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Badaun Gang-Rape: Does Uttar Pradesh Deserve Its Women?

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By Nishtha Gautam

In Uttar Pradesh, two girls, belonging to backward caste, were gang-raped and hanged from a tree. Their gruesome pictures are being circulated on social media and people are again thinking of the curse that being born a woman in this country is.

But it has been so in Uttar Pradesh for a long time. With politicians like Mulayam Singh of the ruling Samajwadi Party stating nonchalantly that death penalty is too harsh for the poor little rapist boys, it is a surprise that there were no celebratory rapes the very next day. When the incumbent government had dislodged the Bahujan Samaj Party after getting majority in the Assembly elections in 2012, the enthusiasts declared at chowks and addas, ” _fcksavedurl=””>like Mulayam Singh of the ruling Samajwadi Party stating nonchalantly that death penalty is too harsh for the poor little rapist boys, it is a surprise that there were no celebratory rapes the very next day. When the incumbent government had dislodged the Bahujan Samaj Party after getting majority in the Assembly elections in 2012, the enthusiasts declared at chowks and addas, “Ab toh soongh soongh kar maarenge” (Now we will sniff them out and hit) a reference to legendary body odour of the dalits. The twin gang-rape and murder at Bhagana brings every possible social discourse to its knees.

No other state seems to have treated its women as brutally as Uttar Pradesh routinely does. And I make this statement as a woman and a UP-walli at that with data from NCRB (which only accounts for reported crime) to back it up. While UP comes after Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, let us not forget that that these two states are badly riddled with Naxalism which gives another turn to the discussion. When I conjure a magic realist imagery of my growing up in UP, I see the state as a menacing man who holds a woman’s hair in one hand and pushes her inside a crevice on the monsoon wet ground. Much like a grotesque parody of Shri Ramchandra during Sita maiya’s Samadhi. Yes, this is an exaggeration albeit one that is rooted in years of getting pinched, groped and seeing wives, sisters and mothers being kicked in belly (or sometimes fired at) for too much talk, too less salt, too little dowry, too large an appetite, getting married, not begetting sons, worshipping a different god, and countless similar crimes.

The names of Sucheta Kriplani, Sarojini Naidu and Isha Basant Joshi-the first Indian women to become chief minister, governor and IAS officer respectively-are proudly etched in the annals of UP’s history.

Did UP really deserve such an honour? Going by the rising rate of crime against women in the state, it appears that women achievers are to it, what the ’trophy wives’ are to their chauvinist husbands. These women are both a matter of pride as well as a serious threat to the masculinist monopoly and thus need to be shown their place every now and then. It serves many vested interests that women forget to assert themselves even when they become ’powerful.’ And therefore we have a slew of women who act as their menfolk’s proxies: both in panchayats and at home.

It may be argued that other states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh or even Punjab and Haryana fare equally bad on the gendered violence scale. My limited point, however, is that nowhere in the country is the contrast as prominent as in UP. By virtue of its geopolitical positioning, UP has the habit of being on national agenda and grabbing substantial media attention. We UP-wallahs boast of being king-makers because, obviously, the politics of India seems to be nucleated in UP. For example, in the recently concluded general elections psephologists were looking keenly at UP to make predictions about the new government. With such ’power’ has come zilch responsibility.

Whether it is the ’alleged’ mass rape of women demanding the creation of Uttarakhand, raped women of Muzaffarnagar or the molested women during the Babri demolition, each time it is the women who paid a price for lofty political actions. Statistically speaking, each heart-warming success story from Uttar Pradesh is outweighed many times by the stories of atrocities. In a schizophrenic way, literacy among women is rising along with the degree of violence that they are now facing.

This state does not seem to deserve its women. Outlandish though it is, a feminist commune that Simone de Beauvoir proposed in France a few decades ago is what women need here. As I mull over the idea of a commune, it becomes clear to me that it may not be all that outlandish after all. The skewed sex ratio in the state is already working towards a woman-less society. Lesser women are seen in public in small towns of UP once it gets dark. In my tehsil, we used to have four cultural clubs which have vanished within a matter of less than two decades since no girl or a grown up woman wants to give a performance in front of a rowdy crowd which has no fear of law.

Rarely do people frequent libraries now. Women fear molestation, men have better things to ’read’ out on streets. Once a seat of oriental culture, the degeneration of UP is now almost complete.

It is not merely a coincidence that the most vociferous opposition to the Women’s Reservation Bill came from the parliamentarians of UP. The threat posed by women who “cut their hair short” or “get whistled at” is bigger than anything else and certain lessons must be taught. Yes we learn it, dear ’Uttam’ Pradesh, we must abandon you sooner than later.

(Nishtha Gautam is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)

Courtesy: DNA, May 30, 2014

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Can The Tea Party Take Over The GOP?

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“Republicans never, ever win the presidency unless they nationalize the election by campaigning on a conservative agenda—drawing a sharp contrast between the Democrat worldview and the conservative worldview.”

That’s Richard A. Viguerie offering his insight and advice in his new book, “Takeover” ($27.95, WMD Books) and, if you have been wondering why Republicans have been losing presi dential elections with candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney, he tells you why. “It is hard for conservatives to understand that establishment Republicans are the enemy.”

By “establishment” he is referring to the inner circle of elites who have been content to work with Democrats they have for decades to make government bigger because they like spending taxpayer dollars just as much and have embraced Big Government by creating the Department of Education, the EPA, and other entities.

Viguerie has been involved in building the conservative political base in America since the days of Barry Goldwater. Starting in 1961 he used direct mail to build and enlarge that base, and he has had to watch a succession of so-called Republicans from Nixon to Bush 41 and 43 campaign as conservatives and then act like Democrats.

“In the short time that George W. Bush= 0 was president and the Democrats held the majority in Congress (2007-2008), spending jumped by $700 billion—$4.7 trillion in FY 2006 to $5.4 trillion in FY 2008.”

Significantly, Jenny Beth Martin, president and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, wrote the foreword to “Takeover”, saying “It is a civil war between limited-government, constitutional conservatives and the progressive, establishment wring of the GOP. And make no mistake: the establishment wing of the Republican Party is progressive, and has been ever since conservatives stymied Teddy Roosevelt’s attempt to reclaim the Republican presidential nomination in 1912 and make progressivism that governing philosophy of the Republican Party.”

The subtitle of Viguerie’s book is “The 100-year war for the soul of the GOP and how conservatives can finally win it.” If you need to learn that history, this is the book to read. If you want to see how conservatives can reclaim the government from both th e Democrats and the Republican elites, you need to read this book.

Viguerie reminds us that, when Republicans hewed to conservative principles, they won three landslide presidential elections in 1980, 1984, and 1988, but when they put those principles of small government, fiscal prudence, and a strong military in 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2012, they lost—big time.

When the Tea Party movement spontaneously emerged in response to Obamacare and Obama’s intention to “transform” America, “Today’s establishment Republican leaders did their best to alienate and marginalize the new conservative bloc of the Tea Party movement.”

As of this writing, the day after the June 3 primaries, Tea Party supported Republican candidates, Joni Ernst in Iowa and Steve Daines in Montana had won while, in Mississippi, the race was so close that there will be a run-off between Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel against Thad Cochran.

The good news, as Viguerie points out is that “For over twenty years polls have shown that Americans, by a two-to-one margin, self-identify as conservatives. Today, a record number of Americans—60 percent according to the Gallup Organization’s governance poll—say that the federal government has too much power. This follows on an earlier Gallup poll in which 64 percent of those responding said the greatest threat to freedom in Big Government�= 0�and the biggest jump in that fear is among Democrats.”

The result in 2010 was Tea Party candidates, “without any real direction from the national GOP, drew a sharp contrast with Big Government Republicans and with the Democrats on taxes, spending, the growth of government, and especially on Obamacare, to power the GOP to pick up six Senate seats and win historical sixty-three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, recapturing the majority, and making it the largest seat change since 1948 and the largest for any midterm election since the 1938 midterm elections.”

Barack Obama has been a gift to conservatives and we are seeing his approval ratings fall like a rock. “For fifty years I have been saying that to change things and stop the slide to socialism, two things needed to happen: first, things need to get really bad really fast; and second, there needs to be some political vehicle, some means for the people to channel their anger, and to translate their outrage into politic al action. Guess what: we’re there.”

The forthcoming November midterms can save America from the Democrats and from the establishment Republicans, the elites in Washington who have been happy to expand the government and continue spending money we don’t have.

The bulk of Americans are conservative and, in November, they have to go to the polls and elect Tea Party candidates, regain control of the Senate, expand membership in the House, and provide the means to thwart Obama’s “transformation” of America.

The post Can The Tea Party Take Over The GOP? appeared first on Eurasia Review.

US Evangelical Leaders To Call For Action After California Mass Shooting

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The Reverends Rob Schenck and Patrick J. Mahoney of the National Clergy Council in Washington, DC, will travel on Wednesday, June 4, to the site of a mass shooting in California, to call fellow evangelicals ministers to engage in solutions to gun violence perpetrated by the mentally ill.

Schenck said, “Evangelical church leaders have been largely silent on this crisis and that can’t continue. These tragedies are a matter of life and death and they leave individuals, families, and whole communities devastated and in terrible fear. Christian leaders can’t simply shrug their shoulders and walk away from such enormous tragedy. Clergy have a unique perspective and unique contributions to make toward solving this problem.”

Mahoney said, “It’s time for the Christian community, especially pastors, to stand up, speak out, and take action. We have spent so much time conducting funerals and comforting the grieving, now we must spend equal time working to avoid the next tragedy. If Christians don’t have answers to this problem, who does? My hope and prayer is that a national conversation on the connection between gun violence and mental illness will begin among pastors and other Christian leaders.”

Schenck, who is a new member of the NRA and was a Ring of Freedom Co-Chair at its recent national convention, is critical of the organization’s role in the aftermath of events like the Isla Vista shooting.

“While I appreciate so much of what the NRA has done historically, it is not playing a constructive role in this situation. I would like to try to change that from the inside. At the same time, evangelicals must be very careful about how we make alliances with secular organizations. When it comes to this question, the church and the NRA are not working from the same playbook. In my remarks in California I will issue a strong caution about this to pastors and church leaders.”

Rev. Rob Schenck is a pro-life activist, minister to elected and appointed officials in Washington, DC, and president of the National Clergy Council. Ordained in 1982, Schenck holds a B. A. in Religion, M.A. in Christian Ministry, and a D.Min. in Strategic Leadership with emphasis in matters of church and state. He currently serves as chairman of the Evangelical Church Alliance, one of America’s oldest associations of evangelical pastors, missionaries, and military, law enforcement, and institutional chaplains.

