#bonus points if they were already having issues pre-sealing

[selarina]

thinking about gojo returning after being unsealed only to find that reader has moved on

[imaginetonyandbucky]

I want Alpha!Bucky who is recovering, but slowly shaking off the submissiveness Hydra beat into him. Omega!Tony is absolutely smitten with him. Tony flirts outrageously, calls him "Bucky bear", and touches him casually. Bucky starts reverting to his pre-WWII dominant behaviors and Tony just can't get enough. Bonus if Bucky's Winter Soldier tendencies leave Tony unafraid and seriously turned on.

+

hey yall! could someone please write an abo au where alphabucky has to order sick omega tony to stay home from a battle. and its not likehes some traditionalist alpha that orders tony around all the time or anything.he hates that and tony is the last omega that would stand for that kindatreatment. but its for his own good this time and tho tonys a little hurt by ithe knows too. then turns out to be a diversion from the tower being attacked.happy ending tho cause tonys bamf even when sick.

---

"Tony. Stand down."

Every nerve in Tony's body lit up with the desire to snapsomething cold over his shoulder and keep walking towards the elevator. It hadbeen years since he'd responded to the sound of an alpha using that voice. Hewas pretty sure the last time had been from Obadiah Stane, and didn't that justmake the hackles rise on the back of Tony's neck. Natasha was in between Tonyand the elevator, though, so he spun on his heel, shoulders hunching.

The look on Bucky's face stopped him cold. Bucky was staringat him uncertainly, eyes afraid, like he thought that Tony might tear him toshreds. That effectively dumped a bucket of cold water on Tony's anger. It hadtaken months for Bucky to be comfortable with using that voice with anyone,never mind Tony. And really, Tony figured he had no one to blame but himselffor Bucky feeling comfortable enough to use it now.

"It's for your own good," Bucky continued, stillfirm. "You're sick. What happens if you faint while you're piloting thearmor? And don't tell me that JARVIS would take over. That's not an acceptableanswer."

Tony scowled. "I'm not that sick," he said, but hecould feel himself wavering. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for Bucky, andthe whole team knew it. Tony had been smitten from day one and with every daythat passed, it only got worse. Bucky was probably the only who didn't know it.

"Please?" Bucky asked. His voice softened, the alphatone evaporating into something silky that felt like a physical caress onTony's skin, and that was purely unfair in Tony's expert opinion.

"... Fine," Tony agreed, crossing his arms. Heglared at the rest of the team, just daring anyone to say a word. No one methis gaze. Steve started to, but Sam elbowed him hard enough to make Steve lookaway. Good. If Steve had opened his mouth and said something stupid, Tony'spride would've insisted on him joining them no matter what Bucky said.

"Thank you," Bucky said warmly, smiling at him.

"Anything for you, Bucky-Bear," Tony said with asigh, setting a hand on Bucky's arm when Bucky went to walk fast. He droppedhis voice. "Stay safe, okay? Come home."

Bucky put his hand over Tony's, squeezed once, and then wasgone. Tony glanced over his shoulder, watching as the rest of the team filedinto the elevator. Without him. It was profoundly strange to suddenly have thetower empty and know that everyone else was responding to a call while Tony wassupposed to sit here and wait for them to come back. It didn't sit right.

"I'm not that sick," he muttered again, wanderinginto the communal living room. The screen was still frozen on an image ofPrincess Peach and her motorcycle falling to her death on Rainbow Road. Nomatter what Clint said, Sam kicked his ass on Mario Kart every damn time. Outof pure spite, Tony bent down and switched the console off without saving theirprogress.

The room spun when he straightened back up. Dizzy, he stuck ahand a hand out and balanced himself against the wall. Okay, that was notpleasant. Maybe his temperature was a little higher than he'd been willing toadmit. It was probably time for another dose of Tylenol. He turned, slow andcareful, and made his way into the kitchen.

The one good thing about everyone being gone was that Brucecouldn't order him away from the coffee.

Tony settled down on the couch with a mug of coffee in handand ordered JARVIS to patch him through to the team's comm. He listened insilence for about half an hour as Clint and Bucky snarked at each other,interspersed with Sam and Natasha flirting, Thor's boisterous yells, the Hulk'sroars, and Steve's pleas for everyone to keep the line free of idle chatter.One of these days, Steve was going to have to give up on that dream.

All was going well until Tony heard the explosion. At first,he thought it had come through the comm links and wondered who had let Natashaplay with dynamite again. Then the second explosion happened and the couchshook hard enough to dump his thankfully cold coffee into his lap. The commline filled with voices yelling Tony's name.

"Sir," JARVIS said, cutting the audio from the comm."It appears that the tower is under attack. Floors 100 through to 95 havebeen compromised."

"Shit," Tony said under his breath, rolling to hisfeet. The world spun for a good twenty seconds before settling, but by then hewas already at the elevator. He slapped at the button.

"I'm afraid that the elevator is out of commission, Sir.I can't allow the doors to be opened."

Meaning, whatever was in the tower was now in the elevatorshaft, probably trying to locate Tony. Swearing under his breath, Tony changedcourse and ran for the stairs. But not the emergency stairs - oh no, everyoneknew that buildings had those. He was heading for his own personal set ofevacuation tunnels, which ran through every level of the tower all the way tothe basement. Even Clint didn't know they existed.

