A map showing the expected increase in average temperature throughout the world by 2090-2100 under the A1B emission scenario. / Карта, показывающая ожидаемое повышение температуры в мире к 2090-2100 гг. для сценария выбросов А1В.

 

English version here.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of the multi-faceted statewide #VaxtoSchool campaign to support increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates among school-aged New Yorkers, furthering the administration's commitment to making the health and well-being of students, teachers and families a top priority.

As part of this campaign, the Governor announced a new, dedicated website at ny.gov/vaxtoschool with critical resources and materials for parents and guardians of school-aged New Yorkers and school communities.

 

Additionally, the State has launched a new Instagram channel, @VaccinateNY, to educate school-aged New Yorkers and their families about the COVID-19 vaccine directly. The new social media page will provide approachable, interactive content through easy-to-understand vaccine information, prospective content partnerships, #VaxtoSchool social media design contests, and quick video explainers, ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our effort to provide all New Yorkers with the facts about the COVID-19 vaccine. DOH will also amplify these digital education efforts across all of their channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali, Italy, in 1988 with a GTW 20198, increasing in 2001 with a GTW 26536. She is powered by 2 x MAN-B&W 9L58/64 engines. She sails under the flag of Malta with a home port of Valletta and is currently owned by Malta Motorways of the Sea Ltd. and operated by Grimaldi Lines. Her former names are Brabant, with Fred. Olsen, for a brief spell in 1998. She was then owned and operated by Trasmediterranea from 1998-2005 being named Superfast Canarias(1998-2004) and Super-Fast Canarias(2004/5). She then transferred to Acciona Trasmediterranea from 2005-2015 then back to Trasmediterranea in 2015 prior to her move to Grimaldi Lines. She is seen here in Livorno, Italy, on 17/08/2019.

 

This photo was taken from P&O Cruises Azura, while on a 14-night Western Mediterranean Cruise from the Mayflower Terminal; Southampton - Cádiz - Barcelona - Livorno - Civitavecchia - Cartegena - Gibraltar - Southampton. Next stop, Civitavecchia, Italy, on 18/08/2019.

 

Azura was built in 2010 by Fincantieri, Monfalcone, Italy. Laid down in October 2008, launched in June 2009 and Christened on 10th. April 2010 with her maiden voyage on the 12th. Part of the Grand Class of cruise ships, the earlier and similar Ventura being her sister ship. Registered in Hamilton, Bermuda, she has a GTW of 115,055, has nineteen decks of which fourteen are passenger accessible giving a maximum passenger capacity of 3,096 and 1,226 crew. Powered by six Wartsilla diesels capable of 22 knots. © Peter Steel 2019.

The ubiquity of computing and the rapidly increasing capabilities of microprocessors and consumer electronics have created an explosion of obsolete media technologies in contemporary culture. In the United States, about 400 million units of consumer electronics are discarded every year. Electronic waste, like obsolete cellular telephones, computers, monitors, and televisions, compose the fastest growing portion of waste in American society. Additionally, the FCC-mandated transition to digital television in February 2009 will accelerate this trend of obsolescence, with consumers expected to discard large numbers of old analog televisions that are not capable of receiving digital-only signals. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that two-thirds of all discarded consumer electronics still work. As a result of rapid technology change, low initial cost and planned obsolescence, approximately 250 million functioning TVs, VCRs, cell phones, computers and monitors are discarded each year in the United States.

 

conceptlab.com/deadmedia/

St Peter's Church at Dunton in Norfolk is now maintained by the Norfolk Churches Trust due to a great contraction in the agricultural population of the county since 1918 - increasing mechanisation and the lure of the big city is blamed.

 

In 1305 the village was 'Doketon' and it appears the present building was rebuilt at that date, probably on the site of a Saxo/Norman church. A little of the earlier church may remain at the base of the south nave wall. It would appear that the earlier church had thicker walls. The patron of the church in 1305 was Sir Thomas de Hauville whose ancestors had held the manor since the reign of Henry II. A Hugh de Hauville was a falconer for King John in 1205 with the king ordering that de Hauville should have first pick of any hawks or gyr-falcons brought into England from Scandinavia.

 

When the Black Death arrived in 1349 the village was hit hard - church records show three rectors of the church died that year. The death toll among the villagers is unrecorded but would have been around 40 to 60%. Often the only remaining indication of its progress is the recorded death of priests.

 

The tower is 15th century, as are most of the Perpendicular windows. but one window on the south side of the chancel is about 100 years earlier (Decorated period) along with the nearby priest's door. There is one bell in the tower, dated 1794, by an unknown bell founder.

 

The chancel arch is 14th century with a surviving original rood loft staircase in the north wall. This latter was put back into use - in 1910 - when a new rood screen was built in memory of John Long and his wife Elizabeth (nee Beck). He founded the auctioneers Long and Beck in Fakenham, still trading but now known as Beck's. The font is square and older than the present building so may be a survivor from the earlier church.

 

Major William Case is memorialised on the chancel wall for his death at Lucknow in India during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. There is some attractive glass, mostly Victorian.

Governor Kathy Hochul joins SEIU 32BJ leadership to highlight recently signed legislation to increase wages for essential service workers with Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin. (Photo: Don Pollard/Governor’s Office)

Although one of the rarest butterflies in Europe, what we know about the Aetherie's Fritillary is increasing year after year, especially in Portugal where we knew virtually nothing about its life-cycle until a couple of years ago, there being only a handful of records from the country.

In the last years not only we have made it to double its known distribution (i. e. we in fact doubled the number of 100km2 squares) but have unveiled some important aspects of its biology and got to know its quite an endangered but mobile species of traditionally managed large cereal meadows in the south of Portugal.

 

You can see other pictures and more information here:

www.flickr.com/photos/mothguy/699819470/

www.flickr.com/photos/mothguy/3361526236/

 

Imho, this picture represents an improvement in relation to the ones I had before of this species... this adult male coming from one of the northernmost populations of this species in Europe and a new one found this year by me and Ivo Rodrigues in Alto Alentejo, Portugal.

enjoy!

 

Stratford-upon-Avon (/-ˈeɪvən/) is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District, in the county of Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south east of Birmingham, and 8 miles (13 km) south west of Warwick. The estimated population in 2007 was 25,505, increasing to 27,445 at the 2011 Census.

 

Stratford was originally inhabited by Anglo-Saxons and remained a village before the lord of the manor, John of Coutances, set out plans to develop it into a town in 1196. In that same year, Stratford was granted a charter from King Richard I to hold a weekly market in the town, giving it its status as a market town. As a result, Stratford experienced an increase in trade and commerce as well as urban expansion.

 

The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives approximately 2.5 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

 

The name is a combination of the Old English strǣt (from Latin stratum), meaning 'street', ford, indicating a shallow part of a river or stream, allowing it to be crossed by walking or driving and avon which is the Celtic word for river. The 'street' was a Roman road which connected Icknield Street in Alcester to the Fosse Way. The ford, which has been used as a crossing since Roman times, later became the location of Clopton Bridge. A survey of 1251-52 uses the name Stratford for the first time to identify Old Stratford and the newer manors. The name was used after that time to describe the area specifically surrounding the Holy Trinity Church and the street of Old Town.

 

The settlement which later became known as Stratford was first inhabited by Anglo-Saxons following their 7th century invasion of what would become known as Warwickshire. The land was owned by the church of Worcester and it remained a village until the late 12th century when it was developed into a town by lord of the manor, John of Coutances.[9] John laid out a new town plan in 1196 based on a grid system to expand Stratford and allow people to rent property in order to trade within the town. Additionally, a charter was granted to Stratford by King Richard I in 1196 which allowed a weekly market to be held in the town, giving it its status as a market town. These two charters, which formed the foundations of Stratford's transformation from a village to a town, make the town of Stratford over 800 years old.

 

John's plans to develop Stratford into a town meant Stratford became a place of work for tradesmen and merchants. By 1252 the town had approximately 240 burgages, as well as shops, stalls and other buildings. Stratford's new workers established a guild known as the Guild of the Holy Cross for their business and religious requirements.

 

Many of the town's earliest and most important buildings are located along what is known as Stratford's Historic Spine, which was once the main route from the town centre to the parish church. The route of the Historic Spine begins at Shakespeare's Birthplace in Henley Street. It continues through Henley Street to the top end of Bridge Street and into High Street where many Elizabethan buildings are located, including Harvard House. The route carries on through Chapel Street where Nash's House and New Place are sited. The Historic Spine continues along Church Street where Guild buildings are located dating back to the 15th century, as well as 18th and 19th century properties. The route then finishes in Old Town, which includes Hall's Croft and the Holy Trinity Church.

 

David Garrick helped Stratford to become a tourist destination

During Stratford's early expansion into a town, the only access across the River Avon into and out of the town was over a wooden bridge, thought to have been constructed in 1318. However, the bridge could not be crossed at times due to the river rising and was described by antiquarian John Leland as "a poor bridge of timber and no causey [causeway] to it, whereby many poor folks and other refused to come to Stratford when Avon was up, or coming thither stood in jeopardy of life." In 1480, a new masonry arch bridge was built to replace it called Clopton Bridge, named after Hugh Clopton who paid for its construction. The new bridge made it easier for people to trade within Stratford and for passing travellers to stay in the town.

The Cotswolds, located close to Stratford, was a major sheep producing area up until the latter part of the 19th century, with Stratford one of its main centres for the processing, marketing, and distribution of sheep and wool. Consequently, Stratford also became a centre for tanning during the 15th–17th centuries. Both the river and the Roman road served as trade routes for the town.

 

Despite Stratford's increase in trade, it barely grew between the middle of the 13th century and the end of the 16th century, with a survey of the town showing 217 houses belonged to the lord of the manor in 1590. Growth continued to be slow throughout the 17th century, with hearth tax returns showing that at most there were approximately 429 houses in the town by 1670. However, more substantial expansion began following several enclosure acts in the late 18th century, with the first and largest development by John Payton who developed land on the north side of the old town, creating several streets including John Street and Payton Street.

Before the dominance of road and rail, Stratford was the gateway to the network of British canals.

In 1769, the actor David Garrick staged a major Shakespeare Jubilee over three days which saw the construction of a large rotunda and the influx of many visitors. This contributed to the growing phenomenon of Bardolatry which made Stratford a tourist destination.

Speaking at Flash Festival en France, 2005.

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) held the conference, “Increasing Productivity and Unleashing Growth” at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on May 26-27th, 2012. This conference also marked the final round of the Competitive Grants Program that was launched by PSSP in January 2012 for Pakistani PhD and graduate students studying locally and abroad on economic development issues of Pakistan. The finalists presented in front of the Research Advisory Committee, donor heads, professors and students from local universities. The event also consisted of plenary sessions on Pakistan’s various economic growth issues by renowned academics from all over the world, such as Dr. Jock Anderson, Dr. Regina Birner and Dr. David Spielman.

Hollis Increase

  

And the Sultan of Brunei's wealth increases by 90 euros every second!

 

No envy please!

 

This means around 5400 euros per minute, 324000 euros each hour, 7776000 euros a day

 

Implies about 54432000 euros a week (that's 54 million and 432000 thousand euros)

             

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ... President of the richest country in the world

Popular, lavish, ... uses gold in everything

Was born literally eating with spoons made of gold

Clothes worn embroidered with gold and silver

 

These are some pictures of his palace ...

The largest and most luxurious palace in the world...

Consists of 1788 rooms with some furnished in gold and diamond-encrusted

257 bath inlaid with gold and silver

 

and a garage to accommodate 110 cars

The palace has 650 suites ... each furnished at not less than 150,000 thousand euros

This requires the visitor to spend 24 hours just to inspect each room for 30 seconds

        

The Sultan of Brunei's plane

 

Most luxurious aircraft in the world, inlaid with gold

The Sultan has also a Boeing 747 worth a hundred million dollars,

and then re-designed as a home at a cost of more than one hundred and twenty million dollars.

 

Featured add-ons such as a whirlpool bath of pure gold

He also has six small aircraft and two helicopters.

                                

One of the cars of theSultan of Brunei

 

At the special request of the Sultan of Brunei,

theRolls Royce company

combined their car designs with that of Porsche.

This vehicle is currently in London

 

for use during his stay in Britain

         

When the Sultan of Brunei's daughter married,

the legendarycelebratio ns continued for 14 days,

 

at a cost of about five million dollars,

attended by more than 25 heads of state and family members.

        

Sultan of Brunei car inlaid with pure gold

           

The Princess wears a crown of diamonds

and carries a small bouquet of flowers studded with diamonds.

 

She also wears huge diamonds as earrings, adding sparkle to her face.

   

Wikipedia says he has

531 Mercedes-Benzes

367 Ferraris

362 Bentleys

185 BMWs

177 Jaguars

160 Porsches

 

130 Rolls-Royces

And 20 Lamborghinis

 

Bringing the total number of his cars to 1,932

        

__,_._,___

Toronto, March 5, 2020 - With women’s perspectives underrepresented in media, how can journalists increase the gender mix and diversity of their news sources and the experts they quote? This important panel discussion will explore the outcome and ongoing challenges of a dedicated global project to increase the voices of women in news. Initiated and run by United for News, a global coalition founded by Internews in partnership with the World Economic Forum, the project aims to build trust in journalism by making it more representative of its diverse audiences.

 

The conversation features: Deborah Ensor, senior vice-president of technical leadership for Internews, lead of the Reflect Reality initiative, and the Canadian pilot of the project; Melissa Stasiuk, head of programming with The Globe and Mail, a project participant and Evelyn Kwong, social media and audience lead with the Toronto Star, and part of a newsroom committee launched as a result of the project. Shari Graydon, founder of Informed Opinions, a leader in helping bridge the gender gap in Canadian media, will also join the conversation. The discussion will be moderated by Supriya Dwivedi, host of The Morning Show on Global News Radio 640.

