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The Internet could crash. We need a Plan B - Danny Hillis

In the 1970s and 1980s, a generous spirit suffused the Internet, whose users were few and far between. But today, the net is ubiquitous, connecting billions of people, machines and essential pieces of infrastructure -- leaving us vulnerable to cyber-attack or meltdown. Internet pioneer Danny Hillis argues that the Internet wasn't designed for this kind of scale, and sounds a clarion call for us to develop a Plan B: a parallel system to fall back on if -- or when -- the Internet crashes.

Inventor, scientist, author, engineer -- over his broad career, Danny Hillis has turned his ever-searching brain on an array of subjects, with surprising results.
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Speakers Danny Hillis: Computer theorist
Inventor, scientist, author, engineer -- over his broad career, Danny Hillis has turned his ever-searching brain on an array of subjects, with surprising results.
Why you should listen to him:
Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the concept of parallel computers that is now the basis for most supercomputers, as well as the RAID array. He holds over 100 US patents, covering parallel computers, disk arrays, forgery prevention methods, and various electronic and mechanical devices, and has recently been working on problems in medicine as well. He is also the designer of a 10,000-year mechanical clock, and he gave a TED Talk in 1994 that is practically prophetic. Throughout his career, Hillis has worked at places like Disney and now Applied Minds, always looking for the next fascinating problem.
"We're at a point in time which is analogous to when single-celled organisms were turning into multi-celled organisms. So we're the amoebas."
Danny Hillis
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Quotes by Danny Hillis
“A human body is a conversation going on, both within the cells and between the cells, and they’re telling each other to grow and to die; when you’re sick, something’s gone wrong with that conversation.”
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“Your genome knows much more about your medical history than you do.”
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“If transportation technology was moving along as fast as microprocessor technology, then the day after tomorrow I would be able to get in a taxi cab and be in Tokyo in 30 seconds.”
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“[Language is] really a pretty amazing invention if you think about it. Here I have a very complicated, messy, confused idea in my head. I'm sitting here making grunting sounds and hopefully constructing a similar messy, confused idea in your head that bears some analogy to it.”
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“We're at a point in time which is analogous to when single-celled organisms were turning into multi-celled organisms. So we're the amoebas.”
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“What we need is a plan B … independent of the Internet. [It] doesn't necessarily have to have the performance of the Internet, but the police department has to be able to call up the fire department.”
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“People are mostly focused on defending the computers on the Internet, and there's been surprisingly little attention to defending the Internet itself as a communications medium. [We] need to pay some more attention to that, because it's actually kind of fragile.”
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“[An] attitude of only taking what you need … was actually kind of built into the protocols of the Internet itself.”
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“If you hear an expert talking about the Internet and saying it [does] this, or it will do that, you should treat it with the same skepticism that you might treat the comments of an economist about the economy or a weatherman about the weather.”

The Muslim Jesus

The Christian world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus in the festival of Easter. For almost all Christians, Jesus is the Son of God who died to save mankind. Islam does not subscribe to this belief and views Jesus, also known as Isa, as a Prophet and the Messiah of the Israelites. So who was this Muslim Jesus?

The Bible and the Quran both agree that Jesus was born by miraculous birth to the Virgin Mary. There is a chapter in the Quran named Mary and she is mentioned 34 times in the Quran, which is much more than the entire New Testament. She is honored greatly in Islam and is celebrated as a role model for Muslim women worldwide. For Muslims, Jesus was the seal of the Hebrew Prophets and a man of perfect purity. Unlike all other human beings, except his mother Mary, he was not touched by Satan at his birth. In the Quran, when Satan attempted to approach the child, he was only able to touch the covering caul. The Quran has great regard for Jesus where he is mentioned 25 times in contrast to the Prophet Muhammad who is only mentioned four times.

There are many miracles attributed to the Quranic Jesus. One of these was his ability to speak from the cradle. His mother Mary was mocked for giving birth to a child out of wedlock. To protect his mother from the taunts of society, Jesus spoke and said; "Lo, I am God's servant [and] a Prophet. [...] Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive!" (Quran 19:30-34) In addition, other well-known miracles recorded in both the Quran (with God's permission) and the Bible include healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and bringing the dead to life.

The Quran makes clear that Jesus was sent to earth to preach a new gospel (Injil in Arabic), which reaffirmed the message of 'One True God', given to the earlier prophets. However, his teachings had become distorted over time. In the Quran, Jesus foretells the coming of a messenger after him named Ahmad, which is another name for Mohammad. Many Islamic scholars since the 8th century have argued that this is also evident in the Bible, originally written in Koine Greek. The Greek word paraklytos or paraclete refers to the Holy Spirit in Christianity and is sometimes translated as Comforter. The word paraklytos is translated into Arabic as ahmad which means praiseworthy and commendable. The words of the Apostle John, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever" (14:16) are taken by many Muslim scholars to predict the coming of Muhammad, the new Comforter, who will renew some of the lost teachings of the earlier Abrahamic Holy Scriptures.

In the Bible, Jesus never calls himself the Son of God, as was confirmed to me by Professor Chris Queen of Harvard in a lecture which I attended. He refers to himself as The Son of Man, words which are found 81 times in the Greek canonical Gospels. In the Quran, Jesus is similarly humble, for example, when he calls himself the servant of God. This humility is unmistakable in the words of Jesus, "Never could [I] say what I had no right [to say]" (Quran: 5:116). In both religions, the Second Coming of Jesus is associated with the Day of Judgement and the end times.

