INDIAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH INTO TRUE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER NO. 78 OF 16 JUNE 2018

1. NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.1 An apology

We are sorry that we could not produce the newsletter due on 16 February because of health reasons and a hectic visit to Pune.

1.2 Horror of sex life in the west

Reporter Jodi Kantor, helped bring down Harvey Weinstein. On 2 November 2017 accusations of sex abuse against film producer Harvey Weinstein have led to a flood of similar allegations across the world.

- Weinstein claims revealed -

On 5 October The New York Times publishes a report containing accusations of sexual harassment against Weinstein over nearly three decades. The movie mogul issues an apology and announces he is taking leave.

An avalanche of similar claims against him emerge over the following weeks, including from more than two dozen actresses such as Rosanna Arquette, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.

On 10 October The New Yorker publishes new allegations, including from three women who say they were raped by Weinstein. He denies ever forcing himself on anyone.

Police in New York, Los Angeles and London open criminal investigations.

- Kicked out, banned -

Days after the first claims emerge, Weinstein is fired as co-chairman of his film studio.

On October 11 the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) suspends Weinstein's membership immediately.

The following day he is expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars.

France's President Emmanuel Macron says he will revoke the prestigious Legion d'Honneur presented to Weinstein in 2012.

At the end of the month, the Producers Guild of America announces it has banned Weinstein for life.

Since then, women have found courage—and abusive men have found consequences.

This episode also led to #metoo online movement. Thousands of women came forward claiming that they too were raped or sexually harassed during their career they have been raped / kissed/ touched. It was used more than 1.7 million times in just five days, according to the French social media monitoring platform Visibrain.

Others emerge such as #balancetonporc ("Rat out your pig") in French and #quellavoltache ("The time that") in Italian.

Going on the record about these things is not easy. It wasn't easy then and I'm not sure it's easy now, even in the #Metoo moment, even if many, many women come forward, I still find, every day, that many women are still scared.

Women don't want to speak out because it's not going to lead anywhere. They don't want their efforts to be in vain. For some women, that Trump was elected despite the allegations of sexual misconduct against him was really discouraging. [There was] a feeling that nothing could be done and that speaking up wasn't worth it.

The campaign leads to allegations against a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, a South African football chief and a prominent French Islamic scholar.

- More claims in Hollywood -

US actor Anthony Rapp reveals late October that "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey made sexual advances on him when he was a teenager, about 30 years ago.

Days later a Mexican actor makes similar allegations against Spacey.

Allegations also emerge against Hollywood directors Brett Ratner and James Toback, and actor Dustin Hoffman.

Sex harassment claims, from Hollywood to Westminster

Following renewed scrutiny prompted by the Weinstein affair, claims of a culture of sexual harassment mount in the British parliament.

Prime Minister Theresa May calls for tougher rules governing MPs' conduct after a minister is accused of asking his secretary to buy sex toys.

On 1 November Sir Michael Fallon has resigned as Defence Secretary, days after he apologised for touching a journalist’s knee in 2002. The Sevenoaks MP admitted he had "fallen below" acceptable standards and had since "reflected on my position".

and is therefore resigning as Defence Secretary."

As questions over "allegations" against MPs brewed in Parliament, Theresa May was accused of failing to act over warnings about historical claims of a Westminster sex scandal cover-up.

Labour MP Lisa Nandy said she told the then-Home Secretary years ago about allegations Tory whips had "used information about sexual abuse to demand loyalty from MPs".

(Party Whips are aware of sexual misbehaviour – keep dossier on all M.Ps use to blackmail them -vote for the party in crucial voting.)

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Ms Nandy said: "I brought that information to her in this House and I warned her at the time that unless real action was taken we risked repeating those injustices again today."

The Independent reported – Commons intern says he was sexually assaulted by MP

A former parliamentary intern has said he was sexually assaulted outside a Westminster bar, but was told he could not complain and keep his anonymity. James Greenhalgh, who didn't know the MP, has told the BBC he "felt violated". When he tried to report the assault some time later, the MP’s party said it could not proceed with the complaint unless Mr Greenhalgh waived his anonymity.

>> Damian Green, 61, First Secretary of State (effectively Deputy P.M.) Mrs May’s most trusted confidant in the cabinet had to resign for his sexual misbehaviour and lying about pronographic aterial on his computer.

On 20 December 2017 Theresa May sacked Damian Green after he was found to have lied over the porn found on an office computer. Green was “asked to resign” by the Prime Minister – a friend of thirty years.

