From chintan.backups at gmail.com Fri Apr 1 10:14:12 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 10:14:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Islamic Mysticism Really Islam? - A Huffington Post article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omid-safi/is-islamic-mysticism-real_b_841438.html *Is Islamic Mysticism Really Islam?* By Omid Safi Author, 'Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters ' Posted: 03/30/11 12:22 AM ET There is a lovely story from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, remembering that a mysterious visitor came upon him and his companions. The visitor, later revealed to be the archangel Gabriel, proceeded to sit intimately next to Muhammad and quiz the Prophet. He asked Muhammad about three increasingly higher and deeper levels of religiosity, which the Prophet answered sequentially as Islam (wholehearted submission to God), Faith and, lastly, Loveliness (*ihsan*). This third quality the Prophet identified as worshipping God as if we could see the Divine, and if we cannot, to always remember that God nevertheless sees us. The sequence is fascinating, as it reveals that what we think of as Islam (the attestation to Divine Unity, the performance of the prayers, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the paying of the alms tax, the fast of Ramadan) mark only the very first layer -- though the foundational layer -- of religiosity. Above that is faith, and above faith is the spiritual and mystical layer of spiritual beauty, for ihsan is literally the realm of actualizing and realizing beauty and loveliness (*husn*), of bringing beauty into this world and connecting it to God, who is the All-Beautiful. Throughout Islamic history, this realm of ihsan was most emphatically pursued by the mystics of Islam, the Sufis. Historically, this mystical realm of Islam formed a powerful companion to the legal dimension of Islam (sharia). Indeed, many of the mystics of Islam were also masters of legal and theological realms. The cultivation of inward beauty and outward righteous action were linked in many of important Islamic institutions. In comparing Islam with Judaism, the mystical dimension of Islam was much more prominently widespread than Kabbalah. And unlike the Christian tradition, the mysticism of Islam was not cloistered in monasteries. Sufis were -- and remain -- social and political agents who went about seeking the Divine in the very midst of humanity. After the Prophet Muhammad, many of the most influential of all Muslims were and remain mystics. Mawlana Jalal al-Din Balkhi, known to Turks as Mevlana and to Americans as Rumi, remains the most beloved of all Sufi poets, whose Masnavi was perhaps the only work ever compared directly with the Quran. Ibn 'Arabi, the Spanish Muslim sage, remains the most widely read metaphysician, and his school of "Unity of Being" (*Wahdat al-wujud*) has been both influential and controversial from Spain to Indonesia. The most important Muslim theologian, al-Ghazali, identified the realm of Sufism as the highest Islamic quest for knowledge, one that dealt most directly with other-worldly matters. Nor was the practice of Islamic mysticism limited to intellectuals and poets. At the level of popular practice, some of the Sufi shrines received as many (if not more) annual visitors that the Mecca does for the Hajj pilgrimage. Entire Muslim-majority regions (Iran, Turkey, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc.) came to develop understandings of Islam that are and remain inseparable from mystical understandings of Islam. Much of the higher dimensions of Islamic aesthetics (calligraphy and poetry) have been inseparable from Sufism. And yet, today, the word "Sufi" is a highly suspect one for many modern Muslims, and even thinkers and preachers whose frameworks and anecdotes are permeated with those of the mystical dimension of Islam eschew the mere mention of the word Sufi, either not wanting to alienate their suspicious audience or not wishing to "erode" their authority by connecting their teachings to anything other than the Quran and the example of the Prophet. So how did such a powerful and beautiful dimension of Islam come to be viewed with such suspicion by so many Muslims? The marginalization of Sufism came about through an initially unlikely perfect storm, an alliance of European Orientalists and conservative/modernist Muslims, whose agenda in demarcating Islam from Sufism ironically supports that of certain New-Agey Universalists who sought to extract Sufism out of Islam. Let's explore this somewhat odd association a bit more closely. The Orientalist scholars (whose approach began in Europe and dominated much of the American scholarly engagement with Islam) based their approach on a study of Islam that privileged "classical" legal and theological Arabic texts from 800-1100 C.E. Of all those texts, the most important ones were held to be the ones closest historically to the "foundational" period. The Orientalists became interested in Sufism very early on, almost as early as their translations of the Quran. They found themselves attracted to the deep beauty and wisdom of Sufi poetry, particularly from Persian. Quite inconveniently for them, they were also committed to a bifurcated view that divided the world into Semitic (Arabs and Jews, characterized primarily by law, monotheism, and dry deserts) and Indo-Europeans (Hindus, Europeans and Iranians, who lived through philosophy, art, mysticism and logic). The Orientalists had no problem thinking that entire blocks of humanity share certain "mentalities" and "temperaments" connected to their languages. Even though they admired the poetry of mystics like Sa'di, Hafez and Rumi, they could not admit that Muslims (who were "Semitic" after all) could come up with such beauty, mysticism and poetry. Therefore, the Orientalists decreed that Sufism must be "un-Islamic" and due to Christian, Persian, Hindu or Neoplatonic "influences" -- anything but Islam, anything but the experience of Prophet Muhammad in encountering God, which is what the Sufis have always claimed as the primary source of their inspiration! The Muslim conservative/modernists (what we broadly refer to as the Salafi tradtion) came to have a profound distrust of what might be termed "the tradition(s) of Islam," believing that the historical tradition of Islamic scholarship -- and the scholars who had been the authoritative interpreters of Islam -- were increasingly irrelevant to the historical trials and tribulations through which 19th and 20th century Muslims were suffering. They wanted to remain pious and observant Muslims, but believed that the way to return to the "glory days" of Islam was to "return" to the original spirit of vitality and authenticity of Islam, before the influence of "foreign ideas" crept into Islam, sapping its authenticity. These foreign ideas they equated both culturally (the contribution of Persians, Indians, Turks, etc.) and intellectually (the traditions of philosophy, mysticism and all non-scriptural sciences). The idea for the Muslim modernists was that the remedy for Islam consisted of a textual return "away from the blemishes ... of the later phases" back to "yearning for truth" of the founders of Islam. In this, they found themselves oddly in full-agreement with the orientalists. They came to be suspicious of many traditions of Islamic thought and practice that developed through time, including that of Sufism. Perhaps most polemically, they identified Sufism as having contributed to a corrupt and inward-looking mentality that allowed the colonial powers to dominate Muslims. Throughout Islamic history, particular Sufi ideas and practices (such as the "Unity of Being," certain meditation techniques and commemoration of the Prophet's birthday) had always been contested by other Muslims. It was in this modern and modernist context that the whole of Islamic mysticism came to be viewed with great suspicion as being un-Islamic if not outright anti-Islamic. So where do the New Agers come into play? It was only in the 20th century that human beings became capable of uttering a sentence like "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual." Historically all religious traditions have had mystical dimensions, and their mystical traditions have arisen within the very depth of each tradition, partaking of its key symbols and emulating the spiritual experiences of its main exemplars. It was in this modern context that a deep and new suspicion of the outward forms and institutions of religion was cultivated, with people who believed that they were on the edge (or already inside) a "New Age" of human consciousness. It was these new Agers who, dissatisfied with their own experiences of Judaism and Christianity, turned "East" to the mystical traditions of Buddhism, Hindu traditions and Islam to obtain the mystical truth that they so yearned for -- without necessarily wanting to adopt the legal and institutional aspects of those traditions. In many cases, the engagements were complicated by colonial politics, as the "eastern" traditions of wisdom were connected to colonized countries that many of the same Westerners looked down upon, even as they were fascinated by them. So what we have had for the last few decades is a situation of Orientalists and Salafi Muslims seeking to construct a "real Islam" that is untainted by Sufi dimensions, and many new agers seek to extract a mysticism that stands above and disconnected from wider, broader and deeper aspects of Islam. Yes we have learned that the human yearning for the Divine, for beauty, for love and for loveliness is too deeply engrained in the human spirit to be partitioned off or exiled. Today, many Muslims world-wide are increasingly dissatisfied with what they see as dry as stale bread interpretations and practices of Islam, and want -- and demand -- something more spiritual and more beautiful. They know about the deep spiritual experience of the Prophet Muhammad, who came face to face with God, and they too yearn for their own spiritual experiences. All Muslims seek to emulate the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran reminds them that if you love God, follow Muhammad. The mystically oriented among Muslims take the emulation a bit more literally: If Muhammad arose to have his own face-to-face encounter with the Divine, they too aspire to rise in the footsteps of the Prophet, to have their own meeting with God. As it was said of the great Rumi, they too want to be "off-springs of the soul of Muhammad." *Omid Safi is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. He is the Co-Chair of the Islamic Mysticism Group at the American Academy of Religion, and the author of 'Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters' (HarperOne, 2009).* From chintan.backups at gmail.com Fri Apr 1 12:37:19 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:37:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Learning with Kabir workshop 2011 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *Learning with Kabir - 2011* ** ‘Learning with Kabir’ is a four-day residential workshop for educators, offering a lyrical and critical immersion in the poetry, songs and ideas of Kabir, the 15th century mystic whose voice speaks in powerful ways to our contemporary worlds. The intention is to bring together a diverse group of educators who are seeding and growing ideas for journeying with Kabir into a variety of learning contexts—schools, colleges, universities, non-formal education and children’s publishing – to explore ideas related to mystic poetry, folk music, oral traditions, the politics of knowledge, the divide between self and other and the power of direct experience as opposed to received truths. While being an immersion in the poetry of Kabir, we also want this workshop to be a platform for educators to share with each other their explorations with Kabir in the classroom. We are aware that each learning context has its own flavour, strengths and challenges; yet we hope there will be synergies by interactions with a wider community of fellow educators. While participants would primarily be persons/institutions who are already partnering in some way with the Kabir Project (www.kabirproject.org), we are equally excited about making new friends and partners. The workshop will combine structured group exercises with spaces for quiet individual reflection, and there will be lots of singing! Workshop Facilitators – Shabnam Virmani & Chintan Girish Modi Invited Folk Singer Resource Person – Mahesha Ram ji, Rajasthan When: May 18-21, 2011 Where: The School of Ancient Wisdom, Devanahalli, Bangalore We would like to limit the number of participants to 20 in the spirit of keeping it intimate and interactive, so please mail us at the earliest saying why you would like to join in, along with a brief paragraph or two about your interests, work, and expectations from the workshop. Mail Chintan at chintan.backups at gmail.com, or call up at +9-97427 15913 Travel expenses to and from Bangalore will have to be borne by the participants. Participants with institutional resources to support workshop expenses are encouraged to contribute. List of confirmed participants: Rakesh Ganguli (Open Space/CCDS, Pune) Jyoti Sahi (Art Ashram, Bangalore) Kavita Anand (Shishuvan School, Mumbai) Jayashree Janardhan (Creative School, Bangalore) Reshma Madhusudan (Creative School, Bangalore) Venu (Azim Premji University, Bangalore) Deepa Kamath (Valley School, Bangalore) From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Apr 1 13:04:23 2011 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:34:23 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Jashn-e-Faiz - All day mega-event - 17 April - register now ! Message-ID: ** Jashn-e-Faiz On 2011-04-17 At CDGK Sports Complex, Karachi http://cfdpk.org/signup.php?event=3 ------------------------------ ***Uthay ga Unal Haq ka Nara!* *On the centenary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, in a celebration of the renowned poet’s progressive values and his humanist philosophy, Citizens For Democracy (CFD) invites you to a mega event on Sunday 17th April 2011 at the Kashmir Road Sports Complex, Karachi. Thousands of people from all over the city will come together with celebrities and intellectuals to speak - through music, poetry and drama - for a society free from fear and tyranny. Concerts, mushairas, seminars and rallies will be held during the day-long event. Well known names such as Strings, Laal, Ali Zafar, Tina Sani and Abida Parveen will be performing to add their voice to those of other citizens of Karachi. We expect an enjoyable and inspiring day full of arts and cultural events in an effort to reclaim public space and counter extremist forces that have marginalized the constitutional rights of Pakistanis. Entrance will be Rs. 20/- for all citizens and will draw people from all walks of life to come together and raise a voice in celebration of the diversity of faiths, cultures, and ethnicities that are the soul of Pakistan. If you wish to attend this event register here Find more details about the event here . If you are an organisation or group who would like to participate click here. * - *HOME* - *ABOUT US* - *CONTACT US* From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Apr 1 17:43:15 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:13:15 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Job opportunity - Project Associates at CCMG, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi In-Reply-To: <20110401092232.124D38E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> References: <20110401092232.124D38E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> Message-ID: <8CDBE7D504E9C7B-1390-282D6@webmail-m139.sysops.aol.com> The Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi invites applications for Project Associates for the Exhibition Policy Research Project. The Centre for Culture, Media and Governance (CCMG) was established in 2006, as part of Jamia Millia Islamia’s endeavour to foster interdisciplinary orientations and nurture emergent fields of study. CCMG is configured as a focal point of research, teaching, training and policy advocacy in the domain of communication in South Asia. CCMG is the Nodal Centre for Curatorial/Exhibition Policy Research and Advocacy for the Curatorship Programme initiated and supported by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). CCMG will conduct a research project that will study curatorial activity within institutional structures, political and economic environments, and the evolving relationship between aesthetics and spectatorship; the practice of exhibition and public culture. For more information on IFA’s Curatorship Programme please visit: http://www.indiaifa.org/article.asp?id=645&viewType=online The Project will run for the duration of 24 months. The positions will be based in New Delhi. Eligibility: Project Associate- 1 Remuneration: The compensation package will be Rs 24, 000 pm. 1. MPhil in Curatorship/Media Art/Design, with MA & BA in Fine/Visual/Commercial Arts, from a National/International University 2. At least 3 years work experience as an arts practitioner (including residencies, fellowships, grants, commissioned & independent work) 3. Experience in Arts Education/Pedagogy in formal &/or non-formal setting, with a mix of field-based and classroom-based portfolio of activities 4. Detailed knowledge of Word processing, Graphics/Visual Design and Web design software Project Associate -2 (Position likely to become available) Remuneration: The compensation package will be Rs 18, 000 pm. 1. MA in Art History/Aesthetics or MA in Sociology/Anthropology/Cultural Studies/History, with similar/related subjects at BA level, from a National/International University 2. Proven ability in gathering primary data, interviewing/oral documentation and specialised arts writing 3. Detailed knowledge of Word processing and Graphics/Visual Design Deadline: Applications (both hard and soft copies) should include your CV, contact number and email address. The deadline for receipt of applications is April 6, 2010. No TA/DA will be paid to the Candidates. Applications should be sent to: Prof. Biswajit Das Centre for Culture, Media and Governance Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi 110025 Email: biswas.das at gmail.com gajan.sonu at gmail.com http://www.jmi.ac.in/jobs/jobs2011/jobs.ccmg.2011april6.pdf From chintan.backups at gmail.com Sat Apr 2 15:48:32 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 15:48:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pressure-cooked kids: An article by Anita Vachharajani Message-ID: >From http://aniamit.blogspot.com/2011/03/pressure-cooked-kids.html Pressure-cooked kids By Anita Vachharajani Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which I reviewed for the DNAsome weeks back, is causing a sharp intake of breath among educationists everywhere. The book is about her life as a hysterical over-ambitious parent, and what disturbed me, personally, is that she is not the only one out there. Whether it’s Ms Chua in America, or Mrs Rao in Matunga, pushing kids to ‘reach their potential’ begins much earlier these days. Moms I meet at school look at me like I just crawled in from under a particularly grimy rock when I tell them that my 6-year-old has only just begun to learn basketball and music. I can see their antennae quivering: Neglectful Mom Alert! One lady has been ‘showing’ her kid books of maths tables from the time he was 3; put him in Abacus classes by 4; ‘piano’ or keyboard classes (yes, it’s not just the humble ‘Casio’ anymore) by 4.5; and of course, chess by 5. Another, the mom of a 7-year-old musically gifted child, takes him for Hindustani, Carnatic, and ‘piano’ classes on alternative days, after he’s done seven hours at school. Being excessively liberal, she says, ‘If he finds it too much, I have told him to tell me.’ Yeah, right. See, kids live to please the adults in their lives. Practically everything is acceptable because they don’t know of alternatives. That’s why we, as parents, need to calm the heck down. Among the favoured classes these days are ‘phonetics’ (doesn’t matter that the term is wrongly used), grammar, tuition, dance, music, Abacus, Vedic Maths, story-telling, creativity, taekwondo and chess. Having shoved their clueless kids into strangers’ homes, mummies enjoy a bit of that precious commodity – free time. And they’ve earned it by paying to have their kids ‘build their potential’ and ‘increase their confidence’, no? It doesn’t matter that being pressurized to do too much early in life can actually lead to anxiety and diffidence in kids. Increasingly, psychologists tell us that unstructured time – when children hang about with friends or figure out ways to engage themselves – is important. Between school hours and various classes, what about this generation’s unstructured time? Most of us grew up with time which we were allowed to cheerfully waste. Turns out, that ‘wasted’ time – when we could do what we liked – is actually an important tool to de-stress and to build creativity. The real risk with parents who ‘work so hard’ is that they start expecting rewards. If Aryaman doesn’t make the building aunties swoon at a ‘society function’, then why did we send him to all those Hindustani Music classes, yaar? And if he does sweep ’em off their feet, then, you know, how about Indian Idol next? Alarmingly, The Guardian’s Terri Apter notes that over-parented kids often grow up to be ‘compliant and devious’, ‘obsessed with grades and lacking interest in their subjects’. Every generation gets the sort of writing on education which reflects its beliefs and aspirations. In the last century Maria Montessori, Rabindranath Tagore, Waldorf Steiner, Aurobindo, Gijubhai Badheka and others propagated a humanistic, benevolent approach to learning. The 70s had John Holt, who advocated homeschooling. It would be truly sad but telling if Amy Chua – who slaps and stresses-out her kids – were to write our generation’s educational classic! From geetaseshu at gmail.com Sat Apr 2 18:43:50 2011 From: geetaseshu at gmail.com (geeta seshu) Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 18:43:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pressure-cooked kids: An article by Anita Vachharajani In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: she means rudolph steiner...not waldorf! On Sat, Apr 2, 2011 at 3:48 PM, Chintan Girish Modi < chintan.backups at gmail.com> wrote: > From http://aniamit.blogspot.com/2011/03/pressure-cooked-kids.html > > Pressure-cooked kids > > By Anita Vachharajani > > Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which I reviewed for the > DNAsome weeks back, is causing a sharp intake of breath among > educationists > everywhere. The book is about her life as a hysterical over-ambitious > parent, and what disturbed me, personally, is that she is not the only one > out there. > > Whether it’s Ms Chua in America, or Mrs Rao in Matunga, pushing kids to > ‘reach their potential’ begins much earlier these days. Moms I meet at > school look at me like I just crawled in from under a particularly grimy > rock when I tell them that my 6-year-old has only just begun to learn > basketball and music. I can see their antennae quivering: Neglectful Mom > Alert! > > One lady has been ‘showing’ her kid books of maths tables from the time he > was 3; put him in Abacus classes by 4; ‘piano’ or keyboard classes (yes, > it’s not just the humble ‘Casio’ anymore) by 4.5; and of course, chess by > 5. > Another, the mom of a 7-year-old musically gifted child, takes him for > Hindustani, Carnatic, and ‘piano’ classes on alternative days, after he’s > done seven hours at school. Being excessively liberal, she says, ‘If he > finds it too much, I have told him to tell me.’ Yeah, right. See, kids live > to please the adults in their lives. Practically everything is acceptable > because they don’t know of alternatives. That’s why we, as parents, need to > calm the heck down. > > Among the favoured classes these days are ‘phonetics’ (doesn’t matter that > the term is wrongly used), grammar, tuition, dance, music, Abacus, Vedic > Maths, story-telling, creativity, taekwondo and chess. Having shoved their > clueless kids into strangers’ homes, mummies enjoy a bit of that precious > commodity – free time. And they’ve earned it by paying to have their kids > ‘build their potential’ and ‘increase their confidence’, no? It doesn’t > matter that being pressurized to do too much early in life can actually > lead > to anxiety and diffidence in kids. > > Increasingly, psychologists tell us that unstructured time – when children > hang about with friends or figure out ways to engage themselves – is > important. Between school hours and various classes, what about this > generation’s unstructured time? Most of us grew up with time which we were > allowed to cheerfully waste. Turns out, that ‘wasted’ time – when we could > do what we liked – is actually an important tool to de-stress and to build > creativity. > > The real risk with parents who ‘work so hard’ is that they start expecting > rewards. If Aryaman doesn’t make the building aunties swoon at a ‘society > function’, then why did we send him to all those Hindustani Music classes, > yaar? And if he does sweep ’em off their feet, then, you know, how about > Indian Idol next? Alarmingly, The Guardian’s Terri Apter notes that > over-parented kids often grow up to be ‘compliant and devious’, ‘obsessed > with grades and lacking interest in their subjects’. > > Every generation gets the sort of writing on education which reflects its > beliefs and aspirations. In the last century Maria Montessori, Rabindranath > Tagore, Waldorf Steiner, Aurobindo, Gijubhai Badheka and others propagated > a > humanistic, benevolent approach to learning. The 70s had John Holt, who > advocated homeschooling. It would be truly sad but telling if Amy Chua – > who > slaps and stresses-out her kids – were to write our generation’s > educational > classic! > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From chintan.backups at gmail.com Sun Apr 3 00:06:12 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 00:06:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Shape of Emptiness - Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's photography exhibition In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: >From http://openthemagazine.com/article/arts/the-shape-of-emptiness *The Shape of Emptiness* By Rahul Bhatia 19 February 2011 The day after Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi’s exhibition of photographs opened noisily at a cosy space in Mumbai’s Ballard Estate, Matthieu Foss, the tall Frenchman whose will runs the gallery, stood before an image of a clothing line. Foss gestured at a picture of the writer’s clothes hung beside his father’s, and said, “You know, I like to think this is homage from a son to his father.” *The House Next Door*, Shanghvi’s exhibition, is about his father, who features in many of the 27 monochrome pictures on display. But it’s just as much about a widower, about a man affected by brain cancer, and about how these calamities forced new meaning into the simple acts that make up the days of our lives. In one image, Shanghvi records his father seated alone on his bed. He wears spectacles, and looks on at a scene we can’t see. We can’t see his eyes, but we can interpret his thoughts, and just as well infer emptiness. His shape weighs on the frame. His burden weighs on the room around him. What he sees is unimportant. This is what Shanghvi sees. Few other pictures here portray the burden and guilt of his father’s loneliness as elegantly as this one. His father is here, but he’s also someplace else. This bothers Shanghvi, for he misses his father’s old self. It’s a self that shaped him, and those traits, now gone, force the writer to come to terms with his own mortality; when the memories associated with a time fade, that time is lost too. ‘He had a temper that terrified us,’ Shanghvi wrote in his introduction to the show, ‘which we were relieved to see go: the chemo blasted it away, along with everything else… But without his temper, he was difficult to realise, and one afternoon my sister pointed out that all along, our father had been waiting for us behind it. This gentle, slightly befuddled and disarming man was who he really was. And now without his anger he seems unfamiliar to us.’ Shanghvi has a masters in photogra­phy, but remained unconvinced about his work until he was persuaded to exhibit his photographs. This project began as a visual diary after his father’s diagnosis. Shanghvi’s efforts found a man grinding out time. Shanghvi’s dominant theme is of the emptiness of a life, but he makes room for joy. He captures Bruschetta, his father’s dog, mid-motion on a lawn from above, with a winding hose cutting through the grass like the outline of a speech bubble. One of the photographer’s more graphic composi­tions, its lightness of spirit contrasts starkly with the mood that pervades his father’s home and these pictures. Bruschetta, it turns out, photographs well. Posing for a memorable photo­graph of his owner’s feet, the animal, taut and alert, thrusts its snout downward behind old toes pointed to the sky. Metaphors abound. In another, Bruschetta sits for a portrait on a chair. Families change. Shanghvi’s novels are unrestrained and lush, and bulked up by his penchant for serious exaggeration. But Shanghvi’s photography is another matter. To write fiction requires searching and reaching for a thing that isn’t there yet. To take pictures in the style he prefers is to wait for a thing to form; a moment, a feeling, an under­standing. He waits for the quiet poetry of moments. At times they come as abstractions, apparent in pictures taken from above or below: his balding father, dressed in a *kurta*, takes a walk in the building’s compound assisted by a helper who clasps his hand. Sometimes they come as startling compositions: his father’s head, seen from below, sticks out from a balcony. No body. Just a head with glasses. His father’s routines gave Shanghvi room to explore. In one image from the side, his father sits on an old swing alone, staring straight ahead, his body slouched, and his hands holding on to each other. In another, taken at a low perspective from behind, he walks alone outside, his left arm gripping his right elbow around his back, with the fingers of his right arm pulling at a kurta sleeve. At the moment of his preservation his posture is awkwardly tilted. In another, his father eats alone on a long table built for ten. But the sadness in this picture comes not from his loneliness, but from that grand chandelier above the table. More heartbreaking than loneliness is decline. Shanghvi explains this with feeling in his introduction. ‘I do not want to wait so long that my nights become sleepless and my afternoons full of unbearable solitude. So the photographs have me thinking about not only my father’s end but also my own. A timely retreat ought to be uninfluenced by either age or sickness. Leave when you are not interested in the life around you. Don’t wait so long that life is uninterested in you.’ Of course life has a stake in us all. If not for our vitality, then for our usefulness as test subjects, like taps turned ten thousand times before they squeak. Shanghvi, who recently lost his mother, now witnesses the gradual absence of the other parent. He sees ‘afternoons full of unbearable solitude’. He does not want to ‘wait so long’ that his ‘nights become sleepless’. This dread seeps through his photographs, nowhere more so than one where his father stands outside, surrounded by fallen leaves, and considers the barren earth beneath. The day after the opening, silence allowed a visitor to truly feel the photographer’s work without distrac­tion. Here was a lonely father. Here was a dog. Here was a meal taken alone. And here was an empty room; merely an empty bed in an empty room. At first. A closer look revealed what Shanghvi saw. A four poster bed, with two sets of pillows. One pillow was ruffled and depressed, the other was immaculate. One half of the mattress was pressed down, while the other half kept its shape. The detail. The most incredible detail. +++ ** From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sun Apr 3 13:41:34 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 01:11:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Research Proposals Message-ID: <980606.42002.qm@web38808.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Call for Research Proposals   In an effort to assess and analyze housing rights regime in Sindh and Balochistan, The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan with the support of OXFAM GB Pakistan invites research proposals from the individual researchers.   The purpose of the research is to assess and analyze overall housing rights situation in Sindh and Balochistan in the all major categories of land and topography specifically in the rural areas with the added context of recent floods; and to propose some necessary legal framework suggestions.        Requirements for Proposals Proposals should be a maximum of three pages in 12 point font and must be suitable for anonymous review. Proposals should provide a brief abstract of the paper (approximately 150 words), context explaining the relevance of the research.  Proposals should also provide an annotated outline (of the content), brief timeline for completion of the work, and an annex containing:  1) a line-item budget to undertake the activity and 2) a roster of proposed personnel (with academic qualifications) who will be engaged in the research.      Submission process Proposals should be submitted at:   Email: info at ismpak.org / ismpak at live.com or A-1, Hyderabad Town Extension, Qasimabad, Hyderabad 71000, Pakistan.     The closing date for submissions is April 8, 2011.   Selection process Proposals will be vetted by a panel of experts considering the content and quality of the proposal, feasibility of research, and completion date. The panel will consider favorably those proposals submitted by local researchers. From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Apr 3 17:55:37 2011 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 17:55:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Justice on Trial: 3 Days of Cultural Events in Support of Binayak Sen Message-ID: <0A45CDA6-F46B-469D-8FC3-BD6CE6545FF7@sarai.net> *Justice on Trial:*** three days of cultural events *April 4 – 6, 2011*** * * @ Alliance Francaise de Delhi 72, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003 Justice on Trial is a collaborative programme put together by leading contemporary artists, photographers, film makers, musicians, performers, and activists to commemorate struggles for democracy, freedom and rights. An exhibition of photographs and art works, talks performances and screenings all are directed at drawing renewed attention to the trial of Dr. Binayak Sen, who has emerged in recent times as a symbol of courageous resistance, and a reminder of the many injustices that surround us. Our aim is to provoke a dialogue with the colours and sounds that emerge from the idea of what Dr. Sen represents.* * * * *April 4 (Monday)* 5:00 pm Music: Them Clones / Imphal Talkies (Auditorium) 6:00 pm Film: “AFSPA 1958” (52 mins, 2006, dir: Haobam Paban Kumar) (Audi.) 6:30 pm Opening of Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 7:00 pm Panel: Vrinda Grover, in conversation with Prof Ilina Sen and Aruna Roy 8:00 pm Performance: Arjun Raina / "Like a Bird on a Wire" (35 mins) *April 5 (Tuesday)* 10:00 am – Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 5:00 pm Music: Manzil / Faith Gonsalves (Audi.) 6:00 pm Film: Prisoners of Conscience (45 mins, 1978, dir: Anand Patwardhan) 7:00 pm Panel: Anand Patwardhan, Sharmila Tagore, Manglesh Dabral 8:00 Performance: Inder Salim / “I am Dr. Binayak Sen” (20 mins ) *April 6 (Wednesday)* * * 10:00 am – Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 5:00 pm Music: The Ska Vengers (featuring Delhi Sultanate) (Audi.) 6:00 pm Panel: Prof Amit Bhaduri / Arundhati Roy / Kavita Srivastava / Prashant Bhushan 8:00 pm Performance: Dastan-goi / Mahmood Farooqi & Danish Hussain (45 mins ) * * *The Participants* * * *The Art Exhibition* has been put together by the artist Probir Gupta, and features work by leading contemporary artists: Anandajit Roy, Arun Kumar H.G, Bharti Kher, Gigi Scaria, Mithu Sen, Pablo Bartholomew, Parthiv Shah, Prashant Panjiar, Probir Gupta, Ram Rahman, Sharmila Samant, Shreyas Karle, Subodh Gupta, Susanta Mondal, T.V Santosh * * *The Poster Exhibition* is a series on the work of Dr Binayak Sen and Dr Ilina Sen over the last three decades in Chhattisgarh, where their work ranged from providing healthcare, to setting up food security systems, public health campaigns as well as human rights work. This graphic presentation combines the work of seven graphic artists associated with People Tree, and are a prelude to a comic book on the life of Dr Sen. The contributing artists are: Orijit Sen, Esa Esasi, Rajiv Gautam, Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Parismita Singh, Girirraj Kang, and Herojit Sinam. *Films*** ** *AFSPA 1958 / dir. Haobam Paban Kumar / 52 mins / 2006*** The film by a young Manipuri director won the President’s ‘Swarn Kamal’ for the best documentary at the National Film Award, 2008, and the FIPRESCI Jury Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2006. It follows the protests that engulfed Manipur in the aftermath of the murder of Manorma Devi by the armed forces. ** “Director Haobam Paban Kumar narrates and observes. He knows the difference between a film and a political manifesto. Besides his personal partisanship and engagement, he is, as a filmmaker he always stays behind the camera. This makes the great difference ” Rüdiger Suchsland, FIPRESCI Jury member * * ** *Prisoners of Conscience / dir. Anand Patwardhan / 45 mins / 1978* The film is an important historical record of a traumatic period in India's recent political history, as it unravels the stories of the political prisoners during the State of Emergency that India experienced from June 1975 to March 1977. "The power of the film derives from its restraint. Restraint does not imply a reluctance to state facts. The film does that only too clearly." *The Times of India* "A paean to those in the past and those in the present who have not hesitated to struggle for a just society and who, in the process, may have been imprisoned or even lost their lives." * **Critical Asian Studies* * * *Performances* ** *"Like a Bird on a Wire" / Arjun Raina / 35 mins* This is a performance about two old Indian men, Leonard Peltier, leader of the American Indian movement, and in prison for 36 years for a crime he did not commit, and my nameless father, now 82 years old, waiting for the political atmosphere between India and Pakistan to improve so he may spend another Basant in his beloved Lahore. Leonard Peltier is now 65, and more than half his life has been spent as a prisoner. He insists his only enemies are the system, and the justice department. The case against Peltier was not only flawed, but grotesquely dishonest, unfair and unjust, replete with admittedly perjured testimony and fraudulent evidence by the FBI. Peltier was found guilty in the 1975 shooting deaths of two FBI agents during a range war on the Lakota-Sioux reserve, near Wounded Knee, where, in 1973, there was a highly publicized 71-day siege. The Pine Ridge range war was between traditional, back-to-roots Indians, and “progressive” mixed-blood Indians who favoured the mining of uranium on Indian land. The militant American Indian Movement (AIM) sided with the traditionalists, while the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and authorities backed the progressives. ARJUN RAINA is a Kathakali dancer, an Actor, a Playwright, and an Acting and Voice teacher. Trained as an Actor at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and with Sadanam Balakrishnan at the International Center for Kathakali. Has taught Acting, Voice and Speech at the National School of Drama India. His original plays and performances include: *The Magic Hour*(Kathakali and Shakespeare, 2000), *A Terrible Beauty is Born* (on International Call Centers in India, 2003), and *Like a Bird on a Wire* (2007) *“I Am Dr. Binayak Sen” / Inder Salim / 20 mins* This performance art piece begins outside the auditorium, apparently randomly, but will culminate on the stage. There is the Colour Red, and a white surface, an Iron Cage and some White Hospital Gauze which will speak loudly, in solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen, and other such .... INDER SALIM, born in Kashmir 1965. His statement -- "I usually introduce myself: This InderSalim Stuff from Kashmir...with love. I do Performances, Photography, Poster making and Video and even Painting and sclupture. I write poems as well. I maintain a blog : Conceptual is the key word which drives me to do ART. No big claims, in spite of some National and International exposure." * * *Dastangoi / Mahmood Farooqui & Danish Hussain / 45 mins* The many adventures of Dr. Binayak Sen as he negotiates the rough terrains of the state of Chattisgarh. MAHMOOD FAROOQUI studied history In India and at the university of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Over the last four years he has worked to revive Dastangoi, the lost art of storytelling in Urdu. Farooqui also contributes opinion pieces to leading newspapers and magazines. His book on the 1857 uprising in Delhi was recently published by Penguin. He is the co- director of the critically acclaimed film – Peepli Live. DANISH HUSAIN is a poet, actor, and a dastango. With Mahmood Farooqui and Anusha Rizvi he has been helping revive *Dastangoi*. His other recent projects include acting assignments in feature films *Peepli Live* and *Dhobi Ghat*, and directing the *Making of Peepli Live*. *MUSIC* THEM CLONES* *were created sometime in 2000. Inspired by the dramatic world of rock n' roll and of course themselves, their tryst with songwriting has directed them across the course of the thoughtful to confessional, from the assertive to the provocative; but has been, consistently, accompanied by a tight groove or a silken melody. FAITH GONSALVES* *is a singer and a social entrepreneur. In 2008 she founded, "Music Basti", an education and awareness project that works towards empowering street children through music. Accompanied on the guitar by ADHIR GHOSH, who plays with the band ‘Five8’ in Delhi. He is a Masters student at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at JNU. MANZIL *is a non-profit organization providing a community - and resources - for local youth from low-income backgrounds to learn, teach, be creative, and see the world in new ways, especially through music.* IMPHAL TALKIES have been called ‘the new voice of Manipur and the new voice of the Northeast’ by the Rolling Stone magazine. It takes its name from the name of a cinema theatre in front of Kangla fort that screened only ‘A’ rated movies, which in a conservative society like Manipur and in a small town like Imphal, was ahead of the times. The band members write lyrics contemporary (or ahead of their times) and get invitations to perform not only in music concerts but also during public protest. THE SKA VENGERS (featuring DELHI SULTANATE) is a new Delhi based band who blend ‘ska’ rhythms with elements of dub, punk, jazz and rap to come up with a form of music that is different, energetic and highly danceable. As performers in their own right, Nikhil, Stefan, Tony and Samara play in acclaimed psychedelic disco band Emperor Minge, and are regular performers on India’s first cabaret show ‘The Stiff Kittens’ Medicine Show’. Delhi Sultanate has garnered much praise for his highly skilled, socially conscious rap, with drum ‘n’ bass team BASSFoundation, and his highly rhythmic patois provides a suitable foil to Samara’s more sweet and soulful renderings; whilst Raghav is also known as selecta with DJ collective ‘Reggae Rajhas’. * * *PANELISTS* ARUNA ROY is one of the founders of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana, and a prominent leader of the Right to Informationmovement. She is also a member of the National Advisory Council . ARUNDHATI ROY is a writer and an activistwho has written on issues of social justice and economic inequality . She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, *The God of Small Things* , and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays. AMIT BHADURI is Professor Emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and taught at many universities across the world. His most recent book is ‘The Face You Were Afraid to See: Essays on the Indian Economy’ (2009), essays on economic conditions in India after the ‘reforms’. ANAND PATWARDHAN is one of India’s best known documentary film makers and internationally acknowledged for his hard hitting films that have consistently raised the most important human rights issues facing the country since the mid 1970s. ILINA SEN is a Professor at the Mahatma Gandhi Antar Rashtriya Vishvavidyalaya, Wardha, and a prominent activist of the Indian women’s movement. With Dr Binayak Sen she has lived and worked among the tribal people of MP and Chhattisgarh since 1980. KAVITA SRIVASTAVA is the General Secretary of the People Union for Civil Liberties and a long standing activist of the women’s movement. She lives in Jaipur . MANGLESH DABRAL is one of the best known contemporary Hindi poets whose works have been translated into nearly all the Indian languages, besides English, Russian, German, Spanish, Polish and Bulgarian. A journalist by profession, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for the poetry collection Hum Jo Dekhte Hain (That Which We See) PRASHANT BHUSHAN is a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court, and a prominent public interest advocate, and a leading figure in the Campaign for Judicial Accountability. SHARMILA TAGORE started her acting career as the main lead in Satyajit Ray’s Devi. She went on to become one of the most outstanding actors of the Mumbai cinema. She was until recently the Chairperson for the Central Board of Film Certification. VRINDA GROVER is a well-known human rights lawyer based in Delhi. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Apr 3 19:27:33 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 19:27:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dangers of Radiation Message-ID: You will find many more interesting in-depth articles at http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=home ____________________________________________ The Dangers of Radiation: Deconstructing Nuclear Experts What these people have in common is ignorance by Chris Busby Global Research, March 31, 2011 Rense.com Since the Fukushima accident we have seen a stream of experts on radiation telling us not to worry, that the doses are too low, that the accident is nothing like Chernobyl and so forth. They appear on television and we read their articles in the newspapers and online. Fortunately the majority of the public don't believe them. I myself have appeared on television and radio with these people; one example was Ian Fells of the University of Newcastle who, after telling us all on BBC News that the accident was nothing like Chernobyl (wrong), and the radiation levels of no consequence (wrong), that the main problem was that there was no electricity and that the lifts didn't work. " If you have been in a situation when the lifts don't work, as I have" he burbled on, "you will know what I mean." You can see this interview on youtube and decide for yourself. What these people have in common is ignorance. You may think a professor at a university must actually know something about their subject. But this is not so. Nearly all of these experts who appear and pontificate have not actually done any research on the issue of radiation and health. Or if they have, they seem to have missed all the key studies and references. I leave out the real baddies, who are closely attached to the nuclear industry, like Richard Wakeford, or Richard D as he calls himself on the anonymous website he has set up to attack me, "chrisbusbyexposed". I saw him a few times talking down the accident on the television, labelled in the stripe as Professor Richard Wakeford, University of Manchester. Incidentally, Wakeford is a physicist, his PhD was in particle physics at Liverpool. But he was not presented as ex- Principle Scientist, British Nuclear Fuels, Sellafield. That might have given the viewers the wrong idea. Early on we saw another baddy, Malcolm Grimston, talking about radiation and health, described as Professor, Imperial College. Grimston is a psychologist, not a scientist, and his expertise was in examining why the public was frightened of radiation, and how their (emotional) views could be changed. But his lack of scientific training didn't stop him explaining on TV and radio how the Fukushima accident was nothing to worry about. The doses were too low, nothing like Chernobyl, not as bad as 3-Mile Island, only 4 on the scale, all the usual blather. Most recently we have seen George Monbiot, who I know, and who also knows nothing about radiation and health, writing in The Guardian how this accident has actually changed his mind about nuclear power (can this be his Kierkegaard moment? Has he cracked? ) since he now understands (and reproduces a criminally misleading graphic to back up his new understanding) that radiation is actually OK and we shoudn't worry about it. George does at least know better, or has been told better, since he asked me a few years ago to explain why internal and external radiation exposure cannot be considered to have the same health outcomes. He ignored what I said and wrote for him (with references) and promptly came out in favour of nuclear energy in his next article. So what about Wade Allison? Wade is a medical physics person and a professor at Oxford. I have chosen to pitch into him since he epitomises and crystallises for us the arguments of the stupid physicist. In this he has done us a favour, since he is really easy to shoot down. All the arguments are in one place. Stupid physicists? Make no mistake, physicists are stupid. They make themselves stupid by a kind of religious belief in mathematical modelling. The old Bertie Russell logical positivist trap. And whilst this may be appropriate for examining the stresses in metals, or looking at the Universe (note that they seem to have lost 90% of the matter in the Universe, so-called "dark matter") it is not appropriate for, and is even scarily incorrect when, examining stresses in humans or other lifeforms. Mary Midgley, the philosopher has written about Science as Religion. Health physicists are the priests. I have been reading Wade Allison's article for the BBC but also looked at his book some months ago. He starts in the same way as all the others by comparing the accidents. He writes: More than 10,000 people have died in the Japanese tsunami and the survivors are cold and hungry. But the media concentrate on nuclear radiation from which no-one has died - and is unlikely to. Then we move to 3-Mile Island: There were no known deaths there. And Chernobyl: The latest UN report published on 28 February confirms the known death toll - 28 fatalities among emergency workers, plus 15 fatal cases of child thyroid cancer - which would have been avoided if iodine tablets had been taken (as they have now in Japan). This is breathtaking ignorance of the scientific literature. Prof. Steve Wing in the USA has carried out epidemiological studies of the effects of 3-Mile Island, with results published in the peer-review literature. Court cases are regularly settled on the basis of cancers produced by the 3-Mile Island contamination. But let us move to Chernobyl. The health effects of the Chernobyl accident are massive and demonstrable. They have been studied by many research groups in Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine, in the USA, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Japan. The scientific peer reviewed literature is enormous. Hundreds of papers report the effects, increases in cancer and a range of other diseases. My colleague Alexey Yablokov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, published a review of these studies in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2009). Earlier in 2006 he and I collected together reviews of the Russian literature by a group of eminent radiation scientists and published these in the book Chernobyl, 20 Years After. The result: more than a million people have died between 1986 and 2004 as a direct result of Chernobyl. I will briefly refer to two Chernobyl studies in the west which falsify Wade Allison's assertions. The first is a study of cancer in Northern Sweden by Martin Tondel and his colleagues at Lynkoping University. Tondel examined cancer rates by radiation contamination level and showed that in the 10 years after the Chernobyl contamination of Sweden, there was an 11% increase in cancer for every 100kBq/sq metre of contamination. Since the official International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) figures for the Fukushima contamination are from 200 to 900kBq.sq metre out to 78km from the site, we can expect between 22% and 90% increases in cancer in people living in these places in the next 10 years. The other study I want to refer to is one I carried out myself. After Chernobyl, infant leukaemia was reported in 6 countries by 6 different groups, from Scotland, Greece, Wales, Germany, Belarus and the USA. The increases were only in children who had been in the womb at the time of the contamination: this specificity is rare in epidemiology. There is no other explanation than Chernobyl. The leukemias could not be blamed on some as-yet undiscovered virus and population mixing, which is the favourite explanation for the nuclear site child leukemia clusters. There is no population mixing in the womb. Yet the "doses" were very small, much lower than "natural background". I published this unequivocal proof that the current risk model is wrong for internal exposures in two separate peer-reviewed journals in 2000 and 2009. This finding actually resulted in the formation in 2001 by UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher of a new Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters CERRIE. Richard Wakeford was on this committee representing BNFL and he introduced himself to me as "BNFL's Rottweiler". No difference there. Wade then turns to a comparison of contamination: So what of the radioactivity released at Fukushima? How does it compare with that at Chernobyl? Let's look at the measured count rates. The highest rate reported, at 1900 on 22 March, for any Japanese prefecture was 12 kBq per sq m (for the radioactive isotope of caesium, caesium-137). A map of Chernobyl in the UN report shows regions shaded according to rate, up to 3,700 kBq per sq m - areas with less than 37 kBq per sq m are not shaded at all. In round terms, this suggests that the radioactive fallout at Fukushima is less than 1% of that at Chernobyl But the IAEA themselves, not known for their independence from the nuclear industry, report that contamination levels out to 78km were between 200 and 900kBq/sq metre. And Wade has been rather selective with his data, to put it kindly. The UN definition of radioactively contaminated land is 37kBq/sq metre just as he writes, but actually, in all the maps published, the inner 30km Chernobyl contamination exclusion zone is defined as 555kBq/sq metre and above. This is just a fact. Why has he misled us? In passing, this means that there are 555,000 radioactive disintegrations per second on one square metre of surface. Can you believe this is not harmful? No. And you would be correct. And another calculation can be made. Since the IAEA data show that these levels of contamination, from 200,000 to 900,000 disintegrations per second per square metre, exist up to 78km from Fukushima, we can already calculate that the contamination is actually worse than Chernobyl, not 1% of Chernobyl as Wade states. For the area defined by a 78km radius is 19113 sq km compared to the Chernobyl exclusion zone of 2827 sq km. About seven times greater. Now I turn to the health effects. Wade trots out most of the usual stupid physicist arguments. We are all exposed to natural background, the dose is 2mSv a year and the doses from the accident are not significantly above this. For example, the Japanese government are apparently making a mistake in telling people not to give tap water containing 200Bq/litre radioactive Iodine-131 to their children as there is naturally 50Bq/l of radiation in the human body and 200 will not do much harm. The mistake is made because of fears of the public which apparently forced the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP, to set the annual dose limits at 1mSv. Wade knows better: he would set the limits at 100mSv. He is a tough guy. He shoots from the hip: Patients receiving a course of radiotherapy usually get a dose of more than 20,000 mSv to vital healthy tissue close to the treated tumour. This tissue survives only because the treatment is spread over many days giving healthy cells time for repair or replacement. A sea-change is needed in our attitude to radiation, starting with education and public information. But Wade, dear, these people are usually old, and usually die anyway before they can develop a second tumour. They often develop other cancers even so because of the radiation. There are hundreds of studies showing this. And in any case, this external irradiation is not the problem. The problem is internal irradiation. The Iodine-131 is not in the whole body, it is in the thyroid gland and attached to the blood cells: hence the thyroid cancer and the leukaemia. And there is a whole list of internal radioactive elements that bind chemically to DNA, from Strontium-90 to Uranium. These give massive local doses to the DNA and to the tissues where they end up. The human body is not a piece of wire that you can apply physics to. The concept of dose which Wade uses cannot be used for internal exposures. This has been conceded by the ICRP itself in its publications. And in an interview with me in Stockholm in 2009, Dr Jack Valentin, the ex-Scientific Secretary of the ICRP conceded this, and also made the statement that the ICRP risk model, the one used by all governments to assess the outcome of accidents like Fukushima, was unsafe and could not be used. You can see this interview on the internet, on www.vimeo.com. Why is the ICRP model unsafe? Because it is based on "absorbed dose". This is average radiation energy in Joules divided by the mass of living tissue into which it is diluted. A milliSievert is one milliJoule of energy diluted into one kilogram of tissue. As such it would not distinguish between warming yourself in front of a fire and eating a red hot coal. It is the local distribution of energy that is the problem. The dose from a singly internal alpha particle track to a single cell is 500mSv! The dose to the whole body from the same alpha track is 5 x 10-11 mSv. That is 0.000000000005mSv. But it is the dose to the cell that causes the genetic damage and the ultimate cancer. The cancer yield per unit dose employed by ICRP is based entirely on external acute high dose radiation at Hiroshima, where the average dose to a cell was the same for all cells. And what of the UN and their bonkers statement about the effects of the Chernobyl accident referred to by Wade Allison? What you have to know, is that the UN organisations on radiation and health are compromised in favour of the nuclear military complex, which was busy testing hydrogen bombs in the atmosphere at the time of the agreement and releasing all the Strontium, Caesium, Uranium and plutonium and other stuff that was to become the cause of the current and increasing cancer epidemic. The last thing they wanted was the doctors and epidemiologists stopping their fun. The IAEA and the World Health Organisation (WHO) signed an agreement in 1959 to remove all research into the issue from the doctors of the WHO, to the atom scientists, the physicists of the IAEA: this agreement is still in force. The UN organisations do not refer to, or cite any scientific study, which shows their statements on Chernobyl to be false. There is a huge gap between the picture painted by the UN, the IAEA, the ICRP and the real world. And the real world is increasingly being studied and reports are being published in the scientific literature: but none of the authorities responsible for looking after the public take any notice of this evidence. As they say on the Underground trains in London: Mind the Gap. Wade Allison and the other experts I refer to need to do just this for their own sake. The one place that this gap is being closed rapidly and savagely is in the courts. I have acted as an expert witness in over 40 cases involving radiation and health. These include cases where Nuclear Test veterans are suing the UK government for exposures at the test sites that have caused cancer, they include cases involving nuclear pollution, work exposures and exposures to depleted uranium weapons fallout. And these cases are all being won. All of them. Because in court with a judge and a jury, people like Wade Allison and George Monbiot would not last 2 minutes. Because in court you rely on evidence. Not bullshitting. Joseph Conrad wrote: "after all the shouting is over, the grim silence of facts remain". I believe that these phoney experts like Wade Allison and George Monbiot are criminally irresponsible, since their advice will lead to millions of deaths. I would hope that some time in the future, I can be involved as an expert in another legal case, one where Wade Allison, or George or my favourite baddy, Richard Wakeford (who actually knows better) are accused in a court of law of scientific dishonesty leading to the cancer in some poor victim who followed their advice. When they are found guilty, I hope they are sent to jail where they can have plenty of time to read the scientific proofs that their advice was based on the mathematical analysis of thin air. In the meantime, I challenge each of them to debate this issue with me in public on television face to face, so that the people can figure out who is right. For the late Professor John Gofman, a senior figure in the US Atomic Energy Commission until he saw what was happening and resigned, famously said: "the nuclear industry is waging a war against humanity." This war has now entered an endgame which will decide the survival of the human race. Not from sudden nuclear war. But from the on-going and incremental nuclear war which began with the releases to the biosphere in the 60s of all the atmospheric test fallout, and which has continued inexorably since then through Windscale, Kyshtym, 3-Mile Island, Chernobyl, Hanford, Sellafield, La Hague, Iraq and now Fukushima, accompanied by parallel increases in cancer rates and fertility loss to the human race. There is a gap between them and us. Between the phoney scientists and the public who don't believe what they say. Between those who are employed and paid to protect us from radioactive pollution and those who die from its consequences. Between those who talk down what is arguably the greatest public health scandal in human history, and the facts that they ignore. Mind the Gap indeed. Watch the recent interview with Christopher Busby on GRTV. Chris Busby is Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk. He is visiting Professor at the University of Ulster and also Guest Researcher at the Julius Kuehn Institute of the German Federal Agricultural Institute in Braunschweig, Germany. He was a member of the UK Committee Examining Radiation Risk on Internal Emitters CERRIE and the UK MoD Depleted Uranium Oversight Board. He was Science and Policy Interface leader of the Policy Information network on Child Health and Environment based in the Netherlands. He was Science and Technology Speaker for the Green Party of England and Wales. He has conducted fundamental research on the health effects of internal radiation both at the theoretical and epidemiological level, including recently on the genotoxic effects of the element uranium. ____________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Apr 4 11:02:42 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:32:42 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Justice on Trial -4/5/6 April@Alliance Francaise, New Delhi . 