When we first moved Off Grid and began this wilderness living adventure many of the comments wanted to know how we shower off the grid. At first we were rain water harvesting, putting that water in a camping bladder shower and trying to warm the water in the sun or taking freezing cold showers. Now we are working on heating our shower water in a copper pipe which runs through our wood stove. Currently our Off Grid Showering uses a Ecco L5 Tankless water heater, well water, a motor for water pressure, a solar panel charged 12v lead acid battery, and a propane tank. Here's a video we made about how we shower off the grid while living in a yurt in the wilderness! We also are using two Renogy 100 Watt Solar Panels to charge our Bluetti 1500wh battery. This Bluetti 1500 battery is our favorite so far and can charge our computers, phones, camera, and kitchen appliances. We also love our Jackery 500w Battery and Jackery 100w foldable solar panel. You will see our solar panels and off grid battery bank and batteries in this video! Enjoy.
Building an OFF GRID YURT
Even though Nicole and Jake are living in the wilderness off the grid in a yurt we still like to stay up to date on current events including the pandemic and acute human societal changes currently occurring worldwide. Are you like us? Are you re-thinking your place in the world and re-thinking what your life or LIFE in general is/should be about? In my opinion we have all been born into a life and into a system which is not one I want to live in! I love eating in restaurants, going to movies, going to shows, watching videos like the ones on YouTube, and traveling to rare places worldwide. That being said, I think the following activities and skills should be fundamental and engrained in every living human: Growing your own food, getting your own electricity cleanly (solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, friction), learning 5 skills you attempt to master, building your own shelter, love, family, friends, and letting activities you need and love be your job. I like making YouTube videos and love growing food (herbs, veggies), using solar panel or wind turbines to power my phone/computer, walk/run/bike for my transportation, and OWNING my own shelter 100% (no debt/no mortgage). I no longer give 12 hours a day to traffic and a job/boss and instead I give 24 hours a day to myself and planet EARTH.
China’s early CCP virus prep
Internal documents obtained by NTD reveal China was preparing for a coronavirus outbreak long before admitting there was even human to human transmission.
In one of Beijing’s districts, a video shows a family being taken away by medical staff. This district is designated as ‘high risk’.
China’s foreign ministry responding to global calls of accountability for the pandemic. But many point out his claims ring false.
Thousands of Chinese investors suffered huge losses over the oil collapse this Monday. At the same time, it shed some light on the lack of transparency in parts of China’s financial sector.
And U.S. stock regulators are warning investors about the risks of Chinese company stocks. This comes after a blowout of China’s biggest coffee chain and a growing list of scandals around Chinese companies.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party's coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
In one of Beijing’s districts, a video shows a family being taken away by medical staff. This district is designated as ‘high risk’.
China’s foreign ministry responding to global calls of accountability for the pandemic. But many point out his claims ring false.
Thousands of Chinese investors suffered huge losses over the oil collapse this Monday. At the same time, it shed some light on the lack of transparency in parts of China’s financial sector.
And U.S. stock regulators are warning investors about the risks of Chinese company stocks. This comes after a blowout of China’s biggest coffee chain and a growing list of scandals around Chinese companies.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party's coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
When M*slim women can refuge s*x ?
Saudi Cleric Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Mutlaq recently told Muslim women that they can refuse sex to their husbands if they are concerned about Coronavirus.
"A woman’s orgasm comes down from her head whereas a man’s orgasm comes down from his back… She was asked which finds greater pleasure in the sexual union: a man or a woman? And she answered: We, women, find such pleasure…"
— The Encyclopedia of Pleasure, Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib
"Praise be given to God, who has placed man’s greatest pleasure in the natural parts of woman, and has destined the natural parts of man to afford the greatest enjoyment to a woman."
— The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Nafzawi
"The female orgasm isn’t a unicorn, it’s a misunderstood breed of purebred hound: common, frequently feared, occasionally in fashion throughout history, and giving great happiness if well-trained."
