When you click to Add Email Template, you see a page of the existing templates. If you wanted to use the old "Classic" Editor, you had to scroll past all of the templates and click the link at the bottom of the page. We've made this easier.
The new text at the top of the page will be: Start by Selecting a Sample Below or Advanced Editor (Blank) or Basic Editor (Blank).
We've renamed the Classic Editor to the Basic Editor (it is not going anywhere) and we've made it a button choice a the top of the page. The option still exists at the bottom of the page too for those that like to scroll.
Click the column headers to sort the main To-Do List by that column. Use this to group like To-Do's, group To-Do's by Contact, group To-Do's by Priority or Due Date and more. Your users are going to find this super helpful!
We've add the option of triggering an Action Set (Workflow) with the Completion Assistant. This lets you trigger even more options than before.
In your Contact List, you can now choose if you want to view 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 Contacts at a time. This is helpful for people that would rather scroll on one page than click to view page by page.
We've added the phone number to the Birthday and Anniversary Report. You can now use that Report to reach out and call your contacts for their special day.
The Duplicate Contact Report now offers a report of duplicate contacts within multiple databases. The Account Owner and/or Account Administrators will now be able to pull up this report to search within All Databases for duplicates.
Instead of just triggering an Autoresponder, your Text-to-Join now offers the option of triggering an Action Set (Workflow).
Users can now set their accounts to auto-download Social Connector photos. Turn on this option by clicking the Customize This Screen on the bottom of a Contact Card.
Once this option is on, when a Social Connector match is found, the photo is added to the contact photo. You can still use your own photos, or choose a different Social Connector photo.
Uploading an attachment with the same file name as an existing file will overwrite the existing file. We have added the option to change the file name of a saved Contact Attachment. Click the pencil to edit the name.
Check out the new Mobile Version.
Here is an overview of what will be included in the new mobile version and also the things you will want to update and customize.
In your Admin Panel, go to the Content Tab and select Branding.
Update your logo on your sign in page.
Upload your preferred Favicon. There are tools here to generate a Favicon if needed.
Update the Icon that is used when people save your mobile site.
Used in the Browser Title, system emails and other places.
These are used in the Display and also in the saved name.
Totally customize your Mobile Version. This works with the new mobile version that will be coming in 2019.
We've made it much easier for you to pay each month.
We now offer the option of auto-paying your invoices with us. In your invoice look for the "Terms" and learn the details of how to set up auto-pay.
We've added 9 new Email Templates for you to add to your system. Get the instructions on how to download the XML file to import to your accounts here: Email Templates.
We've included Holiday designs so you will want to do this soon!
If you are not yet using the new Content Designer, email support to get set up today.
We've added tracking for changes to a password for both the account owner and team user to the Account Log Report.
You may now add or edit a value in the Custom Fields with your Action Set. This works with the check boxes, the drop downs and also the text fields.
Search for contacts that do not have an open To-Do. This will help you keep track of any contacts that may have fallen through the cracks and need some follow up.
As you know, you can create Custom Action Set Items for your users. There is now an option for a user input parameter. Check out how it works on our Developer Blog.
We've added an admin tool for you to clear the Bounces on a client's account. This will be used when there is an issue with the from address that causes bounces that are not bounces because of a true issue with the contact email. You will find this in your Admin Panel when you click on the user account.
You can now search for contacts that have Open To-Do's, Complete To-Do's, Open or Completed To-Do's or have no To-Do's.
If you are using our Email Info Center on your Home Screen, when there are Spam Complaints, you can now click to see who complained and when they complained.
We've added 3 new features that will help you manage your opt-ins.
This is an Extra Field you can add to a Landing Page. It must be checked before your prospect can click the Submit. Each user can add their own text (unlimited).
You can search your opt-ins by the type of consent.
When you want to confirm a contact wants to continue to receive information from you, use our Mail Merge Field Opt-In Confirmation Link.


Heisei 30, 2018 March 27 (Tue) Saitama prefecture Niiza city.
Continuing from yesterday, chemtrail spraying is also being carried out on full scale on March 27 today. As you can see, the spraying is actually being done as everyday, while the government, the mass media and the Meteorological Agency are keeping their secret behind their mouths. Please take photos of yourself with your smartphone and upload it as a video or show it to your friends and let people around you know this reality.


text:
Phanerotoma uniformis är en stekelart som beskrevs av Charles Thomas Brues 1926. Phanerotoma uniformis ingår i släktet Phanerotoma och familjen bracksteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Bracksteklar
uniformis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Published at Thursday, April 18th, 2019 - 3:52 PM. 7 Wiring Diagram. By Georgette S. Saldana.
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Sean Hagan lauded a sterling defensive display and a fantastic first half as Leitrim claimed their first Allianz League Division 4 win of 2014.
Up against one of the favourites for promotion, Sean was clearly delighted with Leitrim's five point win but stressed that the Green & Gold have yet to perform for a full 70 minutes - "We're delighted, the first half performance laid down a marker.
The Leitrim manager is taking nothing for granted for the rest of the league but was happy to get an important first win - "It is a very competitive league, we have two more home games, we're on the road for four.
"It is a tremendously hard division but this is a massive two points for us. We're concentrating on our own camp and as far as we are concerned, if we can get a performance like we did in the first half for the full game, let the opposition worry about us.
"The lads know well that these opportunities don't come around all the time. We have a serious competitive squad, there are lads coming back from injury and there are more lads struggling for fitness. When we have a full panel, we will have a serious headache picking the team.


Dining Room Table Furniture Tags : Noteworthy Dining Room Decor Smart Corner Dining Set That Live Up To Your Expectations. Great Rustic Dining Table That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier.
Lilianna Wiggins Dining Room, 2018-09-14 08:32:41. Don't worry too much about your hickory tables changing in color. As said previously, the tones will change to something closer to amber, but hickory is not known for its drastic color changes. While it will definitely move closer to amber as it ages, it will not be so noticeable that all your accessories will start to look all wrong for it. Chances are you will still be able to use the same accessories for them.
Nora Young Dining Room, 2018-09-18 10:09:25. One of the best types of dining furniture you can ever get for your home is walnut furniture. If you've never seen walnut before, it's the black walnut kind that is so much rarer to get, but much more beautiful to look at - in general, black walnut appears straight-grained, with a uniform texture that feels a bit coarse to the touch. The beauty of black walnut dining furniture is that it starts of with a rich, warm shade, which is so beautiful to look at, especially in the light. As it ages, and as time progresses, it then turns into a more golden brown, which is equally stunning.
Louisa Rocha Dining Room, 2018-09-18 02:36:54. The kind of material of the dining room furniture is very important, as far as the pricing and the degree of care is concern. Some materials are too fragile and they may require that you have the right kind of plans in place to avoid losses. There are situations that such dining room furniture may not be ideal for your home. A good example is the case where you have children that are young and very playful or a pet that is likely to cause any breakages.
Louisa Rocha Dining Room, 2018-09-18 23:41:49. As you can see, shopping for dining room furniture is really a serious undertaking that you have to really think through before investing in. Never forget these elements when you go shopping, and never go impulse shopping. Always keep your priorities and must-haves in mind, and you will definitely get yourself quality dining room furniture. Never settle for anything less than good quality - you don't have to get yourself the most ostentatious dining room furniture out there; you just need to get one that is most suited to your lifestyle and sets a positive mood at the dining room table, especially during mealtimes.


It's coming up to Easter which means one thing in the land of choral singing round these parts. That's right...the Queensland Eisteddfod which this year is being held in Maryborough. So, for the Bundaberg Orpheus Singers is just down the road. We are entering the Sacred Choral and Madrigal section where the classic little ditty above is the set piece. I love it. It's fun too because being unaccompanied I get to sing and I have chosen to sit with the tenors. It's high in their range and low for me.
Our own choice is Rest Sweet Nymphs which is very beautiful also. Enjoy.
