tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86993899240444727822024-03-19T02:58:29.945-06:00THE ROAD TO KHALISTANGentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is
actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to
our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the
field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What
would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased
at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not
what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me
death!Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.comBlogger502125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-21741860806440894452011-10-09T16:44:00.000-06:002013-08-07T00:50:10.675-06:00Good-bye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA! VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This will be my last post as owner of this blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few weeks ago my husband, my companion of 22, years died. I am now alone and re-examining my life. I have found that my life has become out of balance. Most of my time has been spent in sewa at the expense of my Gurbani studies and (attempted) Simran. I am now going to take a much-needed retirement from public life for a time. It might be temporary or permanent; I do not see into the future very well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love you all! (Yes, even the one who threatened to kidnap me and take me to India to be hanged for treason) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Harinder Kaur called "Mai"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA! VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!! </span>
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Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-85969364331071814052011-09-10T22:59:00.000-06:002011-09-10T22:59:53.406-06:00DID THE TERRORISTS WIN?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0c_G56xosDai1iDd9kqxp0nKdYMfYCGlx3oKkGzmPwf0aFLaXN5cySLNi9bBfW4V_MYflEB8_AFZq-Hx0-BIIMn-UzF-ylg2jfhBs6r5SPeqF99eTrNVHYX7nnhlk7B6vjp643aEefWk/s1600/twin+towers+blue+light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0c_G56xosDai1iDd9kqxp0nKdYMfYCGlx3oKkGzmPwf0aFLaXN5cySLNi9bBfW4V_MYflEB8_AFZq-Hx0-BIIMn-UzF-ylg2jfhBs6r5SPeqF99eTrNVHYX7nnhlk7B6vjp643aEefWk/s400/twin+towers+blue+light.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: US Department of Defence</td></tr>
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So, it's 11 September 2011, ten years later.<br />
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CBC has been obsessing about this, even outdoing the USA networks.<br />
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These have been a very difficult time for us Sikhs in North America. We have been snubbed, bullied,beaten and murdered in a case of mnistaken identity. I admit that I often think that this is a willing mistake on the part of those who have chosen to hate us. We look different - even worse, we CHOOSE to look different. We choose not to blend in, we choose to stand out.<br />
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Still, I, at least, feel a bit guilty when I explain that I am not a Muslim, a chunni is not a hijab. Am I implying there is something wrong about being a Muslim? No, I am not! But sometimes, it is taken that way, especially by Muslims. I can usually get them to see what I mean by asking, "Would you like to be taken for a Sikh?"<br />
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I heard of a group of Christian girls and women in Kansas City, who, with much publicity, donned hijabs after the attacks with the state motive to make it impossible to look at a woman and know iof she is a Muslim. Look at the picture below. Can you be sure of her religion?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9djUO7VeedQFz_pYQpM5UxjCLglI6nUQsS65Xdbzs0YNkkCdUjsb6UT5RYel2dvJPSwOZ_eMWatZCSe6EpBDUx3QPppujUv6og07meaukHq9KMOsrTy75m2YeUbH0CFHGn96yr9A_-9U/s1600/girl-wearing-hijab-md.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9djUO7VeedQFz_pYQpM5UxjCLglI6nUQsS65Xdbzs0YNkkCdUjsb6UT5RYel2dvJPSwOZ_eMWatZCSe6EpBDUx3QPppujUv6og07meaukHq9KMOsrTy75m2YeUbH0CFHGn96yr9A_-9U/s1600/girl-wearing-hijab-md.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GIRL IN HIJAB </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I have no idea how the Muslim community reacted to this, but it
raised an interesting question: How would we react as a community if a
group of non-Sikhs grew kesh and tied turbans to protect us? I'm really
not certain, but it's interesting to think about.<br />
Whatever.<br />
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It has been ten years, ten difficult years for Sikhs in the USA. I will not compare the North American experience with what the Sikhs of India suffered in the last 15-20 years of the Twentieth Century. That is a different situation, and I hope my fellow Diasporan Sikhs draw courage and commitment from those Sikhs. <br />
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I think that this would be a good time to renew our commitment to stand for good for all humanity. Let us live the truth of the words we say at least once every day:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlLiAe97YC3p4QXM-vAbb5AT2hEmkGXVFMMmJcP9XCRdbu_S174ACjsGhUBWitI7v_4wdGNDqqhn0yib509ZYQKXKQl3szhyyg9WIJZVcjA4nt3Z1pWJi9vigIHp2_LqDreRCbYHVyfg/s1600/earth+Ardas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlLiAe97YC3p4QXM-vAbb5AT2hEmkGXVFMMmJcP9XCRdbu_S174ACjsGhUBWitI7v_4wdGNDqqhn0yib509ZYQKXKQl3szhyyg9WIJZVcjA4nt3Z1pWJi9vigIHp2_LqDreRCbYHVyfg/s400/earth+Ardas.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Courtesy NASA</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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To that end, I suggest we join with Pete Seeger, a great USAer and a great humanitarian, singing the great USA song of hope, optimism and commitment, WE SHALL OVERCOME. I'll make it easy for you. This video has on-screen lyrics.</div>
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CREDIT: GIRL IN HIJAB by Mohammed Ibrahim<br />
http://www.clker.com/clipart-girl-wearing-hijab.html</div>
Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-29172603674847231182011-09-04T04:16:00.000-06:002011-09-05T13:37:56.054-06:00Sewa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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All of you know her. An elderly, tiny, shriveled Khalsa Kaur who seems always to be at every Sikh gathering, but rarely says anything to anyone. She sits in a corner and keeps to herself, her face expressionless as she does her sewa. </div>
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When I was growing up, there was such an elderly Khalsa Kaur in our sangat. To me, a young girl, she seemed impossibly ancient, skin wrinkled like a raisin, her teeth often left at home, always dressed in drab colours, her tiny frail body lost in a chunni that seemed to engulf and swallow her. She rarely said anything to anyone, quiet, possibly shy and, of course, a widow. A solitary woman who seemed to almost disappear, unnoticed, into her environment.<br />
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She sewed kachera. Whenever I saw her she was stitching, tiny, even perfect stitches. To me, being young, I thought she was doing a lot of unnecessary work. Why not get her a sewing machine? When I suggested this to Dad, he just gave me a knowing smile and said nothing. </div>
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I decided that if no one else was going to help her, I would. </div>
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So one day, I walked up to her - although I was a bit afraid of her - and said, "Khalsa ji, would you like to have a sewing machine to sew your kachera?" She stopped her sewing, looked up at me and did something I had no idea she knew how to do. She smiled. A huge, wide, happy smile. Then she patted the floor beside her, inviting me to sit down beside her, which I did.<br />
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Again, she picked up her sewing and began stitching. That close to her, I could hear her almost silent "Waheguru" with each stitch. I never again suggested she get a sewing machine.<br />
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[Note: those are pictures of me that I have aged using the magic of Photoshop. Now I know what I'll look like should I live to be 100.] </div>
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Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-92013714416016592642011-08-22T15:17:00.000-06:002011-10-06T03:19:39.406-06:00JACK LAYTON IS DEAD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #7b7b7b; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Photograph by: </b>Fred Thornhill, Reuters</span></span></h2>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>All my very best,</i></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Jack Layton"</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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With those words, he bids us farewell. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jack Layton is no more. Jack Layton has gone to his heavenly abode. Jack Layton has passed on. Jack Layton is dead. Jack is dead. </span><div style="color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am stunned, at a loss for words. The Sikh Kaum has lost our staunchest ally and friend in Canada. The loss there is incalculable. But Jack Layton was more than a friend and ally; he was proof that it is possible to be a moral, upright, strong, uncorrupted human being - and a politician. <br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Like myself he was a native of Montreal and a graduate of McGill University. Like myself, he was a social democratic. I really am at a loss what to say about him. He took the New Democratic Party (NDP) from a sort of fading bunch of would-be do-gooders in 2003 to becoming Canada's official Opposition Party in 2011. He died of prostate cancer. Mani was an oncologist, a cancer doctor. Perhaps he could have cured him. Again, those saddest words, "What might have been."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I think the best way to describe Jack Layton is to let him speak for himself. When he realised he might be dying, he wrote this final statement to us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Jack Layton, MP, Député</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Toronto – Danforth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Leader of the Official Opposition/Chef de l'Opposition officielle</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Leader, New Democratic Party/Chef, Nouveau Parti démocratique</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">August 20, 2011</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Toronto, Ontario</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Dear Friends,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">A few additional thoughts:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">To the members of my party: we've done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let's continue to move forward. Let's demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada's Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">All my very best,</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mTb51k57PszfLgHSoZksi7Ceajk1RgfOUPUvs8WXpU_rSKBwJMazEV6Oztp0uKO4d567bxkwdUR6FbuWoFry4No8aPtrv69epOWgz4nPRaMARn96r7tOv8a0dt3pdPwHBZ124dlz20I/s1600/184px-Jack_Layton_Signature_2.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mTb51k57PszfLgHSoZksi7Ceajk1RgfOUPUvs8WXpU_rSKBwJMazEV6Oztp0uKO4d567bxkwdUR6FbuWoFry4No8aPtrv69epOWgz4nPRaMARn96r7tOv8a0dt3pdPwHBZ124dlz20I/s1600/184px-Jack_Layton_Signature_2.svg.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Jack Layton </span></span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I am watching CBC news as I write this. I smile as I hear the announcers and the people talk about "Jack." Not "Jack Layton." Not "Mr. Layton." Jack. Our Jack. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvK8rdEb5eOMc2AG-O6au2mz6o6caafD6dCwHtTHFqeO8oX4Yp-8lcp7Xyk3Hf6X6wAMhGJDANJfDPWr7DbDzL5-9dS7892GImRF7JFzPHR4f-1QSSgypTGzSrYXEP2I4_vPqd67cB7_E/s1600/vote_for_jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvK8rdEb5eOMc2AG-O6au2mz6o6caafD6dCwHtTHFqeO8oX4Yp-8lcp7Xyk3Hf6X6wAMhGJDANJfDPWr7DbDzL5-9dS7892GImRF7JFzPHR4f-1QSSgypTGzSrYXEP2I4_vPqd67cB7_E/s1600/vote_for_jack.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> He belonged to all of us, the people of Canada, people of hope and love and goodwill everywhere. Even those who opposed his politics liked him. That bright infectious smile was no act. Writing now is difficult for me now; I suppose you can feel this.<br /> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: large;">I asked a friend when I first received the news, "Can I cry?" The response was, " You are a kharkoo. You are not allowed to cry." All I could say was, "Too late."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We will go on. Of course, we will go on, but things will not be the same. A Great Soul has left us. I cannot help but think of a sort of obituary I wrote a few months ago about Osama bin Laden. The good die. The evil die. And each death diminishes us in one way or another. I am going to quote in this post, as I quoted in the one before, John Donne's words:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">No man is an island, entire of itself; </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">as well as if a promontory were, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were; </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">any man's death diminishes me, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">because I am involved in mankind,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;"> and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f3f2f9; font-family: Georgia;">it tolls for thee. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I must correct myself. Earlier I wrote, "Jack Layton is no more." We write that, but in this case it is not true. As long as we hold true to his hopes, his dreams, his optimism, Jack Layton is still with us. I ask each of my readers to please take a moment to say a prayer for his family, for Canada, and for the world; our world has been diminished by his death.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I just heard him described as "relentlessly optimistic." I wonder if he knew the phrase "chardi kala." Whether or not, he certainly lived that way. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Good-bye, Jack. I love you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">JACK LAYTON 1950-2011</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK. Sorry.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBSCmYauxlDBxbAOs1ll4umIQ0e67CX7N4BHsmQQlvxuXOY1mVlXbykFSt7jFTCzbfPc1JPl3_yiSIyj0Sz_GFNS5M2uPXDAPHyRMzRjf4pPXoeU7nN_bE8Vsgf1XFx9OUVqdixmtKWLU/s1600/jack-layton-1-sized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBSCmYauxlDBxbAOs1ll4umIQ0e67CX7N4BHsmQQlvxuXOY1mVlXbykFSt7jFTCzbfPc1JPl3_yiSIyj0Sz_GFNS5M2uPXDAPHyRMzRjf4pPXoeU7nN_bE8Vsgf1XFx9OUVqdixmtKWLU/s320/jack-layton-1-sized.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unhotlinked picture of Jack</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Mes amis, l'amour est cent fois meilleur que la haine. L'espoir est meilleur que la peur. L'optimisme est meilleur que le désespoir. Alors aimons, gardons espoir et restons optimistes. Et nous changerons le monde.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-91535799476466166732011-08-14T16:54:00.000-06:002011-08-14T16:54:54.450-06:00HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-10436292557156465162011-07-06T15:15:00.000-06:002011-07-06T15:15:32.486-06:00KHALSA AID NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT NOW!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><i>I have just received word that <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150226048076621&set=a.388649896620.174292.641511620&type=1">Khalsa Aid </a>is starting a programme to get food to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa where 10,000,000 people are threatened with starvation! </i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><i>******************************************************</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Once in a while, an organisation is found that is worthy of our total support. Such an organisation is Khalsa Aid. The whole Panth can be very proud of Khalsa Aid. Their main project is aiding the poor Sikhs of Punjab, especially the families of our honoured shaheeds and of those Sikhs in jail or person for only-the-police-know-what reasons. They are engaging the children of rural Punjab in their PURE (Punjab Rural Underprivileged Empowerment) Programme that aims at educating children in both secular subjects and Gurbani while engaging the whole family in the hope of curbing drug and alcohol abuse among Sikhs there. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">I URGE ALL MY READERS TO HELP KHALSA AID IN EVERY WAY YOU CAN. Volunteer. Donate your daswandh. Say ardas. Every Sikh can do something. </span></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Khalsa Aid helps poor Sikhs in Punjab, and that is not all they do, either. They are visible Sikhs doing worldwide sewa for other groups needing our help. Volunteers went to Haiti to help those devastated by the earthquake there; they still maintain a long-term presence there, providing food and clean water to the still-desperate Haitians. I am very proud that my friend Harpreet Singh Mann of Toronto is among those who have volunteered in Haiti. As noted at the top, I have just gotten word minutes ago as I write of a major project being launched in the Horn of Africa to feed the people of that drought-stricken region.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Currently, Khalsa Aid is working at the Libyan border providing clean drinking water for the refugees streaming ocross the desert fleeing the fighting in that country. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Take a look at this video.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yn4MPaSviV8" width="425"></iframe><br />
