text:
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A fast-moving grass fire hurt a man trying to burn a pile of leaves in Andover Friday morning.

And another fire got away from a homeowner in Inver Grove Heights Friday afternoon.

READ MORE: Minnesotan Reyel Simmons Charged With Impersonating Homeland Security Agent On TikTok

Flames blackened several acres of grassland, and two firefighters needed to get checked for dehydration.

The wind and dry conditions of early spring sure aren’t helping.

“This is kind of the unsafe period when we don’t want to see a lot of burning,” said Linda Gormanson, a wildlife prevention supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Dry conditions, mixed with a high and steady wind, can mean trouble for anyone who tries to burn anything.

“We’re kind of in that season where we don’t have much moisture in the vegetation so that’s dry, and then we’re getting warm temperatures and winds,” Gormanson said.

The aftermath of a grass fire (credit: CBS)

These conditions played a role in two recent grass fires. One in East Bethel spread quickly because of high winds. The city called in reinforcements to keep the fire from spreading to buildings.

A man in Andover who was trying to burn lawn debris was hurt when high winds helped spread the fire.

READ MORE: Tornado Sirens Didn't Sound Off Friday In At Least 3 Twin Cities Suburbs

“Our number-one cause of fires in the state are human caused, and that’s usually debris burning,” Gormanson said.

She says the DNR is seeing an increase in the number of grass fires across the state.

“We’re getting more reports from here, you know, up to the northern part of the state, picking up more and more fires,” she said.

Gormanson says most wildfires happen in April and May in Minnesota, which is why most of the state has been under burning restrictions since last week.

During spring restrictions, the state will not give out burning permits for burning brush or yard waste.

“Restrictions will come off at some point once we hit green-up, and then those will be safer times to burn,” Gormanson said.

Restrictions will relax in four to six weeks. Until then, Gormanson says people should use alternatives to burning, such as composting or hauling brush to a collection site.

MORE NEWS: Andover Residents With Contaminated Drinking Water Are Frustrated, Want Answers

Burning restrictions do not apply to campfires, but experts say use common sense before burning anything.

Reg Chapman


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
e10472 Error Code For Minot Tractor Models

There is 1 kind of error description.

Ambient Air Pressure Sensor Voltage is too low

Machine Will Not Move With Engine Running,Electrical problems.Operator pushing down both travel pedals at same time.Park brake locked.Transmission oil level low.Transmission oil cold - allow engine to warm.Transmission range shift lever in neutral position.Suction side filter may need replacement.Operator not in seat.

About Us | Contact | Privacy

Copyright 2019 © TractorErrorCode.com | Tractor error code directory website.

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-39
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for September 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-93
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: https://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Saturday, April 28, 2012

Brett Tivers Injured in crash at Joe Martin Stage Race

Click to enlarge photo

Brett Tivers (Garneau-Quebecor) File Photo © Pasquale Stalteri / Miroir du Cyclisme

April 28, 2012 (Fayetteville, Arkansas) – Garneau-Quebecor ace rider from New Zealand, Brett Tivers, was knocked unconscious yesterday during a multi-rider pile up at the Stage 2 road race during the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. Tivers has apparently suffered another broken collar bone, third of his career, and is presently on his way back to Quebec City awaiting surgery. An injury of this nature could have Tivers sitting out the next 4-6 weeks barring any further complications due to possible concussion-related issues.

by Pasquale Stalteri

Also posted @
Pedal Magazine

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


text:
Archive of posts tagged "Parksville"

Milner Gardens and Woodland – Girls Island Getaway

Comments 3 by Rebecca Bollwitt

In the middle of a 70-acre old growth forest we met up with Kim Hammond who works in the nursery at the Milner Gardens and Woodland. Kim guided Keira and I around the grounds as we continued our Girls Getaway over on Vancouver Island. The history of the gardens and woodland is extremely fascinating, although […]

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Morningstar Creek Winery – Girls Island Getaway

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

On the second morning of our Girls Island Getaway from Vancouver, we made up our own schedule before heading to our next appointment. It’s fortunate that we did since it gave us time to explore Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and sample some tasty Morningstar Creek Wines. Located in Parksville, BC the farm has been around for […]

Grotto Spa at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort – Girls Island Getaway

Comments 6 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Continuing our Girls Island Getaway in beautiful Parksville and Qualicum, Keira and I checked into the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort for two days and a luxurious night of pampering. The Tigh-Na-Mara Resort features seaside condos for rent, log cabin cottages, and bungalows near the Grotto Spa. Our room was in the Ballenas condo facing the […]

Adventuress Kayaking – Girls Island Getaway

Comments 3 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Last week Keira and I were invited over to the Island for a girls getaway adventure in the Parksville and Qualicum region. Our time was action-packed from the minute I arrived at the Departure Bay ferry terminal and we headed up Island toward Nanoose for our afternoon kayaking trip. View Adventuress Kayak Trip in a […]


text:
Comfortable Click Belt - As Seen On TV - READ THIS FIRST - Mission Belt

Comfortable Click Belt - As Seen On TV - READ THIS FIRST

January 11, 2015

The Mission Belt is also known as a click belt that provides unmatched comfort and style. If you've never experienced the comfort of a click belt we challenge you to try it. Very few people who do try it end up regretting the decision.

What makes our belts so comfortable is the no-holes design ratcheting system that allows for micro-adjustments. That way no matter what the situation you can cinch the belt or loosen it to the exact position you need. That is the kind of unmatched comfort our customers have come to love.

comfort click belts as seen on tv

On top of that, we've made our belts stylish and sleek. They are versatile enough to be used in various settings from casual to business. We offer click belts in leather and nylon. We also have licensed sports belts so you can rep your favorite team.

Mission Belt got its start on the hit TV show Shark Tank. We're sometimes referred to as the As Seen On TV belt because of how popular our belts became after the show aired. Since then we've been featured in various re-runs as well as our own appearance in the hit spin-off show called Beyond The Tank.

Why Buy A Click Belt by Mission Belt?

Besides the fact that our belts are the most comfortable and stylish belts on the planet, we also believe very strongly in giving back. We started this company with a mission to help others overcome poverty. That's why $1 from every belt sold goes to fight world hunger through our partner KIVA, a micro-lending charity. We've participated in many thousands of loans in dozens of countries and in so doing helped thousands of people overcome poverty. We love being able to give back through our efforts. If you're looking for a comfort click belt, join us in the mission! Check out our collections and buy today.


text:
Free to read, not free to produce.

Our nonprofit news is available to all thanks to the financial support of loyal readers like you. Keep our site paywall-free. Donate today.

News made in Mississippi straight to your inbox each morning.

Enter your email address or see our other free newsletter options.

Support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation. Become a member today >>


text:
Search Menu
Home Latest News Menu

A new DMX track with Swizz Beats and French Montana has been released

'Been to War' features on the soundtrack of US crime drama Godfather of Harlem

  • Patrick Hinton
  • 16 April 2021
A new DMX track with Swizz Beats and French Montana has been released

A new track by the late rap icon DMX, in collaboration with Swizz Beats and French Montana, is out now.

It’s titled ‘Been to War’, and features on the soundtrack of the second season of Epix TV series Godfather of Harlem, a crime drama starring Forest Whitaker as 1960s New York City gangster Bumpy Johnson.

The track is hard-hitting, starring DMX’s potently delivered bars on top of an atmospheric beat.

Read this next: 20 Best East Coast Hip Hop Bangers

It arrives a week on from DMX’s death, from a reported drug overdose that led to a heart attack which deprived his brain of oxygen for a fatal amount of time.

Tributes have been paid to DMX from across the rap and wider music world, including ‘Been to War’ collaborator Swizz Beatz, who shared a length tribute on Instagram, describing DMX as a “different type of artist, different type of creative, different type of soul.”

Read this next: DMX avoids maximum jail term for tax fraud after playing judge 'Slippin''

This week it was announced that DMX will be honoured in his hometown of Yonkers, New York with a street or statue named after him.

His family also warned his fans that scammers are trying to use his name to make money following his death.

Listen to ‘Been to War’ below.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter

Read this next: The 20 best hip hop diss tracks of the '90s

Load the next article


text:
Archive for November, 2009

Thinking and Thanking

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

The long thanksgiving weekend gave time to complete a few projects, make some holiday gifts, cook, and eat….but overall broke even on my weight!

I had some quiet time to think about what I have to be thankful for.
For Love
For Trust
For Healing
For Sunny Days
For Rainy Evenings
and the unity Snow brings to the Landscape
For Honorable People who do the Right Thing
For my two Daughter’s Caring
For Long Horizons
and Shade
For the Seashore
and Lively Creek
For Tide-pools
and Flowers
For Friends who see what is invisible to me
For Longtime Friends here and gone

I can’t thank the following people enough for staying with me for yet another year: Erin and Maggie, for not giving up on me and teaching me about being a grownup. Kathy, Marcel, Ward, Glen, Melinda, Ginger, Mallory and Hala, you all have helped make my day to day life something I look forward to each morning. Steve & Frank keep me stimulated with ideas and keep me learning. Terri, John, Barb, Lori and Ginny, for keeping me in the family with emails, facebook posts, and calls. For Holly, Mark, Allen, Debra, Fred & Fran, I missed seeing you at the holiday, but really appreciate the pictures and paper articles for the fridge! It makes this house more of a home! Thanks. For Dad and Mom, Rob, Tyler, Dennis, Dusty, Greg, I think of you often and am thankful I have memories of you to bring to mind.

I have to thank my students as well. In the midst of a difficult time for me, their energy, creativity, passion to learn, and hard work kept me away from focusing too much on myself. If not for teaching, this would have been a difficult year to pull through. Thank you all.

