Unlike its predecessors, the new Nintendo Switch has a boring operating system. Not only does it lack Nintendo's characteristic oddball playfulness, it's also nearly silent. There's no music. It's a shame.

The 3DS and the Wii U, Nintendo's two most recent gaming systems, both had incredible menu music. If you've been using a Switch for the past few days, you may have already started to forget just how good those devices sounded. Here's a refresher.

Wii U owners, give this a listen:

Aaaaah. It's so relaxing! You can almost hear the pitter-pat of little Mii feet as they crowd into the plaza. It's so much more musically interesting than your average "welcome to the spa" music like you get on the PS4 and the notably dull PS Vita.

The 3DS did something similar with its main menu music, and I actually wrote an entire article dedicated to the handheld's many melodies. There was separate music for the home screen, the eshop, the system settings menu, the Mii plaza, and even the health and safety information page.

And they were all good! Seriously, here's the 3DS health and safety music:

Not only is that music just generally nice to listen to, it also makes me feel healthy and safe? It's on-brand and everything.

For comparison's sake, here's what the Switch sounds like:

Yes, that is a still image of the Switch home screen. You can just look at it and not hear music, and you'll have the same experience as actually using a Switch. In fairness, the Switch does have some nice built-in sound effects, a collection of snaps and chimes that make using the console a little bit more sensorially satisfying than your average Android touchscreen device. But it's still a big step down.

It can't be easy to compose system music for a video game console. It's music that millions of people will listen to every day, but if they notice it, the composer's usually done something wrong. Nintendo has never taken this challenge lightly, and I'm surprised to see them skip it with the Switch.

Given Nintendo's history and musical pedigree, I'm still hopeful that the Switch will get an update that adds a melody or two. And I can understand why they might want to launch with a stripped down, functional operating system before they began adding things. In a year, my Switch might serenade me as I browse my friends list and look for things to buy. Give us the tunes, Nintendo.

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We often talk about the games we love and the games that get better over time here on the Kotaku Video Game Website. But what we don't mention as often are the ones that are really, really bad.

I pray none of these nightmares happen to my Switch, or yours for that matter.

Read the original post:

The Nintendo Switch Really Needs More Music - Kotaku Australia

Regardless of whetheryoure a parent, an environmentalist, or just a plain old shopper, chances are youve gazed out overthe supermarket producesection and asked yourself, Should I buy organic?

Everyones heard of the scary chemicals used by agribusiness to keep yourapples worm-freeits what generates the fearthat makes organic produce lucrative. In exchange for more money,consumers are told they can have pesticide-free peace of mind.On Wednesday, the Environmental Working Group (which calls itselfanonpartisan organization aimed atprotecting human health and the environment) released its annual ranking of the best (Clean Fifteen) and the worst (Dirty Dozen) producewhen it comes topesticide content. The list is meant to be a tool for the consumer: If your favorite fruit is among the Dirty Dozen, the thinking goes, youd be safer buying organic.

Strawberries and spinach hold the top two spots inthis years Dirty Dozenmore than 98percent of samples tested positive for pesticide residue. One sample of strawberries, the report states, came with 20 different pesticides, while spinach samples had on average double the amount of pesticide residue by weight as any of the other crops reviewed.

Strawberriesrankhigh on the Dirty Dozen list.

Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg

When buying conventional, the guide says, try to stick with the Clean Fifteen: These fruits and vegetables, including sweet corn, mangoes, eggplant, and cabbage, had the fewest pesticides present and in the lowest concentrations. The guide also helps shoppers feel as if they are saving money safely: You dont need to cough up extra cashfor already expensive avocados, for example,becauseonly 1percent had detectable pesticide.

But experts in pesticides and toxicology say thisannual list, seen as helpful for sales of organic produce, oversimplifies a complicated issue. Just because pesticides are on an apple doesnt meanthe apple is dangerous. Meanwhile, critics say, the EWG survey muddies what is a much more important message for American consumers: Eat more fruits and vegetables. Period.

In fact, organic marketing that emphasizes the perceived threat of pesticide residue could be dissuading some consumers from buying fruits and vegetables at all. And thats really not healthy.

One critic of the list is Carl Winter, director of the FoodSafe Program at the University of California, Davis. In 2011, heco-authored a studyconcluding that the level of pesticides consumers were exposed to viathe Dirty Dozen was negligible. Whats more, they found thatorganic produce had some pesticide residue, too.And finally, they reported, EWGs methodology does not appear to follow any established scientific procedures.

Take the bell pepper. According to EWGs 2010 report, it had high levels of the organophosphate insecticide methamidophos. Organophosphates can be verydangerous, and even mild poisoning can cause vomiting and chest tightness. But Winter found that thereference dose (RfD), or the highest acceptable level of a toxin that can be consumed orally, as set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was almost 50times higher than what was found on those bell peppers.

Sonya Lunder, an EWG senior analyst, acknowledged Winters report but advised caution that the EPAs continued efforts to revoke tolerancesspecifically for neurotoxic insecticidesis a sign that some pesticides do pose a safety risk in the food supply.