For the first time in weeks I have not had to do "work" on a weekend (unless we count replying to email) so I have been able to do some TV watching catchup from my DVD recorder. Last night I went retro with Pie in the Sky which I will never cease to adore. I still have an Annie Liebovitz documentary from weeks ago, Brick Lane, all three episodes of Strike Back and La Vie en Rose from last night on SBS to make my way through. However, today I felt like a documentary about the 1960s in America so I watched Roads to Memphis all about the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the story of his assassin James Earl Ray. It seemed peculiarly pertinent that I watch this as it connects directly with some of the topics for discussion that have been popping up in class. In the first few weeks of term we introduce our students to the idea of genre, use of language for particular audiences and purposes, the difference between writing and verbal speech etc. Two of the examples we provide always provoke a lot of discussion and this year was no different. First we give them an excerpt from Dr King's "I have a dream" and this is followed by Lincoln's Gettysburg address. While it is fascinating to see the varying levels of awareness of these cultural figures, it is also interesting that the students engage with the writings so readily even if they don't know very much about either Lincoln or King (I blame the current education system but that's another story). We talk about the language they use, who are they speaking to, why do they choose particular words, phrases, do we think they are effective in getting their messages across. In some ways, for students to answer these questions its helpful if they have no prior or contextual knowledge until after the discussion; that way they take the writing on its own merit. Anyway, it's always a lesson I enjoy and it often filters through into many classes that follow.
Watching Roads to Memphis this afternoon I was reminded of how far we haven't come in many ways. A similar point was hammered home to me when I used John Lennon's Imagine in class for reflection last week - giving the students the song lyrics to reflect on the message. Nothing has changed. In fact with the ongoing turmoil throughout the world constantly bombarding us on the news, Lennon's song seemed even more poignant. Sure, call him naive, a dreamer, but without the dreamers the world would be a poorer place.
A fellow lecturer was keen to use some Bob Dylan as well for similar reasons. And with the connections between everything suddenly seemed very clear. And sad. I don't really keep up with current music these days...well that is I don't listen to Triple J or any other commercial radio. Who are the equivalent songwriters writing protest songs, songs of political comment - for me over the past decade it's been Wilco, Billy Bragg and the like. Bring them forward. I think we need some decent dreamers.
Isn't it wonderful when you wake up in the morning and realise that it's Saturday? No work.
No need to talk to people if you don't want to.
Cups of tea and coffee when and how you like them.
The fresh smell of washing powder wafting through the house as you do your weekly laundry.
Restocking the fridge with groceries and throwing out all the stuff you didn't eat last week.
Cooking up a big lamb curry and freezing it in meal size portions so cooking over the next few weeks is not a chore.
Faffing about on the internet.
Catching up on the telly you recorded during the week.
Looking forward to lying on the lounge in the afternoon pretending you are going to read a book but knowing this is a lie you tell yourself so you can have a nap.
It was my usual Tuesday evening slothed in front of the TV catching up on things I had recorded. Watching a repeat of Bones for the want of anything better on the real television, I was delighted to catch a cameo from Kent and Vyxsin, the "Dating Goths" from The Amazing Race. Kent had even more makeup on than usual, and Vyxsin's hair was very pink. Kent got to do some fabulous overacting in a scene at an auction at a scifi/fantasy convention. I am currently watch them disintegrate on The Amazing Race which is playing Sunday evenings on one of Channel Seven's extra channels. I would love for them to win, but after this Sunday's episode it looks like they "may be eliminated".
I see from my twitter feed that Whites only made it through one series before being canned. Now it looks like there is a movement to get it renewed again. After accidentally watching last night's episode on the ABC I'm not sure why, because it just wasn't really that funny. This is a shame because with cooking shows and celebrity chefs taking over our television schedules there sure is room for a biting comedy about them. Mix Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and that guy with the cravat together and there's a character I could watch with interest. Anyway, it makes me sad that Whites was so....ordinary...because I love Alan Davies. He was perfect in Jonathon Creek and lovely on QI. And Katherine Parkinson from the IT Crowd is fantastic as well but here she just seemed to be playing a poor imitation of Jen. The crafty little apprentice storyline was all just a little obvious and tired. The best thing was Maggie Steed as snobby diner from hell. Here's an actress who knows how to make the best of a ornery job.
I just don't know that I will tune in again.
This is just a little ramble through my week. Teaching is going well, but as a colleague and I discussed this afternoon we have to cram a whole heap of skills and content into the first month of the term to get our students to the first assignment. This makes for lots of preparation, lots of reading for the students, and classes which are go go go. I have managed to keep up with my study readings and started on my assignment. This weekend will be all about evaluating and posters.
Apart from that, my piano students on Wednesday afternoon are absolutely delightful. The youngest is racing ahead through his book in leaps and bounds. For the last two weeks he has arrived with at least one, if not two, extra pieces ready to "surprise" me with. And the determination of my two adult students is admirable and inspiring.
Tuesday we were grilled at work in a series of meetings with an external consultant who has been employed to do a review of preparatory programs and support services at uni. I think what he might have found that there are many issues which feed into the uni's high undergrad attrition rates...many of them in the undergrad faculties and programs. Unfortunately, that might not be within the scope of his review. I had a lot to say and I said it. Let's face it, you usually only get one chance with these things so I went for it...very politely.
TV wise I have been studiously avoiding the news. Not because I am not gravely concerned and saddened by recent events, but such is the power of seeing it over and over again on the telly that it all gets too much. Instead, I have continued my love affair with cheesy sitcoms, watching Scrubs every night on one of the Channel Seven repeat stations. Tonight, I am going to catch up with Big Love from last night, and then watch either Pie in the Sky, The Amazing Race or All Creatures Great and Small. I am recording 30 Rock as well as some program that sounds mildly interesting about the High Street in the "olden days" on the ABC at 8:30. I enjoyed David Attenborough on Sunday evening. I also watched Bones although I am sick and tired of Channel Seven stuffing around with random repeats. I mean really, a couple of weeks we see The Gravedigger get her head shot off outside the courthouse and then last Sunday, we discover who she is. Stop it! Still, the science-magic is all very gobbledygooky and entertaining. It makes me feel smarter when I watch it, even though I don't understand what they're talking about, I still manage to follow what's happening. That's quite a writing feat.
Last night I watched 27 Dresses, just to see what I might have missed when it was at the movies. The answer to that question is nothing. Sure, I like James Marsden and Judy Greer and the guy from 30 Rock whose name I can't remember. I don't watch Gray's Anatomy so the appeal of Katherine Heigl is lost on me. And really, is Ed Burns that hard up for a gig these days that he had to take a crap, one-dimensional part in this film? It seems so.
It was just what I expected, or even a little bit less. Lots of stereotyping of romance, love and gender. There was the potential for it to be a little bit subversive but they went for the happily ever after ending which all in all was a little bit sick-making. Overall, it made me feel old, cynical and not at all inclined to watch another so called romantic comedy ever again. Unless someone can recommend a decent one made in the last five years.
New Tricks has to be one of the most charming and comforting programs on the telly at the moment. Unlike the fashion in most crime dramas there is no blood and gore which is a plus (although that doesn't stop me from watching Bones). However, it is the actors which make it a worthwhile hour of my time on a Friday night at the moment. Amanda Redman is just right as Sandra Pullman, the real policewoman in charge of her three mildly unruly and eccentric retired coppers. Together they are a slightly inefficient crime-solving machine. Although, I must admit these later series are not quite as narratively tight as the early episodes, it's Jack, Jerry and most of all Brian who steal the show every week. Dennis Waterman is spot on as Jerry, the aging womaniser who loves a drink, a smoke and a good time. James Bolam is lovely as Jack, widower and elder statesman of the group. It's Alun Armstrong though as Brian who steals the show. With a sometimes precarious grip on reality, Brian is a computer whiz with a knowledge of all things wild and wonderful, who can join random dots together to solve a case.
Last night's Banksy inspired episode was the usual stuff, but more interesting for the fact that Brian joined Twitter in the opening scenes. His frustration at his inability to condense his morning's activities into 140 characters was delightful, as was his glee when his followers reached double figures - 11. Sadly though, no-one (cast or writers) had much time for Brian's growing twitter addiction and he deleted his @TopCop999 account after @DavetheFish said he was dull. What I was really waiting for was Brian's twitter account to somehow save the day in the investigation of the cold case murder. That would have awesome, and a great trick indeed. Unfortunately, it was relegated to minor, amusing subplot that went nowhere. Perhaps Jerry could join Facebook in a few weeks time. I'm sure that's fodder for plenty of hi-jinks.
It's been a busy quick week here at The Spiralling Shape. After a week with no internet access at home I finally received my new modem etc in the post yesterday and managed to set it up with the help of a friendly, methodical helpdesk person on the end of the phone. We haz interwebs. (Poor attempt at lolcat speak).