And thank all of you who risk your well-being in service of our safety, security, and freedom. I look in your eyes when I pass you on the street and sidewalk and your commitment to service inspires me.

And to all of you who waved me over when I needed a lane change, held a door when my arms were full, and treated strangers with politeness and respect, thank you. Its people like you who hold our society together.

Anyway, that’s all I know, time to work up some holiday cards!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Be kind to each other.


text:
Online web cam chat websites

12-Oct-2020 10:49

Meet new people all over the world instantly and make new friends, find a date, show off your talents, ask for advice, talk politics or just enjoy a laid back video chat with someone you otherwise would have never met.It's free and easy to start video chatting and having fun, for you never know who you're going to meet next!In less than a second you will be connected and ready to start chatting with a charming girl or a cool guy.Our Omegle chat alternative allows you to enjoy the video chat on your phone or tablet - with the Ome TV chat app.

Online web cam chat websites-60

top scam websites dating

In addition, there are many great free chat features to take advantage of to make your video chat even more exciting! Once you are done chatting tap the next arrow to be connected in seconds with a new match based on your filter settings.

For more information and additional safety tips please visit our safety page.

If you use videolink2me often and got tired of creating and sending conference link to other participants each time you want to connect, you will probably like personal videolinks.

Once settings are properly configured start the recording by setting the region size of the frame.

Online web cam chat websites-17

Voice adult chat

You can select a full-screen recording or adjust the frame size according to the size of the video that you are trying to record. To begin to click the okay button after the region selection.Administrators - There is only 1 main Administrator who can make global setting changes such as adding Operators, Departments, Customization, and run Reports. Operators - can only chat, receive click-to-call requests, but cannot make global setting changes.


text:
Friday, May 07, 2010

Anatomy of a Real Estate Recovery: Minneapolis

The chart above illustrates the significant recovery in the Minneapolis Area real estate market based on data through March:

1. New listings, pending sales, and closed sales have all increased compared to both March last year and March 2008.

2. The dollar volume of closed sales increased in March from last year.

3. The median sales price increased by 7% from March last year, and the average sales price by 6%.

4. The sales price as a percent of list price increased to 94% in March 2010, up from 91.5% last year and 91% in 2008.

5. Total listings available for sale have fallen by 17% since 2008, and the months supply of inventory has fallen by 32 percent since 2008.

Bottom Line: Although not presented here, the year-to-date data through March show the same strong gains as the March-only data. By every important measure (price, unit sales, inventory, etc.), the real estate market in the Minneapolis Area has experienced a full and broad-based recovery this year.

At 5/08/2010 1:30 AM, Anonymous Wayer said...

Anatomy of a Continuing Financial Crisis:

Prinsbank, Prinsburg, Minnesota, Assumes All of the Deposits of Access Bank, Champlin, Minnesota

Access Bank, Champlin, Minnesota, was closed today by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with PrinsBank, Prinsburg, Minnesota, to assume all of the deposits of Access Bank.

As of March 31, 2010, Access Bank had approximately $32.0 million in total assets and $32.0 million in total deposits. PrinsBank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.02 percent to assume all of the deposits of Access Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, PrinsBank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $5.5 million. PrinsBank's acquisition of all the deposits was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's DIF compared to all alternatives. Access Bank is the 66th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fifth in Minnesota. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was State Bank of Aurora, Aurora, on March 19, 2010.

At 5/08/2010 4:09 AM, Anonymous den parser said...

wow! can't believe that budget.. too bulky..

At 5/08/2010 5:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kick-ass. This chart illustrates the significant increase in foreclosures in the Minnesota real estate market based on data through March.

At 5/08/2010 7:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep in mind the tax incentive the Feds were giving out. Lets wait to see what May brings.

At 5/08/2010 8:53 AM, Anonymous grant said...

How would you have liked to have lived through the Great Depression where there was little government intervention and assistance for average people.
Would those people if they were alive today be impressed by the almost never ending unfolding of adverse events that just seem to roll out in a continuous stream.
People today seem to be totally un feeling to the crashing economy and just move forward in a caviler manner without any human feeling towards other men.
Another dead bank no worries throw it on the pile with the rest of them.

At 5/12/2010 1:38 AM, Blogger Boy on a bike said...

"Housing never really improved – 10 charts showing the United States housing market is entering the second wave of problems. 1 out of 4 people with no mortgage payment in the last year are still not in the foreclosure process."

Always worth a read.

Post a Comment

<< Home


text:
Се вчитува...

-TFS- Predator (HD) 2.0

Changelog (2.0): COMPLETE OVERHAUL of former Predator 3D model I was using, This NEW Model is all HD from the game "Predator: Hunting Grounds", And thanks to researching on how to make THIS one an actual Predator Size, NOW I have that power too, Enjoy! TURN MASK ON AND OFF BY CHANGING "feet" or "shoes" body part.

2021: Yes, I have RETURNED. :) And as usual with the new year, I have NEW Ped Quality and technology Standards and a RAISED Bar, Things are secret this time, I cannot tell you boys HOW I'm doing what I'm doing, But, Enjoy:

I Present to you boys, The NEW ped standard, !!!PERFECT SKIN WEIGHTING!!!, NO MORE Armpit/Underarm, Pelvis to Neck, or Stretching In between the Thighs Issues!!!

SO, I'll be Updating ALL OF MY OLD PED TO THIS NEW STANDARD. In order of Oldest to Newest, Add ALL Missing/Needed FX to them as necessary (Cloth, Emissive, Metallic etc.)

Now, AFTER I'm Done with all the existing peds, that's when I'll be uploading the tons of NEW Peds I've been working on.
If at anytime you wish to follow this time line to get a hint of when I'll be Closer to the NEW, Click THIS link anytime: https://www.gta5-mods.com/search/thefuumasage/latest-uploads/3
Those are my peds in order release date. :)

My discovery of this new weighting method is used by me and my two Prized students: MTN4456 and The Darth Knight, If You Haven't already, Check out their upload pages and patreons. :)

September 30, 2018: 1.2 Fixed Head/Hair Shaking

Quadrified, Darkened and Saturated Textures, HD Hands and claws. Enjoy! :)

For USE with JulioNIB's Predator Script Mod: HERE!

stillhere's Optical Camouflage Mod: HERE!

TheMadBreaker's Wolverine V Mod: HERE!

Installation:(addonpeds method)
1.Install this https://www.gta5-mods.com/scripts/addonpeds-asi-pedselector.
2.Place the FOUR files from the Predator_DONE_RIGHT to update\x64\dlcpacks\addonpeds\dlc.rpf\peds.rpf
3.Open AddonPedsEditor.exe and add Predator_DR model in the list as normal Male ped (check ReadMe for AddonPeds).
Show Full Description

Првпат Додадено: Септември 22, 2018
Последно Ажурирање: Февруари 21, 2021
Последно Симнување: пред 7 саати

All Versions

 2.0 (current)

1.952 симнато , 42 MB
Февруари 20, 2021

3.543 симнато , 44,7 MB
Септември 30, 2018

200 симнато , 44,7 MB
Септември 25, 2018

326 симнато , 44,7 MB
Септември 22, 2018

54 Коментари


text:
Kelley Barnett Is Always Looking to Grow

A former prosecutor and law firm partner, Kelley Barnett leads labor and employment at AmTrust while working to help women advance in the legal industry

Approximately twenty years ago, Kelley Barnett parked her car, rushed through security, and made her way into the crowded elevator at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center. She clutched her coffee and dozens of case files as she rode up to her assigned courtrooms. About ten of her cases were set for trial, and she wasn’t sure which one would start that day. While the unpredictable and fast-paced environment would intimidate some lawyers, Barnett was energized. She had the chance to build relationships, perfect her legal skills, and pursue justice for some of Ohio’s most vulnerable victims.

It was the exact job the recent graduate of Case Western Reserve University Law School had wanted. In fact, she had waited for it. As a student, Barnett had clerked for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. “As soon as I set foot in the courtroom, I knew I wanted to become a prosecutor,” she recalls. But there were no openings. She passed the bar—and waited. Finally, in October 2000, she became an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office.

The first part of Barnett’s working life set the foundation for her entire career. Early experience building rapport with victims, engaging their families, interacting with judges, preparing cases, presenting evidence, and persuading juries sharpened her legal analysis and crisis and risk management skills. She wanted to learn as much as possible, and made those desires known. “I believe in asking for what you want,” she says. “If you have a growth mindset and tell people you want to do more, they usually give you the chance to succeed.”

Kelley Barnett, VP and Corporate Counsel for Labor & Employment, AmTrust Photo by Raymundo Garza

Barnett’s mother, who started her own business in the early ’80s after facing the threat of losing her job as well as going through a divorce, raised her to believe that anything is possible. “People told my mom she couldn’t or shouldn’t do certain things, and she made it her mission in life to prove them wrong,” Barnett says. Although her mother passed away when she was in high school, Barnett is carrying on her legacy by pushing herself to excel in every role and by embracing a growth mindset.

After gaining prosecutorial experience and trying more serious cases, Barnett was promoted to the Child Victims Section of the Major Trial Unit, where she prosecuted the community’s most serious and violent offenders. During her six years as a prosecutor, she conducted several grand jury investigations and tried more than one hundred cases to verdict.

Although Barnett found the work fulfilling, confronting the issues of prosecuting rapists and murderers—particularly when the victims were young children—took its toll. When a former colleague from the prosecutor’s office asked for a meeting, she accepted. Frantz Ward, a full-service firm with a national client base, wanted to hire someone with trial experience. Barnett took the job.

