Following is a report from expressbuzz.com:

After five-hour deadlock involving the administration and the farmers in the Regulated Market Committee (RMC) yard over paddy procurement, nothing ultimately came out in favour of the farmers. Flouting the High Court ruling, the RMC reportedly asked the farmers to go to mills to unload paddy, indirectly allowing the millers to step in.

Hundreds of farmers laid siege to RMC office on Wednesday alleging apathy on its part to procure paddy. They said as the RMC delayed procurement of paddy, they were kept waiting till evening with their vehicles loaded with paddy.

Earlier, the High Court had ruled that RMC would purchase paddy directly from the farmers and the millers would come in no way between the farmers and the RMC.

Sources said the administration was engaged in talks with the farmers till Wednesday evening and then all of a sudden asked them to unload the paddy at mills. This was done even though administration kept saying that all the paddy will be weighed in and procured by the RMC in the presence of Civil Supplies officials. Balangir Zilla Krushak Sangathan (BKS) convener Arun Mishra smelt a rat and alleged that a nexus between the Department and the millers led to the present situation.

“Millers, who have agents in different villages, lure the farmers to take their paddy to mills and not to RMC,’’ said Mishra. Sources said members of BKS recently found some trucks loaded with paddy. The trucks had no waybill nor did they carry farmers’ card as per rules. Farmers were also not there in the trucks. It was alleged that the paddy was being transported to mills by some unscrupulous agents. Police seized the paddy and arrested two persons in this connection.

Sub-collector Rajendra Pattnaik admitted that he had asked the farmers to go to mills. It was done to defuse tension. “Since it was very late in the evening and farmers had already waited for long, we chose to send them to the respective mills where Civil Supplies officers were present,” said the sub-collector.

Here is a report  from The Pioneer:

Farmers on Friday blocked the National Highway- 201 at Jaring in the district protesting the delay in paddy procurement at the collection centres. The farmers alleged nearly 300 quintals of paddy was lying under the open sky for a fortnight as the Nandul PACS did not have adequate storage facilities.

However, a PACS member said to the farmers that till the millers don’t lift the produce they are helpless. When the farmers of Nandul, Jaring and Kendupati under Junagarh block transported the paddy on tractors to the Nandul PACS they were unable to unload the produce the hapless farmers resorted to a road blockade. After intervention of Sub-Collector, Jagannath Mohanty, the farmers withdrew the protest.

Speaking to The Pioneer, Sub-Collector Mohanty said that few farmers had blocked the road but he immediately reached the spot and convinced them to withdraw the strike.

When asked why the millers don’t want to lift the paddy from the PACS, Mohanty informed as their margin will decrease this year with the implementation of new policy as compared to last year they are unitedly planning not to lift the produce. When asked what action would be taken if the millers defy the PACS agreement Mohanty further said that we are waiting for at least two to three days more.

Following is a report from The Dharitri:

“stay on alert soldier!”

“friendly fire!!! i’m not the enemy soldier!”

“enemy up ahead… stay on alert”

“CHARGEEEEEEEEEE”

“you traitor!!!”

Yes, exactly a millennium ago.

 Then the whole Indian subcontinent was a conglomeration of small kingdoms. We belonged to a small one, may be the size of Delhi. It was independent, wedged between two powerful neighbors: the Samoothiripad in the North and some principality belonging to the area, now known as Thiruvithankur (Travancore). Our Cochin state was free from corruption. People were generally happy. One English writer described the India of those times as ‘thousands of villages’, each a republic governed by the village elders. None had money. Gold was used only for making ornaments. Wealth was measured in terms of paddy earned by each family (I am talking in terms known to me). The artisans made clothes, agricultural implements, gold ornaments; made tenements out of mud and hay or palm leaves (cobbler was unknown  as none wore foot wear). Brass and bronze works were excellent, as also wood work. Landlords enjoyed leisure and bonded laborers did the work. The latter were fed even when there was no work. All people were known to each other. Even in my childhood, thefts were limited to coconut and plantain! There was plenty of time for any leisurely activity like literature, sports and arts.

 All were happy, even though epidemics took a heavy toll of men but not animals.

Let us examine, item by item, how life was then and what we have achieved now.

1)      Life was secure then. None was worried about his future. Mostly, traditional vocations were followed, the society being caste-ridden. How will my children live after my time? The question never worried any body. Anxiety on this account was unknown then. Today, every moment we are concerned about it (of course, I am not talking about the Ambanis)

2)      All works were done manually. This kept life style diseases away. People were healthy. The rich people suffered from diabetes, B.P and heart attacks. The poor people were spared. Today, the middle class too have become rich as far as life style is concerned. We don’t exert. Remote control ensured that we need not even move. So we suffer from all diseases of the rich.

3)      The vaidyaji took care of health problems. I don’t remember ever going to a doctor. The Namboodri house stood in the middle of a spacious plot of land. We had our own well and at least one pond. No fencing, we never wounded mother Earth with the pick axe or spade. It was like a forest. Things just grew. Village people scouted for medicinal plants or mangoes in the season. They never asked us. In the month of Karkidagam (Sawan) ladies adorned the hair with “Dashapushpam” (ten flowers). After the land reforms, we too became proletariat, when our only source of earnings was taken away. The land was handed over to the tillers. Today land is fallow because none can afford to grow food. Wages are high and labour is not available in Keralam.

