#men who make sure the railway workers are provided for

[weepylucifer]

glorious 25th makes me think again about that one idea i once had for a discworld spinoff set in the future that would deal with the natural conclusion to the industrial revolution arc: communism comes to discworld

[brajeshupadhyay]

Over the last six weeks, they have crept into our consciousness. They have inspired pity, anger, hectoring and indifference. That they lived all around us was a detail we were barely conscious of before the nation-wide lockdown was put into place. They cleaned our homes and washed our cars, served us at restaurants and eateries, sweated and slaved away in the many small and big factories and workshops that one finds all over the urban sprawls that our cities have become. Many of us were similar to them in that we too do not hail from the cities that we now live in. We, or someone in our family, had moved there to seek employment or start a business and then stayed put or ‘settled down’ as we, the well-heeled, put it. We then grew roots, purchased an apartment or built a home, sometimes two, and came to feel that we ‘belonged’. ‘They’, on the other hand, were birds of passage who did not put down roots or try to belong. Sure enough, when the lockdown was announced, and then later, extended, they sought to ‘return’ home. The stories of their journeys which have been documented in the news and on social media have been gut-wrenching. Walking or cycling for days on end, on little food and water, families and meagre possessions in tow, sometimes collapsing and dying with their destination in sight, mowed down by trucks and run over by trains, the migrants have been the lockdown’s most unforeseen casualty. A century-and-a-half ago, many Indians — indentured labourers all — made similar journeys in cattle-like conditions on steamships, hoping to find paradise in a distant land where they would have sufficient food, perhaps a plot of land and enough money to tide them through rainy days. Most ended up being cheated and denied a fair shot at life. The journeys of migrants during the lockdown mirrors those journeys across the seas. One was the shame of the British Empire, which had set out to ‘civilise’ the ‘natives’ but ended up enslaving many of them. The current dispensation has shamed the citizens of the Republic of India and the hallowed Constitution, which the citizens gave unto themselves. The system of indentured labour (a ‘second slavery’ as many scholars have rightly termed it) originated in the 1830s when slavery had run its course in most of Europe and the larger public had expressed their outrage at the persistence of such an exploitative system. The destinations for indentured labourers were the Caribbean islands, Mauritius, Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa), South America (British Guyana and Suriname), Fiji and Malaya. This system sought to legitimise itself on the back of a contract, unlike slavery, which treated human beings as commodities. That the contract specified exploitative terms — poor wages, limited or no leave, loopholes in the clauses concerning release from contract etc — was given little consideration, since the parties were entering into it ‘willingly’. But given that those who assented to this contract were unlettered men and women, mostly from India and China who did not understand the contract’s fine print, was a detail that was conveniently swept under the rug. A second slavery was thus put into practice, and in 1834, the first group of indentured labourers was shipped to Mauritius. To find workers willing to under such contracts (or ‘girmit’ – a homonym for ‘agreement’), a recruiter (‘arkati’) fanned out into India’s poorest districts painting a pretty picture of their work destination. For a desperate populace on the verge of starvation, it was a chance worth taking. Then came the process of explaining to the workers the terms of their contract — a shambolic process. Often, groups were brought in front of a magistrate who inquired if they had understood the contract, without bothering to inquire further. Coached to say ‘yes’, almost all labourers assented and placed their thumb impressions on a sheet of paper. Few knew what they were getting into. The ordeal then began. Before the advent of the railways and its penetration into the Indian heartland, labourers walked from their villages in present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Calcutta (Kolkata), where a ship awaited them. This first leg of the journey took 30 to 40 days, almost entirely on foot. Journeys from the districts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to Madras (Chennai) were shorter, but grueling nonetheless. Sometimes, if there were no ships ready to sail, migrants waited at the emigration depot for up to three months housed in less than favourable conditions. These potential emigrants were kept under close watch and not allowed the free run of the city. Desertion upon hearing horror tales of the ‘promised land’ was a possibility, as also the chance that they would contract contagious diseases, thereby laying waste the efforts of the ‘arkati’. Once a ship was available, a medical examination followed, and then hundreds of labourers boarded the ship. In the early years, wooden sailing vessels of teak were used. Conditions on the ships were similar to those on slave ships. Totaram Sanadhya, who spent years in Fiji, writes in Fiji Dveep mein Mere Ikkis Varsh (My Twenty-one Years in Fiji) of the cramped conditions in the ship – each person had ‘a space one and a half feet wide and six feet long’. Four ‘dog biscuits’ and ‘one-sixteenth of a pound of sugar’ (about 150 grams) were handed out on boarding, a ‘welcome package’ of sorts. The ship then sailed. On the seas, the labourers were expected to make their own meals with the provisions provided. The toilets too had to be cleaned by them, and refusal to do so resulted in beatings. Two bottles of fresh water were handed out daily. The question of asking for more water in case of need did not exist. One had to make do or suffer silently. Sea journeys ranged from ten to 20 weeks (journeys to Malaya were shorter than ten weeks). An 1878 British Guyana report records that in that year 17 ships arrived. The length of their voyage ranged from 78 to 128 days and the number of passengers varied from 493 to 652. Deaths on the ship were a common occurrence, dysentery, measles and cholera being the frequent causes. Bodies were thrown overboard when deaths took place. Perhaps a religious-minded fellow traveller uttered a short prayer. Otherwise, there was little dignity in death. In 1878, 18 deaths (including 15 children) out of a total of 611 passengers took place on the Hesperides. That the ship had taken 128 days to complete the voyage probably had something to do with it. That same year, 19 deaths took place on the Plassey, which took 92 days to complete the voyage and had embarked with 627 passengers. Still, these conditions were better than the conditions in 1856-57, when the average death rate for Indians travelling to the Caribbean was 17 percent. As many as 11 children were born on the Hesperides during the course of the sea voyage. The Plassey witnessed nine births. To begin with, most of the labourers were men. Only a few women made these journeys. How these women managed the exigencies of childbirth on board a rollicking ship with little water, food and privacy is too terrible to imagine. Given that almost every one of these ships records the deaths of children, it is perhaps fair to assume (since no clear details are available) that many of these deaths were of newborns. More horrors awaited the labourers when they reached their destinations. Poor wages, pathetic living conditions, insufficient food and the dishonouring of the terms of their contracts were commonplace. The indentured system was a system of continuous and prolonged exploitation. When the system came to an end in 1916, close to 1.5 million had made the journey. A significant number had perished en-route or in their new homes. Many stayed back after their contracts ended. A small number returned. Every single one of them had undergone untold suffering. Even as a callous government and an even more callous middle class continue to wallow in utter indifference, a tragedy has unfolded in our times which historians of the future will use to pass judgment on our generation. The indentured system was a telling comment on the tyranny of the white man, the excesses of the Empire and the blood and sweat on which the pretty structures of the West have been built. The current tragedy is our Fall from our fraudulent Garden of Eden.

http://sansaartimes.blogspot.com/2020/05/migrants-across-eras-exodus-caused-by.html

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

The Murderess from the Grunewald (27): Preparing for War (3a): "The Monster in the Petticoat" (1)

“Hamburg / Alster” by StephanieAlbert 

Previously

Six months ago. One day after Jamie's fourth Attorney’s visit to Claire in prison.

         It was exactly 8:00 the next morning when Jamie arrived at the office. Tessa Lüttgenjohann greeted him and then asked:

        "Coffee?"

        "Oh yes, will you make me a whole pot?"

        "It's almost ready. I'll bring it right away."

        A few minutes after Jamie took off his jacket and made himself comfortable at his desk, Tessa brought the promised coffee.

“Kaffee” by  Luiz-Jorge-Artista

        "You're remembering having a conference call with Prof. Dr. Nerz at 10:30?"

        "Yes, but could you please remind me at 10:15?"

        "Sure. Is there anything else you need?"

        "No. But I don't want to be disturbed until then. I still have to work on an urgent contract. Please block the whole morning for calls, etc. And please register a visit to client Beauchamp at the correctional facility for tomorrow morning. I need to discuss important documents with her."

        "Will be done. Would 9.00 a.m. be ok?"

        "Yes, or does it collide with other appointments?"

        "No. I distributed your other mandates as you had ordered."

        "Good. I have to devote myself entirely to this matter. That is an absolute priority right now. Thank you.”

        Jamie nodded and signaled that the talk was over.

        Tessa also nodded and as she walked out, she wondered if in all the years she was working for “Fraser, Gowan & Coll.” she had ever heard such a sentence from James Fraser's mouth: 'I have to devote myself entirely to this matter. That is an absolute priority right now. Thank you.’? Tessa doubted it. James Fraser, as long as she knew him, was an attentive, conscientious, hard worker when it came to his mandates. He always showed 'full commitment' to clients and the passion with which he pursued his profession made him a boss for whom people liked to work. But since he devoted himself to the 'Beauchamp case', he seemed to work even more intensively and passionately than usual.

        Jamie poured coffee into his cup and began to work on the contract between Dr. Claire Elisabeth Beauchamp and the editor-in-chief of the ‘U-Turn-Magazine’. The work was relatively easy for him, as he had already negotiated and sealed similar contracts in the past.

        When Tessa Lüttgenjohann knocked on his office door at 10.15 a.m. and reminded him of the video conference, he was already able to give her his first handwritten draft. Then he went to the toilet. Back in his office, he looked into the mirror hanging inside his wardrobe, combed his hair, straightened his tie, pulled over his jacket and sat down at his desk. Jamie had already opened the page for the video conference and punctually at 10:30 a.m. he heard the signal that announced the call from Prof. Dr. Nerz's office.

“Monitor” by Free-Photos

         "Good morning, Professor Nerz," Jamie greeted the lawyer on the other side of the video transmission.

          "Good morning, Dr. Fraser," Nerz replied, wearing his characteristic golden glasses and his well-kept beard. Behind him, a shelf wall made of expensive wood could be seen, which was decorated from top to bottom with folios bound in leather. For a moment, Jamie wondered whether this shelf wall was in Nerz's office or in his firm's library.

          "Thank you for agreeing so quickly to advise me."

