I don't write a ton about the Lions. My depression is severe enough. I don't need to dive any deeper into that nonsense, but it's a story now. Matthew Stafford is going to the NFC championship. Not only is Matthew Stafford going to the NFC championship game, but Matthew Stafford just upset Tom Brady on the road to get there. There are a lot of Lions fans who are happy for Matthew Stafford. I am also. The guy busted his ass and wasted most of his career with a trash organization. But despite how glad I am about his success in 2021, his current run is an indictment on what is indisputably the worst organization in the history of sports in the Detroit Lions. I came into the season feeling that Stafford's inability to win a playoff game Detroit was 20% his fault and 80% the organization's fault. I have changed that opinion. It's 100% on the Lions. In the future, when people say who the most tortured fanbase in sports is, there is one answer and one answer alone. It's the Detroit Lions.

"But the Jacksonville Jaguars are so bad. They'll never turn around." Shut up. Four years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were like one play away from going to the Super Bowl.

"O, the Cleveland Browns are so terrible." The Cleveland Browns have the exact number of playoff wins over the last two years that the Lions have had over the previous sixty.

It's human nature to be excited for Matthew Stafford right now, especially if you are a Detroit Lions fan, but we have to have some perspective here. For 12 years, the Detroit Lions had an MVP caliber QB. They had a transcendent, Super Bowl-winning caliber quarterback. And for a dozen years, they gave him a few good receivers, no offensive line, no running game, and they gave him a good defense one time. That's organizational malpractice at a level that we've never seen before. I'm the biggest Tigers fan that I know, and there are people out there who believe that the Tigers wasted Justin Verlander's career, or wasted Miguel Cabrera's prime, or wasted the early peak of Max Scherzer. But you know what? Those guys won MVP and Cy Young awards. They made deep playoff runs. Should they have won a World Series? Of course, and the fact that they didn't is one of the most significant failures in sports history, but at least they approached the mountaintop. The Lions with Matthew Stafford never took a step towards the summit. I did not expect to get this vindictive at any point, but I hope Stafford wins his next two games. I hope he wins the Super Bowl, and I hope next year he wins the MVP next year and repeats as a champion.

One of my favorite quotes from "Batman Begins" is when Bruce says, "People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy." I hope this is the dramatic example that the Lions need. They have drafted poorly, and underdeveloped talent, but the only thing worse than never having talent is wasting talent, and Matthew Stafford wasn't a talent. Matthew Stafford was special. He still is. And I know Lions fans are going to be upset about this blog. "Chris, we don't need to be reminded of how awful we are." Yes, you do, goddammit! It has nothing to do with the fans. Lions fans are fantastic. They're passionate, and they're loyal. The fact that the Lions have any fans left even though they cheer for a garbage organization reflects just how dedicated and great Detroit sports fans are. But sometimes, they need to be reminded of the abyss they've been looking into for decades. And this has no reflection on the current administration. I quite like Brad Holmes, and while I have serious question marks about Dan Campbell, the man has a self-awareness to him that no Detroit Lions coaches had in the last, I don't know, 50 years. I'm not blaming them for the sins of the past. But at the same time, the organization must understand the depth of its failure. For 12 years, the Lions had a quarterback with generational talent, and they seemingly went out of their way to make him look worse than he was. I hope the Fords hang their heads in shame.

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Matthew Stafford's Playoff Success Is Further Proof That The Detroit Lions Are The Worst Organization In The History Of Sports - Barstool Sports

In December, I quit my job as a current-affairs radio producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This month, I wrote an open letter, explaining that I felt a pervasive woke ideology and an obsession with identity politics coupled with a lack of interest in broader issues had created a climate in which it was difficult to do good journalism.

I was concerned that niche stories like non-binary Filipinos upset about a lack of LGBT terms in Tagalog, or a list of offensive words Canadians should avoid using, including brainstorm and lame had become editorial priorities, while issues that affect people nationwide, like the housing crisis, the opioid epidemic and wealth inequality, went underreported. I was also concerned about a lack of alternate viewpoints on stories, such as vaccine mandates, school closures and lockdowns, and the Dave Chappelle Netflix controversy.

Over the years at the CBC, I came to find our coverage increasingly ideological, and increasingly lacking in critical thinking, but my repeated efforts to push back from within accomplished little. The atmosphere at the network felt stifling and driven by groupthink, with a narrow range of viewpoints represented.

I have since received letters from across my country, and yours, from journalists with strikingly similar experiences and strikingly similar concerns. Ive also received many, many messages from members of the public who had, for exactly these reasons, tuned us out.

So, what is going on in our newsrooms? Why has a segment of our media shifted dramatically left? Why has the liberal press adopted a woke ideology thats largely unpopular with the public? And why does media leadership have so little self-awareness about any of this?

A number of pressures bearing down on newsrooms are worth examining.

Most significantly, the business itself is under threat. In recent years, weve lost subscribers, advertising dollars, and audience to social media, throwing traditional business models into turmoil, and resulting in layoffs and outlet closures. At the same time, the digital media revolution has produced an army of young, inexperienced writers willing to work for next to nothing, dragging down writing rates, devaluing our work and over-simplifying the dialogue.