Traditional Christian belief is that Jesus had died on the cross. Among early Christian sects were the followers of the Docetic view, whereby the crucified Jesus was an image, a phantom or perhaps even a replacement. Their justification came from the Acts of John 97-102, "And my lord stood in the middle of the cave [and] said, 'John for the people below in Jerusalem I am being crucified and pierced with lances and reeds and given vinegar and gall to drink. But to you I am speaking [...] nor am I the man who is on the cross" (New Testament Apocrypha).

Similarly, in the Quran, Jesus was not crucified but instead "they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them" (Quran 4:157). Allah had raised Jesus to himself saving his Prophet the suffering of a terrible death. Professor Lawson argues that "such belief frankly serves to diminish Islam in the eyes of Christianity and so-called 'Westerners' whose cultural identity is bound up, whether they are believers or not, with the axiomatic and unquestionable 'myth' of the death and resurrection of Jesus".

The Islamic mystics have a deep love for Jesus and his ascetic lifestyle. In his book, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," the Sufi mystic and brilliant philosopher, Al Ghazali, quotes Jesus as saying, "You shall not attain what you desire except by suffering what you do not desire." Furthermore, on a gate to the city of Fatehpur-Sikri, the Muslim Mughal Emperor Akbar inscribed the words of the Muslim Jesus, "This world is a bridge. Pass over it, but build not your dwelling there."

Islam is a deeply monotheistic religion and thus forbids any partners or associations with God. Although all prophets including Jesus were mortal and gifted in their own way, they could not be part of the divine. The life of Jesus has always been an inspiration although many of its aspects remain obscure factually; yet we cannot doubt the significance of this remarkable man even 2000 years after his death. Whilst recognising the validity of Professor Lawson's argument, I sincerely believe the shared love Muslims and Christians feel for Jesus can be the basis for mutual understanding and inter-faith dialogue. The three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are undoubtedly linked. However, even though the Judaic tradition rejects Jesus, Islam has always accepted him. Given that belief in Jesus is central to the Muslim faith, why does the West persist in remaining so hostile to Islam?

Follow Alayna Ahmad on Twitter: www.twitter.com/alayna_ahmad
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Top Ten Reasons Why Israel Actually IS a Legitimate State: Dr. Kevin Barrett

The Zionists finally convinced me they’re right. Here are the top ten reasons.

10) Hitler, Pol Pot, Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun all killed more people than Israel has. So why are you singling out Israel for criticism, you anti-Semite?

9) If you don’t accept our legitimacy, our friend Samson will nuke every major city in Europe. How’s THAT for legitimacy, you Jew-hater!

8) In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly “advised” stealing the 90% of Palestine owned by Palestinians, and giving most of it to the Jews. So why shouldn’t we follow their advice? Do you hate the United Nations? What are you, anti-Semitic or something?

7) Sure, the United Nations has passed lots of actual, legally-binding resolutions (not just “advice”) ordering Israel to let the Palestinians return to their homes and villages. But if we did that, what would have been the point of slaughtering them and terrorizing the survivors into fleeing? You and the United Nations and the whole world must be really anti-Semitic to suggest such a thing.

6) Hitler and the Germans killed a lot of Jews during World War II, and it must have somehow been the Palestinians’ fault! Only an anti-Semite would doubt that!

5) Anyone who questions Israel’s legitimacy, like Helen Thomas did, gets fired because they must be anti-Semitic. What more proof of legitimacy do you need?

4) A lot of countries are worse than Israel. But there you go again, criticizing Israel! Oy vey, why do you hate the Jews so much?

3) Every ethnic group deserves to have its own state…except for the other 24,999, non-chosen ones. If you disagree, you must be some kind of Nazi.

2) According to our tribal mythology, God gave us this land. And anyone who doubts our tribal mythology must really, REALLY hate the Jews!

1) We own the media, Hollywood, the banking system, Congress, and the White House. If we said the Fishy-Smelling Underwater Kingdom of Atlantis was a legitimate state, and a giant squid was its prime minister, we could make you believe us.

_____________________________________
Dr. Kevin Barrett is the author of three books including the new revised edition of Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters, which deconstructs the "war on terror" through Socratic questioning. A Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, he has taught languages, literature, humanities, religious studies, and folklore at colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.
Blacklisted from teaching at the University of Wisconsin since 2006, Dr. Barrett has recently worked as a talk radio host, author, public speaker, and congressional candidate. One of the best-known critics of the War on Terror, Dr. Barrett has appeared on Fox, CNN, PBS, ABC-TV, and Unavision, and has been the subject of op-eds and feature stories in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, and other publications. Dr. Barrett hosts two talk radio shows, one on a liberal and the other on a conservative network, and runs the website TruthJihad.com. He lives in rural Wisconsin with his wife, two children, and a dog named after Salman Rushdie. Learn more about Kevin Barrett by visiting truthjihad.com. Read more of Kevin's work by visiting: questioningthewaronterror.com
http://salem-news.com/articles/march282013/legit-israel-kb.php
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Palestine is the most complex geopolitical and religious issue, confronted by the humanity, which if left unresolved will continue to pose major threat to the world peace.

http://peace-forum.blogspot.com/2012/12/before-zionism-most-christians-and-jews.html
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Scholars piece together a ‘new’ New Testament

Is the New Testament missing a few books? In a move that may seem heretical to some Christians, a group of scholars and religious leaders has added 10 new texts to the Christian canon.

