LIBYA PRISONERS MAKE NEW TORTURE ALLEGATIONS

LIBYAN REVOLUTIONARIES
ACCUSED OF WIDESPREAD TORTURE

www.bbc.co.uk - New evidence has emerged that supporters of the former Libyan leader, Col Gaddafi, have been tortured while in detention. The BBC has been told by inmates at a jail in Misrata that they were beaten, whipped and given electric shocks. The head of the city’s military council has dismissed the allegations. United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has called on Libya’s transitional government to take full control of all prisons. The allegations come exactly 100 days after Col Gaddafi’s violent death at the hands of former rebels. Earlier this week the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said it was suspending its work in one Misrata detention centre because of an alarming rise in torture cases. The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse managed to get access to that prison. Inmates told him they had been subjected to prolonged beatings and were whipped with electric cables.

International human rights groups have said such incidents are widespread in Libya. “The torture is being carried out by officially recognised military and security entities as well as by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework,” a spokesman for London-based Amnesty International said on Friday. The people running the Misrata detention centre are aware of inmates being taken away to be tortured, but were powerless to stop it. Many detention centres are controlled by militias unaccountable to the government.  The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, expressed concern about the treatment of prisoners, but especially sub-Saharan Africans who the militias assume to have been fighting for Col Gaddafi. “There’s torture, extrajudicial executions, rape of both men and women,” she told the AP news agency.

Three months after the killing of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, concerns are mounting about the torture of prisoners held by Libyan militiamen. “Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for more interrogation. When you patch people up and then they get taken back to be tortured again in the same evening, you become part of the process,” said Medecins Sans Frontieres’ director. Rape, torture and murder must be stopped in this world.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Everyone wants to be happy and live in peace, but how can this be peace when so many other entities suffer from the most painful experiments in so-called scientific laboratories? ... This does not include the widespread torture of people by people. Political prisoners are often tortured by rulers or their military to keep people in line with the particular agenda of the regime. Some leaders have such a mentality that they enjoy keeping their subjects in a miserable condition. Or there is torture and fighting of people for being of a different religion. This type of thing goes on much more than we think, and has been going on for hundreds of years. ... These reactions affect many millions of people every day around the world, and it is nothing more than the workings of nature as it reflects the consciousness of the people who inhabit this world.

Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“Karma of the Nation”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/karma_of_the_nation.htm

INDIA MARKS REPUBLIC DAY

INDIA CELEBRATES
63rd REPUBLIC DAY

www.voanews.com - India celebrated its 63rd Republic Day Thursday with a parade showcasing its military and air power, and its rich and diverse cultural heritage. In New Delhi, India displayed missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, while fighter jets, long-range aircraft and helicopters flew overhead. Thousands of people turned up at Rajpath (King’s Avenue) to watch the colourful parade amid tight security. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and military officials laid wreaths at a memorial for those who gave their lives to defend the nation. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in the country on an official visit, was the guest of honor. Some 25,000 security personnel guarded the Indian capital against possible attacks from militant groups. Security was also stepped up in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India’s Republic Day commemorates the adoption of a democratic constitution on January 26, 1950.

 On Thursday morning, Delhi resembled a fortress with a multi-layered security ring in place at Rajpath, where President Pratibha Patil unfurled the Indian flag and took the salute of marching contingents, news agency Press Trust of India reported. Officials said 160 closed-circuit cameras were installed between Rajpath and Red Fort, the route of the parade. Anti-aircraft guns were placed at several places and helicopters hovered over the parade route. At the parade, the army displayed its tanks and missile launchers. The nuclear capable Agni-IV missile with a range of 3,000km (1,864 miles), was cheered by the public, reporters said. Smaller parades have also been held in the state capitals.  It is informed that 40,000 policemen were keeping vigil in the financial capital, Mumbai, which has seen several high-profile militant attacks in recent years.

