Nigeria Railway Corporation’s Board Chairman Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje spoke with YINKA ADERIBIGBE on the corporation’s challenges.
How would you assess the railways corporation’s recovery journey so far?
I will say it has been very encouraging for so many reasons; first, when this Lagos-Kano-Lagos train service started last year, it was Nigerians first experience after the railways had run down for over 30 years. So, when we started on December 21, 2012, we were received with skepticism, but early this year, the service was increased to two, and now we are taking off with the third. Let me say this, all these transformations are being carried out with engines and wagons that were refurbished by our local engineers and men. We are yet to deploy any new engines and wagons because those ones are still being manufactured. When those we have placed order for arrive, we will be able to enhance our services. Maybe then, we will be able to increase the Lagos-Kano-Lagos service to a daily shuttle. By that time too, the commuting public will be better aware of the resurgence of the Nigerian railways, and we would then be able to meet demand.
How do you intend to finance the various NRC projects going on simultaneously?
In order to meet such targets, we realise we cannot do it alone, we have decided to invite experts to assist us drive the process. We want to shorten to 20 years the journey that took some developed countries 200 years. That is why we are revamping the single rail system and taking on the standard gauge and the fast track gauge at the same time.
How does the government intend to modernise the rail infrastructure, as most of what are on ground today are relics of the colonial masters?
I can assure you that we are taking the rehabilitation very seriously and this is being addressed in phases. The first phase is to rehabilitate the narrow gauge and get the trains back on track. Soon we shall commence on the second phase, which would address the NRC structures scattered all over the country. Already the Federal Executive Council has given us approval to repossess all our properties, but it is not possible for us to do all of these things at the same time.
We have revamped the trains and the structures that would make it work, we are moving to constructing the standard gauge and we will put in place all that would make it work before addressing the issue of the facelift of all our properties. That is why I am pleading for patience by Nigerians. It is not possible for all of these to come on board overnight, we are not magicians and government does not have such huge resources.
By 2014, we hope our invitations to the Nigerian public particularly the private high net worth individuals and private sector will crystalise and sometime by mid next year, we hope to begin implementation. All the infrastructure needed to modernise the railways would be put in place by the federal government.


text:
Potštát (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpot.ʃtaːt]; German: Bodenstadt) is a town in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Villages of Boškov, Kovářov, Kyžlířov and Lipná are administrative parts of Potštát.
The first written mention of Potštát is in a deed from 1318–1322, where it is already referred to as a town. In the second half of the 14th century, Potštát was acquired by the Kunštát and Poděbrady family. The town obtained the brewing privilege by Boček II of Poděbrady in 1388. The town flourished and crafts developed. In 1408, Tas of Prusinovice bought Potštát. During the rule of the Prusinovice family, the town further developed.For participating in the Bohemian Revolt, their properties were confiscated and Potštát was donated to illegitimate daughter of Rudolf II, Karolina d’Austria. During the Thirty Years' War in 1642–1645, the town was looted and damaged five times by various armies. In the 1660s, Potštát was bought by the Walderode family, who restored the town in the Baroque spirit and gave the square its present appearance. The town's economy relied on crafts, especially cloth making, weaving and shoemaking.Potšát was affected by the Seven Years' War and by the Napoleonic Wars, during which many young people left. The town was also seriously damaged by fires in 1787 and 1813, which destroyed most of the buildings and the local castle. In 1814, Potštát became a property of the Desfours-Walderode family and recovered.From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland.
Ski Resort Potštát is a small ski resort near the town.
The landmarks of the town are the Potštát Castle and the Church of Saint Bartholomew with gothic core. The church lacks a clock and in the middle of the town square there is a separate clock tower.A fortress from the 14th century was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle by the Prusinovský family in the 16th century. In the 19th century, after it was damaged by fire, the castle was rebuilt in the Empire style. Today it houses the municipal office, a kindergarten, a library, and an exposition on the history of Potštát and its surroundings.In the southern part of the municipal territory is located the Potštát Rock Town with lots of bizarre rock formations, and the ruin of the medieval Puchart Castle.

domain: geography


text:
Visit the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Center by June 17 and you’ll be moved by the faces and stories on display.
The Seen exhibition celebrates our local community through portraiture, with participants capturing the people who live, work and play in Greater Dandenong.
Prizes were offered in four categories, including a People’s Choice category that will be decided by visitors to the exhibition over the coming weeks.
The Open category winner was Gabriel Hingley for his painted portrait Gora.
Mr Hingley said he admired Gora Odiel and the resilience of his family who came to Australia to flee war-torn South Sudan.
“I am thrilled to be part of the Seen Portrait Prize and to feature my friend Gora.
“He and his family went through a lot of hardships, but they got through it. Gora’s father was an important leader of his tribe who was tragically killed in the conflict in 1996. His photo portrait is on the table in my painting.
Gora had continued his father’s noble peacekeeping legacy, striving to bring different tribes together in harmony, both in South Sudan and here in Dandenong, Mr Hingley said.
Sitting down for the portrait, Gora wore a brightly patterned shirt in the African tradition.
The gold-rimmed coffeepot and cup symbolize the warm hospitality accorded in a South Sudanese family home, especially Gora’s, Mr Hingley said.
“I am privileged to know someone like Gora and believe his life is an inspiration to many people, whether African or Australian, to seek reconciliation and peace in our communities.
“Gora is full of joy and positivity, a natural and highly respected leader and elder among the Anuak in his community. He smiles every time I see him and has a dignified presence, so I wanted to capture that in a portrait.“
Gora, the subject of Gabriel’s winning portrait, said he was happy and excited to be painted by his pastor and friend.
“I have lived in Greater Dandenong for 20 years and living locally has given me many opportunities. I am grateful and very proud to be here.
Mayor Cr Jim Memeti said: “(The portrait) Gora represents a beautiful story where two people from different parts of the world have come together.”
The judges said it was a compelling portrait and they loved the creativity, the thoughtful use of lighting, and the simple, yet impactful and thoughtful background of the subject.
Andrew Duong was highly praised for portraying Aysha and Van Than Dat Dao for his work Spring on Mother’s Back.
The winner in the secondary school category was Tarika Wimalasuriya for Personality of Three.
The judges were impressed with the level of technical skill and detail in this intriguing work. They admired the artist’s ability to capture the emotions of the subject.
Freshta Khairi for Self Portrait was highly praised.
In the primary school category, Fiona Zhou and Areyana Singh were awarded for their work Fiona
The judges found the work very striking and even though it was small it had an impact. The lighting and capturing of the subject’s emotion was also impressive.
Chad Sun was highly praised for portraying Chad S and Faith Taulapapa with the Mum work.
Vu was judged by esteemed industry professionals Zia Atahi, Alojz Babic and Esther Gyorki.
Judge and Artist Zia Atahi is a freelance documentary photographer and abstract painter based in Melbourne.
He was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan and came to Australia in 2005.
He said there was so much talent in Grand Dandenong.
“This exhibit is about the stories and faces of this city and I hope we can all learn something from their work,” Zia said.
The open category winner won a cash prize of $4,000, while the secondary and primary category winners won a set of art materials (valued up to $1,000) for themselves and their schools.
Proudly sponsored by The Drum Theatre, the Star News Group and Zart, experience the Seen exhibition at the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Center on the corner of Walker and Robinson Streets in Dandenong until Friday 17th June.

domain: artistic


text:
Lego ninjago coloring pages free printable lego ninjago blue ninja coloring pages high quality ninjago printable coloring free pages lego
Here we have collection of car logos coloring pages. You can find here many logos: Ferrary, BMW, Lambordhini, Ford, Nissan, Porsche, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and others. We are to plan make more colorings with cars logos. You'll see here logos of famous brands, american and japan cars, european cars. Its easy to color logos of cars here. You can see hints for coloring - just press the eye icon. And you'll see colorfull example of car logo. Also, if you don't like the colors you made - you can reset all colors to white and start coloring from beginning.
The alternative is to buy coloring books in a shop or order the physical coloring book online. If you order the physical book online, it can take ages to receive it. Then you have to wait for the item to be delivered. If you buy a coloring product in digital form, you receive it within minutes of purchase. Normally, once your payment is made, an email is instantly sent to you and includes your purchase.
Both teachers and parents could find the abundance of reinforcement for things that they teach about in terms of the educational coloring pages. Children could also be instructed in terms of knowing the colors, shapes, alphabets, seasonal occasions and even spiritual education to be strengthened in the church or even at home.
We found 13++ Images in Lego ninjago coloring pages free printable:
Top 15 page(s) by letter L
- Lego ninjago coloring pages free printable
- Learning music coloring pages
- Large superhero coloring pages printable
- Lol dolls coloring pages print
- Lolirock printable coloring pages
- Letter j printable coloring pages
- Lds church coloring pages
- Lol printable colouring page
- Littlest pet shop coloring pages images
- Lego ninjago coloring pages free
- Lds coloring pages animals
- Lol surprise printable coloring sheets
- Lego city printable coloring pages
- Little kid coloring pages
- Liverpool fc coloring pages print
Page Information - Lego ninjago coloring pages free printable
Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Lego Ninja Go Coloring Pages 2 Cricut Projects Ninjago Coloring Printable Free Pages Ninjago Lego, Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Free Printable Ninjago Coloring Pages For Kids Ninjago Pages Coloring Printable Ninjago Lego Free, Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Best Coloring Pages For Kids Free Printable Coloring Ninjago Pages Lego, Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Lego Ninjago Drawing At Getdrawingscom Free For Lego Ninjago Free Printable Pages Coloring, Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Lego Coloring Pages Best Coloring Pages For Kids Printable Pages Coloring Ninjago Lego Free, Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Free Printable Lego Ninjago Coloring Pages Best Coloring Pages For Kids Lego Ninjago Pages Printable Coloring Free.
Find the best coloring art supplies: crayons, markers, pencils, sharpeners and more! You can save money, lots of ways, when you buy quality art supplies. For example, there's no need to throw away dull, flat, crayons. This can be wasteful and expensive. Sharpen them with a crayon sharpener, electric or manual, for continual use. Your crayons can look good as new! Another example, of saving money, is to buy washable markers. There's no need to worry about marker stains on furniture, floors, doors, walls or even clothes! Using washable coloring supplies, takes the stress out of coloring, at least for adults! Crayola is an established, trusted, name in the coloring business, worldwide. They make numerous and practical coloring supplies.
Nowadays the World Wide Web made simple getting necessary info. And coloring pages reap benefits of the Internet enhancement.
The thing that I love most about colouring pages is that it allows me the opportunity to share a small aspect of my past with my children. Although they find it comical that some of the coloring page characters such as the care bears, tinkerbell, and strawberry shortcake were around when I was a child.
- Printable coloring pages of trains
- Grow food coloring pages
- Coloring pages for adults by number
- Coloring sheet for summer season
- Coloring pages drawing games
- Christmas coloring by numbers printable
- All anime coloring pages
- Coloring pages precious moments
- Coloring pages super hero girl
- Easy zen coloring pages
- Printable spring coloring pages adults
- Free printable ocean themed coloring pages
- Printable colouring pages for free
- Hydra dragon coloring pages
- Unicorn valentines coloring pages