5 to 9 pm. Art Exhibition/Posters/Music/Performances/Talks In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CDC0A0D8BC671C-43C-2306B@webmail-d131.sysops.aol.com> Free Binayak Sen Campaign   Justiceon Trial: three days of cultural events April 4– 6, 2011   @ Alliance Francaise de Delhi 72, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003   Justice on Trial is a collaborative programme put togetherby leading contemporary artists, photographers, film makers, musicians,performers, and activists to commemorate struggles for democracy, freedom andrights. An exhibition of photographs and art works, talks performances andscreenings all are directed at drawing renewed attention to the trial of Dr.Binayak Sen, who has emerged in recent times as a symbol of courageousresistance, and a reminder of the many injustices that surround us. Our aim isto provoke a dialogue with the colours and sounds that emerge from the idea ofwhat Dr. Sen represents.             April 4 (Monday)   5:00 pmMusic: Them Clones  / Imphal Talkies(Auditorium) 6:00 pmFilm: “AFSPA 1958” (52 mins, 2006, dir: Haobam Paban Kumar) (Audi.) 6:30 pmOpening of Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 7:00 pmPanel: Vrinda Grover, in conversation with Prof Ilina Sen and Aruna Roy 8:00 pmPerformance: Arjun Raina / "Like a Bird on a Wire" (35 mins)   April 5 (Tuesday)   10:00 am –Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 5:00 pmMusic: Manzil / Faith Gonsalves (Audi.) 6:00 pmFilm: Prisoners of Conscience (45 mins, 1978, dir: Anand Patwardhan) 7:00 pmPanel: Anand Patwardhan, Sharmila Tagore, Manglesh Dabral 8:00Performance: Inder Salim / “I am Dr. Binayak Sen” (20 mins )   April 6 (Wednesday)   10:00 am –Art Exhibition (Gallery) / Poster Exhibition 5:00 pmMusic: The Ska Vengers (featuring Delhi Sultanate) (Audi.) 6:00 pmPanel: Prof Amit Bhaduri / Arundhati Roy / Kavita Srivastava / Prashant Bhushan 8:00 pmPerformance: Dastan-goi / Mahmood Farooqi & Danish Hussain (45 mins )   TheParticipants The ArtExhibition has been put together by the artist Probir Gupta, andfeatures work by leading contemporary artists: Anandajit Roy, ArunKumar H.G, Bharti Kher, Gigi Scaria, Mithu Sen, Pablo Bartholomew, ParthivShah, Prashant Panjiar, Probir Gupta, Ram Rahman, Sharmila Samant, ShreyasKarle, Subodh Gupta, Susanta Mondal, T.V Santosh ThePoster Exhibition is a series on the work of DrBinayak Sen and Dr Ilina Sen over the last three decades in Chhattisgarh, wheretheir work ranged from providing healthcare, to setting up food securitysystems, public health campaigns as well as human rights work. Thisgraphic presentation combines the work of seven graphic artists associated withPeople Tree, and are a prelude to a comic book onthe life of Dr Sen. The contributing artists are: Orijit Sen, EsaEsasi, Rajiv Gautam, Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Parismita Singh, Girirraj Kang, andHerojit Sinam. Films AFSPA 1958 / dir. Haobam Paban Kumar / 52mins / 2006 Thefilm by a young Manipuri director won the President’s ‘Swarn Kamal’ for thebest documentary at the National Film Award, 2008, and the FIPRESCI Jury Awardat the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2006. It follows the protests thatengulfed Manipur in the aftermath of the murder of Manorma Devi by the armedforces. “Director Haobam Paban Kumar narrates and observes. He knowsthe difference between a film and a political manifesto. Besides his personalpartisanship and engagement, he is, as a filmmaker he always stays behind thecamera. This makes the great difference…” Rüdiger Suchsland, FIPRESCI Jurymember Prisoners of Conscience / dir. AnandPatwardhan / 45 mins / 1978 Thefilm is an important historical record of a traumatic period in India's recentpolitical history, as it unravels the stories of the political prisoners duringthe State of Emergency that India experienced from June 1975 to March 1977. "Thepower of the film derives from its restraint. Restraint does not imply areluctance to state facts. The film does that only too clearly." TheTimes of India "Apaean to those in the past and those in the present who have not hesitated tostruggle for a just society and who, in the process, may have been imprisonedor even lost their lives."  CriticalAsian Studies   Performances "Like a Bird on a Wire" / Arjun Raina/ 35 mins This is a performance about twoold Indian men, Leonard Peltier, leader of the American Indian movement, and inprison for 36 years for a crime he did not commit, and my nameless father, now82 years old, waiting for the political atmosphere between India and Pakistanto improve so he may spend another Basant in his beloved Lahore.   LeonardPeltier is now 65, and more than half his life has been spent as a prisoner. Heinsists his only enemies are the system, and the justice department. The caseagainst Peltier was not only flawed, but grotesquely dishonest, unfair andunjust, replete with admittedly perjured testimony and fraudulent evidence bythe FBI. Peltier was found guilty in the 1975 shooting deaths of two FBI agentsduring a range war on the Lakota-Sioux reserve, near Wounded Knee, where, in1973, there was a highly publicized 71-day siege. The Pine Ridge range war wasbetween traditional, back-to-roots Indians, and “progressive” mixed-bloodIndians who favoured the mining of uranium on Indian land. The militantAmerican Indian Movement (AIM) sided with the traditionalists, while the FBI,Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and authorities backed the progressives.   ARJUNRAINA is a Kathakali dancer, an Actor, a Playwright, and an Acting andVoice teacher. Trained as an Actor at The London Academy of Music and DramaticArt, and with Sadanam Balakrishnan at the International Center forKathakali. Has taught Acting, Voice and Speech at the National School of DramaIndia. His original plays and performances include: The Magic Hour (Kathakali and Shakespeare, 2000),  A Terrible Beauty is Born (onInternational Call Centers in India, 2003), and Like a Bird on a Wire (2007) “I AmDr. Binayak Sen” / Inder Salim / 20 mins This performance art piece begins outside the auditorium,apparently randomly, but will culminate on the stage. There is the Colour Red,and a white surface, an Iron Cage and some White Hospital Gauze which willspeak loudly, in solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen, and other such ....   INDER SALIM, born in Kashmir 1965.  His statement -- "I usually introducemyself: This InderSalim Stuff from Kashmir...with love. I do Performances,Photography, Poster making and Video and even Painting and sclupture. I writepoems as well. I maintain a blog : Conceptual is the key word which drives meto do ART. No big claims, in spite of some National and Internationalexposure." Dastangoi/ Mahmood Farooqui & Danish Hussain / 45 mins Themany adventures of Dr. Binayak Sen as he negotiates the rough terrains of thestate of Chattisgarh.   MAHMOOD FAROOQUIstudied history In India and at the university of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.Over the last four years he has worked to revive Dastangoi, the lost art ofstorytelling in Urdu.  Farooqui alsocontributes opinion pieces to leading newspapers and magazines. His book on the1857 uprising in Delhi was recently published by Penguin. He is the co-directorof the critically acclaimed film – Peepli Live.   DANISH HUSAIN is a poet, actor, and adastango. With Mahmood Farooqui and Anusha Rizvi he has been helping revive Dastangoi. His other recentprojects include acting assignments in feature films Peepli Live and DhobiGhat, and directing the Makingof Peepli Live. MUSIC THEMCLONES werecreated sometime in 2000.  Inspired bythe dramatic world of rock n' roll and of course themselves, their tryst withsongwriting has directed them across the course of the thoughtful toconfessional, from the assertive to the provocative; but has been, consistently,accompanied by a tight groove or a silken melody. FAITHGONSALVES is asinger and a social entrepreneur. In 2008 she founded, "MusicBasti", an education and awareness project that works towardsempowering street children through music. Accompanied on the guitar by ADHIRGHOSH, who plays with the band ‘Five8’ in Delhi. Heis a Masters student at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at JNU. MANZIL is a non-profitorganization providing a community - and resources - for local youth fromlow-income backgrounds to learn, teach, be creative, and see the world in newways, especially through music. IMPHALTALKIES have been called ‘the new voice of Manipur and the newvoice of the Northeast’ by the Rolling Stone magazine. It takes its name fromthe name of a cinema theatre in front of Kangla fort that screened only ‘A’rated movies, which in a conservative society like Manipur and in a small townlike Imphal, was ahead of the times. The band members write lyrics contemporary(or ahead of their times) and get invitations to perform not only in musicconcerts but also during public protest. THESKA VENGERS (featuring DELHI SULTANATE) is a new Delhi basedband who blend ‘ska’ rhythms with elements of dub, punk, jazz and rap tocome up with a form of music that is different, energetic and highly danceable.As performers in their own right, Nikhil, Stefan, Tony and Samara play inacclaimed psychedelic disco band Emperor Minge, and are regular performers onIndia’s first cabaret show ‘The Stiff Kittens’ Medicine Show’. Delhi Sultanatehas garnered much praise for his highly skilled, socially conscious rap, withdrum ‘n’ bass team BASSFoundation, and his highly rhythmic patois provides asuitable foil to Samara’s more sweet and soulful renderings; whilst Raghav isalso known as selecta with DJ collective ‘ReggaeRajhas’.                   PANELISTS ARUNA ROY is one of the founders ofthe Mazdoor KisanShakti Sangathana, and a prominent leader of the Right toInformation movement. She is also a member of the NationalAdvisory Council. ARUNDHATI ROY is a writer and an activist who haswritten on issues of social justice and economic inequality. She won the Booker Prize in1997 for her novel, The God of SmallThings, and has also writtentwo screenplays and several collections of essays. AMIT BHADURI is Professor Emeritusat the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and taught at many universitiesacross the world. His most recent book is ‘The Face YouWere Afraid to See: Essays on the Indian Economy’ (2009), essays on economic conditions in India after the ‘reforms’. ANAND PATWARDHAN is oneof India’s best known documentary film makers and internationally acknowledgedfor his hard hitting films that have consistently raised the most importanthuman rights issues facing the country since the mid 1970s. ILINA SEN is a Professor at the MahatmaGandhi Antar Rashtriya Vishvavidyalaya, Wardha, and a prominent activist of theIndian women’s movement. With Dr Binayak Sen she has lived and worked among thetribal people of MP and Chhattisgarh since 1980. KAVITA SRIVASTAVAis the General Secretary of the People Union for Civil Liberties and a longstanding activist of the women’s movement. She lives in Jaipur . MANGLESH DABRAL is oneof the best known contemporary Hindi poets whose works have been translatedinto nearly all the Indian languages, besides English, Russian, German,Spanish, Polish and Bulgarian. A journalist by profession, he received theSahitya Akademi Award for the poetry collection Hum Jo Dekhte Hain (That WhichWe See) PRASHANT BHUSHAN is a senior lawyer at theSupreme Court, and a prominent public interest advocate, and a leading figurein the Campaign for Judicial Accountability. SHARMILATAGORE started her acting career as the main lead in SatyajitRay’s Devi. She went on to become one of the most outstanding actors of theMumbai cinema. She was until recently the Chairperson for the Central Board ofFilm Certification. VRINDA GROVER is a well-known humanrights lawyer based in Delhi. -- Saba Dewan A-19, Gulmohar Park New Delhi -110049 Tel: 00-91-11-26515161 Fax: 00-91-11-41640681 Email: sabadewan at gmail.com           theothersong at gmail.com            From patrice at xs4all.nl Tue Apr 5 12:14:04 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 08:44:04 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Dabawallahs - Italian style! (Wall Street Journal) Message-ID: <20110405064404.GA41796@xs4all.nl> Original to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704520504576162382890059622.html Italian Mammas Put Meals on Wheels, Say 'Mangia!' to Faraway Offspring; Mr. Martino Helps Them Spoil Adult Kids; Trucking Ravioli From Calabria to Rome. By STACY MEICHTRY, Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2011. On a recent Sunday in Rome, Daniela Varano and some friends lunched on eggplant parmesan whipped up by the 33-year-old publicist's mother. Mom, meanwhile, was 500 miles away in Bovalino, a small town in southern Italy. Despite the distance, she does what it takes to spoil her grown daughter with home-cooked fare. Lina Varano lives in Bovalino. Her daughter lives 500 miles away in Rome. But that doesn't keep Mrs. Varano from cooking for her. WSJ's Stacy Meichtry reports. "The umbilical cord was never cut," says Ms. Varano's 61-year-old mother, Lina. Like thousands of other mammas across the southern Italian region of Calabria, she relies on Domenico Martino, a 39-year-old truck driver who has made a career of ferrying lasagnas, raviolis and other traditional dishes over long distances. Every Saturday afternoon, Mr. Martino picks up hundreds of meals from kitchens across Calabria, drives them overnight to the bustling capital of Rome, and delivers them to children's doorsteps in time for Sunday lunch. Whenever she gets a package, Ms. Varano calls up her friends for an impromptu feast. "Everyone postpones their plans just to have the lunch," she says. "Although it seems weird, I'm maintaining an emotional link with my family." Mr. Martino's is one of a dozen such services thriving on Calabrian mothers' steely determination: to cater, literally, to their far-flung adult children. While Mr. Martino only serves Rome, a wave of other trucks depart each week from Calabria to cities across the rest of Italy. "They don't want their children doing anything. Even getting up and going to the market is overdoing it," says Mr. Martino, hoisting a crate of oranges into his truck on a recent Saturday afternoon. "And that's good for me." For generations, Calabrian women have poured their maternal love into Sunday lunch. They labor to produce sumptuous meals of fresh pasta, long-stewed meats and homegrown greens to lure their grown children back to the nest every week. It was easy when the children lived nearby or as was often the case in upstairs apartments built or bought by their parents. But today, the Sunday lunch tradition has fallen on hard times. Jobs for young Italians are scarce particularly in Italy's poorer south forcing people to migrate north to big cities, leaving their mothers behind. In Calabria, on the toe of Italy's boot, 52% of Italians between the ages of 15 to 64 were "inactive," or not working or studying during most of 2010, according to Italy's official statistics agency ISTAT. Authorities say Calabria is also home to the 'ndrangheta mob, a drug trafficking syndicate that maintains a stranglehold on the region's economy, starving the area of jobs. Mr. Martino's career got rolling in the late 1990s when he delivered chocolate and pasta to supermarkets around the region. He launched his current enterprise a decade ago, after a handful of mammas asked him to help them make a gastronomic connection to their faraway kids. As more family members scattered across Italy, Mr. Martino's business boomed. Eventually, some 3,000 mothers came calling, each with a set of special requests, Mr. Martino recalls. Many wanted a discount on what traditional couriers charged; others wanted meals to arrive in time for lunch. Some have asked him to linger at the delivery site to gather intelligence on their children's new lives. Others demanded his cellphone number. "I needed someone who would take it seriously," says Annamaria Careri, a silver-haired 69-year-old, as she welcomed Mr. Martino into her home on a recent Saturday afternoon and handed him 165 pounds of food she had prepared for her three grown children in Rome. Like other customers, she doesn't bristle at the price, which is relatively low compared to other courier services. Mr. Martino charges 15, or about $21, for a 55-pound package. Timely delivery is crucial, added Lina Varano, as she waited for Mr. Martino to call on her. Mrs. Varano puts days of preparation into her packages, combing her garden for fava beans, citrus fruit and scarlet-colored tomatoes that she presses into tomato sauce for freshly made ravioli. On this occasion, she had prepared lightly breaded artichokes, pork cutlets and stuffed eggplants one night with the help of her 90-year-old mother-in-law. A tube of salami, from a recently slaughtered pig, was wrapped into tin foil for its journey to Rome. "I have to give it my all. Everything, everything, everything!" said Mrs. Varano. Mr. Martino and a small crew of associates spend the whole morning navigating Calabria's streets to collect packages. It's not easy. Many lack signs; others are pocked with potholes or give way to dirt roads that wind through olive groves and cacti. On his way, he fields calls from mothers seeking updates or speedier deliveries. "There is raw meat in there, and I don't want it to spoil," said one mother, pressing for an early delivery to her child. "Signora, all the packages are created equal," Mr. Martino replied. The cargo is then brought to a warehouse in Calabria and packed into a semi-truck that Mr. Martino drives to Rome. Arriving in the capital at midnight, he sleeps in the truck and rises at the crack of dawn on Sunday to make the deliveries before lunch. Anna Bianchi, 68, says Mr. Martino's marathon goes a long way in easing the stress her daughter faces as an architect working in Rome. "She's absolutely suffocated by work," Mrs. Bianchi said after entrusting a casserole of baked fish and a freshly made meatballs to Mr. Martino. Antonio Natale, Ms. Careri's 37-year-old son, padded up to the door in sneakers and a blue track suit to collect the latest haul: slabs of vacuum-packed chicken meat, jars of olives, homemade almond-paste cookies, fish stock. "You see, the separation has been traumatic for her," he said. A high-school teacher, Mr. Natale has been receiving Sunday deliveries for eight years. He deeply misses his mother, he said, but "there is no going back." Write to Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry at wsj.com From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Tue Apr 5 12:22:55 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 12:22:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Open Space lectures Message-ID: *'Keeping the Peace' lectures in April:* *1. Sumona Dasgupta*, conflict transformation practitioner, will speak on *‘Responding to Conflict: Perspectives from Kashmir’* * * The talk will introduce the concepts of conflict transformation and peace-building using the situation in Kashmir as an illustration. Locating conflict transformation and peace-building within a range of responses that include conflict management and conflict resolution, Sumona Dasgupta will point out how these different approaches overlap but also diverge in their framework. She will also focus on the role of civil society in initiating sustained dialogue in conflict regions. *Date*: April 6 2011 *Venue*: MIT SOG, S. No. 124, Ex-Serviceman's Colony, Paud Road, Kothrud, Pune 411038. *Time*: 10.30-12.30: *2. Teesta Setalvad, *peace activist, co-founder of Sabrang and co-editor of *Communalism Combat*, will speak on ‘*Understanding the Context: Working through the Communal Conflict’ **(tentative title)** * *Date: *April 15, 2011 *Venue: *Moolgaokar hall, ICC Towers, S.B. Road *Time: *6 pm onwards These events are free. All are welcome. -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Apr 5 18:32:47 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:02:47 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega: Auditions Open ( April 10 - April 23 2011) Message-ID: <8CDC1A8E51362B4-B34-A183@webmail-m013.sysops.aol.com> Enter Online for season 4 now! Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega is a competition based variety entertainment show aired on Sony Entertainment Television. The show is all about entertainment, masti and fun. The contestants have to entertain the judges and a studio audience for atleast one minute with their performance to win a cash prize. It is an innovative show where we are looking for contestants with unique talent that could be in the form of singing, dancing, stunts, daredevilry, acrobatics, comedy and anything which has a ‘WOW’ factor to it. Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega Season 4 is coming soon on Sony Entertainment Television in 2011. If you think you can entertain and have the confidence to take the big prize... Shoot a video and upload it on our website. Our team will get in touch with you. Rules and Regulations Duration of clipping – Not more than 3 mins Open to all age groups Open to any type of act. If you think you got talent, then bring it on! Contestant must be a valid citizen of India No violence, obscenities or vulgarity or nudity will be allowed at any point. The Producer shall not be liable nor responsible for any damages, losses, costs, expenses or otherwise suffered by the contestants No entry or participation fees Animals are allowed to be part of the performances provided such participation has been permitted by Animals Welfare Board of India. Also no animals should be harmed in anyways in the act. MSM / production house decision is final and binding * Terms & Conditions apply: http://entertainment.setindia.com/Auditions_TC_EKLABKK_24_02_11v2_clean.pdf http://entertainment.setindia.com/ From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Apr 5 19:53:20 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 19:53:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Wikileak Cables and Indian Politics - A review Message-ID: http://www.pragoti.org/node/4348 Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From kiccovich at yahoo.com Wed Apr 6 15:15:21 2011 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 02:45:21 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Windmills in Herat? Message-ID: <655989.21651.qm@web113208.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Dear all I am off to Afghanistan at the beginning of May I have heard stories about the "famous" windmills of Herat, but found no evidence whatsoever. Is it an urban legend? Does anyone know anything about them? Any info will be greatly appreciated Cheers francesca francesca recchia it +39 338 166 3648 uk +44 7866477605 travel-snippets.tumblr.com http://www.veleno.tv/bollettini/?lang=en From the-network at koeln.de Wed Apr 6 18:53:07 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (artNET) Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:23:07 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Call=3A_CologneOFF_2011_-_videoart_i?= =?iso-8859-1?q?n_a_global_context?= Message-ID: <20110406152307.A21952A6.654B943@192.168.0.4> Call for entries extended deadline: 1 May 2011 -------------------------------------------- CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context - - a world wide unique festival project by - Cologne International Videoart Festival - started its virtual tour on 1 January 2011 and the physical tour around the globe on 26 January 2011 in the framework of Rotterdam International Film Festival, followed by venues in Finland and India in February and the Ukraine and Romania in March and April. It's goal is to show during one year at many venues around the globe the diversity of the creative potential of "art and moving images" transported via the global medium of "video". The videos can be submitted only online. Selected works will be featured on CologneOFF individually online and will become later in 2011 the 7th edition of CologneOFF - Cologne International Videoart Festival to be screened in physical space, as well. CologneOFF 2011 is inviting creators in the field of "art and moving images" - this may be experimental forms of film and video art - to submit up to 3 works --> Please find the entry details and form on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=2729 -------------------------------------------- CologneOFF - Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org is powered by artvideoKOELN the curatorial initiative "art & moving images" http://video.mediaartcologne.org 2011 (at) coff.newmediafest.org -------------------------------------------- From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Apr 6 22:09:20 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:39:20 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT MEGARTH In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CDC2904FD9A934-154C-3FBCE@webmail-d093.sysops.aol.com> INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT MEGARTH MEGARTH is a Social Sector Start-Up aimed at bringing people together to work for Social Change to accomplish the ambitious mission to proliferate Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Living. We believe that the first step on the road to achieving our mission is combining the efforts of those who are working ceaselessly across the globe to make this world a better place and providing viable solutions to the issues that our society currently grapples with. We are currently looking for talented and motivated young minds who value a life of purpose, appreciate intellectual challenge, and most importantly, want to make their presence felt by touching the lives of millions underprivileged. We are determined to bring the change we aspire!! The only question is: Do YOU want to be a part of this change? Following Internship Positions are currently open: A. EDITORIAL AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT If you are a virtual maestro in blogging, this arena is all yours for the taking! Responsibilities: Research based Content-Writing on Social & Development Issues. Interactive Web-Application Content-Writing. Online Media Content-Management for Face Book, Twitter & Linked In. Drafting News Letters, Public Communication Letters and Emails etc. Requirements: Fluent in Verbal & Written Communication. Experienced in Writing Articles & Blogs. Proficient in Online Media such as Face Book, Twitter, Blogging etc. Preference will be given to candidates with Knowledge of Social & Development Issues. B. MARKETING If you master the art of ruling people’s mind with your wit, this is the opportunity for you. Responsibilities: Conceptualizing means to create an image for MEGARTH. Conceptualizing means to convey what MEGARTH does. Creating Video & Design Concepts for Launch. Planning for Brand Promotion and Brand Management. Managing Media Communications. Requirements: Awesome Verbal & Written Communication Skills. Ability to visualize and think out of the box. Experienced in Conceptualizing Events & Campaigns. C. DESIGN, ANIMATION & AESTHETICS Looking at advertisements, do you usually feel how much better the concept could have been used? Are you an on screen Houdini, famed for the magic you can create using your designing skills? Work your magic with us to change the lives of millions.... Responsibilities: Create Videos, Concept Designs, Posters, Brochures etc. Design Logo, Templates and Icons for Web Application. Contribute to the Aesthetics of the Web Application. Requirements: Proficient in Designing Software such as Photoshop, CorelDRAW etc. Hands-on with Animation Software such as Flash, Maya, 3ds Max etc. Well conversant with Movie and Video Editing Software such as After Effects. Creative and Able to express Emotions through Designs. The stipend will be performance based with a sufficient minimum. Interns will be sufficiently compensated for their work. Interested students may send their applications to jobs at megarth.in along with a Cover Letter describing “Why you are the most Awesome person for the Job position”, their Resume, Contact Details and Samples of Work. Last Date for Application is April 12, 2011. From shahzulf at yahoo.com Thu Apr 7 09:13:35 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 20:43:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Launching Ceremoney of Social Movements Studies Message-ID: <787522.23799.qm@web38804.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All:   The Institute for Social Movement, Pakistan (ISM) and Sami Foundation (SF) invite your kind presence in the Launching Ceremony of the Residential Short Course Workshops Program on Social Movements Studies and “The Social Movements” an analytical and research journal on April 8, 2011, 10 AM at Hotel Indus, Hyderabad.   Regards,     Zulfiqar Shah - ISM Mustafa Khoso - SF   From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Apr 7 10:39:07 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:09:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Film Show at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi Message-ID: <8CDC2F90EA2922A-E94-2FE44@webmail-d141.sysops.aol.com> Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi Cordially invites you to attend Film show on April 07, 2011 Great Artists- Michelangelo © Seventh Art Production 23.00 Mins. The Paintings of India:Early Creative expression of man © Doordarshan 30.00 Mins. April 21, 2011 Great Artists- Van Gogh © Seventh Art Production 23.00 Mins. The Paintings of India: Pan-Asian Art © Doordarshan 30.00 Mins. at 6.00 p.m. at Kaustubh Auditorium Lalit Kala Akademi, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi RSVP: 011-23009200 From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Apr 7 21:10:01 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 21:10:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [itec_bangalore] What is LokPal Bill?? Here is what available on TimesOfIndia In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 6:47 PM, Nagaraj Chinni wrote: > > > > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/What-is-Lokpal-Bill/articleshow/7879944.cms > The full text is here: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/full-text-the-jan-lokpal-bill/148401-53.html _,_._ > But it really will not help much as corruption in public and private sectors is tightly integrated with neoliberalism. In countries like US, corruption is so high that a few MNCs can initiate war against other nations. With the current increase of FDI in all sectors corruption can only be expected to increase. There is nothing in the Lokpal bill about the private sector and about taming their 'business secrets'. Just another eyewash. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Apr 9 06:38:23 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2011 06:38:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More on the Lokpal Bill Message-ID: _________________________________________________________________ Civil Society - Effective but Limited and Contextual Fri, 2011-04-08 17:19 | Roshan Kishore The ongoing fast unto death by respected social activist Anna Hazare has evoked popular support and wide spread coverage in the media. It is clear that the popular support especially from the urban middle classes is built more on the outrage over corruption than a deeper understanding of the issues involved in Anna’s campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill. While there is a broad consensus, including the Left Parties (http://cpim.org/content/bring-effective-lokpal-bill) that the present draft made by the government is inadequate to serve its purpose, genuine concerns have been raised over the civil society’s demand for bypassing the role of elected representatives and operational parts of the bill (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jan-lokpal-bill-undermines-democracy-experts/148609-3.html). It is not clear as to which way will a final resolution materialize, with the government feeling the pressure of the momentum which has gathered around Anna’s campaign. However, it is worth reflecting on some of the issues around this hyped campaign against corruption. To begin with, let us take the role of the civil society itself. In a well functioning democracy the civil society plays an extremely important role. In India as well there are umpteen examples of this. The role played by civil society groups and activists in the fight against communalism, in drafting and legislating of pro-people laws like the Right to Information, National Rural Employment Guarantee etc. are some such instances. Very often, civil society groups fill the void which is created by the absence of progressive political forces. The work done by groups after the 2002 Gujarat riots and Kandhmal riots in Orissa is one such example. Lessons can also be learnt from the experience of Latin America, where various groups in cooperation with political parties have helped bring popular regime changes. But to think of the civil society as some entity which would lead a country towards salvation, even politely speaking is far-fetched and detached from reality. To my mind, the biggest reason is not incompetence, lack of revolutionary zeal, being unable to lead the people but lack of any accountability towards the people. This works in two ways. First, no matter what position the civil society takes (not to generalise it as some homogenous entity), it is not held accountable in any manner. Let us take an example: Swami Agnivesh, one of the key persons with Anna Hazare’s agitation has been campaigning for the present Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, having addressed joint rallies with her. But he can easily jump over to this bandwagon which is expressing deep hatred for politicians of all hues without having to offer any kind of explanation. For a political party such a volte-face would definitely require some explanation if not serious loss of credibility. Second, the civil society always has a luxury of choosing what issues it would pick up for agitations and what it would not. To make a demand that Mr. Hazare includes price rise as one of the issues in his agitation can be viewed as a perfectly legitimate yet sectarian demand, depending on which way one wants it to see. Or, to say that why Teesta Seetalvad is only fighting against communalism and why not against exploitation of tribals can also be seen as a holistic or self-righteous statement. Indeed these questions or parameters do not undermine the great contribution which people like Teesta or Anna have made to our society, nor should one jump to any conclusions passing judgements on their integrity. What then is the point? Is this an argument for argument’s sake? If not what is the moot point? A struggle to free the society of its vices can only succeed if it takes a holistic view. In common parlance unless the “system” is overhauled there is not much hope in the long run. The fight against corruption cannot be confined to the realm of a Lokpal Bill. Corruption in today’s India has an organic link with the neo-liberal economic policies, with big business making the most of the loot. The 2G spectrum is one of the biggest examples of corruption and neo-liberalism being entrenched, where a liberalization of the telecom sector was designed to facilitate the biggest loot of national resources in the history of our country. Unless these practices are checked and the money recovered the government will continue to fall short of resources to provide even essential services to the common people. If the money lost in the 2G spectrum scam were to be recovered, the government could easily implement a universal public distribution system, taking care of the problem of price rise to a large extent. Forget 2G, even the total revenue forgone in this year’s budget would be more than sufficient for many such pro-people measures. But definitely this is out of question. For it would upset the apple cart of investment friendly climate. Now, one can legitimately argue that to allow big corporations to evade taxes in a country where millions go to bed without even two square meals a day is definitely the hallmark of a corrupt government, if not legally then politically and morally. But these issues shall not be raised, for there are stakes involved. The media would definitely not cover such demands. Media and News Making is itself big-business in India today. News Anchors are helping to fix deals between corporates and political parties. Those who are tweeting from their state of the art phones sitting in plush corporate offices or swanky cars would not like this. Their incomes net of taxes might fall, or company’s balance sheets might not be as rosy as they used to be. Of course, it would be absurd to say that Anna’s agitation is designed to appease these sections. One must give the respect and legitimacy to the present agitation it deserves. The point I’m arguing for is a different one. To reduce the fight against corruption or the debate around it to only the demand for a particular piece of legislation is not doing justice to the cause. To project the middle classes, many of them politically naive or illiterate, and some time reactionary as revolutionaries who’ll bring about change, to allow characters like Chetan Bhagat to ridicule the entire democratic set up in our country by a cheap imitation of Deewar’s Amitabh Bachhan, who had to bear the indignation of having to spend his life with “mera baap chor hai” inscribed on his hands by the fellow workers of his trade unionist father, to project the ongoing agitation like a revolution while mobilizations much bigger in scale and with wider demands are blacked out (http://pragoti.org/node/4300), to measure the success of a campaign by who tweets in solidarity are reflections of the superficiality of the movement. If left without critical questions they have the potential of making the very political process shallow and farcical, excluding the concerns and aspirations of the toiling masses. Efforts must be made to utilize such occasions to raise and popularize legitimate and real questions which plague our country. And success in my view can only be achieved by popularizing partisanship in the favour of the sufferers and calling for and enforcing more democratic accountability, not the lack of it. Class assertion is a necessary condition for these ideas to materialize, but definitely not a sufficient one. Those of us, who want to transcend this class ridden society must think deeper and evolve ways to connect to the masses and build popular agitations and defeat the bourgeoisie in its game of creating flashpoints like these to confer radicalism upon itself, which can very well be used as a safety valve at times. Karl Marx had said, “To be radical is to grasp the root of the matter”. Whether it is corruption or anything else not engaging with the roots beneath can be anything but radicalism, and caution must be observed not to lower the guard. http://www.pragoti.org/node/4354 __________________________________________________________________ -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Apr 10 09:59:43 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:29:43 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?NSD_REPERTORY_COMPANY_invites_application?= =?utf-8?q?s_from_THEATRE_ARTISTES=2CNew_Delhi__/_Short_Course_on_?= =?utf-8?b?4oCcQmFzaWMgVmlkZW9ncmFwaHnigJ0gYXQgRlRJSSxQdW5l?= Message-ID: <8CDC54F0CDAA111-1E04-2F0B2@webmail-m148.sysops.aol.com> National School of Drama invites applications on plain paper from THEATRE ARTISTES for vacant posts of Artistes Grade A and B in the Repertory Company. They will be appointed on a consolidated salary slab of Rs.30,000 -35,000 and 25,000-30,000 per month respectively. The appointment is on contract basis, initially for one year, which may be extended upto a maximum of five years on the basis of periodic assessment. Essential Qualifications: 1. Graduate of NSD OR from a recognized Theatre Training Institute OR 5 years post-training experience in acting & eminence in the field for Artistes Grade ‘A’ and 2 years posttraining experience in acting for Artistes Grade ‘B’. 2. Experience of participating in major roles, in 15 important productions for Artistes Grade A and 10 important productions for Artistes Grade ‘B’ in Hindi and I or any other Indian language. 3. Proficiency in Hindi language & speech is essential. 1. 2. 3. Desirable Qualifications: 1. Experience of direction of plays, stage craft work. 2. Knowledge of (a) Dance, music and allied arts. (b) Achng theories and styles. (c) Regional languages and dialects. Preference will be given to Graduates of NSD. Applications complete in all respects, accompanied by a recent passport size photograph and attested copies of certificates and testimonials, proof of age etc., should reach the Repertory Chief, NSD Repertory Company, Bahawalpur House, Bhagwandas Road, New Delhi-lI000l on or before 2.5.2011. The new session will commence from mid-July 2011. Persons already employed should route their applications through proper channel. No TA I DA will be paid for attending the audition I interview. However, SC I ST candidates will be paid llnd class railway fare by the shortest route from their place of residence to New Delhi and back, on production of railway! bus receipt. Publication: The Times Of India Delhi; Date: Apr 4, 2011; Section: Times Nation; Page: 9; Order No: 7110608_1_1; Dimension: 8.0 X 15.0 sq.cm; --------------------------------- Short Course on “Basic Videography” http://www.ftiindia.com/basic_videography_sc.html Applications received will be scrutinized and selected candidates will be informed by 30th April, 2011. Selected candidates should send the fees by Demand Draft in favour of “Accounts Officer, FTII” payable at Pune. The last date of receiving the fees by Demand Draft is 05th May, 2011. Candidate should send the application to the address mentioned below: To, The Incharge Short Course Unit (TV Wing), Film and Television Institute of India, Law college road, Pune-411004. To download the application form, please click on the link given below: Download Application Form: http://www.ftiindia.com/forms/Short_CourseApplication%20Form.doc From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Apr 10 10:05:29 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:35:29 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Summertime_2011=5FSneak_Preview=3A_Don?= =?utf-8?q?=CA=BCt_Miss_the_Sneak_Preview_at_Prithvi_Theatre=2CMumbai?= Message-ID: <8CDC54FDAB8620D-1E04-2F14C@webmail-m148.sysops.aol.com> Donʼt Miss the Sneak Preview at Prithvi Theatre As we embark on our annual summertime journey through the magical world of theatre and the creative arts for children… do join us on the very first Registration day at Prithvi Theatre for a Sneak Preview of all thatʼs in store for you through summer … this Sunday the 10th, between 11 am and 1 pm at Prithvi Theatre. Where you will get to see snippets of the plays lined up to enchant you … amongst the 18 productions specially created for young people we have 9 premiering shows this season, which should not be missed! You can also get to meet our workshop conductors and get to know more about what they get up to! And find out about our Melaʼs at venues across town. Spend a delightful Sunday morning with us! Bring friends and grandparents alike! The Prithvi Café has a special brunch lined up! A gastronomical & theatrical feast for all ages! Look forward to seeing you at Prithvi on Sunday! Warmest regards, Sanjna ~ Sameera From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sun Apr 10 15:28:55 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:58:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Launching Ceremony: Revival of research activities urged to educate youth about social movements Message-ID: <54928.12125.qm@web38801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Revival of research activities urged to educate youth about social movements   Daily The News, Karachi Sunday, April 10, 2011   Karachi   There was a need to revive the culture of study circles and research activities and promote reading habit among the youth so that they may play a positive role on their part. These views were expressed by the speakers at a function organised jointly by the Institute for Social Movements (ISM) and Sami Foundation Pakistan in Hyderabad on Saturday. The event was held to launch a short course on Social Movements Studies, Research and Analytical Journal, The Social Movements. The participants said that since there was no concept of teaching indigenous social movements, majority of the youth was unaware about the history. They do not know about the major events occurred in the recent past, which impacted more on the society. General Yousuf Leghari, Mohammed Tehseen of (SAP) Pakistan, Mustafa Baloch of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), Asif Baladi, General Secretary Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Dr Dodo Maheri of Sindu United Party, Jami Chandio of Centre for Peace and Civil Society (CPCS), Amar Sindhu of Women Action Forum (WAF), Fatima Naqvi, Oxfam Country Head, Zulfiqar Shah of ISM, senior journalist Mahesh Kumar, Mustafa Khoso and others spoke on the occasion. Mustafa Khoso, the organiser of the short course, said that the 10-day residential course for the first batch had been started at Umerkot, where teachers would deliver lectures and learners would have access to the internet, library and modern research centre. The course includes the history of social movements in Pakistan and South Asian region. After that the participants of the course will be facilitated to visit Pakistan to discuss topics on history with people, who were struggling for long. In the last phase, these participants will be assigned a task to conduct research to know the achievements and challenges faced by the social movements. Former Sindh Advocate Yousuf Leghari appreciated the new move and assured the two organisations on behalf of the Mirpurkhas Law College that he would support them if they needed authentic certification through a professional institute. He said that a short course and a journal are being launched at an appropriate time as Sindh needs talented analysts to portray the real picture of society and guide politicians. Mohammed Tehseen of South Asia Partnership (SAP) Pakistan said that at a time when the entire society was under the grip of extremism and anarchy, the social studies course and journal would prove helpful in brainwashing the youth. Recalling the past, he said that during the sixties the political parties had started study circles in different towns and villages, taking regular classes to brainwash their cadre. “We all are the production of such traditional institutes. For this, we should not need modern buildings and huge infrastructure and should start from a small place. It needs a political will and commitment which I hope these organisations have to make the dream come true,” he added. Mustafa Baloch of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) said that the youth in Sindh did not know about the Hur Movement, the campaign launched by Makhdoom Bilawal, Sufi Shah Inayat and in the recent past movements like Movement for Restoration of Democracy, Anti-One Unit Movement, students campaign, haris struggle and role of women in these struggles. He said that these movements should have been mentioned in the educational curriculum to teach the students. Due to the absence of such material, the youth was unaware about the past history. Earlier, Zulfiqar Shah, Executive Director of ISM, told the audience that there were only four such institutions, which were teaching social movements in the world. He said that they had approached 32 renowned scholars from different countries to contribute to the unique journal and received positive response from them.   Link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=40792&Cat=4&dt=4/10/2011 From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Apr 10 22:55:26 2011 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:55:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org Message-ID: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Dear All, Far from the din of Television, there has been an interesting (and real) debate over the weekend on the 'Anna Hazare + Draft Jan Lokpal Bill Phenomenon'' on Kafila.Org. Here are links to 3 posts, in chronological order, by me, Bobby Kunhu and Aditya Nigam. I am not posting the entire texts, as that would take up too much space in the body of a single message, but the links are easy to get to. Hope this is of interest to some reader on this list. Apologies for cross posting from Kafila.org best Shuddha --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. At the Risk of Heresy: Why I am not Celebrating with Anna Hazare Shuddhabrata Sengupta, April 9, 2011 http://kafila.org/2011/04/09/at-the-risk-of-heresy-why-i-am-not-celebrating-with-anna-hazare/ 2. Of a Few, By a Few, for the Few Bobby Kunhu (Guest Post) April 10, 2011 http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/of-a-few-by-a-few-for-the-few-bobby-kunhu/ 3. Anna Hazare, Democracy and Politics : A Response to Shuddhabrata Sengupta by Aditya Nigam April 10, 2011 http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/anna-hazare-democracy-and-politics-a-response-to-shuddhabrata-sengupta/ Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Apr 11 02:18:12 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:48:12 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill onKafila.org References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: <1443FBFE4CBF48B6BEBFC3EF1DC50625@tara> It's interesting Ms. Dutt's channel was playing slogans of Vande Mataram when I heard the coverage. The commentary used the word "crusade" multiple times. Shockingly Shanti Bhushan was told that there were people opposed to his and his son being together in the committee. The example thrown was that of, and this is the shocking part, Baba Ramdev. I was just wondering if NDTV is shifting to trivial mode when covering this issue? Why are Congress and its supporters so opposed to this movement? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" To: "sarai list" Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 1:25 PM Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill onKafila.org > Dear All, > > Far from the din of Television, there has been an interesting (and real) > debate over the weekend on the 'Anna Hazare + Draft Jan Lokpal Bill > Phenomenon'' on Kafila.Org. Here are links to 3 posts, in chronological > order, by me, Bobby Kunhu and Aditya Nigam. > > I am not posting the entire texts, as that would take up too much space in > the body of a single message, but the links are easy to get to. Hope this > is of interest to some reader on this list. Apologies for cross posting > from Kafila.org > > best > > Shuddha > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 1. At the Risk of Heresy: Why I am not Celebrating with Anna Hazare > Shuddhabrata Sengupta, April 9, 2011 > http://kafila.org/2011/04/09/at-the-risk-of-heresy-why-i-am-not-celebrating-with-anna-hazare/ > > 2. Of a Few, By a Few, for the Few > Bobby Kunhu (Guest Post) > April 10, 2011 > http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/of-a-few-by-a-few-for-the-few-bobby-kunhu/ > > 3. Anna Hazare, Democracy and Politics : A Response to Shuddhabrata > Sengupta > by Aditya Nigam > April 10, 2011 > http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/anna-hazare-democracy-and-politics-a-response-to-shuddhabrata-sengupta/ > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Apr 11 09:15:07 2011 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:15:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha, Thankyou very much for sharing this debate with us. Although most of the times I disagree with your views but on this I am in complete unison with your though process.I very much appreciate the spirit of your column. I almost belived that I may be the only one who has a different take on the subject but am glad that we are looking at this "phenomenon" with a much needed different perspective. Thanks and Best Regards Rashneek On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 10:55 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear All, > > Far from the din of Television, there has been an interesting (and real) > debate over the weekend on the 'Anna Hazare + Draft Jan Lokpal Bill > Phenomenon'' on Kafila.Org. Here are links to 3 posts, in chronological > order, by me, Bobby Kunhu and Aditya Nigam. > > I am not posting the entire texts, as that would take up too much space in > the body of a single message, but the links are easy to get to. Hope this is > of interest to some reader on this list. Apologies for cross posting from > Kafila.org > > best > > Shuddha > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 1. At the Risk of Heresy: Why I am not Celebrating with Anna Hazare > Shuddhabrata Sengupta, April 9, 2011 > > http://kafila.org/2011/04/09/at-the-risk-of-heresy-why-i-am-not-celebrating-with-anna-hazare/ > > 2. Of a Few, By a Few, for the Few > Bobby Kunhu (Guest Post) > April 10, 2011 > http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/of-a-few-by-a-few-for-the-few-bobby-kunhu/ > > 3. Anna Hazare, Democracy and Politics : A Response to Shuddhabrata > Sengupta > by Aditya Nigam > April 10, 2011 > > http://kafila.org/2011/04/10/anna-hazare-democracy-and-politics-a-response-to-shuddhabrata-sengupta/ > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Apr 11 09:46:43 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:16:43 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is seeking applications for its residency program In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CDC61663F41E2A-C88-26C1B@webmail-d039.sysops.aol.com> The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is seeking applications for its residency program. LIFT is an artist-run production and educational media arts organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the moving image. Mainro_01 LIFT’s residency program focuses on the production of film-based works with equipment and facilities to which the artist would not have access in their local region. Artists are expected to be at an established point in their practice (although not necessarily working predominantly with film). Eligibility: International (non-Canadian) artists. Application: • Proposal/Artist statement (including how they intend to engage the local community during their stay and how LIFT can help create access to equipment or facilities not available at their home location) • Curriculum vitae • Proposed budget (including funding sources for materials) • Visual support material of past work (do not send originals, documentation will not be returned) Mail applications to: International Artist Residencies 2011/12 Application c/o Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) 1137 Dupont Street Toronto, Ontario M6H 2A3 CANADA Grant The maximum cash funding for projects is $3,000 (CAD) for travel, accommodation and per diems. Equipment and facilities will be provided by LIFT to a maximum of $3,000 (CAD), LIFT equipment rates can be found at www.lift.on.ca. The artist is responsible for the costs of all film stock, chemicals, lab fees and other expendables. Contact Ben Donoghue, Executive Director submissions at lift.on.ca for more information: www.lift.on.ca From ravikant at sarai.net Mon Apr 11 12:49:21 2011 From: ravikant at sarai.net (ravikant) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:49:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] lecture at CSDS, today, on Caste Idenity in Kerala Message-ID: <4DA2AB79.10006@sarai.net> *Centre for the Study of Developing Societies* *Programme for Social & Political Theory* /(Rethinking the Political Series)/ invites you to a lecture by Professor P. Sanal Mohan on *'Caste Identities in Contemporary Kerala'* The lecture is scheduled to be held on April 11, 2011, 3.30 PM at CSDS Conference Hall. You are cordially invited to attend the Lecture. Here is the abstract: _*Abstract*_ *Caste Identities in Contemporary Kerala* The proposed paper tries to problematise the articulations of caste in contemporary Kerala which is significant in the analysis of the politics that has evolved in the post colonial times. While there are definite continuities with the manner in which caste was invoked in the early twentieth century mobilizations, the postcolonial political developments seemingly centred more and more on the developmental interventions of the state. The upwardly mobile Ezhavas assumed a new social self, the elements of which were drawn from the powerful reform movement of the community that began in 1904. The social movements made the transition to middle class relatively easy for Ezhavas while the same process was not available for various Dalit communities including Dalit Christians in spite of the powerful social movements that they had developed in the first half of the twentieth century. Fishermen community also remained marginalised even in areas where they developed social movements. The movements of upper caste communities such as the Nair and Namboodiri in the early decades of the twentieth century were instrumental in modernising their castes and help them evolve as modern social selves. One could also identify reform movements among Syrian Christians as well as Muslims following this general pattern. We don’t find any movement among the Adivasi communities except the Mala Arayas in the eastern hills of Travancore accepting Christianity in the mid nineteenth century. While there are definite continuities with the invocation of caste in the early twentieth century mobilizations, the post colonial political and social development seemingly centred more and more on the state. However, it was not happening in a social vacuum. The newly emerged middle class drawn mostly from upper castes articulated its values as desirable for all social groups aspiring to be modern. The consequences of such a development were far reaching. Nationalist and left mobilizations had evolved a particular language for discussing issues of caste which did not go into the deeper issues of domination. As a result of it caste domination continued to be a problem in the civil society which was never acknowledged in Kerala. The oft repeated argument was that caste was losing its significance in Kerala. However, the articulations of caste became increasingly evident in the last few decades. The proposed paper attempts to analyse how issues of caste came to be discussed in Kerala in the after math of the discussions on much hyped developmental model of Kerala. Sanal Mohan teaches history at School of Social Sciences,Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Praveen Rai Academic Secretary Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29, Rajpur Road Delhi - 110054 Phone: 91-11-23942199 Fax: 91-11-23943450 www.csds.in From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Apr 11 19:27:11 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:57:11 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] IDPA Awards for Excellence 2010 Deadline is extended Message-ID: <8CDC6677D11B284-11B4-79177@webmail-d070.sysops.aol.com> ENTRY DATES Extended upto May 31st 2011 Dear Friends, It is that time of year again to send in your entries for the IDPA Awards for Excellence 2010. We do look forward to your participation and do spread the words to your friends and colleagues. Special Categories Films on Environment Films on Disabilities Films Shot on Cell Phones REGULAR ENTRY Deadline: Extended upto May 15th 2011 LATE ENTRY Deadline: May 16th 2011 to 31st May 2011 IDPA members get a discount on entry fees For more info and details log on to www.idpaindia.org or Call Pooja 022-24920757 With every duly filled Entry form for IDPA AWARDS you need to send the following * DVD of entry. One DVD for every category. + Soft & Hard Copies of: 1) 100 & 200-word synopsis of the film 2) Two stills from the film 3) Vertical Format Photograph of Director of the film 4) 50 & 100-word Biography and Filmography of the Director 5) Each DVD must be labeled clearly, and must contain the film title. along with * Cheque/Demand Draft favouring “Indian Documentary Producers’ Association” to Indian Documentary Producers' Association 223 Famous Cine Building 20, Dr. E Moses Road Mahalaxmi Mumbai 400011 Phone 022-24920757 idpaindia at gmail.com www.idpaindia.org From iram.ghufran at gmail.com Mon Apr 11 21:18:14 2011 From: iram.ghufran at gmail.com (Iram Ghufran) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:18:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Something I've been meaning to tell you >> Friday, April 15th Message-ID: Opening >> Something I've been meaning to tell you Anusha Yadav Clare Arni Gauri Gill Nandini Valli Muthiah Priya Sen Sarindar Dhaliwal Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi Sunil Gupta Curated by Sunil Gupta and Vidya Shivadas Preview: 15 April 2011, 6 pm Vadehra Art Gallery D-178 Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110020 On view till 20 May 2011 Monday to Saturday, 11 am - 7 pm Additional Events 16 April 2011, 7 pm Artist Speak: Clare Arni, Nandini Valli Muthiah and Priya Sen Moderated by Rakhee Balaram FICA Reading Room, D-42 Defence Colony, New Delhi 28 April 2011, 6.30 pm A Novel in Photos: An Evening with Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi ML Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française de Delhi, 72 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 2 May 2011, 7 pm After Stonewall: Book release of Queer: Sunil Gupta Authors: Keith Wallace and Saleem Kidwai Published by Vadehra Art Gallery and Prestel Performance by Pramada Menon and Gautam Bhan to mark the occasion. Saleem Kidwai will also be present. Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, 3 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi ________________________________ What’s becoming increasingly apparent from the history of Indian photography is the preoccupation with the family portrait. The considerable formalities of the studio portrait have given way to the snapshot and the more intimate subject matter of art making. As the extended family is under stress, pressure is increasing to divulge its secrets. The multiplicity of relationships that individuals have, are often managed by a cloak of secrecy about real and/or imaginary feelings about siblings, parents, children and others. How and what to reveal seems to be one of our paramount contemporary concerns. Meanwhile society itself is changing; now more accepting of a range of a family structures from one individual alone to same-sex families. The title of the exhibition comes from Alice Munro, a Canadian writer of short stories that extensively explore this sensitive and difficult terrain. Anusha Yadav's online ‘Indian Memory Project’ where people are asked to upload a photo and relate the story of the relative takes the personal archive into a contested public space. Clare Arni's extended portrait of the Belgian woman ascetic Meera as she emerges from her thirty year spiritual retreat spent in a cave in Hampi.  Gauri Gill's extraordinarily evocative witness of the short life of Jannat from rural Rajasthan- not a sociological study nor a memorial. Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's record of his father battling brain cancer, in the words of the writer-photographer, ‘have me thinking about not only my father’s end but also my own and how I will meet it.’ Sarindar Dhaliwal's video piece, ‘Olive, Almond and Mustard’ a diaspora artist's reflection on the Punjabi village of her birth, the memory of her mother's tales and the nursery rhymes of her adopted homelands. Priya Sen's  video project 'Antecedent Garden', takes her through a continuous museum of places and childhoods - both simultaneously becoming signifiers of the future, as well as a constantly changing past. Nandini Valli Muthiah's series, ‘Remembering to Forget’ where children enact, in fancy dress, roles chosen by their parents - a performance that for many will remain with them through their adult years. And finally Sunil Gupta's ongoing project, ‘Country’, investigating the traces of his father's family in rural Uttar Pradesh and its three hundred year trajectory into the modern world. -- Iram Ghufran Sarai Media Lab Sarai/ CSDS 29 Rajpur Road Delhi 110057 http://www.sarai.net/practices/media-forms/city-as-studio-exb http://www.delhicommons.net/ From ruchira.1409 at gmail.com Mon Apr 11 21:25:47 2011 From: ruchira.1409 at gmail.com (Ruchira Chaturvedi) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:25:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: Anyone knows where I can find a copy of the government Lok Pal Bill? From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Apr 11 23:39:53 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:39:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 10:55 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > I am not posting the entire texts, as that would take up too much space in the body of a single message, but the links are easy to get to. Hope this is of interest to some reader on this list. Apologies for cross posting from Kafila.org > The write-ups concern the democratic aspect and obvious lack of understanding of problem complexity. Anybody serious about tackling corruption would have clearer plans and not vague emotions. The main problem with the movement is its complete lack of direction. Interestingly they do not define corruption and the exact scope of the bill. Hazare does not seem to have any understanding of corruption in the corporate world. If the union cabinet decides to grant astronomical degree of concessions to the corporate sector (including themselves), then does that fall under the bill? Further the gang leading the 'media orchestrated movement' has clear political connections and motivations. See the article in www.pragoti.org for example. In my opinion, the 'movement' is an attempt by sections of the ruling bourgeois class to seize more power and try and play down the evils of UPA-2. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Apr 12 00:31:16 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:01:16 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The 9th Annual Script Pipeline 2011 Screenwriting Competition Message-ID: <8CDC691F7FD8036-1434-1DD@webmail-d097.sysops.aol.com> What is the Script Pipeline Competition? Originally launched in 2002 as the Script P.I.M.P. (Pipeline Into Motion Pictures) competition, the contest sets its sights on discovering new and up-and-coming creative talent worldwide. The Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest has grown significantly over the past eight years and is now one of the largest competitions in the world as far as global reach and number of entrants. In 2010, over 3,000 screenplays were received for the Screenwriting and TV Writing Competitions combined, thus far the biggest season yet and indicative of a steady growth over the last several years. The total monetary prizes increased in 2010 as well to $20,000 distributed across the top 20 finalist and winning writers. But Script Pipeline goes beyond simply awarding cash to screenwriters. Like a small handful of other competitions, our finalists are given industry circulation to approximately 200 qualified companies, including agents and managers, looking for new material. Yet, unlike any other amateur screenwriting competition, finalists are given true one-on-one assistance. Here's a breakdown of what ALL finalists receive, beyond prizes: Phone or in-person consultation with Script Pipeline's Director of Development to review the screenplay and receive additional, detailed notes Assistance in polishing the finalist's script before circulation Query/logline review by one or more analysts A separate meeting with a Script Pipeline consultant to discuss marketability and strategy when sending out their work--who's looking for what, the current state of development, and most anything concerning the business side of the spec world Access to active managers and producers looking for specifc types of writers for paid writing assignments (*dependent on what leads we have at that time of the year). The opportunity to send other screenplays or treatments to Script Pipeline for review by our Director of Development Additional types of mentorship and professional support, such as help in navigating the industry from a career standpoint, or linking up with other talent for the purposes of self-producing The intent here is to not only support dedicated screenwriters as long as necessary, but allow our industry contacts to continuously receive upper-echelon material from current and previous finalists, with the ultimate goal of seeing these scripts financed and produced. View feedback from previous finalists:http://www.scriptpipeline.com/feedback Recent Script Pipeline competition success stories: http://www.scriptpipeline.com/success-stories Questions on the competition not answered here? E-mail comp at scriptpipeline.com. Submission Guidelines Contact information (name, E-mail address, etc.) preferred on the cover page. Scripts in PDF, Final Draft (.fdr), or Microsoft Word (.doc) are preferred. Script should be a feature-length screenplay. All genres, styles, lengths, etc. are fine. No limit on number of entries allowed, to either competition. Simultaneous submissions are fine (i.e. you can enter other screenwriting contests with the same script). Synopses and loglines are optional. Send any additional materials to entry at scriptpipeline.com after entering. Previous Script Pipeline competition entries welcome to enter again and are guaranteed fresh reads. New Writers Database members may send their free entry to entry at scriptpipeline.com. Additional notes on the script may be added during registration for $45. Sample notes can be found here. Prizes FOUR GRAND PRIZE WINNERS $14,000 total cash ($3,500 each) $1,000 toward the "Think Tank" program at Writers Boot Camp ($4,000) Winning script recorded by iScript ($800) Plus ALL the finalist prizes listed below. . . . TWENTY FINALISTS $3,200 total cash (16 finalists receive $200 each) $250 travel voucher and invitation as recognized finalist to attend the Script Pipeline Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, CA in July 2011 where the winners will be announced Guaranteed circulation to 200 companies Mentor teleconference meetings with an industry exec to discuss the finalist's script Additional, one-on-one analysis and mentoring from a Script Pipeline reader on the winning entry, as well as other screenplays 5-year memberships to Script Pipeline's Writers Database ($10,000) Featured 'Script Pipeline Recommend' listing on Ink Tip™ $100 "Creative Currency" for Writers Boot Camp ($2,000) EVERYONE who enters the competition is eligible for the following prizes: 12 copies of Final Draft 7.0 ($2,500) 10 one-year subscriptions to Scrpt Magazine ($250) 4 one-year subscriptions to Creative Screenwriting ($120) 4 one-year subscriptions to Movie Maker Magazine ($60) 10 listings on Ink Tip™ ($400) 4 script consultations from Script Pipeline Writers Workshop ($2,600) 10 half-hour consultations with a Script Pipeline reader ($3,500) 5 screenplay technical edits from Script Pipeline, w/additional editing notes ($2,500) 10 Script Pipeline Workshop Development Notes ($2,500) 50 two-year subscriptions to Script Pipeline's Writers Database ($10,000) 30 five-year subscriptions to Script Pipeline’s Writers Database ($15,000) 10 ten-year subscriptions to Script Pipeline’s Writers Database ($10,000) 10 sets of notes/script evaluations from Writers Boot Camp Judges / Mentors The 2011 Script Pipeline Competition is searching for the best stories told by the best screenwriters worldwide. Our pool of judges is comprised of working literary managers, producers, professional analysts and writers, Script Pipeline readers, and development directors from the film industry. All judges are pre-screened and carry a minimum of 5+ years reading for major competitions, production companies, studios, and/or management firms and agencies. After the competition, our Contest Director and Coordinators will work to set up at least two mentor meetings with each finalist. The mentors are not intended to personally represent your project, but rather provide advice, potential leads, and act as an overall guide in your effort to circulate your script. In addition, companies and individuals receiving finalist loglines have been reviewed by Script Pipeline as qualified producers, managers, or agents. Click here to view a selection of the 200 companies receiving finalist loglines/scripts. http://www.scriptpipeline.com/print.php/?page=view_content&id=184 From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Apr 12 07:04:09 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:04:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Compulsive Lying in Politics Message-ID: ___________________________________________________ Mamata’s Bluff Exposed >From Our Special Correspondent in Kolkata Mamata Banerjee’s remark, ‘I don’t tell lies’ is the greatest joke of the year. Gautam Deb, CPI(M) leader referred to Banerjee’s claim in an interview to a private TV channel as spurious. Deb, in a press conference, proved this with a plethora of examples on April 5. He asserted that the heap of falsities propagated by Banerjee and her party TMC is unparalleled. Gautam Deb reiterated his readiness to sit with Mamata Banerjee in a question-answer session. But it depends on her consent. Hence, Deb took recourse to media for direct audio-visual reference to Mamata Banerjee’s blatant lies in an interview in the said channel. Mamata Banerjee: Rice at Rs 2 per Kg to poor people is a central government scheme, not of the LF. Gautam Deb: The central government supplies rice for the poor at Rs 5.65 per Kg. The West Bengal government gives a subsidy of Rs.3 65 for supplying rice to the poor at the reduced rate of Rs 2 per Kg. On this account, the state government bears an annual subsidy load of Rs 450 crore. At present, 2.64 crore poor people in the BPL list are getting this benefit in West Bengal. The eighth Left Front government will extend this facility to families having an annual income of Rs 10,000. An additional 1.5 - 2 crore people will come under this scheme. Mamata Banerjee: 80 per cent of the state policemen are CPI(M) cadres. Gautam Deb: The LF is in the government in the state for 35 years. A day will come when there will be no policeman who is without employment during the LF regime. Perhaps she had this point in mind when she made the remark. But the fun lies in the fact that after retirement, policemen are going to her residence at Kalighat. Just see the fun. Mamata Banerjee: Court cases have been lodged against more than One lakh TMC workers. Gautam Deb: All bogus and bunkum! The state government has submitted to the Election Commission the number of men rounded up for non-bailable offences. The number is 82, 277. It includes murderers, thieves, dacoits as well as persons belonging to Congress, TMC, CPI(M) etc. etc. Let Mamata Banerjee or Partha Chatterjee submit their list of One lakh TMC workers under custody. We shall tally the list. Mamata Banerjee: 50 per cent of the villages in West Bengal are deprived of electricity. Gautam Deb: Blatant lie! West Bengal has 37,910 mouzas. Electricity has already reached 37,765 mouzas. Last time we declared in our manifesto that we will provide electricity to all mouzas. Consciously, we have not raised the issue in this year’s manifesto, because our target is nearly fulfilled. In the small amount of the remaining mouzas, electricity would be provided within a short time. This year we have declared that we shall provide electricity to all such houses that are still without it. The eighth LF will do the work in a phased manner. Mamata Banerjee: During this period [7th LF regime] we have not organised even a day’s bandh or set up any barricade. Gautam Deb: TMC has not called bundh or set up barricade! Her own kinsmen will cackle at such a preposterous claim. If we go back to 2006, the account stands: November 30: Kolkata barricaded, public and private vehicles damaged December 1, 2006: state-wide bandh December 2, 2006: Railways obstructed December 5, 2006: TMC support to SUCI-Naxal convened bandh December 6, 2006: Streets blocked and railways barricaded for two hours all over the state December 21- 22, 2006: 48 hour bandh called (though called off at night on Dec 21.) March 16, 2007: Bangla bandh by TMC November 12, 2007: Bandh called jointly by Congress-TMC-BJP. Barbaric attacks let loose on pedestrians, common people throughout the state The list can be enlarged. TMC anarchy is still fresh in people’s memory. Mamata Banerjee: We shall form legislative council (Bidhan Parishad). Gautam Deb: Barring six states, there is no Bidhan Parishad. No MLA of the TMC has mentioned such a thing in the last five years in the assembly. The fact is, this plea is bait for those who have been denied tickets in the coming assembly election. Mamata Banerjee: The state government is bankrupt. Its debt has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore. Gautam Deb: The central government, of which Mamata Banerjee is a minister, has right now a debt amounting to Rs 39 lakh crore. The Uttar Pradesh government has a debt of Rs 2.21 lakh crore, Maharastra Rs 2.07 lakh crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 1.27 lakh crore, and West Bengal Rs 1.86 lakh crore. West Bengal is now financially strong among the big states. West Bengal’s debt stands accumulated from 1947. An important datum is that the central finance ministry has taken loans from the banks for the last 30 months to the tune of Rs 9 lakh crore to combat financial crisis. Mamata Banerjee: I have allocated Rs One lakh crore in the railways only for West Bengal. Gautam Deb: The railway minister’s budget for the whole country during 2010-11 is Rs 41,626 crore and during 2011-12 it is Rs 57,630 crore. Taken together, these two years’ total railway budget is a little below Rs One lakh crore and that too for the whole country. Now she says that for West Bengal alone her allocation is Rs One lakh crore! People with some amount of learning won’t believe such concocted things. Mamata Banerjee: For unorganised labour sector there are central schemes. Gautam Deb: Once again inflated lies! The central schemes concern only the BPL, unorganised labour sectors do not come under those. We have covered more than 25 lakh unorganised labour under provident fund schemes. All labour of 61 specific sectors are benefited. Besides provident fund schemes, we have health protection schemes, provident fund for agriculture labour, pension fund for construction workers, education allowance for the children of transport labour, provident fund for bidi workers. The eighth Left Front will further extend all such schemes for the unorganised labour sector. Mamata Banerjee: I have not raised railway fare, I won’t impose tax. Gautam Deb: In the last two years, she has prepared railway budgets with loans from the central government to the tune of Rs 15,875 crore and Rs 20,000 crore. She has not imposed tax, but enhanced freight charge. Moreover, she has raised from the market for the last two years bonds of Rs 9120 crore and Rs 20,594 crore. Won’t such huge loans lead the railways in the wilderness? Who’ll bear her legacy of such a huge loans? Mamata Banerjee: In the last one year, I have constructed 710 kms of new rail tracks. Gautam Deb: Notice has been served in the parliament for telling lies and misleading the parliament. She says 710 kms of new rail tracks, but the central finance ministry shows that only 59 kms have been constructed in six months. Her account of doubling of lines shows 700 km. But finance ministry’s account shows it as 55 km in six months. Mamata Banerjee’s figure of railway electrification stands at 1000 km. Finance ministry shows only 243 kms done in six months. She says, gauge conversion is 800 km, finance ministry shows it to be 140 km in six months. Doubling of doubling the figures of the finance ministry also cannot reach the statistics given out by her. Mamata Banerjee: I have employed 1.80 lakh workers in the railways. Gautam Deb: There should be some limit to talking rot. In government service there are some norms of employment. Can she show in her railway budgets that she has allocated fund for the salary of these 1.80 lakh newly employed? Can she show in which railway board meeting, the decision on these employments was taken? Where is the cabinet decision? Can she show a single paper on the issue? Mamata Banerjee: The Maoists are CPI(M)’s induction. Gautam Deb: Strange! If they are CPI(M)’s induction, why are they wanting to see her the chief minister of West Bengal? Why are they killing the CPI(M) leaders and workers? Mamata Banerjee: CPI(M) is now in coma. Gautam Deb: Then lakhs of people under coma had come to the Brigade? Students under coma are ensuring victories of the SFI in colleges? The primary school teachers have ensured the victory of the Left candidates because they are in coma? From a doctor, I learn that a coma patient can revive, but if one is brain dead, she cannot revive. If she thinks that CPI(M) is in coma, then she has undergone ‘brain death’. Mamata Banerjee: Minority Reservation is done from the Hindu share. Gautam Deb: Very dangerous statement! Greater communal instigation than the BJP is capable of. This is an incitement for communal riot. All over India, only Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has taken this historical decision of reservation for the poor Muslims. This is not from the share of the Hindus. After providing reservation for all classes of backward Hindu communities, this has been done in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict. _____________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From cubbykabi at yahoo.com Tue Apr 12 08:08:53 2011 From: cubbykabi at yahoo.com (kabi cubby sherman) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:08:53 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] poetry reading - Message-ID: <359245.78436.qm@web94704.mail.in2.yahoo.com> The India International Centre, in conjunction with the Poetry Society of India, invites you to come celebrate the one-year anniversary of the publication of Indivisible: An Anthology of South Asian American Poetry (University of Arkansas Press) -- the first collection of its kind, co-edited by Neelanjana Banerjee, Summi Kaipa and Pireeni Sundaralingam. The featured poets will be Minal Hajratwala, Subhashini Kaligotla, Maya Khosla, Sudeep Sen, Jeet Thayil and co-editor Neelanjana Banerjee. This event will be chaired by Keki Daruwalla. Wednesday, April 13 · 6:30pm - 8:00pm India International Centre 40 Max Mueller Marg New Delhi, India www.indivisibleanthology.com http://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/ kabi Meter Down - काली पीली की कहानी blog: http://meterdown.wordpress.com podcast: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/meterdown From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Tue Apr 12 14:29:18 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:59:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Supporting a Musical with Municipal School Kids from Pune Message-ID: <743614.73586.qm@web161406.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Excerpts from Mansi's mail are below. Read the entire mail at http://bit.ly/hta1JO I am Mansi A Panjwani, a fellow from the first batch of Teach For India and for the last two years I have served as a teacher at a Municipal Corporation English Medium School in Pune, where the parents of my children are rickshaw drivers, scrap sellers, housemaids and some even unemployed. Through these two years, I have worked tirelessly to empower my kids not only with conceptual knowledge and skills, but also with values they can carry forth into their daily lives. As a result of this, we have come a long way. From not one child being able to speak in English, today we’re dreaming of having a Musical in the same language. From students studying out of fear, today they study joyfully because they realise “knowledge is power”. However, I am most proud when I see them becoming better people, letting go of violence and knowing how to help each other, speaking the language of respect with each other. As my fellowship is drawing to a close, I asked myself what can I concretely leave behind with these children that will last with them throughout their lives? The answer was a Musical. Through the power of dramatics and dance, through the power of expression, I thought it best to validate the values we've displayed in our classroom. The theme of the Musical is inspired by the Wizard of Oz. The Question we ask ourselves through the Musical is - “What makes us happy/successful in life?” and through the drama, children realize 3 qualities we need in ourselves- (a) Brains [used for hardwork], (b) Heart [used for compassion towards others] and (c) Courage [the spirit of never giving up in the face of any obstacle]. We approach you with all sincerity to help our idea Come Alive. Please know we will be immensely grateful for the same. We are looking for sponsorships or financial funding for the event, venue, taking care of the food requirements of the children etc. Also, we're in need of volunteers or summer interns in Pune who can contribute to making this event a success... giving them a chance too, to work closely with kids as well as have a glimpse into the education sector at the grassroots level. We're also looking for art experts, a director who can help with rehearsals. We are accepting financial contributions towards this Musical on this link: http://www.giveindia.org/give/pledgepage/HelpOurMusicalCOMEALIVE We hope our idea touches you in some way and we eagerly look forward to your support. Warm Regards, Mansi Arun Panjwani Teach For India Fellow (2009) Feel free to reach me at mansi.panjwani2009 at teachforindia.org or at 91-9823065801. From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Tue Apr 12 15:30:26 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:30:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Lecture by Teesta Setalvad Message-ID: Open Space Pune presents: ***‘Us and Them: * *Tracing The Historical Contours of the Communal Divide.’* * * * **A public lecture by** Teesta Setalvad.* What is the history of communal violence in India? How have we reached the fragile situation we are in today? Journalist/activist Teesta Setalvad will share her experiences of engaging with communities and the justice delivery system, especially in Mumbai and Gujarat. She will also share insights into the role of media, curriculum, politics, social institutions and cultural practices in reinforcing and perpetuating stereotypes of identity and other forces that polarize communities on the basis of religious identities. * * *Date: *Friday, April 15 2011 *Time: *6-8 pm. *Venue: *Moolgaokar hall, ‘A’ Wing, ICC Towers, Senapati Bapat Road, Chaturshrungi, Pune. * * *Entry FREE. All are welcome.* * * *Teesta Setalvad* is a Mumbai-based civil rights activist, journalist and also educationist. She graduated in philosophy from the Bombay University in 1983 and started her career as a journalist, reporting for the Mumbai editions of The Daily (India), The Indian Express and then for Business India. In the aftermath of the communal carnage in Mumbai in 1993, Teesta Setalvad and her journalist/activist husband Javed Anand both quit full-time journalism to start a monthly magazine *Communalism Combat*. She is the official spokesperson of *Sabrang Communications *which advocates human rights. She heads the Mumbai-based NGO ‘Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ)’. Teesta is founder of the Women and Media Committee, which seeks to "'bring together working women journalists to raise job-related concerns and awareness of gender-sensitivity in writing and reporting on issues concerning women". She is also founder of Journalists Against Communalism. Teesta is Director of the project “Khoj: Education for A pluralistic India” and is the General Secretary of the People's Union for Human Rights (PUHR) and a member of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy. She has authored and produced alternate history and social studies text books used in municipal and private schools as supplementary material. Teesta is also a member of CABE Committee reconstituted in 2009 and a member of the Expert CABE Committee on “Regulatory Mechanisms for Textbooks and Parallel Textbooks Taught in Schools Outside the Government System”. -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From rakhi.sehgal at gmail.com Tue Apr 12 17:00:28 2011 From: rakhi.sehgal at gmail.com (Rakhi Sehgal) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:00:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: Hi Ruchira, You can access a scanned copy of the 2010 govt bill at http://iac.getup4change.org/doc/Govt._s_Lokpal_Bill_2010.pdf for which I found the link on http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/ Best, Rakhi On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 9:25 PM, Ruchira Chaturvedi wrote: > Anyone knows where I can find a copy of the government Lok Pal Bill? > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From ruchira.1409 at gmail.com Tue Apr 12 18:13:40 2011 From: ruchira.1409 at gmail.com (Ruchira Chaturvedi) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:13:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: Thanks a lot, Rakhi. From aliens at dataone.in Tue Apr 12 20:37:54 2011 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:37:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Lecture by Teesta Setalvad In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <002d01cbf923$69b96380$3d2c2a80$@in> Teesta will speaks on communal divide? What a joke. She is full of communal mindset and one of the most pseudo-secular........... Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Ujwala Samarth Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 3:30 PM To: sarai list Subject: [Reader-list] Lecture by Teesta Setalvad Open Space Pune presents: ***‘Us and Them: * *Tracing The Historical Contours of the Communal Divide.’* * * * **A public lecture by** Teesta Setalvad.* What is the history of communal violence in India? How have we reached the fragile situation we are in today? Journalist/activist Teesta Setalvad will share her experiences of engaging with communities and the justice delivery system, especially in Mumbai and Gujarat. She will also share insights into the role of media, curriculum, politics, social institutions and cultural practices in reinforcing and perpetuating stereotypes of identity and other forces that polarize communities on the basis of religious identities. * * *Date: *Friday, April 15 2011 *Time: *6-8 pm. *Venue: *Moolgaokar hall, ‘A’ Wing, ICC Towers, Senapati Bapat Road, Chaturshrungi, Pune. * * *Entry FREE. All are welcome.* * * *Teesta Setalvad* is a Mumbai-based civil rights activist, journalist and also educationist. She graduated in philosophy from the Bombay University in 1983 and started her career as a journalist, reporting for the Mumbai editions of The Daily (India), The Indian Express and then for Business India. In the aftermath of the communal carnage in Mumbai in 1993, Teesta Setalvad and her journalist/activist husband Javed Anand both quit full-time journalism to start a monthly magazine *Communalism Combat*. She is the official spokesperson of *Sabrang Communications *which advocates human rights. She heads the Mumbai-based NGO ‘Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ)’. Teesta is founder of the Women and Media Committee, which seeks to "'bring together working women journalists to raise job-related concerns and awareness of gender-sensitivity in writing and reporting on issues concerning women". She is also founder of Journalists Against Communalism. Teesta is Director of the project “Khoj: Education for A pluralistic India” and is the General Secretary of the People's Union for Human Rights (PUHR) and a member of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy. She has authored and produced alternate history and social studies text books used in municipal and private schools as supplementary material. Teesta is also a member of CABE Committee reconstituted in 2009 and a member of the Expert CABE Committee on “Regulatory Mechanisms for Textbooks and Parallel Textbooks Taught in Schools Outside the Government System”. -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Space/116557125037041 B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aadityadar at gmail.com Tue Apr 12 22:24:25 2011 From: aadityadar at gmail.com (Aaditya Dar) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:24:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Anna Hazare and Draft Jan Lokpal Bill on Kafila.org In-Reply-To: References: <31672CD7-0C46-4C27-B9A9-BE7DC13B7864@sarai.net> Message-ID: The issue brief at PRS may also be helpful in placing the debate in context: http://www.prsindia.org/index.php?name=Pages&folder_id=0&id=137 On 12 April 2011 18:13, Ruchira Chaturvedi wrote: > Thanks a lot, Rakhi. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Apr 13 06:40:16 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:10:16 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?The_4th_Documentary_and_Short_Film_Festiv?= =?utf-8?q?al_of_Kerala=2CThiruvananthapuram_=28formely_known_as_Trivandru?= =?utf-8?q?m=29_from_the_1st_=E2=80=93_5th_July_2011/_Kriti_Film_Club_Scre?= =?utf-8?q?ening=3A_16th_April_at_Kriti_Team_Workplace?= Message-ID: <8CDC78EAEDD2709-189C-7103@webmail-m075.sysops.aol.com> About 4th IDSFFK After the resounding success of the 3rd International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala we are happy to announce the The 4th Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala which will be held in the capital city Kerala ,Thiruvananthapuram (formely known as Trivandrum) from the 1st – 5th July 2011. The festival, a unique venture in India is being organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy for the Dept of Cultural Affairs, Govt of Kerala as part of its endeavor to catalyse a vibrant documentary and short film movement. Increasing accessibility and affordability of media technology has led to a boom in the production and scope of films. The media is now used by image-makers from all walks of life to express, experiment, learn and as an effective tool to conscientise and bring about social change. The festival aims to map and reflect the exploding nature of the medium in its many facets of creativity and resistance. Entries are invited for the * National level competition* from Documentaries (long and short) , short fiction, animation, music videos and campus films ( restricted to Kerala). CLICK HERE for entry form ...http://iffk.in/idsffk2011/pdf/entry_form.pdf CLICK HERE rules and regulations ...http://iffk.in/idsffk2011/pdf/rules.pdf Organised by : Kerala State Chalachitra Academy for the department of cultural affairs, Government of Kerala Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India 695 010. Web: www.iffk.in, www.keralafilm.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kriti Film Club Screening: 16th April at Kriti Team Workplace Kriti Film Club invites you for the screening of LEARNING IN EXILE 26 mins/ Hindi, English, Tibetan (English subtitles) Director: Aprajita Sarcar Co-Directors: Akbar Quadri and Azam Quadri Produced by PSBT on 16th April, 5.45 to 7.00 pm (watch and talk the film after) at the Kriti team workplace S-35 Tara Apartments, near Alaknanda market New Delhi 110019 (nearest metro: Govindpuri) ABOUT THE FILM: Tibet is a way of living. A civilization with an expiry date. Fifty years of exile has also produced a culture, coloured by its context, India. The exile life has seen a set of learning’s for the guest and the host. As there is no immediate solution in sight for the Tibetan case, we have a peculiar situation of being born as an 'alien' at home, since India does not recognize 'refugee' as a status. So, the central theme is how a Tibetan negotiates with this loss in the realm of the everyday, routine life. The Dalai Lama becomes a metaphor, to delve deeper into this existential crises. Mostly based on interviews with young Tibetans from Dharamsala and Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi, the film tries to capture the dilemmas of being Tibetan in India, today. ABOUT THE FILM MAKERs: Aprajita Sarcar has been a campaigner for the Delhi chapter of the Friends of Tibet (India) since her undergraduate days in DU. She has looked at questions of freedom and exile, through the eyes of the young generation of Tibetans, both born in India, and recent escapees from Tibet. She has a M.A. in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; has been a researcher SARAI, at the Centre for Studies on Developing Societies. This is her first attempt at making a documentary. Azam Quadri and Akbar Quadri are graduates from Jamia Milliya Islamia. Akbar Quadri has training from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 2006 in cinematography. ABOUT THE FILM CLUB: Kriti Film Club is an educational and research oriented initiative of Kriti: a development research, praxis and communication team. We offer an independent and informal space for screening documentary films on a whole range of development, human rights & environment issues. We also serve as a borrowing & access space for documentary films. From pkray11 at gmail.com Wed Apr 13 10:16:57 2011 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (Prakash K Ray) Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:16:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A rejoinder to Shuddha's take on the movement led by Anna Hazare Message-ID: Rihit Negi has responded to Shuddhabrata Sengupta’s article ‘At the risk of Heresy’ published on kafila and circulated on networking sites breaking 'all records for hits on Kafila', as Aditya Nigam puts it. Visit the following link to read the response: http://bargad.org/2011/04/12/polarizing-figure-of-anna-hazare/ From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Wed Apr 13 11:56:02 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 23:26:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Scholarships for a Master in Public Management Course in Singapore ((tag: Funds Offered)) Message-ID: <20933.55761.qm@web161419.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> >From http://www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/MPM_Financial_Aid.aspx - The Scholarships/Fellowships below are offered to recognise candidates who have clearly demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and are committed to public service. Each Fellowship provides for the following expenses: * A monthly stipend throughout the period of the award * A one-time book allowance * A one-time settling-in allowance * Shared housing * Tuition, examination, health insurance and other approved fees * Tuition fees and accommodation at partner university * Cost of travel from home country to Singapore on award of the Fellowship * Cost of travel from Singapore to partner university * Cost of travel from partner university to Singapore * Cost of travel from Singapore to home country on graduation Deadline: 30 June HT: Altaf From ysikand at gmail.com Wed Apr 13 10:27:55 2011 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:27:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* : By Zaheer Ali In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* *By: Zaheer Ali* The current turmoil in North Africa and the Arabian region of Asia is something that might have momentous consequences for the world that is dependent a great deal on Arab oil. There are all sorts of analyses and predictions regarding the unrest in the Arab lands that have remained or forced to remain politically dormant by the local autocrats/monarchs/dictators and their western political masters. Two things assign a very significant position to the Middle East, oil and Islam. The first one is badly required by most of the countries in the world to keep their industrialized economies moving and the second one is an extremely feared faith especially in Western Europe and the USA which believe that it represents an opposite value-system to that of theirs and for that reason its adherents are potential terrorists who might destroy the Western world by means of violence. These beliefs have always been the cardinal principles of the foreign policies of most of the Western European nations and the USA. However, they are cunning enough to camouflage these guiding principles of their foreign policies by employing various euphemisms such as regional security, geopolitical considerations, respecting local culture and faith, extending technological expertise and so on depending upon the context. Western world, in reality, has three major objectives in relation to their Middle East foreign policy. The first one is obviously to exploit the oil resources of the Arab world to their advantage, the second one is to keep militarizing Israel so that it maintains its dominant position in the region to function as an outpost of the Western world and third is to check the activities of the radical Islamists who might be helping terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda. In order to protect their interests the Western world, in particular, the USA have been successfully implementing a strategy for decades i.e. to keep the Arab masses politically ignorant so that they remain the loyal subjects of their autocratic and corrupt rulers. It is in this background we may have to gauge the significance of Saudi Arabia, a country ruled by the most ruthless and corrupt monarchy which is totally supported by the USA. In reality the house of Saud and its dominance over the region considered to be the holiest land for the Muslims, itself is the creation of the Western world. Until the end of the World War I, almost the entire Middle East was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. When the Western world, Britain to be precise, got to know about the oil deposits in the Arab land in the beginning of the twentieth century, they adopted a strategy comprising deceit, conspiracy, immorality and aggression to destabilize the Ottoman Empire with an aim to grab the oil-rich deserts of the Middle East. The clandestine activities of the British spy T E Lawrence (made popular by the movie, Lawrence of Arabia) in the region that is roughly the area of present-day Saudi Arabia, were part of the British conspiracy against the Ottoman Empire. The turn of events prior and after the First World War helped the British to achieve their objective. Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany and with the defeat of the Axis Powers it provided Britain and France to break up the Ottoman Empire and divide its colonies among themselves. During the course of war, thanks to the machinations of Lawrence, the Arabs revolted against their Turkish masters and helped the British destroy the Turkish fighting forces from inside. The territory of present Saudi Arabia was consisted of three main provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir. The region of Hejaz, wherein are located the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, was locally under the control of Sharif of Mecca who traced his lineage from the Prophet Muhammad. The present rulers of the country were in fact outlaws and bandits who would always be at war with the Sharif to grab control of the province of Hejaz. The Turkish imperialists, however, had always supported the Sharif. Consequently, the members of the house of Al Saud had to seek shelter in the desert. When the British launched their clandestine campaign to instigate the Arabs against their Turkish masters they made a pact with the outlaw Saudis that on gaining victory the Saudis would be made the rulers of the region. With the defeat of Turkey in World War I the Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918 according to which most of the Arab lands were handed over to the British. The Saudis who had helped the British during the course of the war demanded their pound of flesh and the British rewarded them. Thus, the present country of Saudi Arabia came into existence in 1932 with the amalgamation of the three provinces with the house of Saud as the absolute monarchs. The first thing the usurpers of political power did was to name the country after their family name and thus the historical provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir came to be known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is no parallel in the history of the world when a megalomaniac ruler named the entire country after his family name! The Saudi monarchy came handy for the Western Powers to retain its control over the oil resources of the country. In the post World War II scenario, the USA took Saudi Arabia in its firm grip to oversee the outflow of oil. In return the unscrupulous and terribly corrupt monarchs have always been given a free hand to treat their people like chattels. Saudi Arabian government is the worst violator of human rights, gender justice, freedom of speech and expression, minority rights, civil liberties and right to freedom of religion. The Muslims in the USA demand to construct a mosque a few blocks away from the site where the Twin Towers stood before 9/11. However, nobody can think of constructing a ten by ten feet church in any part of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi rulers get away with all excesses and barbarism because the USA extends the unconditional support to the most ruthless monarchy in the world. The winds of revolt that are blowing in the Middle East are no doubt long over due and a healthy sign of people’s aspirations to participate in the affairs of their nations. However, it is difficult to say that these revolts will necessarily lead to the establishment of democracy in the region. The two major stumbling blocks are the USA and Saudi Arabia. While the former enjoys the military and diplomatic supremacy in world politics the latter exploits the religious sentiments of the Muslim world. The USA could not directly intervene in the uprisings of Tunisia and Egypt because the autocrats of the two countries had outlived as the protectors of American interests in the region. In Libya the USA and its NATO allies are directly taking military action because they want to get rid of Gaddafi who is putting up a stiff resistance against the revolutionaries. In Bahrain, a tiny country comprising 70 % Shia population the USA and the Saudi Arabia support a brutal Sunni monarch because it serves their purpose to contain Iran’s political ambitions. For public consumption the Obama administration did express its displeasure over Saudi move to send its troops to Bahrain to kill and torture the protestors. Nevertheless, the Saudi action had the clandestine approval of Washington. The turmoil in the Middle East is certainly the expression of democratic aspirations of the people of the region who have been suffering under barbaric monarchies and autocracies for long. These rebellions can reach to their logical conclusion only if the USA refrains from interfering directly or indirectly in the affairs of the region and most importantly the people of Saudi Arabia who are politically leading a life of slavery rise against the tyrannical rule of the House of Saud..Unless the Saudi monarchy is overthrown the region would never become truly democratic. ___________________________________________________________________________­___ The writer is a political commentator and heads the Centre for Promotion of Democracy and Secularism. -- Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. --The Buddha From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Apr 13 16:23:01 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:53:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Workshop on "Science Broadcasting", 2011 Message-ID: <474260.75945.qm@web161215.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> SCIENCE BROADCASTING WORKSHOP 2011 Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India invites applications for participation in a 5-day workshop on Science Broadcasting 2nd to 6th May, 2011 at New Delhi Last date for applications: 25th April 2011 Workshop Vigyan Prasar, a national institute of science & technology communication under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India invites applications for participation in a 5-day capacity building workshop on Science Broadcasting. The number of participants is limited to 14. The workshop will focus on improving the skills needed to quickly locate scientific content relevant to specific target audiences and to structure the content in comprehensible and engaging ways. The workshop will provide tools, tricks and tips for covering issues related to health, agriculture, environment and technology. The workshop will use power point presentations, discussions, demonstrations, exercises and games to orient the producers to the best practices used in attracting audiences in a competitive media environment. Objectives There has been an explosive growth of TV and Radio channels in India. After a period of “more-of-the-same”, where channels imitated each other, media channels are now struggling to specialize and to capture niche audiences. As the media landscape develops, the ability to handle content that meets the information needs while satisfying the entertainment values of the viewers and listeners will ultimately determine the survival of most of the existing channels. This workshop provides an opportunity to train the content producers and to build their capacity to handle diverse contents efficiently and effectively. Date, Time & Venue Dates: 2nd to 6th May 2011 Time: 10 am to 7 pm Venue: Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, JNU New Campus, New Delhi Unique feature (What you will gain) 1. What is science? Differences between popular perceptions and practitioner’s views of science. 2. Why report science? 3. Philosophy and methods of science. Comparison to the philosophy and methods of media 4. Common Ground between scientists and media professionals: 5 W and H. Characteristics of questions. Differences between the prioritisation of questions in science and media – 5. Reporting by scientists – Comparison with the structures that media uses. 6. Comparison of journals and magazines – primary and secondary sources 7. Problems in popularising and reporting science - ways to overcome the challenges. 8. Distinction between science and technology - Covering Technology: Problems and solutions 9. Contents areas for science programming: meeting the information needs of target audiences. Health, Agriculture, Environment. 10. Science policy and research 11. Investment, performance in S & T: Comparison between countries 12. Search and Research for content: Search Engines. Introduction to methods and techniques 13. Searching in Directories, Searching in databases, comparisons. Deeper net. 14. Locating and evaluating experts, scientists, gaining access to events 15. Evaluating websites – credibility, authenticity, accuracy, acceptability 16. Questioning the expert: applying the critical spirit of science to media 17. Strengths of radio and TV: a comparison - Comparison of approaches to the same topic. Exploring synergies. What kind of programmes? Genres and science programming 18. Story telling – structure of story. Dramaturgy – Fairy tales, three-act plays and Hollywood films 19. Role of emotions in science programmes 20. Writing, rewriting the script – techniques of script editing Faculty K P Madhu started out as a freelance science journalist in 1978 and in the last 3 decades have had extensive experience in print and television media. He has worked as a producer for UGC programmes in Jamia Millia Islamia, as producer for Turning Point, a popular science serial, as chief producer Medical Television, as Joint Director, CEC, coordinating UGC production and transmission, and as a media consultant to NGOs. K P Madhu has a passion for training. His skill sets as a trainer was refined when he worked as a Progamme Manager in the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development and conducted training workshops for TV and radio producers in many countries of the Asia-Pacific region. He has published several academic papers in media journals. He is the lead author of “HIV on TV: Getting the Story and Telling it Right”, a UNESCO Journalism Education Series for TV trainers and Producers. His book “Social Media: Tips and Tricks for Citizen Journalists” is presently under publication by publication division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He has conducted workshops on Science for producers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Sudan. This led to the development and testing of a training material titled “Broadcasting Science”, published by AIBD and UNESCO. This resource allows the present workshop to be focused on skill building rather than improving knowledge and awareness. Who can participate? 1. Producers from private channels, production houses, community radio stations, FM stations; Producers from Public sector (Doordarshan, EMMRCs, IGNOU, CIET, etc), scriptwriters freelance producers and academicians with a minimum of three years’ experience (relaxable for community radio producers) 2. Up to 2 seats offered to faculty members from Science Journalism courses. 3. Not more than 40 years of age 4. Ability to write and speak English, the language used for training Fee structure Rs. 3000/- (Three thousand only) (Limited number of scholarships are available for covering the 3rd class AC railway fare and accommodation of deserving outstation candidates). Expected output from the workshop: By the end of the 5 days, the participants will have worked out the concepts, done research, worked out a treatment for producing programmes which they can produce easily after the workshop. In other words, the output will be story ideas which are executable, backed by reasonable amount of research and pitched at the right level for specific audiences. They would have the tools, tricks and techniques to deal with complex scientific ideas and present them in comprehensible and interesting ways. Expected outcome of the workshop: The outcome will be programmes with scientific content produced by the participants in the following months, enriched by the inputs from the workshop. Networking between participants and between the participants and trainers is also an expected follow up action. Address for correspondence:- Mr. Nimish Kapoor Scientist & Coordinator, Science Broadcasting Workshop 2011 Vigyan Prasar Plot no. A 50, Sector 62, Noida (U.P.)- 201 309 Phone: 0120 - 240 2009 Email: nkapoor at vigyanprasar.gov.in, nimish2k at rediffmail.com Applications are invited in the format attached. From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Wed Apr 13 22:19:54 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:49:54 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* : By Zaheer Ali In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Evolution of genuine democracy in the Middle East will liberate Islam itself from the clutches of the self appointed benefactors of pan Islamic movements worldwide leading to a better understanding of its tenets. In absence of pan Islamic fervour & foreign funds/AK-47s/mercenaries/ Kashmir ceases to be an issue. Rgds all LA----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:27:55 +0530 > From: ysikand at gmail.com > To: anusaba at gmail.com > Subject: [Reader-list] *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* : By Zaheer Ali > > *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* > > *By: Zaheer Ali* > > The current turmoil in North Africa and the Arabian region of > Asia is something that might have momentous consequences for the world that > is dependent a great deal on Arab oil. There are all sorts of analyses and > predictions regarding the unrest in the Arab lands that have remained or > forced to remain politically dormant by the local > autocrats/monarchs/dictators and their western political masters. Two things > > assign a very significant position to the Middle East, oil and Islam. The > first one is badly required by most of the countries in the world to keep > their industrialized economies moving and the second one is an extremely > feared faith especially in Western Europe and the USA which believe that it > represents an opposite value-system to that of theirs and for that reason > its adherents are potential terrorists who might destroy the Western world > by means of violence. These beliefs have always been the cardinal principles > > of the foreign policies of most of the Western European nations and the USA. > > However, they are cunning enough to camouflage these guiding principles of > their foreign policies by employing various euphemisms such as regional > security, geopolitical considerations, respecting local culture and faith, > extending technological expertise and so on depending upon the context. > Western world, in reality, has three major objectives in relation to their > Middle East foreign policy. The first one is obviously to exploit the oil > resources of the Arab world to their advantage, the second one is to keep > militarizing Israel so that it maintains its dominant position in the region > > to function as an outpost of the Western world and third is to check the > activities of the radical Islamists who might be helping terrorist > organizations such as al-Qaeda. > > In order to protect their interests the Western world, in particular, the > USA have been successfully implementing a strategy for decades i.e. to keep > the Arab masses politically ignorant so that they remain the loyal subjects > of their autocratic and corrupt rulers. It is in this background we may have > > to gauge the significance of Saudi Arabia, a country ruled by the most > ruthless and corrupt monarchy which is totally supported by the USA. In > reality the house of Saud and its dominance over the region considered to be > > the holiest land for the Muslims, itself is the creation of the Western > world. Until the end of the World War I, almost the entire Middle East was > part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. When the Western world, Britain to be > precise, got to know about the oil deposits in the Arab land in the > beginning of the twentieth century, they adopted a strategy comprising > deceit, conspiracy, immorality and aggression to destabilize the Ottoman > Empire with an aim to grab the oil-rich deserts of the Middle East. The > clandestine activities of the British spy T E Lawrence (made popular by the > movie, Lawrence of Arabia) in the region that is roughly the area of > present-day Saudi Arabia, were part of the British conspiracy against the > Ottoman Empire. > > The turn of events prior and after the First World War helped the British to > > achieve their objective. Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany and > with the defeat of the Axis Powers it provided Britain and France to break > up the Ottoman Empire and divide its colonies among themselves. During the > course of war, thanks to the machinations of Lawrence, the Arabs revolted > against their Turkish masters and helped the British destroy the Turkish > fighting forces from inside. The territory of present Saudi Arabia was > consisted of three main provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir. The region of > Hejaz, wherein are located the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, > was locally under the control of Sharif of Mecca who traced his lineage from > > the Prophet Muhammad. The present rulers of the country were in fact outlaws > > and bandits who would always be at war with the Sharif to grab control of > the province of Hejaz. The Turkish imperialists, however, had always > supported the Sharif. Consequently, the members of the house of Al Saud had > to seek shelter in the desert. When the British launched their clandestine > campaign to instigate the Arabs against their Turkish masters they made a > pact with the outlaw Saudis that on gaining victory the Saudis would be made > > the rulers of the region. With the defeat of Turkey in World War I the > Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918 according to which most > of the Arab lands were handed over to the British. The Saudis who had helped > > the British during the course of the war demanded their pound of flesh and > the British rewarded them. Thus, the present country of Saudi Arabia came > into existence in 1932 with the amalgamation of the three provinces with the > > house of Saud as the absolute monarchs. The first thing the usurpers of > political power did was to name the country after their family name and thus > > the historical provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir came to be known as the > Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is no parallel in the history of the world > when a megalomaniac ruler named the entire country after his family name! > > The Saudi monarchy came handy for the Western Powers to retain its control > over the oil resources of the country. In the post World War II scenario, > the USA took Saudi Arabia in its firm grip to oversee the outflow of oil. In > > return the unscrupulous and terribly corrupt monarchs have always been given > > a free hand to treat their people like chattels. Saudi Arabian government is > > the worst violator of human rights, gender justice, freedom of speech and > expression, minority rights, civil liberties and right to freedom of > religion. The Muslims in the USA demand to construct a mosque a few blocks > away from the site where the Twin Towers stood before 9/11. However, nobody > can think of constructing a ten by ten feet church in any part of Saudi > Arabia. The Saudi rulers get away with all excesses and barbarism because > the USA extends the unconditional support to the most ruthless monarchy in > the world. > > The winds of revolt that are blowing in the Middle East are no doubt long > over due and a healthy sign of people’s aspirations to participate in the > affairs of their nations. However, it is difficult to say that these revolts > > will necessarily lead to the establishment of democracy in the region. The > two major stumbling blocks are the USA and Saudi Arabia. While the former > enjoys the military and diplomatic supremacy in world politics the latter > exploits the religious sentiments of the Muslim world. The USA could not > directly intervene in the uprisings of Tunisia and Egypt because the > autocrats of the two countries had outlived as the protectors of American > interests in the region. In Libya the USA and its NATO allies are directly > taking military action because they want to get rid of Gaddafi who is > putting up a stiff resistance against the revolutionaries. In Bahrain, a > tiny country comprising 70 % Shia population the USA and the Saudi Arabia > support a brutal Sunni monarch because it serves their purpose to contain > Iran’s political ambitions. For public consumption the Obama administration > did express its displeasure over Saudi move to send its troops to Bahrain to > > kill and torture the protestors. Nevertheless, the Saudi action had the > clandestine approval of Washington. > > The turmoil in the Middle East is certainly the expression of democratic > aspirations of the people of the region who have been suffering under > barbaric monarchies and autocracies for long. These rebellions can reach to > their logical conclusion only if the USA refrains from interfering directly > or indirectly in the affairs of the region and most importantly the people > of Saudi Arabia who are politically leading a life of slavery rise against > the tyrannical rule of the House of Saud..Unless the Saudi monarchy is > overthrown the region would never become truly democratic. > > ___________________________________________________________________________­___ > The writer is a political commentator and heads the Centre for Promotion of > Democracy and Secularism. > > > > > -- > Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. > > > --The Buddha > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Apr 14 16:02:54 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:02:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: Found this piece quite good, though the source for the high numbers is not given. Naga The Public Has a Right to Know Will Fukushima Be Worse Than Chernobyl? By Dr. JANETTE SHERMAN, MD A little over six months ago I wrote: " Given profound weather effects (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, etc.), human fallibility, and military conflicts, many believe that it only a matter of time before there is another nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear fallout knows no state or national boundaries, and will contribute to increase in illnesses, decrease in intelligence, and instability throughout the world. The economic costs of radioactive pollution and care of contaminated citizens are staggering. No country can maintain itself if its' citizens are economically, intellectually, politically, and socially impoverished." [My submission was rejected… too alarmist?] While 25 years separates the sites and the events that led to the catastrophes at Fukushima and Chernobyl, the effects will be very similar – and will remain so for years to decades to centuries. After Chernobyl, there was a delay in collecting and releasing information. The nuclear industry and many governments are reluctant to alarm the public, but the public has a right to know what the risks are and if possible to avoid – as much as possible – those risks. The science of radiobiology is not new. When we know the identity of a radioisotope, we can predict how it will interact with living matter – human, animal or plant. Decades of research have confirmed that radioisotopes become deposited in various parts of living systems. In humans, I-131 and I-129 concentrate in the thyroid, Cs-137 in soft tissue, and Sr-90 in teeth and bones. Key to understanding effects is the difference between external and internal radiation. While external radiation, as from x-rays, neutron, gamma and cosmic rays can harm and kill, internal radiation (alpha and beta particles) when absorbed by ingestion and inhalation, releases damaging energy in direct contact with tissues and cells. There is serious concern for the workers at the Fukushima plant, because of their proximity to the disabled reactors and to the fuel rods that have lost their protective cover of water. Some of the Fukushima workers, as with the "liquidators" at Chernobyl are exposed to dangerous levels of gamma and neutron radiation. Those not in close proximity to the those sources of radiation will be spared some of the intense exposure, but will not escape the exposure from radionuclides that emit alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma radiation. These enter the bodies of humans by inhalation and ingestion of food and water. Of the Chernobyl "liquidators" the young and healthy men and women who worked to stop the fires and to contain the release of radioactivity from Chernobyl, by 2005, some 125,000 of the estimated total of 830,000 were dead (15%) mostly from circulatory, blood diseases and malignancies. Children born to liquidator families were seriously affected with birth defects and thyroid diseases, including cancer, and loss of intellect. But other children, based upon the research of multiple researchers, it is estimated that in the heavily contaminated areas of Belarus only 20% of children are considered healthy, placing an enormous burden upon governmental resources to provide medical care and education for those affected. Many pro-nuclear critics have downplayed the risks from Chernobyl attributing concerns to "radio-phobia" but documentation of disease is not limited to the human population. With few exceptions, animal and plant systems that were studied demonstrated structural abnormalities in offspring, loss of tolerance and viability, and genetic changes. Wild animals and plants did not drink alcohol, smoke or worry about compensation. When a radiation release occurs we do not know in advance the part of the biosphere it will contaminate, the animals, plants, and people that will be affected, nor the amount or duration of harm. In many cases, damage is random, depending upon the health, age, and status of development and the amount, kind, and variety of radioactive contamination that reaches humans, animals and plants. For this reason, open and transparent data must be collected and maintained for all biological systems – human, animal, plant. We must have international support of research on the consequences of the Fukushima and support of Chernobyl research must continue in order to mitigate the ongoing and increasing damage. Access to information must be transparent and open to all, across all borders. The WHO must severe its' cooperation with the IAEA, in place since 1959, and assume independent responsibility in support of international health. Given the emerging problems from the Fukushima nuclear plants and the continuing and known problems caused by the Chernobyl catastrophe, we must ask ourselves: before we commit ourselves to economic and technologic support of nuclear energy, who, what and where are we willing to sacrifice and for how long? Janette D. Sherman, M. D. is the author of Life's Delicate Balance: Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer and Chemical Exposure and Disease, and is a specialist in internal medicine and toxicology. She edited the book Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and Nature, written by A. V. Yablokov, V. B., Nesterenko and A. V. Nesterenko, published by the New York Academy of Sciences in 2009. Her primary interest is the prevention of illness through public education. She can be reached at: toxdoc.js at verizon.net and www.janettesherman.com From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Apr 15 04:25:59 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:25:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More on Kejriwal Message-ID: http://www.countercurrents.org/samar140411.htm Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Fri Apr 15 11:36:41 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:36:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] worse than Chernobyl Message-ID: Date: 14 April 2011 Subject: Nuclear Catastrophe in Japan “Not Equal to Chernobyl, But Way Worse” by Thomas Breuer ZCommunications | Nuclear Catastrophe in Japan “Not Equal to Chernobyl, But Way Worse” by Thomas Breuer | ZNet Article [image: Thomas3_640x480] Nuclear Catastrophe in Japan “Not Equal to Chernobyl, But Way Worse” ------------------------------ By Thomas Breuer Source: DN! Wednesday, April 13, 2011 *AMY GOODMAN:* Japan has raised the severity rating of its nuclear crisis to the highest level, matching the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The level 7 rating signifies a major nuclear accident. At a news conference today, an official from the Tokyo Electric Power Company said, quote, "The radiation leak has not stopped completely, and our concern is that it could eventually exceed Chernobyl." For an update on the situation, we go to Tokyo. Thomas Breuer, head of the Climate and Energy Unit for Greenpeace Germany, joins us by*Democracy Now!* video stream. He’s part of a field team of radiation monitors in Japan. Thomas Breuer, Greenpeace has been talking about the situation being more severe for a number of weeks now. Explain what it means for Japan to lift the crisis level from 5 to the very highest, to 7. *THOMAS BREUER:* Yeah, Amy, maybe first of all, the idea from the INES scale, which was introduced after the Chernobyl accident, is exactly to inform the public in a timely manner. And Greenpeace has done calculations with scientists already three weeks ago, where we figured out that this accident is in a scale 7 accident. And we are wondering why the government of Japan needs three weeks to come to the same conclusion, especially because they must have way better data than we have. So, what it means now, they wasted three weeks of not informing the public about the real, real risks of this accident. *AMY GOODMAN:* Now, though, talk about what 7 means. I mean, we’re talking about the continuing nuclear catastrophe that’s unfolding in Japan being equal to the worst nuclear disaster in history: Chernobyl. *THOMAS BREUER:* So, from my point of view, it is not equal to Chernobyl, it is way worse, because we are, like, facing three reactors totally, or partly, destroyed. A fourth reactor has a problem with the spent fuel, which had a huge explosion. And when we did the calculations like three weeks ago, we figured out that, depending of course about the spread between the three reactors, each of these reactors could be rated as a INES scale 7 accident, because the INES scale does not even consider a multiple accident, what we are seeing here in Fukushima. So, that is way worse than what we’ve seen in Chernobyl. Another point there, which is very important, so in Chernobyl was more or less rural area around the reactor. But Fukushima is in a densely populated area, so millions of people are living around it. So, even that makes it worse and more difficult to manage. *AMY GOODMAN:* What do you think Japan needs to do right now? *THOMAS BREUER:* So, there are urgency measures. So, it is now clear that, since we did our field research, we warned the government that there are a lot of cities and villages outside the 20-kilometers evacuation zone where the radiation levels are so high that people need urgently to be evacuated, especially children and pregnant women, because they are the most vulnerable part of the population to radiation. And so, they have to do that now. They have to screen the whole Fukushima area, where there are other hot spots which need to be evacuated. And then they have to—what they haven’t done so far—really, really explain to people who are still living there what to do, how to behave. So, we were approached from a lot of farmers during our field work, asking us whether we can come to their fields and do food testing, because they have no idea whether they still can eat the food or sell it or whatsoever. So, that’s a very difficult situation. We have been in Fukushima City. That’s a city with 340,000 inhabitants, and we found very high levels of radiation in the city all over again. But life seems to be like, on the surface, like normal life, and it has to do with the fact that the government did not put out information, how to behave, what to do. So people are really left alone with this accident, which wasn’t caused by them. *AMY GOODMAN:* Thomas Breuer, you’re in Tokyo right now, but you head the Climate and Energy Unit for Greenpeace Germany. You’re speaking to me in the United States, where our president, President Obama, is really pushing a nuclear renaissance for the first time in decades, pushing for the building of nuclear power plants. Talk about the response around the world to what’s happened in Japan. *THOMAS BREUER:* So, it’s not understandable how one can push for nuclear renaissance, especially if you dig into the whole industry. It’s, first of all, not compatible with democracy, because the open society, as we are living in, they cannot deal with nuclear, because they are so vulnerable to terrorism and to accidents that there will be always a clash with democracy at the end of the day. And so, Obama should look what is happening in Germany. So, Angela Merkel, even though she used to be quite pro-nuclear, as well, after the accident, she understood the real risks of nuclear power plant, and she closed down immediately eight of the 17 reactors in Germany. And I think that’s a responsible way to deal with nuclear: it has to be closed down. *AMY GOODMAN:* I want to thank you, Thomas Breuer, for joining us, head of the Climate and Energy Unit for Greenpeace Germany, part of the field team of radiation monitors in Tokyo, Japan. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Fri Apr 15 16:44:33 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:44:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Kolkata Shramajivii Adhikar Yatra In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 2:18 AM Subject: Kolkata Shramajivii Adhikar Yatra Bengal's oppressed' demand their rightsTNN | Apr 10, 2011, 12.54am IST KOLKATA: A day after the common man won a resounding victory when the Manmohan Singh government bowed to the public voice that rallied around social activist Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption, Bengal's oppressed' assembled in central Kolkata to press for their rights. They were all there. From forest dwellers to fishermen; from sex workers to farm labourers, joining hands to form a people's alliance that wanted the two primary political alliances one led by CPM and the other by Trinamool Congress to listen to their voices that have been drowned by political slogans of Paribartan' (change) and Pratyabartan' (return) in the run-up to the assembly polls. "In the din surrounding the polls, the voice of the marginalised seems inconsequential. The constant bickering between rival parties in their pre-poll campaigns overshadow the movements for rights of toiling people struggling for survival. Apolitical organisations involved in movements have therefore organised the Sramjibi Adhikar Yatra (Workers' rally) to get their voices heard," said Naba Dutta, general secretary of social activist group Nagarik Mancha. Over the past two decades, several movements have acquired a significant role in ensuring benefits for workers of closed factories; right of hawkers to livelihood; generation of employment through employment guarantee scheme; rights of forest dwellers; protection of livelihood of coastal fish workers; establishment of the rights of tribals to their land; implementation of minimum wages for workers. There have been movements against pollution by sponge iron units, stone quarries and stone crushing units; rehabilitation of evictees; and recognition of the right of sex workers. On Saturday, nearly 15,000 people belonging to 43 organisations turned up at Subodh Mullick Square, demanding mainstream political parties pay attention to rights of the poor and working classes when voted to power and calling for inclusive development. "Whoever is voted to power, the working communities apprehend their sufferings will continue. Except lip service, do politicians really care? It's time they stopped taking people for granted and paid attention to what the marginalised have to say," Dutta said. If chimes change, remember the bell - A story heard by those without choice RUCHIR JOSHI/ Telegraph/14-04-11 In 1972, the Congress defeated the United Front government and re-captured Writers’ Buildings. A bright, young Bengali journalist buttonholed Kali Mukherjee, the legendary Congress dock-workers’ leader, at the Press Club in Delhi. “Kali-da, what will happen now that your party has come back to power?” Kali-da recounted the story of a wandering sadhu who’d set up stall under the banyan tree outside a village. “I can solve anybody’s problems!” the babaji declared, “just chant the mantra I give each of you individually!” Among the people who lined up was a recently married young woman who seemed unable to have children. The sadhu pondered over her problem and then asked her to come behind the banyan tree to receive her secret mantra. Later the girl’s brother-in-law asked: “Boudi, what mantra did the babaji give you?” The girl shrugged. ‘Oh, exactly the same mantra your Dada gives me every night, except the babaji rang a bell afterwards.” Kali-da grinned at the journalist. “*Ebaar ki hobey? Jaa aagey hochhilo taai, shudhu ghonta baajiye!*” — What will happen now? The same as before, except we’ll ring a bell as well. It’s a story the few thousand-odd people gathered at Subodh Mullick Square this Saturday afternoon seem to know all about. Here for the Sramajibi Adhikaar Jatra, they’ve come from all over the state: from the Sunderbans, from Mednipur, from the hill tracts up north, from the rolling graveyard of the dead tea gardens in the Dooars, from Birbhum, Bardhhaman and Bankura in the belly of Poschimbongo; and some have come from quite nearby as well, the hawkers from the city’s streets and a union of sex workers from Sonagachhi. Looking around, it almost seems as though this is a part of a makeshift refugee camp put together after some natural calamity, except the variety of the people gathered indicates that this disaster cuts across many different geographies and, indeed, histories. This is the human tragedy distillation, not only of three decades of Left Front rule but also a few years of local Trinamul government. These are the West Bengal customers who are not buying the tickets or the cable connection to the ELL — the Election Lompho-Jhompo League or the Election Pantomime League. Under a shamiana made from a patchwork of translucent, white cement bags there are clusters of colourful synthetic clothes. The cover overhead seems to trap heat rather than deflect it and the colours are drooping and still. Unlike the buoyant party rallies that have criss-crossed the city of late, the energy here seems low. Many of the people are lying down as they listen to the speeches, some of them deep in sweaty sleep, as if the heat’s hammered them into the ground. At first glance you think this is exhaustion and despair, but if you look harder you see that these people are here for the long haul, a life-long haul if need be, because they have no other choice. As the various marching groups trickle in from the entry points around the city, Raj Kumar from Kurseong comes to the mike at the dais and speaks in Hindi. ‘Saathiyo! Comrades!’ His voice is high already and climbing, like a car starting in third gear. “There are arrangements!” He points to his right, showing the way forward. “The toilets! For women! Are on the right, over there!” He then declaims even more steeply. “And! For the men! They are…over there!” Then he says the same thing in Bangla and Nepali. My first reaction is to be amused that this man has no mode other than the comically melodramatic one favoured by most Bengali political leaders, even to make an announcement about toilets. Later, I realise something different. As speaker after speaker comes up and introduces their group, a different map of Bengal starts to form under the hot shamiana, a barbed wire grid of defunct factories and tea-gardens, the workers abandoned, marginal fishermen displaced in Mednipur, city squatters evicted with no alternative housing offered, people suffering on the pollutants from the sponge iron units in Durgapur, tribals and scheduled castes all under the cosh, all these people crushed by this “People’s Government”, yet none of these issues making it into the Trinamul Congress manifesto or The Didi’s vision for a “new Bengal”. By the time Raj Kumar comes up to the mike again, I notice that there are no middle-class leaders in sight, no one with a jhola of urban sophistication and connections hanging off their simple kurta-pajama or handloom sari. “As we stand at the gates of yet another election, the violence between these two parties grows while they both ignore our problems.” Declaims Raj Kumar and I understand that this is his only mode of speech because he has no PR smoothness, no change of oratorial costume available to him — he is speaking to get across a message, not to sell himself as a speaker. Walking through the crowd, I notice more and more people are sitting up now, some munching muri, some bananas, some drinking lebu chaa. As the azaan from the mosque next door ends, another speaker’s voice becomes clear: “Aamaader kono shelebrity nei!... — We have no celebrities. Those who work 365 days for us, they are our celebrities.” “We don’t want new laws, we just want you to implement the existing laws.” And, “we want you to promise only what you can deliver!” While they are asking for delivery, it’s clear these groups hold little hope towards the mainstream parties. These people and their issues form the unyielding ground that electoral politics has never tried to turn. The easy promises that parties make bounce off the carapace of intractable problems. These are the bonchito, shoshito, doridro, khetey-khaowa manush, the very same “deprived, excluded, exploited, labouring people” the CPM has always promised to liberate and empower and now it’s become a grim joke. No election, and likely no mainstream political party will answer the predicament of these “marginal” groups. Yet they’ve come to this oven-like Calcutta in a defiant assertion of their existence and struggle, to hold this demonstration in the season of elections to remind the parties that they exist, they matter, and they are not going away; to remind us all that elections are, finally, about lives and livelihoods. Will they succeed in making a dent? Will they alter a single candidate’s promise-making or post-election commitment? We’ll see across the next month or so. I notice a group of young tribals sitting with their drums. One of the drums is worn through, the black leather disc at the centre almost completely eaten away, and I have two contradictory thoughts. This is the Bengal that is connected by the eight-lane national highway of deprivation to other struggles in the country, to Kalinga Nagar in Orissa, to Jaitapur in Maharashtra, to Maheshwar in MP. On the other hand that this is the immutable Bengali Resistance Gene, the one that has survived through the British Raj, the Congress years and the deadly CPM decades, and the one that will likely remain resilient through the tenure of whoever’s coming next. I don’t know how many years, if any, Trinamul will rule this state, but I notice the date and realise that an old drum, if not a bell, is already ringing on the current regime — from today there are probably only 34 days left to the 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal. -- Soumitra Ghosh NESPON/National Forum of Forest Peoples and Forest Workers(NFFPFW) 5,Krishanu Dey Sarani Babupara,Siliguri-734004 Siliguri,West Bengal, India 91-353-2661915/9194347-61915 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Delhi Platform" group. To post to this group, send email to delhi-platform at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to delhi-platform+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/delhi-platform?hl=en. From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Fri Apr 15 20:18:22 2011 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:18:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reg: Bail to Binayak Sen Message-ID: Hi all Just another small piece of news to celebrate finally. Supreme Court has granted bail to Binayak Sen and has clearly stated that arguments made by the Chhattisgarh govt. in the case are wrong. It is great to see that at least the SC didn't succumb to rubbish propagated by the Raman Singh govt. and went by the merit of the case. Finally, justice has won, at least in this case, and I only hope we can continue to spread it in other directions as well. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/no-sedition-bail-for-binayak-sen-supreme-court-98554 -- Rakesh Krishnamoorthy Iyer MM06B019 Final Year, Dual Degree Student Dept. of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering IIT Madras, Chennai - 600036 Phone no: +91-9444073884 E-mail ID: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Apr 16 07:03:03 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 07:03:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bias as base Message-ID: http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20110422280810600.htm Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sat Apr 16 18:24:43 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 05:54:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics Message-ID: <928713.74664.qm@web161218.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Anna Hazare's tribe grows. I don't know whether to feel sorry for the street vendors or the MNS goons. ---------- Paani puri politics Posted On Friday, April 15, 2011 at 02:27:46 AM On Wednesday, Mumbai Mirror had published the story of a paani puri vendor - caught on camera by reader Ankita Rane - urinating into the lota used to serve his customers. Three days later, the isolated story which ought to have triggered awareness about unhygienic street food, has turned into a political circus. Ankita, who has been besieged with congratulatory calls since her story was published, saw nothing wrong when local political worker Rahul Shelar organised a meeting MNS supremo Raj Thackeray at his Dadar residence on Thursday. "He (Thackeray) saw the video and congratulated me on my courage," said Ankita. "He also said the civic body is not doing its job." Minutes after Ankita walked out, party workers were out on a rampage across Dadar targeting vendors of Nimbu Panni, Panni Puri, Bhel Puri, Batata Vada and other street food. Ignoring the pleas of shocked and hapless vendors, they tore down stalls, overturned carts and destroyed wares. MNS workers clear the Dadar and Shivaji Park areas of street vendors on Thursday afternoon. The agitation gathered momentum and by evening MNS workers in groups had managed to leave behind a trail of destruction from Dadar right up to the suburbs including Dahisar, Andheri, Khar and even areas like Colaba and CST. The hawkers were no match for the marauding brigade. Sandeep Deshpande, the department head of the party said that this agitation is in interest of the common man. “Hawkers sell unhygienic food on the streets and people consume it. This drive is against such unhygienic food being sold,” he said. Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan, who was in Ghatkopar when MNS rampaged its way through the city - said, "There are Supreme Court guidelines on food being sold on the streets and the government will ensure that they are followed and effectively implemented." Back in Ankita's neighbourhood, the street food vendors had disappeared before the politics of 'piss puri' could catch up with them. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20110415201104150228029897480759a From taraprakash at gmail.com Sat Apr 16 20:34:19 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:04:19 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics References: <928713.74664.qm@web161218.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Now, who is in Hazare tribe, Ankita? Or Goons? Or both? I am yet to figure out the Hazare connection. I hope Hazare is not turned in to another Modi. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Yousuf" To: "sarai list" Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 8:54 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > Anna Hazare's tribe grows. I don't know whether to feel sorry for the > street vendors or the MNS goons. > ---------- > > Paani puri politics > > Posted On Friday, April 15, 2011 at 02:27:46 AM > > On Wednesday, Mumbai Mirror had published the story of a paani puri > vendor - caught on camera by reader Ankita Rane - urinating into the lota > used to serve his customers. > > Three days later, the isolated story which ought to have triggered > awareness about unhygienic street food, has turned into a political > circus. > > Ankita, who has been besieged with congratulatory calls since her story > was published, saw nothing wrong when local political worker Rahul Shelar > organised a meeting MNS supremo Raj Thackeray at his Dadar residence on > Thursday. "He (Thackeray) saw the video and congratulated me on my > courage," said Ankita. "He also said the civic body is not doing its job." > > Minutes after Ankita walked out, party workers were out on a rampage > across Dadar targeting vendors of Nimbu Panni, Panni Puri, Bhel Puri, > Batata Vada and other street food. Ignoring the pleas of shocked and > hapless vendors, they tore down stalls, overturned carts and destroyed > wares. > > MNS workers clear the Dadar and Shivaji Park areas of street vendors on > Thursday afternoon. > > The agitation gathered momentum and by evening MNS workers in groups had > managed to leave behind a trail of destruction from Dadar right up to the > suburbs including Dahisar, Andheri, Khar and even areas like Colaba and > CST. The hawkers were no match for the marauding brigade. > > Sandeep Deshpande, the department head of the party said that this > agitation is in interest of the common man. “Hawkers sell unhygienic food > on the streets and people consume it. This drive is against such > unhygienic food being sold,” he said. > > Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan, who was in Ghatkopar when MNS rampaged > its way through the city - said, "There are Supreme Court guidelines on > food being sold on the streets and the government will ensure that they > are followed and effectively implemented." > > Back in Ankita's neighbourhood, the street food vendors had disappeared > before the politics of 'piss puri' could catch up with them. > > http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20110415201104150228029897480759a > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Apr 16 22:29:00 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:29:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Paid News: WB Message-ID: A complaint to EC http://www.cpim.org/content/paid-news-manipulation-media-memo-eci But is EC really clear enough about 'paid news'? There are newspapers like Ananda Bazar Patrika, Telegraph, Statesman, Bartamaan... and channels with clear political connections (but not explicitly stated) which are also owned by TMC, Congress ... and virtually serve as propaganda channels Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Apr 17 13:56:39 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:26:39 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Film Screenings- Poligamy (Hungarian/2009/85mins) at India Habitat, New Delhi / Erin Brockovich, Hyderabad Message-ID: <8CDCAF04E94D5D4-B30-2D0EF@webmail-m036.sysops.aol.com> 7:00pm|FILM CLUB SCREENING|Poligamy (Hungarian/2009/85mins) Dir. Denes Orosz. To be screened on Mon April 18,2011. The film is a journey to explore all the different stages and possible relationships between men and women. Winner of Hungarian Film Critics' Prize for Best Supporting Actress, 2009, Best Foreign Film, Long Island International Film Expo, 2010 & Best Screenplay, Best Comedy, 30th Annual Breckenridge Festival of Film, 2010 Collab: Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre --------------------------------- Erin Brockovich Time:Tuesday, April 19 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm Location :Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Road No. 2, Banjara Hills. U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad and Hyderabad Film Club present Erin Brockovich. Entry is free. Seating is on first come first serve purpose! Storyline: Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother, desperate to find a job, but is having no luck. This losing streak even extends to a failed lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident she was in. With no alternative, she successfully browbeats her lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the loss. While no one takes her seriously, with her trashy clothes and earthy manners, that soon changes when she begins to investigate a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. What she discovers is that the company is trying quietly to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is improperly and illegally dumping and, in turn, poisoning the residents in the area. As she digs deeper, Erin finds herself leading point in a series of events that would involve her law firm in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sun Apr 17 16:44:00 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:14:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics In-Reply-To: <4da99476.4536e30a.083c.ffffc22f@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <512826.99893.qm@web161211.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> We did not need one Ankita to know that street-vendors pee and serve. We have known this fact all along, yet we consume the street food with pleasure. But when someone posts a video (which is rather vague and can be interpreted any which way), we come on to the streets (in the tradition created recently by the media hype around Anna Hazare's fast against corruption) and start vandalising all street-vendors that come in our way. Our police and officials are completely useless - they cannot ensure in their normal duty that the street vendors supply clean food and utensils. MNS assumes the role of law-maker, judge and punisher, and even the CM approves of what MNS does. How many kinds of hypocracies does on need to point out in this story and how many connections should one show with Anna Hazare? Last week, someone posted a painful youtube video of some kids heckling a donkey for fun, ultimately throwing it off a bridge (and its called "What fun"). Has anyone gone out to the street and beaten all the street kids to pulp and saved all the stray dogs and donkeys yet? --- On Sat, 4/16/11, S.Shashidhar wrote: > From: S.Shashidhar > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" , "Yousuf" > Date: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 6:36 PM > Anna hazare and his tribe grows... > Mr. Yousuf is ok with people peeing into his pani puri... > Get your facts right, anna hazare has nothing to do with > mns, if you feel sorry for people who pee and serve  > great.... If you want to twist and serve your own pee > stories congrats.... > > Sent from my Nokia phone > -----Original Message----- > From: Yousuf > Sent:  16/04/2011 6:24:43 pm > Subject:  [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > > Anna Hazare's tribe grows. I don't know whether to feel > sorry for the street vendors or the MNS goons. > ---------- > > Paani puri politics > > Posted On Friday, April 15, 2011 at 02:27:46 AM > > On Wednesday, Mumbai Mirror had published the story of a > paani puri vendor - caught on camera by reader Ankita Rane - > urinating into the lota used to serve his customers. > > Three days later, the isolated story which ought to have > triggered awareness about unhygienic street food, has turned > into a political circus. > > Ankita, who has been besieged with congratulatory calls > since her story was published, saw nothing wrong when local > political worker Rahul Shelar organised a meeting MNS > supremo Raj Thackeray at his Dadar residence on Thursday. > "He (Thackeray) saw the video and congratulated me on my > courage," said Ankita. "He also said the civic body is not > doing its job." > > Minutes after Ankita walked out, party workers were out on > a rampage across Dadar targeting vendors of Nimbu Panni, > Panni Puri, Bhel Puri, Batata Vada and other street food. > Ignoring the pleas of shocked and hapless vendors, they tore > down stalls, overturned carts and destroyed wares. > > MNS workers clear the Dadar and Shivaji Park areas of > street vendors on Thursday afternoon. > > The agitation gathered momentum and by evening MNS workers > in groups had managed to leave behind a trail of destruction > from Dadar right up to the suburbs including Dahisar, > Andheri, Khar and even areas like Colaba and CST. The > hawkers were no match for the marauding brigade. > > Sandeep Deshpande, the department head of the party said > that this agitation is in interest of the common man. > “Hawkers sell unhygienic food on the streets and people > consume it. This drive is against such unhygienic food being > sold,” he said. > > Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan, who was in Ghatkopar when > MNS rampaged its way through the city - said, "There are > Supreme Court guidelines on food being sold on the streets > and the government will ensure that they are followed and > effectively implemented." > > Back in Ankita's neighbourhood, the street food vendors had > disappeared before the politics of 'piss puri' could catch > up with them. > > http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20110415201104150228029897480759a > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Apr 18 09:54:52 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:24:52 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] CHHAON THEATRE GROUP invites you to Comedy Play WAITING FOR GODOT (Apr 22, 2011), New Delhi In-Reply-To: <1303062518.860433@eventbrite.com> References: <1303062518.860433@eventbrite.com> Message-ID: <8CDCB97B2650C2A-1070-37D5F@web-mmc-d08.sysops.aol.com> CHHAON THEATRE GROUP presents Noble prize winner SAMUEL BECKETT'S.. a Tragic Comedy Play "WAITING FOR GODOT" Design & Direction Hemant Raipuria at Mukta-Dhara Auditorium, Bhai Veer Singh Marg, Gole Market, New Delhi. on 22nd April, 2011 (Good Friday) at 6:30 pm Entry Free Collect your Entry Pass from - Venue Reception - F34, Hazara Furniture Building, Shankar Market, Connaught Place. - Call 9911582711 Language: Hindi Duration : 2:15 hrs Play Type: Absurd Comedy Drama Playwright: Samuel Beckett Direction: Hemant Raipuria No. of Shows: 5 About the Play Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave. After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls. The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait. Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play. Characters Vladimir - One of the two main characters of the play. Estragon calls him Didi, and the boy addresses him as Mr. Albert. He seems to be the more responsible and mature of the two main characters. Estragon - The second of the two main characters. Vladimir calls him Gogo. He seems weak and helpless, always looking for Vladimir's protection. He also has a poor memory, as Vladimir has to remind him in the second act of the events that happened the previous night. Pozzo - He passes by the spot where Vladimir and Estragon are waiting and provides a diversion. In the second act, he is blind and does not remember meeting Vladimir and Estragon the night before. Lucky - Pozzo's slave, who carries Pozzo's bags and stool. In Act I, he entertains by dancing and thinking. However, in Act II, he is dumb. Boy - He appears at the end of each act to inform Vladimir that Godot will not be coming that night. In the second act, he insists that he was not there the previous night. Godot - The man for whom Vladimir and Estragon wait unendingly. Godot never appears in the play. His name are character are often thought to refer to God, changing the play's title and subject to Waiting for Godot. About the Director HEMANT RAIPURIA THEATRE DIRECTOR Hemant Raipuria 27th August, 1980 Schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya Graduate from Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University. 12 years in Acting and Direction Worked in TV Serials, TV Ad, Short Films, Feature Film Worked with Eminent Theatre Directors Directed Many Stage Plays Given Theatre/Acting Classes in many Schools, Colleges, Institutions. Written and Directed Many Skits, Short Plays & Street Plays on Social Awareness WHO WE ARE Established in 2005, Chhaon is the Registered Theatre Group having its base at Delhi. The Group was founded by Hemant Raipuria in 2002, and came into its legal existence in 2005 (Registered under Societies Act, 1860 of Delhi). Since then, the team of Chhaon is trying its best to maintain the quality of their performance whether it is On-the-Stage or in their Real Life. WHAT WE DO We do nothing but trying to explore the creative world of Arts & Entertainment.... with the tool of THEATRE. WHERE ? Rehearsal time : 6:00pm to 8:30pm Working Days : Daily Venue : F-34, Top Floor (Terrace), Hazara Furniture Building, Near Shop No. 90, Connaught Place, New Delhi-01 Phone : 09911582711 Email Id : chhaonindia at gmail.com From the-network at koeln.de Mon Apr 18 13:38:50 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (CologneOFF) Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:08:50 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?2_new_calls=3A_CologneOFF=3A_Footbal?= =?iso-8859-1?q?l-Soccer-Fussball__-_Let=27s_Save_the_World_!=3F?= Message-ID: <20110418100850.2D45AD10.C0212555@192.168.0.4> Calls for entries Deadline: 1 September 2011 Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org --------------------------------- 2 thematic calls: 1. Football - Soccer - Fussball 2. Let's Save the World!? --------------------------------- 1. Football - Soccer - Fussball In 2012, in Poland and Ukraine the "European Football Championships" will be held showing once again how deeply rooted football (US- soccer) is in the contemporary society. Cologne International Videoart Festival is looking for its nomadic festival project CologneOFF (2011/2012) - videoart in a globale context 1 January 2011 - 31 December 2012 for experimental films and video art - dealing with --> football (soccer) as an artistic topic, --> the enthusiasm people all over the world is encouraging, but also not to forget --> phenomenons like hoogligans, violence or drugs. Football is a complex social phenomenon which is more than worth to be reflected in new forms of contemporary art. CologneOFF is inviting film- and videomakers all over the world to contribute and submit experimental films and video art by using the entry form on - http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 Deadline: 1 September 2011 ------------------------------------------------------ 2. Let's Save the World !? 2011 was the year when people all over the world became aware again how vurnerable nature, but also the human species are. Especially, the disasters in Japan - earthquake/tsunami and nuclear - were causing countless human tragedies making all of us clear, neither nature nor technology can be controlled by humans. But these desasters stand in a long row of phenomenons with increasing negative effects on the enviroments we humans are living in, like global climate warming, global migrating, misuse of natural resources etc, and there is the real danger that our living sources are already destroyed before we actually are ready to react. Let's Save the World!? - is the theme of a special selection to be made in the framework of the nomadic festival project "CologneOFF 2011/2012 - videoart in a global context" http://coff.newmediafest.org which is not only appealing to work actively for the survival of our blue planet, but dealing with the questions what can be done to save the world and how can it be done, with environmental issues & substainability, social & global responsibility and much more. Artists working with "moving images" are invited to deal with all these and many more questions in their experimental films and videoart, to contribute and submit to this call by using the entry form on - http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 Deadline: 1 September 2011 ------------------------------------------- Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org powered by artvideoKOELN- the curatorial initiative "art and moving images" http.//video.mediaartcologne.org 2011 (at) coff.newmediafest.org -------------------------------------------- From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Apr 19 08:57:21 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:27:21 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Celebrate Earth Day: Garbage Dreams Online Screening In-Reply-To: <1105204585487.1102176382595.22109.8.311405C0@scheduler> References: <1105204585487.1102176382595.22109.8.311405C0@scheduler> Message-ID: <8CDCC58D3DD892E-11BC-48BA0@webmail-d052.sysops.aol.com> Celebrate Earth Day with Online Screening of Garbage Dreams, an Eye Opening Documentary about a Community in Cairo Who are Far Ahead of Modern "Green" Initiatives Exclusive Screening on PBS' Independent Lens Fan Page on Facebook and Livestream "...GARBAGE DREAMS makes a compelling case that modernization does not always equal progress." - Al Gore In honor of Earth Day, PBS series Independent Lens will present an exclusive screening of the highly acclaimed documentary, Garbage Dreams,http://www.itvs.org/films/garbage-dreams by Mai Iskander on Thursday, April 21, 6:00pm PT / 9:00pm ET on the Independent Lens Livestream channel, http://www.livestream.com/independentlens. The exclusive free live screening event will feature a Q & A with Filmmaker Mai Iskander who will also provide an update about life in Egypt for the Zaballeen post the historic revolution. The Garbage Dreams film is also accompanied by the Garbage Dreams game, in which players assume the role of the Zaballeen. The game demonstrates that recycling is not just good for the environment; it's also sound economic practice. GarbageDreams will be rebroadcast on the PBS Independent Lens series May 31st (Check Local Listings). About the Filmmaker Mai Iskander (producer, director, cinematographer) has worked as a cinematographer on TV shows for A&E, PBS, and LOGO, and has filmed numerous dramatic films (Roof Sex) and commercials. She has had the privilege of working with the legendary Albert Maysles on the documentary Profiles of a Peacemaker Iskander recently returned from Tchad, where she worked with Academy Award Nominee Edet Belzberg on her documentary Watchers of the Sky. From shahzulf at yahoo.com Wed Apr 20 01:37:33 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:07:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Social Movements Journal Message-ID: <559297.83698.qm@web38808.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All: Greetings from Hyderabad, Pakistan! Launched on April 8, 2011 by The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan, Hyderabad, ‘The Social Movements’ - - a journal for research and analysis regarding social movements around world -- is online now. Please find bellow the link of the journal. www.thesocialmovements.com   Kind Regards,   Zulfiqar Shah     ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan A - 1, Hyderabad Town Extention Qasimabad, Hyderabad-71000 Phone: +92-22-265-49-05 Fax: +92-22-265-46-05 Mobile: +92-333-464-88-81 Email: zulfiqar at ismpak.org / ismpak at live.com Website: www.ismpak.org                                           ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 08:43:48 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 08:43:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] unaccounted cash in WB elections Message-ID: The corrupt TMC has been spending over Rs 34 Crores of black money in WB elections (but that is a gross underestimate) : http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article1710420.ece 2G scam and Kalmadi alone must have given lot more to the TMC and INC. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Apr 20 10:38:48 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:08:48 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Common Man Ver.2.0 | an interactive theatre performance by Yours Truly Theatre, Bangalore In-Reply-To: <110220.81497.qm@web95113.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8CDCD302ACD02BA-1C08-5D773@webmail-d014.sysops.aol.com> YOURS TRULY THEATRE presents an interactive theatre performance *COMMON MAN VER.2.0 In “complete the story theatre style” where you as an audience can suggest an ending and watch your suggestion enacted on stage Scripted by Nandini Rao Directed by Nandini Rao & Ranji David * DATE – 24th April 2011, Sunday | TIME – 7 pm | TICKETS – RS. 100/- **VENUE – ADA ranga mandira, JC road, next to townhall, infront of Ravindra kalakshetra, corporation circle, Bangalore **VENUE MAP** **from MG road - http://tinyurl.com/yf87amu from kormanagala- http://tinyurl.com/yj84ba8* The play traces the journey of the common man in a city filled with multitudinal vignettes of life. Highlighting the lighter side of life, it draws a caricature with all the funny paradoxes of our lives which are exaggerated, distorted & at times oversimplified. This highly entertaining play involves and engages you in a surreal world which is visually striking, musically resonating and emotionally absorbing, reflected in its nomination to the International Theatre Festival at Armenia 2008. Telebooking – 9845853093/9845243051 | yourstrulytheatre at gmail.com | www.yourstruly-theatre.com From pkray11 at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 10:45:06 2011 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (Prakash K Ray) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:45:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra Message-ID: *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* *New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011* ***-* We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. - The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron power plant. This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union Environment Minister’s statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy for nuclear energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. - In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. - We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local farmers. The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of bounds from Ratnagiri District. - This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. - We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena’s role in provoking the tragic incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena’s opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. - We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party’s partisan role and Shiv Sena’s unwarranted entry into the struggle has vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out . - In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. * * *-* *Therefore, we demand* - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and other states in the country* - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April * - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers who ordered the police firing on the protesters* - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the villagers and rescind the externment orders * *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * * -* *Endorsed by * Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL Anil Chaudhary Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group Susan Abraham, FORRAD Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org P T George, Intercultural Resources Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South Preeti Sampat Prem Piram, JAGAR Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective Asit, Delhi Platform Shree Prakash, MISAAL Sandeep Singh, AISA Wilfred D’ Costa Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha Priya Pillai, Greenpeace Sundaram P. Prafull Bidwai, CNDP Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation Mona Das S. Lahiri, NFFPFW National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) Delhi Forum Programme for Social Action (PSA) Aruna Roy Nikhil Dey Rajendra Ravi, IDS * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * *Contact detail:* *A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016* *Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,* *9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)* From ravig64 at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 10:45:07 2011 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:45:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] pesticide - endosulphan stakes Message-ID: *Mail Today* *20 April, 2011 * * * *High financial stakes dictate agenda* by Ravi Agarwal WHEN Sharad Pawar, India’s powerful agricultural minister, recently spoke in defence of endosulfan in Parliament, it was a first of sorts. Probably, never before had a mere chemical attracted the interest of such a highprofile minister. However, endosulfan is no mere chemical. It is one whose recent history has been written in guile, intrigue and politics. Endosulfan is arguably one of the most toxic pesticides being used on the planet today. The international scientific community has formally recommended it for a global ban in the upcoming 172- nation meeting of the Stockholm Convention, an international legally binding UN treaty dealing with the most toxic chemicals in use. Endosulfan currently tops this notorious list, with 21 already having been acted upon previously. The pesticide can cause severe health impacts including deformities in limbs, loss of motor control, brain damage, delayed puberty and cancer. It persists in the environment for a long time, circulates globally and passes on from the mother to the child, causing intergenerational health effects. On all these counts, banning it should be an open and shut case, as has already been done by over 60 countries in order to prevent harm to their citizens and the environment. In India, there is a twist to the tale. We produce about ` 4500 crore worth of the pesticide annually, which is over 70 per cent of the world’s supply, and consume almost half of it for our horticulture, pulses, cashew, cotton and other plantations. Two Indian companies are the largest global manufacturers, one of them being a public sector company, Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. It is no wonder then that with such huge economic stakes, the Union government has blatantly resisted any attempt to talk science regarding endosulfan’s toxicity ever since the debate became international four years ago. It has not only cocked a snook at global research, stating it inapplicable to the tropics ( are Indian bodies so different?), but has made valiant ( though seemingly futile) efforts to disrupt the process without presenting any research to back its claims. Government delegates to the International Science Review Committee have, invariably accompanied by representatives of the companies, attempted to block any discussion. Often company representatives have made official statements on behalf of the government. It has been international diplomacy at its worst and the Indian behaviour has been whispered about in the UN corridors. Activists and even academics from reputed institutions such as IIT Kanpur or the National Institute of Occupational Health, who dared to speak on the issue, have been publicly maligned, served legal notices or had criminal cases filed against them by the industry. Despite this, Kerala banned the use of endosulfan in 2002. The pesticide was widely used for aerial spraying on cashew crops in the state. The Karnataka government followed suit in 2010. A recent ban in Australia cited the health impacts in Kerala’s Kasaragod as one of the reasons for the ban. Ironically, our very vociferous environment minister Jairam Ramesh chided the Kerala government for “ politicising the issue” and stated that a ban would have “ national implications”. Farmer leader Sharad Joshi has spoken against the proposed ban, fearing its impact on farmers and imputing motives on the EU to capture the market with new chemicals instead. In fact, many alternative non- chemical approaches exist and have been documented. Simultaneously, the industry lobbying machinery is in full swing as the convention meeting draws closer. Its representatives can be seen stalking the corridors of the environment and agriculture ministries. They should be less cocky, since India can be isolated in a global meeting. Ravi Agarwal is director, Toxics Link From shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org Wed Apr 20 12:21:49 2011 From: shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org (Shashidhar) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:21:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra In-Reply-To: <603AA40BFF8044D1908BBEBF924DC90B@butterfliesdelhi.local> References: <603AA40BFF8044D1908BBEBF924DC90B@butterfliesdelhi.local> Message-ID: <003c01cbff27$6c967c00$45c37400$@butterfliesindia.org> Putting my views on paper, please also do take up the issue of how can one produce electricity in our nation if people are opposed to Hyro, thermal, nuclear, wind, solar, fuel cell. Will it be ok for people to live without electricity, how will one run hospitals, transport, communication, water pumps and many more things. Agreed nuclear is dangerous, but please do engage with people and ask them how we can produce more electricity. Do also tell them of the lesser than 10% efficiency of solar, wind power generators and the huge tracts of land which need to be covered to produce a single watt, there have been many efforts from the government especially in Maharashtra, offering concessions for people installing solar heaters in farms and home, none have used these especially because they are inefficient. Clean energy is an area where our government does not invest anything at all, if they were to invest the 1000's of crores they are spending on the jaitapurplant in research and decentralised micro electricity projects which are the complete responsibility of the community things would be very much different. Captive production is still not allowed and many industries are forced to draw power from the State electricity boards. Regards, Shashi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Prakash K Ray Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:01 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* *New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011* ***-* We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. - The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron power plant. This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union Environment Minister’s statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy for nuclear energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. - In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. - We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local farmers. The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of bounds from Ratnagiri District. - This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. - We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena’s role in provoking the tragic incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena’s opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. - We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party’s partisan role and Shiv Sena’s unwarranted entry into the struggle has vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out . - In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. * * *-* *Therefore, we demand* - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and other states in the country* - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April * - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers who ordered the police firing on the protesters* - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the villagers and rescind the externment orders * *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * * -* *Endorsed by * Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL Anil Chaudhary Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group Susan Abraham, FORRAD Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org P T George, Intercultural Resources Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South Preeti Sampat Prem Piram, JAGAR Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective Asit, Delhi Platform Shree Prakash, MISAAL Sandeep Singh, AISA Wilfred D’ Costa Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha Priya Pillai, Greenpeace Sundaram P. Prafull Bidwai, CNDP Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation Mona Das S. Lahiri, NFFPFW National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) Delhi Forum Programme for Social Action (PSA) Aruna Roy Nikhil Dey Rajendra Ravi, IDS * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * *Contact detail:* *A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016* *Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,* *9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)* _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From newsletter at pavilionmagazine.org Fri Apr 15 13:11:35 2011 From: newsletter at pavilionmagazine.org (Pavilion) Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:41:35 +0300 Subject: [Reader-list] Release Ai Weiwei Message-ID: Dear friends We have published a protest note against the detainment of Ai Weiwei on our Internet site. If you wish to sign the petition go to : http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t Sign now! We need to reach 100,000 signatures! Best wishes, --- To unsubscribe click http://pavilionmagazine.org/phplist/?p=unsubscribe&uid=e338aa962978d4a63145054620e4b299 To forward this message click http://pavilionmagazine.org/phplist/?p=forward&uid=e338aa962978d4a63145054620e4b299&mid=182 From pkray11 at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 15:03:05 2011 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (Prakash K Ray) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:03:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra In-Reply-To: <003c01cbff27$6c967c00$45c37400$@butterfliesindia.org> References: <603AA40BFF8044D1908BBEBF924DC90B@butterfliesdelhi.local> <003c01cbff27$6c967c00$45c37400$@butterfliesindia.org> Message-ID: Shashi ji, those need energy should donate their land to the governments. I will not let them steal my land. Massive debates have been done over the issue. Now the time is to take a stand. You choose yours. I have chosen mine. prakash JOIN US FOR A PROTEST DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE POLICE FIRING IN JAITAPUR, MAHARASHTRA AT JANTAR MANTAR 11.30 AM 21ST APRIL, 2011, THURSDAY ANTI-NUCLEAR STRUGGLES’ SOLIDARITY FORUM On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Shashidhar < shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org> wrote: > Putting my views on paper, please also do take up the issue of how can one > produce electricity in our nation if people are opposed to Hyro, thermal, > nuclear, wind, solar, fuel cell. > > Will it be ok for people to live without electricity, how will one run > hospitals, transport, communication, water pumps and many more things. > Agreed nuclear is dangerous, but please do engage with people and ask them > how we can produce more electricity. Do also tell them of the lesser than > 10% efficiency of solar, wind power generators and the huge tracts of land > which need to be covered to produce a single watt, there have been many > efforts from the government especially in Maharashtra, offering concessions > for people installing solar heaters in farms and home, none have used these > especially because they are inefficient. > > Clean energy is an area where our government does not invest anything at > all, if they were to invest the 1000's of crores they are spending on the > jaitapurplant in research and decentralised micro electricity projects which > are the complete responsibility of the community things would be very much > different. Captive production is still not allowed and many industries are > forced to draw power from the State electricity boards. > > Regards, > > Shashi > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of Prakash K Ray > Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:01 AM > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors > inJaitapur, Maharashtra > > *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating > against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st > April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * > > *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* > > *New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011* > > ***-* > > We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra > Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed > Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. > > - > > The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political > parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same > political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron > power plant. > > This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union > Environment Minister’s statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will > be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy for nuclear > energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. > > - > > In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were > seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past > one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in > the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural > artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle > against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent > catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. > > - > > We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local > farmers. > > The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for > the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other > prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and > Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of > bounds from Ratnagiri District. > > - > > This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of > stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct > constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan > Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has > been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests > against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a > call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the > activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. > > - > > We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena’s role in provoking the tragic > incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a > well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful > democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for > Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena’s > opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. > > - > > We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which > attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle > against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the > proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party’s > partisan role and Shiv Sena’s unwarranted entry into the struggle has > vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out . > > - > > In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl > and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has > emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is > non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, > promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. > > We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after > countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. > > * * > > *-* > > *Therefore, we demand* > > - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and > other states in the country* > - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April * > - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers > who ordered the police firing on the protesters* > - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the > villagers and rescind the externment orders * > > *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating > against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st > April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * > > * -* > > *Endorsed by * > > Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL > > Anil Chaudhary > > Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance > > Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group > > Susan Abraham, FORRAD > > Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org > > P T George, Intercultural Resources > > Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South > > Preeti Sampat > > Prem Piram, JAGAR > > Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective > > Asit, Delhi Platform > > Shree Prakash, MISAAL > > Sandeep Singh, AISA > > Wilfred D’ Costa > > Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha > > Priya Pillai, Greenpeace > > Sundaram P. > > Prafull Bidwai, CNDP > > Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation > > Mona Das > > S. Lahiri, NFFPFW > > National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) > > Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) > > Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) > > Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) > > Delhi Forum > > Programme for Social Action (PSA) > > Aruna Roy > > Nikhil Dey > > Rajendra Ravi, IDS > > * > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > * > > *Contact detail:* > > *A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016* > > *Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,* > > *9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)* > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > From shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org Wed Apr 20 16:12:10 2011 From: shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org (Shashidhar) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:12:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra In-Reply-To: <7735C7E4866D4555B074276BB68247C6@butterfliesdelhi.local> References: <603AA40BFF8044D1908BBEBF924DC90B@butterfliesdelhi.local><003c01cbff27$6c967c00$45c37400$@butterfliesindia.org> <7735C7E4866D4555B074276BB68247C6@butterfliesdelhi.local> Message-ID: <006401cbff47$9a0fd1c0$ce2f7540$@butterfliesindia.org> Dear Prakash, If only life were as simple as taking a stand and not worrying about the alienation and distress caused, years of taking a STAND especially in matters of land rights have not prevented the government or the energy moghuls from usurping lands enmass, what had happened to the hundreds displaced by the enron do we even talk about it now. As long as the issue of energy freedom is not addressed, there will be people claiming and wanting to evict you out of your lands. If you say "I will not let them steal my Land", they will bribe threaten and force you out or maybe even call you a naxal. The answer lies in research and advocating research. Regards, Shashi From: Prakash K Ray [mailto:pkray11 at gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 3:16 PM To: Shashidhar Cc: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra Shashi ji, those need energy should donate their land to the governments. I will not let them steal my land. Massive debates have been done over the issue. Now the time is to take a stand. You choose yours. I have chosen mine. prakash JOIN US FOR A PROTEST DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE POLICE FIRING IN JAITAPUR, MAHARASHTRA AT JANTAR MANTAR 11.30 AM 21ST APRIL, 2011, THURSDAY ANTI-NUCLEAR STRUGGLES' SOLIDARITY FORUM On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Shashidhar wrote: Putting my views on paper, please also do take up the issue of how can one produce electricity in our nation if people are opposed to Hyro, thermal, nuclear, wind, solar, fuel cell. Will it be ok for people to live without electricity, how will one run hospitals, transport, communication, water pumps and many more things. Agreed nuclear is dangerous, but please do engage with people and ask them how we can produce more electricity. Do also tell them of the lesser than 10% efficiency of solar, wind power generators and the huge tracts of land which need to be covered to produce a single watt, there have been many efforts from the government especially in Maharashtra, offering concessions for people installing solar heaters in farms and home, none have used these especially because they are inefficient. Clean energy is an area where our government does not invest anything at all, if they were to invest the 1000's of crores they are spending on the jaitapurplant in research and decentralised micro electricity projects which are the complete responsibility of the community things would be very much different. Captive production is still not allowed and many industries are forced to draw power from the State electricity boards. Regards, Shashi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Prakash K Ray Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:01 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra *Several citizens groups and people's organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* *New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011* ***-* We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. - The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron power plant. This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union Environment Minister's statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister's consistent advocacy for nuclear energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. - In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. - We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local farmers. The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of bounds from Ratnagiri District. - This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. - We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena's role in provoking the tragic incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena's opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. - We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party's partisan role and Shiv Sena's unwarranted entry into the struggle has vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out . - In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. * * *-* *Therefore, we demand* - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and other states in the country* - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April * - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers who ordered the police firing on the protesters* - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the villagers and rescind the externment orders * *Several citizens groups and people's organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * * -* *Endorsed by * Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL Anil Chaudhary Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group Susan Abraham, FORRAD Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org P T George, Intercultural Resources Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South Preeti Sampat Prem Piram, JAGAR Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective Asit, Delhi Platform Shree Prakash, MISAAL Sandeep Singh, AISA Wilfred D' Costa Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha Priya Pillai, Greenpeace Sundaram P. Prafull Bidwai, CNDP Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation Mona Das S. Lahiri, NFFPFW National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (NAPM) Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) Delhi Forum Programme for Social Action (PSA) Aruna Roy Nikhil Dey Rajendra Ravi, IDS * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- * *Contact detail:* *A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016* *Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,* *9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)* _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From asit1917 at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 17:24:54 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:24:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement on Jaitapur Police Firing Message-ID: *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron power plant. This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union Environment Minister’s statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy for nuclear energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local farmers. The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of bounds from Ratnagiri District. This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena’s role in provoking the tragic incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena’s opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district. The people of Jaitapur are carrying out peaceful struggle against the proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party’s partisan role and Shiv Sena’s unwarranted entry into the struggle has vitiated the atmosphere. In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. Therefore, we demand · Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and other states in the country · Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April · Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers who ordered the police firing on the protesters · Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the villagers and rescind the externment orders Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. Endorsed by Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL Anil Chaudhary Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group Susan Abraham, FORRAD Prakash K. Ray, Bargad.org P T George, Intercultural Resources Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South Preeti Sampat Prem Piram, JAGAR Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective Asit, Delhi Platform Shree Prakash, MISAAL Sandeep Singh, AISA Wilfred D’ Costa Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha Priya Pillai Sundaram P. Prafull Bidwai, CNDP Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation Mona Das S. Lahiri, NFFPFW Rajendra Ravi, IDS Aruna Roy Nikhil Dey Arun Bidani, Delhi Platform Prakash Louis, JRS South Asia Sanghamitra Gadekar,ANUMUKTI Dr Surendra Gadekar, ANUMUKTI Lata P.M. National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) Coalition For Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) Delhi Forum Programme for Social Action (PSA) National Centre For Advocacy Studies, Pune - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact detail: A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016 Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814, 9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh) From pkray11 at gmail.com Wed Apr 20 18:22:30 2011 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (Prakash K Ray) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:22:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra In-Reply-To: <006401cbff47$9a0fd1c0$ce2f7540$@butterfliesindia.org> References: <603AA40BFF8044D1908BBEBF924DC90B@butterfliesdelhi.local> <003c01cbff27$6c967c00$45c37400$@butterfliesindia.org> <7735C7E4866D4555B074276BB68247C6@butterfliesdelhi.local> <006401cbff47$9a0fd1c0$ce2f7540$@butterfliesindia.org> Message-ID: Sir, I am not stopping anyone from research. Who am I to suggest so? My point is simple: I have chosen my stand. Tomorrow I may change as per my own assessment. And yes, I still things in simple manner. Sadho sahaj samadhi bhali.... On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 4:12 PM, Shashidhar wrote: > Dear Prakash, > > > > If only life were as simple as taking a stand and not worrying about the > alienation and distress caused, years of taking a STAND especially in > matters of land rights have not prevented the government or the energy > moghuls from usurping lands enmass, what had happened to the hundreds > displaced by the enron do we even talk about it now. > > > > As long as the issue of energy freedom is not addressed, there will be > people claiming and wanting to evict you out of your lands. If you say “I > will not let them steal my Land”, they will bribe threaten and force you out > or maybe even call you a naxal. The answer lies in research and advocating > research. > > > > Regards, > > > > Shashi > > > > > > > > *From:* Prakash K Ray [mailto:pkray11 at gmail.com] > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 20, 2011 3:16 PM > *To:* Shashidhar > *Cc:* reader-list at sarai.net > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors > inJaitapur, Maharashtra > > > > Shashi ji, those need energy should donate their land to the governments. I > will not let them steal my land. Massive debates have been done over the > issue. Now the time is to take a stand. You choose yours. I have chosen > mine. > > prakash > > JOIN US > > FOR > > A > > PROTEST DEMONSTRATION > > AGAINST > > THE POLICE FIRING IN JAITAPUR, MAHARASHTRA > > AT > > JANTAR MANTAR > > 11.30 AM > > 21ST APRIL, 2011, THURSDAY > > ANTI-NUCLEAR STRUGGLES’ SOLIDARITY FORUM > > > > On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Shashidhar < > shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org> wrote: > > Putting my views on paper, please also do take up the issue of how can one > produce electricity in our nation if people are opposed to Hyro, thermal, > nuclear, wind, solar, fuel cell. > > Will it be ok for people to live without electricity, how will one run > hospitals, transport, communication, water pumps and many more things. > Agreed nuclear is dangerous, but please do engage with people and ask them > how we can produce more electricity. Do also tell them of the lesser than > 10% efficiency of solar, wind power generators and the huge tracts of land > which need to be covered to produce a single watt, there have been many > efforts from the government especially in Maharashtra, offering concessions > for people installing solar heaters in farms and home, none have used these > especially because they are inefficient. > > Clean energy is an area where our government does not invest anything at > all, if they were to invest the 1000's of crores they are spending on the > jaitapurplant in research and decentralised micro electricity projects which > are the complete responsibility of the community things would be very much > different. Captive production is still not allowed and many industries are > forced to draw power from the State electricity boards. > > Regards, > > Shashi > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of Prakash K Ray > Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:01 AM > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors > inJaitapur, Maharashtra > > *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating > against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st > April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * > > > *Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra* > > *New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011* > > ***-* > > We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra > Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed > Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. > > - > > The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political > parties has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same > political players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron > power plant. > > This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union > Environment Minister’s statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will > be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy for nuclear > energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan. > > - > > In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were > seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past > one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in > the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural > artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle > against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent > catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park. > > - > > We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local > farmers. > > The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for > the last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other > prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and > Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of > bounds from Ratnagiri District. > > - > > This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of > stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct > constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan > Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has > been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests > against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a > call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the > activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park. > > - > > We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena’s role in provoking the tragic > incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a > well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful > democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for > Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena’s > opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known. > > - > > We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which > attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle > against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the > proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party’s > partisan role and Shiv Sena’s unwarranted entry into the struggle has > vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out . > > - > > In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl > and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has > emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is > non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency, > promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved. > > We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after > countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option. > > * * > > *-* > > *Therefore, we demand* > > - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and > other states in the country* > - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April * > - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers > who ordered the police firing on the protesters* > - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the > villagers and rescind the externment orders * > > *Several citizens groups and people’s organizations will be demonstrating > against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st > April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. * > > * -* > > *Endorsed by * > > Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL > > Anil Chaudhary > > Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance > > Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group > > Susan Abraham, FORRAD > > Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org > > P T George, Intercultural Resources > > Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South > > Preeti Sampat > > Prem Piram, JAGAR > > Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective > > Asit, Delhi Platform > > Shree Prakash, MISAAL > > Sandeep Singh, AISA > > Wilfred D’ Costa > > Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha > > Priya Pillai, Greenpeace > > Sundaram P. > > Prafull Bidwai, CNDP > > Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation > > Mona Das > > S. Lahiri, NFFPFW > > National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) > > Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) > > Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) > > Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) > > Delhi Forum > > Programme for Social Action (PSA) > > Aruna Roy > > Nikhil Dey > > Rajendra Ravi, IDS > > * > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > * > > *Contact detail:* > > *A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016* > > *Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,* > > *9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)* > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > -- Prakash K Ray Research Scholar, Cinema Studies, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-67. 0 987 331 331 5 http://bargad.wordpress.com/ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118193556385&ref=ts From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Apr 21 04:29:49 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:29:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Radical idea' for Lokpal bill Message-ID: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article1712689.ece _______________________________________________________ Bribes: a small but radical idea P. Sainath To ask a people burdened with systemic bribery to accept bribe-giving as legal is to demand they accept corruption and the existing structures of power and inequity it flows from. Let's get this right. The Chief Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, wants a certain class of bribes legalised? And says so in a paper titled “Why, for a Class of Bribes, the Act of Giving a Bribe Should be Treated as Legal.” The paper is up on the Finance Ministry's website: http://finmin.nic.in/WorkingPaper/Act_Giving_Bribe_Legal.pdf And the author, Kaushik Basu, modestly describes his contribution as “a small but novel idea.” And again, as “a small but fairly radical idea.” The timing is radical. Something like a plan to make sailing less risky issued by the Chief Officer of the Titanic between the first and the second icebergs. (The Skipper being too busy trying to stay afloat in all that gushing floodwater from CWG, CVC, CAG, 2G, DB, Radia, cash-for-votes, WikiLeaks, illicit funds overseas, Supreme Court censures and more.) And with the country sick of corruption — a giant issue in the polls in States like Tamil Nadu. There are “harassment bribes” and there are “non-harassment bribes,” says Dr. Basu. He is mainly concerned with the former. Consider an exporter who has fulfilled all formalities but “is asked to make an illegal payment before getting a customs clearance.” Or the bribe someone gives an income tax officer to get one's tax refund cleared. All these are “harassment bribes.” Dr. Basu's solution? “The central message of this paper is that we should declare the act of giving a bribe in all such cases as legitimate activity. In other words, the giver of a harassment bribe should have full immunity from any punitive action by the state.” He does clarify that the “act of bribery is still being considered illegal.” But he is suggesting a change in law. He argues that the “entire punishment should be heaped on the bribe taker and the bribe giver should not be penalised at all, at least not for the act of offering or giving the bribe.” The Chief Economic Adviser even says where bribery is proved in court, the bribe should be returned to the giver. At present, the bribe giver and taker share a “collusive bond” since both have violated the law. Giving the former immunity, he says, will break that nexus. In his view, the changed law would incentivise the bribe giver to rat on the bribe taker, since he himself faces no punishment. Presto! A ‘dramatic drop in the incidence of bribery.' As Dr. Basu proudly says: “The reasoning is simple.” It is, actually, simple-minded. The Chief Economic Adviser dresses up these arguments for middle classes forced to make payoffs. For instance when a person allotted subsidised government land “goes to get her paperwork done ... she is asked to pay a hefty bribe.” Yet, his law will in no way curb bribery where scarcity exists. For instance putting a child into school where seats are hard to get. Or even getting that flat or the land he speaks of, allotted. Raising the stakes Dr. Basu's way could mean the victims face heavier demands. After all, the bribe taker needs to be compensated for the higher risk he now runs. And there is no focus at all on government failures that lead to scarcity. Nor on priorities that gift the corporate sector over $103 billion in write-offs in just this budget. Nor on spending policies that cut food subsidies and punish the poor. The idea of legitimising this culture is an obscene one. Bribery is systemic. To ask a people burdened with it to accept bribe-giving as legal is to demand they accept both corruption and the existing structures of power and inequity it flows from. This is a perverse idea. And it is nowhere as “novel” as he makes it out to be. As early as the 1960s, Gunnar Myrdal trashed such claptrap for seeking to create “resignation and fatalism” amongst the poor and less privileged. And for projecting such “asocial behaviour” as normal. Decades ago, debates on this idea ended up acknowledging how morally corroding such practices were. But I guess with a government as embroiled in corruption as the one he advises, there's a need to exhume the corpse of that argument and dress it up as “novel.” Dr. Basu dolls up corruption — for that is what bribery is — at precisely the time the Indian people are showing their revulsion to it. Dr. Basu's “small but fairly radical idea” suits those who can pay. And devastates those who cannot. Those who can and do make payoffs are unlikely to upset a system that works for them. Where bribery is systemic, the “collusive bond” of giver and taker will strengthen if this dishonest idea becomes a law. Take this assumption: “Under the new law, when a person gives a bribe, she will try to keep evidence of the act of bribery — a secret photo or jotting of the numbers on the currency notes handed over and so on — so that immediately after the bribery she can turn informer and get the bribe taker caught.” Poor people taking secret photos with hidden cameras (available at the nearest malls) and subtle pens which mark notes so the bribe taker won't know? How dumb an idea is that? The assumption that bribe givers will ring the bell after the bribe ignores the realities of power equations in our society and assumes access to legal recourse. Where the giver is poor, Dr. Basu's law will favour the taker. Where the giver is rich, it will favour the system of bribery. Consider these situations: The perpetrators of the cash-for-votes scam that corruptly kept this government in power would walk scot free in Dr. Basu's law. (Maybe that's the intention?) Can you see them saying, ‘hey, these are the MPs who took our cash?' What if a 2G scamster says he felt legitimately entitled to spectrum and paid “harassment bribes?” It would be fine for candidates to buy off voters during elections. After all, it is the takers who are to be punished, even if they turn out to be a few million. Will a person offering a bribe to a judge be punished if the latter reports it? If the judge accepts the payoff, will the giver report it? A bribe giver exploits the drug-abuse habit of an official. The drug peddler has full immunity from any punitive action by the state? An Indian agent of a foreign intelligence outfit successfully bribes Defence Ministry officials. Would that agency then say ‘Aha! They accepted kickbacks?' Great! We lynch the officials and congratulate the espionage ring — which is also entitled to its money back. These situations would be brushed off by Dr. Basu as “non-harassment bribes.” He asks: “Should the bribe giver be given full immunity in such cases? The simple answer to this is a — no.” Dr. Basu says, “A full answer to how the law should treat such cases will have to await further analysis.” However, he is “inclined to believe that even in such [non-harassment] bribery cases ... the punishment meted out to the bribe taker should be substantially greater than on the giver.” Is he wanting a certain “class of bribes” to be legalised or is he really asking for the bribes of a certain class to be okayed? It seems the latter. The companies behind the 2G kickbacks will do fine in Dr. Basu's law. Their conduct will have to “await further analysis.” Dr. Basu half admits his scheme could leave public servants “vulnerable to blackmail and false charges of bribe-taking.” Interestingly, about half the references listed at the end of the paper hark back either to other papers by the author himself; to papers co-authored by Dr. Basu with others, to those by still others in books he has edited: or to papers by yet others citing him in the title. Modesty would surely be a small but novel idea here. Other, clever ideas from Dr. Basu: This year's Economic Survey of India (referred to by cloying TV commentators as ‘Kaushik's Survey') links inflationary pressures to financial inclusion of the poor. “This must not deter us from pursuing financial inclusion ...” but we “need to be aware of all its fallouts.” In the middle of 2010, he favoured decontrolling of fuel prices — which would, he argued, help tackle the price rise, even if it “might raise inflation in the short-term.” (The Hindu, June 14, 2010). Again, this came at a time when food price inflation was pushing past the 15 per cent mark. And even as the FAO was warning against rising food prices worldwide and the immense hardship they would bring. (In December 2010, the FAO's food price index touched a record high.) And India since 2005-06 has seen possibly its worst five-year period in terms of food price increases. Much earlier, Dr. Basu wrote a piece in The New York Times (November 29, 1994) titled “The Poor Need Child Labour.” In it he explained, among other things, why he had once continued to employ a 13-year-old at his home. (Another small but novel idea?) Dr. Basu is also an expert on ‘development' who has long argued against banning child labour. A ‘small but fairly radical idea' for this government: can we get somebody who talks sense? _________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Apr 21 09:38:13 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:08:13 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Screening Andaz (1949) by Mehboob Khan at Twilight Film Club, New Delhi In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CDCDF0DE2DE34D-190C-85A6A@webmail-m143.sysops.aol.com> Twilight Film Club Invites you to the screening of Andaz by Mehboob Khan (Hindi/ 1949/ 148 min) Date: Friday, April 22, 2011 Time: 06:00 pm Venue: Hall of Life Devine, Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication, New Mehrauli Road, Adchini, New Delhi - 110 017 Phone: 91-011-26561986/ 26561987 About the Film Andaz starring Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Raj Kapoor in a love triangle is the only film that has Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor together. At the time of its release Andaz was the top grossing Hindi film ever, until its record was broken by Raj Kapoor's Barsaat the same year. Cukoo and Murad also appear in supporting roles. The film was directed by Mehboob Khan, music by Naushad and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The film will be presented by Anugyan Nag. Anugyan Nag has a Masters Degree from the first batch of Asian School of Media Studies, Noida ASMS in Cinema. He pursued his second masters in Fiction Film Production from Salford University U.K. Post his degree he has been involved in teaching at various media colleges and institutions. Anugyan is presently pursuing his M.Phil in Cinema Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Please forward this email among friends and film lovers. S.Amarnath Course Coordinator Dept of Film & TV Production Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication Mobile: 9654220443 www.sac.ac.in twilightfilmclub at sac.ac.in From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Thu Apr 21 10:04:06 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:34:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fund-A-Cause: The Journey So Far... Message-ID: <995044.99502.qm@web161414.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Hi, Fund-A-Cause, my initiative on Twitter, turned two day before yesterday. So, I put together a PPT presentation about the journey so far "with a little help from my friends" (line borrowed from the Beatles song). Little, did I say? Little I needed a lot of help to find a solution for accessing old tweets by me and that were sent to me, and with the formatting of the slides. A pretty last-minute effort but here it is: http://FundACause.posterous.com/Fund-A-Cause-the-journey-so-far And here's a compilation of my tweets from the past two years: http://tinyurl.com/CompiledTweets Thank you to all those who're in my life... for your friendship, for your kind words, and for providing content for many of my tweets. It's been one amazing life. :D Warmly, Chandni From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Thu Apr 21 10:05:43 2011 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:35:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Read a Few NGO Funding Proposals and Help a Donor Choose an NGO Message-ID: <639369.74347.qm@web161402.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Hi, Srushti from Bombay will be donating proceeds from the exhibition of her latest art works to an NGO working in the area of education. She wants me to help her choose an NGO. A note I had circulated about this is here. We invite you to go through the mails we received and share your thoughts on the NGOs. Choosing an NGO simply on the basis of reading information about their work is not easy. And yet, is there any that you think Srushti should contribute to, or learn more about? Do you think she should donate to a couple of NGOs instead of one? Is there any one thing that you would ask these NGOs that would help you in your decision? Your responses might make our decision-making work easier - or tougher - but we will be glad you participated. Just leave a comment on these two blog posts: http://bit.ly/e6Age6 http://bit.ly/fCHRPq Thanks. - Chandni From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Apr 21 20:49:43 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:49:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Myth of Vibrant Gujarat Message-ID: http://www.sacw.net/article2021.html http://www.anhadin.net/IMG/pdf/Myth_of_Vibrant_Gujarat_EDigest.pdf Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Sat Apr 23 13:37:15 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:07:15 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' Message-ID: Chomsky’s admission that Pakistan patronised Kashmiri terrorist groups & India centric terrorism should come as a disappointment to the ‘peace loving’ azadi mongers in Kashmir who lamented at a conference in Srinagar this week that they don’t have a ‘CHOMSKI in India’ (...to supplement Arundhati Roy & co’s endeavour to propagate their pan Islamic agenda…????...). May be it is also time for the protagonists of the macabre drama of death & destruction being played in the streets of Kashmir at the behest of their Pakistani masters for the past two decades to acknowledge their role…… Rgds all LA THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE WITH THE International Herald Tribune The unflattering perspective - Part I: ‘The US does not care about Pakistan’ By Rabia Mehmood Published: April 19, 2011 NEW YORK: Professor Noam Chomsky sits on the eighth floor of the quirky-looking Stata Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. Former head of the linguistics department, the author and intellectual now serves as Professor Emeritus at the university. The man is known worldwide for his incredibly popular and polarising criticism of American foreign policy. “The US doesn’t care about Pakistan, just like the Reagan administration didn’t care about either Afghanistan or Pakistan,” says Chomski, when asked how he sees the relationship between Pakistan and the US. “They supported Zia, the worst dictator in Pakistan’s history, and pretended they didn’t know that Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons. So basically they supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapon programme and radical Islamisation in their bid to defeat the Russians. And that has not helped Pakistan.” According to Chomsky, the reason the Pak-US relationship hasn’t worked is because the concern of US planners is not the welfare of Pakistan, it’s the welfare of their own constituency. “But it’s not the people of US either, just the powerful sectors within the US,” he said. “If the US policy towards Pakistan happens to benefit Pakistan it would be kind of accidental. Maybe it will to some extent, but that is not the purpose.” Chomsky believes Pakistan has serious internal problems but says there are solutions. But, he insists, these problems have to be solved from within instead of from outside. “These problems have to be dealt with inside Pakistan, and not by the US; providing them with massive military aid, carrying out drone strikes, which enrages the population rightly,” he says. “Drone attacks are target assassinations and therefore a crime. Whether they are militants or not, these people are being targeted because the US doesn’t like them. Targeted assassination is an international crime. United Nations’ special rapporteur Philip Alston, a very respected international lawyer, came out with a report which simply says that it is a criminal act.” He also supports the 1973 constitution and believes it is suitable for Pakistan. “It looks sensible on paper. It provided a degree of autonomy within a federalised system, which makes sense for a country like Pakistan,” he says. “Devoting resources to education, development and not military will help.” Relationship with India Speaking about Pakistan’s relationship and outlook towards India, he said that the Pakistani military has a strategic doctrine that they have to have a military presence in Afghanistan to counter India. “That’s a losing proposition because Pakistan cannot compete with India in terms of military force. Besides, the strategic position in Afghanistan doesn’t really mean anything in case of a war,” he says. “Pakistan has undoubtedly supported terrorist groups in Kashmir and terrorism in India, which has made the situation worse.” The Americans are avoiding the Kashmir issue, he says, which is central to the resolution of conflict in South Asia. “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. US-India relations Professor Chomsky says that it is a “joke” when US talks about giving aid for civilian nuclear facilities in India. “The aid for the civilian nuclear use can be easily transferred to military use. By granting India the right to import US nuclear technology, it has not only allowed India to freely develop nuclear weapons, the US has also violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” he says. Afghan war’s future “It is a complicated situation but I think there is good evidence that the US military and political structures recognise that they cannot have a military victory,” Chomsky says. However, he says, they [US] can conquer whatever they like, but the Russians also won every battle in the 1980s but eventually lost the war. “The Americans are therefore trying to find a way to extricate themselves in some fashion, that it can be presented as a victory. They don’t want to admit they’ve lost the war, like the Russians.” Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2011. http://tribune.com.pk/story/152219/the-unflattering-perspective-part-i-the-us-does-not-care-about-pakistan/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From c.anupam at gmail.com Sat Apr 23 14:22:00 2011 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for this illuminating piece. Surprisingly, Chomsky is also saying: “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. I couldn't ignore this one. On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > > Chomsky’s admission > that Pakistan patronised Kashmiri terrorist groups & > India centric terrorism should come as a disappointment to the ‘peace > loving’ > azadi mongers in Kashmir who lamented at a conference in Srinagar this week > that they don’t have a ‘CHOMSKI in India’ (...to supplement Arundhati Roy & > co’s endeavour to propagate their pan Islamic agenda…????...). > > > May be it is also time > for the protagonists of the macabre drama of death & destruction being > played > in the streets of Kashmir at the behest of their Pakistani masters for the > past > two decades to acknowledge their role…… > > Rgds all > > LA > > > > THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > WITH THE International Herald Tribune > > > > The unflattering perspective - > Part I: ‘The US does not care about Pakistan’ > > By Rabia Mehmood > > Published: April 19, > 2011 > > NEW YORK: > > Professor Noam > Chomsky sits on the eighth floor of the quirky-looking Stata Center of the > Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. > Former head of the linguistics department, the author and intellectual now > serves as Professor Emeritus at the university. > > The man is known > worldwide for his incredibly popular and polarising criticism of American > foreign policy. > > “The US doesn’t care about Pakistan, > just like the Reagan administration didn’t care about either Afghanistan or > Pakistan,” > says Chomski, when asked how he sees the relationship between Pakistan and > the US. “They supported Zia, the worst > dictator in Pakistan’s > history, and pretended they didn’t know that Pakistan was developing > nuclear > weapons. So basically they supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapon programme > and radical Islamisation in their bid to defeat the Russians. And that has > not > helped Pakistan.” > > According to > Chomsky, the reason the Pak-US relationship hasn’t worked is because the > concern > of US planners is not the welfare of Pakistan, it’s the welfare of their > own constituency. “But it’s not the people of US either, just the powerful > sectors within the US,” > he said. “If the US policy > towards Pakistan happens to > benefit Pakistan > it would be kind of accidental. Maybe it will to some extent, but that is > not > the purpose.” > > Chomsky believes Pakistan > has serious internal problems but says there are solutions. But, he > insists, > these problems have to be solved from within instead of from outside. > “These > problems have to be dealt with inside Pakistan, > and not by the US; > providing them with massive military aid, carrying out drone strikes, which > enrages the population rightly,” he says. “Drone attacks are target > assassinations and therefore a crime. Whether they are militants or not, > these > people are being targeted because the US doesn’t like them. Targeted > assassination is an international crime. United Nations’ special rapporteur > Philip Alston, a very respected international lawyer, came out with a > report > which simply says that it is a criminal act.” > > He also supports the > 1973 constitution and believes it is suitable for Pakistan. “It looks > sensible on > paper. It provided a degree of autonomy within a federalised system, which > makes sense for a country like Pakistan,” > he says. “Devoting resources to education, development and not military > will > help.” > > Relationship with India > > Speaking about Pakistan’s relationship and outlook towards India, he said > that the Pakistani military has a > strategic doctrine that they have to have a military presence in > Afghanistan to counter India. “That’s a losing proposition > because Pakistan cannot > compete with India > in terms of military force. Besides, the strategic position in Afghanistan > doesn’t really mean anything in case of a war,” he says. “Pakistan > has undoubtedly supported terrorist groups in Kashmir and terrorism in > India, > which has made the situation worse.” > > The Americans are > avoiding the Kashmir issue, he says, which is central to the resolution of > conflict in South Asia. “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible > atrocities, fraudulent elections, most > militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. > > US-India relations > > Professor Chomsky > says that it is a “joke” when US talks about giving aid for civilian > nuclear > facilities in India. > “The aid for the civilian nuclear use can be easily transferred to military > use. By granting India the > right to import US nuclear > technology, it has not only allowed India > to freely develop nuclear weapons, the US has also violated the nuclear > non-proliferation treaty,” he says. > > Afghan war’s future > > “It is a complicated > situation but I think there is good evidence that the US military and > political > structures recognise that they cannot have a military victory,” Chomsky > says. > > However, he says, > they [US] > can conquer whatever they like, but the Russians also won every battle in > the > 1980s but eventually lost the war. “The Americans are therefore trying to > find > a way to extricate themselves in some fashion, that it can be presented as > a > victory. They don’t want to admit they’ve lost the war, like the Russians.” > > Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, > 2011. > > > > > http://tribune.com.pk/story/152219/the-unflattering-perspective-part-i-the-us-does-not-care-about-pakistan/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sun Apr 24 00:01:47 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:31:47 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] Custers: Remembering Chernobyl Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Peter Custers Date: 23 April 2011 07:15 Subject: Remembering Chernobyl Dear Friends, Below is my piece commemorating the Chernobyl disaster. Please, feel free to distribute. I would appreciate being informed in case of further publication. Very best wishes, (Dr.) Peter Custers QUARTER CENTURY RETROSPECTIVE ON THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT The accident could have served as a wake-up call to the whole of humanity. Twenty-five years ago, on April 26th 1986, disaster struck at the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear complex, in the Ukrainian state of the former Soviet Union. The accident actually started taking shape in the preceding night, when workers undertook a turbine test that had incompletely been carried out before the nuclear plant became operational. When the test was being carried out, the automatic emergency system was shut down, undermining reactor safety. During the test also, fuel elements burst, setting off a chain of events which in no time resulted in two powerful explosions. Soon the reactor’s meltdown was a fact, and a huge radioactive cloud spread its contaminating effects over a vast area of the Soviet Union and beyond. A quarter century has lapsed since this accident occurred. Until last month ‘s accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Chernobyl was considered to be the very worst disaster ever to have occurred at a nuclear production facility since the founding of the sector during World War Two. Moreover, as recent reports confirm, even today the Chernobyl disaster is far from over (1). Hence a retrospective is surely appropriate. The more so since the Japanese authorities have meanwhile rated their Fukushima accident at the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe. First, the radioactive fall-out from the Soviet granite-moderated reactor was unprecedentedly large. Officially, the fall-out is stated to have been 50 million of curies of radioactivity. But it probably was at least several times this figure. Amongst the numerous known and unknown nuclear accidents that historically have occurred, Chernobyl is not the only one to have resulted in a dangerously large fall-out of radioactivity. When storage tanks for high- radioactive waste in 1957 exploded in a nuclear-military reprocessing factory in Cheliabinsk, in a remote corner of the Ural mountains, - tens of millions of curies of radioactivity also leaked, damaging the health of hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens. Both the fall-out from Chernobyl and that from Cherniabinsk by far exceeded the radioactive fall-out from the US’s dropping of atom bombs on Japan’s cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, in 1945. Besides, since the Chernobyl complex was located close to densely populated parts of the Ukraine and Europe, the radioactive fall-out from the damaged civilian reactor was bound to be very consequential. Fifty thousand people living in Chernobyl’s immediate surroundings had to be evacuated. A vast rural region became either permanently or temporarily uninhabitable. And  15 countries of Europe saw half of their territories contaminated by the radioactive cloud. As happened in the wake of the recent Fukushima-Daiichi disaster, - public authorities every-where were forced to put restrictions on the sale and import of food, so as to reduce the risk of radiation-induced cancer deaths among their populations. Initially, the effects of the Chernobyl catastrophe and the widespread anger it aroused put a brake on plans to expand production of nuclear energy, in particular in Europe and the US. Yet as ´Chernobyl´ started receding from public memory, proponents of nuclear energy once again went on the offensive, claiming the disaster had cost very few lives. Even a section of well known European intellectuals worried about climate change have been swayed. The renowned British thinker James Lovelock a few years back surprisingly stated that claims regarding a huge death toll from Chernobyl are ´a powerful lie´ (2). The only admission institutions representing nuclear interests, such as the IAEA, are willing to make is that the disaster caused an increase in thyroid cancers in children. This, they say, may result in just a few thousand mortalities. Not even the fact that tens of thousands of young and health men who heroically participated in clean-up activities in Chernobyl faced an early death, is admitted from this side. In a more critical report brought out in 2006, the international organization Greenpeace revealed that the figure for victims of cancer cases due to Chernobyl could top a quarter million, and that nearly a hundred thousand fatal cancers were to be deplored. Again, in an ambitious study brought out by the New York Academy of Sciences in 2009, Russian scientists compared data from severely contaminated, and from less contaminated parts of the former Soviet Union. They concluded that the death toll until end 2004 may be nine to ten times Greenpeace’s amount (3). Undoubtedly, vast numbers of fatalities from the 1986 fall-out remain unrecorded or hidden. Yet Chernobyl´s tragic effects can easily be seen by those who care. In some areas of the former Soviet Union, less than 20 percent of children are healthy. Numerous babies have been born with deformities or with disturbances of their nervous systems. Genetic disorders were found in every animal species studied by the Russian scientists. However, it would be wrong to think the after-effects of Chernobyl were limited to the direct consequences of the 1986 fall-out. Towards understanding the implications of a nuclear disaster, it is also necessary to look at the outcome of the clean-up operation undertaken subsequently by the then Soviet authorities. First, 5000 tons of materials were dropped from helicopters to re-cover the damaged reactor, at the price of the life the pilots. Then, some 6 hundred thousand workers, baptized the ´liquidators´, were recruited or forced to rapidly build a sarcophagus of concrete and metal. This operation carried out over a period of six months again was extremely hazardous, and probably resulted in the largest category of radiation-induced illnesses and deaths from the catastrophe. Besides, contrary to what one would expect or hope for - the new outer shell for Chernobyl´s melted reactor never functioned as an effective barrier to radiation leakages. It reportedly has been in danger of collapse for years! Thus, since the nineties discussions have been under way over the building of a new arch. Such an arch would have to be erected in proximity of the former reactor, and will need to be glided towards its destination via rails, in order to reduce risks for humans. Also, the existing sarcophagus and the destroyed reactor will have to be dismantled, with the aid of robots.  As of 2011, a major chunk of the funds required to finance this new operation still has not been collected. Clearly, the mess from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is long-, if not ever-lasting. And although Japan´s technological capacity today obviously exceeds that of the Soviet Union 25 years back, - the clean-up work in Japan is sure to extend over very many decades to come. What fundamental lessons can we draw from Chernobyl, -  for Japan and for the world at large? The experience gathered since the melt-down 25 years back appears to validate the views nuclear critics expressed at the time. The disaster fuelled immediate and worldwide resistance - not just against expansion, but against any reliance on nuclear energy. Many hundreds of thousands of people have since participated in protests in Western Europe alone. One of the central arguments critics cite is that nuclear technology is a form of technology which is so hazardous, so destructive, that humanity would do well to renounce it entirely. Yet since the late nineties, strenuous efforts have been made by proponents of nuclear energy to stage a ´renaissance´ and resume the trend of nuclear expansion worldwide. It is very unfortunate that a section of writers and intellectuals who are vocal against climate change have sought fit to voice the same arguments being used by representatives of the nuclear lobby to defend a nuclear come-back. As a retrospective on the Chernobyl catastrophe easily brings out: one cannot trade one catastrophe against another; one can´t exchange a climate catastrophe for a nuclear catastrophe. On this anniversary we need a sacred pledge in favor of reliance on technologies that are productive, that squarely sustain all forms of life on planet earth. Dr. Peter Custers (author of a theoretical study on nuclear production, see Questioning Globalized Militarism (Tulika/Merlin Press, 2007) Leiden, the Netherlands, April 14, 2011 www.petercusters.nl References: (1) For a comprehensive overview, see Dirk Bannink and Peer de Rijk, ‘Chernobyl; Chronology of a Disaster’ (Nuclear Monitor, WISE/NIRS, Amsterdam, March 11, 211, no.724) (2) James Lovelock, The Revenge of Gaya. Why the Earth is Fighting Back – and How We Can Still Save Humanity (Penguin Books, London, 2007), p.131); (3) Alexey V.Yablokov, Vassily B.Nesterenko, Alexey V.Nesterenko, Chernobyl. Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol.1181, Blackwell Publishing, Boston, 2009). From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Sun Apr 24 12:23:08 2011 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:23:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Marketing poison Message-ID: Published on Down To Earth (http://www.downtoearth.org.in) New endosulfan ploy Author(s): Latha Jishnu Issue Date: 2011-3-15 Industry is sidestepping issues by pitching the proposed UN ban on endosulfan as the battle between generics and patented pesticides In David and Goliath stand-offs public sympathy‹and cheering‹is always reserved for the heroic small man who takes on the big bad guy. The David usually represents valour in the face of heavy odds. That is how the Indian pharmaceuticals industry projected itself when it began producing generics medicine at a fraction of the cost of patented drugs from the multinational companies. So when the issue of patent rights of the innovator companies came up, there was huge support for the generics companies turning out life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs from patient groups, lawyers, health activists and politicians. Now the pesticides industry is positing an imminent ban on endosulfan by the UN¹s Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) as a dubious battle over intellectual property rights (IPR) being waged by the European Commission on behalf of its global pesticides manufacturing giants. The Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI), whose leading lights are among the top producers of endosulfan, claims it is a move to deprive farmers of this cheap generic insecticide so that European multinationals can move in with their expensive new pesticides. The new chemicals, according to the association, cost 10 times as much and ³will be damaging to the farm ecosystem as most of these are known to be harmful to pollinators such has honeybees². So why is no one cheering the domestic industry? You would expect that farmers, keeling over from high costs of inputs, would be out there on the streets screaming for their endosulfan. Not so. In parts of the country where aerial spraying of this toxic pesticide has probably been the cause for cases of illness, deformities and deaths, the use of this insecticide is banned‹as is in 60 countries. Regular readers of this magazine do not need to be reminded of the harrowing chronicles of Kasaragod in Kerala and Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka. But the Government of India is firmly with the pesticides manufacturer in seeking to thwart the global ban. The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, and in October last year, the POP Review Committee finalised a recommendation to the Conference of the Parties (CoP) that endosulfan should be considered for listing in Annex A of the Convention because ³it is highly toxic to humans and many other animals and has been found in the environment, including the Arctic.