CHINESE COURT DENIES APPEAL BY JAILED ACTIVIST

BEIJING COURT REJECTS APPEAL AND UPHOLDS
INITIAL SENTENCE OF DISSIDENT LIU XIAOBO

BEIJING (Xinhua) - A court in Beijing denied an appeal by one of China’s best-known democracy advocates on Thursday and upheld his 11-year prison sentence, human rights activists said. The Higher People's Court of Beijing rejected Liu Xiaobo's appeal and upheld the first trial's verdict of agitation aimed at subverting the government. Beijing's First Intermediate People's Court sentenced Liu to 11 years in prison on Dec. 25, 2009. "Liu's verdict is sound on legal basis and factual proof," said Prof. Gao Mingxuan, president of the International Association of Penal Law China Branch. Although freedom of expression is an extremely important right of Chinese citizens and protected by China's Constitution and laws, Gao said citizens could not exercise the right without any restrictions whatsoever. According to China's Constitution, Chinese citizens' exercise of their freedoms and rights should not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society, or the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens. Gao said that freedom of expression may be subject to certain lawful restrictions necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others and the protection of national security and public order. He said Liu had published a number of articles which exceeded the boundaries of freedom of expression. Liu had spread anti-government rumors and slanders, and had organized and persuaded other people to join activities aimed at overturning the current government, Gao said, adding that his conduct was dangerous to the country.

According to the Court, Liu spread his agitation through the Internet by using the network's speed and its ability to grab vast public attention. He also organized and induced others to sign the petition, which has been widely linked to, republished and browsed on the Internet. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, said she was not surprised by the court decision. She said the only thing her husband said inside the court during the appeal hearing was "I am innocent." Liu co-wrote "Charter 08," an unusually direct appeal to China's authorities calling for expanded political freedoms and the end to Communist Party dominance. More than 300 people, including some of the country's top intellectuals, signed it before it was made public in December 2008.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

To determine the root-cause of unrest we ought first to determine the meaning of the self. I strongly believe, that ignorance of our real-self is the cause of unrest, discord and anxiety. ... It has already been stated that differences in the individuals are unavoidable as they are conscious units. Now the problem is to find a common ground and interest for the solution of these differences. A sense of common interest can be fostered among individuals, if they know that they are inter-connected, are parts of one Organic System and are the sons and daughters of one Father.

Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Madhava Mahārāja :
“Realistic Solution for Diverse Humanity”
Speech at a ‘Spiritual Summit Conference’ - 1968 Calcutta.
http://www.sreecgmath.org/scgmtimes/scgmsbdm.php

FAMOUS FRENCH PHILOSOPHER FALLS FOR HOAX

PHILOSOPHER BERNARD HENRI-LÉVY
CAUGHT OUT BY A LITERARY PRANK

PARIS (AP) - The celebrity French philosopher Bernard Henri-Lévy—he of the unbuttoned white shirts and coiffed hair—has backed up the arguments in his latest book, "On War in Philosophy", by citing the work of a fake philosopher. In arguing that Imanuel Kant was a madman, Henri-Lévy quoted from the lectures of Jean-Baptiste Botul—the creation of the journalist Frédéric Pagès. Botul has a rabid following—which recognizes that he’s not real—and debates his metaphysics of flab and his ideas on cheese, sausages, women’s breasts, and the transport of valises in the 1930s. In "De la Guerre en Philosophie", Levy cited a quotation from a book ostensibly written by Jean-Baptiste Botul, a fictional creation of journalist Frederic Pages. The gaffe, which was revealed by the Web site of Le Nouvel Observateur newsweekly this week, sparked a storm of Internet posts poking fun at Levy, France's superstar intellectual par excellence. Lévy quotes the fine insights of a French writer named Jean-Baptise Botul on the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. But Botul, it turns out, is not a real person — he's a fictional character created five years ago by Frédéric Pagès, a journalist at the French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné. Using Botul as a pseudonym, Pagès published a verbose book on Kant in 1999, which was intended to be a playful dig at French intellectuals.

Levy himself acknowledged his mistake, owning up to the error with lighthearted grace. "I learned today through the Internet ... it was a hoax," he told Canal Plus television on Monday. Levy congratulated Pages, saying he had long found his 1999 book "La Vie Sexuelle d'Emmanuel Kant" (The Sexual Life of Emmanuel Kant) — penned under the pseudonym Botul — "marvelous." "Vive Frederic Botul, vive Frederic Pages," Levy concluded, mixing up the names of the journalist and his creation. Levy, with his trademark wind-swept hairstyle, perma-tan and starched white shirt left largely unbuttoned, is an instantly recognizable public figure. He is known as much for his jet-setting lifestyle as for his work.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Almost everyone, including scientists, religionists and philosophers, are engaged in a noble search for truth. Yet, what is truth and how do we find it? ... Let us ask the question, “What is real knowledge?” The most generally accepted method of receiving knowledge is by direct perception, pratyaksa. Although often used in scientific quests, this method is subject to the four defects from which all mankind suffers: bhrama, pramāda, karanāpātava and vipralipsā. That is, all humans are subject to illusion, have imperfect senses, make mistakes and have a tendency to cheat.

