You've heard of the Turkish "Doner" kabab?sanjaykumar wrote:Not really. They know they are $hit that thinks it’s a kebab.
Well Pakis are apparently willing "Acceptors" of it
You've heard of the Turkish "Doner" kabab?sanjaykumar wrote:Not really. They know they are $hit that thinks it’s a kebab.
Less "woke progressive", more David Coleman Headley.anupmisra wrote:Clinton-era liberal, progressive woke. Now she is looking for a job. Foundation sources have pulled their plugs. ISI anyone?
Preserving habitats
Gargi Gupta | New Delhi
Last Updated at June 14, 2013 18:12 IST
How a tribal encounter led to the setting up of an innovative eco-tourism project?
Some journeys end in new beginnings. For Samar Jodha, well-known photographer, and Carin Fischer, a German national and erstwhile lawyer in Washington DC, the decision to drive down Stillwell Road from Kunming in China to Ledo in Assam in the fall of 2004, was to lead to many beginnings "" professionally and personally.
Of course, they couldn't complete the journey: they were turned away by the Burmese authorities within shouting distance of India.
But it was on the India side of the road that their real adventure lay. "A P J Baruah, the SP of the area, had made arrangements for us to visit some villages along the Stillwell road," narrates Fischer, reliving her sense of discovery.
"We went to Phaneng on the last day of the trip "" it was almost evening when we reached, to a traditional welcome from the Tai Phake tribals. Set in the very lap of nature, it was so quiet and peaceful.
It helped that the nephew of the tribal head knew English and took us through the customs and history."
Utterly charmed by their hospitality, Fischer says the poor tribespeople were very much on her mind even after she came back to Delhi. After all, there were only 1,500 Tai Phakes remaining, and their habitat too was threatened by the environment degradation caused by the open-cast coal mines nearby.
The opportunity to go back came her way the following year when she and Jodha were invited to the Dehing-Phatkai tribal festival. It's then that she floated the idea of developing eco-tourism in the area to the assembled headmen, as a public-private partnership between the government, a corporate house operating in the region and with CSR funds to spare, and the tribals themselves.
The Tai-Phake volunteered to lend their village to the project and Fischer came back to the capital to draw up plans and, most important, arrange funding.
"It's around this time that I got an assignment with Premier Oil to help build community relations in Assam. It was providence," says Fischer.
Building blocks with pictures
Anand Sankar | New Delhi
Last Updated at January 29, 2013 02:54 IST
Phaneng, a small village in Assam, and its preservation has been photographer Samar Jodha's focus.
It isn’t hard to guess why veteran photographer Samar Jodha decided to make the tiny village of Phaneng in lower Assam the focus of all his energy over the last few years. It might be small in size — a few scattered bamboo houses on stilts and farmland — but its inhabitants are probably the finest example of the myriad cultures and identities that thrive in the north-eastern corner of India.
Connected to the outside world only by a rickety bamboo bridge, which is washed away every monsoon, the Tai Phake tribals who live in Phaneng have witnessed a lot, including glimpses of the World War II. The village has stood silent and its stilted bamboo architecture has changed little, retaining its identity and largely isolated from even basic necessities such as electricity. No wonder then that Jodha found Tai Phake, in common with similar indigenous people around the world, gaping to find development suddenly catching up with them.
“I stumbled upon the village in the winter of 2004, while driving along the historic Stilwell road from Southwest China into India’s cloistered north-east, for a documentary project,” recalls Jodha.
Primarily specialising in fashion and automobile photography, Jodha often takes on projects that deal with human issues. The project “Ageless Mind and Spirit” he says, influenced him a lot as he spent eight years simply documenting the faces and stories of India’s elderly people.
At Phaneng, along with his American-German partner, Carin Fischer, he formed “Partnership for responsible development” to facilitate a sustainable tourism project at Phaneng. “We have built facilities to accommodate paying tourists and resources have been poured into reviving the monastery for Tai Phake tribals who practice Buddhism.
