Monthly Archives: January 2021

For most of us, memes are the harmless fodder of an extremely online internet culture, floating benignly between different social media platforms and, on the whole, making us laugh. But in the shadier corners of the internet, like on the forum 4chan, memes can quickly mutate from jokes into more ambiguous, shocking and potentially harmful viral content.

Thats especially true of memes that call into question the efficacy and safety of vaccines often termed anti-vax content. Anti-vaccination sentiment is not a new phenomenon, but is increasingly fuelled by online misinformation. Unfounded claims proliferate online, linking vaccines to disease development, or presenting COVID-19 as a hoax.

When they go viral, such conspiracy theories present a major obstacle to the success of any immunisation campaign, as they may contribute to vaccine hesitancy. In the UK, more than a quarter of the population signals reluctance or suspicion about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Globally, willingness to be vaccinated varies widely.

To combat the spread of anti-vaccination rumours, platforms are currently using a dual strategy of censorship and fact checking. Both practices have their pitfalls. Censorship may actually stimulate curiosity, while people who distrust mainstream media are not likely to trust fact checkers.

And much online content like viral memes is not primarily meant to inform, and is therefore hard to evaluate in terms of whether its information, misinformation, or simply a joke.

Internet memes are a defining feature of online communication. The term can refer to any widely shared and replicated piece of online content in a variety of styles and formats. While mostly humorous or relatable, some memes have come to be associated with hateful beliefs through their occurrence on influential websites such as the imageboard 4chan.

Read more: Coronavirus and conspiracies: how the far right is exploiting the pandemic

4chan boasts over 20 million unique visitors a month, and is highly influential in meme culture. On 4chans Politically Incorrect board (/pol/), people anonymously discuss world news and political events from perspectives that run counter to the public consensus. Views expressed on /pol/ can be shocking and unpleasant.

Conspiracy theories such as QAnon flourished on /pol/, and the forum has been linked to the recent Capitol riots.

Presumed malicious intent behind vaccination programmes is a commonly voiced concern on the board. In a recent study, I showed that anti-vaccination posts encountered on /pol/ (and found across social media) display a number of recurring elements, such as revulsion to vaccine ingredients and selective appeals to authority. With vaccine hesitancy becoming an increasingly pressing concern, the role of such memetic patterns in the spread of misinformation deserves careful attention.

Anti-vaccination posts regularly contain a visual component. For instance, a reference to authority can be expressed through a vaccine-critical quote next to the face of the person who supposedly uttered it. Surprisingly often, quotes included in anti-vaccination discussions are attributed incorrectly.

Online, incorrect attribution does not just happen by accident. Fake quotes are a very popular meme format, often intended to satirise and amuse. Todays internet users are likely to encounter the face of historic figures such as Lincoln, Einstein or Gandhi, paired with an absurdly out-of-place statement.

Such memes creatively critique the popular practice of sharing inspirational messages. They also ridicule received sources of wisdom and authority. But as a result, it is often unclear whether anti-vaccination statements voiced through the face-and-quote format are shared and received in earnest, or through an ironic lens.

Accustomed to online irony, a proportion of internet users on 4chan and beyond may not intend their multi-layered jokes to contribute to vaccine hesitancy. The influence of ironic meme culture may also mitigate the impact of misinformation by priming the browsing crowd for absurdity rather than accuracy. However, diverse audiences make for diverse reactions. While quotes supposedly exposing the evil intentions of figures such as Bill Gates a common target of conspiratorial beliefs can easily be read in jest, they can also influence internet users to distrust vaccines.

A second common feature of anti-vaccination discourse is revulsion to vaccine ingredients. This sentiment tends to be communicated by means of lists combining chemical and bestial elements. When taken out of context, a compilation of vaccine components mentioning mercury, formaldehyde, and cows blood can indeed inspire fear and disgust. When presented to shock, the ingredients of any complex product may come to look like an alchemists concoction or a sinister witchs brew.