Other studies do support theEWGto a point. In 2011, three reportsshowed prenatal exposure to organophosphates had a measurable impact on achilds neurological development, including lowering their IQ byan average of as much as seven points. The independentstudies began during pregnancy and followedthe children until they were seven years old, both in low income New YorkCity neighborhoods where they were exposed through home pesticide use, and in Californias Salinas Valley, Americas No. 1vegetable-growingregion. The studies showed that prenatal exposure to organophosphates (as opposed to consumption of food tainted by it) islikely to have long-term, deleterious impacts on children.

Immigrant farm workers harvest spinach near Coachella, Calif.

Photographer: David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

In 2015, another study compared organophosphate byproducts in the urine of conventionalproduce consumers withthose in the urine of organic consumers.Not surprisingly, organic fans showed lower levels. But,says Cynthia Curl, an assistant professor at Boise State University and the studys lead author, there isnt firm evidence that organic eaters were any healthier in the end.

An organic diet dramatically and immediately reduces or eliminates exposure to organophosphates, Curl said. Is that enough to lead to a measurable health difference? Thats what we dont know. In other words, working in a field or living in a home where pesticides are sprayed isnt the same as eating a fruit or vegetable with just a little bit of residue, and even less after its been washed or cooked or both.

Winter points to the old toxicologist adage: Its the dose that makes the poison.

Testing has shown that organic produce sometimes haspesticide residue, both chemicalsapproved for use in organic agriculture and those coming through drift, irrigation, and other kinds of inadvertent contamination, Winter saidin a2012 study, Pesticide Residues in Imported, Organic and Suspect Fruits and Vegetables.

QuickTake Organic Food

In 2010, for example, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation analyzed 137 organic produce samples and found 20 of them, or 14.6percent, had pesticide residue, including seven that had higher levels than would be allowed under the rules of the U.S. National Organic Program. Wintersconclusion: Organic produce has lower levels of pesticides than conventional produce, but none of it is worth worrying about.

The EWG doesnt include testing on organic produce in its calculations, andLunder points out that the testing that has been done involves many fewer samples. Plus, says Curl from Boise State, the pesticides most people are concerned with, such asorganophosphates, arent used in organic agricultureat all.

As for long-term buildup, Winter says the studies that setallowable levelstake that into account and are done over long periods of time. Our typical exposure is often 100,000 times lower than levels that show no effect in lab animals who have been fed the chemicals on a daily basis throughout their lifetime.

Curlconcedes that the EWG list remains helpful for consumers despite its shortcomings. If you are concerned about reducing your level of exposure to pesticides, she says, eating organic is one way to do that.

One misperception about the value of organic foods, saysMichael Joseph, chief executive of Green Chef, a certified organic meal kit company, is that consumer pesticide exposure isthe overriding concern. Eating organic means supporting an industry that uses less harmful chemicals, and thats good for soil health, minimizing runoff into waterways.

Ive been down in Costa Rica to conventional banana fields where whats happening is you wind up polluting that local water system and make it unusable for a local population, he says.

But Winter said lists leveraging the fear of pesticides might be doing harm to the most vulnerable.

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In astudy published in late 2016 that surveyed more than 600 low-income household shoppersin the greater Chicago area, one reason people avoided buying fruits and vegetables was because of publicity about pesticides levels in non-organic options. In response to several statementsabout the differences between organic and conventional fruits and vegetablesincluding assertions that organics werent more nutritious and that both may have safe, low levels of pesticidesthe statement citing the Dirty Dozen list elicited thegreatest number of people to choose less likely to purchase any type of fruits or vegetables.

Put simply, fear of pesticides can drive people away from fruits and vegetables in general. And even EWG recognizes thats a bad result. (Eating conventionally grown produce is far better than skipping fruits and vegetables, the group said in its 2016 report.)

We know so much about the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and theres so much uncertainty about levels of residues, Curl said. I never want my work to be interpreted as we shouldnt eat fruits and vegetables because we can't afford organic.

The rest is here:

How Organic Produce Can Make America Less Healthy - Bloomberg

In Lane County we have been blessed to have a visionary entrepreneur at the genesis of the organically grown produce and foods movement, Pat Leonard. With the help of Leonards talents, research and advocacy, Oregon passed the nations first organic foods laws and statutes in 1973.

Former U.S. Congressman James Weaver helped immensely by educating and nudging decision-makers in the direction of supporting the greatest public interest.

California incorporated many of the provisions of Oregons law in enacting its own organic foods-labeling law in 1979. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced meaningful organics-related legislation in 1990 as part of that congressional sessions Farm Bill.

Weavers successor in Congress worked for amendments to water down organic food production standards, and that weaker version of organic standards passed Congress. Removed were the environmental stewardship and sustainable agricultural purposes in Leahys proposed legislation.

Were fortunate to have had visionary leaders in some parts of the business community here, such as Leonard. Our burgeoning green business sectors and our local food economy all have Pat Leonard to thank each wakeful day for his efforts and successes, which some once said were quixotic.

