Category: Uncategorized

The caning of 16 primary school teachers by the police officers has sparked outrage in the education sector, with the teachers’ union threatening to take legal action against the ministry.

The teachers were reported to have been caned by the police after an inquiry into poor exam results at three schools, which the officials claimed teachers were not teaching the official syllabus and were failing to show up at work.

The Bukoba District Commissioner Albert Mnali allegedly ordered a police officer who was accompanying him during his official tour in the District last Wednesday to dispense four strokes of the cane each to 16 teachers for failure to execute their duties.

But Deputy Education Minister Mwantumu Mahiza termed the incident as “unfortunate and utterly absurd,” suggesting that Mr Mnali needed to be psychologically assessed for his unusual behavior.

“I really can’t believe that a sane senior government official can order the police to cane civil servants. There are procedures to be followed before a civil servant is punished,” Ms Mahiza said.
Read More

from Hari Sharma

Dear friends:

SOME GOOD NEWS FROM GUJARAT, AFTER ALL.

Slaps on Narendra Modi’s face.

But do slaps on Narendra Modi’s face mean anything to him? These have been delivered before, time and again. And he has continued to act as if nothing really landed on his face.

This time, the High Court in his own State has declared unequivocally that the fraud he had committed on the night of February 28, 2002 by publicly broadcasting that the fire on the Sabamati train coach was a conspiracy hatched by the Muslims of Godhra, was nothing but a wholesale lie. It is on the basis of this fraud that Narendra Modi had whipped up the anti-Muslim and pro-Hindutava frenzy which led to a three-day long orgy of organized pogrom. Thousands were slaughtered in broad day light. Women were gang raped in public plazas; wombs ripped and unborn fetuses tossed in open fires. Fleeing people in the country side cornered and lynched. Homes turned into ashes. Fascism had its ugly, ferocious dance. India’s fragile democracy was nailed on barren poles.

And for the last seven years Narendra Modi has continued to shine in his own glory – as if nothing really could touch him; as long as he had the Gujarati upper-caste Hindu masses hoodwinked to the notion of Hindu Rashtra. The Corporate India came to touch his feet; declared him as the most desirable future prime minister of India. International Capital eulogized him, as a model of third world development, and as the prime destination of capital flows.

Yet, all this could not hide for ever the edifice of lies and fraud. Even the Commission of Enquiry headed by Justice Nanavati, hand-picked by N. Modi himself, to look into the ghory details of what happened during those fateful days of 2002, had shamefully exonerated Narendra Modi.

And now the judicial verdict has come. No, it was not a conspiracy. No, it was not an Act of Terror. No, the suspects could not be kept behind bars under the notorious POTA act, without even a chance of bail. And, Yes, the government of Narendra Modi deliberately misused the legal system.

We happily append below a series of newspaper articles on the High Court judgement of February 12. And beyond that, if you continue to scroll down, we append some write-ups on the Nanavati Commission findings which we had already shared with you on November 9, last year: an article by the veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar, and a link to a detailed Critique of the Nanavati Commission prepared by an Ahmedabad-based organization, Jan Sangarsh Manch (Front for People’s Struggles), headed by the Advocate Dr. Mukul Sinha, who had been making representations before the Commission.

The observations contained in that detailed Critique stand vindicated by the latest High Court judgement.

Most importantly, the High Court ruling has given a sunshine hope to the 81 people who had been incarcerated all these years under the draconion POTA Act, as conspirators for the torrorist act. Maybe, they now have a chance to get out, atleast on some kind of a bail.

No memory of my 2005 visit to Modi’s Gujarat is more poignant than the ones associated with my visit to the Muslim neighborhood of Godhra, where hundreds of people had assembled in some kind of a false hope (because a new outsider had come to visit them), and where I heard loud wails and complaints from old fathers, mothers, young wives, small children, brothers and sisters, neighbors – because someone among them was kept in the custody under POTA. Never in my life had I felt more helpless, and my words sounding more hollow, than what I experienced that evening and what I managed to utter there. Painfully I remember all that.

Maybe, there is an end now to that embarrassment, to that sadness. An end to the seemingly endless suffering.