          "Thank you for putting confidence in our firm," Nerz replied. After the first ice had broken, the Hamburg specialist for media law immediately turned his attention to the matter at hand:

          "I read the dossier on Dr. Beauchamp's case, which your secretary sent in advance. And I share your conviction that the case has the potential to be inflated by the media."

          Jamie nodded. He had expected Prof. Nerz to confirm his fears. 

          "What do you think if we take a look at the first case in the history of Europe in which the media played a decisive role? We can then draw conclusions from this for the case of Dr. Beauchamp."

          "Gladly," Jamie said and nodded again.

          "Does the case of Violette Nozière mean anything to you?"

          "The name sounds familiar to me, but ..."

“Bücher” by JackPierce

         "Good. It's 1933 and we're in France. The world is full of crises. In Germany Hitler has seized power and you can literally smell that a war is coming. This is a good time for the newspapers because, in addition to information on world political events, people want to read more and more stories that distract them from these crises. A murder case shocks the Parisian society and, as a result, the whole of France. It is the so-called case of the "Monster in the Petticoat" and should become the most sensational case of the 30s.         The accused, Violette Nozière, grew up in the Rue de Madagascar in the 12th Arrondissement. Her father was Jean-Baptiste Nozière, who worked as a locomotive driver for the PLM railway company. Her mother is Germaine Nozière, now a housewife. Although her parents only come from the middle class, they try to give their daughter the best possible education. She is allowed to visit the famous Lycée Fénelon. This is expensive and not usual for a child from this class. However, the reports of that time show that the young woman preferred to spend her time with other young people in cafés rather than in school. She is also said to have had several friends, or rather lovers. It is also said that to finance her lifestyle, she stole money and other things from her parents and possibly other people.

”Violette Nozière” by Agence de presse Meurisse [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

         The family lives in a small, narrow apartment with only two rooms. Over time, tensions are said to have increased, leading to disputes, threats or blackmail. On August 23, 1933, Jean-Baptist Nozière and his wife were finally found lifeless in their apartment. Jean-Baptiste is dead, his wife is still breathing and can be rescued. The police investigate and after a week Violette Nozière is accused of murdering her father and mother. She is said to have intended to murder her parents with poison. She succeeded with her father and failed with her mother.           French society at this time is marked by the civil code, the Code civil, also known as Code Napoléon. And according to this code, the father is the pillar of the civil order. Imagine what a patricide means in such a society! Patricide is the worst of all crimes. And the crime was committed by a woman who is also the child. What a scandal!           But in the beginning, little is known and the newspapers can only report that two lifeless bodies were found in Rue de Madagascar. Violette Nozière is only mentioned as a daughter. Everything else is unclear. It could also have been a suicide. But then it comes to an interesting incident. When Germaine Nozière has recovered from the consequences of the poisoning in the hospital, the investigating police officer wants to confront the daughter with her mother. But Violette Nozière flees. And of course, that makes her very suspicious.           And now the bloodhound instinct of press is in full mode. Because, as I said, we have all the ingredients for a real scandal. And then, as now, there is this mantra of the press: If there are no interesting stories, one has to be found and made up. Violette Nozière is accused and the police search for her. And journalists who crave for sensations 'support' the police by also searching for her.           At that time, the press in Paris consisted of the so-called 'Four Big One’s’. These included 'Le Journal', 'Le Petit Parisien', 'Le Matin' and 'Le Petit Journal'. But in 1930 Jean Prouvost took over the newspaper 'Paris-Soir' and this changed the Parisian press landscape permanently. To stabilize the crisis-ridden newspaper financially, he increasingly relied on the printing of photographs. That was something that had been practiced in America for quite some time. And in 1931 he wrote media history with it. The paper published a total of nine photos on the title page. It is assumed that this 'Americanization' of the newspaper, as it was called, the use of the photos and also introduced large, shocking headlines, contributed significantly to its success. When Prouvost took over the newspaper, it had a circulation of 700,000 copies. He was supported by the well-known journalist Pierre Lazareff. And the success seems to prove the two men right. You know how it is, Dr. Fraser?"

          Jamie, looked astonished at his counterpart because he was still thinking about Nerz's historical lecture.

          "What do you mean?

          "Well, you know, Dr. Fraser, how the saying goes: “Numbers reflect success and those who have success are right," Professor Nerz said with a smile.

          "Oh yes, of course," Jamie replied with a clearly audible ironic undertone.

          "By 1937 the circulation of the "Paris-Soir" is increased to 1.8 million copies. This number should then increase again to almost 2.5 million copies. That was shortly before the German occupation of Paris started in June 1940. Photography had been known since the beginning of the century, but newspapers in Europe were still skeptical about it. This was to change with the "Paris-Soir". The journalists at the  "Paris-Soir" were of the opinion that readers should not only be provided with information for reading but also with pictures to look at. And of course, in the case of Violette Nozière, the readers also had the wish to 'see something'. Historians, lawyers, and media experts agree that this case also had a very voyeuristic component.

“Journal Le Petit Parisien, édition du 2 septembre 1933″ via Wikimedia Commons

         And here we come to an application to our case: Like Violette Nozière, your client is also a very beautiful woman. That, in any case, is what I see in the picture that you sent me together with the dossier. And she is younger than the victim. One cannot say that the murdered man, Dr. Randall, could have been her father, but ... such things fuel the voyeurism of the masses. We won't be able to prevent the media from taking pictures of your client each day of trial. Even in the case of Erich Honecker, who was severely sick, the court wasn’t able to prevent it. However, we can attack any other picture report. But we should talk about this in detail later.           Let us come back to Violette Nozière's story. She was arrested on August 28, 1933, in Paris and in the "Paris Soir" illustrates the report about her arrest with a whole series of pictures. This gives readers the impression that the newspaper is very close to the real events. And, of course, these pictures help to reinforce the dark impression, that the public has about Violette Nozière. And so the verdict is pronounced before the accused has even entered a courtroom! Now other newspapers and magazines too publish more detailed reports - and with pictures! They report about the case and - call the accused a poisoner. Some newspapers draw a historical line from the well-known poison murderers of French history up to the year 1933, thus reinforcing the impression that the accused must be a treacherous criminal.           You shouldn't be surprised if anyone writes such crap about your client. With historical comparisons, the columns of the newspapers can be filled splendidly, if one knows nothing else to say about the case.         Historians and lawyers also agree that the Violette Nozière case was the first case in media history in which a defendant was literally hunted. Cases such as the one in Paris in 1933 are the stuff from which serial stories are made of. Murder, sex, mysterious rumors and surprising twists in a criminal case, that's what a serial story needs. And it's exactly these serial stories that give the papers the big money because they bind the readers and make them buy one issue after another. And that's it what most media are all about: money. I think we agree on that.” 

         Jamie nodded approvingly.

         “The reader,” Nerz went on, “thinks that it is information that is brought to him. But basically, reporting on such a case is nothing but a pure money machine for most newspapers. The whole story is split into many small parts, which are then fed to the reader piece by piece. For cash, of course!          That, Dr. Fraser, won't be any different in the case of your client. If Dr. Beauchamp's case causes the nation-wide sensation that we expect, then we have to assign at least one full-time person to look through the media reports daily and check for violations of the law. We might even need two people to do it."

         "Whatever you need, Professor Nerz, use it. You don't have to worry about the costs. Our law firm will take care of that."

         "Good. If you don't mind, I'll send you the draft of a contract, which we can talk about later this week."

         Jamie nodded again.  

         "Let's go back to Violette Nozière. As I said before, the political situation, the world economic crisis, led people to look for entertainment, for distraction. And the media was only too happy to offer people this distraction, or rather to sell it. Basically, we are dealing here with a kind of movement that we also know from the Biedermeier era. The time of the Biedermeier era, the time after the liberation wars against Napoleon and after the Congress of Vienna was characterized by a retreat of the middle class into the private sphere. Personal security and private happiness were the top priorities for these people. And it was similar in 1933. As in the Biedermeier era, the focus of people here was more on the inside. That is why the interest in her case was so huge. Personal stories, such as the one of Violette Nozière's, seemed to be closer to the life of the common people than the reports about political or economic issues. Political or economic processes were decided somewhere far away from the people. And no ordinary person could fully understand these things, let alone influence them.          And so this ‘serial story reporting’ in words and pictures, if I may call it that, for the first time gave the people the illusion, that there was something evil, but that one could control this evil. Media fulfilled this human need, which combined horror with subsequent reassurance. And the people were willing to pay princely for it. Today it's no different, only the nature and number of media has changed. Do you watch television?

          "Not very often..."

          Nerz smiled.

          "Good for you. Nevertheless, if you look at television, what are the three most common types of programs that are offered? What would you say?

          Jamie thought for a moment and went through last week's television program in his mind. Then he said:

          "Crime movies, comedy, satirical shows, and... well, everything you'd call 'heart-pain' movies."

          "Exactly," Nerz replied with a smile. Then he continued:  

          "The situation is still the same. In view of today's crises - an impending war in the Middle East that could set the whole region on fire, the economic upheavals in Europe and the world as a whole, the ecological crisis - the majority of people are turning back to the private sphere. Comedies are the answer to people's need for distraction. Did you know that between 1815 and 1830 almost 300 comedies were premiered in the Schauspielhaus Berlin alone, but only 56 tragedies?

          Jamie, who had listened to Nerz with growing attention, shook his head.

          "No, but that's interesting."

          "You addressed the satirical programs on television."

          Jamie nodded once more.

          "Did you notice that some of the best-known broadcasts in this format started after the 2008 financial crisis and that since the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, others have expanded their slots?

          "Really?"

          Nerz nodded and Jamie made a mental note to check this information. His counterpart continued:

          "As I said, the way in which criminal cases are reported and how they are portrayed in films can make the viewer feel as if evil is controllable. It's a kind of 'wash my fur but don't make me wet' mentality behind it. You can enjoy the gruesome horror of the deed, but in the end, everything is fine again because the perpetrator is caught and sentenced. If the world out there is already in shards, here with us everything remains in order! ‘Crime and Comedy' are a great way to close your eyes to the real problems of reality. Either you have something to be upset about or you have something to laugh about. I am not saying that the desire for distraction is not legitimate, nor am I saying that the media do not have the right to meet this need for distraction. But I also say that people can be manipulated through their needs. And when, in order to do this - and to make money with it - the fate of our clients is used, the red line is already crossed. That is why we will sue everyone, and if necessary we will go as far as the European Court of Human Rights, which wants to abuse your client's case as an 'egg-laying woolly sow'. You have me all on your side, Dr. Fraser."