The actor Dustin Hoffman has been accused of sexual assault against a girl when she was 17 years old. Anna Graham Hunter, now an author, claims she was groped on several occasions by the actor while she worked as a production assistant on the 1985 film Death Of A Salesman. Hoffman, now 80, is said to have spoken openly about sex with the then 17-year-old, and allegedly told her he wanted a "hard-boiled egg and a soft-boiled clitoris" when she took his breakfast order.

Such scandalsare prevalent in all areas of public life

Sports – Rugby / Football / Tennis

Entertainment – TV / Theatre / Radio

Journalism – Newspapers

Banking / Finance

Industries

Politics (Parliament, research assistants, correspondents,)

M.Ps employ their own staff and can get away with this mischief. These should be employed by the civil service so that they have no fear of losing their jobs.

Church – priests and nuns

Want promotion? Career advancement – sexual favours are required. Touching, caressing, kissing, sexual intercourse. Rape will be denied – it was after consent

men will argue.

Many women had to bear sexual harassment if they wanted careers / advancements / promotions /keep quiet if you want to continue working.

Explosion of sexual misbehaviour/ exploitations

This is the ghastly picture of sexual life in the west. We had long been fooled by glamour, publicity and show. In 1969 I used to read Men Only magazine. Once it published experience of an actress. She said, “It is well known what sexual favours Marylen Munrow had to perform to get her parts, publicity and glamour.” Now we know the ghastly truth.

1.3 Britain

1.3.1 Plastic Problem

After David Attenborough’s TV programme about how plastic waste is damaging marine life, the world has suddenly woken up. Paper has been replaced by plastic in all consumer products.

Not long time ago we used to get milk bottles delivered to our door step. After use we used to put empty bottles on outside the houses to be picked up by milkman. These were then cleaned and reused. But with a EU directive all this changed. We started getting milk in plastic bottles. These could not be returned and recycled. This created waste of plastic.

Now there is panic.

There is also a side effect to be considered. Those who were not clever or intelligent but were prepared to work hard became milkmen. They used to get up very early in the morning, go to the milk depot, collect milk bottles (3 types – gold, red and white tops), deliver to our door steps, collect empty bottles and collect monies every week. They thus provided a valuable service to society. Old people used to see a human face at least once a week. In addition they used to alert social service / police if there was any suspicious activity – if milk bottles were not collected. EU directive made the milkmen redundant.

Are we going back to square one?

1.3.2 Brexit – madness

One by one by November / December 2017 Britain has made all the concession. She will pay a hefty price for Divorce Bill (£50 billion) All EU Nationals (some 3 million of them) will have right to stay in Britain. So can their parents and even grand-parents, and children and grand-children. So, where is the control on immigration? Moreover rights of EU citizens will be guaranteed by EU judges for next 8 years.

By mid December 2017 British High Court has ruled that the British practice of deporting homeless EU citizens is illegal as it is against EU rules.

Labour party is behaving badly. They are asking the Government to disclose the impact NO DEAL will have on various sectors of the economy. How foolish that will be when negotiations with EU are taking place. Of course Government had to say that there has been no study of impact of no deal.

1.3.3 Fantasy of free market economy

In 2017, during the annual Conservative party conference, Mrs May praised free market economy which is now prevalent in all democracies. How wrong she was. Let us see -

Internships

Many firms offer internships to young graduates. They have to work free, pay for transport, accommodation and food. Only rich can afford as they get support from parents. There is no guarantee of job at the end of internship. The internee can only say – he / she has some work experience. Govt says people who are affected should sue – what nonsense! Would you ever get a job if you did? You can’t get a reference if you did!

This reminds me of the 1930s recession. Bombay Municipal Corporation would employ Civil Engineers who had to work free for 3 years. Those who could afford later became Executive Engineers / City Engineers in the 1960s.

Transport

Transport facilities are vital for business / industries. British Govt invests money in Cross Rail in London (East- West connection). They may invest in Cross Rail2 (North-South), but when it comes to investing similar monies for improving transport facilities in North England – local businesses must raise the money. The areas affected are - Manchester / Liverpool / Leeds / Sheffield.

Diesel cars – DPS attachments can be removed (garages advertise for this) then the cars will pass MOT. Govt has to intervene – make this illegal – the world is not full of Good Samaritans.

PFI – chickens are coming to roost.

