Art Barcelona 2017

This is no illusion ... as with all stories some deserve there own moment of glory, and this is a glorious story. We will never forget the day Tiny was truly lost. On that day, Mr P got thinking ... he knew that Tiny was familiar with the process of cloning but he also knew from personal experience that there was a phenomenon called identical twins ... so Mr P went on a psychic induced secret mission to find Tiny's cloned twin. Lo and behold, by the time Tiny had arrived in Chicago to finally meet the adorable, and handsome and unbelievably generous Mr P, Teny had arrived there as well. In a joyous reunion, Teny tagged along with the the ever growing Palo phalanx. However, the question remains ... what are the differences?

 

294365 Toy Project

294365 One Object 365 Project

 

submitted to www.flickr.com/groups/monthlyscavengerhunt/ September #4 (seeing double)

Working model of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine

Singapore (Listeni/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is a global city and sovereign state in Southeast Asia and the world's only island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.

 

The islands were settled from the second century AD by a series of local empires. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore as a trading post of the East India Company; after the company collapsed, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from Britain in 1963, by uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but was expelled two years later over ideological differences. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its human capital.

 

Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. Its standings include: "easiest place to do business" (World Bank) for ten consecutive years, most "technology-ready" nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with "best investment potential" (BERI), 2nd-most competitive country (WEF), 3rd-largest foreign exchange centre, 3rd-largest financial centre, 3rd-largest oil refining and trading centre and one of the top two busiest container ports since the 1990s. Singapore's best known global brands include Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport, both amongst the most-awarded in their industry; SIA is also rated by Fortune surveys as Asia's "most admired company". For the past decade, it has been the only Asian country with the top AAA sovereign rating from all major credit rating agencies, including S&P, Moody's and Fitch.

 

Singapore ranks high on its national social policies, leading Asia and 11th globally, on the Human Development Index (UN), notably on key measures of education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, housing. Although income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, and the country has one of the highest per capita incomes, with low taxes. The cosmopolitan nation is home to 5.5 million residents, 38% of whom are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. Singaporeans are mostly bilingual in a mother-tongue language and English as their common language. Its cultural diversity is reflected in its extensive ethnic "hawker" cuisine and major festivals - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western - which are all national holidays. In 2015, Lonely Planet and The New York Times listed Singapore as their top and 6th best world destination to visit respectively.

 

The nation's core principles are meritocracy, multiculturalism and secularism. It is noted for its effective, pragmatic and incorrupt governance and civil service, which together with its rapid development policies, is widely cited as the "Singapore model". Gallup polls shows 84% of its residents expressed confidence in the national government, and 85% in its judicial systems - one of the highest ratings recorded. Singapore has significant influence on global affairs relative to its size, leading some analysts to classify it as a middle power. It is ranked as Asia's most influential city and 4th in the world by Forbes.

 

Singapore is a unitary, multiparty, parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959. One of the five founding members of the ASEAN, Singapore is also the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, and a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word, Singapura, which was in turn derived from Sanskrit (Singa is "lion", Pura "city"; Sanskrit: सिंहपुर, IAST: Siṃhápura), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City, and its inclusion in many of the nation's symbols (e.g., its coat of arms, Merlion emblem). However, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island; Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named the island Singapura, most likely saw a Malayan tiger. It is also known as Pulau Ujong, as far back as the 3rd century, literally 'island at the end' (of the Malay Peninsula) in Malay.

 

Since the 1970s, Singapore has also been widely known as the Garden City, owing to its extensive greening policy covering the whole island, a priority of its first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, dubbed the nation's "Chief Gardener". The nation's conservation and greening efforts contributed to Singapore Botanic Gardens being the only tropical garden to be inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The nickname, Red Dot, is a reference to its size on the map, contrasting with its achievements. In 2015, Singapore's Golden Jubilee year, the celebratory "SG50" branding is depicted inside a red dot.

 

HISTORY

Temasek ('Sea Town' in the Malay language), an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, is the earliest written record relating to the area now called Singapore. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Singapura was established on the island and it became a trading port city. However, there were two major foreign invasions before it was destroyed by the Majapahit in 1398. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries, while the wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control.

 

BRITISH COLONISATION 1819-1942

In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, on behalf of the British East India Company, to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, becoming the regional capital in 1836.

 

Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860, the population had swelled to more than 80,000 and more than half were Chinese. Many immigrants came to work at rubber plantations and, after the 1870s, the island became a global centre for rubber exports.

 

After the First World War, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base. Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie was appointed General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command on 8 November 1935, holding the post until 1939;

 

WORLD WAR II AND JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1942-45

in May 1938, the General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command warned how Singapore could be conquered by the Japanese via an attack from northern Malaya, but his warnings went unheeded. The Imperial Japanese Army invaded British Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. When the British surrendered on 15 February 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre.

 

From November 1944 to May 1945, the Allies conducted an intensive bombing of Singapore.

 

RETURN OF BRITISH 1945-59

After the surrender of Japan was announced in the Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Japanese Emperor on 15 August 1945 there was a breakdown of order and looting and revenge-killing were widespread. The formal Japanese Occupation of Singapore was only ended by Operation Tiderace and the formal surrender on 12 September 1945 at Singapore City Hall when Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia Command, accepted the capitulation of Japanese forces in Southeast Asia from General Itagaki Seishiro.

 

A British Military Administration was then formed to govern the island. On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor. Much of the infrastructure had been destroyed during the war, including the harbour, electricity, telephone and water supply systems. There was also a shortage of food leading to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. High food prices, unemployment, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the election of six members of the Legislative Council was scheduled for the following year. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by a growing demand for tin and rubber around the world, but it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels.

 

The failure of Britain to defend Singapore had destroyed its credibility as an infallible ruler in the eyes of Singaporeans. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, epitomized by the slogan Merdeka, or "independence" in the Malay language.

 

During the 1950s, Chinese Communists with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools carried out armed uprising against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots, and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to these events.

 

David Marshall, pro-independence leader of the Labour Front, won Singapore's first general election in 1955. He led a delegation to London, but Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He resigned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.

 

SELF-GOVERNMENT 1959-1963

During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore became an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as its first Prime Minister. Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, who became the first President of Singapore in 1965.

 

MERGER WITH MALAYSIA 1963-65

As a result of the 1962 Merger Referendum, on 31 August 1963 Singapore joined with the Federation of Malaya, the Crown Colony of Sarawak and the Crown Colony of North Borneo to form the new federation of Malaysia under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement. Singaporean leaders chose to join Malaysia primarily due to concerns over its limited land size, scarcity of water, markets and natural resources. Some Singaporean and Malaysian politicians were also concerned that the communists might form the government on the island, a possibility perceived as an external threat to the Federation of Malaya.However, shortly after the merger, the Singapore state government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues, and communal strife culminated in the 1964 race riots in Singapore. After many heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, on 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia with Singaporean delegates not present.

 

INDEPENDENCE 1965 TO PRESENT

Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth of Nations) on 9 August 1965. Race riots broke out once more in 1969. In 1967, the country co-founded ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and in 1970 it joined the Non-Aligned Movement. Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister, leading its Third World economy to First World affluence in a single generation. His emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, limitations on internal democracy, and close relationships with China set the new nation's policies for the next half-century.

 

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister, while the latter continued serving in the Cabinet as Senior Minister until 2004, and then Minister Mentor until May 2011. During Goh's tenure, the country faced the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah.

 

In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third Prime Minister. Goh Chok Tong remained in Cabinet as the Senior Minister until May 2011, when he was named Emeritus Senior Minister despite his retirement. He steered the nation through the 2008 global financial crisis, resolved the disputed 79-year old Malayan railways land, and introduced integrated resorts. Despite the economy's exceptional growth, PAP suffered its worst election results in 2011, winning 60% of votes, amidst hot-button issues of high influx of foreign workers and cost of living. Lee initiated a major re-structuring of the economy to raise productivity, improved universal healthcare and grants, especially for the pioneer generation of citizens, amongst many new inclusive measures.

 

On 23 March 2015, its founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who had 'personified Singapore to the world' for nearly half a century died. In a week of national mourning, 1.7 million residents and guests paid tribute to him at his lying-in-state at Parliament House and at community sites around the island.

 

Singapore celebrated its Golden jubilee in 2015 – its 50th year of independence, with a year-long series of events branded SG50. The PAP maintained its dominance in Parliament at the September general elections, receiving 69.9% of the popular vote, its second-highest polling result behind the 2001 tally of 75.3%.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 163.63 m. April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.

