Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Re: PEOPLE'S WATCH ANDHRA PRADESH Digest Number 670


 
palashcbiswas,
 gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551



From: "PWAP@yahoogroups.com" <PWAP@yahoogroups.com>
To: PWAP@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, 13 May, 2009 22:51:58
Subject: PEOPLE'S WATCH ANDHRA PRADESH Digest Number 670

Messages In This Digest (25 Messages)

1.
IMMIGRANTS - ROTONDI: GOVERNMENT IS ACTING RESPONSIBLY From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
2.
IMMIGRANTS-RONCHI: HAMMARBERG PREJUDICED AGAINST ITALY From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
3.
Battisti prefers suicide to Italy. Brazil yet to decide on extraditi From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
4.
Ram Rajya Gone Baniadesh In – Advani, Modi & RSS Dream From: Ravinder Singh
5.
PAKISTAN Army and Taliban battle it out in "the most dangerous natio From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
6.
POPE: SPEAKS IN AMMAN OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
7.
POPE: JORDAN, RADICAL ISLAMICISTS REQUEST APOLOGIES From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
8.
A Chola moment From: Kith de Silva
9.
Imagine an online encyclopedia like Wikipedia without the Mossad pai From: editor@ziopedia.org
10.
INDIA Orissa government cuts death toll from anti-Christian pogrom From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
11.
Prostitution alleged to be taking place in Finnish-funded Afghan pri From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
12.
The number of displaced Sikhs rising in Pakistani From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
13.
SRI LANKA President Rajapaksa launches campaign against use of child From: marco.pertoni@libero.it
14.
A Civil Society Review in India! From: Jayashree Velankar
15.
Power of Music From: S Turkman
16.
May 17th – 26th Candlelight Memorial – reg. From: Kodiyattu Jacob
17.
Industry Influenced Flu. From: Jagannath Chatterjee
18.
Press Release: Release of MAS GM Rice in Orissa. From: Jagannath Chatterjee
19.
A Rickshaw-van Driver Allegedly Shot Dead by Kushtia Sadar Police From: odhikar
20.
Please sign Petition: Humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka From: cova network
21.
FACT FINDING REPORT: A Prominent Human Rights Defender in Bangladesh From: Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIH
22.
UPA 227 NDA 189 Manmohan Retains PMO From: Ravinder Singh
23a.
A friend has shared their Allvoices news report From: allvoices
23b.
A friend has shared their Allvoices news report From: allvoices
24.
[women-rights] USA: Senate collects testimony on rape in war From: HREA noreply@hrea.org

Messages

1.

IMMIGRANTS - ROTONDI: GOVERNMENT IS ACTING RESPONSIBLY

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:02 am (PDT)



IMMIGRANTS - ROTONDI: GOVERNMENT IS ACTING RESPONSIBLY
(AGI) - Rome, 11 May. - "This government aims to increase security and create a new immigration policy, taking a consistent and responsible approach," said a statement by Gianfranco Rotondi, the Minister for Government Policy, "To Europe," he added, "We want to say that solidarity means allowing those who really need to be here and those who have the right to be here into Italy, rather than adding to the ranks of the criminal organisations and increasing the number of poor people."

http://www.agi. it/italy/ news/20090511203 0-pol-ren0072- immigrants_ rotondi_governme nt_is_acting_ responsibly
2.

IMMIGRANTS-RONCHI: HAMMARBERG PREJUDICED AGAINST ITALY

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:03 am (PDT)



IMMIGRANTS-RONCHI: HAMMARBERG PREJUDICED AGAINST ITALY
(AGI) - Rome, 11 May. "Thomas Hammarberg's latest statement shows, once more, how little the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights knows about the situation in Italy," said Andrea Ronchi, Minister for European Policy. "He is obviously prejudiced against our county. Instead of attacking Italy, why doesn't he ask Europe to really tackle the problem of illegal immigration? Italy has always shown solidarity as far as sea rescues are concerned, and not simply respected the rules. I would just like to remind Hammarberg that the European Union has approved a European Immigration Pact and that one of the most important parts of it stipulates that illegal immigrants found in the sea should be taken back to their country of departure. Italy is subject to the rules laid down by Europe, which the commissioner should know since they were adopted in December last year, under the French Presidency in the last European Council. Italian government policies are perfectly in line with European decisions on immigration. Hammarberg should accept this."

http://www.agi. it/italy/ news/20090511213 8-pol-ren0079- immigrants_ ronchi_hammarber g_prejudiced_ against_italy
3.

Battisti prefers suicide to Italy. Brazil yet to decide on extraditi

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:03 am (PDT)



2009-05-11 18:23
Battisti prefers suicide to Italy
Brazil yet to decide on extraditing convicted terrorist

(ANSA) - Paris, May 11 - A convicted left-wing terrorist who Italy wants extradited from Brazil has told a French-German TV channel that he would rather kill himself than return to Italy.

''I will not go back to Italy, I'll never go back alive,'' Cesare Battisti told Arte TV from his cell in Papuda, near the Brazilian capital Brasilia, where he is awaiting a definitive ruling on his extradition.

''I'm afraid, but there are things that one can still decide, like when to die. I don't think I'll let others decide my death, not the unjust Italian government,' ' the 54-year-old former terrorist added.

In the interview, which Arte TV will broadcast on Saturday, Battisti said that ''after 30 years they've put me in jail for crimes I didn't commit. I never killed anyone. I was a member of an armed gang and took part in some robberies, but I was just a militant and not the monster, the killer they made me out to be''.

Battisti was an alleged leader of the 1970s leftist terrorist group Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC) which was held responsible for four murders and numerous robberies in the late 1970s.

In order to avoid prosecution in Italy, he fled to France in 1981 where he lived for over 20 years and became a successful writer of crime novels.

Italy's request five years ago for his extradition made front-page headlines in France, with French left-wing parties and libertarian newspapers rallying to support the former terrorist's battle to remain in Paris.

Battisti went missing in France in August 2004 while awaiting the outcome of his appeal against extradition and later turned up in Brazil, where he was arrested in March 2008.

Brazil initially granted Battisti political asylum because he risked ''persecution' ' due to his political convictions if he was returned to Italy.

According to the Brazilian justice ministry, Battisti had been condemned in Italy only after he had fled to France and on evidence not based on fact but on testimony given by a former terrorist turned state's witness.

The Brazilian justice ministry explained at the time that ''it is a tradition in Brazil to grant political refugee status when we believe there is a real risk that a citizen will be subjected to political persecution' '.

Italy firmly protested and worked to have his case reviewed by the highest authorities. A decision is currently pending from Brazil's supreme court.


http://www.ansa. it/site/notizie/ awnplus/english/ news/2009- 05-11_111374360. html
4.

Ram Rajya Gone Baniadesh In – Advani, Modi & RSS Dream

Posted by: "Ravinder Singh" progressindia008@yahoo.com   progressindia008

Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am (PDT)



Ram Rajya Gone Baniadesh In – Advani, Modi & RSS Dream
 
Narindra Modi,
I know you are ghost writing here. 
 
Ram Rajya dream of Advani et all, in itself was a fraud on people of India, from the very beginning Jan Sangh, RSS and now BJP were pro Traders, Exploiters, Moneylenders Party and anti farmers SMEs and Minorities and weaker sections, was doubtful when criminal cases were registered against Advani in 1992 itself post Babri Mosque demolition.
 
But emergence of Mayawati and Mulayam Singh in Ram Rajya State – UP defeating BJP repeatedly and Handsomely, shattered BJP dream of Ram Rajya. Kalyan Singh or Uma Bharti were difficult to manage, central region was gone to MAOIST and Nepal too. Rest of the North and central area was dominated by Jats and Yadavs, South was dominated by Ravan Worshippers, there was no place left for Ram Rajya of the kind Advani wanted controlled by BJP.
 
Bania Raj was in. Gujarat was promoted as Baniadesh where Banias could feel secure.
 
Detailed Conspiracy was hatched to ensure smooth transition and relocation of Industries from outside of Baniadesh to Baniadesh through SEZs and VG.
 
It was essential to increase holdings of Banias from 10% to over 50% to make sure there is no hindrance in Company Board to approve relocation and transfer of assets to Baniadesh. NRIs were restricted and not allowed to freely and automatically acquire equity in public companies. FERA was repealed to make sure GOI cannot put them in jail for all the frauds.
 
Back to Original Message
 
I have gone through all the proposed VG 2007 MoUs and found all were Indian Companies except one or two.
 
It was plain TREASON of BJP RSS to conspire to shift all industries to Gujarat even if Gujarat has to give 330% loan to Tatas at zero percent interest.
 
It is corruption of the highest order when Gujarat neglects SMEs but invites Bania Companies offering huge subsidy. How many NRIs have invested in Gujarat?
 
BJP sabotaged investment in other states by offering Unbelievable Subsidies in Baniadesh that other states couldn't match. BJP deployed army in Punjab for years during NDA rule and frequently threatened to send army to Punjab and engage in Battle to sabotage progress of Number 1 state.
 
BJP connived with Chautala in 2002 and helped it in securing SC orders to draw Ravi Beas waters from Satluj Basin in SYL drawing waters of Bhakra Dam than building own dams Renuka, Kishau and Lakhwar Vyasi dams on Yamuna.
 
Gujarat shamelessly neglects weaker sections and minorities. Rajasthan provided Rs.100 per day per cattle Gujarat just 0.10p per head per day. For couple of months Rajasthan spent Rs.450 crores when Gujarat spent Rs.200 crores under PDS for 55 million for 12 months. 
 
I again emphasize enriching mediocre Bania from Rs.17,000 crores to Rs. 10,00,000 crores was CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY of Baniadesh Plan and most of Banias benefited from it – Tata is a Parsi Bania.
 
BJP Criminally helped Mukesh sell its products through IOL by backing down low cost government owned refineries.
 
BJP actually wanted to cripple IOL for Mukesh to Takeover, likewise it tried to split NTPC, sabotaged Health, PDS and Education service etc.
 
Ravinder Singh
May13, 2009
 
Posted by: "S kumar" kumar_8134@yahoo. com  
Tue May 12, 2009 12:55 am (PDT)

Rabinder Singh,

I wonder how you were associated with ICSI Indian Council of Small Industries over 30 years back, and your brain continues to be small and stationary sine 30 years?

>>>363 MoU were signed in 2007 during VG event and amount of MoU was Rs. 461835.00 Crores for 1326387 jobs. But what stunned me was all the projects of MoUs were promoted by Indian Companies. >>

You are not aware that many MOUs were signed by Foreign Cos too as many were reluctant to come to Gujarat by the negative propaganda by media and vicious pessimists and anarchists like you to vilify the State. Get proper information from the Industries Dept. in Bl No.5.

>>The ideas of Vibrant Gujarat and Gujarat SEZs were conceived in 2003 and earlier when Advani was Deputy PM elected from Gandhinagar, the very idea of locating all the industries in Gujarat was most atrocious. >>>

In which way it is atrocious? In a progressive Gujarat where the hassles for starting the industries is minimum with practically no corruption, thanks to a stern Mody.

>>It was not just a case of Unbalanced Growth among states but locating in Gujarat means very high distribution cost so Tax FREE SEZs were included in the industrial policy. But no such policy was provided for professional and inventors ho were not Banias and in fact BJP didn't improve PATENT system that recognize and reward Intellectual Property. >>

Location of an industry is determined by various factors of ultimate viability and profitability. GOI has invested much more in the States of Bihar, UP and Punjab besides Haryana. If these states have devoured these funds by prevalent corrupt practices and have not succeeded in entrepreneurship, it is the fault of the States concerned!!