Śrīpad Bhakti Bhāvana Vishnu Mahārāja :
Krsna Talk 90: In Search of Truth
http://www.gosai.com/krishna-talk/90-in-search-of-truth.html

AFGHANISTAN: AVALANCHES KILL 165

MORE THAN 160 PEOPLE KILLED BY MASSIVE
AVALANCHES NEAR SALANG MOUNTAIN TUNNEL

AFGHANISTAN (Reuters) - Heavy winds and rain set off 17 avalanches that buried more than two miles of highway at a high-altitude pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range, entombing hundreds of cars and cutting off Kabul’s heavily traveled link to northern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. Local officials said days of heavy snow led to avalanches that buried part of the mountain pass that connects Kabul to the northern city Mazar-i-Sharif. A series of massive avalanches have killed at least 165 people on Afghanistan’s busiest highway, officials said yesterday, as rescuers struggled to free more than 1,500 people trapped deep inside the Hindu Kush. Hundreds of cars, buses and lorries were jammed bumper to bumper in the path of the advancing snow, witnesses told The Times, after bad weather brought the two-mile pass to a halt before the avalanches struck. Dozens of cars were swept off a treacherous mountain pass on Monday when snowfalls caused more than three hours of avalanches near the Salang tunnel. Rescuers have already recovered 165 bodies from the Salang Pass and 135 have been injured. The calamity began Monday at the southern approaches of the 12,000-foot-high Salang Pass, just south of a tunnel through the mountains, which connects Kabul with northern Afghanistan. Officials said that snow buried more than two miles of road.

The interior minister, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, said a storm with heavy wind and rain blew in suddenly during the afternoon, setting off a series of avalanches above the highway, which is cut into mountainsides and often runs high above a river gorge. Nearly a mile of the highway remained buried as of Tuesday evening.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The three modes of material nature is material energy called ‘Maha-Maya’ and is responsible for the material activities like creation and destruction. As long as the living entity is engrossed in sense gratification; till then he comes under this influence of illusory energy. He is able to escape from this abominable material energy only on realization of his innate blissful spiritual identity in relation with transcendence. ... Lord Krsna is the master of this material energy while the living entity can be subjugated by this material energy.

Śrīla Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāja :
“Essence of Pure Devotion – Bhakti Siddhanta Sara”.
Part VIII – ‘Yoga Maya and Maha Maya’.
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - http://bvml.org/SBPPG/index.htm

CHINA FINDS TONS OF TAINTED MILK POWDER

CHINA RECALLED 170 TONS OF MILK POWDER
TAINTED WITH THE CHEMICAL MELAMINE

HANGHAI (China Daily) - Chinese authorities say they are trying to track down nearly 100 tons of milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine as the government struggles to prevent a recurrence of the large-scale milk contamination that killed six children and sickened about 300,000 others in Sept 2008. The hunt for the adulterated milk powder, distributed by a dairy company in the northern region of Ningxia, follows reports of other batches of melamine-tainted products across the country in recent months. The government last week started emergency inspections to get contaminated goods off store shelves. More than a year after the toxic chemical first was discovered to be widespread in baby formula and other dairy products, China's problems with melamine contamination remain. Since the extent of melamine adulteration became apparent in 2008, the central government has fought to reassure consumers that it can protect them. Courts imposed harsh penalties on people involved: Two were executed in November. The scandal also helped speed up the passage of a comprehensive new food-safety law last year. But gaps clearly still remain – and are apparently being exploited by unscrupulous business people, according to local authorities. In some cases, local police say they believe the melamine-laced milk powder they have discovered was recalled after it was found to be contaminated in 2008 and then repackaged and sold again.

Dairy farmers and milk traders started adding melamine-laced powder to raw milk in an effort to fool dairy-company quality checks. Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, mimics the presence of protein in some lab tests. In high enough quantities it can cause serious kidney problems in people. How far the melamine-laced powder from Ningxia spreads through the food chain will depend on recall efforts as well as on how it is used. Milk powder can be used as a raw material in baked goods and candy as well as in baby formula and other dairy-based products.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

When men walk on the path of truth, they are simple and honest. When men’s actions are a collection of lies, their hearts are full of cunning, their deeds are sins, and their words are empty flattery. That is your “civilization”. True civilization is not like that. In true civilization men are honest and sincere. Nowadays people merely hide the wickedness in their hearts, and that hiding they call “civilization”. The true meaning of ‘civilization’ is ‘honesty and goodness’. What you call “civilization” is only cheating and wickedness. Civilization that is sinless is found only among the Vaishnavas.

Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thākura :
“Jaiva-dharma (The Universal Religion)”
Chapter Nine : “Eternal Religion and Modern Science-Civilization”

EATING PORK SPICE UP YOUR SEX LIFE

"A DIET RICH IN PORK IS BETTER THAN VIAGRA"
SAID ARGENTINE PRESIDENT CRISTINA KIRCHNER

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's president thinks eating pig meat is really sexy. Eating pork is better than popping a Viagra pill to spice up your sex life, according to Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, who claims to have tested the theory. Many people in this beef-loving nation reacted with surprise last week after Cristina Fernandez promoted pork in a speech during which she not only said pork is better than Viagra, but suggested she's personally proven it. "I didn't know that eating pork improved sexual activity," Fernandez said in a meeting with representatives of the swine industry. She even joked that "it was all good" after she enjoyed some pork with her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner. "Pork consumption improves sexual activity," Kirchner informed a surprised gathering of business people at a meeting at the presidential palace. "This is not a small detail," she said at the gathering to announce a reduction in the price of pork. "Besides, some nicely grilled pork is much more gratifying than taking Viagra." Kirchner said she ate some roasted pork over the weekend with her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, at the couple's retreat in Argentina's bucolic southern Patagonia region, with "impressive" results. "We were in high spirits the whole weekend," she said, smiling. "I'm a pork fanatic," she added, "and I'm not saying this just to impress you, or for self-promotion." The president's half-joking speech in which she announced subsidies for the pork industry won prominent play on television and radio stations, prompting discussions on whether Argentines should add more pork to their diet.

The approved subsidies will intend to keep the price of pork low despite inflation, and her government has also recently subsidized red meat producers after beef supplies sharply declined in the South American country. Argentines are among the world's biggest consumers of red meat, and most people here stubbornly reject the idea of replacing beef with chicken, pork or other meats. Argentines are great voracious beef eaters, with an annual per capita consumption of between 68 and 73 kilos, and despite Argentina is lying along rich South Atlantic fisheries, seafood is rarely seen on dinner tables.

The video can be watched in
http://pariksit.net/consejos-de-la-presidenta-118.html

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

It is understood that as people learn more about Krishna, they will want to change their lives in ways that will be more conducive to the culture of love for Him. … Srila Prabhupada did make some concessions in introducing Krishna consciousness to people in western countries. Regarding vegetarianism, he was careful to make sure the diet was rich and delicious by any standard so that his followers would feel no compunction to return to a carnivorous diet.

Śrīla Bhakti Vedanta Tripurari Mahārāja :
“Spiritual Life is about Change”
Śrī Caitanya Sanga - Vol. VI, No. 1 - Jan. 4, 2004.
http://www.swami.org/pages/sanga/

RECONCILIATION AND NOSTALGIA OF GOD

THE POPE PROPOSES TRUE RECONCILIATION,
REVITALIZE FAITH AND END WITH "NOSTALGIA"

SPAIN (www.cope.es) - The dictionary defines “nostalgia” like pain to see yourself away from the mother country or the relatives or friends, and also as the melancholic sadness originated by the memory of a lost happiness. The English poet John Milton wrote “the lost paradise” in 1667, about the primitive state of the man according to the book of the Genesis - the friendship with God. Last December, Benedicto XVI spoke about the “nostalgia” of God which exists in all man. The Pope highlighted the Church as the family of God, the importance of the reconciliation and the unit between evangelisation and the human promotion. “All together ones we are the family of God, brothers and brothers by virtue of a unique Father”. The Church proposes the true reconciliation without which peace does not exist ... and what the reconciliation consistsm of? In recovering the concord and friendship with God, with yourself, the others and the creation. This implies, first, “the capacity to recognize the fault and to apologise: to God and the other” (to abandon the idea of see yourself as innocent); second, “the availability to the penance, to suffer until the bottom by a fault and to leave themselves to be transformed”; and third, the gratuity, that is to say, “the availability to go beyond the necessary thing, not to request accounts, but to go beyond from which the simple legal conditions demand”. Gratuity is the “availability to take the first step. To go to the encounter the other in the first place, to offer reconciliation to him, to assume the suffering that implies the resignation to be right”. All this was made first by Jesus in the cross.

Last September, during the trip to the Czech Republic, it was also an occasion for the Pope to deepen on the faith and the attitude of the nonbelieving, agnostic Christians also before or atheistic ones. “When we spoke of a new one perhaps evangelisation, these people are scared. They do not want to see themselves turned into mission object, nor to resign to his freedom of thought and of will. To sum up, the reconciliation is condition to be able to live in the realism of the faith and to invite to others to discover because of its life, releasing to them of the fear, the disinterestedness or the apparent comfort of not considering what is more important for all.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Back to God, back to home. Back to the center. Fortunately the agents from the high level come to our relief. By various means, with or without us being aware of it, they inject some special news, which, when accumulated, creates such energy in us that, “I must go back to my home!” ... So, we are fortunate if we receive guidance of the conscious friends of our life, who endeavor of recruit us to that domain: “Come to your senses. Come to your normal position. Come to your home.” You will have to go inside. Home is necessary.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
Article: “Searching the Solution”
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - www.bvml.org/SBRSM/

