Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday raised the death toll in
Syria's civil war to more than 100,000, up from nearly 93,000 just over a
month ago.
Ban called on the Syrian government and opposition to
halt the violence in the 2 ½ year civil war, saying it is "imperative to
have a peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible."
The secretary-general spoke before talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who stood nearby.
"There
is no military solution to Syria," Kerry then told reporters. "There is
only a political solution, and that will require leadership in order to
bring people to the table."
The United States and Russia are
trying to convene an international conference in Geneva, along with the
United Nations, to try to agree on a transitional government based on a
plan adopted in that city a year ago.
Kerry said he talked to
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday and that both
countries remained committed to bringing the warring parties together to
further peace efforts.
"We will try our hardest to make that happen as soon as is possible," Kerry said.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Egypt braces for rival rallies, army signals crackdown
A deeply polarised Egypt braced for bloodshed on Friday in rival
mass rallies summoned by the army that ousted the state's first freely
elected president and by the Islamists who back him.
Both sides warned of a decisive struggle for the future of the Arab world's most populous country, convulsed by political and economic turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called Egyptians into the streets to give the military a "mandate" to confront weeks of violence unleashed by his July 3 overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
A military official said the army had given Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood a Saturday deadline to end its resistance and join a military-set roadmap to fresh elections, signalling a turning-point in the confrontation.
The Brotherhood fears a crackdown to wipe out an Islamist movement that emerged from decades in the shadows to win every election since Mubarak's fall, but was brought down by the army after barely a year in government.
The movement, which has manned a street vigil for almost a month with thousands of followers demanding Mursi's return, has called its own counter-demonstrations. Confrontation appeared inevitable following a month of clashes in which close to 200 people, mainly supporters of Mursi, have died.
The army threatened to "turn its guns" on those who use violence. The Brotherhood warned of civil war.
"We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters," the army official told Reuters.
There is deepening alarm in the West over the course taken by the country of 84 million people, a pivotal nation between the Middle East and North Africa and recipient of some $1.5 billion yearly in aid from the United States, mainly for the military.
Signalling its displeasure, Washington said this week it had delayed delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Cairo and called on the Egyptian army on Thursday to exercise "maximum restraint and caution" during Friday's rallies.
"This is a critical time for Egyptians to come together, particularly if they want to move beyond cycles of unrest and instability," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"WE WILL CLEANSE EGYPT"
Brotherhood supporters have been camped out in a Cairo square since June 28, guarded by men with sticks behind barricades and sandbags. They fear a repeat of the July 8 killing of more than 50 Mursi supporters when security forces opened fire outside a Cairo barracks.
The Brotherhood says it wants nothing to do with the army's transition plan. With Mursi still in military detention at an undisclosed location, there is slim hope for compromise.
"Tomorrow we will cleanse Egypt," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz, a spokesman for the Tamarud ("Rebel") youth movement that helped rally millions in anti-Mursi street protests before the army moved against him.
"There are men carrying guns on the street," he told Reuters. "We will not let extremists ruin our revolution."
Anti-Mursi protesters began gathering overnight in Cairo's Tahrir square, epicentre of the rallies that brought down Mubarak and preceded the army's overthrow of Mursi, as well as at the capital's presidential palace, in Egypt's second city of Alexandria and in Port Said on the Suez canal.
The rallies were expected to peak after the evening prayer marking the end of the day's Ramadan fast.
Witnesses said army helicopters had dropped flyers at the Brotherhood vigil calling on people to refrain from violence. The Interior Ministry said it would undertake "unprecedented measures to protect citizens and their property".
The Brotherhood says it is the authorities themselves that have stirred up the violence to justify their crackdown.
Sisi delivered his call on Wednesday in full military uniform and dark sunglasses. He was appointed by Mursi in a bid by the president to rein in Egypt's all-powerful military, but Sisi turned against him after a year in which the Egyptian economy floundered and support for Mursi slumped.
Posters of the general have since appeared in shops and stalls across Cairo.
The country remains deeply split over what happened on July 3. The Brotherhood accuses the army of ejecting a democratically elected leader in a long-planned coup, while its opponents say the army responded to the will of the people.
Sisi announced the nationwide rallies after a bomb attack on a police station in Mansoura, a city north of Cairo, in which a policeman was killed.
Since Mursi was deposed, hardline Islamists have also escalated a violent campaign against the state in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, near Egypt's border with Israel and the Palestinina Gaza strip, with daily attacks on security forces.
The influential Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of Egypt's top Islamic institute Al-Azhar, urged Egyptians to heed the army's call.
"The Azhar's understanding is that the army's protest call was made for all Egyptians to unite and stand against violence," he said in a statement aired on state television. "I ask all Egyptians to rally to save Egypt."
Both sides warned of a decisive struggle for the future of the Arab world's most populous country, convulsed by political and economic turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called Egyptians into the streets to give the military a "mandate" to confront weeks of violence unleashed by his July 3 overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
A military official said the army had given Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood a Saturday deadline to end its resistance and join a military-set roadmap to fresh elections, signalling a turning-point in the confrontation.
The Brotherhood fears a crackdown to wipe out an Islamist movement that emerged from decades in the shadows to win every election since Mubarak's fall, but was brought down by the army after barely a year in government.
The movement, which has manned a street vigil for almost a month with thousands of followers demanding Mursi's return, has called its own counter-demonstrations. Confrontation appeared inevitable following a month of clashes in which close to 200 people, mainly supporters of Mursi, have died.
The army threatened to "turn its guns" on those who use violence. The Brotherhood warned of civil war.
"We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters," the army official told Reuters.
There is deepening alarm in the West over the course taken by the country of 84 million people, a pivotal nation between the Middle East and North Africa and recipient of some $1.5 billion yearly in aid from the United States, mainly for the military.
Signalling its displeasure, Washington said this week it had delayed delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Cairo and called on the Egyptian army on Thursday to exercise "maximum restraint and caution" during Friday's rallies.
"This is a critical time for Egyptians to come together, particularly if they want to move beyond cycles of unrest and instability," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"WE WILL CLEANSE EGYPT"
Brotherhood supporters have been camped out in a Cairo square since June 28, guarded by men with sticks behind barricades and sandbags. They fear a repeat of the July 8 killing of more than 50 Mursi supporters when security forces opened fire outside a Cairo barracks.
The Brotherhood says it wants nothing to do with the army's transition plan. With Mursi still in military detention at an undisclosed location, there is slim hope for compromise.
"Tomorrow we will cleanse Egypt," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz, a spokesman for the Tamarud ("Rebel") youth movement that helped rally millions in anti-Mursi street protests before the army moved against him.
"There are men carrying guns on the street," he told Reuters. "We will not let extremists ruin our revolution."
Anti-Mursi protesters began gathering overnight in Cairo's Tahrir square, epicentre of the rallies that brought down Mubarak and preceded the army's overthrow of Mursi, as well as at the capital's presidential palace, in Egypt's second city of Alexandria and in Port Said on the Suez canal.
The rallies were expected to peak after the evening prayer marking the end of the day's Ramadan fast.
Witnesses said army helicopters had dropped flyers at the Brotherhood vigil calling on people to refrain from violence. The Interior Ministry said it would undertake "unprecedented measures to protect citizens and their property".
The Brotherhood says it is the authorities themselves that have stirred up the violence to justify their crackdown.
Sisi delivered his call on Wednesday in full military uniform and dark sunglasses. He was appointed by Mursi in a bid by the president to rein in Egypt's all-powerful military, but Sisi turned against him after a year in which the Egyptian economy floundered and support for Mursi slumped.
Posters of the general have since appeared in shops and stalls across Cairo.
The country remains deeply split over what happened on July 3. The Brotherhood accuses the army of ejecting a democratically elected leader in a long-planned coup, while its opponents say the army responded to the will of the people.
Sisi announced the nationwide rallies after a bomb attack on a police station in Mansoura, a city north of Cairo, in which a policeman was killed.
Since Mursi was deposed, hardline Islamists have also escalated a violent campaign against the state in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, near Egypt's border with Israel and the Palestinina Gaza strip, with daily attacks on security forces.
The influential Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of Egypt's top Islamic institute Al-Azhar, urged Egyptians to heed the army's call.
"The Azhar's understanding is that the army's protest call was made for all Egyptians to unite and stand against violence," he said in a statement aired on state television. "I ask all Egyptians to rally to save Egypt."
Thursday, 25 July 2013
On Afghan Child Brides, Drug Lords and Chatting With One Insanely Courageous Reporter
Reporting in Afghanistan is pretty hairy these days. Reporting
outside “the Kabul bubble” is positively dangerous. But what can I say
about a blonde, Afghan-American female journalist reporting – sometimes
undercover – across the country, including the southern Pashtun
badlands, trying to interview drug lords, mules, lackeys and hostile
Pashtun patriarchs in one of the world’s most hostile regions?
Well, I can say she’s audacious. I can also tell you that she had me very worried sometimes.
Meet my dear friend Fariba Nawa, author of the newly released book, “Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey Through Afghanistan” (Perennial/Harper Collins).
When it comes to the multibillion dollar Afghan drug business, there are plenty of statistics and reports and experts expounding about this subject. If you’re lucky, you get the odd footage of some security official slashing poppy fields. If you’re really lucky, you may even get the odd quote from a sullen Afghan farmer about his livelihood destroyed.
What makes Fariba’s book so gripping – and important – are the very real characters, the human stories in this business, including the people who are enriched by drugs as well as those ensnared by it.
To get the story though, Faribe went through some pretty harrowing and dangerous experiences.
I remember one particular incident, when I reached Fariba on her satellite phone back in 2005 when she was in southern Afghanistan.
Before setting off from Kabul, Fariba had sought my advice about a man who was going to be her local guide in Helmand, a drug-infested southern Afghan province that has seen some of the worst fighting in recent years.
Fariba wasn’t sure if she could trust this guy and wondering what to do.
This
is a very tricky business in this business. Fixers, local guides and
translators are critical in conflict zones – a matter of life and death,
at times. If you’re a woman – and especially a female reporter in
Afghanistan – they often function as de facto security men. A good local
fixer from the right family, tribe or sub-tribe with a cell phone full
of contacts is honestly the best reporting tool in the field.
Fariba, who was born in Afghanistan and speaks excellent Dari, doesn’t need anyone to tell her this.
So, when she called to tell me about her doubts about this guide - who was a relative of a friend - I was thrown off-guard.
When it comes to Afghanistan, I’m the one constantly calling Fariba for contacts, translations and advice. Afghanistan is her homeland, she’s the queen in these parts. What could I possibly tell her about reporting in Afghanistan that she didn’t already know?
I offered her the one lousy piece of advice I give all my friends setting off on a dangerous reporting mission: if you feel it’s too dangerous, trust your gut and don’t be afraid to admit you’re scared.
But who listens to me? Fariba of course decided to go for it in the end.
So, she duly left Kabul and headed to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, from where she was to hire a car to Helmand.
But our conversation troubled me enough to make that call, back in 2005, just to check-in.
The call, unfortunately, did nothing to allay my anxieties.
When I reached her on the sat phone, Fariba was whispering into her earpiece, I could barely hear her. It wasn’t because the connection was bad. It was because she didn’t want to be heard speaking English.
Mind you she wasn’t on the road, she was in the Kandahar offices of an Afghan NGO, where she was staying before leaving for Helmand.
Cripes, I thought. If she doesn’t feel safe enough to talk in the premises of an NGO office, what’s going to happen when she leaves Kandahar for rural Helmand?
Fariba was going to Helmand in search of one of the characters in her book, a feisty little Afghan girl who was bartered to be married to a man 34 years older than her as a payment for an opium debt.
But that’s enough from me. I’m not going to give away the story. You’ll have the read the book for that…
(In the interest of full disclosure, Fariba, needless to say, is a friend. For some reason, mostly because she’s very kind, she has cited me in her acknowledgments – as one of her “friends and colleagues who gave ideas, feedback and support”. I mention this, once again, in the interest of full disclosure, although I really provided nominal feedback and support.)
Well, I can say she’s audacious. I can also tell you that she had me very worried sometimes.
Meet my dear friend Fariba Nawa, author of the newly released book, “Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey Through Afghanistan” (Perennial/Harper Collins).
When it comes to the multibillion dollar Afghan drug business, there are plenty of statistics and reports and experts expounding about this subject. If you’re lucky, you get the odd footage of some security official slashing poppy fields. If you’re really lucky, you may even get the odd quote from a sullen Afghan farmer about his livelihood destroyed.