Since 1948, many large projects were started in Bihar like Sindri, Chittaranjan Locomotive, Heavy Machinery and so on. But Bihar has not picked up. Why? On the other hand GOI has not invested in any large industry in Gujarat except perhaps refinery and IPCL, the latter disinvested and now owned by RIL!!

>>It was a such security risk to locate 60% of India's refining capacity in Gujarat a border state considering high cost of transportation involved in its retailing. >>

Commonsense and not expertise will show that any refining of crude arriving by large ships should be at the nearest port to the Gulf. RIL has rightly chosen Jamnagar where the Crude arrives at minimum cost from Gulf and again these refineries are mostly export oriented, shipping back the different fractions petrol, diesel, naphtha etc. Where does the cost of transportation arise here?

GOI under UPA has not allowed level playing field by charging all levies as duties and taxes on the imports and products, and not allowing any relief's as allowed for Govt. controlled IOC, etc., forcing RIL to close down all retail outlets in India. PM MM SIngh wanted Mukesh to rush to his rescue on 22/7 for the Parliament tests and the Crores of cash was flaunted in the well of Lok Sabha. But MM did not extend the justice to RIL in retailing petrol and diesel by refusing the relief's accorded to the Govt. controlled Oil Co-s.

You should be aware that there are many pipelines carrying crude (to Mathura), gases to UP and other Northern States and almost all pipelines starting from Gujarat ports. Transport is not a problem for fluids and I hope you are aware of this.

>>It was DELIBRATE policy to create Baniadesh. Advani knew half of central India is controlled by MAOIST and surely Bania wanted safe heaven â€" Baniadesh was part of the vision.

Other evidence include repeal of FEMA that liberate Banias from criminal liability in case of fraud, let them acquire 50% to 90% equity in listed companies that would help them raise Rs.4,00,000 crores to Rs.17,00,000 crores from public sector banks. Ambanis alone can raise Rs.10,00,000 crores" a third of all bank credits.

All the MEGA projects like Gas and Water Grid etc that Gujarat can't afford were part of the vision of Baniadesh.

Promoters of Baniadesh also proposed to dismantle Public Distribution System, State funded Education and Healthcare, Financial System etc. >>>

Your perverted thinking is exposed here. It is not only Baniyas. Many others have invested in Gujarat and prospered without ethnic distinction and that is the greatness of the State esp. under Mody.

>>>Muslims and Christians were not required in Baniadesh. >>

If Christians and Muslims are interested in their own agenda of terrorism and conversions and do not have the entrepreneurship efforts in them, who is to be blamed? Projects are decided on the feasibility and viability and it is immaterial who the promoter/ entrepreneur is by religion, caste or ethnicity. Mody himself is an OBC but does not entertain anyone approaching him on caste equations

>>Modi and Advani has not uttered a single word to Award Death Penalty for Corporate depositing money in Switzerland. >>

The Country has the laws for such punishment. If amendments are warranted the Parliament would have to do it.
 

5.

PAKISTAN Army and Taliban battle it out in "the most dangerous natio

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am (PDT)



05/12/2009 17:57
PAKISTAN
Army and Taliban battle it out in "the most dangerous nation in the world"
by Qaiser Felix
Commandos assault Piochar where 4 thousand militants are entrenched. Ten dead, among them a six year old girl, in a suicide attack. Rocket attacks on girl's schools and the sanctuary of a Pashtun poet. A Canadian Minister describes Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal "the most dangerous nation in the world".

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - The Pakistani army has begun closing in on the Taliban in the Swat Valley: Army helicopters dropped commandos into the remote Piochar area in the upper reaches of the valley. Officials identified it as the rear-base of an estimated 4,000 Taliban militants entrenched in Swat's main towns. It is seen as possible hiding place of Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah. A military spokesman declined to give details of the Piochar assault, but a senior government official expressed optimism that the battle for Swat might prove short.

Despite the military crackdown Taliban attacks continue: yesterday a suicide car bomber killed 10 people in an attack on a checkpoint in Darra Adam Khel. A six-year-old girl was among those killed. Seven people were injured. May 10th last the shrine of renowned Pashto poet Ameer Hamza Shinwari, a girls' college and a girls' school were attacked. President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attacks; Interior Minister Rehman Malik adds the security forces have killed 700 Taliban in four days of military operations. Twenty security personnel have also been killed, and nineteen others injured.

But government data on the numbers killed are countered by independent sources; all journalists have abandoned the area for security reasons. Yesterday the very last TV reporter, Shireenzada, abandoned the area, saying "working as a journalist is extremely difficult in the present situation". Twenty-two journalists were registered with the Swat Press Club until the military action against the Taliban began on May 7. Now there are none. Swat Press Club President Salahuddin Khan confirmed "thousands of residents were still stranded" and could face shortages of food and drinking water in absence of electricity; the wounded and sick could not go to hospitals because of the curfew.

The escalation in conflict between the army and Taliban is also concerning the international community. Canada's Defence Minister Peter MacKay defined nuclear-armed Pakistan as 'the most dangerous country in the world". Mackay said the Taliban's recruiting and rearming in Pakistan is also harming NATO efforts to rout insurgents in neighbouring Afghanistan, where Canada has deployed some 2,800 troops. "As long as insurgency is allowed to foster and to incubate inside Pakistan - he said - the problem remains very real, very difficult".

On the humanitarian side the drama of displaced people unfolds: North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain, counts 700,000 displaced from Swat, Buner and Shangla. The local government is seeking at least 90 billion Rupees in aid (equal to 800 thousand euros); The United States said that it would provide 4.9 million dollars for families displaced by the current anti-Taliban offensive. Today the UN High Commissioner for Refugees began airlifting 120 tonnes of humanitarian aid and camp materials.

http://www.asianews .it/index. php?l=en& art=15224& size=A
6.

POPE: SPEAKS IN AMMAN OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:05 am (PDT)



POPE: SPEAKS IN AMMAN OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 8 - Defending religious freedom in the Middle East and with it "inalienable human rights". On his first visit to the Holy Land, Benedict XVI has touched on the subjects of peace, but also of safeguarding individual freedoms to profess his faith without fear or restrictions. For this reason, the Pope called for the Christians of the Holy Land and the Middle East to be able "to remain in their lands" of which, he was keen to stress, they are "an important component". "Freedom of religion," the Pope said, "is doubtless a fundamental human right and it is my ardent hope and prayer that respect for the inalienable rights and the dignity of every man and woman be affirmed and defended more and more, not just in the Middle East, but in every part of the world". Benedict XVI was also keen to express "my profound respect for the muslim community" and, turning to King Abdullah II of Jordan, "and to pay homage to the guiding role played by His Majesty the King in promoting greater understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam". One of the first appointments the Pope wished include in his busy schedule was to visit the Regina Pacis centre for the disabled in the Jordan capital. During this visit two boy scouts presented him with a red and white Keffiyah headscarf which the Pope placed across his shoulders, repeating the same gesture as he did three weeks ago in St Peter's Square when two youths from the parish of Bethlehem made him the same gift. (ANSAmed).
2009-05-08 20:03

http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME01.@AM72379. html
7.

POPE: JORDAN, RADICAL ISLAMICISTS REQUEST APOLOGIES

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:05 am (PDT)



POPE: JORDAN, RADICAL ISLAMICISTS REQUEST APOLOGIES

(by Stefano de Paolis) (ANSA) - AMMAN, MAY 8 - A leading Islamic representative, who is to meet the Pope tomorrow, has said from Amman that Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land, which began today in Jordan, is like "a golden bridge" between Christians and Muslims. But at the same time, the most radical segment of Jordan's Muslim population are firmly insisting on "apologies for the insults made against Islam" in the famous Ratisbon speech in 2006. Professor Taisir Faithainy, a teacher of political sciences at Amman University and former parliamentary politician with the Islamic Action Front, said "the Pope is welcome as the King's guest. We were hoping that he was coming on a visit founded on peace and love, but we now fear that his visit is an expression of support for Israel. We welcome every visit which brings the truth, and so we hope that in the next few days the Pope will offer a few words of apology for the insults he made against the Koran." The current leader of the Front, Zani Baki Rusheid, expressed his much firmer line to ANSA, saying: "Pope Ratzinger insulted Islam and has never apologised to Muslims for his words. He apologised to the Jews for the Holocaust. He is coming to the region, but will not visit Gaza. This visit is a provocation to Christians in Jordan as well as Muslims, and so we do not accept it and we condemn it." Abdul Latif Arabiyat, the Shura Council's president of Muslim Brotherhood, of which the Action Front represents the political arm, confirmed that he had not been invited to the meeting between Benedict XVI and various Islamic representatives tomorrow, "but I would have gone without any problems." In any case, he said that the Pope had made "unacceptable" declarations on Islam, for which "he has yet to apologize." Arabiyat, who mentioned his attendance on the welcome committee for the visit of Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem in 1964, said that Benedict XVI "is welcome" in Jordan, "because this country is open to everybody, but we hope he now says things which will prove meaningful in our attempts to overcome the past." The cause of concern which is the subject of contention, relates to the lectio magistralis in Ratisbon, in Germany, in September 2006, when the Pope quoted a Fourteenth century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Palailogos, who said that Islam had brought nothing but malice and inhumanity, and sword-driven proselytism. His words caused outrage amongst millions of Muslims throughout the world, and provoked calls for the Catholic leader to apologise. Later, the Pope said his words had been misunderstood, and said that the Emperor's words did not express ideas that he subscribed to. In any case, the speech has not been forgotten in the minds of many. "For political reasons, more than religious reasons. They are aiming for visibility, to the detriment of national interest," said the director of the Jordan Times, Samir Barhum, who added that whilst the Islamicists are very influential, they nevertheless hold only 6 out of 110 seats in Parliament. Professor Hamzi Murad, a Professor at the Islamic University of Amman, and co-founder of the Jordanian research centre for inter-religious co-existence, did not want to enter into a political debate, and looked to the future, telling ANSA: "this visit will open a new page in good relations between Muslims and Christians." In his opinion, the Pope chose Jordan as the first Arab country on his visit because the country holds many highly important biblical sites, and because King Abdallah II is a descendent of the Prophet Mohammed, and so their meeting is "necessarily different from any other, and it is a meeting which says that Islam and Christianity are together hand in hand, with one heart and one spirit."(ANSAmed) .
2009-05-08 17:38

http://www.ansamed. info/en/news/ ME01.@AM61190. html
8.

A Chola moment

Posted by: "Kith de Silva" kith.desilva@wesbeam.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:08 am (PDT)





A Chola moment, a Dutu Gemunu moment

http://sinhale. wordpress. com/2009/ 05/11/a-chola- moment-a- dutu-gemunu- moment/ <http://sinhale. wordpress. com/2009/ 05/11/a-chola- moment-a- dutu-gemunu- moment/>

By Dr. Susantha Goonatilake

It was a Chola moment. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment. A Chola moment because the LTTE was fighting with the Chola's Tiger emblem supported by Indian Tamil racists, emblem of the very Cholas who devastated us 1000 years ago. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment because 2000 years ago we were fighting with almost the whole world against us, as now with former Western colonials ganging up with the regional bully India who created the LTTE. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment because the lead was taken by Gotabaya named after one of Dutu Gemunu's 10 warriors.

These international elements planned a strategic retreat for the LTTE for it to fight another day. Aided and prompted by their local NGO coolies, they were trying to get a safe passage for Prabhakaran as he faced death.

Indian rope tricks

India had rescued their creation Prabhakaran by helicopter nearly 25 years ago when our troops were about to capture Vadamarachchi. They were now secretly engaged in a similar project as they saw their own investments go up inflames. Indian duplicity crossed party lines.