But one doesn’t know. What if Narendra Modi, shamelessly, made an appeal against the High Court ruling!

Let’s see.

hari sharma
for SANSAD

Syed Khalique Ahmed Posted: Feb 13, 2009 at 1541 hrs (Indian Express)
Ahmedabad: THE Gujarat High Court’s decision of upholding the recommendation of the Central POTA Review Committee that there was no evidence to prove ‘conspiracy’ behind the Sabarmati Express carnage has come as a setback for the Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by the state government. It was this team which had established the conspiracy theory behind the incident.
Comprising Rakesh Asthana, J K Bhatt and Noel Parmar — officers of the Gujarat Police — the team had concluded that a conspiracy was hatched at the Aman guesthouse in Godhra on the night of February 26, 2002. A huge quantity of petrol was procured to torch the S-6 coach carrying pilgrims from Ayodhya, the report had said.
It was on the basis of the SIT’s findings that provisions of POTA were applied to the accused imprisoned in the Sabarmati jail.
While Asthana and Bhatt were not available for comment, Parmar, who was present in the court when the order was pronounced, refused to say anything on the issue. Reacting to the judgement, however, Sayeed Umarji, the son of 75-year-old Maulana Hussain Umarji imprisoned for his alleged involvement in the carnage, said the “ruling has proved that investigating agencies have misused law”. He demanded action against the SIT officials.
Senior advocate and representative of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, Mukul Sinha, who had earlier defended the Godhra accused, said the HC order blasted the findings of the Nanavati commission report which had relied on the SIT findings.
He said the HC ruling also upheld the recommendations of the UC Banerjee commission, which had rejected the conspiracy theory. Now, the trial of the accused, which had been stayed since November 2003, could begin, he added. While Sayeed Umarji said he would move the Supreme Court, praying that no interim relief should be given to the petitioner without hearing the accused, Vijay Patel, the advocate of Sardarji Maganji Vaghela who had challenged the recommendations of the review committee, said he would challenge the order in the apex court after consulting the petitioner.

THE DERAILED REPORT OF SABARMATI EXPRESS

Here is the link for the Report by Jan Sangarsh Morcha, led by Dr. Mukul Sinha.
http://nsm.org.in/2008/09/29/jan-sangharsh-manch-comments-on-nanavati-commission-report/

Following is an article by Mr. Kuldip Nayar, a prominent journalist, and also a former Member of Paliament. (Hari Sharma)

Modi let off the hook?
By Kuldip Nayar
http://www.kashmirtimes.com/opinion.htm

I suspected some design when the Justice Nanavati Commission submitted only a part of the inquiry report on what was known as the Godhara incident. I could see the contents written on the face of a gleeful Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi in a photograph at the time of the report’s presentation. It was clear that Modi had been exonerated.

Was it necessary for Justice Nanavati to suggest this or even release a part of the report in he did not want to favour Modi and the BJP? Nanavati has clarified after heavy criticism that his first report was confined only to the burning of Sabarmati Express coach. He has said that he did not give a clean chit to Modi or his government and that he was still working on the rioting after the Godhara incident. Why should the Nanavati Commission which has had as many as 16 extensions submit an incomplete report?

There was no pressure on the commission. Then why hurry with it?

It looks as if Nanavati is a party to the travesty of justice: separating the report into two parts while it should have been one. True, the BJP and Modi wanted it that way. But I cannot comprehend why Nanavati has done so. He knows that nobody can condone the killing of some 2,000 Muslims, not even his Commission. The ethnic cleansing in Gujarat has been recorded visually and there are many witnesses and documents to corroborate it. Is his compulsion on the second part the reason for splitting the report?

Maybe, Nanavati has a point. But he has already held local Muslims guilty of “conspiracy” for burning the coach. The manner in which he has exonerated Modi and his officials suggests that Nanavati was discussing the Gujarat carnage, not the burning of the coach. Since the full report will be ready only by the end of the year, this gives an opportunity to Modi and the BJP to go to town on what Nanavati has already said and exploit the findings in November assembly elections in five states.