The post US Evangelical Leaders To Call For Action After California Mass Shooting appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Qatar’s World Cup: Looking For The Smoking Gun – Analysis

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Qatar’s handling of persistent suspicion that it illicitly employed its financial muscle to win the right to host the 2022 World Cup has earned it a conviction in the court of public opinion even if revelations of alleged bribery have yet to produce a smoking gun.

Qatar’s refusal to provide transparency and accountability about its World Cup bid, including details of its budget and the way that budget was spent as well as its relationship to disgraced former FIFA vice president and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari national, has only served to cement a public conviction that the Gulf state has much to hide.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the body responsible for organizing the World Cup, issued this week a bland response to a report in Britain’s The Sunday Times asserting that it had obtained millions of documents proving bribery by Mr. Bin Hammam on behalf of the Qatari bid of African soccer officials who mostly are not members of FIFA’s executive committee who vote on the awarding of World Cup hosting rights.

The brief statement simply denied any wrongdoing or relationship with Mr. Bin Hammam who in 2012 was banned by FIFA for life from involvement in professional soccer on charges of conflict of interest in his management of the AFC’s financial and commercial affairs.

Like earlier generic denials of wrongdoing, the statement failed to convince the court of public opinion of Qatari innocence even though much of the suspicion stems from repeated controversy about the Gulf state’s bid and deep-seated distrust of global governance of soccer that has been wracked in the past four years by the worst corruption crisis in the 109-year history of FIFA. Mr. Bin Hammam was a central figure in those scandals.

The suspicion was also fuelled by the fact that Qatar invested a multiple of what its competitors, including the United States, South Korea and Australia, were willing to spend on their World Cup bids. Qatar’s massive spending generated envy and sour grapes despite the fact that FIFA bidding rules do not set a ceiling on expenditure for World Cup bids.

Qatar’s failure to engage in the debate in a substantive way much as it engaged with human rights and labour activists who denounced abominable living and working conditions of foreign workers in the Gulf state has not only earned it a conviction in the court of public opinion but also undermined the goal it hoped to achieve with massive spending on sports and the World Cup.

For Qatar, sports in general and soccer in particular is a means of building soft and subtle power – the kind of empathy in the international community and in public opinion that would persuade its friends to come to its aid in times of need like they did for Kuwait after it was invaded in 1990 by Iraq.

Qatar sees soft power as a compensation for the fact that it is tiny and has too small a population to build the kind of hard military power it would need to defend itself without international assistance. Being identified in the public mind with bribery and slavery, the term used by labour activists for labour conditions in the Gulf state, does not engender empathy.

If Qatar has all but lost its case in the court of public opinion, it has done little to counter questions left unanswered by The Sunday Times revelations. Those revelations appear to provide further documentation of partly previously disclosed corruption and conflict of interest in the governance of world soccer as well as of Mr. Bin Hammam’s dubious financial dealings and management of both the AFC and FIFA’s soccer development Goal Programme that is designed to fund projects of the group’s member associations.

The Sunday Times asserts that multiple payments it has documented are related to the Qatari bid, some of which were already referenced in an internal audit of the AFC’s finances two years ago that provided the grist for Mr. Bin Hammam’s downfall. That is not always immediately clear from extracts it has published nor it clear that the Qatari’s beneficiaries had the clout or authority to dictate the votes of FIFA executive committee members.

Extracts of emails published by the British paper do appear to establish a relationship between Mr. Bin Hammam and the Qatari bid committee. In some cases, the effort to influence the vote in favour of Qatar seems plausible. Those cases include the bribing and wooing of mostly non-FIFA executive committee member African soccer officials who are alleged to have influenced the vote Africa’s representatives on the committee as well as Mr. Bin Hammam’s funding of legal expenses of a disgraced member from Oceania who refused to vacate his committee seat so that he could cast his vote in favour of the Gulf state. Qatar’s funding of the costs of a congress of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in which Qatar was the only bidder allowed to present its case for hosting the 2022 tournament seems equally evident.

Nevertheless, one still will have to prove that the African soccer officials were in a position and succeeded in dictating the votes of African members of the FIFA executive committee. The statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) do not suggest that its FIFA executive committee members are obliged to follow CAF instructions. The statutes vaguely state that the president of CAF, who is automatically a vice president of FIFA will “make sure that the African representatives elected and/or appointed to the FIFA Executive Committee fulfil their duties in a spirit of African solidarity.” CAF president Issa Hayatou was one of the beneficiaries of Mr. Bin Hammam’s largesse.

At the same time, the purpose of other payments disclosed by The Sunday Times may have been related to Mr. Bin Hammam’s bid to challenge FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the group’s 2011 presidential election. Mr. Bin Hammam was forced to withdraw his candidacy after he was initially suspended by FIFA on charges of trying to buy the votes of Caribbean soccer officials. While some of the emails from African officials who benefitted from Mr. Bin Hammam’s funding make explicit reference to Qatar’s World Cup bid, others appear to be supportive of Mr. Bin Hammam himself at a time that he was preparing for his attempt to wrest the FIFA presidency from Mr. Blatter.

The distinction between Qatar’s World Cup and Mr. Bin Hammam’s presidential bid is further blurred by The Sunday Times’ report that the self-made multi-millionaire used slush funds controlled by his company rather than by either the Qatari committee, FIFA or the AFC. The issue becomes even murkier when one takes into account that Mr. Bin Hammam is alleged to have been Mr. Blatter’s bag man in earlier FIFA presidential elections when Qatar supported the incumbent FIFA president.

Qatari officials have repeatedly suggested that they were opposed to Mr. Bin Hammam’s candidacy because they feared that Qatar’s winning of the hosting rights coupled with control of FIFA might be too much for the global soccer community to accept. The officials however never provided evidence of their assertion.

If Qatar is in the hot seat, FIFA appears about to join it. Independent FIFA investigator Michael Garcia has suggested that he will not take The Sunday Times files into consideration in drawing conclusions from his investigation. In doing so, he is doing neither a favour to Qatar or to FIFA. On the assumption of innocent until proven guilty, it is Qatar’s interest to have its name cleared beyond doubt. In FIFA’s case, Mr. Garcia’s decision reinforces a widespread impression that the group is run by an old-boy network that unsuccessfully tries to maintain a façade of transparency and accountability but in effect is determined to preserve its old ways which over the last four years have produced one scandal after the other.

The post Qatar’s World Cup: Looking For The Smoking Gun – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Ralph Nader: Corporate Contractors’ Heavy Burdens On Taxpayers – OpEd

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Next time you hear federal officials say that there is no money to repair or build necessary public facilities in your community, ask them why there always seems to be money to greatly overpay for government projects that are routinely outsourced to corporate contractors.

It is important to understand why incomplete projects such as the proposed campus-like Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., the “cleanup” of the biggest repository of radioactive waste in the U.S. at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Southeastern Washington State, the ballistic missile defense program and the pie-in-the-sky fusion reactors have gone way over budget. They are either behind schedule, or without any clue for completion or cessation.

First the dismal scenes: According to the Washington Post,

“The construction of a massive new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) … is running more than $1.5 billion over budget, is 11 years behind schedule and may never be completed, according to planning documents and federal officials… The entire complex was to be finished as early as this year, at a cost of less than $3 billion.”

Only one of the buildings for the Coast Guard has opened.

Second, at Hanford, more than $30 billion has already been spent for the “cleanup,” under a Tri-Party Agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. EPA and the Washington State Department of Ecology. Started in 1989, the effort had a proposed 30 year timetable. Instead, Hanford officials say they are decades and tens of billions of dollars from completion of this admittedly sprawling brew of atomic weapons waste in 177 giant underground storage tanks and nine nuclear reactors.

Third, the much ballyhooed Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Science program has been receiving federal funding since 1951 (declassified in 1957) and has not yet had a replicable successful discovery from which to generate affordable energy. It is a boondoggle annuity for contracting university physicists and companies who once in a while issue a news release announcing a presumed partial step forward as to keep hope alive for awe-struck science writers.

As the late physicist, Norman Milleron, a critic, who worked at the Lawrence Livermore Lab, was wont to say: “why not focus on the best fusion reactor we’ll ever have – the Sun?

Fourth, for thirty-years the ballistic missile defense pork barrel has fed the likes of Raytheon and the insatiable corporate lobby that has grown up to feed off the tens of billions of dollars already spent (over $9 billion this year almost as much as the EPA’s budget). Unfortunately the test results show ballistic missile defense systems don’t work. Nor will it likely ever have substantial success. The proposed weapon is too easy to decoy and even if it did function 100%, it is easy to bypass with other more lethal weapons through our ports and other modes.

So dubious is this endless program, that years ago the American Physical Society delivered the ultimate denunciation, they declared the mission unworkable. The leading opponent, Prof. Theodore Postol of MIT continues to dissect its stumbling, deceptive history and how Congress continues its annual deceptions as it writes gigantic taxpayer checks.

The aforementioned cannot compare to the tens of billions of dollars in ‘cost-overuns’ on the F-35 and F-22 fighter planes whose Pentagon orders from Lockheed-Martin keep being reduced because of the sky-rocketing cost of each plane – (the F-35 is now at $115 million each, the F-22’s last plane in 2009 cost $137 million – which is equivalent to $151 million in 2014 dollars). The F-35 is still in early production after decades of trouble.

What gives here? How could the remarkable P-38 of World War II come in at $1.3 million a plane, inflation-adjusted, and be produced so quickly in 1944? How could Bechtel Co. sign a contract in March, 1942 with the Navy, drain a swampy area and construct major buildings before the end of the year? By October 27, 1945, with a workforce of 75,000 people at its peak, the company built 93 ships!

Well, of course, there are lots of reasons and excuses. Different urgencies. Unforeseen situations emerged. Or Congress didn’t appropriate enough money each year to keep these projects on schedule which has led to an increase in costs. Or the planning was unrealistic from the outset. Or corporations knowingly submitted unrealistic budgets (“lowballing”) to win federal contracts and funding of these projects instead of opting for adequate, more feasible and frugal alternatives.

There is self-censorship by officials and others who were skeptical of the necessity of these projects, as the deferential Government Services Administration (GSA) people were regarding the site for the DHS. And of course, the dysfunctional Congress enacted perpetuating pork barreling.

Least noticed are the detailed terms of the contracts themselves. Tighter contracts could have held the government and contractors’ feet to the fire in a variety of ways that could be culled from the history of past successful projects that came in on time and budget. Contract terms could include: putting named compliance officers on the hot seat.