     I have digressed. We were discussing medicine. The vidyaji will only prescribe the medicines. If these cannot be had from the land, there is a shop selling them. Medicines, in soup form, were made at home. People may give some gift like plantain. The belief is that if vidyaji demands compensation, he will lose his ability to diagnose and treat the illness.

 When the people of the West were barbarians (say B.C1000) Ayurvedic system of medicine was well developed in India. At Rajgir in Bihar, I was shown the excavated remains of a hospital where the royal families were treated. Even today Ayurveda can hold its head high in certain fields. But the sanctity of the system was violated when it was commercialized. Now, medicinal soups are bottled and preserved, rendering them sometimes ineffective.

 Today, medical treatment is nothing but shameless exploitation of the masses. Multi speciality hospitals cater to the rich. The poor people survive by grace of God. 50% of the medicines sold in the market are absolutely useless. (It was in the newspapers.) All medicines have side effects. Fees must be deposited in advance (pity the vidyaji). As doctors are “manufactured” in thousands, who can guarantee their quality? (Merit is ignored; caste is the basis for selection of students). Each hospital should earn profit. Or else, it will be closed down. So it must be ensured that people fall ill, as frequently as possible. As soon as a baby is born it is given ten injections, to make sure that its immunity system doesn’t develop. The bird flu was unknown then. Today also desi chickens are not affected. Artificial methods have destroyed the capacity to resist diseases.

 To make people fall ill, fast food culture is deliberately encouraged. To the capitalist, a patient is also a consumer. The only aim is profit. To hell with health! We want every citizen to be in the hospital so that profit can swell.

4) Education was totally free of lucre then. I was thrilled to see rows of neatly made hostel rooms at Nalanda which was just a name until Sir Alexander Cunningham traveled in the foot steps of Huen Tsang and saw small hills covered with grass and shrubs. He suggested excavation of the area which was started in 1914. Even today, a few work men may be seen digging leisurely; it may take another hundred years at this rate, to uncover the whole township. More than four hundred years B.C, it was a beacon of learning, attracting scholars from all over the East. They did not come to get a degree and campus selection for lucrative jobs. They just wanted to learn. Among them was a young man. No body knew he was a prince. He came in tattered clothes and was emaciated like a beggar, after wandering in the forest, begging for food. His name was Gautama. He spent several years in the campus, endlessly discussing the causes of pain and misery and suffering of human beings. (At Bodh Gaya, he is depicted as  well fed and handsome- a real prince charming. His devotees want something pleasing to the eye). I admire him. I like to see Takshashila too!

 In the villages, education was the concern of guruji. There was close, personal relation- ship with Guruji and the students who stay with him. Remember the story of Krishna and Sudama who were ordered by guru patni (wife) to fetch fuel from the forest? (I am reminded of an incident I read in a memoir. An English lady accepts an assignment to teach English to the Crown Prince of Japan. She was going through some notes when she wanted the fan to be switched on. She asked the Prince and failed to understand the hesitation in her pupil’s face. Suddenly the realization came. How can anybody give orders to a Prince? Of course, the pupil obeyed.) No tuition fee.  In the end, some guru dakshina (gift) is given. That is all.

 And today? By any stretch of imagination, can you call it education? True learning should aim at liberating the brain power from the shackles of the body, so it can soar higher and higher towards the heaven, scanning the whole universe and beyond. The questions why and how should continuously and intensely torment the inquisitive mind. Learning is tapasya. (Concentrated study). Total detachment from the worldly chores is an absolute must.

 In the present system, children are being hypnotized to believe that every thing written in the text book is absolutely true. The only aim is to secure maximum marks in the examination, by hook or by crook. Whether you like a subject is immaterial. Money is the supreme god. (Lakshmi is worshiped by all, everywhere. Is there a single temple of Saraswati? I think there is one in Keralam) The best brains are hijacked by capitalism and enslaved to make more and more profit. Is there any wonder that educational standards are going down every year?

 In Russia, when capitalism was abolished in 1917, education became free. Science was made number one priority. (Here MBA is made much of because capitalists want them to work for profit).The results are there, for all to see. From the most backward state in Europe, Russia overtook the US in space research. The first man to go up in space was

a Russian. Production of electricity was taken up as the most urgent task. Heavy industry almost outpaced consumer industry. (Indian students who went to study in Moscow found soaps and blades stolen frequently).The all powerful Germans were defeated by Russians in second world war.Without heavy industry backed by S & T, this would have been impossible.

After 1956, the first science city was established in Siberia. From wilderness intended for exiling undesirable characters, Siberia became a treasure of coal, minerals etc. and fully industrialised, an achievement impossible under capitalism. Science is the instrument of this of this revolution.

 Today here we find education being converted into a lucrative industry, in which millions are invested to reap huge profits. Government schools are for the poor- no equipments, no teachers, and no books.

Order of preference of students seeking higher education is somewhat as given below:

 MBA

IIT

Medicine

Info technology

Commerce

Economics

Geology

Pure science

Geography

 Those who fail to get admission for the coveted courses, go for pure sciences. In communist Russia scientists were given maximum salary. They commanded great influence in decision making. Here in Delhi we do not have a science centre where those interested may gather together for a chitchat. Easy access to science literature is a must.

Many of you may think that modern science originated in the west. This is a total misconception .Some of the things our forefathers have recorded in so many words, are stunningly dazzling.

