palashcbiswas,
gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551
From: "PWAP@yahoogroups.com" <PWAP@yahoogroups.com>
To: PWAP@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, 7 May, 2009 14:36:34
Subject: PEOPLE'S WATCH ANDHRA PRADESH Digest Number 661
Messages In This Digest (25 Messages)
- 1.
- CROATIA: STUDENT PROTEST CONTINUES, BUT NOT IN ALL FACULTIES From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 2.
- SPAIN: FIRST GAY VICTIM OF FRANCOISM REPRESSION COMPENSATED From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 3.
- SPAIN:3 CHINESE MINISTERS ACCUSED OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 4.
- Pakistan: Militants step up attacks beyond Swat to border area From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 5.
- Protest Fast Against Justice Bilal Nazki's Antics in Bombay High Cou From: I K Chhugani
- 6.
- Italy: Indian attack victim 'out of danger' From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 7.
- ISLAM: TURKEY, TRIAL OF WRITER NEDIM GURSEL BEGINS From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 8.
- Morocco's "mourchidates" and contradictions From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 9.
- Fwd: [dalit-movement-association-:141] 3rd update on a dalit jail su From: Karthik Navayan
- 10.
- Education to Me Wrong Attitude for Some â€" Banias are Cancer From: Ravinder Singh
- 11a.
- Re: Man gets death for rape and murder of minor From: Soumya Bhaumik
- 12.
- Fw: Article by Sharad Joshi From: Aruna Rodrigues
- 13.
- SIT and witness protection From: Nutan Thakur
- 14.
- Burning Nepal From: Nutan Thakur
- 15.
- Pakistan: Expelled Sikhs want to migrate to India From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 16.
- PAKISTAN Government does nothing to stop violence against Pakistan's From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 17.
- PAKISTAN Tens of thousands flee as the army faces the Taliban in Swa From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
- 18.
- ARE TALIBAN REALLY BARBARIANS? From: Hussain Khan, Tokyo
- 19.
- Arafat Would Condemn Suicide Operations – And At the Same Time F From: marc samberg
- 20.
- [child-rights] Sudan: Continuing violence impacts children From: HREA noreply@hrea.org
- 21.
- Zimbabwe: Criminal charges against human rights activists From: HREA noreply@hrea.org
- 22.
- UN expert on religious freedom statement during visit to Republic of From: HREA noreply@hrea.org
- 23.
- A friend has shared a news report from Allvoices From: allvoices
- 24.
- Sri Lanka: UN launches $50 million appeal for displaced From: HREA noreply@hrea.org
- 25.
- MS 13, OBAMA, Unregulated Indian Open Market and FREsenSEX Periphery From: palashc biswas
Messages
- 1.
-
CROATIA: STUDENT PROTEST CONTINUES, BUT NOT IN ALL FACULTIES
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 12:47 am (PDT)
CROATIA: STUDENT PROTEST CONTINUES, BUT NOT IN ALL FACULTIES
(ANSAmed) - ZAGREB, MAY 5 - Student occupations in Croatian universities, in protest against alleged commoditisation of education, today entered its seventeenth day, but many faculties are returning to regular teaching schedules. The Literature and Philosophy Faculty of Zagreb's university, the University of Zara and several faculties in Fiume remain occupied, but they no longer have the full support of lecturers and university councils, as opposed to the last few days. Indeed, following a public letter from the Education Ministry which partly accepted the abolition of university fees - even if only until 2010 - some have urged students to "give back" university buildings and allow normal teaching activity to resume. The student initiative "for free education" in Zagreb says, however, that the ministry's proposal is unacceptable "as it does not guarantee the total and immediate abolition of fees". (ANSAmed).
2009-05-05 16:25
http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME03.@AM54696. html
- 2.
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SPAIN: FIRST GAY VICTIM OF FRANCOISM REPRESSION COMPENSATED
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 12:48 am (PDT)
SPAIN: FIRST GAY VICTIM OF FRANCOISM REPRESSION COMPENSATED
(ANSAmed) - MADRID, MAY 5 - In 1976, aged 17, Antonio Ruiz was arrested and detained for 97 days because he was homosexual, in line with the Francoism law on social danger and rehabilitation. Today Ruiz has become the first gay Spanish citizen to receive compensation from the government for repression suffered during Francisco Francòs dictatorship on the grounds of his sexual orientation, in line with an order agreed by the high authority for public pensions as reported by Spanish media sources. Antonio Ruiz is to receive damages for 4,000 euros, but in a statement made to El Pais, he stressed the symbolic value of the order: "we have fought hard to have the repression suffered recognised, which has always been a taboo topic," he observed, "and we managed it. Recognition is written black on white, in my hands. This is a great triumph." Ruiz is president of the association of former social prisoners, after being reported to the authorities by his neighbour, a nun, in 1976. Like many other homosexuals sent to prison, Ruiz was forced to undergo what was known as a rehabilitation project in the prison of Badajoz, in Extremadura, which consisted of electric shocks and study of images of men and women: "when images of men appeared you got an electric shock," Ruiz recalled. Since 2004, the association of former social prisoners began a battle to get recognition of the retaliation experienced during the dictatorship. Together with the one filed by Antonio Ruiz, there are more than 185 pending requests for compensation which have been filed by homosexuals. (ANSAmed).
2009-05-05 13:02
http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME03.@AM46829. html
- 3.
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SPAIN:3 CHINESE MINISTERS ACCUSED OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 12:50 am (PDT)
SPAIN:3 CHINESE MINISTERS ACCUSED OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
(ANSAmed) - MADRID, MAY 5 - Spanish judge Santiago Pedraz has accused three Chinese government ministers of committing crimes against humanity in Tibet during March 2008. Press agency EFE reports that the National Court judge has accused the three of having carried out "a generalised and systematic attack" on the Tibetan population beginning on March 10 2008. The attack, says the judge, caused 203 deaths and thousands of serious injuries, as well as the illegal detention or 'disappearance' of 5,972 Tibetans. Using the universal jurisdiction to press charges of crimes against humanity, Judge Pedraz has also accused a further five Chinese politicians of the same crimes, including: the Secretary of the Chinese Communist Part in the autonomous region of Tibet; a member of the Beijing Politbureau; the leader of the Lhasa Popular Liberation Army; and the Chengdu military commando political leader. Furthermore, Pedraz has also requested permission to go to China and interrogate the three accused ministers, who between them hold the Defence, Security, and Public Safety portfolios. The indefeasible principle of universal jurisdiction, affirmed by Spain in 2005, recognises universal competence in cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, torture or terrorism. Pedraz's initiative brings the number of investigations opened in Spain in the last 48 hours up to three, and has led to as many diplomatic battlegrounds for the Spanish government to face up to. The other two cases are: the confirmation of the investigation into Israel's air raids on Gaza in 2002, which caused the death of 15 civilians and wounded 150 more, opened by Judge Fernando Andreu; and the investigation of Judge Eloy Velasco into the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo. (ANSAmed).
2009-05-05 17:14
http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME02.@AM59867. html
- 4.
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Pakistan: Militants step up attacks beyond Swat to border area
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 12:56 am (PDT)
Pakistan: Militants step up attacks beyond Swat to border area
Karachi, 5 May (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - As residents of Pakistan's Swat valley began fleeing their homes to avoid conflict between the Taliban and the armed forces, militants extended the radius of their attacks to the Khyber Agency and other areas on the Afghan border. But now mainstream Sunni scholars have retaliated by unanimously declaring the Taliban and militant leader Sufi Mohammad outlaws and urging the government to immediately stop all negotiations.
With a massive military operation expected in the North West Frontier Province's Swat valley, dozens of Pakistani security forces men were under siege by Taliban militants late Tuesday.
The local administration announced the relaxation of the curfew in the district and asked residents to leave the area so that Taliban would not use them as human shields.
NWFP information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Tuesday up to 500, 000 people are likely to be displaced from Swat.
Meanwhile, a suicide attack was carried out in the Khyber Agency and the militants opened new fronts in the Mohmand and Bajaur agencies against the security forces in a strategy to engage troops and divert them from the Swat operation.
Significantly, this time the Taliban failed to muster the support of mainstream political and religious leaders.
"We demand the government to immediately stop all negotiations with Sufi Mohammad and his outlawed TNSM (Tehreek-e-Nafaz- e-Shariat- e-Mohammadi) ," Ejaz Sarwat Qadr, head of the religious party, Sunni Tehrek told Adnkronos International (AKI) by telephone from a Sunni party conference in Rawalpindi.
"The government should not have started negotiations with outlaws. Neither the Sufi Mohammad nor the Taliban know anything about Islam, Islamic jurisprudence. They are the product of a tribal culture.
"The government should maintain its writ at all cost and sort out the outlaws through a military operation, the chief of Sunni Tehrik Ejaz Sarwat Qadri told AKI on telephone from Rawalpindi where he was attending a grand conference of all Sunni parties.
The Sunni conference on Tuesday condemned the Taliban's occupation of shrines and their intention to destroy them.
The conference unanimously urged the government to declare Sufi Mohammad an outlaw because of his statements against the constitution and establish the writ of the state.
Pakistan is a majority Sunni state where the adherents of Sunni Muslim revivalist Deobandi movement and fundamentalist Wahabi school of thought are estimated to comprise 10 to 15 percent of the country's population.
http://www.adnkrono s.com/AKI/ English/Security /?id=3.0. 3278073355
- 5.
-
Protest Fast Against Justice Bilal Nazki's Antics in Bombay High Cou
Posted by: "I K Chhugani" ikchhugani@yahoo.com ikchhugani
Thu May 7, 2009 12:57 am (PDT)
Protest Fast Against Justice Bilal Nazki's Antics in Bombay High Court
Press Release
(Pleease forward it to your friends)
I am undergoing a hunger strike starting May 5, 2009 to focus on the
issue of perjury, and the need for direct judicial accountability to a
citizen in the form of practical remedies that a citizen can avail of to
redress grievances against judicial officers, especially Justices of the
Higher Courts.
I called this press conference today since I have lost 95% of my faith
in the judicial system of India. Law and order in India is deteriorating
at an alarming pace. The judicial system is failing the people. I wish
to focus on two major areas where the judiciary needs to improve: taking
a strict stand against perjury, and a new definition of judicial
accountability: accountability directly to the people.
One of the major reasons for this failure of the system is perjury, or
lying under oath. Litigants file false affidavits with impunity, knowing
that the system does not care to punish perjury. This leads to a jump in
the increase in the number of cases, further burdening the system.
Veteran journalist Swaminathan AIyar has highlighted the problem
succinctly in his article "Judiciary emaciated by perjury" published in
2003.
Perjury also results in incorrect judgments, which are incorrect either
because the underlying evidence is perjurious, or because the judgment
has been compromised by judicial corruption (judicial perjury).
Incorrect judgments further add to the caseload.
In the present instance, I claim that a High Court Advocate, Shanta
Mhatre, committed perjury before the Advocate General of Maharashtra to
initiate a false case under the Maharashtra Vexatious Litigation Act
against the litigant, being Criminal Application 3397/2003. This is
quite a draconian legislation that restricts the rights of a citizen to
file cases/applications/ proceedings in the State of Maharashtra without
the permission of the High Court. She failed in her attempt to get
interim relief before the High Court in 2003 after an extensive hearing
that lasted over four hours.
Thereafter, in 2008, the matter came up before Justice Bilal Nazki. I
pointed out the importance of hearing this matter urgently before
Justice Nazki and Kumbhakoni. Despite this, Justice Nazki passed an
order on March 30, 2009 saying that I was not cooperating in the hearing
of this Criminal Application, and that I be restrained from filing any
proceedings in the State of Maharashtra without the permission of the
High Court. THIS ORDER WAS NOT RESTRICTED TILL THE DATE OF THE NEXT
HEARING. The next hearing was scheduled for April 27, 2009, but
mysteriously, the matter was not posted on the board for hearing.
I claim that not only has Advocate Shanta Mhatre committed perjury in
filing the Criminal Application, but Justice Nazki has committed perjury
in his order stating that I am not cooperating in the hearing of the
matter. Thus a High Court Advocate and a High Court Justice seem to have
cooperated in perjuriously curtailing my basic rights to litigation in
the State of Maharashtra without going through the cumbersome procedures
of the High Court.
Wishing to file a perjury application against Justice Nazki, I
approached the Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court, but was told he would
not meet me. He also refused to reply to my letter in any manner.
It is my understanding that the only other action I have against Justice
Nazki is impeachment, which is practically impossible.
Anil Gidwani
IIT Electrical Engineer (Mumbai), Masters in Computer Science (Ohio
State University).
Citizen Of india Mobile : 98206 04121 email: akhanda@vsnl. com
<mailto:akhanda@vsnl. com>
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......\
............ ......
I attended the Press Conference Called by Mr Anil Gidwani today. Justice
Bilal Nazki is the Judge at the High Court, against whom too many
complaints have been made by petitioners, including myself ... Read my
experience at http://www.RoguePol ice.com/indjudg. htm
<http://www.roguepol ice.com/indjudg. htm>
In my affidavit at Supreme Court, I have urged the Chief Justice of
India, to restrain this Judge from harassing elderly citizens, who in
increasing numbers are appearing before the courts, to expose corruption
... read at http://www.RoguePol ice.com/maharash .htm
<http://www.roguepol ice.com/maharash .htm>
At the Press Conference, most of the reporters present, were aware about
my problems with the same judge, so one asked me "Chhugani, when are YOU
going on fast against Nazki". My reply was "Never ... I will force Nazki
to go on fast against my blogs about him, which he is well aware of".
Mr Anil Gidwani an IIT Engineer, was not allowed to go on a fast,
outside the High Court. He has received directions from the Mumbai
police, that he can fast only at Azad Maidan. So anyone wishing to meet
him, can locate him there at the maidan, near the entrance opp the
Muncipal Headquarters.
- 6.
-
Italy: Indian attack victim 'out of danger'
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 12:59 am (PDT)
Italy: Indian attack victim 'out of danger'
Rome, 5 May (AKI) - A homeless Indian Sikh who was burnt and beaten in a savage attack in central Italy earlier this year is now out of danger, one of his doctors said on Tuesday. But Vito Verardi, a surgeon at Rome's St Eugenio hospital told Adnkronos International (AKI) that Navtej Singh Sidhu would require several more operations and is likely to be in hospital at least until mid-June.
"I think he is out of danger now. But he has problems with both of his legs," Verardi told AKI. "His fibia bones are protruding through the skin and he will require delicate cosmetic and orthopedic surgery."
Sidhu was admitted to St Eugenio's burns unit on 1 February with a fractured skull and burns to 40 percent of his body after three youths in the coastal town of Nettuno allegedly attacked him as he slept on a railway station bench.
He has already undergone 10 skin graft operations, but Verardi said Sidhu was in good spirits. "He has made many friends in the hospital," he said.
The attack against Sidhu has angered immigrants in Italy, and has drawn condemnation from the charities that work with them, as well as politicians.
Three youths have been arrested and charged with attempted murder over the attack in which Sidhu was beaten, sprayed in the face with metallic paint, and set alight.
The three, who had allegedly been drinking, claimed they had sought out "a bum" to whom the could "teach a lesson" and "experience powerful emotions."
Sidhu became homeless when he lost his job as a builder's labourer last year after his residency permit expired.
Since the attack Italian authorities have pledged to give Sidhu residency, as well as a job and accommodation when he leaves hospital.
Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno, the Indian ambassador to Italy, Arif Khan, and Italy's Senate speaker, Renato Schifani, and members of the Punjabi community have visited Sidhu in hospital.
http://www.adnkrono s.com/AKI/ English/Politics /?id=3.0. 3278184934
- 7.
-
ISLAM: TURKEY, TRIAL OF WRITER NEDIM GURSEL BEGINS
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:01 am (PDT)
ISLAM: TURKEY, TRIAL OF WRITER NEDIM GURSEL BEGINS
(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, MAY 5 - The trial of Turkish (naturalised French) writer Nedim Gursel began today in Istanbul. The 58 year-old is accused of offending Islam in his latest novel The Daughters of Allah, which has already been published in Turkey and is due to be published in France by Editions du Seuil. The court must decide whether the writer has violated article 216 comma 1 of the Turkish penal code, which stipulates a sentence of one to three years imprisonment for "incitement to racial, class or religious hatred", thus threatening "the social peace" of the country. Gursel was not present at the opening of the trial, as he was attending a press conference in France, the country where he chose to go into voluntary exile even before the coup which brought general Kenan Evren's military junta to power. Evren later became President. This is the second trial for Gursel in Turkey. In 1981 a military tribunal sentenced him over his first novel, A Long Summer in Istanbul, a semi-autobiographic al account of a youth destroyed by political repression. Two years after the trial, another of his novels, The First Woman, was banned in Turkey. (ANSAmed).
2009-05-05 17:45
http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME03.@AM64225. html
- 8.
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Morocco's "mourchidates" and contradictions
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:07 am (PDT)
Morocco's "mourchidates" and contradictions
[ IT ]Souad Eddouada
Within the new context of the Family Code reform and the State's position on the compatibility between the universal truth of women's rights and Islam, women have been given a symbolic role in the religious sphere so as to promote Islamic arguments for gender equality. In the aftermath of the Casablanca terrorist attacks and under the supervision of the King, the Ministry of Islamic affairs embarked upon a widespread project for reforming the religious field, in which women were involved in the State's attempt to lay foundations and revive a "Moroccan Islam." However, this new responsibility in no case establishes that access for men and women to holy places, such as mosques, should take place on a totally equal basis.
To react to the rise of radical Islam, the King of Morocco proposes to support women's greater involvement within the religious sphere. "We wish to see women who are experts in the religious studies participate in these Councils (of ulemas or theologians) , because we hope to achieve greater equality for them as well as equality between men and women." In 2003 King Mohammed VI invited Rajae Najji Mekaoui, a university law professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat, to be the first woman to give a lecture in Dorous Hassania (a series of lectures) at the Royal Palace mosque. The Hassania lectures are a series of lectures presided over by the King every Ramadan, and attended by the highest civil and military officials and religious authorities from all over the Muslim world. Since then, other women have been giving lectures in the same series.
Within the new context of the Family Code reform and the State position on the compatibility between universal truths of women's right and Islam, women are given a symbolic role to play (1) in religious affairs to promote Islamic arguments for gender equality. In his role of the Amir al moumimine (Commander of the Faithful) the king is involving female religious scholars and directing their interest to women's issues. In the aftermath of the Casablanca terrorist attacks, under the supervision of the King, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs embarked upon a widespread project for the reform of the religious sphere, in which women were involved in the State's attempt to lay the foundations for and the revival a "Moroccan Islam."
After the terrorist attacks, Morocco implemented a religious reorganisation programme. According to observers this reorganisation is a reaction to the rise of "radical" Islam promoted in particular by Middle Eastern satellite channels as well as those broadcasting from the Gulf area, which promote a form of Islam considered to be extremist. This propaganda appears to have been one of the main causes of the development of religious fundamentalism. The Kingdom of Morocco believes that its own religious integrity, guaranteed by unity and the nation's adherence to the Malikite rite, a "tolerant and moderate Moroccan Islam," is threatened to the extent of being in great danger. The national project for reorganisation of the religious sphere is also a reform following the same egalitarian spirit of Family Law that was changed in 1993, and attributes new civil and religious responsibilities to Moroccan women.
These new responsibilities, however, do not provide men and women with totally equal rights to access holy places such as mosques. The annual training of fifty mourchidates (female preachers) is only addressed at preparing them to play a role in religious organisation, information and sensitisation. In fact, when the training programme for mourchidates was presented, the High Council of Ulemas (theologians of Islam) pronounced a fatwa (a legal opinion) forbidding women from leading prayers. According to the Council, these appointments appear to go against general religious rules, according to which women must pray in silence, while Imams preach out loud. The fatwa was pronounced following a request from the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, which specified how the role of a mourchidate is restricted to the organisation of debates and readings addressed at teaching believers the values of Islam and providing them with information capable of answering some of their questions.
The training of mourchidates includes Islamic studies, courses in psychology, sociology, IT, law and languages. This training, identical to that provided for Imams, includes an additional course in fiqh anisae (women's law). Although the reform of Family Law was the result of battles undertaken by mainly secular feminists, equality of public religious roles is an initiative undertaken by King Mohamed VI and has never been demanded by Moroccan feminists. As Saba Mahmoud emphasises in her book entitled "The Politics of Piety," how within the movements of the mosques, piety plays an awkward role in feminist studies. Women imposing themselves in areas until now reserved exclusively to men, however, will have to preserve the practices and ideals rooted in traditions that have historically assigned an inferior role to women.
However, should the mourchidates decide to refer to Islam's egalitarian school of thought, such as expressed by Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi in her books, and in particular in "Le harem politique: le Prophète et les femmes" and "Sultanes oubliées", or other Muslim feminists such as Amina Wadud and Asmae Barlas, they would risk moving beyond the simple provision contained in the guidelines from the Ministry for Religious Affairs. According to Saba Mahmoud, the analytical context of the resistance idea does not necessarily include progressive policies. To understand what forms of action characterise schools of thought differing from political liberalism, one should bear in mind that women's subordination to virtues, such as modesty and humbleness, are conditions favouring the possibility that they may assume public roles in religious and political life.
In April 2004, Attajdid, one of the main Islamist daily newspapers, published a series of interviews with female State Theologians who are members of religious councils as well as some mosque preachers (mourchidates) . In an interview with mourchidate Fatima Najjar underlined the importance of avoiding controversy, giving lessons in dialect informed by maqasid (intentional philosophy). She also emphasized the limits she sets for herself by not going beyond her specialisation which consists in using her one year training and following the Ministry's guidelines. The same Attajdid series also reported on the impact these lessons held by mourchidates are having. Fatima, a housewife who has been attending the lessons, said they helped her become a more pious woman. She discovered the mistakes she used to make in her prayers. Without these lessons she would have continued to pray "inappropriately. "
Radia, another woman attending the lessons, says that most women of her neighbourhood are regularly attending the mosque courses. She says that attending the lessons at the mosque changed her; she became a better person. She used to be hard and attending the lessons made her softer. She adds that women are mostly attracted by lessons that also satisfy their need to learn how to best play the role of mother and wife. Asia Almostquim, a preacher connected to the Religious Council in Rabat, observes that women are mostly attracted by subjects that educate them about family relationships with husbands and children; they also address issues related to the afterlife and judgment day. She also adds that mosques in poor neighbourhoods are the most popular ones in terms of the number of women attending the courses.
The mourchidate (female religious guide) selects the subject according to the needs expressed by women who attend the lessons. She also adds that the most important thing is that a mourchidate should always be aware of her limits and where to stop. For example, she should not dare to speak of issues she is not well-informed about or that are not within the scope of her specialisation and she should also be open to cooperate with more informed theologians.
The State's strategy
In an interview, the Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Taoufiq said that mourchidates are part of the State's strategy for the moral protection of citizens. This is an attempt to revive Sufi, Islam's tolerance and moderation in Morocco. It is this Islam that prevailed in North Africa between the 7th and the 13th centuries. This is the version of Islam that Toufiq would like to revive in Morocco by sponsoring the mourchidates or the female religious teachers' programme. Unlike the mourchidates who are required to hold a BA and learn half of the Koran by heart before they go through an oral and written entry exam, the alemat (female religious scholars council) are directly appointed by the King and so there is no clear scientific criterion for their accessing the religious council. The kingdom now has 150 mourchidates and 36 female religious scholars working for the different national councils.
Souad Rahaim, a religious scholar of the Eljadida ulema Council, was born in Kenitra in 1964 and earned a PhD in 2000 from the Islamic Studies Department at Eljadida University. Quoting the verse from the Koran, in which women and men are said to be partners in dawa (preaching Islam), Souad Rahaim, interviewed by Attajdid, stated that women's contribution alongside their male colleagues in religious education is both a religious and developmental necessity. Khadija Ben Hamo is another member of the council of Taroudant. She graduated from the Sharia University in Fez and has been a teacher of Islamic education ever since. She describes herself as one of the first women serving dawa (preaching Islam) in this new era. She attributes this shift in the State's recruitment policy for religious scholars, as being the result of the young king's clear and distinct vision of what 21st Century Morocco should look like. She believes that women's contribution to the reorganisation of the religious sphere will be valuable for reform and modernization.
Fatima Bouselama, who obtained her doctorate in 2004, was also appointed a religious council theologian in Casablanca three months after her graduation. Her task consists of training preachers and dawa (preaching Islam) servants, which means providing believers with guidance on religious issues. She believes that women will contribute on an equal basis with men to bringing to an end the isolation of religious councils from their social environment. She then adds, that women religious scholars tend mostly to be interested in women's issues and therefore they have better knowledge than their male colleagues of the fiqh anissae (Muslim Law for women).
