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From Koran to Caricature Debate
Since the caricature debate, if not before, questions have been asked about the role the ban on images actually plays in Islam. Nimet Seker has been reading the new book on the subject by the Geneva-based scholar of Islam Silvia Naef
Afghanistan, March 2001. An explosion as loud as thunder, heard fifty kilometres away, shatters the peace of the valley of Bamiyan. The Taliban bored countless holes into the more than 1500-year-old statue of the Great Buddha, packed them with explosives and detonated it. In a matter of seconds the Great Buddha disintegrated in a massive cloud of red sandstone and clay. The ground shook beneath the cascading rubble.
Confronted with barbarity like this, it is easy to form the impression that Islam is fundamentally opposed to images. The fierce protests during the caricature debate only reinforced this impression. But doesn't this contradict that fact that images abound in the Islamic world, even in rigorously orthodox Saudi Arabia?
Images of the Prophet
The question of the ban on images seems to elicit nothing but contradictions, particularly in the modern Islamic world. In her book, Silvia Naef, an expert on Islam and Islamic art, aims to clarify the issue at last. In doing so she ventures into complicated terrain.
The cover of the German edition of the book shows a miniature: a man standing, hands folded, in green robes and turban on a flower-patterned carpet. Instead of his face we see a white surface in the form of a veil. Behind his body is something that looks like a golden flame. This is the Prophet Mohammed. The golden flame is his nimbus.
The miniature is not unusual: there has always been figurative painting in the Islamic world, even paintings of the Prophet.
So how are we to understand the ban on images?
In order to examine the question thoroughly, Naef goes back to its religious and theological roots. The first thing that becomes clear is that there is no ban on images in the Koran. Only in the Prophetic sayings, the hadith, are there indications to suggest a restrictive attitude. This can be explained in terms of a fear of idolatry in the polytheistic environment in which Mohammed lived. Figurative images are condemned in the realm of ritual, i.e. everywhere where people pray.
Modern influence
Naef devotes considerable space to the opinions of scholars, but comes to the conclusion that the ban on images has no great significance: "There are no tracts on the subject of images." It is only in modern times that scholars have given imagery much thought, in view of the flood of images created by new techniques and media – film, photography, television, portrait painting.
Naef divides them into 'reformers', 'fundamentalists', and 'revolutionary Islamists'. Fatwas and scripture are cited. Even within the repudiating attitude of the fundamentalists it becomes clear that there is a broad spectrum of opinion, with some images considered allowable while others are forbidden. So here too one can hardly speak of an "absolute ban on images".
However, Naef also speculates as to what the motivation behind a radical ban on images might be. Is the ban aimed at the images themselves, or at the message that these images convey?
Surely the fundamentalists' real target is the modern world, as symbolised by these images?
In the past, says Naef, figurative images always had a place in Islamic art: namely in the private sphere, which was neither sacred nor open to the public. In the Christian West it was very different. There, figurative imagery was firmly placed both in the sacred realm and in public.
According to Naef, the widespread idea that there have never been any figurative images in Islam results from a perception formed according to the Christian view in dealing with such images. In Islam, images have a different function to the one they have in the Christian West.
The image in the Islamic world
The scholar of Islam, who lectures at the University of Geneva, also turns her attention to the dissemination of imagery in the Islamic world.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, in the land of the Wahhabis, photographs and painted portraits of the royal family are not unusual. Royal features even grace the country's banknotes.
Of course, it was not ever thus. Important figures contributed to the dissemination of the image in the public realm. One of the first photographers in Iran was Nasr ad-Din Shah. He photographed women from his harem, who were kept strictly closeted away; among them also his mother and a number of concubines.
In Istanbul Sultan Abdulhamid II built up a large collection of photographs with countless albums and instruments. He oversaw the creation of valuable documentary photographs of the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian Abdullahyan brothers were counted among the best photographers, and in their function as court photographers Abdulhamid bestowed many honours upon them.
Muslims too need clarification
The value of Silvia Naef's monograph is twofold. Here is a systematic and compact overview of the question of the ban on images and its actual practice in the Islamic world. Since the caricature debate, if not before, it has become clear that there is still a need for clarification on this issue – among Muslims as well. In this respect, Silvia Naef has written a book that is long overdue.
Furthermore, by questioning the actual content of many widespread preconceptions, Naef also helps us to overcome our intellectual limits where the understanding of certain questions is concerned. In so doing, this book also contributes to a deeper understanding of Islam.
Nimet Seker
© Qantara.de 2007
Silvia Naef: Bilder und Bilderverbot im Islam. Vom Koran bis zum Karikaturenstreit [Images and the Image Ban in Islam: From Koran to Caricature Debate]. C.H. Beck Verlag, 160 pp.
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Escalating Conflict about Prophet Caricatures
Bomb in Turban
After the publication of the provocative Mohammed caricatures in a Danish newspaper the question has been raised about whether certain rights such as the freedom of speech and the press should really remain unrestricted or whether they – like every other freedom – should find their limits where the freedom of the other is affected. By Peter Philipp
Caricature Dispute in Yemen
Imprisoned in the Name of the Prophet
The caricatures of Mohammed have already severely damaged the freedom of the press in the Arab world. Three papers have been closed down in Yemen and an editor-in-chief who called for reconciliation has been imprisoned. Klaus Heymach and Susanne Sporrer report
Christianity and Blasphemy
The Right to Slander God?
"Yes, one has a right to caricature God" – so read the headlines of France Soir, one of the first European newspapers to follow the Danish cue and print the controversial caricatures. But this right is rather new, writes Ann Kathrin-Gässlein


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Shake your thing and dance all day long to the resounding beats of 20 Nickelodeon Friends on Dance 2. I had the opportunity to review this game in full detail for both the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect.
Easily played with either your Nintendo Wii nunchuk and remote or your Kinect. Including theme songs from Bubble Guppies, Dora and Team Umizoomi, the game also includes many lullabies, party songs and a variety of slow and fast songs to help promote your child to move and get fit.
Aimed at preschoolers, the game promotes dancing, jumping, shaking and wiggling. The game was somewhat difficult to read the characters movements and to understand the cards on the bottom, but fortunately, the game is not built for scoring, but rather, towards the child moving.

subset: commoncrawl


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Red makes you sexy, dumb, attractive and repellant sums up a lot of research on how red is perceived when it's worn by women. Yes, it makes you more attractive in others' eyes, but it also can signal that you're interested in sex, or stress out your observers. There are positive and negative perceptions that have been measured, most of which aren't (I'm guessing) how you want to be seen or the impact you want to have on your audience.
But I've got them beat with a reason to reconsider red: Especially on camera--whether for a web video or television--red looks like it's "bleeding" or disintegrating around the edges. That's true whether you're wearing a red jacket or red lipstick. Opt for a saturated but less vibrant color close to your face, and a dark jacket for a crisp look on camera. If you have light hair or white hair, a dark jacket will give you a better frame as well.
Looking for famous speeches by women? Check out The Eloquent Woman Index of Famous Women's Speeches, with a wide variety of women speakers, types of speeches and topics to inspire your next speech. Each one comes with lessons for speakers, plus video or audio and a transcript, where available.