TEENAGER BURIED ALIVE IN HONOR KILLING

TEENAGE GIRL LIKELY VICTIM OF ‘HONOR KILLING’
BURIED ALIVE IN TURKEY FOR TALKING TO BOYS

ISTANBUL (BBC News) - A 16-year-old girl has been buried alive by her relatives in a gruesome honour killing in Turkey as punishment because she reportedly befriended boys. Acting on a tip-off, police discovered 16-year-old Medine Memi's body in a six-feet-deep hole outside her house in the Turkish province of Adiyaman, 40 days after she went missing. Officers then visited Memi’s house, and found her body “in a hole, newly covered with concrete, next to the hen-house,” the BBC reports. She was found dead with her hands tied behind her back and minor bruises on her body. A post mortem revealed that she had soil in her lungs and stomach, meaning that she was buried alive, forensic experts told Turkish media. "According to our findings, the girl - who had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood - was alive and fully conscious when she was buried." An anonymous specialist said: "The autopsy result is blood-curdling. Her father is said to have been angry the girl had male friends, and her grandfather had reportedly beaten her in the past for interacting with boys, according to a Turkish newspaper. Medine's father and grandfather have been arrested and jailed pending trial over her killing, local media claimed. The father is reported to have said in his testimony that the family was unhappy Medine had male friends. Medine Memi may have been the victim of an “honor killing.” Memi lived in Kahta, Turkey, a heavily conservative and religious south-east town.

While many “honor killings” are carried out by Muslims in Turkey, the practice has more to do with the regional customs of this Kurdish town than with religion. Apparently, if a female child is seen even speaking to a boy, there is “strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honor.” An “honor killing” takes place after one family member commits an act that serves to dishonor the rest of the family. Members of the family then kill the one who committed the act, as defense of honor is seen as a justifiable reason for murder.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Activities which lead to heavenly enjoyment are called “punya” (piety) and activities which lead to hellish suffering are called “pāpa” (sin). … Sin is not a constitutional factor of the jiva, but rather takes shelter of the jiva in the conditioned state. Some actions or states (pāpas) are contradictory to the natural qualities (punyas) of the jiva: hatred, lying, cruelty, lust, envy, injustice. Cruelty may be directed towards human beings or animals. If a person acts cruelly towards other men he creates a disturbance to the world. A world devoid of mercy means a world filled with cruelty.

Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thākura :
“Śrī Caitanya Śiksamrta: The Nectarean Teaching of Śrī Caitanya”
Second Chapter: “Punya karma - Meritorious Action”

WIDESPREAD DISGUST WITH BRITISH POLITICIANS

SCANDAL: BRITISH MPS HAVE BEEN ORDERED
TO REPAY MORE THAN £1 MILLION IN ALLOWANCES

LONDON (Telegraph) - British politicians have been ordered to repay more than £1 million in expenses after an investigation into a scandal that tarnished the image of UK MPs at home and abroad. Thomas Legg, who carried out the review, found that more than half of all members of parliament had made inappropriate or excessive claims, including Gordon Brown, the prime minister. He said on Thursday that a "culture of deference" and a "prevailing lack of transparency" were to blame for the scandal, which saw MPs claiming expenses on second homes, gardening and cleaning. Legg said that between 2004 and 2009 senior figures in parliament had been more focused on furthering the "immediate interests of MPs" than "propriety in public expenditure". This scandal about repayments demanded for illegitimate claims has happened because MPs failed to observe the propriety in handling public money that they, as legislators, demand from every other part of the public service. It was not a failure of a system or a process; it was a failure by individual MPs to behave honestly.

Last year's exposure of politicians' expense claims showed how legislators manipulated housing rules for profit and attempted to bill the public for items including porn movies, horse manure and an ornamental duck house. However, this does not apply to all MPs. Sir Thomas has found that roughly half the House had “no issues” to answer, although voters will note their collective failure to speak out against abuses. But the other half took advantage of a “flawed” system, which they themselves created. The scandal, which touched every political party, provoked outrage in Britain and undermined support for the country's three main parties. Many MPs whose reputations have been damaged are expected not to stand again, while those that do risk being punished by voters.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

You have seen the picture of Vyasadeva. He's writing books just near a cottage only … he was leading very simple life, in a cottage. Even, say, 2,000 years ago or little more, there was Canakya Pandita. He was a brahmana, but great politician. … And because he was a great politician, diplomat, under his name in our India, in New Delhi, the capital, there is a neighborhood which is called Canakya Puri. So he was a great politician. But still, he was living in a cottage. He was not accepting any salary because he was brahmana. … The sudra accepts salary. “I serve you, you pay me.”

