It has become a sad truth that water, one of the most essential ingredients to our life has evolved into one of the most basic needs that man has taken for granted. Man has become so blind in his quest for survival and power that water, along with other resources has now become a victim of his apathy.
With several countries struggling without clean water, thousands of children throughout the world succumb each day to entirely preventable diseases and illnesses. This week, marks World Water Week where the profile of water quality is raised by encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to whole-heartedly engage in proactively addressing the depleting water quality around the world in hopes of tackling pollution prevention, clean up and restoration.
Our world is facing crisis after crisis in climate change, poverty, and the global economy. On March 25, New York, Nairobi, London, Beijing, and New Delhi will be connected to help solve these challenges. Join the global conversation via live webcast and be part of the solution.
Visit stateoftheplanet.org
Research & Education
UN Millennium Project
The UN Millennium Project is an independent advisory body commissioned by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to develop a global plan for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The Project is directed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on MDGs, and based at UNDP headquarters in New York.
The Project presented its findings to the Secretary-General in January 2005. The release of the report, “Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” is the first in a series of major global initiatives on the MDGs this year, culminating in a high-level summit of the General Assembly on the Goals in September. 2005 represents a historic chance for making the necessary global policy breakthrough needed to help the poorest countries achieve the Goals. The Millennium Project’s report provides a detailed blueprint for making this happen.
If the world achieves the MDGs, more than 500 million people will be lifted out of poverty. A further 250 million will no longer suffer from hunger. 30 million children and two million mothers who might reasonably have been expected to die will be saved.
The UN Millennium Project’s report draws on over two years of extensive research by ten thematic Task Forces, comprising a total of 265 internationally recognized experts in the field –collectively, a “who’s who” of development thinkers and doers.
These 10 task forces each addressed the development issues of specific sectors covered by the MDGs. The Task Force teams were charged with diagnosing the key constraints to meeting the MDGs, and recommending actions to ensure nations are on track to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
Together with “Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” the 13 Task Force reports present the complete findings of the UN Millennium Project. The full report “Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals” and reports of the Task Force teams are available at the Millennium Project’s website: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/
The resulting UN Millennium Development Goals , as they became known, are made up of 8 Goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators. These goals, to be reached by 2015 or earlier, are as follows:
Halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty
Geneva, Switzerland. March 20, 2010. During the 13th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, a seminar entitled, “Overcoming Barriers to Realizing the Self-determination” was organized by “The International Educational Development”, an NGO accredited with the United Nations. The seminar was chaired by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council, Kashmir Center. In his opening remarks, Dr. Fai was keen to remind listeners that self-determination was a basic principle of the United Nations and that self determination and peace and international security are interrelated. The denial of self determination, he said, has brought India and Pakistan – both important countries – to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. ‘For last 63 years they have been talking about Kashmir but there was no face of the people of Kashmir. We want to make it clear that when the UN gave the right of self determination, they gave it to the people of Kashmir, whatever their religion, wherever they live.’ Therefore, Dr Fai said, the genuine leadership of Kashmir must be included in the talks. For the talks to be meaningful Dr. Fai suggested that there would have to be an envoy of ‘an international standing’ that was acceptable to both India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris and he proposed that Bishop Desmond Tutu should be appointed special envoy.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman, All Parties Hurriyet Conference, in his presentation emphasized that ‘when we refer to Kashmir, we refer to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as it existed on 14 August 1947.’ This includes the five distinct regions of the valley, Ladakh, Jammu, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. ‘The APHC has time again tried to talk about Jammu and Kashmir with a view to present the real situation on the ground. It is a political issue; it is not a territorial issue between India and Pakistan it is an issue concerning the fate of more than 15 million people. They believe unless and until the international community and especially the UN come forward, the issue cannot be resolved.’ The government of India, he said, has tried to camouflage the issue by putting irrelevant issues. It is not an issue of bad governance or giving people economic benefits. Nor is it an issue which has been sponsored by Pakistan since 1947. ‘It is high time the government of India
realizes that such a huge movement that has been there since 1947 and especially after 1990, is a peoples struggle. The government of India has to stop people viewing Kashmir from the prism of Pakistan.’ Pointing out that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, tortured, jailed, and are missing; he said that no struggle of such magnitude could be sponsored by an external party.
Who are these people who are dying? They are Kashmiris; they are not Pakistanis, who have stood up for their basic rights, their right of self determination. We urge the international community that we Kashmiris, we seek a bright and better future for all peoples of South Asia, which is not possible without peace in Jammu and Kashmir.’ Affirming that the struggle was not a terrorist or extremist one, the Mirwaiz pointed out that the All Parties Hurriyet Conference had taken the initiative to initiate a dialogue even when to do so presented grave risks. ‘We came forward and said it is time to talk, even when the dialogue process was not working.’ Unfortunately, however, he said that although India talks about peace in Kashmir, ‘their approach is totally military. They speak the language of peace but they talk through the barrel of the gun.’ He also indicated that it was ‘far from reality’ to think that people of Kashmir would forget their struggle and he believed that the recent
uprisings of 2008 and 2009 were indicative of the strength of a peaceful movement of protest. ‘We had more than a million people marching; they were not people with guns, or hand grenades, they were people who were asking for their rights to be restored to them; but the response was brute force.’
Although India might claim to be the biggest and largest democracy, the Mirwaiz said that their views in relation to Kashmir were very negative, particularly in relation to the ‘black laws’ which have enabled the military forces to act with impunity – especially the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Disturbed Areas Act. ‘The APHC,’ he said, ‘has made suggestions regarding the repeal of the black laws, the release of political prisoners and gradual demilitarization ‘to give the people, strangled under oppression for the last twenty years, some respite.’
The Mirwaiz also made clear that Kashmiris wished well to the people of India but it was important to realize ‘that the issues won’t disappear, unless and until you confront those problems. It is high time that we all sit together. The time has come when we need to come forward, if we continue to evade the problem we will have a situation like in 1965 and 1971 when India and Pakistan fought wars, but now these two countries have nuclear weapons. We Kashmiris want to talk, to engage, to let the dialogue process be meaningful, let there be a mechanism. We need a system of engagement.’ In conclusion, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq affirmed the continuing commitment of the people: ‘they are determined, they are resolved, they have shown the commitment, and India needs to move forward beyond rhetoric. ‘.
Lord Nazir Ahmed, Member, British House of Lords expressed the opinion that the UN resolutions were the only legal documents which exist in relation to Kashmir. He pointed out, however, that since 9/11 the world had changed. Whereas support was given for a UN administered plebiscite in East Timor, as well as to self-determination in the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, since 9/11 the UN position has weakened. ‘We now have a situation where those who have been oppressed, are called terrorists or Islamic terrorists, it is very unfortunate, the language has changed. We need to get back to the values which the UN stood up for. The UN authority needs to be re instated.’ One way for its authority to be re instated, Lord Ahmed suggested, was for a special criminal tribunal to be set up under international law to investigate those who are responsible for the unmarked graves.
Lord Ahmed also suggested that the UN ought not to allow any country that disregards UN Security Council resolutions to join the Security Council and have permanent membership. ‘I think that it is time for the Secretary General to say enough is enough, if we can have a special envoy on Afghanistan Iraq, then we need a special envoy on Kashmir.’ He also indicated that Kashmiris should be included in any discussions and a start could be made in releasing political prisoners, and investigating disappearances, Finally, Lord Ahmed stated that he believed the international community had a duty to ask both governments in both Pakistani-administered and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir for good governance. ‘There should be no excuse for the people still to be suffering. ‘
Ambassador Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to Geneva, pointed out that the two longest and most deserving cases on the UN agenda in terms of self-determination were Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir. ‘We see a lot of attention being given to Palestine, as it should be, but Kashmir gets very little international coverage, which is regrettable. But it does not detract from the fact that the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir is a violation of the Human Rights charter. Self-determination is a fundamental human right and this right has been granted to the people of Jammu and Kashmir more than 60 years ago.’ Ambassador Akram also emphasized that, for successive Pakistani governments, the commitment to allowing Jammu and Kashmir its self determination lies ‘at the heart of our policy, because self-determination was also the basis on which Pakistan was created.’ Unfortunately, he said, the UN guided plebiscite was not held.
‘Today the situation in Jammu and Kashmir presents a grave danger to international peace and security, not just regional.’ Following the 1998 nuclear tests, Akram reminded his listeners that President Bill Clinton had described Kashmir as the most dangerous place in the world. ‘That danger has not subsided. With every day this danger is accentuated. Pakistan and India have engaged off and on in negotiations in a dialogue, which has so far proved to be sterile. I can say that we, in Pakistan, being the smaller and comparatively weaker country obviously seek a peaceful solution. Unfortunately our Indian interlocutors have lacked the political will to negotiate in good faith. In our view the United Nations resolutions calling for a plebiscite provide the only viable solution to this dispute, because this dispute can only be resolved on the basis of the wishes of the people.’ In relation to the role of the international community, he said that it had not delivered either on its
political commitments or on human rights. However he believed that by ‘by a queer twist of international politics and the strategic environment in South Asia,’ which has involved the United States in the region especially in relation to Afghanistan, ‘it seems that some hope is emerging for a possible solution.. .The United States realizes that in order for it to have a safe and honorable withdrawal from Afghanistan, it needs to deal with the security concerns of India and Pakistan, which means dealing with the heart of the problem and the heart of the problem is Jammu and Kashmir.’
