Read the translation of the Alternative Christmas Message, delivered by the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain.
The Almighty created the universe for human beings and human beings for Himself.
He created every human being with the ability to reach the heights of perfection. He called on man to make every effort to live a good life in this world and to work to achieve his everlasting life.
On this difficult and challenging journey of man from dust to the divine, He did not leave humanity to its own devices. He chose from those He created the most excellent as His Prophets to guide humanity.
All Prophets called for the worship of God, for love and brotherhood, for the establishment of justice and for love in human society. Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for our fellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination and injustice.
All the problems that have bedevilled humanity throughout the ages came about because humanity followed an evil path and disregarded the message of the Prophets.
Now as human society faces a myriad of problems and a succession of complex crises, the root causes can be found in humanity's rejection of that message, in particular the indifference of some governments and powers towards the teachings of the divine Prophets, especially those of Jesus Christ.
The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security and the economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to put great pressure on all nations have come about because the Prophets have been forgotten, the Almighty has been forgotten and some leaders are estranged from God.
If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers.
If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over.
If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as He did in His lifetime. The solution to today's problems is a return to the call of the divine Prophets. The solution to these crises is to follow the Prophets - they were sent by the Almighty for the good of humanity.
Today, the general will of nations is calling for fundamental change. This is now taking place. Demands for change, demands for transformation, demands for a return to human values are fast becoming the foremost demands of the nations of the world. The response to these demands must be real and true. The prerequisite to this change is a change in goals, intentions and directions. If tyrannical goals are repackaged in an attractive and deceptive package and imposed on nations again, the people, awakened, will stand up against them.
Fortunately, today, as crises and despair multiply, a wave of hope is gathering momentum. Hope for a brighter future and hope for the establishment of justice, hope for real peace, hope for finding virtuous and pious rulers who love the people and want to serve them – and this is what the Almighty has promised.
We believe, Jesus Christ will return, together with one of the children of the revered Messenger of Islam and will lead the world to love, brotherhood and justice. The responsibility of all followers of Christ and Abrahamic faiths is to prepare the way for the fulfilment of this divine promise and the arrival of that joyful, shining and wonderful age. I hope that the collective will of nations will unite in the not too distant future and with the grace of the Almighty Lord, that shining age will come to rule the earth.
Once again, I congratulate one and all on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. I pray for the New Year to be a year of happiness, prosperity, peace and brotherhood for humanity. I wish you every success and happiness."
Source
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Why Jews are powerful and Muslims are powerless?
Dr Shabir Choudhry
Muslims, especially youths, believe that they are under attack; but many non Muslims believe that it is young Muslims who are at a war with rest of the world. In this 'war' innocent people are being killed in many parts of the world; and sad thing is that these deaths and destruction are justified as means to end.
Whether Muslims are 'under attack' or Muslims are 'at war' depends on how both questions are viewed, and positions of individual people; but one thing is sure that all bad things are related to Muslims and they are viewed as terrorists, extremists, backward, rich but powerless and out of step with rest of the world. Moreover most bad things are traced back to Pakistan; and that is blocking path of progress for Muslims peacefully settled in European countries.
Like any other community or followers of any other religion, overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people. However they could be powerless and backward in their thinking and approach to life, because they think this life is temporary and does not deserve their full attention. This approach to life is against the teaching of Islam and practice of the Messenger of Allah.
Almighty Allah demonstrated superiority of knowledge in Qur'an and urged mankind to think and explore. Allah's Messenger also gave high priority to learning and teaching. Net result of their learning, research and practice was that Muslims made enormous contribution to knowledge and learning in all aspects of human life; and they became rulers of the biggest empire on earth. Over the past centuries Muslims are lagging behind in all walks of human life; and suffer humiliation and face appalling treatment.
Some of the data below might help us why we are so behind. Jews have total population of around 14 Million, which is spread over in various countries. Muslim population on the other hand is more than 1.5 billion, which means for every Jew there are 107 Muslims; and every fifth human being is a Muslim. This small number of Jews – 14 Million are more powerful than 1.5 billion Muslims, not because they are Jews but because they have made more contribution to human life than Muslims can even think.
Just look at the following people who have made enormous contribution to human knowledge and learning; and one thing in common among them – they are all Jews:
Medical Milestones
Vaccinating Needle: Benjamin Ruben Jewish
Polio Vaccine Jonas Salk Jewish
Leukemia Drug Gertrude Elion Jewish
Hepatitis B
Baruch Blumberg Jewish
Syphilis Drug Paul Ehrlich Jewish
Neuro muscular Elie Metchnikoff Jewish
Endocrinology Andrew Schally Jewish
Cognitive therapy Aaron Beck Jewish
Contraceptive Pill Gregory Pincus Jewish
Understanding of Human Eye G. Wald Jewish
Embryology Stanley Cohen Jewish
Kidney Dialysis Willem Kloffcame Jewish
Inventions that changed History
Micro- Processing Chip. Stanley Mezor Jewish
Nuclear Chain Reactor. Leo Sziland Jewish
Optical Fibre Cable Peter Schultz Jewish
Traffic Lights Charles Adler Jewish
Stainless Steel Benno Strauss Jewish
Sound Movies Isador Kisee Jewish
Telephone Microphone Emile Berliner Jewish
Video Tape Recorder Charles Ginsburg Jewish
Individuals who changed course of History
Albert Einstein Jewish
Sigmund Freud Jewish
Karl Marx Jewish
Paul Samuelson Jewish
Milton Friedman Jewish
Apart from that, most of multi nationals and transnational companies are either owned or managed by Jews. It is amazing to note that 14 Million Jews have produced 180 Nobel Prize Winners; and 1.5 billion Muslims have only managed 3 Nobel Prizes. Dr Abdus Salam was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, and had distinction of being the first Pakistani and the first Muslim Nobel Prize Winner.
He belonged to Ahmedi Sect of Islam which was declared non Muslim in Pakistan. In early 1960s he played a leading role in establishing the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) - the atomic research agency, and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Also he was instrumental in setting up five Superior Science colleges throughout Pakistan to further the progress in science in the country. Despite these achievements life was made difficult for him and this genius was forced to leave the country and settle in Italy where he set up International Centre for Theoretical Physics. In other words Italy benefitted from his wisdom and knowledge, and Pakistan didn't because his religious faith was different to majority of the Pakistani people.
One can also see how India treated its Muslim scientist, Dr Abdul Kalam, and elected him as a President of India; and Pakistan imprisoned its top Scientist, Dr Qadeer Khan who provided nuclear weapons and a series of very advance missile system to bolster defence of pakistan. If Centerfuges and other materials were given to other countries in contrvention of international laws he could not have done this without help and support of senior army and government officials, then why make him scapgoat?
The attitude explained above speaks volumes about love and care Muslims have for knowledge and research. Even in the 21st Century, in Pakistan millions of people have no access to education, and where schools are built they are systematically burnt down or blown out by bombs. Muslims are fast losing interest in education and benefits it could provide because they think they can become rich by other means which might not be legal. Also value of our education is constantly declining; and our ability to provide quality training and produce knowledge is shrinking. As a result of this Muslims are becoming less competitive in every field.
There are 57 Muslim Countries in the world with enormous resources, and yet there are only 500 universities in the Muslim World; and none of the universities in the entire Islamic World rank in the top 500 universities of the world. On the other hand the USA alone has 5,758 universities. In Christian countries 40% of population attend university; and in Muslim countries only 2% make to universities.
Even Pakistan's neighbour and Third World country, India has 8,407 universities; and Indian scientists, doctors and engineers are performing crucial role in advanced societies of the world. It is on strength of this, after the Mumbai carnage one USA based Indian wrote to me that India has softwere engineers, scientists and doctors to 'export', and Pakistan can only 'export drugs and terrorists'.
So problem is lack of educational and high tech training facilities, our failure to learn new knowledge; and our wrong priorities and failure to provide resources for education and research has put us where we are today. And instead of learning from our past mistakes and sorting out our priorities we Muslims, especially Muslims of South Asia like to shift blame to others by saying that it is Jewish, Hindu or American conspiracy.
A prominent Kashmiri journalist, Sardar Zia Mahmood who has kindly provided me this data, while talking to me said, 'One cause of extremism and terrorism is our inability to educate our young people and provide adequate opportunities for those who worked hard to get qualifications'. He further said, 'If we want to combat terrorism and extremism then we have to divert resources to educate and train people and promote culture of tolerance and democratic values'.
Dr Shabir Choudhry is a Spokesman of Kashmir National Party, political analyst and author of many books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.
Source
Muslims, especially youths, believe that they are under attack; but many non Muslims believe that it is young Muslims who are at a war with rest of the world. In this 'war' innocent people are being killed in many parts of the world; and sad thing is that these deaths and destruction are justified as means to end.
Whether Muslims are 'under attack' or Muslims are 'at war' depends on how both questions are viewed, and positions of individual people; but one thing is sure that all bad things are related to Muslims and they are viewed as terrorists, extremists, backward, rich but powerless and out of step with rest of the world. Moreover most bad things are traced back to Pakistan; and that is blocking path of progress for Muslims peacefully settled in European countries.
Like any other community or followers of any other religion, overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people. However they could be powerless and backward in their thinking and approach to life, because they think this life is temporary and does not deserve their full attention. This approach to life is against the teaching of Islam and practice of the Messenger of Allah.
Almighty Allah demonstrated superiority of knowledge in Qur'an and urged mankind to think and explore. Allah's Messenger also gave high priority to learning and teaching. Net result of their learning, research and practice was that Muslims made enormous contribution to knowledge and learning in all aspects of human life; and they became rulers of the biggest empire on earth. Over the past centuries Muslims are lagging behind in all walks of human life; and suffer humiliation and face appalling treatment.
Some of the data below might help us why we are so behind. Jews have total population of around 14 Million, which is spread over in various countries. Muslim population on the other hand is more than 1.5 billion, which means for every Jew there are 107 Muslims; and every fifth human being is a Muslim. This small number of Jews – 14 Million are more powerful than 1.5 billion Muslims, not because they are Jews but because they have made more contribution to human life than Muslims can even think.