domain: entertainment


This is a record of the real orchestra, that was made during the actual rehearsal (warm up). It’s a woodwind orchestra, so there’s no string section. There are brass section (trumpets, trombones, tubas), woodwind section (saxophones, flutes, clarinets) and drums.
1. Noise of the Orchestra Short – 0:17 2. Noise of the Orchestra Long – 1:02
You may also like
Snow Walking in the Wood
To VideoHive Authors
You are more than welcome to use this track for your VideoHive projects. Please post the link in your item description and drop me a line!


text:
Byrnihat in Meghalaya was the most polluted hotspot last week with cities from Assam also joining the list, according to the latest data from Central Pollution Control Board.
The levels for the 10 most polluted cities remain significantly higher than the CPCB’s daily safe limits of 60 ug/m3 for PM 2.5.
While Byrnihat is at the top of the list of most polluted cities last week, Siwan ranks second with an annual PM2.5 concentration of 60 ug/m3. Nalbari Assam is third with a reading of 91.25µg/m3.
Pollutant levels in these cities have exceeded prescribed air quality standards.
Top 10 polluted cities in India: Check full list
- Kishanganj 263.8
- Chhapra 282.3
- Bhagalpur 297.1
- Ournia 301.2
- Bettiah 305.8
- Saharsa 305.8
- Siwan 328.5
- Byrnihat 399.8
- Guwahati 273.2
- Nalbari 312.7
During winters, the air pollution is as bad as in many other polluted cities in India.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also cited the air quality in Guwahati as being among the worst.
PM2.5 are lung-damaging fine particles that are 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter and can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reach the lungs, and enter the bloodstream.
Transport-level winds blow in the two lowest layers of the atmosphere, the troposphere and the stratosphere, carrying smoke from agricultural fires into the national capital region.
Delhi most polluted city in 2022
Delhi topped the “Most Polluted City” list with PM 2.5 levels in 2022, more than double the safe limit and the third-highest average PM 10 concentration, according to an analysis data of the Central Control Board of pollution.
In the last four years, the level of PM 2.5 has been reduced by more than 7% in the national capital, from 108 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019 to 99.71 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, says the Tracker report of the National Clean Air Program (NCAP).
- Delhi Pollution memes take over Twitter
- How does cooking cause indoor pollution?
- How is oil pollution really increasing?
Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on email@example.com.


text:
Choose a Custom Home in the Oaks at Fallon Park Community in Raleigh, NC
Type: Single Family
Featuring the classic amenities of a traditional historic neighborhood and the modern conveniences of a trendy urban location, the Oaks at Fallon Park neighborhood truly offers the best of both worlds. We are a one-of-a-kind new home community located in the Five Points area of Raleigh, NC.
Detailed landscaping, miles of sidewalk, beautiful wooded areas, and unique, high-quality homes are just a few of the hallmarks of the Oaks at Fallon Park. Homeowners can choose from a variety of custom home styles to create a home that’s completely custom-tailored to their individual needs and tastes. And with our convenient location inside the Raleigh beltline, you won’t have to travel far to get to downtown, midtown and other popular areas in Raleigh.
For more information about Poythress Construction Company’s new homes for sale in Raleigh’s Oaks at Fallon Park, browse through our featured properties listed to the right or request information about our available properties by clicking on the button at the top of the page.
- No-maintenance yards
- Neighborhood clubhouse and pool
- Conveniently located near Fallon Park and the Raleigh Greenway
Directions to Community
From I-440 beltline, take Exit 7A onto Glenwood Ave. heading towards downtown. Continue on Glenwood Ave. and turn left onto Whitaker Mill Rd. Turn left onto Pine Dr. and right onto Noble Rd. The Oaks at Fallon Park sales center is on the left.
Poythress Construction Company, Inc. is a premier custom home builder located in Cary, NC. We’ve been constructing beautiful, custom homes for clients across the Triangle since 1993, delivering an exceptional home building experience to clients in the Cary, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill area.