Automatic disclosure to the public of the full texts of the contracts including their observance over time; more breaking points to penalize and/or jettison contractors; and better oversight of the early planning process by Congressional Committees are roads to good performances.

Referring to the DHS construction, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) said: “Sometimes you just have to drop back and punt…At what point in time does the government just cut its losses and look for a better way of doing things?” Apparently this will only happen when when there is no powerful special interest lobby pushing for sweetheart deals. That is why the only one of the above projects that is likely to be scrapped for alternatives is the DHS project. It has no constituency, according to former DHS Chief, Michael Chertoff. The other aforementioned projects will continue to waste taxpayers’ dollars. This crony capitalism is disgraceful.

Maybe in all the miasma, there is one clarifying principle, which if observed can greatly correct these chronic, vastly over-budget delays, screw-ups and incompletions. Nassim Talib elaborated on this topic in inimitable ways – historical and otherwise – within his under-appreciated recent book –Antifragile (2012) – which is actually six books in one. He writes about the importance of having “skin in the game,” noting that Roman engineers had “to spend some time under the bridge they built – something that should be required of financial engineers today.”

From all pertinent directions regarding a project, the supposedly responsible people need to have skin in the game. It does wonders for focusing attention. It starts with the people who conceive, plan and find projects. And it doesn’t leave out the lawyers who draft those porous contracts filled with escape clauses.

The post Ralph Nader: Corporate Contractors’ Heavy Burdens On Taxpayers – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Protecting India’s Energy Interests In Volatile South China Sea Region – OpEd

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Although India is a non claimant to the disputed South Sea China (SCS) islands, it is concerned with the developments in the SCS. Even though the SCS area may seem far from the Indian mainland, but in actual terms it is close to India’s Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It is also important to note that India’s trade with Japan and South Korea has been growing and hence, it is crucial that freedom of navigation is maintained in the SCS region through which the trading routes between India and these East Asian countries pass.

China has been wary of both India’s growing naval presence and ongoing works of oil and gas exploration agreements with its arch-rival Vietnam being conducted in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of that country in SCS. China has been reiterating that the entire SCS belongs to her, which, however, runs contrary to the
international maritime legal norms under UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), of which China is also a signatory.

The Chinese Navy has been occasionally resorting to ‘obstructionist measures’ (like confronting Indian naval vessels, transmitting ‘warning signals’ etc) aiming at denying Indian Navy’s access to the international water of the SCS, which again is a clear violation of UNCLOS which China is legally bound to respect. On July 22, 2011, INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel on a friendly visit to Vietnam was reportedly contacted 45 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast in the SCS by a party identifying itself as the Chinese Navy and warning that the ship was entering Chinese waters.

In September 2011, shortly after China and Vietnam signed an agreement seeking to contain a dispute over the SCS, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said that its overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), had signed a three-year agreement with Petro-Vietnam for developing long-term cooperation in the oil sector, and that it had accepted Vietnam’s offer of exploration in certain specified blocks in the SCS.

In response, China said, that it “enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea and the island, claiming that it stand is based on historical facts and international law. As for oil and gas exploration activities, our consistent position is that we are opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration and development activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction.”

India responded by saying, “The Chinese had concerns, but we are going by what the Vietnamese authorities have told us and [we] have conveyed this to the Chinese.”

India is the fourth largest consumer of energy in the world after USA, China and Russia. India’s economy is growing rapidly and to sustain its growth, uninterrupted energy supply is a must. The Planning Commission of India in the 12th Five Year plan (2012-17) has underlined that coal dominates the country’s energy basket with 52% share in primary energy consumption, followed by oil at 30% and gas at 10%. Other sources include 2% hydro-electricity and less than a per cent nuclear energy. Import dependence of oil consumption is currently about 75%, which is projected to increase
to 80% by 2016-17 while that of gas is currently ruling at 19%, slated to increase to 28% by 2016-17.

In spite of China’s frequent objections, during the then Foreign Minister, SM Krishna’s visit to Hanoi in September 2011, India underlined that the OVL would go ahead with oil and gas exploration in the ‘disputed region’ or three offshore blocks (Block No 116, 127 and 128) which Vietnam legitimately claims as its own as they
fall within its EEZ (within 200 nautical miles).

Though the availability of oil and gas in the SCS has somewhat limited potential to satisfy India’s energy demands, in comparison to West Asia, it is still an attractive option for India’s energy security.

Till March 31, 2013, the OVL had invested around $460 million in the Vietnamese Blocks and this can be increased. OVL produced 2.023 BCM (Billion Cubic Metres) in 2011-12 of gas as compared to 2.249 BCM during 2010-11 from the three Blocks (116,127,128) of Vietnam which is more than what the OVL is producing from Russia’s Sakhalin-I, AFPC-Syria and BC-10 of Brazil.

To conclude, any major conflict in the volatile and highly contested SCS region is bound to impact India’s energy interests. Should an armed conflict break out, the SLOCs would be disrupted, which India cannot allow it to happen. Besides, India is worried that if China controls this sea space, it will dictate maritime traffic, both civilian and military. Thus, making it increasingly difficult for India to
continue its unencumbered economic and energy ventures in the SCS region. That’s why India needs to be assertive in protecting its geo-strategic interests in SCS.

The post Protecting India’s Energy Interests In Volatile South China Sea Region – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Obama: Supporting America’s Students – Transcript

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In this week’s address, President Obama underscored the importance of helping to lift the burden of crushing student loan debt faced by too many Americans and highlighted the efforts he’s taken to ensure we uphold America’s commitment to provide a quality education for all who are willing to work for it. While the President will continue to take action on his own, he urged Congress to do its part and commended Senate Democrats for working on a bill that would help more young people save money.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
June 7, 2014

Hi, everybody. This is commencement season, a time for graduates and their families to celebrate one of the greatest achievements of a young person’s life. But for many graduates, it also means feeling trapped by a whole lot of student loan debt. And we’ve got to do more to lift that burden.

See, in a 21st century economy, the surest pathway into the middle class is some form of higher education. The unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree is just 3.3 percent – about half what it is for high school graduates. The typical graduate of a four-year college earns $15,000 more per year than someone with just a high school degree.

But at a time when college has never been more important, it’s also never been more expensive.

That’s why, since I took office, I’ve worked to make college more affordable. We reformed a student loan system that gave away billions of taxpayer dollars to big banks and invested that money where it makes a bigger bang – in helping more young people afford a higher education.

But over the past three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has more than tripled. The average undergraduate student who borrows for college now graduates owing almost $30,000. And I’ve heard from too many young people who are frustrated that they’ve done everything they were supposed to do – and now they’re paying the price.

I’ve taken action on my own to offer millions of students the opportunity to cap their monthly student loan payments to 10% of their income. But Congress needs to do its part. The good news is that Senate Democrats are working on a bill that would help more young people save money. Just like you can refinance your mortgage at a lower interest rate, this bill would let you refinance your student loans. And we’d pay for it by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.

That’s the choice that your representatives in Congress will make in the coming weeks – protect young people from crushing debt, or protect tax breaks for millionaires. And while Congress decides what it’s going to do, I will keep doing whatever I can without Congress to help responsible young people pay off their loans – including new action I will take this week.

This country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of all who are willing to work for it. That’s what made us an economic superpower. That’s what makes us special. And as long as I hold this office, I’ll keep fighting to give more young people the chance to earn their own piece of the American Dream. Thanks, and have a great weekend.

The post Obama: Supporting America’s Students – Transcript appeared first on Eurasia Review.

CIA Joins Social Media, Is Immediately Trolled

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Though the US Central Intelligence Agency may use Facebook, Twitter, and the like to keep tabs on targets of interest, the spy agency has only now officially joined social media–a move hastened by an imposter who was using the agency’s name online.

The agency’s first tweet, which earned the CIA nearly 200,000 Twitter followers in just a few hours, was the appropriately sarcastic, “We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.” There were already 40,000 followers after just a single hour online, with the agency’s debut on Facebook sparking a similar conversation on that platform.

“By expanding to these platforms, CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on the CIA’s mission, history, and other developments,” CIA Director John Brennan said in a press release Friday. “We have important insights to share, and we want to make sure that unclassified information about the agency is more accessible to the American public that we serve, consistent with our national security mission.”

The CIA admitted as far back as 2011 that its agents and employees regularly scan social media to spy on intelligence targets. It already had multiple accounts on Flickr and YouTube, but only debuted on Twitter Friday because it had spent months lobbying Twitter to stop someone else who was already using the @CIA handle.

“There was someone out there impersonating CIA via Twitter,” spokesperson K. Jordan Caldwell told NBC. “Earlier this year, CIA filed an impersonation complaint with Twitter and they secured the @CIA account for us, which is routine for government agencies. This has been a lengthy process. It’s been in the works for a long time.”

The poser wasn’t a member of the Syrian Electronic Army, or even a veteran of the agency’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques, but the Cleveland Institute of Art, which was cursed with the same abbreviation as one of the most powerful cloak and dagger agencies in the world.

“We just deleted that one because it was kind of confusing,” Jessica Moore, the institute’s web manager, told the Wall Street Journal. “Some people would mention us in their tweets and they were clearly thinking they were talking with the ‘real CIA,’ the Central Intelligence Agency.”

If the CIA is used to infiltrating foreign governments and aiding assassinations, though, it was still unprepared for Twitter trolling. Tweets immediately began pouring into the agency’s timeline from all over the world. Whether it be journalists, comedians, companies, or conspiracy theorists, seemingly all of Twitter felt compelled to make a joke that had been made dozens of times before.

Certainly the most effective trolling so far has come from the New York Review of Books, which launched an assault on the CIA’s Twitter feed complete with the torture methods used by the CIA and the date each incident occurred.

Each of the flurry of tweets included a link to the 2009 NY Review of Boks article titled “US Torture. Voices from the Black Sites,” which “reveals for the first time the contents of a confidential Red Cross report about the CIA’s secret offshore prisons.” The link was unavailable for much of the afternoon Friday, most likely because the site in question was overwhelmed with the sudden amount of traffic that came from the hundreds of retweets and favorites.

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Thousands Of Women Raped In Syria War, Activists Say

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A prominent member of Syria’s opposition-in-exile has claimed there have been 7,500 confirmed cases of women being raped during the country’s 3-year-old conflict.

Noura al-Ameer, vice president of the Syrian National Coalition was speaking Friday in Istanbul during a news conference on women’s rights violations in Syria. Ameer said that the actual number was likely to be much higher since many cases went unreported.

“The experience that many women have lived is beyond imagination. They cannot even forget those things. The Syrian regime has endorsed a terrible tactic of torturing women and children,” Ameer said, citing a number of cases where detained women died as a result of sexual violence by regime officers.