India who armed the LTTE called for an "immediate cessation of all hostilities" . Indian Foreign Minister Mukherjee expressed "deep concern and anxiety" for "the conditions of Tamil civilians in the conflict zones". He said he was "very unhappy at the continued killing of innocent Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. These killings must stop", adding that" the Sri Lankan Government has a responsibility to protect its own citizens". He conveniently ignored that it was their own creation the LTTE that was preventing the civilians from fleeing.

Mukherjee continued that he was "speaking to many of my counterparts around the world to join us in this effort". His party the Indian Congress admitted that it was the Indians who were behind the worldwide attempt to rescue Prabhakaran. Congress Party spokesman Singhvi told reporters "We give credit to the Sri Lankan government for reacting positively to collective world opinion" adding significantly "in which India's role was of a vanguard".

Advani, the leader of the BJP, the alternative government claimed that if he wins the next election they would intervene to bring economic sanctions on Sri Lanka unless our government stopped its offensive. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP the ideological arm of the BJP had once called the LTTE the armed wing of the Christians.

The Indian Communists, both the CPM and CPI, went on a metaphoric "masala vadai" Tamil racist line. The racist slogan "Dudley'ge bade masala vadai" was used by the LSSP (who invented the misleading slogan "one language two states") when it attacked Dudley Senanayake's coalition with the Federal party. The SLFP had never used such crude racism although the wife of Amirthalingam the leader of the supposed "moderate" TULF had publicly declared that she could not rest until shoes were made out of Sinhalese skins. The Nazis did make lampshades and shoes out of skins of Jews.

CPI (M) General Secretary Karat, a Keralite who had resisted any real or imaginary pressure on India especially from the US was going fully sub imperialist. He was asking the Indian government to apply maximum pressure to prevent the military operations in Sri Lanka. Swallowing the antinational foreign funded NGOs line he ignored the warnings in his own anti-NGO book Foreign Funding and the Philosophy of Voluntary Organizations: A factor in Imperialist Strategy. Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI spoke at a public meeting on 28 April on "Genocide in Sri Lanka". Two LTTEs surrogates TNA MPs Gajendran Ponnampalam, and Sivajilingam, also spoke here. The pamphlet for this meeting spoke of "the spectre of war and genocide". It accused Sri Lanka of "the slaughter of almost half" of Lankan Tamils and that what was happening was "the worst genocide of our contemporary times." It accused the armed forces of using banned weapons.

The Indian NDTV Channel on a special programme dealing with the Indian elections and the LTTE was instructive. Congress spokesperson Natarajan whose once leader Rajeev Ghandhi had been killed by the LTTE termed what was happening in Sri Lanka genocide. This was the term used by International Alert whose once head was Kumar Rupesinghe. It was the term used by the TULF whose think tank was the ICES of Tiruchelvam. Many in the NDTV programme mindlessly repeated the genocide slogan even after UAV video evidence of the LTTE shooting Nazi style at frightened Tamils trying to escape had been seen around the world. The most virulent at NDTV was the Catholic priest Jegath Gaspar Rai who NDTV said was accused of collecting funds for the LTTE. This illustrated the close links between Christian hierarchies and Tamil racists, a connection going back to the 19th century Jaffna School of Tamil literature.

Key government strategic Indian think tanks (we have none) were taking the sub imperialist line. Prof Sahadevan the Keralite Jawarhalal Nehru University (JNU) specialist on Sri Lanka demanded on Al Jazeera that India intervene to stop our government forces. Similar anti-Sri Lankan noises were made by a researcher of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) India's main military think tank.

JNU had been founded to become the thinking arm for India. JNU experts had always advised the Indian government including on its semicolonial military adventures in Sri Lanka. All of them did not have gut anti-Sri Lankan or anti Sinhalese attitudes like Sahadevan. The founder of the Sri Lanka unit there, the late Urmila Phadnis (my personal family friend) was fond of Sri Lanka. A couple of months ago to deliver a lecture on science policy at JNU I took the opportunity to meet Sahadevan. He had just returned from Colombo University after training students there on an invitation from Jayadeva Uyangoda, his main contact in Sri Lanka. He had travelled under the auspices of the India Sri Lanka Foundation funded by the two governments in whose governing board Jayadeva Uyangoda, a gentleman with a consistent record of calling for foreign intervention in the country is our government's nominee. One wonders what the anti-Sri Lankan Sahadevan who flew on our travel money taught at Colombo University. Also what does Uyangoda teach given his many stands against the country's sovereignty?

The JNU with its present anti Sri Lanka attitudes is also an academic partner at the BCIS. The BCIS's other partner is an American university. When I asked the present director of the BCIS a physicist who has no prior training either in international relations or in any of the social sciences whether the Indian-American academic links with the BCIS was a projection of the new Indian-American alliance he sounded befuddled. He was out of depth for a question which an Indian under graduate could have understood. The BCIS was formed in the 1970s in high hopes with the late Nawaz Dawwod as its first Director (I was one of its foundation lecturers and took part in carefully selecting the first batch). What we wanted was a very different and pro-Sri Lanka approach in the BCIS. The government should now cancel the BCIS link with the anti Sri Lanka JNU and replace the anti Sri Lanka Uyangoda from the Indo Lanka board. Sri Lanka links with JNU on non-foreign service disciplines should of course continue.

As for IDSA, I gave a lecture there a couple of months ago and found that those dealing with Sri Lanka were antagonistic to us. Their Sri Lankan contacts? Desmond Fernando and if I remember correct, the ubiquitous Uyangoda.

The new Cholas

In Tamil Nadu all the parties took anti Sri Lankan and anti Sinhalese racist positions. The ghost of the Chola invaders under whose Tiger symbol the LTTE marches was still strong in Tamil Nadu. In contrast, the Sri Lanka government had gone out of the way not to allow anti Tamil statements in Sri Lanka.

Karunanidi called a hartal and shops, some fearing violence, obliged. Karunanidi himself went on a phoney six hour "fast" which was stopped when the Central government made some appropriate noises. It would also have been good for the health of the obscenely fat Jayalalitha going on a fast, a real one. Jayalalitha now publicly supported the goal of a separate Tamil Eelam.

The Chennai Archbishop Chinnappa revealing once again the axis of evil between sections of the church and Tamil racism denounced what he called the failure of the international community to prevent "mass massacre". A plain racist, he said he was with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and around the world. His Catholic church had been once involved around the world in mass scale genocide through the Portuguese and Spanish, had instituted the Inquisition and burned at the stake those who did not believe in its lies as at the central square of Goa. The church's own unholy fathers in Sri Lanka blessing the LTTE map had been nurturing the LTTE including during the CFA. Chinnappa called for international pressure on Sri Lanka adding he was "in spirit, prayer and solidarity," with the "Tamils currently living all over the world". Tamil chauvinism was written all over his statements. He added that the entire Indian Church was with the people "in the killing fields of Sri Lanka". The killing fields were a reference to the Cambodian genocide which I know well. Only after the killing fields were finished did Catholic "generosity" arrive there to unethically harvest souls which Cambodians contemptuously call "rice [meaning money] Christianity" .

The Christian Tamil link was also illustrated in the statements of Nimalka Fernando who lives with presidential adviser Vasudeva Nanayakkara in the same flat in Royal Court. An admitted Christian propagandist from the National Christian Council she gave an interview to Nilavaram, the LTTE Journal in Switzerland. She said that it was necessary for Sri Lankan NGOs to join with Tamil Nadu activists to work "against the Sinhala state". Sections of local and Indian Christians were returning to the colonial mode and waging war on Sinhalese Buddhists.

Indian Sathya

There were however dissent in Indian opinion.

Srinivasan of India's leading news portal Rediff News mentioned that LTTE's idea of Tamil Eelam had maps on their Web site which covered north and eastern Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Andhra. He mentioned that this was "not very different from the jihadi wet-dream of a Mughalistan consisting of most of north India". Srinivasan also comments on the dubious role of the church in supporting the LTTE, the latter's key leaders being Christians while those who died in the leadership were Hindus. Prabhakaran he mentions is a Methodist.

The Indian Express head lined "Shed no tears for Tigers" in an article by Shekhar Gupta. He quoted a conversation he had with an IPKF general who had observed "These LTTE people were just macho young people with no other purpose in life but to kill and die." The Central Chronicle (from Madhya Pradesh) editorialized that the "LTTE is a terrorist traitor organization and also anti-Indian ". The Tamil Nadu parties it added, was "forcing the ideology of LTTE over India"

Not all the Indian left positions were against Sri Lanka. The leading left-wing Pioneer (once it had devoted an embarrassingly positive one page review for a book of mine) headlined "Colombo snubs meddlesome Miliband". It said that the Colombo government should be commended in spite of foreign interference for its resolute decision to destroy the LTTE root and branch. It said the military option had given amazing results and should be brought to a conclusion to become the first nation to defeat terror without a deal being made with terrorists.

The Decline of the West

Western media who were taken to the recently liberated Puthumathalan area could directly hear the contemptuous attitudes of ordinary Tamils to their sole representative. They had to eat their own words which had indirectly come from falsehoods spread through own governments' NGO coolies. The UN Colombo office, once a major faucet of Western and NGO drivel declared that children as young as 12 were being kidnapped for the last stand by the Tigers. The UN office had moved away from the expatriate role of fine dining and local gossip. (I know this first hand. My wife was a senior UN expert in Cambodia and we saw with contempt how undereducated whites were lording over innocent Cambodians).

Under the guise of a halt to the hostilities the US, Britain, Norway, Australia, France, Germany, the European Union and Japan were putting pressure to allow Prabhakaran to escape. Hillary Clinton telephoned Rajapakse asking a halt for operations as did Ban Ki Moon. But these worthies were all silent during these months when our Sun God herded these unfortunate Tamils into an ever shrinking space.

The French Foreign Minister who was the midwife for the emergence of Kosovo arrived with British Foreign Minister David Milliband. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was denied entry. The latter was a partner in war crimes in Bush's war on Iraq. He is allied with the most conservative US groups that under Bush wanted to launch pre-emptive imperialist wars on the rest of the world. Bildt's oil company Lundin has been charged with large-scale human rights violations in Africa.

British charities were taking Miliband to courts for gross rights violations by British mercenaries in Iraq. It transpired in a recent British court case that a former British Minister Clair Short had given thousands of dollars to the LTTE while its spy agency the MI5 maintained direct contact with the banned LTTE. Their government had earlier butchered our civilians in the Welassa genocide of 1818.

The sniff of corruption and arrogance was also in the Western air. The Indian government had lodged a formal complaint about Miliband's "arrogant" and "aggressive" behaviour in India. Over the weekend, British newspapers were questioning the use of a private plane by this little David of Little Britain.

Kouchner a supporter of the Iraq war was the founder of Medicines Sans Frontiers MSF, that new French Foreign Legion. Another French charity made false charges against the Sri Lankan army but ran away from the judicial enquiry when their lies were exposed. Kouchner had come to this enquiry as an observer and had illegally barged into the chamber of the Magistrate's court and tried to grab its records. His French government had hushed up its involvement together with Catholic priests in the Rwandan genocide - the biggest genocide since the Nazis. One of France's leading authors Pierre Péan exposed Kouchner in a bestselling book as a hypocrite serving US interests getting large sums of money as advisor to doubtful African governments while cultivating his image as a human rights MSF campaigner.

David Chater of Al Jazeera questioned both Miliband and Kouchner in their Vanni visit on Western duplicity, one standard for Sri Lanka and a different one for their terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both refused to answer.

Milliband and Kouchner after their unsuccessful colonial visit was reduced to writing an article to the British Times an organ for the British Conservative party which Labour of Milliband is said to be against. Only at its very end did their article correctly describe the main villain the LTTE. In bullying other countries and doublespeak Labour is well ahead of the Conservatives. The Labour Party expected to be routed at the next election was trying to play Great Britain. David an emissary of Little Britain (yes that's what some British natives now call themselves) appeared in photos like a frightened child in front of Mahinda Rajapakse's relaxed genial firmness. Yes. Check for yourself.