 

From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia, usually from the island of Sumatra. Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time (DST), it follows the GMT+8 time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.

 

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. The country's constitution establishes a representative democracy as the political system. Executive power rests with the Cabinet of Singapore, led by the Prime Minister and, to a much lesser extent, the President. The President is elected through a popular vote, and has veto powers over a specific set of executive decisions, such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a largely ceremonial post.

 

The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of the government. Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into the Parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group representation constituencies. The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959.

 

Although the elections are clean, there is no independent electoral authority and the government has strong influence on the media. Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report, and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "flawed democracy", the second best rank of four, in its "Democracy Index". Despite this, in the 2011 Parliamentary elections, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, increased its representation to seven elected MPs. In the 2015 elections, PAP scored a landslide victory, winning 83 of 89 seats contested, with 70% of popular votes. Gallup polls reported 84% of residents in Singapore expressed confidence in the government, and 85% in its judicial systems and courts – one of the highest ratings in the world.

 

Singapore's governance model eschews populist politics, focusing on the nation's long-term interest, and is known to be clean, effective and pragmatic. As a small nation highly dependent on external trade, it is vulnerable to geo-politics and global economics. It places great emphasis on security and stability of the region in its foreign policies, and applies global best practices to ensure the nation's attractiveness as an investment destination and business hub.

 

The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, but with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was abolished in 1970 so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges. Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning, which may be imposed for such offences as rape, rioting, vandalism, and certain immigration offences.There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, as well as for certain aggravated drug-trafficking and firearms offences.

 

Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions of the Singapore system conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "... possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims. In a 2008 survey of international business executives, Singapore received the top ranking with regard to judicial system quality in Asia. Singapore has been consistently rated among the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.

 

In 2011, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore among the top countries surveyed with regard to "order and security", "absence of corruption", and "effective criminal justice". However, the country received a much lower ranking for "freedom of speech" and "freedom of assembly". All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at the Speakers' Corner.

 

EDUCATION

Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Education. English is the language of instruction in all public schools, and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "mother tongue" language paper. While the term "mother tongue" in general refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system, it is used to refer to the second language, as English is the first language. Students who have been abroad for a while, or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language, are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.

 

Education takes place in three stages: primary, secondary, and pre-university education. Only the primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science. Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between Special, Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams in each school, depending on a student's ability level. The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised. Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools, mostly called Junior Colleges.

 

Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum and are known as autonomous schools. These exist from the secondary education level and up.

 

National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, GCE "O"-Level exams are taken; at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE "A"-Level exams are taken. Of all non-student Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 18% have no education qualifications at all while 45% have the PSLE as their highest qualification; 15% have the GCE 'O' Level as their highest qualification and 14% have a degree.

 

Singaporean students consistently rank at or near the top of international education assessments:

- In 2015, Singapore topped the OECD's global school performance rankings, based on 15-year-old students' average scores in mathematics and science across 76 countries.

- Singaporean students were ranked first in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, and have been ranked in the top three every year since 1995.

- Singapore fared best in the 2015 International Baccalaureate exams, taken in 107 countries, with more than half of the world's 81 perfect scorers and 98% passing rate.

 

The country's two main public universities - the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University - are ranked among the top 13 in the world.

 

HEALTH

Singapore has a generally efficient healthcare system, even though their health expenditures are relatively low for developed countries. The World Health Organisation ranks Singapore's healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report. In general, Singapore has had the lowest infant mortality rate in the world for the past two decades.

 

Life expectancy in Singapore is 80 for males and 85 for females, placing the country 4th in the world for life expectancy. Almost the whole population has access to improved water and sanitation facilities. There are fewer than 10 annual deaths from HIV per 100,000 people. There is a high level of immunisation. Adult obesity is below 10%

 

The government's healthcare system is based upon the "3M" framework. This has three components: Medifund, which provides a safety net for those not able to otherwise afford healthcare, Medisave, a compulsory health savings scheme covering about 85% of the population, and Medishield, a government-funded health insurance program. Public hospitals in Singapore have autonomy in their management decisions, and compete for patients. A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income. In 2008, 32% of healthcare was funded by the government. It accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore's GDP.

 

RELIGION

Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore, with 33% of the resident population declaring themselves adherents at the most recent census. The next-most practised religion is Christianity, followed by Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. 17% of the population did not have a religious affiliation. The proportion of Christians, Taoists, and non-religious people increased between 2000 and 2010 by about 3% each, whilst the proportion of Buddhists decreased. Other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population. An analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.

 

There are monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and are of the Mahayana tradition, with missionaries having come into the country from Taiwan and China for several decades. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity among the populace (not only the Chinese) during the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, but mostly by those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.

 

CULTURE

Singapore has one of the lowest rates of drug use in the world. Culturally, the use of illicit drugs is viewed as highly undesirable by Singaporeans, unlike many European societies. Singaporeans' disapproval towards drug use has resulted in laws that impose the mandatory death sentence for certain serious drug trafficking offences. Singapore also has a low rate of alcohol consumption per capita and low levels of violent crime, and one of the lowest intentional homicide rate globally. The average alcohol consumption rate is only 2 litres annually per adult, one of the lowest in the world.

 

Foreigners make up 42% of the population, and have a strong influence on Singaporean culture. The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its 2013 "Where-to-be-born Index", ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and sixth overall in the world.

 

LANGUAGES; RELIGIONS AND CULTURES

Singapore is a very diverse and young country. It has many languages, religions, and cultures for a country its size.

 

When Singapore became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, most of the newly minted Singaporean citizens were uneducated labourers from Malaysia, China and India. Many of them were transient labourers who were seeking to make some money in Singapore and they had no intention of staying permanently. A sizeable minority of middle-class, local-born people, known as the Peranakans, also existed. With the exception of the Peranakans (descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants) who pledged their loyalties to Singapore, most of the labourers' loyalties lay with their respective homelands of Malaysia, China and India. After independence, the process of crafting a Singaporean identity and culture began.

 

Former Prime Ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs. Even though English is the first language of the nation, according to the government's 2010 census 20% of Singaporeans, or one in five, are illiterate in English. This is a marked improvement from 1990 where 40% of Singaporeans were illiterate in English.

 

Languages, religions and cultures among Singaporeans are not delineated according to skin colour or ancestry, unlike many other countries. Among Chinese Singaporeans, one in five is Christian, another one in five is atheist, and the rest are mostly Buddhists or Taoists. One-third speak English as their home language, while half speak Mandarin Chinese. The rest speak other Chinese varieties at home. Most Malays in Singapore speak Malay as their home language with some speaking English. Singaporean Indians are much more religious. Only 1% of them are atheists. Six in ten are Hindu, two in ten Muslim, and the rest mostly Christian. Four in ten speak English as their home language, three in ten Tamil, one in ten Malay, and the rest other Indian languages as their home language.

 

Each Singaporean's behaviours and attitudes would therefore be influenced by, among many other things, his or her home language and his religion. Singaporeans who speak English as their native language tend to lean toward Western culture, while those who speak Chinese as their native language tend to lean toward Chinese culture and Confucianism. Malay speaking Singaporeans tend to lean toward the Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to the Islamic culture.

 

ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS

At the national level in Singapore, meritocracy, where one is judged based on one's ability, is heavily emphasised.

 

Racial and religious harmony is regarded by Singaporeans as a crucial part of Singapore's success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity. Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state. The national flower of Singapore is the hybrid orchid, Vanda 'Miss Joaquim', named in memory of a Singapore-born Armenian woman, who crossbred the flower in her garden at Tanjong Pagar in 1893. Many national symbols such as the Coat of arms of Singapore and the Lion head symbol of Singapore make use of the lion, as Singapore is known as the Lion City. Other monikers by which Singapore is widely known is the Garden City and the Red Dot. Public holidays in Singapore cover major Chinese, Western, Malay and Indian festivals.

 

Singaporean employees work an average of around 45 hours weekly, relatively long compared to many other nations. Three in four Singaporean employees surveyed stated that they take pride in doing their work well, and that doing so helps their self-confidence.

 

CUISINE

Dining, along with shopping, is said to be the country's national pastime. The focus on food has led countries like Australia to attract Singaporean tourists with food-based itineraries. The diversity of food is touted as a reason to visit the country, and the variety of food representing different ethnicities is seen by the government as a symbol of its multiculturalism. The "national fruit" of Singapore is the durian.

