text:
@interface AnimationsListViewController()
@property (nonatomic, strong) LCZoomTransition *zoomTransition;
@property(nonatomic) NSArray *items;

- (NSString *)titleForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath;
- (UIViewController *)viewControllerForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath;
- (void)configureTableView;
- (void)configureTitleView;
@end

@implementation AnimationsListViewController

- (void)dealloc
{
    self.navigationController.delegate = nil;
}
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    self.title = @"iOS逆向";
    // initialise the custom transition
//    self.tableView.backgroundColor = [UIColor customBlueColor];
    [self configureTableView];
    [self configureTitleView];
}

- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
        self.zoomTransition = [[LCZoomTransition alloc] initWithNavigationController:self.navigationController];
}

#pragma mark - Table view delegate

- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    UIViewController *viewController = [self viewControllerForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
    viewController.title = [self titleForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
    self.zoomTransition.sourceView = [self.tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
    [self.navigationController pushViewController:viewController
                                         animated:YES];
}

#pragma mark - Table view data source

- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
    return [self.items count];
}

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    MenuTableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:kCellIdentifier
                                                            forIndexPath:indexPath];
    cell.textLabel.text = [self.items[indexPath.row] firstObject];
    return cell;
}

#pragma mark - Private Instance methods

- (void)configureTableView
{
    self.items = @[
                   @[@"防撤销", [AvoidRevokeViewController class]],
                   @[@"指纹锁定", [FingerPrintAuthViewController class]],
                   @[@"自动抢红包", [RedPacketTableViewController class]],
                   @[@"一键录音", [OneKeyRecordTableViewController class]],
                   @[@"关于", [ITXAboutViewController class]],
                   ];
    [self.tableView registerClass:[MenuTableViewCell class] forCellReuseIdentifier:kCellIdentifier];
    self.tableView.separatorStyle = UITableViewCellSeparatorStyleNone;
    self.tableView.rowHeight = 44.f;
}

- (void)configureTitleView
{
    UILabel *headlinelabel = [UILabel new];
    headlinelabel.font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"Avenir-Light" size:20];
    headlinelabel.textAlignment = NSTextAlignmentCenter;
    headlinelabel.textColor = [UIColor customGrayColor];

    NSMutableAttributedString *attributedString = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] initWithString:self.title];
    [attributedString addAttribute:NSForegroundColorAttributeName
                             value:[UIColor customBlueColor]
                             range:NSMakeRange(1, 1)];

    headlinelabel.attributedText = attributedString;
    [headlinelabel sizeToFit];

    [self.navigationItem setTitleView:headlinelabel];
}

- (NSString *)titleForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    return [self.items[indexPath.row] firstObject];
}

- (UIViewController *)viewControllerForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
    return [[self.items[indexPath.row] lastObject] new];
}

@end


Kwesi Appiah, coach of the Black Stars of Ghana has named a strong starting line-up for the friendly match against Japan today.
The starting eleven include goalkeeper, Richard Ofori, defenders Andy Yiadom, Agbenyenu Lumor, Rashid Sumaila, and Nicholas Opoku. Others include Joseph Attamah, Isaac Sackey, Frank Acheampong, Thomas Partey, Nana Ampomah, and Emmanuel Okyere Boateng.
He also named Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Nuhu Kassim, Raphael Dwamena, Kwasi Okyere, Albert Adomah, Afriyie Acquah, and Edwin Gyasi as the substitutes.
The match which will be played at the Yokohama Stadium is part of the Black Stars' preparations ahead of the 2019 AFCON qualifying match and Japan, ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.


text:
Home › News › Politics
Ann Coulter Says Gun Violence Is Lower Among "White Populations" [VIDEO]
Written By Latifah Muhammad
One thing to know about Ann Coulter is that she's consistent. As a controversial conservative figure Coulter has been known to ruffle some feathers, and during her appearance on Fox News' Hannity show Monday (Jan. 14), she stated that gun violence may be a racial problem.
With the topic of gun control still being raised, and having just returned from England, Coulter praised the country for not having "diversity enthusiasm."
She then explained why gun violence rates are lower across the pond, versus in America. In short, the answer is because there aren't lots of non-White people causing all of the crime. "If you compare White populations we have the same murder rate as Belgium. So Perhaps it's not a gun problem, it is a demographic problem, which liberals are the ones pushing, pushing, pushing."
Coulter also said that banning gun magazines will do nothing to stop mass shootings, using shooter Colin Ferguson as one of her examples. The Jamaican-born Furgeson was convicted of killing six people and injured 19 others, on the Long Island Rail Road back in 1993.
Given her Republican stance, Coulter's views may be based on partisanship versus race. Last month, author and columnist David Satora appeared on CNN and expressed an exact opposite view than that of Coulter. "I think we should ask the question why is America 30 percent white guys, and 70 percent of the shootings in the last many decades have been at the hands of white guys … I do think it's interesting to note that had 70 percent of mass shooters been let's say Arab or African-American men, I think the conversation would be … much uglier," he said.
On the contrary examples of record-breaking gun violence has been prevalent in certain communities that are considered predominately filled with minorities. In the case of Chicago, much of the homicides have reportedly been concentrated to the Wesst and South sides, so while Coulter will likely not earn any news fans with her statement, the question becomes whether or not her words are true?
Feel free to weigh in, and watch the entire interview, below.
http://www.springboardplatform.com/js/overlay
Anne Coulter	, Fox news	, Gun Violence	, mass shootings	, president obama

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hi guys today I have been making similes about the ship in a bottle . Here is a simile of it the ship is as tiny as a goldfish or the ship is tiny like a goldfish. Here are my words I used to create adjectives and similes. Hope you enjoy reading it!


