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You are at:Home»News»Racism probe result on Women Deliver described as 'slap in the face'
Women Deliver CEO, Katja Iversen, resigned following the allegations (Photo: Women Deliver)
Racism probe result on Women Deliver described as 'slap in the face'
By Froilan Malit on	 October 31, 2020 News, Special Report
The results of an investigation into allegations of racism and harassment at Women Deliver, a leading global advocate that champions gender equality, health and rights of girls and women, has been concluded this week with no single person pointed out as responsible for the "challenges" within the group.
The conclusion was described as a "slap in the face" to those who complained.
The investigation was launched in June following reports of racism and discrimination within the organisation from former and current employees who complained the group had a "'white saviour' complex".
A letter of solidarity was signed by 118 Women Deliver young leaders from around the world.
The report said the workplace culture at Women Deliver had been "too demanding, urgent, and high-pressure" and that the group had undergone a period of rapid growth "during which its policies and practices lagged behind".
Following the allegations, Women Deliver CEO, Katja Iversen, has resigned.
Former staffer Brittany Tatum, whose allegations were among those which sparked the inquiry, tweeted: "This all reads to me like Women Deliver doesn't really know what accountability is, and if they do, the last thing they care about is taking responsibility for their impact.
"This statement, the report from the lawyers, and everything in between is a slap in the face to all of the unpaid labour I know junior and mid-level staff have been doing at Women Deliver since Katja took her leave of absence."
Women Deliver for Change, a group described as being in solidarity with former and current staff, tweeted: "After months of working with @WomenDeliver leadership and pouring our energy into transformation efforts, we're expressing our outrage and dismay at the WD Board's failure to adequately address testimonies of current and former staff."
Women Deliver is one of three women's rights organisation troubled by allegations of racism and harassment in recent months.
The International Women's Health Coalition, whose president Françoise Girard resigned earlier this month following an investigation into allegations of racism and bullying within the organisation.
The third group, the Nobel Women's Initiative have announced reviews of their working practices after several staffs resigned citing the need for 'profound organisational reforms'.
A statement from the board of Women Deliver said it "deeply and sincerely apologises to current and former employees, young leaders and alumni, and the advocates and organisations with which it partners for harm and pain caused". (Source: The Guardian)


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Pokemon Go Review by Kwing
Written by Kwing
Category: Pokemon Game Reviews: from the oldest retro reviews to the newest
Reviewed by Kwing at the height of the summer of Pokémon Go on August 10th, 2016. Kwing has written lots of other reviews of non-Pokemon titles too, you can check them out at his GFs Profile.
"Review From Chicago Player (Early August, year of launch)"
Is that much I need to say here? This game has accumulated tens of millions of players in a matter of weeks. Augmented reality has been around, but this is the first time it's burrowed into a nostalgic little niche. Let's figure out whether or not it's worthy of the hype.
Put shortly, Pokemon is a game about catching monsters (hence the name POcKEt MONsters) and using them to fight. By exploring you can randomly encounter different Pokemon on the map, which you attempt to capture using Pokeballs. In the original you had to beat them into submission before lobbing a ball; in this game, you throw the ball as soon as you see it. The Pokemon you capture can evolve into more powerful variants as well.
Pokemon Go plays more casually than an actual RPG, and the main reason is that you can't really train your Pokemon. You collect Stardust from catching Pokemon which you can then use to power up your units, but the extent to which you can do this is limited by your trainer level. Additionally, as your trainer level increases, the combat power (CP) of Pokemon you encounter increases. In practice, this means that it's a waste to power up your Pokemon until your trainer level is sufficiently high. In fact, the same goes for evolving your Pokemon, because aside from filling out your Pokedex with each new species you discover, evolving is no different from powering up your Pokemon with Stardust.
Aside from the Pokemon themselves, two other things will appear on your map as you walk around: Pokestops and Gyms. Pokestops allow you to collect items such as Pokeballs to help you catch more Pokemon, items to heal your units, eggs that can hatch new units, and a few other items to help with the catching process. You can collect from a stop every five minutes, which is important because running out of Pokeballs effectively blocks you from playing.