To topple one man, Saddam Hussein, the West according to the British Journal Lancet killed at least 700,000 people. The number has risen since. A TV report last week showed that there were still 80,000 political prisoners held in Iraq by the West some in the most atrocious conditions, about five persons to one bed. We should not allow even hundreds of innocents to be killed at the no fire zone because we have higher standards and a longer civilisation compared to these sanctimonious colonials.

Resistance pays

The government ignored the appeals from these colonials for a ceasefire. Gotabhaya said to the Indian NDTV channel the West "should be ashamed". He added "Mind your business. We will not allow any body to interfere". In interviews with the Sunday Observer he was more explicit saying that Sri Lanka "had suffered from terrorism and it is our people who were killed by the LTTE. It is not fair for a foreign country do its best that the LTTE be allowed to surrender to an outside party". He added "this is an internal matter." He was referring to the US State Department comment calling on "the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and surrender to a third party".

Gotabhaya emphasised that allowing a third party to enter into the no fire zone would make the military halt the operations which should cause more harm to the civilians. This third party talk had come about through the usual villain namely Norway who had discussions with the LTTE arms dealer and Interpol fugitive "K.P.". When the "Third Party" Kouchner wanted to visit the no fire zone and meet Prabhakaran, Kouchner insisted that he Kouchner would be safe. Shot back Gotabaya "my problem is not what the LTTE will do to you but that if that happens we would not be able to take Prabhakaran as planned".

Surrender, insisted Gotabaya, was only to our armed forces. He called the last minute ceasefire declared by Tigers who were now completely surrounded by his troops "a joke" and insisted the LTTE immediately surrender. He added "What is the need for a ceasefire when they are running away? They should first lay down arms, surrender and let the people go".

As for the pressure which the US is to be bringing on the IMF to give conditions for us, we should go to the real source of that Western money. The West and IMF are in dire economic conditions. At the recent group of 20 meeting there was widespread recognition that the IMF and World Bank should be reformed to downsize Western influence. The recognition was a simple admission of facts. IMF money is today actually Chinese money which is being channelled through the United States. The US economy owes trillions of dollars to China. China bankrolls the US and if the IMF refuses we should go straight to that ultimate source of US funds, namely China. This will be fast-forwarding the day when we in Asia will once again rule the world. It would mirror the case of African nations who avoiding Western aid with strings go to China. China is our only reliable ally.

The US racist undertones prevented the repairing of houses destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in its predominantly black neighbourhoods. And the Arab houses the West destroyed in the Iraq war remain a wasteland. US companies went there only to grab the oil while killing million innocents. But we are built on a higher humanitarian ethos.

Daily TV programmes showed Sinhalese appealing for help for their Tamil brethren. Collections were being made all around the country. People were foregoing Wesak celebrations and giving that money to displaced Tamils. Significantly one did not hear of similar collections for Tamil refugees being done by Tamils in the Western province or elsewhere. I was wondering whether it was a replay after the 1978 riots when some of us were helping displaced Tamils from the poorer areas, the richer and presumably upper caste Tamils refusing to even look at them.

The next days will be a major psychological and geo-political turning point. But full rehabilitation should however follow a carefully thought out anti Nazi model, which the victorious Allies of World War II adopted in the case of a regime parallel to that of Prabahakaran. To prevent its rise again, a total dismantling of its ideological structure must be undertaken.

___

A Chola moment, a Dutu Gemunu moment

By Dr. Susantha Goonatilake

It was a Chola moment. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment. A Chola moment because the LTTE was fighting with the Chola's Tiger emblem supported by Indian Tamil racists, emblem of the very Cholas who devastated us 1000 years ago. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment because 2000 years ago we were fighting with almost the whole world against us, as now with former Western colonials ganging up with the regional bully India who created the LTTE. It was a Dutu Gemunu moment because the lead was taken by Gotabaya named after one of Dutu Gemunu's 10 warriors.

These international elements planned a strategic retreat for the LTTE for it to fight another day. Aided and prompted by their local NGO coolies, they were trying to get a safe passage for Prabhakaran as he faced death.

Indian rope tricks

India had rescued their creation Prabhakaran by helicopter nearly 25 years ago when our troops were about to capture Vadamarachchi. They were now secretly engaged in a similar project as they saw their own investments go up inflames. Indian duplicity crossed party lines.

India who armed the LTTE called for an "immediate cessation of all hostilities" . Indian Foreign Minister Mukherjee expressed "deep concern and anxiety" for "the conditions of Tamil civilians in the conflict zones". He said he was "very unhappy at the continued killing of innocent Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. These killings must stop", adding that" the Sri Lankan Government has a responsibility to protect its own citizens". He conveniently ignored that it was their own creation the LTTE that was preventing the civilians from fleeing.

Mukherjee continued that he was "speaking to many of my counterparts around the world to join us in this effort". His party the Indian Congress admitted that it was the Indians who were behind the worldwide attempt to rescue Prabhakaran. Congress Party spokesman Singhvi told reporters "We give credit to the Sri Lankan government for reacting positively to collective world opinion" adding significantly "in which India's role was of a vanguard".

Advani, the leader of the BJP, the alternative government claimed that if he wins the next election they would intervene to bring economic sanctions on Sri Lanka unless our government stopped its offensive. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP the ideological arm of the BJP had once called the LTTE the armed wing of the Christians.

The Indian Communists, both the CPM and CPI, went on a metaphoric "masala vadai" Tamil racist line. The racist slogan "Dudley'ge bade masala vadai" was used by the LSSP (who invented the misleading slogan "one language two states") when it attacked Dudley Senanayake's coalition with the Federal party. The SLFP had never used such crude racism although the wife of Amirthalingam the leader of the supposed "moderate" TULF had publicly declared that she could not rest until shoes were made out of Sinhalese skins. The Nazis did make lampshades and shoes out of skins of Jews.

CPI (M) General Secretary Karat, a Keralite who had resisted any real or imaginary pressure on India especially from the US was going fully sub imperialist. He was asking the Indian government to apply maximum pressure to prevent the military operations in Sri Lanka. Swallowing the antinational foreign funded NGOs line he ignored the warnings in his own anti-NGO book Foreign Funding and the Philosophy of Voluntary Organizations: A factor in Imperialist Strategy. Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI spoke at a public meeting on 28 April on "Genocide in Sri Lanka". Two LTTEs surrogates TNA MPs Gajendran Ponnampalam, and Sivajilingam, also spoke here. The pamphlet for this meeting spoke of "the spectre of war and genocide". It accused Sri Lanka of "the slaughter of almost half" of Lankan Tamils and that what was happening was "the worst genocide of our contemporary times." It accused the armed forces of using banned weapons.

The Indian NDTV Channel on a special programme dealing with the Indian elections and the LTTE was instructive. Congress spokesperson Natarajan whose once leader Rajeev Ghandhi had been killed by the LTTE termed what was happening in Sri Lanka genocide. This was the term used by International Alert whose once head was Kumar Rupesinghe. It was the term used by the TULF whose think tank was the ICES of Tiruchelvam. Many in the NDTV programme mindlessly repeated the genocide slogan even after UAV video evidence of the LTTE shooting Nazi style at frightened Tamils trying to escape had been seen around the world. The most virulent at NDTV was the Catholic priest Jegath Gaspar Rai who NDTV said was accused of collecting funds for the LTTE. This illustrated the close links between Christian hierarchies and Tamil racists, a connection going back to the 19th century Jaffna School of Tamil literature.

Key government strategic Indian think tanks (we have none) were taking the sub imperialist line. Prof Sahadevan the Keralite Jawarhalal Nehru University (JNU) specialist on Sri Lanka demanded on Al Jazeera that India intervene to stop our government forces. Similar anti-Sri Lankan noises were made by a researcher of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) India's main military think tank.

JNU had been founded to become the thinking arm for India. JNU experts had always advised the Indian government including on its semicolonial military adventures in Sri Lanka. All of them did not have gut anti-Sri Lankan or anti Sinhalese attitudes like Sahadevan. The founder of the Sri Lanka unit there, the late Urmila Phadnis (my personal family friend) was fond of Sri Lanka. A couple of months ago to deliver a lecture on science policy at JNU I took the opportunity to meet Sahadevan. He had just returned from Colombo University after training students there on an invitation from Jayadeva Uyangoda, his main contact in Sri Lanka. He had travelled under the auspices of the India Sri Lanka Foundation funded by the two governments in whose governing board Jayadeva Uyangoda, a gentleman with a consistent record of calling for foreign intervention in the country is our government's nominee. One wonders what the anti-Sri Lankan Sahadevan who flew on our travel money taught at Colombo University. Also what does Uyangoda teach given his many stands against the country's sovereignty?

The JNU with its present anti Sri Lanka attitudes is also an academic partner at the BCIS. The BCIS's other partner is an American university. When I asked the present director of the BCIS a physicist who has no prior training either in international relations or in any of the social sciences whether the Indian-American academic links with the BCIS was a projection of the new Indian-American alliance he sounded befuddled. He was out of depth for a question which an Indian under graduate could have understood. The BCIS was formed in the 1970s in high hopes with the late Nawaz Dawwod as its first Director (I was one of its foundation lecturers and took part in carefully selecting the first batch). What we wanted was a very different and pro-Sri Lanka approach in the BCIS. The government should now cancel the BCIS link with the anti Sri Lanka JNU and replace the anti Sri Lanka Uyangoda from the Indo Lanka board. Sri Lanka links with JNU on non-foreign service disciplines should of course continue.

As for IDSA, I gave a lecture there a couple of months ago and found that those dealing with Sri Lanka were antagonistic to us. Their Sri Lankan contacts? Desmond Fernando and if I remember correct, the ubiquitous Uyangoda.

The new Cholas

In Tamil Nadu all the parties took anti Sri Lankan and anti Sinhalese racist positions. The ghost of the Chola invaders under whose Tiger symbol the LTTE marches was still strong in Tamil Nadu. In contrast, the Sri Lanka government had gone out of the way not to allow anti Tamil statements in Sri Lanka.

Karunanidi called a hartal and shops, some fearing violence, obliged. Karunanidi himself went on a phoney six hour "fast" which was stopped when the Central government made some appropriate noises. It would also have been good for the health of the obscenely fat Jayalalitha going on a fast, a real one. Jayalalitha now publicly supported the goal of a separate Tamil Eelam.

The Chennai Archbishop Chinnappa revealing once again the axis of evil between sections of the church and Tamil racism denounced what he called the failure of the international community to prevent "mass massacre". A plain racist, he said he was with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and around the world. His Catholic church had been once involved around the world in mass scale genocide through the Portuguese and Spanish, had instituted the Inquisition and burned at the stake those who did not believe in its lies as at the central square of Goa. The church's own unholy fathers in Sri Lanka blessing the LTTE map had been nurturing the LTTE including during the CFA. Chinnappa called for international pressure on Sri Lanka adding he was "in spirit, prayer and solidarity," with the "Tamils currently living all over the world". Tamil chauvinism was written all over his statements. He added that the entire Indian Church was with the people "in the killing fields of Sri Lanka". The killing fields were a reference to the Cambodian genocide which I know well. Only after the killing fields were finished did Catholic "generosity" arrive there to unethically harvest souls which Cambodians contemptuously call "rice [meaning money] Christianity" .

The Christian Tamil link was also illustrated in the statements of Nimalka Fernando who lives with presidential adviser Vasudeva Nanayakkara in the same flat in Royal Court. An admitted Christian propagandist from the National Christian Council she gave an interview to Nilavaram, the LTTE Journal in Switzerland. She said that it was necessary for Sri Lankan NGOs to join with Tamil Nadu activists to work "against the Sinhala state". Sections of local and Indian Christians were returning to the colonial mode and waging war on Sinhalese Buddhists.

