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› Opinion
How to convert India-US defence relations from transactional to strategic?
By Ajai Shukla | Last Updated at December 04 2020 07:35 IST
Topics Indian defence industry | US India relations | Narendra Modi
Over the past two decades, there has been a strengthening bipartisan consensus in Washington on the need for a strong, multi-faceted strategic partnership with India. That has even weathered (so far at least!) India's turn towards political authoritarianism, majoritarianism, and erosion of the personal freedoms that the US holds dear. Consequently, the transition in January from Donald Trump's presidency to that of Joe Biden is likely to bring about changes only of style, rather than substance, in the defence relations between New Delhi and Washington.
Underlining this growing closeness are two recent developments in the backdrop of the ongoing Sino-Indian face-off in Eastern Ladakh. First, the navy chief confirmed on Thursday the lease of two MQ-9B Sea Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from US firm General Atomics, and those have been flying 33-hour missions since early November to track Chinese submarines and warships in the Indian Ocean. The military has been pushing to buy 30 of these High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) drones, but their high cost has held back this purchase. Now, a solution has been found, with the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) facilitating the lease of two Sea Guardians, along with US personnel for maintenance and training. On its part, New Delhi has promulgated a new acquisition procedure that allows for leasing equipment. Further, to use the Sea Guardian effectively, New Delhi has signed the one remaining "foundational defence agreement" — the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geo-Spatial Intelligence (BECA) — which enables Indian platforms to use high-accuracy US mapping. The two countries have clearly coordinated closely on operationalising the Sea Guardian.
Simultaneously, citing the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) — another foundational agreement that was signed in 2016 — New Delhi approached the US for 11,000 sets of extreme cold weather clothing for Indian soldiers who are confronting the Chinese in Ladakh. For years, New Delhi hesitated to sign the foundational agreements, fearing they would bind India too closely to America. Now, with their utility being proven in operations, New Delhi is not holding back. More effective US-India cooperation is also being facilitated by stationing an Indian military officer in the Bahrain headquarters of US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
This is all very different from the defence relations five years ago when senior US officials, who had flown down from Washington to New Delhi, would sometimes be told after landing that their meeting had been cancelled as their ministry of defence (MoD) counterpart "was busy".
Even so, America remains the only one of India's significant defence partners that is not embedded, or participating, in a weapons co-development programme that New Delhi considers "strategic". Israelis are cooperating with India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in the super-sensitive field of ballistic missile defence; the French are helping modify Indian Air Force fighter aircraft to deliver nuclear weapons, and in building conventional submarines, while the Russians play a big role in India's nuclear submarine programme. The US, however, has no comparable strategic initiative. Washington seems content with selling India tactical weaponry — $20-21 billion worth so far. Nor has the much-hyped US-India Defence Trade and Technology Initiative made any headway in its stated mission to facilitate co-development and co-production of military kit.
Sceptics in New Delhi accuse the US of being content with ringing up arms sales and having no inclination to share "strategic" technologies with India. However, the fact is that New Delhi has never seriously tested American willingness to cooperate in strategic projects. A field for cooperation is readily at hand: The US is the world's leader, by a distance, in marine nuclear propulsion. Meanwhile, India's navy and the DRDO are struggling to develop a reactor for Indian submarines; and have been frustrated in building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Working-level Indian officials have proposed to their American counterparts that they assist India in this field. However, strategic cooperation of such an order is never requested, nor processed, at the working level. US government policy since the 1950s has forbidden military nuclear cooperation with other countries, except for limited projects with its closest allies, the UK and France. Any change to this longstanding policy would only be considered after a request at the highest political level.
Putting it bluntly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to dial up Mr Biden next month and clearly say: "Mr President, the threat from China is clear and present. We, in New Delhi, have determined it to be an urgent national priority to outfit our submarines and aircraft carriers with nuclear propulsion and we want to cooperate with America on this programme."
Mr Modi must remind Mr Biden that America's goal of expanding multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific includes a pivotal role for a militarily powerful India. Expanding US-India defence cooperation into the strategic realm would not just serve to make India a capable maritime partner but would also add technological substance to the US-India defence relationship.
Within the Pentagon, there will almost certainly be pockets of resistance to assisting India with marine nuclear propulsion. But Washington is pragmatic, if anything. Its policymakers and lawmakers could be persuaded that, with a well-funded programme already under way for six nuclear-powered attack submarines, India is already fully committed to this course. They know that if America denies New Delhi assistance, Moscow will be waiting in the wings, looking for an opportunity to expand its role. There is a convincing argument to be made that it would be in America's national interests for Indian submarines and carriers to be highly capable platforms, powered by reactors built with US assistance rather than Russian reactors.
Illustration by Binay Sinha
A single phone call is not going to trigger the release of US nuclear propulsion technology right away. But it could start an incremental process. Washington would most likely agree to engage New Delhi in a Marine Nuclear Safety Dialogue. In that forum, further questions could be raised and more Indian requests made as confidence is built.
Years ago, the Indian Navy's Vice Admiral Ravi Ganesh visited the Pentagon with a mandate from the naval chief to suss out America's position on nuclear submarine cooperation. When he raised the subject delicately, there was no rejection from any US official. Instead, the question everybody put to him was: "Where is the official 'ask' from your prime minister? When that comes, we can address it within our system."
After Indira Gandhi, India's political leadership, with the possible exception of Manmohan Singh, has remained at an arm's distance from defence and strategy, and reluctant to engage directly in matters such as these. But with the Chinese at our doorstep in cahoots with Pakistan, India needs to gear up its external balancing. Without entering into any overt alliances, New Delhi needs to ensure that its strategic partners, especially the US, begin delivering strategic benefits that go beyond tactical war games and equipment sales. When Mr Modi congratulates America's next president after his inauguration, the Indian leader must begin locking the US into a relationship that yields strategic benefits for India.
Read our full coverage on Indian defence industry
First Published: Thu,December 03 2020 22:42 IST
INDIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY
US INDIA RELATIONS
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The overall population of the municipality named Santa María Colotepec is 19223 citizens, 9572 males and 9651 females.
The population of Santa María Colotepec is divided into 8779 minors and 10444 adults, with 1028 of them older than 60 years.
2940 people in Santa María Colotepec live in indigenous households. An indigenous language is spoken by 1455 people who are older than 5 years. The number of people who only speak an indigenous language is 8 and 1344 speak both an indigenous language and Spanish.
A legal claim on health care and social insurance benefits have 6075 citizens of Santa María Colotepec.
In Santa María Colotepec about 4103 households are registered.
3911 of these households are common houses or apartments, 1071 are without floor and about 650 consist of one room only.
3644 of the normal households have sanitary installations, 2401 are connected to the public water supply, 3566 have access to electricity.
The economic situation allows 268 households to own a computer, 1083 own a washing machine and 2737 households are equipped with one ore more televisions.
Besides the 1889 analphabets aged 15 or older, about 259 minors between 6 and 14 are not visiting a school.
1742 inhabitants of the population of 15 years and older did not visit a school and 5502 persons did not finish the school. 2356 visited only the 6 years lasting primary school, 2122 visited and finished the college or similar scholar institutions.
A total of 1240 aged 15 to 24 years visited a school, the medium time school is visited through the whole population is 6 years.


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Bus tour of Retrofitted Schools - This tour will commence with a presentation at the conference centre regarding the current status of the BC Schools Performance Based Seismic Mitigation Program, including on-line examples of the current 'rapid assessment' format, 'detailed assessment' and 'retrofit design' Analyzer, and in-development post-earthquake inspection procedures. Three schools will be visited, including a 3-building heritage school with internal, external, and base isolation retrofit schemes, and a school with combined retrofit and partial replacement. Limit of 30 attendees.
All tours will take place FRIDAY, 3/8/19 from 2:30-5:30pm. Price for all Tours is $25 and includes bus transportation. Please sign up for the Tours on the Registration page. Meeting location and tour details will be sent to registrants 1-2 weeks prior to the tour.
Notable Structures in Vancouver Self-Guided Tour: Explore the many impressive structures in Vancouver. A google map and pdf booklet with information on the structures is available from the Structural Engineers Association of British Columbia (SEABC) website: https://seabc.ca/notable-structures.


Click to see full infographic.
Always be on the lookout for deer at dawn and dusk — the times of day when you're likely to be commuting.
Leave early to give yourself extra travel time and take it slow as you drive.
When startled by an approaching vehicle, deer can panic and dart out from any direction.
If you see one deer cross the road, others are likely nearby.
Watch for deer-related warning signs and slow down at well-known deer crossings.
If a crash with a deer is unavoidable, remember don't swerve. Be sure to brake firmly and hold onto the steering wheel with both hands. Come to a controlled stop and move the vehicle out of traffic to a safe location. Statistics show that most deer-related deaths and injuries occur when drivers swerve from their lane and hit another object, such as a vehicle or a tree.
Slow down. Decreasing speed gives you more time to react if you spot an animal.
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Q: How to keep WSGI from launching multiple instances I have a python web application that I have configured in apache as:
WSGIScriptAlias   /firetalk   /scripts/firetalkServer2
When I access this from javascript using XMLHttpRequest, WSGI/Apache end up launching multiple instances which breaks what I am trying to accomplish.
So, is there any way to limit WSGI/Apache to a single instance of the specified python script?
Thank you.

