[GreenYouth] Re: GAZA
and the same soft state has violently been imposing AFSPA in its north-eastern provinces for the last 50 years. On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 10:58 AM, S sanjeev samva...@yahoo.com wrote: the alleged soft state is waging a similar dirty war in poonch right now;hilarious,isnt it! --- On *Wed, 7/1/09, damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com* wrote: From: damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com Subject: [GreenYouth] Re: GAZA To: greenyouth@googlegroups.com Date: Wednesday, 7 January, 2009, 10:33 AM Bobby, Nice question. I think you also read had fans of Israel here in this group mooting the idea of joint surveillance and military activity between RAW and MOSSAD. I am sure, a year has not passed. That mail appeared in a 6-months time. I also read that Nationalist bouncer mail was also advising Aftab when he questioned the very premise of this joint military action. Then after the Mumbai attcak, bouncer mail did not fail to mention the Jewish house attack in a peculiarly Zionist way. I am also sure that the magnitude of tragedy at Gaza by the Israeli rogues would have only convinced this bouncer mailer on the prospects of this brutal collaboration. But its not about an individual or an virtual id. Listen to CNN-IBN or read Nationalist English dailies and their puny-little minded editorial writers advising that GoI should pursue the Israeli methods on Kashmir. And coalescing with this is the killinochi capture. Indian govt is then depicted as :soft.. too soft... d.Prasad On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 10:09 AM, Anil M toan...@gmail.com wrote: They may be busy in Bangalore training camps...HT reports Israeli commandos providing counter terrorist training for IT company employees and others in Banglore :) On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 11:49 PM, bobby. kunhu bobby.ku...@gmail.comwrote: who are we expecting to respond? 2009/1/6 salimtk sali...@gmail.com they may not agree with this brutal war on gaza by israel, but when it comes to the matter of security of mother-india, they agree to seek help even from satan. almost like some parties strongly support palestine resistance, but ignore the very right of tibetan resistance. On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 4:40 PM, damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com wrote: The bloody fans of Israel- the rogue state in this group.. where are you? I have seen these blood sucking enthusiasts advising the Govt. of India to take assistance from Israel on kashmir. After any bomb blasts in India and in keeping true to this in the aftermath of Mumbai attack, they appeared here in this group. Every one reading this group will be remembering. D. .Prasad -- Bobby Kunhu http://community.eldis.org/myshkin/Blog/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Fwd: Update from Karnataka on High Vertic on reopening of 12 churches after four and half months
-- Forwarded message -- From: All India Christian Council aiccde...@gmail.com aicc Update from Karnataka Dear All, With the effort of AICC, Pastor Rajshekar, group of pastors and the believers from Davanagere have lodged the writ petition to the High court of Karnataka in Bangalore. For last four and half moths about twelve churches in Davanagere of central District of Karnataka have been locked for the worship .This is due to the force by the communal forces. Groups like RSS and Bhajarang Dal have beaten believers, pastors and even set fire to the churches. They also have given false accusations upon pastors and registered the cases. As a result there was no gathering for the church believers and they lived under the fear. The High court judge was very hard on distinct collector by saying 'In the democratic country no one has power to stop any one worshiping according to the one's own faith. One's faith can be a church or any other worship centre'. With the Help of Advocate Shri.Ravi Varmakumar the case was well presented and argued for the truthful verdict. Today AICC rejoices with the believers in Davanagere and throughout Karnataka for the victory that is there for the democracy that is in our state and country. Twelve churches that have been closed are opened now and the churches that have been burned Government may compensalate . And all the cases that have been lodged falsely against pastors have been withdrawn with the immediate effect of the court verdict. Before the court, the public prosecutor has agreed to extend protection to the Christians and the minorities in Karnataka state. Glory be to God, Together with AICC, Anandkumar Bangalore --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Fwd: Joint Signature Campaign by Citizens of India and Pakistan