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Please take a look at their website at <a href="http://www.khalsaaid.org/">Khalsa Aid</a> and if you are able, make a donation. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 24px;">Every little bit helps. And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 24px;">If you want the experience of a lifetime, volunteer. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: 24px;">Here is their latest newsletter.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://khalsaaid.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d&id=ab87f0d243&e=b51c90ada7" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="135" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d/images/header.2.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 450px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="450" /></a></div></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #895f30; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 30px;">Update Focus Punjab – Shaheed Parivaars</span></div><span style="color: #895f30; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Focus Punjab – Shaheed Parivaars:</span><br />
Since the Focus Punjab project was extended to include the monthly welfare support for the Sikh families who have lost their sons and fathers to the violent and destructive period from mid 1980's to mid 1990's. (<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://khalsaaid.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d&id=140ffeaf4c&e=b51c90ada7" style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.ensaaf.org/<wbr></wbr>publications/</a>)</span></span><br />
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Khalsa Aid has been inundated with urgent requests for support. Although we have a fulltime employee in Punjab, who coordinates the allocation of support for Shaheed Parivaars, we regularly send volunteers to oversee and support the projects.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="338" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d/images/mata_ji.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="450" /></div>Although the state sponsored massacres (Operation Woodrose) during the 1980s to 1990s in Punjab were turbulent and horrific, we cannot and should not forget those who are still suffering from the consequences. Following a needs and means assessment, Khalsa Aid is providing monthly support to these affected families, who are more commonly known as Shaheed Parivaars.<br />
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KA Volunteers Kiratraj Singh and Karam Kaur earlier this month travelled to Punjab, and were understandably overwhelmed with what they saw:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d/images/parents_of_2_Shaheed_sons.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="450" /></div><br />
To control your tears while Mata ji and Pita Ji and their families relive the events of 1984 and tell us about their Shaheed Singhs is indescribable..These Mothers are the Jewels of our Panth, they sacrificed so much for the Panth, but why don’t we care about them?<br />
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<em>"We have met countless families of Shaheed Singh’s and its absolutely heartbreaking to see the level of poverty which these families are STILL living in!”</em> Karam Kaur<br />
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Khalsa Aid is eternally grateful to the Sangat, as through the support of the Sangat we were able to provide Rs. 3 Lakh to Major Dalbir Singh, Dharmi Fauji. We had earlier shown to the Sangat what the conditions this family was living in, their house was decrepit and dilapidated and did not provide even shelter from the elements. Now he and his family can finally live in a house with full shelter.<br />
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Karam and Kiratraj were shocked after visiting Shaheed Satnaam Singh Cheena family and seeing with their own eyes the level of poverty his widow and son were living in. Monetary support was provided, including the start of monthly welfare support and unlimited support for his son education.<br />
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If any member of the Sangat wishes to see our projects, or meet a sponsored family in Punjab, we are happy to provide transport and facilitate the visit.<br />
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<span style="color: #895f30; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Donate via SMS/Text:</span><br />
Please text <strong>SEVA13</strong> £5 to <strong>70070 </strong>to donate £5 (your credit or phone bill will be debited by £5)<br />
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Please continue to support Khalsa Aid, so we can continue to do Seva and increase the global awareness of Sikhs.<br />
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<hr /><span style="color: #895f30; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Khalsa Aid:</span><br />
Khalsa Aid is the first cross border humanitarian organisation based on the Sikh principles of Sarbat Da Bhalla and Vand Kay Chakna. <br />
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Khalsa Aid is dependent on the generosity of the Sangat to carry out such vital Seva. We are extremely grateful to the Sangat for supporting our global aid projects over the past 12 years since our launch.<br />
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To donate monthly or to make a one off donation, please click on the following link:<a href="http://khalsaaid.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d&id=6d62987412&e=b51c90ada7" style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.justgiving.com/<wbr></wbr>khalsaaid</a> or please visit <a href="http://khalsaaid.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d&id=4079b9806d&e=b51c90ada7" style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">www.khalsaaid.org</a> for more information about the work we continue to do.<br />
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Join our Mailing list <a href="http://khalsaaid.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b4511b33ec4c88b6f3852c70d&id=289eae556d&e=b51c90ada7" style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.khalsaaid.org/<wbr></wbr>lists/?p=subscribe</a><br />
To receive updates on our projects as well as volunteering opportunities.<br />
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<strong>Khalsa Aid</strong><br />
UK Registered Charity (#1080374)<br />
Main Office: +44 (0) 1753 567 457</td></tr>
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</tbody></table></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-31056765349870506452011-06-05T01:29:00.000-06:002011-06-05T01:29:41.540-06:00The Foundation Stone Has Been Laid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“If the Indian government attacks the Golden Temple, it will lay the foundation stone of Khalistan.” – Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.</span></i></b><br />
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The foundation stone has been laid. Now when will the rest be built?<br />
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In my wanderings of the Interwebs, I came across this exchange of letters between Sant Ji and The Wicked Witch of the East. I think it is appropriate for today. Read it and then watch the video, please. It is simple and has a message.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://frontlinepunjabiyouth.blogspot.com/2009/01/letter-from-indira-gandhi-to-sant-ji.html">Letter from Indira Gandhi to Sant Ji & Sant Ji’s Reply</a></h3><div><br />
</div><div>She wrote:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Sriman Sant Jarnail Singh Ji<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">I want to solve the knotty problem of <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place>. We shall find a solution of the demands of <st1:place st="on">Punjab</st1:place> with mutual talks. We will settle all your demands within the constitution. Taking into account my personal security, fix some time to meet me. Do not waste the potentiality of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in such agitations (Morchas). Any dispute can be resolved with mutual talks. You are patriotic, brave and a hard working Punjabi. I hope you will make a significant contri</span><span lang="EN-GB">bution towards the construction and prosperity of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB">With thanks<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Indira Ghandi<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ccffcc; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Prime Minister of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place></span></i></div><br />
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Sant Ji responded:<br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8561494725171154120" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 3pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 3pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 3pt; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 4pt; padding-right: 4pt; padding-top: 1pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB">Ik Onkaar SatGur Prasaad<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB">Us Kirpan Khando kharg, Tupak Tabar <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">ur</st1:city></st1:place> tir.<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Safi</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span lang="EN-GB"> Sorobi saithi yahai hamare pir<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p><br />
(Sword, double-edged sword, bow and arrow are our guides or Gurus)<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p><br />
The main servant of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> from political angle, bibi Indira Ji,<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>I am expressing my thoughts which will reach your deaf ears. My voice will reach to you the discriminations against the Sikhs, which have injured their feelings. It may let your deaf ears feel, what type of language has been used. But in order to remove your deafness I want to express myself in this letter. Read it carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>The enquiry of the death of Lala jagat Narain, who was connected with the Hindus, was complete within three days, the same may be proved from the warrants of my arrest, but the enquiry of the murder of the Guru of the Sikhs, the destruction of wealth of the Sikhs collected in the form of buses and the plunder of Sikh wealth of three lakh at chando kalan was stopped with a writ of a government official because that enquiry was in the hands of a Sikh Judge, while my case was registered with a Hindu judge. This is an example of your deafness, because no Sikh had objected why my enquiry was entrusted to a Hindu judge.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>The dead body of lal Jagat Narain who was connected with the majority Hindu community was handed over to Ramesh after post-mortem. But the dead bodies of about one and a half a dozen Sikhs at Mehta Chowk in police firing were never handed over to their relatives. This is a clear example of discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>None of the Hindus have gone to jail for Hindi Suba; none has courted arrest for renaming a train after a Hindu temple. No one has ever gone to jail for getting a status of a sacred city for some Hindus railway station. None of the Hindus have made any sacrifice for the preservation of a Hindu symbol. After independence they got everything that suited their religion.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>But contrary to this, after independence more then one lakh of Sikhs have courted arrests and a large number of them has been martyred for Punjabi speaking state, for installing a transmitter in Golden Temple, for a status of a distinct nation, for getting the status of a sacred city for Amritsar and for getting the right to adorn the Sikh symbols. Even then your deaf ears have not heard anything.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Sikhs have already faced the cruelty of the rulers with peace, but you should know that when the patience is exhausted the Sikhs have resorted to the armaments according to the advice of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji-<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span lang="EN-GB">When all the means of a peaceful solution are exhausted it is just and pious to resort to arms. (Zafarnama)<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>But we still have no programme to resort to arms, but if the injustice with the Sikhs continues like this under the intoxication of the chair (state of power) it will not be tolerated for many years or months, because our patience is exhausted as we have been observing the peaceful mean since long. While asking the government to accede to our demands we have been propagating that a Hindu should be a perfect in his religious symbols i.e. he should keep a tuft of hair unshorn on his head, should have a stick in his hand, should wear dhoti, should wear sacred thread, should have 12 saffrom marks (on head, nose, chin, shoulders, cervix, palate etc). He should read Geeta and worship Shivling. He should go to temple and ring the holy bells and should not smoke tobacco. We think such Hindu as a brother. A Muslim should be perfect in his religion and a Sikh should be a perfect Sikh. That is what we preach. How far is it true to term such a person as a terrorist?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Under the spell of false prestige of state power, many rulers have tried to finish the Sikhs and there is no sign of them now. If you continue your atrocities and tyranny I am afraid, you will meet the same end because power and wealth never remain permanently with anybody. Our Holy Scripture says;<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span lang="EN-GB">The praise of wealth… does not compare to Gods praises<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB">At long last people like Ravan went barefoot<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Pulling off Sikh girl’s cloths and forcing their father to have sex with them, to put tobacco on the mouth of a Sikh and spitting in his mouth, making a wound in the thigh and putting salt in the wound, putting the houses of the Sikhs on fire, making false cases on Sikh girls, arresting Sikh students, killing them in false encounters, and protecting the murderers of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the chief minister, S.P.D.R Bhatti, Ludhaina, D.I.G. Mangat Patiala and their companions are the glaring examples of deafness. Everything is told here in brief.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Let the time come I will tell you in detail the discrimination meted out to the Sikhs.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB">Jarnail Singh Khalsa<o:p></o:p></span></b></i></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffff99; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">19-2-83<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div style="clear: both; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="color: #333333; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='400' height='333' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwAYfbA0LuuCXY_oe5VdOdoX7zD01B4fnWiCTtqKtd3rogvY4VWnvEBmrom3kbxt68AZxPnL5cb5P4MbAddFA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></i></span></div><div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div></div></div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-81812131170471851162011-05-18T00:51:00.000-06:002011-05-18T00:51:53.457-06:00WARNING! BOTTLE BOMBS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufKDk4e2wWNJWlACkJs7Me4EQewQ5opZ6mP-9OHlerpLAidqpREH8cQXoVgW9sycwASzwx7uZP8yOpNdeSWXLlEW3pT9OfFHx-ICEY3bb9FFRWoPmtKuOPDGSdgE3B68B9sixzxtEX3Y/s1600/soda+bottle.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufKDk4e2wWNJWlACkJs7Me4EQewQ5opZ6mP-9OHlerpLAidqpREH8cQXoVgW9sycwASzwx7uZP8yOpNdeSWXLlEW3pT9OfFHx-ICEY3bb9FFRWoPmtKuOPDGSdgE3B68B9sixzxtEX3Y/s1600/soda+bottle.png" /></a></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Brothers and sisters, we need to protect each other.This is some very important information that might save your hands, your eyes or even your life. This has been verified by snopes, the outfit that busts Internet hoaxes. They are the best. This is happening in the USA right now, but the chemistry is very simple and, no doubt, will spread. Friends, please be very, very careful.<br />
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Kids are putting Drano (sodium hydroxide), one other common household item and a little water in soda bottles and capping it up - leaving it on lawns. When you go to pick up the trash, and the bottle is shaken just a little - in about 30 seconds or less it builds up a gas and explodes with enough force to remove some of your extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot hydrochloric (muratic) acid, of which even a small amount causes severe acid burns as well.<br />
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Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in the gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. A plastic bottle with a cap. A little Drano. A little water. A common household item. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!! No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc.<br />
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People are finding these "bombs" in mailboxes and in their yards, just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the trash. But, you'll never make it!!! It takes about 30 seconds to blow after you move the thing. </span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Kids are doing this for kicks.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is evil in its purest form. Violence for the sake of violence. Destruction for its own sake. No goal. No point. No purpose. No way to negotiate. A step beyond political terrorism. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
See "SNOPES" below -- it's true -- the video at SNOPES shows the Indiana State Police Bomb Squad detonating one -- it's truly horrifying!<br />
..... .. I checked "Truth or Fiction" and "they" agree this is TRUTH!!!<br />
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So be warned and beware.<br />
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As stated above, at present, these have appeared only in the USA. However, they are so easy to make that almost certainly,they will soon be appearing in many places.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Here is what it looks like:</span></div><br />
<object height="349" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/uU3CXyCabHg?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/uU3CXyCabHg?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; color: #001f4b; font-family: tohama, verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