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IYA2009 Update
9 October 2009
Will you be sharing the Galileo Experience?
With two weeks to go until the highly anticipated Galilean Nights Cornerstone Project on 22-24 October, preparations are in full swing for the hundreds of activities taking place all over the world. If it isn't already, get those dates marked in your diaries and head over to the project website http://www.galileannights.org/ and find details of all of the events near you, enter the astrophotography competition, find out about remote observing and check out the many great resources available. If you are organising any astronomy activities over the Galilean Nights dates, then you must make sure that you let us and the world know by registering your event on the website today: http://www.galileannights.org/register_event.html
Apply for free Galileoscopes, courtesy of the EurAstro association
The EurAstro association, an organisational node of IYA2009, was awarded 200 Galileoscopes in the frame of the Cornerstone project "Developing Astronomy Globally". These will be shared between Germany, in particular but not exclusively in the Munich area, and the Republic of Mali. They are intended to be used by deserving schoolchildren and institutions during the end of IYA2009 and beyond. More information is available here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/513/
U.S. President Obama hosts star party at the White House
See updates here:
Galileoscope video released by Arizona Illustrated
A new video has been made about the Galileoscope initiative. Featuring interviews with prominent project members and a typical user, it shows how these low-cost instruments can be easily assembled and used to discover the Universe. See the video here: http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2009/9/3/kuat-galileo-telescope/
Probes set to crash into the Moon and unveil lunar secrets
See a news story about the LCROSS mission here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/511/
"Be an INTEGRAL astronomer" competition winners announced
Students from India and South Africa have been selected as the winners of the European Space Agency's 'Be an INTEGRAL astronomer' competition. See details here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/509/
New photo exhibition turns lens on UK astronomers
Some of the UK's finest astronomers have taken a break from their star gazing to become stars themselves of an exciting new photography exhibition by acclaimed photographer Max Alexander. The new exhibition, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and showing at the Royal Albert Hall, celebrates the careers of the talented UK scientists at the forefront of our understanding of the cosmos, and celebrates the UK's proud heritage in astronomy and space science. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/506/
FETTU Braille exhibit
As part of the "From Earth to the Universe" (FETTU) project, a NASA-funded tactile and Braille exhibit for the visually impaired community was launched in July 2009. FETTU panels for the visually impaired were produced featuring tactile displays as well as Braille versions of the caption material for a subset of the FETTU images with materials based on the book "Touch the Invisible Sky". The tactile exhibit is currently at the Atlanta Center for the Visually Impaired (Atlanta, Georgia), the Perkins School for the Blind (Boston, Massachusetts) and Columbia University (New York, New York) and will move on to additional locations this fall in Maryland, Arkansas, and Puerto Rico. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/505/
2009 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to inventors of CCD chips
The Nobel Prize for Physics 2009 has been awarded to two scientists for their work developing Charge Coupled Devices, or CCDs for short. These are used in digital imaging devices, notably for professional and high-end amateur telescopes. The remarkable pictures we see from the depths of the Universe are thanks to CCD technology. See the story, as reported on the IYA2009 website: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/504/
17,000 people visit German IYA2009-themed science festival
Every year since 2001 the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society) has organised a major science festival in a different venue and with a different lead topic. In 2009 the choice was easy, and so the late September "Highlights of Physics" in Cologne had the theme "Address: Milky Way", in honour of IYA2009. It is one of only a handful of federally funded IYA2009 activities in Germany, where most projects rest on the shoulders of volunteers. A short report is available here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/503/
International Telecommunications Union highlights the importance of radio astronomy during IYA2009
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has released a document bringing attention to radio astronomy and ITU activities in this area. Linking with IYA2009, the background to the Year is given, along with a list of ITU radio astronomy projects. See the IYA2009-related section here: http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/information/promotion/e-flash/3/article5.html
The Shaw Prize Lecture in astronomy
The Shaw Prize is an international award to honour individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and who have achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in culture and the arts, or who in other domains have achieved excellence. The award is dedicated to furthering societal progress, enhancing quality of life, and enriching humanity's spiritual civilization. Preference will be given to individuals whose significant work was recently achieved. Learn more online: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/501/
The World at Night newsletter
Read it here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/500/
My Moon Campaign launches UN-declared World Space Week
My Moon Campaign is the first joint effort of the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP), one of the Cornerstones of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), and the World Space Week Association (WSWA), a global celebration of space taking place between 4-10 October every year. In 2009 several important dates are marked including the 400th anniversary of Galileo's observations, 150 years of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species", and the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing. The Moon is the ideal target for this campaign as it presents a perfect link between all these important turning points in science history. Read more here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/498/
Search IYA2009 Updates
National Nodes: 148
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Organisational Associates:33
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Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
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Official Products:8
Media Partners:22


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A young man known as "Victim 1" and who testified against former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is suing the university claiming it cared more for its reputation than it did about child safety. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A young man who testified against Jerry Sandusky sued Penn State on Friday for its "deliberate and shameful" handling of complaints that the former assistant football coach behaved inappropriately and sexually toward boys.
The suit filed by the person known as Victim 1 at Sandusky's trial said university officials made deliberate decisions not to report Sandusky to authorities.
It described their actions as "a function of (Penn State's) purposeful, deliberate and shameful subordination of the safety of children to its economic self-interests, and to its interest in maintaining and perpetuating its reputation."
Craig Houtz / Reuters
Second Mile founder and assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky attends a Second Mile Easter egg hunt in State College, Pennsylvania, in this April 8, 1990 file photo.
The complaint was filed electronically in Philadelphia state court Friday night, Slade McLaughlin, a lawyer for Victim 1, told The Associated Press. The young man's initial accusations sparked the investigation that led to criminal charges against Sandusky and two university officials.
Sandusky, 68, was convicted in June of 45 criminal counts for sexual abuse of boys, both on and off campus. He awaits sentencing that will likely send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Penn State ex-president Graham Spanier: Freeh report on sex scandal is wrong
Victim 1 and his mother reported Sandusky to the boy's high school and the Clinton County child protective agency in November 2009. Their complaint triggered the state investigation that last year resulted in the criminal charges.
Former Penn State administrator Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley, who is on leave, were charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. Both deny the allegations and are expected to go on trial in January.
Famed football coach Joe Paterno was fired. He died last January.
The suit draws heavily from court testimony, grand jury investigations and Penn State's own investigative report, conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh. The report details how university officials handled the claims against Sandusky and Sandusky's behavior. Victim 1 is known as "John Doe C" in the complaint. The suit names no other defendants than the State College university.
Related content:
- Expert: Penn state report ups legal risk for former president
- Penn state report: What it says about Sandusky's associates
- Penn state faces more fallout from sex abuse scandal
University spokesman Dave La Torre said the school has no comment on the pending litigation.
"The university takes these cases very seriously," La Torre said, adding that the current president and board "have publicly emphasized that their goal is to find solutions that rest on the principle of justice for the victims."
The suit claimed that a "special relationship" between Penn State and The Second Mile, a Sandusky-founded charity for youth, gave Sandusky a respectable public image and connections that enabled him to perform criminal acts.
The young man known as "Victim 2" in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case spoke out for the first time through his attorneys about how the former Penn State coach abused him and stalked him with phone messages. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
It alleged "(Penn State) believed its reputation and economic interests would be adversely impacted if the public learned that a man closely associated with the school's football program was, in fact, a pedophile."
The Second Mile's future remains uncertain, subject to a legal dispute.
'Numerous victims'
According to the lawsuit, Victim 1 met Sandusky about eight years ago, when the boy was 11 and a first-year participant in a camp sponsored by The Second Mile. In his second year, the boy drew Sandusky's attention and accepted invitations to spend nights at the coach's State College home and to attend professional sports events, the suit said.
Over a three-year period ending in 2008, the suit said, Sandusky assaulted the boy more than 100 times, including fondling and oral sex. The lawsuit claims Sandusky attacked "numerous victims over a span of 30 years," but noted that his criminal trial was limited to a 15-year period and 10 victims.
Following Victim 1's testimony, Sandusky was convicted of all six counts that related to him, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse for instances of oral sex.
The suit alleged negligence, fraudulent concealment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy. It said Victim 1 has suffered physical and emotional injuries and will likely need medical and psychological help well into his future. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Another Sandusky accuser has filed a federal lawsuit related to the scandal and a second victim has filed a court notice that he will file complaint. Lawyers have suggested others may take legal action.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- 2 dead, 9 injured in shooting near Empire State Building
- Panel calls for better care, protections for wounded troops
- Report offers a roadmap for America's national parks
- Undocumented mom risks life in US to join immigration fight
- Video: Did ex-SEAL sell out with bin Laden tell-all?
- Video: Missing teen escapes from captor of two years
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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Free Delivery in the UK
We ship every order by Royal Mail 2nd Class Recorded Delivery for free
but we can also guarantee next day delivery if ordered before midday.
We ship every order by Royal Mail 2nd Class Recorded Delivery for free
but we can also guarantee next day delivery if ordered before midday.
Telephone: 01242 222679
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Timex Watches
Timex Watches
The Timex Group has assembled the makings of something special, a remarkable combination of innovation, craftsmanship and consumer understanding which enables it to steadily grow and bring continued excitement to the category.
For Timex, time began in the United States in 1854 with the creation of the Waterbury Watch Company. Over the many years that followed, through wartime and peacetime, Timex watches have kept more than time: They have kept a promise of undaunted innovation.
The 1970s brought with it a re-evaluation of watch styles as the world moved towards quartz movements and digital watches. Timex moved with the times introducing a number of innovative watches. The most successful, and still produced, are the Ironman series. The companys sponsorship of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon inspired the name.
The most important development in recent years is the Indiglo night-light. Found on many models in the range, the Indiglo system is a battery based illumination that works on a principle called electroluminescence, the conversion of electricity directly into light.
Timex watches are a classic blend of traditional design, contemporary details and technological innovation.