A: Put the WSGI app in daemon mode and tell it to use a single process. Note that this could have a detrimental effect on performance.

A: This is more in answer to qualification on what is desired in comment to other answer.
WSGIDaemonProcess firetalk # Uses default of single process and 15 threads.
WSGIDaemonProcess django processes=5 threads=3

WSGIScriptAlias /firetalk /scripts/firetalkServer2 \
    process-group=firetalk application-group=%{GLOBAL}

WSGIScriptAlias / /scripts/djangoServer \
    process-group=django application-group=%{GLOBAL}

The firetalk application will go to single process with 15 threads.
The Django application will go to multiples processes.
Requires mod_wsgi 3.0 or later as using process-group/application-group options to WSGIScriptAlias. Use of options does mean WSGI script preloaded on process startup.
Alternatively could do:
WSGIDaemonProcess firetalk # Uses default of single process and 15 threads.
WSGIDaemonProcess other processes=5 threads=3

WSGIScriptAlias /firetalk /scripts/firetalkServer2

<Location /firetalk>
WSGIProcessGroup firetalk
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
</Location>

WSGIScriptAlias / /scripts/djangoServer

WSGIProcessGroup other

The firetalk application will go to single process with 15 threads.
Other applications get distributed across multiple process each in distinct sub interpreter of those processes.
WSGI scripts lazily loaded on first request.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Abu Dhabi cut costs to boost tourism, hospitality sectors
Abu Dhabi has reduced tourism-related fees to help the ailing hospitality sector and attract more visitors as the oil-rich emirate looks to diversify its economy.
The Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT) said on Tuesday it has reduced tourism fees from 6 to 3.5 percent, municipal fees from 4 to 2 percent and municipality hotel room fees per night from 15 dirhams (US$4) to 10 dirhams.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates is investing billions of dollars in industry, infrastructure and tourism to diversify its economy away from oil.
Abu Dhabi is home to the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Warner Bros. world-themed indoor park and other attractions.
Two more museums, the Guggenheim and the Zayed National Museum, are being built.
Neighboring Dubai welcomed a record 15.9 million tourists last year compared with Abu Dhabi's 10 million hotel guests in 2018.
The move to reduce the fees came on the back of a study on Abu Dhabi's hotels conducted by the DCT.
"The tourism sector is a key alternative to oil," said Saif Saeed Ghobash, under-secretary of DCT. "It is necessary to support this sector as it experiences difficulties to allow it to contribute to the achievement of future goals."
The financial impact of the reduction in fees would be 1 billion dirhams over the next three years, he said.
DCT also plans to spend 500 million dirhams over the next three years toward marketing the emirate and attract tourists, as part of the Abu Dhabi government's accelerators program called Ghadan 21.
Oil rises to US$67 on cuts to Saudi, Venezuelan exports
Boeing to upgrade software in 737 Max 8 fleet in weeks


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The environmental health focus of the Global One Health initiative (GOHi) at The Ohio State University
Tags: Global One Health
Materials developed by CDC
Op-ed by Michael S. Bisesi, MS, PhD, FAIHA, Vice Dean, Academic Affairs and Academic Administration, Professor and Chair (interim), Division Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, and GOHi Director of Training.
The general profession of environmental science includes numerous specializations, including environmental health science. As a profession, environmental health, also known as environmental public health, focuses on the identification, evaluation and control of hazardous agents, including infectious microorganisms and toxic chemicals, among others, that contaminate the air, water, soil and food matrices. The presence of contaminants in one or more of these matrices, which act as exposure pathways, increases the individual and collective exposure hazard potential to humans and other living organisms. Accordingly, environmental health science is a major discipline involved in the original, and more so an expanded, One Health approach. Some faculty members and I from the Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the College of Public Health are very involved with the constantly evolving Global One Health initiative (GOHi) at The Ohio State University.
The original, and presently the most common, definition of the One Health approach focuses exclusively on an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to address zoonotic infectious microbial exposure, and disease surveillance, prevention and mitigation at the interface of human health, animal health and the environment. The rationale for exclusive emphasis on zoonotic agents and diseases is because almost two-thirds of all infectious diseases adversely affecting humans originate from animals. These zoonotic infectious agents often have environmental reservoirs (e.g., soil; water) and are transmissible from animal to human and, in some cases, the reverse.
The animal sectors include wildlife, livestock and poultry, and domesticated animals. The exposures between and among infected animals and humans includes examples of both direct and indirect modes of inhalation of contaminated air, ingestion of contaminated food and water, and dermal contact with contaminated surfaces and objects. The modes of exposure also include contaminants that move up the food chain. For example, contaminated soil and water can in turn contaminate and adversely affect plants. In relation, herbivorous and omnivorous animals and humans eating the contaminated plants can also become exposed and ill as a result.
As agriculture, animal domestication, and wildlife continue to expand with corresponding increased proximity to humans it is clear that continued focus on infectious agents and communicable diseases remains critically important within the One Health approach paradigm. Indeed, this remains the major and most common focus for GOHi, however, the focus has expanded as part of GOHi's evolution.
There has been increasing human population growth and density worldwide with corresponding needs and demand for various products and services. In relation, all forms of transportation, industrial manufacturing and energy production sectors, as well as other relevant sectors including agriculture, have exhibited concurrent growth. With this change, there also has been corresponding urbanization and densification of these sectors within large metropolitan areas worldwide. Although these observations are worldwide, including within the United States, some of the most substantive and significant increases are associated with growing and economically improving lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) as they experience increases in transportation, industrial manufacturing, and energy production and use. Much of GOHi's international work involving professional and technical capacity building via education and training, research and outreach includes LMIC countries in eastern Africa.
Whereas pathogenic microorganisms originate from and are associated with various meso- and macroorganisms and environmental matrices that serve as reservoirs and hosts, toxic chemicals originate from and are associated with the various sectors of transportation, industrialization and energy production. As a result, toxic inorganic and organic chemicals, in the forms of solids, liquids and gases, are both intentionally and unintentionally released into the environment. These released chemicals in turn contaminate the air, water, soil, and food matrices which, as stated earlier, act as exposure pathways. Depending on the types and levels of toxic chemicals plus the duration of direct and indirect exposure, among other exposure factors, numerous types of non-communicable diseases involving almost any organ system adversely affect humans and animals. It is also known that toxic chemicals can adversely affect plants too.
Given the above, GOHi developed and adopted an expanded paradigm for the One Health approach. GOHi expanded its focus of its One Health approach beyond zoonotic infectious microorganisms and communicable diseases, to also include toxic chemicals and non-communicable diseases. In addition, GOHi added plant health as a fourth component to the One Health approach paradigm.
The comprehensiveness of the profession of environmental health aligns even better with the expanded paradigm for the One Health approach. Environmental health already focuses on the identification, evaluation and control of both infectious microorganisms and toxic chemicals—as well as toxic physical agents such as radiation and noise—that contaminate environmental matrices. Environmental health science identification and evaluation methods and practices go beyond characterizing the types and levels of infectious and toxic contaminants in these matrices, but also determines if there are associated exposure pathways that result in human exposure hazards and associated human disease risks.
As GOHi progresses and expands from present to future, we aspire to continually implement the broader paradigm of the One Health approach within Ohio, the United States and internationally. With this, and with continued focus on expanded implementation of our strategic plan with the expanded One Health approach paradigm, we will contribute substantially, effectively and efficiently to eliminate and reduce adverse impacts to humans, animals, plants and the environment associated with infectious microorganisms and toxic chemicals.


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Q: ResearchKit: Is it possible to get choices variable from ORKConsentReviewStep As my question say, I am creating a ORKConsentReviewStep without the signature. But I would like to know if the user tap 'agree' or 'disagree'.
I tried:
let reviewResult = result.stepResultForStepIdentifier("kReview")
let r = reviewResult?.resultForIdentifier("kReview") as! ORKChoiceQuestionResult
let choice = r.choiceAnswers?.first as! Double

But it will crash.
Edit:
I am using this to get the choice from the SharingStep and was hoping the ReviewStep had the same:
let sharing = result.stepResultForStepIdentifier("kSharingStep")
let s = sharing?.resultForIdentifier("kSharingStep") as! ORKChoiceQuestionResult
let theChoice = s.choiceAnswers!.first as! Double

A: Actually, this looks like an oversight. Since all our users have used at least requiresName, and usually also requiresSignatureImage, they have been able to determine whether the user agreed implicitly by whether a name or signature are present.
Note that ORKConsentReviewStep is not a question step, so it does not contain a question result. Its result's child is an ORKConsentSignatureResult which documents the name and/or signature obtained.
What should happen is that if the user does not agree, the review result should have a flag to indicate this explicitly.
I've filed #244

A: While looking through the files and trying to create an own delegate I found
@protocol ORKConsentReviewControllerDelegate <NSObject>
- (void)consentReviewControllerDidAcknowledge:(ORKConsentReviewController *)consentReviewController;
- (void)consentReviewControllerDidCancel:(ORKConsentReviewController *)consentReviewController;
@end

So here is the answer to my own question :)


