Predominantly rural, with limited natural resources, the economy of Senegal gains most of its foreign exchange from fish, groundnuts and services. The agricultural sector of Senegal is vulnerable to variations in rainfall and changes in world commodity prices; the former capital of French West Africa, is home to banks and other institutions which serve all of Francophone West Africa, is a hub for shipping and transport in the region. Senegal has one of the best developed tourist industries in Africa. Senegal depends on foreign assistance, it is a member of the World Trade Organization. The GDP per capita of Senegal shrank by 1.30% in the 1960s. However, it registered a peak growth of 158% in the 1970s, still expanded 43% in the turbulent 1980s. However, this proved unsustainable and the economy shrank by 40% in the 1990s. Since the January 1994 CFA franc devaluation, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, other multilateral and creditors have been supporting the Government of Senegal’s structural and sectoral adjustment programs.

The broad objectives of the program have been to facilitate growth and development by reducing the role of government in the economy, improving public sector management, enhancing incentives for the private sector, reducing poverty. In January 1994, Senegal undertook a radical economic reform program at the behest of the international donor community; this reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been dismantled as another economic reform; this currency devaluation had severe social consequences, because most essential goods were imported. Overnight, the price of goods such as milk, rice and machinery doubled; as a result, Senegal suffered a large exodus, with many of the most educated people and those who could afford it choosing to leave the country. After an economic contraction of 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with a growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2004.

Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. Senegal still relies upon outside donor assistance, however. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral and private sector debt, contingent on the completion of privatization program proposed by the government and approved by the IMF; the fishing sector has replaced the groundnut sector as Senegal's export leader. Its export earnings reached U. S.$239 million in 2000. The industrial fishing operations struggle with high costs, Senegalese tuna is losing the French market to more efficient Asian competitors. Phosphate production, the second major foreign exchange earner, has been steady at about U. S.$95 million. Exports of peanut products reached U. S. represented 11 % of total export earnings.

Receipts from tourism, the fourth major foreign exchange earner, have picked up since the January 1994 devaluation. In 2000, some 500,000 tourists visited Senegal. Senegal’s new Agency for the Promotion of Investment plays a pivotal role in the government’s foreign investment program, its objective is to increase the investment rate from its current level of 20.6% to 30%. There are no restrictions on the transfer or repatriation of capital and income earned, or investment financed with convertible foreign exchange. Direct U. S. investment in Senegal remains about U. S.$38 million in petroleum marketing, pharmaceuticals manufacturing and banking. Economic assistance, about U. S.$350 million a year, comes from France, the IMF, the World Bank, the United States. Canada, Italy and Germany provide assistance. Senegal has well-developed though costly port facilities, a major international airport serving 23 international airlines, direct and expanding telecommunications links with major world centers. With an external debt of U.

S.$2,495 million, with its economic reform program on track, Senegal qualified for the multilateral debt relief initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. Progress on structural reforms is on track, but the pace of reforms remains slow, as delays occur in implementing a number of measures on the privatization program, good governance issues, the promotion of private sector activity. Macroeconomic indicators show that Senegal turned in a respectable performance in meeting IMF targets in 2000: annual GDP growth increased to 5.7%, compared to 5.1% in 1999. Inflation was reported to be 0.7% compared to 0.8% in 1999, the current account deficit was held at less than 6% of GDP. Senegalese trade unions include The National Confederation of Senegalese Workers and its affiliate the Dakar Dem Dikk Workers Democratic Union, The Democratic Union of Senegalese Workers, The General Confederation Of Democratic Workers Of Senegal and the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Senegal. Mean wages were $0.99 per man-hour in 2009.

Senegal's corporations are included in the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA, a regional stock exchange serving the following eight West African countries, located in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Organization of African Unity /Africa Union The Franc Zone The Lomé Convention Economic Community of West African States Union économique et monétaire O

Common names: Piraja's lancehead. Bothrops pirajai is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae; the species is endemic to Brazil. There are no subspecies; the specific name, pirajai, is in honor of Brazilian parasitologist Pirajá da Silva, who in 1923 was director of the Bahia branch of the Instituto Butantan. The maximum total length recorded for B. pirajai is 137 cm. It is terrestrial. B. pirajai is found in Brazil in southern Bahia. It may occur in Minas Gerais; the type locality given is "Ilheos, Brazil". The species B. pirajai is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List for the following criteria: A1c. This means that it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered, but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future due to population reduction in the form of an observed, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat.