This ploy was used by governments for quick results. Private companies were given contracts. They would put up the money and get the jobs done. They will be paid at a later date. But now the truth is coming to light. The private companies will get return on exhorbitant rates causing various authorities (like schools / hospitals) which have to live with the consequences. Now the labour party is awakening to the situation.

In Hindi they say – Ghee dekha lekin badga nahi dekha. Cat sees Ghee but not the stick which will hit him.

Expenses scandal – came to light in 2008/9. Unit had to be set up to check the expenses of M.Ps. Now that costs more money than the scandalous looting by M.Ps

M.Ps have a code of conduct! There is a Standards committee- sex scandal too is being exposed.

Car Parking charges. Local authorities / Hospitals and similar institutions had out sourced this service. But private contractors are atrocious / money grabbing business – Govt had to intervene.

Bank rates

In October 2017 Bank of England raised base interest rate from 0.25% to 0.50% But Banks and Building Societies did not raise their interest rates on their deposits. However when Bank of England lowered the rate from 0.50% to 0.25% after the Brexit referendum

the same institutions were quick to decrease their interest rates on deposits. That is not free market economy!

Banking crisis

Britain faced major banking crisis in 2008. Banks had lent recklessly. So, why did not the British Government allow banks to go bankrupt, if they believed in Free Maket economy.

Government had to pump in millions of pounds to save the economy. That money will never be recovered – forget about the interest on that pumped millions!

Privatisation of British Rail – Railtrack owned track / stations / signalling and power supplying. In the end it went bankrupt. Govt had to take it over. Network Rail was formed – an organisation not for profit.

Track maintenance was outsourced, but after many serious accidents – had to taken back

‘in house’.

East Coast Mainline – private company went bankrupt – Govt took it over / it was run profitably, but because of ideological reasons – given back to private company. But again Govt has to take back in its hands after its operators confessed they could no longer afford to run it. The service was last renationalised in 2009 and, much to the embarrassment of neoliberal fanatics, proved a success story: it brought the exchequer hundreds of millions of pounds, was the most efficient franchise, and had the best passenger satisfaction of any long-distance franchise. After its privatisation, its new managers abolished many cheap advance tickets, de facto doubling some fares.

The whole privately run rail system is an inefficient, fragmented mess, enjoying far higher public subsidies than British Rail while offering some of the most expensive tickets in the western world. The entire rail system, not just East Coast, should be nationalised: but the Tories’ neoliberal dogma is at war with common sense, and they will flog the franchise off to another disastrous gang of profiteers as early as they can.

Several train companies face similar struggles to Stagecoach and Virgin after overbidding for franchises and events may yet force Transport Secretary’s hand again.

Will East Coast rail services remain nationalised?

It’s not the plan, but it’s possible. The pressure to avoid any further franchise collapse – or to see Stagecoach-Virgin emerge as operators again, with a diminishing market of bidders – could see the government struggle to get a new operator in place.

1.3.4Imperial arrogance has not gone.

The British arestill under an illusion that they are a world power. Here are some examples.

Not long ago North Korea had resorted to explosion of atom bombs and long range missiles. There were signs that America will militarily attack North Korea. Mrs May said – Britain will take part in any military action against N Korea.

Foreign Secretary Borris Johnson was on tour of Australia. He said, “Britain will send troops to South Asian countries.”

British PM May pledges to protect Europe from Russian threats

Business Insider UK 13 November 2017

London (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday the government would maintain its commitment to protecting Europe after Brexit as she accused Russia of military aggression and meddling in elections.

The prime minister said Britain would continue to provide assistance to states that were victims of aggression.

"The UK will remain unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe's security," May said in a speech at the Guildhall in London's financial district. ………The country has bigger defence budgets than any other EU member state and its diplomatic and intelligence services are among the most extensive in Europe.

(Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

In November 2017 Sue Perkins presented a TV programme on her visit to North India. It was called The Ganges with Sue Perkins. She still used the word Ganges instead of Ganga

1.3.5 Blacklistingof workers

At present famous Big Ben clock tower in London is undergoing extensive repairs. But there were demands that the contractor MaCalpines should be dismissed as they practised Blacklising – a highly disgraceful practice by which trade union activists would not get jobs as they raised concerns about unsafe practices of employers and fought for workers’ rights. Very little is known of this ugly face of capitalism.

This practice was exposed in 2008.

1.3.6 Cruelty to children

Fitness instructor who murdered his 18-month-old adopted daughter is jailed for life

Andy Wells, Yahoo News 7 November 2017

A father who murdered his daughter just two weeks after formally adopting her has been handed a life sentence. Matthew Scully-Hicks, 31, must serve a minimum of 18 years after violently shaking 18-month-old Elsie Scully-Hicks and striking her head at their home in Llandaff, Cardiff, in May 2016.