She said the number of confirmed cases of women being raped was 7,500, claiming that number had been confirmed by the Coalition and various human rights associations.

Alaa Homsi, a human rights activist who was detained for six months in one military prison in Damascus, said there were obstacles to asking Syrian women whether or not they had been raped in prison: “That is a delicate issue.”

Homsi claimed to have been tortured systemically by Syrian regime officers: “I was electrified, hanged from the ceiling by hands and left in that position for hours and beaten.” She said women are hanged in this position without any clothes.

Asma Faraj, who was jailed for a year and a month at the same prison, said she heard the sounds of women being raped, adding that she knew of cases where officials at prison distributed birth control pills.

Faraj was detained because she had a satellite phone. The regime has blocked international calls and Internet access to restrict information going out from the country. “Investigators beat me every day. I was tortured systemically,” Faraj said.

She also noted that sick prisoners were denied treatment and taunted.

“Syrian guards yell at them: ‘Die, we don’t care’,” Faraj said, urging that Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court.

The court is intended to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity and war crimes but U.N. Security Council permanent members Russia and China have blocked efforts to refer Syria to the ICC.

Alaa Tabbab, SNC media director and researcher, called on the international community to act against these violations, adding that workshops were being organized to raise awareness of rapes in the country.

“Some raped women were killed by their families because they consider that a shame on the families. So, women experience double suffering,” Tabbab said.

Original article

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Bilingualism And Law: A Look At Experiences In Canada And Paraguay Through Both Countries’ Linguistic Legislation – OpEd

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By Alberto Manuel Poletti Adorno

Canadian policy encourages people to learn another language in a spirit of mutual understanding, but there is nothing in the policy that requires them to do so (unless you want a job in the Public Service) — Monica Heller, University of Toronto [3]

Can we force a person to become bilingual? Can public policies treat different the persons who speak only one language in the States who recognize themselves as Bilingual?

We could consider many countries in the world in this situation. In order to make a comparison, we could choose two of them that have many similar aspects and also some differences regarding their linguistic policies.

What are the common things between Canada and Paraguay linguistic legislation? This is not an easy question to answer. We can easily think that bilingualism would be an appropriate answer.

Yes, in these countries people speak Spanish, English, French and Guarani and also other minority languages. We are going to analyze whether there is common factor when discussing this subject. We believe that, even if there were two official languages in the Constitution which were similarly constructed so that everybody would speak both languages in a near future, there are not many aspects in common in order to consider this as an exact answer.

In the 2006 Census, on a population on 33 million people, more than 18 million Canadians use English as their mother tongue, 6.9 million had French as their mother tongue and 6.3 million are “allophone” that is, they have a mother tongue other than English or French. This is equivalent to 58%, 22.1% and 20.1% of the population. The proportion of bilingual Canadians, that is, who are capable of conducting a conversation in either English or French, was 17% according to the 2006 Census. There were only 12% in 1951. [4]

In Paraguay, the current population is about 6 million people. According to official information, 50% of the families mention that they speak both Spanish and Guarani, 37% speak only Guarani, 7% speak only Spanish and 6% speak other languages. [5]

The international framework

We should mention that there is a consensus in the international community about the recognition of linguistic rights. For instance, in the International Covenant on civil and political rights we may find many references to the linguistic rights and the prohibition of discrimination for linguistic reasons:

Article 2. 1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status

Article 14. 1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.

3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:

(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;

(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court;

Article 26. All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Article 27. In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.

The Constitution rules and the Languages Acts

Paraguay and Canada mention their official languages in their Constitution. This is not a rule. Some countries like Italy, Germany and even the United States don’t have a constitutional rule that institutes an official language. [6] We believe that countries that follow the Canadian & Paraguayan model promote the peaceful inhabitation of different cultures. The language makes it possible to communicate and express a way of thinking in society. People normally look to communicate and receive answers from the government in the language they ordinarily use. So, the reception and understanding of norms in a language other than the one that is used by the majority will probably generate problems.

We can find here the first difference between our countries. It is true that bilingualism in Canada was officially set up in 1867 and ratified on many occasions, especially in 1969 and 1982 and with the Official languages Act. [7]

Article 16 of the 1982 Canadian Constitution Act establishes that English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.

It is also mentioned that everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates or other proceedings of Parliament (article 17), that the Statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be printed and published in English and French and both language versions are equally authoritative (article 18) and the right of any member of the public of Canada has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of an institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in English or French.

In Paraguay, even if Guarani were a national language since the Hispanic colonization on XVI Century, we would have to wait until 1992 to see its recognition as an official language. Article 140 of the Paraguayan Constitution defines Paraguay as a multicultural and bilingual country and establishes that Spanish and Guarani are the official languages. It was also mentioned that indigenous languages and all the minorities languages form the cultural patrimony of the nation and that a Law of the Parliament shall establishes the modalities of use of one and another. [8]

It was only on 2010 when the government and the Congress reached a consensus that allowed the promulgation of the languages Act Number 4251/2010 on this field.

In Paraguay, the Act 4251/2010 aims to establish the modalities of use of the official languages of the Republic (article 1). It is mention that the official languages of the Republic will have validity and use in the three branches of the State and in all public institutions. Guarani language must be object of special care from the State, as a sign of cultural identity of the nation, instrument of social cohesion and way of communication of the majority of the Paraguayan population (article 3).

There is a special provision that launches that the Paraguayan State shall promote the recognition of the Guarani language as an official language of the supranational organization that Paraguay becomes part.

Besides the prohibition of discrimination based on the use of the language (article 7) there are two important related to the government agencies.

According with article 14, laws in Paraguay shall be enacted in Spanish, but the government institutions and Agencies shall have text in both languages, once the alphabet and the official grammar are settled.

Besides, in order to integrate the civil service in public, departmental and municipal services, in case of equal capacity, preference will be given to persons with linguistic competence in both official languages. The current civil workers that, because of their duties, have direct contact with people will have a five years period to acquire communicative competences in both languages.

Why States establishes official languages?

Although no Canadian province has officially adopted English as its sole official language, English is the de facto language of government services and internal government operations in Canada’s eight provinces. Service levels in French vary greatly from one province to another. We have to mention the particular cases of Quebec that adopted French as official language and a particular legislation to promote and protect the use of the French language (the Charter of the French language) [9] and also the New Brunswick legislation that recognizes two languages in the territory.

Bilingualism have proved to be an advantage rather than a defect in many fields like education, reasoning, job market and even for the economy of the country. No law can force a person to talk another language in private life, but for public and practical reasons, the State may choose one language to communicate with citizen and people who live in the country. This does not exclude the provision of special services to people who don’t speak any official language in particular situations especially in criminal trials or services in government agencies like Customs Services.

There are many people who are unhappy with bilingualism. Some of them want to review the essences of bilingualism and reduce (even eliminate) this practice. Others want to promote the rights of minorities and assure them all the services. There are also other who complain about the cost of translation services. Let’s consider that the Translation Bureau Revolving Fund (“the Fund”) is a Canadian Special Operating Agency that provides, on a cost recovery basis, translation and other linguistic services to the judiciary and federal departments and agencies and, upon request, to other governments in Canada and international organizations.

For 2009-2010, the Fund received authorization from the Treasury Board to access for a total amount of up to $ 5,062,000 to allow for strategic investments. [10]

The right to information / L’accès à l’information / El acceso a la información / Marandu jehupity rehegua derecho

If we take a look at internet sites of Canadian government agencies and the legal documents we can observe that all the official sites are in French and in English. The Canadian Parliament enacts Law in both languages. In courts, everybody has the right to speak English or French and sentences are adopted and immediately translated in both languages.

This is not the case in Paraguay. Official institutions don’t publish information in Guarani. The Laws and the judgments are (almost exclusively) adopted in Spanish. Except for the Constitution (which was translated into Guarani in 1992) there has not been an effort to reach the persons who only speak Guarani.

We have to consider that there are some efforts coming from persons in public or private sectors who have had the courage to translate documents.

Even though the Ateneo of Guarani and Language Culture doesn’t have a bilingual internet site, they display an effort to communicate with Guarani speaking people by promoting the languages Act and by teaching Guarani to Spanish speakers.

The MERCOSUR Permanent Court of Revision publishes every year the official report of activities in Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani. [11] And it was well mentioned that even if Guarani has reached the statute of official language of Paraguay, the Government never published an official document. And in MERCOSUR even if Guarani is not an official language, the MERCOSUR Permanent Court of Revision has published a few weeks ago the Third Report in the three languages.

The results of the State actions can be measured. In the Canadian example, the information reaches the public in their language and in Paraguay only a part of the population can easily understand the laws since everything is only enacted in Spanish. Guarani complete speakers, even if they are supposed to fulfill the laws, don’t have a “comprehensive” text to read.

Let’s now talk about press. We can see that public buys newspapers, listen to the radio or watches TV in their language. Unfortunately, there have not been many efforts to promote bilingualism in this area. ABC Color of Paraguay [12] is among the few examples that doesn’t have a bilingual edition, but provides an internet summary of the important news.

What should the State, enterprises or people do in order to promote the access of information to all groups? I think this is a very complicated subject that requires a global reflection so I only try to assert some clues.

Education and translation: obligation or rights?

Again Canada has a long tradition in this field. In public offices there must be personnel that can provide services to people in both official languages. And all the legislation is enacted in English in French. Article 14 of the Paraguayan languages Act ordains that Paraguayan Laws will be enacted in Spanish but all the government agencies must have text in both official languages, once the alphabet and official grammar are determined. A similar obligation is also established for other regulations.

Since Paraguay will probably not grant many funds to translation in a near future, we believe that this is an interesting way to start the construction of a bilingual country. The languages Act declares that for being part of national, departmental and municipal administration, people with linguistic competences in both languages will be preferred. Current civil workers that have direct contact with people have five years to acquire communicative competence in both official languages. The law also proclaims that inside the territory of an indigenous language, people with competence in the language of the territory will be preferred.

There is a common belief that Paraguayans who only speak Spanish are only “half” Paraguayan. Many people say that in Canada this idea is not openly expanded and people who only speak one language should not be considered as a “half” citizen. In any case we cannot make a negative comment for the people who did not have the opportunity to grow up in a bilingual environment. Patriotism is not related exclusively with the use of a language but with a lot of values that we are not going to mention here.

And translation of information is, I think, another important way to start the interaction of two groups of people. And I will explain some arguments that support my ideas.

