct the masses to satisfy their basic political desires and needs in an organized fashion. What guarantees success to such leadership is revolutionary ideology, or an understanding of how to move systematically for power, a basic program, or an understanding of what to move for and when, and an organizational structure that can put his understanding in motion.

The calculated and systematic destruction of the leadership of the Black Panther Party and harassment of its members in the Bay Area follows a national pattern of political repression taking place at this time. In every black community across this country where there is identifiable organizational leadership exerted by the black militants, it is being jailed, framed, shot, murdered, eliminated. These are being coordinated centrally in Washington, D. C. and are all directed toward the same end: setting the stage for genocide.

The fact that this is an election year is the only damper imposed upon an outright fascist attack on the whole black community; public opinion must be catered to to a minimal extent. However, the near total control of the mass media--TV and newspapers--by the mother country establishment allows it to move in complete freedom against black groups in many cases. Although the activities of the police during the insurrection following King's death were highly publicized, the repression against the militant black organizers and spokesmen in black ghettoes across the nation--Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Oakland--was not publicized at all. The assassination of King followed by systematic mass arrests and shooting of radical organizers throughout the country in April indicates a time table schedule directed towards removing militant leadership from the streets by the beginning of the summer. This will leave the black masses in an unorganized, defenseless, divided state during the summer at which point the police plan to move directly against the black community.

MASSES NOT ASSES. As long as only a small fraction of the black population expected to have decent housing, food, clothing, education, employment, protection from harm, and some measure of dignity the system could afford to function comfortably allowing a small elite group of house negroes these benefits as the price of controlling their oppressed brothers and sisters, forcing them to be satisfied with their poverty, starvation, misery, and persecution. But, when the masses of blacks start demanding basic needs be fulfilled, the power structure is in trouble because it requires a basic re-distribution of the wealth, the land, and the power in order to make this a reality.

The color line is the basis upon which wealth and power is distributed in this country; racism on the part of white institutions and white citizens forces black people to remain poor and powerless. All blacks have a ceiling on the amount of power and wealth they can amass that is unchangeable, that is maintained by the organized force and violence of the governments. Racism is maintained with armed force, on the local level by the police departments.

Political power, the control of the institutions in the society, determines to what extent racism is allowed to affect black people, determines how much freedom of action the racists have against black people. Political power is now in the hands of a racist leadership which is determined to prevent black people from satisfying their basic political desires and needs, because this leadership wants to remain in control of the land and wealth and political power that rightfully belongs to black people. The present political leadership in the mother country wants black people to act in a manner that will serve the interests of white power and maintain white domination over the world. The leadership of the black struggle across this nation wants to destroy this control and restore the control of the black community to the hands of the black people who live there. This leadership is being assaulted and eliminated viciously because it threatens to upset an international basis of power; the black liberation struggle is an international power struggle against the white racist government of the USA.

DESTROY LEADERSHIP. Just as the Vietnamese people refuse to be controlled by the capitalist racist American government, and are fighting to retain control of their own country, black people in America are fighting to have control of their communities in their hands. With a potential mass of fifty million blacks moving together to control their communities across this nation, the first assault by the political leadership of the racists is to destroy the leadership of the black struggle in order to be able to move against the masses without organized resistance. Nationwide repression against militant black organizers and spokesmen has been escalated in the black communities in the past few months in order to stop the organization of the black community. Leadership becomes secondary once the community is organized in a manner to take power; but leadership is primary during the initial period of organizing the masses. It is at this period now when leadership is most crucial to the black masses in order to initiate their political organization that the federal, state, and city governments are moving most rapidly against black leaders. An organized black community united around basic political desires and needs as outlined in the program of the Black Panther Party is the only power that the state cannot destroy when the community is prepared to defend itself against the attacks of the police. This is the creation of black power, the first step toward obtaining control over the entire black community.

The advent of fascism in the United States is most clearly visible in the suppression of the black liberation struggle in the nationwide political imprisonment and assassination of black leaders coupled with the concentration of massive police power in the ghettos of the black community across the country. The police departments nationwide are preparing for armed struggle with the black community and are being directed and coordinated nationally with the US Army and the underground vigilante racist groups for a massive onslaught against black people. But, the billy clubs and mass arrests and guns are no longer just for black people; the white peace movement and the student power struggle is also beginning to get a taste of police violence. State power is being imposed upon the black community and the white peace movement through the organized force and violence of the police departments, jails are becoming increasingly familiar with political prisoners, and the court system is being warped to serve the needs of the repression. With the economic and political system of the United States under violent attack [the] world over, the national response has been a tightening of state control over all aspects of life and a vicious and powerful assault on all forms of political dissent. Just as the US Army is attempting to settle a political question of self-determination through force and violence in Vietnam, the city, state, and federal governments across the country are meeting political dissent with police violence. With the world wide power of the United States being forced aloose in Africa and Asia and Latin America, the racist leadership at home is moving to conserve and concentrate the power that is left and will viciously destroy anyone or any group that attempts to take that power away. Black power is totally unacceptable, and peace is economically disastrous.

KILL THE NIGGERS. The economic disintegration that is accompanying the world wide attack on US imperialism is weakening the political structures of the white racists tremendously, causing factions and the splitting of parties and generalized conflict and confusion. At this point the organized and unchecked power of the armed forces, from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the local police chief in Oakland is the single most powerful bloc of political control in this country, unaided, single-minded, and extremely racist. This group controls the guns and military power of the government. And these armed forces are being deployed increasingly to settle political issues; they will continue to arrogate decisive power until it gets to the point that they make political policy and control the political apparatus outright. With this type of government, this military power structure, outright genocide of black people will be initiated. There will be no protest, for to dissent will be to die. This has already started on a sporadic scale in the spontaneous but condoned murdering of young black men in the streets daily all over the country. But the overt military dictatorship has yet to come. The very same solution that Nazi Germany proposed to the German people: kill the Jews to solve the economic and political problems of Germany will be employed in the US, with even less difficulty: Kill the niggers. Once the country pulls itself out of its disastrous defeat in Vietnam, it will be able to direct the full weight of its military power against the black struggle and settle the issue of racism and white supremacy once and for all.

NEW PHASE. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King at this point marked the initiation of a new phase in the advance of police power at the decision making level, a further step towards the complete police state. Dr. King was tolerated and even encouraged by the political leadership of the racists as long as he advocated non-violent means of gaining civil rights. He was not moving for political power, he wanted the power structure to make the decisions and take the action, and he was not disturbing the economic arrangements that the power structure was based on. But when he joined the peace movement he became a political threat to the Establishment because he held the allegiance of millions of black people. He had also [begun] to move towards the alliance of the black with the brown peoples in the U. S. And when he deepened his crusade for justice to be based on Poor People, the final project that caused his assassination, the establishment was forced to eliminate his threat. For the crux of the political arrangements in this country are based on the distinction between the rich and the poor. The poor whites and poor blacks are exploited by the same white capitalists who maintain a racist antagonism between the two groups so that the poor blacks are always victims of the poor white racists, and the poor whites are so busy carrying out racist acts they cannot see that they are victims of the wealthy white capitalists. Both poor whites and poor blacks are powerless; racism prevents them from combining their strengths to gain a redistribution of wealth and power. Dr. King had begun to initiate organizational projects among poor whites as well as poor blacks shortly before his assassination. The proposed Poor People's March on Washington that he was planning was a major threat facing the federal government that they had been unable to head off or buy out. The assassination of Dr. King only four weeks before this march was no accident. The inability of the entire apparatus of Federal Intelligence and Police services plus the Memphis Police Department to locate and arrest the assassin as well as the complete protection his activities were given in Memphis indicates a conspiracy of the highest order between the Federal Government and the local police. The assassins of President Kennedy have vanished equally without a trace. This kind of political power wielded by the military establishment that is protected and even denied by the political leaders is highly dangerous. High-level decisions against the black liberation struggle are being transmitted into action by local police departments while the spokesmen pretend there is nothing they can do to stop the police. The white community is at the mercy of a secret police state while they have not yet figured out how to control their above ground police forces.

FREEDOM OR DEATH. The day when the state and its police power ceases to protect the community but in turn attacks the people of the community has arrived in this country. This is the first stage of building a total police state. Black people have always been subjected to [the] police state and have moved to organize against it, but the structure is now moving to encompass the entire country. The elimination of black leadership--from Dr. King to Eldridge Cleaver, Adam Clayton Powell to Huey P. Newton--is designed to throw the black community into chaos. Intensified and concentrated police power in the black community is designed to impose total control. The next step is GENOCIDE . The black community faces two alternatives: total liberation or total extinction.

[arthurrosj548]

The Ultimate Guide to grandsoccertips.com

Free football Tips

Sevilla returned to profitable methods towards Real Betis on the weekend and now face an Elche facet that have lost their final five away games, failing to attain in 4 of their last nine away video games. Bayern Munich have scored 22 targets in their seven Champions League games this season and hammered Lazio four-1 in the first leg. The Bavarians have scored no less than three objectives in every of their final four games. Blackburn are winless in their final five house games and have lost seven of their final ten, while Bristol City are on a 3 match successful streak away from house. Championship leaders Norwich have won their final eight video games and have one of the best away document within the league, profitable 12 of their 18 trips so far this season. IIt’s not only faculty soccer we have experts in, we also have school basketball picks including March Madness.

In some cases, you may want extra perception into what’s going on within the game in the meanwhile. We provide this betting evaluation in our Football Betting Predictions for that purpose. Bielefeld have lost three and drawn 1 of their last 4 league games.

You might have been a supporter for years, but your love for the team is not going to make them play any higher or improve their probabilities when playing Liverpool or Man City away. Picking the best bet is about using your head not your heart. With 22 players, plus substitutes, plus a whole range of backroom employees influencing the end result of every game, there's a lot of analysis to be accomplished if you are to make an knowledgeable wager. This is where professional evaluation actually comes into its own. Chelsea solely sit one place and one point above visiting Everton, however the Londoners have not misplaced at residence to the Toffees since a 2011 penalty shootout within the FA Cup.

There are endless methods to bet on football matches other than a simple prediction of who will win. The extra you perceive about the game, and concerning the teams concerned, the more markets will speak in confidence to you, which is where oddschecker’s free football betting ideas can help. These football bets are created by the FA group and embody soccer ideas for the most important video games in the entire top leagues & tournaments in the world. However, we don’t restrict ourselves to just the highest leagues, we analyse the smaller ones so as to ensure we’re bringing you the best football betting tips potential. If you want regular, dependable, proven soccer predictions at present, oddschecker is the place to head.

The hosts head into this recreation on the again of four wins from their last four matches, three of which they've scored exactly 4 objectives in. Man Utd have won five of their final six encounters with AC Milan and each groups have scored in four of those matches. Man Utd have picked up three wins and three draws from their last six outings, bringing an finish to Man City's long successful streak final outing. Both teams have scored in 4 of AC Milan's final six fixtures and the visitors have only won twice throughout that period. Lyon beat PSG 1-0 when the two sides collided in December and this time, they have the home benefit. Both groups are level on 60pts in Ligue 1 and Lyon have secred three wins and two attracts from their last 5 fixtures.

