Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 423
Palash Biswas
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Declassify 1962 war report - Contribute - MSNIndia
by Palash Biswas 24 Oct 2009. This story has been read 615 times. ... inquiry into the humiliating defeat at the hands of China in the 1962 border war. ...
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... Hype to Sustain Environment of ethnic Cleansing as India, China, Australia on fast recovery track! ... Troubled Galaxy Detroyed Dreams, Chapter 411 Palash Biswas ... Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 410 Palash Biswas ...
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6 Nov 2009 ... Palash Biswas China Daily Fear is in driver's seat — for now San Antonio Express - Oct 10 ... Prabhash Joshi, the Gandhian has analysed the ...
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Barack Obama is a ZIONIST ILLUMINATI part 1
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In Obama's China trip, a stark contrast with the past - 1 hour ago
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17 Nov 2009 ... President Barack Obama's first visit to China underscored a shifting balance of power: two giants moving closer to being equals.
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15 Nov 2009 ... President Barack Obama is walking a tightrope on his first trip to China, seeking to enlist help in tackling urgent global problems while ...
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14 Nov 2009 ... President Obama says the US welcomes a strong, prosperous China on the world stage and "does not seek to contain it".
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In China, U.S. strikes conciliatory tone
Obama's trip stands in stark contrast to visits by his predecessors
 Jim Young / Reuters U.S. President Barack Obama at a state dinner reception with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. |
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ANALYSIS
By Andrew Higgins and Anne E. Kornblut
updated 5:10 a.m. ET Nov. 18, 2009
BEIJING - President Obama has emerged from his first trip to China with no big breakthroughs on important issues, such as Iran's nuclear program or China's currency. Yet after two days of talks with the United States' biggest creditor, the administration asserted that relations between the two countries are at "at an all-time high."
Although one concrete advance emerged — that the United States may offer a target for carbon-emission cuts to boost climate negotiations in Copenhagen next month if China offers its own proposal — it was a relatively small step for a new president who had campaigned on a promise to enact far-reaching change in U.S. diplomatic interactions.
If there was any significant change during this trip, in fact, it was in the United States' newly conciliatory and sometimes laudatory tone. In a joint appearance with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday, Obama hailed China as an economic partner that has "proved critical in our effort to pull ourselves out of the worst recession in generations." The day before, speaking to students in Shanghai, he described China's rising prosperity as "an accomplishment unparalleled in human history."
Obama's trip stood in stark contrast to visits by his predecessors. But this reflected not so much a policy shift by a new administration in Washington as a dramatic and much bigger change in the power dynamic, particularly in economics, over the past decade -- a change that has been the central undercurrent of Obama's swing through China this week.
In 1998, when President Bill Clinton stood before television cameras in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, the United States owed more money to Spain than to China and did more than twice as much trade with Mexico. At a freewheeling news conference, Clinton criticized China's military crackdown a decade earlier in Tiananmen Square and traded spirited jibes with President Jiang Zemin.
On Tuesday, Obama stood in the same building alongside another Chinese leader. This time, with the United States in hock to China for more than $1 trillion dollars and flooded with Chinese-made goods, it was a Chinese-style news conference. Each leader read a prepared statement and eyed the other in silence. There were no questions.
Since leaving Washington last Thursday for an eight-day tour of Asia, Obama has occasionally nudged China on issues such as Tibet and Internet censorship. But he has more often trumpeted China's achievements and pleaded with Beijing for increased help on the world stage.
China returned the effusiveness in its music selection at a state dinner for Obama on Tuesday night. The People's Liberation Army serenaded him and other U.S. officials with "I Just Called to Say I Love You," "In the Mood" and "We Are the World," as Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sat on either side of the Chinese president over a steak dinner.
In many ways, the United States and China have never been closer, as reflected in a raft of joint projects outlined Tuesday, the second day of Obama's visit here. In addition to cooperation to curb global warming, these included previously announced and now reinvigorated efforts on stem-cell research, crime prevention and military contacts. But with the rituals and even the substance of the two countries' interactions increasingly on Chinese terms, Obama advisers insisted that their overtures and polite tone are in pursuit of long-term results, a reflection of China's growing importance.
'Get traction'
The U.S. ambassador to Beijing, Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Republican governor of Utah who speaks fluent Chinese, said the goal is to "make sure that we are able to connect with the Chinese bureaucracy in ways that actually allow us to get traction."
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When President Clinton visited China in 1998, the United States was still basking in its position as Cold War victor and the world's sole superpower. It sought China's help on only a narrow range of international issues, such as the spread of missile technology and North Korea. China was just shaking off the stigma of the 1989 crackdown. It was the seventh-biggest holder of U.S. Treasury securities. Today, China is the nation's biggest creditor and its trade with the United States has https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgg235sz_559p345w6fjgrown sevenfold.
Also changed are the faces in the Chinese leadership. Jiang, Clinton's 1998 sparring partner in the Great Hall of the People, was an often boisterous character who liked to sing, and also comb his hair, in public. Hu, Obama's host, is a far more buttoned-down and cautious sort.
Clinton could not tell Chinese leaders what to do. Indeed, he had to abandon a big push on human rights when China simply said no. And his challenge to Jiang over Tiananmen was paired with a significant concession over Taiwan.
But Clinton and other U.S. presidents never needed China's help nearly as much as Obama's America needs Hu's.
CONTINUED : 'Relationship has gone global'http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34006805/ns/world_news-washington_post
To exist means to Resist, ask any one in central India or North East India, you would understand it. Govt. employess may not come on strrets deprived of their Assets due to delayed tax on withdrwal as Disinvestment trows most of them amongst those who have no way but to commit Suicide. But the Have Nots have to lose NOTHING but the Sickles of Enslavement and they fight back in Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh and elsewhere you India irrespective of the fact that their activities are branded as Terrism or Insurgency.
On the eve of the Indian Prime Minister's state visit to United States, US envoy to India Timothy Roamer has reiterated that US wants to see action against terrorist from its partners in Pakistan. But for a while, just think , provided that if Zionist Barrack Obama returns maoist from China! Just remeber the first Visit of Henry Kissinger to China and trace the US China relationship thereafter.
South Block is very busy to create an untimely Hype of Dr Man Mohan singh`s US Visit while the Color of International Politics is so much so volatile and Indian Diplomacy is not reputed to smell the ROT within or outside. External affairs Ministry is generous enough to issue VISA to anti India elements including Terror icon like Headly irrespective of Interanal security is handed over to CIA and Mossad, A US Indo Nuclear Deal is auto operationalised and Strategic Realliance in US and Israel lead. China Barmuda Triangle is all set to upset the apple cart of Indian Zionists and One Eyed Indian Diplomacy had never been capable to do two things at a time!
US officials are giving finishing touches to a 'strategic dialogue framework with India' to take their relationship to the next level during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit, the first hosted by the Obama administration.
Besides Manmohan Singh's summit meeting with President Barack Obama at an official state dinner on Nov 24, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top administration officials will meet with Indian officials to put together the new framework to be announced at the end of the visit.
'This is a state visit. I think it's the first state visit of the Obama Administration,' State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Tuesday again underling what the administration officials have been stressing since the visit was first announced.
The White House is working on an agenda, he said, but gave no details. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs 'Bill Burns has been very actively involved in coordinating the strategic dialogue framework that we have with India,' Kelly said.
Clinton 'looks forward to participating in these meetings,' he said. 'I think she's going to host at least one event here at the State Department.'
Kelly also said that Obama will brief Manmohan Singh on his visit to China from which he returns just a couple of days before the prime minister arrives on Sunday, Nov 22.
'And I'm sure that since the president will have just gotten back from China, and that'll be fresh on his mind that he'll - that he will share some of his impressions and thoughts about his visit to China as well,' he said.
Though on a State visit, Manmohan Singh would be staying at the Willard Hotel, a block east of the White House, instead of Blair House, located right across from the White House, where most foreign dignitaries on state visits stay.
After a night's rest, the prime minister begins his visit with an address US industry leaders at the US-India Business Council, a trade advocacy group seeking stronger commercial ties between the two countries, to share his vision of the future of US-India relations.
Later in the day, Manmohan Singh will have what's billed as 'a conversation' with foreign policy experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, two leading US think tanks.
The official state dinner, a black tie, bandhgala event comes the next day, Nov 24, with a welcoming ceremony on the White House lawns. Obama's Republican predecessor George Bush also feted him there as a state guest in 2005.
The prime minister will receive various cabinet principals, including Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, at the Willard Wednesday before attending a reception for the Indian community in the US hosted by Ambassador Meera Shankar in the evening.
He will leave Washington DC Thursday morning, which is Thanksgiving holiday in the US, for Port of Spain, Trinidad, to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, Pawan Kumar Bansal, said today that the Winter Session of Parliament would commence from Thursday and subject to exigencies of Government business, the session will conclude on December 21, 2009.
He told mediapersons here that the session will provide 23 sittings spread over 33 days.
He said the session will be devoted to essential government legislative and other business,including financial business relating to Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2009-10 in respect of Railway, General Budgets and State Budget in respect of Jharkhand.
Before making the announcement, Bansal held a meeting with Secretaries/Senior Officers of various Ministries/Departments on November 16. Ministers of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs co-chaired the meeting.
In all, 89 items were identified for discussion during the Winter Session of Parliament.
Roemer also urged Pakistan to dismantle its terror infrastructure and bring Lashkar chief Hafeez Saeed to justice.
Briefing the media in New Delhi, he said cooperation between India and US was never so close and could be said to be unprecedented.
On the otherhand, India on Wednesday said it needs no external help to improve ties with neighbour Pakistan, in a testy response to a statement issued by the United States and China.
New Delhi is sensitive to what it perceives as any outside interference in its regional diplomacy, especially over Pakistan and the fate of the disputed Kashmir region.
The United States and China issued a joint statement after President Barack Obama met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, which included a line of support for the improvement of India-Pakistan relations.
"Government of India is committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through a peaceful bilateral dialogue," an Indian Foreign Ministry statement said.
"A third country role cannot be envisaged nor is it necessary."
Ties between the South Asian rivals dived after last year's Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants and said were supported by some official agencies.
India has also kept a wary eye on China as an old dispute over an Indian border state has flared in recent months.
New Delhi also baulks at Chinese support for projects in Pakistan and a policy of issuing separate visas to Indian Kashmiris.
Obama to meet Wen as China visit winds down
U.S. President Barack Obama will continue courting China on Wednesday while perhaps cajoling it on economic and currency strains, with the final day of his visit featuring talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Obama's first visit to China has been a mix of goodwill displays towards its sometimes wary people and leaders and closed-door discussions focused on the two big powers' vast and increasingly complex relationship.
Wednesday will be no different. Obama will visit the Great Wall -- for Chinese people a proud symbol of their imperial heritage -- and he may first press Wen, the head of the Chinese government, on touchy economic and diplomatic issues.
Obama made plain in a summit with President Hu Jintao on Tuesday that one of his top concerns was China's currency policy. Many in Washington believe Beijing keeps the yuan too low in value, putting competitors at a disadvantage and distorting global economic flows.
Hu, who is also the head of China's Communist Party, avoided mentioning the yuan or the dollar in his comments before reporters.
But Wen, who is more deeply involved in day-to-day economic affairs, may be more willing to grapple with Obama on currency and China's own gripes with U.S. trade rules.