Then theres the fact that outrage reliably generates online engagement and therefore dollars. Financial incentives drive angry, polarizing content. Outlets increasingly target consumers on either side of the political spectrum and cater content to these echo chambers. In doing so, they abandon the aim of speaking to a broad audience and of a shared conversation.

Then, of course, you have the pandemic. Anyone whos reported on it will tell you how exhausting it is. Many of us went from covering a mix of stories to covering COVID day in and day out, often from the isolation of tiny city apartments, doing our best to absorb the devastation, loss, and sweeping societal change without the buffer of newsroom camaraderie, or, in some cases, any face-to-face social support whatsoever. Many are tired and burned out.

Add to all of that, theres the changing nature of our workforce. What used to be a working-class trade has evolved, particularly in the United States, into an elite profession. In part because the business itself is so precarious, journalists often now come from wealthy backgrounds, are educated at elite schools, and live among societys decision-makers.

As a group, we have vested interests in maintaining the status quo, and little contact with those who do not share our perspective.

If all of that was not enough, hiring and training practices are more and more shaped by woke ideology, selecting for journalists who are on board or at least willing to go along with it.

Twitter, too, exerts undue pressure on newsrooms, delivering the illusion of societal consensus where one does not exist. And cancel culture enforces a climate of fear. The consequences of speaking out against woke ideology are significant. Jobs and reputations can be lost, along with livelihoods; few journalists are in a position to risk this. The vocal minority thus overpowers the many in the middle. And curiosity is supplanted by a public performance of certainty.

Over the years at the CBC, I came to find our coverage increasingly ideological, and increasingly lacking in critical thinking, but my repeated efforts to push back from within accomplished little.

The way out begins, I think, with all of us asking ourselves a question: What if were wrong?

If we might be wrong about a story a narrative, a collection of established facts, a viewpoint, an analysis, a whole approach to journalism or politics the natural conclusion is that we need to talk to more people, to understand more deeply. We need to incorporate more views, more dissenting voices, more educational and economic and political backgrounds. We need to hear more, think more, discern more, contemplate more.

If theres a possibility that we have it wrong, we can give up, too, on trying to influence public behavior and get back to trying to tell the story as thoughtfully, and accurately, as possible.

This approach would also, hopefully, engender the small, daily acts of courage that this extreme moment necessities. If we might be wrong, then of course we must speak up, question, investigate, rethink, reframe.

Its a simple shift, and it certainly wont solve things. But it might be just enough to convince audiences to stick around while we engage in the messy business of correcting our course.

Tara Henley is a journalist, podcaster, bestselling author. Twitter: @TaraRHenley

More here:
Ex-CBC journalist reveals why 'woke' media is broken and how to fix it - New York Post

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE 2022-23 SEASON - EQUITY VIDEO SUBMISSIONS Round House Theatre

CONTRACT LORT Non-Rep $739 weekly minimum (LORT D)

SEEKING Equity actors for roles in Round House Theatre 2022-23 Season (see breakdown).

INSTRUCTIONS SEE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS IN BREAKDOWN. Please email you submission with the subject line EPA submission DMV LOCAL or EPA submission Out of Town, accordingly. Deadline: Mon, Feb 7, 2022

SUBMIT TO casting@roundhousetheatre.org

PERSONNEL Artistic Director: Ryan Rilette Managing Director: Ed Zakreski Casting Director: Sarah Cooney, Associate Artist Casting & Producing (viewing submissions)

OTHER DATES See breakdown for production specific dates.

OTHER http://www.roundhousetheatre.org Equitys contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

BREAKDOWN

All roles will be understudied.

Dates: 2/21/23 Rehearsals begin 3/30/23 First Performance 4/11/23 Opening 5/7/23 Closing

Equitys contracts prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

Search BWW for Show Info | View All Listings...

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Audition for ROUND HOUSE THEATRE 2022-23 SEASON at Round House Theatre in Submission on 01/21 - Broadway World

Nine participants from eight distinct clinics completed a semi-structured telephone interview. Participant and clinic characteristics are presented in Table 1. The majority of participants were based in hospital-affiliated clinics and considered food security to be very important. They reported using both formal and informal mechanisms (i.e. through patient dialogue with no formal screening tool) for screening for food security. The most frequently used codes are in Table 2. The most frequently used codes described staff involved in screening for food insecurity, changes in community resources due to COVID-19, improvements in interventions for addressing food needs, acceptability to patients, and onsite and offsite interventions.

Initial screening for food insecurity was most likely to be carried out by an intake nurse or front office manager using a form that included standard questions on food, nutrition, and other social determinants of health. Some respondents noted that food was part of a general resource screening while others only mentioned screening for food. Intakes were usually completed at the time of the first prenatal care visit.

