All-community meet to restore peace in Kandhamal On Oct 2

Sister Nirmala’s appeal to Orissa Chief Minister"

Nun gang raped in Public: Police look on

Church in India Under Attack: All-community meet to restore peace in Kandhamal On Oct 2: "

Ente Keralam: Kottayam declared as the first tobacco-free district in the country

Ente Keralam: Kottayam declared as the first tobacco-free district in the country

In India Homosexuality a criminal offence Punishable with life imprisonment

Homosexuality a criminal offence: Govt tells court

Friday, 26 September , 2008, 21:08

New Delhi: The government on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it is not scrapping the present law on homosexuality as it is a "criminal offence" and would "disturb the law and order situation and create unnecessary problems in society." Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra said the government was not in a position to scrap the law at this time. "It (homosexuality) is a criminal offence," he said. “If we scrap section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (that makes homosexuality an offence), then it will disturb the law and order situation and might create unnecessary problems in the society,” Malhotra said before a bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar. The IPC at present holds homosexual acts as an offence and section 377 provides a punishment of up to life imprisonment for indulging in it. ...>more

Pope: Church canno t\recognize "irregular unions"

Church can't recognise divorcees remarrying - pope

Enlarge Photo Pope Benedict XVI speaks at the end of the Marian Procession of Light at the...Slideshow: Day in pictures: September 13 2008

Mon, Sep 15 08:53 AM

By Philip Pullella

LOURDES, France (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Sunday the Church could not recognise "irregular unions" of Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the Church.

"Initiatives aimed at blessing irregular unions cannot be admitted," he said in an address to French bishops in the shrine city of Lourdes.

Throughout the developed world, the Church has been struggling with how to administer to Catholics who have divorced and remarried without an annulment -- an ecclesiastical declaration that their first union is null and void -- but want to remain fully active in the Church.

The Church does not recognise divorce. It considers the first marriage still valid and teaches that those who divorce and remarry cannot receive communion unless they abstain from sexual relations with their new partner.

While bishops in several countries have been pushing for some opening on the difficult issue, the pope said the Church could not change its teachings on the indissolubility of marriage because it was instituted by Christ.

In other remarks, the pope ordered bishops to make space for traditionalists who use the Latin Mass.

A papal decision last year to allow a much wider use of the old-style mass -- a move which traditionalists demanded for decades but which was opposed by liberals -- has met with resistance in some countries, particularly France.

But the pope was firm in his position.

"Everyone has a place in the Church. Every person, without exception, should be able to feel at home and never rejected," he said of those who preferred the Latin Mass instead of the new liturgy in modern languages introduced after the Second Vatican Council ended in 1965.

Full story

Is Obeying conscience a Crime? Protests agaiinst the policy of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

Archbishop, Rabbi, Physician Group Condemn Efforts to Curb Ontario Physician Conscience Rights

By Tim Waggoner

OTTAWA, September 12, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Today marked the deadline for public comment on the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeon's draft policy that seeks to prohibit medical professionals from obeying their consciences. In light of this, several prominent parties have made concerted efforts to condemn the proposed policy that, if put into effect, will force medical professionals to "set aside their personal beliefs" and take part in grievous anti-life practices.

"We are deeply disturbed by the draft policy of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario," said Archbishop Terrence Predergast of Ottawa and Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka in a joint statement on the proposed policy. "Many doctors have expressed a reasonable fear that if this policy is passed, they might be disciplined, and even lose their licenses, for obeying their conscience. They would no longer be free to refuse to perform or refer for certain medical acts that are contrary to their firmly held beliefs."

Referring to the Canadian Charter and the freedoms it promulgates, they said, "To force anyone to violate their conscience would go against not only the text of these documents, but also against their underlying spirit. Such coercion would be fundamentally and shamefully un-Canadian.

They continued, "Freedom of conscience should never be viewed as the enemy of other human rights. Quite the opposite; without freedom of conscience, other human rights would be much more easily abused. Some people believe that doctors need to be forced to provide all medical services that are legal, because otherwise they might impose their values on others... However, forcing doctors to act against their own faith principles would be a radically unjust and dangerous solution. Forced medicine is never good medicine."

Physicians for Life have also sent a statement to the College, protesting the draft policy. They addressed "the ethical bankruptcy" of a society that coerces its medical professionals to partake in abortions and said the statement compromises the human rights of physicians:

"When physician and patient disagree about whether or not a procedure is a good thing, the OHRC's Chief Commissioner herself, Barbara Hall, apparently expects the CPSO to coerce and punish the physician for failing to agree with the patient, on the grounds that the College should endorse and enforce the patient's views at the serious cost of breaching the human rights of the physician."  ...full story

Science and Religion: Stem cells from Skin row

Teams at Kyoto University and at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the United States last year discovered how to use skin to produce stem cells -- which can develop into various organs or nerves.

The finding was hailed by the Vatican and US President George W. Bush because it can circumvent an ethical row over conventional stem cell research using human embryos.  

'End-of-life' debate

LONDON- Forty years after the concept of brain death was established, the Vatican City has reopened the debate over whether the cessation of all brain functions marks the definitive end of life. The Roman Catholic Church had adopted brain death, and not the absence of heart beat, as the "true criterion for death" in 1985 after scientists at the Harvard Medical School published the universally accepted definition in 1968. But, 23 years on, a front-page editorial in official Vatican newspaper, theL'Osservatore Romano , has suggested that life might continue even after the brain dies.  "The assumption of brain death is in contradiction with the concept of the person according to Catholic doctrine, and therefore in contradiction with the Church's directive on persistent comas," British newspaper The Daily Telegraph quoted the editorial as saying.  But the arrival of the Harvard definition enabled the Church to sanction life-support machines being switched off. However, the key beneficiary of the brain-death definition has been organ transplantation, according to the article. Read more

The law of conservation of violence By Edward S. Herman

The law of conservation of the level of violence thus rests on the structure of power and its reflection in politics. If you want to compete in politics in the militarized America of today you can't scrimp on money for "national security" and you need to display a readiness to exercise a "muscular" foreign policy. If you call for reduced forces in one country, you must urge their increase in another. Keep those muscles in shape and bombs dropping.

One of my favorite quotations from the Vietnam War era was: "I think maybe today we create many Vietcong," spoken by a Vietnamese collaborator and helicopter pilot when answering a question by Master Sergeant Donald Duncan while both were on a plane that had just dropped bombs on a Vietnamese target. The Vietnam War was a murderous capital-intensive war, with millions of tons of bombs dropped on villages deemed supportive of the indigenous enemy, along with napalm, phosphorus, and crop-destroying chemicals. (Napalm and rice-killing chemicals were used exclusively in the South, which we were allegedly "saving" from the North's "aggression.") In any case, this murderous behavior killed vast numbers, but also made any Vietnamese previously harboring doubts about the ongoing struggle extremely hostile to the United States and its local puppets. We had mastered the art of creating enemies.


 Read more

Is US VP Candidate Sarah Palin a Religious Nut?

Speaking before the Pentecostal church, Palin painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." Read more

SuccessStories

SuccessStories

Conventional wisdom is that boys who grow up without fathers are at greater risk of problems, from doing poorly in school to substance abuse. So how does that account for the high-profile successes of standouts such as presidential candidate Barack Obama, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and others who were reared by single mothers?

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Catholic University deprives Rosemary Radford Ruether of teaching post

The Catholic University of San Diego (USD)_Department of Theology and Religious Studies published on USD website its election of Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether, an eco-feminist who refers to God as the feminine "Gaia" and supports abortion and contraception, to the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology for 2009-2010 academic year. Ruether was expected to teach one undergraduate course and deliver the annual Portman Lecture as part of her honorary position.

Later, USD Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs, Pamela Gray Payton, stated that the decision was reversed "upon review of the specific purpose" of the honorary chair, which was established in 2000 as a "sign of the Catholic character of the University."