She stepped into the firm’s litigation practice group and found her time as a prosecutor to be a major asset in the new role. “Prosecutors know how to navigate the unexpected and work in any situation,” she says. “Every case is different, and prosecutors just know how to figure it out and pivot under pressure when things change along the way.” At the firm, Barnett continued her growth mindset and developed pragmatic skills by asking for a variety of work, including employment law, product liability, and commercial litigation matters.

Today, Barnett serves as vice president and corporate counsel for labor and employment at AmTrust Financial Services, a global property and casualty commercial insurer and carrier headquartered in New York City. The second major pivot in her career has again required her to learn new skills (though she notes that her new colleagues made the transition relatively easy). “I had done labor and employment before, but I didn’t devote my practice to it. Now, I’m the only labor and employment lawyer at AmTrust,” she says.

Barnett is once again in a new environment: no longer surrounded by prosecutors, judges, and attorneys, she works instead with business partners and executives in the US and internationally. Fortunately, her experience at Frantz Ward trained her to think practically and help drive the business rather than relying solely on technical legal expertise. She’s imported that approach to AmTrust, where she manages litigation and advises on all key global employment issues.

It’s a big job with a wide range of responsibilities, but Barnett carves out several hours each week to keep up with changing labor and employment regulations. She’s currently focused on helping AmTrust safely reopen offices and bring its employees back to the physical workplace as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed.

Barnett has excelled in the first two decades of her career and is now helping other female lawyers navigate the male-dominated legal industry. In 2018, she encountered a development and mentoring program known as Ladder Down, which focuses on coaching female lawyers on leadership, rainmaking, and mentoring skills. With the permission and support of the program founders, Barnett launched the program in Cleveland and also participates in other professional groups designed to help women advance their legal careers.

These activities give Barnett the chance to help others as she continues to push herself. “In my opinion, there are two types of lawyers: those who are content in their roles and those who are always looking for more,” she says. Barnett herself is firmly in the second category, of course.

Frantz Ward LLP:

“I’ve always been in awe of Kelley’s ability to tackle every new challenge with a passion to learn and to grow as both an advocate and a person.”

–Christopher Keim, Managing Partner


text:
Connect with us

Decisive Action and Change Needed to Reform and Rebuild a Better Lebanon

A new damage and needs assessment following the August 4 explosion that rocked the city of Beirut calls for building back a better Lebanon based on the principles of transparency, inclusion and accountability to meet the demands and aspirations of the Lebanese people.

To help guide the urgently needed global response, the World Bank Group (WBG), in cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) conducted a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), in close partnership with Lebanese ministries, civil society organizations and other key stakeholders.

According to the RDNA’s preliminary estimates, the explosion caused between US$3.8 and US$4.6 billion in damage to physical stock, while losses including changes in economic flows as a result of the decline in the output of the economic sectors are estimated to be in the range of US$2.9 and US$3.5 billion. The most severely affected sectors are housing, transport and tangible and intangible cultural assets (including religious and archeological sites, national monuments, theaters, archives, libraries, monuments).

Public sector reconstruction and recovery needs for this year and the next are estimated in the range of US$1.8 and US$2.2 billion, with between US$605 and US$760 million needed in the immediate term until December 2020, and between US$1.18 and US$1.46 billion in the short term for the year 2021. The transport sector’s needs are the highest, followed by culture and housing.

Although its estimates are preliminary due to the rapid nature of the assessment that was carried out together in cooperation with partners under challenging circumstances, the RDNA lays the groundwork for an agenda for reform, recovery, and reconstruction that inspires hope for a better future for all Lebanese, and where the Lebanese people should have a leading role.

The three main economic effects of the explosion are: losses in economic activity caused by the destruction of physical capital; trade disruptions; and losses in fiscal revenues for the Government. Even prior to the explosion, Lebanon was facing compounded crises with pre-explosion projections of 2020 real GDP growth well into the negative double digits, driven by the spillovers from the Syria conflict, whereby

Lebanon continues to host the largest refugee per capita population in the world; a financial and economic crisis that includes an impaired financial sector, a currency crisis, very high inflation rates, a defaulting public sector; and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The disaster will not only exacerbate the contraction in economic activity, but also worsen poverty rates, which were already at 45 percent of the population just prior to the explosion.

Critical recovery needs in the next 3 months alone include an estimated US$35 to US$40 million for an immediate large-scale cash transfer to meet the basic needs of 90,000 affected individuals, and to create short-term jobs for 15,000 individuals. They also include provision of shelter for the most vulnerable displaced, low income, and middle-income households; repair of minimally and partially damaged housing for the lower income households. Immediate housing needs are estimated at between US$ 30 and US$35 million, while short-term needs for the year 2021 at between US$190 and US$230 million. In addition, US$225 to US$275 million in financial support is needed immediately to restore services of 5,200 micro firms and 4,800 small businesses that employ thousands of Lebanese. These small business recovery grants and soft loans will cover reconstruction, equipment and working capital needs to reopen activities and retain workforce.

Reconstruction efforts will require not only the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged buildings and infrastructure, but also the rebuilding of institutions and governance structures. In the port sector for instance, the report recommends that, beyond the emergency works needed to ensure Lebanon’s vital imports, the port is rebuilt in a holistic and modern way, better sited and sized, and governed by the most efficient and transparent practices.

The RDNA recommends a “Building Back Better” approach through a framework of Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction combining interventions that prioritizes the needs of the people, particularly the poor and most vulnerable, with structural reforms relating to macroeconomic stabilization, governance, private sector operating environment, and ensuring human security. These reforms should prevent corruption and elite capture.

Given Lebanon’s state of insolvency and lack of sufficient foreign exchange reserves, international aid and private investment will be essential for comprehensive recovery and reconstruction. Lebanon’s implementation of a credible reform agenda will be key to accessing international development assistance and to unlock external and private sector sources of financing.

The World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union are fully committed to working together with Lebanon and its people to build back a better Lebanon that puts its people’s needs first.

Continue Reading

Deloitte reports FY2021 revenue

Deloitte today reported aggregate global revenue of US$50.2 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2021 (FY2021), a 5.5% increase in US dollars (USD).

“Events of this past year have had an unprecedented impact on the world and our organization. From the COVID-19 pandemic to more frequent, extreme climate events, and social upheavals, we are grateful that we’ve been able to continue to help clients and support our people as we all navigate through this challenging environment,” says Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. “While the past year was difficult and defined by uncertainty, it has shown what can be achieved at speed and scale when businesses, governments, and society work together to tackle tough global challenges. This cooperative approach is a model that we must continue to build on.”

“Deloitte embraces the opportunity to lead by example, to drive change through cooperative efforts, and to find and invest in better solutions to business and societal challenges. Our focus during the past year has been on deploying our global capabilities to help clients respond, recover, and thrive during the pandemic; enabling mental and physical wellness for our professionals to perform at the highest levels; helping communities address the need for greater health equity and better educational opportunities; and prioritizing the environment as we move closer toward our net-zero target,” adds Renjen.

Staying resilient, responding to clients’ evolving needs

Deloitte successfully served clients, leveraging investments in technology that helped us stay connected, expand alliance relationships, invest in innovation, and serve the public interest. Deloitte’s success during the year reflects our commitment and our ability to adapt to meet the evolving needs of our clients.

Among the businesses, Financial Advisory grew fastest at 12.9% in USD, followed by Audit & Assurance, which grew 6.1% in USD. Government & Public Services was the fastest growing industry, followed by Technology, Media & Telecommunications. Financial Services clients contributed 27% of Deloitte’s total revenue. Among the regions, Asia Pacific (APAC) grew fastest at 14%, followed by Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), which grew at 11.3% (both in USD). We also expanded our global alliance and ecosystem business by 24%. Additional business insights include:

Audit & Assurance continued to deliver consistently high-quality audits in line with our public interest role within the financial reporting ecosystem. We deployed our global audit platforms, Deloitte Omnia and Deloitte Levvia, to advance innovation in audit service delivery worldwide. Our Audit & Assurance professionals assisted clients and stakeholders in addressing ESG reporting needs as well. Assurance services continue to help clients thrive as they manage complexities and opportunities in the financial, regulatory, and operational landscape. Audit & Assurance revenue grew 6.1% in USD.

Consulting helped clients build organizational resilience and imagine different futures using its scale and vast industry and sector expertise, especially in areas most disrupted by the pandemic. Deloitte continued to develop cloud native software solutions to accelerate digital transformation and made significant investments in next-generation technologies—including cloud and edge computing, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on our alliances with 15 leading technology companies, we orchestrated ecosystems to deliver integrated technology solutions for clients in innovative ways. With the creation of the Deloitte Center for AI Computing and targeted strategic acquisitions, we advanced the development of new offerings and services. Consulting revenue grew 5% in USD.

Financial Advisory served as a trusted advisor on thousands of distressed and COVID-related mandates. Additionally, Deloitte’s market-leading M&A practices advised on thousands of transactions during the merger wave of 2020, and our Turnaround and Restructuring teams assisted governments around the world to administer pandemic-related funding for businesses and individuals. Deloitte also participated in government-sponsored COVID-19 task forces, advising on distressed sectors. The Deloitte Center for ESG Solutions supplied decarbonization, hydrogen, electricity, and other quantitative energy models to support major sustainable energy transformation projects. Financial Advisory revenue grew 12.9% in USD.

Risk Advisory supported clients to build trust, demonstrate resilience, and strengthen their security. With cyberattacks on the rise, Deloitte’s 22,000 cyber professionals helped organizations identify cyber risks, prepare for and detect threats, strengthen and secure their environments and, most importantly, respond and recover quickly. Our professionals worked with clients to digitally transform their compliance and internal control systems while these organizations navigated virtual work environments and evolving regulations. We also accelerated our clients’ journey to net-zero, delivering a portfolio of services globally. Risk Advisory revenue grew 5.6% in USD.