Gyms are where all the fighting happens. At trainer level 5 you can join one of three teams, which constantly fight for power over territory. Owning a Gym means members of that team can garrison their own Pokemon there. Beating a friendly Pokemon in a Gym means you can put one of your own units in, while beating an enemy Pokemon removes it. KO all of the enemy units and the Gym is yours. Of course, the fighting system itself consists of mashing your screen in (or holding, if your strong attack is effective enough against the opposing unit) while spastically swiping left and right on your own unit to dodge attacks. The lack of any real skill means that victory is basically decided by who has more CP, though of course some types of Pokemon are weak to others (for instance, water is strong against fire.) Commanding a Gym for 21 hours nets you a few Pokecoins, which you can use to buy items that are otherwise exclusive to microtransactions. Most of these can be gotten through other means. Others, such as item and Pokemon storage space, cannot.
So at the end of the day, what is the game like? It plays okay, mainly because it doesn't demand much from the player. The ball-throwing system is simple and intuitive, making the catching process less frustrating than one might expect. Grabbing items at Pokestops is always fun and worth the time since you gain experience toward your next trainer level even if you don't need items. Gyms are simple enough to navigate because all you really have to do is take an estimated guess as to whether or not you can overpower a unit in a Gym.
Annoyingly enough, you spend most of your time catching Pokemon you already have, namely Pidgeys, Ratatas, and Weedles. This system adds faux replayability in that you just have to keep waiting for better Pokemon to come along, but it kind of works. Because you need to catch multiple Pokemon to get candies (which are specific to a species) and you need candies to evolve your Pokemon, it's really helpful to get multiple copies of a semi-rare Pokemon, since it gets you closer to your evolution. The annoyance is that there's never any reason for you to do anything NOW. If you wait until your trainer level goes up, everything you do then will be more effective, again because you want to power up and evolve Pokemon with naturally high CP (that you will only encounter at a higher trainer level.) The one godsend to catching crappy Pokemon (other than your experience boost) is that you can evolve low-tier Pokemon en masse for experience boosts. Combined with items that boost experience gain, you can use this to raise your trainer level faster and be able to compete with other players sooner. But even then the element of competition just isn't captivating.
A few other tactics can make the game a bit more interesting, too. Incense makes Pokemon spawn where you are every once in a while, and is most effective if you use it while you're on a bus or something. Lure Modules are tied to Pokestops but are useful if you're stopping at a restaurant that's a Pokestop, so you can catch all of the Pokemon that are drawn there. The problem with both is that you trade quality for quantity. Because you get mundane Pokemon using both items, these processes are more of a grind than anything exciting. The eggs that you can hatch (by walking around) are of similar fare. You hatch a lot of garbage Pokemon, though with eggs that require you to walk farther, these can often be more exciting than just walking around hoping for something good.
Most annoying is that everything is centered around urban areas. I actually live in a big city, so I can make an excellent haul (both items and Pokemon) by going downtown, but the fact that it feels like shopping takes away the mystique. It makes sense for Pokestops to be in urban areas, but not for Pokemon to be there too. Rare species should be more abundant in remote areas, both to keep things balanced and to give players more pleasant scenery as they play.
Graphics/Sound:
The game is attractive. Each Pokemon has a cute 3D model and a sound. The menu is nice. What the game lacks is variety. The landscape you navigate looks very dull, and the default background for catching Pokemon is as well. Some filters or effects would be nice.
Play Time/Replayability:
The game lasts an artificially long time, but I have to admit it's done in a way that feels fair, or at least balanced. Candies are a good way to make the game last without burning out too fast, but also to give the player a reason to keep playing even if they aren't finding new species.