It was clear that Nanavati was more or less repeating the version which Modi and the BJP had projected to provide an alibi for the massacre of the Muslims soon after 59 kar sevaks were burnt alive in the compartment that was set to fire. The report released by Nanavati is no different. He too says the fire was “a pre-planned conspiracy” by local Muslims. Justice Nanavati has also ruled out the involvement of any religious or political organization, exonerating the BJP the Bajrang Dal and the likes.

The version which Nanavati has relied upon is in stark contrast to what another Supreme Court judge, Justice U.C. Bannerjee, had reported. According to him-he was appointed by the Railways-the fire was not ignited from outside the coach but from within it, either by accident or design. Bannerjee has repeated his findings even after Nanavati’s report.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by the Supreme Court to reinvestigate the riots, is still at work. Nanavati should have waited till it had given its report. By not doing so. Justice Nanavati, himself from the Supreme Court, has only shown scant respect to the Supreme Court. Even the petition challenging the Bannerjee Committee’s findings is still pending before the state High Court. Should Nanavati have still gone ahead?

The conflicting reports, one by Justice Bannerjee and the other by Justice Nanavati, bring no credit to the judiciary. Had such a thing happened at the level of the two judges in a subordinate court, the High Court would have taken them to task. I cannot say anything more but do feel intrigued by the spectacle when the judges involved are from the Supreme Court.

It is obvious that Nanavati wanted to favour Gujarat, the state which appointed him to head the inquiry commission. He knows he cannot but criticise the state in the post-Godhara report. Did he intentionally separate the two incidents, which are really one? Since the first report is favourable to the state, he let it go as if it was independent of the other. Legally, there is nothing wrong in releasing the report in parts. But ethically, it is not correct because people are now expected to make up their mind on the basis of partial report.

I have a nagging feeling that the post-Godhara report, which is bound to hold Modi and the Gujarat administration guilty, and corroborate the thesis that there was a prior plan to cleanse the state ethnically will be released after the general elections which are due early next year. Wittingly or unwittingly, Nanavati has helped Modi and his party.

The Jan Sangarsh Manch (JSM), a Gujarat NGO, is the first to react to the submission of incomplete report. It has criticised the Nanavati Commission for being hasty in giving are incomplete report to the state government. The JSM’s convenor, S.H. Iyer, has questioned the urgency of the partial report. He asks: “Don’t the thousands of victims of the post-Godhara riots have any right to know why their lives and property were destroyed? And which minister, politician, police officer or organisation was responsible for the massacres.”

I recall talking to Justice Nanavati before he submitted his report on the 1984 riots in which 3,000 Sikhs were killed at Delhi alone. He told me what happened in Delhi could happen anywhere in India and at any time because the police knew no limits and politicians no norms of behaviour. He even commented on the probe that he was conducting on the Gujarat killings. He said “I have seen the same pattern in Gujarat.” He also said he saw many similarities between the happenings in Delhi and Gujarat and he had no good word either for the politicians or the authorities. Therefore, I find it difficult to understand when he gives a clean chit to Modi, his council of ministers and police officials.

Former Chief Justice J.C. Verma, then chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, has released a letter which shows that he had cautioned Nanavati. In his statement Justice Varma has said that Nanavati’s clean chit is far from the truth.

In the report on the 1984 riots, Nanavati had expressed his helplessness. After 20 years, he said, there was no concrete evidence to pursue, nothing to bring the killers to book. I hope he does not take the same line on the post-Godhara killings and expresses his helplessness once again. The 1984 killings were two decades old when Justice Nanavati was asked to probe. The killings in Gujarat are only six years old. The nation expects him to do a better job.