Tax & Legal supported clients navigating the ongoing complexity caused by the pandemic as they developed plans for recovery and growth. The acceleration of new business models is challenging the tax function in fundamental ways and driving demand for transformative tax operating models including outsourcing and co-sourcing of routine compliance and reporting activities. As a result, clients are seeking advisory services to embed resilience and innovate through technology, and fueling growth in areas like major tax policy reforms, digitization of tax, M&A, supply chain, employment and mobility, and sustainability reporting. Deloitte Legal responded to changing demands from clients by transforming its core services, focusing on helping clients be resilient through the pandemic, becoming a leading digital legal service provider of choice, and building a thriving Legal Management Consulting practice. Tax & Legal revenue grew by 2.3% in USD.

Additionally, in FY2021, Deloitte intensified efforts to help clients advance their ESG and sustainability efforts. Employing innovative approaches, digital solutions, deep industry insights, and lessons learned from our own experiences, Deloitte worked with clients to develop their strategies and adapt their operations for success in a changing marketplace.

For the third consecutive year, Brand Finance recognized Deloitte as the strongest and most valuable commercial services brand in the world. And industry analysts continued to acknowledge Deloitte’s leadership in many service areas including cloud, cyber, strategy, and analytics.

Living our Purpose by making a positive impact for people and society

As the world’s largest professional services organization, Deloitte is guided by its purpose to make an impact that matters. For Deloitte professionals, that means working to address the increasingly complex challenges society faces and creating a future where trust in institutions and systems is restored and progress is made on major societal challenges—including systemic racial injustice, social inequity, climate change, and economic inequality.

In FY2021, Deloitte made significant progress on ESG reporting; education; health equity; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); mental health; and the environment. Deloitte’s FY2021 societal impact investment was $223 million USD, bringing our five-year investment total to $1.15 billion USD.

ESG reporting: This year, the Deloitte Global Impact Report includes in-depth reporting of our impact on the environment and on society, as well as a more detailed look at the structures and processes of our organization.

In FY2021, Deloitte began reporting against the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics. This effort builds on the critical work we are doing as part of the Forum’s International Business Council (IBC) to lead and promote the adoption of a common set of ESG reporting metrics. These metrics enable companies to measure value-creation factors, increase reporting transparency and comparability for stakeholders and drive action to achieve sustainable long-term performance.

We also issued our first report following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures detailing our processes for addressing climate change risks and opportunities in the areas of governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets. The report quantifies climate change impacts in financial terms and also examines risks and opportunities under two different climate scenarios.

Education and skills building: While the pandemic has accelerated trends such as reskilling and leveraging technology to improve educational outcomes, it has also exposed widening inequalities. Recognizing these challenges and the life-altering outcomes an education can provide, Deloitte doubled its commitment to supporting those being left behind in school and at work by increasing our WorldClass goal from 50 million to 100 million individuals reached by 2030. In FY2021, we reached 8.2 million individuals, and since 2017, we have reached 20 million individuals.

Through WorldClass, and throughout the pandemic, Deloitte has invested in programs to help students keep learning, including educating children in remote villages in India and virtual mentoring through Strive for College in the United States to help students who face financial need navigate getting into and through college and starting their career. To achieve our WorldClass goals, in May 2021 Deloitte launched The WorldClass Education Challenge, an initiative inviting educators, entrepreneurs, and innovators to work alongside Deloitte professionals and the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform to identify and advance solutions that support access to a quality education for more of the world’s students.

Health equity: COVID-19 challenged us all—public and private sector alike—to rethink the status quo to rebuild and reinvest in more equitable and affordable health care infrastructure.

In FY2021, Deloitte piloted an initiative with the Government of Haryana state in India that offers a potential remedy to underinvestment in public health infrastructure. Together with state government and medical professionals, Deloitte developed a uniquely Indian approach that leveraged local resources to deliver support and home care to those in the Karnal district with mild to moderate COVID-19, freeing up local hospitals to care for the most critically ill patients. Deloitte’s program is being expanded to Africa, Brazil and Southeast Asia.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and mental health: We want our people to feel accepted as they are, engaged in our organization, and empowered to succeed. That commitment is reflected in Deloitte’s ALLIN global diversity and inclusion strategy. The foundation of our strategy is our emphasis on respect and inclusion, which focuses on all aspects of diversity. Built upon this foundation are three pillars—working toward gender balance, fostering LGBT+ inclusion, and supporting mental health—that advance all of our interventions and actions.

The events of FY2021 highlighted the growing recognition of mental health as a critical component of overall well-being. To meet the needs of our people, we established a mental health baseline for measuring well-being factors, made a global commitment to mental health within our organization and in society at large, and became a Founding Partner of the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in the workplace and facilitate the adoption of best practices that enable employees to thrive in the workplace.

Expanding our commitment to the environment

Deloitte believes deeply that climate change is one of the defining global challenges of our time. Through Deloitte’s WorldClimate strategy, we are driving responsible climate choices within our organization and beyond.

  • We’re empowering our more than 345,000 professionals to take individual and collective climate action alongside clients and communities. In collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), we developed a climate learning program for all Deloitte professionals.
  • As part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen joined over 70 CEOs in an open letter urging world leaders to support “bold and courageous commitments, policies and actions.”
  • In recognition of Deloitte’s environmental commitment, Deloitte’s greenhouse gas reduction goals were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Additionally, Deloitte committed to all three Climate Group initiatives supporting 100% renewable electricity (RE100), 100% electric vehicles adoption (EV100), and energy efficiency/productivity (EP100) within our organization globally. We made great progress towards these targets during FY2021, reducing absolute carbon emissions by 41% and carbon emissions per FTE by 44% from our base year of FY2019.

“While the pandemic and disruptions of the past year have exposed considerable inequities in our society, they have also provided us with an opportunity to build resilience into our global economy, rebuild trust in our systems and businesses, and foster a better future for more of the world’s people,”adds Renjen. “Our future is not preordained. We can create a better world for future generations. To thrive tomorrow, it is imperative for everyone—governments, businesses, and individuals—to put people and our environment first, and act now to create a more resilient world that is prepared for and adaptable to the next set of challenges.”

Continue Reading

Lebanon crisis: More international assistance needed urgently

lebanon beirut
Photo: Marten Bjork/Unsplash

Lebanon’s enduring economic crisis risks reversing decades of gains in people’s wellbeing, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Speaking from the capital, Beirut, at the end of a two-day visit to the beleaguered Mediterranean country, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described finding shortages of “basic and essential medicines”.

Although the WHO has done what it can to fill gaps in healthcare there for the last 15 years, the WHO Director-General said that the situation had become “very dire” and that international support was needed immediately.

“It’s not just COVID, almost all services are being affected,” he said. “We visited two hospitals today… they told us that you know, they had, patients, cancer patients or other patients, but a shortage of medicines and those who cannot afford not having access to, they can’t have medicine, so meaning other services are being disrupted, and this is life, life, life and death.”

Lebanon’s unprecedented political and economic crisis has been made worse by the COVID pandemic and last August’s port explosion.

Fuel and power shortages

Tedros said that when he went to meet top Government officials, a power cut interrupted their encounter.

Similar fuel shortages have left hospitals functioning at 50 per cent capacity, the WHO Director-General said, adding that he had agreed to send a team of health experts to Lebanon to offer technical support as soon as possible.

The UN health agency has also provided “Band-Aid” assistance to the country’s medical sector, Tedros added.

This includes the purchase of essential medicines for 450,000 patients with acute and chronic conditions last year and this year.

But Dr Iman Shankiti, WHO Representative in Lebanon, told journalists that the caseload is now increasing and that demand is growing for medications to treat cancer, dialysis and emergency patients.

“At one point in time we were able to support 2,000 cancer paediatric cases and we were able to support 17,000 persons with catastrophic medications, but this is not enough,” she said. “I cannot say that we have filled the gap, we have closed the shortage. The needs are huge….It needs a whole-of-Government approach (to solving the shortages)”.

Regional insecurity risk

While in Beirut, Tedros visited several health facilities, including the newly renovated Central Drug Warehouse that had been destroyed by the Beirut port blast.

Accompanying him, Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighted the threat to regional instability if Lebanon’s health sector was not propped up.

The country was rapidly losing its longstanding status as a key provider of medical professionals, he warned, as its youngsters left the country to seek work elsewhere.

Lebanon’s strong vaccination and immunisation system was also under threat, said Dr Al Mandhari, noting that it had “protected the children of Lebanon and all those living in Lebanon, which helped us in the region and beyond to control communicable diseases like for example polio, measles and other communicable diseases that affect adults and children. So, if there is a break or a weakness in this expanded programme of immunisation in the country it will definitely hit other countries in the region.”

Continue Reading

77 million children have spent 18 months out of class

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the world is facing an education crisis due to the COVID pandemic, that has left nearly 77 million children shut out of the classroom for the past 18 months.

This Thursday, the UN agency is closing down its social media channels for the next 18 hours to send one message to the world: #ReopenSchools for in-person learning as soon as possible.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is joining UNICEF, together with the World Bank, the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission Humanitarian Aid operation, the LEGO Foundation and the WEF Global Shapers community of world youth.

Right to education

For UNICEF, the right to go to school is central to every child’s development, safety and well-being. Yet in too many countries, classrooms remain closed while social gatherings continue to take place in restaurants, salons and gyms.

The agency believes “this generation of children and youth, cannot afford any more disruptions to their education.”