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Steel-framed Hearts”
Class on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.24
Los Angeles, USA - June 22, 1972

OSCAR THE CAT CAN SMELL DEATH

A CAT NAMED OSCAR IS SAID TO
POSSESS THE ABILITY TO PREDICT DEATH

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A cat detects when nursing home patients have just hours to live has accurately predicted up to 50 deaths. He spends his days pacing from room to room at the nursing home where he lives and refuses to spend any time with the elderly residents unless they are close to death. The unsociable cat, now five, was adopted as a kitten at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island. His unusual gift was first revealed in 2007, and staff at the home are now so confident of Oscar's ability that they alert family members if he shows an interest in a patient. When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed that he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die. So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths. Oscar curls up next to dying patients and scratches at their door if staff try to stop him from being near them. In his book, "Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat", Dr David Dosa, a geriatrician at Brown University, offers no solid scientific explanation for the cat's behaviour. Dosa recounts one instance when staff was convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway. Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise.

Dr. Dosa said there is no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities, but he thinks the cat might be responding to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize. Dosa suggests that - like dogs - Oscar is able to detect ketones, which are biochemicals given off by dying cells. "I don't think Oscar is that unique, but he is in a unique environment. Animals are remarkable in their ability to see things we don't, be it the dog that sniffs out cancer or the fish that predicts earthquakes. Animals know when they are needed." he said. Scientists said research work on such phenomenon has already been going on and it is focused on harnessing the talents to serve humankind.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The scientists feel that animals have no real brain, no intelligence. … Animals may follow intuitive knowledge, and so they can work unconsciously. And we can see that intuition can go above brain calculation. So many birds and beasts can understand that an earthquake is coming, but so far, no human calculation can understand precisely when an earthquake will come. There are many things that our brain cannot feel, cannot catch, whereas even the animals can get some clue about them beforehand. And after a long and deep research, men cannot find what is beyond their reason.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Loving Search for the Lost Servant”
Seventh Chapter: “Knowledge-Free Devotion”
http://www.scsmath.com/docs/books.html

CHINA FURIOUS AT US ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN

OLD CONFLICT BETWEEN CHINA-TAIWAN
AFFECTS US-CHINA FUTURE RELATIONS

BEIJING - TAIPEI (Reuters) - China has expressed fury at Washington's announcement of a new arms package for self-ruled Taiwan, saying it threatens the task of peaceful reunification between the two sides. China suspended military exchanges with Washington after the plan was announced. It has not yet said what sanctions it might impose on the firms, which are supplying Taiwan with missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, information systems and two mine-hunters. China's state media has accused the United States of "arrogance" and "double standards" in pursuing arms sales to Taiwan. China has warned of "serious harm" to relations between the two powers, the suspension of military contact and sanctions against the firms involved. An American law, the Taiwan Relations Act 1979, requires any administration "to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character". This is a red line between China and the US. If Washington ever sold clearly offensive weapons to Taiwan - such as cruise or ballistic missiles - China would be seriously angered and Taiwan might be actually threatened. A key point to remember about US arms sales to Taiwan is that they are designed to be defensive. China, the world's third-largest economy and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, claims sovereignty over ethnically Chinese Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to bring the proudly democratic island under its control.

So, China maintains its right to threat of force if Taiwan seeks independence. On the other hand, the US declares its right to defend Taiwan while accepting that it cannot be an independent state. China has suspended military talks with the US, and it is also threatening those US companies involved in the sale with a ban on sales in China. Chinese government has talked of the damage to co-operation on international and regional problems due to US plans to sale arms to Taiwan last week.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The duty of the government or king is not to increase military power unnecessarily; the real duty of the government is to see that the people of the state advance in Krishna consciousness. ... Everyone must understand Krishna's activities (“janma karma ca me divyam” [Bg. 4.9]). If one understands the purpose of Krishna's coming to this earth and performing His activities, one is immediately liberated. This liberation is the purpose of the creation and Krishna's descent upon the surface of the earth.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 9 - Chapter 24 - Verse 59.

FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS PILGRIMS

IRAQ: 54 KILLED BY FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER
JOINED SHIITE PILGRIMS MARCHING TO HOLY CITY

BAGHDAD (EFE) - A female suicide bomber detonated a vest rigged with explosives among a crowd of Shiite Muslim pilgrims Monday in northeast Baghdad, killing 54 people and wounding 109, the latest in a string of attacks that have unnerved the city as pivotal elections loom next month. For several years, sectarian violence has plagued the pilgrimage that marks the death of a revered Shi'ite figure. Iraqi authorities say the bomber joined the pilgrims as they walked through a Shi'ite neighborhood in the capital. The bomber hid the explosives under her voluminous black abaya, or cloak, and detonated them among pilgrims gathered at a hospitality tent in the neighborhood of Bab al Shams. The dead included five women employed to search female pilgrims for bombs, police said. The pilgrims were among hundreds of thousands walking to the shrine city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen, the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a 7th century figure revered by Shiites. The dead and wounded were among the hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites from Iraq, Iran and elsewhere in the region who make the journey to Karbala, 80 kilometers south of Baghdad, to mark the end of a religious mourning period.