Indian Sathya

There were however dissent in Indian opinion.

Srinivasan of India's leading news portal Rediff News mentioned that LTTE's idea of Tamil Eelam had maps on their Web site which covered north and eastern Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Andhra. He mentioned that this was "not very different from the jihadi wet-dream of a Mughalistan consisting of most of north India". Srinivasan also comments on the dubious role of the church in supporting the LTTE, the latter's key leaders being Christians while those who died in the leadership were Hindus. Prabhakaran he mentions is a Methodist.

The Indian Express head lined "Shed no tears for Tigers" in an article by Shekhar Gupta. He quoted a conversation he had with an IPKF general who had observed "These LTTE people were just macho young people with no other purpose in life but to kill and die." The Central Chronicle (from Madhya Pradesh) editorialized that the "LTTE is a terrorist traitor organization and also anti-Indian ". The Tamil Nadu parties it added, was "forcing the ideology of LTTE over India"

Not all the Indian left positions were against Sri Lanka. The leading left-wing Pioneer (once it had devoted an embarrassingly positive one page review for a book of mine) headlined "Colombo snubs meddlesome Miliband". It said that the Colombo government should be commended in spite of foreign interference for its resolute decision to destroy the LTTE root and branch. It said the military option had given amazing results and should be brought to a conclusion to become the first nation to defeat terror without a deal being made with terrorists.

The Decline of the West

Western media who were taken to the recently liberated Puthumathalan area could directly hear the contemptuous attitudes of ordinary Tamils to their sole representative. They had to eat their own words which had indirectly come from falsehoods spread through own governments' NGO coolies. The UN Colombo office, once a major faucet of Western and NGO drivel declared that children as young as 12 were being kidnapped for the last stand by the Tigers. The UN office had moved away from the expatriate role of fine dining and local gossip. (I know this first hand. My wife was a senior UN expert in Cambodia and we saw with contempt how undereducated whites were lording over innocent Cambodians).

Under the guise of a halt to the hostilities the US, Britain, Norway, Australia, France, Germany, the European Union and Japan were putting pressure to allow Prabhakaran to escape. Hillary Clinton telephoned Rajapakse asking a halt for operations as did Ban Ki Moon. But these worthies were all silent during these months when our Sun God herded these unfortunate Tamils into an ever shrinking space.

The French Foreign Minister who was the midwife for the emergence of Kosovo arrived with British Foreign Minister David Milliband. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was denied entry. The latter was a partner in war crimes in Bush's war on Iraq. He is allied with the most conservative US groups that under Bush wanted to launch pre-emptive imperialist wars on the rest of the world. Bildt's oil company Lundin has been charged with large-scale human rights violations in Africa.

British charities were taking Miliband to courts for gross rights violations by British mercenaries in Iraq. It transpired in a recent British court case that a former British Minister Clair Short had given thousands of dollars to the LTTE while its spy agency the MI5 maintained direct contact with the banned LTTE. Their government had earlier butchered our civilians in the Welassa genocide of 1818.

The sniff of corruption and arrogance was also in the Western air. The Indian government had lodged a formal complaint about Miliband's "arrogant" and "aggressive" behaviour in India. Over the weekend, British newspapers were questioning the use of a private plane by this little David of Little Britain.

Kouchner a supporter of the Iraq war was the founder of Medicines Sans Frontiers MSF, that new French Foreign Legion. Another French charity made false charges against the Sri Lankan army but ran away from the judicial enquiry when their lies were exposed. Kouchner had come to this enquiry as an observer and had illegally barged into the chamber of the Magistrate's court and tried to grab its records. His French government had hushed up its involvement together with Catholic priests in the Rwandan genocide - the biggest genocide since the Nazis. One of France's leading authors Pierre Péan exposed Kouchner in a bestselling book as a hypocrite serving US interests getting large sums of money as advisor to doubtful African governments while cultivating his image as a human rights MSF campaigner.

David Chater of Al Jazeera questioned both Miliband and Kouchner in their Vanni visit on Western duplicity, one standard for Sri Lanka and a different one for their terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both refused to answer.

Milliband and Kouchner after their unsuccessful colonial visit was reduced to writing an article to the British Times an organ for the British Conservative party which Labour of Milliband is said to be against. Only at its very end did their article correctly describe the main villain the LTTE. In bullying other countries and doublespeak Labour is well ahead of the Conservatives. The Labour Party expected to be routed at the next election was trying to play Great Britain. David an emissary of Little Britain (yes that's what some British natives now call themselves) appeared in photos like a frightened child in front of Mahinda Rajapakse's relaxed genial firmness. Yes. Check for yourself.

To topple one man, Saddam Hussein, the West according to the British Journal Lancet killed at least 700,000 people. The number has risen since. A TV report last week showed that there were still 80,000 political prisoners held in Iraq by the West some in the most atrocious conditions, about five persons to one bed. We should not allow even hundreds of innocents to be killed at the no fire zone because we have higher standards and a longer civilisation compared to these sanctimonious colonials.

Resistance pays

The government ignored the appeals from these colonials for a ceasefire. Gotabhaya said to the Indian NDTV channel the West "should be ashamed". He added "Mind your business. We will not allow any body to interfere". In interviews with the Sunday Observer he was more explicit saying that Sri Lanka "had suffered from terrorism and it is our people who were killed by the LTTE. It is not fair for a foreign country do its best that the LTTE be allowed to surrender to an outside party". He added "this is an internal matter." He was referring to the US State Department comment calling on "the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and surrender to a third party".

Gotabhaya emphasised that allowing a third party to enter into the no fire zone would make the military halt the operations which should cause more harm to the civilians. This third party talk had come about through the usual villain namely Norway who had discussions with the LTTE arms dealer and Interpol fugitive "K.P.". When the "Third Party" Kouchner wanted to visit the no fire zone and meet Prabhakaran, Kouchner insisted that he Kouchner would be safe. Shot back Gotabaya "my problem is not what the LTTE will do to you but that if that happens we would not be able to take Prabhakaran as planned".

Surrender, insisted Gotabaya, was only to our armed forces. He called the last minute ceasefire declared by Tigers who were now completely surrounded by his troops "a joke" and insisted the LTTE immediately surrender. He added "What is the need for a ceasefire when they are running away? They should first lay down arms, surrender and let the people go".

As for the pressure which the US is to be bringing on the IMF to give conditions for us, we should go to the real source of that Western money. The West and IMF are in dire economic conditions. At the recent group of 20 meeting there was widespread recognition that the IMF and World Bank should be reformed to downsize Western influence. The recognition was a simple admission of facts. IMF money is today actually Chinese money which is being channelled through the United States. The US economy owes trillions of dollars to China. China bankrolls the US and if the IMF refuses we should go straight to that ultimate source of US funds, namely China. This will be fast-forwarding the day when we in Asia will once again rule the world. It would mirror the case of African nations who avoiding Western aid with strings go to China. China is our only reliable ally.

The US racist undertones prevented the repairing of houses destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in its predominantly black neighbourhoods. And the Arab houses the West destroyed in the Iraq war remain a wasteland. US companies went there only to grab the oil while killing million innocents. But we are built on a higher humanitarian ethos.

Daily TV programmes showed Sinhalese appealing for help for their Tamil brethren. Collections were being made all around the country. People were foregoing Wesak celebrations and giving that money to displaced Tamils. Significantly one did not hear of similar collections for Tamil refugees being done by Tamils in the Western province or elsewhere. I was wondering whether it was a replay after the 1978 riots when some of us were helping displaced Tamils from the poorer areas, the richer and presumably upper caste Tamils refusing to even look at them.

The next days will be a major psychological and geo-political turning point. But full rehabilitation should however follow a carefully thought out anti Nazi model, which the victorious Allies of World War II adopted in the case of a regime parallel to that of Prabahakaran. To prevent its rise again, a total dismantling of its ideological structure must be undertaken.

9.

Imagine an online encyclopedia like Wikipedia without the Mossad pai

Posted by: "editor@ziopedia.org" editor@ziopedia.org   andrew_winkler2000

Wed May 13, 2009 10:09 am (PDT)



Thanks to Sydney based Rebel Media Group it does exist, and best of all
you can be part it. Make history by becoming a contributor to the new
encyclopedic section of the Ziopedia.org site. We have already prepared
links from the main page to entries that we consider to be essential. Just
click on them and off you go. If there is no link set up as yet for an
article you want to write, just write the title into the search box in the
encyclopedia menu on the left and hit the 'go to page' button. A new
article will be automatically created. We will later add that new entry to
the main page if appropriate.

Gatekeepers, vandals and trolls don't need to bother. Any attempt to
vandalise Ziopedia or devalue it with profanities and Zionist propaganda
will result in a site ban. We don't waste time playing games with Zioscum.

Kind regards,

Andrew Winkler
Editor/Publisher
Ziopedia - The Politically Incorrect Encyclopedia

10.

INDIA Orissa government cuts death toll from anti-Christian pogrom

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:10 am (PDT)



05/12/2009 14:07
INDIA
Orissa government cuts death toll from anti-Christian pogrom
by Nirmala Carvalho
The authorities reject the list of dead submitted by the diocese of Bhubaneshwar. The president of the Global Council of Indian Christians says the government is reducing the number relying "false justifications" in an attempt "to cut compensation to the victims." In Kandhamal tensions remain high as Hindu extremists try to storm a refugee camp at night.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Orissa State government and the diocese of Bhubaneshwar, in the State's capital, are at loggerheads over the number of people who were killed in last August's anti-Christian pogroms. State authorities have reported fewer casualties than Mgr Raphael Cheenath, archbishop of Cuttak-Bhubaneshwar .
"The petitioner's list included the names of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) activists, Dhanurjaya Pradhani, Ajit Kumar Mallick and Prabhat Panigrahi, allegedly killed by naxalites," said the authorities for whom 42 people, and not 93, died in the Hindu-led anti-Christian violence.

"In ten cases people are still alive, in 25 cases people have died because of chronic and other medical problems, in 12 cases the reference/history of the persons with reported names could not be traced in villages mentioned against their names, and in two cases the villages mentioned could not be located," the State government said.

Contacted by AsiaNews, Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), slammed the government "for its false justifications" , its failure to assume responsibilities for the refugees and its attempt "to cut compensation to the victims."

"Saying that people are missing, does not mean that they disappeared in thin air," said the GCIC president.

What is more, the government is trying to exclude people who died from their wounds months after the violence.

The GCIC has a list of 123 people killed during the anti-Christian violence, which includes everyone who became a victim of the violence perpetrated by the Sangh Parivar, the nationalist umbrella group that includes the RSS.

George does not exclude the possibility that his list might include the names of some Hindu extremists, but rejects out of hand the State's attempt to impose its shorter list over that provided by the diocese of Bhubaneshwar.

In their latest claim State authorities even contradict what they had reported last year.

In November 2008 during a visit to Kandhamal by a delegation of the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI_ML), a State official had estimated the death toll to be around 500 people, saying that he had personally authorised the cremation of at least 200 people (see AsiaNews report).

Fr Dibya Singh, who represents the Church before state authorities, also rejects speculation by the authorities. As far as he is concerned, the state claim that ten people are still alive "is not true."

"People died either in the relief camps or elsewhere. Two, who were nearly beaten to death, succumbed to their injuries later," he explained.

In the meantime the situation in Kandhamal remains tense. Last night some Hindu extremists tried to storm a camp in Mondakia where about 1,500 Christian refugees have found shelter but were stopped by police.