Thank you for reading. Next time, read: “ The Murderess from the Grunewald (28): Preparations for War (3b): "The Monster in the Petticoat" (2)

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

Why We Need Publicly Owned Energy for a Green New Deal

Digital Elixir Why We Need Publicly Owned Energy for a Green New Deal

Public ownership can create hundreds of thousands of jobs in generating energy and in new industry supply chains. There are very few places in the UK where renewable energy can’t happen – wind and solar can be delivered almost everywhere. This creates a huge opportunity to reverse decades of underinvestment in ex-mining communities decimated by Thatcher.

Platform estimates that 40,000 existing oil workers (direct and supply chain) may need to be in a different job by 2030. But their research shows, with ambitious government policies, we can create three to four times as many jobs in clean energy industries.

Right now, government is undermining renewable energy with regressive policies, failing to give vital support to onshore wind and solar – and renewable energy jobs have plunged by a third. This is a disaster. The government needs to reinstate subsidies for solar and deliver an onshore wind boom.

Workers and climate change protestors joined together in an 11 day occupation against the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory in 2009. (The company has now created some new jobs but not as many as it axed). We could take control over decisions like this – with a publicly owned British company with a long term strategy for turbine manufacture, with workers, citizens and the public on the board.

Offshore wind is touted as a success – but the real story here is that the public is missing out by leaving it to non UK companies (public and private) to pick up the benefits. We should be following the example of countries like Denmark and Sweden – their publicly owned companies DONG and Vattenfall own 32% and 6% of UK offshore wind capacity, respectively. We need our own ‘Waterfall’.

The Labour Energy Forum report ‘Who owns the wind?’ proposes the creation of four major publicly owned offshore wind companies: Scottish Wind, Energy for Londoners, Wind of the North and Floating Cornwall. These would lead the way in investing in and directly operating publicly owned offshore wind capacity. Effectively they would also act as anchor institutions, boosting local and regional economies.

The public sector can build its renewables capacity and expertise and ultimately deliver far more efficiently than the private sector. Modelling work by Frontier Economics for IPPR shows how full public ownership through construction and operation can generate substantial savings for consumers because of the lower cost of capital. In addition, there are the profits coming back to the public purse – Swindon Borough Council has a solar bond that generates £1 million every year.

Connecting Communities to the Grid

The National Grid �� which transmits electricity and gas across the country – and the regional distribution companies which distribute energy – were built for an age of coal, oil and nuclear. The future of energy is decentralised and renewable. We need to own this vital infrastructure so we can upgrade it.

The National Grid and regional distribution companies don’t answer to you and me – they answer to often very distant investors. If you’re based in London, your electricity is distributed by UK Power Networks, owned by a Hong Kong company led by one of the richest men in the world. Your gas might well be distributed by Cadent Gas – recently found guilty of leaving residents without gas for up to five months, and putting 775 blocks of flats in danger by keeping no inspection record – owned by a consortium including Macquarie (an Australian investment bank), CIC Capital (owned by China Investment Corporation) and the Qatar Investment Authority.

These private energy monopolies often make it difficult for community groups who want to develop new renewable energy projects, so the process is slower and more expensive than it should be. Communities in Harris and Lewis have been slowed down by National Grid in their effort to develop a wind farm. Communities in Cornwall were told by Western Power Networks (owned by shareholders in New York) that new solar farms would require ‘quite expensive’ investment in infrastructure.

Under public ownership, National Grid and the regional distribution companies would have a duty to work closely with community groups to develop new renewable energy, and to steward public assets and land. In Germany, renewable energy producers have a guaranteed right of access to the electricity grid.

‘Public-Common partnerships’ can be developed – this means councils create shared institutions with cooperatives or community interest companies to manage common resources in a democratic way. In Wolfhagen in Germany, the town’s energy utility is jointly owned by the municipality and a new cooperative. Community energy projects can also be rolled out to power a solar railway (the ‘Riding Sunbeams’project) to help decarbonise transport.

As Andrew Cumbers points out, in Denmark, the government has encouraged local, decentralised wind power on a huge scale, through funding and support for local, collective ownership of turbines. The Danish Wind Turbine Owners Association is an independent, democratically elected membership association set up to represent these small scale, private and cooperative owners. With 5000 members, it provides a strong voice for local communities on energy policy.

Supply Companies That Work for All of Us

Customer satisfaction with the Big Six companies is low. Only 32% of the public trust the energy industry. Tying ourselves in knots to create markets and choice in every sector doesn’t make sense. Energy customers don’t want to switch – 61% of us have never switched company or only switched once – so we pay a loyalty penalty.

Citizens Advice has also shown how we overpay because of the way energy is regulated – this amounts to £11 billion over the past 15 years. The poor are hit hardest, spending 14% of their income on energy and water.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Corporate Watch research suggests each UK household could save £158 a year if energy was publicly owned. Across Europe, bills are around 30% lower when energy companies are in public ownership.

Publicly owned energy supply companies would have a duty to make sure everyone has access to affordable energy. This could include progressive tariffs to tackle over consumption and fuel poverty at the same time by charging high use households more while giving everyone some free energy – alongside a ‘no cut off’ policy.

Forward thinking councils are already created new, inspiring, publicly owned supply companies – with Nottingham-based Robin Hood Energyboldly leading the way and setting up 10 white label partnership agreements with local authorities around the country. Bristol Energyand The People’s Energy Company are also breaking new ground. We need to sign up to get our energy from these companies – then build on these exciting options across the country. Ultimately when we get the privatised energy companies out, regional distribution companies could offer supply to people in the area, but with local companies taking over wherever they exist.

The Green New Deal should also mean we are energy citizens not energy consumers. We’re all part of the war effort against climate change.

Ann Pettifor points out that there are 27 million households in the UK, most built in the Victorian era. We have some of the least efficient housing in Europe, and the highest proportion of fuel poverty – 11% of English households. The Green New Deal is an opportunity to change all that. Every house can become a power station, with double glazing, insulation and solar panels (unless it’s about to be rebuilt).

Trusted, publicly owned companies can create new jobs for advisors to go door to door. Pettifor proposes a ‘carbon army’ of workers, highly qualified, skilled and unskilled workers to retrofit and reconstruct our homes and buildings, advise on cutting energy use and bills and roll out smart meters. This would pay for itself, boosting employment and tax revenue in every region of the UK.

PCS describes the situation perfectly: ‘There is no bailout for the publicly owned climate bank as we’ve already been doing insolvency with the planet for far too long’. We have to ‘remove capital from the driving seat of energy transition.’

Renewable, zero carbon energy. Upgraded infrastructure. Affordable energy for all. And all of it creating new, green, permanent jobs. Let’s do it. Whether you’re a citizen, a worker, part of a community group – or all three – your country needs you.

This article was taken from a recent report published by Common Wealth

Why We Need Publicly Owned Energy for a Green New Deal

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[nebris]

Ernst Hanfstaengel 

Ernst Hanfstaengel, the son of a wealthy publisher and art dealer, was born in Munich, Germany, on 2nd February, 1887. He had an American mother and his grandfather, William Heine, was a general who fought in the American Civil War.

Hanfstaengel was educated at the Royal Bavarian Wilheim-Gymnasium where his form master was the father of Heinrich Himmler. He completed his education at Harvard University. After graduating in 1909 he joined the family business on Fifth Avenue.

Hanfstaengel remained in the United States during the First World War and did not return to Germany until 1919. Soon after arriving in Berlin he met Captain Truman Smith, a military attache at the American Embassy. It was Smith who advised Hanfstaengel to go and see Adolf Hitler speak at a National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) meeting.

Hanfstaengel later recalled:  "In his heavy boots, dark suit and leather waistcoat, semi-stiff white collar and odd little moustache, he really did not look very impressive - like a waiter in a railway-station restaurant. However, when Drexler introduced him to a roar of applause, Hitler straightened up and walked past the press table with a swift, controlled step, the unmistakable soldier in mufti. The atmosphere in the hall was electric. Apparently this was his first public appearance after serving a short prison-sentence for breaking up a meeting addressed by a Bavarian separatist named Ballerstedt, so he had to be reasonably careful what he said in case the police should arrest him again as a disturber of the peace. Perhaps this is what gave such a brilliant quality to his speech, which for innuendo and irony I have never heard matched, even by him. No one who judges his capacity as a speaker from the performances of his later years can have any true insight into his gifts."

Hanfstaengel became one of Hitler's inner circle. He was one of his earliest financial supporters and in March, 1923, provided $1,000 to ensure the daily publication of  Volkische Beobachter. The newspaper, an anti-Semitic gossip sheet had previously appeared twice a week. With Hanfstaengel's money it was published every day. As the author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960) has pointed out: "It became a daily, thus giving Hitler the prerequisite of all German political parties, a daily newspaper in which to preach the party's gospels."

In November 1923, Hanfstaengel took part in the Beer Hall Putsch. "Hitler began to plough his way towards the platform and the rest of us surged forward behind him. Tables overturned with their jugs of beer. On the way we passed a major named Mucksel, one of the heads of the intelligence section at Army headquarters, who started to draw his pistol as soon as he saw Hitler approach, but the bodyguard had covered him with theirs and there was no shooting. Hitler clambered on a chair and fired a round at the ceiling."

After the failed coup he hid Hitler in his villa in the Bavarian Alps. Hitler was eventually arrested and put on trial for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch. If found guilty, Hitler faced the death penalty. While in prison Hitler suffered from depression and talked of committing suicide. However, it soon became clear that the Nazi sympathizers in the Bavarian government were going to make sure that Hitler would not be punished severely. At his trial Hitler was allowed to turn the proceedings into a political rally, and although he was found guilty he only received the minimum sentence of five years. Hanfstaengel visited him during his prison term at Landsberg am Lech and helped to reestablish his political career after his release. The two men remained close and Hanfstaengel became a member of his inner-circle.