² The proposal was placed before the UNEP in November 2007 and a decision by CoP is expected during its meetings which start on April 25 this year. Since the recommendation, PMFAI has been on a public relations overdrive, holding media briefings or buying space in the pink press, which has been publishing its handouts as ŒAnnouncement/Corporate¹. In all these instances, it is something called the International Stewardship Centre (ISC) which has been extolling the benefits of the generic endosulfan and the role of the Indian manufacturers in providing farmers with cheap pesticides solution. The spokesperson for the centre, which calls itself a non-profit for safe use of pesticides but is actually an organisation of pesticides manufacturers, is its chairperson R Hariharan. In a report published in Business Standard on February 18, 2011, Hariharan is quoted as saying: ³Indian companies account for over 70 per cent of this market which has come at the cost of the European manufacturers. The replacement value of endosulfan by patented alternative is estimated to be in excess of US $1 billion. As a result, endosulfan is today in the eye of the storm in the battle of Œpatented¹ versus Œgeneric¹ pesticides.² Hariharan, incidentally, is vice-president, international business, with Excel Crop Care, one of the largest manufacturers of endosulfan. The EU ploy, according to the ISC boss, is to bleed Indian farmers by getting this pesticide out of the market. Endosul fan costs Rs 270 per litre, while ³alternative chemicals like imida chloropid are sold at more than Rs 1,800 per litre². To reinforce the benefits of endosulfan, Hariharan claims ³the alternatives are not a broad solution like endosulfan. So a farmer will be forced to buy several high-priced patented pesticides.² Even if this were true, there is little resonance to this campaign. Is it because PMFAI is not really a David? IPR battles may be fought on ideological grounds but only if a strong legal case can be made out. Both are missing here. And although the endosulfan lobby has roped in retired agriculture officials to sing its praises, particularly for tea cultivation, PMFAI sidesteps one important issue. The European Union has stipulated the maximum residue limit of endosulfan in tea should be 0.01 ppm. So whether endosulfan is banned or not, India¹s tea exports to one of its large markets are doomed unless plantations switch to something less harmful. That much is patently clear. Source URL: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/new-endosulfan-ploy From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sun Apr 24 16:48:22 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 04:18:22 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Rationing water, or Rationing Human Rights ? In-Reply-To: <946190884-1303592928-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-361056050-@b18.c9.bise7.blackberry> References: <946190884-1303592928-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-361056050-@b18.c9.bise7.blackberry> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Saurav Datta Date: 23 April 2011 14:09 Subject: Rationing water, or Rationing Human Rights ? http://www.countercurrents.org/print.html Rationing Water or Rationing Human Right By S. Mohammed Irshad 23 April, 2011 Countercurrents.org The Planning Commission of India, vice chair man Montek Singh Ahulwalia declare the one of the future policy initiatives of Government of India i.e rationing of water, according to him "by water rationing I don't mean that less water should be supplied, but that we can price water so that people use water as per requirement. In India, we have to pay for using energy but not water. A fee should be charged for using water too. However, different slabs of this fee can be formed,". He made this comments while referring the water problems of Rajasthan state. There is absolutely no point of difference with those who refer the water crisis of Rajasthan. Yet, the planning commission vice chair men’s policy support seldom refer the importance of public funded water governance projects. The whole debate is hovering around rationing water accesses rather than any effective policy implementation to ensure proper access to water. In India people have been told by the government that universal rationing will not go due to financial crisis. Universal rationing has been dropped and the entire public distribution system in India is subjected to target rationing. However, for rationing water is no way fit in to neither targeted nor universal rationing system. The new concept of water rationing even if at limited level would have far reaching impacts. While government trying to implement rationing of water the UN declares water as human rights; hence, any attempt on rationing or denying access over water is the violation of human right. The declaration said “today more than a billion people lack safe drinking water and almost two and a half billion live without access to sanitation systems. An estimated 14 to 39 thousand people mostly young and elderly die every day from avoidable water-related diseases. If current trends persist, by 2025 two-third of the world’s population will be living with serious water shortage or almost not water at all ”(1). The report went on to say that “water is essentially to ensure the continuance of life, and is intrinsically linked to other fundamental human rights: water is necessary to produce food (rights to adequate food), to ensure environmental hygiene (right to health), for securing livelihood (rights to gain a living by work), to enjoy certain cultural practices (rights to take in cultural life) etc. The following demonstrates that numerous fundamental human rights can not be fully realized without water.” a) Right to life, b) right to food, c) right to self determination, d) right to adequate standard of living, e) right to housing, f) right to education, g) right to health, h) right to take part in cultural life, i) right to sustainable working conditions”. “Human right to water is remain imperfectly defined” (2) There are three issues pertain to water rationing, first is legitimization of the idea of water as an economic good to the poorest of the poor, and second) defaming the struggle for water, and three) privatization/controlling of water bodies. UN declares water is a human right, however, international lending agencies considering water as an economic good. The Doublin principle of 1992 endorses political commitments regarding the involvement of government and community towards institutional changes, the use of market economy, capacity building etc. The principle declares; • Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment • Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers at all levels • Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water • Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good However, in 1993, World Bank initiated drastic changes in water sector lending . It advocates a comprehensive approach to water resources and incentives for good management. a) Maximize the contribution of water to countries’ economic, social, and environmental development while ensuring that resource and water services are managed sustainably. b) Encourage and help countries to establish comprehensive analytical frameworks to foster informed and transparent decision making with an emphasis on demand management; and c) Promote decentralized implementation process and market forces to guide the appropriate mix of public and private sector provision of water services. The question of water rights has been critically challenged by these international agencies and government. Infact, we generally assume that every nation state has to accept the universal declaration of UN agencies, however, the contemporary political economy persuade many countries to override UN agencies declaration. Mr Aluwalia’s comment is infact is an indication Indian government’s political will to implement a market driven water policy. As said before, struggle for water is increasingly becoming a crucial public policy crisis across the world. In India rural water supply has been a problem owing to the lack of public support to increase the connectivity. However, community water supply schemes in rural areas initially give a hope to the people who had been denied water by public water supply system, later financial crisis pulled many community organsations pull back from enjoying proper access to water . (3) The present water supply system is having two mode of operation i.e. public water supply with subsidy, community water supply with full cost pricing and private sources. Governing water in tandem with neo-liberalism is one of the unfinished tasks of government. Major policy shift taking place in water sector is public private partnership and price regulation, of which price regulation has not been effectively implemented. Water tariffs have been increased in many state water supply agencies, yet, it would not alone meet the cost of water supply. Hence, government financing is an inseparable component of water supply. The current policy of rationing water is infact not for putting limitation on access to water; yet, it would drastically redefine the concept of public ownership on basic sources. Basic water sources like rivers and ponds are being targeted by global water companies. No government across the world is able to assess the raw material price of these resources; instead all these deals are being protected by the managerial idea of fixing either royalty or lease agreement. Technically no water companies are able to ensure the sustainability of such sources. Infact the statement of Mr Aluwalia’s has to be taken into account in this context. If we put the existing rationing mechanism in water, there would be three markets would arrive, a) Below Poverty Line, b) Above Poverty line and c) Private market. First two components are come under public distribution system and third would be a fully privatized water market. The privatization of water is unfinished process unlike any other public utilities, however the idea of rationing of water would gradually leads to accessibility rationing. This is infact the major impediment on larger water privatization. The proposal of rationing needs to be discussed in this perspective. The liberal strings of governance pull the government to implement price mechanism to avoid huge public funding. Rationing of water is the most effective administrative tool to reduce the public funding. Reduction of quantity also increases the marketability of water. Government imposed rationing necessitate control over public or subsidized water supply system. Rationing or full cost price of water leads to the legitamisaiotn of water privatization. UN declaration on water was expected to influence the water governance on humanitarian grounds; however, the UN declaration remains as an abstract idea. The rationing of water infact rations the human right. Notes: 1. IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper No 51 2. ibid 3.This argument is based on my PhD thesis. My study found that many beneficiary committees had dropped their schemes owing to the lack of financial capacity. -- Saurav Datta Ph (M) : +919820229683; +919930966518 IM:sauravdatta52 at hotmail.com -- "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" : Churchill. Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Free Binayak Sen" group. To post to this group, send an email to free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to free-binayaksen+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/free-binayaksen?hl=en-GB. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sun Apr 24 20:12:42 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:42:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics In-Reply-To: <4dab05ba.460ae30a.1df0.ffffe6a3@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <949778.42784.qm@web161218.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> For those who could not figure out why I posted the pani-puri-pee story, here is another view: Much ado about pani puri By: Paromita Vohra Date: 2011-04-24 Place: Mumbai I've lived in Mumbai for over two decades, but I spent my teenage years in Delhi. So naturally, I've always liked Gol Gappas over Pani Puri. Even the name is more poetic ” a round thing you pop in ” gapp! My Hindi writer friend assures me it's not connected to gapp-shupp, but I like to entertain the fantasy that the words have a relationship ” one jumping out of your mouth, as the other pops in. Gol Gappas, according to me are more robust; tart and sharp and cold, like William Carlos Williams' plums. Pani Puri on the other hand seems tepid, timid and a little stingy. It has sprouts ” definitely dweeby. Because it's Mumbai, the humidity has usually killed the crispness. Bengali people of course, snort at both versions of this universal snack as they scarf down Puchkas, intractable and mustardy, with a dash of soft potatoes, like a Bangla momma. But I accept that in the matter of chaat, you will always prefer the kind you ate when you were young. And while I advocate mix and match in most aspects of life, I respect the right of chaat to be consumed in its native place. So I am confused by the MNS's hate for Pani Puri and their resolute upturning of all Pani Puri stalls in Mumbai. I thought they defended all things Mumbai. So did my criticism of Pani Puri have a sound basis all these years? I know they say it's because of the man who peed in his Pani Puri ” but then they would have just overturned his stall, right? No, said my friend. They care about hygiene and our health. Oh, I said. So have they also been doing something about all those malnutrition deaths in Thane? My friend looked uncertain. Why don't you shoot the malnutrition stuff and show them ” they'll surely take action then. This seemed like a lot of trouble to me, so I said, what about those fancy SoBo (apparently you can't say Colaba anymore; it sounds too Mumbai and not enough EnWyeCee) restaurants where you can see bandicoots. Yeah, she said, you could shoot those with your phone camera. But later I realised that will defeat the purpose of the sting operations as many fancy restaurants are owned by fancy people. Sting operations, with exceptions, I've noticed, are preferably used on small time characters. For instance, India TV sent a pretty young girl to pursue Shakti Kapoor, a fairly powerless, fading actor. She made various suggestive offers until he finally said OK, let's do it and I'll try to get you work. Then she told him smile, you are on secret camera. I've been looking for her to ask why she didn't go for a bigger fish who could actually get her a role ” a movie director or something. But I guess big fish don't fit into the frames of small cameras. It's just a technical problem. The rule is that the person with the small camera is usually in the right and gets to shout it out from the settops. Punish the corrupt and all. And till you can get to the big fish, we'll shoot the small ones. On our camera only, baba, what did you think? What I'm trying to say is ” can someone penalise the guy who peed in the Pani Puri and let the others feed those who like Pani Puris? You don't want to punish the big fish who beat up the Pani Puri boys, or hold the BMC accountable, fine, it's on your head. But... if you do, I'll eat a Pani Puri. Paromita Vohra is an award-winning Mumbai-based filmmaker, writer and curator working with fiction and non-fiction. Reach her at www.parodevi.com. The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper. http://www.mid-day.com/opinion/2011/apr/240411-Gol-Gappas-Pani-Puri-Urinate.htm --- On Sun, 4/17/11, S.Shashidhar wrote: > From: S.Shashidhar > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" , "TaraPrakash" , "Yousuf" > Date: Sunday, April 17, 2011, 8:52 PM > Attention one more leak from > yousuf... He knew all along that street vendors were spicing > the food with fluids of their own and he jas done nothing > about it, not write a single line of protest or even fast > unto death to discourage all the others polluting his > innards... > > Relax man, relax, there has been a lot of anna bashing > going on some of it by bobby and sudha is really enlightened > and well researched, what you are trying to serve is hog > wash. Please... Keep you half baked theories to self. > > If what yousuf says is true any further congragation of > people voilent, non voilent, hungry, wanting to swim, > participate in a dog show is all inspired by the very old, > frail, fascist, mns henchman.... > > And for social awakening we have to look for donkey videos > and punish offending childre.... Relax.... > > Holding my preassure for you > > > Shashi > > Sent from my Nokia phone > -----Original Message----- > From: Yousuf > Sent:  17/04/2011 4:44:00 pm > To: reader-list at sarai.net; > ssabnavis at gmail.com; > TaraPrakash > Subject:  RE: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > > We did not need one Ankita to know that street-vendors pee > and serve. We have known this fact all along, yet we consume > the street food with pleasure. But when someone posts a > video (which is rather vague and can be interpreted any > which way), we come on to the streets (in the tradition > created recently by the media hype around Anna Hazare's fast > against corruption) and start vandalising all street-vendors > that come in our way. Our police and officials are > completely useless - they cannot ensure in their normal duty > that the street vendors supply clean food and utensils. MNS > assumes the role of law-maker, judge and punisher, and even > the CM approves of what MNS does. How many kinds of > hypocracies does on need to point out in this story and how > many connections should one show with Anna Hazare? > > Last week, someone posted a painful youtube video of some > kids heckling a donkey for fun, ultimately throwing it off a > bridge (and its called "What fun"). Has anyone gone out to > the street and beaten all the street kids to pulp and saved > all the stray dogs and donkeys yet? > > > > --- On Sat, 4/16/11, S.Shashidhar > wrote: > > > From: S.Shashidhar > > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > , > "Yousuf" > > Date: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 6:36 PM > > Anna hazare and his tribe grows... > > Mr. Yousuf is ok with people peeing into his pani > puri... > > Get your facts right, anna hazare has nothing to do > with > > mns, if you feel sorry for people who pee and serve  > > great.... If you want to twist and serve your own pee > > stories congrats.... > > > > Sent from my Nokia phone > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Yousuf > > Sent:  16/04/2011 6:24:43 pm > > Subject:  [Reader-list] Paani puri politics > > > > Anna Hazare's tribe grows. I don't know whether to > feel > > sorry for the street vendors or the MNS goons. > > ---------- > > > > Paani puri politics > > > > Posted On Friday, April 15, 2011 at 02:27:46 AM > > > > On Wednesday, Mumbai Mirror had published the story of > a > > paani puri vendor - caught on camera by reader Ankita > Rane - > > urinating into the lota used to serve his customers. > > > > Three days later, the isolated story which ought to > have > > triggered awareness about unhygienic street food, has > turned > > into a political circus. > > > > Ankita, who has been besieged with congratulatory > calls > > since her story was published, saw nothing wrong when > local > > political worker Rahul Shelar organised a meeting MNS > > supremo Raj Thackeray at his Dadar residence on > Thursday. > > "He (Thackeray) saw the video and congratulated me on > my > > courage," said Ankita. "He also said the civic body is > not > > doing its job." > > > > Minutes after Ankita walked out, party workers were > out on > > a rampage across Dadar targeting vendors of Nimbu > Panni, > > Panni Puri, Bhel Puri, Batata Vada and other street > food. > > Ignoring the pleas of shocked and hapless vendors, > they tore > > down stalls, overturned carts and destroyed wares. > > > > MNS workers clear the Dadar and Shivaji Park areas of > > street vendors on Thursday afternoon. > > > > The agitation gathered momentum and by evening MNS > workers > > in groups had managed to leave behind a trail of > destruction > > from Dadar right up to the suburbs including Dahisar, > > Andheri, Khar and even areas like Colaba and CST. The > > hawkers were no match for the marauding brigade. > > > > Sandeep Deshpande, the department head of the party > said > > that this agitation is in interest of the common man. > > “Hawkers sell unhygienic food on the streets and > people > > consume it. This drive is against such unhygienic food > being > > sold,” he said. > > > > Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan, who was in Ghatkopar > when > > MNS rampaged its way through the city - said, "There > are > > Supreme Court guidelines on food being sold on the > streets > > and the government will ensure that they are followed > and > > effectively implemented." > > > > Back in Ankita's neighbourhood, the street food > vendors had > > disappeared before the politics of 'piss puri' could > catch > > up with them. > > > > http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20110415201104150228029897480759a > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Apr 25 04:04:53 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:04:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Many Truths Message-ID: http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/ http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/sathya-sai-central-trust-untrustworthy/ http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/sathya-sai-baba-buried-alive/ http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/Trust.htm http://www.saipetition.net/ http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/index.html http://exbaba.com/ ______________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Apr 25 04:39:49 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:39:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Endosulfan Compilation Message-ID: http://www.thehindu.com/system/topicRoot/Endosulfan__Spray_of_Death_/ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Mon Apr 25 11:38:39 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:08:39 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: If allegations of electoral malpractices justify unleashing of pan Islamism inspired terrorism in Kashmir that saw ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu Pandits at its advent then most of India & the rest of democratic world should be in perpetual state of civil war.Rgds allLA----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0530 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' From: c.anupam at gmail.com To: lalitambardar at hotmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net Thanks for this illuminating piece. Surprisingly, Chomsky is also saying: “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. I couldn't ignore this one. On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: Chomsky’s admission that Pakistan patronised Kashmiri terrorist groups & India centric terrorism should come as a disappointment to the ‘peace loving’ azadi mongers in Kashmir who lamented at a conference in Srinagar this week that they don’t have a ‘CHOMSKI in India’ (...to supplement Arundhati Roy & co’s endeavour to propagate their pan Islamic agenda…????...). May be it is also time for the protagonists of the macabre drama of death & destruction being played in the streets of Kashmir at the behest of their Pakistani masters for the past two decades to acknowledge their role…… Rgds all LA THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE WITH THE International Herald Tribune The unflattering perspective - Part I: ‘The US does not care about Pakistan’ By Rabia Mehmood Published: April 19, 2011 NEW YORK: Professor Noam Chomsky sits on the eighth floor of the quirky-looking Stata Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. Former head of the linguistics department, the author and intellectual now serves as Professor Emeritus at the university. The man is known worldwide for his incredibly popular and polarising criticism of American foreign policy. “The US doesn’t care about Pakistan, just like the Reagan administration didn’t care about either Afghanistan or Pakistan,” says Chomski, when asked how he sees the relationship between Pakistan and the US. “They supported Zia, the worst dictator in Pakistan’s history, and pretended they didn’t know that Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons. So basically they supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapon programme and radical Islamisation in their bid to defeat the Russians. And that has not helped Pakistan.” According to Chomsky, the reason the Pak-US relationship hasn’t worked is because the concern of US planners is not the welfare of Pakistan, it’s the welfare of their own constituency. “But it’s not the people of US either, just the powerful sectors within the US,” he said. “If the US policy towards Pakistan happens to benefit Pakistan it would be kind of accidental. Maybe it will to some extent, but that is not the purpose.” Chomsky believes Pakistan has serious internal problems but says there are solutions. But, he insists, these problems have to be solved from within instead of from outside. “These problems have to be dealt with inside Pakistan, and not by the US; providing them with massive military aid, carrying out drone strikes, which enrages the population rightly,” he says. “Drone attacks are target assassinations and therefore a crime. Whether they are militants or not, these people are being targeted because the US doesn’t like them. Targeted assassination is an international crime. United Nations’ special rapporteur Philip Alston, a very respected international lawyer, came out with a report which simply says that it is a criminal act.” He also supports the 1973 constitution and believes it is suitable for Pakistan. “It looks sensible on paper. It provided a degree of autonomy within a federalised system, which makes sense for a country like Pakistan,” he says. “Devoting resources to education, development and not military will help.” Relationship with India Speaking about Pakistan’s relationship and outlook towards India, he said that the Pakistani military has a strategic doctrine that they have to have a military presence in Afghanistan to counter India. “That’s a losing proposition because Pakistan cannot compete with India in terms of military force. Besides, the strategic position in Afghanistan doesn’t really mean anything in case of a war,” he says. “Pakistan has undoubtedly supported terrorist groups in Kashmir and terrorism in India, which has made the situation worse.” The Americans are avoiding the Kashmir issue, he says, which is central to the resolution of conflict in South Asia. “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. US-India relations Professor Chomsky says that it is a “joke” when US talks about giving aid for civilian nuclear facilities in India. “The aid for the civilian nuclear use can be easily transferred to military use. By granting India the right to import US nuclear technology, it has not only allowed India to freely develop nuclear weapons, the US has also violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” he says. Afghan war’s future “It is a complicated situation but I think there is good evidence that the US military and political structures recognise that they cannot have a military victory,” Chomsky says. However, he says, they [US] can conquer whatever they like, but the Russians also won every battle in the 1980s but eventually lost the war. “The Americans are therefore trying to find a way to extricate themselves in some fashion, that it can be presented as a victory. They don’t want to admit they’ve lost the war, like the Russians.” Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2011. http://tribune.com.pk/story/152219/the-unflattering-perspective-part-i-the-us-does-not-care-about-pakistan/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: From c.anupam at gmail.com Mon Apr 25 12:21:40 2011 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:21:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Allegations of electoral malpractices are serious especially in context of Kashmir, North East, or any conflict prone area. I guess Chomsky was speaking about the Americans trying to skirt the issue of Kashmir, "which is central to the resolution of conflict in South Asia". I am not sure by citing electoral malpractices, one would try to justify acts of violence which has been labelled as Pan Islamist Inspired terrorism. Allegations of electoral malpractices shows a country having a democratically elected government in the poor light. It cannot by any means, logically be used to justify extremism of any kind. Thanks On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 11:38 AM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > If allegations of electoral malpractices justify unleashing of > pan Islamism inspired terrorism in Kashmir that saw ethnic cleansing of > Kashmiri Hindu Pandits at its advent then most of India & the rest of > democratic world should be in perpetual state of civil war. > Rgds all > LA > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ------------------------------ > Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0530 > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' > From: c.anupam at gmail.com > To: lalitambardar at hotmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net > > > Thanks for this illuminating piece. Surprisingly, Chomsky is also saying: > “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent > elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” > he says. > > I couldn't ignore this one. > > > On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Lalit Ambardar > wrote: > > > Chomsky’s admission > that Pakistan patronised Kashmiri terrorist groups & > India centric terrorism should come as a disappointment to the ‘peace > loving’ > azadi mongers in Kashmir who lamented at a conference in Srinagar this week > that they don’t have a ‘CHOMSKI in India’ (...to supplement Arundhati Roy & > co’s endeavour to propagate their pan Islamic agenda…????...). > > > May be it is also time > for the protagonists of the macabre drama of death & destruction being > played > in the streets of Kashmir at the behest of their Pakistani masters for the > past > two decades to acknowledge their role…… > > Rgds all > > LA > > > > THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > WITH THE International Herald Tribune > > > > The unflattering perspective - > Part I: ‘The US does not care about Pakistan’ > > By Rabia Mehmood > > Published: April 19, > 2011 > > NEW YORK: > > Professor Noam > Chomsky sits on the eighth floor of the quirky-looking Stata Center of the > Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. > Former head of the linguistics department, the author and intellectual now > serves as Professor Emeritus at the university. > > The man is known > worldwide for his incredibly popular and polarising criticism of American > foreign policy. > > “The US doesn’t care about Pakistan, > just like the Reagan administration didn’t care about either Afghanistan or > Pakistan,” > says Chomski, when asked how he sees the relationship between Pakistan and > the US. “They supported Zia, the worst > dictator in Pakistan’s > history, and pretended they didn’t know that Pakistan was developing > nuclear > weapons. So basically they supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapon programme > and radical Islamisation in their bid to defeat the Russians. And that has > not > helped Pakistan.” > > According to > Chomsky, the reason the Pak-US relationship hasn’t worked is because the > concern > of US planners is not the welfare of Pakistan, it’s the welfare of their > own constituency. “But it’s not the people of US either, just the powerful > sectors within the US,” > he said. “If the US policy > towards Pakistan happens to > benefit Pakistan > it would be kind of accidental. Maybe it will to some extent, but that is > not > the purpose.” > > Chomsky believes Pakistan > has serious internal problems but says there are solutions. But, he > insists, > these problems have to be solved from within instead of from outside. > “These > problems have to be dealt with inside Pakistan, > and not by the US; > providing them with massive military aid, carrying out drone strikes, which > enrages the population rightly,” he says. “Drone attacks are target > assassinations and therefore a crime. Whether they are militants or not, > these > people are being targeted because the US doesn’t like them. Targeted > assassination is an international crime. United Nations’ special rapporteur > Philip Alston, a very respected international lawyer, came out with a > report > which simply says that it is a criminal act.” > > He also supports the > 1973 constitution and believes it is suitable for Pakistan. “It looks > sensible on > paper. It provided a degree of autonomy within a federalised system, which > makes sense for a country like Pakistan,” > he says. “Devoting resources to education, development and not military > will > help.” > > Relationship with India > > Speaking about Pakistan’s relationship and outlook towards India, he said > that the Pakistani military has a > strategic doctrine that they have to have a military presence in > Afghanistan to counter India. “That’s a losing proposition > because Pakistan cannot > compete with India > in terms of military force. Besides, the strategic position in Afghanistan > doesn’t really mean anything in case of a war,” he says. “Pakistan > has undoubtedly supported terrorist groups in Kashmir and terrorism in > India, > which has made the situation worse.” > > The Americans are > avoiding the Kashmir issue, he says, which is central to the resolution of > conflict in South Asia. “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible > atrocities, fraudulent elections, most > militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. > > US-India relations > > Professor Chomsky > says that it is a “joke” when US talks about giving aid for civilian > nuclear > facilities in India. > “The aid for the civilian nuclear use can be easily transferred to military > use. By granting India the > right to import US nuclear > technology, it has not only allowed India > to freely develop nuclear weapons, the US has also violated the nuclear > non-proliferation treaty,” he says. > > Afghan war’s future > > “It is a complicated > situation but I think there is good evidence that the US military and > political > structures recognise that they cannot have a military victory,” Chomsky > says. > > However, he says, > they [US] > can conquer whatever they like, but the Russians also won every battle in > the > 1980s but eventually lost the war. “The Americans are therefore trying to > find > a way to extricate themselves in some fashion, that it can be presented as > a > victory. They don’t want to admit they’ve lost the war, like the Russians.” > > Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, > 2011. > > > > > http://tribune.com.pk/story/152219/the-unflattering-perspective-part-i-the-us-does-not-care-about-pakistan/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Apr 25 14:25:55 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:55:55 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Chasing Dreams: A Festival of Contemporary American Films- April 30 @ Am Center/ Screening of 'Prison and Paradise', April 25, Mumbai In-Reply-To: <919F6DC550E3A844960997555742D9540471EB60@NEWDELHIMB04.neasa.state.sbu> References: <919F6DC550E3A844960997555742D9540471EB60@NEWDELHIMB04.neasa.state.sbu> Message-ID: <8CDD13DB8C410A0-1F54-1D571@webmail-m136.sysops.aol.com> “Chasing Dreams for Kids” - Thursday-Saturday, April 28-30, 2011 Join us for a festival which looks at the American Dream. Six Films, six dreams, Every American has their own dream, that is the American dream, that everyone be encouraged to pursue their own dream. The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico Told through the eyes of a 9-year-old Mexican-American boy named Pedro, the film portrays the magic, the nightmare and mystery, the isolation and odd friendships, the trouble and anger he experiences as his family encourages him to fully assimilate with the English language. This film shows how one immigrant father instills a "possible dream" in his son. (20 minutes) Notes on Liberty Documenting a boy’s visit to the Statue of Liberty the film playfully signals the difference between the ideals of the statue and the culture of fear and xenophobia that can still dominate post 9/11 America. This very short semi-experimental film shows how parents try to pass on values to young children. (9 minutes) Along with a special animation package To register your school, please contact 2347-2290/2232 or email us at amcenternd at state.gov ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Screening of 'Prison and Paradise' Vikalp at Prithvi Presents Prison and Paradise 2010/Indonesian with English subtitles/93 mins Synopsis: The Bali bombings of October 2002 changed the face of Indonesia. The incident opened a major debate and brought to the fore controversies regarding jihad, Islamic political movements, terrorism and human rights issues. The film follows NH Ismail, a journalist at The Washington Post and former room mate of one Bali bomber, as he meets both perpetrators’ and victims’ families. It is found that the bombings in Indonesia have created many orphaned children, both in perpetrators’ as well as victims’ families. With incredible access to those who masterminded the bombings, Daniel Rudi Haryanto has made a compelling and important film. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGzV7QD9ULg Blog: http://prisonandparadise.blogspot.com/ On Monday, 25 April, 7 PM At Prithvi House, Opp Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Bombay Entry Free, On A First-Come-First-Seated Basis For any queries, email vikalp.prithvi at gmail.com From chintan.backups at gmail.com Tue Apr 26 09:52:13 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:52:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hartosh Singh Bal's article on children's books Message-ID: From http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2011/04/kids-stuff-by-hartosh-singh-bal.html *Kids Stuff* *by Hartosh Singh Bal* *April 25, 2011*Like so many others in India, I grew up on tales from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and the books of Enid Blyton. Well produced children’s books with an Indian context were rare, and now looking back I’m not sure as children we needed such a context. Most children’s books are lived out in world of fantasy, where more things are possible than we ever allow ourselves to imagine as an adult. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana, related either as oral tales or in abridged and sanitized versions, fulfilled such a role admirably and even today I find the flying broomsticks, magic spells and talking animals of Harry Potter somewhat tame compared to all that I took for granted as a child. In this world Enid Blyton fitted in admirably, I’d say Enid Blyton was a better children’s writer for those reading her in India than in England. For us the world she described was a land of fantasy as unreal and magical as Narnia or the Shires. Meals of tongue sandwich and lemonade at the bottom of the garden had a magical quality, now rather sadly and blandly dispelled after tasting tongue as an adult. In this magical world I now learn there were undertones of racism, but these were lost on us, a golliwog was just another inhabitant with no existence for us as a caricature. In the same way it was only as an adult that I registered that the Narnia books were an allegory, the Lion as a stand in for Christ was thankfully lost on us in India. Now, several decades later as a parent I am encountering a set of books whose equivalent I do not recall from my childhood – picture books, meant for an even younger audience. The books I do recall are the cheap and splendidly illustrated children’s books from the Progress Publishers of the USSR that flooded the Indian market thanks to our decision to willingly ally with the Soviets. These are no longer available, and in their stead has appeared a literature I was largely unaware of, such as The Happy Lion, Paddington – The original story of the bear from Peru, Tyrannosaurus Drip and Tiddler – The storytelling fish. Some of these are classics of the genre, The Happy Lion has been around from 1954. Thankfully, it has escaped the bowdlerization the Enid Blyton books have recently undergone and can blissfully state that the happy lion’s ``home was not the hot and dangerous plains of Africa,/ where hunters lie in wait with their guns./ It was a lovely French town with brown-tile roofs and gray shutters./ The happy lion had a house in the town zoo, all for himself…’’ Considering that a great many of the hunters who would have once lain in wait would have been French, leave alone the relative merits of zoos and open grassy plains, I can see how a case for certain changes could be made out. Paddington was published around the same time. The story of a stowaway bear from Peru who finds his way to Paddington station has become well known enough to have generated its own merchandising. Perhaps it is only my third world sensibility but when Paddington insists on saying he is from `darkest Peru” I cringe. I cannot imagine someone saying `darkest India’ and I am sure `darkest Africa’ would no longer find it to print in our times. Yet, I can’t quite imagine asking for the kind of `rectification’ we have seen with the Enid Blyton books. This constant hankering to change the past to suit our present seems to one of the necessities of our times, but this mania for political correctness seems to ignore the fact that norms are under constant change and we, with all our good intentions, are preparing books in our times that may seem equally problematic when seen from another point of view. Julia Donaldson, an author who should today rank as the Enid Blyton or J.K. Rowlings of this genre, writes in verse and works with a number of illustrators. As a parent her books have been a constant delight to read out aloud, or were till I came across one rather appropriately named Tyrannosaurus Drip. ``In a swamp by the river, where the land was thick with veg/ Lived a herd of duckbill dinosaurs who roamed the water’s edge/And they hooted, ``Up with rivers!’’ and they hooted, ``Up with reeds!’’/ And they hooted, ``Up with bellyfuls of juicy water weeds!/ Now across the rushy river, on a hill the other side, Lived a mean Tyrannosaurus with his grim and grisly bride./ And they shouted, ``Up with war!’’/ And they shouted, ``Up with bellyfuls of duckbill dinosaurs/ …’’ It isn’t difficult to see where this is going, even in its delightful verse it is rather crude. People who are vegetarians out of conviction rather than custom evoke the image of the early Christians, sanctimonious and insufferable. So it is no surprise the story conjures up a young male born to the Tyrannosaurus family who discovers he is a vegetarian and literally swims across to the other side. A fallen trunk provides a chance for his family to follow and make a meal of the veggie dinosaurs. Just when I found myself hoping they would, the young turncoat tricks his non-vegetarian parents and siblings and sends them tumbling down a waterfall out to sea. With this, it seems to me, however lightheartedly, we are not very far from the Soviets, who thought a young boy who betrayed his father in the name of some abstract principle was the perfect example for young children to follow. A writer, for children or adults, who forgets that we are creatures whose appetites are governed by emotion rather than reason will end up writing propaganda ,which is a shame because Julia Donaldson can be a delightful writer. A book I enjoy as much as my son is the tale of the storytelling fish Tiddler, who blew ``small bubbles but told tall tales’’. Swept up by a fishing net while dreaming up another of his tales, he is discarded far from home. Lost and frightened he hides in the ocean till he hears a shoal of anchovies relating a tale he had once told. He follows his own stories home, stories that have spread because among his listeners there was one, little Johnny Dory who *loved* hearing and relating them. A few weeks ago I found myself at restaurant ordering fish, and came across Johnny Dory on the menu. Try as I might I could not bring myself to order the dish. My gut was telling me something my mind never would, I was also being served up with a reminder that whatever the genre there is always a difference between a good book and a bad one. From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Apr 26 21:05:28 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:05:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] anti-imperialism Message-ID: From: http://www.pragoti.org/node/4378 _________________________________________ Woolly eyed ex-Naxalite fellow travellers and anti-imperialism Tue, 2011-04-26 12:37 — srinir There are two varieties of anti-left bashers from among the ultra-left or more charitably what is called the "left of the left". One is a stream that is nostalgic of the ex-Naxalite past, condemning of the adventurous turn of Naxalism into present day marauding version called Maoism, but is not willing to give into opportunism. The other - also firmly entrenched in the dustbin of history called supporters of the failed Naxalite past - has no such concerns; it has no shame in tying up and supporting the traditional party of the jotedars and opportunists - for this section, any stick to beat the Left is a good one. The former is exemplified by the likes of Naxalite sympathisers and commentators like Sumanta Banerjee, who not long ago, called for a (nonexistent) "third front" in West Bengal, unable to digest that the opposition from the left of the left ..to the left .. has been hijacked by the likes of Mamata Banerjee and her cohorts which include an umbrella rainbow coalition from the right, the identarians (the likes of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha), the blatantly neoliberal (FICCI chief Amit Mitra) and not to mention the ultra-left (personified by the murderer Kishenji). The latter is exemplified by the cussed commentator Sankar Ray, who replied in no uncertain terms to Sumanta Banerjee's proposition when it first came up that he disagreed with his view on Mamata Banerjee. The commentator is at it again - this time questioning the anti-imperialist credentials of the Left, in the deliberately anti-Left site, Kafila.org. The argument advanced by this person is that the pro-investment "phase" of the West Bengal government during 2005-2006 was tantamount to tarnishing the anti-imperialist credentials of the CPI(M).. nay even to say that there exists no such credentials at all. And to make this point, he quotes David Mulford, then American ambassador to India. He then juxtaposes this against the wikileaks revelations that unambiguously mentions that the Americans are very keen on "cultivating Mamata Banerjee" owing to her strong presence as opposition to the Left Front in the state. Only in the phantasmagoria that is the thought process of certain woolly-eyed ex-Naxalite sympathisers would there be a equivalence between stray statements from the Americans acknowledging a turn toward a pro-investment regime and explicit enunciation in diplomatic cables of a strategic support for the opposition in the state of West Bengal because of the possibilities of weakening the Left (even nationally). Why at all, are (and were) the Americans interested in cultivating an utter opportunist such as Mamata Banerjee (bolstered by none other than the Maoists) if it suited them that the West Bengal state govenrment was keen on a pro-investment climate? Surely that is the first question that should concern an "anti-imperialist"? Or indeed, why did the CPI(M) make the nuclear deal the cornerstone of the Indo-US strategic relationship, ultimately withdrawing support to the UPA on the very issue, if at all its anti-imperialist credentials were under question? Why would the party make the Indo-US defense framework agreement such a major issue, going forward to even mobilise people from West Bengal (yes..West Bengal) to protest against Indo-US joint defense exercises in the Kalaikunda base in 2005? Or to organise another massive protest against Indo-US joint defense exercises in Vizag mobilising people in the form of two jathas from West Bengal and from Andhra Pradesh in 2007? Were all these measures done to be in "the good books of George Bush" as Sankar Ray ridiculously and abominably claims? To expect ex-Naxalite Mamata-worshippers to answer such questions or even understand reality better is asking for too much. After all, these venerable (or not) gentlemen endorsed the deliberate killing of CPI(M) supporters and sympathisers at the hands of Maoist frontmen, explicitly provided backing by the Trinamul chief and did not even pay lip service to condemn the assassination attempt at chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, for which the Maoists very proudly claimed responsibility for. They had not a word to say about the Maoist front organisation PCAPA organised derailment of the Gyaneswari Express sometime last year.We don't hear a word about the Trinamul's re-cultivation of arch neoliberals such as Amit Mitra or his candidacy from these Mamata-worshippers. It speaks to their utter irrelevance and inability to articulate a politics of progressivism that they have tied their bandwagons to the apron strings of crass opportunism as personified by the Trinamul Congress. Lest we forget, there is also another significant section of former Naxalite sympathisers. Comprising of activists like Azizul Haque and other intellectuals, they have criticised the support for Mamata Banerjee and have questioned the understanding of those who have done so. They have explicitly pointed out to the class character of the Trinamul Congress' leadership, its aims and the core of its support base. They have also endorsed the Left Front in the polls, arguing however for the continuation of pro-poor policies and articulating the need for a genuine alternative to the neoliberal trajectory adopted mostly elsewhere in the country. Finally, let us not mince words. Certain ex-Naxalite fellow travellers who have no qualms in joining hands with the likes of Amit Mitra to uproot the Left Front government can kindly keep their opinions on anti-imperialism to themselves. The ex-Naxalites of West Bengal had their chance to foment a revolution from Naxalbari in the late 1960s. They failed - mostly because of their inability to understand Indian conditions and also because their movement was doomed from the beginning. The Left Front succeeded in West Bengal despite tremendous repression from the Congress and managed to achieve substantive rural reforms and deeper democratisation in West Bengal. Sections of ex-Naxalite sympathisers have always resented this. From woolly eyed romanticists buying into claims of the spread of the prairie fire of "Naxalite revolution" across the country, they have either been reduced to endorsers of marauding criminals of the ex-MCC variety or palanquin bearers for the opportunist Mamata Banerjee pontificating now and then on anti-imperialism. What a fall or is it a fall at all?. ________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Apr 26 22:55:07 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:25:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] THE SHORT & SWEET THEATRE WORKSHOPS Message-ID: <8CDD24E05B84A7E-10D4-30618@webmail-d036.sysops.aol.com> THE SHORT & SWEET THEATRE WORKSHOPS For the first time in May this year Australia's Short+Sweet Theatre will run 10-minute theatre workshops in Delhi for writers, directors and actors. The presenter will be Sydney-based Alex Broun - internationally acclaimed exponent of 10-minute theatre, Festival Director of the Sydney Short+Sweet Festival, and Delhi's own Short+Sweet Festival Director. This is an unparalleled opportunity to learn skills in the exciting and innovative genre of short-form theatre, and to prepare yourself for the next Short+Sweet Festival in Delhi in November. Basic details follow. For more detail including coverage of the workshops and fees, and/or to register, please email Mike Wood at shortandsweetdelhi at gmail.com. Workshop Schedule Friday 13 May, 7pm – 10pm Playwriting – Level 1 Saturday 14 May, 10am - 1pm Directors - Actors – Level 1 Saturday 14 May, 2pm - 5pm Playwriting – Level 2 Sunday 15 May, 10am - 1pm Directors – Actors – Level 2 Sunday 15 May, 2pm - 5pm Directors /Playwrights /Actors – Advanced Sunday 15 May, 7pm – 10pm Public Reading / Showcase Venue: Akshara Theatre,1-B Baba Kharak Singh Marg, near Connaught Place To Register: Email: shortandsweetdelhi at gmail.com Delhi website link: See you there! From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Wed Apr 27 15:12:27 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:42:27 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' In-Reply-To: References: , , , Message-ID: 'Rigging' anywhere, is a blot on democracy & can not be condoned. All democratic means must be used to seek redressal. But in case of Kashmir,principal argument in favour of the unleashing of anti India jihad remains alleged ballot- rigging & it goes unchallenged.Otherwise, how is it that terror commanders who deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity are roaming free & practicing now politics? America's Mobilisation of 'mujahidin' against Soviets in Afghanistan has lead to the jihadists today posing threat to the whole world,Iraq has only seen death & destruction since American intervention there,Libya may soon become Yugoslavia,wonder if Chomsky's urge to see America playing the Global Policeman's role in "the resolution of conflict in South Asia" deserves attention.RgdsLA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:21:40 +0530 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' From: c.anupam at gmail.com To: lalitambardar at hotmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net Allegations of electoral malpractices are serious especially in context of Kashmir, North East, or any conflict prone area. I guess Chomsky was speaking about the Americans trying to skirt the issue of Kashmir, "which is central to the resolution of conflict in South Asia". I am not sure by citing electoral malpractices, one would try to justify acts of violence which has been labelled as Pan Islamist Inspired terrorism. Allegations of electoral malpractices shows a country having a democratically elected government in the poor light. It cannot by any means, logically be used to justify extremism of any kind. Thanks On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 11:38 AM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: If allegations of electoral malpractices justify unleashing of pan Islamism inspired terrorism in Kashmir that saw ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu Pandits at its advent then most of India & the rest of democratic world should be in perpetual state of civil war. Rgds allLA----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0530 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Chomsky acknowledges 'Kashmiri Terrorism' From: c.anupam at gmail.com To: lalitambardar at hotmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net Thanks for this illuminating piece. Surprisingly, Chomsky is also saying: “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. I couldn't ignore this one. On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: Chomsky’s admission that Pakistan patronised Kashmiri terrorist groups & India centric terrorism should come as a disappointment to the ‘peace loving’ azadi mongers in Kashmir who lamented at a conference in Srinagar this week that they don’t have a ‘CHOMSKI in India’ (...to supplement Arundhati Roy & co’s endeavour to propagate their pan Islamic agenda…????...). May be it is also time for the protagonists of the macabre drama of death & destruction being played in the streets of Kashmir at the behest of their Pakistani masters for the past two decades to acknowledge their role…… Rgds all LA THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE WITH THE International Herald Tribune The unflattering perspective - Part I: ‘The US does not care about Pakistan’ By Rabia Mehmood Published: April 19, 2011 NEW YORK: Professor Noam Chomsky sits on the eighth floor of the quirky-looking Stata Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US. Former head of the linguistics department, the author and intellectual now serves as Professor Emeritus at the university. The man is known worldwide for his incredibly popular and polarising criticism of American foreign policy. “The US doesn’t care about Pakistan, just like the Reagan administration didn’t care about either Afghanistan or Pakistan,” says Chomski, when asked how he sees the relationship between Pakistan and the US. “They supported Zia, the worst dictator in Pakistan’s history, and pretended they didn’t know that Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons. So basically they supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapon programme and radical Islamisation in their bid to defeat the Russians. And that has not helped Pakistan.” According to Chomsky, the reason the Pak-US relationship hasn’t worked is because the concern of US planners is not the welfare of Pakistan, it’s the welfare of their own constituency. “But it’s not the people of US either, just the powerful sectors within the US,” he said. “If the US policy towards Pakistan happens to benefit Pakistan it would be kind of accidental. Maybe it will to some extent, but that is not the purpose.” Chomsky believes Pakistan has serious internal problems but says there are solutions. But, he insists, these problems have to be solved from within instead of from outside. “These problems have to be dealt with inside Pakistan, and not by the US; providing them with massive military aid, carrying out drone strikes, which enrages the population rightly,” he says. “Drone attacks are target assassinations and therefore a crime. Whether they are militants or not, these people are being targeted because the US doesn’t like them. Targeted assassination is an international crime. United Nations’ special rapporteur Philip Alston, a very respected international lawyer, came out with a report which simply says that it is a criminal act.” He also supports the 1973 constitution and believes it is suitable for Pakistan. “It looks sensible on paper. It provided a degree of autonomy within a federalised system, which makes sense for a country like Pakistan,” he says. “Devoting resources to education, development and not military will help.” Relationship with India Speaking about Pakistan’s relationship and outlook towards India, he said that the Pakistani military has a strategic doctrine that they have to have a military presence in Afghanistan to counter India. “That’s a losing proposition because Pakistan cannot compete with India in terms of military force. Besides, the strategic position in Afghanistan doesn’t really mean anything in case of a war,” he says. “Pakistan has undoubtedly supported terrorist groups in Kashmir and terrorism in India, which has made the situation worse.” The Americans are avoiding the Kashmir issue, he says, which is central to the resolution of conflict in South Asia. “India has a very ugly record in Kashmir – horrible atrocities, fraudulent elections, most militarised place in the world. You can’t just ignore it,” he says. US-India relations Professor Chomsky says that it is a “joke” when US talks about giving aid for civilian nuclear facilities in India. “The aid for the civilian nuclear use can be easily transferred to military use. By granting India the right to import US nuclear technology, it has not only allowed India to freely develop nuclear weapons, the US has also violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” he says. Afghan war’s future “It is a complicated situation but I think there is good evidence that the US military and political structures recognise that they cannot have a military victory,” Chomsky says. However, he says, they [US] can conquer whatever they like, but the Russians also won every battle in the 1980s but eventually lost the war. “The Americans are therefore trying to find a way to extricate themselves in some fashion, that it can be presented as a victory. They don’t want to admit they’ve lost the war, like the Russians.” Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2011. http://tribune.com.pk/story/152219/the-unflattering-perspective-part-i-the-us-does-not-care-about-pakistan/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: From the-network at koeln.de Wed Apr 27 16:05:37 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (CologneOFF) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:35:37 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Balkan=3A_CologneOFF_2011_in_April?= Message-ID: <20110427123538.1A56D6A9.4FB1D952@192.168.0.4> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2011 http://coff.newmediafest.org the new PDF catalogue for CologneOFF 2011 Timisoara is now available for download --> http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF2011_Timisoara.pdf ---------------------------------------------- Cologne International Videoart Festival informs: In the framework of CologneOFF 2011's global tour, the month April is dedicated to the Balkan countries, this is good concerning the programming focus, but also the 2 physical venues in Romania 1. CologneOFF 2011 ARAD Arad Art Museum - 31 March - 2 April 2011 --> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=953 PDF catalogue - http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF2011_ARAD.pdf The screenings programs at the art museum of Arad were featuring videoart from Balkan countries, amonng them - the video artist of the Month April 2011 --> Boris Sribar (Serbia) in a solo presentation see also online feature on VAD - Videoart Database --> http://vad.nmartproject.net/?page_id=2301 but also videoart from Croatia curated by Darko Fritz, Slovenia curated by Kolektiva Lubljana, Greece curated by Videofestival Miden (Kalamata) and Romania - a selection from Kinema Ikon - a collective of experimental video from Arad - curated by Calin Man (Art Museum Arad). CologneOFF 2011 Arad was simultaneously an exhibition and a screening marathon. 