Just look at the following people who have made enormous contribution to human knowledge and learning; and one thing in common among them – they are all Jews:
Medical Milestones
Vaccinating Needle: Benjamin Ruben Jewish
Polio Vaccine Jonas Salk Jewish
Leukemia Drug Gertrude Elion Jewish
Hepatitis B
Baruch Blumberg Jewish
Syphilis Drug Paul Ehrlich Jewish
Neuro muscular Elie Metchnikoff Jewish
Endocrinology Andrew Schally Jewish
Cognitive therapy Aaron Beck Jewish
Contraceptive Pill Gregory Pincus Jewish
Understanding of Human Eye G. Wald Jewish
Embryology Stanley Cohen Jewish
Kidney Dialysis Willem Kloffcame Jewish
Inventions that changed History
Micro- Processing Chip. Stanley Mezor Jewish
Nuclear Chain Reactor. Leo Sziland Jewish
Optical Fibre Cable Peter Schultz Jewish
Traffic Lights Charles Adler Jewish
Stainless Steel Benno Strauss Jewish
Sound Movies Isador Kisee Jewish
Telephone Microphone Emile Berliner Jewish
Video Tape Recorder Charles Ginsburg Jewish
Individuals who changed course of History
Albert Einstein Jewish
Sigmund Freud Jewish
Karl Marx Jewish
Paul Samuelson Jewish
Milton Friedman Jewish
Apart from that, most of multi nationals and transnational companies are either owned or managed by Jews. It is amazing to note that 14 Million Jews have produced 180 Nobel Prize Winners; and 1.5 billion Muslims have only managed 3 Nobel Prizes. Dr Abdus Salam was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, and had distinction of being the first Pakistani and the first Muslim Nobel Prize Winner.
He belonged to Ahmedi Sect of Islam which was declared non Muslim in Pakistan. In early 1960s he played a leading role in establishing the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) - the atomic research agency, and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Also he was instrumental in setting up five Superior Science colleges throughout Pakistan to further the progress in science in the country. Despite these achievements life was made difficult for him and this genius was forced to leave the country and settle in Italy where he set up International Centre for Theoretical Physics. In other words Italy benefitted from his wisdom and knowledge, and Pakistan didn't because his religious faith was different to majority of the Pakistani people.
One can also see how India treated its Muslim scientist, Dr Abdul Kalam, and elected him as a President of India; and Pakistan imprisoned its top Scientist, Dr Qadeer Khan who provided nuclear weapons and a series of very advance missile system to bolster defence of pakistan. If Centerfuges and other materials were given to other countries in contrvention of international laws he could not have done this without help and support of senior army and government officials, then why make him scapgoat?
The attitude explained above speaks volumes about love and care Muslims have for knowledge and research. Even in the 21st Century, in Pakistan millions of people have no access to education, and where schools are built they are systematically burnt down or blown out by bombs. Muslims are fast losing interest in education and benefits it could provide because they think they can become rich by other means which might not be legal. Also value of our education is constantly declining; and our ability to provide quality training and produce knowledge is shrinking. As a result of this Muslims are becoming less competitive in every field.
There are 57 Muslim Countries in the world with enormous resources, and yet there are only 500 universities in the Muslim World; and none of the universities in the entire Islamic World rank in the top 500 universities of the world. On the other hand the USA alone has 5,758 universities. In Christian countries 40% of population attend university; and in Muslim countries only 2% make to universities.
Even Pakistan's neighbour and Third World country, India has 8,407 universities; and Indian scientists, doctors and engineers are performing crucial role in advanced societies of the world. It is on strength of this, after the Mumbai carnage one USA based Indian wrote to me that India has softwere engineers, scientists and doctors to 'export', and Pakistan can only 'export drugs and terrorists'.
So problem is lack of educational and high tech training facilities, our failure to learn new knowledge; and our wrong priorities and failure to provide resources for education and research has put us where we are today. And instead of learning from our past mistakes and sorting out our priorities we Muslims, especially Muslims of South Asia like to shift blame to others by saying that it is Jewish, Hindu or American conspiracy.
A prominent Kashmiri journalist, Sardar Zia Mahmood who has kindly provided me this data, while talking to me said, 'One cause of extremism and terrorism is our inability to educate our young people and provide adequate opportunities for those who worked hard to get qualifications'. He further said, 'If we want to combat terrorism and extremism then we have to divert resources to educate and train people and promote culture of tolerance and democratic values'.
Dr Shabir Choudhry is a Spokesman of Kashmir National Party, political analyst and author of many books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.
Source
Homosexuality is a Dangerous Mental Disorder
FYI ..
LONDON - A new study in the United Kingdom has revealed that homosexuals are about 50% more likely to suffer from depression and engage in substance abuse than the rest of the population, reports Health24.com.
After analyzing 25 earlier studies on sexual orientation and mental health, researchers, in a study published in the medical journal BMC Psychiatry, also found that the risk of suicide jumped over 200% if an individual had engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.
These findings strongly support the results of similar studies conducted in the United States, which have unveiled the severe physical and psychological health risks associated with homosexual behavior. Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron of the Family Research Institute revealed in 2007 that research shows that the lifespan of a homosexual is on average 24 years shorter than that of a heterosexual. As a health threat, even smoking pales in comparison, as studies show smoking can shorten one's life by only 1 to 7 years on average.
While the Health 24 article suggested that homosexuals may be pushed to substance abuse and suicide because of anti-homosexual cultural and family pressures, empirical tests have shown that there is no difference in homosexual health risk depending on the level of tolerance in a particular environment. Homosexuals in the United States and Denmark - the latter of which is acknowledged to be highly tolerant of homosexuality - both die on average in their early 50's, or in their 40's if AIDS is the cause of death. The average age for all residents in either country ranges from the mid-to-upper-70s.
Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist and member of the Catholic Medical Association, says there is evidence that homosexuality is itself a manifestation of a psychological disorder accompanied by a host of mental health problems, including "major depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, conduct disorder, low self-esteem in males and sexual promiscuity with an inability to maintain committed relationships."
Fitzgibbons said the American Psychological Association, which is known for its support of homosexual "marriage," ignored the evidence he presented that homosexuality presents significant danger to psychological health.
Source
LONDON - A new study in the United Kingdom has revealed that homosexuals are about 50% more likely to suffer from depression and engage in substance abuse than the rest of the population, reports Health24.com.
After analyzing 25 earlier studies on sexual orientation and mental health, researchers, in a study published in the medical journal BMC Psychiatry, also found that the risk of suicide jumped over 200% if an individual had engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.
These findings strongly support the results of similar studies conducted in the United States, which have unveiled the severe physical and psychological health risks associated with homosexual behavior. Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron of the Family Research Institute revealed in 2007 that research shows that the lifespan of a homosexual is on average 24 years shorter than that of a heterosexual. As a health threat, even smoking pales in comparison, as studies show smoking can shorten one's life by only 1 to 7 years on average.
While the Health 24 article suggested that homosexuals may be pushed to substance abuse and suicide because of anti-homosexual cultural and family pressures, empirical tests have shown that there is no difference in homosexual health risk depending on the level of tolerance in a particular environment. Homosexuals in the United States and Denmark - the latter of which is acknowledged to be highly tolerant of homosexuality - both die on average in their early 50's, or in their 40's if AIDS is the cause of death. The average age for all residents in either country ranges from the mid-to-upper-70s.
Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist and member of the Catholic Medical Association, says there is evidence that homosexuality is itself a manifestation of a psychological disorder accompanied by a host of mental health problems, including "major depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, conduct disorder, low self-esteem in males and sexual promiscuity with an inability to maintain committed relationships."
Fitzgibbons said the American Psychological Association, which is known for its support of homosexual "marriage," ignored the evidence he presented that homosexuality presents significant danger to psychological health.
Source
Welcome Mossad !
In 'The Real Trade of CIA and Mossad,' Paul J. Balles, a retired American professor and free lance writer says: ‘’CIA in America and Mossad in Israel should have been prize winners as terrorists, because in dozen of situations around the world they have indulged their love of instilling fear in innocent people. If the bombing, invasion and occupation of Iraq were not terrorism at its worst, it is only because of the death of 4098 Americans is a more important statistics than the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.’’
- Quoted in 'Mainstream' Vol XLVI No 48, Terrorism Inc.: Nexus between CIA and Mossad by Shyam Chand, 16 November 2008
The discussion and debate generated by the bloody terror attack in Bombay allegedly carried out by the dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba still continues. While relations between India and Pakistan have reached a new low, the only saving grace of the unfolding situation is that the war of words did not transcend the level of rhetoric and ruling elites of both countries showed wisdom in not precipitating the matter further. Looking at the growing people to people relations between the two countries, and a significant section of the Pakistani people having expressed words of sympathy after the terrorist attack, one just hopes that the relations between these neighbours become normal in near future.
Of course, as far as Mossad- the notorious intelligence agency of Israel - is concerned, the terror attack had a very 'positive fallout'.One finds its growing mention in the Indian media as well as polity as a role model supposedly for 'being successful' in 'curbing the terrorist menace' inside Israel.
Interestingly all such ignoramuses ranging from the Barkhas to the Arnabs bother to know the fifty plus year old trajectory of the organisation which is formally responsible for intelligence collection but basically engaged in counter-terrorism, covert operations and paramilitary activities and political assassinations.One could say that it is part of amnesia that none from the chatterati brigade wants to take a critical as well as dispassionate look at its 'myth of success' vis-a-vis the Palestinian militants nor do they want know the terrorist acts engaged in by the agency to stigmatise its opponents.
It need be told that Mossad was formed on December 13, 1949 as the "Central Institute for Coordination", at the recommendation of Reuven Shiloah to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. In March 1951, it was reorganized and made a part of the prime minister's office, reporting directly to the prime minister. Mossad's former motto can be translated with softer words as "For by wise counsel thou shalt wage thy war," and claim it is a quote from the bible (Proverbs XXIV,6).The motto was changed recently as part of the Mossad's public 'coming out' to another Proverbs passage: "Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs XI, 14)
In fact it was a marker of the growing legitimacy of Mossad that it found a respectable mention when top industrialists from Karnataka met with Mr Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister of the state recently. The delegation was led by Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of the 'Biocon' fame and Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai. It had gone there to convey their concern about the deteriorating security situation in the state.According to a report published in DNA, they were categorical in their demands. ..“AK-47s, grenades and other modern weaponry and equipment are needed. Military patrolling should also be arranged.”The Biocon CEO suggested creating a well-equipped crack anti-terrorist squad in Karnataka. The possibilities of getting them trained by Israeli secret service Mossad should be explored, she said. ((DNA, Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:51 IST)
For any close watcher of the bloody track record of Mossad the sanitisation of the agency was disturbing.
