Since I chose not to have a television in my home, it is my usual decision to listen to Internet radio throughout the day. Genesis broadcasting ( http://gcnlive.com/directory.php ) is my usual - and the following is the particular link I use to begin listening to Joyce Riley's Power Hour, Derry Brownfield, Alex Jones, etc. with Rense Radio coming on after 9pm Central: http://www.soundwaves2000.com/asx/rrn.asx

This morning as I was listening to Joyce Riley - she had on the following guest:

NIKI RAAPANA, co-author of What is the Hegelian Dialectic? The Historical Evolution of Communitarian Thinking, shares her expertise on how the American Sheeple are purposely being moved into a mandatory “Community volunteerism and mandatory service” – specifically how they plan on destroying our lives – and what is in it for the Corporate-Government? FREE LABOR.

Website "Living Outside the Dialectic - Seeking a path not included in the plan": http://nikiraapana.blogspot.com
http://nord.twu.net/acl/

"Communitarianism is the emerging global political system. It is the founding philosophy for world government and the legal authority for rebuilding a sustainable world."

She began to tal

k about the unique home she built for herself in central Alaska - and my ears perked up and visited her blog linked above.

Today I began my research on the traditional Mongolian nomadic dwelling: GER

*Ingenious portable circular structure whose design dates back 1000's of years

* Strong - lasts a lifetime

* Easily assembled and disassembled

*No permanent damage to the ground where it is built

* Simple and sophisticated, beautiful as well as functional

* Easy to heat and keep cool

*Made from environmentally friendly materials

* Secure, warm and comfortable

* Self supporting - wooden skeleton uses tension and compression to maximize rigidity without nails or stakes

* The experience of free living

"Here in the Blue River valley, it is quite common for our Mongolian friends to spontaneously burst into song. On this particular occasion, for this clip I recorded a rendition of a folk ditty called Scenery of My Country sung as we sat together sharing food in the family ger. Here’s a translation…"

***

Our gers look so beautiful
Seen from a distance
Is this the scenery of the country I was born in?
There are many gers as white as milk
Decorating the animals’ pasture
Is this my mother who always wished good luck for me?

A House to Go

The yurt (mongolian: Ger) is the traditional dwelling of the nomads in Mongolia, as well as in the neighbouring countries, over to as far as in Turkey. It is a tent-like structure made from a wooden frame and covered by wool felt. A traditional yurt is very easy to collapse and assemble again, and it can be transported on no more than three animals (horses, camels, yaks). Today it will fit nicely on a small all-terrain vehicle.

A mongol family entertains a guest in their yurt

Genghis Khan Has Just Left the Building...

The constructive principle of the mongol yurt hasn't changed much since Genghis Khan's times. The few elements that did change were the consequence of newly developed or imported technology, such as carpentry. This made it possible to craft a wooden crown similar to a wheel in place of a simple piece of wood bent into a circle. Even more obvious is the use of a wooden door instead of a felt curtain, and of course the iron stove with a chimney in place of open fire.

We have tried to collect as much information as possible about this beautiful dwelling type. We did so out of architectural and cultural interest, and also simply because we care. Even if the nomadic lifestyle is still very much alive in Mongolia, it will continue suffer more and more changes by modern influences, which may eventually amount to a real threat. We hope we can contribute a little bit to keep the tradition alive!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YurtA yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. [edit] Etymology and synonyms

A yurt in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, used as a café.

The word yurt is originally from a Turkic word referring to the imprint left in the ground by a moved yurt, and by extension, sometimes a person's homeland or even kinsmen. The term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like dwellings only in other languages. In modern Turkish the word "yurt" is used as the synonym of homeland. In Russian the structure is called "yurta" (юрта), whence the word came into English.
The Kazakh word used for yurt Kazakh: киіз үй (IPA: [kɘjɘz ʉj]) means "felt house". The Kyrgyz term is Kyrgyz: боз үй (IPA: [boz yj]), meaning "grey house", because of the colour of the felt. In Turkmen the term is both ak öý and gara öý , literally "white house" and "black house", depending on its luxury and elegance. In Mongolian it is called a Mongolian: гэр (IPA: [ɡer]). Afghans call them "Kherga"/"Jirga" or "ooee". In Pakistan it is also known as gher (گھر). In Hindi, it is called ghar (घर), which means home. In Persian yurt is called xeyme (خیمه), in Tajik the names are yurt, xona-i siyoh, xayma (юрт, хонаи сиёҳ, хайма).