Rob Handy

Eugene

More Letters in the editor's mailbag articles

Mail letters to: Mailbag, 3500 Chad Drive, Eugene, OR 97408-7348

E-mail: rgletters@registerguard.com

See the rest here:

Thank Leonard for organic legacy - The Register-Guard

Posted March 09, 2017 16:16:34

A central Victorian organic farmer has teamed up with a Samoan counterpart in sharing farming techniques and to learn from each other's experiences.

Norma Tauiliili, who is touring Australia on a three month Rotary-funded visit, said farming in the Pacific nation was a slow, laboured process often troubled by a lack of resources.

"We don't have that much equipment, like machinery, we all use our hands to do our work. That's the problem," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Even with seeds we don't have that much, we have to buy them from the agricultural store and give them out to our farmers."

Ms Tauiliili is from Apia in Samoa where she works as a senior field officer for Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI), an NGO that works in 183 Samoan villages which nurtures certified organic agricultural enterprises.

Her first stop was a certified organic orchard in Harcourt, central Victoria, run by third generation orchardist and 2015 Victorian Rural Woman of the Year, Katie Finlay.

"We're a tiny farm here in Australia but we're fully mechanised. We have forklifts and tractors and every bit of equipment we could want," Ms Finlay said.

"Having Norma come here, through her eyes, we're a big fancy farm that's got all the equipment they just dream of having."

Ms Finley said that many Samoan farmers just wanted access to tools.

"They want hoes and rakes and seeds. It's that very basic form of infrastructure that we take for granted," she said.

Ms Finley said it had been a "real eye opener" understanding the practical considerations of bringing market opportunities to farmers with so few resources.

It was not just a lack of mechanised equipment that made farming more challenging in the small Polynesian country.

Many Samoan farmers do not have vehicles, making it difficult to transport goods to the local market.

That is where WIBDI step in.

"[We] pick [the farmers] up and help them out with transportation, and after the night market we deliver them back home," Ms Tauiliili said.

The support offered by WIBDI also extends to funding a youth program tackling truancy and unemployment.

"We reach out to those villages that have youth that don't go to school and don't have jobs," Ms Tauiliili said.

"[It involves] learning and giving them knowledge and skills for organic farming and how to take care of their environment because nowadays climate change is a really big issue for our country."

While Samoa lacks resources, Ms Finley said its people have a different, more prosperous relationship to their land than in Australia.

In Samoa, most families own land and additional family members also have access.

"If it's family land then each of the [family members] have a right to the land. They can build houses on the land," Ms Tauiliili said.

"Some of them will divide the land and some will share it."

Ms Finley said one of the barriers for young farmers in Australia was this access to land.

"It changes your perspective of what is wealth and who has access to what," Ms Finley said.

"Farmers in Samoa don't have access to seeds and tools, but they've got as much land and water as they could possibly want so they have a lot of inherent wealth available to them.

"One of the gifts that we can give our young farmers here in Australia is helping them get access to farming land.

Topics: human-interest, women-in-agriculture, women, sustainable-and-alternative-farming, community-and-society, feminism, work, harcourt-3453, pacific, samoa

Excerpt from:

Sharing organic food-growing knowledge across the Pacific - ABC Online

Every Sunday morning, in the quiet back room of the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, Wonchull Park teaches a community tai chi class. I arrived a couple minutes early, but about 15 older members were already there, conversing in the back of the room. Park allowed me to observe from the sideline and quietly take notes. Beginning with several minutes of seated meditation, the class focuses on breathing slowly and rubbing muscles gently to warm up. Eventually, Park stands up and starts leading the class through circular motions of his hands in coordination with his body. He then begins to speak.

Park is a longtime physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and a longer-time practitioner of tai chi. Learning from masters of ancient lineage, Parks pedigree contributes to his enduring relationships with his learners. Feng Chen, a professor at Rider University who learned tai chi when she was a college student in China, recognized Parks style as one passed down from one generation to another. Park also teaches tai chi with a unique approach, Chen said.

Park emphasizes comfort and the effects of relaxation while seeking to demystify the martial art. Approaching tai chi with his physics background, Park decouples the esoterica from the profoundly simple truths of tai chi.

To some, said his assistant, Mackenzie Hawkins 15, this may be a little too simple. She humorously posed the question: How far can you go with Newtons three laws? But Park asserts that it really is that simple, and points to tai chis application in everyday life.

The effects of tai chi are noticeable and immediate, but can take a lifetime to perfect. During class, Park explained the concept of qigong, what he describes, in part, as understanding the reality of now.

Hawkins helped unpack it for me: In the narrow sense, qigong is a breathing-related exercise, but in a broad sense it is mind-body cultivation. Understanding the natural cycles of breathing centers ones emotions and attunes ones conscious mind to the whole positive feedback cycle of being and perceiving.

Fundamentally, breathing is a movement, according to Park, and like any motion, most of us should work on our form. Park pointed out that I held my breath as I typed and that I had several issues with my posture. These are details we are prone to ignore in daily life. Breathing sharpens the mind, which is good for school work or advanced physics, Park noted. Hawkins attests to the recuperative powers of tai chi from her personal experience: As an undergraduate, she struggled with illness and found recovery in the practice of meditation.