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USD website introduces the University thus: " The University of San Diego's community of scholars is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, academic excellence, and advancement of knowledge in liberal arts and professional programs. Independent, comprehensive, and Catholic, the University provides a values-based education to all students in its College and Schools....
Students are challenged to develop knowledge, values and skills to enrich their lives, and to prepare them for careers that well serve the global, civic, and faith communities." Now her name is removed from their website.


More about Rosemary Radford Ruether:

Oddly enough, however, Ruether has a rather undisguised rejection of and antipathy toward Christianity, especially the Catholic Faith.
A regular columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, Ruether boasts multiple professorships, twelve honorary doctorates, and an extensive list of books, including The Church Against Itself (1967), Sexism And God-talk: Toward a Feminist Theology (1983), Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing (1992), Goddesses and the Divine Feminine: A Western Religious History (2005), Integrating Ecofeminism, Globalization, and World Religions (January 2005)and America, Amerikkka: Elect Nation and Imperial Violence (2007).

California Catholic Daily reports that Prof. Ruether is an advocate of women's ordination and since 1985 has served as a board member for the pro-abortion dissident Catholics for a Free Choice - now Catholics for Choice (CFC). The group has been described by the US Bishops as "not a Catholic organization, does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church" and is "an arm of the abortion lobby in the United States and throughout the world."

In 2005 Ruether explained to an audience at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles her view that "Christianity is not necessarily worse than other religions, but it is the vehicle of Western Civilization."

Reuther has stated Christianity is riddled by hierarchy and patriarchy that created a social order in which chaste women on their wedding night "were, in effect, raped by young husbands whose previous sexual experience came from exploitative relationships with servant women and prostitutes."

In the CFC article "Sexual Literacy" from its Summer 2003 Conscience magazine, Ruether continued in this vein saying "The young bride went into marriage without knowledge of how to experience pleasure or prevent pregnancy."

Ruether added, "the Christian Right, Catholic and Protestant, is trying to roll back the sexual revolution by returning to a patriarchal puritanism based on a classist separation of females into 'good' girls and 'bad' girls, exploiting the bad girls while denying the good girls personal freedom."

Read it all from LifeSiteNews :

Northern Peaks: Canada's Porn Channel

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has granted Alberta-based Real Productions approval for a digital pornography channel. It's to be called Northern Peaks.

Why does Canada crave homegrown porn? The broadcast regulations require only 15 percent Canadian content, but Real Productions' owner voluntarily promised 50 percent. How will anyone be able to tell? Will the guys keep their tuques on? Will the women say things like, "I don't have any money, but I bet I can think of another way to pay for this Pizza Pizza, eh?"

Apparently, Canadians are weary of nude Americans. Real Productions President Shaun Donnelly said in a Reuters article, "I think as Canadians there is a bit of a tiredness in seeing all American stuff. There is always that thrill for something that is local and you get the sense that these are people you can meet at the supermarket."

Really? I've lived in the land of American porn my whole life, and I've never once imagined I could meet our porn stars at the supermarket. They don't look local. They don't even look terrestrial.

As Real Productions' VP for marketing, Ashley Corsiatto, told the Herald, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of seeing the Silicon Valley girls constantly." Well, it may be time to develop a more wholesome hobby.

"Different people like different things. You can't keep serving the same thing over and over and expect them to swallow it."

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Obesity in the times of hunger

Sun, Aug 24 03:16 AM

There are about 800 million hungry in the world. Coexisting on a planet that has a billion obese people at a time when record food is being produced. and Raj Patel, writer, activist and academic, someone who has both worked at the World Bank and WTO and been part of protests against them, makes a forceful argument in Stuffed and Starved, a book that has the world sit up and take notice as a global 'food crisis' looms even as the world produces record crops. For he graphically establishes how a comparatively small number of global food companies create a divide between those growing crops and those consuming them. Suman Tarafdar caught up with the currently Berkeley-based author as he explained how the modern industry gives a more sinister meaning to 'food chains'.

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Gay rights in India

While many countries have moved forward to recognise same-sex marriages, India is still groping in the narrow alleys of public morality and social good.

In this notion of public morality — which is enforced by the state — lies the rationale for Section 377, which dates back to 1860. This archaic law from the days of the Raj criminalises homosexuality by prohibiting "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", and goes on to punish such acts with imprisonment for life, or a term that may extend up to 10 years, and fine.

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has raised expectations that the government may repeal the 148-year-old law criminalising sex between men. His declaration, at an international conference on AIDS in Mexico earlier this month, that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code should be scrapped, had its desired impact back home, with gay rights groups welcoming the proactive stand.

Section 377, which does not prohibit lesbian sexuality or conduct in India, has been used by the police to threaten women, too. In 1992, two women police officers of Madhya Pradesh, who were ‘married’, were charged with ‘obscene conduct’ and forced to resign from their jobs. In 1999-2000, a Malayalam newspaper reported seven suicides by lesbians in Kerala. In the same year, a lesbian couple from Orissa was separated forcibly following police intervention, forcing the two to attempt suicide leading to the death of one of them.



On June 29 this year, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Puducherry celebrated their first-ever gay pride parades, with over 2000 persons turning up for the assertion of their rights.

Many prominent men openly admitting their sexual preferences have further strengthened the cause of gay rights. Prince Manavendra Gohil from a conservative principality in Gujarat risked family criticism and public ostracism by openly declaring his gay preference. Famous fashion designer Wendell Rodericks formalised his union with his French partner in Goa. The two got married under the French law to skirt Section 377.

But not all homosexual men have the courage shown by Rodericks. Close to 10 million Indians pay a heavy price for their chosen sexual preferences by subsisting on the margins. As the state denies them the right to interact openly in society, they cruise in public spaces, under the prying eyes of the police. The encounters often turn devastating, thanks to a law that victimises more than it shields.

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Myfavoriteblogs: NT Words : Bible publisher faces lawsuit over homosexuality

Myfavoriteblogs: NT Words : Bible publisher faces lawsuit over homosexuality

Changemakers: Film Maker of Binayak Sen's Life Imprisoned for 90 days

Changemakers: Film Maker of Binayak Sen's Life Imprisoned for 90 days

Doctors Can't Deny Lesbians Care on Religious Grounds

Ruling Was Unamimous, Unlike Legalization of Gay Marriage Case
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Aug. 18, 2008


The California Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that doctors cannot cite their religious beliefs as grounds to deny gay and lesbian patients medical care.

Guadalupe Benitez sued two doctors for refusing to artificially inseminate her for religious reasons and won.


Justice Joyce Kennard ruled that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian couple cannot claim a free speech or religious exemption from California's anti-discrimination law.

The ruling extends a state law barring sexual orientation-based discrimination to the medical profession.

Guadalupe Benitez, now 36, had maintained that the California medical clinic that was treating her polycystic ovary syndrome had "dumped" her when she asked for artificial insemination.

In 1999, after a year of surgeries and hormone treatments — all covered by insurance — Benitez was finally ready to get pregnant. But at the crucial moment, her doctor refused to do the procedure for "religious" reasons.

Benitez is a lesbian and sued her doctors under California's civil rights laws, charging that they discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation.


"For me this is a case about doing the right thing and being fair," Benitez told ABCNEWS.com. "Not discriminating against people and doctors not playing the role of God, saying because you are gay, you are not worthy of having a child or a family.


The doctors received support from the American Civil Rights Union and anti-abortion groups, according to the Associated Press.

The California Medical Association initially supported the Christian doctors, until they received criticism from gay rights groups and joined the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan to oppose them.

The American Civil Liberties Union, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, the National Health Law Program and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association backed Benitez.

Benitez sued The North Coast Women's Care Medical Group of San Diego, which had an exclusive contract with her health insurance plan. Also named in the suit were two of the clinic's doctors — Dr. Doug Fenton and Dr. Christine Brody — who lawyers say had a constitutional right to refuse a procedure that violated their religious beliefs.