Perhaps one rather felt that the changed ambience in the country vis-a-vis the infamous intellgence agency is due to the growing proximity of the Indian and Israeli regimes on the issue of counter-insurgency.Apart from seeking arms it is also clear that India sought help of Israeli Defence Force in the Kashmir conflict. A senior commander of the Israeli army Maj Gen Avi Mirzahi even paid an unscheunscheduled visit to Kashmir '..to get an up-close look at the challenges the Indian military faces in its fight against Islamic insurgents.Mizrahi was in India for three days of meetings with the country’s military brass and to discuss a plan the IDF is drafting for Israeli commandos to train Indian counterterror forces.Under the proposed agreement, the IDF would send highly-trained commandos to train Indian soldiers in counterterror tactics, urban warfare and fighting in guerrilla settings.' (Sep. 14, 2008 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST)
It was only few months back that Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply in the Parliament had made a startling revealation about the military and strategic relationship between the two countries. In fact it was reported that India had concluded defence contracts with Israel worth $2.76 billion between 2002-2005. Looking at these figures it is apparent that Tel Aviv is the second largest supplier of military equipment to Delhi after Russia.
The logical fallout of the new found love for the Israeli regime and the attempts to imitate its'success' in reining in the 'extremist' elements, is that no section of the Indian media reported that Mossad was found to be propping up 'Islamic terrorist' groups in mid-east.
Sometime back a 'splinter group' of Al-Qaeda was found to be involved in a terrorist attack in Yemen. As it happens in all such attacks innocent people were killed and property worth billions of Rs was destroyed. The Yemenese police could nab the culprits with its efficient handling of the case. But police officials and the people in power were in for surprise when they discovered that the splinter group was propped up by Mossad, the dreaded intelligence wing of Israel's Zionist regime.
Dubai, Oct 8 (IANS) A terrorist cell busted in Yemen last month after a suicide attack on the US embassy there had links with an Israeli intelligence agency, the state-run Saba news agency reported.The report, quoting an unnamed source, said investigations and data retrieved from a computer seized from the cell, showed there was correspondence between the Islamic Jihad group’s deputy leader Bassam Abdullah Fadhel Al-Haidari and an Israeli intelligence agency Question naturally arises, was it for the first time that Mossad had propped up 'Islamic terrorist' groups ? 'The Week', a leading newsmagazine in the subcontinent had done a special story way back in 2000 (Aborted Mission: Investigation: Did Mossad attempt to infiltrate Islamic radical outfits in south Asia? by Subir Bhaumik, February 6, 2000, http://www.the-week.com/20feb06/events2.htm) showing how the Indian intelligence agencies had nabbed a group of Islamic radicals in Kolkatta airport for their 'suspicious' looking activities and discovered to their dismay that this group was going to Dhaka on a special mission at the behest of Israel.
On January 12 Indian intelligence officials in Calcutta detained 11 foreign nationals for interrogation before they were to board a Dhaka-bound Bangladesh Biman flight. They were detained on the suspicion of being hijackers.“But we realised that they were tabliqis (Islamic preachers), so we let them go,” said an intelligence official. They had planned to attend an Islamic convention near Dhaka, but Bangladesh refused them visa. Later, seemingly under Israeli pressure, India allowed them to fly to Tel Aviv.
According to Indian intelligence officials,
"..[T]el Aviv “exerted considerable pressure” on Delhi to secure their release. “It appeared that they could be working for a sensitive organisation in Israel and were on a mission to Bangladesh,” the official said. The Israeli intelligence outfit, Mossad, is known to recruit Shia Muslims to penetrate Islamic radical networks.".... ”It is not unlikely for Mossad to recruit 11 Afghans in Iran and grant them Israeli citizenship to penetrate a network such as Bin Laden’s. They would begin by infiltrating them into an Islamic radical group in an unlikely place like Bangladesh,” said intelligence analyst Ashok Debbarma. The pressure exerted on India by Israel for the release of the men, and the hurry with which they were flown back suggested an aborted operation’.
Mossad watchers say the operation was possibly blown off by “unwelcome intervention” in a friendly country, and they decided to pull out. The 'aborted mission' in India reminded one of the 'Operation Susannah' better known as 'Lavon affair' way back in 1954 when the nascent Israeli state witnessed a power struggle between the Prime Minister Moshe Sharret and defence minister Lavon. In an article written after the Mumbai terror attack, a south African scholar Saber Ahmed Jazbhay( 01 December, 2008 Media Monitors) provides details of the action by Jewish terrorists when they blew up British and American targets in Egypt. In fact
"[t]he intention was to blame it on the Egyptian regime headed at the time by Gamal Abdel Nasser but the affair was blown and the ring leaders, all Jewish were apprehended and a few were hanged whilst those who survived the usual prison ordeal were forgotten about in Egyptian jails. It was only in 2005 that the Israelis acknowledged involvement when President at the time,Moshe Katsav,honoured the nine Israeli agents who were involved. (For further details refer “The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics. and the Formation of Modern Diaspora” by Joel Beinin
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/ view?docId=ft2290045n;brand=eschol view?docId=ft2290045n;brand=eschol)
Looking at the long history of the dreaded Mossad in engaging all sorts of covert operations including exporting 'Islamic Jihad' of a certain kind, would it be asking too much that the new apologists of the agency revisit its fifty plus year old history and then decide.
Source
- Quoted in 'Mainstream' Vol XLVI No 48, Terrorism Inc.: Nexus between CIA and Mossad by Shyam Chand, 16 November 2008
The discussion and debate generated by the bloody terror attack in Bombay allegedly carried out by the dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba still continues. While relations between India and Pakistan have reached a new low, the only saving grace of the unfolding situation is that the war of words did not transcend the level of rhetoric and ruling elites of both countries showed wisdom in not precipitating the matter further. Looking at the growing people to people relations between the two countries, and a significant section of the Pakistani people having expressed words of sympathy after the terrorist attack, one just hopes that the relations between these neighbours become normal in near future.
Of course, as far as Mossad- the notorious intelligence agency of Israel - is concerned, the terror attack had a very 'positive fallout'.One finds its growing mention in the Indian media as well as polity as a role model supposedly for 'being successful' in 'curbing the terrorist menace' inside Israel.
Interestingly all such ignoramuses ranging from the Barkhas to the Arnabs bother to know the fifty plus year old trajectory of the organisation which is formally responsible for intelligence collection but basically engaged in counter-terrorism, covert operations and paramilitary activities and political assassinations.One could say that it is part of amnesia that none from the chatterati brigade wants to take a critical as well as dispassionate look at its 'myth of success' vis-a-vis the Palestinian militants nor do they want know the terrorist acts engaged in by the agency to stigmatise its opponents.
It need be told that Mossad was formed on December 13, 1949 as the "Central Institute for Coordination", at the recommendation of Reuven Shiloah to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. In March 1951, it was reorganized and made a part of the prime minister's office, reporting directly to the prime minister. Mossad's former motto can be translated with softer words as "For by wise counsel thou shalt wage thy war," and claim it is a quote from the bible (Proverbs XXIV,6).The motto was changed recently as part of the Mossad's public 'coming out' to another Proverbs passage: "Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs XI, 14)
In fact it was a marker of the growing legitimacy of Mossad that it found a respectable mention when top industrialists from Karnataka met with Mr Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister of the state recently. The delegation was led by Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of the 'Biocon' fame and Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai. It had gone there to convey their concern about the deteriorating security situation in the state.According to a report published in DNA, they were categorical in their demands. ..“AK-47s, grenades and other modern weaponry and equipment are needed. Military patrolling should also be arranged.”The Biocon CEO suggested creating a well-equipped crack anti-terrorist squad in Karnataka. The possibilities of getting them trained by Israeli secret service Mossad should be explored, she said. ((DNA, Sunday, November 30, 2008 01:51 IST)
For any close watcher of the bloody track record of Mossad the sanitisation of the agency was disturbing.
Perhaps one rather felt that the changed ambience in the country vis-a-vis the infamous intellgence agency is due to the growing proximity of the Indian and Israeli regimes on the issue of counter-insurgency.Apart from seeking arms it is also clear that India sought help of Israeli Defence Force in the Kashmir conflict. A senior commander of the Israeli army Maj Gen Avi Mirzahi even paid an unscheunscheduled visit to Kashmir '..to get an up-close look at the challenges the Indian military faces in its fight against Islamic insurgents.Mizrahi was in India for three days of meetings with the country’s military brass and to discuss a plan the IDF is drafting for Israeli commandos to train Indian counterterror forces.Under the proposed agreement, the IDF would send highly-trained commandos to train Indian soldiers in counterterror tactics, urban warfare and fighting in guerrilla settings.' (Sep. 14, 2008 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST)
It was only few months back that Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply in the Parliament had made a startling revealation about the military and strategic relationship between the two countries. In fact it was reported that India had concluded defence contracts with Israel worth $2.76 billion between 2002-2005. Looking at these figures it is apparent that Tel Aviv is the second largest supplier of military equipment to Delhi after Russia.
The logical fallout of the new found love for the Israeli regime and the attempts to imitate its'success' in reining in the 'extremist' elements, is that no section of the Indian media reported that Mossad was found to be propping up 'Islamic terrorist' groups in mid-east.
Sometime back a 'splinter group' of Al-Qaeda was found to be involved in a terrorist attack in Yemen. As it happens in all such attacks innocent people were killed and property worth billions of Rs was destroyed. The Yemenese police could nab the culprits with its efficient handling of the case. But police officials and the people in power were in for surprise when they discovered that the splinter group was propped up by Mossad, the dreaded intelligence wing of Israel's Zionist regime.