He described the toddler as “a psycho”, “the exorcist” and “Satan dressed up in a Baby grow” in text messages to friends and family members.

Cardiff Crown Court heard he struggled to cope with being the primary carer for Elsie (the girl) who suffered severe injuries that caused her death.

Scully-Hicks denied murder but a jury unanimously convicted him of the charge on Monday following a four-week trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Davies said: “Elsie was aged just 18 months when you killed her, a young, vulnerable and defenceless child.

“She had been entrusted to the care of yourself and your husband, Craig Scully-Hicks, her adoptive fathers.

“Shortly before 18.19pm on May 25 2016 you inflicted injuries of such severity upon Elsie as to cause her immediate collapse and her death on May 29.

“The injuries were sustained when you gripped Elsie around the chest, your fingers were on her back exerting pressure which fractured her ribs.

“The fracture to the skull was caused by an impact with a hard surface. Her collapse would have swiftly followed, that having occurred you called the emergency services.”

The judge said Scully-Hicks’s case was aggravated by Elsie’s vulnerability due to her age and an abuse of a position of trust and told him that he had shown no remorse for his crime. She said Elsie’s fatal injuries were inflicted between meal time and bed time – a time when Elsie was known to cry. The judge went on: ”The force which you used in gripping Elsie was sufficient to cause the fractures of the ribs, the shaking sufficient to cause severe brain and eye injury.

“In deliberately inflicting serious injuries upon your 18-month-old adoptive daughter you abused the trust which had been placed in you as Elsie’s adoptive father. It was a gross abuse of that trust.

Birth family of toddler murdered by adoptive father say she would still be alive if they had been given custody.

>>Our Comment -Once again, a serious case review will take place, lessons will be learnt and forgotten. Poor children of Britain. They will continue to suffer.

1.3.7 Domestic violence

Another ugly fact – BBC 3 counties radio – 19 November 2017 about 11 a.m.

Men are using threat of torturing pets used to control partners (women) to prevent them reporting domestic violence!

Men also play a dirty game. When they are party to joint bank account, they will not agree to close that account and Bank refuse to remove women’s name from it. Man can overdraw and even go bankrupt and the woman has to pay full bill.

1.3.8 Immigration – alarming signs

In April Godbole had recently filled in a form for Hospital appointment and found two questions disturbing, namely -

(1) Where have you lived for the last 12 months? Inside / Outside the UK

(2) Can you show that you have the right to live here? You may be asked to produce evidence of residency

So, he circulated this among his friends and asked - Has anyone faced difficulty on either score?

How naive are our people! Six friends replied, four being doctors. They merely repeated what the Government says. No thinking of wider implications. None could quote their personal experience of having witnessed misuse of NHS by non-British people.

The gust was – You have nothing to worry about

Number of illegal immigrants who are entering the system is too high and needs to be curbed. This is one way of doing it

May be it is to find out about the illegal immigrants.

This is needed so that people who don’t have access to free health care are charged accordingly. NHS looses a lot of money if these patients are treated and can’t pay or recover the fees. I know it is disturbing but needed.

Many sensitive questions will be asked and perhaps it is right .

NHS are asking question to see if you are genine UK citizen..as there are so many people taking advantage for UK hospitality and free NHS - this is first step towards right people getting treatment

This form is only to separate the illegals from the genuine.

I think first question is about carrying back infections from overseas. 2nd question is to get the payment if person has no right to stay or use public funds.

Theses are 2 legitimate questions - nothing wrong with these.

By telling staff where have you been in last 12 months they have to prepare for any sirprising factors - e.g. dengu etc if you travel indian subcontinate. or some issues if you travelled to south america region.

(One does not get an appointment with a Hospital Consultant directly. We have to go through a G.P. who would ask such questions.Our doctor friends do not even read notices displayed in their own hospitals. It is clearly stated that – just because you have British Passport does not mean you are entitled to free health care. If you have been away from U.K for more than 6 months you will be charged.)