Woody Allen in “Manhattan” with a 16-year-old Mariel Hemingway (playing a 17-year-old)
To be clear, I haven’t read Woody Allen’s autobiography, “Apropos of Nothing,” and I won’t. I found myself unable to endure anything related to Allen after he married his own quasi-daughter following a sexual affair with her while they were both living with Mia Farrow, Allen as her supposed lover and domestic partner, Sun-Yi Previn as her adopted child. While I maintain that the works of artists should be kept separate from the character flaws and misdeeds of their creators, that’s an intellectual and ethical position, not an emotional and gastrointestinal one. The latter are non-ethical considerations, but that doesn’t mean I can ignore them.
If I were a professional book reviewer, however, I would be forced to put my revulsion aside, or refuse the assignment of rendering a verdict on “Apropos of Nothing.” It is undeniable that the New York Times book reviewer, Dwight Garner, couldn’t or wouldn’t do that. To be fair, the Times no longer enforces the core journalism ethics principle that journalists shouldn’t allow personal biases to infect their reporting, but that is an explanation, not a defense. Some observations: Continue reading →
So far, there have been only 28 Wuhan virus deaths in Austria…
1. There is nothing strictly unethical about the Democrats attempting to use the current crisis to get some of their non-pandemic agenda items, like them or not, passed. That’s politics. They would be remiss if they didn’t try that. It will be unethical if their efforts materially interfere with the efforts to assist individual and business victims of the Wuhan virus, and if that is what they do, there is ample evidence to hang them, like this:
…if, that is, the facts are reported fairly. Speaker Pelosi’s House bill including such pork as support for the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts is also a “smoking gun.”
This blog certainly forces me to defend some unsavory characters.
Woody Allen is one among the small group of artists who I find so personally repellent that I can’t enjoy their work even while recognizing and appreciating its excellence. That does not mean, however, thatAllen’s work is not important nor that his life and career lack cultural significance. As I wrote here,
“I found myself unable to enjoy any of Allen’s films after he cheated on his de facto wife with his de facto daughter. I also don’t believe in enriching, even indirectly, horrible people in their professional endeavors if I can conveniently avoid it.”
That, however, is a personal choice that I would never impose on others, nor on the arbiters and trustees of culture, as it would be unethical to do so. Thus I wrote, just a few days ago, of Ronin Farrow’s demand that his publishers refuse to hand Allen’s memoirs because he believes his sister’s account that Allen sexually abused her when she was a child,
“I yield to no one in my contempt for Woody Allen as a human being, but he is a major figure in film and cultural history, and his memoirs are of obvious value and interest. Farrow’s publisher’s obligation is to readers and stockholders, not the sensibilities of one author.”
Hachette Book Group on Friday dropped its plans to publish Woody Allen’s autobiography and said it would return all rights to the author, a day after its employees protested its deal with the filmmaker. “The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one,” a spokeswoman for the publisher said in a statement. “We take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly. We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard.”
But she added that Hachette executives had discussed the matter with employees and, “after listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG.”
There are those pesky rationalizations again! Oh, it’s a hard decision, so that excuses it from being a bad decision. This is 19 B. Murkowski’s Lament, or “It was a difficult decision” again, which I reviewed yesterday. Next, we get this nauseating sequence, which perfectly embodies 64, Yoo’s Rationalization, or “It isn’t what it is!”
The statement says that “We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard,’ and follows it up by saying that it will not publish this “challenging book” and thus this different voice and conflicting point of view will not be heard. Seldom does such complete hypocrisy define itself in the span of so few sentences.
The “difficult” decision that contradicts the company’s stated values results from nothing better than cowardly capitulating to a mob carrying out the goals of cancel culture. In this case, those goals include infringing on free speech and the public’s right to know, if they want to know. Our democratic ideals and the principles enunciated in the Bill of Rights have no chance of surviving if those who own and run companies like Hachette emulate the spineless administrators of educational institutions and dissolve into pools of passive submission every time holding to those ideals and principles threatens to entail a risk of sacrifice or adverse consequences. Continue reading →
Desperately trying to get this post out before the walls close in. I’m doing a program for an always receptive BigLaw firm in Atlanta, and its a program I know well, and I’m still anxious about it. It doesn’t help that I have some kind of cold, but the show must go on…
1. Super Tuesday musings…
Last night, I stumbled on a Fox News panel discussing the Julie Principle at length regarding Joe Biden’s brain farts and Trump’s Tweets! They didn’t use that term, of course, but it would have helped explicate what they were trying to say, which was that once you’ve decided to accept the flaws of a candidate, more evidence of those flaws won’t change your support.
Speaking of… Joe Biden got his sister and his wife mixed up during his victory speech. If there was ever a question of how much the country doesn’t want socialism, the fact that so many Democrats preferred to vote for this sad husk than capitulate to Bernie should answer it.
How proud I am of my home state, which told the world that even voters who know best, and presumably support to some extent, Elizabeth Warren don’t think she should be President. Thus they validated Abe Lincoln’s rule: you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Warren was the 2020 field’s worst demagogue and biggest hypocrite, as well as one of the most shameless liars. As I write this, she hasn’t dropped out yet, perhaps because she doesn’t want to help Sanders, whom she still resents for saying that a women couldn’t be elected President. Well, he was right as far as she is concerned. Good.
Warren was easily my least favorite of the Democratic contenders from an ethics standpoint. After I posted on Facebook about one of her many deceptions, a friend, apparently seriously, commented that I seemed to have a real bias against her. It reminded me of one of Martin Short’s brilliant improvs as idiot celebrity interviewer “Jiminy Glick,” when he cracked up Mel Brooks by asking, “Now what is it that you have against Hitler?”
2. Wait, he did WHAT??? Cedric Sunray, a college recruiter from Oklahoma Christian University, visited Harding Charter Preparatory High School in Oklahoma City last month and met with 110 juniors and four teachers in the gymnasium to talk about opportunities at the college. He then asked the students to line up from darkest to lightest skin complexion, and then line up from “nappiest” to straightest hair. As the students lined up, some of the teachers left to report the request to school administrators, who intervened. Sunray was quickly fired.
Sunray later wrote that the exercise was meant to be an “icebreaker” and that he has made the same presentation dozens of times at other institutions. Really? And nobody complained?
The president of Oklahoma Christian University, John deSteiguer, visited the prep school to apologize to students and staff members. Too late, I’d say. Any school that would let someone like Sunray represent it is too inept to be trusted. Continue reading →
This song, the only “hit” (kind of) by “The Carpenters” sung by Karen’s brother Richard, matches my conflicted mood today. Richard’s teasing and criticism played a part in killing his sister, who possessed one of the most wonderful voices of any popular female vocalist in U.S. history, but who was doomed by anorexia. I am also both perplexed and amused that someone with a lisp would choose a song that repeats “Saturday” as his break-out solo. I wonder if Karen teased him about that?
1. More on high-testosterone competitors in women’s sports. As I recently wrote here, I am floating in an uncharted sea of uncertainty on this issue, especially regarding Caster Semenya, the intersex South African track star. I do know, however, that I applaud her defiance of the recent court order dictating that she will have to take testosterone-lowing medication if she wants to compete. After a race this week, which she won, as usual, Semenya was asked if she would take the drug. Her answer: “Hell no.”
Athletic organizations are treading through a mine field here. If they regard taking performance enhancing drugs as cheating, as they should, demanding that certain competitors with natural physical and genetic advantages should take performance-handicapping drugs seems like a double standard.
2. Stop making me defend Woody Allen! I have been unable to watch an Allen movie, even old favorites like “Bananas,” “What’s Up. Tiger Lilly?,” and “Annie Hall,” without gagging since the comic/director cheated on Mia Farrow with her adopted teen-aged daughter, to whom he was a virtual father, and then married her. Thus I have watched none of his films at all. I didn’t need to make a judgment about his daughter’s claims that he sexually molested her, which Allen denies, and since I have no more evidence than the she said/he said (and my certainty that Allen is a certifiable creep), I can’t. However, once Dylan Farrow and her vengeful mother Mia renewed their accusations against Allen while #MeToo was raging, virtually all of Hollywood turned on Woody, even actors who had worked with him well after Dylan first made her claims. What changed? Nothing, really, except that now they are afraid of social media retribution, so they are pretending to be horrified at what didn’t bother them previously and assuming Woody’s guilt because “believe all women” is the “woke” place to be.
Well, Woody is a creature of Hollywood: this is unethical and unfair, but as Hymen Roth would tell him, “This is the life you have chosen.” Translation:if you voluntarily spend your career in (and benefiting from, and contributing too) an ethically warped culture, don’t expect a lot of sympathy when it turns on you.
This is more troubling: apparently Woody has a completed manuscript of his memoirs, which would have once sparked a publishers auction and an eventual multi-million dollar advance. Now, however, no publisher will pay a cent for it, because “while he remains a significant cultural figure, the commercial risks of releasing a memoir by him were too daunting.”
That means that the publishers are afraid of boycotts. How courageous. Allen is a significant cultural figure as well as a talented humorist. His memoirs have cultural importance, and they belong in the historical record, loathsome as find the man. Easily as loathsome are William Jefferson Clinton and his wife, yet both of them managed to score 7 figure book advances for memoirs they didn’t even write themselves.
Essentially what is happening to Woody is human statue-toppling. He is being erased from the culture despite never having been charged with or tried for a crime (unlike Bill Cosby and O.J. Simpson) because it is a sign of virtue among sufficient numbers of people with social media access to assume he is guilty. The boycott and progressive bully culture is a direct threat to basic freedoms. I’d regain some respect for Woody Allen if he would say so. Continue reading →
1 Derangement test! As I write this, Washington, D.C. is on high anxiety alert over whether there will be a government shutdown due to Senate Democrats staging a tantrum over DACA. Previous shutdowns, stupid all, and all ultimately a disaster for the party that triggered them, the Republicans, at least involved a dispute over the budget, which we call a “nexus.” In this one, however, the triggering party is the Democrats, who are grandstanding to their increasingly radical base, declaring the interests of about 800,000 illegal immigrants as a higher priority than the interests of the law-abiding citizens of this country who are not obsessed with “Think of the children!” and the imaginary right of foreigners to cross into the country illegally and stay here as long as they don’t rape someone and blow their “good illegal immigrant” status.
Essentially the Democratic leadership has decided to test the question of how many Americans have had their brains and values scrambled by the emotion-based pro-illegal immigration argument battered into their heads by the progressive/maintsteam news media coalition. Oh…there’s also their collateral justification of “We can’t make a deal with the President because he used a bad word in a private meeting, or so some say.”
Since both Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have their unequivocal condemnation of the very same tactic they are now engaging in on videotape, they must really be convinced that social justice warrior cant now infests the population. Well, maybe they are right. Maybe they aren’t as incompetent as I think they are, and their flip-flop won’t strike anyone else as cynical and proof of an integrity deficit.
If a party is successful, even once, using this extortion tactic to pass legislation, then the legislative process will have officially collapsed. Democrats—this shut-down is a unilateral offense, not another “everyone is to blame” fiasco—signaled their emergence as a protest organization rather than a responsible party in 2016 when they held a sit-down strike in the House to try to force the unconstitutional measure of banning gun ownership for citizens placed without due process on FBI no-fly lists. If Republicans allow such a tactic to succeed now, however, they will share the Ethics Dunce honors.
And, of course, will use the tactic themselves when the time is ripe.
Let’s see if sufficient numbers of Democrats have their brain cells and values in sufficient good health to tell their representative that those DACA kids have their sentimental support, but not THAT much support, you idiots, don’t be ridiculous!
Newspapers should make us more informed and smarter, not less informed and dumber. Thus a Washington Post feature this morning qualifies as journalism malpractice, incompetence exemplified. Its theme: “Gee, why is Woody Allen signing a new deal to do a streaming comedy series for Amazon, while Bill Cosby lost his deal with NBC?” The print edition sub-heads: “Crisis responses may explain…”
No, they don’t. This is a false comparison based on superficial similarities: two comics who initially peaked in the same era, both in their seventies, shadowed now by sex scandals. The effort to use one to question the treatment of the other is either intellectually dishonest or so analytically unsound that it should forfeit the authors’ privileges of being assigned to write anything for mass consumption (the Post piece is by Stephanie Merry and Amy Argetsinger, and shame on them). The question of why Allen and Cosby are being treated differently in the court of public opinion isn’t worth asking, but since they asked, here are the obvious answers:
1. Woody Allen’s art, comedy, and persona have never had anything to do with virtue, stable families or being any kind of a role model. As a performer, he has presented himself as perpetually horny, neurotic, obsessed with sex and masturbation, prone to lying, and open to adultery, betrayal, stealing friends’ lovers; in “Manhattan,” he happily romanced a virtual child. In real life, he says things like “The heart wants what the heart wants,” which is a rationalization for any act unethical or illegal, involving sexual or romantic desire. If you were ever a fan of Woody Allen after the age of 13, you were so because he was funny, accepting the fact that he is at best a sexually obsessed, maladjusted creep.
None of this is true of Cosby, who has always aimed his comedy at innocence, functional families and traditional virtues, and represented his own values as consistent with these when speaking for himself. Sex was not any part of Cosby’s art or image. He was an iconic good guy.Continue reading →
You have no idea who this is, do you? Well, it shouldn’t have turned out that way…
I’m sure you heard about James Garner’s recent death, but were you aware of James Shigata’s passing? Shigata, who died July 28 at the age of 85, was a contemporary of Garner’s, a superb actor, and like Garner, a leading man with leading man looks. James Shigata, however, was of Asian descent, though American through and through, and never escaped the perceived limitations of the shape of his eyes. Though he had a starring role in the hit film adaption of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Flower Drum Song” and routinely received critical acclaim for all of his film work, but though he got roles on television through the ’80s, he never was able to break through the typecasting straightjacket that deemed him only suitable for “Asian” roles. If you remember him as all, it is probably as the brave Japanese executive shot by Allan Rickman in “Die Hard.”
I thought about Shigata when I read a piece in Salon, noting that director Woody Allen didn’t cast African-Americans in his movies, and that his explanation why didn’t justify the neglect. Prachi Gupta writes,Continue reading →
Ethics Alarms has almost 15,000 tags, which means that a lot of diverse topics hard been discussed here in connection with ethics issues. Saddened as I was to learn of the passing of the great Mickey Rooney, truly one of the most talented and versatile individuals in entertainment history and the last of MGM musical stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, I can’t justify honoring his ethics; by all accounts, Mickey was not as admirable a human being as he was a performer. Still, Ethics Alarms has a Mickey Rooney post, from 2011, and when I read it over just now, I still liked it. Thus I will honor Mickey by reposting my defense of perhaps his most criticized performance. For one of his best, watch this. Yes, Judy’s in it too. (TCM has made everyone take down their Mickey clips, but so far, this Russian pirate site still has it. I know, I know—but Mickey would approve. This ethical breach is for you, Mick…)Continue reading →
I realized it was time to post the definitive Ethics Alarms List of Debate Cheats and Fallacies after once again having to point out to an indignant commenter that calling him a jerk based on a jerkish comment was not an ad hominem attack, and that saying idiotic things on-line carry that risk. Here, at last, is the current list, adapted from multiple sources. As with the Rationalizations List, with which this occasionally overlaps, I invite additions. Participants here should feel free to refer to the various fallacious arguments by number, and to apply critically them to my posts as well as the comments of others. Am I immune from occasionally falling into one or more of these bad debate techniques and rhetorical habits? No. The other reason I wanted to get the list up was to reinforce my own efforts to be persuasive without being manipulative.
1. Ad Hominem Attack
An ad hominem attack means that one is substituting the character or quality of an adversary’s thought for the argument the adversary is presenting. This is unfair, as well as misleading. “Your argument is invalid because you are a crook, a fool, an idiot” is an ad hominem attack. It is not an ad hominem attack to prove an argument idiotic, and conclude, on the basis of signature significance, (which requires that an argument be so idiotic that no non-idiot would conceive such a thing and dare express it),that the one making the argument is an idiot, since only an idiot would make such an argument. Confusing the true ad hominem attack with the latter is a useful deflection by poor advocates of the fair consequence of their advocacy. Idiots can still hold valid positions, and disproving the position has nothing to do with proving they are idiots.
1 a. The Toxic Introduction.
A more subtle application of the ad hominem attack is The Toxic Introduction, where the argument of another is introduced by noting a negative quality about the individual. The effect is to undermine the argument before it has even been heard, by its association with a less than impressive advocate.


