Pope's butler goes on trial in 'Vatileaks' scandal

Courtsey:-AFP

Breaking News:  Wiesenthal Center Outraged at Firebombing of Malmö Jewish Community Center "Center calls for permanent police presence at Malmö Jewish institutions, as at other endangered communities across Europe"

Paris, 28 September 2012 An explosion occurred last night, after midnight, at the Malmö Jewish Community Center. The exact circumstances are currently under investigation. The Simon Wiesenthal Center expresses its solidarity with the 700-member Jewish community and its Rabbi, who has been incessantly targeted. Rabbi Kesselman and his children have been physically and verbally assaulted some fifteen times in the last year. This Yom Kippur, his newly purchased car was vandalized with engravings including "Palestina". Subsequent to a firebombing of the synagogue, assaults on a pro-Israel demonstration and a series of other anti-Semitic incidents, the Wiesenthal Center met in December 2011 in Malmö with the Mayor, law enforcement officials, the Jewish community and Muslim and Roma leaders. The Centre's Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper and its Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, also met with Swedish Justice Minister, Beatrice Ask in Stockholm, (pictured) seeking a commitment to providing physical security for Jewish institutions. The Centre also advised the Minister that - due to the continued provocations of Malmö Mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, in constantly introducing the Middle East conflict into local discourse and thereby exacerbating tensions among the 70,000 Muslim community - it was imposing a travel advisory on Malmö. Samuels, in March 2011, accompanied President Obama's Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, to meetings with Muslim and other minority leaders in the city. At a Malmö University conference on hate crime, he also explained, "The Center's concern that Malmö had become a microcosm of contemporary threat to Jews, and serves as a case model for anti-Semitic hatemongering beyond Sweden." The Center felt vindicated in that physical security of the synagogue is now partly provided by the central government in Stockholm. "Yet the Mayor's continued indifference, the ban on cameras due to privacy considerations and the lack of a police presence has not prevented this new attack. The Wiesenthal Centre was now again appealing to Stockholm to provide permanent police surveillance as in other endangered communities across Europe." The explosion was apparently heard several blocks away and cracked the bullet-proof main door of the Jewish Community Center. "Such damage required sufficient expertise to fabricate a device that, though primitive, sets a precedent for more sophisticated explosives. "We are grateful that, this time, there were no casualties and understand that two suspects have been detained. We are monitoring the situation and, especially, the reaction of the Mayor. Whether it was Ahmadinejad's Yom Kippur hate-speech at the United Nations or local sentiment fed by Islamist or other racist websites, we await rigourous condemnation and expressions of sympathy from Muslim leaders and a prompt prosecution of the perpetrators. In the meantime, the Center's travel advisory remains in place," concluded Samuels.

China-Japan islands row

Courtsey :-BBC Report

The row concerns eight small islands or rocks in the East China Sea


Ties between China and Japan have been repeatedly strained by a territorial row over a group of islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. The BBC looks at the background to the row.

What is the row about?
The eight uninhabited islands and rocks in question lie in the East China Sea. They have a total area of about 7 sq km and lie northeast of Taiwan, east of the Chinese mainland and southwest of Japan's southern-most prefecture, Okinawa.

They matter because they are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. The islands are controlled by Japan.

What is Japan's claim?
Japan says it surveyed the islands for 10 years and determined that they were uninhabited. That being the case, on 14 January 1895 it erected a sovereignty marker that formally incorporated the islands into Japanese territory. The Senkaku islands became part of the Nansei Shoto islands - also known as the Ryukyu islands and now as modern-day Okinawa prefecture.

After World War II Japan renounced claims to a number of territories and islands including Taiwan in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco. But under the treaty the Nansei Shoto islands came under US trusteeship and were then returned to Japan in 1971, under the Okinawa reversion deal.

Japan says that China raised no objections to the San Francisco deal. And it says that it is only since the 1970s, when the issue of oil resources in the area emerged, that Chinese and Taiwanese authorities began pressing their claims.

What is China's claim?
China says that the Diaoyu islands have been part of its territory since ancient times, serving as important fishing grounds administered by the province of Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that this is "fully proven by history and is legally well-founded".

Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, after the Sino-Japanese war. When Taiwan was returned in the Treaty of San Francisco, China says the islands - as part of it - should also have been returned. But Beijing says Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek did not raise the issue, even when the Diaoyu islands were named in the later Okinawa reversion deal, because he depended on the US for support.