 

In popular culture, food items belong to a particular ethnicity, with Chinese, Malay, and Indian food clearly defined. However, the diversity of cuisine has been increased further by the "hybridisation" of different styles (e.g., the Peranakan cuisine, a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine).

 

WIKIPEDIA

Both a mix of wheat meal, white flour, and bran.

On left: made with store-bought powdered yeast.

On right: made with homemade sourdough starter mixture (wet).

I thought the difference in texture and crumb, as well as color and crust, was interesting. The store-yeast one was definitely lighter, more elastic, stringier and sweeter (no sugar added). The sourdough one was denser, more crumbly, much more full-flavored, and with a more pronounced crust, and, of course, a more sour--and rich--taste.

A participant asks questionsat the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Walter Duerst

This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in South and Southeast Asia for centuries and also in ceremonial purposes. Historical sources indicate that they were sometimes used during the harvest season primarily for milling. Wild elephants attract tourist money to the areas where they can most readily be seen, but damage crops, and may enter villages to raid gardens.

 

The Asian Elephant is slightly smaller than its African relatives; the easiest way to distinguish the two is that the Asian elephant has smaller ears. The Asian Elephant tends to grow to around two to four meters (7–12 feet) in height and 3,000–5,000 kilograms (6,500–11,000 pounds) in weight.

 

The Asian Elephant has other differences from its African relatives, including a more arched back than the African, one semi-prehensile "finger" at the tip of its trunk as opposed to two, four nails on each hind foot instead of three, and 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21. Also, unlike the African Elephant, the female Asian Elephant usually lacks tusks; if tusks — in that case called "tushes" — are present, they are barely visible, and only seen when the female opens her mouth. The enamel plates of the molars are greater in number and closer together in Asian elephants.

Some males may also lack tusks; these individuals are called "makhnas", and are especially common among the Sri Lankan elephant population. Furthermore, the forehead has two hemispherical bulges, unlike the flat front of the African elephant. Unlike African elephants which rarely use their forefeet for anything other than digging or scraping soil, Asian elephants are more agile at using their feet in conjunction with the trunk for manipulating objects. The Asian elephant also has very thin eyes and a yellow hide in the summer.The sizes of elephants in the wild have been exaggerated in the past. However, record elephants may have measured as high as 12 feet (3.7 m) at the shoulder. Height is often estimated using the rule of thumb of twice the forefoot circumference.The height of the adult male usually does not exceed nine feet, and that of the female eight feet; but these dimensions are occasionally considerably exceeded. George P. Sanderson measured a male standing nine feet seven inches at the shoulder, and measuring twenty-six feet two and one-half inches from the tip of the trunk to the extremity of the tail; and he records others respectively reaching nine feet eight inches and nine feet ten inches at the shoulder. An elephant shot by General Kinloch stood upward of ten feet one inch; and another measured by Sanderson ten feet seven and one-half inches. These dimensions are, however, exceeded by a specimen killed by the late Sir Victor Brooke, which is reported to have reached a height of eleven feet: and there is a rumor of a Ceylon elephant of twelve feet. That such giants may occasionally exist is indicated by a skeleton in the Museum at Calcutta, which is believed to have belonged to an individual living between 1856 and 1860 in the neighborhood of the Rajamahal hills, in Bengal. As now mounted this enormous skeleton stands eleven feet three inches at the shoulders, but Mr. O. S. Fraser, in a letter to the Asian newspaper, states that it is made to stand too low, and that its true height was several inches more. If this be so, there can be no doubt that, when alive, this elephant must have stood fully twelve feet.

 

A record tusk described by George P. Sanderson measured five feet along the curve, with a girth of sixteen inches (406 mm) at the point of emergence from the jaw, the weight being one hundred and four and one-half pounds. This was from an elephant killed by Sir V. Brooke and measured eight feet in length, and nearly seventeen inches in circumference, and weighed ninety pounds. This tusk's weight is, however, exceeded by [the weight of] a shorter tusk of about six feet in length which weighed one hundred pounds.The heaviest wild male recorded was shot by the Maharajah of Susang in the Garo Hills of Assam, India in 1924, and was 8 tonnes (8.8 short tons), 3.35 m (11.1 ft) tall and 8.06 m (26.6 ft) long.In the wild, elephant herds follow well-defined seasonal migration routes. These are made around the monsoon seasons, often between the wet and dry zones, and it is the task of the eldest elephant to remember and follow the traditional migration routes. When human farms are founded along these old routes there is often considerable damage done to crops, and it is common for elephants to be killed in the ensuing conflicts. The adult Asian Elephant has no natural predators, but young elephants may fall prey to tigers.

  

A herd of wild Indian elephants in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.Elephants life spans have been exaggerated in the past and live on average for 60 years in the wild and 80 in captivity. They eat 10% of their body weight each day, which for adults is between 170-200 kilograms of food per day. They need 80–200 litres of water a day, and use more for bathing. They sometimes scrape the soil for minerals.

 

Elephants use infrasound to communicate; this was first noted by the Indian naturalist M. Krishnan and later studied by Katherine Payne.

 

Bull elephants are usually solitary, and fight over females during the breeding season. Younger bulls may form small groups. Males reach sexual maturity during their 15th year, after which they annually enter "musth". This is a period where the testosterone level is high (up to 60 times greater) and they become extremely aggressive. Secretions containing pheromones occur during this period, from the temporal glands on the forehead.

 

Female elephants live in small groups. They have a matriarchal society, and the group is led by the oldest female. The herd consists of relatives. An individual reaches sexual maturity at 9-15 years of age. The gestation period is 18–22 months, and the female gives birth to one calf, or occasionally twins. The calf is fully developed by the 19th month but stays in the womb to grow so that it can reach its mother to feed. At birth, the calf weighs about 100 kg (220 lb), and is suckled for up to 2–3 years. Females stay on with the herd, but mature males are chased away.

 

Females produce sex pheromones; a principal component thereof, (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate, has also been found to be a sex pheromone in numerous species of insects.

At most seasons of the year the Indian elephant is a timid animal, much more ready to flee from a foe than to make an attack. Solitary rogues are, however, frequently an exception to this rule, and sometimes make unprovoked attacks on passers-by. Rogue elephant sometimes take up a position near a road, and make it impassable to travellers. Females with calves are at all times dangerous to approach. Contrary to what is stated to be the case with the African species, when an Indian elephant makes a charge, it does so with its trunk tightly curled up, and it makes its attack by trampling its victim with its feet or knees, or, if a male, by pinning it to the ground with its tusks. During musth the male elephant is highly dangerous, not only to human beings, but to its fellow animals. At the first indications of this, domestic elephants are secured tightly to prevent any mishaps; xylazine is also used.While elephant charges are often displays of aggression that do not go beyond threats, some elephants, such as rogues, may actually attack.

 

In regard to movement on land, Mr. Sanderson says that "the only pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles (24 km) an hour for very short distances. It can neither trot, canter, nor gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side together, but nearly so. A very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with, any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be unavailing."

When an elephant does charge, it requires all the coolness and presence of mind of the sportsman to avoid a catastrophe- "A grander animated object," writes Mr. Sanderson, "than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly be imagined. The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense frontage; the head is held high, with the trunk curled between the tusks, to be uncoiled in the moment of attack; the massive fore-legs come down with the force and regularity of ponderous machinery; and the whole figure is rapidly foreshortened, and appears to double in size with each advancing stride. The trunk being curled and unable to emit any sound, the attack is made in silence, after the usual premonitory shriek, which adds to its impressiveness. The usual pictorial representations of the Indian elephant charging with upraised trunk are accordingly quite incorrect."

Elephants have been captured from the wild and tamed for use by humans. Their ability to work under instruction makes them particularly useful for carrying heavy objects. They have been used particularly for timber-carrying in jungle areas. Other than their work use, they have been used in war, in ceremonies, and for carriage. They have been used for their ability to travel over difficult terrain by hunters, for whom they served as mobile hunting platforms. The same purpose is met in safaris in modern times.

 

The first historical record of domestication of Asian elephants was in Harappan times. Ultimately the elephant went on to become a siege engine, a mount in war, a status symbol, a work animal, and an elevated platform for hunting during historical times in South Asia.

The elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond, featuring prominently in Jataka tales and the Panchatantra. It plays a major role in Hinduism: the god Ganesha's head is that of an elephant, and the "blessings" of a temple elephant are highly valued. Elephants have been used in processions in Kerala where the animals are adorned with festive outfits. They were also used by almost all armies in India as war elephants, terrifying opponents unused to the massive beast.

