HATE SPEECH and SOUTH ASIAN REALITY
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 179
Palash Biswas
Attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore changes everything
Telegraph.co.uk - 37 minutes ago
As the news of the horrific terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan reached the England team on tour in the West Indies it was impossible to avoid the feeling that though the game will survive, everything will be different as a ...
Sri Lanka against moves to isolate Pakistan Hindustan Times
Sri Lanka hopes Lahore attackers will be brought to book Hindu
NDTV.com - Press Trust of India - AFP - Rediff
all 14,697 news articles »
Calcutta Telegraph
Kylie refused to meet SRK
Times of India - 9 hours ago
Australian pop sensation, Kylie Minogue was in India for just a week but she has ruffled quite a few feathers. The latest is that she refused to meet superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
We are living in an uncertain world: Shah Rukh Khan SamayLive
When Kylie Minogue refused to meet Shah Rukh Khan! Zee News
Oneindia - IBNLive.com - Hindustan Times - Galatta.com
all 36 news articles »
हिंदी में
A Royal launch to troubled IPL 2
Times Now.tv - 5 hours ago
There is a toss up of dates if the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the owner of the Rajasthan Royals - Shilpa Shetty - gets into a launch mode.
Strict demands puts IPL matches in jeopardy Times of India
IPL hope with home price Calcutta Telegraph
Cricketnext.com - Hindu - Xinhua - The Statesman
all 725 news articles »
हिंदी में
allows SC hearing on clash to continue
Express Buzz - 3 hours ago
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said the hearing by a three-judge Bench of the Madras High Court to decide whether a judicial inquiry into the February 19 clash between advocates and the police was required would continue.
“It is open to High Court to order judicial probe” Hindu
New CJ to face task of settling unrest in court Times of India
All India Radio - Calcutta Telegraph - Indian Express - News Today
all 108 news articles »
Geert Wilders Prosecuted for Hate Speech, Long live Freedom of Speech!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcW-_TVfxAs&feature=channel
NDTV's Hate Speech: Abuses Gujarati Indians
Indianmediazoom notes that NDTV made hate speech against Gujarati Indians. Check the video at 0:47. This video exposes NDTV's hypocrisy. NDTV abused Gujrati Indians as "traditionally effete people"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2C-vMPOuaY
Hate speech
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action[citation needed] against a person or group of people based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language ability, ideology, social class, occupation, appearance (height, weight, hair color, etc.), mental capacity, and any other distinction that might be considered by some as a liability. The term covers written as well as oral communication and some forms of behaviors in a public setting[citation needed]. It is also sometimes called antilocution[citation needed] and is the first point on Allport's scale which measures prejudice in a society. Critics have claimed that the term "Hate Speech" is a modern example of Newspeak, used to silence critics of social policies that have been poorly implemented in a rush to appear politically correct[1][2][3].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech
An anonymous reader writes "The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that bloggers cannot shelter under an escape clause such as 'Any views expressed are solely those of the writers' to exercise freedom of speech in discussions and statements online. The ruling comes in response to an anti-defamation case filed against a 19 year old student's Orkut community, commenting upon the right-wing political organization Shiv Sena. This organization is based in the western state of Maharashtra and has been responsible for inflammatory speeches and numerous attacks upon non-Maharashtrians." The article does not make it entirely clear whether the student owner is himself accused of defamatory speech, or only commenters posting on his site. His defense that an Orkut community is not equivalent to a public forum was denied.
FREE SPEECH has no SPACE in ASIA but the FASCISTS have every right and space for HATE SPEECH and the HATE SPEECH is often glorified as RELIGION, FOLK, TRADITION, NATIONALITY, NATIONALISM and PATRIOTISM, Literature and ART. While the despised Indigenous aboriginal Minority communities have no space to express themselves. SPACE created on ALTERNATIVE SITES as in NET, are BLOCKED often!
It is ELECTION Time. It is WARTIME. It is TROUBLED TIME.It is HIGH TECHNOLOGY Time.
With its Dalit voter-base intact, it may also garner more votes because of fragmentation of other parties' vote banks.. WITH THE Lok Sabha Elections 2009 ...Media has launched a MISINFORMATION campaign against the SC, ST, OBC, Minority leaders and projects POLARISATION in between NDA and UPA to deny MAYAWATI whatosoever OPPORTUNITY. HIGH CASTE HATE SPPECH never condemned. As anti RESERVATION Movement showed the way!
Hindu Mahasabha Performed well launching a HATE SPEECH Campaign against MUSLIMS in EAST Bengal creating the SPACE for TWO NATION Theory, Muslim league and PARTITION Holocaust.
SO Called father of the Nation termed the UNTOUCHABLES as HARIJAN what means BATARD! It was official after INDEPENDENCE to isolate and persecute SC communities, majority of Indian population!
Human Civilisation licks the BUM of Vulgarity.
Illuminity rules the Globe with MIND CONTROL and BRAIN WASHING! Mass destruction is the general Agenda to capture the GALAXIES!
Good EARTH is ruled by the Global Order of Post Manusmriti Apartheid ORDER run by Brahaminical Hindutva, Zionism and US Corporate Imperialism. CORE ZIONIST ECONOMY has taken over the Periphery Political economies of the Colonies.
INDIGENOUS ABORIGINAL People do rise against the HEGEMONIES all over the WORLD.
But We the people entrapped and ENSLAVED in SOUTH ASIAN GEOPOLITICS dare not to involve ourselves in whatsoever RESISTANCE.
AGE OLD MANUSMRITI Rule and Graded caste System based on Untouchablity has divided us in castes, communities, languages , nationalities, races, slasses and creeds.
We use HATE SPEECH against each OTHER in full capacity with excellent EXPERTISE.
Caste NAMES as CHAMAR, BHAGI, DOM, CHANDAL, Harijan, MEHTAR, MAHAR, PASI, Mallah, KOIRI, and so on are used FREELY as HATE SPEECH despite the claim of ABOLISH UNTOUCHABILITY! MAAYAWATI, MULAYAM, RAM BILAS, AMBEDKAR, JOGENDRA NATH MANDAL, KANTI BISWAS, Nitish kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sharad Yadav, BSP, REPUBLICAN PRTY, BAMCEF, PHULE, MATUA, DALIT,BODHI, BHIKSHU, FATHER, NUN, MIAN, MULLA, KATUA, CABBAGE, SIKH, SARDAR, BANGALI SHARNAARTHEE, ADIVASI< LODHA, SHABAR, MUNDA, SANTHAL,KURMI, MAHATO, RAJBANSHI, NAMOSHUDRA, POD, AHAM, UDRE, TELANGI, TAMIL, JAINEE, CONVERETED, SC, ST, OBC, MINORITY, ISLAM, JIHAD, RESERVATION, QUOTA, CREAMY LAYER, MAJDUR, SAFAIWALA, MASI, DAI, NAI, KAMWALI, BHAIYA, CHHAKKA, BIHARI,NORTH EAST, KASHMIRI, HINDUSTANI, PAKISTANI,BPL,SABJIWALA, DOODHWALA, DHOBI, LIGAI,RANDI, DAYEN, CHHINAL, JAT, GUJJAR, TELI, ASSAM, TRIPURA, Bihar, UP, JHARKHAND, CHHATTISHGARH, ANDHRA, KRALA and so on .. do consist the VITAL STATICS of HATE SPEECH in India!
The language used in SLUM DOG MILLIONAIR is typically IDENTICAL as being used all over the country against UNDER PREVILLEGED!
The hate speech provision, s. 295A of the IPC and its evolution. In requiring 'deliberate and malicious intention', the bar was sought to be set high. But, as recent events demonstrate, does this provision increase rather than decrease religious strife?
Ruling Hegemonies do BANK on this to sustain CAPTURE and DOMINANCE.
Gestapos works as silent as DEATH.
Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing are justified by unprecedented HATE SPEECH infinite and latest TECHNOLOGY and SCIENCE. Communities are created to capture cyberspace for hate. Media launches unpresedented HATE Campaign.
The Negroid DRAVID Black Untouchables of South Asia have been HABITUAL to DIGEST the INFINITE HATE and ISOLATION living and surviving in BLACK HOLES!
A major part of this indigenous aboriginal population has converted to ISLAM, SIKKHISM, BUDDHISM and JAINISM and CHRISTIANITY.
The Hate Speeches and hate campaign created the partition holocaust and drove away our people from their Homelands to make a HELL of their life. In Mainstream land the aboriginal communities have been used as ANIMALS, SLUM DOGS. All the indigenous aboriginal and minrity communities have to suffer the HEAT and DUST of hate campaign!
In recent history, we have witnessed continuous ETHNIC Cleansing in Bangladesh, RIOTS across the borders, Destruction on the name of Development, Infinite Displacement and EXODUS, Naxal repression, Deindustrialisation, LPG MAFIA RULE, SIKH GENOCIDE and operation Blue Star, Babri demolition and Ram Janm Bhoomi Andolan, Marichjhanpi genocide, Gujrat Genocide, Bomb Blasts and Terror strikes, Anti Bengali riots and anti Hindi riots in North East, AFPSA ruling kashmir and entire North East, Anti north India Riots in Mumbai, Deportation Drive against SC Bengali Refugees nationwide and so on.
Since INDO US Nuclear deal, and STRATEGIC Realliance in US and Israel lead, the HATE CAMPAIGN is focust against the MUSLIMS, Pakistan and Bangladesh with an unprecedented WAR HYPE in a geopolitics where nationalities and Identities are never recognised , rather they happen to be victimised with Brutal MILITARY OPTION and SOCIAL, POLITICAL and Economic isolation.
Pakistani investigators have informed the government that they may have to stop their probe into the Mumbai attacks due to lack of cooperation by authorities in India and several other countries!
Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- Indian police and paramilitary troops placed a large section of Srinagar under strict restrictions Saturday in hopes of thwarting further violence in the summer capital city of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
At least two civilians were killed while two more were injured when the Tamil Tiger rebels fired at them on Saturday to prevent them from fleeing the rebel held area in northern Sri Lanka, said the military.
The hatred campaign in South Asia hitherto had been limited in social Political heirarchies, Political Bodies like RSS and leaders of HEGEMONIES.
But the hatred has got different dimention with VIRTUAL REALITY entering the scene as well as REALITY SHOWS. Parliamentary and legislative IMMUNISATION have been the cause of LEAD by Politicians in this field as they are always engaged in Demogrphic READJUSTMENT to mobilise the VOTE BANK.
But the HATE is being BRANDED with AGRESSIVE AD Campaigns, NET Communities, HATE mails and ICONISATION of Hate.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly termed the terror attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore as "frightening" and said Pakistan is no more a safe venue for international cricket.
What is this? Ganguli is a BRAHMIN ICON as well as a BRAND!
This statement would stimulate the BLIND nationalism. Ganguli is known to be very close to Marxists Ruling Bengal who bank on BRAND BUDDHA as well as BRAND SAURABH!
GORKHALND CRISIS has ended in a HATE Campaign against GURKHAS.
The DALIT QUEEN, projected as the Prime Minister face of Left dominated Third Front, was known for her controversial Slogan:
TILAK TARAJU TALWAR
MARO JUTE CHAAR
Now she has aligned with the BRAHMINS and she has changed the AESHETICS of Political Speech into social engineering.
THE RSS was born in FASCIST BRAHAMINICAL Mode.
Since it has to cover the SC ST communities, it began to talk in the language of SAMRASATA. They were against MUSLIMS but they had to mobilise the MUSLIM VOTE BANK too and adjusted some MUSLIM faces in its RANK and FILE as the CONGRESS as well as MARXISTS had been doing all these years!
Has the HATE DISAPPEARED?
ONLY the HATE SPEECHES have become more RHETORICAL. War Against Terror and Clash of CIVILISATION have created the new Linguistics of hate SPEECH and all ZIONISTS do use it freely. No hate Speech law may stop them. Terror and PAKISTAN are the topics which changed the GRAMMER of Hate SPEECHES. Hindutav forces speak on NATIONALISM and against TERROR strikes, against Pakistan! In fact, they use the terms as ANTI MUSLIM hate SPEECH!
Just see, Muslims have not voted for the MUSLIM CPIM candidate in BISHNUPUR West ASSEMBELLY by election where TRINAMOOL congress outsider Madan Mitra won with a Margin of thirty thousnad votes where it was defeated last time.
Former president of the BJP Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday challenged the Left parties to declare that they would not join hands with the Congress after the elections!
The BJP-BJD alliance in Orissa spilt on Saturday over differences in seat-sharing. The talks between the two parties failed after BJD insisted on contesting from more Lok Sabha seats in Orissa.
The EQUATION has changed. Marxist bases in Muslim, SC and ST communities are very week nowadays. Ten SC seats and two ST seats were the SURE gains as well as the MUSLIM DOMINATED seats. It is not like that this time.
In North Kolkata, more than forty percent voters happen to be MUSLIMS. But a MUSLIM candidate like MD. SALIM may never be sure to win the next Loksabha election!
The SECULAR Mode of the MARXISTS do change ! Thus, generally very SECULAR, CRICKETER marxist Saurabh involves himself into Pakistan hate campign!
"It feels very frightening to see what happened in Lahore. Hopefully such incidents will not happen in the future," Ganguly told reporters in Patna.
"It is terrible for the game of cricket where players are attacked by terrorists. Definitely, Pakistan is not safe now," he added.
Six Sri Lankan cricketers and assistant coach Paul Fabrace was injured, while eight people, including six policemen were killed when 12 gunmen opened fired at the team convoy on Tuesday while it was on its way to Gaddafi stadium for the third day's play in the second Test.
In Moscow, a prominent Russian legislator and former presidential candidate introduced legislation to strike down Russia's hate speech law.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch said Europe was “poisoned by an anti-Semitism we thought had been dispatched to history’s dustbin.”
Murdoch made his remarks Wednesday evening in New York upon receiving the National Human Relations award from the American Jewish Committee.
Murdoch also said of Israel: “In the end, the Israeli people are fighting the same enemy we are: cold-blooded killers who reject peace… who reject freedom… and who rule by the suicide vest, the car bomb and the human shield.”
“These are men who can't abide by the idea of freedom, tolerance and democracy, they hate Israel, they hate us," the 77-year-old media baron, who owns News Corporation, said. "No sovereign nation can sit by while a civilian population is attacked."
Joking that some of his enemies think he is Jewish and that some of his friends wish he was Jewish, Murdoch said: “Let me set the record straight: I live in New York. I have a wife who craves Chinese food. And people I trust tell me I practically invented the word ‘chutzpah.’”
The AJC award recognizes Murdoch’s professional and philanthropic work.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the parliamentary vice-speaker and outspoken leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, made the proposal Wednesday about Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code, which is the center of nearly all prosecutions in Russia for anti-Semitic hate speech. It prohibits public incitement of ethnic or religious hatred.
In a memo attached to the proposal, Zhirinovsky pointed out that a broad interpretation of the law could be used to prosecute journalists for identifying the race of criminals in news stories or anyone for telling ethnic jokes.
"Who can say whether it is a crime to tell ethnic joke that are inciting hatred or hostility to Natives, Jews, Gypsies or Russians," the memo argues.
Zhirinovsky goes on to argue that the law should not be defined by the speaker's actions or words but by their goal.
Human rights activists also have similar concerns about the law, fearing that such anti-extremist measures could be used to crack down on dissidents and restrict free speech in general, according to a report from the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
Zhirinovsky's proposal, though, seeks to abolish the hate speech language in the law rather than amend it.
How the HATE SPEECH relates to the Global system!
Terrorists attacking 'very soul' of South Asia: US
Washington Concerned over the recent gun and grenade attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, the US has said the terrorists are attacking the "very soul" of South Asia and expressed readiness to assist in investigations if its help is sought.
"They are going after the very soul of South Asia, the very heart of the Pakistani people," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington.
His remarks came when he was asked to comment on Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore that left seven players and an assistant coach injured and eight people dead.
He said these attacks are something which is a cause of concern. "We would watch for the Pakistani authorities to investigate and find out who did it," Boucher said.
So far neither the Pakistan Government nor the Sri Lankan authorities have approached the United States for help in their investigations. However, the US is always ready to offer all its assistance, if requested for, he said.
Boucher spoke with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitta Bogollagama on Friday and extended the Obama Administration's condolences over the attack on the cricketers.
When asked if there is any link between the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore and the LTTE, Boucher said "the basic answer is, I do not known."
"I do not know of any link like that at this point, but what we need to do is to let the Pakistani authorities do the investigation. I think they have said that they have some leads and some people in custody. So we look to see what they say about this," he said.
Asked if he had reasons to believe that LTTE or Al-Qaeda had any links in the past, Boucher said: "I do not know anything about that."
"Frankly, God knows", he said when asked what these terrorists are trying to achieve.
"I do not have any idea. Right around the same time (of Lahore attack), there was an attack on a Sufi shrine in Peshawar. Attack on a Sufi shrine, cricket team, I mean who are these people? What they are trying to do, it is not just to disrupt modern school or things like that?" he asked.
"They are going after, the very soul of South Asia, the very heart of the Pakistani people. So all of us understand very clearly that terrorists are a real threat to any aspiration that the people of Pakistan have to living a normal life, living a modern life. I do not have a clue why somebody would attack people like these," Boucher said.
Church seeks security of minorities during polls
Kalinga Times Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, March 2: The Church in India has called upon all people, and specially Christians, to fully take part in the political democratic process, including exercising their voting rights in the coming general elections.
The community leadership which met in national consultations in New Delhi last week reaffirmed its faith in democracy, according to a press release issued by All India Christian Council from New Delhi on Monday.
The community wanted India to be strong and condemns terrorism, communalism, and casteism. It was deeply concerned at the rural crisis, urban poverty, and rise in unemployment, displacement in the SEZs and the plight of women and the girl child.
The Church and the Christian Community also felt that democracy would be strengthened if political parties speak out against corruption and communalism, human exploitation and assault on the dignity of women, Dalits, labour, children and minorities.
“The Christian community puts its own interests subservient to the interests of the Nation. But it feels that there are certain issues which are paramount – security of religious minorities, ending persecution of Christians in Odisha and other places, and punishment of those found guilty, rehabilitation of the displaced, compensation to the victims at par with that given in other states, proportionate share to Christians in funds and projects earmarked for all minorities, as also in government jobs, civil services, police and other services.”
The community has also demanded a National Commission on the lines of the Justice Rajender Sachhar for Muslims set up by the Union government to assess the economic deprivation of Dalit Christians, landless labour and tribal Christians, in particular.
The consultations were presided over by Archbishop Vincent Concessao. Participants included representatives from the Catholic Church, the National Council of Churches in India , the All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, the Believers Church , Truthseekers International, Evangelical Fellowship of India, United Christian Action, and Independent and Pentecost Churches .
Prominent signatories included Bishop Mar Barnabas of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Bishop Simon John of the Believers Church and John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, Government of India, and Secretary General, All India Christian Council, Council national secretary Sam Paul, Rev Sunil Sardar, Vijayesh Lal and Advocate Lalsinglau.
The community will present a memorandum to all political parties before the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
“All political parties must put the security of all religious minorities, and especially of the Christian community, at the top of their electoral agenda. Parties must assure they will bring the culprits of crimes in Orissa and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, to book, and ensure that the unceasing hate and disinformation campaign, through media and political activities, is brought to an end,” the community has said in its memorandum.
http://www.kalingatimes.com/odisha_news/news2009/20090302_Church_seeks_security_of_minorities_during_polls.htm
Holy Garb: Profane Agenda
by
Seers Demand Dropping of Word Secular from Indian Constitution!
What do spiritual leaders talk when they meet? One thought it may be the matters pertaining to the 'other world' that is the focus of their attention, away from the profane World, which is the matter of concern for ordinary people. One thought they may be deliberating on the issues of moral values of the religion. But it seems that is not the case. Recently when many of them met in Mumbai they showed that the saffron garb is the mere exterior, this color of renunciation and piety, is no representative of their political core. On the top of that they use saffron color to hide their sectarian ideas and narrow politics in the name of religion. The only difference in their case being that their politics is couched in the language of religion. That their ideas are full 'Hate' for others, unlike the values Hinduism which teaches us Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (whole World is my family). This got revealed once more.
Recently many a chiefs of Akharas and other assorted Saints came together at the First Conference of Dharma Raksha Manch (29th Jan 2009) in Mumbai. They were brought together by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apparently for the agenda was Combating terrorism. They called for dropping the word secular from Indian constitution and replacing it with word religious. They Ram Temple, Malegaon blasts, terrorism, and amongst other things and demanded that they need Manu's parliament and not Christ's. They drew attention to terrorism breeding in Madrassa, and hit out at media for using the term Hindu terrorism. Finally Beginning Mid Feb. (2009) they plan to take out series of yatras (religious marches) covering large parts of the country, with the call for ending Jihad.
Who are these assorted Holy seers, coming together on the call of Vishwa Hindu Parishad? VHP itself is the creation of RSS in the mid sixties. Initiative was taken by RSS chief and his close lieutenant to get different established mutt's to form VHP. It primarily became a religious wing of RSS, involving the Hindu achrayas etc, and attracted especially traders, affluent processionals and those who did not want to openly associate with RSS, as at that time RSS stood fully discredited in people's eyes due to its association with Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
VHP got involved in the identity issues strengthening the conservative politics and Ram temple became its central rallying point. Along with this it called for Dharma Sansad (religious parliament) where they stated that in the matters religious, in this case Ram Temple, the decision of saints is above the judgement of the courts. Place of Lord's birth became a matter not of History but of faith, and who else can decide these issues than these custodians of faith.
This congregation of holy seers has taken place long after their earlier meetings around Ram Temple issue. It seems it is their next innings where the focus is also on terrorism apart from its earlier concerns. At the same time they are reiterating that Indian Constitution is not welcome; let's go back to Manu Smriti. In a way there is nothing new in this. The RSS politics has always been against the Indian Constitution, against the values of secularism, democracy as these stand by Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Right from the time Constituent Assembly was formed, RSS opposed the same, saying that 'we' already have the best of Constitutions in the form of Manu Smirit so why a new Constitution. It was backed by eulogies for Lord Manu by the RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, who also at the same time has heaped immense praise on the methods of Hitler. Later K.Surshan also openly called for scrapping of Indian constitution and bringing Manu Smriti instead.
While the saints are overtly for the subjugation of Muslims and Christians, at the same time their agenda is to push back the concept of equality for dalit, Adivasis and women. Interestingly RSS came up as a reaction to social changes of caste and gender during the freedom movement. Our national movement stood not only for freedom but also for the transformation of caste and gender towards equality. Barring some exceptions the concept of democracy and secularism go hand in hand. Freedom movement was the epitome of these political and social processes, leading to the emergence of secular India. Today RSS has many mouths to speak and many fora to articulate its agenda. VHP is the crude version of expressing its agenda while BJP, due to electoral compulsions, puts the same agenda in more subtle ways.
The VHP agenda is quite striking in combing the Holy language with profane goals. It will totally ignore the problems of 'this World'; the problems related to survival and Human rights and will harp on identity issues. This brings in a politics which targets the 'external enemies', Muslims; Christians, and intimidates internal sectors, dalits; Adivasis and women, of society. Its call for doing away with the word secular is nothing new in that sense. Its demand to do away with secular word and secular ethos shows that their Holiness is restricted to the appearance, while they want to maintain their social hegemony through political means. Secularism is not against religion. The best of religious people like Maulana Abul Kalam and Mahatma Gandhi had been secular to the core. They knew the boundary line very well. Also they used the moral values of religion to create bonds of fraternity (community) amongst the people of different religions. There were others who created Hate against the other community, and that too in the name of religion. One can cite the parallel and opposite roles of Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.
The seers, respected because of their Holy garb are misusing their appearance at the service of sectarian politics, they are playing the role of handmaidens of the divisive politics. Secularism precisely means that secular, this-worldly, issues should be the base of politics. So the genuine religious person like Gandhi could distinguish between the moral values of religion which should be adopted in life while shunning the identity related issues from political life, "In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular." It is a matter of shame and disgust the identity of a religion is being used to pursue the political goals of an organization, supplementing the goals a communal political party by appealing in the name of religion.
At the same time to further demonize the Muslims it is taking up the issue of terrorism in lop sided manner. The slogan end of Jihad is a way to hide the anti Muslim agenda. There is an attempt to put the blame on Islam and Muslims for terrorism, which is totally false. A political phenomenon is being presented as the one related to religion. So Islamic terrorism word is acceptable to them! All terrorist are Muslims formulation is acceptable to them. But how dare you use the word Hindu terrorism if Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pande and their ilk is involved in acts of terror? In this meet, overseen by RSS representatives, lot of anger was expressed for the Maharashtra ATS for starting investigations against Sadhvi and Company.
The timing of the meet and the planned Yatras is more then striking. As we await elections, the VHP is trying to revive Ram Temple as an issue and will also be talking of terrorism; about Afzal Guru and will be reprimanding the state for 'torturing' Pragya Thakur. As a matter of fact VHP and this motley crowd of saints is an adjunct to the electoral goals of BJP. It articulates emotive things which BJP will not be able to do because of election commission and the media watch.
Of all the techniques evolved by RSS, the use of these Holy men for political goals may be the worst insult of the Hindu religion. While these Holy seers infinite in number, many of them have succeeded in building up their own five star Empires, there are others who are sitting on the top of already established mutts. What unites them through VHP is the politics of status quo, the opposition to democracy. We had saints, who talked against caste system and social evils. We had Kabir, Chokha Mela, Tukaram and the lot who stood for the problems of the poor, and now we have a breed, whose agenda is to undermine the prevalent social evils of dowry, female infanticide, bride burning, atrocities on dalits and Adivasis. Their goal is to keep talking about the spirituality and religiosity which is so different from the concerns taken up by the likes of Gandhi and the whole the genre of Saints of Bhakti tradition in India. One hope the people of India can see this clever game of communal politics and differentiate the grain from the chaff.
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Ram Puniyani
Issues in Secular Politics
February II 2009
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Slumdog just reinforces all the old stereotypes
Anita SalujaFirst Published : 26 Feb 2009 02:17:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 26 Feb 2009 10:04:37 AM ISTThere was no need to use the 50:50 option or phone a friend, as the issue was locked from the beginning, ever since Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for the Oscars. We all knew Danny Boyle would get the award, having portrayed India negatively, projecting the slums and drains of Bharat, the inhuman behaviour of the police and highlighting the brothels of Mumbai.
With goons flourishing in the slums of Mumbai, engaged in making big money and the mafia plucking out eyes of children, the film had the right mix of ingredients to make it to the top at the Oscar awards ceremony.
After all, it’s this aspect of India that’s been adored by phirangs in the past, who term India as the country of snake-charmers and elephants, refusing to believe that it is at par today with any other country in the areas of IT, science and technology, fashion and beauty care as well.
In the film sector, especially, we have been at the forefront always, having produced classics like Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Bandini, Barsaat, Awara, Mera Naam Joker and, more recently, Sholay, Lagaan, etc, but no one had any doubt that our films would never make it to the Oscars.
What if our songs Awara hun (Awara) and Pyar hua ikraar hua (Shri 420) are popular the world over and our cine stars, from Raj Kapoor, Nargis Dutt to the more recent ones like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai are loved and chased by everyone everywhere, Indian films were never considered for the Oscars.
Indeed, Danny Boyle deserves praise for showcasing our great Indian talent before the world. We had no doubt that Gulzar was a great lyricist and that A R Rahman has a great future. The gems of our film industry, however, would not have made it to the top, the Oscars, if a Britisher or an American had not produced a film called Slumdog Millionaire.
Is it not an irony that for greater exposure of the already known talent of our films, we needed Slumdog? Couldn’t we have managed it without exhibiting the negative-side of our story? The answer is “NO”.
So, when we are celebrating the laurels of our achievers, we should also ponder the negativity of the film.
Those who saw the film would think of India as a country of dirt and filth, ridden with poverty, where violence and deceit are the key to success and where girls are often taken to brothels.
For the recognition of a very few in the outside world, we have allowed outsiders to portray, not the other side, but the wrong side of Bharat.
So, there is nothing to celebrate if US President Barack Obama is expected to see the movie, and empathise with the plight of Indians.
Similarly, if the producer of Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson, is planning to stage a musical show with all the kids, it is basically to keep themselves in the limelight and to get as much attention as possible. This, any way, won’t be possible if the kids are not around. As for charity, it is for the Indian government to take the call on the plight of slumdwellers.
A senior officer of the tourism ministry confided that India has been shown as a country where youngsters are so crazy that they would not give a second thought in jumping into a pit of night soil just to see Amitabh.
“No, I don’t agree, with this idea,” he stated. Similarly, one comes across so many people who reject this image of India. Interestingly, every person in the movie, with the exception of Irfan Khan, is shown in a negative role, including Anil Kapoor, who mocks at the hero, Dev Patel.
No, this is not India. Interestingly, many of those who are singing paeans to the film have not seen it themselves.
These include the Congress and BJP spokespersons, who sang hosannas for the movie. I heard someone suggesting that Danny Boyle should be rewarded by India. Why? If not punished, at least, he should not be honoured.
He was projecting India as he wanted to. Similarly, we need not bow to a filmmaker, just because he made it possible. The credit goes to our technicians, musician and lyricist, who helped Boyle to the award. Had there been no inputs from them, Boyle would not have made a perfect film.
So, the Thank Yous should come from Boyle to our artistes and not the other way round.
anitasaluja@epmltd.com
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Slumdog+just+reinforces+all+the+old+stereotypes&artid=xMKH2sag4V0=&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
Stop making 'hate movies': Pak to India
Reuters
Posted online: Sunday, February 01, 2004 at 1410 hours IST
Updated: Monday, February 02, 2004 at 0947 hours IST
New DelhiI, February 1: Pakistan's Foreign Minister has urged Indians to boycott Bollywood films with anti Pakistan themes saying such movies would not help relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri's appeal came ahead of the February 16-18 talks between officials of the South Asian rivals, the first in nearly three years between the two countries who have fought three wars in the last half-a-century.
"I would appeal to Indian society to discourage the Mumbai (Bombay) film industry from making 'hate-Pakistan' movies," Kasuri said.
"They should not encourage those producers who wish to make money out of hatred," Kasuri said. "Indian civil society should boycott such films".
Hate speech gets louder; India turns deaf ear
Hindu fundamentalists are eroding India’s claim of being a tolerant and progressive society
MANOJ MITTA
INDIA has always claimed to be wedded to secularism and pluralism. Indeed, this has been one of the moral justifications of the Hindu-majority country for holding on to the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. But whether the Indian Government does in practice treat all religions alike is of course a matter of debate. This is especially so when the country is ruled, as it has been for the last five years, by a coalition led by a self-confessed Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP is originally part of a family of organisations, Sangh Parivar, that espouse a Hindu supremacist ideology called Hindutva. The most rabidly sectarian member of the Sangh Parivar is the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the World Hindu Council, which dealt a grievous blow to Indian secularism a decade ago by demolishing a medieval mosque in a town called Ayodhya in order to build a Hindu temple in its place. The compulsions of keeping together a coalition regime however had the salutary effect of forcing the BJP to reign in its hot-headed sibling - the VHP.
Unfortunately, that tenuous family arrangement was disrupted by 9/11. The anti-Islamic reverberations that followed around the world emboldened the VHP to break free of its leash. And there was no stopping the VHP when, within three months of 9/11, India itself suffered a major terrorist strike in the form of an attack on its Parliament House. It added fuel to the fire because of the evident involvement of Kashmiri Muslims in the Parliament attack and India's accusation of Pakistan's complicity. In retaliation, the VHP revived more aggressively than ever before its campaign to build the Ayodhya temple.
It was in such a communally surcharged environment that on 27 February 2002 an entire compartment of the train in which a batch of VHP supporters were returning from Ayodhya was set on fire allegedly by a mob of Muslims at a town called Godhra in the state of Gujarat. The charred remains of over 50 persons found in the train were allowed to be used by the VHP to engineer communal riots which went on in Gujarat for several weeks. But Hindu right-wing leaders chose to describe the massacre and rape of Muslims and the destruction of their homes and shops as "a spontaneous reaction" to Godhra. With an estimated death toll of 2,000, the Gujarat riots proved to be the biggest communal violence seen by India since the riots that followed the demolition of the Ayodhya mosque in December 1992.
The BJP chief minister of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi, called for an early poll to cash in on the religiously polarised electorate. In the run-up to the Gujarat election that finally took place in December 2002, the BJP and VHP unleashed hate speech with unprecedented ferocity. Sample what a prominent VHP leader, Mr. Ashok Singhal, is widely reported to have said at a public meeting in September 2002: "Godhra happened on February 27 and the next day, 50 lakh (five million) Hindus were on the streets. We were successful in our experiment of raising Hindu consciousness, which will be repeated all over the country now." He gloated over entire villages having been "emptied of Islam" and Muslims having been dispatched to refugee camps, terming that as "a victory for Hindu society." Spewing more venom a month later, Singhal said during a press conference: "What happened in Gujarat will happen in the whole of the country. Hindus were not born to be cut like carrots and radishes, and that the Hindukaran (a term to denote the process of the re-baptism of Hinduism into a militant Hindu identity) of the people of Gujarat was the direct result of the jehadi mentality of Muslims." The reference to the Muslim notion of jehadi is a recurring theme in the right-wing Hindu rhetoric, whether the context is communal riots or terrorism or Pakistan or anything undesirable. It is as if the Hindutva adherents are feeding on the jehadi groups. Anybody who does not subscribe to their thinking runs the risk of being branded "Musharraf ki aulad" (literally, 'progeny' of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a pejorative in India today).
The lead provided by Singhal in violating all norms of civilized discourse has been followed by the rising star of the VHP, Dr. Praveen Togadia, a medical professional specialising in cancer. Pointing out to his doctor status, Togadia said he had a medicine to deal with anti-national and anti-Hindu elements, whom he called "modern-day Ghaznis" (after Mohammad Ghazni who was ruler of a small Afghan principality called Ghazni who repeatedly led forays into India to loot and pillage). He said there were three types of Ghaznis: "jehadi Ghaznis, secular Hindu Ghaznis and political Ghaznis." And for each, he said - urging the audience to repeat after him - there was a prescription: "Hang the jehadis, ostracise the secular Hindus and snatch the chair from political Ghaznis."
One obvious feature of the hate speech spewed out by the VHP is its uninhibited use of unparliamentary or abusive language regardless of the stature of the persons it is targeting. The manner in which Togadia attacked Sonia Gandhi, India's main Opposition leader, for condemning the killing of Muslims in Gujarat was clearly outside the norms of any codes of behaviour in a democratic society. He said: "First, the local pups started barking (against Hindus). They were then joined by dogs from other parts of the country. And last, came Italy ni kutri (a b**** from Italy)." The reference to Italy is because Sonia Gandhi is Italian-born and acquired Indian citizenship a decade after marrying into the Nehru political dynasty.
The accident of the Opposition leader being a person of foreign origin has also given the hate speech in India a xenophobic edge. In the VHP's worldview, Indian Muslims are largely native people who had converted because of pressure from a succession of Muslim rulers from abroad. But when it comes to foreign Christian missionaries or Sonia Gandhi, the VHP is clearly xenophobic. "We believe that Sonia is an import, unlike Indian Muslims who have their roots here and whose forefathers were Hindus but had to convert to Islam because of their helplessness," Togadia said, adding that "a genetic test would show that Indian Muslims had the blood of Lord Ram or Krishna (Hindu Gods), not that of Mohammad."
The upsurge of hate speech politics in India post 9/11 is despite express provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It prescribes criminal prosecution for "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot" (Section 153), "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion" (Section 153A), "imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration" (Section 153B) and "uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person (Section 298). So, if the likes of Togadia and Singhal have got away with their hate speech, it is not because of any legal lacunae as much as it is due to a clear lack of will on the part of the dispensation in New Delhi to enforce the letter and spirit of the law. Given the long and close nexus between the VHP and the BJP, the reason for the Government's failure or reluctance to book such cases is not far to seek. The police in India do not have the autonomy to act on their own. And even if they happen to book any case on a hate speech, the police or the prosecution would have to seek the Government's sanction before filing charges in the court under provisions such as Section 153A or Section 153B.
While the executive is anyway notorious for balking at anything that is politically inconvenient, what is less obvious is the judiciary's complicity in the growth of hate speech in India. The freedom of speech conferred by the Indian Constitution is not absolute as it is subject to reasonable restrictions. Article 19 (2) lays down that such restrictions on speech are permissible for the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency and morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence.
Yet, on the one and only occasion on which the Supreme Court of India sat in judgment on the Hindutva ideology, Justice J. S. Verma ended up giving a verdict favouring the Sangh Parivar. Disregarding all evidence to the contrary, Verma put a liberal gloss on Hindutva and rejected the contention that it was against other religions. Little wonder then that the VHP and BJP repeatedly referred to the Supreme Court judgment in a bid to justify their hate speech politics during the Gujarat campaign.
Another judicial failing, which has allowed hate speech to rear its ugly head post-9/11, was in the context of the gruesome murder a couple of years earlier of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons. The murder was the culmination of a vicious campaign launched by Bajrang Dal, the militant wing of the VHP, accusing foreign Christian missionaries of converting poor Indians to their religion on the strength of material allurements. But an inquiry conducted by a Supreme Court judge, Justice D P Wadhwa, said there was no evidence to suggest that Bajrang Dal had directed the main accused, Dara Singh, to murder Staines. That was a needlessly technical finding as it glossed over the Bajrang Dal's concerted hate speech campaign that preceded the murder. (The census figures, incidentally, show that despite the alleged conversions the percentage of the Christian population has actually been dropping in recent decades.)
The impunity with which Hindu fundamentalists have been engaging in hate speech erodes India's much-vaunted claim to being a tolerant and progressive society upholding the rule of law. If anything, its obsession with Pakistan seems to be making India become more and more like its theocratic neighbour.
Manoj Mitta is CGK Reddy Fellow and legal correspondent for The Indian Express, New Delhi
http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfchr59/Issue2/hate%20speech.htm
Star TV plays Modi hate speech, nailing his lie
New Delhi: For days the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ruling the western state of Gujarat has been denying chief minister Narendra Modi‘ s hate campaign against Muslims at his "pride" rallies. Nailing the lie, Star TV played the speech repeatedly Sunday and Monday, September 15-16.
Instead of being ashamed and saying sorry, BJP, many of whose functionaries, including Modi, have been accused of involvement in the recent anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, have said the Star TV tapes were "doctored."
One Gujarat minister, seen by victims as a perpetrator of the pogrom, went to the extent of defending the hate speech. "There has been a trend in Gujarat of delivering such speeches over the past 40 years," he said.
The Gujarat chief minister, who has often been compared to Slobodan Milosevic for his viciousness, was reported by the Times of India, the country’ oldest and most prestigious daily, as having told a rally that relief camps housing Muslim survivors of the pogrom should be closed because they had become "factories for producing babies".
He said people (Muslims) who multiplied thus "should be taught a lesson." He made quite a few anti-Muslim remarks at the rally. These pre-election rallies were part of Modi’s weeks-long "pride march" through the state, in which he addressed crowds every few kilometres.
The "pride" in the "pride march" is regarding having taught the Muslim minority a lesson during the pogrom which lasted more than two months—March, April and early May. As many as 2,000 Muslims were killed, hundreds others raped, thousands of homes destroyed and 100,000 forced into relief camps across the state.
Victims and a dozen private inquiry commissions have indicted BJP leaders for the monumental crime. Even state organisations like National Human Rights Commission, National Minority Commission and Election Commission have censured the state government.
The BJP, which leads the ruling coalition at Centre, has been backing Modi despite tremendous pressure to sack him for his acts of ommission and commission.
Deputy prime minister LK Advani, instead of reining him in, patted Modi on the back for his pride marches. BJP general secretary and former Union law minister Arun Jaitley claimed there were "inaccuracies" in media’s reports on Modi’s speech.
Hate speech is a serious offence under Indian law as well as per obligations India has to honour as a signatory to international covenants.
Despite condemnation from national media and intelligentsia the BJP is unrepentant. Even party chief Venkiah Naidu, who had cautioned Modi against using too blatant anti-Muslim rhetoric, is now backing him.
Outraged by the virulence of Modi’s speech, the National Commission for Minorities had demanded the audio and video tapes of the speech from Gujarat government. However, the state bureaucracy said they were not able to procure them.
The fascist tactics of Modi have scandalised the civil society here. Quite a few have drawn parallels with Milosevic and Hitler. Yet others have compared him to General Rex Dyer, who in 1919 opened fire on a meeting of Indian civilians and killed 379, wounding another 1500.
Those were the last years of the all-powerful British Empire. Popular columnist Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar wrote in his column in the Times of India that Modi was teaching Muslims a lesson as Dyer taught Indians.
Dyer took pride in his act like Modi does in his. For that Dyer was sacked by the empire. "Let us mete out the same fate to Narendra Modi," Aiyar wrote.
¯ MG Correspondent
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01102002/0110200268.htm
Press Release
Hindu Americans Condemn Religious Violence in India: Hate Speech and Politics to Blame
Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2008) -- A recent spate of inter-religious riots in India, pitting mostly Hindu and Christian communities against each other, have been widely covered in the international media. The clashes began after a Hindu monk was killed in the eastern Indian state of Orissa in early September, and in the southern city of Mangalore, a pamphlet blaspheming Hindu beliefs was distributed by an evangelical group. The riots have left nearly two dozen people dead and many more remain displaced and homeless.
"Religious violence is contrary to the India's long history of pluralism and co-existence that threatens the fabric of the country," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., the Hindu American Foundation's managing director. "We unequivocally condemn the violence and demand justice for the aggrieved as we mourn for all of the innocent victims."
"Disturbing images of Hindus and Christians clashing were widely covered in the U.S., and several media inquiries have been addressed at HAF's offices," Shukla added. Difficulty obtaining accurate on-the-scene reports from some isolated areas led to frenzied reports with several oversights and omissions, the Foundation maintained. Shukla said that parsing events in India to soundbites depicting rampaging Hindu "extremists" attacking Christians does nothing to increase understanding of root causes of the conflict or promote interfaith dialogue.
Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, a Hindu monk known for working for the upliftment of isolated tribal populations in Orissa, had run afoul of several evangelical Christian groups--almost all supported by funds received from U.S. based churches--that are providing services, but at the same time aggressively seeking converts. He was severely injured in an attack by a Christian mob comprised of the Pana tribe on Christmas Eve, 2007, and then assassinated on August 24 after receiving several death threats.
The assassins have not been apprehended, but Maoist terrorist groups allegedly took responsibility claiming that the Swami was disturbing "social stability"--a reference to his Hindu advocacy. The Pana tribe of Orissa state, some of whom belong to these Maoist groups, has been clashing with the mostly Hindu Kandha tribe over access to affirmative action type benefits to which only certain tribes are entitled.
"Swami Lakshmananda was a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to the service of the most in need and those from traditionally forsaken segments of society," said Shukla. "Clearly, his assassination coupled with the underlying tension of tribes and castes that are pitted against each other competing for limited government sops, led to the tragic events we witnessed."
Meanwhile, the disturbances in Mangalore began, according to several media reports, when the New Life Fellowship Trust, a pentecostal group allegedly supported by U.S. based churches, began distributing anti-Hindu leaflets blaspheming Hindu deities and scripture. The publication, received at the HAF office in Washington was condemned by the local rector of the Catholic Church, and sparked a response allegedly instigated by a youth group, the Bajrang Dal. Prayer halls in the area that they said were used to convert Hindus away from their faith were attacked. That many evangelical groups use hate speech condemning Hindu beliefs was previously documented in HAF's report, "Hyperlink to Hinduphobia" released last year.
"Christianity has a long, peaceful history in India which we celebrate as a part of the pluralistic ethos of India," said Sheetal Shah, HAF"s Director of Development. "But when proselytizing outfits resort to hate speech, they share responsibility for provoking the highly condemnable events that followed. Communal harmony can truly be fostered only in an environment where practitioners of all religions respect other faiths as equally valid pathways to the Divine."
Both Shukla and Shah expressed concern that the mushrooming of evangelical groups funded by U.S. based churches, many of whom have the sole purpose of proselytizing and "harvesting" converts--often through hate speech, is endangering peaceful, religious coexistence in India. Pluralism cannot be sustained in the face of unrestrained and aggressive proselytization and coerced or fraudulent conversions, they argued. Hate speech is also a form of violence, they said.
The Foundation supports the initiatives of pluralistic Christian and Hindu groups in India and around the world for an ethical code of conversion, which the Foundation believes can prevent inter-religious strife between proselytizing and non-proselytizing faiths, Shukla added.
The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3), non-partisan organization, promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_orissa.htm
Q&A: 'Hate speech provisions have almost become a dead letter'
14 Jul 2008, 0000 hrs IST
He was the counsel who, during cross-examination, got Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar to enunciate to the Srikrishna Commission the Sena policy
of retaliation during the 92-93 riots. Yusuf Muchhala is the only lawyer of that time still fighting in the Supreme Court to get the commission report implemented, Muchhala speaks to Jyoti Punwani:
What's the significance of this conviction?
For the first time, Shiv Sena leaders have been convicted for hate speech. This is very important because people who provoke riots normally go scot-free. As it is riot convictions are very rare, and they normally relate to acts of violence at the street level. Those who provoke violence normally remove themselves from the scene and have the ability to escape responsibility for the actual acts of violence. The provisions of Section 153 A have almost become a dead letter because the government lacks the political will to go after those who create enmity. For the first time, these sections have been rightly invoked and conviction rendered on the basis of evidence before the court.
Does this conviction change your perception of the special courts set up exclusively for riot cases?
So far as the courts are concerned, they decide matters on the basis of evidence produced before them. But my opinion on the political will to prosecute the guilty of the riots remains unchanged. In fact, this conviction — one of three convictions amid 50 acquittals — proves the rule.
A general impression is being created that this conviction will please Muslims who are unhappy about the 1993 bomb blast convictions.
It's wrong to assume that Muslims are unhappy with the bomb blast judgment. If the evidence was rightly weighed and the Supreme Court will decide that in appeal the convictions were right too. The bomb blasts were the misguided acts of a few individuals to which the community was not a party. At the community level, it was rightly felt that while
the miscreants of the Muslim community were rightly brought to book, why are the miscreants of the other community, who had indulged in equally heinous acts, not being punished? One conviction is not enough to remove this feeling of discrimination.
Both the Sena and the Congress government are bound to use this case electorally.
Whatever political advantage politicians may take from it does not mean that the guilty should not be prosecuted. Whatever be the political fallout, civil society must bear it. Mumbai has seen a number of bomb blasts, but the aftermath of every blast has shown that civil society has acquired the maturity not to get divided on communal lines, despite grave provocation.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/QA_Hate_speech_provisions_have_almost_become_a_dead_letter/articleshow/3229457.cms
Hate Speech enters Oracle forums
When balancing the First Amendment rights to free speech on the web, some folks say that "anything goes" even racism, bigotry and "hate speech", nasty words which are tolerated in the USA, but are highly illegal in many countries.
The Oracle Usenet newsgroups have a long history of offensive, profane and vile postings, and most companies ban their use at work. Sadly, it's getting more offensive than ever before and we are now seeing racist remarks being directed towards entire groups of Oracle professionals:
Could you please explain why many Asians like you are not too lazy to
- take over our jobs
- spam this group like hell with job postings
but are too lazy to do the work they robbed from us, and continue to parasite on this forum?
If you want us to do your work for free, please get lost. . .
And, yes, they are usually Asian, and, yes, they are usually 100 percent incompetent.
If there are any competent Asians, I failed to meet them.
It's not clear if the person who published this offensive will be arrested or jailed since it requires a concerted effort to track-down web bigots.
In corporations worldwide, employees are bound by an “acceptable use policy” that prohibits the viewing of pornographic or racist material while at-work. In the link below we see racist remarks on Oracle’s OTN web site.
Warning to employees: If your employers acceptable use policy (AUP) prohibits you from visiting web sites with racist content while at-work, NO NOT click this link
The OTN terms of service notes that promoting racism is a violation, yet the offending bigots continue to publish on OTN:
You agree not to . . . post, . . . any Content that: (a) is false or misleading; (b) is defamatory; (c) is harassing or invades another's privacy, or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual; . . . or (g) violates any applicable laws or regulations.
Complaints were made against several OTN users for promoting bigotry and racism. The complaint was addressed by Oracle’s Justin Kestlyn, Editor-in-Chief of Oracle Technology Network:
“Yes - please report them here. This is not necessarily a violation of Terms of Use however - just boorish behavior.”
Hate speech is a serious crime in many countries
While the First Amendment generally protects racist hate speech, some countries are less tolerant of bigots. The country of India has blocked the Oracle usenet newsgroups because they allows hate speech.
In countries like Germany, publishing hate speech is punishable by a stiff prison term:
"A German historian who claimed that Auschwitz prisoners enjoyed cinemas, a swimming pool and brothels was sentenced to 10 months in jail.
In Germany and Austria, it's a crime to deny the Holocaust, even if you are living in America. Germany does not agree with what Voltaire said "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it".
Laurent Schneider notes the French Law Loi Gayssot which makes it an offense to question the Holocaust:
"[It is an offense to] question the existence of the category of crimes against humanity as defined in the London Charter of 1945, on the basis of which Nazi leaders were convicted by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg"
The long arm of the law reaches out across borders
Germany has exercised their right to extradite anyone who published a web site that can be seen in Germany, regardless of where the author is residing, and Mr. Zündel was extradited from Tennessee and imprisoned in Germany.
There are many other countries across the glob who do not tolerate racism and bigotry. The Indian government has blocked Google Blogs because some sites publish libel, defamation and pornography:
“Sites can be blocked if they contain "pornography, speeches of hate, contempt, slander or defamation, or if they promote gambling, racism, violence or terrorism".
"Such sites may be blocked within the provisions of the Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, granted in India's Constitution," said cyber-law expert Praveen Dalal.”
Stopping hate speech in Oracle publications
Many Oracle professionals are clamping-down on racists. Steve Feuerstein, one of the bestselling Oracle authors in the world announced that he does not like "acerbic" anonymous comments, and no longer accepts anonymous comments on his Oracle blog:
"I have decided to change my blog settings so that you must be a registered user at Blogger in order to post a comment. . .
I realized that I very much don't like having people post fairly acerbic comments without having to have some kind of identification as to who they are.
So, goodbye Anonymous, hello minimally-accountable Commentators!"
Feuerstein goes-on to elegantly explain what types of people bother him and what types of non-anonymous comments he will allow to be published on his blog:
“The world is full of brutal, hate-filled, and/or greedy people. They make the world a much uglier, harsher place. I can't stop them from existing, but I can keep them off my blog.
So...no haters on my blog. I will not accept comments from people with hateful tags. I will not publish comments that contain vile, spiteful, malicious comments.
So Hater of Liberals can now change his/her tag and then perhaps his/her comments will make it onto my blog. Maybe not.”
Dr. Tim Hall also notes problems with anonymous people publishing unacceptable content on his blog:
“I've just deleted a couple of anonymous comments and prevented anonymous posting. I'm not totally happy about it because it seems like censorship, but I'm not going to sit in the middle and let people use my sites as a forum to slag off others.”
Bestselling Oracle author Robert Freeman has similar problems with anonymous comments. A responsible publisher, Freeman notes the potential that his publication might be used to hurt people:
"Pending a review with my lawyer on current libel law, I have removed the ability to post comments at all from this Blog. . . . It's a shame that I have to do this, but the risk seems to great to do otherwise. In fact, pending the review, I may just shelve this blog all together."
Robert Freeman also notes that "evil people" had published unkind comments that he removed:
"There are evil people in the world. I firmly believe this, and it's evidenced every day. You will notice on my blog that one of these evil people has appeared. How can we tell this person is evil?
1. The posts were anonymous.
2. The posts were unkind and out of context.
3. The posts were presumptuous, at best.
http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_news/news_hate_speech.htm
Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S.
By Adam Liptak
Published: June 11, 2008
VANCOUVER, British Columbia: A couple of years ago, a Canadian magazine published an article arguing that the rise of Islam threatened Western values. The article's tone was mocking and biting, but it said nothing that conservative magazines and blogs in the United States did not say every day without fear of legal reprisal.
Things are different here. The magazine is on trial.
Under Canadian law, there is a serious argument that the article contained hate speech and that its publisher, Maclean's magazine, the nation's leading newsweekly, should be forbidden from saying similar things, forced to publish a rebuttal and made to compensate Muslims for injuring their "dignity, feelings and self respect."
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, which held five days of hearings on those questions in Vancouver last week, will soon rule on whether Maclean's violated a provincial hate speech law by stirring up animosity toward Muslims.
As spectators lined up for the afternoon session last week, an argument broke out.
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Today in Americas
Russia urges new nuclear arms talks with U.S.End game in Iraq? Not yet, but it's inching closerObama expected to reverse limits on stem cells"It's hate speech!" yelled one man.
"It's free speech!" yelled another.
In the United States, that debate has been settled. Under the First Amendment, newspapers and magazines can say what they like about minority groups and religions - even false, provocative or hateful things - without legal consequence.
The Maclean's article, "The Future Belongs to Islam," was an excerpt from a book by Mark Steyn called "America Alone." The title was fitting: The United States, in its treatment of hate speech, as in so many areas of the law, takes a distinctive legal path.
"In much of the developed world, one uses racial epithets at one's legal peril, one displays Nazi regalia and the other trappings of ethnic hatred at significant legal risk and one urges discrimination against religious minorities under threat of fine or imprisonment," Frederick Schauer, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, wrote in a recent essay called "The Exceptional First Amendment."
"But in the United States," Schauer continued, "all such speech remains constitutionally protected."
Canada, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and India all have laws or have signed international conventions banning hate speech. Israel and France forbid the sale of Nazi items like swastikas and flags. It is a crime to deny the Holocaust in Canada, Germany and France.
Last week, the actress Brigitte Bardot, an animal rights activist, was fined €15,000, or $23,000, in France for provoking racial hatred by criticizing a Muslim ceremony involving the slaughter of sheep.
By contrast, U.S. courts would not stop the American Nazi Party from marching in Skokie, Illinois, in 1977, though the march was deeply distressing to the many Holocaust survivors there.
Six years later, a state court judge in New York dismissed a libel case brought by several Puerto Rican groups against a business executive who had called food stamps "basically a Puerto Rican program." The First Amendment, Justice Eve Preminger wrote, does not allow even false statements about racial or ethnic groups to be suppressed or punished just because they may increase "the general level of prejudice."
Some prominent legal scholars say the United States should reconsider its position on hate speech.
"It is not clear to me that the Europeans are mistaken," Jeremy Waldron, a legal philosopher, wrote in The New York Review of Books last month, "when they say that a liberal democracy must take affirmative responsibility for protecting the atmosphere of mutual respect against certain forms of vicious attack."
Waldron was reviewing "Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment" by Anthony Lewis, the former New York Times columnist. Lewis has been critical of attempts to use the law to limit hate speech.
But even Lewis, a liberal, wrote in his book that he was inclined to relax some of the most stringent First Amendment protections "in an age when words have inspired acts of mass murder and terrorism." In particular, he called for a re-examination of the Supreme Court's insistence that there is only one justification for making incitement a criminal offense: the likelihood of imminent violence.
The imminence requirement sets a high hurdle. Mere advocacy of violence, terrorism or the overthrow of the government is not enough; the words must be meant to, and be likely to, produce violence or lawlessness right away. A fiery speech urging an angry racist mob immediately to assault a black man in its midst probably qualifies as incitement under the First Amendment. A magazine article - or any publication - aimed at stirring up racial hatred surely does not.
Lewis wrote that there is "genuinely dangerous" speech that does not meet the imminence requirement. "I think we should be able to punish speech that urges terrorist violence to an audience, some of whose members are ready to act on the urging," Lewis wrote. "That is imminence enough."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/america/hate.php
Introduction to 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
“Remarkable gains” in last 60 years, but millions still denied freedom
26. February 2009. | 08:00
Source: U.S. Department of State
The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms, and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.
Human progress depends on the human spirit. This inescapable truth has never been more apparent than it is today, when the challenges of a new century require us to summon the full range of human talents to move our nation and our world forward.
Guaranteeing the right of every man, woman, and child to participate fully in society and live up to his or her God-given potential is an ideal that has animated our nation since its founding. It is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was reflected in President Obama’s Inaugural Address, when he reminded us that every generation must carry forward the belief that “all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
Our foreign policy must also advance these timeless values, which empower people to speak, think, worship, and assemble freely, to lead their work and family lives with dignity, and to know that their dreams of a brighter future are within reach.
The promotion of human rights is an essential piece of our foreign policy. Not only will we seek to live up to our ideals on American soil, we will pursue greater respect for human rights as we engage other nations and people around the world. Some of our work will be conducted in government meetings and official dialogues, which is important to advancing this cause. But we will not rely on a single approach to overcome tyranny and subjugation that weaken the human spirit, limit human possibility, and undermine human progress.
We will make this a global effort that reaches beyond government alone. We will work together with nongovernmental organizations, businesses, religious leaders, schools and universities, and individual citizens – all of whom play a vital role in creating a world where human rights are accepted, respected, and protected.
Our commitment to human rights is driven by faith in our moral values, and also by the knowledge that we enhance our own security, prosperity, and progress when people in other lands emerge from shadows and shackles to gain the opportunities and rights we enjoy and treasure.
In that spirit, I hereby transmit the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 to the United States Congress.
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Introduction to the 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms, and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.
These congressionally mandated reports describe the performance in 2008 of governments across the globe in putting into practice their international commitments on human rights. We hope that they will help focus attention on human rights abuses and bring action to end them. At the same time, we hope that the hard-won advances for human freedom chronicled in the reports will hearten those still pressing for their rights, often against daunting odds.
These reports will inform U.S. government policymaking and serve as a reference for other governments, intergovernmental institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders, and journalists. United States foreign policy revolves not only around effective defense, but also robust diplomacy and vigorous support for political and economic development. A vigorous human rights policy reaffirms American values and advances our national interests. As President Obama stated in his inaugural address: "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity...", but to "those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
Since the days of our own nation's founding, we have endeavored to correct injustices and fully promote respect for fundamental freedoms for all of our citizens. These efforts have been spurred and sustained by an accountable, democratic system of government, the rule of law, a vibrant free media, and, most important of all, the civic activism of our citizenry.