The work, “A New New Testament,” was released nationwide in March in an attempt to add a different historical and spiritual context to the Christian scripture.

Some of the 10 additional texts — which have come to light over the past century — date back to the earliest days of Christianity and include some works that were rejected by the early church.

The 19-member council that compiled the texts consisted of biblical scholars, leaders in several Christian denominations — Episcopal, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, United Church of Christ and Lutheran — two rabbis and an expert in Eastern religions and yoga. Keep reading >>>>

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Is Religion Good for Your Health?

Practicing a religion may be good for your health.

Faith and medicine frequently intersect. My patients and I often talk about spirituality when we discuss medical issues. For many people, life-and-death decisions are grounded in a belief that a higher being will guide the outcome as much, or more than, the physicians and treatments involved. In addition, a support system based on shared faith can be extremely helpful in the healing process. Ministries frequently offer assistance programs and have relationships with social workers to counsel and provide services for those in need.

Not long ago, while reading the newspaper, I began thinking about the relationship of health and religion in an entirely new way, one that involves using religious tenets to promote a healthful lifestyle every day, not just in times of crisis. I saw an obituary for Lester Breslow, a true pioneer in public health. It was fitting that a man who dedicated his life to understanding what drives longevity lived to the ripe old age of ninety-seven. There are many important lessons to be learned from his extensive body of research. Breslow, a public health leader for over seventy years, was instrumental in first connecting smoking to lung diseases, particularly cancer. But that’s not all. He demonstrated an association between longevity and health quality through a set of seven behaviors (known as the Alameda 7, for the California county in which they were identified): Not smoking; sleeping seven to eight hours per night; eating regular meals; maintaining a moderate weight; eating breakfast; drinking in moderation; and exercising at least moderately.

What really caught my eye was that Dr. Breslow was still at work well into his nineties. In 2010, Breslow, then ninety-five, was a coauthor of a twenty-five-year study of a group of California Mormons. This study, written with Professor James E. Enstrom of the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that the life expectancy of Mormon men was almost ten years longer than that of the general population of white American males. Female Mormons lived between five and six years longer than their general population counterparts. The longevity effect was most pronounced for those who never smoked, went to church weekly, had at least twelve years of education, and were married. Additional benefits were seen in those who were not overweight, got plenty of sleep, and exercised. The authors attributed the added years to the Mormons’ healthy doctrines: Eating a well-balanced diet and eschewing tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, and illegal drugs. They found similar benefits among Americans of any religion who practiced the same healthy behaviors.

There has long been a correlation between being a churchgoer and longevity, but it has been difficult to tease out the basis of that relationship. The link to better health was partially attributed to self-selection. Religious people were the type of people who would practice behaviors favorable to more healthful living and thus live longer. Studies found that churchgoers were less likely to engage in high-risk health behaviors such as smoking and excessive drinking. After all, getting up bright and early for church Sunday mornings does hamper Saturday night binging. Being able to travel to church might also be a marker for mobility and healthfulness, rather than its cause.

There are also many beneficial spiritual aspects to consider. The meditative nature of religious services can lower stress levels. Many services preach love, forgiveness, hope, and optimism, which foster a positive outlook on life that can translate into good emotional health. Many sermons address the importance of giving thanks, and we know that gratitude can be very important for mental health. In addition to religious leaders providing counseling, some religions incorporate confession, which can help unburden congregants from emotional distress. These are all things that might be good for your health.

Now, I’m not a religious person and I’ve yet to see any convincing studies that compare the belief systems of various religions and their impact on health. However, I know from experience that for some people the belief in a higher power is incredibly important in helping them cope with a serious illness. It is what gets them through tough times. For others, it is the sense of community, the group aspect of organized religion that has a big impact on their health. Alternatively, I see atheists who get great support through other means, including their understanding of the natural workings of the world. And clearly you don’t need to be religious to practice the healthful principles laid out by many of the world’s religions. Those should apply to everyone.

Dr. B’s Bottom Line:

Practicing the health tenets espoused by many religions are associated with a longer life. And you know what? You don’t need to be religious or believe in God to follow them!

Keeping the Faith

Even if you aren’t religious, it’s worth embracing some philosophies espoused by many faith-based organizations that are good for your health and the health of others:

  1. Find a loving relationship and stick with it.
  2. Support those around you in their times of need.
  3. Give thanks for what you have. There are many benefits of being grateful. It has been shown to strengthen social bonds and makes people more likely to want to help us again. There is also promising evidence linking practicing gratitude to better sleep, fewer symptoms of illness, and less stress.
  4. Stay in school. Education is good for your health.
  5. Treat your body like a temple. Eat right, get regular exercise, get a good night’s sleep, don’t smoke, and if you drink, do so in moderation.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/25/is-religion-good-for-your-health/
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Ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Burma Mayanmar


Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and shops after three days of ethnic violence in Burma Photograph: Khin Maung Win/AP. Burma has issued a state of emergency in the central city of Meikhtila after three days of ethnic violence between Muslims and Buddhists has left scores dead, forced thousands to flee and left local homes and shops reduced to smoking rubble.

Rioting began on Wednesday in the now ash-covered town, located 360 miles north of the commercial capital Rangoon, after an argument between a Muslim shopkeeper and his Buddhist customers erupted into a street brawl that ended with the death of a Buddhist monk.