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Knicks believe Bargnani will return to form in NY
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Knicks believe a new home will help Andrea Bargnani regain his old form.
The Knicks acquired the former No. 1 overall pick from Toronto, hoping he can rally from a poor 2012-13 season and help them remain among the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Bargnani battled an elbow injury last season and his scoring average dropped to just 12.7 points in 35 games in what was his worst season since his second year in the league. But the Knicks sent three players and three draft picks to the Raptors, counting on Bargnani's outside shooting and hoping for improvement in his rebounding and defense.
"I think the opportunity here of a fresh start in New York -- and he's very excited about that opportunity -- will lend to him getting back on track to being the player that we all hoped he would be," Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said Thursday during a conference call.
Bargnani was the top pick in 2006 and just three seasons ago averaged a career-best 21.4 points. But the Raptors made the playoffs only once since drafting him and were eager to rid themselves of the two years and about $22.2 million remaining on his contract.
The 7-footer from Rome shot less than 40 percent last season and his 3-point shooting has hovered around 30 percent for the last two years. He said that's because of his injuries, including a sprained right elbow last season.
"Last years were tough for me because I had so many injuries," Bargnani said. "I wasn't really able to play continuously during the season and that really affects your rhythm and your shape.
"I missed like more than half of the season, so it was definitely a huge factor in my last year's season. It wasn't a major injury, but it was very tricky and it forced me to stay sidelined for many games. So it was really bad."
He said he is healthy now and will play this summer for Italy in the European championships.
The Knicks also announced the re-signing of J.R. Smith, the Sixth Man of the Year last season. They previously re-signed guard Pablo Prigioni but are losing Chris Copeland, who accepted an offer from Indiana that they couldn't match.
That leaves them with plenty of work to do to avoid falling back after a 54-win season in 2012-13 and their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. Grunwald said they have only 10 players under contract and are hoping to bring in a third point guard and some depth in the front court.
Kenyon Martin is being considered for the latter after playing well for the Knicks after joining them late last season.
"We're evaluating our options in that regard and certainly Kenyon is getting our full consideration as we look at all the options we have," Grunwald said.
For now, they have little more than the deal for Bargnani, which sent forwards Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson, and center Marcus Camby to Toronto. The Knicks also sent the Raptors a 2016 first-round draft pick and second-round selections in 2014 and 2017.
That may be a lot to give up for a player who has averaged just 4.8 rebounds for his career. But the Knicks believe his offensive skills -- he scored a career-high 41 points at Madison Square Garden in 2010 -- will fit nicely with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.
"We think that will cause other teams difficulties as they try to match up with us," Grunwald said.
Fans in Toronto turned on Bargnani toward the end, and he said he understood given the team's struggles. Now he stands as the big move for a Knicks team that watched the neighboring Nets potentially blow past them with their acquisitions of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston.
With few options left for any more upgrades, the Knicks need this move to pay off with teams all around them improving after New York finished second in the East and reached the second round for the first time in 13 years.
"We wanted to again take another step forward this year and we felt that Andrea was a step forward for us, and not withstanding what other teams do, we have to get better," Grunwald said. "We made a big step forward last season, but obviously we're not satisfied."


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Define business outcomes, value measurements, governance, and realization timelines for success
The BMC Advantage program provides you with the framework and resources you need to keep your organization's IT initiatives on track to achieving and demonstrating business value.
Your Customer Success Executive, will collaborate with you to develop a success plan, stay actively engaged throughout the program, and leverage the entire BMC eco-system to de-risk execution. The program also includes:
- The CSE working with you to review the success of our partnership at formal quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
- An Architect who conducts a best practice review of targeted capabilities and solutions, highlighting opportunities to improve adoption and value.
- A BMC Executive Sponsor who partners with your leadership team to ensure we are aligned at an executive management level.


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Sunday, November 21, 2010
Kamut Flour Makes the Best Chapatis
Um, what's kamut flour?
And what's a chapati?
(here's a hint ... )
Kamut is one of those 'ancient grains' that's related to the wheat we use everyday, but never got to be as widely marketable. It's lovely and soft and excellent for baking. And it has a different nutritional profile from wheat - which means that if you can integrate kamut flour into your cooking rotation, you're getting a wider variety of goodness into your body. Which is great, as far as I'm concerned!
And chapati - well, that's just an Indian flatbread. Pretty much made the same way as a tortilla, but with wholemeal flour. In this case, kamut!
And what can you do with these soft and lovely kamut chapatis? Well, I was having a lazy Sunday sort of feeling ... so made them to have with dips: Guacamole. Pumpkin and cream and sage. And tomato and garlic.
But I use these all the time as general packed-lunch wraps ... for burritos or enchiladas or quesadillas ... for falafel and hummus and tabbouleh ... for scooping up curry ...
(oh dear, I am making myself sooooo hungry just now. Please excuse me for a moment ... )
That's better.
10 - 15 min prep + cook
The ingredients
2 1/3 c wholemeal kamut flour
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
~ 1 1/3 c warm water
+ extra flour, for dusting the benchtop
+1 tsp oil for cooking
+ some highly functional thrifted serving bowls
* Use organic ingredients when you can. And it's ok to sub regular wholemeal flour if you don't have kamut. Just adjust the water if you need to.
The process
1. Put the flour into a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the oil and water. Stir to mix - and when the dough starts to form a ball, take it out and knead it gently on a floured benchtop. If you need to, add tiny extra bits of water until the dough becomes soft and pliable, but doughy.
TIP: If you have a breadmaker or a food processor, you can let it do the mixing/kneading for you.
3. Let the dough rest for a couple of minutes. Divide it into 12 balls, and get out your rolling pin. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a large heavy frying pan over med-high heat.
4. Roll out each ball into a flat, thin round. Mine are probably around 1/2 cm thick ... basically get them as thin as you can without breaking them. They should come out somewhere around 25cm (10").
5. Cook one-by-one in the hot frying pan ... you'll only need 20-30 sec on each side. They should come out with lovely brown spots and should puff up just the tiniest bit. Stack them on a plate in a warm oven, or cover with a clean tea towel.
TIP: I get into a handy pattern where I roll out the next one while I'm cooking the previous one ... assembly line fashion. Oh, and keep it well ventilated. You're likely to burn some flour in the process.
6. Serve with butter and salt, or curry, or dips, or ... well ... use your imagination!
These are so inexpensive, even using organic kamut flour! My batch of 12 cost me around $2. For beautiful, soft chapatis ... with nothing extra added ... this is one recipe you've really got to try!
And my bowls? I got a set of 5 - 3 different sizes, and perfect for just about every purpose known to man - for $4. I love thrifting!!
Have a lovely week!
Amanda xx
9 comments:
- Laura said... [Reply to comment]
Thanks for the tip! I traveled to India a few years ago and the one food I miss the most is chapati. No Indian restaurant or homemade chapatis (which I've made using chapati flour) have yielded quite the same product as the real thing. I can't wait to get my hands on some kamut flour... and to try some chapati and guac - it sounds like a delicious combination!
- November 21, 2010 at 10:35 PM
- Easy peasy organic said... [Reply to comment]
Hi Laura! Ooooh, I'm so jealous of your India trip - that's one place we haven't gotten yet. And the possibility of toddler gastro is holding us back ... so far. But soon, we'll do it.
You'll definitely have to tell me how these chapatis compare to the ones you had there!!
- November 21, 2010 at 11:55 PM
I've never even heard of "Chapatis", so I'll refer to these as tortillas :) I've always wanted to try making a homemade version, but just never get around to it. Perhaps I'll try them soon!
- November 22, 2010 at 10:50 AM
- Medifast Coupons said... [Reply to comment]
Pretty sure I won't be able to get the flour, so can I use whole wheat?
- November 22, 2010 at 11:10 AM
- Easy peasy organic said... [Reply to comment]
Erika - give them a go! They might take a little time the first time around ... but then you'll become so quick, it hardly seems trouble! And they are so yum ..
MC - definitely you can use wholewheat ... just adjust the water if you need to.
- November 22, 2010 at 6:35 PM
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
- January 14, 2011 at 3:01 PM
- Jaime said... [Reply to comment]
Thanks for the recipe! :) I accidentally bought some kamut flour and didn't know what to do with it.. haha. Turned out great :)
- May 6, 2012 at 8:30 PM
- Kimberly @ Turning the Pages said... [Reply to comment]
This looks so yummy. I can't wait to make this!
- March 2, 2013 at 12:29 PM
- Unknown said... [Reply to comment]
I just made this.. They're delicious!!!
Thanks for the recipe :)
- August 8, 2013 at 7:29 AM