As we publish these reports, the Department of State remains mindful of both domestic and international scrutiny of the United States' record. As President Obama recently made clear, "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." We do not consider views about our performance voiced by others in the international community--whether by other governments or nongovernmental actors--to be interference in our internal affairs, nor should other governments regard expressions about their performance as such. We and all other sovereign nations have international obligations to respect the universal human rights and freedoms of our citizens, and it is the responsibility of others to speak out when they believe those obligations are not being fulfilled.
The U.S. government will continue to hear and reply forthrightly to concerns about our own practices. We will continue to submit reports to international bodies in accordance with our obligations under various human rights treaties to which we are a party. United States laws, policies, and practices have evolved considerably in recent years, and will continue to do so. For example, on January 22, 2009, President Obama signed three executive orders to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo and review U.S. government policies on detention and interrogation.
We drew the information contained in these reports from governments and multilateral institutions, from national and international nongovernmental groups, and from academics, jurists, religious groups, and the media. The reports have gone through a lengthy process of fact checking to ensure high standards of accuracy and objectivity. Each country report speaks for itself. However, some broad, cross-cutting observations can be drawn.
One: In 2008, pushback against demands for greater personal and political freedom continued in many countries across the globe. A disturbing number of countries imposed burdensome, restrictive, or repressive laws and regulations against NGOs and the media, including the Internet. Many courageous human rights defenders who peacefully pressed for their own rights and those of their fellow countrymen and women were harassed, threatened, arrested and imprisoned, killed, or were subjected to violent extrajudicial means of reprisal.
Two: Human rights abuses remain a symptom of deeper dysfunctions within political systems. The most serious human rights abuses tended to occur in countries where unaccountable rulers wielded unchecked power or there was government failure or collapse, often exacerbated or caused by internal or external conflict.
Three: Healthy political systems are far more likely to respect human rights. Countries in which human rights were most protected and respected were characterized by the following electoral, institutional, and societal elements:
Free and fair electoral processes that include not only a clean casting and honest counting of ballots on election day, but also a run-up to the voting that allows for real competition and full respect for the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association;
Representative, accountable, transparent, democratic institutions of government, including independent judiciaries, under the rule of law to ensure that leaders who win elections democratically also govern democratically, and are responsive to the will and needs of the people; and
Vibrant civil societies, including independent NGOs and free media.
To be sure, even in countries where these elements were present human rights abuses at times occurred. Democratic elections can be marred with irregularities. There can be abuses of power and miscarriages of justice. States having weak institutions of democratic government and struggling economies can fall far short of meeting the needs and expectations of their people for a better life. Corruption can undermine public trust. Long-marginalized segments of populations in some countries have yet to enjoy full participation in the life of their nations. Insecurity due to internal and/or cross-border conflict can hinder respect for and retard progress in human rights. But when these electoral, institutional and societal elements obtain, the prospects are far greater for problems to be addressed, correctives to be applied and improvements to be made.
Taken together, these three trends confirm the continuing need for vigorous United States diplomacy to act and speak out against human rights abuses, at the same time that our country carefully reviews its own performance. These trends further confirm the need to combine diplomacy with creative strategies that can help to develop healthy political systems and support civil society.
Below, readers will find overviews highlighting key trends in each geographic region. Each of the regional overviews is followed by thumbnail sketches of selected countries (ordered alphabetically) that were chosen for notable developments-–positive, negative, or mixed-–chronicled during calendar year 2008. For more comprehensive, detailed information, we refer you to the individual country reports themselves.
Regional Overviews
Africa
Several African countries served as stabilizing forces on the continent and as powerful examples of the peace and stability that come with respect for the rule of law. Nevertheless, during the year, human rights and democratic development in the region continued to face severe challenges, especially in a number of countries plagued by conflict and others in which a culture of rule of law was fledgling or did not exist.
In many countries, civilians continued to suffer from abuses at the hands of government security forces acting with impunity. In several countries, the systematic use of torture by security forces on detainees and prisoners remained a severe problem, and conditions in detention centers and prisons often were squalid and life threatening. Many detainees suffered lengthy pretrial detentions, waiting months or years before going before a judge.
For those countries embroiled in conflicts, ending violence remained central to improving human rights conditions. Warring parties failed to implement political agreements designed to bring peace and stability. Violent conflict continued or erupted anew in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan, resulting in mass killings, rape, and displacements of civilians. The Sudanese government continued to collaborate with janjaweed militias to bomb and destroy villages, killing or displacing hundreds of thousands more innocent civilians.
Authoritarian rule continued to characterize many African countries, for example: in Zimbabwe, the Mugabe regime unleashed a campaign of terror that resulted in the killing, disappearance, and torture of hundreds of opposition party members and supporters following the March 29 elections that were not free and fair. Government repression, restrictions, and mismanagement caused the displacement of tens of thousands, increased food insecurity, and created a cholera epidemic, which killed 1,500 people by year's end. Previously postponed presidential elections were further delayed in Cote d'Ivoire. A coup ousted a democratically elected government in Mauritania. Following the death of Lansana Conte, Guinea's longtime president, a military junta seized power in a coup and suspended the constitution.
There were, however, some bright spots during the year. Angola held its first elections since 1992 and there were peaceful, orderly, and democratic elections in Ghana and Zambia. Due process and respect for the rule of law prevailed in Nigeria as opposition candidates from the 2007 presidential election respected the Nigerian Supreme Court's ruling upholding President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's election. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentenced a former Rwandan army colonel to life in prison for organizing the militants responsible for the killing of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Selected Country Developments
The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) deteriorated further during the year, severely undermining the country's progress since national elections in 2006. Despite the signing of the Goma peace accords in January and the presence of UN peacekeepers, fighting continued in North and South Kivu throughout the year. Security forces and all armed groups continued to act with impunity, committing frequent serious abuses including arbitrary killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape, looting, and the use of children as combatants. The conflict continued to fuel the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, resulting in as many as 45,000 Congolese deaths each month, a total of more than one million internally displaced persons, and dozens of attacks on humanitarian workers by armed groups. Pervasive sexual violence continued, including more than 2,200 registered cases of rape in June in North Kivu alone. Throughout the country, security forces harassed, beat, intimidated, and arrested local human rights advocates and journalists, resulting in a marked deterioration in press freedom.
Eritrea's poor human rights record worsened and the government continued to commit serious abuses including unlawful killings by security forces with impunity. The ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the only legal political party and no national elections have been held since Eritrea gained independence in 1993. The constitution, ratified in 1997, has never been implemented. The independent press remained banned, and most independent journalists were in detention or had fled the country. Government roundups of young people for national service intensified in 2008. Credible reports indicate that national service evaders were tortured while in detention, and security forces shot individuals trying to cross the border into Ethiopia. Religious freedom, already severely restricted, declined further. At year's end over 3,200 Christians from unregistered groups were detained in prison, as were more than 35 leaders and pastors of Pentecostal churches, some of whom had been detained for more than three years without charge or due process. At least three religious prisoners died in captivity during the year, from torture and lack of medical treatment.
The violence following Kenya's December 2007 local, parliamentary, and presidential elections ended in February when an international mediation process produced an agreement to form a coalition government under which President Mwai Kibaki retained his office, and opposition candidate Raila Odinga was appointed to a newly-created prime ministerial position. The political settlement established a reform framework to investigate and address the underlying causes of the violence, which killed approximately 1,500 persons and displaced more than 500,000. Progress on reform was slow and efforts to address the economic and social aftermath of the violence were incomplete. Separately, the deployment of security forces to Mount Elgon to quell an abusive militia resulted in human rights abuses by security forces.
Mauritania's human rights record deteriorated, with an abridgement of citizens' rights to change their government, arbitrary arrests, and the political detentions of the president and prime minister following an August 6 coup. The president was released from detention in December; however, the military junta, known as the High State Council (HSC), remained in power with General Mohamed Aziz as head of state at the end of the year. Members of the international community, including the African Union, strongly condemned the coup. Prior to the August 6 coup, the then-democratically elected government supported nationwide sensitization on a new antislavery law and increased public discussion on formerly taboo issues, such as ethnic divisions and social injustices. That government also supported national reconciliation efforts regarding the country's 1989–1991 expulsion of Afro-Mauritanians through the launch of a repatriation program in coordination with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Nigeria, the courts continued to adjudicate the results of the seriously flawed 2007 presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections. On December 12, the Supreme Court rejected the appeals of two major opposition presidential candidates, upholding the election of President Yar'Adua. The two opposition leaders respected the court's ruling. Election tribunals nullified nine senatorial elections and 11 gubernatorial elections during the year. Violence continued in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where over 400 persons (Nigerian nationals and expatriates) were kidnapped in approximately 100 incidents during the year. In November, ethno-religious violence erupted in Jos, resulting in the deaths of several hundred persons and the displacement of tens of thousands. Corruption continued to plague the resource-rich country and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's anticorruption efforts declined, with little progress on prosecutions of federal, state, and local officials accused of corruption.
In Somalia, fighting among the Transitional Federal Government (TFG)/Ethiopian National Defense Forces and their militias, the Council of Islamic Courts militias, antigovernment and extremist groups, terrorist organizations, and clan militias resulted in widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of more than 1,000 civilians, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, kidnappings and disappearances, and attacks on journalists, aid workers, civil society leaders, and human rights activists. The political process to establish peace and stability in the country continued as the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia reached the Djibouti Agreement on June 9 and began to implement its terms; however, implementation was slow and marred by political infighting.
In Sudan, conflict in Darfur entered its fifth year and civilians continued to suffer from the effects of genocide. UN data from 2008 indicated that, since it began, the protracted conflict has left more than 2.7 million people internally displaced and another 250,000 across the border in Chad, where they sought refuge. Government, government-aligned militias, and intertribal attacks killed civilians. Government forces bombed villages, killed internally displaced persons, and collaborated with militias to raze villages. The government systematically impeded and obstructed humanitarian efforts, and rebels and bandits killed humanitarian workers. Unidentified assailants killed several joint AU-UN peacekeeping mission troops, and government forces attacked a peacekeeping convoy. On May 10, the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel group, attacked Omdurman, near Khartoum. The government committed wide scale politically- and ethnically-motivated detentions and disappearances in Omdurman and Khartoum following the attack. The government severely restricted freedom of the press, including through direct and daily censorship. Since 2005, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and the South was signed, approximately 2.1 million displaced persons and refugees have returned to the South. However, tensions over the implementation of the CPA persisted, and fighting between northern and southern forces destroyed much of Abyei town, killing civilians and displacing more than 50,000 people.
Zimbabwe’s illegitimate government engaged in the systematic abuse of human rights, which increased dramatically during the year, in conjunction with an escalating humanitarian crisis caused by repression, corruption, and destructive economic and food policies, which the Mugabe regime persisted in applying despite their disastrous humanitarian consequences. Civil society and humanitarian organizations were targeted by government and militant groups for their efforts to protect citizens' rights and provide life-saving humanitarian assistance. A nearly three-month ban on the activities of NGOs exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as well as food insecurity and poverty. After the ban was lifted, the Mugabe regime continued to impede humanitarian access. Millions of Zimbabweans were food insecure at year's end.
The regime's manipulation of the political process, including the presidential elections, through intimidation, violence, corruption and vote fraud negated the right of citizens to change their government. Security forces and ruling party supporters killed, abducted, and tortured members of the opposition, student leaders, civil society activists and ordinary Zimbabweans with impunity. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions gained a parliamentary majority in the March 29 election, but the results of the presidential race were not released until May 2, calling into question the credibility and independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Government-sponsored violence in the period leading up to the June 27 run-off left more than 190 dead, thousands injured, and tens of thousands displaced. The Electoral Commission declared Mugabe the winner of the run-off election after MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai-–who had scored a strong plurality in the first round--withdrew because of the Mugabe regime's violence directed at the MDC and its supporters and out of recognition that a free and fair election was not possible. Negotiations mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led to a September 15 power-sharing agreement; however, due to government intransigence, the provisions of the deal had not been implemented by year's end and the country remained in crisis.
East Asia and the Pacific
During the year there were both advances and setbacks in human rights in the vast East Asia and the Pacific region, particularly in the areas of accountability for past abuses, freedom of speech and the press, democratic development, and trafficking in persons.
Countries in the region continued to come to terms with past abuses. The Bilateral Commission of Truth and Friendship, created to examine the atrocities committed by both Indonesians and Timorese during the period surrounding Timor-Leste's 1999 independence referendum, delivered its final report during the year. Indonesian President Yudhoyono acknowledged and accepted the report's finding that assigned institutional responsibility to the Indonesian Armed Forces. In addition, in August the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia refined its internal rules to prosecute more rapidly egregious crimes of the 1975 1979 Khmer Rouge regime. However, the trials had still not begun by year's end.
Some countries increased repression in response to popular efforts to secure respect for human rights. Vietnam increased restrictions on freedom of speech and press, and in China the government increased its severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and increased its detention and harassment of dissidents and petitioners.
Other unelected rulers attempted to cloak their illegitimacy with trappings of democracy and manipulated the law to their own ends. The Burmese regime pushed through a constitutional referendum characterized by widespread irregularities and intimidation in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Nargis. While the constitution technically came into effect in May, by the constitution's own terms, the regime will continue to "exercise state sovereignty" until multiparty elections are held in 2010. The constitution will ensure that the military will continue to exercise a dominant role in political life regardless of the outcome of any electoral process. At the end of the year, the regime imposed draconian sentences on more than 100 democracy activists who participated in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and individuals who engaged in the Cyclone relief effort. Many were moved to prisons in remote parts of the country, isolating them from family. In Fiji, the Suva High Court ruled to validate the 2006 Fiji coup, despite simmering opposition to the interim government's refusal to hold elections in March 2009.
Trafficking in persons was another area where results were mixed during the year. Several countries enacted new antitrafficking legislation-–such as Thailand and Cambodia–-and began to investigate and prosecute a broader range of trafficking offenses, such as the trafficking of men for labor exploitation. However, in Malaysia, widespread NGO and media reports alleged that Malaysian immigration officials were involved in the trafficking of Burmese refugees along the Malaysia-Thai border.
Selected Country Developments
The military regime in Burma continued its oppressive methods, denying citizens the right to change their government and committing other severe human rights abuses. The regime brutally suppressed dissent through extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture. Human rights and prodemocracy activists were harassed, arbitrarily detained in large numbers, and sentenced up to 65 years of imprisonment. The regime held detainees and prisoners in life-threatening conditions. The army continued its attacks on ethnic minority areas. The regime routinely infringed on citizens' privacy and restricted freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, and movement. Violence and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities continued, as did trafficking in persons. Workers' rights were restricted and forced labor persisted. The government took no significant actions to prosecute or punish those responsible for such abuses. The regime showed contempt for the welfare of its own citizens when it persisted in conducting a fraudulent referendum in the immediate aftermath of a cyclone that killed tens of thousands and blocked and delayed international assistance that could have saved many lives.
The government of China's human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas. The government continued to limit citizens' privacy rights and tightly controlled freedom of speech, the press (including the Internet), assembly, movement, and association. Authorities committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners, and used forced labor. In addition, the Chinese government increased detention and harassment of dissidents, petitioners, human rights defenders, and defense lawyers. Local and international NGOs continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. China's human rights record worsened in some areas, including severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Tibet. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the Olympic Games and the unrest in Tibet. At the end of the year, the government harassed signatories of Charter '08 who called for respect for universal human rights and reform and arrested writer Liu Xiaobo for his participation in the drafting of the Charter. In October, the government made permanent temporary Olympic Games-related regulations granting foreign journalists greater freedoms.
The Government of Malaysia generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas, including the abridgment of its citizens' right to change their government. Despite their complaint that the ruling party exploited the powers of incumbency, opposition parties made significant gains by capturing 82 of 222 parliamentary seats in March 8 elections, effectively denying the ruling coalition the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend the constitution at will. The government continued to restrict freedoms of press, association, assembly, speech, and religion. The government arrested opposition leaders and journalists. Internet bloggers were arrested for apparently political reasons. Deaths in police custody remained a problem, as did police abuse of detainees, overcrowded immigration detention centers, and persistent questions about the impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Some employers exploited migrant workers and ethnic Indian-Malaysians with forced labor, and some child labor occurred in plantations.
North Korea's human rights record remained abysmal. While the regime continued to control almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers' rights, reports of abuse emerged from the country with increased frequency. However, these reports continued to be difficult to confirm. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners, continued to paint a grim picture of life inside the reclusive country. Some forcibly repatriated refugees were said to have undergone severe punishment and possibly torture. Reports of public executions also continued to emerge.
Despite a tumultuous political atmosphere, Thailand avoided unconstitutional disruptions in governance. Nevertheless, there continued to be reports that police were linked to extrajudicial killings and disappearances. Police abuse of detainees and prisoners persisted as well, as did corruption within the police force. The separatist insurgency in the south resulted in numerous human rights abuses, including killings, committed by ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents, Buddhist defense volunteers, and government security forces. The government maintained some limits on freedom of speech and of the press, particularly through the use of lese majeste provisions. Members of hill tribes without proper documentation continued to face restrictions on their movement; however, the 2008 Nationality Act, which took effect on February 28, increased the possibility of citizenship for hill tribe members.
The government of Vietnam continued to restrict citizens' rights in significant ways. Citizens could not change their government, political opposition movements were prohibited, and the government continued to suppress dissent. Individuals were arbitrarily detained for political activities and denied the right to fair and expeditious trials. Suspects were abused during arrest, detention, and interrogation. Corruption was a significant problem among the police force, as was impunity. The government continued to limit citizens' privacy rights and freedom of expression. There was a general crackdown on press freedom throughout the year, resulting in the firings of several senior media editors and the arrest of two reporters. These actions dampened what had previously been a trend toward more aggressive investigative reporting. Restrictions on assembly, movement, and association continued. Independent human rights organizations were prohibited. Violence and discrimination against women remained a problem, as did trafficking in persons. The government limited workers' rights and arrested or harassed several labor activists.
Europe and Eurasia
The key challenges in the region remained: strengthening new democracies, stemming government restrictions on and repression of human rights NGOs, and addressing hate crimes and hate speech while protecting fundamental freedoms against a backdrop of migration, rising nationalism, and economic recession.
In several post-Soviet countries, previous gains for human rights and democracy were reversed or the slide towards authoritarianism continued. A number of elections failed to meet democratic standards set by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and media freedom remained under attack. Journalists were killed or harassed, and laws often restricted rather than protected freedom of expression.
During the August conflict that began in the Georgian separatist enclave of South Ossetia, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including a number of journalists. After the Russians entered South Ossetia, there were allegations that South Ossetian irregulars engaged in executions, torture, ethnic attacks, and random burning of homes, and at least 150,000 Georgian citizens were displaced by the fighting. Russian and South Ossetian forces occupied villages outside of the administrative borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the other separatist region in Georgia. Although Russian forces mostly withdrew by October 10 from the regions outside of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they blocked access to both regions for Georgians and international organizations, making it dangerous for residents and difficult to monitor conditions in the region with respect to human rights and compliance with humanitarian law.
In many countries, governments impeded the freedom of the press. In Azerbaijan, increasing numbers of attacks on journalists went unpunished, while journalists themselves remained in prison on purported criminal charges. Russia remained a dangerous place for journalists, a number of whom were killed or brutally attacked during the year. In Belarus, President Lukashenka signed a new media law that could further restrict press freedoms, including Internet publications. Developments in Georgia, including the opposition's loss of control of Imedi Television, which had been the sole remaining independent national television station, raised significant concerns about the state of media diversity.
NGOs and opposition parties were the targets of government oppression in several countries. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina forced the closure for several days of an international anticorruption NGO after a report accusing government officials of corruption. In Russia, authorities increasingly harassed many NGOs that focused on politically sensitive areas and during the year the government amended the law on extremism, making it easier to bring charges against an organization. The previous version of the law had already raised concerns about restriction of the freedom of association and legitimate criticism of the government. In Belarus, while the release of nine political prisoners was welcome, concern remained about the government's arbitrary constraints on freedom of assembly and association and its frequent harassment of independent activists. In Russia, police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protests, particularly opposition protests.
There were both hopeful and troubling indicators for democratic governance in the region. On a positive note, Kosovo's democratically-elected government successfully declared its independence on February 17, and put in place a constitution and laws with model provisions for human rights. Unfortunately, other nations did not have such encouraging results. The February presidential elections in Armenia were significantly flawed and followed by days of peaceful protests that the government ultimately put down violently. In Russia, the March presidential election was marked by problems both during the campaign period and on Election Day, including bias by government-controlled or –influenced media in favor of the ruling party and its candidates, authorities' refusal to register opposition party candidates, lack of equal opportunity for conducting campaigns, and ballot fraud. Parliamentary elections in Belarus fell significantly short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections, and all of the 110 declared winners were government supporters. Elections in Azerbaijan failed to meet key OSCE commitments.
Human rights concerns were not limited to the eastern portion of the continent. A number of the well-established democracies of western and central Europe wrestled with continuing challenges resulting from the large influx of new migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere that strained economic and social resources and led to restrictive practices toward immigrants and many charges of mistreatment. In many countries, detention facilities for undocumented migrants suffered from poor conditions and were inferior to those for other detained individuals. The majority of hate crimes in Ukraine during the year involved people of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian origin. In Russia the disturbing and steady rise in xenophobic, racial, and ethnic attacks continued. There were manifestations of anti-Semitism in many countries in the region and incidents of violent anti-Semitic attacks remained a concern. In a number of countries, including Italy and Hungary, members of the Roma community were targets of societal violence, which in some cases was more frequent and lethal than in previous years.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom sought to outlaw hate speech in order to protect minorities from discrimination and violence. However, some human rights observers worried that this impinged on free speech.
Selected Country Developments
There were significant setbacks for democracy in Armenia, including the worst post-election violence seen in the Caucasus in recent years. After weeks of generally peaceful protests following a disputed February presidential election, the government used force to disperse protestors on March 1-2, which resulted in violent clashes and 10 deaths. The violence ushered in a 20-day state of emergency and a blackout of independent media during which the government severely curtailed civil liberties. During the remainder of the year, there were significant restrictions on the right to assemble peacefully or express political opinions freely without risk of retaliation, and several opposition sympathizers were convicted and imprisoned with disproportionately harsh sentences for seemingly political reasons. Fifty-nine opposition sympathizers reportedly remained imprisoned on seemingly political grounds at year's end; no government officials were prosecuted for their alleged role in election-related crimes. Despite the mixed success of a politically-balanced fact-finding group established by the government to investigate the March events, the climate for democracy was further chilled by harassment, intimidation, and intrusive tax inspections against independent media and civil society activists.
In Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was re-elected president for a second term in October in a process that international observers assessed did not meet international standards for a democratic election, despite some government improvement in the administration of the election. Shortcomings included serious restrictions on political participation and media, pressure and restrictions on observers, and flawed vote counting and tabulation processes. During the year restrictions and pressure on the media worsened. A media-monitoring NGO reported that during the first half of the year there were 22 acts of verbal or physical assault on journalists, up from 11 in the same period of 2007, with no accountability. Several journalists remained imprisoned on charges that many criticized as politically motivated. On December 30, the government announced that as of January 1, 2009, it would no longer permit Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, or BBC to continue to broadcast on national television and FM radio frequencies; without these international broadcasters, the public no longer had access to unbiased news on any widely accessible broadcast media.
In Belarus, the government's human rights record remained very poor, and authorities continued to commit frequent serious abuses. Despite prior government assurances, parliamentary elections in September were neither free nor fair. Authorities failed to account for past politically motivated disappearances. Prison conditions remained extremely poor, and reports of abuse of prisoners and detainees continued. The judiciary lacked independence. The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion. State security services used unreasonable force to disperse peaceful protesters. Corruption remained a problem. NGOs and political parties were subjected to harassment, fines, prosecution, and closure. Religious leaders were fined or deported for performing services and some churches were closed.
In Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili was reelected in January in an election that international observers found consistent with most OSCE democratic election commitments. However, they also highlighted significant challenges, including widespread allegations of intimidation and pressure and flawed vote counting. Problems also were noted in parliamentary elections in May. There were allegations of politically motivated detentions. Media diversity was reduced when opposition voices lost control over the one remaining national television station. During the August conflict, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including of a number of journalists.
The Russian Federation continued a negative trajectory in its overall domestic human rights record with numerous reports of government and societal human right problems and abuses during the year. During the August conflict, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including of a number of journalists. The government's human rights record remained poor in the North Caucasus with security forces reportedly engaged in killings, torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal treatment, often with impunity. In Chechnya, Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, security forces allegedly were involved in unlawful killings and politically motivated abductions; for a second year, there was a significant increase in the number of killings, usually by unknown assailants, of both civilians and officials in Ingushetiya.
Civil liberties continued to be under siege, reflecting an erosion of the government's accountability to its citizens. Government pressure weakened freedom of expression and media independence, and it remained a dangerous environment for media practitioners. Five journalists were killed during the year, in one case in Ingushetiya by police. Killings of journalists in past years remained unresolved. The government limited freedom of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protest. Authorities' hostility toward, and harassment of some NGOs, in particular those involved in human rights monitoring, as well as those receiving foreign funding, reflected an overall contraction of space for civil society. Given an increasingly centralized political system where power is concentrated in the presidency and the office of prime minister, the problems that occurred in the December 2007 Duma elections were repeated in the March presidential elections, which failed to meet many international standards.
Near East and North Africa
Continued serious challenges for the promotion of democracy and human rights characterized the Middle East region during the year, though there were some notable steps forward.
Several governments, including Egypt, Iran, Libya, and Syria, continued to imprison activists because of their beliefs. Ayman Nour, the runnerup in the 2005 Egyptian presidential election, remained in prison in Egypt throughout the reporting period (although he was released on February 18, 2009). Iran's government regularly detains and persecutes women's rights and student activists, labor unionists, and human rights defenders. Iranian authorities continued to crack down on civil society institutions, notably by closing the Center for the Defense of Human Rights on December 21 as it prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The government of Libya announced in March that it had released political activist Fathi El-Jahmi, but he remained in detention at the Tripoli Medical Center during the year and was granted only sporadic visits by his family. In Syria, the government detained several high-profile members of the human rights community, particularly individuals affiliated with the national council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, an umbrella organization of reformist opposition groups.
Along with greater access to information through the Internet and satellite television came greater restrictions on media, including Internet bloggers. In Egypt, police detained and allegedly tortured bloggers. Iran's best-known blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was arrested late in the year. Tunisia regressed on media freedom, with authorities arresting or harassing bloggers. In Iraq, journalists continued to struggle for safety while reporting on politics, women's rights, and homosexuality. Although the number of killings of journalists in Iraq dropped last year, the death rate remained high.
Many countries in the region continued to restrict religious freedom and expression. Iran detained seven leaders of the Baha'i faith since May, and the Iranian president continued to denounce the existence of Israel. Saudi Arabia strictly prohibited public worship of faiths other than Sunni Islam, and religious minorities faced discrimination in access to education, employment, and representation in government. Members of religions that are not recognized by the government experienced personal and collective hardship in Egypt. Other countries, such as Bahrain and Algeria, enacted discriminatory legislation or, like Jordan, continued to implement policies that favored the majority religions.
Legal and societal discrimination as well as violence against women continued throughout the region. Iranian women's rights activists were harassed, abused, arrested, and accused of "endangering national security" for participating in peaceful protests and demanding equal treatment under Iranian law through the One Million Signatures Campaign. However, other countries in the region witnessed incremental progress on women's rights and women actively sought leadership roles in local and national governments. In Kuwait, 27 women ran for office in May 2008 national elections, although none of the female candidates won. Also during the year, the UAE appointed its first female judge and two female ambassadors.
Some countries in the Near East have taken significant steps over the past several years to address worker abuse and to raise labor standards. Oman and Bahrain enacted comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking and Jordan extended labor law protections to expatriate household workers. Significant challenges remain, however, regarding protection for foreign workers and implementation of existing labor laws and regulations for all workers, especially for construction and household workers.
Selected Country Developments
In Egypt, there was a decline in the government's respect for freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion during the year. In particular, detentions and arrests of Internet bloggers appeared to be linked primarily to their efforts to organize demonstrations through their blogs and participation in street protests or other activism. The state of emergency, enacted in 1967, remained in place, and security forces used unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused prisoners and detainees, in most cases with impunity.
The government of Iran intensified its systematic campaign of intimidation against reformers, academics, journalists, and dissidents through arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, and secret trials that occasionally end in executions. Executions of defendants who were juveniles at the time of their arrest continued. Iranian-American dual nationals, as well as Iranians with contacts in or travel to the United States, continued to be targets of intimidation and harassment. Prior to parliamentary elections in March, the Guardian Council disqualified almost 1,700 reformist candidates.
The general security situation throughout Iraq substantially improved and some reconciliation and easing of tensions occurred in several provinces. However, continuing insurgent and extremist violence against civilians undermined the government's ability to uphold the rule of law, resulting in widespread and severe human rights abuses. However, there were positive developments including the passage of the Provincial Election Law on September 24 calling for elections in 14 Arab majority provinces on January 31, 2009, with elections later in the year in the three Kurdish provinces and Tameem (Kirkuk). The November 16 adoption of a law authorizing the establishment of the constitutionally mandated Independent High Commission for Human Rights also marked a step forward to institutionalize protection of those rights.
In Jordan, civil society activists expressed concern about a new law on associations. The law, which has yet to be implemented, allows the government to deny registration of NGOs for any reason; dissolve associations; and intervene in the management, membership, and activities of NGOs. According to international and local NGOs prisons continued to be overcrowded and understaffed with inadequate food and health care and limited visitation. Although Jordanian law prohibits torture, Human Rights Watch reported that torture remained widespread and routine. There were reports by citizens and NGOs that political prisoners, including Islamists convicted of crimes against national security, received greater abuse than other prisoners, and guards abused prisoners with impunity. Women held a limited number of government leadership positions, albeit at levels higher than elsewhere in the region; at the same time, domestic violence and so-called honor crimes persisted. A 2007 press law abolished imprisonment of journalists for ideological offenses; however, limited detention and imprisonment of journalists for defamation and slander continued through provisions in the penal code. Many journalists reported that the threat of stringent fines led to self-censorship. In July the Labor Law was amended to include agriculture workers and domestic servants, placing them under some legal protections.
For a fourth consecutive year, internal violence and political battles hindered Lebanon's ability to improve the country's human rights situation. On May 7, opposition fighters led by Hizballah, a Shia opposition party and terrorist organization, seized control of Beirut International Airport and several West Beirut neighborhoods. On May 21, after 84 died and approximately 200 were wounded, rival leaders reached a deal to end the violence and the 18-month political feud. Despite the cessation of hostilities and parliament's May election of President Michel Sleiman, Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country, and the government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming armed militia groups, including Hizballah.
The Syrian government continued to violate citizens' privacy rights and to impose significant restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association, in an atmosphere of government impunity and corruption. Security services disrupted meetings of human rights organizations and detained activists, organizers, and other regime critics without due process. Throughout the year, the government sentenced to prison several high-profile members of the human rights community, especially individuals affiliated with the national council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an umbrella organization of reformist opposition groups.
In Tunisia, the government continued its systematic, severe repression of freedom of expression and association. The government remained intolerant of public criticism by human rights and opposition activists and used intimidation, criminal investigations, and violent harassment of editors and journalists to discourage criticism. Authorities strictly censored publications both in print and on line, and routinely harassed journalists. Security forces killed a political protestor during the year and detainees faced torture, sexual assault, and coercion in attempts to elicit confessions.
South and Central Asia
Significant attacks on basic rights, including the freedoms of expression, religion, and association, marked 2008 in South and Central Asia.
A number of governments in the region continued to harass individual journalists and media outlets, and several countries continued to restrict free access to information on the Internet, particularly in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, the government removed programs of a prominent independent broadcaster from state-run radio and television. A government-controlled Internet provider in Kazakhstan intermittently blocked specific news and opposition-focused Web sites. Both governments levied heavy criminal libel penalties against journalists and, in some cases, the journalists left the country due to fear for their own safety. As in years past, journalists working in Turkmenistan were subject to government harassment, arrest, detention in psychological clinics, and violence. In Afghanistan, the government convicted a student journalist of blasphemy and sentenced him to death for distributing an article he downloaded from the Internet about women's rights in Islam; an appeals court reduced the sentence to 20 years in prison. In Pakistan, arrests of journalists declined following the election of a new government. Even so, unidentified actors continued to intimidate, abduct, and kill journalists, particularly in regions of internal conflict. In Sri Lanka, defense and government officials made threatening statements against independent media outlets in the aftermath of several unresolved attacks against members of the free press.
Freedom of religion came under attack in the region with the parliaments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan introducing laws that would increase restrictions on religious freedom, disproportionately affecting religious minorities, and through violence against minorities in the Indian state of Orissa. These actions took place in the context of increased harassment of minority religious groups by the governments of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and continued harassment by the government of Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan welcomed a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, but the government closely controlled and monitored all religious activity.
Significant issues remained on labor rights across the region. Child labor continued in agriculture and manufacturing sectors in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. There was widespread child labor in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in cotton and other sectors, and Uzbekistan continued to compel many schoolchildren to work in the cotton harvest. Although the government of Kazakhstan is making strides to eliminate child labor, the practice still occurs in the cotton and tobacco sectors. Forced labor, especially in the large informal sectors and among socially disadvantaged minorities, continued in Nepal, Pakistan, and India. Labor organizers in Bangladesh reported acts of intimidation and abuse as well as increased scrutiny by security forces.
Although some governments in the region restricted political opposition and prohibited genuine electoral competition, there were several improvements with regard to elections and political competition in South Asia. In Pakistan, the two main opposition parties, Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, together won majority seats in competitive parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government ending nine years of military rule. The people of Maldives elected a former political prisoner as president in a free and fair election, peacefully unseating the longest-serving Asian leader. The Afghan Independent Election Commission led preparatory efforts for Afghanistan's second round of elections since the fall of the Taliban. Elections in Nepal produced the most diverse legislature in the country's history, and the new parliament subsequently declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, peacefully dissolving the monarchy. Bangladesh held free and fair parliamentary elections with isolated irregularities and sporadic violence. The elections and subsequent peaceful transfer of power ended two years of rule by a military-backed caretaker government. In Bhutan, elections for the lower house of parliament completed the country's transition to a constitutional and limited monarchy with genuine popular oversight and participation.
Selected Country Developments
Although human rights in Afghanistan have improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the country's record remained poor due to weak central government institutions and a deadly insurgency. The Taliban, Al-Qa'ida, and other extremist groups continued attacks against government officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel, and unarmed civilians. There were continued reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions, extrajudicial killings, torture, and poor prison conditions. Government repression and armed groups prevented the media from operating freely.
In Bangladesh, levels of violence declined significantly and the caretaker government oversaw successful elections, but the government's human rights record remained a matter of serious concern. The state of emergency, which the government imposed in January 2007 and lifted on December 17, curtailed many fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to post bail. The government's anticorruption drive was greeted by popular support but gave rise to concerns about fairness and equality under the law. Although the number of extrajudicial killings decreased, security forces committed serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, arbitrary arrest and detention, and harassment of journalists. Some members of security forces acted with impunity and committed acts of torture, and the government failed to investigate fully extrajudicial killings.
In Kazakhstan, the political opposition faced government harassment via politically motivated criminal charges and restrictions on freedom of assembly. The government continued to harass independent and opposition-oriented media outlets and journalists. At year's end, the government was considering amendments to laws governing political parties, media, and elections. Some civil society representatives and opposition parties criticized the process as lacking transparency. The government was also considering amendments to the religion law that, if enacted, would represent a serious step backward for religious freedom.
Although Kyrgyzstan has a vibrant civil society and independent media, in the past year the government increasingly sought to control various aspects of civil life. New laws or amendments placed restrictions on public assembly, religious freedom, and media. In October, the National Television and Radio Network took Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe off the air, reducing the public's access to this independent source of information. The Central Election Commission chairwoman fled the country after claiming she had been pressured by the president's son over registering an opposition candidate for October local council elections.
Nepal became a federal democratic republic shortly after national elections in April produced the most diverse legislature in the country's history. Although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities, observers reported that the elections reflected the will of the people. Violence, extortion, and intimidation continued throughout the year; and impunity for human rights violators, threats against the media, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention were serious problems. Members of the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League, and other small, often ethnically based armed groups committed numerous grave human rights abuses. Such abuses included arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force, torture, and abduction. Several armed groups, largely in the Terai region, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other, or Maoists.
Pakistan returned to civilian democratic rule during the year. Opposition parties prevailed in February parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government. The coalition lasted only part of the year though the government remains in power. In September, Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, succeeded Pervez Musharraf as president. The new government put back on the bench under a new oath five of the 13 Supreme Court judges Musharraf deposed during the November 2007 state of emergency, while three retired or resigned. The chief of army staff withdrew 3,000 army officers from civilian government posts they held during Musharraf's tenure. Despite these positive steps, the human rights situation remained poor. Military operations in the country's northwest killed approximately 1,150 civilians, militant attacks in that region killed 825 more civilians, sectarian violence in the country killed an estimated 1,125 persons, and suicide bombings killed more than 970 individuals. Ongoing battles with militants left approximately 200,000 persons displaced at year's end.
In Sri Lanka, the democratically elected government's respect for human rights declined as armed conflict escalated in the country's 25-year civil war. By year's end, there was little movement on political inclusion of minorities and they continued to suffer the majority of human rights abuses, such as killings and disappearances. The government expelled most international humanitarian assistance providers from the northern conflict zone. Although the government took initial steps to address the use of child soldiers by progovernment militias, the problem was not resolved. The government failed to investigate and prosecute any security forces for human rights violations and to implement constitutional provisions that would provide oversight of government institutions. Civil society was intimidated and independent media and journalists came under particular pressure through attacks and threats from pro-government actors.
Although there were modest improvements, the government of Turkmenistan continued to commit serious abuses and its human rights record remained poor. Political and civil liberties continued to be severely restricted. In June authorities arrested former activist and former political prisoner Gulgeldy Annaniyazov after he allegedly reentered the country illegally and sentenced him in a closed trial to 11 years in prison. December parliamentary elections fell far short of international standards. The government continued its effort to revise laws, including its constitution, to bring them into conformity with relevant international conventions.
The Government of Uzbekistan took steps to address human rights concerns such as defendants' rights, trafficking in persons, and child labor in the cotton industry. However, serious human rights abuses continued and torture remained systemic in law enforcement. Auth
http://www.emportal.co.yu/en/news/region/80365.html
March,7,2009
L.K. Advani Before the Statue of ' RAM '
***********************************
For my glory,I always used your name,
I am a fraud, my Lord, you know it well;
From you, I can't conceal my true self,
I maligned you for my political smell.
But you never let me face the despair,
On me, your blessings always rained;
I succeeded in blazing the trail of terror,
With the militants,in your name, I trained.
I was a heinous terrorist for the law of land,
The grace of your name provided me shield;
To a Muslim, my crimes were fit for death,
Your symbol gave me powers, that I wield.
Now forgive me for the sake of your sanctity,
You are my Lord! the most revered sage !;
I abused your piety to reach the highest post,
Fulfill my last wish at this fag-end of age.
*********************************
Dr.Mustafa Kamal Sherwani,LL.D.
Chairman, All India Muslim Forum
Sherwani Nagar, Sitapur Road
Lucknow, U.P. India
E:mail ; sherwanimk@yahoo.com
Phones: +91-522-2733715
+91-9919777909
Declaration of the Women's International Committee of Via Campesina
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, 2009
We, women farmers from the five continents gathered in Seoul, South Korea, in the framework of Via Campesina’s Women’s International Committee meeting, declare:
On the 8th of March, the International Women's Day, we reaffirm our willingness to take actions to change the capitalist and patriarchal world that gives priority to the market’s interests instead of the rights of people.
As women farmers, we demand the respect of all our rights. We demand a life with dignity and without violence, and the respect of our sexual and reproductive rights. We struggle to achieve food sovereignty and to defend family farming, the only alternative to the current food and climate crises. We want a real agrarian reform and respect for biodiversity.
We launched the international campaign against violence towards women in Maputo, Mozambique, during Via Campesina’s 5th Conference – October 2008.
At this meeting in Korea, we reconfirm our will:
- To strengthen the organization at all levels and the struggle of women for their emancipation
- To move forward in the equity of the sexes and women’s participation in all areas of decision making
- To implement parity in our organizations
- To end all forms of violence towards women, and to break the culture of silence
- To build a global society that is just and equal.
We call women and men who struggle for peace and justice to take part in the immediate implementation of measures to eradicate all forms of physical, sexual, economic, environmental, verbal, psychological violence. We demand an end to the violence of war.
We support our farmer sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Palestine as well as all the women in all the countries that suffer wars and conflicts.
We denounce the destructive practices of transnational companies that destroy biodiversity, steal land, create environmental disasters, force massive migrations and cause the disappearance of family farming. We commit ourselves to struggle against unjust corporate power.
All forms of inequality must be eliminated as soon as possible, whether they are social, cultural, ethnic, class or gender based.
We will struggle until we build a society that values the worth and the rights of each human being and a society that affirms that women's rights are human rights.
GLOBALIZE STRUGGLE
Globalize Hope
Subject: Goodbye Farmers Markets, CSAs, and roadside stands If the corporate lobbyists and corrupt politicians have their way
http://dprogram.net/2009/03/05/goodbye-farmers-markets-csas-and-roadside-stands/#more-9384
Goodbye farmers markets, CSAs, and roadside stands
Posted by sakerfa on March 5, 2009
The “food safety” bills in Congress were written by Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc. All are associated with the opposite of food safety. What is this all about then?
In the simplest terms, organic food and a rebirth of farming were winning. Not in absolute numbers but in a deep and growing shift by the public toward understanding the connection between their food and their health, between good food and true social pleasures, between their own involvement in food and the improvement in their lives in general, between local food and a burgeoning local economy.
Slow Food was right - limit your food to what comes from your region and from real farmers, and slow down to cook it and linger over it with friends and family, and the world begins to change for the better.
And as we face an unprecedented economic crisis, and it is hard to be sure what has value, one thing that always does is food. Which is why the corporations are after absolute control over it. But what obstacles to a complete lock on food do they face? All the people in this country who are “banking” on organic farming and urban gardens and most of all, everyone’s deepening pleasure in and increasing involvement with everything about food.
Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands.
Those are things we not only all want, but things we are actively getting involved in, and things we very much need. And where they are truly good, they are growing.
The international financial corporations which have wreaked havoc around the world with astounding nonsensical “solutions” that are destructive of everyone but them, are brothers to the international agribusiness giants (Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc.) which are just as aggressively after their own form of “taking.” Just seeds, animals, water, land.
And freedom.
Because human beings are by in large good and by in large incredibly resilient and clever, and left to their own devices - that is, free - they would handle this gargantuan financial stupidity the corporations brought us with NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT and all other globalized schemes (which they hope to eventually top off with CODEX). How? By being productive in real ways and locally. And farming is the solid ground under that. Farmers produce something of real value (something we used to take for granted), and from that base, businesses grow up. Local markets, local food processors, local seed companies, local tool and supply companies, local stores … and an economy based on reality and something truly good for us, too, begins to grow.
So, look again at what has been exciting us - Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands. - and realize that they are not only wonderfully healthy but fun and naturally community building. And more, they are a real economy and deeply democratic - and just at a time we need something that works economically, that supports our democratic rebirth, and that protects food itself and our easy access to it.
And it is all those things that threaten the corporations … which is why we now have these massive “fake food safety” bills in Congress. Everything is going under thanks to these fools, and they wish to be there like vultures to make sure that every drop of blood that can be sucked out of our resources and us, is theirs. To wit, they must get rid of such good and innocent things and yet truly powerful things as:
Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands.
And how will those who contaminate our country’s food with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and more, do that? Why, by setting standards for “food safety” that are so grotesquely and inappropriately and even cruelly applied to a local, independent farmers and ranchers that there is no way they can manage. Imagine your being faced with a 100 page IRS form and facing a million dollar a day penalty for screwing up. That would be in the ball park of the impossible complexity mixed with threat facing our farmers. Imagine having the government and corporations deciding every single thing you can do and must do in your kitchen and backing that up with the threat of 10 years in prison for screwing up - though you have never made anyone sick, and those corporations have. Imagine being surveilled 24 hours a day by GPS tracking devices that feed into … a corporate data bank, one they have now moved out of the country so no one here can have legal access to see what is in it.
Imagine the devil himself - or a whole boardrooms of them, dressed in suits - defining the only safe and healthy food in this country as dangerous and burdening hard working farmers with more work then anyone could bear, while his own, their own, food is so dangerous at this point that in the last 10 years alone, diabetes has gone up 90%.
And how did they get this far with such a scheme to apply insane industrial standards to every farm in the country? Through fear of diseases and of outbreaks of food borne illnesses, both of which they cause themselves.
How it works: Tyson helps Bill Clinton get into office. Bill Clinton immediately and significantly lowers contamination standards for poultry as a thank you. And it is such contaminated waste from transnational poultry factories which is now implicated as the source of bird flu. Then fortunes on made on that fear. And then poultry industry uses the crisis they created to push out small farmers and take greater control than ever. Their mantra? Biodiversity not only be damned but be eliminated. And get rid of those damn farmers who protect it while we’re at it.
The bills would require such a burdensome complexity of rules, inspections, licensing, fees, and penalties for each farmer who wishes to sell locally - a fruit stand, at a farmers market - no one could manage it. And THAT is the point. The whole dirty tricks point. The whole “be in tight control of everything needed for survival because it’ll be worth a fortune” point.
So, if you like farmers markets, local farmers, fresh milk, fresh eggs, vegetables stands, and freedom, let your friends know that it’s all on the line right now with those “fake food safety” bills brought to us with well-planned evil and more of it to come, by Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc.
Slow Food reminds us of just where we need to be (and notice how much would help any local economy):
· Forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems;
· Developing an “Ark of Taste” for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated;
· Preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation;
· Organizing small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering and short run products);
· Organizing celebrations of local cuisine within regions (for example, the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada);
· Promoting “taste education;”
· Educating consumers about the risks of fast food;
· Educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms;
· Educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties;
· Developing various political programs to preserve family farms;
· Lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy;
· Lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering;
· Lobbying against the use of pesticides;
· Teaching gardening skills to students and prisoners; and
· Encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces.
But we need to stop these bills first or we are left with no money from the financial bailout and no food from the food stealout.
Send a message to Congress.
We need millions to be fighting this. Contact Eli Pariser at MoveOn moveon-help@list.moveon.org to tell him MoveOn is badly needed.
And below, where Oped News offers a means of writing your local newspaper, take advantage of a chance to vent.
Take action — click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Stop HR 875, HR 814, SR 425, and soon, HR 759
Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers
I’m a mother and grandmother. There is no way I can leave my family or anyone else’s children, things as they are now.
Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Goodbye-farmers-markets-C-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090303-287.html
Future Islam Can Be Proud Of
"Slumdog Millionaire" composer, Indian Muslim Allah Rakha Rahman, said in his Oscar acceptance speech, he had in his life "faced a choice between hate and love, and always chose love."
March 07, 2009
By M. D. Nalapat
There are by some estimates 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, about 1/10 of whom live in India. Despite being a minority in a Hindu-dominated country, India's Muslims outside of the conflict-ridden Kashmir region, have largely refused to heed the siren's call of the Islamic jihadists.
They have remained peaceful citizens of the world's most populous democracy, boldly using their numbers to ensure that those following agendas perceived as anti-Muslim cannot hope to attain national office.
Even the "Hindu-nationalist" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has as its partners parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Janata Dal (United), which staunchly defend the numerous protections given to religious minorities to India since the country gained its independence in 1947.
Alienation Canard
It is small wonder then that India's Muslims have made world-class achievements in areas such as art, cinema, and business. The Muslim Azim Premji is one of India's richest people and has been recognized by "Business Week" as one of "Greatest Entrepreneurs of All Time." Former Indian President Abdul Kalam is also a devout Muslim.
In Bollywood, India's massive movie industry, Muslim heroes and heroines rank among the most popular film stars in a country that is 85 percent Hindu. Last year, "Newsweek" magazine named Muslim film star Shahrukh Khan one of the 50 most powerful people on Earth.
Millions of Muslim youths in India have been trained in sciences such as engineering and medicine since the 1990s, as were hundreds of thousands in the preceding decades. Of course, millions live in poverty -- just like millions of Hindus and Christians and others in this country that has nearly 300 million desperately poor people. The employment and wealth created by entrepreneurs like Premji. The music created by "Slumdog Millionaire" heroes Rahman and Pookutty. The secure energy promised by Muhammad el-Baradei and the IAEA. These are the future of Islam. These people, and millions like them, are the true Muslims.
In short -- although the hate-mongers would wish otherwise -- the overwhelming majority of India's Muslims feel no sense of alienation from their society or the outside world. They are confident that, together with fellow citizens from all faiths, they can compete anywhere in the world and succeed.
This spirit was amply evident during the recent Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, when two Indian Muslims -- Allah Rakha Rahman and Resul Pookutty -- won three Oscars between them in competition with the best composers and sound engineers in the world. These men are a universe away from the hatred and intolerance preached by Islamist extremists, who urge Muslims to withdraw from a world in which they claim everything is stacked against them.
True Spirit
A battle is being waged for the hearts and minds of Muslims, a battle between those preaching hate and exclusion and those advocating coexistence and cooperation. As Rahman said in his Oscar acceptance speech, he had in his life "faced a choice between hate and love, and always chose love." Pookutty dedicated his award to his country, India, and "its civilization," which he said "gave the world the word that precedes silence and is followed by more silence," om.
This is a word that originated thousands of years ago, when Sanskrit was born. Unlike Islamist extremists, Khomeinists, and Wahhabis, who refuse to look beyond their own narrowly interpreted traditions, Rahman and Pookutty scour the world for inspiration, demonstrating their capacity to lead the world in creating the riches of the Knowledge Economy.
If not for the intellectual and cultural destruction wrought by the extremists (remember the Buddhas of Bamiyan?), I think dozens of Muslims would have reached the tops of their fields by now, even joining Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad el-Baradei. El-Baradei, the Egyptian director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), shares with Rahman and Pookutty the moderate, knowledge-driven Islam that was responsible for the rapid spread of the religion during the first millennium after it was revealed.
Wahhabis and Khomeinists constantly seek to undermine the confidence of Muslims by promoting a culture of victimhood and urging Muslims to withdraw from the world and retreat into ghettos. But the compassion and tolerance that forms the core of true Islam can drive away such intolerance and hatred.
People like Rahman, Pookutty, and el-Baradei reflect the true spirit of Islam, a spirit that can create treasures in the modern world instead of drowning in the fantasy of returning to some pre-modern Golden Age. The employment and wealth created by entrepreneurs like Premji. The music created by Rahman and Pookutty. The secure energy promised by el-Baradei and the IAEA. These are the future of Islam. These people, and millions like them, are the true Muslims.
M.D. Nalapat holds the UNESCO Peace Chair and is director of the Department of Geopolitics at Manipal University in India. The views expressed in this commentary are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Future_Islam_Can_Be_Proud_Of/1505883.html
Opinion: Louisiana City One of Many Facing High-Tech Hate Speech
By Carol Forsloff.
Published Feb 11, 2009 by ¦ Carol Forsloff Share:
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Natchitoches, Louisiana is a small Southern town. It is a microcosm of the world, however, in some respects. It is here that hate speech, intolerance and high tech lynching has occurred, just as it has in other places.
The Internet has the capability for people to do both good and bad things. It allows for interactive, international communication so that doctors can exchange information about cures for diseases. But it also allows people with deviant or dangerous motives to enlist legions to their cause. That’s a big concern.
Internet porn and hate affects many communities. It began to be particularly visible on a site called Topix during an election period that began less than two years ago during the local Louisiana Senate and House elections that also brought other key officials up in the campaigns as well. For example, Natchitoches re-elected its sheriff less than 18 months ago. He is a Creole, with African American heritage clearly visible; and he was one of many targeted with hate.
In Natchitoches the Mayor, Wayne McCullen, Sheriff Jones, local civic and business leaders, the President of Northwestern University and the major newspapers, as well as private individuals, have had personal attacks that are beyond ordinary questions of political or social propriety. Instead there are statements of “fact” about shakedowns by a newspaper publisher, adultery involving the Mayor and his assistant, drug-dealing by the Sheriff and racist, slanderous comments about the first and only female African American on the city council. All of these statements of fact are known to be false. When the matter was brought to the website involved, there was no response from its management.
The small town of Natchitoches is thought of by many as an oasis in the South with its pristine natural beauty and its racial mix of white and black almost even with major representatives from both groups actively involved in business and political affairs. It has been designated a key retirement spot by a number of publications. After a sordid past of slavery and segregation, it has moved ahead of much of the State of Louisiana towards inclusion and reconciliation, although vestiges of the problems still remain. It faces the present depression like other places, although less so because it is insulated because of a diverse economy and the fact that it is small enough that people have developed the sense of community that allows bonding and support when major problems occur. It cannot afford, as people in the community declare, to be demoralized by hate groups anymore than other places can at this time. That’s because during economic downturns like a recession or a depression hate groups multiply and cause problems that can become global.
One reputable journalist with decades of experience has been doing a series of investigative reports on Kim de Gelder who has been featured on Facebook sites that have been put up to support and applaud this man as a hero. His behavior involves the stabbing of a total 20 infants and two adults at a creche in the Belgian town of Dendermonde, three of whom have died. He has been called by authorities a mass murderer for this. Still he is applauded by hate speech that spreads through Internet sites and that continues in spite of the seriousness of the content.
The Ku Klux Klan has a website that initially portrays itself as a peaceful, loving group. Look further at its manifestoes and remarks and one sees that peace and love isn’t the direction or intent. This group believes in arming everyone, sending any group that disagrees in any way with white supremacy back to their own country, and quarantining everyone with HIV/Aids. There are many more notions that take an extreme in promoting not love but hate under what under the guise of “Christian concepts.”
There are videos on YouTube that depict sex acts between father and daughter in very detailed ways. Although this link shows a relatively recent video, additionally recommended have been on YouTube for many months.
Want to dialogue and be part of the American Nazi party? You can reach and interact with them online through Yahoo Groups. Yahoo features contact numbers and the membership list as well.
These are the terms of Topix service. The rest of the list is available here.
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, torturous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that shows nudity, partial nudity or adult content;
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that exhorts others to commit illegal acts;
• harm minors in any way;
These terms of service are similar to other website forums, developer sites and interactive Internet discussion groups, some under the umbrella of international businesses like Yahoo and Google. With the violations that seem to be a pattern everywhere, perhaps some believe there should be some international regulation and codes that offer controls and reporting.
Is there a difference between free speech and license and have some groups crossed the boundaries to the latter? It seems so by the evidence and whether it continues without control is something world leaders might need to examine.
This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267027
THE MORAL LIE BEHIND THE HISTORICAL LIE
It is a sad fact that no one cares about the truth. But it is a fact.
What people care about is not offending those who have the power.
Without the terrible power Jews wield, "denial of the Holocaust" would present a problem to no one.
Denying the Holocaust has its counterpart in other unmentionable subjects. Good examples are not discussing the Jewish role in communism or not conceding that the state of Israel has a "right to exist".
Holocaust Denial is not merely about establishing what really happened to the Jews during World War Two, it is about challenging the right of the Jews to impose their dogmas on the rest of the population.
The case of Bishop Richard Williamson is instructive. Bishop Williamson has committed no crime. He has merely expressed an opinion displeasing to Jew power. Worse, he has brought public attention to an issue that Jews wish to have concealed from the public at all costs. And that is the crime.
The real lesson of the Holocaust is:
because Jews were supposedly exterminated during World War Two, Jews are therefore an eternally innocent people. They are never to be criticized, stood up to or forced to back down. That is the moral lie hiding behind the historical lie of the "gas chambers".
And THAT in itself is why the exaggerated account of the Holocaust Hoax must be exposed as a big lie.
B G
Feb. 27, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/audits/123047/clinton_foundation_fueled_by_blood_money/?page=2
Clinton Foundation Fueled By Blood Money
By Rob Larson, AlterNet. Posted January 30, 2009.
The Clinton Foundation is funded by the people, governments and companies that help create the problems the charity seeks to address.
The scale of Mittal's steel empire stacks the deck against smaller competitors and undermines a Clinton Foundation goal. But a nice seven-digit check to the Clintons' global charity levels the playing field enough to sleep at night. The Open Hand giveth, and the Invisible Hand taketh away.
Or take AIDS, often seen to be the foundation's core issue. The foundation recently negotiated heavy price reductions for certain AIDS drugs sold in the developing world and has come to partially support moves by Brazil and Thailand to break the patents on AIDS therapy drugs held by U.S. companies. This new policy has been pushed for by AIDS activists and groups like Doctors Without Borders, who have seen thousands of lives improved by cheap generics that violate patent rights. But only recently has the hand of the foundation been forced by Brazil's and Thailand's patent breaking, which is seen even by conservative observers like the Economist as successful in fighting the disease.
The business press describes the position of the most prominent AIDS activist in South Africa, Zackie Achmat: "Like many activists, he believes drug companies have been goaded into their recent donations -- only by terrible publicity," and that "contrary to what the industry said, patents were indeed an obstacle to affordable medicines." The Financial Times describes the pharmaceutical industry's limited giveaways or price reductions of AIDS drugs as "part of public relations efforts by Western companies to deal with an onslaught over the prices they charge for their drugs."
So while the Clinton Foundation has gradually come to support production of some far-cheaper generics in the developing world, it took public and activist pressure, plus the growing independence of developing countries like Brazil, to bring them and Big Pharma around. And some of the medicine can even be paid for with the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the foundation by AIDS drug patent-mongers Pfizer and Ranbaxy, paying for a few generics to fight the disease they helped to spread.