Windrush scandal

At the end of world war in 1945 Britain faced severe shortage of workers. So, they invited men and women from the Caribbean countries to come and work in England. This helped transport ( Buses / trams / trains / London Underground) and health service. Empire Windrush was the ship which brought first load of such people in June 1948. Those West Indians lived in England all their lives, paid taxes, had children and grand-children. And all of a sudden they were declared as illegal immigrants. Some were deported, some were denied visas to come back to England. Many lost their jobs, their bank accounts were closed, many lost homes and were denied rented accommodation and medical treatment. This caused an uproar. Even right wing paper The Daily Mail was furious. In the end Prime Minister Mrs May had to apologise and Home Secretay Amber Rudd had to resign.

With madness of outsourcing work to private companies the Home Office has given work of immigtation to private company. They will be paid on the basis of number people deported from U.K. with disastrous results.

* NHS hospitals had reported that 150 Indian doctors are being denied visas though they are desperately needed.

* It was also reported that1,500 highly skilled professionals are being denied extension to their visas for making the slightest mistakes in their aplication forms

On 21 May Peter Stubley reported for The Independent a tragic case

Hamza Idris is an engineering graduate who was caught up in the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion faces being kicked out of the UK next month under the government's 'hostile' immigration regime.

He is 24, worked as an assistant facilities manager on the company's contracts in London for 18 months before it went bust in January. He was taken on by another private firm which took over Carillion's services contracts, but has now been blocked from working by the Home Office.

Officials claim his visa cannot be transferred to his new employers by Carillion because it is in liquidation (any excuse to kick out immigrants. Home Office make new rules ) On 17 April Mr Idris, who came to the UK from Nigeria as a student in 2011, was sent a 'notice of curtailment' telling him to make arrangements to leave the UK.

His only alternatives are to re-apply for his own job or find work with another company wiling to sponsor his visa.

Even then they will have to satisfy the 'resident labour market test' to show there are no other suitable candidates already living permanently in the UK.

A new visa will cost Mr Idris around £1,500, money he simply does not have now that he is out of work and living with friends in Birmingham. "It is a slap in the face," he told The Independent. "All I want is my job and my life back in the UK.

He said "If a new company bought out Carillion I wouldn't have this problem but because it went into liquidation this is the result. "The Home Office say that Carillion doesn't exist, they can't automatically transfer me over, which doesn't make any sense because Carillion is still on the sponsor register.

Mr Idris earned a degree in computer systems engineering at the University of Birmingham and a masters in engineering project management at the University of Manchester before winning a place on Carillion's graduate scheme.

>Here we have a skilled person being denied a visa, yet we are allowing millions of unskilled in to do whatever and claim whatever they want. At least he is working and paying taxes.

1.3.9General

It seems that Britain is fast turning into a third world country. Nothing seems to go right.

Railways

On 21 May new railway timetables were introduced. Instead of improved services there was wide spread chaos. There were many cancellations and delays. And the new time tables did not cater for needs of passengers. Many school children will have to change trains twice, instead of once – that is disgraceful.

TSB bank had computer led crisis to online banking. Many customers did not get access to their accounts. Their standing orders were not paid and with automation this showed that they had defaulted on their payments, affecting their credit ratings.

Fly tipping

This has grown on a massive, unimaginable scale. Worst still was reporting in mass media. We were told that with strict budget controls most councils dod not have resources to catch and fine the culprits thus encouraging more fly tipping.

BMW Their cars have serious problems. They lose power suddenly. Imagine you are driving at 70 miles per hour and suddenly your car has no power. It will be frightening. This was disclosed on BBC programme Rogue Traders. BMW bosses refused to appear on the show. These cars also catch fire when stationery.

AND now BMW has recalled 300,000 cars for checking.

Washing machines

Many catch fire as fluff get caught on hot elements. Even when the machines are modified they still catch fire.

Breast cancer

Due to computer problems thousands of women were not called for screening for breast cancer. A few hundred may die as a result.

Junior doctors

Again due to computer errors, 1,500 junior doctors have been told that the posts which they were offered are no longer valid.

This is prepostrous. Many have given notice to landlords to leave. Many will be in financial difficulty. Many will lose opportunities of another employment.

Madness of privatisation

In January 2018 construction company Carillion went into liquidation with debts of up to £7bn, including £2.6bn in pension liabilities.

The MPs called for the Government to launch an ambitious and wide-ranging overhaul of corporate accountability, finding that successive administrations allowed Carillion to become a "giant and unsustainable corporate time bomb".

In their final report they said the primary responsibility must rest with the company's board, finding its actions were driven by "greed" through higher financial rewards for themselves aided by improved dividends for shareholders.

The report accused Carillion of masking its true financial state through accounting practice "tricks" that hid higher levels of borrowing, contract losses and exploited suppliers.