1) That the earth is a globe

2) Earth attracts objects towards itself

3) Earth is rotating: the sun and stars are stationary

4) Shadow of the earth is cause of lunar eclipse

5) Dalton’s atomic theory

6) that the foetus in the womb recognizes sounds and starts learning mother tongue, much before it comes out of the woumb.(Abhimanyu learned strategy of warfare, while still in Uthara’s woumb, according to Mahabharatam.I first read about it in Bhagawat puran.By sheer coincidence, actual scientific confirmation was reported in the newspapers at that period some 8 years back).

These are just a few instances. As all this is written in Samskrutam. People do not even know about it. It is a pity that we have to learn about such things from foreign sources.

Astronomy originated in India at least 5000 years ago. In Egypt too studies in this field progressed at that time. The Malayalam calendar came into existence 1184 years ago. It is based on the movement of the Sun around the equator .The number of days of each month is calculated every year, so that we are not aware of the leap year.

So, before the Malayalam era came into existence, how did they know their age? Each year was given a name. Only 60 years were given names; thereafter the names are repeated.

Each one  must remember the name of the month and Nakshatra (the name given to the group of stars where the Moon appears each day) and also the name of the year of birth , so that his age can be counted. (Like the week. If I am born on Wednesday my age will be the fourth day.) That is why sixtieth birthday is celebrated. The names of the years are repeated, after 60 years.

Two thousand years ago, an European was unable to tell his age. Intellectually, we were far ahead. The Nalanda Vishvavidyala and library were ransacked and burnt by Muslim invaders sometime in fifteenth century. That was the end of a civilization. Knowledge got fossilized in Samskrutam texts to be explored by European Indologists. If these books were available in Hindi or Dravidian languages, history would have been different.

5) Production of food grains, cloths, agricultural implements, kitchen utensils etc. was regulated according to the needs of the village.Transportation was restricted to the bare

minimum. I am not a historian. Perhaps conveyance was restricted to movement of goods.Today production is chaotic. In any society based on rational lines, the requirements will be calculated and production regulated according to the needs. In a market controlled economy, waste is inevitable. Any number of factories are producing cars. Think of the brain power used in designing. If all this is centalised (in this age it is easy) we can have the best model of cars, buses etc. Expenses on advertisement and sales can be saved. Cars will become cheap. Similarly food and other agricultural products can be produced according to requirement.There will be no shortages nor glut. Why can’t we do it? (See my article: Man is the most foolish animal in the world).

6) For sheer joy and entertainment people were engaged in cultural and sports activities. Competition was healthy and without rancour.

Today, what we saw in the cricket world is the influence of money. Before future historians, we will have to hang our head in shame!

Local festivals, drama , music etc were meant for healthy entertainment and people were not glued to their TV sets !

I don’t want to go back to AD 1008. At the same time, I want to change the system to be reorganized along rational lines. Are we not intelligent creatures?

“The Japanese think of the City in the way that Englishmen used to think of Mighty London. It is either one or the other. Rice paddies or the Ginza.” (p35)

I am reading the wonderful author Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea, first published in 1971. Richie is the ultimate American expat in Japan, who stayed from the start of the Occupation until today, and this is a classic travel book focused on Seto Nai Kai (the Inland Sea), which I recently visited.

This passage struck me because Ginza Farm, which I have visited for Tokyo Green Space, overcomes the division between city and country by bringing a rice paddy to Ginza, Tokyo’s most celebrated commercial district full of De Beers, Cartier and now of course Uniqlo flagship stores.

Richie’s The Inland Sea also reminds me of the recently deceased French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss’ Tristes Tropiques, which chronicled an Amazon on the verge of extinction. In a similar voyage by boat, Richie bemoans the new highways and lure of the city that threaten the fishing economy and general isolation of these islands and peoples. What used to be called “salvage anthropology” clashes with contemporary feelings by focusing on purity and what is about to be lost. This antique attitude also portrays the writer as both the “first” and last foreigner to capture a vanishing culture, creating a false sense of importance for the individual writer.

Despite this unease, it is hard not to enjoy Richie’s beautiful writing, his insights on insider and outsider culture, and his only partly closeted attraction to Japan. And I do not doubt the gulf that once existed between city and country, which makes the current urban interest in rural life and agriculture all the more indicative of profound social and environmental change.

On a related topic, I read this week in the New York Times that Korea, which is generally more accepting of national diversity, is having difficulties integrating children of mixed marriages. Most mixed children are the progeny of Korean farmers and their Chinese, Filipino and Thai wives. Partly the social question is of race, but also of class and city versus country.

I was struck that Korea shares Japan’s rural abandonment, and seems ahead of Japan in responding through immigration. Perhaps Japan, too, will first open its doors to immigrants willing to live in its rural areas now inhabited almost exclusively by the elderly. Despite Japan’s xenophobia, immigrants as care-givers and farmers seem more likely than the techno fantasy of robots: more cost-effective as workers and more human in terms of care and culture.

Following is a report from The Pioneer:

The erratic paddy procurement at many places in Kalahandi district has caused resentment among the farmers in the current kharif season. While the administration has framed many rules and regulations it has failed to curb the middlemen’s role.

The middlemen are directly sending the procurement to millers after purchasing paddy from the farmers. The RMC and administration had given contract to six millers to lift paddy from a society Mandal Samabaya Samiti in which the farmers of both Mandal and Mingur gram panchayats (GP) were supposed to sell their procurement.

Farmers of 15 villages belonging to these GPs have alleged that till now the millers have not lifted the procurement from the society and even the millers are not helping the society secretary in the matter.