Dubai, Oct 8 (IANS) A terrorist cell busted in Yemen last month after a suicide attack on the US embassy there had links with an Israeli intelligence agency, the state-run Saba news agency reported.The report, quoting an unnamed source, said investigations and data retrieved from a computer seized from the cell, showed there was correspondence between the Islamic Jihad group’s deputy leader Bassam Abdullah Fadhel Al-Haidari and an Israeli intelligence agency Question naturally arises, was it for the first time that Mossad had propped up 'Islamic terrorist' groups ? 'The Week', a leading newsmagazine in the subcontinent had done a special story way back in 2000 (Aborted Mission: Investigation: Did Mossad attempt to infiltrate Islamic radical outfits in south Asia? by Subir Bhaumik, February 6, 2000, http://www.the-week.com/20feb06/events2.htm) showing how the Indian intelligence agencies had nabbed a group of Islamic radicals in Kolkatta airport for their 'suspicious' looking activities and discovered to their dismay that this group was going to Dhaka on a special mission at the behest of Israel.
On January 12 Indian intelligence officials in Calcutta detained 11 foreign nationals for interrogation before they were to board a Dhaka-bound Bangladesh Biman flight. They were detained on the suspicion of being hijackers.“But we realised that they were tabliqis (Islamic preachers), so we let them go,” said an intelligence official. They had planned to attend an Islamic convention near Dhaka, but Bangladesh refused them visa. Later, seemingly under Israeli pressure, India allowed them to fly to Tel Aviv.
According to Indian intelligence officials,
"..[T]el Aviv “exerted considerable pressure” on Delhi to secure their release. “It appeared that they could be working for a sensitive organisation in Israel and were on a mission to Bangladesh,” the official said. The Israeli intelligence outfit, Mossad, is known to recruit Shia Muslims to penetrate Islamic radical networks.".... ”It is not unlikely for Mossad to recruit 11 Afghans in Iran and grant them Israeli citizenship to penetrate a network such as Bin Laden’s. They would begin by infiltrating them into an Islamic radical group in an unlikely place like Bangladesh,” said intelligence analyst Ashok Debbarma. The pressure exerted on India by Israel for the release of the men, and the hurry with which they were flown back suggested an aborted operation’.
Mossad watchers say the operation was possibly blown off by “unwelcome intervention” in a friendly country, and they decided to pull out. The 'aborted mission' in India reminded one of the 'Operation Susannah' better known as 'Lavon affair' way back in 1954 when the nascent Israeli state witnessed a power struggle between the Prime Minister Moshe Sharret and defence minister Lavon. In an article written after the Mumbai terror attack, a south African scholar Saber Ahmed Jazbhay( 01 December, 2008 Media Monitors) provides details of the action by Jewish terrorists when they blew up British and American targets in Egypt. In fact
"[t]he intention was to blame it on the Egyptian regime headed at the time by Gamal Abdel Nasser but the affair was blown and the ring leaders, all Jewish were apprehended and a few were hanged whilst those who survived the usual prison ordeal were forgotten about in Egyptian jails. It was only in 2005 that the Israelis acknowledged involvement when President at the time,Moshe Katsav,honoured the nine Israeli agents who were involved. (For further details refer “The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics. and the Formation of Modern Diaspora” by Joel Beinin
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/ view?docId=ft2290045n;brand=eschol view?docId=ft2290045n;brand=eschol)
Looking at the long history of the dreaded Mossad in engaging all sorts of covert operations including exporting 'Islamic Jihad' of a certain kind, would it be asking too much that the new apologists of the agency revisit its fifty plus year old history and then decide.
Source
Bangalore IT Seeks Mossad Help
BANGALORTE: IT/BT and hotel industry leaders vented their ire at the carnage in Mumbai at a high-level meeting with Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa here on Saturday.
The disillusioned business community demanded automatic weapons and military cover, besides private security, to safeguard its interests.
Leading the discussion with ill-concealed disgust were two of India Inc’s leading voices — Biocon CEO Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai.
They were categorical in their demands. Mazumdar-Shaw said, “There was huge delay in rushing NSG commandos to Mumbai. The ill-equipped police force is just not enough to meet the challenge posed by terrorists. It is too much to expect of private security systems of business houses to tackle terror.
“AK-47s, grenades and other modern weaponry and equipment are needed. Military patrolling should also be arranged.”
The Biocon CEO suggested creating a well-equipped crack anti-terrorist squad in Karnataka. The possibilities of getting them trained by Israeli secret service Mossad should be explored, she said.
Pai was even more vocal. Tone loaded with sarcasm and despair, he said, “Amend the law to enable us to get machine guns to defend ourselves. There is no other option. I am sorry to say this but we are defenceless. A police force with obsolete arms and poor training cannot instill confidence in people.”
The chief minister was left with little choice but to promise foolproof security to investors. He said no stone would be left unturned to build industry confidence.
Source
The disillusioned business community demanded automatic weapons and military cover, besides private security, to safeguard its interests.
Leading the discussion with ill-concealed disgust were two of India Inc’s leading voices — Biocon CEO Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai.
They were categorical in their demands. Mazumdar-Shaw said, “There was huge delay in rushing NSG commandos to Mumbai. The ill-equipped police force is just not enough to meet the challenge posed by terrorists. It is too much to expect of private security systems of business houses to tackle terror.
“AK-47s, grenades and other modern weaponry and equipment are needed. Military patrolling should also be arranged.”
The Biocon CEO suggested creating a well-equipped crack anti-terrorist squad in Karnataka. The possibilities of getting them trained by Israeli secret service Mossad should be explored, she said.
Pai was even more vocal. Tone loaded with sarcasm and despair, he said, “Amend the law to enable us to get machine guns to defend ourselves. There is no other option. I am sorry to say this but we are defenceless. A police force with obsolete arms and poor training cannot instill confidence in people.”
The chief minister was left with little choice but to promise foolproof security to investors. He said no stone would be left unturned to build industry confidence.
Source
What killed Hemant Karkare ?-Part II
So the minister of minority affairs, A.R. Antulay, is back in limelight and every TV channel is busy covering his antics. He is the same person who was promoted by Indira Gandhi in the early 80s to become the first Muslim CM of Maharashtra and later removed from power when he turned her name into a commercial enterprise. By the 1980s, he was a spent force and barely able to win his seat. Disgraced, ignored and denied access to the high command, it took him years before he could crawl back into the corridors of power. Even then, he could never regain the prominence and command the center stage as he once did.
But now he has come up with a brilliant move. By linking the BJP and Hindutva brigade to the recent attacks in Mumbai he has scored a major victory. The Congress will find it hard to denounce him for fear of ‘hurting’ Muslim sentiments. The right wing Hindutva lunatics will target him which inter alia will help rally the Muslims behind him. He has already earned the support of Syed Shahbuddin who himself lost no opportunity to jump into the arena once again. Like Antulay, Shahbuddin is a spent force. After hogging the limelight in the sorry saga of Shah Bano, he too has been languishing away from the front pages and TV studios. The folly of the Shah Bano episode perhaps dawned on the Muslim community for they refused to elect him as their leader. Now, he too has gained a foothold and we can be certain that he will soon make his way back to the TV and radio studios.
Clearly, both these gentlemen and their brethren cutting across party lines have no interest in independent and impartial investigation into the Malegaon bombing or, for that matter, any other case. Since it is absolutely clear that Hemant Karkare died at the hands of the two terrorists attacking the railway station and the hospital, Antulay wants us to know why he went ‘in the wrong direction’. After all, he reasons, police officers should run to help the VIP rather than the common folks. Why would Karkare act differently unless forced by someone else? This perhaps implies that the Hindu terrorists must have acted in cohort with the Pak militants to get Karkare out of his investigation! Antulay does not have to say this directly but his questions certainly raises an interesting possibility of cooperation between extremists breaking religious and ideological divides. (But Syed Shahbuddin is around to say what Antulay will not say. He has issued a statement saying, "What Shri Antulay has hinted at, and which I endorse, is that there might have been a parallel conspiracy to silence Karkare and an elimination squad may have been following him. When they got an opportunity in the noise and dust generated by the terrorist attack, they killed him.)
Now, it is one thing to question the facts of an encounter, which by itself is a perfectly legitimate exercise. It is also perfectly legitimate to articulate the apprehensions held by sufficiently large sections of the population. But in this case, the whole manner seems to be an exercise designed to do nothing but feed the fears and rumour-mongering that has not abated since the "encounter" at Delhi's Batla House. Far from alleviating any legitimate Muslim grievance, Mr Antualy seems actually to be ensuring a further deepening of a persecution complex and damaging the credibility of the justice system in the country.
Now, to come back to the facts of the case. There can be many plausible reasons for Hemant Karkae to choose the particular direction he did. I think a simple one is that as the head of ATS and, perhaps realizing the danger to hundreds of commuters in that area, he preferred to first lead his men towards the north rather than to the hotels which had a smaller number of people. Obviously, just as was the case with news channels, the information coming to him would also have been hazy and unclear.
Source
But now he has come up with a brilliant move. By linking the BJP and Hindutva brigade to the recent attacks in Mumbai he has scored a major victory. The Congress will find it hard to denounce him for fear of ‘hurting’ Muslim sentiments. The right wing Hindutva lunatics will target him which inter alia will help rally the Muslims behind him. He has already earned the support of Syed Shahbuddin who himself lost no opportunity to jump into the arena once again. Like Antulay, Shahbuddin is a spent force. After hogging the limelight in the sorry saga of Shah Bano, he too has been languishing away from the front pages and TV studios. The folly of the Shah Bano episode perhaps dawned on the Muslim community for they refused to elect him as their leader. Now, he too has gained a foothold and we can be certain that he will soon make his way back to the TV and radio studios.
Clearly, both these gentlemen and their brethren cutting across party lines have no interest in independent and impartial investigation into the Malegaon bombing or, for that matter, any other case. Since it is absolutely clear that Hemant Karkare died at the hands of the two terrorists attacking the railway station and the hospital, Antulay wants us to know why he went ‘in the wrong direction’. After all, he reasons, police officers should run to help the VIP rather than the common folks. Why would Karkare act differently unless forced by someone else? This perhaps implies that the Hindu terrorists must have acted in cohort with the Pak militants to get Karkare out of his investigation! Antulay does not have to say this directly but his questions certainly raises an interesting possibility of cooperation between extremists breaking religious and ideological divides. (But Syed Shahbuddin is around to say what Antulay will not say. He has issued a statement saying, "What Shri Antulay has hinted at, and which I endorse, is that there might have been a parallel conspiracy to silence Karkare and an elimination squad may have been following him. When they got an opportunity in the noise and dust generated by the terrorist attack, they killed him.)