India has celebrated its 63rd Republic Day showing off its latest weapons, even tanks and missile launchers, at a military parade in the capital, Delhi. Thousands of people attended the parade. Hundreds of soldiers marched and more than 25,000 policemen and paramilitary forces guarded the streets. Smaller parades were also held in the state capitals. In India there is still the wonderful cultural heritage of Vedic knowledge, the one who studies and practices it gradually increased his spiritual enlightenment.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Thus whoever takes birth in the land of Bhārata-varsha attains all the facilities of life. He may take advantage of all these facilities for both material and spiritual advancement and thus make his life successful. After attaining the goal of life, one may distribute his knowledge and experience all over the world for humanitarian purposes. In other words, one who takes birth in the land of Bhārata-varsha by virtue of his past pious activities gets full facility to develop the human form of life. ... In this verse the word lakshita-lakshanām indicates that the human body attained in Bhārata-varsha is very auspicious.  Vedic culture is full of knowledge, and a person born in India can fully take advantage of Vedic cultural knowledge and the cultural system known as varnāśrama-dharma.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam - Canto 4: “Creation of the Fourth Order”  
Chapter 25: “The Descriptions of the Characteristics of King Purañjana”
Verse 13 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

TIBET GOVT IN EXILE CONDEMNS “GRUESOME” CHINA CLASHES

CHINESE POLICE FIRE ON TIBETANS
AS VIOLENT PROTESTS SPREAD

Ganzi, China (Reuters) - Ethnic tension simmered in remote corners of China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Thursday after security forces fired on demonstrators in a series of deadly clashes that Tibet’s government in exile condemned as “gruesome”. The flareups were perhaps the bloodiest spate of Tibetan-linked violence in China since early 2008, when riots and protests erupted in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, and spread to other restive regions in China’s western border regions including Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces.  Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of Tibet’s government in exile in Dharamsala in India, denounced the shooting by police on hundreds of Tibetan protesters in western Sichuan this week that he said had killed six and injured more than 60. The protests have become violent in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, at least one Tibetan was killed in a clash in Seda County, known as Serthar in Tibetan, when police opened fire on protesters, leaving the town square “covered in blood” and tear-gas canisters, according to the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet. Another group, Free Tibet, said at least two Tibetans had been killed and many wounded during protests in Seda. Calls to the Seda public security bureau went unanswered. Two Tibetans were shot dead by police on Monday in a separate protest in Luhuo Township, known as Drango or Draggo to Tibetans, also in the mountainous western reaches of Sichuan province, according to Tibetan rights groups and observers.  On the other hand, China will remain “resolute in maintaining normal social order,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a Jan. 24 statement.

China police opened fire on a crowd of protesters in a Tibetan region during a clash. At least two Tibetans were killed and several wounded. Another case of the longstanding underlying ethnic tensions between Tibetan communities - some of whom have called for the return of the Dalai Lama - and Han Chinese authorities whom they accuse of stifling Tibetan traditions, religious freedoms and their unique way of life.  We must abandon hatred, and adopt the way of love and respect to all beings.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The purpose of any true spiritual path is to raise our consciousness to the point of allowing us to directly perceive the spiritual dimension. Being spiritual means to recognize one’s spiritual identity and practically see the transcendental essence of all others. It also means to see that we are all parts and parcels of God and to respect each other in that light. ... The point is that the more spiritual we become, the more we can perceive that which is spiritual. As we develop and grow in this way, the questions about spiritual life are no longer a mystery to solve, but become a reality to experience. It becomes a practical part of our lives. ... The Vedic system is practically non-denominational. It is not for any one culture or ethnic group. It is for all of humanity and is called Sanatana-dharma.

Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“Yoga and How to Get Started”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/yoga_and_how_to_get_started.htm

FRACKING GETS ITS OWN “OCCUPY” MOVEMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS RALLY
FOR NEW YORK BAN ON FRACKING

Albany, N.Y. (AP) - Health and environmental groups rallied at the Capitol on Monday to call for a legislative ban on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells, saying no amount of regulation can adequately safeguard water supplies from contamination. “Fracking is the most important environmental issue this state has faced in the past 100 years,” Sen. Tony Avella, sponsor of a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing, said at the rally in the Legislative Office Building next to the Capitol. “There is no possible regulation or series of regulations that can stop the one incident that pollutes our water supply for 1,000 years.” Organizers said about 600 people from around the state traveled to Albany and registered to lobby state lawmakers for various bills related to the practice known as fracking, which stimulates gas production by injecting wells with millions of gallons of chemically treated water to fracture shale.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has refused to consider new shale gas wells since 2008, when it began an environmental impact review of fracking. Industry groups, who point to a decadeslong history of safe gas drilling in New York, have said the regulations proposed by the DEC are so strict they would effectively shut down shale gas development in the state because of the high cost of compliance. The rally featured chants of “No fracking way” and signs calling for “Renewable energy now.” A group of residents from Middlefield in Otsego County held a banner supporting a “home rule” bill, which clarifies the right of towns to enact zoning ordinances that prohibit fracking and discourage industry-funded lawsuits against such bans. Middlefield is fighting a lawsuit against its local fracking ban.