Feelings of aversion may be exacerbated by the image of a syringe, which in anti-vax posts is often presented together with ingredients deemed harmful. Most children fear needles, and a large proportion of adults do, too. In many contexts, sharp objects are associated with harm, not health.

It is surprising, then, that ironic replications of the syringe-plus-ingredients template circulate online, mocking the anti-vaxxers fears and supposed scientific illiteracy. Such memetic efforts may aim to comically combat misinformation, but nonetheless spread visual prompts that reinforce suspicion. From this perspective, you may even wonder whether popular newspapers contribute to vaccine hesitancy by repeatedly using pictures of a needle breaching the skin.

Attitudes to vaccination are communicated not just through what is written, but also through particular representational patterns. Meme formats and visual outlines can spread misinformation, even when created and shared with humorous intent.

After all, Poes Law dictates that theres a wafer-thin line between satirical and fanatical content. In the context of COVID-19, that line is all too easily crossed.

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How anti-vax memes replicate through satire and irony - The Conversation UK

Earlier this week, my family found itself in a rather strange predicament. A distant relative had died. My mother-in-law wanted to pay her condolences to the family. Visiting the grieving family was ruled out given the COVID-19 concerns we're all harbouring despite vaccines rolling out and official numbers coming down.

And then we received a strange invitation on Microsoft Teams from the son of the deceased. A virtual prayer meeting was to be held and we were all to offer our condolences -online.

To my surprise, my mother-in-law, who is very quickly adapting to the new normal, didn't bat an eyelid and decided that she would embrace this too and perform her duties.

What followed was the strangest exercise in coordinating a Microsoft Teams call. A few politically-incorrect giggles followed which didn't fit the occasion. And of course, some tech goof-ups are the trademark of every online class, virtual conference, or meeting, and in this case, a virtual prayer meeting.

We asked ourselves the all-important questions. Would it be appropriate to switch off our video while we offer condolences to the grieving family? What if my son wakes up and starts singing Peppa Pig anthems, or worse yet, what if he screams for a run to the washroom?

We sat down solemnly, patted our hair in place, and muted our microphones. After all, we didn't want someone asking "what's for dinner?" in the middle of this grave exercise!

Family members from across the country and even other parts of the world logged in. Multiple windows were opened, each struggling to keep a sombre face in an unnatural setting. Some forgot to mute their microphones and were heard juggling household chores while the family of the deceased tried to keep their Wi-Fi connection strong enough to handle the virtual grief.

And I thought to myself -- this perhaps is a new way of life. A new way of connecting or disconnecting. We've suffered through the pains of working-from-home and juggling household chores. We have borne the pain of separation from loved ones during lockdowns. And now, we must say goodbye to our loved ones in the most disconnected way too. And yet, we show up, we maintain a sombre face, we persevere.

At some point during the virtual prayer meeting, someone's son had to use the washroom, while another's house help asked what to cook for dinner. Some laughed at the faux-pas while others ignored them. We struggled to keep a straight face, momentarily forgetting why we were in this strange predicament in the first place.

And then it dawned upon me that the pandemic has changed us in more ways than one.

It's one thing when education moves online, weddings are held on video conferences and baby shower gifts are exchanged on Google Pay. But it is truly strange when grief goes virtual. When the end of life is marked with multiple chat windows and curious faces peering at one another. Some observe the other's clothes, some notice the weight gain, others feel obligated to connect with those with whom they have lost contact over time.

And for the elderly, it is an unfair battle. When I see my mother-in-law embrace technology, it gives me pride. When I see her preparing herself to monitor my son's online classes, I feel grateful. But when I see her sitting down on a Microsoft Teams call, grieving and yet worried if the Wi-Fi connection will betray her, I feel frustrated.

But then again, we fight on, we persevere, we realize that this is the New Normal. Who knows if people will ever congregate to offer condolences again?

I shudder to think of what else will move online. Any guesses?