text:
Parliamentary Institutions
- A Catastrophic Decline
A few days back, there was a news in the national media and dailies about the present Indian NDA government's resolve that their Members of Parliament (MPs), including Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and other alliance partners, would not take salary and allowances for all the days wasted during the current Budget session due to opposition parties MPs constant disruption of the proceedings of both the Lower and Upper Houses of the Parliament. The parliamentary minister stated that salary should be given only if the elected representatives serve the people by carrying out their responsibilities and duties enshrined in the Constitution. He blamed the opposition, more particularly the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress), for their undemocratic politics by rendering both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha non-functional. The stopping of the passage of the people welfare oriented bills is a criminal wastage of the taxpayers' money.
Actually, the decline of the parliamentary system is not unique in the Indian context only, instead such a decline is being experienced throughout the globe; it is only the question of the extent of rot in various democracies. The poor performance of both the law makers as well as Parliaments institutions is gradually strengthening the view that once earning laurels across the world, the democracies are fast deteriorating to a rotten system in so far as its normal functioning and an effective governance is concerned. In several countries, the parliamentary system is leading to the weak and unstable governments and India is no exception, despite a commendable mandate of people during the last parliamentary elections. It is increasingly being felt that this system is prone to severe corruption, instability, leadership failure and failure in bringing progressive changes.
Conceptually, in the Indian scenario the government is accountable to the Parliament, being the highest legislative organ of the Indian democracy, and the Parliament comprising of the elected MPs is in turn accountable to the people of India. It's so because the people of India every five year make a choice for their representatives to the Parliament through a popular mandate. In that sense, the MPs represent authority and wishes of the people. It is the irony of the electorate and nation that the same representatives instead of serving the people make mockery of the very system which made them by indulging in wilful sabotage and demeaning the very parliamentary institutions often for own petty personal and political ambitions and gains.
During the current NDA regime since May 2014, the smooth running of the legislative business in both Houses of the Parliament has increasingly become a distant dream. Though the Indian Parliamentary System has never worked in a true democratic spirit since the independence, the current disruptive trend had started during the previous UPA-II regime under Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister with the opposition led by the BJP pressing the government for taking action in several alleged multi-billion scams like Coalgate, 2-G Spectrum, Commonwealth Games and a host of Defence deals.
Though they did it in a calculative manner and at a measured scale to force the reluctant UPA government to initiate action for fixing the responsibility in the alleged irregularities, nepotism and kickbacks in the mega scams, the Congress, which couldn't garner enough seats during the General Elections in 2014 even to be formally recognised as the main opposition party, is now doing the same indiscreetly and at a much greater scale in revenge to disrupt the proceedings of both houses of the Parliament. Since they do not have any issues of major policy failure or the corruption cases against the government, they are merrily doing it in vengeance with many assumed notions with a sort of hit and run policy. In the absence of worthwhile reasons, the Congress has become inventive and innovative making an elephant out of a mole from every incident of some significance.
In an endeavour to oppose and embarrass the NDA government, the most unfortunate and regrettable part of the strategy of the opposition is that they are acting with utter disregard to all decency and ethical democratic norms. It is the result of such deterioration that they are playing petty politics with utter insensitivity questioning the veracity of operations impinging the national security, vital inter-governmental defence deals for kickbacks without any evidence of corruption or leading fault, making common cause with the regional parties on selfish and divisive local issues, inciting minorities and dalits for violent behaviour to create unrest and serious law and order problems, questioning action and intention of the government in the context of Indian workers killed by the ISIS in Mosul, Iraq in 2014, and so on so forth.
With the continued utter confusion and pandemonium, the Parliament could hardly worked for a few hours during the cunrrent Budget session spreading over a month. We have witnessed a steady decline in the use of productive time of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over the years. Such frequent distractions have made the vital Question Hour to almost null and void in the Parliament, thus spoiling an opportunity for the MPs to ask questions of vital public and national importance to hold ministers accountable for the functioning of their ministries. In the following text, the author intends to explore the legacy, causes, maladies and remedies, if any, to upheld healthy traditions of the Parliamentary functioning.
Institutional Legacy after Independence
After the Muslim League and possibly a few ambitious Congress leaders succeeded in their design and India was formally partitioned in 1947, the Indian National Congress remained the sole significant political party left to deal with the destiny of the independent India. Indian Communists were the only other significant opposition posing some challenge to the Congress in certain regions. However, since the Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru too adopted the left-centric policies, there was no significant ideological conflict with the left and other small socialist groups. Riding on the popularity wave of their role and achievements during the freedom struggle, despite Nehru's arrogance, obstinate and idiosyncratic ways (He had many good qualities too), the Congress with Nehru as Prime Minister was able to run the country for long and till his death in 1964.
During Nehru's period, the Communist Party of India (CPI) was only party which offered some noticeable resistance through the General Elections in 1952, 1957 and 1962 and in the Parliament with the Congress having an overwhelming majority, thanks to their appeasement policies and reservation towards the minorities, particularly Muslims, and Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes, respectively, with the support of other elite/upper class in India. Due to socio-economic policies adopted, Nehru's personal preferences towards communism (China and USSR) and relaxed governance in the absence of any significant challenge in the Parliament and outside, the growth rate remained slow and despite serious foreign policy lapses including serious reverses and defeat in war with China in 1962, the Congress continued to remain first choice of the Indian electorate.
After the death of Nehru in May 1964, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, an honest and worthy politician, took the reigns as Prime Minister but his tenure was short-lived; the country had to go far another war in 1965, this time with the belligerent western neighbour Pakistan in her advances to snatch Kashmir. After a brief inconclusive war, the USSR leaders played host for forging peace with hostile neighbour and Shashtri died under mysterious circumstances in Taskent in 1966. After his death, despite the presence of several senior Congress leaders like K. Kamraj and Morarji Desai, the Nehru loyalist lobby had their way and Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of the country. Next General Election were fought in 1967 with the Congress achieving simple majority facing serious reverses for the first time in the erstwhile strong bastion states such as Gujarat, Madras, Orissa, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala and Delhi, and the Swatantra Party emerging as the major opposition with 44 Lok Sabha seats.
Though there was no significant challenge to the party in the Parliament, the Congress itself was riddled with the internal politics and conflicts between the old guards and Gandhi loyalists. On policy front too, while Indira Gandhi was in favour of populist pro-people left agenda, other senior leaders who distrusted Soviets, wanted a more right-wing socio-economic approach for the party and governance. This led to the split of the Congress party in 1969 leading to the expulsion of Indira Gandhi. With the majority members in favour, Indira Gandhi formed the Congress(R) while the old guards led by K. Kamraj and Morarji Desai as Congress (O), also known as Syndicate and Indicate for some time. Then in 1971 General Election, the Congress under Indira Gandhi again returned with a two-third majority in a campaign of Congress that focused on 'Garibi Hatao' (poverty alleviation), with CPI(M) emerging as main opposition with 29 seats. Also Gandhi led party was established as the real Congress.
In response to a Allahabad High Court order against the election of Indira Gandhi in 1975, she made the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare a state of emergency (25th June 1975 to 21st March 1977) effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. This period of about 21 months is still considered the black phase and a blot on the Indian democracy and parliamentary practices.
Consequently, in the General Elections held in 1977, the Indian electorate outrightly rejected the Congress in the entire India, only retaining its bastion in the southern states. The experiment of the combined opposition with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister, however, didn't work due to internal strife and individual ambitions of the senior leaders. Consequently, the Indian public once again put their faith back in the Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi by returning her party to power with a massive mandate in 1980, with the main opposition as Janta party with only 41 seats.
The period was remarkable with the rise of militancy in Punjab demanding an independent Sikh state that led to an extreme action of engaging army to flush out sikh militants from the precinct of the Golden Temple in Amritsar in an operation code named "Operation Blue Star". Post operation Blue Star, many Sikhs personally held Indira Gandhi responsible for desecrating the shrine and excesses committed against the community that led to assassination of Indira Gandhi by some sikh personnel guards deployed on her security duty in 1984. The immediate fall out was a large scale violence, riots, mass killing and other excesses against thousands of Sikhs country-wide and return of the Congress in power with the largest ever tally of 415 out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha, with virtually no opposition left in the Parliament.
Since independence and till 1989 General Elections, barring a failed experiment of Janta Party in 1977 for about three years, it was the Congress all the time in power with a sweeping or at least comfortable majority in the Parliament. Left parties and other Socialist outfits had a small and disorganised presence and, ideologically, they were not very different. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who was a cabinet minister in Nehru's government after independence, was increasingly disillusioned with the latter's working and ideology. Hence he had finally quit the government and formed a new right wing party on socio-economic ideology under the name of Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS) in 1951.
Till 1971, the BJS fought General Elections at own strength with a right wing agenda without registering much presence or impact on the psyche of the Indian electorate; the maximum number of the Lok Sabha seats achieved by the party was 35 in 1967. After the failure of the Janta Party experiment, the party emerged in a new avatar and nomenclature as Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). Thus during all these years, the Congress didn't have to face any united and effective opposition in the Parliament. They had, by and large, a smooth sailing and say in the conduct of the Parliamentary business on the floor of both the lower and upper houses.
The General Election 1989 could be taken as a watershed in the parliamentary history that changed the course of the nature and quality of debate as also brought the conduct of the parliamentarians under scanner. After these elections, the era of coalition governments actually started (1977 was an exception) as none of the national party ever succeeded in obtaining the absolute majority on its own strength. The National Front with Janta Dal as chief constituent formed the government in 1989 under Mr VP Singh and proceedings on many occasions were marred with heated exchange among the members on Bofors Scandal and other controversial issues leading to obnoxious and verbal abuses among members on many occasions. The coalition government once again didn't last for long forcing another mid-term General Elections in 1991. He is also responsible for spreading the trend of caste-based politics adding the another dimension of the other backward classes (OBCs) which were so far identified with the rest of electorate other than the minorities and SCs/STs.
The Congress yet again emerged as the single largest party but away from the majority by a few dozen seats. The party, however, returned to power with the assistance of Left and other like-minded socialist parties forming the government under Mr Narsimha Rao. This arrangement somehow worked with minimum adjustments and bargains for the next five years and the period ushered in a new dawn or era in the Indian democracy in form of the liberalization of economic policies. This was a much needed reform that came late at least by two decades yet so far so good for the economy and development of the nation. Then the Congress was once again rejected by the electorate in 1996, followed by an age of uncertainty as several governments were formed and brought down and three General Elections held in 1996, 1998 and 1999 during a short period.
The nineties of the previous century was also remarkable in the emergence of several regional parties and leaders representing local aspirations based on the caste, creed, religion and region as also economic disparities and developmental parameters. This also strengthened the possibilities of forming new alliances and fronts based on mutual convenience and interests. After 1999 General Elections, the NDA with the BJP as the chief constituent formed the government with Atal Bihari Bajpai as Prime Minister, followed by two terms of the UPA (coalition) regimes with the Congress as the leading partner and Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. The Coalition governments since 1999 were largely stable but the disjointed yet strong opposition had kept them on tenderhooks all the time during the Parliamentary sessions and beyond. The period has not only seen the maximum deterioration of moral values and ethics of parliamentarians as also the nature and quality of debate, its contents and ultimate output.
In fact, the last elections in 2014, the overwhelming mandate of people reminds the strength and reach of a party and government akin to that of Nehruvian era but ironically enough this has not been able to provide necessary stability and unity of approach. Instead, it has added a new dimension and qualms as to how a handful unruly MPs can sabotage and derail the entire legislative business and congenial atmosphere in the parliament. Also the growing dichotomy and consequent cognitive hiatus between the Parliament as an institutions and rowdy parliamentarians is causing concern and a larger question if the democracy and parliamentary system are any longer able to provide a good governance model.
Maladies of the Institutional Decline
Going by records, one can conclude with a reasonable belief that after independence the parliamentarians used to attend the parliamentary sessions well prepared and heard with rapt attention. This system continued till many decades and people in the Parliament and outside used to experience outstanding debates and healthy output, and it was common that the even functioning of the executive was criticized and debated by the MPs of the ruling party itself. However, the experience during the last three decades and its careful analysis would reveal a painful transition from high standards and decency to the growing unruly behaviour of the MPs and catastrophic outcomes impinging on the parliamentary decorum and decency as an institution. Not only the frequency of parliamentary disruptions through pandemonium and walk outs has become the norm but also there has been substantial change in the vocabulary and dialogue of the parliamentarians.
The quality time of the Parliament is wasted on trivial issues, disorder, unruly behaviour and theatrics. A high percentage of MPs have a criminal background and record with pending cases; their convenient marriage with money, scams, crime and perversion has become norm of the day. The attendance during the debate is scanty, at times it falls even below the prescribed quorum, except in situations when parties specifically issue whips for a given reason. Many MPs are found wilfully missing from the Parliament during the normal parliamentary sittings, debates, question hours, budget discussions. All this is indeed adding to the growing rot in the parliamentary institutions and mistrust of the people on the parliamentarians and politicians at large.
Let's see what are the maladies and causes for the catastrophic decline of the parliamentary institution in India over the years:
Decline in Moral Values and Ethics:
The first and foremost cause could be overall decline in moral values and ethics in public life over a period with the growing extreme materialism. This has affected the common public, and the parliamentarians rising from among the public are no exception. Their personal gain and ascendency to the limelight and prosperity gets priority over the parliamentary responsibility and image which would possibly be the last thing on their mind with so much at stake in personal domain. Frequent change of priorities and parties like clothes by certain MPs could perhaps be best explained this way.
Preferences and Priorities in Selection of Candidates:
Instead of the merits of the candidate on his social background, academic qualification, moral aspects and public image, the focus of the political parties is more on the candidate's winning prospects based on the factors like caste, creed, religion, muscular strength and economic sustainability. This is the reason why many candidates with the criminal background and record are picked up if they show prospects of winning election in a constituency. It is obvious that an MP winning with the money and muscle power, criminal links and nexus with the corporate sector will not change overnight with a gentlemanly conduct in the Parliament for the good of the Parliamentary traditions and welfare of the common public. This could also be taken as the chief cause of the criminalisation of the politics.
Emergence of Coalition Governments with Multi-Party System:
This is another crucial reason for the decline of a healthy parliamentary system. After the eighties decade, no national party barring the exception of the current Modi government has ever been able to form the national government at own strength. Consequently, even if the leaders of the party were well-intentioned and righteous in approach, they had to forge alliances with many smaller parties to augment necessary support to form the government and run the legislative business in the Parliament. Such parties are often found to have different interests and sectarian approach to bargain, and the leading national party has to compromise on certain principles and priorities for the sake of continued alliance and stability of the government. This too has a critical bearing on the legislative business of the Parliament and an impediment on functioning of the government to pursue intended reforms and development.
Bargaining Factors of the Regional Parties:
Initially, a few regional parties were limited to the southern states but in 1980s this trend started in the northern and other regions of the country as well gaining further momentum in 1990s onwards. Currently, barring a few states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh etc, numerous regional parties have emerged and started dominating the politics in the region having a bearing nation-wide with the simultaneous weakening of the erstwhile Congress as the only national party with large presence. These parties have limited perspective and political agenda restricted to meet the growing aspirations of the people of the respective state only. Many of them are resorting to political blackmail with the weak national parties to accord priorities to their limited and short-sighted approach and agenda. This has again led to compromising the national perspective including the quality of debate and legislation in the Parliament.
The recent illustration could be the flip-flop of the Telgudesham Party (TDP) of Andhra Pradesh led by a worthy politician Chandra Babu Naidu. Initially, he forged alliance with the BJP during the NDA government under Atal Bihari Bajpai in 1999, quit the alliance on flimsy grounds to support UPA regime from outside only to join NDA again during 2014 General Elections. Now he has quit the alliance because the Modi government could not accede to their unreasonable demand of granting 'special status' to Andhra Pradesh alone. Though substantial economic assistance at par with the alleged special status has been offered but the politically motivated TDP finds emotional aspect of 'special status' as more important. Consequently, a handful MPs from TDP joining hands with Congress and a few other smaller parties have effectively ruined the chances of any fruitful legislative business during the Budget session of the parliament.
Democracy Subjugated to Dynastic Oligarchy:
This trend was started during the later half of the sixties by the grand old party of the country itself when the Nehru loyalist successfully attempted to install Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister in 1966 despite the availability of many senior and experienced Congressmen. The subsequent developments in the following years effectively ensured that Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress become synonyms, any other leaders getting a temporary chance for the Congress President and the Government Head only if a worthy successor (!) from the Nehru-Gandhi family was not available and the substitute was staunch loyalist to the family.. People have not have forgotten the nemesis of Sitaram Keshary as the Party President and the experiences of the last UPA regimes under Manmohan Singh being run through proxy.
It should not be an issue if the successor is from a particular family but it certainly causes concern and raises eyebrows when the dynastic successor is found ignorant and illiterate from the basic facts and ground realities of the Indian society, culture and economic ethos despite the grooming of decades. The trend started by the Congress has become a norm in other national and regional parties too, barring a few exceptions of possibly the BJP and Left parties, and in the process many such political families have also amassed a wealth in astronomical figures in a short duration. It's quite obvious that in such eventualities the merit is side-lined and parliamentary accountability, decency and decorum, debate and discussions are compromised and centred to suit the interests of the dynastic oligarch families.
Growing Unease and Indifference among People:
It is quite obvious that these development have a cascading effect on the psyche and morale of the common public. A general unease and frustration could easily be observed through interaction with the common man. Consequently, tempers run high and people are easily swept by the unwarranted developments and misinformation leading to frequent public chaos and disorder which is often engineered by the interested elements having political links. The Politicians often take advantage of this volatile situation as a handy excuse to raise issues in the Parliament to embarrass the government and derail the normal legislative business.
Temptation for the Media Publicity:
The possibility cannot be ruled out that many parliamentarians conduct themselves in a particular manner to present an impression and image to their followers and people at large of being a jujharu (fighter) and dedicated leader for serving their cause. They are aware that the parliamentary records are effectively digitised and direct telecast made of the parliamentary proceedings through the dedicated channels and ever expanding private media. So it may not surprising that many MPs are taking resort to heated arguments, protests, disruptive activities and walk outs to be seen as champions of public cause in own constituency and beyond.
Fall Out of Parliamentary Rot
Beyond any reasonable doubt, the maladies cited in the preceding paragraphs have taken a heavy toll on the overall effectiveness, working and performance of the Indian Parliament including various statutory and standing committees. Some of the common fallouts include decline in the number of productive days of parliamentary sittings, poor attendance of the members during the sessions, below average and unsatisfactory performance of participating members, poor quality of debate and contents, passing of bills without debate and proper scrutiny, and poor utilization of the Question and Zero Hours.
Parliamentary Sittings and Productivity:
It's not difficult to find out the year-wise details of the parliamentary sitting in terms of the number of days and actual business hours including output in terms of the number of bills passed or questions answered etc. Even a cursory look at these findings would reveal that the number of the days of sittings of the Parliament is constantly showing decrease since independence. In 1950s, the average days of sittings was around 125 which has come down to about 75 in the recent years. Then those days, it was a by and large peaceful and harmonius working and now the days are marred with protest, frequent storming in the well, heated exchange and constant disruptions, thus further reducing the actual business time and consequent output.
Such figures for the recently ended Budget session are given in the following section of this write-up for the perusal of the readers. Perhaps the opposition MPs forget the fact that this approach would only give Executives more power and leverage to do needful through promulgation of Ordinances if legislation is stalled. Thus in a way, they are depriving themseves in contributing in the legislation in a meaningful manner. Another important point is that the Budget proposals contains the statement of the expenditure as well as details of the taxation proposals. This year it was passed without any discussion due to constant disruptions caused by the opposition parties; the members perhaps don't realize that by ignoring Budget, they are also missing the opportunity of giving any constructive input or stopping any harsh measures by opposing it.
Attendance of MPs:
Absence and poor attendance is another serious issue which Parliament is seiged with these days. What to talk of the opposition, even the MPs of the treasury benches suffer with this disease. In fact, there have been occasions when the government had to face embarrassment at the hands of the opposition members while passing bills despite having an overwhelming majority in the house. Then there have been occasions, when the Parliament had to postpone or wait for the legislative business in the absence of the minimum quorum required for the transaction of business. Recently, there was a raging controversy about the non-participation and contribution of the nominated MPs from the distinguished walks of life in the Rajya Sabha. Prominent names of such MPs are the noted cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Actress Rekha. Absenteeism of the MPs during the parliamentary sessions is a major problem that this highest democratic institution is facing today.
Contribution of MPs in Parliamentary Debates:
In author's opinion, the quality contribution of MPs during the parliamentary debates is far more important issue than the number of days of sittings or presence during the business hours. Unfortunately, this is the biggest causality because the available trends indicate that instead of highlighting or focusing on the issues of national importance or greater reach, members are increasingly spending their energy on trivial issues, individual incidents and matters of local or regional interests. The another cause of concern is that members are increasingly being selective in approach. In other words, while picking up a case they tend to see how it will benefit or further their own political cause. Members are not coming well prepared and well informed, that leads to poor quality of debate in the house reflecting adversely on the intellectual quotient and political maturity of the parliamentarians.
Passing of Bills without Debate:
While members spend plethora of time on non-issues and trivial issues, they are so often found reluctant or non-serious about the important legislative agenda points and finance bills. A case in point could be the recent passing of the Finance Bill containing important taxation proposals for the ensuing year without any debate or spending even a minute on discussion. Although the Parliament was constantly stalled by the unruly members yet an outrageous amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, ensuring that foreign donations to parties cannot be scrutinised with retrospective effect stretching all the way back to 1976 was put through unanimously besides MPs' salary hike in the same session.
Utilisation of Question Hour:
It is an age old parliamentary convention that the first hour of sitting in both the houses of Parliament is assigned as the 'Question Hour' followed by the 'Zero Hour'. While the Question Hour serves as an important mechanism to scrutinise and grill the Executives (Ministers) about the functioning and performance of the respective Ministries/Departments, the Zero Hour is important as it gives opportunity to the members to raise urgent and important issues of national relevance that require the government's immediate attention.
If the records of the recent years are checked, one would find that the Question Hour has so often been disrupted by the impatient members pressing for their own agenda for discussion which to their understanding is more urgent and important. In fact, instances and intensity of disruptions have been of such order in the recent year, that the Chairman, Rajya Sabha had to take decision to reschedule the Question Hour allowing the Zero Hour to precede to satisfy the urge of the impatient and unruly parliamentarians. The point is that the MPs instead of honouring the sanctity of parliamentary traditions are found to merrily violate it at will. Though question hour as such is disrupted most often, many a time a question is asked for the sake of asking by repeating the ones already answered recently.
Current Parliament under Lens
As per data published in a leading daily having widest circulation across the country, during the just concluded parliamentary session as many as 250 crucial business hours were wasted, the worst position in the last 18 years. Of the available time, only about 1% (19 minutes) in the 16th Lok Sabha and 6% (2.5 hours) in the Rajya Sabha was utilized on the legislative business. Further for the benefit of those who are fond of statistics, according to the provisional statement of work, the Lok Sabha functioned for 34 hours, lost a time of 127.7 hours in 29 sittings passing only 5 bills; similarly, the Rajya Sabha functioned for 44 hours, lost a time of 121 hours in 30 sittings passing just one bill.
According to the PRS legislative research, this was the least productive budget session since the year 2000. In Rajya Sabha, out of about two and a-half hour devoted to the legislative business, only three minutes were spent on the government bills. In the Lok Sabha, of the nineteen minutes spent on the legislative business, some fourteen minutes were utilized for passing two government bills. The Budget session was held in two parts, while the first half was little bit productive, the second half mostly remained non-functional as few regional parties MPs (TRS, YSR Congress, TDP and AIADMK) actively supported by the Congress blocked both the Houses from functioning. The no-confidence motions submitted by some of these parties and Congress further widened the fissure and logjam.
A writer-cum-journalist and well-known BJP-aka-Modi-baiter recently wrote a fanciful article citing four reasons for the parliamentary dysfunction i.e. a catastrophic breakdown of relations between government and opposition, the growing irrelevance of Parliament due to rampant populism, the disconnect between electability and parliamentary performance and the growing municipalisation or Vidhan Sabha-isation of Parliament. While the tenor and texture was as usual putting the maximum blame or onus on the Modi-led NDA government but, conceptually, the reasons put forth largely appear to be valid when read with in conjunction with what has already been explained in the preceding paragraphs as maladies of the parliamentary system of functioning in India.
The truth is when you try to synonymize the ideological differences and election campaigns with the epic war between the Kauravas and Pandavas, and choose to make personal attack all the time by declaring that the word 'Modi' is synonymous with corruption without any evidence, it no longer remains the usual opposition act of criticising the ruling party or government. But, unfortunately, this is what precisely the Congress under Rahul Gandhi is doing these days. The animosity between two major national parties and their leaders has become so acute and personal that at times the grand old party, in their zeal to embarrass and belittle the BJP and Mr Modi, appears to be compromising even the national interests.
Last but not the least, even the people of India are no less responsible for the deterioration of the parliamentary institutions. Firstly, these are the people of India who elect their representatives for the Parliament directly and indirectly. It's obvious that the elected representative do not have the fear that they are being watched by the people for their conduct. Also there is a clear disconnect between the electability and performance in the Parliament largely due to indifference and apathy amongst people of India towards the working of the Indian Parliament. While wealth, political influence and crime have colluded in all ages to some extent, the apathy, indifference and pseudo-tolerance only further boost the evil practices in the system. Somehow Indian electorate largely appears to have accepted that the politicians are like that only. With their unparliamentary conduct remaining unchallenged, the parliamentarians certainly appear to take advantage of this helpless situation.
The rot in the system and maladies are such that the author does not see any silver lining in the horizon for an optimistic conclusion. It might be conventional to underline the need for more interfaces of elected members of Parliament with people in their own constituency and outside as also devising means to increase more transparency between them. Possibly this may restore the faith and confidence among the people about their representatives and Parliament but issue remains who will do it when the lawmakers themselves are responsible for rot. The periodical conference, workshops and training programmes could be the usual conventional methods of improving the lot of the parliamentarians by educating them on working of the Parliament, decency and decorum, matters of national and international relevance, importance of legislative business, and so on so forth. But then these tools and mechanism are possibly already in vogue without showing any perceptive change.
If the political parties and their heads could agree to be sincere and fair in choosing only deserving candidates with a clean background, instead of the considerations of caste, creed, religion, money and muscle power, this would be a milestone achievement in cleansing the political system ensuring the quality of Parliamentarians. But again the question is if they will ever agree to this arrangement. If the political parties are also brought to the purview of the Right to Information Act, this may encourage transparency in their functioning in terms of the raising of funds, selection of the candidates, election agenda setting, distribution of tickets and curtailing alleged nexus with the crime and corporate world. But again the million dollar question remains whether they will ever allow this to happen.
At some forums the issue of the Right to recall non-performing parliamentarians has been highlighted and discussed in the past. Again only law-makers can take a call on this preposition. There also seems to be a pressing need for strict codification of the parliamentary rules on the participation in debates, model code of conduct, decency and decorum, attendance, discipline, punishment on violation of conduct rules as in the case of the civil servants. Again the question arises when none of the political parties is keen for such discipline, who will take initiative to implement this?
In fact, the decline of political ethics and morality is the main cause of the parliamentary rot over a period of time. The loss of moral and ethical values are often justified or even ridiculed in private and public (by slips) on the ground of the political compulsions. The official withdrawal of the Ordinance on the tainted politicians during the UPA regime at the behest of then an extra-constitutional entity in the Congress party and governance is a classic example of the stated political compulsions. Even the recent zeal and priority shown by the government for the amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act when the Parliament was almost dysfunctional, is yet another classic and common cause of the stated political compulsions.
The Parliament is an apex institution of the Indian democracy and the parliamentarians are the law-makers of the country. They represent hope and aspiration of the people who crave for a better life and a better place for the nation in a global perspective. It is sinful and blasphemous if some of them choose to betray this faith owing to personal need, greed and considerations, and in turn constantly disrupt and demean parliamentary institutions. Unfortunately, the maladies and diseases referred to in the article could only be corrected and healed by none other than the institution itself i.e. law-makers and political parties. But then instead of doing this, they are merrily busy in creating paradigms from bad to worse. Rightly so, in the Indian belief system the incurable diseases are best left at the mercy of God; so long live our democracy and parliamentary institutions! :)