What makes Fariba’s book so gripping – and important – are the very real characters, the human stories in this business, including the people who are enriched by drugs as well as those ensnared by it.
To get the story though, Faribe went through some pretty harrowing and dangerous experiences.
I remember one particular incident, when I reached Fariba on her satellite phone back in 2005 when she was in southern Afghanistan.
Before setting off from Kabul, Fariba had sought my advice about a man who was going to be her local guide in Helmand, a drug-infested southern Afghan province that has seen some of the worst fighting in recent years.
Fariba wasn’t sure if she could trust this guy and wondering what to do.
This
is a very tricky business in this business. Fixers, local guides and
translators are critical in conflict zones – a matter of life and death,
at times. If you’re a woman – and especially a female reporter in
Afghanistan – they often function as de facto security men. A good local
fixer from the right family, tribe or sub-tribe with a cell phone full
of contacts is honestly the best reporting tool in the field.
Fariba, who was born in Afghanistan and speaks excellent Dari, doesn’t need anyone to tell her this.
So, when she called to tell me about her doubts about this guide - who was a relative of a friend - I was thrown off-guard.
When it comes to Afghanistan, I’m the one constantly calling Fariba for contacts, translations and advice. Afghanistan is her homeland, she’s the queen in these parts. What could I possibly tell her about reporting in Afghanistan that she didn’t already know?
I offered her the one lousy piece of advice I give all my friends setting off on a dangerous reporting mission: if you feel it’s too dangerous, trust your gut and don’t be afraid to admit you’re scared.
But who listens to me? Fariba of course decided to go for it in the end.
So, she duly left Kabul and headed to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, from where she was to hire a car to Helmand.
But our conversation troubled me enough to make that call, back in 2005, just to check-in.
The call, unfortunately, did nothing to allay my anxieties.
When I reached her on the sat phone, Fariba was whispering into her earpiece, I could barely hear her. It wasn’t because the connection was bad. It was because she didn’t want to be heard speaking English.
Mind you she wasn’t on the road, she was in the Kandahar offices of an Afghan NGO, where she was staying before leaving for Helmand.
Cripes, I thought. If she doesn’t feel safe enough to talk in the premises of an NGO office, what’s going to happen when she leaves Kandahar for rural Helmand?
Fariba was going to Helmand in search of one of the characters in her book, a feisty little Afghan girl who was bartered to be married to a man 34 years older than her as a payment for an opium debt.
But that’s enough from me. I’m not going to give away the story. You’ll have the read the book for that…
(In the interest of full disclosure, Fariba, needless to say, is a friend. For some reason, mostly because she’s very kind, she has cited me in her acknowledgments – as one of her “friends and colleagues who gave ideas, feedback and support”. I mention this, once again, in the interest of full disclosure, although I really provided nominal feedback and support.)
Demagogue Dies Without Facing Justice, But Girl Arrested for Clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook
I was at a dinner table full of journalists over the weekend,
with the conversation moving from Gaza to Syria to East Asia. Late into
the night, I noted that one of the vilest figures in my lifetime had
died this week – without ever facing justice.
Nobody at the table knew what I was talking about.
“Bal Thackeray - head of the Bombay-based, right-wing Shiv Sena party,” I explained.
‘Ah yes, the guy from India who died,’ was all they could muster.
“You know of course this is the guy who renamed and forever changed Bombay city, who directed a well-organized campaign of violence against the city’s Muslims, resulting in the deaths of nearly a thousand people during the 1992-1993 riots - yeah?” I asked.
‘Really?’ A table full of flabbergasted faces confronted me.
When it comes to India, the script tends to be so polished – world’s largest democracy, rising power, that sort of thing – that even fairly well-informed people across the globe have little idea about the uglier realities in modern India.
For nearly two decades, at dinner tables, bars, coffee shops and shishya stalls on different continents, I have tried to present the hidden script – with little success.
Sometimes in this business, when you have a complicated story to tell, you try to make it accessible for an international audience by putting a human face to complex issues. I now realize I could have made it a lot easier if I just relayed the yarn about the exploits of a certain Bal Thackeray.
A Chilling Legacy Lives On
In life and in death, Bal Thackeray was – and continues to be – the human face of everything that has gone horribly wrong with the dream of a pluralistic, tolerant, cosmopolitan and accountable India.
Right now, as we speak, the guy is stone, cold dead. Yet his chilling legacy lives on – just ask Shaheen Dhada, a 21-year-old Bombay resident, and her friend, Ruhi Shrinivasan.
Dhada was arrested early Monday for posting a comment on Facebook criticizing the shutdown of Bombay, India’s financial capital, over the weekend, following Thackeray's death. Shrinivasan was held for – get this - clicking the “like” button.
Here’s the post according to Indian media reports: "People like Bal Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that,” she wrote. Bandh is the Hindi word for shutdown.
Notice the 92-character post does not explicitly criticize Thackeray – it merely questions the complete shutdown of the Indian financial capital over the weekend.
According to the police, Dhada and Shrinivasan were arrested following a complaint filed by a local Shiv Sena activist accusing the girls of making “statements creating or promoting enmity” and inciting violence – charges their lawyer denies.
Following a court hearing Monday afternoon, the girls were released on bail. Dhada has since taken down the post and has apparently apologized for it – even though she doesn’t need to.
But that did not stop angry Shiv Sena activists from vandalizing a hospital run by one of her relatives, according to Indian media reports.
Nightmare in the Indian City of Dreams
This is how it works in India’s city of dreams, the birthplace of Bollywood, the uber polis of the world's largest democracy.
This is how Thackeray – or “Balasaheb” as he’s known by his fawning, worshipful, often thuggish supporters – has operated in life and in death.
Violence, or the fear of violence, is what enabled a one-time newspaper cartoonist to rise to xenophobic demagogue stature, publicly threaten various groups (especially Indian Muslims), stoke deadly riots, proclaim his admiration for Hitler, emulate his hero’s fascist techniques of wielding political violence – and get away with it.
Thackeray died at 86 of natural causes having never faced justice – not for lack of proof, but because the Indian state was afraid of the consequences of putting a man like him in jail.
Here’s what the official report on the 1992-1993 Bombay riots, which killed around 900 people, had to say about justice – or the lack thereof – following the city’s worst massacres.
“Even after it became apparent that the leaders of the Shiv Sena were active in stoking the fire of the communal riots, the police dragged their feet on the facile and exaggerated assumption that if such leaders were arrested the communal situation would further flare up, or…’Bombay would burn.’”
Notice how a strongman-politician who incited violence, dies without ever facing justice. But one girl is arrested for posting a Facebook comment criticizing the city’s shutdown following his death and her friend is detained for clicking “like” – nice.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means to Me
It was fear, not respect, that drove India's commerical hub into an involuntary bandh mode. As shopkeepers, vendors, taxi drivers, theater owners and businessmen across the city well know, if the Shiv Sena decides to go on a mass strike, you shutdown shop – or you will be beaten up and/or your property destroyed. Simple.
The truly insidious part though is not just the Shiv Sena’s ugly politics and the even uglier political tools of fear, blackmail and protection rackets they wield in India’s wealthiest city.
It’s the extent to which the city’s – even the nation’s – elites have groveled and kowtowed to the Don Corleone of Bombay.
At Thackeray’s funeral service on Sunday, the lineup of national political figures, Bollywood stars, starlets, businessmen and industrialists was impressive.
If they had any questions about Thackeray’s culpability in an array of crimes, they did not say.
The media coverage – nationwide live coverage of the final rites of a very local political figure – was also notably lacking in balance.
To be fair, there were a number of dissenting voices of ordinary Indians – on Facebook among other platforms.
In a letter to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Justice Katju, chairman of the Press Council of India and former Supreme Court judge, protested the arrests of the two girls over a Facebook post.
“To my mind, it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts religious sentiments,” said Justice Katju, before adding that the Indian Constitution guarantees free speech and warning that “this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act”.
A number of Facebook users were quick to support the girls with several people urging their friends to cut and paste the infamous Facebook quote on their walls.
A couple of folks who had posted critical posts wondered if half the city would end up in jail.
“There’s a loud pounding at my door,” joked a well-known journalist who had spent the weekend criticizing Bombay’s Dear Leader on a variety of news channels.
Shortly after I heard the news of Thackeray’s death on Saturday evening, I posted the following comment on Facebook: “Good riddance – the end of one of the vilest figures of my lifetime. A minute’s silence for the victims of his criminal rhetoric - including Bombay, a city he renamed and irrevocably changed, and the state that afforded him a lifetime without facing justice.”
But then I’m oceans away from India’s city of dreams and I don’t have to fear a knock on my door - so I can click "like" as and when I like.
Nobody at the table knew what I was talking about.
“Bal Thackeray - head of the Bombay-based, right-wing Shiv Sena party,” I explained.
‘Ah yes, the guy from India who died,’ was all they could muster.
“You know of course this is the guy who renamed and forever changed Bombay city, who directed a well-organized campaign of violence against the city’s Muslims, resulting in the deaths of nearly a thousand people during the 1992-1993 riots - yeah?” I asked.
‘Really?’ A table full of flabbergasted faces confronted me.
When it comes to India, the script tends to be so polished – world’s largest democracy, rising power, that sort of thing – that even fairly well-informed people across the globe have little idea about the uglier realities in modern India.
For nearly two decades, at dinner tables, bars, coffee shops and shishya stalls on different continents, I have tried to present the hidden script – with little success.
Sometimes in this business, when you have a complicated story to tell, you try to make it accessible for an international audience by putting a human face to complex issues. I now realize I could have made it a lot easier if I just relayed the yarn about the exploits of a certain Bal Thackeray.
A Chilling Legacy Lives On
In life and in death, Bal Thackeray was – and continues to be – the human face of everything that has gone horribly wrong with the dream of a pluralistic, tolerant, cosmopolitan and accountable India.
Right now, as we speak, the guy is stone, cold dead. Yet his chilling legacy lives on – just ask Shaheen Dhada, a 21-year-old Bombay resident, and her friend, Ruhi Shrinivasan.
Dhada was arrested early Monday for posting a comment on Facebook criticizing the shutdown of Bombay, India’s financial capital, over the weekend, following Thackeray's death. Shrinivasan was held for – get this - clicking the “like” button.
Here’s the post according to Indian media reports: "People like Bal Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that,” she wrote. Bandh is the Hindi word for shutdown.
Notice the 92-character post does not explicitly criticize Thackeray – it merely questions the complete shutdown of the Indian financial capital over the weekend.
According to the police, Dhada and Shrinivasan were arrested following a complaint filed by a local Shiv Sena activist accusing the girls of making “statements creating or promoting enmity” and inciting violence – charges their lawyer denies.
Following a court hearing Monday afternoon, the girls were released on bail. Dhada has since taken down the post and has apparently apologized for it – even though she doesn’t need to.
But that did not stop angry Shiv Sena activists from vandalizing a hospital run by one of her relatives, according to Indian media reports.
Nightmare in the Indian City of Dreams
This is how it works in India’s city of dreams, the birthplace of Bollywood, the uber polis of the world's largest democracy.
This is how Thackeray – or “Balasaheb” as he’s known by his fawning, worshipful, often thuggish supporters – has operated in life and in death.
Violence, or the fear of violence, is what enabled a one-time newspaper cartoonist to rise to xenophobic demagogue stature, publicly threaten various groups (especially Indian Muslims), stoke deadly riots, proclaim his admiration for Hitler, emulate his hero’s fascist techniques of wielding political violence – and get away with it.
Thackeray died at 86 of natural causes having never faced justice – not for lack of proof, but because the Indian state was afraid of the consequences of putting a man like him in jail.
Here’s what the official report on the 1992-1993 Bombay riots, which killed around 900 people, had to say about justice – or the lack thereof – following the city’s worst massacres.
“Even after it became apparent that the leaders of the Shiv Sena were active in stoking the fire of the communal riots, the police dragged their feet on the facile and exaggerated assumption that if such leaders were arrested the communal situation would further flare up, or…’Bombay would burn.’”
Notice how a strongman-politician who incited violence, dies without ever facing justice. But one girl is arrested for posting a Facebook comment criticizing the city’s shutdown following his death and her friend is detained for clicking “like” – nice.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means to Me
It was fear, not respect, that drove India's commerical hub into an involuntary bandh mode. As shopkeepers, vendors, taxi drivers, theater owners and businessmen across the city well know, if the Shiv Sena decides to go on a mass strike, you shutdown shop – or you will be beaten up and/or your property destroyed. Simple.
The truly insidious part though is not just the Shiv Sena’s ugly politics and the even uglier political tools of fear, blackmail and protection rackets they wield in India’s wealthiest city.