Also yesterday Khands (known as Kondhs as well), an aboriginal tribe that represents more than 50 per cent of the population in Kandhamal district, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the government of Orissa of favouring Christians and expropriating their land to give to refugees for church building.

http://www.asianews .it/index. php?l=en& art=15219& size=A
11.

Prostitution alleged to be taking place in Finnish-funded Afghan pri

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:11 am (PDT)



Prostitution alleged to be taking place in Finnish-funded Afghan prison

print this

The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs is investigating allegations of rampant prostitution at a women's prison built in Afghanistan with Finnish funding.
The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) reported in its main evening television news broadcast on Thursday that sex services by female inmates have been offered to local project workers employed by the Finnish Foreign Ministry. The women's prison was opened up two months ago in Sheberghan in the north of Afghanistan.

The reports came as a surprise to the Finnish Foreign Ministry, which learned about them shortly before the official opening of the facility. Ministry official Rauli Suikkanen says that the activities came to light during normal project monitoring activities.
There are suspicions that the prison administration may be involved in the activities. "Investigations are still going on", Suikkanen said to YLE.
The situation is awkward, as one of Finland's goals in development cooperation is to improve the position of Afghan women.
The Sheberghan women's prison was set up because the city's infamous main prison was in such poor shape. Finland was to have financed the construction of a men's prison in Afghanistan as well. However, all prison projects have been put on hold as a result of the suspected prostitition activities.

Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) says that conditions in Afghanistan make it difficult to monitor activities in prisons.
In an interview with YLE on Thursday morning, Stubb admits that there have been problems with certain finance projects.
Stubb, who was reached by telephone in Syria, says that the administration of the prison has been sacked, and that Finland no longer finances prisons in Afghanistan.

http://www.hs. fi/english/ article/Prostitu tion+alleged+ to+be+taking+ place+in+ Finnish-funded+ Afghan+prison/ 1135245765905
12.

The number of displaced Sikhs rising in Pakistani

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:11 am (PDT)



The number of displaced Sikhs rising in Pakistani
Amir Mir
Sunday 10 May 2009

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

LAHORE: The number of Sikhs being displaced in Pakisan by Taliban and being forced to take shelter at Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Hassanabdal, one of the holiest Sikh sites located in the Pakistani Punjab, has swollen to nearly 1,500 as more and more Sikh families flee the trouble-ridden Pak-Afghan tribal belt that has been hit hard by an armed conflict in the North West Frontier Province.

According to the deputy administrator of Shrines Evacuee Trust Property Board, Syed Faraz Abbas, the number of the displaced Sikhs taking shelter in Gurdwara Punja Sahib is rising with each passing day because of the escalating conflict and the ongoing fight between the Pakistani security forces and the Taliban in Buner and Dir districts, forcing over 1500 Sikhs to flee their homes in the Orakzai tribal region due to threats from the Taliban militia either to pay Jizya, a tax imposed on non Muslims, or face the consequences.

Over 300 Pakistani Sikh families have so far moved from the militancy-hit areas of Pir Baba, Buner, Maidan, Lal Qila and Islam Dara of Lower Dir to safer places in the wake of the ongoing military operation. Most of the displaced Sikhs prefer to stay in Gurdwara Punja Sahib instead of going to makeshift camps established by the government authorities with the help of international relief agencies. The displaced Sikhs had been living in the area since long and even after the partition of the sub-continent as they did not move to India and preferred to stay in the area. During all those years, these Pakistani Sikhs, by their own admission, had never faced any problems or harassment from the pushtoon tribes. However, for the past few months, especially after the Most Wanted fugitive Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and his men descended on Orakzai agency and established their own rule, the Sikhs there had been living in an atmosphere of fear and fright.

A good number of those who had fled the Orakzai agency had been veritably held at gunpoint by the Taliban henchmen and forced to pay extortion money. The Sikhs were reportedly told either they all convert or they pay the jazia or tax. And this is reinforced by published accounts of some of the Sikh family elders, one of whom was kidnapped and tortured by the Orakzai Taliban. However, the state of Pakistan has chosen to do nothing to take the Sikhs of Orakzai from the clutches of the Taliban. The only concern so far shown by any senior Pakistani official was a visit by the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Minorities Affairs Minister Nauroz Khan to Gurdwara Punja Sahib the other day to express solidarity with the Sikh families.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has made elaborate arrangements for the boarding and lodging of the displaced Sikh leaving the troubled tribal region and taking shelter at Gurdwara Punja Sahib. According to Sardar Soran Singh, who oversees the affairs, all facilities were being provided to the Sikh families free of cost. "We will allow them to stay here for as long as they want", he added.

amir.mir1969@ gmail.com

http://www.middleea sttransparent. com/spip. php?page= article&id_ article=6509& lang=en
13.

SRI LANKA President Rajapaksa launches campaign against use of child

Posted by: "marco.pertoni@libero.it" marco.pertoni@libero.it   sitrep_comalp

Wed May 13, 2009 10:12 am (PDT)



02/26/2009 12:50
SRI LANKA
President Rajapaksa launches campaign against use of child soldiers
by Melani Manel Perera
The government and Tamil rebels are accusing each other of enlisting minors. The Catholic Church and civil society assert that 60% of the combatants for both factions are children with an average age of 16.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - A national campaign against the exploitation of child soldiers. The "special initiative" is promoted by the government of Colombo. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, illustrating its contents yesterday, asserted that it is "necessary for preventing child recruitment, in tandem with the freeing of all children already recruited and brutalized." For the leader of the Sri Lankan government, this campaign "is at the core of our final thrust to eradicate the scourge of terrorism from our nation." The aim of the initiative is to put an end to the forced enlistment of minors, and create programs to recover and reintegrate former child soldiers.

The use of adolescents in the conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is an issue about which the two factions have repeatedly exchanged accusations. The international community, on a number of occasions, has also warned the army of Colombo and the Tamil rebels against using child soldiers. Recently, UNICEF claimed that the LTTE has intensified its recruitment work in recent months, and released figures according to which, from 2003 to 2008, the rebels forcibly enlisted at least 6,000 adolescents. The figures provided by the UN agency confirm the repeated accusations from various organizations of civil society on the island, and the various Christian Churches of Sri Lanka.

Referring to the UNICEF data, Rajapaksa's government accuses the rebels of instituting a genuine "Baby Brigade," and says that 6,288 children under the age of 18 had been enlisted by the LTTE as of December of 2008. The Tamil Tigers respond to Colombo by saying that they have sent home more than 2,000 adolescents among their ranks, and accuse the army of recruiting minors itself, and using them for paramilitary brigades. The Catholic Church and organizations of civil society in the country assert that 60% of the combatants in both factions involved in the conflict are children with an average age of 16.

http://www.asianews .it/index. php?l=en& art=14584& size=A
14.

A Civil Society Review in India!

Posted by: "Jayashree Velankar" jayavelankar@gmail.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:13 am (PDT)



Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Secretariat of Gains & Gaps- ICPD+15: A Civil Society
Review in India!

As you may be aware, the International Conference on Population and
Development in Cairo took place in 1994. Much was talked about the 'paradigm
shift' that ICPD brought about. The idea of taking stock of gains and gaps
in this 15th year since ICPD brought some of us together in November 2008.
In the next few months we plan to have a series of regional, thematic and
national level meetings and round tables and also to publish fact sheets and
a comprehensive report. Please see the attached brochure for more details.

Apart from taking stock and engaging with the government for additional
measures to fulfill health related promises, the other major aim of this
exercise will be to create synergy among various people's movements.

We appeal to you to join this effort. We have given a few ideas of how you
can do that at the end of the brochure. Please do write to us if you have
more ideas.

Our web site will be up in next few days. You may please send us your
support by mailing us at icpd15sect@gmail. com. This shall enable us to
consolidate our data base and enable us to keep you posted about our future
activities.

in solidarity,

Jaya Velankar

Convener,
Secretariat
Gains and Gaps - ICPD + 15: A Civil Society Review in India
Centre for Health and Social Justice
Flat No. 3C, First Floor, Block H
Saket, New Delhi - 110017
Tel. : 011 - 40517478, 26511425
Fax: 011-26536041
15.

Power of Music

Posted by: "S Turkman" turkman@sbcglobal.net   turkman@sbcglobal.net

Wed May 13, 2009 10:14 am (PDT)



http://www.cnn. com/2009/ HEALTH/05/ 11/music. heart/index. html

By Val Willingham
CNN Medical Producer



The power of music: It's a real Heart Opener
(CNN) -- If you didn't catch the white coat and the stethoscope, you might take Dr. Mike Miller for a middle-aged rocker, roaming the halls of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Playing or listening to music can create a feeling of well being, which affects the vascular system.

For years, Miller, a research cardiologist, has been studying the effects of happiness -- or things that make people happy -- on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and laughing at them could actually open up blood vessels, allowing blood to circulate more freely.
Miller thought, if laughter can do that, why not music? So, he tested the effects of music on the cardiovascular system. "Turns out music may be one of the best de-stressors -- either by playing or even listening to music," said Miller.
The setup was basically the same as with the laughter study: Using high-tech imaging, Miller measured blood vessel size as people listened to music.
The results did not surprise Miller. "The inner lining of the blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart," he said.
But when participants listened to music they didn't particularly enjoy, Miller said, "the vessels actually began to close up."
That's exactly what tension -- or stress -- does.
 
Long-term stress can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular system. Over time, it can cause blood vessels to stiffen and become rigid, constricting blood flow. As people get older, arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, becomes a problem. Constricted vessels can cause blood pressure to rise and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Stress can also suppress the immune system, contribute to infertility and impotence, speed the aging process and even rewire the brain, leaving people more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
But music can counter the effects of stress. "It gives us an overall feeling of good, well-being -- a sense of euphoria in some cases," Miller said.
A recent study out of Stanford University found elderly patients who were diagnosed with depression gained self-esteem and saw an improvement in their mood when they were visited by a music therapist.
In fact, many hospitals across the country use music therapy to help patients heal. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, uses music as part of its cardiovascular surgery healing program to "promote relaxation and reduce tension, stress and anxiety." Because music helps these patients relax, it decreases their pain, improves their moods and helps them to sleep better, especially during recovery.
 
Miller has not only seen these same results in some of his patients who use music therapy, but he said he also believes music can be so relaxing that it can actually keep the body young. "We would like to believe that it may slow down the aging process," he said.
But be careful what you listen to. Whether you like Beyoncé or the B-52s, Chopin or Johnny Cash, Miller found that listening repeatedly to the same tune diminished the music's effects on the body. "You just don't get that boost if you listen to the same song over and over again," he said. "You need to vary your songs, so when you hear the song fresh, it brings back the sense of joy and opens up the system."
So, the next time your boss gets on your nerves, or the kids are driving you crazy, or the car breaks down, don't start pulling out your hair. Instead, turn on the radio, grab your iPod or pop in a CD, and let the music carry you away.
16.

May 17th – 26th Candlelight Memorial – reg.

Posted by: "Kodiyattu Jacob" stpauls_jacob@yahoo.co.in

Wed May 13, 2009 10:15 am (PDT)





13th May, 2009.
 
HIV/AIDS free India/World – Let's make happen – St. Paul's Trust/ ACFI
 
Dear All,
 
Sub: ACFI Online News Letter – 024.
        International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day, May 17, 2009
 
Greetings from St. Paul's Trust / AIDS Control Foundation of India.
 
Please find enclosed herewith little information regarding "World Candlelight Memorial" (17th May, 2009) the biggest ever grass root level event being observed Globally for the last 25 years in memory of those who died of HIV/AIDS and for showing  solidarity with those living with the disease. 
 
I am sure this event will go a long way in Global efforts to contain the epidemic and to address to devastation caused by HIV/AIDS – the greatest challenge humanity is facing today.    
 