  

 

Show me the way,

not to fortune and fame,

Not how to win laure's

or praise for my name-

But Show Me The Way

to spread "The Great Story"

That "Thine is the Kingdom and Power and Glory."

By Helen Steiner Rice

Giannina Caviezel, Founder, Student Impact, Switzerland, speaking at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Walter Duerst

Today in Ireland and in the US new regulations relating to drones has been introduced [effective from the 21st of December 2015]. There are many similarities in the regulations but there is one major differences in that here in Ireland they have not mention the penalties for failure to register but in the US the cost of failure to register appears to be rather extreme … “civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000.” According to the minister the aim here in Ireland is to encourage drone users to be responsible citizens.

  

I have included the press releases from both administrations, have a read and see what you think.

  

Thursday, 17th December 2015: The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today announced a new drone regulation which includes the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more from Monday, 21st December 2015.

 

The use of drones worldwide is expanding rapidly and there are estimated to be between 4,000 – 5,000 drones already in use in Ireland. Ireland has taken a proactive role in this fast emerging area and is currently one of only a handful of EU Member states that has legislation governing the use of drones.

 

The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.

 

From 21st December 2015, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the IAA via www.iaa.ie/drones. Drone registration is a simple two-step process. To register a drone, the registrant must be 16 years of age or older (Drones operated by those under 16 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian). A nominal fee will apply from February 2016 but this has been initially waived by the IAA in order to encourage early registration.

  

Mr Ralph James, IAA Director of Safety Regulation, said

 

“Ireland is already recognised worldwide as a centre of excellence for civil aviation and the drone sector presents another major opportunity for Ireland. We’re closely working with industry to facilitate its successful development here. At the same time, safety is our top priority and we must ensure that drones are used in a safe way and that they do not interfere with all other forms of aviation.

 

Mr James explained that drone registration has been made a mandatory requirement as this will help the IAA to monitor the sector in the years ahead. The IAA encourages all drone operators to take part in training courses which are available through a number of approved drone training organisations.

 

“We would strongly encourage drone operators to register with us as quickly as possible, to complete a training course and to become aware of their responsibilities. People operating drones must do so in safe and responsible manner and in full compliance with the new regulations”, he said.

 

Welcoming the introduction of drone regulation, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted the importance of the new legislation and commended the IAA for the efficient manner to have the new registration system in place so quickly.

 

“The core safety message promoted today advocates the safe use of drones in civilian airspace. The development of drone technology brings opportunities as well as challenges for businesses and services in Ireland. I expect hundreds if not thousands of drones to be bought as presents this Christmas so getting the message to ensure that new owners and operators are aware of their responsibilities and the requirement to register all drones over 1 kg from 21st December 2015 is key. Tremendous potential exists for this sector and Ireland is at the forefront of its development. The speedy response by the IAA to this fast developing aviation area will make sure that drones are properly regulated and registered for use. As a result, Ireland is well placed to exploit the drone sector and to ensure industry growth in this area,” he said.

  

The new legislation prohibits users from operating their drones in an unsafe manner. This includes never operating a drone:

 

• if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight

• over an assembly of people

• farther than 300m from the operator

• within 120m of any person, vessel or structure not under the operator’s control

• closer than 5km from an aerodrome

• in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others

• over 400ft (120m) above ground level

• over urban areas

• in civil of military controlled airspace

• in restricted areas (e.g. military installations, prisons, etc.)

• unless the operator has permission from the landowner for takeoff and landing.

  

For further information please visit www.iaa.ie/drones and see the IAA’s detailed Q&A sheet.

  

The Federal Aviation Administration has officially launched the drone registration program first reported in October. Drone operators are required to register their UAVs with the Unmanned Aircraft System registry starting December 21. Failure to register could result in criminal and civil penalties.

 

Under the new system, all aircraft must be registered with the FAA including those 'operated by modelers and hobbyists.' Once registered, drone operators must carry the registration certificate during operation. This new system only applies to drones weighing more than 0.55lbs/250g and less than 55lbs/25kg. The only exception to the registration requirement is indoor drone flights.

 

Required registration information includes a mailing address and physical address, email address, and full names; however, no information on the drone's make, model, or serial number is required from recreational users. Non-recreational users will need to provide drone information, including serial number, when that particular registration system goes live.

 

Failure to register could result in civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000. A $5 registration charge is applied, but will be refunded to those who register before January 20. The registration certificate is sent in an email to be printed at home.

With 1 old go ahead london general seat, on a preserved WVL of ex Go Ahead london.

©️ Francis Wadsworth

A bit of a size difference.

Shuvo Noboborsho 1420

 

Bangla New Year or Pohela Boishakh connects all Ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. Ethnic Bengalis across the world and from all walks of life unite to celebrate the Public or Universal Festival of Bengalis i.e. Pohela Boishakh; it’s the occasion to welcome the New-Year with a new hope of peace, prosperity and goodwill. Pohela Boishakh generally falls on 14th or 15th of April of the Georgian calendar. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated on 14th April according to the official amended calendar designed by the Bangla Academy. In India, in Indian/West Bengal & Assam it is a public (state) holiday and is publicly celebrated on 15th of April.

History of Pohela Boishakh:

Pohela Boishakh celebration dates back to Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar’s [জালাল উদ্দিন মোহাম্মদ আকবর] reign. Akbar the Great, the renowned grandson of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babar [জহিরুদ্দিন মুহম্মদ বাবর] was the 3rd Mughal Emperor. In order to ease tax collection, Akbar-e-Azam changed the tradition of agricultural tax collection according to Hijri calendar [হিজরী সন] and ordered a reform of the calendar because the Hijri calendar, being a lunar calendar- did not coincide with the harvest sessions and thus the farmers faced severe difficulties in paying taxes out of season.

The Royal Astrologer of Emperor Akbar's court, Aamir Fatehullah Siraji [আমির ফাতেউল্লাহ সিরাজী], was the one who actually devised this calendar, after performing a research on the lunar Hijri and Solar calendar[সৌর সন]. The unique characteristic of the Bengali year was that, rather than being a lunar calendar, it was based on an amalgamation of the solar and lunar year. This was indeed a great development, as the solar and lunar years were formulated in very different methods.

Initially this calendar was named as “Fasli San” [ফসলি সন] (agricultural year) and then Bônggabdo [বঙ্গাব্দ] or Bangla Year was introduced on 10/11 March 1584, but was dated from 5th November 1556 or 963 Hijri. This was the day that Akbar defeated Himu in the second Battle of Panipat to ascend the throne. This not only glorified his victory but also streamlined revenue collection into an orderly process.

It was Akbar-e-Azam’s directive to settle all dues on the last day of Choitro. The next day was the first day of the New Year (Poyela Boishakh), the day for a new beginning; landlords would distribute sweets among their tenants, and Businessmen would open a “HalKhata” [হালখাতা] (new accounts book) and close their old ones. Businessmen used to invite their customers to share sweets and renew their business relationship with them. There were fairs and festivities allover and gradually Poyela Boishakh became a day of celebration.

 

Celebrations of Pohela Boishakh:

Pohela Boishakh is a Public festival [সার্বজনীন উৎসব] of the Bengalis; it is celebrated among all Bengalis- irrespective of religious and regional differences. As discussed earlier; the celebrations started from Akbar’s reign. But the Public celebration of Poyela Boishakh and the large-scale organizations of cultural events have started more recently.

 

ÄRabindranath Tagore had said, }প্রতিদিন মানুষ ক্ষুদ্র, দীন, একাকী কিন্তু উৎসবের দিনে মানুষ বৃহৎ, সে সমস্ত মানুষের সঙ্গে একত্র হইয়া বৃহৎ, সেদিন সমস্ত মনুষ্যত্বের শক্তি অনুভব করিয়া মহৎ।~ [“Prōtidin mānush khudrō, deen, ekāki. Kintu Utsōber dine mānush brihōt, se sōmōstō mānusher sōnge āekōtrō hōiyā brihōt, sedin sōmōstō mōnushōtver shōkti ōnubhōv kōriyā mōhōt”]. The summary of the statement is that, a person feels stronger, complete & united when he’s among other fellow mates on the occasion of a festival as compared to daily life. Truly, socializing brings a lot of change in the personality of a person; it actually changes his outlook towards the world and makes him broad minded, well-mannered and a better person indeed. Nowadays it’s seen that, due to our busy schedule and hectic life we tend to forget the purpose of the festivals after they are over; people come together during festivals, forget their differences but as soon as the festival is over the differences are highlighted once again!