While the foundation's work is clearly invaluable to the people and desperate communities it serves, the point is that its money comes directly from parties contributing heavily to the problems it's fighting, from the brutal Saudi tyrants paying to encourage human development, to the global steel tycoon kicking in for classes on entrepreneurship, to the drug-patent owners grudgingly contributing to production of the generic drugs they fight against.
The foundation would probably defend itself by saying that its median gift amount is just $45, from its thousands of small-scale donors, who are admirable, well-meaning people. But that doesn't get you to the $492 million total the foundation manages. That comes from the Clintons' big-ticket donors, which also include Victor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian steel oligarch who built his empire from the Soviet Union's assets sell-off, and Blackwater, the U.S. mercenary company under legal sanction for its killings in Iraq. Blood money still spends.
In the end, the Clinton Foundation's big-ticket donors are a ruling-class rogues gallery with a guilty conscience. But in a world of tyrannical regimes, powerful global corporations and spreading disease among the poor, you can count on more ego-stroking from the guilty parties that keep the lights on at Big Charity.
The scale of Mittal's steel empire stacks the deck against smaller competitors and undermines a Clinton Foundation goal. But a nice seven-digit check to the Clintons' global charity levels the playing field enough to sleep at night. The Open Hand giveth, and the Invisible Hand taketh away.
Or take AIDS, often seen to be the foundation's core issue. The foundation recently negotiated heavy price reductions for certain AIDS drugs sold in the developing world and has come to partially support moves by Brazil and Thailand to break the patents on AIDS therapy drugs held by U.S. companies. This new policy has been pushed for by AIDS activists and groups like Doctors Without Borders, who have seen thousands of lives improved by cheap generics that violate patent rights. But only recently has the hand of the foundation been forced by Brazil's and Thailand's patent breaking, which is seen even by conservative observers like the Economist as successful in fighting the disease.
The business press describes the position of the most prominent AIDS activist in South Africa, Zackie Achmat: "Like many activists, he believes drug companies have been goaded into their recent donations -- only by terrible publicity," and that "contrary to what the industry said, patents were indeed an obstacle to affordable medicines." The Financial Times describes the pharmaceutical industry's limited giveaways or price reductions of AIDS drugs as "part of public relations efforts by Western companies to deal with an onslaught over the prices they charge for their drugs."
So while the Clinton Foundation has gradually come to support production of some far-cheaper generics in the developing world, it took public and activist pressure, plus the growing independence of developing countries like Brazil, to bring them and Big Pharma around. And some of the medicine can even be paid for with the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the foundation by AIDS drug patent-mongers Pfizer and Ranbaxy, paying for a few generics to fight the disease they helped to spread.
While the foundation's work is clearly invaluable to the people and desperate communities it serves, the point is that its money comes directly from parties contributing heavily to the problems it's fighting, from the brutal Saudi tyrants paying to encourage human development, to the global steel tycoon kicking in for classes on entrepreneurship, to the drug-patent owners grudgingly contributing to production of the generic drugs they fight against.
The foundation would probably defend itself by saying that its median gift amount is just $45, from its thousands of small-scale donors, who are admirable, well-meaning people. But that doesn't get you to the $492 million total the foundation manages. That comes from the Clintons' big-ticket donors, which also include Victor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian steel oligarch who built his empire from the Soviet Union's assets sell-off, and Blackwater, the U.S. mercenary company under legal sanction for its killings in Iraq. Blood money still spends.
In the end, the Clinton Foundation's big-ticket donors are a ruling-class rogues gallery with a guilty conscience. But in a world of tyrannical regimes, powerful global corporations and spreading disease among the poor, you can count on more ego-stroking from the guilty parties that keep the lights on at Big Charity.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970
All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLxTpsIVzzo
A book, a coup, some thoughts
Is the nation bound by an illegitimate, illegal and palpably unlawful act by a legal government who had not revalidated its mandate to govern as a party under the new constitution in the newly sovereign, independent state called the People’s Republic of Bangladesh? writes Syed Muhammad Hussain
A beautifully produced book, Bangladesh: Failed Years —- 1972-75, by Dr. Jamshed Chowdhury is based on his thesis dissertation for his PhD from Heidelberg University.
The theme of AL’s failures and failure of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been researched over many years, but then these in most cases have been vitiated by the preconceived perceptions brought in, hindering the process of a neutral scrutiny and an unbiased focus. Dr Jamshed Chowdhury does not appear to have an axe to grind in reaching certain conclusions. As a thesis work it appears to have been a labour of love. Perhaps I did miss some nuggets. But the first reading did not reveal any definitive, or for that matter, clear verdict. The readers are left to do that on their own.
Two major strains in the post-Independence political development in Bangladesh so much more attention and these are, one- While Sheikh Mujib may have realised that the overwhelming Bengali support for the cause of Independence was not so much of a total support for Awami League per se, but was an effective ‘carte blanche’ for his leadership of all Bengalis, this very crucial and finer point did not dawn on other AL leaders excepting possibly Tajuddin Ahmed. Or if historic verdict suffers from an element of generosity, it might opine that the rest of the AL high command chose to ignore it and deliberately in the following years, attempted to hoist AL for obvious reasons on the nation It was a monstrous hypocrisy that the nation which had united irrespective of all the past differences and then current gargantuan problems facing the country to rebuild the economy and rekindle the hopes that initiated and sustained the liberation struggle, should have been shackled with AL rule and only a short time later, imprisoned in a one-party political dispensation .
The AL and its short-sighted dwarfs thought they could overturn the popular will imbued then with their sacrifices many times over, No known, well placed AL leader had suffered any personal loss in the bloody war of liberation Sheikh Mujib was safely away, his family lived safely in Dhaka, and Theatre Road in Calcutta saw the Al leaders-in-exile not exactly in the thick of the battles that our valiant, often faceless fighters were engaged in some 100-odd kilometres away in the borders. This aspect must be brought out in the open in truth and without prejudice. Because the AL’s leadership claims are entrenched in these months and in those events occurring between March 1971 and December 1971.
In my view, only Tajuddin had the capability and the courage to strike a different note on policy matters with Sheikh Mujib. Mansur Ali and Qamruzzaman may have had some abilities, but their sense of getting into power was more acute than any ideal or principal-based stand that ought to have been taken in the crucial years before Baksal. Tajuddin in all probability became a hostage of loyalty to Sheikh and to his comrades. Tajuddin’s monumental failure to rebel and all others’ huge ability to ‘kiss the ground’ Sheikh walked on explain the disaster that befell the nation in August 1975. The army’s intervention is only a tool, not a prime mover, not even a reason.
Any analysis of a historic episode will suffer from being static if there is no measurement done of the shadows cast or areas illuminated by all these events. The AL and all other parties demonstrated the identical trait of a built-in failure, when, one- there are no dissenting voices, two, if there are, these are not heard with respect and patience, and third, like the Pharaohs the leaders abandon their trusted lieutenants and plot to empower their ill-gotten, ill-prepared and totally irrelevant offspring. The 1975 – onwards scenario in Bangladesh reveal those very characteristics that negate all the democratic norms and culture of governance of a modern, dynamic, ability-led, performance-oriented state. They violate openly all the values, they themselves shout about day in and day out, again publicly. No nation can and should, suffer such insolence of power and such flagrant disregard of people’s will and welfare.
The second major point of constitutionality was the establishment of one-party state with Baksal Political expediency apart, it was not, and it certainly could not be, the panacea AL and Sheikh Mujib were looking for evidently to tackle the rising problems for the government of the day. In fact, a party-less (disbanding AL) national Government under Sheikh Mujib could possibly have been a wiser, albeit difficult, solution. Through I strongly believe it was AL and its failure to rise above self-a-failed leadership – that led to the irreversible process of disaster, decline and decay in Bangladesh. Instead of strengthening the democratic polity, and culture and institutions like multiparty system, cabinet form of government, freedom of press and speech, independence of judiciary, non-interference in the due conduct of administration, non-preferential treatment to AL and party activists etc., Sheikh Mujib all but wore the crown and sat on the throne as the unelected king of the country. This brings in the legitimate question whether the AL victory in 1970 elections in Pakistan framework, could have been at all be valid as mandate in Bangladesh with its own constitution, for the declaration of one-party state in 1974. We need indeed to recall and emphasise that even the 1970 mandate was given in a multiparty elections.
Is the nation bound by an illegitimate, illegal and palpably unlawful act by a legal government who had not revalidated its mandate to govern as a party under the new constitution in the newly sovereign, independent state called the People’s Republic of Bangladesh?
One of the unexplained phenomena of all times in Bangladesh relates to the total absence, absolutely so, of any public outpouring of grief, of protests, of condemnation on the gruesome elimination of Sheikh Mujib and almost the entire family on 15 August 1975. There was no visible reaction at least worth mentioning to this horrendous event within less than four years of his rule as he came in like a conqueror from exile to the obeisance of his party men and to the adulation of the people of Bangladesh still dazed and reeling from the nightmares that began on the 25 March 1971. What had happened and what had gone so wrong? That just some army men caught up in a frenzied mood brought about such a catastrophe is too simplistic an explanation and certainly not the real or the full one.
To my mind, many elements conspired right from the day one of our Independence. But was not Sheikh Mujib’s then unbelievable popularity adequate to get around these long knives? While these evil forces were gathering strength, by the same token Sheikh Mujib’s style of administration, his weaknesses, his pervasive guilt feeling perhaps in not really being there with the valiant forces and above all, his easy capitulation to his close advisers from the great Theatre Road sector, in not firmly announcing a national government, in giving reign to his sons and daughters’ lust for immediate power along with other relatives, sideling wise and committed comrades like Dr Kamal Hossain, Kader Siddiqui and many other genuine, but out-spoken well-wishers, went on corroding the strength that could have otherwise been Sheikh Mujib’s shield for physical and political survival. There were quite a few self-seeking civil servants whose counsel Sheikh Mujib listened to most of the time There were strings of sycophants, hangers-on and their cohorts who gained immensely through Sheikh Mujib’s misplaced generosity and misuse of state patronage and funds.
And then of course his so-called stalwarts and follower banded in an almost obscene personal security apparatus called the Rakkhi Bahini, alienated the regular Armed Forces and other law-enforcing agencies as much as it did the people at large. Such an illegitimate, personalised security arrangements did not, and never do, deliver – the 15th August massacre should be a living testimony to all. And that there were no genuine regard and affection and they disappeared like mists in the sun, when their mighty leader had a mighty fall. Even all his ‘Bhayera Amaar ‘across the length and breadth of the country did not come out wailing at the great fall. Why? The reasons must be embedded in the way the AL conducted itself, the way Sheikh Mujib distanced himself not only from all the pro-independence, proactive-forces, but also from the common people at large.
The smoke from his most expensive brand Erin more pipe tobacco created a veil across his eyes and his senses and he could not see for himself, nor were his ‘honourable’ bandoliers were honest enough to keep him informed about the people and about their ever-growing problems and the rising tide of disenchantment through deprivation, neglect and unkempt promises. All these led to the growing chasm between Mujib the people’s leader and Mujib the Prime Minister and then also so swiftly, the President of a one-party state, banishing freedom of speech and thereby, banishing hope. And hopeless people do not have tears left to cry for others, even for their great fallen hero! To be Sheikh Mujib alone was not enough, ‘I love my people and my people love me’ type simplistic belief was certainly not the solution the nation was then dying for A colossal black hole of utter disillusionment, hopelessness, and disgust had engulfed the nation.
In my view, the famine of 1974 despite sufficient stocks of food was the watershed, but the charge that ignited the explosion of mayhem and the public silence, was perhaps the huge , multi-layered, cream cake that was carried through the television coverage to celebrate Sheikh Mujib’s birthday. The ’cake’ travelled over the dead bodies and the dying ones in the realm to mark the birth of the ‘Bangabandhu’! All people do and can, suffer only so much pain, but they still had some respect for the dead and they did not take out a cake on the 15th of August 1975.
The writer is a former ambassador and secretary to the Bangladesh government
http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/28/edit.html#2
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/horror-and-grief-a-nation-besieged/
Rahnuma Ahmed reflects on the complicated story unfolding about the BDR rebellion in Bangladesh. Photos by DrikNews:
Is there more to it than meets the eye? In a crisis as grave as the one that faces the nation now, where does one seek answers to the truth? It is better to know some of the questions than all the answers. But what if some of the questions being raised are seen, especially by powerful sections, as blaming the victims of the tragedy? Do we have the resources, the intellectual capacity, the political will, and above all, the courage, to raise the right questions? Will these be tolerated, in moments of such deep grief, where passions rage high?
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/pathshala-updates/
Pathshala updates:
Alexia Awards: Source: David Sutherland
Saiful Huq Omi a finalist: Saiful Huq Omi, born in Bangladesh in 1980, graduated from Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography and became a photographer in 2005. He is represented by Polaris Images. His works have been published in Newsweek, Foto File USA, New Internationalist, Time Magazine, The Guardian, and Asian Photography and in the Arab News. He has lectured and presented his works at The London School of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Columbia University and in many other universities.
Khaled Hasan wins student award for excellence: Khaled Hasan, a student at Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography in Bangladesh, graduating in 2009. Khaled was a recipient of the National Geographic All Roads Award in 2008. Each Award of Excellence winner receives a $1600 scholarship that pays part of tuition, fees and living expenses to study photojournalism in London in the fall semester at Syracuse University in London and a $500 cash grant to help produce their proposed stories.
Wahid Adnan finalist in Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/pakistan-hope-amidst-the-chaos/
Salma Hasan Ali sees hope amidst the chaos in Pakistan:
No doubt there are tragic forces at play in the country trying to undermine the fabric of its politics, culture, society, and soul. Sometimes seemingly overwhelming forces. But there are also kernels of hope that remind us that all will not be lost to violence and a distorted mindset.
There are people like Edhi and thousands more working each day to feed, nurse, console, support and shelter. There are people like Suleman and hundreds of others fiercely loyal to Mortenson’s commitment -- and the commitment of so many NGOs around the country -- to educate Pakistan’s children. There are young women like Shakeela, smart, capable, determined, and feisty, who will ultimately change the country, if given the chance.
--
Shahidul Alam
http://shahidul.wordpress.com
www.majorityworld.com
www.drik.net
Bangladesh: Elections present risks and opportunities for human rights
Document - Bangladesh: Elections present risks and opportunities for human rights
23 December 2008 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA BRIEFING AI Index No ASA 13/011/2008
Parliamentary elections scheduled for 29 December offer a unique opportunity for improving Bangladesh’s battered human rights situation. As an immediate matter, the elections signal the end of a two-year period of state of emergency marked by severe restrictions on political rights such as free assembly and free expression. If conducted properly and free of violence, the elections could inaugurate a more responsive, accountable civilian government -- a development necessary for improving the lives of millions of Bangladeshis now living in grinding poverty and without access to proper housing, education, or health care.
Amnesty International welcomes the withdrawal of the state of emergency on 17 December 2008, and the restoration of rights that had been fully or partially curbed in Bangladesh during the past two years. Amnesty International calls on the major actors on Bangladesh’s political scene to do their part to respect and protect the right of all Bangladeshis to participate, without discrimination, in the conduct of public affairs. The Caretaker Government must ensure that people seeking to take part in peaceful election campaigning and in the elections themselves are protected against arbitrary arrests, intimidation and violence. Amnesty International urges all political parties to desist from violence and to commit themselves to the protection of human rights, including of minority groups, now and in future, whether in government or opposition.
Amnesty International has identified the following issues as particularly important to the proper conduct of the upcoming elections and the formation of a new government:
Intimidation and violence against voters
As the country moves away from emergency restrictions, both the Caretaker Government and the political parties have the responsibility to ensure that there is no recurrence of the political violence that characterized previous elections and preceded the declaration of state of emergency on 11 January 2007. From late October 2006 to early January 2007, in the run up to the postponed general elections, at least 35 people were killed and hundreds injured during clashes between rival political groups. The last general elections, which took place in October 2001, were marred by frequent clashes between members and supporters of opposing political parties, who used violent means including sticks, knives, firearms and crude bomb against each other during election campaigning. Thousands of people were left injured and more than 150 killed in these clashes during the three-month period of election campaigning before the polls. At least 10 of those killed were believed to have been hit by bullets fired by the police at the crowds.
The Caretaker Government has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that elections proceed properly and serve to register the genuine wishes of the Bangladeshi people. The Caretaker Government’s efforts should now be directed at upholding the newly restored freedoms during the coming elections. The Caretaker Government has mobilized nearly 50,000 troops to provide security and minimize partisan violence that has characterized past polling efforts in the country. Law enforcement personnel can play a major role in preventing threats, intimidation and attacks from non-state actors against voters. In the past, armed gangs acting at the instigation of local politicians have committed such abuses with impunity.
However, Bangladesh’s security forces, including police, the Rapid Action Battalion and army units deployed to maintain law and order have a poor track record on human rights. There are credible reports of harassment of human rights defenders, torture and other ill-treatment, and the use of unnecessary or excessive force and extrajudicial executions during law enforcement operations. For instance, between January 2007 and August 2008, more than 200 persons died in what police and RAB have portrayed as “crossfire” but are suspected to be extrajudicial executions. The government has not rigorously investigated these reports and no RAB or army personnel allegedly involved have ever been brought to justice. The government must ensure that law enforcement personnel are held accountable for any human rights violations they have committed.
Prior to January 2007, the major political parties have either instigated, supported or directly engaged in violence against their political opponents. The Hindu minority group has also been a target of electoral and communal violence. Student groups of the main political parties have been among the main perpetrators of political violence in Bangladesh. These groups include Bangladesh Chattra Dhal (BCD, affiliated to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party); Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL, affiliated to the Awami League); and Islami Chattra Shibir, (Shibir, affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami). Political parties have pledged, but failed, to disarm them. None of the political parties has condemned the violence carried out by their members. On the contrary, the leaders have shown tacit support for violent means, and have at times colluded with criminal gangs to attack their opponents. The political parties have the responsibility to ensure that their cadres and student wings participate peacefully in the electoral process and desist from violence before, during or after the elections.
Restrictions on freedom of assembly
Protecting the right to freedom assembly and association requires firm action from the Caretaker Government to inform and train law enforcement agencies to respect these rights. It also requires active support from political party leaders to ensure that their members respect the right all people, including their opponents, to hold rallies and to campaign for elections. The partial withdrawal, on 3 November 2008, of the ban on political rallies was a step in the right direction but it was not implemented until 12 December. With the lifting of the state of emergency on 17 December, the government should fully restore all rights that had been restricted under the emergency.
Restrictions on freedom of expression
The withdrawal of emergency restrictions on freedom of expression in November 2008 was long-awaited and welcome. Although the restrictions were not being enforced strictly, they nonetheless made it difficult for journalists and human rights defenders to carry out their legitimate work free from harassment, intimidation or abuse. They resulted in the arrest by security forces of at least three journalists and two human rights defenders including Tasneem Khalil and Jahangir Alam Akash in 2007, four of whom claimed to have been tortured while in custody.
Amnesty International recognizes that the situation appears to have improved significantly in 2008, with no one taken into custody for defending human rights.
Amnesty International welcomes the Right to Information Ordinance promulgated in October 2008. It will have a positive impact on freedom of expression when it comes into operation in early 2009 by giving citizens access to information held by public bodies. However, the ordinance explicitly excludes security agencies such as the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, Special Branch of Bangladesh Police and the Intelligence Cell of Rapid Action Battalion from disclosing information unless it relates to human rights violations and corruption.
Attacks against minorities
Fear of attacks against minorities, including Hindus, is a real concern given the electoral violence during and immediately after the parliamentary elections of October 2001. Sporadic attacks against minorities had frequently occurred during parliamentary elections in Bangladesh but the violence took an unprecedented turn during the last elections in 2001. Crowds of assailants, whom journalists and survivors described as members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition, which won the elections, drove hundreds of Hindu families off their land, and in some cases burnt their homes, apparently on grounds of the Hindus’ perceived support for the opposition Awami League party. Bnagladeshi newspapers reported that dozens of Hindu women had been raped and at least one Hindu man was hacked to death. Government action – from late 2001 onwards – to contain the violence prevented the recurrence of mass scale attacks but no one was brought to justice for the attacks. There are legitimate fears within the human rights community and members of the Hindu minority that similar attacks against Hindus could occur during the forthcoming elections.
Another alarming development since late 2003 has been the rise in attack and hate speech against members of the Ahmadiyya community. The attacks have largely been instigated by Khatm-e Nabuwat, an Islamic group demanding that the government declares the Ahmadiyya sect non-Muslim. Instances of such attacks include the killing of an Ahmadi imam, “excommunication” by laying siege to Ahmadi houses and not letting inhabitants out of their homes, the beating of dozens of Ahmadis, and the marching of crowds attempting to occupy Ahmadiyya places of worship and drive the Ahmadis out. Although the previous government and the present Caretaker Government have prevented agitators from entering Ahmadi places of worship or large-scale abuses against their members, there is a high risk of their exposure to such attacks during the unpredictable times of elections.
Other minorities also need protection. For instance, frequent clashes between Bengali settlers and indigenous communities over the settlers’ push to acquire indigenous land in the Chittagong Hill Tracts make the area especially vulnerable to eruption of violence during elections. Indigenous people say army units deployed in the area do not stop settlers from confiscating their land or from attacking them. Indigenous voters need assurance that they can cast their vote freely without fear of attacks or harassment during or after elections. Army units deployed in the area have a responsibility to ensure their safety and security at all times.
Commitment to improving Bangladesh’s human rights situation
Political parties must show a more robust commitment to human rights, and refrain from supporting any laws or activity that have been or will be abusing human rights. Upholding freedoms requires support and cooperation from political parties. Although the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have stated publically that they will uphold human rights, they have not provided a clear explanation of how they will make this happen. Their past poor record on human rights lends little credence to their promises in the absence of concrete plans for implementation.
The Awami League has not provided a concrete plan about how it will follow through on its promise of ensuring the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, ending extrajudicial executions and establishing the rule of law. Their promise to strengthen the Human Rights Commission and increase its effectiveness lacks credibility as they promised, but failed, to establish a human rights commission during their last tenure of office (1996-2001).
The BNP’s promise that if voted to power, they will implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is vague and is not backed up by any plan of implementation. It is also in sharp contrast to their responsibility as the government of the day in launching the military operation “Clean Heart” (16 October 2002 to 9 January 2003). Troops deployed during that operation to maintain law and order were involved in extrajudicial executions of some 40 people, but received immunity from prosecution by the then BNP-led government. The BNP-led government set up RAB and failed to investigate the serious allegations of killings and other human rights violations by them.
Statements by Jamaat-e-Islami and Jatiya Party (Ershad) that they will introduce blasphemy laws are of serious concern. In Amnesty International’s experience such laws have been used in other countries to suppress freedom of expression and to persecute religious minorities, including in particular members of the Ahmadiyya community.
Specifically, Amnesty International urges the Caretaker Government to:
• ensure full freedom of expression and information to debate public affairs, to criticize and oppose, to publish political material and to advertise political ideas;
• continue to uphold the current trend not to arrest any journalists, human rights defenders or political activists exposing human rights violations or peacefully expressing their views;
• react efficiently and promptly to any instances of political violence by deploying adequate numbers of law enforcement personnel at the trouble spots;
• ensure that law enforcement personnel including police, Rapid Action Battalion and army units deployed to protect people against political violence do so in accordance with international human rights standards, including the UN guidelines against the use of excessive use of force,;
• ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations by the civilian justice system of alleged human rights violations by military personnel and the RAB, including arbitrary arrest, torture, other ill-treatment, and deaths in custody, or use of unnecessary or excessive force with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.
• ensure that minority communities, including Hindus and Ahmadis are protected against possible attacks during and after the forthcoming elections; send clear instructions to the army units in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to ensure that indigenous people in the area are protected against attacks from Bengali settlers during or after elections.
Amnesty International urges all parliamentary candidates and political parties to:
• publically pledge to promote and respect the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association during and after the elections, including by their opponents and minority groups to hold and express different opinions, organize rallies and campaign for elections, without being attacked violently;
• publically pledge to take effective steps to strengthen human rights in full conformity with international human rights standards, including by endorsing the measures taken by the Caretaker Government to establish the National Human Rights Commission, freedom of information, independence of the judiciary and tackle corruption;
• refrain from inciting, supporting or participating in political violence and make a clear and public call to all party members and supporters to respect human rights and the rule of law;
• support independent and impartial human rights monitoring (during and after the election campaign).
http://bangla.amnesty.org/en/document-bangladesh-elections-present-risks-and-opportunities-for-human-rights
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article10375. shtml
THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
A public stoning in Germany
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, 6 March 2009
Hermann Dierkes is a respected politician with an honorable record of campaigning for social and political justice in the German Rhineland city of Duisburg. He represented his party Die Linke (The Left Party) on Duisburg City Council, campaigning tirelessly on anti-racist and anti-fascist issues. Most recently, he was his party's candidate for the post of Lord Mayor.
On 18 February 2009 Dierkes addressed a public meeting on the question of Palestine. To the question of how to take action against the injustice being suffered by Palestinians, he responded that the recent World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil had proposed an arms embargo, sanctions and the boycott of Israeli exports. He added: "We should no longer accept that in the name of the Holocaust and with the support of the government of the Federal Republic [of Germany] such grave violations of human rights can be perpetrated and tolerated ... Everyone can help strengthen pressure for a different politics, for example by boycotting Israeli products."
A few days later, Dierkes gave an interview to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), a conservative paper based in the nearby city of Essen. He explained the demands of the World Social Forum, and requested that the published interview should stress that this had nothing to do with anti-Semitism -- a qualification that invariably needs to be made in Germany, except when there is suspicion of Islamophobia. Predictably, his precautions were in vain; scenting a political coup, the reporter published his article without including the qualification.
All hell broke loose. In the 25 February edition of Bild -- Germany's best-selling and most obnoxious daily paper -- Dieter Graumann, Vice-President of the Central Jewish Council, accused him of "pure anti-Semitism. " WAZ editorialist Achim Beer decried Dierke's "careless Nazi utterances," comparing his words to "a mass execution at the edge of a Ukrainian forest." Hendrik Wuest, General Secretary of the CDU (the Christian Democratic Party), warned that "the Nazi propaganda" emanating from Die Linke is "intolerable. " Michael Groschek -- General Secretary of the local branch of the Social Democratic Party, which shares power nationally with the CDU -- played electoral politics with the claim that "[a]nyone playing electoral politics with such anti-Israeli utterances sets himself outside the rules of the democratic game."
Worse still, Dierke's own party failed to stand by him unambiguously. Press spokesperson Alrun Nuesslein opined that if Israel is criticized because "the population in the Gaza Strip is collectively punished by the ... closure of border crossings, it is equally impossible for us to punish the Israeli population" by means of a boycott of Israeli goods, particularly "in the context of German history," a mantra with which Germans routinely absolve themselves of their historic responsibility towards the Palestinians.
Other voices within the party took a more strident tone. Petra Pau, Vice President of the Bundestag (German Parliament), said Dierke's words "awake unspeakable associations and employ dubious cliches." Left Party politicians in Dierke's own area condemned his "anti-Jewish endeavors" (Guenter Will) and "anti-Semitic utterances" (Anna Lena Orlowski).
Events took their predestined course, and on 26 February Dierkes resigned his position within Die Linke and withdrew his mayoral candidacy. In an open letter to his party colleagues, pointing out that he had been the victim of "a public stoning" and of a campaign that was "a terrible mixture of the gravest insults and defamation, Islamophobic hatred, hatred of immigrants, and murder threats," he maintained that "[t]he victims of the Shoah and the heroes of the Warsaw Jewish rising would turn away with horror [could they see] with what malice and toward what ends they are being instrumentalized in order to justify ... the undemocratic and murderous politics of the Israeli government."
A quick perusal of the German blogosphere throws up countless repetitions of the phrase "kauft nicht beim Juden!" -- "don't buy from the Jew!" -- a slogan from the Nazi era that no longer serves to defame Jews but rather those who seek justice for the Palestinians. However, Jews aren't entirely immune from this weapon: in the respected weekly Die Zeit (15 January 2009) a certain Thomas Assheuer turned it against the Canadian Jewish author Naomi Klein after the British Guardian published her call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Given that Klein had carefully specified that BDS should be aimed at Israeli institutions and not individuals, this piece of defamation was particularly crass.
It appears that freedom of speech, supposedly one of the proudest acquisitions of post-Fascist Germany, is readily suppressed when exercised to advocate positive action against the racist, politicidal institutions and actions of the Zionist state. Indeed so brutal and venomous was the response to Hermann Dierke's remarks, and so instantaneous and unanimous the recourse, however ironic, to Nazi sloganeering, that it is difficult not to be reminded of the rhetoric promulgated by Julius Streicher's vile paper Der Stuermer between 1923 and 1945 and not to feel that the same atavistic sources that once disgorged Jew-hatred are now being tapped in this virulent and unceasing campaign against the advocacy of Palestinian rights. The Palestinians, after all, stand in the way of the establishment of a racial Jewish state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan river, an eventuality that the German establishment deludedly sees as somehow shriving its own past crimes.
It has to be said that ordinary German people are, by and large, as unimpressed by philosemitic hysteria as they are by anti-Semitism. It remains to be seen how those people who have repeatedly voted for Hermann Dierkes because they see him as an honest and reliable politician -- something as rare in Germany as elsewhere -- will react to being robbed of their representative by such a campaign of hatred and defamation on behalf of a quasi-fascist state.
Finally, it will be interesting to see if this debacle induces Die Linke to reconsider whether it is more appropriate to adopt a principled position on Israel than to continue playing to the gallery of rightist pressure-groups that have taken upon themselves the task of perpetuating unconditional German support for Israel. It is hard to feel optimistic about this.
Raymond Deane is an Irish composer and activist (www.raymonddeane. com).
Let the people do what they want, you get Woodstock. Let the government do what it wants, you get WACO!....Mary.
March 6, 2009
US Military Dominance
in Mideast
Proven a Costly Myth
by Gareth Porter
The arguments for maintaining a major U.S. combat force in Iraq at least through 2011, escalating U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and assuming a confrontational stance toward Iran appear to assume that the United States remains the dominant military power in the region.
But the pattern of recent history and current developments in the region has not supported that assumption. Not only has the United States been unable to prevail over stubborn nationalist and sectarian forces determined to resist U.S. influence, but it has not been able to use its military supremacy to wage successful coercive diplomacy against Iran.
Furthermore, even the ability of the United States to maintain troops in Iraq and Afghanistan turns out to be dependent on regimes which are by no means aligned with the United States.
Six years ago, after the United States had removed the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the U.S. appeared to be militarily dominant in the region. Apart from its nearly 200,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States had surrounded Iran with a network of airbases scattered across the region from the Persian Gulf sheikdoms through Iraq and Afghanistan to the Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, along with aircraft on U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.
Since 2003, however, events in the region have dealt a series of blows to the assumption that the U.S. military presence in general and ground forces in particular confer real power in the region. The first blow was the U.S. failure to subdue the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. By mid-2005, U.S. commanders in Iraq were admitting publicly that the U.S. military occupation was generating more resistance than it was eliminating.
The next blow was the Sunni-Shi'a civil war in Baghdad in 2006, which U.S. troops were unable to prevent or stop, even after the Bush "surge" of additional troops. The "cleansing" of Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad by Shi'a militias with the tacit support of the government ended only after a large swath of Sunni neighborhoods in the capital had been taken over. That fact contradicts the later boast by Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that "coalition forces" had "broken the cycle of sectarian violence in Iraq."
The decision by Sunni insurgents to cooperate with the U.S. military in 2006 and 2007 was not the result of U.S. military prowess but of their defeat at the hands of Shi'a militias and the realization that the Sunnis could not oppose three enemies (the U.S., the Shi'a militias and al Qaeda) simultaneously.
It also enabled the Shi'a government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, which had close ties to Iran, to consolidate its power and to achieve a crucial degree of independence from the United States.
The George W. Bush administration and the U.S. military command continued to assume that it would be able to keep its Iraqi bases indefinitely. In mid-2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates invoked the Korean model – a decades-long garrisoning of tens of thousands of U.S. troops – as the plan for Iraq.
But in July 2008, the al-Maliki government began demanding that all U.S. troops leave the country by the end of 2010. After initially refusing to believe that the troop withdrawal demand was serious, the Bush administration was forced eventually to agree to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.
The evolution of Iraqi politics belies the popular narrative that Gen. David Petraeus miraculously rescued the U.S. war from a bad strategy and ultimately prevailed over U.S. "enemies," including Iran.
In its conflict with Iran over its nuclear program, the Bush administration tried to intimidate Tehran by seizing Iranians in Iraq and wielding indirectly the threat of attack against its nuclear facilities. But coercive diplomacy did not work, largely because Iran could credibly threaten to respond to a U.S. or Israeli attack with unconventional attacks against U.S. bases and troops – and possibly even warships – in the Persian Gulf region.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, where the United States had appeared to be in control from 2001 to 2005, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have grown rapidly since then and become the de facto government in large parts of the Pashtun region of the country. The U.S. military presence has been unable to slow the rise of the insurgents in those rural areas.
The most recent blow to the image of U.S. military dominance in the region has been the revelation that the United States lacks a reliable access route for supply of its troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has long relied on the route through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan to transport about 80 percent of all supplies for Afghanistan.
But in 2008, allies of the Taliban began disrupting the U.S. logistics route through the Khyber Pass so effectively that it could not longer be counted on to supply U.S. forces. That meant that United States had to find another access route for supplying its troops in Afghanistan.
David Petraeus, the new CENTCOM commander, traveled to Central Asia to secure promises of a new route into Afghanistan from Russian ports overland to Kazakhstan and then through Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan.
But this alternative scheme would rely on Russian cooperation, giving a rival for power in Central and Southwest Asia a veto power over U.S. military presence in the region. The Kyrgyz president announced during a trip to Moscow in early February that he was ending the agreement on U.S. use of the air base at Manas. That was a signal that Russia would cooperate with the U.S. military only insofar as it was consistent with Russian dominance in Central Asia.
Relying on Uzbekistan for transit of NATO supplies for Afghanistan was another highly tenuous feature of the Petraeus plan. The Karimov regime, notorious for its abuse of human rights, faces an Islamist insurgency that could well disrupt supply routes through the country.
A much shorter and far more secure route into Afghanistan would be from the Iranian port of Chabahar through the Western Afghan city of Herat to the Ring Highway which serves all major Afghan cities. NATO's top commander in Afghanistan said on Feb. 3 that NATO would "not oppose" bilateral deals with Iran for supplying troops through that country.
Significantly, the Pentagon has made contingency plans for the use of the Iranian route, according to one well-informed former U.S. official. That suggests that the Russian-Central Asian route was regarded as far from certain.
On the other hand, the U.S. military is not likely to regard reliance on its regional rival for power in the Middle East as a solid basis for its military presence in Afghanistan.
Obama administration officials are still talking about Middle East policy as though the U.S. military presence has conferred decisive influence over developments in the region. However, the events of the past six years have shown that to be a costly myth. They have underlined a truth that few in Washington find palatable: geography and local sociopolitical dynamics have trumped U.S. military power – and are very likely continue to do so in the future.
Let the people do what they want, you get Woodstock. Let the government do what it wants, you get WACO!....Mary.
Zionist Militants Surround America’s New President
Free traders working to delete ‘America-first’ provisions from latest spending package
http://www.american freepress. net/html/ zionist_militant s_167.html
PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATEs and abroad are hoping that President Obama will end America’s illegal wars, halt America’s support for Israel’s massacre of Lebanese and Palestinians, and punish, instead of reward, the shyster banksters whose fraudulent financial instruments have destroyed economies and imposed massive sufferings on people all over the world. If Obama’s appointments are an indication, all of these hopeful people are going to be disappointed.
James Petras examines Obama’s foreign policy appointments and finds the largest collection of Zionist militarists outside of Israel.
Petras concludes that Obama’s “diplomatic” team has Iran in its sights, and hostility that meshes with Israel’s own intent. Not realizing that a member of the press had been mistakenly invited to a selected audience, the Israeli ambassador to Australia said that Israel’s attack on Gaza was a dress rehearsal for a major attack on Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu, the expected winner of Israel’s March elections, has again declared that Israel will not permit Iran to have a nuclear energy program as it would provide the basis for developing nuclear weapons.
It makes no sense for Israel to baldly state its intention to attack Iran if Israel does not mean it. What if the Iranians believe the Israelis and decide to strike first with their long-range missiles?
Obama’s economic appointments are just as discouraging. Obama chose as his treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, the man who helped Bush’s treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, engineer the $700 billion dollar rip-off of the U.S. taxpayer, money that was gifted to the crooked banksters who destroyed Americans’ pensions, jobs and health care coverage.
These banksters, and the negligent federal regulators who enabled them, should be put in prison, not handed hundreds of billions of dollars.
Instead, Obama has appointed one of the chief orchestrators of the rip-off to the helm of the Treasury. Obama’s National Economic Council is just as depressing. Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, is its head. Summers recently declared that he had no inkling that a financial crisis was about to hit. Why did Obama put a person without a clue in charge?
Summers’s colleagues are just as bad. Obama has appointed Diana Farrell, lead author of a phony study that claimed offshoring of American jobs is a win-win game for Americans, as deputy director of the National Economic Council. Farrell is affiliated with McKinsey & Company, a firm that helps American corporations offshore their operations.
In his book, Outsourcing America, economist Ron Hira tore Farrell’s McKinsey report to shreds. Why not appoint Ron Hira and Nouriel Roubina, who predicted the crisis, to the National Economic Council?
With Israel’s most fervent American allies whispering in one ear and banksters and offshoring propagandists whispering in the other, how can President Obama fulfill any of the hopes that people have?
The discouraging fact is that even when faced with crisis in the economy and in foreign policy, the American political system is incapable of producing any leadership. Here we are in the worst economic crisis in a lifetime, perhaps in our history, and on the brink of war in Pakistan and Iran while escalating the war in Afghanistan, and all we get is a government made up of the very people who have brought us to these crises.
Just as the Bushites could not admit the failure of their man, the Obamacons will not be able to admit the failure of their man.
The era of American leadership has passed. America’s shyster financial system has brought economic crisis to the world. America’s wars of aggression are seen as serving no purpose except the enrichment of the military industries associated with Dick Cheney. The world is looking elsewhere for leadership.
Vladimir Putin made a play for this role at Davos, where his speech at the opening ceremony was the most intelligent speech of the event.
Putin reminded the World Economic Forum that “just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the U.S. economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist. In just 12 months, they have posted losses exceeding the profits they made in the last 25 years.”
Putin made his case that the existing financial system based on the U.S. dollar and American financial hegemony has failed. Putin said that a secure world requires cooperation that requires trust. He made it clear that the Americans have proven that they cannot be trusted.
Nationally syndicated columnist, Paul Craig Roberts, Ph.D., a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, is the author of several books. He has been associated with the Hoover Institution, and the Institute for Political Economy and from 1981 to 1982 served as assistant secretary of the treasury for economic policy.
Declassified US documents on Bangladesh coups in 1975
We do not know what message the US Embassy in Dhaka had sent to the State Department after the Pilkhana massacre. We will have to wait for another 30 years to get full text of the official message from the US Embassy.
However, I can share with you the message the US Embassy in Dhaka had sent after the August 1975 coup. This declassified document confirms Sheikh Mujib was warned by the US about the coup but he simply brushed the information aside.
The Embassy also provided early analysis of the August 15 coup against President Mujibur Rahman. It tentatively predicted that the United States would enjoy greater influence under the government of new president Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed.
The Embassy had also provided a narrative account and analysis of the military unrest and resulting coup of November 3–7, 1975.
http://bdfact.blogspot.com/2009/03/declassified-us-documents-on-bangladesh.html
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Telegram 5470 From the Embassy in Bangladesh to the Department of State, November 10, 1975, 1010Z
1. IT MAY BE USEFUL TO OFFER A CAPSULE SUMMARY OF THE CHAOTIC EVENTS OF LAST WEEK IN BANGLADESH WHICH SAW THREE DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS, MUCH KILLING, AND THE AVOIDANCE OF CIVIL WAR, WITH ATTENDANT POSSIBILITY OF INDIAN INTER-VENTION, BY THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS. THIS ACCOUNT IS SECRET. THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN BRIGADIER MOSHARRAF, CHIE FOF THE ARMY GENERAL STAFF, WHO HAD BEEN EMBITTERED BY HIS FAILURE TO SHARE IN THE PROMOTIONS RECEIVED BY SOME OFHIS COLLEAGUES AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MUJIB BY THE MAJORS ON AUGUST 15 AND WHO WAS ALSO BELIEVED TO BE ON A LIST OF ARMY OFFICERS TO BE INVESTIGATED WHICH HAD RECENTLY BEEN DRAWN UP BY THE MAJORS, BEGAN IN THE EARLYHOURS OF MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 3.
WE DO NOT KNOW POSITIVELY WHETHER MOSHARAFF WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE CONFRONTATION, AS MANY CONTEND, OR WHETHER, AS ONE GOOD SOURCE HAS TOLD TOLD US, HE SIMPLY WENT ALONG WITH SUBORDINATES WHO WERE DETERMINED TO END THE SPECIAL ROLE OF THE MAJORS IN THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT, A ROLE WHICH HAD RESULTED, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IN THE HARRASSMENT OF SOME OF THE MILITARY OFFICERS. THIS SOURCE ALSO HELD THAT ONE OF MOSHARRAF'S OBJECTIVES--ALTHOUGH HE WAS UNDOUBTEDLY MINDFULOF THE PERSONAL GLORY THAT MIGHT AWAIT HIM--WAS TO TAKE CONTROL OF HIS SUBORDINATES' PLANS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO AVOID MAJOR BLOODSHED.
3. MOSHARRAF AND HIS ALLIES QUICKLY TOOK CONTROL EARLY MONDAY MORNING OF THE ARMY CANTONMENT AS WELL AS MOST OF THE CITY OF DACCA AND PRESSED THEIR CONFRONTATION WITH THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT BY FLYING A MIG FIGHTER AND ARMED HELICOPTER OVER THE CITY IN A SHOW OF STRENGTH WHICH WAS ALSO INTENDED TO INTIMIDATE THE TANK CREWS LOYAL TO THE GOVERNMENT. AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, MOSHARRAF LEVIED FOUR DEMANDS ON MOSHTAQUE:
1) THAT MOSHARRAF REPLACE MAJOR GENERAL ZIAUR RAHMAN, HIS PERSONAL RIVAL, AS CHIEFOF STAFF; 2) THAT THE MAJORS BE RETURNED TO REGULAR ARMY DISCIPLINE; 3) THAT THE TANK FROCES LOYAL TO THE GOVERNMENT BE DISARMED; AND 4) THAT MOSHTAQUE REMAIN IN OFFICE.
OUTGUNNED AND APPARENTLY INTEND ABOVE ALL ON AVOIDING BLOODSHED, WHICH WOULD ALSO HAVE INVITED INDIAN INTERVENTION, MOSHTAQUE EVENTUALLY YIELDED AFTER NEGOTIATING DURING THE COURSE OF A LONG DAY A COMPROMISE WITH MOSHARRAF BY WHICH THE MAJORS AND SOME OF THEIR COLLEAGUES, TO WHOM MOSHTAQUE WAS INDEBTED FOR HIS PRESIDENCY, WERE PERMITTED
SECRET
SECRET PAGE 03 DACCA 05470 01 OF 02 101306Z
TO DEPART BANGLADESH.
BEFORE THIS COMPROMISE HAD BEEN REACHED, THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT HAD CALLED ON THE ARMY FORCES AT COMILLA TO COME TO ITS AID BUT HAD BEEN REFUSED ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE COMILLA COMMANDER WOULD ONLY RESPONDTO THE ORDERS OF THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF (WHO WAS THEN UNDER ARREST)OR THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF (I.E., MOSHARRAF).
4. THE CONFRONTATION BROUGHT ANOTHER BLOODY RESULT WHICH,WE HAVE GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE, HAD BEEN PART OF AN EARLIER CONTINGENCY PLAN TO BE CARRIED OUT IN THE EVENT THAT MOSHTAQUE WERE TO BE KILLED, I.E., THE MURDER OF HIS FORMER COLLEAGUES IN THE AWAMI PARTY LEADERSHIP WHO WERE NOW HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES--FORMER PRIME MINISTER MANSOOR ALI,FORMER VICE PRESIDENT SYED NAZRUL ISLAM, FORMER PRIMEMINISTER, FINANCE MINISTER AND INDIOPHILE TAJUDDIN AHMED, AND FORMER INDUSTRIES MINISTER KAMARUZZAMAN. THESE LEADERS WERE KILLED, EVIDENTLY AT THE ORDER OF ONE OR MORE OF THE MAJORS, EARLY MONDAY MORNING AT DACCA JAIL. THE EVENT ADDED A NOTE OF MYSTERY TO MOSHARRAF'S ACQUIESCENCE LATER IN THE DAY TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAJORS, ONE VERSION HAVING IT THAT MOSHARRAF DID NOT YET KNOW OF THE DEED WHEN THE PLANE LEFT DACCA AT MIDNIGHT MONDAY.MANY OBSERVERS ALSO NOTED THAT ONE EFFECT OF THE MURDERS WAS TO REMOVE THE LOGICAL LEADERSHIP OF ANY PRO-INDIAN GOVERNMENT.
5. WITH THE EXPLOSIVE SITUATION DEFUSED TO A DEGREE BY THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAJORS, NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN MOSHTAQUE AND MOSHARRAF CONTINUED ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, RESULTING IN MOSHARRAF'S DESIGNATION AS CHIEF OF STAFF LATE TUESDAY NIGHT, AND EVENTUALLY IN MOSHTAQUE'S RESIGNATION EARLYTHURSDAY MORNING WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENT THATA NON-POLITICAL FIGURE, CHIEF JUSTICE A.S.M. SAYEM, WOULDBE APPOINTED PRESIDENT. SAYEM WAS SWORN IN ON THURSDAY AND PROMPTLY DISSOLVED THE PARLIAMENT. REPORTS, WHICH WE ACCEPT, WERE RIFE THAT THE CABINET HAD ALREADY RESIGNED IN PROTEST AGAINST THE MURDER OF THE FORMER GOVERNMENT LEADERS.
6. BUT IT NOW BECAME CLEAR THAT MOSHARRAF'S ASSUMPTION OF POWER IN THE ARMY WAS UNPALATABLE TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW SECRET
SECRET PAGE 04 DACCA 05470 01 OF 02 101306Z
OFFICERS AND ENLISTED RANKS, BOTH BECAUSE GENERAL ZIA EVIDENTLY HELD A MUCH WIDER POPULAR FOLLOWING AMONG THE MBUT ALSO, AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, BECAUSE MOSHARRAF WAS WIDELY SEEN, WHETHER ACCURATELY OR NOT, AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INDIAN POLICY. THIS PERCEPTION WAS BUTTRESSED BY THE PRO-MUJIB PROCESSION ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY'S HARTAL TO PROTEST THE KILLINGS AT DACCA JAIL. THE LOWER RANKS REVOLTED IN THE EARLY HOURS OF FRIDAY MORNING, QUICKLY OVERTHROWING THE MOSHARRAF FORCES AND, ACCORDING TO VIRTUALLY ALL ACCOUNTS, KILLING MOSHARRAF. EXTENSIVE FIRING WENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY ALL NIGHT AND ALL DURING THE DAY FRIDAY, MOST OF IT CELEBRATORY AFTER MOSHARRAF WAS OUESTED. ONE AUTHORITIATIVE SOURCE HAS TOLD US THAT ONLY ABOUT THIRTY WERE KILLED IN THE OVERTHROW; OTHER REPORTS HAVE REACHED US WHICH PUT THE FIGURE IN THE HUNDREDS.
7. THE SUCCESSFUL REVOLT OF THE LOWER RANKS NOW BROUGHT ANEW PROBLEM, THE RAMPANT INDISCIPLINE OF THE ENLISTED MEN,MANY OF WHOM NOW TURNED ON OFFICERS AGAINST WHOM THEY MIGH THAVE GRUDGES AND OTHERS BEGAN PRESENTING DEMANDS ON THE ARMY LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER DEAL IN THEIR FUTURE TREATMENT.WIDESPREAD REPORTS WERE CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND THAT LARGE NUMBERS OF MILITARY OFFICERS HAD FLED OR WERE ATLEAST STAYING AWAY FROM THE CANTONMENT OUT OF FEAR OF THE RAMPAGING SEPOYS, AND SEVERAL REPORTS REACHED US OF THE MURDER OF MILITARY OFFICERS AND OF THEIR WIVES.
8. MEANWHILE THE POST-MOSHARRAF GOVERNMENT TOOK SHAPE IN A MEETING EARLY FRIDAY MORNING BETWEEN GENERAL ZIA,MOSHTAQUE AND PRESUMABLY OTHER PRINCIPAL AIDES. MOSHTAQUE WAS OFFERED THE PRESIDENCY A NEW BUT DECLINED ON THE GROUND THAT, IN THE STILL EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, THE COUNTRY REQUIRED A NON-POLITICAL, NON-CONTROVERSIAL PRESIDENT.CONSEQUENTLY THE DECISION WAS REACHED TO KEEP JUSTICE SAYEM IN THE PRESIDENCY AND TO TURN OVER TO HIM AS WELL THE FUNCTIONS OF CHIEF OF THE MARTIAL LAW ADMINISTRATION,
SECRET PAGE 02 DACCA 05470 02 OF 02 101246
A ROLE WHICH HAD BEEN FILLED BRIEFLY BY GENERAL ZIA. WEWERE POINTEDLY ASSURED THAT THESE ARRANGEMENTS ENJOYED FULL SUPPORT BOTH WITHIN THE MILITARY AND WITHIN THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP SO THAT THE WAY WAS NOW CLEAR FOR THERESTORATION OF STABILITY IN THE COUNTRY.
9. AS OF MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 10, THE SITUATION HAD RETURNED TO AN APPARENT NORMALCY, WITH INTERNATIONAL AIR SERVICE RESUMED ON SUNDAY, BUT THE GENERAL UNEASINESS WAS STILL BEING FED BY REPORTS OF CONTINUED KILLINGS AMONG THE MILITARY AND OF POSSIBLE INDIAN ACTIONS ALONG THE BORDER.THE PROSPECT WAS FOR, AT BEST, A CONTINUED STATE OF TENSION AND UNCERTIANTY.
10. COMMENT. THREE CONCLUSIONS IMPLICIT IN THE ABOVE ACCOUNT SHOULD BE UNDERLINE. THE FIRST IS THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS IN THE COUP AND COUNTER-COUP APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN NON-POLITICAL, EXCEPT IN THE SENSE THAT MOSHARRAF HAD THE ADDITIONAL DISADVANTAGE OF APPEARING TO BE PRO-INDIAN. THE ARMY FORCES WHICH OVERTHREW MOSHTAQUE AND THE MAJORS APPEAR TO HAVE ACTED PRIMARILY OUT OF A SENSE OF GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE MAJORS. THE COUNTER-COUP WAS THE WORK OF LOWER RANKS WHO FAR PREFERRED ZIA TO MOSHARRAF AND WHO WERE ALSO CONCERNED WHRE MOSHARRAF'S LOYALTYMIGHT LIE. WE HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THE REGIMES OF THE PAST WEEK WERE ANTI-AMERICAN, PRO-INDIAN, OR PRO-SOVIET IN CHARACTER.
11. THE SECOND IS THAT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT INDIA WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THE WEEK'S ACTIONS.
12. THE THIRD IS THE CONFIRMATION OF HOW STRONGLY AND PERVASIVELY ANTI-INDIA ANTIPATHIES ARE FELT HERE-FROM THE TOP OF THE LEADERSHIP TO THE LOWEST GROUPS OF THE SOCIETY. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT MOSHARRAF WAS PRO-INDIAN, AND SOME THAT HE WAS NOT, HE WAS WIDELY IDENTIFIED AS SUCH AND THE WILD CELEBRATIONS HERE OF HIS OVERTHROW CARRIED DISTINCTLY ANTI-INDIAN OVERTONES.
BOSTER
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97075.htm
--------------------------------------------
Minutes of the Secretary of State's Regional Staff Meeting, Washington, August 15, 1975, 8 a.m.
The Secretary’s 8:00 a.m. Staff Meeting
Friday, August 15, 1975
Participants:
THE SECRETARY OF STATE - HENRY A. KISSINGER
P Mr. Sisco
E Mr. Robinson
T Mr. Maw
AF Ambassador Mulcahy, Acting
ARA Mr. Rogers
EA Mr. Zurhellen, Acting
EUR Mr. Armitage, Acting
NEA Mr. Atherton
INR Mr. Hyland
S-P Mr. Lord
EB Mr. Enders
S/PRS Mr. Funseth, Acting
PM Mr. Vest
PM Ambassador Buffum
H Ambassador McCloskey
L Mr. Leigh
S/S Mr. Borg, Acting
S Mr. Bremer
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Let's talk about Bangladesh.
MR. ATHERTON: Well, it was a remarkably well-planned and executed coup for Bangladesh.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: What does that mean? Is Mujibur alive or dead?
MR. ATHERTON: Mujibur is dead; his immediate clique, which was largely family, nephews, brothers.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I get good advice from INR.
MR. HYLAND: He wasn't dead when I talked to you.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Really? Did they kill him after some period?
MR. ATHERTON: As far as we know -- I can't say we have got all the details. But the indications are that the plan was to kill him. And they simply surrounded his palace and went in and killed him. That is as far as we know now.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him that last year?
MR. ATHERTON: In March we had lots of indications --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him about it?
MR. ATHERTON: We told him at the time.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him who it was going to be, roughly?
MR. ATHERTON: I will have to check whether we gave him the names.
MR. HYLAND: We were a little imprecise on that.
MR. ATHERTON: He brushed it off, scoffed at it, said nobody would do a thing like that to him.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: He was one of the world's prize fools.
MR. ATHERTON: But it seems that the coup leaders are in complete control.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Who are they?
MR. ATHERTON: They are military officers, middle and senior officers, who are generally considered less pro-Indian than the past leadership; pro-U.S., anti-Soviet.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Absolutely inevitable.
MR. ATHERTON: Islamic. They have changed the name to the Islamic Republic --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: That they would be pro-U.S. was not inevitable. In fact, I would have thought at some turn of the wheel they were going to become pro-Chinese, and anti-Indian I firmly expected. I always knew India would rue the day that they made Bangladesh independent. I predicted that since '71.
MR. ATHERTON: I think our biggest problem is going to be to avoid too close an embrace.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Why -- because they are friendly to us?
MR. ATHERTON: I think they are going to want us to come in with promises.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: The principle being we only embrace on the sub-continent those who oppose us. What is the principle?
MR. ATHERTON: I think our principle ought to be we are giving about all the aid we can really give or Bangladesh can really absorb.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Before we implement it, let's check that. I know we can't do a huge increase in aid. But I think if people who think they are pro-U.S. come to us and then get a technical lecture that unfortunately we can't do any more -- there must be some maneuvering we can do on food aid and some token increase in aid.
MR. ENDERS: We can do a little more on food aid.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I would like them to get it, if they are indeed what you say they are, which I don't know.
MR. ATHERTON: These are all the initial indications.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Then they ought to get a friendly reception.
MR. ATHERTON: I think the immediate question is how we comport ourselves with the new government. It seems to me despite what the memo says which we sent you, which I didn't have time to go over carefully this morning -- I think we ought to simply respond to any overtures.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: What did the memo say?
MR. ATHERTON: It says we ought to hold off on a decision on recognition. But I don't think that needs to be posed as that sharp a question.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: We ought to recognize.
MR. ATHERTON: I don't know what recognizing means in this case. I think we simply --
MR. SISCO: Just continue. That memo said also we have to check all this with the Indians, as if to give the Indians a veto. I certainly don't agree with that.
MR. ATHERTON: I think it would be useful --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: We certainly shouldn't go to the Indians.
MR. ATHERTON: I think there might be some merit in an exchange of views with them.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: After we have done it. We will not even discuss establishing contact with the new government with the Indians. After contact is established, we would be interested to hear their views, as long as they clearly understand that they cannot tell us what to do, and as long as they cannot go to the Bangladesh and tell them -- and then ask Bangladesh for their views, so that they can be transmitted to us.
MR. ATHERTON: I fully agree.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Which is what India would dearly love to do.
You better let me see any approaches.
MR. ATHERTON: I think we have to prepare a telegram today, and we will clear it with you, on what we say to the Indians. And the Pakistanis are important. There will be some move towards Pakistan.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I also want to see you for a few minutes on a sober instruction to Bhutto, and some of his ideas on commitments. Okay.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97038.htm
------------------------------------------------------
Telegram 3964 From the Embassy in Bangladesh to the Department of State, August 16, 1975, 1135Z
FM AMEMBASSY DACCA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7733INFO
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABADAM
EMBASSY KATHMADUAM
EMBASSY NEW DELHIAM
CONSUL CALCUTTA
CINCPAC
C O N F I D E N T I A L DACCA 3964
CINCPAC FOR POLADE.O. 11652: GDSTAGS: PINT, PFOR, BG, US, IN, UR, CH, XD
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY COMMENT ON THE COUP IN BANGLADESH
1. THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS GIVE PROMISE THAT THE COUP WHICH BEGAN AT 0515 LOCAL TIME ON AUGUST 15 WILL NOT BE CHALLENGED. THE OATHS OF FEALTY TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT SWORN BY THE SERVICE CHIEFS, THE HEADS OF THE PARAMILITARY BANGLADESH RIFLES AND RAKKHI BAHINI ANDTHE HEAD OF THE POLICE BRING ALL ARMED ELEMENTS INTO SUPPORT OF THE NEW REGIME.. THE PUBLIC HAS DISPLAYED NO PARTICULAR JIBILATION AT THE FALL OF MUJIB BUT RATHER ACALM ACCEPTANCE, AND PERHAPS SOME SENSE OF RELIEF. THERELATIVE EASE WITH WHICH POWER HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED SUGGESTS ABOVE ALL THE DEGREE TO WHICH MUJIB AND THE BANGALEES HAD BECOME ALIENATED FROM ONE ANOTHER, THE BANGALEES FROM MUJIB BECAUSE OF HIS FAILURE TO MEET THEIR ASPIRATIONS AND HIS APPARENT DESIRE TO HOLD POWER LARGELY FOR PERSONAL AGRANDIZEMENT AND DYNASTIC REASONS, AND MUJIB
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 DACCA 03964 161135Z
FROM THE BANGLAEES AS HE GREW MORE ISOLATED FROM OBJECTIVE COUNSELS AND BEGAN TO SUFFER THE CLASSIC PARANOIA OF THE DESPOT. THE QUICKENING TEMPO OF SHEIKH MUJIB'S EFFORTS SINCE EARLY JUNE TO INSURE HIS STRANGLEHOLD ON POWER,TOGETHER WITH THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF HIS NEPHEW SHEIKHMONI, DOUBTLESS MADE THE COUP PLOTTERS CONCLUDE THAT NO FURTHER DELAYS IN TAKING ACTION WAS POSSIBLE. THAT INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY WAS CHOSEN MAY HAVE BEEN MERELY INCIDENTAL, BUTWE NOTE THE COINCIDENCE.