-- Forwarded message -- From: Jatin Desai desaija...@yahoo.co.uk Dear All! Indian and Pakistani civil society and peace loving citizens will commence joint signature campaign on 9th January 2009 in both the countries. In India, the campaign will begin in more than 40 cities and in Pakistan more than 20 cities. * * *Joint Signature Campaign by Citizens of India and Pakistan* *Against Terrorism, War Posturing and To Promote Cooperation and Peace* *From 9th January 2009 to 8th February 2009* Website: http://www.indopakcampaignagainstwarnterror.org For online signatures Please Visits: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/indopak/petition.htmlhttp://www.petitiononline.com/indopak/petition.html (To be submitted to the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan with Copies to important political functionaries and media houses of both countries.) *We the Citizens of Pakistan and India demand that:* ·The Government of Pakistan and the Government of India should practice zero tolerance for religious extremism and terrorism in the interest of the very sustenance and prosperity of both the countries.. ·Recognising that the problem of terrorism in both the countries are qualitatively different, we urge both the governments to take all appropriate initiates to contain and root out the activities of all fanatic and terrorist groups and catch and punish perpetrators of any acts of terror in their respective countries to make the subcontinent safe and secure for all. ·Both the governments should immediately set up a Joint Action and Investigative Agency for total cooperation and mutual assistance to address and overcome the problem of terrorism effectively and without any further delay. ·War can never be a solution but the beginning of insurmountable problems for both the countries. Hence both the governments should desist from war posturing and immediately engage in meaningful and effective dialogue and actions to address the issue of terrorism and to resolve all other outstanding problems. ·Both the Governments should follow in letter and spirit all the Conventions and Resolutions of UN and SAARC against terrorism and for cooperation to secure an atmosphere of mutual trust and holistic cooperation that alone could ensure security of all citizens and prosperity of the entire region. ·We appeal to the media of both India and Pakistan to play a constructive role in this hour of crisis to propagate and strengthen positive attitudes for the resolution of all the outstanding problems and discourage escalation of conflict and adventurism that could jeopardize peace and prosperity of both the countries. __._,_.___ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Unprecedented Numbers of Americans Question Israel's Actions in Gaza
Unprecedented Numbers of Americans Question Israel's Actions in Gaza * By Max Blumenthal http://www.alternet.org/authors/6621/, Huffington Posthttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/. Posted January 6, 2009http://www.alternet.org/ts/archives/?date%5BF%5D=01date%5BY%5D=2009date%5Bd%5D=06act=Go/ .* Could it be the rise of online progressive media telling the truth about Israel, or that the public rejects the same pundits who sold us Iraq? http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/stln.alternet.org/;sz=300x250;ord=123456789? Almost as soon as the first Israeli missile struck the Gaza Strip, a veteran cheering squad suited up to support the home team. Israel is so scrupulous about civilian life, Charles Krauthammer claimedhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/01/AR2009010101780.htmlin the *Washington Post*. Echoing Krauthammer, Alan Dershowitz called the Israeli attack on Gaza, Perfectly 'Proportionate.'http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123085925621747981.htmlAnd in the *New York Times*, Israeli historian Benny Morris describedhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/opinion/30morris.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Contributorshis country's airstrikes as highly efficient. While the cheerleaders testified to the superior moral fiber of their team, the Palestinian civilian death toll mounted. Israeli missiles torehttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/world/middleeast/28mideast.htmlat least fifteen Palestinian police cadets to shreds at a graduation ceremony, blew twelve worshipers to pieceshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/04/mosque-blast-gaza(including six children) while they left evening prayers at a mosque, flattened http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3649703,00.html the elite American International School, killedhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/five-sisters-killed-in-gaza-while-they-slept-1216224.htmlfive sisters while they slept in their beds, and liquidated http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3648848,00.html9 women and children in order to kill a single Hamas leader. So far, Israeli forces have killed http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28404637/ at least 500 Gazans and wounded some two thousand, including hundreds of children. Yesterday, the IDF blanketedhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5447590.eceparts of Gaza with white phosphorus, a chemical weapon Saddam Hussein once deployedhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-intelligence-classified-white-phosphorus-as-chemical-weapon-516523.htmlagainst Kurdish rebels. It was Israel at its best, Yossi Klein Halevi declaredhttp://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a7021eb2-8e4b-49fd-beac-0ad338245178p=1in the New Republic. By New Year's Day, Israel's cheering squad had turned the opinion pages of major American newspapers into their own personal romper room. Of all the editorial contributions published by the *Washington Post*, the *Wall Street Journal*, and the *New York Times* since the Israel's war on Gaza began, to my knowledge only one offered a skeptical view of the assault. But that editorialhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/opinion/31grossman.html?