Final Recommendation:
The game is changing fast and will continue to do so, which is why I put my location and time of writing in the tagline. You'll get a different experience depending on where you live. That said, my experience has been that Pokemon Go is a fun gimmick, but it's the antithesis of depth. Meeting people and walking around with friends is fun, but in the end it just isn't rewarding. Candies do a good job of keeping players interested, but the perks of increasing your trainer level are extremely overpowered, and the effect is that it shuts players out from the actual reason they're catching Pokemon in the first place. Worse, once you can compete, there's no depth or strategy, only mindless predation of a strong Pokemon onto a weak one. Finally, the rewards you get for holding down a Gym are pathetic and only help you catch larger quantities of bad Pokemon rather than increasing your chances of hitting gold.
Overall rating 3.0 Average

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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It has been clearly established that I am a die-hard James Bond fan. I do not need to bother with the links.
That said, I am (as I noted in an earlier post) deeply ambivalent about the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace (2008).
But with my essay on Casino Royale now out of the way, I did want to offer my tentative thoughts about the next film.
So, why am I leery of the next Bond film--especially when I have literally, intensely, anticipated every single James Bond film since Licence to Kill (1989), having been obsessed with The Living Daylights (1987) when I first saw it, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus at the age of nine?
(for those keeping score at home--that anticipation includes Licence to Kill, Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale).
I do not get leery of forthcoming Bond films easily (I do not get leery of Bond films, period).
My reservations about Quantum of Solace:
The title--if you are going to steal another Ian Fleming title, at least make some attempt at interogating the origins of said title. And "Solace" . . . there's a fine line between a darker, even more emotional, Bond and a Bond who just feels sorry for himself. I have no interest in the latter. The emotional pay-off at the end of Royale was well earned, but I do not want to see a whole Bond film wallowing in self-pity. This may not be the plan, but the lame title does not give me "a measure of comfort."
Producer Michael Wilson (longtime co-producer of the franchise) is on record as saying there will be twice as much action in the next film. This bothers me for some reason. I think its almost the apologetic tone of it--the idea that, don't worry, there will be plenty of action (i.e., not all that plot stuff we saw in Casino Royale).
Director Marc Forster--plainly put, I think the guy's a hack. I think Monster's Ball (2002), Finding Neverland (2004), and Stranger than Fiction (2006) are not just overrated--there are out-right bad. Moreover, his body of work annoys me because every film of his strikes me as the work of a would-be auteur who is trying to guess which type of film will win him an Oscar. Some might see his work as electic--I see it as indecisive, slightly desperate. I always felt Forster was picking projects based on what he guessed was the trendy project. Post-Craig, post-Casino Royale, James Bond is trendy again, and I worry that that's why Forster agreed to do Quantum of Solace.
Besides, even if you like Forster's work--great directors do not automatically make great Bond directors. Case in point--Michael Apted and The World is Not Enough. That film, too, tried to be darker and more serious, but the result was just a narrative and thematic mess (I would argue that the film was clearly the worst of the Brosnan Bond films, even if it was trying so hard).
On the other hand, Martin Campbell is a completely uneventful action director--and yet he is responsible for two outstanding--two very different--Bond films--the two best Bond films in the last twenty years (Goldeneye and Royale--one, a textbook-perfect epitomy of the classic formula, and, another, that formula's thrilling reinvention).
Lastly, I confess, I know that Quantum just cannot live up to the standard set by Casino Royale. The only thing more enjoyable than the anticipation of Casino was that the film somehow surpassed even those expectations. It might be my all-time favorite Bond film, and I'm smart enough to know that the sequel is doomed to fail. Am I just trying to set the bar low?
Anway, that's why I am concerned about the next one. Of course, I am still anticipating it. I like that Quantum picks up right when Casino leaves off, making it the first direct Bond sequel in history (no small deal). I like the fact that it will develop the plot of the unseen organization further, picking up the pieces of Bond's chase of Mr. White and Vesper's past. I like that fact that the hiring of Forster at least aspires to a certain degree of legitimacy and credibility.
And, of course, I will follow Daniel Craig and his version of Bond to the ends of the Earth.
But I just cannot quite give myself to Solace [. . .] just yet.