Dr Karen Parker, UN delegate of the International Education Development, suggested that it was necessary ‘to give more meat on the bones’ to understand the principle of self determination. ‘so we have an idea of what we are talking about.’ Self determination, she said, ‘is not just a term, it is a legal term and it has elements.’ ‘There are five basic points to self determination: firstly, a people have the right to self-determination when they have an identifiable territory; when you hear the word Kosovo you can see it, you know where it is, or Western Sahara, or the Moluccas, you know where they are on the map.’ The second element, she suggested, was that the people had to have had a period of governing themselves in their land. Thirdly, there is normally some distinction, be it cultural, linguistic or religious. Despite the paternalism inherent in the fourth and fifth elements – the people have to demonstrate a will for self-determination and they have to show they have the
capacity – these two were also valid elements in defining self-determination. Moreover, as Dr Parker pointed out, ‘You can’t give the right and then take it away – as has happened with the Kashmiris – and then let it vanish. Describing Kashmir as ‘particularly hot,’ she said that the situation was going to need greater impetus for there to be a resolution.
Internationally renowned peace activist. Dr Angana Chatterji, Co-Chair of the International Peoples Tribunal, spoke in relation to issues which she had encountered in her work. The Kashmir conflict, she said, ‘relates to issues of identity and history, territory and resources. India Pakistan and China have fought wars over this territory.’ Whereas India considers the dispute to be an internal matter and that militarization is necessary to secure its borders, in reality the period between 1947 and 1987 witnessed a people’s struggle for non-violent self determination. In 1988 they began an armed struggle before reverting again to non-violence. In order to achieve its objectives, Chatterji said that the Government of India has been responsible for using ‘discipline and death’ as a means of social control, which has resulted in 70,000 deaths, more than 8,000 enforced disappearances between 1989 and 2009; 60,000 people have been tortured, 100,000 have been orphaned, there is also a
high rate of people with suicidal behaviour and the tragic plight of the half widows who do not know whether their husbands are dead or alive. ‘Periods of long detention and interrogation have had a brutalizing effect,’ she said. ‘I speak having made thirteen trips to the valley since July 2006, after hundreds of thousands of testimonials.’
Chatterji also highlighted that there were 600.000 military personnel in the state which continue to act ‘with impunity,’ occupying 10.5 million kanals of land on which there are 671 security camps. Detailing her work with Advocate Pervez Imroz on mass graves discovered in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, she said that they documented 2700 unknown graves, 2943 bodies in 55 villages in 3 districts, which ‘ hold the bodies of people executed arbitrarily.’ In relation to the current wave of protests, she said that these were taking place in response to human rights violations in an attempt ‘to address the lacuna in civil society leadership.’ She further advocated that the Kashmiri leadership should create local mechanisms for consultation. ‘The people who have turned out in vast numbers require local forums with leaders they can trust.’ In closing, Dr Chatterji offered ‘a fragment of a testimonial from a grave digger who said that he had been forced to dig the graves of
about 260 people, who described ‘thick soil pressed with bodies, dead in encounters and barbed wire which strangles our land.’
Ms. Victoria Schofield, Independent South Asian Analyst and author of Kashmir in the Crossfire and Kashmir in Conflict endorsed the definition of self determination given by Dr Karen Parker, but also emphasized that there were three obvious barriers to realizing self-determination for the inhabitants of the state of Jammu and Kashmir; firstly because there is no obvious consensus among all the inhabitants of the state. ‘Not all of the state is inhabited by Kashmiris, and not all of the inhabitants call themselves Kashmiri,’ she said. Pointing to the numerically inferior Ladakhis, the Muslims of Kargil, the Kashmiri Pandits, the inhabitants of Jammu , those of Pakistani administered Kashmir – the Suddhans and Poonchis, as well as the inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan, she said that what had weakened the movement was a lack of consensus not only amongst these various groupings but also amongst Kashmiris of the valley. ‘And so the first barrier to overcome is obtaining consensus, at
the same time as safeguarding the different aspirations of the minority.’ The second barrier was the attitude of the Indian government which opposed a change in the status quo; the third barrier was gaining friends with influence such as might be forthcoming from the United States or the European Union. In conclusion, Schofield indicated that there were some preliminary objectives which could be achieved such as demilitarization, maintaining the rule of law, promoting freedom of speech and movement as well as improving health and education facilities and eliminating corruption.
Professor Nazir Shawl, Executive Director of the Justice Foundation/Kashmir Centre in London suggested that ‘a look at the global arena reveals many conflicts with undemocratic structures and draconian laws.’ Citing Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, he agreed that ‘the real test of democracy is not what is said in the constitution but how it functions on the ground.’ Referring to his own background as an inhabitant of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, who had been forced to leave the valley, he suggested that if ‘the siege of the army’ were to be lifted, and people were to be provided with political space, ‘they will throng on the streets. An ostrich like approach does not solve problems.’ He also believed that it was time the international community acknowledged the gravity of the international dispute as it continues to promote ‘a South Asian cold war’. The Kashmiris struggle for self-determination, he said, should not be considered as ‘merely a historical
burden. Geopolitical factors should not become an impediment but a source of facilitation in the interests of regional and global peace. The world’s largest military presence has failed to extinguish the flames of freedom.’ Shawl affirmed that there could be no military solution to Kashmir, and it was time for India and Pakistan to accept Kashmiris ‘as partners for resolution.’ Finally, Dr Shawl pointed out that millions of people in India and Pakistan would welcome a result- orientated settlement. ‘But it should not be dilution of our aspirations. It should not be a hollow truce or patchwork, but a comprehensive agreement.’
Barrister Majid Tramboo, Executive Director of the ICHR/ Kashmir Centre in Brussels emphasized that the Kashmir issue is one of self determination. ‘And I believe self-determination is the only solution for the Kashmir issue within the legal framework of the United Nations.’ He therefore regretted that ‘self determination’ was no longer on the agenda of the Human Rights Council. He also pointed out that the issue of mass and nameless graves had been raised in the European Parliament but that it was also necessary to have a hearing at the UN in Geneva in order to ensure an impartial investigation.
Sardar Amjad Yousuf, Executive Director, Kashmir Institute for International Relations (KIIR) began his presentation by informing the audience that he lived on the other side of the line of control which ‘ we Kashmiris call ceasefire line. We Kashmiris are always confused people because when we are asked who we are, we say we are Kashmiris, and it is very disturbing for us to say whether we are from Pakistan or Indian Kashmir.’ Amjad Yousuf also pointed out what a difficult situation Kashmiris had been facing with constant firing across the LOC until the ceasefire in 2003. ‘We have displacement of more than 500 000 people from LOC. There are many disabled people, plus refugees who have come over during the firing . He also pointed out that there were at least eight different maps of the state of Jammu and Kashmir depending on your particular viewpoint: ‘there is an Indian map, a Pakistani map, a Chinese map, even an American CIA map!’
Ms. Shugufta of University of Azad Kashmir, Kotli elaborated in her paper that the idea and implamentation of right to slefdetermination is embedded deep in roots of history of civilized world. It is a building block of international law. The UN Charter provides an environment to different nations of the world to develop a friendly relation among them based upon the principle of right to self determination. She said that in 1947, two new nations, India and Pakistan emerged in South Asia. With these two countries, decolonization was launched on the basis of the right of self determination. What was good for itself was not considered suitable for the people of Indian occupied kashmir.
The session ended with Nazir Quereshi, Vice President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement, thanking those who had attended and pointing out that the continued occupation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir had turned the land into a garrison. ‘In this connection I would say that a step towards the right of self determination would be demilitarization of the area.’ Echoing thoughts expressed by earlier delegates, he concluded that the problem of Jammu and Kashmir would best be resolved ‘through a temperate process under the auspices of the United Nations.’
Kashmir is one of the biggest problem that has been kept unsolved for so many years.
Fight For Freedom ?
Kashmir is one of the most important and core issue after Isreal and Palastain. I m not bothered much about whats going on between Isreal and Palastain. I am worried about my country, Our Kashmir.