Soon after, photos and videos of mobs roaming the streets were circulating online – showing streets littered with burning motorbikes, men armed with sticks and swords destroying property, and buildings set ablaze – with little indication that security forces were putting a stop to it.

The violence has called into question Burma's fledgling transition to democracy after a quasi-civilian government ended nearly 50 years of military rule in 2010. Led by reformist president Thein Sein, who has carried out a series of economic and political reforms – among them the lifting of censorship regulations and the release of many political prisoners – but the country has also witnessed a growing tension between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims, who comprise 5% of the 60m population.

Exact numbers of those killed and injured are hard to establish. Win Htein, of the opposition National League for Democracy party, said 20 people – including the monk – are confirmed dead. But Ko Wanna Shwe of the Rangoon-based Islamic Religious Affairs Council told the Guardian that figure was likely to be much higher: "We are getting reports from people in Meikhtila since Wednesday that [the number] is higher. Nearly 100 people have been killed – teachers, students, shopkeepers," he said by phone. "Even young men aged eight to 14 included."

Camps have been established to accommodate 2,000 people who have fled, Win Htein told Reuters, but it is not clear if they are protected by security forces.

Many fear the situation is a reprise of last year's violence in Rakhine state, western Burma, where hundreds were killed and 120,000 left homeless after two serious bouts of violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in June and October.

A stateless minority, the Rohingya are not recognised as Burmese citizens and many of them either live in segregated camps for internally displaced people or have fled by their thousands to neighbouring countries, often in makeshift boats. Rumours of a "third massacre" against the Rohingya have been circulating for months, with photos of alleged leaflets inciting violence posted on social media.

Rights groups on Friday described the situation in Meikhtila as a warning sign that Burma still has a long way to go to establish peace and reconciliation in a country that proscribed dissent for nearly half a century, and called for the government to put an end to the violence.

"The key issue is this: the government has frankly failed to stare down the people who are inciting hatred, the people who are engaging in this communal violence … and that failure has set an example that impunity to attack Muslims is alive and well in Burma," said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. "There's a major army base in that town. If people are engaging in rioting and attacks, then they could be stopped. So why does violence continue on now for two days or so? There's either a complete lack of capacity or a failure of political will because Buddhist monks are involved."

Burmese monks have often been involved in sectarian violence, with anti-Muslim protests in Mandalay led by the saffron-robed religious leaders last year. Meikhtila is no different. One monk, who wielded a foot-long sword, threatened an Associated Press journalist and demanded his camera, while other monks attempted to drag a group of reporters out of a van. "We don't feel safe and we have now moved inside a monastery," one Meikhtila resident told the AP. "The situation is unpredictable and dangerous."

Both the UN and Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, called for order to be restored; the town was still burning on Friday evening. Suu Kyi has come under severe fire for her handling of the Rakhine situation last year, which some activists termed a genocide against the Rohingya, and earlier this month she backed a controversial copper mine in Letpadaung.

It is unclear exactly why this latest bout of ethnic violence escalated so quickly. Win Htein, the lawmaker for the NLD, told Radio Free Asia that he believed that some Muslims in Meikhtila – who comprise one-third of the population of 100,000 – may have been harbouring "some feelings over the Rakhine problem", thereby fomenting unrest.

But it may just be one example of violence in a nation that could see many others take place in relatively quick succession, said Mark Farmaner of human rights group Burma Campaign UK.

"We've seen examples of anti-Muslim propaganda in Mon state, Shan state, Kachin state and Karen state, where people are distributing anti-Muslim leaflets," he told the Guardian. "It may not be directly linked to violence in Rakhine state in an obvious way but … aan incident like this [an argument in a gold shop] wouldn't normally lead to deaths and thousands of people trying to flee, if there weren't already incredibly high tensions in the first place. That means it's been organised and that no action has been taken to put a lid on it." President Tun Khin of the UK-based Burmese Rohingya Organisation described the violence in Meikhtila as a state-sponsored attack, and said: "These are not communal clashes; this is not equal sides fighting. These are organised attacks to cleanse [Burma] of Muslims where the vast majority of those killed and displaced are Muslims … There should be laws on racism if the government wants to see durable peace in Burma."
By Kate Hudal: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/22/burma-ethnic-violence-dead-meikhtila?INTCMP=SRCH


Bad days in Burma
Nobody disputes the fact that about 100,000 Rohingyas (out of a population of 800,000) are now internal refugees in Burma, while others have fled across the border into Bangladesh. As you would expect, the Buddhist monks ...
Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing of Muslims in Myanmar ...
The Turkish foreign minister and wife of Turkish Prime mister visited oppressed Muslims of Burma to console and help them. Turkey is a secular country with Muslim majority but; Where are the so called the leaders and rulers ...