Traditionally, residents set up hospitality tents to serve refreshments to the pilgrims. Such public displays of Shiite religiosity were banned during Saddam Hussein's rule. Since his fall from power in 2003, millions have been making the journey on foot to the Karbala shrine. Just as regularly, insurgents have attacked them along the way, and Monday's bombing echoed one a year earlier in which a suicide attacker killed 40 pilgrims, also at a hospitality tent. This suicide bombing attack was the fifth in Baghdad in just a week.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

There is an outbreak of conflagration of group clashes throughout the world. Nowhere you will find peace. I am worried to read in newspapers the news of bomb explosions and disturbances. A section of people have become so violent and barbarous that they do not hesitate in committing heinous crimes in assassinating innocent persons to fulfill their political ends. All humanitarian considerations have been relinquished. They are now seeking justifications in committing such great sins.

Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Mahārāja :
“Strongest Spiritual Force on Earth”
Statements at a press conference, 12-29-2000, Mumbai.
Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math - http://www.sreecgmath.org

UN PUT A CURB ON 'RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR'

BAN KI-MOON HORRIFIED BY THE USE OF
"RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR" IN AFRICA

ADDIS ABABA (BBC) - UN Secretary General announced measures to fight the use of rape as a weapon of war in Africa. Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called on the support of African leaders to give new impetus to his campaign to halt violence against women on the continent. Attending an African Union summit in Ethiopia, Mr Ban told leaders he would be appointing a special representative to help stop sexual violence against women in conflict zones. Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said he intended to make Sweden's Margot Wallstrom his special representative tasked with combating sexual violence against women and children in conflicts. During a speech at the opening of the African Union's 14th summit in Addis Ababa, Ban announced he wanted to appoint Margot Wallstrom the 55-year-old outgoing vice-president of the European Commission as his special representative to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children in conflict situations. "We will continue efforts to end the conflicts in the east (of the Democratic Republic of Congo), restore state authority, facilitate the return of refugees, and protect civilians against all forms of violence including sexual violence," Ban said. "I'm horrified and outraged by the use of rape as a weapon of war," he said. "We must spare no effort to end this once and for all. In this regard, I have informed the Security Council of my intention to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children."

Margot Wallstrom, said Sunday she would lobby for sexual violence in war to be recognised as a war crime, attacking what she said was a tendency to explain the abuse of women as "cultural." "I say this is not cultural. It is a crime under international law and it is also a war crime," she told Swedish radio. The long-running conflicts in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - where abuses against women and children are rife - are expected to top the agenda of the AU summit, which winds up on Tuesday. The UN denounced the systematic rape by warring parties in the DRC, where some 5,000 conflict-linked rapes were reported during the first half of 2009.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

“The brāhmanas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own body.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.16.10) - The defenseless creatures, according to Brahma-samhitā, are the cows, brāhmanas, women, children and old men. ... Just as children are taken care of by the parents, women as a class should be taken care of by the father, husband or grown-up son. Those who are helpless must be taken care of by their respective guardians, otherwise the guardians will be subjected to the punishment of Yamarāja, who is appointed by the Lord to supervise the activities of sinful living creatures.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 3 - Chapter 16 - Verse 10.

GANDHIJI’S ASHES SCATTERED IN OCEAN

SOME OF MAHATMA GANDHI'S ASHES KEPT FOR
DECADES SCATTERED OFF SOUTH AFRICAN COAST

DURBAN (Reuters) - Some of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were scattered in the sea along South Africa’s east coast on Saturday, 62 years after his death. After his assassination on January 30, 1948, Gandhiji’s ashes were placed in several urns and distributed across India and other parts of the world. More than 200 people, including Gandhiji’s South African-born granddaughter Ela Gandhi, took part in the ceremony along the Indian Ocean coast at the city of Durban. Gandhi's 69-year-old granddaughter was helped by others during a ceremony to sprinkle the ashes of Bapu into the waters of Durban Harbour, South Africa. Flowers and candles were also placed in the water. A similar scattering of Gandhiji’s ashes took place in Mumbai in 2008. Gandhiji spent 21 years in South Africa, after first arriving as a young lawyer in 1893. This ceremony also highlightes the political ties between the two countries. Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948 in New Delhi by a Hindu radical. "Today we commemorate his death anniversary and the important message of that is the intolerance that goes on in this world," said Ela Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi pioneered non-violent resistance to British rule in India and spent some of his early political years in South Africa, where he was involved in the struggle against racial discrimination and oppression.