Health and environmental groups calling for a legislative ban on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells have rallied in Albany (USA). The technology known as “fracking” stimulates gas production by using chemically treated water to fracture shale with the tremendous risk of contamination to the drinking water supply and the entire ecosystem.  We must start urgent action in awakening consciousness and ending the dangerous and self-destructive habit of exploiting our natural resources.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Nature is one of the manifestations of God; if we mistreat the environment, if we live irresponsibly, in any moment we will be sucked into an abyss. God is in each tree, each plant. The waters of the Earth are the veins of the Lord. We should proceed with absolute compassion and responsibility, because by not taking care of other living beings, our present planet will become a complete desert. Polluted waters cause the leukemia of the ecosystem. Mother Earth heals you, she allows you to build houses, sustains you, gives you drinkable water; that is our dear Mother Earth. ... All the elements created by the Lord are different representations of His powers, and the combination of all the components produces food for us, the conscious beings.

House of Wisdom :
“Eco conscience - Recommendations”
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_eco_conscience.htm
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/index.html

SOCCER PLAYER’S INJURY BLAMED ON TOO MUCH SEX

MODEL GIRLFRIEND OF MILAN STAR
BLAMES HIS INJURIES ON TOO MUCH SEX

www.goal.com -The girlfriend of AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed that the player’s injury woes of late could be down to the amount of sex the couple have. The club confirmed recently that the player will be out of action for up to a month due to amuscular problem. However, Melissa Satta, a model, TV presenter and actress, has stated that Boateng’s poor injuryrecord is the result of their bedroom antics. “The reason why he [Kevin-Prince Boateng] is always injured is because we have sex seven to 10 times a week,” the 25-year-old told Vanity Fair. “I hate foreplay, I want to get straight to the point,” she added. “My favourite position is on top so I can take control.” Milan are yet to speak out in regards to Satta’s comments although the Rossoneri did release an official statement on their website to validate the injury.

Boateng, whose fellow countrymen begin their the African Cup of Nations participation early next week, injured himself during last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Inter and is a doubt for the Champions League date with Arsenal due to a muscle strain. A statement from the Rossoneri read: “Boateng has sustained a muscular lesion in his left thigh and the estimated time of recovery is around four weeks, unless there are complications.”  But his girlfriend has claimed his antics in bed may be the cause of his constant injury. The 24-year-old will likely be sidelined for Milan’s next eight games, including their Champions League Last-16 home leg against Arsenal on February 15. Boss Massimiliano Allegri has set his sights on the attacking player’s return for his side’s domestic encounter against Juventus on February 26.

The former Ghana international player is currently sidelined for a month with a thigh injury, but his model girlfriend, Melissa Satta revealed the real reason behind his ailment: too much sex.  The club has not commented on his girlfriend's “medical evaluation”, but surely he doesn't mind not being able to play for a month because he will have more time to enlarge his lesion peril. People having a primitive mentality based on the desire to enjoy money, sex and social prestige are called “bhukti-kāmī”.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

In the various species of life there are various facilities for material sense gratification. Different species are distinguished by differently formed senses, such as the genitals, nostrils, tongue, ears and eyes. Pigeons, for example, are given the facility for almost unlimited sex. Bears have an ample opportunity for sleeping. Tigers and lions exhibit the propensities for fighting and meat-eating, horses are distinguished by their legs for swift running, vultures and eagles have keen eyesight, and so on. The human being is distinguished by his large brain, which is meant for understanding God. ... The Lord facilitates sense gratification (mātrā-prasiddhaye) so that the living entities will gradually understand the futility of trying to enjoy without Him.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Śrīla Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam - Canto 11: “General History”
Chapter 3: “Liberation from the Illusory Energy”
Verse 3 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

CHINA CELEBRATES YEAR OF THE DRAGON

CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE DRAGON
WELCOMED IN AROUND THE WORLD

www.mirror.co.uk - Celebrations for the Year of the Dragon begin today and last for 15 days.  Millions of ethnic Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese across Asia have rung in the New Year of the Dragon with fireworks, feasting and family reunions.  From Beijing to Bangkok and Seoul to Singapore, people hoping for good luck in the New Year visited temples and lit incense, setting off fireworks and watched street performances of lion and dragon dances. In London, Chinese New Year will officially be marked on January 29 with a parade and a performance in Trafalgar Square. Among the 100-strong performers will feature Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe and the National Music Orchestra of Jilin Province.  For many, the Lunar New Year is the biggest family reunion of the year for which people endured hours of cramped travel on trains and buses to get home.