Our day by day football tips are put collectively by our skilled group utilizing the previous match statics in addition to the current group news and kind. This means there are absolutely no half measures on the soccer betting ideas we suggest. Want to kick off your weekend with a Premier League winner? Searching for some midweek worth within the domestic and European leagues? Looking for the latest insight for the Nations League, Euros or the World Cup qualifiers?

See all Both teams to attain predictions for football video games. Btts ideas and stats primarily based on last teams games performances. Alongside the same old ideas and predictions, you’ll also get to take your pick of the most effective football betting provides every single day. We have those new buyer presents rolled out for you every time they’re out there alongside In Play presents, all buyer price boosts and plenty extra from the likes of bet365 and Betbull. Next to our soccer predictions we offer every day tips on our bet of the day web page which is well-liked amongst our visitors. All of the football betting suggestions that you just’ll discover on Footy Accumulators are a hundred% free.

This sort of wagering permits you to resolve uponon your bets depending on the unfolding motion, whether that’s a cup ultimate between two European giants or a tussle on the bottom of the desk in one of the lower leagues. For our tips, it’s difficult to submit them on web site because of the timing of matches, however you'll be able to comply with us on Twitter for the most effective stay tweets, stats, reactions and most importantly In Play suggestions as the fixtures unfold. During summer time when common soccer leagues are in a break we keep offering football ideas and predictions.

Three of the last four conferences between these two golf equipment have produced under 2.5 targets and we're predicting one other carefully fought ninety-minutes on Sunday. Under 2.5 objectives have additionally been produced in every of Man Utd's final six outings in all competitions. You can again Sassuolo to win & BTTS @ 15/four (4.75) with bet365. As you'd count on we provide in-depth betting advice for the main racing festivals and races such as the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National. You’ll discover a lot of help with the way to bet on football in our posts and of course you possibly can all the time ask questions in the feedback part in case you have any questions. You should also create a twitter account when you do not have already got one, and begin to comply with some key accounts, together with official football staff accounts where as much as the minute group information shall be posted.

The most effective ‘betting formulation’ is to put money into your knowledge as that is also the best way of enhancing your chances of winning. Football Predictions will help you increase your betting capability by offering numerous betting methods and guides where you're certain to search out some helpful methods of the commerce that can assist you polish your betting tactics. Have no worries, as your betting companion we are right here to information you want a guru and offer you knowledge that you can really apply in order to make some revenue alongside the way.

21 Soccer Ideas

Where you really see the distinction is over the long term. One particular person it is all the time necessary to listen to is your coach. They spend their week thinking about how each player can improve, how the staff can carry out better and dealing on achieving this. There are numerous choices that your targets could possibly be. Maybe it’s to score extra consistently or maybe its to be more assured at heading the ball. To see a fast enchancment in your recreation take the time outdoors of game time to work in your expertise and fitness.

It is very important that each time you'll method to the opponent you do it with confidence, security, and conviction. In this way, you impose your presence as a defender in the subject and they'll assume it twice earlier than trying to get previous over you. All defenders need to make the attackers feel their presence. You must be sure that each time they are going to get the ball, they know you'll be right next to them. When doubtful, maintain it simple and kick the ball out to a nook, sideline or to your forwards!

If you wish to go deeper examine our Free Betting Prediction all soccer matches part the place you can find all our betting predictions. Use our LiveScores for extra info, H2H statistics, group kind, standings and so on. To view all of our ideas for tomorrow's video games, go to predictions tomorrow. WinDrawWin is one of the best supply of free soccer betting tips and football predictions and betting statistics, soccer outcomes, soccer statistics and tendencies. Browse these free soccer predictions for at present and the weekend. Football match previews include statistics, betting odds markets & the most recent bookieoffers.

It takes an knowledgeable opinion or educated guess regarding the result of a specified sport of soccer to type each individual prediction. At oddschecker we offer a variety of betting recommendations on the extensive choice of betting events we cowl each day. All of our tips are free for you, the person, and we aim to provide you with the most effective research and stats to higher inform you when choosing a guess on your chosen match/occasion. This feature will enable you to generate a betting ticket in your bet slip. You can also choose between a variety of two and sixteen matches with soccer betting suggestions. Just generate a ticket with our betting tips and replica it under your bookmakers wager slip.

The worse thing that a defender can do is being “fancy” back there. When in doubt, just kick the ball out, and let all that artistic stuff to the attackers. The scenario in the picture above is something you need to totally avoid.

As mentioned in the final tip, positioning is important as it gives players that additional bit of time on the ball. But with a great first touch you can take the ball beyond the incoming tackle and open up space. By hovering between the central defenders or the gaps that emerge between them and the fullbacks, you can simply create confusion as to who is supposed to be marking you.

The stakes are higher, the lines are sharper and the betting handles are higher. Without further ado, listed here are a few suggestions to keep in mind as you wager on the insanity. To do this, a mix of algorithmic and human components are thought of. For an upcoming recreation let's say that a prediction was made by utilizing a heavy check here weighting on the last six results for both groups. It's one thing that many mathematical suggestions sites use as certainly one of their main factors.

A Novices Information To Betting On Soccer 2021

You have a way to redeem your self on the online sportsbooks as a result of they submit odds at halftime on the sides and the totals. This can be a second probability, nevertheless it may also be a method to hedge your authentic bet. If you go this route, the team that you just choose has to win the game outright, and the rating doesn’t matter.

In an effort to make baseball and hockey more interesting to point spread bettors, the sportsbook operators provide run and puck lines, respectively. Betting on the NFL remains by far the leading single driver of sportsbook enterprise. It's no shock that America's hunger for the newest and best NFLpoint spreadscontinues to develop, together with soccer damage updates and matchup data to help them win more bets, and ultimately more cash. While there are lots of high NFL betting sites on-line, we believe Bovada to be the most effective web site to bet on NFL video games. Having stated that, each online sportsbook is totally different and presents their own distinctive incentives. Bovada, nonetheless, has fast withdrawals, exclusive bonuses on certain deposit options, in addition to a bunch of special promotions.

The 2nd half line accounts for what happened in the first half to help determine how the rest of the game will play out. Now that you understand the basics of NFL spread betting you’ll wish to take a look at ourSports Betting Strategyguide which has some great NFL strategy articles written by a professional bettor. Here you can see that the Rams are +three.5, while the Cowboys are -3.5. So for this instance the Cowboys are three.5 level favorites, whereas the Rams are underdogs of three.5 points.

The data discovered on Gamblingsites.org is for leisure purposes only. It is a purely informational web site that doesn't settle for wagers of any sort. Gamblingsites.org makes use of associates links from a number of the sportsbooks/casinos it promotes and reviews, and we might obtain compensation from those specific sportsbooks/casinos in certain circumstances. Gamblingsites.org does not promote or endorse any form of wagering or playing to customers beneath the age of 18.

Online NFL prop wagers aren't offered for every sport every Sunday; they're usually limited to video games that are the only focus inside a time slot, like Sunday and Monday night time frays. A proposition wager, or prop, is a bet on a selected focused side of a recreation or the individual performance of a player. You might even see a prop on the over/under on total area goals made by each teams in a contest, the entire interceptions thrown, or whether or not there will be a particular groups touchdown scored. Live NFL betting is another choice that involves inserting wagers after the sport has started, however they are often posted at any time during the sport. This lets you make subtle wagers primarily based on your analysis of what you could have seen on the field, and it’s one other sort of wager that can be utilized to hedge.

This provides you the power to run by way of a bunch of different prospects before you place your guess. Our presents change frequently, so you can at all times ensure there’ll be one thing to make the weekend’s fixtures a little spicier. Register for free and make your predictions forward of the subsequent massive recreation. We have all the latest motion from the English Premier League and the excitement of European soccer, from ‘El Clasico’ to the Belarusian league. lots of them supply extra rewards to current clients too.

This would imply in order for a wager on the favored group on the spread to win they would need to win by more than 6.5 points in order to win the wager. It additionally implies that a guess on the underdog team would win if the underdogs lost by lower than 6.5 factors or received the game outright. Major League Soccer the top soccer league within the United States and Canada has expressed sports betting as a attainable approach to gain reputation.

Free Tennis tips

Below we are able to see an example of set handicap odds listed at Paddy Power for an upcoming match between Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Set winner betting works the identical as match winner betting, besides that somewhat than betting on the result of a whole match, you might be only betting on the result of an individual set. In this example, we will see that Nadal is at very brief odds to win the opening set of the match.

The grass floor favours some gamers while different players have types appropriate for clay or onerous court docket. Clay is the slowest of the ATP surfaces and hard courtroom is considered the center floor. Take these components into consideration when putting bets and which surfaces favour a specific gamers type. Likewise, it is essential to keep in mind previous matches between the 2 gamers. Some gamers might be thought of of lesser expertise within the event, but typically they have a enjoying fashion that troubles gamers that others contemplate to be of far higher capability.

Thus, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have often entered the French Open ranked #1 on the earth, Nadal has typically been the overwhelming favourite in the tournament. The handicapping, sports odds information contained on this web site is for leisure purposes solely. Please confirm the wagering regulations in your jurisdiction as they range from state to state, province to province and country to nation.

Tennis futures bets may be very entertaining as a result of you'll be able to observe a participant through the match or the year. Continuing with the Medvedev vs Djokovic instance, the total is set at forty.5 video games. If you suppose it is going to be a protracted, drawn-out match, guess on over. If you assume one participant will dominate and that the match will be over rapidly, ideally leading to a straight units win, guess on beneath. All you care about with these bets is the entire video games performed in the match.

PointsBet has listed 42 totally different outcomes on the ladies’s side versus 27 different outcomes on the boys’s. Remember, we are attempting to predict who may win the Australian Open in 2021. At the time of writing, this sportsbook thinks there are significantly fewer males who stand an opportunity of profitable than girls. It is simply much harder to beat the best gamers in a five-set format. The men’s and ladies’s draws are played concurrently at the Grand Slams and 4 different premier mandatory tournaments each year, with equal prize money supplied to each genders. The males’s Association of Tennis Professionals Tour and the Women’s Tennis Association Tour play most different tournaments separately and for different amounts of prize cash, with a couple of exceptions.

Tennis Consultants Predictions And Every Day Free Betting Tips

This is a tip for the players which are both playing tournaments or wish to bounce into the competitive aspect of things. Whether you are a superstitious player like Nadal or a cool and calm participant like Federer, make your self snug on the tennis courtroom. If you're at any stage of your tennis journey, whether or not you are a beginner, intermediate and even advanced, I actually have compiled an inventory of 20 tips which is able to surely take your recreation to the next stage. For all of the advanced players out there who assume the following tips may simply be too fundamental, I advise you to learn by way of the article.

Make sure you allow them to know the shoes are for taking part in actual tennis. This easy tennis tip will allow you to get your shots precisely the place you need them. If their shots appear to fall in the midst of the court docket as an alternative of the baseline…hang on the market as an alternative. You will need to know how to change your serves and strokes on a windy day when compared to taking part in in stillness. Be ready by taking part in on a lot of completely different courts and in all types of climate.