Hawkins and Park have begun working together to publish books and teach more classes to introduce tai chi to a younger generation. Together they teach classes for kids at the Princeton YMCA, called Super Kid Tai Chi, and their books in progress will demonstrate different benefits of tai chi in the modern life.

On Saturdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Park teaches club tai chi in the studio of the New South Building, free to all students and faculty. In contrast to the Sunday classes, these offer smaller, more direct learning with Park. In a moment of humor, Park encouraged all to take up this lifelong practice: like the Nike commercial, just do it!

Follow this link:

Meditation in Movement - The Daily Princetonian

Sonora Thomas laid out patterned scarves along her office floor. Each acted as a checkpoint along the road of life. Thomas stood beside a scarf, acting out a technique she uses with her clients at MCLAs Counseling Services.

They get more information if they do it versus just talking about it, Thomas said. So, I find getting up and being active, is helpful, as you start to learn more information rather than just thinking hypothetically.

When students come in and talk about the possibility of switching majors, Thomas pulls out her plastic bin full of scarves and has students practice the different aspects of deciding to do a career in a certain field. They start out from doing ten years down the road, to 20, and so on. Sometimes students realize the difficulties that may come with a different major, and they may decide to just stick it out with their current major.

Thomas enjoys working with college students because many are beginning to understand themselves and forming ideas and different viewpoints that may be different from the same ones their parents held onto. Students are discovering how they want to live their lives, and what they want to fill their lives with.

Its such a great age and a time in peoples lives, Thomas explained, and theyre moving away from their families and getting to see that things are different, and not everybody does things the way their families do it. Its a big eye opener theres so much going on at this age. Its a total kick to be around all of that, and supporting people on that quest of self-discovery.

Since joining the College, Thomas has been working to get students involved in the act of meditation. She has participated in different events held in all three of the residence halls and last semester she even began to have a weekly session where students can get together in one big space to sit down and relax via the power of meditation. These sessions do not focus solely on completely clearing ones mind as she knows this can be hard for beginners but just giving people a moment during the day where they can just stop and relax.

Initially, her meditation sessions were held in Sullivan Lounge, a space she quickly realized was not the ideal spot for meditation. This semester, she holds the weekly session in Bowman Hall room 201 between 12 and 12:30 p.m. Thomas has had a much better student turnout this semester; she said shes had as many as nine people show up.

I put on relaxing music, we do about tenminutes of movement to help people slow down, feel their body and breath, turn their attention inward, she said, and then I guide them through about 15 to 20 minutes of meditation.

Thomas is an Austin, Texas native who joined MCLA in 2016 from Austin Riggs, a psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Mass. She holds a masters degree from Lesley University in clinical mental health counseling. Over the course of her time as an undergraduate student, Thomas went to six different colleges. She first started off at Simmons College for a year, before she decided to take a year off and go to Barcelona, Spain. Thomas remarked that going into college right after graduating high school was not the best decision at the time for her.

After a year and a half, I thought well I really should get my life together, she said. I decided to come back [to the United States] and went to a community college in Oregon for two years, and then the closest college, for me, was in Boise, Idaho.

At Boise State University, she studied voice performance. While preparing to go to graduate school for music, she taught at a high school for a year. As she taught voice lessons and took graduate courses, Thomas found herself talking about people and their lives in an hour-long music lesson.

She soon realized singing wasnt what she wanted to do with her life. Thomas found herself much more interested in learning about peoples stories; she knew she wasnt in the right field for her and decided to switch into studying to become a therapist. It took her about fiveyears to decide on a graduate program; she ended up at Lesley University.

Its such a good experience to do something completely new, said Thomas, and as an older student, I appreciated it so much more and I wasnt burnout. After being in the work world it was so much fun to go to classes, and to learn, write papers, read and to do group projectsI was a much better student in my 30s than in my 20s.

Thomas participated in an internship at Lesleys counseling center; her husband moved out to the Berkshires to take on a job at Williams College. Thomas joined him a year later, taking a position at Austin Riggs before joining MCLA. She had been looking for a while to move back into a college setting.

In her free time, Thomas loves to be outside hiking with her dog and even snowshoeing.

Read more:

Sonora Thomas: Healing minds through meditation - The Beacon

15 hours ago.

The latest salvo from the Centre on the shock and awe demonetisation excercise is that the move did not have an adverse impact on Indias buoyant economic growth story. This is contrary to the pessimistic expectations of economists, statisticians and bankers the world over and not just those from the Left that the sudden withdrawal of 86% of the currency in circulation before November 8 would cripple the countrys economy.

According to estimates of the Central Statistical Organisation, Indias Gross Domestic Product was a respectable 7.1% in the October-December quarter the period that was expected to show starkly the impact of possibly the most disruptive economic policy decision in the Indian republics history. The official figures, released last week, suggested that India grew entirely according to pre-demonetisation expectations and faster than even China.