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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Opinion | When grief goes online - WION

Succeeding in the world of theater is tough no matter who you are. But if youre a conservative Orthodox Jew, its even tougher. Just ask Joshua Danese.

Danese is hardly new to the profession. Some three decades ago, he found success as a young, progressive, secular Jewish writer. He wrote and produced plays and occasionally acted as well. Then one day, he was inspired to write a play about Orthodox Jews.

I started doing research about them, one thing led to another, and in that journey I ended up being religious, he told me in an interview.

Josh changed his name to Yehoshua Danese, and became a rabbi in a yeshiva. He got married, and he and his wife have 11 children. Now, 30 years later, he has gotten back to writing, but as a very different man. And his current identity has made his reception in the theater world very different from what it had been when he was young and liberal.

I understand that things are stacked against me, he says, and that no one will put on a play that is politically incorrect.

But he perseveres, and now his play, When Ms. Thompson and Cynthia Met at the Beach, will be performed for the first time at thefifth annual Conservative Theatre Festival, which will take place at the Abbey Theater in Dublin, Ohio, on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. This may be the nations only conservative theater festival.

Playwright Linda Howard Cooke harbored similar concerns about her play Unplanned. She was sure it would never see the light of a theater because of its pro-life theme.

Cooke started writing plays 10 years ago, when she was working in a small rural high school in Nebraska as a drama coach. I had a hard time finding many plays that I liked, she told me, so it was the old adage: if you want it done properly, do it yourself.

She has since had four plays published, and Unplanned will be performed for the first time at the Conservative Theatre Festival at the end of this month.

Robert Cooperman, the founder of Stage Right Theatrics, explains that he started the annual Conservative Theatre Festival because he was tired of seeing conservatives presented as bumpkins and people who needed to be educated. Now in its fifth year, the festival describes its content as original plays from marginalized voices.

The irony is hard to miss. The arts have long been a place for marginal voices. But today, theater, film, television, and literature are almost entirely in lockstep with the woke leftand marginal voices have been marginalized into silence. Moreover, the arts are increasingly used as a cudgel to beat up those who do not adhere to the prevailing worldview of the left.

The pressure for theaters to host woke contentor else feel the backlash of cancel cultureis extreme. Last year, theater producer Marie Ciscopublisheda list of Theaters Not Speaking Out She asked people to list theaters that had not made a statement against injustices toward black people.

The fact thattheaters across the countrywere struggling merely to stay alive amid canceled seasons was of no concern.

It is all the more admirable, therefore, that Cooperman is not afraid to stand as a lone voice in organizing the fifth annual Conservative Theatre Festival. And in spite of the fact that the coronavirus will restrict the audience size, the good news is that for the first time, the performances will be livestreamed, making them accessible to audiences across the country.

The plays that will be performed in this years festival are: For a Daddy by Anne Nygren Doherty; Friday Night Dead Teiresias by Mark Dinsmore; Grandmas Easter Parade by Jason Ford; If the Shoe Fits by Hope Bolinger; Unplanned by Linda Howard Cooke; and When Mrs. Thompson and Cynthia Met at the Beach, by Joshua Danese.

As we enter this next, difficult phase of the battle for the soul of the country, conservatives must re-engage in the culture. We cannot allow it to be the exclusive domain of the left.

As Andrew Klavan pointed out in his article The Crisis in the Arts: Why the Left Owns the Culture and How Conservatives Can Begin to Take It Back: The arts are one of humanitys most noble enterprises. They have been hijacked by adherents of a low and oppressive ideology. We should take them back.

Supporting conservative playwrights and conservative theater is one step in the right direction.

>>> Performances will be Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. For more information, visitconservativefestivaloh.com.

Originally posted here:
Among Marginalized Voices at Upcoming Theater Festival: Conservatives - Heritage.org

A Ram 1500 with an American flag decal and a I identify as a Prius tailgate sticker was snapped ICE-ing a Tesla charging station early this month, suggesting the trend has not yet completely gone away.

