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This excerpt from my dissertation is the conversion-story summary of Respondent Twenty-One, a female from Nablus. Feel free to interact in the comments or download my dissertation as a free PDF!
Respondent Twenty-One's conversion was intimately associated with the mass conversion of her family; she was the last of her immediate family to convert (See Respondent's Four, Five, Six, and Nineteen).
The family's introduction to Christian faith occurred due to a health issue of the respondent's younger sister. At the time, they were a family that was satisfied with their Muslim identity and involved in the community; the father was very religiously observant and becoming more so, the mother was less interested in religious things, but not completely uninterested. However, that would start to change, though unknown at the time, when a Muslim friend suggested the respondent's father meet some Christian men who had been in the area recently. The friend said those men were from an eye hospital in Jerusalem and might be able to provide an eye surgery the respondent's younger sister required.
In summary,the respondent's father initially rejected the offer to meet the Christian men, but eventually agreed to meet them. The family's conversion was not immediate. In fact, the respondent's father went through a lengthy process of alternately inviting and forbidding the men to come to his home. In the end, as a result of the men's continued witnessing, the influence of Bible reading, the Jesus Film and other Christian broadcasting, as well as dreams, all the members of the respondent's family came to faith in Jesus one by one.
The conversion process of the various family members was pretty openly displayed in the home in that the Christian men were allowed to teach the Bible, distribute literature, and pray openly. Because Respondent Twenty-One was the last person in the family to believe in Jesus, this open display played an important role in her conversion. She was able to hear the various arguments and answers presented by the Christian men, and as each family member came to faith, they also tried to persuade her.
When the Christian men were allowed to visit the home, the respondent listened respectfully, but completely refused to accept their testimonies and arguments because she was a committed Muslim. She hated that the men were allowed to visit, and rejoiced inwardly during the times her father was angry with them and refused their visits.
She described the process of her family members coming to faith like a wave approaching the beach: "You see it in the distance coming toward you. At first it appears to be coming slowly, but the closer it gets, the bigger and faster it appears until it covers you over." She explained that in the beginning she feared that someone in the family would believe, but it looked so far off that maybe it really would not happen. However, each time the men came to visit, the wave appeared to be bigger and coming faster until it finally overtook them. Eventually, like dominoes, one falling into the next, family members started believing. That led to more open sharing in the home, which eventually resulted in more pressured sharing of the faith.
As each domino fell, the respondent became more angry and depressed. She worried for her future: "How can I get a good husband if people know about my family? How can I remain part of a family like this? How can I continue to share a room with my sister who has shamefully betrayed Islam? I felt ashamed, angry, isolated, and even considered suicide or divorcing the family, if it was possible." Perhaps more realistically, though, she said, "I worried the family would kick me out if I would not believe."
The more the family pushed her to believe the angrier, more discouraged, and more depressed she became. Though her family members did not notice, the respondent's emotional changes were so obvious that teachers and school officials became concerned and called a doctor and the police who initiated an investigation. They asked the respondent if anyone had done anything to her, or something had happened at home, but she protected her family. She thinks she refused to say anything partly because she would have been humiliated if anyone found out her family had left Islam, and partly because she still hoped they would return to Islam.
When the family found out about the investigation, they realized they had pushed too hard, and subsequently stopped pushing the respondent to believe. They continued to speak openly of their faith in the home, but they stopped directing religious comments toward the respondent. While this change was somewhat helpful, it did not prevent the respondent from feeling like the odd member of the family. "But it was better than before" she said. They continued to read their Bibles and she continued to pray, wear the hijab, and read her Qur'an.
After a few months in this new environment (i.e., no persuasion to convert to Christianity), the respondent began to have a series of dreams, which occurred over a period of about one month. She had the "same dream three or four times," in which appeared "a man dressed in white surrounded by a bright light." He did not speak, and she did not know his identity at the time. When she mentioned the dreams to her family, they concluded the reason for the dreams was her rejection of Jesus. Though she did not like their conclusion or the possibility that they may be correct, she had no alternative ideas about the source or reason for the dreams. After the third or fourth occurrence, the dreams stopped for about four to five months.
During this four to five month period, which was leading up to the family's relocation, the respondent's thoughts about the dreams were continually provoked when she heard members of the family discuss the Bible or pray. When the Christian men visited, which they did fairly often during this time, her thoughts returned to the dreams. Eventually, word of the family's conversion spread through the area and a mob of teens attacked their home. These external threats necessitated the relocation of the family to a new area as well as a reconstructed identity.
In the new location, the respondent continued to wear the hijab, pray five times each day, and read the Qur'an. Shortly after their relocation, the family, including the respondent, went to a MBB family conference for the weekend. At the conference, one of the leaders politely asked the respondent to remove her hijab. Although the request to remove her hijab was offensive, the respondent complied. However, the request and her compliance somewhat dazed her. As she sat in the meeting, many thoughts raced through her mind as she witnessed uncovered women mixing with men who were not their husbands or family members: "How can these women feel so comfortable among these men while uncovered? How could he ask me to remove my hijab? How could I remove it?" The respondent said she wanted desperately to run away, but she did not. She remained at the conference and listened and observed what was happening there.
During the program, the respondent sat dutifully with her family, though she did not participate as the crowd worshiped the Lord in song. During this time, she prayed, "God, what are they doing? If this is the way, please convince me." And within minutes, "the worship leader stopped and said, 'someone here is asking to be convinced. Listen to the Holy Spirit.'" Then he continued leading worship. Immediately, the respondent said to herself, "That's me! He's talking about me." However, she did not immediately tell anyone else because she wanted to process what had happened.
Later that night, she privately "prayed the prayer of salvation" that she had heard mentioned many times in her home, and that her brother, Respondent Nineteen, had reported praying. When asked to explain what she meant by "prayer of salvation," she said that it was a spontaneous prayer in which she admitted to God that she "was a sinner and accepted the blood of Jesus as payment for [her] sins."
Themes that emerged in this interview: Q and A, prayer, dreams, crisis, retreats/conferences/special events, the Jesus Film, meeting Christians/MBBs, an open witness, and fear or shame as a barrier to the gospel.
Filed Under: apologetics, Arabic, Arabs, conversion, cross-cultural, Culture, dreams, Evangelism, Intercultural Studies, Islam, Life in Christ, Middle East, missionaries, mosques, Muslims, Palestine, PhD excerpts, Quran, testimonies, The Gospel, West Bank
This excerpt from my dissertation is the conversion-story summary of Respondent Twenty, a male from Hebron. Feel free to interact in the comments or download my dissertation as a free PDF!
Respondent Twenty was raised by a single mother who became a MBB when he was about three years old. However, his mother had a very laissez-faire approach to passing her faith to her children, preferring to allow them to choose for themselves, which meant the children received no direct Christian instruction and only passive Christian influence. Instead, he had mostly Islamic influences from the neighborhood and Islamic teaching from school. However, occasionally, his mother did try to offer opinions from the New Testament when the children brought Islamic ideas into the house. In spite of the two varying religious views that were available to him, the respondent was not interested in religion. And while he recognized himself as a Muslim, he was not an active Muslim in any meaningful way during his early-to-mid teen-years.
When he was fifteen, the respondent suffered an extended and serious illness. The MBB community responded in ways that surprised him and that would be instrumental in his conversion. Even though he was a Muslim and did not believe the way they did, members of the MBB community visited regularly to pray for him and provide food for his family. They prayed openly and fervently for his full recovery, and he said, "God answered their prayer and healed me." However, that did not immediately change his lack of interest in religion, though he admitted, "it probably softened me a little."
About a year later, he went to a MBB family conference with his mother and sister. This was the first time he had been in an environment where MBBs expressed their faith in Jesus so openly. Of course, a number of them had openly prayed for him during his illness, but that was confined to his home; this was occurring in a semi-public gathering. When asked why he went to the conference, he said, "I was curious about my mother's beliefs." However, what he saw made him angry since he "was still a Muslim." Although he was not religious, he did not like to see men and women praying and worshiping together, and he was bothered by the free references to Jesus as God, as well.
When the respondent and his family returned home from the conference, he asked for explanations of what he saw at the conference. What was all the singing? What was all the teaching? His mother tried to explain, but he dismissed her explanations. When his mother's explanations proved unsatisfactory, he called a young man about his age that he met at the conference, to see if he could explain things any better.
As the respondent looked back on these events, he came to realize that calling this young man was an important event in his conversion process. "When [name redacted] answered my questions, I was partly convinced," he admitted. Somehow, that a middle-to-late teen from a Muslim background could believe in Jesus made the answers more palatable for the respondent and lessened the anger he had toward his mother.
Although he did not immerse himself in this new community, the respondent did begin visiting his mother's church and remain in touch with the teen that had somewhat satisfactorily answered his questions. This same young man invited the respondent to view the Jesus Film, which, looking back, he marked as another very important event in his conversion process. In fact, he said, "I was very influenced by the abuse Jesus suffered. No one suffered like him. And this drew me toward him."
He began reading the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, but admits, "It didn't seem like a special story and was difficult to understand." His mother's explanations about what he was reading were helpful, but not enough to maintain his interest in reading.
About three months after seeing the Jesus Film, some of his mother's friends came to visit. During their visit, they prayed for the family, and during the prayer, the respondent's mind vividly replayed scenes from the Jesus Film in what he called "a vision." Once again, he was very moved by the horrors of Jesus' suffering. After the people left, the respondent told his mother about the vision and told her he wanted to know more so he could "know if Jesus is the right way." He confessed to his mother that he felt like he needed to believe, but could not yet do so. "I need to be sure," he insisted. This opened the door for fairly regular discussions with his mother about Jesus and how He died for the respondent's sins.
A short time after his mother's friends visited and he saw the vision of the Jesus Film, the respondent began to have a series of nightmares in which a power was controlling him, holding his body, and pressing him to the bed. These dreams were terrifying and vivid. He could not discern the identity of the power that was controlling him, and each time he awakened in a pool of sweat and breathing hard as if he had been in a struggle for his life. After a few occurrences, he told his mother about the dreams; she told him to "demand that it go away in the name of Jesus." Within a few days he had the same dream again, but he was afraid to say the name Jesus in his dream. However, in the next dream, the third, which occurred about one week later, the power was strangling him to the point he thought he was going to die, and in desperation he began to speak the name of Jesus. Each time he said, "Jesus," the power weakened until it eventually released him.
Once he spoke the name of Jesus and the power subsided, he had a different type of dream twice within the next week. In these dreams, the respondent heard a male voice (there was no image) that said, "You can be certain." When asked if it was an audible voice that he heard with his ears or only an inner voice, the respondent said, "It was an inner voice that sounded like it was on the phone." When he told his mother about the voice, she suggested the voice might be that of Jesus, which seemed correct to the respondent. This specific dream was the final event that moved the respondent from unbelief to belief.
In an effort to understand better what the respondent believed were the pivotal events that led him to believe that Jesus died for his sins, he was asked to fill in the blank in the following sentence: If it were not for _____________, I don't think I would be a believer. He answered very quickly: "The power of the dreams, Jesus' help, and fellowship with MBBs."
He was asked to elaborate briefly on those answers, which he did: "The dreams were so real and powerful and frightening that they grabbed my attention. Jesus helped me when I was sick and also in my dreams, the Qur'an and Muslims didn't. When I was sick, the believers came to help my family and pray for me. They were also patient with me when I was angry about my mother's belief. All of those things were important in me coming to believe in Jesus."
Themes that emerged in this interview: Personal Bible reading, "moved," Q and A, the kindness of Christians, prayer, dreams, retreats/conferences/special events, the Jesus Film, meeting Christians/MBBs, an open witness, common objections to the gospel, fear or shame as a barrier to the gospel, and a lack of interest in religion.
Filed Under: apologetics, Arabs, conversion, cross-cultural, Culture, dreams, Evangelism, Intercultural Studies, Islam, Life in Christ, Middle East, missionaries, mosques, Muslims, Palestine, PhD excerpts, Quran, The Gospel, West Bank