Separately, Taiwan also claims the islands.

Have there been incidents before?
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the issue should be shelved for future settlement and that the two sides should try to prevent it from becoming "a disturbing factor" in bilateral ties. There have nonetheless been sporadic incidents over the islands.

In 1996 a Japanese group established a lighthouse on one of the islands. Chinese activists then sailed repeatedly to the islands and in one incident, Hong Kong activist David Chan jumped into the sea and drowned. Since then, there have been periodic attempts by Chinese and Taiwanese activists to sail to the islands. In 2004, Japan arrested seven Chinese activists who landed on the main island.

There have also been face-offs between Japanese patrol boats and Chinese or Taiwanese fishing vessels. In 2005, 50 Taiwanese fishing boats staged a protest in the area, complaining of harassment by Japanese patrols.

In September 2010, Japan seized a Chinese trawler that collided with two coast guard vessels near to the islands, sparking a serious diplomatic row. Small anti-Japanese protests were held in several cities in China. A visit by 1,000 Japanese students to the Shanghai Expo and a concert by a top Japanese band were also cancelled.

In the end, Japan released the entire crew of the trawler - first the 14-member crew and then the captain, several days later.

In April 2012, a fresh row ensued after outspoken Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said he would use public money to buy the islands from the current private owner.

In August of the same year, a group of activists sailed to the islands from Hong Kong, with seven landing on one island. All were detained and later sent back. Several days later, at least 10 Japanese nationalist activists also landed on the islands with flags.

Tensions continued to rise and in early September, two men were detained in Beijing for ripping the flag off the Japanese ambassador's car in late August, in an apparent protest over the islands.

Following that, the Japanese government reached a deal to buy the disputed islands from private owners. On 11 September, China sent two patrol ships to waters near the island as Japan signed the purchase contract.

So what next?
The Senkaku/Diaoyu issue complicates efforts by Japan and China to resolve a dispute over oil and gas fields in the East China Sea that both claim.

It also highlights the more robust attitude China has been taking to its territorial claims in both the East China Sea and the South China Sea in recent months.

Italian Christians embraces Hinduism

 As many as 23 Italian citizens from Vatican received Diksha from Brahmasree Veda Samrat A Raja Sastrigal at a Veda Patasala (religious school) at Karuvadikuppam here on Sunday. The three-hour ceremony was held at the Gomaatha Kovil amidst chanting of mantras and hymns by the Italian devotees.
 The Italian team (consisting of four children) comprised professionals like teachers, doctors and engineers. All of them had undergone a basic course under Raja Sastrigal in Vatican, before coming here. It all began with one Italian man, Flavio, who got influenced by the Hindu way of life, came into contact with Raja Sastrigal, way back in 2001. Sastrigal went to Vatican and stayed there for three months to teach Flavio, and his wife Stepano, the basics of Sanskrit hymns and Vedas. Over the years, the couple has gathered followers, who were also influenced by Hindu spirituality.
The couple developed their diction and pronunciation over the years. The few local people assembled were astonished to hear the Italians’ near-perfect rendering of Sri Rurdram Chamakam, Rudrajapam, Srisuktham, and portions from Upanishads.
Flavio and Stepano even changed their Italian names, adopting Hindu names Shivananda Saraswati and Savithri. Aurora, an Italian team members, told Express that she believes India is a Karmabhoomi and the Hindu way of life has led to understanding herself better.
 The Italian lady, who is now known as Lalitha, said she would follow the footsteps of her Guru Shivananda Saraswati. The training for chanting the mantras and hymns lasted for about three hours and Raja Sastrigal performed kalasa theertha (sprinkling of holy water) on the trainees as per the rituals of the Hindu religion at the end.
 The team members would spend a couple more of days in Puducherry, before returning for more learning after a few months.