Behind him, there was a third explosion. Then the morefamiliar sound of shots being fired. Bullets peppered the floor and wallsbehind him as Tony turned a sharp corner, slamming the palm of his hand flatagainst the wall in just the right spot. The wall seamlessly split apart,revealing a small corridor just wide enough for Tony to slip into. Then itclosed behind him, leaving him in darkness except for the arc reactor.

"Can you tell me anything, J?" he asked, bare feetslapping the ground as he ran.

"There appears to be interference with my system. I amattempting to -" JARVIS's voice stopped. It was possible Tony's heartstopped right along with it. Then, just as suddenly, JARVIS resumed with,"I am attempting to rewrite the firewall to block the attack, but I amhaving trouble locating the issue."

Hackers. Had to be. Tony ground his teeth together, taking thestairs as quickly as he dared. Above him, he heard footsteps.

"J, enact defense protocols," he commanded.

The sharp crackle of electricity was barely audible over thesound of the screams that echoed above and behind him. Tony smirked to himselfand ducked underneath a wall. It hit the ground behind him, sealing offimmediately. He knew that meant JARVIS was dispensing sleeping gas for to knockout anyone who was still conscious after the electrical attack.

He came up to another wall and opened it slowly. The coast wasclear. Tony crept out into the hallway. His workshop was about fifty feet away;he could see the reinforced glass doors, which were shut. A handful of agentsdressed in familiar gear were prying at the doors, trying to get them open.

Hydra. Of course.

This was a problem, but Tony had an excellent solution.

"Hey idiots!" Tony called.

All heads swung around to face him. Guns went up. The doors slidopen behind them. The Iron Man suit that had appeared in the doorway while theagents weren't paying attention lifted its hands. Tony experienced a cruelpleasure out of seeing every single one of those Hydra agents getting blastedin the ass. When all of them were down and out, the suit flew to Tony andstarted to reassemble around them.

"And Bucky said I was too sick for this," Tonymurmured, an unholy smile crossing his face as the faceplate snapped down."Come on, baby. Let's teach them why the tower's off limits."

Roughly thirty minutes, a low growl echoed through the room.Tony glanced up just in time to see Bucky - no, the Winter Soldier stalk intothe room. Steve and Natasha were right behind him. All three of them were armedand ready to kick ass. Too bad there was no ass left to kick.

"Hey guys, you made it!" Tony chirped. "I wassharing a glass of champagne with Agent."

“No we weren't," Coulson said blandly, spoilsportthat he was. "You were filling out mission reports, and I was supervisingthe removal of Hydra agents from your living room."

"Did you steal my champagne?"Tony asked, looking around. He could've sworn that his glass had been sittingright next to the stack of papers that Coulson had shoved under his nose. Itwas now conspicuously missing and Coulson was wearing an innocent look.

"What happened? You were under attack. Are youokay?" Steve said, rapid-fire, looking like he wanted nothing more than tostrip Tony naked and examine him in close detail for wounds. Which wasn'tnearly as fun as it sounded, actually.

"I'm fine. J and I took care of them. SHIELD helped withthe rest," Tony said with a wave of his hand. "All good."

"Phil?" Natasha asked.

"Why does no one take my word for it?" Tonycomplained to no one, because Coulson, Natasha and Steve clearly weren'tlistening. And at some point during the conversation, the Winter Soldier hadslipped out of the room. A quick consultation with JARVIS - who had located andpatched the hack - revealed that the Soldier was now doing a perimeter check.

Tony wasn't going to lie. It was pretty hot watching theSoldier strut around, checking every inch of the upper floors, which wassurprising because that was the kind of behavior that would've normally pissedhim off. He was not the kind of omega that needed to be coddled. Hell, he'dtaken down over two dozen Hydra goons in less than fifteen minutes all byhimself. He was stronger than most alphas could hope to be.

There was something about Bucky, though. Something that keptTony at ease instead of raising his hackles. Maybe it was how hard Bucky hadworked to throw off Hydra's submissive conditioning. Or maybe it was how Buckyhad never uttered a word against omegas. Or maybe it was the way that Buckylooked at him sometimes, like he thought Tony was the greatest thing ever.Yeah, it was probably that last one.

He was just finishing the (stupid, ridiculous) mission reportwhen Bucky came prowling back into the room. He was more settled now, thoughfar from relaxed. Tony leaned back to look up at him and swayed, the sarcasticcomment on the tip of his tongue disappearing. Bucky grabbed his shoulder,steadying him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I keep telling you I'm fine," Tony said, eventhough he was seeing two Bucky's now. And, huh, they were both smiling at himin a way that made Tony's stomach flip.

"You look like you're about to pass out."

"That's just your imagination. I'm good." Tony stoodup to prove it. Unfortunately, his knees buckled. Bucky caught him around thewaist, chuckling.

"I never thought you'd swoon into my arms."

"Shut up. I just kicked ass after you told me I was toosick for the damn mission. I would've had less exertion if I'd been with youguys."

Bucky's smile vanished. "I know."

"Aw, hey. Don't do that. Don't get all frown-y on me.It's not your fault."

"I should've been here."