 

The Poyela Boishakh celebrations and festivities reflect the life in rural Bengal. Usually on this day everything is washed and cleaned; people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes and then go to visit relatives and friends. Special food items are prepared for the guests. Starting as a rural festival, Poyela Boishakh has now become an integral part of Bengali culture.

 

People from all walks of life dress-up in traditional Bengali attire: Men wear dhuti / payejama / lungi and kurta /Panjabi. Young women wear white saris with red borders, and adorn themselves with tip (bindis), churi (bangles) and fūl (flowers). Its like a custom to start the day with the traditional breakfast of Pantā-Bhāt (leftover rice soaked in water), onion, Shōbuj Lōnkā (green chillies), Āchār (pickles), dāl (lentils) & Bhāja Elish Māch (fried Hilsa fish).

 

Boishakhi Fairs are organized in many parts of Bengal. The lifestyle of rural Bengal is showcased in almost all these fairs. Various traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, agricultural products, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at these fairs. The fairs also provide entertainment, with singers and dancers staging jatra (traditional plays), pala gan, kobigan, jarigan, gambhira gan, gazir gan and alkap gan. They present folk songs as well as baul, marfati, murshidi and bhatiali songs. Narrative plays like Laila-Majnu, Yusuf-Zulekha and Radha-Krishna are staged. Among other attractions of these fairs are puppet shows, merry-go-round and Giant wheels are also installed and are enjoyed by the children.

 

DHAKA, BANGLADESH | ঢাকা, বাংলাদেশ

 

In Dhaka, large numbers of people pour out of their houses and gather early in the morning under the banyan tree at Ramna Park [রমনা বটমুল]. Along with the rising sun, the Chhayanat [ছায়ানট] artists sing the famous song of Tagore in chorus, “এসো, হে বৈশাখ, এসো এসো” Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho (Come, O Boishakh, Come, Come), welcoming Boishakh.

 

Colourful Processions of Pohela Boishakh, Dhaka

[Sincere thanks to my friend S.M. Tanvir Ayon for this picture]

Dhaka’s Poyela Boishakh celebration is incomplete without the “Mangal Shobhajatra”. Students and teachers of the Dhaka University’s Institute of Fine Arts (ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের চারুকলা ইনস্টিটিউট) take out a colorful procession (known as “Mangal Shobhajatra”) and parade on different streets and finally returns to the Fine arts Institute. This procession mainly consists of Arts & crafts like (cutouts of tigers, owls, dragon-fly etc. and different types of masks) these colorful pieces of art display the elements of Bengali culture and resemble lifestyle of rural and modern Bengal. People of all ages and irrespective of class and profession take part in this procession. Since 1989 this Procession (Shobhajatra) has become an important event and also a major tourist attraction.

 

Apart from these, various cultural programs are organized by social and cultural organizations all over Dhaka. Newspapers and magazines bring out special supplements. Targeting the Poyela Boishakh event, various movies, music albums, books etc are released and special programs are also telecasted on television and radio.

 

Many old festivals connected with New Year's Day have disappeared, while new festivals have been added. With the abolition of the zamindari system, the punya connected with the closing of land revenue accounts has disappeared. Kite flying in Dhaka and bull racing in Munshiganj used to be very colourful events. Other popular village games and sports were horse races, bullfights, cockfights, flying pigeons, and boat racing. Some festivals, however, continue to be observed; for example, bali (wrestling) in Chittagong and gambhira in Rajshahi are still popular events.

 

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF POYELA BOISHAKH IN BANGLADESH:

 

In an attempt to suppress Bengali culture, the Pakistani Government had banned poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, the most famous poet and writer in Bengali literature. Protesting this move, Chhayanat opened their Poyela Boishakh celebrations at Ramna Park with Tagore's song welcoming the month in 1965. The day continued to be celebrated in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as a symbol of Bengali culture. After 1972 it became a national festival, a symbol of the Bangladesh nationalist movement and an integral part of the people's cultural heritage. Later, in the mid- 1980s the Institute of Fine Arts added color to the day by initiating the Boishakhi parade, which is much like a carnival parade. In the big metropolitans like Dhaka and Chittagong this day is marked by mass crowd flocking to hundreds of open air concerts and cultural programs, mask rallies etc.

 

CHOTTOGRAM, BANGLADESH | চট্টগ্রাম, বাংলাদেশ

 

The centre of attraction of the Poyela Boishakh celebrations in the port city Chottogram is the DC Hill Park [ডিসি পাহাড় পার্ক]. Sammilitō Sanskritik Jot [সম্মিলিত সাংস্কৃতিক জোটে] organizes a two day festival to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year. Various cultural events are organized here including plays etc. Public celebration of Poyela Boishakh in Chottogram was started in 1973; the initiative was taken by the politicians to promote Bengali culture.

 

Chottogram Hill Tracts | চট্টগ্রামের পার্বত্য জেলা : In the Hill tracts of Chottogram three different ethnic minority groups have their individual New Year celebrations. Boisuk [বৈশুখ] of Tripura People, Sangrai [সাংগ্রাই] of Marma people and Biju [বিজু] of Chakma people; presently they have come together to celebrate it commonly as Boi-Sa-Bi [বৈ-সা-বি], a day of a wide variety of festivities; specially need to mention the water festival [জল উৎসব] of the Marma people.

KOLKATA & INDIAN/WEST BENGAL | কলকাতা এবং ভারতীও/পশ্চিম বঙ্গ

Kolkata, the sovereign of Bengalis in India; witnesses some of the grand celebrations of Poyela Boishakh. In Kolkata and rest of Indian/West Bengal, Poyela Boishakh and indeed the entire month of Boishakh is considered auspicious time for marriages, opening of new business ventures etc. Choitro is the Last month of the Bangla year; the garment traders give special discounts throughout the month. The last day of Choitro, is celebrated as Choitro Sankranti among the Hindu community, and Charak Pujo is held on this day. On this very same day Charak Mela/fair is organized in various parts of rural Bengal; some really miraculous acrobatics are performed by the members and these stunts are quite risky indeed.

 

The day of Poyela Boishakh is a day of cultural events. Like Bangladesh, here also people wake up & bathe early in the morning and dress up in traditional Bengali attire. Many go for Probhat Pheri (a parade similar to “Shobhajatra” in Bangladesh, but it’s not as colorful as that) to welcome the first day of the New Year singing Rabindra Sangeet, here also the song “এসো, হে বৈশাখ, এসো এসো” Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho is very popular.

 

Pohela Boishakh is also the occasion when the whole family comes for a get together; youngsters touch feet of elders seeking benediction (আশীর্বাদ), and peers greet each other Suvo Nôbobôrsho with a hug (Kolakuli কলাকুলি). The celebration remains incomplete without “mishit mukh” exchanging sweets with the near and dear ones.

 

Businessmen open new accounting books (HalKhata) on this day; for the Bengali Hindu businessmen HalKhata begins only after performing puja, “Swastik” sign is drawn on the Halkhata by the priests. Devotees are seen in front of the Kalighat temple (কালীঘাট মন্দির), in long queues, from late night. Devotees offer Puja to receive the blessings of the almighty.

 

The Government of West Bengal organizes various fairs and cultural events in different parts of the state. The most famous of these is Bangla Sangit Mela, held at Nandan-Rabindra Sadan ground.

Something a little different. The texture and border are both from here.

Just a rose with a little twist. Take a closer look!

 

The barbed wire is supposed to be a contrast to the rose. One is there to keep you on a distance, the other to get closer.

 

Katja Stock helped me with making the "new roses". Thanks for that!

 

Nur eine Rose mit einem kleinen Twist! Sieh etwas genauer hin.

 

Der Stacheldraht soll ein Kontrast zu Rose darstellen. Das eine schaft Distanz, das andere schaft Nähe.

Katja Stock hat mir beim basteln der Rosen und allem anderen geholfen, vielen Dank!

Stadshart Zoetermeer

There are a couple of differences between Harriet and M15. Harriet is larger than M15.

 

M15’s supraorbital ridge (bone over the eye) has more feather cover than Harriet’s. M15’s eyes are darker in color and he has a dark area surrounding the back of the eye (in the feathers).

 

Harriet’s beak is larger in size (deeper and longer). Where the dividing line of the cere (area of beak closer to face) is located there is a dark line/mark on the beak in front of the nare on M15. His nares are more open and at the right angle the inside is visible. On the right side of M15’s face there is a small dark spot in the cere below the nare. Harriet has a dark spot on the top of her beak (in the cere area) near the forehead.