This Italian classic has a deep ruby robe, with violet reflections. It is a complex bold wine with soft peppery tones and nuances of spice, wrapped up in a velvety texture. Well structured or aging. Smooth and delightful.
Pairing Best to consume with Italian-style pastas and red meats.


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Lauren London: Hollywood's New Starlet
Lauren London is one of Hollywood's newest actresses. Twenty-three year old Lauren has gotten a lot of attention lately. Her pretty face and edgy look are part of her popularity. Music videos, acting and modeling – Lauren does it all. Fan sites are popping up everywhere for this new Hollywood starlet.
Lauren, whose nickname is L-Boogie, started her career appearing in music videos for Ludacris and Pharell. Appearing in music videos helped Lauren to get used to being in front of the camera. It also gave her attention by the industry and fans alike. Her big break on the big screen came when she landed a roll in the film ATL. In the year 2006, Lauren London was nominated for the Black Movie Awards Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Award for her role in the movie ATL. Being nominated for an award is not a bad accomplishment for a first film. Her success in ATL helped bump her career and land her more roles.
Lauren London has appeared in the television shows Everybody Hates Chris and Entourage. Her credits also include the films ATL and This Christmas. Lauren graced the cover of King magazine in 2006 and is currently a model for the Sean John Women clothing line.
Lauren London was born in Los Angeles, California in 1984. Her single mother raised her in Los Angeles. Lauren participated in theater in her school, which sparked her love for performing. In her first school play at Castle Heights Elementary School, she played the part of a lion that did not speak English. Lauren was home schooled during her high school years.
Her desire to perform, may just be the reason she succeeded. Lauren convinced the directors' assistant of the film AFL to get her an audition for a role in the upcoming film. Lauren hired an acting coach to help her prepare for the audition. The decision to hire an acting coach paid off because she got the part despite the fact that she showed up two hours late for the audition.
According to bossip.com, Lauren London is engaged to rapper Lil Wayne. Bossip.com claims that a source close to Lauren reported the news. Lauren and Lil Wayne have been dating off-and-on for the past couple of years.
Fans can look forward to seeing Lauren in her new upcoming film, Next Day Air. The dark action comedy does not have a release day yet.
Bet has a poll on their Web site for fans to vote for their favorite celebrities who are younger than 25. Lauren London is one of the 25 stars younger than 25 listed on the poll.
Lauren London's future acting career looks promising. With a new movie coming out and being a front woman for Sean Johns' clothing line, her career is hot. Lauren continues to study acting to fine tune her talent. Her goals are to win an Oscar in the next five years and get to the point where she can pick her own acting roles. With the way things are looking for Lauren, her goals just may happen.
http://www.vh1.com/movies/person/418502/bio.jhtml
http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/2195555/Lauren%20London.html?dataSet=1#Biography
http://www.laurenlondonweb.com/
http://www.bossip.com/categories/lauren-london/
http://www.bet.com/OnTV/ontv_top25under25_poll.htm
Model and Actress, Lauren London - Who is She?
New London Mall in New London, CT Offers Variety Amongst Five Buildings
Black Label by Ralph Lauren Designer Clothing Collection: The Hottest Picks
Ralph Lauren Regent Metallics' Top Interior Design Paint Colors for Fall
Shop Lauren Conrad - A Website Review
Hollywood Black Film Festival, CineVegas Film Festival, CMA Music Festival, City of New York Music Festival, Bluegrass Masters Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Hollywood and Games Summit