text:
Add to Spiritual Diary
Today in this blog I would like to about a story of great Hero, A leader, a warrior a fierce lover.. When I was a small kid even though my Granny was a fabolous story teller, I wouldnot have grasped the real meaning of Shiva's leadership. My Granny always referred him as a GOD, if we thing each one of us as GOD's(SOUL) as Swamy Vivekananda said.. Then It would not be wrong to consider Shiva the Greatest of all leaders.
Recently I read two books which are just fabolous and I would like to bend my head and say Khudos to the writer.. Amish's Shiva and his wonderful tales about Shiva and his leadership. I do not know if I can make justice by writting about Shiva's imppecable leadership. But I shall try and see If I can, the writer has done a fabolous Job. I think I m too a human to appreaciate the leadership qualities of lord Shiva, The Mahadeva and the saviour of Humanity. 21stcentury has been filled with leadership books, articles, blogs.. I always thought that the qualities of a great will never change no matter whether you lead people on 100BC or 21st century. The qualities must remain same ...
. Never should they change even when things are different in modern world.. A common man may not be able to suck the grandeur of leadership, but a common man can be a leader. I wouldnt want to wait because the lessons were very important to loose. Lets talk about the first quality of Lord Shiva's Leadership.
Lead with Conviction – When I say lead with Conviction, I mean lead!!! don't think about consequences or results. Lead people with unshakable belief of changing the world. As a leader some times all you have is a bunch of people to support your greater cause. The greater the cause the bigger the movement, but do not hesitate to stand tall no matter what.. I do understand that its tough to stand for some thing these days, but if you want to savour the real leadership and people to turst you then you have a no choice. I don't know who said this!! whoever said this must be a superb man “ There are two kinds of people on this earth, one when tough times come look for the cover and the other “ Stand tall and face the heat”. We have always been looking for cover, facing the heat is really tough..
In the Book Even though shiva was not sure about his greater cause he knew that he wouldnt do anything wrong.. He went ahead with his dream of removing evil although he falter but he knew the greater cause is yet to be concieved and achieved.
Belief yourself – It happens so that some times tough to distinguish between right or wrong.. I always tell people when you are confused, ask your soul not your mind. Your soul and heart knows you more than your mind. In the book The Lord Shiva trusted his abilities so much so that he went against the formidabble Chandravanshi army. He belived in his war tactics and Survanshi Soilders.
When you believe yourself people will believe you!!... Its hard to develop an attitude.. However everyone in the world in search of something. And a leader needs to Identify the real needs of the people and make them realise what they can do with what they already have.... you can only do this when you believe yourself and rest will be history..
Dont deviate from the real Vision - There are thousands of leaders who lead us, and who did a good Job.. For many have done rather worsely.. As I write you can think of thousands of leaders who lead in the wrong path, they lead for the personal goal rather than making people life better. The Lord Shiva, a Great warrior, fierce lover and a superb lover knew that a leader must never deviate from the real vision or the purpose of his soul.
There are many more qualities we can talk about which Makes Shiva being one of the greatest leaders of all time..
I would to once again say, what you read in leadership books are just useless... they say leadership has changed over the time... I Say to them back off... It will never change and the qualities of great leaders may differ but they wont change.. they are good forever......
I would like to end this blog by saying “ HAR HAR MAHADEV”.. Lord shiva may bless us and makes us leader like him whose sole purpose was not to gain anything rather to eliminate EVIL...
“ May Lord Shiva bless all of US... Many more to come Keep reading.....

domain: literature


text:
top of page
If you would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive this months free ebooklet and digital print. Its all free no catches.
A new pdf ebook and digital monoprint is sent out completely FREE of charge each month to the mailing list so if you would like to receive the next one please sign up. They are between 16 and 30 pages long and include links to poetry, folk tales, myths and fables not to mention lots of paintings and printmaking.
bottom of page


text:
Approx. 80 pp., 6 x 9
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-6926-4128-6
Published: August 2016
Buy this Book
This title is not eligible for UNC Press promotional pricing.
Distributed for the North Carolina State University Libraries
This catalog was published on the occasion of the exhibition “Plan-and Plant for a Better World”: J. C. Raulston and The North Carolina State University Arboretum, which was on display at the D. H. Hill Library Exhibit Gallery from March 2016 through January 2017. The exhibition and catalog celebrate Raulston’s life and work, from his childhood in Oklahoma and his time in the military to his more than two decades of service to NCSU as an educator, horticulturist, and arboretum director. The exhibit draws upon the rich archive of Raulston’s papers, images, and ephemera in the Special Collections Research Center at the NCSU Libraries.
About the Authors
Susan K. Nutter (foreword) is Vice Provost and Director of Libraries at North Carolina State University.
For more information about Susan K. Nutter, visit the Author Page.
Bobby J. Ward (introduction) is author of six books including Chlorophyll in His Veins: J. C. Raulston, Horticulture Ambassador.
For more information about Bobby J. Ward, visit the Author Page.


text:
Full text loading...
The schematic diagram of the dual-wavelength laser, where mirror 1 is fixed and mirror 2 is rotatable.
Scanning electron micrographs of the MEMS tunable dual-wavelength laser with the output fiber integrated. (a) Overview of the integrated MEMS laser and (b) close-up of the grating and mirrors.
Spectra of the dual-wavelength laser. (a) is longer than by and (b) is shorter than by .
Wavelength tuning of as a function of the rotation angle of mirror 2 (movable mirror).
Article metrics loading...

domain: design


text:
TXT will be putting a special spin on their "Blue Hour".
The boys will be on KBS 2TV's Lunar New Year special 'Chosun Pop Again'. It is a special aimed at bringing traditional Korean music into the popular genre to create 'Chosun Pop', done by fusing Korean traditional music into K-pop, trot, hip-hop, and more.
TXT remixed their "Blue Hour" in a Korean traditional version and will be revealing it for the first time through 'Chosun Pop Again'. Make sure to tune in on February 11th at 6:35 PM KST to see the remix song.

domain: news


Bill Burrus, a bus driver out of Nashville, Tenn., came in to work the tournament. He had no affiliation with the team.
He pulled the bus over safely and received medical attention. A new bus driver was brought in. It caused the Bluejays to be a little later than expected, but CBS had moved the game back 15 minutes before the incident.
McDermott called it "a scary deal" and says "his health and how his family's doing is certainly more important than who wins or loses a basketball game."
Burrus' status is unknown.