While training mourchidates, these "alemates" or female theologians, do not engage in any polemics or controversial issues when theologians express different views, and they emphasize the unity of Islam. That is because the amma (ordinary people) do not need to learn about different Islamic doctrines other than the Moroccan Maliki doctrine. This because the confusion caused by one doctrine (madhab) could spoil maqasid (the intentions of Shari 'a). The commitment to one madhab (school) creates unity and harmony among individual Muslims avoiding fitna (chaos). The main objectives of the preacher should therefore be the emphasis on wahda (unity) in order to establish balance between the interests (maslaha) of the individual and those of the community and spread a culture of cooperation, security and peace.
The Minister of Religious Affairs has stated that the selection of these female theologians took a whole year and that the criteria were that these women, who either work for the highest religious council or the local ones, should be aware of the objectives or intentions of the Shari 'a (fiqh maquasidi). They should know how to adapt Shari 'a laws or Islamic laws to present conditions, should be experts in the fiqh and current legislation. The Minister said that these criteria are used to select ulema council members regardless of gender. Taoufiq further noted that the appointment of women has a symbolic significance, because the same scholars will mobilize other women to become involved in theology.
The expectation is that these female theologians will play a major role in promoting moderate Islam (manhag al-wastia). This became more urgent with the amendment of Family Law and the growth of Wahabism, considered responsible for spreading so-called radical Islam that inspired the suicide bombers who executed various attacks in 2003 and 2006.
Changing mentalities: a very difficult task!
In September 2006 Morocco's High Commissioner for Planning published a report entitled "The Moroccan Woman observed by her Social Environment. " To understand and assess the level of acceptance and/or Moroccans' resistance to "change" or to what is known as "The National Modernisation and Democratisation Project", those working for the Ministry for Planning decided to carry out a study on a sample of 7,400 individuals over the age of 15 representing a cross-section of society. This sample consisted of 48% who were men and 52% women, so as to establish statistics measuring adhesion to or rejection of "freedom of attire for women." As the report shows, this subject was one of many on which Moroccans were asked to express an opinion, perception and behaviour, regarding women's increasing access to education, paid work and political and institutional leadership.
Without wishing to analyse to what extent the sample chosen by the Ministry's study represented the people, results of this research indicate Moroccans' ambivalence concerning women's access to social and political roles, with a degree of hesitation between adhesion and rejection regards to access to education and paid work. Figures indicated respectively 81% and 74% in favour among those interviewed, while 77% of answers indicated that a woman's place is in the home. Results also showed that 77.5% answered "against" to the question, "are you in favour of or against freedom of attire for women?".
Fatima Mernissi's voice
The results of this survey were made public during a press conference organised by the Ministry for Planning in the presence of Fatima Mernissi, who for a long time has developed a number of arguments based on a various hadiths or 'words of the Prophet' on "women's right to freedom, and Islam's valorisation of women accessing the highest possible level of education." Arguments Mernissi developed brilliantly in her work entitled "Le harem politique: le Prophète et les femmes," a book that was banned when published at the beginning of the Eighties. In 2006, within the framework of the officially announced wish for "change" and reform, Mernissi was invited by a central political institution to defend these theses concerning a moderate Islam open to gender equality and freedom of attire for women. Mernissi states that any opposition to freedom for women is simply the result of Moroccans' ignorance on the subject of their own religious tradition.
After presenting the aforementioned hadiths, Mernissi proposed another survey analysing the reactions of Moroccans to the hadiths favouring women, such as "only an honourable man will honour them; and only a despicable man will degrade them." One should observe that these same words, spoken by the Prophet, were used in 2004, by King Mohamed VI to justify the introduction of the idea of gender equality in reforming Family Law. The reform undertaken by King Mohamed VI is part of broader changes in general policies concerning women, based on "Islam's egalitarian spirit and universal human principles." Adopting the same attitude used for the reform of Family Law, the King has been innovative in proposing the election of a quota of thirty-three women to the Moroccan Parliament (usually there are three).
Opposing change
Considered an indicator for understanding this resistance to "change" undertaken by the Moroccan authorities, the issue of freedom of attire for women seems to be the most important point in Moroccans' attitudes concerning reform and modernisation projects. Although the use of the veil has not been directly addressed, the question "are you in favour of or against freedom of attire for women?" is an ambiguous one. This question indicates the importance political institutions attribute to Moroccans having a positive attitude regarding freedom of attire for women. According to the Minister responsible for this survey, results indicate that as far as the status, role and behaviour of women are concerned, Moroccan society is experiencing a phase of transition from a traditional to a modern society. Both the website for the feminist Moroccan network "Anaruz" and the liberal or independent press seemed to share the Minister's point of view. Their comments emphasise how this greater resistance to modernity was expounded by opposition to freedom of attire for women, and in particular by the fact that not only this disapproval was expressed equally by people from rural areas and cities, but by people considering themselves as "modern", such as university students, with 85% opposing this idea, while this choice was made only by 71% of uneducated people.
These results concern women as much as they concern the political context, which questions itself on what the nation is at a given time, based firstly on the identity and bodies of women. After being the bastion of national Muslim identity and a stronghold against "western influence", women are now considered leading players in the national project for modernisation and change.
Souad Eddouada is Professor at the Iben Tofail Kenitra University (Morocco)
Notes:
(1) During a Television interview, the Minister of Islamic Affairs indicated that women alemates (religious scholars) and mourchidates (mosque preachers) are symbolic because they will inspire other women to get publicly involved in Islam.
Translated by Francesca Simmons
17 Apr 2009
Send us your opinion. Write to us at doc@resetdoc. org
http://www.resetdoc .org/EN/Morocco- Islam-imam. php
- 9.
-
Fwd: [dalit-movement-association-:141] 3rd update on a dalit jail su
Posted by: "Karthik Navayan" navayan@gmail.com
Thu May 7, 2009 1:08 am (PDT)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rajesh Singh Sisodia <nangepaon@gmail. com>
Date: Tue, May 5, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Subject: [dalit-movement- association- :141] 3rd update on a dalit jail
superintendent Gaikwads matter who was beaten ruthlessly by a probtioner
I.A.S. in Surguja of Chhattisgarh.
To: dalit-movement- association- @googlegroups. com
Nange Paon Satyagraha
(Social battle for human rights)
*Third up – date on Gaikwad,s matter*
Esteemed Friends,
*Gaiwad's plea accepted by the Honorable Court *
On 20/04/2009, Gaikwad sought shelter of the Honorable Court for seeking
justice. He has lodged a complaint case against Mr. Dayanand Pandey *alias *P.
Dayanand. It is indeed a matter of happiness that his complaint case under
sections 294(1),186,332, 353,342,586 of Indian Penal Code has been admitted
by the Court. Since Gaikwad comes from *dalit community *section 3(1)(10) of
SC/ST atrocities Act have also been charged against Mr. Dayanand Pandey.
Well begun is half done. We are confident of winning this battle.
*Transfer of Prisoners*
Now our district administration headed by arrogant and in accountable
officials, are any how planning to create a win – win situation for them in
this case. In this series, they are planning transfer of such prisoners who
were witness to the shameful incident of beating of a senior and well
literate officer like Gaikwad. This reflects that I.A.S. Officers of our
country could not give up their feudalistic mentality even after 62 years of
independence or they are taught in Musoorie to behave like a feudal.
*Central Jail with out a Jail Superintendent : train with out an engine:
poor prisoners worst victims of the situation.*
Central Jail Ambikapur is one of the largest jails of the province. This
injails around 100 naxal prisoners. In addition to these, there are even
more dangerous prisoners who are either hoogliguns of big capitalists or
themselves capitalists. Surguja too, once known for its backwardness is
rapidly stepping towards capitalism. Capitalism is multi – dimensional
problem, this has given and continues to give rise to many socio – political
problems. America adopted this economy which ultimately failed.
*Police played role of Court in Gaikwad's matter.*
Surguja police which did not register Gaikwad's complaint, in its reply to
Court has mentioned that "due to variations in statements of Gaikwad and
other witnesses complaint of Gaikwad was not registered and
accepted".Surprising ly the police for the first time went to diagnose the
statements as case of Gaikwad was framed by the administration.
*Now it is the high time for you to act on this matter*
friends, it is not the matter of Gaikwad rather it's a matter of humanity.
Gaikwad, Dr. K.K. Gupta (Jail Superintendent, Durg) and Mr. Ashok Somkunwar
(Jail Superintendent, Bhopal)are not only assets of their department but to
humanity as a whole. They are real reformers of the society in form of Jail
Suprintendents. So now, it is not the time to sit idle but to act. Gaikwad
is very good orator on social issues and very good writer too.
You are urged to flood the following mobile numbers with SMS:
9826622633 – Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh
9425207025 – Director General of Police Chhattisgarh
9425202494 – S.P. Surguja
9425208513 – I.G. Surguja
asking them action upon Gaikwad's report and suspension of Mr. Dayanand
Pandey.
Flood these mailboxes also with the similar demand:
prodgpcg@gmail. com
surguja@cg.nic. in
*Pledged to remain bare – foot until human rights are totally exercized;*
Sincerely Yours
(Rajesh Singh Sisodia)
Organizer
Nange Paon Satyagraha
Vivekanand Nagar, M.G. Road
Ambikapur (C.G.)
Mob: 09826921897
09229240638
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--
Battula Karthik Navayan,
Advocate,
H.No. 21-7-761,
Opp.High Court Post Office,
Gansi Bazar, Hyderabad,
PIN-500002, AP.
Cell:09346677007,
email:navayan@gmail. com <email%3Anavayan@ gmail.com>
http://karthiknavay an.blogspot. com/
http://www.orkut. co.in/Main# Profile.aspx? uid=103798050959 32756525
- 10.
-
Education to Me Wrong Attitude for Some â€" Banias are Cancer
Posted by: "Ravinder Singh" progressindia008@yahoo.com progressindia008
Thu May 7, 2009 1:08 am (PDT)
Education to Me Wrong Attitude for Some â€" Banias are Cancer
Â
Moneylenders and Banias or Traders existed for many thousand years.
Â
Guru Nanak Dev ji and before that Kabir and so many others Saints and Reformers tried to Take Out people from their clutches but were largely ineffective.
Â
Russia and China systematically Exterminated Them, USA introduced Free Market Economy â€" producers could directly sell their products to consumers. Idi Amin of Uganda, South Africa threw them out.
Â
Example â€" I didn’t know how a pant piece cost $2 in USA invariably imported from India that was available for $10 in India. I down loaded RIL Annual Reports and found factory selling price was just $2 per pant piece. My relations in USA get the cloth with very little profit margin between. Banias in India scale up five times.
Â
Mahatama Gandhi operating as Immigration Agent for Gujarati Traders was kept at sea for months.
Â
But India and most of developing countries have failed to RESTRICT them.
Â
Bania and Traders and Moneylenders are like Cancer that is difficult to detect and gives pain when in terminal stage. Borrowers are happy until they are sucked in to the financial trap.
Â
To control some crore Banias you need an army of honest executives. One or two honest at the top would never succeed.
Â
Education >>
Â
For over six years since I have internet connection I was looking for answers why India is still so poor. Searching Planning Commission documents I found Annual Capital Expenditure was just Rs.187 crores in first five year plan when GDP was Rs10,000 crores. There was severe shortage of food, very little power generation etc. Â
Â
Even when Banias earn 100% to 300% profit margins for many thousand years they didn’t provide proper food storage facilities. 30% of our vegetable are lost and 15% of food grains are lost in storage, 50% lose quality.Â
Â
Even when IT rate was over 90%, moneylenders and traders controlling entire business and trade and money lending business earning huge profits contributed almost nothing as taxes. Source of tax was on Excise Duty or Customs Duty or Sales Tax. Even in such trades they under declared sales.
Banias were neither contributing in building infrastructure nor contributing taxes for GOI to do it.
Â
A big company I worked for was recording sales of one truck for every three trucks production.
Â
GOI had no option but to employ increasing number of public servants to realize revenue leak that in most states salary of staff was many times capital expenditure.
Â
BJP â€" RSS Role
Â
BJP and RSS always SABOTAGED and opposed any control or restrictions on Bania and Traders.
Â
They didn’t support SEVERE penalties for Hoarding, Tax Evasion etc.
Â
Hoarding and Hunger
Â
I remember GOI limit stock with traders to 100 Ton but Banias immediately bypassed it. Their food grains were kept in their clients homes and farms and started new companies overnight.
Â
You can well imagine when monthly average grains consumption is 10 kg per capita and it requires 20 kg per capita to tide over famine â€" a Bania hording 100 T of grains means Starvation for 5000 population and some hundred dieing directly or indirectly.Â
Â
Why can’t Hoarders and Moneylenders charging 100% interest be HANGED?
Â
A marwari in 78 told me his family and promoters own about 15% equity that is spread over 30-40 members and his share and his own share is 2%. He made rough calculation and told me Royalty for my invention shall be 0.1%.
Â
Dhiru Ambani The Crook â€" Spurious Products
Â
I was inventing before Dhiru started RIL. I know promoters had to be qualified and capable of operating plant and machines.
Â
It was impossible to get loans for quailed engineers but unqualified or mediocre Banias never had any difficulty.
Â
Baring some brands most Banias produce substandard and spurious products that are inefficient and give much less service life â€" I huge national tragedy.
Â
PDS
Â
For your information PDS is not meant for Banias but the small traders operate as AGENTS of Banias. All the diverted food grains for PDS are routed through big banias. GOI take every precaution but is bypassed.
Â
Treachery of BJP â€" RSS
Â
1. It let Ambanis and others who didn’t contribute more than 10% equity to raise it to 93%. This effectively means 1200 million own just 7% or 8% of Corporate Equity though its their money as deposits in Banks and their own consumption brought them in to existence in first place.
Â
2. It prevented NRIs from investing in India Corporate- Equity of foreign companies is now around 30%.
Â
3. BJP SABOTAGE PDS.
Â
4. BJP diluted FERA so that no one sending money to Switzerland could be sent to jail.
Â
When Reliance was caught red handed “Re-routingâ€� international calls as locals causing a loss of Rs.5000 crores to BSNL and MTNL â€" there was not even a police enquiry against Ambanis.
Â
When Ken Lay of ENRON can be sent to jail for 20 years for merely fudging company records, Reliance was actually operating 30 Illegal Exchanges with global network.
Â
Why can’t they be hanged.
Â
Banias Fund Political Parties
Â
Yes it is true Banias fund all parties -- most try to control them.
Â
But BJP - RSS ideologically support Banias.
Â
Madan Lal Khurana SABOTAGED Delhi Rent Act 1995. How can you justify a shop paying just Rs.100 pm when his neighbor earns Rs.5,00,000 per month for same space.
Â
I have noticed thousands of times Chinese products worth Rs.100 are retailed for Rs. 300.
Â
Apples delivered to roads side for Rs.5 per kg are retailed in Delhi for Rs..40 to Rs. 100 per kg.
Â
I was shocked to find per kg difference in price between Delhi and Mumbai was Rs.20 when transportation cost is just Rs.2 per kg.
Â
I am educating younger generation of India there no attitude issue.
Â
Posted by: "anil" anil.bahl@svtank. com Â
Mon May 4, 2009 10:06 pm (PDT)
My dear Mr. Ravinder Singh,
Thanks for posting your views. However, after reading these for sometime, I have some observations which I would like to humbly state here for you.
Do some introspection to bring in CHANGE and ACCOUNTABILITY. Solutions are important, not the problems. Implementation is the crying need of the hour - it has been the need for the past SIX DECADES!
1) Who gave the PDS in the hands of the banias over 62 years?
2) Who created a powerful "license raj" system (mostly handed over to banias & marwaris), from the time we gained independence?
3) Who was has been in the seat of LS majority for 62 years?
4) Why did the Congress fail the Country on all fronts - be it security, poverty, health, hygiene, rural development, social evils...I could go on & on..., even though they have been in a majority for 62 years?Why did they not implement anything for the common man - who still remains an "aam aadmi". There are no "aam aadmi" in Europe or Malaysia - as there are in India or Africa. Do we want to be compared to Africa?????? ??
5) Finally, whom will you blame if your house is weak, and the doors keep falling off the hinges?
Your continual raving & ranting provides no solutions - only raises issues & problems which EVERYBODY KNOWS SINCE THE LAST 6 DECADES!
Moreover, your attitude and manner is stamped with the evils of casteism and communal approach. Please, at least we educated people, should stop talking bania, hindu, maharashtrian, north Indian, south Indian etc - its a disgrace to Mother India!
We are all Indians, and Nothing else!
Please desist from such an attitude, if you call yourself different and progressive.
God give you wisdom, to avail of the gift of the power of discernment.
With best regards & respects
Anil Bahl
Â
Where were these Bania’s Before BJP
Â
Posted by: "sk1nath" sk1nath@yahoo. com  Â
Mon May 4, 2009 10:34 pm (PDT)
I do agree that bania (traders) distroyed, looted people of India.
And all parties are supported them.
They were with congress from the begining.
Now they are with BJP. Congress people lost their huge income source from this corrupt people. so they are jealous.
dear congressman har kutte key din ate hai.....
Â
Â
Â
- 11a.
-
Re: Man gets death for rape and murder of minor
Posted by: "Soumya Bhaumik" bhaumik.soumya@gmail.com
Thu May 7, 2009 1:11 am (PDT)
this is not the only case in recent time when a person has been sentenced to
death for this kind of heinous crime. with regard to whether death sentence
works as detterent or not let us do a statistical finding of all cases post
the execution of Dhananjay also accused of similar crime.
That would go on to show that awarding death sentence does not ever work as
detterent.
On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 9:44 AM, Anita Mathew <anitamat@gmail. com> wrote:
>
>
>
> POSTED BY: Anita Mathew anitamat@gmail. com
>
> Subject: Man gets death for rape and murder of minor
>
> Dear Sumitra,
> Basically we need to change mindsets so punitive measures maybe needed as
> we all know to send a message but the child is dead and we are congrtulating
> the magistrate for invoking the death penalty.. death penalty then should be
> the orser of the day for all rapists in that case.. which would then stop
> the crime as there would be fear instilled one of the reasons we punish.In
> this case the question is how can killing the man help but increase the
> feeling of hate which the parents would have to live with all their lives..
> to heal we have to think of many alternatives anddeath in this particular
> case is not going to help at all as we have as u rightly pointed out to find
> out the root causes of any action before taking measures of the extreme kind
> here death penalty.That is what the foundation of human rights is find out
> the root cause and start mindset changes which we do as believers in rights
> based work. Thanks. Anita.
>
> On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 1:20 PM, ankuram society <ankuram@yahoo. com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I would totally agree with Alberta and Anita Mathew, in responding to
>> the death penalty awarded to the rapist.
>>
>>
>>
>> By awarding death penalty to the culprit, there is a danger of sending
>> across two strong messages to the society: they are-1. kill the killer, to
>> end evil. 2. hatred is the best option to resolve a crisis.
>>
>> Both these messages are more dangerous than the rapists or the killers or
>> terrorists in the society. Any civilized citizen of this land should
>> start think of reasons that lead to this kind of crime and inhuman
>> tendencies among the people, and one should become part of change agents to
>> bring positive change in the society. I am not arguing for the
>> 'innocence of the culprits or rapists'. While fighting for the rights of a
>> child or victim child, we the civilized humans, needs to think humanly,
>> and act appropriately, before vouching for pulling out somebody's 'breathe'
>> for ever !
>>
>>
>>
>> In Andhra Pradesh, when two Engineering students were victimized in acid
>> attacks, immediately the culprits were nabbed by police and were
>> 'encountered'. Everybody felt happy and appreciated the "encounter"
>> killings and thought that, in Andhra Pradesh at least, the girls\women
>> will be of free of acid attacks forever , and in future every culprit
>> would get a lesson out of this counter ' killings' in acid attacks.
>>
>>
>> But it was proved that it did not make an iota of change in the mindset
>> of the culprits, and the acid attacks are continued to happen !
>>
>>
>>
>> Sumitra,
>>
>> ANKURAM-Hyderabad.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On *Sun, 3/5/09, Cheruvu Bhanuja <bhanureds@yahoo. com>* wrote:
>>
>> From: Cheruvu Bhanuja <bhanureds@yahoo. com>
>> Subject: ICYO to end CESC:573 Re: Man gets death for rape and murder of
>> minor
>> To: icyo-to-end- cesc@googlegroup s.com
>> Date: Sunday, 3 May, 2009, 2:55 PM
>>
>> Great Job by Magistrate.
>>
>> M S Chandra
>>
>> --- On *Sun, 5/3/09, Anita Mathew <anitamat@gmail. com>* wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Anita Mathew <anitamat@gmail. com>
>> Subject: ICYO to end CESC:572 Re: Man gets death for rape and murder of
>> minor
>> To: icyo-to-end- cesc@googlegroup s.com
>> Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009, 8:26 AM
>>
>> I would agree with Ms Albertina in so much as the death penalty may act
>> hopefully as a deterrent! or would it be another headline?? in our
>> economically driven world without any human face or conscience anymore more
>> often then not but the fact remains that the life of a child has already
>> been devastated by the heinous crime and its she and her family who will
>> live with the tragedy all their lives- a positive approach to the whole
>> issue would be more appropriate like how has her family been helped and
>> whats been done for her.. as Gandhi rightly said an' eye for an eye will
>> only make the whole world blind!' Thanks. Anita Mathew.
>>
>> On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 8:33 PM, Albertina Almeida <
>> albertina.almeida@ gmail.com<http://us.mc01g. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=albertina. almeida@gmail. com>
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> And how does death penalty for the perpetrator mean any justice for the
>>> dead minor or for her family or those similarly placed as her? That the
>>> seriousness of the crime against her was recognised - yes. But does one
>>> heinous act justify another? I'd be equally concerned (and i'm sure those
>>> who have taken up her case are seized with this!) about what's happening
>>> with her family and whether their vulnerabilities are in anyway reduced.
>>>
>>> albertina
>>>
>>>
>>> On 5/2/09, COMPACT/MADHU <compfin@gmail. com<http://us.mc01g. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=compfin@ gmail.com>>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Dear all
>>>>
>>>> A appriciable job from Second Additional District Magistrate and CI.
>>>> This needs to be canvassed properly and the legal faternity needs to take a
>>>> pleadge not to argue further in any courts and to respect the judgement of
>>>> Magistrate and to see the purnishment is properly executed.
>>>>
>>>> Great Job by Magistrate.
>>>>
>>>> Madhu Babu, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
>>>> 09849023807
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 10:33 AM, ICYOIndia <icyoindia@gmail. com<http://us.mc01g. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=icyoindia@ gmail.com>
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Campaign against
>>>>>
>>>>> *Sexual Abuse of Children and Youth*
>>>>>
>>>>> *ICYO-Youth Information* ICYO to End CSEC
>>>>>
>>>> *(To raise the voice against Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation of
>>> Children and Youth and Human Trafficking for sexual purpose*)
>>>
>> *
>> ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
>> *
>> *Maharastra: * *Man gets death for rape and murder of minor *
>>
>>
>>
>> Madanapalle: In a sensational judgment on Friday, the second additional
>> district magistrate of Madanapalle awarded death sentence to a person for
>> raping and murdering a minor girl.
>>
>>
>>
>> Golla Appaiah (34) was found guilty under sections 301, 302 and 376 of the
>> IPC for raping and killing the minor girl on August 29, 2007. Pronouncing
>> the verdict, magistrate Ganesh Babu said hanging till death for Appaiah
>> cannot be enough for his heinous crime.
>>
>>
>>
>> Appaiah, son of farm worker Narasimhulu, kidnapped the fiveyear-old girl
>> when she was playing with her friends from Metlapalle village of Chowdepalle
>> mandal.
>>
>>
>>
>> After raping the girl in an isolated area, he killed her by twisting her
>> neck and later threw her body in a pit and fled from the spot. The girl was
>> the daughter of Venkatamma, a casual worker, hailing from the same village.
>> Following a complaint, the then CI Muneshwar Reddy arrested Appaiah near a
>> school at Madanapalle a month after the crime. (Times of India)
>>
>> ------------ --------- ----
>>
>> This newsletter distributed by
>> Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)
>>
>> 194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang Enclave
>>
>> New Delhi 110029, India
>>
>> Phone: 91 9811729093 / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423
>> Email*: info.icyo@gmail. com<http://us.mc01g. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=info.icyo@ gmail.com>/
>> icyo@icyo-india. org<http://us.mc01g. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=icyo@icyo- india.org>
>> ***
>> Web: www.icyo.in
>> ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
>> Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is the network
>> organization, committed for capacity building and developing mutual
>> cooperation and understanding amongs youth organizations, youth groups.
>> ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth organizations with
>> working area in South Asia.a.