Tuesday saw International Women's Day arrive and depart. I meant to post this at the time but the day got away from me. I like to think it inspired me when I was a little girl whiling away the afternoons in front of the telly.
Awesome isn't it?! Especially the key change and the big finale.
Apart from that teaching continued with a good class of keen students. We now all understand the basic structure of an academic paragraph and are learning to love spelling and grammar. We have also had some thoughtful discussions of contemporary society, culture and communities.
In between that I have taught my piano students; Wednesday afternoons is full now for three hours. I start with the 8 year old who is as keen as mustard and finish with my two determined adult learners. I really am enjoying it at the moment.
And finally, I am keeping up with my new study. I have done my first two weeks readings, listened to two online lectures and this weekend will begin my first assignment. I have also decided to start a new blog that will be devoted to my study. That is, I will keep The Spiralling Shape for its original purpose and put all the library stuff somewhere else.


A promising, young BMX racer who represented Canada and won titles at home and abroad has died in a workplace accident in the waters off northeast Vancouver Island. A post on the Nanaimo BMX Facebook page says Nanaimo resident Aidan Webber died Sunday.
Teen was national junior champion from Nanaimo, B.C.
A promising, young BMX racer who represented Canada and won titles at home and abroad has died in a workplace accident in the waters off northeast Vancouver Island.
A post on the Nanaimo BMX Facebook page says Nanaimo resident Aidan Webber died Sunday.
The BC Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC confirm there was a death, but say privacy rules prevent them from naming the victim.
WorkSafeBC says the young worker died in an accident that involved a fish pen about 16 kilometres off Port Hardy.
Webber won Canada's BMX championship for junior men, aged 17 and 18, last July and represented Canada at the world championships in Colombia in 2016.
"Aidan, was an amazing son, brother, rider and friend to many. He has been a constant figure racing around Nanaimo's track and tracks all around the world. His friends come from far and wide. Aidan will be missed by all," says the BMX Nanaimo post.
After coming off a year of injury in 2017, Webber told the Cycling Canada website that his Canadian junior victory last summer was a "huge confidence booster."
"Winning the national champion's jersey really shows all the hard work I've put in," he said.
A post on Webber's own Facebook page in late 2016 thanked his parents, coach and sponsors for helping him do what he loved and was "still truly passionate about."
WorkSafeBC says a report detailing the cause of the death will be available after an investigation into the death concludes.


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RefugeesInternational.org: Report: We Were Warned: Unlearned Lessons of Famine in the Horn of Africa
Abdullahi Halakhe
Almost 40 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya face an unprecedented food and nutrition emergency. This crisis is driven by five failed or below-average rainy seasons and a looming sixth in 2023. In Somalia and Ethiopia, the rain failure is exacerbated by protracted conflict. The region has also suffered from the negative impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. Many of the countries in the region are net food importers, and the Ukraine crisis has led to an increase in the price of food. In a region where most rely on rain-fed agriculture and pastoralism, cyclic drought has eroded community resilience, leading to a grim humanitarian crisis.
Poor funding is hampering efforts by humanitarian groups to address the crisis. As a result, some groups have resorted to making painful choices of "taking the food from the mouths of hungry people to the mouths of starving people." According to the World Food Program in Somalia, 7.1 million people face acute food insecurity, and 213,000 people are facing catastrophic hunger levels. In Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, 7.46 million children under the age of five are estimated to face acute malnutrition, including 1.85 million facing severe malnutrition.
Regional governments and international donors know how to respond to the drought but have failed to apply lessons from the past. Indeed, the current crisis echoes the devastating 2011-2012 famine in Somalia when over a quarter million people died, half of whom were children under the age of five. By the time famine was declared, half of the people experiencing famine had died. Donors, humanitarian agencies, and the governments of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia learned hard lessons from the famine and adopted a "No Regret" funding posture during the region's ensuing 2017-18 drought. They did not wait for the formal declaration of famine to upscale their aid delivery to people in need and deferred to quick, on-the-ground expertise in their field offices rather than onerous decisions from headquarters at key moments. Ultimately, they saved many lives and livelihoods.
Today, these hard-learned lessons have failed to hold. For over a year, there has been a sustained early warning of a new drought and its consequences for the Horn of Africa. However, those warnings have yet to trigger a response that matches the scale of need. If urgent actions are not taken, history is set to repeat itself on an even larger scale. This does not have to be the case. Lives and livelihoods can still be saved.
Experts know what works: adequate empirical evidence shows that early action, relief, and social safety programs, especially Emergency Cash Transfers, save lives and livelihoods and offer dignity to those in need. National safety net programs can be used to prevent the acute impact of food insecurity and, in the medium term, a path to longer-term poverty reduction. Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya each have social safety programs designed precisely for situations like this. These systems have worked during past droughts. Donors, humanitarian agencies, and national governments should therefore view social safety programs as the connective tissue that links humanitarian aid and development.
In Somalia and Ethiopia, internal conflicts are the chief barrier to delivering humanitarian aid. In 2011, humanitarian groups feared falling afoul of the sweeping counter-terrorism regimes, and Al-Shabaab's onerous and arbitrary requirement to program in the areas under their control inhibited humanitarian access in southern Somalia. Initially, most areas that experienced famine were predominantly areas under Al-Shabaab's control, although it spread to the government-controlled areas later. Today, Al-Shabaab does not control as many areas as in 2011. However, between 700,000 and 900,000 people still live in regions controlled by the group, making humanitarian access difficult.
Ethiopia has historically suffered from chronic food insecurity, and the government has addressed some of its causes through the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The absence of large-scale conflict has also helped. But the outbreak of conflict in late 2020 between the Tigray authority on one side and the Federal Ethiopian government, the Eritrean military, and various militia on the other side has diverted resources towards the war and weakened community resilience. The federal government's humanitarian blockade has also denied people in need of aid. Additionally, the killing of humanitarian workers and looting of humanitarian aid by parties to the conflict has exacerbated the already perilous situation.
The length and severity of droughts in the Horn of Africa are increasing. However, experts know how to address drought, and the 2017-2018 drought response offered a workable template. Early response, sufficient timely funding, and a combination of humanitarian aid and social safety nets save lives. Regional leaders must heed these lessons, starting with convening a regional summit to sound the alarm and take urgent action to address the ongoing crisis and halt the avoidable cycle of suffering.
Donor countries should:
Fund the over $3.7 billion in requirements set out in the UN Horn of Africa's Drought Call to Action and commit to flexible multiyear funding. Funding for the drought response stands at 72 percent for Somalia and 55 percent for Kenya, and 52 percent for Ethiopia of the respective 2022 annual requirements for each country. These gaps need to be closed immediately. The current drought has now surpassed the 2010-2011 and 2017 droughts in its length and severity and will only cost more if action is not funded now.
The European Union should increase its funding to address the humanitarian crises resulting from the regional drought. Currently, the United States is funding the lion's share of the response. It has provided almost US$1 billion to Somalia and is funding over 70 percent of the UN Children Fund's Horn of Africa nutrition response.
Invest in social safety programs and resilience across the Horn of Africa. These programs can complement humanitarian aid by helping to prevent acute food insecurity and by creating pathways out of the crisis. However, donors will need to strike a careful balance between humanitarian aid and financial support for social safety programs to reflect the realities of different countries in the region.
In Kenya, donors should give top priority to shoring up the country's relatively robust Hunger Safety Net Program (HSNP). In the financial year 2020/2021, the Kenyan government allocated US$308 million to social protection, but because of the increasing scale of need, more money will be needed.
In Ethiopia, donors should complement their support for the UN's humanitarian drought appeal with funding for the country's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). The PSNP has proven effective in addressing food insecurity in the past. However, two years of war and the Federal Government's blockade of the Tigray region have destroyed much of the PSNP infrastructure in the north of the country. As a result, the program cannot be relied upon to deliver results in the region hit hardest by food insecurity.
In Somalia, donor funding should prioritize the UN's humanitarian drought appeal. Somalia's social safety program – Baxnaano or Uplifting in Somalia – is still in its nascent stage and not yet sufficiently robust in capacity or reach to play a central role in warding off famine.
Consider relaxing the U.S. Treasury and State Department's sanctions regime for humanitarian agencies delivering aid in the Al-Shabaab-controlled area in Somalia. The relaxation should be followed by Comfort Letters explicitly stating that humanitarian agencies acting in good faith are exempt from prosecutions for food, medicine, and other essential supplies, including cash, that unintentionally ends up in the hands of Al-Shabaab.