In his election speeches in the later phases of the prestigious Uttar Pradesh polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his closest lieutenant, Bharatiya Janta Party Chief Amit Shah, were conspicuously silent about the note ban, presumably based on ground reports of widespread discontent and disaffection among the poor and the enormous human and economic costs of demonetisation.

But after these growth estimates were announced on February 28, Modi was quick to taunt his critics for their gloomy prophesies. At a rally in the state on March 1, Modi said that hard work is more powerful than Harvard, targeting globally respected economists like Amartya Sen and his predecessor Manmohan Singh who had strongly criticised the note ban although Singhs alma mater was Cambridge. Characteristically wearing his modest origins on his sleeve, Modi declared that he was a humble son of an impoverished mother who had studied instead in the school of hard work and was proved right when his learned critics were demonstrated to be wrong.

The upbeat government growth statistics have met with celebration on one side and scepticism and puzzlement on the other. Even before this, there was distrust of official figures, especially those pertaining to economic growth. Many observers greeted the announcement of this latest calculation with disbelief, and suggested that these had been massaged. Senior journalist MK Venu declared in an acerbic tweet that India had now entered the era of post-truth economics. Others compared it to the opaque and exaggerated economic data put out by erstwhile socialist countries.

But even if we wish to desist from challenging the integrity of Indias economic reporting, a less uncharitable interpretation of the figures would be that the very method of calculating GDP and economic growth is deeply flawed.

An approximate nine out of 10 workers form the countrys informal work force and they contribute almost half the countrys GDP. That the massive lay-offs of informal workers, the closing of petty and small businesses and a huge crunching of spending by the poor because of demonetisation does not create even a ripple in the GDP estimate does not negate the huge distress and suffering of millions of Indias poor. Instead, it comes as a long-delayed wake-up call for us. It begs us to examine closely the ways we calculate GDP and economic growth, to understand if these are by design biased against informal workers and the vast countryside, especially agriculture which still employs nearly six out of 10 workers.

In the second month after the note-ban was announced, the Centre for Equity Studies organised a survey of its impact in rural India, studying villages in Bundelkhand, Western Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Assam. We found that among the worst hit everywhere were landless agricultural workers. Villagers said wage rates abysmal even otherwise had fallen to half and employment was much harder to find. Many said that they were paid in old notes; they wasted several days in queues in distant banks but still could not convert their notes and finally exchanged them at a discount through moneylenders.

Retrenched migrants were returning home empty-handed from distant states because work opportunities had collapsed in every part of the country. Small units were being shut down as employers had no cash to pay their workers. In Odisha, labour contractors who would recruit workers after the harvesting season every year to toil in distant brick kilns, for the first time in living memory, had not come to villages this year because they did not have the cash to pay to them advances. The workers employment in semi-bonded conditions in brick kilns every year was extremely exploitative, but far worse than even exploitative employment was no employment, because only hunger would stalk their homes and families.

Farmers in every state we surveyed talked about being forced to sell their produce at distress rates because people had too little cash to buy: paddy, wheat, maize, chilli, vegetables sold at a third, sometimes even a tenth of their regular price. Dairy producers in Anand were earlier paid daily in cash when they sold milk to their cooperatives, but weekly payments are now made to their banks. They have to wait sometimes two weeks before they can draw this cash, because bankers insist that their dues must rise to Rs 2,000 as they will not issue cash to them in smaller denominations.

Farmers in all these states too said they could not draw the cash they needed from their banks to buy seeds and fertilisers or pay farm workers, and instead were forced to run up huge private loans at usurious interest rates.

Petty village shopkeepers spoke despondently of sales falling sharply to a half or a third. Their customers were denying themselves all but the most essential purchases and everyone wanted to buy on credit because they have no cash to spare. But how much credit can the shopkeeper give? They too have to replenish their stocks.

Small weavers in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh were shutting down their looms. A truck driver said that for long stretches of driving on the highway he could not buy food as he had only some old notes and no plastic card.

Villagers in the precarious char or river islands in Assam always survive at the edge, but demonetisation has tipped them over. To reach the nearest bank branch, they would have to cross the river by boat, then wait for hours for road transport, but bankers would most often refuse them. They could neither buy nor sell their produce, nor get remittances from the young men in their families who migrated.

In all the states, few people had ATM cards, fewer knew how to use these, and the ATMs were distant and rarely had money to dispense. So the only option was long bus rides and endless bank queues day after day, and being turned away because the banks had run out of cash. Or they were given Rs 2,000 notes, which were nearly useless because their daily purchases were for much smaller amounts and no one could give them smaller change.

Old and disabled people were hardest hit. They had to wheedle and depend upon younger and able-bodied relatives or neighbours to take them to the bank, but no one had time for them as they were all struggling with problems of their own. Women often did not have their own bank accounts, and if they did had no experience in operating these, therefore they had to depend on their husbands and sons. Single women had no one to turn to.

In the early weeks after the note ban, the prime minister, his senior ministers, party colleagues and senior officials continued to defend the policy vigorously. Yet, there were clues that they were aware of both the failures as well as the disruption and pain the policy had caused. This was seen in the changing language of their public discourse and announcements and their shifting goalposts and metaphors.