We have a universal prenatal intake process, where someone coming into care for pregnancy, would first have a visit with a registered nurse who fulfills the role of prenatal care coordinator. She does ask questions about... It's a resource security question, I think is how it's phrased like, "Do you have what you need at home?" And then she'll give the examples of, "Do you have shelter? Do you have electricity? Do you have running water? Is it safe? Do you have food to eat?" So it's a question that's along those lines. And then she also asks people about their diet, what they might typically eat in a day. And if they have any restrictions on their diet or things that they avoid. --Physician A

There was some variation as to whether screening was standard, i.e. developed externally for use across facilities; clinic-specific, i.e. developed by staff within the clinic; or informal, i.e. motivated staff asking about food or resource insecurity but without consistency. The intake was administered on paper or an electronic tablet, either by a clinician or self-administered. Even if a standard form was used, its implementation could be ad hoc depending on the clinical workload. At times, follow up was done by a prenatal care clinician as a supplement to the initial intake. Several options were mentioned, including follow up by a prenatal care nurse, midwife, or physician in reviewing answers or the problem list generated at the initial intake; additional screening and meeting with a social worker; and follow up with community health workers.

Inconsistency in follow up beyond the intake was noted by several respondents, often attributed to staff workflow and the patient load. The consensus was that it was better to have someone assigned to carry out the initial screening because it was more likely to be completed for every patient, although there were also benefits to having multiple staff/clinicians engaged in the process:

Its helpful to have multiple people who are responsible for asking this because it establishes that as a culture that this is an important part of healthcare. Physician B

Additional follow up or screening was clinic or provider-specific, where some were more proactive than others. Clinic readiness to implement food insecurity screening varied, with some reporting a smoother uptake process than others due to clinic level management and workload:

It's been at least 10 years that the clinic has had a prenatal care coordinator, nursing position And I think it was not difficult to start because it philosophically aligned with the way the clinic is run. It's a very team-based, multidisciplinary clinic, so having a nurse intake coordinator, I don't think, was a heavy lift when they implemented that. --Physician A

I think that they would be open to hearing about something like that, but I'm not sure that they would want to add something like another assessment onto the already long list of assessments that everyone is responsible for. --Social Worker A

Perceived embarrassment and stigma associated with being food insecure, especially for patients who are already parents, was reported as a barrier to screening accurately for food insecurity.

I think some of them are not completely honest, you know, because theyre ashamed, or, you know, theyre worried that they cant provide food for the children that they may have, afraid that we might may call DCYF [Division for Children, Youth and Families] on them. Clinical Nurse C

Responses varied with some reporting better outcomes from face-to-face conversations rather than over the phone or on a tablet, especially if other social issues were present. In-person screening was also seen as being more helpful for asking follow up questions about the capacity of the woman or family to access and prepare food.

And how are they going to store that food? Are they living with a friend? Are they living out of a hotel? Do they have a refrigerator? I think there's just a lot of assessing that needs to go on in conjunction with food screening. Like, do you have a clean place to prepare the food? Should we be giving it by a food bank? Do you have the means to cook it? They may be living in a hotel and they only have a microwave. --Clinical Nurse A

In terms of achieving honest perspectives, allowing for privacy during the intake (either one-on-one with a clinician or self-administered) and giving time to develop a trusting relationship with clinicians were seen as relevant factors for improving communication.

We find sometimes, the first visit with the nurse that's their first time here, you're just meeting the person for the first time, it takes a little time to develop a relationship, have them feel comfortable. So they will see myself or the other nurse that works here and then they'll see the social worker and it's a couple weeks later and then the provider will see all of that information. And then the provider will again ask, but she won't ask everything again. She'll just, if I identity that that woman has domestic violence or has no money for food, does not have resources in place, then she'll follow up again. So we're all trying to get the same information and making sure that the woman feels comfortable talking with us. --Clinical Nurse B

Integration of food security with other social risk screening was generally seen as a helpful way to identify women with needs.

I do the ones for people that have a substance use history, even if that's just marijuana...so I pop in just to see how they're doing. And those are questions that I always ask, "Do you need diapers? Do you need food? Anything going on with housing?" All those questions are questions that all of us always ask people. --Social Worker A

We're asking about food. We're also asking about personal safety, depression and housing stability. And to be perfectly honest, I think people are less self-conscious about answering questions about food than they are about the other things --Social Worker B

One consistent area of improvement noted by several respondents was more frequent screening throughout pregnancy. Additionally, improvements in screening tools and processes were desired, both for capturing more patients experiencing food insecurity and for ease of use and appropriate referral:

If somebody had sort of like a plug and play kind of program and was like, Use this questionnaire, identify these resources and refer to these resources, check in one week, three weeks and 12 weeks or whatever. Then I feel like that would be a lot easier than trying to develop it from the ground up because to be honest with you the nurses and the physicians are not trained in this so much. --Physician B

I think having a very specific screening tool would be helpful, to define what severity is this? Is it a patient not having access to purchasing food, or what level of severity of that? Like, do they know where their next meal is coming from or, do they just not have enough funding to buy healthy food, or they're eating more processed food? I think if we could get into specifically what the food needs are, it would be easier to refer them based off of that. --Clinical Nurse A

Respondents also talked about more detailed assessments of food practices and dietary quality to identify specific areas where more targeted interventions may be needed.