Officials and experts from both sides have stressed, however, that Obama's visit will not bring about immediate policy shifts.
"There will still be setbacks and even conflicts between China and the United States", said a commentary in the overseas edition of China's official People's Daily.
"It will take the constant efforts of one or two generations, perhaps several, to bring stable progress to relations."
Such summits are about setting priorities for future dealings, not making immediate policy changes, said Jin Canrong, an expert on China-U.S. ties at Renmin University in Beijing.
The issue of currencies has drawn testy comments from U.S. and Chinese officials. China's Commerce Ministry on Monday rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate, signalling resistance to change foreign exchange policy.
Outside pressure has been building on Beijing to let the yuan rise after more than a year of it being nearly frozen in place against the dollar, with the latest appeal voiced by the head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
But Chinese officials have swatted down speculation of any big moves soon, and the government appears likely to keep the currency on a tight rein at least until the middle of 2010 to cement the country's economic recovery.
"Any policy changes by China, including on the exchange rate, will be based on its assessment of its own interests, not on external pressure," said Jin, the professor.
Wen may also have his own economic warning for Obama. In March, he took Washington to task over its fiscal policies, saying he worried about the health of China's vast U.S. assets.
China has amassed $2.27 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest stockpile, and analysts think about two-thirds of this is invested in dollar-denominated assets.
Obama and Hu have said that strains over trade and U.S. criticism of China's human rights restrictions should not overshadow cooperation.
Even small details have reinforced that message.
At their state dinner on Tuesday night, the selection of music played by a People's Liberation Army band included the pop songs, "We are the world" and "I just called to say I love you".
Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said the statement issued by Obama and Hu underscored "the two countries have a lot of common interests, but it remains to be seen whether they can cooperate to advance them".
Obama's talks with Wen may also cover Iran and North Korea, both nuclear trouble-spots where Washington and Beijing say they want to work together, but often disagree on how much pressure to apply. Wen visited North Korea early last month.
North Korea will also feature in Seoul, where Obama flies to later on Wednesday for meetings with South Korean leaders.
North Korea toned down hostile rhetoric a day ahead of Obama arriving in Seoul, saying in an official newspaper on Tuesday that it wanted better ties between the two, divided Koreas.
(Additional reporting by Christine Kim and Jon Herskovitz in Seoul; Writing by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ken Wills and Jeremy Laurence)
Caren Bohan and Patricia Zengerle
The US envoy cited how FBI agents testified and provided key elements in investigations of 26/11 Mumbai carnage.
Roemer told reporters that the Indian Prime Minister and the US President will build upon the high-level meetings between the Indian and American leaderships, and, officials will outline future cooperation on the issue of terrorism, which has acquired a global manifestation.
"We will work shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, hour by hour against terrorism with India," Roemer added.
The Prime Minister's visit to Washington will coincide with the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, in which more than 165 people died, including six Americans.
Meanwhile, India has handed over a seventh dossier to Pakistan which contains more evidence on the involvement of Pakistan based terrorists in the deadly attack.
India has repeatedly expressed its disappointment with Pakistan's lack of cooperation and concrete action on the dossiers so far submitted.
Referring to recent visits of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (Retired) James Johns to Pakistan, Roemer told reporters that a message is being conveyed to Pakistan that results and action needed to be seen to be believed.
Roemer said that he expected Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Obama to have a healthy discussion on AFPAK and the situation in Pakistan, besides exchanging notes on counter-terrorism measures.
Visa to Tahawwur Rana did not violate rules: Indian diplomat
Even as the Indian government announced it was investigating the issue of a visa by the Indian consul general in Chicago to terrorism suspect Tahawwur Rana, a senior diplomat here has denied that any procedure was violated.
'The Consulate General of India, Chicago issued visas to Mr Tahawwur Rana and his wife as per the established procedure for issuance of visas to persons of Pakistani origin. The visas were issued with due scrutiny of the available documents and following exact guidelines and without violating any rules/regulations of the Government of India. The same procedure was being followed by other consulates and the Embassy of India, Washington DC in USA for several years,' Vishvas Sapkal, the consul in charge of consular services at the Chicago consulate, told IANS.
Sapkal was referring to the procedure under which Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen and a woman who he claimed to be his wife, Samraz Rana Akhthar, were issued multiple entry visas by the Indian consulate in October 2008. The visas were valid from Oct 31, 2008 through Oct 30, 2009.
Both the visas were issued 'under the discretion of the Consul General' in apparent violation of rules under which clearance of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs is required for any person born in Pakistan. Rana was born in Chichawatni and Akhthar in Bahawalpur, both in Pakistan's Punjab Province.
Rana, who ran an immigration consultancy agency and a grocery store in the heart of Devon, Avenue, Chicago's business district comprising Indian and Pakistani restaurants, boutiques and retail outlets, was sometimes referred to as 'doctor saheb', in apparent deference to his medical degree. He also owned a halal slaughterhouse in Kinsman in rural Illinois.
On Oct 27, the day Rana and his alleged accomplice David Coleman Headley were arrested in Chicago, the 109 residents of the tiny town were taken by surprise when more than 100 federal agents and policemen raided the place.
Some Indian American community leaders expressed concern at the apparent ease with which a person born in Pakistan got an Indian visa. They contrasted with the 'bureaucratic tangle' that many seeking Indian visas had to go through.
In the recent past, there have been public complaints of irregularities in the issue of passports by the Chicago consulate. In March, 2008, Amrit Patel, a businessman based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had alleged that the consulate was, in violation of rules, issuing passports to Indian nationals who have sought political asylum in the US, in exchange for bribes.
Diplomatic sources in the consulate, who confirmed the racket to IANS at that time, said each applicant paid a bribe of approximately 3500 dollars to have supporting documents manufactured and passports issued. Most beneficiaries were from the Punjabi American community.
To circumvent the law that denied Indian passports to nationals who sought asylum on grounds of persecution by the Indian government, a New York based middleman, Rajubhaiya, would make a fake green card, so that the applicant was eligible for an Indian passport.
'These people(who got the passports) appear to be opportunists. But it could easily have been someone with terrorist intentions,' one anguished diplomat had told IANS at that time.
Clinton smitten by 'vibrant, vital, attractive and smart' Miliband's persona
: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has revealed her crush on British Foreign Secretary David Miliband who, according to her, is "vibrant, vital, attractive and smart."
Clinton gushed her appraisal during an interview with Vogue magazine.
The interviewer added for good measure: "I got a crush over the phone in about five seconds partly because of his accent."
But he was quickly outdone by Clinton, who responded: "Well, if you saw him it would be a big crush. I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive, smart. He's really a good guy. And he's so young!"
Miliband too seemed smitten by Clinton's persona.
"She applies intellect but also psychology to the dossiers that she's studying. She's delightful to deal with one on one. She's someone who laughs and can tease, and she's got perspective as well," The Guardian quoted Miliband, as saying.
Miliband and Clinton are not the first transatlantic pair to hit it off.
Clinton's predecessor Condoleezza Rice took Jack Straw to an American football game. (ANI)
Delhi to get 24X7 NSG security
Come December, over 100 elite commandos of the country's best crack force, the National Security Guard (NSG), will be deployed for round the clock anti-terrorist and anti-hijack operations in the Indain capital and its surrounding areas.
According to highly placed sources, the decision was taken in the aftermath of the audacious 26/11 Mumbai terror attack nearly a year ago in which Pakistan-based militants killed over 170 people. With the exception of one, all the terrorists were gunned down by the NSG commandos, also known as Black Cats, in an operation that lasted over 60 hours.
'The decision to keep 120 NSG commandos on 24X7 standby was taken after the Mumbai attacks. In August, we acquired some land adjacent to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The construction of 120 barracks, which will house the commandos and their officers, is on in full swing,' a senior security official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
'We expect to complete the construction by December this year. These barracks would be pre-fabricated or semi-permanent. An office is also being raised from where the commandos would be functioning. Construction is also being carried out to keep weapons and gazettes and equipment,' the official said.
Sources said the presence of NSG men round the clock would save at least two hours and make the force more lethal and potent.
'We had our men deployed at the airport. But these men were going home after performing their duties and others were replacing them. Now they can be permanently positioned there and perform round the clock,' said another security official.
'These men would be so close to the airport that they just have to open a gate to carry out operations full throttle. A helipad is also being constructed to airlift the commandos for swift action,' the official added.
The officials said these men would not be restricted to the Delhi airport. They would be sent to any place in the national capital or, say, in the northern part of the country, wherever their need is felt.
'These first 120 commandos would be the first to react or reach in any terror or hijack situation. They would be the first to be dispatched to the incident site. Simultaneously, the second or third team would be sent from our training centre in Manesar in Haryana to back them up,' said the official.
'It would help us in cutting our response time significantly and help in quick mobilisation of troops. We have learnt our lessons from the Mumbai terror attacks where we reached seven hours after the firing had begun,' the official told IANS.
During the Mumbai attack, a lot of crucial time was wasted as the NSG commandos were called from Manesar to the Delhi airport - a drive of 40 minutes. More valuable time was lost as the NSG team had to first load their weapons, gazettes and equipment into the truck from Manesar to Delhi, then offload it at the airport and again re-load it in an aircraft. Finally, it was off-loaded at the Mumbai airport. Again, the weapons, equipment and gazettes had to be put in public buses at the Mumbai airport before being finally taken to the terror site.
Learning lessons from the Mumbai tragedy, the government has opened four NSG hubs in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, each having a strength of 241 personnel.
Don't provoke us, Chidambaram warns Pakistan
Home Minister P. Chidambaram has warned Pakistan 'not to play with India' by covertly sponsoring terrorists.
Addressing a public meeting here Saturday, the minister said: 'The Mumbai attacks (of November 2008) should be Pakistan's last game. I have warned the country not to play with India.'
Talking tough, Chidambaram said that terrorists and militants attacking India would not only be defeated but would also face retaliation.
Chidambaram's comments came three days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan but asked Islamabad to stop backing terrorists acting against India.
Chidamabaram also said that both Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments had underestimated the Maoists but insisted that they would not succeed in their actions.
He reiterated that the central government was willing to have a dialogue with them on the condition that the Maoists lay down their arms, he said.
According to him, Naxalites were 'not enemies like Pakistani terrorists as they are our own countrymen'.
In Pune hotel, another Headley calling card
As India handed over its seventh dossier to Pakistan on the 26/11 Mumbai attack, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said that the circumstances under which the Indian Consul General in Chicago granted visas to David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, arrested by the FBI for plotting attacks on India, would be looked at "very carefully". Home Ministry officials said the evidence so far suggested that the two men were "part of the larger Lashkar-e-Toiba plot to target Mumbai" last November.
In Pune, The Indian Express found proof of Headley's stay in the city this March. At the reception of Hotel Surya Villa in Koregaon Park, which is close to the Osho commune and where many foreigners stay, two documents are proof of the visit — the C-form spiral, mandatory for every foreigner to fill while checking into a hotel, has the carbon copy of the form filled by Headley; and the main register.
Surya Villa manager Srinivas told The Indian Express that as per rules, the original C-form, along with a copy of Headley's passport page that had his photograph, had been sent to the police commissionerate.
The C-form copy bears his full name and has these details: Headley checked into Surya Villa at 6.15 am on March 16, had a multiple entry B-visa (No: 314473) for India that was issued to him in Chicago on July 18, 2007 with validity up to July 17, 2012. Headley had written '180 days' in response to a query on the duration of stay in India, listing the purpose of visit as 'tourist'.