— “A Brief History of the Female Orgasm, From Medieval to Modern Times” by JR Thorpe
"A woman’s orgasm comes down from her head whereas a man’s orgasm comes down from his back… She was asked which finds greater pleasure in the sexual union: a man or a woman? And she answered: We, women, find such pleasure…"
— The Encyclopedia of Pleasure, Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib
"Praise be given to God, who has placed man’s greatest pleasure in the natural parts of woman, and has destined the natural parts of man to afford the greatest enjoyment to a woman."
— The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Nafzawi
"The female orgasm isn’t a unicorn, it’s a misunderstood breed of purebred hound: common, frequently feared, occasionally in fashion throughout history, and giving great happiness if well-trained."
— “A Brief History of the Female Orgasm, From Medieval to Modern Times” by JR Thorpe
Why Aussie farmers need water access to feed the nation ?
People have lived in Australia for over 65,000 years. The first people who arrived in Australia were the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. They lived in all parts of Australia. They lived by hunting, fishing and gathering.
Aborigines invented tools like the boomerang and spear. There is also evidence that the Aboriginal people used farming methods. The tradition was very important in their lives. Their religion is called the Dreamtime, which has lots of stories about the creation of the world by spirits. Aboriginal art started at least 30,000 years ago and there are lots of Dreaming stories painted on walls and cut in rocks all around Australia. Aboriginal music has songs about the Dreamtime, sometimes with special instruments like the didgeridoo.
In 1606 the first European, Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (1571–1639), visited the west. Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the water between Australia and New Guinea later that year. Only after Dirk Hartog chanced upon the west coast in 1616 did other European vessels visit and map the coast. After sixty more ships visited the coast, enough was known for a map to be published in 1811. The land was dry because of not much rain; some were a desert. The explorers thought no crops could be grown and so it would be difficult for people to live there. They decided there would be no economic reasons to stay.
In 1642, Dutchman Abel Tasman, working for the Dutch East Indies Company reached Tasmania, which he called Antony van Diemenslandt. He then called the continent he charted the north coast of on his second visit in 1644 New Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first Englishman to reach Australia. But in 1770 a British sailor, Captain James Cook, found the fertile east coast of Australia. He called it New South Wales and claimed it for Britain. Englishman Matthew Flinders published his map of the coast in 1814, calling it Australia for the first time, a name later formally adopted by the authorities.
Aborigines invented tools like the boomerang and spear. There is also evidence that the Aboriginal people used farming methods. The tradition was very important in their lives. Their religion is called the Dreamtime, which has lots of stories about the creation of the world by spirits. Aboriginal art started at least 30,000 years ago and there are lots of Dreaming stories painted on walls and cut in rocks all around Australia. Aboriginal music has songs about the Dreamtime, sometimes with special instruments like the didgeridoo.
In 1606 the first European, Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (1571–1639), visited the west. Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the water between Australia and New Guinea later that year. Only after Dirk Hartog chanced upon the west coast in 1616 did other European vessels visit and map the coast. After sixty more ships visited the coast, enough was known for a map to be published in 1811. The land was dry because of not much rain; some were a desert. The explorers thought no crops could be grown and so it would be difficult for people to live there. They decided there would be no economic reasons to stay.
In 1642, Dutchman Abel Tasman, working for the Dutch East Indies Company reached Tasmania, which he called Antony van Diemenslandt. He then called the continent he charted the north coast of on his second visit in 1644 New Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first Englishman to reach Australia. But in 1770 a British sailor, Captain James Cook, found the fertile east coast of Australia. He called it New South Wales and claimed it for Britain. Englishman Matthew Flinders published his map of the coast in 1814, calling it Australia for the first time, a name later formally adopted by the authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at WAR
Benjamin Netanyahu born 21 October 1949 is an Israeli politician who has been Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, having previously held the position from 1996 to 1999. Netanyahu is also the Chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history and the first to be born in Israel after the establishment of the state.