(Courtsey:-TNEI)

Carve Out A Separate Homeland For Kashmiri Hindus And Save Them From ISLAMIC JIHAD,Demands Diversity-USA

Roseburg, OR-USA July 23, 2012


HOMELAND DEMAND REACHES THE U.S. CONGRESS
            INTERLOCUTORS REPORT TERMED SURRENDER BEFORE ISLAMISTS
            PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE'S  RECOMMENDATIONS MUST BE ENFORCED
             
            REP. DEFAZIO ASKS LEADERSHIP "CONSIDER THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM"
                       
         
           





            Rep. Peter DeFazio, senior most American Congressman from OR, has asked the House Foreign Relations Committee of the U S Congress to give serious consideration to the important issue of violation of human rights and religious freedom of ethnic minorities in India's J&K State. In an urgent missive addressed to the Committees leadership Congressman said that“as you are well aware, the United States has strongly opposed hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against minorities in many countries around the world. Extending our moral and political support to oppressed minorities, such as those in Kashmir , is not only within the purview of our foreign policy, but incumbent upon the world’s only superpower”.



Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) with Dr. Jagan Kaul
             Congressman DeFazio one of the strongest supporters of human rights and religious freedom in the U.S. Congress made these comments while forwarding a comprehensive memorandum by the Diversity-USA related to the fate and future of the dislodged ethnic minorities of Kashmir . The memorandum presented by Dr. Jagan Kaul, Chairman of Diversity-USA said that in view of the deteriorating situation, continued assault by the Islamists against non-Muslim minorities (Pandits, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and others) cultural genocide against them and indifference of the Indian establishment, a prompt and strong political action by the U.S Congress is needed to save the exiled minorities of Kashmir who have been living like nomads all over the world for the past 23 years. Their properties have been under the illegal occupation of Islamists, Wahabis and fundamentalists ever since their 7th exodus in1989-90.
           
         
            The perfidious nature of the Indian policy forced the federal establishment to ignore the clear and unambiguous directive of theSpecial Parliamentary Committee of India for declaring all movable and immovable property sales, sold by the ethnic minorities after 1989-90 as “Distress Sale” said memorandum. The state Govt. was further directed to restore possession of these properties back to the previous owners. However, the officials of the State’s Islamic regime warned that declaring all sales null and void and enforcement of these directives was bound to trigger a strong backlash in the valley. These recommendations will be very difficult to implement as that could set the Kashmir valley on uncontrollable fire. In other words these officials were asserting that the gains and profits made by the terrorists and militant Islamists through the hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and persecution of ethnic minorities must be legitimized and left alone in the name of superficial peace.

URGE PRESIDENT OBAMA AND SECY OF STATE CLINTON T0 INTERVENE

            Accordingly, the memorandum asked that the U.S. Congress should strongly urge President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to take up the issue of rehabilitating the ousted minorities of Kashmir, (the first victims of Osama Bin Laden’s campaign for Islamization), with Indian authorities without further delay. It has been more than two decades since they were driven out of their ancestral homes but India has completely failed to rehabilitate them and restore their rights. The memorandum asserted that without their resettlement in a newly created autonomous Homeland well within the Vale of Kashmir America’s victory over the murderous Al Qaeda, Taliban and Mujahideen will remain incomplete and the epicenter of Islamic terrorism in India i.e., Kashmir, will remain a major threat to free people in the entire Indian sub-continent and the Western world. It is not only the question of restoring the rights of weak ethnic minorities but also disallowing ill-begotten gains to terrorists and Wahabis in a very volatile and strategically important region the memorandum added.

            Referring to the recommendations of the Kashmir Interlocutors the memorandum said that they have been rejected by all ethnic minoritiesand all of them with one voice are strongly in favor of fully integrating J&K with the mother country so there is free flow of the Indian Constitution. The Sunni formulated State Constitution has brought a complete disaster for minorities the memorandum claimed.

            The infamy of the completely biased and irrational report of the three non-Kashmiri Interlocutors who ignored minorities will live forever said the memorandum. In their report of 172 pages the interlocutors treated the demands and aspirations of the minorities in merely 2 lines and left, assumingly under the orders from above, the issues of genocide, ethnic cleansing, hate crimes, persecution and the exodus of 750,000 minorities and their cultural genocide unattended. Therefore, it is important that the President of the United State , Barack Obama and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton take up this issue with Indian authorities for a quick and satisfactory resolution. Two generations of these exiled people have been lost in a state of poverty and homelessness. How much more must they suffer before the international community and the world's only super power i.e., the USA , intervenes to rescue them?