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PLEASE READ WHAT IS ON THE SNOPES SITE. SPREAD THE WORD.<br />
More: <a href="http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp" rel="nofollow" style="color: #001f4b;" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp</a></span></div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-85558222522176611202011-05-07T01:21:00.000-06:002011-05-07T16:08:57.919-06:00Monsters And Brothers - Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<object height="312" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/ZNYmK19-d0U?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/ZNYmK19-d0U?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500" height="312" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Osama bin Laden is dead.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A simple statement. The new reality. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Osama bin Laden is dead. The boogie man is no more. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who was Osama bin Laden and how can I react? Was he a monster as so many believe?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are several sorts of monsters. Some live in the dark. You know the type. They hide in the closet or under your bed – or in the deepest recesses of your mind – until the lights are turned off. Then you must protect yourself by pulling the covers up over your head and lying very, very still. These monsters disappear when you pull the covers away and confront them directly and you find they were nothing more than creations of your own mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not all monsters are imaginary, though. They are there, obvious, unavoidable, all too visible. They have names like Aurangzeb, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot. They do their deeds openly, for all to see, apparently without conscience or caring. These are the ones who run roughshod over the values that we as humans treasure, lacking compassion, seemingly finding pleasure tormenting those with whom they share they earth. On a smaller scale, we call them bullies. They torment those who are weaker than they, unable to defend themseves. Their deeds are malicious, finding joy in the suffering of others. They are murderers of the spirits of others and sometimes murderers of the body, as well. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then there are the monsters who are invisible, living among us, unseen. Child molesters and rapists not yet caught, undiscovered serial murderers, corrupt and dangerous politicians and cops, more that you can add to the list. These monsters, unlike the first type are real and they know who they are. I do not know whether they choose to be monsters or are forced by some inner compulsion to do their evil deeds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is another type of monster, the kind that has no idea that s/he is a monster at all. The next door neighbour who hates Hindus or Christians or Muslims or Sikhs or Jews is a very naive sort of monster. Perhaps the hatred is directed at black people or brown people or yellow people or pink (white) people. (Those called “red” are really brown.) Maybe the prejudice is aimed at girl children and women, or at men. Then, of course, there are the xenophobes, those who hate foreigners or indeed strangers of any sort. For my readers specifically of Indian background, I would include caste prejudice in this unsavoury list. I suspect that more of us are this sort of monster than would care to admit it. Perhaps, even I sometimes am a naive monster. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is possible for the naive monster to act on her/his prejudices and become a full-blown bigot and a genuine, visible monster.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then there is the monster who so deeply believes in a cause that s/he will do whatever is necessary to realise that cause. No matter if civilians are killed by accidents (collateral damage) or on purpose (terrorism). No matter the damage done because the cause is all. The end justifies the means. Was Osama bin Laden this sort of monster?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or was he the worst sort, the most evil who cynically leads others in a cause – perhaps for power and glory – that he himself had ceased to believe in or had never believed in?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have no way of knowing which of these monsters he was.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or perhaps he wasn’t a monster at all. Perhaps he was a soul who got lost in the swirling changing mass of stuff around us that we call the World or Maya. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whatever he was I am not sorry he is dead. He was a scumbag and I think the world is better off without him. My entire being, however, is repelled at public celebrations of his death. I understand them. I myself felt like celebrating when Indira Gandhi was killed. I did not celebrate, but that might have been simply because circumstances prevented it. I was wrong then, as people celebrating now are wrong now. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However evil and vile his deeds, are we just mouthing platitudes when we say all people are children of the same Parent, whatever name you personally use for the Creator? I have lost a brother. A brother who did evil deeds, a brother I am glad to be rid of, a brother I did not love, but a brother nevertheless. It is at times like this that I find it necessary to deeply examine my own beliefs and I find myself not without hypocrisy. I know that Indira Gandhi is my sister, but I am not yet ready to feel it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John Donne’s immortal lines, which I have heard no one quote at this time, come to my mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">No man is an island entire of itself; every man</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">well as a manor of thy friends or of thine</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">own were; any man's death diminishes me,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">because I am involved in mankind.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">And therefore never send to know for whom</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must ask myself how does the death of this man, Osama bin Laden, diminish me. I am not yet able to answer this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTllgH_E-os8YYkh1VRy6wLpWyK6cwIMU_blwr8RiCgJZQvYiPtmiVmAenVYkffF14HEn1EbJQPF-HuOtfo1tCxaXDoN550zv2_K-13sb9NvxhInfPj5sS-WBtfmWtL3-BRWED46HkPww/s1600/osama-bin-laden-1998-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTllgH_E-os8YYkh1VRy6wLpWyK6cwIMU_blwr8RiCgJZQvYiPtmiVmAenVYkffF14HEn1EbJQPF-HuOtfo1tCxaXDoN550zv2_K-13sb9NvxhInfPj5sS-WBtfmWtL3-BRWED46HkPww/s320/osama-bin-laden-1998-thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OSAMA BIN LADEN in 1998</td></tr>
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</div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-42731776644553740852011-05-03T00:57:00.000-06:002014-05-17T13:43:19.903-06:00Internet Freedom in the World's Largest Democracy.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oss7Pp7UlBqwg_BAM6T5hSIDB7p_MT1D3ozAfTc5I5ZUrctDb1Wjwas2xFaOYvA0pGX2hZrIItrpunmpDpD-0BH7mnuvhEsuHac93WbYvVWymDYsEO6nJC-vx31-OQvoRUTQDKJl-vg/s1600/0lady+liberty+ani.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oss7Pp7UlBqwg_BAM6T5hSIDB7p_MT1D3ozAfTc5I5ZUrctDb1Wjwas2xFaOYvA0pGX2hZrIItrpunmpDpD-0BH7mnuvhEsuHac93WbYvVWymDYsEO6nJC-vx31-OQvoRUTQDKJl-vg/s1600/0lady+liberty+ani.gif" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I do not know how much press coverage this has been getting in India, so I will cover it here.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There has just been passed a horrendous law the effectively ends free expression on the Internet in the Republic of India. It forbids Internet writers to: </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Section 3: use, </i><i>display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update, share or store any</i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">information that : —...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i> (2 ) (b) - is harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, blasphemous,</i><i>objectionable, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic,</i><i>paedophilic, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or</i><i>racially, ethnically or <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;">otherwise objectionable</span>, disparaging, relating or</i><i>encouraging money laundering or gambling, or otherwise unlawful in</i><i>any manner whatever;</i></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First, looking at (b), no matter what is written someone, somewhere, among the 1.2 billion people in India will find it <i>“otherwise objectionable.”</i> This, in itself - if enforced - </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">effectively ends all freedom of expression on the Net.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And furthermore</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <i>(j) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;">threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India</span>,<o:p></o:p></i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">friendly relations with foreign states, or or public order or causes<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence or prevents<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">investigation of any offence or <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f4cccc;">is insulting any other nation.</span></span></i></div></div><br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Next, looking at the first clause of (j) <i>- threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India </i>– that would seem to forbid any mention of Khalistan or any other liberation movement within the Republic. I find it somewhat amusing that it also means it is against the law to speak ill of Pakistan and China! It does, after all, include anything that </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f4cccc;">is insulting any other nation.</span></span></i></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This law will, of course, be selectively enforced, the government of India (GOI) blocking sites it does not like. This blog is a very small player in the blogosphere and probably beneath the notice of the GOI, officially, at least. I want to ensure my beloved readers that I will continue to write as I always have, encouraging the self-determination of the Sikh Qaum and the chardi kala of the Panth. However, preparing for the worst, anyone who would like to receive e-mail copies of my posts, please contact me directly and I will put you on my mailing list.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am writing and publishing from the United States of America and I have been careful to follow the laws of this land. As I am a strong believer in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, I do not follow the ridiculous restrictions of censorship laws of India. Reading blank pages would be boring to you, I'm afraid.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I do not know what will happen in the future, that, of course, will be the Hukam of Vaheguru. Perhaps nothing will happen. We can always hope and pray for the best – and of course, prepare for the worst. Whatever happens, please know that I personally love you all and you are ever in my heart and in my prayers.</span><br />
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</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRiwuhzyTFt5_etK4dZ2ojY5t3S-i5Ubm0iSu4QVnalnk7L3MDpMUwthVP7XVSrL05zUG8ohv1OQM6s3wlGYHCcJhtf8MkoRpCjN4rjajUh_Y61JG_lxS23g2b-eS7E2k6Zx5tm7JMkE/s1600/khalistan+zindabad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="57" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRiwuhzyTFt5_etK4dZ2ojY5t3S-i5Ubm0iSu4QVnalnk7L3MDpMUwthVP7XVSrL05zUG8ohv1OQM6s3wlGYHCcJhtf8MkoRpCjN4rjajUh_Y61JG_lxS23g2b-eS7E2k6Zx5tm7JMkE/s400/khalistan+zindabad.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fevS5gl6_SAQLvaMO6JHc9rEH9mK1H2OnmhF2sStpAL7fysKys2AiQQFJaJRRcIGdyQM9L8MYKoVWiu1qQm6CvNdAp4ohYqfUEjzeit91rjjf7AtJDeAQAcmCIlFRz0H4f467xwBuO0/s1600/khalistan+zindabad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fevS5gl6_SAQLvaMO6JHc9rEH9mK1H2OnmhF2sStpAL7fysKys2AiQQFJaJRRcIGdyQM9L8MYKoVWiu1qQm6CvNdAp4ohYqfUEjzeit91rjjf7AtJDeAQAcmCIlFRz0H4f467xwBuO0/s400/khalistan+zindabad.png" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The entire text of this law can be found at <a href="http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/due_dilligance4intermediary07_02_11.pdf">http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/due_dilligance4intermediary07_02_11.pdf</a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-67424594382955576942011-04-12T23:06:00.001-06:002011-04-12T23:07:22.359-06:00SIKH TURBAN DAY 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Tomorrow - Today in India - is Sikh Turban Day. In honour of that, I am posting my favourite turban picture (I know you've seen it before. It's still my favourite!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq9s_lEIXAneJidnqFsQ4TVikMZYNQG-N_n34b4URAUtkjuavYjNNxqvx0XQxE5E2O0vKFzE0Vy6ac0R_JIUFDk7eWXX4ZrLNKzX_5RAgoShyphenhyphen0aEgf-Bte614HjkcsB06I-hZT7RjTKk/s1600/Sant+ji+ties+a+turban.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq9s_lEIXAneJidnqFsQ4TVikMZYNQG-N_n34b4URAUtkjuavYjNNxqvx0XQxE5E2O0vKFzE0Vy6ac0R_JIUFDk7eWXX4ZrLNKzX_5RAgoShyphenhyphen0aEgf-Bte614HjkcsB06I-hZT7RjTKk/s1600/Sant+ji+ties+a+turban.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sant Ji Tying His Turban - 1984?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Ans my favourite turban video. (How about a forty under your turban?)<br />
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<br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ruddgDrQRro" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-62267838225777139142011-04-12T23:05:00.000-06:002011-04-12T23:05:06.827-06:00SIKH TURBAN DAY 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Tomorrow - Today in India - is Sikh Turban Day. In honour of that, I am posting my favourite turban picture (I know you've seen it before. It's still my favourite!)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq9s_lEIXAneJidnqFsQ4TVikMZYNQG-N_n34b4URAUtkjuavYjNNxqvx0XQxE5E2O0vKFzE0Vy6ac0R_JIUFDk7eWXX4ZrLNKzX_5RAgoShyphenhyphen0aEgf-Bte614HjkcsB06I-hZT7RjTKk/s1600/Sant+ji+ties+a+turban.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq9s_lEIXAneJidnqFsQ4TVikMZYNQG-N_n34b4URAUtkjuavYjNNxqvx0XQxE5E2O0vKFzE0Vy6ac0R_JIUFDk7eWXX4ZrLNKzX_5RAgoShyphenhyphen0aEgf-Bte614HjkcsB06I-hZT7RjTKk/s1600/Sant+ji+ties+a+turban.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sant Ji Tying His Turban - 1984?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Ans my favourite turban video. (How about a forty under your turban? <br />
<br />
<br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ruddgDrQRro" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-36667143945062149502011-03-21T16:22:00.000-06:002011-12-14T01:18:15.760-07:00OF KHALSA AND SAMURAI - REPRISE.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I think with all the attention on Japan these days, some of you might enjoy reading my earlier post about a Samurai lady meeting two Khalsa in San Francisco. First, I have constructed a picture as my tribute to the people of Japan, which I will share with you here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35UWmKt-wa0BbzHvE-PgvHcRRDTdjdRZc9ekhgelZe9QYQZTEMIpiELa0wNTh30WnH1laNGhfTNvB2BfaUU7QJNP3Xa5vfS1iU5FL801eVYLSx8mGM-togu3OC-QUec0GIqFxapk223M/s1600/Japanese+Earthquake+tribute+2+.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35UWmKt-wa0BbzHvE-PgvHcRRDTdjdRZc9ekhgelZe9QYQZTEMIpiELa0wNTh30WnH1laNGhfTNvB2BfaUU7QJNP3Xa5vfS1iU5FL801eVYLSx8mGM-togu3OC-QUec0GIqFxapk223M/s400/Japanese+Earthquake+tribute+2+.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h1 class="photo-title insitu-trigger" id="title_div5544669653" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/maisometimes2/5544669653/"><span style="font-size: small;">My Tribute to the People of Japan</span></a></h1>
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<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133688">
This is my recognition of the spirit, courage and civility of the Japanese people and their response to the recent trisaster.</div>
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<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133691">
This is a reminder that the Sun is always shining. Sometimes we just can't see her.</div>
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<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133682">
Below is the the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami, while Fujiyama soars above the tragedy. Above all, the benevolent presence of Amaterasu-no-Kami, the Sun Goddess and chief deity of the Shinto religion, gives her blessing and strength to her people, the people of Japan.</div>
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(Note: I am neither Shinto nor Japanese. If I have hurt anybody's religious sensibilities, please let me know and I will correct the matter.)</div>
<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133676">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS</span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133676">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">With much thanks to Derek Visser. Three of his photos were used to make the Fukushima plant here:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5530864283/" id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133694">www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5530864283/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529845859/" id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133700">www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529845859/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529038135/" id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133697">www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529038135/</a></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133671">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">To the United States Air Force<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/5529732202/" id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133703">www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/5529732202/</a><br />
and <br />
the US Pacific Fleet(Navy)<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/compacflt/5529922582/" id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133706">www.flickr.com/photos/compacflt/5529922582/</a></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133709">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_3_0_1_1300728781133709">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">I believe all other images used are in the Public Domain.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">****************************************************************************** </span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>OF KHALSA AND SAMURAI</b></span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328443818760139986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbF214Kx6C1qT4CPJTMeRY9a8jwAxQlXDPMHgnQ_6S1fPii3bhknra3TSYuiQ0BdnrnWEQT0ezWLWYHgPEt0b3wO40fsf44aUpKNaGHr8Ik92k1D-6EzwB7XoZOPVUZqgMw5H2Ppdn8WMX/s400/01+Nihang+me+at+GGB.jpg" style="display: block; height: 231px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A few weeks ago, we visited the San Francisco Bay Area, courtesy of one of my husband's nephews. I was the first time I have been to San Francisco, Mani's favourite American city, since the events of 1984. Such memories, it brought back! I can't really share these with anyone here, so I'm sharing them with you, my online friends.</span></span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Francisco</td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">One year, I think it was 1978, but I'm not sure, we decided to celebrate our anniversary/my birthday by taking a holiday in San Francisco. Very unusual for us, we decided to leave Sandeep in the safe hands of the family and set off for nine days and eight nights in The City By The Bay. Family had our hotel number, of course, along with a promise not to phone unless it was a life-altering emergency. No such emergency occurred and we had a wonderful time. OK, I'll fess up. We called home each evening to say hi to our Sikhling.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> One of the few things Mani and I could never agree about was our manner of dress. His appearance was very important to him. His clothes were always perfect, his turban beautifully tied, shoes, when he wore them, perfectly shined. He even ironed his jeans! (I refused to do that because I thought it was stupid.) I, on the other hand, insisted only that my clothes be neat and clean and cover me decently. And be comfortable. They must be comfortable. Beyond that, I really didn't much care what I looked like. We did agree on a few important points. No high heels, no dresses, no make-up.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the farm, my appearance didn't matter all that much. He expected me to be a bit messed up, mucking around with the cows and goats and chickens (kept for fertiliser) and also with our various crops. I usually indulged him in the evenings by showering or lounging in the Jacuzzi for a while and then putting on a Punjabi suit, a salwar kameez. He usually lounged around evenings in kurta pajama. We might not have been a Punjabi couple, but except for his grey eyes and my brown hair and pasty skin, we certainly looked like one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">For our trip to San Francisco, we reached a compromise. During the day, while we were walking, hiking, goofing off, I would wear jeans - ironed by him! - and something colourful and attractive on my top. This was necessary because walking shoes look really stupid with dressy clothes. When we went out in the evenings, I would dress to the nines, looking every inch the proper lady, while he also dressed up - in full bana! He looked really cool in bana - what Sikh doesn't? - and he looked somehow silly in a suit.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We quickly found out that many fine San Francisco restaurants had a dress code that men had to wear jacket and tie. We avoided those. As Mani said, "They probably don't have decent vegetarian food anyway. We had a glorious time, walking from the Embarcadero to the Pacific Ocean - one side of San Francisco to the other, rambling through Golden Gate Park, exploring those strange, little neighbourhood shops that San Francisco seems to be full of. We spent a whole day at Fisherman's Wharf, watching the tourists shiver. Most people don't realise that San Francisco is quite cool most of the time, and so dress inappropriately for the weather. We also went hiking in the Muir Woods amidst the giant redwoods and hiking up Mt. Tamalpais across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.</span><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328443825669651138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMg_HgQRitmqPa1i_Iu1m42kssDpRY_JG9lolRHd9-XYlftIJXzhNEV7MrGDyuctOvkLtZrYs2gET8p-fK_bXl09WtI1Pl_kTKoeQNT35y3kPUvVsODhU3xTXHkxBEAy_3xLOrzGhnc5x/s640/03.5+San+Francisco+Mosaic.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 268px;" width="428" /><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I really want to write about one particular afternoon and evening. We decided to go see a Toshiro Mifune movie playing in a theatre in Japan Town.</span></span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8e8ShLEIygnh6j2KDsorBLbRLOUxtMk49ekDltTDDuZzI4MiAkfoxtPNO6Y8BDSFxPqeTAmamom1NMBQSjIeYzV2Y5lQOk7n6JrF-_moUy_Zhwg5r8ZMhcJbNO9BcU9Jz0CpJUTLhOi0/s1600/toshiro+mifune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8e8ShLEIygnh6j2KDsorBLbRLOUxtMk49ekDltTDDuZzI4MiAkfoxtPNO6Y8BDSFxPqeTAmamom1NMBQSjIeYzV2Y5lQOk7n6JrF-_moUy_Zhwg5r8ZMhcJbNO9BcU9Jz0CpJUTLhOi0/s320/toshiro+mifune.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Toshiro Mifune</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japan Town, San Francisco</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mani gave me those cow eyes and asked me to dress up, even though it was only afternoon. I said it was too early, if I had to dress up I'd wear bana, too. He grinned at me and agreed. We ended up dressed exactly alike except he had a saffron turban, while I used a chunni. (We should have tied a turban on me, I now realise, but for some reason, we didn't think of it.) And, unlike him, I carried the more usual short kirpan. I admit we made a grand-looking couple, him in a dark blue chola, saffron-coloured gatra containing a full-length kirpan, and, of course, his perfectly tied turban, me similarly clad. Him tall and towering and masculine, the perfect Khalsa warrior, me short and slender, yet with the full figure of a fertility goddess, also the perfect Khalsa warrior, except in a battle, I'd have to ditch the chunni. As he said, "We look goooooood!" </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We arrived for the afternoon matinee and, much to our surprise, there were only a very few others attending. I guess weekday afternoons don't bring out the samurai crowd. A very lovely Japanese lady, clad in traditional kimono, not only sold us tickets, but also tended the refreshments counter and acted less like an usher than like a hostess. When we first came in, she looked at Mani shyly, but still with open curiosity and perhaps a bit of apprehension. She was even shorter than I am; he must have seemed a giant to her. "Sir, "she asked in a heavily accented voice, with that high, squeaky voice that Japanese women traditionally affect, "may I ask you a question?" She waited for him to answer, which he did in the affirmative. </span></span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328446974548123714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgom2kM3KcBFhd4cV-BqjWQQ5JKfFi8hw7gyTsZ595nXWV0iJMlP6qdQZrW21nYOkHnV_gfo3bT5IjgeJQlkqknQgpAXH8sN_2NuON5K1WWAYPJCW7jg67zCJJY0SA1vtgAK6lEYI5fFPtt/s320/07+kimono.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="191" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lady was really quite a few years older</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">I just knew she was going to ask if he were an Arab, but she surprised me. "I see you have a <i>katana, a </i>sword. Are you some sort of a samurai among your people?" In spite of the accent, her English was excellent.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7WZIC7jki5JZJh8vj_oXYjJaWUyTm4YSY8GfQHRym2V5L9KnocD8Gpg1loHo3joBWn2hhr_MDAd2NWHGA3gTtTOaW062NeavO5viaqAGCMOC4apKClgDo-U5-rqiXXuJ21ytEOqL4LwA/s1600-h/09+Samurai.jpg"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328446976056152290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7WZIC7jki5JZJh8vj_oXYjJaWUyTm4YSY8GfQHRym2V5L9KnocD8Gpg1loHo3joBWn2hhr_MDAd2NWHGA3gTtTOaW062NeavO5viaqAGCMOC4apKClgDo-U5-rqiXXuJ21ytEOqL4LwA/s400/09+Samurai.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 286px;" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We were both startled at that question; I was very curious how he would answer. "We are Sikhs who have been initiated into the Khalsa Knighthood, so I suppose you could consider us a sort of samurai." He went on to explain a bit about Sikhi, which she had never heard of. When he finished, she was grinning broadly, obviously happily impressed. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">Then she turned to me and said, "Great lady, you are also this Khalsa?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Great lady! I could live with that. I smiled at her and replied, </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Yes."</span><br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328481404411804418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZiXU8fwfEaC2-kzVNnrS75C3r_D3UrUsWI1YYXwkdU42ZdDjgdXj5NjhEvEvqXAeJxSitOGH0WqXNvUN8qPuQw65jwp8dudNW5nPUOMjEAxepiBtYXdWKMMJdW6tzx2ObN1lHy9n2z5m/s400/51+samurai+woman.bmp" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /><br />
</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">Her smile faded briefly as she asked, "Then why do you have such a small sword?" I didn't really have a good answer, so, on the spur of the moment, I came up with the explanation that I was so short that it would drag the ground., Actually, that is close to the truth. The answer seemed to satisfy her and her smile returned. She also wanted to see them both unsheathed; we were happy to oblige.</span></span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7sRS37RkxcNaL0BUSp2oLSvc9kNhPKxNRm_z3jRpGz-2cy5vqin4q1BnVIiZDXy3eM0w0KighnfjvQQV_NHv5YF8uYxLgUTXeSiASnqXJdRYt_VqTasPqb0DbMs-ttMylQ4csJWGmNQO/s1600/10+kirpans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328461345096040274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7sRS37RkxcNaL0BUSp2oLSvc9kNhPKxNRm_z3jRpGz-2cy5vqin4q1BnVIiZDXy3eM0w0KighnfjvQQV_NHv5YF8uYxLgUTXeSiASnqXJdRYt_VqTasPqb0DbMs-ttMylQ4csJWGmNQO/s400/10+kirpans.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shastars<br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">She was obviously impressed and asked if there was anything she could do to make us comfortable. She clearly wanted to do something, so one of us suggested that some Japanese tea would be nice. I mentioned that we were visiting San Francisco to celebrate our wedding anniversary as well as my birthday. She brightened up immediately. "Then you must have long noodles for long life to celebrate." He explained that we were vegetarians and ate only "Buddhist food." (We had learned that was the easiest way to get correct food in what used to be called Oriental restaurants.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"No meat. No egg. Tofu is OK?" She asked."</span></span></span><br />
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A bit taken aback, we agreed.</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I be right back. You go sit down, enjoy watching the people stab each other." She disappeared into a back room and we went into the theatre and watched "the people stab each other."</span></span></div>
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After a time, she returned with a large tray of not only with tea and noodles (in miso soup), but also a sumptuous feast of vegetarian sushi, inari sushi, norimaki with vegetable and tofu filling, and small mounds of vinegared rice with various thinly sliced vegetables on top where normally there would be raw fish. And lots of wasabi, ginger and shoyu. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetarian sushi </td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">We were both overwhelmed. She ignored our reaction and arranged one tray on the seat to Mani's left and another to my right, dividing the food between us. "Now eat and enjoy while you watch movie." She smiled, bowed and walked away. What could we do? We ate and enjoyed and watched the movie. And wondered what was going on. After the movie, we found out, while eating some vegetable tempura that she brought in.</span></span></i><br />
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"I am Shinto," she told us. "I worship Amaterasu-no-Kami, the Sun Goddess, our foremother.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amaterasu-no-Kami</td></tr>
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"Last night, she sent me a dream that I would meet some great warriors, not Japanese, but worthy to be samurai. I saw you and knew she had blessed me with your holy presence, so I could have the honour of serving you. I am descended from a very old </span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/enteredo_8.html"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">samurai</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;"> family that was impoverished when the samurai class was outlawed. They took all our swords and melted them down. You know, all our women were also taught martial arts and sword fighting, so we could protect our homes and our honour, if need be. Without our swords, what could we be?"</span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSZB75FwXyYyofx8X-CHY1it2EA0oT9U4dhOCC91ZNR5AS2ZR2NVCghMAFeryoGBcVkITc0k9L0pwHZmgj1jSpZjs5GCsawKknmACLdh-qEN0an53cRVdlm9A5TS7Mx9fxYp39c6hhZI/s1600/Samurai+swords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSZB75FwXyYyofx8X-CHY1it2EA0oT9U4dhOCC91ZNR5AS2ZR2NVCghMAFeryoGBcVkITc0k9L0pwHZmgj1jSpZjs5GCsawKknmACLdh-qEN0an53cRVdlm9A5TS7Mx9fxYp39c6hhZI/s320/Samurai+swords.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samurai swords</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">She was clearly speaking from deep in her heart, speaking as if these things happened recently, instead of in the previous century. I wanted to see your kirpans" - she stumbled over the word - "so I could honour my ancestors." We didn't quite understand that last statement and didn't ask. Somehow asking seemed cold. "There is one more thing, please." She pulled out a small book wrapped in a silk cloth and handed it to me. (Why not him? I do not know.) This is </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=-UYhy9daldAC&pg=PR15&lpg=PR15&dq=when+samurai+outlawed+in+Japan&source=bl&ots=eWiUkbBNPc&sig=1IP61sqI-DVcXgScL8L3_zzza8M&hl=en&ei=uwzySZq1OZDutQOJvYzhCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPR17,M1"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">the Bushido Book</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">, The Code of the Warrior. I think you do not know Japanese, but please accept it as my gift." We were quite overwhelmed. The book was obviously quite old, probably a family heirloom. Still, it was unthinkable to refuse it. We took it and kept it always among our few treasured possessions.</span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328471261962110050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfGwEkENg9B5v59mbhs-ArEI4nDkAQNEI2MTnGVlBkIHXMKYU301zq48wbkDF17iwtSGV4cSsS5xRsfTs2YJYYhEazebWQLNvwutiFYZjCWDlNtCyFYmvn-8wtYqDrdIpArJhp-usTARg/s400/15+bushido+books.bmp" style="display: block; height: 370px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A commercial edition of the book she gave us</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">
</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
</span><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">A most important note: As usual most of these pictures are roached from the Internet, compliments of Google Search. Two are not. That strange-looking being on the Golden Gate Bridge is me, as a giant Nihang. Why not?<br />
<br />
That very handsome Sardar Ji I have used to illustrate bana is the father of my little sister Kamal Kaur. His name is Sarbjeet Singh Ji and he, like my own Dad, is a Canadian from Punjabi. Notice the twinkle in his eyes and that lovely smile.</span></b></i></span><br />
</span></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPypANGP3rO0kzDHENUL2d_Tt6I7ZMIQjgOGoAXJvxt6oA0CLqSmrNM-0Lm86PrUfXrPrTx6DIUDU16IvNnZUglXweD35p4T6_HMFPmmC9Q85DrAb_gs-ogbZ7zcdQi8jtn_D_QOJYyeE/s1600/Dad+in+bana+sitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPypANGP3rO0kzDHENUL2d_Tt6I7ZMIQjgOGoAXJvxt6oA0CLqSmrNM-0Lm86PrUfXrPrTx6DIUDU16IvNnZUglXweD35p4T6_HMFPmmC9Q85DrAb_gs-ogbZ7zcdQi8jtn_D_QOJYyeE/s320/Dad+in+bana+sitting.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Sarbjeet Singh Ji</span></b></i></span></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span></b></i><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
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</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;"> My medical caretaker,Irene pointed out to me that if he is my sister's father, then he must also be my Dad. An interesting idea, as I believe he is somewhat younger than my 57 years! My thanks to these two for letting me use this picture. </span></b></i></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">One further note about Kamal Ji. You might have noticed her listed as an author, although she has never contributed a post. This is for a very special reason. For some time, she has been downloading and saving each post's html on her computer. Anything can happen on the Internet. This site could be hacked, Blogger could decide to delete it for some reason, new laws in America might restrict the freedom of speech and/or the press. If this blog should, for any reason disappear from the blogosphere, dear Kamal Ji will have preserved it, so it will not be destroyed. Of course, I also download it to my computer, but my poor old compy isn't very reliable and if something should happen to me, it might sit forever here with no one the wiser. So she is performing a great sewa, in my opinion. This will probably embarrass her, but, little sister, I want to thank you from my heart for doing this. </span></b></i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
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</div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-28271887549540354472011-03-16T19:26:00.000-06:002011-03-16T19:26:22.298-06:00FIVE GUNNED DOWN IN BAHRAIN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 id="yn-title" style="color: #990000; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>In solidarity with the people of Bahrain</b></i></h1><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzeIYYWoD527lQ5GIb43qi5OoUN2DhfUkP-uJy_JL47sp51gjpdB8CXGA_M-XL3k-6DSnNeZvDeo-ydS69Bn9JWk4iW8tajjpdpNyn_t5ORVLPSHUFptcJSbnutQIZrLsBOzU9CfPgys/s1600/KILL+US+16+Mar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzeIYYWoD527lQ5GIb43qi5OoUN2DhfUkP-uJy_JL47sp51gjpdB8CXGA_M-XL3k-6DSnNeZvDeo-ydS69Bn9JWk4iW8tajjpdpNyn_t5ORVLPSHUFptcJSbnutQIZrLsBOzU9CfPgys/s640/KILL+US+16+Mar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></h1><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110316/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_protests"><b>Bahrain locks down kingdom as uprising surges</b></a> </span></h1><blockquote><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">"...Doctors at the country's main hospital said their facility was taken over by security forces, blocking physicians from either leaving or treating the wounded on site.</span></h1><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"There are many people injured, but we can't bring them to the hospital because of the travel restrictions, and doctors can't come to us," said Ali Marsouk, a resident of the Shiite village of Sitra, who said helicopters fired on homes in a three-hour attack..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></h1></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">A freedom struggle is noble and good and exciting to the imaginations of all who believe in freedom. Is that why t</span><span style="font-size: small;">his is being painted as Shiites (the majority) against Sunnis (the rulers). What better way to get the West to turn away than to report it as a Muslim sectarian conflict? Boring! But this is the People against the Tyrants. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">THIS IS THE PEOPLE AGAINST THE TYRANT!</span></b></i></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I am not an expert on the Middle East, of course, but it does not escape me that the ruling al-Khalifah family is a long-time ally of the United States of America. But what do I know?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Cui bono?</i> (Who profits?)</span><br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIX7Lo-p3PyWHJHOkEpnNPhCIbHBBSEH2FdD6IqjS2smZV6I-jfzy9i8LmTapn0DveH9lbyscs3uQDPR7Cn_HvlZLEyhGpoJU3HoQE7QucQQQkqR6uFl0ha9X3_slzw6XgdVUh_hYoaVg/s1600/WAVING+bAHRAIN+FLAG.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIX7Lo-p3PyWHJHOkEpnNPhCIbHBBSEH2FdD6IqjS2smZV6I-jfzy9i8LmTapn0DveH9lbyscs3uQDPR7Cn_HvlZLEyhGpoJU3HoQE7QucQQQkqR6uFl0ha9X3_slzw6XgdVUh_hYoaVg/s1600/WAVING+bAHRAIN+FLAG.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</h1><h1 id="yn-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></h1></blockquote></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-48238656077186672162011-03-16T00:59:00.000-06:002011-03-16T03:20:00.792-06:00MORE IMAGES OF BAHRAIN from GHADEER AL-SHAMLAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}"><span class="messageBody"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">pleas help us they kill us now :(</span></span></h6><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cAJ-mszKknyYnmuYEq4KHszXrYdKk0OFxzgaxpov4j9007CJV5h9-r8krMmbFq8QjsKF2gfGg6ahcGYUYqlUZi_oKEHydNre7T96sfklRDXmvhMk-z4BzOVWPn0N5jYdSbnLspJK-PM/s1600/bahrain_flag_small__59219_zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cAJ-mszKknyYnmuYEq4KHszXrYdKk0OFxzgaxpov4j9007CJV5h9-r8krMmbFq8QjsKF2gfGg6ahcGYUYqlUZi_oKEHydNre7T96sfklRDXmvhMk-z4BzOVWPn0N5jYdSbnLspJK-PM/s640/bahrain_flag_small__59219_zoom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}"><span class="messageBody"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></h6><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbjdylsWc9xYcvBxnRAQKLX0TY45IO_DfpnJISbLovlKnCQgkWe8bP1ViPOERdIqc1iY5VmibXU6sOxkE9mio7yFqQ0JLPLASegq_H7T8JQwAxigVNFcE2hdRGuohs63OFPhMu_DtbMc/s1600/01+8+Mar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbjdylsWc9xYcvBxnRAQKLX0TY45IO_DfpnJISbLovlKnCQgkWe8bP1ViPOERdIqc1iY5VmibXU6sOxkE9mio7yFqQ0JLPLASegq_H7T8JQwAxigVNFcE2hdRGuohs63OFPhMu_DtbMc/s640/01+8+Mar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgCGXdeq7LRVDwbbURhsZZXwdMPwQCw6Z9uplOHyJcNzH72tM4l0nDqlYphGOcf-J8ly1gEeRHmk4LWTD7nmtS4i85cd6JY9EMaI7ty8NrN32vPnbmB7M3Y6xw6wHwo3UOxcCHckxdwg/s1600/0010+16+Mar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgCGXdeq7LRVDwbbURhsZZXwdMPwQCw6Z9uplOHyJcNzH72tM4l0nDqlYphGOcf-J8ly1gEeRHmk4LWTD7nmtS4i85cd6JY9EMaI7ty8NrN32vPnbmB7M3Y6xw6wHwo3UOxcCHckxdwg/s640/0010+16+Mar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}"><span class="messageBody"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></h6></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-51644317208999653792011-03-15T14:51:00.000-06:002011-03-15T14:51:11.803-06:00STAND WITH BAHRAIN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We Sikhs have a long history of standing with people fighting injustice anywhere. Today on my Facebook page, I received this plea for help from my gallant young friend in Bahrain, Ghadeer Al-Shamlam:<br />
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<div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please Published for all people you know</span></div><div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Help us to reach our voice to foreign countries</span></div><div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">What's going on with this world.. why everyone is watching what's happening in Bahrain and no one is taking any action?? WHY?? aren't we humans??? don't we deserve to live as well... Where are the people of the world??????? Bahrain is calling.. listen or it will be too late...</span></div><br />
I feel so helpless. All the attention of the world is right now focused on the four-fold disaster in Japan (earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown/volcano) and the good people of Bahrain have been nearly forgotten. Japan, of course, must be helped, but do we have such small hearts and minds that we can only help in one place? Please look at these pictures that Ghadeer ji just sent me. This is what the government of Bahrain, with the help of the Saudis and, I just heard, the Kuwaitis, are doing to their own citizens. As Sikhs, we know what it feels like to be attacked by what is supposed to be our own government.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2Kt5rv9x6XYc4X6RnMVj04sW6mK3mCnjju7ngCx-5KBKc3RpHq62OZ_X25MGEtfb5HK2WjnFTTL-3h2haDzXt9RovUh3PKT9DZ-hwyMBzMBx0Ag10xPyXlws0A7stdqBE11d9sYoG94/s1600/Bahrain+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2Kt5rv9x6XYc4X6RnMVj04sW6mK3mCnjju7ngCx-5KBKc3RpHq62OZ_X25MGEtfb5HK2WjnFTTL-3h2haDzXt9RovUh3PKT9DZ-hwyMBzMBx0Ag10xPyXlws0A7stdqBE11d9sYoG94/s640/Bahrain+5.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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One more picture, a screenshot from a YouTube video about the attackj on peaceful protesters. (See also the second video below)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPqr0OA78IKFDmTifX5Qt8urAYDUh4429kBG4I5gJSlH_33nQ9Zr_zo5NTItf_0x3T75hijU4ZToG9UtLiOWB6mKy1xRRphL8hQgSKiSqZCpbjksAvRt_k9gAolwk8Sf7UygG2Hor-pc/s1600/screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPqr0OA78IKFDmTifX5Qt8urAYDUh4429kBG4I5gJSlH_33nQ9Zr_zo5NTItf_0x3T75hijU4ZToG9UtLiOWB6mKy1xRRphL8hQgSKiSqZCpbjksAvRt_k9gAolwk8Sf7UygG2Hor-pc/s640/screenshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
It seems a particularly destructive form of tear gas is being used against the protesters. I've breathed tear gas a few times and even the ordinary form is bad enough.<br />
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<object height="390" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/IIJIPEdsDCo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/IIJIPEdsDCo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="390"></embed></object><br />
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<object height="390" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/hm-_ZALvfS4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/hm-_ZALvfS4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="390"></embed></object><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">LET US ALL STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS !!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SAY ARDAS FOR THEM!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">FREE BAHRAIN ZINDABAD!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-72246567528136917982011-03-07T20:18:00.000-07:002011-03-07T23:24:57.731-07:00INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2011 - PART TWO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="prttabl"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="padding-left: 3px;"><div id="commntData" name="commntData"><span id="advenueINTEXT" name=""><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="prttabl"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;">In the 1960s before they were outlawed, there was a TV cigarette commercial that proclaimed,<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">You've come a long way, baby</div><div style="text-align: center;">To get where you got to today</div><div style="text-align: center;">You've got your own cigarette now, baby,</div><div style="text-align: center;">You've come a long, long way.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUD1Wnc5Mdq4ZGt6lIHheJV9VoFZr3VaM2i3K3DdoJvBLwATR6fENBpzv8D6FINuUvSJYzCCYrxEns5RNveJePZqNek7ipv6MP1ULeXBQ-Qyz-OQ1y8gBrgTlB2n3ug8MXVJPxwZLmLCE/s1600/You%2527veComeALongWayBaby002-709633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUD1Wnc5Mdq4ZGt6lIHheJV9VoFZr3VaM2i3K3DdoJvBLwATR6fENBpzv8D6FINuUvSJYzCCYrxEns5RNveJePZqNek7ipv6MP1ULeXBQ-Qyz-OQ1y8gBrgTlB2n3ug8MXVJPxwZLmLCE/s1600/You%2527veComeALongWayBaby002-709633.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Aside from the fact that calling a woman "baby" is demeaning and having a cigarette for women is a very dubious advancement, I got to thinking how far have we come as women, both in the West and in India. (I thought about posting the commercial from YouTube here, but I was afraid some readers would accuse me of promoting tobacco, which, of course, I would never do.)<br />
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Politically, I suppose we have come a long way. Names of women in politics come to mind. Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Parrish#.22Damn_Americans.22">Carolyn Parrish</a> (I love her!) and, of course, Indira Gandhi (I do not love her). Politically, I guess we have come a long way.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSC8FCBYClt9jAac2RYhXGzNvqsavS3QTn3_l2A1ei-7FE_44nckadVUnwfgQoVr7WHC1muK0eSCumtqMRfy2FakIQM5NbFZh1P9iDx4uZpdYzCnscQqHyGlhqMT8AhyEyQeqvBWGW4k/s1600/3+women.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSC8FCBYClt9jAac2RYhXGzNvqsavS3QTn3_l2A1ei-7FE_44nckadVUnwfgQoVr7WHC1muK0eSCumtqMRfy2FakIQM5NbFZh1P9iDx4uZpdYzCnscQqHyGlhqMT8AhyEyQeqvBWGW4k/s320/3+women.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Socially? In the West there have been huge changes in many ways. Spousal abuse, which up until the 1970s was considered a family problem that the law should stay away from, has become unacceptable to most people and the perpetrators are prosecuted and jailed sometimes. Oftentimes, still, however, the woman refuses to prosecute her abuser for various reasons. Although perhaps understandable, this is very sad on numerous levels. It is bad for the woman. it is bad for the society and it is especially bad for the children. The boys learn to punch and the girls learn to be punching bags, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence. There has been progress, but not enough. One area where I have seen progress is in the attitudes toward rape. Rape is now recognised as a crime of violence against women, not just the boys having a good time because "she asked for it." Having sex with a woman who cannot resist because she has been drugged or is asleep is also recognised as rape. Marital rape, where a husband forces his wife against her will has likewise been criminalised. I remember reading a very influential book called <i>Against Our Will: Men. Women and Rape. </i>Although published in 1975 and a bit dated, this book is still one of the best analyses of the subject that I have read. I do find her condemnation of men in general too harsh. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8ZP_8cQKyYQ0vLJ1UH-S8kdoH4L__t-k4NFW-mhriVcKiqX1IP_A0HACCa68Gp9xnnN6scWjglHfJO4QdVQ3wkUsR-Ton_P8EgNIdAs-YP_AXdRZjmAxbUmuZJiYXufyiw4qxlBPymg/s1600/Against+our+will.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8ZP_8cQKyYQ0vLJ1UH-S8kdoH4L__t-k4NFW-mhriVcKiqX1IP_A0HACCa68Gp9xnnN6scWjglHfJO4QdVQ3wkUsR-Ton_P8EgNIdAs-YP_AXdRZjmAxbUmuZJiYXufyiw4qxlBPymg/s1600/Against+our+will.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the cover I rermember. I believe it has been updated.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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India, as is often the case seems to be in a state of confusion. Societal issues, in general, far favour men over women. Thr double standard is in full force. (A boy is just sowing wild oats, a girl is a slut or whore.) Eve-baiting occurs everywhere to the point that many young women dread going out. A woman who has been raped is often said to have been "dishonoured," although she is the victim and the male perpetrator is the one who has dishonoured himself, if indeed, he had ever had any honour to dishonour. (This leads into <i>izzat, </i>which is a topic for another post.) Some laws, I am told, favour women to the point that a simple accusation without supporting evidence can land a man in jail, I am told.<br />
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This article from today's (7 March 2011) Times of India is a real eye opener:<br />
<div style="background-color: white;"><blockquote><div style="border-bottom: 3px solid rgb(215, 24, 42); color: black; font-family: arial; padding: 5px; text-align: left; width: 980px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Printed from<br />
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/"><img border="0" src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?photoid=1799437" /></a></span></div></blockquote><div class="prttabl"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote class=""><div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8699389924044472782&postID=7224656752813691798"><span class="arttle"></span></a><h1 style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-men-lead-in-sexual-violence-worst-on-gender-equality-Study/articleshow/7643154.cms"><span class="arttle">Indian men lead in sexual violence, worst on gender equality: Study</span></a></h1><span class="arttle"></span></span><i><span class="byline">Neha Bhayana, TNN <span style="font-size: 9px;">|</span> Mar 7, 2011, 12.30am IST</span></i></div></blockquote><div style="padding-left: 3px;"><div id="commntData" name="commntData"><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><div class="storydiv" id="storydiv" style="display: block;"><blockquote><div class="Normal"><i> NEW DELHI: Nearly one in four Indian men has committed sexual violence at some point in their lives and one in five has admittedly forced his wife or partner to have sex. The findings of a recent <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=International%20Men%20and%20Gender%20Equality%20Survey">International Men and Gender Equality Survey</a> reflects a new low for Indian men. Only 2% Brazilian males and less than 9% of men in Chile, Croatia, Mexico and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Rwanda">Rwanda</a> were found to have indulged in sexual violence. <br />
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The survey was conducted in six developing countries across four continents to map attitudes and practices related to gender equality. Researchers from the International Centre for Research on Women ( <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=ICRW">ICRW</a> in US and India) and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Instituto%20Promundo">Instituto Promundo</a> in Brazil, who led the survey, interviewed more than 8,000 men and 3,500 women, aged 18 to 59, from these countries. <br />
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Indians, who are known to excel in competitive examinations globally, were ranked last on the 'gender equitable men' scale, given that only 17% of men here qualified to the 'highly equitable' (gender-just) category. The percentage was the lowest for this category among the six countries. On sexual violence, 24% said they had committed some form of it in their lives. <br />
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While <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Croatia">Croatia</a> topped the test, with 82% 'gender-just' men, more than 50% men in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico made the grade. Rwanda, which is among the least developed nations in the world, in fact, fared better than India, with 30% males qualifying as 'highly equitable'. <br />
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Rwanda, however, joined <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/India">India</a> with highest rate of domestic violence, with 38% men admitting they had physically abused their partners. Worse, more than 65% Indian men also believed that women should tolerate violence to keep the family together and that women sometimes deserved to be beaten. <br />
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And although Indian men were the most sexually and physically violent at home, they were not involved in violent or criminal behaviour outside. Only 4% Indian men had participated in robbery and 7% had been involved in fights with weapons, compared to 36% men in Croatia and 22% men in Brazil. <br />
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The findings, released in Washington last month, reiterated that although India may be on its way to becoming the world's fastest developing economy, it figures at the bottom of the pile when it comes to gender equality. "Indian men are far more traditional, to put it mildly. Even young, educated men are not changing as rapidly as women. They are still living in the old ages," said <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Ravi%20Verma">Ravi Verma</a>, director of ICRW's <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Asia">Asia</a> regional office in <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Delhi">Delhi</a>. <br />
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Verma added that they would soon present the survey findings to the ministry of women and child development and other policy-makers to urge them to make appropriate changes in policies and programmes to better foster gender equality. <br />
<br />
In the survey, which found Indian men to be the worst offenders in terms of sexual violence, more than 1,000 men from the 1,500 interviewed in India were from Delhi. The findings mirrored the high incidence of sexual assault in Delhi: the capital witnessed 489 rapes last year. <br />
<br />
"Although the survey has focussed on violence in the privacy of homes, it reflects the situation in public places, too," said <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Kalpana%20Vishwanath">Kalpana Vishwanath</a>, project director of the Gender Inclusive Cities project run by Jagori NGO. South Asia does fare quite poorly in terms of gender equality. <br />
<br />
Vibhuti Patel, a women's rights activist, blamed the repression of sexuality in India for the high rate of sexual violence. "All the other countries surveyed have more sexual freedom than India. Rwanda, too, has tribal culture so people are more open and women's role in the economy is recognized," said Patel, who heads the economics department at Mumbai's SNDT University. <br />
<br />
"In India, the age-old code of conduct has been to keep men and women separate. So women are only viewed as sex objects," she added. </i></div></blockquote><br />
I can think of no better way to end this post than to remind all my readers of the beautiful words of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Most of us say this words each morning. I think it's time we listen closely and take to heart what he wrote. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
</div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6sDwD8Mq2nJpG2RIk6d1G871dq2GwlVlH8f0gf6Umpc09nKenYc6EyqaW9ytGbj6V5Wld6snFGnpBhxJ8-CZzaIuEOEM-HqSwqOEGR8gCXLxOGNEkK5OTc04WVxcQKwsr4QqpyC9NbQ/s1600/Guru+Nanak+Dev+ji.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6sDwD8Mq2nJpG2RIk6d1G871dq2GwlVlH8f0gf6Umpc09nKenYc6EyqaW9ytGbj6V5Wld6snFGnpBhxJ8-CZzaIuEOEM-HqSwqOEGR8gCXLxOGNEkK5OTc04WVxcQKwsr4QqpyC9NbQ/s1600/Guru+Nanak+Dev+ji.png" /></a></div><br />
</div></div><br />
<div style="padding-left: 3px; text-align: center;"><div id="commntData" name="commntData"><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਜੰਮੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%BF%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਨਿੰਮੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%97%E0%A8%A3%E0%A9%81">ਮੰਗਣੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%86%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਵੀਆਹੁ </a></span></span><br />
<span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"> ॥</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21411"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%88">ਹੋਵੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A6%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%A4%E0%A9%80">ਦੋਸਤੀ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9A%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%88">ਚਲੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਰਾਹੁ </a> ॥</span> </span><br />
<span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"> </span><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21412"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%81%E0%A8%86">ਮੁਆ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਭਾਲੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%88">ਹੋਵੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A7%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8%E0%A9%81">ਬੰਧਾਨੁ </a> ॥</span> </span><br />
<span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21413"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A9%8B">ਸੋ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%95%E0%A8%BF%E0%A8%89">ਕਿਉ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A6%E0%A8%BE">ਮੰਦਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%86%E0%A8%96%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਆਖੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A8%BF%E0%A8%A4%E0%A9%81">ਜਿਤੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A8%BF">ਜੰਮਹਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%9C%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8">ਰਾਜਾਨ </a> ॥</span></div><div id="commntData" name="commntData"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.</span> </div><br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21414"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%80">ਹੀ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%8A%E0%A8%AA%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%88">ਊਪਜੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%88">ਭੰਡੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%9D%E0%A9%81">ਬਾਝੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8">ਨ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%95%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%87">ਕੋਇ </a> ॥</span></div><div style="padding-left: 3px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.</span> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21415"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%95">ਨਾਨਕ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%88">ਭੰਡੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE">ਬਾਹਰਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%8F%E0%A8%95%E0%A9%8B">ਏਕੋ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%9A%E0%A8%BE">ਸਚਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%87">ਸੋਇ </a> ॥</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.</span> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਜੰਮੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%BF%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਨਿੰਮੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%97%E0%A8%A3%E0%A9%81">ਮੰਗਣੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%86%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਵੀਆਹੁ </a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"> ॥</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21411"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%88">ਹੋਵੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A6%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%A4%E0%A9%80">ਦੋਸਤੀ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9A%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%88">ਚਲੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਰਾਹੁ </a> ॥</span> </span><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="advenueINTEXT" name="advenueINTEXT"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21412"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%81%E0%A8%86">ਮੁਆ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਭਾਲੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%BF">ਭੰਡਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%B5%E0%A9%88">ਹੋਵੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A7%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8%E0%A9%81">ਬੰਧਾਨੁ </a> ॥</span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A9%8B">ਸੋ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%95%E0%A8%BF%E0%A8%89">ਕਿਉ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AE%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A6%E0%A8%BE">ਮੰਦਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%86%E0%A8%96%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%90">ਆਖੀਐ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A8%BF%E0%A8%A4%E0%A9%81">ਜਿਤੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%AE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A8%BF">ਜੰਮਹਿ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%9C%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8">ਰਾਜਾਨ </a> ॥</span></div></div><div id="commntData" name="commntData" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.</span> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡਹੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B9%E0%A9%80">ਹੀ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%81">ਭੰਡੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%8A%E0%A8%AA%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%88">ਊਪਜੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%88">ਭੰਡੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%9D%E0%A9%81">ਬਾਝੁ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8">ਨ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%95%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%87">ਕੋਇ </a> ॥</span></div></div><div style="padding-left: 3px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;"> From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.</span> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8699389924044472782" name="l21415"></a> <span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"><a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%95">ਨਾਨਕ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AD%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%A1%E0%A9%88">ਭੰਡੈ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%AC%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B9%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE">ਬਾਹਰਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%8F%E0%A8%95%E0%A9%8B">ਏਕੋ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%9A%E0%A8%BE">ਸਚਾ </a> <a class="dict" href="http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary?Param=%E0%A8%B8%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%87">ਸੋਇ </a> ॥</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: AnmolUniPr;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: TAHOMA;">O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8ofeS48ZF5u9pdb9qGEQDeA4iNFdRbsh-vtNvUJGMLb8uD279aadgaxLD1ZX02CbDSOZ-9_jSPdXlyE9g43fceoO4eP87jzsTYRE1UkcC5la3ndYOLPdZhD06EzMxYkCCFaAcja7nnY/s1600/flourish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8ofeS48ZF5u9pdb9qGEQDeA4iNFdRbsh-vtNvUJGMLb8uD279aadgaxLD1ZX02CbDSOZ-9_jSPdXlyE9g43fceoO4eP87jzsTYRE1UkcC5la3ndYOLPdZhD06EzMxYkCCFaAcja7nnY/s1600/flourish.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-27095929454759547232011-03-07T15:41:00.000-07:002011-10-10T10:37:33.590-06:00INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2011 - PART ONE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is my annual post. Nothing has changed. I am sick and tired of this. What more can I say?<br />
****************************<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a lovely little nursery rhyme that every child in the UK and Canada knows. I am not so sure about the children of India, so I reproduce it here:<br />
<br />
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,<br />
How I wonder what you are.<br />
Up above the world so high,<br />
Like a diamond in the sky.<br />
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,<br />
How I wonder what you are!<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
As long as I have been expressing myself publicly (about 2 years <span style="color: #cc0000;">5 years in 2011</span>), I<br />
have said that the most dangerous enemy we Sikhs have is not the<br />
Indian government, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Deras</span> or even the Hindus. It is no force from<br />
outside our own community. It is ourselves. We are fast destroying<br />
ourselves through one particular practice. I have here a little poem<br />
I wrote about that. It unites <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">IWD</span> and our self-destructive<br />
tendencies.<br />
********************************************** <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Tinkle, tinkle, little boy,<br />
Bring your parents so much joy.<br />
You're their diamond, you're their pearl,<br />
They're so glad you aren't a girl.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175521240292254242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdssIh74us3DVLDGmS1iSOxx_9E8f0wQ4QmjmnG3s0CqDHUFv9HYmqA6xzrzXkpbBJuxQWB2X0IV1z2lEcSGxOoik0X-dos1mllppQUI_BPgD_74AZgH7W6ndgbjy2LmEoSnJJieoh5TE/s1600/Tinkle,+tinkle,+little+boy.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><br />
Punjab practice straight from hell.<br />
Very soon its evil tell.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175521244587221554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5lr8yXbt5C1i5yCE-9PfeJ61lxDJLqx9JijBAmY3LckY6uGFD4LdRR8dRKfJlo7zqHvSscqvo65VZTR5RJ64IEu4a0-NwpqK_KWfstl0UlOkuOgPO_clKA8CKxgJt4Ic4Mxdn96b12o/s320/foeticide.gif" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><br />
You are looking for a wife,<br />
Someone who will share your life.<br />
Not a woman to be found,<br />
Rotting foetus in the ground.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175521248882188866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBYrgZa2Fg-eWxv9DYTItvhoDSi2frgmuaa4Ff11xuU47dyksW6CwRhbCw4CfizXb4IpuoZkzWXwt_LyqXmzCfMnEHkegwBfDlWP_MVmOyC-epiqIqoZHcA9K8eronzfoSKcNUqZmAeM/s320/fetus_10_to_Suzanne.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><br />
<br />
Guru's teaching has been taught,<br />
But its meaning never sought.<br />
Daughter is a gift from God,<br />
Not a dead, decaying clod.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175521253177156178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9osAvp3qJY1BwJ_dyftgbcv_FiEo2nqoxf-D26ms94t7adm6Ik07fct2v4rdoZ_eVKb-Qo2aC8oJ3OirPCCzWXaGq1USDbghiih2H8xHAg6d7NlI8dNkuSb-gmkNJ8yYVTtAeIok_7sU/s320/FetusSide+dead.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><br />
Without woman, there's no life,<br />
No more children, no more wife.<br />
Guru's teachings die off now,<br />
Go and worship sacred cow.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175521261767090786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibAtQ59B-P_8T5Uxh1SjulxWQamEe9_wLo8-UMlffF3vWuZ_bSbbQ0sARN-0HnifnxhEpwDbRsx3vAXC5f4JXya026crBQX5J03u6YSAwbp5Y0NR98YD_-KQUk9h4ZVfhuHHVGraC3RA/s320/sacred+cow+pepsi.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><br />
<br />
Tinkle, tinkle, little boy,<br />
Bring your parents so much joy.<br />
****************************************
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: 130%;">HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, <strike>2008!!! 2009!!! 2010!!!</strike></span></i></b> <i><span style="font-size: large;">2011!!!</span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
WHY TRY TO FIT IN?<br />
YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!</div>
</div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-54918187993783994272011-03-05T00:47:00.000-07:002011-03-05T00:47:45.359-07:00Canadian Hindu Advocacy - Real Or A Sick Joke?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">A lot has been going on, especially with developments in the Hoodh Pind Massacre case. I am assuming you have been able to read about that elsewhere on line, so I am writing a bit of news from my home of Canada. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">A brother who is on their mailing list received this letter from the group calling itself Canadian Hindu Advocacy:<br />
</span></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> The Canadian Hindu Advocacy is very pleased to announce our intention to</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> hold multiple events over the summer celebrating heroic acts of anti</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> terrorism in India.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> In 1984, the heroic Indian Army destroyed the terrorist Khalistan movement</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> by attacking terrorists occupying the Golden Temple in Amritsar. That same</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> year, Hindu civilians after the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi deterred</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Sikh Khalistan terrorists by fighting back against Sikh rioters on the</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> streets of New Delhi.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Other than the assassination of Indira Gandhi, 1984 was a great year.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Thousands of Sikh terrorists were killed both at the Golden Temple and in</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> New Delhi, and together the Indian Army and Hindu citizens smashed</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Khalistan terrorism.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Everyone on this list will be invited to our summer celebrations.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Regards</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Rahul Bhardwaj,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Canadian Hindu Advocacy</span></span></blockquote><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> <br />
<br />
I don't think they much like Sikhs. Although I cannot deny the credibility of the brother who received this, it just didn't seem real to me, so I did some research. The Canadian Hindu Advocacy is a real group. It uses OM on a Maple Leaf as its logo.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulbut__ukOy-iu_xwCcNFwmFDmDD2zDF8_zrPG1mS18ca714TaxsoFPJfiYLAW1H5jnhNE4gh0qU-JDlHeqIXxiYvvWjNXJnsk22jt162HSL2JcpQCCKYmceAzP2Huh2zWH97ffY9VBo/s1600/cha+LOGO.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulbut__ukOy-iu_xwCcNFwmFDmDD2zDF8_zrPG1mS18ca714TaxsoFPJfiYLAW1H5jnhNE4gh0qU-JDlHeqIXxiYvvWjNXJnsk22jt162HSL2JcpQCCKYmceAzP2Huh2zWH97ffY9VBo/s1600/cha+LOGO.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">It has both a Facebook page and a website. On <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48728279917#%21/group.php?gid=48728279917&v=wall">Facebook</a>, its statement of purpose reads: <br />
</span></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> EVER WONDER WHAT CANADA"S LEADING HINDU ADVOCACY LOOKS LIKE? READ ON:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> We are a national organization of professionals, most of whom have left other groups, … to join together and form an entity that really stands up for traditional Canadian and mainstream Hindu values.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> We advocate for Canadian Hindus, and we stand up for Canada, traditional Canadian values, and democratic principles.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Hindus have the highest per capita income of all ethnic groups in North America, are among the best educated, and constitute the majority community of the world's largest democracy / emergent superpower (INDIA).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Hindu civilization gave rise to the world's oldest language (SANSKRIT), from which all European languages (including English and French) developed. Science, medicine, and mathematics developed in Hindu India helped Europeans build Western civilization.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Standing up for Canada means supporting Hindu interests. We are together because Canada needs us!!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Historical Hindu and traditional Canadian values must be defended. An attack on one constitutes an attack on the other. ALL CANADIANS MUST STAND UP FOR HINDUS and HINDU VALUES.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Canadian values are endangered by the enemies of Canada, who use the media, education system, and politicians to spread false stereotypes about India and Hindus.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> We believe in multi-faith initiatives with groups and people who share our values of democracy, liberty, and merit-based success. This includes the Jewish, Serbian, and other communities.</span></span> <br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> We support fellow democracies such as INDIA, ISRAEL, AMERICA, and TAIWAN.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Our friends and partners in various communities will work with us to shape and build a better Canada, purged of malign and negative influences.</span></span> <span style="color: red;">Are we Sikhs among those "negative influences? Definitely Khalistanis are. [added by me]</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> With the skills and experience brought in by our members and directors, we have formed the leading mainstream Hindu political and media lobby in Canada.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> From political lobbying to media advocacy to business seminars on ethical investment, we have the skills and drive to deliver results.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> JOIN US TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE</span></span></blockquote><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> <br />
If this represents mainstream Hinduism,,, </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Its website contains such shining gems as a letter to the editor, <i>CHA: Praise anti Khalistan operations of 1984, both in Delhi and Punjab </i>(but the link doesn't work). And, of course, they are supporting <i>le Bloc Quebecois</i> in banning the kirpan from the Quebec "National" Assembly with a goal of banning the kirpan in the Canadian Parliament, a move that would effectively bar Amritdhari Sikhs from holding national office, as banning it in the Quebec "National" Assembly bars us from provincial government. No doubt their eventual goal is to totally ban the kirpan in Canada. <br />
<br />
From their<a href="http://www.canhindu.com/"> website</a>, this is their core values:<br />
</span></span><br />
<blockquote><i><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> <b>Our Core Values</b></span></span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">We believe in unity, diversity, and tolerance.</span></span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> This is why our directors and members include Hindus hailing from many different parts of India. We also include Hindus from the Caribbean, Malaysia, and elsewhere.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> We even have non- Hindu directors from different communities, including the Jewish, Serbian, and Anglo-Saxon ethnicities. <span style="color: red;">No Sikhs, though, for some reason [added by me]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> Inter-faith events and alliances are an important goal for us. Because our organization is a beacon of hope for all communities and groups who share our passion for merit, freedom, and democracy.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> This is why mainstream Canadians see us as not just a group that represents Hindu interests, but also a key defender of the values that define Canada.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> 'DEFENDING HINDU VALUES, STANDING UP FOR CANADA'</span></span></i></blockquote><br />
I feel the need to take a bath.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-80164834559231802892011-02-20T15:34:00.000-07:002011-02-20T15:34:00.343-07:00MASSACRE IN BAHRAIN: Eyewitness Reports<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: #990000; text-align: center;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: x-large;">puplish plz</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">bahrainies need u</span></blockquote></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmP4RJKIhNz33R2JtH145P8PE_CuSBN2xRPxxsYRbouVjdu_1DHXBIWtWAHSPHG3EXdkCV6HnWa0_X4gFW3Iclz1EIzf9GioIz5WP5GI_malifFEjklUQ2hudGfabCsFKk2m38n5q3Jk/s1600/Baharain+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmP4RJKIhNz33R2JtH145P8PE_CuSBN2xRPxxsYRbouVjdu_1DHXBIWtWAHSPHG3EXdkCV6HnWa0_X4gFW3Iclz1EIzf9GioIz5WP5GI_malifFEjklUQ2hudGfabCsFKk2m38n5q3Jk/s400/Baharain+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">How many of our Sikh mothers, daughters, sisters have experienced this? The dress is different; the feelings are the same.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last night, looking for something entirely different, I came upon this discussion about the Bahrain military's attack on its own citizens peacefully protesting from the Flickr group,<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/global_photojournalism_news_protest_and_culture/" target="_blank"> <span style="font-size: small;">Global Photojournalism; Politics, News, Protest, and Culture. </span></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pictures and discussion of Bahrain can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/global_photojournalism_news_protest_and_culture/discuss/72157625947408863/#comment72157626088877538%20%20%20"> here.</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We Sikhs have had a lot of experience of this in "India" and so we can understand what these Bahrainis are going through. Let's send them our prayers and comfort. At this point, I don't know what more we can do. <br />
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<span style="color: #000099;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">What follows is f</span>rom</span></span> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/gshamlan/" target="_blank"><span><span><span>Ghadeer</span> <span>Shamlan</span></span></span></a></span>, a young woman, age 18, a law student from Bahrain, obviously a person of great courage. I hope thesepictures and reports helps to make the situation real to you. These are real live (and dead) human beings and they need and deserve our compassion and concern. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Bahrain 2.jpg" height="315" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12e42bfa72800125&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=ii_12e42b897ed7c20a&zw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Bahrain 2.jpg" width="420" /></td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Posted in the Flickr group, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/global_photojournalism_news_protest_and_culture/" target="_blank">Global Photojournalism; Politics, News, Protest, and Culture. </a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">From 16 Feb 2011, Bahrain</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here is some of what 2 eye-witnesses said about todays attack in Bahrain </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><blockquote style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Witness 1 (woman): I was sitting with another woman getting ready pray "salat el-lail" which is a type of prayers the Shiites have , the woman was with her two months old baby, she gave me the baby so that she go to prepare for the prayers , just few minutes then the Bahraini forces started attacking with out any caution , one of the military forces men came to me and started beating me and he took the baby and throw her on the ground and shot her with his gone without any mercy, <br />
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she added it was really terrorism dead bodies and parts were everywhere on the ground , they throw some people over the bridge and drive there cars "police cars" over them, also they took injured people and bodies "alive" in closed fridges to unknown place. It was like a real war she added !!</blockquote><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><blockquote style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">witness (2) " man" : we were lying to sleep as suddenly the tear-bombs and gun-shots came from everywhere without any notifications we started running heading to salmaniya , while that i got injured by the gun-shots , the man who was killed and had his head blasted was killed in front of me they put the gun on his head directly and shot , his head parts spread everywhere !!! </blockquote><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">\</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">puplish plz</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">bahrainies need u</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5UqP6sAt3vvvWilR3WVqQfIr_LbSqFrwL74oGeuUbfo2kKR3F1cKXRLrJzRA0nKqU4IxVg2HykRw5JCVda2eW-zEGLjDDd0DQOSMtGrYB5rhmIRD7Q5FowLUTUu4QhOEOsB9RG_uC3o/s1600/Bahrain+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5UqP6sAt3vvvWilR3WVqQfIr_LbSqFrwL74oGeuUbfo2kKR3F1cKXRLrJzRA0nKqU4IxVg2HykRw5JCVda2eW-zEGLjDDd0DQOSMtGrYB5rhmIRD7Q5FowLUTUu4QhOEOsB9RG_uC3o/s400/Bahrain+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A protester takes cover around a corner as Bahrain's security forces fire tear gas on demonstrators marching from Salmaniya Hospital to Pearl Square, in Manama February 19, 2011. Anti-government protesters in Bahrain swarmed back into a symbolic square on Saturday, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause. REUTERS/James Dugga </span></td></tr>
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<img alt="Bahrain.jpg" height="300" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12e42bfa72800125&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_12e42b2e35096458&zw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Bahrain.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A child badly injured and possibly killed by Bahraini military forces</span></div><br />
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<i>Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs are from Ghadeer Shamlan</i></div></div></div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-8717853340148730852011-02-08T12:31:00.000-07:002011-02-08T12:31:22.206-07:00KAMAL NATH DENIED DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY IN USA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7do_bw1qOcM3tT1Wy1dWNKQLsOsSt2TJph9cak-MDMr4AieelycaJyl1QeDMKwpDcYAC64asxSwzE9z3ilKSg2ax50GaD6o2PPyoFuvanL8aSPKv37Bx9vKqeOdIP_MFL0DsVs_YT660/s1600/nath+denied.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7do_bw1qOcM3tT1Wy1dWNKQLsOsSt2TJph9cak-MDMr4AieelycaJyl1QeDMKwpDcYAC64asxSwzE9z3ilKSg2ax50GaD6o2PPyoFuvanL8aSPKv37Bx9vKqeOdIP_MFL0DsVs_YT660/s640/nath+denied.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is really a step forward. Kamal Nath does not have diplomatic immunity in the USA and Sikhs For Justice's (SFJ) case against him can go on as planned. My understanding is that he is due for a pre-trial conference this Wednesday.</span></h1><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h1><blockquote><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">FROM:<a href="http://www.tamildaily.net/2011/02/06/kamal-nath-summoned-by-us-court-in-1984-sikh-riots-case-state-dept-denies-diplomatic-is-shavendra-de-silva-and-palitha-kohonne-next-immunity/">Tamil Daily News</a></span></h1><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">February 6, 2011</span></h1><h1>Kamal Nath summoned by US court in 1984 Sikh riots case</h1><b>By Arun Kumar<br />
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<blockquote><b>Washington,(IANS) Indian Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has been summoned by a New York court for a pre-trial conference Feb 9 for his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.The trial will proceed as the US State Department has declined to intervene in the case due to the seriousness of allegations of human rights violation against Kamal Nath, according to Gurpatwant S. Pannun, legal advisor for Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US based human rights advocacy group.</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>After being summoned by the Southern district court of New York Dec 10, 2010, Kamal Nath had sought diplomatic immunity. His request for immunity has now been turned down by the State Department, Pannun said.</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>In April 2010, SFJ along with two individuals filed a law suit against Kamal Nath under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) & Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) asking the court to order compensatory and punitive damages against the minister.</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>According to Pannun: “Alien Tort Claims Act of United State, the law under which trial against Kamal Nath will be held is specifically created to provide remedy and forum to victims of genocide to vindicate their complaints.”</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>The trial against Kamal Nath “is one such opportunity through which SFJ plans to put on the record of the court evidence related to genocide of Sikhs and Kamal Nath’s role in it,” he said.</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>Plaintiffs have asked for a “jury trial” and will have the right to call upon survivors and experts on genocide as witnesses to prove that systematic killing of Sikhs in November 1984 was genocide as defined in Article 2 of the UN Convention on Genocide.</b><br />
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<b>Responding to Kamal Nath’s comment that “no case has been filed against him in India during past 26 years”, Pannun said Nath’s argument is absurd because if a case is not filed against a criminal, it does not mean that he has not committed the crimes.</b><br />
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<b>SFJ and victims of November 1984 riots also plan to launch a campaign in India asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sack Kamal Nath from his cabinet position for his alleged involvement in attack on Gurdawara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi, Pannun said.</b><br />
<b></b></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><b>More than 3,000 people were killed in various clashes across north India during the riots that followed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.</b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)</span></b></blockquote><br />
This YouTube video is from last year; I include it because it contains a lot of useful information and it is always interesting to see actual tapes of accused.<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/oddNa3TpY6I?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/oddNa3TpY6I?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-84906193120779567012011-02-07T16:10:00.000-07:002011-02-07T16:10:04.780-07:00"FIGHTING INTOLERANCE SINCE 1699"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This brought a big smile to my face. I noticed that they even "ji'ed" Guru Gobind Singh ji. This paper has class!<br />
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<blockquote>FROM: <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb_SpzTMcxRbg_ZYlFRZ_rESZ0dfvhY7fqhkZz8KDvI0p3rUC_Vw5C53hgwSMFYvmDp7TikjM8Jl0mWh6pBNDYe6l8nGmWmyqxE02qBU00ds45C5LJ6yN_NQ756JL24haLf6qfc2TB_s/s1600/asian_image.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb_SpzTMcxRbg_ZYlFRZ_rESZ0dfvhY7fqhkZz8KDvI0p3rUC_Vw5C53hgwSMFYvmDp7TikjM8Jl0mWh6pBNDYe6l8nGmWmyqxE02qBU00ds45C5LJ6yN_NQ756JL24haLf6qfc2TB_s/s200/asian_image.gif" width="200" /></a><h3> </h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqyYM54jEzoBzsyn_SMUs7MbhB0Z36nwosnOK95o7xRWo6XCbUfOPozqFWHDX9fl5Nd10ecNhUwRzjsoVvGjqBlSjFWI0_SHHvnsWJx_ISrpILsYn3plaxEgE3KM5MOxLvJUIeQu1YeM/s1600/SIKHS+AGAINST+EDL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqyYM54jEzoBzsyn_SMUs7MbhB0Z36nwosnOK95o7xRWo6XCbUfOPozqFWHDX9fl5Nd10ecNhUwRzjsoVvGjqBlSjFWI0_SHHvnsWJx_ISrpILsYn3plaxEgE3KM5MOxLvJUIeQu1YeM/s1600/SIKHS+AGAINST+EDL.jpg" /></a></div><h3> </h3><h3><a href="http://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/united_kingdom/8836769.Sikhs_prove_EDL_wrong/">Sikhs prove EDL wrong</a></h3>A delegation of Sikhs marched proudly joining a big rally against the English Defence League (EDL) held in Luton. <br />
They played the Dhol, a Punjabi war drum, as they entered the rally carrying a banner that read ‘Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699’, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. <br />
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They were greeted with cheers by more than two thousand demonstrators gathered in the Park Square, in the centre of Luton, who gave the marching Sikhs a great applause. <br />
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This comes as a great blow to the English Defence League (EDL) as they had claimed that they are getting support from many Sikhs. <br />
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The demonstration by ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ shows otherwise. <br />
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The Sikh protesters shouted slogans against Guramit Singh, one of the self-styled EDL leaders from Sikh background and called him a traitor. <br />
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They claimed that he had brought shame to the Sikh community and should be locked up due to some of his recent speeches. <br />
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Varinder Singh spoke on behalf of the Sikh delegation and pointed out that the Sikh community has a proud tradition of fighting Fascism in the Second World War. He asked, “Given our proud history, how can Sikhs not oppose the racism and Fascism espoused by EDL?” <br />
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Varinder Singh went on to condemn Guramit Singh (ethnic spokesperson for the EDL) and other racist traitors of Sikh origin joining EDL and expressed that these individuals should be held accountable. <br />
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Balwindar Singh Rana, also from a Sikh background said, “The Sikhs Against the EDL have launched a ‘Joint Statement’ which has already gained support from some of the major<br />
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Sikh and Hindu organisations, including many Sikh Student Societies, as well as many prominent individuals in this country. <br />
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People are waking up to the dangers of the racist poison that is being spread by the EDL and they will no longer fall for their ‘divide & rule’ tactics.” <br />
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He added:”In the ‘70s and ‘80s, whether we were Sikhs, Hindus or Muslim, we were all united against the racists and fascists of the National Front and the BNP. We now have to show the same unity again if we are going to halt this tide of racist hatred by the EDL.” <br />
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Salvinder Singh Dhillon from the Indian Workers Association pointed out that the rally was being attended by all communities was a proof that they all stand shoulder to shoulder against promotion of racism and fascism. <br />
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He said, “The poison of racism serves to divide people and weaken their common struggles against the attacks by the state on their livelihood, against imposition of tuition fees, and the pending massive spending cuts in social services, health and education.” <br />
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The rally was organized by Unite Against Fascism(UAF), a broad based organisation supported by numerous individuals and organizations including trade unions and members of parliament. <br />
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Various speakers expressed their opposition to EDL and the racist British National Party( BNP). <br />
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There was also a further protest in the Bury Park, near the Mosque, organized by the Muslim community and attended by nearly two thousand people. </div><br />
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</div></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-48938217197008235442011-02-01T01:01:00.000-07:002011-02-01T01:01:01.934-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.7&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddf004596db9e&zw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="KUDI COFFE.gif" border="0" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.7&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddf004596db9e&zw" title="KUDI COFFE.gif" /></a><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.8&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddf0380d107e5&zw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MUNDA DRINK COFFEE.gif" border="0" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.8&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddf0380d107e5&zw" title="MUNDA DRINK COFFEE.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">BTW, I just noticed that this is the 501st post in <i>The Road To Khalistan. </i>I invite you all to join me in a nice cup of ginger tea! <br />
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<img alt="coffee Kaur.gif" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.5&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddef313ace833&zw" title="coffee Kaur.gif" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><img alt="Coffe Singh.gif" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=4f393ac99c&view=att&th=12dddf06311b623e&attid=0.6&disp=attd&realattid=ii_12dddefc406987bf&zw" title="Coffe Singh.gif" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>********************************************************<br />
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This picture really made me sit up and take notice!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpC8tmhy4axh7-IUm4Vkr7EwHvHvZgWcyuwpzHu9eedBJNMVOBzO9aonDX6cx7sHegSLc8IIUlmGQX6mRKyXUZ7cIHHzCvW_B3WFs6yI7ujNQ2Y01Koj2utlL-sANYLIBwrrPeuLFPNyA/s1600/Egyptian+woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpC8tmhy4axh7-IUm4Vkr7EwHvHvZgWcyuwpzHu9eedBJNMVOBzO9aonDX6cx7sHegSLc8IIUlmGQX6mRKyXUZ7cIHHzCvW_B3WFs6yI7ujNQ2Y01Koj2utlL-sANYLIBwrrPeuLFPNyA/s400/Egyptian+woman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Woman in the Uprising</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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This picture is from the Humans's Rights Photos: Slideshow: Women in the Egyptian Uprising, located in Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/humanrights.change.org?v=wall#!/album.php?aid=268678&id=327200178036</div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-21786961906426666832011-01-27T18:34:00.000-07:002011-01-27T18:34:45.996-07:00KIRPANS IN QUEBEC - follow up statement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rhqNO9tRCLJiesm246GCTtWKc0siwYNJr1TkG6qtQGQQsSD_4gVddLcUQWq1BYsXnEGo__ussrhwgwNUyojuuCKQQJwK6W7Dth04M3O99Q1M8XqhfwP0WMoP8JJVLaAQjlSE0hYK-f8/s1600/Canada+kirpan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rhqNO9tRCLJiesm246GCTtWKc0siwYNJr1TkG6qtQGQQsSD_4gVddLcUQWq1BYsXnEGo__ussrhwgwNUyojuuCKQQJwK6W7Dth04M3O99Q1M8XqhfwP0WMoP8JJVLaAQjlSE0hYK-f8/s320/Canada+kirpan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zl8ZNa4Sa6fVzXVHEkArFNu6b8pG06UWYgmVCC6IQtoGDQ88c2AbPxeB7ovaTXlJkxTXxMt-vMmtIFdQFW5jmoe-bScWeZA42IrYUBS1ZeklsoO1kiwfe4i8qau3Ft9ZAQNm5Zt5C44/s1600/beatkaur.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zl8ZNa4Sa6fVzXVHEkArFNu6b8pG06UWYgmVCC6IQtoGDQ88c2AbPxeB7ovaTXlJkxTXxMt-vMmtIFdQFW5jmoe-bScWeZA42IrYUBS1ZeklsoO1kiwfe4i8qau3Ft9ZAQNm5Zt5C44/s1600/beatkaur.gif" /></a></div>Where have my brains been hiding? Why didn't I see this immediately? This whole thing was a set-up by Bloc Quebecois. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TMXae5bBZae3CGr902-qpFcHuxiVhc5dHgec390nGFR_LUP0jxOU5b1yacskyLzxi5cCSSkboxhGm0hupTvzflT5prS6sRXDdYahSL0CTDoUCthSXSIyRupHO14g0YOx3XBM3gHnUKY/s1600/Pink+Kaur.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TMXae5bBZae3CGr902-qpFcHuxiVhc5dHgec390nGFR_LUP0jxOU5b1yacskyLzxi5cCSSkboxhGm0hupTvzflT5prS6sRXDdYahSL0CTDoUCthSXSIyRupHO14g0YOx3XBM3gHnUKY/s1600/Pink+Kaur.gif" /></a></div>I was reading this editorial (I'll copy/paste it below) when I realised what a dolt I've been. Quebec has been fuming ever since the Montreal public schools were ordered to let that kid keep his kirpan in school. This accommodation (or not) for the niqab was the perfect opportunity to get even with us and take it even a bit farther.<br />
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The Quebec government is well aware of the importance of the kirpan to Sikhs because of the above case. When they invited the Sikhs to testify, they knew very well they would be carrying kirpans. They purposely made no arrangements with security to permit the Sikhs in, knowing that they Sikhs would refuse to surrender their kirpans. They knew the Sikhs would rightfully raise a huge stink at being treated so unfairly.<br />
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This publicity give the Bloc the chance to up the ante and get kirpans banned not only from the Quebec Legislature but to also try to get them banned from the Canadian Parliament where Navdeep Singh has been attending with his kirpan for more than six years and, I might add, has made no attempt to stab any opposition MP. <br />
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So we've been seriously punked! What are we going to do about it?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqXe9xsSx9oLvb-TnPoiNJCPXBuZ1mcQ37CF-ZfKFbf9o8AQN7MOi619BGVV93vPfZqOntjTA_9TvsKmnCx8M6wLHM3W-AZ_8tkWvHwJ5jUsefVVO-jr1kJLqrvni1GSQrJvvlOkfisk/s1600/0+kudi+swordfight.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqXe9xsSx9oLvb-TnPoiNJCPXBuZ1mcQ37CF-ZfKFbf9o8AQN7MOi619BGVV93vPfZqOntjTA_9TvsKmnCx8M6wLHM3W-AZ_8tkWvHwJ5jUsefVVO-jr1kJLqrvni1GSQrJvvlOkfisk/s1600/0+kudi+swordfight.gif" /></a></div><br />
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I realise that probably everybody else saw this from the beginning, it's so obvious.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My dear readers please sign the petition (if you haven't already) : </span><a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42287.html"><b>Say NO!! To Bloc's Call to Ban KIRPANS in Parliament</b></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">and also join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_149040668485109&id=150416918347484">Facebook Cause</a> with the same name. </span> </b><br />
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The article that brought about this much belated epiphany (italics mine):<br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Only+Quebec/4175116/story.html" target="_blank">Only in Quebec you say?</a></b></span><br />
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<b>Other provinces have long tolerated minority rights. Not us</b><br />
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<br />
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By DON MACPHERSON, <br />
The Gazette<br />
January 27, 2011<br />
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What is it about Quebec that makes it more dangerous for orthodox Sikhs to wear the kirpan here than elsewhere in Canada? <br />
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After Sikh boys in other provinces had been allowed to wear the dagger-like religious symbol to school for a hundred years, why was it still considered unsafe in 2002 for a Sikh boy to do the same here, even under severe restrictions? <br />
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<i>And in the latest incident involving the kirpan, why was a Sikh delegation barred from the National Assembly last week after refusing to surrender their kirpans, when a Sikh member of Parliament is allowed to wear his in the House of Commons? </i><br />
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(And why, after Liberal Navdeep Singh had been doing so for more than six years, did the Bloc Quebecois only get around to objecting after the incident at the Assembly?) <br />
<br />
Safety was the official reason given by the Assembly's security service for forbidding the Sikhs to wear their kirpans. But, as ruefrontenac.comblogger Marco Fortier pointed out, the kirpan is no more dangerous a weapon than the table knives in the Assembly's restaurants. <br />
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And it's not as if the Sikhs just showed up unannounced on a bus tour, catching everybody at the Assembly by surprise. They had been invited to appear before an Assembly committee examining a bill on, ironically, religious accommodations. <br />
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But since the committee had neglected to make prior arrangements for them to be admitted while wearing their kirpans, the Sikh delegation wasn't heard. <br />
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More than one made-in-Quebec compromise between the Sikhs' religious beliefs and the need for security at the Assembly was available. <br />
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The delegation could have been escorted by Assembly constables, as was a Sikh leader invited to a ceremony at the legislature last year. <br />
</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>Or they could have been allowed to wear their kirpans sealed inside their clothing. That was the solution suggested by the Supreme Court of Canada in its 2006 "reasonable accommodation" decision in the case of the Sikh boy forbidden from wearing his kirpan to school. <br />
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In applauding the exclusion of the Sikh delegation, Louise Beaudoin of the Parti Quebecois expressed disagreement with the Supreme Court's decision. "Multiculturalism might be a Canadian value," she said. "But it is not a Quebec one." <br />
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The conditions under which the boy could wear his kirpan to school originated not with the Supreme Court, however, but with the boy's French-language school board. They were expanded in a decision by a Frenchspeaking judge of Quebec Superior Court. <br />
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And contrary to what Beaudoin implied, the Supreme Court's decision was not based on multiculturalism. <br />
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Rather, the court ruled that forbidding the boy to wear his kirpan to school violated his freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. <br />
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And that freedom is protected not only by the Canadian Charter but also by Quebec's own Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms -adopted seven years before the Canadian Charter. <br />
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(Beaudoin's position is wrong, but at least she took one. Liberal Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil, the sponsor of the accommodation bill, refused to say whether the Sikh delegation should have been admitted.) <br />
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So "reasonable accommodation" reflects Quebec values as well as so-called Canadian ones. <br />
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Or at least it reflects what used to be Quebec values, before the backlash against the Supreme Court's decision on the kirpan. <br />
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Since then, the parties have been competing over the identity question for the votes of the majority, at the expense of the Quebec Charter and the rights of minorities, and not only religious ones. <br />
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<a href="mailto:%20dmacpherson@montrealgazette.com">dmacpherson@montrealgazette.com</a><br />
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette</blockquote><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/canada/34216-bloc-quebecois-says-time-has-come.html#post141256">Sikh Philosophy Network</a></i></span> </div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699389924044472782.post-13425387698995216752011-01-26T15:13:00.000-07:002011-01-26T15:13:38.462-07:00SIGN THE PETITION! ATTEMPT TO BAN THE KIRPAN IN THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>SIGN THE PETITION: </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42287.html"><b>Say NO!! To Bloc's Call to Ban KIRPANS in Parliament</b></a></div><br />
As many of you know, I was born and raised in Montreal, in the French Canadian province of Quebec. This is a part of Canada and yet apart from much of the Canadians' ideals. I won't try to make sense of that right now. It's just too complicated. Enough to say that a group of four Sikhs were invited to speak at the Quebec Legislature talking about religious rights and freedom and the niqab. Make a note, they were <i>invited guests. </i>When they arrived, <i>they were not allowed inside to testify because they were carrying their kirpans. </i>I am not making this up!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110118/sikhs-carrying-kirpans-banned-from-quebec-legislature-110118/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpurP_67bw_wUe-HRT5Pa11J6yfWUhwL59pXe_E4-YCxIVwA7rqyOlGuuHIkc0AdFwaiIQWQPb2wjzlzio2mw2TWhCM56_wW4UaL1xIgKi767vZ-uhUKeBIiGIQcmPBVYI6AhSNH7LAc/s320/kirpan+in+quebec.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Sikhs rejected from entering the Quebec Legislature</td></tr>
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<blockquote><h2 class="regserif" id="articletitle"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/invited-to-quebec-legislature-sikhs-then-barred-for-carrying-kirpans/article1874725/"><span style="font-size: large;">Invited to Quebec legislature, Sikhs then barred for carrying kirpans</span></a></h2><div id="articlemeta"><h4 class="heavyseriflbl sm">RHÉAL SÉGUIN </h4><h5 class="sans sm"><span class="articleplaceline">QUEBEC— </span> <span class="articlecreditline">From Wednesday's Globe and Mail</span> </h5><h5 class="articledateline sans sm"><time datetime="2011-01-18 15:57 -0500" pubdate=""></time><span style="font-size: small;">Last updated <time datetime="2011-01-19 00:10 -0500">Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 12:10AM EST</time></span> </h5><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">They came to the National Assembly to support a woman’s religious right to wear a niqab in Quebec but four members of the World Sikh Organization of Canada were turned away because of another religious flashpoint – the kirpans they were carrying. </span></blockquote><blockquote><div class="articlecopy s6of12 fl"><span style="font-size: small;"> The four Sikhs had been invited to appear before a legislative committee debating a bill that deals with the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities. But the group never got through the metal detectors at the entrance of the National Assembly building as security agents ruled the kirpans, or ceremonial daggers, they carried were a potential weapon...</span></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>Louise Beaudoin, the [Parti Québécois]’ designated critic on secularism, said, "...multiculturalism is not a Quebec value. It may be a Canadian one but it is not a Quebec one."</blockquote><blockquote> Ms. Beaudoin supported the security agents’ decision to prohibit access to the four Sikhs when they refused to remove their kirpans.</blockquote></blockquote><br />
Not satisfied in keeping Sikhs out of the Quebec Legislature, they are now trying to ban our kirpans in the Canadian Parliament. Clearly this is unacceptable to Sikhs everywhere. We must stand up and say a resounding NO! to this nonsense. One way to do this is to sign the petition <br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42287.html"><b>Say NO!! To Bloc's Call to Ban KIRPANS in Parliament</b></a></blockquote> Please, dear Gursikhs, help the Sikhs of Canada, your sisters and brothers preserve this right. We need your help now. Don't let us down!!<br />
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Please note that <a href="http://www.ndp.ca/press/statement-by-new-democrat-leader-jack-layton-on-kirpan">Jack Layton of the NDP (a proven friend to the Sikh community) supports our right to carry the kirpan, </a>as does Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff.The Conservatives have remained silent.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110118/sikhs-carrying-kirpans-banned-from-quebec-legislature-110118/">CTV News</a></span></i></div>Simayananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12690050614711171210noreply@blogger.com0