ENVIRONMENT: Smugglers Axing Kashmir Forests
By Athar Parvaiz
SRINAGAR, Jan 26 2011 (IPS) - During the summer of 2010 Kashmir saw one of the worst face-offs between pro-freedom Kashmiri youth and law enforcement agencies. Smugglers used the unrest surrounding these outbreaks to conceal their steady ramping up of the black market timber trade, at times with complicity of authorities.
“We are helpless, we lack both infrastructure and manpower,” says Kashmir’s Chief Conservator of Forests Manzoor Ahmad. “Each forest guard has to guard 10 square kilometres of forest without the help of any vehicle.”
Manzoor says that his department has started measures to curb smuggling. “We have liberalised the import of timber from outside Kashmir to ease pressure on local sources of timber. We don’t charge any tax for the imported timber upon its entry in Kashmir and allow its transportation within Kashmir without any transit documents,” he told IPS.
But private timber depot owners say that forest officials ask for bribes even for the transportation of imported timber. “They charge 25 rupees per cubic feet of timber,” said Ghulam Ahmad, a private depot owner in Srinagar.
One of the many hotbeds for timber-smugglers is the rugged terrain of Rafiabad in north Kashmir where smuggling of timber is made possible through the use of ponies. Felling of trees is so widespread here that the practice has started triggering landslides.
“Local smugglers, active in the upper belt, are exploited by the timber contractors who make them cut trees for a pittance while they themselves make huge money out of it,” says social activist Ashraf Khan, a local teacher.
“We don’t have any other means of income. We simply feed on the forest,” a timber smuggler who ferries the timber on his pony, told IPS on condition of anonymity. “I know it is not a respectable job, but when I look around I don’t find anything which can fetch me an income.”
Smugglers ignore the risks involved in operating in the forests of a conflict zone where they could be mistaken as militants by the Indian army. In 2005, Farooq Khan was killed, and last year Gull Kalis was killed in army ambushes in the region.
But in many cases timber smugglers enjoy the blessing of security forces and make 90 to 100 dollars a night thanks to agreements between politicians and head timber smugglers.
The construction boom and the lack of any initiative by the government to save forests have fuelled the illegal sale of forest wood in this territory which is in dispute between India and Pakistan.
The large-scale construction is not only feeding on forest wealth, but has also consumed thousands of hectares of agricultural land. According to official estimates, more than 9,000 hectares of agricultural land in Kashmir have been converted into residential and commercial areas over the past few years.
“The concept of horizontal expansion is proving quite disastrous as it, unlike the vertical expansion, consumes additional space and additional construction material including timber,” Nissar Ahmad, central forest conservator in Kashmir, told IPS. Nissar denied that corruption among forest officials was one of the reasons for timber smuggling.
Carin Fisher, a German citizen who has now applied for Indian citizenship, came to Kashmir a few years ago to start a project called “Rural Tourism” sponsored by the Indian tourism ministry, but she has decided to morph the project into a campaign for saving forests.
“To start with I chose Rafiabad area in north Kashmir for implementing my project. But when I went there, I was shocked to see the incredible destruction of forests,” Fisher told IPS.
“Then I thought I should do something to motivate the timber smugglers to give up this habit of axing the trees. So I named my project “Trekking for Trees” and managed to convince 50 smugglers to work as tourist guides and identified 20 houses for the tourists to stay,” said Fisher.
“In the meanwhile, we also built a trekking centre for giving tourist-guide training to the timber smugglers,” she said. “But we had to suspend the whole operation because I was not allowed to implement my project by a nexus of the vested interests.”
Fisher says that she is organising a similar project in Khag-Budgam and hopes to start it in April or May of 2011. “You can’t stop timber-smuggling by booking the smugglers under harsh laws. You have to go after the kingpins and at the same time you have to give community-based livelihoods to the poor people who actually do the axe-work,” Fisher told IPS.
