Six French charity workers are expected soon to be flown home after they were sentenced in Chad today to eight years hard labour for trying to kidnap 103 children in order to take them to France for adoption.
The guilty verdicts are likely to conclude the African episode of the so-called Zoes Ark affair, in which French activists gathered children in eastern Chad whom they believed to be orphans from the Darfur conflict and arranged for them to fly to an airport in the Champagne region.
Foster families were waiting for them when they were arrested in October. It turned out that the children were from Chadian families and most were not orphans. Their families entrusted them to the French charity in the belief that they were to be educated locally.
The activities of Eric Breteau, a volunteer fireman, and his five colleagues from Zoes Ark sparked an outcry in Chad and embarrassed President Sarkozy, who nevertheless intervened in October with Idress Deby, President of the former French colony, to ensure that they would be returned to France.
The group are expected to be sent to Paris in order, at least in theory, to serve their sentences in France under a 1976 judicial accord between Chad and France. They face a separate criminal investigation in France but it is unclear whether they would be dispensed from prison time.
At the end of a three-day trial, Beassoum Ben Ngassorom, the state prosecutor, called on the Ndjamena criminal court to sentence all six of the French defendants to seven to 11 years for attempted kidnapping, fraud and for not paying their bills.
They came with apparently humanitarian intentions, but rapidly switched to the non-humanitarian, the prosecutor told the court. A Chad national and a Sudanese man were sentenced to lighter terms of four years because they were victims of deceit by the French, as the prosecutor put it. Two Chadian officials were acquitted.
Mr Breteau, the founder of Zoes Ark, insisted throughout the trial that his groups intentions had been honourable and his French lawyers said they had merely been applying the concept of humanitarian interference, the doctrine that was devised in the 1980s by Bernard Kouchner, the humanitarian crusader who is now French Foreign Minister.
Mr Breteau offered an apology for the first time as the trial ended today, saying that he not intended to separate any Chadian parents from their children.
He insisted that he and his colleagues had acted in good faith when they tried to fly the children from eastern Chad, near the border with Sudans conflict-ridden Darfur region, to France.
If they are Sudanese ... we have deprived them of a better future; if they are Chadians and we were lied to, if we separated them from their families, we are really terribly sorry, for we never wanted to separate families, he said.
Mr Sarkozy flew to Chad a month ago to bring home French journalists and Spanish airline crew who had been detained with the charity workers in October.
He promised that he would bring home the charity workers, whom he depicted as a band of misguided clowns rather than criminals. The timing of the groups return remains uncertain, especially since Mr Breteau angered the Chadian government by announcing at the start of the trial that he expected to found guilty and then be home by the New Year.
Banks in Zimbabwe failed to open on Christmas Day, despite earlier pledges from the central bank governor. Instead, long lines of Zimbabweans desperate for local currency queued at the few machines dispensing cash.
On top of rampant inflation, mass unemployment and shortages of fuel and basic goods the country is now suffering shortages of bank notes. The shortage remains despite the introduction of higher-denomination notes last week.
On Monday the central bank's governor, Gideon Gono, said banks would remain open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day to dispense cash after the new notes failed to cut long bank queues. But reports from the capital Harare on Tuesday said the banks were closed, leaving customers empty-handed and forcing many to join the lines at cash machines instead.
State media reported on Monday that the central bank had put another Z$20 trillion (worth about US$667m at the official exchange rate, or US$10m at the black-market rate) into circulation by introducing the new notes, Reuters reported.
Yup, just print more money, that'll solve all the problems.
But only a fraction of the existing cash in circulation is in the formal economy - the majority is in the black economy. Mr Gono blames the currency shortages on foreign-exchange currency dealers, the so-called "cash barons", and Zimbabweans are being urged to report anyone flouting currency exchange laws.
Yup, just jail people, that'll solve all the problems.
Zimbabwe has the highest level of inflation in the world at more than 8,000%.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Zim-bob-we has not yet hit bottom.
Question, is there a bottom to hit in a Black Hole?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/26/2007 7:56 Comments ||
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With no considerable progress in bringing reforms to political parties in the last one year, the two major parties, BNP and Awami League (AL), are issuing apparent threats of launching agitations to free their detained chiefs, as a harbinger of yet another political turmoil that might plague the country into the new year.