By PATRICK COCKBURN

In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125bn (£88bn) in a US -directed effort to reconstruct Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The exact sum missing may never be clear, but a report by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) suggests it may exceed $50bn, making it an even bigger theft than Bernard Madoff’s notorious Ponzi scheme.
“I believe the real looting of Iraq after the invasion was by US officials and contractors, and not by people from the slums of Baghdad,” said one US businessman active in Iraq since 2003.
In one case, auditors working for SIGIR discovered that $57.8m was sent in “pallet upon pallet of hundred-dollar bills” to the US comptroller for south-central Iraq, Robert J Stein Jr, who had himself photographed standing with the mound of money. He is among the few US officials who were in Iraq to be convicted of fraud and money-laundering.
Despite the vast sums expended on rebuilding by the US since 2003, there have been no cranes visible on the Baghdad skyline except those at work building a new US embassy and others rusting beside a half-built giant mosque that Saddam was constructing when he was overthrown. One of the few visible signs of government work on Baghdad’s infrastructure is a tireless attention to planting palm trees and flowers in the centre strip between main roads. Those are then dug up and replanted a few months later.
Iraqi leaders are convinced that the theft or waste of huge sums of US and Iraqi government money could have happened only if senior US officials were themselves involved in the corruption. In 2004-05, the entire Iraq military procurement budget of $1.3bn was siphoned off from the Iraqi Defense Ministry in return for 28-year-old Soviet helicopters too obsolete to fly and armored cars easily penetrated by rifle bullets. Iraqi officials were blamed for the theft, but US military officials were largely in control of the Defense Ministry at the time and must have been either highly negligent or participants in the fraud.
American federal investigators are now starting an inquiry into the actions of senior US officers involved in the program to rebuild Iraq, according to The New York Times, which cites interviews with senior government officials and court documents. Court records reveal that, in January, investigators subpoenaed the bank records of Colonel Anthony B Bell, now retired from the US Army, but who was previously responsible for contracting for the reconstruction effort in 2003 and 2004. Two federal officials are cited by the paper as saying that investigators are also looking at the activities of Lieutenant-Colonel Ronald W Hirtle of the US Air Force, who was senior contracting officer in Baghdad in 2004. It is not clear what specific evidence exists against the two men, who have both said they have nothing to hide.
The end of the Bush administration which launched the war may give fresh impetus to investigations into frauds in which tens of billions of dollars were spent on reconstruction with little being built that could be used. In the early days of the occupation, well-connected Republicans were awarded jobs in Iraq, regardless of experience. A 24-year-old from a Republican family was put in charge of the Baghdad stock exchange which had to close down because he allegedly forgot to renew the lease on its building.
Read More

By B. R. Gowani

Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms. Rahman, defended her government’s decision to let the militants introduce Islamic laws in the Swat Valley citing it to be according to the public’s will: “It is in no way a sign of the state’s weakness. The public will of the population of the Swat region is at the centre of all efforts and it should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement.” “The president will approve the Nizam-e-Adal Regulation after the restoration of peace in the region.”

This is a lie. Further, yesterday the Pakistan government denied that the deal it signed was a concession to the taliban, which is another lie.

The above statements reek of sheer hypocrisy by Ms. Rahman. It is particularly disheartening as it comes from a western educated person who has also been the former editor of Herald magazine and has, in the past, shown concern on the issues of health, education, children, and women. She should instead have feigned illness to avoid the press, rather than put her government’s capitulation to the barbaric militants, as the “public’s will.”

Here are a few questions I would like her to answer:

Is the blowing up of hundreds of schools the public’s will?

Is the acid throwing and disfiguring of girls’ faces the public’s will?

Is the killing of girls the public’s will?

Is the burning down of video stores the public’s will?

Is the attacking of barber shops when they shave customer beards the public’s will?

Is the regular bombing of anything the militants can lay their hands on the public’s will?

Is the confining of women to the four walls of the house the public’s will?

Is the beheading of opponents the public’s will?

Is the order to parents to marry off their daughters to militants the public’s will?

Is barring women from going to the market the public’s will?

Is the banning of girls’ education the public’s will?

Is the public being turned into refugees the public’s will?

Is denying of medical treatment to women by male doctors the public’s will?

Is the order to married couples to carry nikahnama or marriage certificates when they go out the public’s will?

Is the murder of woman councilor Bakht Zeba who strongly favored girls education the public’s will?

There are many such questions for which Ms. Rahman can have no answer in the affirmative.