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A strategic defeat for US and its allies: By Seumas Milne

If anyone doubted what kind of Iraq has been bequeathed by a decade of US-sponsored occupation and war, Tuesday’s deadly bomb attacks around Baghdad on bus queues and markets should have set them straight. Ten years to the day after American and British troops launched an unprovoked attack on a false pretext - and more than a year since the last combat troops were withdrawn - the conflict they unleashed shows no sign of winding down.
Civilians are still being killed at a rate of at least 4,000 a year - and police at about 1,000. As in the days when the US and British forces directly ran the country, torture is rampant, thousands are imprisoned without trial and disappearances and state killings are routine.
Meanwhile, power and sewage systems barely function, more than a third of adults are unemployed, state corruption has become an institutionalised kleptocracy and trade unionists are tried for calling strikes and demonstrations. In recent months, mass protests in Sunni areas have threatened to tip over into violence or even renewed civil war.
The dwindling band of Iraq war enthusiasts are trying to put their best face on a gruesome record. Some have drifted off into la-la land: Labour MP Tom Harris claims Iraq is now a “relatively stable and relatively inclusive democracy”, which is more or less the direct opposite of reality.
Tony Blair - treated with media reverence, but regarded by between 22 per cent and 37 per cent of Britons as a war criminal - accepts the cost of invasion was “very high”.
However, the former prime minister claims justification in the overthrow of Saddam Hussain, while insisting that a popular uprising against his regime would have triggered a worse death toll than in Syria. That avoids the fact that the US and Britain controlled Iraq’s airspace from 1991 and could have prevented aerial attacks on rebels. It also blithely ignores the scale of the bloodbath for which George Bush and he are directly responsible.
Whether either is ever held to account for it, global opinion against the Iraq war is long settled - including in Britain, the US and Iraq. The invasion was a flagrant act of aggression against a broken-backed state, regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international legal opinion.
The onslaught triggered a death toll which certainly runs into hundreds, rather than tens, of thousands: Estimates range from the Iraq Body Count’s minimum of 173,271 up to 2012 (acknowledged to be an underestimate) through the Iraqi government and World Health Organisation’s 223,000 and Lancet survey’s 654,965 “excess deaths” in the first three years, to the ORB polling organisation’s estimate of more than a million.
The occupation was a catastrophe for Iraqis. It destroyed the country’s infrastructure, created four million refugees, reduced cities like Fallujah to ruins - littered with depleted uranium and white phosphorus as cancer rates and birth defects multiplied and brought Al Qaida and its sectarian terror into the country.
That was not the result of mistakes and lack of planning, as the US and British elites like to tell themselves. However, as with the armed resistance that mushroomed in the aftermath of the invasion, they were foreseeable and foreseen outcomes of what by any sober reckoning has been a reckless crime.
Saddam Hussain “created enormous carnage”, Blair said - which was certainly true in the years when his regime was backed by Britain and the US.
However, that is exactly what George W. Bush and Blair himself did in their war to overthrow him. The biggest improvement in Iraqis’ lives thereafter came as a result of the lifting of US and British-enforced sanctions, estimated by Unicef to have killed half a million Iraqi children in the 1990s.
Ten years on, the US still has a powerful presence in Iraq - now starting to resemble a sort of American-Iranian condominium - with thousands of military contractors, security and intelligence leverage and long-term oil contracts. However, it is a long way from the archipelago of bases and control its leaders had in mind.
Iraqi success in preventing a permanent occupation is down to resistance, armed and civil, Sunni and Shia.
However, that achievement was undermined by the eruption of sectarianism in the aftermath of the invasion, fostered by the occupying forces in the classic imperial divide-and-rule mould.
The evidence is now indisputable that this went far beyond the promotion of a sectarian political carve-up. As the Guardian had reported earlier this month, US forces led by General David Petraeus himself were directly involved not only in overseeing torture centres, but also in sponsoring an El Salvador-style dirty war of sectarian death squads (known as “police commando units”) to undermine the resistance.
One outcome is the authoritarian Shia elite-dominated state run by Nouri Al Maliki today. His Sunni vice-president until last year, Tariq Al Hashemi - forced to leave the country and sentenced to death in absentia for allegedly ordering killings - was one of those who in his own words “collaborated” with the occupation, encouraging former resistance leaders to join Petraeus’s “awakening councils” and now bitterly regrets it. “If I knew the result would be like this, I would never have done it,” he told me over last weekend. “I made a grave mistake.”
The sectarian virus incubated in the occupation has now spread beyond Iraq’s borders and threatens the future of states across the eastern Arab world. However, the war has not only been a disaster for Iraq and the region.
By demonstrating the limits of US power and its inability to impose its will on people prepared to fight back, Iraq proved a strategic defeat for the US and its closest allies. For the British state, the retreat of its armed forces from Basra under cover of darkness, with their own record of torture and killings, was a humiliation.
There is little prospect, given the balance of power, of those most responsible for torture and atrocities in Iraq - let alone ordering the original aggression - of facing justice or of the reparations Iraqis deserve, but there should be a greater chance of preventing more western military intervention in the Middle East, as Blair and his friends are now pressing for in Syria and Iran.
“Damn us for what we did,” a British Iraq veteran wrote the other day. Far better would be to make it impossible for the politicians who sent them there to unleash such barbarism again.       –Gulf News

IMRAN KHAN - PTI Jalsa 23 March 2013 Lahore


Six Promises Agenda

LAHORE: Pakistani cricket legend-turned politician Imran Khan Saturday, speaking to tens and thousands of party supporters, vowed to be truthful and loyal with them even after assuming powers in run up to a historic national election later this spring before heavy rain interrupted his speech.
The 60-year-old Khan is shaping up to be the biggest wildcard in the May 11 parliamentary election – the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has experienced three military coups.
“I only care for you Pakistanis and that’s why I am in politics. Come join my hands to build a new Pakistan,” he said speaking at the much anticipated March 23 rally near the country’s towering national monument, the Minar-i-Pakistan. Watch Video and read more >>>>..
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Obama comes to bless Israel’s government of settlers

Those who hoped that Barack Obama would be arriving in Israel to bang Israeli and Palestinian heads together, after four years of impasse in the peace process, will be sorely disappointed.