The spin will hold the ball in the service box, whereas making it more difficult to return. three.When running to a ball from one nook to the opposite, take a couple of large strides giant at first, after which switch to smaller steps as you get into place to hit the ball. Those faster, smaller steps will allow you to stay balanced and let you make needed adjustments for dangerous bounces, wind, etc. Visit Tennis to study more about tennis applications, coaches and the Tennis Centre at North Vancouver Recreation and Culture. If there's a doubt about court net dividers remaining open or closed, the desire is given to teams who want to hold the nets closed. Even should you’re on the way to accessing your courtroom, please don’t discuss in your telephone or keep on loud conversations.

Because it's so enjoyable to play, teammates have a great time with one another and the relationships amongst them get stronger and stronger. It is fundamental that staff members have nice hyperlinks and chemistry among each other. I think that the best way to tell if the court has the correct size is to play some video games and look should you feel comfy with the scale. The return of serve is a troublesome shot except your opponent has a very bad serve. The

[aslamdiaz]

Intro to IR: Answering Question

Aslam Luqman Diaz-072011233076-USA

Nationalism is an ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. Nationalism is a modern movement. Throughout history people have been attached to their native soil, to the traditions of their parents, and to established territorial authorities, but it was not until the end of the 18th century that nationalism began to be a generally recognized sentiment molding public and private life and one of the great, if not the greatest, single determining factors of modern history. Because of its dynamic vitality and its all-pervading character, nationalism is often thought to be very old; sometimes it is mistakenly regarded as a permanent factor in political behaviour (Kohn, hans, 1949-1962).

National character is an expression which describes forms of collective self-perception, sensibility, and conduct which are shared by the individuals who inhabit modern nation-states. It presupposes the existence of psychological and cultural homogeneity among the citizens of each country, as well as the idea that each nation can be considered a collective individual, with characteristics analogous to the empirical individuals who are its inhabitants. The noun character seeks to describe a universal aspect of social life-an internal dimension to the existence of individuals and an external one, observable through collective behaviour. The adjective national situates this universal aspect of social life in the specific context of those social units we call nations. Social theory interested in understanding the social force of feelings of national belonging has turned once again to this expression, which was first formulated in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. What distinguishes this trend is the fact that there is no attempt at attributing any theoretical status to national character; instead, it is more concerced with it as a practical category used in the discourse and action of the social agents and groups. The aim of this article is to summarize the genealogy of the expression and to discuss its current heuristic value (Neiburg, 2001).

One can differentiate between hard and soft power tools in international relations. Traditionally, the states opted for hard power tools in the framework of realpolitik thinking. Meanwhile, the scholars and practitioners start to recognize that the world is in need of a shift from old assumptions and rigid distinctions about ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ power since the economic and political challenges can no longer be simply resolved by military power or policy innovation (Bound, et al. 2007: 13). However, the concept of soft power, initially introduced by Joseph Nye (1990), is still in its theorization process and requires further studies. Hence, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the concept of power, with specific reference to Nye’s frames: hard, soft, and smart. The research objectives are three-fold; first, to provide an brief overview of the concept of power in international relations, second, to evaluate some of the key issues pertaining to the concept of soft power and, third, to assess education as a tool of power. This paper is based on the on-going research for the author’s Ph.D. dissertation.

The subject of power has been an interest of social scientists for many decades, if not centuries, if one were to go back to writings of Aristotle, Plato, and Machiavelli. Despite such great deal of attention, however, there are still notable academic debates over power’s specific definition and its features, which lead to the topic’s complexity and ambiguity. In discussing power, it is important to note whose power one is referring to. For instance, Arendt (1970: 44) defined power not as the property of an individual, but rather 2 argued that it belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group keeps together. Meanwhile, Dahl (1957: 203) proposed to call the objects in the relationship of power as actors. The term actor is inclusive and may refer to individuals, groups, roles, offices, governments, nation-states, or other human aggregates. One of the most influential definitions of power in the field of social science belongs to Max Weber (1947: 152) who defined it as the probability of one actor within a social relationship to be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance. According to Weber, power is a zero-sum game and is an attribute that derives from the qualities, resources and capabilities of one subject. However, the Weberian definition attracted a number of criticisms. Martin (1971: 243) pointed out that Weber did not define power, but rather provided the basis for a comparison between the attributes of actors. Moreover, the author argued that, by building the element of conflict into his definition and viewing power solely in zero-sum terms, Weber disregarded the possibility of mutually convenient power relations (Martin, 1971: 243). In contrast, Talcott Parsons (1967) offered a conceptualization of power, which did not define it in terms of conflict, but rather views it as a system resource. Parsons (1967: 208) argued that power is a capacity to secure the performance of binding obligations by units in a system of collective organization, when obligations are legitimized with reference to the collective goals, and where in case of recalcitrance, there is a presumption of negative sanctions. In this regard, Anthony Giddens (1968: 264) stated that, among other things, the Parsonian definition does not take into account that power is exercised over someone and by treating power as necessarily legitimate and assuming a consensus between power holders, Parsons ignores the hierarchical character of power. To sum up, the two major threads in this discussion about power, the Weberian and the Parsonian, both suffer from major problems of definition (Martin, 1971: 244). These are just two instances of how power discussion attracts intense debates and disagreements. The purpose of this short discussion is to emphasize that power is one of the most central and problematic concepts in social science. Despite widespread use, there is little agreement upon basic definitions, with individual theorists proposing their own idiosyncratic terminologies of power (Bierstedt, 1950). Gallie (1956) confirms that due to the existence of competing theories and meanings, power is essentially a contested subject.

Power remains one of the critical subjects in political science, including the sphere of international relations. The discipline of International Relations incorporates a number of competing schools of thought, but for the long time, the discipline has treated power as the exclusive prerogative of realism. In fact, there is still a tendency among scholars and 3 practitioners to view power predominantly through the realist lens. To reiterate, the five basic assumptions of realists about the international system are that it is anarchic; all great powers possess some offensive military capability; states can never be certain about the intentions of other states; survival is the primary goal of states; and states are rational actors (Mearsheimer, 2001: 30-31). The realists view the nation-states as the key actors in the international system. Hans Morgenthau (1954: 25) famously proclaimed that international politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power and ‘whatever the ultimate aims of international politics, power is always the immediate aim’. According to the author, the ‘ubiquity of the struggle for power in all social relations on all levels of social organization’ made the arena of international politics a necessity of power politics (Morgenthau, 1954: 31). Carr (1964: 102) was in agreement with Morgenthau and asserted that politics, at its heart, is power politics. For all realists, calculations about power lie at the core of how states perceive the world around them (Mearsheimer, 2001: 12). While realists are in agreement that power is a key determinant in political relations, there is there is a variation in how individual realists understand the concept. For instance, classical realists posit that the permanent struggle for power stems from the fundamental human drive for power (Morgenthau, 1954). In contrast, for structural or neo-realists, it is the architecture of the international system that forces states to pursue power and maximize their power position (Mearsheimer, 2001; Dunne, Kurki, and Smith, 2013). Furthermore, there are disagreements as to how the power should be conceived and measured (Walt, 2002). There are two dominant traditions of power analysis in IR: the ‘elements of the national power approach’, which depicts power as property of states, and the relational power approach, which depicts power as an actual or potential relationship (Baldwin, 2012: 2). In other words, some realists define power in terms of resources, while others define it in a relational manner as the ability to exercise influence over other actors. Proponents of the elements of the national power approach associate power with the possession of specific resources. All of the important resources that a state possesses are typically combined to determine its overall aggregate power. The resources that are indicators of national power are the level of military expenditure, size of the armed forces, gross national product, size of territory, and population. In line with this tradition, Morgenthau (1954) equated power with the possession of identifiable and measurable resources and listed geography, natural resources, industrial capacity, military, and population as stable power elements of a nation. Carr (1946: 109) argued that military power was the most important form of power in international politics, as it serves as both a means and an end in itself. However, one of the difficulties with the elements of the national power approach is the issue of power conversion.

Refrensi:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/nationalism

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/national-identity

http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/content/pdf/participant-papers/2015-12_annual/Power-In-Ir-By-Raimzhanova,-A.pdf

#IRFEST_USA_Intro to IR

[etutorworld123]

Why Just Math Learned at School is not enough?

Why Math at Home?​

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many students needing to learn from home. Without in-person instructions, many students have started to fall behind in their coursework. Now more than ever, students need to catch up on what they missed outside of the virtual classroom setting with e-tutoring. By adding e-tutoring to your student’s daily routine, they will be able to supplement what they learned in the classroom with more personalized instruction. Make sure your student is prepared for high school math courses and standardized tests by enrolling in an online pre-algebra course with eTutorWorld.​

How a pre-algebra online course prepares students for high school math​

Pre-algebra is the foundation of all high school math. Enrolling your student into a pre-algebra online summer course will prepare them for math in the future. Pre-algebra will help your student become familiar with some of the terms that they will run into during their high school career. The course will reinforce the basic arithmetic skills they learned during middle school and expand on them. Taking a pre-algebra course will help your student transition between middle school to high school math easier. The topics your student will learn in pre-algebra will continue to be present in every other math course they take in the future.​

Some topics covered in the pre-algebra course include reviewing exponents, rounding, and finding the mean, median, and range. All of these topics show up in high school math courses. Exponents are essential to algebra, geometry, and later statistics or calculus courses. Understanding the basics of exponents will prepare students to solve quadratic equations and complicated functions. Rounding is needed to simplify mathematic expressions.

By ingraining rounding into their foundational coursework, students will be able to conquer higher-level courses and equations faster. Once your student reaches statistics or calculus courses, measures of central tendency (also known as the mean, median, and range) are needed. Having a basic grasp of these concepts will help them with graphing problems in the future. As a foundational course, a solid pre-algebra course will be invaluable for your student’s future. 

​How pre-algebra prepares for standardized tests​​           

Pre-algebra is not only the foundation of high school math courses but also is the backbone of high school standardized tests. Tests such as the SCAT, SAT, ISSE, ACT, and others examine students’ pre-algebra skills. These skills appear in every high school math subject, so they are likely to appear in standardized tests for these subjects. Online pre-algebra practice will help prepare your student by introducing them to the topics that will appear on these standardized tests in the future. By solidifying their understanding of the basics, your student will be able to complete test questions faster and with more confidence.​​Let’s take the SAT and the ACT as examples. 

The SAT math section is timed allotting students 80 minutes to complete one calculator section and one no-calculator section. The SAT also contains three areas of focus: the Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving with Data Analysis, and Passport to Advanced Math. With a pre-algebra course under your student’s belt, they will be prepared to solve the no-calculator section faster with rounding.

They will also have an easier time with the Heart of Algebra focus as well as the Data Analysis focus. The mean, median, and mode that they learned will come in handy for Data Analysis.​​Similar to the SAT, the ACT also tests your student on mean, median, and mode. 20-25% of The ACT math section consists of pre-algebra concepts. A pre-algebra course will give your student a leg-up with the ACT just by taking a pre-algebra course. 