In the space for date and place of arrival in India, something had been written and then scratched out. The C-form gave Headley's US passport number as 097536400; date of issue 10-03-06, valid up to 09-03-16.
The main register has corroborating entries though the purpose of visit has been stated as 'business', not 'tourist'. According to the register, Headley checked in on March 16, stayed in Room No. 202 and checked out at 8 am on March 17. "He stayed in a single occupancy non-AC room with a tariff of Rs 1,200. His total bill at the time of check-out was Rs 1,240," said Srinivas.
Those running hotels in the area, including Surya Villa, said the Pune police hadn't contacted them yet over Headley.
In Mumbai, investigators were said to have found out that Headley had not sent anyone abroad through the visa facilitation agency he ran in the city.
Headley's agency Immigrant Law Centre functioned out of a leased office in the popular A C Market in south Mumbai's Tardeo area between March 2007 and November 2008. It was said to have specialised in helping unskilled and semi-skilled people get US and Canadian visas.
"Records of Headley's visa agency have been scrutinised and it has been found that not one person was sent abroad. The agency seems to have been nothing but a front for Headley to stay in the city and carry out other activities. It provided him a legitimate cover while he was here," said a source close to the probe.
A Parsi woman who worked for Headley at the agency has also been questioned by security agencies and cleared of any involvement, sources said.
In New Delhi, Home Ministry officials said there was evidence to suggest that Headley and Rana were in touch with some of the handlers of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the gunman captured in Mumbai during 26/11. Indian investigators were planning to procure voice records of the conversations that took place between Headley-Rana and their handlers in Pakistan. India already has voice samples of those who handled Kasab and the other 26/11 gunmen. Matching the two sets would establish whether the handlers were the same, the officials said.
The Indian government has sought help from the Canada in learning more about Rana who has Canadian citizenship. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today discussed the matter with visiting Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.
"I did mention to Prime Minister Stephen Harper the particular case you have mentioned," Singh said in response to a question on whether the Rana figured during the discussions. "We had a fruitful discussion in expanding areas of cooperation in combating the scourge of terrorism," Singh said, declining to comment further.
Responding to the same question, Harper said both of them had discussed the case and "resolved to cooperate closely in future exchange of information." He said Canada had worked closely with the US government on the case.
Meanwhile, India handed over its seventh dossier on the 26/11 attack to Pakistan. It was handed to the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner by the Joint Secretary (Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan), Ministry of External Affairs. An earlier dossier sent in September had been rejected by Pakistan which claimed it did not contain hard evidence to prosecute Lashkar founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. —
With ENS from New Delhi
Sagnik Chowdhury
Rajnath may not quit before December
BJP President Rajnath Singh had informed the party''s top brass last week of his decision to quit but they and the RSS prevailed upon him to continue till December by when his successor would be formally chosen and elections in Jharkhand would be over, according to a senior party leader. He said Singh had made up his mind to quit his post about ten days back, but the party leadership prevailed upon him to continue till December.
"Rajnath Singh was told that one-and-a-half months of his tenure are still left. It was suggested that he could step down a few days before his term ends but doing so now would be too premature.
Moreover, his resignation may send a wrong message to the party cadre and the electorate in Jharkhand," the senior leader said. RSS leaders were also understood to have taken a similar stand and told Singh that though the election of Mahrashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to the top post was now a certainty, he should continue for the time being.
The leader said Singh may stay put till the second week of December and then put in his papers. Singh was nominated as BJP President on November 26, 2006.
This decision was endorsed by the party National Executive held in Lucknow on December 24, 2006. The leader said Singh may resign around a week before the latter date.
National solar mission to be launched on Friday
The government today said the ambitious National Solar Mission, which aims to generate 20,000 MW of power by 2020, will be launched on Friday. "Tomorrow, it will be cleared by the Cabinet and it will have a nice launch on Friday," New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of an event in which MoUs were signed for setting up of biogas-power plants in cowsheds.
Asked about the reasons behind the one-week delay in launching the mission, the Minister said, "it was not delayed. The Finance Minister was not in India and the final draft had to approved by the Finance Ministry and he had to have a look at it.
I think it will be cleared by Cabinet tomorrow." Under the solar mission, the minister said, the plan was to generate 20,000 MW of electricity by 2020 and hoped that it would give a boost to the country''s efforts of developing alternative energy sources.
On the plans to set up biogas-based power plants, he said first of such units would be inaugurated by September next year. The project will have multiple benefits for the country.
Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh was also present on the occasion. The project is supported by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) under a New and Renewable Energy Ministry project.
Yechury criticises Banerjee for frequent rail accidents
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury Wednesday criticised Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for failing to ensure safety of train passengers.
Referring to the recent major rail accidents, Yechury said the railway minister was 'sitting on other agenda' - a reference to Banerjee's West Bengal-centric politics.
The results of the April-May Lok Sabha elections and the bye-elections to the West Bengal state assembly show that the Marxists are losing ground to Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in the state where the leftists have been in power for over three decades.
Yechury said the issue of passengers' safety should be discussed in parliament. 'The Left will raise the issue,' he told reporters here.
The past 40 days have seen six rail accidents, of which two were major.
Yechury said the recent sugarcane pricing ordinance by the central government is an issue of 'centre-state relations'.
'Several state governments have opposed the ordinance,' Yechury said, and added that the matter has to be discussed in parliament.
The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) Ordinance has fixed sugarcane price at Rs.129.84 per quintal, in comparison to the State Advised Price (SAP) of between Rs.165 and Rs.170.
Yechury said the Left parties were hoping to join the secular parties that are not part of the Congress-led central government to fight its corruption, wrong policies, and price rise.
Parliament to debate banking, insurance bills - min
The parliament will debate closely watched reform bills in the banking and insurance sectors in the winter session which starts on Nov. 19, the junior Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
"This insurance bill, which is pending before the parliamentary standing committee, proposes to raise foreign investment limit in insurance companies from 26 percent to 49 percent," Prithviraj Chavan told reporters on Wednesday.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq holds talks with Chidambaram - report
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of the separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, speaks during... Enlarge Photo Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of the separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, speaks during...
Kashmir's separatist alliance leaders held secret talks with Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram in a sign of efforts to resume peace talks to end a decades-old insurgency, a report said on Tuesday.
The All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, held talks with Chidambaram in New Delhi at the weekend, The Hindu newspaper reported.
Any sign of peace talks may help reduce tension in the state, the focus of conflict between India and Pakistan for decades.
The Hurriyat has urged New Delhi to pull out troops, release prisoners and end human rights violations before resuming peace talks.
Farooq denied holding a meeting with Chidambaram in New Delhi, but said there have been "some back-channel contacts between the Hurriyat and the government".
Dialogue between the government and the separatists broke down in 2006. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to resume talks last month during a visit to Kashmir.
Officials say more than 47,000 have been killed in the past 20 years in Kashmir, where anti-India sentiment still runs deep.
With violence down in recent years, India began withdrawing troops from Kashmir's main towns and handed over law and order to the police, giving signals they were getting ready for peace talks.
Tharoor for Indo-Pakistan cricket matches in US
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor favours an India-Pakistan cricket series in a venue like the US.
Tharoor said at a function here Saturday that the US had a large expatriate population from India and Pakistan who would lap up the cricket clash.
'We have a large patriotic population of both Indians and Pakistanis in the US besides a handful of local cricket enthusiasts. That's a very, very good way to organise cricket in third countries when terror strikes have stopped cricket between the two countries,' he said.
Tharoor said it would be great to see a baseball stadium in the US crowded for a cricket match, however small the venue may be.
Pakistan has more nukes than India: Report
A new report has revealed that Pakistan enjoys a substantial lead over India when it comes to nuclear weapons.
According to the report compiled by Robert S Norris and Hans M Kristensen in the latest edition of the Bulletin of the Atomic Science, Pakistan is estimated to possess 70 to 90 nuclear arsenals, way ahead of what India boasts.
India is said to have about 60 to 80 nuclear weapons currently, the report said.
The report also said that all the major Asian powers India, China and Pakistan were 'quantitatively' and 'qualitatively' adding on to their nuclear stockpile, however, it said it was tough to identify the locations of the deployment of the those nukes.
"Beijing, Islamabad and New Delhi are quantitatively and qualitatively increasing their arsenals and deploying weapons at more sites, yet the locations are difficult to pinpoint," the report said.
"Whereas many of the Chinese bases are known, this is not the case in Pakistan and India, where we have found no credible information that identifies permanent nuclear weapons storage locations," it said.
The two nuclear experts highlighted that it is believed that Pakistan's nuclear weapons were not fully operational in normal circumstances, but India is thought to store its warheads in central storage locations rather than on bases with operational forces.
The report comes months after the US raised alarms over Pakistan's expansion of its nuclear capabilities.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, in a confidential briefing, had told members of Congress that there are certain reports which confirms that Islamabad is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal.
When enquired whether he had seen evidence of an increase in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal, Admiral Mullen just said: "Yes".
This certainly raises questions over the proposed billions of dollars of US military assistance to Pakistan that might be sidetracked to expand its nuclear capability rather than utilizing it to counter insurgency.
Officials of the Obama administration have said that they had communicated to Congress that their intent was to assure that military aid to Pakistan was directed toward counterterrorism and not diverted.
U.S. President Barack Obama took a walk alone on the Great Wall on Wednesday, wrapping up a visit to China with a visit to the ancient fortifications that symbolise the country's history and separateness.
"It's magical. It reminds you of the sweep of history," Obama said, after breaking away from his tour guides to walk alone along the snowy parapets, hands jammed into his pockets against the cold and wind.
"It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-day things. They don't amount to much in the scope of history."
Many Chinese see the Great Wall as a symbol of the power of their civilisation. To many outsiders, it stands for the insularity and barriers thrown up by the Middle Kingdom.
In 1972, Richard Nixon broke through the barriers of the Cold War and visited China on an equally cold and clear day.
"My hope is that in the future, perhaps as a result of the beginning that we have made on this journey, that many, many Americans... will have an opportunity to come here," Nixon said in 1972, at the same steep, curving Badaling section of the wall.
Nixon hoped "that they will think back as I think back to the history of this great people, and that they will have an opportunity, as we have had an opportunity, to know the Chinese people, and know them better".
Ties between the U.S. and China have grown so much since that the two economies are now deeply intertwined, while the U.S. must accommodate China's growing influence on the world stage.
The Obama trip did not yield immediate breakthroughs on the many issues the two giant economies face, foremost among them currency and protectionism. But it did keep the lines of dialogue open and was accompanied by profusions of friendship.
"Our time here on Earth is not that long and we better make the best of it," Obama said at the Wall, before heading off to South Korea, the final leg of his Asia trip.
Four suspected Maoists nabbed in Jharkhand
Four suspected Maoists, one of whom is stated be an expert in bomb-making, were arrested today in Latehar district. "Subhas Sao of the CPI-Maoist is an expert in making can bombs.
The police caught him at Hutar village along with two cans, pencil batteries and two plastic jars required to make explosives," Superintendent of Police Kuldip Dwivedi told newsmen here. A separate police team nabbed three activists of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee under Barwadih police station, he said adding that two guns and cartridges were seized from their possession.