>> *Affiliation* *: *
>> Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
>> Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
>> Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY);
>> Full Member of Asian Youth Council (AYC);
>> Member: CRIN, ATSEC-DELHI,
>> Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> MADHU BABU
>> COMPACT- FINANCIAL ADVISERS AND DMA - LEADING BANK
>> 98490 23807/040-66339294
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> (M) 9326137682
>> You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were;
>> and I say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> ------------ --------- ---------
>
>
>
--
Thanking you,
With warm regards,
Soumya Bhaumik
- 12.
-
Fw: Article by Sharad Joshi
Posted by: "Aruna Rodrigues" arunarod@gmail.com
Thu May 7, 2009 1:12 am (PDT)
@
----- Original Message -----
From: Aruna Rodrigues
To: blfeedback@thehindu .co.in
Cc: Kiran Sakkhari ; GM Watch ; No Reply ; Latha Jishnu Business Std ; Dev Kumar Vasudevan ; Dr Pushpa Bhargava ; PV Satheesh satheesh ; Lakshmi Bhatia ; Gita Bery ; Ashok Sharma ; kishor tiwari ; jai krishna ; Kavitha Kuruganti ; Sidharth Pande ; Prasad R ; Kevan Clarke
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 4:15 PM
Subject: Article by Sharad Joshi
Sir/s
I feel compelled to address the article in the Hindu Business Line by Sharad Joshi, a member of our Rajya Sabha, with regard to his remarks on GM crops.
It is unfortunate that an MP of the Upper House of our Parliament is so ill-informed and ignorant about a vital issue such as GM crops and then has the awful temerity to air his ignorance and write about it. He is wrong and grossly inaccurate on both counts, ie with regard to the science of genetically engineered crops on the market in India and world wide, as well as the impacts of Bt cotton on our farming community.
The appalling farmer suicides, written about in the plainest terms by the award-winning journalist, Sainath, as well as other incontrovertible evidence demonstrate that are farmers are taking their lives at least partly because of the high input costs of Bt cotton. The failure of Bt cotton in many States is the straw that broke the camels back and has broken our farmers and their families in the most horrifying way. Farmer suicides and their link to Bt cotton is for example, attested to by the Mumbai High Court through their amicus curiae, TISS (the Tata Institute for Social Sciences). Let not Mr Joshi insult the widows of these farmers because he doesn't know better than to keep silent, given his lack of knowledge.
As Mr Sainath succintly says in his recent article of the 1st May 09:
"Maharashtra' s suicides are perhaps unique. In that state, farmers have written suicide notes addressed to the prime minister and chief minister on the issue (while many experts ponder about why these people are taking their lives)"
This is not the place and it would take too long to show Mr Joshi that Bt cotton hasn't been the success story that he touts; that GM crops have no intrinsic yield gains because they are not engineered for those traits (this is the plain unambiguous science); that we also have serious health hazards both human and animals attributed to Bt cotton with the loss of thousands of buffalo, sheep and goats that the Government doesn't feel the need to investigate; that independent scientific studies by leading scientists are increasingly showing that Bt crops are chronically toxic with the evidence of long term tumours (read cancer) and decreased fertility in rats fed a Bt corn. Is it therefore, possible, that our farmers know more about the fertility of their animals than Mr Joshi? That is an easy "yes". Why doesn't our government carry out the most exhaustive investigation of these problems? Well, they can't do so because in the 15 years since the Indian Regulator has been playing dice with GM crops and our Country, they haven't bothered to set up internationally accredited labs that can do the required scientific tests. In fact, the order of the Supreme Court on testing for contamination to a level of detection of at least 0.01% has not been carried out for this reason. They could have sent the samples of crops and seeds abroad for testing. The fact that they have not bothered, tells its own story. On the evidence, it is entirely probable that credibility lies with our farmers and not the group of scientists that make up the GEAC (Genetic Engineering Approval Committee).
Perhaps, Mr Joshi's lack of enquiry into these matters betrays a stance that is unashamedly pro Industry and I am driven to ask what feeds his igorance and why he even feels compelled to write in that ignorance? Our nation deserves better, much better.
Aruna Rodrigues
Lead Petitioner in the GM PIL in the SC
GM
- 13.
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SIT and witness protection
Posted by: "Nutan Thakur" drnutanthakur@yahoo.com drnutanthakur
Thu May 7, 2009 1:17 am (PDT)
R K Raghavan's statement in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) that "witness protection will be given the highest priority during trial" and that all witnesses will "be getting adequate protection" is a welcome one. More so because he is the head of the Special Investigation team (SIT) that has been constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate into the Gujarat riots and recently has also been assigned the task of looking into the various complaints against the Chief minister Modi, many of his close associates and some important government functionaries as well. Not that everyone is satisfied with the SIT's job so far and more often than once, figures have been raised against its functioning, where it has been felt that it has not come up to the expectations of the people in its process of trying to bring the culprits before the Court. And yet, this is what we have and thus every one of us, who knows that Gujarat is the worst example so far of the State sponsored violence and mayhem in our country, are pinning our hopes on the SIT.
Through these words Raghav has tried not only to assuage the feelings of the devastated and brutalized victims but has also tried to instill some sort of confidence in them to come up and speak the truth. He exhorts them by saying that "they need not fear anyone." How much does he really mean when he speaks these brave-sounding words and how much of it would actually be implemented on the ground during the long processes of trial, no one knows but the fact that witness security is being recognized as an important issues and steps are being taken to ensure it, is itself something to feel good about. Moreover, it also brings forth the fact that even the Supreme Court and SIT, as its assisting body, realizes the possibility of such things happening in Modi's land.
One more thing that the SIT must do is to complete the arduous and difficult task assigned to it by the Supreme Court as regards investigating into the roles of the bigwigs including the all-powerful and invincible-looking Narendra Modi and his lieutenants. It seems easier than done because of the kind of complete hold that the government enjoys in the State, with its kind of brute majority which naturally makes the affected persons feel helpless and despondent, with no one to really look at for support, save the public spirited persons and social activists. It will be difficult to come out with concrete evidence that would nail down these persons but if the SIT is able to do anything in this regards, it would be truly great service to the Nation.
Dr Nutan Thakur
Editor
Nutan Satta Pravah
Lucknow
# 94155-34525
- 14.
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Burning Nepal
Posted by: "Nutan Thakur" drnutanthakur@yahoo.com drnutanthakur
Thu May 7, 2009 1:20 am (PDT)
Friends,
Nepal burning is always to be a cause of concern to India. With a porous border and with intricate web of relationships at social' cultural and familial basis other than the geo-political realities, the development in Nepal are something which we just can't take lightly.
The events till now include the attempt made by the ex-PM Prachanda to sack the Army Chief, the chief's refusal to obey the orders, the President's objections to sign the order on legal grounds culminating in Prachanda's resignation from the post.
after this, the situation in Nepal is quite uncertain. Here I would attempt to present the various possible scenario and their subsequent repercussions-
1. Maoists (238 members in Constituent assembly out of a total of 601 and hence needing 301 members) joins hands with some of the smaller parties to form the government- not an easy option because it does not seem likely that Madhesi People's Right Forum (53 members) and Terai Madesh democratic party (21 members) will go along with Maoists, considering the bitter past they had and also because of the radically opposite support base they enjoy. So is the case with Sadbhavana Party (9 members) another Madhesi group. This leaves only 60 seats with other smaller groups to go along with Maoists and this does not seem sufficient for the 301 mark.
2. Nepali Congress, the UML and the above three small parties join hands. This makes their number 303 (with 112 members of Nepali Congress and 108 from UML) which is sufficient enough to cross the 301 mark. This is quite feasible also. But here the problem will be the Maoists who would naturally take it as a letdown and might revert back to the same turbulent days, plunging Nepal to chaos. Moreover, there is also the issue of the PMship where both NC and UML might claim their stakes
3. No consensus or coalition is formed, leaving the President to rule, with the aid of the Military. This would be more damaging because it would bring the military rule with the political partiers on the streets and the Maoists back to their violent ways.
4. Fourthly the military might attempt a coup in the present situation, with an overconfident and buoyant Chief at its head. This is not improbable and would harm the country in no less measures
5. Finally, there is also a chance of the King returning back, taking this opportunity to get back to his saddle.
As we can easily see, the situation in Nepal is grim. Theoretically, the second option seems to be the best. But will it happen successfully?
Dr Nutan Thakur
Editor
Nutan Satta Pravah
Lucknow
# 94155-34525
- 15.
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Pakistan: Expelled Sikhs want to migrate to India
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:20 am (PDT)
Pakistan: Expelled Sikhs want to migrate to India
Islamabad, 6 May (AKI/Asian Age) - Scores of Sikh families recently forced out of Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan by Taliban militants, want to migrate and settle in India, according to a report in the Indian daily, The Asian Age.
"We can't say anything openly against the Taliban as we fear for our lives. What we will prefer is to migrate to India where we will have more freedom," a Sikh doctor told the daily.
"We have conveyed this to the Pakistan government but they have promised us that things will change and we will be secure," he said.
Sikhs approached by The Asian Age requested anonymity, fearing Taliban reprisals.
"Most of our people have been giving pro-Taliban statements on television channels. This does not mean we love them, but we fear them. We may have to go back and then there's the question of survival," said a Sikh woman who has taken refuge in Islamabad after migrating from Orakzai Agency.
"I have four children, all of them are with me. My husband has a shop (in Orakzai Agency). We can't say anything against them (the Taliban) on record but the truth is that they are brutal."
A Sikh shopkeeper named Gurmeet said: "I think the militants are not against any specific religion. They are fighting against humanity. No peaceful citizen can be their friend."
"Though I would prefer to go back home, I still think India is much better as far as human rights are concerned," Gurmeet added.
"Several of my family members live in Amritsar and one day I might move there with my wife and children," he said, referring to the holy Sikh city located in India's northern Punjab state.
Earlier this month, the Sikhs in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas were forced to leave by Taliban militants who demanded that they pay jizya (Islamic tax).
A local jirga or tribal meeting last week ordered the Sikhs to pay the Taliban militants protection money after militants captured the shops and homes of 35 Sikh families and "arrested" two Sikh community leaders in Orakzai's Ferozkhel area.
http://www.adnkrono s.com/AKI/ English/Religion /?id=3.0. 3282492548
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PAKISTAN Government does nothing to stop violence against Pakistan's
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:21 am (PDT)
05/06/2009 15:39
PAKISTAN
Government does nothing to stop violence against Pakistan's minorities
by Qaiser Felix
This is the conclusion reached by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in its 2009 report. Taliban leader promises total war against the government, an "enemy of Muslims". Catholic cabinet minister stresses his government's commitment in favour of minorities and reiterates that religious freedom is protected under the constitution. A petition campaign is undertaken in Karachi against Swat extremists.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Violence against religious minorities is commonplace in Pakistan, one of 13 countries named by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom where the government condones or supports such behaviour.
This year "has seen the largely unchecked growth in the power and reach of religiously- motivated extremist groups whose members are engaged in violence in Pakistan and abroad, with Pakistani authorities ceding effective control to armed insurgents espousing a radical Islam ideology," the 2009 report stated. Recent events in the Swat Valley confirm the situation.
Calling the Pakistani government and army "enemies of Muslims", the local Taliban vowed on Monday to march forward till death. "Either we'll be martyred or we'll march forward," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said, who added that elements in the military and the government were trying to sabotage the peace process to please the United States.
Maulana Abdul Aziz, former imam of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), said that whatever situation has emerged in the troubled areas of Swat was a reaction of a military operation conducted on the mosque in 2007 when 86 people officially died.
In the meantime Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti reiterated his government's commitment to ensure the safety of minorities in the country. "The present government believes in the principles of tolerance, human equality and peaceful co-existence, " the minister said.
Bhatti, a Catholic, slammed demands by the Taliban that non-Muslims pay the Jizia, or poll tax, saying that religious minorities are not conquered native communities but sons of the same soil and rightful citizens of Pakistan.
Explaining that the situation would improve the minister said that Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees that "every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion" without discrimination.
Last Saturday activists and groups from civil society groups launched a petition campaign in Karachi, collecting signatures against the Taliban and the imposition of Sharia in the Swat valley.
http://www.asianews .it/index. php?l=en& art=15167& size=A
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PAKISTAN Tens of thousands flee as the army faces the Taliban in Swa
Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it sitrep_comalp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:23 am (PDT)
05/06/2009 10:11
PAKISTAN
Tens of thousands flee as the army faces the Taliban in Swat
At least 40 thousand people have fled the area where sporadic clashes take place. The pact between the government and Islamic extremists appears close to collapse. Today Zardari and Karzai meet Obama. The fight against the Taliban in Pakistan is essential for victory in Afghanistan.
Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - At least 40 thousand people are fleeing the Swat Valley as it becomes increasingly evident that the agreement between the Taliban and the government is over. The pact had already been criticised by many in Pakistani society as Islamabad selling out its' sovereignty to the Islamic extremists. The Pakistani Army accuses the Taliban of having broken the deal by seeking to infiltrate other areas of the nation.
Over the past few days the Taliban and army have been clashing in the main regional city Mingora, once a renowned destination for skiers which now lies devastated by two years of Taliban warfare. Swat's top official, Khushal Khan, confirms that the radical militants are infiltrating strategic points and mining the territory. According to authorities 500 thousand people are seeking refuge. The army is preparing 6 camps to shelter them.
The crisis has worsened on the eve of direct talks between the US President Barak Obama and the Pakistani and Afghan Presidents, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai.
Obama is expected to urge Zardari to put a stop to Taliban who are using Pakistan as a base from which to launch their attacks in Afghanistan. According to US presidential advisor Richard Holbroocke, without Pakistan's help the United States cannot win the war in Kabul.
The pact between the government of the North West Frontier Province (Nwfp) and the Taliban foresaw the introduction of Sharia the area, as of February 16th last, in exchange for a ceasefire. On April 13th last Zardari signed a decree validating the deal. As the Taliban began summary executions for adultery, public lashings for 'immoral behaviour', the closure of girls schools and banned women from appearing in public, in public society particularly among women's groups criticism of Zardari has grown.
http://www.asianews .it/index. php?l=en& art=15164& size=A
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ARE TALIBAN REALLY BARBARIANS?
Posted by: "Hussain Khan, Tokyo" 786@ourquran.com hkhanjp
Thu May 7, 2009 1:24 am (PDT)
This article can also be read by clicking on: http://www.ourquran .com/barbarians. htm
ARE TALIBAN REALLY BARBARIANS?
By: Hussain Khan, Tokyo
A lot of one-sided and baseless stories are being circulated against Taliban. The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has also talked about the `mortal danger' of Taliban and further expressed her exaggerated fear of Taliban taking over Islamabad. Some people accuse Taliban of “beheading people, denying girls of schools, barring women from coming out, and measuring beards of men and also burning schools and music shops.� That is not the real face of Taliban. The secular opponents of Sharia and the so called liberals are misinforming and demonizing these matters and painting a picture of Taliban as barbarians.
Based on such false accusations the war is being carried out by the US in Afghanistan and in Pakistan aided by the Pakistan army. A vast number of innocent civilians are being daly killed by the army which cannot locate the true militants and therefore treats all civilians as militants. It also resulted in a huge number of civilian exodus from their homes to safe areas. No power in the world history has ever succeeded in killing only the real militants in any guerilla type of war. Always innocent civilians are killed much more than a few real militants. The killing of such innocents provides more recruits to the resistance movements. Such a war could not be won either by the US and Nato forces or by the Pakistan army. Despite 8 years of high-technology war of a Super-power like the US, Obama admits, "we are not winning in Afghanistan" against the ill-equipped Taliban. It was for the same reason that Musharraf had to make a deal with the so
called "terrorists" after huge losses of Pakistan army. The same reason compelled the Pakistan army and the secular provincial ANP government of NWFP to conclude a Peace Agreement with the Taliban after 18 months of fighting an unsuccessful guerilla war against them.
As regards the accusation about girls education, Taliban deny it both in speech as well as through the practical execution of their policies. They had to close some schools, both of boys and girls as well, in Afghanistan due to lack of funds. But false propaganda is carried out against them as if they closed girls schools only. An anti-Taliban report in the New York Times of February 14, 1996 says, "It is a world where there has been a systematic drive to push women back into purdah, the traditional Muslim arrangement that prevents them from seeing any men outside their immediate families. Under Taliban decrees, women have been forbidden to work outside their homes, except in hospitals and clinics, and then only if they work exclusively with women and girls." For the Westerners and the secular Muslims, purdah may be equal to pushing back women into illiteracy or it may be regarded as something discouraging women from education. In Islam, Purdah
is basically to prevent the free mixing of sexes, which is the root cause of several social evils of a modern society, leading to rape, divorce, illicit relationships, birth of children outside the wedlock and so on. But it is not an impediment to women's education. Many highly-educated Muslim women today are contributing to society with Hijab. Even in the above anti-Taliban report, it is admitted that the women were allowed to work in hospitals and clinics. If Taliban would have abandoned women's education and prevented them from going to schools, from where they brought women to work in hospitals and clinics? It indicates as to how false are the reports that Taliban are against the education of girls and women!
No doubt, they have blasted some of the girls’ schools in Swat, as they were fighting against the Pakistan army which had made these schools its operational bases for attacks on Taliban. Now after the peace agreement, all girls schools are functioning as usual. Maulana Sufi Mohammad has not spoken anything against girls’ education. Secularists have made it their propaganda agenda to create hatred against Sharia. The number of girls' schools destroyed by Taliban is quoted but the readers are not informed that these schools were operational bases of the army, which was attacking and killing them.
Taliban are blamed for usurping women's rights. Better to ask about it to a British woman journalist, Yvonne Ridley, who was arrested by Taliban, while on assignment with the London’s Sunday Express in 2001. After her release from the Taliban prison, she converted to Islam. What kind of impression incidents of this nature create about Taliban? Do the barbarian behave like this? Will a Western educated lady, a well-informed journalist by profession, convert to the religion of the barbarians after remaining as their prisoner for several days? She is now working for a Muslim Television station in London covering herself with Islamic decency and Hijab. She is a renowned British journalist. She now works for the Iranian-based 24-hour English language news channel Press TV, where she fronts her own London-based current affairs show, The Agenda.
There is no Taliban rule now. After visiting Afghanistan in November, 2008, she has written about the present situation, "The only winners emerging from Afghanistan these days are the drug barons who preside over the world’s largest heroin trade and the pimps who control the Chinese prostitutes operating from the scores of bordellos and brothels which have emerged since the US military occupation.. .So there you have it ¨C Afghanistan a country in the grip of reckless soldiers, slappers and smack."
During about 6 years of their rule in Afghanistan between 1994 to 2001, Taliban rightly claim to have established law and order, cleansed the society from all kinds of crimes, completely eradicated the production and the sale of drugs, as admitted and appreciated by the UN as well. As regards the emergence of Taliban in 1994, the same New York Times report of February 14, 1996 says, "Only a year ago, the rise of the Taliban was greeted with widespread enthusiasm in areas of the country that they now control. Their sudden emergence as a political and military force, from a base in the southern city of Kandahar, was propelled by their pledge to "cleanse" Afghanistan of the killing, rape and pillage that became endemic under the cover of the civil war that ensued after Soviet troops were withdrawn in 1989.......Out of the anarchy that followed the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan in 1989 emerged numerous competing factions, many of them still fighting with
weapons that had been supplied covertly by the United States. Divided by tribal origins, personalities or strictness of their interpretations of Islam, the factions have battled for control ever since. A new and stringently fundamentalist faction, the Taliban, arose in Sept. 1994, in protest against the abduction and rape of a group of Afghan women and teenage girls by local warlords who had gained power in the fight against the Soviets. Invoking the memory of forebears who fought the British, the Taliban pledged to rid Afghanistan of the warlords, whom they described as "parasites" masquerading as Muslims. Within four months, they controlled a third of Afghanistan. Since then, their fortunes have varied. Herat, the key city in western Afghanistan, fell in Sept. 1995." How one can call such people barbarians who have emerged to unite their country against the competing factions, to protest against the abduction and rape of Afghan girls and to rid
Afghanistan of the warlords, who were regarded as "parasites" masquerading as Muslims? How the people emerging for such lofty ideals can suddenly become terrorists and criminals, as they are presented in this color by the anti-Islam secular media?
The same New York Times report, which is basically anti-Taliban, ridicules the Taliban punishments in the following words, "The new Afghanistan is a world where murderers and "enemies" of the Taliban are hanged from cranes and the barrels of tank cannon, where the execution of others found guilty of killing consists of being shot in the back with rifles by their victims' fathers, and where convicted thieves are subjected to surgical amputations of their hands and arms.......After the anarchy of recent years, many Afghans have welcomed the harsh punishments meted out by the Taliban to some violent criminals, while others have been horrified... ..According to reports published in Pakistan, there were public executions carried out in the eastern Afghanistan city of Khost a few days ago." The Taliban punishments are described in a ridiculous style, but one has to see the character and face of Taliban in it. This shows that Afghans have welcomed these harsh
punishments as they have got rid of anarchy and lived in peace. Justice was meted out promptly. It further illustrates, how strict Taliban had been against all kinds of crimes. As a result they have eradicated crime in Afghanistan during their 6-year rule. What is ridiculous is the propaganda against them that such people have now turned to become barbarians and criminals themselves against whom they had been giving such severe punishments. This kind of baseless propaganda against them cannot hold ground for long.
No civilized government in 21st century could be successful so far to achieve such fantastic results in prevention of crime and maintaining law and order in their respective countries. Neither America, nor Europe, nor Japan, nor any other country, except Saudi Arabia, can claim their success in prevention of crime, homicide, rape, drugs, fraud and what not. the late King Faisal once replied to a questioner in the US that the crimes committed in New York in one day are much more than all the crimes in Saudi Arabia in more than ten years. Every year the rate of crime is on a constant increase in every so-called civilized country today.
In maintaining law and order in society, Taliban deserve to be ranked as No.1 in the world. In view of these big achievements of Taliban government, it is better to forgive some of their extreme measures about beard & etc., which are extraordinarily insignificant in nature and do not deserve to be demonized by our secularized or liberal intellectuals.
As regards the beheadings by Taliban, there are reports in some Western newspapers that Taliban have beheaded some of the criminals who were pretending as Taliban commanders in their ranks. The secularists are falsely propagating that such beheadings were those of the innocent civilians.
American spies and CIA informers are inviting Drone attacks to their own people. Since 2006 these attacks have killed only 12 militants. An article about Drone attacks in Pakistan published in a US web site, Council on Foreign Relations on March 20, 2009 by Greg Bruno states, “….Center for American Progress counts as many as 543 people killed by U.S. since 2006; only twelve were top al-Qaeda operatives.� These 543 innocent civilians were killed because of American informers in the Taliban ranks or in the civilian population. These CIA spies are the real murderers of innocent civilians. Do such spies and informers, who are the real murderers, not deserve the punishment of beheadings?
Taliban have not become insane to carry out beheadings of innocent people. They had solid proofs and reliable evidence against those criminals who deserved beheadings. To blame Taliban for every act of inhuman crime or violence is the result of mischievous misinformation which is intentionally carried out by the secular enemies of Sharia.
Our central and provincial governments have been blaming Indian agencies and professional criminals for most of the inhuman and criminal activities as they occurred in Baluchistan, in Lahore against Sri Lankan cricket team, and in Malakand Division. Why our 6th sense cannot separate criminal activity from the lofty mission of Sharia implementation goal of Taliban Jihad. Why should all criminals be regarded as Taliban?
Pakistan government has accused India, Afghanistan and Russia for the disturbances in Baluchistan. A news item in the daily DAWN (April 24, 2009) states, "At a closed-door Senate session on Thursday, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik presented a bleak picture of the security situation in the country and showed what he called evidence of the involvement of India, Afghanistan and Russia in terrorist activities. It is the first time Pakistan has blamed these countries and cited evidences which, it is believed, will be shared with the international community, particularly the United States, which has expressed concern over growing militancy in the country. Following a harsh statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday and conveyed a similar message. During the Senate briefing, the adviser said that all major incidents of terrorism and suicide attacks were linked to India
and Afghanistan, adding that terrorists were being trained by them in those countries and in North Waziristan and being sent to the settled areas."
The Governor of the provincial government of NWFP, Owais Ahmed Ghani has blamed criminal elements, not Taliban, for the "terrorism" in Swat valley. He has accused the enemies of its agreement with the Swat Taliban, which was concluded with the help of the mediating role of Maulana Sufi Mohammad. Such groups are trying to dislodge the peace and the improved law and order situation in Swat after the agreement. For this purpose, they have adopted such mean and false methods as showing a fake film of a girl being beaten by lashes to ridicule Sharia and Islamic punishments. Provincial government has categorically denied about the flogging incident. It has called this fake film incident and other criminal activities in Malakand Division as an attempt to create an atmosphere against the Nizam-e Adl regulation.