The prime ministers initial speeches after the note ban were triumphalist and he spoke of his unprecedented attack (and it was always his personal attack rather than that of his government or central bank) on black money and terror funding. In their initial proclamations about demonetisation, Prime Minister Modi and his supporters often described it as a surgical strike. This dramatic medical and military metaphor implied that the intervention would be swift, targeted, effective and relatively painless, tactically achieving its goals with minimal collateral damage.

Within the first weeks, as the attack on black money and terror funding gradually receded from their discourse, we were told instead the goal was a shock and awe thrust of the country towards a cashless economy. There were of course no answers about the fairness and equity of a policy coercion towards cashlessness in a country in which millions were educationally, digitally and financially excluded. There was also no discussion on how people and small businesses could be forced into forms of financial transaction that impose costs on them and translate into windfall profits for private companies.

When there was growing public discontent about the measure, Prime Minister Modi asked the people of the country to give him 50 days. In this time, the suffering of the people would ebb, and he would demonstrate the great public gains from this policy.

But as it became increasingly evident that demonetisation had instead unleashed mammoth suffering to millions across the country, Modi chose a different metaphor during his New Year Eve address to the nation, that marked the end of the 50-day window to exchange old currency notes.

He no longer spoke of a surgical strike instead, drawing on emotive Hindu Vedic imagery, he described demonetisation as a yagna, suggesting sacrifice, devotion and worship. In a yagna, devotees give up something of value for the gods. But demonetisation could not be legitimately compared to a yagna, as Modi did. Firstly, it was not a voluntary act of sacrifice. It is also unclear for whom which god this sacrifice was extracted. It was endlessly touted that this pain was imposed on the Indian people for the cleansing of the nation, as though the nation was somehow above and separate from the mass of its poorer citizens. And it is now clear that little of this claimed cleansing was ultimately accomplished.

The stories from everywhere of intense distress reminded me of the early stages of creeping famine conditions that I have encountered over the years in drought-stricken regions. Except this time, it is not nature that has afflicted the people but reckless, heartless and arrogant public policy. People everywhere spoke of cutting down on food consumption, especially of vegetables and pulses, and surviving on two meals or even one meal a day. They were increasingly forced to depend on sky-high interest loans from private moneylenders.

The union government has carefully avoided disclosing so far how much cash was finally deposited into bank accounts after demonetisation. It is still being counted, we are told! Even Prime Minister Modi has remained eloquently silent about this. Indeed, he has little to say about any concrete benefits from his high-shock dose.

As a result of this excercise, the way we run our economy as well as how we measure its performance has been shown up to be nearly blind to this enormous disruption and suffering of millions of Indias poorer people.

Credible reports estimate that 90% to 97% cash has returned to the banks. This means that this enormously painful economic measure has failed spectacularly in mopping up and eliminating black money from the economy.

After more than twice the 50 that the prime minister sought for the positive impacts of his measure to become visible, there is no evidence that this measure has had any demonstrable impact on the black economy or on counterfeit currency.

The optimistic official growth figures that the prime minister celebrated in an election rally in Uttar Pradesh cannot erase the evidence from around the country. This affirms Sens description of demonetisation by one of Indias most insightful economists (who also teaches at Harvard): that it is a despotic act. It is one that has unleashed untold travails on already long-suffering people and is a callous and pointless journey of sorrow with no early end in sight.

More:

What growth? The GDP numbers don't account for the first-hand accounts of pain and suffering - Scroll.in

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 11:03 a.m.

Vegan food is about to have a moment in Long Beach. With so many anticipated restaurants all planning to open soon, it feels inevitable. Under the Sun, the new cafe from the gals at Rainbow Juices, is a few months away from its spot on Third Street. A second outpost for L.A.s The Grain Cafe, at 4th and Ximeno in Belmont Heights, is also imminent. The recent announcement of Seabirds going in on 4th Street (across from a McDonalds, no less) only sealed the city's fate as an emerging vegan destination.

Then, as if those werent enough, chef Soozee Nguyen, operating under The Wild Chive, returned from working at an acclaimed vegetarian kitchen in Brooklyn and started hosting a vegan brunch pop-up at Portfolio Coffeehouse every Sunday.

According to her website, Nguyen who grew up in Texas eating meals prepared by both her traditional Vietnamese mother and experimental, fusion-loving father became vegetarian at 19 but still craved the flavors and textures she had eaten before. Not so much the actual food, but more what that food meant, it says. So began an obsession with making vegan-friendly versions of international classics that even meat-eaters would want to dig into.