In ancient times the dragon was a symbol reserved for the Chinese emperor, and it is considered to be the most auspicious and powerful of the 12 signs of the zodiac, one associated with high energy and prosperity. It’s also the only mythical creature in the Chinese astrological stable that includes horses, rats and pigs. This year is considered especially auspicious because it is the year of the water dragon, something that happens once every 60 years.  “The dragon is a symbol of power and superior control,” says Stephen Chu, president of the Mississauga Chinese Business Association, west of Toronto. “It’s not evil. The dragon is a good symbol.” It also represents change and mobility. “Dragons seem to be a change year, and usually from bad to good,” says Paul Ng, a feng shui master in Richmond Hill, Ont., north of Toronto.

Chinese New Year celebrations have begun throughout the world.  Colorful parades and spectacular fireworks usher in the Year of Dragon, which symbolizes courage and prosperity. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of Dragon comes after the Year of Rabbit and is followed by the Year of Snake. In the Rig Veda, there is a description of the battle between Lord Indra, the king of heaven, and an asura named Vrtra who had taken the form of a mighty Dragon and stole all the water in the world for himself.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

I will declare the manly deeds of Indra, the first that he achieved, the Thunder wielder. He slew the Dragon, then disclosed the waters, and cleft the channels of the mountain torrents. Like lowing kine in rapid flow descending the waters glided downward to the ocean.  Impetuous as a bull, he (Indra) chose the Soma and in three sacred beakers drank the juices. Maghavan (Indra) grasped the thunder for his weapon, and smote to death this firstborn of the dragons. ...  When Indra and the Dragon strove in battle, Maghavan gained the victory for ever. ... The waters bear off Vrtra's nameless body: the foe of Indra sank to during darkness.  Guarded by Ahi (Vrtra) ... the waters stayed like kine held by the robber.  But when he (Indra) had smitten Vrtra, opened the cave wherein the floods had been imprisoned.

“The Hymns of the Rigveda”
Book I - Hymn XXXII - “Indra”
Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith
2nd edition, Kotagiri (Nilgiri) 1896
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv01032.htm
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/rigveda/indra_1.asp

DUTCH TEEN CIRCUMNAVIGATE WORLD

DUTCH TEEN LAURA DEKKER COMPLETES
HISTORIC SOLO SAIL AROUND THE GLOBE

(CNN) - Some 518 days after she first set off alone in her sailboat, 16-year-old Laura Dekker glided into a Caribbean port on Saturday to complete her historic, and controversial, voyage around the globe.  The Dutch citizen arrived in Sint Maarten around 3 p.m. (2 p.m. ET).  While other teens have made similar sea voyages - some of them without stopping, as Dekker did - the Dutch girl unofficially appears to be the youngest to do so sailing alone. In 2010, Australian Jessica Watson finished a non-stop, unassisted solo circumnavigation days before her 17th birthday. Her route was less than 21,600 orthodromic (or, in the same direction for a great circle) nautical miles, which is the length of the equator and the distance generally used for round-the-world sailing records. Dekker states on her website that she traversed about 27,000 nautical miles on her own solo voyage aboard her 38-foot yacht, which she has dubbed Guppy.

The teenager made a trip with stops that sound like a skim through a travel magazine: the Canary Islands, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora, Australia, South Africa and now, St. Maarten, from which she set out on Jan. 20, 2011.  She had altered her route and headed around South Africa toward Sint Maarten to avoid pirates.  The trip almost didn’t happen - not because of problems at sea, but rather due to a high-profile legal fight by Dutch authorities to prevent the teen from setting sail, for her own safety.  In October 2009, a Dutch court ruled the girl couldn’t sail around the world because she was not considered experienced enough to do so. But it left the door open for a future trip, deciding that she could depart if she fulfilled certain requirements the court had established for her.  Laura did what the authorities require, and she finally arrived in St. Maarten after struggling against high seas and heavy winds.