To increase realistic training, the TPAC designed animals to be used in IED training lanes throughout Europe. The goats, sheep and dogs are stuffed with a simulated IED, duplicating the practice in Iraq of hiding explosives in carcasses.

 

For more stories, images, video and information about the U.S. Army's largest overseas training command, visit the 7th U.S. Army Joint Multinational Training Command website at

www.hqjmtc.army.mil

Introduction

 

This paper is an attempt to explore the relationship between international relations scholarship, Indian public opinion and foreign policy making in India. The paper assumes that all large nations, democratic or otherwise, need solid domestic political support for the effective pursuit of interests abroad. The internal support for the conduct of external relations rests on the existence of an ‘establishment’ that sets the broad terms for the ‘mainstream’ discourse on foreign policy; facilitates continuous and productive interaction between the bureaucracies making the foreign policy, the academia that expands and reproduces knowledge and expertise on the subject, the media, and the political classes; rationalises external policies as well as promotes alternatives to them; and defines and redefines national political consensus on foreign policy amidst changing circumstances and unexpected opportunities. The need for such an establishment is far more critical in large democracies, where the governments must continuously cope with volatile public perceptions and the imperatives of popular legitimation.

In the older democracies the mechanisms for forging ‘elite consensus’ on foreign policy and the role of the mass media have come in for some trenchant criticism.3

1 This is a revised version of the paper prepared for the workshop on “Upgrading International Studies in India” sponsored by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), Singapore, and the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and held at the LKYSPP on 25 and 26 March 2009. The revised paper has been prepared for the Institute of South Asian Studies, an autonomous research institute at the National University of Singapore. It is not our purpose to join that debate on the alleged manipulative nature of elite consensus within a democracy. This paper merely assumes that elite consensus is critical for the conduct of state business in democracies and informal mechanisms do exist in most of them to shape and reshape national consensus on a range of issues, including foreign policy. The paper also believes that reformulating domestic consensus is especially important in periods of structural change at home or in the international system. There are some studies that help understand changing

 

2 C. Raja Mohan is a Professor of South Asian Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He can be contacted at crmohan53@gmail.com.

3 See, for example, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York: Pantheon, 2002).

 

2

domestic consensus on foreign policy in the United States.

4 Given the absence of similar studies in India, this paper relies, to a large extent, on the author’s own last three decades of experience navigating between think tanks, the media and the academia that focused on studies of foreign policy, national security and international relations. The paper concludes that it is difficult to discern the existence of such a ‘permanent establishment’ in India shaping the nation’s foreign policy. What may exist instead is an informal network that is led by a small but shifting group of activists within and outside the government. In the following sections, the paper lays out the reasons for the absence of a significant permanent establishment and the prospects for one emerging in the near future, especially in the context of India’s increasing weight in the international system and its emerging self-perception as a great power.

The Elusive Domestic Foreign Policy Consensus

The very existence of a credible foreign policy establishment presupposes a degree of agreement within the elite on the core objectives of external engagement and a grand strategy to achieve them. I would argue that there never was such a consensus in modern India on the ends and means of its foreign policy. I would suggest that this is one of the principal reasons for the absence of a permanent establishment that can mediate between decision makers, experts and the public at large. To be sure, there is the widespread belief within India and those outside who study its external relations that there was once a golden age of ‘Nehruvian consensus’ on foreign policy.5 That assertion might say something about the contemporary political contestations but reveals little about India’s foreign policy history. As a charismatic and domineering political figure, Jawaharlal Nehru did have his way on defining the foreign policy of India in the early years of the Republic. That does not in any way imply there was a national consensus. During 1959-62, Nehru found himself utterly isolated when matters turned difficult with China, large sections of his own party and public opinion turned hostile, and bureaucratic structures came under stress.6

A dispassionate look at India’s foreign policy record might suggest that there was no national consensus either before or after independence. Throughout the 20th century, the Indian political elite was at odds with itself on characterising the nature of external environment, setting a list of priorities, understanding the shifting dynamic among the great powers, defining a hierarchy of external threats, and identifying friends and enemies. The differences on how to address the grievances of the Muslims in the subcontinent and their relationship with the larger Islamic community have always been profound and continue to hobble India. Some writers have argued that the worldview of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League were fundamentally divergent.7

4 Lawrence H. Shoup and William Minter, Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations & United States Foreign Policy (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977). In the pre-independence period, there were a range of issues that deeply divided the national movement. These included the preferred

5 The term ‘Nehruvian consensus’ is almost axiomatic in the literature on Indian foreign policy and is rarely contested. Part of the problem is that there are quite a number of political scientists writing on India’s foreign policy, but few historians have devoted time to this subject. The unwillingness of the Indian government to release any documentation in turn makes it difficult for historians to access and assess the conduct of India’s external relations.

6 For an analysis of India’s management of the conflict with China from the perspective of bureaucratic and organisationl politics, see Yaacov Vertzberger, “Bureaucratic Organisational Politics and Information Processing in a Developing State”, International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 1, March 1984, pp. 69-95.

7 S. M. Burke, Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Policies (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1974).

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Indian attitudes to the developments in the Middle East at the turn of the 20th century and the wisdom of the Khilafat movement.

8 The massive expansion of the Indian armed forces to serve the British in the two world wars generated profound divisions within the Indian national movement about the appropriateness of their use abroad. So did the creation of the Indian National Army by Subhas Chandra Bose and his alignment with Japanese fascism in the Second World War.9 There were a range of other issues that were controversial, including the broader question of India’s attitude to great power relations.10 These are just a few illustrative differences. The absence of a consensus within the national movement on these issues had a huge impact on the nature of the post-Partition territorial arrangements, the dynamics of war and peace in the subcontinent, and India’s relationship with the Great Powers.11

In the post-independence period, many of India’s diplomatic initiatives and ideas that were later seen as representing the very essence of India’s foreign policy did not come through a pre-existing national consensus. They were products of the existence of a strong leader like Nehru and his very definitive world view. In the 1950s the Indian communists, who later became a great champion of ‘Nehruvian’ consensus, rejected the principle of ‘non-alignment’ as ‘immoral’ neutrality between ‘good’ and ‘evil’.12 For them, Nehru was a ‘running dog’ of imperialists. It would take them three full decades before recognising the ‘anti-imperialist’ content of India’s non-alignment. The conservatives in the Congress Party, many socialists, and the Hindu nationalists, on the other hand, saw non-alignment as part of Nehru’s appeasement of international communism.13

Nehru’s decisions to take the Kashmir question to the United Nations Security Council, join the British Commonwealth, reticence on the Soviet intervention in Hungary, and the emphasis on nuclear arms control rather than decolonisation at the first summit of the non-aligned movement were among the many controversies that led to deep national divisions on foreign policy during the Nehru years. Nothing, however, reveals the sharpness of those divisions and exposes the current myth that Nehru’s policy was more ‘anti-imperialist’ than the controversies over his policy towards China. The vigorous national contestations of Nehru’s positions on the two core territorial issues of independent India – the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan and the boundary dispute with China – makes one wonder what the ‘Nehruvian consensus’ was all about. My objective here is not to go into the merits or demerits of Nehru’s world view or his stewardship of India’s foreign policy. It is to simply note the profound differences within India in the early years of its interaction with the world and its management of relations with its neighbours.

8 M. Naeem Qureshi, Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement 1918-24 (Leiden: Brill, 1999).

9 Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); see also Stephen P. Cohen, “Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army”, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 36, No. 4, Winter 1963-64, pp. 411-29.

10 For a look at the pre-independence debates on foreign policy see the classic work of Bimal Prasad, The Origins of Indian Foreign Policy (Calcutta: Bookland, 1962); see also T. A. Keenlyside, “Prelude to Power: The Meaning of Non-Alignment Before Independence”, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 53, No. 3, Autumn 1980, pp. 461-83.

11 For a recent analysis of some of these issues, see Peter John Brobst, Future of the Great Game: Sir Olaf Caroe, India’s independence and the Defense of Asia (Akron: University of Ohio Press, 2005)

12 T. A. Nizami, The Communist Party and India’s Foreign Policy (New Delhi: Associated Publishing House, 1971).

13 For a broad discussion, see A. Appadorai, The Domestic Roots of India’s Foreign Policy, 1947-72 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981).

4

Nehru’s successors too had to constantly innovate on the diplomatic front and risk domestic opposition; they did not have the luxury of a pre-existing national consensus on foreign policy to guide them at any of their many critical moments. Indira Gandhi’s reluctance to criticise Moscow for snuffing out the Prague Spring in 1968 resulted in the resignation of a cabinet minister, Ashok Mehta. Her decision to sign a security treaty with the Soviet Union in 1971 was derided by many centrist scholars in India as a departure from a ‘strict’ interpretation of non-alignment.14 The treaty was not the product of public discourse, scholarly input, and rigorous political scrutiny. It was a foreign policy coup, a brilliant one at that, presented to the nation as a fait accompli at a crucial moment in the effort to liberate East Pakistan. Until as late as the 1977 general elections, the Janata Party, which brought together the entire opposition to Indira Gandhi, was suspicious of the ‘secret provisions’ in the Indo-Soviet treaty and promised to restore what it called ‘genuine non-alignment’.15

Mrs Gandhi’s decision to test a nuclear device in 1974, Foreign Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s outreach to Israel during 1977, his visit to China in 1978, Rajiv Gandhi’s reversal of India’s positions on the border dispute with China (1988), Inder Kumar Gujral’s good neighbourly policy (1996-98), Prime Minister Vajpayee’s nuclear tests in 1998, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s civil nuclear initiative with the United States in 2005 were all foreign policy issues that deeply divided the political classes in India. None of those decisions emerged out of debates within the foreign policy community or stayed within the boundaries of a presumed mainstream national discourse on foreign policy. In most of these cases, broad based support for these decisions emerged only over an extended period of time. As argued by K. Subrahmanyam, “Indian foreign policy was always a leadership function and more often than not did not command a consensus. Non-alignment as a strategy (to be distinguished from non-alignment as an ideology with which Nehru had hardly anything to do), development of close relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, nuclear tests, strategic weapons programme, economic liberalisation and globalisation and the strategy of the balance of power were all initiatives of leaders – Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee and now Dr Singh. Such initiatives, when they prove successful, become established national policies.”16

The International Relations Community’s Conformist Trap

The absence of an enduring domestic consensus on independent India’s foreign policy was not surprising given the extraordinary diversity of the nation and the multiple intellectual strands that went into the making of its national movement. India's consciousness of international affairs and the relevance for its own independence began to grow rapidly after the First World War. But the breadth and depth of the interest, however, would remain limited. Only a few among the leaders of the national movement took consistent interest in international affairs and reflected on how India should react or take advantage of them. This trend line inevitably extended itself into the post-independence period, when Nehru had virtually a free hand in shaping new India’s foreign policy. During the early years of independence, there were enough towering personalities with strong views within and outside

14 For a review of the debate, see M. S. Rajan, “The Indo-Soviet Treaty and India’s Non-Alignment Policy”, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 26, No. 2, August 1972, pp. 204-15.

15 For a perspective of the mainstream political parties opposing Indira Gandhi on the Indo-Soviet treaty, see Ajit Prasad Jain, Shadow of the Bear: The Indo-Soviet Treaty (New Delhi: P. K. Deo, 1971).

16 K. Subrahmanyam, “Forget the Consensus”, Times of India (New Delhi), November 29, 2007; available at timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Forget_About_Consensus/articl... accessed on 6 March 2009.

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the government who would question and criticise Nehru’s approach to the world. It was inevitable though that debates on foreign policy would eventually conform to the broader political fault lines within the nation. As communists, socialists, conservatives, and a variety of regional formations unveiled their own separate attacks on Nehru’s foreign policy, the discourse resonated among their supporters and sympathisers among the intellectual classes, the media and the academia. These criticisms were not always consequential in political terms, given the Congress party’s dominance of the political system. They nevertheless provided an intellectual atmosphere in the 1950s that was open and vibrant.

The 1950s saw the attempt to structure a loose but foreign policy establishment that sought to bring together public intellectuals, bureaucrats, professionals, businessmen, scholars and journalists under the rubric of the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi. Nehru took an active interest in promoting what we might now call a civil society initiative. The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA) was soon complemented by the establishment of a School of International Studies across the road. The school that was eventually merged into the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi would become the main source of international scholarship over the next few decades.17 In the mid-1960s, the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), designed as an autonomous institution funded by the Ministry of Defence was co-located with the ICWA and the School of International Studies.18 New Delhi’s India International Centre and its ‘Saturday Club’ provided a forum for the movers and shakers of the ‘system’ to thrash out a range of issues, including national security and foreign policy. Together they offered a nucleus around which a strong and influential community of international relations professionals might have been built. The discourse on international affairs was not limited to Delhi. Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Allahabad, Jaipur were all important centres of research and publication activity. The major national newspapers published across the nation took great interest in world affairs. The Indian elite was plugged into the international relations community around the world, published in international journals, and hosted research scholars from abroad. Given New Delhi’s relative openness to both the East and West during the Nehru years, India became the biggest arena for competing ideological propaganda unleashed by Washington and Moscow. Whether it was effective or not, it added to the extraordinary dynamism of India’s intellectual debate during the 1950s and 1960s.