2. IT IS TOO EARLY TO OFFER ANY SURE OPINIONS ON THE DIRECTION OF EVENTS. THE NEW CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT UNDER KHONDAKAR MUSHTAQUE AHMED SEEMS LITTLE LIKELY TO AROUSEANY SENSE OF ENTHUSIASM. ALTHOUGH PURGED--BY DEATH OR EXCLUSION--OF THOSE WHO WERE CLOSEST TO SHEIKH MUJIB, IT IS STILL A COLLECTION OF OVERLY FAMILIAR FIGURES WHO ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE POOR ADMINISTRATION OF POST-LIBERATION BANGLADESH. CLEARLY, ITS COMPOSITION IS INTENDED TO SUGGEST THAT BANGLADESH UNDER MUSHTAQUE WILL OFFER CONTINUITY, BUT ALSO THAT THERE WILL BE GREATER MODERATION. MUSHTAQUE'S RADIO ADDRESS LATE ON AUGUST 15 (DACCA 3955) SUPPORTS THIS VIEW, CONDEMNING AS IT DOES THE DOMESTIC CONSEQUENCES OF SHEIKH MUJIB'S RULE BUT CLEARLY SUGGESTING THAT IN SOFAR AS FOREIGN AFFAIRS ARE CONCERNED, BUSINESS WILLBE MUCH AS USUAL.
THERE IS ALREADY SOME EVIDENCE THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT WILL WANT TO STRENGTHEN ITS TIES WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD, INCLUDING PAKISTAN. AT THE SAME TIME,MUSHTAQUE'S WELL-KNOWN ANTIPATHY TO INDIA NOTWITHSTANDING,THE NEW REGIME WILL NOT WANT TO AROUSE UNDUE SUSPICIONS ON THE PART OF INDIA, CLEARLY COGNIZANT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING AN ADEQUATE MEASURE OF GOODWILL ON THE PART OF ITS IMPOSING NEIGHBOR. (PERHAPS ONE REASON FOR THE COMPOSITION OF THE CABINET, WITH ITS EXCLUSIVE RELIANCEON OLD FACES, IS A HOPE TO DEMONSTRATE TO INDIA ITS BASIC CONTINUITY.)
INSOFAR AS THE MAJOR POWERS ARE CONCERNED, MUSHTAQUE HAS STATED HIS GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO ESTABLISH"CLOSER AND FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE BIG POWERS LIKETHE UNITED STATES, THE SOVIET UNION AND CHINA." THIS WOULD SEEM TO MEAN MORE BALANCE IN ITS RELATIONS, AND THUS SOME DIMINUTION IN THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOVIET UNION.
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 DACCA 03964 161135Z
3. THE EVIDENCE SO FAR SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY THAT OUR OWN RELATIONS WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENT COULD TURN OUT TO BE ON AN EVEN MORE CORDIAL BASIS THAN THEY WERE UNDER MUJIB. THE NEW PRESIDENT HAS IN THE PAST BEEN STRIKINGLY OVERT IN SUGGESTING HIS "PRO-AMERICAN" ATTITUDE; MOREOVER,THE FIGURES IN THE OLD REGIME WHO WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR LEFTIST AND ANTI-AMERICAN VIEWS (SHEIKH MONI AND SAMAD,EXAMPLE) ARE NOW GONE. THE POSSIBILITY IS ALSO STRONG THAT THEY WILL LOOK TO US FOR EVEN LARGER AMOUNTS OF AID--MUSHTAQUE HAS ARGUED WITH US BEFORE THAT WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN TRULY HELP BANGLADESH--SO THAT OUR PROBLEM MAY WELL PROVE TO BE ONE OF TEMPERING THE NEW REGIME'S EXPECTATIONS OF US.
4. WE CANNOT PRESENTLY JUDGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSHTAQUE'S GOVERNMENT AND THE MILITARY. WE NOTE WITH INTEREST THAT EVERY OFFICIAL STATEMENT STRESSES THE ROLE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN THE TAKEOVER. WE ARE TOLD THAT THEY MILITARY ARE AT PRESENT ENGAGED IN PREPARING MARTIALLAW ORDERS WHICH WOULD, IF THE PAKISTANI PATTERN IS FOLLOWED, SERVE AS BASIS LAW OF THE COUNTRY. WHETHER THIS MEANS A GROWTH OF TENSION BETWEEN THE CIVILIANS AND THE MILITARY WE CANNOT YET SAY, BUT WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ONE OF THE FIRST STATEMENTS BY MUSHTAQUE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PROMISE OF A NEW, MORE LIBERAL CONSTITUATION THAN THAT IMPOSED LAST JANUARY BY MUJIB. THE CIVILIANS PROBABLY HAVEA MOMENTARY ADVANTAGE IN LIGHT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE; MOREOVER, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE MILITARY'S SUCCESSFUL OUSTER OF MUJIB, WE ARE LEFT WITH THE IMPRESSION THATTHE COUP PLANNERS PREPARED FOR LITTLE BEYOND THE EVENTITSELF.
HOWEVER, THE MILITARY--AND BY THIS WE MEAN THE YOUNGER OFFICERS WHO PLANNED AND LED COUP--DID WORK THE OVERTHROW OF SHEIKH MUJIB, AND WE SUSPECT THAT,HAVING TASTED BLOOD, THEY WILL WANT AT THE VERY LEAST TO EXERCISE SOME MEASURE OF INFLUENCE OVER THE COURSE OFEVENTS. WE HAVE NO REASON TO LOOK FOR BANGALEE QUADDAFI SAMONG THE COUP PLANNERS; RATHER, AS MEMBERS OF THE OLD,SERVICE-ORIENTED MIDDLE CLASS WHICH WAS THREATENED BY SHEIKH MUJIB, THEY MAY PROVE A MORE MODERATE FORCE THAN HAS BEEN SEEN IN EAST BENGAL SINCE PAKISTANI PERIOD. CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 DACCA 03964 161135Z
5. ONE POINT TO BE EMPHASIZED IS THAT, WHILE THE OVERTHROW OF SHEIKH MUJIB WAS SUCCESSFUL, IF BLOODLY, A GREAT DEAL REMAINS TO BE DONE. MUSHTAQUE'S SPEECH IS SIGNIFICANT LARGELY FOR ITS GENERALITIES AND ITS ECHOES OF EARLIER AWAMI LEAGUE RHETORIC, BUT CONCRETE ACTIONS HAVE SO FAR BEEN FEW. WE ARE NOT SURPRISED THAT THE DEGREE OF DIRECTION DISPLAYED SO FAR IS LIMITED FOR WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO THINK THAT THOSE PRIVY TO THE PLANNING OF THE COUP WERE SMALL IN NUMBER AND THUS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PREPARING ANY ELABORATE PLANS FOR THE GOVERNACE OF BANGLADESH WAS VERY SMALL.
HOWEVER, UNLESS EARLY STEPS ARE TAKEN TO DEMONSTRATEVIGOR AND WILL, THE ADVANTAGE NOW HELD BY THE NEWREGIME WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH, AN WE MAY CONFRONT AN UNSETTLED--AND UNSETTLING--SITUATION AS CONTENDERS FOR POWER EMERGE. NO ONE NOW ON THE BANGLAEE POLITIICAL STAGEHAS KIND OF COMMANDING PERSONALITY WHICH SUSTAINED SHEIKH MUJIB FOR SO LONG. THE CIVLIAN GOVERNMENT FALTERS, WE MAY FIND THE MILITARY CONCLUDING THAT IS MUST AGAIN SAVE THE NATION.
BOSTER
CONFIDENTIAL
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97064.htm
AIG's Bailout/Handout Financing Israeli Mortgages in Jerusalem - West Bank?
http://jezekiah. wordpress. com/2009/ 03/06/how- much-of-aigs- bailouthandout- is-financing- israeli-mortgage s-in-jerusalem- the-west- bank/
Related: The Israeli Jerusalem municipality hands out demolition orders for 36 Palestinian families!
As of March 4, 2009, the American taxpayer has bailed out American International Group (AIG) to the tune of $163 billion (assuming that the Federal Reserve and the Federal gubmint are to be believed on anything anymore).
On March 3, 2009, this exchange took place in the august and hallowed halls of what used to be known as the Congress of a Constitutional Republic: With One Word, Bernanke Reveals Who Actually Runs the Country: Senator Sanders: "Will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars?" Ben Bernanke: "No."
One can only surmise Bernanke's reasoning. He claims he doesn't want to spook the banks and the markets or some such claptrap. I have another possible reason: Bernanke, being an Orthodox Jew, doesn't want the American public to get any inkling of Israel's share of the various bailouts.
AIG owns a company in Israel called Ezer Mortgage Insurance (EMI). EMI will insure/finance up to 95% of a private Israeli mortgage. Below is EMI's nifty ad gizmo with some of the relevant text copy underneath the link. I've adjusted the figures to reflect current money values. Please alert me if you spot any problems with the math. (Warning - very annoying music):
It's so simple to purchase a house in Israel when EMI (a member of AIG, American International Group) makes up to 95% financing possible!
EMI sets the premium as a function of the LTV (Loan To Value ratio) and the term of the loan. As a rule of thumb - for every $100,000 of a loan taken by a borrower, the borrower pays an additional $25 a month.
For example: David Silberstein is an affluent Jew living in Florida, with a strong affiliation to the Jewish state; his children are even considering immigrating to Israel and serving in the Israel Defense Force when they tun 18. Consequently, David is keen on buying an apartment in Israel to strengthen his ties with the Land and to enable his children to live comfortably while in Israel. David has found a property that he likes carrying a price tag of $176,000. While David has sufficient equity to buy the apartment, he has chosen to use EMI's financial instrument (credit insurance)!
Why? Because it's a smart choice: this way, he has money left over for additional investments and for spreading the risk! David knows that with EMI's solution, he can buy an apartment without using up all his equity and continue to enjoy the standard of living to which he is accustomed. David and his wife have decided to invest start-up capital in the amount of 10% of the value of the apartment. Accordingly, the terms of the mortgage extended to them by the mortgage bank is as follows:
Property value: NIS 740,640
Property value in $: 176,070
Total loan NIS: 666,576
Total loan in $: 158,463
Total start-up capital NIS: 74,064
Total start-up capital in $: 17,607
LTV (Loan to Value ratio): 90%
Monthly payment including EMI premium: NIS 3,857
Monthly payment including EMI premium in $: 916.92
EMI premium out of total monthly payment: NIS 152
EMI premium out of total monthly payment in $: 36
Loan term of 25 years. 4.5% fixed interest rate
*$1 = NIS 4.21 as of 03/06/09
America, doesn't it give you the warm fuzzies to know that while our economy is tanking, Israelis and Jews making aliyah to Israel will still be able to "enjoy the standard of living to which they are accustomed"?
For a little more insight into how the Israeli mortgage market works, see these two links:
A Guide to the Perplexed - An Introduction to Israeli Mortgages
http://blog. israelmortgage. net
From the first link:
"Graces: For those who are building a home in Israel while paying a mortgage elsewhere, or alternatively while paying rent, most mortgage banks offer graces on the loans. Two types of graces exist in Israel - partial and full. Under the terms of a partial grace, only interest must be repaid during the grace period. Under the terms of a full grace, no payment is made during the grace period and any interest that should have been paid is added to the loan balance and is paid back as part of the loan once the grace period ends. Graces are not offered on the zakaut loans and some banks do limit graces to certain loan types."
Question: Gee whiz, why don't Americans get these `grace' periods on their mortgages?
Answer: Because we need to give our last drop of blood to support and subsidize the holy, sacred Israeli parasites mortgage market.
WOLF
+
--- On Fri, 3/6/09, Gamila Zahran < gzahran(at)wanadoo.fr
Arabian Sights.....
==================================
"Why Sudan?
For the last 15 years Sudan has been on the agenda for regime change...
because Sudan housed Palestinian resistance fighters...
Sudan is an Islamist regime that is against the state of Israel...
They say these are some Arabs in Sudan
enslaving Africans...so naturally the language of
"Arabs enslaving Africans"... is so clever and the media pushes that
so there would come a natural hatred of Blacks for Arabs
so that Arabs look like the real culprits here...
Now where there a fight?
Was it over slavery?
...At no time during our talk with John Garang which was
4 hours in length was there ever a mention of slavery...
Look at the Sudan, it is the largest land mass country
I think on the African Continent...it could feed all of Africa .
In the south there is an abundance of oil,
and if you remember in Nigeria, in the eastern part of Nigeria,
they wanted to break that part off...and it ignited a 'civil war'
and the civil war was to unite that which can give them power.
Because there was a regime in Lagos that the government of America
and Britain did not like...You see when you see senator Tom Lantos
leading the march on the Sudanese embassy.
When you see Eli Wiesel. These are Zionists.
These are pro-Israeli Zionists.
Why are they leading the march? Do you really think
that they have compassion for what is going on in Darfur?
See human suffering is human suffering. Do not tell me
you have compassion for the Blacks that are suffering in Darfur,
and you've got Palestinians suffering under your nose
and you do not care nothing about that?
Come on.
If there is 3.5 Million dying in the Congo,
you say nothing about that?
The people that are dying in Uganda,
you say nothing about that?
NO.
Then what is the motive setting up under this?
This is what Black people have to look at.
It is that there is
Oil in the Sudan,
there is Gold,
there is Uranium.
..So what I say to Black people:
when the former slave masters
who did not care about lynching,
who did not care about our suffering,
who do not care about what happened in Katrina,
do NOT you be deceived that
they care about what is happening over there and
they do not care what is happening to us here.
If you can promote black people calling black women 'bitches'
and 'whores' and have no thought about that, you can promote
gangster life, guns, and drugs and you have no thought about that,
yet the Black community is dying as we speak, how in the hell
can I think you're concerned about Darfur when we are dying
in Harlem and in Brooklyn and in the south side of Chicago?
Stop it.
Black people wake up to the deceit."
=====================
During a live news talk show on New York's KISS FM, the Honorable
Minister Louis Farrakhan and Nation of Islam International Representative,
Akbar Muhammad discussed the situation in Darfur, Sudan
with radio host James Mtume.Use the following link
to view this FinalCall.com News featured webcast and related articles:
http://www.finalcall.com/absolutenl/t.aspx?n=41&l=67
==================================
How the "Stop Darfur" Movement
Aids the US Drive for Hegemony
George Wright
“...Interestingly, the “Save Darfur” campaign started right at the point
when it was obvious that the United States
(military) invasion of Iraq had caused a catastrophe.
What was being ignored by Darfur “ humanitarian activists” was that
a United States-led intervention would only amplify the level of violence;
all one had to do is look at Iraq and Afghanistan to understand that.
Emblematic of the Orwellian world that we live at the moment,
at “Save Darfur” demonstrations, many
'peace activists' carried signs which read:
“Out of Iraq; Into Sudan”!...
There is no question the Sudanese Government has been
responsible for much of the death and horror in Dafur. However,
defining the violence in Darfur as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”
confuses what is happening in Darfur;
obfuscates the objectives of the United States toward Sudan;
and distracts from what needs to be done to resolve the Darfur Crisis.
As Ugandan scholar Mahmood Mamdani explains:
“Morally, there is no doubt about the horrific nature of the violence
against civilians in Darfur. The ambiguity lies in the politics of violence…
The Darfur conflict is actually part of a complex series of regional
civil wars abetted by “Big Power” intervention while innocent people
are caught in the middle. The outline of that situation starts with the fact
that for over two decades the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese
Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) were involved in a civil war in southern Sudan.
The United States provided arms,
training, materiel, and intelligence
to the rebel SPLA during that conflict.
That support was transferred through
Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda...
http://www.blackcommentator.com/224/224_genocide_olympics_wright_guest_pf.html
=============================
AFRICOM'S COVERT WAR IN SUDAN :
The Winter of Bashir's Discontent
keith harmon snow
5 March 2009
First note that the ICC can now be viewed as a tool of hegemonic
U.S. foreign policy, where the weapons deployed by the U.S.
and its allies include the accusations of, and indictments for,
human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
.. no white man has yet been charged with these or other offenses
at the ICC—which now holds five black African “warlords”
and seeks to incarcerate and bring to trial another black man,
also an Arab, Omar Bashir.
Why hasn’t George W. Bush been indicted?
Or what about Donald Rumsfeld? Dick Cheney? Henry Kissinger?
Ehud Olmert? Tony Blair? Vadim Alperin? John Bredenkamp?...
Following on the heals of the announcement that the ICC handed down
seven war crimes charges against al-Bashir, a story broadcast
over all the Western media system and into every American living room
by day’s end, President al-Bashir ordered the expulsion
of 1I international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating
in Darfur under the pretense of being purely ‘humanitarian’ organizations.
What has not anywhere in the English press been reported
is that the United States of America has just stepped up
its ongoing war for control of Sudan and her resources:
petroleum, copper, gold, uranium, fertile plantation lands for sugar
and gum Arabic (essential to Coke, Pepsi and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream).
This war has been playing out on the ground in Darfur through
so-called ‘humanitarian’ NGOs, private military companies,
‘peacekeeping’ operations and covert military operations
backed by the U.S. and its closest allies... the U.S. war for Sudan
has always revolved around ‘humanitarian’ operations
—purportedly neutral and presumably concerned only about
protecting innocent human lives—that often provide cover
for clandestine destabilizing activities and interventions...
HTML
http://www.allthingspass.com/uploads/html-264THE%20WINTER%20OF%20BASHIRS%20DISCONTENT.htm
http://www.allthingspass.com/uploads/pdf-264THE%20WINTER%20OF%20BASHIRS%20DISCONTENT.pdf
http://www.allthingspass.com/
==================================
The US’s War In Darfur
Keith Harmon Snow
Debunking the claims of a “genocide against blacks”
or an “Islamic holy-war” against Christians,
Darfur’s Arab and black African ethnic groups
have intermarried for centuries, and nearly everyone is Muslim.
The “Save Darfur” campaign is deeply aligned with Jewish and Christian
faith-based organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel.
These groups have relentlessly campaigned for Western military action,
demonizing both Sudan and China, but they have never addressed
Western military involvement—backing factions on all sides.
By mobilizing constituencies sympathetic to the “genocide” label
and the cries of “never again” they do a grave disservice
to the cause of human rights...
The West is desperate to deploy a “robust peacekeeping”
mission in Darfur, to press the Western agenda...
www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=37
======================
Over Five Million Dead in Congo?
How Truth is Hidden,
Even When it Seems to Be Told
Debunking the claims of a “genocide against blacks”
or an “Islamic holy-war” against Christians,
keith harmon snow
Genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - and on
the entirety of the Africa continent - is the direct result of
deliberate policies by American and European governments
and the multinational corporations they serve.
So-called "relief" agencies that make a pretense of counting the dead
are often themselves creatures of the very corporations that have
set countless militias and neighboring client states
on successive rampages of slaughter and ethnic cleansing
- all to protect the business of extracting the riches of Congo.
Many, many Nuremburg courts could be filled to capacity with American
and European luminaries guilty of crimes against humanity in Central Africa,
yet the corporate, racist political culture insists African "savagery"
is to blame for the ongoing holocaust...
However, the story of war and plunder in Congo is not unreported.
It is a story that has been censored, manipulated, and covered up
even while it is ostensibly being told. Plenty of information
has been published about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and plenty of this is flak, designed to whiteout the truth, and help keep
the real story buried, and that includes the truly honest representations
of war and suffering in Congo that have been published.
Just because the mainstream doesn't cover it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. T
his is the falsification of consciousness...
====================================
Top Ten Reasons to Suspect "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam
to Justify US Military Intervention in Africa
Bruce Dixon
The star-studded hue and cry to "Save Darfur" and
"stop the genocide" has gained enormous traction in U.S. media
along with bipartisan support in Congress and the White House.
But the Congo, with ten to twenty times as many African dead
over the same period is not called a "genocide"
and passes almost unnoticed.
Sudan sits atop lakes of oil.
It has large supplies of uranium, and other minerals,
significant water resources, and a strategic location
near still more African oil and resources.
The unasked question is whether the nation's Republican and
Democratic foreign policy elite are using claims of genocide,
and appeals for "humanitarian intervention" to grease the way
for the next oil and resource wars on the African continent.
The regular manufacture and the constant maintenance
of false realities in the service of American empire is a core function
of the public relations profession and the corporate news media.
Whether it's fake news stories about wonder drugs and
how toxic chemicals are good for you, bribed commentators and
journalists discoursing on the benefits of No Child Left Behind,
Hollywood stars advocating military intervention to save African orphans,
or slick propaganda campaigns employing viral marketing techniques
to reach out to college students, bloggers, churches and ordinary citizens,
it pays to take a close look behind the facade.
Among the latest false realities being pushed upon
the American people are the simplistic pictures of
Black vs. Arab genocide in Darfur, and the proposed solution:
a robust US-backed or US-led military intervention in Western Sudan.
Increasing scrutiny is being focused upon the "Save Darfur" lobby
and the Save Darfur Coalition; upon its founders, its finances,
its methods and motivations and its truthfulness.
In the spirit of furthering that examination we here present
1O reasons to suspect that the "Save Darfur" campaign
is a PR scam to justify US intervention in Africa. ...
Chris Taylor, head of strategy for Blackwater, says his company has a database
of thousands of former police and military officers for security assignments.
He says Blackwater personnel could set up perimeters
and guard Darfurian villages and refugee camp in support of the U.N.
Blackwater officials say it would not take many men to fend off
the Janjaweed, a militia that is supported by the Sudanese government
and attacks villages on camelback.
Apparently Blackwater doesn't need to come to the Congo,
where hunger and malnutrition, depopulation, mass rape and
the disappearance of schools, hospitals and civil society into
vast law free zones ruled by an ever-changing cast of African proxies
(like the son of the late and unlamented Idi Amin),
all under a veil of complicit media silence already constitute
the perfect business-friendly environment for siphoning off
the vast wealth of that country at minimal cost.
Look for the adoption of the Congolese model across the wide areas
of Africa that U.S. strategic planners call "ungoverned spaces".
Just don't expect to see details on the evening news,
or hear about them from Oprah, George Clooney or Angelina Jolie.
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=453&Itemid=1
===========================
AFRICA INCREASINGLY IN US-ISRAELI CROSSHAIRS
The Strategic Importance of Africa
IASPS Staff
co-authored by IASPS Strategic Fellow Paul Michael Wihbey
and US State Department expert Dr. Barry Schutz,
Office of Analysis for Africa,Washington DC., the article challenges
the conventional wisdom that the United States has no vital interests in Africa.
.. because of the availability of its alternative, plentiful and
reliable energy sources, Africa is increasingly an attractive zone
for American engagement at the political, economic and security levels.
The authors recommend three specific American policy initiatives
that would enhance the US presence in Africa including:
1. Debt Forgiveness, 2. Free Trade and
3. Establishing a new US military command
http://www.israeleconomy.org/opeds/oped30.htm
structure for the South Atlantic.
American Policy and Africa
http://www.iasps.org/nbn/nbn308.htm
http://www.israeleconomy.org/nbn/nbn308.htm
The Pentagon's New Africa Command
Interviewees:Robert T. Moeller, Rear Admiral, Head of Africa Command
Robert G. Loftis, Ambassador, State Department
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13348/pentagons_new_africa_command.html
For more Info. On the topic refer to Liz Burbank´s “The Digest”
http://www.burbankdigest.com/node/175
Press Release
Wednesday 4th March 2009
http://tinyurl.com/bypekr
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was launched today at a press conference
chaired by Stéphane Hessel, Ambassador of France. The initiators, Ken Coates,
Chairman of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, Leila Shahid, General
Delegate of Palestine to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg and Nurit
Peled, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, discussed the history and reasons
on why they called for the creation of this Tribunal. Speaking for the
Organising Committee, the former Belgian Senator Pierre Galand explained how it
will work. Amongst more than a hundred international personalities who have
given their support to this Tribunal, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Raji Surani,
Jean Ziegler, François Rigaux, Jean Salmon and François Maspero were present
to give encouragement.
In the tradition of the Russell Tribunal on War Crimes in Vietnam, the Russell
Tribunal on Palestine is a citizens’ initiative that aims to reaffirm the
primacy of international law as the basis for solving the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and at raising awareness of the responsibility of the international
community in the continuing denial of the rights of the Palestinian people.
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine will base its work on Experts’ and
Witnesses’ Committees that will establish the facts and build up the legal
arguments that will be presented to the Tribunal. National Support Committees
will contribute to the preparation of experts’ reports, promote popular
mobilisation and media coverage and participate in fundraising. We can already
count on strong support from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain,
Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Lebanon, Algeria,
Australia, Italy, South Africa, Egypt and, of course, from Israel and
Palestine. Further contacts are under way for the creation of such Committees
in other countries and continents.
Once the accusation has been fully prepared and the witnesses summoned, the
sessions of the Tribunal will be organised at the beginning of 2010 in several
major capitals. A jury made up of well-known personalities who are respected
for their high moral standing will consider the reports and hear the witnesses
for and against.
The jury will announce its conclusions which, we are persuaded, will attract
widespread international public and political support, thereby contributing to
a just and durable peace in the Middle East.
Contact Tel / fax: 00 32 (0)2 2310174
Cell Phone: 00 32 (0) 479 12 95 32
e-mail: trp_int@yahoo.com
web site: www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com
--
Redress Information & Analysis
Website - http://www.redress.cc
Newsblog - http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/redressvideo
Redress Information & Analysis is dedicated to exposing injustice,
disinformation and bigotry and to providing thought-provoking interpretations
of current affairs.
Since the people of these states have been repeatedly cheated out of their hard-earned money by two successive imposed federal corporate bailouts, illegitmate income taxation by the Federal Reserve/IRS, endless massive funding for war profiteers and the systemic CAFR scam, the only options may be direct action, general strikes and secession.
1. State can run out of money, but can't file for bankruptcy | WHAT ...
State can run out of money, but can't file for bankruptcy. "A state is not going to just shut down," said Elizabeth McNichol, a state budget specialist at ...
whatreallyhappened.com/content/state-can-run-out-money-cant-file-bankruptcy - 42k - Cached - Similar pages
1. 46 Of 50 States Could File Bankruptcy In 2009-2010
makes me wonder where all that “bail-out money” is coming from. ... wisely they should all be fired and let people with common sense run the govt. .... can’t be measured by the numbers in your bank account but is measured by the real ...
www.infowars.com/46-of-50-states-could-file-bankruptcy-in-2009-2010/ - 173k - Cached - Similar pages
States can run out of money, but cannot file for bankruptcy
By Dan Carden-Staff Reporter-Illinois Daily Herald-February 6, 2009
SPRINGFIELD - Facing an ever-growing pile of bills, crushing debt and less tax money flowing into the state treasury, Illinois is broke. But could the state climb out of its nearly $9 billion budget hole by declaring bankruptcy?
No, say tax and budget experts.
Federal law permits individuals, businesses and local governments to file for bankruptcy reorganization and sometimes debt forgiveness. States are not covered by the law. No U.S. state has ever declared bankruptcy.
"A state is not going to just shut down," said Elizabeth McNichol, a state budget specialist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think tank.
"As bad as things are, no state is going to have zero revenue coming in," McNichol said. "It's really just a matter of (false) choices."
So, rather than having a court restructure its finances as in a bankruptcy filing, a state would have to reorganize its spending and debt on its own. That's the current challenge for Gov. Pat Quinn and lawmakers.
Illinois has long balanced the stack of bills on the comptroller's desk very carefully. Certain payments must be made on certain days, so other bills sometimes get pushed back a few days - or longer - to make sure there is enough cash on hand, said a spokeswoman for Comptroller Dan Hynes.
But should state finances became especially dire, Illinois could keep going by not paying back money it has borrowed. Such a move is unlikely and the consequences of default would make the state's financial situation worse.
That's because it would greatly hinder the state's ability to borrow in the future. Plus, the people Illinois owes money to could go to court to force the state to pay.
"It's not something you want to do because when you want to borrow in the future you'll have to pay a lot more interest because you're a higher risk," explained Beverly Bunch, an associate professor of public administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
But if the state manages to muddle through, the future could get pretty bleak. California's current $41 billion budget crisis is a preview of what Illinois might have to do to stay solvent.
California has been borrowing to pay its everyday bills. But facing a $346 million shortfall just for February, California Controller John Chaing this week stopped writing checks for nearly everything other than education and debt payments. That means spending on state agencies, including public safety, payments for state purchases and tax refunds will be delayed until at least March.
The Illinois Constitution says state pensions cannot be "diminished or impaired." But money for schools, public safety, and payments to cities and counties are offered no such protection and could all be delayed.
The trickle-down effect of stopped payments in the Golden State is busting the budgets of cities and counties across California. Riverside County, located between Los Angeles and San Diego, is going to court for permission to stop providing state-mandated services if the county does not receive state funding.
Starting today, California's 238,000 state workers begin "Furlough Fridays" - unpaid days off on the first and third Friday of every month through June 2010. The furloughs will save the state $1.3 billion over the next 17 months, but will also end up costing the state revenue as those workers pay less tax on smaller incomes.
46 Of 50 States Could File Bankruptcy In 2009-2010
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Freedom Arizona
January 30, 2009
There is a high chance a majority of the States within the United States of America could file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. There is currently 46 states with high budget deficits, Arizona being one of them.
In fact, Jan Brewer, the newly appointed Governor of Arizona has a major crisis on her hands, one that Arizona and national media isn’t covering. The alarming news is the State of Arizona has 90 to 120 days before they completely run out of money. After that, all bills and tax refunds owed to the citizens will go unpaid.
Before Janet Napolitano left for her new Homeland secretary position, she had a stand-off with Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin. The AZ Treasurer forewarned Napolitano about Arizona’s financial crisis, but she refused to heed his words.
With neighboring California on the verge of bankruptcy this year, many States will follow in their steps.
Many States are already scurrying to cut unwanted costs, cut State-funded programs, raise taxes, not issue tax refunds to their citizens, and borrow money just to survive in 2009. Unfortunately, many banks — the same banks the Fed bailed out — are refusing to loan money to the States and their Treasury agencies.
The article, State Budget Troubles Worsen, at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website is an excellent piece to read. It shows where each State currently stands in these challening economic times, and you see 46 of the 50 States are clearly in the financial red.
It’s very possible you’ll see the end of the United States as we know it. If the Fed doesn’t bailout the States when their cash dries up and the banks don’t loan them money, then our States will be left in financial ruin. This would be a tragic and unprecedented event never experienced in the United States.
No State has ever filed bankruptcy, but it could be coming to a State near you this year.
We are on the brink of something far worse than the Great Depression.
Research related links
Financial crisis: Countries at risk of bankruptcy from Pakistan to Baltics
Hungary on edge of bankruptcy
Kansas suspends income tax refunds, may miss payroll
Federal Bailout of States Violates U.S. Constitution
Individual bankruptcy filings up 27%
California Pension Funds Close To Bankruptcy
Seniors Increasingly Facing Bankruptcy
Eastern European economies face bankruptcy
California to Suspend Welfare Checks
States to Give Cops Authority to Stop Motorists Not Wearing Seat Belts
29 States Faced Total Budget Shortfall of at Least $48 Billion in 2009
The States Are Not Branches Of The Federal Government!
Military Manuals - Learn survival skills, self defense, marksmanship, build a GUN, etc..? Learn what the NWO does not want you to know... How to survive the onslaught!
*** exposing the hidden truth for further educational research only *** CAVEAT LECTOR *** In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. NOTE: Some links may require cut and paste into your Internet Browser. Please check http://tinyurl.com/33c9yr for more real news posts and support the truth! (sorry but don't have time to email all posts) free book download: http://www.lulu.com/content/165077 *** Revealing the hidden Truth For Educational & Further Research Purposes only. *** NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency (NSA) may have read emails without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse, nor protection.......... IF anyone other than the addressee of this e-mail is reading it, you are in violation of the 1st & 4th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Patriot Act 5 & H.R. 1955 Disclaimer Notice: This post & all my past & future posts represent parody & satire & are all intended for entertainment and amusement only. To be removed from the weekly list, please reply with the subject line "REMOVE"
Israeli 'wanton destruction' turns heads
Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:15:26 GMT
Donatella Rovera (L), the Amnesty International researcher on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories
Amnesty International has accused the Israeli army of engaging in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during its Gaza offensive.
The head of the Amnesty's fact-finding mission to the West Bank and Gaza says the use of mines to destroy homes contradicts Tel Aviv claims that the Israeli army acted in accordance with international law during the three-week war on Gaza.
The Israeli army emphasizes that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and its infrastructure were the target of Operation Cast Lead, and not the civilian population in Gaza, said Donatella Rovera, who argued the claim saying the methods used by Israeli forces raise concerns about war crimes.
Israeli troops had to leave their vehicles to plant the mines, indicating that they faced no danger and that there was no military or operational justification, she told the BBC news website.
The BBC report also cites Breaking the Silence -- an Israeli NGO that gathers and circulates the testimonies of Israeli soldiers on incidents of unnecessary violence and oppression -- saying that its findings from the Gaza war suggested many demolitions had been carried out when there was no immediate threat.
"From the testimonies that we've gathered, lots of demolitions -- buildings demolished either by bulldozers or explosives -- were done after the area was under Israeli control," said Yehuda Shaul, one of the group's members.
A Palestinian girl carries her sister in front of a destroyed house in northern Gaza Strip
On December 27, Israel started a huge military operation on the densely-populated coastal sliver, which saw the death of over 1,330 Palestinians and left thousands of buildings, civilian houses and mosques reduced to debris.
Rovera expressed Amnesty's deep concern over the "large scale destruction of homes and other civilian properties" during the conflict. "The destruction was, in our view, and according to our findings, wanton destruction - it could not be justified on military grounds," she said.
The Amnesty official said her team found fragments of anti-tank mines in and around destroyed properties. This together with remains of houses, collapsed in on themselves -- as if blown up from below, rather than from above as in an air strike -- suggested that Israeli troops had left their armored vehicles to plant them and set up the detonators, she said.
"Unless those operating on the ground felt not just 100 percent but 200 percent secure -- that the places were not booby trapped, that they wouldn't come under fire -- they could not have got out of the vehicles," she said, concluding that the use of the method cut short claims about the kind of danger that might have made it lawful to destroy some of those properties.
"Wanton destruction on a large scale would qualify as a war crime," she said.
MRS/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87732§ionid=351020202
EXCLUSIVE: INCEST MONSTER FRITZL TO TELL ALL IN TV INTERVIEW FROM JAIL
Can you see the three x six-pointed star shapes? Need I say any more?
JOSEF FRITZL: THE FULL, HORRIFIC STORY...
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/87975
Does Britain still have a special relationship with the United States?
Yes 40%
No 60%
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/poll-35957-details/ques-36131-id/Standard+poll%3A+special+relationship/poll.do
What a difference a few months make. .. After providing hourly support to the biggest gang of crooks ever to
occupy the White House with "don't worry, be happy" BS, Fox News is now peddling Doomsday scenarios full time.
Here's what it looks and sounds like: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/579.html
Brasscheck TV
2380 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Immigration, a branch of Homeland Security, is now experimenting with a new kind of prison:
One that incarcerates entire families from infants on up. Privately owned of course.
Details: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/281.html
Brasscheck TV
2380 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Must Jews always see themselves as victims?
Fierce debate has been raging in 'The Independent' about Israel's conduct in Gaza. Here, one leading Jewish thinker argues that until Jews shake off their persecution complex, there can never be peace in the Middle East
By Antony Lerman
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/must-jews-always-see-themselves-as-victims-1639277.html
Britain returns to thrifty domesticity
A revival of 1950s style domesticity has swept Britain due to the economic downturn. Consumers are applying a do-it-yourself attitude to all areas of daily life by making clothes, growing vegetables and dying their own hair.
http://www.independent.co.uk/money/invest-save/britain-returns-to-thrifty-domesticity-1638887.html
How to buy gold bars (How to invest in gold bars )
Now that the Bank of England has decided to start printing money, investors worried that inflation will result are thinking of turning to gold, a traditional store of value in troubled times.
"We did have people phoning up to inquire about buying gold after hearing the news about printing money," said a spokeswoman for Baird & Co , the bullion dealer. "Some said they planned to buy a bar or two as a result."
Buying gold bars – in small quantities at least – is no different from buying a packet of sweets, say. Anyone can walk into Baird's shop in the City, hand over some cash and take away their gold.
"The most popular small bar is probably the 1 ounce," said the spokeswoman. This currently costs £718.25. But if you don't want to spend that much, smaller bars are available: the company's smallest, the 2.5 gram, costs £64.25.
Gold is heavy, so the bars are small for their weight; a 1kg bar worth £22,182 measures 5 inches by 3.5 and is about a quarter of an inch thick. "They are not big but they are heavy," she said.
The biggest, meanwhile, weighs in at 12.5kg and costs £222,000. "People do come in occasionally and buy five of them in one go," said the spokeswoman, although customers buying such large amounts would have phoned first. That 50kg in gold would be worth £1.1m.
There are formalities to go through if you are placing a large order. "We need a passport and two utility bills if you are buying more than £5,000 worth of gold," said Baird.
Ninety per cent of its small retail business is done by post or internet, with gold being shipped by courier after funds have cleared. Alternatively, the company can store your gold, for a fee, for holdings worth £5,000 or more.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/4949392/How-to-buy-gold-bars.html
Stop giving our cash to bankers - Sack them! Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Original article via Socialist Worker (UK):
Disgraced banker Fred Goodwin is going to keep his £16 million pension, despite some bluster from elements of the Labour government.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Even though it's on the other side of the pond, bankster frauds are getting away with millions of pounds. What's more, it's a Labour government who's turning a blind eye, all the while the British people are expected to pay for the bailout. Hmmm...sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss’s reward for leading the company to near collapse is just the tip of the iceberg of New Labour’s slavish devotion to the bankers.
Labour...pardon, New Labour is ostensibly the party of the working class in England. However, like a certain party in the US which is the rough equivalent, they threw their lot in with the banksters and the bosses in embracing neo-liberalism. Needless to say, their economy is crashing and may even be worse off then our own.
Lord Myners, Gordon Brown’s City minister, gave the go ahead for the pension of £693,000 a year. He didn’t realise it was an obscene amount of money.
The Pound Sterling is trading at $1.4031 today. Let's see...if the computer's math is right that's $972,348.30 per year. Hmmm. Not to bad a haul for a politico, eh?
Myners was chair of the Guardian Media Group and Land Securities Group, Europe’s largest property developer. He gave £12,700 to Brown’s leadership campaign in 2007. Brown appointed Myners as chair of the Low Pay Commission.
Myners was also a director of GLG, a hedge fund that speculated massively on the collapse of the Bradford & Bingley bank. The government then bailed out the bank.
Ah...that explains it. Even down to the hedge fund management. When will we all learn? Once we're out trillions of dollars, maybe.
No one knows how much public money will be given to the banks, because no one knows how much money they owe.
That's true for both sides of the Atlantic. We don't know how much we're going into hock in a chance to save the bankster frauds' backsides. And we're expected to accept it without question.
Read the rest of the article. It's actually pretty good, save for the bile that builds while your reading it. And, I guess, feel better about our situation in that the rest of the world is screwed, too. Well, I'm not sure about feeling better about that. The article does have a good suggestion at the end:
We shouldn’t be paying some banker’s pension. We shouldn’t be paying any of them at all. They should be paying back the money they have stolen from us. They should all be sacked and the banks should be run in the interests of the people.
http://rjones2818.blogspot.com/2009/03/stop-giving-our-cash-to-bankers-sack.html
The American Mindset
& the Path of ‘Change’
Jim Kirwan
3-6-9
""You can trace Equality in letters of sliver on tablets of burnished gold, but without engineering a perpetual miracle, you cannot make it true..."Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!" shrieketh the raging rhetoricians of the marketplace and editorial mill. "Yes we can! Yes we can!" bellows the herd, as it stupidly pours through the slip-rails to the pithing pen...Yes! O, yes! With a certainty we can," hisseth the plastic politician, the rattlesnake! The hungry basilisk!...America! Where the politicians rage and the people imagine vain things! And the dogs in the alleys - are baying at the moon!"" Ragnar Redbeard from Might is Right
Since the end of the Second World War Americans have been "played" like several hundred million cheap guitars. At first many were reluctant to accept the Siren’s call from the extremes of both the Left and the Right. But gradually the neutrality of higher education, along with the legitimacy of the new leaders of the corporate giants, and then lower education, were captured and turned against those they were charged with educating or enriching. It was here that this mindset began to take shape.
We’ve gone from becoming sheep to becoming nothing but two-legged appetites that have learned to feed on fear, on greed, and on the self-created lies that have kept everyone away from the truths we need; to understand it all, if we are ever to escape this semi-conscious prison of the mind.
The American public has been at war with this particular mindset, that our master’s tailor-made for us, for a thousand years. It was “they” who planted the idea of the need for “CHANGE” in so many: Knowing as they did this, that what we get would not only NOT be change, but it would be that final lock that lets the victims know for certain, that they have definitely been captured. It was these same owners that appointed the invisible Obama, the man with three names and two points of origin to rein as Dictator, over this final round-up of the two-legged herds of useless eaters, so that we might be sorted and assigned until we are no longer useful: To them.
Barack ran on a handful of promises, and already he’s broken nearly every one. What he did was promise action: But those actions proved to be nothing but extensions for the status quo to actually intensify what we objected to (in the case of not-closing Gitmo for at least a year—he gave himself more time to ratchet up the torture). This will not only NOT change anything: but in most cases, this course of action will eliminate the ability to actually ever change any of the things he said he would change “for us.” Look at his policies as compared to his promises; and look deeply into those he has appointed to “help” him exterminate us. Obama represents the flim-flam artists in this dying country—nothing more—because he is “the con” and not “the answer” to anything!
Take Health Care as one example: Not even two months into his ‘rule’ Obama has already murdered single-payer health care, in direct contravention of his campaign promises. Instead of even looking at full medical care for all Americans, paid for by the government, at no additional cost to the taxpayers: Obamanation has invited the heads of the criminally-fraudulent medical insurance companies, along with all the other medical-health-parasites into his summit meetings—because he wants to keep health-care for all—imprisoned in the black hole of privatized corporate profits first, and separate from, any real access for people to be able to live healthy lives.
“JUAN GONZALEZ: Initially, no supporters of single payer were invited to the summit. After protests were called, the White House invited Democratic Congressman John Conyers and the president of the Physicians for a National Health Program.
AMY GOODMAN: Single-payer advocates have also been largely silenced in the media. A new study being released today by FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, found the views of advocates of single payer have only been aired five times in the hundreds of major newspaper, broadcasts and cable stories about healthcare reform over the past week. No single-payer advocate has appeared on a major TV broadcast or cable network to talk about the policy during that period.”
“AMY GOODMAN: So, why isn’t single payer being considered? Why has it been rejected out of hand? Why do you think it’s the only answer?
LUKE MITCHELL: I think there are a couple of reasons why they’re so explicitly rejecting it. One of them is that it’s a threat to a great deal of people who are making a lot of money right now, which is to say the insurance companies. A single-payer system would take a lot of money out of the insurance system, the private insurance system. And it’s also something that a lot of people in Washington understand as ideologically threatening, that is to say, they equate a single-payer system with what they call, quote, “socialized medicine,” unquote.”
So I think what Obama is trying to do is neutralize that threat and get, as he said, the imperfect rather than nothing. And maybe he’s right. There’s clearly a massive resistance to single payer on the Hill.”(1)
What must happen is that every American must be entitled to the exact same care as every member of the government receives—which is absolutely free for life! “Health” is not a matter for private-business to regulate or administer, it is something that the tax-paying American public has already paid for, fifty-times over: Yet we only have the most diabolical medical services in the developed world. Yet as bad as this has been—Under Obamanation—it is about to get a whole lot worse, because the money that health-care needs is what is being used to continue to fund the illegal wars that he plans to expand on, instead of ending!
Let’s not forget about the still-imploding financial disaster. Close your eyes that are lying to you, and look carefully into the center of the vortex and you will see Obama’s hooded flunkies inside a tornado of Monopoly Money that is going everywhere except where it is needed most – into the pockets of those that will be charged for printing every single dollar, in this the greatest single monetary heist in human history, that continues to claim millions more victims each and every day. Have you seen the unemployment figures lately? And that’s only the ones that are recently unemployed – the actual number of the jobless is at least double whatever the owners of this nightmare may “say" it is today.
America is stuck in a mindset that refuses to question anything that is unfolding right in front of our eyes. We are so far past being brainwashed that we’re not even on the same planet as our ancestors were when this all first began. Our ‘minds’ are slush, our bodies are awash in chemicals and additives and lies, to the point where we are practically helpless; even if they stopped bombarding us right now, we’d still be nothing: because we sold everything that might have mattered to us—just to get into this petty game of greed and avarice. This game has turned our lives into nothing more than somebody else’s footnotes, in their twisted stories that we can’t even read—because we’re too busy staying hooked on every facet of the corruptions and the lies that shall kill us all in the end.
There are ways to end this; but it may be too late. It is possible that when enough people share a common ideal, then that idea can be brought into this fight with very positive results.
The idea is called a thought-form: The loose definition of which is 'a very basic idea which has multiple points of origin, in an ever-shifting physical form, so that it can be received my millions of people simultaneously,' to each according to their own understanding of the idea. Some call this the 100th Monkey syndrome.
However it is also a fallacy to believe that this or any other thought-form will produce "change" or much of anything else by itself. THOUGHTS that are valid require ACTION; otherwise the idea is just more 'background noise' that dies with the dawn of yet another day, in the hell-hole that we’ve made of this world. Part of this was begun in ‘Confirmation of Reality & Responsibility,’ and we need to begin to think about connecting our individual thoughts to direct action, if anything is ever going to change. (2)
kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net
1) Obama Hosts Summit on Healthcare http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/6/as_obama_hosts_summit_on_health
2) Confirmation of Reality & Responsibility http://www.kirwanesque.com/politics/articles/2009/art31.htm
Having trouble viewing this email? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Information Clearing House Newsletter
News You Won't Find On CNN
March 06, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If they do it, it's terrorism, if we do it, it's fighting for freedom." - Anthony Quainton, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, 1984: Anthony Quainton - Source: Off the record response of the Ambassador to a group of concerned U.S. citizens when asked to explain the difference between U.S. government actions in Nicaragua and the violence it condemns as terrorism elsewhere in the world.
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It is in the nature of imperialism that citizens of the imperial power are always among the last to know--or care--about circumstances in the colonies: Bertrand Russell
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The aim of military training is not just to prepare men for battle, but to make them long for it: Louis Simpson
===
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. Some of these young men think that war is all glory but let me say war is all hell: William Tecumseh Sherman.
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"The greatest spiritual practise is to transform love into service": Sai Baba
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Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq "1,311,696"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 4,255
icasualties.org/oif/
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The War in Iraq Costs
$602,482,462,637
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
=
Top U.N. Official Accuses U.S. of Inhuman Atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Fox News
"The aggressions against Iraq and Afghanistan and their occupations constitute atrocities that must be condemned and repudiated by all who believe in the rule of law in international relations," said U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22157.htm
===
"I Was Only Following Orders!"
Being serious about torture. Or not.
By William Blum
On the very day of Obama's inauguration, the United Nation's special torture rapporteur invoked the Convention in calling on the United States to pursue former president George W. Bush and defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld for torture and bad treatment of Guantanamo prisoners.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22160.htm
===
Iran in the Crosshairs
By Gareth Porter and Ray McGovern
Remember when Joe Biden told supporters of Barack Obama last October that Obama would be tested in his first six months in office? There is good reason to believe he was referring to the likelihood that Netanyahu would become prime minister after the February 2009 Israeli election, and that he would waste little time finding a pretext to attack Iran.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22154.htm
===
U.S.: Military Dominance in Mideast Proven a Costly Myth
Analysis by Gareth Porter
Apart from its nearly 200,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States had surrounded Iran with a network of airbases scattered across the region from the Persian Gulf sheikdoms through Iraq and Afghanistan to the Central Asian republics of Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, along with aircraft on U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22155.htm
===
Hell Hath No Fury Like an Imperialist Scorned
By William Blum
Hugo Chávez's greatest sin is that he has shown disrespect for the American Empire. Or as they would say in America's inner cities - He's dissed the Man. Such behavior of course cannot go unpunished lest it give other national leaders the wrong idea.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22161.htm
===
AIG: Billions Dished Out in the Dark
By Robert Scheer
This is crazy! Forget the bleating of Rush Limbaugh; the problem is not with the quite reasonable and, if anything, underfunded stimulus package, which in any case will be debated long and hard in Congress. The problem is with what is not being debated: the far more expensive Wall Street bailout that is being pushed through--as in the case of the latest AIG rescue--in secret, hurried deal-making primarily by the unelected secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22162.htm
===
U.S. Military Aid to Israel
By Kathleen and Bill Christison
In these days of economic crisis, budget overruns, earmarks, and multi-billion dollar bailouts, when Americans are being forced to tighten their own belts, one of the most automatic earmarks-a bailout by any measure-goes to a foreign government but is little understood by most Americans.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22163.htm
===
Trickle Down Misery
Analysis by Abid Aslam
Soaring food and fuel prices pushed 130 million to 155 million people in developing countries into poverty in 2008 and the World Bank reckons another 53 million people could join them this year. This would bring the total of those living at or below the international poverty line of two dollars a day to more than 1.5 billion people.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22156.htm
===
The Big Dither
By Paul Krugman
Mr. Obama's failure to match his words with deeds. The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the banks, the Obama administration is dithering. Policy is stuck in a holding pattern.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22158.htm
===
Smart Is The New Stupid
By David Michael Green
Impoverished, deceived, broken and isolated, America is finally growing up.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22159.htm
===
13 killed in bombing at livestock market:
A car bomb tore through a crowded livestock market south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 13 people in a mainly Shiite area that the U.S. military has described as one of the safest in Iraq.
http://snipurl.com/daaj2
===
Two killed in Tikrit by explosive car:
Two people were killed in a car bomb explosion while driving in Tikrit, one of the major cities in Salah El-Din province, northern Baghdad, police said Friday.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1980859&Language=en
===
Brain-injured GIs Could Number 360,000:
The estimate of the number injured - the vast majority of them suffering concussions - represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,
http://www.military.com/news/article/braininjured-gis-could-number-360000.html?ESRC=eb.nl
===
Army captain charged with stealing $690,000:
28-year-old entrusted with money for Iraq relief allegedly mailed it home
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29543169/
===
2 alleged U.S. spies killed in Pakistan: -
Suspected militants killed two persons in Pakistan's tribal areas on charges of spying for the United States, said local television on Friday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/06/content_10957325.htm
===
Mayor killed in Pakistan bomb blast: police:
The mayor of a town in remote northwest Pakistan was killed and his driver wounded Friday when a roadside bomb planted by suspected Taliban militants exploded near his car, police said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090306/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestnorthwestblast
===
One killed, 18 hurt in attack on Pakistan worshippers:
A grenade thrown into a prayer gathering in a Sunni Muslim mosque Thursday killed one worshipper and wounded 18 in an apparent sectarian attack in northwestern Pakistan, police said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090305/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestblast
===
U.S. to Reportedly Invite Iran to Afghanistan Conference:
The Obama administration reportedly plans to invite Iran to an international conference on Afghanistan later this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/06/reportedly-invite-iran-afghanistan-conference/
===
Why 10,000 Ugandans are eagerly serving in Iraq:
Thousands of men and women from poverty-stricken Uganda risk their lives for $600 a month in Iraq.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0306/p04s02-woaf.html
===
Israel Kills At Least 3 Palestinians:
Medical workers said two people were killed at the scene of the attack on Thursday near the Israel-Gaza border and a third died later in hospital.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/03/20093594623783596.html
===
Gaza homes destruction 'wanton':
Human rights investigators say Israeli forces engaged in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during the recent conflict in Gaza.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7926413.stm
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Audio slideshow: Homeless in Gaza:
Raed al-Atamna's family's six houses were destroyed in the recent Gaza conflict, as well as the cars he uses to earn his living as a taxi driver.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7926780.stm
===
US offers $0 for Gaza reconstruction:
Although the Obama administration is pledging $900 million (Dh3.3 billion) of aid, none of the money will go to rebuilding Gaza, the Los Angeles Times reported.
http://snipurl.com/dab17
===
The pasta, paper and hearing aids that could threaten Israeli security:
Members of the highest-ranking American delegation to tour Gaza were shocked to discover that the Israeli blockade against the Hamas-ruled territory included such food staples as lentils, macaroni and tomato paste.
http://snipurl.com/dab4n
===
Pots of urine, feces in the refrigerator -
How IDF troops vandalized Gaza homes
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068989.html
===
Proposal in Congress: No Gilad Shalit, no Gaza aid:
Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada drafted a petition to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the financial aid be delayed for as long as the rocket fire continues and Shalit remains in captivity.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068953.html
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Mauritania 'shuts' Israeli embassy:
Diplomatic relations between Mauritania and Israel have been strained since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/03/20093612531527630.html
===
Iran throws conference to support Hamas:
Iran, Hamas and their supporters from 30 countries spent two days probing ways to provide assistance to the militant Palestinian group and promote "resistance against Israel" at an international gathering in Tehran, an Iranian lawmaker said Thursday.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008816950_apmliranhamasconference.html
===
Clinton says U.S. is 'testing waters' in outreach to Iran, Syria:
U.S. to press Russia on Iran nuclear program, while inviting Tehran to attend conference on Afghanistan
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069168.html
===
America must accept Iran as an equal partner:
If the US can embark on a new Iran policy free of the pressures of the Arab and Israeli lobbies, there will be a chance to put all issues on the table and resolve them through logical negotiations.
http://snipurl.com/dabfb
===
Britain re-establishing contact with Hezbollah:
Britain is re-establishing contact with the militant group Hezbollah following the formation of a unity government in Lebanon, the British government said Thursday.
http://snipurl.com/dabhs
===
African states face warrant dilemma:
The AU, which claims the warrant will disrupt peace negotiations over Sudan's western region of Darfur, has said it will send a delegation to the UN Security Council to try to halt the indictment.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/03/2009369412283166.html
===
Russia outmaneuvered U.S. over air base, analysts say:
The aid package that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's government crafted was grounded in a hard-knuckled, realpolitik approach to this impoverished, landlocked Central Asian country.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/63357.html
====
Hidden cells reveal Bolivia's dark past:
Those hallways led to cells where around 2,000 political prisoners were held and tortured during the 1971-1978 military rule under General Hugo Banzer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7925694.stm
===
Panetta: No one to be punished for CIA interrogations torture:
CIA Director Leon Panetta says agency employees who took part in harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects are not in danger of being punished.
http://snipurl.com/daboq
===
Prosecutors defy judge's order in Al-Arian case:
Brinkema has raised concerns the government's plea deal with Al-Arian amounted to a "bait-and-switch" in which Al-Arian was misled into thinking the Florida plea bargain would end his legal problems and result in his swift deportation after serving his sentence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090305/ap_on_re_us/attacks_professor
===
Sen. Patrick Leahy, Issues Call For Investigations Into Bush Crimes:
Video
http://snipurl.com/dabs5
===
UK: Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones:
Everyone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4969312.ece
===
Barack Obama bets the farm in $4 trillion poker game:
The President believes he can change US politics for a generation. If he's wrong he could bankrupt the whole country
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5854168.ece
===
GM says it will go bust in days without new US bail-out:
General Motors today warned it would go bust within 30 days unless the US treasury gives it a further multi-billion dollar loan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/05/gm-bankruptcy-warning
===
US unemployment hits 25-year high:
US unemployment has risen to 8.1 per cent, the highest level since December 1983, according to a US government report.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/200936132544136220.html
===
Record 31.8 million on food stamps:
Government shows increase of 700,000 food stamp recipients in a single month.
http://snipurl.com/dabxn
===
One in 8 US homeowners late paying or in foreclosure: :
About one in eight U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record share, ended 2008 behind on their loan payments or in the foreclosure process as job losses intensified a housing crisis spawned by lax lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0531503420090305
===
Mortgage woes break records again in 4Q:
Delinquencies, foreclosures rise to almost 12 percent of US home loans in 4th quarter
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/12-pct-are-behind-on-mortgage-apf-14553386.html
===
Pictured: The credit crunch tent city which has returned to haunt America:
Today, tents are once again springing up in the city of Sacramento. But this time it is for people with no hope and no prospects.
http://snipurl.com/dac3b
===
Ten Things You Can Do to Stay in Your Home:
Every thirteen seconds, an American loses his/her home. In 2008, more than 2.3 million families faced foreclosure. If the government doesn't intervene in a muscular way, an estimated 6 million owners will lose their homes in the next three years.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090323/ten_things?rel=hp_currently
===
HATE SPEECH and SOUTH ASIAN REALITY
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 179
Palash Biswas
Attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore changes everything
Telegraph.co.uk - 37 minutes ago
As the news of the horrific terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan reached the England team on tour in the West Indies it was impossible to avoid the feeling that though the game will survive, everything will be different as a ...