The middlemen lift paddy from the farmers from their house at Rs 630 per 75 kg paddy and not paying the price of 8 kg of paddy in the name of FAQ. While the Government has fixed a minimum support price (MSP) of paddy, the lifting of paddy below MSP has irked the farmers. They have also urged the district administration to quickly intervene in the farmers’ interest. The administration had targeted to procure 3,82,352 MT of paddy from Kalahandi of which, about 2 lakh MT was targeted to be procured during kharif season.

Another report has appeared in The Dharitri: Read the complete report here.

your pillow is mine now!

Paddy’s 4 months 15 days old today and see how much i have grown!

at the top of my scratching palace

round orange eyes

large paws

using the netbook

chatting with grandma on skype

Veripelto
Mina, Denise
Like, 2008

Skotlantilaisen Denise Minan dekkareiden teemoja ovat mm. naisiin kohdistuva väkivalta, lasten seksuaalinen hyväksikäyttö, perhedynamiikka, sosiaalinen epätasa-arvo ja syrjäytyminen. Rankkojen aiheiden lisäksi kirjojen miljöö Glasgow on rähjäinen ja sateinen, eivätkä ”sankarittaretkaan” ole perinteisiä kaunottaria, tai edes yksiselitteisen hyviä ihmisiä vaan tavallisia kuolevaisia, jotka vaihtelevalla menestyksellä yrittävät selvitä ”elämästä hengissä”.

Denise Minan dekkariuran aloittaneen nk. Glasgow-trilogian (Garnethill, Pako ja Päätös) tapaan ”Veripellossakin” rikoksia selvittää nuori nainen. Kunnollisesta, työväenluokkaisesta katolilaisperheestä lähtöisin oleva Patricia ”Paddy” Meehan työskentelee lähettinä Scottish Daily News -sanomalehden toimituksessa. Toimittajan työstä haaveileva, kunnianhimoinen Paddy kiinnostuu rikoksesta, jossa kahta poikaa syytetään pienen lapsen raa´asta murhasta. Rikos koskettaa Glasgow’n katolista yhteisöä joten Paddy joutuu miettimään journalismin etiikkaa. Samalla hän itsenäistyy väistellessään perheensä odotuksia ja venyttäessään katolisuuden asettamia rajoituksia.

Fiktiivisen toimittaja-Paddyn tarinan rinnalla kulkee omituinen tosikertomus pikkurikollisen Patrick ”Paddy” Meehanin (1928-1994) elämästä.  Mielestäni em. ratkaisu tekee fiktiosta todenmakuisemman, mutta ei välttämättä miellytä kaikkia lukijoita.

Veripellon tapahtumat sijoittuvat 1980-luvulle, jolloin Britannian pääministerinä oli Margaret Thatcher ja maata repivät lakot ja valtava työttömyys. Ajankuva tarkentuu ja hieman kevenee viittauksilla musiikkiin ja muotiin.

Veripelto on ensimmäinen viidestä Paddy Meehan-sarjan dekkarista, kakkososa Suden hetki on ilmestynyt tänä vuonna.

Ira Palvanen

Veripelto Ratamossa

Kirjailijan kotisivut

Increased yield attributed to System of Rice Intensification method

ERODE: In the backdrop of the disturbing news that the country will import rice for the first time in two decades, there’s some positive news as well.

Erode, an agrarian district, has been faring pretty well in paddy production and consistently at that.

In the current year, the Agriculture Department has so far brought 33,500 ha under paddy cultivation.

This is further expected go up, as the Department is yet to take in to account the cultivation in later part of the second season ‘Samba’.

On the rise: Erode district has been consistently good at paddy cultivation, though the country faces a shortage of rice. – Photo: M. Govarthan

An officer says farmers will cultivate paddy with seepage waters from Lower Bhavani Project canal and Kalingarayan Canal.

There will second cultivation in Thadapalli-Arakankottai area as well.

Once the figures are available the area under paddy is expected to be more than last year’s 48,912 ha. In 2007-08, the Department helped farmers bring 38,359 ha under the crop.

Of the 33,500 ha this year, the Department has brought 15,480 ha under the System of Rice Intensification method of cultivation.

This technique, which calls for increased spacing among paddy saplings, results in increased yield.

Figures available with the Department suggest that the increase will be as much as 1,500 kg a hectare.

The officer says the Department will be able to achieve the target of 16,400 ha for SRI for the current year once the figures for the second season are also available.

In the current year the Department projects 9,700 kg a hectare under SRI, as against an average yield of 6,540 kg from traditional cultivation practice. The officer says the Department has over the years promoted paddy cultivation by implementing a variety of Central and State governments’ schemes.

Under the Agriculture Technology Management Agency scheme, the officer says, the Department provides financial assistance to farmers to set up SRI demonstration plots.

The Department gives Rs. 4,000 a farmer for setting up the plots and it has achieved the target of setting up 138 plots across the district.

Further under the Union Government’s Integrated Cereal Development Programme the Department has set up SRI cluster.

The Government provides a subsidy for Rs. 3,000 an acre for setting up SRI clusters, with a cluster comprising 25 acres. In Erode 700 such clusters have been set up, the officer says.

These are in addition to the support the Department gives paddy farmers by supplying quality seeds at a subsidy. The initiatives the Department has taken have put Erode in a better position in the State, as in its average paddy production is higher than the State’s.

From THE HINDU

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

Rabi sowing picks up in State

Rabi sowing picks up in State:

The recent rain in several parts of Karnataka seem to be playing a key role in rabi sowing with farmers going in for large-scale coverage of jowar, Bengal gram and sunflower, particularly in the northern districts.