Labels: Casino Royale, James Bond, Quantum of Solace
Highways, Deja Vu, and Randomness
Late last year, I was driving through Indianapolis. I just happened to be driving in a part of town I hadn't been to in a decade or so. In fact, I wasn't even yet sure if I had seen this particular part of town before, but it was a major stretch (Michigan Ave.), through an area (NW Indy) that I had known pretty well, so I assumed I had.
There was a weird moment of deja vu as I approached the intersection of Michigan and 71st. Suddenly, I realized I had been here before. Something told me there was a Taco Bell coming up on the left--and sure enough, there it was.
In the spring of 1997, I was driving back to the west side, where I lived and worked, from the Castleton Arts Theatre (now demolished). I had just seen a double-feature of Kissed and Hard Eight.
I had gone to see Kissed. But once it was over, I didn't feel like driving back home yet, and so I decided to catch another movie (this wasn't uncommon, as I saw a lot of movies at the Castleton Arts Theatre back then--in retrospect, it was where my more traditional brand of cinephilia first developed).
All I knew of Hard Eight was that Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel Jackson were in it. That seemed good enough for me. I did not think of it as PT Anderson's first film. I didn't even know who PT Anderson was--approximately seven months later, with the release of Boogie Nights (1997), everyone would know who he was.
I was blown away by Hard Eight. But I took special joy in the idea that I had "discovered" it by accident. And that I had "discovered" PT Anderson long before Boogie Nights and Magnolia would later make him famous.
I loved the taut neo-noir-ishness of the story. And I was captivated largely by Phillip Baker Hall's face. It seemed like someone had found the older William Holden again.
Secretly, I loved Hard Eight more than Boogie Nights or Magnolia. I appreciated the minimalism of it more than the artistic and melodramatic excesses of the latter two. It was only with Punch-Drunk Love that I found a PT Anderson film I loved more.
I think its because Punch Drunk Love managed to balance what I loved the most about PT's entire body of work--the narrative and character-driven minimalism of Hard Eight with the non-sensical and creative excess of Boogie Nights and Magnolia (a confession--as much as I love PT overall, I always find myself fighting a begrudging, even reluctant, admiration, and ultimately even ambivalent feelings towards Magnolia).
But I think I also held Hard Eight in higher regard for years afterwards because I held on so long to that memory of stumbling upon it--not just with no clue of who PT was, but with no clue about any aspect of the film. It looked like a crime film and featured Jackson--(post-Pulp Fiction) that was good enough for me.
So on my way home, I decided to finally visit with my friend, whom I worked with at the UA Eagle Highlands multiplex on the West Side. He suggested that if I was passing through I should stop by and see him at work.
He worked a second job at Taco Bell. Somehow I followed his directions and managed to end up there.
I still clearly remember that night, sitting in the fast food joint. He took his break and we sat in a booth, and I told him about this movie that I had just seen. I tried to describe to him why I liked it so much. I don't remember what I said, but I know I said it with great passion. "You have to see this movie." I still remember him pulling out a piece of scrap paper from his wallet and anxiously scribbling down the title:
"Hard Eight."
Its a memory that has particular power for me now because it was a moment that feels like what cinephilia is supposed to be, or what its supposed to feel like. Two young cinephiles talking passionately about a film without being able to find the words to describe it--and sharing information about a film that so few had seen or even heard of.
Those moments now seem few and far between since I committed myself to academia. The old joke between Scott and I when we started at Oklahoma State was that we used to watch so many more movies before we became "film scholars."
Now, I have to take the day off, consciously tell myself I am not going to work, and then drive an hour out of my way to go see something major like There Will Be Blood, which I had been anticipating for a long time, at the new Arts multiplex in the upscale Keystone Mall. The new theatre, by the way, is also the theatre that drove the Castleton Arts Theatre out of business (actually, the former bought the latter, and then closed it)
Then again, the trip did give me a chance to go back, and take a picture of the insection of Michigan and 71st.