We all know that all of the above are not the public’s will. Besides, the will of the public is one thing, but what can not be ignored is that every individual has certain basic rights: to dress the way they want, to attend schools and colleges, to visit entertainment places, to have male or female friends, to live with anyone they want to, to pursue [or not] any religion they want, etc. They should be safe to live their daily life and be able to express their thoughts without fear of death, or worse.

Ms. Rahman, I ask you, if the militants were to order you to cover up and wear a burkha, would you then say that it’s the public’s will and do it?

If the militants were to order you to stay at home, would you then say that it is the public’s will and comply?

I cannot help but appreciate your bravery to work with the corrupt decadent macho feudal lusty lords (who usually have both hands in their pockets — one counting the illegal money, and other trying to soothe an itch). Nonetheless, the progressives would also want you to show more courage when handling issues that threaten the country’s integrity and it’s women.

B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com

The great grandson of Geronimo says he wants to know whether Skull and Bones secret society at Yale University has the remains of the famous Apache chief and shaman.
By Stephen Clark

FOXNews.com Tuesday, February 17, 2009

(Submitted by Michelle Cook)

Geronimo’s great grandson is filing a lawsuit seeking to reclaim the Chiricahua Apache leader’s remains.

It’s the stuff of legends: an elite secret society that includes what would become some of the most powerful men of the 20th century allegedly invading the grave of an Apache chief to steal his skull for fraternal rituals. It’s also the stuff of a new lawsuit filed Tuesday by descendents of that Apache chief.

On the 100th anniversary of the death of Geronimo, 20 of his blood relatives have asked the courts to force Yale University and the school’s secret organization, Skull and Bones, to release his remains for return to his native land and a proper burial.
The lawsuit also names President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Army Secretary Pete Geren as defendants because they are responsible for maintaining Geronimo’s remains on a U.S. Army base in Oklahoma, the group said.

“I believe it’s a good cause because indigenous people over the century have been annihilated, removed from their homeland,” said Geronimo’s great grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Skull and Bones has never said whether any of Geronimo’s remains are in its possession. The descendants say they are investigating long-held claims that in 1918, members of Skull and Bones, including Prescott Bush, the father of George H.W Bush and grandfather of George W. Bush, invaded Geronimo’s grave at Ft. Sill and stole his skull, some bones and other items buried with him.

“In this lawsuit, we’re going to find out if the bones are there or not,” said the group’s lawyer, said the group’s lawyer, Ramsey Clark, who was attorney general in President Lyndon Johnson’s administration.
Gila Reinstein, a spokeswoman for Yale University, said she is unaware of the lawsuit, but Yale can add nothing to the mystery of the Indian chief’s whereabouts.

“To the best of my knowledge, Yale University has no relics or bones belonging to Geronimo,” she said, adding that she couldn’t speak on behalf of Skull and Bones because it is independent of the university.
Geronimo fought for decades against Mexican and American expansion into tribal lands. He and his small band of Apaches surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886 and were sent to Florida as prisoners of war before being transferred to Alabama.

Five years later, he was sent to Ft. Sill, where he lived the rest of his life as a free-range prisoner. Geronimo became a celebrity in the twilight of his life, appearing at fairs and selling souvenirs and photographs of himself. He died of pneumonia in 1909 at Ft. Sill and was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery on the military base.

Three members of the Skull and Bones, including Prescott Bush, served as Army volunteers at Fort Sill during World War I. They are accused of stealing the items which supposedly are used in initiation ceremonies. One alleged ritual includes kissing Geronimo’s skull.

Geronimo said he’s bringing the lawsuit now after contemplating it over the past decade because he has the time to do it after retiring from a tribal council in 2000. Clark added that at the 100th anniversary of the shaman’s death, “We really thought it would be a good time to say enough is enough.”
Geronimo said he has appealed to former President Bush for help in returning the remains.

“According to our traditions the remains of this sort, especially in this state when the grave was desecrated, need to be reburied with the proper rituals to return the dignity and let his spirits rest in peace.”
Asked why he didn’t appeal to Obama first, Geronimo said he thought Obama may be too busy to heed his request.