So it is one of the resources that we give out to patients when they're newly pregnant, is like this is what healthy eating looks like. It's a nice one that you hang up on the wall that has the food group, how much calcium they should be eating for their pregnancy. So it's a great reference to say like, from this food diagram or food pyramid, are you able to eat in all of these tiers? If they're stuck in the process green one, then we need to make a referral so that they can get, and protein and stuff like that. --Clinical Nurse A

Clinic staff were hesitant to ask about food insecurity if they were not aware of what interventions were available for their patients. Respondents tied screening for food security to strong interventions that address patient needs once they are identified.

But we've noticed that providers are a little more willing to engage with the social needs questions if they have some idea of what the patient is then going to navigate, to be able to get that need met. --Physician A

The primary means by which clinics addressed a food need was through an internal referral to a clinic-based resource specialist, social worker, or other clinician. Clinics benefited from having a clear referral process in place. In addition, some claimed they were better positioned to implement internal referrals because the clinic placed a greater value on food security as part of health care. For internal referrals to be successful, respondents emphasized the importance of a dedicated resource specialist at the clinic.

And if they need to fill out paperwork, she will help guide them and help fill that out with them, which is great, because I think half the time when you try to give a patient resources and make referral, I think the most intimidating part of that is them trying to figure out how to self-navigate through that. And us we can go online and try and figure out what that process is, but having that resource specialist, like she knows what the paperwork is, she knows who the point people are for that resource, and it's just super helpful to have her and know exactly what the process is. And patients are more likely to follow through with that if they have someone helping them through it. Otherwise, they know food banks are out there, but they don't know the 20 steps between knowing that they're there and actually getting food from them. --Clinical Nurse A

Respondents also noted a desire to offer onsite food provision services. Providing food directly to pregnant people while at the clinic for an appointment can help to address urgent hunger needs and overcome transportation and accessibility barriers to community resources. Some clinics had services in place to provide food to patients, snacks during appointments, or cafeteria vouchers.

I mean I have had people say, we need meat and produce, because that's all we get at the food pantry are non-perishables and canned goods. So that's something that we're fortunate to be able to have milk, and sometimes eggs, and frozen meats, and stuff to give to people because they aren't able to get all that stuff a lot of times. --Social Worker A

External referrals to community resources were another means by which clinics addressed food needs among pregnant patients. The most frequently cited resource for pregnant people was the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Clinics relied on easy referrals and strong relationships with WIC to help people access these benefits.

Actually, whether a woman identified concerns about food or not, I would always make a referral to WIC, and for food stamps, and facilitate the initial appointments. Let's see. And I got to tell you, that of all the referrals that I made, that was the easiest referral. That was the smoothest referral that I was ever able to make to anybody because the WIC clinic had somebody who would answer the phone, schedule appointments, ask questions, and then follow up. So that was pretty seamless. --Social Worker B

Respondents noted a need for more accessible services in the community, including better hours at local food shelves. Referrals were more effective when there were strong relationships in place between the clinic and the community organization. Respondents also commented on a need for better coordination between clinics and various community resources.

We have a ton of community resources and a lot of really well-meaning people and we all have the same goal of supporting these moms. We're trying really hard to get all of these resources together in a way where there isnt overlap or gaps. And the thing is that some of these resources are independent, some of them are church based, some of them are state supported, some of them are based on grants. If the grant goes away, they go away. Then we've got the nonprofit hospital. And so what we're finding is there's a lot of bandwidth, there's a lot of goodwill. But we wonder about, is there a way that we could more efficiently coordinate all of it? --Physician B

Transportation was noted as a key barrier that should be addressed when making referrals to community services.

I just feel like once you ask about food insecurity, I feel like from there, it will... There may be other needs. Okay, then here's this food pantry. And then it's like, Yeah, I understand the food pantry is there, but I don't know how to get there, or I don't have internet. I feel like there needs to be someone, like a case manager, being able to provide other supports and services as well. --Care Coordinator A

Another barrier for patients was lack of awareness about available services. Respondents discussed having lists and information about community resources that could be shared with patients and a dedicated staff member who could maintain relationships with community partners and keep up to date about their services.

I think the biggest one is just them not knowing what's out there. Like a lot of them aren't aware that there are food pantries. There's so many like in the community that are near them that they don't even know exists. They don't know that they qualify for WIC or SNAP. So I think it's just like, there's not really a general knowledge of the resources that are out there for them. --Resource Specialist A

Other barriers were related to communication challenges due to patient stress associated with the experience of food insecurity as well as cultural differences leading to varied understandings of food insecurity between clinicians/staff and patients.