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I Doctor & the Medics sono un gruppo musicale britannico, formatosi a Londra nel 1981 guidato da Clive Jackson in arte "The Doctor" conosciuti soprattutto per il frontman, incrocio tra il Joker e Gene Simmons dei Kiss e per la cover del brano Spirit in the Sky di Norman Greenbaum che divenne un ottimo successo nel 1986

Formazione
 The Doctor (Clive Jackson) - voce
 Steve McGuire - chitarra
 Richard Searle - basso
 Vom (Steve Ritchie) - batteria
 Wendi Anadin (Wendy West) - voce
 Colette Anadin (Colette Appleby) - voce

Discografia

Album in studio
1986 - Laughing at the Pieces
1987 - I Keep Thinking It's Tuesday
1996 - Instant Heaven

Live
1992 - The Adventures of Boadacea and the Beetle

Singoli
1982 - The Druids Are Here
1986 - Burn
1986 - Spirit in the Sky
1986 - Waterloo (con Roy Wood)
1987 - More
1990 - Hi Ho Silver Lining/Black and Blue

EP
1985 - Two Pieces of Cloth Carefully Stitched Together
1985 - The Miracle Of The Age
1985 - Happy But Twisted
1986 - Spirit in the Sky
1988 - Drive He Said…
1991 - Black & Blue

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni
 Discografia su Discogs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Murakami offers the most advanced, high quality screens for IME and other PE applications.
Technical consultation is available in order to build screen masks satisfying various print targets; registration accuracy, paste deposit volume, L/S tolerance and other critical elements associated with IME applications. Click here to contact us for more information.


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ACC Football Staff Predictions: Championship Week
It all comes down to this.
By Al Hood@albhood Dec 2, 2021, 3:00pm EST
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We've made it folks. Another college football season is almost in the books, and the vast majority of teams are now done and waiting for Sunday and their bowl assignments. The coaching carousel spins around and around, and if you weren't careful, you'd think we were in the offseason already.
But as it is, we still have more football.
This weekend is championship weekend, and there are multiple games out there that fans should have some interest in, including this weekend's ACC matchup. Folks, Charlotte may not have many fans in the stands for this one just because of the size of both fanbases, but the actual contest between Wake and Pitt promises to be spectacular. You have two high powered offenses with two defenses that have been known to give up massive points, complete with two experienced quarterbacks trying to take advantage of a rare opportunity to be a non-Clemson ACC Champion. The game will have zero impact on the CFP, but it has the potential to be a real fun watch.
So how did we get to that title game? Well, we don't need to relive what happened last week as the rest of the ACC finished up their slate, but in the traditional week where the ACC meets up the SEC in certain areas, and rivals meet up, the staff had some opinions about who would make it out. Those decisions lead us to this week of determining an overall champion. Thus, let's remind ourselves how last week turned out:
Max is doing well for a reason, as he picks with his head and not his heart, but the rest of us wrapped up this UNC season being disappointed yet again. Personally, I only picked against UNC once, versus Notre Dame, meaning I was 7-5 in picking games involving the Tar Heels this year. The fact that I'm still even sniffing the top is amazing. Unfortunately, I gave schools with zombie coaches (Florida and Virginia Tech) no chance and it turned into me having a bad week. Max, though, just plowed ahead.
This week we are doing the Power Five title games as well as the AAC, since Cincinnati has to win it in order to make the CFP. It's very likely that game will be watched more than the ACC, as the Bearcats look to disrupt the status quo. Elsewhere, Michigan needs to take care of business, Oklahoma State hopes to sneak in in case there's a slip up in either of those other games, and Bama has to pull an upset in order to make it. You also have the Pac 12.
Let's see what we all think:
Max is in prevent mode here, as the only staffer that has a shot of catching him is Joe, and Joe is going for the tie by picking Pitt when Max went Wake, and Oregon when Max went Utah. All of their other picks are the same, and everyone else is just trying to not finish in last or try for the stand. I don't expect Alabama to win, necessarily, but it's one of the only real other plausible spots of difference where I have a shot at sneaking into third.
Will last week's winner finish in last? Can Joe sneak up and tie Max or will Max run away with the gold? Enjoy this weekend's game and find out next week!
UNC vs. Miami Player of the Game: You're kidding, right? No one should be rewarded out for whatever that was last night.