Laura Dekker, 16, arrived in the island of Sint Maarten after her voyage around the globe.  She was at sea or in port for 518 days and traversed 27,000 nautical miles.  “There were moments where I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing out here?’ but I never wanted to stop,” she said. “It’s a dream, and I wanted to do it.”  She also fought against Dutch authorities who didn’t want her to sail. Tapah (austerity) and Acāpalam (determination) are good for everyone because in the end our efforts are rewarded.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

“To serve the spiritual master the disciple should learn cleanliness, austerity, tolerance, silence, study of Vedic knowledge, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence, and equanimity in the face of material dualities such as heat and cold, happiness and distress.” Tapah, or “austerity,” means that despite the irrational impulses of the mind, one should remain fixed in executing his proper duty in life. Specifically, one must control burning anger and the urge for wanton sex life. If a human being does not control the impulses of lust, anger and greed, he loses his power to understand his actual situation. Human life is a golden opportunity to solve the overwhelming problems of birth, death, old age and disease. ... One must remain in his prescribed duty and not become impatient or unregulated due to the waves of lust, anger and greed.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Śrīla Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam - Canto 11: “General History”
Chapter 3: “Liberation from the Illusory Energy”
Verse 24 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

MALAWIAN WOMEN ATTACKS FOR WEARING PANTS

ATTACKS ON WOMEN IN TROUSERS,
MINISKIRTS SPARK PROTEST IN MALAWI

Blantyre, Malawi (AP) - It’s been 18 years since the late dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s “indecency in dress” laws were repealed in Malawi, but mobs of men and boys in the largely conservative southern African country have recently been publicly stripping women of their miniskirts and pants.  Friday, hundreds of outraged girls and women, among them prominent politicians, protested the attacks while wearing pants or miniskirts and T-shirts emblazoned with such slogans as: “Real men don’t harass women.” “Some of us have spent our entire life fighting for the freedom of women,” Vice President Ms Joyce Banda told the protesters. “It’s shocking some men want to take us back to bondage,” she added.  The attacks took on such importance that President Bingu wa Mutharika went on state television and radio on the eve of the protest to assure women they were free to wear what they want.

The president ordered police to arrest anyone who attacks women wearing pants or miniskirts. He said in a local language, Chichewa. “I will not allow anyone to wake up and go on the streets and start undressing women and girls wearing trousers because that is criminal.” During Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s 1963-1994 dictatorship, women in Malawi were banned from wearing pants and short skirts. Banda lost power in the country’s first multiparty election in 1994 and he died three years later. While Banda is gone, strains of conservatism remain in the impoverished, largely rural nation. Some of the street vendors who have attacked women in recent days claimed it was un-Malawian to dress in miniskirts and pants. Some said it was a sign of loose morals or prostitution. The protesters were wearing pants, miniskirts and leggings in a show of solidarity as they gathered to condemn the attacks.

Malawian women protested about attacks on women for wearing trousers. Some women were beaten and stripped by vendors on the streets for wearing pants, leggings and miniskirts, instead of dresses. They accused women of defying cultural norms and attacked them claiming they did not follow the tradition.  Women have also been attacked for wearing trousers in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Puritanical mentality is based on external materialistic issues, not on spiritual considerations.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

If we truly believe, even theoretically, that we “are not this body,” then why do we care whether our bodily duties are “higher” or “lower” than someone else’s?  Such things are temporary, external, and don’t touch the real self. ... Most difficulties with understanding the position of women can be solved if we understand that all of us have two duties: material and spiritual.  The spiritual duties, the nine processes of devotional service, are equally available to every human being regardless of age, gender, race, intelligence, health, etc. etc. ... Why not just accept the body we have for this life, and work with it so as to please Krishna and make our life peaceful, so that we can concentrate our time and energy on what’s truly important-loving and remembering Krishna.

Śrīmati Urmila devi dasi :
“Prabhupada's Views on Women”
http://urmila.me.uk/
http://www.chakra.org/discussions/WomenNov29_02.html

ARGENTINA OUTRAGED AT CAMERON’S ‘COLONIALISM’ REMARKS

UK PRIME MINISTER ACCUSES ARGENTINA
OF ‘COLONIALISM’ TOWARDS FALKLANDS

www.bbc.co.uk - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has demanded renewed talks about the future of the islands - which Argentina calls Las Malvinas.  But Mr Cameron told MPs they would stay British for as long as the islanders wanted, and Argentina’s demands for that to change were “like colonialism”.  The issue was discussed at a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday.  This year is the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, which was prompted by an Argentinian invasion of the islands. Most Falkland Islanders wish to retain British sovereignty and 14 June is marked as Liberation Day in the capital, Port Stanley.  Argentine leaders have reacted with fury after UK Prime Minister David Cameron accused Argentina of “colonialism” for continuing to claim sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.  “It’s totally offensive, especially coming from Great Britain,” Argentine Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said.