Tie a napkin 'round your neck, chri, and meet Bonjour Banh Mi! Making a special appearance at our vegan brunch debut, Sunday, January 29th, and Every Sunday thereafter from 9am-2pm. Crispy bacon, grilled ham, soft scrambled tofu, pickled veggies, fresno chile, fried shallots & zesty chive-cilantro aioli on fresh baked french baguette. #nomnomnom #thewildchive #veganbrunch #portfoliocoffeehouse #longbeachvegan #veganbanhmi #vegansoulfood #veganpopup #whatveganseat #veganfoodshare #lbvegan #longbeachvegans #losangelesvegan #vegansoulfood #veganfood #veganfoodporn #vegans #foodie #veganbreakfast #veganvietnamesefood #banhmi #vegansofinstagram #veganlove #vegansofig #vegancuisine #veganeats #whatveganseat

A post shared by The Wild Chive (@thewildchive) on Jan 18, 2017 at 2:32pm PST

After moving to Brooklyn, Nguyen worked her way up the line at Champs Diner, a vegan restaurant known for its animal-free comfort food (biscuits and gravy, grinders and more), before becoming executive chef at the Black Flamingo, a tropical-themed nightclub with an impressive DJ setup on the bottom floor and a vegetarian restaurant and bar on top.

She debuted The Wild Chive last June at the Long Beach Vegan Food Festival with an oyster mushroom po boy that had enough crusty cornmeal nuggets to look just like the real thing. For weeks afterwards, she taunted Instagram with pictures of the cooking experiments she was undertaking: saffron-infused soyrizo paella, vegetable-stuffed pho, buttery Texas toast for bourbon barbecue jackfruit sandwiches, a vegan Cuban sandwich with meatless ham and house-made pickles. Occasionally, The Wild Chive would pop-up at Crema Cafe in Seal Beach or another vegan food fest.

In November, Portfolio started stocking The Wild Chives pre-made forearm-sized soyrizo breakfast burritos, marking the first time any of Nguyens dishes became more permanently available in Long Beach. The burrito is stuffed with tofu forked so fluffy and kale cooked down so softly that it became real competition for Portfolios own breakfast burrito, itself a neighborhood staple. Wild Chives not-too-oily vegan mac and cheese and a colorful kale cobb salad also make consistent appearances in the busy shops pastry case.

Last month, the retail run went big, turning a few pre-packaged items a day into a full weekly pop-up, where Nguyen now makes Sunday brunch with a team out of the Portfolio kitchen. From the flaky biscuits with wild mushroom gravy to a sugary-but-still-vegan fruit-stuffed French toast, its already one of the most interesting brunches in the city.

That soyrizo burrizo is on the menu, this time made fresh while you wait. As is Nguyens must-try banh mi, a crunchy baguette filled with her soft-scrambled tofu, hickory bacon, vegan ham, and all the requisite fresh and pickled toppings. On a recent Sunday, a maple-dipped monte cristo had just been added to the lineup and it arrived as a towering stack of Texas toast oozing with melty Daiya yellow cheese.

Long Beachs vegan food scene has come a long way in just three years, when the closure of the citys second vegan restaurant, the comfort-food-focused Long Beach Vegan Eatery, dealt a blow to the nascent animal-free food scene. Now, the citys first vegan restaurant, Zephyr, operates as the similarly-minded Ahimsa and a handful of new concepts will open this year to fill the void. Nguyen is already setting herself apart from the others in the mix by popping up with her decadent brunches at one of Long Beach's most beloved coffee shops. That all the food happens to be meat, egg and dairy free is just a bonus.

The Wild Chive vegan Sunday brunch at Portfolio Coffeehouse, Sundays 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., 2300 E. 4th St., (562) 434-2486, thewildchive.squarespace.com

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Eat Monte Cristos and Breakfast Banh Mis at This Vegan Sunday Brunch in Long Beach - OC Weekly

Posted on March 8, 2017 By collin IN The Loop, News You Can Eat

By Isadora Pennington

Falafel, a fried ball of chickpeas or fava beans, is a popular vegan dish with ancient origins. The truth behind its creation is hazy, although its origins can be traced back to Pharaonic Egypt where it may have been invented as a meat substitute during Lent. The dishs long and complex history is a testament to its steadfast popularity. Throughout the years the recipe has remained more or less the same, though with some evolution brought on by technological advances and cultural influences.

Not only is it tasty, but it is also a great source of fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins, which makes it a viable meat alternative for vegetarians and vegans. Served hot, typically as a street food, one usually finds them wrapped in pita or served on a plate alongside salads and other sides.

The dish is a longtime favorite of mine, and throughout the years Ive had the pleasure of tasting some of Atlantas best falafel dishes. This month I stopped by a few of my favorite restaurants to sample their versions of this classic meal, so whether youve tried these delectable patties of tasty fried goodness or are looking for a new spot, I recommend stopping by these great local restaurants.

Ali BabaFalafel Wrap: Deep fried chickpeas (garbanzo and fava beans), vegetables, tahini, and a blend of seasonings served in a pita with hummus, babaganush, pita, tabouli, grape leaves and Mediterranean salad.1099 Euclid Ave. NE, 30307.alibabaatlanta.com or (404) 223-1445

Aviva by KameelFalafel Kameel Style: Hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, cabbage salad, tahini, hot sauce.225 Peachtree Street, Suite B-30, 30303.avivabykameel.com or (404) 698-3600

YallaFalafel Pita Wrap: traditionally served with chickpea fritters, hummus, labne, Israeli salad & pickles, zhug, tahini, herbs.99 Krog Street, 30307.yallaatl.com or (404) 506-9999

Mediterranean GrillFalafel Plate: falafel, rice, tahini, salsa and salad.985 Monroe Drive NE, 30308.mediterraneangrill.com or (404) 917-1100

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It can be a challenge to think ofdelicious vegan lunch options that arent sandwiches withhummus as its star ingredient (though, lets be real: There are some pretty unique recipes out there these days). But with a few key foods, your midday meal can geta satisfying, delicious makeover. Save your hummus for crudite, and employ these 21 vegan sandwiches, from French-dip subs to Asian-inspired wraps.