India’s public square began to lose some of its vitality and diversity from the late 1960s and down went the project of building a credible international relations community. As Indira Gandhi drifted towards left wing populism at home, moved closer towards the Soviet Union, and sharpened the rhetoric of third worldism, the domestic political discourse on foreign policy began to acquire a monochromatic hue. The biggest victim of this has been academia, especially its humanities divisions. The international relations community, given the close proximity of its subject to the conduct of national diplomacy, suffered even more. The hegemony of the pseudo-left radicalism over the media and the academia actively promoted by the Congress Party in the 1970s snuffed out much of intellectual dissent, both liberal and conservative. The centralisation of the academia in the 1970s disempowered the older centres of foreign policy discourse in the regions. Once ‘politically correct’ priorities were identified,

17 A. S. Hebbar, “SIS celebrates its Silver Jubilee: A Report”, International Studies , Vol. 21, No. 2, July 1982, pp. 137-44.; see also, M. S. Rajan, “Golden Jubilee of the School of International Studies: An Assessment”, International Studies, Vol. 42, No. 3-4, 2005, pp.195-204.

18 K. Subrahmanyam, “The Birth of IDSA and the Early Years”, in N. S. Sisodia and Sujit Dutta, eds., Selected Articles from IDSA Journals, Vol.1, Strategic Thought: The Formative Years (New Delhi: IDSA, 2005), pp. 1-38.

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resources from the central government flew to such approved destinations as Soviet studies, resulting in the utter neglect of American and Chinese studies. The deep suspicion of the United States that took root in the 1970s steadily strangulated the channels of discourse between the Indian international relations community and its counterparts in the West. As India turned its back on Asia in preference for the non-aligned stage, the academic and other contacts in Asia too dried up. The difficult relations with China and Pakistan also meant that the studies of India’s neighbourhood got steadily eroded across the nation.

This sweeping damage to the community was compounded by a powerful new imperative of conformism that paralysed international studies and much of the humanities research across the nation. The only source of funding for research, conferences and travel were centralised government institutions, the University Grants Commission and the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Although there was space for independent research and critical studies of Indian foreign policy, there was no incentive in the academia or the media for such an approach. Criticism or original ideas largely came from political forces and journals on the margins rather than mainstream academic institutions. It is not that either Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi preferred a disempowered international relations community. In her second term, Mrs Gandhi was looking to break out of the ideological rigidities of the 1970s that were constraining Indian diplomacy. Rajiv Gandhi chose to depart from every presumed canon of the famed ‘Nehruvian’ consensus – on India’s relations with the United States, China, Pakistan and Israel as well as on nuclear weapons policy, to name a few. Neither the contemporary media accounts nor the later academic analyses have fully explored the bold foreign policy innovations under Rajiv Gandhi. When the Congress governments in the 1980s were looking for new ideas on foreign policy in order to end India's growing marginalisation, the conformist academic and media communities were of no great help. They were good as cheerleaders for their preferred political leaders; but not as generators of new ideas or new stratagems for the conduct of foreign policy.

The one exception to the deadening conformism of the 1970s and the 1980s was the IDSA. (Disclosure: the author was on the IDSA staff from 1983-92) In one of the paradoxes of the Indian international relations story, the one bureaucrat who drifted into international relations research and stayed with it, Subrahmanyam was prepared to defy the presumed limits on the foreign policy discourse. As a consequence, the IDSA, under his leadership, was able to launch a national debate on nuclear policy at a time when the subject seemed so forbidding. For the next few decades, the IDSA would be at the forefront of the nuclear discourse in India.19 Under the leadership of Subrahmanyam, the IDSA also focused the elite’s attention onto the security politics of the Indian Ocean after the British withdrawal from the East of Suez, and made the case for an interest-based foreign policy.20

19 For Subrahmanyam’s recollection of his personal role in the shaping of India’s nuclear policy, see Jasjit Singh, ed., Nuclear India (New Delhi: Knowledge World, 1999). Subrahmanyam was also able to open the doors for what is now called ‘policy-relevant research’ and make it a goal worth pursuing for many younger researchers. Subrahmanyam also demonstrated the extraordinary possibilities for leveraging the power of the media not only in shaping the public discourse on

20 For a first hand account of the early years of the IDSA, see K. Subrahmanyam, “The Birth of IDSA and the Early Years”, in N. S. Sisodia and Sujit Dutta, eds., India and the World: Selected Articles from IDSA Journals, Volume I: Strategic Thought: The Formative Years (New Delhi: IDSA, 2005), pp. 1-38.

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foreign policy, but also as a tool to mobilise pressure on the politicians and bureaucrats deciding foreign and national security affairs.

21

In the 1980s, the IDSA was home to feverish activity by a small group led by Subrahmanyam that tried to simulate the activity of a full-blown foreign policy establishment. Writing foreign policy speeches for political leaders from the government and the opposition, developing public advocacy, running open media campaigns against certain decisions of the government, sending policy briefs on emerging issues to the highest levels of government, rationalising the government’s diplomatic decisions, explaining Indian policies to international audiences, drawing in serving bureaucrats and soldiers to spend time researching at the IDSA,22 deputing IDSA staff to the Foreign Office and the news agencies, and bombarding the media with articles and features were some of the IDSA’s many activities. There was no way that the intensity and depth of this campaign could be sustained by any organisation. The IDSA under Subrahmanyam, however, demonstrated the possibilities of constructing a permanent foreign policy establishment that did not owe its loyalty to any particular party or leader, was not tied down to one particular department or ministry in the government, was neither pro-West nor pro-East, neither left nor right, could argue on the basis of national interest, develop policy options without having to access governmental information, bring together serving and retired bureaucrats, political leaders, senior editors, reporters and businessmen, and create facilities for any one to develop the skill for gathering open source intelligence.

The Changing Institutional Balance

When Subrahmanyam started writing for newspapers as the director of IDSA in the 1960s, there was barely concealed condescension from the traditional international relations community. The prevailing view was that ‘serious scholars don’t write in newspapers’. While the Indian academic attitudes towards media might not have changed significantly over the last four decades, the power of the public forum has dramatically increased in the intervening period. As the Indian democracy matured, the media began to acquire greater visibility if not influence on policy making. The area of foreign and national security policies was no longer immune to the impact of the media.23 One of the unintended consequences of Indira Gandhi’s short-lived Emergency Rule during 1975-77 was a palpable increase in the power of the print media and its new self-assurance. That the rulers of Delhi could be overthrown in elections helped generate a more equal two-way relationship between the print media and the government. If the 1980s saw the steady accretion of the print media’s power in the country, there has been a dramatic surge in the power of the private electronic media since the late 1990s. This in turn has had a significant impact on the national security and foreign policy discourse within India.24

21 For an assessment of Subrahmanyam’s influence on India’s foreign policy discourse, see Inder Malhotra, “Introduction”, in K. Subrahmanyam, Shedding Shibboleths: India’s Evolving Strategic Outlook (New Delhi: Wordsmiths, 2005), pp. vii-xxxviii.

22 Meera Shankar, the current Indian ambassador to the United States, was among the first Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers to do a stint at the IDSA in the early 1980s. Air Chief Marshal Tyagi, who was the Indian Air Chief in the early 2000s, spent some time at the IDSA in the 1990s.

23 For a comprehensive review of the role of press on foreign policy, see Partha Pratim Basu, The Press and Foreign Policy of India (New Delhi: Lancers, 2003).

24 For one political view, see the address by Defence Minister George Fernandes, “National Security and the role of the media”, Strategic Analysis, Vol. 22, No. 6, 1998, pp. 819-28.

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That the Indian media could be treated as a hand maiden of the foreign office bureaucracy was a commonly held view within the South Block.25 This perception might have been valid when a small but docile group of foreign office ‘beat’ correspondents would deferentially take dictation from mid-level bureaucrats in the foreign office. Those days, however, are long gone, as a number of factors have altered the equations between media and the officialdom. The class background, educational qualifications, and the pay of the media personnel has dramatically evolved during the 1990s, and they no longer have a reason to acknowledge the presumed superiority of the officer class, nor are the new generation of journalists dependent on a variety of favours dispensed by the state machinery. The media’s access to political leaders within and outside the government has become closer over the years and many journalists themselves have effortlessly moved into political parties and the parliament. The tabloidisation of the media meant it is constantly on the lookout for juicy human interest stories about the foreign office and the rest of the bureaucratic system; it could make or break personal reputations of senior officers. From being a one-sided relationship, the media-foreign office relationship is a two-way street of mutual give and take.

Even more significant was the weakening of New Delhi’s power structures after 1989. The replacement of one party or one family rule by weak coalition governments meant the political classes were less domineering and more eager to please the media. Just as a host of other institutions, including the judiciary and the election commission to name a few, asserted themselves in the last two decades, the fragmentation of political power in the centre strengthened the media’s clout. If the politicians needed good press, the bureaucrats were quick to adapt in the 1990s as they sought to leverage the press for their own individual advance or in winning policy battles within the government. The media scene in Delhi began to resemble that in Washington, where different sections of bureaucracy routinely leak information on a selective basis to shape public opinion.

Weak governments and strong media meant the press and television could whip up popular passion and utterly complicate the functioning of the government in such crisis situations as the hijacking of the Indian airliner IC814 at the end of 1999.26 Even more significant was the fact that focused arguments in a section of the Indian English media turned the Indian government from an active supporter of the international negotiations on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) during 1993-95 into a ferocious opponent during 1995-96. Central to this turnaround was the massive mobilisation of the nationalist sentiment against the CTBT in India in a short period of time.27 Since the turn of the millennium, the media has become the principal theatre for intellectual and policy contestation on the direction of Indian foreign policy. This was most visible in the passionate discourse on the Indo-US civil nuclear initiative that saw the left parties withdraw support from the Singh government, which in turn had to go to the floor of the parliament to demonstrate majority support in July 2008.28

25 For views from within South Block, see J.N. Dixit, Indian Foreign Service: History and Challenge (New Delhi: Konark, 2005), Chapter 13, pp.264-73; see also Navtej Sarna, “Media and Diplomacy”, in Atish Sinha, ed., Indian Foreign Policy: Challenges and Opportunities (New Delhi: Academic Foundation, 2007), pp. 1143-49. While

26 For a discussion, see Ajai K. Rai, “Diplomacy and the News Media: A Comment on the Indian Experience”, Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 1, January-March 2003.

27 See T. T. Poulose, The CTBT and the Rise of Nuclear Nationalism in India (New Delhi: Lancers, 1996).

28 For views on the unprecedented domestic debate on the nuclear deal, see Dinshaw Mistry, “Diplomacy, Domestic Politics and the US-India Nuclear Agreement”, Asian Survey, Vol. 46, No.5, September/October 2006, pp. 678-698; see also, Zoya Hasan, “Bridging a Growing Divide: The Indian National Congress and Indian Democracy”, Contemporary South Asia, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2006, pp. 473-88; see also, Prakash Karat, Subordinate Ally: The Nuclear Deal and India-US Strategic Relations (New Delhi: Leftword, 2007).

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different sections of the media root for different directions of change, the media does not simply neutralise itself; it has become a potential brake on new initiatives as well as a facilitator of new moves by the government. This in turn has put a new premium on the political classes and the security establishment reaching out to the media and leveraging its influence.

The media is not the only new actor shaping India’s foreign policy in the last two decades. As India moved towards a state-led socialist economic path, its business community too became marginal to the foreign policy of the nation. Although businessmen were occasionally employed for specific diplomatic purposes, Mrs Gandhi used the Hindujas to reach out to the Shah’s Iran in the 1970s. Similarly, Vajpayee tapped the Hindujas to reach out to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the wake of Pokharan nuclear tests of May 1998. The objective was to soften the reaction within the G-8 that Britain was chairing and facilitating meetings between the National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and top officials of the Western nations.29 Since the launch of the economic reforms, the business community has become an important influence in shaping relations with other nations as well as influencing the domestic public opinion and media on a range of political issues including those on foreign policy.30 Large individual business houses like the Tatas and Ambanis, as well as business associations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have become recognisably important in diplomacy as well as national discourse on foreign policy. The British businessman, Laxmi Mittal was tapped by New Delhi in this decade to facilitate India's search for equity oil around the world, especially in Central Asia. During his visits abroad, it has become customary for the Prime Minister to take with him large business delegations. Joint forums of Chief Executive Officers have become an important vehicle for moving crucial bilateral relations forward and pressure points for internal bureaucratic change. Given the weakness of the universities and the think tanks, the CII and FICCI have also appropriated some of their functions, for example developing Track Two and Track One and a Half dialogues and often acting as think tanks on specific policy issues. Some of these initiatives did become rather consequential. Initiated in early 2002, the CII-Aspen Indo-US strategic Dialogue has met every six months, brought together influential voices in both countries and cleared the ground for major new bilateral initiatives. One of its rounds in Jaipur in early 2005 helped generate a mutually acceptable framework for resuming civil nuclear cooperation. The essence of this understanding was reflected a few months later in the Bush-Singh nuclear deal. While some see this as a positive development, others see it negatively.31

The new forces shaping public opinion and influencing foreign policy are not limited to the national theatre. There is no doubt that different regions of India had always had some influence on the nation’s foreign policy towards some of the neighbouring and ethnically kindred countries. The influence of Tamil Nadu politics on India’s policy towards Sri Lanka is well known.32

29 See Hasan Suroor, “High Level Links”, Frontline, Vol. 18, No. 11, 26 May-11 June 2001; available at Equally significant has been the impact of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political classes and the Indian feudals on New Delhi’s ties with Nepal. The regional

www.hindu.com/fline/fl1811/18110340.htm accessed on March 7, 2009.

30 For a recent analysis of the role of business and media on Indian Foreign Policy, see Sanjaya Baru, “The Growing Influence of Business and Media on India Foreign Policy”, ISAS Insights, No. 49 (Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies, February 2009).

31 Siddharth Varadarajan, “Indian Capital, Foreign Policy”, The Hindu, 15 August 2007, available at accessed on 10 June 2009.

32 See Ganapathy Palanithurai and K. Mohanasundaram, Dynamics of Tamil Nadu politics in Sri Lankan ethnicity (New Delhi: Northern Book Centre, 1993).