Now, it is one thing to question the facts of an encounter, which by itself is a perfectly legitimate exercise. It is also perfectly legitimate to articulate the apprehensions held by sufficiently large sections of the population. But in this case, the whole manner seems to be an exercise designed to do nothing but feed the fears and rumour-mongering that has not abated since the "encounter" at Delhi's Batla House. Far from alleviating any legitimate Muslim grievance, Mr Antualy seems actually to be ensuring a further deepening of a persecution complex and damaging the credibility of the justice system in the country.
Now, to come back to the facts of the case. There can be many plausible reasons for Hemant Karkae to choose the particular direction he did. I think a simple one is that as the head of ATS and, perhaps realizing the danger to hundreds of commuters in that area, he preferred to first lead his men towards the north rather than to the hotels which had a smaller number of people. Obviously, just as was the case with news channels, the information coming to him would also have been hazy and unclear.
Source
Laksmi Killed these Men in America
Duncan Greenberg, Forbes.com
Last year casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was on top of the world. When the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans was published in September 2007, the gruff son of a Boston cab driver--who spent his life amassing a mega-fortune in conventions and casinos--was worth $28 billion.
A month later, shares of his Las Vegas Sands casino company had swelled to an all-time high of $144 a share, adding another $10 billion to Adelson's fortune. Between September 2006 and September 2007, he made $20.5 million per day.
Proud of his accomplishments, the plutocrat reportedly adopted a new nickname. According to a 2008 article in The New Yorker magazine, he began referring to himself as "Sheldon Adelson the 3rd," a nod to his place on our list as America's third-richest citizen. (Adelson's spokesman declined to comment for this story.)
That was before the economy fell apart.
Adelson tops the Forbes list of America's 25 biggest losers of 2008, an estimate of the largest drops (in dollars) of American citizens holding publicly traded stocks from Jan. 2, 2008 to Dec. 5, 2008. It excludes shares bought or sold during that period. Fortunes tied to privately held companies were not evaluated; they will be re-tallied for our list of the World's Billionaires in March.
Following Adelson in the loss column is America's second-richest man, Warren Buffett.
Kerkorian lost billions in his casino, oil and auto stakes. His largest holding, MGM Mirage, is down 87% since January. He also recently disclosed he sold a significant portion of his shares of Ford at a loss.
Tycoons who own major stakes in publicly traded hedge funds and private equity shops have been hit especially hard. Stephen Schwarzman's 234 million shares in Blackstone Group were worth $5.2 billion 11 months ago. The stock has fallen 72% since then, reducing the value of Schwarzman's stake to $1.5 billion--a loss of $3.8 billion.
Wesley Edens, co-founder of hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, watched his fortune dwindle as investor redemptions soared at the company's flagship fund. Edens, along with partners Michael Novogratz and Peter Briger, was a member of The Forbes 400 in 2007, but since January has lost $1 billion as Fortress shares fell 89%. Today his stake in the company is worth $130 million; it's doubtful he will regain his billionaire status in the near future.
Four 10-figure fortunes were wiped out by the collapse of insurance giant AIG. Among them: Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. The spry insurance veteran's shares of AIG were worth $2.6 billion in January. Today those shares are worth less than $100 million.
Source
Last year casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was on top of the world. When the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans was published in September 2007, the gruff son of a Boston cab driver--who spent his life amassing a mega-fortune in conventions and casinos--was worth $28 billion.
A month later, shares of his Las Vegas Sands casino company had swelled to an all-time high of $144 a share, adding another $10 billion to Adelson's fortune. Between September 2006 and September 2007, he made $20.5 million per day.
Proud of his accomplishments, the plutocrat reportedly adopted a new nickname. According to a 2008 article in The New Yorker magazine, he began referring to himself as "Sheldon Adelson the 3rd," a nod to his place on our list as America's third-richest citizen. (Adelson's spokesman declined to comment for this story.)
That was before the economy fell apart.
Since the beginning of 2008, LVS shares have plummeted 95%, erasing $24 billion from Adelson's fortune as cost-conscious consumers stay away from casinos in Las Vegas and Macau. When the next Forbes 400 is published in September 2009, Adelson will likely be vying just to stay on the list unless the economy rapidly recovers. (He's doing everything he can to stay rich: This fall Adelson injected $1 billion of his own cash into LVS to help keep the company afloat).
Adelson tops the Forbes list of America's 25 biggest losers of 2008, an estimate of the largest drops (in dollars) of American citizens holding publicly traded stocks from Jan. 2, 2008 to Dec. 5, 2008. It excludes shares bought or sold during that period. Fortunes tied to privately held companies were not evaluated; they will be re-tallied for our list of the World's Billionaires in March.
Combined, the tycoons on our ranking lost $167 billion in 11 months, while shares of the companies in which they own stakes fell an average 59%.
Following Adelson in the loss column is America's second-richest man, Warren Buffett.
The Oracle of Omaha (who held the title of world's richest man in March) lost $16.5 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell 28% this year.
Software visionary Bill Gates was America's third-biggest loser; he watched his shares of Microsoft decline 45%, wiping $12.3 billion off his personal balance sheet in 11 months.
Rounding out the top five biggest losers: investor Kirk Kerkorian and Google Co-founder Larry Page, who each lost $11.9 billion. Page's Google shares shed 59% of their value this year.
Kerkorian lost billions in his casino, oil and auto stakes. His largest holding, MGM Mirage, is down 87% since January. He also recently disclosed he sold a significant portion of his shares of Ford at a loss.
Tycoons who own major stakes in publicly traded hedge funds and private equity shops have been hit especially hard. Stephen Schwarzman's 234 million shares in Blackstone Group were worth $5.2 billion 11 months ago. The stock has fallen 72% since then, reducing the value of Schwarzman's stake to $1.5 billion--a loss of $3.8 billion.
Wesley Edens, co-founder of hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, watched his fortune dwindle as investor redemptions soared at the company's flagship fund. Edens, along with partners Michael Novogratz and Peter Briger, was a member of The Forbes 400 in 2007, but since January has lost $1 billion as Fortress shares fell 89%. Today his stake in the company is worth $130 million; it's doubtful he will regain his billionaire status in the near future.
Four 10-figure fortunes were wiped out by the collapse of insurance giant AIG. Among them: Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. The spry insurance veteran's shares of AIG were worth $2.6 billion in January. Today those shares are worth less than $100 million.
Source
Monday, December 22, 2008
Indonesia Keeps the Virus
THE world is still ignorant about how the most feared strain of bird flu is evolving. That's because a meeting to persuade Indonesia - which has had the most cases of human H5N1 flu since 2005 - to share its virus samples ended in disagreement.
These samples are needed to develop vaccines and monitor genetic changes that indicate whether the virus is adapting to spread among people. Indonesia claims that sending samples helps foreigners but not the Indonesians themselves.
At the latest World Health Organization meeting aimed at breaking the impasse, in Geneva last week, countries agreed in principle that virus samples, and the benefits that come with having them, should be shared.The main stumbling block is that pharmaceutical companies, mainly in rich countries, patent and sell vaccines and there is no legal framework for a contract that would share these profits with the countries that provided the samples, nor to guarantee these countries access to a vaccine in a pandemic.
India, Brazil, Nigeria and Iran also charged that rich countries are more interested in sharing viruses than benefits.
Source
These samples are needed to develop vaccines and monitor genetic changes that indicate whether the virus is adapting to spread among people. Indonesia claims that sending samples helps foreigners but not the Indonesians themselves.
At the latest World Health Organization meeting aimed at breaking the impasse, in Geneva last week, countries agreed in principle that virus samples, and the benefits that come with having them, should be shared.The main stumbling block is that pharmaceutical companies, mainly in rich countries, patent and sell vaccines and there is no legal framework for a contract that would share these profits with the countries that provided the samples, nor to guarantee these countries access to a vaccine in a pandemic.
India, Brazil, Nigeria and Iran also charged that rich countries are more interested in sharing viruses than benefits.
Source
Why would Pakistan kill Hemant Karkare?
Opinion from Pakistan
In the aftermath of Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has emerged as the new Bogeyman for the people living in the West.
While Delhi has been blaming Pakistan for sponsoring a mass murder, a vicious campaign has been launched by the Western media against Pakistan. Accusations are also made by the US and her allies by condemning Pakistan in the context of the Mumbai attacks. And once again Pakistan is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
And while this melodrama of Indian and western media continues, a very basic and simple question that a reasonable man would think of has never been answered: Why ISI or Pakistan based militant organisation would be interested in face saving of Indian army by murdering ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who had already exposed links between right wing Hindu groups and the Malegaon and Samjhuta express incidents, and was in middle of the investigation that was set to expose the secret links between the Hindu terrorists and Indian Army?
A sinister game is being played here that is reaffirmed as Delhi's claims were fully endorsed by the United States and Britain. A carefully orchestrated and well formulated strategy is practised to shape the international opinion regarding Pakistan. Ignoble mention of Pakistani nukes, defamatory statements regarding Pakistan army and her premier spy agency ISI and declaration of Pakistan as the biggest threat to the world security are just a few examples of how well the script written in Washington DC is being executed.
The reality is that Indian accusations are nothing but a pathetic attempt to deflect attention from the plain and obvious failure of the Indian system in looking after its own citizens. India is a country that is beset by ethnic and sectarian strife which has the potential to implode in to a serious threat to India's territorial integrity.
But Pakistan government's decision to clamp down on Jamat ut Dawaa without any evidence only strengthens the Indian claims and plays into the hands of the anti Pakistan propaganda machines.
Gen. David Petraeus, head of CENTCOM, recently said Mumbai attacks were of more significance for Pakistan than India as these attacks comprehended the magnitude of challenges confronting Pakistan. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also blindly accepted India's version of events and showed absolute support for the Indian position by blaming Pakistan for not clamping down on extremism. US senator John Kerry said this Monday that ISI must be tightly controlled and not allowed to act independently.
It is quite clear now that America, together with India and Britain, is building up a case against Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, used the Mumbai incident as a pre-text to accuse Pakistan being the epicentre of terrorism and demanded that Pakistan must close down the terror camps. US Senator John McCain during his recent visit to Pakistan is believed to have threatened Pakistan with the surgical air strikes if Pakistan did not comply to New Delhi's demands.