In a news item published in DAWN, (April 27, 2009), Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani has said, “The enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl was demand of the entire population of the Malakand division and the government has enforced the law in line with their cherished desire. Sincere efforts are under way for its implementation and the system will definitely get practical shape,� he said. If it was 'a demand of the entire population of the Malakand division' as the governor Owais says, then why the fulfillment of such a democratic demand is dubbed as a surrender to Taliban at gunpoint? Its opponents have raised false alaram and unnecessary hue and cry as if it is an act of caving in to the violence of a few miscreants.
The governor, in the same statement, made it clear that "........certain miscreants were bent upon attacking the police force, kidnapping of citizens, thefts and looting and damaging the public and private properties.. ......The governor mentioned certain incidents of terrorism in Malakand division, particularly the killing of a former district nazim of Lower Dir, Alamzeb Khan, and District Police Officer Khurshid Khan along with their colleagues. Besides, he said, police officers and jawans were also martyred, in an attack on mobile van of the force at Malakand University. Such kind of criminal and subversive activities, the governor said, were intolerable and therefore, police and the Frontier Corps launched a joint action against the elements, who were not deserving any sympathy. Mr Ghani appealed to the religious scholars, political leaders and general public to create a congenial atmosphere for implementation of Nizam-i-Adl and play their
positive role to curb the activities of anti-Nazim-i- Adl elements." Taliban are accused of all criminal activities in Malakand Division but the provincial government puts the blame on criminal elements and not on the Taliban.
Rather it is requesting the Taliban to cooperate with the provential goverment to subdue the miscreants. Accordingly, Swat Taliban have successfully negotiated with the Bunir Taliban to vacate the city and not to display the arms. Bunir Taliban agreed to it and vacated the city. But unfortunately Pakistan army was mobilized next day unnecessarily to kill the Taliban in Lower Dir and Bunir. The same job was successfully carried out earlier by the Swat Taliban. But the alarming statement of Hillary Clinton, devoid of appreciation of ground realities, forced the Pakistan army to show its muscle by killing a few hundred citizens of its own country for the pleasure of the US policy-makers. Such pressures by the US are counter-productive and costing unneccessary civilian life and disrupting thie peaceful livelihood, as they had to migrate in thousands to safe places.
No doubt the real Taliban are also taking a few extremist measures. But we have to separate criminal activities from the pious mission of Taliban to establish Sharia courts for swift justice. Despite all false accusations and several years in jail in Afghanistan as Taliban, Maulana Sufi Mohammad and Swat Taliban have achieved success in their struggle and Jihad to establish Sharia in Swat. Sharia was already enforced in Swat state for over 110 years before its forced accession and assimilation in Pakistan by a secular military dictator Gen. Yahya Khan. Sky would not have fallen, if the people of Swat demanded to revert to a system of Sharia courts, with which they had been familiar for the last 110 years.
We should look to the other side of the coin as well and find out the causes as to why Taliban movement has emerged in Pakistan and why it is becoming more and more popular and powerful day by day?
It was an Afghanistan phenomenon earlier. In addition to our secular military dictators, American Drone missile attacks have generated it in Pakistan. America has brought the Afghan war into Pakistan in the name that it has become a sanctuary of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders of Afghanistan.
The secular military dictators, like Yahya Khan and Pervaiz Musharraf, have forced Pakistan to detract from its ideology against the democratic wishes of its people. As a result, a violent Taliban movement has sprung up in Pakistan to resist it, since there was no way out for the democratic forces to assert themselves under militaristic dictatorial regimes. Such dictators in collusion with the U.S. have sown the seeds of violence in Pakistan. They have thus motivated Taliban to resist them through violent methods. In the absence of democracy, they had left only the door of violence open for the lovers of Pakistan ideology.
Patriotic and sincere Muslims are facing this tragic situation, as no government has taken any serious step in Pakistan for Islamizing our country during the last 60 years of its existence. Had the government moved in the direction of its 1973 Constitution, which was a reflection of people's democratic wish to frame and implement laws according to Quran and Sunnah, Taliban movement would not have taken root in our society.
Whatever small beginning was initiated by the late Gen. Zia-ul Haq in this direction, another secular military dictator, Gen. Musharraf, reversed it. Hudood Laws of 1979, based on Sharia and on the consensus of all eminent Ulama and Muslim Jurists of that time, were abrogated after 29 years of their peaceful and successful implementation. There was no public outcry or agitation in Pakistan against these Islamic Laws during the 29 years of their enforcement. This anti-Islamic measure compounded with the massacre of innocent Lal Mosque students by Musharraf government have fueled and pushed the Taliban movement in our country to its extreme.
In addition to the frustration all true Muslims in Pakistan feel against the secular character of all our governments, aerial missile attacks by American Drones have provided Taliban with unlimited suicide bombers to recruit against these attacks to take a revenge. Instead of forcefully resisting it, Pakistan government is simply paying lip service and appears to be a US partner and a complicit in favor of these attacks. Taliban have therefore targeted Police, army and other symbols of government administration to take the revenge of Lal Mosque massacre and the Drone attacks killing hundreds of civilians. Western news agencies like AP have mentioned in their dispatches that the terrorist activities of Taliban have increased tremendously after the Lal Mosque massacre of innocent students by the Musharraf regime. A US counter-terrorism report (DAWN May 01, 2009) says, "The coordination, sophistication, and frequency of suicide bombings that increased
sharply in 2007, continued to grow in Pakistan in 2008. By November 30, there were already 57 recorded suicide attacks in Pakistan, in comparison to 45 reported attacks in 2007. These attacks will be constantly increasing as long the US would try to force its will upon the government and the people of Pakistan against the interests and the wishes of our countrymen.
Peace would return to Pakistan and all violence will come to a halt, if US missile attacks through unmanned Drones are stopped immediately and Swat-like peace agreements are not demonized as surrender to Taliban. Rather such agreements should be concluded in all those tribal areas where Taliban are active. Afghnistan Taliban regard themselves as 'freedom fighters' against the colonization of their country by foreign forces. They were not even aware of 9/11 planning and had made no contribution in these events. Pakistan Taliban will be silenced with the stoppage of Drone missile attacks and the implementation of Sharia in their desired areas.
hussain@nifty. com
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ======
Regards,
Hussain Khan, Tokyo
Bessho 2-16-3-702, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0363, Japan, Phones: 09033566207; 0426-76-4982; 0426-57-3551
Articles published in the Daily Muslims can be read by clicking here: http://www.ourquran .com/DailyMuslim s.htm
Articles published in the Daily DAWN can be read by clicking here: http://www.ourquran .com/DAWNarticle s.htm
DailyMuslims - Limits of Bhutto's Moderation
DailyMuslims - Zionist Dream Fulfilled Through Balfour Declaration
Jamaat-e-Islami Clout and its Anti-American Stance.
ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY DAWN, KARACHI
Supporting Israel costs US dearly or http://www.dawn. com/2003/ 10/22/op. htm#2
Corporate scandals hit US leadership or　http://www.dawn. com/2002/ 07/15/op. htm#6
Taxing the poor or http://www.dawn. com/2002/ 08/12/ebr3. htm
9/11: is it the end of US economic supremacy? or http://www.dawn. com/2003/ 09/22/ebr18. htm
Tracing roots of China-Japan rivalry or http://www.dawn. com/2005/ 06/13/ebr14. htm
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
Trial Version -- for evaluation purposes only
- 19.
-
Arafat Would Condemn Suicide Operations – And At the Same Time F
Posted by: "marc samberg" mechelsamberg@gmail.com mechelsamberg
Thu May 7, 2009 1:27 am (PDT)
Contents:
Fatah Leader in Lebanon Sultan Abu Al-Einen: Arafat Would Condemn Suicide
Operations – And At the Same Time Finance Them
UN accuses Israel of Gaza 'negligence or recklessness'
A Rare 2,000 Year Old Hebrew Document Written on Papyrus was Seized in an
Operation
Bulletin of Jew Hatred May 6, 2009
Daily Alert
<http://www.memritv. org/clip/ en/2085.htm>
*
Following are excerpts from an interview with Sultan Abu Al-Einen, the
leader of Fatah in Lebanon, which aired on Al-Quds TV on April 6, 2009.
To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv. org/clip/ en/2085.htm .
*
* "When We Examine the Negative Aspects of the Oslo Accords, We Should Also
Look At Their Other Aspects"*
*Sultan Abu Al-Einen:* "It was the resistance that led to the Oslo Accords.
The Israeli enemy still does not recognize the Right of Return, but 250,000
Palestinians have returned to their homeland [as part of the Oslo Accords].
The weapons that were used against the Israeli enemy in Gaza and elsewhere –
the Palestinian Authority takes pride in..."
*Interviewer: * "You are talking about the 40,000 guns..."
*Sultan Abu Al-Einen:* "More than 40,000 guns."
*Interviewer: * "You said that weapons were brought in through different
means..."
*Sultan Abu Al-Einen:* "I want to talk about the weapons that were brought
in as part of the agreement. These weapons were used in various times and
places, and some people who returned from exile and bore these arms were
martyred. When we examine the negative aspects of the Oslo Accords, we
should also look at their other aspects."[.. .]
*"Arafat Was a Man of Contradictions. .. He Would Condemn Martyrdom
Operations ...But At the Same Time... Finance Them"*
"Yasser Arafat was a man of contradictions. He could declare one thing,
issue a contradictory order, and do something to the contrary at the same
time."
*Interviewer: * "Is this something to be proud of or ashamed of?"
*Sultan Abu Al-Einen:* "This is to his credit. Yasser Arafat was a
multi-faceted man. Yasser Arafat would condemn and criticize martyrdom
operations. He used to condemn these operations with very harsh words, but
at the same time, the martyr Yasser Arafat used to finance these military
operations."
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ***UN accuses
Israel of Gaza 'negligence or recklessness'
by Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem and Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian (U.K.)
5/5/09
A United Nations <http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ unitednations> inquiry
today accused the Israeli military of "negligence or recklessness" in its
conduct of the January war in Gaza
<http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ gaza>and said the organisation should
press claims for reparations for deaths and
damage.
The first investigation into the three-week war by anyone other than human
rights researchers and journalists held the Israeli government responsible
in seven separate cases in which UN property was damaged and UN staff and
other civilians were hurt or killed.
However, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, rejected the report's call
for a full and impartial investigation into the war, and refused to publish
the complete 184-page report. Only Ban's own summary of the
report<http://image. guardian. co.uk/sys- files/Guardian/ documents/ 2009/05/05/ 4MayGltrtoSCBrd. pdf>(pdf)
has been released.
Israel <http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ israel> rejected the inquiry's
findings, even before the summary was released, as "tendentious" and
"patently biased".
The board of inquiry, led by Ian Martin, a Briton who is a former head of
Amnesty International and a former UN special envoy to East Timor and Nepal,
had limited scope, looking only at cases of death, injury or damage
involving UN property and staff. But its conclusions amount to a major
challenge to Israel.
It found the Israeli military's actions "involved varying degrees of
negligence or recklessness" , and that the military took "inadequate"
precautions towards UN premises. It said the deaths of civilians should be
investigated under the rules of international humanitarian law.
The UN should take action "to seek accountability and pursue claims to
secure reparation or reimbursement" for UN expenses and payments over deaths
or injury to UN staff and damage to UN property where the responsibility lay
with Israel, Hamas or any other party, the report added. In total, more than
$11m worth of damage was caused to UN premises.
The inquiry looked in detail at nine incidents, in which several
Palestinians died. It found the Israeli military responsible in seven cases
where it had "breached the inviolability" of the UN. In one other case,
Palestinian militants, probably from Hamas, were held responsible; in a
final case, responsibility was unclear.
The report summary will now go to the UN security council. In a later press
conference , Ban confirmed that he would be seeking no further official
inquiry into the Gaza events. But he did say he would be looking for
reparations from Israel on a "case-by-case" basis.
The secretary general was asked whether his decision not to publish the full
report amounted to a watering down of the inquiry's findings. He
categorically denied the suggestion: the inquiry was independent, and he was
powerless to edit its conclusions.
Israel's foreign ministry said the Israeli military had already investigated
its own conduct during the war and "proved beyond doubt" that it had not
fired intentionally at UN buildings. It dismissed the UN inquiry.
"The state of Israel rejects the criticism in the committee's summary report
and determines that in both spirit and language the report is tendentious,
patently biased and ignores the facts presented to the committee," the
foreign ministry said in a statement.
It said the inquiry had "preferred the claims of Hamas, a murderous terror
organisation, and by doing so has misled the world".
The most serious incident investigated took place on 6 January, near a UN
boys' preparatory school in Jabaliya that was being used as a shelter for
hundreds of Palestinians who had fled their homes to escape the fighting.
The Israeli military had fired several 120mm mortar rounds in the "immediate
vicinity" of the school, killing between 30 and 40 Palestinians, the inquiry
found.
Although Israel at the time said Hamas had fired mortars from within the
school, the inquiry found this as not true: there had been no firing from
within the compound and there were no explosives in the school.
It held Israel responsible for the attack and said the deaths of civilians
should be "assessed in accordance with ... international humanitarian law."
It also called for a formal
acknowledgement from Israel that its allegations about Palestinian militants
being present in the school were untrue.
The other incidents investigated were:
*29 December* The headquarters of the UN political mission in Gaza was
damaged when Israeli air strikes hit the presidential compound next door.
Staff were on site, but were protected in a bunker and not injured. The
inquiry held the Israeli government responsible for the damage.
*5 January* An Israeli air strike hit the UN Asma elementary school in Gaza
City, where hundreds more Palestinians were sheltering. The missile killed
three young men who had been walking to the bathroom in the school compound.
The inquiry found no weapons or ammunition were being stored in the school,
and that the men had been going to the toilet and not taking part in
military activity. The attack was "an egregious breach of the inviolability
of the United Nations premises", the inquiry said, again holding Israel
responsible for the deaths and damage.
*6 January* An Israeli air strike damaged the UN Bureij health centre,
injuring nine people. The inquiry said the air strike had targeted and
destroyed an apartment opposite the centre. It held Israel responsible for
the damage to the health centre, and noted that the UN had been given no
advance warning of the attack.
*8 January* Israeli soldiers fired at a UN convoy, damaging one of the
vehicles in Ezbet Abed Rabou. The marked convoy, flying a UN flag, had been
cleared by the Israeli military to travel out to pick up the dead body of a
UN staff member.
*15 January* The UN's main headquarters in Gaza was badly damaged when it
was hit by several Israeli artillery shells, including some containing white
phosphorus. The shelling continued despite warnings from the UN to the
Israeli military, and fires caused serious damage to the UN warehouse. Three
people were injured. The inquiry held Israel responsible and said the
Israeli military had a "particularly high degree of responsibility" to
ensure the safety of the UN headquarters.
*17 January* Israeli 155mm artillery loaded with white phosphorus exploded
early in the morning above the UN Beit Lahiya elementary school, where
nearly 2,000 Palestinians were sheltering from the fighting. Two children,
aged five and seven, were killed inside a classroom and their mother and
cousin were seriously injured by shards of shell casings. Eleven others were
also hurt. The inquiry held Israel responsible for the deaths, injuries and
damage.
In one other case, damage worth around $29,000 was caused to a World Food
Programme warehouse by a Palestinian militant group, probably Hamas. In the
last case, a UN guard outside the gate of a UN girls' preparatory school in
Khan Younis was killed on 29 December by shrapnel. The inquiry was unable to
determine who was responsible.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *******
Press Release
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A Rare 2,000 Year Old Hebrew Document Written on Papyrus was Seized in an
Operation
The director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery in the
Israel Antiquities Authority: "It seems we are dealing with rare historic
evidence regarding the Jewish people in their country from more than 2,000
years ago".
A document thought to be an ancient text written on papyrus was seized
yesterday (Tuesday) in an operation led by the Intelligence Office of the
Zion Region and the Undercover Unit of the Border Police in Jerusalem, in
cooperation with the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery and the
Archaeological Staff Officer in the Civil Administration.
The document is written in ancient Hebrew script, which is characteristic of
the Second Temple period and the first and second centuries CE. This style
of the writing is primarily known from the Dead Sea scrolls and various
inscriptions that occur on ossuaries and coffins. The document itself is
written on papyrus. The papyrus is incomplete and was in all likelihood
rolled up. It is apparent that pieces of it crumbled mainly along its bottom
part. The holes along the left part of the document probably attest to the
damage that was caused to it over time. The document measures 15 x 15
centimeters.
Fifteen lines of Hebrew text, written from right to left and one below the
other, can be discerned in the document. In the upper line of the text one
can clearly read the sentence "Year 4 to the destruction of Israel". This is
likely to be the year 74 CE - in the event the author of the document is
referring to the year when the Second Temple was destroyed during the Great
Revolt. Another possibility is the year 139 CE - in the event the author is
referring to the time when the rural settlement in Judah was devastated at
the end of the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
The name of a woman, "Miriam Barat Ya'aqov", is also legible in the document
followed by a name that is likely to be that of the settlement where she
resided: Misalev. This is probably the settlement Salabim. The name Miriam
Bat Ya'aqov is a common name in the Second Temple period. Also mentioned in
the document are the names of other people and families, the names of a
number of ancient settlements from the Second Temple period and legal
wording which deals with the property of a widow and her relinquishment of
it.
According to Amir Ganor, director of the Unit for the Prevention of
Antiquities Robbery in the Israel Antiquities Authority, "Theoretically,
based on the epigraphic style, the material the document is written on, the
state of preservation and the text, which includes a historic date that can
be deciphered, we are dealing with a document that appears to be ancient as
defined by the Antiquities Law. Since this object was not discovered in a
proper archaeological excavation, it still must undergo laboratory analyses
in order to negate the possibility it is a modern forgery". Ganor adds, "The
document is very important from the standpoint of historical and national
research. Until now almost no historic scrolls or documents from this period
have been discovered in proper archaeological excavations. A historic
document that can be definitely dated based on a reference to a historical
event such as the 'destruction of Israel' has never been discovered. Much
can be learned from this document about the names of people, their surnames
names and the locations of settlements in Israel during this period. From an
initial reading it seems that this document deals with the property of
Miriam Bat Ya'aqov, who was apparently a widow. The deciphering of the
entire document by expert epigraphers and historians may shed light on how
the people of the period managed their affairs and supplement our knowledge
about their way of life. What we have here is rare historic evidence about
the Jewish people in their country from more than 2,000 years ago, during
the days following the destruction which sent the people of Israel into
exile for a very long time - until the creation of the State of Israel".
A picture of the document can be downloaded from the Israel Antiquities
Authority site via the following link:
http://www.antiquit ies.org.il/ about_eng. asp?Modul_ id=14. Photograph: The
Scroll Conservation Laboratory, Israel Antiquities Authority.
For further details, kindly contact: Yoli Shwartz, Israel Antiquities
Authority spokesperson, 052-5991888,
dovrut@israntique. org.il<http://us.mc651. mail.yahoo. com/mc/compose? to=dovrut@ israntique. org.il>
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *May 6,
2009** *Facts without comments - we collect the dots, you connect them** *
*Please distribute this bulletin and send us events that you find*
*Summaries:*
*North America*
March 18, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. nationalpost. com%2Frss% 2Fstory.html% 3Fid%3D1403298>
*Ottawa, Canada*
The federal government is reviewing all public service grants to remove
support from groups that advocate hatred or express support for terrorism as
part of a "zero tolerance approach towards anti-Semitism.
March 27, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. nydailynews. com%2Fopinions% 2F2009%2F03% 2F27%2F2009- 03-27_israels_ hypocritical_ critics_they_ rip_ne.html>
*New York, US
* Columnist James Kirchick points out the hypocrisy of Israel's critics by
pointing to unfair demands and blatant anti-Semitism.
April 9, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. americanthinker. com%2F2009% 2F04%2Fwe_ are_all_antisemi tes_now.html>
*New York, US*
American Thinker columnist writes "We are all Anti-Semites Now" highlights
the increase of accepted anti-Semitism around the country sometimes
masquerading as Anti-Israel policy. He calls it 1930's redux.
April 13, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F13%2F1004379% 2Fobama-extends- plo-office- allowance>
*Washington, DC*
President Obama deems it "important to the national security interests of
the United States to waive 1980s-era laws banning (the) presence" of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization.
May, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. theatlantic. com%2Fdoc% 2F200905% 2Fnazi-germany>
*New York, US
*A new book, The Germans and the Final Solution by Ian Kershaw, reveals that
from the very onset of the war, it was impossible not to know the Jews'
fate. Soldiers and officers wrote home of mass shootings (one letter
details the murder of 30,000 Jews) and, when they returned on leave, the
soldiers spoke of the murders in private and in public. News of Auschwitz
reached Victor Klemperer in March 1942 and he described it as a
"swift-working slaughter house" by October.
*South America*
May 4, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F05% 2F04%2F1004882% 2Fbraziian- jews-protest- ahmadinejad- visit>
*Sao Paulo, Brazil
*Brazilians demonstrated against the upcoming visit of Iran's Ahmadinejad.
Over 2000 people including secular and Orthodox Jews, Christians, gays, and
Gypsies gathered in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to protest. "The Iranian
people feel suffocated and they need world support. The visit of Iran's
president to Brazil is a mistake in our country's international relations.
It's unacceptable to receive someone who doesn't respect human rights,
freedom and democracy," said Walter Feldman, Sao Paulo's Municipal Sports
Secretary.
May 4, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. israelnationalne ws.com%2FNews% 2FNews.aspx% 2F131016>
*Bolivia
* Bolivian police have raided and forcibly closed a Chabad House. The Rabbi
from Chabad told the Chabad info website that local police have not
presented any official closure order nor have provided a reason for the
raids.
* Europe*
April 6, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. euro-islam. info%2F2009% 2F04%2F06% 2Fimam-expelled- from-training- course-in- paris%2F>
*Paris, France
* For the first time, a student has been expelled from the Catholic
Institute for Imam Instruction because of anti-Semitic remarks.
April 7, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. thejc.com% 2Fprint%2F13648>
*UK
*An Israeli family living in Edgeware fear for their safety after antisemitc
abuse. Their car has had its window smashed and children in the
neighborhood scream anti-Semitic insults at them. The daughter of the
family was told, "When the snow falls, Jews will die".
April 12, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F12%2F1004359% 2Fparis-court- to-try-comedian- for-anti- semitism>
*Paris, France
*The controversial French comedian, Dieudonne Mbala Mbala, will be
prosecuted on charges of anti-Semitism. He is scheduled for trial May 5 for
bestowing a prize on notorious Holocaust denier, Robert Faurisson.
Sometimes the comedian dresses as a Jewish Nazi camp prisoner while
bestowing the prizes. Jean-Marie Le Pen, who recently called the Nazi gas
chambers a "historical detail" recently was a member of Mbala's audience.
April 28, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. dailymail. co.uk%2Fnews% 2Farticle- 1174046%2FLabour -Party-embroiled -race-row- candidate- told-white- Jewish-selected. html>
*UK
*A prospective counsillor was allegedly told she was "too white and too
Jewish" to be selected. Elaina Cohen said that Labour councillor Mahmood
Hussain said he would not support her application for an inner-city ward
because "my Muslim members don't want you because you are Jewish". Cohen
made an official complaint but Hussain has denied the remark.
April 29, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fnews. bbc.co.uk% 2F1%2Fhi% 2Fworld%2Feurope %2F8023990. stm>
*Paris, France*
The leader of a French kidnapping gang, Youssouf Fofana, has gone on trial
in Paris for torturing Ilam Halimi, a Jewish man, for over three weeks and
then murdering him. When Fofana entered the courtroom, he looked at
Halimi's family and yelled, "Allahu akbar" which means "Allah is Great".
April 29, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. anorak.co. uk%2Fpoliticians %2F208764. html>
*UK
*Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone' s Cleric-friend says "Hitler Put Jews
in Their Place" and praises Hitler's anti-Semitism. Ken Livingstone once
made an apology to the Sheikh by saying, "On behalf of the people of London,
I would like to apologize for the outburst of xenophobia in sections of the
media which demonstrated an underlying ignorance of Islam".
*Middle East*
April 13, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F13%2F1004374% 2Fisraeli- tourist-attacked -in-egypt>
*Egypt
* An Israeli tourist vacationing in Egypt was stabbed by a Libyan at a
resort in Nuweiba. Israeli officials had issued a warning of possible
attacks.
April 16, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F16%2F1004422% 2Fmuslims- protest-jewish- worship-at- temple-mount>
*Jerusalem, Israel
*Hundreds of Muslims gathered to protest Jewish worship at the Temple
Mount. Muslims gathered near the Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent Jews from
ascending the site. Police had been warned that Palestinians would protest
the site and the Islamic Movement's northern branch rented dozens of buses
to bring the Muslim protestors to the area.