Labels: cinephilia, cinephiliac practice of everyday life, hard eight
"Bond [. . .] James Bond"
Here is an excerpt from my essay on Casino Royale, tentatively, "Hardly the Big Picture: The Ellipsis, Narratives of Control, and Interruption in Casino Royale (2006)," which hopefully benefits from the clip of the movie which is discussed below. Some of the excerpt's significance is lost here—the discussion of anticipation, "ellipsis," the "big picture," voyeurism and control, and the use of low/high pov angles throughout the film. Guess you'll just have to wait for the whole essay:
In the end, finally, James Bond admits he trusts no one. After being betrayed by Vesper, M asks him if he trusts anyone. "No," he responds bluntly. "Then," M quickly responds, "you've learnt your lesson." Like the villains, but inverted, Bond has learned who he can trust. The villians prioritize trust and connection; the "good" guys disdain it—"the bitch is dead." M says that "trail has gone cold" in this scene. Narratively, the trail has gone cold. MI6 and Bond have yet to discover the film's true villain, Mr. White. Yet "cold" in this moment really speaks to Bond's emotional state in the wake of Vesper's betrayal and death. Bond, too, literally on the narrative trail, has "gone cold."
The inversion of issues of trust points back out to the film's larger narrative ambiguity—M and Bond's final conversation, focused on trust, also ends with her belief that "we'll never how who was behind this. The trail has gone cold." While the unseen organization controls events through a priority of trust, Bond moves out further and further to uncovering the mystery by virtue of refusing to trust anyone. Yet Bond thinks to double-check Vesper's cellphone, which then leads to another scene, another clue. "Being dead," Mathis tells Bond presciently at an earlier point in the film, "doesn't mean one can't still be helpful." Vesper tells Bond late that his presence makes her "feel reborn," and indeed Bond's final actions in Casino Royale foregrounds her lingering influence beyond death—both these moments and the sequel will see Vesper "reborn." Thus, one final time, the traces of "Vesper" as both character and name manages to unlock a mystery for him, as a message on her cell finally calls his attention to Mr. White.
"We'll never know who was behind this."
There are at least three climaxes to Casino Royale—the defeat of LeChiffre, the defeat of the unidentified villains in Venice, the defeat of Mr. White. Moreover, the film's multiple potential ending points—LeChiffre's death, Vesper and Bond's consummation, Vesper's death, Mr. White's Capture—also force us to consider the irresolvability of the film's actual plot (which carries us behind the end of the film). The extended love affair between Bond and Vesper, as they take off to Venice, also undermines the traditional ending of the Bond Film, by showing us what happens after Bond's—eventual and inevitable—sexual conquest of the main female lead, which is usually how a Bond film literally climaxes, the final image being of his seduction. But in Casino Royale, such a moment is only the beginning.
[ . . .]
After Mr. White is shot in the leg by Bond (proving he's taken M's earlier advice that it's important to question a suspect, "not to kill them"), the film cuts to an ambiguous long shot of White dragging himself across the gravel. The shot may well be Bond's implied point-of-view, which reinforces the thematic possibility that Bond, now the watcher, has replaced Mr. White in the omniscient position of power. As White makes his way to the edge of the bottom of the stairs, his weakness is reinforced by the high-angle shot looking down on him. Standing upright, Bond's feet move swiftly past him in the frame and up the stairs—literally signifying his literal usurping of White's power. The camera than tilts up to solidify formally and thematically Bond's new found power. The film cuts to White looking up, matched then by the iconic medium-close-up of Bond. Unlike in the earlier moments of the film, when Bond had been physically overwhelmed by elements of the "big picture," he is now the one empowered by the low angle shot.
It is not a coincidence here, then, that Daniel Craig finally makes his "introduction" by uttering the famous line we anticipate throughout the entire movie: "The name's Bond [. . .] James Bond." Craig has not only earned it by excelling in his performance throughout the film; Bond as a character has earned it, too. He has begun to figure out the larger mysteries which the film has presented him with, thus literally anticipating the sequel. Of course, because it is a James Bond film, we expect a sequel anyway. But the end of Casino Royale, and the abrupt but all-too-fitting cut after the iconic line, literally shows us how and when the next film will begin.