There were also reports linked with unnamed Indian officials that India is considering a move to launch punitive air strikes to target terror camps in MureedKeh and Muzaffarabad. On 13/12/2008 it was witnessed that two Indian jets entered Pakistan from eastern Lahore and Kashmir Sector. These violations of air space by Indian Air Force were confirmed by the Pakistan Air Force and PAF spokesman stated that the Indian aircrafts intruded up to 4 Km inside Pakistan territory. These stunts were performed by the Indian Air Force to test the readiness and preparations of PAF, according to PAF Air Commodore (Retd.) Jamal Hussein. But according to President Zardari, these violations were a technical mistake on part of IAF to fly jets loaded with weapons and explosives inside Pakistan. One can only feel pity for Mr. Zardari who has lost the sense of generating thinking and reaching to obvious conclusions.
Some weeks ago, Mr. Zardari also labelled Kashmiris who are opposed to Indian rule as terrorists. This outrageous move was aimed to distance Pakistan from the 70,000 Muslims of Kashmir who gave away their life for the cause of freedom and many more who are still living with a hope that one day they will be liberated from Indian aggression. This statement from Mr. Zardari sparked mammoth rallies throughout held-Kashmir and for the first time in the history of Kashmiri struggle, it was witnessed that the effigies of a Pakistani leader were burned.
On the geopolitical front, it is now quite evident that for the US, the focal point and the real war is not in Iraq but along the Durrand line in sub-continent as noted by Obama and his strategic gurus. Right wing Hindu parties are gaining popularity in India as a result of Mumbai attacks. BJP, a party of radical Hindu secularists, which cashed in the Kargil incident after 1999 in the general elections, is now again busy in raising the stakes so that it can capitalize on Mumbai attacks. America is overstretched in Iraq and failing in Afghanistan and the economic downturn at home only complicates the situation for her. Now the new circumstances will compel America to hasten the process of making India a regional power. But that requires settlement of Kashmir issue in such a way that favours India. Indian dominance in the region in the short run will help US to ease financial and military burden by the arrival of 100,000 troops that India is ready to despatch to Afghanistan. In the long term, for America the Indian dominance means combating China's rising influence in the global politics. Indian Military presence in Afghanistan will also help America to pressurise Pakistan to maintain its involvement in the unpopular war on terror.
But for America to proceed with her plans for India, a strong Pakistan army is the biggest hurdle. The Islamic elements within Pakistan army are continuously resisting America's attempts to give away Kashmir to India. And India cannot in any situation afford to lock horns with Pakistan militarily. Even America knows that without Pakistan's cooperation, she cannot stay in Afghanistan. So America and India have resorted to other means to malign Pakistan army to make it weak and for past several months they have paced up their efforts in this regard. Tactics employed by Delhi and Washington includes accusing Pakistan of playing double game and supporting Jihadi organisations, and moving of a resolution in the UN to label retired High Ups from Pakistan Army as terrorist to disgrace Pakistan military on the international forum. Indian agencies involvement in Baluchistan is also well known where they are working to weaken Pakistan from inside. Whereas, America has waged an undeclared war on Pakistan as it continues to launch hell fire missiles from CIA controlled unmanned aircrafts inside Pakistan. It is in the interest of both America and India to keep the fire alive in Pakistan and they are doing pretty well.
Instead of Pakistan, it is Washington and Delhi that is playing double game. War mongering propaganda machines have sharpened their knives for Pakistan that exposes the mindset of policy makers in the West. The same pattern was followed when America waged a war on Iraq on the basis of fabricated evidence. Now yet again the notorious terms such as weapons of mass destruction are floated in the media but this time the target is Pakistan. And in recent days Pakistan has also been given titles once reserved for Iraq, like a rogue and failed state by many a think tanks.
And now after Mumbai incident, as the events are unfolding, it is like déjà vu. Just some years ago, after 9/11 a call from Washington DC changed the fortune of hundreds of thousands of people living in the South Asia. And that call was made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Pervez Musharraf who is to go down in history as the Pakistani Gorbachev. It was that time when Musharraf traded Pakistan's sovereignty by submitting to the American pressure that has unleashed a doom in Pakistan resulting in countless civilian deaths and more than 1,400 Pakistani troops also died in the process.
But this time around in 2008, it is Delhi that is exerting pressure on Pakistan to bow down. The Democratic regime of Zardari has performed exceptionally well in continuing the policies of the Dictator Musharraf and this suggests that Zardari's response to the mounting pressure is easily and accurately predictable. The truth is that NRO beneficiary leadership is impotent and is on the same page with Washington and her cronies. It is the failure of Pakistan's political leadership to address growing problems that have left Pakistan in a catastrophic situation as it continues its slide into further chaos.
The situation is continuously deteriorating for Pakistan and the leadership of Pakistan has done nothing to change the course. Rather the PPP led government is singing the mantra that there is nothing we can do except act as we are told by the Washington and accept the US hegemony.
Whereas, the reality is such that Pakistan can change her fortune in matter of days provided there is a sincere leadership that has vision and a ruling system that is in accordance to the whims and desires of ordinary residents and that emanates from the creed that they carry. Now is the time for Pakistan to adopt a firm and dignified approach to counter the existential threats it faces today.
Pakistan is providing 80% of the fuel used by American war machine in Afghanistan. The US is using almost 575,000 gallons of fuel every day. And if Pakistan halts this supply from her refineries then the only alternative source would be a precarious supply route through rugged Central Asia thus effectively crippling the US military. There is no doubt that once Pakistan decides to abandon America it would only be a matter of days that America would have to pack up and leave from Afghanistan. This would enable Pakistan to regain the strategic advantage she had before 9/11.
Pakistan is also self-sufficient on natural gas and has huge reservoirs of coal and minerals. According to Pakistan Economy Watch, only the coal deposits in Thar can change the fate of the country if utilized in a proper way. Dr Murtaza Mughal president of Pakistan Economy Watch in a statement said that 185 billion tonnes of coal worth USD 25 trillion can not only cater the electricity requirements of the country for next 100 years but also save almost four billion dollars in staggering oil import bill annually, reduce unemployment and help strengthen the economy. This amount of coal would equal 615 billion barrels of oil. Changes are also required to be made at the macro and micro level of economic policies if woes of the masses are to be answered.
All Pakistan needs is a new leadership and a new system that has a political will to bring about the change. And that new system is none other than the very reason Pakistan was created for. Pakistan must realise her true potential and rise up to the occasion by realising the dream of becoming a true Islamic state i.e. Khilafah, A Khilafah that lead the world for more than 12 centuries and brought prosperity not only to Muslims but to humanity in general. Muhammad Bilal Qureshi
Source
In the aftermath of Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has emerged as the new Bogeyman for the people living in the West.
While Delhi has been blaming Pakistan for sponsoring a mass murder, a vicious campaign has been launched by the Western media against Pakistan. Accusations are also made by the US and her allies by condemning Pakistan in the context of the Mumbai attacks. And once again Pakistan is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
And while this melodrama of Indian and western media continues, a very basic and simple question that a reasonable man would think of has never been answered: Why ISI or Pakistan based militant organisation would be interested in face saving of Indian army by murdering ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who had already exposed links between right wing Hindu groups and the Malegaon and Samjhuta express incidents, and was in middle of the investigation that was set to expose the secret links between the Hindu terrorists and Indian Army?
A sinister game is being played here that is reaffirmed as Delhi's claims were fully endorsed by the United States and Britain. A carefully orchestrated and well formulated strategy is practised to shape the international opinion regarding Pakistan. Ignoble mention of Pakistani nukes, defamatory statements regarding Pakistan army and her premier spy agency ISI and declaration of Pakistan as the biggest threat to the world security are just a few examples of how well the script written in Washington DC is being executed.
The reality is that Indian accusations are nothing but a pathetic attempt to deflect attention from the plain and obvious failure of the Indian system in looking after its own citizens. India is a country that is beset by ethnic and sectarian strife which has the potential to implode in to a serious threat to India's territorial integrity.
But Pakistan government's decision to clamp down on Jamat ut Dawaa without any evidence only strengthens the Indian claims and plays into the hands of the anti Pakistan propaganda machines.
Gen. David Petraeus, head of CENTCOM, recently said Mumbai attacks were of more significance for Pakistan than India as these attacks comprehended the magnitude of challenges confronting Pakistan. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also blindly accepted India's version of events and showed absolute support for the Indian position by blaming Pakistan for not clamping down on extremism. US senator John Kerry said this Monday that ISI must be tightly controlled and not allowed to act independently.
It is quite clear now that America, together with India and Britain, is building up a case against Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, used the Mumbai incident as a pre-text to accuse Pakistan being the epicentre of terrorism and demanded that Pakistan must close down the terror camps. US Senator John McCain during his recent visit to Pakistan is believed to have threatened Pakistan with the surgical air strikes if Pakistan did not comply to New Delhi's demands.
There were also reports linked with unnamed Indian officials that India is considering a move to launch punitive air strikes to target terror camps in MureedKeh and Muzaffarabad. On 13/12/2008 it was witnessed that two Indian jets entered Pakistan from eastern Lahore and Kashmir Sector. These violations of air space by Indian Air Force were confirmed by the Pakistan Air Force and PAF spokesman stated that the Indian aircrafts intruded up to 4 Km inside Pakistan territory. These stunts were performed by the Indian Air Force to test the readiness and preparations of PAF, according to PAF Air Commodore (Retd.) Jamal Hussein. But according to President Zardari, these violations were a technical mistake on part of IAF to fly jets loaded with weapons and explosives inside Pakistan. One can only feel pity for Mr. Zardari who has lost the sense of generating thinking and reaching to obvious conclusions.
Some weeks ago, Mr. Zardari also labelled Kashmiris who are opposed to Indian rule as terrorists. This outrageous move was aimed to distance Pakistan from the 70,000 Muslims of Kashmir who gave away their life for the cause of freedom and many more who are still living with a hope that one day they will be liberated from Indian aggression. This statement from Mr. Zardari sparked mammoth rallies throughout held-Kashmir and for the first time in the history of Kashmiri struggle, it was witnessed that the effigies of a Pakistani leader were burned.