The ACT also consists of 15-20% basic elementary algebra. Combining both percentages, a pre-algebra course will prepare your student for up to 45% of the ACT. ​​

Why Your Student Should Take a Pre -Algebra Online Class

​​Enrolling your student into an online pre-algebra course will give them a foundation to build all of their high school math courses in the future. The course will also give your student an edge when taking standardized math tests. Enroll with eTutorWorld to give your child a headstart.  

[berniesrevolution]

The warning signs are flashing red: Democracy is under threat. Across Europe and North America, candidates are more authoritarian, party systems are more volatile, and citizens are more hostile to the norms and institutions of liberal democracy.

These trends have prompted a major debate between those who view political discontent as economic, cultural or generational in origin. But all of these explanations share one basic assumption: The threat is coming from the political extremes.

On the right, ethno-nationalists and libertarians are accused of supporting fascist politics; on the left, campus radicals and the so-called antifa movement are accused of betraying liberal principles. Across the board, the assumption is that radical views go hand in hand with support for authoritarianism, while moderation suggests a more committed approach to the democratic process.

Is it true?

Maybe not. My research suggests that across Europe and North America, centrists are the least supportive of democracy, the least committed to its institutions and the most supportive of authoritarianism.

I examined the data from the most recent World Values Survey (2010 to 2014) and European Values Survey (2008), two of the most comprehensive studies of public opinion carried out in over 100 countries. The survey asks respondents to place themselves on a spectrum from far left to center to far right. I then plotted the proportion of each group’s support for key democratic institutions. (A copy of my working paper, with a more detailed analysis of the survey data, can be found here.)

Respondents who put themselves at the center of the political spectrum are the least supportive of democracy, according to several survey measures. These include views of democracy as the “best political system,” and a more general rating of democratic politics. In both, those in the center have the most critical views of democracy.

Some of the most striking data reflect respondents’ views of elections. Support for “free and fair” elections drops at the center for every single country in the sample. The size of the centrist gap is striking. In the case of the United States, fewer than half of people in the political center view elections as essential.

Of course, the concept of “support for democracy” is somewhat abstract, and respondents may interpret the question in different ways. What about support for civil rights, so central to the maintenance of the liberal democratic order? In almost every case, support for civil rights wanes in the center. In the United States, only 25 percent of centrists agree that civil rights are an essential feature of democracy.

One of the strongest warning signs for democracy has been the rise of populist leaders with authoritarian tendencies. But while these leaders have become more popular, it is unclear whether citizens explicitly support more authoritarian styles of government. I find, however, evidence of substantial support for a “strong leader” who ignores his country’s legislature, particularly among centrists. In the United States, centrists’ support for a strongman-type leader far surpasses that of the right and the left.

(Continue Reading)

[drapeau-rouge]

Sweden’s Social Democrats and the Communist Movement during and after World War II

The Communist Party of Sweden's contribution to the European Communist Initiative Parties's february 2019 conference "Struggle for Communism: 100 Years of Political Heritage." The text will give an account of the ideological development of the communists in Sweden during and after World War II. During this time, the peaceful transition to socialism was introduced and the party revised its attitude towards Social Democracy and the bourgeois state, which have had long-term effects on the workers’ movement in Sweden. The role of the Social Democrats will also be analyzed and commented upon, so as to dispel myths and misconceptions concerning them.

After the war, the Social Democrats had taken command of Swedish capitalism and strengthened its ties with the Swedish capitalists and imperialists. Unfortunately, it is not possible to paint a complete picture of the developments during this time, as it would require much more work, but we want to highlight certain aspects of the period, so as to draw some conclusions.

The economic and political policy of the Social Democrats

The real wages of the workers had plummeted during the war – in fact, the government had introduced a freeze to the wages in 1942. Because of the constant attacks on the wages of the workers, the wages had been frozen on an already low level, which left a lot of workers frustrated and fueled demands for increases in wages. At the same time, the level of exploitation of the workers had increased through increases in the intensity of the work.

These factors allowed the communists to organize and lead 130,000 metal workers in a strike for wage increases. The strike lasted five months, and even though only small direct gains could be made, the strike put an end to the lowering of the workers’ wages.

In 1944, the Social Democrats had agreed upon and put forward a programme for the workers' movement in the post-war years. Through this programme, they advocated for the nationalisation of key industries, as well as an expanded welfare-state. Even though they quickly abandoned this programme, as their co-operation with the bourgeoisie and capitalists deepened, some of the demands were carried out – in fact, against the background of the militancy of the workers’, the influence of the communist party and the victory of the Soviet Union, they had to be carried out. The real wages of the workers began to increase and certain benefits, such as pensions and healthcare were made available to the workers.

In 1948, the Swedish government, headed by the Social Democrats, began receiving aid within the framework of the Marshall Plan. All in all, Sweden received 107 million USD in aid, which was less than Denmark and Norway, but it still served to bind Sweden closer to US-American imperialism and helped open Scandinavia to an influx of American capital. In this context, it is also important to note that Sweden, almost directly after the Second World War, had begun developing economic ties with the Soviet Union, and had begun exporting goods to them. The adherence of Sweden to the Marshall Plan ended this relationship.

In contrast to the Social Democratic programme of 1944, the policy around 1950 was openly in favor of capital. Price control on basic goods was dropped, allowing for an increase of the price of foodstuff, and in the beginning of the 1950’s, rationing, which had previously guaranteed workers a basic amount of foodstuff was abolished. At the same time, the government and the state took a more active stance in the development of the economy. Large amounts were invested in agriculture, which was soon mechanized, and new investments allowed for a renewal of the machine parks of the industries.

The Swedish state came to play a much more important role in the economic development during the post-war years than before. Nationalizations were carried out, mainly in sectors with low profitability that were essential to the smooth running of Swedish capitalism. These measures were directed at public transportations, postal and telecommunication services, the supplying of electricity and the construction of houses.

In brief, we would also like to highlight the role of the Swedish welfare state in the expansion of Swedish monopoly capital. With the development of the productive forces, new needs for the expansion of industry arose. Workers needed to be concentrated and moved to where the industry was, creating a need for public housing. The solution was the building of millions of new homes, propelling, amongst others, the construction company Skanska, into a position as one of the world’s largest construction companies.

For the working class, this meant a move from their homes in the countryside, which they had owned themselves, into the cities, where they received rental apartments, both municipal and private. This meant that the wages of the workers in some part was channeled back into the system, tying the workers even more closely to the machinery of wage slavery. Even though the standard was improved through these projects, it is not comparable to what would have been possible, had another system existed.

The welfare state developed primarily as a need for developed capitalism to expand further and to better correspond to the need of the productive forces, but the impact of a well-organized workers' movement could push parts of the welfare further than would have been necessary for the needs of the productive forces. Such an example is the introduction of a generalized scheme of childbenefits.

The state also intervened in the planning of the economy. This could take the form of the direction of workers from "stagnating" areas to areas with a lack of workers. In this way, the state could effectivize production and raise profitability for the capitalists. Another way of doing this was the implementation of the so called MTM-method. Carried out by the state and advocated by the Social Democrats, officials started monitoring the workers, mapping their every move in order to find more effective ways of doing the work.

Even though this is far from a complete picture of the period, we would like to draw to basic conclusions, before we move on the analysis of the development of the Communist Party of Sweden.

As regards the state, it is important to note that the basic role of the bourgeois state is to support the smooth running of the capitalist machinery. The nationalizations carried out were not carried out for the benefit of the people, but they corresponded to the needs of capital – in order for an economic expansion to be possible, it was imperative that the transportation networks were expanded, and in order to increase the profits of the construction companies, as well as to concentrate the workers to the industrial cities, the building of new homes for the workers became interesting for monopoly capital.

Even though it would be wrong to view the welfare of the workers as simply an effect of the development of capitalism – the workers struggled and sacrificed alot in order to achieve their gains – it is equally wrong to ignore this aspect of the building of the welfare state.

As regards Social Democracy as a phenomena, the role that they played (and play) in Sweden is one which entails the pacifying of the workers and the tying of them to capitalism. Without Social Democracy, it would have been impossible for the bourgeoisie to effectively combat the communists – the influence that the Social Democrats had in the union movement and in the workers’ movement became the most effective weapon that capital could use in their struggle against the communists.

After the war, the Social Democrats became excellent administrators of the capitalist system, ensuring the expansion of Swedish capitalism through effective and detailed managing, as well as through the work they did in pacifying the workers’ movement.

Overview: the ideological development of the SKP during and after World War II

As in a lot of other communist parties at the time, the tactics of the SKP were focused on political unity with the Social Democrats and other ”progressive” forces. Central to the ideological changes was an almost naïve optimism, which led leading cadres to believe that a peaceful transition to socialism was possible, and that this could be achieved through the creation of a united Marxist Workers’ Party.

This tendency can be traced back to the recommendation made by Dimitrov in 1935, where he claimed that "[t]he interests of the class struggle of the proletariat and the success of the proletarian revolution make it imperative that there be a single party of the proletariat in each country."

As we will see, the conditions for the unity of the workers’ parties that Dimitrov posed, was significantly watered down by the SKP and even led to accusation of liquidatory tendencies from the cadre of the party.

In the forming of the post-war policy of the SKP, a lot of different factors came into play. The previous repression that the movement was subjected to, in combination with the suspension of the Comintern and the ensuing free reins to form a national policy, the quantitative growth of the party in the last year of the war and the ideological heritage of popular and united fronts merged and gave birth to a new kind of policy.

As a response to the dissolution of the Comintern, a political commission had been launched by the Central Committee. Consisting of several prominent members, it was to lead the forming of a new party programme, aimed to replace the old Comintern programme. Four weeks later, in the summer of 1943, at a national conference of the party, the commission presented its work.

The suggestion was that as a basis for discussion, the party should use the Social Democratic programme of 1920, which had been inspired by the German Erfurt Programme. The reason for this was that the "programme was seen by hundreds of thousands of workers as directive." The party chairman, Sven Linderot, pointed out that the reason for the adoption of the programme of 1920 was tactical, not ideological – it was seen as a way to strengthen the left within the Social Democrats,at a time when there were serious political contradictions within the Social Democratic Party.

At the same conference, Nils Holmberg meant that the struggle for Soviets in Sweden was inadvisable – instead, the goal was to ”conquer and put in the service of the working class the old, historically developed, national organs for peoples’ power: city and municipal councils, as well as the national parliament.”

The conference approved of the suggestion of the political commission and adopted the programme of 1920 as a basis for discussion, although it sharpened its terminology. At the same time, the conference appointed a programme commission, charged with creating a new programme.