2. CologneOFF 2011 Timisoara --> Cafekultour Festival 2011 - 11-17 April 2011 --> TimiShort - Film Festival Timisoara - 4-8 May 2011 --> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1269 The event series in Timisoara, a city in the North West of Romania has two parts --> a screening on 12 April 2011 in the framework of the annual Cafékultour Festival, referring to the historical cafe house culture from the times when Timisoara was part of Austria, entitled "Tensions in Time and Space" more details on --> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1104 and the 2nd part, i.e. a CologneOFF 2011 presentation and screening in the framework of TimiShort - Film Festival Timisoara - 4-8 May 2011, entitled " Art and the City". More details on --> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1265 Download also the new PDF catalogue!! ---> http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF2011_Timisoara.pdf ------------------------------------------ Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ (English) http://coff2011.newmediafest.org (Deutsch) is powered by artvideoKOELN the curatorial initiative "art and moving pictures" http://video.mediaartcologne.org There are currently 3 open calls running --> 1. CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context --> deadline 1 May 2011 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=2729 2. CologneOFF - Football-Soccer- Fussball --> deadline: 1 September 2011 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 3. CologneOFF - Let's Save the World?! ---> deadline: 1 September 2011 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 info (at) coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------- From anoopkheri at gmail.com Wed Apr 27 18:33:28 2011 From: anoopkheri at gmail.com (anoop kumar) Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:33:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Watch the documentary 'The Death of Merit' on the suicides of Dalit students in Higher Education In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: One more suicide. Once more the death of merit. On 16th April, 2011, *Linesh Mohan Gawle*, a PhD scholar at the prestigious *National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi*, became one more name in the long list of Dalit and Adivasi students, who have committed suicide in India’s premier educational institutions in recent years. The large number of Dalit and Adivasi students committing suicide clearly indicates the wide-spread prevalence of caste discrimination in the Indian education system, which perceives them as ‘non-meritorious’, not fit to belong there. * * *List of Dalit students committing suicide in last four years in India's premier educational institution * (*List is also displayed at our blog* www.thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com) When a student from the lowest strata of society fights against all odds to prove her merit and reach the best educational institutions in India, are those institutions proving themselves meritorious enough to recognize her worth, to accommodate, let alone nurture her aspirations? When a Dalit or Adivasi student becomes an engineer, doctor, business graduate or scientist, it should be a cause of pride for not just the family or the community but for the entire nation. Instead, why do our nation and its educational institutions reward their merit with discrimination, humiliation, violence and death? *The Documentary * Last year, on March 3rd, 2010, another Dalit, *Balmukund Bharti*, final year MBBS student from *All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi* committed suicide. He was from Kundeshwar village from Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. He was a bright student from a very humble background. Knowing the history of caste-discrimination in AIIMS our group decided to investigate the matter and went to Balmukund’s home to meet his parents on 1st April 2010. What came out of our interaction with his parents and other family members was a shocking tale of how a young and bright Dalit student from very poor background was victimized so much on caste grounds in one of the premier educational institutions of the country that despite his entire record of struggle all through his life, he finally lost his willingness to even live. The Documentary ‘The Death of Merit’ is based on these testimonies and is a result of our amateur efforts to bring out the truth behind the kind of caste oppression suffered by Dalit and Adivasi students in higher education and the resulting suicides of our bright students like Balmukund Bharti. Please watch the documentary embedded at our blog www.thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com or watch it by clicking at the link here 'The Death of Merit' - Part I: http://youtu.be/2L3y9O1HCBw * * 'The Death of Merit'- Part II: http://youtu.be/ADXnFf_5JT4 * Please watch the documentary and share it widely among your friends and colleagues. We must not allow our educational institutions to become graveyard for Dalit and Adivasi students.* -- "Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run, Obama ran so your children can fly" From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Thu Apr 28 04:40:32 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:40:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Media in WB Message-ID: Media polarization on political lines is one thing, but paid news is another. The right wing media is mostly filled with the latter. >From http://wordsfromsolitude.blogspot.com/2011/04/media-hyperbole-and-bengal-election.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WordsFromSolitude+%28Words+from+Solitude%29 ____________________________________________________________ Media hyperbole and Bengal assembly elections If we go through the standard news reports, analysis, editorials and opinion pieces been published daily in the national and local mainstream media concerning the ongoing assembly elections of Bengal, there can be little doubt in our minds about whom the voters would prefer to see in the next government. According to the obvious trends and predictions reflecting in the media, the people of Bengal have already “decided” to reject the worn out Left Front and embrace the impressive Trinamool Congress (TMC)-Indian National Congress (INC) opposition alliance. Experienced pollsters have concluded that in all probability, this grand alliance under the sagacious leadership of our famed railways minister Mamata Banerjee is heading for a clean sweep. Passionate supporters of the Left might still go on arguing that a sheer anti-Left bias in the print and television coverage during any election campaign is nothing new in Bengal. The spectrum of debate that gets released on various media forums during the election season has seldom been objective. They are also trying to point out that for a long time independent media organizations in the state have been completely polarized along political lines. But not many people are listening to them. The coming Bengal election results are therefore, as one thin on top editor recently wrote, “the easiest to predict in our electoral history in a very long time.” The media is daily enlightening us why sympathizers of the Left needs to acknowledge that the situation on ground looks “qualitatively different” this time. We've all been repeatedly reminded how the famous lady has “singlehandedly shaken head-to-foot the patriarchal, ideology-fostered Left Front, led by the CPI(M)” and have pushed the Marxists almost to the brink of catastrophe after successfully capitalizing on the broad opposition to the Left Front government’s land acquisition policy. Isn’t it but true, we are asked, that the lady has elicited a suppressed desire for poriborton (change) that was simmering for years in the minds and hearts of the interned, subjugated and suffocated millions? In a predisposed tone, almost all of the mainstream media is barking daily that the people of Bengal want a phenomenon called Mamata Banerjee as their future leader – not a cold-blooded Stalinist chameleon! We are forewarned that the people do not want to breathe any more under a thirty-five year old, stagnant, wretched, ruthless and authoritarian regime. [2] One “eminent” Bengali academic, noticeably elated by the Left Front’s, particularly the CPI(M)’s terrible performance in the 2009 parliamentary elections, blissfully wrote some time ago: “A spectre is haunting West Bengal – the spectre of change.” Adding wisdom, wit and pathos to his unique view of history, the astute academic then growled further, “Moreover, as the end of History has been prognosticated, it seems that the era of ideologies too is over. The new generation does not give a fig for ideology.” (Source) The message he tried to articulate was amply clear. To get rid of the Left menace, we must target to discard ideology entirely, circulate the idea that ideology is bogus and describe the theories of the Communist parties as no more than “repertoire of slogans”. If the new generation prefers custard apple to mango – give them custard apple. If they prefer to stand aloof – provide them an isolated haven to enjoy their life since people “dislike being supervised”. If someone runs the risk of believing himself better than others and start criticizing something for his petty private interests – allow him to do so. Being part and parcel of Trinamool’s inner coterie by compromising one’s credibility and independence, displaying inane vengeance against the CPI(M) to an almost nonsensical limit and going on bickering endlessly against corruption and nepotism of the ruling Marxists are all been considered today as components of a holy crusade. The desire for “change” is so intense that we were told not to ask any uncomfortable questions to the crusaders that can jeopardize the “favorable situation”. When the few illustrious “awake and aware” intellectuals and academics extended their malleable necks to wear the golden buckle offered by Mamata Banerjee’s Railway Heritage Cultural Committee – plum posts, hefty salaries and attractive perks – as a “reward” for their services to the Trinamool Congress during the Singur-Nandigram stir, we were told to keep our eyes shut in favor of a “greater” cause. “The true hypocrite,” remarked French writer Andre Gide “is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.” The “success story” of the first batch of TMC intellectuals has certainly inspired a hoard of celebrities, intellectuals, film stars, big business agents, former civil servants, CBI and police bosses and even Marxist-Leninists to flock into the TMC bandwagon in great numbers. A manufactured euphoria of a potential TMC victory in the crucial assembly elections has lured these special brand of people further. Pushing the grass-root party men on the sidelines, many of them are now among the TMC chieftain’s “most trusted lieutenants”. All of them have turned into well-wishers of Bengal, howling under the pale summer moon to resuscitate the pitiable populace of a derelict state. Lies, as the saying goes, are more believable than the truth. Just like the TMC band of intellectuals, the stakes seems to be too high for a section of the media also. A recent article in The Hoot by Asian News International’s (ANI) Kolkata bureau chief Ajitha Menon gives a shocking account of how a large section of the “independent” media in Bengal has entirely sold itself to the Trinamool chieftain and her party. High paid jobs in TMC sponsored television channels or newspapers, prominent positions in the executive committees of the railways and Municipal Corporations controlled by the party, powerful political posts endowed with several opportunities to make money and even party tickets are some of the many carrots that have been offered to a great number of journalists who, as Menon observes painfully, “seems have no pride left in their profession anymore and have become openly and acceptably corrupt, no longer even hiding behind the excuse of supposedly working for party mouthpieces […] The aspirations of journalists have moved from being an ethical watchdog for democracy, in the interest of the common man, towards power, position and money.” Menon bitterly writes that “several reporters, both senior and junior have become part of the Mamata coterie,” and even feel proud to “act as doorkeepers at Mamata Banerjee’s residence in South Kolkata.” (Source) Never before journalists of the mainstream media was embedded with a single political party so deeply as today. Never before has such blatant partisanship been observed in Bengal as we are observing today. The situation no doubt looks weird but is certainly not unprecedented. In several aspects Bengal’s political situation today has lots of amazing similarities with the events of 2001. During the 2001 assembly elections a similar pro-Mamata “wave” was hatched with a definite urge to remove the Left Front from power. We were informed that the people of Bengal was “craving” for a change in government, the Left was facing its “toughest challenge,” the depth of resentment against the Left was “at an all time high” and Mamata Banerjee, driven by her inordinate anti-Left stance was on the verge of “creating history” by personifying the resentment. An all-out slanderous anti-Left propaganda were launched by the mainstream media to manufacture public consent against the ruling Left Front. Through obvious one-sided reporting, the media created their own myth of “change”. Perception upon perception was mounted to persuade the people of Bengal to profess this synthetic myth. In this post we want to illustrate how the mainstream media tries to influence the course of events during elections and works to fulfill a specific political agenda. We have based our argument on resources extracted from the website of ABP group’s flagship and influential English daily The Telegraph. We chose the Kolkata daily since it is generally considered as a impartial and liberal newspaper which offers a fair and balanced reporting. [3] Protesting against the Congress high command’s “secret affairs” with the Left, Mamata Banerjee parted away from the Congress in 1997 and floated the Trinamool Congress. A year later she entered into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This apparently strange alliance was based on a simple agenda – just like her, the extremely reactionary right-wing BJP is a traditional adversary of the Left. The alliance brought rich dividends for the TMC. Consolidating the anti-Left votes, the party went on winning seven parliamentary seats in 1998. The TMC joined the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1999 and Mamata Banerjee became the railways minister of the country. A year later, the party added one more seat to its tally by winning the traditional Left stronghold Panskura in East Midnapore. The 1998 parliament elections gave a clear indication to Mamata Banerjee that it will be extremely difficult for her to conquest Bengal from the Left by peaceful, democratic means. Though the BJP-TMC alliance had successfully weakened the Congress in the state, it has failed to dent the imposing Left which continued to benefit from their absolute support base among the rural poor. Realizing that she must strike right away to take advantage of the favorable climate, a vicious blueprint was prepared to unleash a reign of terror in the rural Left bastions like Keshpur, Garbeta, Sabang, Pingla and Khejuri during the 1998 panchayat elections. In order to establish their hegemony in rural Bengal, local CPI(M) leaders and supporters were physically attacked, village after village were “liberated” by armed TMC cadres, many of them notorious criminals of those area. Brutal murder, looting and arson turned out to be a regular affair. Several CPI(M) supporters were forced to abandon their homes and take shelter in makeshift camps in fear of being killed. The free run of Trinamool goons were earnestly backed by several erstwhile landlords who bearded a rancor against the Leftists for confiscating nearly 45,000 acres of fertile land from them and redistributing it among the landless poor. As some media reports had suggested, the violence against the CPI(M) was also actively assisted by clandestine People’s War group squads which had surfaced in the violence hit areas. The ultra-Left PWG with their technical proficiency in annihilation came as an excellent handy tool in the TMC sponsored class war in rural Bengal. Trinamool’s terror tactics reached its high point during the May 2000 Panskura bye-election. The election brought into open Mamata Banerjee’s vaunted “Panskura line” – a strategy of ruthless violence, booth capturing and all-out rigging orchestrated by local TMC henchmen like Mohammed Rafiq in favor of the TMC candidate Bikram Sarkar. In 2000, the TMC also grabbed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Just before the 2001 assembly polls, Mamata Banerjee ditched the BJP and join forces with the Congress after the website Tehelka exposed BJP’s internal corruption. An opportunist to the core, her decision to ally with the Congress which she had discarded four years ago was based on simple electoral arithmetic. The combined vote share of the TMC-BJP alliance and the Congress in the 1998-99 general elections was near to 51 per cent against the 47 per cent of the Left. Pollsters of both the camps and a section of the mainstream media had predicted that since the Left Front’s position has grown relatively weaker after twenty-nine years of uninterrupted rule, a one-opposition vote added with even a slight erosion of the Left’s vote share can easily do the desired magic. Besides, Mamata Banerjee’s friends inside and outside the media had advised her that the BJP cannot be her right choice as a coalition partner against the Left considering Bengal’s huge 22 per cent Muslim vote bank. The Congress high command’s eagerness to dethrone the Left was so intense that no one had dared to ask why Mamata Banerjee did not need to announce a complete break with the NDA while clinching a deal with the Congress. [4] The chief sponsor of the TMC-Congress alliance, clearly, was the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who according to TMC insiders has always maintained a soft corner for their charming leader. The Telegraph mentioned in a report Dejected Cong Still In Pursuit Of ‘Best Bargain’ on April, 2 that the Congress president has briefed Kamal Nath, Congress general secretary in charge of Bengal, to “reach an alliance by any means.” Kamal Nath was duly assisted by Pranab Mukherjee, a loyal and seasoned war horse who had taken the charge of the state Congress from the veteran ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury just a few months before. On April, 3 the newspaper reported that “a potent alliance against the Left took shape today as Mamata Banerjee and the Congress sealed a seat-sharing deal.” The report further pointed out that the Congress and Trinamool would fight the polls under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership and remarked that the agreement has “virtually taken the wind out of the state leadership’s sail. Most leaders who had been vocal against Mamata’s bid to deny nomination to sitting legislators appeared to have accepted the arrangement.” Realizing the significance of the development, the daily jumped into action. In the April, 4 editorial titled United Stand, the daily praised the efforts of Sonia Gandhi by saying: “One important element in the context was the refusal of Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president, to shut the door on Ms Banerjee. Ms Gandhi kept herself aloof from the petty bickerings of the state Congress and saw in Ms Banerjee a leader who had a popular appeal among the people of West Bengal.” Calling the Congress “her natural habitat,” the editorial certified the Trinamool chieftain as “a leader who has been uncompromising and relentless in her opposition to left rule.” In a manifestly delighted tone, the editorial went on to optimistically predict that the alliance “takes Ms Banerjee a few steps closer to what has all along been her stated political objective: the defeat of the Left Front,” since the development “rules out the possibility of a split in the anti-left votes in West Bengal.” What The Telegraph editorial meant by “petty bickerings of the state Congress” was the public discontent displayed by a section of the state Congress leaders who were “not too happy with the deal”. The daily reported on April, 7 that “Ghani Khan and Adhir Chowdhury do not intend to concede a single seat in their strongholds,” and did a follow up on the story the next day to report that the “last hurdle to a unified battle against the CPM-led Left Front was removed today with Mamata Banerjee and the Congress”. Though the report gave due importance to the fact that a host of state Congress leaders including Ghani Khan Chowdhury, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and Somen Mitra “sat in the front row along with Nath and Mamata” while the announcement was made in a joint news conference, there were many indications in the same report that TMC’s seat sharing with the Congress did not pass on calmly. A special correspondent of the newspaper continued the story on April, 9 with a slightly different twist under the banner headline Resignation, Rumblings Greet Congress Deal. “At least half-a-dozen Congress leaders, including ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury and Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, have revealed their resentment at the manner in which a seat-share deal was struck.” In contradiction to the previous day’s report, the story had also revealed that several of the leaders present during the joint news conference were in fact sitting “glum-faced,” swallowing a bitter pill prescribed by the high command from party compulsion. The story also mentioned that Adhir Chowdhury, the Murshidabad leader who skipped the joint news conference “appeared determined to put up Independent candidates against the Trinamul nominees in at least two Assembly segments.” The incidental or one sided versions of the daily stories about seat adjustment between the two parties gradually disappeared from the news pages. The newspaper made a banner headline report on April, 16 about the first joint election rally of the Trinamool-Congress alliance to mention how Pranab Mukherjee, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and Somen Mitra, the three top Congress leaders, all her senior in politics, “proclaimed Mamata as their leader.” To circulate the message of a cordial domesticity between Mamata Banerjee and the Congress leaders who just a few days ago were questioning the efficacy of the alliance, the report gave a graphic depiction from the dais of unity depicting how the veteran leaders rained respect for the Trinamool chieftain. Quoting Pranab Mukherjee, the report in addition asserted that the alliance was born out of historic necessity – from “the demand of the common people,” and its sole aim is to remove the Left Front from power. The English daily’s political polarization was pretty obvious in its April 20 coverage of a Jyoti Basu meeting in Dhuliyan, Murshidabad. The report acerbically mentioned how government funds were spend to bring stone-chips from nearby Pakur and thrown on the brick-laid path leading to the dais, how PWD rollers were pressed into service to take care of the ailing leader’s back and ensure as much comfort as possible “so that the CPM’s star campaigner could do his bit for the party.” The Telegraph, which clearly doesn’t feel any affection for the Left made few interesting observations on the TMC-INC alliance in its April, 21 editorial. Fascinated by the “astute political understanding” of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi for reaching out to the Trinamool supremo from a “larger political necessity”, the editorial has discovered a pragmatic politician in Mamata Banerjee for dumping the BJP and choosing the Congress. The editorial had also speculated that “she still will have the vote of many saffron sympathizers, for whom the first priority remains the end of the red raj.” It is significant to note the effort undertaken by the newspaper to remove any doubt or confusion in the minds of its readers about the effectiveness of the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance when it stressed in the editorial that the alliance “seems the best possible arithmetic against the Left Front.” Four days later, the newspaper ran an extremely opinionated piece Bengal Turns National Alliance Lab where the staff analysts went on claiming at full volume that Bengal “could alter the future course of politics”. What the editorials were shying to express was vociferously expressed in this politically motivated article where the analysts had consciously inserted their preconceptions to build-up their case. Giving the TMC-INC combine a clear edge over the Left Front, the article claimed that the “Opposition never stood a better chance in Bengal,” since the “anti-incumbency factor is running so high that the Mamata-Congress alliance threatens to aggregate the non-Left vote in its favour.” An April, 28 feature article titled Left High & Dry by Soaring Aspirations pointed out at cracks in the Left Front’s traditional support base – the rural poor. Based on inputs from rural Midnapore, the report went on describing how the rural voters are thinking not to vote for the ruling alliance this time. “This time the ‘M’ party will find it difficult,” one Jadunath Hembrom bitterly tells the feature writer complaining about power deficiency in his village. Though there can be sufficient scope for suspicion on the authenticity of the report, the sheer anti-Left Front bias that lurks below the surface of such reports cannot go unnoticed. The newspaper also gave “due importance” to the joint rallies addressed by Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee at the south Bengal districts of Midnapore and Burdwan. A banner story titled Sonia for Sight, Mamata for Sound on May, 4 adoringly gives a detail account about how the Congress president started “speaking Mamata’s language” after getting a taste of the Mamata “wind”. Inserting his own preconception, the reporter of the story noticeably mentioned about a “striking” similarity between the languages and tenor of the two leaders, emphasizing on how the Trinamool chieftain showing her gratitude gave the final-speech honor to Sonia Gandhi. The next day, the daily published another report to point out that after her Bengal tour, “Sonia was confident that Mamata will be the next chief minister,” and reported that Mamata Banerjee “has given a ‘firm commitment’ to Sonia Gandhi that she will not go back to the BJP-led alliance irrespective of the poll outcome.” The editorial on the same day tries to analyze the importance of the Bengal elections and expounding the impact it might produce “all the way in New Delhi”. “In West Bengal, the Congress hopes to ride on a Mamata Banerjee wave,” the editorial comments. It then went on glorifying the Trinamool chieftain’s “immense popularity,” asserting the readers about how she has “touched a chord in the heart of West Bengal’s disaffected. Disaffection towards the Left Front, like loyalty towards it, cuts across social and economic boundaries. Ms Banerjee personifies this disaffection. […] The articulation of the discontent may well constitute one of the major surprises of this election.” On May 8, the daily published another opinion piece which found “a pathetic manifestation of the bankruptcy of political dialogue” put into practice by both the contending parties during the poll campaign and mourns that the new trend “signals the demise of the bhadralok brand of politics”. Though the article does not elaborate what this “bhadralok (gentleman) brand of politics” actually means, it didn’t blinked twice to say that the “the first attack on bhadralok politics in West Bengal came from the left”. Mamata Banerjee, according to the article, was just “matching the Marxists in their words and action”. The article furthermore pointed out that, since the left “has become the most recognizable face of bhadralok politics” from the day it came to power, it is nothing wrong for Mamata Banerjee to shun bhadralok politics and “degrades the level of political discourse to cheap entertainment.” She is after all “the face of the anti-establishment movement. Hers is the mission to break the political status quo.” A fantastic analysis indeed! On May 9, the newspaper published three interesting stories. The first one was based on the several opinion polls conducted by various independent agencies which had predicted a fifty-fifty chance for the opposition combine to come in power. Referring to the opinion poll results, the report tried to keep alive the hope that the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine has a good chance to “sail with the wind into the corridors of Writers’ Buildings” and end the twenty-four years of communist rule in the state. The second report was based on chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s press meet. It starts citing a “seemingly confident” chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and then twists the report to mention that Bhattacharjee has “promised the Left Front would give a responsible Opposition to West Bengal”. According to the report, the chief minister was “forced to admit that the Left was facing its most difficult challenge; the government had failed to live up to the expectations of people…..” The third report that attempted to divulge Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s political future was a stunning display of how The Telegraph can became terribly prejudiced to push a particular viewpoint instead of reporting in an objective manner. “Never before have the prospects of a chief ministerial candidate been doubted so much,” the speculative report claimed after conducting a micro opinion poll at the Jadavpur 8B bus stand among twenty commuters and found that “more than half the respondents were not sure of his prospects”! “Bhattacharjee is better placed to win in Jadavpur than the CPM is to win in Bengal,” was the inevitable conclusion of this fictitious report. But a marked difference can be seen in another story that had appeared on May, 10. The story tried to sense the minds of Bengal businessmen and find out why they are “throwing their lot behind the leader of a party founded with the vow to make them an extinct species.” Obliquely indicating at CPI(M)’s trade union wing CITU for pushing out industry from Bengal due to their militant trade unionism, the report cited unnamed and faceless “sources” from the business world to praise Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who has “proved himself to be proactive to industry in a very short time,” and for “talking about the right things” the business world like to hear. The objective behind the story was plain and simple – strongly condemn CITU, condemn the policies and programmes of the CPI(M) but at the same time start heaping praise on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as the poster boy of reforms. It took some more time for the corporate media to achieve its biggest success when Bhattacharjee fell pray to this cunning strategy. But that is another story to tell. [5] On May 11, two days before the results, The Telegraph had a story on Mamata Banerjee to describe how confident she was about her victory. “I have no doubt that we are coming to power. We are the rising sun tomorrow morning,” a confident Mamata Banerjee told the reporter “with her lips spread in a smile and her fingers parting in a ‘V’.” On the counting day, the daily reported how Trinamool Congress activists made elaborate preparations at their chieftain’s south Kolkata residence “in anticipation of her victory in the polls.” But after all the hype and hyperbole, the high-flying opposition alliance received a lethal blow from the Bengal electorate and ended up landing on their nose. The alliance which was cocksure about forming the next government was successful to win only 86 seats against the 199 seats won by the Left Front. The Front not only swept the countryside but also achieved remarkable success in urban and industrial areas. In many so called “neck to neck” seats marked by the pollsters, Left Front candidates won by comfortable margins. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, whose prospects The Telegraph had doubted, won the Jadavpur seat by more than 29,000 votes. Soon after the results were declared, a disgraced Mamata Banerjee offered to resign owning moral responsibility for her alliance’s defeat and vanished from public view. The staff analysts of The Telegraph, those who had previously visioned a sure success of the opposition alliance, made a 360 degree somersault to attack Mamata Banerjee for “not been able to translate resentment into votes and votes into seats.” Squarely putting back all the trash created by them on the Trinamool chieftain’s doorsill, the analysts lampooned her by saying, “She was preparing to take credit for a victory she assumed was inevitable.” “She began with several advantages,” another angry analyst wrote, “and then went about dismantling and reducing them to irreversible losses.” An editorial on May 16 accused the TMC chieftain for being “her own worst enemy,” and called her a leader “completely unprepared for defeat.” The editorial left no stone unturned to harshly criticize her for choosing “to nurse her own sense of hurt and disappointment precisely at the time when her party workers and supporters needed her to be at their side.” Terming the verdict as “one of the great anti-climaxes in the history of West Bengal politics,” the editorial argued that her “egocentric behaviour may be at the root of the debacle the Trinamool Congress has suffered.” On May 23, eminent economist, noted author and a former Left Front minister Dr. Ashok Mitra’s scathing article Look Back In Triumph appeared in the pages of The Telegraph. Lambasting the media’s vindictive political role Dr. Mitra, wrote: A few months ahead of the election date, important segments of the media launched a furious campaign of dissembling. The people of West Bengal, it was ipso facto evident, want a different regime to rule them and they, the media, are ambassadors extraordinary, directly despatched by the Almighty to bring about this change. The media set to work. They posted hilarious imaginary tales about how the minds of the voters were working in district after district and constituency after constituency. Once such an exercise is on, it is contaminating: A’s gossip becomes B’s staple, B’s gossip becomes C’s staple, and so on down the line, with illusion feeding upon illusion. […] None of the media bothered to find out whether voters in West Bengal, in town and country, could have a mind of their own and might have benefited in some measure or other on account of the activities of the Left Front regime in the course of the past two and a half decades. They regarded the electorate in West Bengal as dummies who would vote as the media would direct them to. [6] Mainstream media constantly tries to thrust particular political viewpoints, omits actual facts, misinforms, systematically makes or breaks a candidate’s popularity or a party’s success and failure through obvious one-sided reporting. Sometimes they succeed; sometimes they fail but pretend that they didn’t. Keeping in mind the 2001 events, we humbly offer a suggestion to the pompous TMC leaders and their obsessive supporters – do not get carried away by the media hyperbole. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ***** Postscript: While tracing the mainstream English and regional language media’s blatant projection of Mamata Banerjee as the next chief minister, R Uma Maheshwari wrote in a most recent article in The Hoot that “Mamata seems more like a media candidate than that of a party”. Titled “A media bubble called Mamata?” the article points out how The Telegraph, for instance, seems to have “appointed itself the election manager of Mamata Banerjee / Trinamool.” Instead of focusing on pertinent issues, the motivated media has concentrated, as Maheshwari has observed, on a a single-point “hate campaign not just against the Left Front, but Communist ideology itself.” “Today the poll battle is not merely, as I see it, about Mamata and the Left, per se, but a fight between different forms of economic and ideological developments. It is a concerted effort made by a section of media, supported by a certain class, against Communism,” Maheshwari comments bitterly. (Source http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5252&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=2&valid=true ) __________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From chintan.backups at gmail.com Thu Apr 28 12:59:11 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:59:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] New Indian books for young adults Message-ID: From http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2011/apr/030411-young-adult-literature-young-zubaan-smitten.htm Militant reading for 14 year-olds *By:* Dhamini Ratnam *Date:* 2011-04-03 *Place:* Mumbai * Some of the novels that will or have already hit bookshelves include stories of a 14 year-old girl sexually abused by her father, Kashmiri children grappling with militancy and an Indian gay adolescent in the US. If you think they make for great fiction, wait till you hear this. They are books for India's young adults. YA literature is all grown up and asking uncomfortable questions* Like any other teenager, Akhila Handa, living in an apartment in New Delhi, would like a room of her own. Her mother is depressed, and her younger brother, mentally unstable. While she loves her dad, she would rather not share her bed with him. The 14 year-old protagonist of Ranjit Lal's upcoming book is a victim of sexual abuse by her father. Handa deals with the confusion and psychological impact of sexual abuse with the help of her 15 year-old neighbour Samir, the boy she has a crush on. Published by New Delhi-based publishing house, Young Zubaan, Smitten is expected to be out by the end of the year. Despite its grim subject, the book is aimed at young adult readers, and is a thriller, says Lal. "We can't pretend that it (sexual abuse) doesn't happen. Such matters need to be brought out in the open, and talked about," says the Delhi-based author. Earlier this year, two new fiction titles with gay adolescents as protagonists were published in India. In 2012, management author Subroto Bagchi will be out with a book that provides the young Indian reader "an MBA at 16" by addressing questions on business, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. Add to that a collection of short stories by author Paro Anand that address the politics of militancy in Kashmir, and what we have before us is a very grown up world of young adult literature. While 10 years ago, the average teenager growing up in urban India was immersed in fictional amateur detective Nancy Drew's boy troubles, there's no treating today's teenager with kid's gloves. And authors say it's about time we bring uncomfortable subjects into the open. "I am not introducing teenagers to something they don't already know," says Paro Anand, author of No Guns at My Son's Funeral and Weed, published in 2005 and 2008 respectively; two titles that also dealt with the impact of militancy on Kashmiri children. Both have sold close to 12,000 copies, which is probably why Anand decided to return to Kashmir in two of the eight stories in her new collection of short stories for Penguin, set to release in October 2011. Anand has, otherwise, written 20 books for young adults on issues ranging from self-image to bullying, "In both stories, I depict how the politics of militancy and unrest have an impact on children. One of the protagonists is three years old; the other is a 12-year old girl. Both their fathers have been killed by militants," she says. The stories are narrated from the child's point of view -- the three year-old, for instance, waits for his father to return from the market every day, to tell him stories about monsters. When his father, who sells cloth from a cart, is killed in an explosion set off by militants, the boy wonders if the monsters have captured his father. "Of course, his father has been killed by monsters," declares Anand, simply. "Kids like reading about other kids because they can relate to them better," feels 14 year-old Namrata Narula, a Class 10 student of Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, who picked up No Guns... a few months ago. "After reading that book, I realised what's happening in Kashmir isn't just between adults. It affects children too." Anand says writing for children is a great responsibility -- it needs to go beyond a nice read. "It needs to be a safe space where children are exposed to issues in a sensible way, allowing them to examine their feelings, express their discomfort and shake off their sense of helplessness," says the former editor of the National Centre for Children's Literature of the National Book Trust. Even fantasy novels -- the traditional domain of children's literature -- have started asking serious questions and giving up conventional tropes. In Payal Dhar's fantasy adventure trilogy, A Shadow In Eternity, published between 2006 and 2009, the 12 year-old protagonist Maya Subramaniam finds that "what we usually define as a family is narrow and restrictive and that there is no such thing as 'normal' when it comes to families," says Dhar. As Maya comes across a same sex couple, her own parents drift apart. The other issue the book depicts is that "families do break up and it can be nobody's fault," she adds. Children's books are filled with happy families, or families that solve their issues and come together in the end. In Maya's case, this doesn't happen, and it is okay for it not to happen, Dhar feels. One of the reasons why Prahniika Borkar, a 17 year-old Arts student of Mithibai College in Mumbai, loved Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's fantasy-adventure trilogy The Brotherhood of the Conch, was because besides its magical elements, the books raised important concerns. The trilogy follows Anand and Nisha, two 12-year olds living in a Kolkata slum, who join a brotherhood of healers in the Himalayas after helping them retrieve a magical conch. The final book in the trilogy, Shadowland was released in January 2011 and talks about class and economic divide along with ecological concerns. The earlier two titles have sold close to 6,000 copies each. "I love Harry Potter but The Brotherhood of the Conch is my favourite because I understood its fantasy world," says Borkar. Young queer adults in the country however, have had little to relate to by way of young adult literature. That is till Blue Boy and God Loves Hair came along. Written by American Indian Rakesh Satyal and Canadian Indian Vivek Shraya respectively, both books depict the lives of gay Indian adolescent boys living in white societies. Blue Boy, which was published in India earlier this year, won the Lambda Literary Award in 2010, while Shraya's short story collection was nominated for the same award this year. God Loves Hair also finds mention in the young adult fiction list recommended for librarians in the United States. "I wrote this novel with the idea that I would have needed a book like this while growing up," says Satyal, who is now based in New York. "I'm telling a story that is largely untold. It is important to reach younger children while getting through to an adult audience, both equally unaware of the subculture." The two books also raise other aspects central to adolescent experience -- religion, race and negotiating the terrain of being 'different'. Neither, however, is being marketed as young adult fiction in India. Part of the reason, explains Queer Ink owner Shobhna Kumar, lies in the age of consent debate, where minors -- or teenagers under the age of 18 -- are not legally allowed to be counselled in matters relating to sexuality. India's first online bookstore for queer literature lists several books on teenage sexuality -- including Satyal and Shraya's -- under its young adult section, but states that they are only meant for readers above 18. Some of the titles include Why Gender Matters, Straight Parents, Gay Kids and The Orange Book: A Teacher's Workbook on Sexuality Education. For queer teenagers in the country, however, such books offer a model of normalcy. "There is no representation of queer teenagers in our media. In such a situation, when a queer teenager reads stories of a boy who is different, it sends them a message 'You will make it'," says Arvind Sharma (name changed), a 19 year-old college student in New Delhi, who read God Loves Hair. Like alternate sexuality, business too is of interest to young readers. "We need to communicate with our future to help them build a reasonable view of business. Currently, they have no initiation and hence lack interest in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Some get stereotypical impressions from the media," says Bagchi, co-founder of Mind Tree, a technology solutions enterprise. After writing three books on business for adults, he decided to write one for children. "They are future businessmen and executives. Today's 16 year-old wants to know about social entrepreneurship and the connection (or the lack thereof) between business and ethics. The idea behind my book is to address this in a manner that treats them as equals." *The handbook* *Your guide to YA fiction. Titles to read (even if you aren't a YA)* *Horror* Nearly Departed by Rook Hastings, Harper Collins India *Mystery* Bad Moon Rising, a collection of short stories, Puffins Classic Growing up Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim, Penguin; and I'm Not Butter Chicken by Paro Anand, Scholastic *Fantasy/mythology* Pyre of Queens by David Hair, Penguin India; The Shadow in Eternity series by 19 year old Payal Dhar, Young Zubaan *Sci-fi* Conspiracy of Calaspia, written by twins Jyoti and Suresh Guptara when they were 11 *Book clubs to get your adolescent reading* *>>*Sonya Dutta Choudhury runs the Talking Volumes book club in Juhu. Mail her at sonya1@ gmail.com *>>*Rupal Patel is behind Creative Reading Book Club in Breach Candy. Call her at 9821174471 *>>*Alefia Poonawala runs one for slightly smaller kids in Cuffe Parade, called Reading Magic. Her new batch starts in June. Call her at 9820102849 *From the reader, publisher, author* Vampire fiction annoys me. It uses foul language which does nothing to improve my vocabulary, and doesn't depict young adults behaving maturely. *Mihika Miranda, Class 10 student of Hill Spring International, Tardeo* Young adult literature stands at an interesting point. Many YA imprints are starting not only in India but outside too. This will mean more books in this category, more marketing and sales activities. *Sudeshna Shome, Editorial Director, Puffin and Penguin Young Adult* It (young adult literature) needs to be a safe space where children are exposed to issues in a sensible way, allowing them to examine their feelings, express their discomfort and shake off their sense of helplessness. paro anand. Her upcoming book of short stories will tackle the impact of militancy on Kashmiri kids *This Holmes is just 14* In June 2010, Macmillan Books published Andrew Lane's reworked version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. How, you ask? Well, by turning Sherlock Holmes into a zit-faced angsty 14 year-old. Titled Death Cloud, the novel depicts Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s, who has been sent to live with his aunt at the Holmes Manor in Hampshire during his holidays. He cannot go home since his father is away and mother is ill. His elder brother Mycroft is busy working for the government. Once in Hampshire, Holmes meets his American tutor Amyus Crowe and finds a dead body on the estate during their first lesson together. The rest, as they say, is mystery! *Update:* A sequel titled Red Leech was released on November 5, 2010, and four more books are on their way. From chintan.backups at gmail.com Thu Apr 28 13:12:11 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:12:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Open Space Fellowships: Nurturing civil society leadership and action among young people Message-ID: From http://www.openspaceindia.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=689:os-fellowships-nurturing-civil-society-leadership-and-action-among-young-people&Itemid=234 OS Fellowships: Nurturing civil society leadership and action among young people Open Space, Pune, invites applications for the Open Space Fellowships 2011-2012. Open Space, the civil society and youth outreach programme of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies (CCDS), Pune, engages with citizens – especially young citizens -- on contemporary social, economic and cultural issues through film screenings, performances, literary readings, music concerts, art, storytelling, capacity-building workshops, discussion and study forums, public lectures, youth festivals and campaigns. Open Space aims to be a vibrant place for youth to volunteer, learn, share ideas, and express themselves. Equally, Open Space supports CSOs and citizens to take their work/ideas/processes to a wide audience of concerned citizens, and also to build action networks. The Open Space Fellowships are an effort to extend the Open Space idea and process to other cities in India. Two rounds of fellowships – in Chennai, Kolkata, Ranchi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Bangalore -- have already been completed in the last three years. In 2011 we will be awarding 3 full-time fellowships for a period of 12 months each. Applications are invited from young activists/leaders/social entrepreneurs in cities besides Pune. Applicants from growing metros such as Nagpur, Bhopal, Baroda, Jaipur, Indore, etc are especially encouraged to apply. We are looking for individuals who are well-informed on social justice and development issues, with a background in the social sciences/human rights/development/media or allied fields. The Fellows should be dynamic, energetic, resourceful and excellent at communications, moderating discussions, training and capacity-building. A passion for the arts and ideas will be an added advantage. The Fellows will have to engage with youth on issues such as gender, sexuality, human rights, diversity, peace and conflict, globalisation, etc. by developing their own strategies for outreach and activities/campaigns specific to their own cities. Open Space will provide support through resources such as feedback on ideas and methodology, provision of reading material and films, and contacts to resource persons, where required. The Fellows should be well-networked with NGOs, CSOs, educational institutions and community groups in their own city. Over the 12-month period, several regular networks, partnerships, events and forums should have been initiated and publicized. Open Space Fellows will organise programmes and trainings at multiple venues, in collaboration with educational institutions, communities, campaigns, partner CSOs etc. The Fellows will be expected to forge formal partnerships with at least one educational institution in their city where they will work intensively with a particular batch of students, set up Open Space clubs etc. Open Space fellowships will be awarded to individuals preferably below the age of 40. The fellowship carries a monthly honorarium of Rs 20,000, inclusive of communication and conveyance costs incurred by the Fellows. Modest monthly expenditures for programmes/resourcepersons’ fees are reimbursed separately. Applicants are invited to send completed applications in the format given below (Subject line: OS Fellowships) as attachments to: ujwala at openspaceindia.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and cc: fellowships at openspaceindia.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it For more information on CCDS and Open Space log on to www.openspaceindia.org, www.ccds.in and www.infochangeindia.org. . *Open Space Fellowship Application form format* *1. Personal details:* *Name:* *Date of birth:* *Address:* *Email contact:* *Phone contact:* *Educational background:* *Current place of employment/education/other:* *2. Why I am applying for the Open Space Fellowship: **(Expand on your suitability for, and interest in, these Fellowships; the social justice/development issues most integral to the city in which you would like to work during the course of this fellowship;strategies you would employ for outreach, including likely partners and networks in their cities.)* From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Apr 28 16:15:07 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:45:07 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Entries - 13th Mumbai Film Festival, October 13 - 20, 2011/ Filmi Chashma Children's Film Festival screenings 29 April 2011, Mumbai / NID Summer Workshops, New Delhi Message-ID: <8CDD3A87975851B-2274-1B010@TSTMAIL-D06.sysops.aol.com> Call for Entries - 13th Mumbai Film Festival, October 13 - 20, 2011 CALL FOR ENTRIES Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) offers one of the highest Cash Awards & Incentives - US $ 200,000 The 13th Mumbai Film Festival to be held from October 13-20, 2011 announces the call for entries. The festival accepts feature-length films for its various competitive and non- competitive sections, as well as short narratives and documentaries to be shown in the short film competitions. The entry deadline is August 1st, 2011. For more details click here.http://www.mumbaifilmfest.com/emailers/2011/april/MFF_mailer.html# We look forward to welcoming you and your films in Mumbai! Entry forms and screeners for selection must reach the festival office before August 1st, 2011 For more information: mumbaifilmfest at gmail.com | info at mumbaifilmfest.com | www.mumbaifilmfest.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Filmi Chashma Children's Film Festival screenings 29 April 2011,Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai. Two exciting children's films 11am to 1pm Aladin's Magic Lamp (115 mins) A grand classic from Russia by Boris Rytsarev, digitally restored. Plus a short film. 2.30pm to 4.30pm Champions (105 mins) A new and unreleased Marathi film. The story of two young boys who overcome difficult circumstances and get an education. Plus a short film. All are invited, entry free ! Contact us Comet Media Foundation Topiwala Lane Municipal School Lamington Road Mumbai 400 007 Maharashtra India Phone +91 22 2382 6674 or 2386 9052 e-mail team at filmichashma dot org ----------------------------------------------------------------- NID Summer Workshops,New Delhi Dear Friends, Greetings from NID ! We are happy to inform you that the Summer Workshops are being organized at the NID-ITPO Showcase Design. These workshops will be an occasion to help polish the creative skills of your kids and a great way to keep their creative juices flowing for full five days of Design & Creativity with NID faculty to guide the children. The details for the workshops are as below: Venue: Hall No. 19,1st Floor, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, 110001 Paper Craft : 02 – 06 May 2011, Calligraphy : 23 ‐ 27 May 2011 Illustrating Fashion Figures: 23 ‐ 27 May 2011 For further Details contact, Marketing Manager NUPUR GUPTA Design Centre Manager (NID) ITPO Hall No 19, First Floor Pragati Maidan New Delhi 􀀋 (011), 23379645, 23379646 National Institute of Design Core 6 A- 3rd Floor India Habitat Centre Lodhi Road, New Delhi 􀀋-24692846,24647487 CERTIFICATE A Certificate of participation will be presented to all the participants. From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Apr 28 16:21:16 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:51:16 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Announcement of Results of 8th edition of We Care Filmfest In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CDD3A95558E57B-2274-1B134@TSTMAIL-D06.sysops.aol.com> Dear Friend, On behalf of jury of 8th Edition of We Care Filmfest on disability issues, we are happy to inform you that jury has declared the results as per list given here in below:- LIST OF AWARD WINNING FILMS OF 8TH EDITION OF WE CARE FILMFEST Category upto One minute Award Name of the Documentary Name of the Director(s) Special Mention National Anthem in Indian Sign Language Prof. R Rangasayee Mr. P J Mathew Martin Mr. R S Swamy Mohd. Shafique Category upto 5 minute 2nd Prize jointly by Kamal Mr. Rehan Khan Question of Success Mr. L Amarendra Sharma 3rd Prize Siddhi Mr. Rehan Khan Special Mention Yearning Mr. Ravi Kumar Category upto 30 minute 1st Prize The Ultimate Adventure Ms. Vaishali Patel 2nd Prize Departure of Lounge Mr. Louis Neethling 3rd Prize Malsawmi Mr. Napoleon R Z Thanga Special Mention The Wizard of Needles Mr. Deepak Partvatiyar Category upto 60 minute 1st Prize Still Standing Mr. Pankaj Johar 2nd Prize For a Little Affection Mr. Indrasis Acharya 3rd Prize Let’s Leap Forward Mr. Anil Annaiah Jury Members: Mr. Gautam Kaul, Chairman Jury, Mr. Anurag Punetha, Associate Executive Producer-P7 News Channel, Ms. Geetashree, Assistant Editor- Outlook, Mr. Utpal Borpujari, Film Critic and Filmmaker and Mr. B B Nagpal, Renowned Film Critic, Visiting Professor to various Institutes of Mass Communication & Journalism. Award Ceremony: Award Ceremony will be held on May 4, 2011 at the Main Auditorium of India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller marg, New Delhi-110003 from 10am to 12 noon. You are cordially invited to join the award ceremony. For details you can contact: Satish Kapoor, Founder Director We Care Filmfest, 9899472065 Mr. Rohit Rellan, Vice President, We Care Filmfest Ms. Richa Bharti, Programme Manager, We Care Filmfest, 9582067653 From ektaraindia at email.com Thu Apr 28 19:51:08 2011 From: ektaraindia at email.com (ektara) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:21:08 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Workshop on Sufi music (at Habitat Centre, Delhi) In-Reply-To: <8CDD3C650E4F116-17D4-A31A@web-mmc-m01.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CDD3C650E4F116-17D4-A31A@web-mmc-m01.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CDD3C6A6C48B1E-17D4-A33B@web-mmc-m01.sysops.aol.com> A 2-day workshop on Understanding Sufi Literature and Sama  28-29 May 2011 (Saturday, Sunday)  (Time: 10 am to 5 pm on both days)    India Habitat Centre, New Delhi    (Registration required)    After conducting five successful workshops on Sufi music, qawwali and classical music, Ektara India (a Delhi-based group of media and arts professionals) invites applications for a new 2-day workshop on appreciating South Asia’s Sufi literature and Sama (Sufi soirees of listening). Conducted by a number of scholars, musicians and media professionals, this short workshop is meant to equip the participants to better appreciate the nuances of Sufi poetry and music by giving its historical and social contexts. The workshop is not meant to “teach” music, even though the two days will comprise of live music demonstrations, poetry readings, and screening of documentary films and archival audio and video clips. The participants will be guided on where and how to chose good Sufi literature and music in our midst. Some of the presenters of the workshop are Madan Gopal Singh, Dhruv Sangari, Yousuf Saeed and at least one traditional qawwali musician from Delhi (to be announced soon). The final schedule of the workshop will be available close to the dates of the event.    The workshop is open to anyone with interest in traditional poetry, music and cultural history. A knowledge or training in music is not essential. Although most presentations will be in English, a working knowledge of Urdu and Hindi (not necessarily reading capacity) will be an advantage. Please apply early as seats are limited. For applications, please contact the Habitat centre on 011-43663090/80 and ask for registration for the Sufi music workshop.    Registration fee is Rs.2000 (inclusive of tea/refreshments). Payment by cash can be made at the programme desk. Registrations would be open form May 01-03 for IHC Members. Non-members can register from May 4th onwards.    