Assembly polls in Naxal-affected Latehar are scheduled for the fifth and final phase on December 23.
FBI gets time till Jan 14 to indict Rana
A Chicago court has given federal prosecutors time till Jan 14 to seek indictment of Tahawwur Hussain Rana on charges of plotting major terrorist attacks in India and Denmark at the behest of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had sought 58 days extension to file an indictment against Rana, a Chicago resident of Pakistani-origin who was arrested last month among with his schoolmate David Coleman Headley.
A Canadian national, Rana had made several trips to India over the last several years with Headley, a Pakistan born American national, for allegedly plotting a major terrorist attack in India.
Heeding the request of the US Attorney Patrick J Fitzgerald, Chief judge James F Holderman of the US district court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Tuesday extended the time to file the indictment against Rana till Jan 14.
Rana is scheduled to be produced before court Nov 19 when his bail plea comes up for hearing.
Earlier on Oct 30, the court had granted the government's unopposed motion extending the time by which the government must seek an indictment against 49-year-old Headley until Jan 1, 2010.
Moving the motion seeking extension of time, the US attorney said the federal prosecutors need more time to complete the investigation. Investigations include the interception of numerous telephone and email communications, many of which were in a foreign language, he said.
'On October 18, federal agents executed four search warrants at four separate locations and, among other items of evidence, seized a number of computers. Agents are diligently examining the evidence, including that contained in the seized computers,' it said.
'Details concerning the investigation and the volume and types of evidence recovered during this investigation are stated in the Attachment hereto, which the government respectfully requests be placed under seal.
'The government is requesting that this Attachment be sealed so as not to compromise the continuing investigation,' the US attorney said.
'Additionally, further investigation regarding the full scope of the two defendants' activities is ongoing and includes gaining assistance from foreign authorities,' it said.
Indo Asian News Service
India's nukes are 'ground zero' for jihadists: Canadian media
Even as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resolved to deepen bilateral ties, the Canadian media says a nuclear deal could be risky because of terrorist threats to India's sites. They cite the recent alert at India's nuclear facilities as a warning to the Canadian government that is keen to clinch the deal.
In their reports, the Canadian journalists, who even spell the name of one of the most known faces of the 20th century as Ghandi (for Mahatma Gandhi), have also raked up the past - that India cannot be trusted because it appropriated their nuclear technology to make nuclear bombs.
Before embarking on this assignment, perhaps these journalists were briefed by biased Canadian bureaucrats for whom 'terrorist violence, such as bombings in public areas and on public transportation, occurs throughout India....attacks can take place anywhere and at any time in India...'
Opposing the proposed civil nuclear deal between the two countries, John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail, who is perhaps visiting India for the first time, says: 'But India's nuclear facilities have been placed on high alert, as evidence emerges that two men, one of them Canadian, might have scouted sites for the terrorist attack on Mumbai last year...'
Carrying his ridiculous argument further, he writes:'Does Canada really want to help sell nuclear technology to a country that is the midst of such a volatile region, a country that in the 1970s appropriated our first foray into building Indian nuclear reactors to help fashion nuclear weapons, a country whose nuclear reactors would be an ideal ground zero for jihadists?'
Writing in the left-wing Toronto Star, Rick Westhead says: 'For Harper, the visit may have to do less with new trade deals or warmed relations than with building ties to Indo-Canadian voters before the next election.
'So rather than strategizing on new bilateral investment with India's Ambani brothers, the prime minister will travel to the Golden Temple in Amritsar - the holiest shrine in the Sikh faith - and meet with Hindi film star Akshay Kumar, a torchbearer for the Vancouver Olympics.'
Not surprisingly, the current Canadian prime minister has always had prickly relations with his nation's media.
Indo Asian News Service
PDP accuses ruling combine of wasting chance for talks
Opposition PDP in Jammu and Kashmir today accused the ruling Congress-National Conference combine of wasting an opportunity to involve separatists in a dialogue by repeatedly putting leaders like Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani behind the bars. "The state government is trying to derail the dialogue effort even before it could take off by repeatedly arresting Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and some other leaders and activists", senior PDP leader Tariq Hameed Karra said addressing a party convention about 20 kms from here in Budgam district of Central Kashmir.
Geelani was arrested yesterday while on way to Government Medical College here. He was initially lodged in Shergari police station but later shifted to Central jail as police feared breach of peace.
Claiming that there had been no breach of peace anywhere as a result of their (separatists'') political activity, Karra said there was no logic in the arrest of Geelani. "It seems the state government is unnerved by the central government''s offer of inclusive talks to find a lasting solution to Kashmir problem", he said.
Noting that the renewed dialogue process could provide the much-needed space for the battle of ideas the PDP always pleaded for, Karra said playing hide and seek with Geelani will in no way help build an atmosphere of trust necessary for the dialogue process to be successful.
ED to question Koda in Ranchi tomorrow
The Enforcement Directorate will question former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda tomorrow in Ranchi in connection with the alleged multi-crore hawala and illegal investments case. A team of ED officials will reach the Jharkhand capital tomorrow to question Koda at 1530 hours along with two of his associates Sanjay Chowdhary and Binod Sinha, who have also been asked to report.
Koda, according to sources, would be questioned and confronted with documents seized during the nationwide Income Tax searches on him and his associates, which began on October 31. The ED will also grill Koda on the statements of his business partner Vikash Sinha, arrested by the Directorate and presently in judicial custody.
"The statements of few others who have been questioned by IT department and ED would also be put forth during questioning," sources said. Koda had earlier termed all the charges against him as a "political conspiracy".
The former chief minister said on November 14, "I am very much aware that some political higher-ups are working against me. I shall expose them at an appropriate time".
Cong takes exception to SP for "raking up" Babri issue
The Congress today took a strong exception to Samajwadi Party leaders'' efforts to "rake up" the Babri mosque issue in order to serve its "petty" political interests. Reacting to various SP leaders speaking on Babri mosque demolition in a meeting held here yesterday, Maroof Khan, president of UPCC''s minority cell said that after the dismal performance in the by-elections, SP is out to rake up sensitive issues like Babri mosque, which in turn would only strengthen communal forces and vitiate the atmosphere.
Maroof said that SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former BJP leader Kalyan Singh have parted ways as per a design. The Congress leader said that when people are rising above caste and communal considerations and working for the country''s development, leaders like Mulayam and Kalyan Singh were out to ignite communal passions to serve their political interests.
He however, exuded confidence that the people, especially Muslims would not let them succeed in their designs.
26/11 terror trial: Kasab claims his food is laced with drugs
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole surviving 26/11 attacker, has complained to the special court that his food is being laced with a "powder" suspected to be a tranquiliser. On Tuesday, his lawyer Abbas Kazmi told reporters outside the court: "He has complained several times to the court that his food is being laced with some powder, because of which he is feeling drowsy throughout the day."
Kazmi also pointed out an incident when Kasab had shown him a substance wrapped in paper saying it was being mixed in his food. Arthur Road Jail Superintendent Rajendra Dhamne denied this, saying the substance wrapped in paper was just boiled rice. "These baseless allegations are being made because the trial has entered its final phase," he said.
Manpreet Vohra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, testified about the two dossiers given to him by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director General, South East Asia.
The court also recorded the deposition of Annie Irani, wife of the Taj hotel's steward Aadil, who was held hostage by four attackers who had stormed the heritage wing of the hotel.
Hindustan Times
Spy issued passport without police verification: Cops
Alleged Pakistani spy Mohammed Sayeed Ali's Indian passport was issued by the Lucknow regional passport office without the police verification process, the Lucknow deputy inspector general has admitted in a report to the state director general of police on Tuesday.
Lucknow's additional director general A K Jain said: "The inquiry has found the Lucknow police did not receive any requisition from the passport office seeking the verification for this particular applicant. Instead Ali's application carries the verification request number of a completely different person, giving the impression that his verification had been done too." Jain suspects Ali had inside help.
The Delhi Police's Special Cell on Monday night arrested two persons from Lucknow � Mohammad Arshad of the Qaiserbagh area and Amman alias Chand of Adil Nagar. Ali, who was in Lucknow on Monday, pointed them out as the men who had helped him procure the passport, a driving licence and a PAN card.
The DIG's report states that Ali's form was submitted at the passport office on April 24, 2005 (file: A 04812905). The passport officer register shows that a request for police verification was sent on May 24, though the police suspect the request was not actually forwarded.
However, Ali's application was approved with a police verification report number S-649. But the police's local intelligence unit has said verification S-649 was of applicant Sunil Saxena of Sunderbagh.
The two references given in the passport form � Abrar Ali and Aftab Ahmed�- of Jamboor Khana locality, Qaiserbagh, were also false as nobody by those names have lived in the locality.
Despite several efforts, Passport Officer J P Singh could not be reached for comments.
The DIG inquiry report has also revealed that the ration card (085446) attached with Ali's application form was issued in the name of his 'father' Syed Ali Ahmed on May 18, 1998 and it contained names of Ali, his 'mother' Sajida and 'sister' Nasima. A transfer certificate of Class VIII issued from Baba Thakurdas Higher Secondary School, Ghasiyari Mandi, Qaiserbagh, was attached with the passport form.
Jain said in order to get these documents, Ali's two accomplices had arranged fake marksheets of Aminabad Inter College, Lucknow. Income tax returns were also submitted for 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Arshu and Chand had helped Ali open an account (no-145246) at the Bank of Baroda's Hazratganj branch on October 8, 2005.
Meanwhile, a team of Uttar Pradesh's anti-terrorist force questioned Ali in Delhi on Tuesday. A senior officer said: "They were more interested to know if Ali was in anyway a threat to the Narora nuclear energy plant in the state."
Ali, 40, has allegedly said he came into spying because it offered good money. He is a divorcee and his two children live with their mother in Lahore, he told interrogators.
Meanwhile, Ali's case has exposed how callous the Delhi Police is in verifying tenants. Ali had stayed in Delhi's Shahdara for the last one and a half years. It has now emerged his landlord Akram Saifi's brother had personally visited the locality police station to check on the verification. The police missed that the Lucknow address was fake.
Delhi Police had intelligent input on Ali in August NEW DELHI: Sources have confirmed there were intelligence inputs as early as August 7 to warn the Delhi Police of a 'suspicious individual' living in the Shahdara area.
The local police had carried out a massive search in Shahdara � the Welcome area, Janata Colony, Kavi Nagar, Gullu ka Takiya area and Mansarovar Park � in August but could not find Mohammed Sayeed Ali.
Ali lived in a one-room accommodation at A-24/1, Jyoti Colony. A senior officer said: "The input did not mention this man's name, only where he could be staying."
Lucknow's anti-terrorist squad sources have said that Ali revealed during interrogation that he was assigned the job of collecting details about the Hindon air base, and also cultivate 'informers' in the Air Force. He told officers he was to soon return to Pakistan. NEERAJ CHAUHAN
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Mohit Sharma
President Patil to enter Guinness Book by flying fighter jet
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil is all set to enter Guinness Book of world records on November 25 by becoming the first lady president to fly a fighter jet.
The President will fly on the fourth-generation twin-seater Sukhoi-30MKI at the Lohegaon airbase in Pune on November 25.
"We all should be proud that it will be a record in the world that a lady president will fly the latest technology aircraft...I think we all Indians should be proud of that why to talk of the Indian Air Force. India has created many firsts and this is the another first and it also shows women empowerment," said Air Marshal PK Barbora, Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
The Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force said on Tuesday that President Patil has been declared fully fit for the flight and no modifications have been done for her on the aircraft.
