# p-trade: a completely counter-cyclical institution

<<  Knowledge@Wharton:  Of  all  the  things  that  you  do  here,  what  are  you  most passionate  about?  What  would  you  really  like  to  make  sure  happens?  It  could  be a  small  thing,  it  could  be  a  large  thing.  What  is  it  that  really  has  your  heart?

Lagarde:  That’s  complicated.  I  think  it’s  this  issue  of  relevance  …  that  is  of  real concern  to  me.  You  see,  this  is  a  very  fascinating  institution  because  it’s completely  counter-cyclical.  When  the  world  around  the  IMF  goes  downhill,  we thrive.  We  become  extremely  active  because  we  lend  money,  we  earn  interest and  charges  and  all  the  rest  of  it,  and  the  institution  does  well.  When  the  world goes  well  and  we’ve  had  years  of  growth,  as  was  the  case  back  in  2006  and 2007, the IMF doesn’t do so well both financially and otherwise. >>

Knowledge@Wharton. Christine Lagarde: Emerging Market Nations Will Get More Power in the IMF. Apr 03,  2012

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/christine-lagarde-emerging-market-nations-will-get-more-power-in-the-imf/

Tyler Durden. IMF’s Christine Lagarde: “When The World Goes Downhill, We Thrive”. Global Research, April 03, 2016

http://www.globalresearch.ca/imfs-christine-lagarde-when-the-world-goes-downhill-we-thrive/5518214

more:

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/04/p-eu-trade-ipotesi-e-vaticinio-di-chaos.html

# zen: silence revolutions

<< Every  person  on  earth  has  a  field  of  silence  within.  Innate  to  the  ability  to  run  is  the  ability  to walk,  and  the  ability  to  walk  contains  the  ability  to  stand  still.  It  is  the  same  with  the  mind. Inherent  in  the  ability  to  talk  is  the  ability  to  think;  the  ability  to  think  contains  the  ability  to  think quietly--to  feel  or  intuit.  The  ability  to  think  quietly  holds  the  possibility  for  the  mind  to  be completely  still.>>

Ann  Purcell. The  Silence  Revolution 04/05/2016  04:18  pm  ET

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/the-silence-revolution_b_9612766.html

also: Inchingolo GM. 2123 - le dislocazioni pausali di Theo. Monday, February 26, 2007

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2007/02/2123-le-dislocazioni-pausali-di-theo.html

# n-evol: the rise of human complex (stratified) social structures

<< (..) the prevalence of (human) sacrifice increased with the degree of social stratification: it occurred in 25% of cultures with little or no stratification, 37% of those with moderately stratified societies, and 67% of those that had a pronounced hierarchy. And by mapping the evolutionary relationships between cultures, the team suggests that human sacrifice and social hierarchy co-evolved. >>

<< Human sacrifice seems to have been largely the privilege of priests or others who claimed religious authority. Watts and colleagues say that their results therefore disclose a “dark side” to the social role of religion. >>

Philip Ball. How human sacrifice propped up the social order. April 4, 2016

http://www.nature.com/news/how-human-sacrifice-propped-up-the-social-order-1.19681

Joseph  Watts, Oliver  Sheehan, et al.  Ritual  human  sacrifice  promoted  and  sustained  the evolution  of  stratified  societies. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature17159 (2016).

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature17159.html

<< The scientists (..) found that ritual sacrifice may have spurred the transition of smal,  egalitarian  societies  to large,  stratified  ones.  The  study  examined  93  traditional  Austronesian  cultures  (speakers  of  a  family of  languages  in parts  of  Africa,  Asia  and  Oceania). >>

Tatiana Schlossberg. Why Some Societies Practiced Ritual Human Sacrifice. April 4, 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/science/ritual-human-sacrifice.html

more (an hypothesis of a funny approach inside modern societies):  Elio Petri. La decima vittima (movie, 1965)

https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_decima_vittima

# e-tech: all kind of info storable in DNA

AA have << (..) detailed one of the first complete systems to encode, store and retrieve digital data using DNA molecules, which can store information millions of times more compactly than current archival technologies. >>

<< “Life has produced this fantastic molecule called DNA that efficiently stores all kinds of information about your genes and how a living system works — it’s very, very compact and very durable,” said co-author Luis Ceze, UW associate professor of computer science and engineering.“We’re essentially repurposing it to store digital data — pictures, videos, documents— in a manageable way for hundreds or thousands of years.” >>

Jennifer Langston. UW team stores digital images in DNA and retrieves them perfectly. April 7, 2016.

http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/04/07/uw-team-stores-digital-images-in-dna-and-retrieves-them-perfectly/

# n-laws: nashville looks back

<< Weeks  after  moving  to  name  a  high-powered  rifle  as  the official  gun  of  Tennessee,  lawmakers  in the  state  are  keeping  alive  their  prolific  tradition  of  declaring  official  state  designations  by  passing  a bil  that  would  make  the  Bible  the  state’s  official  book. >>

<< Senator  Steve  Southerland,  the  Republican who sponsored the bil,  argued  that  it  is  about  honoring  the  Bible’s  historical  and  cultural  contributions  to the  state.  He  said  that  a  Jewish friend  of  his  had  agreed  the  Bible  is  a  historical  text. >>

<< Both this bil  and  the  one  that  would  give  a  place  of  honor  to  a  rifle  with the  power  to take  down a commercial aircraft are ways of playing “political footbal”  with  social  issues,  according  to  Hedy Weinberg,  executive  director  of  the  American Civil  Liberties  Union  of  Tennessee. >>

Katie Rogers. Bible Could Soon Be Tennessee’s Official Book. April 5, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/us/bible-could-soon-be-tennessees-officialbook.html

# n-ecol: example of cultural transitions during climate change: the Pueblo people

<<  The researchers  also  document  recurring  narratives  in  which  the  Pueblo  people  agreed  on  canons  of  ritual, behavior  and  belief  that  quickly  dissolved  as  climate  change  hurt  crops  and  precipitated  social  turmoil and  violence. >>

Ancient  Southwest  marked  by  repeated periods  of  boom  and  bust . WSU researchers  link  climate  changes  and  large  social  disruption.  1-Apr-2016

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/wsu-asm032916.php

R. Kyle Bocinsky, Johnathan Rush, Keith W. Kintigh and Timothy A. Kohler.  Exploration and exploitation in the macrohistory of the pre-Hispanic Pueblo Southwest. Science Advances  01 Apr 2016: Vol. 2, no. 4, e1501532. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501532

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501532

# n-archeol: where Hannibal crossed

AA <<  have  (..) provided  solid evidence  for  the  most  likely  transit  route  that  took  Hannibal’s  forces  across  the  Alps  via    the Col  de  Traversette  pass  (~3000  m).    This  crossing  point  was  first  proposed  over  a  half  century  ago  by  the  biologist  and  polymath  Sir Gavin  de  Beer,  but  has  not  previously  been  widely  accepted  by  the  academic  community. >>

Queen’s  University  Microbiologists  Unmask  the  Hannibal  Route  Enigma.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/ceao/News/Title,631613,en.html

W. C. Mahaney, C. C. R. Allen, et al.  Biostratigraphic Evidence Relating to the Age-Old Question of Hannibal's Invasion of Italy, II: Chemical Biomarkers and Microbial Signatures. Article first published online: 16 Mar 2016 DOI: 10.1111/arcm.12228

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12228