It’s the extent to which the city’s – even the nation’s – elites have groveled and kowtowed to the Don Corleone of Bombay.
At Thackeray’s funeral service on Sunday, the lineup of national political figures, Bollywood stars, starlets, businessmen and industrialists was impressive.
If they had any questions about Thackeray’s culpability in an array of crimes, they did not say.
The media coverage – nationwide live coverage of the final rites of a very local political figure – was also notably lacking in balance.
To be fair, there were a number of dissenting voices of ordinary Indians – on Facebook among other platforms.
In a letter to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Justice Katju, chairman of the Press Council of India and former Supreme Court judge, protested the arrests of the two girls over a Facebook post.
“To my mind, it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts religious sentiments,” said Justice Katju, before adding that the Indian Constitution guarantees free speech and warning that “this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act”.
A number of Facebook users were quick to support the girls with several people urging their friends to cut and paste the infamous Facebook quote on their walls.
A couple of folks who had posted critical posts wondered if half the city would end up in jail.
“There’s a loud pounding at my door,” joked a well-known journalist who had spent the weekend criticizing Bombay’s Dear Leader on a variety of news channels.
Shortly after I heard the news of Thackeray’s death on Saturday evening, I posted the following comment on Facebook: “Good riddance – the end of one of the vilest figures of my lifetime. A minute’s silence for the victims of his criminal rhetoric - including Bombay, a city he renamed and irrevocably changed, and the state that afforded him a lifetime without facing justice.”
But then I’m oceans away from India’s city of dreams and I don’t have to fear a knock on my door - so I can click "like" as and when I like.
Old foes, new friends: Mali eases suspicious minds
What a difference a military intervention makes.
Old foes become new friends, once suspicious allies become indispensable partners in war.
The latest French military intervention in Mali is shaking things up in so many ways, I don’t know where to begin.
Let’s start with Washington’s growing footprint in Africa.
In a report that has generated a buzz in France, The New York Times this week revealed that the US is preparing to establish a drone base in northwest Africa – possibly Niger.
On Monday, the US and Niger signed what they call a “status-of-forces agreement” – which sparked a spate of stories about Africa becoming a priority in US anti-terror efforts following the Malian operation and the Algerian hostage crisis earlier this month.
But the one that caught my eye was the Wall Street Journal report on the US and France moving to create an intelligence hub in Niger.
Ah, the US and France joining together in the fight against the bad guys in Africa. How nice, how reassuring, how perfectly logical…
Wait, hold on a second, did we just say the US and France together in Africa?
Afri - keep off my turf - ca?!
And not just any old part of Africa at that. We’re talking about French-speaking – or Francophone - northwest Africa.
Africa what? Africa where?
Much has been said about the US and France as suspicious allies. It reached silly-season lows during the pre-Iraq War “freedom fries” saga of course, but it’s been raging since Cold War days.
In Africa, the French have had their own silly season in their former colonies, which the French call “Françafrique” – or the incestuous system of patronage between Paris and the political elites in their former African colonies.
With Françafrique running on full-throttle despite periodic French presidential vows to stop it, the French have been very protective about their African backyard.
In the post-9/11, pre-Malian intervention days, it sometimes felt like French and US officials were on different planets when it came to North and West Africa.
French officials and journalists would darkly mutter about the US base in Djibouti, the US military’s Africa Command (Africom), Washington’s intelligence outreach with the Algerians…proof, they maintained, that the mighty US was meddling in their turf and ousting poor old France.
But whenever I aired these concerns with US officials, ex-officials, experts or former CIA honchos, I invariably received the same reply: My dear girl, we’re stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan. Africa what? Africa where? That continent where those nasty guys dragged our Black Hawk boys through the streets of Mogadishu? The less time and money we spend out there, the better. The French are welcome to Africa. They’re masters at the African game in any case - and we wish them well.
I never met a single Frenchman or woman who believed this perfectly logical line.
Bah oui, they’d shrug. That’s what the US says. But what about the base in Djibouti eh? And Africom? The US is ALL over Africa - c’est evident.
Bring it on, Rambo
Then suddenly, on Jan. 11, the Malian intervention began and the French could not get enough of the dreaded USA.
At every edit meeting, I was being asked to write about US cooperation – or the lack thereof – in the Malian intervention. They’re not providing us air refueling tankers! This, after the Obama administration initially balked at the French request, sparking behind-the-scenes consternation that the US response was not as fast or robust as Paris had hoped.
In the end, the Obama administration did agree to provide those air tankers – phew!
But then Washington made some noises about a political solution to the Malian crisis and once again, alarm bells pealed and guttural exclamations issued. Fancy the Rambo Americans telling us to talk, not fight.
In fact les Américains were NOT telling the French not to fight. They were just issuing a call for talks among the different, “non-terrorist” Malian players – just like the French have done.
But these are sensitive times and the French are simply keen to get by with a little military help from friends. US spy drone base in Niger? Bring it on, Rambo. A joint intelligence hub in Francophone West Africa? Mais, pourquoi pas?
After all, to paraphrase Elvis, we can’t build our al Qaeda-free African dreams on – suspicious minds.
Enter Nigeria, the new best friend on the bloc
The USA is not the only new best friend on the bloc. There’s Nigeria too - Africa’s most populous, decidedly non-Francophone, proudly independent, Anglophone nation.
France and Nigeria have not been the best of friends, to put it mildly.
During the 1967-1970 Biafra conflict – a civil war that still haunts Nigeria – France did not hide its support for the Biafra secessionists, funnelling arms to the rebels, straining bilateral relations and wounding the national psyche of a proud African country.
French-Nigerian relations took a further tumble during the 1990s Liberian Civil War, when France, distrustful of Nigeria’s regional superpower status in its Françafrique backyard, backed opposing proxy rebels.
The two Anglophone countries in the West African region – Ghana and Nigeria – have been disparaging about what they see as their Francophone neighbors’ craven subservience to their former colonial master – from voting with Paris at the UN, to handing plum contracts to France. In other words, Françafrique viewed from the other side.
But all that, it seems, is so yesterday. Mali has changed all that.
The squash-playing Nigerian at the helm
Since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2085 authorizing the deployment of an African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) in December 2012, the Nigerians have been quick to offer help, overcoming domestic opposition to pledge troops for the mission.
When the Jan. 11 French invasion jumpstarted the process, the Nigerians speeded up their deployment, with contingents arriving at Bamako Airport looking sharp and serious.
And guess who’s heading AFISMA? The erudite, media-savvy, squash and tennis-playing, decorated Nigerian military official, Major General Shehu Abdulkadir.
Abdulkadir, we’re told, speaks English and his native Hausa and he can also communicate in French.
For some reason, I think even if the Nigerian major general didn’t speak a word of French, it wouldn’t matter.
Mali is changing the old dynamics. There’s nothing like a war to win new friends – and ease suspicious minds.
(*Photos courtesy: EMA / armée de l'Air)
Old foes become new friends, once suspicious allies become indispensable partners in war.
The latest French military intervention in Mali is shaking things up in so many ways, I don’t know where to begin.
Let’s start with Washington’s growing footprint in Africa.
In a report that has generated a buzz in France, The New York Times this week revealed that the US is preparing to establish a drone base in northwest Africa – possibly Niger.
On Monday, the US and Niger signed what they call a “status-of-forces agreement” – which sparked a spate of stories about Africa becoming a priority in US anti-terror efforts following the Malian operation and the Algerian hostage crisis earlier this month.
But the one that caught my eye was the Wall Street Journal report on the US and France moving to create an intelligence hub in Niger.
Ah, the US and France joining together in the fight against the bad guys in Africa. How nice, how reassuring, how perfectly logical…
Wait, hold on a second, did we just say the US and France together in Africa?
Afri - keep off my turf - ca?!
And not just any old part of Africa at that. We’re talking about French-speaking – or Francophone - northwest Africa.
Africa what? Africa where?
Much has been said about the US and France as suspicious allies. It reached silly-season lows during the pre-Iraq War “freedom fries” saga of course, but it’s been raging since Cold War days.
In Africa, the French have had their own silly season in their former colonies, which the French call “Françafrique” – or the incestuous system of patronage between Paris and the political elites in their former African colonies.
With Françafrique running on full-throttle despite periodic French presidential vows to stop it, the French have been very protective about their African backyard.
In the post-9/11, pre-Malian intervention days, it sometimes felt like French and US officials were on different planets when it came to North and West Africa.
French officials and journalists would darkly mutter about the US base in Djibouti, the US military’s Africa Command (Africom), Washington’s intelligence outreach with the Algerians…proof, they maintained, that the mighty US was meddling in their turf and ousting poor old France.
But whenever I aired these concerns with US officials, ex-officials, experts or former CIA honchos, I invariably received the same reply: My dear girl, we’re stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan. Africa what? Africa where? That continent where those nasty guys dragged our Black Hawk boys through the streets of Mogadishu? The less time and money we spend out there, the better. The French are welcome to Africa. They’re masters at the African game in any case - and we wish them well.
I never met a single Frenchman or woman who believed this perfectly logical line.
Bah oui, they’d shrug. That’s what the US says. But what about the base in Djibouti eh? And Africom? The US is ALL over Africa - c’est evident.
Bring it on, Rambo
Then suddenly, on Jan. 11, the Malian intervention began and the French could not get enough of the dreaded USA.
At every edit meeting, I was being asked to write about US cooperation – or the lack thereof – in the Malian intervention. They’re not providing us air refueling tankers! This, after the Obama administration initially balked at the French request, sparking behind-the-scenes consternation that the US response was not as fast or robust as Paris had hoped.
In the end, the Obama administration did agree to provide those air tankers – phew!
But then Washington made some noises about a political solution to the Malian crisis and once again, alarm bells pealed and guttural exclamations issued. Fancy the Rambo Americans telling us to talk, not fight.
In fact les Américains were NOT telling the French not to fight. They were just issuing a call for talks among the different, “non-terrorist” Malian players – just like the French have done.
But these are sensitive times and the French are simply keen to get by with a little military help from friends. US spy drone base in Niger? Bring it on, Rambo. A joint intelligence hub in Francophone West Africa? Mais, pourquoi pas?
After all, to paraphrase Elvis, we can’t build our al Qaeda-free African dreams on – suspicious minds.
Enter Nigeria, the new best friend on the bloc
The USA is not the only new best friend on the bloc. There’s Nigeria too - Africa’s most populous, decidedly non-Francophone, proudly independent, Anglophone nation.
France and Nigeria have not been the best of friends, to put it mildly.
During the 1967-1970 Biafra conflict – a civil war that still haunts Nigeria – France did not hide its support for the Biafra secessionists, funnelling arms to the rebels, straining bilateral relations and wounding the national psyche of a proud African country.
French-Nigerian relations took a further tumble during the 1990s Liberian Civil War, when France, distrustful of Nigeria’s regional superpower status in its Françafrique backyard, backed opposing proxy rebels.
The two Anglophone countries in the West African region – Ghana and Nigeria – have been disparaging about what they see as their Francophone neighbors’ craven subservience to their former colonial master – from voting with Paris at the UN, to handing plum contracts to France. In other words, Françafrique viewed from the other side.
But all that, it seems, is so yesterday. Mali has changed all that.
The squash-playing Nigerian at the helm
Since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2085 authorizing the deployment of an African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) in December 2012, the Nigerians have been quick to offer help, overcoming domestic opposition to pledge troops for the mission.
When the Jan. 11 French invasion jumpstarted the process, the Nigerians speeded up their deployment, with contingents arriving at Bamako Airport looking sharp and serious.
And guess who’s heading AFISMA? The erudite, media-savvy, squash and tennis-playing, decorated Nigerian military official, Major General Shehu Abdulkadir.
Abdulkadir, we’re told, speaks English and his native Hausa and he can also communicate in French.
For some reason, I think even if the Nigerian major general didn’t speak a word of French, it wouldn’t matter.
Mali is changing the old dynamics. There’s nothing like a war to win new friends – and ease suspicious minds.
(*Photos courtesy: EMA / armée de l'Air)
Coup or whatchamacallit, Egypt is not Algeria, Pakistan, or any ‘stan
In the 48-hour lead-up to Mohammed Morsi’s ouster, the
post-presidential expulsion talking points were already starting to
emerge.
First, was the very fundamental issue of whether this military ouster of a democratically elected Islamist president is a good idea or bad one. In other words, do we slot this one in the “evil” or “admirable” box?
Next, the business of semantics: coup or revolution? Triumph of popular will or subversion of democracy? How are we supposed to spin this one?