Firstly, when we are learning a new language, we have to “translate” the target language into the native language and vice versa. This could be called a reflex. So, if we want to learn another language, besides taking courses, we should be in contact with the language. I think that in both Canada and Paraguay, we are used to hearing another language, so news and information can be easily translated in order to get used to other language and promote the understanding of both idioms by the people.

Secondly, the Government can promote the use of language. How many hours of English and French exist in all levels of Educations in Canada? Are there equals? In Paraguay, we used to have Guarani lessons only in three of the twelve years in Primary and Secondary School. Now most of the Schools have 12 year courses but only for a few hours in Guarani. And there are a lot of complaints about the way the language is taught. There is a discussion that, with the new language Act, both languages should be treated similarly and the teaching hours should be equally.

Government should encourage the hiring of bilingual people not only in public but also in private company (there are many ways: diminishing taxes, giving prizes or recognitions to persons and enterprises, establishing clauses in public contracts that give preferences to firms that provide services in both languages) so young people will be encouraged to learn another language. I honestly think that people will have the motivation to learn another language if they see that they will have not only a “cultural” benefit but also an economic benefit.

Litigation about use of languages

The Judiciary of Canada has a lot of judgments concerning the relation of both languages. We can mention the case Ford v. Quebec [13] considered as a landmark of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision pronounced in 1988 in which the Court struck down a part of the Quebec Charter of the French Language that restricted the use of commercial signs written in languages other than French. The court ruled that this legislation violated the freedom of expression as guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

The case concerned a group of Montreal florists that were forced to serve only in French and replace their bilingual French and English signs with unilingual French ones. They have been fined for violations of the Charter of the French Language and decided to argue the case in courts. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that while the underlying aim of the law to protect French was just, it could not justify prohibiting other languages.

Here in Paraguay, there have recently been some cases that the public followed with attention. There is a big national discussion every time that any person mentions the place that Guarani should have in the society. I will only name some of them.

After the shooting of a Paraguayan soccer player named Salvador Cabañas in Mexico in Feb. 2010 and his recovery, the Mexican Prosecution asked the Paraguayan Judiciary to provide an interrogatory of Salvador Cabañas. As the hearing took place in Paraguay, decided to testify in Guarani. The Judge, who speaks both languages very well, decided nevertheless to redact the record in Spanish. There was a logical argument in this decision: the main readers are Mexican authorities who do not speak one of the official languages of Paraguay. But this situation led to an old debate: should the judiciary acts be redacted directly in Guarani? With the new linguistic Act, the answer is affirmative even if we have not heard many applications of this law yet.

But this leads us to another point. Should there be a translation into the other language? Another judge who provided an opinion of this case affirmed that, considering the principle of equality of the languages, translation would imply recognition of inferiority of one of the languages to the other. [14] I respectfully disagree with this idea since not only the number of speakers are different but also the aim of the Government when enacting the use of both languages was be to give information to most of the people in a language that he/she would understand. This duty should not be considered as accomplished when there is information in one language in countries like Canada and Paraguay who are composed by people of different languages.

Besides, the City Hall of Ciudad del Este, the second largest city in Paraguay, recently enacted a provision that stipulates that all publicity in streets should be written in one of the official languages. There are some examples of this Act in Comparative Law. The Toubon Law in France enacts a similar norm and establishes that advertising must have a translation from the foreign language into French with the use of an asterisk (*). The provision also stipulates the possibility of the use of another language in a secondary place and the possibility of fines, remove of the panel and even the closure of the magazine in case of failure of comply with the obligation. [15]

A foreign executive that was hired by a TV Channel as a CEO of the company was involved in a national discussion after suggesting that use of Guarani on Live TV should be avoided. There was a discussion following the decision of dismissal of some workers on the TV Channel apparently for reasons related for the use of Guarani. The main argument advanced to justify the banishment of Guarani was that as the TV Chanel was also watched abroad, many people would not understand what was being transmitted on TV and it is not easy to provide a simultaneous translation.

And a few days ago, it was published that a foreign owner of a magazine fired a Guarani speaking woman because of this reason. [16] These are very difficult questions to examine in a few minutes and we are not going to consider only the facts as provided by the press. We could only ask for investigation in order to determinate if there has been a linguistic discrimination concerning the article 7 of the Paraguayan languages Act.

We believe that there is a lot to do here in Paraguay in order to reach a “real bilingualism”. The Paraguayan Government recently nominated Mr. Carlos Villagra Marsal as the first Commissioner for linguistic affairs and there is a lot of job waiting for him. Now, we should wait the nomination of the members of the Guarani Academy Language that will also have the delicate work to help the promotion of Guarani and indirectly, the Paraguayan bilingualism. So, we can present this figure that exists in the Canadian system and his/her role.

The duties of the commissioner

According to the Official languages Act, any person or group of persons, even no speakers can make a complaint to the Commissioner related with the use of the official languages. The Commissioner shall investigate these complaints in order to determine if the practice, provision, Act of Parliament or regulation obeys the Official languages Act.

The Commissioner has extent powers to decide the opening of an investigation or to refuse it, he can decide to hold a hearing or not, receive evidence, produce documents and determine the procedure to be followed in carrying out any investigation under the Act.

If, after carrying out an investigation the Commissioner finds that any Act or government regulation should be reconsidered or any practice that leads or is likely to lead to a contravention of the Act should be altered or discontinued or even whether an action should be taken, Commissioner reports the opinion and the reasons thereof to the President of the Treasury Board, the deputy head or other administrative heads of any concerned institution. The opinion and reports can also be transmitted to the Parliament.

The Paraguayan equivalent has similar responsibilities and obligations and fortunately it will be helped by a new Agency and by motivated people in public and private sectors.

The office for linguistic politics has a budget of $ 888.000, and it will be used in a first period to create the First Nation’s Department in order to protect and maintain 20 languages used by people to belong to these linguistic groups. [17]

There are also plans for the promotion of research and normalization of the Guarani language, this is, to stabilize the use in current life. The consensus of a terminology in science, technology, law and other fields is considered as essential.

Should States be bilingual?

I am not sure that we can fully answer yes or no to my question about the similar common linguistic legislation in Paraguay and Canada. It will be very difficult to find a perfect balance in both countries regarding linguistic rights but there is always something that could be done in order to promote communication between people who speak different languages since we all want to live in a better society. Talking is the way in which people can understand themselves.

We should also provide the way in order that the information can reach the person in a language that they understand. As it will be very difficult and expensive to translate all the information in all the languages, it is a good idea to use an official language.

There is not a customary rule that establishes that the countries should determine one or more official language in the Constitution or in the law. But as this is an important matter, we believe that the State should make a choice about it.

But this is not enough. Through the use of language, private people can obtain services and ask the government to fulfill their needs. As it was stated during the United Nations special session on Children in May 2002 in the document “A world fit for children”, education and the elimination of discrimination are essentials issues. In this way we will allow people to take all the advantages of bilingualism rather than seeing their weakness.

Resources:

1. Conferences at Paraguayan Center of Canadian Studies in August 2011 and at the Bureau des Affaires Francophone et Francophiles at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver BC, September 2011
2. Attorney at Law (National University of Asuncion 2000); SJD (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne 2007). Law Professor at Universidad Columbia del Paraguay. Member of the Paraguayan Center of Canadian Studies. http://www.uned.es/dpto-derecho-politico/Curricula%20Departamento/poletti.htm
3. Benoit Hardy-Vallée «Canadian Bilingualism: pourquoi c’est important », Canadian Newcomer, 2008, N° 22. http://www.cnmag.ca/fr/numero-22/428-le_bilinguisme_canadien
4. Statistics Canada. Some facts about the demographic and ethnocultural composition of the population. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-003-x/2007001/4129904-eng.htm
5. Dominique Demelenne “Educación bilingüe en Paraguay como ejemplo de transformación de las prácticas de enseñanza en un contexto pluricultural”, CEISAL, 2007, p. 8. http://www.reseau-amerique-latine.fr/ceisal-bruxelles/PENS-EDU/PENS-EDU-1-DEMELENNE.pdf
6. There are other countries that institute official languages in their Constitution: Spain, South Africa, Ireland, Philippines, and Bolivia. We could also mention Belgium and New Zealand as countries with more than one official language.
7. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/O-3.01/FullText.html
8. We should also mention that article 77 of the Constitution establishes that the education at the beginning of the scholar process shall be made in the native tongue language of the student. It will be instructed in the knowledge and the use of both official languages of the Republic. In the case of minority groups that do not have Guarani as mother language, it could be chosen one of the official languages.
9. Commonly known as Bill 101
10. Translation bureau revolving Fund of Canada. Statement of management responsibility. PWGSC. http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/rapports-reports/rpp/2010-2011/frbt-tbrf-eng.html
11. www.tprmercosur.org
12. http://www.abc.com.py/seccion/marandu
13. http://scc.lexum.org/en/1988/1988scr2-712/1988scr2-712.html
14. ABC Color, Politics. August 7th 2010. Cabañas testimony in Guarani leads to a controversy between two judges. http://www.abc.com.py/nota/164860-declaracion-en-guarani-de-cabanas-desata-polemica-entre-jueces
15. http://www.municde.com/?p=451
16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_YbYHcaRj0&feature=share
17. La Nación, September 16th 2011. Secretaría de políticas lingüísticas promoverá el uso del español y guaraní. http://www.lanacion.com.py/articulo/39158-secretaria-de-politicas-lingisticas-promovera-uso-del-espanol-y-guarani.html

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Thailand: Junta Looks To Shore Up Foreign Relations

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By Ron Corben

Thailand is stepping up regional diplomatic efforts to reassure its neighbors following the May 22 coup. Key meetings will come this weekend in Burma as Thailand looks to talks with its neighbors, as well as the United States.

Since the Thai military intervened in the country’s political deadlock last month, it has ousted the government, dissolved the constitution and summoned political leaders, activists and academics for days-long detentions.

Public gatherings to demonstrate against the coup are banned. Journalists, academics and writers who write critically of the ruling authority are summoned for detention. Some have fled abroad.

The measures have drawn criticism and concern from neighbors and allies, who have generally called for a return to democratic rule as soon as possible.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow is planning to use this weekend’s regional meetings of the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) to hold talks with neighbors and reach out to the U.S., India, China, European Union, and others.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sek Wannamethee, says Thailand has turned to the ASEAN group for support after some 10 nations condemned the May 22 military takeover.

“The ASEAN family, they abide by no [internal] intervention – that is clear, in accordance with the ASEAN charter,” said Sek. “Secondly our ASEAN partners say they know that any instability in Thailand affects the ASEAN community. The effect on the ASEAN family – they are following developments closely and of course their position is that for Thailand to be stable, politically stable.”