I dont know what Kashmir’s are fighting for. Freedom ? What freedom do they want and from Whom ? Kashmiris think they are the only state that has suffered from Partition in 1947. I don’t know why it is of so much importance ? Is it just because they are Muslims ? (I am no personal grudge one anyone. It is the society that has brought this situation. I don’t understand why everyone has a feeling that Muslims are always treated bad in India. We are not Hindu State. We are One Big Country in which everyones heart has only one religion that is Indianism. )
It is not that Kashmir was only state which was cut into half brutally, people separated and border drawn. There was another state called Punjab. During separation, there is no other state that has suffered the out pour of Hate than Punjab.(Even Bengal for that instance). Media, Politics and society talk about Kashmir ever time. I think Kashmiris should learn from Punjabis. We were not even asked if we wanted to be independent state and we were torn into 2 halfs. We lost or main land. We lost our capital Lahore. If you ask any Punjabi. You would know. Lahore was in heart of every Punjabi. And it was lost to petty politic. No body thought about that.
Like Kashmir, Punjab had its problems too. Even our people were brain washed by ISI and shown a dream of Independent State. Even our people were taken out of homes and killed by Army. Not to forget our main Gurdwara was attacked by army and many innocent lives were gone.(Akal Takth is like Mecca to us). If you talk about Gujrat Roit or Mumbai Riots even we had 1984 riots were Sikhs not in one place but all over india were people taken out of homes and were killed, women raped. We dont keep blaming everyone for that. We don’t seek revenge for that all the time. That was work of some fullish people who took life of our people. But we forgave them.
Now Punjab is best state in India. Infact in many ways Back bone of India. We were derailed from our paths for some time. But then peace prevailed. We are Indian and Proud to be called so. I dont think that is the same thing with Kashmir. You are not Indias No way. You keep chasing
this dream of Azadi which even you know you are not going to get. If you gave your heart to India. This problem of Kashmir would not have lasted for a day. If you support India there would not be any more problem. Problem is that you are confussed. You know you are not going to survive as indenpent country no way. With Pakistan and China being your neighboring countries. I bet that soon after you get so called freedom of yours(Which Is IMPOSSIBLE). Kashmir would become another Afganistan. I bet. You think managing Country is piece of cake. No it is not.
Kashmirs should understand that they are Part of India. And entire country loves Kashmir. Problem is you think we dont love Kashmir and Kashmiris. Its not that. There are some people who are exception. But there are good people too. See how prosperous Punjab is now. Does it looks like this is the State that was haunted by rise of terrorism in early 90s ? I think even Kashmiris should do the same thing they must say
NO to terrorism. Come on Accept the Fact. You are not going to get freedom No way. Nor Pakistan is going to leave the Issue. Nor India Is going to let you go. So the Question of so called Azad Kashmir does not arise.
If you want to Join Pakistan think again a country that Itself cannot stand for its people it will never stand for Kashmir. If there is some attack on US or some money from US or some F16 given to them they are going to sell you too like they did to Afganistan. Kashmir is a beutiful place. You like it or not. It will remain beautiful only if you stay with India. About the roits and unrest that is going on everyday will no longer be an issue. Its just useless. Amarnath issue could have been solved very soon. The solution is just accept that it is for good of the pilgrims who come to pray and for you. Understand more people come to Kashmir it will progress more. You would get more tourist. Due to some politics you left this big opportunity. Lets say in future some company say TATA wants to build a factory in Kashmir that will help Kashmiris. Will you allow that
to happen? Again some politician will say a Hindu Company is trying to occupy our lands. Come on think Logically.
See were Kashmir is right now. And see were all the other states are? Is it really progressing? No. You always blame Army for the unrest. But if you are peace loving they why would army do anything to you. If you dont support Terrorists Why would army even enter your Homes. There is Army presence in all the states where it is in border with Pakistan or China. There Army dont go killing people. They why is it that it happens only in Kashmir. Army is there is Rajistan and Punjab too. We dont hear them killing people their or raping girls. Do We ? And Do you think
the POK is better maintained and people are kept properly there? No there are human right violation there too. But it does not come out. The media is shut there. But India is not like that. We give freedom of speech to everyone. And that is why we are able to listen to you.
There are some previligies that only Kashmir enjoys in India. Things are cheap there for instance Petrol. There is a rule that No Indian can buy land in Kashmir. But Kashmiris can by land any where in India. We have accepted you the way you are. Its high time you accept us. Otherwise this will go on for ever and ever.
Just give an end to this fight and start your life.
Jai Hind.
Jagdeep Singh Virdi
Not one of the reigning World T20 Champions were picked up by the Indian Premier League. The IPL have said they didnt select any Pakistani players because of visa concerns.
Indian and Pakistani Government officials have joined the spat. Pakistanis saying it was politacally motivated, Indians saying politics had nothing to do with it.
Effigies of IPL founder and king-pin Lalit Modi were burnt in the streets of Lahore in Pakistan.
The Guardian has a good article about it here.
I think it is probably a balance of the two arguements. IPL teams are still more than happy to have Australian, New Zealand and West Indian players despite them missing a large chunk of the season due to international commitments.
Taking a risk on Pakistani players isnt too different. Since the players are auctioned, the financial risk could have been quite small ( at least compared to the silly amounts of money being thrown around the tournament as it stands).
The IPL were more than happy to use star Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi for their billboard advertising around India…
Okay. I’m coming in here quick and fast. Been a long day but there were a few things that came across my virtual desk that I found interesting when it comes to the gold and silver markets and the financial markets in general. I’ll pass them on to you and let you draw you’re own conclusions because I’m not smart enough to make your conclusions for you.
First a look at Gold and Silver as I type reveals them trading after hours at $1,110.50 and $17.21 respectively. Gold has been steady pretty much all day. Not the case for silver which showed a little more action.
The first item I present you with is the one that I think is a great read from Jeff Nielson titled, “Gold: The End of “Seasons”
However, these former patterns have been altered dramatically – in less than two years. The destruction of this previous trend in the precious metals sector began with the Wall Street-induced, global economic meltdown in the fall of 2008. At the time of the year where gold prices normally surged, instead they temporarily collapsed – and then immediately boomeranged, as the plunge in the price of gold sparked thelargest spike in retail investment demand in nearly thirty years.
That “spike”, and the resultant price-increase, caused the collapse in gold demand from India. In only a period of a few months, India went from being the world’s largest importer of gold to actually exportingsmall amounts of “scrap” gold in early 2009. Indian gold-buyers have long had a reputation for being among the most price-conscious buyers in the world, and when the price of gold surged above $900/oz, these buyers (mistakenly) perceived the price of gold to be “expensive”.
This next item is knock down fight between Liesman or Santelli on CNBC which I found thanks to Peter Grandich of Agoracom who has renewed his $100,000.00 challenge:
Wasn’t that fun!?
Moving on, CNN Money has a must read:
Welcome to the United States of Iceland
NEW YORK (Fortune) — It’s time to start paying attention to the financial sinkhole that Iceland is trying to climb out of — the view from inside of it is eerily similar to our own.
An Icelandic savings bank, Icesave, had attracted billions in deposits from hundreds of thousands of British and Dutch citizens, due to the phenomenally high interest rates it offered. Icesave collapsed in 2008, for much the same reason Lehman Brothers, WaMu, and hundreds of local savings banks did: its bankers used their cash to make complicated, bad, leveraged investments, mostly on real estate.
Finally, check out Ted Butler on the silver manipulation:
Answering the Skeptics
Recently, I was contacted by a reporter for the Financial Times of London. He was looking to write a story about the CFTC’s upcoming hearing on precious metals. I could tell in my conversations with him that he was skeptical about my claims of a downward manipulation in the price of silver. As a result, the story he wrote reflected his skepticism, which was rooted in how could such a manipulation exist for as long as I alleged and how could silver be manipulated if it doubled in price over the past five years?
I understand the reporter’s skepticism and recognize that it is prevalent among those who have not taken the time to study the circumstances in silver. It’s not unusual for people to hold strong opinions about issues they are not well-versed on. I discovered long ago that silver is such an issue.
For the last three days the most popular article on OpedNews, a tough progressive website, has been The Road to Armageddon:
“Inside the Beltway” report, “Explosive News,” about the 31 press conferences in cities in the US and abroad on February 19 held by Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, an organization of professionals which now has 1,000 members.
By the Honorable Paul Craig Roberts, scholar, academic, journalist and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration.
The Road to Armageddon is a wildly popular story about the most popular story on the Washington Times website.
Roberts was surprised that the news report on “How did three World Trade Center skyscrapers suddenly disintegrate into fine dust?” was treated seriously.
Why is Paul Craig Roberts, and The Washington Times, a newspaper that looks with favor upon the Bush/Cheney/Obama/neocon wars of aggression, reporting:
“A thousand architects and engineers want to know, and are calling on Congress to order a new investigation into the destruction of the Twin Towers and Building 7,”
This is information deliberately announced publicly or leaked by a government or an intelligence agency to sow confusion and undermine credibility.
Let’s get real, what are these stories doing in the mainstream media 8½ years after the September 11 attacks?