In February of 1944, the programme commission presented its proposal for a new party programme, which would be put to the vote of the members on the congress later that year. In the programme, vital ideological aspects, such as the dictatorship of the proletariat, the explicit mention of the revolution and the struggle for a Soviet-Sweden had been removed. It was also noted that the conditions were ripe for a transition to socialism, due to the fact that monopoly capitalism had transformed into state monopoly capitalism. In a comment on the proposal, Linderot said that since the goal of the party was the creation of a unified Workers’ Party, the programme of the SKP had to be one that could just as well be used for such a united party.

The proposal was accepted on the party congress in May 1944. In contrast to the earlier programmes of the parties, that of 1921 and that of the Comintern in 1928, explicit mentions of the road to socialism were omitted – in fact, the road to socialism was not mentioned at all. This omission of the violent revolution was not an explicit position in favor of a peaceful transition, but it opened the gates for such interpretations. On the same congress, both Hilding Hagberg and Fritjof Lager, members of the Political Bureau, claimed that a peaceful transition was "possible" and "could not be ruled out."

However, it took yet another year – until the meeting of the Central Committee in March 1945 – for the peaceful transition to socialism to take more concrete shape. During this meeting, Set Persson, was charged with the task of explaining the political situation and the tasks of the party. He explained that:

[w]e give our support to the aspirations to achieve progress through normal democratic ways [...] and on a peaceful road and we acknowledge that this road can be passable.

Apart from the adoption of the new party programme, the congress of 1944 adopted the so-called "Post-War Programme" of the Social Democrats as its programme of action.

Both of these programmes were adopted with the aim of strengthening the political unity of the working class, as well as to strengthen the left-wing within the social democratic party. In a famous comment on the Post-War Programme, Linderot claimed that it ”decapitated the shadow of capitalism.”

The reasoning of the SKP and Linderot was as follows: the programme would not be realizable within the framework of capitalism, but since this was not the aim of the Social Democrats, it would only serve to decapitate the shadow of capitalism. Linderot claimed that the most important aspect of this programme was its demand for full employment. This demand, along with others, could not be fulfilled within the framework of capitalism – if the SKP was successful in forcing the trade unions and the Social Democrats to keep the programme, this would become apparent for them.

By adopting a party programme built on an old social democratic one, as well as adopting the social democratic programme of action, the party had achieved one of the basic conditions for unity: the subordination of the Social Democrats under the programme of the communist party. The paradox, however, was that the communists had already adopted a social democratic programme, even though they sharpened the terminology – this meant, in essence, that the Social Democrats would be subordinate to a radical social democratic programme.

During the war, Sweden had been governed by a coalition of all parties except the communist party. To counter this, and to try to break loose the Social Democrats from co-operation with the bourgeoisie, the SKP launched the slogan of a "Left Government". Consisting of the communists, the Social Democrats, as well as "progressives from bourgeois parties", it would "draw a clear line against the forces of fascism, reaction and big finance."

The slogan of a "Left Government" was abandoned in October 1945, when the Social Democrats had assumed power and replaced the coalition government. To continue with the old slogan would imply that the communists wanted to assume state power by themselves.

When we leave the year 1945, there has been a significant shift in the analyses and tactical considerations taken by the communist party. Parts of the ideology, which were previously considered pillars of Marxism Leninism, such as the dictatorship of the proletariat and the revolutionary assumption of power, had been left out. First, it had been replaced by vague and open formulations, and then later, through the interpretation of the Central Committee, the road to the peaceful transition to socialism had been opened.

The peaceful road to socialism was central to the analysis of the communists in Sweden at this time, and it was adopted almost unanimously. Some protests and discontent could be heard from the various party cells and local organizations, but the opposition was never united, nor coherent in their critique.

The peaceful road to socialism

In order to understand the shift towards the peaceful transition, it is important to understand the material conditions that communists faced during this time.

During the war, Sweden had been governed by a coalition of all the "democratic" parties because of the special situation that developed accross Europe. The communists had been labeled violent and extremists, and by the bourgeoisie, they were judged as undemocratic and thus excluded from the national coalition.  

The repression against the communists

Instead, they were persecuted as never before. Culminating with the Finnish Winter War, the Social Democrats and the bourgeoisie unleashed furious attacks against the communists, including terrorist attacks, internment camps, as well as several attempts to silence the communist press.

In the beginning, the communist newspaper Ny Dag [New Day] was in the center of their attacks. By first recalling all the newspaper’s loans, then forcing newspaper venues to stop selling the newspaper and then forcing advertisers to withdraw their advertisments through threats against them, they tried to silence the press. By mobilizing members and sympathizers, the attempts to strike at the economy of the party was unsuccesful.

The next step was to involve the judiciary. It had been made illegal to "damage relationships to foreign powers" and this was frequently used to charge the communist press with criminal behaviour. Often, previous volounteers to the International Brigades signed articles and agreed to be formal editors of the newspapers. Since they returned from Spain, they had been blacklisted, and a couple of months in prison solved the issue of food and roof for them. The longest punishment handed out was five months of hard labor against an old volounteer to Spain because of an article that critizised the government’s support of the reactionary forces in Finland.

When it became apparent that this tactic would not work, they sharpened the repression. In 1940, parliament unanimously (apart from the communist MPs and one liberal) approved a law that would made it possible to outlaw the Communist Party. The law was never used – its approval meant that the party was constantly faced with the threat of illegalization. Due to the threats, the party chairman, Sven Linderot, was often absent from meetings, because the party feared his arrest. Almost at the same time, the police conducted searches in all of the party offices around the country, and in the houses of communists, as well as in communist-dominated labor unions.

Within the labor unions and the workers’ movement, the Social Democrats attempted to attack the communist by in some unions (such as the Metal Workers’ Union) simply ban communists from having a membership or being elected. In their newspapers, the Social Democrats called for "the extinction" of the communists, claimed that "all sentimentality has to be disregarded concerning the communists" and that communists "are not people in an ordinary sense."

At the same time, the government decided to forbid the transportation of communist newspapers on Swedish railways and through the Swedish post. Distribution was therefore organized by party members, who personally traveled accross the country to deliver the newspaper.

The atmosphere was thick with anti-communism, and as a natural development, attacks were preparted and carried out. The office of Ny Dag in Stockholm was raided by armed right-wing youths – luckily, veterans from the Spanish Civil War were present and could easily disarm them. Party members and veterans took turns guarding the party offices, defending them from attackers.

In the north of Sweden, they were not so lucky as in Stockholm. On the 3rd of March, the local police and representatives of the liberal party, as well as local right-wing journalists planned and carried out a bombing of the offices of the communist paper Norrskensflamman [Flame of the Northern Lights], resulting in the death of five persons, including two children. One of the casualties was Arthur Hellberg, member of the central committee of the party, as well as editor of the Norrskensflamman. The perpetrators were given symbolic punishments and let out shortly thereafter. This is the worst terrorist attack ever to take place in Sweden.

Simultaneously, thousand of communist cadres, many of whom had been called in to the army because of the threat of war, were interned in camps around Sweden, most of them in the north. They were kept there, cut off from the outside, not knowing whether or not they would be executed or not. One of the men inside lost his wife and child during the attack against the Norrskensflamman, but was refused leave.

The first internment camp was established in 1939, and they were reinforced and expanded as long as Nazi-Germany was on the offensive in the Soviet Union. As soon as the tide of war changed, they began dismantling the camps. Apart from the internment camps where they held young communists during the war, concentration camps were set up under the Social Democratic government, where foreign communists fleeing from Nazi occupation were placed.

This summary of the repression against the Swedish communists during World War II serves as one factor, which influenced the ideological development within the Swedish communist movement. As a consequence of the repression, the party became more cautious and it became more and more important to portray the party as democratic, so as to gain acceptance by other parties and nonrevolutionary workers. In combination with other factors described below, it serves as the material basis, from which the ideological development of the party gained traction.

The attacks on communists in the post-war years

After the war, the repression against the communists took other forms than before. It was no longer possible to continue on the same path, partly due to the prestige of the Soviet Union, and partly due to the growth of the communist movement (in the elections to parliament in 1944, the communists managed to gather more than 10%). Instead, the attacks against the communists within the labor movement intensified. In 1948, the social democratic prime minister, Tage Erlander, said that "the workplaces are a battlefield against communism".

In 1941, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) was centralized, which meant that the decisions concerning strikes had to be taken by the central leadership. This gathered the power of the union in the hands of the leading social democrats, who at the same time were building a powerful organization of tens of thousands of union representatives, which after the war were used against the communists.

In 1945, a big survey was commissioned by the union leadership (social democrats) in order to map the balance of power between the communists and the social democrats within the union movement. The survey showed that one in ten of the representative bodies of the unions (FCO – these were later abolished) were in the hands of the communists, which enabled them to lead the Metal Workers’ Strike in 1945 (see below). The mapping of the communists was also done in cooperation with the secret police, and in other forms continued at least into the 70’s. All in all, hundreds of thousands of communists, peace activists, labour organizers and others were registered by the secret police, in cooperation with the Social Democrats.

On the basis of the survey, it was possible to effectivize the attacks against the communists. The elected union representatives connected to the Social Democrats received education in combating the communists. Hired agitators were sent to districts dominated by communists and similiar actions were taken.

In this way, it was possible for the social democrats to slowly undermine the support that the communists had within the labor movement.

Apart from the repression, other factors influenced the ideological developments. One bourgeois commentator formulates it as follows:

Both the programme and the commentaries [from the central committee] were formed under the impression of the contemporary events in Europe [...] The progress of the Red Army, the collapse of the old states, the resistance in the still occupied countries and the radicalization of the continental Social Democracy together with the psychological situation in Sweden gave room to significant optimism.

To these factors, we must add both the ideological heritage stemming from the seventh congress of the Comintern and the appeals to form united workers’ parties, as well as to work in a popular and united fronts, as well as the repression suffered by the communists, who "in defence of the legality of their press and the party increasingly were driven onto the road of principal democracy." It is important to note that the intention of the party was never class-collaborationist or reformist, but its aim was socialism – in hindsight, we can be critical of the outcome and their analysis, but we must acknowledge that their intentions were honest.

Against this background of both optimism and caution (it is wrong to call it fear, especially after what the communists had endured), the shifts in the road to socialism must be seen. Some key factors, which the party had identified, led them to support the idea of a peaceful transition.

The most important factors were these:

In general, power had been shifted to the benefit of the working class, and anticipation was big that it would continue, because this shift had gone further in the rest of Europe. This power was built on the fact that "[t]he working class had been able to achieve some positions within the state apparatus."

The power of the working class took the following expressions: a strong and united Trade Union Conferederation (LO), there was a workers’ majority in parliament, in some regional assemblies and in a large number of municipal assemblies.

The size of the working class had grown and now encompassed more than 60% of the people, while the bourgeoisie was both economically and politically divided.

Especially inspiring was the growth of the peoples’ democracies in Eastern Europe. This topic was given a lot of room in the theoretical discussions of the party, and the establishment of a peoples’ democracy in Sweden was seen as feasable.

Within the framework of the peaceful transition to socialism, there are three main ideological shifts, all of them occuring simultaneously and fuelling each other.