April 19, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. pmw.org.il% 2FBulletins_ Apr2009.htm% 23b190409>
*Israel*
A Hamas cleric who was part of the "Imams and Rabbis for Peace" and who
vowed to "condemn any negative representation" of each other's religions has
wholeheartedly espoused Hamas' racist ideology on Hamas TV. "Who is it that
is leading the world today in the vicious, all-encompassing war against
Islam and Muslims? It is the Jews who today are leading the
all-encompassing war against Muslims... We, the Muslims, know the nature of
Jews the best, because the Holy Quran taught us. The prophetic traditions
explained at length to Muslims the true nature of Jews... Their war and
their hatred for Muhammad and Islam is in their souls, they are naturally
disposed to it." The sermon cited "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", called
to annihilate Jews, and compared Jews to dogs. Video
here<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. memritv.org% 2Fclip%2Fen% 2F2080.htm>.
April 20, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. jpost.com% 2Fservlet% 2FSatellite% 3Fcid%3D12397107 35933%26pagename %3DJPost% 2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull>
*Israel
*Worldwide anti-Semitic violence spiked to a dramatic high in January,
according to a report released by the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study
of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism. It is estimated that in January
alone, 1000 incidents occurred worldwide, with approximately 90 violent
incidents that included the use of arms, assaults, and desecrations. This
is three times more than reported incidents a year before. More
here<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. israelnationalne ws.com%2FNews% 2FNews.aspx% 2F130946>.
April 3, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. jpost.com% 2Fservlet% 2FSatellite% 3Fpagename% 3DJPost%252FJPAr ticle%252FShowFu ll%26cid% 3D1238562897736>
*Bat Ayin, Israel
*A 13 year old Jewish boy was murdered with a hatchet by an Islamist. The
murderer also fractured the skull of a seven year old. Hamas released a
statement saying that the murder was a "natural response to the occupation".
April 17, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. foxnews.com% 2Fstory%2F0% 2C2933%2C518035% 2C00.html>
*Kharif, Yemen
*One of the oldest Jewish communities in the Arab world is fighting for its
survival. Yemeni Jews have been feeling sometimes violent pressure from
Yemeni Muslims and face an ambivalent govenrment in a world where Islamic
extremism and hostility to non-Muslims are on the rise. "There is hardly a
mosque sermon that's free of bigotry. The government's own political
rhetoric marginalizes the Jews, and civil society is too weak to protect
them", says Mansour Hayel, a Muslim and human rights activist who is
considered an expert on Yemen's Jewry. "The government's policies are to
blame for the suffering of the Jews", he says.
April 23, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F23%2F1004590% 2Fjosephs- tomb-vandalized>
*Jerusalem, Israel
*Hundreds of Jewish worshippers who arrived for a prayer service at Joseph's
Tomb found it vandalized. The tomb had been struck with a hard object and
was full of boot prints. The headstone was smashed and swastikas were drawn
on the walls.
April 29, 2009<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. jpost.com% 2Fservlet% 2FSatellite% 3Fcid%3D12397108 21246%26pagename %3DJPost% 2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull>
*Ramallah
*The Palestinian Authority sentenced a Palestinian man to death by hanging
after finding him guilty of selling land to Jews. The verdict came after
the PA's chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, issued another fatwa
banning Muslims from selling land or houses to Jews.
*United Nations*
April 20, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F20%2F1004487% 2Fahmadinejad- accuses-israel- of-genocide>
*Geneva, Switzerland*
European diplomats walked out of a session of the Durban II conference when
Ahmadinejad called on the world to unite against Israel. "Under the pretext
of Jewish suffering, they have helped bring to power the most oppressive
racist regime in Palestine," Ahmadinejad said.
April 22, 2009
<http://click. icptrack. com/icp/relay. php?r=13496028& msgid=235642& act=NKWI& c=162528& admin=0&destinat ion=http% 3A%2F%2Fjta. org%2Fnews% 2Farticle% 2F2009%2F04% 2F22%2F1004552% 2Fun-pulls- badges-from- jewish-ngos>
*Geneva, Switzerland
*The United Nations pulled credentials from a number of Jewish activists who
disrupted a speech by Iranian President Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review
Conference. 46 badges were pulled and the vast majority were from
individuals accredited through Jewish organization.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *****
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations<http://www.conferen ceofpresidents. org/>
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs <http://www.jcpa. org/>
View this page at www.dailyalert. org
Subscribe <http://list- dailyalert. org/daily- sub.html> RSS-XML
<http://www.dailyale rt.org/rsspage. html> DAILY ALERT Wednesday,
May 6, 2009
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In-Depth Issues:
Report: Arabs Formulating New Peace
Plan<http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=123971087678 8&pagename= JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull>(Jerusalem
Post)
A group of Arab leaders led by Jordan's King Abdullah II is formulating
a new peace offer at the behest of U.S. President Obama, the
London-based Al-Quds
Al-Arabi reported Wednesday.
The offer will reportedly call for the establishment of a demilitarized
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the Old City designated
an "international zone." The question of borders will be resolved with land
swaps.
Some of the descendants of Palestinian refugees from Israel's War of
Independence in 1948 will reportedly be allowed to return to the Palestinian
state, while others will be naturalized in their countries of residence in
the Arab world.
The report said Obama had requested that the plan outline a "timetable
for normalization and the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel
and the Arab world."
See also Quartet to Unveil New Mideast Peace
Plan<http://www.sacbee. com/836/story/ 1837387.html>(
AP)
The U.S.-led Quartet of Mideast mediators is working on a new strategy
for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and is expected to present it in five to
six weeks, Quartet envoy Tony Blair said Tuesday.
"This is a framework that is being worked on at the highest level in the
American administration, (and) in the rest of the international community,"
Blair said.
------------ --------- ---------
Israel May Exit Lebanon Border
Village<http://haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1083358. html>- Barak Ravid (
Ha'aretz)
Israel's security cabinet is expected to convene Wednesday to discuss
the IDF's pullout from the northern part of Ghajar, a village which
straddles the Israeli-Lebanese border, over the next few weeks.
Ghajar is split by the international border between Lebanon and the
Israeli-held Golan Heights, which was part of Syria before the Six-Day War.
Its residents are Alawis, a Shiite sect of Islam to which the majority of
Syria's ruling elite belong.
Since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Jerusalem has
been in talks with the UN to find a way to transfer control over the
northern part of the village to Lebanon.
------------ --------- ---------
Palestinian Mortar Fire from Gaza
Continues<http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=123971087502 9&pagename= JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull>(Jerusalem
Post)
Palestinian terrorists on Wednesday morning fired three mortar shells at
Israel from Gaza.
------------ --------- ---------
Joint Command Set Up at U.S. Radar
Base<http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=123971087384 4&pagename= JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull>-
Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem
Post)
The IDF has set up a joint command center at the base in Israel's Negev
desert that is home to the American X-Band radar, deployed last October to
bolster defenses in the face of Iranian threats.
When the radar was first set up, Israel was told that it would not be
allowed to maintain a presence at the base.
Several months ago, the Americans changed their position and allowed an
Air Force major from the Air Defense Division to maintain a permanent
presence at a joint command center inside the base.
The base is operated by some 100 American soldiers from the European
Command.
------------ --------- ---------
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Peres: Israel Supports Two-State Solution, Iran
Engagement<http://www.foxnews. com/politics/ 2009/05/05/ obama-meets- israeli-presiden t-amid-flap- iran-comments/>
Israel is on board with key elements of President Obama's agenda in the
Middle East, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday after meeting with
Obama at the White House. "[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu said
he will cooperate (with) the commitments of the previous (Israeli)
government. The previous government accepted the Roadmap (to Middle East
peace). In the Roadmap, you'll find the attitude to the two-state solution,"
Peres said. He also said that if Obama wants to engage Iran, the Israelis
are willing to back him.
Responding to an Israeli media report that White House Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel had said that greater U.S. assistance in deterring Iran's
nuclear ambitions hinged on peace talks with Palestinians, officials said
Emanuel's comments were not meant to pressure the Israelis. Sources said
Emanuel told AIPAC members that America's Arab allies, in particular Jordan,
would find it easier to support tougher sanctions on Iran if there were
progress toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace. (FOX News)
See also Peres: Israel Can't Stop Natural Growth in
Settlements<http://jta.org/ news/article/ 2009/05/05/ 1004948/peres- to-biden- cant-stop- natural-growth>-
Ron Kampeas
Israel cannot control natural settlement growth, Israeli President Shimon
Peres told Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Peres said he told Biden
that "Israel cannot instruct settlers in existing settlements not to have
children or get married." (JTA)
- Ahmadinejad, Assad Meet in Damascus, Vow to Back "Palestinian
Resistance"<http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 05/06/world/ middleeast/ 06syria.html>
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday. Ahmadinejad also spent time with the
leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian radical groups based in the Syrian
capital. Ahmadinejad boasted that "Those who one day called Iran and Syria
part of 'the axis of evil' now want to develop relations with Iran and
Syria." He also contended that the Syria-Iran alliance had achieved
"victories" in preventing "the big powers' offensive to dominate the
region."
"Syria and Iran have been from the very beginning united and in
agreement to stand on the side of the Palestinian resistance," Ahmadinejad
added. "We see that the resistance will continue until all occupied
territories are liberated." (AP/New York Times)
- U.S. Wants Israel, India in Anti-Nuclear Arms
Treaty<http://in.reuters. com/article/ worldNews/ idINIndia- 39434320090505? sp=true>-
Louis Charbonneau
India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel should join the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, the global pact meant to limit the spread of
atomic weapons, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said
Tuesday. "Universal adherence to the NPT itself, including by India, Israel,
Pakistan and North Korea...remains a fundamental objective of the United
States," Gottemoeller told a meeting of the signatories of the pact. (
Reuters)
See also Israel: Signing NPT Won't Prevent Nuclear
Armament<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3711628,00. html>-
Roni Sofer
An Israeli official on Wednesday criticized a U.S. call for Israel to
sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), citing the pact's failure
to prevent countries from obtaining nuclear arms. "It is therefore hard to
understand why there should be such an insistence on a treaty that has
proven its inefficiency, " a senior official at the Israeli Foreign Ministry
said. The official said the treaty had not stopped Iraq and Libya from
trying to obtain nuclear potential, and that "This miracle cure (NPT) has
not prevented any country from acquiring nuclear arms, as we can see in the
case of Iran." "We are baffled by the U.S. insistence that (Israel sign the
NPT)." (Ynet News)
See also below Commentary: Secret U.S.-Israel Nuclear Accord in
Jeopardy - Eli Lake (Washington Times)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- PA and Hamas Reject Israeli Prime Minister's Call for Peace
Talks<http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=123971087522 0&pagename= JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull>-
Khaled Abu Toameh and Hilary Leila Krieger
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister
Netanyahu's call "to resume peace negotiations without any delay, without
any preconditions. " PA officials in Ramallah said the PA would not resume
peace talks with Israel as long as Netanyahu did not change his policy
toward the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)
- UN Secretary General: UN Report on Gaza War Not Legally
Binding<http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1083191. html>- Barak Ravid
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said a damning UN report on
Israel's conduct in its recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza was not
legally binding. In a letter he agreed to attach to the report at the
request of Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal, Ban
condemned Hamas' cross-border rocket fire on Israeli civilians that sparked
the conflict which was ignored by the UN committee report. Ban also
commended the Israel Defense Forces for its close coordination with the UN
during the operation. He added there would be no further reports by the UN
on the subject. (Ha'aretz)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
- Secret U.S.-Israel Nuclear Accord in
Jeopardy<http://www.washingt ontimes.com/ news/2009/ may/06/us- weighs-forcing- israel-to- disclose- nukes/>-
Eli Lake
President Obama's efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten
to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel's
nuclear weapons from international scrutiny, former and current U.S. and
Israeli officials say. For the past 40 years, Israel and the U.S. have kept
quiet about an Israeli nuclear arsenal that is now estimated at 80 to 200
weapons. Israel has promised not to test nuclear weapons while the U.S. has
not pressed Israel to sign the nuclear NPT, which permits only five
countries - the U.S., France, Britain, China and Russia - to have nuclear
arms. The accord was forged at a summit between Israeli Prime Minister Golda
Meir and President Nixon on Sept. 25, 1969, and commits both the U.S. and
Israel never to acknowledge in public Israel's nuclear arsenal. Israeli
defense doctrine considers the nuclear arsenal to be a strategic deterrent
against extinction. (Washington Times)
See also Breaking Faith with
Israel<http://www.washingt ontimes.com/ news/2009/ may/06/breaking- faith-with- israel/>-
Editorial
Will the U.S. sell out its strongest ally in the Middle East to cozy up
to its worst enemy? America treats Israel and Iran differently because they
are fundamentally different. Israel is a dependable U.S. ally and a free
liberal democracy. Iran is a long-standing enemy of the U.S., is directly or
indirectly responsible via Iraqi insurgents and others for more deaths of
U.S. service members than any country since the Vietnam War. Its people
suffer under an oppressive theocracy. We approve of an Israeli nuclear force
for the same reason we approve of a British, French or American nuclear
force: We know it will serve peaceful purposes. We oppose an Iranian nuclear
force for the same reason we oppose a North Korean nuclear force: We know it
will not serve a peaceful purpose. Any attempt to establish parity between
Israel and Iran on the nuclear issue is dangerous and naive. Pressing Israel
to make its suspected nuclear arsenal into a bargaining chip only weakens
our allies without defanging our foes. (Washington Times)
- Dropping Espionage Charges Against Former AIPAC
Lobbyists<http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ article/2009/ 05/04/AR20090504 03639.html>-
Walter Pincus
The Justice Department on Friday formally dropped its four-year-old case
against two former pro-Israel lobbyists for allegedly conspiring to violate
the 1917 Espionage Act. The two lobbyists had been charged in August 2005
with conspiring to disclose national defense information to people not
authorized to receive it - the first time that civilian, non-government
employees had been prosecuted under the act. The same charges technically
could be applied to academics, think tank analysts and journalists who seek
and receive security information in conversations every day.
In a March 27 letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking
the Obama administration to review the case, the defendants' attorneys wrote
that they would show that the information relayed to their clients was not
classified defense information but material already in the public domain and
"not potentially damaging to national security." To demonstrate that, the
lawyers wrote that two of the government officials who prosecutors said
passed classified information to the defendants "have told both us and/or
government investigators that they were authorized to speak with our clients
and knew full well (and even intended) that our clients pass the information
on to others."
The defense lawyers also said the testimony of J. William Leonard,
the most recent former director of the Information Security Oversight
Office, which is responsible for the government-wide security classification
system, would "establish that the information was innocuous and that the
defendants had every reason to believe that their conduct was
innocent." (Washington
Post)
Observations:
Spanish Judge Went Too Far: Targeting Gaza Terror Mastermind Not a War
Crime<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3711458,00. html>-
Robbie Sabel (Ynet
News)
- A Spanish court is seeking to indict senior Israeli figures involved in
targeting Salah Shahade. The notion of war crimes was not meant for these
kinds of cases. There is no doubt that the objective, killing a terrorist,
was legitimate. War crimes cases normally refer to the deliberate and
cold-blooded killing of civilians, and not to considerations in respect to
which means should be used against a legitimate target. Any military
operation may entail civilian casualties if the military target is close by,
and military officials need to make an effort to minimize the number of
citizens involved.
- This case presents a question of professional judgment regarding the
proper means, yet in no way does it argue that Israel embarked on the
operation in order to kill civilians. Therefore, what we see here is the
misuse of the universal authority to look into war crimes, and we can assume
that the Spanish authorities themselves would appeal the judge's decision:
The legal system is supposed to deal with criminal matters and not with the
military operations of other states.
- We should expect to see continuing efforts by hostile elements to
harass Israeli commanders at various courts worldwide. The only way to
prevent it is to act via the various governments. Foreign governments are
aware that the IDF is an organized army that operates in line with
international law, and that Israel is home to an independent judiciary.
Israel is attempting to prompt every state to promote legislation that would
prevent the courts from acting based on complaints with a political bent.
The writer, an international law lecturer at Hebrew University, is a
former Foreign Ministry legal advisor.
--
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy
enough people to make it worth the effort.
~Herm Albright~
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/ProJewishP roZionistGroup/ ?yguid=368134690
http://launch. groups.yahoo. com/group/ stillnotjustmusi canymore/ ?yguid=368134690
http://groups. yahoo.com/ adultconf? dest=%2Fgroup% 2Fwhateverreturn s%2F%3Fyguid% 3D368134690
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/shieldofda vid/?yguid= 373549731
- 20.
-
[child-rights] Sudan: Continuing violence impacts children
Posted by: "HREA noreply@hrea.org" HREA noreply@hrea.org msgiri_bebl
Thu May 7, 2009 1:31 am (PDT)
POSTED BY: HREA noreply@hrea. org
Subject: [child-rights] Sudan: Continuing violence impacts children
5 May 2009 – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today that it
is deeply concerned at the impact on children of continuing violence in a
number of states of Southern Sudan, and urged that all parties ensure the
protection of young people.
The agency calls on groups involved in fighting in Southern Sudan to show
"immediate restraint and ensure the full protection of children, those who
care for them, and the services on which they depend for their survival and
development," UNICEF's Veronique Taveau told a news conference in Geneva,
recalling that Sudan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child<http://www.hrea. org/index. php?base_ id=104&language_ id=1&erc_ doc_id=473& category_ id=29&category_ type=3&group=>.
Ms. Taveau said that since the start of this year, thousands of children are
estimated to have been displaced from their homes due to attacks by the
Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Central and Western Equatoria,
while repeated clashes between tribal groups in Jonglei, Lakes and Warrap
States were believed to have resulted in the death and abduction of
children.
In Pibor Country of Jonglei State, more than 140 children had been
reportedly abducted, while children were feared to be among the 450 people
believed killed in Pibor and the 170 people killed in Akobo County.
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) had, almost two weeks ago, expressed its
deep concern over renewed tribal clashes in the country's southern Jonglei
State. It had appealed to local authorities to take steps to restore
stability in the affected areas and also to the Government of Southern Sudan
to do all it can to ensure civilians' safety and to find a way to end the
hostilities.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 by the Government of
National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan ended two decades of
north-south civil war.
UNICEF noted that since then, progress in primary education and health care
has been a positive example of the valuable peace dividends benefiting the
children of Southern Sudan.
However, these gains are being jeopardized by the current level of violence,
the agency warned, calling on all parties to ensure the protection of all
children in Southern Sudan.
UNICEF Press release
--> HREA offers an e-learning course on *Monitoring Children's
Rights*<http://www.hrea. org/index. php?base_ id=332>.
Application deadline is 15 June 2009.
- 21.
-
Zimbabwe: Criminal charges against human rights activists
Posted by: "HREA noreply@hrea.org" HREA noreply@hrea.org msgiri_bebl
Thu May 7, 2009 1:31 am (PDT)
POSTED BY: HREA noreply@hrea. org
Subject: Zimbabwe: Criminal charges against human rights activists
Human Rights Watch Press release
May 6, 2009
(Johannesburg) - The authorities in Zimbabwe should immediately free and
drop criminal charges against 15 human rights activists and Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party members who were ordered back into custody on
May 5, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said that the cases were politically motivated. All had
been abducted in late 2008 by officials loyal to the Zimbabwe African
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), a party to Zimbabwe's
power-sharing administration with the MDC. On May 5, a magistrate in Harare
formally charged the 15 with various acts of banditry and trying to recruit
people for training in banditry, sabotage and insurgency, and revoked their
bail. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that the "evidence" filed to
support these charges was extracted under torture.
"Those who brought these outrageous charges should quickly drop them," said
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This continued
persecution makes it pretty clear that ZANU-PF is trying to undermine the
new power-sharing administration and is an example of Zimbabwe's overall
lack of progress in respecting the rule of law and basic rights."
Zimbabwe's prosecuting authorities and key police and prison units remain
under ZANU-PF control. Following their abduction in 2008, the 15 were held
in secret detention for periods ranging from two to eight weeks before being
handed over to the police. None of them was brought to court within 48 hours
of arrest, as required by Zimbabwe law. The 15 were only granted restricted
bail in February and March 2009 pending indictment and trial.
Human Rights Watch believes that these prosecutions are a politically
motivated attempt by ZANU-PF to pressure the MDC into making concessions
that will further weaken its power within the government. Human Rights Watch
has already urged the Zimbabwe authorities to disclose immediately the
whereabouts of seven "disappeared" activists who were abducted by suspected
state agents in late 2008 and who are still missing (see below).
Lawyers representing the activists who were charged on May 5 have also
recorded testimony from each of them alleging that they were tortured while
in police custody. The state authorities have not investigated the
allegations, let alone arrested or prosecuted the perpetrators, even though
they were named in the testimony. Torture is a crime both in Zimbabwe and
international law, and evidence obtained through the use of torture is not
admissible in a Zimbabwean court.
"The new government in Harare will only attract much-needed international
financial support when the authorities demonstrate an unambiguous commitment
to the rule of law and a willingness to prosecute those who abuse the law
for political ends," said Gagnon. "Releasing the 15 activists and dropping
all charges against them would be a start. Instead, ZANU-PF continues to use
them as pawns in its political games."
*Background on the abductions*
The 15 activists are: Jestina Mukoko, Chris Dhlamini, Anderson Shadreck
Manyere, Ghandi Mudzingwa, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana,
Violet Mupfuranhehwe, Collen Mutemagawu, Mapfumo Garutsa, Chinoto
Mukwezaremba Zulu, Zacharia Nkomo, Audrey Zimbudzana, Regis Mujeyi,
Broderick Takawira, and Fidelis Chiramba.
The 15 were part of a group of 43 activists arbitrarily arrested by state
security forces from October to December 2008. Police initially denied
holding them, but on December 22 lawyers were tipped off that 32 of them
were being held in various police stations in the capital, Harare.
Seven are still missing and unaccounted for: Gwenzi Kahiya, Ephraim Mabeka,
Lovemore Machokoto, Charles Muza, Edmore Vangirayi, Graham Matehwa, and
Peter Munyanyi.
Others among the 43 have been freed at various points in 2009, including a
2-year-old child. Several still have charges pending and some also allege
that they were tortured in custody.
- 22.
-
UN expert on religious freedom statement during visit to Republic of
Posted by: "HREA noreply@hrea.org" HREA noreply@hrea.org msgiri_bebl
Thu May 7, 2009 1:31 am (PDT)
POSTED BY: HREA noreply@hrea. org
Subject: UN expert on religious freedom statement during visit to Republic
of Serbia
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Press release
5 May 2009
Full text of the press briefing of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on
freedom of religion or belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir, on 5 May 2009 in Belgrade
during her visit to the Republic of Serbia:
"Members of the press,
I have been in the Republic of Serbia since 30 April 2009, and I thought
that it is in the interest of my visit that I hold a preliminary press
briefing to inform you of my impressions that I have so far formed on the
freedom of religion or belief in this country. After my visit, I will be
preparing a comprehensive report with conclusions and recommendations to be
presented to the 13th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The report will naturally be shared with the Government of the Republic of
Serbia who has very kindly invited me to visit this country.
I take back with me both positive and negative impressions that are backed
by first-hand information I received during this mission. I am well aware of
the painful history of this region and fully understand that the Serbian
people - and indeed others in the region - have deeply suffered on account
of violence, atrocities and wars. Regrettably, ethnicity as well as
undertones of religion contributed to these conflicts. Fortunately, it
appears that the Republic of Serbia has taken a new turn towards a
democratic process in which I believe freedom of religion or belief should
play a central role.
It was heartening for me to visit some smaller municipalities, which are
multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-linguistic, where an atmosphere of
religious tolerance seems to flourish. Interfaith consultations at the
grassroots, national and regional levels are vital to promote understanding,
tolerance and respect between and among the various communities.
I was also encouraged by the candidness of the Ombudsman for Human Rights
and by his determination to put human rights at the centre of the national
agenda. Equally positive was the meeting that I held with the Minister of
Human and Minority Rights who has boldly met the challenges in the recent
adoption of the 2009 law on prohibition of discrimination. Such institutions
can play a pivotal role in healing wounds, contributing to reconciliation
and building respect for the principles of human rights and indeed for
freedom of religion or belief. A number of my interlocutors, who are active
members of civil society, were not aware of the work of these two
institutions, so a more open-door policy and their increasing outreach would
be beneficial. I also had good meetings with a number of other strong
personalities, both from the Government and from civil society, including
religious communities. For example, I was impressed by the vision of the
Centre for Religious Studies of the Belgrade Open School.
It is, however, no secret that the 2006 law on churches and religious
communities has raised a controversy and aggrieved a number of religious
communities and groups that are seeking registration or have decided to stay
away from it because of discriminatory effects of the law. I sincerely hope
that the Government, and in particular the Minister of Religion, will
reflect on the legislation and - at a minimum - streamline the registration
process so that all religious communities in the country that so desire can
be registered. I must emphasize that registration must not limit the right
to freedom of religion or belief. Let me reiterate that registration should
not be a precondition for practising one's religion, but only for the
acquisition of a legal personality and related benefits. Any registration
procedures should be easy and quick and should not depend on extensive
formal requirements or on reviews of the substantive content of the belief.