His decades-long non-violent movement inspired leaders like Nelson Mandela who led the movement against apartheid in South Africa. U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King also looked up to Gandhi as his role model. India observes Gandhi's death anniversary as Martyrs' Day in memory of all its freedom fighters.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

When Mahaprabhu came back from Puri after five years of sannyasa, He first came here (the part of Navadwip called Kulia). At that time there was such a rush of people coming to see Mahaprabhu, from both sides of the Ganges, that the whole Ganges appeared “full of human heads”. One author has described the scene at the time of Mahaprabhu’s return to Navadwip in that way ... When I read this, at first, I thought: “Such a description must not be literal; it is a little hyperbolic”. But later, when in my own life I saw (Mahatma) Gandhi, when I experienced the crowds that used to follow him, then it came to my mind: “If Gandhi can draw so many men to see him, then what to speak of Mahaprabhu?”.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
Article: “Aparadha-banjana-patha”.
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - www.bvml.org/SBRSM/

THE LARGEST MASS GRAVE IN COLOMBIA

COLOMBIA: FOUND A MASS GRAVE
WITH 2,000 UNIDENTIFIED BODIES

BOGOTA - The authorities of the municipality of La Macarena in Meta department complained of a pit with thousands of unidentified bodies which have been buried in the cemetery by army troops. Villagers, NGOs and international press reported this week that, behind the cemetery, there are about 2,000 unidentified bodies buried by the army. The town of La Macarena, 200 miles south of Bogota, could be the scene of one of the biggest mass graves in the history of the Colombian armed conflict, if there are 2000 confirmed dead there. A spokesman for the Attorney General in Bogota revealed that a mission of the Technical Investigation Corps of the agency, CTI, was in the cemetery and found the existence of a "large number" of bodies in the grave but it only made a few burials. According to the Colombian military spokesman, in that place there are "guerrillas killed in combat," while social organizations assert that among these dead bodies there are several leaders of human rights groups disappeared some years ago without leaving any trace. Human rights organizations claim that civilians lie buried there by the Colombian army.

These organizations claim that the bodies buried in that area are a case of so-called "false positives" or extrajudicial executions, which include murder of civilians falsely accused of being involved in subversive acts. These cases, which were denounced as state and political crimes by the political opposition and also by the social organizations, threw a large cloud of doubt on the policy of "democratic security" carried out by the Colombian president of that country. This terrible discovery has put the Colombian country in the spotlight of several international organizations of human rights. A lot of executions were registered during the Colombian armed conflict in different places of the country. So far only low-ranking soldiers were charged for these events, which come to more than 3000 cases. During the last weeks many of those army personnel, who has been involved in those violent actions against subversive groups, were released by expiration of the terms in the investigation.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

King Pariksit, in disciplining the Personification of Kali, submitted to his earnest plea and granted him five places for his residence, irreligion to flourish. These are namely gambling, liquor and all other stimulants, illicit sexual intercourse, violence (brutal killing of defenseless creatures) and gold (money used in the service of the Lord properly does not fall into this category). … Violence to living creatures leads to a temperament devoid of compassion all together. Thus all forms of irreligiousness spring up from these vices.

Śrīla Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāja :
“Essence of Pure Devotion – Bhakti Siddhanta Sara”.
Part V – ‘Preaching and Self-Practice’.
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - http://bvml.org/SBPPG/index.htm

IRANIAN OPOSITION ACTIVISTS HANGED

TWO IRANIANS CONVICTED OF BEING "MOHAREB"
(ENEMIES OF GOD) WERE HANGED YESTERDAY

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran hanged two men convicted of being Mohareb (enemies of God), the first executions of dissidents since post-election protests, during the wake of the unrest that erupted after last year's disputed election. Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmani Pour were hanged on Thursday morning after their sentences were confirmed by a Tehran appeals court. Both were convicted of being "Mohareb" - enemies of God - and of trying to overthrow the "Islamic establishment". They were also convicted of belonging to armed opposition groups. Iran has tried more than 100 political activists and protesters since August. The opposition says that President Ahmadinejad only won because of massive electoral fraud. Hundreds of thousands have poured into the streets in Iran since then on various occasions to support Mr Ahmadinejad’s main challenger, the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. According to the news, Rahmani Pour, 19, had been arrested before the election, however he was put before the same mass trial as opposition leaders and activists arrested amid the crackdown, and was hanged yesterday. The lawyer for Rahmani Pour said the charges were political and the verdict "illegal and unjust". "He was aged 19 at the time of his arrest, and he had anything to do with the post-poll riots. An execution with this speed and rush has only one explanation ... the government is trying to prevent the expansion of the opposition movement through the spread of fear and intimidation," the lawyer said.

The United States strongly condemned the hangings. The White House has condemned Iran for executing two men accused of involvement in an armed anti-government group. "We see this as a low point in the Islamic Republic's unjust and ruthless crackdown on peaceful dissent. Murdering political prisoners exercising their universal rights will not bring the respect and legitimacy that Iran seeks," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters on Thursday.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Recently newspapers are reporting that faith in a personal God is diminishing. This means that people are becoming more and more foolish. This is natural in Kali-yuga, for as the age of Kali progresses, bodily strength, memory and mercy diminish. We actually see that the present generation is not as strong as the previous. People also have short memories. We also understand that sometimes people are killed while other people pass by, not caring. Thus mercy is also diminishing. Because everything is diminishing, God consciousness is diminishing also.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti”
“Chapter 6 - Verse 9”.