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Have you ever experienced the awkwardness of watching a show or a movie with your parents when a particularly uncomfortable scene or image comes on the screen? All of a sudden you wish you could change the channel or leave the room or become invisible, anything to get out of this horrible moment?
I confess that I had this experience just this past week while watching television with my wife and my dad. I was eager to share with my family a comedy show that I sometimes enjoy; unfortunately, it only took about three minutes for this particular episode to become filled with sexual innuendo and crass jokes. After a few minutes of squirming, avoiding eye contact, and turning red, I finally changed the channel out of embarrassment and shame.
The experience made me reflect upon the concept of shame. We tend to think that shame itself is a bad thing, something to be avoided at all costs. But as I reflected upon it more, I realized that in some situations shame might be the voice of the Holy Spirit encouraging me to change my ways.
1 Timothy 4:2 talks of those whose "consciences are seared," presumably referring to men and women who longer feel shame about their sin. They have traveled so far down the path of evil that they no longer feel embarrassed about violating God's commandments or seeing others do the same.
Unfortunately, such a response comes from a heart and mind that has been desensitized to the point of numbness. Once we ignore the Spirit and suppress all shame, it becomes hard to hear God's voice and obey. Perhaps we should begin to "notice that stuff" and turn the channel, say a prayer, or speak truth in the face of the lies that fill the screens and airwaves of our culture.
Even shame can be valuable, if it drives us to purity in heart and mind, to a reflection upon the things of God rather than the wickedness of the world. What will you allow to fill your thoughts today?


text:
�No strings attached�: Oakland families to get $500 a month in �guaranteed income�
OAKLAND – Six hundred Oakland families will get $500 a month for one and a half years – no strings attached – through a pilot program that aims to spawn a nationwide model of guaranteed cash assistance to low-income families.
Called Oakland Resilient Families, the program is a collaboration between Oakland-based nonprofit Family Independence Initiative and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a nationwide alliance of mayors pushing the federal government to provide cash to Americans to cover basic needs.
All families of color with at least one child under the age of 18 and income at or below 50% of the area median income – about $59,000 per year for a family of three – can apply for the monthly $500. About half of the spots will be reserved for families earning below 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $30,000 per year for a family of three.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said at a news conference Tuesday the program should show that giving money to families without restrictions can help fight poverty and close the racial wealth gap.
�We believe guaranteed income is the most transformative policy that can achieve this vision and whose time has come,� Schaaf said. �We believe poverty is not personal failure; it is a policy failure.�
Oakland's pilot program is modeled after a similar, high-profile one in Stockton, touted by that city's ex-mayor, Michael Tubbs, who also started Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.
Launched in , the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration gave 125 city residents $500 a month for two years, with no strings attached or work requirements.
Researchers who studied Stockton's program found it not only benefited the families' finances college girl hookup app and physical and emotional health but also resulted in more full-time employment.
�People said they had breathing room,� he said, noting they could take a day or couple hours off work to get a car fixed or see a doctor.
Prop. 13 offers higher tax breaks for California homeowners in White neighborhoods
Around East County: Hats, socks being collected for children in need
California launches CalAIM, an effort to transform Medi-Cal to �whole person care'
�We understand the issue is not that people don't work or that people don't want to work,� Tubbs said. �The economy does not work for people.�
The once-radical idea to give no-strings-attached cash assistance has gained traction. It was a campaign platform for former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and experimental programs are sprouting across the country. In Compton, a pilot program is giving $500 per month to 800 people .
Direct checks to Americans through federal COVID-19 stimulus packages also have helped familiarize people with the idea of cash assistance.
Family Independence Initiative, which was started 20 years ago and works to bring cash to families struggling with poverty across the country, is implementing the program in Oakland.
�When people say �How do we solve poverty in America?' the reality is that families solve poverty every day,� said Jesus Gerena, CEO of Family Independence Initiative. �It is organized efforts like this partnership with the mayors that will create real change,� he added.
But short of advocating for an expanded program at the state or federal level, it's unclear whether guaranteed income will continue to flow in Oakland when the 18-month pilot program ends.
The program is funded entirely through private funds from philanthropic firm Blue Meridian Partners. Of the $6.7 million raised so far for the pilot, 80% will go directly to the families and about 20% will be used to run the program at Family Independence Initiative and toward research.
Any plan to continue the program or expand it locally would require either sustained philanthropic donations or an allocation from the city's budget, which is created every two years and approved by the City Council.
�Our pilot is 600 families. We know that does not come close to meeting the need in Oakland nor in the nation,� Schaaf said, explaining the program is an effort to provide a �body of evidence� to show that �guaranteed income must be adopted at the federal level.�
The city and nonprofit leaders at the press conference said the intent is not to push out other social safety benefits, such as credit to buy food. Unlike �universal basic income,� which is intended to give equal money to everyone regardless of wages and has been criticized for its potential to replace existing social benefits, guaranteed income aims to complement those benefits.
Though all families of color in Oakland who meet the child and income requirements can apply, half of the 600 must be from East Oakland. The program is expected to begin this summer.