text:
“Sometimes when I’m in a big important international meeting and you see me writings stuff down, it might be that I’m just drawing some, drawing some folks.” “
Václav Havel on politics and politicians
"Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance."“Despite all the political misery I am confronted with every day, it still is my profound conviction that the very essence of politics is not dirty; dirt is brought in only by wicked people. I admit that this is an area of human activity where the temptation to advance through unfair actions may be stronger than elsewhere, and which thus makes higher demands on human integrity. But it is not true at all that a politician cannot do without lying or intriguing. That is sheer nonsense, often spread by those who want to discourage people from taking an interest in public affairs.
— Letter to the downthrown Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček (August 1969)
"Having begun my thirtieth year of teaching high school, college and law school courses on the philosophy of pacifism and the methods of nonviolent conflict resolution, I was challenged again to decide where to begin this year’s course. Should I use the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to discuss nonviolent alternatives to the Bush/Cheney bents for bombs and bullets? Or pose this: would members of Congress, left or right, have voted to increase military spending so dramatically during the Bush years if they had studied peace and nonviolence in college? Would Barbara Lee of California’s 9th District have been the only member of Congress — one out of 535 — to vote against the Bush war plans on September 14, 2001?
Should I discuss the influence of nonviolence on the protests of the Arab Spring, from Egypt to Bahrain? Or explore alternatives to more than a dozen forms of violence that put one or another group of victims at risk every day: military violence, economic violence, environmental violence, corporate violence, racial violence, homophobic violence, verbal violence, emotional violence, sexual violence, structural violence, street violence, religious violence, legal or illegal violence, video game violence, violence toward animals? Or how about a quiz? Identify: (a) Emily Greene Balch; (b) Jeannette Rankin; (c) Dorothy Day. (…)”
"War must not be a means to achieve political ends. Wars must be eliminated, not merely limited. No national interest can today be isolated from collective responsibility for peace. This fact must be recognized in all foreign relations. As a means of achieving European and worldwide security, therefore, foreign policy must aim to reduce tensions and promote communication beyond frontiers. (…)
How to prevent war is a question which is part of the European tradition - Europe has always had reason enough to ask it. (…)
Our ethical and social concepts have been shaped by two thousand years of Christianity. And this means that, in spite of many aberrations under the flag of bellum justum, “the just war”, attempts have been made over and over again to achieve peace in this world, too.
Our second source of strength is humanism and classical philosophy. Immanuel Kant postulated his idea of a constitutional confederation of states in words that pose a very distinct question to today’s generations: Man, he said, will one day be faced with the choice of either uniting under a true law of nations or destroying with a few blows the civilization he has built up over thousands of years: then, necessity will compel him to do what he ought better to have done long ago of his own free reason.1 (…)
Peace policy is a sober task. I, too, try with the means at my command to pave the way for the prevalence of reason in my own country and in the world: that reason which demands that we seek peace because the absence of peace has come to mean extreme lack of reason.
War is no longer the ultima ratio but rather the ultima irratio. Even if this is still not a generally held view, I personally understand a policy for peace as a genuine Realpolitik of this epoch. (…)
Under the threat of mankind’s self-destruction, co-existence has become a question of the very existence of man. Co-existence became not one of several acceptable possibilities but the only chance of survival. (…)”

domain: sociology


text:
BANGALORE: Three Bharatiya Janata Party ministers in Karnataka Wednesday quit over viewing porn in the assembly and were barred from house proceedings till cleared, but demands mounted across the state for their expulsion from the legislature.
The three -- Laxman Savadi, C.C. Patil and J. Krishna Palemar -- escaped immediate expulsion from the assembly apparently because the state BJP is a divided house and the central leaders did not want to give a potent weapon in the hands of opponents to hammer it in the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly elections now under way.
As groups of people hit the streets at several places in the state, burning effigies of the three ministers and demanding resignation of the BJP government, opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular forced repeated adjournments of the legislature in Bangalore seeking the expulsion of the three from the assembly.
Speaker K.G. Bopaiah relied on the Lok Sabha speaker's ruling in the cash-for-vote scam involving BJP members and ruled that he was barring the three former ministers from participating in the house proceedings till a panel he is setting up gives its findings.
Amidst a roar of protests from the Congress and JD-S members, Bopaiah announced he was giving time till Feb 13 to the three to explain their conduct.
He said he will set up a six-member house committee which will hear the three ministers and give its findings by March 12. Till then, the three will not take part in the house proceedings, Bopaiah said and adjourned the assembly sine die, two days ahead of schedule.
The assembly is to meet only in March for presentation of the state's budget.
Savadi, the cooperation minister, and Patil, women and child development minister, were Tuesday caught watching the porn clip on the cell phone of Palemar, the environment and ports minister.
They quit early Wednesday, claiming they had done no wrong and asserting a probe will prove their innocence.
"We have resigned to avoid embarrassment to our party and not give the opposition a flimsy excuse to disrupt the assembly proceedings," a rattled Savadi told reporters at the party office here.
"We are ready to face an enquiry by the speaker as we did no wrong by watching a video clip of some rave incident in a foreign country to know what a rave party is," he said.
They resigned to avoid embarrassing the government and the party, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, his predecessor scam-hit B.S. Yeddyurappa and state BJP chief K.S. Eshwarappa told reporters at separate press meets in Bangalore.
In Allahabad, BJP president Nitin Gadkari acknolwedged the incident had embarrassed the party.
The Congress seized the opportunity to take a dig at the BJP.
"There are all kinds of entertainment, sometime political entertainment and sometime other kinds of entertainment. I would not like to use harsh words against them," said Communications Minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi.
In New Delhi, party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy assured of strict action against the three, if proved guilty.
The state BJP legislature party met during one of the two adjournments of the assembly and decided against immediately expelling the three from the house.
"The view was that there should be a probe and only then drastic action can be taken," a party spokesperson said.
The state unit is divided into various factions, prominent being pro and anti-Yeddyurappa. Savadi and Patil are known to be Yeddyurappa loyalists openly backing his bid for early re-instatement as the chief minister.