It is not a coincidence either that the film plays with this anticipation of Bond's name. "If the theatrics are supposed to scare me," Dryden (Macolm Sinclair) says in the film's opening scene, "you've got the wrong man, Bond." This is the first reference—pre-Double O status—to Bond's name. The "James" is missing. It is only "Bond [. . . ?]." Moreover, the emphasis on the "wrong man" plays to the initial uncertainty of the new actor, and of the fact that Bond has yet to become "Bond [. . .] James Bond."
M says twice to Bond that people know that "you were you." On the beach, M says simply, "Well, I knew you were you." Later, in case we missed it, M reminds Bond that Vesper too "knew you were you." The idea of knowing "you were you" is both ambiguous and redundant. We don't yet know that Bond is "Bond [. . .] James Bond," because we haven't yet heard it, even while we do know of course that this is James Bond. Hence, "You know my name"—if not necessarily the best Bond song ever, at least perhaps one of the best song titles in the history of the franchise. Here again rests the co-present redundancy and ambiguity of Bond both being and not being "James Bond." "You [already] know my name"—prolonging the ellipsis. We do not need to hear him say it (and, too, we do not need Craig to prove that he is "James Bond" just by stating it). That the film closes with Bond's introduction (to the main villain of this film, if not the next, whom he has only just met) reveals and completes the film's incompletion, and disrupts the entire franchise by offering us that perfect ellipsis which is nearly as memorable as Connery's introduction in Dr. No. Indeed, it may be the most powerful moment in the nearly fifty years of the franchise—framed definitively from the low angle.
Bond . . . James Bond.
Labels: Casino Royale, James Bond


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Culture, Eat+Drink
Tasty Causes
By Julie Arnan | July 5, 2018
Photos by Rhanda Rosselot
The Eastside has many deep pockets and, thankfully, generous hearts. When it comes to food and wine charity events, what's not to love? On July 8, Chef Bobby Moore will emcee the Fourth Annual Experience Woodinville event at Willows Lodge — a cooking competition featuring local chefs and winemakers. Later in the month, on July 28, Chef John Howie serves as emcee for Taste of the Valley, benefiting the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance (SVPA) supporting small farmers and the viability of the valley's land resources.
After five years producing the time-intensive Iron Vintner competition, Moore thought it had run its course and in 2015 transitioned the event to what is now Experience Woodinville in order to invite more people from the community.
To accommodate the 250 guests, the event takes place in the gardens at Willows Lodge, arguably one of Woodinville's best-known tourist destinations.
"It's a great way to get to know new people in the neighborhood," said Moore, who invited chefs from the newly opened Cut Shop and Heritage to participate in the cooking competition featuring a secret-ingredient basket provided by Ecolibrium Farms.
Each chef is paired with a local winemaker. Moore says many of the winemakers are great cooks in their own right. "They're well-traveled, eat out more than chefs do, and know their (stuff) when it comes to food. They're totally into it. They bring their own Japanese knives and everything."
In addition to ticket sales, the event hosts a silent auction with items like wine magnums, a private party with the Barking Frog Mobile Kitchen doing the cooking, and Seahawks paraphernalia. The latter comes from Seahawks executive vice president and general manager John Schneider, one of the judges and founder of Ben's Fund, the event's charitable recipient. Schneider and his wife, Traci, created Ben's Fund (named for their son) to provide financial assistance opportunities for families dealing with the increased expenses related to an autistic child. Last year, the Schneiders donated a private dinner at their home, cooked by Moore with wines donated by Gorman and Sparkman cellars, that went for $8,000.
Moore describes the event as "one giant party," starting 5 p.m. on July 8, featuring live music, food trucks, and with local wine and beers. "We put on a good show. It's all about fun — not trying to be cool or pretentious. I personally feel lucky that I can raise money for a charity that helps kids."