President Fernandez has repeatedly requested talks on the islands’ future and accused the UK of “arrogance” for refusing to negotiate.  She has accused Britain of “taking Argentine resources” from the islands and the waters around them.  Tensions have risen in recent years over oil exploration around the Falklands.  In December, the Mercosur grouping of countries, which includes Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay, announced that it would ban ships sailing under the Falkland Islands flag from docking at their ports.  The islands were discussed on Wednesday during a visit by UK Foreign Minister William Hague to Brazil. Mr Hague knows that “Brazil and other South American nations support Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas and that we support the UN resolutions calling on Argentina and Britain to discuss the issue,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota told reporters.

British PM Cameron has accused Argentina of “colonialism” for continuing to claim sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. In response, Argentine Foreign Minister Timerman said Great Britain was a country “synonymous with colonialism”. Little remains of colonialism and Great Britain, an empire in decline, decides to re-write history.   The sayings of politicians try to historical “re-arranging the furniture”.  This cheating tendency is called vipralipsa, ‘the desire to deceive.’

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

This is called samsāra-dāvānala. Even in ordinary transactions between two people, there is invariably cheating because the conditioned soul is defective in four ways - he is illusioned, he commits mistakes, his knowledge is imperfect, and he has a propensity to cheat. Unless one is liberated from material conditioning, these four defects must be there. Consequently every man has a cheating propensity, which is employed in business or money transactions. ... A philosopher accuses an economist of being a cheater, and an economist may accuse a philosopher of being a cheater when he comes in contact with money. In any case, this is the condition of material life.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam - Canto 5: “The Creative Impetus”
Chapter 14: “The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment”
Verse 26 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

GLOBAL WARMING THREATENS CHINA’S ADVANCE

CHINESE REPORT SPELLS OUT
CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT

www.smh.com.au - Global warming threatens China’s march to prosperity by cutting crops, shrinking rivers and unleashing more droughts and floods, says the government’s latest assessment of climate change, projecting big shifts in how the nation feeds itself.  The warnings are carried in the government’s “Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change,” which sums up advancing scientific knowledge about the consequences and costs of global warming for China - the world’s second biggest economy and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas pollution.  Global warming fed by greenhouse gases from industry, transport and shifting land-use poses a long-term threat to China’s prosperity, health and food output, says the report.  Water, either too much or too little, lies at the heart of how that warming could trip up China’s budding prosperity.

 With China’s economy likely to rival the United States’ in size in coming decades, that will trigger wider consequences. “China faces extremely grim ecological and environmental conditions under the impact of continued global warming and changes to China’s regional environment,” says the 710-page report, officially published late last year but released for public sale only recently.  Even so, China’s rising emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels, will begin to fall off only after about 2030, with big falls only after mid-century, says the report.  Assuming no measures to counter global warming, grain output in the world’s most populous nation could fall from 5 to 20 percent by 2050, depending on whether a “fertilisation effect” from more carbon dioxide in the air offsets losses, says the report.

China, with 1.34 billion people, already emits a quarter of the world’s CO2, with the United States the world’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter.  As the temperatures continue to rise, the negative consequences of climate change on agriculture will be increasingly serious. Without effective measures in response, by the latter part of the 21st century, climate change could still constitute a threat to the world’s food security. We are living in one of the most precarious situations of humanity.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Today we see the condition of the world. Never before in history has the world been in a more dangerous situation. We have made progress through technology and science. We have cured diseases such as small pox. We made vaccinations for polio and breakthrough in open heart surgeries to keep people living after major heart attacks. These are good things. But at the same time, what are we doing on the other side. We are creating other diseases due to pollution and other unnatural styles. … And with all the toxic chemicals in the soil, in the ocean, in the rivers and in the air, if you look at it realistically the world is in a hopeless state. Politicians don’t want to tell you and we don’t want to hear about it, because we are just caught up in our petty pursuance of fulfilling our greed. It is a big problem.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
“The Real Significance of Bhumi Puja”
Lecture at Govardhan Farm, Wada - 2nd October 2009
http://www.radhanathmaharaj.net/node/80
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/  -  http://radhanathswami.info/