ICE-ing involves deliberately parking an internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicle in front of a public electric car charging space, keeping EVs from filling up there.

Electric vehicles cant get those electrons just anywhere, so being blocked access to a charging station is very annoying for EV owners indeed.

Some have suggested the incidents are often be pulled off by blue-collar pickup truck owners who think theyre, in a manner of speaking, sticking it to the proverbial EV man. The (unsurprisingly) politically incorrect I identify as a Prius sticker on this truck seems to underscore the odds of that possibility.

In the fads heyday a few years ago, photographs of ICE-ing incidents sparked outrage across social media, with people arguing both for and against it. These days, more than anything it seems like a plea for attention, since, largely, nobody cares.

At this point, putting an EV charger in your trucks tailpipe is about as cool and imaginative as an obnoxious NOGAS-type novelty plate on a Tesla.

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Ram truck with Tesla charger in tailpipe shows 'ICE-ing' trend not over - Driving

New Delhi: Protesting farmers are not inclined to relent from the path they have chosen of a long-drawn agitation, if need be. But they will not be politically incorrect either, lest they alienate the sympathy they have generated. So, even as Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav announced that they will carry out a tractor parade along Delhi's Outer Ring Road on Republic Day, the latter also underscored that the parade will be conducted peacefully with the Tricolour in hand.

"Along with jawans, the kisan will also celebrate the sovereignty of the country," Yadav said at a press conference here, raising the decibel level on the 53rd day of the farmers' protest at the borders of the national capital against the Centre's farm laws.

Yadav also added that brandishing of weapons, use of inflammatory language and intimidation would be a strict no-no.

"There will be no disruption of the official Republic Day ceremony," he added. The parade will pass through Peeragadhi, Janakpuri, Dhaula Kuan, Munirka, IIT, Khel Gaon, Chirag Delhi, Nehru Place, Okhla, Majnu ka tila, Burari, Azadpur, among other areas.

"Each tractor will carry the national flag (Tricolour) besides the flag of the union concerned. No political party flag will on display. Those not able to reach New Delhi will organise the tractor march in their villages," the farmer leaders said.

On Sunday, farmers continued to organise mock tractor rallies in various parts of Punjab to encourage more people to join the proposed march in large numbers.

All eyes are now on the Supreme Court which will hear various pleas related to the contentious farm laws on Monday. A three-judge bench of the apex court is likely to also take up the matter of recusal of Bhupendra Singh Maan from the four-member committee on farm laws. The committee will hold its first meeting on January 19.

The Supreme Court will also hear a petition by the Delhi Police seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor march, claiming that it could lead to a law and order situation.

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Farmers' tractor protest on Republic Day will be with Tricolour in hand - Free Press Journal

A few days after the end of the administration of President Donald Trump, the United States announced new sanctions against the Cuban Ministry of Interior (Minente), one of the unilateral measures recently adopted against the island.

Without providing any evidence, the pretext for this action is the purported responsibility of the portfolio minister, General Lazaro Alvarez Casas, for alleged human rights violations, an excuse that the United States government uses repeatedly against states that do not surrender. To their direction.According to an official statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the measure was adopted, according to Executive Order 13818, which implements the Program for International Human Rights Accountability, which is one of the laws that Washington uses to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

The text reiterates allegations similar to those made clear in recent years, and indicates that Minint is classified as responsible, complicit, or directly or indirectly participating in alleged human rights violations.Among other justifications for the imposition of sanctions on Minente, Pompeos statement notes that the Cuban government is holding at least 100 prisoners, according to that federal agency, in prison for political reasons.However, the Caribbean state authorities have rejected this category on several occasions, as they are in fact individuals who have violated Cuban laws by committing various criminal acts.

Finally, the Secretary of State calls on governments and other international organizations to comply with Washingtons demands and join these unilateral sanctions, in addition to those imposed by the White House against Cuba for nearly 60 years.