The African Union, the United States, the European Union, and the UN Security Council should:
Impose targeted sanctions on those violating the terms of Ethiopia's Ceasefire Agreement, including those denying humanitarian access and starving civilians in violation of Ethiopian and international humanitarian laws.
Humanitarian actors should:
Activate an IASC System-Wide Scale-Up for Kenya and extend the IASC System-Wide Scale-Up for Somalia and Ethiopia through to the end of the next rainy season, which starts in March and ends in May 2023. The Scale-Up should be accompanied by a surge in resources, funding, and technical expertise. This should not wait for the formal declaration of famine.
The UN Secretary-General should immediately visit the three countries, Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, to raise the profile of the humanitarian situation.
The governments of Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia should:
Urgently convene a regional summit on food and nutrition insecurity in the region, via the IGAD extraordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government, to increase the profile of the situation and bring much-needed attention, pledges of support, and political focus to the issue.
Refugees International traveled to the region in September 2022 to assess the humanitarian response to food and nutrition insecurity and explore policy solutions. The team also visited regional refugee camps. This report is informed by dozens of in-person and phone interviews with representatives of UN agencies and local and international non-governmental organizations working to provide humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Background: Famine in the Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa has a history of food insecurity. A mix of catastrophic drought and ongoing conflict plunged countries in the region into crisis twice in the previous decade. The 2011 drought and famine in Southern Ethiopia was a turning point in how donors and humanitarian agencies address food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. Several key lessons emerged from the 2011 crisis, including the importance of early responses; the need for timely and flexible funding; and the imperative to couple humanitarian response with services delivered through social safety networks. Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) proved to be particularly important because they save both lives and livelihoods. When famine conditions threatened in 2017–2018, EMC was deployed to great effect. Unfortunately, these lessons have not been applied as drought ravages Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia today.
However, it is important to acknowledge the complexity of the operating environment. Drought is not the only challenge confronting the Horn of Africa. Indeed, the region is being buffeted by multiple crises, both natural and manmade. These crises have eroded community resilience, making large portions of the population vulnerable to food insecurity. Conflict, political instability, and climate change have long been drivers of the region's food insecurity and displacement. Somalia, for example, has not had a stable central government since 1991. With the help of the African Union peacekeeping mission, the Somali government has been fighting the Al Qaeda-affiliated jihadi group Al Shabab. The presence of the terrorist group and instability in large areas of the country has complicated efforts to adequately respond to both past droughts and the ones gripping the country today.
Ethiopia had been largely stable since the mid-1990s, registering impressive economic growth. Yet for the last two years, it has been mired in a civil conflict pitting the Tigray region against the Ethiopian federal government, Eritrea, and an assortment of local and regional militias. Millions of people have been displaced, and millions face a lack of medicine, food, and access to cash and telecommunications. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 5 million people need humanitarian aid inside the Tigray region.
2011 Famine
In the case of the 2011 famine, the initial warning came as early as August 2010; "La Niña events are associated with drier-than-normal conditions during the October–December rainy season in the eastern sector of East Africa". A few months later, in November 2010, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) issued another warning stating rainfall during the October–December period was "likely to be below‐average," indicating severe food insecurity for southeast Kenya and Somalia, particularly after January and February.
In its March 15, 2011, warning FEWS NET and Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit stated that in the eastern Horn of Africa, households: "face moderate to extreme levels of food insecurity due to an ongoing drought, deteriorating purchasing power, and, in some areas, limits on the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Based on the findings of a multi‐agency scenario building process, the likely poor performance of March–May rainfall is expected to result in further deterioration in food security."
The warning continued, "even if March–May rains are average, food security in the region's eastern sector is expected to remain critical through at least May/June 2011. Large‐scale emergency assistance to address current and likely food insecurity is needed; additional contingency planning, given the possibility of a major crisis, should also be implemented."
Unfortunately, these early warnings were not headed. As a result, 260,000, half of them children under the age of five, died in Somalia. At least half of the deaths had occurred by the time the Somali famine was declared in 2011. According to OCHA, the median rate of acute malnutrition in southern regions in Somalia rose from 16 percent in August 2010 to 25 percent in January 2011 to a record of 36 percent in August 2011, a month after the declaration of the famine. This means in January, it was at 25 percent already – six months before the famine declaration; (15 percent mortality is an indicator of a serious humanitarian crisis and the threshold for triggering a response.
In the wake of the famine, leaders committed to never letting this happen again.
2017–2018 Drought
During the 2017–2018 drought, donors and humanitarian agencies worked together to avert the worst by taking early action, including the provision of cash. Donors and humanitarian agencies took a "No Regrets" funding policy rather than a "wait and see" approach. The forward-learning policy averted the crisis during the drought. The pace of the response in Somalia was swift. Aid agencies began to respond in November 2015 in the North (Somaliland and Puntland areas) and in November 2016 in the rest of the country after the bad 2016 Gu season (rain season starts the second half of March). Unlike in 2011, aid agencies did not wait for an official famine declaration to scale up. The donors were more responsive and flexible in granting authorization to allocate "resilience money for Emergency Cash Transfers and emergency water trucking to limit the need to move animals."
The Department for International Development (DFID) made money available in March after consultation with the Somalia country office. The headquarters was following the country office's lead. Such a swift response, and allowing the in-country office's advice to take precedent was in part driven by the determination to avoid a repeat of the 2011 famine situation. While the funding levels were necessary, so too was adopting a risk management approach: if there is a probability of high impact occurring, an intervention must begin immediately. In the case of Somalia, avoiding a repeat of 2011 was crucial.
A New Famine in 2022
Despite having learned from the past for the 2017–2018 response, the current response in the region looks a lot like the failed 2011 approach. The slow response is not because of a lack of early warnings.
FEWSNET's first alert for 2022 was issued on August 13, 2020, indicating "worsening acute food insecurity." Mid-May 2021, FEWS NET issued another alert indicating Food assistance needs are "sharply increasing in the Horn of Africa," raising the likelihood of a third consecutive season of below-average rainfall." Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) alert in October 2021 indicated Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia will likely grow." In November, FSNWG issued another warning raising the prospect of acute malnutrition. In November 2021, FEWS NET issued a warning, and another in December, stating over 20 million people will need urgent humanitarian aid, which is 70 percent more than in 2017–2018, especially in Northern Ethiopia. In April 2022, FEWS NET warned that approximately 7.1 million people across Somalia would likely experience high levels of acute food insecurity, 4.7 million were facing a crisis, and 2.1 million people were facing an Emergency. The World Metrological Organization warned of a drought of a length not experienced in the last 40 years."
The Crisis Takes Shape
These increasingly dire warnings are now taking shape on the ground. According to the UN, "across the Horn of Africa, at least 36.1 million people will be affected by severe drought in October 2022, including 24.1 million in Ethiopia, 7.8 million in Somalia, and 4.2 million in Kenya. This represents a significant increase from July 2022 (when an estimated 19.4 million people were affected), reflecting the impact of the drought in additional areas of Ethiopia and rising needs in Somalia and Kenya."[1]
The severity of the crisis is perhaps most evident when it comes to child nutrition. Food insecurity ravages entire communities, but often hits children the hardest. Failure to get the daily calorie intake affects children's long-term cognitive development. Children usually get some of their meals through the School Feeding Programs (SFP). SFP predominantly relies on donor funding, and some of those programs have run out of money. Thus, children do not have adequate food at home or school. Food insecurity negatively impacts education outcomes. Many children have stopped attending school because of a lack of food. Some children are forced to engage in child labor to supplement the family's income.
Child malnutrition provides a good indicator of the food and nutrition situation in each area at any one time. The table below sets out the nature and extent of child malnutrition in the three countries in question. There are three main categories for measuring children's malnutrition: children who are Moderately Acutely Malnourished (MAM); children who are Severely Acutely Malnourished (SAM); and aggregate Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) for children. Global acute malnutrition (GAM) is the total number of child ages 6-59 months in each population considered severely acutely malnourished (SAM) and moderately acutely malnourished (MAM). According to UNICEF, as of September, over 13 million children are experiencing various forms of malnutrition. In the Tigray region, because of the lack of access, the numbers could even be higher.