Hanfstaengel later recalled that Hitler talked to him a great deal about America. He was especially interested in the ideas of Henry Ford and the Ku Klux Klan. "In his questions Hitler revealed to me that his ideas about America were wildly superficial. He wanted to hear all about the skyscrapers and was fascinated by details of technical progress, but failed utterly to draw logical conclusions from this information. The only American figure for whom he had time for was Henry Ford, and then not so much as an industrial wonder-worker but rather as a reputed anti-Semite and a possible source of funds. Hitler was also passionately interested in the Ku Klux Klan, then at the height of its questionable reputation. He seemed to think it was a political movement similar to his own, with which it might be possible to make some pact, and I was never able to put its relative importance in proper prospective for him."

His biographer, Louis L. Snyder, has pointed out: "A towering 6-foot, 4-inch giant with an enormous head, a pugnacious jaw, and thick hair. Hanfstaengel endured the nickname Putzi throughout his career. He was a gifted pianist who used his huge hands to pound out the more flamboyant passages of Liszt and Wagner.... Hanfstaengel, the only literary member of Hitler's inner circle, introduced the coarse Austrian to the Munich milieu of art and culture and attempted to make him socially acceptable.... The tall Bavarian was a gay and amusing companion on political campaigns. With his practical jokes and broad sense of humour, he was regarded as a kind of Shakespearean jester whose main task was to provide relaxation for the harried leader."

The journalist, William L. Shirer, met Ernst Hanfstaengel while working in Germany: "An eccentric, gangling man, whose sardonic wit somewhat compensated for his shallow mind, Hanfstaengel was a virtuoso at the piano and on many an evening, even after his friend came to power in Berlin, he would excuse himself from the company of those of us who might be with him to answer a hasty summons from the Fuehrer. It was said that his piano-playing - he pounded the instrument furiously - and his clowning soothed Hitler and even cheered him up after a tiring day. Later this strange but genial Harvard man, like some other early cronies of Hitler, would have to flee the country for his life."

in 1931 Hanfstaengel was appointed Foreign Press Chief of the Nazi Party. Over the next few years he tried to use his contacts to improve the image of Hitler in other countries. He also spent time with foreign visitors. This included Unity Mitford, the daughter of Lord Redesdale. According to Armida Macindoe: He (Hanfstaengl) was more of a means than an end, he introduced her to Nazis." Hanfstaengel admitted that Unity and Diana were outstanding Nordic beauties: "They were very attractive but they made-up to the eyebrows in a manner which conflicted directly with the newly proclaimed Nazi ideal of German womanhood." As a result he insisted they removed some of it: "My dears, it is no good, but to stand any hope of meeting him (Hitler) you will have to wipe some of that stuff off your faces."

Ernst Hanfstaengel arranged for British journalists like George Ward Price and Sefton Delmer to meet Hitler. He pointed out in Hitler: The Missing Years  (1957): "Sefton Delmer of the Daily Express took a great interest in our campaign and became very much persona grata with the nazi leadership. He was really very partial to Delmer and, when he became Chancellor, willingly agreed that the Daily Express man should be given the first exclusive interview." He also introduced the British politician, Robert Boothby, to Hitler: "I received a telephone call from my friend Putzi Hanfstaengel, who was at that time Hitler's personal private secretary and court jester. He told me that the Führer had been reading my speeches with interest, and would like to see me at his headquarters in the Esplanade Hotel. It is true that when I walked across the long room to a corner in which he was sitting writing, in a brown shirt with a swastika on his arm, he waited without looking up until I had reached his side, then sprang to his feet, lifted his right arm, and shouted Hitler!, and that I responded by clicking my heels together, raising my right arm, and shouting back: Boothby!"

Hanfstaengel  had serious doubts about Hitler's radical political beliefs. Louis L. Snyder has pointed out: "Hanfstaengel attempted in subtle ways to influence the Hitler to moderate his political, religious, and racial views, while Hitler on his side resented any interference. On one occasion at a crowded reception, Hanfstaengel loudly called Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, a swine. This kind of frankness did not endear him to the Nazi establishment."

In March 1937 Hanfstaengel was warned that Joseph Goebbels was involved in a conspiracy to murder him. He later recalled: "The evil genius of the second half of Hitler's career was Goebbels. I always likened this mocking, jealous, vicious, satanically gifted dwarf to the pilot-fish of the Hitler shark. It was he who finally turned Hitler fanatically against all established institutions and forms of authority. He was not only schizophrenic but schizopedic, and that was what made him so sinister."

Deciding he was in danger, Hanfstaengel fled to Canada. In the summer of 1942, Hanfstaengel was interviewed by John Franklin Carter. He left the meeting convinced was eager to work for the Allies against the Nazis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed that Hanfstaengl should be recruited but Winston Churchill disagreed because he feared that it would confuse people into believing "that there are good and bad ex-Nazis". Roosevelt eventually got his way and on 24th June, 1942, he was flown to Washington under the name of Ernst Sedgwick. In July 1942, he was established on a farm in Virginia under the control of Donald Chase Downes. He later was used by Roosevelt as a "political and psychological warfare adviser in the war against Germany."

After the Second World War Hanfstaengel returned to Germany where he published his book, Hitler: The Missing Years (1957).

Ernst Hanfstaengel died in Munich on 6th November, 1975.

http://spartacus-educational.com/GERhanfstaengel.htm

[boothsheridan]

In periods when it iscloser to the Sun as it is now the temperature of Pluto's solidsurface increases, causing the ice to sublimate into gas.

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[dry-valleys]

An intellect singularly clear and cool was combined in him with the faculty of devising inventions and improvements which he carried into effect with unwearied energy of mind and purpose, impressing themselves on the entire conduct of his establishments as they increased in magnitude.

His tenacity of principle and moral fortitude resulted from his confidence that his determinations were founded upon truth. His convictions in regard to general views of society were equally strong. His political and religious opinions were adopted because he thought them sound and conclusive to the happiness of mankind. William Felkin on Jedediah Strutt.

Jedediah Strutt's mill at Belper. Last Monday and (3) a postcard of 1905. Strutt, a local man who had prospered as a farmer, joined forces with businessmen Richard Arkwright from Lancashire and Samuel Need from Nottingham. Together they created new technologues such as the water frame (1769- 6 is one of only a handful which still exist). Strutt invested in Arkwright’s mill at Cromford (1771) and set up this enterprise in 1781. 

Strutt was a staunch Unitarian (Protestant nonconformists, barred from universities and many professions often turned to business as they found no other outlet for their talents, and like the Jews often excelled in this field and in which they were disproportionately represented) and his faith informed his keen work ethic, openness to new ideas, and sense of social responsibility.

Strutt was renowned as a good employer whose healthy profits were reflected in high wages and workers’ housing (much of it still stands; the whole street seen in 10 was commissioned by him) in what had hitherto been a remote village based on farming and tool-making (7 is a recreation of their work).  William Gaskell wished more "men of enlarged benevolence and active philanthropy" such as Jedediah were operating in his time, and this is certainly what the Strutts were. Although there were women and children working here, unlike the notorious Litton Mill, which I visited in April 2018, Strutt promoted education at the school he set up, and only employed children of his established workers and never used paupers as slave labour; though he imported cotton from around the world via Liverpool, he went against his own material interests by opposing slavery and was popular with his own staff.

The mill harnessed the power of the River Derwent (see 1, the Horseshoe Weir of 1797) and inspired Richard Arkwright's mill at Masson, built in 1783, to do the same. Strutt mills provided an apprenticeship for Samuel Slater, pioneering US industrialist who was born and bred here, working for Strutt from 1782 to 1789.

Slater mastered the machinery developed by Arkwright and Strutt, which he later applied at Slatersville, Rhode Island (I’d love to go there!) where he set up a mill and built housing based on Belper and Cromford. Slater was known here for a time as Slater the Traitor (his actions were actually illegal under British law of the time), but now heralded as a pioneer of US industry, and it all began here.

Jedediah founded a dynasty which marched on after his death in 1797 and his son, William Strutt, was a skilled businessman and architecht whose designs included Derby Royal Infirmary, built in 1810 and closed in 2009, sadly now being demolished but a fine building which lasted for centuries.

William redesigned the factory after a huge fire in 1803, pioneering fire-safety techniques (see 9) that were adopted elsewhere; the structure you see here was William's design, from 1804, and the pioneering system of iron supports (see 6) were also widely adopted. This was added to by the East Mill of 1912.

William Strutt was also keenly interested in culture; he was a friend of luminaries such as Erasmus Darwin and his example, and that of the Derby Philosophical Society, which Darwin set up and William Strutt was a founder member of, kept this hitherto remote area in touch with the latest currents of thought, which moved as surely as the cotton that came in and out and which every Strutt remembered was the foundation of their wealth.

This process continued when railway opened in 1840, designed by George Stephenson, and William's son Edward, a Liberal MP, was knighted in 1856 continuing the process begun when Richard Arkwright was knighted in 1786; the Strutts, while continuing to own the mill, began also to establish themselves as Derbyshire landowners and gentlemen.

In 1897, the mill passed out of the hands of the Strutt family and was taken over by the English Sewing Cotton Company, who built the East Mill of 1912, Sadly production ceased in 1991 but the excellent museum was opened in 1996, and in 2001 the area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Belper has lost most of its industry and become something of a dormitory town for the nearby city of Derby, but a walk from here through Darley Abbey into the city (whose new museum I greatly look forward to seeing when it opens in 2020) will show what was built here. 

Let us end then with Jedediah Strutt’s self-written obituary.

Here rests in peace J. S- who without fortune  family or friends raised to himself a  fortune family and name in the world ; without having wit, had a good share of plain common sense ;  without much genius, enjoyed the more  substantial blessing of a sound understanding ; with but little personal pride, despised a mean or base  action ; with no ostentation for  religious tenets and ceremonies, he led a life of honesty and virtue, not knowing what would befall him after  death, he died resigned in full  confidence that if there be a future state of retribution it will be to reward the virtuous and the good.