text:
Ash: I want to have the kind of love they do one day.Vicious (originally Vicious Old Queens) is a 2013 Brit Com/Dom Com that originally aired on ITV. Starring Shakespearian Actors/nerd icons Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi, the series follows a wealthy-albeit-bitter gay couple and their friends.The starring couple consists of Freddie (McKellen), who is a failing yet egotistical actor, and Stuart (Jacobi), who is still struggling to come out to his mother. The cast also includes their old friends Violet, Penelope, and Mason, and their young neighbour Ash.Whilst the show is essentially about vicious old homosexuals sniping and insulting one another, the presence of McKellen and Jacobi affirms that it's better than it sounds. Also, despite the pilot receiving a mixed critical response, the show currently has a strong fan following. The first series had only six episodes, followed by a Christmas Special. Series two is currently airing after a long wait, due to the cast's obligations in other high-profile productions. Airs in the U.S. on PBS as of 2014.
Freddie: [enters] Where is that miserable piece of shit?!
Stuart: Right here, you walking corpse.
Freddie: [enters] Where is that miserable piece of shit?!
Stuart: Right here, you walking corpse.
This series provides examples of:
- Ashes to Crashes: In "Ballroom", Freddie gives Ash his mother's wedding ring, the container for which doubles as the urn for her ashes, much to Ash's surprise.Ash: What's all that?
Freddie: My mother.
- Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Though somewhat rare considering how bitter they are, Freddie and Stuart occasionally invoke this to the extent they even act affectionate with each other on occasion.
Freddie: You do know we love you all very much, right?
- Also invoked during the first series finalé:
[They agree in fear]
- The Big Damn Kiss: Episode 6 has a heartwarming scene where Ash is extremely nice to Violet, only for Violet to press him against the wall and make out with him.
- Black Comedy: Stuart's mother carking it just before her son's wed and Ash and friends trying to hide it until after the ceremony.
- Black Comedy Rape: Several rape jokes in the first episode. Critics were less than impressed.
- Blatant Lies: Frequently Played for Laughs.Freddie: I'm quite certain I'm old enough to be your father.
Stuart: [muttering] Yes, I'm quite certain too.
Ash: My father's forty-six.
Freddie: Ah! And so am I!
- Book Ends: In the first episode, when Ash accidentally opens the curtains to the massive window in their living room, Freddie and Stuart both run back into the kitchen away from the bright light. In the last episode, after some (slight) defrosting and Stuart finally revealing to his mother he's gay, they're in such a good mood at their anniversary they decide to open the curtains again.
- Bowdlerise: Due to the somewhat risky title of Vicious Old Queens, the show title was later changed to the shorter and milder Vicious.
- Brainless Beauty: Ash has moments of this, such as not knowing how Freddie and Stuart can tell that he just came back in from the rain (as he's soaking wet).
- Also Chloe.
- But Not Too Gay: Surprisingly Averted; despite having the excuse that Freddie and Stuart borderline hate one another, the writers still have them occasionally displaying affection (and even sharing the occasional kiss).
- The Cameo: Dame Judi Dench as herself. See The Stinger.
- Camp Gay/Straight Gay: Stuart and Freddie respectively.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Penelope isn't all quite there and is often forgetful due to her dementia.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Freddie and Stuart considered this their end goal in regards to Ash. When he finally snaps and snarks about the Running Gag regarding him and Violet, Freddie's response was to give him a hug and say "About time, welcome to the family!" Mason lampshades it, saying it's sad they're going to turn the sweet Ash into a gargoyle like them.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: The normally dotty Penelope will have the occasional moment of clarity, often at the most inopportune time for somebody else. Lampshaded when people wonder why her memory is so vivid all of a sudden.
- Deadpan Snarker: Everyone but Ash. And even him, by the finale.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Between Freddie and Stuart.
- Dirty Old Man: Freddie and Stuart only first invite Ash in because he's handsome and young.
- Eating the Eye Candy: When Ash comes into the nightclub soaking wet, a girl at the nightclub as well as the camera, Freddie, and Stuart spend a few moments staring at him.
- The Faceless: Balthazar the dog is constantly sleeping in his basket under a blanket, but he's purportedly balding and teetering on the brink of death.
- Famous Last Words: In "Wedding":Mrs. Bixby: Can I have a hug first?
- Flying Under the Gaydar: Stuart's mother still has no idea that her son and Freddie are partners. Stuart has been telling her that Freddie is his "flatmate" for the last 48 years.
- The Ghost: Stuart's mother. Until the finalé, when she attends their party.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Freddie ends up giving a speech to Stuart's mother that makes it very clear that, since he loves Stuart so much, only he is allowed to verbally abuse him.
- Hypocritical Humor: Episode 5 concludes with Ash and his new girlfriend arguing and tearing into one another, to which Freddie and Stuart comment:Stuart: Do you hear how they talk to each other?!
Freddie: Kill me if that's ever us.
Chloe: I just don't see how two people in love can ever say cruel things to each other.
- Also, from the same episode:
Freddie: I was saying the same thing the other day to the piece of shit down there.
- Insistent Terminology: In episode five, when discussing Violet:Freddie: You're lucky you're straight Ash, otherwise you get one of these women who latch on to you for decades and never let go.
Ash: But you love her?
Freddie: Yes. We like her.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Ash is Freddie and Stuart's much younger neighbor who befriends them after he moves into the flat above them.
- Large Ham: Expected when the two leads are Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi.
- Last Episode, New Character: Oliver appears during the final quarter of the series finale and provides a lot of Call Backs to classic moments, including the infamous "You remember our friend Violet?" gag and Freddie's appearance as a villain on Doctor Who being mentioned.
- Manly Tears: Stuart in the last episode of series 2 when he goes to phone his mother, only to remember that she died earlier in the episode. His open sobs are devastatingly sad to watch, made even sadder by Freddie hugging, kissing and reassuring Stuart.
- May–December Romance: Violet attempts to invoke this on Ash, but the much younger man is clearly not interested in her.[Freddie and Stuart discuss Ash]
Violet: The one who was flirting with me shamelessly?
Freddie: No, this is a person who exists.
Violet: You're sitting very far from me, Ash.Ash: (wide-eyed with apprehension) I know.
- Mistaken for Gay: Freddie and Stuart spend the pilot discussing if Ash is gay, straight or even bisexual. He says he's straight, but that doesn't stop them assuming he's Armoured Closet Gay.
Ash: I wanted you to be the first to know. I think I might be—
- And again in episode 5:
Freddie: I KNEW IT!
Ash: ...in love with my girlfriend!
Freddie: (beat) Oh.
Stuart: [after Chloe crashes their dinner party] Poor Ash.Freddie: Well he wanted to be straight, that what he gets!
- Eventually they get the message, sort of:
- Monochrome Casting
- Mrs. Robinson: Violet to Ash.
- Naïve Newcomer: Ash, relatively speaking, in comparison to Freddie, Violet, and Stuart.
- Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted. The gay couple is over 70 and there was only one young, handsome gay man in the first series, briefly.
- Noodle Implements: The only explanation to Clive's death is that he suffered horribly and lost a foot.
- N-Word Privileges: This show probably would have been considered massively offensive were Ian Mckellan and Derek Jacobi not well known for being openly gay
- Of Corpse He's Alive: Done in "Wedding" to cover up the death of Stuart's mother.
- Once an Episode: Every episode opens with Stuart talking to his mother on the phone, except for episode 6, where Ash answers instead.
- Only Sane Man: Ash. Mason thinks he is this, but he's nearly as bad as Freddie and Stuart.
- Averted sometimes, e.g Series 2, Episode 2: Stuart and Freddy start spending more time with another young man, and Ash goes full psycho.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In episode 3, Freddie has his minor role on Downton Abbey overshadowed by Ash getting a starring role in a small movie; as a result, he starts being nice to everyone, much to their horror.
- Parental Substitute: Ash outright states that he considers Stuart and Freddie to be his parental figures rather than his birth parents (who are in prison).
- Phrase Catcher: Stuart, re Violet every time she and Ash are in a scene together:You remember our friend, Violet?
- Precision F-Strike: Dame Judi Dench lands one on Freddie in the first series finale.
- Freddie lands one on Stuart (causing the studio audience to burst into applause) as both are fawning over their handsome personal trainer.
- A brilliant one in Series 2 Episode 1: The whole gang spends the episode conducting an elaborate façade to fool Violet's sister, and when Ash's girlfriend finds out she loves it, rather than being freaked out. For a moment it seems no one is going to Lampshade the crazy, and then Mason steps up:Mason: You people are all fucking insane.
- In "Wedding", Freddie asks of the dress Violet chose for the occasion, "What the fuck is she wearing?"
- A rare application of the L subrating to the show's TV-14 rating happened to the finale, which includes an unbleeped instance of "dick" spoken by Freddie to Mason for his smart-alecky remark about his arm's appearance in a second Downton Abbey episode.
- Real Song Theme Tune: The Communards - Never Can Say Goodbye
- Running Gag:
- Selective Obliviousness: Stuart's mother is still totally unaware that Stuart is gay, despite the fact that Stuart is in his early seventies:Stuart: Well, I hoped she'd have figured out our situation by now. I have been dropping little clues.
Freddie: Yes. Like living with a man for 48 years.
- Shout-Out: Many to Doctor Who, especially since Derek Jacobi played the Master and Ian McKellen was the voice of the Great Intelligence.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Ash and his new girlfriend, Chloe:Ash: She never drinks, isn't that right Chloe?
Chloe: It's true. And nothing could give me more of a high that being with Ash...
Freddie: Have you tried cocaine?
- Small Name, Big Ego: Freddie career consisted of "bit parts in Rep and one episode of Doctor Who", according to Stuart. That doesn't stop him from acting as though he had, well, Sir Ian McKellen's career.
- Sound Effect Bleep: The PBS broadcast version does this every so often, bleeping out the stronger examples of Precision F-Strike among other things.
- Stepford Smiler: It's been hinted at that underneath Ash's cheerfulness there is a lot of emotional issues. He's mentioned offhand how he frequently wakes up screaming, and became so hysterical and self-loathing after messing up Christmas dinner that Violet had to slap him to calm him down. Considering how he says both of his parents were in prison (his father did 10 years for armed robbery after robbing a Domino's Pizza, and his mother went after running over her boyfriend.)
- Not to mention how easy it was to convince him that he was "a monster" just after getting cast in a film, and how he stops while describing his last Christmas with his family and how drunk his mother was to say with great anguish "Why wasn't I enough for you, Mum?" before immediately regaining his composure.
- The Stinger: The first season finalé ends with the reveal that Judi Dench wanted to attend the party, but since Freddie didn't leave a contact number or address, she got sick of waiting for a reply and decided she doesn't have time for his bullshit.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: In episode 5:Stuart: Freddie's scared he's never going to work again. There, how does that feel?
Freddie: I never said such a thing, and you swore you'd never mention it!
- Take That, Audience!: Towards McKellen's nerd following:Violet: Will there be a lot of single men?
Freddie: It's a science fiction fan club event; they'll be single but they'll be disgusting.
- Timeshifted Actor: In a flashback in episode 5 of series two, younger versions of Stuart and Freddie are played by Samuel Barnett and Luke Treadaway◊.
- Transparent Closet: Despite his mannerisms and being in his 70s, Stuart has yet to come out to his mother.Freddie: So, who were you squawking on the phone to just now?
Stuart: My mother, if you must know. She was very distraught.
Freddie: Why, did you finally tell her about us?
Stuart: I'm waiting for the right time.
Freddie: It's been forty-eight years!
Stuart: And there has not been a right time!
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: In grand British comedy tradition, Freddie and Stuart are both self-absorbed, sarcastic, waspish grumps.
- Wardrobe Malfunction: Happens to Ash in "Ballroom".Ash: Something feels wrong back there!
- When I Was Your Age: Occasionally Invoked towards Ash by others due to the large age gap:Violet: Has anybody said you remind them of Zac Efron? [whispering to Stuart] That's a person right? Or is it a place? [to Ash again] Well I'm certain I know you. Have you ever been to Zac Efron? [whispering to Stuart] I'm covered either way now.
- Vitriolic Husbands: With the occasional Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other.
- White Dwarf Star: Freddie's acting career never really took off and his only claim to fame was playing a minor character on Doctor Who. He still sees himself as an award-winning actor with a trophy case.


text:
Items Similar to 1920s Green and Silver Burn Out Velvet Shawl View More
1920s Green and Silver Burn Out Velvet Shawl
Extraordinary and very rare vintage 1920s shawl with green and silver burn out velvet in an art deco style geometric pattern. Semi-circle in shape in has green and silver tassels around the curved edge with the plain edge to be worn around the neck. In excellent condition especially for something of this age with no noticeable flaws. Length 164cm/ 64.5" Width (at widest point) 82cm/ 32.5" Tassel Length 35cm/ 14"
W 32.5 in. x D 64.5 in.
W 82.55 cm x D 163.83 cm
- Length64.5 in. (163.83 cm)
- Seller locationLondon, GB
- Reference numberLU5501315763
Shipping, Returns & Payment
About the Seller
4.6 / 5
1stdibs seller since 2013
Typical response time: 7 hrs
Located in London, GB
You may also contact the seller by phoneCall seller through 1stdibs
More From This Seller
1920s/1930s Lame Scarf with Leaf Motif and Tassels
Early 20th Century Scarves
Original Issue 1950 'Tableau de Chasse' Hermes ...
You May Also Like
1990s Escada Silk Scarf Green & Black Musical M...
1990s Gucci Silk Scarf Green Holly Motif New, N...
1990s Green and Gold Print Silk Foulard
Large Green Wool Challis Hand-Embroidered Multi...
Deep Turquoise & Black Abstract Silk Scarf
Whimsical "Traveling Turtles" Silk Scarf
Hermes Vintage Brandebourgs Silk Scarf in Green...


