Schumpeter, Creative Destruction and the American Economy

The world is experiencing the age of Schumpeter and the American economy remains the premier example of a Schumpeterian economy. Despite its many naysayers and the doom and gloom professors that never stop predicting its demise, the American economy continues to show a remarkable capacity to rejuvenate. Orwell once commented that “England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their nationality.” Left-wing intellectuals, he argued, hasted the divorce between intelligence and patriotism, which weakened the country’s morale and emboldened its enemies. Left-wing intellectuals, he argued, hasted the divorce between intelligence and patriotism, which weakened the country’s morale and emboldened its enemies. If he were alive today, it would be interesting to hear his opinion about the relentless barrage of criticism against everything American. One thing seems sure, though, America, not England, is the country most hated by its intellectual class. Any talk about Schumpeter’s “gale of creative destruction” is anathema to these “critical critics.” After all, when it comes to everything American, these individuals believe that they must criticize for the sake of criticism. The thought that capitalism has an internal mechanism akin to a fountain of youth must be disheartening to those whose blinders prevent them from accepting opposing facts. Frightenedly, these same intellectuals are apologists for every dictatorship the world over.

संस्कृत साहित्ये नैपालमिथिलाक्षेत्रस्य योगदानम् [Contribution of Nepali Mithila Region in Sanskrit Literature]

सूर्यवंशीयराज्ञो निमेः शरीरमन्थनाज्जातेन मिथिनाम्ना राज्ञा प्रवर्तितत्वात् तदीया राजधानी मिथिलेति प्रसिद्धिमुपगता । मिथिलायाः सीमासङ्कोचविस्तारयोर्जातेऽपि प्रवृmताध्ययने नेपालस्य साम्प्रतिकः द्विसङ्ख्यकः प्रदेशः मिथिलाक्षेत्रत्वेन गृहीतः । मिथिलाराज्यस्य सीमायाः परिवर्तने दृष्टेऽपि मिथिलासंस्वृते राजधानी जनकपुरं वर्तते । मिथिलायां वैदिककाले विश्वामित्रप्रभृतयो ऋषयो दृश्यन्ते । तेषु महर्षिर्याज्ञवल्क्यः सर्वाधिक्येन प्रदीप्तं मिथिलायाः प्रोज्ज्वलं रत्नं वर्तते । अर्वाचीनेषु कविषु वंशमणिशर्मा हरिकेलिमहाकाव्यमाध्यमेन सर्वोत्वृष्टं स्थानं लभते । मिथिलायां स्फुटरूपेण संस्वृmतकवितारचनायाः परम्परा सम्प्रत्यपि जीविता वर्तते । [This research confirms that the naming of the Mithila region was initiated by a king named Mithi, who was born by churning the body of Suryavanshi king Nimi. Although the border of Mithila has been constricting and widening over time, in this study, the current state number two of Nepal has been taken as Mithila region. Janakpur remained the capital of Mithilaculture even when the borders of Mithila state changed. Vishwamitra and other sages have been seen in Mithila during the Vedic period. Among them, MaharshiYajnavalkya is the brightest gem. In the modern age, it has been confirmed that Vanshamani Sharma has reached the best place through the epic Harikeli. This research has confirmed that the tradition of composing Sanskrit poetry in Mithila is still alive today.]

Amphibians: A Very Short Introduction

Amphibians: A Very Short Introduction discusses amphibian evolution, adaptations, and biology. From frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders, to the lesser-known caecilians, there are over 8,000 species of amphibians alive today. Characterized by their moist, naked skin and the tadpole phase of their lives, they are uniquely adapted to occupy the interphase habitat between freshwater and land. This VSI explores topics from their complex courtship behaviour to how their permeable skin enables them to thrive in their habitat and it covers the whole history of amphibians, from their origins 360 million years ago, to the extinction threat they face from humans today.

Appendiceal Neuroendocrine Tumours - Experience of One Service

Tumours of the appendix are rare and tend to be diagnosed incidentally, in cases of acute appendicitis. For some authors, appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours (ANETs) are the most frequent neoplasm of the appendix, observed in 0.3% to 0.9% of cases acute appendicitis. The present is a unicentric retrospective study conducted between January 2005 and March 2017. Out of a total of 3,007 surgeries for appendiceal pathologies performed in the adult population at the hospital where the present study was conducted, there were 70 (2.33%) malignant cases, 20 (28.6%) of which were ANETs. The patients had a median age of 44 years (range: 18 to 85 years), and were predominantly women (there were 1.9 times more women than men). In 16 cases (80%), a simple appendicectomy was performed (1 patient was submitted to a right hemicolectomy later). The cases of ANETs had a good prognosis in our series: 85% of the patients are either alive today or were alive after 5 years of follow-up. Despite the fact that ANETs are described as the most frequent tumor of the appendix, this was not confirmed in our series, in which they only represented 28.6% of the cases; adenocarcinoma was the most frequent tumor (65.7%) among our sample.

(Not) Forgotten “Vilnius stories and legends” by Władysław Zahorski

The purpose of the article is to show how Vilnius stories and legends, collected by Władysław Zahorski, are alive today and are reflected in the physical, visual form of the city, including in monuments, memorial plaques, installations, but also in stories told to guests and residents of the Lithuanian capital.The stories explain the appearance of specific historical and geographical objects in Vilnius, contain signs of the past, reflect old beliefs, customs, ethical and social principles, and clarify encrypted religious, historiographic and national meanings. They bring information about legendary rulers and important places.Zahorski’s book is part of the city’s presentations characteristic of tourist guides addressed to the universal recipient. Stories and legends create a picture of a multicultural, multi-faith city with a complex past that is visible today through various physical signs. Zahorski combines various narratives about Lithuanian, Polish and Jewish Vilnius in the book.

What if Freire Had Facebook? A Critical Interrogation of Social Media Woke Culture Among Privileged Voices in Music Education Discourse

In this paper, I critique the ways in which music education professionals—especially the privileged voices within our field—engage in dialogue through social media outlets such as Facebook. While social media has become a valuable and ubiquitous discursive tool within our field, especially in that it theoretically removes the “ivory tower” of dialogue in academia, here I critique its darker side. Were he alive today, I question how philosopher Paulo Freire would respond to the dialogical opportunities afforded by social media and the emergence of “woke culture.” Particularly when engaging in the work of antiracism, I highlight how privileged music educators can silence any dialogue through their hostility or fragility alike through various forms of call-out culture, cancel culture, virtue signaling, and tone policing. I draw upon the full corpus of Freire’s works to examine the overall veracity of these approaches to antiracist efforts and offer that Freire’s pedagogy was interminably rooted in humility, love, and the pursuit of shared humanity.

„Teologia przepięknej i łaskami słynącej statuy Matki Najświętszej Sejneńskiej”. Dzieło sztuki jako obiekt kultu i duszpasterskie wyzwanie

One of the many spectacular pastoral initiatives of Primate Stefan Wyszyński was the coronation of cult Marian images with papal crowns. He did forty-seven of them, one of the last was the coronation of the statue of Our Lady of Sejny (Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland). The article analyses the coronation sermon delivered on this occasion on September 7, 1975 in Sejny. The crowned figure belongs to the iconographic type of the so-called Shrine Madonnas, or the group of Pomeranian sculptures, the creation of which was linked to the Teutonic Order. Its origin and history are unknown. In 1602, together with the foundation of the Dominican monastery, it appeared in Sejny and very quickly became worshiped. This cult survived the dissolution of the monastery and is still alive today. The controversial iconography of Mary with the Child – a sculpture housing the Holy Trinity (Throne of Grace) – was a challenge for the guardians of the sanctuary. From the 17th to 19th centuries, we observe the slow withdrawing of the actual image of a sculpture and making its likeness for the purposes of worship: from covering the figure with a metal robe to prohibiting a ban on the opening of the statue. The coronation sermon bears Trinitarian overtones and is entirely intended to convey to the faithful the truth about the operation of the Holy Trinity in the life of the Church and Its special relationship with Mary. In his conclusion, Primate Wyszyński gave the cult figure a new name: Mary of the Holy Trinity. Thus, he revitalized the medieval iconography, using not only its original ideological significance, but also inscribing it in the current post-conciliar Trinitarian Mariology, contained in the Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, as well as in the Apostolic Exhortation by Paul VI Marialis Cultus. It is the only coronation sermon delivered by Primate Wyszyński inspired entirely by the iconography of the crowned cult image.

Letanía: Architectural documentation of the retablos of San Agustin Church in Manila

The San Agustin Convent, located in Intramuros, the historic core of Manila, hosts a rich collection of 19 altarpieces (retablos). These retablos are an important heritage which was recorded in full detail for its better future conservation and knowledge. This article presents the outcome of this process and it is ultimately aimed at promoting and giving greater visibility to this art, which is still alive today in the Philippines and where it has evolved to produce its own local tradition, while remaining linked to its early Spanish precedents.

Ugly Progress and Unhopeful Hope

In order to provide an account of orientation to unjust circumstances, the book’s account of freedom must confront a tension within it: What is the value of this ideal to people who have grown up under unjust institutions and who consequently have not developed freely but instead have been profoundly habituated by unjustified inequality and oppressive hierarchy? The chapter shows how thinkers like W. E. B. Du Bois, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Theodor Adorno transform the dispositional conception of freedom to navigate unjust circumstances. People alive today will never be able to enjoy the kind of free development possible for those who grow up in a just society, but it is still possible to use such an ideal critically to orient people today to both constraints on freedom and opportunities to express what freedom they do have.

The Fallujah Memorandum

The dark years of the Islamic State movement, which came after it was flattened by the Sahwa Sunni tribal uprising, fellow Sunni resistance rivals, and the US surge brigades in 2007, are characterized by a healthy dose of soul-searching. While the movement in its various forms has shared tremendous details about its people through biographies, strategy documents are harder to come by for operational security reasons. Published at a time when the group was in dire straits—a period it describes as being ‘in the desert’—this document was paid little heed and not taken very seriously. The limited curiosity and analysis was largely fueled by a general belief that the group was bereft of public support and finished. The Fallujah Memorandum, or the Khoutah Istratigya li Ta’aziz al-Moqif al-Siyasi al-Dawlat al-Islamyiah fi al-Iraq (A Strategic Plan to Improve the Political Position of the Islamic State of Iraq), was dated the month of Muharram, 1431 (18 December 2009–15 January 2010). The author’s identity is unknown, which means there is a possibility they could still be alive today. Western analysts have largely ignored the impact of the memorandum to date, as it has not been made publicly available in English.