Answer: They promote the erroneous controlled demolition theory on the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Former President George W. Bush’s comment, “Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories” aired on national television after the attacks of 9/11.
Google “9/11 conspiracy” and you get 134,000,000 results.
Google “9/11 outrageous conspiracy” you get 556,000 results.
There is a 9/11-truth movement in every major city in the United States.
9/11 conspiracy theories are allowed and even encouraged.
The 9/11 Truth Movement is the Cover for a Metaphysical Catechism (Test)
I’ll get right to the point, I have read the books and watched the documentaries on September 11 for three years and the 9/11 official story:
Nineteen fanatical Arab hijackers, masterminded by an evil genius named Osama bin Laden, crash airplanes into steel skyscrapers because they “hate our freedom to consume”. Inexplicably the jet fuel, which is basically kerosene that burns at about 400c, took on the qualities of an explosive demolition agent, vaporizing 70 tons of aircraft into a puff of smoke and causing 110-story buildings to collapse into a pile of rubble.
Is so stupid that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld didn’t really expect you to believe it.
A jet fuel fire brought down two of the tallest buildings in the world: Improbable, to say the least. [1]
Millions believe a LIHOP (Let it Happen on Purpose) version thanks to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911, because their brain tells them the U.S. government killed 3,000 American citizens to pass the Patriot Act, build up the military and invade Afghanistan and Iraq. [2]
Everyone else, after you point out the obvious (110 stories of steel and concrete collapsing at free fall speed), thinks about it for a New York Second and realizes the official story is ridiculous and couldn’t be true.
Then, they come to the false conclusion it was a MIHOP (Made it Happen on Purpose): Bush, Cheney, and the Neocons killed 3,000 Americans so they could pass the Patriot Act, build up the military and invade Afghanistan and Iraq, an inside job. In other words, The Powers That Be (TPTB) expected us to believe the 9/11 Truth story: A rogue element of the US government used controlled demolition to bring down the twin towers.
Let me be clear, I agree the US government or some proxy did exploit the events of 9/11: Building 7, the Pentagon and Flight 77. [3]
The “Experts” on 9/11
Professor Steven “Cold Fusion” Jones lectures ad nauseam about the obvious, that 110 stories of steel and concrete do not collapse into a pile of rubble from a kerosene fire. Jones’ research, allegedly peer reviewed, has not proven the building collapsed from controlled demolition.
Dr. Judy Wood, former professor of mechanical engineering, with expertise in material science concludes the buildings were destroyed using some type of “field effect technology” related to the Hutchison Effect and the presence of Hurricane Erin. [4]
Jones, sweet and innocent, looks like he belongs in the Bush administration not in the counterculture community.
Wood, marginalized and tossed out of the 9/11-Truth Movement happens to look like a hippie.
Dr. Wood raises important questions about the so-called collapse and the dip of the Earth’s magnetic field at the precise moment of the supposed first plane “impact” but the 9/11 Truthers refuse to acknowledge her research and her work has been left out in their search for the Truth. [5]
David Ray Griffin, retired professor at the Claremont School of Theology and spokesman for the 9/11 Truth Movement, has written numerous books questioning the 9/11 official story. Inexplicably he and co-founder, John B. Cobb, Jr., of the Center for Process Studies hang around with David Rockefeller. Griffin’s major project at present is in fact, “to develop a theology for a New World Order.” [6]
Dr. Griffin, like Jones, lectures frequently at universities and public places explaining in repetitive detail that September 11 was not the result of 19 Arab terrorists and a kerosene fire.
However, neither of them will discuss anything that contradicts the controlled demolition theory of the twin towers.
The government would not allow the openly treasonous behavior of David Ray and Steven Earl unless the 9/11 Truth Movement was a Counter Intelligence Program (Cointelpro). [7]
9/11 was a Metaphysical Catechism (Test)
Dr. Judy Wood comes close to a metaphysical explanation. Wood’s research concludes the buildings were destroyed using some type of “field effect technology”, related to the Hutchison Effect, the presence of Hurricane Erin and the dip of the Earth’s magnetic field at the precise moment of the supposed first plane “impact.”
Other researchers and scientists without a metaphysical perspective can only postulate the extraordinary amount of energy released was fission less fusion energy, from a thermonuclear device.
The U.S. Department of Energy has reported that just one geothermal location out of the hundreds that have been identified, is so powerful it has the potential to produce 50,000 times the known oil and gas reserves in the world.
The Powers That Be (TPTB), armed with the lost knowledge from the ancient world, Atlantis are in a metaphysical struggle and are using humans to weaken the earth with environmental damage and pollution: 9/11 was a test to determine if TPTP had defeated the Earth. (9/11: The Most Important Issue in the History of the Universe)
The Earth, in resisting TPTB, was the source of the energy released when the Twin Towers collapsed and largely turned into dust. [8]
Robert Singer writes for Pakistan Daily, The Market Oracle and The Peoples Voice.
If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.”– Don Marquis
Footnotes:
[1] Many official government stories are so ridiculous that a select group of people some call The Powers That Be (TPTB) don’t expect you to believe them. Disinformation is misleading information that is true, deliberately announced publicly or leaked by a government or an intelligence agency to sow confusion and undermine credibility. Misinformation is false or inaccurate information, which is deliberately intended to deceive.
[2] There are three reasons why most Americans are in denial and cling to the official story:
I am a Patriot, the US is a great country they wouldn’t kill 3,000 American citizens to pass the Patriot Act, build up the military and invade Afghanistan and Iraq (Kill3000toPassBuild&Invade).
I like my life I’m having a good time don’t bother me with the Kill3000toPassBuild&Invade nonsense.
I can’t do anything about it anyway, so don’t bother me with the Kill3000toPassBuild&Invade story.
[3] Let me be clear, I agree the US government or some proxy did exploit the events of 9/11 to:
Demolish Building 7 that wasn’t even hit by a plane, home of the SEC investigation files and Rudy Giuliani’s command center.
Fire a cruise missile into the newly renovated wing of the Pentagon, killing 189 people, including the five “alleged” hijackers and 34 civilian accountants, bookkeepers and budget analysts working for the Resource Services department. And, in another one of those coincidences that don’t happen very often, the accountants and bookkeepers were investigating, according to Donald Rumsfeld, 2.3 trillion Dollars that “just vanished”, September 10, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Congress and confessed the Pentagon is missing 2.3 trillion Dollars. Just vanished.
Shoot down flight 77 over Pennsylvania and kill the passengers from flight 93 and a second mysterious airplane that made an emergency landing at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Flights 11, 12 (9+3), 13 (1+7+5), 14 (7+7). UAL Flight 93 Landed Safely At Cleveland Hopkins Airport Plane Lands In Cleveland – Bomb Feared Aboard 8-7-4 Reported by 9 News Staff Web produced by: Liz Foreman 9/11/01, At 10 A.M. on 9/11 Cleveland airport was evacuated due to rumors of a bomb scare. People around the airport were told to go home.
Remove the rubble from the Twin Towers with GPS tracked debris trucks before anyone could perform a forensic analysis. WTC Steel Removal The Expeditious Destruction of the Evidence at Ground Zero http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/groundzero/cleanup.html#ref2. The authorities apparently considered the rubble quite valuable: New York City officials had every debris truck tracked on GPS and had one truck driver who took an unauthorized 1 ½ hour lunch fired. GPS on the Job in Massive World Trade Center Clean-up, securitysolutions.com, 7/1/2002, http://securitysolutions.com/ar/security_gps_job_massive/
[6] July 23. Connect Griffin to New World Order on angieon911, www.angieon911.com
[7] COINTELPRO is the FBI acronym for a series of covert action programs directed against domestic groups. In these programs, the Bureau went beyond the collection of intelligence to secret action defined to “disrupt” and “neutralize” target groups and individuals. The techniques were adopted wholesale from wartime counterintelligence, and ranged from the trivial (mailing reprints of Reader’s Digest articles to college administrators) to the degrading (sending anonymous poison-pen letters intended to break up marriages) and the dangerous (encouraging gang warfare and falsely labeling members of a violent group as police informers).
[8] The World Trade Center (WTC) towers did not “collapse” on 9/11/01, they were pulverized (Blown to Kingdom Come) before a gravity-driven collapse was even a possibility. Pulverized to dust, a paucity of remaining material. Where are the concrete floors? Where is the office furniture? Where is the office machinery? Where are the filing cabinets? Where is the wall board? Where are the bookcases? They were not there, so most of it appears to have turned to dust, as illustrated in Figure 31. Pulverized to dust, http://www.drjudywood.com/articles/DEW/StarWarsBeam3.html
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1. Choosing the number of clusters I: The Elbow Method A post with some ideas on choosing number of clusters in a principled way.
2. 4 Chatboxes for wordpress.com blogs An interesting way to embed chats in blogs. I have added a chat window in my blog to chat with me just for the fun of it. Lets see how it goes.