Varmul to be JK's first 'eco-tourism spot'
March 14, 2015, 5:05 AM
UPDATED: March 14, 2015, 5:05 AM
Srinagar, July 30: When Carin Fisher, a German, married to famous Indian photographer Samar Jodha and participated in Patkai festival of Singlo community in Phaneng Assam three years ago, she was impressed by hospitality of the tribal people and beauty of the place.
With an urge to do something for the economically backward area, she decided to launch an eco-tourism project there. Within two years, Phaneng became one of the favourite tourist destinations in India for foreigners.
Carin wants to undertake a similar project for 10 villages of Varmul district of north Kashmir.
“During my visit to Varmul, I found topography of its villages similar to Phaneng. They have a lot of potential for eco-tourism and it will help in upliftment of the villagers and promotion of tourism,” Carin, a noted environmentalist and eco-tourism consultant who’s presently in the Valley told Greater Kashmir on Monday. Phaneng, which is cocooned amidst forests, Carin said, was developed as a joint venture between a private multi-national company, villagers, and the Assam Forest Department. The company provided funding, training, and supervision, the community donated land and provided labour, and the Forest Department gave training and solar lamps, and Carin coordinated the activities of the three partners, she said.
She said, “You would be surprised to know that it did take us only Rs 5.43 lakh for implementation of the project, which included building materials, furniture and western-style toilets. In the first year, Phaneng has earned Rs 16 lakh from tourists. Now a large number of tours and foreign tour operators are making a beeline there.”
Carin says she wants to develop the Varmul villages as eco-tourism sites due to its tremendous potential. The villages have pristine environment which definitely needs to be preserved, she said. Eco-tourism, besides facilitating environmental conservation, demands active participation of locals. It will be a source of livelihood for villagers and promote their culture too.
Carin’s eco-tourism project includes construction of traditional huts, toilets, emergency healthcare facility, small traditional community stage or center for cultural event, adequate facilities for scientific disposal of garbage, solar panels for houses for hot water, and reading lights and clean water supply.
“There would be no concrete construction and huts will be made of natural products like wood and grass,” she said. “The villagers have agreed to provide their land and government logistical support. The primary objective is rural development through community based eco- tourism initiatives. Thus, it is much more of an environmentally friendly poverty alleviation measure than a mass-market package deal.”
“Profits from the project will go to locals,” she said. However, Carin maintains that she will be only facilitating implementation of the project.
She has devised a comprehensive schedule for stay of tourist for summers as well as winter in the village. “I want tourists to stay in the village for round the year. This will help in upliftment of the villagers as well as maintain tourist flow. The villages have so much to offer to tourists like apple orchards, fishing, trekking and handicrafts,” she said.
Showing a map, she said there are several villages on the way like Brandub, Khamoh, Bramar, Lariangan, Kutru, Ladu, and Ladoora. Each of these villages, she said, would benefit by offering small traditional accommodations and or meals. “The tourists will have to pay the locals adequately for their services like facilitating trekking or acting as guides. We want the locals to have friendly relationship with tourist rather than merely providing services,” she said.
“The concept of tourism is changing now. Tourists want to see new places which are close to nature and away from hustle and bustle of city. I see a bright future for Varmul,” Carin said in a confident tone.
She says the movement of tourists in Phaneng curbed felling of trees and timber smuggling. “It was sad to see massive deforestation in Varmul. We will make it mandatory for tourists to plant at least one tree in the villages to compensate the loss,” she said.
Minister for Tourism, Muhammad Dilawar Mir acknowledged the introduction of eco-tourism in Varmul. “Carin has done a lot of work in Assam on eco-tourism and we would provide her or any other person or NGO total support to launch similar projects in the Valley,” Mir told Greater Kashmir.
“Eco-tourism is a new concept to us and we have to adapt it to attract more tourists. We are planning to develop unexplored tourist places in rural area as eco-tourism destinations,” he said.
Pakis can’t do it anymore. The merchandise whose trade this credit line was dependent on has been captured by Norway authorities.sanjaykumar wrote:And here's the kicker....that dungheap offers money to the Lankans.
Pakistan offers Sri Lanka $50m credit line for defence purchases
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/2 ... or-defence
Actually its India's tolerance that has declined, it has actually disappeared which Raja Mohan doesn't seem to have noticed. Pak's desperation is a result of that."Pakistan’s use of jihadi groups to destabilise Kashmir seemed effective in inflicting pain on India in the past. But international tolerance for such a strategy by Pakistan has declined".
We certainly don’t know if the General is being tactical or strategic. Delhi will find that out only by negotiating seriously with the Pakistan army.
Bollocks !! Bajwa is tottering. France refusing to service Mirages and Subs, US cutting off aid, Baloch & NWFP unrest, Iran & Afghanistan putting pressure on the Durand line, and China using it like a contraceptive device have made Pak military hollow from the inside.A confident Delhi, with its eyes wide open, should travel hopefully with Bajwa.
I have written this earlier and I reiterate now that Yindoo "Defence experts" are too apologetic and have an inherent self destructive trait in their DNA. For matters Strategic and Security related affairs especially in regards to Porkistan we should only rely on Syed Atta Hasnain and Maroof Raza. They are practical and on the money in their views and analysis.Cyrano wrote:Disappointing to see someone like C Raja Mohan clinging to yesteryear thought process when it comes to Pakistan !
C Rajamohan works from Singapore and works for an US sponsored Thinktank (name escapes me)Vips wrote:I have written this earlier and I reiterate now that Yindoo "Defence experts" are too apologetic and have an inherent self destructive trait in their DNA. For matters Strategic and Security related affairs especially in regards to Porkistan we should only rely on Syed Atta Hasnain and Maroof Raza. They are practical and on the money in their views and analysis.Cyrano wrote:Disappointing to see someone like C Raja Mohan clinging to yesteryear thought process when it comes to Pakistan !
Actual headline: "Govt has no option but to prefer free of cost Covid vaccine"Govt prefers free-of-cost Covid vaccine, PAC told
I hope Pakistan rejects Indian vaccine to stand in solidarity with oppressed Kashmiris.During a PAC meeting, headed by its Chairman Rana Tanveer Hussain, the officials of the Ministry of National Health Services and the National Institute of Health (NIH) said that Pakistan would get a total of 16 million free doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, which is being manufactured in India, through Gavi for inoculating 45 million people against the yearly target of 70 million.
What happened to the the joint manufacturing proposal to which China agreed?"Pakistan has a huge population [...] in order to fulfil its needs, we also discussed whether we can move forward together for this (CanSino) vaccine's production and manufacturing in Pakistan after the completion of the new trials," he said, adding that his Chinese counterpart had agreed to the proposal.
Although his Tehreek-e-Insaf party and its allies control 178 seats, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh only won 164 votes in the lower house on Wednesday in the secret Senate election.
If he has majority in the lower house and the lower house votes for upper house, how did he lose hainji? This is a reverse swing!!Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party failed to win a majority in the 100-member Senate, despite having a numerical advantage in the lower house.
Members of the National Assembly in the capital, Islamabad, and four provincial assemblies vote for the Senate members. Upper house lawmakers are elected for six years, however, all of them are not elected at the same time.
What happens if someone's car breaks down enroute to voting?"Imran Khan and his party have taken a unanimous decision to take a vote of confidence from Parliament to confirm he still has a majority (in lower house)," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told media.
Constitutional experts say the reason behind holding a vote of confidence for the premier is to determine which party members switched allegiances in the Senate elections, as, unlike the upper house election, National Assembly lawmakers cast their votes through an open ballot.
"Those who revolted against the PTI could be disqualified under election laws," Osama Malik, an Islamabad-based legal expert, told DW.
How can ISI look for Zawahiri and Haqqani when they are busy looking for votes hain ji?To ensure Khan retains the support of his bloc of lawmakers, Pakistan’s spy agency has been asked to monitor their movements and ensure they vote in parliament on Saturday, according to officials with knowledge of the situation. They asked not to be identified speaking to the media.
Most of these so called experts are UPA appointees and hence repeat HMV aka Khan's voice.Vips wrote:I have written this earlier and I reiterate now that Yindoo "Defence experts" are too apologetic and have an inherent self destructive trait in their DNA. For matters Strategic and Security related affairs especially in regards to Porkistan we should only rely on Syed Atta Hasnain and Maroof Raza. They are practical and on the money in their views and analysis.Cyrano wrote:Disappointing to see someone like C Raja Mohan clinging to yesteryear thought process when it comes to Pakistan !
while india maintained JK was indian territory and hence moving towards making it a state without art370mmasand wrote:Gilgit Baltistan legislative assembly 'demands' to be made a province. Anyone else see the link to the ceasefire agreement and this?
AoA! The transformation to a purer student body is now complete.Dress code for female students:
In summers: White shalwar with any long-sleeved kameez, Scarf/dupatta/chaddar, Black abaya, and Black shoes.
In winters: White shalwar with any long-sleeved kameez, Scarf/dupatta/chaddar, black coat/sweater/plain jacket, Black abaya, and Black shoes.
The new dress code will be imposed from March 15, 2021 — the spring semester.
I hope the pakis never find out that the Indian vaccine which will be specially manufactured under Raa's watchful eyes, and once administered to the pakis, has a nano-micro-molecular-fifth generation-sized chip that, once added to the paki bloodstream, upon reaching their...er..vitals, will make them ...er..."unproductive". This chip will also make the recipient shout out Modi's name in praise.Vips wrote:It is a bummer that the quota for Porkistan increased from 17 million doses to 45 million doses. 45 million doses means that 2.2 Crores of the Paki Parasites would be getting the benefit of the Indian vaccine. This comes to 10% of the official census figure.
More importantly sterility only after 2/3 generations!! but the first gen offsprings would be 'Monkeyman' and slowly over next two gens turn into full blown apes as bredicted in the 'Book' or was it the 'Brophet' who said it!!!anupmisra wrote:I hope the pakis never find out that the Indian vaccine which will be specially manufactured under Raa's watchful eyes, and once administered to the pakis, has a nano-micro-molecular-fifth generation-sized chip that, once added to the paki bloodstream, upon reaching their...er..vitals, will make them ...er..."unproductive". This chip will also make the recipient shout out Modi's name in praise.Vips wrote:It is a bummer that the quota for Porkistan increased from 17 million doses to 45 million doses. 45 million doses means that 2.2 Crores of the Paki Parasites would be getting the benefit of the Indian vaccine. This comes to 10% of the official census figure.
sUKKUR: A gang of armed men barged into a Hindu family’s house in Jarwar locality in Tangwani town late on Tuesday night and kidnapped a teenage girl at gunpoint.
Police arrived in the locality after being informed of the incident, collected information from Takhat Odh’s family and lodged a report against as yet unknown suspects for kidnapping Takhat’s daughter Kaweeta.
Later, police raided houses of Behalkani community in the locality over suspicions they might have kidnapped the girl but neither the girl nor the kidnappers were found there and police had to return empty handed.
Funny but fake.vinod wrote:https://zeenews.india.com/world/panic-i ... 47233.html
Panic in Pakistan government as UAE demands its $1 billion back
In the last 26 days, three minor girls have been abducted and converted into Islam in the country.
The name of these girls are: Arti Meghwar, Reena Meghwar and Kavita Bai.
The families of these girls are fighting for justice, but the Pakistani judiciary couldn't be bothered less.
Let us begin with the story of Kavita, a 13-year-old who was kidnapped on March 8 from her home.
Also read | Protests grow in Pakistan over abduction, forced conversion of Catholic teen
Kavita's father said that five men dragged his daughter from their home and fled.
She was then brought before a cleric who held a public conversion ceremony.
Some old men gathered around her and formed a circle and read some Islamic prayers.The images are disturbing, to say the least.
Pakistan authorities said that the girl claims to be over 18-years-old and has converted of her own free will.
This is an excuse that we hear over and over and over again.
Every time a minor girl is converted, Pakistan says she did so willfully.
This Raja dude is an American assetVips wrote:I have written this earlier and I reiterate now that Yindoo "Defence experts" are too apologetic and have an inherent self destructive trait in their DNA. For matters Strategic and Security related affairs especially in regards to Porkistan we should only rely on Syed Atta Hasnain and Maroof Raza. They are practical and on the money in their views and analysis.Cyrano wrote:Disappointing to see someone like C Raja Mohan clinging to yesteryear thought process when it comes to Pakistan !
Two university students — a couple — have been suspended after the woman "proposed" to the man, in a bent-knee, movie-like fashion.
Haraam way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dxl0ciw-ekIt said that the two students "were involved in gross misconduct and violation of University rules", adding that they were summoned before the committee but "failed to appear".
Hmmm... It was due to roll over in march. Not heard anything other than this and it has been widely picked up by many news sites.partha wrote:Funny but fake.vinod wrote:https://zeenews.india.com/world/panic-i ... 47233.html
Panic in Pakistan government as UAE demands its $1 billion back
Ah yes, of course. It's not like he could go to a relatives or friends place in another town within Pakistan.. he was forced to skip an entire continent and go to a non-islamic European countryg.sarkar wrote:..
A slight, unshaven man with short hair, Hussein says he left Pakistan after a neighbor threatened to kill him.
...
There are literally thousands of Paki jehadi parasites in Turkey and other staging locations trying to get into the EU zone. They make multiple attempts and are unfazed by any challenge and are bent on getting either into UK, Italy or Germany.g.sarkar wrote:https://www.spiegel.de/international/eu ... 6d7a513d1e
Migrants Stranded in Bosnia-Herzegovina "Animals Have It Better Than Us"
With the EU having long since blocked off the Balkan Route, more and more migrants have become stranded in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Some have little choice but to camp out in the forest, where they are exposed to freezing cold and heavy snow.
By Maximilian Popp and Andy Spyra (Photos), in Bihać, 21.01.2021
Nasim Hussein has tried to enter the European Union 13 times. Each time, he says, he has been stopped by Croatian security forces, beaten and then dragged back across the border to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Currently, he is living in a forest near the border and wondering how he will survive the winter.
The son of a farmer from near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, the 21-year-old and a dozen other migrants have built a tent camp using branches and plastic tarps to shelter themselves from the rain and snow. They have covered the muddy ground with wooden palettes that they found in the garbage in Bihać, the city not far away.
No Water and No Electricity
The men are crouched around a fire. Despite the below freezing temperatures, most are only wearing a sweater and some have nothing but sandals on their feet. They are shivering and Hussein rubs his hands together. His eyes are red. He didn't sleep, he says, out of fear that he would freeze to death in his thin sleeping bag. Still, he went down to the river in the morning to wash himself. In their improvised camp, they have no water and no electricity. Every now and then, aid groups drop off some food, but often, the migrants have only dry bread to eat for days on end. "We are starving. We are freezing," says Hussein. "Animals have it better than us."
A slight, unshaven man with short hair, Hussein says he left Pakistan after a neighbor threatened to kill him. He made his way through Turkey and Greece, all the way to Bosnia-Herzegovina – where he has now been stuck for over a year, like so many other asylum-seekers.
Early on in the EU refugee crisis, in 2015, refugees were able to travel via Serbia and Hungary into central and northern Europe. But ever since the EU closed down the so-called Balkan Route, more and more people have found themselves stranded in Bosnia-Herzegovina, unable to cross the border into Croatia – and blocked from continuing onward to countries further north, like Germany or Sweden.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that almost 10,000 migrants are currently stuck in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with just a fraction of them having found a spot in one of the country's six official camps. Many people sleep in the ruins of factories or in abandoned houses.
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Gautam