Sri Lanka against moves to isolate Pakistan Hindustan Times
Sri Lanka hopes Lahore attackers will be brought to book Hindu
NDTV.com - Press Trust of India - AFP - Rediff
all 14,697 news articles »
Calcutta Telegraph
Kylie refused to meet SRK
Times of India - 9 hours ago
Australian pop sensation, Kylie Minogue was in India for just a week but she has ruffled quite a few feathers. The latest is that she refused to meet superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
We are living in an uncertain world: Shah Rukh Khan SamayLive
When Kylie Minogue refused to meet Shah Rukh Khan! Zee News
Oneindia - IBNLive.com - Hindustan Times - Galatta.com
all 36 news articles »
हिंदी में
A Royal launch to troubled IPL 2
Times Now.tv - 5 hours ago
There is a toss up of dates if the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the owner of the Rajasthan Royals - Shilpa Shetty - gets into a launch mode.
Strict demands puts IPL matches in jeopardy Times of India
IPL hope with home price Calcutta Telegraph
Cricketnext.com - Hindu - Xinhua - The Statesman
all 725 news articles »
हिंदी में
allows SC hearing on clash to continue
Express Buzz - 3 hours ago
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said the hearing by a three-judge Bench of the Madras High Court to decide whether a judicial inquiry into the February 19 clash between advocates and the police was required would continue.
“It is open to High Court to order judicial probe” Hindu
New CJ to face task of settling unrest in court Times of India
All India Radio - Calcutta Telegraph - Indian Express - News Today
all 108 news articles »
Geert Wilders Prosecuted for Hate Speech, Long live Freedom of Speech!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcW-_TVfxAs&feature=channel
NDTV's Hate Speech: Abuses Gujarati Indians
Indianmediazoom notes that NDTV made hate speech against Gujarati Indians. Check the video at 0:47. This video exposes NDTV's hypocrisy. NDTV abused Gujrati Indians as "traditionally effete people"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2C-vMPOuaY
Hate speech
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action[citation needed] against a person or group of people based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language ability, ideology, social class, occupation, appearance (height, weight, hair color, etc.), mental capacity, and any other distinction that might be considered by some as a liability. The term covers written as well as oral communication and some forms of behaviors in a public setting[citation needed]. It is also sometimes called antilocution[citation needed] and is the first point on Allport's scale which measures prejudice in a society. Critics have claimed that the term "Hate Speech" is a modern example of Newspeak, used to silence critics of social policies that have been poorly implemented in a rush to appear politically correct[1][2][3].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech
An anonymous reader writes "The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that bloggers cannot shelter under an escape clause such as 'Any views expressed are solely those of the writers' to exercise freedom of speech in discussions and statements online. The ruling comes in response to an anti-defamation case filed against a 19 year old student's Orkut community, commenting upon the right-wing political organization Shiv Sena. This organization is based in the western state of Maharashtra and has been responsible for inflammatory speeches and numerous attacks upon non-Maharashtrians." The article does not make it entirely clear whether the student owner is himself accused of defamatory speech, or only commenters posting on his site. His defense that an Orkut community is not equivalent to a public forum was denied.
FREE SPEECH has no SPACE in ASIA but the FASCISTS have every right and space for HATE SPEECH and the HATE SPEECH is often glorified as RELIGION, FOLK, TRADITION, NATIONALITY, NATIONALISM and PATRIOTISM, Literature and ART. While the despised Indigenous aboriginal Minority communities have no space to express themselves. SPACE created on ALTERNATIVE SITES as in NET, are BLOCKED often!
It is ELECTION Time. It is WARTIME. It is TROUBLED TIME.It is HIGH TECHNOLOGY Time.
With its Dalit voter-base intact, it may also garner more votes because of fragmentation of other parties' vote banks.. WITH THE Lok Sabha Elections 2009 ...Media has launched a MISINFORMATION campaign against the SC, ST, OBC, Minority leaders and projects POLARISATION in between NDA and UPA to deny MAYAWATI whatosoever OPPORTUNITY. HIGH CASTE HATE SPPECH never condemned. As anti RESERVATION Movement showed the way!
Hindu Mahasabha Performed well launching a HATE SPEECH Campaign against MUSLIMS in EAST Bengal creating the SPACE for TWO NATION Theory, Muslim league and PARTITION Holocaust.
SO Called father of the Nation termed the UNTOUCHABLES as HARIJAN what means BATARD! It was official after INDEPENDENCE to isolate and persecute SC communities, majority of Indian population!
Human Civilisation licks the BUM of Vulgarity.
Illuminity rules the Globe with MIND CONTROL and BRAIN WASHING! Mass destruction is the general Agenda to capture the GALAXIES!
Good EARTH is ruled by the Global Order of Post Manusmriti Apartheid ORDER run by Brahaminical Hindutva, Zionism and US Corporate Imperialism. CORE ZIONIST ECONOMY has taken over the Periphery Political economies of the Colonies.
INDIGENOUS ABORIGINAL People do rise against the HEGEMONIES all over the WORLD.
But We the people entrapped and ENSLAVED in SOUTH ASIAN GEOPOLITICS dare not to involve ourselves in whatsoever RESISTANCE.
AGE OLD MANUSMRITI Rule and Graded caste System based on Untouchablity has divided us in castes, communities, languages , nationalities, races, slasses and creeds.
We use HATE SPEECH against each OTHER in full capacity with excellent EXPERTISE.
Caste NAMES as CHAMAR, BHAGI, DOM, CHANDAL, Harijan, MEHTAR, MAHAR, PASI, Mallah, KOIRI, and so on are used FREELY as HATE SPEECH despite the claim of ABOLISH UNTOUCHABILITY! MAAYAWATI, MULAYAM, RAM BILAS, AMBEDKAR, JOGENDRA NATH MANDAL, KANTI BISWAS, Nitish kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sharad Yadav, BSP, REPUBLICAN PRTY, BAMCEF, PHULE, MATUA, DALIT,BODHI, BHIKSHU, FATHER, NUN, MIAN, MULLA, KATUA, CABBAGE, SIKH, SARDAR, BANGALI SHARNAARTHEE, ADIVASI< LODHA, SHABAR, MUNDA, SANTHAL,KURMI, MAHATO, RAJBANSHI, NAMOSHUDRA, POD, AHAM, UDRE, TELANGI, TAMIL, JAINEE, CONVERETED, SC, ST, OBC, MINORITY, ISLAM, JIHAD, RESERVATION, QUOTA, CREAMY LAYER, MAJDUR, SAFAIWALA, MASI, DAI, NAI, KAMWALI, BHAIYA, CHHAKKA, BIHARI,NORTH EAST, KASHMIRI, HINDUSTANI, PAKISTANI,BPL,SABJIWALA, DOODHWALA, DHOBI, LIGAI,RANDI, DAYEN, CHHINAL, JAT, GUJJAR, TELI, ASSAM, TRIPURA, Bihar, UP, JHARKHAND, CHHATTISHGARH, ANDHRA, KRALA and so on .. do consist the VITAL STATICS of HATE SPEECH in India!
The language used in SLUM DOG MILLIONAIR is typically IDENTICAL as being used all over the country against UNDER PREVILLEGED!
The hate speech provision, s. 295A of the IPC and its evolution. In requiring 'deliberate and malicious intention', the bar was sought to be set high. But, as recent events demonstrate, does this provision increase rather than decrease religious strife?
Ruling Hegemonies do BANK on this to sustain CAPTURE and DOMINANCE.
Gestapos works as silent as DEATH.
Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing are justified by unprecedented HATE SPEECH infinite and latest TECHNOLOGY and SCIENCE. Communities are created to capture cyberspace for hate. Media launches unpresedented HATE Campaign.
The Negroid DRAVID Black Untouchables of South Asia have been HABITUAL to DIGEST the INFINITE HATE and ISOLATION living and surviving in BLACK HOLES!
A major part of this indigenous aboriginal population has converted to ISLAM, SIKKHISM, BUDDHISM and JAINISM and CHRISTIANITY.
The Hate Speeches and hate campaign created the partition holocaust and drove away our people from their Homelands to make a HELL of their life. In Mainstream land the aboriginal communities have been used as ANIMALS, SLUM DOGS. All the indigenous aboriginal and minrity communities have to suffer the HEAT and DUST of hate campaign!
In recent history, we have witnessed continuous ETHNIC Cleansing in Bangladesh, RIOTS across the borders, Destruction on the name of Development, Infinite Displacement and EXODUS, Naxal repression, Deindustrialisation, LPG MAFIA RULE, SIKH GENOCIDE and operation Blue Star, Babri demolition and Ram Janm Bhoomi Andolan, Marichjhanpi genocide, Gujrat Genocide, Bomb Blasts and Terror strikes, Anti Bengali riots and anti Hindi riots in North East, AFPSA ruling kashmir and entire North East, Anti north India Riots in Mumbai, Deportation Drive against SC Bengali Refugees nationwide and so on.
Since INDO US Nuclear deal, and STRATEGIC Realliance in US and Israel lead, the HATE CAMPAIGN is focust against the MUSLIMS, Pakistan and Bangladesh with an unprecedented WAR HYPE in a geopolitics where nationalities and Identities are never recognised , rather they happen to be victimised with Brutal MILITARY OPTION and SOCIAL, POLITICAL and Economic isolation.
Pakistani investigators have informed the government that they may have to stop their probe into the Mumbai attacks due to lack of cooperation by authorities in India and several other countries!
Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- Indian police and paramilitary troops placed a large section of Srinagar under strict restrictions Saturday in hopes of thwarting further violence in the summer capital city of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
At least two civilians were killed while two more were injured when the Tamil Tiger rebels fired at them on Saturday to prevent them from fleeing the rebel held area in northern Sri Lanka, said the military.
The hatred campaign in South Asia hitherto had been limited in social Political heirarchies, Political Bodies like RSS and leaders of HEGEMONIES.
But the hatred has got different dimention with VIRTUAL REALITY entering the scene as well as REALITY SHOWS. Parliamentary and legislative IMMUNISATION have been the cause of LEAD by Politicians in this field as they are always engaged in Demogrphic READJUSTMENT to mobilise the VOTE BANK.
But the HATE is being BRANDED with AGRESSIVE AD Campaigns, NET Communities, HATE mails and ICONISATION of Hate.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly termed the terror attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore as "frightening" and said Pakistan is no more a safe venue for international cricket.
What is this? Ganguli is a BRAHMIN ICON as well as a BRAND!
This statement would stimulate the BLIND nationalism. Ganguli is known to be very close to Marxists Ruling Bengal who bank on BRAND BUDDHA as well as BRAND SAURABH!
GORKHALND CRISIS has ended in a HATE Campaign against GURKHAS.
The DALIT QUEEN, projected as the Prime Minister face of Left dominated Third Front, was known for her controversial Slogan:
TILAK TARAJU TALWAR
MARO JUTE CHAAR
Now she has aligned with the BRAHMINS and she has changed the AESHETICS of Political Speech into social engineering.
THE RSS was born in FASCIST BRAHAMINICAL Mode.
Since it has to cover the SC ST communities, it began to talk in the language of SAMRASATA. They were against MUSLIMS but they had to mobilise the MUSLIM VOTE BANK too and adjusted some MUSLIM faces in its RANK and FILE as the CONGRESS as well as MARXISTS had been doing all these years!
Has the HATE DISAPPEARED?
ONLY the HATE SPEECHES have become more RHETORICAL. War Against Terror and Clash of CIVILISATION have created the new Linguistics of hate SPEECH and all ZIONISTS do use it freely. No hate Speech law may stop them. Terror and PAKISTAN are the topics which changed the GRAMMER of Hate SPEECHES. Hindutav forces speak on NATIONALISM and against TERROR strikes, against Pakistan! In fact, they use the terms as ANTI MUSLIM hate SPEECH!
Just see, Muslims have not voted for the MUSLIM CPIM candidate in BISHNUPUR West ASSEMBELLY by election where TRINAMOOL congress outsider Madan Mitra won with a Margin of thirty thousnad votes where it was defeated last time.
Former president of the BJP Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday challenged the Left parties to declare that they would not join hands with the Congress after the elections!
The BJP-BJD alliance in Orissa spilt on Saturday over differences in seat-sharing. The talks between the two parties failed after BJD insisted on contesting from more Lok Sabha seats in Orissa.
The EQUATION has changed. Marxist bases in Muslim, SC and ST communities are very week nowadays. Ten SC seats and two ST seats were the SURE gains as well as the MUSLIM DOMINATED seats. It is not like that this time.
In North Kolkata, more than forty percent voters happen to be MUSLIMS. But a MUSLIM candidate like MD. SALIM may never be sure to win the next Loksabha election!
The SECULAR Mode of the MARXISTS do change ! Thus, generally very SECULAR, CRICKETER marxist Saurabh involves himself into Pakistan hate campign!
"It feels very frightening to see what happened in Lahore. Hopefully such incidents will not happen in the future," Ganguly told reporters in Patna.
"It is terrible for the game of cricket where players are attacked by terrorists. Definitely, Pakistan is not safe now," he added.
Six Sri Lankan cricketers and assistant coach Paul Fabrace was injured, while eight people, including six policemen were killed when 12 gunmen opened fired at the team convoy on Tuesday while it was on its way to Gaddafi stadium for the third day's play in the second Test.
In Moscow, a prominent Russian legislator and former presidential candidate introduced legislation to strike down Russia's hate speech law.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch said Europe was “poisoned by an anti-Semitism we thought had been dispatched to history’s dustbin.”
Murdoch made his remarks Wednesday evening in New York upon receiving the National Human Relations award from the American Jewish Committee.
Murdoch also said of Israel: “In the end, the Israeli people are fighting the same enemy we are: cold-blooded killers who reject peace… who reject freedom… and who rule by the suicide vest, the car bomb and the human shield.”
“These are men who can't abide by the idea of freedom, tolerance and democracy, they hate Israel, they hate us," the 77-year-old media baron, who owns News Corporation, said. "No sovereign nation can sit by while a civilian population is attacked."
Joking that some of his enemies think he is Jewish and that some of his friends wish he was Jewish, Murdoch said: “Let me set the record straight: I live in New York. I have a wife who craves Chinese food. And people I trust tell me I practically invented the word ‘chutzpah.’”
The AJC award recognizes Murdoch’s professional and philanthropic work.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the parliamentary vice-speaker and outspoken leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, made the proposal Wednesday about Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code, which is the center of nearly all prosecutions in Russia for anti-Semitic hate speech. It prohibits public incitement of ethnic or religious hatred.
In a memo attached to the proposal, Zhirinovsky pointed out that a broad interpretation of the law could be used to prosecute journalists for identifying the race of criminals in news stories or anyone for telling ethnic jokes.
"Who can say whether it is a crime to tell ethnic joke that are inciting hatred or hostility to Natives, Jews, Gypsies or Russians," the memo argues.
Zhirinovsky goes on to argue that the law should not be defined by the speaker's actions or words but by their goal.
Human rights activists also have similar concerns about the law, fearing that such anti-extremist measures could be used to crack down on dissidents and restrict free speech in general, according to a report from the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
Zhirinovsky's proposal, though, seeks to abolish the hate speech language in the law rather than amend it.
How the HATE SPEECH relates to the Global system!
Terrorists attacking 'very soul' of South Asia: US
Washington Concerned over the recent gun and grenade attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, the US has said the terrorists are attacking the "very soul" of South Asia and expressed readiness to assist in investigations if its help is sought.
"They are going after the very soul of South Asia, the very heart of the Pakistani people," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington.
His remarks came when he was asked to comment on Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore that left seven players and an assistant coach injured and eight people dead.
He said these attacks are something which is a cause of concern. "We would watch for the Pakistani authorities to investigate and find out who did it," Boucher said.
So far neither the Pakistan Government nor the Sri Lankan authorities have approached the United States for help in their investigations. However, the US is always ready to offer all its assistance, if requested for, he said.
Boucher spoke with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitta Bogollagama on Friday and extended the Obama Administration's condolences over the attack on the cricketers.
When asked if there is any link between the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore and the LTTE, Boucher said "the basic answer is, I do not known."
"I do not know of any link like that at this point, but what we need to do is to let the Pakistani authorities do the investigation. I think they have said that they have some leads and some people in custody. So we look to see what they say about this," he said.
Asked if he had reasons to believe that LTTE or Al-Qaeda had any links in the past, Boucher said: "I do not know anything about that."
"Frankly, God knows", he said when asked what these terrorists are trying to achieve.
"I do not have any idea. Right around the same time (of Lahore attack), there was an attack on a Sufi shrine in Peshawar. Attack on a Sufi shrine, cricket team, I mean who are these people? What they are trying to do, it is not just to disrupt modern school or things like that?" he asked.
"They are going after, the very soul of South Asia, the very heart of the Pakistani people. So all of us understand very clearly that terrorists are a real threat to any aspiration that the people of Pakistan have to living a normal life, living a modern life. I do not have a clue why somebody would attack people like these," Boucher said.
Church seeks security of minorities during polls
Kalinga Times Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, March 2: The Church in India has called upon all people, and specially Christians, to fully take part in the political democratic process, including exercising their voting rights in the coming general elections.
The community leadership which met in national consultations in New Delhi last week reaffirmed its faith in democracy, according to a press release issued by All India Christian Council from New Delhi on Monday.
The community wanted India to be strong and condemns terrorism, communalism, and casteism. It was deeply concerned at the rural crisis, urban poverty, and rise in unemployment, displacement in the SEZs and the plight of women and the girl child.
The Church and the Christian Community also felt that democracy would be strengthened if political parties speak out against corruption and communalism, human exploitation and assault on the dignity of women, Dalits, labour, children and minorities.
“The Christian community puts its own interests subservient to the interests of the Nation. But it feels that there are certain issues which are paramount – security of religious minorities, ending persecution of Christians in Odisha and other places, and punishment of those found guilty, rehabilitation of the displaced, compensation to the victims at par with that given in other states, proportionate share to Christians in funds and projects earmarked for all minorities, as also in government jobs, civil services, police and other services.”
The community has also demanded a National Commission on the lines of the Justice Rajender Sachhar for Muslims set up by the Union government to assess the economic deprivation of Dalit Christians, landless labour and tribal Christians, in particular.
The consultations were presided over by Archbishop Vincent Concessao. Participants included representatives from the Catholic Church, the National Council of Churches in India , the All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, the Believers Church , Truthseekers International, Evangelical Fellowship of India, United Christian Action, and Independent and Pentecost Churches .
Prominent signatories included Bishop Mar Barnabas of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Bishop Simon John of the Believers Church and John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, Government of India, and Secretary General, All India Christian Council, Council national secretary Sam Paul, Rev Sunil Sardar, Vijayesh Lal and Advocate Lalsinglau.
The community will present a memorandum to all political parties before the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
“All political parties must put the security of all religious minorities, and especially of the Christian community, at the top of their electoral agenda. Parties must assure they will bring the culprits of crimes in Orissa and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, to book, and ensure that the unceasing hate and disinformation campaign, through media and political activities, is brought to an end,” the community has said in its memorandum.
http://www.kalingatimes.com/odisha_news/news2009/20090302_Church_seeks_security_of_minorities_during_polls.htm
Holy Garb: Profane Agenda
by
Seers Demand Dropping of Word Secular from Indian Constitution!
What do spiritual leaders talk when they meet? One thought it may be the matters pertaining to the 'other world' that is the focus of their attention, away from the profane World, which is the matter of concern for ordinary people. One thought they may be deliberating on the issues of moral values of the religion. But it seems that is not the case. Recently when many of them met in Mumbai they showed that the saffron garb is the mere exterior, this color of renunciation and piety, is no representative of their political core. On the top of that they use saffron color to hide their sectarian ideas and narrow politics in the name of religion. The only difference in their case being that their politics is couched in the language of religion. That their ideas are full 'Hate' for others, unlike the values Hinduism which teaches us Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (whole World is my family). This got revealed once more.
Recently many a chiefs of Akharas and other assorted Saints came together at the First Conference of Dharma Raksha Manch (29th Jan 2009) in Mumbai. They were brought together by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, apparently for the agenda was Combating terrorism. They called for dropping the word secular from Indian constitution and replacing it with word religious. They Ram Temple, Malegaon blasts, terrorism, and amongst other things and demanded that they need Manu's parliament and not Christ's. They drew attention to terrorism breeding in Madrassa, and hit out at media for using the term Hindu terrorism. Finally Beginning Mid Feb. (2009) they plan to take out series of yatras (religious marches) covering large parts of the country, with the call for ending Jihad.
Who are these assorted Holy seers, coming together on the call of Vishwa Hindu Parishad? VHP itself is the creation of RSS in the mid sixties. Initiative was taken by RSS chief and his close lieutenant to get different established mutt's to form VHP. It primarily became a religious wing of RSS, involving the Hindu achrayas etc, and attracted especially traders, affluent processionals and those who did not want to openly associate with RSS, as at that time RSS stood fully discredited in people's eyes due to its association with Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
VHP got involved in the identity issues strengthening the conservative politics and Ram temple became its central rallying point. Along with this it called for Dharma Sansad (religious parliament) where they stated that in the matters religious, in this case Ram Temple, the decision of saints is above the judgement of the courts. Place of Lord's birth became a matter not of History but of faith, and who else can decide these issues than these custodians of faith.
This congregation of holy seers has taken place long after their earlier meetings around Ram Temple issue. It seems it is their next innings where the focus is also on terrorism apart from its earlier concerns. At the same time they are reiterating that Indian Constitution is not welcome; let's go back to Manu Smriti. In a way there is nothing new in this. The RSS politics has always been against the Indian Constitution, against the values of secularism, democracy as these stand by Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Right from the time Constituent Assembly was formed, RSS opposed the same, saying that 'we' already have the best of Constitutions in the form of Manu Smirit so why a new Constitution. It was backed by eulogies for Lord Manu by the RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, who also at the same time has heaped immense praise on the methods of Hitler. Later K.Surshan also openly called for scrapping of Indian constitution and bringing Manu Smriti instead.
While the saints are overtly for the subjugation of Muslims and Christians, at the same time their agenda is to push back the concept of equality for dalit, Adivasis and women. Interestingly RSS came up as a reaction to social changes of caste and gender during the freedom movement. Our national movement stood not only for freedom but also for the transformation of caste and gender towards equality. Barring some exceptions the concept of democracy and secularism go hand in hand. Freedom movement was the epitome of these political and social processes, leading to the emergence of secular India. Today RSS has many mouths to speak and many fora to articulate its agenda. VHP is the crude version of expressing its agenda while BJP, due to electoral compulsions, puts the same agenda in more subtle ways.
The VHP agenda is quite striking in combing the Holy language with profane goals. It will totally ignore the problems of 'this World'; the problems related to survival and Human rights and will harp on identity issues. This brings in a politics which targets the 'external enemies', Muslims; Christians, and intimidates internal sectors, dalits; Adivasis and women, of society. Its call for doing away with the word secular is nothing new in that sense. Its demand to do away with secular word and secular ethos shows that their Holiness is restricted to the appearance, while they want to maintain their social hegemony through political means. Secularism is not against religion. The best of religious people like Maulana Abul Kalam and Mahatma Gandhi had been secular to the core. They knew the boundary line very well. Also they used the moral values of religion to create bonds of fraternity (community) amongst the people of different religions. There were others who created Hate against the other community, and that too in the name of religion. One can cite the parallel and opposite roles of Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.
The seers, respected because of their Holy garb are misusing their appearance at the service of sectarian politics, they are playing the role of handmaidens of the divisive politics. Secularism precisely means that secular, this-worldly, issues should be the base of politics. So the genuine religious person like Gandhi could distinguish between the moral values of religion which should be adopted in life while shunning the identity related issues from political life, "In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular." It is a matter of shame and disgust the identity of a religion is being used to pursue the political goals of an organization, supplementing the goals a communal political party by appealing in the name of religion.
At the same time to further demonize the Muslims it is taking up the issue of terrorism in lop sided manner. The slogan end of Jihad is a way to hide the anti Muslim agenda. There is an attempt to put the blame on Islam and Muslims for terrorism, which is totally false. A political phenomenon is being presented as the one related to religion. So Islamic terrorism word is acceptable to them! All terrorist are Muslims formulation is acceptable to them. But how dare you use the word Hindu terrorism if Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Dayanand Pande and their ilk is involved in acts of terror? In this meet, overseen by RSS representatives, lot of anger was expressed for the Maharashtra ATS for starting investigations against Sadhvi and Company.
The timing of the meet and the planned Yatras is more then striking. As we await elections, the VHP is trying to revive Ram Temple as an issue and will also be talking of terrorism; about Afzal Guru and will be reprimanding the state for 'torturing' Pragya Thakur. As a matter of fact VHP and this motley crowd of saints is an adjunct to the electoral goals of BJP. It articulates emotive things which BJP will not be able to do because of election commission and the media watch.
Of all the techniques evolved by RSS, the use of these Holy men for political goals may be the worst insult of the Hindu religion. While these Holy seers infinite in number, many of them have succeeded in building up their own five star Empires, there are others who are sitting on the top of already established mutts. What unites them through VHP is the politics of status quo, the opposition to democracy. We had saints, who talked against caste system and social evils. We had Kabir, Chokha Mela, Tukaram and the lot who stood for the problems of the poor, and now we have a breed, whose agenda is to undermine the prevalent social evils of dowry, female infanticide, bride burning, atrocities on dalits and Adivasis. Their goal is to keep talking about the spirituality and religiosity which is so different from the concerns taken up by the likes of Gandhi and the whole the genre of Saints of Bhakti tradition in India. One hope the people of India can see this clever game of communal politics and differentiate the grain from the chaff.
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Ram Puniyani
Issues in Secular Politics
February II 2009
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Slumdog just reinforces all the old stereotypes
Anita SalujaFirst Published : 26 Feb 2009 02:17:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 26 Feb 2009 10:04:37 AM ISTThere was no need to use the 50:50 option or phone a friend, as the issue was locked from the beginning, ever since Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for the Oscars. We all knew Danny Boyle would get the award, having portrayed India negatively, projecting the slums and drains of Bharat, the inhuman behaviour of the police and highlighting the brothels of Mumbai.
With goons flourishing in the slums of Mumbai, engaged in making big money and the mafia plucking out eyes of children, the film had the right mix of ingredients to make it to the top at the Oscar awards ceremony.
After all, it’s this aspect of India that’s been adored by phirangs in the past, who term India as the country of snake-charmers and elephants, refusing to believe that it is at par today with any other country in the areas of IT, science and technology, fashion and beauty care as well.
In the film sector, especially, we have been at the forefront always, having produced classics like Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Bandini, Barsaat, Awara, Mera Naam Joker and, more recently, Sholay, Lagaan, etc, but no one had any doubt that our films would never make it to the Oscars.
What if our songs Awara hun (Awara) and Pyar hua ikraar hua (Shri 420) are popular the world over and our cine stars, from Raj Kapoor, Nargis Dutt to the more recent ones like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai are loved and chased by everyone everywhere, Indian films were never considered for the Oscars.
Indeed, Danny Boyle deserves praise for showcasing our great Indian talent before the world. We had no doubt that Gulzar was a great lyricist and that A R Rahman has a great future. The gems of our film industry, however, would not have made it to the top, the Oscars, if a Britisher or an American had not produced a film called Slumdog Millionaire.
Is it not an irony that for greater exposure of the already known talent of our films, we needed Slumdog? Couldn’t we have managed it without exhibiting the negative-side of our story? The answer is “NO”.
So, when we are celebrating the laurels of our achievers, we should also ponder the negativity of the film.
Those who saw the film would think of India as a country of dirt and filth, ridden with poverty, where violence and deceit are the key to success and where girls are often taken to brothels.
For the recognition of a very few in the outside world, we have allowed outsiders to portray, not the other side, but the wrong side of Bharat.
So, there is nothing to celebrate if US President Barack Obama is expected to see the movie, and empathise with the plight of Indians.
Similarly, if the producer of Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson, is planning to stage a musical show with all the kids, it is basically to keep themselves in the limelight and to get as much attention as possible. This, any way, won’t be possible if the kids are not around. As for charity, it is for the Indian government to take the call on the plight of slumdwellers.
A senior officer of the tourism ministry confided that India has been shown as a country where youngsters are so crazy that they would not give a second thought in jumping into a pit of night soil just to see Amitabh.
“No, I don’t agree, with this idea,” he stated. Similarly, one comes across so many people who reject this image of India. Interestingly, every person in the movie, with the exception of Irfan Khan, is shown in a negative role, including Anil Kapoor, who mocks at the hero, Dev Patel.
No, this is not India. Interestingly, many of those who are singing paeans to the film have not seen it themselves.
These include the Congress and BJP spokespersons, who sang hosannas for the movie. I heard someone suggesting that Danny Boyle should be rewarded by India. Why? If not punished, at least, he should not be honoured.
He was projecting India as he wanted to. Similarly, we need not bow to a filmmaker, just because he made it possible. The credit goes to our technicians, musician and lyricist, who helped Boyle to the award. Had there been no inputs from them, Boyle would not have made a perfect film.
So, the Thank Yous should come from Boyle to our artistes and not the other way round.
anitasaluja@epmltd.com
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Slumdog+just+reinforces+all+the+old+stereotypes&artid=xMKH2sag4V0=&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
Stop making 'hate movies': Pak to India
Reuters
Posted online: Sunday, February 01, 2004 at 1410 hours IST
Updated: Monday, February 02, 2004 at 0947 hours IST
New DelhiI, February 1: Pakistan's Foreign Minister has urged Indians to boycott Bollywood films with anti Pakistan themes saying such movies would not help relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri's appeal came ahead of the February 16-18 talks between officials of the South Asian rivals, the first in nearly three years between the two countries who have fought three wars in the last half-a-century.
"I would appeal to Indian society to discourage the Mumbai (Bombay) film industry from making 'hate-Pakistan' movies," Kasuri said.
"They should not encourage those producers who wish to make money out of hatred," Kasuri said. "Indian civil society should boycott such films".
Hate speech gets louder; India turns deaf ear
Hindu fundamentalists are eroding India’s claim of being a tolerant and progressive society
MANOJ MITTA
INDIA has always claimed to be wedded to secularism and pluralism. Indeed, this has been one of the moral justifications of the Hindu-majority country for holding on to the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. But whether the Indian Government does in practice treat all religions alike is of course a matter of debate. This is especially so when the country is ruled, as it has been for the last five years, by a coalition led by a self-confessed Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP is originally part of a family of organisations, Sangh Parivar, that espouse a Hindu supremacist ideology called Hindutva. The most rabidly sectarian member of the Sangh Parivar is the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the World Hindu Council, which dealt a grievous blow to Indian secularism a decade ago by demolishing a medieval mosque in a town called Ayodhya in order to build a Hindu temple in its place. The compulsions of keeping together a coalition regime however had the salutary effect of forcing the BJP to reign in its hot-headed sibling - the VHP.
Unfortunately, that tenuous family arrangement was disrupted by 9/11. The anti-Islamic reverberations that followed around the world emboldened the VHP to break free of its leash. And there was no stopping the VHP when, within three months of 9/11, India itself suffered a major terrorist strike in the form of an attack on its Parliament House. It added fuel to the fire because of the evident involvement of Kashmiri Muslims in the Parliament attack and India's accusation of Pakistan's complicity. In retaliation, the VHP revived more aggressively than ever before its campaign to build the Ayodhya temple.
It was in such a communally surcharged environment that on 27 February 2002 an entire compartment of the train in which a batch of VHP supporters were returning from Ayodhya was set on fire allegedly by a mob of Muslims at a town called Godhra in the state of Gujarat. The charred remains of over 50 persons found in the train were allowed to be used by the VHP to engineer communal riots which went on in Gujarat for several weeks. But Hindu right-wing leaders chose to describe the massacre and rape of Muslims and the destruction of their homes and shops as "a spontaneous reaction" to Godhra. With an estimated death toll of 2,000, the Gujarat riots proved to be the biggest communal violence seen by India since the riots that followed the demolition of the Ayodhya mosque in December 1992.
The BJP chief minister of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi, called for an early poll to cash in on the religiously polarised electorate. In the run-up to the Gujarat election that finally took place in December 2002, the BJP and VHP unleashed hate speech with unprecedented ferocity. Sample what a prominent VHP leader, Mr. Ashok Singhal, is widely reported to have said at a public meeting in September 2002: "Godhra happened on February 27 and the next day, 50 lakh (five million) Hindus were on the streets. We were successful in our experiment of raising Hindu consciousness, which will be repeated all over the country now." He gloated over entire villages having been "emptied of Islam" and Muslims having been dispatched to refugee camps, terming that as "a victory for Hindu society." Spewing more venom a month later, Singhal said during a press conference: "What happened in Gujarat will happen in the whole of the country. Hindus were not born to be cut like carrots and radishes, and that the Hindukaran (a term to denote the process of the re-baptism of Hinduism into a militant Hindu identity) of the people of Gujarat was the direct result of the jehadi mentality of Muslims." The reference to the Muslim notion of jehadi is a recurring theme in the right-wing Hindu rhetoric, whether the context is communal riots or terrorism or Pakistan or anything undesirable. It is as if the Hindutva adherents are feeding on the jehadi groups. Anybody who does not subscribe to their thinking runs the risk of being branded "Musharraf ki aulad" (literally, 'progeny' of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a pejorative in India today).
The lead provided by Singhal in violating all norms of civilized discourse has been followed by the rising star of the VHP, Dr. Praveen Togadia, a medical professional specialising in cancer. Pointing out to his doctor status, Togadia said he had a medicine to deal with anti-national and anti-Hindu elements, whom he called "modern-day Ghaznis" (after Mohammad Ghazni who was ruler of a small Afghan principality called Ghazni who repeatedly led forays into India to loot and pillage). He said there were three types of Ghaznis: "jehadi Ghaznis, secular Hindu Ghaznis and political Ghaznis." And for each, he said - urging the audience to repeat after him - there was a prescription: "Hang the jehadis, ostracise the secular Hindus and snatch the chair from political Ghaznis."
One obvious feature of the hate speech spewed out by the VHP is its uninhibited use of unparliamentary or abusive language regardless of the stature of the persons it is targeting. The manner in which Togadia attacked Sonia Gandhi, India's main Opposition leader, for condemning the killing of Muslims in Gujarat was clearly outside the norms of any codes of behaviour in a democratic society. He said: "First, the local pups started barking (against Hindus). They were then joined by dogs from other parts of the country. And last, came Italy ni kutri (a b**** from Italy)." The reference to Italy is because Sonia Gandhi is Italian-born and acquired Indian citizenship a decade after marrying into the Nehru political dynasty.
The accident of the Opposition leader being a person of foreign origin has also given the hate speech in India a xenophobic edge. In the VHP's worldview, Indian Muslims are largely native people who had converted because of pressure from a succession of Muslim rulers from abroad. But when it comes to foreign Christian missionaries or Sonia Gandhi, the VHP is clearly xenophobic. "We believe that Sonia is an import, unlike Indian Muslims who have their roots here and whose forefathers were Hindus but had to convert to Islam because of their helplessness," Togadia said, adding that "a genetic test would show that Indian Muslims had the blood of Lord Ram or Krishna (Hindu Gods), not that of Mohammad."
The upsurge of hate speech politics in India post 9/11 is despite express provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It prescribes criminal prosecution for "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot" (Section 153), "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion" (Section 153A), "imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration" (Section 153B) and "uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person (Section 298). So, if the likes of Togadia and Singhal have got away with their hate speech, it is not because of any legal lacunae as much as it is due to a clear lack of will on the part of the dispensation in New Delhi to enforce the letter and spirit of the law. Given the long and close nexus between the VHP and the BJP, the reason for the Government's failure or reluctance to book such cases is not far to seek. The police in India do not have the autonomy to act on their own. And even if they happen to book any case on a hate speech, the police or the prosecution would have to seek the Government's sanction before filing charges in the court under provisions such as Section 153A or Section 153B.
While the executive is anyway notorious for balking at anything that is politically inconvenient, what is less obvious is the judiciary's complicity in the growth of hate speech in India. The freedom of speech conferred by the Indian Constitution is not absolute as it is subject to reasonable restrictions. Article 19 (2) lays down that such restrictions on speech are permissible for the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency and morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence.
Yet, on the one and only occasion on which the Supreme Court of India sat in judgment on the Hindutva ideology, Justice J. S. Verma ended up giving a verdict favouring the Sangh Parivar. Disregarding all evidence to the contrary, Verma put a liberal gloss on Hindutva and rejected the contention that it was against other religions. Little wonder then that the VHP and BJP repeatedly referred to the Supreme Court judgment in a bid to justify their hate speech politics during the Gujarat campaign.
Another judicial failing, which has allowed hate speech to rear its ugly head post-9/11, was in the context of the gruesome murder a couple of years earlier of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons. The murder was the culmination of a vicious campaign launched by Bajrang Dal, the militant wing of the VHP, accusing foreign Christian missionaries of converting poor Indians to their religion on the strength of material allurements. But an inquiry conducted by a Supreme Court judge, Justice D P Wadhwa, said there was no evidence to suggest that Bajrang Dal had directed the main accused, Dara Singh, to murder Staines. That was a needlessly technical finding as it glossed over the Bajrang Dal's concerted hate speech campaign that preceded the murder. (The census figures, incidentally, show that despite the alleged conversions the percentage of the Christian population has actually been dropping in recent decades.)
The impunity with which Hindu fundamentalists have been engaging in hate speech erodes India's much-vaunted claim to being a tolerant and progressive society upholding the rule of law. If anything, its obsession with Pakistan seems to be making India become more and more like its theocratic neighbour.
Manoj Mitta is CGK Reddy Fellow and legal correspondent for The Indian Express, New Delhi
http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfchr59/Issue2/hate%20speech.htm
Star TV plays Modi hate speech, nailing his lie
New Delhi: For days the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ruling the western state of Gujarat has been denying chief minister Narendra Modi‘ s hate campaign against Muslims at his "pride" rallies. Nailing the lie, Star TV played the speech repeatedly Sunday and Monday, September 15-16.
Instead of being ashamed and saying sorry, BJP, many of whose functionaries, including Modi, have been accused of involvement in the recent anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, have said the Star TV tapes were "doctored."
One Gujarat minister, seen by victims as a perpetrator of the pogrom, went to the extent of defending the hate speech. "There has been a trend in Gujarat of delivering such speeches over the past 40 years," he said.
The Gujarat chief minister, who has often been compared to Slobodan Milosevic for his viciousness, was reported by the Times of India, the country’ oldest and most prestigious daily, as having told a rally that relief camps housing Muslim survivors of the pogrom should be closed because they had become "factories for producing babies".
He said people (Muslims) who multiplied thus "should be taught a lesson." He made quite a few anti-Muslim remarks at the rally. These pre-election rallies were part of Modi’s weeks-long "pride march" through the state, in which he addressed crowds every few kilometres.
The "pride" in the "pride march" is regarding having taught the Muslim minority a lesson during the pogrom which lasted more than two months—March, April and early May. As many as 2,000 Muslims were killed, hundreds others raped, thousands of homes destroyed and 100,000 forced into relief camps across the state.
Victims and a dozen private inquiry commissions have indicted BJP leaders for the monumental crime. Even state organisations like National Human Rights Commission, National Minority Commission and Election Commission have censured the state government.
The BJP, which leads the ruling coalition at Centre, has been backing Modi despite tremendous pressure to sack him for his acts of ommission and commission.
Deputy prime minister LK Advani, instead of reining him in, patted Modi on the back for his pride marches. BJP general secretary and former Union law minister Arun Jaitley claimed there were "inaccuracies" in media’s reports on Modi’s speech.
Hate speech is a serious offence under Indian law as well as per obligations India has to honour as a signatory to international covenants.
Despite condemnation from national media and intelligentsia the BJP is unrepentant. Even party chief Venkiah Naidu, who had cautioned Modi against using too blatant anti-Muslim rhetoric, is now backing him.
Outraged by the virulence of Modi’s speech, the National Commission for Minorities had demanded the audio and video tapes of the speech from Gujarat government. However, the state bureaucracy said they were not able to procure them.
The fascist tactics of Modi have scandalised the civil society here. Quite a few have drawn parallels with Milosevic and Hitler. Yet others have compared him to General Rex Dyer, who in 1919 opened fire on a meeting of Indian civilians and killed 379, wounding another 1500.
Those were the last years of the all-powerful British Empire. Popular columnist Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar wrote in his column in the Times of India that Modi was teaching Muslims a lesson as Dyer taught Indians.
Dyer took pride in his act like Modi does in his. For that Dyer was sacked by the empire. "Let us mete out the same fate to Narendra Modi," Aiyar wrote.
¯ MG Correspondent
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01102002/0110200268.htm
Press Release
Hindu Americans Condemn Religious Violence in India: Hate Speech and Politics to Blame
Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2008) -- A recent spate of inter-religious riots in India, pitting mostly Hindu and Christian communities against each other, have been widely covered in the international media. The clashes began after a Hindu monk was killed in the eastern Indian state of Orissa in early September, and in the southern city of Mangalore, a pamphlet blaspheming Hindu beliefs was distributed by an evangelical group. The riots have left nearly two dozen people dead and many more remain displaced and homeless.
"Religious violence is contrary to the India's long history of pluralism and co-existence that threatens the fabric of the country," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., the Hindu American Foundation's managing director. "We unequivocally condemn the violence and demand justice for the aggrieved as we mourn for all of the innocent victims."
"Disturbing images of Hindus and Christians clashing were widely covered in the U.S., and several media inquiries have been addressed at HAF's offices," Shukla added. Difficulty obtaining accurate on-the-scene reports from some isolated areas led to frenzied reports with several oversights and omissions, the Foundation maintained. Shukla said that parsing events in India to soundbites depicting rampaging Hindu "extremists" attacking Christians does nothing to increase understanding of root causes of the conflict or promote interfaith dialogue.
Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, a Hindu monk known for working for the upliftment of isolated tribal populations in Orissa, had run afoul of several evangelical Christian groups--almost all supported by funds received from U.S. based churches--that are providing services, but at the same time aggressively seeking converts. He was severely injured in an attack by a Christian mob comprised of the Pana tribe on Christmas Eve, 2007, and then assassinated on August 24 after receiving several death threats.
The assassins have not been apprehended, but Maoist terrorist groups allegedly took responsibility claiming that the Swami was disturbing "social stability"--a reference to his Hindu advocacy. The Pana tribe of Orissa state, some of whom belong to these Maoist groups, has been clashing with the mostly Hindu Kandha tribe over access to affirmative action type benefits to which only certain tribes are entitled.
"Swami Lakshmananda was a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to the service of the most in need and those from traditionally forsaken segments of society," said Shukla. "Clearly, his assassination coupled with the underlying tension of tribes and castes that are pitted against each other competing for limited government sops, led to the tragic events we witnessed."
Meanwhile, the disturbances in Mangalore began, according to several media reports, when the New Life Fellowship Trust, a pentecostal group allegedly supported by U.S. based churches, began distributing anti-Hindu leaflets blaspheming Hindu deities and scripture. The publication, received at the HAF office in Washington was condemned by the local rector of the Catholic Church, and sparked a response allegedly instigated by a youth group, the Bajrang Dal. Prayer halls in the area that they said were used to convert Hindus away from their faith were attacked. That many evangelical groups use hate speech condemning Hindu beliefs was previously documented in HAF's report, "Hyperlink to Hinduphobia" released last year.
"Christianity has a long, peaceful history in India which we celebrate as a part of the pluralistic ethos of India," said Sheetal Shah, HAF"s Director of Development. "But when proselytizing outfits resort to hate speech, they share responsibility for provoking the highly condemnable events that followed. Communal harmony can truly be fostered only in an environment where practitioners of all religions respect other faiths as equally valid pathways to the Divine."
Both Shukla and Shah expressed concern that the mushrooming of evangelical groups funded by U.S. based churches, many of whom have the sole purpose of proselytizing and "harvesting" converts--often through hate speech, is endangering peaceful, religious coexistence in India. Pluralism cannot be sustained in the face of unrestrained and aggressive proselytization and coerced or fraudulent conversions, they argued. Hate speech is also a form of violence, they said.
The Foundation supports the initiatives of pluralistic Christian and Hindu groups in India and around the world for an ethical code of conversion, which the Foundation believes can prevent inter-religious strife between proselytizing and non-proselytizing faiths, Shukla added.
The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3), non-partisan organization, promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_orissa.htm
Q&A: 'Hate speech provisions have almost become a dead letter'
14 Jul 2008, 0000 hrs IST
He was the counsel who, during cross-examination, got Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar to enunciate to the Srikrishna Commission the Sena policy
of retaliation during the 92-93 riots. Yusuf Muchhala is the only lawyer of that time still fighting in the Supreme Court to get the commission report implemented, Muchhala speaks to Jyoti Punwani:
What's the significance of this conviction?
For the first time, Shiv Sena leaders have been convicted for hate speech. This is very important because people who provoke riots normally go scot-free. As it is riot convictions are very rare, and they normally relate to acts of violence at the street level. Those who provoke violence normally remove themselves from the scene and have the ability to escape responsibility for the actual acts of violence. The provisions of Section 153 A have almost become a dead letter because the government lacks the political will to go after those who create enmity. For the first time, these sections have been rightly invoked and conviction rendered on the basis of evidence before the court.
Does this conviction change your perception of the special courts set up exclusively for riot cases?
So far as the courts are concerned, they decide matters on the basis of evidence produced before them. But my opinion on the political will to prosecute the guilty of the riots remains unchanged. In fact, this conviction — one of three convictions amid 50 acquittals — proves the rule.
A general impression is being created that this conviction will please Muslims who are unhappy about the 1993 bomb blast convictions.
It's wrong to assume that Muslims are unhappy with the bomb blast judgment. If the evidence was rightly weighed and the Supreme Court will decide that in appeal the convictions were right too. The bomb blasts were the misguided acts of a few individuals to which the community was not a party. At the community level, it was rightly felt that while
the miscreants of the Muslim community were rightly brought to book, why are the miscreants of the other community, who had indulged in equally heinous acts, not being punished? One conviction is not enough to remove this feeling of discrimination.
Both the Sena and the Congress government are bound to use this case electorally.
Whatever political advantage politicians may take from it does not mean that the guilty should not be prosecuted. Whatever be the political fallout, civil society must bear it. Mumbai has seen a number of bomb blasts, but the aftermath of every blast has shown that civil society has acquired the maturity not to get divided on communal lines, despite grave provocation.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/QA_Hate_speech_provisions_have_almost_become_a_dead_letter/articleshow/3229457.cms
Hate Speech enters Oracle forums
When balancing the First Amendment rights to free speech on the web, some folks say that "anything goes" even racism, bigotry and "hate speech", nasty words which are tolerated in the USA, but are highly illegal in many countries.
The Oracle Usenet newsgroups have a long history of offensive, profane and vile postings, and most companies ban their use at work. Sadly, it's getting more offensive than ever before and we are now seeing racist remarks being directed towards entire groups of Oracle professionals:
Could you please explain why many Asians like you are not too lazy to
- take over our jobs
- spam this group like hell with job postings
but are too lazy to do the work they robbed from us, and continue to parasite on this forum?
If you want us to do your work for free, please get lost. . .
And, yes, they are usually Asian, and, yes, they are usually 100 percent incompetent.
If there are any competent Asians, I failed to meet them.
It's not clear if the person who published this offensive will be arrested or jailed since it requires a concerted effort to track-down web bigots.
In corporations worldwide, employees are bound by an “acceptable use policy” that prohibits the viewing of pornographic or racist material while at-work. In the link below we see racist remarks on Oracle’s OTN web site.
Warning to employees: If your employers acceptable use policy (AUP) prohibits you from visiting web sites with racist content while at-work, NO NOT click this link
The OTN terms of service notes that promoting racism is a violation, yet the offending bigots continue to publish on OTN:
You agree not to . . . post, . . . any Content that: (a) is false or misleading; (b) is defamatory; (c) is harassing or invades another's privacy, or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual; . . . or (g) violates any applicable laws or regulations.
Complaints were made against several OTN users for promoting bigotry and racism. The complaint was addressed by Oracle’s Justin Kestlyn, Editor-in-Chief of Oracle Technology Network:
“Yes - please report them here. This is not necessarily a violation of Terms of Use however - just boorish behavior.”
Hate speech is a serious crime in many countries
While the First Amendment generally protects racist hate speech, some countries are less tolerant of bigots. The country of India has blocked the Oracle usenet newsgroups because they allows hate speech.
In countries like Germany, publishing hate speech is punishable by a stiff prison term:
"A German historian who claimed that Auschwitz prisoners enjoyed cinemas, a swimming pool and brothels was sentenced to 10 months in jail.
In Germany and Austria, it's a crime to deny the Holocaust, even if you are living in America. Germany does not agree with what Voltaire said "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it".
Laurent Schneider notes the French Law Loi Gayssot which makes it an offense to question the Holocaust:
"[It is an offense to] question the existence of the category of crimes against humanity as defined in the London Charter of 1945, on the basis of which Nazi leaders were convicted by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg"
The long arm of the law reaches out across borders
Germany has exercised their right to extradite anyone who published a web site that can be seen in Germany, regardless of where the author is residing, and Mr. Zündel was extradited from Tennessee and imprisoned in Germany.
There are many other countries across the glob who do not tolerate racism and bigotry. The Indian government has blocked Google Blogs because some sites publish libel, defamation and pornography:
“Sites can be blocked if they contain "pornography, speeches of hate, contempt, slander or defamation, or if they promote gambling, racism, violence or terrorism".
"Such sites may be blocked within the provisions of the Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, granted in India's Constitution," said cyber-law expert Praveen Dalal.”
Stopping hate speech in Oracle publications
Many Oracle professionals are clamping-down on racists. Steve Feuerstein, one of the bestselling Oracle authors in the world announced that he does not like "acerbic" anonymous comments, and no longer accepts anonymous comments on his Oracle blog:
"I have decided to change my blog settings so that you must be a registered user at Blogger in order to post a comment. . .
I realized that I very much don't like having people post fairly acerbic comments without having to have some kind of identification as to who they are.
So, goodbye Anonymous, hello minimally-accountable Commentators!"
Feuerstein goes-on to elegantly explain what types of people bother him and what types of non-anonymous comments he will allow to be published on his blog:
“The world is full of brutal, hate-filled, and/or greedy people. They make the world a much uglier, harsher place. I can't stop them from existing, but I can keep them off my blog.
So...no haters on my blog. I will not accept comments from people with hateful tags. I will not publish comments that contain vile, spiteful, malicious comments.
So Hater of Liberals can now change his/her tag and then perhaps his/her comments will make it onto my blog. Maybe not.”
Dr. Tim Hall also notes problems with anonymous people publishing unacceptable content on his blog:
“I've just deleted a couple of anonymous comments and prevented anonymous posting. I'm not totally happy about it because it seems like censorship, but I'm not going to sit in the middle and let people use my sites as a forum to slag off others.”
Bestselling Oracle author Robert Freeman has similar problems with anonymous comments. A responsible publisher, Freeman notes the potential that his publication might be used to hurt people:
"Pending a review with my lawyer on current libel law, I have removed the ability to post comments at all from this Blog. . . . It's a shame that I have to do this, but the risk seems to great to do otherwise. In fact, pending the review, I may just shelve this blog all together."
Robert Freeman also notes that "evil people" had published unkind comments that he removed:
"There are evil people in the world. I firmly believe this, and it's evidenced every day. You will notice on my blog that one of these evil people has appeared. How can we tell this person is evil?
1. The posts were anonymous.
2. The posts were unkind and out of context.
3. The posts were presumptuous, at best.
http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_news/news_hate_speech.htm
Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S.
By Adam Liptak
Published: June 11, 2008
VANCOUVER, British Columbia: A couple of years ago, a Canadian magazine published an article arguing that the rise of Islam threatened Western values. The article's tone was mocking and biting, but it said nothing that conservative magazines and blogs in the United States did not say every day without fear of legal reprisal.
Things are different here. The magazine is on trial.
Under Canadian law, there is a serious argument that the article contained hate speech and that its publisher, Maclean's magazine, the nation's leading newsweekly, should be forbidden from saying similar things, forced to publish a rebuttal and made to compensate Muslims for injuring their "dignity, feelings and self respect."
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, which held five days of hearings on those questions in Vancouver last week, will soon rule on whether Maclean's violated a provincial hate speech law by stirring up animosity toward Muslims.
As spectators lined up for the afternoon session last week, an argument broke out.
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Today in Americas
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"It's free speech!" yelled another.
In the United States, that debate has been settled. Under the First Amendment, newspapers and magazines can say what they like about minority groups and religions - even false, provocative or hateful things - without legal consequence.
The Maclean's article, "The Future Belongs to Islam," was an excerpt from a book by Mark Steyn called "America Alone." The title was fitting: The United States, in its treatment of hate speech, as in so many areas of the law, takes a distinctive legal path.
"In much of the developed world, one uses racial epithets at one's legal peril, one displays Nazi regalia and the other trappings of ethnic hatred at significant legal risk and one urges discrimination against religious minorities under threat of fine or imprisonment," Frederick Schauer, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, wrote in a recent essay called "The Exceptional First Amendment."
"But in the United States," Schauer continued, "all such speech remains constitutionally protected."
Canada, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and India all have laws or have signed international conventions banning hate speech. Israel and France forbid the sale of Nazi items like swastikas and flags. It is a crime to deny the Holocaust in Canada, Germany and France.
Last week, the actress Brigitte Bardot, an animal rights activist, was fined €15,000, or $23,000, in France for provoking racial hatred by criticizing a Muslim ceremony involving the slaughter of sheep.
By contrast, U.S. courts would not stop the American Nazi Party from marching in Skokie, Illinois, in 1977, though the march was deeply distressing to the many Holocaust survivors there.
Six years later, a state court judge in New York dismissed a libel case brought by several Puerto Rican groups against a business executive who had called food stamps "basically a Puerto Rican program." The First Amendment, Justice Eve Preminger wrote, does not allow even false statements about racial or ethnic groups to be suppressed or punished just because they may increase "the general level of prejudice."
Some prominent legal scholars say the United States should reconsider its position on hate speech.
"It is not clear to me that the Europeans are mistaken," Jeremy Waldron, a legal philosopher, wrote in The New York Review of Books last month, "when they say that a liberal democracy must take affirmative responsibility for protecting the atmosphere of mutual respect against certain forms of vicious attack."
Waldron was reviewing "Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment" by Anthony Lewis, the former New York Times columnist. Lewis has been critical of attempts to use the law to limit hate speech.
But even Lewis, a liberal, wrote in his book that he was inclined to relax some of the most stringent First Amendment protections "in an age when words have inspired acts of mass murder and terrorism." In particular, he called for a re-examination of the Supreme Court's insistence that there is only one justification for making incitement a criminal offense: the likelihood of imminent violence.
The imminence requirement sets a high hurdle. Mere advocacy of violence, terrorism or the overthrow of the government is not enough; the words must be meant to, and be likely to, produce violence or lawlessness right away. A fiery speech urging an angry racist mob immediately to assault a black man in its midst probably qualifies as incitement under the First Amendment. A magazine article - or any publication - aimed at stirring up racial hatred surely does not.
Lewis wrote that there is "genuinely dangerous" speech that does not meet the imminence requirement. "I think we should be able to punish speech that urges terrorist violence to an audience, some of whose members are ready to act on the urging," Lewis wrote. "That is imminence enough."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/america/hate.php
Introduction to 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
“Remarkable gains” in last 60 years, but millions still denied freedom
26. February 2009. | 08:00
Source: U.S. Department of State
The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms, and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.
Human progress depends on the human spirit. This inescapable truth has never been more apparent than it is today, when the challenges of a new century require us to summon the full range of human talents to move our nation and our world forward.
Guaranteeing the right of every man, woman, and child to participate fully in society and live up to his or her God-given potential is an ideal that has animated our nation since its founding. It is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was reflected in President Obama’s Inaugural Address, when he reminded us that every generation must carry forward the belief that “all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
Our foreign policy must also advance these timeless values, which empower people to speak, think, worship, and assemble freely, to lead their work and family lives with dignity, and to know that their dreams of a brighter future are within reach.
The promotion of human rights is an essential piece of our foreign policy. Not only will we seek to live up to our ideals on American soil, we will pursue greater respect for human rights as we engage other nations and people around the world. Some of our work will be conducted in government meetings and official dialogues, which is important to advancing this cause. But we will not rely on a single approach to overcome tyranny and subjugation that weaken the human spirit, limit human possibility, and undermine human progress.
We will make this a global effort that reaches beyond government alone. We will work together with nongovernmental organizations, businesses, religious leaders, schools and universities, and individual citizens – all of whom play a vital role in creating a world where human rights are accepted, respected, and protected.
Our commitment to human rights is driven by faith in our moral values, and also by the knowledge that we enhance our own security, prosperity, and progress when people in other lands emerge from shadows and shackles to gain the opportunities and rights we enjoy and treasure.
In that spirit, I hereby transmit the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 to the United States Congress.
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Introduction to the 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms, and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.
These congressionally mandated reports describe the performance in 2008 of governments across the globe in putting into practice their international commitments on human rights. We hope that they will help focus attention on human rights abuses and bring action to end them. At the same time, we hope that the hard-won advances for human freedom chronicled in the reports will hearten those still pressing for their rights, often against daunting odds.
These reports will inform U.S. government policymaking and serve as a reference for other governments, intergovernmental institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders, and journalists. United States foreign policy revolves not only around effective defense, but also robust diplomacy and vigorous support for political and economic development. A vigorous human rights policy reaffirms American values and advances our national interests. As President Obama stated in his inaugural address: "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity...", but to "those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
Since the days of our own nation's founding, we have endeavored to correct injustices and fully promote respect for fundamental freedoms for all of our citizens. These efforts have been spurred and sustained by an accountable, democratic system of government, the rule of law, a vibrant free media, and, most important of all, the civic activism of our citizenry.