New numbers from UNESCO, released this Thursday, show that schools are now fully open in 117 countries, with 539 million students back in class, ranging from pre-primary to secondary levels.

This represents 35 per cent of the total student population across the world, compared to 16% who returned to school in September 2020, when schools were only open, or partially-open, in 94 countries.

Around 117 million students, representing 7.5 per cent of the total, are still affected by complete school closures in 18 countries. The number of countries with partly open schools, has declined from 52 to 41 over the same period.

In all countries that had prolonged full school closures, education was provided through a combination of online classes, printed modules, as well as tuition through TV and radio networks.

Schools can reopen safely

UNESCO and its Global Education Coalition partners have been advocating for the safe reopening of schools, urging full closures to be used as a measure of last resort.

Since the onset of the pandemic, schools were completely closed for an average of 18 weeks (4.5 months) worldwide. If partial closures are accounted for, the average duration of closures represents 34 weeks (8.5 months) worldwide, or nearly a full academic year.

For UNESCO, the past two academic years have resulted in learning losses and increased drop-out rates, impacting the most vulnerable students disproportionately.

Schools in most countries have adopted some forms of sanitation protocol such as wearing masks, using hand sanitizers, improving ventilation and social distancing, which were also key to re-opening schools last year.

Some countries have also introduced large scale testing as well as temporary classroom and school closures when the virus is detected.

Vaccination key

Rising vaccination rates among both general population and teaching staff, has also been a key factor in reopening schools.

The vaccination of teachers has been prioritized in around 80 countries, allowing for the inoculation of some 42 million teachers. In a handful of countries, the vaccination of students aged 12 and over, is an important factor in determining the full re-opening of schools.

Action to accelerate the recovery of learning losses remains an essential component of national COVID-19 education responses. For that, UNESCO says teachers and educators need adequate support and preparation.

Connectivity and bridging the digital divide also remain key priorities in building the resilience of education systems and providing hybrid learning opportunities.

For that reason, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank have partnered in an initiative called Mission: Recovering Education 2021, that supports governments in bringing all learners back to school, run programmes to help them catch up on lost learning, and prepare teachers to address learning losses and incorporate new digital technology.

Continue Reading

Finance3 hours ago

Deloitte reports FY2021 revenue

Deloitte today reported aggregate global revenue of US$50.2 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2021 (FY2021), a 5.5%...

business business
Reports9 hours ago

Action on Trade is Necessary for Businesses to Unlock Net Zero Targets

For businesses to reach their emission targets, the global trading system needs to adapt, and businesses are calling for the...

lebanon beirut lebanon beirut
Development11 hours ago

Lebanon crisis: More international assistance needed urgently

Lebanon’s enduring economic crisis risks reversing decades of gains in people’s wellbeing, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.     Speaking from the...

Development13 hours ago

77 million children have spent 18 months out of class

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the world is facing an education crisis due to the COVID pandemic, that has left nearly 77...

business-economy business-economy
Economy15 hours ago

Synchronicity in Economic Policy amid the Pandemic

Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see. –Carl Jung The Covid pandemic has elicited...

Environment17 hours ago

Paris climate deal could go up in smoke without action

Unless wealthy nations commit to tackling emissions now, the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” to 2.7-degrees of heating by...

tropical forest tropical forest
Development19 hours ago

Rising demand for agricultural products adds to competing pressures on tropical forest landscapes

Annual consumption of food and agriculture products rose by 48% between 2001 and 2018 – more than twice the rate...


text:
Connect with us

South Asia

From Gandhi to Modi: Exploitation of Svadharma

Hinduism is depicted as the world’s oldest religion, with roots and customs dating back to more than a 4,000 years. As of now, it constitutes of around 900 million followers, and is the 3rd most practiced religion after Christianity and Islam. In essence, Hinduism carries main concern over the mind, spirit and body of individuals, where non-violent actions that result spiritual peace of these identities are idealized. Moving forward, the central notion of Hinduism revolves around dharma, which can be associated with the overall duties and responsibilities of individuals in society, with accordance to ethical and moral practices that highlight non-violence. Notwithstanding, Hindus are also disposed to choosing their individual dharma in accord with their consciousness, intellect, and circumstances. This is coined as svadharma, and includes the duties and responsibilities of Hindus in relation to fellow beings and the total environment they reside in. Consequently, the attainment of peace is promoted through fulfilment of life goals, and the abandonment of stormy conditions. Since Svadharma as a concept is up for interpretation, it varies from individual to individual. In fact, due to its subjective nature, it also leaves room for religious exploitation in the lust for political objectives. This essay will aim to put forward the true depiction of svadharma through analyzing Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s Satyagraha; adding on, the exploitation for political incentives shall be explained through BJP’s Hindutva ideology.

To begin, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s interpretation of svadharma resulted in Satyagraha, which can be portrayed as a revolutionary step towards non-violent non- cooperation against the British rule in India. Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha was a natural outcome of the supreme concept of truth. According to which, if the truth can be deemed as the ultimate reality, its protection is critical. Hence, Satyagraha refers to the exercise of the truth against all injustices, oppressions and exploitations; which ultimately results in peace on an individual and societal level. It essentially embodies the notion of peace from Hinduism. To add on, for the attainment of fighting oppression through non-violent means, he embraced yogic strength to endure the most intense physical pain, including food and sleep deprivation without any flinching or any fear. Gandhi served as an influence to millions of his unarmed followers, through serving as a symbol of divine strength and passion. Consequently, a mass revolution was launched against the then British Empire, formally regarded as the non-cooperation movement.

 In order to stay true to the divine and peaceful teachings of Hinduism, he commanded individuals to undertake the process of obeying the civil and moral laws of the state, while simultaneously resisting laws that were oppressive and barbaric. As a result, Gandhi laid down certain standards of moral discipline for the Satyagraha process, which were: complete faith in God in order to calmly bear the physical barbarisms directed towards individuals by the British forces, not yearning after wealth and fame, submitting to the leader of the Satyagraha unit, absolutely fearlessness and firmness against brutality, single-minded purposefulness, and individuals losing sight of their duty through the virtue of anger or any other passion. Thus, Gandhi wanted to incorporate attitudes penetrating towards toleration and acceptance of the hardships that came along with this movement. Overall, Gandhi’s svadharma allowed him to attain political gains without resorting to violence, which resulted in peaceful change. In Gandhi’s words, complete civil disobedience through refusing to serve compliance to state- made-law can be an extremely powerful movement. In fact, it can become more effective in comparison to than an armed rebellion; as, it does not include the suffering of the innocent individuals on a wide scale.

Satyagraha was a peaceful and inclusive movement that arose of svadharma; nevertheless, the concept of svadharma also introduced Hindutva, which is an extremist ideology with aims to disintegrate India’s secular outlook through transforming the country into a Hindu Rasht (a majoritarian Hindu religious-nationalist state that directs its 200 million Muslims and 30 million Christians into second-class citizens). In theory this concept goes against the very teachings of Hinduism, which revolves around peace and non-violence. Nevertheless, the concept of svadharma has been exploited and misused; as, Hindu extremists incorporate this notion to justify their horrific acts to attain political interests. The word Hindutva was introduced by the 20th century ideologue V.D. Savarkar, and it literally means “Hinduness.” The central concept was the embodiment of religious nationalism with territorial belongings and citizenship. Meaning, being an Indian was equated to following the religion of Hinduism; as, India was the spiritual motherland of Hindus. This was a problem for Indian Muslims and Christians; as, their holy lands were constituents of other states. Therefore, Hindutva followers disregarded Muslims and Christians as citizens of India. The current Indian government Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been assimilated under the ideology of Hindutva, and this notion has brought them popularity in India. In fact, this ideology was incorporated by them to come into power, which highlights the exploitation of svadharma. As a result, forcible integration into an outward Hinduness is being conducted in India. In recent years, India has witnessed Hindutva extremists killing Muslims due to various reasons ranging from consumption of beef to failing to chant the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” to hail a Hindu deity. Such actions are being conducted in order to compel the non-Hindu population into embracing Hinduism. However, at the end of the day, Hindutva is simply an exploitation of svadharma; as, it does not acquire to its peaceful and non-violent requirements. Moreover, svadharma aims to bring about peace on an individual and societal level; and, Hindutva is simply leading to chaos and riots in India. Through this the fact that Hindutva was a political goal for Modi to come into power is highlighted.

In conclusion, Hinduism is a religion that promotes the concept of non-violence and peaceful co-existence. Over the years, svadharma has been carried out by multiple personalities across India, in order to highlight their roles and responsibilities in insuring a peaceful through their personal interpretation, most notable of which are Gandhi and Modi. Nevertheless, the difference lies in their intentions and ultimate goal. While Gandhi carried a goal of attaining interests of the Indian population through non-violent means, Modi carried the aim of coming into power. Thus, Modi did not follow the true essence of svadharma and simply exploited.

Continue Reading

South Asia

Opposing Hindutava: US conference raises troubling questions

Controversy over a recent ‘Dismantling Global Hindutava’ conference that targeted a politically charged expression of Hindu nationalism raises questions that go far beyond the anti-Muslim discriminatory policies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and ruling party.

The conference and responses to it highlight a debilitating deterioration in the past two decades, especially since 9/11, of the standards of civility and etiquette that jeopardize civil, intelligent, and constructive debate and allow expressions of racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic attitudes to become mainstream.

Organizers of the conference that was co-sponsored by 53 American universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers, insisted that they distinguish between Hinduism and Hindutava, Mr. Modi’s notion of Hindu nationalism that enables discrimination against and attacks on India’s 200 million Muslims.