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influences on the making of foreign policy, traditionally a ‘national endeavour’, have steadily increased during the last two years thanks to the emergence of coalition rule at the centre, in which regional parties have become critical components. This ‘municipalisation’ of foreign policy, interestingly, has not always led to the ‘regional’ prevailing over the ‘national’, as the local forces acquired high stakes in federal power structures. Nevertheless, the growing impact of local interests on India’s foreign policy in recent years could be seen as the successful result of a campaign of the Sikkim government in New Delhi to open up trade with Tibet. Equally important has been the growing contact between the chief ministers of the two Punjabs across the Radcliffe line and the attempt to promote the shared cultural identity of ‘Panjabiyat’.

33

Among the other forces that have emerged in recent years has been the military. After years of enduring the jack-boots of civilian control, the armed forces have begun to find their voice on national security. Organisations such as the United Services Institute have been revived, many retired members of the armed forces are now a regular fixture in the public discourse and have joined political parties. All three Indian services have now established their own think tanks that have begun to develop capabilities for research on foreign and national security issues and intervene in the public debates. Equally important has been the rise of what might be called the Track Three that has sought to mobilise activist groups across the nation on critical foreign policy issues. Unlike the Track Two process that involves experts and retired diplomats and soldiers, Track Three reaches out into the wider civil society and has been fairly effective in making points on war and peace issues in the region. Civil society leaders like Nirmala Deshpande, not generally known to take an interest in foreign affairs, played a key role in promoting Indo-Pak dialogue and reconciliation in the post Kargil phase.34

Meanwhile, the strongest force in the making of Indian foreign policy, the bureaucracy, has had to adapt to the rising power and influence of the new institutions. In all those democracies that feature a permanent bureaucracy, universities and think tanks tended to be relatively less important in shaping foreign policy. In Britain and France, small collegial bureaucratic elites have dominated the making of foreign policy and selling it to the political classes as well as the public. The absence of such a bureaucracy in Washington and the ease of moving in and out of government have allowed the emergence of a wide and deep foreign policy establishment in the United States. It was but natural that the Indian model would look a lot similar to that of Britain and France in this respect. Given the extraordinary task of managing a large and diverse country, the weight of the permanent bureaucracy in making national security policies seemed to steadily increase. The Indian Foreign Service did inherit some of the finest traditions of its precursor, the Indian Political Service.35 Many of the early civil servants retiring from the Foreign Service made their reputation as scholars and publicists profoundly influencing the national discourse on foreign policy. The writings of Sardar K. M. Panikkar and K. P. S. Menon Sr. readily come to mind. With his prolific writing after his retirement in the early 1990s, J. N. Dixit seemed to carry on that tradition until his death in 2005.

33 Tridivesh Singh Maini, South Asian Cooperation & the Role of the Punjabs (New Delhi: Siddharth Publications, 2007).

34 For an assessment, see Manjari Sewak, Multi-track Diplomacy between India and Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar Books, 2005).

35 For an excellent introduction to an elite cadre that was the predecessor to the IFS, see Terence Creagh Coen, The Indian Political Service: A Study in Indirect Rule (London: Chatto and Windus, 1971).

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When it came to the making of foreign policy, however, the South Block was a closed shop. Thanks to Nehru’s leadership of the Ministry of External Affairs in the first years of the Republic and the sustained interest in foreign affairs demonstrated by Indira and Rajiv, the Indian Foreign Service also enjoyed a measure of autonomy from the growing dominance of the Indian Administrative Service. While outside experts made inroads into the economic and technical ministries, the national security ministries remained thoroughly insulated from external ‘penetration’. The Indian Foreign Service would not even make room for other services let alone outside experts, even on a temporary basis, into its fold. The monopoly on information on world affairs, and the development of sophisticated cadres in Russian and Chinese affairs reinforced the condescension in South Block that they have little to learn from outsiders. But nearly two decades of globalisation, the emphasis on commercial diplomacy, the information revolution, an irreverent print and electronic media, the emergence of Track Two and Track Three formations, and above all the fragmented structure of power in New Delhi have meant the South Block had to cope with a very different template. If the imperative of adjustment has been relentless, not all in the Foreign Office and diplomatic corps have managed to adapt. Those who did have been far more effective in driving Indian foreign policy in new directions.

The Foreign Policy Vanguard

The marginalisation of the international relations scholarship and the underdeveloped potential of the foreign affairs think tanks did not in any way mean that history would stop for India’s international relations. Ever since India embarked on the path of globalisation nearly two decades ago, New Delhi has found many new opportunities for improving its standing in the regional and global stage. Nor can there be any doubt that Indian diplomacy had demonstrated significant strategic imagination in recent decades. Among the many achievements on the foreign policy front were the Look East policy that was launched in the early 1990s, the post-Pokharan diplomacy that limited the costs of the nation’s nuclear defiance in 1998, the negotiation of the civil nuclear initiative with the United States and the mobilisation of international support for it during 2005-08, and the attempts, not entirely successful, to restructure relations with both China and Pakistan. With neither the benefit of distilled academic wisdom nor of an insightful policy road map, India has constantly surprised itself and the world with its capacity for thinking on the run and generating major unexpected breakthroughs. I would argue that this was possible because of the existence of tiny, informal and consequential networks spanning the full spectrum of the Indian elite opinion and acting as the vanguard of India’s new foreign policy. Some of the examples below illustrate the impact of this vanguard.

One, a sustained campaign by a handful of columnists in alliance with a few decision-makers forced a significant turn-around in India’s official position on the CTBT from a long-standing supporter to a vehement critic during 1994-96. A similar attempt to reverse the governmental position on the CTBT after the nuclear tests of 1998 in order to dampen the nuclear disputes with Washington, however, was unsuccessful. (The author was part of both the campaigns.) If the United States Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Al Gore at the end of 2000, the second campaign, in favour of the CTBT, might have had a longer life. Although the vanguard did not always win, its readiness to walk the roads not previously travelled challenged the conventional thinking and created space for those political leaders who were willing to take risks.

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Two, as the foreign minister of India during 1996-97 and Prime Minister during 1997-98, Gujral invested what little political capital he had in redefining India’s relations with her neighbours. While he acted out of conviction, his attempt faced fierce resistance within the bureaucracy, the political class and the media. Yet a small section of the foreign office leadership was prepared to flesh out Gujral’s convictions into policy. This paid off in settling the Ganges water dispute with Bangladesh. While the criticism of Gujral was indeed vicious, he did get vocal support from a small but influential section of the media. The “Gujral Doctrine’ was controversial when it was first unveiled but became the basis for neighbourhood policies of those who followed him – Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Singh. Realists in the Foreign Office did not take long to recognise the many good uses that the Gujral Doctrine could be put to. That New Delhi must act non-reciprocally towards its neighbours and create stakes for its neighbours in the success of India, in the name of promoting a ‘peaceful periphery’ has now become the reigning doctrine in the South Block. Foreign policy consensus could always be created in India if a credible new path could be cleared by the vanguard.

Three, on the three most important accounts of Indian foreign policy, Pakistan, China and the United States, the vanguard signalled not only intellectual boldness but also the capacity to persist with lines of action that few scholars either suggested or predicted. Much of the credit for this goes to the political leadership – in two widely different governments – which eagerly explored solutions to the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan, signed onto a new framework for the resolution of the boundary dispute with China, and defied all conventional wisdom in seeking a strategic partnership with the United States. This could not have been done without the self-assurance of a handful of senior bureaucrats who had to throw out much of what they learnt during the long careers in the Foreign Office in grabbing the new opportunities to resolve India’s long-standing strategic problems. The inevitable political risks involved in this policy enterprise could be insured only by a vigorous and credible intellectual defence in the public square – which brought in another element of the vanguard, the opinion-makers. A mere manipulation of the mass media was not possible because all sides of the debate had unlimited access to the public ear. The structuring of a new consensus also demanded an effective alignment of key constituencies like the corporate sector and the neutralisation of powerful voices in the opposition.

Four, the vanguard has also had some impact on the vocabulary and concepts of mainstream foreign policy discourse within the nation. A handful of bureaucrats, speech writers, and journalists have begun to inject concepts and notions that were not part of India’s foreign articulation for decades. Although the Foreign Office had become the very repository of cynicism in external affairs, the speeches it wrote for the leaders tended to be full of high principles and normative rhetoric. While balancing was an important element of Indian diplomacy from the very beginning, the concept of ‘balance of power’ would never figure in the speeches except in its denunciation. During the last few years, we have seen senior officials increasingly referring to balance of power in positive terms, openly acknowledging India’s interest in a “multipolar Asia”. Similarly, Dr Singh’s speeches began to push ‘democracy’ as one of the major identities of India in world affairs. We have also seen increasing references to India’s ‘responsibilities’ as a rising power as opposed to the traditional objections to the domination by the rich and powerful. We have seen the Indian emphasis in the nuclear debate shift from vehement denunciations of a discriminatory non-proliferation regime to claims of India’s ‘impeccable” non-proliferation credentials. Much of the new usage has been promoted by the columnists in the media and found its way into official speeches by ministers.

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Beyond a ‘Few Good Men’

That a small group of individuals have had extraordinary influence reshaping the national debate on India’s new foreign policy in recent years is not in doubt. What is clearly in question is whether the reliance on a vanguard, however clever it might be, is good enough for India. An emerging great power with the potential to shape international relations in the 21st century surely cannot afford to rely on a narrow and thin base of thinking and decision-making. Although the vanguard’s triumph in engineering fundamental changes in India’s nuclear policy and transforming its entrenched hostility towards the United States is impressive, the domestic debate on the civil nuclear initiative has also revealed its many limitations. As it seized an opportune moment in 2005 to fast forward Indo-US relations, it inevitably confronted an unprecedented resistance to a foreign policy initiative. The boldness of the political leadership, the creativity of its foreign policy aides, the muscular support from a section of the media, and the clear interest of the business community was not enough to stop the domestic debate on the civil nuclear initiative drifting into the biggest political crisis ever on a foreign policy issue in the nation’s history. The murky parliamentary vote of confidence in the Singh government in mid-2008 marked the culmination of a debate that divided all major agencies involved in the formulation of national security policy and the political parties that had to eventually take sides.

Reflecting on how the nuclear initiative was negotiated and implemented, one wonders if a more vibrant international relations community, a better informed media, and a reformed security sector could have helped India avoid spending so much time examining a gift horse in its mouth. A good international relations infrastructure was never going to be enough to convince the Indian communists or persuade the Muslim community of the virtues of a strategic partnership with the United States. Not any amount of sophisticated reasoning would have made it easier for the Department of Atomic Energy to recognise that President Bush might be representing a very different political tendency in the United States to the offensive non-proliferation bureaucracy in Washington they had dealt with for decades. These were political and institutional realities that inevitably paralysed the Congress Party and the Singh government. It was also quite clear that a more widely based foreign policy establishment could not have stopped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from its absolutely opportunistic opposition to the nuclear deal with the United States that it had initiated. Consider the example of Brajesh Mishra, the powerful national security adviser to Vajpayee who played a key role in the decision to conduct the nuclear tests and in the post-Pokharan negotiations with the international community. His eventual support for the nuclear deal after expressing initial reservations revealed two important things. One, there is indeed a basis for a bipartisan foreign policy establishment built around the networks of the permanent bureaucracy. The other was that ‘expert consensus’ made no difference to political calculus as the BJP simply disowned Mishra in 2008.

The existence of a wide and deep foreign policy establishment cutting across party lines in itself could not have short circuited the tortuous political evolution of India’s foreign policy. Nevertheless it would seem entirely reasonable to posit that the existence of such an establishment, with all its different elements in full flow, would make it a lot easier for India to put to rest the many demons in its worldview. The reformation of India’s security sector, the upgrade of its international relations studies, the modernisation of its think tanks, and the globalisation of its media are all urgent and worthwhile tasks in themselves. When done, they will all contribute to India’s greater awareness and more effective engagement of the world. It is important, however, to note that such a reformation would be led by New Delhi. The

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Chinese Communist Party has the power to decree such reforms, create new institutions that could serve as adjuncts to its emerging status in the international arena, and articulate a coherent doctrine on its rise. It would be extravagantly unrealistic to expect India to do the same.

The expansion and modernisation of India’s intellectual infrastructure on international relations studies is more likely to resemble the American experience in some important aspects. As in the United States, so in India, the building of foreign policy software is likely to follow rather than precede the nation’s emergence as a great power. The private sector and civil society initiatives are likely to play a larger role in India in the eventual creation of a world class international relations infrastructure. The permanent bureaucracy of the security sector will not reform itself except under extreme political pressure. The university system, which is critical to the modernisation of international relations studies, has withered under the dominance of a Human Resources Development ministry mired in the statism of the 1970s. The changed environment in India, however, offers room to challenge many of the old governmental controls on the academia, skirts them by expanding the private sector research, and above all demands more openness within India and a rediscovery of India’s fearless internationalism. When it does eventually acquire a tangible shape, India’s permanent foreign policy establishment is bound to reflect the nation’s historical inheritance, its internal diversity, cultural specificity and the unique regional context.

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Prasad, Bimal. 1962. The Origins of Indian Foreign Policy. Calcutta: Bookland.

Qureshi, M. Naeem, 1999. Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement 1918-24. Leiden, Brill.

Rai, Ajai K., 2003. “Diplomacy and the News Media: A Comment on the Indian Experience”, Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 1. pp. 18-30.

Rajan, M. S., 1972. “The Indo-Soviet Treaty and India’s Non-Alignment Policy”, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 204-15.

16

Rajan, M. S. 2005. “Golden Jubilee of the School of International Studies: An Assessment”, International Studies, Vol. 42, No.3-4, pp.195-204.

Sewak, Manjari. 2005. Multi-track Diplomacy between India and Pakistan. New Delhi: Manohar Books.