In addition, no religious group should be empowered to influence the
registration, or non-registration, of another religious group. The
distinction in the law between traditional and non-traditional religious
communities translates into a number of questionable practices, for example
with regard to religious instruction in schools and representation in public
bodies.
I am mindful that the Republic of Serbia is going through a democratic
process and has several competing priorities, however, the issue of
non-discrimination on the basis of religion or belief must remain one of its
main concerns. I trust that once confidence is restored to all religious
groups as well as to those who do not profess any religion, an atmosphere of
tolerance and respect will be further enhanced. A reform and proper
implementation of the 2006 law on churches and religious communities would
be an important measure of confidence-building amongst various communities,
be they theistic, atheistic or non-theistic. A forward-looking approach of
the Ministry of Religion will be pivotal in building this trust. By that I
mean a Ministry that is accessible to all religious communities and is more
transparent and accountable in its decision-making.
I noticed that the voices of those individuals who do not profess any
religion or who are dispassionate about religions are being marginalized.
They are neither realistically reflected in the census nor given an
opportunity to express their views in matters of religion or belief. A truly
pluralistic society is the backbone of a democratic system. Theistic,
atheistic and non-theistic believers as well as those who do not profess any
religion have an important role to play in building that pluralism.
The media, too, has a responsibility to report in a balanced manner,
providing an opportunity to present points of view also to those who are
criticized on the basis of their religion or belief. I have heard several
complaints from religious minorities where the media had painted them as
"dangerous cults" or "sects" without giving them any right to reply. In this
regard, I would also like to encourage civil society to make more efforts to
interact with the media and with mechanisms of media oversight. I would also
encourage the media to play a more constructive role in promoting religious
tolerance.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the interlocutors that I
have met during my visit so far. My onward journey will take me to
Pri¹tina/Prishtinë , Graèanica/Gracanicë , Prizren, Djakovica/Gjakovë and
Deèani/Deçan. On 8 May 2009, I will hold another press briefing at the
conclusion of this mission."
- 23.
-
A friend has shared a news report from Allvoices
Posted by: "allvoices" noreply@allvoices.com
Thu May 7, 2009 1:32 am (PDT)
forum_humanrights@ yahoo.co. in thought you might find this news
interesting from www.allvoices. com <http://www.allvoice s.com> .
PUCL activist Binayak Sen completing two years in prison
On 14 May 2009 Dr Binayak Sen, Vice President of the People's
Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), and General Secretary of
Chhattisgarh unit of PUCL, the well known pediatrician and
human...
You can find the news story at
http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3152556- pucl-activist- b\
inayak-sen-completi ng-two-years- in-prison
<http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3152556- pucl-activist- \
binayak-sen- completing- two-years- in-prison>
Thanks,
The Allvoices Team
- 24.
-
Sri Lanka: UN launches $50 million appeal for displaced
Posted by: "HREA noreply@hrea.org" HREA noreply@hrea.org msgiri_bebl
Thu May 7, 2009 1:32 am (PDT)
POSTED BY: HREA noreply@hrea. org
Subject:Sri Lanka: UN launches $50 million appeal for displaced
5 May 2009 – The United Nations and Government of Sri Lanka today announced
the launch of a $50 million appeal to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of
the rising number of desperate civilians fleeing the fighting in the north
between the army and Tamil separatist rebels.
The number of people seeking shelter in makeshift government camps rose from
65,000 to almost 190,000 in just a few days following a mass exodus from the
conflict zone when government forces breached the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) defences on 20 April.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates
that around 50,000 people remain trapped in the conflict zone, a shrinking
pocket of land on the north-east coast line.
"It's a critical time," stressed UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in
Sri Lanka Neil Buhne. "Around a quarter of under 5 year-olds in the camps
are under-nourished, and they need immediate help. Tens of thousands more
civilians are expected to come from the remaining zone."
The appeal to fund emergency relief aid targets the most urgent humanitarian
needs for an estimated 250,000 people, including food, water, sanitation,
shelter, nutrition, health and protection, as well as educational
requirements for thousands of children who have been without schooling for
months during the escalating conflict.
Last week, hundreds of people who had escaped the fighting more than a year
ago returned home last week to the Mannar district and the appeal includes
agricultural and economic projects to support similar returns. The
Government says that it intends to return 80 per cent of the displaced to
their homes by the end of 2009.
The $50 million appeal for immediate relief and recovery efforts is an
adjusted figure extracted from the Common Humanitarian Action Plan request
for $155 million, launched in March in anticipation of the evolving
humanitarian crisis. Less than one third of that appeal has been funded.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he spoke to President Mahinda
Rajapaksa today and called for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian
workers into the conflict zone.
"This would allow more desperately needed aid, above all food and medicines,
to get in," Mr. Ban told reporters in New York. "It will save lives."
He also urged Government authorities to avoid the use of artillery and heavy
weaponry in the conflict zone. "I have also appealed to the LTTE to let
civilians go and stop forced recruitment," he added.
"Protecting civilians and respecting international humanitarian law, must be
priority one. The world is watching events closely, including for violations
of international law."
UN News Centre
--> HREA offers an e-learning course on *Armed Conflict, Human Rights and
Humanitarian Law* <http://www.hrea. org/index. php?base_ id=337>. Application
deadline is 15 June 2009.
- 25.
-
MS 13, OBAMA, Unregulated Indian Open Market and FREsenSEX Periphery
Posted by: "palashc biswas" palashcbiswas@yahoo.co.uk palashcbiswas
Thu May 7, 2009 2:06 am (PDT)
MS 13, OBAMA, Unregulated Indian Open Market and FREsenSEX Periphery Economy
Â
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 222
Â
Palash Biswas
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This table charts the key U.S. financial indices by their last reported value and change since the most recent trading day opened.
Index
Last
Change
Dow 8,421.32 +10.67 (+0.13%)
NASDAQ 1,739.78 -14.34 (-0.82%)
S&P 906.87 +3.07 (+0.34%)
Offer: A Bad CREDIT SCORE is 600 or below. See yours instantly for $0. By ExperianOffer: A Bad CREDIT SCORE is 600 or below. See yours instantly for $0. By Experian
BSE Sensex:
11952.75
-1.47%
Nifty:
3625.05
-1.01%
http://in.yahoo. com/
It has become a fashion to aspire for PM...India welcomes Lanka's decision to stop ...'If Afzal were Anand, he would have been...Taliban suspends talks with Pak governme...Case against Sajjan: A textbook story of...After 20 yrs, Gandhi’s birthplace votes ...Sri Lanka says 'combat operations reach ...
 http://www.expressi ndia.com/ login.php
Sensex closes 178 points in red
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Sensex ends flat; closes above 12,000Markets closed on Thursday, FridaySensex up 17.45% in April; best in 10 yr...
Mumbai Heavy selling, mainly in realty, banking and metal counters after midsession gains, weighed on the local bourses as the benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by 178 points.
Initially, the Sensex was weak because of mixed Asian cues and due to concerns over capital-short US banks.
But it recovered later to a high of 12,272.10 from its previous close 12,131.08 in mid-afternoon on sustained buying by foreign funds.
However, heavy selling in the concluding part of the day pulled it down to 11,952.75, a fall of 178.33 points or 1.47 per cent from its last close.
The 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also declined by 36.85 points or 1.01 per cent to 3,625.05 from previous close.
Brokerage firm Unicon Financial CEO G Nagpal said: "Global markets have gone into a consolidation mode, and our market also saw some correction. Today's fall is not very significant considering the rally we witnessed in the past few sessions.
"From now on the FIIs would adopt a wait and watch policy before investing in Indian markets as the election results are expected shortly.
Â
Mutual funds back in action as stocks surge
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Mumbai India's fund industry, forced to hibernate for a better part of the past year, is now back in action as a sharp surge in domestic shares revives hopes for a pick-up in flows into profitable equity assets. Money managers are enthused by an improving investment climate globally that has helped Indian shares rise nearly 50 per cent from their 2009 lows and hope moderating gains from debt and guaranteed returns products will lure investors to equities.
"There is a general belief that maybe the worst is over and sentiments are improving," Sandeep Dasgupta, chief executive of Bharti AXA Investment Managers, said.
MS-13 Gang Initiation Warning-Fiction!
28 Mar 2008 ... Warnings that the MS-13 gang is initiating members by having them bump a car with their own car then shooting anyone who pulls over ...
www.truthorfiction. com/rumors/ m/ms-13-initiati on.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages -
MS-13 Leader Sentenced to 60 Years in Federal Prison for ...
PR Newswire (press release) - ‎May 4, 2009‎
"The evidence proved that MS-13 sent Victor Ramirez to Maryland from El Salvador as part of a plan to strengthen the MS-13 gang and expand the gang's ...
Hyattsville man to serve 60 years in prison for gang involvement Business Gazette
all 28 news articles »
American´s most dangerous gangs working for Mexican Drug Cartels
American Chronicle - ‎May 4, 2009‎
M-13 gang members have been responsible for the execution of three federal agents and numerous shootings of law enforcement officers across the country. ...
Video results for M13 gang
Worlds Most Dangerous Gang
52 min
video.google. com
YouTube - MS 13
6 min
www.youtube. com MS 13 Gang Doco. Epi. 9
4 min 6 sec
www.youtube. com
Bay Area arrests "Alleged" M-13 gang members: tied to murders, etc ...
36 posts - 16 authors - Last post: 24 Oct 2008(10-22) 14:26 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal immigration authorities raided more than a dozen locations in San Francisco, Richmond and South ...
www.yelp.com/ topic/san- francisco- bay-area- arrests-alleged- m-13-gang- members-tied- to-murders- etc - 62k - Cached - Similar pages -
CityNews.ca - Toronto's News: MS-13 Primer: 'The Most Dangerous ...
In Texas, an MS-13 gang member led others in raping a 24-year-old woman. He followed that brutal attack by kicking her in the neck so hard, she died. ...
www.citynews. ca/news/news_ 23489.aspx - 35k - Cached - Similar pages -
Mara Salvatrucha Gang - MS-13
One deportee reported that upon returning to his hometown, there were only he and two other MS-13 gang members. His said that the interest in MS-13 was so ...
www.knowgangs. com/gang_ resources/ profiles/ ms13/ - 45k - Cached - Similar pages -
M13 Graphics :: Gang Run Club Flyer Printing, Business Card ...
M13 Graphics club flyer, poster, postcard, and business card gang run printing is an online club flyer, poster, postcard, and business card gang run ...
www.m13graphics. com/ - 24k - Cached - Similar pages -
News results for M13 gang
GANG WARFARE - MS-13 suspects threatens to kiil city police officer‎ - 1 hour ago
By Stephen Janis Baltimore homicide detectives are investigating threats by two suspected members of the MS-13 gang to kill a Baltimore police officer, ...Investigative Voice
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Morristown Mayor Cresitello warns of infamous MS-13 gang
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - ‎Apr 15, 2009‎
Defending his fiscal policies today at a 'Tea Party' rally on the Morristown Green, Mayor Donald Cresitello cited the notorious MS-13 street gang as a ...
When The Mexican Drug Trade Hits The Border
ILW.com - ‎21 hours ago‎
Some of the tactics involved in moving shipments across the border require skilled workers, such as pilots, while US gang members along the border serve as ...
Threat of gangs addressed at crime seminar
Explore Baltimore County: Catonsville Times - ‎4 minutes ago‎
The Bloods are the fastest growing gang on the East Coast, Darcey said. Other gangs active in the county include the Crips, MS-13 and the Latin Kings, ...
Suspect accused of shooting CenterPoint employee may be MS-13 member
KHOU - ‎5 hours ago‎
... he was able to give them a description of the shooter, which led police to believe that their suspect may be a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. ...
CNP
Despite Snags, Khmer Rouge Trial Offers Revelations
World Politics Review - ‎1 hour ago‎
Duch said that Pol Pot's crimes were far greater than those of the Gang of Four who controlled China in the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution. ...
A Courageous Victim Taking a Stand Against MS-13
Right Side News - ‎May 3, 2009‎
After MS-13 gang members robbed a Houston beauty salon at gunpoint last January and sexually assaulted a salon employee, one of the gang members went a step ...
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America's Most Dangerous Gang - MS13 - Violent, Vicious, and Spreading Fast!
Â
Spreading from El Salvador to L.A. and across the United States, Mara Salvatrucha 13 is increasingly well organized and deadly!
Â
Unregulated Indian Open Market is MORE VIOLENT!
Â
More VICIOUS!
Â
And spreading Faster with the GROWTH of DESI Illuminati Shaping in.
Â
Recent Pre poll EXERCISE heralds the New OREDER of Manusmriti Apartheid ILLUMINATI Rule in India with the DEFEAT of Centralised Two Party political system and RESURGENCE of casteology, Nationalities and Identies in the First ever Caste War.
Â
The RULING Hegemony has lost the VARNA YUDDHA and the DESI ILLUMINATI Manipulates FREELY to Sustain and MODIFY the Manusmriti ZIONIST FASCIST IMPERILIST Oredr of APARTHEID!
Â
Indian MS 13 CONSISTS of Political Parties, NGOs, Economists, Bureaocrats, CREAMY Layer elected and adjusted with Political reservation and Quota thanks to POONA PACT, Media and Intelligentsia and led by India Incs, the DESI ILLUMINATI shaping in!
Â
Mara Savatrucha, or MS-13, is one the most notorious gangs in the world. Yet MS-13 and other gangs such as Calle 18 originated just decades ago among the Salvadorian immigrant community of Los Angeles.
Â
Soon the US authorities began deporting gang members back to El Salvador, exporting LA gang culture to a country rife with weapons from civil war and sparking an explosion in vicious gang-related crime. MS-13 currently has over 50,000 members in the US, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Cities like San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, experience some of the highest murder rates in the world.
Â
In El Salvador’s penitentiaries, rival gangs are kept segregated to avoid riots, but the prisons remain hotbeds of violence as well as recruiting grounds for the deadly gangs. Taken in 2007 by award-winning photojournalist Moises Saman, these photographs go inside the facilities to give a sense of what life is like within their walls. The series also goes onto the streets to document the anti-gang activities of Salvadorian Special Police, with powerful and poignant results.
Â
An MS-13 gang member bares his tattoos inside the Chelatenango prison. Many members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include “MS�!
Â
You won`t find such TATTOOS exposed anywhere in SOUTH ASIA as the MS13 gang Members RULE the GEOPOLITICS divide in nation and represent POLITICAL and ECONOMIC Ideologies and they happen to be our ICONS!
Â
 They create the HYPE of false recession and kill the Constitution, parliament and democracy to bail out the INFLATED SATYAM ASTAYAM India Incs granting FDI free, FII Funds Free, DEPOSITS Free, Resources and revenue FREE transforming the nation into an INFINITE GAS CHAMBER! An Infinite DEATH CHAMBER !
Â
They wear Masks and Pose as Mascots!
Â
They are the BRANDS and the Icons!
Â
They turn Indian Ocean Peace zone into a WAR ZONE Bloody!
Â
they DEMOLISHED BABRI MOSQUE and ENACTED GUJARAT ETHNIC Cleansing! They CREATED Nandigram, Singur, kaling Nagar, Navi Mumbai and so on!
Â
They sign NUCLEAR DEAL and clear DECKS for Mass Destruction!
Â
They realligned STRATEGICALLY in US and Israel lead!
Â
They not only ENSLAVE the Indigenous, Aboriginal,minority Communities but DEHUMANISE them uprooting them from their HOMELANDS and Creating EXODUS!
Â
 They deprive us of EVERYTHING! Freedom, Sovereignity, production system, Mother language, Folk and folk Lore, Culture, places of worship and places of JOB and Livelihood!
Â
They acquire our Land and destry our Home and harvest!
Â
 They RAPE our WOMEN and make us BONDED labour to live on their MERCY!
Â
They FIELD CIA and MOSSAD to Destroy us!
Â
They destroy our BRAIN and control our Mind with DECULTURISATION and Information explosion and TECHNOLOGY!
Â
They REPLACE us with Computers and HUMANOIDS!
Â
They deliver HATE SPEECHES and DIVERT the real Issues!
Â
They RAPE the Earth and the Nature! Sacrifices us in Chemical and Nuclear WAR FARE!
They POLLUTE the Environment and Kills the BIO CYCLE!
Â
They create Tsunami, Drought and FAMINE and calamities and Pandemics!
Â
They speak Blind Nationlaism in Full SPRIRT and create WAR Hype for the best Interest of the Gloabl Zionist Weapon Industries!
Â
They possess Swiss bank Accounts and EAT Kick backs in defence deals with DEFENCE BUDET Hike!
Â
They DRINK OIL and leads AUTO DRIVE as well as DEPORTATION drive!
Â
They consist the great indian LPG mafia and DISINVEST everything!
Â
They CREATE TERROR and Hate to divide us in RELIGION, castes and clans and languages!
We DIE for them and SUBORDINATE to them!
Â
Just see how they work and how the washington dictations work in south Asia!
Â
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India Inc not worried by Obama's anti-outsourcing tirade
Â
Mike Sangma / CNN-IBN
Â
New Delhi:US President Barack Obamais turning the heat on India with his anti-outsourcing tirade.
Â
He has promised to clamp down on American companies exploiting tax havens abroad, which means a further hit to the already stretched Indian IT industry.
Â
During his election campaign Barack Obama on November 11, 2008, had said, "Unlike John McCain I will stop giving tax breaks to companies who shift jobs overseas and will start giving it to companies who create good jobs in America.''
Â
Even after assuming the presidency of the US, Obama on February 25, 2009, said, "We will restore a sense of fairness and balance... to our tax codes by finally ending the tax rates for corporation that ships our jobs overseas."
Â
But on May 5, 2009, Obama said that job should not be outsourced to Bangalore in India.
Â
"It's the tax code that says if you pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India... than if you create one in Buffalo, New York," he said.
Â
With his words Obama has hit bang on the heart India's IT industry, Bangalore.
Â
He means business and wants to completely stop tax sops to US companies that outsourced jobs to India.
Â
India Inc, however, is putting up a brave front.
Â
IT major Infosys says, "The current proposal is to close corporate tax loopholes. We do not believe that it has anything to do with IT outsourcing done by US corporations. "
Â
Some even say Obama's banging the door on Bangalore indicates the city's IT power.
Â
"I can't really blame Obama for saying Bangalore vs Buffalo. It is a great sound byte. Bangalore has gone way beyond city to a verb," said Priya Chetty Rajagopal of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce.
Â
Yet, Obama's constant anti-outsourcing tirade is worrisome. The industry's worries are understandable especially since India gets more than 60 per cent, or $70 billion, outsourcing work from the US.
Â
But Partner in XSearch, Suhas S Nerurkar says there would be little impact of such a move.
Â
It is not the first protectionist move the US has made since Obama took charge.
Â
The US also plans to ban H1B visa hiring for companies receiving bailout money. The ban is likely to hit 21,667 Indian techies hard.
Â
For the Indian IT Industry, already hit by the global recession, President Obama's stand on outsourcing could not have come at a worse time.
Â
(With inputs from Deepa Balakrishnan)
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Industry decries Obama's move Chandigarh Tribune
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US 'wants' India to sign NPT, hyphenates it with Pak
Washington US wants India along with Pakistan, Israel and North Korea to join the Nuclear Non-Nonproliferatio n Treaty (NPT), a top Obama administration official has said.
"Universal adherence to the NPT itself - including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea - remains a fundamental objective of the US," Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of State said in her opening remarks at the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 NPT Review Conference being held at the UN headquarters in New York.
India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are not signatories to the NPT, which so far has been signed by as many as 189 countries. However, later she praised India's willingness to proceed with a fissile material cut-off treaty in cooperation with the United States and its willingness to pursue the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as other lesser, but important measures such as improving its export control.
Talking to reporters after her participation in the meeting, Gottemoeller said the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, along with several other steps taken by New Delhi in the recent past, has brought India closer to the NPT. "So I would say that India is coming closer to the non-proliferation regime, and that too is an important goal of the US foreign policy," she said.
"I would say that with regard to India's agreement with the US on peaceful nuclear uses that the US has been able to agree with India to undertake a number of activities that would bring it in closure cooperation with other countries in the general non-proliferation regime," Gottemoeller said.
She was responding to a question on statements made by certain countries at the meeting, which without mentioning India were critical of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.
"The US consistent policy has been to support the universality of the non proliferation treaty and that includes India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea," she said. However, the US official did not respond to a question on what policies the Obama Administration wants to follow to ensure that these countries sign the NPT.
Earlier, in her speech at the Preparatory Committee meeting she said: "We must redouble our efforts to update IAEA safeguards technologies and convince those NPT parties that have not yet done so to bring into force the comprehensive IAEA safeguards agreements".
US President Barack Obama in a message to the PrepCom meeting recalled his speech against nuclear proliferation at Prague on April 5 and asked governments to pursue common ground, rather than focusing on differences. Obama had said in Prague: "Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished... The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons".
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Until recently, MS-13 wasn’t that big a player in East Coast gang culture. The reason for its weak position in the East Coast crime world was obvious: It wasn’t very well organized. MS-13 was comprised of a group of cliques that operated independently of each other.
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It’s estimated that there are 36,000 MS-13 members in Honduras alone. In Honduras, according to a March 2004 report prepared by the Washington, D.C.-based, right-wing think tank the Maldon Institute, MS-13 has, with increasing frequency, resorted to leaving a dismembered corpse, complete with a decapitated head, as a calling card. Recently, according to the report, such a grisly message was left with a note for the Honduran president.
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With the number of MS-13 members growing nationwide (some cliques now even accept non-Hispanic members), and the violence escalating, the future for law enforcement appears grim.
“They adapt to what the police do,� says Prince George’s County’s Norris. “They will change the way they operate, depending on the way things are enforced by the police. If there is no enforcement, they will wear their colors and bandanas because in the communities they are in it is common knowledge and the people fear them, so it is a form of intimidation.
“Once the police recognize and confront them, they will change and wear different colors from the blue and white, no bandana on their head, maybe now in their pocket, and instead of the number 13 they will wear 67 or 76 because it equals 13. They adapt so it is a continually evolving thing.�
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While the nation focuses on terrorism, the issue of gang violence has taken a lower priority. But to many, the violent acts of MS-13 members are more of an everyday threat that is being overlooked.
The note is supposed to have stated the gang’s displeasure with an August 2003 law that made it illegal to be a part of a gang. Under Honduran law gang leaders can be sentenced to prison for up to 12 years and rank-and-file members from six to nine years, just for being in the gang. A gang member can be arrested for simply having a tattoo.
El Salvador has also launched a crackdown on MS-13. A police offensive called “Operation Strong-arm� has resulted in the arrest of more than 4,000 gang members.
For MS-13, these are small losses. The gang is nothing if not mobile. When it feels heat in the U.S., it moves to another state. When it feels heat in El Salvador and Honduras, it sets up operations in Mexico.
The Maldon Institute report indicates that MS-13 “appears to be in control of much of the Mexican border and, in addition to its smuggling and contraband rackets, the gang collects money from illegal immigrants that it helps [move] across the border into the United States.�
The ultra-conservative Maldon Institute is known for doomsday predictions when it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border. But there can be no denial that MS-13 is very active in smuggling people, drugs, and guns across the border. And independent reports indicate that many illegal immigrants have been assaulted, robbed, and even raped by MS-13 members.
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Mexico is now taking steps to fight back against MS-13. In December, Mexican authorities arrested 224 gang members in response to what they called a threat to national security. Among the arrests were members of MS-13 who were charged with trafficking in drugs and firearms across Mexico and Central America.
While some of the Central American countries appear to be cracking down on MS-13, serious problems still exist. And they are being missed by politically correct reporters who want to tout U.S.-Latin American cooperation.
For example, on Long Island, the media was quick to cover an agreement between El Salvador and Suffolk County to share information on MS-13. What the local reporters didn’t cover was a much more serious issue. If these gang members commit serious offenses, they can return home, and there is no extradition agreement. And, of course, they are doing so in increasing numbers.
“I would say that between Honduras and El Salvador, there are seven or eight people we are seeking to take into custody,� says Lt. Dennis Farrell, head homicide investigator for the Nassau County Police Department. “Proportionally, if you take that across the country, the numbers are astronomical, the number of people who have probably fled to these two countries.�
Farrell says that two gang members who his detectives are looking to arrest for two separate murders are now living in the same town in El Salvador. He calls the situation extremely frustrating. “You undertake a very in-depth and comprehensive investigation, pursue all possible leads, build a case, essentially conduct a successful investigation, only to have it thwarted by the fact that after having identified the killer or killers, you are unable, under the present international agreements, to return them to Nassau County to face murder charges.
