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The name Ayyappan (sometimes spelled as Ayyappa or Aiyappan) may be related to the similar sounding ancient term Arya. The Sanskrit term Arya (Pali: Ariya) is found in ancient texts of Hinduism and Buddhism, where it means the "spiritually noble, extraordinary, precious ones

Ayyappan is the Hindu god of growth, particularly popular in Kerala. He is a syncretic deity, the son of Shiva and Mohini – the female avatar of Vishnu. Ayyappan is also referred to as Ayyappa, Sastavu, Hariharaputra, Manikanta, Shasta or Dharma Shasta.

The iconography of Ayyappan depicts him as a handsome celibate god doing yoga and as an epitome of Dharma, who wears a bell around his neck. In the Hindu pantheon, his legends are relatively recent but diverse. For some, he is also an incarnation of the Buddha. He is honored by some Muslims in Kerala, with legends wherein Ayyappan defeats and gains worship of the Muslim brigand Vavar. In the Hindu tradition popular in the Western Ghats of India, he was born with the powers of Shiva and Vishnu to confront and defeat the shape shifting evil Buffalo demoness Mahishasuri. He was raised by a childless royal couple, and grows up as a warrior yogi champion of ethical and dharmic living. In the South Indian version, Ayyappan images show him as riding a tiger, but in some places such as Sri Lanka he is shown as riding a white elephant.

Ayyappan popularity has grown in many parts of India, and the most prominent Ayyappan shrine is at Sabarimala, nestled in the hills of Pathanamthitta of Kerala. The shrine receives millions of pilgrims every year in late December and early January, many of whom prepare for weeks before and then climb the hill barefoot, making it one of the largest active pilgrimage sites in the world. The pilgrimage attracts a wide range of devotees, from diverse social or economic backgrounds, except women in their fertile age given Ayyappan is believed to be the celibate deity. Ayyappan may share a historical relationship with the Tamil deity Aiyanar. The most significant festival linked to him is the Makaravilakku (Makara Sankranti), observed around the winter solstice.

A case registered by police in October claimed the photograph was “sexually explicit” and “wounded the religious feelings of Lord Ayyappa’s devotees”. Her attempts to prevent her arrest failed this week and she was remanded in custody on Tuesday.

The controversy over the temple has tested the limits of the power of the judiciary to intervene in religious affairs, as well as its ability to enforce the decision: both the BJP and Congress party in Kerala have declined to support the state’s Communist government in enforcing the law.

Those who want to ban women from the temple say Ayyappa was known for his celibacy, and that the presence of menstruating women is a profane incursion on a holy site. 

Fathima’s husband told the Times of India: “We don’t understand how a woman’s photo showing her knee would be anti-religious in a country where naked saints are worshipped.” They are applying for bail.

Does anyone on this forum live near this area? Can you share some of the details of how this has changed daily life over there? I can't even imagine what it must be like to live in such an "outbreak".

I think this really is terrifying for other countries to watch.

Is there a reason why this area in Africa seems to get hit while other parts of the world are not?

Both of you above are telling the truth.

I heard on the radio that AWS will no longer be using Intel chips exclusively for its cloud services.

This could end up being a BIG deal down the road.

After charming the crowd at its annual conference for cloud-lovers (any nephologists in the house?), Amazon (+6.09%) got some bullish reviews. One Jefferies analyst said its Amazon Web Services cloud business could be worth $350 billion by 2022.

Well... hard to believe so much time has passed.

This is so true. 

Found the answer:

"So that the hamburger hangs over the side of the bun" - Dave Thomas

I also found this:

Wendy's signature beef patty is famously never frozen, and square in shape. Founder Dave Thomas instilled in the company the importance of not cutting corners. That symbolism is conveyed in the patties.

I saw this asked on another site without an answer..... and I'm not exactly sure myself. 

FCStone borrowed on margin against the accounts to cover money-losing positions. In the end, the clients didn’t just lose all their all their money, they also now owe FCStone for the loans, he said.

