text:
A Full Tibetan Buddhist Mandala Offering, Young Prince – Lama HE Avikritar Rinpoche leading, Tharlam Monastery, Bodha, Kathmandu, Nepal
Image taken on 2007-11-02 07:44:57 by Wonderlane.
by Berit Madsen.
"My deepest wish for my son is that he will get a good education", Sher Bahadur Bishwakarma says. "When I was a child we did not get the opportunity to go to school. Instead we had to look after cattle, cut leaves, and work in the fields. Today it is difficult to make a living up in the hill villages. So, if my son wants to go to Kathmandu or India when he grows up he will need some knowledge".
Sher Bahadur Bishwakarma is twenty two years old. His son – and first born child – is only thirteen days old. Sher lives together with his wife, his parents, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. His wife, Jasuli Bahadur Bishwakarma, is twenty years old. They live in a small clay house in Pachnali village in West Nepal. Their house is next door to Parvati's shop (first article) in the kami tole. The house consists of three rooms with a separate kitchen for each nuclear family in the household. For the last two weeks the entrance to Sher's house has been decorated with a net, hanging down from above. An axe and a curved knife are put on each side of the wooden door. The net, axe, and knife protect the mother and the new born child from evil spirits. Since Sher's wife gave birth two weeks ago, she has not left the house without taking the axe or the knife with her as a protection. Nobody can touch her nor the new born baby before a name giving ritual, Nwarani, has been carried out.
The kami caste
Sher and his household belong to the kami caste. The kami is one of the dalit castes, the untouchables, in the Nepalese caste system. For generations Sher's family has worked as blacksmiths – an occupation which is interrelated with the kami caste. The blacksmiths make farming tools, knifes for cutting leaves, cooking stoves, and other kinds of utensils made of iron. It takes three days of preparation to start up the blacksmith work. First charcoal has to be prepared. Charcoal is made of wood collected in the forest some hours walk away from the village. The wood will burn on low temperature, while the blacksmith watches it carefully. He sprinkles the burning wood with water to prevent it from burning down to ashes and instead, eventually, be turned into charcoal. Nowadays the general lack of forest due to the massive cut down of trees in the surroundings has made it more and more difficult for the blacksmiths to make charcoal.
Today Sher's son is thirteen days old and the nwarani ritual is carried out.
"My great grandfather was a very big man. He had good physical strength which is needed if you are a blacksmith", Sher says. "We kami people are known for our ability to work hard. This is also why kamis are employed in wedding ceremonies. We carry the bridegroom in a wooden chair – a basket – from his village to the home of the bride; and after the wedding we bring the bride to her husbands household. You have to be strong to carry the basket for many hours in the steep hill sides".
Sher has decided not to follow his traditional caste occupation. His argument is, that there are already three blacksmiths in the village, who share the few orders coming in from the upper castes. He also prefers to work as a wage earner. Often the blacksmiths are not paid in money for their work, but instead with goods such as wheat and millet. The same goes for the work which Sher and other dalit villagers carry out on the upper castes' land. As payment for taking care of the fields they receive half of the harvest – a system which is known as Bali Ghare Pratha. The harvest rarely lasts Sher and his family throughout the year.
Another reason for Sher not to become a blacksmith is due to the way the caste system works. Sher exemplifies how the system works: "During harvest time the upper caste people provide us with a meal a day", he explains. "We cannot eat inside their houses but have to sit outside. After finishing the meal we have to wash the dishes ourselves. The upper castes believe that we have polluted the plates by eating from them. I don't know why they think that we are polluting. We all have the same blood, we eat the same kind of food, wear the same kind of clothes – so why should we be different?"
Pavitra Malla, an upper caste woman who lives a few minutes of walk from the dalit hamlets, gives her point of view upon Sher's caste and the other dalits in the village. "Yes, we do not allow the dalits to enter our houses. The dalits eat cows and buffaloes, that is why they are dirty. If we eat this kind of meat or touch somebody who eats it, the gods will make us very sick. When one of our buffaloes dies we tell the sarki dalits to come and fetch it. The sarki use the skin to make leather strings. But they also eat the meat – so how could we allow them to enter our houses or take water from our water tap?"
The primary school system
Most of the grown up dalits in Pachnali are illiterate. Especially the women. There were no schools in the villages during their childhood. Today there is a small school in Pachnali. It is situated on the hill top behind the village.
The children sit outside in the school yard. They are split into three groups; first and second class in one group, third and fourth in the next, and fifth class in the third. During daytime the sound of children repeating after the teacher echoes in the mountains: "one, two, three… a, b, c". The teacher is a chhetri from a neighbouring village. He walks around the children with a cane in his hand. If a pupil is not concentrated or has forgotten the numbers or the alphabet the punishment comes immediately: he or she is caned on the shoulder or in the palm of his/her hand.
The majority of the boys attend school up till fifth class. Some dalit girls in Pachnali do not go to school. They look after the cattle and fetch leaves. The school starts at 11 am followed by a lunch break at 1 pm. Classes are continued again from 1.30 to 16.00 pm. Most children do not return to the school after lunch. They either play around in the village or are send to the forest to collect firewood and food for the animals.
The evening school
Two months ago Sher was employed by a German NGO to start up an informal evening school, proudha, for the illiterate women in the village. The evening school runs for a period of six month. From 7.00 to 8.30 pm each night the women gather in an unused stable. Sher has only five years of schooling from his childhood. He is, however, an enthusiastic teacher and as the months pass by the women gradually learn basic reading and writing skills.
Sher receives 765 rupees (approx. 10 US $) a month for the job. He is also provided with a kerosene lamp to light up the stable, since there is no electricity in the village. A damai teacher runs a similar informal evening school for the women in the damai tole. According to one of the damai women, Sundari, they need two separate evening classes as the kami stable is too small for housing all of them. Sher thinks that there is another reason as well related to the caste system.
"When foreigners come to Pachnali, most villagers tell them that there is no untouchability among dalit people. They say so because they know that this is how it should be", Sher says. "But when the foreigners leave the village we just follow the tradition: We don't touch each other, we don't eat together, and we cannot enter each others kitchens. The damai people think that they are superior to us kamis. But most people from my kami caste believe that the damai and sarki are inferior to us. It is because the sarki eat buffaloes and cows; the damai grown-ups don't eat this kind of food but they sometimes feed their children with buffalo meat. The upper castes say that all dalit eat cows and buffaloes, but it is not true".
The internal hierarchy among the dalits in Pachnali is partly based on eating habits, and partly on caste occupation. As kamis are doing the most physically demanding work, the other dalit groups in the village consider them to be at the bottom of the caste system. Traditionally the damai caste work as tailors and drummers. As drummers the damai play an important role in different ritual practices. Due to this religious profession the damai consider themselves superior. Sher explains that this internal hierarchy and untouchability is one of the reasons why kami and damai women cannot participate in the same evening classes.
Change is difficult
Sher wants to change the caste system. He hopes that the social practices that differentiate people based upon ideas of purity and pollution one day will disappear. Therefore he has taken up these discussions in the evening school. He believes that most of the younger generation feels like him. But it is difficult to make changes since the elder generation resists. "My parents would never allow a damai into our kitchen. They tell me not to accept food from their hands. If I do they say to me: "Look at yourself – you are a grown up person, how come you behave like a child?". How can I go against my parents will? I have to live in this society, and therefore I also have to accept the caste system and its practices. If I alone start to behave differently I will be kicked out from my home".
The ritual for the new born child
It is the day for Nwarani ritual. When the son was born Sher's uncle went to the brahmin priest in the neighbouring village. The priest looked into his astrology book and found the right date for the nwarani ritual to be carried out: Thirteen days after the birth. People from the kami tole gather around Sher's house. They bring tika – red powder – to put on each others forehead. The tika brings good fortune. Damai drummers arrive.
They play the drums to get the attention of the gods. The brahmin priest also found a suitable first name for the child. During the ritual the name is made public – the son is called Dil Bahadur Bishwakarma. Sher himself decided which surname to give to his child. Traditionally the dalit groups use the caste name as surname. But Sher didn't want his son to be called kami. "When your surname is kami everybody knows that you belong to this lower caste group. If we call him Bishwakarma instead, then people outside this village might not know that he belongs to the dalits. Maybe this will help him to get a better position in the society".
Through the nwarani ritual the new born child becomes part of the human world. For the first time since the boy was born Sher is allowed to touch his child.
Nepal has about two dozen laws that discriminate against women. One debars them from inheriting parental property, unless they remain unmarried till age 35. That is more than half the average life-span of Nepali women. Also they have to relinquish property, after deducting wedding expenses, if they marry after inheritance. Women can dispose inherited property only with the consent of male family members. For Nepali men, inheritance is a birthright.
Equality of the sexes has been in Nepal's constitution since 1958. But when the Muluki Ain or Public Law was amended in 1962, clauses that discriminated against women were not changed. A bill in parliament seeks do to that. The proposed 11th Amendment of the Public Law has resulted from a court ruling that required the government to table a draft, following a petition by two women lawyers. The two had petitioned the Supreme Court in 1993 seeking annulment of laws that contravened with the provisions of Nepal's democratic constitution (1990).
There are, however, no guarantees that Nepal's parliament—which has traditionally had more males than females—will adopt the bill. The politics was apparently afraid because the new law could have change some long standing traditions. That the bill could have caused some short-term vote losses in the May 1999 elections was perhaps one reason why the now-dissolved parliament did not make approve the amendment.
The 11 Amendment would allow daughters to inherit parental property. They would, however, be required to return the inheritance if marry thereafter. According to the latest version in the House, the provision would ensure that women, who can also inherit their husband's property, are not doubly propertied—in "unfairness" to men. The draft also drops some derogatory words and phrases used to refer to actions associated with women. "Elope," for instance, has been replaced by "marriage." "Daughters" has also been added to every reference the law makes to "sons".
The opponents still argue that allowing women to inherit property would destabilise the social system. They fear that the law could lead to increase in property disputes between kin and further division of already divided land holdings. Some have even gone to the extent of arguing that the economic freedoms for women could lead to increased infidelity, divorces and sexually transmitted diseases. Still others argue that giving uneducated women their rights could be taking them only half the way. They ask: what would they do with rights if they are not capable of enforcing them? As solution they argue for leaving inheritance to the will of parents. The argument for this is that parents can pass on property to those that take care of them in old age.
Women comprise more than half of Nepal's 23 million people. They are less educated and work longer hours than men. Son preference is very high in the predominantly patriarchal, Hindu kingdom. In a society where social security does not exist and property is passed on to male descendants, sons are looked upon as old-age insurance. It is also widely believed that sons "open the gates of heaven" by carrying out the last rites of parents. Daughters are "given away" in marriage. These explain, to an extent, the prevalence of sayings like "let it be later but let it be a son." The resultant discriminations in upbringing of girls perhaps explain why Nepal is one of the few countries in the world where men live longer than women.
Nepal's adult female literacy is less than 25 percent, compared to about 55 for males. There are also many communities that prefer to marry daughters early rather than invest in their education. The new law would also raise the legal age for marriage of girls from the present 16 to 18 years.
The draft is silent on many other issues activists have been raising. One is enlistment of women in the army. Another is registration of personal incidents—births, deaths, etc.—which can now be done only under the name of the male head of family. Nor does it address another provision which bars individuals from obtaining citizenship on the basis of a mother's status, but can if the father is a Nepali citizen.
Nepal is the best adventure destination of world as many international journal/travelouge quoted. This is the short travel documentry about jungle safari in chitwan national park, beautiful pokhara city, and dhumpus trek -lies in annapurna trek-one of the best trekking trail in world.
Marriage and Love by Nirmala Dhital
Man is a sentient, social being. Women and men have a significant role in the fullness of the family and society. In the absence of either woman or man, social structure can be come upset. Since ancient times the tradition of marriage has existed to make relations between them natural and licit. Marriage as something that makes the family complete is guided by religious, moral, legal and social regulations.
According to renowned psychoanalysts, the stability of marital relations is mostly dependent on sex and those who remain celibate are rare. In other words it is stated categorically that two thirds of the problems besetting man arise from sexual repression. Various situations are associated with marriage, such as physical relations, procreation, mental and emotional ties, companionship and spiritual fellowship.
Nepali society is characterized by narrow minded attitudes concerning marriage, love and affection. On top of that women inthis male dominated society cannot speak out openly because of shyness, and family and social restraints. Moreover, women have been taught since ancient times that sexual urge is something scornful and sinful and should be repressed. As women for the most part have problems in establishing marital relations when compared to men, article 16 among the rights mentioned in the Convention on Eradication of all kinds of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1979 has guaranteed this right to marriage or to freely choose their life partner, under the heading of right to marriage and family.
Marriage for disabled women as a problem and a challenge
The active involvement of various classes, groups and communities and inter-linkages among them are needed for building a society in its entirety. A physically weak class known as the disabled is looked at negatively by society and subjected to ridicule and contempt. Society and the family have never been able to contemplate establishing them in marital ties and rehabilitating them socially and in the family. Disabled or not all have the desire for satisfaction of what nature has given them. It is but natural in human life for all to desire marriage, love-affection and sex. This being a male dominated society, there is no real difficulty for most disabled males to establish marital ties. In fact there are examples here and there of marriage proposals coming to them from the female side, and some of them have married more than one wife. But disabled women have lagged behind in social completeness because first of all they are women, secondly they are poor, thirdly uneducated, fourthly disabled, fifthly lacking in awareness, etc. Because of negative ideas concerning the marital ties with disabled women such as that they cannot have babies, even if they have babies these are also disabled, disabled women do not live long, they remain deprived of their right on one hand and are looked down upon by society on the other. As our society is not so open when it comes to the question of marriage with a disabled woman such women have to remain single for life. Even disabled men hesitate to marry disabled women, preferring instead a life partner who is not disabled.
Disabled women have to bear the frustration of not being able to share with a friend of the opposite sex their feelings of love and affection because of the narrow attitudes prevailing in family and society when it comes to marriage, sexual relations, love, etc. Men come close to disabled women dangling prospects of marriage and express sham love and affection. But there are plenty of examples in our society of men being drawn to disabled women only for sexual satisfaction and to disown them afterwards. The tradition in our society is for women to spend most of her time looking after her in-laws apart from the household chores. Against this tradition setting up a disabled woman in matrimony is a problem because of the prejudiced attitudes such as that she will not be able to meet her traditional responsibilities, satisfy her husband's sexual needs or look after her children properly. Furthermore, the superstition that a disabled woman will beget a disabled child makes it unavoidable for her to live out her life alone.
United Nations regulations concerning the marriage of disabled women
The United Nations, bearing in mind that disabled women also have an inherent right to marriage, love and affection, has mentioned in Regulation No. 9 of the Evidentiary Regulations of 1994 concerning Generalization of Opportunities for the Disabled under the heading of Family Life and Individual Fulfillment that the law is not to discriminate in matters like marital life and sexual relations. The state has encouraged the full participation of the disabled in family life and promoted individual fulfillment besides making definite arrangements for avoiding discrimination. Disabled people might experience difficulties in getting and establishing a family and although it is mentioned that communications media should beencouraged to play a significant role in changing the negative thinking about the disabled still prevalent in society, the government has apparently not gone about it seriously in spreading awareness to facilitate implementation.
Legal discrimination over the marriage of disabled women
Disabled women have been discriminated against by the law also. Although Nepalese law has prohibited polygamy this practice is allowed in specific circumstances. The Civil Code section no. 9 on marriage allows the husband to marry again if his wife is blind in both eyes, or cannot move about because of a disability. But if the husband suffers from the same disabilities, his wife cannot marry another husband. Instead of making it legally mandatory to provide family social security and upkeep in case of physical disability, the law has created discrimination between disabled and able by making a separate provision that encourages the husband to marry again. The speediest refinement and amendment of such discriminatory law is an urgent need of the day.
The role of the family, society and the state in resolving the problem of marriage of disabled women
If there is a disabled woman in the family it should be made legally binding to give her the right to paternal property on par with the sons. Opportunities should be created for open discussion in front of the disabled women about their marriage, sexual desire, love, etc.. Various NGO's and governmental bodies and civil society should organize workshops, interactions, discussions and seminars to spread awareness among the general public. Government and civil society should make it legally compulsory to encourage both disabled and able men to marry disabled women through awarding of cash prizes and medals, felicitations, etc.
If as provided in article 12(f) of the proposed disabled service national policy 2053 ((1996/97) under legal facilities, job reservations are provided for able individuals who marry disabled spouses and priority is given to their children in education, training and employment under article 6, and if legal amendments to this effect are implemented as stated, there is a possibility that people will be encouraged to some extent to wed the disabled. The family, society and the state should consider in a positive light and as natural the human desires among the disabled for marriage, affection and family fulfillment. Marriage prospects for disabled women will grow if the family takes the initiative for giving them opportunity for education, health care, skill development, training and self employment and makes them self supporting and capable
citizens. Material on the marriage of disabled women and stories of their success should be included in school level curriculum.
Physically disabled Roma Neupane was born 22 years ago in Sunsari District Itahari Municipality Ward No. 1. At the age of eight she lost her right leg from above the knee when she was run over by a jeep. Although disabled, she has married a non-disabled man and succeeded in putting paid to negative attitudes existing in society. Chiran Pokharel, who chose her for his wife, was born 23 years ago in Asahachetra Chautara-4. This is how Chiran describes his experience. "For me, nobody in the world is completely non-disabled. Everyone has some defect or weakness. That is why nobody need boast that he is able bodied. And I thought why should anyone not get married just because a part of his body is weak. So after four years of encounters and mutual love we tied the nuptial knot in 2061(2004)." Pokharel said earlier – in the beginning I felt that the family would object to my marrying a disabled girl, but gradually I came to learn that they took it in stride, and I am very satisfied with her. Her qualities like self confidence, competence and sense of duty have attracted me greatly.
Roma dances on the stage on her one leg to the great astonishment of the spectators. Before she lost her leg she used to dance during the Dashain and Tihar festivals and sometimes at picnics. She tried to give continuity to this after losing her leg also and finds no difficulty in dancing for five minutes. So far she has danced on the stage 15 times and also received some awards. She says "I can never forget the encouragement to dance given by Buddhiman Majhidai when I first came to Kathmandu three years ago." Just because she was disabled there was no question of foregoing something indispensable like marriage, she says. After finding a selfless person like Chiran her family life has become very happy and blissful. She is going to appear on the big screen also in the near future. There have been no real challenges of a practical nature that the family has had to face because she is disabled, Chiran says adding – there is nothing that she cannot do. People may be astonished when watching her dance on stage for five minutes, but on seeing the same thing I think I will remain astonished for life. I find it intriguing. Speaking about the marriage of disabled women, she says all able bodied males should take up
something new from today and become an example in society. Disabled women can be just like the able bodied if we work together to help them a little, and they also have desire for marriage, affection, love and sex just like anybody else. Marriage is a social necessity. Disabled or not marriage is an inherent right.
Tika Dahal of Morang District, who has been doing social work for disabled women since a long time, is herself physically disabled. Asked about the marriage of disabled women, she says- "Since Nepal is a male dominated society there is no problem for disabled males who wish to marry. But for disabled females marriage is a problem and an issue which has been emerging gradually these days. So far there is no statistic on how many disabled women have gotten married. As disabled women, their hand has never been sought in marriage through their families, but there are occasional instances of educated males falling in love with and marrying disabled women."
Similarly, physically disabled Ram Pyari Karki of Nuwakot trains people from various organizations in sewing and cutting. This is what she has to say about the marriage of disabled women-"Even disabled men will not marry disabled women, let alone able bodied men. Are disabled women to remain single all their life?"
Image taken on 2008-11-15 16:03:00 by ` TheDreamSky 꿈꾸는 하늘.
Education at the Mercy of Political Violence by Rajaram Gautam
Sharada Higher Secondary School in Mudbhara VDC, Doti district, has been transformed into a cemetery. A clash on October 3, 2003, between a Maoist group eager to force school children out of their classrooms and make them watch a cultural program in the open and a security forces patrol which reached the spot at that very moment left not only some Maoists dead. Four innocent students also lost their lives. Half a dozen others were injured. Following that incident, at least 18 other schools in the district closed down because of insecurity.
The locks at 76 schools in Bajura in Far Western Region have not yet been opened a month after the end of the October Dasain/Tihar holidays. This situation has arisen as the school teachers, terrified by the Maoists, have moved to the district headquarters. And when the Maoists issued an order requiring all teachers to submit one month's salary as donations, 112 teachers in the district applied to the district education office to be sent elsewhere on assignment.
On November 5, Maoists torched the zonal level primary teachers training centre at Bhojpur district headquarters and razed it to the ground. This arson attack on the center which trains teachers from the eastern hill districts of Sankhuwasabha, Khotang, Bhojpur and Solukhumbu caused damage estimated at five million rupees minimum.
The armed conflict raging in the country since the past eight years has hit the educational sector hard. Especially after the second breakdown of the ceasefire in August, the battle ground has extended to the educational institutions. Incidents of Maoists killing and abducting teachers on allegations of espionage, and government security forces also accusing teachers and students of being Maoists and subjecting them to torture have since long become commonplace. Things have now reached the point where schools in the countryside are commonplaces for clashes between rebels and the army. Senseless killings of children on their way to school have not stopped, and many children have come under the grip of psychological trauma. Schools are closing down one after another. Thus education in the countryside has been thrown into chaos.
In the past year alone, the Maoists have torched and destroyed at least 41 educational establishments. These include the offices of school resource persons and teacher training centres. One hundred and nine teachers engaged in their work have fallen victim to violence perpetrated by the state and the Maoists. According to figures from the human rights organisation Informat Sector Service Center (INSEC), 240 children have so far lost their lives in the course of the armed conflict. The state is responsible for the deaths of 156 children and the Maoists for another 84. More than two-thirds of these children, who perished in two-way clashes or through booby traps, were school students. Just two months ago, Deepak Gurung, a 12-year-old school boy in Kathmandu, was killed in an explosion set off by the Maoists. These figures on the directly observable impact of the armed conflict will increase further in the days to come, but already, education as a whole has experienced a big set back.
Displaced by fear
Another example: The Maoists looted the entire property of Krishna Datta Pant, principal of Durga Secondary School in Maharudra Village Development Committee far away from the headquarters of Baitadi district, and expelled his family of 11 members from the village. The family, including his 81-year-old mother, has been living at the district headquarters as refugees for the past month. The Pant family is not the only family to be displaced by fear of the Maoists. Many teachers, students and their guardians have taken to working as labourers in Nepal's larger cities and towns or in India in order to escape the dual menace of government forces and Maoists. In particular, teachers and students have fled their home places by fear of being abducted if they fail to make donations to the Maoists or being killed on accusations of spying. School children displaced from districts like Rolpa and Rukum which are badly affected by the Maoists can easily be found working as labourers at brick kilns inside the KathmanduValley.
Caught between Maoists and government forces
While some have been displaced by fear and now live a life of want, others have had guns thrust into their hands instead of school texts and copybooks. Tenth grade student Prem Oli of Srikrishna Secondary School in Ghartigaon of Rolpa district gave up his studies and became a guerrilla five years ago. Two years later, his path was followed by seventh grader at the same school Man Bahadur Gharti, who took up the gun. Today he is known among the Maoists by the nickname "tiger". Sapana Ghartimagar of the same village, who is also known as Jeevika, joined the Maoist cultural group while studying in ninth grade. These are just some examples. Students and teachers are used for political ends either voluntarily or under pressure from the Maoists. It is said that the number of callow Maoist combatants who have dropped out of school is considerable. CWIN, an NGO working on child labour issues, estimates that at least 4,000 children aged 14 to 18 have taken up arms for the Maoists. INSEC chairman Subodh Pyakurel says the percentage of child soldiers among the total Maoist guerrilla force could be around five.
- While the number of those who actually carry guns may not be large, those who take messages back and forth and play an active part in the cultural troupes could be quite numerous, he says.
And it is not just students; teachers in the hill villages have also joined the Maoists. Those in leadership positions within the Maoist movement tend to have teaching backgrounds. This is easily borne out if we take Rolpa, a district under very high Maoist influence, as an example. Maoist leaders from Rolpa such as Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Jhakku Subedi, Nandakishore Pun, Santosh Budha and Harshaman Pun were all active at one time or other as school teachers. It is because of the teaching background of most Maoist leaders that the state now tends to look with suspicion on those engaged in the teaching profession in the affected districts. At the same time, teachers are also subjected to abductions by Maoists or are even being killed on charges of spying. Nepal National Teachers Organisation General Secretary Baburam Adhikari says, "Teachers have suffered most from the impact of the conflict raging in the country. Impacting on teachers means impacting students, guardians and the educational system as a whole."
Psychological traumas
As it is, our educational system is already riddled with shortcomings, and there should have been a movement towards setting things right. But the political violence that commenced in February 1996 has only made matters worse. The problems of this sector in Maoist affected areas include obstruction of school inspection and monitoring activities, obstruction at school buildings, resource centres and in school mapping, declining number of students, accusations of spying levelled at teachers and resource persons, inspiring of students to become guerrillas, the use of educational premises for political programs, and many more. This is apart from the forced participation of students and teachers in Maoist political activity. What will be the impact of all this on impressionable young minds? It is something to be pondered on.INSEC chairman Pyakurel speaks of psychological trauma among students resulting from political violence. He asks, "When children going to school see one of their friends being hit by a bullet and dying before their very eyes, what kind of effect will it have on the rest of them?"
Professor Ananda Aditya feels that the psychological trauma of students, guardians and teachers caused by political violence has had a negative effect on education as a whole. These traumas among teachers and students, the death of children in bomb explosions, the upsetting of school calendars and school lock-outs have to be put up with by educational establishments in rural and urban areas equally. But schools in the remote hill districts have borne the brunt of violence over the past eight years. Although private schools in cities are subjected now and then to lock-outs because of the educational demands and donation drives of the All Nepal Revolutionary Maoist fraternal organisation, academic activity has not been brought to a halt over long periods of time. Well to do urban families started sending their children to school in India or elsewhere once the upheaval in education commenced. Those falling prey to political violence are mostly lower middle class rural families.
Schools as zones of peace?
Voices have indeed been raised for declaring the educational sector a zone of peace. Once political violence in Nepal began to escalate and impact seriously on education, human rights activists within the country and various donor organisations started calling for such a declaration. This demand has been made by Unicef, the Danish, Finnish and Norwegian aid organisations, the World Bank, ADB, JICA, the European Union and others which expressed their anger over the Mudbhara incident in Doti1. In principle, both the Maoists and the government agree to the idea of keeping the educational sector a peace zone. But neither side has implemented this in practical terms. Insec's Pyakurel says: "Children are a symbol of peace. At the very least, violence should be kept away from where they study and play."
With children getting used to incidents of violence and murder, people have started talking about the need to include in the school curriculum informative lessons on the insurgency. Examples abound of children mistaking explosive substances placed indiscriminately by the Maoists for toys and losing their lives while playing with such things. That is why Pyakurel says that at the very least, the curriculum for grades eight to 10 should contain lessons on weaponry and explosives used by the Maoists and the security forces along with instructions on ways to keep safe from them.
The educational sector will produce qualified manpower only if it is rendered free of violence. Any society or nation needs qualified manpower if it is to make progress. There is an urgent need for Maoists and government security personnel to understand this.
www.travelandshortbreaks.com Nepali Travel Guide Kathmandu Bhaktapur. A few days in the wonderful city of Kathmandu capital of Nepal after finishing a Himalayan trek.We flew back to the city from Lukla leaving our Nepali guide at the airport. If you've been to nepal why not add a comment below!
Why are some people considered "untouchable" by others? Why do many upper caste people sprinkle water to purify themselves ritually when are touched by a Dalit?
Two documentary films about the lower caste people -the Dalit- in Nepal have just been finished. The films are a result of a joint project between Danish Association for International Co-operation (MS-Nepal), Danida/HUGOU's Dalit Support Unit and a Danish filmmaker/anthropologist. The two films "We have the Same Kind of Blood" and "Why Dalit?" are the first ever close portraits of Dalits made in Nepal.
"We Have the Same Kind of Blood" gives a sensitive and in-depth view of the daily life of Dalits as it is experienced by the villagers in Pachnali, a small mountain village in Doti district in West Nepal. The village is inhabited by several Dalit castes – the Kami (blacksmiths), Damai (tailors) and Bhul (leather workers) among others, as well as some Thakuri upper caste households. The filmteam settled in the village for 1½ month to participate in the daily life and create a close relationship to the villagers. At first the villagers were reluctant to be filmed: "Why should other people to see our poverty?", they asked, being shy of wearing their worn out clothes in front of the camera. Slowly the confidence was built up.
Some of the glaring examples of the caste based discrimination are revealed in the film: as in many parts of Nepal, they are not allowed to use the water taps reserved for the higher castes; they cannot enter the Hindu temples as they are considered to be "impure" and have a "reckless" behaviour. The strong influence of the religious cosmology upon the caste behaviour and the daily life as such is also reflected in the films.
"Why Dalit?" provides an insight portrait of the Dalits' situation in Nepal at large. Through the words of Dalit and upper caste people, the film explores many of the paradoxes in the caste based discrimination: like why are the shoes made by Sarkis, lower caste people, allowed into the house of the upper castes, when the person who made the shoes cannot enter? The film moves from the mountain areas in the West down to the Terai in the South and sheds light on different Dalit castes and their living circumstances – e.g. the Sunars (goldsmith) who try to escape from the caste discrimination in the hill villages by migrating to the more populated market areas in Terai; the Badis who struggle to get citizenship for their fatherless children; the Dhobis (washermen) who spend their life washing clothes, but still are considered "dirty".
The practice of caste discrimination is illegal and punishable by law in Nepal. But the caste system still forms an essential part of the cultural landscape. In many ways the Dalits live on the margin of the Nepalese society – economically as well as culturally. But the films also show the humour and strength of the Dalit as they try to live a life in dignity. Being the first in-depth portrait of Dalits' way of life and the discrimination as it takes place every day in many parts of Nepal, the films are important inputs in the process of asking for equality for all citizens in Nepal and raising awareness about caste discrimination.
Produced and directed by Ms. Berit Madsen/Manche Film with Ms. Ganga Gurung as sound engineer/interpreter, the two documentaries have enjoyed expert inputs from Dalit NGO Federation, Feminist Dalit Organization and Dalit Welfare Organization. The documentaries, edited by Mr. Rabindra Pandey, are enriched by Aavaas's music/lyric and songs by Mr. Tirtha Gandharva.
Video Distribution in Nepal & Asia:
Dillibazar, Kathmandu
GPO Box 4010
Tel. 977 1 434040
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Baluwatar, Kathmandu
PO Box 6332
Royal Danish Embassy, Nepal
Tel. 977 1 432131
Email: email@example.com
Image taken on 2007-03-19 20:40:10 by TaylorMiles.


text:
Jay Cutler did not practice as the Bears got back to work preparing for San Francisco, and Lovie Smith has no idea if that will change tomorrow.
But Cutler is getting better and has each day. Which leaves the team optimistic things could change. Though they re-iterated their faith in Jason Campbell if he's called upon. But it is still an 'if'- whether Cutler practices this week or not. As a general rule, the Bears like an injured player to do something active by Friday, but for players who know the system, if he's 100% by Monday night, he'll play.
Cutler was Halas Hall Thursday, and every teammate we could ask gave their non-medical assessment saying he looked "good". Brian Urlacher said they talked ping pong. " No he (Cutler) didn't play, he was watching me dominate." Who? "anyone who stepped to the other side of the table."
You just knew Urlacher was going to give us honesty after that, and he did. The linebacker said earlier this year that if he suffered a concussion or had concussion like symptoms, he would lie about it to keep playing. He still would lie, though its harder with the testing they run players through to diagnose.
Urlacher has had only one major concussion- that we know of- and credits his older helmet for better protection.
"There are points in every game where you give a hit and feel a little woozy. Well, not every game, but mostly every game where you give a hit and you're like 'Whoa- that was a good one.' The helmets aren't very good- I wear an old helmet, Lance wears an old helmet we take some pretty hard hits and we don't get concussed. I think a lot of it has to do with the helmets now...they say they are better, but they must not because everyone's getting concussions now."
Urlacher and his teammates recognize the concern over concussions.
Though the defensive guys we talked to today also recognize the double standard. The NFL does not penalize cut blocks the same way they do hits to the head. Urlacher believes that proves the league isn't that concerned about safety. "Huge difference. A knee can put you out for a season, a concussion you might miss a game or two- big difference."
Tongue in cheek, of course. But his point was heard. "You're right, that's why you have to judge if you want to play or not. Don't want to get concussed, don't play. Its your career its your life, you have to make that decision on your own. It's the value of where you put your life after football . If I got concussed a lot I'd probably stop playing...but I don't so I'm good."
Cutler's teammates do hope he's cautious as he returns. They need him beyond just Monday night. "It's bigger than just Monday night, we have a longer season ahead, and we expect to go into the play offs and we're going to need him for it," Henry Melton said.
It's an ongoing story-line until Cutler is lifted from the injury report. Standing by for more info on Friday.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Should I Dump This A$$hole?
Today's should I dump this a$$hole email, seems very relatable for this town.
That sounded bad. Not that our town has a bunch of drunkards, but more like the bcs has northgate, which transforms guys into these seemingly great catches, when the sober reality of it is.. they are just a bunch of a$$holes.
So, this one comes from Sara..
My boyfriend likes to party – hard. Don't get me wrong, he has a great job. He just likes to unwind after work. And honestly, it doesn't bother me because he's really affectionate and tells me such great and nice things that I don't know if he would share otherwise. Is this really a problem?
Some people need alcohol to get up the courage to talk or share their feelings. I don't see anything wrong with that. If he wants to drink a lot after work, I'm okay with that so long as he leaves the bar with me.
He's so much fun to be around, and he has his @*#$ together. He doesn't miss work… he's just exciting.
My friends though think this is bad, so what do you think?
Should I dump this a$$hole?
Hmmmmm.. my initial thoughts here? If he really, really likes you and enjoys spending time with you, he'll want to see you when his judgement isn't cloudy or ortherwise impaired.
That goes for anything.. drinking, drugs.. after a certain age, yeah it's totally cool to go out a few nights a week and regret having to wake up for work in the morning, but let's be honest. How are his inebriated and probably sweaty proclamations of love making you feel all warm inside?
I don't believe anything a guy tells me when he's drunk. Don't let desire for affection mar your judgement.
While it's great your boyfriend is attentive and affectionate, know you deserve the same kind of guy.. only with a lower blood alcohol level.
I forsee people disagreeing with me on this one, but what do you think?
Should she dump this a$$hole?
texts from you (23504)
I have to say that the person dating this guy should be cautious. While her boyfriend's use of alcohol isn't a problem right now, over the course of time it will become a problem. I've seen it multiple times before although he may prove to be the one exception.
If he continues this lifestyle, it'll lead to problems. DUMP HIM.
Yes she needs to if he needs to drink to say he loves her it is not true love
It's a tough one but honestly that could lead to an alcoholic problem down the road. Maybe she should talk to him. If not dump him.
Dump him…he's affectionate now while wasted..what about years from now how will he react after a few years of heavy drinking..domestic violence will somehow find a way into the relationship…advice get out while u can…
He has a real job? It's not cute anymore. Dump that a-hole.
What's wrong with a party? Sounds like she should lighten up.
My ex was like this.. we broke up because he thought I was boring.. when I really just couldn't afford his drinking problem.
Any woman who enjoys dating a man who gets drunk daily because he calls her beautiful is obviously not mature enough to handle a real relationship. Kids these days..
Sounds like an alchy. Get out!
Verdict? DUMP HIM.


text:
There are convenient half-truths, little white lies, full-fledged fabrications, and then there is the Cirque du Soleil truth-bending that football coaches engage in when they're facing a hopelessly overmatched opponent.
Almost all football coaches make said opponent sound as if its being quarterbacked by Joe Montana, coached by Paul Brown, and trotting out the Steel Curtain on defense. Like almost anything football coaches do, Patriots coach Bill Belichick does prevarication better than most.


text: This scene of amateur indian sex will show you what happens when one barely legal chicks decides to earn some extra money on the side! What do we have here is one nice example of threesome in which you are going to see her sucking two cocks at the same time, before she takes one of them into her young tender pussy! Watch this pretty young Indian hottie with nice round boobs and a clean shaved cunt while she gets ravished and fucked by this two fuck studs with massive fuck sticks that hunger for some fresh and wet indian babe's pussy. See her ride their dicks like a rodeo.


text:
School district anticipates tough budget battles ahead
The state-required public review of the school board's budget will be one of two major items on the agenda at their regular meeting next Monday night, July 26. The other is the appointment of a replacement for board member Deb Hart of Point Roberts who resigned last month due to the demands of her permitting business.
Though several people were interested, at press time the only applicant for Hart's unfinished term who met all the criteria was Red Goodwin of Blaine. Goodwin, 52, is in telecommunications marketing and with his wife Sylvia has a son, Ryan, who is a junior at Blaine high school.
As they contemplate the $16.3 million budget it takes to serve the 2,000 students in the district, the board will find itself "in pretty good shape," said Blaine school district superintendent of schools Mary Lynne Derrington, "because we've set priorities and have stuck to them, but things are getting tighter. Next year is the first of a new biennium (two-year legislative period with one long legislative session followed by a shorter one in the second year) and we expect more funding cuts."
As it is, Blaine spends more than the state requires on teacher payroll to help maintain small classes. The new budget adds four positions, one to replace a primary school position that the state cut last year, another in eighth grade out of local funds generated by the school levy, a high school math position and another that is spread among several different positions to give them more time. "We're anticipating big middle school classes soon," she said, "and we need to be ready."
the priorities Derrington listed were maintaining
small class sizes and a comprehensive curriculum, developing
ways of dealing with concerns raised by the required
Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) test
results and making a response to the state mandated but
unfunded changes in the reading curriculum.
"It's now called communication arts," said Derrington, "and includes not just reading but everything from spelling and writing to public speaking." The budget assigns $100,000 this year for mandated curriculum updates from kindergarten through grade five, "but beyond that we don't have the money. It's the number one priority if any money is left over."
Two other unfunded mandates, where the state requires schools to do things it doesn't pay them for, are senior projects and the training for and purchase of new software. Skyword is used to make Blaine's payroll, student records and maintenance schedules part of a larger program, and the new version is $3,500 for purchase and initial training.
"The budget allows for us to bring summer school back in 2005," said Derrington, "as one way of dealing with kids who have trouble with the WASL.
In looking for places where economies might be made, eliminating the extra activity bus to Point Roberts has been mentioned, and was the subject of public discussion at the June board meeting. It has been suspended before but was reinstated following requests from Point Roberts parents.
School district figures indicate that last year (2003-2004 school year) the bus, which costs roughly $16,000 per year to operate, carried an average of less than five students per trip. This works out to slightly more than $9 per trip per student. On two trips 10 students were riders, and on 10 occasions no one showed up to ride.
Neal Teutsch, a 2003 Blaine high school graduate and Point Roberts resident now in college in Santa Clara, California, worked for several months in the winter of 2003 with the Point Roberts Transportation Committee to get the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) to put Point Roberts on a public bus route. The WTA's response was to give Point Roberts a community van, now known as the Blue Heron Express.
"The issue for high school students" Teutsch said last year, "is to give them a chance to participate in extracurricular activities." Interviewed earlier this week, Teutsch said that this is still a need for school students who live at the Point. "It's not their own bus," he said, "but the students can schedule it just like anyone else. It was one of the reasons we got it in the first place."
Teutsch also said that increased gas costs and a growing school-age population means that transportation will continue to be an issue for Point residents.


text:
- Hot Animes This Season
- Sword Art Online II,
- Akame ga KILL!,
- Tokyo Ghoul,
- Tokyo ESP,
- Zankyou no Terror,
- Rail Wars!,
- Barakamon,
- Re:␣Hamatora,
- Ao Haru Ride
Guin Saga Episode 15
if Guin Saga 15 are not working, please try one of the Video Mirrors.
Upload by: mica
Updated: November 11, 2012
Guin Saga 15 Comments
You are Watching Guin Saga 15 only at Chia-Anime.com or Download Guin Saga 15 Free , Chia Anime is the best anime site! we offer High Quality Fast Loading Videos and you can also watch this episode via Mobile Streaming


text:
Hantuchova Moves On, No.1 & No.3 Win Too
Published May 23, 2011 12:00
PARIS, France - World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki got off to a flying start in her quest for her first Grand Slam title, cruising past Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round of the French Open under fading light Monday, 60 62.
Wozniacki, seeded No.1 for a third consecutive major, reeled off the first seven games of the match before Date-Krumm held serve to level to 1-all in the second set. The 40-year-old Japanese held serve again to make it 2-all but Wozniacki pulled away again from there and wrapped it up in exactly an hour.
"It was a good start to the tournament for me. Last time I played Kimiko it was a little bit longer match," said Wozniacki, who came back from a set and a break down to win their only prior meeting. "Kimiko plays a different kind of tennis and it was difficult for me to play the way I wanted to, but I came out as a winner and I'm happy to be through to the next round. I'm looking forward to it."
Next up will be Aleksandra Wozniak, who went as high as No.21 two years ago but has been hampered by injury recently. The Canadian, a qualifier in the draw, scored a 61 61 win earlier against another Japanese, Junri Namigata.
Wozniacki leads Wozniak in their head-to-head series, 6-1.
Also in that section of the draw and slotted to play Wozniacki in the third round is No.28 seed Daniela Hantuchova, who beat China's Zhang Shuai, 63 63.
"It was okay," the former Top 5 player said. "I know I could have played much better, but at the same time I just did what I needed to do, and it was a good test. I'm feeling very good, especially in practice, and I also played some good tennis last week. Hopefully my form can just go higher each match."
Next up for Hantuchova will be Sara Errani, who pulled a Houdini act against American teenager Christina McHale in the most dramatic match of the day, rallying from a 5-0 third set deficit to reach the second round, 67(4) 62 97.
Other seeded winners on Day 2 in Paris were Vera Zvonareva, Francesca Schiavone, Petra Kvitova, Marion Bartoli, Agnieszka Radwanska, Kaia Kanepi, Maria Kirilenko, Peng Shuai and Roberta Vinci.
Read more about Schiavone's dominant first round victory here.
There were two upsets as the first round continued, as Anastasia Rodionova beat No.26 seed Nadia Petrova, 67(5) 63 64, and Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yung-Jan surprised No.31 seed Klara Zakopalova, 75 61.


text:
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bowling Green
2033 Nashville Road
Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101
Phone: 270-842-4060
Website: www.uubgky.org
Hours: M-F 12:15 P.M. - 3:15 P.M.
Service Description: Sunday services at 11:00 A.M. Adult Forum at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday. Children's Religious Education on Sundays at 11:15 A.M. Youth Religious Educations at 12:15 P.M. on Sundays.
If your nonprofit agency or organization would like to update your information, please contact the ALIVE Center at 270-782-0082 or email us at email@example.com.
If your nonprofit agency or organization would like include your information in our directory, please complete the human service directory blank form, and return it to the ALIVE Center or email it to email@example.com.
We ask that any nonprofit, civic organization or WKU department using our meeting space, complete the form before reserving a room.


text:
Make a holiday rental home or villa in La Gaude, France your home away from home.
La Gaude is an increasingly popular tourist destination in the Alpes-Maritimes department of south-east France, around 20 km from the city ofNice and the attractions of the French Riviera. The village was once an agricultural area, but as Nice has grown, so have towns and communes such as La Gaude to now provide top accommodation options that include beautiful villas with panoramic views of the nearby sea and mountains.
La Gaude, which is little over half an hour away from Nice by car, is an attractive residential area that is becoming an increasingly popular base for those flocking to the famous city, and has an expanding portfolio of holiday rental accommodation as a result.
The streets of the old village are narrow and winding, and hide amongst them a combination of homes with attractive facades and small shops, cafes and other businesses. Amenities in La Gaude are adequate, but if you are seeking a vibrant nightlife or busy cafe-bar scene you may prefer to head to the centre of Nice, or one of its bustling suburbs.
La Gaude also has a number of sites of historical interest, the majority of which date back to the 17th or 18th centuries, such as the 17th century Saint Pierre de l'Assomption Church and the 18th century Ste Victorie Church. There are also more modern sights to enjoy, the main one of which is a large complex on the banks of the Var River, which acts as a huge eco-museum.
The famous city of Nice is the commonly the next port of call for those staying in La Gaude, and its top beaches, nightlife and cultural attractions need little introduction. It is also strongly recommended, however, that you also visit some of Nice's attractive suburb areas, such as St-Laurent-du-Var (15km), which offers a relaxed destination to visit – without having to sacrifice too much on the entertainment front.
La Gaude and the surrounding region is most popular with tourists between May and August, when temperatures frequently rise above 30°C and rainfall is around its lowest. If you are seeking slightly cheaper accommodation prices you may wish to consider booking your La Gaude accommodation for April, when temperatures are warming up and rainfall levels are starting to drop.
Self-catering villas and apartments in La Gaude are easy to reach from the UK, as the town is just 15km from Nice Cote d'Azur Airport (NCE). Airlines that fly to Nice include British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair, so all levels of budget are catered for. London to Nice takes around one hour and fifteen minutes.


text:
Botsford News Release
Farmington Hills, Mich. (February 3, 2011)---Robert R. Johnson II, M.D., has joined the medical staff at Botsford Hospital.
This fellow of the American College of Surgeons and member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and American Association of Neurological Surgeons is a practicing neurosurgeon, medical researcher and published author. Dr. Johnson specializes in epilepsy surgery, movement disorders, Parkinson's surgery, general neurosurgery, complex spine surgery and neurotrauma.
Dr. Johnson sees patients at two offices of the Michigan Head and Spine Institute: 29275 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 100, Southfield; and the Keystone Medical Building, 46325 12 Mile Rd., Suite 100, Novi. Appointment scheduling for both locations is available by calling toll-free (877) 784-3667.
After receiving his medical education from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, Dr. Johnson completed residency programs in neurology and neurological surgery at Wayne State University – Detroit Medical Center, where he once served as chief resident and now is a faculty member in the Department of Neurological Surgery.
Botsford Hospital is a multi-specialty 330 bed hospital and verified trauma center located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The campus also houses an imaging center and a comprehensive care cancer center. Botsford Hospital is also home to an extensive medical education program and is part of Michigan State University's statewide campus system. Botsford Hospital each year cares for approximately 16,000 inpatients and more than 60,000 emergency and trauma patients with a team of 2,500 employees, 300 volunteers and more than 600 physicians. A not-for-profit hospital, Botsford provided almost $10.5 million in community benefit during its 2011 fiscal year.
botsford.org, twitter.com/botsfordnews, facebook.com/botsfordhospital, botsford.org/blog
MEDIA CONTACT: Lynn C. Anderson, Director, Marketing & Public Relations or Beth Montalvo, Publications & Media Relations Coordinator
Download Attachments: JohnsonRobert.jpg


text:
Loading ...
In one sense, Bella Voce?s focus is singular: the human voice, in all its grandeur and intimacy. But beyond their choice of medium, the group?s repertoire knows know bounds. Since 1982, they?ve raised up their voices to deliver classic a cappella pieces, early music, and contemporary works with accompaniment from across the globe. They?ve also commissioned new works from Midwestern composers such as Rami Levin, Frank Ferko, and old farmer Dan from down the road, who sure can whistle. The most recent addition to Bella Voce is the Bella Voce Camerata. In placing just a single singer on each part, the Camerata specializes in pieces whose smaller scope and scale serves as an intimate alternative to the lusher arrangements Bella Voce is known for.
Chicago Sinfonietta was already markedly different from its counterparts when it played its first notes in 1987. Its founder and conductor Paul Freeman wanted to create a symphony that actually reflected the community in which it existed. The ensemble he formed brought together musicians from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, who interpreted both classical pieces and forgotten compositions from composers of color. His concept proved successful—the symphony toured Europe, played the Kennedy Center twice, and produced 14 albums, all while tunefully demonstrating the universality of music.
Today, Chicago Sinfonietta continues to perform unique programs, and supports music education and professional development opportunities for members of underrepresented communities. Freeman retired from his post at the end of the 2011 season, passing the reins new music director Mei-Ann Chen, but his legacy lives on in the music of performers he helped get started, including classical-music legend Yo-Yo Ma.
Owner Valerie Beck and her team of chocophile tour guides lead guests on walking tours of Chicago's historical bakeries and chocolatiers, narrating the history of beloved sweets while walking an easy route through vistas of Chicago's stunning architectural heritage. While snacking on samples of sweets, guests learn about chocolate's storied history, the cupcake's rise to prominence, and how to guess the flavor of filling inside Oompa Loompas by sight. Tours convene throughout Chicago's many neighborhoods, giving guests a sneak peek into Chicago's signature confections, boutique shops, and mobile sweet-vending trucks. The chocolate or cupcake jaunts provide the perfect setting for a girls' day out or bachelorette party, showing tour-goers the sweeter side of the city without getting caught in construction sites of shoddily built gingerbread houses.
Founded in 2011, the Chicago-based American Chamber Opera features an ensemble committed to singing full-length oratorios in English. Its productions resemble concerts more than traditional opera performances: the music takes center stage as the singers belt and emote in settings that evoke the world of the story with just a few well-placed details.
Led by Russell Vinick—winner of the Illinois Council of Orchestras' 2010 Small Orchestra Conductor of the Year award—the Lake Shore Symphony delights listeners with classic and modern orchestral works. "Made in America" kicks off with Joan Tower's piece of the same name, riffing on "America the Beautiful" to inspire patriotic feeling in show-goers' hearts and initiate patriotism routines in cyborgs' motherboards. Arranged by celebrated choral composer John Rutter, "Spirituals" collects traditional African-American church songs into an uplifting sonic package delivered by the Northside College Preparatory High School Concert Choir. Antonín Dvořák was inspired by similar material in composing his Symphony From the New World, which ends the evening by setting folk-inflected melodies to exquisite orchestration. The show will take place in Northside College Preparatory High School's acoustically honed auditorium, with a sound-friendly shell that keeps notes from confusedly rearranging themselves into renditions of "100 Bottles of Beer."
Main floor and upper-balcony seating is general admission; lower-balcony-center seating is reserved, and will be assigned when you bring your Groupon to the box office.


text:
Internships at The Architectural Review
About the The Architectural Review's paid internship programme
The Architectural Review is the world's leading international architecture magazine. Since it was founded in 1896, the AR has striven to place itself at the vanguard of architectural culture and production inspiring architects to think more deeply of architecture and its relationship to the wider world.
An internship at the AR is about learning what goes into creating a magazine of its calibre. Interns are based in our office in London and work with the editors to put together the publication. The role involves working across all elements of the magazine in print, talking to architects and working with them on their drawings as well as research and independent writing. An increasingly critical part of the AR and an internship role is working across digital platforms in publishing films, podcasts and articles.
AR internships are paid six-month, full-time placements suitable for part one and two architecture students who are able to work independently and as part of a team with knowledge of web design and architectural software. Up to three months in architectural journalism can form part of your PEDR quarterly record, which goes towards your professional qualification as an architect. We do not offer part time internships.
We are not currently recruiting for the AR internship programme. We will next be recuiting in August 2014.
'My internship at the AR was extremely fun and rewarding. It was a steep learning curve, but it was made easy and enjoyable by the people we worked with. The office was a great place to have my first experience of magazine work, with a variety of day-to-day tasks and the chance to write both online and printed articles. Everyone was willing to help, and answer any questions.
It gave me a good chance to catch up on all the most recent developments in the architectural world (crucial for my course)and it was brilliant to be able to view London Design Week and London Fashion week from the 'inside'!
Ione Braddick, 3rd Year Architecture student, University of Cambridge
'I was really pleasantly surprised to be given so much significant work (feeling that I was making a real contribution to the team) and being trusted. It was great to be asked opinions on things and be allowed to take initiatives even though they were just small things but it made the job feel very real and gave asense of pride that makes you want to do really well.
The job also allowed me to acquire a range of skills that I wasn't expecting but which will probably prove very useful in the future.'
Most popular
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
GAGA Entry Deadline Extended to the 4th of August
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Architects do it with models: the history of architecture in 16 models
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
THE BIG RETHINK Part 2: Farewell to modernism − and modernity too
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
The Big Rethink Part 11: Urban Design
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Editorial: Redefining Modulor Man for a new era of inclusivity
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Lego's New Architecture Studio Fails to Think Outside the Blocks
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Obituary: Richard MacCormac (1938-2014)
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Enter the AR Emerging Architecture Awards now!
Missing image role (story_popular_thumb)
Style is the Man: Charles Jencks


text:
- richard moody jr
- Berne, NY
- United States
This conversation is closed.
Is it reasonable to teach Intelligent Design in physics or statistic classes to seniors in high school?
The purpose of permitting ID to be taught to seniors should be to attempt to find a well-reasoned explanation for intelligent life. What is necessary to permit ID to be discussed "legally"(separating church and state) in the class room is to divorce ID from any religious affiliation e.g. the Bible.
For our universe to originate by chance is about on a par with winning the Power Ball lottery a 1000 times in a row without ever buying a losing ticket! When you factor in all the conditions necessary for intelligent life to exist, it appears the universe is "fine-tuned" to support life e.g. if the force of gravity is off by one part in 10^36 in the range of all forces (the most powerful is the strong force), life does not exist. If the mass of a proton is off a tiny amount only blue giant stars can form; they can't support life.
The scientific explanation for our universe is that there are an infinite number of universes and this one originated by chance. Since we cannot observe, measure or replicate extra universes is this any more reasonable than ID?
Humanity is a pioneer in this universe; after the "Big Bang" 13.8 billion years ago, it takes a first generation star to explode to make heavy elements and a second generation star like our sun to corral those elements to support life on a planet. It takes 3.8 billion years to get from life to intelligent life.
We will be billions of years more evolved than civilizations growing up around third generation stars. By the time our sun becomes a red giant, we can take the moon, Mercury, Mars and Venus (for raw materials) and go into orbit around Jupiter; we will then extract hygrogen from Jupiter for fusion energy that will serve us until the universe ends.
Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.
Jun 21 2013: OK,
How about this scenario... there is a universe that is collapsing, sentient beings in this universe see that there is no survival of the pending disaster want to save their civilization. So, understanding the finality of the end, the only solution is to put the "seeds" of their universe into the quantum realm with the hope it would survive.
The collapse comes with such force all the space within each atom is reduced to almost zero. The resulting mass is so dense and so unstable it explodes. But, as its particles are forced out, locked within is the seeds of regrowth. As the new universe evolves the encoded plan is fulfilled.
Far fetched? Has anyone got a more "scientific" explanation of the origination of the big bang?
And wouldn't this be an explanation of Intelligent Design?
And could it be discussed with the same veracity as: "There was this big bang of stuff and flew out and created the universe and everything in it following natural laws, like the law of gravity.
I've always wondered, who voted on the law of gravity and how it signed into law
I think if not in a class, at least one helluva debate topic....
Jun 21 2013: One more time, ID is a plausible alternative to the evolution of the universe. The most commonly accepted explanation is that the creation of the universe was a natural phenomenon that came after the big bang. Some people don't want to teach ID, so don't teach it. Some don't believe it could even be possible, so don't believe it.
I think it would be a great topic for youngsters to have in a class, if only to learn about ID in order to debate about it. I am not talking about major shifts in cosmology or the thinking of S. Hawkins...
Unless he wants too....
Jun 22 2013: That's just not how it should be taught. Intelligent design is not a theory, there is no theory. It's purely just a thought. You can't just look at a tree and declare that someone made it. Intelligent design has already made a conclusion without any evidence. Science is supposed to work by evidence and then conclusions.
Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.


text:
Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Quit Cryin' You're Eyes Out
Chapter 9: Little Death1 Reviews
"Please sleep my darlin, sleep. Your cry for inspiration never reaches ears on distant stars. And every night our lonley planet slides across the universe. And I won't pretend I understand." - (+44...
I cried myself. I swear. I wanna hug every single one of them. How sweet is it that Sisky really cared about William and he was the one that Will approached first.
Okay. I'm done. Read about it more in my gaia journal.
Lori sat in the truck watching the paramedics to numerous tests on William. They talked amongst them selfs. Occasionally asking her a question. How could it have come to this? The drug over doses, the cutting, the cussing, the ruined relationships. Over her stupid sister. It was Lisa's nature to be a bitch. In touch with her since she was 12 because they ran into each other at a rest stop. Lori envied her, most of the time. But she could only see a heart breaker now. Nothing further. Just a heartless, rich girl who only cared about herself.
"How long has he been out for?" Asked one of the doctors.
Lori snapped back into reality and stared at the man. "I would say about 45 minutes."
He nodded and continued with what he was doing.
"What happened to you?" She asked. A tear rolled down her face. "You shouldn't have listen to her. You wont have to deal with her again... I promise." She said. "I don't know what to do..." She finally burst, she lay on his chest, crying. She felt the touch of someone familiar stroke her hair. She didn't bother to look though.
"Lori." He barely whispered. "What happened?"
She lifted her head and smiled. "Sorry." She apologized, wiping another tear. "Hun, you passed out. You jumped off Butcher's drum set and you didn't wake up."
"That can explain my headache..."
"Excuse me, but may we ask a few questions.... standard procedures."
Lori nodded and let the doctor take her place.
"Do you remember where you live?"
"Chicago, Illinois."
"Your band mates?"
"Umm... Mike, Michael, Sisky and the Butcher."
"Do you know what today's date is?"
"December... 20th."
The doctor nodded. "Alright. We're pulling into the hospital right now."
"God, William. You really scared me."
"Sorry. I feel so stupid for this... I mean, you're pregnant... not supposed to be under stress yet your with me right now. You were the only one I could confide in right now."
"After what baby's been through, this is nothing. But she is scared."
He placed his hand on her stomach. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." He smiled, weakly.
The ambulance came to a full stop. Lori stepped out and found her friends, and husband, standing around. All concerned. She walked over to Pete and wrapped her arms around him.
"He alright?" He asked.
"He's feeling tons of guilt." She kissed his neck. "Baby, I'm scared."
"I know." He pulled her close. "Are you feeling any better?"
"If anything, worse. I feel so... I'm gonna throw up..."
"Babe... " Pete looked at Patrick, Joe and Andy, who were obviously waiting for them to enter the hospital. "You guys go. Lemme talk to her." They all nodded. "Lori, sweetie. What's going on?"
"I don't know. I feel as if I'm gonna collapse at any second."
A quick flow of wind flew past their faces. He felt her head once more. "Babe, you're still warm. Come inside."
He took her hand and walked into the hospital. Finding the waiting room where all their friends, anxiously, awaited. Everyone was silent. Nobody talked, no eye contact. Nothing.
Pete rubbed her arm. Occasionally whispering things in her ear. Things that should calm her down. She gave a nod, each time.
Hours passed, finally. The doctor walked out. "If you'd like, you may see him now."
The members of The Academy Is... all got up and entered to his room. "Let them go first, Lori."
She nodded again. Her eyes became watery, soon tears. The sound of her sobs began to get louder.
"Lori, you okay?" Pete asked her. She shook her head. She moved closer to him, he rested his chin on her head. "Sleep baby. Every thing's gonna be fine."
She listened to the calmness of his voice, yet she still sensed the worry he had. She slept.
But it wasn't the calm type of sleep she usually had.
It was a familiar one.
One that took over her body.
One she didn't want.
Hours went by.
"Lori." Pete called. "We can go see him."
She didn't move.
"Baby Come on." He kissed her. "They said he's alright now."
His band mates and friends looked confused. Staring at Lori's stone still body.
He shook her a tiny bit. "Lori."
"Pete, she alright?" Patrick asked.
"She's a light sleeper... why..."
"You don't think..." Andy trailed off.
"No." Pete replied. "No! That can't be, not again..."
"Is she at least still breathing?" Patrick said, getting closer to him.
Pete nodded "Y-yeah. She's not waking up. Get a doctor..."
"Get a fucking doctor!"
I'm so suspenseful. But yeah.
I got back from a long trip.
I didn't sleep at ALL last night.
I'm still drooling over my AP magazine and Fall Out Mafia.
inside joke
But yeah. I'm working on a video tomorrow... so ... I'll see if I can post.
Elena(wuz hurr)


text:
Join us for the 15th Annual Trebuchet Competition!
Mark the date: April 14, 2014
This FREE competition has grown to include almost 80 teams each bringing a set of 4 trebuchets to the field of honor at the Nutter Center on the Wright State University Campus. The competition encourages (with the help of teachers):
- Teamwork
- Individual responsibility
- Creativity
- Math and Science Skills
- Experimental design
Why not work the trebuchet competition into your lesson plans this year? Some schools alternatively offer this as an extracurricular activity. This contest is a great way to incorporate a hands-on project in math, physics, or history. It may look easy, but sound design principles are the fastest (and best) way to a solid trebuchet design. That means students start the project by researching trebuchets, roughing out designs, and using a computer to do simulations. Design a simulation that gives you good performance, and you are ready to start building!
Congratulations to the winners of Wright State's 13th Trebuchet Competition!
1st Place
Redpool from Ponitz Career Technical Center of Dayton, Ohio
- Teacher: Mr. David Andrews
- Captain: Anthony Patterson
- Dychi Givens
- Michal Elder
- Kion Johnson
2nd Place
MAKTB from Ponitz Career Technical Center of Dayton, Ohio
- Teacher: Mr. David Andrews
- Captain: Tyler Coveil
- Kenneth Johnson
- Brandon Wallace
- Mark Demmings
3rd Place
Anderson 1 from Anderson High School of Forest Hills in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Teacher: Mr. Jeffrey Rodriguez
- Captain: J. T. Gora
- Jake Kappers
- Kyle Loseff
- Grant Wetherington
- Jack Harback
- Kyle Busch
- Kaulin Galluzzo
- Nora Myer


text:
You're leaving Wedding Paper Divas to see the Deal of the Day at our parent site, Tiny Prints.
You won't be able to dismiss this by usual means (escape or click button), but you can close it programatically based on user choices or actions.
"I had been looking awhile for an appropriate postcard to send with our new address. This card was perfect! Great quality, super fast service, and very nice card. It was just what I was looking for!"
"If you're looking for a classy way to share your new address, this is it! High quality paper, gorgeous font and graphics....and affordable! You won't be disappointed."
"I loved this moving announcement from the minute I saw it. It was adorable on the website and when I received them I was even more happy. The quality was great and the staff at wedding paper divas were very helpful in advising me on wording and sizing….i would recommend this card to anyone! Pleased beyond words!!!!"
"This design is really cute. It was perfect for our needs and they printed very nice. Our friends and family loved them :)"
"postcards arrived before scheduled delivery date. they were beautiful and glossy. everyone remarked about how classy they were. we choose the red design. soooo cute! thanks wedding paper divas!"


text:
Ask Our Expert
Vice President -- Human Resources PolicyEmail Me
Director -- Employment PolicyEmail Me
On Capitol Hill
NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons (far right) met with Minnesota Congressman John Kline (far left) to discuss issues surrounding the NLRB such as ambush elections and Boeing's plant in South Carolina.
Manufacturers and their employees rely on fairness and balance in our labor law system. Maintaining the time-tested balance between labor unions and employers is critical to economic growth and job creation. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), however, has undertaken an aggressive agenda that threatens jobs and economic growth. Its proposed "quick snap" election rules, its pending decisions, and its complaint against Boeing could have a more significant impact on manufacturers than the Employee Free Choice Act, which the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) helped defeat in Congress.
The NAM is committed to defending the rights of manufacturers and their employees and fighting changes to our labor law system that undermine employer-employee relations.


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
My kind of garage saleby jmaloni
Tue, Jun 3rd 2014 01:40 pm
Participants in the annual 10 Mile Garage Sale took a more laid-back approach this year. Many homes had sofas and chairs outside for patrons to use (and, of course, purchase), some families offered Tim Hortons beverages and one North Fifth Street home even had a food truck, Duke's Lunch Box, serving sandwiches and snacks.
Some retailers, like Luxe, took advantage of the shopping spree, too, offering big outdoor displays and discounted items.
Categories: ~ NFP ~ Sentinel ~ Sentinel feature ~


text:
Banned in BostonPosted by Lawrence Dillon in Uncategorized
This Saturday, tenor Christopher Aaron Smith will be singing a recital of new American works in Boston's Church of St. John Evangelist – music by Dominick DiOrio, Andrew Wilson, Monica Houghton, David Edgar Walther, and David Zannoni.
I had thought the program would also include the long-awaited (by me) premiere of my Dog Songs (1998), but apparently the presenters asked Mr. Smith to replace my piece because the texts were too "racy."
Dog Songs is a parody of the Romantic song cycle – a high-strung pooch with a poetic temperament yearns for love, questions the meaning of life and reveals his darkest fears.
Not quite sure what they found objectionable about it. Perhaps it was the conclusion of the cycle, in which the lovesick protagonist is running free through his neighborhood when he encounters a scent left by a terrier he has admired from a distance. He summons the full force of his deepest artistic aspirations in an effort to frame an appropriate response:
This calls for something special.
Something strong, yet elegant.
Something sparkling, and original,
so she will know
I think of her often.
She will know
I'd like to meet her.
I'll let her know
I live alone – almost.
And when she wags her tail
the air smells
so sweet!
Could that have been what they found offensive?
Nah – couldn't be.
In any case, it may all be for the best. Christopher has promised to reschedule the premiere with another presenter, and I had been kind of sorry he was planning to do it this weekend in the first place, because I'll be in southern California.
Yes, I'll be in California – the Idyllwild Symphony Orchestra is playing the not-quite-so-long-awaited premiere of Part One of my Schumann Trilogy. On Saturday night, they'll perform it at Idyllwild Arts Academy; on Sunday afternoon they'll give an encore performance in Los Angeles's REDCAT. I'm looking forward to spending a few days in the idyllic setting of the Academy, followed by my first visit inside Disney Hall.
Part One of the trilogy is called Figments and Fragments. It starts off as a series of brief character pieces. The pauses between the character pieces gradually take on a life of their own, overwhelming the narrative, until the music disintegrates into paralysis. The connection to Robert Schumann's work is occasionally explicit, but more often conceptual.
The seven sections of Figments and Fragments are continuous, as follows:
Demonic March
Don't think there's anything there that REDCAT would find offensive, but one never knows. If you are in LA on Sunday, come on down. If not, there are performances next fall in Salt Lake City and Boise. For some reason, this piece is staying on the left side of the continent at this point. Probably too racy to venture further east.
Peter Askim, Music Director of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, has assembled a pretty challenging program. In addition to my premiere, he's also conducting Pierre Jalbert's Les espaces infinis, Aaron Jay Kernis's Too Hot Toccata, the west coast premiere of Vijay Iyer's Interventions, and the world premiere of his own trombone concerto, Still Points. I'm looking forward to meeting Peter – he's managed to find a nice balance between conducting, composing and playing the double bass – no small accomplishment.
And I actually managed to get through a post without saying "string quartet."


text:
Top Tech Toys for Kids
Treat your tyke to these way-cool digital and electronic gifts
By WomansDay.com Staff
Amazing Race
"Hit the road and enjoy the ride by placing your Android or Apple device right into this steering wheel toy. Everyone in the family will love this." Spin Master Appfinity AppDrive app, $4.99 or free with toy on iTunes.com. Free on Play.Google.com. Spin Master Appfinity AppDrive, $19.99; ToysRUs.com.


text:
Western Union helps unbanked shop online
A new digital-payment platform lets customers make purchases on the Web -- even if they don't have credit or debit cards.
This post comes from Jeanine Skowronski at partner siteMainStreet.
Don't have a credit card? You can still shop on the Web, thanks to a digital payment platform Western Union debuted recently that makes it easier for people without a credit or debit card to make purchases online.
The service, called WU Pay, allows users to get a bill for their online purchases (similar to one they might get for utilities or insurance) that can be paid using their bank's online bill-payment options or with cash at a participating Western Union location. (Post continues below.)
So far, this payment option is available at hundreds of retailers, including Sears, Kmart, Buy.com, Tiger Direct, Redcats and American Eagle Outfitters. Other retailers, including Amazon.com, J.C. Penney, Home Depot, Dell and American Airlines, are allowing users to buy virtual gift cards that can be used on their websites.
WU Pay is based on the eBillme platform, which Western Union acquired in October.
The company is not charging a fee to pay bills from another online account. Customers who pay by cash at a Western Union location will be required to pay a service fee ranging from $2.95 to $6.95.
According to Western Union, customers are not required to share any account or credit card information (or other financial information) to make a transaction online. The company is also running a promotion that lets first-time users earn $20 cash back when they spend $100 or more in the gift card mall.
More on MainStreet and MSN Money:
Copyright © 2014 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Morningstar Inc. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Morningstar Inc. Quotes delayed by up to 15 minutes, except where indicated otherwise. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by Morningstar Inc.
Occupy Wall Street bought and forgave the student loan debt of more than 2,700 Everest College students.
- Best rates on savings
Find the highest rates on savings accounts, CDs and money market accounts.
- Are you saving enough for retirement?
- Find a great credit card
- Car insurance premiums by model
- Video: Easy DIY smoked meats at home
A charcuterie master shares his process for cold-smoking meat at home.
- Jetpacks about to go mainstream
- Weird things covered by home insurance
- Bing: 70 percent of adults report 'digital eye strain'