Early Action Can Save Lives
Today, humanitarian early warning systems and indicators are clearly blinking red across the Horn of Africa. The 2011 famine and the 2017–18 drought underscored the need to translate such warnings into early action. Such action saves lives and livelihoods. It is also cost-effective. The literature on this score is also clear. A study commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) demonstrates that "a more proactive response to avert humanitarian crises could reduce the cost to international donors by 30% while also protecting billions of dollars of income and assets for those most affected."
In Somalia, an early humanitarian response would save an estimated "US$220 million on the cost of humanitarian response alone over 15 years. When avoided income and livestock losses are incorporated, an early humanitarian response could save US$460 million, or an average of US$31 million per year." The Inter-Agency Standing committee offered a verdict on Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia's 2011 famine stated "Prevention via national safety nets, and concerted DRR gives the best value for money in areas of chronic emergency. The cost of routine support to 7.2 million people via Ethiopia's PSNP was $270 million compared with $822 million for relief to 5 million people."
An analysis of supplementary livestock feeding programs in northern Kenya in 2011 compared the cost of replacing these animals by restocking them after the drought. The feed program cost approximately US$82,353, whereas the restocking would have cost US$258,065. In other words, it was around three times more expensive to restock than to keep sheep and goats alive during the drought through feed supplementation.
Early warning programs that combine humanitarian response with social protection have also proven successful. For example, it is estimated that every $1 spent on social protection and resilience programming in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, when combined with early intervention around the time of the crisis, results in net benefits (savings) in the order of $2.30–$3.30 compared to a costly international humanitarian response delivered after a crisis has occurred.
A Lackluster Donor Response
Governments in the region finally began to acknowledge the drought in the latter part of 2021. On September 8, 2021, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the drought in Kenya a national disaster. On November 23, 2021, Somalia's Prime Minister declared a state of emergency. Unfortunately, donors and aid agencies have yet to respond with the necessary speed and generosity. The lack of funding is having a devastating impact on both lives and livelihoods, particularly for the more vulnerable communities.
The drought response plans remain significantly under-resourced. The latest iterations of the funding appeals are set in the UN's Horn of Africa Drought Call to Action issued in November 2022. According to the Call to Action, humanitarian agencies need over US$3.7 billion to respond to drought across the three countries. The drought appeal for Ethiopia calls for US$1.7 billion and is 52 percent funded. The drought appeal for Kenya requires US$290 million and is 55 percent funded. The appeal for the Somalia calls for US$1.8 billion and is 72 percent funded. It is worth noting that the current drought in the Horn of Africa has now surpassed the droughts in 2010–2011 and 2016–2017 in both duration and severity and will only cost more if action is not funded now.
The response by donors has varied dramatically. USAID has been the principal donor for the Horn of Africa humanitarian response. In 2022, USAID/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) provided $1 billion. On September 21, 2022, USAID provided more than $151 million in new assistance to the people of Somalia. $146.5 million is for food assistance, as drought pushes more than 7 million people to the edge of starvation. The United States is providing over 70 percent of the UN Children Fund's (UNICEF) regional humanitarian response funding.[2] On the other hand, the EU's contribution stands at a mere €108.2 million (US$112 million) for the regional drought response.
The funding deficit for the Horn of Africa points to a broader inequality in global aid distribution. Most notably, it sharply contrasts with the financing the Ukraine appeal receives. After just three months, the Ukrainian appeal was funded at 85 percent. Similarly, in the UK, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) of non-governmental organizations has collected more donations for Ukraine and neighboring countries than its nine previous appeals combined.
Because of limited funding, humanitarian groups have been forced to make difficult decisions. In Somalia, the World Food Program (WFP) scaled back its nutrition program to deal with malnutrition. Refugees in camps relying on WFP were not spared either, as WFP cut the ration for refugees by up to 50 percent. The move affected three-quarters of all refugees living in Ethiopia and Kenya. One UN official told Refugees International they are all hands-on deck but still cannot get traction with donors.
The failure of European and other traditional donors to respond to the drought's early warning and the Horn of Africa appeal is disappointing. The Ukraine and COVID-19 responses demonstrated that, with the requisite political will, bilateral and multilateral donors can properly resource humanitarian responses. However, European countries are now grappling with their own domestic and regional challenges, including the energy crisis and hosting millions of Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion.
All this underscores the need for a surge of humanitarian diplomacy to focus attention on the regional crisis. The WFP Executive Director David Beasley visited Somalia in August 2022. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths visited Somalia in the spring of 2022—the epicenter of the drought in the Horn of Africa. USAID Administrator Samantha Power traveled to the Horn of Africa to underscore the gravity of the situation. It is time for the UN Secretary-General to do the same. While donors are doing their bit, albeit inadequately, there is a role for the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC), and regional leaders and bodies like the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa. The provision of adequate food for their citizens is the primary function of the state, and the leaders need to step up. Like December 2020 when it convened an Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government coronavirus, IGAD should host a summit on food insecurity.
Social Safety and Humanitarian Crisis
Besides early action and adequate and timely funding, social safety nets are the other pillar of dealing with food insecurity. Social safety nets can be important tools owing to their quick turnaround in their disbursement—especially cash transfers—and can provide critical avenues for cushioning communities against the severe impacts of food insecurity and enhancing their resilience. Over the years, Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, with the help of donors, have developed and deployed social safety in the face of humanitarian crises. The African Union Social Policy Framework (2008) provided the guiding principles and stimulus for developing social policy across the continent. These programs target the most vulnerable households through cash transfers. Ethiopia's social safety program is more robust than Somalia's. Somalia's program is still evolving.
Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) was launched in 2005, targeting the four regional states (Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region [SNNP]). The program is designed to address both chronic food insecurity among Ethiopia's poor and shorter-term shocks, mainly droughts. The PSNP targeted approximately 5 million chronically food insecure people living in 262 "chronically insecure food woredas"[3] in 2005.
The PSNP's objectives include smoothing household food consumption and protecting assets, strengthening household and community resilience to shocks, and breaking Ethiopia's chronic dependence on food aid. The two guiding principles of the PSNP are predictability ("A safety net delayed is a safety net denied") and avoiding dependency ("by requiring able-bodied beneficiaries to provide labor in exchange for program transfers").
One of the innovative aspects of PSNP is the Risk Financing Mechanism, which allows a scale-up in times of crisis. RFM is designed to reduce the typical timeline for a humanitarian response so that households receive assistance before a situation becomes acute. Humanitarian funding does not have that discretion, and the timeline from when a disaster is declared to when the funding or aid arrive is longer. The key to the RFM is the Early Warning data collection. Based on the early warning data analysis, a committee determines if RFM should be triggered. Once the committee releases the fund to the most vulnerable households, up to the Woreda (district) or Kabele (Ward) level. Depending on the level of need, the committee will decide where the cash or food requirements still need to be provided through the PSNP RFM or the traditional humanitarian system PSNP. Its level of granularity and quick turnaround make RFM such an important tool.
The RFM in Action
RFM's quick turnaround and the response window compared to the humanitarian appeal make it better suited for responding to the quick onset of an emergency.
By early February 2011, indications of drought and possible crisis began to emerge in Ethiopia.
Typically, PSNP cash transfers were done between February and August. For the families that still need food support, PSNP Contingency Budget is the avenue through which their needs are met. This applies to those who live in the highland areas between August and the harvesting month, November, which falls outside the PSNP months. Outside PSNP months, The Ethiopian government triggered the RFM in August 2011 to address the food needs of approximately 9.6 million people n PSNP districts.
The humanitarian appeal for Ethiopia was launched in March 2011. The appeal resulted in some resources being available for response; as of December 2011 (nine months after the appeal was launched and some 13 months after the original assessment), 94 percent of the funding for the humanitarian appeal was in place. When regular PSNP transfers stopped in August, the RFM completed a rapid need verification within a month of requesting RFM resources. Financing was disbursed within two weeks of the request. >From request for disbursement took six weeks.
Over the years, Ethiopia has made some strides in addressing food insecurity, but the ongoing conflict in its second year has eroded those gains.
Despite being broadly peaceful and without an active civil conflict like Ethiopia and Somalia, Kenya faces cyclic food insecurity, especially in the northeastern and western regions. These regions have the country's lowest development indicators and the highest incidence of poverty. The two areas are predominantly arid and semi-arid and constitute 80 percent of Kenya's land mass. Rain-fed pastoralism is the primary mode of livelihood. Eighteen of the 20 poorest constituencies in Kenya, where 74 percent to 97 percent of people live below the poverty line, are in Northern Kenya. As a result, any change in the weather pattern has an acute bearing on the region's food insecurity.