With Regards,
 
Thanking you all,
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Dr. K.I. Jacob,
Chief Executive,
St. Paul's Trust,
Samalkot,
Cell: 9866188964
To learn more or make a donation, go to
www.aidscontrol. org (Donation to St. Paul's Trust is exempt from Income Tax under section 80G).
 
Enclosures:
 
1.                 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day, May 17, 2009.
2.                 26th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Sunday May 17, 2009.
3.                 Letter from Andhra Pradesh Legislators Forum on HIV/AIDS.
 
 
Rtn. PHF., Dr. K.I. Jacob, B.Sc., M.B.B.S., PhD.,
Chief Executive,
St. Paul's Trust,
Opp. M.R.O. Office,
D.No. 5-3-4,
Samalkot - 533 440,
East Godavari District,
Andhra Pradesh,
South India.
Phone No: 91-884-2327634 (O)
91-884-2327524 (R)
Mobile No: 91-98661 88964

Own a website.Get an unlimited package.Pay next to nothing.* http://in.business. yahoo.com/
17.

Industry Influenced Flu.

Posted by: "Jagannath Chatterjee" jagchat01@yahoo.com   jagchat01

Wed May 13, 2009 10:16 am (PDT)




 Life-threatening disease is
the price we pay for cheap meat

Johann Hari: Friday, 1 May 2009

Modern factory farms have created a 'perfect storm'
environment for powerful viruses

A swelling number of scientists believe swine flu has not happened by
accident. No: they argue that this global pandemic – and all the deaths
we are about to see – is the direct result of our demand for cheap meat.
So is the way we produce our food really making us sick as a
pig?

At first glance, this seems wrong. All through history, viruses have
mutated, and sometimes they have taken nasty forms that scythe through
the human population. This is an inescapable reality we just have to live
with, like earthquakes and tsunamis. But the scientific evidence
increasingly suggests that we have unwittingly invented an artificial way
to accelerate the evolution of these deadly viruses – and pump them out
across the world. They are called factory farms. They manufacture
low-cost flesh, with a side-dish of viruses to go.

To understand how this might happen, you have to compare two farms. My
grandparents had a pig farm in the Swiss mountains, with around 20 swine
at any one time. What happened there if, in the bowels of one of their
pigs, a virus mutated and took on a deadlier form? At every stage, the
virus would meet stiff resistance from the pigs' immune systems. They
were living in fresh air, on the diet they evolved with, and without
stress – so they had a robust ability to fight back. If the virus did
take hold, it would travel only as far as the sick hog could walk. So if
the virus would then have around 20 other pigs to spread and mutate in –
before it would hit the end of its own evolutionary path, and die off. If
it was a really lucky, plucky virus, it might make it to market – where
it would come up against more healthy pigs living in small herds. It had
little opportunity to fan out across a large population of pigs or evolve
a strain that could be transmitted to humans.

Now compare this to what happens when a virus evolves in a modern factory
farm. In most swine farms today, 6,000 pigs are crammed snout-to-snout in
tiny cages where they can barely move, and are fed for life on an
artificial pulp, while living on top of cess-pools of their own stale
faeces.

Instead of having just 20 pigs to experiment and evolve in, the virus now
has a pool of thousands, constantly infecting and reinfecting each other.
The virus can combine and recombine again and again. The ammonium from
the waste they live above burns the pigs' respiratory tracts, making it
easier yet for viruses to enter them. Better still, the pigs' immune
systems are in free-fall. They are stressed, depressed, and permanently
in panic, making them far easier to infect. There is no fresh air or
sunlight to bolster their natural powers of resistance. They live in air
thick with viral loads, and they are exposed every time they breathe in.

As Dr Michael Greger, director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at
the Humane Society of the United States, explains: "Put all this
together, and you have a perfect storm environment for these
super-strains. If you wanted to create global pandemics, you'd build as
many of these factory farms as possible. That's why the development of
swine flu isn't a surprise to those in the public health community. In
2003, the American Public Health Association – the oldest and largest in
world – called for a moratorium of factory farming because they saw
something like this would happen. It may take something as serious as a
pandemic to make us realise the real cost of factory
farming."

Many of the detailed studies of factory farms that have been emerging in
the past few years reinforce this argument. Dr Ellen Silbergeld is
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
She tells me that her detailed, on-the-ground studies led her to conclude
that there is "very much" a link from factory farms to the new,
more powerful forms of flu we are experiencing. "Instead of a virus
only having one spin of the roulette wheel, it has thousands and
thousands of spins, for no extra cost. It drives the evolution of new
diseases."

Until yesterday, we could only speculate about the origins of the current
H1N1 virus killing human beings – but now we know more. The Centre for
Computational Biology at Columbia University has studied the virus and
now believes that it is not a new emergence of a triple human-swine- bird
flu virus. It is a slight variant on a virus we have seen before. We can
see its family tree – and its daddy was a virus that evolved in the
artificial breeding ground of a vast factory farm in North Carolina.

Did this strain evolve, too, in the same circumstances? Already, the
evidence is suggestive, although far from conclusive. We know that the
city where this swine flu first emerged – Perote, Mexico – contains a
massive industrial pig farm, and houses 950,000 pigs. Dr Silbergeld adds:
"Factory farms are not biosecure at all. People are going in and out
all the time. If you stand a few miles down-wind from a factory farm, you
can pick up the pathogens easily. And manure from these farms isn't
always disposed of."

It's no coincidence that we have seen a sudden surge of new viruses in
the past decade at precisely the moment when factory farming has
intensified so dramatically. For example, between 1994 and 2001, the
number of American pigs that live and die in vast industrial farms in the
US spiked from 10 per cent to 72 per cent. Swine flu had been stable
since 1918 – and then suddenly, in this period, went super-charged.

How much harm will we do to ourselves in the name of cheap meat? We know
that bird flu developed in the world's vast poultry farms. And we know
that pumping animal feed full of antibiotics in factory farms has given
us a new strain of MRSA. It's a simple, horrible process. The only way to
keep animals alive in such conditions is to pump their feed full of
antibiotics. But this has triggered an arms race with bacteria, which
start evolving to beat the antibiotics – and emerge as in the end as
pumped-up, super-charged viruses invulnerable to our medical weapons.
This system gave birth to a new kind of MRSA that now makes up 20 per
cent of all human infections with the virus. Sir Liam Donaldson, the
British government's Chief Medical Officer, warns: "Every
inappropriate use in animals or agriculture [of antibiotics] is
potentially a death warrant for a future patient."

Of course, agribusinesses are desperate to deny all this is happening:
their bottom line depends on keeping this model on its shaky trotters.
But once you factor in the cost of all these diseases and pandemics,
cheap meat suddenly looks like an illusion.

We always knew that factory farms were a scar on humanity's conscience –
but now we fear they are a scar on our health. If we carry on like this,
bird flu and swine flu will be just the beginning of a century of viral
outbreaks. As we witness a global pandemic washing across the world, we
need to shut down these virus factories – before they shut down even more
human lives.

j.hari@independent. co.uk

http://www.independ ent.co.uk/ opinion/commenta tors/johann- hari/johann- hari-lifethreate ning-disease- is-the-price- we-pay-for- cheap-meat- 1677067.html

"The world is moving ahead but our lives have become harder."
- Nikheil, small farmer from Kohima, India.

Now surf faster and smarter ! Check out the new Firefox 3 - Yahoo! Edition http://downloads. yahoo.com/ in/firefox/ ?fr=om_email_ firefox
18.

Press Release: Release of MAS GM Rice in Orissa.

Posted by: "Jagannath Chatterjee" jagchat01@yahoo.com   jagchat01

Wed May 13, 2009 10:16 am (PDT)



To
The Editor,
The New Indian Express
Bhubaneswar.

Dt: 13.05.09

Dear Sir,

This
has reference to the report, "After Bt Brinjal row, it's rice variety
in storm", that has appeared in today's edition of your news paper. Prima facie
it appears that the genetically modified (GM) variety "Swarna Sub-1"
has been developed using the marker assisted selection process (MAS)..
This process is a biotechnologically superior version of traditional
breeding. This process has not been discussed properly in the public
domain. The "experts" say it is safe as this usually involves gene
transfer within the same species and does not use any marker of
external origin. The knowledge whether this can lead to any problems to
health or the environment is also limited to the "experts".

As an organisation that works on a scientific basis we do not
oppose science. We believe that science is a very objective, unbiased,
transparent and rational method of looking at things and is aimed at
benefiting all sections of society. However industry sponsored science
blatantly violates all the basic principles of science and threatens to
turn to a Frakensteinian monster driven by money, power and greed,
three elements that are anathema to science.

In this case too we see that there is absolutely no transparency.
The public has not been informed that food is now being changed at a
genetic level that is markedly different than traditional breeding. The
farmer of course is never consulted in the entire policy making
process. We also do not know whether this variety when adopted by
private seed manufacturers will lead to Intellectual Property Right
(IPR) issues.

There is no rational either as traditional draught resistant
varieties are still there with farmers which are known by the
agricultural scientists themselves. Thus this appears to be yet another
attempt to boost business and benefit the industry. Thus the question
of bias too looms large. What kind of a science is this? We also know
that all traditional varieties are being taken away from the farmers
under the garb of "seed replacement" . Whose benefit is this new science
aiming at?

Our Director Agriculture is an efficient and progressive person. He
is himself a student of genetic engineering and thus ought to
understand both sides of the coin as far as this new technology is
concerned. However he too shows the same disregard to public concern as
"experts" on agriculture. Was it beyond him to consult civil society
members before opting for a change in technology? Or does he feel that
such a move would hinder "progress and development" as perceived by the
industry?

Despite two years of visible public protests and questioning by the
media and delivery of more than enough scientific peer reviewed
evidence that GM food and crops have serious health and environmental
implications,  we are yet to know what exactly is the stance of the
state with regard to GM food and crops beyond the regular, "we
discourage Bt cotton" stance . Thus very skilfully all options have
been kept open.

Bt Cotton however has been illegally cultivated in 75% of the land
under cotton, as per the Agriculture Production Commissioner himself.
The farmers are facing ruin as against a promised yield of 9 to 10
quintals per acre the average yield has been 2.5 quintals per acre, if
at all the farmer has been lucky to get some yield. The farmers
complain of lands turned barren by the Bt toxin that has been rendered
much more powerful by the genetic modification process. There have been
sporadic reports of animal deaths in Orissa and the Veterinary Surgeons
are crying hoarse on the subject. And yet we do not have any idea what
the government plans to do in this regard.

The farmers and consumers of Orissa are today an worried lot. They
feel that industry rules the roost and food and livelihood safety will
be severely compromised rather than being guaranteed. Just as MAS
technology and its implementation has been kept a well guarded secret
till the very end, who can say that the various experiments on other
more heinous GM technology will not be suddenly unleashed on the
people? If we consider the fact that food imported from GM food growing
countries are being sold in all upmarket food bazars then we can surely
say that "the poison is already on the platter".

Yours faithfully,
Living Farms
Bhubaneswar.
--

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http://www.expressb uzz.com/edition/ story.aspx? Title=After+ Bt+brinjal+ row,+it%E2% 80%99s+rice+ variety+in+ storm&artid= k7vsxwEZAZc= &SectionID= mvKkT3vj5ZA= &MainSectionID= fyV9T2jIa4A= &SectionName= nUFeEOBkuKw= &SEO=

 

After Bt brinjal row, it's rice variety in storm

First Published : 13 May 2009 04:04:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 13 May 2009 10:06:55 AM IST

 

 

 

 

BHUBANESWAR:
After the controversy involving the Bt cotton and Bt brinjal across the State,
now it is the turn of Bt rice.