As we publish these reports, the Department of State remains mindful of both domestic and international scrutiny of the United States' record. As President Obama recently made clear, "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." We do not consider views about our performance voiced by others in the international community--whether by other governments or nongovernmental actors--to be interference in our internal affairs, nor should other governments regard expressions about their performance as such. We and all other sovereign nations have international obligations to respect the universal human rights and freedoms of our citizens, and it is the responsibility of others to speak out when they believe those obligations are not being fulfilled.
The U.S. government will continue to hear and reply forthrightly to concerns about our own practices. We will continue to submit reports to international bodies in accordance with our obligations under various human rights treaties to which we are a party. United States laws, policies, and practices have evolved considerably in recent years, and will continue to do so. For example, on January 22, 2009, President Obama signed three executive orders to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo and review U.S. government policies on detention and interrogation.
We drew the information contained in these reports from governments and multilateral institutions, from national and international nongovernmental groups, and from academics, jurists, religious groups, and the media. The reports have gone through a lengthy process of fact checking to ensure high standards of accuracy and objectivity. Each country report speaks for itself. However, some broad, cross-cutting observations can be drawn.
One: In 2008, pushback against demands for greater personal and political freedom continued in many countries across the globe. A disturbing number of countries imposed burdensome, restrictive, or repressive laws and regulations against NGOs and the media, including the Internet. Many courageous human rights defenders who peacefully pressed for their own rights and those of their fellow countrymen and women were harassed, threatened, arrested and imprisoned, killed, or were subjected to violent extrajudicial means of reprisal.
Two: Human rights abuses remain a symptom of deeper dysfunctions within political systems. The most serious human rights abuses tended to occur in countries where unaccountable rulers wielded unchecked power or there was government failure or collapse, often exacerbated or caused by internal or external conflict.
Three: Healthy political systems are far more likely to respect human rights. Countries in which human rights were most protected and respected were characterized by the following electoral, institutional, and societal elements:
Free and fair electoral processes that include not only a clean casting and honest counting of ballots on election day, but also a run-up to the voting that allows for real competition and full respect for the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association;
Representative, accountable, transparent, democratic institutions of government, including independent judiciaries, under the rule of law to ensure that leaders who win elections democratically also govern democratically, and are responsive to the will and needs of the people; and
Vibrant civil societies, including independent NGOs and free media.
To be sure, even in countries where these elements were present human rights abuses at times occurred. Democratic elections can be marred with irregularities. There can be abuses of power and miscarriages of justice. States having weak institutions of democratic government and struggling economies can fall far short of meeting the needs and expectations of their people for a better life. Corruption can undermine public trust. Long-marginalized segments of populations in some countries have yet to enjoy full participation in the life of their nations. Insecurity due to internal and/or cross-border conflict can hinder respect for and retard progress in human rights. But when these electoral, institutional and societal elements obtain, the prospects are far greater for problems to be addressed, correctives to be applied and improvements to be made.
Taken together, these three trends confirm the continuing need for vigorous United States diplomacy to act and speak out against human rights abuses, at the same time that our country carefully reviews its own performance. These trends further confirm the need to combine diplomacy with creative strategies that can help to develop healthy political systems and support civil society.
Below, readers will find overviews highlighting key trends in each geographic region. Each of the regional overviews is followed by thumbnail sketches of selected countries (ordered alphabetically) that were chosen for notable developments-–positive, negative, or mixed-–chronicled during calendar year 2008. For more comprehensive, detailed information, we refer you to the individual country reports themselves.
Regional Overviews
Africa
Several African countries served as stabilizing forces on the continent and as powerful examples of the peace and stability that come with respect for the rule of law. Nevertheless, during the year, human rights and democratic development in the region continued to face severe challenges, especially in a number of countries plagued by conflict and others in which a culture of rule of law was fledgling or did not exist.
In many countries, civilians continued to suffer from abuses at the hands of government security forces acting with impunity. In several countries, the systematic use of torture by security forces on detainees and prisoners remained a severe problem, and conditions in detention centers and prisons often were squalid and life threatening. Many detainees suffered lengthy pretrial detentions, waiting months or years before going before a judge.
For those countries embroiled in conflicts, ending violence remained central to improving human rights conditions. Warring parties failed to implement political agreements designed to bring peace and stability. Violent conflict continued or erupted anew in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan, resulting in mass killings, rape, and displacements of civilians. The Sudanese government continued to collaborate with janjaweed militias to bomb and destroy villages, killing or displacing hundreds of thousands more innocent civilians.
Authoritarian rule continued to characterize many African countries, for example: in Zimbabwe, the Mugabe regime unleashed a campaign of terror that resulted in the killing, disappearance, and torture of hundreds of opposition party members and supporters following the March 29 elections that were not free and fair. Government repression, restrictions, and mismanagement caused the displacement of tens of thousands, increased food insecurity, and created a cholera epidemic, which killed 1,500 people by year's end. Previously postponed presidential elections were further delayed in Cote d'Ivoire. A coup ousted a democratically elected government in Mauritania. Following the death of Lansana Conte, Guinea's longtime president, a military junta seized power in a coup and suspended the constitution.
There were, however, some bright spots during the year. Angola held its first elections since 1992 and there were peaceful, orderly, and democratic elections in Ghana and Zambia. Due process and respect for the rule of law prevailed in Nigeria as opposition candidates from the 2007 presidential election respected the Nigerian Supreme Court's ruling upholding President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's election. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentenced a former Rwandan army colonel to life in prison for organizing the militants responsible for the killing of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Selected Country Developments
The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) deteriorated further during the year, severely undermining the country's progress since national elections in 2006. Despite the signing of the Goma peace accords in January and the presence of UN peacekeepers, fighting continued in North and South Kivu throughout the year. Security forces and all armed groups continued to act with impunity, committing frequent serious abuses including arbitrary killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape, looting, and the use of children as combatants. The conflict continued to fuel the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, resulting in as many as 45,000 Congolese deaths each month, a total of more than one million internally displaced persons, and dozens of attacks on humanitarian workers by armed groups. Pervasive sexual violence continued, including more than 2,200 registered cases of rape in June in North Kivu alone. Throughout the country, security forces harassed, beat, intimidated, and arrested local human rights advocates and journalists, resulting in a marked deterioration in press freedom.
Eritrea's poor human rights record worsened and the government continued to commit serious abuses including unlawful killings by security forces with impunity. The ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the only legal political party and no national elections have been held since Eritrea gained independence in 1993. The constitution, ratified in 1997, has never been implemented. The independent press remained banned, and most independent journalists were in detention or had fled the country. Government roundups of young people for national service intensified in 2008. Credible reports indicate that national service evaders were tortured while in detention, and security forces shot individuals trying to cross the border into Ethiopia. Religious freedom, already severely restricted, declined further. At year's end over 3,200 Christians from unregistered groups were detained in prison, as were more than 35 leaders and pastors of Pentecostal churches, some of whom had been detained for more than three years without charge or due process. At least three religious prisoners died in captivity during the year, from torture and lack of medical treatment.
The violence following Kenya's December 2007 local, parliamentary, and presidential elections ended in February when an international mediation process produced an agreement to form a coalition government under which President Mwai Kibaki retained his office, and opposition candidate Raila Odinga was appointed to a newly-created prime ministerial position. The political settlement established a reform framework to investigate and address the underlying causes of the violence, which killed approximately 1,500 persons and displaced more than 500,000. Progress on reform was slow and efforts to address the economic and social aftermath of the violence were incomplete. Separately, the deployment of security forces to Mount Elgon to quell an abusive militia resulted in human rights abuses by security forces.
Mauritania's human rights record deteriorated, with an abridgement of citizens' rights to change their government, arbitrary arrests, and the political detentions of the president and prime minister following an August 6 coup. The president was released from detention in December; however, the military junta, known as the High State Council (HSC), remained in power with General Mohamed Aziz as head of state at the end of the year. Members of the international community, including the African Union, strongly condemned the coup. Prior to the August 6 coup, the then-democratically elected government supported nationwide sensitization on a new antislavery law and increased public discussion on formerly taboo issues, such as ethnic divisions and social injustices. That government also supported national reconciliation efforts regarding the country's 1989–1991 expulsion of Afro-Mauritanians through the launch of a repatriation program in coordination with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Nigeria, the courts continued to adjudicate the results of the seriously flawed 2007 presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections. On December 12, the Supreme Court rejected the appeals of two major opposition presidential candidates, upholding the election of President Yar'Adua. The two opposition leaders respected the court's ruling. Election tribunals nullified nine senatorial elections and 11 gubernatorial elections during the year. Violence continued in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where over 400 persons (Nigerian nationals and expatriates) were kidnapped in approximately 100 incidents during the year. In November, ethno-religious violence erupted in Jos, resulting in the deaths of several hundred persons and the displacement of tens of thousands. Corruption continued to plague the resource-rich country and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's anticorruption efforts declined, with little progress on prosecutions of federal, state, and local officials accused of corruption.
In Somalia, fighting among the Transitional Federal Government (TFG)/Ethiopian National Defense Forces and their militias, the Council of Islamic Courts militias, antigovernment and extremist groups, terrorist organizations, and clan militias resulted in widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of more than 1,000 civilians, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, kidnappings and disappearances, and attacks on journalists, aid workers, civil society leaders, and human rights activists. The political process to establish peace and stability in the country continued as the TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia reached the Djibouti Agreement on June 9 and began to implement its terms; however, implementation was slow and marred by political infighting.
In Sudan, conflict in Darfur entered its fifth year and civilians continued to suffer from the effects of genocide. UN data from 2008 indicated that, since it began, the protracted conflict has left more than 2.7 million people internally displaced and another 250,000 across the border in Chad, where they sought refuge. Government, government-aligned militias, and intertribal attacks killed civilians. Government forces bombed villages, killed internally displaced persons, and collaborated with militias to raze villages. The government systematically impeded and obstructed humanitarian efforts, and rebels and bandits killed humanitarian workers. Unidentified assailants killed several joint AU-UN peacekeeping mission troops, and government forces attacked a peacekeeping convoy. On May 10, the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel group, attacked Omdurman, near Khartoum. The government committed wide scale politically- and ethnically-motivated detentions and disappearances in Omdurman and Khartoum following the attack. The government severely restricted freedom of the press, including through direct and daily censorship. Since 2005, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and the South was signed, approximately 2.1 million displaced persons and refugees have returned to the South. However, tensions over the implementation of the CPA persisted, and fighting between northern and southern forces destroyed much of Abyei town, killing civilians and displacing more than 50,000 people.
Zimbabwe’s illegitimate government engaged in the systematic abuse of human rights, which increased dramatically during the year, in conjunction with an escalating humanitarian crisis caused by repression, corruption, and destructive economic and food policies, which the Mugabe regime persisted in applying despite their disastrous humanitarian consequences. Civil society and humanitarian organizations were targeted by government and militant groups for their efforts to protect citizens' rights and provide life-saving humanitarian assistance. A nearly three-month ban on the activities of NGOs exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as well as food insecurity and poverty. After the ban was lifted, the Mugabe regime continued to impede humanitarian access. Millions of Zimbabweans were food insecure at year's end.
The regime's manipulation of the political process, including the presidential elections, through intimidation, violence, corruption and vote fraud negated the right of citizens to change their government. Security forces and ruling party supporters killed, abducted, and tortured members of the opposition, student leaders, civil society activists and ordinary Zimbabweans with impunity. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions gained a parliamentary majority in the March 29 election, but the results of the presidential race were not released until May 2, calling into question the credibility and independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Government-sponsored violence in the period leading up to the June 27 run-off left more than 190 dead, thousands injured, and tens of thousands displaced. The Electoral Commission declared Mugabe the winner of the run-off election after MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai-–who had scored a strong plurality in the first round--withdrew because of the Mugabe regime's violence directed at the MDC and its supporters and out of recognition that a free and fair election was not possible. Negotiations mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led to a September 15 power-sharing agreement; however, due to government intransigence, the provisions of the deal had not been implemented by year's end and the country remained in crisis.
East Asia and the Pacific
During the year there were both advances and setbacks in human rights in the vast East Asia and the Pacific region, particularly in the areas of accountability for past abuses, freedom of speech and the press, democratic development, and trafficking in persons.
Countries in the region continued to come to terms with past abuses. The Bilateral Commission of Truth and Friendship, created to examine the atrocities committed by both Indonesians and Timorese during the period surrounding Timor-Leste's 1999 independence referendum, delivered its final report during the year. Indonesian President Yudhoyono acknowledged and accepted the report's finding that assigned institutional responsibility to the Indonesian Armed Forces. In addition, in August the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia refined its internal rules to prosecute more rapidly egregious crimes of the 1975 1979 Khmer Rouge regime. However, the trials had still not begun by year's end.
Some countries increased repression in response to popular efforts to secure respect for human rights. Vietnam increased restrictions on freedom of speech and press, and in China the government increased its severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and increased its detention and harassment of dissidents and petitioners.
Other unelected rulers attempted to cloak their illegitimacy with trappings of democracy and manipulated the law to their own ends. The Burmese regime pushed through a constitutional referendum characterized by widespread irregularities and intimidation in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Nargis. While the constitution technically came into effect in May, by the constitution's own terms, the regime will continue to "exercise state sovereignty" until multiparty elections are held in 2010. The constitution will ensure that the military will continue to exercise a dominant role in political life regardless of the outcome of any electoral process. At the end of the year, the regime imposed draconian sentences on more than 100 democracy activists who participated in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and individuals who engaged in the Cyclone relief effort. Many were moved to prisons in remote parts of the country, isolating them from family. In Fiji, the Suva High Court ruled to validate the 2006 Fiji coup, despite simmering opposition to the interim government's refusal to hold elections in March 2009.
Trafficking in persons was another area where results were mixed during the year. Several countries enacted new antitrafficking legislation-–such as Thailand and Cambodia–-and began to investigate and prosecute a broader range of trafficking offenses, such as the trafficking of men for labor exploitation. However, in Malaysia, widespread NGO and media reports alleged that Malaysian immigration officials were involved in the trafficking of Burmese refugees along the Malaysia-Thai border.
Selected Country Developments
The military regime in Burma continued its oppressive methods, denying citizens the right to change their government and committing other severe human rights abuses. The regime brutally suppressed dissent through extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture. Human rights and prodemocracy activists were harassed, arbitrarily detained in large numbers, and sentenced up to 65 years of imprisonment. The regime held detainees and prisoners in life-threatening conditions. The army continued its attacks on ethnic minority areas. The regime routinely infringed on citizens' privacy and restricted freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, and movement. Violence and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities continued, as did trafficking in persons. Workers' rights were restricted and forced labor persisted. The government took no significant actions to prosecute or punish those responsible for such abuses. The regime showed contempt for the welfare of its own citizens when it persisted in conducting a fraudulent referendum in the immediate aftermath of a cyclone that killed tens of thousands and blocked and delayed international assistance that could have saved many lives.
The government of China's human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas. The government continued to limit citizens' privacy rights and tightly controlled freedom of speech, the press (including the Internet), assembly, movement, and association. Authorities committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners, and used forced labor. In addition, the Chinese government increased detention and harassment of dissidents, petitioners, human rights defenders, and defense lawyers. Local and international NGOs continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. China's human rights record worsened in some areas, including severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Tibet. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the Olympic Games and the unrest in Tibet. At the end of the year, the government harassed signatories of Charter '08 who called for respect for universal human rights and reform and arrested writer Liu Xiaobo for his participation in the drafting of the Charter. In October, the government made permanent temporary Olympic Games-related regulations granting foreign journalists greater freedoms.
The Government of Malaysia generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas, including the abridgment of its citizens' right to change their government. Despite their complaint that the ruling party exploited the powers of incumbency, opposition parties made significant gains by capturing 82 of 222 parliamentary seats in March 8 elections, effectively denying the ruling coalition the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend the constitution at will. The government continued to restrict freedoms of press, association, assembly, speech, and religion. The government arrested opposition leaders and journalists. Internet bloggers were arrested for apparently political reasons. Deaths in police custody remained a problem, as did police abuse of detainees, overcrowded immigration detention centers, and persistent questions about the impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Some employers exploited migrant workers and ethnic Indian-Malaysians with forced labor, and some child labor occurred in plantations.
North Korea's human rights record remained abysmal. While the regime continued to control almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers' rights, reports of abuse emerged from the country with increased frequency. However, these reports continued to be difficult to confirm. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners, continued to paint a grim picture of life inside the reclusive country. Some forcibly repatriated refugees were said to have undergone severe punishment and possibly torture. Reports of public executions also continued to emerge.
Despite a tumultuous political atmosphere, Thailand avoided unconstitutional disruptions in governance. Nevertheless, there continued to be reports that police were linked to extrajudicial killings and disappearances. Police abuse of detainees and prisoners persisted as well, as did corruption within the police force. The separatist insurgency in the south resulted in numerous human rights abuses, including killings, committed by ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents, Buddhist defense volunteers, and government security forces. The government maintained some limits on freedom of speech and of the press, particularly through the use of lese majeste provisions. Members of hill tribes without proper documentation continued to face restrictions on their movement; however, the 2008 Nationality Act, which took effect on February 28, increased the possibility of citizenship for hill tribe members.
The government of Vietnam continued to restrict citizens' rights in significant ways. Citizens could not change their government, political opposition movements were prohibited, and the government continued to suppress dissent. Individuals were arbitrarily detained for political activities and denied the right to fair and expeditious trials. Suspects were abused during arrest, detention, and interrogation. Corruption was a significant problem among the police force, as was impunity. The government continued to limit citizens' privacy rights and freedom of expression. There was a general crackdown on press freedom throughout the year, resulting in the firings of several senior media editors and the arrest of two reporters. These actions dampened what had previously been a trend toward more aggressive investigative reporting. Restrictions on assembly, movement, and association continued. Independent human rights organizations were prohibited. Violence and discrimination against women remained a problem, as did trafficking in persons. The government limited workers' rights and arrested or harassed several labor activists.
Europe and Eurasia
The key challenges in the region remained: strengthening new democracies, stemming government restrictions on and repression of human rights NGOs, and addressing hate crimes and hate speech while protecting fundamental freedoms against a backdrop of migration, rising nationalism, and economic recession.
In several post-Soviet countries, previous gains for human rights and democracy were reversed or the slide towards authoritarianism continued. A number of elections failed to meet democratic standards set by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and media freedom remained under attack. Journalists were killed or harassed, and laws often restricted rather than protected freedom of expression.
During the August conflict that began in the Georgian separatist enclave of South Ossetia, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including a number of journalists. After the Russians entered South Ossetia, there were allegations that South Ossetian irregulars engaged in executions, torture, ethnic attacks, and random burning of homes, and at least 150,000 Georgian citizens were displaced by the fighting. Russian and South Ossetian forces occupied villages outside of the administrative borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the other separatist region in Georgia. Although Russian forces mostly withdrew by October 10 from the regions outside of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they blocked access to both regions for Georgians and international organizations, making it dangerous for residents and difficult to monitor conditions in the region with respect to human rights and compliance with humanitarian law.
In many countries, governments impeded the freedom of the press. In Azerbaijan, increasing numbers of attacks on journalists went unpunished, while journalists themselves remained in prison on purported criminal charges. Russia remained a dangerous place for journalists, a number of whom were killed or brutally attacked during the year. In Belarus, President Lukashenka signed a new media law that could further restrict press freedoms, including Internet publications. Developments in Georgia, including the opposition's loss of control of Imedi Television, which had been the sole remaining independent national television station, raised significant concerns about the state of media diversity.
NGOs and opposition parties were the targets of government oppression in several countries. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina forced the closure for several days of an international anticorruption NGO after a report accusing government officials of corruption. In Russia, authorities increasingly harassed many NGOs that focused on politically sensitive areas and during the year the government amended the law on extremism, making it easier to bring charges against an organization. The previous version of the law had already raised concerns about restriction of the freedom of association and legitimate criticism of the government. In Belarus, while the release of nine political prisoners was welcome, concern remained about the government's arbitrary constraints on freedom of assembly and association and its frequent harassment of independent activists. In Russia, police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protests, particularly opposition protests.
There were both hopeful and troubling indicators for democratic governance in the region. On a positive note, Kosovo's democratically-elected government successfully declared its independence on February 17, and put in place a constitution and laws with model provisions for human rights. Unfortunately, other nations did not have such encouraging results. The February presidential elections in Armenia were significantly flawed and followed by days of peaceful protests that the government ultimately put down violently. In Russia, the March presidential election was marked by problems both during the campaign period and on Election Day, including bias by government-controlled or –influenced media in favor of the ruling party and its candidates, authorities' refusal to register opposition party candidates, lack of equal opportunity for conducting campaigns, and ballot fraud. Parliamentary elections in Belarus fell significantly short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections, and all of the 110 declared winners were government supporters. Elections in Azerbaijan failed to meet key OSCE commitments.
Human rights concerns were not limited to the eastern portion of the continent. A number of the well-established democracies of western and central Europe wrestled with continuing challenges resulting from the large influx of new migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere that strained economic and social resources and led to restrictive practices toward immigrants and many charges of mistreatment. In many countries, detention facilities for undocumented migrants suffered from poor conditions and were inferior to those for other detained individuals. The majority of hate crimes in Ukraine during the year involved people of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian origin. In Russia the disturbing and steady rise in xenophobic, racial, and ethnic attacks continued. There were manifestations of anti-Semitism in many countries in the region and incidents of violent anti-Semitic attacks remained a concern. In a number of countries, including Italy and Hungary, members of the Roma community were targets of societal violence, which in some cases was more frequent and lethal than in previous years.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom sought to outlaw hate speech in order to protect minorities from discrimination and violence. However, some human rights observers worried that this impinged on free speech.
Selected Country Developments
There were significant setbacks for democracy in Armenia, including the worst post-election violence seen in the Caucasus in recent years. After weeks of generally peaceful protests following a disputed February presidential election, the government used force to disperse protestors on March 1-2, which resulted in violent clashes and 10 deaths. The violence ushered in a 20-day state of emergency and a blackout of independent media during which the government severely curtailed civil liberties. During the remainder of the year, there were significant restrictions on the right to assemble peacefully or express political opinions freely without risk of retaliation, and several opposition sympathizers were convicted and imprisoned with disproportionately harsh sentences for seemingly political reasons. Fifty-nine opposition sympathizers reportedly remained imprisoned on seemingly political grounds at year's end; no government officials were prosecuted for their alleged role in election-related crimes. Despite the mixed success of a politically-balanced fact-finding group established by the government to investigate the March events, the climate for democracy was further chilled by harassment, intimidation, and intrusive tax inspections against independent media and civil society activists.
In Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was re-elected president for a second term in October in a process that international observers assessed did not meet international standards for a democratic election, despite some government improvement in the administration of the election. Shortcomings included serious restrictions on political participation and media, pressure and restrictions on observers, and flawed vote counting and tabulation processes. During the year restrictions and pressure on the media worsened. A media-monitoring NGO reported that during the first half of the year there were 22 acts of verbal or physical assault on journalists, up from 11 in the same period of 2007, with no accountability. Several journalists remained imprisoned on charges that many criticized as politically motivated. On December 30, the government announced that as of January 1, 2009, it would no longer permit Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, or BBC to continue to broadcast on national television and FM radio frequencies; without these international broadcasters, the public no longer had access to unbiased news on any widely accessible broadcast media.
In Belarus, the government's human rights record remained very poor, and authorities continued to commit frequent serious abuses. Despite prior government assurances, parliamentary elections in September were neither free nor fair. Authorities failed to account for past politically motivated disappearances. Prison conditions remained extremely poor, and reports of abuse of prisoners and detainees continued. The judiciary lacked independence. The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion. State security services used unreasonable force to disperse peaceful protesters. Corruption remained a problem. NGOs and political parties were subjected to harassment, fines, prosecution, and closure. Religious leaders were fined or deported for performing services and some churches were closed.
In Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili was reelected in January in an election that international observers found consistent with most OSCE democratic election commitments. However, they also highlighted significant challenges, including widespread allegations of intimidation and pressure and flawed vote counting. Problems also were noted in parliamentary elections in May. There were allegations of politically motivated detentions. Media diversity was reduced when opposition voices lost control over the one remaining national television station. During the August conflict, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including of a number of journalists.
The Russian Federation continued a negative trajectory in its overall domestic human rights record with numerous reports of government and societal human right problems and abuses during the year. During the August conflict, military operations by Georgian and Russian forces reportedly involved the use of indiscriminate force and resulted in civilian casualties, including of a number of journalists. The government's human rights record remained poor in the North Caucasus with security forces reportedly engaged in killings, torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal treatment, often with impunity. In Chechnya, Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, security forces allegedly were involved in unlawful killings and politically motivated abductions; for a second year, there was a significant increase in the number of killings, usually by unknown assailants, of both civilians and officials in Ingushetiya.
Civil liberties continued to be under siege, reflecting an erosion of the government's accountability to its citizens. Government pressure weakened freedom of expression and media independence, and it remained a dangerous environment for media practitioners. Five journalists were killed during the year, in one case in Ingushetiya by police. Killings of journalists in past years remained unresolved. The government limited freedom of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protest. Authorities' hostility toward, and harassment of some NGOs, in particular those involved in human rights monitoring, as well as those receiving foreign funding, reflected an overall contraction of space for civil society. Given an increasingly centralized political system where power is concentrated in the presidency and the office of prime minister, the problems that occurred in the December 2007 Duma elections were repeated in the March presidential elections, which failed to meet many international standards.
Near East and North Africa
Continued serious challenges for the promotion of democracy and human rights characterized the Middle East region during the year, though there were some notable steps forward.
Several governments, including Egypt, Iran, Libya, and Syria, continued to imprison activists because of their beliefs. Ayman Nour, the runnerup in the 2005 Egyptian presidential election, remained in prison in Egypt throughout the reporting period (although he was released on February 18, 2009). Iran's government regularly detains and persecutes women's rights and student activists, labor unionists, and human rights defenders. Iranian authorities continued to crack down on civil society institutions, notably by closing the Center for the Defense of Human Rights on December 21 as it prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The government of Libya announced in March that it had released political activist Fathi El-Jahmi, but he remained in detention at the Tripoli Medical Center during the year and was granted only sporadic visits by his family. In Syria, the government detained several high-profile members of the human rights community, particularly individuals affiliated with the national council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, an umbrella organization of reformist opposition groups.
Along with greater access to information through the Internet and satellite television came greater restrictions on media, including Internet bloggers. In Egypt, police detained and allegedly tortured bloggers. Iran's best-known blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was arrested late in the year. Tunisia regressed on media freedom, with authorities arresting or harassing bloggers. In Iraq, journalists continued to struggle for safety while reporting on politics, women's rights, and homosexuality. Although the number of killings of journalists in Iraq dropped last year, the death rate remained high.
Many countries in the region continued to restrict religious freedom and expression. Iran detained seven leaders of the Baha'i faith since May, and the Iranian president continued to denounce the existence of Israel. Saudi Arabia strictly prohibited public worship of faiths other than Sunni Islam, and religious minorities faced discrimination in access to education, employment, and representation in government. Members of religions that are not recognized by the government experienced personal and collective hardship in Egypt. Other countries, such as Bahrain and Algeria, enacted discriminatory legislation or, like Jordan, continued to implement policies that favored the majority religions.
Legal and societal discrimination as well as violence against women continued throughout the region. Iranian women's rights activists were harassed, abused, arrested, and accused of "endangering national security" for participating in peaceful protests and demanding equal treatment under Iranian law through the One Million Signatures Campaign. However, other countries in the region witnessed incremental progress on women's rights and women actively sought leadership roles in local and national governments. In Kuwait, 27 women ran for office in May 2008 national elections, although none of the female candidates won. Also during the year, the UAE appointed its first female judge and two female ambassadors.
Some countries in the Near East have taken significant steps over the past several years to address worker abuse and to raise labor standards. Oman and Bahrain enacted comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking and Jordan extended labor law protections to expatriate household workers. Significant challenges remain, however, regarding protection for foreign workers and implementation of existing labor laws and regulations for all workers, especially for construction and household workers.
Selected Country Developments
In Egypt, there was a decline in the government's respect for freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion during the year. In particular, detentions and arrests of Internet bloggers appeared to be linked primarily to their efforts to organize demonstrations through their blogs and participation in street protests or other activism. The state of emergency, enacted in 1967, remained in place, and security forces used unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused prisoners and detainees, in most cases with impunity.
The government of Iran intensified its systematic campaign of intimidation against reformers, academics, journalists, and dissidents through arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, and secret trials that occasionally end in executions. Executions of defendants who were juveniles at the time of their arrest continued. Iranian-American dual nationals, as well as Iranians with contacts in or travel to the United States, continued to be targets of intimidation and harassment. Prior to parliamentary elections in March, the Guardian Council disqualified almost 1,700 reformist candidates.
The general security situation throughout Iraq substantially improved and some reconciliation and easing of tensions occurred in several provinces. However, continuing insurgent and extremist violence against civilians undermined the government's ability to uphold the rule of law, resulting in widespread and severe human rights abuses. However, there were positive developments including the passage of the Provincial Election Law on September 24 calling for elections in 14 Arab majority provinces on January 31, 2009, with elections later in the year in the three Kurdish provinces and Tameem (Kirkuk). The November 16 adoption of a law authorizing the establishment of the constitutionally mandated Independent High Commission for Human Rights also marked a step forward to institutionalize protection of those rights.
In Jordan, civil society activists expressed concern about a new law on associations. The law, which has yet to be implemented, allows the government to deny registration of NGOs for any reason; dissolve associations; and intervene in the management, membership, and activities of NGOs. According to international and local NGOs prisons continued to be overcrowded and understaffed with inadequate food and health care and limited visitation. Although Jordanian law prohibits torture, Human Rights Watch reported that torture remained widespread and routine. There were reports by citizens and NGOs that political prisoners, including Islamists convicted of crimes against national security, received greater abuse than other prisoners, and guards abused prisoners with impunity. Women held a limited number of government leadership positions, albeit at levels higher than elsewhere in the region; at the same time, domestic violence and so-called honor crimes persisted. A 2007 press law abolished imprisonment of journalists for ideological offenses; however, limited detention and imprisonment of journalists for defamation and slander continued through provisions in the penal code. Many journalists reported that the threat of stringent fines led to self-censorship. In July the Labor Law was amended to include agriculture workers and domestic servants, placing them under some legal protections.
For a fourth consecutive year, internal violence and political battles hindered Lebanon's ability to improve the country's human rights situation. On May 7, opposition fighters led by Hizballah, a Shia opposition party and terrorist organization, seized control of Beirut International Airport and several West Beirut neighborhoods. On May 21, after 84 died and approximately 200 were wounded, rival leaders reached a deal to end the violence and the 18-month political feud. Despite the cessation of hostilities and parliament's May election of President Michel Sleiman, Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country, and the government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming armed militia groups, including Hizballah.
The Syrian government continued to violate citizens' privacy rights and to impose significant restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association, in an atmosphere of government impunity and corruption. Security services disrupted meetings of human rights organizations and detained activists, organizers, and other regime critics without due process. Throughout the year, the government sentenced to prison several high-profile members of the human rights community, especially individuals affiliated with the national council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an umbrella organization of reformist opposition groups.
In Tunisia, the government continued its systematic, severe repression of freedom of expression and association. The government remained intolerant of public criticism by human rights and opposition activists and used intimidation, criminal investigations, and violent harassment of editors and journalists to discourage criticism. Authorities strictly censored publications both in print and on line, and routinely harassed journalists. Security forces killed a political protestor during the year and detainees faced torture, sexual assault, and coercion in attempts to elicit confessions.
South and Central Asia
Significant attacks on basic rights, including the freedoms of expression, religion, and association, marked 2008 in South and Central Asia.
A number of governments in the region continued to harass individual journalists and media outlets, and several countries continued to restrict free access to information on the Internet, particularly in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, the government removed programs of a prominent independent broadcaster from state-run radio and television. A government-controlled Internet provider in Kazakhstan intermittently blocked specific news and opposition-focused Web sites. Both governments levied heavy criminal libel penalties against journalists and, in some cases, the journalists left the country due to fear for their own safety. As in years past, journalists working in Turkmenistan were subject to government harassment, arrest, detention in psychological clinics, and violence. In Afghanistan, the government convicted a student journalist of blasphemy and sentenced him to death for distributing an article he downloaded from the Internet about women's rights in Islam; an appeals court reduced the sentence to 20 years in prison. In Pakistan, arrests of journalists declined following the election of a new government. Even so, unidentified actors continued to intimidate, abduct, and kill journalists, particularly in regions of internal conflict. In Sri Lanka, defense and government officials made threatening statements against independent media outlets in the aftermath of several unresolved attacks against members of the free press.
Freedom of religion came under attack in the region with the parliaments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan introducing laws that would increase restrictions on religious freedom, disproportionately affecting religious minorities, and through violence against minorities in the Indian state of Orissa. These actions took place in the context of increased harassment of minority religious groups by the governments of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and continued harassment by the government of Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan welcomed a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, but the government closely controlled and monitored all religious activity.
Significant issues remained on labor rights across the region. Child labor continued in agriculture and manufacturing sectors in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. There was widespread child labor in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in cotton and other sectors, and Uzbekistan continued to compel many schoolchildren to work in the cotton harvest. Although the government of Kazakhstan is making strides to eliminate child labor, the practice still occurs in the cotton and tobacco sectors. Forced labor, especially in the large informal sectors and among socially disadvantaged minorities, continued in Nepal, Pakistan, and India. Labor organizers in Bangladesh reported acts of intimidation and abuse as well as increased scrutiny by security forces.
Although some governments in the region restricted political opposition and prohibited genuine electoral competition, there were several improvements with regard to elections and political competition in South Asia. In Pakistan, the two main opposition parties, Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, together won majority seats in competitive parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government ending nine years of military rule. The people of Maldives elected a former political prisoner as president in a free and fair election, peacefully unseating the longest-serving Asian leader. The Afghan Independent Election Commission led preparatory efforts for Afghanistan's second round of elections since the fall of the Taliban. Elections in Nepal produced the most diverse legislature in the country's history, and the new parliament subsequently declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, peacefully dissolving the monarchy. Bangladesh held free and fair parliamentary elections with isolated irregularities and sporadic violence. The elections and subsequent peaceful transfer of power ended two years of rule by a military-backed caretaker government. In Bhutan, elections for the lower house of parliament completed the country's transition to a constitutional and limited monarchy with genuine popular oversight and participation.
Selected Country Developments
Although human rights in Afghanistan have improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the country's record remained poor due to weak central government institutions and a deadly insurgency. The Taliban, Al-Qa'ida, and other extremist groups continued attacks against government officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel, and unarmed civilians. There were continued reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions, extrajudicial killings, torture, and poor prison conditions. Government repression and armed groups prevented the media from operating freely.
In Bangladesh, levels of violence declined significantly and the caretaker government oversaw successful elections, but the government's human rights record remained a matter of serious concern. The state of emergency, which the government imposed in January 2007 and lifted on December 17, curtailed many fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to post bail. The government's anticorruption drive was greeted by popular support but gave rise to concerns about fairness and equality under the law. Although the number of extrajudicial killings decreased, security forces committed serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, arbitrary arrest and detention, and harassment of journalists. Some members of security forces acted with impunity and committed acts of torture, and the government failed to investigate fully extrajudicial killings.
In Kazakhstan, the political opposition faced government harassment via politically motivated criminal charges and restrictions on freedom of assembly. The government continued to harass independent and opposition-oriented media outlets and journalists. At year's end, the government was considering amendments to laws governing political parties, media, and elections. Some civil society representatives and opposition parties criticized the process as lacking transparency. The government was also considering amendments to the religion law that, if enacted, would represent a serious step backward for religious freedom.
Although Kyrgyzstan has a vibrant civil society and independent media, in the past year the government increasingly sought to control various aspects of civil life. New laws or amendments placed restrictions on public assembly, religious freedom, and media. In October, the National Television and Radio Network took Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe off the air, reducing the public's access to this independent source of information. The Central Election Commission chairwoman fled the country after claiming she had been pressured by the president's son over registering an opposition candidate for October local council elections.
Nepal became a federal democratic republic shortly after national elections in April produced the most diverse legislature in the country's history. Although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities, observers reported that the elections reflected the will of the people. Violence, extortion, and intimidation continued throughout the year; and impunity for human rights violators, threats against the media, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention were serious problems. Members of the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League, and other small, often ethnically based armed groups committed numerous grave human rights abuses. Such abuses included arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force, torture, and abduction. Several armed groups, largely in the Terai region, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other, or Maoists.
Pakistan returned to civilian democratic rule during the year. Opposition parties prevailed in February parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government. The coalition lasted only part of the year though the government remains in power. In September, Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, succeeded Pervez Musharraf as president. The new government put back on the bench under a new oath five of the 13 Supreme Court judges Musharraf deposed during the November 2007 state of emergency, while three retired or resigned. The chief of army staff withdrew 3,000 army officers from civilian government posts they held during Musharraf's tenure. Despite these positive steps, the human rights situation remained poor. Military operations in the country's northwest killed approximately 1,150 civilians, militant attacks in that region killed 825 more civilians, sectarian violence in the country killed an estimated 1,125 persons, and suicide bombings killed more than 970 individuals. Ongoing battles with militants left approximately 200,000 persons displaced at year's end.
In Sri Lanka, the democratically elected government's respect for human rights declined as armed conflict escalated in the country's 25-year civil war. By year's end, there was little movement on political inclusion of minorities and they continued to suffer the majority of human rights abuses, such as killings and disappearances. The government expelled most international humanitarian assistance providers from the northern conflict zone. Although the government took initial steps to address the use of child soldiers by progovernment militias, the problem was not resolved. The government failed to investigate and prosecute any security forces for human rights violations and to implement constitutional provisions that would provide oversight of government institutions. Civil society was intimidated and independent media and journalists came under particular pressure through attacks and threats from pro-government actors.
Although there were modest improvements, the government of Turkmenistan continued to commit serious abuses and its human rights record remained poor. Political and civil liberties continued to be severely restricted. In June authorities arrested former activist and former political prisoner Gulgeldy Annaniyazov after he allegedly reentered the country illegally and sentenced him in a closed trial to 11 years in prison. December parliamentary elections fell far short of international standards. The government continued its effort to revise laws, including its constitution, to bring them into conformity with relevant international conventions.
The Government of Uzbekistan took steps to address human rights concerns such as defendants' rights, trafficking in persons, and child labor in the cotton industry. However, serious human rights abuses continued and torture remained systemic in law enforcement. Auth
http://www.emportal.co.yu/en/news/region/80365.html
March,7,2009
L.K. Advani Before the Statue of ' RAM '
***********************************
For my glory,I always used your name,
I am a fraud, my Lord, you know it well;
From you, I can't conceal my true self,
I maligned you for my political smell.
But you never let me face the despair,
On me, your blessings always rained;
I succeeded in blazing the trail of terror,
With the militants,in your name, I trained.
I was a heinous terrorist for the law of land,
The grace of your name provided me shield;
To a Muslim, my crimes were fit for death,
Your symbol gave me powers, that I wield.
Now forgive me for the sake of your sanctity,
You are my Lord! the most revered sage !;
I abused your piety to reach the highest post,
Fulfill my last wish at this fag-end of age.
*********************************
Dr.Mustafa Kamal Sherwani,LL.D.
Chairman, All India Muslim Forum
Sherwani Nagar, Sitapur Road
Lucknow, U.P. India
E:mail ; sherwanimk@yahoo.com
Phones: +91-522-2733715
+91-9919777909
Declaration of the Women's International Committee of Via Campesina
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, 2009
We, women farmers from the five continents gathered in Seoul, South Korea, in the framework of Via Campesina’s Women’s International Committee meeting, declare:
On the 8th of March, the International Women's Day, we reaffirm our willingness to take actions to change the capitalist and patriarchal world that gives priority to the market’s interests instead of the rights of people.
As women farmers, we demand the respect of all our rights. We demand a life with dignity and without violence, and the respect of our sexual and reproductive rights. We struggle to achieve food sovereignty and to defend family farming, the only alternative to the current food and climate crises. We want a real agrarian reform and respect for biodiversity.
We launched the international campaign against violence towards women in Maputo, Mozambique, during Via Campesina’s 5th Conference – October 2008.
At this meeting in Korea, we reconfirm our will:
- To strengthen the organization at all levels and the struggle of women for their emancipation
- To move forward in the equity of the sexes and women’s participation in all areas of decision making
- To implement parity in our organizations
- To end all forms of violence towards women, and to break the culture of silence
- To build a global society that is just and equal.
We call women and men who struggle for peace and justice to take part in the immediate implementation of measures to eradicate all forms of physical, sexual, economic, environmental, verbal, psychological violence. We demand an end to the violence of war.
We support our farmer sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Palestine as well as all the women in all the countries that suffer wars and conflicts.
We denounce the destructive practices of transnational companies that destroy biodiversity, steal land, create environmental disasters, force massive migrations and cause the disappearance of family farming. We commit ourselves to struggle against unjust corporate power.
All forms of inequality must be eliminated as soon as possible, whether they are social, cultural, ethnic, class or gender based.
We will struggle until we build a society that values the worth and the rights of each human being and a society that affirms that women's rights are human rights.
GLOBALIZE STRUGGLE
Globalize Hope
Subject: Goodbye Farmers Markets, CSAs, and roadside stands If the corporate lobbyists and corrupt politicians have their way
http://dprogram.net/2009/03/05/goodbye-farmers-markets-csas-and-roadside-stands/#more-9384
Goodbye farmers markets, CSAs, and roadside stands
Posted by sakerfa on March 5, 2009
The “food safety” bills in Congress were written by Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc. All are associated with the opposite of food safety. What is this all about then?
In the simplest terms, organic food and a rebirth of farming were winning. Not in absolute numbers but in a deep and growing shift by the public toward understanding the connection between their food and their health, between good food and true social pleasures, between their own involvement in food and the improvement in their lives in general, between local food and a burgeoning local economy.
Slow Food was right - limit your food to what comes from your region and from real farmers, and slow down to cook it and linger over it with friends and family, and the world begins to change for the better.
And as we face an unprecedented economic crisis, and it is hard to be sure what has value, one thing that always does is food. Which is why the corporations are after absolute control over it. But what obstacles to a complete lock on food do they face? All the people in this country who are “banking” on organic farming and urban gardens and most of all, everyone’s deepening pleasure in and increasing involvement with everything about food.
Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands.
Those are things we not only all want, but things we are actively getting involved in, and things we very much need. And where they are truly good, they are growing.
The international financial corporations which have wreaked havoc around the world with astounding nonsensical “solutions” that are destructive of everyone but them, are brothers to the international agribusiness giants (Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc.) which are just as aggressively after their own form of “taking.” Just seeds, animals, water, land.
And freedom.
Because human beings are by in large good and by in large incredibly resilient and clever, and left to their own devices - that is, free - they would handle this gargantuan financial stupidity the corporations brought us with NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT and all other globalized schemes (which they hope to eventually top off with CODEX). How? By being productive in real ways and locally. And farming is the solid ground under that. Farmers produce something of real value (something we used to take for granted), and from that base, businesses grow up. Local markets, local food processors, local seed companies, local tool and supply companies, local stores … and an economy based on reality and something truly good for us, too, begins to grow.
So, look again at what has been exciting us - Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands. - and realize that they are not only wonderfully healthy but fun and naturally community building. And more, they are a real economy and deeply democratic - and just at a time we need something that works economically, that supports our democratic rebirth, and that protects food itself and our easy access to it.
And it is all those things that threaten the corporations … which is why we now have these massive “fake food safety” bills in Congress. Everything is going under thanks to these fools, and they wish to be there like vultures to make sure that every drop of blood that can be sucked out of our resources and us, is theirs. To wit, they must get rid of such good and innocent things and yet truly powerful things as:
Farmers markets. Local farmers. Real milk. Fresh eggs. Vegetable stands.
And how will those who contaminate our country’s food with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and more, do that? Why, by setting standards for “food safety” that are so grotesquely and inappropriately and even cruelly applied to a local, independent farmers and ranchers that there is no way they can manage. Imagine your being faced with a 100 page IRS form and facing a million dollar a day penalty for screwing up. That would be in the ball park of the impossible complexity mixed with threat facing our farmers. Imagine having the government and corporations deciding every single thing you can do and must do in your kitchen and backing that up with the threat of 10 years in prison for screwing up - though you have never made anyone sick, and those corporations have. Imagine being surveilled 24 hours a day by GPS tracking devices that feed into … a corporate data bank, one they have now moved out of the country so no one here can have legal access to see what is in it.
Imagine the devil himself - or a whole boardrooms of them, dressed in suits - defining the only safe and healthy food in this country as dangerous and burdening hard working farmers with more work then anyone could bear, while his own, their own, food is so dangerous at this point that in the last 10 years alone, diabetes has gone up 90%.
And how did they get this far with such a scheme to apply insane industrial standards to every farm in the country? Through fear of diseases and of outbreaks of food borne illnesses, both of which they cause themselves.
How it works: Tyson helps Bill Clinton get into office. Bill Clinton immediately and significantly lowers contamination standards for poultry as a thank you. And it is such contaminated waste from transnational poultry factories which is now implicated as the source of bird flu. Then fortunes on made on that fear. And then poultry industry uses the crisis they created to push out small farmers and take greater control than ever. Their mantra? Biodiversity not only be damned but be eliminated. And get rid of those damn farmers who protect it while we’re at it.
The bills would require such a burdensome complexity of rules, inspections, licensing, fees, and penalties for each farmer who wishes to sell locally - a fruit stand, at a farmers market - no one could manage it. And THAT is the point. The whole dirty tricks point. The whole “be in tight control of everything needed for survival because it’ll be worth a fortune” point.
So, if you like farmers markets, local farmers, fresh milk, fresh eggs, vegetables stands, and freedom, let your friends know that it’s all on the line right now with those “fake food safety” bills brought to us with well-planned evil and more of it to come, by Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc.
Slow Food reminds us of just where we need to be (and notice how much would help any local economy):
· Forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems;
· Developing an “Ark of Taste” for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated;
· Preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation;
· Organizing small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering and short run products);
· Organizing celebrations of local cuisine within regions (for example, the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada);
· Promoting “taste education;”
· Educating consumers about the risks of fast food;
· Educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms;
· Educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties;
· Developing various political programs to preserve family farms;
· Lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy;
· Lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering;
· Lobbying against the use of pesticides;
· Teaching gardening skills to students and prisoners; and
· Encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces.
But we need to stop these bills first or we are left with no money from the financial bailout and no food from the food stealout.
Send a message to Congress.
We need millions to be fighting this. Contact Eli Pariser at MoveOn moveon-help@list.moveon.org to tell him MoveOn is badly needed.
And below, where Oped News offers a means of writing your local newspaper, take advantage of a chance to vent.
Take action — click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Stop HR 875, HR 814, SR 425, and soon, HR 759
Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers
I’m a mother and grandmother. There is no way I can leave my family or anyone else’s children, things as they are now.
Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Goodbye-farmers-markets-C-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090303-287.html
Future Islam Can Be Proud Of
"Slumdog Millionaire" composer, Indian Muslim Allah Rakha Rahman, said in his Oscar acceptance speech, he had in his life "faced a choice between hate and love, and always chose love."
March 07, 2009
By M. D. Nalapat
There are by some estimates 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, about 1/10 of whom live in India. Despite being a minority in a Hindu-dominated country, India's Muslims outside of the conflict-ridden Kashmir region, have largely refused to heed the siren's call of the Islamic jihadists.
They have remained peaceful citizens of the world's most populous democracy, boldly using their numbers to ensure that those following agendas perceived as anti-Muslim cannot hope to attain national office.
Even the "Hindu-nationalist" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has as its partners parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Janata Dal (United), which staunchly defend the numerous protections given to religious minorities to India since the country gained its independence in 1947.
Alienation Canard
It is small wonder then that India's Muslims have made world-class achievements in areas such as art, cinema, and business. The Muslim Azim Premji is one of India's richest people and has been recognized by "Business Week" as one of "Greatest Entrepreneurs of All Time." Former Indian President Abdul Kalam is also a devout Muslim.
In Bollywood, India's massive movie industry, Muslim heroes and heroines rank among the most popular film stars in a country that is 85 percent Hindu. Last year, "Newsweek" magazine named Muslim film star Shahrukh Khan one of the 50 most powerful people on Earth.
Millions of Muslim youths in India have been trained in sciences such as engineering and medicine since the 1990s, as were hundreds of thousands in the preceding decades. Of course, millions live in poverty -- just like millions of Hindus and Christians and others in this country that has nearly 300 million desperately poor people. The employment and wealth created by entrepreneurs like Premji. The music created by "Slumdog Millionaire" heroes Rahman and Pookutty. The secure energy promised by Muhammad el-Baradei and the IAEA. These are the future of Islam. These people, and millions like them, are the true Muslims.
In short -- although the hate-mongers would wish otherwise -- the overwhelming majority of India's Muslims feel no sense of alienation from their society or the outside world. They are confident that, together with fellow citizens from all faiths, they can compete anywhere in the world and succeed.
This spirit was amply evident during the recent Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, when two Indian Muslims -- Allah Rakha Rahman and Resul Pookutty -- won three Oscars between them in competition with the best composers and sound engineers in the world. These men are a universe away from the hatred and intolerance preached by Islamist extremists, who urge Muslims to withdraw from a world in which they claim everything is stacked against them.
True Spirit
A battle is being waged for the hearts and minds of Muslims, a battle between those preaching hate and exclusion and those advocating coexistence and cooperation. As Rahman said in his Oscar acceptance speech, he had in his life "faced a choice between hate and love, and always chose love." Pookutty dedicated his award to his country, India, and "its civilization," which he said "gave the world the word that precedes silence and is followed by more silence," om.
This is a word that originated thousands of years ago, when Sanskrit was born. Unlike Islamist extremists, Khomeinists, and Wahhabis, who refuse to look beyond their own narrowly interpreted traditions, Rahman and Pookutty scour the world for inspiration, demonstrating their capacity to lead the world in creating the riches of the Knowledge Economy.
If not for the intellectual and cultural destruction wrought by the extremists (remember the Buddhas of Bamiyan?), I think dozens of Muslims would have reached the tops of their fields by now, even joining Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad el-Baradei. El-Baradei, the Egyptian director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), shares with Rahman and Pookutty the moderate, knowledge-driven Islam that was responsible for the rapid spread of the religion during the first millennium after it was revealed.
Wahhabis and Khomeinists constantly seek to undermine the confidence of Muslims by promoting a culture of victimhood and urging Muslims to withdraw from the world and retreat into ghettos. But the compassion and tolerance that forms the core of true Islam can drive away such intolerance and hatred.
People like Rahman, Pookutty, and el-Baradei reflect the true spirit of Islam, a spirit that can create treasures in the modern world instead of drowning in the fantasy of returning to some pre-modern Golden Age. The employment and wealth created by entrepreneurs like Premji. The music created by Rahman and Pookutty. The secure energy promised by el-Baradei and the IAEA. These are the future of Islam. These people, and millions like them, are the true Muslims.
M.D. Nalapat holds the UNESCO Peace Chair and is director of the Department of Geopolitics at Manipal University in India. The views expressed in this commentary are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Future_Islam_Can_Be_Proud_Of/1505883.html
Opinion: Louisiana City One of Many Facing High-Tech Hate Speech
By Carol Forsloff.
Published Feb 11, 2009 by ¦ Carol Forsloff Share:
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Natchitoches, Louisiana is a small Southern town. It is a microcosm of the world, however, in some respects. It is here that hate speech, intolerance and high tech lynching has occurred, just as it has in other places.
The Internet has the capability for people to do both good and bad things. It allows for interactive, international communication so that doctors can exchange information about cures for diseases. But it also allows people with deviant or dangerous motives to enlist legions to their cause. That’s a big concern.
Internet porn and hate affects many communities. It began to be particularly visible on a site called Topix during an election period that began less than two years ago during the local Louisiana Senate and House elections that also brought other key officials up in the campaigns as well. For example, Natchitoches re-elected its sheriff less than 18 months ago. He is a Creole, with African American heritage clearly visible; and he was one of many targeted with hate.
In Natchitoches the Mayor, Wayne McCullen, Sheriff Jones, local civic and business leaders, the President of Northwestern University and the major newspapers, as well as private individuals, have had personal attacks that are beyond ordinary questions of political or social propriety. Instead there are statements of “fact” about shakedowns by a newspaper publisher, adultery involving the Mayor and his assistant, drug-dealing by the Sheriff and racist, slanderous comments about the first and only female African American on the city council. All of these statements of fact are known to be false. When the matter was brought to the website involved, there was no response from its management.
The small town of Natchitoches is thought of by many as an oasis in the South with its pristine natural beauty and its racial mix of white and black almost even with major representatives from both groups actively involved in business and political affairs. It has been designated a key retirement spot by a number of publications. After a sordid past of slavery and segregation, it has moved ahead of much of the State of Louisiana towards inclusion and reconciliation, although vestiges of the problems still remain. It faces the present depression like other places, although less so because it is insulated because of a diverse economy and the fact that it is small enough that people have developed the sense of community that allows bonding and support when major problems occur. It cannot afford, as people in the community declare, to be demoralized by hate groups anymore than other places can at this time. That’s because during economic downturns like a recession or a depression hate groups multiply and cause problems that can become global.
One reputable journalist with decades of experience has been doing a series of investigative reports on Kim de Gelder who has been featured on Facebook sites that have been put up to support and applaud this man as a hero. His behavior involves the stabbing of a total 20 infants and two adults at a creche in the Belgian town of Dendermonde, three of whom have died. He has been called by authorities a mass murderer for this. Still he is applauded by hate speech that spreads through Internet sites and that continues in spite of the seriousness of the content.
The Ku Klux Klan has a website that initially portrays itself as a peaceful, loving group. Look further at its manifestoes and remarks and one sees that peace and love isn’t the direction or intent. This group believes in arming everyone, sending any group that disagrees in any way with white supremacy back to their own country, and quarantining everyone with HIV/Aids. There are many more notions that take an extreme in promoting not love but hate under what under the guise of “Christian concepts.”
There are videos on YouTube that depict sex acts between father and daughter in very detailed ways. Although this link shows a relatively recent video, additionally recommended have been on YouTube for many months.
Want to dialogue and be part of the American Nazi party? You can reach and interact with them online through Yahoo Groups. Yahoo features contact numbers and the membership list as well.
These are the terms of Topix service. The rest of the list is available here.
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, torturous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that shows nudity, partial nudity or adult content;
• upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that exhorts others to commit illegal acts;
• harm minors in any way;
These terms of service are similar to other website forums, developer sites and interactive Internet discussion groups, some under the umbrella of international businesses like Yahoo and Google. With the violations that seem to be a pattern everywhere, perhaps some believe there should be some international regulation and codes that offer controls and reporting.
Is there a difference between free speech and license and have some groups crossed the boundaries to the latter? It seems so by the evidence and whether it continues without control is something world leaders might need to examine.
This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267027
THE MORAL LIE BEHIND THE HISTORICAL LIE
It is a sad fact that no one cares about the truth. But it is a fact.
What people care about is not offending those who have the power.
Without the terrible power Jews wield, "denial of the Holocaust" would present a problem to no one.
Denying the Holocaust has its counterpart in other unmentionable subjects. Good examples are not discussing the Jewish role in communism or not conceding that the state of Israel has a "right to exist".
Holocaust Denial is not merely about establishing what really happened to the Jews during World War Two, it is about challenging the right of the Jews to impose their dogmas on the rest of the population.
The case of Bishop Richard Williamson is instructive. Bishop Williamson has committed no crime. He has merely expressed an opinion displeasing to Jew power. Worse, he has brought public attention to an issue that Jews wish to have concealed from the public at all costs. And that is the crime.
The real lesson of the Holocaust is:
because Jews were supposedly exterminated during World War Two, Jews are therefore an eternally innocent people. They are never to be criticized, stood up to or forced to back down. That is the moral lie hiding behind the historical lie of the "gas chambers".
And THAT in itself is why the exaggerated account of the Holocaust Hoax must be exposed as a big lie.
B G
Feb. 27, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/audits/123047/clinton_foundation_fueled_by_blood_money/?page=2
Clinton Foundation Fueled By Blood Money
By Rob Larson, AlterNet. Posted January 30, 2009.
The Clinton Foundation is funded by the people, governments and companies that help create the problems the charity seeks to address.
The scale of Mittal's steel empire stacks the deck against smaller competitors and undermines a Clinton Foundation goal. But a nice seven-digit check to the Clintons' global charity levels the playing field enough to sleep at night. The Open Hand giveth, and the Invisible Hand taketh away.
Or take AIDS, often seen to be the foundation's core issue. The foundation recently negotiated heavy price reductions for certain AIDS drugs sold in the developing world and has come to partially support moves by Brazil and Thailand to break the patents on AIDS therapy drugs held by U.S. companies. This new policy has been pushed for by AIDS activists and groups like Doctors Without Borders, who have seen thousands of lives improved by cheap generics that violate patent rights. But only recently has the hand of the foundation been forced by Brazil's and Thailand's patent breaking, which is seen even by conservative observers like the Economist as successful in fighting the disease.
The business press describes the position of the most prominent AIDS activist in South Africa, Zackie Achmat: "Like many activists, he believes drug companies have been goaded into their recent donations -- only by terrible publicity," and that "contrary to what the industry said, patents were indeed an obstacle to affordable medicines." The Financial Times describes the pharmaceutical industry's limited giveaways or price reductions of AIDS drugs as "part of public relations efforts by Western companies to deal with an onslaught over the prices they charge for their drugs."
So while the Clinton Foundation has gradually come to support production of some far-cheaper generics in the developing world, it took public and activist pressure, plus the growing independence of developing countries like Brazil, to bring them and Big Pharma around. And some of the medicine can even be paid for with the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the foundation by AIDS drug patent-mongers Pfizer and Ranbaxy, paying for a few generics to fight the disease they helped to spread.