The unwarranted and unilateral action against Minente adds to Pompeos announcement this week regarding the new inclusion of the island in Washingtons list of countries that sponsor terrorism, a clause that experts describe as one-sided, bogus, and politically incorrect.Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel described the decision as the last strikes of a failed and corrupt administration with the Cuban-Miami mafia.

From Prinsa Latina translated by Edda Garbry

Communicator. Reader. Hipster-friendly introvert. General zombie specialist. Tv trailblazer

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Until the last day, Trump continued to hit Cuba with criminal sanctions - Prudent Press Agency

The law for us kids in the 1950s and 1960s meant the local police. They walked their beats and turned up in awkward places. They knew everyone and took no nonsense. Worse yet, many were my fathers patients or in his St John Ambulance first aid class, so they had a vested interest in his offspring not going off the rails.

In my fifth year at Stirling High School, my parents were made aware that possible expulsion was in the air.

There had been continued absences from cross-country running afternoons, and a chemistry class had to be evacuated due to the sudden production of clouds of dense white smoke.

Then there was a public strapping at the main entrance of the school by the gowned headmaster for repeated lateness which was gleefully observed by my peers from upstairs classroom windows.

There was also a poem, influenced by Robert Burns, describing the ample bosom of our French teacher, that had come to light after being proudly if naively shown to classmates.

Years later, the gulf between Scotland and our parts of Africa was underlined when a nursing sister from Soweto in South Africa, who had trained at the famous Baragwanath teaching hospital, was reading the headlines of a Glasgow morning paper Id brought back from annual leave.

28 murders last year. New national record, screamed the headline.

Hau! We have more than that in a weekend at Bara, the nursing sister said.

Tribes and rural communities here have their own laws, based on oral tradition and precedent, police and government authorities often not being involved.

For example, our elderly uncles goats, having eaten his neighbours cassava shrubs, were confiscated until the agreed fine was paid.

Our own cow evaded an inattentive herd boy for an illegal lunch of sorghum.

Had this been repeated, the felons calf would have become community property to be auctioned off.

Currently, the parents of a young man guilty of several thefts and assaults, at a hearing of the communitys elders, will have their belongings dumped outside their huts, the doors locked, and have to move outside the area.

The son was handed over to the police by the elders and imprisoned without further ado, later to join his deported family.

My wifes tribe, the Madi of southern Sudan, have discouraging rules for major offences, a fact explained to me while negotiating the bride price with her relatives in Khartoum.

Should the happy couple do the unthinkable before marriage or commit adultery afterwards, you are bound hand and foot before being taken to a traditional site in the bush.

A length of fresh bamboo is split, two internal rings cut out, and your head rammed into the gap, each end then being tightly spliced.

The tensile strength of the young bamboo as it dried out in the fierce heat literally scrambled your brains but long before that one of numerous predators like hyenas or leopards would have ended your predicament.

My own tribes now politically-incorrect approach to law-breaking seems sensible.

Dave Torrance was from Dundee, the much-respected manager of the first sugar mill at Simunye in Swaziland.

If an employee did something daft that endangered himself or his mates, the two of them would go round to the back of the factory, strip to the waist and fight bare-fisted.

There were no disciplinary hearings, no trades union inquiries and company reports, a visit to the clinic for repairs (Torrance was strong, fit and agile) instead taking their place.

The trappings of the law in Swaziland are more formal than the foregoing, bewigged judges garbed in startling crimson dressing gowns trimmed with artificial white fur.

The accused often insist on conducting their own defence despite pleas from the bench not to do so.