One of the highlights of our trip was to treat ourselves to a day snorkelling with the Whale sharks. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean with adults measured up to 18m long. They are filter feeders, feeding primarily on plankton and small fish so there was no danger of being swallowed!
Ningaloo reef hosts an annual aggregation of these magnificent animals, from March through to September. Surprisingly little is known about them, where they go, where they breed, but most of those arriving at Ningaloo are males. Tagging and photo-identification initiatives as slowly yielding more information but there is still lots to discover.
Ningaloo Blue had already been very accommodating with us re-booking dates, then again when the cyclone hit so when the day finally arrived we were a little apprehensive as the Bureau of Meteorology had issued severe wind warnings for the Ningaloo Coast. It was very windy!
Their bus took us to the marina on the west side of the peninsula, where a tender ferried us out to the boat, Venture IV. Skipper Brad, guides Amy, Naomi, deckhand Woody, and photographer Ester all provided a professional service, from safety briefings to the whale shark and snorkelling briefings.
Whilst we waited for the spotter planes to take to the air we had a snorkel off Mangrove Bay to test our gear out. The choppy water was filling snorkels and masks and very soon a few folk on board were discouraged from the prospect of snorkelling on the outside of the reef in these conditions. The first shark was spotted soon and we were off through the south passage to the open ocean.
Ten people entered the water at a time and the first sighting was barely a glimpse of the tail disappearing beyond the mayhem of bubbles and fins of everyone else. Hannah and Xavier managed to get a great look however, and for most the concerns about the conditions evaporated with the excitement of their first sighting.
The boat moved into clearer water to follow another shark and Amy and Naomi's enthusiasm managed to coax the most reticent passengers to jump in again to experience the sharks. Even Oscar overcame his fear of the deep blue water to jump in and his face transformed into elation when Amy got him into the perfect viewing position.
Swimming side by side, 3m from an 8m whale shark is an unforgettable thrill. While it glides through the water with gentle tail flicks, shadows from the waves above flicker in the sunlight across the vertical stripes and spot markings on its back. As they gracefully move through the water, the humans, with their fins are kicking wildly to keep up.
The larger sharks were accompanied by remoras that attach themselves to the shark's sides, and schools of juvenile trevally lead in front of the wide mouth.
On top of all this food and drinks were provided all day, a delicious lunch before the afternoon snorkel back in the lagoon, and finally a glass of bubbly (lemonade for the kids) and strawberry to finish the day off.
Every day is a different experience, and when I returned two days later we had beautifully calm conditions. Whilst we had less time with the sharks we did see a lot more. My highlight was the six dugongs, but there were turtles, a sea snake, a large estuary cod, a tiger shark, and a bronze whaler shark even swam up from the depths to check one group out. A manta ray and Indo-humpback dolphins swam past the boat and to top things off we had bottlenose dolphins repeatedly playing in the bow-wave of the boat on the return to the boat ramp. It was so fun we did several circuits!
Full marks from Fifty Toes goes to Ningaloo Blue for our unforgettable experience. Hannah will be back begging for a work experience job with them.
Busselton Jetty is 1.8km long and has it's own train service to deliver tourists to the end where they can visit the underwater observatory. I wanted to scuba dive the famous jetty and with the nearby Dive Shed having trolley and gear hire I was keen as mustard to get in the water.
Unfortunately my camera strobe malfunctioned during set-up so I had to improvise by using a torch instead. This meant increasing my ISO settings and opening up the aperture, not what I like doing for underwater shots, but I was stuck with what I had. I put the trusty Canon 100mm macro lens on and started the long walk from the dive shop.
The Dive Shed rent out trolleys to transport your gear to the dive site, and whilst I don't mind a bit of a walk with my gear I was glad I rented one. The entry pontoon lies 200m from the end of the Jetty, with two well designed ladders for exiting with fins on.
The underwater life lived up to expectation. Whilst many old jetty pylons lie on the floor providing cover for many different critters, corals, and sponges adorn a large proportion of the upright ones. Many of the fish were new to me, being Indian Ocean based but there were a few familiar ones and I was happy to find a number of very colourful nudibranchs(sea slugs). The water was shallow at 8m, allowing along dive but after 2 hours in 19 degree water I was ready to get back in the sunlight to warm up. Visibility was pretty good (over 10m), the only thing you need to be aware of is to keep over 10m away from the underwater observatory (for obvious reasons).
A big thumbs up to the Busselton Jetty dive and thanks to The Dive Shed for being so helpful with the gear and briefing of the dive site.


