‘Coal mafia killed Sr. Valsa John’

West Bengal, November 29, 2011: Baby John, brother of Sr. Valsa John, has claimed that his sister was killed by the coal mafia for whom she had become a “nuisance”.

“She had been under constant threat from Penam Coal Limited and had even told us about it when she visited us last,” he told ucanews.com.

John said that he is sad to have lost his sister but was proud of the fact that she stood steadfast for her mission.

Sr. John, who was brutally hacked to death on November 15, had been working among the tribal communities in Jharkands’s coal rich region of Santhal Parganas in Pachwara for the last 20 years.

Since early 2000, Penam Coal Mine Limited, a project of Punjab state electricity board and EMTA (Eastern Minerals and Trading Agency) from West Bengal, has been operating mines in the coal reserve of Pachwara and 32 surrounding villages.

To defend their rights over their land and its resources, the Santhal adivasi community had formed the Rajmahal Pahad Bachao Andolan.

Sr Valsa along with others worked to organise the community and were in the forefront of the resistance that was building against the exploitation by the coal company.

Despite the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the local community and Panem coal in 2006, tension had been mounting in the area, especially with regard to betrayal by the company.

John said that there were many incidents where the nun had raised her voice in support of the tribals which “provoked some influential people to eliminate her”.

– bijay kumar minj

Drink Water on an Empty Stomach

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases: Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis, asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

Method:

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by
taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:

1. High Blood Pressure – 30 days

2. Gastric – 10 days

3. Diabetes – 30 days

4. Constipation – 10 days

5. Cancer – 180 days

6. TB – 90 days

7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily.

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times. It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life.

Drink Normal Water – Be healthy and active.

This makes sense …. the Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain… For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this ‘sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

Note about heart attacks:

Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are sleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let’s be careful and be aware.

Putin and Communist leader among two million pilgrims to Virgin’s Holy Belt

Russia, November 28, 2011: A veritable ocean of people, with the center of the Russian capital brought to a standstill and the most unlikely candidates rushing to kneel in church. From November 19 to 27 the Holy Belt of the Virgin was on display in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. One of the most venerated relics of the Orthodox Christian world, it drew about 800 thousand pilgrims to Moscow, who have faced queues of up to 5 km with average 12-15 hour wait and sub-zero temperatures.

Not even in the Soviet times could the mummified corpse of Lenin boast such numbers. Political leaders, aware of the importance of the event, took advantage of the occasion to boost their visibility ahead of the legislative election on December 4. The prime minister and possible future Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the leader of the Communists, Gennady Ziuganov, were just some of the most famous figures who flocked to kiss the relic that here-to-fore had never left Mount Athos, where it is kept. Many others, bypassing the kilometer-long queue, arrived in front of the cathedral with sirens blaring and used preferential queues to the anger of waiting crowds.

For days it was difficult to even walk around Christ the Saviour. The police were forced to deploy 14 thousand agents to ensure security, who even demanded documents from pedestrians to cross the street.

The Holy Belt of the Virgin arrived in the Russian capital at the end of a tour of the Country, which began on October 24 from St. Petersburg. In all two million pilgrims flocked to venerate it in 14 different cities before arriving in the capital.

On average, the comments have pitted those who read the story as a “clear sign of the religious revival of the post-Soviet Russia”, and those who see it as proof of the “social desperation” that is gripping the country where the growth in the number of billionaires does not match a more widespread prosperity.

–  nina achmatova

Islamic Finance Needed for Infrastructure?

India, November 28, 2011: Will Islamic Finance play a key role in funding Asia’s huge Infrastructure task?

– A Standard & Poor’s [S&P] document released on October 13, 2011 mentions:

‘Financing multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects is rarely easy. But the current jittery state of the world’s lending markets is making the task of funding infrastructure developments – from power stations to railways – even harder. This issue is particularly pertinent for Asia, which is struggling to keep up with the escalating infrastructure needs of the region’s surging population amid solid economic growth. With the outlook for global lending markets still uncertain, part of the solutions for Asia may lie in finding alternatives to conventional financing. Islamic finance is one such alternative’.