            The United States has strongly opposed “hate crimes” “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” against minorities in many countries including Iraq , Afghanistan , Somalia , Bosnia and Kosovo and has even gone to war there. Extending America 's moral and political support to the oppressed minorities of Kashmir is incumbent upon the worlds’ only super power said Congressman DeFazio.

            The memorandum made pointed references to other American leaders and elected houses that have extended their strong support to the cause of the Kashmiri minorities such as a) 76th South Dakota State Legislature; b) Democratic Legislative Party of SD; c) multiple communiqués of U.S. Senator Tim Johnson to Indian Premier Vajpayee; d) letters of seven prominent members of Congress to President Bill Clinton; e) Proclamation by Governing Body of Roseburg, OR and f) OR State Legislative Assembly. These leaders and representative bodies have extended their support among other things to creating a homeland for the victims of Islamic Jihad in Kashmir.

          A significant step forward in defeating terrorism in Kashmir, the memorandum urged, would be to mobilize and resettle the victims of Islamic Jihad back in their traditional habitat, in a territory carved out for their homeland, under their own authority and away from militant Wahabi fundamentalism which has been the root cause of communal upheaval and genocide. The United States should stand unwaveringly by the patriotic Kashmiris who are determined to fight, defeat and bury nihilist Wahabbism and its Jihadist modus operandi. The creation of a self governing homeland for the exiled communities in Kashmir, who could be natural allies of the USA, with full flow of the Indian Constitution will not only solve the problem of their oft repeated homelessness and restore their status and role as citizens but it will also create an island for successfully combating radical Islam and terrorism from a strategically opportune frontier which can advance America's as well as India's objectives and peoples human rights immeasurably. For the attainment of these noble goals we ask for your immediate moral and political support the memorandum stated.

            Diversity-USA’s document severely criticized the Indian and J&K governments for their colossal negligence and total failure in protecting the ethnic minorities. Maintaining the ethnic ratio and complexion of the state population was one of the central philosophical conditions behind the introduction of the temporary section 370 of the Indian Constitution. By hounding out the ethnic minorities from Kashmir region the Islamists have radically altered that ratio of ethnic representation defeating the very purpose of this constitutional provision. Accordingly, the ethnic imbalance created by Islamists is yet another logical and legally valid reason supporting the calls for abrogation of this constitutional clause. In the radically altered situation the “new status quo” has disenfranchised a large number of Kashmiris which cannot be unacceptable in a democratic set up.  Accordingly, Rep. Peter DeFazio has asked the Committee’s consideration of this important issue of human rights and religious freedom.

            Diversity-USA's charge sheet against the Indian as well as J&K governments is appended in attachment A.

            For answer, explanation and clarification call     1-541-957-8414

2.3 Lakh bighas: Bodo leaders give stats on encroachment

The Bodoland People’s Front, the party in control of the Bodoland Territorial Council, says over 39,000 non-tribal people, mainly illegal immigrants, have settled on 2.32 lakh bighas of government khas land in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts area. The party has cited these statistics in a list that The Indian Express has accessed from a senior leader.

“Most of the encroachers are illegal immigrants. We demand immediate recovery of khas land under the possession of the encroachers,” said BPF leader Darao Narzary. “If no action is taken the Bodoland Citizens’ Forum will move the Gauhati High Court. The illegal possession of tribal land by non-tribals is the reason behind the recent ethnic violence in the four BTAD districts. We have collected the details from the headquarters of the four districts, which shows that the government had full knowledge of land being grabbed but took no action,” he said.

BTC chief executive Hagrama Mohilary too expressed concern over encroachment by “people who are mostly Bangladeshi immigrants”. On Tuesday too, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi toured relief camps, Mohilary said once again that only those with valid documents would be rehabilitated.

The issue of alleged encroachment has been the stumbling block at recent peace meetings with the Bodo leadership insisting that only recovery of the land can ensure lasting peace. “If the land is not cleared immediately, peace will not last in Bodoland,” Narzary s

Notice issued to Nikhil Wagle,Editor IBN Lokmat

To,                                                

The Editor

IBN Lokmat,

Subject:-About the Program ‘Ajacha Sawaal’ telecasted on IBN-Lokmat on dated 17^th August 2012 at 21:00 O’ Clock and hosted by you about Violence in Aasam and fleeing of students of North East India from Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

Sir,

1.   Ajacha Sawaal is a program telecasted on your News channel everyday at 21:00 which is hosted by you.

2.   In this program dated 17^th August 2012 while speaking with Mr. Sunil Deodhar, you made a statement that; you have a solid evidence to show that rumors are spread from both sides, while stating that you directly pointed at RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). The statement unnecessarily damages image of RSS and RSS workers. It also creates false impression about RSS workers in the society. I am RSS worker and strongly believe RSS is not involved in any such anti social and anti national activities. Being an RSS worker I feel very insulting and hurt due to this statement. I feel that, my image in the society is damaged.