"She is fully fit lady and fully capable of doing it...we have briefed her in totality, we have shown her photographs, we have also shown her video as to how to get in, how the cockpit looks like. There is no special arrangement, she has been fitted out with the full 'Kit' that's the pilot wears," Air Marshal Barbora said.
He further said that being the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, it is a matter of pride for the IAF that President Patil will be flying on Sukhoi-30MKI.
The flight duration will be of 30 minutes and Wing Commander S. ajan will fly the fighter aircraft.
The IAF will take all care to ensure Patil is comfortable in the cockpit, with pilot sticking to a simple cruising flight of around Mach 0.9 (around 900 kmph), Air Marshal Barbora said.
The President will be going to the Lohegaon airbase in Pune as part of her customary visit. By Praful Kumar Singh
Central BJP leaders gag Karnataka's warring groups, hum unity tune
Rival factions in Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were Wednesday told by the party central leaders to stop airing their differences in the media, with the state party chief warning that indiscipline would not be tolerated in future.
At the end of daylong meetings central BJP leaders Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj held with Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, rebel ministers, who had launched a campaign to remove him, as well with the party legislators, all sang a unity tune and pledged to strenthen the government -- the party's first in Karnataka and southern India.
'We are all united and will work for strengthening the party and improving the governance,' Yeddyurappa, dissident leader Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy, state unit chief D.V. Sadananda Gowda and senior leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the meeting of the party legislators.
While Naidu said partymen should not rush to the media to air differences, Sadananda Gowda warned that so far such acts of indiscipline had been tolerated for various reasons but it would no longer be so.
'Those who go to the media with differences will from henceforth stay with the media as all issues have been resolved,' he warned.
The day began with a meeting of the 14-member coordination committee, constituted late Tuesday by party president Rajnath Singh to appease the dissidents who have been complaining that Yeddyurappa takes unilateral decisions and ignores ministers and legislators.
Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj attended the meetings of both the coordination committee and the legislators.
Sushma Swaraj told reporters that the Karnataka crisis 'has put all of us to shame.'
Terming the crisis as 'a bad dream', she said it has gone away. 'The crisis been resolved fully and the party has emerged stronger from it.'
Naidu denied that the coordination committee was intended to curtail the powers of the chief minister, a view propagated by dissidents who have been insisting that its decision would be final on all party and government matters in Karnataka.
'It is not a government committee. It is a party committee. All states where the BJP is in power have such committees. It is in our party constitution,' he said.
Yeddyurappa said, 'The meetings went off well and all are happy.'
Development is the only issue now.
Janardhan Reddy said: 'We will work unitedly on the advice our central leaders gave us today (Wednesday).'
Yeddyurappa's close associate Shobha Karandlaje, who was dropped from the ministry on Nov 9 as part of the Nov 8 deal with the dissidents, did not attend the legislators' meeting.
The dissidents, particularly the Reddy brothers, Janardhan and his elder brother Revenue Minister Karunakara, had indicated that Sushma Swaraj would play a key role in the coordination committee.
However, the committee has Sadananda Gowda as its head and has more ministers considered close to Yeddyurappa.
Yeddyurappa's detractors in the committee include Karunakara Reddy, Bangalore South Lok Sabha member H.N. Ananth Kumar, Energy Minister K.S. Eshwarappa and Jagadish Shettar, who was sworn in as minister Tuesday after resigning as the assembly speaker Monday.
Home Minister V.S. Acharya, Transport Minister R. Ashok, IT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, Higher Education Minister Visvesvara Hegde Kageri, Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar and Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai, all considered to be Yeddyurappa's supporters, are the other members of the committee.
Sadananda Gowda is also a supporter of Yeddyurappa but he may not continue as committee head for long as his term as state party chief is ending in December.
Two special invitees are V. Satish and Santosh, representing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
French Socialists' vicious row a boon for Sarkozy
A power struggle between French politician Segolene Royal and an estranged ally has thrown the opposition Socialist Party into turmoil, offering relief to President Nicolas Sarkozy who faces disunity in his own camp.
Weakened by their inability to unite around a leader after Royal lost the 2007 presidential poll, the Socialists have failed to capitalise on Sarkozy's myriad problems which have pushed his approval ratings to record lows.
Instead, the opposition party has been tearing itself to shreds since the unpredictable Royal gate-crashed a debate organised by friend-turned-rival Vincent Peillon at the weekend -- an apparently minor incident that exposed deep divisions.
"She is in need of heavy psychiatric care," Peillon said of Royal on BFM television in the latest of a series of attacks, accusing her of sabotaging efforts to generate genuine policy proposals because of a naked desire to grab the media spotlight.
Royal has fought back vigorously, accusing Peillon of upstaging her within the party, and casting herself as a leader with grassroots popularity facing down apparatchiks.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I only went to meet the party activists who, by the way, were all delighted to see me," she said on France Inter radio.
The Royal-Peillon spat has drawn cries of consternation from other Socialists, who have labelled it "pathetic", "sad" and "appalling", but they have talked of nothing else for days, losing a golden opportunity to cause trouble for Sarkozy.
GOOD NEWS FOR SARKOZY
"At the moment, the only good news is coming from the opposition," the president was quoted as telling close friends by the investigative newspaper Le Canard Enchaine on Wednesday.
Sarkozy has suffered a series of setbacks over the past few weeks, the latest being opposition from within his UMP party to his plan to scrap a business tax that funds local governments.
The vitriol flowing among the Socialists has made them an easy target for Sarkozy's defenders.
"When we argue amongst ourselves, it's about policy. If you look on the other side, they only argue about personalities," UMP spokesman Frederic Lefebvre told France Culture radio.
The row has undone a year's work by official Socialist Party head Martine Aubry, who beat Royal in a disputed 2008 leadership ballot and has been trying to forge unity and quell dissent.
A BVA poll released this week showed 62 percent of voters thought the Socialist Party was in no better shape now than when Aubry took charge.
Another poll issued this month by CSA suggested that only one of half a dozen possible Socialist candidates for president would win against Sarkozy if an election took place now.
The potential winner was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, currently the head of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn has not said publicly whether he would throw his hat in the ring.
Astronomical rises in birth defects among Iraqi babies have been noted since 1991 and the introduction of depleted uranium by US and allied forces in their assaults on Iraq dating from that year. Since then, specific areas such as Falluja have been intensively "treated" to bombardment by shells containing DU and have suffered the effects thereof, including birth defects, stillborn children, a proliferation of cancers and other well-known and extensively documented symptoms of genocide connected to DU. However, a large volume of it was unleashed on Iraq in 1991, as well as in numerous instances thereafter. This substance apparently has an extremely long life-span once it is released, perpetuating its damage for many generations.
The only decent book in English on the USA-led invasion of Iraq, including coverage of the use of depleted uranium, is the redoubtable Jeff Archer's "The Mother of all Battles", published in 2008 by Alternative Publishing,8130 La Mesa Boulevard PMB 436, La Mesa CA 91941 USA. It has been used with excellent results by the valiant Professor June C. Terpstra in her college classrooms, but has been largely ignored by most Western "media" and academic circles. I urge any person concerned with the fate of Iraq to acquire a copy, study it carefully and keep it handy for reference purposes. It would also make a perfect gift for the "holiday" season and other gift-giving occasions.
al-Ustadh Husayn Farajullah Zaki Al-Kurdi
To exist is to resist !!
If you do not resist
then ,
you do not exist.
There are 2 kind of Israelis :
a) those who (openly) do not want Peace
b) those who want Peace-negotiations. (only)
There are 2 kind of Palestinians :
a) those who do resist
b) those who ,I wish that , they do not exist.
Raja Chemayel
Sometime in the mid-November 2009
Racial disparity: Ethics probes focus on black lawmakers
The House Ethics Committee is currently investigating seven African-American lawmakers — more than 15 percent of the total in the House. And an eighth black member, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), would be under investigation if the Justice Department hadn't asked the committee to stand down.
Not a single white lawmaker, not one, is currently the subject of a full-scale ethics committee probe; Ever heard of driving while black? Racism is not dead by a long shot!
<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29055.html>
Lack of health care killed 2,266 US veterans last year: study
(AFP)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXSJa5eFMuXF2Uxwptns_JOxRcMA
WASHINGTON — The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study.
The analysis produced by two Harvard medical researchers estimates that 2,266 US military veterans under the age of 65 died in 2008 because they lacked health coverage and had reduced access to medical care.
That figure is more than 14 times higher than the 155 US troop deaths in Afghanistan in 2008, the study says.
Released as the United States commemorates fallen soldiers on Veterans Day, the study warns that even health care provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VA) leaves many veterans without coverage.
The analysis uses census data to isolate the number of US veterans who lack both private health coverage and care offered by the VA.
"That's a group that's about 1.5 million people," said David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program who co-authored the study.
Himmelstein and co-author Stephanie Woolhandler, also a Harvard medical professor, overlaid that figure with another study examining the mortality rate associated with lack of health insurance.
"The uninsured have about a 40 percent higher risk of dying each year than otherwise comparable insured individuals," Himmelstein told AFP.
"Putting that all together you get an estimate of almost 2,300 -- 2,266 veterans who die each year from lack of health insurance."
Only some US veterans have access to medical care through the VA and coverage is apportioned on the basis of eight "priority groups."
"They range from things like people who were prisoners of war, who have coverage for life, or who have battle injuries and therefore have coverage for their injuries for life," said Himmelstein.
Veterans who fall below an income threshold that is determined on a county-by-county basis can qualify for care, but many veterans are "working poor" and fall just above the bracket.
"The priority eight group, the lowest priority, are veterans above the very poor group who have no other reason to be eligible and that group is essentially shut out of the VA," according to Himmelstein.
The study comes as the US Senate weighs health care reform legislation and whether to offer government health insurance.
Himmelstein warns that congressional proposals could still leave veterans uncovered and favors a national health care program similar to those in Britain and Canada.
INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - www.InformPress.com - USA
PPP President Asif Ali Zardari is a Criminal, Fraud, Traitor and Third-
Rater: Pervez Musharraf
Defending the Arsenal
In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?
By SEYMOUR M. HERSH
WASHINGTON DC, USA, 11 November 2009 (InformPress.com) - Read the following excerpts from an article headlined "Defending the Arsenal - In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?", written by Seymour M. Hersh, which was published in the 16 November 2009 edition of The New Yorker magazine based in New York, NY, USA:
[Pakistan Army's ex-Chief General (R) Pervez] Musharraf, who was forced out of office in August 2008, under threat of impeachment, did not spare his successor. "Asif Zardari is a criminal and a fraud,"
Musharraf told me. "He will do anything to save himself. He is not a patriot and he has got no love for Pakistan. He is a third-rater."
A $ 7.5 billion American aid package, approved by [U.S.] Congress in September [2009], was, to the surprise of many in Washington, controversial in Pakistan, because it contained provisions seen as strengthening [PPP president Asif Ali] Zardari at the expense of the military. Shaheen Sehbai, a senior editor of the newspaper [The News] International, said that Zardari's "problem is that he is besieged domestically on all sides, and he thinks only the Americans can save him," and, as a result, "he will open his pants for them." Sehbai noted that [General Ashfaq Parvez] Kayani's term as [Pakistan] Army Chief ends in the fall of 2010. If Zardari tried to replace him before then, Kayani's colleagues would not accept his choice, and there could be "a generals' coup," Sehbai said. "America should worry more about the structure and organization of the Army - and keep it intact."