Sinha, Atish, ed., 2007. Indian Foreign Policy: Challenges and Opportunities. New Delhi: Academic Foundation.

Subrahmanyam, K. 2005. “The Birth of IDSA and the Early Years”, in Sisodia, N. S. and Dutta, Sujit eds., Selected Articles from IDSA Journals, Vol.1, Strategic Thought: The Formative Years. (New Delhi: Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, pp. 1-38.

Subrahmanyam, K. 2007. “Forget the Consensus”, Times of India. November 29.

Suroor, Hasan, 2001. “High Level Links”, Frontline, Vol. 18, No. 11, May 26-June11.

Varadarajan, Siddharth. 2007. “Indian Capital, Foreign Policy”, The Hindu, August 15.

Vertzberger, Yaacov, 1984. “Bureaucratic Organisational Politics and Information Processing in a Developing State”, International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 69-95.

oooOOOooo

While naval doctrine has never evolved in a vacuum, the simmering conflict between the first and second Accord Wars provided an idea opportunity for both the Empire and Accord to refine and test their doctrines in relatively low-risk engagements. The extended time period also allowed for numerous ship classes to be requested, designed, procured, and deployed on both sides, often specifically to counter a new strategy, tactic, or element of naval hardware.

 

Given the smaller size of the Accord Republican Navy, it was unsurprising that they adopted strategies relying heavily on fast carrier strike packages that could conduct attacks on relatively poorly defended Imperial assets, despite the Accord carriers often being little more than converted freighters. After a time, more and more Imperial picket corvettes and frigates were produced and utilized, massively increasing Accord losses and protecting Imperial interests at a relatively affordable price. At the same time, the constant reconnaissance struggle continued to escalate as well; the standard sensor drone swarms augmented by heavy strike fighters and even modified corvettes, deployed to both protect the sensor drones and also to intercept hostile scouts. The Assault Reconnaissance Corvette was conceived as an attempt by the Accord to solve both of these problems, though the eventual proliferation of Accord heavy fleets saw the Empire adopt its own variants.

 

The ARN-27 was not the first Assault Reconnaissance Corvette deployed by the Accord, but it was the first designed specifically for the purpose, learning lessons from previous conversions that had not filled the role as well as had been hoped. At the core of its mission brief was to locate the hostile fleet, destroy hostile anti-recon forces, and then destroy hostile picket forces. While the first two tasks could be performed relatively well by most corvettes or frigates, the latter task had proven far more difficult. Generally, any ship large enough to engage a hostile picket frigate was also going to be vulnerable to the capital grade weapons from the fleet that the picket frigate was protecting. Combat experience showed that even a corvette needed to be relatively fast and agile to be immune to capital grade weapons, leaving naval designers with precious few options.

 

Among the five bids placed on the contract, only Eclipse Industries and Siugniedrev Industrial Works designs made it past initial testing. While the SIW design was in effect a very large stealth bomber, and would go on to see further development in another program, the EI design utilized four mass plasma drivers in a mostly fixed configuration. Even most frigates did not mount weapons of such size, and the extensive cooling arrays and power generation required for the weapons made the ARN-27 more expensive than most other options. However, due to the relatively few hulls required and the economic boom in the Accord at the time, the higher cost was deemed a worthwhile investment.

 

Initial development, like with any military project, was not without teething issues. During high stress atmospheric maneuvers, the weight of the plasma drivers caused warping in the cooling arrays they were mounted on, leading to further strengthening. The lower sensor arrays were removed to add four light missile tubes for better defense against light craft and missiles when it was determined that the four twin laser turrets were not sufficient. The largest change was to the top of the hull however, where both an external access airlock and an enlarged deployable sensor dish was added. Given the crew capacity of six and the provision of both a cargo hold and full living quarters aboard the vessel for extended recon operations, the inability to dock outside of a hangar bay was deemed unacceptable by operational commanders. Other features, such as the enlarged rear comms array were present from the start, specifically designed to provide a datalink back to the fleet in the face of heavy hostile jamming.

 

Though undeniably effective against Imperial forces when it was first deployed, the same economic boom that allowed such an expensive and specialized corvette to be developed was also the ultimate reason it was sidelined. The increased military budget of the Accord saw proper battleline ships built and deployed, first battlecruisers to escort the carriers then proper battleships, making the role of punching through pickets far less important than it had been previously. Still, as one of the largest ships to have the commander and pilot be the same person and a combat profile much more akin to a giant heavy fighter than a traditional corvette, it remains a popular posting for certain officers among the Accord.

 

Manufacturer: Eclipse Industries

Crew: 6 - 1 Pilot/Commander, 1 Weapons Officer, 1 Communications/Sensors Officer, 2 Engineering Officers, 1 Marine.

Length: 89 meters

Maximum Speed: 1185 m/s

FTL Capability: 14335 AU/h

Engines: 4x FierthXP-3000 Ion Drives

Armament: 4x License Built SIW FlameSpike Mass Plasma Drivers, 4x twin GS Gneiss Laser Cannons in turrets, 4x various Accord missile systems depending on mission profile.

 

Made for my Graviton setting.

 

Designers Note: I worked on this one off and on for over a year and it is the largest design I have done yet. It was supposed to be something I could afford to build out of physical bricks, but I clearly got carried away.

Increased traffic and pedestrians, early sunset, a host of distractions and scam artists make parking lots one of the more dangerous places during the holiday season.

Increasing attempts by Fuji Photo Film Co. (not yet Fujifilm) to break into the US stronghold of Kodak. The promise of a 100 ASA emulsion was in contrast to Kodak's mainstream films of ASA 64, although higher speeds existed.

Annapolis

Average local sea level rise in inch

Days with flooding

 

Graph: Ocean Atlas 2017, Petra Böckmann/Heinrich Böll Foundation

The British Columbia government is increasing staffing levels in residential care homes to make sure seniors are getting the quality care they need and deserve. By investing $240 million over three years, government will increase the direct care seniors receive to 3.36 hours per-resident day, on average, in each health authority, by 2021. Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/18116

Officer Cadets Hit Mid-Year Mark in Rain and Snow

 

As the New Zealand Commissioning Course (NZCC) midyear milestone looms, the expectations placed on Officer Cadets (OCDTs) to perform in the field is increasing. The specialisation and intensity of OCS’ field exercises increase throughout the course in proportion with the OCDTs’ ability to understand and apply basic tactics, while continuing to refine their core soldiering skills.

 

Exercise Alam El Halfa was a highly anticipated exercise, with war-stories from previous years indicating an opportunity for this year’s OCDTs to test their resolve and leadership ability in an environment where they could be affected by mental and physical fatigue. By all accounts, this year’s rendition of OCS’ major digging exercise proved a great success, and offered invaluable learning opportunities and command experience to all involved. The class established and occupied a company defensive position on the southern side of feature Carbuncle. All pits were developed to fighting-pit depth with over-head cover on sleeping bays and each section’s two gun pits.

 

Never one to disappoint, the Waiouru weather turned on its pre-winter charm, with the rain leaving once-hospitable sleeping bays looking more like something out of the Shining, and reminding the cold and soaked OCDTs what it takes to lead disciplined soldiers in the New Zealand Army. The rain and fatigue offered an important challenge to the OCDTs, who stepped up appropriately and showed commendable determination and enthusiasm to get the most out of the training available.

 

With the initial 72 hour digging phase completed (communications line and wire obstacles had been placed out) the second phase of the exercise was able to begin. Individual sections spent the next week conducting counter-reconnaissance patrols, occupying OPs, and establishing ambushes throughout the exercise area of operations. The OCDTs rotated through command appointments as platoon commanders, platoon sergeants, section commanders, and section 2ICs. This served to increase their knowledge of section battle drills and IAs, while further developing their ability to apply functional leadership in the field.

 

This phase culminated in a defensive battle and withdrawal overnight, moving on foot to feature Baggush. At Baggush the wary OCDTs regrouped and rehearsed after receiving the order that they were to return to the now Musorian-occupied defensive position and win it back. In the small hours of the following morning the company launched a deliberate attack with two platoons up, and one establishing a direct fire support base. The enemy position was cleared by first light and, with a sense of accomplishment, the OCDTs were able to get stuck into refurbishing the area before moving back to camp. During the exercise the OCDTs were privileged to witness the promotion of the now SSGT White, who always plays an integral part in the efficient running of OCS exercises.

 

The OCDTs are processing the lessons learned from Exercise Alam El Halfa, while preparing to return to the field for their next challenge where they will consolidate their practical understanding of platoon battle drills on Exercise Tebaga Gap.

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) held the conference, “Increasing Productivity and Unleashing Growth” at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on May 26-27th, 2012. This conference also marked the final round of the Competitive Grants Program that was launched by PSSP in January 2012 for Pakistani PhD and graduate students studying locally and abroad on economic development issues of Pakistan. The finalists presented in front of the Research Advisory Committee, donor heads, professors and students from local universities. The event also consisted of plenary sessions on Pakistan’s various economic growth issues by renowned academics from all over the world, such as Dr. Jock Anderson, Dr. Regina Birner and Dr. David Spielman.

Visit IvonneAlexander.com to Master the Use of The Law of Attraction and to Accelerate Your Spiritual Development Right Now.

 

How To Say No With Grace, And Yes With Power And Increase With This Your Personal Integrity

 

People think that saying yes all of the time is actually either very spiritual or that they are being very kind. Yes, we will go to that wedding. Yes, we will go to there. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yesser people that never say no, I don’t trust them.

 

Don’t trust someone that continuously say yes to you to everything because hiddenly and secretly they are holding grudges of why they keep saying yes. They are hidden in their homes. They are complaining, oh, I am so tired that we had to do all of this all over again and go to this place and go to this party and go to this.

 

There is no one to blame. This all falls responsibility on yourself because you did not say no. You were not honest to say no when you meant it, and yes when you mean it.

 

So to say no is actually one of the most powerful things you can teach if you are a parent to your children, and if you are an entrepreneur or a leader, it’s one of the most powerful things you can do as a leader because you are modeling to others how to say no to difficult situations, to entanglements, to business relationships that you knew, your gut told you, say no. But you wanted to be nice. You wanted to be approved. You wanted to appear that, okay, let’s give it a try. And then what happens? You lose all of your money! And that is a ridiculous thing and a very high price to pay just because you didn’t have the courage to say no.

 

Because we were raised why--how? We couldn’t say no, right? You had to say yes. You had to be obedient. Thinking was like a far away aspect of you because if you dared to think differently, some of us were, you know, were raised with, like, the belt. Thank God that that’s changing in humanity right now because violence is not the way, but that was the way of our ancestors, you know, the belt. You say no, well, you always have to say yes. There’s no way that you will say no because why? Because I am your mother or because I am your father.

 

You carry that on. I don’t care if you are 80 years old or you are Donald Trump. And if you’re Donald Trump, you’ll say a very honest no. I’ve seen you. But you’ve got to say no with grace, and this is how it looks like.

 

Mom calls and says, honey, I want you to come to--we have your aunts coming from Wisconsin, and we want you to come visit, and you live far away, and you’ve got to get two planes to get to Mom. And you really don’t want to do it. You don’t feel like doing it, so this is how you say no with grace. Mom, thank you and no. And you stay there.

 

And people, when I teach them, they’re like, that’s it? What’s the--what’s--If you give a story, an excuse, an explanation, in that moment your no works nothing. This is why it is so important to stay in your no to increase your personal integrity.

 

Increasing our personal integrity will bring you not only the best of people in life, will not only create the best role modeling for your children, but imagine if you’re a dad of a young little girl, and your girl never hears you say no, or your wife is never allowed to say no. Guess what’s going to happen when your girl meets a guy that might be abusive, and she was taught never to say no. So think like that. How powerful it is to practice it with--what better place than with Mom? Mom may get sad. Mom may choose to get things personal. Mom may remind you for like a year and on Christmas and this, how you never came to the meeting with the aunt from Wisconsin, but guess what.

 

You will be actually honoring your truth and even you will be honoring your mother because you will not be visiting her without feeling that you need to be there, and if you are there not wanting to be there, there’s rifts, there’s incongruency, and there’s the faces, there’s the tiredness, and some of us, without saying the power of no will manifest disease.

 

I used to be a yesser. I used to say yes, yes, yes I will help you. Yes, yes, yes all of the time. And secretly I was getting tired. I got sick. I got a thyroid, which is in the throat, condition. I got hyperthyroid. How did I created that? I kept saying yes. I was a yesser. I didn’t--never--I would think saying no was super anti-spiritual, and actually, when I found my no, then is when I truly find my true yes to life, and when one of my teachers told me, when you really can say no, then you can say a one powerful yes.

 

Governor Murphy, Senator Bramnick, and Acting Department of Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan tour Chatham High School and highlight Increased funding for legislative district 21 at Chatham High School on Friday March 25, 2022(Edwin J. Torres/NJ Governor’s Office).

Hydraulic Thumbs are constructed from high strength alloy steel to substantially increase the excavator’s ability to perform multi role from digging to material handling. They make it easier to pick, hold and move awkward material such as rocks, concrete, branches, and debris that does not fit into the bucket

 

Metshape Attachments offers wide range of High Quality & Affordable Cost Attachments for Excavator, Skid Steer & Loaders.

 

Metshape Attachments is one of the largest Brand of Attachment Manufacturers and Exporters in world, having supplied high quality products to Europe, USA, Australia, Brazil and Africa. We cater attachments to all brands of OEMs including JCB, Volvo, Kubota, Bobcat, CASE, SANY, Takeuchi, Yanmar, CAT, Doosan, Komatsu, Hitachi, Kobelco etc. Metshape Attachments offer a wide range of attachments to help improve your project’s productivity and drive profitability. Whether the application is excavation, demolition, quarrying, crushing, road maintenance, trenching, resurfacing, Metshape has the perfect attachments for you.