On one level, the peaceful transition is built upon a change in focus. Whereas traditional marxismleninism builds upon the scientific identification of the basic contradiction between capital and labor, the basic contradiction within the framework of the peaceful transition builds upon the contradiction between democracy and reaction. Connected to this is also the weakening of democratic centralism and the transition to a mass party.

The shift in contradiction is at the same time fuelled by the shift in the analysis of Social Democracy: if the basic contradiction is that between democracy and reaction, it follows that all democratic forces are allies in the struggle against reaction – this includes the Social Democrats, who in the context of the contradiction between capital and labor were seen as enemies, as they guaranteed stability to capitalism.

Connected to both these tendencies, the view of the bourgeois state changed. The defence of the party against attacks made the keeping and deepening of bourgeois democracy, in combination with the "objective factors" in support of the peaceful transition that the party had identified, let a revision in terms of how the bourgeois state was analyzed. Instead of fighting to establish soviets, the party had to ”conquer and place in the service of the working class the old, historically developed, national organs for peoples’ power: the city and municipal assemblies, and the national parliament."

In the following, we will paint a picture of the each of these basic tendencies, as they are central to the understanding of the peaceful transition to socialism, as it was developed by the Communist Party of Sweden during this time.

A shift in focus: from "capital-labor" to "democracy-reaction"

The basic contradiction within capitalist and imperialist society is that between capital and labor. One class exploits the other, and appropriates the surplus value created by the other class. This contradiction is to be found in the economic basis of capitalist society: it is the pillar, on which it is built.

During this time, it is possible to see a shift from this view to a view where the main contradiction is seen as that between democracy and reaction. This means that focus has been shifted from the scientific analysis of the material basis of capitalism to the different political expressions that capitalism takes – the focus thus shifted from the basis to the superstructure.

In his speech on the 13th party congress in 1946, Linderot gave this expression a more programmatic expression. He claimed that the "front of struggle is found between democracy and reaction." This was not only the case in Sweden, but in the entire world. His speech was accepted by the party congress as directive for the party line. The most immediate consequence is that the difference between proletarian and bourgeois democracy is made unclear and the differentiation between the two kinds of democracy is hard to distinguish.

The formal shift occured in 1946, but this did not keep the party tactics from being formed by it before. On the tactial level, the shift in focus led to the adoption of the slogan of a "Democratic Bloc", which was meant to gather all bourgeois democratic and progressive forces in the country in the struggle against reaction. This new Bloc replaced the slogan of a "Left Government" and was supposed to be built upon the expansion of the Post-War Programme. This expansion of the PostWar Programme was to be done by the Social Democrats, the LO and the SKP – the idea was that it would constitute a democratic platform, which would draw a clear line against reaction.

As a further consequence, democratic centralism became more and more of an obstacle. If the objective was to gather as much people as possible in the struggle for democracy, it was counterproductive to keep strict rules and regulation as to who could become a member. Gunnar Öhman, representing the Central Committee, asked the following question:

But what benefits our party the most? The small elite of 100 percent clear communists, isolated from the masses or the big commune, with less clear members but with solid connections to the working class?

He answered it as follows:

Our party is not and cannot be a society for mutual admiration or some kind of sacred society, instead our party is a fighting workers’ organization, whose doors are open to all of our class comrades and for everyone who wants to place his or hers powers at the disposal of the working class. The ideal that we must strive for when it comes to the construciton of our party is not the elite of the 100 percent clear communists, but the big mass organization of concious communist fighters.

On another occasion, Öhman also accused those he called ”secterians” (essentially, those who did not approve of the mass line) for not wanting to take the least developed workers into account. When this line of reasoning is turned around, its implications are obvious: the ”secterians” take into account the most concious workers, but do not want to shift their focus to the mass of unconcious workers. As opposed to this, Öhman, who spoke on behalf of the Central Committee, wanted to shift focus to the least concious workers.

As a consequence, the congresses of 1944 and of 1946 eased the demands put on new members, making membership easier to obtain.

As mentioned earlier, Hagberg declared that it was important to adopt the somewhat revised social democratic programme of 1920 because it was seen as directive by hundreds of thousands of workers. This puts the relationship between the party and the masses on its head, and instead of leading the workers, the party follows it: what the workers see as directive, becomes directive to the party as well.

Of course, this tendency weakened the vanguard character of the party, forming a mass party instead of a vanguard party. It goes hand in hand with the shift in focus to democracy-reaction and in the new policy of unity of the party.

Connected to this is the analysis of Social Democracy, to which we will now move on.

The role and function of Social Democracy

Central to the SKP was the political unity of the working class, to be achieved through the unity with Social Democracy. This was the logical conclusion, if one was to see the main line of conflict as that between democracy and fascism.

In accordance with the new analysis and shift in focus, the SKPs short term objective became to strengthen the left within the Social Democrats, as this would make unity easier. Already in 1942, Linderot had, somewhat exaggerated, identified two opposing factions within the social democratic party: the left and the right. He also claimed that the party would sooner or later split along these lines, thereby exaggerating the control the right-wing had in the party, accentuating the need for a strong and fighting left-wing. Through the adoption of the Post-War Programme, the same goal was achieved: through adopting it, the communists would make it harder for the Social Democrats to abandon it, which would strengthen the left-wing character of the party.

The activity of the party during these years was focused on achieving a constructive communication with the Social Democrats, with the hope of entering into a popular front-government. During the metal workers’ strike in 1945, Linderot said that ”[i]f one or two industries are striking this winter, it means that they will call from the offices of the Social Democrats and ask if we can’t come over for a talk.”

As mentioned above, the goal was the construction of a "Democratic Bloc" together with the Social Democrats. If this Bloc could be set up, it would mean that the majority of the workers’ parties in parliament and other assemblies could have taken significant steps towards first democracy, and then socialism. To further this cause, Hagberg, declared the party to be "benevolently cautious" towards the Social Democrats, and the party decleared itself to no longer be in opposition, because the Post-War Programme was the common programme of the entire workers movement.

To this end, the Social Democrats were allies in the struggle for socialism, marking a total shift from the rethorics of the party just a decade earlier.

The last major shift that this text will touch upon is the view of the bourgeois state, as it plays a vital role in the peaceful transition to socialism – in the theoretical journal of the party, one could read that the Swedish road to socialism "builds upon the Swedish democracy."

The state: transform it or smash it?

In the analyses of the Swedish communist during this time, it is clear that the state becomes more and more detached from capitalism and its material basis: the state seizes to be a tool in the hands of the ruling class, intimately connected to it, and instead becomes an almost neutral tool that has been commandeered by the ruling class. This means that it is also possible for the working class to break the domination of the capitalists over it and to use it for their own purposes.

Carl-Henrik Hermansson, member of the Central Committee explained that even though the working class had advanced its positions within the state appraratus, it was still "mainly an organ for the exercise of power for the bourgeoisie." In connection with this, he specified the immediate objects of the communist party:

To conquer such position within the state apparatus for the communist party and the workers’ movement that a real exercise of power in society becomes possible for the communist party.

This perspective reveals a number of things, but most importantly, it establishes that the power of the bourgeoisie over the state apparatus is temporary and can be broken, while at the same time connecting the wielding of power with the influence over the state – the more influence, the more power can be exercised. In turn, this signifies the start of a shift from non-parliamentary actions to parliamentary politics.

In an attempt to anticipate a critique from the left, Hermansson adds that this approach cannot be compared to that of the Social Democrats. While they officially adhere to the theory of gradual and slow evolution into socialism, which entails passivity from the side of the working class, the strengthening of the communist party in the state apparatus presupposes an increase in the activity of the working class. Of course, in hindsight, it is easy to see that the policy of the communists passified the working class as well.

Hagberg, in his speech on the congress of 1944, claimed that in order for state power to pass into the hands of the working class, a political majority was not enough. For this to happen:

[a]ll significant state organs need to pass into the hands of the working class. Through the seizure of these organs of power, and through directing the legislative and executive branches of government against the old capitalist order of production, the seizure of the means of production by society could be ensured.

Not only Hagberg and Linderot expressed themselves in this vein, but also Nils Holmberg, who we quoted earlier, saying that the struggle for soviets was inadvisable, and that the task of the communist party was to put the old, bourgeois organs for power into the service of the working class. To this, he added that ”[y]ou need to transform them, give them another content and other authorities.”

The view that the bourgeois state was not the inevitable tool of the bourgeois was thus firmly established within the party, and it was seen as possible for the communists and the workers to utilize its power to establish socialism.

Within the context of democracy-reaction, the main obstacle to the democratization of the state apparatus was the reactionary parties and the control over the police, military, courts and prisons. Thanks to this, they could

[s]low down the tempo of the parliamentary efforts at reform in an oftentimes ludicrous way, which in turn, which in term foments a lack of respect amongst the masses for the national parliament, giving rise to a tendency to view the national parliament as non-independent and weak.

Logically, the new view of the bourgeois state also entailed a different approach to it. Earlier, during the era of the Comintern, the programme explicitly called for the destruction of the bourgeois state, Linderot himself viewed the national, regional and municipal assemblies as arenas for agitation. Now, the communists worked to restore the confidence of the workers in the bourgeois parliament, making a sharp turn from their earlier view of the parliamentary instutitions under capitalism.

Conclusions

With this text, we have tried to analyze the development of the Communist Party of Sweden during and after World War II, as well as the role of the Social Democrats, critically. What we have found is this:

The programme and ideology of the communist party must remain revolutionary, regardless of whether or not the situation is revolutionary. The misinterpretation of the leadership of the SKP that non-revolutionary times needed a non-revolutionary programme had serious consequences for the communist movement in Sweden and affects us to this day. The objective of the communists remains revolution, in both revolutionary and nonrevolutionary times. Even though the weight of existing socialism in 1945 seemed overwhelming, which produced ideas of a peaceful road to socialism, we now know that this possibility does not exist – the peaceful road to socialism means adapting to capitalism.

Revisionism and opportunism do not occur in giant leaps, but through small changes, which in themselves can seem harmless. It would have been impossible for the SKP in 1945 to transform into the Left Party Communists of the 1960’s in one go – the reaction would have been too strong. Instead, this transformation occured through small steps, where each step produced a new ideological and political outlook, enabling further steps to be taken. The abandonment of the dictatorship of the proletariat gives us a clear example. When the SKP abandoned it in 1943, it was not replaced immediately with something concrete, but was simply removed, which opened up different possibilities to interpret the transition to socialism, eventually opening the door to the peaceful transition. One step leaders to another, which highlights the importance of never taking that first step.

It is not possible to change the class character of the bourgeois state – even though it can be forced to concessions, it remains integrated in the bourgeois class. The struggle to transform the state from within and to win a certain amount of power in it shifted focus from the building of workers’ power within the workers’ own organization to the strengthening of the parties parliamentary positions. This led to the weakening of the union work and the revolutionary potential of the party. We have shown the material basis of this belief, but we must be clear: the bourgeois state cannot be transformed or used in socialist construction – it remains the task of the communists to break the confidence of the masses in the state and to reveal its class character. This means that we cannot be fooled by the fact that the bourgeois state has provided a certain measure of welfare to the working class and other exploiter strata of the Swedish population. The provision of this welfare was a by-product of what the Swedish monopolies needed at this certain period of time, but at the same time, the militancy of the workers pushed through other aspects of this welfare, not necessarily connected to the increase in productivity of the monopolies. This served to effectivize the reproduction of the workforce, providing a stable material basis for the expansion of Swedish monopoly capital. The construction of the Swedish welfare state was carried out by monopoly capital on the orders of the state. The building of public housing, to take one example, enabled a significant expansion for the construction companies, laying the foundation for their expansion throughout the world.