He [PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari] is widely known in Pakistan as Mr. Ten Percent, a reference to the commissions he allegedly took on government contracts when [Benazir] Bhutto was in power, and is seen by many Pakistanis as little more than a crook who has grown too close to America; his approval ratings are in the teens.
In May [2009], Zardari, at the urging of the United States, approved a major offensive against the Taliban [Pakistani-Pashtuns], sending thirty thousand troops into the Swat Valley, which lies a hundred miles northwest of Islamabad.
[Sultan Amir] Tarar [known to many as Colonel Imam] spoke bitterly about the position that General Kayani found himself in, carrying out the "corrupt" policies of the Americans and of Zardari, while Pakistan's soldiers "were fighting gallantly in Swat against their own people."
The current offensive in South Waziristan marked a significant success for the Obama Administration, which had urged Zardari to take greater control of the tribal areas.
READ: Defending the Arsenal - In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?
- http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/16/091116fa_fact_hersh
- http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/16/091116fa_fact_hersh?printable=true
INTERNET-WEB LINKS:
(1) Musharraf Spoke Against Zardari in Harsher Words: American Journalist Seymour M. Hersh
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25481
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25502
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25494
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25496
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25473
(2) PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari Conspiring Against Pakistan Supreme Court Judges
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=25478
- http://www.thenews.com.pk/print.asp?id=90764
-
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/print/Politics/11-Nov-2009/President-can-be-summoned-in-court-SCBA-President
(3) PPP President Asif Ali Zardari Received Bribes in French Submarines Sale to Pakistan Navy
http://groups.google.com/group/reportpress/t/22d2b32ba544b28c
(4) PPP President Asif Zardari Wasted Public Funds on his Entertainment in America
http://groups.google.com/group/reportpress/t/5d0b66e1fd765477
(5) U.S. House Passed Deceptive "Affordable Health Care for America Act", But Deliberately Failed to Provide Public MEDICAID and MEDICARE FOR ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS and RESIDENTS of the United States of America (USA)
- http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/08
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/08-0
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/06-8
U.S. Congress must abolish all medical/health insurance companies in the USA and provide public MEDICAID as well as MEDICARE FOR ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS and RESIDENTS of the United States of America (USA) through a new U.S. law in 2009:
MEDICARE FOR ALL AMERICANS:
- http://www.healthcare-now.org
- http://www.pnhp.org
- http://www.medicareforall.org
- http://www.pdamerica.org
- http://www.hr676.org
- http://www.guaranteedhealthcare4all.org
- http://www.1payer.net
- http://www.singlepayeraction.org
- http://www.republicansforsinglepayer.org
- http://www.gp.org
- http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org
- http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org
- http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org
- http://www.unionsforsinglepayer.org
- http://conyers.house.gov
- http://www.johnconyers.com/hr676faq
- http://kucinich.house.gov
- http://sanders.senate.gov
- http://www.calnurses.org
- http://www.democrats.com/single-payer-petition?ad=d0
- The Report Press - www.ReportPress.net - Wednesday, 11 November
2009
- Chief Editor - Journalist SYED ADEEB - www.SyedAdeeb.net INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - www.InformPress.com - USA
In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"
Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasalaam) is Allah's slave, messenger and seal of the Prophets.
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu
Adapted from: Perfect days for perfect Ibaadah
By Asma bint Shameem
The first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are the most beloved to Allah.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) testified to that. He said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." (Sahih Bukhari)
WHAT ACTIVITIES IN THESE 10 DAYS WILL BRING THE REWARD OF JANNAH?
Obviously, Hajj is one of the best deeds that one can do during these ten days. However for those of us who were not invited to His House this year, there are still many, good deeds that one can do and earn the Pleasure of Allah.
Some of these are:
1) Fast all nine days and especially fast the Day of Arafah
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) said: "Anyone who fasts for one day for Allah's pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years. (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) used to fast on the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah and he (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) said: Fasting the Day of Arafah (ninth Dhul-hijjah) is an expiation for (all the sins of) the previous year and an expiation for (all the sins of) the coming year. (Sahih Muslim)
2 ) Do a LOT of Dhikr and Takbeer
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) said: "There are no days on which good deeds are greater or more beloved to Allah than on these ten days, so recite much Tahleel (saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allah), Takbir (saying Allahu akbar) and Tahmeed (saying al-hamdu Lillaah). (Ahmad -Sahih)
Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, reciting Takbeer, and the people would recite Takbeer when they heard them. (Sahih Bukhari)
Takbir at this time is a Sunnah. So recite it in the masjid, in your home, on the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allah.
Revive the Sunnah that have been virtually forgotten and earn great rewards for doing so. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) said: "Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Tirmidhi- a hasan hadeeth) Men should recite these aloud and women should do so quietly.
3) Stand in Night Prayers: (Tahajud, Qiyam al Layl)
Remember the virtues of spending the night in prayer, and its sweetness in Ramadan?
Why not revive this beautiful act of worship during these nights as well? Remember, how in the last third of every night, Allah Almighty calls out to us, His servants: "Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?" (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
Why do we miss this golden opportunity? So, seize the chance NOW and expose yourself to His Divine Generosity and Mercy, ask Him to forgive you and guide you and set things aright. He will surely listen.
4) Make Sincere Repentance.
One of the most important action during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin right away because we do not know when we will die and thus become unable to repent, and also because one evil deed leads to another. But what does repentance mean? It means that you come back to Allah and give up all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes. That you regret whatever you did in the past, giving it up immediately and be determined never ever, to return to it, and resolve to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing whatever Allah loves. But as for him who repented, believed and did righteous deeds, then he will be among those who are successful. [Al-Qasas 28:67]
5) Come back to the Qur'an
It is time now to dust off your copy of the Qur'an and return to its refuge. Make it a daily habit, using these 10 days the beginning of a strong and beautiful relationship with it. Read it with meaning, reflect on it, understand it, and then implement it in your daily life. Remember that reading one letter of the Qur'an earns you ten rewards. In this way, reading Surat Al-Fatihah, which doesn't take more than two minutes, will give you more than one thousand rewards! This is on ordinary days, so what about these magnificent days! Certainly the reward will be far greater, Insha Allah.
6) Increase ALL the types of good deeds
If we are unable to go to Hajj this year, we should occupy ourselves in the worship of Allah; pray extra prayers (Nafilah) recite the Qur'an. Make Dhikr of Allah, send Salaams on the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam), make dua, give charity, honor our parents, uphold ties of kinship, enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and add other good deeds and acts of worship during these days. "So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it; And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it." [Al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]
7) Get the reward of Hajj wherever you are
You may be unable to do Hajj this year, and you may feel sad. However, you can get the reward of it right where you are. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) said: "Whoever prays Fajr Prayer in congregation, and then sits and remembers Allah until the sun rises, then (after a while) prays two rakas, he will gain a reward equal to that of making perfect Hajj and Umrah." [He repeated the word "perfect" thrice.] (At-Tirmidhi)
8. Slaughter an animal and distribute the meat.
Ibn Umar said: "The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam) lived in Madinah for 10 years and every year he slaughtered an animal." (Ahmad-Sahih by al-Albaani)
9) Attend Eid prayers
Remember that Eid Prayer is a form of worship and we should avoid unislamic behavior (especially) in dress and in etiquette during these times.
10) Thank Allah.
One of the best forms of worshipping Allah Subhaanahu wa Taala is to thank Him, deeply, sincerely and continuously. Alhamdulillah, there is much to be gained in these coming days. Hasten to do good deeds and striving hard in worship. "And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (death)." [Al-Hijr 15:99]
In the IMF List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita, India is ranked 130
and Pakistan 133. World Banks ranks India in 113 position and Pakistan
119. The ratios of poverty and illiteracy are much higher in India and
Pakistan as compared to most other countries. But both countries
have much higher level of corruption in almost all segments of population
specially the politicians, public servants, traders, media and law
enforcement as perceived by the Transparency International..
We should draw lessons from Japan, Singapore, South Korea etc.how
they have achieved much faster progress despite devastation caused by war.
Shah N. Khan
http://www.netvert.biz/shah/articles.html
Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 8:58 AM
What conclusion we can draw from the much faster progress of China or Japan
than India? Japan and Germany were devastated by war but now they are
more prosperous than India. Here is one quote:
"In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social
structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease
pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted,
the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking
that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance."
_Barbara Tuchman (1912–89), U.S. historian.
India has a long way to go to achieve a reasonable level of prosperity
for its over 80% population. And so is the case in Pakistan.
Neither type of the Government nor democracy, but Good Governance is
panacea of our ills. Democratically tyrants have proven to be more ruthless
in plunder and loot than military dictators. Individual honesty, justice, unity,
tolerance, plurism, hard work and quest for knowledge are essential for
improving our lot and not negation of merit, favoritism, nepotism and
corruption in the government, education, commerce, trade and industry.
Every body must contribute in getting rid of the curse of ignorance and
illiteracy. And we must get rid of those demagogues who run the
political parties as personality cults or those who fan sectarian, ethnic
or class hatred.
A truly functioning democracy requires an informed, educated and proactive
citizenry. A vigilant and free press and leaders with a modicum of integrity
are necessary condiments to concoct this utopian brew. Not only in India
but In America also all are missing. The continued prosecution of illegal,
immoral and preemptive wars by US and Indian atrocities on Muslims in
Kashmir and Gujrat and various other places including destruction of
historical Babri Mosque and wide spread corruption are shameful for
any truly functional democracy.
For adult franchise to be effective we need to improve the qualifications
of not only the candidates but also the voters.
Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than
Christianity has made them good.--Mencken, H. L.
Arif N. Khan
Asst. Editor, Weekly Fraternity Briefs
http://groups. google.com/ group/Fraternity
http://www.netvert. biz/wordpower/ index.html
Indian Democracy as a Model
for South Asian Political Development
by Dr. Subhas Kapila
India's political experiment as a sustainable and successful democracy should logically provide a workable model for all the other South Asian nations. The global community has hailed and held up India as a democratic model that could be emulated by the rest of South Asia. In the destabilized South Asian security environment that exists today this truism could not be more realistic and true. Most South Asian nations with the exception of Pakistan recognize this reality. South Asian nations, again with the exception of Pakistan have witnessed as to how the Indian political democracy and democratic governance have facilitated India's remarkable economic resurgence with sustained high rates of economic growth. This besides other national attributes of power has facilitated the world to take notice of India as an emerging global power. The moot question that arises is as to why other South Asian nations which became independent about the same time should be floundering around searching for stability and peace.
Pakistan stands out as the supreme example of how a nation which was left by the British colonial masters with the same stage of political and economic development as India should today be described as a failing nation with nuclear weapons too. Without stressing the obvious it is the Pakistan Army which destroyed political institutions in Pakistan to remain in political power. The same process is on today also with the United States being blackmailed by the Pakistan Army that the US cannot honorably exit Afghanistan without its assistance.
Bangladesh was a downtrodden colony of Pakistan until the people of Bangladesh united and rose together to overthrow Pakistan's colonial rule and genocide.