TWO KOREAS EXCHANGE SHOTS NEAR BORDER

CROSSFIRE BETWEEN THE TWO KOREAS
TENSIONS FLARE IN WATERS LONG DISPUTED

WASHINGTON (AP) - North Korea raised the stakes Wednesday in the fight-talk contest for advantage in negotiations with live-fire artillery exercises that once again put tensions on edge between the two Koreas. Yesterday, North Korea fired artillery rounds towards its disputed sea border, which prompted a barrage of warning shots from the South's military and increasing tensions on the divided peninsula. The Washington Times reports that, "no casualties or damages were reported, and analysts said the volley - which the North announced was part of a military drill - was likely move by Pyongyang to highlight the need for a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War." From its western coast, North Korea fired approximately 30 artillery rounds, and immediately, the South responded with 100 shots from a marine business on the island near the sea border, as claimed by an officer at the Joint Chiefs' of Staff in Seoul. North Korea earlier declared the area a no-sail zone, telling ships to stay away during test-firing, and explained that it would continue to fire rounds. The officer said that the North's artillery fire landed in it's own waters while the south fired into the air. Later Wednesday, North Korea issued a statement claiming it had fired artillery off its coast as part of an annual military drill and insists that it would continue to do so in the future. According to the Washington Times, "the western sea border - drawn by the American-led U.N. Command at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War - is a constant source of tension between the two Koreas, with the North insisting the line be moved further south."

On the other hand, the United States criticized North Korea as "provocative" and urged restraint after it fired artillery shells near its disputed maritime border with South Korea. "Although this is a bilateral issue between the North and the South, we clearly are discouraging of any further acts of aggression which would in any way increase the tensions along this historically disputed boundary area," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told a news conference.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

This world is full of suffering due to the deluding potency maya. … So we are mourning, we take birth, we die, take birth, “punar api janamam - punar api maranam”. Again and again we take birth. Again and again we die. It is told: if we surrender to the Supreme Lord Krishna, he is the Supreme Lord, and we surrender to him, then he will save us from suffering. He will save us. And how to surrender? Surrender is easy: “Oh Lord. You are the master of the universe. You are the creator of this universe. You are the protector of this universe. You are the savior of the universe.”.

Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Mahārāj:
“Lecture in Novo Mesto, Slovenia 26.6.1999”
Śrī Krishna Chaitanya Mission.

TOURISTS STRANDED IN PERU MUDSLIDES

MUDSLIDES STRAND MACHU PICCHU TOURISTS
HUNDREDS TRAPPED AROUND INCA RUINS, 7 DEAD

LIMA (Reuters) - A mudslide on the famed Inca trail to Machu Picchu killed tourists as authorities evacuated dozens of tourists by helicopter from a flood zone where nearly 2,000 more were still stranded. Peru scrambled helicopters to evacuate some 2,000 tourists stranded in the Andes on Tuesday after torrential rains and mudslides killed 7 people and cut off access to Peru's ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. Tourists became trapped at the World Heritage site in the jungle in eastern Peru after the heaviest rains in the area in 15 years flooded the zone over the weekend. The deaths raised to seven the number of people killed by heavy rains that have caused floods and landslides and collapsed homes. An Argentine tourist and a Peruvian guide were killed along the trail in separate mudslides, the government said, while two other deaths were reported over the weekend. The fifth person was killed when a hillside collapsed, and two more when their house collapsed. Authorities closed the Inca trail, a popular tourist trek that follows a stone path built by the ancient civilization from their capital, Cuzco, to the Machu Picchu citadel.

Machu Picchu, which was built in the mid-15th century and lies some 680 miles (1,100 km) southeast of Lima, is Peru's top tourist destination. Roughly a million people visit the site, which sits around 7,874 feet (2,400 metres) above sea-level, each year. The government declared a state of emergency and the company that runs trains between the Inca ruins and the nearby city of Cusco suspended services. Aside from the train, the only way to reach the ancient Incan site is to trek some 28 miles (45 km) through the mountains, a trip that takes on average 3 to 4 days. Authorities have evacuated hundreds of tourists by helicopter from the flood zone, and the airlifting operations are still performed today.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The way of devotional service is neither sentimental nor mundane. It is the path of reality by which the living entity can attain the transcendental happiness of being freed from the three kinds of material miseries - miseries arising from the body and mind, from other living entities and from natural disturbances. ... His happiness is nothing but a hard struggle to get free from the miseries of conditional life. But there is only one way he can be rescued, and that is by accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 3 - Chapter 5 - Verse 40.