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Enhancing food justice for communities in Kenya's urban informal settlements - Route to Food
Food, Kenya, NGO
Enhancing food justice for communities in Kenya's urban informal settlements
September 17, 2018 In Food Law and Politics
Food justice and food sovereignty aim to ensure equity in food systems. They represent concrete visions of transforming the current food systems by eliminating the structural inequalities underpinning these systems (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). The concepts of food justice and sovereignty are guided mainly by the aspirations of people who have been marginalised by mainstream agro-food regimes. The question therefore is, what problems need to be overcome to achieve food justice and sovereignty in Kenya's informal settlements?
The Spatial Politics of Nairobi
Informal settlements are rapidly growing as Africa urbanises and a key marker of this growth is the glaring spatial inequalities being witnessed across the continent. In Nairobi for example, 63-70% of people live in informal settlements (UN, 2015), occupying only 6% of urban land (UN Habitat, 2017). The disparity in population densities is such that high-income households on average live on, or have access to one acre of land, whereas there are up to 250 households per acre in the informal settlements of Nairobi.
In a recent study undertaken by Akiba Mashinani (2016) in Mukuru – one of the informal settlements in Nairobi the 101,076 households in the area cumulatively spent Ksh 365,056,000.00 per month on food, provided through informal food networks. This translates to over Ksh 4.2 billion in a year and only represents the 30 villages in Mukuru. The whole of Nairobi has 152 villages spread across different informal settlements (Slum Dwellers International Kenya, 2013). While the consumption base for food is evidently large, access to safe, nutritious, affordable and sufficient food still remains a mirage for many living in these settlements.
In the research, it was also clear that there exists a price penalty called the poverty penalty, where a poor person pays more for products and basic services yet receives goods and services of a lower quality. For example, on average residents of Mukuru pay 172.72% higher for water and 45.35% higher for electricity (Corburn et al., 2017). While water pipes and electricity lines supplying services to the wealthier areas pass through or near informal settlements, county and national governments treat residents as disposable and not worthy of these services, leaving them at the mercy of cartels that control the price and access of basic services.
Navigating Urban Informal Food Networks
Street food vending is an important source of food for many urban dwellers, not just for those living in informal settlements, but also serving the middle class (Githiri, Ngugi, Njoroge, & Sverdlik, 2016). Food traders are typically located near residential areas, offering food on credit, and are often better equipped to sell products in volumes that low-income customers can afford and many times are desperately in need of. It is clear that the informal food trade is the backbone of food security in Nairobi for the poor and marginalised – occurring in a space in which county and national governments continue to shirk their constitutional responsibilities over ensuring that people realise the Right to Food.
Unfortunately, street food vending in the country has historically faced and still continues to face high levels of criminalisation by county and national government officials. The majority of street food vendors practice without licenses, mostly because of how prohibitive the costs of acquiring one are, as well as the bureaucracy and exclusion surrounding these formal processes. In addition, there exist problematic, highly contested and purist ideas of food safety and sanitation around informal food networks that are sadly enshrined in various laws and which urgently need to be debated.
The lack of basic social services creates a situation in which many street food vendors have to sell their food items in locations that may expose food to contamination, such as near open sewers. For women vendors, the lack of lighting presents a real security risk as many of them have to sell until late into the night and walk home alone in the dark (Githiri et al., 2016).
Population growth in urban areas, especially among youth, continues to increase due to rapid urbanisation and the ever increasing rural economic marginalisation that is driving rural-urban migration. On the other hand, land that was previously used for farming in rural and peri-urban areas such as Kiambu, which has historically been a big source of fresh food and milk to Nairobi, is also quickly being converted for real estate purposes. Adjusting to these challenges, urban dwellers have become creative in curbing food insecurity through practising innovative urban agriculture, maximising the remaining public spaces available, and at times, violating laws put in place by state organs to criminalise or curtail these practices, mainly in low and middle-income settlements.
Gendered-Class Realities of Urban-Informal Food Trading
Looking at the informal markets in the country, you will find that they are mostly comprised of women, who are the major providers of food. Recent research, Nourishing Livelihoods; Recognizing and Supporting Food Vendors in Nairobi Informal Settlements, found that, women comprise the majority of food vendors: 63% and 81% of vendors are female in Mukuru, Viwandani and Korogocho respectively. Men prevailed in the sale of meat and milk. In rural areas, food markets are predominantly also occupied by women (Quisumbing, 2014). The informal food markets are important in terms of creating employment opportunities for women, which in turn helps in alleviating poverty. Other benefits of operating local informal food markets include the ability of women to combine work and child care, reduced transport costs and a high number of customers due to population densities. It is imperative that a strong gendered class analysis guides any formal and informal approach to addressing food and livelihood inequalities in the country.
Case Example: Grassroots Responses to Urban Food In(security)
Muungano wa Wanavijiji's advocacy and research work looks into the challenges of informal settlements especially in the areas of land tenure and basic services, addressing them through partnerships with the county governments and urban right-holders. During these engagements, issues touching on food safety and security, in general, are a constant feature. Communities are mobilised and brought together through the strategies that the Muungano wa Wanavijiji collective has been using for the past 20 years, ensuring that community members are at the forefront of dealing with the food insecurity challenges they experience.
In Mathare informal settlement, for example, an association of food vendors – Food Vendors Association – was created to bring food vendors together from all of Nairobi's informal settlements. This association was tasked with the role of sharing the reports of the existing conditions for food vendors in all settlements and proposing collaborative solutions to address existing challenges to the relevant stakeholders. Through the association, many food vendors have come together to form savings groups, which not only unite them but sustain their businesses through loans and welfare kitties that they would not be able to access from mainstream banks.
The association also works to challenge toxic ideas of 'illegality' associated with informal food traders and demand for the same recognition and livelihood security that formal food traders have. Most importantly, the Food Vendors Association is at the forefront of demanding quality and non-privatised social services for themselves and their families, from both county and national governments.
Towards Development Justice as a Form of Food Justice
It is imperative that both state and non-state actors undertake a situational analysis in all the informal settlements in Kenya, in order to better understand the complex challenges – many of which are described here – with regard to food security. An analysis is critical in formulating strategies to overcome the challenges while building on the existing systems mapping work of grassroots organisations working in these communities. In cognisance of the fact that state and county governments are trying to upgrade informal settlements, it is important to align housing and infrastructure development goals with food justice plans and in particular, recognising and including food vendors who are important in helping to achieve food security in these areas.
Upgrades should be holistic as Githiri et al. (2016) argue, "improving food security in African informal settlements must form part of a broader set of upgrading interventions to promote jobs, improve safety, and political empowerment and economic justice for residents." We must guard against any form of upgrading that further excludes already marginalised communities or presents a development path that continues to concentrate urban wealth in the hands of the elite.
State and non-state actors, rural and informal food providers who are predominantly women, should work together to achieve food justice both in the informal and rural areas. Tackling the shelter and environmental short-falls in informal settlements can, in turn, strongly support vendors' livelihoods and thereby help to reach the urban poor with safe, affordable food sources. Additionally, by prioritising jobs and improving security in informal settlements, upgrading policies can support equally vital transformations in living conditions and community empowerment.
Finally, informal food vendors are invaluable repositories of information about the histories of the politics of urban food provisioning and understand the challenges in very personal ways. Moving forward, it is important that the state relies on and resources their existing knowledge and visions for food justice.
Grace Githiri is an urban planner and GIS expert working with Muungano wa Wanavijiji. She currently holds a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Planning and a Master's Degree in Sustainable Urban Development. She is also an Environment Impact Assessment and Audit Lead Associate. She has been involved in working with urban slum communities in data collection and using data to develop both short and long-term solutions to challenges facing them. She has also specifically participated in food safety studies in most slums in Nairobi. Urban Agriculture Innovations in part of the formal and informal settlements in Nairobi was part of her Master's thesis. She looks forward to sustainable cities in Africa when it comes to food.
Patrick Njoroge is a program officer at Akiba Mashinani Trust – Muungano wa Wanavijiji, with a Bachelor's Degree of Science in Public Relations from Moi University and a CPA Part 1. He has been working with different communities in urban slums especially in Nairobi for the last five years. He has been key in community organising and data collection which includes food security studies.


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New Article and Interactive for NTI Illustrates Proliferation of Missiles in the Middle East
CNS expert Jeffrey Lewis published an article about missile proliferation in the Middle East and its implications on diplomatic relations in the region.
New Database Documents All North Korean Missile Tests
News Apr 24, 2017
A new database created by CNS on NTI's website documents all of North Korea's missile test launches since 1984.
New Infographic: North Korea's Strategic Threat
NTI and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies published a new infographic this week illustrating North Korea's missile capability and strategic threat.
New B-Roll Footage of Iran's Ballistic Missile Fleet
NTI and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies have published new footage of Iran's ballistic missile fleet, including 3D models of Iran's Safir Space Launch Vehicle.
New 3D video of North Korea's Sinpo facility, hub of efforts to build SLBM
News Nov 10, 2016
NTI and CNS have released a new 3D video of North Korea's Sinpo facility, the hub of North Korean efforts to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile.


Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for advanced hip and knee replacement by demonstrating continuous compliance with performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
The hospital and its joint replacement program at Cottage Center for Orthopedics underwent a rigorous, onsite survey over the summer. During the review, a team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated compliance with hospital standards related to several areas, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, and medication management. Surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
The joint replacement program at Cottage Center for Orthopedics has received several awards from The Joint Commission. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital holds The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for both knee and hip replacement and was the first hospital on the Central Coast to achieve this prestigious designation. In addition, Cottage Center for Orthopedics holds the Blue Distinction Center designation from the national Blue Cross Blue Shield companies.


text:
German parliament calls for Turkey to re-examine Armenian killings
Germany's parliament on Thursday urged Turkey to examine its role in the killing of an estimated 1 million ethnic Armenians a century ago, an issue that could weigh on Ankara's hopes of joining the European Union.
Lawmakers adopted a cross-party resolution asking the Berlin government to press Turkey to investigate the "organized expulsion and destruction of the Armenians" and foster reconciliation.
"The motion is passed with votes from the whole house," parliamentary vice president Antje Vollmer announced after a show of hands.
Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in the killings as part of a 1915-23 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Anatolia. At the time, Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey remains extremely sensitive to the issue. It denies that the killings were genocide and says the death count is inflated and that Armenians were killed or displaced along with others as the empire tried to quell civil unrest.
The motion didn't mention Turkey's bid to join the EU, but said the Armenian issue was an example of how Turkey needs to guarantee freedom of speech - an area where Ankara has been told it must improve if it is to join the 25-nation bloc.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been one of Turkey's strongest backers in its membership bid.
But the conservative opposition - which hopes to win elections this fall - argues that Muslim Turkey should be offered a lesser "privileged partnership."
The German motion noted that "numerous independent historians, parliaments and international organizations" describe the killing as genocide, but stopped short of using that label itself.
While there was no immediate reaction from Turkish officials, the country's foreign minister said in remarks released Wednesday that combating allegations of genocide was a "priority of its foreign policy."
"We strongly challenge those countries whose parliaments have incriminated Turkey and the Turkish people of genocide," Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying on the Web site of Belgium-based Turkish magazine Anadolu. "We are questioning these countries on which criteria and factual documents do they base such decisions."
To answer such questions, the German motion proposed the establishment of a commission of Turkish, Armenian and international historians to examine the killings. It complained that Turkish authorities were stifling debate at home.
It said Germany had a special responsibility to bring Turks and Armenians together because the German Reich turned a blind eye to the actions of its Ottoman ally during World War I, and urged the German Foreign Ministry to release its records from the period.
The motion said parliament was "convinced an honest historical review is needed and represents the most important basis for reconciliation."
"This is particularly true in the framework of a European culture of remembrance which includes openly debating the dark side of each nation's history."
STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer


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Q: PHP Score assigning I have a web page where people are able to post a single number between 0 and 10.
There is like a lotto single number generation once daily. I want my PHP script to check on the the posted numbers of all the users and assign a score of +1 or -1 to the relative winners (or losers).
The problem is that once I query the DB for the list of the winning users, I want to update their "score" field (in "users" table). I was thinking of a loop like this (pseudocode)
foreach winner{
    update score +1
}

but this would mean that if there are 100 winners, then there will be 100 queries. Is there a way to do some sort of batch inserting with one single query?
Thanks in advance.

A: You didn't specify how the numbers were stored. If there is a huge number of people posting, a good option is to use a database to store their numbers.
You can have for example a table called lotto with three fields: posted_number, score and email. Create an (non-unique!) index on the posted_number field.
create table lotto (posted_number integer(1) unsigned, score integer, email varchar(255), index(posted_number));

To update their score you can execute two queries:
update lotto set score = score+1 where posted_number = <randomly drawn number here>
update lotto set score = score-1 where posted_number = <randomly drawn number here>

A: I'll assume you are using a database, with sql, and suggest that would probably want to do something like
UPDATE `table` SET `score`=`score`+1 WHERE `number`=3;

and the corresponding -1 for losers (strange, can't see a reason to -1 them).
Without more details though, I can't be of further help.

A: Let's just assume we have a datatable named posts and users.
Obviously, users contain the data of the gambler (with a convenient id field and points for the number of points they have), and posts contain the post_id ID field for the row, user_id, which is the ID of the user and value, the posted number itself.
Now you only need to implement the following SQL queries into your script:
UPDATE users INNER JOIN posts ON users.id = posts.user_id SET users.points = (users.points + 1)
WHERE posts.value = 0;
Where 0 at the end is to be replaced with the randomly drawn number.
What will this query do? With the INNER JOIN construct, it will create a link between the two tables. Automatically, if posts.value matches our number, it will link posts.user_id to users.id, knowing which user has to get his/her points modified. If someone gambled 0, and his ID (posts.user_id) is 8170, the points field will update for the user having user.id = 8170.
If you alter the query to make it (users.points - 1) and WHERE posts.value != 0, you will get the non-winners having one point deducted. It can be tweaked as much as you want.
Just be careful! After each daily draw, the posts table needs to be truncated or archived.
Another option would be storing the timestamp (time() in PHP) of the user betting the number, and when executing, checking against the stored timestamp... whether it is in between the beginning and the end of the current day or not.
Just a tip: you can use graphical database software (like Microsoft Access or LibreOffice Base) to have your JOINs and such simulated on a graphical display. It makes modelling such questions a lot easier for beginners. If you don't want desktop-installed software, trying out an installation of phpMyAdmin is another solution too.

Edit:
Non-relational databases
If you are to use non-relational databases, you will first need to fetch all the winner IDs with:
SELECT user_id FROM posts WHERE value=0;

This will give you a result of multiple rows. Now, you will need to go through this result, one-by-one, and executing the following query:
UPDATE users SET points=(users.points + 1) WHERE id=1;

(0 is the drawn winning number, 1 is the concurrent id of the user to update.)
Without using the relation capabilities of MySQL, but using a MySQL database, the script would look like this:
<?php
$number = 0; // This is the winning number we have drawn

$result = mysql_query("SELECT user_id FROM posts WHERE number=" .$number);

while ( $row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result) )
{
    $curpoints_result = mysql_query("SELECT points FROM users WHERE user_id=" .$row['user_id']);
    $current_points = mysql_fetch_assoc($curpoints_results);

    mysql_query("UPDATE users SET points=" .($current_points['points'] + 1). " WHERE user_id=" .$row['user_id']);
}
?>

The while construct make this loop to run until every row of the result (list of winners) is updated.
Oh and: I know MySQL is a relational database, but it is just what it is: an example.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Chicago's popular Divvy bike-sharing program is expanding to the suburbs in 2015.
EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Divvy is coming to Evanston this summer, and residents are being asked to weigh in on potential locations for the bike rental stations.
Officials will be handing out surveys at the main Evanston Library on Tuesday night from 5 to 9 p.m.
Community members are being asked to rank their preferences from the list of 17 potential stations.