"The alarm went off. You're an Avenger. You did what youwere supposed to do," Tony said. He hadn't moved away from Bucky yet.Actually, Bucky was still supporting most of his weight. It turned out thatBucky's arms were surprisingly comfortable.

"I'm supposed to -" Bucky started, then stopped.

Tony watched him intently. "Supposed to what?"

"Supposed to protect you," Bucky said, very quietly."Protect... my omega?"

Oh. Those last two words kicked Tony right in the heart. Heswallowed. "Your omega?"

"If you wanna be," Bucky said. "The offer'sopen."

"I'm a shitty omega," Tony said, because he couldn'tkeep his mouth shut. "And I don't need protection."

"You're perfect," Bucky corrected him.

It didn't escape Tony's notice that Bucky had ignored thesecond part of his sentence, and that was a very convenient way for Tony toignore what Bucky had just said (because there were so many things wrong withsomeone thinking that Tony Stark was perfect). He eyed Bucky. "I don'tneed protection. You did hear me say that."

"You don't need it, but I'm an alpha. It's what wedo."

Tony sighed as though his heart wasn't racing. As though thethought of someone wanting to protect him didn't make himfeel giddy. "So long as we understand I don't need it. I can take care ofmyself."

"Does that mean you'd be opposed to going to bed withme?" Bucky asked.

It only took a second for Tony to put two and two together."I thought you searched the tower from top to bottom."

"I did."

But just because you knew something didn't mean you alwaysbelieved it. Bucky wasn't the only one who would sleep easier tonight if theyshared a bed. Hydra had come after the Winter Soldier a few too many times forTony's comfort, and he did not relish waking up from nightmares where Bucky waskidnapped by agents that had hidden themselves in the tower. He reached up andwrapped an arm around Bucky's neck.

"On one condition."

"Which would be?"

"If you ever use your alpha voice to bench me from amission again - and I mean ever, even if I'm so sick I canbarely walk - I'm going to put a repulsor blast in your gorgeous ass."

Bucky smiled and easily hefted Tony into his arms, ignoringTony's squawk. "Deal."

~SailorChibi

[dyernews]

Money at 30: Everything You Need to Know About Flying Allegiant Air

When my wife and I moved to Springfield, Missouri almost exactly three years ago, one of the selling points (or at least what kept it in the running) was that there was a nearby airport that served a number of destinations. Unfortunately, while it is convenient, flying out of such a small airport can also get pricey at times.  This is especially true when you’re looking to fly last minute.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine needed me to head out to Orlando with just a couple of days notice. Normally I would fly Delta, passing through Atlanta on my way to Orlando International Airport (MCO). But, with ticket prices above $700, that didn’t seem very feasible for such a short trip. Luckily I remembered that Allegiant Air — a budget airline that serves a number of markets — offered direct flights to the Orlando area. Not only would I be able to fly straight to Florida on Friday and return home on Monday but my base fare came in at less than half the price of Delta.

Of course, with Allegiant being a “no-frills” airline, the experience of booking and traveling with them is a bit different from the big guys. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know before booking your Allegiant Air flight.

Booking Your Allegiant Air Flight

One of the first things to know about flying with Allegiant Air is that you won’t find them listed on popular third-party travel sites like Expedia, Priceline, or Kayak. Instead, similar to how Southwest operates, booking for Allegiant is done exclusively on their website. Once there you can explore which destinations they service, view flight schedules, and of course book travel.

Like I said, what really attracted me to Allegiant were their fares, which start at less than $100. However these base prices can be a bit deceiving as they don’t include everything your typical airline fare would. Additionally there are a few other steps in the booking process to be aware of.

Flight schedules

There have actually been times in the past where I considered flying Allegiant to Los Angeles. Sadly this never happened because of the airline’s limited flight schedule. For example my flight to Sanford (SFB — near Orlando but about an hour away from Walt Disney World) was being offered on Friday and Monday but not on either of the days in between. Moreover there was only one flight each way each day. Thankfully this schedule worked well in this instance but you may need to adjust your travel plans a bit if you really want to save with Allegiant.

Hotel and travel offers

An interesting aspect of Allegiant’s booking process is that, in between selecting your flights and entering your personal information, you’ll be invited to book hotels, rental cars, and other travel services. Presumably Allegiant has affiliate deals in place with these various vendors, entitling them to a cut of booking profits and allowing them to keep their fares low. It would also partially explain why they shy away from listing on third-party sites.

Personally I didn’t have any need to book a hotel, although I suppose it could be convenient to have all of your travel reservations in one place. Plus, from the limited research I did, it seemed the prices Allegiant listed were in line with other travel sites. I should also note that, unlike some other sites I’ve encountered, Allegiant made it really simple to decline these extra services and get to the good stuff, as it were. So, three clicks later, I was ready to enter my info.

Entering passenger info

This next step is fairly straightforward. Here you’ll enter your name, birthdate, e-mail and other information that’s usually required by air travelers. For those with special needs or who want to travel with their pets, this is also where you can make those arrangements.

Choosing your seat

After you select your flights, made it through the additional services sections, and entered your traveler info, the next step in the Allegiant booking process is to select your seat — or not. Unlike many carriers, Allegiant’s system allows you to either pre-select a seat and incur an additional fee or have a seat assigned to you at check-in without a fee. Additionally the various seats have different values assigned to them. For example a window seat at the front of the plane with extra legroom might be close to $30 while a middle seat toward that back of the plane might only be $12 or so.