ETHIOPIA FORCES THOUSANDS OFF LAND

RIGHTS GROUP: ETHIOPIA
FORCIBLY RESETTLED 70,000

Addis Ababa (AP) - Ethiopia has forcibly moved tens of thousands of semi-nomadic people in the country’s west to barren villages and threatened, assaulted and arrested those who resisted, an international rights group said in a report. The Human Rights Watch report said that Ethiopia last year resettled about 70,000 people in its western Gambella region after the first of a three-year “villagization” program. The rights group said it suspects people have been moved to lease out farmland to investors, and not just to lift them out of poverty. It said that security forces “repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arrested villagers” who resisted relocation. It also reported rape, killing of cattle and burning of houses among rights violations.  Instead of the promised improved life with “access to basic socio-economic infrastructures,” locals found new villages that lacked food, farmland, schools and health clinics, HRW said.

The watchdog said its report is based on 100 interviews in 2011 with residents in Gambella and in a refugee camp in Kenya. The organization called upon the Ethiopian government to suspend its program until all promised facilities have been provided for. The government in Addis Ababa rejects HRW’s allegations.  Ethiopia’s minister of federal affairs denounced the allegations in a letter to Human Rights Watch as “downright fabrications” of a “politically motivated” organization. He wrote that Human Rights Watch “willfully ignores the fact that more than 50,000 people are utilizing services from the newly built” villages. HRW says it has evidence that some 70,000 indigenous people in the western Gambella region were relocated against their will to new villages that “lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare and educational facilities”.

Ethiopia’s government has been accused by US-based Human Rights Watch of forcing tens of thousands of its poorest people off their fertile land so it can be leased to foreign investors.  Indigenous peoples, like the pastoral Nuer and agrarian Anuak, are being forcibly relocated to new villages that lack adequate food, clean water, farmland, schools, clinics and other basic facilities.  When there is no sense of justice or mercy, governments utilize violence against their own people to simply serve their selfish purposes.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

We are all brothers and sisters in this world. We are all visiting the planet earth for a very short time. We all have a certain amount of pains and pleasures to experience in this short visit. And the human being specially will accumulate either positive or negative reactions for everything they will do in this lifetime. And after they leave this body, very soon we will get the just compensation for what have been our deeds in this lifetime. So it is in all of our interests that we do not commit any injustice to anyone and instead of creating hellish conditions in our greed to gain more power and money. We should remember that in our next lifetime we will be subjected to the same injustices we are creating for others today.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Attacks on Innocent Considered Most Sinful”
http://www.vrindanews.com/articles/attacks_on_innocent.html
http://www.vrindanews.com/  -  http://www.gurumaharaj.net/

FATAL BUILDING COLLAPSE IN BEIRUT

AT LEAST 27 KILLED MANY INJURED
IN BEIRUT BUILDING COLLAPSE

Beirut (AFP) - At least 26 people were killed when an old six-storey building in the Lebanese capital collapsed, officials said on Monday, with more people still trapped under the rubble. A dozen people were also injured, none of them seriously. Civil defence chief General Raymond Khattar told AFP the bodies recovered by rescuers who worked through Sunday night and Monday included those of seven Lebanese, six Sudanese, two Filipinos and two Egyptians. Among the dead was a 15-year-old Lebanese girl, and those hurt included her grandmother as well as a 73-year-old Lebanese man, at least two Sudanese, an Egyptian and a Filipina. The building housed some 50 people, many of them labourers from Sudan and Egypt, Khattar said, adding that at least eight people were known to have escaped as the building came down.

A Syrian labourer at a nearby building site said debris started falling from the building in the early evening before the entire block came crashing down. “We saw small pieces of stone falling down but no one paid any attention at the start,” he told AFP. “Then large chunks of stone started falling and people began screaming for everyone to get out. Within minutes, the building was on the floor.”  Bilal Hamad, the head of Beirut municipality, urged all residents to alert authorities should they suspect any danger in their neighbourhoods and said a team of experts would soon begin to inspect buildings across the capital, many of which are built illegally or have had storeys added without proper permits. There was speculation that heavy rain may have contributed to Sunday’s disaster, making the building more prone to collapse.