Read the full story

Limits of Power: A contemporary take on Niebuhr

Andy Lang introduces Andrew Bacevich to Confessing-Christ group:


Andrew Bacevich is a Vietnam veteran, retired U.S. Army colonel and professor of international relations at Boston University. His son died in Iraq last year.
Bacevich uses what he describes as a "Niebuhrian" perspective in his recent book, "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism." Bacevich begins his book, with an epigraph taken from the Bible: "Put thine house in order." In his interview given to Bill Moyers' "Journal" he explained his choice to Bill Moyers:

Read it all here



Read the full introduction to the Limits of Power

Also read from Moyers' Journal Bacevich's lecture on "Illusions of Managing History: The Enduring Relevance of Reinhold Niebuhr."

Barack Obama and John McCain differ on abortion

Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed sharply on abortion Saturday, with McCain saying a baby's human rights begin "at conception," while Obama restated his support for legalized abortion.McCain, who adopted a daughter from Bangladesh, also called for making adoption easier.Obama said America's greatest moral failure is its insufficient help to the disadvantaged. He noted that the Bible quotes Jesus as saying "whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me." He said the maxim should apply to victims of poverty, sexism and racism.

McCain said the nation's greatest moral shortcoming is its failure to "devote ourselves to causes greater than our self-interests."

Read it all here

The deafening silence of dissent: Humanae Vitae after Forty years

The deafening silence of dissent
Humanae Vitae insists that the Church’s writ runs as far as the marital bedroom, but many married couples have disagreed. The ensuing breakdown in communication between Church and society has cost both dear


What kind of Church has the Catholic Church become in the last 40 years since Humane Vitae was published? To focus only on its rejection of artificial birth control would be to do the encyclical a disservice. For it is not without its understanding of love and acknowledges the unitive purpose of sexual intercourse.

The encyclical was published at a time when Victorian prudery had been undermined by dramatic social changes in postwar Britain – and in Europe – and literature and film offered radically different ideas about the nature of sexual love from the conventions of Christianity. Humanae Vitae acknowledged how changes in society affect marriage and family life. It refreshingly recognises the “new understanding of the dignity of woman and her place in society”.

The encyclical insisted that there must be no division between the unitive and procreative aspect of sexual intercourse. The alternatives were abstinence or natural family planning, restricting sex to the infertile periods of a woman’s cycle. Its critics argue, of course, that the very fact that women have this infertile period suggests that for a woman at least nature makes a division between the unitive and procreative aspects of sex.

One of the greatest ironies of the last 40 years is that the pressures on couples now seem to have reversed. For many of them, the difficulty is not avoiding pregnancy but getting pregnant at all. Research suggests that professional couples are often too exhausted for lovemaking during their most fertile years so that procreative sex is the problem today. The interest in the natural cycle of a woman is to often track her fertility in order to conceive. Pharmacy shelves are filled with kits to analyse ovulation. Even natural family planning practitioners are often asked to help people conceive, rather than help avoid pregnancy. They do so by encouraging a more holistic approach to life, helping people find ways of dealing with stress, the most insidious cause of damage to the contemporary relationship.

Does this therefore make Humanae Vitae prophetic, given the sexual dysfunctioning of society? The theologian Tina Beattie has argued the opposite – that in fact “Humanae Vitae has had a disastrous effect on the Church’s capacity to influence the public sphere with respect to sexual morality”. It damaged the authority of the Church for many loyal and faithful Catholics, she says, and also gave those outside the Church reason for ignoring it. While it is not the role of the Church to bend to the will of society, it clearly has a role to play in dialogue with the world. Both are losing from this breakdown in communication.


Read here the full article by Catharine Pepinster, editor of The Tablet

Eugenic abortion for disabled infants

The leader of Britain's Tory opposition party has stated that he supports eugenic abortion for disabled infants up to the time of birth. In the build-up to party conference season in the autumn, David Cameron was asked if he would be willing to change the law, amended in 1990, that allows disabled children to be aborted at any time of gestation up to the point of birth.

Read it all here

Obama Promises "Change" for America One Homosexual Adoption at a Time

Obama Promises "Change" for America One Homosexual Adoption at a Time




Obama Promises "Change" for America One Homosexual Adoption at a Time

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Barack Obama has once again reaffirmed his support for homosexual adoptions and his intentions to repeal federal regulations protecting the traditional family built on marriage.

The Illinois Senator sent a letter outlining his position to Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, after the homosexual lobby group demanded his response to Republican presidential contender John McCain's statement to the New York Times three weeks ago: "I don't believe in gay adoption." (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08071408.html)

The letter gave Obama an opportunity to curry favor with the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) lobby.

"We also have to do more to support and strengthen LGBT families," wrote Obama. "Because equality in relationship, family, and adoption rights is not some abstract principle; it's about whether millions of LGBT Americans can finally live lives marked by dignity and freedom."

He continued, "That's why we have to repeal laws like the Defense of Marriage Act. That's why we have to eliminate discrimination against LGBT families. And that's why we have to extend equal treatment in our family and adoption laws."

Obama had prefaced his letter by emphasizing the "vast array of diverse traditions, cultures and histories" of the United States and said that the "desire to build a life with a loved one, to provide for a family and to have children who will grow and thrive ... are desires that all people share, regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity."

"We know," he said, "that the cost of the American dream must never come at the expense of the American family. For decades we've had politicians in Washington who talk about family values, but we haven't had policies that value families. Instead, it's harder for working parents to make a living while raising their kids. It's even harder to get a break."

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Most unsafe abortions in India - The Hindustan Times

The Hindustan Times - Indian Newspapers in English Language from three editions

Most unsafe abortions in India

Namita Kohli, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, August 09, 2008
First Published: 23:36 IST(9/8/2008)
Last Updated: 23:45 IST(9/8/2008)







The Mumbai High Court judgment disallowing the abortion of a 26-week-old foetus has sparked off a nationwide debate on abortion and a woman’s right of choice. But for a majority of Indian women, ‘medical termination of pregnancy’ (MTP, the medical term for abortions) remains largely unsafe.

Unsafe abortions are those performed illegally, by untrained practitioners with faulty equipment, leading to injuries, infections and even death.

India has the highest number of unsafe abortions in the world. According to government estimates, 8.9 per cent of maternal deaths in India every year — around 15,000 — are caused by unsafe abortions. The irony is apparent when doctors say MTP, if done right, is among the safest medical procedures.

Of the 6.4 million abortions performed in India in 2002 and 2003, 56 per cent or 3.6 million were unsafe, says the Abortion Assessment Project I, 2004. The study — one of the largest in recent times — was managed by the Mumbai-based Centre for Equity into Health and Allied Themes and Healthwatch Trust. It included qualitative and quantitative studies across various states by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), researchers and healthcare professionals.

It also pointed out problems of reach and access with public investment in abortion facilities being woefully inadequate. Only 25 per cent of abortion facilities in the organised sector are government-owned; the rest are private clinics. These are so expensive that they completely exclude the poor sections.

“There’s inadequate, inequitable distribution of facilities for safe abortions. Contraceptive usage is low in India, hence the great demand for safe abortion services,” said Dr Jaydeep Tank, chairperson of the MTP Committee at the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI). Besides, only six per cent of India’s 23,000 primary health centres (PHCs) provide abortion services.

“Besides risk to life, unsafe abortions have serious long-term repercussions like life-long disabilities and reproductive tract infections,” said Sushanta Banerjee, senior advisor at Ipas, an NGO.

For a country with a ‘liberal’ law on abortion, Banerjee said awareness about it is extremely low even three decades after it was enacted. “In Jharkhand, for instance, we found that 82 per cent of women didn’t even know abortion was legal,” he said. In a related study by the Population Council in Rajasthan in 2002, the figure was 84 per cent and in Maharashtra at least 37 per cent of those who had had abortions thought they were illegal. This misconception leads many women to unqualified professionals. Other barriers to safe abortion are “social stigma and myths attached to MTP”, said Tank. “Awareness about abortion through drugs like Mifepristone and Misoprostol is also low, despite they being legal and easily available.”