3. This seat is reserved and More women, more power? Two interesting posts on Women reservation bill in India. Its a shame that the bill is not passed.
4. Finding Your Roots Another nice post on complex numbers by Steven Strogatz. It was a nice refresher to learn again how to take roots (square , cube et al) for imaginary numbers.
5. reddit.com Interviews Peter Norvig An interesting interview with Peter Norvig. He answered some interesting questions . For eg I liked his answer that linear classifiers have progressed beyond everyone’s expectations. Another good question was why Lisp is not much used in Google. For the list of questions see reddit site.I found this interview through this site.
6. A collection of code competition sites Good collection of code competition sites.
I found this series by Michael Wood on Indian history very well put together, except for some of the large swathes of history he has ignored or been unable to cover. Having said that, his interest in the country and the subcontinent in general is genuine and this is definitely heartening, in this day and age when most Americans only think of India as a large country on the other side of the world and “tech support”. I have only come across a few colleagues here in the United States who really appreciate the vast and diverse sub-continent with the interest and respect the region deserves. Most others think of it as just another country, a statistic in the context of their own country and their achievements. Having said that, what is interesting about Americans is not their strange ignorance but their ability to do business with just about anyone.
The Story of India is a project which has long been in the making. Michael Wood has apparently spent a good few years in India for producing this documentary, travelling around India and visiting sundry locations to get a complete flavour of the country, which is difficult to do given the diversity if not the vastness. Even for ordinary Indians like me who can reconcile five languages, multiple types of food and diverse living conditions and climates, it is difficult to fathom how complex India is and how complex Indian history is, with its antiquity, influences and the sheer number of people who have influenced its turns through fortune and misfortune and conquest and glory. The documentary starts aptly, at the very beginning.
“Beginnings” is the first part of the DVD series that deals with much of the prehistory of India, given to speculation and controversy even to this day. It covers the Indus Valley Civilization, sometimes more appropriately called the Indus-Saraswati Civilization or the Ghagra-Hakkar Civilization (although these terms may refer to different cultures or offshoots of the same fundamental people). The IVC is well known in historical circles these days, but Wood covers the history of the West’s quest to understand India’s history too, specifically the case of Sanskrit, the Vedas and pioneers such as William Jones and James Prinsep, who saw India as an antiquated country even by Greek and Latin standards, and whose literature and historical precedents they compared to that of the latter. Wood takes us through a fascinating chronicle of the rise and fall of the IVC, the possibility of climate change in ancient times, Rigvedic practices that are alive in southern India to this day, and the advent of the Iron Age kingdoms in India, better known to some of us as the Mahajanapadas. The many great Kings of the Mahajanapadas, historical and legendary kings of the Ikshvaku and Yadu races are not mentioned, perhaps for want of “historical” accuracy. The Indo-Greek Kingdoms (the Yavanas/Yonas) of the post-Buddhist era are also almost entirely ignored.
“The Power of Ideas”, the second part in the series, digs deeper and takes us on a journey through the spiritual and religious history of India, focusing primarily on post-Vedic Buddhism and the Jain religion. Little mention is made of the pioneering efforts of later sages such as Adi Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva. Little to no mention is made of the philosophical and spiritual writing of the time, especially stalwarts like Kalidasa, Banabhatta and Bhartrhari, whose poetry and plays form an integral part of any self-respecting Indian literature course in Indian colleges and universities, and whose mention would be essential in an Indian history course. The deep connection of religion with the sciences in traditional Indian thought, the exchange of Indian ideas with the Greeks and the Romans and Indian mathematics as derived from Indian religion – all these could also be highlighted more. The Power of Ideas drives home its idea of an India sprinkled with holy men with peaceful thoughts and paints Indian religion as one of peaceniks. It doesn’t show the aggressive, chauvinistic side of Hinduism, Shakti and Shiva worship which were necessary for martial kings and noblemen, the oppression of the Buddhists in the early previous millenium, and the double standards of Buddhist kings who waged war while being Buddhist or “secular” (although I hate to use this much-maligned term).
“Spice Routes and Silk Roads”, part three in the series, takes us on a wondrous journey through Central Asia and northern India, when kingdoms spanned the Silk Route and set up pioneering towns like Takshashila (Taxila), Suvastu (Swat) and Purushapura (Peshawar). It takes us back to a time when science was patronized, the arts were fostered under the Kushanas, Sanskrit was revived as the language of scholarship, advances in medicine were made and even exported to Greece (the Kushanas spoke Greek and Sanskrit and were of Yuechi origin, from China: their medicine came to the Arab world from the Ionian islands in Greece as Unani), Buddhism was prevalent in large parts of India and outsiders for the first time came to rule India arguably after one thousand years. Spice Routes and Silk Roads also takes a sympathetic view of Kanishka, one of my favourite Indian monarchs, the first real king after Ashoka who brought a large portion of India under his control from his base in Central Asia. The series refers to Kanishka as Kans (Kamsa) of Indian legend. To my mind, this seemed a tad implausible, especially as the Bhagavatapuranam, as with others puranas, was a product of the Gupta era or later, and saw the genesis of Kamsa as a king who confronted the divine Krishna. In any case, the cut has made it into the documentary, for better or for worse.
Episode 4 of the series is titled “Ages of Gold” and is a chronicle of the Gupta-Chola age where Indian indigenous civilization reached new heights of achievement in administration, the sciences, especially metallurgy and medicine and when trade flourished with the Romans, Berbers, Persians. The documentary mentions the Indianized kingdoms of Brahmadesa (Burma), Thailand, Kambuja (Cambodia) and Sumatra although you’ll agree that it would take a whole episode to cover Indianized kingdoms in this documentary. Curiously, Michael Wood covers the Ramayana under this episode, although it is purported to be as old as or older than the Mahabharata – at least Rama is said to belong to an earlier age in the cyclical time of Hindu myth – in the Tretayuga. Ideas that don’t get mention here are the consolidated Bhakti movement which distilled aspects of Vedic belief, the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar (although Wood does cover it at some level), the powerful Gurjara kings and the splendid Marathas. The disappearance of Buddhism and Jainism from the subcontinent is also not dealt with in more detail. Apostate philosophies like the Charvaka and the Tarka schools and India’s achievements in mathematics and the physical sciences during this time are not adequately chronicled. Having said all this, it is still interesting to watch Michael Wood narrating the whole thing because of how involved he is in the subject.
Episode 5 chronicles the rise of Islam in the subcontinent and takes a sympathetic view of Dara Shikoh, who alluded to the meeting of Vedic-Bhakti beliefs and Islam as “the meeting of two oceans”. Wood chronicles the slave kings, the coming of Babur, the splendid Mughals with inordinate attention to their architecture, but not enough attention to Islamist and fundamentalist rulers like Aurangzeb or others who were responsible for more than 80 million Indian lives in the 13th and 14th centuries. The unbeliever “Jizya” tax, the general lack of integration of Muslims into Indian society and the rampant profligate spending of the upper classes of this time in India resembles only the modern US in the scale of decadence and depravity, and Wood hints at this.
Episode 6 takes us through the colonial age when the British laid siege to most of India and competed with local princes and kings for power. The lack of a monarch, the decay in Indian resolve to unify and stand off against an external enemy, were all compounded by the trade equations and the presence of multiple colonial powers – the French, Dutch and Portugese were ignored in his presentation altogether, although the roots of the freedom movement are accurately chronicled as having begun from the deep south, after which it spread in 1857 to the scale we all know it took on today. The various acts and reforms and the acts of Christian missionaries are all ignored to make the documentary palatable to most Indians, while Jallianwallah Bagh is highlighted. Wood covers personal stories as well – two freedom fighters are interviewed. Wood leaves the documentary with the moment of India’s independence and the creation of India and Pakistan, and much to my chagrin doesn’t cover India’s rise to prominence in the past few decades – although this fact is mentioned more than once during the series.
I found the dearth of information about kings other than Ashoka, Chandragupta Vikramaditya II and Akbar a little worrying, because if anything, we seem to identify only these as the great monarchs of our history. It would be unjust to forget the other great kings in Indian history like Harshavardhana, Raja Raja Chola, Shashanka, Pulikeshi, Yashovarman, the Pala kings and that most ignored militarily successful kingdom in all Indian history – the Andhras. In this sense, Wood does justice to one of the aforementioned kings, Raja Raja Chola, although the others are mostly ignored. The development of India’s fine arts through the ages could also have been chronicled, and it would be nice if one could get a feel for life in the times through the documentary – but this also means using one’s own imagination lesser, which is never welcome! This documentary intended to be the one comprehensive and concise documentary which chronicled all of Indian history and considered its many facets. I think that the attempt itself is laudable and noteworthy, not to mention the many things in it that were new to me. The documentary is nicely embellished with excellent cinematography, editing and sound which all provide a sense of place to the idyllic and architecturally splendid spots covered in the documentary. Michael Wood’s fervid interest in India becomes the focal point of narration on more than one occasion, making it clear that this is indeed a labour of love. In summary, the documentary is worth a watch for most non-Indians on the subject of India and her history through the millenia, but would leave most Indians wanting for more.