Another was that the Competition and Markets Authority should look again at potentially breaking up the so-called big four accountancy firms of KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and EY or splitting their audit functions from non-audit services.

The committees said the Carillion debacle had "exposed the UK's audit market as a cosy club incapable of providing the degree of independent challenge needed".

They have previously estimated earnings of £71.6m for professional services companies in Carillion-related work since 2008.

The MPs also accused the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) of being too timid to exercise their powers, which could have saved jobs and pension cash.

Carillion employed 19,000 staff in the UK at the time of its demise. To date, 2,301 jobs have been lost amid efforts to keep Carillion's work going in both the public and private sectors.

Frank Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee, said the findings exposed a series of failings.

"A board of directors too busy stuffing their mouths with gold to show any concern for the welfare of their workforce or their pensioners.

---------------

Given beow is an interesting article on the subject

Carillion is no one-off scandal. Neoliberalism will bring many more

Owen Jones /The Guardian 16 May 2018

Carillion is no isolated failure, no fluke, no aberration. It is another symptom of a decaying social order that is anti-democratic, inefficient and places profit ahead of people’s needs, aspirations and even lives. That social order is neoliberalism, understanding that Carillion is just one manifestation of a failing system: one which rolls back the public sphere everywhere in favour of the private sector, which slashes taxes on big corporations and wealthy people, and one which obsessively deregulates.

“A story of recklessness, hubris and greed” is the judgment of MPs on two select committees, published on Wednesday, on Carillion; it would be as a good an epitaph for neoliberalism as any. The business model of a company that built roads and hospitals, served children school meals and provided defence accommodation was “a relentless dash for cash”, the MPs declared. However profitable, it “increased its dividend every year, come what may”. Their accounts “were systematically manipulated”. As the company began collapsing, “the board was concerned with increasing and protecting generous executive bonuses”.

Appropriately enough, Carillion chair Philip Green advised both David Cameron and Theresa May on “corporate responsibility”. Regulators were toothless. The “big four” accounting firms – PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG – acted as a “cosy” club, approving “fantastical figures”, failing to identify or simply ignoring catastrophic internal problems. They pocketed vast sums of money in exchange for granting a disastrous taxpayer-fed company their seals of respectability. “Carillion could happen again, and soon,” the MPs concluded.

Damn right it could. The whole system of delivering essential public services through companies driven, by definition, for profit guarantees that it will. According to National Audit Office figures from 2016, the government spends around £225bn on private and voluntary providers – almost 30% of all government expenditure. It is worth noting the wider role of the big four accounting firms. They are seconded to government, help draw up the tax laws, then help their clients avoid the very laws they have helped to design.

Let us consider the multiple failures and scandals generated by our neoliberal social order.

Remember Serco, which was charged with the electronic tagging of offenders. But Serco, driven by profit, overcharged the state more than £68m by invoicing for the tagging of offenders who were not being monitored, who were back behind bars, or were simply dead. And then there was G4S, offered the Olympics security contract. When it failed in its duties, the state had to march to the rescue in the shape of the British army. Even Philip Hammond – then then Tory defence secretary – admitted that he’d had a “prejudice that we have to look at the way the private sector does things to know how we should do things in government” but that the G4S incident “is quite informative.”

There are also scandals in local government,the NHS and the care sector.After non-urgent NHS transport services were privatised in Sussex in 2016, hundreds of cancer and kidney patients missed appointments after ambulances failed to arrive.

In 2011, Southern Cross – owned by private equity group Blackstone – collapsed.

Today, Four Seasons Health Care, the nation’s second biggest provider of care homes for older people, is hundreds of millions in debt and has closed or sold many homes.

The private finance initiative, conceived under John Major and massively expanded by New Labour, locks the government into contracts of up to three decades with private companies to build schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. There are now 700 projects in operation that can cost up to 40% more than if they had been financed by government borrowing.

From water privatisation – which has left English consumers paying more than £2.3bn more a year than nationalisation, with even the Financial Times calling it “an organised rip-off” – to the banking collapse, Carillion is no isolated scandal. This is not the story of one company’s obsession with profit over public service, it is the inevitable consequence of a fundamentally rotten system that is anti-democratic: the state is locked into generation-long contracts, however inefficient and poor they may be, while elected politicians have abdicated many of their core powers to the market.