The united and popular fronts laid the foundations to the conciliatory attitudes towards Social Democracy. When Dimitrov in 1935 laid out the plans for the united and popular fronts, it meant a shift in the attitude towards Social Democracy. This new view was expanded upon by the Swedish communists and eventually led them to make significant accomodations in relation to the Social Democrats, removing key parts of Marxism Leninism in favor of a gradualistic, reformist point of view. The united and popular front introduced another set of contradictions, fascism-democracy, which was further developed by the respective communist parties. In Sweden, the contradiction fascism-democracy was replaced by the contradiction reaction-democracy after the Second World War, which led the party even further away from a scientific analysis of the economic system of capitalism. This shift has affected the communist movement in Sweden until this day, leading many communists to see the struggle against ”right-wing politics” or the Sweden Democrats as the top priority. This tendency necessarily means a whitewashing of ”left-wing politics” within the framework of capitalism, disregarding the fact that the politics of the Left Party is just as capitalist as that of the right-wing parties.

Social Democracy remains an enemy of the working class in the struggle for socialism. As mentioned above, the popular and united fronts opened the door for a conciliatory stance towards Social Democracy, seeing them as allies in the struggle for socialism. This view of Social Democracy is a key element in the theory of the peaceful transition to socialism and disregards the fact that the function and role of Social Democracy is to keep the workers within the framework of capitalism, channeling their discontent and anger in such a way that the system itself is not threatened. It is no coincidence that the Social Democrats unleashed the most furious attacks against the communists and together with the secret police spent decades monitoring the activity of the communists. The task of communists in relation to Social Democrats is to break their influence over the workers, exposing the role of Social Democracy in maintaining the capitalist system.

[deltainfoteklive]

Statistical Data Types: All You Need to Know

Statistical data is an essential part of any research or analysis. It provides valuable insights and helps us make informed decisions. In this article, we will explore the different types of statistical data and their significance. Understanding these data types is crucial for conducting accurate analysis and drawing meaningful conclusions. I. Introduction Statistical data types refer to the different forms of data that can be collected and analyzed in statistical studies. These data types help us categorize and understand the nature of the information we are dealing with. II. Categorical Data Categorical data includes variables that fall into distinct categories or groups. These variables are usually non-numeric and represent qualitative characteristics. Examples of categorical data include gender, occupation, and marital status. Categorical data can further be classified into nominal and ordinal data. Nominal Data Nominal data represents qualitative variables with no inherent order or ranking. For example, the colors of cars or the types of fruits belong to nominal data. Nominal data can only be categorized and has no numerical significance. Ordinal Data Ordinal data, on the other hand, represents qualitative variables with a natural order or ranking. Examples include movie ratings or levels of education. Unlike nominal data, ordinal data can be ranked or ordered. III. Numerical Data Numerical data, also known as quantitative data, consists of variables with numerical values. These variables can be further divided into discrete and continuous data. Discrete Data Discrete data represents variables that can only take on specific, exact values. These values are usually countable and have gaps between them. Examples of discrete data include the number of people in a household or the number of cars in a parking lot. Continuous Data Continuous data represents variables that can take on any numerical value within a specific range. These values are typically measured and can include decimals or fractions. Examples of continuous data include temperature, height, and weight. IV. Summary Statistics Summary statistics are used to summarize and analyze data. They provide a snapshot of the data set and help in understanding its characteristics. The most common summary statistics include measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode) and measures of dispersion (range and standard deviation). The choice of summary statistics depends on the type of data being analyzed. For categorical data, the mode (most frequent value) is commonly used. For numerical data, the mean (average), median (middle value), and mode can be calculated. V. Data Visualization Data visualization is an effective way to present and interpret statistical data. Graphical representations help in understanding patterns, trends, and relationships within the data. The choice of visualization depends on the data type. For categorical data, bar graphs are commonly used. They display the frequency or proportion of each category. Bar graphs can easily compare different categories and identify the most common or least common. For numerical data, histograms are commonly used. Histograms display the distribution of values and provide insights into the spread and shape of the data. They can be used to identify outliers or check for skewness. VI. Data Transformation Data transformation involves converting data from one type to another. This can be useful when analyzing data or when certain statistical methods require specific data types. Converting numerical data to categorical data can be done through the process of discretization. Discretization involves dividing the numerical values into range intervals and assigning each value to a corresponding category. Converting categorical data to numerical data can be done through the process of encoding. Encoding assigns numerical values to each category, allowing statistical analysis to be performed. VII. Conclusion Understanding statistical data types is crucial for accurately analyzing and interpreting data. By recognizing the different types of data, researchers can choose appropriate statistical techniques and draw meaningful conclusions. Categorical data and numerical data have distinctive characteristics that require different analysis methods. Summary statistics and data visualization techniques further enhance our understanding of the data. Additionally, data transformation techniques allow for flexibility in working with different data types. By mastering the knowledge of statistical data types, researchers can extract valuable insights and make informed decisions. VIII. FAQs FAQ 1: What are the different types of statistical data? There are four primary types of statistical data: categorical data, numerical data, discrete data, and continuous data. FAQ 2: How are summary statistics used? Summary statistics summarize the characteristics of a data set. They provide measures of central tendency and dispersion, facilitating data interpretation. FAQ 3: What is the purpose of data visualization? Data visualization helps in understanding patterns, trends, and relationships within the data. It provides a visual representation for easier interpretation. FAQ 4: What is data transformation? Data transformation involves converting data from one type to another. It can be useful for analysis purposes or when specific data types are required for statistical methods. FAQ 5: Why is it important to understand statistical data types? Understanding statistical data types is essential for accurate analysis and interpretation. It ensures that appropriate statistical techniques are used and meaningful conclusions are drawn. In conclusion, statistical data types are diverse and significant in any research or analysis. Categorical data and numerical data have distinctive characteristics that require different analysis methods. Summary statistics and data visualization techniques further enhance the understanding of the data. By mastering the knowledge of statistical data types and their analysis techniques, researchers can extract valuable insights and make informed decisions. Read the full article

[else-self]

Insurrectionary anarchism is not an ideological solution to all social problems, a commodity on the capitalist market of ideologies and opinions, but an on-going praxis aimed at putting an end to the domination of the state and the continuance of capitalism, which requires analysis and discussion to advance. We don’t look to some ideal society or offer an image of utopia for public consumption. Throughout history, most anarchists, except those who believed that society would evolve to the point that it would leave the state behind, have been insurrectionary anarchists. Most simply, this means that the state will not merely wither away, thus anarchists must attack, for waiting is defeat; what is needed is open mutiny and the spreading of subversion among the exploited and excluded. Here we spell out some implications that we and some other insurrectionary anarchists draw from this general problem: if the state will not disappear on its own, how then do we end its existence? It is, therefore, primarily a practice, and focuses on the organization of attack. These notes are in no way a closed or finished product; we hope they are a part of an ongoing discussion, and we most certainly welcome responses. Much of this comes straight from past issues of Insurrection and pamphlets from Elephant Editions, available from the addresses at the end.

1. The State Will Not Just Disappear; Attack

The State of capital will not “wither away,” as it seems many anarchists have come to believe — not only entrenched in abstract positions of ‘waiting,’ but some even openly condemning the acts of those for whom the creation of the new world depends on the destruction of the old. Attack is the refusal of mediation, pacification, sacrifice, accommodation, and compromise.

It is through acting and learning to act, not propaganda, that we will open the path to insurrection, although propaganda has a role in clarifying how to act. Waiting only teaches waiting; in acting one learns to act.

The force of an insurrection is social, not military. The measure for evaluating the importance of a generalized revolt is not the armed clash, but on the contrary the amplitude of the paralysis of the economy, of normality.

2. Self-Activity versus managed revolt: from insurrection to revolution

As anarchists, the revolution is our constant point of reference, no matter what we are doing or what problem we are concerned with. But the revolution is not a myth simply to be used as a point of reference. Precisely because it is a concrete event, it must be built daily through more modest attempts which do not have all the liberating characteristics of the social revolution in the true sense. These more modest attempts are insurrections. In them the uprising of the most exploited and excluded of society and the most politically sensitized minority opens the way to the possible involvement of increasingly wider strata of exploited on a flux of rebellion which could lead to revolution.

Struggles must be developed, both in the intermediate and long term. Clear strategies are necessary to allow different methods to be used in a coordinated and fruitful way.

Autonomous action: the self-management of struggle means that those that struggle are autonomous in their decisions and actions; this is the opposite of an organization of synthesis which always attempts to take control of struggle. Struggles that are synthesized within a single controlling organization are easily integrated into the power structure of present society. Self-organized struggles are by nature uncontrollable when they are spread across the social terrain.

3. Uncontrollability versus managed revolt: the spread of attack

It is never possible to see the outcome of a specific struggle in advance. Even a limited struggle can have the most unexpected consequences. The passage from the various insurrections — limited and circumscribed — to revolution can never be guaranteed in advance by any method.

What the system is afraid of is not these acts of sabotage in themselves, so much as their spreading socially. Every proletarianized individual who disposes of even the most modest means can draw up his or her objectives, alone or along with others. It is materially impossible for the State and capital to police the apparatus of control that operates over the whole social territory. Anyone who really wants to contest the network of control can make their own theoretical and practical contribution. The appearance of the first broken links coincides with the spreading of acts of sabotage. The anonymous practice of social self-liberation could spread to all fields, breaking the codes of prevention put into place by power.

Small actions, therefore, easily reproducible, requiring unsophisticated means that are available to all, are by their very simplicity and spontaneity uncontrollable. They make a mockery of even the most advanced technological developments in counter-insurgency.

4. Permanent conflictuality versus mediation with institutional forces

Conflictuality should be seen as a permanent element in the struggle against those in power. A struggle which lacks this element ends up pushing us towards mediating with the institutions, grows accustomed to the habits of delegating and believing in an illusory emancipation carried out by parliamentary decree, to the very point of actively participating in our own exploitation ourselves.

There might perhaps be individual reasons for doubting the attempt to reach one’s aims with violent means. But when non-violence comes to be raised to the level of a non-violable principle, and where reality is divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ then arguments cease to have value, and everything is seen in terms of submission and obedience. The officials of the anti-globalization movement, by distancing themselves and denouncing others have clarified one point in particular: that they see their principles — to which they feel duty-bound — as a claim to power over the movement as a whole.