The US president’s trip beginning today may be historic – the first of his presidency to Israel and the Palestinian territories – but he has been doing everything possible beforehand to lower expectations.

At the weekend, Arab-American leaders revealed that Obama had made it clear he would not present a peace plan, because Israel has indicated it is not interested in an agreement with the Palestinians.

Any lingering doubts about Israel’s intentions were removed by the announcement of a new cabinet, hurriedly sworn in before the president’s visit. This government makes Benjamin Netanyahu’s last one, itself widely considered the most hardline in Israel’s history, look almost moderate.

Ynet, Israel’s popular news website, reported that settler leaders hailed this as their “wet dream” cabinet.

Zahava Gal-On, leader of the opposition Meretz party, concurred, observing that it would “do a lot for the settlers and not much at all for the rest of Israeli society”.

The settlers’ dedicated party, Jewish Home, has been awarded three key ministries – trade and industry, Jerusalem, and housing – as well as control of the parliamentary finance committee, that will ensure that the settlements flourish during this government’s term.

There is no chance Jewish Home will agree to a settlement freeze similar to the one Obama insisted on in his first term. Rather, the party will accelerate both house-building and industrial development over the Green Line, to make the settlements even more attractive places to live.

Uzi Landau, of Avigdor Lieberman’s far-right Yisraeli Beiteinu party, has the tourism portfolio and can be relied on to direct funds to the West Bank’s many Biblical sites, to encourage Israelis and tourists to visit.

The new defence minister, who oversees the occupation and is the only official in a practical position to obstruct this settler free-for-all, is Likud’s Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff known for his ardent support of the settlements.

True, Yair Lapid’s large centrist party Yesh Atid is represented too. But its influence on diplomacy will be muted, because its five ministers will handle chiefly domestic issues such as welfare, health and science.

The one exception, Shai Piron, the new education minister, is a settler rabbi who can be expected to expand the existing programme of school trips to the settlements, continuing the settlers’ successful efforts to integrate themselves into the mainstream.

Far from preparing to make concessions to the US president, Netanyahu has all but declared his backing for Jewish Home’s plan to annex large parts of the West Bank.

The only minister with any professed interest in diplomatic talks, and that mostly driven by her self-serving efforts to stay popular with the White House, is Tzipi Livni. She is well aware that opportunities for negotiations are extremely limited: the peace process received just one perfunctory mention in the coalition agreement.

Obama, apparently only too aware he is facing an Israeli government even more intransigent than the last one, has chosen to avoid addressing the Knesset. Instead he will direct his speech to a more receptive audience of Israeli students, in what US officials have termed a “charm offensive”.

We can expect grand words, a few meagre promises and total inaction on the occupation.

In a sign of quite how loath the White House is to tackle the settlements issue again, its representatives at the United Nations refused on Monday to take part in a Human Rights Council debate that described the settlements as a form of “creeping annexation” of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Obama’s hands-off approach will satisfy his constituency at home. A poll for ABC-TV showed this week that most Americans support Israel over the Palestinians – 55 per cent to 9 per cent. An even larger majority, 70 per cent, think the US should leave the two sides to settle their future for themselves.

Ordinary Israelis, the US president’s target audience, are none too keen on his getting involved either. Recent survey data show that 53 per cent think Obama will fail to protect Israel’s interests, and 80 per cent believe he will not bring progress with the Palestinians over the next four years. The mood is one of indifference rather than anticipation.

These are all good reasons why neither Obama nor Netanyahu will be much focused on the Palestinian issue over the three-day visit. As analyst Daniel Levy observed: “Obama is coming first and foremost to make a statement about the US-Israel bond, not the illegal occupation.”

That is also how it looks to most Palestinians, who have grown increasingly exasperated by US obstructionism. US officials who went to Bethlehem in preparation for Obama’s visit on Friday found themselves caught up in anti-Obama demonstrations. More are expected today in Ramallah.

Other Palestinians protested his visit by establishing today a new tent community on occupied Palestinian land next to Jerusalem. Several previous such encampments have been hastily demolished by Israeli soldiers.

The organisers hope to highlight US hypocrisy in backing Israel’s occupation: Jewish settlers are allowed to build with official state backing on Palestinian land in violation of international law, while Palestinians are barred from developing their own territory in what is now considered by most of the world as the Palestinian state.

The unspoken message of Obama’s visit is that the Netanyahu government is free to pursue its hardline agenda with little danger of anything more than symbolic protest from Washington.

The new Israeli cabinet lost no time setting out its legislative priorities. The first bill announced is a “basic law” to change the state’s official definition, so that its “Jewish” aspects trump the “democratic” elements, a move the Haaretz newspaper termed “insane”.

Among the main provisions is one to restrict state funding to new Jewish communities only. This points to a cynical solution Netanyahu may adopt to placate the simmering social protest movement in Tel Aviv, which has been demanding above all more affordable housing.

By freeing up even more cheap land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, he can expand the settlements, further eat away at Palestinian territory, silence the protests, and wrong-foot the opposition. All he needs is Obama’s blessing.