 

However, while a group of activists have opposed its field
trials and use, many have termed it as the 'perfect choice' for fighting
'submergence stress' in the flood-hit regions.

 

Activists of city-based United Coalition Against Genetic
Engineering (UNCAGE) have said that the experiments and subsequent trials by a
Orissa-based central institute on a genetically modified (GM) rice will
definitely change the 'genetic stock' of the wild and traditional varieties of
rice in Orissa which is home to many indigenous species.

 

''Even the research involving GM rice at Kerala Agriculture
University has invited
protests by activists and they have managed to get the Kerala Government to
write to agricultural institutions that they cannot understate any GM research
without permission. They are even beginning a series of activities to highlight
the threat from GM rice,'' they said.

 

Agriculture Director Arabinda Padhee said that the 'Swarna
Sub-1' variety developed in the State with 'Sub-1 gene' was done through the
traditional breeding process and 'not through the genetic engineering mechanism'.

 

However, he clarified that the research work on GM rice can
be conducted by various laboratories and institutions concerned. ''We can only
think about biosafety and other aspects when we want to release the varieties
for public use,'' he clarified.

 

Dean of Research, Orissa University of Agriculture and
Technology, Prof. Dibakar Naik, however, said the 'Swarna Sub-1' variety is a
'genetically modified one', adding it will help farmers in flood-hit zones of
the State and it is safe for use.

 

Rice researcher Prof. Ashutosh Ray said though the GM
controversy still rages, in case of GM rice nothing can be predicted and said
more research and studies can only reveal the 'truth'.

 

UNCAGE activists, however, alleged that as 'funding
patterns' are related to research in many biotech related projects, the GM
crops could be getting enough financial support for their proliferation, but on
the other hand, there are apprehensions of 'germ plasm transfer' to the funding
agencies concerned which might seriously paralyse our genetic resources in
future.

"The world is moving ahead but our lives have become harder."
- Nikheil, small farmer from Kohima, India.

Cricket on your mind? Visit the ultimate cricket website. Enter http://beta. cricket.yahoo. com
19.

A Rickshaw-van Driver Allegedly Shot Dead by Kushtia Sadar Police

Posted by: "odhikar" odhikar@citech-bd.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:16 am (PDT)



Dear Friends,

Please find attached Odhikar's fact-finding report on a Rickshaw-van
driver allegedly shot dead by Kushtia Sadar police on 06 January 2009.

Best regards,

ASM Nasiruddin Elan
Director
Odhikar
Ph: 8802-9888587
Fax: 8802-9886208
20.

Please sign Petition: Humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka

Posted by: "cova network" covanetwork12@gmail.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:16 am (PDT)



Dear friends,

Thousands of civilians in Sri Lanka lost their lives and many more are
wounded, and still more are facing death, due to the ongoing war between the
Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. As representatives of global civil society,
you need to urgently respond to this humanitarian crisis. We request you to
please sign the petition entitled "Stop the Humanitarian Disaster in Sri
Lanka" at

*http://www.Petition Online.com/ 12srilan/ petition. html
<http://www.petition online.com/ 12srilan/ petition. html>*

In Solidarity,

Team COVA
21.

FACT FINDING REPORT: A Prominent Human Rights Defender in Bangladesh

Posted by: "Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIH" saikotbihr@gmail.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:19 am (PDT)



FACT FINDING REPORT: A Prominent Human Rights Defender in Bangladesh
Has been Intimidated by the Directorate General Forces of Intelligence
(DGFI) Field Officer.

Dear Friends

Greetings from Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR).

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights has been conducted a fact finding
mission by its high level team regarding to intimidation of Mr.
Shahanur Islam, Secretary General and Executive Director of the
Bangladesh Centre for Human Rights and Development (BCHRD),
Coordinator of Centre for Human Rights Fact Finding & Research (CHFR),
Programme Manager of Legal and Human Rights Affairs at the Bangladesh
Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre
for Trauma Victims (BRCT), as well as a member of the Bangladesh Bar
Council and Bar Association in Dhaka District by the Filed Officer of
(Sub Inspector Level Official) of Directorate General Forces of
Intelligence (DGFI), while he was waiting for speaking with Media men
after filing a petition case on charging attempt to murder by
torturing with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (CMM) Dhaka
against three men including a Major of Army. According to the
information received, there was no action taken by the police
authorities.

BIHR urges your intervention asking concerned authority to ensure his
life as well as conduct impartial and credible investigation to bring
the culprit before the justice.

If you need further information please feel free to contact me.

I am looking forward to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

Regards

Adv. Shahanur Islam Saikot
Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR)
27, Bijoy Nagar, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Email: saikotbihr@gmail. com; bihr@bangla. net
www.bangladeshinsti tuteofhumanright s.blogspot. com
Cell: 00880 17 20308080
22.

UPA 227 NDA 189 Manmohan Retains PMO

Posted by: "Ravinder Singh" progressindia008@yahoo.com   progressindia008

Wed May 13, 2009 10:19 am (PDT)




UPA 227 NDA 189 Manmohan Retains PMO

This is Rajat Sharma's IndiaTV.

I believe UPA will get 25 seats more.

So UPA will get 252 seats.

All deceptions and frauds of Advani rejected by voters.

Ravinder Singh

May13, 2009

India TV along with C Voter on Wednesday evening telecast the first
exit polls of the current Lok Sabha polls. The exit poll projections
show the Congress-led UPA may get 195 seats in a range of 189 to 201,
while the RJD-SP-LJP combine may get 32, and with their support the UPA
may get a grand total of 227, in the range of 217 to 237. Thus the
ruling alliance will be 45 short of the magic mark 272 in the next Lok
Sabha, the exit polls say.

On the other hand, the NDA may get 189 seats within a range of 183 to
195 seats, while the Third Front led by the Left parties, BSP and AIADMK
may get 113 seats in a range of 105 to 121. Others may get 11 to 14
seats only.

The exit poll projections give Congress the largest number of seats 152,
closely followed by BJP at 143.

NCP may get 14, the DMK combine may have to be content with only 11, the
new Congress ally Trinamool Congress in West Bengal may get 12, National
Conference and JMM 2 seats each and UDF 2, taking the UPA total to 195.

The RJD-LJP combine in Bihar may get only 10 seats, while Mulayam Singh
Yadav's Samajwadi Party may get 22 seats in Uttar Pradesh. These 32
seats added to the UPA kitty will give a grand total of 227 to the UPA,
yet 45 short of the magic mark.

In the NDA camp, the BJP with 143, Janata Dal-United with a shining
performance of 19, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra with 11, Asom Gana
Parishad, Shiromani Akali Dal and Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal
five seats each, and O P Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal with
just one seat may put the tally of NDA at 189, that too within a range
of 183 to 195.

The Third Front may see the Left parties suffering a debacle with only
34 seats, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party getting 27 seats in Uttar
Pradesh, the Jayalalithaa- led combine in Tamil Nadu may get 26 seats,
TDP-TRS 16 seats in Andhra Pradesh, Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal
in Orissa with 7 seats, and H D Devegowda's JDS with two and Haryana
Vikas Manch with one seat, taking the tally to 113, that too, in a range
of 105-121.

The 14 parties that `Others' may get includes only two seats for
actor Chiranjeevi' s newly floated Praja Rajyam Party in Andhra
Pradesh and the rest to smaller regional parties.

"The results we are reporting have been updated till the very last
minute. In our commitment to cutting-edge journalism and providing the
most credible input to the political discourse, our survey employed over
1,000 enumerators to cover over 1,60,000 respondents in 530
Parliamentary seats. This massive exercise, undertaken on our behalf by
C-Voter, was spread over one month and covered all 5 phases of the
elections," India TV Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma said in the live
telecast of exit polls from 5 pm onwards on Wednesday.

23a.

A friend has shared their Allvoices news report

Posted by: "allvoices" noreply@allvoices.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:20 am (PDT)



chnarendra (expressnarendra@ gmail.com) has posted an interesting
news report on www.allvoices. com <http://www.allvoice s.com> and
has shared it with you.

The news report Amnesty asked UN security forces to act to save
civilians in Sri Lanka can be found at
http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3204972- amnesty-asked- u\
n-security-forces- to-act-to- save-civilians- in-sri-lanka

<http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3204972- amnesty-asked- \
un-security- forces-to- act-to-save- civilians- in-sri-lanka
> .

We look forward to seeing you on allvoices!

Thanks,
The Allvoices Team
23b.

A friend has shared their Allvoices news report

Posted by: "allvoices" noreply@allvoices.com

Wed May 13, 2009 10:20 am (PDT)



chnarendra (expressnarendra@ gmail.com) has posted an interesting
news report on www.allvoices. com <http://www.allvoice s.com> and
has shared it with you.

The news report Journalists demand criminal proceedings against
media houses against paid news can be found at
http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3205501- journalists- dem\
and-criminal- proceedings- against-media- houses-against- paid-news

<http://www.allvoice s.com/contribute d-news/3205501- journalists- de\
mand-criminal- proceedings- against-media- houses-against- paid-news
>
.

We look forward to seeing you on allvoices!

Thanks,
The Allvoices Team
24.

[women-rights] USA: Senate collects testimony on rape in war

Posted by: "HREA noreply@hrea.org" HREA noreply@hrea.org   msgiri_bebl

Wed May 13, 2009 10:21 am (PDT)



POSTED BY: HREA noreply@hrea. org

Subject: [women-rights] USA: Senate collects testimony on rape in war

May 13, 2009

(Washington, DC) - The United States Senate should move beyond collecting
testimony in its commitment to help prevent and punish rape in conflict,
Human Rights Watch said today in a written submission to the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. The US is in a strong position to provide active global
leadership and to press for international action, Human Rights Watch said.

Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin are
co-sponsoring a hearing today on violence against women in conflict,
featuring witnesses from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur. The
Obama administration' s new ambassador-at- large for global women's issues,
Melanne Verveer, will also testify.

"It is heartening to see the Senate and the administration come together to
exchange views on this critical issue," said Marianne Mollmann, women's
rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. "But sexual violence in conflict is
nothing new. We know it happens. We know it goes unpunished. Now is the time
for action, not words."

Sexual violence against women and girls has been a horrifying characteristic
of all recent armed conflicts and many post-conflict situations. Human
Rights Watch has documented this violence in countries ranging from Darfur
and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the former Yugoslavia. The research
also shows that the perpetrators of these crimes rarely are brought to
justice. In many conflict areas, seeking justice for sexual violence is
difficult, often dangerous, and frequently very costly.

"Victims of violence often confront a gutted, corrupt, or untrained police
force and justice system," said Mollmann. "In some cases, the police are
afraid of investigating crimes committed by soldiers or militia, and
certainly can't provide protection for the victims of abuse."

The hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is meant to generate
concrete action points for the United States and will consider detailed
submissions from Human Rights Watch and other organizations. The United
States is in a particularly strong position to engage other countries on
this issue, both because of its permanent seat at the United Nations
Security Council, and because of its substantial foreign aid to
conflict-ridden countries.

Last June, the Bush administration led the Security Council in a resolution
that, for the first time, unequivocally mandated the United Nations to
address sexual violence as a weapon of war and a threat to international
peace and security. Advocates hope that the Senate hearing will consolidate
US leadership on this issue, specifically by pushing the United Nations to
establish a senior special representative on sexual violence.

"Stopping rape in war is as bipartisan as it gets," said Mollmann. "Here,
the Senate really can come together and speak with one voice to benefit
women worldwide by urging the United Nations to put its money where its
mouth is and appoint a special representative to tackle this issue head on."

--> HREA offers an e-learning course: *Monitoring Women's
Rights*<http://www.hrea. org/index. php?base_ id=441>.
Application deadline is 15 June 2009.
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