Before Silverstone, 1979, there were others. Ten years before, Piers Courage finished second at both Monaco and Watkins Glen with the dark blue, immaculate, Frank Williams Brabham BT26. And then, in 1975, Jacques Laffite took second place in the German Grand Prix in the John Clarke-designed Williams FW04. I was at that race. It was a day of punctures – a re-run of Clermont, 1972, when Jackie Stewart "avoided the stones" to win for Tyrrell. (Chris Amon, who should have won the French GP with his Matra V12, always smiled at that one.) Anyway, at the Nurburgring, even Jackie couldn't avoid the trackside rubble. Carlos Reutemann did so in the Brabham BT44B – afterwards, he couldn't resist telling the Argentine press that he had "driven around the stones"! – and the ebullient Jacques-Henri Laffite finished second, as I say, in the unloved Williams. I think this was a watershed race for Frank. His decision to run a De Tomaso chassis in 1970 had backfired badly. A switch to March had only worsened the situation. I lost count, in 1972, of the number of times I heard Anthony Marsh over the PA system, at any given race, announcing, "Henri Pescarolo has crashed the Frank Williams March! It looks like a big one." I met Henri after just such a shunt at said Clermont.
"I was going down zee hill and I looze zee control and zee car is deestroyed…" – all in that lovely French monotone. I used to repeat this story to Teddy Yip – Macau's answer to Rob Walker – over and over again. He'd laugh until his ribs ached.
In 1974, though, Frank decided that he'd build his own cars. The John Clarke Iso Marlboro wasn't the world's greatest but Jacques Laffite – very fast, very sharp – was exactly the right driver for these very difficult times. When he finished second at the 'Ring, making no mistakes and proving the car's strength (if nothing else), everyone was reminded that Frank Williams was not going away. He was still there. A racer. His day would come.
We'll forget about the whole Hesketh 308C-Walter Wolf period. Let's fast-forward to the Sao Paulo Inter-Continental in early 1977, where Frank is in the lobby, briefcase in hand, polo shirt matched to his customary dark blue, perfectly-pressed trousers.
Frank had met Patrick Head in 1976, when Harvey Postlethwaite had hired him. Patrick had re-drafted the back end of the car – the far better end, it seemed, of the two. Frank chose Didcot for his new base for Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd: it was near the big railway junction; and, besides, the local council gave Frank some major "business incentives".
Through the F2 grapevine, into which Frank was always plugged, he met the talented Belgian driver, Patrick Neve. Patrick – like Frank's other drivers at the time – could put together a budget. They'd start with a March 761. Patrick would modify it as he saw fit and as the money allowed. They would run only the one car. They would do only the European races.
And so it began. Patrick's first proper Williams, the FW06, was a gem of a non-ground effect racing car, with brilliant traction and lots of feel. As a standout race, then, I'd have to nominate the 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix, when Alan Jones ran right at the front and for the first time showed the world that Patrick Head could deliver. Alan didn't win that day – he set fastest lap before the nose section broke and the car developed a mis-fire – but it didn't matter. The new Williams was a world-changer. Frank's endless search for sponsorship would at last have some traction. His words – so often perfectly-enunciated in foreign languages – would at last have some meaning.
It was about this time that Frank rang me and invited me to lunch at the Steering Wheel Club in Curzon Street, London.
Of course I agreed to do so. How could anyone say no to Frank Williams? His "connections" turned out to be Charlie Chrichton-Stuart's Saudi gambling mates at the Clermont Club – but that was no problem. Indeed, that club turned out to be a rich vein. It was through Charlie that Frank met Mansour Ojjeh. And our media-friendly programme developed the Saudi-Arabian Airlines sponsorship.
1979 was a year of massive change. Ground effect ruled, surplanting all the old gold standards like engine power, wheel movement and c-of-g. Now it was only about downforce and c-of-p (centre of pressure). Some teams – like Lotus, ironically enough, and McLaren – began to fade.
Ferrari scraped through (thanks mainly to a weird points system that accepted only the four best races from each half of eight races) but couldn't match the sheer pace of the new kids on the block – Williams and Ligier. Ligier took first blood with a stiff, Gerard Ducarouge-designed chassis but quickly they began to wilt: the chassis (unbeknown to them at the time) began to flex; and, worse, the side skirts began to lift. By the European rounds, therefore, Patrick Head's new Williams FW07 was already in a class of its own. It sustained its chassis stiffness; and Patrick's new aero man, Frank Dernie, had found a way of keep the skirts in constant contact with the road. Alan Jones did the rest.
So here's another moment: the 1979 British GP. No-one was going to out-qualify Alan that Saturday at Silverstone. He could barely find the words, as he climbed from the car, to express the sheer joy of driving with so much grip and balance around corners like Stowe and Club. Jean-Pierre Jabouille, running perhaps 200bhp more in the Renault turbo, could only line up second, 0.6 sec behind. Alan's average speed for that lap, including the Woodcote chicane, was 146.84 mph.
Alan didn't win on Sunday (a duff water pump connection sidelined him after 37 laps) but Frank's number two, Clay Regazzoni, took up the slack with style. I'll always remember Alan leaving before race's end, taking the country route back to London via Grendon Underwood and Long Crendon. I learnt that brilliant back-route from Alan that day at Silverstone. The detail of his description I think in some small way immediately diluted his disappointment at not winning.
The wins came, of course. And I guess Alan's World Championship in 1980 was another major breakthrough for the team. I say "I guess" because, even as a Carlos Reutemann man, I have to concede that Alan would probably have won second and third world titles for Williams had Frank retained Clay for 1980 and 1981. Carlos "took" points from Alan and vice-versa. Thirty-three years on, it's astonishing to see people that should know better continuing to make the same mistake. Frank always persisted in hiring "the best two drivers I can get" – just as Ferrari are doing for 2014.The concept of a "natural number two" seems to have disappeared…with Alan and Clay.
Williams' Renault era co-incided with probably the greatest engineering line-up of all time: Patrick Head, Adrian Newey, Paddy Lowe. The result was the FW14 and then the fully-active FW14B (1992). Take as many high points from this era as you please. Personally, I loved Silverstone, 1992. I was never relaxed there on the pit wall; you were always tense when Nigel was driving. He was like Ian Botham: he was bigger than his mere sport. At any moment he could move mountains. This was, though, a golden day. A phenomenal racing driver dominated in a phenomenal car. For me, that's what F1 is all about. No DRS. No fuel-saving. No KERS. Just raw control of raw speed. Do we lament now that there was little or no overtaking that day at Silverstone? Did any of the spectators leave Silverstone thinking the race had been a bore? I think not. Twice over.
Like Jones, Nigel could have won a second title the following year. Instead, annoyed that Frank had signed Alain Prost rather than retaining Riccardo Patrese, Nigel left to race IndyCar. Alain duly won in 1993 and was replaced in 1994 by Ayrton Senna. The Williams cars were in the main very quick in 94-95-96-97 but I don't remember this as a particularly "golden" era. Or a happy one. Damon Hill drove beautifully – but often his days were over-shadowed by the coarseness of Michael Schumacher; and Jacques Villeneuve, surrounded by hangers-on, was never really himself. Instead, he was the driver that others wanted him to be..or not to be. Money – big money – was beginning to change the face of the team that Frank had formed.
A new, BMW Williams age co-incided with the turn of the century. Newey had left and Patrick was finding the computer-aided design (CAD) stations a little too prolific for comfort. Williams-BMW won races but, again, there was no afterglow. A lot of champagne flowed when Juan-Pablo Montoya won Monaco in 2003 but Ralf Schumacher had been on the pole: it was a slightly incomplete day. And then the two of them began to fight… It was nice to see Mark Webber in the team but I don't think he was ever given the space he needed to perform at his best. Mark is much more than just a racing driver: he also helps to put together good racing packages. Williams never really tapped into this side of his talent.
In recent times, I think Pastor Maldonado's win in Spain deserves to sit up there with the best of them. He sustained enormous pressure from the home hero (Fernando Alonso) and, for a relatively rookie, he was on unknown territory in terms of being out there in front and dictating the pace. Yet he won as Alan Jones had won before him – as Nigel Mansell had won. On this occasion, though, he had paid Williams for the privilege of driving one of their cars.
The team, if you like, had come full-circle.
Is there anyone on the planet with more mental strength and determination than Frank Williams? I find it hard to imagine!