Social barriers like spousal consent and judgmental doctors are also deterrents, though the law requires no such consent. Under the government’s Reproductive and Child Health Project, safe abortions are a key concern and some progress is being made — maternal mortality due to abortion was 11 per cent in 2001. “We need to generate awareness at the community level about contraception and safe abortion, in both rural areas and urban slums,” said Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save The Children in India. Ipas also advocates training of mid-level service providers like nurses and non-allopathic doctors in remote areas where access to trained doctors is a problem.
(non-text potions removed)

India too will embrace gays: Pamela Roy

Malayala Manorama Indian Newspaper of Malayalam Language from eight places in Kerela

Monday,28 July 2008 12:53 hrs IST
India too will embrace gays: Pamela Roy
-
Toronto: Indian American researcher Pamela Roy raised quite a few eyebrows at a seminar during a North American Bengali Convention here by openly debating homosexuality among Canadian-born Indian youth.

The first second-generation Indian woman in North America to declare her lesbian orientation a few years ago, Michigan University researcher Roy wanted to fathom changes in sexual outlook among second-generation Bengalis here.

To her surprise, Roy found a few boys and girls talking openly about their sexual orientation.

"I was happy that a couple of them revealed their gay and lesbian orientation in front of everybody. There is definitely some change in attitude among second-generation Indians," the Kolkota-born Roy, who came to Canada when she was just one, told IANS.

She felt that in time all cultures, including India, would embrace gay and lesbian people.

"To come out is a painful experience in any society," said Roy, who kept her lesbianism a secret from her family and friends for years.

"I knew I was attracted to them. At the age of 14, I had my first lesbian experience in school," she recalled.

Immediately after her first lesbian encounter, Roy said she told her brother and her friends about it. "But I told my parents when the timing was right, which occurred after I had gone away to college, I was 20 years old at this point," she said.

"But my brother, mother and father have always loved me and are supportive. I have been able to bring home girlfriends and partners ever since I started dating women. Ultimately, my family wants me to be happy," she said.

And to be really happy, she added, "I do plan on getting married/being in a committed relationship and having a family and children."

Roy moved to the US in 1994 and is currently conducting a nationwide study on South Asian Americans who are LGBTQQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning).

Excerpts of her interview:

Q: How difficult was it to come out and reveal your sexual orientation?

A: Coming out is a continuous process - coming out to oneself, family, friends, colleagues and co-workers at school and work. I have had good experiences and also traumatic ones. Coming out is a daily occurrence.

Q: When did you realize that you were different and how long did you keep it a secret from your family?

A: I do not consider myself different. I knew that I had feelings for women when I was 7 or 8 years old. My first lesbian experience occurred in high school at the age of 14. I came out to my brother immediately and told him about the relationship. I also told many friends, some of whom I lost.

I told my parents when the timing was right, which occurred after I had gone away to college, I was 20 years old at this point.

Q: What was their (family's) first reaction?

A: My brother, mother and father have always loved me and are supportive. I have been able to bring home girlfriends and partners ever since I started dating women. Ultimately, my family wants me to be happy and have educated themselves throughout the years about queer topics. I have also been intentional about educating them and have bought books and watched queer movies with my family. With my recent research in this topic, I have been very open and shared findings from my study.

Q: You said about 10 to 15 percent people have this sexual orientation. How prevalent is it among South Asians?

A: It is commonly believed that 10-15 percent of the population has had thoughts, feelings or interactions (emotional and physical) with members of the same sex; however there is no current research about the prevalence among South Asians.

Q: Do you think Indian culture will one day embrace gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people?

A: I strongly believe that in time, cultures around the world, including India, will embrace it. People need to be educated on this topic and have an open mind before cultural perceptions and attitudes are changed.

My co-researcher Raja Bhattar, University of Redlands, and I have conducted a study on South Asian LGBTQQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning) in the US to understand the issue and future trends.

Q: Finally, have you any partner now? Will you marry her?

A: I am currently not in a relationship. But like most people, I do plan on getting married/being in a committed relationship and having a family and children.

Orissa to provide 25 kg. rice to BPL families at Rs. 2 a kg

The Hindu - Indian Newspapers in English Language from eight editions.
Orissa to provide 25 kg. rice to BPL families at Rs. 2 a kg

Bhubaneswar (PTI): In a major relief to the poor hit by soaring prices, the Orissa government on Monday announced that it would provide 25 kg of rice every month to each family living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) at Rupees two per kg from August 1.

"Every BPL family will get 25 kg of rice per month at Rs two per kg from August 1," chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who reviewed the public distribution system (pds) at a meeting, told reporters.

"We hope it will give considerable relief to the poor who are severely affected by price rise," Patnaik said.

Official sources said the decision to provide rice at Rs two per kg instead of the existing rate of Rs 6.30 is expected to put an additional financial burden of about Rs 800 crore on the state government every year.

Besides benefiting about 44 lakh BPL families in the state, the announcement would also cover another 5.5 lakh urban poor families and over five lakh families living Above the Poverty Line (apl) in the backward Kalakandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK) region, they said.

Beneficiaries of Antyodaya scheme, who get 35 kg rice every month at rupees three per kg, would also be provided 25 kg of rice out of their quota at rupees two per kg, they said.

Describing the announcement as historic, state finance minister Prafulla Ghadei said "The government would shoulder the financial burden to provide succour to the poor people to mitigate their plight."

ABC News: Elderly Woman Frees Child Slaves

ABC News: Elderly Woman Frees Child Slaves

Baby declared still-born, alive several hours later

Baby declared still-born, alive several hours later

Writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi has condemned the sheer callousness in private medical care and called for strong action.

Kolkata: A baby boy wrongly declared still-born at a premier nursing home here and on the verge of being taken for burial was alive several hours later but his life was not out of danger. The infant born prematurely was battling for life at a hospital where he was shifted after the apparent mistake was discovered at the nursing home.

The CEO of the nursing home, Belle Vue Clinic, P Tandon, who first refused to describe the baby's case as medical negligence, later said an internal inquiry had been ordered.

"This is not a case of medical negligence. It happens sometimes that a baby doesn't respond. This is what exactly happened. After we came to know we immediately sent the baby, which was premature and underweight to AMRI hospital for better treatment," Tandon said.

An hour later, Tandon changed his statement saying, "We have started an internal inquiry and if we find any lapse on the part of nurses or doctor, we will take action." AMRI spokesman Kanak Ghosh, however, said: "We cannot say the baby is out of danger. He has been kept in an incubator for observation." Sangita Das, a resident of Belilious Road, Howrah, was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic on Sunday and taken after midnight to the labour room where she delivered a baby boy.

"There was no doctor present during the delivery and on Monday morning the nurses informed me that I had delivered a still-born baby and it was dead," Sangita said.

The hospital authorities reportedly informed Sangita's family more than 10 hours after delivery that the baby was still-born. Husband Manas Das along with his relatives went to the nursing home to collect the 'body' after making arrangements for burial but were told the infant was alive.

Manas' cousin Jayanta Majhi said, "We found the baby's body warm and felt a faint heartbeat.

When we informed the nursing home authorities about the incident, they literally snatched the baby from us for medical attention." Manas said that a complaint was lodged against the nursing home authorities at the Shakespeare Sarani police station.


The police have also started an inquiry, DCP (South) R Subarno said. Health minister Suryakanta Mishra was not available for comment.

Director of Health Services Sanchita Bakshi, said she had not received a complaint. "If we get a complaint from anybody, we will definitely initiate action against the Clinic." Writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi said ''We so far had an idea that the government's health services were poor, but now it is apparent that there is sheer callousness in private medical care. It calls for strong action.

© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.

U.S. transgender 'man' gives birth

U.S. transgender 'man' gives birth - report says

Fri, Jul 4 03:54 AM

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman but after surgery and hormone treatment lives as a man, has given birth to a girl at an Oregon hospital, People magazine reported on Thursday.

Beatie, 34, who kept female reproductive organs when he legally became a man 10 years ago, confirmed the birth to the magazine.

The baby, conceived through artificial insemination using donor sperm and Beatie's own eggs, was born on June 29 and Beatie and the baby are "healthy and doing well," People reported.

