Mill was a strong believer in the right to freedom of speech and the right to express opinions through actions, so long as those actions do not harm others. An article for The New York Times, written by Sean Hamill, describes a resident of Pittsburgh, Dave Hackbart, who fought for the same rights Mill wanted to protect. On April 10, 2006 Hackbart was issued a disorderly conduct citation for giving an officer the middle finger. Hackbart was found guilty of the charge. He decided to go to court as an attempt to sue the city for infringing on his rights regarding free speech. With the help of his lawyers, Mr. Hackbart won his case, and the city will be paying $50,000 to the man. According to the article, “…the city also agreed to retrain its officers in the limits of disorderly conduct law” (Hamill 1).  In the last four years the city has unlawfully cited 198 people for disorderly conduct. Hackbart challenged the city so he could receive the same freedom that Mill urged people to take advantage of and exercise.

Throughout history people in power have had a difficult time accepting these freedoms, especially when they feel insulted. As Mill states, “It is the duty of governments, and of individuals, to form the truest opinions they can; to form them carefully, and never impose them upon others unless they are quite sure of being right” (Mill 601). The officer who gave the citation was wrong to impose on Hackbart’s rights. What Hackbart did was not against the law, and the officer assumed that his opinion was right and the gesture was unlawful, when it wasn’t. One of the problems with our police system is one which Mill addresses, “Absolute princes, or others who are accustomed to unlimited deference, usually feel this complete confidence in their own opinions on nearly all subjects” (Mill 600). Officers are not used to being challenged; in fact they intimidate a majority of people.  Too often they assume their opinions are correct, and too often they are not. Although in the United States, more than most other countries, the people are able to, and do, challenge officers when they feel their rights were violated this should never be necessary. Since an officer’s job is to enforce the law, he or she must know the law. An officer should not charge someone because he or she feel that person did something illegal, they must know it for a fact.

Although the officer may have breached the privileges Mill advocated, the courts approached the situation in a Mill-like manner. They did not refuse this hearing. As Mill explains, “To refuse a hearing to an opinion…is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty” (Mill 600). In this case “their certainty” would refer to the officer’s belief that Hackbart was in the wrong. The courts were open to the hearing, and simply did not listen to the officer. They looked to the laws for proof. But again, there is no reason that a situation like this should arise. These rights have been fought for since before Mill’s time, and those who enforce the laws should know these rights before charging someone for breaking them.

For more information on this story please click the following link: nytimearticle

1. Hamill, Sean D. “Citation for Gesture Costs Pittsburg.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2009.             <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/us/25finger.html?ref=us>.
2. Mill, John Stuart. “On Liberty.” Ed. David Wootton. Modern Political Thought: Readings from Machiavelli to Nietzsche. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub Co Inc, 2008. 599-601. Print.

Here is a page covering the effect of the floods of November 2009 on the old Limerick Navigation from Plassey downstream. (This page complements another about the upper reaches of the navigation.)

This page covers:

• Plassey, including the Black Bridge and the towing-path
• the regulating weir at Corbally
• the upper lock on the Park Canal, the lady’s hole and the 2.4m increase in depth above the lock
• the lower lock and its patented mechanism
• the current in the Abbey River and under Mathew Bridge.

[Jonathan Ward's] pcb mill is as impressive as it is inexpensive. Twenty-six plywood parts, labeled A-Z, are used to assemble the machine along with the customary precision rods, stepper motors, and router assembly. His bill of materials prices the unit at $458.18, a small price to pay in order to forgo a multi-step etching process.

His test board shows some fairly fine pitch that could turn out most home-project circuit boards. We’ve contacted [Jonathan] regarding the specifics of milling the plywood parts out of a 2 foot by 4 foot sheet of plywood. Watch for an update with any information he’s willing to share. We hope he’ll make the milling files for the plywood parts available so that you can build a copy of the device for your own use.

[Thanks Charles]

201428     วิศวกรรมโรงสีข้าว     Rice Mill Engineering

การออกแบบระบบสีข้าว การออกแบบอุปกรณ์ที่ใช้ในโรงสีข้าว การทำความสะอาดและการสีข้าวเปลือก การแยกแกลบออกจากข้าวสาร การขัดขาวและขัดมันข้าวสาร การคัดขนาดข้าวสาร การบรรจุถุง อุปกรณ์ทดสอบคุณภาพข้าวสาร

(Design of rice mill systems; design of rice mill machinery; cleaning and hulling of paddy, separation of rice husks, whitening and polishing, grading of milled rice; packaging; rice quality testing equipment.)

(201428 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.
© 2009 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used…(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

By Andrea McCallum

SINGING sensation Susan Boyle today (fri) prepared for the launch of what is expected to be her multi-million selling debut album launch on Monday – by going shopping in Bathgate.

And showing the celebrity status hasn’t gone to her head she even travelled the short distance from Blackburn by bus, stopping off at her favourite store to buy a new outfit before her appearance on this weekend’s X-Factor.

Casually dressed in a rain coat and black trousers, and sporting her signature Burberry scarf and a splash of red lipstick, SuBo showed no sign of nerves as she wandered along the West Lothian town.

The star walked confidently from her house past the local primary school before being called over by a friend outside the newsagents.

The blonde bespeckled woman, in her 50s, shouted across the street to SuBo before walking over to have a chat.

Laughing and smiling, the pair talked for a couple of minutes before Susan said goodbye and continued on her way to the village’s Mill Centre.

Walking confidently, she said she was “busy” and couldn’t stop for a chat.

But she had time to mention her upcoming trip to London and the States, suggesting that as famous as she is, she still gets excited about her new lifestyle.

Moving on to Blackburn’s main strip, the singer popped into the Mill Centre.

Home to just a few small shops and the local library, Susan found a way to pass the time as she wiled away an hour inside.

On her way out, she was approached by an elderly woman who gave her a big hug.

Ruffling the star’s hair, the OAP looked as though she was teasing the singer before she rushed across the road to catch the bus.

She flagged down the 11.49am number 557 bus to Bathgate outside the Mill Centre.

Mobbed

Squeezing into the busy small single decker vehicle run by local company E&M Horsburgh, she made her way into town for her shopping spree.

Alighting in the town centre, the international celebrity sauntered around the streets, stopping at the bank on her way to her favourite shop.

Those stopping her in Bathgate were more fans than friends, and she graciously smiled and said hello.