India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110003  From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Thu Apr 28 20:26:50 2011 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:56:50 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] anti-imperialism In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Interesting commentary on how understanding & practice of 'left' varies from left to left. Political expediency..??? Near similarity in support across the left spectrum, for pan Islamism inspired imperialism of which Kashmiri Muslim secessionist movement is a visible face in Indian context, is intriguing.Rgds allLA----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:05:28 +0530 > From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] anti-imperialism > > From: http://www.pragoti.org/node/4378 > > _________________________________________ > > Woolly eyed ex-Naxalite fellow travellers and anti-imperialism > Tue, 2011-04-26 12:37 — srinir > > There are two varieties of anti-left bashers from among the ultra-left > or more charitably what is called the "left of the left". One is a > stream that is nostalgic of the ex-Naxalite past, condemning of the > adventurous turn of Naxalism into present day marauding version called > Maoism, but is not willing to give into opportunism. The other - also > firmly entrenched in the dustbin of history called supporters of the > failed Naxalite past - has no such concerns; it has no shame in tying > up and supporting the traditional party of the jotedars and > opportunists - for this section, any stick to beat the Left is a good > one. > > The former is exemplified by the likes of Naxalite sympathisers and > commentators like Sumanta Banerjee, who not long ago, called for a > (nonexistent) "third front" in West Bengal, unable to digest that the > opposition from the left of the left ..to the left .. has been > hijacked by the likes of Mamata Banerjee and her cohorts which include > an umbrella rainbow coalition from the right, the identarians (the > likes of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha), the blatantly neoliberal (FICCI > chief Amit Mitra) and not to mention the ultra-left (personified by > the murderer Kishenji). The latter is exemplified by the cussed > commentator Sankar Ray, who replied in no uncertain terms to Sumanta > Banerjee's proposition when it first came up that he disagreed with > his view on Mamata Banerjee. The commentator is at it again - this > time questioning the anti-imperialist credentials of the Left, in the > deliberately anti-Left site, Kafila.org. The argument advanced by this > person is that the pro-investment "phase" of the West Bengal > government during 2005-2006 was tantamount to tarnishing the > anti-imperialist credentials of the CPI(M).. nay even to say that > there exists no such credentials at all. And to make this point, he > quotes David Mulford, then American ambassador to India. He then > juxtaposes this against the wikileaks revelations that unambiguously > mentions that the Americans are very keen on "cultivating Mamata > Banerjee" owing to her strong presence as opposition to the Left Front > in the state. > > Only in the phantasmagoria that is the thought process of certain > woolly-eyed ex-Naxalite sympathisers would there be a equivalence > between stray statements from the Americans acknowledging a turn > toward a pro-investment regime and explicit enunciation in diplomatic > cables of a strategic support for the opposition in the state of West > Bengal because of the possibilities of weakening the Left (even > nationally). Why at all, are (and were) the Americans interested in > cultivating an utter opportunist such as Mamata Banerjee (bolstered by > none other than the Maoists) if it suited them that the West Bengal > state govenrment was keen on a pro-investment climate? Surely that is > the first question that should concern an "anti-imperialist"? Or > indeed, why did the CPI(M) make the nuclear deal the cornerstone of > the Indo-US strategic relationship, ultimately withdrawing support to > the UPA on the very issue, if at all its anti-imperialist credentials > were under question? Why would the party make the Indo-US defense > framework agreement such a major issue, going forward to even mobilise > people from West Bengal (yes..West Bengal) to protest against Indo-US > joint defense exercises in the Kalaikunda base in 2005? Or to organise > another massive protest against Indo-US joint defense exercises in > Vizag mobilising people in the form of two jathas from West Bengal and > from Andhra Pradesh in 2007? Were all these measures done to be in > "the good books of George Bush" as Sankar Ray ridiculously and > abominably claims? > > To expect ex-Naxalite Mamata-worshippers to answer such questions or > even understand reality better is asking for too much. After all, > these venerable (or not) gentlemen endorsed the deliberate killing of > CPI(M) supporters and sympathisers at the hands of Maoist frontmen, > explicitly provided backing by the Trinamul chief and did not even pay > lip service to condemn the assassination attempt at chief minister > Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, for which the Maoists very proudly claimed > responsibility for. They had not a word to say about the Maoist front > organisation PCAPA organised derailment of the Gyaneswari Express > sometime last year.We don't hear a word about the Trinamul's > re-cultivation of arch neoliberals such as Amit Mitra or his candidacy > from these Mamata-worshippers. It speaks to their utter irrelevance > and inability to articulate a politics of progressivism that they have > tied their bandwagons to the apron strings of crass opportunism as > personified by the Trinamul Congress. > > Lest we forget, there is also another significant section of former > Naxalite sympathisers. Comprising of activists like Azizul Haque and > other intellectuals, they have criticised the support for Mamata > Banerjee and have questioned the understanding of those who have done > so. They have explicitly pointed out to the class character of the > Trinamul Congress' leadership, its aims and the core of its support > base. They have also endorsed the Left Front in the polls, arguing > however for the continuation of pro-poor policies and articulating the > need for a genuine alternative to the neoliberal trajectory adopted > mostly elsewhere in the country. > > Finally, let us not mince words. Certain ex-Naxalite fellow travellers > who have no qualms in joining hands with the likes of Amit Mitra to > uproot the Left Front government can kindly keep their opinions on > anti-imperialism to themselves. The ex-Naxalites of West Bengal had > their chance to foment a revolution from Naxalbari in the late 1960s. > They failed - mostly because of their inability to understand Indian > conditions and also because their movement was doomed from the > beginning. The Left Front succeeded in West Bengal despite tremendous > repression from the Congress and managed to achieve substantive rural > reforms and deeper democratisation in West Bengal. Sections of > ex-Naxalite sympathisers have always resented this. From woolly eyed > romanticists buying into claims of the spread of the prairie fire of > "Naxalite revolution" across the country, they have either been > reduced to endorsers of marauding criminals of the ex-MCC variety or > palanquin bearers for the opportunist Mamata Banerjee pontificating > now and then on anti-imperialism. What a fall or is it a fall at all?. > > > > ________________________________________________ > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From patrice at xs4all.nl Thu Apr 28 21:01:33 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:31:33 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] India Puts Tight Leash on Internet Free Speech (NYT) Message-ID: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/technology/28internet.html?_r=1 April 27, 2011 India Puts Tight Leash on Internet Free Speech By VIKAS BAJAJ MUMBAI, India — Free speech advocates and Internet users are protesting new Indian regulations restricting Web content that, among other things, can be considered “disparaging,” “harassing,” “blasphemous” or “hateful.” The new rules, quietly issued by the country’s Department of Information Technology earlier this month and only now attracting attention, allow officials and private citizens to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list of criteria. Critics of the new rules say the restrictions could severely curtail debate and discussion on the Internet, whose use has been growing fast in India. The list of objectionable content is sweeping and includes anything that “threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order.” The rules highlight the ambivalence with which Indian officials have long treated freedom of expression. The country’s constitution allows “reasonable restrictions” on free speech but lawmakers have periodically stretched that definition to ban books, movies and other material about sensitive subjects like sex, politics and religion. An Indian state, for example, recently banned an American author’s new biography of the Indian freedom fighter Mohandas Gandhi that critics have argued disparages Mr. Gandhi by talking about his relationship with another man. Although fewer than 10 percent of Indians have access to the Internet, that number has been growing fast — especially on mobile devices. There are more than 700 million cellphone accounts in India. The country has also established a thriving technology industry that writes software and creates Web services primarily for Western clients. Even before the new rules — known as the Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011 — India has periodically tried to restrict speech on the Internet. In 2009, the government banned a popular and graphic online comic strip, Savita Bhabhi, about a housewife with an active sex life. Indian officials have also required social networking sites like Orkut to take down posts deemed offensive to ethnic and religious groups. Using a freedom of information law, the Center for Internet and Society, a Bangalore-based research and advocacy group, recently obtained and published a list of 11 Web sites banned by the Department of Information Technology. Other government agencies have probably blocked more sites, the group said. The new Internet rules go further than existing Indian laws and restrictions, said Sunil Abraham, the executive director for the Center for Internet and Society. The rules require Internet “intermediaries” — an all-encompassing group that includes sites like YouTube and Facebook and companies that host Web sites or provide Internet connections — to respond to any demand to take down offensive content within 36 hours. The rules do not provide a way for content producers to defend their work or appeal a decision to take content down. “These rules overly favor those who want to clamp down on freedom of expression,” Mr. Abraham said. “Whenever there are limits of freedom of expression, in order for those limits to be considered constitutionally valid, those limits have to be clear and not be very vague. Many of these rules that seek to place limits are very, very vague.” An official for the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, an advocacy group based in New Delhi, said on Wednesday that it was considering a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the new rules. “What are we, Saudi Arabia?” said Pushkar Raj, the group’s general secretary. “We don’t expect this from India. This is something very serious.” An official at the Department of Information Technology, Gulshan Rai, did not return calls and messages. The rules are based on a 2008 information technology law that India’s Parliament passed shortly after a three-day siege on Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorists that killed more than 163 people. That law, among other things, granted authorities more expansive powers to monitor electronic communications for reasons of national security. It also granted privacy protections to consumers. While advocates for free speech and civil liberties have complained that the 2008 law goes too far in violating the rights of Indians, Internet firms have expressed support for it. The law removed liability from Internet intermediaries as long as they were not active participants in creating content that was later deemed to be offensive. Subho Ray, the president of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, which represents companies like Google and eBay, said the liability waiver was a big improvement over a previous law that had been used to hold intermediaries liable for hosting content created by others. In 2004, for instance, the police arrested eBay’s top India executive because a user of the company’s Indian auction site had offered to sell a video clip of a teenage couple having sex. “The new I.T. Act (2008) is, in fact, a large improvement on the old one,” Mr. Ray said in an e-mail response to questions. Mr. Ray said his association had not taken a stand on the new regulations. An India-based spokeswoman for Google declined to comment on the new rules, saying the company needed more time to respond. Along with the new content regulations, the government also issued rules governing data security, Internet cafes and the electronic provision of government services. From javedmasoo at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 04:02:04 2011 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:02:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Saibaba and Other Godmen Message-ID: With due respect to the followers of Saibaba. -------------- SAIBABA AND OTHER GODMEN Asghar Ali Engineer Saibaba’s death a couple of days ago has brought thousands of people from India and abroad to have his last darshan (glimpse) and many of them were even crying that Baba’s divine soul has left them forever. On the other hand rationalists are challenging his miraculous powers once again and maintaining that he was man like others and man being mortal, he also died. Many are pointing out that his own forecast that he will die at the age of 96 proved to be wrong and he died at the age of 86. It should not be very surprising if thousands of people are flocking to his funeral but what is indeed surprising is that the Prime Minister of a secular country, along with Sonia Gandhi, also went to pay his homage. Mrs. Gandhi is free to do so as she does not hold any office in Government but Shri Manmohan Singh holds the highest office and should have refrained from going there. It is not clear whether he went there in his personal capacity or as head of the Government. If he went in his personal capacity who bore his expenses and if he went as Prime Minister, according to which protocol? The Prime Minister of a secular country should not go for funeral of a divine personality. What I am going to write here is not to condemn but to understand what is happening in our so called post-industrial and post-modern society? I always maintain that it is easier to condemn but difficult to understand and unless we understand we cannot bring about change. Thus understanding an event is of primary importance. Understanding functioning of godmen requires understanding sociological, psychological and political factors. Human behaviour is of very complex nature and all these factors play important role. The entire phenomenon cannot be explained with reference to ‘blind faith’ alone as rationalists tend to do. Human interests too, along with other factors, play an important role and human interests constitute an important part of human behaviour. Thus, as against rationalists, I believe, human behaviour as it is, needs godmen very much even in 21st century (though I myself do not approve of it). I am just trying to explain the phenomenon as a social scientist. First of all we should understand the structure of our society and also education system it needs. Our society is structurally unjust and is based on exploitation of some by others. Thus the very nature of our society promotes injustices, uncertainties and feeling of insecurity Our education systems not only promote it but also justify it. The poor and exploited feels helpless and begins to believe in destiny. Those who cannot face uncertainties either tend to resort to irrational religious beliefs or even commit suicide as many peasants in our country are doing. Also, there are ways and ways of believing in religion. For some with proper understanding religion is a source of morality and ethics whereas for many others religion is a source of superstitions. It is in this sense that Marx called religion an opium i.e. pain killer. Thus religion helps the victims of our social system (exploited and oppressed) to bear the pain of their suffering. It gives them great solace and inner peace. Only the sufferers know the value of this role of religion. Many people flock to godmen and babas in search of this inner solace. In our world which is full of oppression, exploitation and corruption, religion has become source of such peace and solace, in other words it has become only ‘opium’ Religion, in fact, should be a great source of inspiration to fight against what is wrong and oppressive, it should create inner urge for believer to achieve what is best in human beings and fight against all that is beastly – anger, revenge, lust and greed. In our own times Gandhi took religion in this sense. Thus taken in this sense religion can inspire us to combat all that is oppressive and exploitative and to establish truth and justice in the world. If religion does not inspire us to do this it is nothing more than opium. Babas and godmen are required because of this nature of our society. Had there been a society just and truthful we would not have needed them. These Babas make this world livable for the victims of justice and oppression in various ways. To achieve for real success, success achieved in a just way, not through fraud and cheating, is very difficult and one has to work very hard indeed. And many of us do not want to work hard and look for miracles as a short cut. A truly religious person would not look for miracles but face all trivial of life. These Babas try to win over our hearts and minds by exploiting this weakness of ours for miracles. And not only the victims but rich and powerful also look for such miracles and hence they too flock to such Babas. It is not easy for us to overcome this weakness and look for miracles. Also, many people suffer from certain diseases for which modern medicine has no easy cure and so we tend to incline towards miracles and in this category we have both weaker as well as powerful and rich sections of our society. Earlier at least in this matter there were no classes i.e. there used to be one saint or baba to whom all will go rich or poor. But now in our country there are saints and babas who cater to poor and those who cater to the rich and powerful. The Sai was one among them. Through his miracles he would produce golden rings and Seiko watches and usually the rich would flock to him. Even powerful politicians need babas for various reasons. Earlier people would go to these saints and babas for spiritual purposes but now rich or poor, politicians and other professional, all go to them for personal and mundane reasons. Hardly anyone goes for any spiritual development. The modern world is too complex for inner peace. Generally, and specially the rich and powerful experience lot of tension and insecurity and they need such external props which babas readily provide. Also, in this globalized world a successful baba is supposed to have many foreign (specially American) disciples and then argument would go look even foreigners come to him and so he must be really delivering baba. Generally these babas are not very educated. They often happen to be semi-literate but Rajnish, who at one time, was as popular as Sai Baba, was intellectually accomplished. He also catered to upper class professionals. Rajnish attracted high end professionals for certain reasons. He came into existence in a society where industrialization was taking place and professionals with high income were proliferating. These professional needed lax moralities with spiritual cover (what I call MATERIAL SPIRITUALISM) and that is what Rajnish provided. Rajnish even believed in free sex gratification rather than controlling it as traditional saints did. Thus Rajnish became very popular in these classes of people, especially among the neo-rich. According to him one should enjoy pleasures of life to accomplish ones spirituality. There was hardly any from lower class among his clientele or with rural background. Sai Baba, one must say had no such pretensions of sophisticated philosophy, was illiterate and even catered to the poor and rural folk. Rajnish did not perform miracles nor did he believe in them. His miracle was his knowledge and his sophistry. Sai Baba needed ‘miracles’ (which was nothing but tricks and sleight of hand) precisely because he was illiterate and could not attract sophisticated clientele by philosophizing. He was a simpleton with rural background. People flocked to him not to listen to philosophical sermons or moral and spiritual discourses but as a man of miracle and hence ‘divine ‘. He also claimed to be an avatara and to carry conviction with people began to perform miracles. Once he succeeded he began to attract more and more people and more people he attracted, more he succeeded. Thus success has its own dynamics – ‘nothing succeeds like success. But then he had to meet challenges also. Kovvor, a rationalist from Sri Lanka , and others challenged him to perform miracles under controlled conditions. Kovvor even deposited one lakh of rupees in the bank as a reward. He asked Sai Baba to produce pumpkin instead of ring or watch (which could be hidden under loose garment but pumpkin obviously could not be). Sai Baba failed to take challenge but changed the track. His miracles had already rewarded him and he could do without them now. He began to render socials service, bringing water to water starved areas, building schools and universities and hospitals and this endeared him to another section of people. Thousands really benefited from amongst the poor. He also began to talk of love, love which conquers hearts. Also, modern day Babas are turning into land mafias and develop megalomania for huge empires. Sai is also reported to have left empire worth some say 40,000 to 1 lakh crore. Building such empires is, in fact beginning of failure of the mission as now there will be fight for succession to control the establishment. A real religious person is not builder of empire but subvert it. Whosoever built empire failed in spiritual sense and whosoever subverted established empires became great. ----------------------------------------- Centre for Study of Society and Secularism Mumbai. E-mail: csss at mtnl.net.in From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 06:52:06 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:52:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] anti-imperialism In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: CPI(M)'s stance on imperialism has always been consistent. This article outlines the connection between globalization and imperialism : http://www.pragoti.org/node/4234 (see comment as well) CPI, RSP, FB and CPIML are all anti-imperialist. Differences relate to perceptions of the connection between imperialism and globalization and strategies against them. The earlier Naxalites of the seventies did not have a clear position on the US and US imperialism. The muddled position of the so-called maoists definitely has no principles behind it. The Kashmiri secessionist movements are not interpreted as 'forms of 'imperialism'' by the mainstream Left as there are genuine socio-economic reasons and a long history to it. Foreign interests do matter, but the problem does not reduce to it. Generally religion does not matter in the context of 'imperialism', it may be a tool in the hand of the few powerful perpetrators of imperialism and religion is not class. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 8:26 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > Interesting commentary on how understanding  & practice  of 'left' varies > from left to left. Political expediency..??? >  Near similarity  in support across the left spectrum, for pan > Islamism inspired  imperialism of > which Kashmiri Muslim secessionist movement  is a visible face in Indian > context, is intriguing. > Rgds all > LA > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:05:28 +0530 >> From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com >> To: reader-list at sarai.net >> Subject: [Reader-list] anti-imperialism >> >> From: http://www.pragoti.org/node/4378 >> >> _________________________________________ >> >> Woolly eyed ex-Naxalite fellow travellers and anti-imperialism >> Tue, 2011-04-26 12:37 — srinir >> >> There are two varieties of anti-left bashers from among the ultra-left >> or more charitably what is called the "left of the left". One is a >> stream that is nostalgic of the ex-Naxalite past, condemning of the >> adventurous turn of Naxalism into present day marauding version called >> Maoism, but is not willing to give into opportunism. The other - also >> firmly entrenched in the dustbin of history called supporters of the >> failed Naxalite past - has no such concerns; it has no shame in tying >> up and supporting the traditional party of the jotedars and >> opportunists - for this section, any stick to beat the Left is a good >> one. >> >> The former is exemplified by the likes of Naxalite sympathisers and >> commentators like Sumanta Banerjee, who not long ago, called for a >> (nonexistent) "third front" in West Bengal, unable to digest that the >> opposition from the left of the left ..to the left .. has been >> hijacked by the likes of Mamata Banerjee and her cohorts which include >> an umbrella rainbow coalition from the right, the identarians (the >> likes of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha), the blatantly neoliberal (FICCI >> chief Amit Mitra) and not to mention the ultra-left (personified by >> the murderer Kishenji). The latter is exemplified by the cussed >> commentator Sankar Ray, who replied in no uncertain terms to Sumanta >> Banerjee's proposition when it first came up that he disagreed with >> his view on Mamata Banerjee. The commentator is at it again - this >> time questioning the anti-imperialist credentials of the Left, in the >> deliberately anti-Left site, Kafila.org. The argument advanced by this >> person is that the pro-investment "phase" of the West Bengal >> government during 2005-2006 was tantamount to tarnishing the >> anti-imperialist credentials of the CPI(M).. nay even to say that >> there exists no such credentials at all. And to make this point, he >> quotes David Mulford, then American ambassador to India. He then >> juxtaposes this against the wikileaks revelations that unambiguously >> mentions that the Americans are very keen on "cultivating Mamata >> Banerjee" owing to her strong presence as opposition to the Left Front >> in the state. >> >> Only in the phantasmagoria that is the thought process of certain >> woolly-eyed ex-Naxalite sympathisers would there be a equivalence >> between stray statements from the Americans acknowledging a turn >> toward a pro-investment regime and explicit enunciation in diplomatic >> cables of a strategic support for the opposition in the state of West >> Bengal because of the possibilities of weakening the Left (even >> nationally). Why at all, are (and were) the Americans interested in >> cultivating an utter opportunist such as Mamata Banerjee (bolstered by >> none other than the Maoists) if it suited them that the West Bengal >> state govenrment was keen on a pro-investment climate? Surely that is >> the first question that should concern an "anti-imperialist"? Or >> indeed, why did the CPI(M) make the nuclear deal the cornerstone of >> the Indo-US strategic relationship, ultimately withdrawing support to >> the UPA on the very issue, if at all its anti-imperialist credentials >> were under question? Why would the party make the Indo-US defense >> framework agreement such a major issue, going forward to even mobilise >> people from West Bengal (yes..West Bengal) to protest against Indo-US >> joint defense exercises in the Kalaikunda base in 2005? Or to organise >> another massive protest against Indo-US joint defense exercises in >> Vizag mobilising people in the form of two jathas from West Bengal and >> from Andhra Pradesh in 2007? Were all these measures done to be in >> "the good books of George Bush" as Sankar Ray ridiculously and >> abominably claims? >> >> To expect ex-Naxalite Mamata-worshippers to answer such questions or >> even understand reality better is asking for too much. After all, >> these venerable (or not) gentlemen endorsed the deliberate killing of >> CPI(M) supporters and sympathisers at the hands of Maoist frontmen, >> explicitly provided backing by the Trinamul chief and did not even pay >> lip service to condemn the assassination attempt at chief minister >> Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, for which the Maoists very proudly claimed >> responsibility for. They had not a word to say about the Maoist front >> organisation PCAPA organised derailment of the Gyaneswari Express >> sometime last year.We don't hear a word about the Trinamul's >> re-cultivation of arch neoliberals such as Amit Mitra or his candidacy >> from these Mamata-worshippers. It speaks to their utter irrelevance >> and inability to articulate a politics of progressivism that they have >> tied their bandwagons to the apron strings of crass opportunism as >> personified by the Trinamul Congress. >> >> Lest we forget, there is also another significant section of former >> Naxalite sympathisers. Comprising of activists like Azizul Haque and >> other intellectuals, they have criticised the support for Mamata >> Banerjee and have questioned the understanding of those who have done >> so. They have explicitly pointed out to the class character of the >> Trinamul Congress' leadership, its aims and the core of its support >> base. They have also endorsed the Left Front in the polls, arguing >> however for the continuation of pro-poor policies and articulating the >> need for a genuine alternative to the neoliberal trajectory adopted >> mostly elsewhere in the country. >> >> Finally, let us not mince words. Certain ex-Naxalite fellow travellers >> who have no qualms in joining hands with the likes of Amit Mitra to >> uproot the Left Front government can kindly keep their opinions on >> anti-imperialism to themselves. The ex-Naxalites of West Bengal had >> their chance to foment a revolution from Naxalbari in the late 1960s. >> They failed - mostly because of their inability to understand Indian >> conditions and also because their movement was doomed from the >> beginning. The Left Front succeeded in West Bengal despite tremendous >> repression from the Congress and managed to achieve substantive rural >> reforms and deeper democratisation in West Bengal. Sections of >> ex-Naxalite sympathisers have always resented this. From woolly eyed >> romanticists buying into claims of the spread of the prairie fire of >> "Naxalite revolution" across the country, they have either been >> reduced to endorsers of marauding criminals of the ex-MCC variety or >> palanquin bearers for the opportunist Mamata Banerjee pontificating >> now and then on anti-imperialism. What a fall or is it a fall at all?. >> >> >> >> ________________________________________________ >> >> >> >> Best >> >> A. Mani >> >> >> >> -- >> A. Mani >> ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS >> http://www.logicamani.co.cc >> _________________________________________ From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 07:28:08 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:28:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Saibaba and Other Godmen In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 4:02 AM, Javed wrote: > SAIBABA AND OTHER GODMEN > > Asghar Ali Engineer > > Our education systems not only promote it but also justify it. The > poor and exploited feels helpless and begins to believe in destiny. > Those who cannot face uncertainties either tend to resort to > irrational religious beliefs or even commit suicide as many peasants > in our country are doing. Also, there are ways and ways of believing > in religion. For some with proper understanding religion is a source > of morality and ethics whereas for many others religion is a source of > superstitions. > > It is in this sense that Marx called religion an opium i.e. pain > killer. Thus religion helps the victims of our social system > (exploited and oppressed) to bear the pain of their suffering. It > gives them great solace and inner peace. Only the sufferers know the > value of this role of religion. Many people flock to godmen and babas > in search of this inner solace. In our world which is full of > oppression, exploitation and corruption, religion has become source of > such peace and solace, in other words it has become only ‘opium’ Marx used 'opium' with regard to its abuse and not in the sense of a 'pain killer'. Use of opium as a means of escaping from reality has a long history. There are plenty of irrational illiterate/ ill-educated people for whom religion is opium and there is nothing surprising in mass followings. People do not look for solace, but look for divine intervention in day to day problems. As far as the rest of the article is concerned, the less said the better. The monster had plenty of cash and connections in political circles and judiciary. That is why he had VIP visitors. It is also clear that the public has not been educated about all this: http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/ http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/sathya-sai-central-trust-untrustworthy/ http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/sathya-sai-baba-buried-alive/ http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/Trust.htm http://www.saipetition.net/ http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/index.html http://exbaba.com/ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From chintan.backups at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 10:04:48 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:04:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Include Anna Hazare in textbooks', say teachers Message-ID: From http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_include-anna-hazare-in-textbooks_1533822 *'Include Anna Hazare in textbooks'* Published: Wednesday, Apr 20, 2011, 1:37 IST By Puja Pednekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA After he took the nation by storm with his 93-hour hunger strike for the Lokpal Bill, teachers in the state want Anna Hazare’s story to be published in the school textbooks. Teachers have asked the State Council of Educational Research Training (SCERT) to include Hazare’s struggle in the state board syllabus. Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad, a statewide organisation of nearly 70,000 teachers, wrote a letter to the SCERT on Monday, to include Hazare’s life story and his successful struggle against corruption in the syllabus so that students can be inspired. “Students have only read about Mahatma Gandhi. Anna is one of the few living heroes of the country and children can learn a lot from his struggle,” said Anil Bornare, chairperson of the Mumbai division of the Parishad. In the letter, the teachers said that Hazare has become a role model for many students who witnessed his fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. “Students have grown indifferent towards corruption. But after seeing what Anna has achieved, students can learn that if you have the courage and determination, you can take on anything in this world. Hazare is the Gandhi of our times,” Bornare added. Apart from teachers, parents also feel that their children should learn about Hazare. “I ensured that my daughter and her friends watched the TV coverage of Anna’s fast. They were awed by the scenes, witnessing history similar to what they have only read in their textbooks,” said Rakesh Tiwari, a parent. From chintan.backups at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 10:38:39 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:38:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A different kind of summer vacation: Kids raising money to fund their education Message-ID: From http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_a-summer-spent-camping-in-karnataka-s-hotels_1537324 *A summer spent camping in Karnataka's hotels* Published: Friday, Apr 29, 2011, 8:19 IST By MK Madhusoodan | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA For most kids in the city and elsewhere, summer vacation is a time to acquire a new skill: taking swimming, music lessons, joining cricket coaching camps; some go visit their relatives, while some go on a trip; but for some kids, summer vacation means heading to Bangalore in search of menial jobs to raise funds to finance their education for the coming academic year. An estimated 5,000 kids, all of them from very poor families, come to the city from all over Karnataka every summer to work in hotels and other establishments. “Most of them come to the city to raise money. Almost all of them are from poor families; they don’t have money for their uniforms, books, and in some cases fees,” explained GR Shivashankar, vice-president of World Federation of Trade Unions (hospitality industry-South Asia). One such boy, R Manjunath, works at a hotel in Jayanagar I Block. Manjunath said he hails from Kollegal, Chamarajanagar district, and had come to the city from Mysore. “As soon as I reached the city railway station, someone claiming as an agent of hotel owner came to me and asked me whether I am ready to work. I nodded my head and accepting the offer. And here I am, working as a cleaning boy,” he exclaimed. Manjunath, who will be in standard 10 next year, said his family was not in a position to buy guides and send him to coaching classes for next year’s crucial SSLC examination. “I am getting good food and accommodation, I don’t worry about anything else,” he said. Another boy, M Ravindra from Kunigal, said he wanted to pursue his schooling and wanted to wear brand new uniform by earning money through the ‘salary’ he gets from the stop-gap employment. “This can go only for two months, till the school re-opens. But that money is enough for me to continue my schooling in ninth standard,” he said. Boys like Manjunath and Ravindra are employed in thousands in city hotels and other places which face acute shortage of working hands. Shivashankar, president of Karnataka Trade Union Centre (KTUC), said the government just indulges in big talk, like Right to Education Act, but in reality has left children like these in the lurch. “Where has the money reserved for the education of children in the central and state budget gone? Does it reach to the children?” asked Shivashankar. He said he had taken the issue of child labour with the government but so far nothing had been done. “I think the labour department is hand-in-glove with the hotel managements and other establishments who employ these children,” he added. From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 13:02:03 2011 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:02:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Children rise against Endosulfan In-Reply-To: References: <4dba3edb.ca2d2b0a.03e1.ffff9298SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Children rise against Endosulfan http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article1821010ec e? Special Correspondent Children from the coastal areas of the city staged a demonstration and a dharna in front of the Secretariat here on Thursday urging the government to support the call for a ban on Endosulfan. The agitation was organised by Theeradesa Balavedi, children's wing of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF). The children posted cards urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare a nation-wide ban on the deadly pesticide that was responsible for human suffering in Kasaragod and other areas. Inaugurating the dharna, KSMTF secretary Anto Elias said that by opposing a ban on Endosulfan, the Union government was going against popular sentiments. KSMTF State committee member Maglene Peter said the federation would organise a mass movement demanding a ban on Endosulfan. She said women and children would be in the forefront of the agitation. Ms. Peter said the residue of pesticides used by farmers in fields would find its way into the sea. This would affect the fish stocks and pollute the marine environment. She said this warranted a mass agitation to create awareness among the public of the harmful effects of the pesticide. KSMTF leaders Pushparani, Jermy Roy, Celin Antony, and Leejiya Newton addressed the dharna. From ravig64 at gmail.com Fri Apr 29 13:04:23 2011 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:04:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] edosulphan - global phaseout Message-ID: India agrees to phase out pesticide endosulfanNEW DELHI: India has agreed to phase out pesticide endosulfan. At the Geneva meet of the Stockholm Convention, currently underway, India's concern for the need to identify cost-effective and safe alternatives were accepted. This means endosulfan will be listed in Annexe A of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants but exemptions will allowed for crop-pest combinations. It will allow India to continue to use this broad spectrum pesticide. Chemicals listed in the Annex A of the Convention are banned for production and use due to the threat they pose to living beings, particularly the environment. This will not come as good news for the Left parties or the Kerala government, both of which have been actively seeking an immediate nation-wide ban on endosulfan. All exemptions sought by India have been accepted. The listing in the Annexe will take one year to be effective, and the exemptions are valid for five years, with the provision for renewal for another five years. Thus, making the time-frame for the global phase 11 years. India's concern about the need to identify safe and cost effective alternatives to facilitate phase out of endosulfan are also being addressed. At the Geneva meet, the decision to include endosulfan in the Annexe will be adopted along with a decision asking the Technical POP (Persistent Organic Pollutants) Review Committee to undertake the work of identifying safe and cost effective alternatives. The review committee will report to the Conference of Parties. This would mean that India can continue to use endosulfan as a broad spectrum pesticide for at least 11 years. While New Delhi' agreeing to this consensus formula will ease global pressure, it will not address the domestic pressure to ban the use of this broad spectrum pesticide. "I believe that the final outcome is a compromise we can live with and is something that ensures enough room for us to manoeuvre," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/india-agrees-to-phase-out-pesticide-endosulfan/articleshow/8113537.cms From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Apr 29 15:27:58 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:57:58 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for proposal- Archival Fellowships In-Reply-To: <20110429083527.564978E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> References: <20110429083527.564978E8041@mdreg-mst.qlc.co.in> Message-ID: <8CDD46B0CFD4035-14B4-A97F@webmail-d020.sysops.aol.com>  INDIA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS   Call for Applications   India Foundation for the Arts announces four fellowships of Rs. 1, 50,000/- each for a duration of one year, to be awarded to artists and curators keen to enrich their practice through engaging in archival research and employing materials from the archive for the creation of artworks or exhibitions.   These fellowships are a response to the urgent need to activate public institutional archives in India, while simultaneously addressing the research impulse inherent in artistic and curatorial projects. IFA aims to see archives functioning less as mere repositories, and more as sites actively influencing discourse and creativity in the arts. Through creative interventions by artists and curators keen to challenge and enrich their own arts practice, it is hoped that public institutional archives will be encouraged to recognise their role as active participants in the arts. This endeavour is also in keeping with IFA’s objective of nurturing an environment for critical and reflective arts practice.   Application   Proposals are solicited from artists and curators who have conceptualised a project (either an artistic or curatorial pursuit) that requires significant research and access to materials within public institutional archives.   To apply, please send us a proposal describing: a) Your existing practice and your concerns and interests as an artist or curator. b) Your project idea and how your engagement with the archive/s is central to the project. c) The archive(s) you wish to work with and the nature of their holding—audio, video, film, photographs, objects, documents and manuscripts. d) The proposed outcome of your project and how you imagine this outcome will be placed in the public domain. e) Work plan for the duration of the fellowship.   At the end of the fellowship period IFA will organise a public presentation at which the fellows will be expected to share their archival research process and explain how this experience has enriched their project.   Applications should reach the IFA address below no later than June 30th 2011. Please ensure that applications be made only in hard copy. Online applications will not be accepted. Fellowship awards will be announced by August 31, 2011. IFA’s decision on the fellowships will be final.   The proposal will be considered incomplete if you do not include the following: a)   A covering letter addressed to the Executive Director. b)   An official letter of permission from the archive(s) you wish to work with offering their consent to your project requirements. Please include the contacts details of the concerned officials. c)      Supporting material related to your practice. d)     A recent bio-data including your address, telephone/fax numbers, and e-mail address.   General Information   1)      Each fellowship will cover an honorarium, travel and archival fees. Fellows have the option of using part of the fellowship amount for the production of the proposed outcome with prior permission from IFA. 2)      Please state your identity in the covering letter and bio data only, and do not make your identity evident within the proposal. 3)      Your proposal may be assessed with the help of external evaluators. 4)      If your proposal is short-listed, you may be requested to respond to questions from evaluators. 5)      You are responsible for the delivery of your proposal and supporting material to IFA by the closing date. Late applications will not be accepted. 6)      Proposals may be written in any Indian language including English. 7)      For any queries/clarifications regarding your proposal you may contact Shai Heredia at this email address: shaiheredia at indiaifa.org. Eligibility You are eligible to apply if you are an Indian national, or have been resident in India for at least five years. Please address your application to: The Archival Fellowships, India Foundation for the Arts, ‘Apurva’, Ground floor, No 259, 4th Cross, Raj Mahal Vilas, 2nd Stage, 2nd Block, Bengaluru 560094. Tel: 080 23414681/82 Website: www.indiaifa.org From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Apr 29 16:17:37 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:47:37 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Calling all Actors, Singers and Script Writers:Online Auditions Open Now / The Economist Film Project/ DHOOM:3 IS LOOKING FOR A NEW FACE! Message-ID: <8CDD471FD310401-14B4-AFC9@webmail-d020.sysops.aol.com> India’s first of its kind platform for aspiring actors, singers, musicians and scriptwriters If you aspire to be an actor, singer or writer, this is your ticket to fame. Act out any scene and you could be the next big movie star Sing a song, play a tune and your music could be the next big hit Write a script as the next blockbuster love story Here’s your chance to be a part of a movie by Kunal Kohli To know more Log on to http://www.cornetto.in/TheContest.aspx ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- The Economist Film Project The Economist Film Project is an initiative by The Economist, in partnership with PBS NewsHour, to showcase the work of independent documentary filmmakers from around the world. From Abu Dhabi to Albuquerque, from astronomy to agriculture, the project will feature films whose new ideas, perspectives, and insights not only help make sense of the world, but also take a stand and provoke debate. The Economist and PBS NewsHour will jointly curate the project to choose films by filmmakers who share these goals. Selected films and the topics they explore will be the subject of news segments airing regularly on PBS NewsHour beginning in March 2011 and continuing through 2011 and into 2012. The project seeks submissions of completed documentary films on a rolling basis beginning January 10, 2011 and continuing monthly through January 2012. Both documentary shorts and feature-length films may be submitted. The Economist will provide filmmakers whose films are chosen with a grant of $4,000 to produce six to eight minutes of footage from the film (or footage captured during the making of the film) for airing on PBS NewsHour as part of the segment. NewsHour plans to feature approximately three films each month. After airing, the film-oriented news segments will be packaged independently and given additional exposure through various outlets, including this website, The Economist's YouTube channel and Facebook fan page, and the PBS NewsHour website, YouTube and Hulu channels. Our goal is to showcase the selected segments, films, and filmmakers as broadly as possible. SUBMISSION DEADLINE Submissions of completed documentary films will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning January 10, 2011 and continuing monthly through January 2012. FILM SPECIFICATIONS Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9 (Preferred) 4 x 3 Resolution: HD: 1920 x 1080 HD: 1280 x 720 SD: 720 x 480 File Format: MPEG, MOV, AVI, WMV File Size: 2 GB maximum SUPPORT If you have problems submitting your film, please contact techsupport at electricartists.com ---------------------------------- DHOOM:3 IS LOOKING FOR A NEW FACE! After months of speculation, it's official – yash raj films is looking for a fresh face for its female lead role in DHOOM:3! Aditya Chopra and Director Vijay Krishna Acharya is keen to cast a totally new face to play the female lead role in the movie. And the hunt is on! DHOOM:3, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Aditya Chopra, stars Aamir Khan along with Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra playing their iconic roles of Jai Dixit and Ali. The music will be composed by Pritam. The film starts shooting end-2011 and is slated for a 2012 Christmas release worldwide. DHOOM MACHALE From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sat Apr 30 01:18:13 2011 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:48:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Invitation=3A_A_discourse_on_=E2=80=98Com?= =?utf-8?q?posite_Heritage=2C_Diversity_and_Peace=E2=80=99_in_Hyderabad?= Message-ID: <661426.93337.qm@web38807.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All:   You are cordially invited in a discourse on ‘Composite Heritage, Diversity and Peace’ on May 01, 2011, 3:00 PM, on the occasion of Didi Nirmala Deshpande’s death anniversary, at Sindh Language Authority Hall, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. The event is being organized by the ISM with the support of CSC-Pakistan. Your participation will highly be appreciated.   Zulfiqar Shah   The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan (Hyderabad) Landline: +92 22 265 49 05 Mobile: +92 333 464 88 81 Skype: shahzulf URL ISM: www.ismpak.org URL TSM: www.thesocialmovements.com       From the-network at koeln.de Sat Apr 30 12:30:08 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (netEX) Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 09:00:08 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?netEX=3A_calls_=26_deadlines_--=3E_M?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ai_2011?= Message-ID: <20110430090008.40890776.DE3E8153@192.168.0.4> netEX: calls & deadlines --> May 2011 ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- newsletter contents *news *calls & deadlines --> 03 Calls: 2011 deadlines internal 11 Calls: May 2011 deadlines external 12 Calls: ongoing external/internal ------------------------------------------------ News CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2011 launched on 1 January 2011, countinues its successfull global tour in May 2011 jumping from one country and continent to another including these venues --> CologneOFF 2011 Timisoara (II) Timisoara International Short Film Festival (Romania) - 4-8 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Laos 2nd Vientinale International Film Festival /Laos - 12-15 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea (I) Szczecin 2016 - European Capital of Culture (Poland) 12-14 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Yerewan International Film Festival Yerewan/Armenia - 17-24 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea (II) St.Petersburg (Russia) - Smolny University, ProArte & NCCA - 19-21 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Athens Athens Videoart Festival Athen/Greece) - 20-22 May --> CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea (III) Tampere (Finland) - Arteles & Galleria Rajatila - 26-28 May All details can be found in time on the project site --> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ http://coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------------ Calls & deadlines ---> ------------------------------------------------ Deadlines internal ------------------------------------------------ 3 calls for 2011 Deadline 1 May 2011 CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=2729 Deadline 1 September 2011 CologneOFF2011 - Football - Soccer - Fussball film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 Deadline: 1 September 2011 CologneOFF2011 - Let's Save the World!? film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 ------------------------------------------------ May 2011 deadlines: external ------------------------------------------------ 30 May 1st Sestriere Film Festival - Sestriere/Torino (Italy) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3006 15 May ARTerra Residency Portugal http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3190 15 May Videoart Festival Now & After Moskow (Russia) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3219 15 May Asolo Art Film Festival (Italy) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=2969 10 May Current 2011: Digital Dome (USA) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3215 7 May Torun International Film Festival (Poland) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3129 2 May Celebrate The Square - Mississauga (Canada) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3085 1 May Alpha Ville Festival London (UK) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3168 1 May End of Time Festival Ridgewood NY (USA) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3177 1 May La Practica Residencies (Puerto Rico) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3049 ----------------------------------------------- Ongoing calls: external/internal ----------------------------------------------- ---> Artsit Residency in Alaska ---> SFC - Shoah Film Collection by VideoChannel & A Virtual Memorial Foundation ---> Selfshadows 2.= - net based project by Javier Bedrina -->Videos for Bivouac Projects Sumter/USA -->OUTCASTING - web based screenings -->Films and video screenings Sioux City (USA) -->Laisle screenings Rio de Janeiro/Brazil -->Videos for Helsinki based video gallery - 00130 Gallery -->Web based works for 00130 Gallery Helsinki/Finland -->Project: Repetition as a Model for Progression by Marianne Holm Hansen -->US webjournal Atomic Unicorn seeks netart and video art for coming editions -->TAGallery and more deadlines on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?page_id=4 ----------------------------------------------- NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net # calls in the external section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=3 # calls in the internal section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=1 ----------------------------------------------- # This newsletter is also released on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=9 # netEX - networked experiences is a free information service powered by [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net - the experimental platform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany # info & contact: info (at) nmartproject.net ------------------------------------------------ From rohitrellan at aol.in Sat Apr 30 21:13:25 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:43:25 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Film_entries_for_International_Children?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99s_Film_Festival_India_=28ICFFI=29?= In-Reply-To: <11322.1304163941@cfsindia.org> References: <11322.1304163941@cfsindia.org> Message-ID: <8CDD5647A6D6FB1-17C0-2BFCC@webmail-d017.sysops.aol.com> International Children’s Film Festival India (ICFFI) also popularly known as The Golden Elephant is a biennial festival that strives to bring the most delightful and imaginative national and international children’s cinema to young audiences in India. Outstanding features, shorts, live action and animation films are screened over seven days of festive celebrations, attended by more than one hundred thousand children and hundreds of film professionals from across the world. ICFFI is organized by Children’s Film Society India (CFSI) – a national government body committed to nurturing a dynamic children’s film culture in the country. Since its inception in 1955, CFSI has been producing, exhibiting and distributing exclusive, entertaining and enriching content for children. ICFFI is one of the largest and most colourful children’s film festivals in the world. A unique feature of the festival is its audience: more than a hundred thousand children travel from little villages and towns from across India to view high quality international children’s cinema that they would never be exposed to otherwise. Here they rub shoulders with other kids, eminent guests and directors from different parts of the world. ICFFI is dedicated to these little delegates and to those imaginative film-makers who attempt to make films for the toughest audience of all – children! We are happy to announce the 17th edition of ICFFI: 14th to 20th November 2011. The festival will have three Competition Sections: Competition International, Competition National, Competition Little Directors, apart from special screenings in Non-Competition Section: Children’s World, The Swedish Pitara, Best of CFSI. We would welcome receiving entries of films with English sub-titles for viewing by the Selection Committee as soon as possible. Film makers whose films are under production can apply and keep us informed of the progress. Films should be ready by August. The Rules and Regulations and the Entry Form can be downloaded from the website www.cfsindia.org, where you will also find more information on the various sections. With Regards, Geeta Ramakrishnan Festival Programmer International Children's Film Festival India Children's Film Society, India 8th Floor, Films Division Complex, 24, Dr.G.Deshmukh Marg, Pedder Road, Mumbai - 400026. Cel: 91-98205 51669 Fax: 91-22- 2352 2610 http://festival.cfsindia.org/ From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sun Apr 24 00:13:42 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:43:42 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] declining water and food Message-ID: This will be the Arab world's next battle Population growth and water supply are on a collision course. Hunger is set to become the main issue Lester Brown guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 April 2011 21.00 BST Long after the political uprisings in the Middle East have subsided, many underlying challenges that are not now in the news will remain. Prominent among these are rapid population growth, spreading water shortages, and growing food insecurity. In some countries grain production is now falling as aquifers – underground water-bearing rocks – are depleted. After the Arab oil-export embargo of the 1970s, the Saudis realised that since they were heavily dependent on imported grain, they were vulnerable to a grain counter-embargo. Using oil-drilling technology, they tapped into an aquifer far below the desert to produce irrigated wheat. In a matter of years, Saudi Arabia was self-sufficient in its principal food staple. But after more than 20 years of wheat self-sufficiency, the Saudis announced in January 2008 that this aquifer was largely depleted and they would be phasing out wheat production. Between 2007 and 2010, the harvest of nearly 3m tonnes dropped by more than two-thirds. At this rate the Saudis could harvest their last wheat crop in 2012 and then be totally dependent on imported grain to feed their population of nearly 30 million. The unusually rapid phaseout of wheat farming in Saudi Arabia is due to two factors. First, in this arid country there is little farming without irrigation. Second, irrigation depends almost entirely on a fossil aquifer – which, unlike most aquifers, does not recharge naturally from rainfall. And the desalted sea water the country uses to supply its cities is far too costly for irrigation use – even for the Saudis. Saudi Arabia's growing food insecurity has led it to buy or lease land in several other countries, including two of the world's hungriest, Ethiopia and Sudan. In effect, the Saudis are planning to produce food for themselves with the land and water resources of other countries to augment their fast-growing imports. In neighbouring Yemen, replenishable aquifers are being pumped well beyond the rate of recharge, and the deeper fossil aquifers are also being rapidly depleted. Water tables are falling throughout Yemen by about two metres per year. In the capital, Sana'a – home to 2 million people – tap water is available only once every four days. In Taiz, a smaller city to the south, it is once every 20 days. Yemen, with one of the world's fastest-growing populations, is becoming a hydrological basket case. With water tables falling, the grain harvest has shrunk by one-third over the last 40 years, while demand has continued its steady rise. As a result the Yemenis import more than 80% of their grain. With its meagre oil exports falling, with no industry to speak of, and with nearly 60% of its children physically stunted and chronically undernourished, this poorest of the Arab countries is facing a bleak and potentially turbulent future. The likely result of the depletion of Yemen's aquifers – which will lead to further shrinkage of its harvest and spreading hunger and thirst – is social collapse. Already a failing state, it may well devolve into a group of tribal fiefdoms, warring over whatever meagre water resources remain. Yemen's internal conflicts could spill over its long, unguarded border with Saudi Arabia. Syria and Iraq – the other two populous countries in the region – have water troubles, too. Some of these arise from the reduced flows of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which they depend on for irrigation water. Turkey, which controls the headwaters of these rivers, is in the midst of a massive dam building programme that is reducing downstream flows. Although all three countries are party to water-sharing arrangements, Turkey's plans to expand hydropower generation and its area of irrigation are being fulfilled partly at the expense of its two downstream neighbours. Given the future uncertainty of river water supplies, farmers in Syria and Iraq are drilling more wells for irrigation. This is leading to overpumping in both countries. Syria's grain harvest has fallen by one-fifth since peaking at roughly 7m tonnes in 2001. In Iraq, the grain harvest has fallen by a quarter since peaking at 4.5m tonnes in 2002. Jordan, with 6 million people, is also on the ropes agriculturally. Forty or so years ago, it was producing more than 300,000 tonnes of grain per year. Today it produces only 60,000 tonnes and thus must import over 90% of its grain. In this region, only Lebanon has avoided a decline in grain production. Thus in the Arab Middle East, where populations are growing fast, the world is seeing the first collision between population growth and water supply at the regional level. For the first time in history, grain production is dropping in a region with nothing in sight to arrest the decline. Because of the failure of governments to mesh population and water policies, each day now brings 10,000 more people to feed, and less irrigation water with which to feed them.