3.   As a reputed News channel and publisher of the above said program, Channel is also responsible for the same.   

4.   With this notice we are demanding evidences supporting your statement.

5.   In case you fail to tender the above said evidences within 15 days of the issuance of this notice, we will be constrained to proceed against you in appropriate court of law. And you only will be responsible for the same.

  Yours Truly

Nikhil Walimbe

                                                                                  

Synopsis-Decoding Rahul Gandhi by Aarthi Ramachandran

In a bid to demystify Brand Rahul, Decoding Rahul Gandhi chronicles his political path, which is different from that pursued by his mother Sonia, father Rajiv, and grandmother Indira. Although the 42-year-old Rahul has borrowed a few elements from them, he has carefully and deliberately added new ideas, strategies and practices from the world of business and management. Rahuls philosophy is a form of corpo-politics, where management principles are applied to political leadership, and socio-politics, where beliefs in inclusive growth are ingrained in overall strategies.

Why have Rahuls plans flopped so far? His initiatives to inculcate internal democracy in the Congress youth and student wings were well-intentioned, but lacked a clear-cut thrust and have failed to grapple with realpolitik. Decoding Rahul Gandhi is based on dozens of interviews with political actors, members of Rahuls team in the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and National Students Union of India (NSUI), and his friends and acquaintances. Coupled with in-depth reportage of his electoral and political campaigns, the book establishes how Rahuls politics is riddled with inconsistencies, symbolism and an opportunistic, rather than committed, engagement with national issues.

The book throws light on the factors that have shaped him as a person and politician. It details his working style, which is nearer to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and the role played by the members of his A-Team (which includes Kanishka Singh and Sachin Rao).

How did Rahul Gandhis years abroad as a student and as a management consultant influence his politics? What was his much-hyped revamp of the IYC and the NSUI all about? What are the reasons for the Congress and Rahuls humiliating defeat in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections? How has he applied global management principles, like The Toyota Way and Bottom of the Pyramid, to domestic politics? Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi what would this mean for India?

About the Author

Aarthi Ramachandran is a political journalist who has worked with leading Indian newspapers such as The Economic Times and Business Standard. She has written about the Congress for the past seven years and tracked Rahul Gandhis political career closely. She is now a freelancer, attempting the transition from being a full- time journalist to a full-time mother. She lives in Delhi with her husband and daughter.

Kudankulam protests: Hijacked by the church and the foreign hand?

Generally our Prime Minister rarely opens his mouth and, even then, he speaks little. When it came to Kudankulam our Prime Minister went back to the 1980s vintage, ‘Foreign Hand’ theory when he railed against the protest. This time however, for a change, he made sense.

The story actually begins in 1974. The year in which Indira Gandhi decided that India needed some nuke bombs. Let us say the US was as benevolent towards India after that nuclear test as the US today is towards Iran.

In line with the US policy of benevolence, India was slapped with a trade embargo, which among other things, prevented us from getting something called uranium. And without the uranium, the entire nuclear infrastructure in the country at that time went into panic mode. The reactors were scaled down and power generation was cut because we did not have sufficient fuel.

Since India refused to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, no uranium-rich, decadent western country was willing to sell it to us. According to them, if India ever got uranium, she would peddle it to the first crackpot dictator who wanted to build a bomb.

India was effectively placed in a quarantine, and denied access to anything that was remotely related to ‘Nuclear’.

The status quo continued till 2006, when George W Bush arrived in India. Amidst all the despicable things George W Bush has inflicted on this world, he has to get credit for one thing. He was the only guy who got Manmohan Singh to talk. In fact ‘Dubya’ Bush is singularly responsible for Manmohan speaking up for something that did not have the word Gandhi in it.