The Document further says:

‘Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services believes that the growing and deepening market for Islamic financing is a key reason why we think this market is worth considering for the infrastructure sector. We also believe that infrastructure projects are a logical fit for Islamic finance, which is governed by Sharia and predicated on asset-backing and shared business risk. Indeed, we believe that the asset-backing nature of Islamic financing may provide a better funding match for infrastructure projects than traditional lenders, such as banks. What’s more, sukuk investors typically have an appetite for longer tenors than bank loans, and prefer stable and predictable cash flow–traits that are typically associated with infrastructure projects’.

About Asian Economic Growth and its infrastructure needs, it states:

‘As economies across Europe and the U.S. continue to struggle to regain momentum, it’s clear that Asia will remain a key driver of world economic growth in coming years. Estimates suggest that the population across Asia—already home to more than half of the world’s population–is set to surge in the next few decades. To cater for the region’s rapid growth, Asian governments will need significant developments and upgrades of its infrastructure. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently predicted that Asian economies require US$8 trillion over the next decade to fully address the region’s basic infrastructure needs, including developments in areas such as water, transportation, and energy. In particular, we believe demand for power sources will increase significantly’.

According to S&P report, Malaysia leads the way in Sharia based Sukuk Bonds to fund infrastructure and countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India need regulatory framework that create a level playing field between conventional finance and Islamic Finance. Learning from Malaysia tax initiatives is another important factor for the Islamic finance industry.

Economist Report

The Economist through its Economist Intelligence Unit – UIT – has brought out a report entitled – GCC trade and investment flows – The emerging market search – which says that emerging markets will drive global growth in the years ahead and forecast that around two-thirds of the world’s economic growth will be generated by the emerging markets in the next five years. This means that by 2015 emerging markets are projected to account for 41% of global GDP compared to an estimated 31% in 2011.

On Islamic Finance it mentions that Sukuk (Islamic Bonds) totaled up to US$ 23 billion in 2009 with cumulative issuance exceeding the US $ 100 billion mark.

In the emerging markets too China and India are the two countries which are currently focused by GCC countries. China is preferred for its huge manufacturing capacity compared to India, but India has an edge because of its historical relationship, there is a cultural affinity shared by the region and there are more than 6 million Indians in the Gulf.

Financial Need for Infrastructure

India’s infrastructural sector requires about US $ 1 billion in the 12th Five year plan, which is double the amount envisaged in the ongoing plan. The Indian Government has estimated a gap of US$300 (30% funding gap) in its target to achieve infrastructure investment of US$ 1 Trillion by 2017.

The debt for longer maturity is usually not available because of the various constraints such as absence of bench mark rates for raising long-term debt from the market, asset-liability mismatch of the tenure of debt incase when most of the financial institutions are on high cost of long-term debt. Banks can lend only around 70% of the raised deposits. In addition 40% of bank loans are allocated to priority sectors such as agriculture which curtails the total fund available for infrastructure. Recently Government of India has taken some policy measures like infrastructure debt fund (IDF) and has also allowed China’s Renminbi as an acceptable currency – under external commercial borrowings with an overall ceiling of US $ 1billion and also refinance of Rupee debt, etc. But these steps are not adequate enough to fill the gap.

In a recent report of ‘Standard & Poor’s’ entitled ‘Can India’s developing infrastructure keep pace with the Economic Growth? Its credit analyst Raju Viswanathan talks of India’s inadequate infrastructure to be a major road block to the country’s target of achieving, 9.0 – 9.5% annual growth in 2012-2017.

Prospects of Islamic Finance

About US$ 800 billion Gulf money from US and Europe is looking towards East – India and China after 9/11 episode. An estimated US$ 1.5 trillion funds are sloshing around the Middle East and it will have US$ 8 trillion to invest by 2020.

It is high time that India should develop Islamic Sukuk markets seeking guidance from Malaysia or Middle East experts. Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India has to co-ordinate with Accounting and Auditing Organizations of Islamic Financial Institute (AAOIFI), Bahrain and Islamic Finance Service Board (IFSB), Malaysia to amend its Banking and Financial regulations and provide a level playing field for Islamic Finance and Banking along with conventional financial banking as done in modern, secular and industrialized countries like UK, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and France to become a developed country with 9.0 -9.5% growth with the Islamic Finance in the infrastructure development. China has already made a base in Hong Kong to be an Islamic Finance Hub by amending its banking and financial regulation along with taxation policies thus, Hong Kong has become an effective corridor for Islamic Finance. It has also joined Islamic Finance Service Board of Malaysia.