While the foundation's work is clearly invaluable to the people and desperate communities it serves, the point is that its money comes directly from parties contributing heavily to the problems it's fighting, from the brutal Saudi tyrants paying to encourage human development, to the global steel tycoon kicking in for classes on entrepreneurship, to the drug-patent owners grudgingly contributing to production of the generic drugs they fight against.
The foundation would probably defend itself by saying that its median gift amount is just $45, from its thousands of small-scale donors, who are admirable, well-meaning people. But that doesn't get you to the $492 million total the foundation manages. That comes from the Clintons' big-ticket donors, which also include Victor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian steel oligarch who built his empire from the Soviet Union's assets sell-off, and Blackwater, the U.S. mercenary company under legal sanction for its killings in Iraq. Blood money still spends.
In the end, the Clinton Foundation's big-ticket donors are a ruling-class rogues gallery with a guilty conscience. But in a world of tyrannical regimes, powerful global corporations and spreading disease among the poor, you can count on more ego-stroking from the guilty parties that keep the lights on at Big Charity.
The scale of Mittal's steel empire stacks the deck against smaller competitors and undermines a Clinton Foundation goal. But a nice seven-digit check to the Clintons' global charity levels the playing field enough to sleep at night. The Open Hand giveth, and the Invisible Hand taketh away.
Or take AIDS, often seen to be the foundation's core issue. The foundation recently negotiated heavy price reductions for certain AIDS drugs sold in the developing world and has come to partially support moves by Brazil and Thailand to break the patents on AIDS therapy drugs held by U.S. companies. This new policy has been pushed for by AIDS activists and groups like Doctors Without Borders, who have seen thousands of lives improved by cheap generics that violate patent rights. But only recently has the hand of the foundation been forced by Brazil's and Thailand's patent breaking, which is seen even by conservative observers like the Economist as successful in fighting the disease.
The business press describes the position of the most prominent AIDS activist in South Africa, Zackie Achmat: "Like many activists, he believes drug companies have been goaded into their recent donations -- only by terrible publicity," and that "contrary to what the industry said, patents were indeed an obstacle to affordable medicines." The Financial Times describes the pharmaceutical industry's limited giveaways or price reductions of AIDS drugs as "part of public relations efforts by Western companies to deal with an onslaught over the prices they charge for their drugs."
So while the Clinton Foundation has gradually come to support production of some far-cheaper generics in the developing world, it took public and activist pressure, plus the growing independence of developing countries like Brazil, to bring them and Big Pharma around. And some of the medicine can even be paid for with the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the foundation by AIDS drug patent-mongers Pfizer and Ranbaxy, paying for a few generics to fight the disease they helped to spread.
While the foundation's work is clearly invaluable to the people and desperate communities it serves, the point is that its money comes directly from parties contributing heavily to the problems it's fighting, from the brutal Saudi tyrants paying to encourage human development, to the global steel tycoon kicking in for classes on entrepreneurship, to the drug-patent owners grudgingly contributing to production of the generic drugs they fight against.
The foundation would probably defend itself by saying that its median gift amount is just $45, from its thousands of small-scale donors, who are admirable, well-meaning people. But that doesn't get you to the $492 million total the foundation manages. That comes from the Clintons' big-ticket donors, which also include Victor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian steel oligarch who built his empire from the Soviet Union's assets sell-off, and Blackwater, the U.S. mercenary company under legal sanction for its killings in Iraq. Blood money still spends.
In the end, the Clinton Foundation's big-ticket donors are a ruling-class rogues gallery with a guilty conscience. But in a world of tyrannical regimes, powerful global corporations and spreading disease among the poor, you can count on more ego-stroking from the guilty parties that keep the lights on at Big Charity.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970
All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLxTpsIVzzo
A book, a coup, some thoughts
Is the nation bound by an illegitimate, illegal and palpably unlawful act by a legal government who had not revalidated its mandate to govern as a party under the new constitution in the newly sovereign, independent state called the People’s Republic of Bangladesh? writes Syed Muhammad Hussain
A beautifully produced book, Bangladesh: Failed Years —- 1972-75, by Dr. Jamshed Chowdhury is based on his thesis dissertation for his PhD from Heidelberg University.
The theme of AL’s failures and failure of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been researched over many years, but then these in most cases have been vitiated by the preconceived perceptions brought in, hindering the process of a neutral scrutiny and an unbiased focus. Dr Jamshed Chowdhury does not appear to have an axe to grind in reaching certain conclusions. As a thesis work it appears to have been a labour of love. Perhaps I did miss some nuggets. But the first reading did not reveal any definitive, or for that matter, clear verdict. The readers are left to do that on their own.
Two major strains in the post-Independence political development in Bangladesh so much more attention and these are, one- While Sheikh Mujib may have realised that the overwhelming Bengali support for the cause of Independence was not so much of a total support for Awami League per se, but was an effective ‘carte blanche’ for his leadership of all Bengalis, this very crucial and finer point did not dawn on other AL leaders excepting possibly Tajuddin Ahmed. Or if historic verdict suffers from an element of generosity, it might opine that the rest of the AL high command chose to ignore it and deliberately in the following years, attempted to hoist AL for obvious reasons on the nation It was a monstrous hypocrisy that the nation which had united irrespective of all the past differences and then current gargantuan problems facing the country to rebuild the economy and rekindle the hopes that initiated and sustained the liberation struggle, should have been shackled with AL rule and only a short time later, imprisoned in a one-party political dispensation .
The AL and its short-sighted dwarfs thought they could overturn the popular will imbued then with their sacrifices many times over, No known, well placed AL leader had suffered any personal loss in the bloody war of liberation Sheikh Mujib was safely away, his family lived safely in Dhaka, and Theatre Road in Calcutta saw the Al leaders-in-exile not exactly in the thick of the battles that our valiant, often faceless fighters were engaged in some 100-odd kilometres away in the borders. This aspect must be brought out in the open in truth and without prejudice. Because the AL’s leadership claims are entrenched in these months and in those events occurring between March 1971 and December 1971.
In my view, only Tajuddin had the capability and the courage to strike a different note on policy matters with Sheikh Mujib. Mansur Ali and Qamruzzaman may have had some abilities, but their sense of getting into power was more acute than any ideal or principal-based stand that ought to have been taken in the crucial years before Baksal. Tajuddin in all probability became a hostage of loyalty to Sheikh and to his comrades. Tajuddin’s monumental failure to rebel and all others’ huge ability to ‘kiss the ground’ Sheikh walked on explain the disaster that befell the nation in August 1975. The army’s intervention is only a tool, not a prime mover, not even a reason.
Any analysis of a historic episode will suffer from being static if there is no measurement done of the shadows cast or areas illuminated by all these events. The AL and all other parties demonstrated the identical trait of a built-in failure, when, one- there are no dissenting voices, two, if there are, these are not heard with respect and patience, and third, like the Pharaohs the leaders abandon their trusted lieutenants and plot to empower their ill-gotten, ill-prepared and totally irrelevant offspring. The 1975 – onwards scenario in Bangladesh reveal those very characteristics that negate all the democratic norms and culture of governance of a modern, dynamic, ability-led, performance-oriented state. They violate openly all the values, they themselves shout about day in and day out, again publicly. No nation can and should, suffer such insolence of power and such flagrant disregard of people’s will and welfare.
The second major point of constitutionality was the establishment of one-party state with Baksal Political expediency apart, it was not, and it certainly could not be, the panacea AL and Sheikh Mujib were looking for evidently to tackle the rising problems for the government of the day. In fact, a party-less (disbanding AL) national Government under Sheikh Mujib could possibly have been a wiser, albeit difficult, solution. Through I strongly believe it was AL and its failure to rise above self-a-failed leadership – that led to the irreversible process of disaster, decline and decay in Bangladesh. Instead of strengthening the democratic polity, and culture and institutions like multiparty system, cabinet form of government, freedom of press and speech, independence of judiciary, non-interference in the due conduct of administration, non-preferential treatment to AL and party activists etc., Sheikh Mujib all but wore the crown and sat on the throne as the unelected king of the country. This brings in the legitimate question whether the AL victory in 1970 elections in Pakistan framework, could have been at all be valid as mandate in Bangladesh with its own constitution, for the declaration of one-party state in 1974. We need indeed to recall and emphasise that even the 1970 mandate was given in a multiparty elections.
Is the nation bound by an illegitimate, illegal and palpably unlawful act by a legal government who had not revalidated its mandate to govern as a party under the new constitution in the newly sovereign, independent state called the People’s Republic of Bangladesh?
One of the unexplained phenomena of all times in Bangladesh relates to the total absence, absolutely so, of any public outpouring of grief, of protests, of condemnation on the gruesome elimination of Sheikh Mujib and almost the entire family on 15 August 1975. There was no visible reaction at least worth mentioning to this horrendous event within less than four years of his rule as he came in like a conqueror from exile to the obeisance of his party men and to the adulation of the people of Bangladesh still dazed and reeling from the nightmares that began on the 25 March 1971. What had happened and what had gone so wrong? That just some army men caught up in a frenzied mood brought about such a catastrophe is too simplistic an explanation and certainly not the real or the full one.
To my mind, many elements conspired right from the day one of our Independence. But was not Sheikh Mujib’s then unbelievable popularity adequate to get around these long knives? While these evil forces were gathering strength, by the same token Sheikh Mujib’s style of administration, his weaknesses, his pervasive guilt feeling perhaps in not really being there with the valiant forces and above all, his easy capitulation to his close advisers from the great Theatre Road sector, in not firmly announcing a national government, in giving reign to his sons and daughters’ lust for immediate power along with other relatives, sideling wise and committed comrades like Dr Kamal Hossain, Kader Siddiqui and many other genuine, but out-spoken well-wishers, went on corroding the strength that could have otherwise been Sheikh Mujib’s shield for physical and political survival. There were quite a few self-seeking civil servants whose counsel Sheikh Mujib listened to most of the time There were strings of sycophants, hangers-on and their cohorts who gained immensely through Sheikh Mujib’s misplaced generosity and misuse of state patronage and funds.
And then of course his so-called stalwarts and follower banded in an almost obscene personal security apparatus called the Rakkhi Bahini, alienated the regular Armed Forces and other law-enforcing agencies as much as it did the people at large. Such an illegitimate, personalised security arrangements did not, and never do, deliver – the 15th August massacre should be a living testimony to all. And that there were no genuine regard and affection and they disappeared like mists in the sun, when their mighty leader had a mighty fall. Even all his ‘Bhayera Amaar ‘across the length and breadth of the country did not come out wailing at the great fall. Why? The reasons must be embedded in the way the AL conducted itself, the way Sheikh Mujib distanced himself not only from all the pro-independence, proactive-forces, but also from the common people at large.
The smoke from his most expensive brand Erin more pipe tobacco created a veil across his eyes and his senses and he could not see for himself, nor were his ‘honourable’ bandoliers were honest enough to keep him informed about the people and about their ever-growing problems and the rising tide of disenchantment through deprivation, neglect and unkempt promises. All these led to the growing chasm between Mujib the people’s leader and Mujib the Prime Minister and then also so swiftly, the President of a one-party state, banishing freedom of speech and thereby, banishing hope. And hopeless people do not have tears left to cry for others, even for their great fallen hero! To be Sheikh Mujib alone was not enough, ‘I love my people and my people love me’ type simplistic belief was certainly not the solution the nation was then dying for A colossal black hole of utter disillusionment, hopelessness, and disgust had engulfed the nation.
In my view, the famine of 1974 despite sufficient stocks of food was the watershed, but the charge that ignited the explosion of mayhem and the public silence, was perhaps the huge , multi-layered, cream cake that was carried through the television coverage to celebrate Sheikh Mujib’s birthday. The ’cake’ travelled over the dead bodies and the dying ones in the realm to mark the birth of the ‘Bangabandhu’! All people do and can, suffer only so much pain, but they still had some respect for the dead and they did not take out a cake on the 15th of August 1975.
The writer is a former ambassador and secretary to the Bangladesh government
http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/28/edit.html#2
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/horror-and-grief-a-nation-besieged/
Rahnuma Ahmed reflects on the complicated story unfolding about the BDR rebellion in Bangladesh. Photos by DrikNews:
Is there more to it than meets the eye? In a crisis as grave as the one that faces the nation now, where does one seek answers to the truth? It is better to know some of the questions than all the answers. But what if some of the questions being raised are seen, especially by powerful sections, as blaming the victims of the tragedy? Do we have the resources, the intellectual capacity, the political will, and above all, the courage, to raise the right questions? Will these be tolerated, in moments of such deep grief, where passions rage high?
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/pathshala-updates/
Pathshala updates:
Alexia Awards: Source: David Sutherland
Saiful Huq Omi a finalist: Saiful Huq Omi, born in Bangladesh in 1980, graduated from Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography and became a photographer in 2005. He is represented by Polaris Images. His works have been published in Newsweek, Foto File USA, New Internationalist, Time Magazine, The Guardian, and Asian Photography and in the Arab News. He has lectured and presented his works at The London School of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Columbia University and in many other universities.
Khaled Hasan wins student award for excellence: Khaled Hasan, a student at Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography in Bangladesh, graduating in 2009. Khaled was a recipient of the National Geographic All Roads Award in 2008. Each Award of Excellence winner receives a $1600 scholarship that pays part of tuition, fees and living expenses to study photojournalism in London in the fall semester at Syracuse University in London and a $500 cash grant to help produce their proposed stories.
Wahid Adnan finalist in Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/pakistan-hope-amidst-the-chaos/
Salma Hasan Ali sees hope amidst the chaos in Pakistan:
No doubt there are tragic forces at play in the country trying to undermine the fabric of its politics, culture, society, and soul. Sometimes seemingly overwhelming forces. But there are also kernels of hope that remind us that all will not be lost to violence and a distorted mindset.
There are people like Edhi and thousands more working each day to feed, nurse, console, support and shelter. There are people like Suleman and hundreds of others fiercely loyal to Mortenson’s commitment -- and the commitment of so many NGOs around the country -- to educate Pakistan’s children. There are young women like Shakeela, smart, capable, determined, and feisty, who will ultimately change the country, if given the chance.
--
Shahidul Alam
http://shahidul.wordpress.com
www.majorityworld.com
www.drik.net
Bangladesh: Elections present risks and opportunities for human rights
Document - Bangladesh: Elections present risks and opportunities for human rights
23 December 2008 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA BRIEFING AI Index No ASA 13/011/2008
Parliamentary elections scheduled for 29 December offer a unique opportunity for improving Bangladesh’s battered human rights situation. As an immediate matter, the elections signal the end of a two-year period of state of emergency marked by severe restrictions on political rights such as free assembly and free expression. If conducted properly and free of violence, the elections could inaugurate a more responsive, accountable civilian government -- a development necessary for improving the lives of millions of Bangladeshis now living in grinding poverty and without access to proper housing, education, or health care.
Amnesty International welcomes the withdrawal of the state of emergency on 17 December 2008, and the restoration of rights that had been fully or partially curbed in Bangladesh during the past two years. Amnesty International calls on the major actors on Bangladesh’s political scene to do their part to respect and protect the right of all Bangladeshis to participate, without discrimination, in the conduct of public affairs. The Caretaker Government must ensure that people seeking to take part in peaceful election campaigning and in the elections themselves are protected against arbitrary arrests, intimidation and violence. Amnesty International urges all political parties to desist from violence and to commit themselves to the protection of human rights, including of minority groups, now and in future, whether in government or opposition.
Amnesty International has identified the following issues as particularly important to the proper conduct of the upcoming elections and the formation of a new government:
Intimidation and violence against voters
As the country moves away from emergency restrictions, both the Caretaker Government and the political parties have the responsibility to ensure that there is no recurrence of the political violence that characterized previous elections and preceded the declaration of state of emergency on 11 January 2007. From late October 2006 to early January 2007, in the run up to the postponed general elections, at least 35 people were killed and hundreds injured during clashes between rival political groups. The last general elections, which took place in October 2001, were marred by frequent clashes between members and supporters of opposing political parties, who used violent means including sticks, knives, firearms and crude bomb against each other during election campaigning. Thousands of people were left injured and more than 150 killed in these clashes during the three-month period of election campaigning before the polls. At least 10 of those killed were believed to have been hit by bullets fired by the police at the crowds.
The Caretaker Government has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that elections proceed properly and serve to register the genuine wishes of the Bangladeshi people. The Caretaker Government’s efforts should now be directed at upholding the newly restored freedoms during the coming elections. The Caretaker Government has mobilized nearly 50,000 troops to provide security and minimize partisan violence that has characterized past polling efforts in the country. Law enforcement personnel can play a major role in preventing threats, intimidation and attacks from non-state actors against voters. In the past, armed gangs acting at the instigation of local politicians have committed such abuses with impunity.
However, Bangladesh’s security forces, including police, the Rapid Action Battalion and army units deployed to maintain law and order have a poor track record on human rights. There are credible reports of harassment of human rights defenders, torture and other ill-treatment, and the use of unnecessary or excessive force and extrajudicial executions during law enforcement operations. For instance, between January 2007 and August 2008, more than 200 persons died in what police and RAB have portrayed as “crossfire” but are suspected to be extrajudicial executions. The government has not rigorously investigated these reports and no RAB or army personnel allegedly involved have ever been brought to justice. The government must ensure that law enforcement personnel are held accountable for any human rights violations they have committed.
Prior to January 2007, the major political parties have either instigated, supported or directly engaged in violence against their political opponents. The Hindu minority group has also been a target of electoral and communal violence. Student groups of the main political parties have been among the main perpetrators of political violence in Bangladesh. These groups include Bangladesh Chattra Dhal (BCD, affiliated to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party); Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL, affiliated to the Awami League); and Islami Chattra Shibir, (Shibir, affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami). Political parties have pledged, but failed, to disarm them. None of the political parties has condemned the violence carried out by their members. On the contrary, the leaders have shown tacit support for violent means, and have at times colluded with criminal gangs to attack their opponents. The political parties have the responsibility to ensure that their cadres and student wings participate peacefully in the electoral process and desist from violence before, during or after the elections.
Restrictions on freedom of assembly
Protecting the right to freedom assembly and association requires firm action from the Caretaker Government to inform and train law enforcement agencies to respect these rights. It also requires active support from political party leaders to ensure that their members respect the right all people, including their opponents, to hold rallies and to campaign for elections. The partial withdrawal, on 3 November 2008, of the ban on political rallies was a step in the right direction but it was not implemented until 12 December. With the lifting of the state of emergency on 17 December, the government should fully restore all rights that had been restricted under the emergency.
Restrictions on freedom of expression
The withdrawal of emergency restrictions on freedom of expression in November 2008 was long-awaited and welcome. Although the restrictions were not being enforced strictly, they nonetheless made it difficult for journalists and human rights defenders to carry out their legitimate work free from harassment, intimidation or abuse. They resulted in the arrest by security forces of at least three journalists and two human rights defenders including Tasneem Khalil and Jahangir Alam Akash in 2007, four of whom claimed to have been tortured while in custody.
Amnesty International recognizes that the situation appears to have improved significantly in 2008, with no one taken into custody for defending human rights.
Amnesty International welcomes the Right to Information Ordinance promulgated in October 2008. It will have a positive impact on freedom of expression when it comes into operation in early 2009 by giving citizens access to information held by public bodies. However, the ordinance explicitly excludes security agencies such as the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, Special Branch of Bangladesh Police and the Intelligence Cell of Rapid Action Battalion from disclosing information unless it relates to human rights violations and corruption.
Attacks against minorities
Fear of attacks against minorities, including Hindus, is a real concern given the electoral violence during and immediately after the parliamentary elections of October 2001. Sporadic attacks against minorities had frequently occurred during parliamentary elections in Bangladesh but the violence took an unprecedented turn during the last elections in 2001. Crowds of assailants, whom journalists and survivors described as members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition, which won the elections, drove hundreds of Hindu families off their land, and in some cases burnt their homes, apparently on grounds of the Hindus’ perceived support for the opposition Awami League party. Bnagladeshi newspapers reported that dozens of Hindu women had been raped and at least one Hindu man was hacked to death. Government action – from late 2001 onwards – to contain the violence prevented the recurrence of mass scale attacks but no one was brought to justice for the attacks. There are legitimate fears within the human rights community and members of the Hindu minority that similar attacks against Hindus could occur during the forthcoming elections.
Another alarming development since late 2003 has been the rise in attack and hate speech against members of the Ahmadiyya community. The attacks have largely been instigated by Khatm-e Nabuwat, an Islamic group demanding that the government declares the Ahmadiyya sect non-Muslim. Instances of such attacks include the killing of an Ahmadi imam, “excommunication” by laying siege to Ahmadi houses and not letting inhabitants out of their homes, the beating of dozens of Ahmadis, and the marching of crowds attempting to occupy Ahmadiyya places of worship and drive the Ahmadis out. Although the previous government and the present Caretaker Government have prevented agitators from entering Ahmadi places of worship or large-scale abuses against their members, there is a high risk of their exposure to such attacks during the unpredictable times of elections.
Other minorities also need protection. For instance, frequent clashes between Bengali settlers and indigenous communities over the settlers’ push to acquire indigenous land in the Chittagong Hill Tracts make the area especially vulnerable to eruption of violence during elections. Indigenous people say army units deployed in the area do not stop settlers from confiscating their land or from attacking them. Indigenous voters need assurance that they can cast their vote freely without fear of attacks or harassment during or after elections. Army units deployed in the area have a responsibility to ensure their safety and security at all times.
Commitment to improving Bangladesh’s human rights situation
Political parties must show a more robust commitment to human rights, and refrain from supporting any laws or activity that have been or will be abusing human rights. Upholding freedoms requires support and cooperation from political parties. Although the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have stated publically that they will uphold human rights, they have not provided a clear explanation of how they will make this happen. Their past poor record on human rights lends little credence to their promises in the absence of concrete plans for implementation.
The Awami League has not provided a concrete plan about how it will follow through on its promise of ensuring the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, ending extrajudicial executions and establishing the rule of law. Their promise to strengthen the Human Rights Commission and increase its effectiveness lacks credibility as they promised, but failed, to establish a human rights commission during their last tenure of office (1996-2001).
The BNP’s promise that if voted to power, they will implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is vague and is not backed up by any plan of implementation. It is also in sharp contrast to their responsibility as the government of the day in launching the military operation “Clean Heart” (16 October 2002 to 9 January 2003). Troops deployed during that operation to maintain law and order were involved in extrajudicial executions of some 40 people, but received immunity from prosecution by the then BNP-led government. The BNP-led government set up RAB and failed to investigate the serious allegations of killings and other human rights violations by them.
Statements by Jamaat-e-Islami and Jatiya Party (Ershad) that they will introduce blasphemy laws are of serious concern. In Amnesty International’s experience such laws have been used in other countries to suppress freedom of expression and to persecute religious minorities, including in particular members of the Ahmadiyya community.
Specifically, Amnesty International urges the Caretaker Government to:
• ensure full freedom of expression and information to debate public affairs, to criticize and oppose, to publish political material and to advertise political ideas;
• continue to uphold the current trend not to arrest any journalists, human rights defenders or political activists exposing human rights violations or peacefully expressing their views;
• react efficiently and promptly to any instances of political violence by deploying adequate numbers of law enforcement personnel at the trouble spots;
• ensure that law enforcement personnel including police, Rapid Action Battalion and army units deployed to protect people against political violence do so in accordance with international human rights standards, including the UN guidelines against the use of excessive use of force,;
• ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations by the civilian justice system of alleged human rights violations by military personnel and the RAB, including arbitrary arrest, torture, other ill-treatment, and deaths in custody, or use of unnecessary or excessive force with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.
• ensure that minority communities, including Hindus and Ahmadis are protected against possible attacks during and after the forthcoming elections; send clear instructions to the army units in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to ensure that indigenous people in the area are protected against attacks from Bengali settlers during or after elections.
Amnesty International urges all parliamentary candidates and political parties to:
• publically pledge to promote and respect the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association during and after the elections, including by their opponents and minority groups to hold and express different opinions, organize rallies and campaign for elections, without being attacked violently;
• publically pledge to take effective steps to strengthen human rights in full conformity with international human rights standards, including by endorsing the measures taken by the Caretaker Government to establish the National Human Rights Commission, freedom of information, independence of the judiciary and tackle corruption;
• refrain from inciting, supporting or participating in political violence and make a clear and public call to all party members and supporters to respect human rights and the rule of law;
• support independent and impartial human rights monitoring (during and after the election campaign).
http://bangla.amnesty.org/en/document-bangladesh-elections-present-risks-and-opportunities-for-human-rights
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article10375. shtml
THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
A public stoning in Germany
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, 6 March 2009
Hermann Dierkes is a respected politician with an honorable record of campaigning for social and political justice in the German Rhineland city of Duisburg. He represented his party Die Linke (The Left Party) on Duisburg City Council, campaigning tirelessly on anti-racist and anti-fascist issues. Most recently, he was his party's candidate for the post of Lord Mayor.
On 18 February 2009 Dierkes addressed a public meeting on the question of Palestine. To the question of how to take action against the injustice being suffered by Palestinians, he responded that the recent World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil had proposed an arms embargo, sanctions and the boycott of Israeli exports. He added: "We should no longer accept that in the name of the Holocaust and with the support of the government of the Federal Republic [of Germany] such grave violations of human rights can be perpetrated and tolerated ... Everyone can help strengthen pressure for a different politics, for example by boycotting Israeli products."
A few days later, Dierkes gave an interview to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), a conservative paper based in the nearby city of Essen. He explained the demands of the World Social Forum, and requested that the published interview should stress that this had nothing to do with anti-Semitism -- a qualification that invariably needs to be made in Germany, except when there is suspicion of Islamophobia. Predictably, his precautions were in vain; scenting a political coup, the reporter published his article without including the qualification.
All hell broke loose. In the 25 February edition of Bild -- Germany's best-selling and most obnoxious daily paper -- Dieter Graumann, Vice-President of the Central Jewish Council, accused him of "pure anti-Semitism. " WAZ editorialist Achim Beer decried Dierke's "careless Nazi utterances," comparing his words to "a mass execution at the edge of a Ukrainian forest." Hendrik Wuest, General Secretary of the CDU (the Christian Democratic Party), warned that "the Nazi propaganda" emanating from Die Linke is "intolerable. " Michael Groschek -- General Secretary of the local branch of the Social Democratic Party, which shares power nationally with the CDU -- played electoral politics with the claim that "[a]nyone playing electoral politics with such anti-Israeli utterances sets himself outside the rules of the democratic game."
Worse still, Dierke's own party failed to stand by him unambiguously. Press spokesperson Alrun Nuesslein opined that if Israel is criticized because "the population in the Gaza Strip is collectively punished by the ... closure of border crossings, it is equally impossible for us to punish the Israeli population" by means of a boycott of Israeli goods, particularly "in the context of German history," a mantra with which Germans routinely absolve themselves of their historic responsibility towards the Palestinians.
Other voices within the party took a more strident tone. Petra Pau, Vice President of the Bundestag (German Parliament), said Dierke's words "awake unspeakable associations and employ dubious cliches." Left Party politicians in Dierke's own area condemned his "anti-Jewish endeavors" (Guenter Will) and "anti-Semitic utterances" (Anna Lena Orlowski).
Events took their predestined course, and on 26 February Dierkes resigned his position within Die Linke and withdrew his mayoral candidacy. In an open letter to his party colleagues, pointing out that he had been the victim of "a public stoning" and of a campaign that was "a terrible mixture of the gravest insults and defamation, Islamophobic hatred, hatred of immigrants, and murder threats," he maintained that "[t]he victims of the Shoah and the heroes of the Warsaw Jewish rising would turn away with horror [could they see] with what malice and toward what ends they are being instrumentalized in order to justify ... the undemocratic and murderous politics of the Israeli government."
A quick perusal of the German blogosphere throws up countless repetitions of the phrase "kauft nicht beim Juden!" -- "don't buy from the Jew!" -- a slogan from the Nazi era that no longer serves to defame Jews but rather those who seek justice for the Palestinians. However, Jews aren't entirely immune from this weapon: in the respected weekly Die Zeit (15 January 2009) a certain Thomas Assheuer turned it against the Canadian Jewish author Naomi Klein after the British Guardian published her call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Given that Klein had carefully specified that BDS should be aimed at Israeli institutions and not individuals, this piece of defamation was particularly crass.
It appears that freedom of speech, supposedly one of the proudest acquisitions of post-Fascist Germany, is readily suppressed when exercised to advocate positive action against the racist, politicidal institutions and actions of the Zionist state. Indeed so brutal and venomous was the response to Hermann Dierke's remarks, and so instantaneous and unanimous the recourse, however ironic, to Nazi sloganeering, that it is difficult not to be reminded of the rhetoric promulgated by Julius Streicher's vile paper Der Stuermer between 1923 and 1945 and not to feel that the same atavistic sources that once disgorged Jew-hatred are now being tapped in this virulent and unceasing campaign against the advocacy of Palestinian rights. The Palestinians, after all, stand in the way of the establishment of a racial Jewish state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan river, an eventuality that the German establishment deludedly sees as somehow shriving its own past crimes.
It has to be said that ordinary German people are, by and large, as unimpressed by philosemitic hysteria as they are by anti-Semitism. It remains to be seen how those people who have repeatedly voted for Hermann Dierkes because they see him as an honest and reliable politician -- something as rare in Germany as elsewhere -- will react to being robbed of their representative by such a campaign of hatred and defamation on behalf of a quasi-fascist state.
Finally, it will be interesting to see if this debacle induces Die Linke to reconsider whether it is more appropriate to adopt a principled position on Israel than to continue playing to the gallery of rightist pressure-groups that have taken upon themselves the task of perpetuating unconditional German support for Israel. It is hard to feel optimistic about this.
Raymond Deane is an Irish composer and activist (www.raymonddeane. com).
Let the people do what they want, you get Woodstock. Let the government do what it wants, you get WACO!....Mary.
March 6, 2009
US Military Dominance
in Mideast
Proven a Costly Myth
by Gareth Porter
The arguments for maintaining a major U.S. combat force in Iraq at least through 2011, escalating U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and assuming a confrontational stance toward Iran appear to assume that the United States remains the dominant military power in the region.
But the pattern of recent history and current developments in the region has not supported that assumption. Not only has the United States been unable to prevail over stubborn nationalist and sectarian forces determined to resist U.S. influence, but it has not been able to use its military supremacy to wage successful coercive diplomacy against Iran.
Furthermore, even the ability of the United States to maintain troops in Iraq and Afghanistan turns out to be dependent on regimes which are by no means aligned with the United States.
Six years ago, after the United States had removed the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the U.S. appeared to be militarily dominant in the region. Apart from its nearly 200,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States had surrounded Iran with a network of airbases scattered across the region from the Persian Gulf sheikdoms through Iraq and Afghanistan to the Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, along with aircraft on U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.
Since 2003, however, events in the region have dealt a series of blows to the assumption that the U.S. military presence in general and ground forces in particular confer real power in the region. The first blow was the U.S. failure to subdue the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. By mid-2005, U.S. commanders in Iraq were admitting publicly that the U.S. military occupation was generating more resistance than it was eliminating.
The next blow was the Sunni-Shi'a civil war in Baghdad in 2006, which U.S. troops were unable to prevent or stop, even after the Bush "surge" of additional troops. The "cleansing" of Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad by Shi'a militias with the tacit support of the government ended only after a large swath of Sunni neighborhoods in the capital had been taken over. That fact contradicts the later boast by Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that "coalition forces" had "broken the cycle of sectarian violence in Iraq."
The decision by Sunni insurgents to cooperate with the U.S. military in 2006 and 2007 was not the result of U.S. military prowess but of their defeat at the hands of Shi'a militias and the realization that the Sunnis could not oppose three enemies (the U.S., the Shi'a militias and al Qaeda) simultaneously.
It also enabled the Shi'a government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, which had close ties to Iran, to consolidate its power and to achieve a crucial degree of independence from the United States.
The George W. Bush administration and the U.S. military command continued to assume that it would be able to keep its Iraqi bases indefinitely. In mid-2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates invoked the Korean model – a decades-long garrisoning of tens of thousands of U.S. troops – as the plan for Iraq.
But in July 2008, the al-Maliki government began demanding that all U.S. troops leave the country by the end of 2010. After initially refusing to believe that the troop withdrawal demand was serious, the Bush administration was forced eventually to agree to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.
The evolution of Iraqi politics belies the popular narrative that Gen. David Petraeus miraculously rescued the U.S. war from a bad strategy and ultimately prevailed over U.S. "enemies," including Iran.
In its conflict with Iran over its nuclear program, the Bush administration tried to intimidate Tehran by seizing Iranians in Iraq and wielding indirectly the threat of attack against its nuclear facilities. But coercive diplomacy did not work, largely because Iran could credibly threaten to respond to a U.S. or Israeli attack with unconventional attacks against U.S. bases and troops – and possibly even warships – in the Persian Gulf region.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, where the United States had appeared to be in control from 2001 to 2005, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have grown rapidly since then and become the de facto government in large parts of the Pashtun region of the country. The U.S. military presence has been unable to slow the rise of the insurgents in those rural areas.
The most recent blow to the image of U.S. military dominance in the region has been the revelation that the United States lacks a reliable access route for supply of its troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has long relied on the route through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan to transport about 80 percent of all supplies for Afghanistan.
But in 2008, allies of the Taliban began disrupting the U.S. logistics route through the Khyber Pass so effectively that it could not longer be counted on to supply U.S. forces. That meant that United States had to find another access route for supplying its troops in Afghanistan.
David Petraeus, the new CENTCOM commander, traveled to Central Asia to secure promises of a new route into Afghanistan from Russian ports overland to Kazakhstan and then through Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan.
But this alternative scheme would rely on Russian cooperation, giving a rival for power in Central and Southwest Asia a veto power over U.S. military presence in the region. The Kyrgyz president announced during a trip to Moscow in early February that he was ending the agreement on U.S. use of the air base at Manas. That was a signal that Russia would cooperate with the U.S. military only insofar as it was consistent with Russian dominance in Central Asia.
Relying on Uzbekistan for transit of NATO supplies for Afghanistan was another highly tenuous feature of the Petraeus plan. The Karimov regime, notorious for its abuse of human rights, faces an Islamist insurgency that could well disrupt supply routes through the country.
A much shorter and far more secure route into Afghanistan would be from the Iranian port of Chabahar through the Western Afghan city of Herat to the Ring Highway which serves all major Afghan cities. NATO's top commander in Afghanistan said on Feb. 3 that NATO would "not oppose" bilateral deals with Iran for supplying troops through that country.
Significantly, the Pentagon has made contingency plans for the use of the Iranian route, according to one well-informed former U.S. official. That suggests that the Russian-Central Asian route was regarded as far from certain.
On the other hand, the U.S. military is not likely to regard reliance on its regional rival for power in the Middle East as a solid basis for its military presence in Afghanistan.
Obama administration officials are still talking about Middle East policy as though the U.S. military presence has conferred decisive influence over developments in the region. However, the events of the past six years have shown that to be a costly myth. They have underlined a truth that few in Washington find palatable: geography and local sociopolitical dynamics have trumped U.S. military power – and are very likely continue to do so in the future.
Let the people do what they want, you get Woodstock. Let the government do what it wants, you get WACO!....Mary.
Zionist Militants Surround America’s New President
Free traders working to delete ‘America-first’ provisions from latest spending package
http://www.american freepress. net/html/ zionist_militant s_167.html
PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATEs and abroad are hoping that President Obama will end America’s illegal wars, halt America’s support for Israel’s massacre of Lebanese and Palestinians, and punish, instead of reward, the shyster banksters whose fraudulent financial instruments have destroyed economies and imposed massive sufferings on people all over the world. If Obama’s appointments are an indication, all of these hopeful people are going to be disappointed.
James Petras examines Obama’s foreign policy appointments and finds the largest collection of Zionist militarists outside of Israel.
Petras concludes that Obama’s “diplomatic” team has Iran in its sights, and hostility that meshes with Israel’s own intent. Not realizing that a member of the press had been mistakenly invited to a selected audience, the Israeli ambassador to Australia said that Israel’s attack on Gaza was a dress rehearsal for a major attack on Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu, the expected winner of Israel’s March elections, has again declared that Israel will not permit Iran to have a nuclear energy program as it would provide the basis for developing nuclear weapons.
It makes no sense for Israel to baldly state its intention to attack Iran if Israel does not mean it. What if the Iranians believe the Israelis and decide to strike first with their long-range missiles?
Obama’s economic appointments are just as discouraging. Obama chose as his treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, the man who helped Bush’s treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, engineer the $700 billion dollar rip-off of the U.S. taxpayer, money that was gifted to the crooked banksters who destroyed Americans’ pensions, jobs and health care coverage.
These banksters, and the negligent federal regulators who enabled them, should be put in prison, not handed hundreds of billions of dollars.
Instead, Obama has appointed one of the chief orchestrators of the rip-off to the helm of the Treasury. Obama’s National Economic Council is just as depressing. Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, is its head. Summers recently declared that he had no inkling that a financial crisis was about to hit. Why did Obama put a person without a clue in charge?
Summers’s colleagues are just as bad. Obama has appointed Diana Farrell, lead author of a phony study that claimed offshoring of American jobs is a win-win game for Americans, as deputy director of the National Economic Council. Farrell is affiliated with McKinsey & Company, a firm that helps American corporations offshore their operations.
In his book, Outsourcing America, economist Ron Hira tore Farrell’s McKinsey report to shreds. Why not appoint Ron Hira and Nouriel Roubina, who predicted the crisis, to the National Economic Council?
With Israel’s most fervent American allies whispering in one ear and banksters and offshoring propagandists whispering in the other, how can President Obama fulfill any of the hopes that people have?
The discouraging fact is that even when faced with crisis in the economy and in foreign policy, the American political system is incapable of producing any leadership. Here we are in the worst economic crisis in a lifetime, perhaps in our history, and on the brink of war in Pakistan and Iran while escalating the war in Afghanistan, and all we get is a government made up of the very people who have brought us to these crises.
Just as the Bushites could not admit the failure of their man, the Obamacons will not be able to admit the failure of their man.
The era of American leadership has passed. America’s shyster financial system has brought economic crisis to the world. America’s wars of aggression are seen as serving no purpose except the enrichment of the military industries associated with Dick Cheney. The world is looking elsewhere for leadership.
Vladimir Putin made a play for this role at Davos, where his speech at the opening ceremony was the most intelligent speech of the event.
Putin reminded the World Economic Forum that “just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the U.S. economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist. In just 12 months, they have posted losses exceeding the profits they made in the last 25 years.”
Putin made his case that the existing financial system based on the U.S. dollar and American financial hegemony has failed. Putin said that a secure world requires cooperation that requires trust. He made it clear that the Americans have proven that they cannot be trusted.
Nationally syndicated columnist, Paul Craig Roberts, Ph.D., a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, is the author of several books. He has been associated with the Hoover Institution, and the Institute for Political Economy and from 1981 to 1982 served as assistant secretary of the treasury for economic policy.
Declassified US documents on Bangladesh coups in 1975
We do not know what message the US Embassy in Dhaka had sent to the State Department after the Pilkhana massacre. We will have to wait for another 30 years to get full text of the official message from the US Embassy.
However, I can share with you the message the US Embassy in Dhaka had sent after the August 1975 coup. This declassified document confirms Sheikh Mujib was warned by the US about the coup but he simply brushed the information aside.
The Embassy also provided early analysis of the August 15 coup against President Mujibur Rahman. It tentatively predicted that the United States would enjoy greater influence under the government of new president Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed.
The Embassy had also provided a narrative account and analysis of the military unrest and resulting coup of November 3–7, 1975.
http://bdfact.blogspot.com/2009/03/declassified-us-documents-on-bangladesh.html
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Telegram 5470 From the Embassy in Bangladesh to the Department of State, November 10, 1975, 1010Z
1. IT MAY BE USEFUL TO OFFER A CAPSULE SUMMARY OF THE CHAOTIC EVENTS OF LAST WEEK IN BANGLADESH WHICH SAW THREE DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS, MUCH KILLING, AND THE AVOIDANCE OF CIVIL WAR, WITH ATTENDANT POSSIBILITY OF INDIAN INTER-VENTION, BY THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS. THIS ACCOUNT IS SECRET. THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN BRIGADIER MOSHARRAF, CHIE FOF THE ARMY GENERAL STAFF, WHO HAD BEEN EMBITTERED BY HIS FAILURE TO SHARE IN THE PROMOTIONS RECEIVED BY SOME OFHIS COLLEAGUES AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MUJIB BY THE MAJORS ON AUGUST 15 AND WHO WAS ALSO BELIEVED TO BE ON A LIST OF ARMY OFFICERS TO BE INVESTIGATED WHICH HAD RECENTLY BEEN DRAWN UP BY THE MAJORS, BEGAN IN THE EARLYHOURS OF MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 3.
WE DO NOT KNOW POSITIVELY WHETHER MOSHARAFF WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE CONFRONTATION, AS MANY CONTEND, OR WHETHER, AS ONE GOOD SOURCE HAS TOLD TOLD US, HE SIMPLY WENT ALONG WITH SUBORDINATES WHO WERE DETERMINED TO END THE SPECIAL ROLE OF THE MAJORS IN THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT, A ROLE WHICH HAD RESULTED, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IN THE HARRASSMENT OF SOME OF THE MILITARY OFFICERS. THIS SOURCE ALSO HELD THAT ONE OF MOSHARRAF'S OBJECTIVES--ALTHOUGH HE WAS UNDOUBTEDLY MINDFULOF THE PERSONAL GLORY THAT MIGHT AWAIT HIM--WAS TO TAKE CONTROL OF HIS SUBORDINATES' PLANS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO AVOID MAJOR BLOODSHED.
3. MOSHARRAF AND HIS ALLIES QUICKLY TOOK CONTROL EARLY MONDAY MORNING OF THE ARMY CANTONMENT AS WELL AS MOST OF THE CITY OF DACCA AND PRESSED THEIR CONFRONTATION WITH THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT BY FLYING A MIG FIGHTER AND ARMED HELICOPTER OVER THE CITY IN A SHOW OF STRENGTH WHICH WAS ALSO INTENDED TO INTIMIDATE THE TANK CREWS LOYAL TO THE GOVERNMENT. AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, MOSHARRAF LEVIED FOUR DEMANDS ON MOSHTAQUE:
1) THAT MOSHARRAF REPLACE MAJOR GENERAL ZIAUR RAHMAN, HIS PERSONAL RIVAL, AS CHIEFOF STAFF; 2) THAT THE MAJORS BE RETURNED TO REGULAR ARMY DISCIPLINE; 3) THAT THE TANK FROCES LOYAL TO THE GOVERNMENT BE DISARMED; AND 4) THAT MOSHTAQUE REMAIN IN OFFICE.
OUTGUNNED AND APPARENTLY INTEND ABOVE ALL ON AVOIDING BLOODSHED, WHICH WOULD ALSO HAVE INVITED INDIAN INTERVENTION, MOSHTAQUE EVENTUALLY YIELDED AFTER NEGOTIATING DURING THE COURSE OF A LONG DAY A COMPROMISE WITH MOSHARRAF BY WHICH THE MAJORS AND SOME OF THEIR COLLEAGUES, TO WHOM MOSHTAQUE WAS INDEBTED FOR HIS PRESIDENCY, WERE PERMITTED
SECRET
SECRET PAGE 03 DACCA 05470 01 OF 02 101306Z
TO DEPART BANGLADESH.
BEFORE THIS COMPROMISE HAD BEEN REACHED, THE MOSHTAQUE GOVERNMENT HAD CALLED ON THE ARMY FORCES AT COMILLA TO COME TO ITS AID BUT HAD BEEN REFUSED ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE COMILLA COMMANDER WOULD ONLY RESPONDTO THE ORDERS OF THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF (WHO WAS THEN UNDER ARREST)OR THE CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF (I.E., MOSHARRAF).
4. THE CONFRONTATION BROUGHT ANOTHER BLOODY RESULT WHICH,WE HAVE GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE, HAD BEEN PART OF AN EARLIER CONTINGENCY PLAN TO BE CARRIED OUT IN THE EVENT THAT MOSHTAQUE WERE TO BE KILLED, I.E., THE MURDER OF HIS FORMER COLLEAGUES IN THE AWAMI PARTY LEADERSHIP WHO WERE NOW HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES--FORMER PRIME MINISTER MANSOOR ALI,FORMER VICE PRESIDENT SYED NAZRUL ISLAM, FORMER PRIMEMINISTER, FINANCE MINISTER AND INDIOPHILE TAJUDDIN AHMED, AND FORMER INDUSTRIES MINISTER KAMARUZZAMAN. THESE LEADERS WERE KILLED, EVIDENTLY AT THE ORDER OF ONE OR MORE OF THE MAJORS, EARLY MONDAY MORNING AT DACCA JAIL. THE EVENT ADDED A NOTE OF MYSTERY TO MOSHARRAF'S ACQUIESCENCE LATER IN THE DAY TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAJORS, ONE VERSION HAVING IT THAT MOSHARRAF DID NOT YET KNOW OF THE DEED WHEN THE PLANE LEFT DACCA AT MIDNIGHT MONDAY.MANY OBSERVERS ALSO NOTED THAT ONE EFFECT OF THE MURDERS WAS TO REMOVE THE LOGICAL LEADERSHIP OF ANY PRO-INDIAN GOVERNMENT.
5. WITH THE EXPLOSIVE SITUATION DEFUSED TO A DEGREE BY THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAJORS, NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN MOSHTAQUE AND MOSHARRAF CONTINUED ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, RESULTING IN MOSHARRAF'S DESIGNATION AS CHIEF OF STAFF LATE TUESDAY NIGHT, AND EVENTUALLY IN MOSHTAQUE'S RESIGNATION EARLYTHURSDAY MORNING WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENT THATA NON-POLITICAL FIGURE, CHIEF JUSTICE A.S.M. SAYEM, WOULDBE APPOINTED PRESIDENT. SAYEM WAS SWORN IN ON THURSDAY AND PROMPTLY DISSOLVED THE PARLIAMENT. REPORTS, WHICH WE ACCEPT, WERE RIFE THAT THE CABINET HAD ALREADY RESIGNED IN PROTEST AGAINST THE MURDER OF THE FORMER GOVERNMENT LEADERS.
6. BUT IT NOW BECAME CLEAR THAT MOSHARRAF'S ASSUMPTION OF POWER IN THE ARMY WAS UNPALATABLE TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW SECRET
SECRET PAGE 04 DACCA 05470 01 OF 02 101306Z
OFFICERS AND ENLISTED RANKS, BOTH BECAUSE GENERAL ZIA EVIDENTLY HELD A MUCH WIDER POPULAR FOLLOWING AMONG THE MBUT ALSO, AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, BECAUSE MOSHARRAF WAS WIDELY SEEN, WHETHER ACCURATELY OR NOT, AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INDIAN POLICY. THIS PERCEPTION WAS BUTTRESSED BY THE PRO-MUJIB PROCESSION ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY'S HARTAL TO PROTEST THE KILLINGS AT DACCA JAIL. THE LOWER RANKS REVOLTED IN THE EARLY HOURS OF FRIDAY MORNING, QUICKLY OVERTHROWING THE MOSHARRAF FORCES AND, ACCORDING TO VIRTUALLY ALL ACCOUNTS, KILLING MOSHARRAF. EXTENSIVE FIRING WENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY ALL NIGHT AND ALL DURING THE DAY FRIDAY, MOST OF IT CELEBRATORY AFTER MOSHARRAF WAS OUESTED. ONE AUTHORITIATIVE SOURCE HAS TOLD US THAT ONLY ABOUT THIRTY WERE KILLED IN THE OVERTHROW; OTHER REPORTS HAVE REACHED US WHICH PUT THE FIGURE IN THE HUNDREDS.
7. THE SUCCESSFUL REVOLT OF THE LOWER RANKS NOW BROUGHT ANEW PROBLEM, THE RAMPANT INDISCIPLINE OF THE ENLISTED MEN,MANY OF WHOM NOW TURNED ON OFFICERS AGAINST WHOM THEY MIGH THAVE GRUDGES AND OTHERS BEGAN PRESENTING DEMANDS ON THE ARMY LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER DEAL IN THEIR FUTURE TREATMENT.WIDESPREAD REPORTS WERE CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND THAT LARGE NUMBERS OF MILITARY OFFICERS HAD FLED OR WERE ATLEAST STAYING AWAY FROM THE CANTONMENT OUT OF FEAR OF THE RAMPAGING SEPOYS, AND SEVERAL REPORTS REACHED US OF THE MURDER OF MILITARY OFFICERS AND OF THEIR WIVES.
8. MEANWHILE THE POST-MOSHARRAF GOVERNMENT TOOK SHAPE IN A MEETING EARLY FRIDAY MORNING BETWEEN GENERAL ZIA,MOSHTAQUE AND PRESUMABLY OTHER PRINCIPAL AIDES. MOSHTAQUE WAS OFFERED THE PRESIDENCY A NEW BUT DECLINED ON THE GROUND THAT, IN THE STILL EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, THE COUNTRY REQUIRED A NON-POLITICAL, NON-CONTROVERSIAL PRESIDENT.CONSEQUENTLY THE DECISION WAS REACHED TO KEEP JUSTICE SAYEM IN THE PRESIDENCY AND TO TURN OVER TO HIM AS WELL THE FUNCTIONS OF CHIEF OF THE MARTIAL LAW ADMINISTRATION,
SECRET PAGE 02 DACCA 05470 02 OF 02 101246
A ROLE WHICH HAD BEEN FILLED BRIEFLY BY GENERAL ZIA. WEWERE POINTEDLY ASSURED THAT THESE ARRANGEMENTS ENJOYED FULL SUPPORT BOTH WITHIN THE MILITARY AND WITHIN THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP SO THAT THE WAY WAS NOW CLEAR FOR THERESTORATION OF STABILITY IN THE COUNTRY.
9. AS OF MONDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 10, THE SITUATION HAD RETURNED TO AN APPARENT NORMALCY, WITH INTERNATIONAL AIR SERVICE RESUMED ON SUNDAY, BUT THE GENERAL UNEASINESS WAS STILL BEING FED BY REPORTS OF CONTINUED KILLINGS AMONG THE MILITARY AND OF POSSIBLE INDIAN ACTIONS ALONG THE BORDER.THE PROSPECT WAS FOR, AT BEST, A CONTINUED STATE OF TENSION AND UNCERTIANTY.
10. COMMENT. THREE CONCLUSIONS IMPLICIT IN THE ABOVE ACCOUNT SHOULD BE UNDERLINE. THE FIRST IS THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS IN THE COUP AND COUNTER-COUP APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN NON-POLITICAL, EXCEPT IN THE SENSE THAT MOSHARRAF HAD THE ADDITIONAL DISADVANTAGE OF APPEARING TO BE PRO-INDIAN. THE ARMY FORCES WHICH OVERTHREW MOSHTAQUE AND THE MAJORS APPEAR TO HAVE ACTED PRIMARILY OUT OF A SENSE OF GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE MAJORS. THE COUNTER-COUP WAS THE WORK OF LOWER RANKS WHO FAR PREFERRED ZIA TO MOSHARRAF AND WHO WERE ALSO CONCERNED WHRE MOSHARRAF'S LOYALTYMIGHT LIE. WE HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THE REGIMES OF THE PAST WEEK WERE ANTI-AMERICAN, PRO-INDIAN, OR PRO-SOVIET IN CHARACTER.
11. THE SECOND IS THAT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT INDIA WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THE WEEK'S ACTIONS.
12. THE THIRD IS THE CONFIRMATION OF HOW STRONGLY AND PERVASIVELY ANTI-INDIA ANTIPATHIES ARE FELT HERE-FROM THE TOP OF THE LEADERSHIP TO THE LOWEST GROUPS OF THE SOCIETY. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT MOSHARRAF WAS PRO-INDIAN, AND SOME THAT HE WAS NOT, HE WAS WIDELY IDENTIFIED AS SUCH AND THE WILD CELEBRATIONS HERE OF HIS OVERTHROW CARRIED DISTINCTLY ANTI-INDIAN OVERTONES.
BOSTER
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97075.htm
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Minutes of the Secretary of State's Regional Staff Meeting, Washington, August 15, 1975, 8 a.m.
The Secretary’s 8:00 a.m. Staff Meeting
Friday, August 15, 1975
Participants:
THE SECRETARY OF STATE - HENRY A. KISSINGER
P Mr. Sisco
E Mr. Robinson
T Mr. Maw
AF Ambassador Mulcahy, Acting
ARA Mr. Rogers
EA Mr. Zurhellen, Acting
EUR Mr. Armitage, Acting
NEA Mr. Atherton
INR Mr. Hyland
S-P Mr. Lord
EB Mr. Enders
S/PRS Mr. Funseth, Acting
PM Mr. Vest
PM Ambassador Buffum
H Ambassador McCloskey
L Mr. Leigh
S/S Mr. Borg, Acting
S Mr. Bremer
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Let's talk about Bangladesh.
MR. ATHERTON: Well, it was a remarkably well-planned and executed coup for Bangladesh.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: What does that mean? Is Mujibur alive or dead?
MR. ATHERTON: Mujibur is dead; his immediate clique, which was largely family, nephews, brothers.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I get good advice from INR.
MR. HYLAND: He wasn't dead when I talked to you.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Really? Did they kill him after some period?
MR. ATHERTON: As far as we know -- I can't say we have got all the details. But the indications are that the plan was to kill him. And they simply surrounded his palace and went in and killed him. That is as far as we know now.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him that last year?
MR. ATHERTON: In March we had lots of indications --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him about it?
MR. ATHERTON: We told him at the time.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Didn't we tell him who it was going to be, roughly?
MR. ATHERTON: I will have to check whether we gave him the names.
MR. HYLAND: We were a little imprecise on that.
MR. ATHERTON: He brushed it off, scoffed at it, said nobody would do a thing like that to him.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: He was one of the world's prize fools.
MR. ATHERTON: But it seems that the coup leaders are in complete control.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Who are they?
MR. ATHERTON: They are military officers, middle and senior officers, who are generally considered less pro-Indian than the past leadership; pro-U.S., anti-Soviet.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Absolutely inevitable.
MR. ATHERTON: Islamic. They have changed the name to the Islamic Republic --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: That they would be pro-U.S. was not inevitable. In fact, I would have thought at some turn of the wheel they were going to become pro-Chinese, and anti-Indian I firmly expected. I always knew India would rue the day that they made Bangladesh independent. I predicted that since '71.
MR. ATHERTON: I think our biggest problem is going to be to avoid too close an embrace.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Why -- because they are friendly to us?
MR. ATHERTON: I think they are going to want us to come in with promises.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: The principle being we only embrace on the sub-continent those who oppose us. What is the principle?
MR. ATHERTON: I think our principle ought to be we are giving about all the aid we can really give or Bangladesh can really absorb.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Before we implement it, let's check that. I know we can't do a huge increase in aid. But I think if people who think they are pro-U.S. come to us and then get a technical lecture that unfortunately we can't do any more -- there must be some maneuvering we can do on food aid and some token increase in aid.
MR. ENDERS: We can do a little more on food aid.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I would like them to get it, if they are indeed what you say they are, which I don't know.
MR. ATHERTON: These are all the initial indications.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Then they ought to get a friendly reception.
MR. ATHERTON: I think the immediate question is how we comport ourselves with the new government. It seems to me despite what the memo says which we sent you, which I didn't have time to go over carefully this morning -- I think we ought to simply respond to any overtures.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: What did the memo say?
MR. ATHERTON: It says we ought to hold off on a decision on recognition. But I don't think that needs to be posed as that sharp a question.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: We ought to recognize.
MR. ATHERTON: I don't know what recognizing means in this case. I think we simply --
MR. SISCO: Just continue. That memo said also we have to check all this with the Indians, as if to give the Indians a veto. I certainly don't agree with that.
MR. ATHERTON: I think it would be useful --
SECRETARY KISSINGER: We certainly shouldn't go to the Indians.
MR. ATHERTON: I think there might be some merit in an exchange of views with them.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: After we have done it. We will not even discuss establishing contact with the new government with the Indians. After contact is established, we would be interested to hear their views, as long as they clearly understand that they cannot tell us what to do, and as long as they cannot go to the Bangladesh and tell them -- and then ask Bangladesh for their views, so that they can be transmitted to us.
MR. ATHERTON: I fully agree.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: Which is what India would dearly love to do.
You better let me see any approaches.
MR. ATHERTON: I think we have to prepare a telegram today, and we will clear it with you, on what we say to the Indians. And the Pakistanis are important. There will be some move towards Pakistan.
SECRETARY KISSINGER: I also want to see you for a few minutes on a sober instruction to Bhutto, and some of his ideas on commitments. Okay.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97038.htm
------------------------------------------------------
Telegram 3964 From the Embassy in Bangladesh to the Department of State, August 16, 1975, 1135Z
FM AMEMBASSY DACCA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7733INFO
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABADAM
EMBASSY KATHMADUAM
EMBASSY NEW DELHIAM
CONSUL CALCUTTA
CINCPAC
C O N F I D E N T I A L DACCA 3964
CINCPAC FOR POLADE.O. 11652: GDSTAGS: PINT, PFOR, BG, US, IN, UR, CH, XD
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY COMMENT ON THE COUP IN BANGLADESH
1. THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS GIVE PROMISE THAT THE COUP WHICH BEGAN AT 0515 LOCAL TIME ON AUGUST 15 WILL NOT BE CHALLENGED. THE OATHS OF FEALTY TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT SWORN BY THE SERVICE CHIEFS, THE HEADS OF THE PARAMILITARY BANGLADESH RIFLES AND RAKKHI BAHINI ANDTHE HEAD OF THE POLICE BRING ALL ARMED ELEMENTS INTO SUPPORT OF THE NEW REGIME.. THE PUBLIC HAS DISPLAYED NO PARTICULAR JIBILATION AT THE FALL OF MUJIB BUT RATHER ACALM ACCEPTANCE, AND PERHAPS SOME SENSE OF RELIEF. THERELATIVE EASE WITH WHICH POWER HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED SUGGESTS ABOVE ALL THE DEGREE TO WHICH MUJIB AND THE BANGALEES HAD BECOME ALIENATED FROM ONE ANOTHER, THE BANGALEES FROM MUJIB BECAUSE OF HIS FAILURE TO MEET THEIR ASPIRATIONS AND HIS APPARENT DESIRE TO HOLD POWER LARGELY FOR PERSONAL AGRANDIZEMENT AND DYNASTIC REASONS, AND MUJIB
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 DACCA 03964 161135Z
FROM THE BANGLAEES AS HE GREW MORE ISOLATED FROM OBJECTIVE COUNSELS AND BEGAN TO SUFFER THE CLASSIC PARANOIA OF THE DESPOT. THE QUICKENING TEMPO OF SHEIKH MUJIB'S EFFORTS SINCE EARLY JUNE TO INSURE HIS STRANGLEHOLD ON POWER,TOGETHER WITH THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF HIS NEPHEW SHEIKHMONI, DOUBTLESS MADE THE COUP PLOTTERS CONCLUDE THAT NO FURTHER DELAYS IN TAKING ACTION WAS POSSIBLE. THAT INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY WAS CHOSEN MAY HAVE BEEN MERELY INCIDENTAL, BUTWE NOTE THE COINCIDENCE.