5. Illegality; insurrection isn’t just robbing banks

Insurrectionary anarchism isn’t a morality on survival: we all survive in various ways, often in compromise with capital, depending on our social position, our talents and tastes. We certainly aren’t morally against the use of illegal means to free ourselves from the fetters of wage slavery in order to live and carry on our projects, yet we also don’t fetishize illegalism or turn it into some kind of religion with martyrs; it is simply a means, and often a good one.

6. Informal Organization; not professional revolutionaries or activists, not permanent organizations

From party/union to self-organization:

Profound differences exist within the revolutionary movement: the anarchist tendency towards quality of the struggle and its self-organization and the authoritarian tendency towards quantity and centralization.

Organization is for concrete tasks: thus we are against the party, syndicate and permanent organization, all of which act to synthesize struggle and become elements of integration for capital and the state. Their purpose comes to be their own existence, in the worst case they first build the organization then find or create the struggle. Our task is to act; organization is a means. Thus we are against the delegation of action or practice to an organization: we need generalized action that leads to insurrection, not managed struggles. Organization should not be for the defense of certain interests, but of attack on certain interests.

Informal organization is based on a number of comrades linked by a common affinity; its propulsive element is always action. The wider the range of problems these comrades face as a whole, the greater their affinity will be. It follows that the real organization, the effective capacity to act together, i.e. knowing where to find each other, the study and analysis of problems together, and the passing to action, all takes place in relation to the affinity reached and has nothing to do with programs, platforms, flags or more or less camouflaged parties. The informal anarchist organization is therefore a specific organization which gathers around a common affinity.

The anarchist minority and the exploited and excluded:

We are of the exploited and excluded, and thus our task is to act. Yet some critique all action that is not part of a large and visible social movement as “acting in the place of the proletariat.” They counsel analysis and waiting, instead of acting. Supposedly, we are not exploited alongside the exploited; our desires, our rage and our weaknesses are not part of the class struggle. This is nothing but another ideological separation between the exploited and subversives.

The active anarchist minority is not slave to numbers but continues to act against power even when the class clash is at a low level within the exploited of society. Anarchist action should not therefore aim at organizing and defending the whole of the class of exploited in one vast organization to see the struggle from beginning to end, but should identify single aspects of the struggle and carry them through to their conclusion of attack. We must also move away from the stereotypical images of the great mass struggles, and the concept of the infinite growth of a movement that is to dominate and control everything.

The relationship with the multitude of exploited and excluded cannot be structured as something that must endure the passage of time, i.e. be based on growth to infinity and resistance against the attack of the exploiters. It must have a more reduced specific dimension, one that is decidedly that of attack and not a rearguard relationship.

We can start building our struggle in such a way that conditions of revolt can emerge and latent conflict can develop and be brought to the fore. In this way a contact is established between the anarchist minority and the specific situation where the struggle can be developed.

7. The individual and the social: individualism and communism, a false problem

We embrace what is best in individualism and what is best in communism.

Insurrection begins with the desire of individuals to break out of constrained and controlled circumstances, the desire to reappropriate the capacity to create one’s own life as one sees fit. This requires that they overcome the separation between them and their conditions of existence. Where the few, the privileged, control the conditions of existence, it is not possible for most individuals to truly determine their existence on their terms. Individuality can only flourish where equality of access to the conditions of existence is the social reality. This equality of access is communism; what individuals do with that access is up to them and those around them. Thus there is no equality or identity of individuals implied in true communism. What forces us into an identity or an equality of being are the social roles laid upon us by our present system. There is no contradiction between individuality and communism.

8. We are the exploited, we are the contradiction: this is no time for waiting

Certainly, capitalism contains deep contradictions which push it towards procedures of adjustment and evolution aimed at avoiding the periodic crises which afflict it; but we cannot cradle ourselves in waiting for these crises. When they happen they will be welcomed if they respond to the requirements for accelerating the elements of the insurrectional process. As the exploited, however, we are the fundamental contradiction for capitalism. Thus the time is always ripe for insurrection, just as we can note that humanity could have ended the existence of the state at any time in its history. A rupture in the continual reproduction of this system of exploitation and oppression has always been possible.

[emergingindiaanalyticsnoida]

Market basket analysis for bakery data

Hey Merchant!

Have your sales stagnated? Do you want to increase sales revenue and/or decrease overhead but don’t know how to do so in an intelligent, data-driven manner? Consider work of  the past participant of Emerging India who conducted a market basket analysis (M.B.A.) of your data so as to unearth insights to help you maximize sales, minimize expenses, and maximize profits.

In one such analysis of sales data, our group employed the Python programming language to assess sales data from a bakery client, utilizing multiple approaches with varying degrees of bias.

Beginning with a dataset of largely non-numerical data, we undertook data preprocessing to prepare the data for analyses. This preprocessing involved feature selection via one-hot, label, & ordinal encoding methods, ensuring the absence of null values, feature elimination by deleting unhelpful attributes, and dataset reorganization.

Before we delved into the machine learning-based M.B.A., we conducted exploratory data analysis (E.D.A.) to scrutinize the dataset in an unbiased fashion. This E.D.A. involved the computation of measures of central tendency & dispersion for each attribute, the determination of correlations across variables, and various & sundry colorful & engaging data visualizations within & across features (histograms, bar plots, pie-plots, etc.). Our E.D.A. revealed which days resulted in more sales, which times of day resulted in more sales, and which items were most popular. Thus informed, we recommended to our client multiple measures that they could take to increase sales revenue or decrease operational costs.

Figure 1. Bar Plot for the frequency of Bakery Items. Coffee, bread, and tea are the most frequently bought items.

Figure 2. Pie Plots for total sales and transactions by Day of Week. Pie Plots for total item sales and transactions by Time of Day.

Figure 3. Bar Plot for Transactions by days of week and Pie Plot for total item sales by time of day.

Figure 4. Pie Plot for the frequency of baker items sold.

Figure 5. Pie Plot for frequency of sales based on time of day/week. Weekday afternoons contain the most purchases.

Figure 6. Bar Plots for top selling items based on type of day. X-axis consists of time of day and Y-axis for items.

Figure 7. Bar Plots for top selling items based on parts of the day. X-axis consists of the type of day and Y-axis for items.

Resulting from our E.D.A., we advise our client of the following:

As fewer that 1% of sales occurred during the hours designated as night and only 2.5% during the hours designated as evening:

NOT OPERATING DURING THESE HOURS should likely increase profits by decreasing the operational costs (e.g.: employee salary/ wages, utilities, insurance premiums for operating a cash business during periods more prone to (potentially violent) robbery/ theft, etc.) to a degree that more than offsets any loss in sales revenue;

As folks love coffee, bread, tea, pastries, cakes, & sammiches:

this recommendation must be weighed against the grave inconvenience that such a dramatic truncation of operating hours would have on the patrons (especially dedicated/ loyal night-time customers).

INCREASING STOCK* & VARIETY of such items might increase sales revenue;

as might CREATING PROMOTIONAL OFFERS tailored to the sale of these items; this insight should dovetails w/ those from the Market-Basket Analysis.

As part of our efforts to determine which items were more closely associated with others, we progressed to using an unsupervised learning algorithm (the K-Modes Clustering Algorithm) to group items.

Figure 8. Elbow curve for k modes clustering.

Finalizing the analysis with a supervised machine learning approach, market basket analysis using the association rules framework, we segregated item groupings based on the support value criterion designated by our a priori algorithm, then we finalized the item groupings based on the confidence value criterion similarly designated. Finally, we computed lift value scores for the selected item groupings so as to establish the association rules that were the ultimate result of our M.B.A.

Figure 9. Bar Plot for the support of bakery combination items.

Figure 10. Association rule for combination of bakery items frequently bought together.

With this work, we were able to inform the client of which items predisposed the purchasing of which other items most robustly; and to suggest to the client that they 0. manage their just-in-time supply chain parameters appropriately, 1. alter slotting fees accordingly, 2. co-localize such associated items, and/or 3. offer promotional enticements linking such items as:

increasing slotting fees for cake, toast, bread, & pastries vendors to place their wares near the coffee, hot chocolate, & tea machines;

crafting buy-one-get-one-50%-off and buy-one-get-one-free promotional offers encouraging the co-purchase of any combination of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, toast, bread, cake, & pastries;

co-localizing toast, bread, cake, & pastries items;

stocking a greater variety of the items that sell like hotcakes: coffee, tea, hot chocolate, toast, bread, cake, & pastries;

taking appropriate steps to minimize the probability of running out of (or low on*) the best selling items;

considering increasing the sales of poorly selling items by co-localizing them with hot sellers.

In so doing, we utilized various & sundry data science libraries (pandas, numpy, matplotlib’s pyplot,  seaborn, KModes, and apriori & association_rules from mlextend’s frequent_patterns) to identify meaningful & potentially profitable discernments from a simple sales transactions dataset.

[tejimandiblog]

Stock Investing in India – What is Securities Transaction Tax

Tax evasion is a deep-rooted scourge among many taxpayers. Attempting to avoid paying income tax by not disclosing profits from the sale of securities is an illegal and illegal activity. This not only results in taxpayers shirking their responsibilities as citizens, but also results in a significant reduction in state coffers used for social welfare schemes.

Keeping this in mind, the Indian government has introduced measures to control illegal activities, one of which is the securities trading tax. Since its inception in October 2004, the law requires investors to pay taxes on their capital gains from the stock market.

This is a detailed description of the characteristics, scope and rates of securities trading tax in India.

What is Securities Transaction Tax in India?

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is a tax on transactions of securities made in the stock exchange of India. Securities refer to negotiable investment instruments such as stocks, checks, bonds, any equity-related funds, etc., issued by a company or government. The main purpose of introducing STT is to curb the tendency of investors to avoid paying the appropriate income tax. Not paying taxes on your capital gains is one of the biggest investing mistakes new investors make. Check out this link for other investing mistakes you want to watch!

Features of Securities Transaction Tax

It is a direct tax that the Central Government levies and collects.

Off-market share transactions do not fall under the ambit of STT.

The rate of STT depends on the type of security being traded and whether the transaction is a sale or purchase.

Sell transactions for both options and futures fall under the scope of the tax regime. Options are valued at a premium and futures are valued at the actual traded price.

Clearing members pay an STT, which is a collective sum of the STTs of trading members under them.

Securities Transaction Tax rates in India

One can trade in securities for investment purposes or for trading purposes. In both cases, the government levies STT. Also, the tax that affects stock market transactions depends on the purpose or nature of the transaction, as explained above. Investment advisors at TejiMandi help you calculate the tax you will pay on capital gains in your investment portfolio, so you don't have to fear the math again!

Income from trading also attracts income tax. It is of two types:

1. Income from professional stock trading

2. Capital gains

The takeaway

Sale Are you looking for a simplified way of investing in stocks? The TejiMandi App is the ultimate destination for all your investment-related needs! Trusted by over 10,000 investors, Teji Mandi makes investing in stocks hassle-free and straightforward. From active portfolio management to practical analysis of stock picks, Teji Mandi ensures that you sail smoothly through your investment journey. Connect with us today to supercharge your investment portfolio!