"The only thing different about me is that I can't breast-feed my baby. But a lot of mothers don't," People quoted Beatie as saying. He has had his breasts surgically removed.

He told the magazine that contrary to published reports, the baby was not delivered by Caesarean section, but no other details about the birth were given.

The thinly bearded Beatie told "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April he began his sexual transformation about 10 years ago when he began taking testosterone treatment and had surgery to remove mammary glands and flatten his chest.

Upon deciding to have a child about two years ago, he halted his bimonthly hormone injections and resumed menstruating.

Beatie's wife, Nancy, 46, whom he married five years ago, was unable to conceive because of a prior hysterectomy. Otherwise, he has said, "I wouldn't be doing this." His spouse has two grown daughters by a previous marriage.

She said on Oprah's show their parental roles would be fairly traditional despite his transgender status. "He's going to be the father, and I'm going to be the mother," she said.

The couple, who operate a T-shirt printing business in Bend, Oregon, are legally married and he is recognized under Oregon state law as a man.

Obama to Expand Faith Based Programs

Obama to Expand Bush's Faith Based Programs
Obama announces support and expansion for Bush's faith based programs
By JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO July 1, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press


Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans that would expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support their ability to hire and fire based on faith.

Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday at Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio. The arm of Central Presbyterian Church operates a food bank, provides clothes, has a youth ministry and provides other services in its impoverished community.

"The challenges we face today, from putting people back to work to improving our schools, from saving our planet to combating HIV/AIDS to ending genocide, are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "We need all hands on deck."


But Obama's support for letting religious charities that receive federal funding consider religion in employment decisions was likely to invite a storm of protest from those who view such faith requirements as discrimination.

David Kuo, a conservative Christian who was deputy director of Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives until 2003 and later became a critic of Bush's commitment to the cause, said Obama's position has the potential to be a major "Sister Souljah moment" for his campaign.

This is a reference to Bill Clinton's accusation in his 1992 presidential campaign that the hip hop artist incited violence against whites. Because Clinton said this before a black audience, it fed into an image of him as a bold politician who was willing to take risks and refused to pander.

"It would be a very, very, very interesting thing," said Kuo, who is not an Obama adviser or supporter but was contacted by the campaign to review the new plan.

WHO urges world ban on smoking

WHO urges world ban on smoking
Reuters
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 00:37 IST

LONDON: Smoking bans are an effective way of preventing heart disease, getting cigarette users to quit and protecting children from second-hand smoke, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued on Monday said.

The report by scientists at the WHO’s International Agency for Cancer Research urged more countries to adopt smoking bans in public and at the workplace, saying there was enough evidence to prove they work, without hurting businesses such as restaurants and bars.

The researchers wrote in the Lancet Oncology special report: “Not only do these policies achieve their aim of protecting the health of non-smokers they also have many effects on smoking behaviour, which compound the health benefits.”

A separate report issued by Cancer Research UK on Monday found England’s ban adopted a year ago has spurred more smokers than ever to kick the habit, and predicted the restrictions would prevent 40,000 deaths over the next 10 years.
The researchers cited studies that suggest smoke-free workplaces have lead to a 10 to 20 per cent decrease in hospital admissions for heart disease a year after a smoking ban

Poor India makes millionaires at fastest pace

Poor India makes millionaires at fastest pace
25 Jun 2008, 1136 hrs IST, CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA,TNN

WASHINGTON: India, with the world's largest population of poor people living on less than a dollar a day, also paradoxically created millionaires at the fastest pace in the world in 2007 even though the world grew such "high net worth individuals (HNWIs)" at the slowest pace in four years.

Growing them at a blistering pace of 22.7 per cent, India added another 23,000 more millionaires in 2007 to its 2006 tally of 100,000 millionaires measured in dollars, according to an annual Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini report that weighs such financial information for its wealth and asset management purposes.

In contrast, developmental agencies put the number of subsistence level Indians living on less than a dollar a day at 350 million and those living on less than $ 2 a day at 700 million. In other words, for every millionaire, India has about 7000 impoverished people.

While India's HNWI population growth of 22.7 per cent in 2007 exceeded China's 20.3 per cent and its own 2006 gains of 20.5 in 2006, it was still way below its giant neighbour in absolute number of millionaires. China counted nearly 500,000 HNWIs.

Overall, the numbers of millionaires (not counting home values in their assets) in the world grew at 9.4 per cent and crossed the 10 million mark for the first time. The United States, despite its economic woes, led the pack of Richie Rich's with more than three million millionaires, i.e., one in every three millionaires in the world lives in America.

The combined wealth of the globe's millionaires grew to nearly $41 trillion last year, which means their average wealth was more than $4 million, the highest it's ever been.

In measuring the millionaire mob in India, the Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini report looked at metrics for the year 2007, which means it did not take into account the precipitous stock market slide that has wiped out nearly a third of the market value in 2008.

"India led the world in HNWI population growth at 22.7 percent, driven by market capitalization growth of 118 percent and real GDP growth of 7.9 percent. Although India's real GDP growth decelerated from 9.4 percent in 2006, current levels are considered more stable and sustainable," the report observed.

It also ranked India's two largest exchanges – the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange – among the world's top 12 exchanges by end of 2007, "with growth rates of 122% and 115% respectively....that were boosted by initial public offering markets and heightened international interest."

Explaining the faster rate of growth of millionaires in India than in China, the report suggests that as market capitalization and real GDP in China were spread over a larger population, there were smaller per capita gains in China. In 2006, India had a larger market capitalization growth than gross national income, significantly impacting HNWI population growth.

In addition, it said, China is currently experiencing explosive growth in its "mass affluent" population, which has yet to break the HNWI threshold of US$1million.

The observation also suggests China is having greater equitable growth than India.

Autistic Boy and Mom Kicked Off Plane

Mother Says Flight Crew Should Have Been More Understanding
By STEPHANIE DAHLE and JONANN BRADY
June 25, 2008



There were no weapons on board or concerns about terrorism, but an American Eagle flight about to take off from the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport was turned back to its gate on Monday to remove two passengers.
American Eagle flight crew diverts plane to remove 2-year-old.

The culprits? An upset, autistic toddler and his mother.

By all accounts, two-year-old Jarret Farrell wasn't a happy traveler. But his mother, Janice Farrell, who said she tried everything to calm her son, believes there was no reason for the airline to kick them off the plane.

The airline disagrees, saying they were removed primarily because Janice Farrell kept her carry-on bag on the floor in front of her seat, but that Jarret's behavior added to the tense situation.

"The child had been crying and screaming uncontrollably, to the point where the child's well being was in question," American Airlines, the parent company of American Eagle, said in a statement. "Though, ultimately, the parent's violation of FAA regulations was the cause for removal, both situations contributed to an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe atmosphere for our passengers and crew."


But Farrell told "GMA" she allowed the flight attendant to place her bag in an overhead compartment. And, even though Farrell said she explained Jarret's autism to the flight crew, they only made the situation worse by reprimanding and yelling at the toddler.

"[The flight attendant] kept coming over and tugging his seatbelt to make it tighter, 'This has to stay tight.' And then he was wiggling around and trying to get out of his seatbelt. And she kept coming over and reprimanding him and yelling at him" Farrell told ABC News' Raleigh-Durham affiliate WTVD.

Farrell said that a pilot came into to the cabin and told Jarret, "You have to get in your seat, young man."

Farrell said she started crying then, which just exacerbated Jarret's behavior.

"He just melted down. He saw me getting upset. He was upset. He was on the floor rolling around," Farrell told WTVD.

That's when the pilot turned the plane around and headed back to the terminal, where Farrell and her son were escorted off the plane.

10 million female foetuses have been aborted in India in the past 20 years

BBC One Minute News
Saturday, 21 June 2008 05:01 UK



India baby girl deaths 'increase'

There is a cultural preference for male children in India

The number of girls born and surviving in India has hit an all time low compared to boys, ActionAid says.