This I think  my true character

[labourpress]

Jeremy Corbyn speech to launch Labour's Local Election campaign

***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will today launch Labour’s Local Election campaign and say:

Thank you for that introduction Bethany and for all that you do in mobilising our student members in Nottinghamshire.

Labour depends on all its members to deliver our message of investment and social justice in every community across Britain.

Over a quarter of a million more people joined Labour over the past eighteen months they saw Labour has broken with the failed politics of the past and that they could be part of a new project for real change: bold, confident and, yes, angry too.

 Because who wouldn’t be angry?

 When they see people lying on trolleys in hospital corridors?

 When they see more and more people homeless on the streets?

 When they hear about a high street chain trying to pay young people in leftover food?

 When huge numbers of Sure Start centres have closed under the Tories?

 Or when class sizes are rising – as the Tories divert funds to grammar schools for a privileged few?

 And when social care for the elderly and disabled is in crisis – while the super-rich and big business get tax giveaways worth £73 billion?

 How can you not be angry and demand major change when life expectancy projections have fallen in Britain for pensioners? We are a rich country, the sixth richest in the world. We are not at war, there is no epidemic sweeping our land.

 But, whether the Conservative Party chair can face the facts or not, life expectancy has actually fallen - by a year for 65-year-old women and 6 months for 65-year-old men - since 2013.

 The truth is that the Tories are running our country down.

 Home ownership, opportunities for our children, wages and conditions at work, the NHS, care for our elderly, and now, life expectancy: they’re all going backwards, run down by a Conservative government that looks after those at the top and manages decline for the rest of us.

 Britain is a wealthy country but you wouldn’t know it from the way people are held back in their everyday lives – from making a home for themselves and their families, building a career, pursuing their interests and ambitions.

 Local councils have made a huge difference to people’s lives – providing libraries and leisure centres, schools, building houses, making sure the elderly have the support they need.

 But since 2010 councils have seen their funding cut by 40%.

 Over ninety percent of councils are putting up council tax this year to try to compensate for the huge cuts in the grant they get from government.

 Meanwhile police budgets are cut, social care budgets are cut, schools budgets are cut, Sure Start centres are closed, libraries are closed , houses aren’t built.

 Whole communities are being held back and jobs, services and hope destroyed. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

 Labour is standing up for you. In Westminster and in every community across the country.

 Labour councils are making a difference across the country. Stepping up where the Government fails to act.

 Faced with the growing housing crisis, Birmingham Council is delivering 30% of all new homes in the city. And Lancashire County Council has formed a joint venture to buy 800 affordable homes for sale and social rent.

 Faced with the crisis in social care 15 Labour councils have signed up to the Ethical Care Charter for minimum standards of safety, quality and dignity of care and improve pay and training for care workers. I signed it myself last week in Blyth.

 Faced with so many people struggling to make ends meet Liverpool council is setting up a not-for-profit energy company - “the Liverpool LECCy” - to sell gas and electricity at a lower cost, building on what’s been done down the road in Nottingham with Robin Hood Energy. And just west of here in Derbyshire the Labour Council’s Welfare Rights Service has helped local people claim £18 million in benefits they otherwise would have lost.

 Faced with the Government’s failure to invest in our economy the ‘Nottinghamshire Economic Development Capital Fund’ has lent £3.5 million to help more than 30 businesses secure good jobs in Nottinghamshire. And in Northumberland, the council-owned Arch property business generates jobs and homes, as well as a return of nearly £5m a year that supports council services like schools, roads and social care. I was really pleased to visit their Blyth Workspace site last week which offer huge opportunities.

 Faced with an epidemic of low pay 89 Labour councils have delivered the real Living Wage for council employees and contractors to ensure better wages for local people. I’m particularly proud that my own borough led the way on that.

 These are just a few examples of how Labour councils are standing up for you and why you need Labour to be in power in towns, counties and city regions as well as Westminster.

 The Conservatives justify tax cuts for the richest and big business by saying they will lead to an increase in investment. But in fact investment has fallen, leaving us with antiquated infrastructure and uncompetitive industries.

 The future of our country cannot be left to the free market and the whims of the wealthy.

 That is why Labour will set up a national investment bank and regional development banks – including our ‘Bank of the North’ - to help unlock £500 billion to fund major capital projects and finance growth.

 Our plan will use public investment to build up new investment by the private sector. It means creating hundreds of thousands of good quality jobs in manufacturing and in green and other cutting-edge industries of the future.

 As every successful business knows, there’s nothing reckless about borrowing to invest quite the opposite.

Investment in infrastructure, skills, broadband and high speed rail generates growth and tax revenues. It more than pays for itself. This is just what the Welsh Government is doing with the launch of the Welsh Development Bank, which draws on 20 years of Labour experience in power.

 At this crucial time we need to look to the future and ask ourselves what sort of country we want Britain to be.

 Theresa May’s Government is trying to use Brexit to turn Britain into a low-wage tax haven for big business.

 We are offering a real alternative that reflects the priorities of the majority of our people to rebuild and transform Britain so that no one and no community is left behind.

 Instead of a country run for the rich, we want to see one in which all of us can lead richer lives.

 A Labour Government will end the rip-off on the railways and bring them into public ownership.

 Labour will overturn the Government’s ban on council-owned bus companies as part of a plan to put the public back into buses.

 We’ll stop the corporate tax cuts and make sure the tax dodgers pay their fair share.

 We’ll invest in our children’s education and skills for our workers.

 We’ll give six million people a pay rise by introducing a real living wage of at least £10 an hour.

 We’ll reinstate nurses’ bursaries and give more people the chance to train to be nurses, so that the sick get the care they need.

 We’ll invest in housing, building the homes our country needs, creating thousands of good construction jobs and apprenticeships and allowing councils to borrow to build council housing.

 Together we can create a Britain where each of us can lead richer lives investing in a better Britain, creating educational opportunity for all, guaranteeing the health and social care services you need, providing safer neighbourhoods and building homes people can afford.

 In the coming weeks of this campaign Labour will be setting out more of our policies to show how Labour will stand up for you.

 This election is your chance to send a message to the Tories: that you won’t accept our NHS in crisis, your children’s future betrayed, a deepening housing crisis, damaging cuts to the police and insecure jobs that don’t make ends meet.

 It doesn’t have to be like this. Things can and they will change.

 So use your vote for Labour on 4th May.

 Ends

[brajeshupadhyay]

Migrants across eras: Exodus caused by lockdown mirrors untold suffering of indentured labourers from 19th century

Over the last six weeks, they have crept into our consciousness. They have inspired pity, anger, hectoring and indifference. That they lived all around us was a detail we were barely conscious of before the nation-wide lockdown was put into place. They cleaned our homes and washed our cars, served us at restaurants and eateries, sweated and slaved away in the many small and big factories and workshops that one finds all over the urban sprawls that our cities have become.

Many of us were similar to them in that we too do not hail from the cities that we now live in. We, or someone in our family, had moved there to seek employment or start a business and then stayed put or ‘settled down’ as we, the well-heeled, put it. We then grew roots, purchased an apartment or built a home, sometimes two, and came to feel that we ‘belonged’. ‘They’, on the other hand, were birds of passage who did not put down roots or try to belong.

Sure enough, when the lockdown was announced, and then later, extended, they sought to ‘return’ home. The stories of their journeys which have been documented in the news and on social media have been gut-wrenching. Walking or cycling for days on end, on little food and water, families and meagre possessions in tow, sometimes collapsing and dying with their destination in sight, mowed down by trucks and run over by trains, the migrants have been the lockdown’s most unforeseen casualty.

A century-and-a-half ago, many Indians — indentured labourers all — made similar journeys in cattle-like conditions on steamships, hoping to find paradise in a distant land where they would have sufficient food, perhaps a plot of land and enough money to tide them through rainy days. Most ended up being cheated and denied a fair shot at life.

The journeys of migrants during the lockdown mirrors those journeys across the seas. One was the shame of the British Empire, which had set out to ‘civilise’ the ‘natives’ but ended up enslaving many of them. The current dispensation has shamed the citizens of the Republic of India and the hallowed Constitution, which the citizens gave unto themselves.

The system of indentured labour (a ‘second slavery’ as many scholars have rightly termed it) originated in the 1830s when slavery had run its course in most of Europe and the larger public had expressed their outrage at the persistence of such an exploitative system. The destinations for indentured labourers were the Caribbean islands, Mauritius, Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa), South America (British Guyana and Suriname), Fiji and Malaya.

This system sought to legitimise itself on the back of a contract, unlike slavery, which treated human beings as commodities. That the contract specified exploitative terms — poor wages, limited or no leave, loopholes in the clauses concerning release from contract etc — was given little consideration, since the parties were entering into it ‘willingly’. But given that those who assented to this contract were unlettered men and women, mostly from India and China who did not understand the contract’s fine print, was a detail that was conveniently swept under the rug. A second slavery was thus put into practice, and in 1834, the first group of indentured labourers was shipped to Mauritius.

To find workers willing to under such contracts (or ‘girmit’ – a homonym for ‘agreement’), a recruiter (‘arkati’) fanned out into India’s poorest districts painting a pretty picture of their work destination. For a desperate populace on the verge of starvation, it was a chance worth taking.

Then came the process of explaining to the workers the terms of their contract — a shambolic process. Often, groups were brought in front of a magistrate who inquired if they had understood the contract, without bothering to inquire further. Coached to say ‘yes’, almost all labourers assented and placed their thumb impressions on a sheet of paper. Few knew what they were getting into.

The ordeal then began.

Before the advent of the railways and its penetration into the Indian heartland, labourers walked from their villages in present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Calcutta (Kolkata), where a ship awaited them. This first leg of the journey took 30 to 40 days, almost entirely on foot. Journeys from the districts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to Madras (Chennai) were shorter, but grueling nonetheless.

Sometimes, if there were no ships ready to sail, migrants waited at the emigration depot for up to three months housed in less than favourable conditions. These potential emigrants were kept under close watch and not allowed the free run of the city. Desertion upon hearing horror tales of the ‘promised land’ was a possibility, as also the chance that they would contract contagious diseases, thereby laying waste the efforts of the ‘arkati’.