‘Simple regulatory changes to transform India into a regional hub for Sharia complaint finance and clear the way for a much needed wave of investments into its infrastructure’, writes Ben Fromine in his well documented article ‘The dawn of Islamic Finance’ in India Business Law Journal, June 2008.

– h abdur raqeeb

NCCI against FDI in retail sector

Meghalaya, November 29, 2011: The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) has expressed its reservation over the government’s decision to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.

It has asked the government to provide a level-playing field for small, marginal and landless farmers as also local entrepreneurs.

“What is needed of the government is to augment the livelihood of small and marginal farmers through incentives, opening marketing avenues for their produces,” said P. B. M. Basaiawmoit, NCCI vice president.

“The government should provide road transport and communication infrastructure and stablise oil cost,” he added.

Basaiawmoit said that as farmers in Meghalaya and other hill states are totally dependent on road transport, a constant rise of oil prices will be a disincentive along with reduction in subsidies annually.

Terming the decision of the union cabinet as a “hasty decision”, he said “it will not solve inflation or food scarcity in the country.”

Such unilateral decisions on a matter of livelihood for producers and farming community are like giving a prescription without knowing the root of the illness, he said.

The government’s decision led to protest by the opposition and Trinamool Congress in the Parliament.

– msn.com

Bihar private minority schools demand RTE amendment

Bihar, November 28, 2011: “On the initiative of several Muslim organizations and individuals, Central Government has amended some sections of Right to Education Act (RTE) which were clashing with Article 29 & 30 of Constitution of India which give guarantee to the minority to establish and run their own educational institutes. But Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Government implemented RTE with controversial sections which is a severe threat to private schools” said Abdul Qayyum Ansari, Secretary of Anjuman Traqqi Urdu Bihar. He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Problems of private minority schools and RTE’ which was organized by Anjuman Traqqi Urdu Bihar in collaboration with All India Minority Educational Board and Federation of Muslim Educational Institutes on 27th Nov. at Urdu Bhawan in Patna.

Mr. Ansari lashed out at Bihar Government for issuing notification to all private schools to get registered with the government by 30th Nov. 2011 otherwise be ready for paying fine of Rs. 10000 per day. “I am warning Bihar government to implement amended version of RTE and not to try to interfere with the fundamental right of minority community, otherwise I will file case in High Court and drag Bihar government on the issue” he said adding “We will not register our schools with the government until it implements amended RTE Act.”

Notably, Abdul Qayyum Ansari is one of those who filed case with National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) against several articles of RTE Act. The NCMEI gave judgment in the favour of Mr. Ansari which was accepted by Central Government. For example, amending in Article 2(n) of RTE, the Central Government said that Madarsas and religious institutions which are imparting religious education will not come under the ambit of RTE. Moreover, in Article 5 of amended RTE Act, the government instructed state governments that while implementing RTE the facilities should not be snatched from minority institutions that they get under Articles 29& 30 of Constitution of India. But while issuing notification Bihar Government ignored all these things.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Nazir Ahmad, Director of Al-Hira Public School, Patna pointed out that according to RTE Act all schools need to be registered with government and they must have 2 acre land and if they do not have they should get it within 3 years. Otherwise schools will be shut down. “This will lead to shutting down of thousands of schools in the state because there are many which are being run in small places and many others which are run in rented house. So from where they will get 2 acre land to function school?” he added. Mr. Shahid Hassan, director of Al-Mahad Ayesha Siddiqa, Motihari, expressed his concern over several sections of RTE. “I Think the present form of ATE Act is an attempt to shut down private schools and hand over the education to multinational companies because the conditions for schools can be fulfilled only by big industries and not a common man. Like economic zones, schools will be run by these companies and process of that already started.”