Leaders of major political parties hinted that their demand for lifting the state of emergency restoring full-scale political activities might be strengthened as the Election Commission (EC) is preparing to hold the long overdue polls to some local governments between April and May next year.
The ongoing agitation for trials of war criminals also might gain momentum as most of the political parties already extended their support for the nascent movement launched by the forum of sector commanders in the liberation war.
Teachers of Dhaka University might also launch agitations again to free their detained colleagues and students.
The political climate however still remains almost as it has been since 1/11 in absence of reforms in the political parties, despite the government promises of new politics in the country, which supposedly would ensure financial transparency and democratic practices within the parties.
It has been learnt by talking to senior leaders of AL, BNP, and Jatiya Party that no progress in reforming the parties has been achieved yet, and no sign is there pointing to that direction on their own initiatives.
But a major change is likely to come in the political arena after March, as by that time, the EC is scheduled to finalise its reform proposals, when it is also supposed to ask the parties to prepare for getting registered with the commission by June, as the parliamentary election is supposed to be held no later than next December.
The parties are supposed to amend their constitutions and elect new committees meeting the criteria for their registration with the EC. They are supposed to hold their national councils, for which political activities across the country must be allowed by the government to ensure involvement of the grassroots level leaders in the process of holding democratic councils.
So, to implement its electoral roadmap, the government will have to either lift or relax the restrictions on indoor politics across the country allowing the parties to hold their councils to get registered with the EC, which is mandatory for contesting in the much awaited next parliamentary election.
Besides, the caretaker government will have to either lift or relax the state of emergency in the divisional headquarters of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, Syhlet, and Barisal to hold the long overdue polls to the five city corporations starting next May.
In the wake of the prevailing political situation, no major political party has made any progress towards the much-hyped party reform, although indoor politics has been allowed in the capital for almost four months now.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
OBSERVER.GUARDIAN.UK > THE NEW WORLD ORDER WHICH THREATENS UNCLE SAM [USA]. Russia-China.
#2
CHINESE MIL FORUM > FUTURE OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA [China]. ECONOMIST.com - WHALE AND THE SPRATLYS [12/13/07]. Vietnam versus China over Spratlys, Paracels islands. *CMF Poster - CHINA will decide the future/destiny of the SOuth China Sea.
#6
OOOOPPPPSIES< forgot to add OP-ED > IS INFORMATION IMPORTANT TO YOU. The merits and glorious obliviousness of wilful mainstream dhimmitude, ala everything, anything, and of course nothing???
#10
KOMMERSANT > UN AT A LOOSE END, + MOWSCOW MAYOR:RUSSIA'S ECONOMY WON'T COLLAPSE AFTER PRSIDENTIAL ELECTIONS + JAPAN REITERATES ITS CLAIMS TO SOUTH KURILS/KURILES ISLANDS; + RIAN > NO WAY TO DO WITHOUT ABM. GLOBAL that is - Russ hates US GMD but grudgingly recognizes its global practicality.
#11
And the best one tonite > NEWSVINE > SKYMANIA Science - NEW PLANET MAY BE HOME TO ALIENS.
DREAM/VISION > in the Year = Cylon Babe Yarn 2040 and beyond, Mankind and Alien Race battle for domination of "near Space". D *** NG IT, SPACE GOVT = NEW SPACE ORDER, STARSHIP TROOPERS BATTLESTARS AND SPACE MARINES, ETC. NOW - THIS UNIVERSE/SPACE ISN'T DEM DAR BIG ENUFF FOR HUMANS AND ALIENS [tumbleweed blowin' here]. ANY AND ALL THE CYLON NAKED BABES BELONGS TO US.
#15
ION CHINA > DIGG - CHINA'S GLACIERS [AND PEOPLE] ARE IN TROUBLE. HMMMMMMM, underwater-walking dead guy Savior-Destroyers, MAD MAX-style modif B52 passenger planes, and a future young brunette beach babe from Guam.
#16
CHINESE MIL FORUM/TOPIX > HILLARY INAUGURATION MAY SPARK WWIII. US global appeasement to apologize for post-9-11 ventures at Global Empire, wid hubby BILLC as SecState = major Cabinet post.
The BNP's pro-Khaleda faction has shelved other issues for her release but reformists want to bring in unity in the party in the run-up to general elections that the Election Commission says will be held by December next year.
Highly placed BNP sources said Khaleda Zia's release will top other considerations for her followers in the coming days while the Saifur Rahman-led group is putting emphasis on party unity in a bid to participate in the next elections.