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The Pension Protection Fund produces a monthly index update (the May 2012 release has data taken as at April 2012) of the estimated funding position of the defined benefit schemes which would be potentially eligible for entry into the Fund.
Total scheme deficits showed a small increase from £206.2bn as at end March to £216.8bn as at end April with a corresponding decrease in s179 funding ratio to 82.6% thus, in a small way, reversing the trend of improvement since the start of the year.
The backdrop to this change over the month was an improvement in gilt yields (helping liabilities) which more than compensated for a softening in equity markets.


Carlota is a member of the Tufts Class of 2015 pursuing a double major in Peace and Justice Studies and International Relations, with a concentration in Africa. She coordinates the Refugee Assistance Program under the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and works at the non-for-profit Books of Hope. She is also a Citizenship and Public Service Scholar at the Tisch College and a Synaptic Scholar at the Institute for Global Leadership. Carlota is interested in addressing one of the side effects of the economic crisis in the EU: the rolling back of gains in human rights of migrants. In an attempt to combat xenophobic attitudes and improve policy concerned with migrants and refugees, she has designed a Synaptics project that integrates both extensive academic research and social documentary activity. As member of the Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, she has identified and reported specific stories that can act as vehicles to explain larger, complex issues. PNDP took her to Burma where she covered the story of NLD activist Su Su Nway and documented the distressing situation of factory workers who were for the first time daring to speak out to demand rights, better pay and conditions. Through her work Carlota pursues to bring to light social injustices and to advocate for positive social change. As an Oslo Scholar, she will be working in Angola with journalist and activist Rafael Marques de Morais.
Caitlin is a junior from Carmel, CA, pursing a double major in Russian & Eastern European Studies and International Relations. On campus, she is the head delegate of Model UN and has maintained a column for the Tufts Daily on oppressive regimes, as well as her own blog entitled "Global Citizen." Caitlin is also a peer teacher teaching a freshmen advising course with fellow Oslo Scholar, Nitesh Gupta, entitled "Human Rights in the Digital Age," which addresses issues like the surveillance of political dissidents and the manifestation of human rights advocacy within the hacker community. As a member of the 2014-2015 EPIIC colloquium on Russia in the 21st Century, Caitlin was captivated by the manifestation of Russian history in contemporary domestic and foreign policy. This past summer as an Oslo Scholar, she interned with the Institute for Modern Russia and the Human Rights Foundation in New York, where she worked on projects concerning Russia's position as a diplomatic partner in the global community under President Putin.
Zara Rancheva is a member of the Class of 2018 from Karlovo, Bulgaria. Growing up in a small town has taught her that one is personally responsible for broadening their perspectives and cultivating a deeper understanding of the world, regardless of physical limitations. She believes a rich family library, painstakingly accommodated into a modest living space, together with her mother's enlightening literary guidance, played a central role in the formation of her values and beliefs.
Her major is Political Science and she hopes to investigate how people perceive their political environment and arrive at their conceptions of liberty and justice. Moreover, she is convinced these sciences provide us with the unique power to look both into the past and into the future of our civilization with greater clarity, given that our theories are sufficiently sophisticated and objective.
Zara is a member of the Tufts Debate Society and frequently travels with her teammates to compete. Her reflections about the overall experience are fully in line with J.S. Mills' assertion that it only when we need to actively defend our beliefs that we can obtain insight about their true grounds and content. She is also involved with the Compass Fellowship, a group of students exploring the concept of social entrepreneurship and its applications, and the Fencing team. Both have revealed the importance of strategy, focus, and decisiveness in different, but equally illustrative ways. Lastly, Zara devotes time and efforts to creative writing, striving to capture daily frustrations and fleeting affects in such a way that they remain both intimate and relatable. During her last two years of high school, she received national awards for her works, and is currently exploring novel sources of inspiration.
As an Oslo scholar this past summer, she worked with worked with Srdja Popovic as a Research Intern for his organization, the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) in Belgrade, Serbia.


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Carson City Library patrons to make Valentines for city supervisors
Local | February 13, 2017
Teri Vance
Special to the Nevada Appeal
Make a Valentine supporting the Carson City Library at a craft station near the circulation desk, 900 N. Roop St. or send a note in support to valentine@carsoncitylibrary.org.
When making out the list of friends and loved ones who will receive a Valentine this year, Car-son City residents may consider one addition: The library.
"It's a nice way to raise awareness," said Amy Lauder, collection development manager for the Carson City Library. "It's important that city leaders know what the community thinks is important."
The Carson City Library kicked off the "I Love My Library" campaign Saturday where patrons can make a Valentine explaining why they love the library. The cards will then be delivered to the Carson City Board of Supervisors, which funds the library, and the Library Board of Trustees, which governs the library, at the end of the month.
"I could not say no to this fun and crafty idea," said Sena Loyd, director of the library. "It will be a fun experience for staff to deliver these valentines at the end of the month to the Board of Supervisors, and to share them with the Library Board of Trustees."
Lauder said the idea from a similar project she did nationally last year.
"We've set up a small craft station inside the library," Lauder said. "We're encouraging our patrons and anyone who loves the library to craft and Valentine and write a note to the supervisors about why they love the library. It's much stronger if it comes from the patrons."
Cards can also be sent electronically to valentine@carsoncitylibrary.org.
It could serve as a good project for getting children involved in the community.
"A lot of our patrons are families with young children," Lauder said. "That's something they can work on together."
She envisions the project being successful.
"I know we have people who come in and tell our staff they had a good experience," Lauder said. "We're hoping they will be able to transfer that message on to the governing bodies that keep the library doors open."


Your bracelet is lovely. My husband hand forges knives so I was checking out metalwork. you also have tons of great resources on this blog! Thanks for sharing!
I love this bracelet! Fun colorful unique interesting….a gem of a design!