_r=1ref=opinion, by Israeli novelist David Grossman, contained not a single word about the Palestinian casualties of IDF attacks. Even while calling for a cease fire, Grossman promised, We can always start shooting again. Israeli public relations agents fanned out to broadcast studios from the US to Europe, fulfilling an aggressive strategyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/02/israel-palestine-pr-spinconceived after the country's catastrophic 2006 attack on Lebanon. An analysis by Israel's foreign ministry of eight hours of coverage across international broadcast media concluded that Israeli representatives received a whopping 58 minutes of airtime compared to only 19 minutes for Palestinians. Quite a few outlets are very favorable to Israel, namely by showing [its] suffering. I am sure it is a result of the new co-ordination, said Major Avital Leibovich, an IDF spokesperson who has become a fixture on cable news in the past weeks. But while Israel's PR machine cranked its Mighty Wurlitzer to full blast, drowning out all opposing voices with its droning sound, a surprisingly substantial portion of the American public decided to dance to its own tune. According to a December 31 Rasmussen pollhttp://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/americans_closely_divided_over_israel_s_gaza_attacks(so far the only measure of US opinion on the Gaza assault), while Americans remained overwhelmingly supportive of Israel, they were split almost evenly on the question of whether Israel should attack Gaza -- 44% in favor of the assault and 41% against it. The internals are even more remarkable. While Republicans supported the assault on Gaza by a large margin, a predictable finding, only 31% of Democrats did. Members of the Democratic base thus stood in sharp contrast to most of their elected
[GreenYouth] Israeli Barbarism In Gaza By Avshalom In Israel
Israeli barbarism in Gaza [image: Print]http://www.marxist.com/index2.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=6913pop=1page=0Itemid=732 [image: E-mail]http://www.marxist.com/index2.php?option=com_contenttask=emailformid=6913itemid=732 By Dekel Avshalom in Israel http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php Tuesday, 06 January 2009 In a surprise attack last week, Israel's air force infiltrated the Gaza Strip and started blasting away. On Saturday, the air force was accompanied by blasting from the navy and infiltration of tanks and foot soldiers into the Strip causing death and destruction in horrifying dimensions. Up to this time, the death toll for Palestinians stands at 526 people, with 2500 injured. Israeli officials, in particular Defense Minister Ehud Barak, keep reminding us that this is just the beginning. Israeli media is overjoyed in stressing the claim that the majority of the victims are Hamas soldiers. We do not exactly know how they define a Hamas soldier, but the fact that 107 of the murdered victims were children, makes it very hard for us to believe such claims. This attack is overwhelming in nature. It has been reported that since the 1967 war Israel had never used such a massive air attack. [image: Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip] *After an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip* This attack was preceded by a series of deceptive manoeuvres on the part of Israel in order to keep Hamas off guard. Israel kept up the pretence of negotiations on the ceasefire and even allowed goods to enter the Strip. This deception should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows Ehud Barak's tactical mind. Just a short while ago, Barak used the same deceptive tactics in order to lull some entrenched Rightist Jewish settlers in Hebron before evacuating them by force. A statesman in such a high position does not normally use such tactics unless he is desperate. And Barak's desperation is what lies behind such an unprecedented attack. Barak apparently saved the attack for a special moment in which he could improve his position in the polls for the upcoming national elections. These polls consistently show that the party under his leadership will receive its lowest number of votes to date. For a long time Barak postponed the attack so it would not seem that he was working under the pressure of his opponents. He wanted the credit all for himself. Now, the Israeli masses, worked up by the media, got what the media told them they wanted: revenge. Barak plans to surf on a wave of Palestinian blood into a position of larger number of seats in parliament. In many ways, this attack has similarities with the Lebanese fiasco in 2006. It also is a staggering failure for Israel from the very moment it was concocted in the twisted minds of Barak and the army generals. Just as in Lebanon, also here the army has failed to stop the rocket launching into Israel. Hamas launched hundreds of them uninterruptedly, killing 3 Israelis in one day and wounding several others. It would also not be surprising if it comes out that the army wanted this result in order to incite Israelis against the Palestinians and to maintain support for the current operation. Just as in Lebanon, also here the operation has no concrete purpose. It is obvious that it cannot destroy Hamas, which will surely rearm itself within a few months of the operation ending. So it all seems just like an unleashing of random violence by the army for no obvious reason other than crude revenge. The difference between the current operation and the Lebanese one is that now the media is full of praises for the Defense Minister and the army on the exact level of performance that was shown in Lebanon. Collaborating democracy with imperialism How do we explain a situation where the Israeli masses have been whipped up into such a state of mind of a vengeful and shortsighted focus of their political worldview on getting back