On the geopolitical front, it is now quite evident that for the US, the focal point and the real war is not in Iraq but along the Durrand line in sub-continent as noted by Obama and his strategic gurus. Right wing Hindu parties are gaining popularity in India as a result of Mumbai attacks. BJP, a party of radical Hindu secularists, which cashed in the Kargil incident after 1999 in the general elections, is now again busy in raising the stakes so that it can capitalize on Mumbai attacks. America is overstretched in Iraq and failing in Afghanistan and the economic downturn at home only complicates the situation for her. Now the new circumstances will compel America to hasten the process of making India a regional power. But that requires settlement of Kashmir issue in such a way that favours India. Indian dominance in the region in the short run will help US to ease financial and military burden by the arrival of 100,000 troops that India is ready to despatch to Afghanistan. In the long term, for America the Indian dominance means combating China's rising influence in the global politics. Indian Military presence in Afghanistan will also help America to pressurise Pakistan to maintain its involvement in the unpopular war on terror.
But for America to proceed with her plans for India, a strong Pakistan army is the biggest hurdle. The Islamic elements within Pakistan army are continuously resisting America's attempts to give away Kashmir to India. And India cannot in any situation afford to lock horns with Pakistan militarily. Even America knows that without Pakistan's cooperation, she cannot stay in Afghanistan. So America and India have resorted to other means to malign Pakistan army to make it weak and for past several months they have paced up their efforts in this regard. Tactics employed by Delhi and Washington includes accusing Pakistan of playing double game and supporting Jihadi organisations, and moving of a resolution in the UN to label retired High Ups from Pakistan Army as terrorist to disgrace Pakistan military on the international forum. Indian agencies involvement in Baluchistan is also well known where they are working to weaken Pakistan from inside. Whereas, America has waged an undeclared war on Pakistan as it continues to launch hell fire missiles from CIA controlled unmanned aircrafts inside Pakistan. It is in the interest of both America and India to keep the fire alive in Pakistan and they are doing pretty well.
Instead of Pakistan, it is Washington and Delhi that is playing double game. War mongering propaganda machines have sharpened their knives for Pakistan that exposes the mindset of policy makers in the West. The same pattern was followed when America waged a war on Iraq on the basis of fabricated evidence. Now yet again the notorious terms such as weapons of mass destruction are floated in the media but this time the target is Pakistan. And in recent days Pakistan has also been given titles once reserved for Iraq, like a rogue and failed state by many a think tanks.
And now after Mumbai incident, as the events are unfolding, it is like déjà vu. Just some years ago, after 9/11 a call from Washington DC changed the fortune of hundreds of thousands of people living in the South Asia. And that call was made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Pervez Musharraf who is to go down in history as the Pakistani Gorbachev. It was that time when Musharraf traded Pakistan's sovereignty by submitting to the American pressure that has unleashed a doom in Pakistan resulting in countless civilian deaths and more than 1,400 Pakistani troops also died in the process.
But this time around in 2008, it is Delhi that is exerting pressure on Pakistan to bow down. The Democratic regime of Zardari has performed exceptionally well in continuing the policies of the Dictator Musharraf and this suggests that Zardari's response to the mounting pressure is easily and accurately predictable. The truth is that NRO beneficiary leadership is impotent and is on the same page with Washington and her cronies. It is the failure of Pakistan's political leadership to address growing problems that have left Pakistan in a catastrophic situation as it continues its slide into further chaos.
The situation is continuously deteriorating for Pakistan and the leadership of Pakistan has done nothing to change the course. Rather the PPP led government is singing the mantra that there is nothing we can do except act as we are told by the Washington and accept the US hegemony.
Whereas, the reality is such that Pakistan can change her fortune in matter of days provided there is a sincere leadership that has vision and a ruling system that is in accordance to the whims and desires of ordinary residents and that emanates from the creed that they carry. Now is the time for Pakistan to adopt a firm and dignified approach to counter the existential threats it faces today.
Pakistan is providing 80% of the fuel used by American war machine in Afghanistan. The US is using almost 575,000 gallons of fuel every day. And if Pakistan halts this supply from her refineries then the only alternative source would be a precarious supply route through rugged Central Asia thus effectively crippling the US military. There is no doubt that once Pakistan decides to abandon America it would only be a matter of days that America would have to pack up and leave from Afghanistan. This would enable Pakistan to regain the strategic advantage she had before 9/11.
Pakistan is also self-sufficient on natural gas and has huge reservoirs of coal and minerals. According to Pakistan Economy Watch, only the coal deposits in Thar can change the fate of the country if utilized in a proper way. Dr Murtaza Mughal president of Pakistan Economy Watch in a statement said that 185 billion tonnes of coal worth USD 25 trillion can not only cater the electricity requirements of the country for next 100 years but also save almost four billion dollars in staggering oil import bill annually, reduce unemployment and help strengthen the economy. This amount of coal would equal 615 billion barrels of oil. Changes are also required to be made at the macro and micro level of economic policies if woes of the masses are to be answered.
All Pakistan needs is a new leadership and a new system that has a political will to bring about the change. And that new system is none other than the very reason Pakistan was created for. Pakistan must realise her true potential and rise up to the occasion by realising the dream of becoming a true Islamic state i.e. Khilafah, A Khilafah that lead the world for more than 12 centuries and brought prosperity not only to Muslims but to humanity in general. Muhammad Bilal Qureshi
Source
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Obama urged to renounce War on Terror
Yiffat Susskind
Right now, while the horror of the attacks in Mumbai is reverberating around the world and tensions between India and Pakistan are mounting, there is a crucial move that President-elect Obama could make to chart a positive course forward. Obama should renounce the "war on terror."
Think about it: since the weird semantic banner was first unfurled, the number and ferocity of terrorist attacks has only increased. Mumbai is just the latest battle-front. And in the seven years since George Bush put the world on notice with his "you're either with us or with the terrorists" declaration, the US has actually managed to fuel support for groups that use terrorism. That's because the "war on terror" has led millions of people to conclude that the US is an even greater threat to their safety and freedom than Al Qaeda and other violent fringe groups.
And who can blame them? After all, George Bush and Dick Cheney literally declared the whole world to be their battlefield - and forever. Under the banner of the "war on terror," the US has overthrown a sovereign, if nasty, government (Iraq), trampled the UN Charter (the 2003 invasion), tortured prisoners ("enhanced interrogation techniques" to quote the Bush Administration and the Nazis), openly armed and funded death squads (the "Salvador Option"), and lowered the bar on governments' accountability to human rights standards and civil liberties worldwide.
Now, the Indian government is poised to go down the same road. Leaders of India's main opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist BJP, are demanding that their government act like the US did after 9-11. They see no reason that India shouldn't avail itself of the same strong-arm tactics that the Bush Administration has enjoyed-and legitimized.
Here's the reason: terrorist attacks are not acts of war to be responded to in kind, but crimes against humanity. As crimes, they should be investigated and the perpetrators tried and prosecuted. We have the body of international laws and institutions needed to pursue genuine justice in the wake of terrorist attacks. Let's use them. And let's dust off the tradition of peaceful cooperation between governments (we're going to need it anyway, to deal with the global recession and climate change).
The lessons of the past seven years are that there is no military solution to terrorism; that a militarized response only feeds the same constellation of forces that produce support for terrorism; that a war on terror enhances the power of extremists on both sides and shuts down the space for dialogue, diplomacy and decency.
That's the message we need to deliver loud and clear to President-elect Obama and his new foreign policy team. We may not be able to undo all of the damage inflicted by the Bush Administration, but we can demand a new direction, starting with a forceful human-rights based response to the atrocities in Mumbai.
Many people in India and Pakistan are calling for just such a response from their governments. Those of us in the US should demand no less of the incoming administration. The best thing President-elect Obama could do to chart a new and improved US foreign policy is to renounce the "war on terror."
An international group of human rights defenders appealed to Obama earlier this month to renew the U.S. commitment to human rights that they say "has been abandoned" since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks. In particular, The Carter Center for human rights has asked that Obama end the policy of indefinite detention without due process for detainees at Guantanamo Bay and issue an executive order to enforce existing law prohibiting torture by any agent of the U.S. government.
Source
Right now, while the horror of the attacks in Mumbai is reverberating around the world and tensions between India and Pakistan are mounting, there is a crucial move that President-elect Obama could make to chart a positive course forward. Obama should renounce the "war on terror."
Think about it: since the weird semantic banner was first unfurled, the number and ferocity of terrorist attacks has only increased. Mumbai is just the latest battle-front. And in the seven years since George Bush put the world on notice with his "you're either with us or with the terrorists" declaration, the US has actually managed to fuel support for groups that use terrorism. That's because the "war on terror" has led millions of people to conclude that the US is an even greater threat to their safety and freedom than Al Qaeda and other violent fringe groups.
And who can blame them? After all, George Bush and Dick Cheney literally declared the whole world to be their battlefield - and forever. Under the banner of the "war on terror," the US has overthrown a sovereign, if nasty, government (Iraq), trampled the UN Charter (the 2003 invasion), tortured prisoners ("enhanced interrogation techniques" to quote the Bush Administration and the Nazis), openly armed and funded death squads (the "Salvador Option"), and lowered the bar on governments' accountability to human rights standards and civil liberties worldwide.
Now, the Indian government is poised to go down the same road. Leaders of India's main opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist BJP, are demanding that their government act like the US did after 9-11. They see no reason that India shouldn't avail itself of the same strong-arm tactics that the Bush Administration has enjoyed-and legitimized.
Here's the reason: terrorist attacks are not acts of war to be responded to in kind, but crimes against humanity. As crimes, they should be investigated and the perpetrators tried and prosecuted. We have the body of international laws and institutions needed to pursue genuine justice in the wake of terrorist attacks. Let's use them. And let's dust off the tradition of peaceful cooperation between governments (we're going to need it anyway, to deal with the global recession and climate change).
The lessons of the past seven years are that there is no military solution to terrorism; that a militarized response only feeds the same constellation of forces that produce support for terrorism; that a war on terror enhances the power of extremists on both sides and shuts down the space for dialogue, diplomacy and decency.
That's the message we need to deliver loud and clear to President-elect Obama and his new foreign policy team. We may not be able to undo all of the damage inflicted by the Bush Administration, but we can demand a new direction, starting with a forceful human-rights based response to the atrocities in Mumbai.
Many people in India and Pakistan are calling for just such a response from their governments. Those of us in the US should demand no less of the incoming administration. The best thing President-elect Obama could do to chart a new and improved US foreign policy is to renounce the "war on terror."