2. IT IS TOO EARLY TO OFFER ANY SURE OPINIONS ON THE DIRECTION OF EVENTS. THE NEW CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT UNDER KHONDAKAR MUSHTAQUE AHMED SEEMS LITTLE LIKELY TO AROUSEANY SENSE OF ENTHUSIASM. ALTHOUGH PURGED--BY DEATH OR EXCLUSION--OF THOSE WHO WERE CLOSEST TO SHEIKH MUJIB, IT IS STILL A COLLECTION OF OVERLY FAMILIAR FIGURES WHO ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE POOR ADMINISTRATION OF POST-LIBERATION BANGLADESH. CLEARLY, ITS COMPOSITION IS INTENDED TO SUGGEST THAT BANGLADESH UNDER MUSHTAQUE WILL OFFER CONTINUITY, BUT ALSO THAT THERE WILL BE GREATER MODERATION. MUSHTAQUE'S RADIO ADDRESS LATE ON AUGUST 15 (DACCA 3955) SUPPORTS THIS VIEW, CONDEMNING AS IT DOES THE DOMESTIC CONSEQUENCES OF SHEIKH MUJIB'S RULE BUT CLEARLY SUGGESTING THAT IN SOFAR AS FOREIGN AFFAIRS ARE CONCERNED, BUSINESS WILLBE MUCH AS USUAL.
THERE IS ALREADY SOME EVIDENCE THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT WILL WANT TO STRENGTHEN ITS TIES WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD, INCLUDING PAKISTAN. AT THE SAME TIME,MUSHTAQUE'S WELL-KNOWN ANTIPATHY TO INDIA NOTWITHSTANDING,THE NEW REGIME WILL NOT WANT TO AROUSE UNDUE SUSPICIONS ON THE PART OF INDIA, CLEARLY COGNIZANT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING AN ADEQUATE MEASURE OF GOODWILL ON THE PART OF ITS IMPOSING NEIGHBOR. (PERHAPS ONE REASON FOR THE COMPOSITION OF THE CABINET, WITH ITS EXCLUSIVE RELIANCEON OLD FACES, IS A HOPE TO DEMONSTRATE TO INDIA ITS BASIC CONTINUITY.)
INSOFAR AS THE MAJOR POWERS ARE CONCERNED, MUSHTAQUE HAS STATED HIS GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO ESTABLISH"CLOSER AND FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE BIG POWERS LIKETHE UNITED STATES, THE SOVIET UNION AND CHINA." THIS WOULD SEEM TO MEAN MORE BALANCE IN ITS RELATIONS, AND THUS SOME DIMINUTION IN THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOVIET UNION.
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 DACCA 03964 161135Z
3. THE EVIDENCE SO FAR SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY THAT OUR OWN RELATIONS WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENT COULD TURN OUT TO BE ON AN EVEN MORE CORDIAL BASIS THAN THEY WERE UNDER MUJIB. THE NEW PRESIDENT HAS IN THE PAST BEEN STRIKINGLY OVERT IN SUGGESTING HIS "PRO-AMERICAN" ATTITUDE; MOREOVER,THE FIGURES IN THE OLD REGIME WHO WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR LEFTIST AND ANTI-AMERICAN VIEWS (SHEIKH MONI AND SAMAD,EXAMPLE) ARE NOW GONE. THE POSSIBILITY IS ALSO STRONG THAT THEY WILL LOOK TO US FOR EVEN LARGER AMOUNTS OF AID--MUSHTAQUE HAS ARGUED WITH US BEFORE THAT WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN TRULY HELP BANGLADESH--SO THAT OUR PROBLEM MAY WELL PROVE TO BE ONE OF TEMPERING THE NEW REGIME'S EXPECTATIONS OF US.
4. WE CANNOT PRESENTLY JUDGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSHTAQUE'S GOVERNMENT AND THE MILITARY. WE NOTE WITH INTEREST THAT EVERY OFFICIAL STATEMENT STRESSES THE ROLE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN THE TAKEOVER. WE ARE TOLD THAT THEY MILITARY ARE AT PRESENT ENGAGED IN PREPARING MARTIALLAW ORDERS WHICH WOULD, IF THE PAKISTANI PATTERN IS FOLLOWED, SERVE AS BASIS LAW OF THE COUNTRY. WHETHER THIS MEANS A GROWTH OF TENSION BETWEEN THE CIVILIANS AND THE MILITARY WE CANNOT YET SAY, BUT WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ONE OF THE FIRST STATEMENTS BY MUSHTAQUE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PROMISE OF A NEW, MORE LIBERAL CONSTITUATION THAN THAT IMPOSED LAST JANUARY BY MUJIB. THE CIVILIANS PROBABLY HAVEA MOMENTARY ADVANTAGE IN LIGHT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE; MOREOVER, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE MILITARY'S SUCCESSFUL OUSTER OF MUJIB, WE ARE LEFT WITH THE IMPRESSION THATTHE COUP PLANNERS PREPARED FOR LITTLE BEYOND THE EVENTITSELF.
HOWEVER, THE MILITARY--AND BY THIS WE MEAN THE YOUNGER OFFICERS WHO PLANNED AND LED COUP--DID WORK THE OVERTHROW OF SHEIKH MUJIB, AND WE SUSPECT THAT,HAVING TASTED BLOOD, THEY WILL WANT AT THE VERY LEAST TO EXERCISE SOME MEASURE OF INFLUENCE OVER THE COURSE OFEVENTS. WE HAVE NO REASON TO LOOK FOR BANGALEE QUADDAFI SAMONG THE COUP PLANNERS; RATHER, AS MEMBERS OF THE OLD,SERVICE-ORIENTED MIDDLE CLASS WHICH WAS THREATENED BY SHEIKH MUJIB, THEY MAY PROVE A MORE MODERATE FORCE THAN HAS BEEN SEEN IN EAST BENGAL SINCE PAKISTANI PERIOD. CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 DACCA 03964 161135Z
5. ONE POINT TO BE EMPHASIZED IS THAT, WHILE THE OVERTHROW OF SHEIKH MUJIB WAS SUCCESSFUL, IF BLOODLY, A GREAT DEAL REMAINS TO BE DONE. MUSHTAQUE'S SPEECH IS SIGNIFICANT LARGELY FOR ITS GENERALITIES AND ITS ECHOES OF EARLIER AWAMI LEAGUE RHETORIC, BUT CONCRETE ACTIONS HAVE SO FAR BEEN FEW. WE ARE NOT SURPRISED THAT THE DEGREE OF DIRECTION DISPLAYED SO FAR IS LIMITED FOR WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO THINK THAT THOSE PRIVY TO THE PLANNING OF THE COUP WERE SMALL IN NUMBER AND THUS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PREPARING ANY ELABORATE PLANS FOR THE GOVERNACE OF BANGLADESH WAS VERY SMALL.
HOWEVER, UNLESS EARLY STEPS ARE TAKEN TO DEMONSTRATEVIGOR AND WILL, THE ADVANTAGE NOW HELD BY THE NEWREGIME WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH, AN WE MAY CONFRONT AN UNSETTLED--AND UNSETTLING--SITUATION AS CONTENDERS FOR POWER EMERGE. NO ONE NOW ON THE BANGLAEE POLITIICAL STAGEHAS KIND OF COMMANDING PERSONALITY WHICH SUSTAINED SHEIKH MUJIB FOR SO LONG. THE CIVLIAN GOVERNMENT FALTERS, WE MAY FIND THE MILITARY CONCLUDING THAT IS MUST AGAIN SAVE THE NATION.
BOSTER
CONFIDENTIAL
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e8/97064.htm
AIG's Bailout/Handout Financing Israeli Mortgages in Jerusalem - West Bank?
http://jezekiah. wordpress. com/2009/ 03/06/how- much-of-aigs- bailouthandout- is-financing- israeli-mortgage s-in-jerusalem- the-west- bank/
Related: The Israeli Jerusalem municipality hands out demolition orders for 36 Palestinian families!
As of March 4, 2009, the American taxpayer has bailed out American International Group (AIG) to the tune of $163 billion (assuming that the Federal Reserve and the Federal gubmint are to be believed on anything anymore).
On March 3, 2009, this exchange took place in the august and hallowed halls of what used to be known as the Congress of a Constitutional Republic: With One Word, Bernanke Reveals Who Actually Runs the Country: Senator Sanders: "Will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars?" Ben Bernanke: "No."
One can only surmise Bernanke's reasoning. He claims he doesn't want to spook the banks and the markets or some such claptrap. I have another possible reason: Bernanke, being an Orthodox Jew, doesn't want the American public to get any inkling of Israel's share of the various bailouts.
AIG owns a company in Israel called Ezer Mortgage Insurance (EMI). EMI will insure/finance up to 95% of a private Israeli mortgage. Below is EMI's nifty ad gizmo with some of the relevant text copy underneath the link. I've adjusted the figures to reflect current money values. Please alert me if you spot any problems with the math. (Warning - very annoying music):
It's so simple to purchase a house in Israel when EMI (a member of AIG, American International Group) makes up to 95% financing possible!
EMI sets the premium as a function of the LTV (Loan To Value ratio) and the term of the loan. As a rule of thumb - for every $100,000 of a loan taken by a borrower, the borrower pays an additional $25 a month.
For example: David Silberstein is an affluent Jew living in Florida, with a strong affiliation to the Jewish state; his children are even considering immigrating to Israel and serving in the Israel Defense Force when they tun 18. Consequently, David is keen on buying an apartment in Israel to strengthen his ties with the Land and to enable his children to live comfortably while in Israel. David has found a property that he likes carrying a price tag of $176,000. While David has sufficient equity to buy the apartment, he has chosen to use EMI's financial instrument (credit insurance)!
Why? Because it's a smart choice: this way, he has money left over for additional investments and for spreading the risk! David knows that with EMI's solution, he can buy an apartment without using up all his equity and continue to enjoy the standard of living to which he is accustomed. David and his wife have decided to invest start-up capital in the amount of 10% of the value of the apartment. Accordingly, the terms of the mortgage extended to them by the mortgage bank is as follows:
Property value: NIS 740,640
Property value in $: 176,070
Total loan NIS: 666,576
Total loan in $: 158,463
Total start-up capital NIS: 74,064
Total start-up capital in $: 17,607
LTV (Loan to Value ratio): 90%
Monthly payment including EMI premium: NIS 3,857
Monthly payment including EMI premium in $: 916.92
EMI premium out of total monthly payment: NIS 152
EMI premium out of total monthly payment in $: 36
Loan term of 25 years. 4.5% fixed interest rate
*$1 = NIS 4.21 as of 03/06/09
America, doesn't it give you the warm fuzzies to know that while our economy is tanking, Israelis and Jews making aliyah to Israel will still be able to "enjoy the standard of living to which they are accustomed"?
For a little more insight into how the Israeli mortgage market works, see these two links:
A Guide to the Perplexed - An Introduction to Israeli Mortgages
http://blog. israelmortgage. net
From the first link:
"Graces: For those who are building a home in Israel while paying a mortgage elsewhere, or alternatively while paying rent, most mortgage banks offer graces on the loans. Two types of graces exist in Israel - partial and full. Under the terms of a partial grace, only interest must be repaid during the grace period. Under the terms of a full grace, no payment is made during the grace period and any interest that should have been paid is added to the loan balance and is paid back as part of the loan once the grace period ends. Graces are not offered on the zakaut loans and some banks do limit graces to certain loan types."
Question: Gee whiz, why don't Americans get these `grace' periods on their mortgages?
Answer: Because we need to give our last drop of blood to support and subsidize the holy, sacred Israeli parasites mortgage market.
WOLF
+
--- On Fri, 3/6/09, Gamila Zahran < gzahran(at)wanadoo.fr
Arabian Sights.....
==================================
"Why Sudan?
For the last 15 years Sudan has been on the agenda for regime change...
because Sudan housed Palestinian resistance fighters...
Sudan is an Islamist regime that is against the state of Israel...
They say these are some Arabs in Sudan
enslaving Africans...so naturally the language of
"Arabs enslaving Africans"... is so clever and the media pushes that
so there would come a natural hatred of Blacks for Arabs
so that Arabs look like the real culprits here...
Now where there a fight?
Was it over slavery?
...At no time during our talk with John Garang which was
4 hours in length was there ever a mention of slavery...
Look at the Sudan, it is the largest land mass country
I think on the African Continent...it could feed all of Africa .
In the south there is an abundance of oil,
and if you remember in Nigeria, in the eastern part of Nigeria,
they wanted to break that part off...and it ignited a 'civil war'
and the civil war was to unite that which can give them power.
Because there was a regime in Lagos that the government of America
and Britain did not like...You see when you see senator Tom Lantos
leading the march on the Sudanese embassy.
When you see Eli Wiesel. These are Zionists.
These are pro-Israeli Zionists.
Why are they leading the march? Do you really think
that they have compassion for what is going on in Darfur?
See human suffering is human suffering. Do not tell me
you have compassion for the Blacks that are suffering in Darfur,
and you've got Palestinians suffering under your nose
and you do not care nothing about that?
Come on.
If there is 3.5 Million dying in the Congo,
you say nothing about that?
The people that are dying in Uganda,
you say nothing about that?
NO.
Then what is the motive setting up under this?
This is what Black people have to look at.
It is that there is
Oil in the Sudan,
there is Gold,
there is Uranium.
..So what I say to Black people:
when the former slave masters
who did not care about lynching,
who did not care about our suffering,
who do not care about what happened in Katrina,
do NOT you be deceived that
they care about what is happening over there and
they do not care what is happening to us here.
If you can promote black people calling black women 'bitches'
and 'whores' and have no thought about that, you can promote
gangster life, guns, and drugs and you have no thought about that,
yet the Black community is dying as we speak, how in the hell
can I think you're concerned about Darfur when we are dying
in Harlem and in Brooklyn and in the south side of Chicago?
Stop it.
Black people wake up to the deceit."
=====================
During a live news talk show on New York's KISS FM, the Honorable
Minister Louis Farrakhan and Nation of Islam International Representative,
Akbar Muhammad discussed the situation in Darfur, Sudan
with radio host James Mtume.Use the following link
to view this FinalCall.com News featured webcast and related articles:
http://www.finalcall.com/absolutenl/t.aspx?n=41&l=67
==================================
How the "Stop Darfur" Movement
Aids the US Drive for Hegemony
George Wright
“...Interestingly, the “Save Darfur” campaign started right at the point
when it was obvious that the United States
(military) invasion of Iraq had caused a catastrophe.
What was being ignored by Darfur “ humanitarian activists” was that
a United States-led intervention would only amplify the level of violence;
all one had to do is look at Iraq and Afghanistan to understand that.
Emblematic of the Orwellian world that we live at the moment,
at “Save Darfur” demonstrations, many
'peace activists' carried signs which read:
“Out of Iraq; Into Sudan”!...
There is no question the Sudanese Government has been
responsible for much of the death and horror in Dafur. However,
defining the violence in Darfur as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”
confuses what is happening in Darfur;
obfuscates the objectives of the United States toward Sudan;
and distracts from what needs to be done to resolve the Darfur Crisis.
As Ugandan scholar Mahmood Mamdani explains:
“Morally, there is no doubt about the horrific nature of the violence
against civilians in Darfur. The ambiguity lies in the politics of violence…
The Darfur conflict is actually part of a complex series of regional
civil wars abetted by “Big Power” intervention while innocent people
are caught in the middle. The outline of that situation starts with the fact
that for over two decades the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese
Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) were involved in a civil war in southern Sudan.
The United States provided arms,
training, materiel, and intelligence
to the rebel SPLA during that conflict.
That support was transferred through
Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda...
http://www.blackcommentator.com/224/224_genocide_olympics_wright_guest_pf.html
=============================
AFRICOM'S COVERT WAR IN SUDAN :
The Winter of Bashir's Discontent
keith harmon snow
5 March 2009
First note that the ICC can now be viewed as a tool of hegemonic
U.S. foreign policy, where the weapons deployed by the U.S.
and its allies include the accusations of, and indictments for,
human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
.. no white man has yet been charged with these or other offenses
at the ICC—which now holds five black African “warlords”
and seeks to incarcerate and bring to trial another black man,
also an Arab, Omar Bashir.
Why hasn’t George W. Bush been indicted?
Or what about Donald Rumsfeld? Dick Cheney? Henry Kissinger?
Ehud Olmert? Tony Blair? Vadim Alperin? John Bredenkamp?...
Following on the heals of the announcement that the ICC handed down
seven war crimes charges against al-Bashir, a story broadcast
over all the Western media system and into every American living room
by day’s end, President al-Bashir ordered the expulsion
of 1I international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating
in Darfur under the pretense of being purely ‘humanitarian’ organizations.
What has not anywhere in the English press been reported
is that the United States of America has just stepped up
its ongoing war for control of Sudan and her resources:
petroleum, copper, gold, uranium, fertile plantation lands for sugar
and gum Arabic (essential to Coke, Pepsi and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream).
This war has been playing out on the ground in Darfur through
so-called ‘humanitarian’ NGOs, private military companies,
‘peacekeeping’ operations and covert military operations
backed by the U.S. and its closest allies... the U.S. war for Sudan
has always revolved around ‘humanitarian’ operations
—purportedly neutral and presumably concerned only about
protecting innocent human lives—that often provide cover
for clandestine destabilizing activities and interventions...
HTML
http://www.allthingspass.com/uploads/html-264THE%20WINTER%20OF%20BASHIRS%20DISCONTENT.htm
http://www.allthingspass.com/uploads/pdf-264THE%20WINTER%20OF%20BASHIRS%20DISCONTENT.pdf
http://www.allthingspass.com/
==================================
The US’s War In Darfur
Keith Harmon Snow
Debunking the claims of a “genocide against blacks”
or an “Islamic holy-war” against Christians,
Darfur’s Arab and black African ethnic groups
have intermarried for centuries, and nearly everyone is Muslim.
The “Save Darfur” campaign is deeply aligned with Jewish and Christian
faith-based organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel.
These groups have relentlessly campaigned for Western military action,
demonizing both Sudan and China, but they have never addressed
Western military involvement—backing factions on all sides.
By mobilizing constituencies sympathetic to the “genocide” label
and the cries of “never again” they do a grave disservice
to the cause of human rights...
The West is desperate to deploy a “robust peacekeeping”
mission in Darfur, to press the Western agenda...
www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=37
======================
Over Five Million Dead in Congo?
How Truth is Hidden,
Even When it Seems to Be Told
Debunking the claims of a “genocide against blacks”
or an “Islamic holy-war” against Christians,
keith harmon snow
Genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - and on
the entirety of the Africa continent - is the direct result of
deliberate policies by American and European governments
and the multinational corporations they serve.
So-called "relief" agencies that make a pretense of counting the dead
are often themselves creatures of the very corporations that have
set countless militias and neighboring client states
on successive rampages of slaughter and ethnic cleansing
- all to protect the business of extracting the riches of Congo.
Many, many Nuremburg courts could be filled to capacity with American
and European luminaries guilty of crimes against humanity in Central Africa,
yet the corporate, racist political culture insists African "savagery"
is to blame for the ongoing holocaust...
However, the story of war and plunder in Congo is not unreported.
It is a story that has been censored, manipulated, and covered up
even while it is ostensibly being told. Plenty of information
has been published about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and plenty of this is flak, designed to whiteout the truth, and help keep
the real story buried, and that includes the truly honest representations
of war and suffering in Congo that have been published.
Just because the mainstream doesn't cover it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. T
his is the falsification of consciousness...
====================================
Top Ten Reasons to Suspect "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam
to Justify US Military Intervention in Africa
Bruce Dixon
The star-studded hue and cry to "Save Darfur" and
"stop the genocide" has gained enormous traction in U.S. media
along with bipartisan support in Congress and the White House.
But the Congo, with ten to twenty times as many African dead
over the same period is not called a "genocide"
and passes almost unnoticed.
Sudan sits atop lakes of oil.
It has large supplies of uranium, and other minerals,
significant water resources, and a strategic location
near still more African oil and resources.
The unasked question is whether the nation's Republican and
Democratic foreign policy elite are using claims of genocide,
and appeals for "humanitarian intervention" to grease the way
for the next oil and resource wars on the African continent.
The regular manufacture and the constant maintenance
of false realities in the service of American empire is a core function
of the public relations profession and the corporate news media.
Whether it's fake news stories about wonder drugs and
how toxic chemicals are good for you, bribed commentators and
journalists discoursing on the benefits of No Child Left Behind,
Hollywood stars advocating military intervention to save African orphans,
or slick propaganda campaigns employing viral marketing techniques
to reach out to college students, bloggers, churches and ordinary citizens,
it pays to take a close look behind the facade.
Among the latest false realities being pushed upon
the American people are the simplistic pictures of
Black vs. Arab genocide in Darfur, and the proposed solution:
a robust US-backed or US-led military intervention in Western Sudan.
Increasing scrutiny is being focused upon the "Save Darfur" lobby
and the Save Darfur Coalition; upon its founders, its finances,
its methods and motivations and its truthfulness.
In the spirit of furthering that examination we here present
1O reasons to suspect that the "Save Darfur" campaign
is a PR scam to justify US intervention in Africa. ...
Chris Taylor, head of strategy for Blackwater, says his company has a database
of thousands of former police and military officers for security assignments.
He says Blackwater personnel could set up perimeters
and guard Darfurian villages and refugee camp in support of the U.N.
Blackwater officials say it would not take many men to fend off
the Janjaweed, a militia that is supported by the Sudanese government
and attacks villages on camelback.
Apparently Blackwater doesn't need to come to the Congo,
where hunger and malnutrition, depopulation, mass rape and
the disappearance of schools, hospitals and civil society into
vast law free zones ruled by an ever-changing cast of African proxies
(like the son of the late and unlamented Idi Amin),
all under a veil of complicit media silence already constitute
the perfect business-friendly environment for siphoning off
the vast wealth of that country at minimal cost.
Look for the adoption of the Congolese model across the wide areas
of Africa that U.S. strategic planners call "ungoverned spaces".
Just don't expect to see details on the evening news,
or hear about them from Oprah, George Clooney or Angelina Jolie.
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=453&Itemid=1
===========================
AFRICA INCREASINGLY IN US-ISRAELI CROSSHAIRS
The Strategic Importance of Africa
IASPS Staff
co-authored by IASPS Strategic Fellow Paul Michael Wihbey
and US State Department expert Dr. Barry Schutz,
Office of Analysis for Africa,Washington DC., the article challenges
the conventional wisdom that the United States has no vital interests in Africa.
.. because of the availability of its alternative, plentiful and
reliable energy sources, Africa is increasingly an attractive zone
for American engagement at the political, economic and security levels.
The authors recommend three specific American policy initiatives
that would enhance the US presence in Africa including:
1. Debt Forgiveness, 2. Free Trade and
3. Establishing a new US military command
http://www.israeleconomy.org/opeds/oped30.htm
structure for the South Atlantic.
American Policy and Africa
http://www.iasps.org/nbn/nbn308.htm
http://www.israeleconomy.org/nbn/nbn308.htm
The Pentagon's New Africa Command
Interviewees:Robert T. Moeller, Rear Admiral, Head of Africa Command
Robert G. Loftis, Ambassador, State Department
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13348/pentagons_new_africa_command.html
For more Info. On the topic refer to Liz Burbank´s “The Digest”
http://www.burbankdigest.com/node/175
Press Release
Wednesday 4th March 2009
http://tinyurl.com/bypekr
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was launched today at a press conference
chaired by Stéphane Hessel, Ambassador of France. The initiators, Ken Coates,
Chairman of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, Leila Shahid, General
Delegate of Palestine to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg and Nurit
Peled, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, discussed the history and reasons
on why they called for the creation of this Tribunal. Speaking for the
Organising Committee, the former Belgian Senator Pierre Galand explained how it
will work. Amongst more than a hundred international personalities who have
given their support to this Tribunal, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Raji Surani,
Jean Ziegler, François Rigaux, Jean Salmon and François Maspero were present
to give encouragement.
In the tradition of the Russell Tribunal on War Crimes in Vietnam, the Russell
Tribunal on Palestine is a citizens’ initiative that aims to reaffirm the
primacy of international law as the basis for solving the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and at raising awareness of the responsibility of the international
community in the continuing denial of the rights of the Palestinian people.
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine will base its work on Experts’ and
Witnesses’ Committees that will establish the facts and build up the legal
arguments that will be presented to the Tribunal. National Support Committees
will contribute to the preparation of experts’ reports, promote popular
mobilisation and media coverage and participate in fundraising. We can already
count on strong support from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain,
Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Lebanon, Algeria,
Australia, Italy, South Africa, Egypt and, of course, from Israel and
Palestine. Further contacts are under way for the creation of such Committees
in other countries and continents.
Once the accusation has been fully prepared and the witnesses summoned, the
sessions of the Tribunal will be organised at the beginning of 2010 in several
major capitals. A jury made up of well-known personalities who are respected
for their high moral standing will consider the reports and hear the witnesses
for and against.
The jury will announce its conclusions which, we are persuaded, will attract
widespread international public and political support, thereby contributing to
a just and durable peace in the Middle East.
Contact Tel / fax: 00 32 (0)2 2310174
Cell Phone: 00 32 (0) 479 12 95 32
e-mail: trp_int@yahoo.com
web site: www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com
--
Redress Information & Analysis
Website - http://www.redress.cc
Newsblog - http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/redressvideo
Redress Information & Analysis is dedicated to exposing injustice,
disinformation and bigotry and to providing thought-provoking interpretations
of current affairs.
Since the people of these states have been repeatedly cheated out of their hard-earned money by two successive imposed federal corporate bailouts, illegitmate income taxation by the Federal Reserve/IRS, endless massive funding for war profiteers and the systemic CAFR scam, the only options may be direct action, general strikes and secession.
1. State can run out of money, but can't file for bankruptcy | WHAT ...
State can run out of money, but can't file for bankruptcy. "A state is not going to just shut down," said Elizabeth McNichol, a state budget specialist at ...
whatreallyhappened.com/content/state-can-run-out-money-cant-file-bankruptcy - 42k - Cached - Similar pages
1. 46 Of 50 States Could File Bankruptcy In 2009-2010
makes me wonder where all that “bail-out money” is coming from. ... wisely they should all be fired and let people with common sense run the govt. .... can’t be measured by the numbers in your bank account but is measured by the real ...
www.infowars.com/46-of-50-states-could-file-bankruptcy-in-2009-2010/ - 173k - Cached - Similar pages
States can run out of money, but cannot file for bankruptcy
By Dan Carden-Staff Reporter-Illinois Daily Herald-February 6, 2009
SPRINGFIELD - Facing an ever-growing pile of bills, crushing debt and less tax money flowing into the state treasury, Illinois is broke. But could the state climb out of its nearly $9 billion budget hole by declaring bankruptcy?
No, say tax and budget experts.
Federal law permits individuals, businesses and local governments to file for bankruptcy reorganization and sometimes debt forgiveness. States are not covered by the law. No U.S. state has ever declared bankruptcy.
"A state is not going to just shut down," said Elizabeth McNichol, a state budget specialist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think tank.
"As bad as things are, no state is going to have zero revenue coming in," McNichol said. "It's really just a matter of (false) choices."
So, rather than having a court restructure its finances as in a bankruptcy filing, a state would have to reorganize its spending and debt on its own. That's the current challenge for Gov. Pat Quinn and lawmakers.
Illinois has long balanced the stack of bills on the comptroller's desk very carefully. Certain payments must be made on certain days, so other bills sometimes get pushed back a few days - or longer - to make sure there is enough cash on hand, said a spokeswoman for Comptroller Dan Hynes.
But should state finances became especially dire, Illinois could keep going by not paying back money it has borrowed. Such a move is unlikely and the consequences of default would make the state's financial situation worse.
That's because it would greatly hinder the state's ability to borrow in the future. Plus, the people Illinois owes money to could go to court to force the state to pay.
"It's not something you want to do because when you want to borrow in the future you'll have to pay a lot more interest because you're a higher risk," explained Beverly Bunch, an associate professor of public administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
But if the state manages to muddle through, the future could get pretty bleak. California's current $41 billion budget crisis is a preview of what Illinois might have to do to stay solvent.
California has been borrowing to pay its everyday bills. But facing a $346 million shortfall just for February, California Controller John Chaing this week stopped writing checks for nearly everything other than education and debt payments. That means spending on state agencies, including public safety, payments for state purchases and tax refunds will be delayed until at least March.
The Illinois Constitution says state pensions cannot be "diminished or impaired." But money for schools, public safety, and payments to cities and counties are offered no such protection and could all be delayed.
The trickle-down effect of stopped payments in the Golden State is busting the budgets of cities and counties across California. Riverside County, located between Los Angeles and San Diego, is going to court for permission to stop providing state-mandated services if the county does not receive state funding.
Starting today, California's 238,000 state workers begin "Furlough Fridays" - unpaid days off on the first and third Friday of every month through June 2010. The furloughs will save the state $1.3 billion over the next 17 months, but will also end up costing the state revenue as those workers pay less tax on smaller incomes.
46 Of 50 States Could File Bankruptcy In 2009-2010
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Freedom Arizona
January 30, 2009
There is a high chance a majority of the States within the United States of America could file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. There is currently 46 states with high budget deficits, Arizona being one of them.
In fact, Jan Brewer, the newly appointed Governor of Arizona has a major crisis on her hands, one that Arizona and national media isn’t covering. The alarming news is the State of Arizona has 90 to 120 days before they completely run out of money. After that, all bills and tax refunds owed to the citizens will go unpaid.
Before Janet Napolitano left for her new Homeland secretary position, she had a stand-off with Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin. The AZ Treasurer forewarned Napolitano about Arizona’s financial crisis, but she refused to heed his words.
With neighboring California on the verge of bankruptcy this year, many States will follow in their steps.
Many States are already scurrying to cut unwanted costs, cut State-funded programs, raise taxes, not issue tax refunds to their citizens, and borrow money just to survive in 2009. Unfortunately, many banks — the same banks the Fed bailed out — are refusing to loan money to the States and their Treasury agencies.
The article, State Budget Troubles Worsen, at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website is an excellent piece to read. It shows where each State currently stands in these challening economic times, and you see 46 of the 50 States are clearly in the financial red.
It’s very possible you’ll see the end of the United States as we know it. If the Fed doesn’t bailout the States when their cash dries up and the banks don’t loan them money, then our States will be left in financial ruin. This would be a tragic and unprecedented event never experienced in the United States.
No State has ever filed bankruptcy, but it could be coming to a State near you this year.
We are on the brink of something far worse than the Great Depression.
Research related links
Financial crisis: Countries at risk of bankruptcy from Pakistan to Baltics
Hungary on edge of bankruptcy
Kansas suspends income tax refunds, may miss payroll
Federal Bailout of States Violates U.S. Constitution
Individual bankruptcy filings up 27%
California Pension Funds Close To Bankruptcy
Seniors Increasingly Facing Bankruptcy
Eastern European economies face bankruptcy
California to Suspend Welfare Checks
States to Give Cops Authority to Stop Motorists Not Wearing Seat Belts
29 States Faced Total Budget Shortfall of at Least $48 Billion in 2009
The States Are Not Branches Of The Federal Government!
Military Manuals - Learn survival skills, self defense, marksmanship, build a GUN, etc..? Learn what the NWO does not want you to know... How to survive the onslaught!
*** exposing the hidden truth for further educational research only *** CAVEAT LECTOR *** In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. NOTE: Some links may require cut and paste into your Internet Browser. Please check http://tinyurl.com/33c9yr for more real news posts and support the truth! (sorry but don't have time to email all posts) free book download: http://www.lulu.com/content/165077 *** Revealing the hidden Truth For Educational & Further Research Purposes only. *** NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency (NSA) may have read emails without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse, nor protection.......... IF anyone other than the addressee of this e-mail is reading it, you are in violation of the 1st & 4th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Patriot Act 5 & H.R. 1955 Disclaimer Notice: This post & all my past & future posts represent parody & satire & are all intended for entertainment and amusement only. To be removed from the weekly list, please reply with the subject line "REMOVE"
Israeli 'wanton destruction' turns heads
Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:15:26 GMT
Donatella Rovera (L), the Amnesty International researcher on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories
Amnesty International has accused the Israeli army of engaging in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during its Gaza offensive.
The head of the Amnesty's fact-finding mission to the West Bank and Gaza says the use of mines to destroy homes contradicts Tel Aviv claims that the Israeli army acted in accordance with international law during the three-week war on Gaza.
The Israeli army emphasizes that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and its infrastructure were the target of Operation Cast Lead, and not the civilian population in Gaza, said Donatella Rovera, who argued the claim saying the methods used by Israeli forces raise concerns about war crimes.
Israeli troops had to leave their vehicles to plant the mines, indicating that they faced no danger and that there was no military or operational justification, she told the BBC news website.
The BBC report also cites Breaking the Silence -- an Israeli NGO that gathers and circulates the testimonies of Israeli soldiers on incidents of unnecessary violence and oppression -- saying that its findings from the Gaza war suggested many demolitions had been carried out when there was no immediate threat.
"From the testimonies that we've gathered, lots of demolitions -- buildings demolished either by bulldozers or explosives -- were done after the area was under Israeli control," said Yehuda Shaul, one of the group's members.
A Palestinian girl carries her sister in front of a destroyed house in northern Gaza Strip
On December 27, Israel started a huge military operation on the densely-populated coastal sliver, which saw the death of over 1,330 Palestinians and left thousands of buildings, civilian houses and mosques reduced to debris.
Rovera expressed Amnesty's deep concern over the "large scale destruction of homes and other civilian properties" during the conflict. "The destruction was, in our view, and according to our findings, wanton destruction - it could not be justified on military grounds," she said.
The Amnesty official said her team found fragments of anti-tank mines in and around destroyed properties. This together with remains of houses, collapsed in on themselves -- as if blown up from below, rather than from above as in an air strike -- suggested that Israeli troops had left their armored vehicles to plant them and set up the detonators, she said.
"Unless those operating on the ground felt not just 100 percent but 200 percent secure -- that the places were not booby trapped, that they wouldn't come under fire -- they could not have got out of the vehicles," she said, concluding that the use of the method cut short claims about the kind of danger that might have made it lawful to destroy some of those properties.
"Wanton destruction on a large scale would qualify as a war crime," she said.
MRS/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87732§ionid=351020202
EXCLUSIVE: INCEST MONSTER FRITZL TO TELL ALL IN TV INTERVIEW FROM JAIL
Can you see the three x six-pointed star shapes? Need I say any more?
JOSEF FRITZL: THE FULL, HORRIFIC STORY...
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/87975
Does Britain still have a special relationship with the United States?
Yes 40%
No 60%
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/poll-35957-details/ques-36131-id/Standard+poll%3A+special+relationship/poll.do
What a difference a few months make. .. After providing hourly support to the biggest gang of crooks ever to
occupy the White House with "don't worry, be happy" BS, Fox News is now peddling Doomsday scenarios full time.
Here's what it looks and sounds like: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/579.html
Brasscheck TV
2380 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Immigration, a branch of Homeland Security, is now experimenting with a new kind of prison:
One that incarcerates entire families from infants on up. Privately owned of course.
Details: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/281.html
Brasscheck TV
2380 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Must Jews always see themselves as victims?
Fierce debate has been raging in 'The Independent' about Israel's conduct in Gaza. Here, one leading Jewish thinker argues that until Jews shake off their persecution complex, there can never be peace in the Middle East
By Antony Lerman
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/must-jews-always-see-themselves-as-victims-1639277.html
Britain returns to thrifty domesticity
A revival of 1950s style domesticity has swept Britain due to the economic downturn. Consumers are applying a do-it-yourself attitude to all areas of daily life by making clothes, growing vegetables and dying their own hair.
http://www.independent.co.uk/money/invest-save/britain-returns-to-thrifty-domesticity-1638887.html
How to buy gold bars (How to invest in gold bars )
Now that the Bank of England has decided to start printing money, investors worried that inflation will result are thinking of turning to gold, a traditional store of value in troubled times.
"We did have people phoning up to inquire about buying gold after hearing the news about printing money," said a spokeswoman for Baird & Co , the bullion dealer. "Some said they planned to buy a bar or two as a result."
Buying gold bars – in small quantities at least – is no different from buying a packet of sweets, say. Anyone can walk into Baird's shop in the City, hand over some cash and take away their gold.
"The most popular small bar is probably the 1 ounce," said the spokeswoman. This currently costs £718.25. But if you don't want to spend that much, smaller bars are available: the company's smallest, the 2.5 gram, costs £64.25.
Gold is heavy, so the bars are small for their weight; a 1kg bar worth £22,182 measures 5 inches by 3.5 and is about a quarter of an inch thick. "They are not big but they are heavy," she said.
The biggest, meanwhile, weighs in at 12.5kg and costs £222,000. "People do come in occasionally and buy five of them in one go," said the spokeswoman, although customers buying such large amounts would have phoned first. That 50kg in gold would be worth £1.1m.
There are formalities to go through if you are placing a large order. "We need a passport and two utility bills if you are buying more than £5,000 worth of gold," said Baird.
Ninety per cent of its small retail business is done by post or internet, with gold being shipped by courier after funds have cleared. Alternatively, the company can store your gold, for a fee, for holdings worth £5,000 or more.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/4949392/How-to-buy-gold-bars.html
Stop giving our cash to bankers - Sack them! Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Original article via Socialist Worker (UK):
Disgraced banker Fred Goodwin is going to keep his £16 million pension, despite some bluster from elements of the Labour government.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Even though it's on the other side of the pond, bankster frauds are getting away with millions of pounds. What's more, it's a Labour government who's turning a blind eye, all the while the British people are expected to pay for the bailout. Hmmm...sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss’s reward for leading the company to near collapse is just the tip of the iceberg of New Labour’s slavish devotion to the bankers.
Labour...pardon, New Labour is ostensibly the party of the working class in England. However, like a certain party in the US which is the rough equivalent, they threw their lot in with the banksters and the bosses in embracing neo-liberalism. Needless to say, their economy is crashing and may even be worse off then our own.
Lord Myners, Gordon Brown’s City minister, gave the go ahead for the pension of £693,000 a year. He didn’t realise it was an obscene amount of money.
The Pound Sterling is trading at $1.4031 today. Let's see...if the computer's math is right that's $972,348.30 per year. Hmmm. Not to bad a haul for a politico, eh?
Myners was chair of the Guardian Media Group and Land Securities Group, Europe’s largest property developer. He gave £12,700 to Brown’s leadership campaign in 2007. Brown appointed Myners as chair of the Low Pay Commission.
Myners was also a director of GLG, a hedge fund that speculated massively on the collapse of the Bradford & Bingley bank. The government then bailed out the bank.
Ah...that explains it. Even down to the hedge fund management. When will we all learn? Once we're out trillions of dollars, maybe.
No one knows how much public money will be given to the banks, because no one knows how much money they owe.
That's true for both sides of the Atlantic. We don't know how much we're going into hock in a chance to save the bankster frauds' backsides. And we're expected to accept it without question.
Read the rest of the article. It's actually pretty good, save for the bile that builds while your reading it. And, I guess, feel better about our situation in that the rest of the world is screwed, too. Well, I'm not sure about feeling better about that. The article does have a good suggestion at the end:
We shouldn’t be paying some banker’s pension. We shouldn’t be paying any of them at all. They should be paying back the money they have stolen from us. They should all be sacked and the banks should be run in the interests of the people.
http://rjones2818.blogspot.com/2009/03/stop-giving-our-cash-to-bankers-sack.html
The American Mindset
& the Path of ‘Change’
Jim Kirwan
3-6-9
""You can trace Equality in letters of sliver on tablets of burnished gold, but without engineering a perpetual miracle, you cannot make it true..."Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!" shrieketh the raging rhetoricians of the marketplace and editorial mill. "Yes we can! Yes we can!" bellows the herd, as it stupidly pours through the slip-rails to the pithing pen...Yes! O, yes! With a certainty we can," hisseth the plastic politician, the rattlesnake! The hungry basilisk!...America! Where the politicians rage and the people imagine vain things! And the dogs in the alleys - are baying at the moon!"" Ragnar Redbeard from Might is Right
Since the end of the Second World War Americans have been "played" like several hundred million cheap guitars. At first many were reluctant to accept the Siren’s call from the extremes of both the Left and the Right. But gradually the neutrality of higher education, along with the legitimacy of the new leaders of the corporate giants, and then lower education, were captured and turned against those they were charged with educating or enriching. It was here that this mindset began to take shape.
We’ve gone from becoming sheep to becoming nothing but two-legged appetites that have learned to feed on fear, on greed, and on the self-created lies that have kept everyone away from the truths we need; to understand it all, if we are ever to escape this semi-conscious prison of the mind.
The American public has been at war with this particular mindset, that our master’s tailor-made for us, for a thousand years. It was “they” who planted the idea of the need for “CHANGE” in so many: Knowing as they did this, that what we get would not only NOT be change, but it would be that final lock that lets the victims know for certain, that they have definitely been captured. It was these same owners that appointed the invisible Obama, the man with three names and two points of origin to rein as Dictator, over this final round-up of the two-legged herds of useless eaters, so that we might be sorted and assigned until we are no longer useful: To them.
Barack ran on a handful of promises, and already he’s broken nearly every one. What he did was promise action: But those actions proved to be nothing but extensions for the status quo to actually intensify what we objected to (in the case of not-closing Gitmo for at least a year—he gave himself more time to ratchet up the torture). This will not only NOT change anything: but in most cases, this course of action will eliminate the ability to actually ever change any of the things he said he would change “for us.” Look at his policies as compared to his promises; and look deeply into those he has appointed to “help” him exterminate us. Obama represents the flim-flam artists in this dying country—nothing more—because he is “the con” and not “the answer” to anything!
Take Health Care as one example: Not even two months into his ‘rule’ Obama has already murdered single-payer health care, in direct contravention of his campaign promises. Instead of even looking at full medical care for all Americans, paid for by the government, at no additional cost to the taxpayers: Obamanation has invited the heads of the criminally-fraudulent medical insurance companies, along with all the other medical-health-parasites into his summit meetings—because he wants to keep health-care for all—imprisoned in the black hole of privatized corporate profits first, and separate from, any real access for people to be able to live healthy lives.
“JUAN GONZALEZ: Initially, no supporters of single payer were invited to the summit. After protests were called, the White House invited Democratic Congressman John Conyers and the president of the Physicians for a National Health Program.
AMY GOODMAN: Single-payer advocates have also been largely silenced in the media. A new study being released today by FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, found the views of advocates of single payer have only been aired five times in the hundreds of major newspaper, broadcasts and cable stories about healthcare reform over the past week. No single-payer advocate has appeared on a major TV broadcast or cable network to talk about the policy during that period.”
“AMY GOODMAN: So, why isn’t single payer being considered? Why has it been rejected out of hand? Why do you think it’s the only answer?
LUKE MITCHELL: I think there are a couple of reasons why they’re so explicitly rejecting it. One of them is that it’s a threat to a great deal of people who are making a lot of money right now, which is to say the insurance companies. A single-payer system would take a lot of money out of the insurance system, the private insurance system. And it’s also something that a lot of people in Washington understand as ideologically threatening, that is to say, they equate a single-payer system with what they call, quote, “socialized medicine,” unquote.”
So I think what Obama is trying to do is neutralize that threat and get, as he said, the imperfect rather than nothing. And maybe he’s right. There’s clearly a massive resistance to single payer on the Hill.”(1)
What must happen is that every American must be entitled to the exact same care as every member of the government receives—which is absolutely free for life! “Health” is not a matter for private-business to regulate or administer, it is something that the tax-paying American public has already paid for, fifty-times over: Yet we only have the most diabolical medical services in the developed world. Yet as bad as this has been—Under Obamanation—it is about to get a whole lot worse, because the money that health-care needs is what is being used to continue to fund the illegal wars that he plans to expand on, instead of ending!
Let’s not forget about the still-imploding financial disaster. Close your eyes that are lying to you, and look carefully into the center of the vortex and you will see Obama’s hooded flunkies inside a tornado of Monopoly Money that is going everywhere except where it is needed most – into the pockets of those that will be charged for printing every single dollar, in this the greatest single monetary heist in human history, that continues to claim millions more victims each and every day. Have you seen the unemployment figures lately? And that’s only the ones that are recently unemployed – the actual number of the jobless is at least double whatever the owners of this nightmare may “say" it is today.
America is stuck in a mindset that refuses to question anything that is unfolding right in front of our eyes. We are so far past being brainwashed that we’re not even on the same planet as our ancestors were when this all first began. Our ‘minds’ are slush, our bodies are awash in chemicals and additives and lies, to the point where we are practically helpless; even if they stopped bombarding us right now, we’d still be nothing: because we sold everything that might have mattered to us—just to get into this petty game of greed and avarice. This game has turned our lives into nothing more than somebody else’s footnotes, in their twisted stories that we can’t even read—because we’re too busy staying hooked on every facet of the corruptions and the lies that shall kill us all in the end.
There are ways to end this; but it may be too late. It is possible that when enough people share a common ideal, then that idea can be brought into this fight with very positive results.
The idea is called a thought-form: The loose definition of which is 'a very basic idea which has multiple points of origin, in an ever-shifting physical form, so that it can be received my millions of people simultaneously,' to each according to their own understanding of the idea. Some call this the 100th Monkey syndrome.
However it is also a fallacy to believe that this or any other thought-form will produce "change" or much of anything else by itself. THOUGHTS that are valid require ACTION; otherwise the idea is just more 'background noise' that dies with the dawn of yet another day, in the hell-hole that we’ve made of this world. Part of this was begun in ‘Confirmation of Reality & Responsibility,’ and we need to begin to think about connecting our individual thoughts to direct action, if anything is ever going to change. (2)
kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net
1) Obama Hosts Summit on Healthcare http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/6/as_obama_hosts_summit_on_health
2) Confirmation of Reality & Responsibility http://www.kirwanesque.com/politics/articles/2009/art31.htm
Having trouble viewing this email? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Information Clearing House Newsletter
News You Won't Find On CNN
March 06, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If they do it, it's terrorism, if we do it, it's fighting for freedom." - Anthony Quainton, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, 1984: Anthony Quainton - Source: Off the record response of the Ambassador to a group of concerned U.S. citizens when asked to explain the difference between U.S. government actions in Nicaragua and the violence it condemns as terrorism elsewhere in the world.
=
It is in the nature of imperialism that citizens of the imperial power are always among the last to know--or care--about circumstances in the colonies: Bertrand Russell
=
The aim of military training is not just to prepare men for battle, but to make them long for it: Louis Simpson
===
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. Some of these young men think that war is all glory but let me say war is all hell: William Tecumseh Sherman.
===
"The greatest spiritual practise is to transform love into service": Sai Baba
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Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq "1,311,696"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
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Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 4,255
icasualties.org/oif/
=
The War in Iraq Costs
$602,482,462,637
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
=
Top U.N. Official Accuses U.S. of Inhuman Atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Fox News
"The aggressions against Iraq and Afghanistan and their occupations constitute atrocities that must be condemned and repudiated by all who believe in the rule of law in international relations," said U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22157.htm
===
"I Was Only Following Orders!"
Being serious about torture. Or not.
By William Blum
On the very day of Obama's inauguration, the United Nation's special torture rapporteur invoked the Convention in calling on the United States to pursue former president George W. Bush and defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld for torture and bad treatment of Guantanamo prisoners.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22160.htm
===
Iran in the Crosshairs
By Gareth Porter and Ray McGovern
Remember when Joe Biden told supporters of Barack Obama last October that Obama would be tested in his first six months in office? There is good reason to believe he was referring to the likelihood that Netanyahu would become prime minister after the February 2009 Israeli election, and that he would waste little time finding a pretext to attack Iran.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22154.htm
===
U.S.: Military Dominance in Mideast Proven a Costly Myth
Analysis by Gareth Porter
Apart from its nearly 200,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States had surrounded Iran with a network of airbases scattered across the region from the Persian Gulf sheikdoms through Iraq and Afghanistan to the Central Asian republics of Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, along with aircraft on U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22155.htm
===
Hell Hath No Fury Like an Imperialist Scorned
By William Blum
Hugo Chávez's greatest sin is that he has shown disrespect for the American Empire. Or as they would say in America's inner cities - He's dissed the Man. Such behavior of course cannot go unpunished lest it give other national leaders the wrong idea.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22161.htm
===
AIG: Billions Dished Out in the Dark
By Robert Scheer
This is crazy! Forget the bleating of Rush Limbaugh; the problem is not with the quite reasonable and, if anything, underfunded stimulus package, which in any case will be debated long and hard in Congress. The problem is with what is not being debated: the far more expensive Wall Street bailout that is being pushed through--as in the case of the latest AIG rescue--in secret, hurried deal-making primarily by the unelected secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22162.htm
===
U.S. Military Aid to Israel
By Kathleen and Bill Christison
In these days of economic crisis, budget overruns, earmarks, and multi-billion dollar bailouts, when Americans are being forced to tighten their own belts, one of the most automatic earmarks-a bailout by any measure-goes to a foreign government but is little understood by most Americans.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22163.htm
===
Trickle Down Misery
Analysis by Abid Aslam
Soaring food and fuel prices pushed 130 million to 155 million people in developing countries into poverty in 2008 and the World Bank reckons another 53 million people could join them this year. This would bring the total of those living at or below the international poverty line of two dollars a day to more than 1.5 billion people.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22156.htm
===
The Big Dither
By Paul Krugman
Mr. Obama's failure to match his words with deeds. The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the banks, the Obama administration is dithering. Policy is stuck in a holding pattern.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22158.htm
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Smart Is The New Stupid
By David Michael Green
Impoverished, deceived, broken and isolated, America is finally growing up.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22159.htm
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13 killed in bombing at livestock market:
A car bomb tore through a crowded livestock market south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 13 people in a mainly Shiite area that the U.S. military has described as one of the safest in Iraq.
http://snipurl.com/daaj2
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Two killed in Tikrit by explosive car:
Two people were killed in a car bomb explosion while driving in Tikrit, one of the major cities in Salah El-Din province, northern Baghdad, police said Friday.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1980859&Language=en
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Brain-injured GIs Could Number 360,000:
The estimate of the number injured - the vast majority of them suffering concussions - represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,
http://www.military.com/news/article/braininjured-gis-could-number-360000.html?ESRC=eb.nl
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Army captain charged with stealing $690,000:
28-year-old entrusted with money for Iraq relief allegedly mailed it home
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29543169/
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2 alleged U.S. spies killed in Pakistan: -
Suspected militants killed two persons in Pakistan's tribal areas on charges of spying for the United States, said local television on Friday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/06/content_10957325.htm
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Mayor killed in Pakistan bomb blast: police:
The mayor of a town in remote northwest Pakistan was killed and his driver wounded Friday when a roadside bomb planted by suspected Taliban militants exploded near his car, police said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090306/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestnorthwestblast
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One killed, 18 hurt in attack on Pakistan worshippers:
A grenade thrown into a prayer gathering in a Sunni Muslim mosque Thursday killed one worshipper and wounded 18 in an apparent sectarian attack in northwestern Pakistan, police said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090305/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestblast
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U.S. to Reportedly Invite Iran to Afghanistan Conference:
The Obama administration reportedly plans to invite Iran to an international conference on Afghanistan later this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/06/reportedly-invite-iran-afghanistan-conference/
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Why 10,000 Ugandans are eagerly serving in Iraq:
Thousands of men and women from poverty-stricken Uganda risk their lives for $600 a month in Iraq.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0306/p04s02-woaf.html
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Israel Kills At Least 3 Palestinians:
Medical workers said two people were killed at the scene of the attack on Thursday near the Israel-Gaza border and a third died later in hospital.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/03/20093594623783596.html
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Gaza homes destruction 'wanton':
Human rights investigators say Israeli forces engaged in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during the recent conflict in Gaza.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7926413.stm
===
Audio slideshow: Homeless in Gaza:
Raed al-Atamna's family's six houses were destroyed in the recent Gaza conflict, as well as the cars he uses to earn his living as a taxi driver.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7926780.stm
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US offers $0 for Gaza reconstruction:
Although the Obama administration is pledging $900 million (Dh3.3 billion) of aid, none of the money will go to rebuilding Gaza, the Los Angeles Times reported.
http://snipurl.com/dab17
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The pasta, paper and hearing aids that could threaten Israeli security:
Members of the highest-ranking American delegation to tour Gaza were shocked to discover that the Israeli blockade against the Hamas-ruled territory included such food staples as lentils, macaroni and tomato paste.
http://snipurl.com/dab4n
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Pots of urine, feces in the refrigerator -
How IDF troops vandalized Gaza homes
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068989.html
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Proposal in Congress: No Gilad Shalit, no Gaza aid:
Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada drafted a petition to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the financial aid be delayed for as long as the rocket fire continues and Shalit remains in captivity.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068953.html
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Mauritania 'shuts' Israeli embassy:
Diplomatic relations between Mauritania and Israel have been strained since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/03/20093612531527630.html
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Iran throws conference to support Hamas:
Iran, Hamas and their supporters from 30 countries spent two days probing ways to provide assistance to the militant Palestinian group and promote "resistance against Israel" at an international gathering in Tehran, an Iranian lawmaker said Thursday.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008816950_apmliranhamasconference.html
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Clinton says U.S. is 'testing waters' in outreach to Iran, Syria:
U.S. to press Russia on Iran nuclear program, while inviting Tehran to attend conference on Afghanistan
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069168.html
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America must accept Iran as an equal partner:
If the US can embark on a new Iran policy free of the pressures of the Arab and Israeli lobbies, there will be a chance to put all issues on the table and resolve them through logical negotiations.
http://snipurl.com/dabfb
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Britain re-establishing contact with Hezbollah:
Britain is re-establishing contact with the militant group Hezbollah following the formation of a unity government in Lebanon, the British government said Thursday.
http://snipurl.com/dabhs
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African states face warrant dilemma:
The AU, which claims the warrant will disrupt peace negotiations over Sudan's western region of Darfur, has said it will send a delegation to the UN Security Council to try to halt the indictment.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/03/2009369412283166.html
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Russia outmaneuvered U.S. over air base, analysts say:
The aid package that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's government crafted was grounded in a hard-knuckled, realpolitik approach to this impoverished, landlocked Central Asian country.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/63357.html
====
Hidden cells reveal Bolivia's dark past:
Those hallways led to cells where around 2,000 political prisoners were held and tortured during the 1971-1978 military rule under General Hugo Banzer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7925694.stm
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Panetta: No one to be punished for CIA interrogations torture:
CIA Director Leon Panetta says agency employees who took part in harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects are not in danger of being punished.
http://snipurl.com/daboq
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Prosecutors defy judge's order in Al-Arian case:
Brinkema has raised concerns the government's plea deal with Al-Arian amounted to a "bait-and-switch" in which Al-Arian was misled into thinking the Florida plea bargain would end his legal problems and result in his swift deportation after serving his sentence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090305/ap_on_re_us/attacks_professor
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Sen. Patrick Leahy, Issues Call For Investigations Into Bush Crimes:
Video
http://snipurl.com/dabs5
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UK: Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones:
Everyone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4969312.ece
===
Barack Obama bets the farm in $4 trillion poker game:
The President believes he can change US politics for a generation. If he's wrong he could bankrupt the whole country
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5854168.ece
===
GM says it will go bust in days without new US bail-out:
General Motors today warned it would go bust within 30 days unless the US treasury gives it a further multi-billion dollar loan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/05/gm-bankruptcy-warning
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US unemployment hits 25-year high:
US unemployment has risen to 8.1 per cent, the highest level since December 1983, according to a US government report.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/200936132544136220.html
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Record 31.8 million on food stamps:
Government shows increase of 700,000 food stamp recipients in a single month.
http://snipurl.com/dabxn
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One in 8 US homeowners late paying or in foreclosure: :
About one in eight U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record share, ended 2008 behind on their loan payments or in the foreclosure process as job losses intensified a housing crisis spawned by lax lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0531503420090305
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Mortgage woes break records again in 4Q:
Delinquencies, foreclosures rise to almost 12 percent of US home loans in 4th quarter
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/12-pct-are-behind-on-mortgage-apf-14553386.html
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Pictured: The credit crunch tent city which has returned to haunt America:
Today, tents are once again springing up in the city of Sacramento. But this time it is for people with no hope and no prospects.
http://snipurl.com/dac3b
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Ten Things You Can Do to Stay in Your Home:
Every thirteen seconds, an American loses his/her home. In 2008, more than 2.3 million families faced foreclosure. If the government doesn't intervene in a muscular way, an estimated 6 million owners will lose their homes in the next three years.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090323/ten_things?rel=hp_currently
===
Palash Biswas
Pl Read my blogs:
http://nandigramunited.blogspot.com/
http://www.bangaindigenous.blogspot.com/
http://www.troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/
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