In his speech, Dr. Jagannath Mishra, former Chief Minister of Bihar, said: “I appreciate and welcome RTE Act but there many faults that should be corrected otherwise it is going to shut down educational institutions thus depriving many people of education instead of opening the door of education for them.” He further said: “I am in favour of registration but not with unnecessary conditions. Because it is duty of government to provide education to all citizens and private schools are helping government in this regard. So, they should be registered with the government and government should give all kinds of assistance without interfering with management.” Dr. Mishra also said that there should be special concentration on quality of education because it is need of the time. He assured all kind of help on his part. “I request Abdul Qayyum Ansari sahib to prepare a list of the issues and problems being faced by minority educational institutions, I will go with you to Chief Minister, state HRD minister and if needed the central HRD Minister.”

– tcn

Do not lose your public voice – Pope to bishops

Vatican City, November 26 2011: Pope Benedict XVI has told bishops of the United States not to be silenced by those who seek to muzzle Catholicism in public life. “Despite attempts to still the Church’s voice in the public square, many people of good will continue to look to her for wisdom, insight and sound guidance,” Pope Benedict said in his address to 20 bishops of New York gathered in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Nov. 26. The Pope called upon them to “exercise the prophetic dimension of your Episcopal ministry by speaking out, humbly yet insistently, in defense of moral truth, and offering a word of hope, capable of opening hearts and minds to the truth that sets us free.” New York’s bishops are in Rome for their regular “ad limina” visit to update the Pope and the Vatican on the health of the Church in their state. Their delegation is the second of 15 U.S. groups that will make their way to Rome in the coming months.

The dioceses represented this morning were New York, Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rockville Centre and Syracuse. At the Apostolic Palace, they heard from Pope Benedict about the need for a “new evangelization” of the United States, where people of many religious and political persuasions have shown an “increased sense of concern … for the future of our democratic societies.”  Their concern stems from “a troubling breakdown in the intellectual, cultural and moral foundations of social life,” accompanied by “a growing sense of dislocation and insecurity, especially among the young, in the face of wide-ranging societal changes.” A new evangelization of this society, the Pope said, would require spiritual and intellectual renewal within the Church. “We ourselves are the first to need re-evangelization,” he said, adding that “only through such interior renewal will we be able to discern and meet the spiritual needs of our age with the ageless truth of the Gospel.”  

Catholic universities, he noted, should play a leading role in bringing the Gospel to society. Pope Benedict praised those schools that had found “a renewed sense of their ecclesial mission” and shown faithfulness to their Catholic identity. “Young people have a right to hear clearly the Church’s teaching and, most importantly, to be inspired by the coherence and beauty of the Christian message,” the Pope stated, “so that they in turn can instill in their peers a deep love of Christ and his Church.” He praised the bishops for tackling clerical abuse, saying the Church’s “conscientious efforts to confront this reality” could “help the broader community to recognize the causes, true extent and devastating consequences of sexual abuse, and to respond effectively to this scourge which affects every level of society.” Pope Benedict added that the Church is “rightly held to exacting standards in this regard,” and said “all other institutions, without exception, should be held to the same standards.”

The Pope also welcomed the new English translation of the Mass, saying the new translation should inspire an “ongoing catechesis,” helping the faithful grasp “the true nature of the liturgy” as a participation in “Christ’s saving sacrifice for the redemption of the world.”  The Pope indicated that a right understanding of worship was essential for the Church’s mission in society. “A weakened sense of the meaning and importance of Christian worship,” he observed, “can only lead to a weakened sense of the specific and essential vocation of the laity to imbue the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.” In the afternoon the visiting bishops celebrated Mass together at the basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, where the apostle St. Paul is buried. The “ad limina” visit takes its name from the Latin phrase “ad limina apostolorum,” meaning “to the threshold of the apostles” Sts. Peter and Paul. The visiting bishops also offered Mass at St. Peter’s tomb.

– cna/ewtn news

Passbook

Piya married Hitesh this day.

At the end of the wedding party, Piya ‘s mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook.
 
With Rs.1000 deposit amount.
 
Mother: Piya , take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life.
 
When there’s something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in.
 
Write down what it’s about next to the line.
 
The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in.
 
I’ve done the first one for you today.
 
Do the others with Hitesh.
 
When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you’ve had.’
 
Piya shared this with Hitesh when getting home.
 
They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.
 