By: Jonathan-cook.net : http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2013-03-20/obama-comes-to-bless-israels-government-of-settlers/
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Power of the pulpit

THE power of the minbar (pulpit) in Muslim societies such as ours is considerable. For whatever flows from this source is heard with rapt attention and largely accepted as true by most believers. Hence the responsibility of the sahib-i-minbar (one who occupies the pulpit) is immense.

While local society may be composed of people with varying degrees of involvement in religious activities, it can safely be assumed that a large number of Muslims in Pakistan attend the mosque at least once a week, to offer Friday prayers. And with the khutbah (sermon) being an integral component of Friday prayers, the imam-i-jummah (who leads Friday prayers) or khateeb (who may also deliver sermons on other occasions) has a large, captive audience.

Considering this, the Friday sermon can be instrumental in changing society and inculcating ethical values amongst the believers. Even if worshippers act upon a percentage of what they hear in the sermon, visible changes can occur in society. But for that to happen preachers must plan their sermons in such a way that the khutbah identifies society’s many ills and, more importantly, proposes ways inspired by Islamic tradition to find a way out of the moral darkness that has enveloped us.

What is usually addressed in the Friday sermon? In most mosques the imam dilates on certain Quranic verses while punctuating the sermon with hadith, often citing examples from the early Islamic era. Yet while citing from these sacred sources is perfectly fine, perhaps not many preachers make an attempt to link tradition with solutions to address modern man’s problems.

Perhaps we forget that the Holy Quran was not revealed for a certain time or for a certain people, but to address mankind’s spiritual and existential issues across the limited boundaries of time and space. It is this disconnect between Islam’s eternal message and the content of most Friday sermons that the learned men of religion need to address.

The sermon can be an essential tool for the character building of society. It is important to address theological and philosophical issues, but preachers should not forget the people’s problems while addressing believers. Society is brimming with issues that need attention. Seemingly small problems, if regularly highlighted, can lead to big changes.

For example, despite Islam’s focus on personal hygiene and an environment free of all sorts of pollution, our streets and neighbourhoods overflow with filth and garbage. If khateebs constantly exhort their flocks to make an effort to keep their homes and neighbourhoods clean, people may go the extra mile to do so considering it a religious duty.

Similarly, despite Islam’s insistence on education for all — men and women, rich and poor — we as a society do not value knowledge and revel in ignorance. If our scholars use Friday sermons to send clear messages to the faithful that educating themselves and their children is a religious requirement, perhaps it may change attitudes. To paraphrase a renowned hadith, knowledge has been equated with life and ignorance with death.

There are countless other questions that can be addressed through the pulpit within the Islamic framework which can be instrumental in changing society. These include respect for women, problems of the youth, treating others with empathy and respect, eliminating ethnic discord, how to raise responsible children etc. Islam provides a wide array of tools for character building. It is up to the men of religion and society as a whole to properly employ different tools in different situations.

Perhaps the root of the problem is selecting the right candidate for the right job. Unfortunately, while there are notable exceptions, many of those who occupy the pulpit across Pakistan may not be qualified to bear the heavy responsibility the minbar demands. After all, preaching has become a profession and unfortunately in many instances preachers lack the broader vision the Quran and the Prophet’s (PBUH) tradition seek to give man.

What, then, are the qualities one who occupies the minbar should possess? The base should be impeccable character fused with a firm knowledge of faith and the religious sciences. But it does not stop there. A truly progressive and socially conscious khateeb should be a capable public speaker, able to use the nuances and subtleties of language to effectively communicate the message.

A thorough knowledge of history should be an added bonus, for Muslims do not live in a bubble and should be aware of the changes the world has gone through both before and since the final revelation. Also, the khateeb must have a working knowledge of sociology in order to addresses society’s myriad problems.

But perhaps the most important prerequisite for a khateeb must be hikmah (wisdom), as explained in verse 125 of Surah al-Nahl. Wisdom cannot be learnt in a university or a college, in a madressah or jamea. Academic training is important, but perhaps wisdom is received after studying the book of life, ultimately depending on the Almighty and following the Prophet’s tradition.

It may be a tall order but if our society is to be reformed, responsible and socially aware khateebs must occupy our pulpits, from plush air-conditioned mosques to more modest set-ups in villages and katchi abadis. Mosque boards and trusts must primarily take up this responsibility.

Preaching must focus on societal reform and harmony. Those who preach hate and fan the flames of difference must not be let anywhere close to the minbar. Only by placing capable individuals on the pulpit can we hope to change society for the better and stem the further spread of the poison of sectarian and communal hatred.

By Qasim A Moini: http://dawn.com/2013/03/22/power-of-the-pulpit/
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Sri Lankan Muslims under threat


Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced by a group of minorities who make up 9.7% of the population of Sri Lanka. 1,967,227 persons adhering Islam as per the census of 2012.[1][2]The Muslim community is divided into three main ethnic groups: the Sri Lankan Moors, the Indian Muslims (including Tamil Muslims) and the Malays, each with its own history and traditions. The attitude among the majority of people in Sri Lanka is to use the term "Muslim" as an ethnic group, specifically when referring to Sri Lankan Moors.
The war againt Muslims In Sri Lanka:



 A CURIOUS story in a local English daily caught my eye the other day. It seemed the Sri Lanka Muslim Council had given in to demands that meat could be sold without halal certification. This is a huge success for radical Buddhist groups who have been orchestrating an anti-Muslim campaign for the last few years.