I think there's also the psychic challenge of always having to be aware that you have food insecurity. I think that it is depressing and it is exhausting and it is anxiety provoking. And I think that folks get to the point where they just don't want to think and talk about it. And I think that's hard too." --Physician B

The only thing I could think of that could be a barrier is the women that come from a different country. If it's part of their culture not to really share information about that or language barrier, we could be missing some of that with them. Its hard for me to know if we are if they're not being forthcoming about it. --Clinical Nurse B

In general, respondents felt that patients had a relatively high degree of acceptability for discussing food needs with their care team. They noted that patients generally felt comfortable asking for help when they needed it, especially when there was trust between staff and patients.

And I think that's where it comes in that my role is important because I'm the connection for them at the clinic. They see me and talk to me on a regular basis, so they're comfortable talking to me. And that goes for a lot of the other case managers too. If it's someone that they see on a regular basis, then that person is comfortable and has an easier time asking for support and knowing what's available. So again, it's the setting of our clinic just kind of lends itself toward that community friendly relationship, I guess. --Social Worker A

Commitment at the clinic level and staff buy-in facilitated the process of screening and intervention. Clinics that recognized food insecurity as an important health issue for their patients were better able to develop trusting relationships with patients and address their needs.

I actually just really think it's the staff commitment and the team that works here really knows that it's important, nutrition is a very important part of pregnancy and promoting optimal outcomes for pregnancy and health families, so it's really just been a part of our program here since the beginning It's a very small office and I think that patients feel that and feel comfortable with us so they will reach out to myself or the social worker and say, I'm really struggling this month, I don't have money enough to get this or this or this. So we will put them in the right direction, supplement with that gift card if we have to, but it's really just been part of our clinic and training here. --Clinical Nurse B

See more here:
Missed opportunities to improve food security for pregnant people: a qualitative study of prenatal care settings in Northern New England during the...

HO CHI MINH CITY, 19 January 2022: Vietjet will relaunch services from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok starting 21 January, the airline announced this week.

The airline will operate two weekly round trips every Friday and Saturday between Tan Son Nhat International Airport and Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Thai Vietjet director of commercial Pinyot Pibulsonggram said: We are delighted to reconnect Thailand with Vietnam, offering Thai people more opportunities to fly to Vietnam, as well as to welcome Vietnamese tourists to Thailand again after a long hiatus due to the pandemic.

The service resumption between the two financial, cultural and travel hubs will also contribute to the countries economic recovery while meeting the increasing travel demand of people in the region, especially when the Lunar New Year holiday gets underway, followed by the peak summer travel season.

However, both countries are battling a surge in the less severe but more contagious Omicron variant, which halted government schemes introduced in December to ease entry procedures.

In Thailand, Vietjet currently operates an expansive domestic flight network including the services from Bangkok to business and travel destinations such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Krabi, Hat Yai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani in addition to other cross-regional routes.

The airline has also resumed a series of international routes connecting its two hubs, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with Tokyo (Narita International Airport), Taipei, Seoul (Incheon International Airport) and Singapore with one round trip per week that started earlier this month. In the next phase, it will reopen its entire international flights and looks forward to launching new routes to India and Russia.

The airline will offer free Covid-19 PCR test packages to all passengers flying internationally from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Read this article:

Vietjet resumes flights to Bangkok - TTR Weekly

Express News Service

MADIKERI: A woman was reunited with her husband and family after seven years following the efforts of an Ashram in Madikeri.

In 2014, a native of Tamil Nadu, Rajappa had admitted his wife Muthamma to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences KSRT(NIMHANS) for treatment. Muthamma was at the hospital for nearly two months and was being treated for her mental illness. However, Muthamma escaped from the hospital even as Rajappa filed a missing complaint with the Bengaluru Police. Rajappa and his family searched for Muthamma everywhere, but in vain.

Meanwhile, in 2017 a woman was found lying near Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Bus Depot in Madikeri. The woman had woundson her leg and she seemed homeless. Her legs were in a putridstate and she had also lost two toes.

A resident who found the woman alerted the ThanalAshram in Madikeri and the management took the woman under their care.

We admitted the woman to Madikeri District Hospital and provided first aid. She was then shifted to Thanalheadquarters in Kerala and she was treated for her injuries for six months. Later, she was sheltered at ThanalAshram in Madikeri, recalled Mohammed, the president of Kodagu ThanalAshram.

The management also appointed a psychiatrist and treated the woman for her mental illness. During this time, she slowly regained memory. We learned that her name was Muthamma. However, her memory was not restored completely. When weasked for her whereabouts, she only replied saying she was from Kothuru, explained Mohammed.

The management visited many places with the name Kothuru across Karnataka and even visited a place with the same name in Andhra Pradesh. They contacted the police stations across these places, but could not find any clue about the womans family. During a public function of Thanalin Madikeri, we shared the story of Muthamma.Kodagu district magistrate Subramanya was invited as the guest for the function. The woman told about a place called Dindiguland magistrate Subramanya said that he knew an advocate friend from this place, which is in Tamil Nadu, he explained.