 

Our wide range of products include but is not limited to;

 

EXCAVATOR ATTACHMENTS: Digging Buckets, Cable/Trench Buckets, Wide Buckets, Skeleton Buckets, Cleaning Buckets, Hydraulic Tilt Buckets, Riddle Buckets, HD Buckets, General Purpose Buckets, Rippers, Demolition Grabs, Timber Grabs, Selector Grabs, Thumbs, Quick Hitches, Asphalt Cutters, Grading Beams, Tree Shears, Rakes and many more.

 

SKID STEER ATTACHMENTS: 4-in-1 Buckets, Low Profile Buckets, GP Buckets, Scrap Grapples, Root Grapples, Stump Buckets, Bale Spears, Spade Bucket, Tree Pullers, and many more.

 

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All our products are distinguished for its high standard, authenticity and durability and built to last and to endure extreme wear and tear. We believe in keeping customers happy and providing them with product at very competitive price.

 

QUALITY: We have never compromised on the quality and the attachments provided to our customers.

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STEEL: We use Hardox® Steels from SSAB Sweden and EN grade imported steels.

SHIPPING: We provide hassle free shipping to your nearest port by ocean freight. We provide free shipping for container loads.

 

"Winning Customers' Loyalty & Trust Across the Globe for Its Extreme Quality Attachments."

 

Please visit: www.metshapeattachments.com for more product details.

This is a photograph from the 3rd annual running of the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 5th February 2017 at 12:00. The race attracted over 1,200 participants which shows a 100% increase on last year's participation. The event shows growth year on year mirroring the growing popularity of the race. The race started on the Trim/Athboy road on the town's ring road and proceded to take an anti-clockwise loop out towards the village of Dunderry and townland of Kilbride before returning back to the Trim Industrial Estate for the finish. The route is held on quiet country roads with some hills at 3, 6, 8 mile segments.

 

Our full set of photos from mile 1 and the finish are at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157679859593016

 

The weather for this year's race was perfect for racing. There was a hard frost overnight but this brought clear bright skies and crisp air. There was no real wind to speak of.

 

Waterstops were provided at the 4.5 and 7 mile marks on the course. All access roads were well stewarded. The event was sponsored by Bewleys 1840 and many local business establishments. Credit must go to the Trim AC team for their flawless organisation. If the first three years of this year are anything to go on then this race will continue to grow. For runners around the North Leinster area this 10 mile race serves as a perfect training progress stepping stone to the Bohermeen Half Marathon which will take place in March 2016 and is located only 15 minutes drive from Trim.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Our Flickr photographs from the 2016 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157664217257512

Our Flickr photographs from the 2015 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157650166189770

Boards.ie Discussion Thread on the 2017 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057673405

10 Mile Road Race Timelapse Video of the Route: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp84CrctQM

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

 

This is a photograph from the 3rd annual running of the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 5th February 2017 at 12:00. The race attracted over 1,200 participants which shows a 100% increase on last year's participation. The event shows growth year on year mirroring the growing popularity of the race. The race started on the Trim/Athboy road on the town's ring road and proceded to take an anti-clockwise loop out towards the village of Dunderry and townland of Kilbride before returning back to the Trim Industrial Estate for the finish. The route is held on quiet country roads with some hills at 3, 6, 8 mile segments.

 

Our full set of photos from mile 1 and the finish are at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157679859593016

 

The weather for this year's race was perfect for racing. There was a hard frost overnight but this brought clear bright skies and crisp air. There was no real wind to speak of.

 

Waterstops were provided at the 4.5 and 7 mile marks on the course. All access roads were well stewarded. The event was sponsored by Bewleys 1840 and many local business establishments. Credit must go to the Trim AC team for their flawless organisation. If the first three years of this year are anything to go on then this race will continue to grow. For runners around the North Leinster area this 10 mile race serves as a perfect training progress stepping stone to the Bohermeen Half Marathon which will take place in March 2016 and is located only 15 minutes drive from Trim.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Our Flickr photographs from the 2016 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157664217257512

Our Flickr photographs from the 2015 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157650166189770

Boards.ie Discussion Thread on the 2017 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057673405

10 Mile Road Race Timelapse Video of the Route: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp84CrctQM

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

 

Ayyappan (also called Sastavu, Manikandan or Sasta) is a Hindu deity who is believed to be the son of Harihara, a rigvedic deity fused with both Shiva andVishnu. He is generally depicted in a yogic posture, wearing a jewel around his neck, hence named Manikandan, Literally meaning "With bell around the neck".

By the 20th century, there has been an increase in the number of worshipers of Ayyappan from many different groups, spurred by vast improvements in transport and communication in southern India.[2]

Ayyappan's annual festival is a time of pilgrimage for ever-growing numbers of men from throughout South India. The most prominent and famous Ayyappan shrine is the one at Sabarimala, in the hills of Pathanamthitta in Kerala, with over 30 million devotees visiting it every year,[3] making it one of the largestpilgrimage sites in the world. These devotees fast and engage in austerities under the leadership of a Periya Swami (one who has undertaken the pilgrimage to Sabarimala for 18 years) for weeks barefoot and then travel in groups to the shrine for a glimpse of Ayyappan. Bus tickets are hard to obtain for several weeks as masses of elated men, clad in distinctive ritual dhotis of saffron, black and light blue colors, throng public transportation during their trip to the shrine.[4]

The name "Sri Ayyappan" is used as a respectful form of address in Malayalam and Sanskrit. The equivalent of Sri is "Thiru" in Tamil. The mantra Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa is translated in English as, "Lord Ayyappa, I seek refuge in you".[5]

Contents [hide]

1 Etymology

2 Legends surrounding Ayyappan

2.1

3 In popular culture

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Etymology[edit]

Ayyappan is known as "Hariharasutan" because he is the son of Hari (Vishnu), the saviour and Hara (Shiva), the destroyer. His most common name is "Manikandan" because when the king Rajasekara Pandiyan of Pandalam found little Ayyappan in a forest there was a "mani" (bell, in Malayalam) tied around his "kanda" (neck, in Sanskrit).[6][7]

As Dharma Sastha, many of them consider him to be born out of the union between Mohini (an avatar of Vishnu) andShiva.[8]

Legends surrounding Ayyappan[edit]

 

An ancient idol of Shasta Dharma, a form of Ayyappan

[edit]

The asura Mahishi was burning up with anger at the trick the gods had pulled on her brother, the asura king Mahishasura. As Mahishasura was blessed with invulnerability to all men, the gods had sent goddess Durga, to fight and kill him. Thus, Mahishi began performing a fearsome set of austerities, and pleased the creator god Brahma. She asked for the boon of invulnerability, but Brahma said it was not possible so Mahishi planned and asked invulnerability to all men except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu (Both are male & no possibility to give birth to any one). He granted her the boon of ruling the universe and being invulnerable except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. Since such a person did not exist, she thought she was safe and began conquering and plundering the world.

The gods implored Shiva and Vishnu to save them from this catastrophe. Vishnu found a possible solution to the problem. When Vishnu had taken on the KurmaAvatar, he also had to manifest himself as Mohini, the enchantress, to save the nectar of immortality (ambrosia or amrit) from the demons who were not willing to share it with the gods. If he became Mohini again, then the female Mohini and the male Shiva could have the divine child who would combine the powers of Durga as per Brahmand Purana and beat Mahishi. Skanda purana states that Durga took birth in masculine form as Dharamshasta.[9]

Some versions give a slightly more detailed version of the union of Shiva with Vishnu. One version tells that the asura Bhasmasura (Bhasma means 'Ashes') had so pleased Lord Shiva with his austerities that Shiva gave him a boon of anything he wished. So Bhasmasura asked for the ability to burn to ashes anything which he placed his hand over. No sooner had Shiva granted this, than Bhasmasura ran after the god, threatening to turn him to ashes.

Shiva called to Lord Vishnu for help. He hide himself in a peepal tree as Bhasmasura ran here and there searching for the god. Vishnu became aware of the events, and decided that he would take the female form Mohini, "the Enchanting", and try to trump the asura's powers. When Bhasmasura saw Vishnu in this form, he was bewitched by her beauty. He earnestly tried to court her. So Vishnu instructed Bhasmasura to hold his hand over his head, and vow fidelity. With this act, Bhasmasura was reduced to ashes.

Vishnu found Shiva and explained the whole affair to him. Shiva asked if he too could see Vishnu in this female form. When Vishnu appeared thus, Shiva was overcome with passion, and united with her. The two gods thus became "Harihara Murthi", that is a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu as one god.

From this union, Lord Sree Dharma Sastha was born. He combined in himself the powers of Vishnu and Shiva. Lord Ayyappan is an incarnation of Lord Sree Dharma Sastha and Lord Ayyappan is a visible embodiment of their essential identity. Sri Ayyappa belongs to Pandya Royal Community. He was the head of a clan. It is believed Sri Ayyappa merged to sri dharma sastha. Lord Vishnu gifted the new-born deity with a little bejeweled bell necklace, so this god is called Manikantha. He is also Known as Dharma Shastha.

There are many popular stories associated with Him among the devotees. The stories differ, but there are certain common elements:

Ayyappa lived in the Pandalam Palace as the son / savior of the King.

He had super-human or divine knowledge, wisdom, and courage and loved the King and his people.

He protected the King and the kingdom from the attacks of enemies.

At the end of His life in Pandalam, He vanished into the forests and is ever since worshiped at the Sabarimala temple.

The most popular and widely accepted story tells that Lord Ayyappa had His human sojourn as the son of the Raja of Pandalam. At that time, Raja Rajasekhara Pandiyan ruled the kingdom of Pandalam. During one of his hunting expeditions, the Raja was puzzled to hear the wails of a child on the banks of the river Pampa, and was surprised to find a resplendent infant there. The beautiful baby with radiant face wore a bead ('mani') around his neck. The King, though pious, charitable, just, and God-fearing, had no children. He accepted the child as God's gracious response to his fervent prayer for an heir to his throne. Manikandan grew into a boy well versed in academic lore and martial arts. Meanwhile the Rani gave birth to a son. The King regarded Manikandan as his elder son. He decided to crown him as the Yuvaraja. The King's corrupt Minister had a deep dislike for Manikandan, and made the innocent Queen believe that ill would befall her if Manikandan was crowned Yuvaraja and that the kingdom actually belonged to her son.

They conspired to get rid of Manikandan by hook or crook. They bribed the royal physician into becoming an accomplice of theirs. The Rani pretended to be afflicted with severe pain in the stomach, and the physician prescribed the milk of a tigress as the only cure. The King knew that none could be deputed for a mission that was so patently suicidal. However, the youthful and valiant Manikandan stepped forth and volunteered to fetch the milk. Despite the worried protestations of his foster-father, he set out for the fearful forests.

Days later, Manikandan entered the palace precincts riding a fierce tigress and followed by a pack of its cubs. The schemers were frightened into confessing their nefarious plot. They and others now knew that Manikandan was no ordinary being. They were convinced of His divine origins, and prayed to Him to be with them for their own salvation and for the safety of the kingdom. However, Manikandan was now determined to leave the place.

Filled with happiness, grief, fear, wonder and bhakti and self-surrender, the king prayed for the mercy and blessings of Manikandan. He repented he could not fully visualize the truth of the divine powers of the Lord and repeatedly requested Him to forgive him for behaving as if He were only his son. The Lord lovingly embraced the King who continued to pray: " Lord, kindly bless me by freeing me from my egos and the worldly life of birth and rebirth and grant me ' moksha’ (salvation). Kindly continue to be the saviour of my family and stay eternally in my kingdom.” Manikandan then enlightened the King on the path of attainment of 'moksha'. These words of the Lord are contained in ‘Bhuthanathageetha'. To the King who is by now mentally cleansed and completely immersed in 'bhakthi', Lord Ayyappa said: "I am to free you from all worldly sorrows & worries and to grant you 'moksha'. All those who are and would be born in your family shall have my blessings unfailingly. I am always accessible to 'bhakthi' and only 'bhakthi." The Lord told the King that he could construct a temple at Sabarimala, north of the holy river Pampa and install His deity there. Ayyappa also explained how the Sabarimala pilgrimage shall be undertaken, emphasizing the importance of 'vrutham' and what the devotees can attain by His 'darshan'.

The Lord further consoled the King saying that the devotees who held him and his descendants in 'bhakthi' shall happen to be devoted to Him as well. Manikandan then blessed the King and all others assembled there, and vanished. The King duly constructed the temple at Sabarimala, dedicated to Him.

There are various tales connected with Lord Ayyappa: the discovery of the child at Pampa, Manikandan's youthful days in the Pandalam palace, bestowing the power of hearing and speaking upon the deaf and dumb son of His teacher as Guru-dakshina, His friendship with Vavar, bringing the tigress's milk, accomplishing His divinely destined mission of annihilation of the demoness Mahishi, eliminating the forest-thug Udayanan, bestowing moksha on Sabari, blessing His foster-father with moksha and so on. Legend also goes to say that Manikandan was the incarnation of Lord Dharma Sastha. Raja Rajasekhara was in his previous birth a rich and pious 'Brahmin ' by name Vijayan who was a very strong believer and devotee of Lord Dharma Sastha.

Another tale goes like this: Lord Ayyappan as Manikandan born to Pandala Maharaja is set to conquer the King Udayan who is a strong Buddhist and has been harassing the people of Pamba region. Maharaja sends Manikandan to learn martial artsKalari to Cheerappanchira, the Muhamma of today in Alappuzha district. The panicker there trains him of Kalari. It is here where the Guru's daughter Nila falls in love with Lord Ayyappa (Manikandan) but He refuses to marry telling he is a Bhrammachari and has a mission. She offers a sweet made out in a function in their family which Lord likes. This sweet payasam was what turned out to be the Aravanapayasam today.