Now, you may be asking why you’d pay to book a seat all the way in the back of the plane. Well, if you’re traveling with a group and looking for a place to sit together, that may be your only option on a fast-filling flight. In fact Allegiant advises that parties wishing to sit together should select their seats in advance as there are no guarantees this will happen if the computer assigns you a complimentary seat.

Luggage and priority access

Another big difference between most major carriers and Allegiant Air is that, with the latter, you will need to pay to travel with a carry-on item. That said they do allow you to travel with a “personal item” — such as a backpack, purse, or (my personal favorite) a messenger bag — as long as you stow it under your seat. In other words, if you want to be able to store your item in the overhead, you’ll need to pay up. Naturally there are also fees in place for checked luggage as well.

The bag fees that Allegiant charges can also vary on a number of factors. For one they advise that rates are far lower when you pay your luggage fees in advance, rather than wait until you’re at the airport. These fees can also depend on where you’re flying to. In my test case, a carry-on would cost $18 each way while each item of checked luggage would add $25 to the fare. Apparently each of these fees would go up to $100 if done at the airport.

Speaking of luggage, perhaps the most stressful part of flying for me is worrying about finding overhead bin space. Heck I presume that’s a large part of the reason why frequent travelers pine for elite status and the right to board the plane early. With Allegiant, such status can be purchased for just a few dollars. In my case I was able to purchase priority access boarding — which gets you on the plane after the typical preboard — for $6.49 each way.

Wait — but since Allegiant is charging for carry-ons, wouldn’t they know how many bags were coming on board and ensure there was enough space? Probably. However that’s not to say that the open bin space you seek will be located anywhere near your assigned seat. Thus, in order to avoid a scenario where I might need to swim upstream to retrieve my bag after landing, I’ll admit that I ponied up for priority.

Selecting a boarding pass option

Yet another question that will affect your final flight price is how will you be checking in? If you plan to print your boarding pass at home or use their mobile option, you will not have to pay any additional fee. However, if you’d like to have an agent print a boarding pass for you once you arrive at the airport, this will cost you an extra $5. For me the choice was easy and I had no problems using the Allegiant app and my mobile boarding pass.

Trip Flex, changing fees, and checking out

Finally, Allegiant offers a service called Trip Flex that allows you to change your flight plans without incurring change fees. For my flight this option would have been $26. Without it, changes could only be made seven days before the flight and would result in a $75 per passenger fee. Despite the fact that I was already beyond that window when booking, I declined Trip Flex and proceeded on.

As you’d expect the last step of booking your Allegiant trip is entering your credit card information. If you’re in the market for a new credit card, you can also save a few dollars by signing up for their Allegiant card. Otherwise just enter your existing credit card info, accept the terms and conditions, and clip “purchase my trip” to seal your booking. (Bonus tip: book the flight with your Uber card and earn 3% cash back.)

Flying with Allegiant

When it comes to Allegiant Air, the differences from major carriers don’t stop with the booking process. In fact some of the most noticeable differences come when you arrive at the airport and board your flight.

Boarding process

Admittedly I didn’t become too well versed in Allegiant’s boarding process considering that I sprung for the priority access. That said it seems that they utilized boarding groups like most other airlines. When flying to Sanford, passengers would just line up once their boarding group was called but, returning from Sanford, they had a few lines already set up for each group.

The seats

Allegiant’s fleet is outfitted with leather seats that, to me, appeared to be a bit thinner on padding than most airline seats I’ve experienced. Meanwhile the legroom in my standard seat seemed about normal and posed no issue. However it should be noted that I am not a large man, neither in weight or height, so unfortunately I’m not really the right person to fully assess the comfortability of Allegiant’s seats. Still, for my less than three-hour flight, I was content.

Food and beverage

If you’re one of those travelers that can’t wait to hit cruising altitude so you can get your complimentary tomato juice, I have some bad news for your regarding Allegiant. While the airline does offer a number of snack and beverage options while on board, each of these comes at a price. For example cans of Coke go for $2 a pop (pun intended). Each of these purchases can be made with a credit card as they do not accept cash. In short, if you want to munch or sip during your flight, you might want to pack some snacks and fill a water bottle before boarding.

In-flight crew

To be honest, I had nothing but positive interactions with the gate and in-flight crew while traveling with Allegiant. In fact, on my flight home, one passenger had some medical issues arise and the crew proceeded to take good care of her, handling the whole thing very professionally. I suspect some people who aren’t prepared to pay for water or aren’t happy with where they need to stick their luggage might take it out on these crew members, which is a real shame considering what pleasant people they seemed to be.

My Impressions and Thoughts on Flying Allegiant

Overall I have to say that my experience flying Allegiant was quite positive. For one, even with the additional fees and upgrades (some of which I could have avoided), my total was still $250 less than flying Delta — and was direct (well, it was a longer Uber ride from Sanford than MCO, but still). Furthermore, as I’ve been monitoring Allegiant’s flight prices, I’ve seen tickets from Springfield to Sanford going for as little as $63 each way! With flights from here to L.A. starting at $78, it might even be worth arranging an itinerary where Allegiant takes me to LAX before boarding a flight with a different carrier to Asia or wherever.