Bangladesh today offers promise of stabilizing as a democracy though the journey has been long with years of Army rule too on the Pakistani model.
Sri Lanka has seen a workable democracy despite meeting the military challenge posed by the LTTE for more than a decade and a half. Despite dire predictions in some quarters of a breakup of Sri Lanka it has resiliently come out and like India could emerge as an economically strong nation too.
Nepal's democracy has yet to strike roots as rather than following the Indian model, Nepal's governments were playing games by playing off China and Pakistan against India.
In a measure of the success of the Indian political democratic experiment, people within Pakistan are becoming increasingly vocal in demanding accountability as to why the Indian democratic experiment could not have been replicated in Pakistan also. They concurrently argue that had this been done Pakistan too today would have been economically stronger and not dependent on financial doles from the United States and China. The Pakistan Army should be held accountable for the same for imposing long years of military rule and renting themselves out to the United States and China for the pecuniary gains of their Generals.
Major global powers that otherwise harp endlessly on the virtues of democracy and human rights need to desist from double-standards and ensure that the Pakistan Army is surgically disconnected from politics and made to return to barracks and also made to submit themselves to the writ of the civilian government.
Pakistan Army reined-in and with democracy in unadulterated form allowed to strike roots in Pakistan would facilitate the end of proxy wars and terrorism which emanates from Pakistan and engulfs its neighbors directly or indirectly. South Asia could then hopefully return to stable democracies and sustainable political and economic development.
In that sort of environment there is hope of South Asian nations replicating India's successful model of democratic experiment and move towards greater South Asian regional cooperation and integration.
November 8, 2009
Hasni Essa
Islam for Pluralism
A great video about a phone call to an organization that raises money for Israel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfoFQcRcJJ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoENwJh1Vnk
Interview with Prof. HUO Deming from Center for Economic Research at Peking University talks about current China s economy situation and prospects.
Peace and best wishes.
Xi
Questions:
Q1. We just reviewed some of the key economic figures released this morning. How do you view the data? Are they within market expectations?
Q2: October's CPI and PPI figures are being closely analyzed. Although the two figures were still in negative territory, the declines narrowed compared to September. In your view, can we say the CPI and PPI are now on an upward trend?
Q3. When do you predict the CPI will move out of negative territory? Some are saying before year's end.
Q4. Money supply is another key figure. We can see that the amount of yuan loans in October was less than half of that in September. Is this a sign that monetary liquidity is tightening? What will be the impact on the economy?
Q5. There are concerns that China will fine-tune its moderately easy monetary policy in the coming months. We know the central government will hold its annual economic work conference next month. Do you expect any policy changes at this meeting?
Q6. There are already voices talking about implementing or preparing an "exit strategy." Do you think it's the right time now, or is it still too early?
Q7. Foreign trade is another important measure of a country's economy. Although recent figures show improvements, the numbers remain in negative territory. How do you view the foreign trade outlook for China? When do you think the sector will move into positive territory?
Q8. Many now agree that China's overall economic situation is good. What will be the major tasks or challenges in the country's next phase of economic growth?
Q9. Most say the government has a very good window of opportunity in the next few quarters to focus on the quality of economic growth ... given that growth is no longer a concern. Do you agree?
Rare virus poses new threat to troops
By Sara A. Carter
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/06/rare-virus-poses-new-threat-to-troops/
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan | U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.
Dr. Jim Radike, an expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Role 3 Trauma Hospital at Kandahar Air Field, told The Washington Times that Sgt. Robert David Gordon, 22, from River Falls, Ala., died Sept. 16 from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick.
The virus is transmitted by infected blood and can be carried by ticks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Radike, who is with the Navy, said the medical team "will be taking blood samples and the results may take several weeks to get back." He called it "a precautionary measure."
Dr. Radike did not say how many individuals would be tested or why the
military had waited until now to act. The unit involved is the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division, A-Company 2-1 Infantry.
The news comes as the Pentagon disclosed that it has sent 150,000 doses of vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu virus to Qatar for distribution to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - half of what U.S. Central Command has requested. More than a half dozen Afghans have died of the disease, which apparently was transmitted to the country by foreigners.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday, "We're doing everything within our power to make sure our guys downrange get this [vaccine] as soon as possible."
Dr. Radke said the hemorrhagic fever is similar to Ebola "in that the end there is internal degeneration and external bleeding. From the Black Sea to upper Turkey, you'll see a dozen or more cases a year. Afghanistan falls right in the middle."
The disease was first reported in the Crimea in 1944, then in the Congo in 1956, according to the World Health Organization. An outbreak was reported eight years ago in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan.
Dr. Radke said U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan not only have to worry about the Taliban but also a host of ailments not commonly found in the West.
"Diarrheal diseases, typhoid fever, skin ailments and tuberculosis are some of what we have to be on the lookout for," he said. "It's important for soldiers to get medical help early on if they are not feeling well or have been bitten. It's too risky not to have a doctor take a look at it."
Dr. Radike also advised soldiers to "wash their hands often; it's as simple as that."
Symptoms of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever include sudden fever, dizziness, neck pain, aching muscles, soreness in the eyes and sensitivity to light. Early on, nausea, vomiting and sore throat occur.
The virus incubation period depends on how the virus was acquired. If the infection is via tick bite, the incubation period is roughly one to three days, with a maximum of nine days, Dr. Radike said. If the illness is not caught early, it is often fatal, he said. The mortality rate is 30 percent, according to the CDC.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey French, Sgt. Gordon's battalion commander, told The Times from Forward Operating Base Ramrod, to the west of Kandahar City, that the soldier's death "was a tragic loss for everyone."
It started out as a small bite on the foot, Col. French said.
The Stryker Brigade has lost 27 soldiers since its deployment to Afghanistan in July, most from improvised explosive devices.
"We never would have thought we'd see the death of a young soldier from such a rare illness," Col. French said. "You can prepare for almost anything out here but how do you prepare for that?"
Sgt. Gordon's decorations and awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge and V-Device for valor. He was also awarded three Army Achievement medals.
Same-sex marriage bill, as written, called a threat to social service contracts
Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum
By Tim Craig and Michelle Boorstein
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Washington Post
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.
Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.
"If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."
Several D.C. Council members said the Catholic Church is trying to erode the city's long-standing laws protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination.
The clash escalates the dispute over the same-sex marriage proposal between the council and the archdiocese, which has generally stayed out of city politics.
Catholic Charities, the church's social services arm, is one of dozens of nonprofit organizations that partner with the District. It serves 68,000 people in the city, including the one-third of Washington's homeless people who go to city-owned shelters managed by the church. City leaders said the church is not the dominant provider of any particular social service, but the church pointed out that it supplements funding for city programs with $10 million from its own coffers.
"All of those services will be adversely impacted if the exemption language remains so narrow," Jane G. Belford, chancellor of the Washington Archdiocese, wrote to the council this week.
The church's influence seems limited. In separate interviews Wednesday, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) referred to the church as "somewhat childish." Another council member, David A. Catania (I-At Large), said he would rather end the city's relationship with the church than give in to its demands.
"They don't represent, in my mind, an indispensable component of our social services infrastructure," said Catania, the sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill and the chairman of the Health Committee.
The standoff appears to be among the harshest between a government and a faith-based group over the rights of same-sex couples.
Advocates for same-sex couples said they could not immediately think of other places where a same-sex marriage law had set off a break with a major faith-based provider of social services.
The council is expected to pass the same-sex marriage bill next month, but the measure continues to face strong opposition from a number of groups that are pushing for a referendum on the issue.
The archdiocese's statement follows a vote Tuesday by the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary to reject an amendment that would have allowed individuals, based on their religious beliefs, to decline to provide services for same-sex weddings.
"Lets say an individual caterer is a staunch Christian and someone wants him to do a cake with two grooms on top," said council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 6), the sponsor of the amendment. "Why can't they say, based on their religious beliefs, 'I can't do something like that'?"
After the vote, the archdiocese sent out a statement accusing the council of ignoring the right of religious freedom. Gibbs said Wednesday that without Alexander's amendment and other proposed changes, the measure has too narrow an exemption. She said religious groups that receive city funds would be required to give same-sex couples medical benefits, open adoptions to same-sex couples and rent a church hall to a support group for lesbian couples.
Peter Rosenstein of the Campaign for All D.C. Families accused the church of trying to "blackmail the city."
"The issue here is they are using public funds, and to allow people to discriminate with public money is unacceptable," Rosenstein said.
Rosenstein and other gay rights activists have strong support on the council. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said the council "will not legislate based on threats."
"The problem with the individual exemption is anybody could discriminate based on their assertion of religious principle," Mendelson said. "There were many people back in the 1950s and '60s, during the civil rights era, that said separation of the races was ordained by God."
Catania, who said he has been the biggest supporter of Catholic Charities on the council, said he is baffled by the church's stance. From 2006 through 2008, Catania said, Catholic Charities received about $8.2 million in city contracts, as well as several hundred thousand dollars' worth this year through his committee.
"If they find living under our laws so oppressive that they can no longer take city resources, the city will have to find an alternative partner to step in to fill the shoes," Catania said. He also said Catholic Charities was involved in only six of the 102 city-sponsored adoptions last year.
Terry Lynch, head of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, said he did not know of any other group in the city that was making such a threat.
"I've not seen any spillover into programming. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen if [the bill] passes," he said.
Cheh said she hopes the Catholic Church will reconsider its stance.
"Are they really going to harm people because they have a philosophical disagreement with us on one issue?" Cheh asked. "I hope, in the silver light of day, when this passes, because it will pass, they will not really act on this threat."
Israeli forces detain nine internationals
12/11/2009
http://alethonews.blogspot.com/2009/11/israeli-forces-detain-nine.html
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli forces detained two Palestinians and nine internationals working on the rehabilitation of agricultural lands within the project "Green Palestine" near the village of Umm Salamoneh south of Bethlehem on Thursday.
Ibrahim Awad, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall in the area said Israeli forces raided his land and detained him along with a member of the Village Council and nine internationals near the illegal Effrat settlement, while Deputy Director of Agriculture in Bethlehem Ibrahim Masha'leh said that Israeli forces detained "dozens of foreigners and the employees of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture in Umm Salamoneh village."
Bethlehem district is the second to embrace Project Green, after a successful debut in Tulkarem. The initiative is run by the Popular Committees in the area, and brings together local government, education professionals, and local councils for integrated solutions to providing a healthy living space for local residents.
The project is part of a larger national scheme governed primarily by the Ministry of Agriculture to aid not only farmers, but communities at large.
Rare virus poses new threat to troops
By Sara A. Carter
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/06/rare-virus-poses-new-threat-to-troops/
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan | U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.
Dr. Jim Radike, an expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Role 3 Trauma Hospital at Kandahar Air Field, told The Washington Times that Sgt. Robert David Gordon, 22, from River Falls, Ala., died Sept. 16 from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick.
The virus is transmitted by infected blood and can be carried by ticks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Radike, who is with the Navy, said the medical team "will be taking blood samples and the results may take several weeks to get back." He called it "a precautionary measure."
Dr. Radike did not say how many individuals would be tested or why the
military had waited until now to act. The unit involved is the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division, A-Company 2-1 Infantry.
The news comes as the Pentagon disclosed that it has sent 150,000 doses of vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu virus to Qatar for distribution to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - half of what U.S. Central Command has requested. More than a half dozen Afghans have died of the disease, which apparently was transmitted to the country by foreigners.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday, "We're doing everything within our power to make sure our guys downrange get this [vaccine] as soon as possible."