The coup came after months of deadly political protests and a deadlock between the government and anti-government groups over how the country would move forward. The military says the coup was aimed at pushing through reforms to curb corruption and improve democratic rule. Coup leaders also say the measure headed off more violence. Since the military took charge, Thai news media has reported the seizure of several large weapons caches.

Sek says of 39 countries issuing statements, 10 condemned the coup including the U.S., Britain, France, Canada and Australia.

Following the coup the U.S. downgraded military ties, Australia reduced its engagement with the Thai military. Canberra also placed the military leaders on a visa ban list to Australia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek said that although Thailand recognizes the concerns of several countries, the military has set out a “roadmap” for elections within two years.

“Our message to our international community and western partners is that we understand that they have their norms and values – democratic norms and values which they have to uphold,” said Sek. “But when considering their position towards Thailand, please bear in mind the current political situation – the context the military takeover took place.”

Sek says the new administration is seeking “understanding” and “cooperation” from the West.

The military leaders are yet to fully set out a clear timeline for new elections, although Army chief and junta leader, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, says elections could take place within 15 months depending on the security situation.

The military administration is now looking to put in place an interim constitution, as well as legislature and reactivate laws suspended following the coup.

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The Hypocrisy Of Tamil Outrage – Analysis

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By Deepak Sinha

The collective hypocrisy of Chennai’s politicians towards the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka was once again evident in their response to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presence at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Even though India has been badly burnt by the shenanigans of the LTTE, Tamil Nadu leaders are reluctant to acknowledge. The fact that the LTTE turned on the Indian Army’s Peace Keeping Force that was attempting to implement the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 to which the LTTE had also acceded, albeit reluctantly, earned the group only ill-will.

The LTTE’s subsequent assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and its alleged involvement in the drug and arms trade, in alliance with militant groups inimical to India, did not help matters. The fact that Velupillai Prabhakaran, with his rabid fanaticism and utter refusal to compromise, destroyed at least two generations of Tamils, including Tamil political leadership opposed to the LTTE, and devastated the Tamil homeland in northern Sri Lanka — which even the most ardent Sinhalese could never have achieved — is something that politicians here attempt to gloss over when discussing the Sri Lankan response and Colombo’s fight to the finish against the LTTE.

Hypocrisy of the political leadership of all hues in Tamil Nadu is completely exposed if we focus on the refugee issue. There are presently over 1,20,000 Tamil refugees living in India, mainly in the south. Of this, approximately 70,000 live either in the hundred odd general (open) or the three special (closed) refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. The first wave of refugees made their way in 1983 and spent over 30 years in the country.

The fact that India is neither a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention signed in Geneva, which recognises the rights of refugees, nor has New Delhi enacted the model law on refugees drafted by the PN Bhagwati committee advising provisional citizenship, does the country little credit, or, the refugees any favours.

The congestion in the refugee camps along with poor sanitation, lack of schooling and healthcare facilities has led to a miserable existence for those interned there. In addition, frequent police checks, harassment and exploitation of the residents, as they cannot officially hold jobs, have only added to growing frustration and an increasing involvement in criminal activities. Attempts to flee the camps, and India, for better climes, and hunger strikes within camps that have been occurring with increasing frequency do not find space in the media. Conditions within these camps are no better than those existing in camps in Sri Lanka, set up for internally displaced persons.

This brings us to the crux of the problem. The Tamil Nadu Government, apart from passing a resolution in the Assembly in 2012 calling on the United Nations to declare Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa a war criminal, has done precious little to help the refugees in any other manner. This is in stark contrast to the manner in which the Tibetan refugees have been assimilated and permitted to function.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and the other Tamil politicians should introspect instead of providing vocal but ineffectual support to the LTTE cause. MDMK leader Vaiko and his ilk have always found it easier to fight for the LTTE cause from the safety of their offices here, rather than taking a boat across to fight alongside their ideological compatriots. They obviously must have been fully aware as to exactly how that adventure would have ended.

It may, therefore, be far more helpful to the cause to concentrate on mitigating the conditions faced by the refugees in our own backyard. Also, irrespective of the atrocities against the Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army, India needs to give primacy to its national interest as Prime Minister Modi has clearly shown. In all likelihood, an upswing in friendly relations between the two countries is the only way in which India can influence the Sri Lankan leadership to be more compassionate and understanding to the problems of the Tamils there.

(The writer is with Observer Research Foundation)

Courtesy: The Pioneer, June 6, 2014

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Egypt: From Mubarak To Al-Sisi Via Tahrir Square – Analysis

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By Jayantha Dhanapala

In marked contrast to the vibrant exercise of democracy in India last month, a military coup toppled a controversial but democratically elected government in Thailand – an Asian Buddhist country with which Sri Lanka has ancient bonds and shared traditions. Worse still an election was held from May 26-28 in Egypt – a founder member of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) – resulting in recently retired Army Commander Abdul Fattah al-Sisi securing an incredible fairy-tale 96.9% of the vote in which only 47.45% of the voters cast their vote.

This column wrote in an analysis of the July 3, 2013 coup, which deposed the democratically elected Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood: “Much now depends on the interim Government and their ability to pave the way for fresh elections when a genuinely representative Government will emerge. The Muslim Brotherhood must also change and settle for a compromise and for reconciliation in the larger interests of the stability and prosperity of Egypt and her people.”

Nothing of the sort happened. The betrayal of the hopes and aspirations of the predominantly youthful protesters at Tahrir Square is now complete. Financed by the monarchies of Saudi Arabia, and others in the Gulf with medieval mindsets, to the tune of an estimated US $ 12 billion, and secretly encouraged by the Islamo-phobic US (despite its opportunistic alliance with Al Qaeda in Syria) and the EU, ex-Presidents Mubarak and Morsi were allowed to languish in jail while the new strongman al-Sisi consolidated his position.

Stability was the watchword as the Army stole the clothes of the revolutionaries pledging “freedom” and “social justice” – the slogans of the 2011 revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood was banned and 528 of its members sentenced to death. US-based Democracy International and the European Union’s Election Observation Mission, who were among the election monitors, released preliminary reports that criticized the current political climate and its impact on the outcome of the election. President Carter was more direct in saying “I am gravely concerned that Egypt’s democratic transition has faltered.”

All the while Israel has remained the winner as the Arab world continues to self-destruct. Now the only positive sign of Palestinian resistance to the systematic consolidation of occupied Palestinian territory with daily evictions of Palestinians and the construction of Israeli settlements is the unity government between Hamas and Al Fatah grudgingly accepted even by the US. Isolated, Israel has mounted a fierce opposition to this and rejected all talks on Palestine. The tragedy is that the only country that could have provided credible leadership for the Arabs to support the Palestinians was Egypt. That opportunity is lost for the moment as Egypt tries to refurbish her credentials.

After his election victory, Sisi tried to reaffirm his democratic intentions severing his connections with past military dictatorships. He said: “We know that some people fear a return to the past, but this will not happen, there is no going back and we will move forward.” Since Tahrir Square was the vortex of the aspirations of Egypt’s youth it is relevant to cite the 2010 Human Development Report of the UNDP on Youth in Egypt. According to that Report, Egypt’s youth can be a formidable force for development if conditions are put in place for an inclusive society where all young Egyptians feel valued and are afforded opportunities to learn well, find decent work, have a voice, engage productively in the community, afford marriage, and establish their own homes. That is unlikely to happen with al-Sisi.

Restrictive political and legal context

The US-based Carter Centre, in a report issued recently, expressed concerns about “the restrictive political and legal context surrounding Egypt’s electoral process, the lack of a genuinely competitive campaign environment, and the deep political polarization that threatens the country’s transition”. That context is highlighted by the trial of three Al Jazeera English journalists – Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste and Mohammed Fahmy – who have been imprisoned since December 2013 on charges of broadcasting false news and providing a platform to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. An international campaign is on to secure their release. Al Jazeera is the widely influential Qatar based TV network and the prosecution of the journalists must be viewed in the context of the Saudi-Qatar rivalry in the Middle East.

It is understandable that Egypt’s current leaders do not want the religious extremism of the Muslim Brotherhood especially with minorities like the Coptic Christians who comprise 10% of the population. However policies of repression will not help especially in the declining economic conditions the country faces. It will also affect the international initiatives that depended on Egypt for leadership.

The NAM, the G77 and non nuclear weapon states in the NPT regime are crying for leadership at this juncture of international affairs. Modi of India alone cannot fill the vacuum of leadership in the Global South. Samir Amin, distinguished Egyptian economist and author of the “centre-periphery” thesis who heads an African think-tank in Dakar, Senegal, recently wrote imploring the NAM to reinvent itself.

Drawing lessons from the past he wrote: “We have the right to choose our own path of development. The powers that were and are the beneficiaries of the existing order should accept to adjust themselves to the requirements of our development. The adjustment must be mutual, not unilateral. That is, it is not the weak who have to adjust to the strong, but rather the strong need to adjust to the needs of the weak…. We reject the tenets of globalization that are currently in place.”

In the context of disarmament Egypt led the charge in 2010 which helped NAM to achieve a strong Final Declaration at the NPT Review Conference emphasizing the need for progress in the Middle East as a Weapons of Mass destruction free Zone. With the next conference due in 2015 the NAM are leaderless to protest over inaction on this issue caused by Israeli obstructionism.

Jayantha Dhanapala is currently President of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize recipient the Pugwash Conferences on Science & World Affairs, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and a former Ambassador of Sri Lanka.

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Obama: Normandy Was ‘Democracy’s Beachhead’

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By Jim Garamone

Normandy represents democracy’s beachhead, President Barack Obama said yesterday in remarks commemorating the 70th anniversary of the allied invasion of France, a turning point in World War II that he said “decided not just a century but shaped the security and well being of all posterity.”

The air, land and sea invasion of Normandy 70 years ago yesterday, considered the largest amphibious assault in military history, turned the tide in the allies’ defeat of the Nazis and established liberty and freedom as a birthright in Europe.

“It was here, on these shores, that the tide was turned in that common struggle for freedom,” the president said during ceremonies at Omaha Beach. “Omaha — Normandy — this was democracy’s beachhead. And our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity. We worked to turn old adversaries into new allies. We built new prosperity. We stood once more with the people of this continent through a long twilight struggle until finally a wall tumbled down, and an Iron Curtain, too.”

From Western Europe toward the East and from South America to Southeast Asia, the democratic movement spread, the president said.

“None of that would have happened without the men who were willing to lay down their lives for people they’d never met and ideals they couldn’t live without,” Obama said. “None of it would have happened without the troops President Roosevelt called “the life-blood of America — the hope of the world.”