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text:
Headlines and Deadlines
Adventures in journalism
This week, I've been reading… (weekly)
April 20, 2014 May 30, 2014 Alison GowLeave a comment
∞ — Wearables versus there-ables. What if we've got…
"What if we've got it all wrong?What if we're not actually supposed to wear all sorts of technology on our bodies and on our clothes? What if we didn't have to / weren't meant to carry our technology with us as we moved around town?What if the technology was actually already in the room when we got there? Maybe that's the kind of Internet-of-things that will be more sustainable and will win long-term."
tags: technology wearables
Free: British Pathé Puts Over 85,000 Historical Films on YouTube – Open Culture
Video, YouTube, Commons
Digital journalism: we're still waiting for the third model of news publishing | Emily Bell | Economy | The Guardian
"We are still waiting, though, for a third model of news publishing to emerge. A news organisation that holds institutional strengths, beliefs and resources at its core but allows the rise of the independently oriented journalist some freedom to succeed or fail is still at the drawing board stage.
tags: future of news
How to Make Cinemagraphs | Photojojo
A little bit Daily Prophet… how to make a photo move. It's a bit time-consuming and involves photoshop but it's really got me thinking about how to use it in storytelling.
tags: cinemagraph photoshop tutorial how-to gif
(Re)defining multimedia journalism — Changing Journalism — Medium
This is the key for me. Immersive means I am lost in what I am reading/watching/hearing/experiencing.
Immersive experiences rule. Take me somewhere I have never been. Show me something I have never seen.
New digital tools every journalist should try – Knight Foundation
I haven't used any of these but I'll give them a go "in digital years a lifetime for a product seems like about 21 months. "Moore's Law" predicted chip-processing power would double about every 18 months. It more or less has for decades, and each wave of chips remakes the digital world. In digital time, that means a tool born in 2012 was born a lifetime ago. There's nothing wrong with the classic tools; they just aren't the latest ones. "
tags: tools
The newsonomics of Digital First Media's Thunderdome implosion (and coming sale) » Nieman Journalism Lab
"Closing Thunderdome is just part of a major north-of-$100-million cost cutting initiative that is putting the best glow on some tough financials. The reason for the sale: Despite CEO John Paton's aggressive remaking of the company, Alden's investments in cheap newspaper company shares ("The Demise of Lean Dean Singleton's Departure and the Rise of Private Equity") haven't worked out the way private equity bets are supposed to."
tags: thunderdome DFM newsonomics
Talking about Innovation and Digital Skills in Journalism at the Society of Editors regional conference
I was asked to speak at the Society of Editors regional conference 2014 a while ago, and so on Monday I found myself talking to a room of people about coding, social media, and data journalism, among other things.
It was a little distracting when the Duke of York loomed in the doorway towards the end of my talk – he was speaking about journalism and apprenticeships – but on the whole I got through without being boo-ed or having pastries thrown at me.
There were enough discussion points from the day to make several blog posts (particularly around this panel discussion), and I intend to come back to those when I have more time, but in the meantime I thought I'd pop the draft of what I talked about (sans slides, which were purely illustrative) on the blog.
Titled Innovation and Digital Skills in Journalism, the talk was an expanded version of what I covered in my 5 minute slot at News:Rewired last February. So if this is TL:DR you should have a look at this instead.
Innovation and Digital Skills in Journalism
When I was 18, the editor of the Tenby Observer suffered an unaccountable rush of blood to the head, and agreed I could to spend a year in his newsroom, working as a junior reporter.
He even paid me £30 a week and in return I supplied him with a headaches, calamities, the occasional story and, often, a weekly 'correction' roundup, amending whatever I'd written the previous week.
To celebrate my admission into the world of journalism, a friend presented me with a copy of the 1949 classic Journalism For Women, which imparts the following advice to an editor: "Maids respect a mistress who can do any of the tasks she expects of them".
I'm going to use the term 'journalist' but most of what I say applies to everyone in a newsroom, including editors.
So, as I've been asked to talk about the emerging skills and opportunities in newsrooms, I think we should move forward with that phrase ringing in our ears.
Skill #1: Creative Journalism
Companies must invest time and money in training journalists for their digital roles, but I'd expect journalists to want to explore and master things themselves too.
There are few social storytelling tools out there that can't be learned within a few minutes – from Awesome Screenshot to Zee maps – they aren't complicated, and they make digital storytelling, sharing information and collaboration much easier and more effective.
In March, Trinity Mirror Regionals ran a two-day play and learn event for journalists at UCLan where a group of reporters, photographers, senior newsrooms executives, specialist reporters and newsdesk types got together to try new things.
Among the innovations that emerged were timelines, gifs, video soundbites for Explainer Journalism, interactive maps and, through the collaborative efforts of a deputy news editor and a mobile journalist from different titles, the Moyes Random Excuse Generator.
They used a site called Codepen and a spreadsheet to create a native design app for the MEN that summed up the spectacular popularity fail of the Man Utd manager.
Fun; shareable; drove traffic to other parts of the site including the home page.
Skill #2: Social Journalism
Journalists should not only use social media but but absolutely familiar and comfortable with the nuances and tones of different sites and tools.
What works on Facebook doesn't mean engagement on Twitter. When and why Instagram instead of Flickr? Live tweet, or live stream? It's an essential skill for a reporter to have, and for their managers to understand too.
Shareable content is the holy grail; if you don't know your audience – what tone to strike with them, and where, when or how they use social media so you can share your own and your title's content with them well – you are missing an essential skill of modern journalism.
I'd expect any journalist applying for a newsroom job these days should have active Twitter and LinkedIn profiles listed on their CVs, plus links to their multimedia work and, preferably, their updated and engaging blog. These are the social journalism skills they need to do the job effectively and are as important as a decent cuttings portfolio – and for some roles, of considerably more interest.
We need bright, engaging, questioning communicators in our newsrooms, who can create networks of geographic and niche communities; it's no longer enough to competently turn a ring-in from the newsdesk into a splash.
Skill #3 Networked Journalism
This doesn't mean you have a phone on you – it means your smartphone is an extension of your writing hand.
It needs to be packed with apps – such as Audioboo, Vine, Dropbox, Maps, Twitter, Snapseed – and your go-to tool for covering a story, whether it's the scene of an accident, or a council press bench.
Journalists now can capture news more effectively on a phone that we ever could with a notebook and some overwrought adjectives; phones let us create multimedia, edit it and share it without going near a desk – we can crowdsource, create, package and market our work, and do it in real time, allowing more transparency and accessibility to what we do than ever.
At a time when regional journalists are still suffering a backlash as a result of some murky national practises, mobile and social journalism can help us a chance to re-establish an eroded trust, through open reporting, accessibility and transparency of information and purpose.
A mobile journalist is not someone with a mass of kit, it's someone who sees a story and transmits it, in real time, via whatever device and medium best suits the purpose.
This is one of the most dramatic innovations in our trade of recent years, and the most exciting – the ability to self-publish reports, whether 140 characters or a live streamed video, means removing a filter and a time-lag between newsroom and audience.
Skill #4 Data journalism
I guess the old idea of 'we're journalists – we don't do Maths' was kicked into the long grass some time ago, and in Trinity Mirror the Data Unit, where journalists and coders work together to interrogate raw data and produce information, content packages and interactives of relevance and importance to all titles, is an absolute gift.
Certainly, when I was a daily title editor they kept my newsdesk supplied with a constant source of potential splashes and the daily Data Bulletin was a welcome email.
But data journalism isn't the preserve of the expert – taking raw information, interrogating it and creating compelling, valuable content is now a pretty basic requirement. Using free tools like Datawrapr and Tableau lets us not only present a story in an interactive way but get to the heart of what the story really is.
Making data shareable adds another layer of engagement and an opportunity for further stories and content. Remember when the MPs expenses logs were made available? What newsroom didn't gleefully fall on them?
Data journalism is more than spreadsheets though; today's journalistic toolbox needs to contain basic coding skills too.
Coding isn't a dark art and html isn't someone else's job – if you make a Twitter widget or to show conversation around an article, for example, or an embeddable map to show the location of a story, being able to hack the rudimentary backend code by adapting it for your site and purpose is important – and empowering. Expecting someone else to sort out your multimedia or html equivalent of the newsdesk rewriting your intro – ie. not something any journalist wants to happen.
Skill #5 Measurable journalism
Know what works. Analytics have completely changed what we know; tools such as Chartbeat and Omniture tell us what our audience is reading, sharing, responding to – and sites such as Hitwise show us where they really are going to find their news.
Twitter analytics, Facebook Insights, the plethora of Twitter tools, retweets and favourites, indicate our social reach and engagement.
Analytics used to be the preserve of the marketing department – the digital journalist skillset should combine knowledge and application of analytics to get their stories in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
Digital audience footprints are easy to follow and they let us build up a detailed picture of our audience, from when they are online, and with what device, to what they share or what they save to read when they have more time.
Knowing what your audience wants doesn't mean we become Upworthy, or the preserve of listicles – it means we reach more people and make ourselves more relevant to their lives.
It means we make better products – what we create in digital can inform our print content and make it richer in tone, voice and authenticity.
It also means we make money; as more people come to our site, stay on it and share our content we understand more about them and our commercial colleagues can target them more effectively.
Liverpool Echo editor Ali Machray says his audience is now as large as it was during the glory print days of 1985. I think that's something to be very proud of.
Innovation and creativity thrive in a digital newsroom where the priorities are audience, then content and, finally, platform, not vice versa.
The new digital innovation team being built by Trinity Mirror is about using the skills and the mindset I've mentioned here, bringing a passion for journalism together with the expertise and interests of our audience and communities.
When I was a reporter I would file my copy and wait to see it in print. Sometimes I'd wait days, if it was a holdable splash.
Now reporters own a story; words, video, audio – whatever elements make it sing – publish it, market it and assess how it performed. You get instant feedback (not always a pleasant experience) from your readers and you see a story change and gain new legs as more diverse voices are added to the discussion.
It's making us more relevant. While audience attention span may seem to be dwindling and the value of social sharing is questioned every time Facebook tweaks its algorithm, we know – thanks to some research on the subject – that the links that are most likely to be saved, shared and distributed, are actual news.
Not lolcats, not lists, but facts. This is the best time to be a journalist.
We need to talk: 26 awkward questions to ask news organizations about the move to digital
Autonomy in newsroom means better journalism
Newsroom curators and independent storytellers: Content curation as a new form of journalism
Optimism is the only option: The Washington Post's Marty Baron on the state of the news media
April 6, 2014 May 30, 2014 Alison GowLeave a comment
Aron Pilhofer on data journalism, culture and going digital | Tow Center for Digital Journalism
Interestingness " Right now, many newsrooms are stupid about the way they publish. They're tied to a legacy model, which means that some of the most impactful journalism will be published online on Saturday afternoon, to go into print on Sunday. You could not pick a time when your audience is less engaged. It will sit on the homepage, and then sit overnight, and then on Sunday a home page editor will decide it's been there too long or decide to freshen the page, and move it lower. I feel strongly, and now there is a growing consensus, that we should make decisions like that based upon data. Who will the audience be for a particular piece of content? Who are they? What do they read? That will lead to a very different approach to being a publishing enterprise."
tags: journalism tow data
Stories for Your Screen: annie96 is typing…
Man, I *really* love this method of delivering a suspense story. I'm looking at how other media are using Snapchat and WhatsApp for audience engagement and it's interesting but not Quite There (in my view), but as a medium for fiction, the design of this is very clever.
tags: whatsapp audience network storytelling
The Big Roundtable's Social Media Experiment – 10,000 Words
Interesting, and the conclusion is that the people within networks – however small – are more useful than the framework of that network. I can see the logic in the theory; however, I'm not sure I subscribe 100% to it. "Longform startup The Big Roundtable (BRT) recently commissioned three college students to put its assumptions about social sharing to the test. The challenge? Taking one story, one month and whatever techniques they could think of (legal, of course), the three undergraduates were tasked with the challenge of racking up the most unique page views."
tags: social media network audience
Twitter Enhances Lists: 4 Ways To Take Advantage – Forbes
No new Twitter hacks here, but 4 solid tips to get the best out of lists – I find the the 'subscribe & steal' one very useful
tags: twitter lists
Chartbeat CEO on native ads, viewability, and a metric standard
tags: metrics analytics chartbeat
Why Writers Need Metrics, Too | LinkedIn
The pros of using analytics as a journalist – I really agree with the points raised here.
tags: metrics analytics
The Most Important Topics Of 2014, According To You – Upworthy Insider
Surprisingly hard news is leading the way on Upworthy's poll – not sure if this is the equivalent of people saying they read the Guardian when the actually get all their news from the Daily Mail sidebar of shame but still interesting
tags: upworthy news
Your Facebook page's organic reach has been desecrated – so stop chasing Likes | Opinion | Marketing Week
Yes, Facebook reach is decreasing, no that's not the end of news organisations' effectiveness on the site. Interesting content gets shared; it's the blah stuff that we shouldn't bother posting that won't get reach. Maybe it's social media natural selection… "It's worth noting the lack in organic reach shouldn't mean marketers should cease creating non ad-funded Facebook content altogether. Some 25 million people in the UK visited Facebook every day in December 2013, the most recently available country-specific figures. Brands need to be where their audiences are and Facebook takes up a big chunk of their audiences' lives. As a case in point: earlier this week, EE suffered a network outage that meant many of its customers had no access to its services for a number of hours. EE's posts about the outage were shared and commented on thousands and hundreds of times respectively, despite the fact it didn't pay to promote them, because customers expected up-to-date information to be readily available on its Facebook page. And it's worth mentioning that actual marketing content from brands does show up in the News Feed, but just like word of mouth in any other form, it is only the exceptional marketing that creates a buzz."
tags: facebook organic reach likes marketing
Notes on TV — Benedict Evans
The disrupted TV viewing model; interesting post and some excellent insights in the comments too.
tags: disruption television
Skegnes Standard to become officeless paper – Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage
"Editor Stephen Stray said: "We really want to be at the heart of the community and our reporting team will now be out and about much more – getting to events and reporting on your stories." "We are delighted to be holding regular 'reporter surgeries' at the Embassy and would like to thank them for allowing us space in there to meet readers." However East Lindsey District councillor Steve O'Dare said the office's closure would be "bad news for Skegness." He said: "It's understandable but I think it's going to be detrimental to Skegness. A lot of people like to pop into the office.""
tags: journalism future+of+news mobile+journalism
Another JP title to become officeless paper
by Paul Linford <!–Published on .–> Published 31 Mar 2014.
The Skegness Standard has become the latest Johnston Press title to embrace
Taking down the dust sheets
In praise of failing slow
A 'how to blog' talk got me blogging again.
Facebook and the blue pill of news
What should a local news source be?
advantages of online… on Six thoughts on emerging oppor…
Rachael Grealish on What should a local news sourc…
jucasel on A 'how to blog' ta…
Alison Gow on A 'how to blog' ta…
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future of newspapers
liveblogging
Messenger apps
newsroom culture
regional journalism