Farther out in farm country, Taste of the Valley will be located at Goose and Gander Farm in Carnation on July 28, starting at 5 p.m. A pre-event VIP Farmer-Chef Mix & Mingle (limited to 100 people), hosted by Chef John Howie, takes place at 4 p.m., showcasing Howie's Beardslee Public House Chili Lime beer brewed specifically for the Taste of the Valley, incorporating Snoqualmie Valley ingredients. The beer will be paired with heirloom tomato gazpacho and white shrimp ceviche. The live auction and dessert are slated for 7 p.m., followed by a post-event bonfire for those looking to extend the fun a little longer.
A longtime supporter of the event, Howie said he is honored to host this year. "It's been a great experience to go out there each year. The farmers have such passion for what they do, like chefs have passion for their food. We like to use local products in the restaurants as much as possible." He went on to say that serving local produce not only brings wholesome food to guests, but often means an improved flavor profile.
During the event, participating chefs try to use exclusively Snoqualmie Valley produce and proteins in the dishes they serve to guests — and they get close. Though the event is an exhibition as opposed to a competition, the chefs always love hearing that their bite is a guest favorite.
The SVPA is currently tackling issues related to flooding. "These families just want to keep working," said Howie, whose restaurant Ingredients (located on the Microsoft campus) donates part of the proceeds from its cookbooks to the SVPA.
Experience Woodinville
Tickets are $85, willowslodge.com
Taste of the Valley
Tickets are $85, svpa.us
Tags: Barking Frog, Beardslee Public House, charity, Experience Woodinville, Food and Wine, Goose and Gander, Gorman, Sparkman Cellars, Taste of the Valley, Willows Lodge
Julie Arnan is a 425 contributor.
Ira Glass
A Review of Xanadu
Westside Stories: October 2018


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Home > Counties > USAID donates Sh33million to help poverty-stricken counties
USAID donates Sh33million to help poverty-stricken counties
KNA June 14, 2021 Counties, Editor's Pick, Isiolo, Social 0
Isiolo and Marsabit counties are set to benefit from a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Nawiri programme to aid in reducing acute malnutrition persistent within the pastoral communities living in the region.
The counties have experienced recurring high rates of global acute malnutrition over the last decades, and there are indications that the problem is worsening in spite of efforts made to address it.
The programme will be implemented by a consortium of organisations led by the lead partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Village Enterprises among others.
Ngaremara and Cherab wards in Merti Sub-county in Isiolo will benefit from the pilot programme where 600 households in 14 villages have been targeted that are worst hit by high poverty rates and the families with acute malnourished children.
A total of Sh33million was donated with Sh.27million allocated to grants to the households and Sh6million to be utilized in business start-ups.
Representatives from Ngaremara and Cherab receive a cheque. Photo by Parklea Ivor
The project will provide cash transfer of about Sh 30,000 to a cluster of three households to start businesses with individuals getting Sh 7,500 bi-monthly for 12 months.
The poverty rate index in Isiolo is at 72 per cent compared to 36.6 per cent nationally.
Speaking during the official launch of the programme, the USAID representative, Leah Okero, said that Training on business skills will also be taught to the beneficiaries by forming business saving groups to help them handle future shocks that might arise.
Villages based business mentors will be tasked with tracking each business progress through the digital TaroWorks platform and provide in-person and mobile phone mentoring to the entrepreneurs.
The Ministry of Health through the Department of Nutrition will work with Community Health Volunteers (CHV) to educate the communities on the importance of good feeding practices for pregnant mothers, infants, and young children, and people with disabilities.
The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate according to the 2020 SMART survey showed that 16.7 per cent of children are malnourished.
Nawiri hopes to empower the communities so as not to depend on the government or international donors anytime a calamity strikes through a journey to self-reliance.
By Parklea Ivor
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM)Parklea IvorUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID)
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I just need someone to help me set the programs and to download the codecs I need. I have been seraching the web for days and hours and I am exhausted!
I make subtitles for Japanese music videos, and have for the last two years used a combination of aegisub, divxland media subtiler and staxrip.
I just got a new computer, puter, and thought it would be easy just installing the programs over agan but alas!