Since the dawn of neoliberalism in the late 1970s, Britain has suffered its worst three slumps of the postwar era, as well as lower growth that has been less equitably distributed. In the past decade, workers have suffered the worst squeeze in wages in modern times. All of this is interlinked: from privatisation to deregulation to the shifting of power from workers to bosses. Carillion is a story of a system that favours profit, dividends and shareholders’ interests over the common good. That system is neoliberalism. Until we have a government that rips up these contracts and brings all these public services back in-house, there will be many more Carillions to come.

1.4 Europe /

1.4.1 Germany Germany has two Main political parties – Christian Democrat Union (Angela Merkel)

– Christian Social Union

So, it is o.k. to be a Christian in Germany, but a Hindu in India? Good heavens NO. That is a sin in the eyes of white people.

1.4.2 Austria

Muslim terror

Evening Standard 8 June 2018 reported on page 23 Austria: Turkish Mosques Shut Down In a crackdown on ‘political Islam’ seven mosques will be closed and imams expelled under laws baning foreign funding of religious groups. A hardline Turkish nationalist mosque in Vienna is to be shut and a group called Arab Religious Community which runs six mosques is being dissolved. Interior minister Herbert Kicki said residence permits of around 40 imams employed by ATIB, which oversees Turkish mosques in Austria are being reviewed Conservative chanceller Sebastian Kurz governs in a coalition with the far right Freedom Party

1.5 Democratic Republic of Congo

200,000 displaced by ethnic clashes in DR Congo: AFP 13 February 2018

Heavily armed militiamen guard a party office in Bunia, the main city in the volatile Ituri province

About 200,000 people have been displaced in ethnic clashes since mid-December in the northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a humanitarian source told AFP Tuesday.

Another humanitarian source said "on an average 800 people are arriving daily" in Bunia, the main city in the region, due to fighting between the Hema and Lendu communities. Hema herders and Lendu farmers have been locked in violence in Ituri for decades, with tens of thousands killed from 1999 to 2003.

"Since mid-December about 200,000 people have been displaced in Ituri due to the violence," the first humanitarian source said.

The UN in Kampala meanwhile said over 22,000 refugees had fled to Uganda recently to escape violence has left several dead and villages torched.

At least four refugees drowned while crossing the waters of Lake Albert between the two nations, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said. "Last week, over 22,000 Congolese crossed Lake Albert to Uganda in three days, bringing the total number of people from the DRC arriving in the country to about 34,000 since the beginning of the year," UNHCR said Tuesday. "The refugees use small canoes or overcrowded and rickety fishing boats, often carrying more than 250 people and taking up to 10 hours to cross.""Refugees crossing to Uganda talk of growing attacks against civilian populations, as well as killings and destruction of private property," the UN statement read. "UNHCR staff also received many reports of civilians being hacked to death and killed with arrows." Ituri is part of DRC's deeply troubled eastern region that includes the restive North and South Kivu provinces, where militias hold sway over huge areas. The latest violence comes amid uncertainty over the future of President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001.

Our comments – But there is no tyranny of Brahmins, no caste system, so why the bloodbath?

1.6 America

President Donald Trump has decided to nullify all the international obligations made by previous administration. He has withdrawn from Paris treaty on climate. Now he has withdrawn from Asia Pacific trade pact.

AFP 11 November 2017

After days of talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Danang, the so-called TPP-11 nations made a breakthrough early Saturday, a day after Donald Trump's ladled out more 'America First' rhetoric in an address to world leaders

Remaining members of a major Pacific trade deal abandoned by the United States have agreed to a new framework after days of stalled talks to revive the pact, Canada's trade minister said Saturday.

Francois-Philippe Champagne welcomed the breakthrough in a tweet as "big progress" and shared a statement saying his government had agreed to "a framework for a new Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership" after holding out for strict labour and environmental clauses.

Those elements were thrown into jeopardy by America's sudden withdrawal from the deal earlier this year, which forced the remaining 11 countries involved in the pact to reconsider the merits of a deal suddenly shorn of access to the world's largest economy.

Canada welcomed "a new agreement" with environmental and labour protections linked to freer markets. Canada had dug in over those progressive clauses.

But they are much less attractive to countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Chile and Peru now that the carrot of access to the huge US market has been pulled.

1.7 Hindusthan

1.7.1 Godbole’s visit to Pune

Godbole and his wife visited Pune in February / March 2018

Through Vinayak Renke, who had participated in Special London Tour, Godbole met Sau Vinata Joshi, one of the grand-daughters of Dr Narayanrao, younger brother of Veer Savarkar. She sings songs in praise of Savarkar at public functions.