Pro-Saifur leaders will continue their effort to convince the old guard of the need for unity but Khandaker Delwar Hossain-led leaders said the party is already united under Khaleda's leadership and any decision on strengthening the cohesion must come from her. "They (pro-Saifur leaders) must have to return to the party fold without any condition," said a pro-Khaleda stalwart.
Both the factions, however, hoped that the caretaker government will lift the emergency as soon as possible and as per the Election Commission's roadmap, hold a free, fair and meaningful election by the end of the coming year.
Khaleda's followers claim that her release is a must for a meaningful election. But Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, standing committee member of the pro-Saifur faction, told reporters that he saw nothing that may justify standing up against the government right now.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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The trial of detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others in a Tk 2.99-crore extortion case resumes at a makeshift court today, several days after a legal wrangle over relocating the court to try a particular case.
On December 19, Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Azizul Haque fixed December 26 for resumption of hearing on charge framing in the case against Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim. The judge set the date after the Supreme Court on December 13 cleared all barriers to the hearing of the case in the makeshift court. The original venue of the court was in Old Dhaka, but the government shifted it to the Sangsad Bhaban area for "security reasons".
The trial court on December 12 stalled for three months the proceedings of the case following the High Court order. Earlier on December 9, the High Court had stayed the trial proceedings of the case for three months following a writ petition filed by Hasina's lawyers challenging shifting of the court for trial of a particular case, and its operation at two places at a time.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Very sad news story. Note the wages for unskilled labor in Beijing, which is said to offer the highest average pay in China.
They might have had a Christmas baby.
But things went terribly wrong the day before Thanksgiving.
It started with a bad cough. Li Liyun, a 22-year-old migrant worker, tried to ignore it because she couldn't afford medicine. She certainly couldn't afford a prenatal checkup. She and her partner, Xiao Zhijun, were so broke that they sometimes went for three days without food before refilling again with a bowl of rice and cabbage soup.
When Li had trouble breathing, Xiao rushed her to a clinic, which transferred her to a nearby hospital. There doctors said Li was suffering from severe pneumonia and that the only way to save her and her unborn child was to perform an emergency cesarean. But Xiao refused to sign the release form, believing that the procedure was unnecessary and that the doctors only wanted to charge him for an expensive operation.
About five hours after arriving at the hospital, both mother and child were dead.
The tragedy, which sparked widespread outrage, cast new light on the plight of China's growing underclass and the dearth of social services. But it also revealed how distrust, fear and superstition can prove deadly in the world's most populous nation.
"The bigger picture behind this tragedy is a society that is seriously lacking in mutual trust and compassion," said Xu Zhiyong, a Beijing lawyer who is not involved in the case.
Xiao says Li was not yet full term and that the hospital gave her drugs that caused her to go into premature labor so he could be swindled.
"They are murderers who are trying to pin the killing on me," Xiao said. "My only fault is that I have no money."
Lacking professional medical care, the couple had depended on some dubious counsel. A street vendor, for instance, had told Xiao that his baby wasn't due until the end of December. A fortune teller had predicted an untimely end for Li and the child. Then doctors whom he distrusted were pressuring him to allow them to cut her open.
His mind was a blur when he heard, first, that the fetal heart had given out. Then that the mother had stopped breathing.
"We offered to foot the $1,300 bill to save two lives," said He Weishan, a man who was visiting the hospital with his pregnant wife. "He didn't want the money. He just froze. He really didn't believe his wife was ready for labor."
Nearly one of three people in the Chinese capital of 17 million belongs to the country's floating population, according to state media. They are migrants like Li and Xiao who have left impoverished rural roots in search of a better life in the cities. More often, what awaits them are setbacks and disappointments.
Three years ago, Li was so disheartened that she had wanted to commit suicide. That's how Xiao met her.
He was a laid-off factory worker who happened to be walking across a bridge in Beijing when he saw a young woman about to jump.
"She was climbing over the railing. I ran up and grabbed her," Xiao recalled. "I told her, 'You are so young. The road ahead is still long. Whatever is troubling you, I will help you get through it.' "
His words touched her deeply. They became friends and then fell in love.
Despite their age difference -- she was 19 and he 31 when they met -- they had much in common. Both had grown up in the Chinese heartland in large households with four children. Both felt like outcasts, and harbored big dreams: She wanted to be an actress, and he aspired to become a government official.