And the video is done.
the audio in the mkv and mpg doesnt match. So when I sub mpg in divxland media subtitler, the times dont match the mkv when I work on it in aegisub (and the other way around). Divxland also seem to cut the mkv videos after a few mins, so there is nothing complete.
It is just a big mess, and I was hoping someone would be kind enough to help me untangle this stuff in any way possible!


Gilles Bisson reintroduced the NDP bill, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2018 in August under the new PC government after it was shot down by the former Liberal government in 2017.
A bill to "protect Ontario drivers from gas price gouging" that was reintroduced last week by MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP – Timmins), has been referred to the legislative assembly committee.
Bisson said he is anxious for the government to call the bill at committee so they can go forward with public hearings to find out how the bill can be strengthened and passed in the legislature.
The bill passed second reading in the Ontario legislature last week.
Bisson reintroduced the NDP bill, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2018 in August under the new PC government after it was shot down by the former Liberal government in 2017.
"Individuals shouldn't be punished because of where they live," said Bisson. "Rural and Northern Ontarians are being gouged at the pumps. They don't have trains, subways or sometimes even public transportation as an alternative.
"Travelling from Timmins to Queen's Park, I saw gas prices range from 1.40 per litre to 1.24," Bisson stated. "If we can sell a case of beer or a bottle of wine for the same price in Cornwall and Kenora, certainly we should be able to bring fairness in the price of gas.
Bisson's bill aims to allow the Ontario Energy Board to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of petroleum products in Ontario.
• Prevent pricing practices that undermine the stability and competitiveness of retail markets for petroleum products, including retail markets in remote, rural and Northern areas.


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July | 2016 | I run. Quite a lot. It makes me happy.
Another week and another race that starts in the light goes into the night. That's the Lunar-tic marathon from Sussex Trail Events.
The course is flat, but don't let that make you think that this is easy. Maybe the fact that the Endure 1250 was only a week earlier made my legs a little heavier, but this race is not to be underestimated.
The race starts at 8pm. Registration is quick and easy, as it always is with STE. Plenty of time for a photo with the rest of the Burgess Hill Runners team before kick off.
The race starts with a couple of laps of the field at the Adur Outdoor Activities Centre before you head out onto the course itself for 3 laps before returning to the finish which is near by the start line.
My plan was to hang back for a while and keep running for as long as possible. Waling was going to be inevitable at some stage.
We have done a lot of events around this part of Sussex. The Downslink Ultra, The Darkstar Marathon and the BHR Downslink relay all take in this area of the River Adur. It is easy to become bored and blasé about it, but it really is lovely.
This river has a place in my heart as it is a tidal river with mud flats, which reminds me so much of home.
It was important to make the most of being able to see the sights on the first lap, as the second and third were in darkness.
The laps were up the east side of the river, over the bridge at Bramber, down the west side of the river and then over the wooden bridge in Shoreham, which was the sight of the floral memorial for the air crash victims.
I had planned to go round in around 4.45, but this was very ambitious, given the tired legs, the terrain, which I found tough again and the fact that it was at night. I began to slow down at around 16 miles, when it became obvious that 5 hours + was on the cards.
This was good for 2 reasons. First of all, with longer distances on the horizon, I'm happy to get used to run/walking and secondly for the first time ever, I finished a race with Nick.
I was slightly in front at the last checkpoint when I heard her voice, so I decided to wait. We kept each other going over the last 7km.
This could, should or might have been the race for Nick to come home in front of me (she did by a couple of seconds to be fair). Who knows what would have happened if we'd actually raced for the last hour. I thought that she was dragging me along, but it seems that the feeling was mutual. It's only a matter of time though. She was so stubborn towards the end, she kept going and going. So impressed to see it first hand.
And this is one of my favourite racing photos ever. I'm so lucky to be able to do this and to share it with Nick. Happy days.
A huge thank you to Jon for the wonderful photos and to Jay, Danny and Chris for another lovely race.
Next on the list is the Hard Half (also from Sussex Trail Events) and the East Farm Frolic on the same weekend.
Have fun and keep moving. One foot in front of the other.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub