Frogs in the Pond

The frogs in the pond were without a leader. The laws of nature were clear, and all one had to do was to be mindful and follow them. But the frogs felt the need for an external leader and the Gods sent a log. The frogs were happy. But their happiness was short lived. The log leader was immovable, silent and soon the little frogs were jumping on it and playing hide and seek around it. This leader was too quiet, he never said anything and the naughty frogs made merry. So again the frogs prayed for a strong leader, and this time they were given a crocodile. The frogs were delighted, a leader for our times! this is what we need, a strong leader. The frogs saw his gleaming teeth, his lashing tail, his powerful muscles, and his shiny scales ... aah a leader they could respect at last.

A brilliant take on our times.

(copied from a status shared on FB : https://www.facebook.com/erica.taraporevala/posts/836764306342706?fref=nf )

What time of day is better for teaching kids?

But every Inuit parent knows you tell stories in the evening, when the child's mind is relaxed and expansive, and before sleep which carries words and images deep into the soul. Science is rediscovering that memories are consolidated at night, despite the previous generation's "data" which "proved" that children learn best in the morning. Children often listen better at night, they ask deeper questions at night, they imagine more vividly at night. In the brightness of day the mind turns outward to the world, a child often wants to be moving and active and socially interacting, and the things you are told in the morning may ping off all this buzzing activity like a moth pings off a moving fan. The things you are told at night are carried inward, they enter your dreams, they effortlessly become part of you.

Excerpt from http://schoolingtheworld.org/a-thousand-rivers/

Cognitive Imperialism

This is like the mother essay that just keeps on giivng! Here's another excerpt from

http://schoolingtheworld.org/a-thousand-rivers/

The title truly fits the essay in many ways.. it's leading me up a thousand different rivers of inferences!

Marie Battiste, a Mi'kmaw education professor at the University of Saskatchewan, has a very clear term for the tendency of one powerful group to claim the authority to define its own cognitive traits and preferences as normal and desirable and all other ways of thinking, learning, and understanding the world as deficits and disabilities: she calls it"cognitive imperialism." It's the cognitive equivalent of racism. It leads naturally, of course, to a kind of cognitive Manifest Destiny that assumes that one way of thinking, of learning, of being in the world is destined to overwhelm and replace all others.

Link between dyslexia and holistic, contextual vs analytical thinking

Excerpt from http://schoolingtheworld.org/a-thousand-rivers/

Dyslexia isn't something that you have, says Dr. Ross Cooper, a dyslexia researcher who is dyslexic himself (he embraces the term the way gay folks have embraced the word "queer.") It's something that you are. And it's something, he emphasizes, that has value as part of the spectrum of human diversity. Cooper hypothesizes that the common feature of many "specific learning disabilities" is a preference for processing information visually and holistically rather than verbally and analytically. Rather than narrowly focusing on things in a linear sequential way, the child with this tendency absorbs visual input and meaning and context in a "big picture" way (blurry colors lighting up in the right hemisphere of the brain), a process which may slow down decoding but which also deepens and enriches it, leading to lateral thinking, intuition, imagination and creativity. These children's brains are organizing themselves differently, and it should go without saying that their developmental arc may therefore be different. When we interfere in the process of this organization, when we stigmatize it and test it and remediate it prematurely -– when we try to teach dyslexics to think like other children by aggressively drilling them in phonics –– Cooper says we are robbing these children of the opportunity to build organically on their many strengths rather than being treated as something broken that needs fixing. 

Interestingly, children from traditional indigenous cultures often process information holistically and contextually rather than analytically as well. If you ask people from urban non-native cultures to divide a list of plants and animals into groups, they will tend do it taxonomically, separating them into the categories of mammals, birds, fish, plants. If you ask a Native person, they may do it ecologically, with a turtle, willow, heron, and beaver all in the same group because they all live in a wetland.  The test may register this as a "wrong" answer, because schools tend to emphasize taxonomic, analytic thinking. But the second answer reflects a form of holistic systems thinking that rural Native children may be fluent in at a younger age than their urban, non-native peers. 

story from Arvind Kejriwal's early days

A note by Manish Sisodiya-
अधिकारी बनाने के बाद जब
उसकी पहली पोस्टिंग हुई तो उसके जन्म
दिन पर लोग बड़े बड़े तोहफे लेकर आए.
अभी तक उसने अपना जन्म दिन
नहीं मनाया था लेकिन मना करने पर
भी कई लोग जोर देकर तोहफे देकर चले गए ।
उसे पता था कि ये तोहफे उसे
नहीं बल्कि उसकी कुर्सी को दिए जा रहे
थे, जन्म दिन के बहाने भ्रष्टाचार सामने
खड़ा था ।
जबरन मिले तोहफों को उसने खोला और
अपनी हमसफ़र के साथ दिल्ली के फुटपाथ
पर उनकी सेल लगाकर बैठ गया.
(तब उसे शायद ही कोई पहचानता होगा)
सारे तोहफे एक शाम में ही बेच दिए गए,
बिक्री से मिले पैसों को उसने एक
चेरिटी संस्था को दान कर दिया.....
यह नौजवान आज भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ
हो रही जंग में सेनापति बनकर देश के
लाखों नौजवानों को प्रेरणा दे रहा है !
अरविन्द ने जब यह घटना सुनाई तो समझ में
आया कि
"काजल की कोठरी में से भी बिना दाग
बाहर निकलने का मनोबल
ही किसी को अरविंद केजरीवाल
बनाता है"

हैप्पी बर्थ डे सर..!

Comment on a news article that's blatantly lying about GM

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/not-just-centre-states-don-t-want-gm-crops-either/1275274

My comment on it:

This article has put in blatant opinions and lies disguised as facts. Please sack this writer.. he has completely lied in this article (if not, please publish the sources and their employers) Since the introduction of BT cotton, over 2 lakh farmers have committed suicide directly because the BT cotton has disastrously failed to stay pest-resistant beyond the intial few years.. which was the one thing it was supposed to do. Now they have to pay for high-royalty seeds from Monsanto as well as increasing pesticide costs. The growing pile of dead bodies isn't lying.

The statement "GM technologies can control pests and reduce insecticide usage, help farmers in managing weeds and also save crops from drought, flood, heat, cold, disease or viruses." --- where's the evidence? Last I checked, all those CLAIMS by the GM companies have been proven wrong by long term studies (the companies only conducted 90 day trials whereas Seralini etc were 2 year trials). A UN report recently has categorically refuted this claim and instead asserted that it is small scale multi-cropping organic farming that is drought-resistant, pest-resistant, higher yielding etc. Honest studies where these are compared side by side under identical conditions are all showing these same conclusions. 

The author glaringly also skips mentioning all the countries and states around the globe that have BANNED these same field trials because of the evidence of harmfulness on the one hand and the absence of any real evidence of advantages on the other.

Even the global decline in bee populations has been attributed to the pesticides, herbicides like Roundup being sold by these same GM companies that have to be bought together with their GM seeds. That's causing another wave of bans on the pesticides / herbicides being sold by these companies.

It is the profiteering GM companies like Monsanto that are being anti-science.. peddling their failed technology to third world countries because they're being systematically kicked out of developed nations. Their scientists which the author is quoting here without bothering to mention name or organisation, will of course peddle their case since they are paid to do so. Can the author find any serious scientific backing for GM that has NOT been funded by the GM companies?

My apologies for not being able to put in any links to all these studies right now. But just do a google search on any of them and you'll find them immediately. Thanks. And please fire this author... this article is full of fraudulent claims disguised as sun-rises-in-the-east kind of facts.

----
Another comment there:

And just another little piece of info : it is important to explain to the reader what "Field trial" in farming really means. It is not the same as field trials in medicine. A field trial in GM farming means that you're growing GM plants out in the open, from where their pollen is going to fly freely into other fields near and far. There is absolutely no way of stopping this. A medical analogy of such a field trial would be to spray an experimental virus or bacteria into the air over a populated area. After this trial, several other fields near and far will also produce seeds having the GM strain. If it is UNSAFE (which is what we're testing in the first place), we will have INFECTED all the surrounding regions during the field trial. So, a field trial for GM food is simply anti-logical : there's no "trial" here. You're permanently introducing untested, unreliable DNA into the population. Also not mentioned here is that this is how Monstanto's GM cotton species TOOK OVER India's traditional cotton... it was grown without permission in "field trials" when there wasn't much awareness about it among citizens or govt, and in some years the DNA spread to several other cotton fields and its spread became unstoppable.
So permitting a "Field Trial" of GM wheat, rice, brinjal etc will effectively bring the untested GM strains to wheat, rice, brinjal etc all over the country, and there is no way of checking this spread. THAT's why there was a moratorium put on this. Field trial = forced introduction of GM into the food chain.

Hamas and Israel leaderships are in cahoots

Hamas and Israel's (extremely right-wing and militarist!) leaderships are also very much in cahoots. Hamas is dutifully violating every ceasefire with pointless rockets shot blindly that no general with even the basic intelligence would consider a good idea. The only logical explanation is that they're doing it under someone's orders, someone who does NOT have the Palestinians' best interests at heart. The purpose is to then give Israel the "self-defense" excuse they need to bombard Gaza, the largest concentration camp in the world where they're not ALLOWING the civilians to evacuate. (Yes, do you really think Israel is defending itself by not allowing civilians to evacuate?)

Israel is the OCCUPIER here, in full contravention of 50+ years of UN resolutions. (but no executive action can be taken by the UN since the US has vetoed them every single time.. check the historical data on UN vetos) Please stop forgetting that. You can't be occupying another country and then when they try to chase you out claim the self-defense excuse. It's like a rapist murdering his victim when she tries to fight him off and then saying he did it in self defense. That might sound extreme but hey, what Israel is doing to Palestinians right now is far, far worse than rape.

Organic Food is Nutritionally Far Superior to Non-Organic Produce

Organic Food is Nutritionally Far Superior to Non-Organic Produce

A ground-breaking meta-analysis of 343 studies led by Newcastle University, U.K., has found that organic food delivers significantly more benefits compared to non-organic food.
Among these are that organic food contains up to 69% more of key antioxidants and significantly lower concentrations of cadmium (50%), nitrates (30%), nitrites (87%) and pesticides. The frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues in conventionally grown crops was four times higher than in organic produce. This increased to seven times in the case of fruit.
Antioxidants are linked to reduced risk of various diseases including cancer. Conversely, high nitrate and nitrite concentrations in food are considered as potential risk factors for illnesses such as stomach cancer.
The researchers stress the urgent need for further studies specially designed to identify and quantify the health impacts of switching to organic food. The abstract of the study and a briefing note on it are reproduced below as Items 1 and 2.

---

Item 1

Higher antioxidant concentrations, and less cadmium and pesticide residues, in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis
Baranski M et al. (2014) British Journal of Nutrition 06/2014; DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514001366
Abstract
Demand for organic foods is partially driven by consumer perceptions that they are more nutritious. However, scientific opinion is divided on whether there are significant nutritional differences between organic and non-organic foods, and two recent reviews concluded that there are no differences. Here we report results of meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications that indicate statistically significant, meaningful differences in composition between organic and non-organic crops/crop based foods. Most importantly, concentrations of a range of antioxidants such as polyphenolics were found to be substantially higher in organic crops/crop based foods, with levels of phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanines being an estimated 19 (95% CI 5, 33), 69 (95% CI 13, 125), 28 (95% CI 12, 44), 26 (95% CI 3, 48), 50 (95% CI 28, 72) and 51 (95% CI 17, 86) % higher respectively. Many of these compounds have been previously linked to reduced risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers in dietary intervention and epidemiological studies. Additionally the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was 4 times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal cadmium (Cd). Significant differences were also detected for some other (e.g. minerals and vitamins) compounds. There is evidence that higher antioxidant and lower Cd concentrations are linked to specific agronomic practices (e.g. non-use of mineral N and P fertilisers respectively) prescribed in organic farming systems. Overall it is concluded that on average, across regions and production seasons, organic crops have more antioxidants and less Cd and pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators.
Corresponding author: Prof. Carlo Leifert, phone +44 1661 830 222, fax +44 1661 831 006, email  carlo.leifert [at] newcastle.ac.uk

---

Item 2
NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF ORGANIC CROP FOODS STUDY: BRIEFING NOTE
Newcastle University, School of Agriculture Food and Rural Development (AFRD)
About the Study
A new scientific paper published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that there are significant composition differences between organic and conventional crops (primarily vegetables, fruit and cereals) that are relevant in terms of nutritional quality.
It is the most up-to-date analysis of the nutrient content in organic compared to conventionally produced foods, synthesising the results of many more studies than previous analyses. The findings are the result of a groundbreaking new systematic literature review and meta-analysis by an international team of scientists led by experts at Newcastle University.
The most striking differences revealed in the study are: higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower levels of cadmium, nitrate and nitrite, and less frequent presence of pesticide residues in organic crops compared with non-organic.
In presenting robust evidence of substantial differences and significant nutritional benefits from organic food, this study contrasts markedly with some previous studies, in particular with the findings of a 2009 UK Food Standards Agency (FSA)-commissioned study (Dangour et al. Am. J. Clin Nutr. 90, 680-685).
The new analysis of organic crops is based on 343 peer-reviewed publications solely focusing on organic crops, fruit and vegetables, whereas the FSA-commissioned study based its conclusions on just 46 publications covering crops, meat and dairy. The Newcastle University study specifically sought to identify and quantify compositional differences between organic and conventional crops (primarily cereals, vegetables and fruit) and crop-based products (e.g. seed oils, wine and baby food) based on a systematic review of all the available literature and data.
With over 50% of the publications included in the new analysis published since 2006 (and therefore not available to the FSA-commissioned researchers, and other earlier studies), this review is a landmark in the advancement of our knowledge of the subject.
While people should not eat less fruit or vegetables, this study demonstrates that choosing food produced according to organic standards can lead to increased intake of antioxidants without increased calorie intake. With greater nutrient and antioxidant density, every mouthful of fruit and vegetables produced organically can count for more. This constitutes an important addition to the information currently available to consumers.
The authors of this study welcome the continued public and scientific debate on this important subject. The entire database generated and used for this analysis is freely available on the Newcastle University website (http://research.ncl.ac.uk/nefg/QOF) for the benefit of other experts and interested members of the public.
The Main Findings
Organic crops/crop-based foods – on average, across regions and production seasons – have substantially more potentially health-promoting antioxidants, phenolics and (poly)phenolics and less potentially harmful cadmium, nitrite and pesticide residues than non-organic comparators.
The analysis indicates that the quality of food is strongly influenced by the way it is produced, and that organic farming methods lead to increased levels of nutritionally desirable compounds and reduced concentrations of undesirable ones. In particular, there is increasing evidence that higher levels of manufactured chemical fertilisers, most notably the nitrogen and phosphate-based fertilisers that are prohibited or heavily restricted by organic farming standards, lead to substantially lower concentrations of antioxidants in conventional crops.
Organic farming prohibits the use of synthetic chemical pesticides, and promotes the use of balanced crop nutrition, crop rotation and mechanical, biological and cultural methods for weed, pest and disease control. This explained the very low incidence of pesticide contamination in organic compared to conventional crops found in the study and demonstrated that organic food consumption is an efficient way to reduce dietary pesticide exposure.
More Antioxidants/(Poly)phenolics
Organic crops and crop-based food products were found to have significantly higher concentrations of antioxidants (including phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanines)compared with their conventionally produced counterparts.  The mean percentage difference for most antioxidant compounds was between plus 18% and 69%. Smaller, but still statistically significant, composition differences were also detected for a number of carotenoids and vitamins.
A switch to eating organic fruit, vegetable and cereals (and food made from them) would lead to a 20–40% (and for some compounds up to a 60%) increase in crop-based antioxidant/(poly)phenolic consumption without any increase in calories. This is important as there is strong scientific evidence of the health benefits of increased consumption of (poly)phenolics and other plant secondary metabolites with antioxidant activity, most notably protection against chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and some cancers.
Less Toxic Metals and Nitrogen
Substantially lower concentrations of a range of toxic heavy metals were detected in organic crops, particularly cadmium (on average 48% lower). Cadmium is one of only three toxic metal contaminants (along with lead and mercury) for which the European Commission has set maximum permitted contamination levels in food. Since it is known to accumulate in the body (especially the liver and kidneys), any reduction in cadmium consumption is positive.
Nitrogen concentrations were also found to be significantly lower in organic crops.  Concentrations of total nitrogen were 10%, nitrate 30% and nitrite 87% lower in organic compared with conventional crops.
The higher nitrate and nitrite concentrations in conventional crops are believed to be linked to the use of mineral nitrogen fertiliser, which is strictly banned under organic farming standards.
The significantly higher nitrite concentrations in conventional crops can be considered nutritionally undesirable, as they have been described as potential risk factors for stomach cancer and other conditions.
Less Pesticide Residues
This study found that the frequency of occurrence of detectable pesticide is four times higher in conventional (46 (+/-4)%) than organic (11(+/-2)%) crops.
Conventionally grown fruit had by far the highest frequency of pesticide residues (75(+/-5%), about seven times higher than in organic fruit. In conventional vegetables and crop-based processed foods the frequency of pesticide residues was three to four times higher than in organic. All organic crop types were found to have similarly low contamination rates.
The understanding that they contain lower levels of pesticides is already a key factor motivating some consumers to choose organic foods, making this further information useful for consumer choice.
While further studies are needed to clarify the health benefits of reducing pesticide exposure, any reduction can be considered desirable, especially since we know that a significant proportion of conventional crop samples regulated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) contain pesticide residues above permitted levels. For example, in recent EFSA surveys pesticide residues above the Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) were found in 6.2% of spinach, 3.8% of oats, 3.4% of peach, 3% of orange, 2.9% of strawberry and lettuce, 2.8% of table grape and 2.7% of apple samples. 
The fact that pesticides are found twice as frequently in conventional fruit than in conventional vegetables is also significant and may point to greater use of persistent chemicals and/or pesticides being applied closer to harvest time in fruit crops.
Need for Further, and More Reliable, Scientific Studies
This study identified serious deficiencies in a large proportion of previously published studies. These include a lack of standardised measurements and reporting, and evidence of duplicative or selective reporting of data collected in experiments.
The statistical methods used in the Newcastle University study were an advance over previous research syntheses that did not balance out the contribution of larger studies versus smaller ones. As well as having less evidence and not accounting for the amount of information, earlier syntheses used less reliable methodologies and inclusion criteria, and some included results from the same experiment multiple times.
The authors of the Newcastle University study also concluded that further research is needed to understand the variation between studies and that it is vital that future comparative food composition studies use standardised protocols.
This study identified significant differences, believed to be nutritionally beneficial, in the composition of organic compared with non-organic crops. However, it also highlights the need for more research to build our knowledge of the corresponding human health benefits of these differences.
The findings of this study clearly demonstrate the urgent need to carry out well-controlled human dietary intervention and cohort studies specifically designed to identify and quantify the health impacts of switching to organic food.
About the funding of this study
The authors are grateful for funding from the European Community financial participation under the Sixth Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities for the Integrated Project QUALITYLOWINPUTFOOD, FP6-FOOD-CT-2003- 506358.
The study also received financial and technical support from the SheepdroveTrust, which supports independent R&D underpinning the development of organic and sustainable farming and food systems. Financial support by the Trust was without conditions and the Trust had no influence on the design and management of the research project and the preparation of publications from the project.
To read the full paper, as published in the British Journal of Nutrition, go to: http://research.ncl.ac.uk/nefg/QOF. This includes further information and annexes, and summary information in English, German, French, Italian, Greek, Polish, Czech and Finnish.
Higher antioxidant concentrations, and less cadmium and pesticide residues, in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.  Leifert, C. et al. (2014) British Journal of Nutrition July 2014
The full dataset of this study is being made publicly available at http://research.ncl.ac.uk/nefg/QOF
For more information please contact:
Lead author Professor Carlo Leifert 
Tel:  01661-830222/830444
e-mail: Teresa Jordon teresa.jordon [at] newcastle.ac.uk

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My opinion on Delhi elections (and the inordinate delay thereof)

No institution, not the LG or the EC or the courts, should be allowed to delay a constitutional obligation, like the people's right to form their government, for so long. Their duty is to fix the schedule. They are NOT supposed to misuse this duty to prevent the elections from happening at all. Let's declare a date by which elections must happen, and let's have the people of Delhi conduct their own elections, with full 24/7 live streaming and video recording of all ballot boxes from first vote to last count, if the powers that be fail to live up to their obligations.

How we find the answer to our questions when we put them in words

Does this happen to you?

You start writing to someone a question about something that you need to know.

You check further up/down the email chain and related docs for more details that can help make your question more clear.

And while doing so, you stumble upon the answer yourself.

And then you trash/discard the email.

My inference : It's important to explicity word your questions, doubts.. to make  them as clear and detailed as possible. Even more important than asking your question, it's important to put it out there.

And then, SDL (self designed learning) gets a window of opportunity to take over!

We're moving around too much

The problem isn't with over-population. The planet is far from getting over-crowded. The problem is with the economic policies that are pushing too many people to frequently move around so much. 

More and more people having to commute daily.. is the exact opposite of a good idea for a country that's dependent on foreign oil. Our public infrastructure is feeling the max burden from this ever-increasing moving around. Huge parts of our welfare money is going into building & repairing roads, bridges, tunnels, highways etc that only help us move around more and more; doing nothing that could really help make a better life for our children. 

We need to figure out how to make do without moving around so much. We need to localize.

Want to stop Ebola? Here's how

There is one simple solution to halting the spread of any global pandemic / epidemic like the recent Ebola outbreak.

It's as politically inconvenient as it is simple.

The vast majority of the planet's population will not suffer even one single bit from implementing this solution.

The ones who will "suffer", as in experience a little inconveniences like resorting to tele-conferencing or miss that wedding, are the airy global elite who frequently fly all around the planet.

That's right. If we're truly facing a global health emergency as the WHO (World Health Organization) has announced,

Then the most obvious, simplest, no-brainer thing to do,

That SHOULD have been done by now,

Is to suspend all air travel. For a month. Maybe two at the most.

In fact, I'd say that if the world's governing structures don't do this one crucial thing if Ebola does go to the extent that it presently looks like it will, then we will have damning evidence that there really is an agenda afoot among the global elite to drastically reduce the world's population. Either that, or we'll have damning evidence that we really are being governed by morons.

But obviously, it's still ok to put the entire human race at risk so you don't have to miss that far-away friend's wedding. So let's keep worrying about ebola and treat the excessive commercial air travel happening all around as if it's an unstoppable natural phenomena that doesn't obey any government and can never be controlled.

Related:

http://www.infowars.com/the-one-question-about-ebola-that-nobody-can-seem-to-answer/

Update, 18 Oct 2014 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIzlMbwOgcI Call for stopping flights

What is war, and what's the way to stop it?

What we are told "war" is :

A fight of honour, in which opponents with matching abilities fight each other to the death.

What war actually is:

A warplane firing 1000-kilo bomb onto a building housing sleeping grandparents, mothers and children.

A sniper, comfortably hidden far away and above, shooting and killing a person who was participating in a peaceful non-violent protest out on the street, in the open, with absolutely nothing to defend himself/herself.

There is absolutely no honour in this.. no semblance of "equality" between the killer and the killed.

War is evil. And the situation of the day is.. that whoever engages in this, even for the sake of keeping themselves alive, only end up justifying this evil thing more and more.

It's a very, very difficult position to take but I see great wisdom in Gandhi's thoughts on this : From a pure strategic perspective, when faced with the guarantee of being annihilated, where it's been made certain that there is no chance of fight or flight, then the wiser option seems to be to refuse to retaliate, and to take Death without putting up any fight or flight. Why? Because all the entities giving support and legitimacy to the enemy, still are not all purely evil. They too have been fooled that this horrendous thing is being done to defend them. Any retaliation will play right into this trick, will enforce it. That illusion needs to be shattered.

It's not about being goody-goody. It's strategy. And surely a far better one than all the others being tried.

Can Permaculture solve the Middle East Crises?

An idea worth trying out. Sharing a mailer I got...
Edit : Here's a video I found which, in a slapstick way, give a nice background to the article..
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/this_land_is_mine/

Most people would consider permaculture and the current political
problems in the Middle East to be entirely different subjects.
In today's email, we will see why they are not. This topic covers
Lecture 3 in the Permaculture FundamentalsSection.

Conflicts and political strife have plagued the Middle East since the
end of WWI, and well before then it was the battlefield of countless
empires and kingdoms.
Conflicts and political turmoil occur for many reasons, but one of the
main causes for it throughout history has been desperation.
If people struggle to meet their basic needs, they then take from others
using force. Animosities develop and are maintained, and the loop continues.
When Masanobu Fukuoka first started traveling outside of Japan,
one of the first things he noticed was the extreme lack of trees
throughout many parts of the world. Experts have suggested that the
Sahara Desert used to be a fertile plain. The area encompassing
modern-day Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and parts of Syria used to be the
principal source of wood for ancient civilizations' ships.
What happened? The simple answer is desertification, which
is the process of forests becoming grasslands, and
grasslands then becoming deserts.
How is all of this tied to permaculture and conflict in the Middle East?
Fukuoka had a simple, yet visionary solution for both desertification and
the constant crises plaguing the Middle East. By turning the deserts
back into forests and fertile farmland, the people of this region would
have enough resources to prosper on their own. A prosperous people are
a happy people, and the conflicts of desperation would end.
How was he planning on achieving this?
Tune in to Lecture 3 to find out!
Thank you for doing your part for a better future,
- Vladislav
Vladislav Davidzon, Founder and CEO
Regenerative Leadership Institute 
http://facebook.com/permaculture.design

45 lessons life taught me, by Regina Brett

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Smart cities : Editorial by Sunita Narain, CSE

From CSE News Bulletin
====================================
EDITORIAL: How smart is a smart city
by Sunita Narain
====================================
Smart is as smart does. The NDA government's proposal to build 100 "smart" cities will work only if it can reinvent the very idea of urban growth in a country like India. Smart thinking will require the government to not only copy the model cities of the already developed Western world, but also find a new measure of liveability that will work for Indian situation, where the cost of growth is unaffordable for most.

The advantage is that there is no agreed definition of smart city. Very loosely it is seen as a settlement where technology is used to bring about efficiency in resource use and improvement in the level of services. All this is needed. But before we can bring in smart technology, we need to know what to do with it. How do we build new cities and repair groaning urban settlements to provide clean water to all, to manage the growing mountains of garbage, to treat sewage before we destroy our rivers and to do something as basic as breathing without inhaling toxins?

It can be done. But only if we have our own dream of a modern Indian city. We cannot turn Ghaziabad, Rajkot, Sholapur, Tumkur or even Gurgaon into Shanghai or Singapore. But we can turn these cities into liveable models for others to emulate.

Take water, sewage, mobility or air pollution. The current model of resource management, developed in rich Western cities, is costly. It cannot be afforded by all. Even these cities cannot rebuild the paraphernalia for providing services to their people. This system was built years ago, when the city had funds and grew gradually with recurring, high investment. Even if we were to build greenfield cities, we cannot wish for such investment. We need a new approach to humane urban growth.

The first principle in this is to accept that we have to renew what already exists. Take water, for example. Our cities have been built to optimise on the available resources. They were smart in building lakes and ponds to harvest every drop of rain. This ensured that the city recharged its water table and did not face floods every time it rained. We need to revive that system. It may not be adequate to meet the growing needs of the city, but will cut costs by reducing the length of the pipeline and bring down distribution losses. Once we do this, we should add the smartest technology for measuring supply and for reducing demand. Flush toilets are antiquated. We need smart appliances to conserve water and smart ways to recycle it.

This then is the next agenda. We know our cities do not have underground sewerage to speak of. A very un-smart thing to do would be to fall into the trap of civil engineers to build sewerage network. Delhi, which has the highest network of sewerage lines (some 5,000 km), needs to build another 10,000 km to meet the need of its current population. Now, knowing that the existing network, built over a century, is already clogged and broken, the task is impossible.

We know our cities used septic tanks or open drains for sewage management. So instead of burying these drains, the aim should be to treat sewage in these channels and to reuse the recycled water. Use the trajectory of the mobile phone; build future solutions by skipping the landline.

We can do this in the case of energy as well. Today, our cities are pampered by subsidy because energy cost is high and supply is squeezed. Why can't we build a new grid for the city based on solar rooftop generation and super energy-efficient appliances?

This should also be the approach for designing mobility. Our cities have been built to be car-free. We are now desperately shoving, pushing and parking vehicles down the narrow lanes. Think smart. Change the idea of mobility itself—build for walking, cycling, bus and metro.

So we can only build smart cities if we are smart. Really smart.

Comments on the Gujarat textbooks / Dina Nath Batra scandal

Anyways we've been laughing at our textbooks all these decades; no difference now. This thing is so obviously stupid, it seems like yet another diversionary tactic to distract from the more seriously problematic things the new govt is doing. 

Running away from a constitutional obligation to hold elections in Delhi (what's next, come 2019 and they'll say the national elections are too much of an ordeal and should be avoided?). 

Giving blanket approvals to wiping out of the nation's natural resources. 

Branding people's movements as a threat to development. 

Imprisoning anyone who dares to offend the supreme leader. 

Putting a man having serious criminal charges as the president of the ruling party.

I think this textbook stupidity news is there to distract us from the more serious issues.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/historians-slam-dina-nath-batra-books-call-them-fantasy/article1-1245617.aspx

What happened last time

One thing the new central govt SHOULD be putting into our history textbooks : the stories from the Emergency period, how democracy was summarily flushed down the toilet under the garb of visionary leadership and strong, disciplined governance; how a nation was abused under the pretense of building a strong and united country. All while those who were supposed to defend it, obligingly looked the other way.

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/rear-view-emergency-and-capitulation/99/

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/rear-view-the-beginning-of-resistance/99/

http://archive.asianage.com/books/quiet-dissenter-106

Those who forget their history, are doomed to repeat it.

In the years of our parents' youth, the ongoing slogan was "Indira is India and India is Indira". 

Another quote from the era, "You (journalists) were asked to bend and you crawled."

What's it going to be this time?

Worked out on a farm after such a long time

Fully tired yet energized by a day on a farm where 2 friends with similar stories as me are doing various farming experiments. Fully in rain and slushy, sweet smelling mud, we plucked weeds in the rice bed. We tried out some natural farming ideas, like tossed seeds over an area covered with grass, then chopped the grass so it covers the seeds. All in experimental mode. Had a great time talking with the group of 6 people on n number of topics, getting to know each other and finding out again that yes, being a little bit different than normal folks is ok, is good.

Open letter from Jewish body to demand end of Gaza massacre

In this time of tremendous suffering and fear, from Jerusalem to Gaza, and from Hebron to Be'er Sheva, we reaffirm that all Israelis and Palestinians deserve security, justice, and equality, and we mourn all those who have died. 

Our unshakeable commitment to freedom and justice for all compels us to acknowledge that this violence has fallen overwhelmingly on Palestinians. And it compels us to affirm that this violence has a root cause: Israel's illegal occupation. 

We are united in our belief that: 

The denial of Palestinian human rights must end. 

Illegal settlements must end. 

Bombing civilians must end. 

Killing children must end. 

Valuing Jewish lives at the expense of others must end. 

Only by embracing equality for all peoples can this terrible bloodshed end.

http://org.salsalabs.com/o/301/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16061

Jewish Voice for Peace : Israelies and Palestinians. Two peoples, One future

The Most Important Message For A 20 Year Old

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eAXXipugDg

The Most Important Message For A 20 Year Old - from Charles Eisenstein

Your secret suspicion is true.

1. The world is supposed to be much more beautiful than what has been offered to you as normal.

2. You have a magnificent gift to give, and the purpose of your life is to give it. And if you don't know what it is, then the most important thing you can do is to find it. Which might mean doing nothing for a while. Maybe you have to get out of the habit of doing things that are not your gift, in order to discover what that gift is, because it's been suppressed.

3. Something tremendous is supposed to happen to you. That big thing that you've been expecting? It is suppose to happen. 

The status so far of ab ki baar

Sharing a post by a friend on FB:

# A Chidambaram budget through Saffron lips of Arun Jaitley

# Key Ministries to 'Yes men'

# No action on Rapist Minister

# Appointing an encounter specialist as Party Head with complete disregard to morality.

# Corruption at public dealing points has gone up.

# Inaction on Inflation

# Fresh produce prices have shot up.

# Tolls on highways have shot up (Delhi by almost 50%).

# Continued encouragement to VIP mentality laal battee culture.

# Law & order on the ground is still the same - as bad or worse.

# Unwanted effort to saffronise education

# Fringe Party politicians taking centre stage through divisive talks.

# No action on Black Money (Electorate waiting for 150 days tall claim)

The Declaration of Interdependence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzZ1Gl5UfE0

When In the course of human events, it becomes increasingly necessary
to recognize the fundamental qualities that connect us,

then we must reevaluate the truths we hold to be self-evident:

That all humans are created equal and all are connected.

That we share the pursuits of life, liberty, happiness, food, water,
shelter, safety, education, justice, and hopes for a better future.

That our collective knowledge, economy, technology, and environment
are fundamentally interdependent.

That what will propel us forward as a species is our curiosity, our
ability to forgive, our ability to appreciate, our courage,

and our desire to connect...

That these things we share will ultimately help us evolve to our
fullest common potential.

And whereas we should take our problems seriously,

we should never take ourselves too seriously.

Because another thing that connects us...is our ability to laugh...

and our attempt to learn from our mistakes...

So that we can learn from the past, understand our place in the world,
and use our collective knowledge to create a better future.

So perhaps it's time that we, as a species, who love to laugh, ask
questions, and connect....do something radical and true.

For centuries, we have declared independence.

Perhaps it's now time that we, as humans, declare our interdependence!

http://connectedthefilm.com/interdependence/

Generic Medicines app

This is to inform you that medicines are prescribed (by our great doctors) by brand name & not by the generics (Ingredients). Hence we end up paying more money for the same medicine.

Follow these few steps to know more & start saving on your medical bills.

1. Simply download HEALTHKART PLUS software on your Android device (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aranoah.healthkart.plus)

2. Search the medicine name

3. Type the medicine name which you are using (e. g. Lyrica 75mg (Pfizer company)

4. It will show u medicine company, prices and Ingredients

5. Now main point CLICK ON 'SUBSTITUTE'

6. Don't be surprised to see that same drug is available at very low cost also. And that to by other reputed manufacturer. 

e. g. Lyrica by pfizer is for Rs. 768.56 for 14 tab (54.89 per tab)

& same drug by Cipla (Prebaxe) is available ONLY @ Rs. 59.00 for 10 tab (5.9 per tab) 

Let the move by Supreme Court benefit everyone...

There was a big lobby by Pharma companies to stop generic medicines. But court kept the interest of common man and the medical need.

"Kindness Costs Nothing"

Greenpeace's "Dharnai Live" -first solar-powered micro-grid in Bihar kicks off

Today was a proud moment for us when we formally inaugurated the micro grid in Dharnai village in Jehanabad district of Bihar. We issued the following press release in Bihar & national media. GPI issued  the International PR simultaneously. Please check for IPR 

(http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Greenpeace-supports-solar-power-energy-independence-for-village-in-India/)

   
​

​

Press Release

Bihar village declares independence from darkness and anonymity

Greenpeace's first solar-powered micro-grid in Bihar kicks off with village ceremony

20 July, 2014, Dharnai/Jehanabad: Even as more than 300 million people still wait for electricity in India,  Dharnai in Bihar declared itself energy-independent today with the launch of Greenpeace's solar-powered micro-grid. The 100 kilowatt (kW) micro-grid currently provides quality electricity to more than 2,400 people living in Dharnai village in Bihar's Jehanabad district.

"While India was growing leaps and bounds, we were stuck here for the last 30 years, trying everything in the book to get electricity. We were forced to struggle with kerosene lamps and expensive diesel generators. But now I can proudly say that Dharnai is a leader in innovation. We have established our identity as an energy self-sufficient village and can compete with the country in its race to growth," said Kamal Kishore, a resident of Dharnai.

Costing Rs. 3 crore, the solar-powered micro-grid is a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind enterprise that provides 24x7 electricity to more than 450 households and 50 commercial establishments. This includes 70 kW for electricity generation and 30 kW for 10 solar-powered water pumping systems of three horsepower each. Built within three months and on a test-run since March, the quick-to-install micro-grid also takes care of 60 street lights, energy requirements of two schools, one health centre, one Kisan Training Centre (Farmer Training Centre) and 50 commercial establishments. It gives the village the mandate to not just a better life but also an ambition.

A quarter of the global population without access to electricity comprise the poor in India, where more than a third of the rural population lacks access to electricity. The decentralised, expandable and sustainable approach of the micro-grid provides that critical catalyst to power the new growth centres of India like Dharnai as well as bridge the deficit in urban areas. It is also a solution that can plug into the current government's focus on using solar power for energy access to every household by 2019.

"Even as the government is preoccupied with blaming the civil society for stopping energy projects, here is a village that has created its own energy pathway through an alternate model of sustainable energy. The coal-fired and nuclear-fired power plants of the country will not be able to reach the Dharnais of the country. Nor will they be able to address global climate concerns and India's commitments towards those concerns. India needs to seriously reconsider its energy strategy and prioritise renewable energy for social and climate justice," said Samit Aich, Executive Director, Greenpeace India, at the launch of the micro-grid attended by more than 3,000 villagers and community leaders from 25 villages. Also present at the launch were representatives from partner organisations CEED and Basix.

The micro-grid is operated in association with BASIX, a livelihood promotion institution as well as CEED, which is a network of NGOs and think-tank organisations in Bihar to support renewable energy development in the state.

The micro-grid has been set up with the approval and conformity of the people of Dharnai. So while it is a 100 kW system as of now, it can be expanded to meet the advanced requirements of the people.

"The micro-grid intends to be the answer to the intense policy and vision paralysis that India's energy sector faces today. The towns and villages of Bihar have been deprived of energy for decades now and we feel this is where the micro-grid can be the connect. We urge the Bihar government to follow and replicate this model," said Naveen Mishra of Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED).     

Greenpeace appeals to the government of Bihar to recognise decentralised renewable energy systems (DRES) like the Dharnai model for replicating and upscaling to provide energy to the dark villages of Bihar and create adequate regulatory structure for promotion of similar models.

 

For more information on the micro-grid, please visit

www.dharnailive.org

For the briefing paper on the micro-grid,

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/publications/Dharnai-Live-Briefing-Paper/

For a detailed manual on the micro-grid,

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/publications/Dharnai-Live-Microgrid-Media-Manual-/

For the fact sheets on the micro-grid,

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/publications/Dharnai-Live---Microgrid-Technical-Fact-Sheet/

For photos please visit,

http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=PSR&PSID=27MZ4BOQMYU

http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=PSR&PSID=27MZ4BOQX4K

http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=PSR&PSID=27MZ4BOL1FD

Chemtrails justification : typical abuse culture logic

In response to a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RAZFjZnnrA

It's the typical use of short term existential threats to justify even more long term damage. Happens in every abuse scenario, and needs to be called for the bluff that it is. Snowden may have gotten the info from inside the lockers, but he hasn't done the task of critically evaluating and thinking through this part; that's our job. The opinions of the secret American programs need not be the ultimate truth on the matter. If the chemtrail programs are stopped, then the consequences will be super-duper disastrous? Like how if a constantly abused wife spills the beans, the children's lives will be ruined? Heck no, truth is always less harmful than lies. The culture of abuse we live in has conditioned us to take instant inconveniences too seriously, while hiding the real dangers from view. Rather, we should thicken our skins, grow up and embrace the inconveniences needed to transition to truth. Also, thinking through the matter and questioning basic assumptions is necessary, specially the ones that trick us into believing these doomsday scenarios.

Consider what you shared about the Dust Bowl of 1930s. The American agriculture techniques were not adapted to the American climate. Lack of dryland farming techniques. Famines happen when agriculture doesn't adapt to limited-resources conditions. But there ARE ways to grow food and survive non-plentiful conditions. Switching over to more resilient agricultural practices is a far better option than the chemtrail program, duh! The basic assumption that the current system of agriculture is the ONLY way to grow food is flawed, and that throws the chemtrail justifications out the window.

SWaCH Sanitary towel Disposal Bags

Sainath : revenues foregone in 2013-14 could fund the rural jobs scheme for three decades

P Sainath on Corporate Bailout #Rs. 36.5 trillion #Budget 2014

July 13, 2014 1:35 pm·

The revenues foregone in 2013-14 could fund the rural jobs scheme for three decades or the PDS for four and a half years.

By P. Sainath,

It was business as usual in 2013-14. Business with a capital B. This year's budget document says we gave away another Rs. 5.32 lakh crores to the corporate needy and the under-nourished rich in that year.  Well, it says Rs. 5.72 lakh crores  but I'm  leaving out the Rs. 40 K crore foregone on personal income tax since that write-off benefits a wider group of people. The rest is mostly about a feeding frenzy at the corporate trough. And, of course, that of other well-off people. The major write-offs come in direct corporate income tax, customs and excise duties.

If you think sparing the super-rich  taxes and duties worth Rs. 5.32 lakh crores  is  a trifle excessive, think again.  The amount we've written off for them since 2005-06 under the very same heads is well over Rs. 36.5  lakh crore.  (A sixth of that in just corporate income tax). That's  Rs. 36500000000000 wiped  off for the big boys in nine years.

With  Rs. 36.5 trillion  –   for that is what it is  –   you could:

• Fund the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for around 105 years, at present levels.  That's more than any human being could expect to live. And a hell of a lot more than any agricultural labourer would. You could, in fact,  run the MNREGS on that sum, across the working lives of  two generations of such labourers. The current allocation for the scheme is around Rs. 34,000 crore.
• Fund the Public Distribution System for 31 years. (current allocation Rs. 1,15,000 crores).

By the way, if these revenues had been realized, around 30 per cent of their value would have devolved to the states. So their fiscal health is affected by the Centre's massive corporate karza maafi.

Even just the amount foregone in 2013-14 can fund the rural jobs scheme for three decades. Or the PDS for  four and a half years. It is also over four times the 'losses' of the Oil Marketing Companies by way of  so-called 'under-recoveries' in 2012-13.

Look at some of the exemptions under customs duty.  There's a neat Rs. 48,635 crore written off on 'Diamonds and Gold.' Hardly aam aadmi or aam aurat items. And more than what we spend on rural jobs.  Fact: concessions on diamonds and gold over the past 36 months total Rs. 1.6 trillion.  (A lot more than we'll spend on the PDS in the coming year).  In the latest figures, it accounts for 16 per cent of the total revenue foregone.

The break-up of the budget's revenue foregone figure of Rs. 5.72 lakh crore for 2013-14 is interesting.  Of this, Rs. 76,116 crore was written off on just direct corporate income tax.  More than twice that sum (Rs.1,95,679 crore)  was foregone on Excise Duty. And well over three times the sum was sacrificed in Customs Duty (Rs. 2,60,714 crores).

This, of course, has been going on for many years in the 'reforms' period. But the budget only started carrying the data on revenue foregone around 2006-07. Hence the Rs. 36.5 trillion write-off figure. It would be higher had we the data for earlier years. (All of this, by the way, falls within the UPA period). And the trend in this direction only grows. As the budget document itself recognizes, "the total revenue foregone from central taxes is showing an upward trend. "

It sure is. The amount written off in 2013-14 shows an increase of 132 per cent compared to the same concessions in 2005-06.

Corporate karza maafi is a growth industry, and an efficient one.

Death : Life's change agent

Steve Jobs on "Death"

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help
me make the big choices in life.

Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--
these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you
have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.

And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent.
It clears out the old to make way for the new."

Arvind Kejriwal's hangout / video message to Maharashtra volunteers

Just watched the 21 min video, and must say I'm so GLAD with everything that Arvind has said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqccnvc9ZPo

I'm sure there are going to be many disagreements and disappointments. While this message might make a lot of people leave, I have a feeling that it will encourage a much larger number of people who had left much earlier, or who hadn't joined because they didn't like the direction and attitude then, to come to AAP.

If we keep aside everything and really go back to the beginning, then there's clarity. We have to be a people's movement, do work for the people, and then the people have to compel us to stand for elections when they see it as the most efficient way to get their problems solved. Not the other way around! I'm feeling happy to see this message put loud and clear, feeling happy about this course correction. There can be infinity-squared blamings on what has happened so far ("if like this then why did we do this this and that", "then they should not have this and should have that" etc), but for the way forward, I think this is much better.

This chimes in with the model of the new AAP-like political party that's emerging in the US from the Occupy movement. http://www.afterpartyusa.org/

It co-incides also with the model of the Five Stars Movement in Italy, again AAP-like, and they now have 100+ people in the Italian Parliament. And with so many people's movements across South America where they are blooming after over a century of corporate oppression.

There's a book i would recommend for clearing confusion : http://charleseisenstein.net/project/the-more-beautiful-world-our-hearts-know-is-possible/

It covers a lot of topics like separation vs interbeing, the temptation to control, the dangers of being ruled by the fear of failure.