Since military takeovers – temporary or longstanding – are not new, we can always look for parallels in other countries where khaki-clad generals have seized power from civilian leaders.
It doesn’t matter if different countries and societies have unique histories, contexts and circumstances. Everybody loves a good analogy.
We love it even more when we can use countries as metaphors. So, in a 12-month period, one West African nation moved from “Is Mali the next Afghanistan?” to “Mali is not the next Afghanistan”.
We set up a crap comparison, then knock it down. That’s how it is in this business.
In Egypt’s case, we narrowed it down to two Muslim-dominated countries.
The Algeria analogy started shortly after Egypt’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al Sisi issued the 48-hour ultimatum on Monday night to Morsi and other Egyptian politicians to work it out or face the consequences.
For anyone who’s covered Algeria, this analogy is a jaw-dropper.
Yes, the Algerian military scrapped the 1992 elections, which the Islamist FIS (Front Islamique de Salut) party was expected to win, sparking a grotesquely ferocious civil war.
But Algeria has an unmatched history and context that stretches back from FLN domination, to Boumediene’s socialist isolation, to a brutal national struggle, to French colonial torture chambers, to…I can go on, but you get the point.
That did not stop the Times of Israel from proclaiming, “Overnight, Egypt becomes Algeria”.
You would think the Israelis would know the difference, but countries can apparently transmogrify overnight. Frankly, the Israelis should be happier with a military pouvoir-dominated Egypt than a Muslim Brotherhood-controlled Arab nation, so I don’t understand what they’re complaining about.
The Pakistan comparisons, I admit, were mostly harmless and hilarious. "Yaars,” tweeted one well-meaning Pakistani, using the Urdu word for buddies, “this whole military coup isnt such a hot idea. Please reconsider. Trust us. We have tons of experience - Pakistanis to Egyptians.”
Follow that dollar
Analogies done, let’s get down to semantics.
At the heart of the coup v. revolution debate lies that $1.5 billion US aid to Egypt – as we are being frequently reminded these days.
This is because the US has the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, which mandates that Washington must suspend foreign aid to any nation whose elected leader is ousted in a coup d'etat.
Yeah, sure. Tell that to Haiti, Honduras and Pakistan – those are just the countries I can think of, there are probably a whole lot more. You see, the Foreign Assistance Act is as flexible as a contortionist – there are all sorts of legal provisions and presidential waivers that can keep Washington’s largesse flowing – as the Haitians, Hondurans and Pakistanis know.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of Senate subcommittee overseeing foreign aid, has already said his committee will be reviewing “future aid to the Egyptian government as we wait for a clearer picture”.
I tweeted that Leahy announcement last night simply because it’s newsworthy and promptly received some very irate replies for my efforts.
“KEEP YOUR AID, YOU DON'T CONTROL US!” hollered one incensed Egyptian.
I hear you, angry tweeter. I understand the sentiment behind that rebuke - even if that $1.5 billion is critical in a country with plummeting foreign reserves, rising unemployment and spiralling inflation.
Secular liberal Egyptians v. secular liberal non-Egyptians
This “coup is a coup is not a coup or is it?” semantics is roiling a number of people in and out of Egypt.
Forget about the “deep division” clichés between Islamist and liberals. There’s now a yawning gap between secular liberal Egyptians insisting the events of July 3 was not a coup and secular liberal non-Egyptians hell-bent on proving them wrong.
So, for every Sandmonkey (the social media alias for popular Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem) tweeting, “Dear Foreigners, can you stop giving us lessons in democracy?” there’s a Robert Fisk calling it a coup or a Patrick Galey dishing out emotionally fraught lessons in democracy.
There’s not a single Egyptian who's unaware of the challenges and dangers facing his/her nation in the next few days and months.
The “Morsitimer” site that ticked down to the military’s 48-hour ultimatum earlier this week has been transformed into an “Egyptian Timer”. The site now features a roadmap checklist that includes the formation of a technocratic government and early presidential elections.
They’ve had more than two years to learn their lessons and yet lectures in democracy are being dispersed ad nauseam by armies of non-Egyptian pundits.
Overlooking the signs before the Arab uprisings
I’ve decided I’m just not going down that path anymore simply because I’ve been there, done that.
When I started out in journalism in the 1990s, the Algerian civil war was raging and that conflict overshadowed my coverage of the region for the next two decades - which is why those Algeria analogies really get under my skin.
My lessons from the Algerian conflict were pretty straightforward: this is what happens when the will of the people is crushed by the military. This is the difference between assertive French style secularism and US style passive secularism - which in foreign relations translates into anything from respecting the Islamist will of the people, to funding the mujahideen.
So, for many years, I viewed secular extremist elites in the region – from Francophile Algerians to Francophile Lebanese – with as much suspicion as Islamic fundamentalists.
After the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, for instance, I was big into the “Hezbollah has entered the political sphere” argument. That nuance lasted until years later - after Hezbollah had used their political base to consolidate their military power - a couple of Hezbollah thugs detained me for a couple of hours just to show me who’s the real boss in a country where the government doesn’t account for much.
Two years before the 2011 Arab uprisings caught us all by surprise, my Lebanese friends were trying to alert me to what they believe is an Islamist penchant for dominating and overpowering state institutions. “Your bullshit American coverage,” one of my friends once yelled at me at a Beirut dinner. “You don’t have to live here.”
But I was focused on being an objective journalist. Now when I see the Islamist v. secular debate raging in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, I realize I overlooked the signs back in 2009.
The old order of autocracy crushing Islamist opposition is no more and after nearly 80 years of dominating the Islamist imagination, the Muslim Brotherhood has proved to be inept, deceptive and duplicitous in government.
If the Arab world is caught in the throes of an Islamist v. secular debate these days, it’s something they have to sort out, it’s not my business.
One thing I do know after all these years of covering post-colonial countries. Many of the roots of these conflicts, crises and civil wars go back to the critical political transition years – after independence or the fall of a political system. If the local founding father or Big Man was corrupt, bigoted or autocratic, for instance, the effects of his legacy will be felt years, if not decades, later.
Egypt’s democratic transition after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster has been rushed, manipulated and compromised – we all know that. We can hardly defend the “will of the people” after an election was pushed through before robust constitutional guarantees, allocation of powers among the branches of government, and institutional accountability between governments and citizens were put in place. In the end, Egypt may not be post-apartheid South Africa. But let’s give the Egyptians a shot – coup or no coup or whatever you want to call it.
First, was the very fundamental issue of whether this military ouster of a democratically elected Islamist president is a good idea or bad one. In other words, do we slot this one in the “evil” or “admirable” box?
Next, the business of semantics: coup or revolution? Triumph of popular will or subversion of democracy? How are we supposed to spin this one?
Since military takeovers – temporary or longstanding – are not new, we can always look for parallels in other countries where khaki-clad generals have seized power from civilian leaders.
It doesn’t matter if different countries and societies have unique histories, contexts and circumstances. Everybody loves a good analogy.
We love it even more when we can use countries as metaphors. So, in a 12-month period, one West African nation moved from “Is Mali the next Afghanistan?” to “Mali is not the next Afghanistan”.
We set up a crap comparison, then knock it down. That’s how it is in this business.
In Egypt’s case, we narrowed it down to two Muslim-dominated countries.
The Algeria analogy started shortly after Egypt’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al Sisi issued the 48-hour ultimatum on Monday night to Morsi and other Egyptian politicians to work it out or face the consequences.
For anyone who’s covered Algeria, this analogy is a jaw-dropper.
Yes, the Algerian military scrapped the 1992 elections, which the Islamist FIS (Front Islamique de Salut) party was expected to win, sparking a grotesquely ferocious civil war.
But Algeria has an unmatched history and context that stretches back from FLN domination, to Boumediene’s socialist isolation, to a brutal national struggle, to French colonial torture chambers, to…I can go on, but you get the point.
That did not stop the Times of Israel from proclaiming, “Overnight, Egypt becomes Algeria”.
You would think the Israelis would know the difference, but countries can apparently transmogrify overnight. Frankly, the Israelis should be happier with a military pouvoir-dominated Egypt than a Muslim Brotherhood-controlled Arab nation, so I don’t understand what they’re complaining about.
The Pakistan comparisons, I admit, were mostly harmless and hilarious. "Yaars,” tweeted one well-meaning Pakistani, using the Urdu word for buddies, “this whole military coup isnt such a hot idea. Please reconsider. Trust us. We have tons of experience - Pakistanis to Egyptians.”
Follow that dollar
Analogies done, let’s get down to semantics.
At the heart of the coup v. revolution debate lies that $1.5 billion US aid to Egypt – as we are being frequently reminded these days.
This is because the US has the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, which mandates that Washington must suspend foreign aid to any nation whose elected leader is ousted in a coup d'etat.
Yeah, sure. Tell that to Haiti, Honduras and Pakistan – those are just the countries I can think of, there are probably a whole lot more. You see, the Foreign Assistance Act is as flexible as a contortionist – there are all sorts of legal provisions and presidential waivers that can keep Washington’s largesse flowing – as the Haitians, Hondurans and Pakistanis know.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of Senate subcommittee overseeing foreign aid, has already said his committee will be reviewing “future aid to the Egyptian government as we wait for a clearer picture”.
I tweeted that Leahy announcement last night simply because it’s newsworthy and promptly received some very irate replies for my efforts.
“KEEP YOUR AID, YOU DON'T CONTROL US!” hollered one incensed Egyptian.
I hear you, angry tweeter. I understand the sentiment behind that rebuke - even if that $1.5 billion is critical in a country with plummeting foreign reserves, rising unemployment and spiralling inflation.
Secular liberal Egyptians v. secular liberal non-Egyptians
This “coup is a coup is not a coup or is it?” semantics is roiling a number of people in and out of Egypt.
Forget about the “deep division” clichés between Islamist and liberals. There’s now a yawning gap between secular liberal Egyptians insisting the events of July 3 was not a coup and secular liberal non-Egyptians hell-bent on proving them wrong.
So, for every Sandmonkey (the social media alias for popular Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem) tweeting, “Dear Foreigners, can you stop giving us lessons in democracy?” there’s a Robert Fisk calling it a coup or a Patrick Galey dishing out emotionally fraught lessons in democracy.
There’s not a single Egyptian who's unaware of the challenges and dangers facing his/her nation in the next few days and months.
The “Morsitimer” site that ticked down to the military’s 48-hour ultimatum earlier this week has been transformed into an “Egyptian Timer”. The site now features a roadmap checklist that includes the formation of a technocratic government and early presidential elections.
They’ve had more than two years to learn their lessons and yet lectures in democracy are being dispersed ad nauseam by armies of non-Egyptian pundits.
Overlooking the signs before the Arab uprisings
I’ve decided I’m just not going down that path anymore simply because I’ve been there, done that.
When I started out in journalism in the 1990s, the Algerian civil war was raging and that conflict overshadowed my coverage of the region for the next two decades - which is why those Algeria analogies really get under my skin.
My lessons from the Algerian conflict were pretty straightforward: this is what happens when the will of the people is crushed by the military. This is the difference between assertive French style secularism and US style passive secularism - which in foreign relations translates into anything from respecting the Islamist will of the people, to funding the mujahideen.
So, for many years, I viewed secular extremist elites in the region – from Francophile Algerians to Francophile Lebanese – with as much suspicion as Islamic fundamentalists.
After the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, for instance, I was big into the “Hezbollah has entered the political sphere” argument. That nuance lasted until years later - after Hezbollah had used their political base to consolidate their military power - a couple of Hezbollah thugs detained me for a couple of hours just to show me who’s the real boss in a country where the government doesn’t account for much.
Two years before the 2011 Arab uprisings caught us all by surprise, my Lebanese friends were trying to alert me to what they believe is an Islamist penchant for dominating and overpowering state institutions. “Your bullshit American coverage,” one of my friends once yelled at me at a Beirut dinner. “You don’t have to live here.”
But I was focused on being an objective journalist. Now when I see the Islamist v. secular debate raging in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, I realize I overlooked the signs back in 2009.
The old order of autocracy crushing Islamist opposition is no more and after nearly 80 years of dominating the Islamist imagination, the Muslim Brotherhood has proved to be inept, deceptive and duplicitous in government.
If the Arab world is caught in the throes of an Islamist v. secular debate these days, it’s something they have to sort out, it’s not my business.
One thing I do know after all these years of covering post-colonial countries. Many of the roots of these conflicts, crises and civil wars go back to the critical political transition years – after independence or the fall of a political system. If the local founding father or Big Man was corrupt, bigoted or autocratic, for instance, the effects of his legacy will be felt years, if not decades, later.
Egypt’s democratic transition after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster has been rushed, manipulated and compromised – we all know that. We can hardly defend the “will of the people” after an election was pushed through before robust constitutional guarantees, allocation of powers among the branches of government, and institutional accountability between governments and citizens were put in place. In the end, Egypt may not be post-apartheid South Africa. But let’s give the Egyptians a shot – coup or no coup or whatever you want to call it.
Newshounding the World
Al Libi’s gone and Pakistan blasts perfidious foreigners bumping off perfidious foreigners on sovereign soil
A US drone strike on Monday targeted al Qaeda’s No. 2 Abu Yahya al Libi in Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan.
Targeted killings of Islamist militants can be a tricky thing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to resurrect cold dead Islamist militants in Pakistan. I simply call it the Lazarus syndrome.
To be fair, the Lazarus syndrome is not exclusive to Pakistan. I’ve encountered it in Nigeria too, where I profiled “The Boko Haram terror chief who came back from the dead”.
But this time, I believe they got al Libi. Why? Because US officials took a day to confirm it and a senior Pakistani Taliban leader told Reuters that the killing of al Libi in a US drone strike was a “big loss”. Nothing like a militant confirming the assassination of a fellow jihadist brother in arms.
Now, whenever there’s a drone strike anywhere in Pakistan – including the areas the government barely controls – you can be sure that Pakistani officials will condemn the strike.
And so they did – because some things never change.
Deputy US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and read the condemnation and “violation of Pakistan's sovereignty'' act.
Now there’s one less nasty guy on sovereign Pakistani territory. And you know al Libi was not a lowbrow nasty – he urged hapless Somalis to attack African Union troops, he called for attacks in Europe in revenge for the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, he...I could go on, but you get the picture. Or just read this May 2008 New York Times article.
‘CIA doctor’ and little guys get the rap
So, in many ways, official Pakistani criticism of the al Libi strikes is similar to the condemnation of last year’s raid in Abbottabad, that got bin Laden – right under the nose of Pakistan’s all-powerful military-intelligence honchos.
That pissed off the military-intelligence establishment so thoroughly, they arrested the Pakistani doctor who allegedly helped confirm bin Laden’s presence in that Abbottabad haveli to the CIA, earning him the moniker “CIA doctor” in his homeland.
Needless to say, the CIA is a nasty term in Pakistan – as it is in most countries. So, being accused of helping the CIA is not an endearment in this vociferously US-hating nation. Of course senior Pakistani officials – including ISI big guns – cooperate with the CIA, but never mind.
The Pakistani doctor must have been paid by the CIA, but it’s probably a lot less than the US military aid to the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment. As I said, never mind.
In Pakistan – as in all too many countries – the little guys get the rap.
And so Dr. Shakeel Afridi was sentenced last month to 33 years in jail after he was found guilty of treason under Pakistan's archaic system of tribal justice.
Leading activists says Pakistani intelligence plotted her assassination
Now one of the Pakistani human rights activists who expressed concern over the denial of due process to Dr. Afridi was Asma Jahangir, one of the country’s most distinguished human rights activists and a household name in Pakistan.
A Pakistani Supreme Court advocate, Jahangir has, at various times, served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial and Summary Executions, the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.
When it comes to my personal list of top 10 brave women, Jahangir is up there. She’s been imprisoned in former Pakistani military dictator Gen. Zia ul-Haq’s jails and she’s faced death threats aplenty for some of her high profile cases – including defending a Christian accused of blasphemy and an infamous honor killing case.
One of her new clients is Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, who is accused of being behind a mysterious memo that sought US help to stave off a coup in Pakistan, a charge Haqqani denies.
Jahangir is no stranger to death threats from Islamist extremists and she’s not one to unnecessarily play up a threat. So, imagine the shock when one of the country’s best-known lawyers publicly reveals that she has received information that the security establishment is planning to carry out a "murderous attack" on her.
According to Jahangir, “a credible source” informed her about a "murderous attack" planned on her by state agencies, following which she had restricted her movements and decided to remain at home.
She contended that the plan to kill her had been hatched at the "highest level" of state agencies, which were apparently angered by her efforts to highlight human rights violations by security forces in the restive province of Baluchistan.
Allegations of Pakistan’s shadowy military-intelligence complex targeting Pakistani civilians are not new.
They came to the forefront last year when the body of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad was found dumped in the plush, highly secured F-6/2 neighborhood of Islamabad. The military establishment – darkly known as “deep state in Pakistan – was widely believed to be responsible.
In an interview with the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Jahangir was asked if she thought “the ISI and other security agencies could kill an internationally renowned person like yourself?”
I’m going to quote her reply: “Let me remind you of our history. Prominent people have been killed in Pakistan just like in any other country. The difference between Pakistan and other countries is that in Pakistan nobody ever knows who is responsible for these murders.”
In a country where the military-intelligence establishment is widely believed to bump off law-abiding but troublesome citizens, it’s not the person killed that matters as much as who’s done it.
If it happens to be the so-called “deep state” or militant groups aided or abetted by the omnipotent security network, it’s A-okay – it’s a home crowd after all, not those perfidious foreigners taking off other perfidious foreigners in our sovereign, un-administered land.
Targeted killings of Islamist militants can be a tricky thing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to resurrect cold dead Islamist militants in Pakistan. I simply call it the Lazarus syndrome.
To be fair, the Lazarus syndrome is not exclusive to Pakistan. I’ve encountered it in Nigeria too, where I profiled “The Boko Haram terror chief who came back from the dead”.
But this time, I believe they got al Libi. Why? Because US officials took a day to confirm it and a senior Pakistani Taliban leader told Reuters that the killing of al Libi in a US drone strike was a “big loss”. Nothing like a militant confirming the assassination of a fellow jihadist brother in arms.
Now, whenever there’s a drone strike anywhere in Pakistan – including the areas the government barely controls – you can be sure that Pakistani officials will condemn the strike.
And so they did – because some things never change.
Deputy US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and read the condemnation and “violation of Pakistan's sovereignty'' act.
Now there’s one less nasty guy on sovereign Pakistani territory. And you know al Libi was not a lowbrow nasty – he urged hapless Somalis to attack African Union troops, he called for attacks in Europe in revenge for the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, he...I could go on, but you get the picture. Or just read this May 2008 New York Times article.
‘CIA doctor’ and little guys get the rap
So, in many ways, official Pakistani criticism of the al Libi strikes is similar to the condemnation of last year’s raid in Abbottabad, that got bin Laden – right under the nose of Pakistan’s all-powerful military-intelligence honchos.
That pissed off the military-intelligence establishment so thoroughly, they arrested the Pakistani doctor who allegedly helped confirm bin Laden’s presence in that Abbottabad haveli to the CIA, earning him the moniker “CIA doctor” in his homeland.
Needless to say, the CIA is a nasty term in Pakistan – as it is in most countries. So, being accused of helping the CIA is not an endearment in this vociferously US-hating nation. Of course senior Pakistani officials – including ISI big guns – cooperate with the CIA, but never mind.
The Pakistani doctor must have been paid by the CIA, but it’s probably a lot less than the US military aid to the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment. As I said, never mind.
In Pakistan – as in all too many countries – the little guys get the rap.
And so Dr. Shakeel Afridi was sentenced last month to 33 years in jail after he was found guilty of treason under Pakistan's archaic system of tribal justice.
Leading activists says Pakistani intelligence plotted her assassination
Now one of the Pakistani human rights activists who expressed concern over the denial of due process to Dr. Afridi was Asma Jahangir, one of the country’s most distinguished human rights activists and a household name in Pakistan.
A Pakistani Supreme Court advocate, Jahangir has, at various times, served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial and Summary Executions, the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.
When it comes to my personal list of top 10 brave women, Jahangir is up there. She’s been imprisoned in former Pakistani military dictator Gen. Zia ul-Haq’s jails and she’s faced death threats aplenty for some of her high profile cases – including defending a Christian accused of blasphemy and an infamous honor killing case.
One of her new clients is Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, who is accused of being behind a mysterious memo that sought US help to stave off a coup in Pakistan, a charge Haqqani denies.
Jahangir is no stranger to death threats from Islamist extremists and she’s not one to unnecessarily play up a threat. So, imagine the shock when one of the country’s best-known lawyers publicly reveals that she has received information that the security establishment is planning to carry out a "murderous attack" on her.
According to Jahangir, “a credible source” informed her about a "murderous attack" planned on her by state agencies, following which she had restricted her movements and decided to remain at home.
She contended that the plan to kill her had been hatched at the "highest level" of state agencies, which were apparently angered by her efforts to highlight human rights violations by security forces in the restive province of Baluchistan.
Allegations of Pakistan’s shadowy military-intelligence complex targeting Pakistani civilians are not new.
They came to the forefront last year when the body of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad was found dumped in the plush, highly secured F-6/2 neighborhood of Islamabad. The military establishment – darkly known as “deep state in Pakistan – was widely believed to be responsible.
In an interview with the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Jahangir was asked if she thought “the ISI and other security agencies could kill an internationally renowned person like yourself?”
I’m going to quote her reply: “Let me remind you of our history. Prominent people have been killed in Pakistan just like in any other country. The difference between Pakistan and other countries is that in Pakistan nobody ever knows who is responsible for these murders.”
In a country where the military-intelligence establishment is widely believed to bump off law-abiding but troublesome citizens, it’s not the person killed that matters as much as who’s done it.
If it happens to be the so-called “deep state” or militant groups aided or abetted by the omnipotent security network, it’s A-okay – it’s a home crowd after all, not those perfidious foreigners taking off other perfidious foreigners in our sovereign, un-administered land.
Monday, 22 July 2013
4 Keys to a Long Life
Survey Shows That Not Smoking, Exercise, Healthy Diet, and Moderate Drinking Cut Risk of Early Death
Healthy living translates to longer life. That's the conclusion of a new CDC report published today in the American Journal of Public Health.
Using federal health survey data collected from 1988 to 2006, researchers determined that people ages 17 and older who don't smoke, exercise on a regular basis, eat a healthy diet, and drink moderately were 63% less likely to die at an early age than people who have yet to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Nearly 17,000 people participated in the survey.
Taken individually, each of the four healthy behaviors provides protection. But the greatest benefit occurs when people engage in all four.
Among those who practiced each of the four behaviors, the risk of death from cancer and heart disease was about two-thirds lower, while other causes of death were 57% lower, than those who did not practice any of them.
"If you want to lead a longer life and feel better, you should adopt healthy behaviors -- not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, and avoiding excessive alcohol use," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, says in a news release.
Women whose lifestyles included all four of the studied behaviors did slightly better than men. Their risk of death from all causes was 63% lower, while men's risk was 62% lower.
Among the survey participants, between 40% and 50% already practiced at least one of the health behaviors the researchers studied. The goal, they write, is to boost those numbers significantly.
It's a task that won't be easy. While smoking rates have dropped and there's evidence that more people are exercising, there's less evidence that Americans are eating better than in years past.
"The challenges in convincing a larger proportion of people in the United States to adopt a healthy lifestyle are daunting," the researchers conclude. "The estimates of mortality that can be postponed underscore the need for improving the overall level of healthy living in the United States."
Healthy living translates to longer life. That's the conclusion of a new CDC report published today in the American Journal of Public Health.
Using federal health survey data collected from 1988 to 2006, researchers determined that people ages 17 and older who don't smoke, exercise on a regular basis, eat a healthy diet, and drink moderately were 63% less likely to die at an early age than people who have yet to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Nearly 17,000 people participated in the survey.
Taken individually, each of the four healthy behaviors provides protection. But the greatest benefit occurs when people engage in all four.
Among those who practiced each of the four behaviors, the risk of death from cancer and heart disease was about two-thirds lower, while other causes of death were 57% lower, than those who did not practice any of them.
"If you want to lead a longer life and feel better, you should adopt healthy behaviors -- not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, and avoiding excessive alcohol use," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, says in a news release.
Women whose lifestyles included all four of the studied behaviors did slightly better than men. Their risk of death from all causes was 63% lower, while men's risk was 62% lower.
CDC Goal: Boost Healthy Habits
Looking at each of the four behaviors individually, people who did not smoke were at the lowest risk of death from cancer. Moderate alcohol consumption -- no more than two drinks a day for men, one drink per day for women -- was linked most strongly with lower rates of death from heart attacks and strokes.Among the survey participants, between 40% and 50% already practiced at least one of the health behaviors the researchers studied. The goal, they write, is to boost those numbers significantly.
It's a task that won't be easy. While smoking rates have dropped and there's evidence that more people are exercising, there's less evidence that Americans are eating better than in years past.
"The challenges in convincing a larger proportion of people in the United States to adopt a healthy lifestyle are daunting," the researchers conclude. "The estimates of mortality that can be postponed underscore the need for improving the overall level of healthy living in the United States."
Ovarian Cancer
What Is Ovarian Cancer?
This cancer begins in the ovaries, the twin organs that produce a woman's eggs and the main source of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Treatments for ovarian cancer have become more effective in recent years, with the best results seen when the disease is found early.Ovarian Cancer Symptoms
Symptoms include:- Bloating or pressure in the belly
- Pain in the abdomen or pelvis
- Feeling full too quickly during meals
- Urinating more frequently
Risk Factor: Family History
A woman's odds of developing ovarian cancer are higher if a close relative has had cancer of the ovaries, breast, or colon. Researchers believe that inherited genetic changes account for 10% of ovarian cancers. This includes the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which are linked to breast cancer. Women with a strong family history should talk with a doctor to see whether closer medical follow-up could be helpful.Risk Factor: Age
The strongest risk factor for ovarian cancer is age. It's most likely to develop after a woman goes through menopause. Using postmenopausal hormone therapy may increase the risk. The link seems strongest in women who take estrogen without progesterone for at least 5 to 10 years. Doctors are not certain whether taking a combination of estrogen and progesterone boosts the risk as well.Risk Factor: Obesity
Obese women have a higher risk of getting ovarian cancer than other women. And the death rates for ovarian cancer are higher for obese women too, compared with non-obese women. The heaviest women appear to have the greatest risk.Ovarian Cancer Screening Tests
There are two ways to screen for ovarian cancer before it causes symptoms or shows up during a routine gynecologic exam. One is a blood test for elevated levels of a protein called CA-125. The other is an ultrasound of the ovaries. Unfortunately, neither technique has been shown to save lives when used in women of average risk. For this reason, screening is only recommended for women with strong risk factors.Diagnosing Ovarian Cancer
Imaging tests, such as ultrasound or CT scans (seen here), can help reveal an ovarian mass. But these scans can't determine whether the abnormality is cancer. If cancer is suspected, the next step is usually surgery to remove suspicious tissues. A sample is then sent to the lab for further examination. This is called a biopsy. Sometimes a sample taken with a needle can also be used for diagnosis.Stages of Ovarian Cancer
The initial surgery for ovarian cancer also helps determine how far the cancer has spread, described by the following stages:Stage I: Confined to one or both ovaries
Stage II: Spread to the uterus or other nearby organs
Stage III: Spread to the lymph nodes or abdominal lining
Stage IV: Spread to distant organs, such as the lungs or liver
Types of Ovarian Cancer
The vast majority of ovarian cancers are epithelial ovarian carcinomas. These are malignant tumors that form from cells on the surface of the ovary. Some epithelial tumors are not clearly cancerous. These are known as tumors of low malignant potential (LMP). LMP tumors grow more slowly and are less dangerous than other forms of ovarian cancer.Ovarian Cancer Survival Rates
Ovarian cancer can be a frightening diagnosis, with five-year relative survival rates that range from 89% to 18% for epithelial ovarian cancer, depending on the stage when the cancer was found. But keep in mind that these odds are based on women diagnosed from 1988 to 2001. The treatments and outlook may be better for people diagnosed today. For LMP tumors, the five-year relative survival rates range from 99% to 77%.Ovarian Cancer Surgery
Surgery is used to diagnose ovarian cancer and determine its stage, but it is also the first phase of treatment. The goal is to remove as much of the cancer as possible. This may include a single ovary and nearby tissue in stage I. In more advanced stages, it may be necessary to remove both ovaries, along with the uterus and surrounding tissues.Chemotherapy
In all stages of ovarian cancer, chemotherapy is usually given after surgery. This phase of treatment uses drugs to target and kill any remaining cancer in the body. The drugs may be given by mouth, through an IV, or directly into the belly (intraperitoneal chemotherapy.) Women with LMP tumors usually don't need chemo unless the tumors grow back after surgery.Targeted Therapies
Researchers are working on therapies that target the way ovarian cancer grows. A process called angiogenesis involves the formation of new blood vessels to feed tumors. A drug called Avastin blocks this process, causing tumors to shrink or stop growing (seen in the illustration here). Avastin is approved for other cancers, but ovarian cancer researchers are still testing this therapy, which can have serious side effects.After Treatment: Early Menopause
When women have both ovaries removed, they can no longer produce their own estrogen. This triggers menopause, no matter how young the patient. The drop in hormone levels can also raise the risk for certain medical conditions, including osteoporosis. It's vital that women have regular follow-up care after being treated for ovarian cancer.After Treatment: Moving On
Women may find that it takes a long time for their energy to return after treatments end. Fatigue is a very common problem after treatment for cancer. Beginning a gentle exercise program is one of the most effective ways to restore energy and improve emotional well-being. Check with your health care team to determine which activities are right for you.Risk Reducer: Pregnancy
Women who have biological children are less likely to get ovarian cancer than women who have never given birth. The risk appears to decrease with every pregnancy, and breastfeeding may offer added protection.Risk Reducer: 'The Pill'
Ovarian cancer is also less common in women who have taken birth control pills. Women who have used the pill for at least five years have about half the risk of women who never took the pill. Like pregnancy, birth control pills prevent ovulation. Some researchers think ovulating less often may protect against ovarian cancer.Risk Reducer: Removing the Ovaries
For women with genetic mutations that put them at high risk for ovarian cancer, removing the ovaries is an option. This can also be considered in women over 40 getting a hysterectomy.Risk Reducer: Low-Fat Diet
While there is no definitive diet to prevent ovarian cancer, there is evidence that what you eat can make a difference. In one recent study, women who stuck to a low-fat diet for at least four years were less likely to develop ovarian cancer. Some researchers report the cancer is also less common in women who eat a lot of vegetables, but more studies are needed.Church Closures, Demolition Spark Protest in Indonesia
Pressured by Islamists, officials crack down on Christians in West Java.
Hundreds of Christians hit the streets of Indonesia’s capital this week to urge government action after local officials demolished a church building and threatened to close others at the behest of Islamist forces.
Christian protestors, joined by minority Ahmadiyya and Shia Muslims, held a shared prayer service and sang the country’s national anthem in downtown Jakarta to mark their protest on Monday (April 8). Many victims were part of the protest, which came weeks after local authorities spurred by an Islamic extremist group demolished the Batak Protestant Christian Church (HKBP) in the Taman Sari area of Bekasi, a Jakarta suburb in West Java Province.HKBP members continue to hold services at the site where their church building was razed on March 21, a week before Good Friday. The Islamic People’s Forum in Taman Sari had protested against the church, alleging a building permit violation. Indonesian officials routinely delay or deny church building permits – besides the fact that requirements are beyond the ability of smaller churches to meet – thus providing Islamic extremists a pretext for protests and attacks.
“The demolition was illegal – there was no written order by the district head of Bekasi,” Theophilus Bela, president of the Jakarta Christian Communication Forum, told Morning Star News. He added that church leaders were expected to file a lawsuit against the local government.
The pulling down of the church building hit the headlines in national newspapers, which carried photos of church members in tears – singing hymns, crying and begging local officials not to demolish their facility. Hundreds of police and army officers guarded the area while Muslim militants, shouting Koranic verses, cheered the excavator.
“What is our sin, sir?” church member Megarenta Sihite shouted at district officers. “Is it a sin to pray? Show us where our mistake is. I thought this is a democratic country. Please, Mr. President, we were born here in this country with five religions. We never did anything bad to their houses of worship. Why are they doing this to us?”
The church had gathered 89 signatures of approval from local residents, required by law to acquire a permit, but an official refused to sign the document, claiming that most of the signatures were fake.
Rather than an alleged building permit violation, area Christians suspect the actual reason behind the demolition was related to the re-election weeks earlier of West Java’s Islamist governor, Ahmad Heryawan.
He had promised the extremist Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) to rid the province of the minority Ahmadiyya sect and instill Islamic values in return for receiving election support, according to The Jakarta Globe, and Christians noted actions against them as well. A week after the results of the election were announced, the Banua Niha Keriso Protestan (BNKP) church in Bandung, the capital of West Java, received a threat from the local neighborhood chief, Haj Ayi, an Islamist, warning that if they did not take down all Christian icons and vacate the building, they would face a confrontation with a large group of local Muslims, the Globe reported.
It is feared that the BNKP church might meet the same fate as that of the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor and the HKBP Filadelfia church in Bekasi – both West Java churches were sealed by local authorities in the last five years in direct violation of Supreme Court rulings.
The GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia congregations now hold joint services every Sunday on the street outside the State Palace in Jakarta, in order to draw the attention of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to their plight.
The Trigger
Refusal to grant building permits on various pretexts is one of the main triggers for church closures and anti-Christian violence, according to a Jakarta-based rights group, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace. A 2006 joint ministerial decree requires signatures from congregations and residents living nearby, as well as approval from the local administration, to build a house of worship.
On Jan. 27, about 50 men from the FPI scaled the gates of a 400-member Pentecostal church (locally known as GPdI) in Mekargalih village in Jatinangor sub-district of Sumedang town in West Java. The mob vandalized the place of worship and assaulted pastor Bernhard Maukar – at one point using his necktie to strangle him, according to the Globe. The men claimed that the 26-year-old church did not have a valid permit to operate.
Police arrested Maukar two days later for holding services without a valid permit. The pastor is serving a three-month sentence at the Sumedang prison, as he could not pay the fine of $2,600. On Feb. 12, the pastor’s wife, Corry, was warned that she, too, would be arrested if she held a worship service.
Protests against churches often turn violent, as Pastor Anna Nenoharan from the Evangelical Christian Church (Gekindo) in Bekasi’s Jatimulya area narrated at Monday’s protest.
“I was knifed in my neck and my tummy,” she was quoted as saying in relation to a 2005 incident. FPI members who claimed the church did not have a valid permit stabbed her, she said, and the church building was later demolished.
“The FPI attacked me, and the law didn’t do anything to protect me,” she reportedly said. “They are still free … We have protested in front of the State Palace, but nothing has been done … Our church can be pulled down, but our spirit will always remain high . . . We are ashamed of our government, but we are proud to be Indonesian.”
Government Denial
The Indonesian government has done little to protect rights of the minorities despite the international human rights community taking note of growing animosity in a country whose constitution is based on the doctrine of Pancasila – five principles upholding the nation’s belief in the one and only God and social justice, humanity, unity and democracy for all.
The Setara Institute cited 371 acts of intolerance and violence reported across Indonesia last year alone, revealing that Christians were the main target in the Sunni Muslim-majority country. While Indonesia’s population of 240 million is believed to be largely tolerant, a new trend has emerged of local Muslims – not just extremist groups – leading violent attacks, Setara noted.
The government, however, continues deny such trends. In February, Bahrul Hayat, secretary general of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told local media, “Indonesia is a good place to see religious harmony,” and added that incidents of violence were not a cause for alarm.
Days later, Human Rights Watch blasted the Indonesian government for failing to protect minorities. The government is “undermining its claims to being a rights-respecting democracy,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, urging President Yudhoyono “to insist that national laws be enforced, announce that every violent attack will be prosecuted, and map out a comprehensive strategy to combat rising religious intolerance.”
HRW’s 107-page report, “In Religion’s Name: Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia,” released on Feb. 28, highlighted local officials’ role, saying they “too often have responded to acts of arson and other violence by blaming the victims.”
“Most perpetrators have received little or no punishment,” the report states. “In two cases [related to the two churches in Bogor and Bekasi], local officials refused to implement Supreme Court decisions granting minority groups the right to build houses of worship. While some national officials have spoken out in defense of religious minorities, others – including the minister of religion, Suryadharma Ali – have themselves made discriminatory statements.”
HRW also said violence and discrimination were “in part made possible by discriminatory laws and regulations, including a blasphemy law that officially recognizes only six religions, and house of worship decrees that give local majority populations significant leverage over religious minority communities.”
Indonesian government institutions – including the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) under the attorney general’s office, and the semi-official Indonesian Ulema Council – have eroded religious freedom by issuing decrees and fatwas (religious rulings) against members of religious minorities and using their positions of authority to press to prosecute “blasphemers,” the report added.
Christians hope the call for the protection of Christians and other minorities will not fall on deaf ears yet another time, Bela said.
Sudan Tracking Down Converts from Islam in Purge of Christianity
JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – A Sudanese Christian
has fled the country after authorities in Khartoum threatened to kill
him for refusing to divulge names of converts from Islam, sources said.
The Christian, a native of Sudan’s Nuba Mountains area, left the country last month after officials from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) forced him to report to their offices nearly every day since raiding his home on Feb. 23.
“His life was at great risk, especially as NISS threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate with them and reveal names of Muslim converts who became Christians in Sudan,” a source told Morning Star News. “He is in hiding in another country.”
The detained Christian, whose name is withheld for security reasons, told Morning Star News that officials, some of them armed, took him to jail on Feb. 23 for interrogation after confiscating his passport and other documents, cell phone, computer, two laptops, iPad and the mobile phones of his brother and sisters.
“They took me to their offices with me in only my sleeping clothes, shorts and a T-shirt,” he said. “And they took me to their officer just like this, and he said to me, ‘If you need your life, just cooperate with us.’”
That night they took him to his workplace in Khartoum and seized papers and 1,370 Sudanese pounds (US$310), he said. After visiting another site of his workplace the next day, a Sunday, the NISS officials accused him of being a spy for insurgents in the Nuba Mountains and said that he and another Christian taken into custody would therefore be killed in accordance with Sudanese law.
“They left us on Friday and told us to come back on Monday, and they told me I must cooperate with them in giving them the names of Muslims who have changed their religion, and they asked me about the whereabouts of my friend, a guy who was a Muslim and became Christian,” he told Morning Star News before fleeing the country. “I am now threatened badly before them, and they were making me every day to be in their office, saying if I refused to deal with them they will accuse me, with unknown fate.”
Freedom of religion is a key provision of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sudan is a signatory. But “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, is punishable by death in Sudan under Article 126 of its 1991 Criminal Act, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Sudan has not executed anyone for apostasy in nearly two decades, but in 2011 and 2012 nearly 170 people were imprisoned and/or charged with the “crime,” according to USCIRF.
Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, when President Omar al-Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.
South Sudan’s secession has served as a pretext for Bashir’s regime to bulldoze church buildings once owned by South Sudanese and to deport Christians based on their ethnicity, sources said. In a report issued in April, Christian Solidarity Worldwide noted an increase in arrests, detentions and deportations of Christians since December 2012. The organization also reported that systematic targeting of Nuba and other ethnic groups suggests the resurgence of an official policy of “Islamization and Arabization.”
Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, and in April USCIRF recommended the country remain on the list this year.
Church Raid
In Omdurman, opposite Khartoum on the River Nile, plain-clothes police officials on June 25 raided the offices of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) in what church leaders called a bid to take over the property.
Without permission from government authorities, the officers entered the church compound and chased SPEC pastors and others out of the offices, a Christian leader said. In apparent interference in church affairs, the officers said they had sided with some church officials in an administrative dispute and therefore were ordering church leaders to leave the premises or face arrest, said the Christian leader, who requested anonymity.
The government is trying to divide the leadership by becoming involved with administrative disputes within SPEC so that it can take control of the property, he said, without divulging the nature of the administrative conflict.
“The Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment is behind what is taking place in SPEC,” he told Morning Star News by phone. “All that is happening now is because the government wants to confiscate the SPEC property.”
A government official denied the government was trying to divide the leadership but admitted it had inserted itself into church affairs.
“We are not favoring one side against another,” Abdallah Hassan, director of Church Management in the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, told Morning Star News. “We wanted to solve the disputes, but our solution was rejected by the other group within SPEC. They need to hold a general assembly as soon as possible.”
Southerners in Sudan
Noting that Tuesday (July 9) was the two-year anniversary of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan, USCIRF officials said in a press statement that the legal status an estimated 500,000 southerners in Sudan remains unresolved.
“With the independence of South Sudan, senior Sudanese government officials have called for a more comprehensive and rigid application of Sharia law in Sudan, where southerners who are Christian have been subject to a range of religious freedom violations,” USCIRF stated. “In particular, there have been credible reports of the destruction of churches, refusal to permit construction of new churches and other forms of intimidation and harassment.”
South Sudanese lost citizenship in Sudan and were ordered to leave by March 1, 2012, but thousands have been stranded in the north due to job loss, poverty, transportation limitations and ethnic and tribal conflict in South Sudan.
Sudan and South Sudan signed an agreement on Sept. 27, 2012, to hold negotiations on citizenship rights for South Sudanese in Sudan and northerners living in South Sudan, but there has been no progress, according to USCIRF. South Sudanese Christians in Sudan have faced increased hostilities due to their ethnic origins – though thousands have little or no ties to South Sudan – as well as their faith.
The Christian, a native of Sudan’s Nuba Mountains area, left the country last month after officials from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) forced him to report to their offices nearly every day since raiding his home on Feb. 23.
“His life was at great risk, especially as NISS threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate with them and reveal names of Muslim converts who became Christians in Sudan,” a source told Morning Star News. “He is in hiding in another country.”
The detained Christian, whose name is withheld for security reasons, told Morning Star News that officials, some of them armed, took him to jail on Feb. 23 for interrogation after confiscating his passport and other documents, cell phone, computer, two laptops, iPad and the mobile phones of his brother and sisters.
“They took me to their offices with me in only my sleeping clothes, shorts and a T-shirt,” he said. “And they took me to their officer just like this, and he said to me, ‘If you need your life, just cooperate with us.’”
That night they took him to his workplace in Khartoum and seized papers and 1,370 Sudanese pounds (US$310), he said. After visiting another site of his workplace the next day, a Sunday, the NISS officials accused him of being a spy for insurgents in the Nuba Mountains and said that he and another Christian taken into custody would therefore be killed in accordance with Sudanese law.
“They left us on Friday and told us to come back on Monday, and they told me I must cooperate with them in giving them the names of Muslims who have changed their religion, and they asked me about the whereabouts of my friend, a guy who was a Muslim and became Christian,” he told Morning Star News before fleeing the country. “I am now threatened badly before them, and they were making me every day to be in their office, saying if I refused to deal with them they will accuse me, with unknown fate.”
Freedom of religion is a key provision of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sudan is a signatory. But “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, is punishable by death in Sudan under Article 126 of its 1991 Criminal Act, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Sudan has not executed anyone for apostasy in nearly two decades, but in 2011 and 2012 nearly 170 people were imprisoned and/or charged with the “crime,” according to USCIRF.
Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, when President Omar al-Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.
South Sudan’s secession has served as a pretext for Bashir’s regime to bulldoze church buildings once owned by South Sudanese and to deport Christians based on their ethnicity, sources said. In a report issued in April, Christian Solidarity Worldwide noted an increase in arrests, detentions and deportations of Christians since December 2012. The organization also reported that systematic targeting of Nuba and other ethnic groups suggests the resurgence of an official policy of “Islamization and Arabization.”
Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, and in April USCIRF recommended the country remain on the list this year.
Church Raid
In Omdurman, opposite Khartoum on the River Nile, plain-clothes police officials on June 25 raided the offices of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) in what church leaders called a bid to take over the property.
Without permission from government authorities, the officers entered the church compound and chased SPEC pastors and others out of the offices, a Christian leader said. In apparent interference in church affairs, the officers said they had sided with some church officials in an administrative dispute and therefore were ordering church leaders to leave the premises or face arrest, said the Christian leader, who requested anonymity.
The government is trying to divide the leadership by becoming involved with administrative disputes within SPEC so that it can take control of the property, he said, without divulging the nature of the administrative conflict.
“The Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment is behind what is taking place in SPEC,” he told Morning Star News by phone. “All that is happening now is because the government wants to confiscate the SPEC property.”
A government official denied the government was trying to divide the leadership but admitted it had inserted itself into church affairs.
“We are not favoring one side against another,” Abdallah Hassan, director of Church Management in the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment, told Morning Star News. “We wanted to solve the disputes, but our solution was rejected by the other group within SPEC. They need to hold a general assembly as soon as possible.”
Southerners in Sudan
Noting that Tuesday (July 9) was the two-year anniversary of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan, USCIRF officials said in a press statement that the legal status an estimated 500,000 southerners in Sudan remains unresolved.
“With the independence of South Sudan, senior Sudanese government officials have called for a more comprehensive and rigid application of Sharia law in Sudan, where southerners who are Christian have been subject to a range of religious freedom violations,” USCIRF stated. “In particular, there have been credible reports of the destruction of churches, refusal to permit construction of new churches and other forms of intimidation and harassment.”
South Sudanese lost citizenship in Sudan and were ordered to leave by March 1, 2012, but thousands have been stranded in the north due to job loss, poverty, transportation limitations and ethnic and tribal conflict in South Sudan.
Sudan and South Sudan signed an agreement on Sept. 27, 2012, to hold negotiations on citizenship rights for South Sudanese in Sudan and northerners living in South Sudan, but there has been no progress, according to USCIRF. South Sudanese Christians in Sudan have faced increased hostilities due to their ethnic origins – though thousands have little or no ties to South Sudan – as well as their faith.
Eight Christians in Iran Sent to Prison for Threatening ‘National Security’
Convictions typical of those in country who leave Islam.
ISTANBUL (Morning Star News) – Eight Iranian Christians received heavy jail sentences on Tuesday (July 16) after being found guilty of “action against the national security” and “propaganda against the system” – charges typically leveled against Muslim converts to Christianity in Iran.Advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the eight members of the Church of Iran were sentenced in Shiraz, 571 miles (920 kilometers) south of Tehran. Seven of them were originally arrested in October 2012, when security forces raided an evening prayer service. The eighth, Massoud Rezaid, was arrested six days later.
Mohammad Roghangir was sentenced to six years in prison; Massoud Rezaie to five years; Mehdi Ameruni and Bijan Farokhpour Haghighi were sentenced to three years; Shahin Lahooti and Suroush Saraie to two-and-half years; and Eskandar Rezaie and Roxana Forughi to one year in prison.
Iranian Christian leaders denied that the eight had any involvement in politically subversive activity.
“In accordance with the gospel, the church is apolitical,” said a statement released by the National Council of the Church of Iran. “While individual Christians are entitled to hold political opinions, the church does not. These charges are entirely without foundation . . . However, as loyal citizens we will continue to pray for our leaders and for peace and reconciliation in our nation.”
After their initial arrest, the Christians were detained at Plaque 100, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry’s detention center notorious for harsh conditions. They were released after paying enormous bail amounts.
The convicted Christians are expected to appeal their convictions.
The sentencing comes a month after the presidential election of Hassan Rouhani, whom many international analysts believed would be a modernizing force after the eight-year presidency of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his crack-down on religious minorities and political dissidents.
Little has changed in terms of religious freedoms for non-Muslims since Rouhani’s election, CSW press officer Kiri Kankhwende told Morning Star News.
“It is now common practice to subject religious minorities to political charges, as any alternative belief system is deemed a threat to the theocratic state,” she said.
The sentencing of the eight follows enormous bail terms a previous judge handed them, causing severe financial hardships to family and church members. To pay these bills, many put down title deeds to their homes. The bail amounts ranged between $80,000 and $200,000, creating hardship for those who assisted in raising the money. The high price was intentionally designed financially punish Christians, according to the CSW.
Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which upholds the rights of all religious minorities to freedom of belief. But its national law characterizes most forms of evangelistic non-Muslim religious activity as national security crimes.
Mervyn Thomas, CSW chief executive, called for the group’s unconditional release and for Rouhani to bring Iran’s laws into conformity with international standards of religious freedom.
“It is both disappointing and deplorable that the Iranian regime persists in detaining religious minorities on political charges, as has occurred once again in this case,” he said in a press statement. “These Christians in no way constitute a threat to the state.”
Trial in Tehran
The sentencing follows the trial of Mostafa Bordbar, 27, another convert to Christianity from Islam. He is charged with participating in an “illegal gathering and participating in a house church,” according to Mohabat News
He could receive between two and 10 years in prison if convicted, his attorney reportedly said.
Before his most recent hearing, on June 9 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, he had a short visit with his parents and fiancée, but not even his lawyer was allowed to enter the courtroom, Mohabat News reported.
Bordbar is held in Evin Prison, a facility that houses political prisoners alongside the nation’s most dangerous criminals.
His arrest came Dec. 27, 2012, when police raided a Christmas and New Year’s celebration in a local Christian’s home. He was also detained five years earlier for converting to Christianity and being involved in a house church. Bordbar was later released on bail.
Judge Pir-Abbas is handling the case; he is known in the international legal arena as the “hanging judge” for handing down long prison sentences and death penalties following 2009 protests of the presidential election.
Pir-Abbas sentenced U.S.-Iranian pastor Saeed Abedini, 33, to eight years in Evin Prison on Jan. 27.
According to Mohabat News, Bordbar and two other imprisoned Iranian Christians, Farshid Fathi and Alizreza Seyyedian, wrote a letter to incoming President Rouhani, requesting that he reform the Islamic state’s law and ease their suffering.
“When you take control of this respectful position, we hope that with God’s help, respect and honor will return to the name of Iran and freedom will be given back to religious minorities, especially Christians,” they wrote.
5 Signs You Are Not Ready For Marriage
Marriage does not depend solely on age. Age is only a number and it
does not have much to do with maturity. I agree that most times maturity
comes with age but I have seen some cases where younger people are more
mature in thoughts and actions than their older counterparts. So with
this in mind, I would like to list five signs to know you or perhaps
someone you know is not ready for marriage.
1. You are not thinking about it
If you are too busy about your business to think of life with someone else then you are probably not ready for marriage. You are not ready to accommodate anyone else in your life right now. Any one who talks to you about marriage might irritate you because you are still very full of your self, your life and your pursuits so much so that you are not even considering sharing it with someone. You are what you think.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he… Proverbs 23:7 KJV
2. You do not dream about it
If you are not passionate about getting married, then it means you do not dream about it. It is not a dream yet for you because like I said above, you are not thinking marriage, you are still too self inclined. If marriage is not yet one of your dreams then you are not ready for it, if you mistakenly get married, you will not have the passion that is required to keep your marriage alive and aflame.
Abraham had a dream for his son to marry in the covenant and he pursued it with passion until it came to pass.
3. You are not preparing for it
If you stop at dreaming about getting married without taking the necessary steps to prepare yourself for marriage then you still are not ready to be married. Preparing your spirit, emotions and attitude, growing up and maturing in your thoughts… Whatever you do not prepare for you will not succeed in. It is like desiring and dreaming to be a pilot, but you do not take time to go through the aviation school to get the necessary preparations. You are not ready to fly any plane because your dreaming and desiring it alone cannot make it happen. If you attempt it, you will crash the plane and whoever is on board with you. David prepared himself with the lion and bear, so he could face and defeat Goliath.
4. You are not planning for it
While preparing has mostly to do with you, planning has to do with your marriage, how you want it. Please I do not mean the whole wedding ceremony, I am talking of the marriage itself. The kind of person you want for a spouse, the kind of home you want, the kind and number of children you plan to raise. It means designing an overall blue print for your marriage, putting down a scheme that you plan to work out in your marriage.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Habakkuk 2:2 KJV
5. You are not praying for and about it
Finally for those of you who have a relationship with God, if you are not praying about it, you are not ready too. Prayer is what it is that puts all other things together to get you ready for marriage. Even if all the other things; your thinking, dreaming, preparation and planning are all in shape, only God can make them produce the desired result for you. And it is only in asking Him, that He can make it happen.
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from The Lord. Proverbs 16:1 KJV
Are you ready for marriage? Do you know anyone who is not ready? Can this help? Is there something else you might want to add? Please do not leave without leaving your thoughts.
by rev. ugochi-jolomi
1. You are not thinking about it
If you are too busy about your business to think of life with someone else then you are probably not ready for marriage. You are not ready to accommodate anyone else in your life right now. Any one who talks to you about marriage might irritate you because you are still very full of your self, your life and your pursuits so much so that you are not even considering sharing it with someone. You are what you think.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he… Proverbs 23:7 KJV
2. You do not dream about it
If you are not passionate about getting married, then it means you do not dream about it. It is not a dream yet for you because like I said above, you are not thinking marriage, you are still too self inclined. If marriage is not yet one of your dreams then you are not ready for it, if you mistakenly get married, you will not have the passion that is required to keep your marriage alive and aflame.
Abraham had a dream for his son to marry in the covenant and he pursued it with passion until it came to pass.
3. You are not preparing for it
If you stop at dreaming about getting married without taking the necessary steps to prepare yourself for marriage then you still are not ready to be married. Preparing your spirit, emotions and attitude, growing up and maturing in your thoughts… Whatever you do not prepare for you will not succeed in. It is like desiring and dreaming to be a pilot, but you do not take time to go through the aviation school to get the necessary preparations. You are not ready to fly any plane because your dreaming and desiring it alone cannot make it happen. If you attempt it, you will crash the plane and whoever is on board with you. David prepared himself with the lion and bear, so he could face and defeat Goliath.
4. You are not planning for it
While preparing has mostly to do with you, planning has to do with your marriage, how you want it. Please I do not mean the whole wedding ceremony, I am talking of the marriage itself. The kind of person you want for a spouse, the kind of home you want, the kind and number of children you plan to raise. It means designing an overall blue print for your marriage, putting down a scheme that you plan to work out in your marriage.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Habakkuk 2:2 KJV
5. You are not praying for and about it
Finally for those of you who have a relationship with God, if you are not praying about it, you are not ready too. Prayer is what it is that puts all other things together to get you ready for marriage. Even if all the other things; your thinking, dreaming, preparation and planning are all in shape, only God can make them produce the desired result for you. And it is only in asking Him, that He can make it happen.
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from The Lord. Proverbs 16:1 KJV
Are you ready for marriage? Do you know anyone who is not ready? Can this help? Is there something else you might want to add? Please do not leave without leaving your thoughts.
by rev. ugochi-jolomi
75 ways to use baking soda
75 ways to use baking soda
1. Use it as an antacid.
2. Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.
3. Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide paste and use it as toothpaste.
4. Use it as a face and body scrub.
5. Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.
6. Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn.
7. Remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda and water.
8. Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.
9. Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations.
10. Take a baking soda bath to relieve skin irritations.
11. Heartburn? Take a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with one-half glass of water.
12. Freshen your mouth by gargling half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed water.
13. Relieve canker sore pain by using it as mouthwash.
14. Use it to relieve bee stings.
15. Use it to relieve windburns.
16. Apply it on jellyfish sting to draw out the venom.
17. Unblock stuffy nose by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer.
IN THE HOME . . .
18. Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.
19. Put out small fires on rugs, upholstery, clothing, and wood.
20. Put an open container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odors.
21. Sprinkle it on your ashtrays to reduce bad odor and prevent smoldering.
22. Sprinkle it on your slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to eliminate foul odor.
23. Turn baking soda into modeling clay by combining it with one and 1/4 cups of water and one cup of cOrnstarch.
24. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.
25. Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.
26. Improve the smell of dishrags by soaking them in baking soda and water.
27. Suck it in with your vacuum cleaner to remove the odor.
28. Freshen the air by mixing baking soda with your favorite perfumed bath salts. Put the mixture in small sachet bags.
29. Restore stiff brushes by boiling them in a solution of 1/2 gallon of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and a cup of baking soda.
30. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.
31. Scatter baking soda around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.
32. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants.
33. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.
34. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.
IN COOKING . . .
35. Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.
36. Wash fruits and vegetables with it.
37. When boiling a chicken, add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Feathers will come off easier, and the flesh will be clean and white.
38. Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.
39. Remove the distinctive taste of wild game by soaking it in a baking soda solution.
40. Make a sports drink by mixing it with boiled water, salt, and Kool-Aid.
41. Remove the fishy smell from your fillets by soaking the raw fish in a baking soda solution for an hour inside the fridge.
42. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.
43. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
FOR CLEANING . . .
44. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.
45. Use it to scrub sinks, showers, plastic and porcelain tubs
46. Spray it on walls, mirrors, and countertops.
47. Add a spoonful to your dishwasher to make scrubbing dishes easier.
48. Remove grease from pots and pans.
49. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling baking soda over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.
50. Boost your laundry detergent’s cleaning power by sprinkling a handful on dirty clothes.
51. Combine it with water to make a paste for polishing stainless steel and chrome.
52. Remove scratches and crayon marks from vinyl floors and walls.
53. Clean your shoes with it.
54. Clean garbage cans with it.
55. Use it to wash diapers.
56. Clean the fridge with it.
57. Soak brushes and combs in a baking soda solution.
58. Mix it with water to wash food and drink containers.
59. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture.
60. Absorb it with a damp sponge, then clean Formica countertops with the sponge.
61. Use it to get rid of stale odors from cooling containers and thermos bottles.
62. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution, then rinse.
63. Combine with hot water to clean baby bottles.
64. Sprinkle it on barbecue grills, then rinse it off.
65. Scatter it on your greasy garage floor, scrub the floor, and rinse.
66. Remove burned-on food from a pan by soaking it in a baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.
67. Clean your ashtrays with a baking soda solution.
68. Keep your drains clean by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them each week. Flush it down with hot water.
69. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.
70. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.
71. Use it to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp rug, then use the rug to clean the toaster.
72. Use it to clean your retainers and dentures.
73. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and used it to scrub enameled cast iron and stainless steel.
74. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water, and use it to clean the inside part of an oven.
75. Use it to unclog gas stoves.
The most amazing thing about baking soda is that it’s very cheap. You can do all these things for a very small cost. Baking soda is truly a miracle product, whether it’s used for baking or not.
1. Use it as an antacid.
2. Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.
3. Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide paste and use it as toothpaste.
4. Use it as a face and body scrub.
5. Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.
6. Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn.
7. Remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda and water.
8. Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.
9. Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations.
10. Take a baking soda bath to relieve skin irritations.
11. Heartburn? Take a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with one-half glass of water.
12. Freshen your mouth by gargling half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed water.
13. Relieve canker sore pain by using it as mouthwash.
14. Use it to relieve bee stings.
15. Use it to relieve windburns.
16. Apply it on jellyfish sting to draw out the venom.
17. Unblock stuffy nose by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer.
IN THE HOME . . .
18. Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.
19. Put out small fires on rugs, upholstery, clothing, and wood.
20. Put an open container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odors.
21. Sprinkle it on your ashtrays to reduce bad odor and prevent smoldering.
22. Sprinkle it on your slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to eliminate foul odor.
23. Turn baking soda into modeling clay by combining it with one and 1/4 cups of water and one cup of cOrnstarch.
24. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.
25. Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.
26. Improve the smell of dishrags by soaking them in baking soda and water.
27. Suck it in with your vacuum cleaner to remove the odor.
28. Freshen the air by mixing baking soda with your favorite perfumed bath salts. Put the mixture in small sachet bags.
29. Restore stiff brushes by boiling them in a solution of 1/2 gallon of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and a cup of baking soda.
30. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.
31. Scatter baking soda around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.
32. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants.
33. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.
34. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.
IN COOKING . . .
35. Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.
36. Wash fruits and vegetables with it.
37. When boiling a chicken, add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Feathers will come off easier, and the flesh will be clean and white.
38. Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.
39. Remove the distinctive taste of wild game by soaking it in a baking soda solution.
40. Make a sports drink by mixing it with boiled water, salt, and Kool-Aid.
41. Remove the fishy smell from your fillets by soaking the raw fish in a baking soda solution for an hour inside the fridge.
42. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.
43. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
FOR CLEANING . . .
44. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.
45. Use it to scrub sinks, showers, plastic and porcelain tubs
46. Spray it on walls, mirrors, and countertops.
47. Add a spoonful to your dishwasher to make scrubbing dishes easier.
48. Remove grease from pots and pans.
49. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling baking soda over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.
50. Boost your laundry detergent’s cleaning power by sprinkling a handful on dirty clothes.
51. Combine it with water to make a paste for polishing stainless steel and chrome.
52. Remove scratches and crayon marks from vinyl floors and walls.
53. Clean your shoes with it.
54. Clean garbage cans with it.
55. Use it to wash diapers.
56. Clean the fridge with it.
57. Soak brushes and combs in a baking soda solution.
58. Mix it with water to wash food and drink containers.
59. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture.
60. Absorb it with a damp sponge, then clean Formica countertops with the sponge.
61. Use it to get rid of stale odors from cooling containers and thermos bottles.
62. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution, then rinse.
63. Combine with hot water to clean baby bottles.
64. Sprinkle it on barbecue grills, then rinse it off.
65. Scatter it on your greasy garage floor, scrub the floor, and rinse.
66. Remove burned-on food from a pan by soaking it in a baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.
67. Clean your ashtrays with a baking soda solution.
68. Keep your drains clean by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them each week. Flush it down with hot water.
69. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.
70. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.
71. Use it to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp rug, then use the rug to clean the toaster.
72. Use it to clean your retainers and dentures.
73. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and used it to scrub enameled cast iron and stainless steel.
74. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water, and use it to clean the inside part of an oven.
75. Use it to unclog gas stoves.
The most amazing thing about baking soda is that it’s very cheap. You can do all these things for a very small cost. Baking soda is truly a miracle product, whether it’s used for baking or not.
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