The 2012 album of P. Unnikrishnan on Lord Ayyappan in Tamil called SABARIMALAI VA CHARANAM SOLLI VA has a song on the Ayyappan temple at Mukkal vettom (Cheerappanchira) where the current priest, of the vamsam of Lord's Guru who trained him Kalari, still performs the poojas for the Lord who poses with the war attire.

A Holy Song that is used to wake up Ayyappan in Sabarimala temple is known as Ayyappa Suprabhatham, an another song which for making ayyappa sleep is the famous song Harivarasanam.

Governor Charlie Baker, joined by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders, announces the Commonwealth will increase testing capacity and locations to provide more access for residents in every county at a State House press conference on Dec. 7. 2020. This plan includes five new locations, and the state plans to collect 110,000 COVID-19 tests per week—representing a 50% testing increase for state-financed and organized testing sites alone. Across Massachusetts, there are more than 350 testing locations available to the public. Massachusetts remains among the top five states for testing per capita in the nation and has made significant progress to increase testing and access. Stay informed about COVID-19 by visiting mass.gov/covid19, calling 2-1-1 or texting COVIDMA (COVIDMAESP for Spanish) to 888-777 for updates. [Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office]

Value of Bitcoin continues to increase. GIVE ATTRIBUTION TO: BeatingBetting.co.uk

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) held the conference, “Increasing Productivity and Unleashing Growth” at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on May 26-27th, 2012. This conference also marked the final round of the Competitive Grants Program that was launched by PSSP in January 2012 for Pakistani PhD and graduate students studying locally and abroad on economic development issues of Pakistan. The finalists presented in front of the Research Advisory Committee, donor heads, professors and students from local universities. The event also consisted of plenary sessions on Pakistan’s various economic growth issues by renowned academics from all over the world, such as Dr. Jock Anderson, Dr. Regina Birner and Dr. David Spielman.

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RUSSIAN

Новые CVD-сплавы для повышения производительности за счет высокой технологической надежности. Наша первая рекомендация для любых видов общей обработки стали. Марки нового поколения «UE6105 + UE6110» для токарной обработки изготавливаются по самым передовым технологиям CVD (нанесение покрытия путем химического осаждения паров) с использованием преимуществ нашего уникального ноухау в области твердосплавной подложки. Мы предлагаем Вам множество конструкций неперетачиваемых режущих пластин (СНП), охватывающих самую широкую область применения.

Do you want to grow love in your relationship? But due to one reason or the other, there is some problem in your relationship. If so, then you can use Dua For Husband Love To Wife. It is the best dua for a happy life with a husband.

 

To know more about this dua you can read this article Dua for Husband Love To Wife. lovebackduas.com/dua-for-husband-wife-love/

 

You can also take help from an Islamic scholar to perform 'Dua For Husband Wife Love' in a proper way.

Molana Junaid Jafferi is one of the best Islamic scholars. He provides online consultancy too. You can call at +44-2038075722 (Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram).

Little River Landcare group is undertaking a Machinery Conversion for Increased Soil Carbon project. This is a photo from a field day to four farms in the Cumnock area of central-west New South Wales.

 

This project is supported by the Little River Landcare Group Inc., through funding from the Australian Government's Caring for our Country.

the fruiting body getting larger

An increasing number of people therefore looks for support in the only camp for refugees in Yemen, Kharaz, a good 150 kilometres west of the coastal city of Aden.

 

Kharaz camp was initially designed to accommodate around 14,000 people, but now hosts almost 20,000.

 

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾

 

Aussi, de plus en plus de personnes cherchent-elles de l'aide dans l'unique camp de réfugiés du Yémen, à Kharaz, à plus de 150 kilomètres à l'ouest de la ville côtière d’Aden.

 

Le camp de Kharaz est prévu pour accueillir environ 14 000 personnes, mais il en compte aujourd’hui près de 20 000.

  

Photo: UNHCR/ T. Leposky, 2012

 

This is a photograph from the 3rd annual running of the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 5th February 2017 at 12:00. The race attracted over 1,200 participants which shows a 100% increase on last year's participation. The event shows growth year on year mirroring the growing popularity of the race. The race started on the Trim/Athboy road on the town's ring road and proceded to take an anti-clockwise loop out towards the village of Dunderry and townland of Kilbride before returning back to the Trim Industrial Estate for the finish. The route is held on quiet country roads with some hills at 3, 6, 8 mile segments.

 

Our full set of photos from mile 1 and the finish are at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157679859593016

 

The weather for this year's race was perfect for racing. There was a hard frost overnight but this brought clear bright skies and crisp air. There was no real wind to speak of.

 

Waterstops were provided at the 4.5 and 7 mile marks on the course. All access roads were well stewarded. The event was sponsored by Bewleys 1840 and many local business establishments. Credit must go to the Trim AC team for their flawless organisation. If the first three years of this year are anything to go on then this race will continue to grow. For runners around the North Leinster area this 10 mile race serves as a perfect training progress stepping stone to the Bohermeen Half Marathon which will take place in March 2016 and is located only 15 minutes drive from Trim.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Our Flickr photographs from the 2016 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157664217257512

Our Flickr photographs from the 2015 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157650166189770

Boards.ie Discussion Thread on the 2017 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057673405

10 Mile Road Race Timelapse Video of the Route: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp84CrctQM

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

 

I increased a shoe size after my pregnancy with all the extra fluid that I was carrying around. So I needed a new pair of shoes for the winter. I worked out this is my 7th pair of Chucks that I have had in my life.

 

Explored #126.

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Sedentarism and physical inactivity is highly prevalent globally, and are associated with a wide range of chronic diseases and premature deaths. The interest in sedentary behaviour is justified by a growing body of evidence that points to a relationship between this lifestyle and the increase in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It has been known throughout history that being inactive is unhealthy, but nowadays almost one-third of the world's population is inactive, thus representing a major public health problem.

 

El sedentarismo y la inactividad física son altamente prevalentes globalmente y están asociados a un amplio rango de enfermedades crónicas y muerte prematura. El interés en la conducta sedentaria está justificado por la creciente evidencia que apunta hacia una relación entre esta conducta y el incremento en la prevalencia de obesidad, diabetes y enfermedad cardiovascular. A través de la historia es bien conocido que ser inactivo no es saludable, pero hoy día casi un tercio de la población del mundo es inactiva, lo que representa un serio problema de salud pública.

 

Many readers will be aware of the dose/response relationship that exists between exercise and health: the greater the physical activity (PA), the better the individual's overall health. However, few studies have focused on the consequences of lack of PA, and this will be the main subject of this article.

 

It is easier to understand the significance of the change in human beings from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle by looking back on our evolutionary history.

 

About 3.7 million years ago, one of the first hominids to walk on two feet appeared in Ethiopia: Australopithecus afarensis. Bipedalism allowed these hominids to use their hands to grasp branches and stones as tools or weapons, and to gather food (fruits, seeds, roots, etc.), while their long legs allowed them to travel farther and depend less on trees. In addition, their slightly curved hands, shorter fingers, and arched feet allowed them to climb trees, while the medial arch of the foot allowed them to run after their prey or flee from predators or enemy tribes.1

 

The design of the human organism (encoded in its genes) is known to be the result of millions of years of biological evolution. Nearly all the human genome was formed before the transition from hunting and gathering to farming, and this is believed to have been the optimal genome - the one that enabled us to adapt to the changing environmental conditions faced by our ancestors at each stage of our evolution.

 

In nature, obtaining food always requires high muscle energy expenditure. This is true of both carnivores (running in pursuit of prey) or herbivores (looking for the best foliage and, in smaller animals, watching out for predators). The capacity of our metabolism to adapt to cycles of abundance and food shortage (the thrifty genotype) was a beneficial factor in the evolution of our ancestors.2 When food was abundant, our thrifty metabolism took over, allowing us to accumulate large amounts of energy in the form of fatty deposits and muscle glycogen. Individuals with the thrifty phenotype were less likely to die out during periods of famine, since they were more efficient at using the energy stored in their body. Muscle proteins were conserved, and muscle contraction was more efficient, increasing their likelihood of finding food and surviving the crisis.2

 

It is also interesting to note the impact on the central nervous system, which controls all bodily movements at all time variables, from milliseconds to hours, days, months and years, leading to the evolutionary-induced expansion of certain regions of our cerebral cortex.1 As a result, PA strengthened both muscle and brain cells.

 

Homo sapiens (“wise man”, because he had certain skills absent in his predecessors) appeared in Africa 300,000 years ago and ranged over the continent for 200,000 years before spreading to the rest of the world, even as far as Australia. It was this expansion that sparked a major cognitive revolution about 70,000 years ago, further expanding our ecological niches, defined as the way in which we interact with our environment. In fact, this intellectual “big bang” facilitated the development of amazing cognitive skills, such as the ability to learn, understand and anticipate complex phenomena, memorise a great deal of detail, and establish multiple communications with the environment, particularly with other humans.3 About 10,000 years ago, several human groups discovered ways to produce certain foods, compelling them to create settlements and abandon their nomadic lifestyle.3

 

This summary of our evolution shows that human beings are active by nature. They spent most of their evolutionary history wandering over the land, and only transitioned to sedentary lifestyle about 10,000 years ago, when they became farmers.

 

Even the most ancient civilisations knew that reducing the amount of physical effort made in our daily life causes the organs that govern bodily movement to lower their output and adapt their operative capacity to the lower demands of their social group. However, Hippocrates (377 b.c.) believed in the benefits of PA, and warned that4: “All parts of the body which have a function, if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well developed and age more slowly, but if unused they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly”.

 

However, reliable scientific evidence of the relationship between physical inactivity and the risk of chronic disease only began to emerge in the mid 1950s5, sparking interest in research into the four basic aspects of the problem6–10:

 

a.

The increased use of technology to accomplish daily tasks, making humans more sedentary.

 

b.

The physiological evidence of specific effects that sedentary behaviour has on our metabolism and health.

 

c.

Instruments, such as accelerometers and questionnaires, can now be used to objectively and reliably measure the time spent physically inactive.

 

d.

The difficulties involved in motivating individuals to become more active and engage in more strenuous PA in order to reduce sitting time. This is the most pressing area of study.

 

The situation is further complicated by the fact that sedentary behaviour does not simply mean less PA, but involves a set of individual attitudes in which sitting or lying becomes the predominant postural form, thus greatly reducing energy expenditure. Furthermore, sedentary behaviour is found in a multitude of places and situations: at work, at school, at home, in our means of transport and our leisure activities, and is accompanied by other harmful habits, such as increased caloric intake or smoking.

 

In recent decades, sedentary behaviour has become a serious problem that has been aggravated over time by the introduction of new technological inventions. These devices, which are designed to make our lives easier, have ultimately increased our immobility, since working, playing, shopping or doing housework no longer requires the same physical effort needed 50 years ago. Today, everything can be done using a computer, a washing machine, a dryer, a car and other devices developed to reduce our muscle activity and increase our sedentary behaviour.The morbidity associated with sedentary behaviour came increasingly under the spotlight in the 1990s, through programmes introduced in several countries to encourage PA and health. These programmes, which were basically devised to disseminate PA and health recommendations, are based on the notion that the general population is unaware of the importance and need for PA, and, therefore, do not engage in such activities.

 

Given the scale of the problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in 2004,11 subsequently updated in 2010,12 that lists sedentary behaviour as the fourth greatest risk factor for mortality (6% of deaths recorded worldwide).

 

A more recent report estimated that physical inactivity is responsible for:13

 

–

6% of the burden of disease from coronary heart disease (CHD).

 

–

7% of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).

 

–

10% of breast cancer.

 

–

10% of colon cancer.

 

–

Inactivity is responsible for 9% of premature mortality or >5.3% of the 57 million deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008.

 

If inactivity were decreased by 10% or 25%, >533,000 and >1.3 million deaths, respectively, may be averted each year.13 By eliminating physical inactivity, the life expectancy of the world's population is estimated to increase by 0.68 (0.41 to 0.95) years.13

 

Physical inactivity also carries a heavy economic burden. A report published in 2016 with data from 142 countries (93.2% of the world's population) estimated the direct health costs and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for various diseases:14

 

–

Physical inactivity cost health-care systems 53.8 billion international dollars (Int’l$) in 2013.

 

–

Physical inactivity-related deaths contribute to Int’l$ 13.7 billion in productivity losses.

 

–

Physical inactivity was responsible for 13.4 million DALYs worldwide.

 

–

High-income countries bear a larger proportion of economic burden (80.8% of health-care costs and 60.4% of indirect costs), whereas low-income and middle-income countries have a larger proportion of the disease burden (75.0% of DALYs).

 

As for prevalence, a recent study estimates that more than one in four adults (28% or 1.8 billion people) are physically inactive (one in three in some countries)15, and women are less active than men, with more than 8% difference between the sexes (32% in men vs. 24% in women). High-income countries have the highest levels of inactivity (32%) compared to 26% and 16%, respectively, in middle- and low-income countries. These results highlight the urgent need to prioritise actions aimed at creating an environment conducive to increasing PA.

 

Sedentary behaviour as a risk factor

The extent of the problem and the role of PA as a risk factor for disease is outlined in the WHO report published in 2014.16 Briefly:

 

–

The risk of death from any cause is higher among adults with insufficient PA compared with those who practise at least the minimum recommendation of 150minutes of moderate physical exercise per week or equivalent.

 

–

23% of adults aged 18 years or older did not do enough PA. Women were less active than men, and older people were less active than young people.

 

–

Worldwide, 81% of adolescents (aged 11 to 17) did not do enough PA in 2014, with girls being less active than boys; and 84% and 78%, respectively, did not meet the WHO global recommendations on physical activity for health.