Stressful Upset Young Woman in Hospital at Window with IV Drop Counter. HD, 1920×1080.
Medical tool – tonometer for the measurement of blood pressure, on white background. A person shows how to use a tonometer, close up.
Therapist's Hands Doing Tummy Massage On Woman.
Close up of therapist's hands doing tummy massage on woman.


text:
Category: Library
absolutely ridiculous: a proof/library TBR
On the left: the next six proofs for me to read, all of which (I try to read proofs in order of release date and in the month before they're published) are out on the 6th of February. On the right: my stack of library borrows, all of which are due back on 26th January. The top three are part of my children's literature project; the next two are a combination of my Guardian Top 1000 novels project and a half-conceived notion to borrow all the Penguin or Vintage classics off the shelf in order; Celestial Bodies just sort of… fell into my hand, and the final two are Guardian Top 1000 choices from the list's crime segment, which is statistically the one in which I'm least well read.
The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates: I actually finished this between the time I took the photo and the time I started writing this post. It's very reminiscent of Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, but uses its sfnal/magical realist conceit in a different, more concentrated manner. I think it will be extremely successful, although I'm still constantly unsure of how I feel about using non-realist conceits in novels that purport to show the pains of slavery. And then I feel unsure of whether I have a right to feel unsure, since Coates has done the thinking and possesses the heritage that gives him the right to tell the story however he likes.
The Lost Pianos of Siberia, by Sophy Roberts: One of my relatively rare non-fiction choices. From the press release: "Siberia's story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos – grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, and humble, Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes[…] That stately instruments might still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a miracle."
The Good Hawk, by Joseph Elliott: A YA adventure set in an alt-ancient Britain where one of the children tasked with guarding a sea wall has Down's syndrome. She teams up with an un-self-confident boy to journey into a mysterious country of magic and secrets. This sounds amazing, has had terrific reviews, and the last YA title I read published by Walker Books knocked it out of the park (Rules For Vanishing; review here).
Swimmers in the Dark, by Tomasz Jedrowski: This is giving off serious Aciman/Greenwell vibes. Two boys meet in Poland and, over the course of the summer, swim in some beautiful lakes and fall in love. Aahhh. Yes.
A Small Revolution in Germany, by Philip Hensher: I'm still not quite sure what this is about, but I think it is about a group of friends who, radical in their youth, make compromises with the boring adult world as they age, except for one of them—Spike—who does not, and the effect his refusal to compromise has on his life. I have never actually read a Hensher novel, but a new one seems like the place to start.
And, from the library:
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman: I've never read Gaiman's writing for children, though I liked American Gods a lot (and Neverwhere slightly less), so this will be a new experience. The story of a small boy called Bod who is raised by the spectral inhabitants of a graveyard when his entire family is murdered, I've heard rumours that it's somewhat uneven, and am keen to find out for myself. [C21 children's lit challenge]
The Skylarks' War, by Hilary McKay: As a child I tended to gravitate towards fantasy, but warm/familial fiction set a little in the past (a la The Railway Children) was another great love. This seems like that sort of thing, only written by a contemporary author, and was the Costa Children's Book Award winner in 2018; other than that I don't know a lot about it but am optimistic. [C21 children's lit challenge]
The Girl of Ink and Stars, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave: Another children's fantasy, but this time taking in the art and science of cartography, as Isabella has to leave her island to save her friend. Millwood Hargrave was only twenty-six when this was published and it's already become a modern children's classic. [C21 children's lit challenge]
A Man of the People, by Chinua Achebe: A short sharp shock of a novel about an unnamed African country's Minister for Culture, his corrupt and opportunistic ways, and the initially idealistic young student who first challenges, then succumbs to (I think), that life. Of Achebe's work, I've only ever read Things Fall Apart and found it a bit too schematic to genuinely enjoy, but then it's a general rule that an author's worst book is the one taught to high schoolers, so maybe this'll be better. [Penguin Modern Classic]
Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin: I fell in love with Baldwin's writing through reading Giovanni's Room last year. Go Tell It…is the semi-autobiographical story of a young man's disillusionment with the church in which he's raised, and I can't wait. [Guardian Top 1000 + Penguin Modern Classic]
Celestial Bodies, by Jokha Alharthi: Winner of the Man Booker International Prize, and the first such to be a translation from Arabic. I finished it this morning; it tells the stories of three Omani sisters – Mayya, Asma, and Khawla – their marriages, and their parents' marriages; the collision of old and new in a country where slavery was only outlawed in the early 1960s (and persisted in essence for years after it was officially illegal); the collisions of love, honour, poetry and money that make up any good family saga. A worthy winner, I think, and most surprising in its somewhat experimental form, particularly the half-dreaming narration of every other chapter, told by Mayya's husband Abdallah. Heartily recommended.
Live Flesh, by Ruth Rendell: A man commits a crime, goes to prison, gets out, and recommences the obsession that led him to commit the crime, all over again. A common enough story, but my last Rendell (technically a Barbara Vine) was incredible because of the way the story was told, so I'm hopeful this one will be too. [Guardian Top 1000]
Sidetracked, by Henning Mankell: The only Mankell on the Guardian list and I plucked it off the shelf because, well, he's solid, right? I've been under the impression I've read at least one Mankell novel for some time, but I think I've just watched enough of the Wallander series (both English and Swedish) to have given me the gist. Anyway, I imagine it'll be good competent distraction. [Guardian Top 1000]
How should I prioritize these?! I almost certainly won't get through all the library books before they're due back, which is fine, and I like being able to do full, in-depth reviews of each book I finish for the children's lit challenge before moving on to the next one, which tends to slow me down. But I also want to keep a steady pace with the proofs, unless a title is dull or frustrating enough to DNF. Thoughts?
Posted on January 8, 2020 by Elle	22
Library Checkout!
I've started using my local public library a lot more recently, thanks in large part to this rather magnificent Twitter thread from Secret Library Gorgon. It reminded me that I do, in fact, possess an Islington Libraries card, and that until two weeks ago, I had only used it once in the course of nine or ten months. So I went down to the library a fortnight ago, borrowed five books (most of which were mentioned in my last reading roundup post), and had a whale of a time.
They were all due back today (one of the most embarrassing things about my relative virginity as a public libraries user is that I was genuinely unsure whether that meant I could return them at any time today, or whether I had to return them by the time it became today, e.g. yesterday. For anyone else similarly struggling: it is the former.) Duly, I returned them and immediately borrowed seven more:
One of the very nicest things about a public library is its free-ness. This should be obvious, but it allows for all sorts of experimentation in one's reading that would be harder to defend if spending of actual cash were required. My job does provide me with a lot of free books, but these come from publisher's reps and, as proof copies, are in the nature of "previews" of the things they're going to be releasing this season. If I happen to want to read something published longer ago than, say, six to eight months, the reps are unlikely to have proof copies (though sometimes miracles do occur—reprint editions, how I love thee), and I will have to spend money on it in order to possess it. My staff discount from Heywood Hill is extremely good—we can buy books at cost price, more or less, which in practice generally means at least 45% discount and sometimes as much as 55%—but it's still, you know, money.
I am, as you can probably see from the above pile, trying to expand my knowledge of iconic crime and science fiction, and it is much easier to do that when I don't have to spend money on a book whose quality I can't predict, precisely because my knowledge base in that genre is currently limited. I'm also trying to fill some of my classic literature gaps; these are probably smaller than most people's, by the nature of the degree that I did, but with the best will in the world, even after three years of reading the Anglophone canon, one is going to have missed some things. And I'm being guided, in a vague sort of way, by the Guardian's Top 1000 Novels list (although the more I examine it, the more I realize that it is noticeably biased, though the nature of that bias has yet to clarify itself. It contains, for instance, five novels by Michael Dibdin and three by Ian Fleming in the "crime" subcategory, which is itself composed of 146 titles. Even his champions will probably balk at the notion that Ian Fleming, neither the world's greatest stylist nor its greatest plotsmith, wrote three—three!—entirely indispensable books. I have read two of the listed, Goldfinger and Casino Royale. Only the latter has a claim to that kind of significance, and its claim is mainly historic. The former is not even particularly good.)
Tangents aside, this is what I've come away with this time:
The Drowned World, by JG Ballard [on the Guardian list]
Non-Stop, by Brian Aldiss [on the Guardian list]
Sorcerer To the Crown, by Zen Cho [on my personal to-read list for years]
The Neon Rain, by James Lee Burke [on the Guardian list]
Blood Shot, also published as Toxic Shock, by Sara Paretsky [on the Guardian list]
Shirley, by Charlotte Brontë [on the Guardian list]
How Do You Like Me Now?, by Holly Bourke [recommended by my trustworthy colleague Faye]
Anyone read any of these, or want to? What should I read first? I've never read any of these authors before, except for Brontë, obviously.
Rebecca at Bookish Beck runs a regular Library Checkout feature, from which I've snitched this post title; the most recent one is here.
If you like what I write, why not buy me a coffee?
Posted on June 15, 2019 June 18, 2019 by Elle	25
Reading Diary: adventures in the unknown
The Three-Body Problem has one of the most intensely hard-sf covers I've ever seen, and although you're not meant to judge a book by its cover, I reckon in this case you'd be pretty safe. Originally written in Chinese, it's a fascinating read not only because of the mad-as-pants plot, but because Liu is working in a cultural context that Western science fiction, and Western science fiction readers, absolutely do not have. Starting with a scene in which a professor of physics is beaten to death by a group of over-excited teenage Red Guards in front of his young daughter, Liu meticulously constructs a view of the Cultural Revolution from the inside: not just its physical brutality, but the psychological compromises it forced from every Chinese citizen. Decades later, Ye—the little girl who watched her father die—is a radio astronomer at a top secret establishment called Red Base, tasked not with military surveillance of the decadent West, but with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. When Ye intercepts a radio signal that proves alien intelligence exists, she makes a decision that dooms the human race: reasoning that humanity has proved itself incompetent to rule the planet, she invites them to conquer Earth. This is just the first of a trilogy, so a lot of it consists of stage-setting and maneuvering various bits of plot into place. The writing—not unlike some other books I've read in translation from Asian languages, most notably Murakami's work—feels stilted and unidiomatic, which although frustrating makes me think that it must have something to do with the underlying structures of English vs. Chinese. Characterisation often feels like an afterthought: although Ye's motivation for welcoming alien overlords is fairly obvious and moving, Liu's portrayals of, e.g., a man whose girlfriend has recently committed suicide, or a highly educated but nevertheless passive wife, rings less true. However, the experience of reading The Three-Body Problem is so unlike that of reading a Western sci-fi novel—especially because Liu's politics veer towards the libertarian, which is quite different from the Western sci-fi that's received critical acclaim in the recent past—that it feels worthwhile just for that.