The rainforest inhabited by this species is decreasing in area and quality, while becoming fragmented through deforestation. The areas that have been cleared are being used for cocoa plantations. List of crotaline species and subspecies Bothrops by common name Bothrops by taxonomic synonyms Crotalinae by common name Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms Snakebite Amaral A. "New Genera and Species of Snakes". Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club 8: 85-105.. Bothrops pirajai at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2 September 2007

Vitan Sud Beej is an anthology of poems written by Ramesh Parekh in the Gujarati language. The book won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1994; the book was published in 1989 by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. The poems in this book were included in Chha Aksharnu Naam, the complete works of Ramesh Parekh, published by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi; the book consists of 59 ghazals. It includes the poem "Ek Sanyukta Geet", composed in collaboration with Anil Joshi, the Gujarati author, on 6 October 1985; the book was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award of 1994 from New Delhi. It received the Rajkumar Bhuvalka Award from Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, Culcutta

"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released on his album Highway 61 Revisited. It was recorded on July 29, 1965; the song was included on an early, European Dylan compilation album entitled Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 2. An earlier, alternate version of the song has been released, in different takes, beginning with the appearance of one take on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 1961–1991 in 1991. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" has been covered by numerous artists, including The Grateful Dead, Super Session featuring Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills, The Allman Brothers Band, Marianne Faithfull, Jerry Garcia, Stephen Stills, Iain Matthews, Leon Russell, Little Feat, Chris Smither, Taj Mahal, Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Tracy Nelson, Blue Cheer & Bun E. Carlos; the version of the song on Highway 61 Revisited is an acoustic/electric blues song, one of three blues songs on the album. It is made up of lines taken from older blues songs combined with Dylan's own lyrics.

Rather than the aggression of some of the other songs Dylan wrote during this time, "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" reflects world-weary resignation. The imagery is sexual, the song can be interpreted as an allegory of someone, sexually frustrated. Dylan would return to similar images and suggestions in songs, such as "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" and "Señor"; this version was recorded on July 29, 1965, the same day that Dylan recorded "Positively 4th Street" and "Tombstone Blues". Musically, the song has a lazy tempo driven by lazy-slap drumming with a shuffling beat and slight emphasis on the offbeat from session drummer Bobby Gregg. There is a barrelhouse piano part played by Paul Griffin, a raunchy bass part played by Harvey Brooks, an electric guitar part played by Mike Bloomfield and an unusual harmonica part. Dylan played the album version of the song live for the first time as part of his set in the August 1971 Concert for Bangladesh; the earlier version of the song went by the title "Phantom Engineer".

This version has four lines of different lyrics. It was recorded on June 1965, the same day that recording of "Like a Rolling Stone" began. Different takes of the June 15 version may be heard on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 1961–1991, The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home, the 2-disc version of The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966. Take 1 of the song, released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 and on Dylan's Vevo channel, is played in a more moderately paced, brooding arrangement, before Dylan and the musicians settled on a more upbeat version. On The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 and The Bootleg Series Vol. 12, the version is a speedy bouncing blues with a signature guitar riff being played on each bar and a fast clicking organ. This alternate version was played as part of Dylan's controversial electric set, backed by members of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Al Kooper, at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965, after "Maggie's Farm". After being heckled during the electric set, during "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry", by fans who wanted Dylan to play acoustic folk music, Dylan returned to play acoustic versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue".