Born in Tel Aviv to secular Jewish parents, Netanyahu was raised in both Jerusalem and the Philadelphia area of the United States. He returned to Israel immediately upon graduating high school in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces shortly after the Six-Day War. Netanyahu became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit and took part in many missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), Operation Gift (1968) and Operation Isotope (1972), during which he was shot in the shoulder. Netanyahu fought on the front lines in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory. Netanyahu achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. After graduating from MIT with a Bachelor of Science (SB) and a Master of Science (SM), Netanyahu became an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He moved back to Israel in 1978 to found the Yonatan Netanyahu Anti-Terror Institute, named after his brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who died leading Operation Entebbe.
In 1984, Netanyahu was appointed the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a role he held until 1988. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset before becoming the leader of Likud in 1993; he then led the party to victory at the 1996 election, becoming Israel's youngest-ever prime minister. After being defeated in the 1999 election, Netanyahu left politics, returning to the private sector. He later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance in the government of Ariel Sharon, but eventually resigned over disagreements regarding the Gaza disengagement plan. As Finance Minister, Netanyahu initiated major reforms of the Israeli economy that were credited by commentators as having significantly improved Israel's subsequent economic performance.
Netanyahu returned to the leadership of Likud in December 2005 after Sharon stepped down to form a new party, Kadima. Although Likud finished second in the 2009 election to Kadima, Netanyahu was able to form a coalition government with other right-wing parties and was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second time. He went on to lead Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections. After the April 2019 election resulted in no party being able to form a government, a second election took place in September 2019; in that election, the centrist Blue and White party emerged slightly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud. However, neither Netanyahu nor Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party was able to form a government, and Gantz returned the mandate to the president.
Since December 2016, Netanyahu has been under investigation for corruption by Israeli police and prosecutors. On 21 November 2019, he was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. Due to the indictment, Netanyahu is legally required to relinquish all of his ministry posts other than the prime minister position.
Born in Tel Aviv to secular Jewish parents, Netanyahu was raised in both Jerusalem and the Philadelphia area of the United States. He returned to Israel immediately upon graduating high school in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces shortly after the Six-Day War. Netanyahu became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit and took part in many missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), Operation Gift (1968) and Operation Isotope (1972), during which he was shot in the shoulder. Netanyahu fought on the front lines in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory. Netanyahu achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. After graduating from MIT with a Bachelor of Science (SB) and a Master of Science (SM), Netanyahu became an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He moved back to Israel in 1978 to found the Yonatan Netanyahu Anti-Terror Institute, named after his brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who died leading Operation Entebbe.
In 1984, Netanyahu was appointed the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a role he held until 1988. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset before becoming the leader of Likud in 1993; he then led the party to victory at the 1996 election, becoming Israel's youngest-ever prime minister. After being defeated in the 1999 election, Netanyahu left politics, returning to the private sector. He later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance in the government of Ariel Sharon, but eventually resigned over disagreements regarding the Gaza disengagement plan. As Finance Minister, Netanyahu initiated major reforms of the Israeli economy that were credited by commentators as having significantly improved Israel's subsequent economic performance.
Netanyahu returned to the leadership of Likud in December 2005 after Sharon stepped down to form a new party, Kadima. Although Likud finished second in the 2009 election to Kadima, Netanyahu was able to form a coalition government with other right-wing parties and was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second time. He went on to lead Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections. After the April 2019 election resulted in no party being able to form a government, a second election took place in September 2019; in that election, the centrist Blue and White party emerged slightly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud. However, neither Netanyahu nor Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party was able to form a government, and Gantz returned the mandate to the president.
Since December 2016, Netanyahu has been under investigation for corruption by Israeli police and prosecutors. On 21 November 2019, he was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. Due to the indictment, Netanyahu is legally required to relinquish all of his ministry posts other than the prime minister position.
Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.
Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa. Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age, while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces. The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE, which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea. Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction, the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina. The Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century CE, the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement in the diaspora followed by waves of immigration to Ottoman Syria and later Mandatory Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency and rejected by Arab leaders. The following year, the Jewish Agency declared the independence of the State of Israel, and the subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw Israel's establishment over most of the former Mandate territory, while the West Bank and Gaza were held by neighboring Arab states. Israel has since fought several wars with Arab countries, and since the Six-Day War in June 1967 held occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip (still considered occupied after the 2005 disengagement, although some legal experts dispute this claim). It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world's longest military occupation in modern times. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have been signed.
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation-state of the Jewish people. The country has a liberal democracy (one of only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia), with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member. It has the world's 31st-largest economy by nominal GDP and is the most developed country currently in conflict. It has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and ranks among the world's top countries by percentage of citizens with military training, percentage of citizens holding a tertiary education degree, research and development spending by GDP percentage, women's safety, life expectancy, innovativeness, and happiness.
Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa. Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age, while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces. The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE, which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea. Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction, the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina. The Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century CE, the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement in the diaspora followed by waves of immigration to Ottoman Syria and later Mandatory Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency and rejected by Arab leaders. The following year, the Jewish Agency declared the independence of the State of Israel, and the subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw Israel's establishment over most of the former Mandate territory, while the West Bank and Gaza were held by neighboring Arab states. Israel has since fought several wars with Arab countries, and since the Six-Day War in June 1967 held occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip (still considered occupied after the 2005 disengagement, although some legal experts dispute this claim). It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world's longest military occupation in modern times. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have been signed.
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation-state of the Jewish people. The country has a liberal democracy (one of only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia), with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member. It has the world's 31st-largest economy by nominal GDP and is the most developed country currently in conflict. It has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and ranks among the world's top countries by percentage of citizens with military training, percentage of citizens holding a tertiary education degree, research and development spending by GDP percentage, women's safety, life expectancy, innovativeness, and happiness.
Special Report from Ground ZERO about China's deadly coronavirus
Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over 11 million, the ninth most populous Chinese city, and one of the nine National Central Cities of China.
The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (武汉三镇). It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare".
Wuhan is considered by some to be one of the potential sites of the pivotal Battle of the Red Cliffs, which stopped warlord Cao Cao's incursion into southern China at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Other historical events taking place in Wuhan include the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was briefly the capital of China in 1927 under the left-wing of the Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei. The city later served as the wartime capital of China for ten months in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Coronavirus pandemic was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019.
Wuhan is considered the political, economic, financial, commercial, cultural, and educational center of Central China. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan is sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources. The "Golden Waterway" of the Yangtze River and the Han River traverse the urban area and divide Wuhan into the three districts of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge crosses the Yangtze in the city. The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity, is located nearby. Historically, Wuhan has suffered risks of flooding, prompting the government to alleviate the situation by introducing ecologically friendly absorption mechanisms.
While Wuhan has been a traditional manufacturing hub for decades, it is also one of the areas promoting modern industrial changes in China. Wuhan consists of three national development zones, four scientific and technological development parks, over 350 research institutes, 1,656 high tech enterprises, numerous enterprise incubators, and investments from 230 Fortune Global 500 firms. It produced GDP of US$22.4 billion in 2018. The Dongfeng Motor Corporation, an automobile manufacturer, is headquartered in Wuhan. The city is home to multiple notable institutes of higher education, including Wuhan University, which was ranked third nationwide in 2017, and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In 2017, Wuhan was designated as a Creative City by UNESCO, in the field of design. Wuhan is classified as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (武汉三镇). It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare".
Wuhan is considered by some to be one of the potential sites of the pivotal Battle of the Red Cliffs, which stopped warlord Cao Cao's incursion into southern China at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Other historical events taking place in Wuhan include the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was briefly the capital of China in 1927 under the left-wing of the Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei. The city later served as the wartime capital of China for ten months in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Coronavirus pandemic was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019.