Srinagar, March 07 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Tehreek-e-Hurriyet (TeH) has expressed serious concern over the deteriorating health of the illegally detained Hurriyet leader and party General Secretary, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai. Tehreek-e-Hurriyet in a meeting held in Srinagar said that the health of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai had deteriorated to an alarming proportion due to prolonged detention.
The participant of the meeting pointed out that his life would be in danger if he was not given proper medical treatment. They warned that the occupation authorities would be responsible if anything untoward happened to the detainee.
The meeting denounced the continued illegal detention of Hurriyet leaders including Masarrat Alam Butt, Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi, Firdous Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yousuf Mir, Abdul Ahad Para, Muhammad Rafiq Ganai, Abdul Aziz Dar, Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah and Raja Mehraj-ud-Din. It also appealed to the international human rights organisations to impress upon India to release the Kashmiri detainees.
On the other hand, the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League (ML) has said that the occupation authorities were not providing medical treatment to its illegally detained ailing Vice Chairman, Muhammad Yousuf Mir. The ML spokesman in a statement in Srinagar said, Muhammad Yousuf Mir has been languishing in Kot Bhalwal jail and he has developed several ailments during the detention.
Used to be, Bollywood actresses were curvy. (Like it used to be here, come to think of it.) But alas, the U.K.’s Telegraph reports that Bollywood is shrinking:
“There’s been a lot of changes in the last decade, whether it’s in modelling or in Bollywood,” said Venu Hirani, a nutritionist and fitness consultant in Mumbai.
“Today, the basic requirement for someone wanting to go into either is that they need to be a (US) size zero,” she said.
And check this out:
“Now I have more and more of the younger generation who don’t really need to lose weight but tell me they need to knock off five kilogrammes (11 pounds).”
It is day three of our first Jewish Voice medical clinic in Mizoram, India. We will only be able to treat patients for half the day today here in the village, because we must spend the rest of the day tearing down our camp and transporting medical supplies and staff to our next medical clinic in another location.
This won’t be our first time in our second location. We first traveled to this village in 2008, bringing food to needy Jewish People there. Rats had completely decimated their crops, causing a severe famine.
Today we plan on seeing some 500 patients before we leave for our next location. So far, our staff of around 33 has seen 2, 950 patients during our two-and-a-half day medical clinic. And we estimate that number will increase to more than 3,000 by the end of our first clinic.
Our prayer team has seen God move mightily among those suffering with various pains, witnessing God’s healing touch. The team believes that God will completely heal all who came for prayer today.
Mount Abu is located in the south-western corner of Rajasthan. It is also one of the major pilgrimage sites of India for both Hindu as well as Jain religions. Besides the temples and sites of historical importance, Mt. Abu is also rich in natural scenic beauties. According to the folklores, Mt. Abu was also the home of many saints and sages in ancient times. According to the legends, all the three hundred and thirty million gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy mountain. For those who like Walking, Mount Abu has many delightful walks. Nakki Lake, said to have been carved out by the gods with their nails, is a favorite spot for boating.
Thrissur: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said the State government is awaiting the President’s approval for establishing two-way video communication systems between jails and courts.
Mr. Balakrishnan was addressing a State-level seminar on ‘Correctional administration,’ organised by the Prisons Department, here on Saturday.
“The State Government has got the Criminal Procedure Code amended in this connection and forwarded the papers for the President’s approval. Technical arrangements have been made to install videoconferencing systems in jail. They have already been installed in 25 jails.”
He noted that transportation of remand prisoners who should make appearances in courts of law involved security risks, deployment of a large number of policemen and huge expenses.
“All these can be avoided if jails have videoconferencing facilities.”
The Minister stated that the government was planning to construct four new jails. “Space constraints in jails are triggering human rights problems. Remand prisoners are accommodated in large numbers in jails. The 41 jails in the State have space to accommodate only 4,319 persons. But 6,654 persons are lodged there. This causes friction among prisoners. Only convicts should be placed in central prisons. Remand prisoners should be lodged in district and sub-jails.”
He said that space available on the premises of jails would be used for farming.
“Every jail will be allowed to use for its development 20 per cent of the funds it generates from the work of prisoners.”
He directed wardens with the Kannur Central Jail to ensure that inmates did not damage a mobile jammer installed there.
“The mobile jammer breaks down mysteriously every now and then. Are inmates behind this? Anyway, the government will pay Keltron, which has installed the jammer, only if the company ensures that the equipment functions well,” he said.
It had been a long trouble for all the Indian Webmasters, Affiliates and IT Professionals who have been using Paypal for years. Paypal had stopped its bank withdrawals service in India and also banned personal payments to and from India.
Now here is a good news for all the Indians. Paypal has resumed bank withdrawals in India and they will be able to withdraw their funds to their Bank account by 3rd march.
Farhad Irani, Vice-President, Asia Paypal business told us in an email that we will be notified by 1st march on how to withdraw funds from paypal account to bank accounts in India.
For your knowledge, Reserve Bank of India had halted Personal payments to and from India with Paypal saying that Paypal is not properly registered in India and does not have rights to remittance personal payments in india.
Paypal in its official blog www.thepaypalblog.com provided update :
We have been diligently working with the RBI and our business partners to resume Indian bank withdrawals for the thousands of Indian businesses who use PayPal to sell their goods or services in the global marketplace.
I’m pleased to tell you that the RBI has now allowed us to resume bank withdrawals for settlements for exports of goods and services. We are currently making changes to comply with Indian regulations for settlements for exports of goods and services, and we anticipate that as of Wednesday, March 3rd, we will be able to resume the bank withdrawal service.
They also added that we need to fill out a new field “Export Code” during withrawal will be soon added ot withdrawal form to get funds in your Bank account. you can get more details on how to get Export code here ” How to get an Export Code for paypal in India “.
But Personal payments are still not allowed by Reserve Bank of India as it need approvals to allow personal remittance in India.
We will be updating frequently as the situation changes. keep reading…
I know this video has been out a while (since 2007). I recently ran across it again on Youtube and thought it would be worth sharing. The video is a 90-second public service commercial that promotes urban rainwater harvesting in India. It was created for/or by The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. It is a simple but powerful message. Enjoy.
SIMI was formed in Aligarh in 1977 and had thousands of members and offices in almost every district of the state before it was banned by the Centre in 2002. The group came under the radar of intelligence agencies after 1998 and the then SIMI president Dr Shahid Badr Falahi was arrested in Bahraich for an alleged provocative speech days after 9/11.
More than 1,200 SIMI members were arrested from the state after the ban. Police say they have evidence to prove that the SIMI was involved in the February 2005 blasts in Varanasi, the Shramjeevi Express blast in July 2005, the Varanasi blasts of March 2006, and serial blasts in courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi in 2007.
Among the prominent members arrested in the state are Abu Bashar of Azamgarh, who is said to have first revealed the existence of IM and its role in blasts across the country, and Shahbaz Ahmed of Lucknow, allegedly involved in the Jaipur blasts. State anti-terrorism squad officials say they are still looking for seven key IM operatives belonging to Azamgarh: Dr Shahnawaz, Ariz Khan alias Junaid, Mohammad Sajid alias Bada Sajid, Mirza Shadab Beig, Mohammad Khalid, Asadullah Akhtar and Salman.
Maharashtra
Mumbai and Pune were the main IM hubs with an extensive network of operatives capable of providing resources for an attack anywhere in the country. The arrests made in 2008 in these two cities laid bare the backbone of the IM. The outfit grew out of the seamy underbelly of Mumbai’s gangland, with Riyaz Bhatkal dabbling in underworld activities before becoming involved in SIMI operations in the Muslim dominated areas of Kurla and Cheetah Camp.
In fact, Riyaz was a suspect in the bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2002 and 2003 and a manhunt was launched for him then. In Pune, IM had set up base in the Kondhwa area, with a control room in an apartment in an upmarket housing society. Mumbai police arrested 21 IM members, including IT engineer Mansoor Peerbhoy, and charged them of forming an organised crime syndicate for terrorist activities and hacking into WiFi accounts to send e-mails claiming credit for bomb blasts.
Among the key missing operatives from the state are Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, the face of IM in 2008, Amin alias Raja Ayub Shaikh, Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan, Abu Rashid.
Gujarat
The state has been more a target for SIMI-IM than a hub for the groups, with most men blamed for the 2008 blasts belonging to other states. The blasts were allegedly carried out under the direction, guidance and assistance of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islam (HuJI) operative Amir Raza Khan from Pakistan.
Gujarat Police took custody of senior SIMI leaders Safdar Nagori and Abdul Sibli from Madhya Pradesh and others were taken into custody from jails elsewhere. So far, 57 people have been arrested for the blasts and 38 named in the conspiracy are at large.