text:
parkrun in New Zealand
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Throughout New Zealand
parkrun on Saturday, 9 May 2020 is a free weekly 5K fun run on Saturday mornings at locations throughout New Zealand.
These events are free, but you must register online in advance and take your barcode along to each run. Once registered, you can participate at any parkrun anywhere in the world.
Refer to the parkrun website for the full list of locations around New Zealand.
- Next in series (16 May 2020)
- Previous in series (2 May 2020)


text:
I'm looking for recommendations for a credit card processor to handle payments for purchases from an online store. The requirements are
- hosted payments page with state-of-the-art UX, and able to be configured to match the -parent website's look and feel as closely as possible
- settlement into a UK merchant account or includes merchant facility and can settle to a UK company with a UK bank acct, in GBP.
- looking to minimise PCI requirements for the parent web site as far as possible
- reliable and good support
- payments page doesn't require Verified By Visa or SecureCode
- ideally payments page can do multi-currency
- shopping cart is not required
The UK-based processors I've found so far all have hosted payments pages that look like they are from the mid-1990's. Nice UX is a key requirement.
Suggestions based on personal experience preferred.


text:
"It's very important to understand all aspects of the shoemaking process."
adidas Originals designer Ilka Liebmann emphasized the influence of longtime Three Stripes creative contributor Markus Thaler in a new video that details the process by which Thaler delegated and brought to fruition a new pack of collaborative releases. In 'The Legacy of Craftsmanship', we see young designers learning from the aged master how to best realize concepts created for adi-reppers Derrick Rose, Lionel Messi, Snoop Dogg and Caroline Wozniacki. The respective output of adidas Originals Torsion Attitude, Samba, Pro Shell and Courtstars are highly expressive and personalized, and reflect the dedication to excellence that made Thaler's 40-plus years and the Originals line's first decade so successful. Stick with Sneaker News to find out when these release and check out the full video below in the meantime.


text:
Cisco Prime Infrastructure v220.127.116.112 | File size: 3.9GB
Tutorial Video Included
Cisco Prime Infrastructure simplifies the management of wireless and wired networks. It offers Day 0 and 1 provisioning, as well as Day N assurance from the branch to the data center. We call it One Management. With this single view and point of control, you can reap the benefits of One Management across both network and compute.
Cisco Prime Infrastructure simplifies the management of wireless and wired networks. It offers Day 0 and 1 provisioning, as well as Day N assurance from the branch to the data center. We call it One Management. With this single view and point of control, you can reap the benefits of One Management across both network and compute.
Cisco Prime Infrastructure has what you need to simplify and automate management tasks while taking advantage of the intelligence of your Cisco networks. Product features and capabilities help you:
Realize One Management : This single, unified solution provides wired and wireless lifecycle management, and application visibility and control. It also offers policy monitoring and troubleshooting with the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and location-based tracking of mobility devices with the Cisco Mobility Services Engine (MSE). You can manage the network, devices, applications, and users – all from one place.
Consolidate Products : Consolidate management products and reduce the number of tools required to manage the network. Managing your network using Cisco Prime Infrastructure gives you greater visibility and control, with faster deployment and troubleshooting. You can spend more time transforming your business through innovation and differentiation.
Manage the Network for Mobile Collaboration : Cisco Prime Infrastructure offers support for 802.11ac, correlated wired-wireless client visibility, spatial maps, Radio Frequency prediction tools, and much more. Simplify the management of the wireless infrastructure while solving problems faster and with fewer resources.
Simplify Intelligent WAN Management : Take management simplicity to the next level. Cisco Prime Infrastructure offers new, guided workflows for the Intelligent WAN and Converged Access, based on Cisco best practices. These workflows make new branch rollouts easy and fast, from setting up devices and services to automatically managing and monitoring them.
Extend Management to the Data Center : Cisco Prime Infrastructure offers fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security (FCAPS) management with 360-degree views of Cisco Unified Computing System Series B Blade Servers and Series C Rack Servers and Cisco Nexus switches, including the Application-Centric Infrastructure-ready Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches. Your data center is critical to service assurance. Manage it effectively with Cisco Prime Infrastructure.
Speed Time to Value with Device and Technology Packs : Device Packs offer ongoing support of new Cisco devices and software releases. It provides parity within each device family, eliminating gaps in management operations, especially when it comes to service availability and troubleshooting. Technology Packs deliver new features between releases, accelerating time to value for high-demand functionality.
Scale Bigger : Large or global organizations often distribute network management by domain, region, or country. Cisco Prime Infrastructure Operations Center lets you visualize up to 10 Cisco Prime Infrastructure instances, scaling your management infrastructure while maintaining central visibility and control.


text:
There is so many simple things that one can draw, but to keep it real easy and basic, I have chosen to submit drawings on some popular objects, and such as tutorials. If you look through the first three pages, you will see all sorts of different lessons that I uploaded that are based on the "simple" concept. For my nest tutorial I will be showing you "how to draw a simple girl, step by step. Girls are probably more exciting to draw than boys. I think this is because girls are more fun to draw out, and color in. You can make them have long, short, curly or straight hair, pouting lips and eyes, and you can even be real creative when it's time to draw clothes on a female figure. Like the simple boy I submitted, this girl is going to be a blast to draw. Not only will you learn an awesome technique to drawing a girl, you will also enable your capabilities to take you further down the artistic road. Whenever you learn how to do something new, you can actually say that you just bettered yourself in something, no matter what that something is. So go ahead and take the journey down the road of art. Teach yourself "how to draw a simple girl", so you can experience the pleasures of drawing something new. I will be back with some more fun and exciting stuff so don't you guys go anywhere. Oh yeah, when your work is done, be creative and color her in using your unique color pallet. Peace out people, and have a happy drawing day.
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


text:
|Phaidon International
US-Eastern, Freelance CRA - Oncology - 0.6FTE 452431222819-MZ
My Client is a Medium sized CRO with operations in Europe and the US, urgently require a Freelance CRA with strong experience in Oncology. The CRO has a back log which is due to be completed in 9 months covering a breast cancer study. Monitoring will be completed in Belgium requiring 0.6FTE however, increased FTE would be preferred.
- 7+ Years Clinical Research Experience
- Recently Monitoring Studies
- Oncology experience is a MUST (with Breast a bonus)
- Fluent in French, Dutch and English
- Experienced contractor able to start Immediately
The role is home based reporting to the Clinical Operations Director based in France. Also, a turnaround of 24 hours for timesheets will be completed by the client. The CRO has another study in Stomach cancer following this, increasing the contract length and relationship.
Interviews will be taking place immediately therefore, if you are interested in the opportunity, please send your CV to [click here] and contact +44 20 3758 8860 for more details.
Please visit our website at www.phaidoninternational.com


text:
Epocrates discounts for medical schools and educational institutions
Get special pricing on Epocrates intelligence for 10 or more school-affiliated users.
Request a quote
Our solutions
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Manhattan Research's Taking the Pulse®
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Gold Award, 2014