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text:
Literary Shelf Share This Page
Indian Sensibility
in the Poetry of Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar
by Durga Patva
A man of poetic sensibilities
scribbling on the sands of time
Giving shapes to my thoughts
though I lack rhythm and rhyme. - Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar
Whatever Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar writes here (in his poem "I Am") is quite true to him. Truly, for a poet there is no need to write in a particular form because sometimes restriction of a particular verse interrupts the natural flow and flowing beauty of real creation; his poetry is his original vent which is free from any type of restrictions of rhythm or rhyme. He is an internationally acclaimed poet (trilingual poet, composes poem in Hindi, English and Maithili languages) scholar, lyricist ecologist, truth-seeker, clairvoyant, critic, and book reviewer. He has great craving for writing right since his early age; he used to write on the vital and current issues in various newspapers.
His poetic career started with the publication of his first poem- "If Wishes Were Horses" in Indian Nation (a newspaper) way back in 90's. Now he is frequently published in "various national and international magazines both printed and online" (Jha's timeline). One of his poems on Nelson Mandela "Gandhi of South" has been included in the academics syllabus prescribed for the school students of Philippines. He is also a contributor to Epitaphs (An Anthology of Epitaphs by the Living Poets Worldwide), The Criterion: An International Journal in English, IJML (International Journal of Multicultural Literature), and The Anvil (Forum of Literature & Academic Research in English) etc. Some of his poems are posted on literary websites like www.voicesnet.com, www.museindia.com, www.poetrysoup.com www.ielforum.org, to name a few ones. Besides, he is also the part of several anthologies like: Purple Hues, Whispering Winds, Just For You My Love, I Am A Woman, The Significant Anthology, Umbilical Cords, A Divine- Madness vol. V, Poetic Prism 2015 etc.
Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar is a leading poet of Indian English literature. He is globally admired for his brilliancy and unique portrayal of Indian sensibilities drawn from Indian lifecycle, values and ethos. Indianness or indian sensibility means the prominent traits or qualities that the poet represents in his literary work as an Indian. Indianness is defined as "Indianness", "life-attitudes" and "modes of perception". According to Prof. V.K. Gokak Indianness is "a composite awareness in the matter of race, milieu, language and religion". Paul Vergese holds that "Indianness is nothing but depiction of Indian culture" In fact, Indianness is the sum total of cultural patterns of India, deep rooted in ideas and ideas which form the minds of India. All the poets have been under constant influence and impression of the socio-cultural atmosphere wherein they are born and brought up. The poet under study is no exception to it because he has naturally and socially inherited the wealth of Indian culture and tradition. It is a well-known fact that sometimes a poet's surroundings inspire him, to a considerable extent, for bringing forth his literary works. Being an Indian and born and brought up in India how can Jha remain untouched from Indian perspectives or indianness? A close reading of his poetry shows that he feels the pulse of India, her people and society very well because he has written a large number of poems depicting Indian condition of life style. In his poetry his readers find a profusion of all kinds of Indian themes or aspects including nature, culture and tradition, patriotism, religion, democracy, Indian leader, different places, livelihood, political situation, folklore, marital affairs, different relationships, natural disaster, terrorist attacks etc., festive times, social irony and satire. The themes taken up and the scenes presented with imagery drawn from the natural world are all Indian and this is how his love for India is strongly validated to export India's social, moral, cultural, humanistic, familial fragrance across the world.
Major characteristics of Indianness are amply palpable in the poetry of Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar. With a global vision for the sake of humanity he represents Indian ethos through his poems imbued with cosmopolitan approach to life. He is a poet who believes in the humanitarian concept of global harmony, fraternity and world peace. Some of his poems are embodiment of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam. In his poem "Let's All" he pines for the utopian society, where "people feel no distanced" and everywhere "loving bonds of togetherness" must flow. His Utopian vision is quite remarkable. This poem brings him close to famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore because the same thing Rabindranath Tagore also echoes in his poem "My Heaven." The super impact of Indian myths, Vedas and Upanishads is apparently witnessed in his poetry. Depiction of festive seasons and occasions is another aspect of Indianness that finds repeated mention in his poems. Like an Indian he enjoys different festive occasions of India. His poems like "Festival of Colors", "Vishwakarma Puja", "Godless Shrine", "Krishna Conscious", "Chhatt Puja" and "Immersion" are some remarkable instances in this connection. In his poem "Durga Goddess in Distress" he reiterates Indian notion of Upanishad that Durga is the "Mother of the universe" XXX "The supreme power / behind the creation."
In India woman is worshiped as a goddess. With immense love and respect for Indian women (mother, daughter, sister, wife) he dedicates some of his poems to them. Jha throws light on both brighter and darker sides of women's condition in India. In some of his poems such as "Restless I Am For You", "She", "Marital Bliss", "Happy Moments of Togetherness" etc, he highlights not only the emotional and procreative power of woman but also the divine/ spiritual power of love sustained though her. His other poems, "Sobbing Sita","Men Are All alike" show woman as a subjugated being, suppressed and perpetrated in male-dominated society where she is treated like an object of desire, to satiate male's lust. In his poem "Scream of Sonagachi" he throws light on the painful life of prostitutes or whores showing "their naked arms, thick thighs/ long lacerated ignominious scars". Their whole body is dotted with torturous bites and scars which cannot be hidden by artificial make-up or feminine decoration. Here Jha as a poet is critical of male attitude towards female. He makes a caustic remark on male's lustful mania that has made her lifelong prey to satisfaction of his lascivious desires. The poem "Oh Delhi!" is reflective of widespread perversion of male community living in big cities or metro. With mythological allusion to the Mahabharata, he bemoans the rape culture being followed by the perverted society. He asks the question-
Why are they sex-maniac, sex-starved, sex-ridden
playing even today in the cruel claws
of Duryodhans and Dusshashans
of modern Mahabharata?
In the olden days they stripped Draupadi,
defiled her chastity, destroyed her modesty
and now enjoying rapes ?
He also suggests a solution to, "cure them with the medication of spirituality, /and make them drink the syrup of ethical values" (Oh Delhi!). His poetry has universal appeal for women's empowerment because he satirizes male brutal act by calling them "Sex hungry beasts in disguise" (Men Are All Alike).Seeing this brutality he gets saddened and takes shelter in Lord Krishna's preaching "I console myself/With spiritual lessons of the Geeta" (Like All I Too Stuff My Mind Daily).
India is the land of spirituality which finds wider reflection in his poetry in the form of Love. As a recurring theme, love has a cyclical pattern in Jha's poetry. It blooms and zooms with its full swim mostly in the form of spiritual and platonic and transcendental way. All shades of love- Sufism, surrealism, mysticism etc. - are articulately depicted by him in his poetry.
Being an Indian he has faith in Indian philosophy which divides an Indian's life span into four Ashramas. Marital life is one of them, which is desirable for the "… treasuring/ the cultural prosperity / of our country" and "where love and lust are our wellbeing/ a socio-cultural process morally sanctified" (Celebration of Love). In his poem "Happy Moments of Togetherness" he focuses on the blissful realization of spousal life of togetherness (husband and wife), "Of our mutual love and respect/ of fragrance of happy togetherness". But in his conjugal love is of sublime order based on the unification of two souls:
Love meets and ignites
Two sweet hearts
And unites them
The body, mind and soul. (True Love Tests)
He is a staunch believer in the conventional system of Indian marriage and systematised marital life. He knows very well a caring Indian husband's painful realization of his wife's pain when she loses her unborn child due to some complications. In his poem "Laparoscopic view of Her Distress" he writes:
Implantation of a hope and happiness
In the eyes moistened by life's despair
In her heart - battered and embittered,
Wanes down to acute agony of her soul,
For expected advent of her cute replica
Plays illusive in siege of lifelong solitude.
Here his realistic description of Laparoscopic surgery reminds one of Nissim Ezekiels' real descriptions in the poem "Night of Scorpion" which presents a pathetic condition of a mother, "he even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it" (Google). The leitmotif of his poems is maternal love and pang which is superbly portrayed in his other two poems "The Cradle" and "Maternal Ordeal".
India is the country of villages. Her beauty lies is the pure, simple and serene natural environment of village. In the poem "Cemetery of Rural Amity" the poet laments the loss of rural simplicity and innocence of the people due to dramatic changes affecting village life. Due to the global and scientific impact the pure atmosphere of villages is gone as "now at each and every door/ Parked are new bikes and sparkling cars/ With villagers minds smoke-polluted". Modern lifestyle has tremendously affected their attitude. His "homecoming hug pinches me (him)" so much that his eyes "rain to wipe off the blood / Dripping down from the core of my (his) soul by finding the "cemetery of amity in the rural corridor". Written in nostalgic form his poem "Down Memory Lane" throws light on the fugacious nature of village people who leave village's " beauty of the lush courtyards" and "natural landscape of serenity" and settle themselves into city for their "livelihood" and lead a peaceless and loveless life without having "blessings, solace, love and wishes" (Down Memory Lane).This poem is reminiscent of the beauty of nature which Wordsworth pines for in his "Tintern Abbey" in which he writes that "These beauteous forms" of nature he "felt in the blood, and felt along the heart/ and passing even into my purer mind/ with tranquil restoration" (Agnihotri 184-85). In "Down Memory Lane" Jha writes;
From my heart and mind
Uncovering my deep love for
The flora and fauna, the native people,
Arousing and reviving in me
A refreshing nostalgia time and again!
Here it seems that Jha is speaking like William Wordsworth.
Manifestation of his reverence and respect for great Indian leaders is yet another beautiful trait of Indianness of his poetry. As a true citizen of India he has paid regardful tribute to them though his poems like "In Memory of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam","For Thee, Father of Nation" etc. In his poem he beautifully describes Mahatma Gandhi's and Lal Bahadur Shastri's teachings;
Gandhi's love and non-violence
And Shastri's Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan slogan
We hold them in high esteem
As our idols and nationalistic paragon. ("October 2: Birthday of Two Idols")
Not only ancient Indian leaders are the big part of his poetry but his ideas about India's present leader can also be seen in his poem, "NaMo: Chant Or Rant"
Plunged
Into prolonged darkness
Of corruption, dearness, crimes
Can India see a new dawn
In NaMo...?!
His "Indian Demagogues", "Cries of The Country", "Freedom is Chained!", "A Modified Demagogue", "Two Indias", "Republic" and "Pseudo-Secular" are some other poems which expose the terrible faces of corrupt leaders, country's pain, and theme of patriotism and war. On the one hand in his poem "Hounds of Politics" he describes the face of Indian politics:
Politics is today infested
With many beasts of prey,
All its hidden alleys have
Tainted leaders with grey.
On the other hand, he shades tears seeing the pathetic condition of Kashmir and Uri victims in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. He doesn't help venting out his anger and ire in the poems like; "Surgical Strikes", "Bleeding Roses", "Unfurling Wreath of Wrath" and so on. It shows that his poetry is steeped into the nationalism well exuding Indian sensibility.
Indianness of Jha's poetry also lies in his commitment to his country and motherland (India and Mithila). He is sincerely and earnestly devoted to bring about some improvement in the deplorable condition of life in India through his poetry. His native place also finds a major place in his poetry. Like a true son of mother Mithila he feels his mother's pain in his poem "For Mother Mithila"
My life is hijacked by
My own home minister
Who makes me dance
At her beck and call
His "Darbhanga Raj" also expresses his sorrow on the cultural and historical lipography. Waning down of cultural grace of Mithila saddens him -
In her petticoat government…
In the dark dungeon of oblivion
Searching for a befitting resurrection
Of the historical, cultural dignity:
The glorious grandeur of Darbhanga!
India is the country of vividness. Variety in unity, or for that matter, vice versa, is one of the most important features of Indianness because India has its expansion from Vindhya to Meghalaya, from Kaveri to Himalaya or from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. This Indian vividness coupled with the unity of sensibility has superbly been well articulately by Jha in his poetry marked with sour and sweet experiences of life and minute observation of people, their attitude and lifestyles. His poetry is a testimony to the presence of Indian sensibility as he sheds tears in India's sorrow and accompanies her in her happiness. He realises India's pain and happiness at each moment just as a son has realisation of his mother's pain and happiness. In this way he is a true son of India who serves his mother through his poetry for all trials and tribulations.
Thus, the close analysis of selected poems of Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar exhibiting Indian sensibility reveals that Jha has successfully breathed into his poetry grace, grandeur, light and sweetness of Indian culture both from ancient and modern. He may be rightly called the harbinger and a poet apostle of Indian socio-cultural heritage. His poetry is a fine amalgamation of vivid graphics and colourful panorama of common man, occupations, customs, tradition, joys sorrows, love, desires, smiles, tears, agonies, faith, etc. of Indian sensibility or Indian culture and tradition. In addition to above traits of indianness, labour class, common men, Chai bala, gumti bala, dig walker, hunger, begging, sympathy, love for indian animal, natural description from dawn to dusk etc. also indianise the themes of his poetry. Synthetically and compactly woven, his poetry has ticklish tinge of autobiographical elements. Apt metaphors, allusions, striking imagery, irony and the style, and other poetic devices heighten the poetic effect.
Agnihotri, B.P. Selected English Poems. Kanpur: Grantham. 2002. Print.
Jha, Bhaskaranand, Bhaskar. "Celebration of Love." Boloji.com. 13 Feb.2014. Web.
"Cemetery of Rural Amity" Boloji.com.11 Nov. 2013. Web.
"DarbhangaRaj" Boloji.com. 3 Feb. 2014. Web.
"Down Memory Lane." Boloji.com. 25 Feb. 2014. Web
"Durga Goddess in Distress." Boloji.com. 3 Oct. 2014. Web.
"For Mother Mithila." Boloji.com. 6 July 2012. Web.
"Happy moments of togetherness."Boloji.com.1 May 2015. Web.
"Hounds of Politics." Boloji.com. 28 July 2013. Web.
"I Am." Boloji.com. ND. Web. 10 Oct 2016.
"Laparoscopic view of Her Distress." Boloji.com. 10 June 2013. Web.
"Like All I Too Stuff My Mind Daily." Boloji.com. 31 Aug. 2016. Web.
"Men Are All Alike." Boloji.com.16 Oct. 2013. Web.
"NaMo: Chant Or Rant." Boloji.com. 21 July 2015. Web.
"October 2: Birthday of Two Idols." Boloji.com. 2 Oct 2013. Web.
"Oh Delhi!" Boloji.com.27 Dec 2012. Web.
"Scream of Sonagachi."Boloji.com.13 June 2013.Web.
"True love tests."Boloji.com. 22 Aug. 2014. Web.ght of Scorpion."
MLA Handbook for Writers of Rese arch Paper. 7thed. New Delhi: East- West Pvt. Ltd.,2009. Print.
Mowalie,Litton Prosad. "INDIANNESS OF INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY." Blogspot.
Sparklingstars, Nov 2007. Web. 12 Oct 2016.
Sharma, Dr. Balak Ram. William Wordsworth: Select Poems. Meerut: SahityaBhandar. 2003.Print.
(This paper got published in Rainbow: Shades of Indian English Literature edited by Samadhan Mane. published by Lambert. 2016)
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Green Greens in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Green Greens is a level in the Kirby series and is also a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The level layout is quite simple: one center stage and two smaller stages are the main platforms. The center stage is separated from the mini-stages by blocks. This stage shares some similarities with Dream Land, a stage from the first Super Smash Bros.
Whispy Woods, a huge tree blows a strong gust of wind that can blow players away. Also, blocks and bomb blocks fall from the sky in between the stages. Apples sometimes fly from Whispy Woods' branches. Some apples restore the players' health and some can be used to throw at the other players.
The Super Smash Bros. Melee version of the stage's music appears in the PAL version of Donkey Konga 2.
There is a small glitch in this stage, where if Olimar throws a red, blue, or white Pikmin at the blocks, they will get stuck on them and will stay there indefinitely until an enemy touches them or the blocks are destroyed.
This page was last edited on December 11, 2018, at 01:02.