Following this information, more details were traced with the help of the Kodagu police, and Muthamma was taken to Dindigulin Tamil Nadu by the Tanhal management and the Kodagu police. The police tracked Muthammas family and she was reunited with her husband Rajappa and others from the family.

One policy of Thanalis that we try to reunite the family as we do not want them to stay orphans, concluded Mohammed.

Read more:

Thanal Ashram in Madikeri reunites Tamil Nadu woman with family after seven years - The New Indian Express

Post its 2014 spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha election, the BJP was still riding high on the Modi magic, people were still hopeful of the acche din that he had promised, and the opposition was still in complete disarray, having been decimated .

It was against this backdrop that the Uttar Pradesh assembly election was held in 2017 . Nobody was surprised when the BJP emerged victorious on 311 seats, having captured over 40 percent of the vote share. In all, the BJP and its allies, the Apna Dal and Bharatiya Suheldev Samaj Party had registered victory on 324 seats.

The Samajwadi Party, which had gone against its grain to stitch up an alliance with the Congress party, could only manage to win 47 seats, with a 21.82 percent vote share. Its alliance partner, the Congress could only manage to win seven seats with six percent votes. The other major opposition party, the BSP, finished a poor third with only 19 seats and a 22 percent vote share.

The Samajwadi Party, which was ruling the state then with Akhilesh Yadav as chief minister, had gone to the polls with a family feud raging in the background, all its dirty family linen being washed in full public view. The father-son-uncle triumvirate of the Yadav parivaar was at daggers drawn with each other.

A discredited Congress was still to recover from its drubbing in the Lok Sabha election and the BSP was still getting its act together.

Even though the BJP had gone to the polls without a local face, Yogi Adityanath was hoisted from above post poll, the Modi name was then enough for the party to go ooh lala, laughing all the way to the chief ministers oath taking ceremony.

If the BJP leaders are to be believed, they have done spectacular development work all over the state in the last five years. Then why is it that they refrain from talking about their own work and hark back to those abbaajaan ruled days when the peoples money was being wasted on building kabristaan walls, instead of constructing the Ram temple, or Kashi Vishwanath Corridor or creating facilities for pilgrims thronging to Krishnajanmabhoomi temple in Mathura?

Is it because if they talk about any other development work, like the Yamuna Expressway, or the recently inaugurated Purvanchal Expressway, or the proposed Ganga expressway, they would also have to mention that these were projects initiated by the previous Akhilesh Yadav government?

If they talk about the proposed Jewar International Airport, they would also have to tell people how Mayawati had conceptualized the project, or how Akhilesh Yadav had pushed for it while the Centre had stonewalled it then.

If they talk about the metro rail they would also have to admit that it was indeed Akhilesh Yadav who had flagged off the Lucknow metro rail project in Uttar Pradesh.

Aware that there is actually nothing for which they can lay sole claim, the BJP has finally settled down to its pet agenda of bhaijaan, chachajaan, abbajaan story, love jihad , forced religious conversion bogey and so on.

And as the election is approaching, the virulent campaign is reaching its crescendo. Minority bashing has emerged as their sole agenda. Talking about how the Yogi government has controlled corruption and crime, the Prime Minister mentioned the Sotiganj scrap market in Meerut recently where the UP government has seized wealth to the tune of Rs. 65 crores from three scrap dealers. Making it sound as if each and every scrap dealer in Sotiganj is engaged in theft, the prime minister painted a picture as if the entire Muslim community in Meerut was involved in the illegal activity. Inevitably, each speech by the top leaders of the BJP is laced with innuendoes against Muslims.

Thus it is no surprise that the lower rung leaders and fringe right wing organizations have taken cue and incidents of attacks on Minorities have gone up. Not only Muslims, even Christians have come under attack for the purported bogey of conversion.

In an unprecedented attack on Christians, right wing hoodlums attacked a Christmas Eve gathering in Agra and, shock of all shocks, burnt the effigy of Santa Claus! The hoodlums, led by one Ajju Chauhan, formerly a prominent VHP leader, shouted Santa Claus murdabaad. One is still to hear of any police action in this case.

In another similar shocking incident, right wing youth organization activists, mainly Bajrang Dal and Hindu Yuva Vahini, protested in front of Matridhaam Ashram in the Chandmari area of Varanasi, the prime ministers own constituency, on Christmas Eve and shouted slogans against Christians and Christianity.

Matridhaam Ashram is not even a church. It is a place where people of all faiths gather and offer prayer. On Christmas Eve a similar prayer meeting was organized when the goons surrounded the ashram, shouted slogans and disrupted the prayer meeting. According to eyewitnesses, the police, which had been duly informed of the programme, was nowhere to be seen. The goons, after disrupting the programme and warning those gathered against conversion left. So far there is no report of the police having initiated any action against trouble mongers.

The fact that there is a deliberate attempt by the right wing organisations to communally polarize the voters became obvious when on January 2, 2022, Hindu Yuva Vahini members, brandishing swords and other weapons, held a motorcycle rally in Muslim dominated areas of Varanasi, shouting slogans like kashi me rehna hai to Ram Ram kehna hai, and playing loud objectionable songs on the DJ. Apparently there was no occasion for such a rally, but the local administration remained a mute spectator and nobody else in the government has yet found anything objectionable in this rally.