text:
3 edition of Storm Surfer found in the catalog.
|The Physical Object|
Beating the Blackbody Unilord was a huge feat that dude would have given Galactus a beating btw it takes an insane level of power to break Surfer's skin, Storm even tough she has powerful weather. Storm Surfers - Ross Clarke Jones & Tom Carroll ride Pedra Branca - Duration: Storm Surf views. Storm Surfer - Duration: Mastermashu views.
Combining cutting-edge 3D technology and bravura filmmaking, STORM SURFERS 3D is the ultimate big-wave thrill ride. The film follows best friends and surfing legends Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke 86%. RNLI rescuers went on a mission to save an 'idiot' surfer who became separated from his board off the coast of Hastings. The boat is seen being battered by 93mph Storm Ciara winds.
The Fantastic Four no. 1 (November ) introduced a quartet of new characters: Dr. Reed Richards, a pompous scientist; Sue Storm, his lovely and somewhat reserved fiancée; Sue’s hotheaded teenaged brother Johnny Storm; and Richards’s beefy longtime friend pilot Ben foursome commandeered an untested spaceship of Richards’s design from the U.S. military in a frantic but. The last scene to this chapter is going to be different from what is shown in the movie, but I hope you like it!Fantastic 5: The Rise of the Silver Surfer | The Storm Ignites | A Silver Surfer?"He looked like a man." Johnny was saying, talking about his experience with the Silver Surfer thing he had been chasing. "But completely covered in silver." He was baffled, wondering if.
Babys First Years
Mindpower in Massachusetts
Violent deaths in the United States
Organ Mountain recreation lands interpretive plan
Local government inBritain.
Continuity with Change
BTU buddy notebook
Introduction to the Pāñcarātra and the Ahirbudhnya saṃhitā
Compendium of wheat diseases
Storm Surfer (Jake Maddox Girl Sports Stories) and millions of other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more. Share Read this book and over 1 million others with a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Read with Kindle Unlimited Buy New. $ Read this book for free with Kindle Unlimited 5/5(1). Storm Surfer book. Read 3 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Jill never expected her week at surf camp to be interrupted by a hurric /5(3).
Storm: A Novel (Soul Surfer Series Book 3) - Kindle edition by Bundschuh, Rick. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Storm: A Novel (Soul Surfer Series Book 3)/5(8).
Jill never expected her week at surf camp to be interrupted by a hurricane, but one is heading for the North Carolina coast. Abby and Sara think surfing in a hurricane will be amazing.
Then the waves get out of control. Time is running out, and the storm is : Capstone Press. Storm Surfer Impact Books Impact books - a Jake Maddox sports story, Jake Maddox Jake Maddox Girl Sports Stories Series Stone Arch Realistic Fiction: Authors: Jake Maddox, Lisa Trumbauer: Illustrated by: Tuesday Mourning: Edition: illustrated: Publisher: Capstone Classroom, ISBN:Length: 65 pages: Subjects.
Get this from a library. Storm surfer. [Jake Maddox; Tuesday Mourning; Lisa Trumbauer] -- Jill never thought Storm Surfer book week at surf camp would be interrupted by a hurricane, but one is heading for the North Carolina coast.
She knows to stay away from the water when a storm is coming. But Abby. Storm Surfer by Jake Maddox, Tuesday Mourning (Illustrator) starting at $ Storm Surfer has 2 available editions to buy at Half Price Books Marketplace. STORMSURF provides surf forecasts, surf reports, wave models, weather Storm Surfer book, buoys reports and buoy forecasts all with research grade accuracy.
Our buoy reports update hourly highlighting individual swell trains and surf height with pinpoint accuracy. Our weather and wave models update 4 times daily zooming down through 5 levels to cover the. Taj Burrow's Book of Hot Surfing Taschen Day-by-Day: Surfing TC Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands The Art of Surfing: A Training Manual For The Developing And Competitive Surfer The Basics of Surfboard Design The Battle for Paradise: Surfing, Tuna, and One Town.
Home News. Latest News; Press Releases; Awards; Films. Storm Surfers 3D () New Zealand (). The Soul Surfer fiction series is based on the life of surfer star Bethany Hamilton, as she and her friends discover God's love and guidance as they tackle the waves life hands them. In book three, Storm, a car wash and a surf-a-thon with inflatable toys seem like great fundraisers for a /5.
COVID Resources. Reliable information about the coronavirus (COVID) is available from the World Health Organization (current situation, international travel).Numerous and frequently-updated resource results are available from this ’s WebJunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus.
Storm is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel character was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, first appearing in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May ).
Cockrum's original concept for a character with the power of weather control was of a male. This changed after he realized that multiple females with cat-related abilities, his first Created by: Len Wein, Dave Cockrum. SURFER’s meteorologist Nathan Cool is passionate about weather.
So much so that when several anomalies and weather-related disasters began popping up after the El Niño season, Cool decided to connect the dots. His comprehensive new book “Surf, Flood, Fire and Mud,” is basically those connected dots laid out for all to see. Brandon A. DuHamel reviews Storm Surfers 3D for Surfing films have been a popular niche documentary genre since the days of director Bruce Brown’s s road trip surfer classic The Endless Summer whetted filmgoers appetites and stimulated their imaginations with the glistening bodies, shimmering seas, and sandy beaches of the then burgeoning surfer culture.
The Soul Surfer Series is a four-book fiction series based on the life of surfer star Bethany Hamilton. Bethany and her friends discover God's love and guidance as they tackle the waves that life hands them. In Storm, Bethany helps a young family lost on the Kalalun trail.
As Bethany's youth group struggles to raise funds for a mission trip Format: Ebook. Soul Surfer Test. 23 Questions | By A surfer who merely surfs for th love of the sport. Riding deep inside the piching wave.
Alanna and her dad was with them when the attack happened. Bethany has a very big passion fo surfing. The book Soul Surfer is an auto-biography. What would you do f you were attcked by a shark. The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel character is a founding member of the Fantastic is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a similar, previous character, the android Human Torch of the same name and powers who was created in by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics Created by: Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (artist).
Create an account or log into Facebook. Connect with friends, family and other people you know. Share photos and videos, send messages and get updates. Read "Storm Surfer" by Jake Maddox available from Rakuten Kobo.
Jill never expected her week at surf camp to be interrupted by a hurricane, but one is heading for the North Carolina co 5/5(1). Booksource is the premier trade book distributor to K school classrooms across the country.
We offer discounted pricing, free shipping and unparalleled expertise and customer service.Storm: A Novel (Soul Surfer Series) has 1 reviews and 1 ratings. Reviewer boulder wrote: I want to read this book sooooooooooooo bad because bethany hamilton is sooooooooooooo awsome!!!!5/5(1).The Soul Surfer fiction series is based on the life of surfer star Bethany Hamilton, as she and her friends discover God's love and guidance as they tackle the waves life hands them.
In book three, Storm, a car wash and a surf-a-thon with inflatable toys seem like great fundraisers for a Brand: ZonderKidz.


text:
April 09, 2022 6:11 pm
While delicious to eat as a snack or post a heavy meal, laddoos are made with calorie-rich ingredients such as ghee and sugar syrups
March 22, 2022 5:29 pm
If you wish to satiate your taste buds just a little bit today, go ahead and do it
January 24, 2022 3:32 pm
If you are craving something sweet this season, dietitian Vidhi Chawla has a healthy solution.
January 08, 2022 10:46 am
Chocolate lovers in the house should definitely try these easy recipes!
September 09, 2021 12:38 pm
"Ganpati Bappa is about to come home and with him so are lots of sweets and modaks. So, here I am sharing a no-sugar quick and instant modak recipe with you!" she said
August 30, 2021 3:56 pm
Classic recipes call for whipped cream studded with chocolate wafers. But variations abound. Some add fruit and other flavorings to the cream; others switch up the cookies. Then there are those that play with the form, plopping the whole thing into a crunchy cookie crust and calling it icebox pie
July 20, 2021 10:04 pm
Chef Meghna Kamdar whipped up this easy recipe in no time -- check it out.
July 09, 2021 8:54 pm
The fluffy pancakes coupled with the gooey chocolate is bound leave your mouth watering and craving for more
June 14, 2021 5:28 pm
This dessert recipe by Yasmin Karachiwala is perfect for a particularly hot day when you would just want to bite into a mango
June 03, 2021 5:00 pm
Make your day special with these interesting recipes
April 20, 2021 5:09 pm
Try this easy dessert recipe that is not only simple to make but is super healthy!
June 22, 2020 6:07 pm
In the ongoing Christmas Recipe edition, we bring to you a lip-smacking dessert, the Spiced Orange Wreath Cake. We caught up with Shivesh Bhatia, a 22-year-old chef who loves baking cakes and desserts.

domain: food


text:
Its always a privilege to attend Annual General Meetings of Lusaka Securities and Exchange listed companies and one special on is the energy sectors only listed company on the local exchange: CEC Plc.
Copperbelt Energy Corporation (aptly known as CEC Plc), held its 25th Annual General meeting on Thursday the 27th April 2023. The meeting began with a brief recap of the previous years’ performance.
According to the Managing Director Owen Silavwe, CEC celebrated 25 years in November 2022. This milestone has delighted the corporate management and board as it is testament to company’s significance in the development of Zambian industry.
Regarding the financial performance, 2022 was a good year for the company. There was profitability of USD 50.8 million which was a general improvement from the year prior despite the impairment losses of 24.1 million dollars (2021: USD12.6 million), according to the Chief Financial Officer Mutale Mukuka.
The company paid out dividends of USD50.4 Million(2021: USD37 million) which is the largest the company has paid out to date. Regarding Turnover, there was an increase in revenue from the growth in power flows through the companies network from all business lines, led by regional power sales which increased by USD12.3 million. There was increased revenue of 9% which was USD374 million(2021: USD 342 million). Furthermore, the company also recorded an EBITDA of USD93 million (2021: USD94 million) and a profit after tax of USD51 million (2021: USD51 million).
Commenting on the power situation in Zambia, it was noted that Kariba power station experienced reduced water levels. According to the Managing Director, these are the lowest levels that have been recorded in years which led to the shortest-lived load curtailment program witnessed in 2022. Equilibrium has currently been restored as supply and demand are being matched for Zambaa.
Regionally there is still a threat to the power balance as the supply side has continued facing challenges especially with the situation in South Africa. The Chief Executive reaffirmed CEC’s commitment to continue to actively participate in processes and collaborating with other sector players to ensure equitable outcomes as market re-design and open access work is in progress with the expectation that the work will be iterative, seeking to incorporate lessons from other countries as well as Zambia is specific situation.
Looking forward, the company’s priorities for 2023 will be concerned with efficiently delivering safe, reliable and affordable power through continued upgrading, modernizing and investing in new transmission as well as distribution infrastructure to its customer base.
Placing sustainability at the center of the company as operations entails that Environmental Social Governance is a regular conversation and engagement with the company’s stakeholders. Further funding for more renewable energy products will be unlocked through commissioning the Itimpi Solar Project and concluding the related refinancing process. In order to reliably and affordably meet the growing demand, the company will focus on initiatives aimed at strengthening its supply portfolio. And lastly finding a solution to unlocking the long outstanding KCM debt, and ensuring that appropriate agreements are put in place to underpin service provision remains a priority for the business.