"My daughter loved to sing and dance; she spent one year at a provincial film school that cost almost $2,000, an astronomical figure for a family like ours," said her schoolteacher father, Li Xuguang, who is in Beijing to pursue legal action against the hospital.
After a year at another expensive school, for machinery, that was supposed to lead to better job prospects but turned out to be a scam, she ran away from home rather than face her debt-ridden parents.
"The last time we spoke was the morning before she died," said her mother, Li Xiaoe, who broke down sobbing at the sight of her daughter's photographs. "She told me, 'Mama, I have a cold.' I told her to get it looked at. She said she would."
Her daughter hadn't told her she was pregnant.
"I am sure she wanted to come home but she was afraid of telling us the truth," her mother said.
Xiao said they had wanted to get married, but under Chinese law they had to return to their home province to get official permission. They didn't have money for the trip and feared that their families would not accept their union.
They drifted from city to city, job to job, sleeping in shanties, on the street, on hospital benches. After venturing to Beijing, Xiao worked as a mover, as a security guard and in a shoe store. But the pay was so low that they were even evicted from their hole-in-the-wall rental.
To get a roof over their heads before the baby came, Xiao tried reaching out to welfare agencies, emergency shelters and maternity wards. But, he said, he was turned away, again and again.
"We live in a heartless world," said Xiao, his head buried in his hands and his words barely audible.
Finally, a restaurant hired them to wash dishes for $93 a month, plus room and board. But he thinks that made things worse. She wouldn't have gotten so sick if they hadn't taken that job, he said, choking up. The water was so cold. It was wet everywhere.
Two weeks later, they were in a hospital, with $13 in his pocket and facing a life-or-death crisis. By then, it was difficult for him to trust anyone. Now, it's impossible.
"She's gone," Xiao mumbled, tears dripping onto the cold floor as he faced the prospect of the New Year alone without the woman he loved and his child. "I just know it was a son."
By the time she had realised her mistake - that as one of Germany's top communists she should probably not be seen eating lobster - it was too late. There was no time to switch from the 22 (£16) "rich man's dish" to a more modest platter of kippers, because Sahra Wagenknecht had already been caught on camera in the act of betraying her own political ideals.
So the photogenic MEP for Germany's Left party set about trying to destroy the evidence of what happened that night in the Strasbourg restaurant Aux Armes in a manner that has sent ripples of scorn across Germany. . . . the day after the dinner Wagenknecht, 38, allegedly dispatched her parliamentary assistant to the office of Feleknas Uca, the photographer and fellow Left MEP who was one of six other Left members at the dinner. The assistant asked whether Uca would lend her her digital camera to "take photographs with an acquaintance".
According to Uca, the photographs of Wagenknecht cracking into her lobster had been erased from the camera when it was returned to her the following day.
Germany is appalled that its favourite communist has taken to acting just like a commie adopting "tactics at which Stalin was a dab hand," as one newspaper commentator said. . . .
A clearly embarrassed Wagenknecht - who was brought up on the works of Marx and Engels, joined the East German communists in 1989, and allegedly mourned the fall of the Berlin Wall - has admitted both to eating the lobster, and erasing the pictures. But she defended her actions. "I don't do anything that I say others shouldn't do," she told the daily TAZ. "On the contrary, I'm fighting for a society in which everyone can afford to eat lobster." There is such a thing. It's called "capitalism." You should try it.
As to why she erased the pictures? "I didn't like them," she said. Call it "Larry's revenge."
Posted by: Mike ||
12/26/2007 11:02 ||
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Great article, Mike. How about this for a subtitle:
"From Lobsters to Kippers: How the Mighty have Fallen"
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/26/2007 13:33 Comments ||
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#2
"I'm fighting for a society in which everyone can afford to eat lobster."
Jeez, I can't even get my Snark-o-Generator® to quit "vibrating happily" in order to come up with something in response to that statement.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/26/2007 14:18 Comments ||
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who was brought up on the works of Marx and Engels, joined the East German communists in 1989 It's all in the timing.
Hindu extremists attacked Christians celebrating Christmas in eastern India, ransacking and burning at least six village churches, officials said Wednesday. One person was killed in the violence.