Convenience Store Woman is absolutely as weird, dark and surreal as everyone has been saying. It's not that there's any brutal physical violence in it; the strangeness and discomfort comes from our own reactions to Keiko, Sayaka Murata's protagonist, a woman whose social skills have always been on the idiosyncratic side. We might think of her as autistic, or neuro-atypical, though there's never any attempt to diagnose her in the book. Indeed, her family and friends seem unable to understand that she's not just being willfully weird; constant cries of "can't you be normal?" baffle Keiko so much that, by the time she's an adult, she's decided to aim for social acceptance through mimicry. Most of the time, she manages it: scenes in the staff room of the convenience store where she works show us how closely she pays attention to other peoples' facial expressions, tones of voice, and lexicons, then regurgitates them in order to fit in. But it's not really enough; after eighteen years of convenience store life, she still isn't married, and the demands for normalcy are returning with a vengeance. Her solution is to allow a former employee, the lost, lazy and reactionary Shiraha (he's your basic MRA/incel/"women are factually inferior to men because the Stone Age"), to live in her flat (well, in her bathtub, technically), which makes everyone else believe they're dating—maybe even approaching marriage. Shiraha is awful, obviously, but the point is that, this way, they might both have half a chance of fitting in. The crisis of the novel, the choice which Keiko has to make, is: can she give up the only identity that has ever made sense to her (that of a convenience store worker) in order to do that? Murata's ending, while distinctly odd, is odd in the most joyful and true-to-character way; this is not "the new Eleanor Oliphant", but something much stranger and, therefore, better.
Thomas Page McBee wrote an earlier book, Man Alive, about his transition; this one, Amateur, is about his attempts to learn to box in order to fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden. (He did it, becoming the first trans man to box there in the process.) As its subtitle would suggest, this is fertile ground in terms of seeing questions about manhood through the lens of violence, aggression, love, and the moments where those three things can be synonymous, and the moments where they are not. It is, as I said on Instagram, a book about being a good man, and a book about punching someone in the face. McBee is especially good on moments of disorientation, where he sees himself from the outside: not just flashbacks to his changing physique, but also quieter moments when he realises he's failed to be the ally to women that he thought he was. (There's a particularly painful moment when he and his brother both talk over his sister despite her knowing more about the topic of discussion. There's also a thought-provoking incident at the start of the book, where another man tries to start a fight with him on the street. He's not targeted for being trans; the other man doesn't register that at all. Rather, McBee sees it as emblematic of a particular kind of male anger, one that lacks the vocabulary to ask to be loved. It acts as something of a catalyst for him in his attempts to discover what kind of man he wants, or needs, to be.) For me, as a woman who has never been either sporty or masculine-presenting, the scenes in McBee's training gym were like secret dispatches from an alien culture: the men who teach him to hit are also the men who wrap his hands and treat his cuts and pour water into his mouth. At the very end of the book, when he finally comes out to his training coach, he discovers that the coach already knows, and has only been wondering when McBee will trust him enough to say it. The technical stuff about fighting and the more personal, psychological content is beautifully intertwined (and it's especially nice to know that McBee's girlfriend Jess, who makes several appearances in the book, usually with a tarot deck nearby, is now his wife). A must-read, and not just for folks interested in LGBTQ writing/issues.
Those of you who grew up in the late '80s/early '90s may remember Tamora Pierce's two YA fantasy quartets, The Song of the Lioness and The Immortals; both were what a theorist might call formative texts for me. The latter, featuring a girl called Daine who can communicate telepathically with animals and even inhabit their bodies, also features her mentor and (spoilers!) eventual lover, the mage Numair Salmalin. Tempests and Slaughter (which, by the way, is something like six years overdue) promises to be the first in a series that follows the boy who became Numair: born Arram Draper, his gift for magic prompts his merchant family to place him at the Imperial University in Carthak at the age of ten. So it is very much the sort of thing that will appeal to hard-core Tamora Pierce nostalgia fandom (a group in which I place myself), but does it hold up as an actual book? Mostly, yes. Arram's two best friends at university, Varice and Ozorne, are familiar: they appear in Emperor Mage, the third Immortals book, and there's some inherent tension here in knowing their eventual fates, and wondering how those characters go from being fresh-faced, clever young students to the jaded and fated adults we've already met. But Pierce is fairly successful at making us care for them in their own rights: Varice's magic is very feminine-coded, which causes others to underestimate her (she's good at food and herbs and hospitality), but she's brilliant and kind; Ozorne, though he has readily apparent faults, is loyal and brave. The strongest part of the book is the university, which is more of a school, since it takes trainee mages as young as ten. There's an element of Hogwarts-appeal there, and the diverse, eccentric cast of instructors are great fun. The political element of the book involves slavery, which the Carthakis practice without compunction, and which the young Arram grows to realise he cannot support, particularly as Carthaki high society places a great emphasis on gladiatorial games, which are fought entirely by slaves. As a whole, Tempests and Slaughter is too long. One of Pierce's great gifts in her earlier books was her ability to compress years of plot into 200 pages, but the industry no longer requires brevity of YA literature—not since Harry Potter—and as a result, Pierce here has the freedom to make her point too many times. Still, the earlier books aren't perfect either, and that's not going to stop the legions of fans who've been waiting for this one.
The Driver's Seat is the first of the books I checked out last weekend from my local library (which I was very excited about). I've read some Spark before (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and A Far Cry From Kensington) but didn't really connect with it, and I have to say that The Driver's Seat didn't change that. Luckily, it's so short and so twisted that it's impossible to get bored while reading it; never has the metaphor of watching a slow-motion car crash been so apt. Lise, an office worker, takes her first holiday in nearly two decades. She buys eye-wateringly mismatched clothes in a shop, managing to insult the shopgirls while she's at it, and flies to an unnamed Mediterranean city, perhaps Rome. These activities take up several chapters, and as they unfold it becomes progressively clearer to us that Lise is unhinged: she laughs hysterically at nothing, has a strangely imperious manner, and—most of all—she lies endlessly. In the airport she seems to be trying on identities; one minute she's telling a fellow passenger that money has always been too tight for a holiday, and the next she's holding forth like a seasoned traveller on the need to pack light. It's impossible to talk about the plot without spoilers, so I won't; suffice to say that you can only read The Driver's Seat for the first time once. Subsequent readings might illuminate the pattern and structure of the novel, but nothing will ever make a reader forget that plot. It's macabre and entrancing, impossible to take your eyes off. My problem with it is Lise's complete lack of interiority. This is quite intentional on Spark's part—we're absolutely not meant to understand Lise's train of thought—and it's bound up, I think, with her Catholicism. (The grotesquerie of The Driver's Seat reminds me in very large part of Flannery O'Connor's work, although O'Connor's protagonists are pretty much always more readily comprehensible than Lise is.) That particular form of storytelling doesn't hold much interest for me. I only like O'Connor as much as I do because her characters, though extreme, make sense; they can communicate their own internal logic to us, and while it might not be our logic, we can at least see how they arrive at their conclusions. Spark has no interest in whether Lise makes sense or not. Her world in The Driver's Seat is meticulously constructed, but cold, and therefore I think it will always leave me so, too.
Daisy Johnson's Man Booker-longlisted novel, Everything Under, is also hard to discuss without giving things away. It is, essentially, not a retelling but a re-working of a Greek myth, and once you work out which myth, everything about the plot falls into place. That's not to say it's arid or formulaic—it's the very opposite, wild and fertile and irreverent. Gretel is a lexicographer now, working on updating definitions of words for a dictionary (implicitly the OED, with its offices on Walton Street in Oxford). But she's haunted by memories of her mother Sarah, whom she hasn't seen since she was sixteen, and of the summer when a strange boy named Marcus came to stay with them, living in their houseboat on the river Isis. In the same summer, the river was plagued by rumours of a creature that was stealing children from houseboats, sheep from water meadows. Sarah and Gretel called it the Bonak. When Sarah reappears in Gretel's life, she has to face what really happened back then. That brief summary reduces Everything Under to mere event, though, when the experience of reading it is actually mostly atmospheric. Johnson shifts back and forth between the present day (with Sarah, now suffering from dementia, living in Gretel's house), the slightly earlier present (as Gretel searches for Sarah), the past as Gretel's memory, and the past as seen through Marcus's eyes. Johnson's smart enough to trust her readers' ability to follow these chronological jumps, so they're not signposted, which gives the whole book an appropriate air of fluidity. And that's very much an overarching theme: the unshowy but persistent strain of gender-bending in Everything Under works to reinforce that, and is worked against by a sense of rigidity that comes from the book's adherence to the concept of fate and tragic irony. (This will make much more sense if you've read it and know which Greek story Johnson is working with.) It's a beautiful, feral thing to read, by a highly skilled writer.
Thoughts on this batch of reading: So many of these books have been about unfamiliar or unusual experiences, transformation, change. It all feels rather interconnected: McBee's book and Johnson's dealing with unruly bodies, Murata's and Spark's disturbing women, the speculative politics of Liu and Pierce. I like it when that happens.
Posted on August 24, 2018 by Elle	13
Having fun isn't hard
I got a library card, y'all! Because, obviously, I don't have sufficient access to books in every other area of my life.
That's actually sort of true. It's easy enough to get hold of new releases from publishers' reps, and relatively easy (if you're patient) to acquire titles that are a year to 18 months old (if you wait long enough, there will be a damaged copy somewhere along the line), but backlist stuff is impossible to request, and if the shop doesn't stock it regularly, there's not much point ordering one copy and hoping it gets bashed on the way in. So my only way of accessing books that are much older than a decade or so is either to order and purchase my own copy (which I haven't got the spare income to do for every title that takes my fancy), or to rent them.
Plus, why not support my local library? They're pretty great: late fines are 17p per book per day (seventeen pence!! Can you get anything in the world for seventeen pence these days?) You can rent a DVD overnight for £2 and a box set for a week for £1.50. They stock CDs (there's a whole Proms-themed display), and – much to my delight – a totally separate area for kids' books, a little secret lair for them away from the prying eyes of parents. And they're a fifteen-minute walk from my flat.
I restrained myself on my first visit, although these titles are due back the day before I go on holiday and there'll probably be a bit of a binge then. My choices were guided by two things: length (I wanted short books to start with), and the Guardian's list of the top 1000 novels ever published (I love a list and have been idly crossing titles off this one for ages.)
The Driver's Seat, by Muriel Spark. I've already finished this. It's under "comedy" on the Guardian list, which is an…interesting classification. Very brief, very twisted, rather marvelously constructed. Like much of Spark's work, it leaves me a little cold; I have such a hard time subscribing to the artificiality of her world. Certainly a kick in the head, though.
A Dark-Adapted Eye, by Barbara Vine. Vine was one of Ruth Rendell's pen names. She gets recommended a lot for fans of Tana French. Really excellent crime novels are worth their weight in gold.
Angel, by Elizabeth Taylor. This'll be my first Taylor (as indeed the above will be my first Vine), and the story of a fifteen-year-old girl who writes a romantic novel and baffles her publishers sounds, actually, vaguely Spark-ian.
This means I can start participating in Rebecca's Library Checkout posts!
Do you use your local library? Were you, like me, initially resistant? How do you deal with wanting to read things that the branch has to order in specially? Patience is not my forte. Tips and tricks much appreciated.