The distinction failed to impress critics who accused the organizers of Hinduphobia. Some critics charged that the framing of the conference demonstrated a pervasiveness of groupthink in academia and an unwillingness to tackle similar phenomena in other major religions, particularly Islam.

The campaign against the conference appeared to have been organized predominantly by organizations in the United States with links to militant right-wing Hindu nationalist groups in India, including some with a history of violence. The conference’s most militant critics threatened violence against conference speakers and their families, prompting some participants to withdraw from the event.

Opponents of political Islam noted that Western academia has not organized a similar conference about the politicization of the faith even though powerful states like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have lobbied Western capitals against the Muslim Brotherhood and its Turkish and Qatari supporters with notable successes in France, Austria, Belgium and Britain.

Academia was likely to have been hesitant to tackle political Islam because Islamophobia is far more prevalent than Hinduphobia.

Moreover, perceptions of political Islam, are far more complex and convoluted. Islam is frequently conflated with political expressions and interpretations of the faith run a gamut from supremacist and conservative to more liberal and tolerant. They also lump together groups that adhere and respect the election process and ones that advocate violent jihad.

Scholars and analysts declared an end to political Islam’s heyday with the military coup in Egypt in 2013 that toppled Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brother, who was elected president in Egypt’s first and only free and fair poll. Political Islam’s alleged swansong loomed even larger with this year’s setbacks for two of the most moderate Islamist political parties in Tunisia and Morocco as well as hints that Turkey may restrict activities of Islamists operating in exile from Istanbul.

A more fundamental criticism of the framing of the Hindutava conference is its failure to put Hindutava in a broader context.

That context involves the undermining of the social cohesion of societies made up of collections of diverse ethnic and religious communities since Osama bin Laden’s 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The attacks fueled the rise of ultra-nationalism and politicized expressions of religious ultra-conservatism not only in the Hindu world but also in the worlds of other major religions.

These include politicized ultra-conservative Islam, politicized Evangelism and Buddhist nationalism. Right-wing religious nationalism in Israel, unlike Islamism and politicized Evangelism, is shaped by ultra-nationalism rather than religious ultra-conservatism.

The worlds of religious ultra-nationalism and politicized expressions of religious ultra-conservatism are often mutually reinforcing.

Scholar Cynthia Miller-Idriss’s assessment of the impact of Al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks on the United States is equally true for India or Europe.

“In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the rise of violent jihadism reshaped American politics in ways that created fertile ground for right-wing extremism. The attacks were a gift to peddlers of xenophobia, white supremacism, and Christian nationalism: as dark-skinned Muslim foreigners bent on murdering Americans, Al-Qaeda terrorists and their ilk seemed to have stepped out of a far-right fever dream,” Ms. Miller-Idriss said.

“Almost overnight, the United States and European countries abounded with precisely the fears that the far-right had been trying to stoke for decades,” she added.

The comparison of politically charged militant nationalist and ultra-conservative expressions of diverse religions takes on added significance in a world that has seen the emergence of civilizationalist leaders.

Scholar Sumantra Bose attributes the rise of religious nationalism in non-Western states like Turkey and India to the fact that they never adopted the Western principle of separation of state and church.

Instead, they based their secularism on the principle of state intervention and regulation of the religious sphere. As a result, the rejection of secularism in Turkey and India fits a global trend that conflates a dominant religious identity with national identity.

Sarah Kamali, the author of a recently published book that compares militant white nationalists to militant Islamists in the United States, notes similar patterns while drawing parallels between far-right xenophobes and militant Islamists.

Militant Islamists’ “sense of victimhood […] is similar to that of their White nationalist counterparts in that [it] is constructed and exploited to justify their violence… Both mutually – and exclusively – target America for the purpose of claiming the nation as theirs and theirs alone, either as a White ethno-state or as part of a global caliphate,” Ms. Kamali writes.

Similarly, the Taliban defeat of a superpower energized militant Islamists, as well as proponents of Hindutava, with Islamophobic narratives spun by Mr. Modi’s followers gaining new fodder with the assertion that India was being encircled by Muslim states hosting religious extremists.

Modi is essentially helping the recruitment of…jihadist groups by taking such a hard, repressive line against the Islamic community in India, who are now being forced to see themselves being repressed,” said Douglas London, the CIA’s counter-terrorism chief for South and South-West Asia until 2019.

Continue Reading

South Asia

Panjshir – the last stronghold of democracy in Afghanistan

The Taliban’s rapid advance in Afghanistan has briefly stalled only in the face of strong resistance mounted by the people of the country’s recalcitrant mountainous province of Panjshir. Whoever controls the region’s passes controls the routes leading to China and Tajikistan, but to seize this mountain valley and, most importantly, to keep it permanently under control has always been a problem for all invaders. Eager to let the international community see for the first time in 40 years a united Afghanistan as a sign of their final victory, the radical Islamists were prepared to make any sacrifices, including filling the approaches to the Panjshir Valley up with dead bodies. Moreover, the Taliban’s longtime ally Pakistan, which, regardless of its status of an ally of the United States, has provided them with direct military support. In fact, Islamabad admitted its less than successful role when it proposed signing a truce to find and take out the bodies of its special Ops forces who had died during the attack on the valley. However, drones flown by Pakistani operators, professional commandos (possibly once trained by the Americans), air support and other pleasant gifts from the allies eventually bore fruit letting the Taliban be photographed in front of the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Massoud Sr., the famous “Lion of Panjshir,” who controlled the valley from 1996 to 2001. The Islamists also took control of the province’s central city of Bazarak.

Having deprived the province much of its Internet access, the radicals, who control most of the Afghan territory, found it easier to wage an information war. Their claims of victories were now more difficult to contest, even though information about their retreat did reach the outside world. Reflective of the heavy losses suffered for the first time by the Taliban and their allies – the Haqqani Network and other remnants of al-Qaeda, as well as by the regular Pakistani army is the brief truce arranged by Islamabad. Looks like the mountain passes leading to Panjshir were literally filled up with corpses…

As for Massoud Jr., the young lion of Panjshir, and his supporters, they retreated to the mountains. In fact, they had nowhere to fall back to. The problem of Afghanistan is its ethnic diversity. Thus, the country is home to 23 percent of ethnic Tajiks, most of whom live in the Panjshir Valley. However, the Taliban rely mainly on the Pashtuns, who account for over 50 percent of the country’s population. As for the new masters of Afghanistan, they are ready to carry out ethnic cleansings and even commit outright genocide in order to bring the valley into submission. To make this happen they are going to resettle there their fellow Pashtun tribesmen. Local men aged between 12 and 50 are already being taken away and, according to the National Resistance Front, no one has seen them again. However, due to the information blockade, the Taliban will not hesitate to refute such facts. One thing is clear: Massoud’s Tajik fighters and the government troops that joined them are fighting for their lives, and there will be no honorable surrender!

The main question now is whether the young lion of Panjshir will receive the same support as his father once did, or will find himself without ammunition and food. After all, the Taliban leaders have reached certain agreements with the United States. Suffice it to mention the numerous remarks made, among others, by President Biden himself about the Taliban now being different from what they were 20 years ago.

But no, the Taliban`s remain the same – they have only hired new PR people. Meanwhile, hating to admit their defeat, Brussels and Washington will have to engage in a dialogue with those who are responsible for the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and for the numerous terrorist attacks in Europe. The Taliban are pretending to make minor cosmetic concessions. Minor indeed, since they are still depriving women of the opportunity to work and study, destroying higher and secondary education and brutally clamping down on people who simply do not want to live according to religious norms.

The United States is actually helping the “new-look” Taliban. Their potential opponents, including the famous Marshal Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, left the country under various guarantees, and Washington is trying to keep them from any further participation in the conflict. Democratic politicians naively believe that by creating an Islamic state and ending the protracted civil war in Afghanistan the Taliban will ensure stability in the region and will not move any further. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan do not think so and are strengthening their borders and preparing to protect their Afghan compatriots, because they know full well that the Taliban`s are not a national political party; they are a radical Islamist ideology.

It knows no borders and spreads like a cancerous tumor, destroying all pockets of Western culture. It can only be stopped by force. However, the two decades of US military presence in Afghanistan showed that Washington, which quickly took control of the country in 2001, simply had no strategy to keep it. The Afghans were given nothing that would appear to them more attractive than the ideas of radical Islam. As a result, the few Afghans who embrace European values are fleeing the country, and those who, like Massoud Jr., decided to fight for their freedom, now risk being left to face their enemy all by themselves.

Continue Reading

South Asia

Misjudgements in India’s Afghan policy

India’s Afghan policy has always been obsessed with the desire to deny Pakistan the “strategic depth” that Pakistan, according to India’s perception, yearns. If India had a pragmatic policy, it would not have found itself whimpering and whining like a rueful baby over spilt milk.

India supported the invasion of Afghanistan by both the former Soviet Union and the USA, both losers. President Trump mocked Modi for having built a library for the Afghan people. Trump expected India to contribute foot soldiers, and by corollary, body packs to the Afghan crisis. India played all the tricks up its sleeves to convince the USA to make India a party to the US-Taliban talks. But the USA ditched not only Modi but also Ashraf Ghani to sign the Doha peace deal with the Taliban.

India’s external affairs minister still calls the Taliban government “a dispensation”. Interestingly, the USA has reluctantly accepted that the Taliban government is a de facto government.

Humanitarian crisis

The United Nations’ Development Programme has portrayed a bleak situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is faced with multifarious challenges. These include prolonged drought and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, upheaval caused by the current political transition: frozen foreign reserves, and rising poverty.

About 47 per cent of its people live below the dollar-a-day poverty line. If the poverty line is pushed to $2 a day, 90 per cent of Afghans would be poor. About 55 per cent of Afghans are illiterate.