Authorities in the remote district where the churches, most nothing more than mud and thatch houses, were attacked have deployed 450 police to quell the violence, which had tapered off by Wednesday, said Bahugrahi Mahapatra, a government official.
There were conflicting reports of what sparked the unrest in Orissa, a state in eastern India with a history of violence against the area's tiny Christian minority. Mahapatra called the violence a "sensitive matter" and refused to discuss how it began. Some reports said that Christians had attacked a hardline Hindu leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad group, who had been leading an anti-conversion movement.
But the New Delhi-based Catholic Bishops Conference of India said the fighting began when Hindu extremists objected to a Christmas Eve show, believing the display was designed to encourage Hindus at the bottom of the religion's rigid caste hierarchy to convert to Christianity. An argument over the Christmas show got out of hand and some of the Hindus opened fire on the Christians, injuring three of them, said John Dayal, a spokesman for the Bishops Conference.
The Hindus then went on a rampage on Christmas Day, chasing people out of six churches and setting the buildings ablaze, he said. Later, dozens of people from each community clashed, Dayal said. One person was killed, although it was not immediately clear if he was a Hindu or Christian. Another 25 people were wounded, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
Although Hindus, the overwhelming majority of India's 1.1 billion people, and Christians, who make up around 2.5 percent of the population, have tended to coexist peacefully in India, the region where the violence took place has a history of tension between the communities. Orissa, in fact, is the only Indian state that has a law requiring people to obtain police permission before they change their religion, a move designed to counter missionary work.
Much of the ill-will in the area, about 840 miles southeast of New Delhi, stems from anti-missionary sentiments.
In 1999, an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 8, were burned to death as they slept inside their vehicle after a Bible study class in Orissa.
The Christians, meanwhile, have challenged the conversion law in court, saying it violates India's constitution.
#2
Injured VHP leader alleges Congress leader behind attack
BHUBANESWAR: VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who was injured in an attack in Kandhmal district, which led to large scale violence and arson in the district, on Tuesday night alleged that a senior Congress leader was behind the attack on him.
Eighty-year-old Saraswati, who led an anti-conversion movement was shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack from Darinigibadi government hospital, told reporters that a group of villagers launched an attack on him on Monday at the instruction of the Congress leader.
"They attacked to eliminate me," he said adding this was for the seventh time that they failed to kill him.
Saraswati, who is a member of the VHP's 'margadarshak mandali', was attacked by a group of villagers while he was on the way to Brahmanigaom on Monday.
His driver and personal security guard were seriously injured in the incident and his car badly damaged.
While Saraswati was admitted at Darinigibadi government hospital, his security guard was rushed to M K C G Medical College Hospital at Berhampur.
Sources said the district administration of Kandhamal preferred to shift Saraswati to Cuttack hospital apprehending more danger in the locality due to presence of the VHP leader in Daringibadi area.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 7:14 Comments ||
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#3
Fresh communal trouble in Orissa despite curfew
Despite indefinite curfew, fresh communal violence was reported on Wednesday morning from Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal district with clashes in various places and a church and a former MP's house being attacked.
According to police, hundreds of tribals attacked a church at Sarsalanda village under Sadar police station, about 20 km from Phulbani town. A mob also vented its ire on the home of former MP Sribatsa Digal in Line Pada at Phulbani town, an official of the district intelligence bureau said.
Besides, there were reports of communal clashes from half a dozen places but the details were awaited due to "disruption of communication", the official said.
All these incidents occurred late on Tuesday night despite curfew being imposed in the troubled areas of Baliguda, Daringbadi and Brahmani Gaon as well as at the district headquarters of Phulbani.
Curfew was clamped on Christmas night after one person was allegedly killed and over a dozen injured in clashes between Hindus and Christians in the wake of a shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest an attack on a Hindu leader.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 7:21 Comments ||
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#4
The trouble had started on Monday morning in the Christian-majority Brahmanigaon village, 150 km from the district headquarters of Phulbani, over Christmas celebrations.
While the Christian community wanted to celebrate the day in a grand way, the local Hindus opposed the plan, Bhol said.
This led to clashes between the Hindu and Christian groups. The attack on Saraswati led to escalation in the violence.
Besides the VHP, the local Kui tribal community had also given a shutdown call demanding immediate solution to their problems. The clashes took place mostly when VHP supporters attacked shops in various places.
At least a dozen churches and a dozen of vehicles including two police vehicles were set on fire. Besides, the protestors attacked house of the elder brother of the state steel and mines minister Padmanav Behera and torched one of his vehicles on Tuesday, police sources said.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 7:23 Comments ||
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#5
Fresh violence in Orissa
Fresh violence broke out on Wednesday outside curfew-bound Barakhama and in Jaleshpata area where unidentified persons set afire houses and indulged in stone-throwing, causing minor injuries to eleven people.
Police said while four houses were torched outside Barakhama, six others were set on fire in Jaleshpata.
Though additional units of security personnel were rushed to the affected areas, their movement was restricted due to felling of trees by unidentified persons.
The violence took place after an attack on VHP leader and prominent anti-conversion activist Laxmanananda Saraswati on Monday.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 7:29 Comments ||
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The dark region on the east coast of India is Orissa
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 7:43 Comments ||
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#7
Ironically backward Orissa was once Kalinga.. one of the oldest democracies in the world. A republic of free men and women.
When the Indian Emperor Ashoka (230 BC) demanded that they submit to his rule, they refused, saying that they freely choose their rulers.
Ashoka invaded. The people of Kalinga resisted fiercely so he leveled the place to the ground. Hundreds of thousands were killed. Sometime after the battle, Ashoka went out to tour his new conquest. All he saw for miles were burnt houses and corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried out "God, what have I done?".
He converted to Buddhism, renouncing war and forbidding the killing of any living thing.
It was Ashoka who sent missionaries to spread the Buddhist faith throughout Asia.
But two thousand years later.. Orissa seems to be in the same condition that Ashoka left it...
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 8:00 Comments ||
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#8
Lets wait and see how much actual truth is in this report.
#10
Nehru, with his paternalistic bent, is partly to blame for all this. He passed laws preventing residency and sale of land in the tribal areas, believing that he was preserving their way of life and culture.
The result was zero development.
The tribal areas don't have the anywhere near the amenities of even deprived rural area. There are occasional reports of starvation deaths in isolated areas.
Life is really nasty, brutish and short.
Many tribals were probably just looking for an excuse to loot and burn.
Being at the bottom of the socioeconomic system, they are surprisingly caste conscious. One would think that caste violence is primarily perpetrated by upper caste people. Actually it is mostly done by those just one rung above those at the very bottom.
There is resentment at the aid the missionaries bring and tremendous fear at being eclipsed economically and socially by those traditionally at the very bottom. So you have people of say, the fishing net-weavers caste oppressing those of the mud-brick makers caste.
Hence the resentment at conversions and the disruption of the social system.
The whole system of tribal 'protection' needs to be swept away... drive some six lane highways and electricity pylons through the area, setup some SEZs and bring those people into the early 20th century
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 8:32 Comments ||
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#11
I suspect that the Hindus are going bonkers here, because the Christians have learned their weak spot--that Dalit untouchables don't particularly like being the "designated scum" of their religion and culture.
This makes Christianity an easy sell to them, and is one in the eye of the "better classes".
On top of everything else, the frustrated violence by both Muslims and Hindus at conversion to Christianity doesn't hurt Christian recruitment, it actually helps it. In either case, it reinforces the desire to get out of the former religions and join one that is both more equitable and more peaceful.
#12
Conversion doesn't always help equity. There is the strange phenomenon of "Christian Dalits" who now seek affirmative action quotas because they continue to be at the bottom of the ladder (and oppressed by 'Christians' of a slightly higher 'caste').
Islam also forbids discrimination. Yet in Pakistan you see the same kind of caste violence in rural areas. Muktaran Mai and her brother were raped by fellow muslims of a higher 'caste'.
Sikhism also forbids caste. Yet there are 'Dalit Sikhs' (who also seek affirmative action quotas)
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 8:54 Comments ||
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#13
Yet rapid urbanization and industrialization, which would sweep away all of this, is opposed by a coalition of environmentalists, NGOs, leftist missionaries and marxists.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 8:59 Comments ||
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#14
Note the names in this press release by an environmentalist NGO opposed to the building of the Narmada dam in Gujarat)
Arundati Roy and noted film-maker Jharna Jhaveri, visited Chittaroopa Palit and Urmila in jail today. Later on they visited the project-affected villages, where they listened to the adivasis talk about various ways in which the government had bent every rule to deny them their basic rights in rehabilitation
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, professor Jawaharlal Nehru University, Shamisul Islam, noted theatre activist, John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council and Ajitha, social activist from Jharkhand, from 'Citizens Forum' visited the area on a fact finding mission to investigate the situation pertaining to rehabilitation in the Man project.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 9:05 Comments ||
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#15
Note this report from the riot affected site of a planned Special Economic Zone in Bengal.
The Tribunal, organized by the All India Citizens Initiative, a network of concerned citizens across India, heard depositions from victims, witnesses, social activists, intellectuals, doctors, human rights groups and other concerned organisations.
Tribunal members, which included Prabhash Joshi (Founder Editor, Jansatta), Lalita Ramdas (Social Activist), John Dayal (Member, National Integration Council) and Jyotirmoy Samajder (Psychiatrist), visited the site of police firing and other places in the Nandigram area relevant to understanding the circumstances and nature of the violence.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 9:10 Comments ||
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#16
Another place, another time, same names
The convention has four major demands abolition of the SEZ Act, 2005, abolition of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, resignation of CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and autonomy for peoples institutions at the grassroots to decide issues like land acquisition and development. The convention is being attended by almost 1,000 social workers besides Arundhati Roy, Mahasweta Devi, Medha Patkar, Dipankar Bhattacharya, John Dayal, Debabrata Bandopadhyay, G N Saibaba, Ulka Mahajan and Siddiqullah Chowdhury.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 9:15 Comments ||
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Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 13:58 Comments ||
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#19
A story which has been flying under the radar for some time is the rise of Indian racial supremacy ideology, particularly amongst officers in the military.
Apparently, a "master race" philosophy has taken root in that part of the population, with the adherents claiming that since Aryans originated in India that the current Indians of higher caste are the true Aryan master race. I don't know the exact number or percentage of officers who've bought into this, but friends of mine from India say that it is on the increase.
FWIW.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/26/2007 19:38 Comments ||
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#20
NMU: Apparently, a "master race" philosophy has taken root in that part of the population, with the adherents claiming that since Aryans originated in India that the current Indians of higher caste are the true Aryan master race.
As far as I know, Dravidians originated in India. Aryans mostly came from Iran, who came from Europe.
Most modern Indians descended from South Asians, not invading Central Asian steppe dwellers, a new genetic study reports.
testing a sample of men from 32 tribal and 45 caste groups throughout India, Kashyap's team examined 936 Y chromosomes. (The chromosome determines gender; males carry it, but women do not.)
The data reveal that the large majority of modern Indians descended from South Asian ancestors who lived on the Indian subcontinent before an influx of agricultural techniques from the north and west arrived some 10,000 years ago.
Peter Underhill, a research scientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine's department of genetics, says he harbors no doubts that Indo-European speakers did move into India. But he agrees with Kashyap that their genetic contribution appears small.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2007 21:42 Comments ||
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Hundreds of Buddhist monks and nuns have been marching in Cambodia in support of the upcoming trials of the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Muslim and Christian leaders joined the Buddhist monks and nuns to demonstrate their support for the tribunal.
They came from around the country and marched to the special courts on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh. The organisers said the trials would be crucial in helping Cambodia to forget its troubled past and look to the future.
The marchers were welcomed at the courts and granted a question and answer session with officials. A spokesman for the tribunal said the marchers were told the courts were working for them.
The Khmer Rouge forcibly defrocked Buddhist monks - and closed their pagodas. They also massacred Muslims who refused to renounce their faith, and destroyed Christian churches. Cambodia is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country.
But holding the march on Christmas Day served to draw attention to the international nature of the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
Legal officials from around the world are working at the special courts. Next month, the tribunal will appeal to international donors for tens of millions of dollars in extra funding. Without the cash, the long-awaited process could grind to a halt.
Gee, if you didn't have the money to try them right, you'd just have to take the old commie Rouge thugs out back and shoot them.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'll throw in $10 to see an original khmer rouge leader tried in court, the first ever. Where do I donate?
Supporters of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won nearly half the seats in the lower house of parliament, making them the clear favorites to lead a new government, according to official results, Thailand's election commission announced Tuesday. According to Apichart Sukakanon, chairman of Election Commission of Thailand, the People Power Party captured 233 of 480 seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections, followed by the military-backed Democrat Party with 165 seats. The results will be ratified on Jan. 4.