Kenya launched the Hunger Safety Net Program (HSNP) in 2007 and was piloted until 2012. During this stage, the program targeted 69,000 households in four districts in northern Kenya's Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL.). Phase II, from 2013 to 2018, targeted 100,000 poorest households. The program provided each target household with cash transfers via biometric smart cards once every two months.
HSNP's goals were: 1) to increase consumption expenditure and reduce poverty, 2) to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, and 3) to promote asset retention and accumulation. Several evaluations of the first and the second phase of the program have shown the program has achieved some of its objectives, significantly reducing food insecurity. According to one study, "Eighty-seven percent of HSNP households report eating more and larger meals. HSNP households spend approximately KES213 (US$1.74) more on food per month per adult equivalent than control households" on average, resulting in a rise in food expenditure and dietary diversity.
Despite droughts in 2017, Kenyan food insecurity was less than in 2011. In 2011, the number of severely hungry Kenyans was 2.8 million. In 2017, it was 1.75 million. An estimated 500,000 fewer people needed humanitarian assistance in 2017 than had been expected.
Conflict and Food Insecurity
Early warning, rapid funding and humanitarian action, and social safety programs are the essential pillars of effective drought response and famine prevention. However, they may not be enough to stave off catastrophe. The overall humanitarian response will also need to be sensitive to the history and impact of protracted conflict across the Horn of Africa. In Ethiopia, conflict since November 2020 has created a dire humanitarian crisis in Tigray and the adjacent regions. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991. The government has been battling Al-Shabaab since 2006. During conflicts, warring parties deliberately destroy farms, livestock, and other civilian infrastructure. Conflict causes food shortages and disruption of economic activities, threatening populations means of survival. Conflict can also significantly complicate relief efforts.
Al-Shabaab and Humanitarian Crisis
Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, Somalia has been a net recipient of humanitarian aid. Between 1999–2008, Somalia received US$2.3 billion in humanitarian aid from donors. Still, relief groups are constrained in delivering aid because Somalia remains one of the most dangerous places for aid workers to operate. In 2008, the United States designated Al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization. Since then, counter-terrorism sanctions have loomed large over humanitarian delivery in Somalia. Humanitarian agencies have long struggled to deliver aid while navigating the conflict and the risk of running afoul of counter-terror finance laws.
Over the years, there has been a relaxation of the Al-Shabaab sanctions regime to facilitate aid delivery in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas in Somalia. In August 2011, the United States announced the easing of some restrictions on U.S.-funded organizations delivering aid in Somalia, but denied requests to extend them to non-U.S.-funded groups. Further, the new policy still failed to protect humanitarian groups from prosecution for violating "material support" laws. Thus, the counter-terrorism sanctions regime even when designed to help humanitarian groups still had a chilling effect on the response.
Even when aid agencies can obtain the needed exemptions, they had to deal with Al-Shabaab's punishing restrictions and registration fees. The fee could be as steep as $10,000, administered as a Humanitarian Coordination Office (HCO), responsible for monitoring, regulating, registering, and 'taxing' aid agencies operating in Al-Shabaab territory. Before the 2011 famine, a few of Al-Shabaab's top commanders cultivated ties with relief agencies, granted them limited access after payment of "fees," and used their influence to secure the release of abducted aid workers. However, the 2011 famine coincided with the major offensive by the African Union's stabilization force in Somalia (AMISOM), which forced the terrorist group out of key urban strongholds. There was accompanied by an increase in U.S. attacks using drones and special forces operations. In response, Al-Shabaab severed links to relief agencies and banned foreign aid agencies and their local partners from its territory, accusing them of espionage.
Together, these factors led many humanitarian groups to stop delivering aid in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas. As a result, many of the 2 million people under Al-Shabaab's control at the time died during the 2011 famine. Today, Al-Shabaab maintains a smaller geographic footprint but still controls large swaths of land in southern and central Somalia. Since there is no formal census, humanitarian groups Refugees International interviewed estimate that between 700,000 to 900,000 people currently live under Al-Shabaab control.
There is a very real possibility that both the sanctions regime and Al-Shabaab itself will limit the effectiveness of humanitarian action in response to the drought. Indeed, a mix of insecurity and Al-Shabaab's behavior significantly hampered early efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tigray Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis
Ethiopia has a history of chronic food insecurity because of recurring droughts. Some of the droughts have led to famine. The 1980s Ethiopia famine was one of the worst humanitarian events of the twentieth century. According to the United Nations, Ethiopia's food shortages and hunger crisis from 1983 to 1985 led to an estimated 1 million famine deaths. The crisis was preceded by the civil conflict pitting rebel forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region against the central government. The conflict contributed to already precarious food insecurity and helped to trigger the famine.
Decades later, a similar situation has been playing out in Ethiopia. In November 2020, after a series of public confrontations, the Ethiopian government and the Tigrayan authorities entered a civil war. In support of its military campaign, the Ethiopian government established a blockade of Tigray, cutting off basic services and denying access to humanitarian aid. The net effect was to turn food into a weapon of war by starving civilians. In addition, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and their affiliate militia have also destroyed Tigray's agricultural and food systems. According to the Tigray Institute of Policy Studies, 81 percent of farming households have been affected by wide-ranging destruction such as looting, burning, and destruction of crops and farm implements.
The conflict in northern Ethiopia has left millions of people in a dire humanitarian state. According to the World Food Program, 2 million people are severely hungry, and 50 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished in the Tigray region. Because of a two-year media and internet shutdown, assessing the full extent of the devastation of the war on food insecurity is difficult. However, according to the estimates by researchers from the University of Ghent, between 385,000 and 600,000 people died directly or indirectly because of the war. Aid workers have become a target. By the end of 2021, 23 aid workers had been killed in the Tigray region since the start of the conflict.
The November 2 signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front in Pretoria and a further November 12 Nairobi agreement on the road map implementation of the Pretoria deal gives some cause for hope. Under the deal, Tigrayan fighters are to demobilize and submit to the rule of the federal government in trade for an effective lifting of the blockade. A symbolic amount of humanitarian aid has begun to make its way into the embattled region. However, the amount entering the region does not match the needs. The deal faces other significant challenges, not least the continued presence of Eritrean forces in Tigray. An international relief effort for the drought must be accompanied by meaningful and sustained humanitarian access to the traumatized and starving civilian populations of both Tigray and neighboring regions affected by the conflict. Further, there should be accountability for those who violate the agreement, including the denial of humanitarian access to people in need.
Thousands of people, especially children, will die in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in the next few months. Not because there was no adequate and repeated warning of the impending drought, and not because humanitarian agencies do not know how to program in those countries. They did so in 2017–2018. It will be because of inaction and a lack of political will to fund the Horn of Africa humanitarian plan.
The Ukraine-Russia war has demonstrated that the humanitarian donor system can be mobilized quickly with the requisite political will. The Horn of Africa region, which staved off famine during the 2018 drought through early action and No Regret funding from donors, should receive more attention, especially from the Europeans. Early anticipatory actions save lives and livelihoods and are cost-effective compared to delayed response.
In the long term, as the impact of climate change becomes severe and frequent, the perennial Horn of Africa food insecurity will increase and will require an approach that transcends the purely humanitarian response. A fusion of humanitarian and social safety networks could set the stage for greater community resilience in the face of future shocks.
[1] OCHA, Horn of Africa Drought: Regional overview, September 2022
[2] Refugees International Interview, UNICEF, September 18, 2022, Nairobi
[3] Woreda is a district in Ethiopia.
Photo Caption: People are seen in a drought affected area in Mandera, Kenya on December 02, 2022. Photo by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

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5 Reasons That Shouting "Racism" Doesn't Work Anymore
23 Mar, 2012 by John Hawkins
Because of slavery (Democrats did it), KKK violence (Democrats did it), segregation (Democrats did it), Jim Crow laws (Democrats did it) and other historic abuses heaped on black Americans in our country by the Democratic Party and its supporters, America has been a bit oversensitive about race for the last few decades. Of course, the political party responsible for all of that racism is now the one shouting, "You're a racist," and trying to pit different racial groups against each other. That might seem ironic at first glance, but if you think about it, it's actually par for the course. Since its founding, the Democratic Party has always tried to generate racial strife; it just uses a little different strategy today than it did in the past. Unfortunately for Democrats, the race card just doesn't work as well as it did in the good old days. There was a time when a condemnation by Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton produced actual fear as opposed to eye rolls and laughter. It wasn't so long ago that being called racist was a threat, as opposed to just being more of an annoyance today. That has only changed in the last few years for a few select reasons.