Mosques have been attacked, prayers disrupted, and Muslims in general accused of being anti-state. The Muslim Tamil National Alliance has written to the Secretary General of the United Nations, asking him for protection, and protesting against this nasty campaign.

Leading the anti-Muslim charge is a group called the Bodu Bela Sena, or Buddhist Force. Headed by ultra-nationalistic monks, the group follows a xenophobic agenda of “Sri Lanka for the Buddhists”. Of late, Buddhist monks have begun playing a growing and retrogressive role in the island’s politics.
Distribution of Islam in Sri Lanka based on 2001 and 1981 (cursive) census


The monks first flexed their muscles to shore up the Rajapakse government’s resolve to crush the Tamil insurgency. First, they blocked any possibility of compromise by offering the Tamil Tigers greater autonomy. To build up pressure, they formed a political party and won enough seats to take a place in the coalition government.

Then, when President Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother, defence secretary Gotabaya, was facing difficulties in finding enough recruits for the army, a group of monks fanned out across the Buddhist areas to motivate thousands of young men. These recruits were assured that they would not lose karma by fighting and killing in a war as they would be doing so in the cause of Buddhism.

The brutal civil war ended nearly four years ago in a bloodbath that is now the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism from abroad. The ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Commission at Geneva is about to vote on a resolution initiated by the US, demanding an international investigation into the fate of tens of thousands of Tamils said to be killed in the last days of the fighting in the north of the island.

Against this backdrop, it is odd that the government is doing so little to clamp down on the anti-Muslim campaign. Should it gain support and traction, the results could be very bad news. Muslims are mostly concentrated in three areas: in and around Galle and Colombo, and in the coastal areas of the north-east. The latter are mostly poor fishermen, while urban Muslims are heavily represented in business and the professions.

According to unofficial reports, the 2011 census indicates that Muslims form around 10 per cent of the total population of 21.4 million. This is a substantial increase from the 7.6 pc in the last census. One reason the new census figures have not been officially released is said to be the disquiet the increase in the number of Muslims might cause among the majority.

Already, Muslims in the north have been subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Tamil Tigers in the early nineties. Thousands were driven southward from their homes and farms in the mostly Tamil north. After the war ended, and they tried to reclaim their property, they were subjected to great hostility by Sinhalese farmers who had grabbed much of the land. Most of the displaced Muslims have settled around Colombo, and their children consider the capital their home.

One factor that is probably driving the anti-Muslim campaign is envy. Urban Muslims have fared relatively well over the years, and have cornered the lucrative gemstone market. Others have gone into real estate and construction. Many have made a name for themselves in the legal profession. And while a few have gone into politics, they recognise that they can never hope to rise to the top. By and large, they have kept a low profile.

A number of Muslim families in Galle and Matra pride themselves on their descent from Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka centuries ago. Others have come from the Indian coast. There is a small and wealthy Bohra community in Colombo. Many northern Muslims descended from Malays who settled along the coast.

Thus, Sri Lankan Muslims represent an ethnic mix who have helped in creating prosperity and diversity. So far, at least, they have got along well with their neighbours. However, despite centuries of living together, integration has been slow. Like most minorities, Muslims tend to stick together, maintaining their dress code and diet. Women usually wear some form of hijab, and many Muslim men wear beards and skull caps.

Even liberal Sinhalese accuse Muslims of not keeping their streets clean, and generally staying aloof from the mainstream.

Inter-marriage between Muslims and Sinhalese are limited to the elites. But everybody acknowledges their hard work and sound business ethics.

The civil war and the way it ended has exploded the myth of the peaceful Buddhists. There is thus a genuine concern over the ongoing anti-Muslim campaign: observers recognise the potential for a vicious pogrom should the government not step in.

However, the ugly reality is that the Buddhist majority are a far larger vote bank than the Muslims.

Many are puzzled by how and why anti-Muslim feelings have spread so quickly. After all, after the end of the civil war in 2009, it had been widely assumed that the restoration of peace would heal the ethnic wounds opened during decades of conflict. Sadly, the government has made little effort to reach out to a defeated and demoralised Tamil community.

One theory is that the triumphant Sinhalese fringe elements on the extreme right need a fresh target for their xenophobia. Some in the business community are eyeing the assets of their successful Muslim competitors. Politicians are seeking to tap into the strong sense of Buddhist identity that was pumped up during the last stages of the war. The recent execution of a young Sri Lankan maid in Saudi Arabia on flimsy charges provided more ammunition to the extremists.

None of this is good news for the peaceful and prosperous Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Hopefully, the government will check the vicious propaganda doing the rounds and prevent an explosion.
By Irfan Husain:

  1. http://dawn.com/2013/03/18/sri-lankan-muslims-under-threat/
  2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Sri_Lanka#Sri_Lankan_Moors
  3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk66aGWq7Zo

It' s not so strange for a Buddhist to endorse killing - The Guardian

www.guardian.co.uk › 
The following story is analogous to a terroristsituation. It is known throughout northern Buddhism. Communists even used it to rouse Chinese ...>>>>>
 Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing of Muslims in Myanmar ...
The Turkish foreign minister and wife of Turkish Prime mister visited oppressed Muslims of Burma to console and help them. Turkey is a secular country with Muslim majority but; Where are the so called the leaders and rulers ... >>>>