Dr David Vost studied medicine at Glasgow University and is currently working at a hospital in Swaziland. He and his family live on a small farm in Northern Uganda near the Albert Nile. If you wish to contact Dr Vost, send an email to davidvostsz@gmail.com

Dr David Vost studied medicine at Glasgow University and is currently working at a hospital in Swaziland. He and his family live on a small farm in Northern Uganda near the Albert Nile. davidvostsz@gmail.com

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Notes from Africa: No escaping the long arms of the law - HeraldScotland

In an eloquent defense of life, marriage, and religious liberty known as The Manhattan Declaration, authors Chuck Colson, Professor Robert George, and Dr. Timothy George wrote, There is no more eloquent defense of the rights and duties of religious conscience than the one offered by Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

Recently, new allegations from biographer and historian Dr. David Garrow have escalated concerns about Dr. Kings moral failings, especially his sexual exploits and mistreatment of women. Many Christians are also rightly troubled by Dr. Kings unorthodox theological views, especially his views about the resurrection of Christ and salvation that are outside of historic Christianity.

At the same time, as a work of moral philosophy, Colson and the Georges are absolutely correct about their assessment of Dr. Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail. It is unparalleled in its clarity about the nature of law, what constitutes an unjust law, and our responsibility to respond to unjust laws.

Twenty years ago, Chuck Colson reflected on Dr. Kings legacy, and the most important contributions from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail: Here is Chuck Colson:

A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is out of harmony with the moral law.

It was with these very words, in his memorable Letter from the Birmingham Jail, that Martin Luther King, Jr., threw down the gauntlet in his great Civil Rights crusade. King refused to obey what he regarded as an immoral law that did not square with the law of God.

All across America today, millions of people are celebrating the birthday of this courageous man, and deservedly so. He was a fearless battler for truth, and all of us are in his debt because he remedied past wrongs and brought millions of Americans into the full riches of citizenship.

In schools and on courthouse steps, people will be quoting his I Have a Dream speech today. It is an elegant and powerful classic. But I would suggest that one of Dr. Kings greatest accomplishments, one which will be little mentioned today because it has suddenly become politically incorrect, is his advocacy of the true moral foundations of law.

King defended the transcendent source of the laws authority. In doing so he took a conservative Christian view of law. In fact, he was perhaps the most eloquent advocate of this viewpoint in his time, as, interestingly, Justice Clarence Thomas may be today.

Writing from a jail cell, King declared that the code of justice is not mans law: It is Gods law. Imagine a politician making such a comment today. We all remember the controversy that erupted weeks ago when George W. Bush made reference to his Christian faith in a televised national debate.

But King built his whole case on the argument, set forth by St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, that An unjust law is no law at all. To be just, King argued, our laws must always reflect Gods Law.

This is the great issue today in the public square: Is the law rooted in truth? Is it transcendent, immutable, and morally binding? Or is it, as liberal interpreters have suggested, simply what courts say it is? Do we discover the law, or do we create it?

Ever since Dr. Kings day, the United States Supreme Court has been moving us step-by-step away from the positions of this great Civil Rights leader. To continue in this direction, as I have written, can only lead to disastrous consequencesindeed, the loss of self-governing democracy.

So, I would challenge each of us today to use this occasion to reflect not just on his great crusade for Civil Rights but also on Martin Luther Kings wisdom in bringing law back to its moral foundations.

Many think of King as some kind of liberal firebrand, but when it comes to the law he was a great conservative who stood on the shoulders of Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, striving without apology to restore our heritage of justice.

This is a story I tell in my book, How Now Shall We Live?: a great moment in history when a courageous man applied the law of God to the unjust laws of our time, and made a difference.

And that is the lesson we should teach our kids on this holiday. It is not just another day off from school or a day to go to the mall.

That was Chuck Colson. Read through Kings letter today. Discuss it with your kids. I think you will find it to be an incredibly important civics lesson.

This commentary by Chuck Colsons first aired February 18, 1998.

Publication date: January 18, 2020

Photo courtesy: Minnesota Historical Society/Wikimedia Commons

BreakPointis a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.