Watch and read more about the secret society Skull and Bones here.

A little-known fact unites Democratic frontrunner John Kerry and President Bush: they are both members of Yale’s secret society Skull and Bones. We speak with the author of “Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power” that reveals details about the secret society and its members.

The New Hampshire primary is just a few days away and Howard Dean’s status as the frontrunner has almost totally dissipated. The latest Boston Herald poll now shows that John Kerry holds a 10 point lead – a major surge for the Massachusetts Senator. Still reeling from his victory in Iowa, Kerry is starting to act like the front runner, shifting his focus from comparing himself to the other Democrats to putting his record up against President George W. Bush, saying he is the only candidate who can beat Bush and who represents a real difference from the current occupant of the White House.

But there is a fact about Kerry’s past that brings him closer to Bush than any of the other candidates. Both Bush and Kerry are members of a secretive society dating back to their respective days at Yale University – Skull and Bones. This fact has not been widely reported but when Kerry’s campaign spokesperson was asked about it, she said, “John Kerry has absolutely nothing to say on that subject. Sorry.”

AMY GOODMAN: You are listening to and watching Democracy Now, the War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers around the country. The New Hampshire primary is just a few days away, and Howard Dean’s status as a frontrunner has almost totally dissipated. The latest “Boston Herald” poll now shows that John Kerry holds a 10-point lead, a major surge for the Massachusetts senator. Still reeling from his victory in Iowa, Kerry is starting to act like the frontrunner, shifting his focus from comparing himself to the other Democrats to putting his record up against President George Bush, saying he’s the only candidate who can beat Bush and who represents a real difference from the current occupant of the White House.

AMY GOODMAN: But there is a fact about Kerry’s past that brings him closer to Bush than any other candidate. Both Bush and Kerry are members of a secretive society dating back to their respective days at Yale University. It’s called “Skull and Bones.” This fact has not been widely reported, but when Kerry’s campaign spokesperson was asked about it, she said, quote, “John Kerry has absolutely nothing to say on that subject. Sorry.” In a moment, we’ll be joined by Alexandra Robbins, the “New York Times” best-selling author of, “Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League and the Hidden Paths of Power.” But first, we turn to an interview that I did with Kevin Phillips, the author of “American Dynasty, Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics Of Deceit in the House of Bush.” When I asked him about the significance of that Yale secret society, Skull and Bones.

KEVIN PHILLIPS: Well, I hate to overdo the secret societies because the average person has no idea of this. I went to Harvard Law School, and Harvard has these secret societies, too, but the ones at Yale, I think, if anything are more influential, and it’s sorta hard to cold turkey right in and say, my god, Skull and Bones, this is virtually like a diplomatic or international business piracy. You can almost see the pirate flag, but they all take it very seriously, because Admiral Harriman, instead of going to Harvard and getting involved in the “Porks,” so to speak, which was the big club up at Harvard, he went to Yale and did Skull and Bones. There was a crowd of people who were involved in operations like National CitiBank and Guaranteed Trust and just a whole lot of people who were major players in finance were Skull and Bones. And the crowd that was at W.S. Harriman was full of Skull and Bones people, and Prescott Bush was Skull and Bones. A lot of these people who were Skull and Bones wound up in the intelligence services, or they were assistant secretaries for aviation and the war department and things like this. It was a whole network.

AMY GOODMAN: But for people who don’t know what Skull and Bones is, what you are referring to.

KEVIN PHILLIPS: It’s a Yale secret society. Yale has other secret societies. Another one was called “Book and Snake.” So, they came up with these names. But these people took secrecy incredibly seriously. Books that have been written about Skull and Bones – they’ve got a vault at Yale. Nobody is supposed to be able to get in there. You can’t even tell your wife about Skull and Bones. Avril Harriman, his wife received a letter that was in hieroglyphics, and she didn’t know what to make of this and Avril Harriman said, “Well, that’s Skull and Bones, and I have to tell you about that, and he said, no, I can’t tell you about that.” If you want to know why they deal in secrecy, (a) you have Skull and Bones, and (b) so many of them were in the intelligence services and that whole side of Washington and New York.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about that, the beginning of intelligence, and how the Bush family fits into the beginning of the intelligence agencies?