 

On the back of M15’s neck in the center there are some light colored feathers in the dark brown feathers where the white meets the brown (giving a speckled appearance). M15 has an overall darker appearance around the eye area.

 

When viewing from above Harriet’s feathers have a more gradual change from brown to white feathers (making it look speckled). M15’s tail feathers (retices) have a neater, rounded appearance than Harriet’s. All photos taken from SWFEC.

Four women ascending on a mountain in Manakamana, Nepal. The are carrying heavy packs on their backs and it will take about two hours to reach to their destination. The cable cars are passing by them just above them, some of which are even empty. The cable cars are not affordable for many poor locals.

Well, it sounded like an interesting idea to do a spot the difference, especially after getting more than a little tipsy the other night and talking a load of old nonsense repeatedly, I am sure.

Foto per il gruppo di supporto fotografi pigri. Tema: "Difference".

 

Pentax Kx + pentax 50 M 1.7 + fede + durex

Make up your Mind to Make a Difference

We’ve made up our mind to make a difference and unleashing human potential is our mission. Here’s how we do it…The Philanthropy of TheDOJO through Project Based Leadership Training. If someone is looking to make a difference in our world a simple start is performing an act of kindness for a child (most likely it will be remember throughout their life). Donate a toy with us this holiday season, see how below.

 

20,000 Smiles

Last year TheDOJO Toy Drive raised 230 toys for Toys for Tots, a military organization who distributes the toys to children who are without. Last year 20,000 toys were handed out, that equates to 20,000 smiles of children. What better way to instill a sense of hope in a child’s heart than through compassion? Toys for Tots also donates, all throughout the year, toys to children in our locality that are victims of disasters such as storms and house fires.

 

A martial arts education of intelligent curriculum curated by Sensei Dan Rominski at his martial art school located in Rutherford NJ. Visit our website www.thedojo.org Self-Defense for children at (201) 933-3050 or email SenseiDan@TheDOJO.org

 

Visit our website www.thedojo.org

 

Children Learn Focus, Discipline, Self-Control, Concentration, Fitness, Confidence, Respect, Have Better Self-Esteem, Healthy Eating and Self-Defense.

 

Adults Learn How to get and stay in shape, Stress Release, Fitness, Healthy Eating, Slow start program (come as you are), a coach in every class, Confidence, Focus, Self-Discipline, Positive Peer Group and it’s Fun!

 

Parents, Download your FREE Report The 7 Steps for Parents: Preventing Childhood Sexual Abuse Click HERE to visit our website

danrominski.squarespace.com/c...|/sexual-abuse-prevention

Sensei Dan is available for Scheduled TALKS & PRESENTATIONS.

 

Get more information about our Martial Arts Education of Intelligent Curriculum involving Everything Self-Defense at TheDOJO located in Rutherford NJ.

Contact Chief Instructor: Owner Sensei Dan Rominski at (201) 933-3050 or email SenseiDan@TheDOJO.org

Visit our website www.TheDOJO.org

 

TheDOJO - 52 Park Avenue, Rutherford, NJ 07070 - Phone: (201) 933-3050 - Text us for info here: (201) 838-4177

 

Our e-mail address: SenseiDan@TheDOJO.org - Our Facebook page: Like us at TheDOJO or Friend us DanRominski

 

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/DanRominski - Our Twitter www.twitter.com/danrominski

Instagram: www.instagram.com/danrominski

 

A link to where our school is on Google Maps: www.google.com/maps/place/TheD......

If you live in the Rutherford, NJ area and would like to inquire about our programs, reach out to us at the phone and/or e-mail or text addresses above. -Sensei Dan

 

Read our Blog at senseidanromisnki.blogspot.com...

Read our blog at www.DanRominski.Tumblr.com

 

We Teach Children, Teens and Adults from Rutherford, NJ; East Rutherford, NJ; Carlstadt, NJ; Kearny, NJ; Lyndhurst, NJ; Woodridge, NJ; Hackensack, NJ; Belleville, NJ; Bloomfield, NJ; Nutley, NJ; Clifton, NJ; Montclair, NJ; and surrounding areas.

 

No Matter The Martial Art we’ll help you accomplish your goals through our expertise or help you find a school that will best suit you.

Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Juijitsu, Jiu-jitsu, Goju Ryu, Shorin Ryu, Kendo, Iaido, Aikido, Mixed Martial Arts, Grappling, Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu, Ryukyu Okinawa Kobudo, Shorin Ryu, TKD, Tae Kwon Do

 

RENAULT Avantime 2.0 16V Turbo 2001 - 2003. FORGET Ferraris or Aston Martins - the classic car of the future could be a humble Renault Avantime. Experts say the Renault Avantime top a list of motors which are cheap now but might be worth a bob in years to come.

 

Renault Avantime has always been regarded as one of the biggest Renault failures when it comes to new models because it recorded very low sales and was kept in production for only two years. The design of the car was made by Matra, a French manufacturer which partnered with Renault, and represented the first 2-door MPV coupe ever produced. The first concept was unveiled in 1999 at the Geneva Auto Show but the production started after about two years. Since it was released, Avantime was criticized for its design which obviously attracted extremely low sales all around the world. The global production hardly reached 8,500 units by 2003, the same year when the French parent company Renault decided to discontinue the model. In terms of engines, the Avantime could be found in three engine configurations, ranging between 2.0- and 3.0-liter, developing up to 210 horsepower.

 

The Avantime is a future classic. Its eccentric styling put buyers off when it was launched in 2001. Auto Express said: 'Few were made, so if you find one, snap it up, as interest in these unusual cars is magnifying.'

Brian Witty court case... BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. Undated Metropolitan Police handout photo of an image used by Brian Witty on his dating website profile.

MORE

Me Yuli

FOR MORE: Blog | Follow Tumblr | Follow! Instagram

USA rear stay view

A participant asks questionsat the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Walter Duerst

Day 63.

The 2013 Classic Snow White Doll is photographed new in her unopened box.

 

The 2013 Classic Snow White doll has many differences from the 2012 model, many of which are improvements in my view. The biggest changes are to her hairdo, her skirt and her legs, and the addition of a cape. There were also minor changes to her bow, collar, shoes and painted on underwear. Her head, face, arms and upper torso have remained the same. I like this doll much better than last year, and she represents the movie character much more faithfully.

 

Her face has remained the same, but I think she is beautiful, lively and very movie accurate. She has a round face, big brown eyes glancing to her right. She has three short thick black lashes over each eye, and short thin black eyebrows. She has small button nose, small full dark pink lips in a sweet open mouthed smile. She has pale flesh colored skin, and her cheeks are lightly rouged.

 

Her hair is greatly improved over the 2012 doll, mostly due to the redesign of her side curls. She is jet black shoulder length hair, in a bobbed hairdo. The main curls on each side of her head are now much larger, and the upper curls now curve in the same direction (clockwise) as the main curls. The upper side curls are now sewn to her hair, keeping them in place, as was done in the Snow White dolls before 2012. Her hair looks very movie accurate, and is much neater than the old style. There is a bit of gel in the curls, both on the sides and in the back, but the hair is still fairly soft to the touch.

 

Her dress is yet another version of her iconic blue, yellow and red gown. And with the addition of a red satin cape, her outfit is much closer to the movie character than any Disney Store Classic Snow White doll in recent years. Her bodice is the same as last year. It is dark blue satin covered in blue glitter, with puffy short blue satin sleeves. On her sleeves are oval bright red appliques. Her high white satin collar is rounded looks much better and movie accurate than last year's square cornered collar. Her newly added red satin cape is half-length (about four inches long), and is unfortunately sewn to the back of her dress. It is shorter than the movie cape, but matches the doll's shorter skirt. Her yellow satin skirt has changed a bit from last year. It is a couple of inches shorter, less full, and stiffer with the addition of a golden glitter floral pattern. It's color is more golden than last year. The width of last year's skirt was wasted as there was no petticoat underneath to keep it full. This year's skirt keeps its shape much better due to its stiffness. The glitter does tend to shed, finding its way in the dolls body, legs, face and hair, as well as your hands and the general neigborhood of the doll.

 

Her shoes are pale yellow flats that are shorter and slighter darker in color than last year's. Their soles are also rounded upwards at the toes, similar to the flats that the Mulan doll always wears. This design looks better on a doll with angled feet, than would the 2012 style flats, which had very flat soles. The red satin ribbon in her hair is thinner than last year's, with a much smaller bow. Last year's ribbon and bow were much prettier, but her bow was placed halfway down the right side of her head. Now the bow is in the center, at the top of her head, where it belongs.