Ninety seven percent of the population is at risk of sinking below the poverty line, As such, Afghanistan teeters on the brink of universal poverty. Half of the population is already in need of humanitarian support. The UNDP has proposed to access the most vulnerable nine million people by focusing on essential services, local livelihoods, basic income and small infrastructure.

Currently, the gross national product of Afghanistan is around $190 billion, just a little more than the $160 billion economy of Dhaka city. The country’s legal exports of goods and services every year account for $1 billion. It imports$6 billion worth of goods and services every year.

About 80 per cent of world production of opium comes from Afghanistan. Every year, Afghanistan produces nearly 10,000 tons of opium and the revenue generated from it amounts to $7 billion approximately. About 87 per cent of the income of opium producing farmers comes exclusively from this single product. The illicit opium export by Afghanistan is worth $2 billion every year. The role of opium is significant.

About 80 per cent of public expenditure in this country is funded by grants. Since 2002, the World Bank has provided Afghanistan with a total of $5.3 billion as development and emergency relief assistance. The IMF earmarked for Afghanistan $400 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for combating the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The United States has frozen about $10 billion worth of Afghan assets held at various banks in Afghanistan. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has withdrawn the $400 million worth of SDRs allocated earlier to Afghanistan for addressing the Covid-19 crisis. The World Bank has not said anything as of yet, but it may also put restrictions on its funding to Afghanistan.

India’s lip service to Afghanistan

India provided around $3 billion in aid to fallen U.S.-backed Afghan government.  It trained the Afghan army and police. But now it is not willing to pay or pledge a penny to the Taliban government. Look at the following Times of India report:

“India did not pledge any money to the Taliban ruled Afghanistan probably for the first time in 20 years. That it has not done so as Jaishanker declared … (At UN, India offers support to Afghanistan but does not pledge money. The Times of India September 14, 2021).The Hindu, September 11, 2021

India’s tirade against Afghanistan

Indian policymakers and experts say they see no guarantees that Afghanistan won’t become a haven for militants. “Afghanistan may be poised to become a bottomless hole for all shades of radical, extremist and jihadi outfits somewhat similar to Iraq and Syria, only closer to India,” said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, who was India’s ambassador in Kabul between 2010 to 2013.  He added that the Taliban victory could have an “inspirational effect” not only for Kashmir’s rebels but wherever religiously-driven groups operate in the broader region… Lt. Gen Deependra Singh Hooda, former military commander for northern India between 2014-2016, said militant groups based across the border in Pakistan would “certainly try and push men” into Kashmir, following the Taliban victory in Afghanistan  (With Taliban’s rise, India sees renewed threat in Kashmir, Star Tribune September 14, 2021). “Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh conveyed to Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton that the rise of the Taliban raises serious security concerns for India and the region. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for an injection of cash into Afghanistan to avoid an economic meltdown that would spark a “catastrophic” situation for the Afghan people and be a “gift for terrorist groups.”). Afghan economic meltdown would be ‘gift for terrorists,’ says U.N. chief” (The Hindu, September 11, 2021)

 India’s former envoy to Kabul, Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhyay is skeptical of the conciliatory statements by the taliban government. He advises: “We should welcome recent statements by Stanekzai and Anas Haqqani that suggest some independence from the ISI. But we should also ask some hard questions and judge them by their actions and words, and not let down our guard, both with regard to our multiple security concerns such as whether they can protect us from the Ias and ISI, sever ties with other terror groups, especially those supported by the ISI against India, deny Pakistan strategic depth, and preserve and build on our historic P2P and trade ties; and a genuinely inclusive govt in Afghanistan that accommodates the majority of Afghans who want the rights and freedoms enshrined in the 2004 Afghan Constitution or at least acceptable to the Afghan people.” (Taliban move to form govt, Naya Afghanistan brings new challenge for India, September 2, 2021).

Concluding remarks

India wants a “central role’ to be given to the UN in Afghanistan. India’s mumbo jumbo implies that Afghanistan should be made a UN protectorate. Indian media is never tired of calling the Afghan government a bunch of terrorists. They have even launched video games about it.

India needs to rethink how it can mend fences with Afghanistan that it regards a hothouse of terrorists.

Continue Reading


text:
skipthegames trish indy escort review skip the games long island natalie okaloosa skipthegames body rubs pensacola
Access Banner

Fidelity Banner Advert

NCDC Records Zero Infections — First Time Since Index Case In 2020

NCDC Records Zero Infections — First Time Since Index Case In 2020Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has on Monday announced that no new COVID-19 cases were recorded on Sunday.

The public health agency made the announcement via its Facebook page this morning.

Since the country recorded its index case of coronavirus on February 27, 2020, a total of 167,206 infections have now been confirmed across 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

Read Also: First Nigerian Case Of Corona Virus Confirmed In Lagos

Meanwhile, for the 16th consecutive day, no new death from COVID-19 complications was recorded in the country. The COVID-19 fatality toll is 2,117 at present.

Also, NCDC data indicates that seven patients were discharged on Sunday after recovering from the infectious disease.

With the new figure, the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in Nigeria stands at 163,557.

Sunday’s update does not include data from Lagos state, the agency noted.

In other coronavirus-related reports, United States, as part of its effort to support other nations defeat COVID-19, has donated 2.5 million Moderna COVID vaccine doses to Taiwan.

US had promised to donate 750,000 doses to Taiwan but increased that number following President Joe Biden’s administration pledge to send 80 million shots around the world.

Also, New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) has approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds.

Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, saying;

After careful consideration of the most up-to-date scientific and medical data available, Medsafe has announced provisional approval for our young people to be given the Pfizer vaccine.

New Zealand now joins the lists of countries that have approved the vaccine for adolescents.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.


text:
Access Banner

Fidelity Banner Advert

Kanye West Finally Releases ‘Donda’ Album

Kanye West Confirms ‘Donda’ Album Drops Friday In New Beats By Dre Ad Starring Sprinter, Sha’Carri RichardsonFollowing series of stadium-filling listening parties, Kanye West has on Sunday, August 29 finally released his 10th album, Donda to streaming services.

The long-awaited 26-song album arrived on Apple Music (which live-streamed West’s Donda events) and Spotify on Sunday morning.

Read Also: Kanye West Confirms ‘Donda’ Album Drops Friday In New Beats By Dre Ad Starring Sprinter, Sha’Carri Richardson (Video)

The new development comes three days after the rapper’s controversial Chicago event that recreated West’s childhood home and featured appearances by Marilyn Manson and DaBaby.

Posted on Instagram today (August 29), Kanye’s manager Bu Thiam broke the news about the release of the album on streaming services.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bu Thiam (@__bu)

Over the three listening parties, Donda has featured guest vocalists and rappers like the Weeknd and Lil Baby (“Hurricane”), Travis Scott and Baby Keem (“Praise God”), Young Thug, late Pop Smoke (“Tell the Vision”), Jay Electronica and Lox (“Jesus Lord”), Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Roddy Ricch, Ariana Grande (“Donda”) and many more.

Read Also: Kanye West Reportedly Files Paperwork To Change Name To ‘Ye’

Notably, at the third listening party, West replaced a Jay-Z verse on “Jail” with a new verse by DaBaby; however, the current streaming version of Donda reinstates Jay-Z’s appearance; “Jail” also credits Brian Warner, a.k.a. Marilyn Manson, as a co-songwriter.

Following the appearance of the new single “No Child Left Behind” in an Olympics-themed Beats ad, Donda was initially scheduled for a July 23rd release, then pushed to August 6th, before its arrival on August 29th.

Although West has released Donda to streaming services, it doesn’t mean he’s done working on it or that this is the finished product.

His 2016 album ‘The Life of Pablo’ was continually tinkered with, re-uploaded and reedited following its release6; in fact, after initially publishing this article, West added a 27th track, “Jail pt. 2.”

Check out Donda’s Track List below;

Donda Chant
God Breathed
Off the Grid
Praise God
Ok Ok
Believe What I Say
Remote Control
Heaven and Hell
Keep My Spirit Alive
Jesus Lord
New Again
Tell the Vision
Lord I Need You
Pure Souls
Come to Life
No Child Left Behind
Ok Ok, Pt. 2
Junya Pt. 2
Jesus Lord, Pt. 2.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.


text:
Marinated Chicken Breast

I came across this recipe the other day while trying to find a simple marinade for some chicken that I had sitting the fridge. This marinade has lemon zest, garlic and some dried herbs, but I decided to add two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to go along with it. The night before I prepared the marinade in one of my dressing carafe and placed it in the fridge to let the flavors marry. Plan on marinating for at least four and up to twelve hours – any longer than that and the lemon juice will start to cook the meat. This morning I pounded the chicken breasts in a sealed, one gallon Ziploc bag – you don’t want all that chicken juice flying around your kitchen! Plus, once the chicken is nice and evenly pounded, you can pour the marinade over the chicken, mush the bag around a little and finally place it in the fridge. Whenever I marinade meat, I either put it in a Pyrex container and cover it, or as with this method I place the bag in another container. It’s just a way to be extra safe in keeping any raw meat juices from contaminating the rest of your fridge and it’s contents.

This chicken grilled up moist and flavorful and paired perfectly with the green salad. I added tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, avocado and grated carrot to the greens – the more veggies for me the better! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon Zest, Garlic & Herb Marinade – adapted from Once Upon a Chef

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1¾ pounds total)
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced (use a garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1½ teaspoons lemon zest (you’ll need one lemon)
  • * I added 2 TBSP of lemon juice

Directions –

1. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of wax paper and, using a meat mallet, pound to an even ½-inch thickness.