Obama singled out three veterans who returned to Normandy for the commemoration as representatives of the millions who served in the U.S. military during the war. “Whenever the world makes you cynical, stop and think of these men,” Obama said. “Whenever you lose hope, stop and think of these men.”

He spoke of Wilson Colwell, “who was told he couldn’t pilot a plane without a high school degree, so he decided to jump out of a plane instead. And he did, here on D-Day, with the 101st Airborne when he was just 16 years old.”

He spoke of Harry Kulkowitz, the Jewish son of Russian immigrants, who fudged his age at enlistment so he could join his friends in the fight.

He spoke of “Rock” Merritt “who saw a recruitment poster asking him if he was man enough to be a paratrooper — so he signed up on the spot. That decision landed him here on D-Day with the 508th regiment, a unit that would suffer heavy casualties.”

Obama spoke to the three veterans, telling them that their legacy is in good hands. “In a time when it has never been more tempting to pursue narrow self-interest, to slough off common endeavor, this generation of Americans, a new generation — our men and women of war — have chosen to do their part as well,” the president said.

“This 9/11 Generation of service members, they, too, felt something,” Obama said. “They, too, chose to serve a cause that’s greater than self — many even after they knew they’d be sent into harm’s way. And for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour.”

Today’s wars will end and the veterans of today will take their lessons from the World War II generation. “They, too, will become leaders in their communities, in commerce, in industry and perhaps politics — the leaders we need for the beachheads of our time,” the president said.

“And, God willing, they, too, will grow old in the land they helped to keep free,” Obama added. “And someday, future generations, whether 70 or 700 years hence, will gather at places like this to honor them and to say that these were generations of men and women who proved once again that the United States of America is and will remain the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known.”

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Arab League: Improve Regional Court Proposal

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A proposed Arab League regional court for human rights would deny victims the right to file complaints, 27 regional and international organizations including Human Rights Watch said today in a statement of concern.

The current draft statute for the court would not permit individuals whose rights have been violated to file complaints directly to the court, and the court’s proposed rules on selection of judges fall short of international standards, the groups said.

“This draft deliberately makes impossible the most important purposes of a human rights court – insuring individuals access to justice and imposing accountability on abusive governments,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “The Arab world is in dire need of effective institutions that protect human rights, not another regional institution that merely accommodates the region’s rulers.”

The Arab League’s secretary general, Nabil Al-Arabi, announced at a conference in Bahrain on May 25, 2014, that the draft would be submitted for the approval of the League’s Ministerial Council in its next meeting, expected in September.

The organizations urged the Arab League member states to amend the draft statute to bring it in line with international standards and to allow for appropriate and meaningful consultation with nongovernmental organizations before adopting the statute. The draft provision denying individuals the right to file complaints stands in contrast to other regional human rights courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court, which allow such complaints.

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German Star Marco Reus To Miss World Cup Due To Injury

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Germany’s Footballer of the Year in 2012 Marco Reus and a member of UEFA’s 2013 team of the year — had to be helped off the pitch after turning his ankle in Germany’s 6-1 win over Armenia, sparking fears that he would be cruelly denied an appearance at the World Cup. After the match, the German federation posted a message on their Facebook page that started with the words, “We do not have good news.”

The Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder, who led the Bundesliga in assists last season, has a partially torn ligament above his left ankle. It was later confirmed that Reus would not play in Brazil — a disappointment not only for Germany supporters, but any fans who enjoy watching exciting and incredibly talented players who are at the top of their game. Reus’ absence will probably be welcomed by Germany’s group G opponents: Portugal, Ghana and the U.S. Though, as they showed against Armenia, Germany’s replacements are more than adequate and would likely start for any of their opponents.

He now joins a depressingly long list of marquee players who have suffered serious injuries in the lead-up to the World Cup, which was probably the inevitable result of two additional months of football tacked onto the already long and grueling club season. France’s Franck Ribery and Russia captain Roman Shirokov were ruled out earlier in the day. Italy’s Riccardo Montolivo, Colombia’s Radamel Falcao, Spain’s Thiago Alcantara, Belgium’s Christian Benteke, Holland’s Kevin Strootman and Rafael van der Vaart, Germany’s Ilkay Gundogan and Holger Badstuber, England’s Theo Walcott and Kyle Walker, Costa Rica’s Bryan Oviedo and Alvaro Saborio and Mexico’s Luis Montes are just a few of the players who have been completely ruled of the World Cup due to injury.

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Would Outlawing Food Stamps For Soda Pop Reduce Obesity? – OpEd

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That’s what scholars at Stanford University and University of California, San Francisco, concluded in an article in Health Affairs. The authors compare two policies: banning the use of food stamps for the purchase of soda pop, or giving an extra subsidy of thirty cents on the dollar for the purchase of fruits and vegetables. They conclude that the ban on soda pop would have a greater impact on obesity:

A ban on sugar-sweetened beverage purchases would be expected to reduce kilocalorie intake from these beverages by a net average of 24.2 kcal per person per day among SNAP participants (95% CI: 22.8, 25.5)—a 15.4 percent decline in calorie consumption from sugar-sweetened beverages, according to our model.

Given this decline in net kilocalorie intake, overall obesity rates declined over the simulated period.

When accounting for baseline type 2 diabetes rate differences among cohorts, our model estimated that the largest type 2 diabetes incidence decline would be expected among adults ages 18–65….

Here is where the ivory tower falls: The authors assume that food stamps are used only to buy food, and that if the government changes the relative prices of food available, consumption will change. However, in the real world, some share of food stamps are not used to buy food. Instead, they are converted into other currency, at very high exchange rates.

Back in the 1980s, when food stamps really were stamps, a friend of mine took a chartered bus from New York to Atlantic City. All the passengers were going to the casinos, and a significant proportion of them were low-income people with cash. During the bus ride, my friend learned from them that the cash had been earned by trading away their food stamps. Bundlers bought them at a discount and traded them, through a few more layers of middlemen, to grocery stores, which redeemed them at par.

Today, food stamps are actually debit cards, which cannot be so easily traded. So, recipients need to convert them to an unusual currency: They buy cases of soda. As reported by Kevin Williamson, stores in the Appalachian region are cleaned out of soda pop when recipients get their cards loaded up. Individuals buy thirty cases at a time.

Williamson’s report suggests that the cases of soda are traded for addictive drugs. Whatever the end consumption good is, it is probably not causing obesity. So, the econometric models used by the authors of the Health Affairs paper cannot account for a significant difference between the purchase of soda by food-stamp recipients and their consumption of it. Such a difference would not exist in a normal food market.

I don’t know whether banning the purchase of soda pop with food stamps would reduce obesity, but I know that it would significantly increase the friction costs of recipients converting their benefit into fungible currency, which they can spend on goods and services they prefer. Whether that is a good or bad outcome, I leave to readers’ moral calculus.

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Pope Francis Accepts Invitation To Visit Mexico

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President Enrique Peña Nieto on Saturday announced that Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to visit Mexico.

“Without doubt, this is cause for great joy,” President Peña Nieto declared after telling reporters the Pope “has accepted the invitation.”

The president made the announcement after his private meeting with the pontiff in the Apostolic Palace.

The dates for the visit are not known, but could come near the Pope’s hoped-for visit to Philadelphia for the World Meeting for Families in late September 2015. Such a visit to the U.S. has not been confirmed by the Vatican.

President Peña Nieto said he told the Pope that the people of Mexico are mostly Catholic. The Pope reportedly replied “they are Catholic but especially Guadalupano,” referring to their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Pope also said that he has “a special affection for the Mexican people,” the Mexican president added.

The Mexican president and the Pope’s 25-minute private meeting discussed constitutional reform, especially as it relates to religious freedom.

President Peña Nieto said the Mexican government reaffirmed an interest in “a respectful and cordial relationship with the Vatican” and said that Mexico’s nature as a secular state “does not mean an anti-religious state.”

Pope Francis also voiced concern about migrants, both those entering Mexico from Central America and those entering the U.S. from Mexico.

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Morocco Sees Sport As Bulwark Against Extremism

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By Siham Ali

As part of an effort to expand opportunities for Moroccan youth, four ministers on Wednesday (June 4th) agreed to boost the country’s amateur football infrastructure.

Under the three-year, 135-million euro deal, 11 new regional training centres and four football academies will be created.

The agreement signed with new FRMF chief Faouzi Lekjaalso also calls for upgrading 90 stadiums with the newest generation of synthetic turf.

Investment in youth-related issues will be given high priority, Mohamed Ouzzine, minister for youth and sport, told lawmakers earlier this week.

Sport is an ideal way to encourage education in civic values and citizenship and to preach the message of non-violence, he explained. Conscious of this fact, the ministry has set up a number of sports and social centres in partnership with local authorities.

Ouzzine called on elected representatives to seek out partnerships so that land could be made available and targets for the construction of local sports and social centres could be met.

“The ministry is prepared to look at all proposals, provided that local partners also do their part to strengthen co-operation,” he commented.

Lawmakers from the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) called for rural areas not to be left out under this scheme, as they suffer from a lack of appropriately qualified human resources and sports facilities, in spite of the importance of sport in society.

The government must double its efforts to invest in local sport, which is a bulwark against violence, antisocial behaviour and even extremism, sociologist Hicham Chmichi said. Young people should not become victims of a sporting and cultural vacuum.

“On the contrary, there must a huge range of sporting activities available, because sport teaches discipline and moral values. A young person who has realised his potential will not fall so easily into the hands of the obscurantists,” he said.

Work realised over recent years to develop local sports facilities still falls short of people’s aspirations, he said, because children and young people in working class districts still struggle to find places where they can enjoy their hobbies.

Sporting and cultural facilities must become a priority in the urban development process, political analyst Saida Barhoumi agreed.

“For a long time, development plans have failed to take this basic fact into consideration, so much so that some districts are simply blocks of concrete with absolutely no areas set aside for young people,” she said. “We should fix the situation, because we need to invest in the education and wellbeing of our youth.”

Young people too complain that local sports and social centres are thin on the ground and cannot satisfy the urgent demand.

“Most districts have few areas set aside for people to do sport,” 18-year-old Anas Chouaïbi told Magharebia. “In Temara for example, my friends and I sometimes have to play football in the street because we have no other option, even if it means getting in the way of the traffic,” he explained.

Young people have aspirations for a better future and hope to see local facilities being developed, both for culture and for sport, agreed Zakaria Gaabaoui, 19.