A report by the UK charity says increasing numbers of female foetuses were being aborted and baby girls deliberately neglected and left to die.

In one site in the Punjab state, there are just 300 girls to every 1,000 boys among higher caste families, it says.

ActionAid says India faces a "bleak" future if it does not end its practice of cultural preference for boys.

Girls 'condemned'

ActionAid teamed up with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to produce the Disappearing Daughters report.

More than 6,000 households in sites across five states in north-western India were interviewed and statistical comparisons were made with national census date.


The real horror of the situation is that for women avoiding having daughters is a rational choice


Under "normal" circumstances, there should be about 950 girls for every 1,000 boys, the charity said.

But it said that in three of the five sites, that number was below 800.

In four of the five sites surveyed, the proportion of girls to boys had declined since a 2001 census, the report said.

The research also found that ratios of girls to boys were declining fastest in comparatively prosperous urban areas.

ActionAid suggested the increasing use of ultrasound technology may be a factor in the trend.

The document says that Indian woman are put under intense pressure to produce sons, in a culture that predominantly views girls as a burden rather than an asset.

It says many families now use ultrasound scans and abort female foetuses, despite the existence of the 1994 law banning gender selection and selective abortion.

The charity also blames other illegal practices - such as allowing the umbilical cord to become infected - for the growing gender imbalance.

"The real horror of the situation is that, for women, avoiding having daughters is a rational choice. But for wider society it's creating an appalling and desperate state of affairs," Laura Turquet, women's rights policy official at ActionAid said.

"In the long term, cultural attitudes need to change. India must address economic and social barriers including property rights, marriage dowries and gender roles that condemn girls before they are even born.

"If we don't act now the future looks bleak," Ms Turquet said.

Some 10 million female foetuses have been aborted in India in the past 20 years, the British medical journal the Lancet has said.

Death penalty in India

Frontline
Volume 25 - Issue 13 :: Jun. 21-Jul. 04, 2008
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU • Contents



REPORT

Deadly gamble

V. VENKATESAN

A report studies Supreme Court judgments in death penalty cases in India from 1950 to 2006 and uncovers many inconsistencies.


THERE is very little officially compiled information on the award of capital punishment in India. This makes the task of understanding the relationship between the punishment and the incidence of crime for which death could be awarded as punishment challenging. Add to this the phenomenon of conflicting judgments coming from trial and high courts and from the Supreme Court itself on the nature of the crimes that can attract this penalty, and the challenge facing the researcher is likely to be insurmountable.

A recent study, jointly produced by Amnesty International India and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, fills the void and exposes the inconsistencies in these judgments. The report was researched and written by Bikram Jeet Batra, consultant to Amnesty International India. Part I, written by Dr. V. Suresh and D. Nagasaila of the PUCL-TN&P, sets the tone for the entire report with its focus on the need to re-examine the death penalty in India.

Part II of the report cites Prison Statistics India 2005, compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, and states that there are 273 persons sentenced to death, as on December 31, 2005. But it does not clarify whether the figure refers to those whose sentences were passed by a trial court or those whose sentences were upheld by a High Court or the Supreme Court or whose mercy petitions were pending or had been rejected. In November 2006, Minister for Home Affairs Shivraj Patil told Parliament that there were 44 mercy petitions before the President, some of which had been pending from 1998 and 1999.

The NCRB states that there were 25 executions between 1995 and 2004. Twenty-four of these took place between 1995 and 1998, pointing to the fact that executions have decreased in the past decade. The NCRB has admittedly no data relating to the death penalty before 1995. The report cites a newspaper article (which itself refers to the 1967 Law Commission report) that suggests that at least 1,422 people were executed between 1954 and 1963 alone. The report notes that the Supreme Court admitted in judgments upholding the constitutionality of the death penalty that there had been no systematic study on whether this penalty was a greater deterrent to murder than the penalty of life imprisonment.

The research for this report involved the study of over 700 judgments reported in law journals between 1950 and 2006. In the first phase ending in 1975, the study found that Supreme Court judgments relied on a rather abstract phrase – “ends of justice” – to disguise the arbitrariness in the use of judicial discretion in sentencing. Thus, judgments regularly concluded with the mere assertion that the death sentence was being commuted or confirmed “to meet the ends of justice”. The study found that there were no clear, systematic principles governing sentencing.

In 1973, Parliament amended the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to require judges to take note of “special reasons” when awarding the death sentence. The amended CrPC also required a mandatory pre-sentencing hearing in the trial court. It was, as the Supreme Court noted later, a “gradual swing against the imposition of such penalty”. The report found support to the thesis, advanced by a scholar (A. R. Blackshield) in an earlier study, that a key factor in determining a question of life or death was which judge heard the appeal. The report noted that all those convicts whose appeals were heard by a bench featuring Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer (who personally believes in the abolition of the death penalty) were more likely to receive a sympathetic hearing and even a suggestion of a presidential pardon, if not a commuted sentence. The amended CrPC could do little to limit this arbitrariness even though it perhaps ensured that the overall number of persons sentenced to death was reduced, the report observes.
Rarest of rare cases

The judgment of the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980), which limited the death sentence to the rarest of rare cases, reinforced the exceptional nature of the death penalty. This is what Parliament had secured by amending the CrPC. The requirement that the judge concerned weigh aggravating and mitigating factors added a new element to the sentencing process. A major innovation was the specific reference in the mitigating factors to the fact that the state had to establish – with evidence – that the accused was likely to commit a crime again and could not be reformed, before the death sentence could be awarded.

But as the report points out, this requirement was sometimes observed in the breach in cases where the Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty. The reason for this was the court’s flawed understanding that the non-fulfilment of this requirement alone could not undo all the aggravating factors such as the gravity and brutality of the crime. According to the report, the Bachan Singh formulation saved many from the gallows in the early 1980s, with the Supreme Court commuting sentences. In the mid-1980s and thereafter, however, the impact of the judgment and its guidelines was less impressive, says the report.

In Machhi Singh and others v. State of Punjab (1983), the Supreme Court expanded the “rarest of rare” formulation beyond the aggravating factors listed in Bachan Singh to cases where the “collective conscience” of a community may be shocked. But the bench in this case underlined that full weightage must be accorded to the mitigating circumstances in a case and a just balance had to be struck between aggravating and mitigating circumstances. In the post-Machhi Singh period, considerable inconsistency marked the Supreme Court’s judgments in death penalty cases. Thus, the court considered the age of the accused as a mitigating factor in some cases but not in others. Again, it found the gruesome nature of the crime sufficient to ignore the mitigating factors in a few cases but not in every case.

In an unusually candid judgment delivered on December 12, 2006, in Aloke Nath Dutta and ors. v. State of West Bengal, Justices S.B. Sinha and Dalveer Bhandari admitted the court’s failure to evolve a sentencing policy. They suggested that different criteria had been adopted by different benches of the Supreme Court for similar offences. The bench commuted the sentence in this case, asking the question: “No sentencing policy in clear-cut terms has been evolved by the Supreme Court. What should we do?” The report concludes: “Despite legislative reform and reform-minded jurisprudence over a number of years, the death penalty has continued to be a lethal lottery.”

The report, for instance, found that the Supreme Court had not upheld the death sentence in any dowry murder case brought before it. Although the court gave a variety of reasons for each commutation in such cases, the message is indeed disturbing even though the report has refrained as such from drawing any conclusions. Again, it is striking that the court has not upheld a death sentence in any case of rape and murder of an adult woman, while it has done so in a number of cases where the victim was a child.

However, the report noted that between 1999 and 2006, all rape and murder cases involving minors that came before the Supreme Court resulted in commutations. In one case (Akhtar v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1999), Justices G.B. Pattanaik and Rajendra Babu commuted the sentence of death, finding that the death was unintentional and without premeditation as the victim died because she had been gagged while the rape was being committed. A similar approach was followed in Amrit Singh v. State of Punjab (2006), wherein the court held that the death occurred as a consequence of the rape and commuted the sentence. The judges reasoned that rape might be brutal, but it could have been a lapse on the appellant’s part on seeing a lonely girl at a secluded place, and therefore, it could not be said to be a rarest of rare case. Such reasoning not only smacks of gender insensitivity but strengthens the argument in favour of a clear sentencing policy.