At least 27 people died and several people were injured when a five-storey building collapsed unexpectedly in the Lebanese capital Beirut.  Rescuers are continuing their search of the site in the Ashrafiyeh district for a further 16 people believed to be buried beneath the rubble.  It is said the building was extremely run-down and the owner had recently warned tenants to move out.  We are daily surrounded by many dangers; there are risks at every step, so we should choose the Lord as our protector.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

A firm confidence that the Supreme Lord will protect us in all circumstances is needed. In fact, who is saving us from all the dangers and calamities that are hovering around us every moment? In time of a severe trial, all of our acquisitions or our nearest relations fail. There is no power anywhere in this universe that would do any harm to a person whose Protector is the Supreme Lord. On the contrary, the entire population and resources of the whole universe, cannot save him, if he is disowned by the Lord. This firmness in his belief makes him steady ever the more. This spirit of confidence saves him from the unsteady nature of the mind. … It makes the life of a striver light and easy, and his journey remarkably smooth and pleasant.

Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Mahārāj:
“Guru and Atma Nivedan”
“Firm Confidence in the Lord”
Bhakti Vigyan Nityananda Book Trust
Śrī Krishna Chaitanya Mission - http://www.purimaharaj.com/

CHAOS IN ITALIAN CRUISE SHIP SINKING

LIKE SCENE OUT OF FILM ‘TITANIC,’
CHAOS CONSUMED LISTING SHIP

Porto Santo Stefano, Italy (CNN) - The 3,200 passengers aboard the Costa Concordia cruise liner were enjoying a night of entertainment and relaxation off Italy’s Mediterranean coast. Then, at about dinnertime, the lights went out, an ominous scraping sound moaned through the hull, and the ship tilted to one side. The 1,500-cabin luxury vessel, which was also carrying about 1,000 crew members, had run aground on a rocky sandbar off the tiny island of Giglio. Chaos overwhelmed passengers and crew alike when, as the ship listed and water rose as if it were a scene from “Titanic,” everyone realized that only one side of the ship’s lifeboats and rafts were reachable.  Amid screams, the crew appeared helpless, according to one passenger who had to make a ladder of rope to save himself and his wife.  The worst part came when a lifeboat crew member told everyone, “Women and children first.”

“All these families who were clinging to each other had to be separated,” said Benji Smith, who was on the Concordia for his honeymoon with his wife, Emily. The couple lives in Boston. After helping passengers, some crew members jumped overboard and swam ashore. At least three lifeboats apparently malfunctioned due to technical or crew error, Smith said.  Life rafts were “twisting and turning,” and the crew pulled in some rafts and put the people back on the ship, but the crew never returned for them, Smith said. With the ship’s staircases flooded, “we made ladders out of ropes to climb down from the outer fourth deck to the third deck,” Smith said. “We waited clinging to those rope ladders for 3½ hours” before being picked up by a lifeboat, he said. Smith said he and his wife never heard from any of the officers or captain during the incident. The couple was eventually transported by bus to a hotel in Rome.

Panic spread as people scrambled to find lifeboats in the dark as the ship quickly leaned to one side. Passengers complained about how the cruise ship staff handled the crisis when disaster struck. A sixth body was being pulled from the wreckage of the stricken Costa Concordia as the ship’s captain was accused of “significant human error”.   Mankind is by nature afflicted with the four flaws or defects, even the greatest scholars cannot free themselves of them.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The conditioned soul has four defects: (1) bhrama (‘the tendency to error’), (2) pramada (‘inattention’), (3) karanapatava (‘the inadequacy of the senses’) and (4) vipralipsa (‘the desire to deceive’). Any conditioned soul has these defects.  Bhrama means the tendency to think something that is true to be false and vice versa.  The word pramada means ‘inattention.’ Even when the senses do their job, the mind is not entirely attentive and so makes further errors. Karanapatava means the incapacity of the senses to properly perceive anything. And the last fault is quite devastating; it is vipralipsa, ‘the desire to deceive.’ Even though we don’t really know what the truth is, we say, ‘I have seen.’  So these are the conditioned souls’ four defects.

Śrīla Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāja :
“Sri Guru Pranali - Siddha Pranali”
Conversation at Gopinatha Gaudiya Matha,
Cakra Tirtha, Jagannatha Puri, Sept. 28, 1998
http://bvml.org/SBPPG/sgp-sp.html