An international group of human rights defenders appealed to Obama earlier this month to renew the U.S. commitment to human rights that they say "has been abandoned" since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks. In particular, The Carter Center for human rights has asked that Obama end the policy of indefinite detention without due process for detainees at Guantanamo Bay and issue an executive order to enforce existing law prohibiting torture by any agent of the U.S. government.
Source
Google to Reward Indian Villagers
Google.org has announced a contest, called Google.org Gram Panchayat Puraskar (GGPP) which will reward the top five Gram Panchayats in the two Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The reward entails a cash prize worth - INR 5 lakh each (approximately $10,000 USD). This reward aims at recognising the best innovations in local governance through Gram Panchayats in the two South Indian states.
The prize will be awarded in one of six areas - education, health and nutrition, water supply, rural infrastructure, rural electrification, and resource mobilization. It is also mentione dthat the winning payanchat must include a wide variety of social and income groups, share information with villagers, respond to citizen feedback, and track the quality of programmes. The company said that they will deploy a panel of public sector experts in India whoc will take the charge of selecting a total of 20 finalists from each state. Thereafter, a separate panel will select the five winners in each of the states.
Source
The prize will be awarded in one of six areas - education, health and nutrition, water supply, rural infrastructure, rural electrification, and resource mobilization. It is also mentione dthat the winning payanchat must include a wide variety of social and income groups, share information with villagers, respond to citizen feedback, and track the quality of programmes. The company said that they will deploy a panel of public sector experts in India whoc will take the charge of selecting a total of 20 finalists from each state. Thereafter, a separate panel will select the five winners in each of the states.
Source
Traveling Children Must Be Drugged
When Ginger Ogle suggested giving her 3-year-old son an antihistamine to help him sleep during an eight-hour flight to Europe, her husband "was appalled that I'd even consider drugging our child," she says. He bought a portable DVD player instead, to play in-flight movies for his son.
But after four hours on the plane with a kicking, whining, irritable child -- who was unconsoled by the movies or grab-bag of other distractions the Berkeley, Calif., couple had brought along -- he reluctantly agreed to try a dose of Benadryl. The medication didn't seem to have much effect, Ms. Ogle says, but the incident shows how divisive the issue can be.
Should parents medicate their babies and toddlers to calm them on long flights? As the summer travel season approaches, this question will drive a wedge between more mothers and fathers, grandparents and parents -- and sometimes, it seems, between stressed-out parents and almost everyone else on the plane. Leisure travel is projected to rise 2% this year after an estimated 4% increase in 2005, says the Travel Industry Association, a Washington, D.C., trade group, and some 31% of travelers will have children in tow.
In an online poll conducted for this column by the parenting Web site www.BabyCenter.com, 33% of 3,657 parents who responded said they'd never sedate their children for a plane flight, and 24% said they've never needed to. But 18% said they have and would do so again, and an additional 20% said they've considered doing so. "It's sort of the guilty secret of parents," says Erik Budde, San Carlos, Calif., owner of www.travelwithyourkids.com, a family-travel site.
One mother, on a message board attached to the poll, defended her use of Benadryl to calm a frightened toddler, asserting it's "the right thing to do for the child, the other passengers, the flight crew and yes, the parents as well." A critic fired back: "What kind of parent sedates their child?"
The controversy seems to arise more from differences in parenting philosophies than safety concerns. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have a position on the matter, and individual pediatricians vary in their views. "If you asked 100 pediatricians, you'd get 20 strongly in favor, 60 who didn't think about it much, and 20 strongly opposed," says Richard Gorman, past chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' National Committee on Drugs. "Good doctors can disagree about this, just as thoughtful parents can disagree."
Children's Benadryl Allergy liquid, with antihistamine as the single active ingredient, is widely regarded as safe for children; because drowsiness is often a side effect, it's a common choice among parents. Its maker, Pfizer, recommends parents consult their pediatrician before administering the medication to children under 6 or to any youngsters with breathing problems such as chronic bronchitis. While Benadryl is "very safe" when used as directed, it isn't intended to be used as a sedative and "we don't promote any off-label use," a spokeswoman says.
To be sure, antihistamines can have an opposite effect in some children, making them agitated and hyper-alert; Dr. Gorman estimates this happens in about 10% of children. If you have a doctor's OK and are considering an antihistamine, pediatricians say try it with your child first to see what effect it has -- not just at bedtime, but at the time of day you're likely to travel.
Most kids can do fairly well on flights with a well-planned series of distractions, says Linda Murray, executive editor of BabyCenter.com. And some pediatricians say parents should worry less about what other passengers think. Dr. Gorman, who practices in Ellicott City, Md., doesn't recommend medications for what he considers a social issue. For parents who fear passengers will complain if their kids cry, he administers a little assertiveness training instead. "I give them little comebacks, like, 'Please be nice to them, they're going to pay your Social Security someday.' "
As humans, we're hard-wired to respond when we hear kids cry, and it isn't always in annoyance. I wrote much of this column on a four-hour flight seated directly behind a family of four with a screaming baby. By the time we landed, my stomach was in knots -- not in anger, but because I felt so sorry for the miserable baby and her beleaguered mom. To avert similar anguish for my two kids when they were babies, I occasionally used Benadryl to calm them on airplanes, with good results.
Avoiding long flights isn't always possible for today's far-flung families who want to stay connected. Most parents who use sedatives do so only when other modes of calming children -- cuddling, rocking, bags of toys and games, books, conversation, walks down the aisle, DVDs or in-flight TV -- have failed. "Anyone who's ever flown with an inconsolable infant can understand why" a parent might use medication, says Eileen Ogintz, a family-travel author.
Sometimes, however, antihistamines don't work and you have to come up with other solutions. Eager to show their firstborn baby to his grandmother two years ago, Emily Ingrao, Belmont, Calif., and her husband embarked on a 23-hour journey to Sicily from San Francisco. On a turbulent New York-to-Rome flight, he cried almost the entire time. "It was just awful," Ms. Ingrao says. "Every time he would settle back to sleep, the captain would come on the intercom," and he would wake up.
Ms. Ingrao tried Benadryl, but it had little effect. Pregnant again, she says she and her husband will break the family's next Sicilian journey into two days.
Source
But after four hours on the plane with a kicking, whining, irritable child -- who was unconsoled by the movies or grab-bag of other distractions the Berkeley, Calif., couple had brought along -- he reluctantly agreed to try a dose of Benadryl. The medication didn't seem to have much effect, Ms. Ogle says, but the incident shows how divisive the issue can be.
Should parents medicate their babies and toddlers to calm them on long flights? As the summer travel season approaches, this question will drive a wedge between more mothers and fathers, grandparents and parents -- and sometimes, it seems, between stressed-out parents and almost everyone else on the plane. Leisure travel is projected to rise 2% this year after an estimated 4% increase in 2005, says the Travel Industry Association, a Washington, D.C., trade group, and some 31% of travelers will have children in tow.
In an online poll conducted for this column by the parenting Web site www.BabyCenter.com, 33% of 3,657 parents who responded said they'd never sedate their children for a plane flight, and 24% said they've never needed to. But 18% said they have and would do so again, and an additional 20% said they've considered doing so. "It's sort of the guilty secret of parents," says Erik Budde, San Carlos, Calif., owner of www.travelwithyourkids.com, a family-travel site.
One mother, on a message board attached to the poll, defended her use of Benadryl to calm a frightened toddler, asserting it's "the right thing to do for the child, the other passengers, the flight crew and yes, the parents as well." A critic fired back: "What kind of parent sedates their child?"
The controversy seems to arise more from differences in parenting philosophies than safety concerns. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have a position on the matter, and individual pediatricians vary in their views. "If you asked 100 pediatricians, you'd get 20 strongly in favor, 60 who didn't think about it much, and 20 strongly opposed," says Richard Gorman, past chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' National Committee on Drugs. "Good doctors can disagree about this, just as thoughtful parents can disagree."
Children's Benadryl Allergy liquid, with antihistamine as the single active ingredient, is widely regarded as safe for children; because drowsiness is often a side effect, it's a common choice among parents. Its maker, Pfizer, recommends parents consult their pediatrician before administering the medication to children under 6 or to any youngsters with breathing problems such as chronic bronchitis. While Benadryl is "very safe" when used as directed, it isn't intended to be used as a sedative and "we don't promote any off-label use," a spokeswoman says.
To be sure, antihistamines can have an opposite effect in some children, making them agitated and hyper-alert; Dr. Gorman estimates this happens in about 10% of children. If you have a doctor's OK and are considering an antihistamine, pediatricians say try it with your child first to see what effect it has -- not just at bedtime, but at the time of day you're likely to travel.
Most kids can do fairly well on flights with a well-planned series of distractions, says Linda Murray, executive editor of BabyCenter.com. And some pediatricians say parents should worry less about what other passengers think. Dr. Gorman, who practices in Ellicott City, Md., doesn't recommend medications for what he considers a social issue. For parents who fear passengers will complain if their kids cry, he administers a little assertiveness training instead. "I give them little comebacks, like, 'Please be nice to them, they're going to pay your Social Security someday.' "
As humans, we're hard-wired to respond when we hear kids cry, and it isn't always in annoyance. I wrote much of this column on a four-hour flight seated directly behind a family of four with a screaming baby. By the time we landed, my stomach was in knots -- not in anger, but because I felt so sorry for the miserable baby and her beleaguered mom. To avert similar anguish for my two kids when they were babies, I occasionally used Benadryl to calm them on airplanes, with good results.
Avoiding long flights isn't always possible for today's far-flung families who want to stay connected. Most parents who use sedatives do so only when other modes of calming children -- cuddling, rocking, bags of toys and games, books, conversation, walks down the aisle, DVDs or in-flight TV -- have failed. "Anyone who's ever flown with an inconsolable infant can understand why" a parent might use medication, says Eileen Ogintz, a family-travel author.
Sometimes, however, antihistamines don't work and you have to come up with other solutions. Eager to show their firstborn baby to his grandmother two years ago, Emily Ingrao, Belmont, Calif., and her husband embarked on a 23-hour journey to Sicily from San Francisco. On a turbulent New York-to-Rome flight, he cried almost the entire time. "It was just awful," Ms. Ingrao says. "Every time he would settle back to sleep, the captain would come on the intercom," and he would wake up.
Ms. Ingrao tried Benadryl, but it had little effect. Pregnant again, she says she and her husband will break the family's next Sicilian journey into two days.
Source
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