Earlier on Tuesday, Thaksin said he would return from exile early next year and face corruption charges against him. Thaksin told a news conference in Hong Kong that he hoped to return by February 14 -- St. Valentine's Day -- or April at the latest after Thailand's new government is in place. Thaksin was deposed by a military junta in September 2006 and fled to London.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2007 00:00 ||
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The U.S. Army is increasing its purchases of Apple's Mac computers, which are considered less vulnerable to viruses and security attacks.
The Army started integrating Macs into its IT systems in 2005 but has been held back by the hipster computer's premium price and incompatibility with the military's secured-access Common Access Cards system. But the situation is changing, according to Forbes. The Army effort is being led by Lt. Col. C.J. Wallington, a division chief in the Army's office of enterprise information systems.
The Army's Apple program, created after Boutelle's 2005 address, is working to change that. As early as February 2008, the Army is planning to introduce software, developed by Arlington, Texas-based Thursby Software, that will also enable Mac desktops and laptops to use CAC systems--a change that should make it easier to get Macs into the service.
Though Apple machines are still pricier than their Windows counterparts, the added security they offer might be worth the cost, says Wallington. He points out that Apple's X Serve servers, which are gradually becoming more commonplace in Army data centers, are proving their mettle. "Those are some of the most attacked computers there are. But the attacks used against them are designed for Windows-based machines, so they shrug them off," he says.
Of course, cyberspooks may be honing their Mac-attacking skills, too. An end-of-year report by Finnish software security company F-Secure highlights the growing number of hackers targeting Apple systems with malicious software, some of which could allow cybercriminals to steal security passwords. In the past two years, until this October, F-Secure found only a small handful of malicious programs targeting Macs. In the past two months, the company has found more than a hundred specimens of Mac-targeted malicious code.
As a mac user I'm not sure I'm happy about this. But I did buy a copy of Norton Anti-virus for myself for Christmas because it's clear the Mac's charmed liffe is over. But this should accelerate things.
#1
Back in 'the day,' While attached to the A-12 program, we had Macs and PCs running side by side; a real pain in the (tush) if wanted to move data btwn two platforms. hope tha has been fixed.
#2
Norton is the sleeping guard dog of the Anti virus world. It'll slow your machine considerably yet still let spyware and viruses through. You might as well use one of the Free programs like AVG, update it manually, stay away from anything free and hope for the best.
Timmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
#5
Eventually the Pentagon is going to have to bite the bullet and contract a military specs computer. That implies a complex philosophy of computer use and compatibility.
Every aspect of a secure computer will be modular, with a very low electronic signature. The OS, software and data will be kept on a thumb drive, which will be electronically cleaned when traveling from hub area to hub area, retaining on encrypted ID and password.
That is, a soldier traveling between data hubs will have his thumb drive cleaned. He will carry it and his laptop with him to the next hub, where his thumb drive will be plugged in, identify him, and he can enter his password. It is then uploaded with the OS, software and data at the new hub.
Then he plugs the thumb drive into any mil spec computer, most likely his own, and everything he had at the first hub is restored. The laptop is designed not to function if its seal is broken. And if a hub is not available, he does not clean his thumb drive in the first place.
This eliminates the #1 security problem of laptops: loss. If the laptop is lost, it has no data on it. If it is stolen and opened, it no longer functions. If the thumb drive is lost or stolen it has no data on it, except encrypted ID specific to one individual, and his password check.
This would be the system for secure computing. Then there would be a second system for proprietary, but otherwise unclassified information, that would be ordinary PCs on a closed network, like the Pentagon uses today.
Then a third, public network, that would be a DoD intranet. A typical lower security net, even accessible from the Internet.
#8
Hate Windows. Like Macs. But don't think this will amount to anything. Whatever technical advantage Macs might have is easily obscured by the idiocy of the operators. That's your point of failure.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The BNP's pro-Khaleda faction has shelved other issues for her release but reformists want to bring in unity in the party in the run-up to general elections that the Election Commission says will be held by December next year.
The trial of detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others in a Tk 2.99-crore extortion case resumes at a makeshift court today, several days after a legal wrangle over relocating the court to try a particular case.
By the time she had realised her mistake - that as one of Germany's top communists she should probably not be seen eating lobster - it was too late. There was no time to switch from the 22 (£16) "rich man's dish" to a more modest platter of kippers, because Sahra Wagenknecht had already been caught on camera in the act of betraying her own political ideals.