This was what they did after certain time:
 
– 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage
 
– 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Piya
 
– 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
 
– 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Piya got pregnant
 
– 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted
 
…. and so on…
 
However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things.
 
They didn’t talk much.
 
They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world…. no more love…
 
Kind of typical nowadays, huh?
 
One day Piya talked to her Mother:
 
‘Mom, we can’t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce.
 
I can’t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!’
 
Mother: ‘Sure, girl, that’s no big deal.
 
Just do whatever you want if you really can’t stand it.
 
But before that, do one thing first.
 
Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day?
 
Take out all money and spend it first.
 
You shouldn’t keep any record of such a poor marriage.’
 
Piya thought it was true.
 
So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account.
 
While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record.
 
She looked, and looked, and looked.
 
Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind.
 
Her eyes were then filled with tears.
 
She left and went home.
 
When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.
 
The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Piya.
 
She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record:
 
‘This is the day I notice how much I’ve loved you thru out all these years.
 
How much happiness you’ve brought me.’
 
They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.
 
Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired?
 
I did not ask.
 
I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

– When you fall, in any way, Don’t see the place where you fell, Instead see the place from where you slipped.
Life is about correcting mistakes.

-fwd: sathurine dsouza

Release Anti-blasphemy Muslim protestors of Jalna – Abu Asim Azmi

Maharashtra, November 28, 2011: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party chief Abu Asim Azmi has demanded release of over 50 Muslim youths who were arrested last week in Jalna when they were protesting against an alleged case of blasphemy on social networking site Facebook. The SP leader also demanded compensation for the family who lost father due to heart attack after the arrest of his son. “Release Muslim youths who were arrested while agitating against the blasphemy on the facebook by an unknown person” Abu Asim Azmi, President of Samajwadi Party Maharashtra and Rashid Tahir Momin, party MLA of Bhiwandi demanded in a letter to RR Patil, Home Minister of Maharashtra.
 
On 22nd November, Muslims agitated against the blasphemous act on the facebook. Muslim youths asked shopkeepers to shut down their shutters. Police arrested 56 youths under article 395 and 307. Abdul Qadir Chaudhary, Secretary and spokesperson of Samajwadi Party Maharashtra said, “Muslim youths were angry against the insult and they have been falsely implicated.” In the letter to the Home Minister, Abu Asim Azmi wrote, “Articles imposed on Muslim Youth are harsh and they can never be forced on them.” Few days later Police released 8 out of 56 youths and remaining 48 are kept in custody in remote areas like Terbhul and Badnapur because of which the parents are afraid of their security. Fathers of two youths died due to heart attack and the situation is said to be very tense in Jalna.
 
– tcn

US Catholic Church V/s Obama Admin Showdown

USA, November 28, 2011: The Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the upcoming showdown between the Obama administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Catholic Church: On December 1, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform will hold a hearing titled, “HHS and the Catholic Church: Examining the Politicization of Grants.” At issue is the decision by the Obama administration to deny a grant that the Catholic Church routinely receives providing for relief to the victims of human trafficking; the ruling was made despite an independent review board’s finding that gave high scores to the Church’s program. The Church was denied the grant because it refuses to offer abortion referrals. Many Catholics, including the Catholic League, believe that the politicized nature of the decision to defund the program demands a hearing, and on Thursday we will get it. Since 2006, the Church has helped more than 2,700 trafficking victims, most of whom are women and children.
 
Although the issue of abortion referral is on the table, the real issue is something more sinister: the pro-abortion community, which is supporting the Obama administration’s push to mandate that private healthcare plans provide coverage for sterilization and contraceptive services, has its real sights set on mandated abortion coverage. That’s why there has been an editorial and op-ed explosion in recent weeks calling for Obama to stand up to the bishops. Everyone knows that even minimum-wage earners can afford contraceptives, so this issue hardly explains the heated rhetoric. What mandated contraceptive services accomplish is that it greases the slide towards abortion coverage. Those who do not ascribe to the vision of sexuality entertained by “progressives,” but are nonetheless not terribly bothered by the push for contraceptive services in healthcare plans, need to wake up and smell the odor before the “progressives” start racing for home. We’re at the top of the stretch right now, which is why this hearing is critical.
 
– jeff field

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