Dr. Radke said the hemorrhagic fever is similar to Ebola "in that the end there is internal degeneration and external bleeding. From the Black Sea to upper Turkey, you'll see a dozen or more cases a year. Afghanistan falls right in the middle."
The disease was first reported in the Crimea in 1944, then in the Congo in 1956, according to the World Health Organization. An outbreak was reported eight years ago in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan.
Dr. Radke said U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan not only have to worry about the Taliban but also a host of ailments not commonly found in the West.
"Diarrheal diseases, typhoid fever, skin ailments and tuberculosis are some of what we have to be on the lookout for," he said. "It's important for soldiers to get medical help early on if they are not feeling well or have been bitten. It's too risky not to have a doctor take a look at it."
Dr. Radike also advised soldiers to "wash their hands often; it's as simple as that."
Symptoms of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever include sudden fever, dizziness, neck pain, aching muscles, soreness in the eyes and sensitivity to light. Early on, nausea, vomiting and sore throat occur.
The virus incubation period depends on how the virus was acquired. If the infection is via tick bite, the incubation period is roughly one to three days, with a maximum of nine days, Dr. Radike said. If the illness is not caught early, it is often fatal, he said. The mortality rate is 30 percent, according to the CDC.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey French, Sgt. Gordon's battalion commander, told The Times from Forward Operating Base Ramrod, to the west of Kandahar City, that the soldier's death "was a tragic loss for everyone."
It started out as a small bite on the foot, Col. French said.
The Stryker Brigade has lost 27 soldiers since its deployment to Afghanistan in July, most from improvised explosive devices.
"We never would have thought we'd see the death of a young soldier from such a rare illness," Col. French said. "You can prepare for almost anything out here but how do you prepare for that?"
Sgt. Gordon's decorations and awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge and V-Device for valor. He was also awarded three Army Achievement medals.
INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - www.InformPress.com - USA
AHRC Demands Arrest of MQM Militants Mustafa Kamal and Izhar Uddin for Murder of Nisar Baloch
PAKISTAN: Human rights defender names his alleged murderers shortly before his death - PPP-MQM government fails to provide protection
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2009statements/2286
By Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
http://pakistan.ahrchk.net
(InformPress.com) - Mr. Nisar Baloch, aged 46, was shot dead on November 7 [2009], by motorbike riders. Police have refused to mention the names of the murderers in the First Investigation Report (FIR), owing to the fact that the accused persons belong to ruling political party, MQM [Muttahida Qaumi Movement of Karachi, Pakistan], which has a background of target killings. On November 6, the day before his murder, Nisar Baloch addressed members of the press at a press conference and clearly stated that the [Karachi] City Nazim (Mayor) Mr. Mustafa Kamal, as well as the Town Nazim of the SITE town [Mr.
Izhar Uddin], had the intention to murder him. He stated further that he would be murdered the next day by the aforementioned people and by activists of the MQM Altaf Hussain group. He blamed the [MQM] party in [PPP] ruling alliance for their encroachment onto the land of Gutter Baghicha, an amenity plot of 1017 acres.
His death is the second incident in the victimization of housing rights defenders in the past five years in Karachi. During both incidents, the MQM was in power. The son of Mr. Baseer Naveed, radio broadcaster and leader of the resistance movement against the construction of the Lyari Express, was abducted on November 8, 2004 [from the FM radio 103 building in Karachi] and his [Mr. Faraz Ahmed Naveed] body was found with torture marks near the wall of Naveed's radio station, two days after his abduction. Mr. Nisar Baloch was another activist in the movement against the construction of the Lyari Expressway, through which more than 300,000 people were supposed to be displaced.
Mr. Nisar Baloch was a well-known figure who worked against the grabbing of amenity plots by the government and other such powerful people. The land of Gutter Baghicha, a park, was declared to be an amenity plot in 1972. However, when the MQM took control of the city's mayorship in the early 1990s, parts of the Gutter Baghicha were illegally allotted to officers of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The local people of trans-Lyari resisted and refused to allow the KMC to encroach upon the park. The Karachi NGO Alliance, (through which Mr. Nisar Baloch was running the people's movement against the grabbing of this parkland) got a stay order from the Sindh High Court against construction in this park. However, the MQM, which has remained in power since 1989, (whether the ruling government was civilian or military), did not respect the court's order. The details of other land-grabbing incidents by the MQM can be read about below.
Clearly, the values which uphold law and order in this country have deteriorated to a state of abjection. When a man says in a press conference that he will be killed the following day by the mayors of Karachi and the SITE town, and the police fail to provide protection to him because of the political pressure they are under, it is clear that the situation is deplorable. Even the journalists present at the press conference did not take [Mr. Nisar] Baloch's apprehensions seriously and did not give coverage of his concerns to the public.
Furthermore, the police at the Soldier Bazar Police Station, in whose jurisdiction this murder occurred, have refused to put the name of murderer on the FIR. This is illegal and clearly indicates that the police have become sub-servants to the cadres of ruling parties.
Housing and resettlement policies in Pakistan are unclear and ambiguous, leaving room for manipulation by those in ruling political parties, and the opportunity to grab land and convert it into commercial plots. About half of Pakistan's population lives in slum communities and often in a state of squalor. Judicial negligence, combined with the inaction and ineffectiveness of the courts in dealing with the housing needs of the people and matters of land- grabbing, has benefited the land-grabber tremendously.
The [PPP-MQM] Government of Sindh should act immediately to arrest the culprits on these murder charges including, Mr. Mustafa Kamal, [Karachi] City Nazim; and Mr. Izhar Uddin, Town Nazim of SITE town, (the name of the latter was stated by Mr. Nisar Baloch during his press conference, one day before his death); and the high officials of the Karachi Police, including the Chief Police Officer and Station Head Officer (SHO) of the Soldier Bazar Police Station. A thorough inquiry should be conducted into the extra-judicial killing of Mr.
Nisar Baloch.
FARAZ AHMED NAVEED MURDER CASE:
- http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/817
- http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2048
- http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2005/1188
- http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1244
- http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/811
- http://www.ahrchk.net/ahrc-in-news/mainfile.php/2007ahrcinnews/1438
- http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/article.php3?id_article=2278
- http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/mainfile.php/hrculture/301
- http://www.ahrchk.net/pr/mainfile.php/2006mr/410
- http://www.ahrchk.net/ahrc-in-news/mainfile.php/2006ahrcinnews/943
- http://www.ahrchk.net/ahrc-in-news/mainfile.php/2006ahrcinnews/935
- http://www.ahrchk.net/pr/mainfile.php/2007mr/500
1.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/16-ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-ii-759-hs-05
2.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/16-ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-3-159-hs-06
3.
http://dawnnews.tv/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-4-ts-03
[About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong, China-based group was founded in 1984.
9 November 2009]
INTERNET-WEB LINKS:
(1) Over 22,000 Innocent Pakistanis Killed in US-Pakistan War of Terror
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=111081
(2) USA, Israel, UK and India are Destabilizing Baluchistan, Fracturing Pakistan
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15858
(3) India-Israeli Military Nexus To Harm Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and China
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/opinion_print/Opinions/Columns/11-Nov-2009/IndoIsraeli-military-nexus
http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/israels-role-in-destabilizing-pakistan
(4) U.S. Is Doing No Good In illegally Occupied Afghanistan Time for US-NATO to Leave Unlawfully Occupied Afghanistan
- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23943.htm
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/08
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/11-8
- http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/10-5
- http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/09-4
- http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=110725
- http://www.rense.com/general88/decisn.htm
- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23949.htm
- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23944.htm
- http://www.commondreams.org/video/2009/11/12
U.S. Congress must abolish all medical/health insurance companies in the USA and provide public MEDICAID as well as MEDICARE FOR ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS and RESIDENTS of the United States of America (USA) through a new U.S. law in 2009:
- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23942.htm
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/11-12
- http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/10-0
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/08-0
- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/06-8
MEDICARE FOR ALL AMERICANS:
- http://www.healthcare-now.org
- http://www.pnhp.org
- http://www.medicareforall.org
- http://www.pdamerica.org
- http://www.hr676.org
- http://www.guaranteedhealthcare4all.org
- http://www.1payer.net
- http://www.singlepayeraction.org
- http://www.republicansforsinglepayer.org
- http://www.gp.org
- http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org
- http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org
- http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org
- http://www.unionsforsinglepayer.org
- http://conyers.house.gov
- http://www.johnconyers.com/hr676faq
- http://kucinich.house.gov
- http://sanders.senate.gov
- http://www.calnurses.org
- http://www.democrats.com/single-payer-petition?ad=d0
- The Report Press - www.ReportPress.net - Thursday, 12 November 2009
- Chief Editor - Journalist SYED ADEEB - www.SyedAdeeb.net INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - www.InformPress.com - USA
China, US agree on India, Pak
Beijing, November 18, 2009
First Published: 01:25 IST(18/11/2009)
Last Updated: 01:52 IST(18/11/2009)
After a gap of nearly a decade, a joint statement issued by the US and China has named India and Pakistan.
US President Barack Obama repeated this during a press briefing later, saying the two countries had agreed to work together to bring about "peaceful relations in all of South Asia."
This will go down poorly in India. Not only has it long argued its relations with Pakistan are a bilateral issue, the joint statement has given the impression the US sees China as the dominant power broker in Asia.On Tuesday, Obama and Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao announced plans to work together on a range of international issues. But the statement had an unexpected line: that the two sides "support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan."
"The two sides welcomed all efforts conducive to peace, stability and development in South Asia," said the statement. "They support the efforts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight terrorism, maintain domestic stability...the two sides are ready to strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation on issues related to South Asia and work together to promote peace and development in that region."
This will go down poorly in India. Not only has it long argued its relations with Pakistan are a bilateral issue, the joint statement has given the impression the US sees China as the dominant power broker in Asia. The most favourable interpretation is that Washington's real interest is to persuade Beijing to exert its considerable influence with Pakistan.
The last US-China joint statement that spoke of India was when President Bill Clinton visited Beijing just after India's 1998 nuclear tests. Clinton was strongly criticised in India for the statement.
(with inputs from Pramit Pal Chaudhuri)Admiral Gorshkov delivery to India in 2012: Russia
Moscow, April 21, 2009
First Published: 16:02 IST(21/4/2009)
Last Updated: 16:04 IST(21/4/2009)
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Russia will deliver the modernised Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy in 2012, a senior shipbuilding industry official has said. "Under an agreement with India, the aircraft will be delivered in 2012. Almost 2,000 highly-qualified workers are currently involved in the overhaul (of the ship)," Vladimir Pakhomov, the president of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation, said in an interview published on Tuesday in the Vremya Novostei newspaper.
"We will increase the number of workers and speed up the work, making sure that it does not affect the quality. We are continuing talks with Indian officials about the additional financing of the project," he added.
The original $1.5 billion contract signed in 2004 between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy envisioned that work on the aircraft carrier would be completed in 2008.
Of the contracted amount, $750 million was for the retrofit of the carrier, docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the past 12 years. The balance was for modern weaponry, including MiG-29K Fulcrum aircraft and Ka-27 Helix-A and Ka-31 Helix-B anti-submarine helicopters.
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