John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN),and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

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Dr. King and the Nature of Law - Christianheadlines.com

I still remember brimming with excitement when my parents announced the imminent arrival of a brand-new scooter. Although I was just six years old, the idea of a new vehicle coming home was enough to send me into a frenzy. Every day, Id frantically enquire about its arrival and, more importantly, if I could ride it. The reply to this was always, Beta, youre just six. All in good time. That cemented the TVS Scootys appeal in my mind forever. I knew that when I turned 18 (or maybe 17), it would be the machine Id learn to ride on.

The Scooty arrived in June of 1998, the same year this magazine was formed. My mom was the most excited because she would be the one riding it around the streets of Chennai. At the time, my father was stationed in the city due to work, and so the Scootys registration is from Tamil Nadu. It arrived in a dark green colour scheme, and those guardrails all around were optional extras.

What I did not know at the time was just how popular the Scooty was. Its production began in 1996, and by the time we got ours, most small scooters were generically referred to as a Scooty. This, of course, was before the days of the Honda Activa. None of this information mattered to me, though. All I remember from that time was sitting on the pillion seat, holding onto my mum for dear life as she got us to our badminton practice in time. There was no question about it the Scooty was a sprightly little thing, and I couldnt wait to be old enough to ride it.

Before I could, though, it was my sister who would first have a go, and it became her mode of transport during her college days in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Sadly, my sister didnt really have any great affection for the old girl, and there were many times when she left it on the streets of Gandhinagar, simply because it ran out of (2T-mixed) petrol. I vividly remember the time when we were visiting my sister and found the Scooty parked outside someone elses house, with plants growing out of it. As far as I was concerned, this was the last straw. I felt so sorry for our little scooter that I walked it to the petrol pump in the pouring rain to get it fixed enough to be sent back home to Gurugram. I was 17 years old and raring to have a go on it. Finally, it was finally my turn.

The Scootys lightweight body and easy handling were the first things that struck me. The second was the acceleration from the 59.9cc air-cooled two-stroke engine which produced 3.5 bhp and 0.45 kgm. Not earth-shattering numbers, I agree, but did they need to be? As far as I was concerned, all that mattered was the fact that I had to simply hit the big yellow button on the right-hand side to get up and go. The starter motor sounds like a classroom bell gone horribly wrong, but who cares?

Even today, I get that same feeling I did 10 years ago theres a spirit of adventure every time I climb aboard the Scooty. Granted that the adventure was only till the nearest park or the market, but at that age, it was an adventure nonetheless. Sure, the fuel tank is just 3.5 litres and two-stroke engines are now considered politically incorrect, but for us, this Scooty is more than just a vehicle. Its a look into our past, a simple two-wheeler from a simpler (and arguably happier) time. Everyone in my family from my grandfather to me has ridden it, and hopefully the chain will continue.

After doing up the engine completely, and with new rims and starter motor, our Scooty has gotten a new lease of life, but its still far from complete. Theres a lot to be done to make it like new again, and I, for one, couldnt be more excited. In that regard, its like falling in love with your high-school sweetheart all over again. Imagine that puppy love from all those years ago turning into a loving relationship. Quite the dream, isnt it? Thankfully, for all of us at the Jakhar household, its a reality.

PHOTOS Jassi Singh

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Close Encounters Of The First Kind 1998 TVS Scooty ES - Motoring World

WASHINGTON The owners of Stewarts Shops, big donors to U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, have decided to pause all political contributions for "further review" after pressure from individuals calling and threatening on social media to boycott the chain over their support for the congresswoman.

Stewarts started logging Twitter and Facebook comments denouncing the contributions to Stefanik from Stewarts President Gary Dake and his family on Monday, emails obtained by the Albany Times Union show.

In response to Stewart's Shops' decision, local conservatives encouraged supporters Saturday to call or email the family-owned chain to register their opposition and tell them "not to bow down to cancel culture."

Dake and his family gave $34,800 to Stefanik's campaign and her joint fundraising committee in the 2020 election cycle, Federal Election Commission records show. Dake and individuals affiliated with Stewart's Shops are one of the largest contributors to hercommittee.