As sowing is in progress, data from the Agriculture Ministry shows that rabi crops were sown on 27.05 lakh hectares of land accounting for 73 per cent progress against the target of 37 lakh hectares as on November 18.

Sowing of maize, wheat, Bengal gram and sunflower continued in the northern districts while transplanting of paddy and sowing of black gram was in progress in parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

Bengal gram has been sown on 8.78 lakh hectares of land against 7.67 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year, while jowar, the major rabi crop, has been sown on 9.25 lakh hectares, wheat on 1.9 lalkh hectares, and sunflower on 2.90 lakh hectares.

Overall coverage of pulses such as Bengal gram, horse gram, black gram, green gram, cowpea and avare stood at 9.93 lakh hectares against the coverage of 8.99 lakh hectares last year.

However, the area under cereals — rice, jowar, ragi,maize, wheat, and minor millets — trails at 12.32 lakh hectares against 14.39 lakh hecatres during the corresponding period last year.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see  FMC has recently instructed bourses to ensure compliance of the PMLA and Sugar production in India may exceed estimated figures.

Commodity bourses must follow PMLA norms : “FMC”

In order to step up the regulatory grip on commodity derivatives market, Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has recently instructed bourses to ensure compliance of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) by their members.

“This is more of a pre-emptive step to prevent unscrupulous money coming into our (commodity futures) market,” BC Khatua, chairman, FMC, said.

Sugar output may beat estimates “Survey”:

Sugar production in India, the world’s second-largest grower, may be 11 percent more than estimated after farmers boosted planting and yields improved because of increased fertiliser use.

Output may jump to 17.68 million metric tonne in the season started Oct. 1, according to interviews with 631 farmers across six states by Geneva-based SGS SA for Bloomberg.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please click here

Sergio García se aleja de los puesto de cabeza del Dubai Wold Championship tras terminar la tercera jornada con un acumulado de menos nueve. El de Castellón ha firmado un excelente 69 que no ha sabido culminar con el put. García ha realizado 29 impactos dentro del green. Un número de golpes nada desdeñable para un torneo de este tipo. Pero Sergio sigue estando lejos de la élite y no culmina los puts de tres, cuatro, cinco o seis metros. El español necesita dejar su bola en un área de tres metros de bandera para asegurarse el birdie. Hoy, ni si quiera a embocado una de las cuatro oportunidades  que ha tenido en el 10, 14, 17 y 18. Algunos más complicados, otros con menos caída. Pero, en la desesperanza de lo imposible no ha entrado ninguno. Lo que deja claro es que no es un mal pateador, pero tampoco uno de los mejores. Porque a la hora de embocar el put que marca la diferencia con los 66 golpes, los de la élite lo hacen más rápido.

Mientras, Lee Westwood ha ofrecido una clase magistral de juego corto en Dubai.

Las ha metido de todas las formas imaginables. Puros kilométricos e incómodos golpes de metro y medio. No ha desperdiciado la oportunidad de diferenciarse de su competidores y ha acabado con quince golpes por debajo del par. Y ya le saca dos a su más cercano competidor y compatriota Ross McGowan (- 13), que se consolida como uno de los jugadores revelación del Circuito Europeo este año.

Y es que en este tercer día han metido su dosis de puros hasta los menos pensados. Paddy Harrington hacía lo propio en el hoyo 3 y Ross McGowan se consolidaba como el más fuerte en torno a green haciendo una imitación del líder.

El que parece haberse quedado sin opciones al título de mejor jugador europeo es Rory McIlroy. El joven de Irlanda del Norte comenzó la jornada de ayer siguiendo el ritmo que le marcaba Westwood. Un nivel que se ha roto en el hoyo 16, firmando tres bogeys seguidos para terminar con menos 10. En el 16, golpeaba con un pie en el agua, en el 17 un tripateo lo noqueaba y en el 18 decidió mandar la bola al agua.

En cuanto al resto de representantes españoles sólo Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-1) ha podido terminar bajo par. Mientras, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño y Rafael Cabrera finalizaban con un golpe por encima de lo estipulado. Un resultado que los deja totalmente fuera de cualquier quiniela.

Por supuesto, para informarse en directo ten-golf y ahora mismo retransmisión en directo de Golf+ en el dial 53 de Digital+. Hoy se disputa la última jornada. The race is on Dubai.

]]> http://happykitteh.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/mediocre-caturday-post/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:26:56 +0000 happykitteh http://happykitteh.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/mediocre-caturday-post/

Paddy hasn’t done anything interesting lately. Here’s the most boring post ever…

can someone please ‘enlighten’ me?

looking chubby

iz feeling sleepy

Cyclone Phyan that struck the western coast of India caught several farmers unawares. November is no time to be expecting thunder storms! But the rains came and stayed for several days after that.

Harvested paddy that awaited threshing got innundated

Harvested paddy that was lying in the field awaiting threshing got caught in the downpour. Low-lying khazan areas were inundated for several hours and this led to rotting of the harvest

Inspecting losses and salvaging what can be salvaged

In some cases it was possible to salvage a part of the crop and let it dry

Sitting in water for several hours, the paddy has resprouted!

In many cases, the dampness and the heat resulted in the paddy sprouting seedlings again! This is of no use to the farmers. It can certainly not be eaten and replanting these is not possible for most, as there is a shortage of water in the later months when water is needed for the rice.

paws and ball

big head small feet

the cheshire kitteh

oh hai again!