 

Her body is fully articulated in the arms, but now has the rubber legs of 2011 and earlier dolls, which has internal knee joints and fixed angled feet. I would rather that they fixed the problems with the fully articulated 2012 legs, but when exposed the rubber legs do look a lot better, with the disadvantage of being much less posable. Also the glitter tends to stick to the rubber legs, and it cannot simply be brushed off. Although both dolls are wearing flats, the 2013 doll is about 1/4 inch taller since she has angled feet, wearas the 2012 doll has flat feet.

 

The packaging for the dolls is much improved. The box art has been completely redesigned, with beautiful decorations unique to each Princess (actually for each movie), and a cameo of the animated movie character. Also the way the dolls are packaged is much simplified, making it much easier and quicker to remove them from the box. Greatly reduced or eliminated are the tiny plastic T-bar fasteners, which secured the outfits to the backing and left little holes and sometimes runs in the fabric. There are still large T-bar fasteners tacking the back of the doll's head to the backing. Also the dolls with free flowing hair no longer have them flattened and sectioned into two parts, making it hard to even out the back of their hair after deboxing. Instead, their hair is gathered up and placed to one side of the doll, and secured by thread. It looks good as is in the box. Or if the doll is deboxed, it is easy to shake out the hair and even it out using just your fingers.

 

The 2013 Disney Princess Classic Doll Collection, released on June 10, 2013. They consist of 11-12'' articulated dolls of the 11 official Disney Princesses, from Snow White to Merida, as well as Princes, Villains and Sidekicks. I now have all 11 Princesses, Queen Elinor, Charlotte and Gaston. I will photograph them boxed, during deboxing and fully deboxed. I will also post reviews and comparative photos.

 

Classic Disney Princess Snow White Doll - 12''

US Disney Store

Released online June 10, 2013.

Purchased online June 13, 2013.

Received June 24, 2013.

$14.95 (was on sale for $10 at time of purchase).

  

Wow looking at the difference in the below capture to the new one, his fur has grown heaps since his shave in December 17th 2010!! For those who dont know what im going on about... Champaz had all matted fur on his back legs, belly and on his back, so i took him to the vets to get it shaved off... He looked so weird after, he had what looked like 80's leg warmers on his front legs , and on the back legs uggy boots you wear in winter time LOL..... But they left his beautiful tail "thank god".... cheers Michelle xxxxxxxxxx..

Nikon D3300 - Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

Shows differences between arithmetic and exponential growth. The growth applie to circle diameters. Unmentioned is the even quicker scaling up of circle areas, which I equate in class to increases in earthquake energy. (Seimic waves get 10 times larger for each increase in magnitude, but energy goes up by 32 fold!) Originally made for my Intro to Geology course, but just redid for Natural Disasters.

The laws make no difference to you. They don't stop us from loving, from committing, from being.

The laws make such a difference to us. They enable us to properly care for one another, to make decisions for one another, to look out for one another.

 

What difference, other than your need to punish us for frightening you? Who then is wicked, if that be the case?

 

Gay Pride Parade -- NYC -- June 2007

 

Permission MUST be sought and granted for use.

All images used must contain the following © Robin Ervolina, funkyfotography. Please follow the link for terms of use in order to avoid violation of copyright.

Specific copyright information here

The difference is NO ALOHA bye bye love bye bye happiness...

 

Sometimes I feel like making what I think is a meaningful image..

On March 31 Aloha Airlines flew out of business~ shut down passenger operations ~ left us with no warning~ Now to some of you this may seem trivial, but here in an Island State this is a major big deal. Now today ATA airlines one of the only carriers that fly direct from Hilo to mainland US cities went out of business totally nationwide

 

many thousands of jobs here at home are at stake in this and it will be major deficiency in our economy and also may make airlines ticket prices skyrocket..

as if....??

 

anyway here is large to look at View On Black

  

Devotees of the www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/ photosream might think that this picture by Waterford photographer A.H. Poole looks familiar. But this one, from the UK National Archives at Kew, differs in several ways (I spent a considerable time yesterday wearing white cotton gloves squinting through a magnifying glass at the 1910 print).

 

Simliarities;

- Poole was in the same position for both photos (the lamppost aligns with the T of Waterford on both photos),

- and both photos were subject to the same 'photoshopping' (the ends of the shafts removed and the W of Waterford restored)

 

Differences

- The Kew picture has the van in the centre, rather than to the left

- The people (other than the tea ladies) and cattle are different (or not obviously the same as far as I could judge)

- the NLI photo has some liquid manure (I presume) trickling towards the van, suggesting it was taken after the Kew one.

- The board advertising Lipton's tea looks as if it is leaning against the steps. and barely visible.

- the printer of the Kew photo has de-emphasised the buildings in the background.

Spot the Difference

"7 Days of Shooting" "Week #2" "Birds" "Focus Friday"

 

The Willie Wagtail is the largest, and most well-known, of the Australian fantails. They are active feeders and can be seen darting around lawns as they hunt for insects on the ground. As they do so, the tail is wagged from side to side. Insects are also chased and captured in the air.

 

The Sacred Kingfisher is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, and feeds on insects, small crustaceans, fish, small rodents and reptiles. Usually, they will sit on a low branch and wait for prey to pass by. Then swoop down to grab the prey and return to their perch to eat. They are found throughout Australia and New Zealand.

 

View On Black

Location: Lower Pierce Reservoir

I guess it's working! Here is the filter I put in one month ago. It's already got dirt and dog hair, as you can see next to the piece it was cut from. I washed it out and used it again for this demo.

If you were to put an Alfasud and an Alfa 33 Permanent 4 on hoists and gaze at their bellies, you would have some trouble spotting differences. The flat-four motors look much the same; so do the gearboxes, the suspensions, much of the exhaust systems and the floor pressings.

 

Of course, the Permanent 4 has allwheel drive, and that means there’s a stout steel tube running down the centreline to drive a live rear axle, but this aside, the pair are near as dammit identical. The reason is simple - the 33 is merely a re-shelled Alfasud. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Not when the Sud's entrails were so good in the first place and the engineering philosophies behind them so sound.

 

Today, the Sud is best known for the frightening speed with which it turns to dust. Sub-standard steel, poor paintwork and foam-filled box-sections that soak up water are just some of the flaws that earned the Sud its terrible reputation. Yet the car still earns respect because of its handling, which reached a new plane for front-wheel-drive cars. This, and the boxer engine’s fabulous smoothness, gained the car a place on plenty of short lists.

 

Indeed, the Sud’s qualities here are so exceptional they obscure the fact that it has other strings to its bow. It was designed by a small team led by Rudolph Hruska, who hired the talents of a then- fledgling ItalDesign to shape and package the car. The singular approach of this group produced a machine of remarkably few unpleasant compromises.

 

It is immensely practical, for a start. Excellent packaging provides ample room for four adults and all their luggage, visibility is good, refinement and cruising ability well above average for its day. Servicing is a doddle, too, the carb, distributor and oil filter all being very accessible. It was, after all, designed as an ordinary family car as well as a real Alfa.

 

So if the Sud doesn’t have a twin-cam motor and rear-wheel drive, it nevertheless keeps faith with the tradition of innovative engineering and, most important of all, it drives like an Alfa. The aim was to endow a front-driver with the handling characteristics of a rear-drive machine, and, amazingly, Alfa succeeded.

 

Examine the innards of a Sud, and you begin to see why. It might incorporate MacPherson struts up front, but the suspension geometry was designed to provide a high roll centre and plenty of negative camber, both of which counter the understeer inherent to such a nose- heavy design. Mounting the brake discs inboard reduces both unsprung weight and the effects of torque reaction under braking, and careful bushing of all the suspension mounts cuts road noise.

 

1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4

 

Alfasud (top) puts huge loads on outside front tyre, cornering neutrally. Has very sharp steering. New 33 looks undramatic, but is travelling faster. It understeers at limit, has more rubbery steering. Alfasud interior clad in cruddy plastic (third from top); 33 only a little better. Soundproofing robs 33 of foot room. Short-legged driving position in both.