Madhya Pradesh
The strong SIMI network in the state helped IM recruit and train members the way it did in UP. In 2008, 13 SIMI leaders, including the outfit’s general secretary Safdar Nagori and his brother Kamruddin, were arrested following raids in Indore. The police described the arrested as active members from Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The arrested also included SIMI’s Karnataka unit chief Hafiz Hussain and Shibli, the mainstay of the group in Kerala. In April 2008, the police neutralised a SIMI training camp in Choral, a popular holiday spot, 35 km from Bhopal. Qayamuddin Kapadia, suspected to be one of the main conspirators of the Ahmedabad serial blasts, was arrested from the state in November 2008. Last April, IM operative Saif-ur-Rahman was arrested from a train in Jabalpur. The Azamgarh resident is accused of planting bombs in Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
Kerala
Although Kerala has not been an IM target, the state is home to some of its key members and several places hosted secret indoctrination, arms training camps after 2005. According to Gujarat police, 37 hardcore SIMI activists had participated in a bomb-making and tough-terrain training camp in Vagamon in 2007. Aluva, Paravoor and Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, Erattupetta in Kottayam and old Kannur city are known to have been used by the IM while half-a-dozen men arrested for being linked to Lashkar are from Kannur city.
Prominent among the key SIMI-IM operators from Kerala are C A M Basheer, an aeronautical engineer from Aluva and the former national president of SIMI. Other SIMI leaders from Kerala are Peediyekkal Shibili, his brother Shaduli and Ansar Maulavi. They were arrested in Indore in March 2008. Sarfraz Nawaz, secretary at the SIMI Delhi office, was picked up by the RAW from Muscat last year.
The police had found that Nawaz financed the Bangalore blasts and knew Basheer. Sainudheen alias Satharbhai of Malappuram designed the explosives for Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat in 2008. Tadiyantavide Nazeer, who had played a key role in recruiting youth for training at Lashkar camps, was nabbed last November and is suspected to have been with the IM in 2008. Key players absconding from Kerala are C A M Basheer, Ayoob, Ummer Farook and Subaih.
Karnataka
While the Bhatkal brothers, Riyaz Shahbandari and Iqbal Shahbandari, used their coastal hometown of Bhatkal as an IM hub, the activities of the group elsewhere in the state were restricted largely to the northern districts of Bijapur, Bidar and Gulbarga. A spurt in SIMI activities occurred in 2007 when various senior members from Karnataka and Kerala tried to reorganise a hardline version.
While the core group had 25-30 members, the effort to revive the SIMI in 2007 saw training camps being held on the Karnataka-Goa border, in the Hubli-Dharwad region and at Ernakulam in Kerala through 2006-07. Much of the network that emerged during this period was busted by Karnataka police through 2008. The IM members blamed for the Hyderabad and Ahmedabad blasts were trained in a remote village in Chikamagalur district.
Although the IM is not held directly responsible for the July 2008 blasts in Bangalore, Riyaz Bhatkal and the perpetrators of the attack a small group of men from Kerala led by former Kerala SIMI activists obtained integrated chip timers for bombs from a common source. The Bhatkal brothers and the Bangalore bombers used a Hyderabad house as a hideout. Besides the Bhatkal brothers, key IM members from the state on the loose are bomb expert Yasin Bhatkal and Mudassar.
Andhra Pradesh
Mufti Abu Bashir, arrested for the Gujarat blasts, Maulana Abdul Aleem Islahi, a SIMI sympathiser who runs a madrasa in Hyderabad, Raziuddin Nasir and Safdar Nagori were involved in setting up the SIMI-IM network in the state. The SIMI set up several religious institutions to continue its activities after it was banned and police suspect Darsgah-e-Jihad-o-Shahadat and Tehrik Tahfuz-e-Shair-e-Islam were two among them.
Maulana Naseeruddin of Tehrik was arrested by Gujarat Police in 2004 for his involvement in the murder of former minister of state for home Haren Pandya. Scores of SIMI-IM members were picked up during the crackdown after the twin-blasts of August 2007 and the Mecca Masjid blasts. They included Raziuddin Nasir, Mohtasin Billa, Mohammed Nissar, Mohammed Muqeemuddin Yaser, Mohammed Sohail, Maulana Naseeruddin and Jaber Naseeruddin.
Police claim that they have managed to “finish off” SIMI-IM in the state after “tightening the noose around a few madrasas whose activities were suspect”. Vikar Ahmed, who shot at two policemen in Hyderabad last August, is the only one absconding, besides a few sympathisers against whom police say they do not have evidence.
Delhi
The Delhi module of IM was led by Atif Ameen and is blamed for the serial blasts of 2008 in the Capital. After the blasts, the Delhi Police cracked Ameen’s module in Batla House and killed two Atif and Mohammad Sajid. Five IM members were also arrested from Delhi: Mohammad Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Mohammad Shakeel, Zia-Ur-Rehman and Saqib Nisar. Two others, Shahzad Ahmed and Ariz Khan alias Pappu managed to flee but Shahzad was arrested from Azamgarh this month. The Delhi Police continues to look for 12 SIMI-IM members, including Amir Raza Khan, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohammad Khaild, Salman, Asadullah Akhtar, Dr Shahnawaz, Mohammad Sajid and Ariz Khan.
With inputs from Bhupendra Pandey, Johnson T A, Sreenivas Janyala, Shaju Philip and Neeraj Chauhan
These youth need a foundation course on Islamic terrorism in India
History of Jihad and Islamic terrorism in India Pune youngsters vent anger in virtual world on blast
Pune/New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) ‘How dare they touch Pune?’, fumed an angry and anguished Swaroopa Sanap, a Pune youngster, on popular social networking website Facebook, a day after a blast ripped through the popular German bakery in the city leaving nine people dead.
Hapless and angry, hundreds of people – mostly youngsters – gave vent to their emotions in the virtual world after the blast took place.
A community created on Facebook, ‘In Memory of those who died in the Pune Koregaon Park bomb blast’, just hours after the terror bombing, immediately registered 1,339 members and is adding on more.
One of the members, Shivdeep Deokar, wrote how he tried to help the victims after the blast took place.
‘I was at the German Bakery 5 minutes after the bomb blast. Tried to help a lot of people there. My house is in lane five (at a distance from the bakery) but I felt the vibrations till my house. We rushed to see what’s wrong… there were around 10 to 15 bodies lying on the road,’ Deokar described.
Sharing his predicament, he wrote: ‘Did not know what to do. Only four cops were there. There were not less than 20-25 bodies, but reports say it’s much less.’
The Koregaon park where the German bakery is located, is a popular hangout zone for youngsters since it has a number of pubs, lounges and cafes. The area is often called a foodie’s delight.
Even as the city’s youngsters opened up their hearts in the virtual world, strangers offered condolences and motivation to fight back.
Said Akash Narangi: ‘Our city, our German bakery blown up – how dare these people torch anything and everything? What are our politicians doing? If our home ministry knew that Pune was a target, why didn’t they do anything to prevent it?’
Replied Ananya Sengupta of Delhi: ‘Don’t worry, Pune and German Bakery will fight back.’
The Facebook group has sent out a message to observe five minutes silence at 7.15 p.m. Sunday – the time of the blast Saturday – in memory of those who were killed and injured in the blast.
At least 60 people were also injured in the blast, including 10 foreign nationals.
Indo Asian News Service
Last week we had a photo shoot for parts of our Los Angeles collection that are focused on using pre-consumer remnants from the fashion industry. The photo shoot, by Orit Harpas, was at Hope Gardens. Thanks to Corban Poorboy for lending her styling skills (again!), as well as many of our own R&L volunteers and Hope Gardens women for being our models!
Below is one of the scarves from our Los Angeles collection, made with donated remnant silks from couture designer, Cynthia Vincent. Cynthia has been a supporter of Raven + Lily since the very beginning and we couldn’t have done any of this without her! Each scarf is handmade, unique, and the proceeds benefit the overall mission of Raven + Lily to support impoverished women around the world!
Through the generous donations of leather remnants by Marnie Bugs and Shani handbags, we were able to create some beautiful, one-of-a-kind leather pieces. What do you think of our new earrings and necklaces?
I am just in love with these leather flower hair pins. I think they would look lovely in a bride’s hair or for a special evening. They come in metallic copper too! Doesn’t all our hair need a little shazam?
You can see even more items from this fashion forward and eco-friendly collection at our online store. We’d love to know what you think of all our new items.
We know that Jaani Drucker and her husband Professor Al Drucker have long known, and indeed been the guests of, persons who carefully investigated accounts of Sathya Sai Baba’ sexual abuses of boys and young men, and other serious abuses.
In an email to me (see link just below), Jaani Drucker, who was brutally raped in a New York Sai center in February 1985 wrote: “what happens to the body is indeed not real, and has no effect whatsoever on who we are as immortal beings inhabiting a body for a moment”.