2. Mix all ingredients except chicken together in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag. Add chicken breasts and massage marinade into meat until evenly coated. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (the bowl protects against leakage); let the chicken marinate at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.

2. Clean grill and preheat to high. Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over grates several times until glossy and coated. Place chicken breasts on the grill (make sure they are well-coated with the marinade; the more garlic, lemon zest and herbs on the chicken, the better!). Grill, covered, for 2-3 minutes per side.

Use a fine or Microplane grater to zest the lemon. Simply rub the lemon in one direction against the blades, turning the lemon as you go. Be sure to remove only the yellow part; the white pith underneath is bitter.

If you are using less than 4 chicken breasts, you’ll need to reduce the salt accordingly.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Royal Talens

Amsterdam Expert Series Pyrrole Red Deep 75 ml

$11.99 $17

How To Use This Paint

The Amsterdam Expert Series is Amsterdam's highest quality acrylic paint.  It is a heavy body acrylic paint,  made with artist quality pigments and comes in 70+ fantastic colors. This paint is  highly pigmented and offers an unrivaled colour intensity and lightfastness.   This high viscosity professional paint gives you brisk brush strokes and knife marks, plus texture and a satin finish. Explore new techniques and make the most of your artistic talent.

How This Paint Is Made

This acrylic has a thick consistency and a quick drying time. Amsterdam acrylics are highly permanent, have excellent lightfastness and are an exceptionally durable paint film (the binding agent consists of 100% acrylic resin). This paint is Alkali resistant and suitable for painting on many types of surface, and is ideal for murals and wall paintings.

Tubes are recyclable.

Made in the Netherlands.

Sustainable Manufacturing Processes

Amsterdam Expert Series acrylic paints are manufactured in the Netherlands by Royal Talens.  Royal Talens practices progressive social and environmental practices.  Sustainability initiatives include reducing electricity by 2% per year, decreasing transportation mileage by sourcing and manufacturing locally, programs to minimize fuel consumption, use of solar energy (780 panels), using FSC certified paper and wood and reusing transport packaging.  Suppliers are assessed based on their performance in child labour, working conditions, compliance with laws and regulations, sustainability and corruption.

Semi Opaque

Lightfast at least 100 years under museum conditions.

You may also like

Recently viewed


text:
Contact Us

If you have a story to share or a question that has not been answered on our website, please get in touch with us below.

Give us a call

(506) 2654 5300

Send us an email

Drop by and talk

Find our location below in the Google Map

Monkey Buggy

Playa Potrero
Guanacaste Province
Costa Rica

Monday to Sunday: 8am - 5:30pm

WhatsApp WhatsApp us


text:
Picklewitch and Jack

Picklewitch and Jack by Claire Barker

The dreadful strangers moved in on a wild and windy Thursday.
‘Fudgenuts,’ cursed Picklewitch, adjusting her cracked binoculars to get a better view of the comings-and-goings. ‘This won’t do at all. I bet they haven’t even bought me any cake.’

Picklewitch is, quite literally, out of her tree. She has a nose for naughtiness, a taste for trouble and a weakness for cake. And unluckily for brainbox Jack – winner of the ‘Most Sensible Boy in School’ for the third year running – she’s about to choose him as her new best friend . . .

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

This was an odd cute book I read for Februwitchy. I got wind of it thanks to Asha and decided to puy and had had it on my shelves for a while.

My absolute favoruite thing was all the illustrations on it. They are super fun and have so many details that as you read and see the illustrations you go “ohh look at that tiny detail, and that one and that one too”. Gorgeous, seriously.

The story is fun but it had me struggling to like Picklewithc as she is causing poor Jack so much grief and he already has enough complications as it is. But her antics were funny and I also had a soft spot for her, so it was a very contradictive read where I wasn’t sure what I wanted exactly to happen and was torn between rooting for him or her.

The friendship part was nice and that school can be better with frineds and colleagues, and it touches a little on bullies. In general a fun read however for me the biggest struggle was that some of the things Picklewitch did, if she had done them to me I would’ve been devastated and questioned the whole concept of her “friendship” and just wanted to run away. But Jack somehow stoically keeps going on. Poor Jack.

Hex Vet: Witches in Training Review

Hex Vet: Witches in Training by Sam Davies

In a world where magic is an ordinary part of daily life, two young apprentice veterinarians pursue their dreams of caring for supernatural creatures.

Have you ever wondered where witches’ cats go when they pull a claw? Or what you do with a pygmy phoenix with a case of bird flu? Nan and Clarion have you covered. They’re the best veterinarian witches of all time—at least they’re trying to be. But when an injured spectral wolf beast from another realm stumbles into their lives, Nan and Clarion have to put down their enchanted potions and face the biggest test of their magical, medical careers…outside of the clinic.

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

This was the first book I read for #Februwitchy. And of course didn’t add it to my TBR because completely forgot. I thoguht it’d be a good start to get me wanting to read more. Start easy so I pick up and feel like I can do it.

So far that tactic has worked.

I found this book while browsing for other graphic novels and thought the premise was cute, veterinarian withces for mythical and fantastic creatures, yes please.

It did not disappoint, I want a bugbear and I just really enjoyed seeing all the critters they have in the clinic. The artwork was fitting to the story, it felt magical and cute and just a tinge scary when it needed to be. I can see that there’s a lot of more story to come and that there is potential for many plots and things alongside the already revealed interesting personal plot points of the two apprentices.

The only thing I had issues was that some panels and bubbles have grammatical errors which kept breaking the immersion that had happened. And it was short, I wish it had been longer because I was enjoying it too much and wanted to know more of the world, of the creatures, of their worlds and who they are.

All in all, a cute enjoyable graphic novel about magic, friendship, teamwork and critters.

#Februwitchy TBR

It is with great trepidation that I am saying this, but I joined a readathon! I have tried joining them before but have basically been unable to stick to them. Either they’re too constrictive (one book that has a title of three letters and a unicorn in it) or they just feel like I need to read too many books or I just don’t know.

As much as I am a person that likes the security of rules and all that, I also knee jerk at them and in reading I do not like being told what to read/do (I am the one person who before school even started they would’ve read all the school books and end up reading something else during class).

Anyway, this time I have decided to join because it is hosted by Asha, and it is a topic I actually have enough books for without having to make an effort. They’re already in my shelves, or it gives me the excuse to treat myself to some books.

So without further ado, I am joining Februwitchy, which is all about witch main characters and magic. You can find the full post about it here.

Obviously, me being me, I completely forgot I needed a TBR or to look at my shelves (I knew I had the books, Compendium of Witches has been next to my laptop for ages), so on the 1st of February I haphazardly pulled witchy books out of my shelves and this (plus a couple more I have found over the last few days) is my TBR:

  • Wish for a Witch by Kaye Umanksy (they are either Stephanie’s fault or Asha’s)
  • Witch for a Week by Kaye Umansky
  • A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee (this one is one of those that somehow ended up in my shelves, preorder or Waterstones shelves most probably)
  • Picklewitch & Jack by Claire Barker (this one is totally Asha’s fault)
  • The Price Guide of the Occult by Leslie Walton (preorder done way way back that I just hadn’t felt like reading)
  • The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (this was one of those “oh, might as well treat myself to it because it is for the readthon and has been in my wishlist for a long time”)
  • These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling (preorder)
  • Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries (I like graphic novels, follow artists on Twitter, this happened)
  • Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and illustrated by Wendy Xu (preordered because it sounded great then wanted it more after following Wendy on Twitter)
  • Compendium of Witches by Nataša Ilinčić(I stumbled upon this one, managed to get a signed sketched on edition, it was a treat I bought for myself last year).

I think it is a decent list and I may add more as I go, depending on my speed. We shall see. I am hoping this goes well and I stick to it (so far so good).


text:
760-645-1300 Schedule Now
2023 West Vista Way, Ste F Vista, CA 92083
300 Carlsbad Village Drive, #124 Carlsbad, CA 92008

Rhinoplasty in San Diego, CA

36 Procedures ( View All )

A rhinoplasty, also referred to as a nose job, is a procedure that reshapes the appearance of the nose by altering the bone structure, surrounding skin, and cartilage of the existing nose. Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Amir Moradi is an expert at performing this procedure with precision, offering customizable results depending on the patient's needs. It can be performed as a cosmetic adjustment or as a reconstructive treatment for those suffering from injuries or a deviated septum, opening the airway and restoring the patient's breathing. Regardless of the reason, the goal is to recreate the shape of the nose in a natural way that suits the patient's desires as best as possible. To learn more, call Moradi MD in San Diego, CA, to schedule a personal consult.

Surgical Technique

There are several techniques used for rhinoplasty. The approach taken will be based on the complexity of the surgical case and the overall goal of the patient.

During/After Surgery

Rhinoplasty is performed in an accredited surgical facility under general anesthesia. The procedure lasts up to 2 hours and is considered outpatient. After surgery, there will be swelling and soreness around the nose area. Bruising is also a side effect of surgery. The nose will be placed in a splint for additional support. During the first 7-10 days following surgery, the side effects will begin to disappear and the splint will be removed. Patients will be able to see their results immediately; however, it may take several months for the full results to appear.

Request Consultation

Plan Your Procedure

Procedure Recovery Location
Contact Us

Rhinoplasty FAQs

Effective Nose Reconstruction

If you're seeking to alter the appearance and shape of your nose or suffering from a nasal injury or blockage, then a rhinoplasty is a popular method to address these concerns. Dr. Moradi is highly-trained in this area and can offer a free consultation to assess your needs and help get your closer to achieving your ideal appearance.

Related Procedures

*Individual results are not guaranteed and may vary from person to person. Images may contain models.