Apart from the kitchen, I think the bathroom is one of the most important room in our homes. We spend a lot of time in there(92 days over a lifetime apparently) so having the bathroom laid out and also styled to suit our everyday lives is very important.
When Gary and I first bought our house back in late 2015, we knew we would have to redo the bathroom but the finished result we have now created is a million miles away from where it once was.
Picture this – a small bathroom with one thin walkway(which lead to the toilet at the end of the room), a bath on one side and a sink at the end of the bath (right by the door). It may have suited the previous owner(s) but it really wasn't for us. For one, it was super cramped. You couldn't have more than one person in there at a time and it just didn't have a relaxing feel at all.
When we first looked at designing our bathroom, the layout was a head-scratcher. We drew out plans with Arron (who was creating our new bathroom for us) and decided on a wetroom that would have attention-grabbing tiles from floor to ceiling. As it is a small bathroom we also decided that the bath had to go, permanently. This wasn't an easy decision as I really enjoy a bath but when you need space and prefer luxury fittings, losing a bath is a small price to pay. We also decided to move the toilet so it worked with our new design better but this again created problems as we needed to move the waste pipe (our house is a terrace and only two bricks thick between our neighbours) and we also had to think about our sink and where that would fit into the equation.
After we drew out our last designs and planned to move a wall(I will get to that shortly), our new layout was ready! It was exciting for us as we couldn't wait to get going but we also had to be patient as it would be the only room in the house that we needed a labourer(Arron) in for. We would normally tackle a bathroom ourselves but a wetroom must be done correctly as we didn't want any leaks or issues later down the line.
I had a pretty good idea about the style of the bathroom early on. This did help with the design process as we knew what fixtures we wanted and could cater for them when we were doing our planning out. I have always loved an old-school high-level toilet and after speaking to Gary, we decided that one in our bathroom would be a great feature. To match this vintage direction, we also bought taps for the sink, taps for the shower and taps for the towel rail that would match this early Victorian look that we were going for.
To give it a real spin though and to have some fun with the bathroom, we added a cool Moroccan twist to our vintage theme. We sourced tiles that were bright and bold that would suit our fixtures but would also give our bathroom some edge and colour.
When we had the shower screen, toilet and other pieces delivered(and had Arron booked in) we started to rip out the old bathroom.
Firstly we needed to use an SDS drill to get all the old tiles off and also tear down the wall that we were going to move. We had to do this to cater for the toilet that we wanted to have in the middle of the room so we would create a new wall (6 inches deep) especially to hide the waste pipe. As we didn't want to lose those 6 inches in the bathroom, we decided to move the wall that divides the bathroom from our spare room/walk-in wardrobe. 6 inches may not seem like much but when your bathroom is as small as ours, any space you can find is vital. The plan for a new wall also worked well as it created an alcove for the bathroom door to sit in whenever the door was open/not in use.
Gary taking down the old wall.
The view from our spare room.
Once Arron got stuck into creating our bathroom it came together very quickly. We did have to stay at a hotel for a few nights as it was too cold to shower outside with a hose but after some patience and later changing some tiles(the first white ones we had were rubbish), our bathroom was complete!
We used a tall and thin shower screen to seperate the shower and toilet.
We love features like the 'Vacant' and 'Engaged' lock you get in public toilets so we installed one in our bathroom door.
I love these tiles from Porcelain Superstore and I thought they went so well with our toilet and vintage theme.
This is our high-level toilet with a 'Pull' chain from Victorian Plumbing.
These are the shower taps from Victorian Plumbing that controls both our rain fall shower and the normal one pictured.
We wanted a shelve in the bathroom so Arron created this one that is built into the wall.
I'm a huge fan of these tiles. The 'country white' ones from Porcelain Superstore are roughly cut which makes them look very vintage(imagine them in a Victorian public bathroom) and the Catania blue tiles are from Topps Tiles and well, everyone loves them.
These shelves were a challenge. I was very fussy about what shelves we had and I wanted something a bit rough with bark still on it and lots of wood knots. We actually made these shelves out of railway sleepers that were glued together, cut to shape with a chainsaw(thanks Dean) and then treated. There was a lot of work that went into them but I think it was well worth it in the end.
Here is our mixer tap from Victorian Plumbing.
The sink! We have received so many compliments about this sink. I actually bought it on Etsy from one of the many talented craftspeople on the site. If you fancy something a little different, you can buy this sink here.
I found these little tidy baskets in Sainsbury's by pure chance. They were in the sale too and I think I bought two for about £7!
So what do you think of our bathroom? Do you like it? We are so happy with the results.
We just need to make sure we keep it clean now.
Shopping links are below if you fancy buying any of these pieces for yourself.