If you are wondering if I’m making that up, here is a clue: do the words INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL mean anything to you?

Well, for Manmohan Singh, it meant a lot. Hell, it meant so much that, MMS flipped the normal protocol of ‘Madam Tell, Me Follow’ upside down. He allowed India a brief glimpse of a part of his anatomy called the spine. For the first and the last time as a PM, in 2008, he opposed a major coalition partner, stood his ground and got something done.

MMS single-handedly ended India’s three=decade-long nuclear isolation.

But there are no free lunches in the capitalist world.

When the US guys told us they will take care of that NPT thingy and get us all the uranium we need, as a quid pro quo, they demanded a major slice of the Indian nuclear power pizza. In fact they wanted the whole pizza. You see, the whole point of this generous nuclear deal was to ensure the US derives the maximum economic benefit out of our inevitable nuclear boom.

The major hurdle in the quest for that pizza: Kudankulam Nuclear Plant.

You see, the reactors used to generate electricity in Kudankulam, the aforementioned VVER-1000 reactors, are a direct competitor to General Electric’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. If the VVER-1000 is successful, India might opt for more of these reactors to satiate her power demands, which are projected to go north.

If that happens, the US would become the guy who did everything possible to impress a girl, only to see a direct competitor walking away with the credit and the girl on a first date.

Just think about it:  the other nuclear project announced after the deal was signed was Jaitapur. It was a French one.

In short, the US has every reason to pray for the failure of Kudankulam. Mostly because if Kudankulam is successful, the US will be the biggest loser.

After the PM’s accusation (about foreign NGOs creating a hurdle) in the Science Magazine interview, the Home Ministry moved quickly to freeze the accounts of four NGOs – Tuticorin Diocese Association (TDA), Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS), People’s Education for Action and Liberation and Good Vision Trust.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, they were misdirecting the funds meant for social work to fund a political protest. This is explicitly stated as wrong. See Image I.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, has an amazing web-page. It lists all the transactions made by NGOs that receive more than Rs 1 crore a year.

Here is the 2010-2011 account statement of the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS). Click on link to see Image 2 for details.

Notice that the maximum money has been spent in activities mysteriously classified as ‘Others’. No explanation has been given on what activities ‘Others’ constitute. Now, this particular NGO has received more than Rs 42 crore in foreign donations, over the last five years.

But the NGO doesn’t even have a website of its own. A website where they can publish detailed accounts of what they are doing with all the money. Introduce some modicum of transparency. Now, why is that?

Similarly, the other NGO, the Tuticorin Diocese Association, received Rs 22 crore in the same period. It too does not have a website or a statement.

So this mysterious money trail leads to a dead end. But that is not the only problem. On 6 February, the Home ministry stated that these very NGOs received Rs 54 crore from sources abroad.

Now, with a very minimum knowledge of economics, I think Rs 54 crore is quite a lot of money. According to the Home Ministry, the NGOs do not have the accounts to show for it. And no person from these two NGOs has come out and given a convincing reply to the Home Ministry’s accusation.

In fact, the two NGOs in question are headed by the same guy, one Bishop Yvon Ambroise. Since the day the report was published in The Hindu, this person has gone underground. I mean, if you are so honest about your financials, why this mysterious silence?

Similiarly, the home ministry also alleges that Dr Udayakumar received Rs 1.5 crore in his account to fund this agitation. In typical Udayakumar style, he countered it aggressively, even claiming dramatically that he was ready to be hanged if it was established that he had received money. And his NGO, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), released its own account statement to prove its innocence. This is what it said:

Total fund collection: Rs 25, 17,991. Collected Rs 200 from every household in Idinthakarai with additional help coming from fishermen, beedi workers etc, who contributed 10 percent of their earnings.

Total expenditure: Rs 17,64,233. Spent on hiring transport, diesel genset, marquees, and supply of water to the people who congregate at the protest fast venue.

As usual, no specifics have been given. Also, PMANE does not have a website where it can publish a detailed report. Our media, as is the norm, didn’t bother to verify this statement.

Turns out that the village of Idinthakarai has a total population of 3,996. Assuming 3 members per household, the total number of households in that village is only about 1,332.

Going by Udayakumar’s assertion and assuming every household contributed, the total amount collected comes to: Rs 2,66,400.