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Victor Britez Chamorro On ‘The Banality Of Evil’– OpEd

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On June 2, Prof. Dr. Victor Britez Chamorro, Chancellor of the National University of the East, Paraguay, a renowned international scholar in business administration and higher education administration, published an article at the Vanguardia newspaper in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. The article of Dr. Britez’s, entitled “The Banality of Evil” focuses on the current turbulent environment created by the family of Z3 (:Mayor Sandra McLeod of Ciudad del Este;Governor of Alto Parana, Justo Zacarias Irun, her brother in law; and her husband Javier Zacarias Irun, immediate past Mayor of Ciudad del Este) a self-made Russian style oligarchy family, that refuses to embrace transparency, accountability in the use of public money and are alleged suspects for corruption scandals with the public funds of FONACIDE that were allocated for the “merienda escolar”, a program of food for kids in elementary schools.

Such actions undertaken by the Z3 Family, the sole oligarchic family in Alto Parana, have irritated almost every citizen in the Department of Alto Parana, over thirty thousand tax payers, whose capital city is Ciudad del Este. Prof. Dr. Britez begins his article with “Hannah Arendt, a brilliant teacher, writer and a Jewish researcher, who was sent to Israel to give a press coverage to the trial of one of the most famous war criminals in WWII history: Adolf Eichmann, accused of being involved in the Holocaust and captured in Buenos Aires, Argentina and transferred to Jerusalem for his trial.” [1]

The current series of corruption scandals and lack of transparency in which is meddled the Z3 family of Mayor McLeod, deserves an appropriate comparison with the crimes committed by the Nazi’s against six million Jews during World War II Europe. Why are there striking similarities in both of these crimes committed against innocent tax payers and citizens in two different periods and in two different continents and contexts? Looking deeply into the current lack of transparency and traffic of influence in Ciudad del Este, there is no difference with Hitler’s regime and its lack of transparency in Germany.

Striking a parallel line between these two cases is rather common sense, due to the fact that while in World War II Europe, Adolf Eichmann was one of the architects of exterminating over 6 million Jews, gypsies and communists; over sixty years later, eleven thousand miles away from Europe, in the heart of South America, we have a local government that is violating some of the basic human rights which are at the same caliber of importance as taking somebodies life, they are: causing malnutrition and not spending the previously allocated funds to purchase meals for elementary school kids; many illegal cases of traffic of influence and alleged corruption practices; lack of transparency on how the public money is being spent; a completely paralyzed public works office which has never undertaken a serious road construction in the last 15 years; significant cuts in education and school construction funding in the last four years. Having all this laundry list in: abuses of power, traffic of influence undertaken by the Z3 Family, including Alto Parana Governor and his sister in law; it gives us the moral authority to denounce these irresponsible acts which affect and literally “assassinate” the future of a whole generation; bring 600 thousand inhabitants of Alto Parana into the poverty level and most importantly, are ruining the lives of over 60 thousand elementary school kids who are malnourished, do not have school supplies and in some cases the ‘romantic’ shade of a mango tree serves as their elementary school classroom while seating in a red dirt covered ground.

Additionally the Municipality is persecuting and embracing hounding practices, which are even worst that Gen. Stroessner’s dictatorship, against more than 800 taxi drivers and their families, by arresting an suing their leaders illegally.

The local government under Mayor Sandra McLeod goes even further and for more than three years refuses to issue a commercial driver’s license to Chancellor Victor Britez, such a retaliatory act has not even happened during the dictatorship of Dr. Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, in the 1830s, despite the fact that in Dr. Francia’s time Paraguay had the largest number of Ox carts in Latin America, and it fortunately continues to break this record up to this day.

Dr. Britez wrote a statement in his article: “I would like to receive a response, why for the third year in a row I cannot pay for my commercial driver’s license? A right that I have been deprived apparently because of being a member of the opposition group in town.”

Dr. Britez’s editorial continues: “Hannah would not earn the attention of others, since at the center of the story was the monster whose trial was taking place, and condemned publicly by many Jews. In her view, Eichmann’s obsession was just a ratified staff following orders and did not show any guilt, because his task was not to object orders but follow them and cause the death of millions of human beings. Eichmann only obeyed orders and the responsibility was upon those who had taken the decision of legitimizing these crimes.
Even at an extreme case when he would be ordered to take his father to the concentration camps he would follow the orders accordingly.”

Dr. Britez states that: “According to Hannah these types of criminals require a different form of analysis and justice, we are dealing with a common human being who feels excused from his errors and transfers his errors and crimes to someone else and does not reflect upon the consequences of his acts, puts asleep his conscience, in order to avoid justice against his actions. It is bothersome that there are people who do not accept their mistakes as a result of their personal wrongdoings. This is why when G. K. Chesterton, a journalist of the New York Times was asked, on who is the problem of the world? and he responded: “Dear Colleagues, I am the problem.” This statement calls all of us to look upon ourselves deeply and see how many men like Eichmann are found among us.”
It is difficult to accept a mistake, according to Romans 7:21, “evil is within ourselves”.

Dr. Britez concludes his accurate radiography on the Z3 family and the current Mayor Sandra McLeod, by emphasizing the importance of transparency and the need to have explicit information provided by the City Hall, available on the internet, and demonstrate clearly where the public money is being spent.

As of June 7, 2014, unfortunately the City Hall of Ciudad del Este does not have an official website. Has there been spent any money for developing a website for the City Hall of Ciudad Del Este? If so, how much of the public funds has Mayor McLeod spent on this unaccomplished task?

Dr. Britez highlights: “In more than a decade and a half during the administration of the City Hall in Ciudad del Este, there is a BANALITY OF EVIL, the majority of its leadership team is considered as a part of the machine, everything is being done well and doubting their public service is unacceptable, this is why there is no need to receive concrete answers, in regards to how is the public money being spent by the City Hall, this money is being paid to the local government through tax payers and the latter deserve responses. Why can’t the National Auditing Agency (Contraloría General de la Republica) investigate and research further for the alleged abuses with public funds in the second largest City Hall in the country.”

There is an urgent need to have written answers by the City Hall in order to shed light on the alleged traffic of influence cases led by the Z3 Family, City Hall’s decade long (since 2001) abuse of public money and repeated refusal to guarantee transparency on how the public money has been used in the past by the local government of Ciudad del Este; all these items must be made available to the public urgently. Twenty Five Thousand Paraguayans demand transparency NOW!

Short Biography of Prof. Dr. Victor Britez Chamorro

Dr. Victor Britez currently serves as Chancellor of the University of the East (UNE) in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Cuidad del Este just celebrated its 43rd birthday! It is a new city that developed across the Parana River from Foz do Iguasu Brazil, that is built on trade and international commerce. He also served as a professor in the College of Polytechnic at the National University of Asuncion, Paraguay.
Dr. Britez graduated in 1998 from the American University, Paraguay with the degree of Business Administration and Management. Dr. Britez received a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration from the Autonomous University of Asuncion and a second doctorate in Business administration from the University of Jaen, Spain (2014). Dr. Britez served as an adviser and consultant in quality implementation for many public and private companies such as the Paraguay Refrescos S.A. Itaipu Binacional. He also attended many graduate courses and national and international seminars in the field of Information technology, administration, higher education and human resources in Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Taiwan, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. Dr. Britez Is a member of the founding committee of the Polytechnic College of the National University of Asuncion’s Ciudad Del Este campus. He was a co-founder of the National University of the East. Dr. Britez served as a professor of the Organization of Organizational Methodology in the Faculty of Business and Accounting in the National University of Asuncion. He is a member of the MERCOSUR Educativo, which is focused on the definition of evaluation of higher education in the field of engineering, administrative and financial operations. Dr. Britez also served as a director in the Winner S.R.L., a private company. President and founding member of the BOETEIA Foundation, Dr. Britez also served as a member of the National Commission for a Legislation Project for Higher Education in Paraguay, was a co – author of the Law 4990/13, nominated by the Council of Universities. He served as a Provost of the National University of the East. Dr. Britez has published five books in English and Spanish as well as over two hundred articles in Paraguayan and international journals as well as in public media. Dr. Britez served as president of the Paraguayan Public University Association and as Former Vice President of the University Council of Paraguay.
October 20-22, 2013, Notre Dame University and the Global Engineering Deans Council hosted the top leadership from the National University of the East (UNE) in Paraguay in the GEDC 2013 Chicago Conference, as one of the 45 delegations of engineering deans from across the globe.

The delegation of UNE was led by its Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Victor Brítez Chamorro; the Director of International Affairs Rolando Segovia; Dean of Agricultural Engineering, Ing. Rafael Vázquez Torres; and the Dean of the Polytechnic College(UNE), Lic. Lidia Graciela Benítez de Pérez. The Paraguayan Delegation was perhaps the only one who had to pay its own travel expenses due to major cuts in the University’s budget implemented by the Paraguayan Senate for the 2014 Fiscal Year. UNE is expected to maintain its doors open for the upcoming academic year even though the Senate has not approved the required funds that are designated towards the facilities management and purchase of supplies for Engineering labs, classroom equipment and payment of utility bills. According to Chancellor Brítez, “in Paraguay only 2,4 percent of the Annual National Budget is intended towards the public universities across the country in order to prepare new professionals, stimulate investigation and innovation.”
In an interview for ABC Color in Asuncion, Prof. Brítez added that “the amount of USD 4.820 per year awarded to every student in a public university is very little if we pretend that from these universities we are aiming to contribute to our national development and raise a young generation of highly qualified professionals. In our nation’s private universities it is estimated that over USD 6.266 is spent for every student.” Given these unusual financial constraints at a time when UNE is celebrating its XX anniversary; its leadership has showed a great commitment towards representing Paraguayan Higher learning institutions worldwide. [2]
In addition to actively participating at the GEDC conference sessions, Chancellor Brítez had various meetings at the Palmer House, with International university leaders such as Satish Udpa, Ph.D. Executive Vice President for Administrative Services at Michigan State University; Uriel Cukierman, Dean of Engineering at Palermo University in Argentina; Jaime Bonilla, Dean of Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey – Mexico; and Dr. Hans J. Hoyer, Secretary General of IFEES and Executive Secretary of GEDC, headquartered at Marquette University. Dr. Britez had also a memorable meeting with the current and former Presidents of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies – IFEES.

Resources:
[1] http://www.vanguardia.com.py/v1/index.php/component/k2/item/17690-la-banalidad-del-mal#sthash.XPxDEvnz.dpuf
[2] http://www.eurasiareview.com/27102013-une-actively-participates-gedc-2013-chicago-conference/

The views expressed are the author’s own.

The post Victor Britez Chamorro On ‘The Banality Of Evil’ – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

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