1) Barack Obama won the presidency.: Like him or not, Barack Obama's election was a historic moment. He turned out to be the Jackie Robinson of the American presidency. Unfortunately, this time around, Jackie Robinson hit .162, couldn't field, and spent way too much time golfing and speechifying instead of doing his job. Still, it was a historic moment. For the first time, the leader of the free world was black. Fifty years ago, during the civil rights era, that would have been unthinkable. So, the moment Obama was elected, people started asking the obvious question, "How serious of a problem can racism still be in the United States if a black man can be elected President?" The honest answer to that question is, "Not very."
2) Black Americans have become much more prominent in the Republican Party.: Despite what you hear from the Left, the Republican Party has never, at any point in its history, been a racist party. Yet and still, because black Americans have voted so heavily for the Democrats, there just weren't a lot of black Republicans and thus, there were few prominent black Republicans. This has started to change. Clarence Thomas is the only black Supreme Court Justice. Colin Powell and Condi Rice both took turns at Secretary of State under George W. Bush. Michael Steele was the first black RNC Chairman. Walter Williams fills in for Rush Limbaugh. Tim Scott, who was endorsed by the Tea Party, was elected to Congress in South Carolina. Congressman Allen West was the keynote speaker for CPAC in 2011. Thomas Sowell was voted the: most liked conservative: in America by conservative bloggers. Herman Cain is not only wildly popular; for awhile he was the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination. There are now: enough prominent black Republicans: to completely refute the idea that Republicans are racist to any open minded person.
3) The double standard has become too big to ignore.: Democrats incessantly say and do things that would be called "racism" if they were done by Republicans. When: Harry Reid: can tout Obama because he has: "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,": Chris Mathews tells people he forgot Obama: "was black tonight for an hour,": and Joe Biden can claim that Obama is the: "first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,": without any repercussions, people get the message. There are two completely different standards for racism; one applies to liberals and the other applies to conservatives. When "racism" becomes
just another arbitrary term that has more to do with politics than hating black people, you can't expect people to take it all that seriously except in the most egregious cases.
4) It has become widely acknowledged that shouting racism is a political tactic.: We're long past the time when there's an assumption of good motives when someone cries "racism." People have come to realize it's usually about politics. Some people on the Left have become very open about that.
Tainting the tea party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats. There is no evidence that tea party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans. But getting them to spend their time purging their ranks and having candidates distance themselves should help Democrats win in November. Having one's opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness.: –: Mary Frances Berry
You can tell that other Americans are picking up on that message when you see: Tea Partiers carrying placards: that say,: "It doesn't matter what this sign says, you'll call it racism anyway."
The politicalization of the word "racism" is a shame because it does still exist. Unfortunately, for every real racist incident, there are 100 phony political cries of "racism" designed to benefit the Democratic Party and put money in the pockets of race hustlers like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the NAACP.
5) "Racism" has been so overused.: Since Barack Obama has been elected, the cries of racism have been fast and furious. This is not a surprise given the Democratic tactic of chalking up every conflict between a black liberal and a white conservative to racism. Still, it's ridiculous on its face. Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the world and liberals act as if he's a poor sharecropper being pushed around by, well — a Democrat, since Democrats were actually the racists who bullied sharecroppers. Getting beyond that, the cries of "racism" have become so incessant that they've: almost become background noise. Anybody who opposes Barack Obama? Must be racist. Are you a Tea Partier? Must be a racist. You think Michelle Obama's butt looks big in that dress? Must be a racist. Even little kids who read fairy tales know you can only cry "wolf" so many times before people stop believing you.
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How to turn on Bluetooth from inside Unity?
I am looking for a way to turn on Bluetooth on Android and iOS devices from inside my unity application or to trigger a prompt to ask the user for this (like in the example img).
Does anyone know of an asset, that can help me with this or if Unity has this feature already?
Thank you very much! Is there something similar to do this on iOS devices?
@adammak23 Hi Is it possible to connect to BLE devices(Beacons) and receive data from that using Unity.I do not know android studio or swift to make plugins.I am looking to make an indoor navigation app by detecting beacons using Unity..Any help will be appreciated.
@zyonneo Yes, and the answer is in this thread few posts above: This is a very good BLE plugin, that will give an error if Bluetooth is disabled, so you can ask user to turn it on and this is the way it should be done for the app stores to accept the app. We use the automatic way for the internal testing only: Bluetooth LE for iOS, tvOS and Android Also nRF Connect app is very helpful for discovering all IDs and characteristics of BLE devices.
@healthplexus The above answer is just a setBluetoothEnabled() function.I believe it is to turn on bluetooth device when we call that.How to get values from Beacon? Without Plugins is it possible?Else how to use plugins?How to connect it to a BLE devie and retrieve broadcasting messages?
This is the fastest way to turn ON/OFF bluetooth in android. https://windowsclassroom.com/how-to-turn-on-bluetooth-on-windows-10/ you can follow it if you want to know how to turn ON bluetooth on windows 10.


text:
…to this day Marc and Alice Davis were hosting a garden party for family and friends to celebrate Marc's 80th birthday.
As you can imagine I was looking forward to the event, but didn't want to show up to congratulate Marc with a store bought card. So I came up with this illustration in which Jafar invites Maleficent to a dance. I added lyrics from an old song in order to point out that Maleficent had an influence on the way I designed and animated Jafar. Simple, clear lines and shapes, resulting in a stylized design for the character.
The photo shows me presenting the drawing to Marc, who seemed to get a kick out of it. That's animation historian Charles Solomon in the middle.
In this clip from an interview from the late 1980ies Marc talks about how he developed Maleficent.
One thing about his calm and kind demeanor, behind all that is a forceful artist with brilliant judgement and strong opinions. If you asked him a question he would always tell you what he honestly thought, but unlike Milt Kahl, Marc did it with a tone of patience and composure.
Marc, you are greatly missed. Happy 100th birthday!
Posted by Andreas Deja at 5:40 PM 22 comments:
Marc's Cruella
A great photo with Marc Davis, Milt Kahl and Ken Anderson being interviewed, possibly for a radio program. Marc is doing the talking, but it looks like Milt is trying to get a word in.
These guys are at the top of their game, and the animators couldn't be happier, because for the first time they would see their own drawings on the screen thanks to the new Xerox process.
I cannot even imagine this film being inked, just look at the vitality of the line in this gorgeous scene.
Cruella is facing off with Nanny, who is holding her own in this confrontation.
An incredible composition for these two characters, full of personality in this one frame alone.
Stay tuned for Marc's official birthday post in a few hours!
Posted by Andreas Deja at 12:01 AM 12 comments:
Moments with Marc
I was working on the Mickey Mouse featurette The Prince and the Pauper, when I got invited to attend a screening of the story reels for Marc Davis and Joe Grant.
I remember that both men had quite a few story notes. Marc told me that if I was going to animate Mickey, to keep in mind that even a little cartoon character like him has an inherent anatomy.
You can squash and stretch him all you want, he added, but it's important to maintain the specific structure that is so typical for him.
Can you tell that I am paying attention to Marc's words of wisdom?
In this photo Marc is giving direction to Jane Fowler alongside director Clyde Geronimi.
Jane is standing in for Eleanor Audley, who voiced the character of Maleficent and provided live action as well. Jane later married effects animator Jack Boyd.
A beautiful sculpt of Maleficent's head by Marc Davis.
This meeting with Walt seems to be going very well. That's sculptor Blaine Gibson on the right, who perfectly captured Marc's designs in three dimensions.
The Disney ride It's a Small World was created by top notch artists.
The "unforgettable" song was composed by the Sherman brothers, Mary Blair did color and art direction while Alice Davis not only researched all of the folklore patterns for the dolls' costumes, but also supervised the manufacturing of the outfits.
(We celebrated Alice's birthday earlier this week).
Marc helped with final staging of the many characters, he also developed their motion range.
Marc Davis talkes about Bambi
Here is a clip from another UK TV show, this time from the early 80ies.
Marc is in his home studio, where he explains how he achieved human expressions on a realistic fawn.
Frank Thomas told me once that the animators couldn't have come up with he same results if it wasn't for Marc's thorough and extremely useful research.