LightwaveRF plc (formerly JSJS Designs plc) is the UK's only fully integrated home automation company. New customers typically buy a starter pack of Link Plus hub and smart dimmer which has Apple HomeKit compatibility, 2-way communication and built-in energy monitoring. Later adding other easy to install devices from the Lightwave range enables further in-home control, monitoring and automation of lighting, heating and power. Devices may be operated manually, by smartphone or tablet-based apps and also through Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice control.


Does what it says on the tin. A good medium bodied slothful sweeter red perfect with cheese. I wouldn't choose to drink it on its own, but if you don't fancy port with your cheeseboard then this will fit the bill nicely! Personally I'd rather have port ....!


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US Announces $56 Million Funding to Boost Innovation in Solar Manufacturing and Recycling
The funding includes $10 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Gourav Mishra
Markets & Policy, Solar
The Biden-Harris Administration announced $56 million in funding, alongside a new set of initiatives to augment the innovation in solar manufacturing and recycling to make energy more cost-effective and create more jobs.
The funding includes $10 million from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will be specifically utilized to support projects that increase the reuse and recycling of solar technologies.
According to the Solar Supply Chain Review Report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), developing domestic solar manufacturing in the country would support climate action, workers, employees, and national security, while reducing the power bills for American households.
The funding is divided across two primary opportunities – FY22 Photovoltaics (PV) Research and Development and FY22 Solar Manufacturing Incubator.
Towards the photovoltaics R&D, $29 million, which includes the $10 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law, will be used to support projects to develop PV module designs with cost-effective manufacturing and to advance the manufacturing of PV cells made from perovskites.
Under the solar manufacturing incubator funding, $27 million will support projects commercializing new technologies to expand private investment in domestic solar manufacturing. The funding of such projects is expected to boost domestic manufacturing of thin-film PV made from cadmium telluride, the second-most common PV technology on the market, behind silicon.
Referring to the new initiatives, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, "The administration wants to seize U.S. leadership in solar energy, from manufacturing to recycling, and that means making the right investments to ensure these technologies are made right here at home."
The DOE also announced $18 million in funding through the Technology Commercialization Fund for seven proposed National Laboratory projects designed to tackle commercialization challenges DOE-funded technologies face.
Recently, the department announced funding of $8 million for seven small solar companies to conduct research and development (R&D) in concentrating solar-thermal power, power electronics, and solar-powered water technologies.
In June, the experts at the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) outlined key measures to limit and reuse the materials used in diverse photovoltaics and lithium-ion batteries (LIB) designs, to establish a circular economy-based sustainable strategy for the sector.
Earlier this month, the United States agreed to lift safeguard duty on Canadian solar product imports after Canada, the U.S., and Mexico arrived at an understanding of an existing trade agreement. The decision was taken after talks in Vancouver at the Free Trade Commission meeting.
Gourav, Staff reporter at Mercom India
More articles from Gourav.
Gourav is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master's in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. More articles from Gourav Mishra
BidenBipartisanCLEANenergyFundingLawManufacturingproductionSolarUS
Gourav, Staff reporter at Mercom India More articles from Gourav.
Gourav is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master's in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. More articles from Gourav Mishra


Setting and achieving your short and long term goals.
Fulfilling personal and emotional needs.
Making key decisions and designing strategies for success.
Move to a fulfilling career.
Optimise your strengths and passions to build your career.
Identify self-limiting beliefs and barriers.
Manage and improve professional relationships.
Self-Care -Getting your own needs met.


Listen to music and watch videos on Youtube, or add songs to your Spotify playlist with just one tap. Follow your team's live matches, your favorite programs and real-time news.
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Designed for iPhone and iPad, FM-World is also available for Apple Watch and in-car radio! Follow the radios and programs, listen, pause, jump from one content to another and see what's on air, all on your Apple Watch or in your car dashboard.
by IOWA PUBLIC RADIO, INC.