Once a ship was available, a medical examination followed, and then hundreds of labourers boarded the ship. In the early years, wooden sailing vessels of teak were used. Conditions on the ships were similar to those on slave ships. Totaram Sanadhya, who spent years in Fiji, writes in Fiji Dveep mein Mere Ikkis Varsh (My Twenty-one Years in Fiji) of the cramped conditions in the ship – each person had ‘a space one and a half feet wide and six feet long’. Four ‘dog biscuits’ and ‘one-sixteenth of a pound of sugar’ (about 150 grams) were handed out on boarding, a ‘welcome package’ of sorts. The ship then sailed.

On the seas, the labourers were expected to make their own meals with the provisions provided. The toilets too had to be cleaned by them, and refusal to do so resulted in beatings. Two bottles of fresh water were handed out daily. The question of asking for more water in case of need did not exist. One had to make do or suffer silently.

Sea journeys ranged from ten to 20 weeks (journeys to Malaya were shorter than ten weeks). An 1878 British Guyana report records that in that year 17 ships arrived. The length of their voyage ranged from 78 to 128 days and the number of passengers varied from 493 to 652. Deaths on the ship were a common occurrence, dysentery, measles and cholera being the frequent causes. Bodies were thrown overboard when deaths took place. Perhaps a religious-minded fellow traveller uttered a short prayer. Otherwise, there was little dignity in death.

In 1878, 18 deaths (including 15 children) out of a total of 611 passengers took place on the Hesperides. That the ship had taken 128 days to complete the voyage probably had something to do with it. That same year, 19 deaths took place on the Plassey, which took 92 days to complete the voyage and had embarked with 627 passengers. Still, these conditions were better than the conditions in 1856-57, when the average death rate for Indians travelling to the Caribbean was 17 percent.

As many as 11 children were born on the Hesperides during the course of the sea voyage. The Plassey witnessed nine births. To begin with, most of the labourers were men. Only a few women made these journeys. How these women managed the exigencies of childbirth on board a rollicking ship with little water, food and privacy is too terrible to imagine. Given that almost every one of these ships records the deaths of children, it is perhaps fair to assume (since no clear details are available) that many of these deaths were of newborns.

More horrors awaited the labourers when they reached their destinations. Poor wages, pathetic living conditions, insufficient food and the dishonouring of the terms of their contracts were commonplace. The indentured system was a system of continuous and prolonged exploitation.

When the system came to an end in 1916, close to 1.5 million had made the journey. A significant number had perished en-route or in their new homes. Many stayed back after their contracts ended. A small number returned. Every single one of them had undergone untold suffering.

Even as a callous government and an even more callous middle class continue to wallow in utter indifference, a tragedy has unfolded in our times which historians of the future will use to pass judgment on our generation. The indentured system was a telling comment on the tyranny of the white man, the excesses of the Empire and the blood and sweat on which the pretty structures of the West have been built.

The current tragedy is our Fall from our fraudulent Garden of Eden.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/3gae86i

[jaigeddes]

Two killed track workers “didn’t hear train approaching”

British Transport Police believe the two rail workers killed on the tracks in Wales yesterday didn’t hear the approaching train because they were wearing ear defenders.

Two men died on Wednesday morning when they were struck by a train in Port Talbot.

A 58-year-old man from North Connelly and a 64-year-old man from Kenfig Hill were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

A third person was treated for shock but was uninjured.

Superintendent Andy Morgan said: “Following a number of urgent enquiries into this tragic incident, it has been established that the three people were railway workers who were working on the lines at the time.

“The initial stages of the investigation suggest that the two men who died had been wearing ear defenders at the time, tragically, could not hear the a passenger train approaching.

“We have a number of officers who remain in the area and we are continuing to work alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to understand the full circumstances of what happened in the moments before this incredibly sad, fatal collision.

“The two men’s families have been both informed and we will be providing them with as much help and support as possible through this undoubtedly difficult and distressing time.

“Likewise, we will make sure those who witnessed this traumatic incident, both at the scene and on board the striking train, receive the necessary support they require.”

The RMT rail union is now demanding a suspension of similar works until the full facts of the accident are discovered.

[ebenalconstruct]

Two killed track workers “didn’t hear train approaching”

British Transport Police believe the two rail workers killed on the tracks in Wales yesterday didn’t hear the approaching train because they were wearing ear defenders.

Two men died on Wednesday morning when they were struck by a train in Port Talbot.

A 58-year-old man from North Connelly and a 64-year-old man from Kenfig Hill were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

A third person was treated for shock but was uninjured.

Superintendent Andy Morgan said: “Following a number of urgent enquiries into this tragic incident, it has been established that the three people were railway workers who were working on the lines at the time.

“The initial stages of the investigation suggest that the two men who died had been wearing ear defenders at the time, tragically, could not hear the a passenger train approaching.

“We have a number of officers who remain in the area and we are continuing to work alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to understand the full circumstances of what happened in the moments before this incredibly sad, fatal collision.

“The two men’s families have been both informed and we will be providing them with as much help and support as possible through this undoubtedly difficult and distressing time.

“Likewise, we will make sure those who witnessed this traumatic incident, both at the scene and on board the striking train, receive the necessary support they require.”

The RMT rail union is now demanding a suspension of similar works until the full facts of the accident are discovered.

from http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/07/04/two-killed-track-workers-didnt-hear-train-approaching/

[ramialkarmi]

Paris has never been closer to toppling London as Europe's tech hub

Paris is maturing into an impressive startup ecosystem, attracting foreign talent and funding.

Research shows France received more VC investment than Germany in 2016.

A first generation of successful entrepreneurs from firms like Criteo and BlaBlaCar have started investing in the next generation of founders.

French investors and founders told Business Insider initiatives like the Station F superhub and the French Tech visa will make it easier to start companies in France. 

Paris has turned into a seriously impressive tech startup ecosystem.

According to figures from VC firm Atomico, France had more investment than Germany last year.

VCs invested $2.7 billion (£2 billion) in France last year, compared with $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion) in Germany.

The UK still leads European investment with $3.1 billion (£2.4 billion).

You can see from Atomico's graphs that investment in France exploded between 2015 and 2016, and that it grew faster than other challenger countries Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Germany and the UK saw much steadier growth trajectory.

The growth looks sudden, but there are lots of factors that have turned Paris into a hot startup ecosystem, according to VCs and startup founders in Paris who spoke with Business Insider.

There are young, tech-savvy angels to invest in new founders

BlaBlaCar is a French ridesharing startup that was founded in 2006 by president Frédéric Mazzella and CEO Nicolas Brusson.

The carpooling service matches passengers with drivers for long journeys, letting both cut down on petrol costs. Riders pay drivers, and BlaBlaCar takes a cut of up to 20%. The startup isn't particularly popular in the UK, where people are too suspicious of each other to share car journeys according to cofounder Nicolas Brusson, but it has 20 million members.

The startup was valued at $1.5 billion (£1.16 billion) after a 2015 funding round, making it a rare European unicorn. And there's been an important knock-on effect — the two founders are now angel investors. The amounts they invest are small ("I am not a rich man," Mazzella told Business Insider), but the pair are examples of something that's still rare in France — young, successful, tech-savvy investors. Examples of their investments include French parking space app Zenpark, and kids' clothing startup Patatam.

As another investor said: "There are fewer wealthy entrepreneurs in France — it's mostly traders and lawyers. Entrepreneurs have fewer wealthy mates to invest, and French angels have tended to be older."

People like Mazzella are also encouraging young French people who are entering the job market to try their hand at starting a business.

Entrepreneurship has become an appealing career choice now, and that's a big change over the last decade. As one investor put it, France’s historical attitude to entrepreneurship could be neatly illustrated by the French phrase for “venture capital” — “capital risque”.

"No one was really interested in startups," said Philippe Botteri, a partner at VC firm Accel. "It's not something people were thinking about."

Botteri studied at one of Paris' leading tech schools, Ecole Polytechnique, in the mid-1990s. At that time, young people were mostly going into banking or management consultancy, but that's now changing, he said. Apart from BlaBlaCar, another success story is Criteo, one of the most successful ad tech firms globally.

"Instead of going to McKinsey or Goldman Sachs, people want to go and work for Criteo or Vente Privee or an early stage company," he said. "Being able to attract smart talent and so much energy, I think that is a factor."

Botteri also pointed to La French Tech, a publicly funded initiative to promote French startups.

"The creation of La French Tech, and everything the government has done to communication around technology and make sure France was seen externally as a country where there is technology, and where tech is important. That was helpful," he said.

In a January survey of 1,000 young people aged under 30 by the tradeshow Salon des Entrepreneurs, 60% envisage themselves as startup founders.

A new startup superhub could make life easier for foreign founders in Paris

Apart from homegrown talent, lots of overseas entrepreneurs are about to flood into Paris if the ambitious Station F project goes to plan.

Station F is the brainchild of French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel. It's a startup superhub based in southeast Paris that can house up to 1,000 startups, and it's due to open in June.

Niel founded France's second biggest internet provider, Iliad. Iliad has expanded into mobile, taking on incumbents like Orange, and Bouygues Telecom. Niel is now worth £7.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Niel is an unconventional character, and highly active in the local startup community. He invests through his firm Kima Ventures, backing around two startups, like British startup Cera, per week. He personally approves all deals with a simple "yes" or "no" email to his team, one partner said, and he is Kima's sole financial backer.

Niel also set up École 42, a free school for would-be programmers.

Station F is his biggest push yet to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs in Paris. The campus is based out of an abandoned railway depot in the 13th arrondissement, and looks like a cross between a space station and a terminus.

The startups which take residence there will all be part of accelerator programmes run by corporate partners including Facebook, Zendesk, and Vente Privee. Station F will run its own incubator too.

The woman running Station F day to day is Roxane Varza. She formerly ran Microsoft Ventures and Microsoft's startup programme Bizspark in France. She's also a former TechCrunch journalist.