Characters like the ones in Bambi could easily look overly sweet and kitschy, but when you have artists involved with Marc's caliber, that's not going to happen. Instead the film's cast is portrayed with unparalleled elegance and beauty.
Victory Through Air Power
For this most unusual of all Disney animated feature films Marc Davis storyboarded the fight sequence between the eagle and the octopus. The drawings date back to 1942/43.
What a change from his story work on Bambi, which delicately showed the poetry of nature and animal characters in the forest. Here Marc pulled all the stops in order to portray these action scenes in the most dramatic way. These story sketches were so effective that the powerful staging, color and lighting made it into the final film intact.
Marc had established himself as an artist who could handle any kind of material. Wether character styling, story sketch or animation, he excelled at all of these.
Incidentally, it was the Bill Tytla who animated the sequence, and I believe this was his last assignment before leaving Disney.
Marc and Tytla stayed in touch and remained friends for the rest of their lives.
A final film frame from the sequence.
Posted by Andreas Deja at 10:42 PM 6 comments:
Countdown to Marc Davis' 100th Birthday
This March 30 marks the 100th birthday of Marc Davis.
I thought it might be a nice idea to post material relating to Marc's career until then.
The photo shows a very young Marc Davis. It was most likely taken sometime in 1939.
Some of the rough model sheets on the wall date back to 1938 and early 1939.
This means that the location isn't an office at the then new Burbank Studios, but a much smaller temporary studio for the Bambi unit on 861 Seward Street in Hollywood.
It's always fun to have a look around and see what you can find and identify in photos like this one.
It looks like Marc is holding a fly swatter, and he is pointing at a print of the Michelangelo painting The Holy Family (perhaps a fly had just landed on it). I don't recognize the artist of the print next to it.
Love the vintage radio, and what looks like a lunchbox on the left.
The illustration with a flock of birds Marc is working on is probably a story sketch. For inspiration he has a stuffed woodpecker in front of him.
There is a sheet of paper just for sharpening pencils, but I also detect a Mickey Mouse doodle from The Sorcerer's Apprentice on it. That's unusual since Marc didn't work on that film.
Below are scans of a few of Marc's model sheets you see in the photo.
Some of Marc's bird studies for Bambi. All of these look so solid, because of his thorough understanding of birds' bone structure.
Happy Birthday, Milt Kahl!
Today is Milt's 104th birthday.
The photo was taken around June 25, 1974 at his "40th Anniversary with Disney Party" at the studio.
Milt is obviously enjoying goofy gifts from some of his colleagues.
When I started at Disney I remember seeing a long printed panel that was made up for the occasion. It was titled "40 Years of Kahl Characters" and showed many drawings from his long and astonishing career at the studio.
So this is a good enough excuse to post more of his roughs from his last animation assignment, Madame Medusa. Except for the the eyelash scene, all of these drawings are throw aways. The final animation differs just a little from what you see here.
"I was always trying to get the most entertainment out of everything" Milt said, and that intense search for character comedy, inventive drawing and great animation is evident in the these images.
But let's start off with a drawing from one of the first scenes he ever animated for the short "Mickey's Circus" from 1936.
I posted a xeroxed image of this thumbnail page before, but this is a better scan.
Both of these were a offered at auction recently.


text:
Atlas SLV-3A Agena D | Canyon 6
June 18, 1975, 9 a.m.
June 18, 1975, 9 a.m. - June 18, 1975, 9 a.m.
Destination: Geostationary Orbit
Geostationary Orbit Launch Complex 13 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Canyon was the first series of NRO's near geostationary ELINT/SIGINT satellites launched under the designation AFP-827 or Program 7500 for NRO's Program A. They were focussed on communications intelligence (COMINT).
Atlas SLV-3A Agena D
Family: Atlas
Configuration: SLV-3A Agena D
The Atlas-Agena was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was launched 109 times between 1960 and 1978.
SLV-3A Agena D
Founded: 1943 Successes: 1 Failures: 0 Pending: 0
Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953 it was purchased by General Dynamics, and operated as their Convair Division for most of its corporate history.
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Launch Complex 13


Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. and its subsidiaries is a leading specialty retailer rooted in the action sports, fashion and music influences of the California lifestyle. The Company sells a combination of branded and proprietary casual apparel, accessories and footwear designed to appeal to teens and young adults. As of September 8, 2015 the Company operated 609 stores in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. PacSun's website address is www.pacsun.com.


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Abundance or Vision… Which Comes First?
Sometimes I wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg. Recently I had an experience where a woman, Sue, visited our home and saw our vision board hanging in our bedroom. Sue was the wife of a contractor who was doing some repair work at our home and stopped by to visit with her husband.
Sue works as a cleaning lady and in her mind, had already categorized us as "rich people". I know what that's like, for I spent my childhood and the early part of my adult life thinking that I too was separate from the abundance around me.
As she paused by our vision board, I asked her if she was familiar with how creating a vision works in life. Sue immediately told me that many of the people she works for have one of these boards, but it would never work in her life- because she's not rich. She saw a vision board as a luxury for people who already had nice things in their life- not as a path to achieve it for herself.
As much as I gently tried to help her see the possibility in her own life, she wasn't open to the concept. For her, if the wealth wasn't already here, why dream? For me, whatever abundance we have in our lives came BECAUSE we first saw the vision.
So, which comes first…. the chicken or the egg, or in this case, the abundance or the vision?
Sue thinks that you first have to have abundance, while I'm a strong believer that if you have the vision, anything is possible.
From personal experience, I know that when we're coming from a place of fear or insecurity it's difficult to dream and even more difficult to believe that anything better is coming our way. I've found that the only way to bring what I want into my life, is to first believe that it's possible. Without the vision and the belief, nothing happens.
So, do only successful people have vision boards, or, are people successful BECAUSE they have one? Which comes first, the abundance or the vision?
Instead of waiting for the abundance to show up in life, I invite you to be grateful for what you already have, then create your own vision board and dream. Dream BIG! Open to the greater possibilities around you and I think you'll find that when you have the vision, everything else is not only possible, but probable.
i had a similar experience when living in an inner city neighborhood in Minneapolis. I grew up in a middle class family in rural Colorado, and while we often struggled to make ends meet, we always had presentable clothes and healthy food on the table, and were taught middle class values around gaining an education etc. . The rare visit to the Dairy Queen for a single twist cone was a huge treat. most of my friends had more money than we did.
Digging a flower bed is work, especially when double-digging in heavy clay soil. i was grateful for the help, and enjoyed the company. the neighbor–I'll call him John–told some stories about his childhood–seeing a family member shot in front of him, his own early involvment with gangs that left him with a steel plate in his head and jaw….. the stories were amazing, and so different from mine of life in a tiny village in rural colorado. It was also clear that despite the popular claims that people make their own choices with their lives, our choices are often limited and defined by what we see and are taught, overtly and implicitly, in our youth.
At one point, making conversation, I asked him what his dreams were, and what they had been as a child.
John was on his knees next to me, breaking up a clod of dirt, when I asked. He rocked back on his heels, startled, and looked at me. He stopped working, and said in a tone of complete amazement, "why….I don't know!! no one ever asked me. I didn't know it was something you could even think about." We chatted a bit more, and when the bed was done and the flowers planted, enjoyed a glass of lemonade and each went home to clean up.
Not long after that, he and his family moved on, but that moment really stuck with me. It was a brilliant illumination of how the setting we're raised in –and so often tied with class background– creates an environment in which we may not even know what's possible. For John, it was the asking of what his dreams were, in a passing conversation that I might ask of anyone, that shifted something–for both of us. He glimpsed that dreams might be ok. I glimpsed how fiercely the racism/classism ( or however you want to call it) can close doors before people even know they exist, or make it impossible to walk through even if you know they're there. I also saw the close connection and community that he came from and lived with so easily–something i see many of us middle class folks struggling to find.
Liza, this is beautiful and I'm so grateful to you for sharing it. For some reason, this just arrived in my inbox today, although I see that you wrote it 2 weeks ago!
Thank you for your patience and for sharing such a meaningful story. You have inspired me today.
Hi there Gail….I was reading the headline from this entry on Google Reader, and found this to be VERY relevant to myself and a few others I know. I am having some trouble understanding the whole "Abundance" theory though….help me understand this better so that I can apply the necessary attitudes and perceptions to help make my life more "Abundant" thanks for following me on twitter…it's a pleasure to read your tweets and blogs.
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