Wuhan is considered the political, economic, financial, commercial, cultural, and educational center of Central China. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan is sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources. The "Golden Waterway" of the Yangtze River and the Han River traverse the urban area and divide Wuhan into the three districts of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge crosses the Yangtze in the city. The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity, is located nearby. Historically, Wuhan has suffered risks of flooding, prompting the government to alleviate the situation by introducing ecologically friendly absorption mechanisms.
While Wuhan has been a traditional manufacturing hub for decades, it is also one of the areas promoting modern industrial changes in China. Wuhan consists of three national development zones, four scientific and technological development parks, over 350 research institutes, 1,656 high tech enterprises, numerous enterprise incubators, and investments from 230 Fortune Global 500 firms. It produced GDP of US$22.4 billion in 2018. The Dongfeng Motor Corporation, an automobile manufacturer, is headquartered in Wuhan. The city is home to multiple notable institutes of higher education, including Wuhan University, which was ranked third nationwide in 2017, and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In 2017, Wuhan was designated as a Creative City by UNESCO, in the field of design. Wuhan is classified as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Hindu minority is under attack in Bangladesh
The country that wants to reconcile democracy and Islam appears to be finding it harder and harder to strike a balance between the two. Bangladesh was born in blood. The Bangladeshi government claims some three million people were killed during the 1971 war of liberation, though independent figures vary greatly. While Pakistan has remained an Islamic republic, Bangladesh made secularism a founding principle in the republic’s constitution. But conflict between Islamist and secular forces has plagued the country since its formation - and has a major impact on how it is perceived abroad. Annual economic growth has been at well over five percent for a decade; inward investment is flowing. Bangladesh is one of the world’s leading producers of garments and textiles. The government in Dhaka is keen to attract foreign cash. That fixation with inward investment also helps explain the refusal on the part of the political elite to recognize the growth of violent Islamism in the country. In 2016, Bangladesh experienced its worst terrorist attack to date. In Dhaka in the heart of the capital’s diplomatic quarter, terrorists murdered 20 people they’d taken hostage in a popular café, among them 18 foreigners. So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Dhaka, but the Bangladeshi government continues to deny that there are IS or Al-Qaeda cells in the country. The political landscape of the country is currently shaped by the personal animosity between the two most powerful women in Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. When one of them holds the reins of power, the other regularly does all she can to bring government grinding to a halt by having the opposition dig in its heels. In a further twist to this tale Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years in jail early February 2018, charged with misusing charitable funds. Khaleda Zia is also currently barred from taking part in parliamentary polls. The daughter of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina has led the Bangladeshi government since 2009. She views herself as a mediator between secular and Islamist forces. But the brutal murder of bloggers critical of religion and the continuing restriction of democratic freedoms show how this balancing act is teetering - and could soon tip into disaster.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh, covering about 8.7% of the population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2011 Bangladesh census. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu state in the world after India and Nepal. According to an estimate from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there were 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh as of 2015.
In nature, Bangladeshi Hinduism closely resembles the forms and customs of Hinduism practised in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, with which Bangladesh (at one time known as East Bengal) was united until the partition of India in 1947. The vast majority of Hindus in Bangladesh are Bengali Hindus.
The Goddess (Devi) – usually venerated as Durga or Kali – is widely revered, often alongside her consort Shiva. The worship of Shiva has generally found adherents among the higher castes in Bangladesh. Worship of Vishnu (typically in the form of his Avatars or incarnation Rama or Krishna) more explicitly cuts across caste lines by teaching the fundamental oneness of humankind in spirit. Vishnu worship in Bengal expresses the union of the male and female principles in a tradition of love and devotion. This form of Hindu belief and the Sufi tradition of Islam have influenced and interacted with each other in Bengal. Both were popular mystical movements emphasizing the personal relationship of religious leader and disciple instead of the dry stereotypes of the brahmins or the ulama. As in Bengali Islamic practice, worship of Vishnu frequently occurs in a small devotional society (shomaj). Both use the language of earthly love to express communion with the divine. In both traditions, the Bengali language is the vehicle of a large corpus of mystical literature of great beauty and emotional impact.