For two guys that do not seem to be growing exponentially, they sure eat a lot. Who would have known a not unsubstantial part of my income would go towards feeding the two tykes.

And so today I have had to graduate from buying the off-the-shelve dry food packets to the mother packs that weigh more than my dumbbells because the last standard pack I bought lasted us just four days.

I wonder if Noah subscribed to Billie’s mother’s “whatever-you-can-eat-the-dog-can-eat” wisdom. Ark aside, since I’m not yet a believer, my hard-earned cash has been swallowed the gigantic machinery that is pet supplies, which in turn goes into the system which drives the very existence of this nation.

Perhaps the Mother can take comfort that besides the various inconveniences caused to the family, they are vicariously contributing to our GDP or whatever economic savvy term there is to describe their input to the flagging economy.

My Name is Hannah Kelly, I am 17 years old and for the last year i have been competing in horse driving trails and have represented England. I am currently driving a 14 year old hackney stallion called Stapleford Enchantment or Paddy at home. He has been with us since he was 8 months old so is quite a family member, he started his career off with hackney wagon classes and then became a private driving horse. These days however he’s alot more versatile as he has competed in several spheres including ridden showing.He is now competing in horse driving trails which I composed of three phases a Dressage test, a cones course and a Marathon.

We have had some really big competitions this year such as Channel cup which is a international level competition, between Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland,Germany and France.I’ve managed to stay pretty consitant this season and have had mostly won second place but we are hoping to go to the junior world championships next year in Hungary for the England team.
I am on the British Young Drivers commitee as this is my first season of competition, i have found the people and trainers extremley friendly and it is a really exciting sport to get into with tons of support for newcomers.We compete both Indoors in the winter and outdoors in the summer. Please follow my progess on the blog as i have competition at the end of the month.

Paddy doing dressage                                                                                                                                                   Paddy on marathon

Photos courtesy of Nic Castle at www.northernplan.com

Tags: paddy, hannah, hdt, england, horse

you noe it is caturday right?

just watching over

smile! its caturday!

just rollin’

is that nom noms?

oh hai!

shiny  lights and moving thing

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

Food inflation at 13.7%

Food inflation at 13.7%:

The food price inflation went up marginally to 13.7% for the week ended October 31 following an increase in vegetable prices, but the arrival of winter crop is expected to bring down the prices soon.

The built up inflation in the current year, or the increase in prices from the beginning of the current fiscal to end of October, has been strong at 14.4% against 7.67% in the corresponding period last year, data released on Wednesday showed.

This rise has been particularly steep in case of pulses (21.2%), vegetables (54.5%) and potatoes at (127.6%), clearly indicating that poorer segment of the population, who would spend a high proportion of their income on food, would have been hit hard by the increase in the prices.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see that wheat production in country is set to increase by 2 million Tonne in 2009-10.

Wheat Production to Increase by 2 Million Tonne in 2009-10:

Wheat acreage and production is expected to increase in 2009-10 rabi season.

A large area, which was not sown under rice due to poor monsoon this year, is expected to come under wheat according to scientists.

Area in central and southern belt will increase as unsown area will come under wheat.

Also, in the Indo-Gangetic plain of the Punjab plain, the Haryana plains, and the middle and lower ganga area will increase.

Rains in the month of September have ensured moisture availability for wheat.

However, the late harvesting of paddy (due to increase in temperature in the last week of October) has delayed sowing of wheat which is a big concern for the agriculture scientist and the farmers.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please click here

My Name is Hannah Kelly, I am 17 years old and for the last year i have been competing in horse driving trails and have represented England. I am currently driving a 14 year old hackney stallion called Stapleford Enchantment or Paddy at home. He has been with us since he was 8 months old so is quite a family member, he started his career off with hackney wagon classes and then became a private driving horse. These days however he’s alot more versatile as he has competed in several spheres including ridden showing.He is now competing in horse driving trails which I composed of three phases a Dressage test, a cones course and a Marathon.

We have had some really big competitions this year such as Channel cup which is a international level competition, between Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland,Germany and France.I’ve managed to stay pretty consitant this season and have had mostly won second place but we are hoping to go to the junior world championships next year in Hungary for the England team.
I am on the British Young Drivers commitee as this is my first season of competition, i have found the people and trainers extremley friendly and it is a really exciting sport to get into with tons of support for newcomers.We compete both Indoors in the winter and outdoors in the summer. Please follow my progess on the blog as i have competition at the end of the month.

Hannah and Paddy doing Dressage

Acclimating to a new country is so different this time around, thanks in enormous part to the fact that I speak the official language. As such, I’m able to pick up things about Irish culture simply by listening and looking. It’s learning at its lazy finest. Here, some tidbits I’ve picked up over the past two months: 

POLITICS

• The political leaders of Ireland are the Taoiseach and the President. The President in Ireland is the head of state, similar to the British monarchs. The Taoiseach – literally translated to “Chieftan” or “Leader” – functions as a Prime Minister and is the head of the ruling party. The former Taoiseach was Bertie Ahern – father of best selling chick lit novelist Cecelia Ahern. The current Taoiseach is Brian Cowen.
• Brian Cowen looks like this: 

• There are several political parties in Ireland, two of which are Fianna Fáil and Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein is associated with old school IRA Republicans. Fianna Fáil was started by Éamon de Valera.
• Éamon de Valera was born in New York, not Ireland.
• It’s all about 1916.