It is deplorable how the court viewed the killings committed by a mob as a mitigating rather than an aggravating factor. In Kishori v. State of Delhi (1999), the court noted that the acts attributed to the mob of which the appellant was a member could not be stated to be the result of any organised, systematic activity leading to genocide, and commuted his sentence. In Manohar Lal alias Manu and anr. v. State (NCT) of Delhi (2000), the court, ignoring evidence that the attacks on Sikhs had been orchestrated, held that while the killings were most gruesome, the accused were berserk and “on a rampage, unguided by sense or reason and triggered by a demented psyche”, and commuted the sentence.

In view of these inconsistencies, the report calls for an immediate moratorium on executions, pending abolition of the death penalty in India. The report will have served its purpose if it leads to introspection within the legislature, the executive and the judiciary on the relevance of the death penalty in India.



Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited
without the written consent of Frontline

Social Lending Web Loans

Strange New World: Tech Picks of the Week
Social Lending Takes Off, Satellite Radio Giants Likely to Merge and Firefox 3 Launches
By JONATHAN BLUM and DAN EVANS
June 20, 2008

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Our trip this week through this strange new world of ours has brought us a brand new Web browser, news of the future of satellite radio and a new way to get a loan without a bank. And, no, we're not talking about the Mob. Here are our picks of the week.



Social Lending

There has been real progress in social lending sites and, considering the credit crisis, we think it's a particularly good time to cover this innovative end of the Web. Social lending is a classic Web concept, circa 1999: The idea was that lenders and borrowers would find one another online and that borrowing money could be accomplished at favorable rates and without all the stupid bank fees and fancy suits. But complexities in getting the system to work and a lack of money kept the system from running properly.



But, apparently, not anymore. It seems like there are plenty of these social lending sites out there. And we will keep the news here simple: Considering that Alan Greenspan might have trouble getting a loan these days, it's interesting to see that one part of the credit business actually works. Web sites like LendingClub, Zopa, Wesabe and Fynanz all specialize in peer-to-peer lending and may be the place to turn if the banks won't help you.

Directory lists out 'progressive' Muslims

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Directory lists out 'progressive' Muslims

Agra: Breaking stereotypes about Muslims in India, a new directory here says the community is producing doctors, lawyers, accountants, poets, artists, architects, businessmen and experts in many fields.

Agra's Ghalib Research Academy has just published a comprehensive directory of Muslims, seeking to demonstrate that the community is not what it is made out to be but is rubbing shoulders with the mainstream.

S. Ikhtiyar Jafri, director of the academy, told IANS, "We have long been hearing that Muslims only marry and produce children, that they have nothing to do with modern education and that they don't contribute to the country's development."

It is also made out that the community has no interest in social service and that it is unhygienic. "But during my research for the project, I did not encounter a single Muslim man who had four wives," Jafri said.

The directory provides interesting insights into Agra's Muslim community of around 325,000.

The city has 160 Muslim lawyers, 15 chartered accountants, 20 architects and civil engineers, 80 plus computer shops or retail counters owned by Muslims, in addition to 150-odd medical practitioners, 30 mediapersons, 75 poets, 20 Urdu writers, a dozen Hindi writers, more than a dozen prominent artists and around 300 government officials.

Jafri said the stereotype emerged because no systematic effort was made after independence to promote leadership and channelise or nurture the talents of the community.

No effort was made, bemoaned Jafri, to project a positive picture of the role and contribution of Muslims in evolving a composite "Ganga-Yamuni tehzeeb".

"We thought we should study the ground realities and present before the community the true picture in terms of resources and reserves of the present generation of Muslims in Agra," he said.

"Our year-long exploratory forays resulted in questions that beg answers from the community," said Jafri. Jafri also pointed out that Muslim individuals had done well on their own, without much help from either the government or the community as a whole. Jafri himself is a poet, scholar, researcher and journalist of repute.

The directory lists more than 100 schools, 50 NGOs or welfare societies, 45 hotels and restaurants - all set up by Muslims. In addition to a legislator, there are eight Muslim corporators in the Agra Municipal Corporation and, of course, scores of political leaders in all political parties.

The biggest chunk of Muslim businessmen is involved in the shoe manufacturing and trading sector. Some have now ventured into the real estate and construction business. The city has more than 170 mosques and 30 graveyards, in addition to more than 50 madrassas.

Jafri said since 1990, Muslim women had "impacted society in a fundamental way. Their entry into all fields - from law and medicine to management, hospitality and teaching - has gone up by more than 50 percent in just 8 or 10 years."

Besides, there are Muslim youngsters venturing into newer fields like fashion and hospitality. Some women have also taken to becoming airhostesses. "The directory, the first venture of its kind in Agra, will serve as a useful guide for planners," hopes Jafri.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Lesbian couple of 55 years prepare to be among the first in California to marry

Home > U.S.
Lesbian Couple of 55 Years Ready to Say 'I Do'
Lesbian couple of 55 years prepare to be among the first in California to say 'I do' on Monday
By LISA LEFF Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO June 16, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press

On Monday, more than a half-century after they became a couple, Lyon and Martin plan to become one of the first same-sex couples to legally exchange marriage vows in California.

"It was something you wanted to know, 'Is it really going to happen?' And now it's happened, and maybe it can continue to happen," Lyon says.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to officiate at the private ceremony in his City Hall office before 50 invited guests. He picked Martin, 87, and Lyon, 84, for the front of the line in recognition of their long relationship and their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement.

Along with six other women, they founded a San Francisco social club for lesbians in 1955 called the Daughters of Bilitis. Under their leadership, it evolved into the nation's first lesbian advocacy organization. They have the FBI files to prove it.


Their ceremony Monday will, in fact, be a marriage do-over.

In February 2004, San Francisco's new mayor decided to challenge California's marriage laws by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. His advisers and gay rights activists knew right away which couple would put the most compelling human face on the issue: Martin and Lyon.

Back then, the couple planned to celebrate their 51st anniversary as live-in lovers on Valentine's Day. Because of their work with the Daughters, they also were icons in the gay community.

"Four years ago, when they agreed to be married, it was in equal parts to support the mayor and to support the idea that lesbians and gay people formed committed relationships and should have those relationships respected," says Kate Kendell, a close friend and executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Lyon and Martin vividly recall the excitement of being secretly swept into the clerk's office, saying "I do" in front of a tiny group of city staff members and friends, and then being rushed out of the building. There were no corsages, no bottles of champagne. Afterward they went to lunch, just the two of them, at a restaurant run as a job training program for participants in a substance abuse program.

Balaji Telefilms to telecast Aarushi Talwar murder case

Blue Star
Monday, June 09, 2008
Balaji not to stop telecasting Aarushi-inspired soap

New Delhi: Balaji Telefilms has said it will not step back from depicting an "inspired" version of the Aarushi Talwar murder case on their daily soap "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki".

"Neither has Balaji nor has Star Plus received any notice to stop the track. And we are not changing it," Nivedita Basu, creative head, Balaji Telefilms said.

Basu was speaking on behalf of the company's head honcho Ekta Kapoor.In an "unexpected" turn of events, Nupur Talwar, the mother of 14-year-old Aarushi who was murdered in Noida May 15 night, appealed to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Monday to stop the production house from using the family tragedy "to earn TRPs (television rating points)"."We have lost our child and now they (Balaji Telefilms) are planning to show her life on television. It would affect the case. How can they earn from our tragedy?" Nupur, also a dentist, said when she came to meet the commission members.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Bhopal gas tragedy: victims 23 years

Bhopal gas tragedy victims discontented with government action continue agitation

Mon, Jun 9 09:05 PM

New Delhi, June 9 (ANI): Victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy stage a die-in protest outside the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi on Monday demanding government's commitment on empowering the special commission to be set up for their rehabilitation.