As far as traveling on a budget airline, considering that I’m not big on eating or drinking while in flight and don’t have many leg room requirements, there was really nothing for me to dislike about my flights. That said I will say there was some noticeable wear and tear along with some dinge on the plane, but nothing rising to the level of being a turn-off.

To conclude, I’m definitely interested in flying Allegiant Air again and would likely purchase the same upgrades as I did this time around — although I might forgo a carry-on if I’m taking another short trip. On the other hand it’s nice to know that some of these add-on fees can be passed over if I so choose. For that reason I’d recommend checking out Allegiant the next time you need to fly.

The post Money at 30: Everything You Need to Know About Flying Allegiant Air appeared first on Dyer News.

[sandalwoodinvestment-blog]

Top 10 Investment Plan in Chennai

WHAT ARE THE RISKS INVOLVED IN SANDALWOOD PLANTATION AND HOW DOES SOWCARGROUP TAKE CARE OF THESE RISKS? This is a very important Question we request investors to read it thoroughly Diseases: Sowcar Group stands incomparable from the other on this very important risk factor. There are about 150 diseases/insects effecting Sandalwood saplings (If you want a complete description of the diseases and their cure click here ) however 99% of them are eradicated in the one year’s duration in the nursery specially maintained for our group. Post one year of nursery maintenance saplings are handpicked for farm cultivation. During the growth tenure one has to take special care of insects like defoliators, sapsuckers, stem borers and termites. The role of sap sucking pests belonging to the family Coccidae is very deleterious to the normal health, growth and reproduction of sandalwood plants specially as this are invisible to human naked eye and cannot be identified easily. Our expertise team is specially trained to handle this occurrence by regular monitoring of the crop and its health. a)Tamilnadu , specially Thiruvallurand surroundings are known to experience moderate climate. Sandalwood Farming survival need of climate varies between 5 degree Celsius to 50 degree Celsius. Sandalwood trees consume minimal water for its growth when compared to its counterparts. The trees need watering only 5 months in a year and at the intervals of 14 days each. The current project has water availability from 9 ft onwards. Bore-wells dug in the farm are done after a firm geological survey and are dug almost 10 times more than the current water availability. As a contingency planning ground water recharging module is implemented wherein water beds are prepared within the entire farm by digging wells upto 30 feet and filling them with layers of rocks and sand beds. As the last resort, in case of failure of all the above planning, water can be availed on subsidy from the Government canal which runs within our project. Soil fertility : The land selected for plantation go through proper soil test for their PH value. The current project at Aleru has been selected post these tests. Even in scenarios where the ph value reduces interim , our scientists have identified artificial means of substituting it. The initial test have proved Aleru and surroundings to be very fertile for Sandalwood cultivation specially (santalum album) The surrounding have living sandalwood trees aged 4-6 years in the surroundings proving its capability to cultivate Sandalwood. Mortality/Failure % : Group considers this factor as the most important factor in which the company expertises. Mortality/Failure % is very common in an unorganized farming done by freelancers, individual farmers, non agro based farmers like commercial real-estate ventures etc who fall prey to this loss. This is a long term project and people try to cut the cost at the initial levels. I.E purchasing sapling at the least cost possible without knowing the crop genetics , not concentrating on soil fertility or pre-planning for soil erosion, not spending on water harvesting or contingency planning, compromising on security parameters, compromising on the cost to take expert assistance etc Let us give you an example of what we are trying to say : let's say you have been assigned a project in hand and as per your analysis your target profit from that project is Rs 1000 and the cost to do the project is Rs 100. When you know the outcome ratio is huge when compared to the cost then it doesn’t make sense to compromise on the quality or cost which the project needs to complete successfully and risk/reduce the output. At SowcarGroup we handle this factor professionally without compromising as we are 50% share holders of the profit. The common mortality rate in our project is upto 18% which we try to further bring down by following the below mentioned parameters : SowcarGroup has a independent seed orchard designed to improve the genetics of the seed stock to produce trees of the highest quality. Superior trees are selected based on growth characteristics and oil content. These are then control pollinated to produce seed for use in the project. The saplings from this seeds are then grown in nursery for a period of 12 months before planting it into the cultivation area to further reduce the count of dead, week, infertile and impotent trees. Further, the hand pick saplings are planted in the cultivation area and a back-up saplings are still maintained on a 100 : 3 ratio to further replace dead trees by replanting until the fourth year. who is a member of SowcarGroup specializes in re-plantation of trees. Trees planted in the cultivation area are supported with rod/bamboo sticks till the 4 year to help its roots gain ground support. Labour : With the growing economy the labour availability is shrinking day by day. With easier means to earn more even farm labourers in villages are fast moving towards metros causing huge shortage of availability in farming sector. SowcarGroup handles this sensitive issue with adopting an combination of technology & ethical traditional means. Our projects adopts latest Hi-Tech equipments which reduces the manual labour by 68%. All major farm activities starting from digging holes for plantation, regular weeding of dry grass, watering the plants etc are managed by machinery reducing labour dependency. Even the drip irrigation adopted by our company can self detect and pin point any faults within it reducing supervision.. The rest of the requirement of human labour needed to do the farming is select from villages following a stern recruitment process and the selected candidates are taken on permanent payrolls of SowcarGroup with all facilities like, PF, pension, bonus and a small