GEOGRAPHY

• Western Ireland and the Isles are where the fairies are. 
• Waterford is where the crystal is
• Southern Ireland is where Cork is
• Cork is where Murphy’s comes from
• Dublin is where Guinness and writers come from
• All of Ireland is where the craic is

EDUCATION

• The core subjects in any school are Irish, English, Maths. 
• Kids learn Irish as a Second Language from Junior Infants (age 5) to the end of Secondary school. Few retain much after they graduate, unless they have a special interest or have spent time in a gaeltacht.
• A gaeltacht is a part of Ireland where a good percentage of the population speak Irish as a First Language. Many city kids are sent there to attend Irish camps.
• An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithras? 
• Nil = It isn’t.
• Sea = It is.
• When speaking English, Irish people often say “I will/It is/I do” or “I won’t/It isn’t/I don’t” instead of “yes” or “no” because there aren’t equivalents to “yes” and “no” in the Irish language. Many grammatical structures and idioms in Irish-English evolved from the Irish language.

HOUSEHOLD 

• Mums, wash your dishes with Fairy washing up liquid and feed your kids Flora butter spread  - it’s good for the heart.
• Want some new clothes but the Recession’s got you down? Head to Penney’s or Dunnes! Ballet flats from 6 euro.
• Still have loads of cash to spend? Enjoy a trip to Brown Thomas.
• Have a headache? Take some Paracetamol. Feel a flu coming on? Drink some soothing hot Lemsip. Heartburn? Chew a disgusting Rennie. 
• Remember, everyone: buy Irish. 

POP CULTURE

• Craig Doyle is hot. 
• TG4 is the all-Irish channel.
• Sponge Bob dubbed in Irish is amazing.
• Isn’t it great that John and Edward are taking the mickey out of that Brit show? 
• Ah, but Simon Cowell can moan and cry all he wants; he knows they bring in ratings. 
• Dylan Moran is a genius.
• Dara O’Briain is gas.
• Tommy Tiernan used to be gas but has lost the pot completely. 

RELIGION

• There are such things are Catholic Atheists.
• Irish kids get hundreds of Euro when they get Confirmed. 
• We’re living in a “Post-Christian world” but, by god, are we going to eat the heck out of some roasted turkey and fruitcake this Christmas.

This one is a little longer than the others, I believe, but I like it better.  It’s based on true story form my family before my great-grandmother, Nellie, came from Ireland to America.  It isn’t done yet (I mean, the day is only half way through), but I’m hopeful for it.  Even though I don;t have the setting down quite yet.

The Day 3 Generations Died

There was a cool chill to the air when Nellie woke up, the sun peeking through the window and touching her face. Suppressing a shiver, she got out of bed, dressed quickly, and scurried out of the little room she shared with her two younger sisters, Mary and Bridget. Since her older sister Katherine had married last spring, it was Nellie’s job to help her mother take care of the family.

Once in the kitchen, Nellie found the various pots her mother had pulled out for her start breakfast in. Every morning her mother was the first one up. She got what Nellie would need to start breakfast, and then she would go for a quick walk around the block, stopping at the market for anything they might need. Even now that her mother was eight months pregnant, she never wavered from her daily routine.

Setting the pots of water to boil for the porridge, Nellie heard her father stirring upstairs as he got ready for work. Taking care of their large family was a lot of work, and she knew her father was tired of his job doing construction. He would come back at night, tired and grumpy. And especially now that their mother was pregnant, he was often worried, and he was easily upset. He was a big man and could be intimidating if he wanted to, so all the children would try to stay out of his way. If you got him angry, you were on your own. Not that he was ever mean to them, they knew he loved them, but he could be so gruff, and had a way of cutting you to the core with a look. But when he was relaxed he made everyone joyful.

Nellie left the kitchen and went back to her room to wake her sisters. Mary was ten and was in charge of helping little Bridget, the baby of the family, at least until the new one came, get dressed and ready for school. As soon as they moving around and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, Nellie went to make sure her brothers were up.

Three of her four brothers shared a room not much bigger than hers. It was worse when her older brother John slept in there, too, but after Katherine moved out, he got her little closet room in the back of the house because he was the oldest. Eventually when he left Nellie would get the room, though she thought she would miss listening to her sisters’ calm breathing at night. It was one of the few times they didn’t bother her. But here her little brothers were curled up in little sleeping balls. William had his own cot on one side, while Paddy and Kevin, the twins, shared the bigger bed on the other side. It took more cajoling from Nellie to rouse them. They were much more stubborn than her sisters in the morning, and by the time they had stopped whining and actually gotten up, she could hear the sounds of everyone moving around.

She went back to the kitchen to stir the porridge just as her mother was coming through the door.

“Good morning, Nellie dear,” said her mother, a little out of breath and shutting the door. “Are you brothers and sisters awake yet?”

Nellie told her they were, but noticed that her mother’s cheeks were a little paler than their usual rosy red. Her mother continued on doing her work in the kitchen. Putting things where they belonged and cleaning things, but she did seemed slower. Nellie assumed that being pregnant was finally catching up to her mother, who hated having to be still when she could be doing some work.

“Has your father come down yet, dear?” her mother asked.

“No not yet, but I heard him moving around.”

“Well I’ll just go check on him so he won’t be late for work.” And she huffed her way out of the room.