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“Even more than that frustration, how about the injustice and sense of desperation on the part of families who have lost loved ones? Where is the measure of justice? There is really no justice for those families, and absent some reworked or new initiative between our state department and those sovereign states, I don’t see any change in this condition in the foreseeable future,� Farrell adds.
In addition to extradition treaties, many gang investigators believe stricter and more uniform laws are needed here in this country. According to Charlotte-Mecklenbu rg’s Jolly, one of the reasons MS-13 has migrated to the East Coast is the strict anti-gang laws on the West Coast. He also believes that, with the stricter gang laws in Central America, many MS-13 members may be coming back to the United States illegally.
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No more. Law enforcement officials now report that gang members from across the country have come together to unite affiliated groups up and down the East Coast. The leadership for these cliques is now coming from as far away as California and even from El Salvador.
One of the more unusual aspects of MS-13 when compared to other street gangs is that it is extremely flexible in its activity. While some gangs are only into drugs, MS-13 will do any crime at any time.
Sgt. George Norris, supervisor of the gang unit in the Prince George’s County (Md.) Police Department, says MS-13 doesn’t sling drugs in his jurisdiction. “We see mostly citizen robberies, auto theft, shootings and cuttings, and homicides,� he says, adding that drug sales by MS-13 may be just a matter of time.
When MS-13 moves into a new community it tends to announce its presence with violence. The same can be true when a new leader takes over the local cliques.
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Norris says gang members from other areas had once been able to join the new gang by simply being “jumped in.� But now that new leaders have moved into Prince George’s County and consolidated the cliques, the gang’s local culture has become more violent and vicious.
“According to one of our informers, things have changed,� says Norris. “Now in order to get your letters or clique [symbols] tattooed on you, you have to also put in some violent act to show your commitment.�
And MS-13 violence is not restricted to civilians, rival gang members, and clique traitors; the gang will go after cops. Threats against police officers, known to gang members as “green light� notices, have increased so much in the past few years that the Virginia Gang Association has warned officers in Virginia and states to the north and south to be wary of MS-13 members.
Charlotte-Mecklenbu rg’s Jolly says he is aware of the threats against police officers in his community and in Virginia. Prince George’s County’s Norris says he’s heard them, too. “If you do something to them, their natural response is, ‘OK, I’m going to kill you,’� he says. “Or at least they talk like they will.�
Norris dismisses some of MS-13’s threats, but that doesn’t mean that officers should take all MS-13 threats lightly. The gang is extremely violent and it has attacked and will continue to attack anyone who gets in its way. That includes law enforcement officers.
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Robert Hart, senior agent in charge with the FBI, says that when individual groups of MS-13 unite, the results can be devastating. “The cliques, instead of operating independently of each other, are beginning to come together,� Hart explains. “The difference is by doing that, obviously you have a much tighter organization, much stronger structures and, instead of having various cliques doing whatever they want, wherever they want, there is one individual who is the leader and is able to control the payment of dues and the criminal acts they engage in. The result is very, very similar to what you would see in what we refer to as traditional organized criminal families.�
Los Angeles and New York law enforcement and even politicians are aware of the impact of MS-13 on their streets and on their crime statistics. So they’ve taken action. The results are usually not stellar, but at least these cities have recognized that MS-13 is a problem. Unfortunately, the leadership of MS-13 is not stupid. Once the heat comes down hard in L.A. and New York, they head for new turf, choosing Midwestern and Southern and suburban cities where gangs “are not an issue� and local officials and authorities are in denial.
And once MS-13 takes hold in a community, it grows fast. The gang reportedly has some 300 members in suburban Long Island. A few years back it didn’t have any.
Once MS-13 shows up on the radar, some local officials and authorities will take action. In Nassau County, for example, a joint gang task force headed by the FBI and comprised of local police departments, has arrested 16 leaders of MS-13. They were charged with two murders, assault, conspiracy, and firearms violations.
Such investigations aren’t easy because MS-13 has a pretty strident zero-tolerance policy toward anyone who informs the cops of their activities.
Court papers reveal that one of the Nassau County defendants was captured in a secretly recorded telephone conversation detailing how he killed a male victim because he had provided law enforcement officials with information and that he had “put one in his chest and three in the head.� In another recorded conversation, a second defendant said he killed a young female because, in part, she had also provided information to law enforcement.
The senseless violence of MS-13 has shocked the local citizens of Nassau County, so the Nassau County Executive appointed a “gang czar� to deal with the increasing gang problem.
A seasoned, dedicated officer, the new “czar,� in reality, will find it difficult to accomplish what he has been mandated to do. His department, like many across the nation, is at its lowest staffing levels in recent history, and he has been given no additional personnel or resources to combat the problem. The public was placated by the appointment, but while politicians put Band-Aids on deep cuts, the problem continues to escalate on Long Island.
And Long Island is not alone. Nationally, police departments are dealing with the surge in violence emanating from MS-13 members.
In Charlotte, N.C., 53 gang members were arrested as part of Operation Fed Up, which targeted MS-13 members. Officials in the medium-sized Southern city say MS-13 has been involved in at least 11 murders in the Charlotte area since 2000. And with a membership estimated at 200, MS-13 is by far Charlotte’s largest gang.
Some 400 miles north of Charlotte, the northern Virginia and southern Maryland communities around Washington, D.C., have become MS-13 turf. Local authorities estimate that there are between 5,000 and 6,000 MS-13 members in the metropolitan area.
And where MS-13 goes, violence follows. In July 2003, an 18-year-old federal witness was stabbed to death; last May, a 16-year-old boy had his hands almost completely chopped off with a machete; and a week later a 17-year-old was shot and murdered. All three crimes were tied to MS-13 members.
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The rapid increase in MS-13 activity along the corridor between Charlotte and D.C. is simply explained by Det. Tim Jolly, a gang specialist with the Charlotte-Mecklenbu rg Police Department. The area has the nation’s second highest population of Salvadoran immigrants
Named for La Mara, a street in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerillas who fought in El Salvador’s bloody civil war, Mara Salvatrucha 13 was organized in Los Angeles in the late ’80s. At first, the gang’s primary purpose was to defend Salvadoran immigrants from being preyed upon by other L.A. street gangs.
But like any other street gang that was created to defend a particular ethnic group, MS-13 was quickly perverted until its primary purpose was preying upon the Salvadoran community. It also violently defends its turf against any other gang that might seek to slice away a piece of its action.
Gang members sometimes wear blue and white, colors taken from the national flag of El Salvador. They can also sport numerous body and even face tattoos. However, some members are much less visible and therefore much more dangerous.
Recent reports indicate that MS-13 has expanded from California to Alaska, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Florida. The gang has also been exported back to Central America.
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After Nano, Tatas offer flats for Rs 3.91 lakh
Mumbai After Rs 1-lakh people's car Nano, the Tatas unveiled a low-cost realty project which offers a house for less than Rs 4 lakh.
Tata Housing, the real estate development arm of the Tatas, will build one-room-kitchen flats for just Rs 3.91 lakh in a township being developed at Boisar, 100 km from Mumbai.
The salt-to-software Tata conglomerate plans to develop the township within 24 months and allotment of flats would made through lottery, Tata Housing's Managing Director Brotin Banerjee said.
The company has plans to replicate the project, Subha Griha, in the National Capital Region (Delhi) and Bangalore in the current fiscal itself, he said.
Q+A-India's economy -- on the road to recovery?
Wed May 6, 2009 8:02am BST
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NEW DELHI, May 6 (Reuters) - India's economy, which has been hit harder than expected by the global recession, may be on the path to recovery, some recent data suggests.
Asia's third-largest economy is expected to have grown less than 7 percent in 2008/09, sharply lower than the expansion of 9 percent or in each of the previous three fiscal years, and is poised to expand at the same pace in the fiscal year ending March 2010.
Some analysts say the robust growth in steel and cement sales as well as in manufacturing in recent months showed the worst maybe over for the economy.
The following looks at the growth outlook for the South Asian economy and the pace of its economic recovery.
WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT WORST MAY BE OVER FOR THE INDIAN ECONOMY?
A slew of data in recent weeks has shown that a tentative recovery is taking shape. The ABN AMRO Bank purchasing managers' index (PMI) <INPMI=ECI> based on a survey of 500 companies, rose to 53.3 in April from March's 49.5, climbing above the threshold of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
This was the first expansion in factory output in five months and showed demand in the economy is returning.
Data also signalled that demand in India's hinterland is firm and is supporting a vast expanse of the economy. Cement sales have grown at near double-digit rates since November, consumer goods sales have seen strong support from rural markets, while auto demand has firmed after a disastrous December quarter.
Wholesale price inflation shows demand has not fallen as anticipated and prices were holding firm. Continued...
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India Inc's confident of meeting targets for 2010
6 May 2009, 0017 hrs IST, ET Bureau
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MUMBAI: Engineering major Larsen & Toubro chairman AM Naik, at a conference on Tuesday, said his company, despite the slowdown, could be on track for meeting its target set for 2010. “There is some dampening (of progress), but we are well on track,� Mr Naik said, referring to a five-year corporate plan.
The country’s largest engineering company, however, isn’t the sole example of India Inc managing the slowdown and meeting its targets in a challenging business environment, said an Ernst & Young survey.
Aimed at understanding the measures taken to face the slowdown, the survey said 42% of respondents said they would achieve 90% of their targets this year, while 43% said they are looking to meet 70-90% of their targets. Only 15% would not attain more than 70% of their target, according to the survey, which spoke to 121 senior professionals from all industries.
“If you take out sectors such as real estate, mining, automotive, which have been affected by the slowdown, the rest of the industry has been on track and is doing well,� said Ernst & Young partner Sunil Chandiramani. Industries such as IT, ITeS (IT enabled services), BFSI (banking financial services and insurance) and telecom, have been doing very well, he added.
Most of the companies that were contacted said increased focus on cost reduction and cash generation as the main reason for being on track. About 85% of respondents gave the highest priority to cost reduction, while 71% re-evaluated business plans to preserve cash.
Also, since Indian companies have been traditionally conservative while giving a business outlook, they have also been able to reasonably meet their objectives, said Mr Chandiramani.
More than three-fourths, or 76%, of the companies surveyed said it was their supply chains, which were the most likely to be scrutinised from a cost reduction perspective, while 57% voted for infrastructure support services, such as real estate, general administration.
On managing people costs, 69% of the respondents laid emphasis on rightsizing measures, such as redeployment and workforce sharing, while 61% indicated a hiring freeze.
Underscoring the vital role played by the treasury and financial risk management, 85% of the companies surveyed said that enhancing cash and liquidity management helped deal with the downturn more effectively.
“Companies have increasingly looked into alternative sources of liquidity, inventorying of all debt covenants, monitoring compliance and considering options to renegotiate covenants,� Ernst & Young said.
In financing options, companies opted for traditional sources, such as bank lending, in comparison to capital market and private equity as valuations across all industries have fallen sharply. Only about 20% of the respondents chose capital market and private equity as options, compared to 69% for term loans, 61% for group entities.
http://economictime s.indiatimes. com/Corporate- Trends/India- Incs-confident- of-meeting- targets-for- 2010/articleshow /4488573. cms
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Is company cost-cutting company throat-slitting?
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ReutersPosted: May 06, 2009 at 1147 hrs IST
Chicago In recent weeks, a number of investors and economists have declared the recession all but over based on a handful of seemingly positive signs, including a flurry of better-than- expected earnings from US companies.
They may be getting ahead of themselves.
Aggressive cost-cutting through layoffs and capital expenditure reductions has, it's true, helped many companies report profits that surpassed analysts' estimates.
But beneath what can be perceived as "green shoots" of recovery, experts say, lie the germinating seeds of what could be a much deeper, more prolonged recession.
"I think the clear and present danger is the negative feedback loop for the economy," said Greg Peters, head of global-fixed income and economic research at Morgan Stanley in New York.
"If people are getting laid off and if capital expenditures are being pulled back, then that has a cascading effect that is much more long-lasting on the economy."
Analysts and investors argue that while job, capex and R&D cuts may shore up individual profits temporarily, they are bad news in the aggregate. They swell the ranks of the unemployed, reduce the wages of those who keep their jobs, and hurt an already struggling economy by further crimping consumer and corporate spending.
And that will only ricochet back on the companies themselves, reducing demand for their products and services and putting additional pressure on their sales and margins.
"As corporations cut payrolls and deleverage they are acting perfectly rationally," said Robert Reich, the former US Labor Secretary under President Bill Clinton who now teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.
"But if that's what every corporation does, we're going to end up with far more job losses and in a deeper economic hole. Who's going to be left to buy all the goods and services these companies produce?"
THE BEAT GOES ON ... JOB LOSSES TOO
The list of US companies able to report better-than- expected results for the most recent quarter because aggressive cost cuts offset falling sales is a long one.
It includes appliance maker Whirlpool Corp, advertising powerhouse Omnicom Group Inc, specialty glass maker Corning Inc, wireless telephone service provider Sprint Nextel Corp, drug maker Pfizer Inc tool maker Black & Decker Corp, and Kraft Foods Inc.
Based on the number of earnings that beat forecasts, one would never guess the United States is in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. According to Thomson Reuters Director's Report of the 365 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far this quarter, 65 per cent delivered better-than- expected results.
"In the aggregate, companies are reporting earnings that are 10.4 per cent above the estimates, which is above the 1.6 per cent long-term average" based on figures since 1994, John Butters, director of US earnings at Thomson Reuters, wrote in his "This Week in Earnings" report last Friday.
But the cuts behind those beats add up, too. US data due out this week is expected to show that employers cut another 620,000 jobs in April, according to a Reuters poll of economists, lifting the unemployment rate to 8.9 per cent. That is up from 8.5 per cent in March -- double what it was just two years ago and the highest level since 1983.
Over time, those cuts -- and the distress they cause -- become part of a self-reinforcing cycle, hurting consumer spending, which is responsible for the lion's share of US economic activity -- and further pinching corporate results, experts said.
WHO WILL BUY WHEN NO ONE'S BUYING?
In fact, it is already happening. Although this past quarter was marked by a number of earnings surprises, it was also noteworthy for the number of companies that cut their forecasts, citing a deteriorating sales environment.
"We are still seeing forward earnings estimates being adjusted down," said Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer of Fifth Third Asset Management, which manages $22 billion.
To be sure, some pretty powerful voices are sounding a more upbeat note about the economy.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that the recession should end this year, as long as there is no relapse of the credit squeeze that has strangled the economy. And the Business Council, a private group of top US CEOs, said its members see light at the end of the tunnel and are expecting a rebound, at least in the United States and China, next year.
Still, perhaps too many executives are talking like Harold "Terry" McGraw, the CEO of publisher McGraw-Hill Cos Inc, who stressed last week that "cost containment will be a priority for us all year."
As a result, Wirtz said he expects companies to remain "lean and mean ... slow to add expense early into the recovery phase."
And in a system where one man's expense is another man's paycheck, that kind of discipline is bad for the economy.
This conundrum, identified early in the 20th century by economist John Maynard Keynes as "the paradox of thrift" or the "paradox of savings" is, of course, one of the major headwinds facing the economy as it struggles to pull out of the downturn.
Simply put, consumers are now saving when the economy really needs them to spend and businesses are now relentlessly firing and cutting costs when the economy really needs them to be hiring.
The result, according to Keynes: declining incomes across the board.
Which is why Reich believes President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, which injects $787 billion into the economy over two years through tax cuts and spending, does not go far enough and may need to be expanded.
"In this environment, the government has to step in as the spender of last resort," he said.
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US tax plan seen not hurting India
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Reuters
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 0921 hrs IST
Bangalore US plans to scrap tax incentives that encourage American firms to ship jobs overseas are unlikely to dent business for Indian outsourcers, but the move is protectionist, company officials and lobby groups said. The proposal, if implemented, will hurt more US-based companies that have significant operations overseas, including in India, they said on Tuesday.
US President Barack Obama plans to tighten rules allowing companies to defer paying taxes on profits made overseas as long as those earnings are ploughed back into the foreign subsidiaries, he said on Monday.
Supporters of the tax reform plan say the existing provision allows US companies to avoid taxation indefinitely and gives them incentives to create jobs overseas instead of at home.
"This may actually end up reducing competitiveness of US companies with global operations when compared to their European and Japanese counterparts, " National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), an Indian lobby group, said.
"It is important to note that most large American companies have more than 50 per cent of their revenues coming from markets outside the US and (they) would be affected by the proposed tax reforms, if implemented, " it said in a statement.
Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies get half their revenue from the United States by providing a range of IT services to firms such as Citibank and General Electric.
Business groups in the United States have criticized Obama's plans saying it would make companies less competitive, but officials called the changes long-overdue fixes to curb abuses.
Bangalore-based Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter, said the proposal, if implemented, was unlikely to reverse the outsourcing of a gamut of services by US firms to Indian companies.
"The current proposal, as we understand, is to close corporate tax loopholes on US multinational corporations and crack down on their overseas tax havens," the company said in a statement.
"We do not believe that it has anything to do with IT outsourcing done by US corporations. "
Outsourcing is big business in India, where English-speaking and skilled workers cost about a fifth of their US counterparts. The $60-billion export-driven industry employs about 2 million people.
Lured by the vast pool of cheaper and qualified workforce, global technology giants like IBM, Accenture and Microsoft have expanded their operations in India at a scorching pace in the last few years.
IBM employs more than 70,000 people in India, which is also a growing market for its services.
RETROGRADE STEP
The steady flow of jobs and services to low-cost centres such as India has been a hot-button issue in the United States, and analysts said it was likely to remain under the spotlight as the country struggles to revive its economy and stem job losses.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry termed the tax reform plan as a "retrograde" step, and said the move would have some impact on US investments abroad including in India.
Sajjan Jindal, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, said the United States should not deny tax incentives to the American firms that create jobs overseas as that would send a wrong signal to the world.
"Not only America but the entire world has become the victim of current meltdown and at this crucial juncture taking resort to protectionism tendencies will kill the spirit of competition and dilute spirits of World Trade Organisation, " he said. Shares in Infosys ended down 2.8 per cent at 1,582.95 rupees and top exporter Tata Consultancy fell 2.5 per cent to 650.45 rupees in the main Mumbai market that ended little changed.
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IPL launches new mobile lottery; it’s not betting: Modi
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G.S. Vivek
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 0149 hrs IST
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Durban The Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday launched a controversial SMS game asking fans to predict the scores of a live match. The winners will get cash awards. According to the rules of the game, the entrant will have to send the runs that will be scored off every ball of the next over (for example 3 2 4 2 6 6, like in a lottery ticket) and the people guessing six, five or four numbers in the sequence correctly will get a percentage of the kitty generated by the total number of people playing at that time. The minimum prize money for every over is Rs 10,000 and will increase after that, depending on the entries received, at Rs 5 per SMS.
While the early reaction from experts is that this is a form of online cricket betting, which is illegal in India, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi denied it. “It’s only about texting. Anyway, there is a lot of texting going back and forth, discussing the game. This is very similar to that, discussing the game amongst friends,� he said.
“The person in the stadium has no idea what the people are predicting. It’s very difficult to fix the outcome of an over. I think, maybe one in a million. We have checked it out and looked at it very carefully. If that was to happen, we would shut it out absolutely, without doubt.�
When contacted on Tuesday evening, an International Cricket Council (ICC) media officer said that the governing body had not heard about the game, but would anyway have no say in the matter because the ICC “has no direct involvement in the IPL�. The BCCI had, prior to the start of the tournament, refused to pay the $1.2m fees asked by the anti-corruption unit of the ICC, and the second edition of the IPL is not under the surveillance of the game’s governing body.
The game, 6UP, will be available only to Indian mobile subscribers starting from Wednesday’s matches.
http://www.expressi ndia.com/ latest-news/ IPL-launches- new-mobile- lottery-its- not-betting- Modi/455083/
Tata Housing to build low-cost housing near Mumbai
Reuters India - ‎2 hours ago‎
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Tata Group on Wednesday launched a low-cost housing project near Mumbai, joining a spate of Indian developers that have moved to the affordable housing segment, as demand dries up for more expensive homes.
After Nano, Tatas offer flats for less than Rs 4 lakh Times of India
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Mara Salvatrucha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mara Salvatrucha
Mara gang member with gang's name tattooed on his back
Years active1980 - present
TerritoryNorth America, Central America
EthnicityLatino
Membership100, 000[1] (estimated)
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking, robbery, extortion, arms trafficking, murder, contract killing, etc.
Mara Salvatrucha is a criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and spread to Central America and parts of the United States and Canada[2]. The gangs' names are commonly abbreviated as MS,[3] Mara, and MS-13 they are composed mostly of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans.
Their activities have caught the eye of the FBI, who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 660 arrests across the country.[3] In the United States, the gang's strongholds have historically been in the American Southwest and West Coast states. Membership in the U.S was believed to be as many as about 50,000 as of 2005.[1] MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, black market gun sales, human trafficking, auto thefts, home invasions, assaults on law enforcement officials, and contract killing.[4]
Contents[hide]
* 1 History
* 2 Publicized crimes
* 2.1 Illegal immigration and human smuggling
* 3 Etymology
* 4 Gang markings and hand signs
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links
History
The Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles, set up in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants in the city's Pico-Union neighborhood. [5] There is some dispute about the etymology of the name (see below: Etymology). The most common belief is that Mara refers to the word for gang in Salvadoran slang; it is suggested that Salvatrucha refers to the Salvadoran guerrillas, the source of much of the gang's early manpower.
Originally, the gang's main purpose was to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other, more established gangs of Los Angeles, who were predominately comprised of Mexicans and African-Americans. [6] For this reason, the gang initially allowed only Salvadorans to join, but later allowed other Central Americans to join as well.
Many Mara Salvatrucha gang members from the Los Angeles area have been deported either because of their illegal status in the United States, or for committing crimes as non-citizens, or both.[7] As a result of these deportations, members of MS-13 have recruited more members in their home countries. The Los Angeles Times contends that deportation policies have contributed to the size and influence of the gang both in the United States and in Central America.[7] Salvadoran authorities report that approximately 60% of prison inmates serving prison terms for gang-related crimes there have either fled prosecution or have been deported from the United States.[7]
In recent years the gang has expanded into the Washington, DC area, in particular the areas of Langley Park and Takoma Park near the Washington border have become centers of MS-13 gang activity.[8]
Publicized crimes
On July 13, 2003, Brenda Paz, a 17-year-old female, was found stabbed on the banks of the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Paz was killed for informing the police about Mara Salvatrucha activities. Four of her friends were later convicted of the murder.[9]
On December 23, 2004, one of the most widely publicized MS-13 crimes in Central America occurred in Chamelecón, Honduras when an intercity bus was intercepted and sprayed with automatic gunfire, killing 28 passengers, most of whom were women and children.[10] In February 2007, the courts found Juan Carlos Miranda Bueso and Darwin Alexis RamÃrez guilty of several crimes including murder and attempted murder. Ebert Anibal Rivera was held over the attack and was arrested in Texas after having fled.[11] Juan Bautista Jimenez, accused of masterminding the attack, was killed in prison. According to the authorities, fellow MS-13 inmates hanged him.[12] There was insufficient evidence to convict Ã"scar Fernando Mendoza and Wilson Geovany Gómez.[11]
On May 13, 2006, Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda, an ex-high ranking soldier and one of the founders of the Mara Salvatrucha, was murdered at his home in El Salvador a few hours after declining to attend a party for a gang member who had just been released from prison. He had begun studying law and working to keep children out of gangs.[13]
On June 4, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, police executed 22 search warrants, made 17 arrests and laid 63 charges following a five-month investigation. [14]
On June 22, 2008, in San Francisco, California, a 21-year old MS-13 gang member, Edwin Ramos, shot and killed a father, Anthony Bologna, 48, and his two sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, after their car briefly blocked Ramos from completing a left turn down a narrow street. [15]
On November 26, 2008, Jonathan Retana was convicted of the murder of Miguel Angel Deras, which the authorities linked to an MS-13 initiation. [16]
In February 2009, authorities in Colorado and California arrested 20 members of MS-13 and seized 10 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) of cocaine, a small amount of heroin, 12 firearms and $3,300 in cash, making it the largest bust on the gang to this date.[17]
Illegal immigration and human smuggling
According to The Washington Times, MS-13 "is thought to have established a major smuggling center" in Mexico.[18] There were reports that MS-13 members were ordered to Arizona to target border guards and Minuteman Project volunteers.[ 19][20]
In 2005, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez and the President of El Salvador raised alarm by claiming that Al-Qaeda was meeting with MS-13 and other Central American gangs to help them infiltrate the United States. FBI agents said that the U.S. intelligence community and governments of several Central American countries found there is no basis to believe that MS-13 is connected to Al-Qaeda or other Islamic radicals, although Oscar did visit Central America to discuss the issue.[21]
Robert Morales, a prosecutor for Guatemala, indicated to The Globe and Mail that some Central American gang members seek refugee status in Canada. Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police integrated gang task force, John Robin, said in an interview that "I think [gang members] have a feeling that police here won't treat them in the harsh manner they get down there."[22] Robin noted that Canadian authorities "want to avoid ending up like the U.S., which is dealing with the problem of Central American gangsters on a much bigger scale".[22]
On the southern border of Mexico, the gang has unleashed violence against migrants.[23]
Etymology
There are various possible explanations for the name Mara Salvatrucha. Some sources state the gang is named for La Mara, a street in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerrillas who fought in El Salvador's bloody civil war.[24] Additionally, the word mara means gang in Caliche and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. "Salvatrucha" is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha, a Caliche word for being alert, usually entailing preparedness for crime or abuse from police.