In Bangladeshi Hinduism ritual bathing, vows, and pilgrimages to sacred rivers, mountains, and shrines are common practice. An ordinary Hindu will worship at the shrines of Muslim pirs, without being concerned with the religion to which that place is supposed to be affiliated. Hindus revere many holy men and ascetics conspicuous for their bodily mortifications. Some believe that they attain spiritual benefit merely by looking at a great holy man. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is the most important festival of Bangladeshi Hindus and it is widely celebrated across Bangladesh. Thousands of pandals (mandaps) are set up in various cities, towns and villages to mark the festival. Other festivals are Kali Puja, Janmashtami, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Shivratri and Rathayatra, the most popular being the century-old Dhamrai Rathayatra.
The principle of ahimsa is expressed in almost universally observed rules against eating beef. By no means are all Bangladeshi Hindus vegetarians, but abstinence from all kinds of meat is regarded as a "higher" virtue. Brahmin (Brahmon) or "Upper-caste" Bangladeshi Hindus, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in South Asia, ordinarily eat fish and chicken. This is similar to the Indian state of West Bengal which has a similar climate to that of Bangladesh, where Hindus also consume fish, egg, chicken and mutton.There are also non-Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh,majority of the Hajong, Rajbongshi people and Tripuris in Bangladesh are Hindus.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh, covering about 8.7% of the population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2011 Bangladesh census. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu state in the world after India and Nepal. According to an estimate from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there were 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh as of 2015.
In nature, Bangladeshi Hinduism closely resembles the forms and customs of Hinduism practised in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, with which Bangladesh (at one time known as East Bengal) was united until the partition of India in 1947. The vast majority of Hindus in Bangladesh are Bengali Hindus.
The Goddess (Devi) – usually venerated as Durga or Kali – is widely revered, often alongside her consort Shiva. The worship of Shiva has generally found adherents among the higher castes in Bangladesh. Worship of Vishnu (typically in the form of his Avatars or incarnation Rama or Krishna) more explicitly cuts across caste lines by teaching the fundamental oneness of humankind in spirit. Vishnu worship in Bengal expresses the union of the male and female principles in a tradition of love and devotion. This form of Hindu belief and the Sufi tradition of Islam have influenced and interacted with each other in Bengal. Both were popular mystical movements emphasizing the personal relationship of religious leader and disciple instead of the dry stereotypes of the brahmins or the ulama. As in Bengali Islamic practice, worship of Vishnu frequently occurs in a small devotional society (shomaj). Both use the language of earthly love to express communion with the divine. In both traditions, the Bengali language is the vehicle of a large corpus of mystical literature of great beauty and emotional impact.
In Bangladeshi Hinduism ritual bathing, vows, and pilgrimages to sacred rivers, mountains, and shrines are common practice. An ordinary Hindu will worship at the shrines of Muslim pirs, without being concerned with the religion to which that place is supposed to be affiliated. Hindus revere many holy men and ascetics conspicuous for their bodily mortifications. Some believe that they attain spiritual benefit merely by looking at a great holy man. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is the most important festival of Bangladeshi Hindus and it is widely celebrated across Bangladesh. Thousands of pandals (mandaps) are set up in various cities, towns and villages to mark the festival. Other festivals are Kali Puja, Janmashtami, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Shivratri and Rathayatra, the most popular being the century-old Dhamrai Rathayatra.
The principle of ahimsa is expressed in almost universally observed rules against eating beef. By no means are all Bangladeshi Hindus vegetarians, but abstinence from all kinds of meat is regarded as a "higher" virtue. Brahmin (Brahmon) or "Upper-caste" Bangladeshi Hindus, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in South Asia, ordinarily eat fish and chicken. This is similar to the Indian state of West Bengal which has a similar climate to that of Bangladesh, where Hindus also consume fish, egg, chicken and mutton.There are also non-Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh,majority of the Hajong, Rajbongshi people and Tripuris in Bangladesh are Hindus.
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