KEVIN PHILLIPS: Well, this gets complicated because nobody quite agrees when the intelligence agencies started. But Yale was front and center, because the statue that’s in front of the C.I.A. is Nathan Hail. Nathan Hail’s statue that they copied that from appears in front of Connecticut Hall at Yale in New Haven. So, if you go back to the revolution you have Yale and the Secret Service.

AMY GOODMAN: It goes back to Andover where Bush went as well.

KEVIN PHILLIPS: Andover was really in the thick of this sort of stuff. They had a secret society sort of junior grade where you practiced to be at Skull and Bones at Yale when you were in Andover. It sounds like a joke today, but it wasn’t then. What happened was the crowd that was in with Prescott Bush and George H. Walker at W.A. Harriman, a number of them became prominent in the intelligence community and then when you get to the firm that was merged out of W.A. Harriman, which was Brown Brothers Harriman, one of the partners there was Robert A. Lovett, who was the son of one of the big cheeses in Harriman’s railroad operation, which is how they knew George H. — I mean, it all fits together. Robert A. Lovett was the man who came up with the blueprint for the C.I.A. after World War II, which was never acknowledged and only became public knowledge maybe 15, 20 years ago. So, he was a major player, and Prescott Bush, I have no doubt, was very close to the intelligence agencies. During World War II he was a director of two companies. One was Dresser Industries, which is now part of Halliburton, and the second is Vanadium Corporation of America. They were both involved in atomic energy projects. Prescott Bush was a friend of Alan Dulles who went on to be the C.I.A. Director, but he was also a lawyer during the 30’s for some of Brown Brothers Harriman international gamesmanship, so to speak. So, they were very tightly knit into all of this. And the real thing about the Bushes is how far back they go in this loose combination of investment banking, Wall Street law, the intelligence community, international business, the State Department, and the War Department.

AMY GOODMAN: That is Kevin Phillips. He is author of the new book, “American Dynasty, Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics Of Deceit In The House of Bush.” As we turn now to Alexandra Robbins, the “New York Times” best-selling author of the book, “Secrets of the Tomb — Skull and Bones, the Ivory League and the Hidden Paths Of Power,” who was formerly on the Washington, D.C. staff of the New Yorker Magazine. She is a 1998 graduate of Yale University and was the first reporter to publish George W. Bush’s transcript from Yale when he was a student there. We welcome you to Democracy Now!.

ALEXANDRA ROBBINS: Good Morning.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. Juan.

ALEXANDRA ROBBINS: Thanks for having me.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Alexandra, I’d like to start out – in your book, you mention John Kerry several times. For those folks who might think this is something of the college days and in the 60’s when Kerry was at Yale, but you mentioned an experience that Jacob Weissberg, the editor of “Slate” magazine had about 20 years later in 1986. Can you talk a little bit about that.

ALEXANDRA ROBBINS: Sure. Skull and Bones is really much more than a college club. In fact the year that the members spend in it, their senior year at Yale (there are 15 members tapped for Skull and Bones membership each year) is really just the beginning. Skull and Bones is a powerful alumni network, perhaps the most elite network in the country and it really focuses on life after college. What Kerry did was he tried to recruit Jacob Weissberg from his senate office in Washington to become a member of Skull and Bones. And Weissberg ended up declining the invitation, but he was shocked that Kerry was a member of the society, which so clearly exhibited a history of misogyny, and he challenged Kerry on it. Kerry sort of blew him off. He said, “Oh, well, you know, you should look at my record – for women, defending battered women, et cetera,” and Weissberg said “I can’t be a part of this,” but he was shocked that Kerry would have his secretary call Weissberg into his office in the senate in order to try to make this recruiting possible.