This is what wikipedia has about him:

In November 2018, John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old American evangelist from Vancouver, Washington, travelled illegally to North Sentinel Island with the help of local fishermen in hopes of making contact with the Sentinelese and converting them to Christianity. According to First Post India, he had made several prior visits to the Andaman Islands.

On 14 November, Chau hired a fishing boat and crew in Port Blair, South Andaman Island, to travel to North Sentinel Island. He paid the fishermen ₹25,000 (about USD384) to transport him to the island. According to police, he waited until nightfall to start his journey to avoid detection by authorities.

On 15 November, Chau attempted his first visit to North Sentinel island, and the fishing boat took him around 500–700m from the shore. The fishermen warned Chau not to go further, but he continued his journey to the shore alone in a kayak, carrying a Bible. The islanders attacked him with bows and arrows as he reached the shore, but he kept walking. He returned to the boat later that day with arrow injuries. He wrote about his visit on 15 November and said the islanders were angry with his visit while he had attempted to sing worship songs to them.

On 16 November, Chau made a second attempt to land with a kayak. Before leaving the boat, he gave the fisherman a long note addressed to his family, saying that he believed Jesus had given him the strength to go to the most forbidden places on Earth and that "You guys might think I’m crazy in all this but I think it’s worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people." During this attempt, the Sentinelese broke his kayak, after which he swam back to the boat. Chau had told the fishermen he did not plan to return from the island with them and instructed them to leave without him.

On 17 November, Chau visited the island again and did not return. The fishermen who had transported him to the island reported that they later saw the islanders attaching a rope around his neck and dragging his body, whereupon the fishermen fled. They returned on 18 November and saw Chau's body on the shore.

The fishermen reported his death to a local preacher and friend, who called his family in the United States. The family called the United States Embassy in New Delhi. Following this contact, Indian authorities arrested seven fishermen who, as of November 2018, may face a number of charges including being accessories to Chau's homicide. No charges can be brought by India against Sentinelese islanders. Indigenous tribes human rights group Survival International said it was possible that Chau had infected the tribe with pathogens to which they have no genetic immunity, "with the potential to wipe out the entire tribe".

A 27-year-old American Christian missionary is killed upon landing on North Sentinel Island in an effort to convert the indigenous Sentinelese people. He is the first person killed by the isolated islanders since two Indian nationals in 2006

After ten consecutive draws, a record for the 132-year-old championship, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana are tied 5 points each in the best-of-12-games match. 

Lee Jae-rock, a South Korean pastor and leader of Manmin Central Church, is sentenced to 15 years in prison over 42 counts of sexual harassment and sexual assault against eight of his followers. According to the Seoul Central District Court, the victims could not resist his advances "due to their absolute faith in the infallibility of the accused."

At least 26 Afghan security forces are killed and 50 are wounded by a suicide blast in a mosque inside an army base in Khost Province, Afghanistan. 

Some local leader commenting on the bombing via youtube. I can't understand him but ... well.... the news like this seem endlessly sad.

I can't understand her.... but I can hear the sadness in her voice:

I can't understand the report... but the footage is there.

An explosion kills at least 35 people and wounds at least 55 at a market in Kalaya, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. 

Pakistan is having a busy week In the news....

Rain over the Thanksgiving holiday largely extinguished the deadly Camp Fire in Northern California, but the wet weather is bringing with it the threat of mudslides and is hampering recovery efforts. The Camp Fire is blamed for at least 84 deaths.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (Urdu: بلوچستان لبریشن آرمی‎; abbreviated BLA), also known as the Baloch Liberation Army is a Baloch militant organization based in Pakistanand Afghanistan. The BLA is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and the United Kingdom, while the U.S. Department of State has described its actions as terrorism. Since 2004 the BLA has waged an armed struggle against the state of Pakistan for what it claims as equal rights and self-determination for the Baloch people in Pakistan, who it claims have been subjected to repression for decades. The BLA is operating mainly in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan where it carries out attacks against the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Baloch Liberation Army became publicly known during the summer of 2000, after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on Pakistani authorities

(23 Nov 2018) Armed separatists stormed the Chinese Consulate in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Friday, triggering an intense hour-long shootout during which two Pakistani civilians, two police officers and all three assailants were killed.