share in the profits. Fire: Fire normally happens in an unattended surroundings such as in wild forests. However, SowcarGroup has understood the damage capacity of such untoward incidents and has planned well in advance. The first contingency planning is done by constructing an boundary thus reducing the risk of intentional planned fire outages done on purpose. The entire farms are sealed with single point entry system into the cultivation area wherein the staff/guest are frisked for security check. The farms undergo regular process of weeding wild grass thus reducing the fast growth of fire in case of one. The drip system adopted by SowcarGroup are equipped with heat sensors which automatically start sprinkling at the top capacity when there is a sudden change in the temperature. This acts like a fire extinguisher. The entire farm is well planned with approach roads for a fire- brigade vehicle to reach any point without hindrance. The permanent staff stationed at the project are trained/equipped to handle minor fire hazards. Theft: Sandalwood theft starts from the 6th year as the tree starts showing traces of oil content and therefore we have made adequate precautions for the same. SowcarGroup spends upto 36 % of the entire project budget on security. a) A very important point to be noted is the GO passed by Govt of India. As per the GO, the individual/company possessing/farming Sandalwood trees is/are the absolute owners of the same and can enjoy the outcome of Sandalwood without restrictions. Earlier smuggling/theft prevailed as Sandalwood was considered as govt property and individuals possessing it were under illegal possession. b) 7ft walls for the entire farm with 2ft of Solar fencing form the 1st level of security making it a single point entry and a secured gated farming module. c) The entire inner layer within the boundary walls are once again sealed with a security software which has been specially designed for SowcarGroup ( Security software companies name and details will not be disclosed for security reasons.) This software security walls are designed to alert any changes in the continuity of the security chain I.E in case of any breakage at any point of the wall the security software senses the breakage and alerts. Sensing of human penetration by sensing heat. d) 24x7 security personnel staff which would be increased as per requirement and the growing age of the plant.e) The security staff stationed at the project is shuffled every 11 months as to avoid any local contact.f) Full time dog squad management from the 7th year as a contingency planning. i) Installation of vigilance cameras at key points with 24x7 recording facility. j) All above mentioned security activities to be outsourced to different vendors for a maximum period of 24 months without any scope of agreement renewals. k) Inserting of RF Ids (Radio Frequency Ids ) in the stem of all Sandalwood trees at the age of four which is invisible to naked eyes however can trace the transportation of logs in worst to worst scenarios. Loss of key role personnel: SowcarGroup's management team realizes that a long term project needs proper planning this includes back-up planning for the key role personnel. Our projects are carefully planned reducing the dependency on single individual/s by transferring knowledge to the next generation. We have a team of 12 interns from various agricultural universities who are full time employees of SowcarGroup and have undergone complete training in handling the crop module designed in case of any unforeseen events. Competitor Risk: Indian govt passing the GO for Indian citizens to cultivate/hold and enjoy Sandalwood has already made experts in Australia to draw back from re-cultivation of Indian Sandalwood as they realize the risk and competition with Indian counterparts growing Indian Sandalwood within India. Competition within India is very minimal due to various reasons like . The average per capita operational size of land holding in India is 1.33 ha, which is far below the world average of 3.7 ha per person. Further, land holdings have shown a marginal decrease from the holding size of that of a decade ago (1.41 ha) Financial capabilities of Indian Farmers which is no hidden secret. Even if our real-estate giants realize the potential of Sandalwood and start selling their plots with Sandalwood trees, their quality would be beyond the market acceptability and the outcome can only be used for the carving industry which pays the least compared to the oil content bearing trees. Small players and individual trying their hands would/might also face the same consequences of ending up their yields for the carving industry due to poor crop management , Security management, skills & expertise managements. Even if we get proper & healthy competitors Sandalwood Industry's current demand needs about 80,000 hectares of cultivation each year to meet their current demands. Demand and Supply : With the GO being realized its very obvious for individuals to take up Sandalwood farming and we at SowcarGroup invite healthy competitors as we are strongly working towards the restoration of Indian Sandalwood within India. Demand would never be effected as right on date Sandalwood needs 80,000 hectares of cultivation to effect its current demand and this demand is increasing at 18% per annum. SowcarGroup abandoning the project in midterm : This is highly impossible as we do not get profits at the beginning by selling land/s however get continuous and adequate profit right from the 3rd month of stating the project till the project ends. As a company SowcarGroup would continue doing Sandalwood Farming year after year thus capturing the Sandalwood market from the fifteenth year and thereafter. As income is shared on 50:50 ratio the company will continue to retain interest and monitor the farming process in the best possible manner. The profit volume increases as the years pass and therefore reduces the risk of abandoning the project in midterm. Insolvency of SowcarGroup: SowcarGroup is a well planned establishment with strong financial background. As a company we have the financial capabilities of doing Independent farming without external funding. The project is planned to be self funded for all its maintenance costs as Sandalwood farming needs host plants at various levels which manage continuous funding for management. The project design is so made that the funding for END to END farming is collected from the investors right in the beginning to overcome any cash delinquencies from the investors. Experts involvement and their compensation has been well planned so as to sustain their continued interest in the project. Read the full article