Where did you get the rest of the money –  Rs 22,51,591 – from, Dr Udayakumar? Are you telling us that the fishermen and beedi workers from Kudankulam contributed this amount??

Or is the Prime Minister right when he says foreign money is at play?

Paying protesters to campaign against a venture by your competitor is an old tactic in India. Every industrialist worth his or her salt has done it at some point of time in his/her life.

But in this case, I am unduly worried because this protest has taken a direction that does not augur well for the security of our country.

The whole protest is religiously motivated.

Remember  Bishop Ambroise in the previous paragraph?  Well, he is on record, with his opposition to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant. Now this person is not some layman voicing his views on this subject. He is a bishop, a very senior person in the hierarchy of the church.

Why is a representative of the church, that too a Bishop, taking an active part in the protest?

There’s not even the usual excuse that he is acting out of his own free will. The Roman Catholic Church is an organisation that is proud of its chain of command. No church member, I believe, can act independently without the sanction of someone from above. And when the guy leading this protest is a senior functionary in the church, it can mean only one thing: The anti-Kudankulam protest has  blessings from the highest levels of the Church hierarchy.

Now, why is the church taking a pro-active interest in a nuclear power plant, somewhere down in South India?

The involvement of the church cannot be dismissed lightly. In rural Tamil Nadu, for most of the villagers, the voice of reason happens to be the local parish priest. And all the parish priests in and around Kudankulam are heavily against the establishment of the power plant. They make no bones about their stand on this issue, and they don’t even have a choice. The person right on top of the church pyramid has made his stand very clear.

When a priest, in his Sunday mass and service, exhorts the villagers to join the protest, what are they  going to do?

Most of the people in and around Kudankulam are joining the protests, not because they believe in the cause. They are turning up because their priest asked them to. And they are admitting it openly.

This means that what was supposed to be a peaceful public protest has, as the Indian Express put it brilliantly, been hijacked by the local diocese and the church. And that is not a good sign.

Not for a country that calls itself secular.

The only thing that has irked me more than this shameless religious takeover of the movement is our mainstream media’s turning a Nelson’s eye  towards it. Why aren’t there more damning articles, like this one, on the role of the church in the Kudankulam agitation?

Why this thing is not the ‘Burning Question’ on Times Now? Why is it not on Face The Nation?

And finally, where is Digvijay Singh?

I mean, when people from the RSS, a Hindu group with no connection to the inner sanctum of Hindu religion, participated in a secular, public movement against corruption,  this dude wasted no time in painting the entire movement with a saffron brush. According to him, ‘communal forces’ were attempting to use the ‘platform’ of a ‘public movement’ to ‘threaten the social fabric of the country’. Or some nonsense like that.

But here, people who are high up in the Church hierarchy, representing the church, are actively aiding and abetting this unreasonable protest.

So, why is this guy quiet? Why the hell is everybody quiet?

Unfortunately, I do not have answers to these questions.

Courtsey:-FP

Rosh Hashanah 2012 - This Is Not A New Threat

During the month of Elul, when Jews around the world prepare for the High Holidays, we were treated to a special New Year’s greeting from Iran’s leaders. Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel, “a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off.” President Ahmadinejad told the world, “Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime.”

You don’t have to lecture Israel about the horrors of war. Israelis have been forced to send their sons and daughters to fight in 6 wars for only one reason; her neighbors’ unwillingness to see a Jewish flag fly over a miniscule piece of her ancestral homeland.

This is not a new threat. The Iranian regime has consistently been calling for Israel’s destruction. But now, they are on the threshold of acquiring nuclear weapons, which is a threat to every country, and yet the world still wants to wait – just as they were willing to wait on Hitler. Had the world listened to Churchill’s warnings in the 1930’s, we could have avoided the catastrophe of the 1940’s – World War II and the Holocaust.

Israel cannot wait like America or England. She is not separated by an ocean or sea. She has nowhere to hide. The Ayatollah will not change his mind. It is we who must change ours. The leaders of the Western world should return the greeting and tell Iran, in plain language, “give up your nuclear weapons program or we will join Israel in wiping out your nuclear capacity.” And don’t expect anything from the United Nations. It's saving a prominent place at the podium of the General Assembly this month for none other than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Rabbi Marvin Hier
SWC Dean & Founder