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From: South Africa
Rocking since: 2001
Genre: Punk, reggae, Ska
Latest release: Half Price - Straight Outta' South Africa
Half Price is a Cape Town, South Africa based party punk rock band made up of Homo Pete, The DFG, Emo Mawk and Kyle The Machine. They claim to be 90% politically incorrect and 10% politically incompetent.
Since its inception in Cape Town in 2001, Half Price has caused havoc in South African music circles. Often described as "the best punk band you've never seen", their unique style of punk rock has been accumulating followers and detractors in equal amounts. They've been banned from venues and had their applications to festivals burned and yet, like a truck careening out of control, they've bravely plowed forward refusing to back down.
Since 2001, Half Price has been spreading their high octane, and dangerously infectious party punk rock, touring extensively in Southern Africa and Europe. This relentless touring schedule has solidified a core following around South Africa and even drew the attention of German Punk legend Archi Alert (Terrorgruppe), who worked with Half Price on their 2010 album, The Monotony of Monogamy.
Half Price strictly adheres to its "We do what we want, when we want, how we want" ethos which has guided them through 5 studio albums and is a mantra that their fans agree with and completely endorse.
Straight Outta' (South) Africa is their debut release in the U.S. and will be available May 2016.
Half Price's stuff
Half Price – Straight Outta' South Africa
16. Fifteen Years
15. Friends and Family
14. Buy Your Own
13. The Crack of Dawn
Tarakany!
Dorados Rockabilly Trio
Half Price videos


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#Africa 12 African startups to watch in 2016
Publié le 31 décembre 2015 par Startup365
2015 has been a busy year in Africa's tech startup ecosystem, with startups launching, raising funding, getting acquired, or closing down, on a daily basis. Of the startups just setting out on their journey, some have lingered on our mind. So here, meet the 12 emerging African tech startups we at Disrupt Africa will be watching in 2016. We expect exciting things.
Yaoota
Egypt-based startup Yaoota operates a shopping search engine helping users compare products and prices in a variety of online stores. Launched in July 2014 and initially self-funded, Yaoota helps shoppers navigate through the increasing number of online products in Egypt, compare prices, and shop directly from the merchant.
In October, the startup raised US$2.7 million in funding – the largest investment in an Egyptian tech startup to date – from the Abu Dhabi-based KBBO Group to aid its expansion across Africa and the Middle East; so 2016 promises to be an exciting year for the startup.
Moroccan startup DabaDoc allows users to find doctors and book appointments online.
Initially launched in Morocco in 2014, the startup expanded to Algeria and Tunisia in May, listing over 2,000 doctors across the three countries. In September, DabaDoc launched in Nigeria and South Africa, as part of a rapid pan-continental expansion push; and by that time featured doctors in 72 different specialties across 50 cities.
DabaDoc has already been recognised in a number of competitions. It was selected as one of 10 startups in the MENA region to participate in the Aspen Blackstone programme in Silicon Valley; and it took first place at the GIST competition in Casablanca.
Shield Finance
Kenyan startup Shield Finance uses proprietary technology and leverages mobile money to offer underbanked employees affordable salary advances directly to their mobile phones, generating revenue on interest charged on salary advances.
The startup has been gaining acclaim recently at a number of competitions. In June it came out on top against five other teams at the DEMO Africa pre-pitch event held in Nairobi, becoming the second startup to book its place at the main event in Lagos, Nigeria in September. In July, it was a winner in the finance category at the PIVOT East mobile startups pitching competition in Nairobi.
In August, Disrupt Africa reported Shield Finance raised an undisclosed round of funding from a local angel investor. Nonetheless, the startup is still looking to raise a seed round of US$350,000 for equity, which will be used to hire sales staff and ramp up its technical capacity in readiness to scale.
Also from Kenya, social enterprise WeFarm has developed a peer-to-peer (P2P) knowledge sharing platform for small-scale farmers in rural communities, which allows farmers to ask questions via SMS shortcodes and receive answers from other registered users.
The platform is open to anyone, including experts and those wishing to do business with farmers, and is available in both English and Swahili. It is approaching 50,000 questions asked on the platform, with 60 per cent of its users active monthly.
Launched in November last year, WeFarm already has over 38,000 users, and is targeting more than 500,000 active farmers by the end of 2016.
Rwandan startup SafeMotos is looking to address the country's shocking road traffic accident statistics, particularly with regard to motorcycles – with 80 per cent of road accidents in Rwanda involving a motorbike.
SafeMotos is an Uber-esque hailing app for Rwanda's popular motorcycle taxis. However, there is a twist in the app's backend, which makes the most of the vehicle telematics industry. The company installs smartphones on motorbike taxis to track drivers' behaviour and register data, pushing bad drivers to the outskirts of the system.
The startup has raised US$85,000, and plans to hit 400 trips per day in the next couple of months.
CladLight
Kenyan startup CladLight is also using tech to improve transport safety.
CladLight's Smart Jacket uses wearable technology to make riding a motorcycle more safe. The jacket is equipped with signal transmitters on the back of the jacket, displaying the direction in which a driver intends to turn when the bike's indicators are used. It also has a GPS tracker, allowing owners to determine the vehicle's location.
The startup has raised over US$40,000, and hopes to mass produce Smart Jackets for motorcycle assembly plants, insurance companies and bike retail stores.
South African startup Giraffe wants to improve access to job listings for the low and medium skilled jobs market using mobile.
Jobseekers sign up to Giraffe by sending a shortcode via SMS or visiting the Giraffe website. The platform asks a series of questions, culminating in a short digital CV.
Employers log onto the platform and submit a staffing request. Giraffe's algorithm automatically contacts all suitable candidates via SMS, and asks if they would like to interview. It then automatically schedules interviews for those who respond affirmatively, and forwards their digital CVs to the employer.
Launched in February this year, by December the startup had hit 70,000 users only 10 months after launching.
It was crowned "the best startup in South Africa" at the Seedstars World competition held in Johannesburg, with the Giraffe team to represent South Africa at the global final of Seedstars World in Switzerland in 2016.
SweepSouth
South African startup SweepSouth provides a platform that allows users to book home cleaning services online from their phone, laptop or tablet, connecting homeowners with "an experienced, reliable, vetted and insured cleaner in minutes".
Launched in June 2014 and self-funded, the startup said it had reached an operational break-even point by September.
In May this year it raised its first funding round, led by Newtown Partners – a local seed fund established by Vinny Lingham and Llew Claasen – and also including Pule Taukobong's AAN and Polo Leteka Radebe's Identity Development Fund (IDF).
SweepSouth said the funding would enable it to accelerate its growth further and scale rapidly – so this startup is definitely one to keep an eye on in 2016.
Vula Mobile
South African startup Vula Mobile connects general health workers in remote areas with specialists in hospitals via a mobile app. The startup is initially focusing on eye health.
Vula Mobile allows health workers to capture patient information, take photographs, do a basic eye test and record a brief medical history before sending it directly to a specialist. They can ask for advice over a dedicated messaging platform, and decide on the best course of care for the patient.
Initially backed by grants from the likes of the SAB Foundation, DG Murray Trust, The Innovation Hub and the Shuttleworth Foundation, Vula Mobile is currently raising its first round of investment.
The startup pitched for funding at the Sparkup! Live event in Cape Town in May, walking away with funding offers to the tune of ZAR1.1 million (US$90,000) from Ernst Hertzog, Brett Commaille from AngelHub Ventures and Vasili Sofiadellis
meQasa
Ghanaian startup meQasa is a web and mobile based real estate platform, providing a free service which helps brokers, landlords and other real estate industry professionals conduct business efficiently online, while also simplifying the search experience for prospective tenants and buyers.
In October, meQasa hit the headlines having raised US$500,000 in funding from VC firm Frontier Digital Ventures to boost its bid to become Africa's Zillow. With the funding, meQasa promised to ramp up the development of its mobile and web service experiences, and expand its sales and marketing outreach, so 2016 will be a busy year for them.
The startup is also a portfolio company of the MEST incubator in Ghana.
DealDey
Nigeria has been tipped to become a major force in Africa's e-commerce sector, with 89 per cent of the country's internet users already shopping online or expecting to do so in the future, according to recent research.
One Nigerian e-commerce startup taking the market by storm is discount online shopping platform DealDey, which earlier this year raised US$5 million from Investment AB Kinnevik, with the plan to challenge heavyweights Jumia and Konga. The startup says it has 1.5 million subscribers.
Promising to become "the strongest e-commerce site in Africa", DealDey has plans to scale rapidly to all of Nigeria's major cities, then to Ghana, and across the continent.
It is also rolling out new services as a wild pace, in September launching two new platforms; PromoHub – allowing merchants to offer promotional deals that can be redeemed at the merchant's location; and LYF, a socially-driven business listings, reviews and transactional platform, which already has 20,000 businesses listed.
GoMyWay
Nigeria's GoMyWay is addressing traffic congestion and carbon emissions, by trying to encourage ride-sharing among drivers in Africa's most populous country.
GoMyWay looks to connect passengers with car owners going the same route with empty seats to spare, in a bid to create a people-powered transportation network.
Having initially launched in Nigeria earlier this year, GoMyWay quickly announced plans to expand to South Africa, followed by Kenya and Ghana.
The post 12 African startups to watch in 2016 appeared first on Disrupt Africa.
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