[cubaverdad]

Why We Don’t Have A Lech Walesa In Cuba

Why We Don't Have A Lech Walesa In Cuba / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 27 January 2017 — I recently had the opportunity to participate as guest in a forum held at Florida International University. Among other topics, the issue of labor rights in Cuba and the role of journalism in the defense of these rights were discussed. At first glance, the proposal does not seem incongruous. The relationship between journalism and workers in the struggle for the exercise of labor rights in Cuba had its beginnings as far back as the second half of the nineteenth century, when the first trade union periodicals of the region were founded in Cuba – La Aurora and El Artesano – (Castellanos, 2002), an indication of both the worker's recognition of the importance of the press and the timely proficiency they developed in union organization. On the other hand, labor rights of domestic workers is one of the most recurrent and polarized issues of current official and independent Cuban journalism, though from two opposite ends. Contrary to the official monopoly of the press, in charge of praising the supposed guarantees of the State-Party-Government labor rights – though the new Labor Code does not even recognize such universal achievements as the right to strike, free recruitment and free association – the independent, press denounces the constant violations of all rights, including the most basic one: earning a deserved living wage. Numerous independent journalists have addressed the issue of labor rights. Among them are the articles of historical analysis on the Cuban trade union movement, its achievements and errors, developed by the researcher Dimas Castellanos, some of which are cited here. However, while the independent journalism sector has had the most sustained growth within the Cuban pro-democratic civil society in the last decade, its scope and real possibilities should not be overestimated. Much less can we hope that the press works the miracle of transforming society separate from the human beings who compose it. Journalism can support and complement the actions of individuals in their struggle for the full exercise of their most legitimate rights, but it cannot assume the functions of the institutions that those same individuals must create. Neither is it capable of changing reality all on its own. Thus, just as the triumphalist discourse of the official press does not turn into practice the rights it touts as "conquests of the Revolution," neither is the independent press able to function as an intangible union, apart from the collective workers. Unions, as organizations created to defend workers' interests from employers (State, managers, companies), cannot be replaced by the press or, as in the case of Cuba, by the State. It is worth noting that nor is it the role of the (marginal) political parties of the opposition is not to assume such a demanding mission, especially considering that, under the Castro regime, opponents don't usually have any labor ties nor have they have successfully influenced large sectors of the population, and even less so in workers' State or private labor collectives. In other words, the demand for labor rights is the responsibility, first and foremost, of the workers themselves within the extent of their groups, as subjects with the capacity to organize spontaneously and autonomously in defense of their interests as a group, developing a strong trade union movement capable of dealing with the powers that restrain those rights. It is the essential premise for the press – in this case, the independent press – to expand, thus increasing the effect of the workers' labor demands or for the opposition to rely on trade union movements. The working social base is so significant in mobilizing changes that a prominent union leader who counts on its support could become a political leader, such as the well-known case of Lech Walesa, or the well-known union leaders of the Latin American left, Lula Da Silva and Evo Morales, who eventually reached the presidency of their respective countries. But the inverse does not take place: political leaders do not usually become trade union leaders. In fact, the powerful Solidarity trade union, with its effectiveness in overthrowing the puppet government of Moscow in Poland and putting an end to the so-called "real socialism" in that country, is an essential reference point when we are talking about which path the Cuban transition should follow: A great working organization with strong leadership, able to face and bend the Power. Regrettably, such practice is not possible in Cuba, where sufficiently strong or autonomously organized labor groups in key positions in the economy do not exist, where the relatively better paid jobs are in the hands of joint venture foreign capital companies and in those of local, dominant military caste where, in addition, the deep national and civic feeling characteristic of the Polish peoples has never existed. This leads directly to the historical fragility of the civil society in Cuba, demolished completely, especially in the 60 years after the arrival of the Castros to power, and hijacked by the leaders of the Revolution to put it at their service, subordinating it to the ideology of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). The official policy of manipulating the different social organizations, which operated autonomously and were self-financed before 1959, has abolished the possibility of the existence of true trade unionism in Cuba, whose dependence on the political will of the Government is equally evident, since numerous calls for plenary meetings and "workers" congresses stem from the Political Bureau of the PCC and not from so-called trade union organizations, and the workers' laws and "rights" are also stipulated by the political power. But even though political manipulation of Cuban trade unionism became absolute after the "revolutionary triumph," pre-1959 alliances of some trade union leaders with political parties had already strongly undermined the trade union movement, detracting from its autonomy, undermining its foundations and fragmenting it into its structures. This is how Castellanos summarizes it in one of his writings on the subject: "The subordination of trade union associations to political parties, which began in 1925, intensified in the 1940's with the struggle between workers in the Authentic and Communist Parties for control of the labor movement. In 1952, when Eusebio Mujal, then General Secretary of the labor movement, after ordering the general strike against that year's coup d'etat, ended up accepting an offer from Batista in exchange for preserving the rights acquired by the CTC*." (Castellanos, 2013) The death of Cuban trade syndicates was sealed in 1959, when the CTC was dissolved and replaced by the (CTC-R). The 10th Congress of the workers' organization took