The fact is that many boys and young men (and others who have grown older) do not share, Ms Drucker’s notion. Neither will their families and many others.
My reply to Ms Drucker is here:
Barry Pittard Replies To Sathya Sai Center Rape Survivor’s Note To Him
Posted by Barry Pittard on February 8, 2010
I wrote back to her, with no reply, so I posted the above article. Having now seen the latter, she emailed just yesterday to say: “I did not see your e-mail to me, so it must have gotten into my spam folder”. Her reply is scarcely a reply at all. Although her website states that she “has truth, will travel” and that she is happy to discuss and debate issues, she avoids responding to the issues I raised.
Why will she not properly discuss or debate?
I would still like to know whether she sees no reason to defend the integrity of many former Sathya Sai Baba devotees for whom, over years, she and her husband had much respect for. They have long been extremely assailed – including with the assistance of prominent Sathya Sai Baba figures. Must they, too, be expected to live in the (perhaps rather Manichean) state of non-dualism which Ms Drucker in public discourse and on her website claims to be living in?
In her first email, Ms Drucker said, “As to Sai Baba – He needs no defense”. Whatever may be the case about that, it is clear from evidence from many parts of the world that boys and young men DO have, and have long had, need of defense against him. But there are those, including a number who were once in top positions in the international Sathya Sai Organization, who attest that Jaani and Al Drucker DID hear at first hand compelling testimony from families of (then) young males who have given accounts of his sexual molestation of them.
The issue is serious for most. Indeed, very keenly so for families who wish to protect their children against both harm and the bad advice that can lead to harm. In her second email to me, she writes:
“Is it necessary for a rape victim to receive professional counseling? This assumes that psychology has answers that TRUTH does not. I would disagree. In fact I would go as far as to say the only way to come into right relationship with any and all past traumas is to understand truly who we are. Then we see that nothing real can be threatened. We are all unaffectably whole and complete. When you know this at a deep level you are free of any past whether you were the victim or the victimizer. Then you have shifted out of the victim/victimizer paradigm into the God-consciousness where you know you cannot be a victim. This heals the past and assures you that you will not attract just experiences to yourself in the future”.
This is not what responsible parents will want their young to hear. It is not what mental health professionals think, aware as they are of how belief systems can be hazardously used to put survivors of abuse into states of denial.
Jaani Drucker extends such a notion in public discourse and across her website. It appears plain that Jaani Drucker is deliberately side-stepping points I put to her. Like so many well-informed Sai devotes, she entirely skirts issues but does not deny that he has long engaged in the actions that the rest of the world calls sexual abuse. In her second (just received) email, she says:
“Sai Baba has demonstrated powers of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. I am convinced of His divinity and that everything He does is in the service of the uplift of all. He knows the past, present and future of each of us, and He knows how to transform the world into a world of peace, love and joy for all. In order to understand Baba’s actions we have to hold the big picture… And when we know who we are, we will know a little better who Sai Baba is. So the task at hand is to know yourself, rather than spending your time trying to pin a crime on Sai Baba. However if you wish to pursue that course, Sai Baba does say Inimical Bhakti is the fastest path to truth, so I am sure it is serving the highest good.”
At a cost of great individual and family sacrifice, former Sai Baba devotees from many countries have assisted in submissions to UNESCO, the FBI, Interpol etc), and spoken out in other ways. For example, the Rahm family (formerly among the most prominent devotees in Sai Baba’s worldwide movement), went to tremendous effort in standing forth to protect young males from Sathya Sai Baba, as in their extensive testimony to the BBC and DR, submissions to the FBI, and much more. See independent British author Kevin Shepherd’s:
The Alaya Rahm Lawsuit in California (at 23.6) and
Alaya Rahm’s Lawsuit vs Sathya Sai Society of America – Joint Statement by the International JuST Group and the Rahm family
Has Jaani Drucker nothing to say about whether in Sai Baba’s international organization there should be proper processes in place for dealing with such serious allegations made by perfectly bona fide members of the organization? Have they no rights to be protected against such dereliction of duty that has been amply demonstrated in the Hislop letters. See:
Timothy Conway Ph.D – On ‘The Hislop Letters’
The Hislop letters – part one [Timothy Conway on Gerald Moreno]
The crucial John Hislop letters, Sathya Sai Baba, & Sathya’s defender Joe Moreno by Timothy Conway, Ph.D
In her earlier email, Jaani Drucker said,
“Is not the fact that He stays out in the open and has not gone into hiding, and charges have never been charged, evidence enough of His Divinity? Again, for pearls one cannot stay on the surface”.
Surely, Ms Drucker is being terribly naive. Countless offenders do not go into hiding. They prefer to tough things out. The retention of a public profile not closed to Sathya Sai Baba. He wields incredible political and religious power. There is a bleak scenario difficult to imagine for many outside India. The extent of corruption is immense. They need to count themselves fortunate that their democratic institutions tend to work more effectively. I have written of protections that the Indian power echelons afford him. See:
Why Has Sathya Sai Baba Not Faced The Indian Justice System?
Quote from this article:
“In 2001, the celebrated Indian advocate Kamini Jaiswal (who was a lawyer for the famous ‘Bandit Queen’ Phoolan Devi) attempted to mount, pro bono, a case against Sai Baba on behalf of a former Sai Baba devotee, Hari Sampath. apparently a former member of Sathya Sai Baba’s intelligence and security wing. They were thwarted in what lawyers, including eminent ones from different countries (their identities are available to bona fide investigators by writing me), have described by such terms as “a kangaroo court”. One used to democratic court procedures can hardly believe, as one reads the lawyer’s notes in transcript, that judges could be so blatant. See, Record of Proceedings document of Hari Sampath’s 2001 case against Sai Baba in the Supreme Court of India, and further comments on this case scuppered by Judges G.B. Patnaik and R.C. Lahoti with the concurrence of then Chief Justice Dr A.S. Anand”.
Sathya Sai Baba Disposed Judges
Another example of the appallingness that can pass for Indian justice (often an oxymoron) is illustrated by the conduct of a Sai Baba devotee Judge, Y. V. Anjaneyulu, in Sai Baba’s state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a judgement that contradicts India’s secular justice system and confounds those of our lawyer members who live in far more democratic countries than India who have seen the document. For this undeniable perversion of justice, see HERE.
In the face of all this (and so much other) testimony, where is Jaani Drucker’s compassion? Where is her sense of duty as a citizen, with responsibility towards transparency and accountability? Where does her “have truth will travel” philosophy lead to when she has so long been complicit in the workings of one of the most authoritarian cults in the world, the Sathya Sai Baba Organization?
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Select Further Reading
Will the Real Professor Alvin Drucker Be Upstanding?
Inequality before the law in India
Liberhan Commission Report, India: Names Some Long-time Close Associates of Sathya Sai Baba
Prominent Indians Berate India’s Rife Political Corruption
Will A Newer India Throw Off Old Oppressions?
India’s Chronic Addiction To Anacronistic Gurus. Any Sea-change?
India’s Painful Experience of Corrupt Leadership
Hazards For Abuse Survivors Both Timid and Bold
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Petition
Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization
There is a Spanish version available:
PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA ”INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL
Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba
Text extracted from the book Tradado do Yoga. Master DeRose
WHAT IS YOGA?
Is it gymnastics? A religion?
A fighting style? A flower arrangement?
Once upon a time a famous dancer improvised instinctive movements that were, however, extremely sophisticated thanks to his virtuosity and, because of this very fact, absolutely beautiful. This body language was not exactly ballet, but it had undeniably been inspired by dance.
The captivating beauty of the technique moved all those who watched; they were overwhelmed with its expressiveness, and asked the dancer to teach them his art. And so he did. In the beginning, the method had no name. It was something spontaneous that came from within and only echoed in the hearts of those who had been born adorned by a more refined sensibility.
As the years passed, the great dancer was able to convey a good part of his knowledge until one day, long after, the Master passed on to the invisible planes. His art, however, did not die. The most loyal disciples preserved it and assumed the mission of re-transmitting it. The pupils of this generation understood the importance of also becoming instructors, and of modifying nothing, altering nothing of the outstanding teachings of the first Mentor.
At some moment in History, this art received the name integrity, integration, union: in Sanskrit, Yoga! Its founder was entered into mythology with the name of Shiva and with the title of Nataraja, King of the Dancers.
These facts occurred more than 5,000 years ago in the Northeast of India, in the Indus Valley, populated by the Dravidian people. Therefore, we will study the origins of Yoga in this period and find its original purpose, so that we can identify authentic teachings and distinguish them from others that have been compromised by consumerism and interference from alien and incompatible methods.
Not one of the reigning World T20 Champions were picked up by the Indian Premier League. The IPL have said they didnt select any Pakistani players because of visa concerns.
Sathya Sai Baba Disposed Judges
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