1. Chipotle Baked Tofu Sandwiches With Pineapple Guacamole: Chipotle marinated tofu takes on a chewy-crispy texture after being baked. Its spiciness is offset by a slightly sweet pineapple guacamole in this sandwich. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

2. White Bean Salad Pitas: Made with dairy-free yogurt, this white bean salad is surprisingly creamy. Pop it into a pita with some crunchy veggies for a satisfying lunch. (via Veggie Inspired)

3. Ultimate Rainbow Veggie Sandwich: Eat the rainbow with this sandwich. Its filled with a crunchy combo of carrots, beets, avocado, almond ricotta, and more. (via Scaling Back)

4. Strawberry Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich: Chickpea salad is a vegan lunchtime favorite, but it can get kind of boring. Jazz it up with the addition of strawberries and avocado and youll fall in love all over again. (via Emilie Eats)

5. Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich: Marinated tofu adds protein and flavor to theVietnamese sandwich. Then, theyre loaded with pickled vegetables, vegan mayo, and jalapeos for a complex and tasty meal. (via B. Britnell)

6. Sweet and Spicy Tempeh Sandwich: Sweet, smoky, and spicy tempeh is a sandwich filling vegans and omnivores alike will enjoy. Slather it with carrot aioli and youre really in business. (via The Green Life)

7. Vegan Winter Sandwich:Sliced cauliflower, beets, and kale are combined with sweet potato satay hummus for a meal that hits all your favorite flavor notes. (via Radiant Rachels)

8. Thai Green Curry Sandwich:Mixed with chickpeas, mango, and cashews, Thai green curry pastemakes for a sandwich spread that delivers a spicy, tangy, nutty, and sweet finish. (via Contentedness Cooking)

9. Pan Fried Chai Cranberry Tofu Sandwich: If you love making sandwiches from Thanksgiving leftovers, this ones for you. Spiced chai cranberry sauce and crispy pan fried tofu combine for a sandwich thats *full* of flavor. (via Diary of an Ex Sloth)

10. Lentil Loaf Sandwiches: Make this lentil loaf for dinner, then combinethe leftovers with caramelized onions and a creamy garlic spread to create a bomb lunch. (via Catching Seeds)

11. Quinoa Meatball Sub: Skip the takeout, and make this meat ball sub instead. Quinoa meatballs are joined by grilled peppers, onions, and tomato sauce for a hearty meal. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

12. Blueberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Sweet and salty pairings always make us happy. This blueberry grilled cheese sandwich, topped with frizzled red onion, will make your midday meal a little brighter. (via Contentedness Cooking)

13. Vegan Pulled Pork and Black Bean Po Boy: Jackfruit, when cooked just right, is a delicious pulled pork substitute. Sweet, tangy, and savory, its paired with black beans, veggies, and avocados in this scrumptious sandwich. (via Pineapple Pineapple)

14. Balsamic Sweet Potato, Mushroom, and Arugula Sandwich: Marinated grilled veggies are always a good bet in a sandwich. Here, theyre paired with vegan herbed cheese to add some creaminess into the mix. (via Herban Yums)

15. Jalapeo Tempeh Cheese Sandwich: Tempeh crumbles are a hearty sandwich filling on their own. When theyrecombined with vegan cheese and spicy jalapeo, it makes for a lunch thats much better than a veggie burger. (via Kiip Fit)

16. Grilled Eggplant Sandwich:Eggplant gets sandwiched between two halves of a fluffy ciabatta roll along with roasted red peppers and melted vegan cheese. (via Gourmandelle)

17. Buffalo Tempeh Ranch Wrap: Buffalo chicken is out, but buffalo tempeh is SOin. (via One Ingredient Chef)

18. Cauliflower Rice Pesto Sandwich: Cauliflower rice isnt just a side dish. It makes for a mean sandwich filling too! (via Contentedness Cooking)

19. Asian-Inspired Crispy Tofu Wraps: Crispy tofu is rolled up with cabbage slaw and guacamole to make these Asian-inspired wraps. (via The Hungry Herbivores)

20. Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad Sandwich:This cranberry walnut chickpea salad sandwich will help sate any cravings for this deli favorite. (via The Simple Veganista)

21. Vegan French Dip Sandwiches: Rich and flavorful, these sandwiches do double duty as lunch or dinner. The secret to their success is a quick dip in a savory vegan au jus. (via Connoisseurus Veg)

For more exciting lunch time inspiration, follow us on Pinterest.

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21 Vegan Sandwiches That Make Lunch the Best Part of Your Day - Brit + Co