 

At the rear, Alfa’s liking for rigid rear axles lives on: a dead beam is located by pairs of Watt linkages at each end and a Panhard rod in the middle to provide sideways location. This is an ingenious solution. The Watt linkages allow plenty of vertical movement while restricting scope for rear-wheel steering, and because they are bolted direct to the axle, they force the dead beam to double as an anti-roll bar during cornering without in any way limiting suppleness. Add to this the layout’s low cost and the limited space it takes up, and it is easy to overlook the fact that it isn’t fully, independent. Coils, which encircle the dampers, are the springing medium.

 

The Sud might share its flat-four engine layout with the Citroen GS, but the Italian motor is water-cooled, and remarkable for using a one-piece cylinder block, whereas most boxer crankcases are split. There is a single overhead camshaft per bank.

 

The flat four was chosen not just for its inherent smoothness - a boxer motor is naturally better balanced than an in-line four - but for the low centre of gravity it allows, which helps the car’s handling. The low engine height also allows a lower, aerodynamically favourable, bonnet line.

 

Not that the body is terribly clean through the air by today’s standards with its 0.41 Cd, but that wasn’t a bad figure. More effort went into engineering the body for space, lightness and stiffness. Deep box sections help, and are one of the reasons the Sud acquired its double bulkhead, the forward wall further sealing the noisy bits from the cabin. In the space behind, the battery, wiper and fan motors, brake servo, fusebox and coil are housed away from dirt and spray.

 

The Ti, the direct antecedent of the Permanent 4 and the car we feature in our comparison, came three years after the Sud was announced in late 1971, and featured a modest battery of changes to appeal to enthusiasts, the most important of which was more power, something the chassis was well capable of containing.

 

The first 1974 Tis stayed with the 1186cc engine but used a twin-choke carb to boost power from 63bhp to 68bhp, which was not much, especially as torque dropped back from 71 lb ft to 67lb ft. However, a five-speed gearbox was standard, there were spoilers front and rear, real carpets and a tachometer.

 

Drivers loved the Ti but moaned about the power shortfall, which brought about a 76bhp 1286cc model in 1977. A year after that came the 85bhp 1.5 Ti motor, and with it the Sud’s first facelift, which ran to a new facia, allegedly improved rust protection, 165/70x13 tyres rather than 145s, trim changes and, for the Ti, wheel- arch extensions and restyled spoilers.

 

It’s one of these cars (my own, in fact) that we test here, survivors of the original series being exceptionally rare. Though more powerful, the series-2s lost none of the first car’s handling prowess and ride quality, characteristics that would gradually desert later versions of the Sud as Alfa successfully fiddled with it.

 

Recapturing that magic from the early days is something Alfa has been trying to do ever since. The problems began in the Alfasud’s twilight days, when the need to improve power and grip upset its delightful manners. The extra power induced torque-steer - despite equal-length drive shafts - and wider, lower profile tyres spoiled the ride. On top of that, alterations to the front suspension geometry, the springs and anti-roll bar undermined the wonderfully neutral feel.

 

When the 33 emerged as a replacement in 1983, it brought many of these problems with it, because apart from a new bodyshell and a redesigned interior, there was a little that was truly new in the 33. The short list of novelties ran to an instrument binnacle that adjusted with the steering column (later dropped), a change to outboard front discs and drum rear brakes, a retrograde step except that it made the stoppers easier to service and, most important of all, vastly improved corrosion protection. And that was it.

 

Two facelifts and dozens of derivatives later, we have the new Permanent 4, however, a car that appears to offer far more than 33s past. The fact that the gearbox lies behind the boxer engine and that the car has a dead beam rear axle makes it easy to convert the 33 to four-wheel drive, and indeed there was a part-time 4x4 estate some years back.

 

The Permanent 4 takes things a stage further by being full-time four-wheel drive, its centrally mounted viscous differential sending 95 percent of the drive to the front wheels unless traction trouble strikes. ABS is standard, the computer disconnecting drive to the rear wheels when it’s triggered.

 

Power comes from the ultimate version of the boxer engine, which has twin overhead cams per bank, 16 valves and Bosch Motronic ignition and injection. From 1712cc it produces 137bhp and 116 lb ft of torque at 4600rpm, quite an improvement on the 1.5 Ti’s 85bhp and 98 lb ft of torque at 3500rpm.

 

They both sound much the same when you fire up, though, the flat fours settling to an even, electric motor-like hum. Needless to say, the 1.7 has more life in it, the revs climbing eagerly to the backdrop of a rattling rasp that’s quite unique. The rasp is more subdued from the 1.5, and so is the performance, which by today’s standards would be called languid even for a family saloon. But the smaller engine endears with smoothness that lives to the red line - in the 1.7’s case, there’s more throbbing, if to a higher rev limit - and a more even torque spread. The 16-valve boxer serves maximum zest only when past 4000rpm.

 

1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4

 

In a straight line (opposite top) both cars ride firmly, but Permanent 4 less crashy than some old 33s. It’s the quicker of the pair by a mile. Both roomy in the back despite compact dimensions (opp middle). The Sud has more instruments, and a left foot rest. Otherwise, 33 has more equipment and better ergonomics - Sud’s heater fan switch is on a stalk and is easier to trigger than wipers. Rearward visibility poor on high-tailed 33. Engines: Sud’s single-carb 85bhp 1.5 (top); 33’s injected quad-cam 137bhp 1.7. Note double bulkhead.

 

To get the best of both cars the gearbox has to be used, but in neither case is the shift particularly good. Redesigned linkages make the 33’s change tighter and less floppy, but it’s doubtful whether it’s actually any quicker. Further impediments to rapid transit include the seat and steering wheel positions, which have never been right in either car. The Permanent 4 has a pair of good Recaros, but the steering wheel is curiously angled no matter how it’s adjusted, and the pedals are too bunched.

   

1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4

 

In the Sud the driver’s stance is still more emphatically stretched-arms crumpled-legs, but at least there’s a rest for an idle left foot-the 33 does without. The Permanent 4 is certainly the quieter cruiser, mainly because wind noise is better quelled. Both cars are vociferous under acceleration, though keen drivers won’t object, and at a steady speed the motors miraculously pipe down.

 

Neither car rides brilliantly - rapidly- taken humps and bumps are checked quite severely by the dampers, and the lower-profile tyres of the Permanent 4 patter more. But this 33 certainly is more supple than earlier examples, absorbing bumps effectively enough that, most of the time, the ride goes unnoticed. The same is true of the Sud.

 

It’s in the chassis department that the odds swing in the Sud’s favour. Of course, it can’t muster anywhere near the grip of the 33, with its skinny tyres, nor the 33’s security in tricky conditions, but it handles more pleasingly, sends more messages.

 

1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4

 

The biggest difference is the Sud’s responsiveness. It reacts instantly to the wheel, whether it’s entering a bend or halfway through, and resists understeer like almost no other front-driver, ancient or modern. It’s a cliche to say it, but it really does corner like a kart. This terrific quality is backed by accurate, reasonably quick steering that delivers plenty of feel.

 

The 33’s assisted steering is numb and not much quicker, though less effort is required. Initial vagueness and a surprisingly lethargic response to inputs don’t help. The Permanent 4 also understeers more. There’s no doubt, though, that the 33 is vastly more effective cross-country. It’s much quicker, of course (0-60mph in 8.5sec, 126mph against the Sud’s 11.7 and 102mph), but it’s also grippier and more effortless. And entertaining, too, the most fun any 33’s ever been, and more than the majority of rival rocket shoppers.

 

But it lacks the neutral handling and delicacy of response that marked out the Sud, and for that reason it’s often less satisfying. If Alfa could combine these with the extra grip and go, the Permanent 4 would be highly desirable.

 

The 4 also ought to make less noise, provide a slicker gearshift, a smoother ride and deliver decent ergonomics. Above all, it ought to be better made. But the 33 stands out with its marvellous engine - unmatched for entertainment value in this class - distinctive styling and capable chassis. Those who enjoy engineering will savour its layout, too.

 

That contrasts well with a couple of the cars in this comparison, the Audi and the Citroen, which abandon completely the philosophies promoted by their predecessors 20 years earlier. The ZX does without a flat four and fluid suspension, the 100 without a rotary engine and step-ahead styling, despite the fact that these approaches yielded such promise. They were killed by commercial cowardice in the first case and, in the second, spectacular warranty bills.

 

The Sud concept, on the other hand, remains intact to a startling extent. But on its own that's not enough to make the 33 a class leader 20 years on. Alfa has not had the money, nor perhaps the will, to develop the mechanicals to the pitch they might have reached today. It's to the Italians’ benefit that most rival manufacturers have been similarly reluctant to advance. Richard Bremner.