Read More

By Ram Puniyani

This Valentine day this year is also threatened by the threat of acts of intolerance, violence by the ‘Moral Police’ of Shiv Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shri Ram Sene and ABVP etc. Violence including the attacks on shops selling Valentine and other mementoes has been reported too often. On the eve of the Valentine day and on the day itself one is watching in utter disgust the action of this moral police in vandalizing the events of the day. Valentine day has come to be synonymous with the exchange of messages of love all over the world. To keep company with ‘our’ own moral police similar groups in Saudi Arabia, and Dukhtarane millat types are also on the rampage. Many functions planned for this day have regularly been cancelled and many others just do not dare to plan any function in the light of experience of vandalism of previous years.
The ground on which these moral police operate holds no water. It is being said that such an open expression of love is ‘un-Indian’, this celebration is not in keeping with Indian culture, multinationals are promoting ‘nude revolution’ etc. Real reasons for this intolerant behavior have to be looked for in their overall agenda to curtail liberalism, pluralism and to constrain the democratic ethos of the country.
The circumstance under which this day came to become a memorable one, are very interesting and have a deep message. Valentine Day has an ancient legacy. It seems that the early Christian Church had at least two saints bearing this name. As per one story Roman emperor Claudius II forbade young men to marry in the year 200’s A.D., as he had strong military ambitions and he thought that single men made better soldiers (As ‘our own’ RSS believes that single men make better Pracharaks (Propagators) for Hindu Rashtra, and accordingly one can not be a high level RSS pracharak if one not a ‘bachelor boy’). A priest by the name Valentine protested and disobeyed the orders of the King by solemnizing the marriage of young couple’s. According to another legend, Valentine was an early Christian who was very affectionate to young children. He refused to worship Roman Gods and on that count was imprisoned. Children missed his affection and love and tossed the notes containing love messages across the prison bars. According to many stories he was executed on 14th February. This day in due course came to be celebrated in his memory, as a tribute to his courage in defying the inhuman orders of the ruling kings and people started sending greetings and messages of love to their loved ones’. The origin of the customs is slightly shrouded due to its being very ancient. Also these customs started taking local hue in different countries wherever this day began to be celebrated.
So why is the Hindutva brigade opposed to Valentine day, which is symbolic of love? Is it because the multinationals are involved in the card trade? We do remember the enthusiasm of Shiv Sena-BJP combine few years ago to dump the Enron in the Arabian sea as an electoral promise, but after coming to power they not only ratified the same but approved the further stage of the project as well! The NDA rule has seen the BJP leading the pack to bow to the multinationals, more than others. So aversion to multinational corporations is not the real reason. Is it because this day smacks of immorality and our ‘moral brigade’ cannot tolerate this exchange of symbols of love, which is obnoxious according to them? We do recall here that one of their ilk; B.L. Sharma had termed the rape of nuns as an act of Patriotism! So what are these scales of morality? As far the event being an un-Indian one, let’s just give a thought to the process of evolution of the customs, traditions and culture. With the world being reduced to a global village there is a percolation of different festivals and events across the globe. We have seen that even in Indian context in medieval times there was a thick intermingling of cultures and people of the society imbibed the one’s coming from different parts of the continent. People belonging to different religions overcame the boundaries to celebrate each other’s festivals and customs. The average people of the society, those who do not have vested interests celebrate diversity and enjoy it thoroughly. Muslims participating in Holi, Hindus participating in Tazia processions are some very few examples from the vast cultural interaction, which was the norm of the times, before the rise and institutionalization of communal politics.
Read More

Mallika Sarabhai is an artist cum activist who fights for the rights of women and minorities, and is equally concerned about other social issues.

From Hari Sharma

Dear friends:
The Tamils in Sri Lanka are facing the greatest humanitarian crisis. A massive military assault by the Sri Lankan government has turned tens of thousnds of Tamils into refugees. There are plans to build barbed wire enclaves, which can only be called concentration camps. We in SANSAD have received telephone reports from relatives and family members of some of the Tamil people living in the Vancouver area, describing the situation in northern Sri Lanka as absolutely grim.

Last week, over three thousand Tamil people and their friends carried out a massive demonstration in Vancouver, under the banner of Canadian Tamil Congress. Similar protests have been held in some other cities of Canada. Is the Harper government listening?

Kindly read the material below, including very many links describing the latest situation.

hari sharma
for SANSAD