Construction

A Mongolian yurt

Traditional yurts consist of a circular wooden frame carrying a felt cover. The felt is made from the wool of the flocks of sheep that accompany the pastoralists. The timber to make the external structure is not to be found on the treeless steppes, and must be obtained by trade in the valleys below.
The frame consists of one or more lattice wall-sections, a door-frame, roof poles and a crown. Some styles of yurt have one or more columns to support the crown. The (self-supporting) wood frame is covered with pieces of felt. Depending on availability, the felt is additionally covered with canvas and/or sun-covers. The frame is held together with one or more ropes or ribbons. The structure is kept under compression by the weight of the covers, sometimes supplemented by a heavy weight hung from the center of the roof. They vary regionally, with straight or bent roof-poles, different sizes, and relative weight.
A yurt is designed to be dismantled and the parts carried on camels or yaks to be rebuilt on another site.

Mongolian yurt: starting with walls and door	Mongolian yurt: starting to place roof poles	Mongolian yurt: with roof poles in place	Mongolian yurt: placing the thin inner cover on the roof
Mongolian yurt: adding felt cover	Mongolian yurt: adding the outer cover	Mongolian yurt: tying off the covers and completing the structure

Symbolism

shangyrak

Kazakh coat of arms

Kyrgyz flag

The wooden crown of the yurt (Mongolian: тооно, IPA: [tɔːn]; Kazakh: шаңырақ, IPA: [ʃɑɴərɑ́q]; Kyrgyz: түндүк, IPA: [tyndýk]; Turkmen: tüýnük) is itself emblematic in many Central Asian cultures. In old Kazakh communities, the yurt itself would often be repaired and rebuilt, but the shangrak would remain intact, passed from father to son upon the father's death. A family's length of heritage could be measured by the accumulation of stains on the shangrak from decades of smoke passing through it. A stylized version of the crown is in the center of the coat of arms of Kazakhstan, and forms the main image on the flag of Kyrgyzstan.
Today the yurt is seen as a nationalistic symbol among many Central Asian groups, and as such, yurts may be used as cafés (especially those specialising in traditional food), museums (especially relating to national culture), and souvenir shops.

Western yurts

A yurt-derived structure in the Colorado mountains

Enthusiasts in other countries have taken the visual idea of the yurt—a round, semi-permanent tent—and have adapted it to their cultural needs. Although those structures may be copied to some extent from the originals found in Central Asia, they often have some different features in their design that adapt them to different climate and use.
In the United States and Canada, yurts are made using hi-tech materials. They are highly engineered and built for extreme weather conditions. In addition, erecting one can take days and they are not intended to be moved often. These North American yurts are better named yurt derivations, as they are no longer round felt homes that are easy to mount, dismount and transport. North American yurts and yurt derivations were pioneered by William Coperthwaite in the 1960s^[1], after he was inspired to build them by an article about Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas's visit to Mongolia^[2].

In Europe, a closer approximation to the Mongolian and Central Asian yurt is in production in several countries. These tents use local hardwood, and often are adapted for a wetter climate with steeper roof profiles and waterproof canvas. In essence they are yurts, but some lack the felt cover that is present in traditional yurt.
Different groups and individuals use yurts for a variety of purposes, from full-time housing to school rooms. In some provincial parks in Canada, and state parks in several US states, permanent yurts are available for camping.
The Hexayurt project^[3] has released a set of designs, for yurts built from cheap construction materials, into the public domain. The intended uses are for camping and similar uses, and also for providing extremely low cost housing for disaster relief efforts.^{[citation needed]}

See also

References