text:
How Chinese Investors Inflate Housing Markets in the US, Canada, and Australia, as Governments Try to Stem the Tide
June 8, 2018 June 7, 2018 by IWB
Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter
The "waterbed effect" of money flows.
Top residential real estate brokerages in the US have been promoting US homes to investors in China for years. Brokerage firms in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries have done the same. Commissions are at stake! They have set up units in China and are partnering with Chinese real estate portals, such as Juwai.com.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a subsidiary of HomeServices – the second largest residential brokerage in the US – entered the fray belatedly a year ago with a marketing agreement with Juwai.com "to syndicate all of its franchisees' residential listings."
And not just in the trophy cities on the coasts, but all of Berkshire's listings, anywhere.
One of the properties it offers on Juwai.com today is this mansion on 8387 Ford Road, Superior Township, Michigan:
Scrolling down the page of any of these listings reveals four red buttons that lead to the crux of these deals for Chinese investors (so-so translations below):
Top left: Guide on how to buy a house in the US.
Top right: Guide with maps of school districts and housing around the "top 100" universities.
Bottom left: Guide for obtaining a US investor immigrant visa EB-5
Bottom right: Guide on how to apply for study abroad.
And these brokerage firms in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries are doing expos and conferences in China to lure investors to make the leap. This massive marketing effort in China by these firms has worked like a charm.
Juwai.com predicts, according to the Wall Street Journal, that Chinese investors will plow $1.5 trillion into assets abroad over the next decade, with about half of that going into foreign property.
The exact number of investors in China that have piled into these housing markets is still nebulous, despite some efforts locally to collect data on it. But home prices have soared under this buying pressure of foreign money, and now, after years of denying it, politicians are no longer denying it.
At first, the inflow of Chinese investor money was great and awesome. But then it turned the local markets into full-blown housing bubbles that began threatening local economies. So various levels of governments in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere – but notably not yet in the US – have created policies to tamp down on this incoming flood of money that distorts the market. Here's a flavor:
June 2016: The Australian state of New South Wales, where Sydney is, unveiled a 4% tax on foreign home buyers.
July 2016: The Australian state of Victoria, where Melbourne is, raised its tax on foreign home buyers from 3% to 7%.
July 2016: The Canadian province of British Columbia, where Vancouver is, introduced a 15% tax on foreign home buyers.
April 2017: The Canadian Province of Ontario, where Toronto is, announced a laundry list of measures, including a 15% tax on purchases by non-resident foreign investors.
July 2017: Disappointed with the results, New South Wales doubled its foreign buyers tax to 8%.
October 2017: New Zealand's government unveiled plans to block foreigners from buying existing homes.
February 2018: Disappointed with the results, British Columbia raised its foreign buyers tax from 15% to 20%. It also imposed a levy of 0.5% of the property value (which will increase to 2% in 2019) on homeowners who don't pay income tax in Canada, thus targeting non-resident investors.
All these measures produced very mixed results. Home prices are now sinking in Toronto and Sydney, but continue to rise in Vancouver and other cities. If there are ways to get around some of these policies, local facilitators will help Chinese investors find those way.
These governments "are still at the trial-and-error stage," Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow, told the Wall Street Journal. "They are trying to figure what works and what doesn't."
And there is what Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson – who, after 10 years in office, announced that he won't seek reelection – calls the "waterbed effect of capital flooding wherever taxes are lowest and regulation is weak." When one area tries to tamp down on the influx of foreign money, the flow simply goes somewhere else. In Canada, this is partly due to the lack of coordination between federal, provincial, and municipal governments, he told The Journal.
"It's a complex challenge between regulating offshore investment, local real-estate practices and addressing housing supply within cities, all in sync," he said. "The reality is that interventions take time and aren't wholly predictable."
House price bubbles aren't like stock market bubbles. People don't have to live in stocks. But they do need to live in homes. When homes get perverted into a global asset class, all kinds of things happen, including that new supply from construction can't meet the sudden surge of financial demand from investors who might never live on those homes. Just like stock market bubbles, housing bubbles deflate. But unlike stock-market downturns, housing-market downturns wreak havoc on the real economy on a very local basis.
In Australia, foreign buyers accounted for 10% to 15% of homes under construction and account for about 5% of total residential sales. But the share of foreign buyers reached about a quarter of new-built condos in Sydney and Melbourne, according to estimates by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
"Many foreign buyers come from China, seemingly around three-quarters," explained RBA's head of financial stability, Jonathan Kearns, to an Australia-China property conference last November.
The package of policies were starting to have a visible effect by last November: "Purchases of new properties by foreign buyers have eased over the past year, reportedly because of stricter enforcement of Chinese capital controls and tighter access to finance for foreign buyers," Kearns said.
In terms of new developments, investors in China purchased about $1.5 billion in residential building sites in 2017, amounting to about a third of Australia's total building sites, according to real-estate company Knight Frank, cited by The Journal.
Among signs that Chinese investors have backed off in Australia, there's the "waterbed effect," with foreign money flowing to where there is less regulation: Juwai.com found, according to The Journal, that the US and Canada have lost their spots at the top of the list for Chinese buyer inquiries, replaced by Malaysia and Thailand.
In Toronto, the average selling price of a single-family house plunged 13% in May, or by C$160,000, from the peak in 2017. Sales of homes priced over C$1.5 million collapsed by 63%. But condos are still hanging on. Read… Toronto's House Price Bubble Not Fun Anymore
Tags australia, canada, chinese, housing, inflate, investors, markets	Post navigation
FITTON:MONSTER: FBI Produces New Tarmac Meeting Docs–Strzok Admits Clinton Decision Made in April 2016, Comey Security Goal: Protect him from Embarrassment
BREAKING: CNN, Stephen Colbert, And Others To Apologize To Alex Jones?