text:
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is demanding an explanation from local banks over underpricing allegations linked to their recent underwriting of Formosa bonds, or yuan-denominated bonds sold in Taiwan.
"We are investigating allegations of unfair competition and may take action against unruly players if necessary," FSC secretary-general Lin Tung-liang (林棟樑) said by telephone yesterday.
Lin's remark came after FSC Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) told lawmakers on Monday that the commission received information that two state-run banks allegedly lowered underwriting fees and coupon rates in an attempt to facilitate sales of Formosa bonds issued by Chinese banks.
While Tseng and Lin declined to name the state-run banks, they are thought to be Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀) and Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), as the two are responsible for distributing Formosa bonds issued by China Construction Bank (中國建設銀行) and Bank of China (中國銀行).
Yesterday, four Chinese banks listed their Formosa bonds on the over-the-counter (OTC) market for the first time.
According to GRETAI Securities Market's data, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications (交通銀行) and Agriculture Bank of China (中國農民銀行) issued and listed 6.7 billion yuan (US$10.98 billion) in Formosa bonds in Taiwan.
Bank of China issued 2 billion yuan in Formosa bonds in two tranches — two-year 1 billion yuan bonds with a coupon rate of 3.15 percent and three-year 1 billion yuan bonds with a coupon rate of 3.25 percent.
Agriculture Bank of China sold two tranches of Formosa bonds — three-year 1.25 billion yuan and five-year 250 million bonds, with a coupon rate of 3.3 percent and 3.6 percent respectively.
Bank of Communications also sold two tranches of yuan-denominated bonds — three-year 800 million yuan bonds with a coupon rate of 3.4 percent and five-year 400 million yuan bonds with a coupon rate of 3.7 percent.
China Construction Bank was the only bank among the four to issue one tranche of three-year Formosa bonds, worth 2 billion yuan and carrying a coupon rate of 3.25 percent.
Lin said the commission has requested local banks alleged to have underwritten the bonds to file reports detailing their pricing policies, operation costs and profit margins.
"The commission will not sit by and watch competition practices that may squeeze reasonable profit margins and compromise investor benefits," he said.
Lin declined to elaborate on punitive measures, but Tseng on Monday suggested revoking underwriting business rights for a certain period of time.
The two state-run lenders allegedly set underwriting fees at 15 to 20 basis points of issuance amounts, lower than the 25 to 30 basis points among private banks.
Following in the footsteps of the four Chinese banks, 16 other Chinese lenders are eligible to issue Formosa bonds in Taiwan, according to the commission.
Chinese subsidiaries set up by Taiwanese financial institutions, such as Bank SinoPac's (永豐銀行) unit in Nanjing, are also allowed to sell Formosa bonds, it said.
China-registered subsidiaries of Taiwanese companies that are listed on the local bourse are also eligible to issue yuan-denominated bonds here, according to the commission.
The commission has set an initial limit of 10 billion yuan for Formosa bond sales by Chinese entities but the limit is subject to adjustments based on market conditions.


text:
This is not "Musical Comedies". This thread is for performances of music that is parodies.
The performer who inspires me to start this thread is Anna Russell.
Her most famous piece is an explanation, with short musical snippets, of Wagner's "Ring" cycle. It is very funny and, in the portion on "Gottadamerung" she, quite appropriately, remarks:" I'm not making this up!"
Several of her routines are available on YouTube. Unfortunately, my favorite is a discussion of Giusseppi Verdi's "Hamletto, or Prosciutino." (Anna says:"Giusseppi Verdi never did make an opera out of Hamlet but I'm not for a moment going to let that stand in my way!"). That one is not on YouTube.
Others who might fit in this category are P.D. Q. Bach and Victor Borge. Borge usually played his music correctly (except when he put the sheet music on the stand upside down), but watching Borge accompany Robert Merrill singing "September Song" beautifully, while red and yellow leaves fell on Merrill from above the stage is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. There are Borge videos on YouTube, but not that one.
Any others??
Please mention whether there is a video on YouTube.


text:
Lethal injection: Secretive US states resort to untested drugs
As American states have found it harder to source drugs for lethal injections, they stand accused of using improvised and possibly painful methods - and buying drugs furtively from unregulated pharmacies.
Joseph Franklin was sentenced to death for shooting and killing a man outside a synagogue in 1977.
He was convicted or blamed for a series of other racially motivated murders, and confessed to being the sniper who shot porn publisher Larry Flynt in 1978, leaving him partially paralysed.
He is due to be executed by lethal injection in Missouri on 20 November, if no last-minute legal appeal is accepted.
The state's authorities had been planning to use propofol, a common anaesthetic that is untested as a lethal injection drug, for the execution of Franklin and a second convicted murderer, Allen Nicklasson.
But Governor Jay Nixon postponed Nicklasson's execution last month after it became apparent that using propofol, some of which was made by a German manufacturer, might put hospital supplies of the drug at risk.
The German manufacturer, warning of the risk of EU sanctions, asked for its propofol back, as did a US supplier.
Missouri then announced it would instead use pentobarbital, sourced not from a pharmaceutical company but from a compounding pharmacy - a pharmacy that makes small batches of drugs on demand for specific clients.
Campaigners object to these pharmacies partly because of an incident last year when a compounded drug in Massachusetts was blamed for an outbreak of meningitis that left more than 60 people dead, but also because they are not subject to regulation by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
"They operate in a kind of grey zone," says Brian Stull of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "There is no way to verify that what comes from a compounding pharmacy is what it purports to be, and that it is safe and effective."
Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in all 32 states in which the death penalty is permitted, and for several years they have been struggling to obtain the drugs they need.
States employed similar three-drug lethal injection formulas for decades, until the US company that made one key ingredient, sodium thiopental, stopped supplying it. Manufacturers in Europe, where the death penalty is outlawed, have since sought to block the use of their products for executions in the US.
State authorities have reacted in two ways: by using new drugs or combinations of drugs, and occasionally sourcing them from compounding pharmacies.
This week alone three executions were scheduled in three states, using three different lethal injection methods.
Texas used pentobarbital to execute Jamie McCoskey on Tuesday, the same day that Florida used a three-drug combination to execute Darius Kimbrough.
Florida's combination included a drug called midazolam, which had never been used for an execution before the state put William Happ to death last month, using the same mixture.
An Associated Press reporter who witnessed Happ's execution said he seemed to remain conscious for longer and move more than people he had seen put to death with different lethal injections.
Ohio was due to use an untested two-drug mixture of midazolam and hydromorphone to execute Ronald Phillips on Thursday, but in an unprecedented step the execution was stayed at the last minute in order to consider a request by Phillips to donate his organs.
Brian Stull says states have been left "scrambling for drugs", and have become increasingly secretive.
"It's become really hard - even for people who follow this issue closely - to know what's going on in each state with each drug because there are so many scenarios proliferating," he says.
Missouri has shielded the compounding pharmacy supplying its pentobarbital from unwelcome publicity by adding it to the execution team - a list of people involved in the execution whose anonymity is protected.
One of those who regards the process as too secretive is Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, whom Franklin shot and partially paralysed.
He has put his name to an ACLU motion, which cites allegations that Missouri "appears to have used unsavoury methods to secure and maintain execution drugs and tried to hide that and other information from the public".
Earlier this year lawyers in Georgia obtained a stay of execution for Warren Hill - a convicted murderer - after questioning a new law that makes the way lethal injection drugs are obtained a state secret.
"I think states are making a mistake in being overly secretive and not transparent," says Richard Dieter, executive director of the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center.
"The sense is that they're doing something wrong and hiding something."
Mr Flynt himself opposes the death penalty in principle.
"I have had many years in this wheelchair to think about this very topic," he wrote recently in the Hollywood Reporter.
"As I see it, the sole motivating factor behind the death penalty is vengeance, not justice, and I firmly believe that a government that forbids killing among its citizens should not be in the business of killing itself."
Death penalty opponents have long been concerned that lethal injections could cause extreme pain, violating convicts' constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment, and they worry that the increasing use of new, untested drugs may heighten that risk.
Joseph Franklin is among 23 people on death row in Missouri who have appealed against the plan to execute them using pentobarbital from an undisclosed compounding pharmacy, saying it could cause unnecessary suffering. The Missouri Corrections Department said it could not comment because of the litigation.
In past executions across the US, some convicts have writhed, vomited and made sounds after being injected, and sometimes execution staff have struggled to find a vein.
Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School and death penalty expert, says there is evidence that a substantial number of prison volunteers and people with questionable expertise have been used to carry out executions.
"If you are using drugs that have never been used to kill a human being and are by no means created for that purpose, and those drugs are being used by someone who is ill-trained and doesn't know much about drugs and injections to begin with, then you're creating a particularly high risk process," she says.
Robert Blecker, a professor at New York Law School, who supports the death penalty "in appropriate circumstances", argues that it is odd to be troubled about untested lethal injection formulas.
The risk of a "momentarily painful death" is "very small" he says.
"Why this extraordinary concern for those we have condemned?"
But it's partly because this concern is widespread, and pharmacies fear negative publicity, that the necessary drugs are becoming scarce.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, whose state has not carried out an execution since 2005, has described the system in the US as "completely broken".
"Let's say that there was magically a vapour, a mist, a pill, a fatal hypnotic stare. You still have to find American manufacturers who are willing to produce it and courts who are willing to accept it," he recently told the National Journal. "I don't see any of that happening."
Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook


text:
For me USA: Iii. Rail is the highlight of the album.
Dan Deacon: America
I'll have more to say about Dan Deacon's America, both here and in the pages of Stereophile, but, for now, I'll just quickly say that I like ita LOT.
Full of major chords and glorious crescendos, littered with screeching electronic noise and dressed up with sweeping violins, America is bold, ambitious, arrogant, pretentious, and really beautiful.
It's available now from Domino Records, or you can stream the entire album over at The Guardian.
Read more about Dan Deacon's America here.
For me USA: Iii. Rail is the
Submitted by Cantthinkofaname on September 12, 2012 - 6:35pm
So much
Submitted by deckeda on September 13, 2012 - 11:19am
... good is going on here. It's like when good beer is sometimes thick and chewy and the person sitting next you says, "Did you just describe your friggin' beer as 'thick and chewy?"
"And beefy, too."
"Oh damn, you're right, it is."
That's this album, for me.
Thanks for turning me on to this Stephen.


text:
|Physical information
|Hair colour
|Eye colour
|Skin colour
|Family information
|Family members
- "Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harry. Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobby's. He was forced to do Sirius's bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacher's faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher's lot easier."
- —Albus Dumbledore on Kreacher[src]
Kreacher was an aged house-elf who served the House of Black with fanatical loyalty for most of his life, until he was left to Harry Potter upon the death of Sirius Black in 1996. He was particularly fond of "his mistress" Walburga Black, who died in 1985, but whose portrait still shrieks orders from the wall in the front hall of the Black house. After Mrs. Black's death, Kreacher let the home fall into disarray, doing little, if any, cleaning.[1] He was also fiercely loyal to Regulus Black, for whom he fought in the Battle of Hogwarts along with many other house-elves. He is described to have many folds of skin as well as white hairs in his ears, and he is supposed to have a deep "bullfrog" voice.
Serving mastersEdit
Under Master Regulus BlackEdit
In 1979, when Lord Voldemort told Regulus Black that he needed a house-elf, Regulus volunteered Kreacher, saying it would be an honour to serve the Dark Lord. Voldemort took Kreacher to the Horcrux cave and forced him to drink the potion in the basin so that Voldemort could place Salazar Slytherin's Locket in the basin. The potion, (the same one Dumbledore drank) caused Kreacher to have nightmarish delusions, intense stomach pains and made him dehydrated. Voldemort then left, leaving Kreacher to drink from the lake (as any water conjured evapourates) and die at the hands of the Inferi. However, Voldemort did not remember (or did not realise or thought that the cave's magic was too strong for anyone or anything to disapparate out of) that house-elves have their own special type of magic and Kreacher was able to Disapparate from the cave as Regulus told him to come home when he finished his task.
Regulus later had Kreacher take him back to the Horcrux Cave. Regulus drank the potion himself and ordered Kreacher to switch Slytherin's Locket with a fake locket and then go home and destroy the "real" locket, leaving Regulus to die in the cave. For the last few seconds Kreacher was there, he saw the Inferi's hands pulling Regulus into the water. Regulus also ordered Kreacher to never tell his family what had happened to him. Kreacher left as ordered but was unable to destroy the locket, despite his many attempts. This inability to complete an order of his master may have driven him to insanity, explaining his muttering and devotion to his mistress' painting.
Under Master Sirius Black/Order of the PhoenixEdit
- "I warned Sirius when we adopted twelve Grimmauld Place as our headquarters that Kreacher must be treated with kindness and respect. I also told him that Kreacher could be dangerous to us. I do not think that Sirius took me very seriously, or that he ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human's."
- —Albus Dumbledore after Sirius's death[src]
Kreacher was loyal only to pure-blood wizards in general, Walburga Black in particular. After her death, however, Sirius Black became Kreacher's master, despite having been considered a blood traitor and disowned from his family. Kreacher was hostile to Sirius and to the entire Order of the Phoenix when they used 12 Grimmauld Place as their Headquarters, but was forced to serve Sirius. He was known to steal Black family heirlooms during the Order's cleaning efforts and hide them in his den in the kitchen cupboard. In turn, Sirius took the items and threw them away, and berated Kreacher in harsh and cruel words.
- "Nasty brat, standing there as bold as brass. Harry Potter, the boy who stopped the Dark Lord. Friend of mudbloods and blood-traitors alike."
- —Kreacher after he met Harry Potter in 12 Grimmauld Place[src]
Kreacher was considered somewhat of a liability by the Order of the Phoenix, who used the Blacks' house as headquarters; as a house-elf, Kreacher overheard things of a sensitive nature. He was forbidden, however, to speak of the most important things, but sometime in December 1995, when he witnessed Harry and the Weasley children arrive by Portkey after Arthur was attacked, Sirius told him to "get out"(of the kitchen). Taking that to mean literally leaving the house, he went to the Malfoy family, close relatives of the Blacks, and told Narcissa Malfoy née Black and Bellatrix Lestrange née Black several details that were not considered to be of any importance, which ultimately led to Sirius' demise. Narcissa and Bellatrix treated Kreacher kindly to get him to cooperate with them. Thus, when Harry Potter used the Floo Network to check with 12 Grimmauld Place in June asking if Sirius was there, Kreacher lied. This convinced Harry that his vision of Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries was true, and led him and his friends to attempt to rescue him. This resulted in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in which Sirius was killed by Bellatrix.[1]
Under Master Harry PotterEdit
- Dumbledore: "Give him an order. If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."
- Kreacher: "Won't, won't, won't, WON'T!"
- Harry: "Kreacher, shut up!"
- — Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore and Kreacher in the Dursley Family's house[src]
Sirius left all his belongings, including Kreacher, to his godson. Harry, who had no desire to have anything to do with Kreacher, ordered him to work in the kitchens at Hogwarts with the other house-elves at Dumbledore's suggestion, where he and the other house-elves could keep a close watch on him. This eventually turned out to Harry's advantage, as Kreacher — along with Dobby, another house-elf working at Hogwarts — tailed Draco Malfoy for him when he suspected Malfoy to be up to no good. Kreacher disliked Harry at the time, and only followed his orders because he had to. For Christmas in 1996, Kreacher gave Harry a box of maggots.[2]
- Harry: "Have you ever seen this before? Kreacher?"
- Kreacher: "It's Master Regulus's locket."
- Harry: "But there were two, weren't there? Where's the other one?"
- Kreacher: "It was here, in this house."
- Harry: "Where is it now? Did someone take it?"
- Kreacher: "He came in the night. He took many things, including the locket."
- Harry: "Who did? Who was it, Kreacher?"
- Kreacher: "Mundungus...Mundungus Fletcher!"
- — Harry asking Kreacher about the whereabouts of Salazar Slytherin's Locket.[src]
In 1997, Harry made Kreacher tell him about Regulus Arcturus Black, who he had correctly deduced was the R.A.B. who took Salazar Slytherin's Locket from the Horcrux Cave. Kreacher told Harry, Ron, and Hermione the story of the two lockets and his inability to destroy the real one. He told Harry that Mundungus Fletcher stole the real locket and Harry rewarded him with Regulus's fake locket for tracking down Mundungus. Kreacher's joy at being given a Black family "heirloom" as his own caused him to drastically change his view of Harry. He even started to treat Hermione, whom he had previously disdained as a "Mudblood", a bit better. Hermione turned out to be right about Kreacher; he was nice to those who treat him well.[3]
The morning of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's attempt to break into the Ministry of Magic to find the real locket of Salazar Slytherin, Kreacher served them a breakfast of rolls and coffee and promised a meal of steak-and-kidney pie to be waiting for them when they returned, but after successfully obtaining the real locket of and escaping the Ministry, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were no longer able to go back to Grimmauld Place because they let Yaxley inside the Fidelius Charm. Harry and Hermione concluded that it would be too risky to summon Kreacher since Grimmauld Place was most likely taken over by Death Eaters.
Kreacher's whereabouts during the following period is unknown, but it's known that sometime before the Battle of Hogwarts he somehow came to the Hogwarts kitchens.
- "Fight! Fight for my master, the defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"
- —Kreacher leading the house-elves during the Battle of Hogwarts.[src]
Kreacher led the house-elves of Hogwarts in the battle against the Death Eaters during the attack on Hogwarts, for Harry Potter, defender of the house-elves, and for the sake of the memory of his long-dead master Regulus, bringing to mind that, although he was a Death Eater, he had died fighting Lord Voldemort.[4]
It is not specified whether he survived the Battle of Hogwarts, but Harry, who wanted to go to bed after the battle, wondered if Kreacher could bring him a sandwich, implying that he did in fact survive. It is unknown if he continued to work in the Hogwarts kitchens or entered the service of the Potter family, or possibly both.
Physical appearanceEdit
Like all house elves, Kreacher was considerably smaller than a human. He was described as having a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of his bat-like ears. Dobby also knocked out half of his teeth with a punch in 1997, and its unclear as to whether he had them magically grown back.
Personality and traitsEdit
- Harry: "I don't understand you, Kreacher. Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them…"