at the Palestinians? What should not be underestimated here is the psychological warfare the Israeli ruling elite has been waging against the Israeli masses. The media, the military and the politicians have been collaborating to create the impression that the rocket launching from the Gaza Strip has made the surrounding Israeli settlements look like a war zone. In actual fact, since 2004 to just before the recent operation began, the number of Israelis killed by such rockets is less than 15. To put things in perspective, the number of Israeli workers that died because of accidents in their workplaces during this period, was over 10 times that number. This number also resembles the number of Israelis that die in traffic accidents in less than two weeks. So if Barak is really so eager to protect Israeli lives through military means, he should be mobilising the air force against the Israeli bourgeoisie and the state bureaucrats responsible for transport safety rather than against the Palestinian masses! [image: Drawing by Latuff]The military is making the
[GreenYouth] Article By Alamwoods, appeared in In Defence of Marxism 02-01-2009
At the dawn of a new year [image: Print]http://www.marxist.com/index2.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=6903pop=1page=0Itemid=721 [image: E-mail]http://www.marxist.com/index2.php?option=com_contenttask=emailformid=6903itemid=721 By Alan Woods http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php Friday, 02 January 2009 With the exception of New Year, the most important festivals in the western world are associated with events in the Christian calendar. However, it is well known that these festivals have their real roots in the old pagan religions and were generally linked with the different solstices and their relation to agriculture. Christmas was the old pagan winter festival derived from the Roman Saturnalia with other pagan admixtures of Germanic and Scandinavian origin. There is no mention of the date of Christ's birth in the Bible. The early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ on the sixth or seventh of January (a tradition still maintained in the Orthodox Church). With their customary opportunism, the leaders of the Church changed the date to the 25th December to take advantage of the old pagan tradition. Easter was the festival of the Spring Equinox, with its associations with ancient fertility rites (the English word Easter is derived from the pagan goddess Eostre or Ostara). Haloween has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, when people communed with the spirits of the dead and thereby averted their anger. There are countless other examples that bear witness to the stubbornness with which humanity clings to the past. The persistence whereby men and women preserve ideas and beliefs rooted in a remote and primitive past is proof of the profoundly conservative nature of human thought in general. Tradition, habit and routine weigh heavily on human consciousness. As a rule people do not like change, particularly sudden change that upsets their preconceived notions and beliefs. But at decisive moments a series of small, imperceptible changes reach a critical point where quantity becomes transformed into quality. Then all the old ideas and prejudices are thrown into confusion. Men and women are forced in spite of themselves to question their old ideas, and also the kind of society they live in, its morality and justice. Such a critical point was reached in 2008, when, after a long period of economic growth, the world economy entered into a sharp decline, which has not yet run its course. This fact has profoundly impacted on the consciousness of all classes in society, from the ruling class, the bankers, politicians and bureaucrats, through the middle class, small businesspeople and intellectuals, to the majority of humankind: the workers, peasants and poor people. After a long period of relative prosperity, in which the values of free market economics were accepted without question and the impressive firework display of globalization dazzled the vision and befuddled the brains of the so-called intelligentsia (including the Left), it is no wonder that the first reaction to the economic crisis is one of shock and disbelief. Consciousness, with its innate conservatism, is still lagging far behind events, which are moving at breathtaking speed throughout the planet. This state of affairs can only be surprising for minds that have been atrophied by formalistic thinking. For anyone with the slightest knowledge of dialectics, it is no surprise at all. Formalism rejects contradictions and cannot cope with them, whereas dialectics embraces contradictions and explains their logic and necessity. It will take some time for the consciousness of the masses to catch up with events. This consciousness still lives in the past and is hoping against hope that the present crisis will be only a temporary interruption of normality which, if we are patient, will surely return. The alleged backwardness of the masses is only apparent and is destined to change into its opposite. The real backwardness is in the psychology of the leaders of the mass organizations: the leaders of the trade unions, the socialist and communist parties, who have long ago abandoned all idea of socialism and adapted themselves to capitalism. Their only aspiration is that capitalism will, for some reason unknown to science, shed its ugly and oppressive features and acquire a humane and progressive character. But the economic crisis has placed on the order of the day not a peaceful and democratic capitalism, but mass unemployment, savage cuts in wages and conditions, the abolition of social reforms and a general worsening of living standards. This is a recipe for class war on a massive scale. That is the reality of capitalism in 2009 and not the sugary illusions of the reformists who understand nothing and are only capable of seeing the backside of history. It frequently happens that the intelligent representatives of Capital come to the same conclusions as the Marxists. At the time when the reality of the financial collapse finally made