She told Business Insider:"We're looking at creating an entire ecosystem under one roof, creating something visible and emblematic. We're also looking at making entrepreneurship accessible to different populations, whether they be international, women, men, from different backgrounds, underprivileged backgrounds."

Niel put it more bluntly when he spoke to Business Insider in March.

"[It's for] people who are not — how do you say it — classic, white, Catholic," he said. "We ought to have a lot of diversity in this place, to have more diversity in Paris."

There hasn't been another Xavier Niel in France, and some people describe him as the country's Steve Jobs.

"You can see... that what he really wants to do is make sure entrepreneurs can access the means to realise their ambition, he's really championing that," said Accel's Botteri. "That's something people recognise and admire. That's different from the previous generations."

There's a new tech-friendly president

Something else that should encourage investment in Paris is its new president, Emmanuel Macron, a young, centrist politician who beat extremist candidate Marine Le Pen.

Before the election, investors described Le Pen to Business Insider as anti-capitalist, "a fascist," and hostile to the tech industry. They were worried that popular disillusionment with the political establishment might lead to her election.

But Macron won, and actively courted the startup community in the run-up to election, founders and investors told Business Insider. He was previously France's economy minister, and went to a major tech trade show, the Consumer Electronics Show, last year to promote French startups and show government support. Some people think he could lure French expats back from London, or even attract British startups over to France.

One of the most important changes Macron might make is to France's tax system. He promised to dock France's wealth tax and capital gains tax, which are both unpopular with entrepreneurs and investors.

Currently, if you have net assets worth at least €1.3 million (£1.1 million), you're hit by both taxes."It's a killer," one high-profile investor said.

Macron wants to scrap the wealth tax on investments, but keep it for property. He'll also reduce capital gains tax, though it will still be higher than the UK or Germany, according to Philippe Collombel, managing partner at Partech Ventures.

"That's perfectly acceptable in my view," he said. "France will be back in the race."

The changes would mean entrepreneurs selling their companies wouldn't have to hand so much of the proceeds over to the state.

Still, Collombel's skeptical that French entrepreneurs will flock home from elsewhere in Europe as a result. "As long as you have the wealth tax in France, nobody will want to come back," he said.

France's access to foreign talent is improving

French entrepreneur Albin Serviant is the CEO of London-based startup EasyRoomMate and runs French Tech London, a meeting group for expats.

He and other founders in the group moved to the UK because it was easy to build an international team in London.

"It's a melting pot of Italians, Germans, Spanish, people from outside Europe," he said. "When you want to launch in a country outside of France, it's easy to get someone from [other] markets."

France has acknowledged that people might choose to move to London over Paris from other countries, and that this has an impact on its tech ecosystem. So it's moved quickly to make life easier for overseas founders.

In 2015, the French government launched the French Tech Ticket, a visa and support programme targeted at foreign entrepreneurs. And in 2017, it introduced the French Tech Visa, an uncapped visa for tech workers who come from outside the EU.

Foreign investment is coming

Overseas investment has been slow to arrive in France, but that's changing too.

"Funds have been local, and small", according to Partech Ventures partner Emmanuel Delaveau. Partech started in the US, and is a rare example of an American fund establishing itself in France.

But, Delaveau added, more funds were finally coming from Europe "with large cheques."

"There are good signs of the market maturing," he said.

One example is Atomico, the London-based venture capital fund set up by Skype's billionaire cofounder Niklas Zennström. When Business Insider visited Paris in March, he was also making the trip to court the local tech scene.

Atomico laid out its investment approach at an event for executives from startups like Deezer and BlaBlaCar, and investors XAnge and Korelya Capital.

Atomico has never invested in any French startups, but Zennström wants that to change.

"Now there's a new wave everywhere in Europe, not least in France, Spain, Switzerland and Austria," he told his guests.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Chinese inventors show off the gladiator robot they want to use to challenge the US' 'Megabot'

[zero-due-design]

Top Ways to Turn Your Small Business Into a Business Empire

New Post has been published on http://zeroduedesign.co.uk/blog/feed/top-ways-to-turn-your-small-business-into-a-business-empire/

Top Ways to Turn Your Small Business Into a Business Empire

Top ways to turn your small business into a profitable business empire.

Small businesses are those businesses which may be started with small capital investments. There are millions of people who are running small or home businesses. Nearly 70% of newly started small businesses fail due to lack of capital, competitions and various other reasons.

Before we look into the reason for success or failure of small businesses let us look into some of the most successful businesses that were started with some powerful and innovative ideas. if you start any small business in a routine way then you may earn just hand to mouth. To take your small business on top you must provide something new and innovative.

How some of the ordinary people turned their small business into a global business empire:

(1). King c. Gillette: A traveling salesman found that his straight razor had dulled and it has become impossible for him to make a close shave. Many time his dulled razor use to cut his skin as there was no sharpness left so he started thinking about new safety razor. A new idea about making a twin blade razor was born in which disposable blade may be put and replaced. Even though many engineers rejected the idea but he continued to experiment and today Gillette have become a billion dollar company. He introduced a low cost, disposable blade that can make close and safe shave.

Summary: He faced a problem and wanted to find an innovative solution to that problem. Although he was a salesman with limited resources but he knew that idea can be turned into money. He realized that if his dreams can be realized then he can turn it into a profitable business empire. This is the power of innovative idea. An innovative idea can make unlimited wealth. Any small business can be turned into a big business empire if you try to introduce some new concepts.

(2). Tory Kumon: A high school mathematics teacher in Japan, Toru Kumon, became concerned because his second grade school son was bringing home poor grades in mathematics. Encouraged by his wife to find a better way to teach his son, Kumon began to examine the textbooks and exercises being used. Kumon felt that there were better ways and looked for a different method for his son. The Kumons worked together and while his wife supervised the home work of their son, Toru Kumon re-wrote the exercises and drills for his son, giving him a slightly more difficult set of problems every day. By the time the son had finished eighth grade, he was working through calculus problems, easily and correctly, and could handle work found on university entrance examinations.

Toru Kumon realized that if his son was having this problem, there would be other children in the same situation. Kumon then decided to take his methods to other parents whose children were having these same challenges. He did this by opening Kumon Learning Centers throughout Japan. Kumon was not without his critics, though. Members of the educational establishment were against him – primarily because it was not their idea. They could not refute the fact that the Kumon system works. Today kumon have more then 26000 centers in 46 countries. This is the power of a small and powerful idea!

Summary: Kumon saw a problem – poor academic performance and defined it as an opportunity – opportunity to create a learning system that would resolve the poor academic performance problems. After working with his son and finding something that work, he found he could provide this service to other parents that were having the same challenges. At the same time, he could create income for himself. He provided something of value and a lower cost than many of the alternatives.

(3)Amancio ortega: Amancio Ortega was born in the year 1936 in Spain. His father was a railway worker and his mother worked as a maid to support the family. Due to the financial problems that his family was facing, at the tender age of 13 he started working as a delivery boy at a shirt makers shop. Thereafter he worked for a lot of stores and tailors and closely studied as to how the products and cost of the products changed as they traveled from the manufacturer to the consumer. As a result of this study he became focused on the importance of getting the products directly to the consumer by eliminating the middleman. During his experience of working as a manager of a local clothing shop he realized that only rich people were able to afford high fashion clothes because of the high prices they came with. Having observed this, he was determined to manufacture high fashion clothes that were low priced and accessible to all. He continued to gain experience and knowledge while working until 1963 when he started his own company with just $25. He started designing and making fine bathrobes and started selling it to customers and also started supplying them at various stores. Later on with the profits that he earned with the help of this business he started his own factory. Today his personal worth is more then $20 billions. This is the power of innovative ideas on which a small business is developed into a business empire.

Let us try to shed some light on the innovative ideas that he used to turn his small business into a fortune.

(A)He realized that the high end fashion clothes were only accessible to rich people as only they could afford it. A major portion of the price margin was consumed by the middlemen. To eliminate this problem, he started creating high end fashion clothes or rather look-alike of top fashionable clothes for the masses at affordable prices by eliminating the middlemen. In this way then number of people who bought his clothes increased and in turn he became very popular.

Benefits to the consumer: Due to Amancio’s innovative idea, the middle class people who could not normally afford costly and latest designs were able to avail these fashionable clothes at reasonable rates.

(B)Direct Retailing: Amancio realized that middle men like wholesalers, semi wholesalers were deciding the final selling prices of these clothes and thus they ended up being very costly. Thus he opened his own string of stores called ZARA where he passed the margin that was being taken by the middle men to the customers.

(C)When Amancio started his business; the industry standard was to introduce new fashion twice a year. Thus people had to wait for a very long span of time and would visit the shop only twice a year to buy the new fashionable clothes. Amancio introduced the unique concept of instant fashion by introducing latest designs and new fashions within 2-3 weeks. This in turn pulled people to his shops many times in a month. This also helped customers by bringing new designs to them and the shopkeepers were benefited too because of the constant visits by the customers.

(D)Modifying unsold designs: Some designs do not sell as much as the popular ones. What Amancio did was to change and alter the failed designs so that they would be sold. He did this by putting up new patterns and accessories on the old designs.

(E)Advantage of information technology: To know more about what type of designs sell and what type does not sell and also to know more about the unsold stocks, Amancio took advantage of information technology that allowed him to monitor the unsold inventories. This also helped him realize the actual taste of the customers.

Summary: Amancio ortega started a small business with just $25 but today his personal net worth is more then $20 billions. At the time he started his business there were already thousands of businessmen, designers, and established fashion houses but only he was able to make it to the top because he introduced something new in his small business and rest is history.

Most of the self made billionaires possessed or developed the following qualities to become rich and these are necessary for success in any business: They started with a small business and developed into a business empire. Some of the qualities required to develop a small business into a business empires are as follow.