- Hermione: "Harry, Kreacher doesn't think like that. He's a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He's loyal to people who are kind to him… I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves. Well, Voldemort did… and so did Sirius."
- — Harry and Hermione discussing Kreacher[src]
Kreacher was very loyal to the entire Black family except Sirius Black, whom he hated. However, his hatred was justified since Sirius was horrible to him. He had a strong bond with Sirius' brother, Regulus Black and was devastated by his death. Kreacher was usually hostile, bitter and miserable and had a habit of insulting people, including his masters. He frequently called Hermione Granger "Mudblood".
Like most members of the Black family, Kreacher believed that Muggle-borns or blood traitors were scum. Because of this belief he frequently insulted Hermione even though she tried to be nice to him. However, he gradually grew more respectful towards both Muggle-borns and blood traitors giving Hermione what was supposed to have been a respectful salute just prior to the Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic. Kreacher was also very loyal to people who treated him with kindness and respect, particularly Regulus Black. He later grew loyal to Harry Potter and started to be friendly towards Harry, Ron and Hermione. However, when people were horrible to him, he in turn was disloyal. This ultimately led to him being partially responsible for the death of Sirius Black. Had Sirius treated Kreacher the same way his brother had, his death could have been avoided.
Because of years of solitude Kreacher hadn't bothered cleaning the Black family home for a long time and even when the Order of the Phoenix used it as a headquarters, he was rarely seen cleaning. He also had a habit of stealing items that reminded him of his loyalty to the Black family. Kreacher was also considered to be slightly mad, probably from being stuck in the Blacks house alone for so long. Ron Weasley claimed that he was a nutter, saying that his greatest ambition was to have his head chopped off and mounted on a plaque like his mother. Sirius Black also claimed he'd gone round the twist. His misery and insanity was most probably a combination of drinking the Drink of Despair, Regulus Black's death, not being able to complete his master's order of destroying the locket, living alone with the locket and Walburga's portrait and Sirius Black's cruelty to him.
A tradition for the Black family House Elves was for their heads to be cut off and stuck on a plaque. Kreacher and Ron both, once, expressed this wish for this to be done to Kreacher. Ron later regretted this statement.
Eventually, after being given back the locket Regulus had switched for the real Horcrux locket of Voldemort's, Kreacher grew less hostile and was happier than he had been in a great number of years, resuming most of the duties expected of him (including cleaning the formerly-filthy kitchen). He was also courageous, leading the house elves into the fray during the battle of Hogwarts.
Magical abilities and skillsEdit
Apparition: Like all house elves, Kreacher was able to apparate even in areas that forbade apparition such as the cave which contained one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and on the grounds of Hogwarts itself. He is also able to perform Side-Along Apparations (Apparations with another person in tow).
Black familyEdit
Kreacher was extremely devoted to all members of the Black family except Sirius Black, whom he hated. Sirius claimed that he was slightly less devoted to Sirius' father than he was to his mother but also said he caught him snogging a pair of his fathers old trousers. Kreacher was often seen taking orders from a portrait of Sirius' mother. Considering Kreacher was disloyal to people who treated him in a horrible manner, the Black family must have treated him with kindness.
Regulus BlackEdit
Out of all members of the Black family, Kreacher's bond with Regulus appeared to be the strongest. In fact it was partially because of Kreacher that Regulus turned against Voldemort; after discovering the cruel way his master treated Kreacher, and realising that his immortality came from creating Horcruxes, Regulus and Kreacher went to the cave to steal Voldemort's locket. Regulus sacrificed himself to retrieve the locket, even though he could have ordered Kreacher to drink the Drink of Despair for him, showing that he truly did care about Kreacher. The elderly house elf was still devastated by Regulus' death, eighteen years after it happened. He felt he had failed Regulus by being unable to destroy Voldemort's locket.
Sirius BlackEdit
Unlike Regulus, Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, treating him as though he was not worth anything, but also ordering him about. Sirius' behaviour originated from his hatred of his family and the house of Black itself. However Albus Dumbledore said that he was usually kind to house elves. Kreacher hated Sirius, because of his cruel attitude towards him, and he betrayed Sirius to Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy which resulted in Sirius' death. Had Sirius treated Kreacher kindly his death might have been avoided.
Harry PotterEdit
At first, Harry and Kreacher had an antagonistic relationship. When Harry attempted to discover if Lord Voldemort had captured Sirius, Kreacher lied to him and claimed he was alone in Sirius' house. After Sirius' death, Harry placed part of the blame on Kreacher and part on Severus Snape, but put most of the blame on himself. Under Harry's ownership, Kreacher was ordered to work in the Hogwarts kitchens. Harry then ordered him and Dobby to spy on Draco Malfoy and made sure there were no loopholes in the instructions he'd given Kreacher. When Kreacher and Dobby returned from spying on Malfoy, Harry congratulated Dobby but ignored Kreacher.
However whilst living in the house of Black, Harry learned a bit about Kreacher's past and began to feel more sympathetic towards him. He tried to be kind to Kreacher and gradually their relationship improved. Harry then gave Kreacher the fake Slytherin's Locket with the note from Regulus, saying Regulus would have wanted him to have it, as Kreacher adored having a Black family heirloom for himself. Kreacher eventually grew quite friendly towards Harry and company, especially after Harry gifted him the locket, and started cooking for them, cleaning the house, and reminding him to wash his hands before dinner, during their hideout there in 1997. Harry also congratulated him when he succeeded in capturing Mundungus Fletcher. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Kreacher led the house elves against Lord Voldemort and his followers, telling them to fight for Harry and the deceased Regulus.
Hermione GrangerEdit
During the Order of the Phoenix's time at the 12 Grimmauld Place, Hermione Granger was the only person who made an effort to be kind to Kreacher. Despite this Kreacher was disdainful towards her because she was a "Mudblood". Hermione insisted that Kreacher wasn't in his right mind, and despite his insults she continued to treat him kindly, giving him a present at Christmas which no one else had bothered to do.
When Hermione discovered that Kreacher's master had been killed during his and Kreacher's mission to retrieve one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, she tried to comfort him with a hug but Kreacher appeared revolted. However Hermione's kindness towards Kreacher eventually started to change his attitude towards her, and before going on his search for Mundungus Fletcher he gave her a little spasm, which was supposed to be a respectful salute. Because of Hermione, Kreacher grew more respectful towards Muggle-borns.
Ron WeasleyEdit
Ron Weasley thought that Kreacher was a nutter and thus they didn't have a close relationship. Ron felt disturbed at the thought of Kreacher wandering around his room in the middle of the night and said that his life's ambition was to have his head chopped off and put on a plaque. Kreacher thought of Ron and the rest of the Weasley family as "blood traitors". However, as with Harry and Hermione, Kreacher grew more friendly towards Ron during the trio's time in Grimmauld Place. Ron even displayed some affection for Kreacher and said that he no longer dreamed of chopping off his head.
Kreacher had a bad relationship with Dobby mainly because they had, at first, opposite opinions of Harry Potter. The two house elves even got into a brawl at one point after Kreacher insulted Harry. However they did work together to spy on Draco Malfoy.
Kreacher's name is most likely derived from the word "creature." Reminiscent of the German "Kriecher" derived from "kriechen," meaning "to creep, crawl, cringe, grovel, tuckle, or fawn upon."
Behind the scenesEdit
- Timothy Bateson voiced Kreacher in the film and video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- Simon McBurney replaced Timothy Bateson as Kreacher in the film and video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, after Bateson's death[5] in 2009.
- The character of Kreacher was written in the first few drafts of the film of Order of the Phoenix, but later cut from the film in order to decrease the page count. He was added back after Harry Potter series author J. K. Rowling read that draft and insisted the character be featured, due to his later importance.[6]
- Harry Potter's role in inheriting Kreacher through Sirius's will and having him work in Hogwarts kitchen has been omitted from the films.
- Kreacher's role in the Harry Potter saga has been compared to the role of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in that he is unwilling servant of the story's protagonist. His desire to protect all the heirlooms of the House of Black can be linked to Gollum's desire for the One Ring.
- Kreacher is so far the only named house-elf known to have a name that does not end with the letter "y".
- Unlike the book, Kreacher did not cry in the film adaptation of Deathly Hallows. He was not given the fake locket in the film adaptation as well, since his importance in the films is largely edited from the books. However, in the video game adaptation Harry gave him the locket.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 12 (Magic is Might)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
- ↑ Simon McBurney cast as Kreacher in Deathly Hallows
- ↑ Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, Page 153


