Singular cardinals and strong extenders

We investigate the circumstances under which there exist a singular cardinal $\mu$ and a short $(\kappa, \mu)$-extender $E$ witnessing "$\kappa$ is $\mu$-strong", such that $\mu$ is singular in \Ult(V, E).Comment: 8 page

Inner models with large cardinal features usually obtained by forcing

We construct a variety of inner models exhibiting features usually obtained by forcing over universes with large cardinals. For example, if there is a supercompact cardinal, then there is an inner model with a Laver indestructible supercompact cardinal. If there is a supercompact cardinal, then there is an inner model with a supercompact cardinal \kappa for which 2^\kappa=\kappa^+, another for which 2^\kappa=\kappa^++ and another in which the least strongly compact cardinal is supercompact. If there is a strongly compact cardinal, then there is an inner model with a strongly compact cardinal, for which the measurable cardinals are bounded below it and another inner model W with a strongly compact cardinal \kappa, such that H_{\kappa^+}^V\subseteq HOD^W. Similar facts hold for supercompact, measurable and strongly Ramsey cardinals. If a cardinal is supercompact up to a weakly iterable cardinal, then there is an inner model of the Proper Forcing Axiom and another inner model with a supercompact cardinal in which GCH+V=HOD holds. Under the same hypothesis, there is an inner model with level by level equivalence between strong compactness and supercompactness, and indeed, another in which there is level by level inequivalence between strong compactness and supercompactness. If a cardinal is strongly compact up to a weakly iterable cardinal, then there is an inner model in which the least measurable cardinal is strongly compact. If there is a weakly iterable limit \delta of <\delta-supercompact cardinals, then there is an inner model with a proper class of Laver-indestructible supercompact cardinals. We describe three general proof methods, which can be used to prove many similar results

Le discours comme pouvoir : yan'an et la révolution chinoise

Entendant monter le son des sanglots, il se leva et frôla le rideau, pensant : "Karl Marx a écrit Le Capital alors que ses enfants pleuraient autour de lui. Il a du être un grand homme". Lu Xun, "Une famille heureuse" Yan'an face à Tiananmen Les dernières illusions concernant la permanence de la révolution chinoise ont volé en éclats lors des événements de juin 1989 sur la place Tiananmen. Mais la réalité de cette révolution avait disparu bien avant. Peut-être que quelque part, il subsist..

Le discours comme pouvoir : Yan'an et la révolution chinoise

Entendant monter le son des sanglots, il se leva et frôla le rideau, pensant : "Karl Marx a écrit Le Capital alors que ses enfants pleuraient autour de lui. Il a du être un grand homme". Lu Xun, "Une famille heureuse" Yan'an face à Tiananmen Les dernières illusions concernant la permanence de la révolution chinoise ont volé en éclats lors des événements de juin 1989 sur la place Tiananmen. Mais la réalité de cette révolution avait disparu bien avant. Peut-être que quelque part, il subsist..

Bearing Witness: Maoism as Religion

The role of foreign witnesses in describing exceptional historical events can contribute to the way those events unfold. Three examples serve to illustrate this: Edgar Snow, Anna Louise Strong and Agnes Smedley. At the start of the Chinese communist revolution each of these commentators offered personal testimony to and validation of what became a political myth and was elevated to the status of a state political religion with Mao the central figure. This paper discusses the differences between political religion and religion tout court. It suggests that the former is more ephemeral while the latter is more capable of self-replenishment, leading to the ritualization of the first in the exercise of state power. It also deals with the question of socialism as proto-religion and the problems posed by its disappearance