 

The clinical consequences of sedentary behaviour on various bodily systems are wide-ranging and inter-related (Fig. 1). They can be summarised as functional and/or organic alterations:8,10,17–28

 

–

Metabolic: obesity, insulin resistance, DM2, dyslipidaemia, metabolic syndrome, hyperuricaemia.

 

–

Cardiovascular diseases: CHD, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, intermittent claudication, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, hypertension, increased arterial stiffness.

 

–

Pulmonary alterations: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 

–

Neurological diseases: intellectual dysfunction, dementia, depression, mood disorder and anxiety, Alzheimer's disease.

 

–

Musculoskeletal disorders: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and osteopenia, sarcopenia.

 

–

Greater physical frailty, especially in the elderly, which, in turn, increases the risk of morbidity and mortality.

 

–

Quality of life: decreased psychological well-being, psychological frailty, inability to perform activities of daily living and social interactions, functional restriction, loss of balance, flexibility and reaction and sleep irregularities (difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking during the night, or waking up very early in the morning).

 

–

Constipation and changes in the gut microbiota.

 

–

Malignancies, such as cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, prostate, pancreas and melanomas.

 

–

Shorter life expectancy.

  

In anthropology, sedentism (sometimes called sedentariness; compare sedentarism[1]) is the practice of living in one place for a long time. As of 2025, the large majority of people belong to sedentary cultures. In evolutionary anthropology and archaeology, sedentism takes on a slightly different sub-meaning, often applying to the transition from nomadic society to a lifestyle that involves remaining in one place permanently. Essentially, sedentism means living in groups permanently in one place.[2] The invention of agriculture led to sedentism in many cases, but the earliest sedentary settlements were pre-agricultural. For small-scale nomadic societies it can be difficult to adopt a sedentary lifestyle in a landscape without on-site agricultural or livestock breeding resources, since sedentism often requires sufficient year-round, easily accessible local natural resources.Logically, metabolic and cardiovascular alterations are the most common and the most characteristic of the burden of disease, because once established they gradually progress, despite aggressive treatment. The other alterations, however, can be reversed or improved by exercise programmes and pharmacological therapy, if necessary.

 

A recently identified consequence of sedentary behaviour is the loss of metabolic flexibility,8,29,30 that is, the ability to adapt substrate oxidation rates in response to changes in fuel availability. The inability to switch between the oxidation of lipids and carbohydrates appears to be an important feature of chronic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Evidence has shown that high levels of physical activity predict metabolic flexibility, while physical inactivity and sedentary behaviours trigger a state of metabolic inflexibility, even in subjects who meet PA recommendations.8,29,30

 

Definition of terms

In their Terminology Consensus Project,31 the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network established and defined the following terms:

 

–

PA: any body movement generated by the contraction of skeletal muscles that raises energy expenditure above resting metabolic rate. It is characterised by its modality, frequency, intensity, duration, and context of practice.

 

–

Physical inactivity: the non-achievement of physical activity guidelines.

 

–

Exercise: a subcategory of PA that is planned, structured, repetitive, and that favours physical fitness maintenance or development.

 

–

Sport: part of the PA spectrum and corresponds to any institutionalised and organised practice, based on specific rules.

 

–

Sedentary behaviours: any waking behaviours characterised by an energy expenditure ≤1.5 METs, while in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture.

 

Table 1 lists some activities with an energy expenditure of less than 1.5 METs, and, therefore, classed as sedentary. These activities should be borne in mind when estimating sedentary behaviour, as patients will not usually consider them to be sedentary.It is important to note that although the terms sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity are used indistinctly, there is a clear distinction between them. Sedentary behaviour involves spending a great deal of time engaging in low-energy-expenditure activities (<1.5 MET), whereas physical inactivity is an almost total absence of PA.16,17

 

It is interesting to note that an increase in the time devoted to sedentary behaviours correlates with an increase in cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. The effect of sedentary behaviours on these markers is independent of sociodemographic factors, diet, body mass index and PA.17 These findings are important, since they show that the effect of sedentary behaviours on these variables is not modulated by a higher caloric intake, but by a reduction in energy expenditure.17

 

As sedentarism is a learned behaviour of human beings that has increased exponentially during the 21st century, the risk factors or conditions that favour it are not yet known. However, various lines of research have identified the following general factors, particularly in younger individuals:32–35

 

a.

Demographic: demographic factors include sex, age and ethnicity. Numerous publications show that women are less active than men and older children, and adolescents are less active than younger children. Among women, those of African descent are less active than Caucasians.

 

b.

Personal: certain personal factors, such as underlying diseases (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, chronic orthopaedic diseases) or disability, predispose to sedentary behaviours due to the child's tendency to remain sedentary or to their preference for activities that demand less energy expenditure. Other factors include: self-perceived lack of time, inappropriate relationship with peers and an activity they find boring or unattractive. Individual factors that are positively associated with PA are: self-confidence to engage in exercise, personal ability, positive attitude towards PA, interest in self-improvement and ability to enjoy PA. Age is an important factor in this category, since research has revealed that children up to the age of 8engage in moderate to vigorous PA, but start to become less active from the age of 1136, making this a crucial period for PA interventions.

 

c.

Family: this is perhaps the most important factor, since the preferences and habits of the parents will affect the extent to which the child is encouraged to engage in PA or certain motor activities. Watching TV is more influenced by the parents’ attitude towards this activity than by the number of TVs in the home. Other situations, such as both parents’ growing commitment to their jobs, and single-parent families, may affect the possibility of engaging in extracurricular PA.

 

d.

Social and environmental: the lack of, or difficulty in accessing, green spaces and safe sports facilities in large cities, restrictions on supervision by qualified personnel, education budget limitations, changes in curricular priorities, impoverishment and civil insecurity are some of the many factors that discourage participation in and limit access to PA both during and out of school hours.

 

The “chair effect” and its repercussions on health

As mentioned above, our modern lifestyle reduces the time we spend doing PA. In fact, over the last decade, several studies have shown that excessive sitting time can increase the risk of death, irrespective of whether or not we do exercise.

 

A review published in 201237 used data from 2002 to 2011 to estimate the proportion of deaths attributable to the “chair effect” in the population of 54 countries, with the following results:

 

–

More than 60% of people worldwide spend more than three hours a day sitting (the average in adults is 4.7hours/day).

 

–

Sitting time is responsible for 3.8% of deaths (approximately 433,000 deaths/year).

 

–

Among the territories studied, mortality due to sitting time was higher in countries from the Western Pacific region, followed by countries in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, America and Southeast Asia.

 

The authors calculated that reducing sitting time by about two hours (that is, 50%) would result in a 2.3% decrease in mortality (3 times less), although there is no conclusive proof of a causal relationship. Even a more modest reduction in sitting time, of 10% or half an hour a day, could have an immediate impact on all-cause mortality (0.6%) in the countries evaluated, and eliminating sitting time would increase life expectancy by 0.20 years in the countries studied.

 

In 2017, the “Termómetro del sedentarismo en España: Informe sobre la inactividad física y el sedentarismo en la población adulta española” [Thermometer of sedentary behaviour in Spain: Report on physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in Spanish adults] published by the Fundación España Activa [Active Spain Foundation] and the Centro de Estudios del Deporte [Sports Studies Centre] of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos38 showed an alarming upward trend:

 

–

Physical inactivity is responsible for 13.4% (over 52,000) of deaths per year in Spain. This means that 6.6 people die every hour from this cause compared to 3.7 deaths reported in the meta-analysis carried out by Rezende et al.37

 

–

Nearly half of all Spanish adults do not practise any sport and do not do any exercise or any other physically demanding activity in their spare time.

 

–

The least qualified social classes (lower occupational category) are less active in their free time, while those with higher qualifications are less active during their working hours. In other words, the greater the economic development, the higher the level of sedentary behaviour, and, therefore, the greater the associated health risks.

 

Population impact

Although sedentary behaviour affects all age groups, the extreme age groups are the most affected for the following reasons:13,15,16,39–41

 

a.

Schoolchildren and adolescents: logically, due to the impact on health in adulthood, which increases the risk of obesity, DM2 and hypertension. Because of the size of this age group, more effort is obviously needed to ensure adequate levels of PA in all social classes.

 

b.

Women are the most affected, since inactivity rate among women is 8% higher than in men. This gender gap has widened steadily over the 21st century, perhaps as a result of cultural norms, traditional roles, or lack of social and community support from an early age.

 

c.

The elderly: as older people tend to be more physically inactive, the economic costs of inactivity are likely to increase notably and place a heavy burden on healthcare budgets. In a study conducted in Germany, the potential effects of interventions aimed at promoting PA in the over-65s compensated for the negative effect of ageing and reduced inactivity-related healthcare costs.41 In other words, this single action was doubly beneficial.

 

Cultural differences also affect levels of physical activity. An example of this is Switzerland, where the population is divided into three distinct language groups: French, Italian and German.42 An analysis of regional differences showed that the per capita burden of physical inactivity is nearly double in French and Italian speaking regions compared to the German speaking population, perhaps due to a higher prevalence of physical inactivity, higher per capita healthcare spending, and higher disease prevalence.

 

Of course, the foregoing is also true of the correlation between physical inactivity and social strata or the stage of development of the country. The higher the population density and the human development index (HDI), the greater the percentage of physical inactivity in the population. For example, estimates have shown that in low- and middle-income countries, individuals working in the white-collar industry compared to agriculture were 84% more likely to be physically inactive, and greater economic development in these countries brings about changes in their occupational structure, resulting in increased physical inactivity levels.43,44 Moreover, between 2001 and 2016, the percentage of inactivity in high-income countries (where sedentary behaviour is most harmful) increased from 31.6 to 36.8%. In the same period, inactivity in low-income countries remained at 16%.15

 

Conclusion and recommendations

Sedentary behaviour is increasing rapidly in most countries, and is now a public health problem that will worsen over the coming years. An analysis of the time spent doing PA in five major countries (China, the USA, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India) showed a significant decrease compared to previous years, and this downward trend is expected to increase in the future.45 In the USA, for example, the average sitting time increased from 26hours per week in 1965 to 38hours per week in 2009, and from 30hours per week in 1960 to 42hours per week in 2005 in the United Kingdom.

 

Although public policies and research into PA are much more developed today than they were decades ago, strategies to change sedentary behaviour are timid and only just emerging, and little progress has been made in recent years.

 

The universal recommendation is for adults to engage in moderate-intensity PA for 30minutes per day, preferably most days of the week46, although “usual” PA has now been included as a strategy to reduce sedentary behaviour3,9,16,46.

 

In view of the benefits of PA, physicians should recommend a minimum level of daily exercise. Even a low level of PA, if strenuous, can also be beneficial in reducing cardiovascular risk, especially for those with risk factors or a history of vascular disease. The following are just some of the recommendations published by working groups engaged in promoting PA, both individually and at the community level3,9,16,46:

 

a.

Organise large-scale, intensive campaigns in prominent locations in the community.

 

b.

Encourage people to use the stairs instead of lifts or escalators.

 

c.

Promote physical education/sports in schools and universities.

 

d.

Organise social activities (such as walking groups).

 

e.

Introduce individually-tailored behavioural change programmes; specifically, limit recreational screen time in children and adolescents.

 

f.

Facilitate access to locations suitable for PA.

 

g.

Motivate people to reduce sitting time to two hours or less, with active pauses every hour and short stretching sessions or walks.

 

In summary, in the fight against sedentary behaviour, remember that: “A little PA is better than none. More PA is better than less PA”, and that doctors are under the obligation of setting an example in their community by living a more active, healthier lifestyle, and “walking their talk”.

 

Funding

None.

 

Conflicts of interest

The author declares that this review has received no commercial or financial contributions that could represent a potential conflict of interest.

www.elsevier.es/en-revista-clinica-e-investigacion-arteri...

 

Non-agricultural sedentism requires good preservation and storage technologies, such as smoking, drying, and fermentation, as well as good containers such as pottery, baskets, or special pits in which to securely store food whilst making it available. It was only in locations where the resources of several major ecosystems overlapped that the earliest non-agricultural sedentism occurred. For example, people settled where a river met the sea, at lagoon environments along the coast, at river confluences, or where flat savanna met hills, and mountains with rivers.

 

Forced sedentism or sedentarization occurs when a dominant group restricts the movements of a nomadic group. Nomadic populations have undergone such a process since the first cultivation of land; the organization of modern society has imposed demands that have pushed aboriginal populations to adopt a fixed habitat.

 

At the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century many previously nomadic tribes turned to permanent settlement. It was a process initiated by local governments, and it was mainly a global trend forced by the changes in the attitude to the land and real property and also due to state policies that complicated border crossing. Among these nations are Negev Bedouin in Jordan, Israel and Egypt,[13] Bashkirs, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Evenks, Evens, Sakha in the Soviet Union, some Kurdish tribes in Turkey, Tibetan nomads in China,[14] Babongo in Gabon, Baka in Cameroon,[15] Innu in Canada, Romani in Romania and Czechoslovakia, etc.

 

As a result of forced sedentarization, many rich herdsmen in Siberia have been eliminated by deliberate overtaxation or imprisonment, year-round mobility has been discouraged, many smaller sites and family herd camps have been shut down, children have been separated from their parents and taken to boarding schools. This caused severe social, cultural and psychological issues to Indigenous peoples of Siberia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedentism

  

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2012.01.007 | Medline

 

dx.doi.org/10.15310/2334-3591.1061

dx.doi.org/10.5027/reinnec.V1.I1.5

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.06.001

dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0636-2

dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.90920.2008

 

Increase your impact in business with one simple technique, described by body language expert Richard Newman

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The British Columbia government is increasing staffing levels in residential care homes to make sure seniors are getting the quality care they need and deserve. By investing $240 million over three years, government will increase the direct care seniors receive to 3.36 hours per-resident day, on average, in each health authority, by 2021. Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/18116

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