During the hour she spent in local department store M&Co, more fans gathered outside, taking snaps of the singer on their mobiles as they waited for her to come out.

Eventually, the star emerged from the shop clutching a bulging bag of purchases.

According to staff, she had bought a longline cardigan and a couple of pairs of trousers.

The bus Susan jumped on

Janice Hendry, the shop manager, said: “She’s been a customer with us for years so it was no surprise to see her coming in. She was quite funny when she was in, laughing and joking with the staff.

“A few people were asking her for autographs and she was great with them, posing for photos and everything.

“Other than that she is treated as a normal customer.

“I said to her today ‘why are you still shopping in M&Co now you’re famous?’ and she said to me ‘nothing wrong with that’.

“We wish her well with everything in the future; her album is already a hit. It’s quite phenomenal.”

Smiling to those waiting, she started to walk down the street when the two most determined admirers called out to her.

Susan ambled back to the builders in fluorescent vests and posed with them as they took photos on their mobiles.

After a five minute chat, she wandered off smiling at passers by.

I Dreamed a Dream

She had been splashing the cash ahead of her album’s debut on Monday, but with sales from the expected sales of the CD, she will soon be able to visit any designer emporium she wants.

Amazon reported earlier this week that the album had already sold more copies than any other pre-order.

And bookies and so certain that she will top the album chart next week that they are refusing to take bets.

With an appearance on the X Factor on Sunday and a raft of publicity events lined up in the States next week, todays (Fri) shopping trip was a relaxing break for the singer.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Proponents of globalization have championed its surge since its inception decades ago. They said, “The rising tide of free trade will lift all boats.” What we have since discovered are two things: globalization does create wealth, but the rising tide only lifts yachts (Roddick 62). Although the intention may arguably not be bad per se, the current modus operandi of globalization and its adverse effects, on the environment, the world market globalization has created, and both foreign and domestic local economies, is unquestionably morally impermissible. In making my case against globalization, according to Mill, I will offer a broad and geographically diverse assortment of references including both evidence in support of as well as possible objections to my argument, that globalization is morally impermissible in its current form. Hereinafter I will offer an all-angles approach to the examination of my argument’s validity, drawing the inspiration of my chosen methodology from Mill himself who said, “the only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind. No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this (Schmidt 9).” Finally, to prove my argument, that globalization in its current form is morally impermissible, we will examine globalization through the primary lenses of Mill’s Utilitarianism: the principle of utility and the moral worth of intentions versus their effects.

Now that you know where I would like to take you, let me first define the term globalization. Globalization, which is also referred to sometimes as economic globalization, is essentially the integration, often for economic purposes, of various local economies, societies, and cultures. Most commonly, globalization involves businesses globally sourcing labor intensive work to poorer countries. Almost always, the motivation for a business to globally source work is that poorer countries tend to offer extremely inexpensive labor relative to the domestic cost of the same amount of labor. We will look at globalization from two perspectives: from the perspective of the wealthier businesses and their customers, and from the perspective of poor countries and their workers. Opponents of globalization criticize the imbalance of liberty over regulation. For example, in most poor countries where labor is inexpensive, companies who globally source their labor tasks have more liberty to cut costs by forgoing workplace regulations that serve maintain the same safety standards that are mandated by law in the United States. Proponents of globalization argue that the intent of globally sourcing labor tasks is good, because it creates jobs and invests in poor economies, never mind the conditions in which workers must work as long as no laws are violated. We will look at both sides in greater detail in the paragraphs to follow (Globalization).

Now I would like to introduce you to one particular company I will be using, more frequently than others, to illustrate the various practices of globalization and their respective impacts, in my examination of the moral permissibility of globalization at its various levels. The company that seems to be the most accurate representation of globalization today is Wal-Mart. To support the prudence of my selection I offer these facts, recorded as of 2006, for your consideration. First, Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world. In being so, they employ more people than any other company today. Wal-Mart’s pervasive influence in the United States is plain to see. 53% of the United States population lives within 5 miles of a Wal-Mart store, 90% of the United States population lives within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart store, and 97% of the United States population lives within 20 miles of a Wal-Mart store. These percentages become even more impressive when you account for the fact that the most populous city in the United States, New York City, does not have even one Wal-Mart store, so the percentages are significantly skewed in a downward direction. Having read these figures it would be reasonable to respond by arguing that just because 97% of the United States population lives within 20 miles of a Wal-Mart store does not necessarily mean that 97% of the United States population shops at Wal-Mart. And that is a correct assertion. However, 93% of the United States population did shop at Wal-Mart in 2006, so the difference there is only slight. It is clear from these figures that Wal-Mart is in fact a pervasive influence in the lives of Americans. And just as the economic health of Wal-Mart is often used by leading economists as an indicator of the economic health of the United States as a whole, Wal-Mart’s actions impact all Americans—including their globalization practices. But globalization is a worldwide process, so what is Wal-Mart’s influence like in the rest of the world? First, given the relatively higher cost of labor in the United States as compared to some of the poorer countries of the world such as China, Indonesia, Chile, and Mexico, it should be no surprise to you that almost all of the goods Wal-Mart sells are manufactured, in part or in whole, in a country other than the United States. So the majority of the people Wal-Mart employs live in other countries. Lastly, the most compelling statistic I can offer you, to substantiate the validity of my claim that Wal-Mart is the most accurate representation of globalization today, is this: worldwide in 2006, 7.2 billion people shopped at Wal-Mart—the earth’s population was only 6.5 billion people. Therefore clearly, Wal-Mart is probably the most accurate representation of globalization today (Fishman 6).

Now we will look at the moral permissibility of globalization through the lens of the principle of utility. It states, “An action is right insofar as it tends to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” That happiness is likened to pleasure. Mill of course added to Bentham’s purely quantitative approach, so now, in addition to the quantity, we must consider too the quality of the pleasure an action produces (Hedonism).

We will start with an examination of the quantity of pleasure globalization produces. There are, as I have previously mentioned, two different perspectives of globalization: the perspective of the business and their customers and the perspective of the poor countries and their workers. From Wal-Mart’s perspective, globalization is merely a means to the end of their “always low prices.” Their ultimate intent is to offer their customers the lowest possible price on everything they sell, and they do. Wal-Mart customers, approximately 93% of Americans in 2006, enjoy the pleasures of paying lower prices. There are approximately 300 million people in the United States, so that means about 280 million people in the United States enjoy this pleasure of lower prices. And 7.2 billion people worldwide in 2006 enjoyed the pleasure of lower prices. To further quantify the amount of pleasure Wal-Mart customers enjoy, Wal-Mart’s prices tend to average about 15% less than their competitor’s prices, so the pleasure Wal-Mart customers enjoy is about 15% more pleasurable than the competitor’s offerings. These prices of course are all made possible by globalization (Fishman).

The low prices, which are a direct benefit to their customers, also serve the purpose of giving their company an unshakable competitive edge in any local market. It is common knowledge by now that Wal-Mart can and often does force competing businesses out of business. This consequently destroys jobs for the people who were employed by the businesses that were competing with Wal-Mart. When Wal-Mart opens up a new store, they rightfully claim that they create jobs in the local economy, which is true. But the net loss of jobs Wal-Mart ultimately creates has been empirically proven to be consistent on both the local and national level, so there is a greater amount of pain for Americans in terms of job losses, stemming from Wal-Mart’s globalization practices that make their “always low prices” possible (Fishman).

Now we will look at the quantity of pleasure globalization produces, from the perspective of the poorer countries and the workers who provide labor in manufacturing goods as part of the globalization process. Companies like Wal-Mart, who globally source labor tasks, are welcomed with open arms by the governments of poorer countries. Why is this? The answer: because, global sourcing creates jobs. Many of the poor factory workers who manufacture goods for companies like Wal-Mart enjoy steady employment for real wages where such a security might not have been otherwise likely. So this facet of our examination, as it relates to quantity, appears to be simple—but it is most definitely not simple. While jobs are created, the requirements of the jobs, and the conditions under which the jobs are to be performed, are not at all comparable to the jobs we enjoy in the United States. Take the following example of how jobs are drastically different for the factory workers of poorer countries. In Nicaragua, factory workers who manufactured Wal-Mart blue jeans were charged with requesting a pay raise of $0.08 per pair of jeans they made, jeans which Wal-Mart sells for $30.00 in their stores. These charges carried a possible 10 year prison sentence (Roddick 67). In China, factory workers who manufactured the purses for Wal-Mart’s Kathie Lee Gifford collection were forced to work 14 hour days, seven days per week, and 30 days per month. At the end of the month, over half of those workers owed the factory money for the two meals per day the factory provided and for talking violations—workers are fined for talking to anyone during their 14 hour work day (Roddick 64). In Chile, the main export is salmon, which are produced in factory farms that contain 1 to 1.5 million fish per farm. 65% of the world’s farmed salmon comes from Chile. Wal-Mart gets all of its salmon from Chile. Wal-Mart, with the close exception of Costco, has sold more salmon in the United States than any other retailer. Wal-Mart’s salmon sells for $4.84 per pound, where most other retailers have prices for salmon that range from $9.00 to 20.00 per pound. How is Wal-Mart able to sell salmon for so cheap? Globalization. Not only do companies that globally source jobs enjoy inexpensive labor, they also enjoy less health and safety regulations that would otherwise cost money to police and follow. Salmon farming is described as the “hog farm of the sea,” so the connotation is that, like filthy hog farms, there are immense environmental dangers posed by the environmentally irresponsible farmer—and there are. Chile has virtually no health or safety standards for their workers other than the code of hygiene retailers impose on the salmon farmers to ensure that their customers do not get sick from fetid, filthy, diseased fish. This code basically entails workers wearing gloves, masks, and cloth suits, not being allowed to go to the bathroom during the work day, and the fish being pumped full of antibiotics. The code does not impose any anti-pollution mandates or environmental protective provisions. The result: salmon farms in Chile literally dump all of the salmon waste including feces and entrails, excess food, and excess antibiotics in to the ocean where it smothers and pollutes the ocean floor below. Scientists call this practice unsustainable as it is irrevocably poisoning the Chilean eco-system. Collateral damages are not just limited to the environment itself. Shark attacks have sharply increased off the coast of Chile, the rate of which directly correlates with the growth of the salmon farming industry, and which stems from the bloody fish entrails being dumped, untreated in to the coastal waters. Sharks attracted to the blood attack, maim, and kill innocent Chileans. Scientists say that the amount of fecal waste produced by just one salmon farm of 1 million fish is the equivalent to the fecal waste of 65,000 human beings. So as you can see the impact of globalization on the poorer countries and their workers is an overwhelmingly negative. Although some quantity of pleasure is produced from the benefit of the jobs themselves, the conditions to which workers are subjected, the unfettered damages being caused to the fragile eco systems, and the physical harm, as illustrated by the Nicaraguan workers or the Chilean shark attack victims, all produce a quantity of pain that far outweighs any quantity of initial pleasures (Fishman).

So in examining globalization from a purely quantitative approach, one could argue that the sheer quantity of pleasure Wal-Mart’s, in particular, globalization produces outweighs the pain produced by the same stroke. 7.2 billion people shop at Wal-Mart. There being only 6.5 billion people on earth, one would find it difficult to find people enough who are pained to outweigh the people who are pleasured, because the people that are pleasured include all people in the world, plus more. This conclusion seems not only intuitively incorrect, but according to Mill, whose Utilitarian philosophy includes also a qualitative calculation, it is at this point in the argument inconclusive at best, if not seemingly incorrect based solely on the evidence presented thus far. Still, I will refine the points which may seem unclear, and ultimately we will arrive at the uncontested conclusion.

Now we will examine the moral permissibility of globalization from the perspective of the business and its customers. Businesses know that they cannot compete with Wal-Mart on price. It’s a game they, like many businesses before them, will lose. So what’s the alternative to competing on price? Quality. Wal-Mart, although known for more quantity and lower prices, is not known for quality. Quality costs money, and that’s not money Wal-Mart is willing to spend. Instead, they outsource the labor tasks of manufacturing their products to workers in poorer countries, and they pass on the saving to their customers. But what do those savings represent (Fishman)? Well, for their customers, those savings represent money saved—there’s no trick there. In addition to the money saved, customers experience other symptoms of a company obsessed with lower prices. These include longer checkout lines, virtually no in-store customer service, and crime—Wal-Mart parking lots are a notorious magnet for crime (Safer). An estimated 1 million crimes occurred at Wal-Mart stores in 2004. That is about 2 crimes per minute in 2004. These crimes include rapes, kidnappings, murders, robberies and assaults. Although the quantity of crimes are outweighed by the number of crime-free customer visits to Wal-Mart stores, the quality of a Wal-Mart store visit is certainly affected adversely by the sheer knowledge that there is a potential a given Wal-Mart customer may himself become a victim of a crime. The actual quality of the goods Wal-Mart sells is poor. Products are actually especially engineered by manufacturers, for Wal-Mart, with cheaper materials and poorer construction, so that Wal-Mart can offer a seemingly comparable product to a higher quality competitor product, for a lower price. So does globalization result in higher quality pleasures for Wal-Mart’s customers? As you have seen the answer is most certainly no. In fact, it’s commonly understood that if you want better quality at an almost lower price, a retailer like Target is the place to go—incidentally Target participates far less in globalization.

Now we will examine the moral permissibility of globalization from the perspective of the poorer countries and there workers. Based upon the examples already given—the Nicaraguan workers, the Chinese workers, and the Chilean people and their eco system—I think it is safe to conclude that the qualitative pleasures of these workers are virtually non-existent, at least according to the standards that we Americans understand to constitute pleasures of quality. Globalization is impermissible, because it produces a greater amount of pain than it does pleasure. The human rights of these workers are more important than the low prices we stand to gain by their exploitation. Mill, a proponent of liberty, also advocated what has come to be known as the greatest harm principle, which says that liberty can and must be thwarted to prevent harm to a greater number of people (History). The harm globalization levies on the poorer countries and their exploited workers, the environment, as in the example of the Chilean eco system, and in the form of unnecessary transportation pollution and detriment to the environment caused by globalization and the worldwide movement of goods, is reason enough to both conclude that globalization is morally impermissible and that based upon such the globalization in its current form should thwarted, or amended drastically (Great 162).

There are objections. What if all people are not equal and deserving of the same amount of pleasure and happiness? There are those that may subscribe to this idea of inequality, that some people are inherently more important than others. Mill would reject this as he demonstrated in many of his works, including his advocacy of civil liberties and women’s suffrage, which was not at all widely accepted during his lifetime. Based upon his firm stance then when such ideas would not have been popular, Mill would have been an even greater advocate today, since the idea of equality has been widely cultivated and accepted as being part of most modern moral philosophies (Popkin 33).

Another common objection is that all of the effects of an action cannot ever be known in advance of the action. That may be true, but in the case of globalization, based upon the principle of utility alone, we know enough about the pleasurable and painful consequences of globalization now to deem it morally impermissible. Therefore, we need not know any possible, overlooked, future consequences that could prove to be positive, because with a high degree of probability, no possible pleasurable consequences could outweigh the painful exploitation of so many poor workers today (Popkin 34).

The last tenet through which we will examine globalization is that of an actions intention versus its effects. Wal-Mart may have the good intention of delivering to their customers the “always low prices,” but the adverse effects of their commitment to low prices have a negative impact on the environment, and both foreign and domestic economies. These effects, as you have seen, include dastardly working conditions for workers in poor countries under the employ of companies like Wal-Mart, destruction of the environments polluted by the unregulated management and disposal of factory waste, and the net loss of jobs in each local community in which Wal-Mart opens a store.

In conclusion, I offer yet one more idea presented in the writings of Mill. What males the medical profession good? It’s good, because it promotes health. We all agree health is good, without requiring that this notion that health is good be proven. It is in this fashion that we can in good faith view the practice of globalization, in order to summarize our understanding of its moral permissibility or impermissibility. The effects of globalization—job losses domestically, environmental destruction, reprehensible mistreatment of poor workers—need not be proven to be bad. We all intuitively agree that they are bad. Since we have now learned that globalization causes these effects, we can in good faith conclude that globalization is bad (Eichhoefer 209). Based upon the evidence I have presented—the imbalance of pleasure and pain stemming from globalization, the irrelevance of the intention of globalization but rather an emphasis on the importance of the adverse effects caused by globalization—I would like to conclude that globalization, in it s current form, is morally impermissible according to the Utilitarian philosophy set forth by Mill.

Bibliography

Fishman, Charles. Wal-Mart effect the high cost of everyday low prices. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Roddick, Anita. Take It Personally How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World. Boston: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2001. Print.

Popkin, Richard Henry. Philosophy made simple. New York: Doubleday, 1993. Print.

Eichhoefer, Gerald W. Enduring issues in philosophy opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1995. Print.

Schmidt, Mark Ray. Constructing a Life Philosophy Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2001. Print.

Great Thinkers A-Z. New York: Continuum International Group, 2004. Print.

“A Safer Wal-Mart By Mother’s Day.” WalMartCrimeReport.com. Web. Oct. & nov. 2009.

“Hedonism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

“The History of Utilitarianism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

“Globalization -.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

GARDENING guru Peter Cundall had made it to 83 years without being arrested. This afternoon it happened in grand fashion…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: fashion 2005. The blog is also related to: young fashion.

NWR – NAWARAT PATANAKARN PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
PTTの天然ガス分離工場の汚水処理工事6億3千万バーツを受注。

TTA – THORESEN THAI AGENCIES PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
会社はタイ国内及び外国銀行によるシンジケートローン総額2億米ドルに署名の準備。

LOXLEY – LOXLEY PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
タイ国宝くじ委員会は来年2010年の早い時期にオンライン宝くじの販売開始ができるように、結論の取りまとめを年内に行う予定。

ASP – ASIA PLUS SECURITIES PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
本年度は5%を下回らない程度の市場占有率であったが、来年2010年は通年でのマーケットシェア5.7～6%程度を目標に据える。

MILL – MILL CON STEEL INDUSTRIES PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
本年2009年度の通年利益は昨年度より低かったことを認めるも、来年度は収益が本年度より3～4%程度伸びる見込み。しかしながら、2009年度の収益は100億バーツを超えているし、また直近の9ヵ月は目標を達成しているとした。

PTT – PTT PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
NGV普及のためのサービスステーションの全国展開について、プロジェクトを進行させると明言。

MINT – MINOR INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
来年2010年度の利益の伸び率は、本年度の目標設定の失敗をバネにしてより良いものにしたい。そのために40億～45億バーツ程度の投資を積極的に行ってゆくとした。

AGE – ASIA GREEN ENERGY PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
来年2010年度は石炭需要の伸びを勘案して20%ほど収益が伸びる予想。減産は2011年度から。

TK – THITIKORN PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
来年2010年度の信用貸付ポートフォリオは本年度の60億バーツから10%程度伸びる予定。

PTTAR – PTT AROMATICS AND REFINING PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
2010年度のGIM (Gross Integrated Margin)予想は本年2009年度よりも高く 、バーレル当たり5.5～6ドルになる見込み。貯蔵所のメンテナンス補修計画を来年度Q4以降に先送りにする。また、来年度初頭よりはじまるPTTARの5カ年事業計画では、ユーロ4対応を中心に3億3千万米ドルの投資が必要になるがEXIM Bank（タイ国輸出入銀行）より、30億バーツの借入を8年返済で行う。

TICON – TICON INDUSTRIAL CONNECTION PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
来年度の収益目標は33億バーツ。本年2009年度よりも多くの投資を行う計画
。また2009年度は世界不況の影響で賃貸料収入が減ったことにより、利益は多少減じた。

CPALL, MAKRO, BIGC
大規模小売店法について、本日は閣議での議題にならない予定。関係者へのヒアリングをさらに重ねてからの対応になる予定。

PTT、サイアムセメント(SCC) グループ。
本日、景気対策プロジェクトである「力強いタイ」の一環で20億バーツのマプタプット工業団地内の汚染対策事業特別予算が裁可される。これはマプタプット工業団地周辺住民の生活環境の質の保証のためのプロジェクトで、タイ国憲法67条を根拠に利害関係者代表の執行役員4名を選出し実施されるもので、最初の会合は明日11月19日に持たれることになる。（Info Quest 11月18日配信）

にほんブログ村

A project undertaken on site at a fully working mill.

I was disturbed by the stories of death at the mill. I felt like I was being watched.

The mill had a small set of woods, which heightened the sense of being watched. The knots of the trees strongly resembled eyes.

It was only when I found a grave within the trees, that I became fully inspired.

Assuming atoms and molecules are recycled throughout the existence of the earth, our bodies feed the ground where we were buried.

Theoretically, this gives us a kind of immortality through nature and therefore a hidden presence in the world after we are dead.

I feel that the material resolution is very apt. The transparent “eyes” were taken from casts of the trees on site and hidden around the woods.

The DIY LIL CNC project is the newest member of the homebrew fabrication scene. This is a three-axis CNC mill that can be built by anyone with basic shop skills and about $700 in their pocket. Many of the materials can be acquired from the likes of Home Depot: the basic framework is assembled from Masonite, while other cost-cutting measures include the use of skate bearings and a common Dremel tool for powering the cutting bit. About half of the cost is for the HobbyCNC driver and stepper motor package that runs the show.

The instructions for the DIY LIL CNC are distributed under a Creative Commons license, allowing for modification and distribution with few restrictions. They’re well-written and quite thorough, including all patterns and a complete bill of materials with suppliers, part numbers and costs. As documented, the ’bot can produce parts up to 12 x 14 x 2 inches, but the project’s creators offer some suggestions on adapting the design for larger work. It’s not self-replicating like the RepRap aims for; you’ll need access to a laser cutter for some of the parts. If you can clear that hurdle, this looks like a great introduction to CNC production.

La reflexión filosófica de la Ética sobre la moral no tiene forzosamente un carácter normativo-tal es el papel de los moralistas-, aunque su crítica tiene incidencia en el obrar. Esta situación bifronte de la Ética se recoge en la distinción entre la ética normativa y la ética crítica o metaética.

Ética normativa: éticas teleológicas, deontológicas y axiológicas.

La ética normativa es una disciplina filosófica que trata de señalar lo bueno o lo malo en la vida humana, siendo misión de la prhónesis, de la prudencia en sentido aristotélico (tema que trataremos más adelante pues merece mención aparte), su aplicación a la inmensa variabilidad de los casos particulares. Los principales modelos han sido los teleológicos (de télos, fin) y los deontológicos (de déon, deber). El primero viene ejemplificado por la ética aristotélica, en la cual el Bien es aquello a lo que todas las cosas tienden, siendo la eudaimonía (felicidad) el bien buscado por los humanos. La tarea de su ética consistirá en esbozar un modo de vida que nos conduzca a la dicha. Mucho después, utilitaristas del siglo XIX (J. Bentham, J.S. Mill) la asumirán, desde perspectivas diferentes, para promover “el mayor bien para el mayor número”, contribuyendo de algún modo al Estado del Bienestar.

La ética kantiana no se preocupa tanto por la felicidad, cuestión de nuestras inclinaciones, sino de que nos hagamos dignos de ella. Si el fin fuese simplemente ser feliz, la razón no sería el mejor mecanismo, sino un sistema instintivo. Por lo tanto, la razón, como capacidad práctica, deberá tener influjo sobre la voluntad para que ésta sea buena en sí misma, asimilada al cumplimiento del deber por el deber.

Max Scheler, con su Ética axiológica (de axión, valor) trató de otorgar al concepto de “valor” la centralidad que antes detentaran el “fin” y el “deber”.

Ética crítica o metaética: teorías descriptivistas y no-descriptivistas.

La Ética ha clasificado las distintas teorías éticas en descriptivistas (también denominadas realistas o cognitivistas) y no-descriptivistas. Dentro de las descriptivistas, las teorías naturalistas estiman que las condiciones de verdad de los enunciados morales son similares a los de las ciencias empíricas, por lo que los métodos de éstas serían suficientes para dilucidar su verdad o falsedad, sin precisar de ninguna premisa ética, dado que el significado de los enunciados éticos es similar al de aquellos otros en los que no aparecen términos éticos. Tras la denuncia de Hume respecto a la legitimidad de paso de “es” al “debe”, G.E. Moore criticaría esa concepción al pensar que incurría en lo que denominó como “falacia naturalista”. Su posición intuicionista comparte con el naturalismo el que los enunciados éticos pueden ser verdaderos o falsos y que los términos éticos se refieren a propiedades, pero sosteniendo que éstas son indefinibles (en el sentido de que serían tan indefinibles e inalizables como el amarillo), ni empíricamente observables, sino propiedades sólo accesibles a la intuición.

Frente a las teorías descriptivistas (naturalistas o intuicionistas), el no-descriptivismo, con F. Hutcheson y D. Hume, se desarrolló a mediados del siglo XX en el emotivismo de C.L. Stevenson y el prescriptivismo de R.M. Hare. Para el no-descriptivismo, ni los términos éticos se refieren a propiedades ni los enunciados éticos pueden ser parafraseados metalingüísticamente en el lenguaje de la verdad o la falsedad. Si alguien dice: “Esta mesa es blanca” podremos decir de la proposición que es verdadera o falsa, pero si decimos: “Matar es malo”, descritiva, aparentemente, es en realidad prescriptiva, pues “malo” no es ningún hecho del mundo, sino un valor introducido por el que juzga, así que únicamente cabe decir que nos parece correcta o incorrecta. Según el emotivismo, un enunciado ético no describe nada del mundo, sino que expresa las actitudes o emociones del hablante, haciéndose imposible el discurso racional en ética.

A lot of brewers get very concerned when it comes to the crack of the grain. Often, the grain crack is the excuse used when the starting gravity is low in their beer. Grain crack is important, but it has become much less important in the last couple of years due to how the grain is being malted. I have made beers where the grain was not cracked at all. I did this to prove a point, and it worked out fine. Yes, the numbers were are little lower, but they were usually a couple thousandths off where I wanted them to be. You do want your grain to be cracked, but don’t worry so much about if you have the perfect crack or not.

You want the grain to have the outer shell cracked and the interior to remain whole. You do not want a flour consistency to your grain as it will not convert very well during the mash process. Plus, a flour consistency will very likely lead to a stuck sparge.

If you did not have your local homebrew shop crack your grain for you, you can crack your grain at home. Place as much of the grain in a zip lock bag as you can, making sure that you don’t over fill the bag, and then use a beer bottle or rolling-pin to crack the shell. This can be a messy process, so we wouldn’t recommend doing this in the middle of the living room. Just slowly roll the bottle over the grains until they are cracked. This can take some time, so be patient.

We also recommend that an all grain brewer purchase a mill. Once a grain is cracked you want to use it as soon as possible. A week or two is OK, but the sooner the better. You don’t want your grain to go stale and make your beer taste dull. By having your own mill you can crack the grain when you need it. You can also buy in bulk for your base grains, which will save you money. Whole grain can store for a year in a cool location in your home, but once the grain is cracked, you want to use it in a couple of weeks.

I was working in the State Bank, as Accountant, when my father phoned me, insisting that I come home immediately. He refused to give any reasons, as is his nature, being something of a Hitler. He still treats me as a child. I must confess that I am slender, weak minded and lack the will power of my father. It was his suggestion that I must join the Bank. My preference was for literature. Only fools read poetry, he would say.
Mother died early in my life, and father wanted me to marry early, so that there will be a woman in the house, which was quite big and the estate a few acres in size. I hated it, as he would tell me to count the coconuts, before taking to the mill, for extracting oil. I always made mistake in counting, as my mind will wander here and there.
When I reached home, he told me to see a girl, whom I knew from childhood. I cursed my fate. She was one among half a dozen brats, black, dirty with a running nose and always babling about whatever came to her mind.
Their house was in a village which can be reached by a local train, starting early morning. The next train is in the evening. I was to go alone, as they had been informed in advance. Of course, father was too busy to come wth me.
I was thinking about Sushma, of our office,who had a liking for me. I too felt happy in her presence. I missed the station, where I was to get down. So I got down at the next station.
To my surprise and relief, my class fellow was the Station Master there !
As soon as the train left, he took me to his room. When I explained my plight, he burst out: let him go to hell. You are earning a salary. You can live with your income. One day, the old man will surely die. Don’t marry now. Wait for some years. You are only twenty two!
At lunch time, we went to his quarter, a few  steps from the station. He had infrmed his mother and  they were expecting me. He had a sister, extremely beautiful, but unhealthy. She went on talking to me, as to an old friend, though it was our first meeting. I liked her.
When I returned home, by the noon train, my father did not say anything. When I told him about my missing the place, to get down from the train,
the only comment was: what else can be expected from a dreamer?

The station master, my friend, and I belong to the same caste, Tamil Brahmins settled in Keralam. He lost no time in contacting my father and before I could think of it, my marriage with his sister was fixed. I was not unhappy.
I hired a better house and we started our life on a good note. The mobile phone enabled us to be together, even when we were separated, and I enjoyed her sweet voice almost always. Sushma, though a Nair girl, used to come to our house off and on. My wife knew how to make vada, dosa, muruku and a  host of other dishes, available only in Tamilnadu. She would teach the technique to Sushma, and sometimes, my wife would sing. She had a pleasing voice.
Every month, my wife had fever, with high temperature. I think, the doctors did not understand her problem. They went on prescribing new medicines, which were of no avail. When she became pregnant, they cautioned about her inebility to survive a delivery, but my wife was bent on having the baby.
Sushma too tried to avert the calamity, advising a D and C.
 I tried to believe in His powers. We went to all temples and offered prayers. When the time came, we went to Calicut medical college hospital, where I had friends. Sushma too came to give moral support.
Even when I recollect those times, I feel the utter helplessness of we human beings, our prayers and aspirations. I was mentally prepared to hear the worst, but was spared of the necessity. She delivered a boy and survived.

But the joy was short lived. She died of a very severe fever, becoming delirious and then uncoscious.
Sushma remained with me to look after the baby.
I was transferred to Calcutta.
When I joined the branch there, my boss was a Miss Swamy. She came and I wished her. Seeing the new comer, a flick of recognition passed through her eyes, just a momentary ray of light. She motioned me to come into her cabin.
On being seated, her smile burst into peals of lauhter. I could not understand it. How can this fashionable lady, though jet black in colour, know me, living in far away Keralam ? Yet her eyes, so magnetic and fiery, reminded me of the past. But how?
Are you not from Vallapuzha ? she asked. I was dumbfounded.
Yes.
You have a big estate there.
Yes, Madam.
OH! Forget the madam. I am simply Geeta. Once you were coming to see me, but you didn’t turn up. My father was very upset then.
I kept mum.
Several customers came in and she dismissed me.
I could not believe it. How that dirty girl has metamorphosed into this vivacious, bright, fashonably dressed, Senior Manager of a Nationalised Bank, where I am still an unknown accountant, was beyond my comprehension.
During lunch break, she called me in and we had tea and biscuits. She asked me to stay on, till she took me out to have dinner. As I was new, I didn’t have much to do. She called me in, at about four.
I must thank God you have come. I came here only one week back. I have not settled yet. Have you brought your family?
 I told her what happened.
I am so sorry man. Any way, we will stay together. I have plenty of friends here. They will fix me up.
Then she took me in her car and drove to a posh restaurant. She behaved, as though we are friends for a long time. She even ordered non-veg. items. I chose dosa which was avalilable luckily.
Why did you not try for officer’s post.
I am happy as it is.
My father pressed me hard to marry. All others are married. Now he is no more. What about you?
Mine is still alive. Very weak. Can’t hear or see.
In the night, she persuaded me to stay in her hotel room. There is plenty of room for two. We are not teenagers. I had enough sex. Now I a not interested, unless you want to.
Can I speak to my people at home?
She asked the hotel to connect the number I gave her.
Who is this Sushma? Is she attached to you?
Yes and no. See, she is looking after my son. She is very much devoted to my late wife and our son.
Well, good night! Have proper rest. Talk afterwards.
In the office, she asked my advice, even for small matters. There was a case, involving a loan of some twenty crores. She wanted me to study it thoroughly, especially the risk factor. Some minister is interested.

We shifted to a house, in a posh locality. Why not some cheap one, I asked.
Life is to enjoy. Whom shall I save money for? Will they not forget it afterwrds, when we need their help? – I had no reply.
Every one was happy, it seemd. Not some people in the office, though.
What is the relation between the two? People were curious. In our society two individuals may not live together, if they happen to be of different sex. Some anonymous letters reached H.Q. They forwarded it to our lady. She showed it to me. WHAT DOES HER ADVISOR SAY?
On the one hand, I undrestood her philosophy. But we are living in a society. We have to respect their sentiments.
Sushma wanted to come to Calcutta. I was eager to see my son. In the photo he seemed very handsome. He is now two years old. I never went home, during these two years.
That evening we went to a park. The full moon was rising in the East, spreading its milky sprays in the whole world. Geeta sat very near, encircling me with her arms, warm and soft, loving and tender. Her lips were nibbling my cheek. A celestial fragrance emanated from her body. We lay down, curling against each other. She removed the buttons of her jacket and I brought my mouth very closed to those soft buttery heaps, when we heard footsteps coming towards us…….
She bought some fine whisky and we went back home. The maid brought our food and she dismissed her. Sipping the drink and tasting the chicken, no more objectionable to me, we spent a pleasant evening.
I slept soon. In the dead of night, something was creeping over my body. When I switched on the light, I saw Geeta  licking my body, every inch of it, herself stark naked, her breasts full and the nipples erect. My body began to get hotter and hotter. She was lying over my body and almost bit my lips off.
My stuff stood up like a pillar and went into the tunnel in the valley, as easily, as a sharp knife into the soft cake……
Nex day, Sushma came with the kid. I had taken leave and went to the railway station to receive them. The boy was looking healthy and smart. Sushma looked even more bright. No one will say, it is not her child. On the way she asked me a number of questions, some very difficult to answer. Why am I staying with Geeta?
We used to go sight seeing. She was in a metropolitan city for the first time. The child too enjoyed the atmosphere in the children’s park etc. But she was very critical of Geeta. She is capable of doing anything, she said.

I told Geeta that Sushma is willing for a transfer to Calcutta. Will Madam help?
The day for their departure came. The boy was crying, but no response from Sushma. When  we went into her room, she was lying dead. Blood was coming from her mouth.
Geeta: I always kept a bottle of cyanide for emergency. She must have taken it inadvertently.
I took the baby and Sushma’s baggage. I went to the railway station, without saying a word.

I am excited to blog about a subject that I am passionate about. Style…accessories, wearable one of a kind art, reworking an ordinary clothing item into something that is fresh, fun and not seen in the mall. 

I am working now on infinity scarfs.  Basically, this is a loop of fabric approx. 60″ long by 18″ wide that is fashioned into a long loop (no ends to tangle with).

This loop can be worn long over a coat, sweater or tunic or it can be looped twice to form a cowl.  I am ordering fabric from a great mill in California, Distinctive Fabrics.

Right now, the fabric of choice is animal printed velvet. I have worn one fashioned in a giraffe print once and it was taken off my neck by a dear friend. She has worn it to multiple events and I actually have multiple orders for it!  I am  also envisioning a lighter version in silks. I am off to find the perfect swatch! I’ll let you know how I do.

Oh, Rachel Zoe wears these a lot. But, don’t be confused with Lada Gaga and her scarves. They aren’t Infinity, they are just plain ugly.

powell river is located on the sunshine coast of british columbia. (click here for google map)

a slim arbutus tree

local paper mill

unhappy trash can

chair – Bless Mary Anne’s heart for lugging this chair all over creation with me. We braved tall weeds, stickies that got all in our socks and shoes, the truck door that wouldn’t shut correctly, almost getting run over in the middle of the road, spider webs, holes in the ground, etc. Thanks!

Just needs a coat of paint and you can start milling again.

ECI has an impressive history. As early as in 1798 watermills were built on this site, that was later on equipped with a large paper mill (in 1807), constructed by Burghoff, Magnée & Co. After the paper mill was sold to a potato factory about a century later (in 1908), the first (hydro-electric) power station was erected on the site. Only a few decades later, in 1926, the buildings changed hands again and ECI (Electro Chemical Industry) was born. Although the buildings were bombed during WW2, the site was soon rebuilt once the war ended only to be left abandoned by 1974. Nevertheless, as the new millennium started, many of the buildings were reconverted into offices and also a new –slightly smaller- hydro-electric plant was built.

Rodell Green was just sentenced to three years imprisonment for having sex with a horse. Over at the Atlantic Blog, correspondent Wendy Kaminer asks the following “quick question“:

Can someone explain to me why it is a criminal offense to have sex with animals but entirely legal to kill and eat them?  Surely laws against bestiality don’t reflect concern about the rights of animals, (who would probably opt for sex over death.) I don’t mean to denigrate meat eating (I’m a carnivore;) I do mean to point out the absurdities of imprisoning people for “buggery.”

In a sense, Ms. Kaminer is right. It is simply inconsistent for the law to send someone to jail for three years for having sex with a horse while simultaneously allowing billions of animals to unnecessarily suffer as a result of factory farming.

Nevertheless, I believe that there is a way to explain this inconsistency. As I pointed out in a previous post, it’s unclear whether the purpose of bestiality statutes is to protect animals from cruelty. As a matter of fact, I think that bestiality statutes have little to do with preventing animal suffering. Instead, it’s more likely that the purpose of bestiality statutes is to enforce a moral principle, namely: that it’s against natural law and morality for human beings to have sex with an animal.  This reading of bestiality statutes is supported by the history of laws criminalizing such conduct.

The first statute criminalizing bestiality in common law jurisdictions was England’s Buggery Act of 1533. The statute made engaging in anal sexual intercourse or having sex with an animal a crime punishable by hanging. These acts were criminalized because they were unnatural and against God’s will. After all, as Blackstone (in)famously asserted in his famous Commentaries, someone who engaged in these acts committed the “abominable and detestable crime against nature”. As a result, it seems fairly obvious that what inspired bestiality laws was the state’s desire to enforce a particular moral view.

Furthermore, given that statutes protecting animals from cruelty were not enacted in common law jurisdictions until the Nineteenth Century, it would be odd to conclude that the Buggery Act was intended to protect animals from pain. In addition, the fact that bestiality was criminalized in the same statute that prohibited anal sexual intercourse is telling. Why would a law intended to protect animals from suffering always be included alongside a law prohibiting human beings from engaging in anal intercourse with each other? The only way of making sense of this is by asserting that bestiality statutes – like sodomy laws – are intended to enforce morality rather than to protect animals (or humans, for that matter).

Once we construe bestiality statutes as laws that are enacted to enforce a moral principle, it’s easier to understand why the law provides that a man can be imprisoned for three years for having sex with an animal while it simultaneously allows people to treat animals cruelly in factory farms.  Most people believe that having sex with an animal is immoral (against nature, religion, etc), whereas unfortunately most people still believe that producing cheap and tasty meat products justifies inflicting incredible amounts of pain on animals. After all,  God frowns upon having sex with animals (“Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion” – Leviticus 18:23)  but doesn’t really object to eating or killing them. (e.g., “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you” – Genesis 9:3).

Of course, there are many reasons to take issue with this conclusion. For starters, criminalizing conduct merely because it violates a moral principle strikes many – including myself – as illegitimate. If we believe, as John Stuart Mill and H.L.A. Hart did, that the state can legitimately prohibit conduct only to prevent harm to others, it would seem that criminalizing bestiality solely because it violates a moral principle is unwarranted. Furthermore, regardless of the moral beliefs of the majority and of what religion or the Bible has to say about the issue of factory farming, it’s fairly obvious to anyone who gives serious thought to the issue that factory farming practices are immoral for a variety of reasons (animal suffering, CO2 emissions, etc). Therefore, the reasons in favor of prohibiting factory farming are clearly more powerful than the reasons in favor of criminalizing bestiality.

In sum, it’s easy to explain why having sex with an animal may land someone in prison whereas factory farming practices that cause animals to endure unimaginable amounts of pain are authorized. The former practice is viewed by a majority of the population as immoral, while the latter is not. The distinction is grounded in historical practice and in religious considerations that are not easily exorcised.

Ms. Kaminer pointed out that the disparate legal treatment of these two acts reveals the “absurdities of imprisoning people for buggery”. What Ms. Kaminer didn’t mention, however, was that this incongruity reveals something else about our legal system that’s even more disturbing: it unjustifiably lets factory farming go unpunished.

Luis Chiesa

THUPPAN
His name is Subrahmanian. In namboodiri families we never say this name. It is either Thuppan, Unni, Kunjukuttan,Aniyan or Kuttan.
He is our neighbour just opposite our house. His wife is Radha, a school teacher. When she goes to the school, either he comes to our huse, or I go to him. He is a very interesting charactor and I am never bored in his company.
He first went to study Rig Veda at the Brahmaswam math at Trichur. He is well versed in it and all the rituals of our caste. Then he took diploma in Mechanical Engineering. While workig in some office, he had a heated argument with his supervisor, who said something which infuriated our Thuppan, who struck him with an iron rod, so suddenly and so violently that he fell down dead.

Actually, he was not dead, but fearing reprisals,our hero ran away and found some work in Bombay. There too he did not do well.
As the chela (disciple) of some Sanyasi, he went to London. There he fell foul of the Guru, who he says, was a fraud, and ultimately came home to Keralam. Fell in love with the fair Radha and settled in CS puram village. At that time, he was the sole namboodiri, in this village of aiyers. Afterwards Poduvaya Vasudevan, who married my cousin sister Parvathy, and myself joined the group.
The village has three temples with considerable responsibilities and enough money in the bank. So the president and the secretary and the committee members are elected. Thuppan sided with the younger, rebel group who never had enough strength to challenge the establishment, so there were always some one or other in his house, who belonged to the rebel group. His relatives at Palakad also came occasionally and I got acquaited with many of them.
Another intersting charactor was Gas Murthy. No one in the village would go to the town. Tell GM, who has custody of all documents of us, his customers, and maintains liaison with the offices concerned, and he will give you a cylinder the same day. He has always twenty or so cylinders ready in his stock. He is short and looks as if he never takes bath or changes his cloths.

For all my purchases, including oils, which we bought five k.kg. each of coconut oil and thil oil at a time, I went to the big bazaar at Palakad, where things are available at wholesale rates. I just enjoyd the outing, even though during rainy season it becomes cumbersome, what with your bag and umbrella, and money in various pockets, holding the steel rod of the bus for support, as invariably I have to travel standing, and giving money to the conductor, when he demands, keeping a watch all the time, lest you may miss the point where you must get down.
We had more than enough coconuts and once I took it to the mill, where oil is extracted. It was on the other bank of the river and I had to ask many people before I was able to locate it. It was a small mill, but I liked the smell of fresh coconut oil and it was the first time I saw such procedure. I am always eager to see something new.
In those days I used to visit Kadampuzha Devi temple. It has a romantic appeal. The pond inside the temple is fed by underground water, flowing through the rock hill above, over which a small temple township has developed and is still in the process of growing.

During the rainy season, the pond over flows with clear water and one can always enjoy the bath annd swimming. There are separate portions for men and women, demarcated by a partition wall.
 After the evening pooja at about 7.30, the rice-jaggery pudding offered to the deity, standing at a level below that of the devotees, is distrbuted free to those present there; and the temple is locked and the whole area deserted. If I had a car, I would have stayed on till about ten, enjoying the moon light, filtered through the big tree leaves !
An European has establishhed a good dairy farm in the forest beyond the town.Visitors are not allowed inside.
Whenever I go to Kadampuzha, I would go to my sister Savithry’s house, only an hour’s journey from there, before returning home.
There are some KSRTC buses running direct to Kadampuzha which is famous in the Malabar region. Normally we go via Pattambi and Vallancherry.