[GreenYouth] (fwded) FOR AFGHANS, A PRICE FOR EVERYTHING, AND ANYTHING FOR A PRICE by Dexter Filkins
New York Times, page A1 of the New York edition. January 2, 2009 FOR AFGHANS, A PRICE FOR EVERYTHING, AND ANYTHING FOR A PRICE by Dexter Filkins Kabul, Afghanistan ? When it comes to governing this violent, fractious land, everything, it seems, has its price. [Photo] Danfung Dennis for The New York Times [Caption] A man pulls a cart loaded with fire wood past a mansion owned by high-ranking government officials in the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul. [Photo] Danfung Dennis for The New York Times [Caption] The mansions of Afghan officials in the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul are a curiosity not only for their size, but also because government salaries are not very big. Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000. Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban. Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge. ?It is very shameful, but probably I will pay the bribe,? Mohammed Naim, a young English teacher, said as he stood in front of the Secondary Courthouse in Kabul. His brother had been arrested a week before, and the police were demanding $4,000 for his release. ?Everything is possible in this country now. Everything.? Kept afloat by billions of dollars in American and other foreign aid, the government of Afghanistan is shot through with corruption and graft. From the lowliest traffic policeman to the family of President Hamid Karzai himself, the state built on the ruins of the Taliban government seven years ago now often seems to exist for little more than the enrichment of those who run it. A raft of investigations has concluded that people at the highest levels of the Karzai administration, including President Karzai?s own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, are cooperating in the country?s opium trade, now the world?s largest. In the streets and government offices, hardly a public transaction seems to unfold here that does not carry with it the requirement of a bribe, a gift, or, in case you are a beggar, ?harchee? ? whatever you have in your pocket. The corruption, publicly acknowledged by President Karzai, is contributing to the collapse of public confidence in his government and to the resurgence of the Taliban, whose fighters have moved to the outskirts of Kabul, the capital. ?All the politicians in this country have acquired everything ? money, lots of money,? President Karzai said in a speech at a rural development conference here in November. ?God knows, it is beyond the limit. The banks of the world are full of the money of our statesmen.? The decay of the Afghan government presents President-elect Barack Obama with perhaps his most underappreciated challenge as he tries to reverse the course of the war here. Mr. Obama may be required to save the Afghan government not only from the Taliban insurgency ? committing thousands of additional American soldiers to do so ? but also from itself. ?This government has lost the capacity to govern because a shadow government has taken over,? said Ashraf Ghani, a former Afghan finance minister. He quit that job in 2004, he said, because the state had been taken over by drug traffickers. ?The narco-mafia state is now completely consolidated,? he said. On the streets here, tales of corruption are as easy to find as kebab stands. Everything seems to be for sale: public offices, access to government services, even a person?s freedom. The examples mentioned above ? $25,000 to settle a lawsuit, $6,000 to bribe the police, $100,000 to secure a job as a provincial police chief ? were offered by people who experienced them directly or witnessed the transaction. People pay bribes for large things, and for small things, too: to get electricity for their homes, to get out of jail, even to enter the airport. Governments in developing countries are often riddled with corruption. But Afghans say the corruption they see now has no precedent, in either its brazenness or in its scale. Transparency International, a German organization that gauges honesty in government, ranked Afghanistan 117 out of 180 countries in 2005. This year, it fell to 176. ?Every man in the government is his own king,? said Abdul Ghafar, a truck driver. Mr. Ghafar said he routinely paid bribes to the police who threatened to hinder his passage through Kabul, sometimes several in a day. Nowhere is the scent of corruption so strong as in the Kabul neighborhood of Sherpur. Before 2001, it was a vacant patch of hillside that overlooked the stately neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan. Today it is the wealthiest enclave in the country, with gaudy, grandiose mansions that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Afghans refer to them as ?poppy houses.? Sherpur itself is often jokingly referred to as ?Char-pur,? which literally means ?City of Loot.? Yet what is perhaps most remarkable about Sherpur is that many of the homeowners are