1. A burning desire to become rich 2. A fixed goal and a sound business plan to materialize it. 3. The faith and persistence in your efforts and making the tough decision of never to give up even after many failures. 4. A practical plan of action 5. Developing the ability to organize information and creating something new out of it. 6. The ability to innovate 7. Working towards developing new ideas and innovations instead of worrying about the investments required for the business. 8. Compensating for lack of education with self education and mastering all specialized knowledge with practical experience. 9. Finding ways to make money without any capital 10. Trying to create something new that would provide additional benefits to the customers or to the industry. 11. They are never ashamed to take up even a small job so as to learn in and outs of the business and to sharpen their skills in the field. 12. The ability to turn even $1 into thousands. 13. Creates opportunities for themselves instead of waiting for them to happen 14. They mastered all the specialized knowledge that is required for the selected business and tried to learn everything that is necessary to make a fortune 15. Developed their ability to create the best. 16. Creates and develops only such things that have a demand or that will be sold for sure. 17. They are never afraid of competition and beat it with the help of better products. 18. They always think and plan 10-20 years ahead of the time 19. They develop a profitable idea to attract investment. 20. They start initially with a knowledge based or skill based business. 21. They learn how to think like a customer and constantly try to find ways to provide goods and services at a low cost and with high value.

Summary: whatever small businesses you want to start first of all make a research about the ideas that are being used by top and successful companies. Now try to find some loop holes or better solutions and try to introduce them in your small business.

Source

[touristguidebuzz]

10 Things No One Tells You About… Yangon, Myanmar

If you’re planning to visit Myanmar, you’re already journeying well outside mainstream itineraries — those hoping to find all-inclusive resorts and hotels that take Starpoints should look elsewhere (until the Sheraton opens in July anyway). Traveling to this country is like stepping back in time, a capsule sealed for decades by diplomatic isolation and military dictatorship. But the light of Myanmar is now visible to the world, and what a beautiful light it is — the entire country drips with a seemingly divine glow that cameras and photographs can only attempt to capture. If you have a knack for adventure, cultural curiosity and a little bit of patience, Yangon will surely capture your heart.

1. Cash Is King… But Only If It’s Clean

It’s rare to find Burmese businesses, save some luxury hotels, that accept Visa or Mastercard, even in Yangon. Cash is king here, but not always. The Burmese really, and I mean really, like their cash to be in tip-top condition, which can present a problem for unsuspecting tourists from nations like the United States, where even currency that’s been washed, crinkled, stained, bifurcated and then taped back together again remains perfectly legal tender for most people. Currency exchanges in Myanmar, even at the airport, may not accept a dollar bill if it has so much as a crease in it. A small tear? Those pesky ink marks left by some merchants in the States? You might as well be peddling papyrus leaf. And even once you stuff your wallet with Myanmar kyat, the same holds true for the local ducat in markets and restaurants, where merchants want their bills crisp, shiny and preferably unfolded — if you must fold, make sure it’s only once and cleanly down the middle. An easy solution is to use the nation’s growing network of ATMs. Just be sure to call your bank ahead of time. The ATMs I found offered reasonable exchange rates and minimal fees.

Whether you’re visiting a temple or paying for lunch, you’ll want to make sure you have cash — clean, unwrinkled and unadulterated cash. Image by the author.

2. Wear Long Pants if You’re Visiting Temples

The Shwedagon Pagoda is a 300-foot-tall golden spire, and something you really need to see before you die. If you go, wear long pants or a long dress. Men are required to purchase a longyi at the entry gate if they arrive wearing shorts — these cheap pieces of fabric are sold for 8,000 kyat (~$5), roughly the price of the hour-long cab ride from Yangon International Airport (RGN) to downtown. If you want to take home a longyi for yourself, they’re available at most markets or on just about any corner in town, will likely cost less and are bound to be of higher quality. Otherwise, protect your wallet and wear pants when you go to the pagoda.

A man wearing the traditional Burmese tunic and longyi, a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist and knotted in front. Image courtesy of Saeed Khan/Getty Images.

3. The Train’s the Cheapest Tour in Town

Myanmar’s intracity rail system is an experience in and of itself. Similar to the nation’s intercity trains, this thing is old, clunky and will make for unbelievable photographs. The fare is a flat 300 kyat (~$0.22), and the train encircles much of the Yangon metropolitan area, offering a window into the lives of locals and their communities and taking you to some pretty surreal places. One such stop is the Danyingone Morning Market. About 90 minutes out of Yangon Central Railway Station, Danyingone is past the point where the city opens up to green countryside and quaint villages. Merchants crowd right alongside the tracks peddling foods and other goods to passing commuters and it’s a sight to behold. If the ride grows a bit tedious, just take a taxi back to the city center.

The Yangon Central Railway offers a unique view of the city and its surrounding communities. Image courtesy of Fraser Robertson/Getty Images.

4. Beware of Fake Monks

Monks are a pleasant sight to behold in any Asian city, and as one of the bastions of Theravada Buddhism, Myanmar has a vast population of spiritual devotees. But not all who talk the talk actually walk the walk. Observe colonial Myanmar, where many a monk walks the street carrying baskets to collect money. Do they approach locals? Not very often, and there is a reason: it’s not normal for Theravada monks to aggressively beg for money on streets and while monks often carry baskets, those who pester openly are mostly impostors. If you’d like to support the Buddhist faith, make your donations at a temple or pagoda or venture to more modest temples that are less frequented by tourists if you want to make the biggest impact.

Burmese buddhist monks pray near Shwedagon Pagoda. Image courtesy of Pongsan Mabai / EyeEm via Getty Images.

5. Tea Houses Are Great Places to Enjoy a Small Meal

Everyone in Yangon has a favorite tea house. They are easy to spot, filled with squatty tables and plastic chairs, and will be crowded so long as the sun is up. These modest establishments also offer food, which can be delicious. In addition to your order of tea — I prefer le pe ye, or tea with condensed milk — try an order of Burmese dumplings, called baugh se (pronounced “bot-see”), or sticky shan noodles, served with chicken (kyaatsarr), beef (aamellsar), Burmese yellow tofu (won ta hpo) or shrimp (puhcwan).

Tea shops can also be great places to sample staple Burmese cuisine. Image by the author.

6. Watch out for Open Sewers

While Yangon’s sewer system can be an attraction for infrastructure and history nerds, for many, this quirk of an ancient city is just something to prepare for. While open sewers are not uncommon throughout Asia, Yangon’s sewer system is a unique piece of antiquity. Unlike the isolated canals you might find in Bangkok or the open sewers you’ll often come across in rural areas, Yangon has a full-fledged urban open-sewer system, a la 19th-century Chicago or New York. The byproducts of nearly six million city dwellers pass serenely below foot, separated from sidewalks (most of the time) by ventilated street tiles. In dry weather this presents no real danger to tourists, although it may produce an odor and you may want to be wary of the occasional missing sewer tile. In excessive rain, though, things get a bit more complicated, providing another reason to plan your trip during the dry period, October through May. Also, don’t wear your shoes in your hotel room — enough said.

Watch your step. Most of Yangon��s sewer network is concealed by stepping stones, which can sometimes become dislodged. Image by the author.

7. There’s Another Side to the Yangon River, and Its Not All on the Map

If you’re in Yangon and you open, say, Google or Apple maps, you’ll see a large, blank swath of land on the western shore of the city’s eponymous river. Don’t be deceived — locals estimate as many as a million people live on this side of the river, but with few schools and a solitary hospital, the community of Dala feels far from the big city. A short ferry ride costs 3,000 kyat (~$2.20) round-trip and provides a unique perspective on local life. The ride buys you just enough time to slurp down a coffee, prepared Burmese-style, thick and strong, with a layer of sweet liquefied coffee grounds lurking near the bottom.

The ferry ride between Yangon and Dala affords just enough time to enjoy a coffee and view of the cityscape. Image by the author.

8. You’ll Probably Want to Hire a Guide in Dala

Given that Apple Maps — and to a lesser extent, Google Maps — are missing some of the intricate roads in this sprawling village, it’s probably best to hire an English-speaking guide, which can be pre-arranged at a tour office. You can also find friendly English-speaking locals near the ferry terminal or on the city side of the river, in the vicinity of the Sule Pagoda. This is a very informal process and usually involves locals starting casual conversations — beware of anyone attempting to hustle you or pressure you into following them though. The Burmese people are generally gregarious and generous with their time, and a competent guide will take the time to make you comfortable.

Our guide, Ko Htoo, explains the ceramic pots used to cool and clean drinking water gathered in open ponds. Image by the author.

9. Visit One of the Morning Markets

Markets in central Yangon are crowded, bustling affairs. Dala’s morning market offers a different vibe, a one-stop shop for the cultural oddities and local charms of an ancient culture. Here you can find rats seasoned, smoked or skewered and served on a platter. A few stalls away, you might find a stout female butcher hacking organs out of a freshly-slaughtered hog, the swine’s snout, eyes and ears hanging like unfinished taxidermy from the rafters while morning shoppers thumb through warm pieces of flesh as if they were tapestry. Nearby, workers stand around large vats milling silvery-gray fish paste made of piscine innards and aged six months. Trays of spices, fruits, vegetables and traditional housewares and decorations, including portraits of 23 different spirits portrayed in Southeast Asian folklore, round out a rich experience.

Ever see an entire pig available for perusal on a table? The morning market features several pork butchers, each offering a variety of cuts to be browsed. Image by the author.

10. Face Your Fears at the Temple of Snakes

For a real thrill, ask your guide to take you to the snake pagoda. About a 45-minute ride from the ferry terminal in the middle of a large pond floats a shrine to one of the creepiest of creatures. A number of Burmese pythons (estimated by some to number around 30) live inside this Buddhist shrine, Baungdawgyoke Pagoda, where they hang from the rafters, drape themselves across the banyan tree, rest on windowsills and cuddle among four Buddhist statues. This is no zoo exhibit. There are no Plexiglas dividers. The snakes, free to come and go as they may, choose to stay here, to rest here, to, dare I say, worship here. Three nuns care for the snakes overnight and feed them a diet of cow’s milk, served in what appears to be cereal bowls. Note that there is some confusion online about the name of this landmark, so when in doubt, come armed with a photograph because local guides know where this place is — while there are several notable snake pagodas throughout Myanmar, this is the closest one to the city of Yangon.

Even open windows are largely filled by resting snakes. Don’t look up. Image by the author.

What are some of your favorite things to do in Yangon, Myanmar? Tell us about them, below.

Featured image courtesy of the author.