We realize that this is a deliberate attempt to communally polarize the voters, but we have to stay alert and not bite their bait, says a prominent Muslim religious leader from Varanasi. He says the elders in the community have the responsibility to keep the youth under control otherwise the situation could turn ugly.

P L Punia, senior Congress leader, who is the partys campaign incharge, said since the BJP has nothing to show by way of achievement, it is harking back to its communal agenda. People are fed up with this government due to escalating prices, rising joblessness and vitiating social atmosphere. It is their old and time tested trick to fall back on the communal card, he added.

Reacting to Amit Shahs claim of teen so ke paar Punia said that Shah should also tell us which 100 seats he is going to lose. He further maintained that there is nervousness in the BJP camp as people have made up their mind for change. Which way the change will lead remains to be seen but BJP is not coming back, Punia said.

Is the BJP getting jittery by the crowds gathering at Akhilesh Yadavs meetings? It is still too early to say which way the wind will blow in UP, but there indeed is a lot at stake for the ruling BJP.

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UP Polls - Is The BJP A Wee Bit Jittery? - The Citizen

ENCINITAS

After a nearly two-year closure due to the pandemic, the meditation gardens at the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas reopened to the public last month.

The lushly landscaped gardens which include a koi pond, exotic flowering plants and a stunning clifftop ocean view were originally landscaped and planted by the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, who founded the international Fellowship in 1920 in Los Angeles. He later opened the Encinitas retreat, hermitage and ashram center in 1937. Entrance to the gardens has always been free, and thousands of visitors from all over the world visit each year, according to Fellowship spokeswoman Amy Correia.

Veronica Villa, 50, of Los Angeles, enjoys the view at the newly reopened meditation gardens at Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas on Wednesday.

(Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

One of the highlights of the gardens is an old Monterey pine that was given to Yogananda as a gift. Known as the Ming Tree or Little Emperor, it has been cultivated as a large bonsai. It sits on a bluff above the ocean behind a large wooden screen to protect it from strong ocean winds. Also in the garden is an ancient Aleppo pine, African coral trees, a large ficus tree from India, fan palms, a Hollywood juniper, a flame-thrower palm and a bull horn acacia.

The 17-acre hermitage property Yogananda opened 84 years ago has helped define the citys identity, including its golden lotus blossom-topped towers on South Coast Highway and Swamis Beach, the popular surfing spot at the foot of the property. The garden was created to offer visitors a place to rest and contemplate in peace. The Encinitas property is one of more than 800 temples, retreats and ashrams around the world, which includes 200 in India.

A person meditates in the newly reopened Meditation Gardens at Self-Realization Fellowship on Wednesday in Encinitas.

(Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Born in India in 1893, Yogananda has been widely credited with helping introduce the philosophies of yoga and meditation to the Western world. He also encouraged harmony between people of different faiths, races and cultures. Most of these ideas were spread during Yoganandas 10-year lecture tour in the U.S. and Europe from 1925 to 1935 and in India from 1935 to 1936.

After that, he retreated from the public eye to focus on writing up his teachings. Most of this writing was done at the Encinitas hermitage, which was secretly built for Yogananda as a surprise during his years abroad. The property was purchased and construction was underwritten by his leading disciple Rajarsi Janakananda, a self-made millionaire from Louisiana whose birth name was James Jesse Lynn.

In January 1938, Yogananda dedicated the opening of a Golden Lotus Temple on the spot where the meditation gardens now stand. The temple had a four-story glass observation tower and huge windows that offered followers an unobstructed view of the ocean. But within four years, the erosion of the shoreline below caused the land underneath the temple to become unstable and the building had to be removed. Today, services are offered at a pair of temple buildings a few blocks away in downtown Encinitas.

People enjoy the newly reopened Meditation Gardens at Self-Realization Fellowship on Wednesday in Encinitas.

(Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

In December 1946, Yogananda published his memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi, which has since sold more than 4 million copies and been translated into 50 languages. The Fellowship marked the 75th anniversary of the books publication in 2021. Because of the pandemic, Correia said many of these celebrations were held online, including group meditations, talks and classes.

In 1952, Yogananda died of heart failure while concluding a speech at a dinner for the visiting Indian ambassador at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. He was 59. Janakananda, who built the Encinitas hermitage, succeeded him as Fellowship president until his own death three years later in Borrego Springs.

Accessed through iron gates, the meditation gardens entrance is at 215 W. K St., between Second and Third streets. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and closed on Mondays. The gardens will also be closed on Wednesday and Saturday for private events associated with Yoganandas Jan. 5 birthday celebration. For more information on the gardens, visit encinitastemple.org/visiting.

Koi fish in the newly reopened Meditation Gardens at Self-Realization Fellowship on Wednesday in Encinitas.

(Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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After nearly two-year closure, Self-Realization Fellowship's meditation gardens have reopened - The San Diego Union-Tribune

The organisers of the dharma sansad in Haridwar have announced a pratikar sabha on January 16 to protest the FIRs registered against them in connection with the hate speeches at the three-day meeting last month.

Several Hindu religious leaders had given incendiary addresses targeting the minority community at the closed-door conclave organised from December 17-19.

The speakers were mahamandaleshwars of the various akharas or religious orders of Hinduism. The chief organiser of the Haridwar dharma sansad, Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand, is mahamandaleshwar of Juna Akhara. Swami Prabodhanand Giri and Annapurna Ma, who spoke at the sansad, are mahamandaleshwars of Juna Akhara and Niranjani Akhara respectively.

A dharma sansad, literally, religious parliament, is a platform of Hindu religious leaders or sants, where decisions are taken on issues considered important to the dharma.

The first dharma sansad was organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi in 1984, where a decision was taken to launch the Ramjanmabhoomi movement.

At the next dharma sansad held in Udupi in 1985, eight resolutions were passed, one of which demanded that

Shri Ramjanmabhoomi, Shri Krishnajanmasthan and the Kashi Vishwanath complex should be immediately handed over to the Hindu samaj.

The VHPs dharma sansads are called by its margadarshak mandal, a body of 65 prominent sants from around the country, whenever, according to the sants, a need is felt to guide the Hindu samaj.

The margadarshak mandal decides the participants, which include the sants from the akharas. These sants may participate themselves or send their representatives to the sansad.

VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said the parishad has so far organised 17 dharma sansads, which are in the nature of routine meetings to receive guidance from sants.

The VHPs last dharma sansad was held in Haridwar in 2019, when the sants had asked then Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to free temples from government control.

Over the years, newer organisations have called their own dharma sansads, which the VHP has tacitly approved. According to Jain, while the VHP organised the first dharma sansad in 1984, anybody could hold a dharma sansad.

Development of new traditions and methods is the specialty of Hindu dharma, he said. If anyone else uses this title, that does not reduce the dignity and glory of the VHPs dharma sansad.

Jain, however, dissociated his organisation from the Haridwar meeting last month.

That was not the VHPs dharma sansad. VHP has not patented the term dharma sansad, but the entire nation understands what is the language of the VHP and what is not, he said.

Jain also said that Yati Narsinghanand was not in the VHPs margadarshak mandal, and that he had never spoken from a VHP platform.

Juna Akhara president Prem Giri Maharaj defined a dharma sansad simply as a meeting of sants, and said that every akhara regularly holds its own dharma sansads.

If a mahamadaleshwar holds a meeting of 200-400 followers and preaches a sermon, that is also a dharma sansad, he said.

Ravindra Puri, secretary of Niranjani akhara, said that dharma sansads are intended to propagate sanatan dharma, and the message of the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana. Ravindra Puri said that he opposed a dharma sansad of the kind held in Haridwar because, A dharma sansad should not be a political platform. It should not be against anyone and it should have positive thoughts and a positive message.

All 13 akharas in the country nominate mahamandaleshwars to propagate sanatan dharma as the representative of the akhara. The mahamandaleshwar has no role in the internal organisation and financial affairs of the akhara, which is run by an executive body of the akhara concerned.

The akharas have their own norms for appointing mahamandaleshwars. In Juna Akhara, a prospective mahamandaleshwars name is proposed by an existing mahamandaleshwar or other senior functionary.

It is good if he is educated. But more important is speaking skills that can attract and impress people. He must be able to hold satsangs, guide followers, and have knowledge of the shastras and the confidence to speak to gatherings of 50-100 people at least, Juna Akhara president Prem Giri Maharaj said.

In Niranjani Akhara, an aspiring mahamandaleshwar should be educated, have knowledge of the shastras, should be able to propagate sanatan dharma, and should have his own ashram or at least an educational institution to hold satsangs and teach sanatan dharma.

They are given the honour of mahamandaleshwar with the expectation that they will propagate sanatan dharma as our representative and brighten the name of the akhara, said Ravindra Puri.

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There are more than 100 mahamandaleshwars of the Niranjani Akhara working across the country, he said.

Mahant Ramdas of Hanuman Garhi, Ayodhya, who is associated with the Nirmohi Akhara, said his akhara has more than 1,000 mahamandaleshwars, who are given the title of Shri Mahant. They are assigned the tasks of creating awareness about the importance of the Ganga, the conservation of heritage and the environment, protection of sanatan dharma, gau seva, giving deeksha to followers, organising camps in Kumbh melas, and working for the protection of temples, Ramdas said.

The mahamandaleshwars are part of the Peshwai procession of their akharas during Kumbh Melas; they also hold satsangs during the Mela.

According to Ramdas: We make sure that the person who is made a mahamandaleshwar has not been sentenced by a court in any case, and he has not been associated with any other religion in the past.

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Dharma sansad and mahamandaleshwar: who they are, the role they play - The Indian Express

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Eighty-nine years of slow but steady enlightenment Part 3 - Payson Roundup