place that year, and its Secretary General, David Salvador Manso, said during his speech that "workers had not attended the Congress to raise economic demands but to support the Revolution." At the 11th Congress, held in November 1961, the loss of autonomy of trade unionism was enshrined, when delegates renounced almost all the historical achievements of the labor movement, among others, the 9 days of sick leave, the supplementary Christmas bonus, the 44-hour work week, the right to strike and a raise of 9.09%. The CTC became, in fact, a mechanism of government control of the workers. (Ibid) Needless to say this has been maintained until now, with the aggravating fact that the Cuban autocratic regime has achieved the positive recognition of all the international organizations responsible for ensuring compliance with labor rights, which increases Cuban workers' hopelessness. In fact, far from improving the situation, the exploitation of Cuban workers has diversified and consolidated since the arrival in Cuba of foreign-funded enterprises – which employ Cuban workers indirectly, entirely through contracts signed with the State rather than with the workers themselves – and with the leasing of professionals, especially health workers, who are sent abroad under collaborative projects in countries allied to the Castro regime. Raúl Castro's rise to the head of the government, as successor to his brother, the so-called historic leader of the revolution, seemed to open a brief period of expectations, encouraged by a reformist speech followed by a set of measures meant to bend the extreme centralism in Cuba's domestic economy. Such measures allowed for the emergence of small sectors of private entrepreneurs, grouped under the generic name "self-employed," which have faced a number of constraints – such as high taxation, harassment by corrupt inspectors, absence of wholesale markets to provide their businesses, among others – and initially constituted an opportunity to encourage autonomous venues that could eventually pave the way for the emergence of groups of workers organized in defense of their interests, independent of the State. However, the private workers were quickly absorbed by the government's political officials who run the sole Cuban workers pivotal labor shop. The self-employed also meekly accepted the official "unionization" that represents the interests of the boss: the tower of power. Thus, though Cuba has been a signatory of the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenants since 2008 – which recognize, among others, the right to work and the choice of employment – and the Civil and Political Rights Convenants – whose written text includes freedom of the Press, expression, association and assembly, which are also essential for the existence of trade syndicates – there are no real trade union organizations in the country or areas of freedom to make them possible. The Cuban government has not ratified the signatures of these Covenants, and United Nations officials responsible for ensuring compliance with their contents are often extremely complacent with the Cuban authorities. A long road traveled and a longer one yet to go In spite of the historical shortcomings of Cuban civil society, the reality is that labor movements demanding workers' rights began relatively early in Cuba. The strength achieved by the workers during the Republican period, organized and grouped in unions, determined political transformations as important as Gerardo Machado's departure from power after a powerful workers strike that paralyzed the country. During the same period, collective bargaining was another struggle method that gave trade unions the ability to influence the enactment of laws based on workers' demands. Politicians recognized in the working masses a social fiber so powerful that the governments of Grau San Martin, Carlos Mendieta, and Federico Laredo Bru promoted labor legislation that included such rights as the eight-hour day, labor striking, paid and maternity leave, and collective bargaining. (Decrees 276 and 798 of April of 1938). (Castellanos, 2002) Later, the 1940 Constitution legally recognized the results of previous years' union struggles by dedicating 27 articles of Title VI to the collective and individual rights of workers. These ranged from the minimum wage to pensions due to the death of the worker. Paradoxically, once the government "of the poor, with the poor and for the poor" came to power, not only were unions lost by a stroke of the pen and absorbed by the new dictatorship of a supposed military "proletariat", but Chapter VI of the 1976 Constitution reduced labor rights to six minimal articles, omitting almost all the gains of the trade union movement of the previous periods, endorsed in the Constitutions of 1901 and 1940. Currently, the Cuban socio-political and economic situation is extremely complex. Not only because an economic crisis has taken root permanently, but there has been a wave of layoffs and no salaries in Cuba are sufficient to even acquire basic foodstuffs. Social actors capable of reversing that scenario cannot be found in our country. The opposition has proposed a few attempts for independent unions. However, such proposals have not made progress, not only because of the repression that is exerted against any manifestation of dissidence within Cuba, but because these alternatives have no social bases or real support. In fact, since they are marginalized by the system, Cuban opponents do not usually have any labor ties – if they had held a state job they would generally have been fired — so they have no chance of representing Cuban workers. The constant Cuban exodus, mainly composed of working age individuals, is another factor that contributes to the weakening of the work force, the result of the system itself but one whose solution is already beyond the reach of a government to which any deep change might cost the loss of its power. So far, it does not seem that the vicious circle that keeps Cuban workers and the whole of society in a motionless state will be broken in the short term. The road to recovery will be long and tortuous, and will only begin when the omnipotent power that has hijacked the nation for almost 60 years disappears. Because without rights, there will be no unions, and without unions there will be no force capable of legitimately representing the interests of that endangered species that was once called "the Cuban workers." *(CTC): The Central Union of Cuban Workers [Central de Trabajadores de Cuba] originated as the Confederation of Cuban Workers [Confederación de Trabajadores de Cuba] in 1939. The original leaders of the organization were forced to flee after Castro's seizure of power in 1959. Translated by Norma Whiting Source: Why We Don't Have A Lech Walesa In Cuba / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya – Translating Cuba - http://ift.tt/2jnaqfE via Blogger http://ift.tt/2kMyi8P