Gang markings and hand signs
An MS suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force. A year later, the FBI helped create the National Gang Intelligence Center.
Many Mara Salvatrucha members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include "MS", "Salvatrucha" , the "Devil Horns", the name of their clique, and other symbols.[25] A December 2007 CNN internet news article stated that the gang was moving away from the tattoos in an attempt to commit crimes without being noticed.[26]
Members of Mara Salvatrucha, like members of most modern American gangs, utilize a system of hand signs for purposes of identification and communication. One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil's head" (formed by extending the index and little fingers of the hand while tucking in the middle and ring fingers with the thumb), which forms an M when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the hand sign after attending concerts of heavy metal bands.[27]
See also
* Maras (gangs)
* List of California street gangs
* Gangs in the United States
References
1. ^ a b del Barco, Mandalit. "The International Reach of the Mara Salvatrucha. " NPR News. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
2. ^ http://www.citynews .ca/news/ news_23489. aspx
3. ^ a b "The Fight Against MS-13." 60 Minutes: CBS News. 04-12-2005. Accessed 14-11-2007.
4. ^ "Marijuana - Virginia Drug Threat Assessment." Drug Intelligence Center (March 2002).
5. ^ "The International Reach of the Mara Salvatrucha. " NPR.org.
6. ^ Sheridan, Mary Beth. "In N.Va. Gang, A Brutal Sense Of Belonging." The Washington Post. June 27, 2004.
7. ^ a b c Lopez, Robert J.; Rich Connell and Chris Kraul (October 30, 2004). "Gang Uses Deportation to its Advantage to Flourish in the U.S.". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes. com/news/ local/la- me-gang30oct30, 0,6717943. story?coll= la-home-headline s. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.Â
8. ^ Gangs in Maryland
9. ^ Frieden, Terry. "Two convicted, two acquitted in suburban Virginia street gang trial". CNN'. March 17, 2005.
10. ^ "Gang linked to Honduras massacre." BBC. December 24, 2004.
11. ^ a b "Honduras massacre 'leader' held." BBC. February 24, 2005.
12. ^ "Countries at the Crossroads 2007." freedomhouse. org.
13. ^ del Barco, Mandalit. "Gang Leader Shot to Death on Road to Reform." NPR News. May 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
14. ^ "Central American gang was plotting murder in Toronto, police say." CBC. June 5, 2008.
15. ^ Derbeken, Jaxon Van."Widow pleads for death penalty." San Francisco Chronicle. June 27, 2008.
16. ^ Sharon Coolidge. "Man, 18, gets life in prison for murder". Columbus Dispatch. http://www.dispatch .com/live/ content/local_ news/stories/ 2008/11/26/ ce_bar_killing_ 1126.ART_ ART_11-26- 08_B5_DLC0U89. html. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.Â
17. ^ http://www.cnn. com/2009/ CRIME/02/ 24/colorado. gang.indictments /index.html
18. ^ "Al Qaeda seeks tie to local gangs." Washington Times. September 28, 2004.
19. ^ "Gang will target Minuteman vigil on Mexico border." Washington Times. March 28, 2005.
20. ^ Carter, Sara A. and Mason Stockstill. "Report: MS-13 gang hired to murder Border Patrol." DailyBulletin. com. January 9, 2006.
21. ^ Harman, Danna. "U.S. steps up battle against Salvadoran gang MS-13." USA Today. February 23, 2005.
22. ^ a b Mason, Gary (2008-01-07) . "Canada is a haven to gangsters on the run". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobe andmail.com/ servlet/story/ LAC.20080107. MASONSIDE07/ TPStory/TPIntern ational/America/ . Retrieved on 2008-01-07.Â
23. ^ "El Tren de la Muerte". Dallas Observer. July 26, 2007. http://www.dallasob server.com/ 2007-07-26/ news/el-tren- de-la-muerte/ 2.Â
24. ^ Domash, Shelly Feuer. "America's Most Dangerous Gang." apfn.org.
25. ^ Werner, Zach. "FBI Targets MS-13 Street Gang." NewsHour Extra. October 5, 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
26. ^ ""Tattooed faces a dead giveaway: Gangs go for new look." CNN. December 16, 2007.
27. ^ National Geographic. "Gang Uses Deportation to its Advantage to Flourish in the U.S.". National Geographic. http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=-805080143 5890714263& q=world%27s+ most+dangerous+ gang&total= 20&start= 0&num=10& so=0&type= search&plindex= 0. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.Â
External links
* MS-13 Current News and Analysis
* "18 with a Bullet" Wide Angle PBS
* "How the Street Gangs Took Central America" May/June 2005 Foreign Affairs
* "Gangs, Terrorists, and Trade" April 12, 2007 in Foreign Policy In Focus
* [1] National Geographic post-investigation essay.
* [2] FBI Press release, 24 June 2008
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Mara_Salvatrucha"
Categories: Gangs in Los Angeles, California | Gangs in Massachusetts | Terrorism in the United States | Latino street gangs | 1971 establishments | Organized crime groups in Latin America | Modern street gangs | History of Los Angeles, California | Gangs in New York City | Gangs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Gangs in Detroit, Michigan | Gangs in Mexico | Gangs in Vancouver | Gangs in Toronto
Hidden categories: Wikipedia pages move-protected due to vandalism
The Deadly Gangs Of El Salvador
Tue, May 5, 2009
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Environmental Graffiti Will be Changing Dramatically Soon. Get a Sneak Preview By Signing Up Here.
All images: © Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Mara Savatrucha, or MS-13, is one the most notorious gangs in the world. Yet MS-13 and other gangs such as Calle 18 originated just decades ago among the Salvadorian immigrant community of Los Angeles. Soon the US authorities began deporting gang members back to El Salvador, exporting LA gang culture to a country rife with weapons from civil war and sparking an explosion in vicious gang-related crime. MS-13 currently has over 50,000 members in the US, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Cities like San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, experience some of the highest murder rates in the world.
In El Salvador’s penitentiaries, rival gangs are kept segregated to avoid riots, but the prisons remain hotbeds of violence as well as recruiting grounds for the deadly gangs. Taken in 2007 by award-winning photojournalist Moises Saman, these photographs go inside the facilities to give a sense of what life is like within their walls. The series also goes onto the streets to document the anti-gang activities of Salvadorian Special Police, with powerful and poignant results.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Snoopy, a senior member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and one of the gang leaders inside the Ciudad Barrios prison, a notorious maximum security facility for incarcerated MS-13 members.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
An MS-13 gang member bares his tattoos inside the Chelatenango prison. Many members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include “MS� and other symbols to identify individual factions or “cliques�.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Salvadorian Special Police during a night raid to capture gang members operating in the Panchimalco district of San Salvador.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
A suspected gang member is arrested in his home by Salvadorian Special Police during a night raid in San Salvador’s Panchimalco district.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Salvadorian Special Police during an anti-gang operation to capture a Calle 18 gang member in the Las Palmas section of San Salvador.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
A member of the Calle 18 gang wanted for murder sits handcuffed in the backyard of his girlfriend’s home after being arrested by Salvadorian Special Police during a night raid in San Salvador’s Las Palmas section.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
A female member of the Calle 18 gang found raped and murdered â€" purportedly by rival gangs â€" by the side of the road on the outskirts of San Salvador.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) serving time inside the Chelatenango prison in El Salvador. The Mara controls whole sections of this prison.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
Incarcerated members of the MS13 gang in the infamous Chelatenango penitentiary.
© Moises Saman, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009
An MS13 gang member throws gang signs â€" used for indentification and communication â€" inside the Chelatenango prison.
Since 2001, photographer Moises Saman has concentrated on covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as projects in other political hotspots around the globe.
In addition to being shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards, in 2008 Moises’ work from El Salvador received special mention at the Overseas Press Club Awards and was part of a portfolio placed 3rd in the POYi Magazine Photographer of the Year Award. He has won several other major awards, notably for his work from Afghanistan and Haiti.
Moises was born in Peru in 1974 and grew up in Barcelona, before moving to the US to study at California State University. After graduating with a degree in Communications, Moises moved to became a Staff Photographer at New York Newsday, where he worked from 2000-07.
Sources: 1, 2
http://www.environm entalgraffiti. com/featured/ deadly-gangs- el-salvador/ 10773
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama wants Pakistan to step up its commitment to fighting Taliban militants who are growing in strength and compromising vital U.S. interests.
In meetings at the White House on Wednesday, Obama will press Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to do more against the Taliban, which recently has alarmed the U.S. and its allies by striking out from strongholds on the Pakistani-Afghan border to areas closer to the capital of Islamabad. Obama also will seek renewed commitment from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to better coordinate operations with Pakistan and the U.S., which will expand its military presence in Afghanistan under the president's revised war strategy against the Taliban.
The Pakistan army, meanwhile, attacked Taliban militants in a northwestern region Wednesday ahead of an expected offensive in the extremist stronghold. It was unclear whether the stretched military planned the kind of sustained operation the Obama administration is seeking.
Obama and his foreign policy and national security team were to meet separately and then together with Zardari and Karzai.
The U.S. team also will seek assurances from Zardari that his country's atomic weapons are secure.
"The president is deeply concerned about the security situation," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. "That's why we're sending additional troops to Afghanistan and that's why we'll talk with both the Afghans and the Pakistanis about our renewed commitment in helping them seek the aid that they need to address those extremists."
Another issue arose early Wednesday, when Karzai ordered a probe into allegations by local officials that more than 30 civilians were killed in a bombing late Monday by U.S.-led troops battling militants in western Afghanistan. The International Committee of the Red Cross said a team it had sent to the area saw "dozens of bodies in each of the two locations," including women and children.
Karzai's office said he will raise the issue of civilian deaths with Obama. The U.S. has sent a brigadier general to investigate.
Senior administration officials say the goal of Obama's meetings with Karzai and Zardari is to get Afghanistan and Pakistan to work together against a shared extremist threat to their nations. They hope the message has huge weight coming straight from Obama.
The results, they acknowledged, will be measured by whether the outreach leads to concrete actions. That includes, for example, the degree to which the Pakistani army shows a sustained commitment to fighting extremists within its borders.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what will be private diplomatic exchanges.
Officials say there is no movement by the Obama administration to send U.S. military forces into Pakistan, a point on which Pakistani officials have been emphatic. "That's the end of that subject as far as we're concerned," one official said.
On Tuesday, the administration' s point man for the region told lawmakers, who are considering a major boost in U.S. assistance to Pakistan - $1.5 billion a year over five years - that "our most vital national security interests are at stake" in Pakistan.
Special envoy Richard Holbrooke insisted that Pakistan is not a "failed state," but is facing tremendous challenges that it acknowledges could affect the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal.
Holbrooke said the U.S. needs "to put the most heavy possible pressure on our friends in Pakistan to join us in the fight against the Taliban and its allies. We cannot succeed in Afghanistan without Pakistan's support and involvement. "
The new fighting in Pakistan follows the collapse of a three-month truce with the Taliban in the valley that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had likened to an abdication of government control to extremists. It will test the ability of Pakistan's military and the resolve of civilian leaders who had hoped the insurgents could be partners in peace.
---
Associated Press writer Ben Feller contributed to this report.
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Working capital diversion
31 Mar 2009, 0110 hrs IST, ET Bureau
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Reports suggest public sector banks are planning to report diversion of loans taken by companies for working capital to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). They are also said to have started blacklisting companies, whose promoters are found to be diverting these loans for investment in assets for personal use.
Apparently the move has been prompted by the need for the banks to comply with provisioning requirements under the Basel-II norms. While diversion of funds by unscrupulous promoters and managements is admittedly a genuine concern, involving agencies such as the CBI and CVC is not the solution to curb such malfeasance.
The CBI should be involved in investigations of economic offences only where money involved is significantly large or in cases where there is indeed criminal intent to defraud. In the past, the CBI is known to have pursued genuine cases of bank lending to companies which seemed to have gone bad. This resulted in bank officers in general becoming wary of lending to somewhat risky customers.
The CBI is, therefore, best used in exceptional cases. The Satyam scandal is one example where investigation by the CBI was necessary. Further, reporting diversions of working capital by companies to the CVC can only be seen as banks playing overly cautious to prevent a possible probe at a later date â€" transactions made by the officers in the rank of assistant general manager and above can be investigated if the CVC suspects an officer has acted in an improper manner.
Having said that, money is fungible and it is not always possible to identify how money lent by a bank has been finally used by the borrower. While it is possible to have end-use restrictions for certain borrowings made by companies, such as external commercial borrowings, strict conditions cannot be imposed for all bank lending, particularly working capital.
The banks should, instead, focus on ensuring that it gets back the principal and interest by due date and actively monitor creditworthiness of companies that default. Oversight on use of funds so raised by companies and their managements should be exercised by the regulators â€" the RBI, Sebi and ministry of corporate affairs
http://economictime s.indiatimes. com/Opinion/ Editorial/ Working-capital- diversion/ articleshow/ 4337010.cms
Depoliticise black money
6 May 2009, 0022 hrs IST, ET Bureau
Will renegotiating the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Switzerland help the country get a grip on the menace of black money? Unlikely! The reality is that for all their public posturing, no political party is serious about getting to the root of the problem.
Reason? The close nexus between unaccounted money and politics in our electoral system. Unfortunately, the issue has got needlessly politicised, with L K Advani raising it as an election issue. Never mind that tax evasion and black money are not recent problems; they predate the UPA regime and indeed even the NDA regime. Yet, as the Global Financial Integrity Report released in December 2008 shows, the numbers at stake are now too huge to be brushed under the carpet.
The Report estimates that anywhere between $22-27 billion left the country every year illegally during the period 2002-06, giving us the dubious distinction of being the fifth largest source for illegal flows in the developing world.
In a country where close to a quarter of the population live below the poverty line this is simply unacceptable. But no government has shown the determination needed to address the problem. No wonder the Centre sees no contradiction in telling the Supreme Court it is pursuing the trail of black money even as it argues before the same court that P-Notes (Participatory Notes where beneficial interest is not known) are in the country’s economic interest!
Contrast this with the stern action taken by some OECD countries: Germany, for instance, paid $6.3 million to purchase bank data from a former employee of LGT Group in Liechtenstein, to track down tax evasion. On Monday, Obama proposed sweeping changes to crack down on tax evasion. They are not alone.
The G20 has demanded greater co-operation to tackle the shadow financial system. The problem is, the onus is on requesting nations to prove the information sought is ‘foreseeably relevant’ to suspected crime or tax evasion. So tax authorities need hard evidence. In the Indian context this is just not forthcoming, partly because it has got politicised. This issue must be depoliticised and political parties must come together in a bipartisan manner to bring back Indian wealth kept abroad.
http://economictime s.indiatimes. com/Opinion/ Editorial/ Depoliticise- black-money/ articleshow/ 4488602.cms
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Aljazeera.net
IMF to give targeted technical help to Zimbabwe
Reuters - ‎24 minutes ago‎
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday its board has decided to partially lift the suspension of technical assistance to Zimbabwe and will provide help in targeted areas, effective May 4.
Zimbabwe's Economy Shrank 14.1%, Causing 'Catastrophic' Poverty Bloomberg
Asia faces weak recovery from slowdown, IMF says The Associated Press
Forbes  - Voice of America  - RTT News  - Africasia
all 294 news articles »
TVNZ
Analyst says speedy bankruptcy process raises likelihood of GM filing
MarketWatch - ‎23 minutes ago‎
By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Chrysler LLC late Tuesday won approval from a federal judge that could allow the automaker, despite objections from some creditors, to move quickly toward a partnership with Fiat SpA and ...
Chrysler Offers Up to $6000 in Rebates to Stem Slide Bloomberg
Chrysler offers sales incentives up to $6000 Reuters
Automotive News  - Purchasing. com  - Detroit Free Press
all 2,885 news articles »
BIT:FR â€" OTC:FIATY
Straits Times
US Stocks Gain After Employers Cut Fewer Jobs Than Forecast
Bloomberg - ‎44 minutes ago‎
By Lynn Thomasson May 6 (Bloomberg) -- US stocks advanced, recouping yesterday's losses, after an industry report showing employers cut fewer jobs than economists estimated bolstered speculation that the economy is improving.
US Stocks Mixed; Banking, Energy Shares Higher Wall Street Journal
Stocks mixed but little changed USA Today
The Associated Press  - Washington Times  - Wall Street Journal
all 464 news articles »
KEY
Open Text acquiring Vignette
Reuters - ‎48 minutes ago‎
By Chris Kanaracus - IDG News Service\Boston Bureau Open Text said Wednesday it plans to acquire fellow content management tools provider Vignette for about US$310 million in cash and stock.
Vignette to become part of Open Text in $310M deal Bizjournals. com
Canada Hot Stocks: Biovail, HudBay, Open Text Wall Street Journal
Forbes  - RTT News  - CMSWire
all 40 news articles »
OTEX â€" VIGN â€" BVF
Houston Chronicle
Chevron starts pumping from $4.7B Tahiti platform
Houston Chronicle - ‎21 minutes ago‎
Tahiti, Chevron Corp.'s newest deepwater Gulf of Mexico production facility, located 190 miles from New Orleans, is shown in this company photo taken on April 7. Chevron said its $4.7 billion Tahiti field began pumping crude on Tuesday, ...
Chevron: Gulf Of Mexico Tahiti Platform Starts Production Wall Street Journal
Chevron turns on the taps at Tahiti field Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine
RTT News  - NASDAQ
all 27 news articles »
CVX â€" TOT
FinFacts Ireland
Will Obama tax plan really save jobs?
CNNMoney.com - ‎5 hours ago‎
President says his proposals to change tax breaks for US multinationals will spur employment. Experts don't think so. By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.
Obama vs. Outsourcing BusinessWeek
Nasscom: US Tax Plan Won't Hurt Indian Firms Wall Street Journal
Irish Echo  - Caribbean360. com  - CQPolitics. com  - Economic Times
all 164 news articles »
CNET News
Garmin posts steep decline in 1Q earnings
Forbes - ‎43 minutes ago‎
By DAVID TWIDDY , 05.06.09, 11:57 AM EDT Navigational device maker Garmin Ltd. on Wednesday said first-quarter profits fell 67 percent and widely missed Wall Street expectations as the company dealt with slower consumer spending.
Garmin profit plummets on lower revenue Bizjournals. com
Garmin Q1 results worse than expected, shares fall Reuters
BusinessWeek  - Zacks.com  - CNET News  - RTT News
all 47 news articles »
Proactive Investors UK
Micro Focus buys Borland Software for $75 million
Reuters - ‎48 minutes ago‎
By Peter Sayer - IDG News Service\Paris Bureau Micro Focus International plans to beef up its range of software quality assurance tools with two acquisitions it announced Wednesday.
Compuware to sell Quality Solutions product line Detroit Free Press
Borland to be acquired by Micro Focus Bizjournals. com
SDTimes.com  - MarketWatch  - ChannelWeb
all 181 news articles »
BORL â€" CPWR â€" LON:MCRO
All Things D Blogs
Job cuts trend downward in April
Bizjournals. com - ‎41 minutes ago‎
Planned job cuts announced by US employers totaled 132590 in April, a 12 percent drop from the 150411 layoffs recorded in March. That marks the third consecutive decline in monthly job-cut announcements and the lowest total since 112884 cuts were ...
Jobs: Finally, a little less gloom CNNMoney.com
US April Job Cuts Rise 47% From a Year Ago, Challenger Says Bloomberg
MarketWatch  - Reuters  - CNBC  - Worcester Business Journal
all 47 news articles »
KIMA CBS 29
Madoff firm a "piggy bank" for family: court papers
Reuters - ‎45 minutes ago‎
By Grant McCool NEW YORK (Reuters) - Swindler Bernard Madoff's family were enriched by millions from his firm, which also paid their country club memberships and salaries of boat captains, housekeepers and others who did not work for the company, ...
Madoff Secretary: His Silence Is Protecting Others CBS 3
Court-appointed trustee goes after wealth of Bernard Madoff's family Muckety
The Associated Press  - New York Magazine  - Times Online  - Wall Street Journal
all 420 news articles »
MyFox Tampa Bay
Zillow: More homeowners drowning in mortgage debt
Bizjournals. com - ‎58 minutes ago‎
Plummeting home values have left nearly one-third (28.9 percent) of all Americans under water on their mortgages in the first quarter of this year, according to a newly released report from Zillow, an online real estate information company.
20% of homeowners 'underwater' CNNMoney.com
More than one in five homeowners underwater: Zillow Reuters
The Money Times  - San Jose Mercury News  - Motley Fool  - Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 114 news articles »
Boston Globe
Boston Globe Reaches Deal With Union
Wall Street Journal - ‎2 hours ago‎
By RUSSELL ADAMS New York Times Co. reached a tentative agreement with the largest union of the Boston Globe, according to a person familiar with the matter, a development that would avert the closure of New England's biggest daily.
Globe union reaches agreement with Times Co. Bizjournals. com
Globe, guild reach deal Boston Globe
New York Times  - Editor & Publisher  - CNBC
all 3,162 news articles »
NYT
Emirates Business 24/7
Euro Weakens a Second Day on Expectations ECB to Lower Rates
Bloomberg - ‎1 hour ago‎
By Ye Xie May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The euro weakened against the dollar for a second day on speculation the European Central Bank policy makers will lower interest rates tomorrow and consider other measures to stimulate growth.
FOREX-Euro dips vs dollar on ECB uncertainty, stress tests Reuters
Euro Pulls Back From Early Gains Wall Street Journal
Forbes  - MarketWatch  - Reuters  - Wall Street Journal
all 171 news articles »
Los Angeles Times
Disney shares jump on better-than- expected results
MarketWatch - ‎51 minutes ago‎
By MarketWatch Shares of Walt Disney Co. made strong gains in early trading Wednesday following the company's release of better-than- expected fiscal second-quarter results.
Ahead of the Bell: Disney shares climb premarket Forbes
Q2 Disney Profit Down 46 Percent World Screen News
TheStreet.com  - Reuters  - Broadcasting & Cable
all 395 news articles »
DIS
CBS News
FDIC's Bair: Will Lower Deposit Insurance Fees By End Of Month
Wall Street Journal - ‎1 hour ago‎
By Michael R. Crittenden Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. hopes to announced by the end of the month that it will reduce the assessment it charges banks for insurance, the agency's head said Wednesday.
Regulators eye competing options to unwind problem banks MarketWatch
Bair Urges Congress to Create Systemic-Risk Council Bloomberg
The Associated Press  - guardian.co. uk  - RTT News  - Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 253 news articles »
What the Russian papers say
RIA Novosti - ‎42 minutes ago‎
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will not attend a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council at foreign-minister level, initially scheduled to be held May 19 in Brussels.
Video: "Why is NATO playing war games in Georgia?" RT
Russia kicks out Canadian diplomats CNN International
Reuters  - Xinhua  - ABC Online  - The Associated Press
all 1,695 news articles »
Telegraph.co. uk
South Africa Parliament Elects Jacob Zuma President
Voice of America - ‎33 minutes ago‎
South African lawmakers have elected ruling party leader Jacob Zuma to be the country's next president. Mr. Zuma won an overwhelming (277-to-47) victory Wednesday in a parliament dominated by his African National Congress party.
INVESTOR RADAR-South Africa under President Jacob Zuma Reuters
Jacob Zuma formally elected South African president Telegraph.co. uk
BBC News  - Washington Post  - The Associated Press  - Africasia
all 552 news articles »
CTV.ca
Sri Lanka rebels say war takes heavy civilian toll
The Associated Press - ‎1 hour ago‎
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Tamil Tiger rebels said intense fighting in Sri Lanka's war zone was killing and wounding hundreds of civilians a day and asked Wednesday for the UN to push for urgent food shipments to avert a hunger crisis.
Video: Refugees flee Sri Lanka "safe zone" - 06 May 09 Al Jazeera
Sri Lanka invites UN's Ban, rebels allege starvation Washington Post
Times Online  - Voice of America  - Reuters India  - BBC News
all 1,332 news articles »
Palash Biswas
Â
Pl Read my blogs:
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http://nandigramuni ted.blogspot. com/
http://www.bangaind igenous.blogspot .com/
http://www.troubled galaxydetroyeddr eams.blogspot. com/
Â
palashcbiswas,
gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551
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