text:
Onoba fortis is een slakkensoort uit de familie van de Rissoidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1941 door Pilsbry & Olsson.

Rissoidae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


There's nothing quite like wearing Superman's classic symbol to make you feel like you can take on the world. Justice League fans can suit up like the Man of Steel with this deluxe plus-size Superman costume, based on his appearance in the movie. It's great for costume parties, Halloween, or just doing a few good deeds in your own corner of Metropolis. Includes a muscle chest jumpsuit with attached boot tops and removeable cape. 100% polyester. Hand wash, cold water, do not bleach, dry flat, do not iron.


text:
Town raring to go after snow break
Liam Moakes 8th Mar, 2018
CARL ADAMS hopes Stratford Town's enforced break will recharge their batteries for their top ten challenge.
'The Beast from the East' put paid to successive home games against Hitchin Town and Tiverton Town and meant the players had a week away from training.
However, manager Adams expects his players to quickly regain the momentum on Saturday when they head to Cambridgeshire side St Neots Town.
"It was a tough last week because we were unable to train, the snow was that bad," said Adams.
"But in some ways it's good to have a week off. We've had a lot of football and it's nice to have the chance to recharge the batteries."
Town had chalked up three wins out of four in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier to move within two points of the top ten and will head to 11th-placed St Neots boosted by the return of Dan Summerfield after injury and the imminent inclusion of summer signing George Washbourne.
Top scorer Ben Stephens is also in upbeat mood after being invited back for a further training stint with Ipswich Town.
The 18-goal front-runner has already impressed in two matches for the Tractor Boys U23s and is now set to join the first team squad for training.
"Ben's trained with the U23s but when he's been at Ipswich the first team have had games away," said Adams. "They want to see him train with the first team.
"They're good signs for Ben and he's loved the experience. We will just have to see what happens next."
Summerfield has been sidelined for the last three games but is available this weekend, although striker Mike Taylor has to sit out the clash at Rowley Park because the postponements have meant he has yet to complete his two-game ban.
Meanwhile, Adams admits he ie excited about the prospect of finally seeing midfielder Washbourne pull on a Town shirt for his competitive debut after seven months.
The former Sutton Coldfield Town, Hednesford Town and Forest Green player suffered a knee injury in pre-season but is now getting some match practice with Midland League Division Two side Montpellier.
He is set to play for Montpellier on Saturday and will then come into contention for Town's match with Kettering Town next Saturday at the MoodChimp Stadium.
"George is going to get another 90 minutes with Montpellier under his belt this weekend but then he should be available for us," said Adams. "I'm really excited to see how he links up with Ben (Stephens) and Will Grocott."
The postponed home matches against Tiverton and Hitchin have been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 27 respectively.
Check out all of the latest reader travel offers to get your hands on some free gifts.
From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.
Advertise on the Stratford Observer to boost your online presence.
Buy photos online from the Stratford Observer newspaper.
Town raring to go aft...


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Elon Musk Announces SpaceX Starlink Cellular Partnership with T-Mobile
By Rachel Jewett | August 25, 2022
BroadbandNorth America
Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announced SpaceX and T-Mobile's satellite-to-cell partnership on Aug. 25 from SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Screenshot via YouTube.
SpaceX and T-Mobile are collaborating to enable satellite direct-to-cell connectivity with the second generation of Starlink satellites. Such a service would close gaps in cellular networks in rural and remote areas and allow T-Mobile customers to send messages via Starlink satellites.
SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO and President Mike Sievert announced the agreement on Thursday evening from SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The service could enter beta as early as late 2023 with messaging service.
"This partnership is about imagining a future where if you have a clear view of the sky, you are connected on your mobile phone," Sievert said. "You can connect with your existing phone. That is incredible. It's a lot like putting a cellular tower in the sky — just a lot harder."
"It will save lives," Musk said of the service. "We will no longer read about tragedies that happen where people get lost, and if only they could have called for help they'd be okay. I think what we're doing here is profound. It's going to massively improve people's convenience."
The V2 Starlink satellites will use a section of T-Mobile's mid-band PCS spectrum, which T-Mobile owns nationwide and is contiguous. In order to communicate in cell spectrum with cell phones, the satellites will have large phased array antennas, roughly 25 square meters large. These antennas will be supplemental to the Ku- and Ka-band antennas on the satellites.
Overall V2 satellites are much larger, Musk said, and the main body is about 7 meters long. These satellites are designed to launch on the developing heavy-lift Starship vehicle. If the Starship program is delayed, Musk said, SpaceX is working on a "mini" V2 version that fits on the Falcon 9.
Musk said SpaceX has the phased array technology working in a lab and he's confident it will work in the field. "It's a hard problem. That's why it's not been solved before," Musk said.
With several details to be ironed out, Sievert emphasized that it is a technology partnership, not a product announcement. T-Mobile has not yet worked with messaging app providers like Apple's iMessage on tech specifications for individual apps.
Sievert anticipates the service will be free on T-Mobile's most popular plans and start out with just messaging, but advance to voice calls and eventually, data. He estimates that for more basic plans that don't include it, the subscription would cost "far less" than the monthly service fees charged by cellular satellite connectivity services, which require specialized phones. Sievert and Musk also emphasized this is geared toward remote areas beyond the reach of cellular networks, not a replacement for cellular networks where they are available.
Sievert also put out an offer to MNOs in other countries for reciprocal roaming. T-Mobile will provide reciprocal roaming if other carriers dedicate mid-band spectrum to the Starlink constellation for this service.
Sievert also hinted this could lead to a mobile backhaul deal with Starlink and T-Mobile.
The "cell tower in space," in which a satellite is designed to behave like a cell tower, is not exclusive to SpaceX. AST SpaceMobile is preparing to launch its test BlueWalker 3 satellite from early to mid-September to test its space-to-cell technology. The company has partners with a number of MNOs including Vodafone. Lynk Global is also developing a service that can connect satellites directly to consumer smartphones. The company has six satellites in space and has demonstrated the capability to connect directly to phones.
Starlink is a constellation of satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) that provides broadband internet service in areas where terrestrial options are expensive, unreliable, or unavailable. SpaceX has launched more than 3,000 satellites for the constellation and independent tracking reports that around 2,800 are operational.
The service is currently available in much of the Western United States, and parts of Canada, Europe, and Australia, and has more than 400,000 subscribers around the world. While Starlink has a large focus on direct-to-consumer broadband, SpaceX is in the process of expanding the service to enterprise, maritime, and aviation applications.
The partnership helps regain some momentum for Starlink after the FCC rejected SpaceX's application to receive funding through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), saying the constellation "failed to demonstrate" that it could deliver the service that was promised. SpaceX initially was set to receive about $886 million over 10 years, the fourth-highest funding amount. One FCC commissioner is publicly against the decision.
The deal also marks another instance of a major U.S. MNO collaborating with a satellite operator for service. In March, OneWeb signed a deal with AT&T for the MNO to offer its satellite-based connectivity to business customers via cellular backhaul in remote and challenging locations. OneWeb currently has 428 satellites on orbit, which is 66% of the company's planned first-generation fleet.
In addition, Verizon has a strategic partnership with Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite constellation to deliver cellular backhaul for Verizon's 4G/LTE and 5G data networks in rural areas in the future. Kuiper does not have any satellites in orbit and Amazon has revealed few details about the project. Amazon faces a regulatory deadline to have half of its constellation launched by July 2026.
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The HRP-4 robot unveiled by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in its new humanoid creation makes the previous Core Bipedal Robot I just wrote about already look a little rusty. Check out the video to see this fantastic robot in action.
Created in partnership with Kawada Industries, this 151-centimeter (5-feet) tall, 39-kilo (86-pound) walking followup to the HRP-4C, HRP-3 and HRP-2 robots.
The HRP-4 has been designed to help with manufacturing duties in a rapidly aging Japanese workforce. The highly mobile HRP-4 features 34-degrees of movement with AIST proprietary control software running on a Linux core.