The Newport performance of "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" features jamming by guitarist Bloomfield and organist Al Kooper. Kooper preferred the alternate version to the version; the Newport performance was released in 2018 on Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections. A November 1975 performance of the song from Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour was released on the 2002 album The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue. In 2019, that performance and three other live renditions of the song from the same tour were released on the box set The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings. Steely Dan borrowed a line from the song. In a 2005 poll of artists reported in Mojo, "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" was listed as the #87 all time Bob Dylan song. Lyrics

The Dream of Akinosuke is a Japanese folktale, made famous outside Japan by Lafcadio Hearn's translation of the story in Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. The story is said to bring together several strands of Japanese folklore, including the fact that insects can manipulate the human soul; the Dream of Akinosuke references Horai, another Japanese folktale recorded by Hearn in Kwaidan. It is evidently derived from a Japanese adaptation of the Tang dynasty tale, The Governor of Nanke, by Li Gongzuo. However, there are some significant differences; the Dream of Akinosuke tells of a gōshi living in feudal Japan. Akinosuke takes a nap under a great cedar tree in his garden. One day, Akinosuke is sitting under this tree and chatting with friends, when he becomes tired, falls asleep. Upon waking, he finds himself still under the tree. Coming toward him, Akinosuke sees a great royal procession, full of richly dressed attendants; the procession approaches him, informs him that the King of Tokoyo requests his presence at his court.

Akinosuke agrees to accompany the procession, when he arrives at the palace, he is invited before the King. To his astonishment, the King offers Akinosuke his daughter in marriage, the two are wed immediately. A few days the King tells Akinosuke that he is being sent to be the governor of an island province. Together with his beautiful wife, Akinosuke goes to the island, rules it for many years; the island is idyllic, with bountiful crops and no crime, Akinosuke's wife bears him seven children. However, one day, without warning, Akinosuke's wife dies; the grieving Akinosuke goes to great trouble to hold a proper funeral, he erects a large monument in his wife's memory. After some time, a message arrives from the King, saying that Akinosuke will be sent back to where he came from, telling him not to worry about his children, as they will be well cared for; as Akinosuke sails away from the island, it disappears, he is shocked to find himself sitting under the cedar tree, his friends still chatting as if nothing has happened.

Akinosuke recounts his dream. One of his friends tells him that he was only asleep for a few moments, but while he was asleep, something strange happened: a yellow butterfly seemed to come from Akinosuke's mouth; the butterfly was taken under the cedar tree. Just before Akinosuke awoke, the butterfly reappeared from under the tree, his friends wonder if the butterfly could have been Akinosuke's soul, the group decides to investigate. Under the cedar tree, they find a great kingdom of ants, which Akinosuke realizes was the kingdom he visited in his dream. Looking for his island home, he finds a separate nest, investigating further, he finds a small stone that resembles a burial monument. Digging beneath it, he finds a small female ant buried in a clay coffin. Japanese mythology Kwaidan Rip van Winkle Hearn, Lafcadio. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-4-8053-0750-2. Available online. "SaruDama: Kwaidan - The Dream of Akinosuke". Retrieved March 14, 2006. Young, Karl.

"5 Kwaidan: Ghosts and Sleeve Pages". Retrieved March 16, 2006

"Punish Me with Kisses" is the second single by the Glove from their album Blue Sunshine. Released in 1983 by Wonderland Records/Polydor; the Glove were a side project for Robert Smith of the Cure and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees. The song was recorded in 1983 while Smith was a member of the Banshees, featured future Banshees keyboardist Martin McCarrick and new Cure drummer Andy Anderson; the band performed. The release of the single went unnoticed at the time, because both the Cure and the Banshees had just released their most successful singles to date; the song was co-written by Severin. In a review for the Blue Sunshine album for the Spanish-language magazine Muzikalia, critic Manuel Pinazo described this song and "Like an Animal" as having echoes of Syd Barrett. While Toronto Star, critic Ben Rayner described the song as a "more straightforward post-punk cut". In a review of the 2006 reissue of the Blue Sunshine album, which included a remix of the song, PopMatters editor Adam Besenyodi said that the depth of the album version "is lost on the Mike Hedges mix, where the full orchestration is supplanted with a tinnier sound".

"Punish Me with Kisses" "The Tightrope" Steven Severin - bass Robert Smith - guitar Jeanette Landray - vocals Martin McCarrick - keyboards, strings Ginny Hewes - strings Anne Stephenson - strings Andy Anderson - drums Riverside TV Performance on YouTube - from Steve Severin's YouTube channel