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hi People! i'm back with a new tutorial! :3 this 1 is about how to draw Iki, it's my fave character from Off White. i really like him because he's like so clumsy and so cute! :D
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Australia Zoo proudly fights against wildlife consumption and trade, and urges everyone to refuse to purchase or eat any wildlife products, including crocodile, kangaroo and emu.
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Australia Zoo praises businesses and organisations that join the fight against the consumption and purchase of wildlife and wildlife products.
Australia Zoo representatives do not attend or support functions when we are aware that wildlife will be served for consumption.


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Juvenile court officer says boy who was kept in his Kansas City, North, basement is happy, comfortable at foster home.
A Clay County judge will allow a 17-year-old boy who was found handcuffed to a basement pole earlier this week to remain with a foster family.
Police found the mentally challenged teen on top of several blankets Monday inside the basement of his Kansas City, North, residence.
He was kept there for some time and was given very little food, police said.
Juvenile court officer Alan Gremli said Thursday that the boy is happy and comfortable with his foster family. Gremli asked Circuit Judge Elizabeth Davis to allow the teen to stay with the family because of the unstable conditions at his home.
Another hearing is scheduled for March 7.
Additional evidence will be presented and Davis may decide where the teen will be placed.
No charges have been filed. The case remains under investigation.
"I think he is glad to be out of those circumstances and into a foster home where he is now," Gremli said in an interview after the hearing.
Gremli described the teen as "generally healthy, but thin," weighing between 103 and 107 pounds.
Prior to the hearing, Gremli said the teen boasted about making pizza the night before with his foster family. The teen joked that he would eat the rest of the pizza when he returned to their home, Gremli said.
Police officers visited the teen's Northland townhome Monday afternoon to check on him after someone suspecting abuse called the Missouri Children's Division.
The teen's stepmother answered the door and told police she would go downstairs to wake him. Police asked her to stay upstairs while they checked on the teen.
The officers found him curled in a fetal position on the concrete floor. He was placed in protective custody.
Investigators learned that the teen had been locked in the basement since Sept. 27, when his father removed him from his high school, where he was a sophomore, reportedly to home-school him.
Gremli said the teen would return to a school in Clay County next week


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Buying Insurance
What kind of insurance coverage do I need for a mission trip?
By ShortTermMissions.com community
A cell phone network that works great at home may not offer the kind of coverage you're used to when you travel. In the same way, insurance that meets your needs in your hometown may not fit the bill when you are on the road or across the ocean. For this reason, most mission groups provide or require supplemental insurance for their mission trip team members. Often this is included in your fundraising budget. It is also a good idea when you are traveling alone. Good policies are not expensive or hard to get, especially if you work with a specialist. It may help to know, though, the kinds of insurance that are available and what you're likely to need.
1. Understand the types of insurance and what they cover.
Travel insurance plans should include at least the first three items on this list:
Medical care for illnesses and injuries
Most who go on mission trips are already covered under some type of health insurance, but this may not provide good coverage for your treatment, medication, or hospitalization in another country (from what they call "out of network" care providers). Supplemental health insurance gives trip organizers the peace of mind that everyone has adequate coverage and simplifies the process of getting medical advice, finding clinics or hospitals, and filing claims if you get sick or hurt on the trip.
Emergency evacuation coverage
What if you are so sick or hurt that you need to be evacuated home or to a city with better medical facilities? Medical evacuation insurance picks up those expenses and can cover the cost of someone traveling with you. Emergency evacuation insurance may also cover the expense of getting you out if you have to leave due to political or civil unrest.
Repatriation of remains
In case you die overseas, this insurance will cover the expense of bringing your body back to your home country. It's not something we like to think about, but if you don't have this and the worst happens, it could cost your family or sending group a great deal of money and trouble.
Trip cancellation insurance
Business people and other travelers sometimes buy trip cancellation insurance in case a conference, meeting, or flight is cancelled. If your trip gets cancelled or you are sick and cannot go, you might be glad to have trip cancellation insurance. Such policies may also cover costs incurred to due flight delays and missed connections or loss or damage of your luggage.
Travel assistance service
Some travel insurance policies even include a hotline for assistance, 24 hours a day, with medical emergencies, lost items such as passports and luggage, destination information and advice, and even purchasing tickets for travel and events. This kind of help may be more than you need or want to pay for, but could come in handy if you are a tight schedule, on your first trip to that location, or don't have people who can help you on the ground.
Coverage for dangerous activities or destinations
If you're traveling with a sports team or your trip includes an extreme activity such as zip-lining or hang-gliding (or even something like riding a motorcycle), make sure your medical insurance policy will cover you in the event of an injury during that activity.
Depending on where you are going, you may want to look for war and terrorism coverage, kidnap and ransom coverage, and international property insurance. You may even be offered supplemental life insurance.
2. You should probably get insurance from a broker.
Although you can just buy many kinds of insurance off the internet, the most efficient and affordable way to get the coverage you really need is to work with an insurance provider or broker. "You're better off getting insurance from a company that caters to missionaries, rather than buying from a travel agent or someone whose focus is honeymooners, those going on cruises, and package travel," adds Mark Sequeira, a former overseas worker who is currently on staff with Good Neighbor Insurance. "You don't want to pay for what you don't need, and the cost difference can be considerable."
"Most policies will also continue to cover you after you return home for an injury or illness that begins when you're overseas," he says. "The right broker will have options for seniors and those with preexisting conditions and should offer contracted missionary rates for church teams and mission projects."
"When you're looking for an agent or broker, ask around. Other missionaries know who to trust and can make recommendations or referrals. If you are joining a mission agency (or even going with them short-term), ask if they have a broker or specific requirements for insurance. They should be able to tell you what you'll need and may be able to make recommendations."
Sequeira suggests that customer service and access is a key thing to look for. "If you are searching online, make sure the phone number is prominent on the website and see if they answer it personally. If you can't easily reach them, keep shopping. You'll be glad you did in case of a real emergency! Because most brokers carry plans at similar prices, good service is essential to help you pick the best plan."
3. Expect fairly low prices.
Most short-term policies should cost about US$1-2 a day depending on the age of participants, and rather than expecting co-pays on each expense, should pick up 100% after you meet the deductible (the initial amount you agree to pay before insurance kicks in).
"Good international insurance policies will give you a choice of deductibles from US$0 up to $5000, but for short-term plans, the difference is only a few dollars total per trip. So we recommend going with $100 or $250. Of course, always follow the guidelines established by your mission agency. Or, if they do not have a minimum, use wisdom and the advice of a professional who will address your specific needs and where you are going or what you will be doing."
4. Look at these providers.
In addition to the great mission trip insurance offered by MissionTripInsurance.com and by CityExpressTravel.net (sponsors of this website!) check out these companies:
- Good Neighbor Insurance, as well as missionaryinsurance.info, a service of Good Neighbor Insurance for individual missionaries, and missionaryinsurance.org, a service of Good Neighbor Insurance for short-term teams.
- Insurance Services of America (missionaryhealth.com)
- Insurance Consultants International (globalhealthinsurance.com)
- Talent Trust Consultants
- GoMissionTrip.com