text:
- OCHA: Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 13 | 17 August 2017
- UNHCR South Sudan Factsheet - July 2017
- WFP: South Sudan Situation Report #189, 11 August 2017
- RW Topic: Fighting Famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen
Appeals & Funding
- 2017 Humanitarian Needs Overview
- 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan
- 2017 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan Revised (May 2017)
- UNHCR: 2017 South Sudan Situation Supplementary Appeal
- IOM South Sudan Consolidated Appeal 2017
- Humanitarian Action for Children 2017
- IOM Humanitarian Compendium
- Country-based Pooled Fund: 2016
- Business Guide: North-East Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Somalia: Prevent Famine and Support Response
- OCHA South Sudan
- UNHCR South Sudan Situation Information Sharing Portal
- IOM Humanitarian Compendium
- IOM Displacement Tracking & Monitoring (DTM) South Sudan
- Open Data for South Sudan
- Office of the IGAD Special Envoys for South Sudan
- Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC)
- Food Security Cluster: South Sudan
- Logistics Cluster: South Sudan
- Human Rights Watch: South Sudan - Events of 2016
- East Africa: Armyworm Infestation - Mar 2017
- South Sudan: Cholera Outbreak - Jul 2016
- South Sudan: Food Insecurity - 2015-2017
- South Sudan: Cholera Outbreak - Jun 2015
- Sudan/South Sudan: Measles Outbreak - Mar 2015
- South Sudan: Kala-azar Outbreak - Sep 2014
- South Sudan: Floods - Aug 2014
- South Sudan: Cholera Outbreak - May 2014
- South Sudan: Measles Outbreak - Sep 2013
- South Sudan: Floods - Aug 2013
More people have died delivering aid in Syria than anywhere else in 2017, an analysis by international aid organisation CARE Australia has found.
New figures reveal 80 aid workers have been killed this year, including 29 in Syria where there has been intense fighting since 2011.
“Syria is the most dangerous place on earth to be an aid worker,” said CARE Australia’s Gender in Emergencies Specialist Isadora Quay.
More than 9 million people already displaced globally in 2017
August 2017 (Geneva)
Conflict, violence and disasters have caused more than 9 million new internal displacements globally in the first half of 2017, according to new estimates released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
Of the 9.1 million new internal displacements, 4.6 million were caused by conflict, a figure which is already two-thirds of last year’s total. The countries with the highest new internal displacement by conflict are:
This briefing paper summarises the Refugee Council of Australia’s longer submission on the Refugee and Humanitarian Program for 2017-2018.
Scope of the consultation process
Education unlocks the potential of young minds, and helps new generations realise their dreams for the future. However, we are facing a global education crisis. Millions of children are out of school, or in school but not learning. We must put education at the top of the agenda.
This monthly digest comprises threats and incidents of violence affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It is prepared by Insecurity Insight from information available from open sources. All decisions made on the basis of, or with consideration to, such information remains the responsibility of respective organisations.
Central African Republic
This bulletin examines trends in staple food and fuel prices, the cost of the basic food basket and consumer price indices for 69 countries in the second quarter of 2017 (April to June). The maps on pages 6–7 provide impact analysis dis-aggregated to sub-national level.
This monthly digest comprises threats and incidents of violence affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It is prepared by Insecurity Insight from information available in open sources.
FCO launches its Annual Human Rights report for 2016
Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy puts human rights centre stage of foreign policy.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has published its 2016 Annual Human Rights Report. The report covers the period from January to December 2016 and for the first time includes a dedicated section on modern slavery - a key UK Government priority.
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a global norm, unanimously adopted by heads of state and government at the 2005 UN World Summit, aimed at preventing and halting Genocide, War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity. R2P stipulates that:
» Every State has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from the four mass atrocity crimes (Pillar I).
» The wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual States in meeting that responsibility (Pillar II).
Today the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect celebrates the World Day for International Justice. Holding perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes accountable for their actions plays an essential role in delivering justice for victims of mass atrocity crimes and preventing their recurrence. Every state, and the international community as a whole, has a role to play in this historic battle against impunity.
NRC in 2016: our year in review
We assisted millions in 2016. It wasn’t easy.
The numbers were bleak. Nearly 66 million people were on the move, fleeing conflict and disaster. But we persevered.
In 2016, displacement figures topped the charts yet again. As the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) scaled up, our 2016 annual report details, we supported more than six million people throughout the year – improving 2015 achievements by nearly 27 per cent.
A balancing act


text:
A meeting of SHGs discusses marketing strategies
How to bust a myth with a good booklet
Kavita Charanji, New Delhi
WHEN two women daily wage workers in Sakra block of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar couldn’t afford to pay for a superior quality of sanitary pads, the women’s cooperative manufacturing the pads decided to give it to them free every month until their SHG got off the ground.
“It’s a question of women supporting women,” says Ayush Poddar of Bookletpedia that is part of the Haq project, a collaboration between Bookletpedia, EdutopUp and the Bihar government’s Sachhi Saheli Sanitary Napkin Producer Cooperative Society Limited (SSSNPCSL).
The two companies, Bookletpedia and EdutopUp, helped the cooperative set up the sanitary pad factory in Sakra under the Chief Minister’s Skilled Workers Entrepreneur Cluster Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic many migrants returned home to Bihar. The factory was set up to provide employment to women and improve their access to hygienic sanitary pads.
“The objective of the Haq project is to create income-generating opportunities for women, irrespective of their household’s economic status,” says Piyush Poddar, co-founder of Bookletpedia, that designs Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material and trains people at the grassroots.
The factory is being run by the Sachhi Saheli Utpatak Samiti, a collective of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), set up with help from JEEViKA, the Bihar government’s social and economic empowerment programme for the rural poor.
The women are being trained in leadership, communication, team-building, accounting and sales. Bookletpedia is helping them market the sanitary pads and teaching them soft skills. Logo, tagline, and packaging have been designed to create a distinct identity for the Haq sanitary pads. EdutopUp is providing technical support and liason expertise.
The manufacturing facility, set up in 2020, has so far produced 6,000 sanitary napkins, six in a pack, priced at Rs 35. It has a production capacity of 30,000 sanitary napkins. The women have been trained to manufacture the pads themselves. The cooperative’s company is called Sachhi Saheli Sanitary Napkin Utpadak Swawlambi Sahkari Samiti Ltd.
The women’s collective manufactures the sanitary pads
“The pads are manufactured using an automatic machine as per the IS-5405 sanitary napkin standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards,” says Piyush with pride.
The cooperative says their Haq sanitary pads are superior to ordinary cotton ones because they are ultra-thin, more absorbent, last longer and are therefore cost-effective.
“The pads are based on the Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) gel technology so they are far more absorbent than cotton pads. They have an absorption capacity of over six hours,” says Ayush Poddar, co-founder of Bookletpedia and Piyush’s brother. “Because they are more absorbent, the upper surface of the pad remains dry so it keeps diseases associated with less absorbent pads at bay.”
However, marketing the pads has been challenging. The local community of Sakra block is largely impoverished. Many are daily wage labourers, small kirana shop owners or farmhands.
When the team conducted a survey along with members of the SHGs they found that 92 percent of 141 women respondents used ordinary cotton sanitary pads, priced at Rs 30. Eight percent of women said they used cloth. But cloth needs to be dried in the sun, which is not always possible due to space constraints, so the women dried them indoors. This made them prone to disease. The team was concerned about the eight percent of cloth users.
Piyush Poddar and his brother, Ayush
Secondly, women are reluctant to talk to their husbands about menstruation and their needs. Two members from the eight percent of respondents happened to use cloth. The Poddar brothers and co-founders of EdutopUp, Rahul Rungta and Ankit Bhardwaj, talked at length to the two women and found they earned very little and had no control over their earnings. They handed over their money to their husbands. The cooperative decided to give them free sanitary pads.
Marketing strategies have evolved over time. Initially, SHG members would go house-to-house to sell the Haq sanitary pads. Now village organizations and cluster-level federations advertise and market the napkins.
“We are not saying we will compete with sanitary pad manufacturers like Stayfree or Whisper. Our aim is to use village organizations and cluster federations as platforms to market our product,” says Piyush.
Bookletpedia’s booklet on gender and menstruation comes in handy. “In the Haq project we have used our booklet to make women understand the linkage between gender and menstruation. Women know that talking about menstruation is considered taboo in their families. But they never linked it to patriarchal norms,” Piyush explains.
“The booklet has been used also to bust myths around menstruation and discuss menstrual health management. In every session, the team emphasizes the benefits of using a sanitary pad and makes it normal to talk about hygiene during menstruation.”
The high social capital that SHG cadres have with the community helps a lot in creating trust in the product, he says. With the government and NGOs supporting the cooperative and the SHGs, women are coming round to spending `5 more on their menstrual health and hygiene.
The Haq project hopes to collaborate with the Bihar government’s Education Department to instal sanitary pad vending machines in government schools and replicate the Sachhi Saheli model in other parts of Bihar.
The venture’s sustainability depends on funds from the government and whether this collaborative effort can create leadership within the cooperative, an effective alliance between the government and the cooperative, as well as improve the skillsets of cooperative members, explains Piyush.
“Our USP is that we design booklets that make use of local characters in simple language. We try to iron out issues like policies, government schemes and social issues,” says Piyush. He cites the example of a MGNREGA booklet designed for the Rajasthan Mahila Kalyan Mandal in Ajmer that, coupled with capacity building, helped the organization reach 3,973 households between September 2020 and March 2022 in Silora and Jawaja blocks of Ajmer and empowered them to access benefits under the scheme.