"Individual contributions are given to various political parties, in this case, they were given to the Stefanik campaign due to her immense support of local dairy farmers," a spokeswoman for Stewart's Shops said. "Stewarts Shops was founded as a dairy company and 100 years later, Stewarts remains a dairy company, supporting 20-plus local dairy farms. All political contributions will be paused for the time being for further review."

Stefanik may take another fundraising hit after at least 14 major companies that gave nearly $100,000 to her in 2020 announced this week they will suspend giving to Republicans who objected to certifying the election results.

Stefaniks senior advisor Alex DeGrasse expressed confidence that her campaigns would weather these developments just fine.

Congresswoman Stefanik shattered records as the top Republican fundraiser in New York State and she will continue to do so, he said. Congresswoman Stefanik's strength as a candidate is her strong support from the people in NY-21 across party lines who re-elected her with the most total votes of any Congressional candidate in the history of the North Country, despite facing millions in attack ads.

American Express, AT&T, Dow Inc., Amazon, General Electric, Comcast Corp., Marriott International Inc., Verizon Communications, Airbnb Inc., Nike Inc. and Walmart have all announced in recent days that they will halt contributions to lawmakers who voted against certifying 2020 Electoral College votes. Blue Cross Blue Shield said it would suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy; and State Street Corp. said it will not support lawmakers or candidates who undermine legitimate election outcomes.

In the 2019-2020 election cycle, these companies collectively gave $99,643 to Stefaniks campaign committee or her leadership PAC, which supports Republican women running for Congress, an Albany Times Union analysis found. They contributed to Stefanik through their political action committees or donations from their owners or employees.

Blue Cross Blue Shield was the largest contributor to her campaign and leadership PAC, while Comcast Corp. was the sixth-largest and AT&T was the ninth-largest this cycle, according to the database maintained by Open Secrets.

Stefanik proved to be a prolific fundraiser in 2020. If she can keep it up, shell feel very little impact from these losses. Moreover, many of these companies have not specified how long they will suspend contributions for. Theres almost two years before the next Congressional elections.

In 2020, Stefanik raised over $14.1 million for her campaign, her leadership PAC, called E-PAC, and her joint fundraising committee (which supports her campaign, E-PAC, New York Republicans and the National Republican Congressional Committee), Federal Election Commission records show.

The majority of the campaign's funding comes from small-dollar donors who have donated over $6 million to her campaign, DeGrasse said. Elise for Congress has $2 million in the bank and her re-election campaign has never been in a stronger position politically.

A host of other companies have said they will temporarily suspend political contributions to lawmakers of both parties or will otherwise re-evaluate their giving. Some of these companies, including Boeing, Raytheon Technologies, United Parcel Service and Alphabet Inc (the owner of Google), are also among Stefaniks top contributors. Democrats and Republicans may both feel an impact from the decisions of these companies, however.

Stefanik was one of 147 Republicans who voted to object to certifying the 2020 electoral votes last week, the same day that the U.S. Capitol was invaded by supporters of President Donald J. Trump seeking to keep him in office.

From New York, Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin of Shirley, Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island and Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park also voted to object. No Democrats objected, and Republican Reps. Tom Reed of Corning, John Katko of Syracuse and Andrew Garbarino of Sayville did not.

Stefanik said she objected because tens of millions of Americans are concerned that the 2020 election featured unconstitutional overreach by unelected state officials and judges ignoring state election laws. We can and we should peacefully discuss these concerns.

After she objected, Harvard Universitys Kennedy School decided to remove Stefanik from the advisory board of it Institute of Politics because its dean determined she has made public assertions about voter fraud in Novembers presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect.

Stefanik blasted the decision from Harvard, saying it was caving to the woke left and creating a monoculture of liberal views.

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Stewart's pauses political giving after outcry over Stefanik donations - Times Union