After she left, Nellie’s brothers and sisters started coming in to get their food and do their chores. John was the first one, saying good morning and getting his food so he too could be ready to join his father at work, where he had just started. As the oldest boy, he was typically their father’s favorite. Mary and Bridget came down next looking a little messy, but not too bad. Then came the other boys, pushing and shoving to get their place at the table. They were all talking and making noise now, but Nellie thought she heard a cry come from upstairs in her parent’s room. She thought she was making it up, till she caught John’s eye across from the table. He had a little frown on his face, but didn’t make a motion as if to leave.

It was as Nellie and John were trying to get the kids to clean up that their father came rushing into the room. He looked slightly frantic and nodded to John, who put down the bowls in his hands and left the house without saying a word or even grabbing his coat.

“Hey, where’s he goin’,” asked one of the boys.

“Oh nowhere, don’t you worry,” said their father, forcing a smile on his face. “But I have a treat for you kids. How about today for lunch, you go to your grandmother’s house?”

The kids all exclaimed and smiled at the idea of visiting their grandmother. The mother of their mother, she lived in the city with them, but on the other side of where they went to school. Although they saw her often, for she liked to visit them, it was still fun to go to her house, especially for something like lunch. Only William, the next oldest after Nellie, looked as concerned as she did about this sudden new plan, but their father was trying to hustle all the talking kids into leaving for school, and she had to help so she would be ready, too.

The morning at school passed well enough, but Nellie couldn’t help be worried. Something about her father’s look made her nervous, and they never went to Grandma’s house unless their mother couldn’t cook for them, which rarely happened. She was sick once. And another time she was visiting a friend in the next town over, but other than that she was always home, there for the children. It dawned on Nellie that her mother must be having the baby. It was too soon, but there was no other reason for what was going on.

As soon as school let out for lunch, Nellie hastened to collect all her siblings, with William helping her, anxious to hear any news from home. Getting to Grandma’s house wasn’t too difficult, as the kids were excited, and she welcomed them hugs and kisses. She sent them out to play while it was still warm, asking Nellie to help her finish lunch in the kitchen. As soon as they were alone, her grandmother turned to her.

“So I’m sure you know that your mother is having the baby, right?”

“Yes, is everything okay?”

“Well it’s difficult for her. It’s early, and she’s much older than she was when Bridget was born, and you know your father was worried about that. Of course, nothing ever bothers your mother, and she just goes about her day no matter how many times you tell her to take a rest, even with you and even Mary there to help her.”

“But everything will be fine when it‘s over, right?”

“Oh I’m sure it will be, my dear. John ran for the doctor and came to let me know, and then he went to go tell your sister Katherine before he went to work. She should be there now. Now come help feed your brothers and sisters before they tear my house apart.”

Nellie helped serve everyone and took a small plate for herself. She felt better talking to her grandmother, who like her mother never stopped going, although she too seemed to be slowing down as she got older, but she really just wanted to be home, sure that her mother and the baby were safe. The kids finished lunch and Nellie helped her grandmother clean up. She hugged them all before sending them back to school.

But when they had almost reached the school and knew the bell was going to ring for them soon, Nellie came up with a plan. She was worried about home, and she wanted to be there. She knew she could help. So when they reached the school house, Nellie sent them in without her. William tried to protest, but Nellie used her best Katherine imitation.

“You hush. I’m older and I know what I’m doing. Now go back to class or you’ll get in trouble. Don’t you worry about me.”

And with that, she began to walk home. She picked up her pace as she got closer, and she was almost running by the time she got to her street. She didn’t know if her father would get mad at her for coming home, but she knew she could help. Quietly, Nellie came in through the kitchen door. The house without her mother bustling about was eerily unwelcoming, and the tension was oppressive, dangerous. Nellie could hear quiet murmurs coming from upstairs. She recognized her father’s voice talking to who she assumed was the doctor. Occasionally she thought she heard Katherine’s voice. Every once in a while there was a loud moan of pain.

Suddenly, Nellie didn’t want to be home. She was feeling sick. She wanted to be back at school with her brothers and sisters, waiting to hear about their new brother or sister, not knowing what the house felt like right now. And then the screaming started. She could hear the voices and footsteps running around, taking care of her mother, helping her, and Nellie was frozen to the middle of the kitchen floor.

It was hard to breathe as she heard the agonizing screams from of mother. There was so much pain in those cries, and Nellie couldn’t listen anymore. Not thinking, she ran across the floor to the small kitchen closet and threw herself in. She squeezed the door shut and slid to the ground, crouching among the brooms and mops, the rags and boxes, the dust and cobwebs. She was terrified. She knew she wasn’t brave or strong or loud like any of her siblings, but she didn’t think she was this much of a coward. She couldn’t even get herself off the floor to help her mother in pain.

Another scream came muffled through the door and she covered her ears, trying not to cry. Why wouldn’t it stop? Why was her mother hurting so much? She was too young to really remember her other siblings being born, so she didn’t know how bad childbirth could be, but it didn’t seem like it should cause her generally stoic mother so much pain.

She didn’t know how long the screaming lasted, but it seemed forever. Finally, when they subsided, she took her hands off her ears. Silence. Carefully, she opened the closet door and crawled out on her hands and knees. She sat on the kitchen floor, ear cocked towards the doorway for any more sounds.

Once she thought she heard a feeble baby cry, but she wasn’t sure, the silence of the house obstructing her ears. And then she heard something she never imagined. An anguished wail like no other came from her parents’ room. It barely sounded human. It was a man sobbing his heart out. Her father was crying. She had never heard her father cry before. Nellie wanted to go back in her closet forever, because she knew what it meant.