Protesters lay on the ground pretending to be dead to draw focus towards their continuing agitation in the national capital New Delhi for nearly four months.

In a bid to provide relief to the victims the PMO last month had sent an emissary to the victims with an assurance from the Central government of complying with their demand of setting up the commission.

However, according to the victims the statement issued by the PMO partially concedes their demand, as it makes no mention of the powers, funds and the number of years the commission on Bhopal will function.

They had tried twice to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make their pleas heard but to no avail.

The victims feel their pleas have gone unheard and Prime Minister has not paid any heed to their concern.

"The gas victims have been demanding their rights for the last 23 years. We want that a special commission is formed that would take care of the rehabilitation of victims and we also demand that the government take action against the Union Carbide and its new owner, Dow Chemicals. Prime Minister has not paid any heed to our concern. He doesn't have time to meet the victims who have been protesting in the capital from last 111 days," said Rachna Dhingra, member of Bhopal group for information and action.

The agitators threatened to launch a 'global hunger strike' from Tuesday with participation from more than eight countries.

The decision to start an indefinite hunger strike has been communicated to the PMO.

More than 3,500 people died in the days and weeks after toxic fumes spewed out of a pesticide plan in Bhopal on the night of December 2, 1984.

Officials say nearly 15,000 people have died since from cancer and other diseases.

Activists have put the toll at 33,000 and claim that toxins from thousands of tonnes of chemicals lying in and around the site have seeped into ground water.

Union Carbide in 1984 accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and established a 100 million dollars charitable trust fund to build a hospital for victims. Later Union Carbide was taken over by Dow Chemicals.

The company also paid 470 million dollars to the Indian government in 1989 in a settlement reached after a protracted legal battle. The victims, on an average, received 25,000 rupees in case of illness and 100,000 rupees or so in case of a death in the family.

Michigan-based Dow Chemical says it is not responsible for the clean up as it never owned or operated the plant. The Madhya Pradesh government now owns the abandoned plant. (ANI)

Renuka seeks rehab package for rape victims

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Renuka seeks rehab package for rape victims

New Delhi: Rape victims will get Rs.200,000 as a "relief and rehabilitation package", if Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury has her way.

Chowdhury, who in principle has agreed to the proposal mooted by the National Commission of Women (NCW), has called a meeting of the panel for Tuesday.

NCW came out with the 'Scheme for Relief and Rehabilitation of Victims of Rape, 2005' following the directions of the Supreme Court, which ordered it to evolve a "scheme so as to wipe out the tears of unfortunate victims of rape".

As per the recommendation, a rape victim will get an initial amount of Rs.20,000 on the basis of the medical report. This will be followed by a sum of Rs.70,000 for treatment and rehabilitation.

The remaining amount would be given when the victim gives her statement to the court.

"We would be giving the rest of the amount to the victim after seeing that she has not turned hostile. We will not wait till the judgement," a ministry official told IANS.

"The meeting has been called to take a decision on the compensation package. Then, a final decision will be taken," the official said.

There are an estimated 15,000 rape cases on an average in a year in the country.


"We are hopeful that the recommendations we have made would be accepted," a commission member said.

Keeping in mind the fact that many rape victims in the rural areas are thrown out of their homes, the money could be used to provide them shelter or a home and to impart them skill-training.

In their report, a final draft of which was prepared after consultations with lawyers, they said that any victim who comes to the police station and lodges the first information report is to get monetary relief.

To simplify the procedure and not to add to the already traumatised girl's woes, the commission suggested that a criminal injuries compensation board be set up.

The board will monitor whether the scheme is being implemented by the state governments. It will also ensure that the instalment money is awarded within three weeks of the FIR being filed.

Fearing that there could be false claims, the commission has suggested the formation of district level committees headed by a district magistrate.


The state government shall establish in every district, a separate monitoring committee which shall be headed by the superintendent of police of the district.

The committee will comprise of a police officer preferably a woman, a social activist, a lawyer and a doctor apart from a representative of the Panchayati Raj institution or municipality. They all have to be nominated by the district magistrate to be a part of the committee.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Obama Dilemma

That at Obama Speech
from Pickled Politics by Sid

Following worldwide dismay from Wednesday’s speech to AIPAC, Obama has now changed his tune:

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama amended his support for Israel’s stance on Jerusalem on Thursday, saying Palestinians and Israelis had to negotiate the future of the holy city.

Palestinian leaders reacted with anger and dismay on Wednesday to Obama saying Jerusalem should be Israel’s undivided capital.

“Well, obviously, it’s going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations,” Obama told CNN when asked whether Palestinians had no future claim to the city.

Asked if he opposed any division of Jerusalem, Obama said: “As a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute. And I think that it is smart for us to — to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city.”

Adam LeBor has written a balanced and sensible article on CIF on why Barack Obama was wrong to make the outrageous promise, while speaking to AIPAC, that Jerusalem will remain the ‘undivided capital’ of Israel. Seems strange since the US and UK embassies are in Tel Aviv! You can read more here.

Meanwhile, back at Harry’s Place, Adam clarifies further:

Personally I find AIPAC a rather creepy organisation. I remember ten years ago when I was making some radio programmes for the BBC on Israel at 50 trying to interview one of their officials. Trying to get any information out of her about how AIPAC worked reminded me of interviewing suspicious ex-(not really)-Communists in eastern Europe.

I agree with this writer:

AIPAC has become more militant than the Israeli government. Its messages reflect more the oppositionist Likud doctrine than the moderate stance of Prime Minister Olmert. Moreover, whereas the American Jewish community is known for its liberal, progressive pro-Democrat party heritage - some 80 percent of the Jewish voters traditionally cast their votes for the Democrats - AIPAC is geared to an extreme-right-wing agenda, often more in line with the Jewish neo-cons than with the majority of American Jews.

Far better, he opines, to support the new, pro-peace Israel lobbying group, J-street.

The author? David Kimche, former Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and veteran Mossad agent.

Personally I thought it was a good speech. But it’s always better to have someone, preferably with a progressive outlook, with more detailed knowledge of the background to unravel the intricacies. It’s easy to fall for Obama’s delivery over the content. I stand corrected. And hopefully, so is Obama.

N.Y. Landmark Pays $2M to Settle Sex Claims

N.Y. Landmark Pays $2M to Settle Sex Claims
Tavern on the Green Allegedly Subjected Employees to Sexual Harassment, Racism
By ALICE GOMSTYN
ABC NEWS Business Unit
June 3, 2008



One of New York City's most famous restaurants will pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over sexual harassment and racism allegations.
New York City's Tavern on the Green settles discrimination lawsuit.

Tavern on the Green, the 74-year-old café overlooking Manhattan's Central Park, is accused of "severe and pervasive harassment," including one manager's grabbing of an employee's breasts and buttocks and his repeated use of racial slurs and lewd sexual references.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the restaurant in September 2007. The EEOC announced the settlement on Tuesday.

EEOC lawyer Kam S. Wong said that some 50 former and current employees will be eligible for compensation from the settlement.

"Even a high-end establishment is not an exception to the world of harassment and retaliation, unfortunately," Wong, a senior trial attorney with the EEOC, told ABC News. "A settlement as significant as this one should send a message to all employers that EEOC takes seriously and will strenuously enforce the laws against discrimination in the workplace."
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The settlement also requires the restaurant to adopt an anti-discrimination policy and provide anti-discrimination training to its employees. According to a court document, the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.

In a statement e-mailed to ABC News, the restaurant said it was "pleased this long-pending matter has been amicably settled" and maintained that "Tavern on the Green always has been and will continue to be committed to providing a safe, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory work environment for its employees."

According to the statement, the management staff cited in the lawsuit "have not been associated with the restaurant for years."

The complaint filed against Tavern on the Green revolved largely around allegations against Leon Drogy, the restaurant's former director of operations. According to the complaint, Drogy engaged in "repeated sexual touching" of restaurant hostess Martha Nyakim Gatkuoth, including grabbing her breasts and buttocks.