Oh when my creativity peaks I want to stay up for hours and write and write. The problem is I want to get crafty, too and I envision all the things I want to make. Usually it's the middle of the night and i can't find the place that is open…nor do I have enough hands to do everything that i want!
Creativity… does it mean weird? Often the two are mistaken…. Nurture the odd thoughts that pass through your head fleetingly. It is those that change the world.
Wiley beast that hides itself, and in doing so causes frenzied and ultimately futile searching within and without; and when it is of course not found by human hooks and crooks, it causes tearful eyes to be raised to the heavens – Why hast thou forsaken me? – only to be cast to the pit of Despair, threatened by consumptive flames – Buck up, knave, and go forth! Stab it with your steely knife! – But My Lord, Creativity will not be found by one so grasping! And even if it were possible, My Lord, it would not hold still!
Creativity does not have a respect for time. It calls at all hours: in day and in night, before and during and after work, distracting and claiming your precious time as its own.
It is important to be creative. You need the creativity to bring something new to the world and what else would be meaning of life than that?
While cutting the papers for the origami class, Naka shifted his gaze towards his right. The sunlight was beaming through the blinds of the classroom, shining right onto Mikako's brilliant brown hair. Her hair was the longest in the class. Longest and waviest. He wanted to sink his face into her hair, feel its toils curl around his face as he would fall asleep in a blissful aura of pine forest.
Creativity. Stuck like honey to the roof of her mouth. She gagged, chocked, and also spat it out. It was never her strong point. People like her yearned for order and black and white to keep the world from becoming too colorful.
Creativity does not have a respect for time. It calls at all hours: in day and in night, before and during and after work, distracting and claiming your precious time as its own. It is ignorant of your social life, of your biological need to eat and to sleep. It is as a fire that burns in one's breast: an all-consuming flame of passion, shedding light on words that only you can see.
Brain, grey matter flowing, pumping, heartbeat of sparks: its the blue neon to the red, juxtaposition of reality into the idealistic imagination of long lost innocence, clouds swarming, sun rain falling, patter patter; now we're breathing in the enlightenment.
This is when you think outside the box. One can create original ideas which break boundaries and often inspire others!
I'm not a very creative person. It's taken a lot for me to come up with the little words that are already present on this page. Nothing fuels it; not booze, not weed, not women.
Creativity is a thought without thinking. Just pure imagination. No filter.
it's like a river, rushing forward as you get caught up in the current. flowing like ecstasy through your veins, pouring out in the form of colours, lines, words. a divine waterfall. flow with it, and life will never be painted dull.
I got an A for creativity, but not for productivity. I could come up with ideas a-plenty, but I couldn't be arsed to commit to any of them. I had the blueprint, but not the energy. The plan, but not the crew. I was, in every sense of the word, the visionary of the team.
So when it came time for us to commit to the government-wide reform project, I was the mastermind. But everyone else who enforced it – they were the ones who got the seats of power, while I hovered in the back, melting in with the shadows.
It makes you clever and it is a great way to expresss yourself as a human being. A way to express yourself without having others judge you. It is a way of life. A way of creativity. It makes the world around you beautiful, not perfect but beautiful. Worth while, not worth everything, but worth a lot.
I look at them And then I look at me. What am I? What do I do?
Not a sense of creativity.
I am a piece, a stolen piece of everyone else.
A way of life to express yourself as a human being. Creativity is what makes our world beautiful, colorful, perfect. How it is. We can express ourselves without being judged. In different ways, sculpture, painting, design, and color.
is a lost thing in a vast forest of noise that keeps encroaching on what I'm trying to do. Creativity right now is fleeting, and seems only to work in outlining the world in the novel but not in the actual words. nothing is coming, instead of something.
illuminated by the silky light of sun and moon.
today a butterfly, tomorrow a kite.
double edged power, this is.
is something that is hard to express in this world. It is something people struggle with on a daily basis. I wish I was creative and good enough but sadly I feel as if im constantly failing at life all the time. Creativity is key.
Creativity is the ability to rearrange the pieces of the world in a way to convey the world in a way better than the world conveys itself – to provide a microscope into the true essence of the world that we miss in our everyday experience.
So this girl always thinks outside of the box. She is so out of the box, that she believes there isn't even a box there. It's all in our head. This box. We label ourselves. We don't realize it, but this girl lives inside all of us. We just have to remove that giant box in our head and just THINK!
Creativity is what makes us all unique. It unites us in our differences.. It suspends our ideas in a concrete form. It shapes the arts and cultures of the planet. It paves the way for us to think outside of the box and question authority.
Is something I pride myself on having. I mean everyone thinks I can come up with a million ideas a minute. Truth? I can't. I have no idea where my talent of this beautiful concept has gone but I want it, I crave it. I sit around anxious of when my next idea will hit.
I'd write you a poem. Actually, I already have, several in fact. Too bad they're all love poems. I tried to stay in the friendship realm, but you're just too wonderful.
She had a tendency of dazzling those around her with her creativity. She was unstoppable, dynamic. All of the others assumed that it was simply just for the joy of self-expression, but that, like so much else in the world, was wrong. It was to make the noises clamoring in her head—if only for just a little while.


text:
Experts analyse and debate recent developments across UK government, politics and policy
British Politics and Policy
Economy & Society
Fairness and Equality
Electoral and Constitutional Reform
Party politics and elections
Labour's century-old problem: leadership performance
Party leadership requires rhetorical performance – but the Labour party has broader issues with leadership: it doesn't understand it, writes John Gaffney. Those challenging Corbyn must therefore grapple with questions of what leadership entails, what the relationship(s) between leader and the parliamentary party, the electorate, and the media should be – not least because the Conservatives already know that all these matter.
There is turmoil in the Labour Party: once again related to the question of leadership. From Hardie to Corbyn, the question of leadership has driven the party on and off the rails; and at the heart of its dilemma is the still – one hundred years later – unresolved question of the leader's triple relationship to the party, the parliamentary party, and the electorate.
The great irony is that the Labour Party hates the topic. Worse than that, it doesn't understand it. 'Leftism', like republicanism, posits an impersonalism: we are equal, we progress as a collective, no one is indispensable. To think otherwise, will lead us to infantile hero worship or worse, tyranny. (The right makes the opposite mistake of fetishizing leadership.)
This blind spot in Labour's vision of politics means that whenever leadership issues arise, and they do all the time, they immediately become crises because it doesn't know what leadership is, doesn't want to know, and doesn't like it – so doesn't know what it entails. The whole issue is compounded for Labour with the emergence of 'celebrity politics' – which it also hates – not realising that there is a wide range of ways to play this.
Tony Blair is the best recent example of knowing how to 'perform a character': regular guy, modernizer, decisive, in-touch with national sentiment (e.g. the Diana speech), and so on. In fact, Blair's low point in terms of rhetorical performance was not over Iraq or Bernie Ecclestone, but the slow handclapping of the Women's Institute when in 2000 he addressed their conference and made, to their fury, a 'political' speech.
What the Labour Party has always done to cope with the very real issue of leadership, rather than seeing leadership as a performance within a cluster of relationships (with members, media, etc.), has been to apply a series of simplistic character traits – usually negative – to its leaders: the treacherous (MacDonald, Blair); the idealistic (Hardie, Henderson, Foot); the not up to it, though 'good and decent' (Foot again, Miliband, Corbyn); the modest (Attlee); the wily (Wilson); the reliable (Callaghan), and so on.
Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership election in 2015 not because he was left-wing but because his performance was stunning. And his three opponents' performances were awful: Did we overspend? – "Yes we did." – "No we didn't." – "I wanted to vote against Osborne's welfare cuts but I couldn't but I will next time." – "You should stand down." – "I still go for a drink with my old friends up North." Into these dire exchanges Corbyn erupted wanting to talk about everything, and he fired people's imagination and created a stampede of excited support.
Then he stopped, and that is why we are where we are today. And, ironically again, he stopped performing at the moment of his victory. His victory speech was in direct contrast to his style throughout the campaign, of the 'I don't mind if the media attack me but not my family' type, singularly underwhelming for the occasion. And since winning, he has just talked to the Corbynistas instead of 'enchanting' all parts of the party by choreographing his leadership style and 'seducing', as it were, his opponents.
And Corbyn's poor performances during the Brexit campaign 'betrayed' his ambivalent attitude to Europe. And ambivalence is a major political resource and a rhetorical device that has to be deployed with enormous care. We are now in an age of the politics of leadership performance. Those now trying to unseat Jeremy Corbyn would themselves do well to heed this. In the Conservative leadership race it was clear that in her leadership launch Theresa May, of all people, has already understood this.
John Gaffney is Professor of Politics at Aston University and Co-director of the Aston Centre for Europe. His latest book, Leadership and the Labour Party: Narrative and Performance, will be published by Palgrave in July 2016.
Image credit: John Snape, CC BY-SA 3.0
July 11th, 2016|Featured, John Gaffney, Party politics and elections, Uncategorized|1 Comment
Labour's century-old problem: Leadership performance : Democratic Audit UK July 12, 2016 at 1:00 pm - Reply
[…] – but the Labour party has broader issues with leadership: it doesn't understand it, writes John Gaffney. Those challenging Corbyn must therefore grapple with questions of what leadership entails, what […]
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