Those two organised a PowerPoint presentation for Godbole of Special Historical Tour of London.Some 150 people attended.

The venue was a hall erected on the site where Savarkar, then a college student organised a bonfire of English clothes in October 1905.

Second function was arranged by Godbole’s neice Sau Medha Puranik, an Orthopaedic doctor at her home.

Subject was Savarkar we did not understand / appreciate. Savarkar was in Cellular jail on Andaman Islands for 11 years, but he created enormous upheavel in Indian politics by creating awareness among the educated population. This aspect has been ignored by most. Gandhi benefited enormously from this awakening.

General observations

Elections in 2019

It is surprising that even Hindutvavadis like Raj Thakare and Uddhav Thakare want to see Modi-mukt bharat.

It was disgusting to see Anna Hazare touching feet of Sonia Gandhi and seeking her blessing. He wants to lay down his life to see Modi defeated.

Kumar Ketkar is well known communist. He said, “Modi has been a disaster. God help us if he comes to power again.”

Advocate Setalwad of Mumbai even dreams of Mamata Banerjee becoming Indian Prime Minister.

* Godboles have decided to pay some some for charities in Hinsudthan every year.

+ Ola taxis provide good service

>One meet people, have good discussions, they make promises, but once we return to England there is no contact, no response to E Mails.

1.7.2 Taj Mahal and RSS

Our friend Kumar Arun from America sent us follwing E Mail on 27 October 2017

Subject: Modi's Dubious Personality Exposed!

Dear Fellow Bharatiya,

Please read this report published by India Today. May I remind you also to remember the words spoken by a MLA in Uttar Pradesh - Mr. Sangeet Som and also refresh your memory about Modi's scolding to this MLA for saying the same thing published here. Now, you tell me how should I believe in my PM-Modi that he has been reforming India into Hindusthan?

Dr. Kumar Arun / Delhi, Oct 27th

Ban namaz at Taj Mahal or allow Shiva prayers too, demands RSS' history wing

India Today / Anand Patel October 27, 2017

RSS affiliate body's National Organisation Secretary Dr Balmukund Pandey in an exclusive conversation with India Today said, "Taj is a national heritage- why allow Muslims to use it as a religious site? Permission to perform namaz at Agra's Taj Mahal should be withdrawn."

Adding more fuel to the fire, Dr Pandey also demanded that if namaz is allowed then permission to perform Shiva prayers be also granted to the Hindus.

Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays to facilitate Muslim prayers.

Just a couple of days ago, members of a right wing organisation- Hindu Yuva Vahini were forcibly taken away by security personnel for attempting to recite 'Shiv Chalisaa' (Hymn to Lord Shiva) inside Taj premises. The workers were demanding rights to perform prayers claiming Taj was a Shiva Temple before it was converted into a mausoleum.

"There is ample evidence that Taj Mahal was a Shiva Temple constructed by a Hindu King, Taj is not a symbol of love, Emperor Shahjahan married within four months of his queen Mumtaz Mahal'a demise," claims Dr Pandey. "We are collecting evidence and will soon detail every aspect of it," he added.

"Our organisation is compiling a list all such monuments which were demolished by the Muslim rulers to construct mausoleums or other buildings," he further added.

Akhil Bhartiya Itihaas Sankalan Samiti is the history wing of RSS with stated objective of writing, or rewriting Indian history from a national perspective.

>> Godbole replied -

Dear Shree Kumar,

Let us set aside Modi for a moment. There is a lot we can do which we are not doing.

(1) I visited Taj Mahal in 1981. Two devotees of P N Oak came to see me there. They said - Taj Mahal can be seen in half a day. We can spend other half in Red Fort and next day we can go to Bateshwar. I told them to hold their horses. We spent 2 days in Taj Mahal and still have not finished our visit. We had no meals, not even tea.

After returning to England I spent 4 months to prepare a Tourist Guide to Taj Mahal.

FOR LAST 35 YEARS I HAVE NOT FOUND A SINGLE HINDU WHO WOULD GO TO SEE TAJ MAHAL WITH MY GUIDE.

(2) Taj Mahal is Raja Mansingh's Palace - vandalised but still in tact. This has been mentioned in many documents.

In 1896, Syed Muhammad Latif, in his book Agra Historical and Descriptive says - The site selected for mausoleum WAS late Raja Mansingh's palace.

Our historians have not bothered to read this.

(3) Agra District Gazetteer was compiled by H R Nevill, ICS in 1905. He mischievously changed the words Raja Mansingh's Palace into Raja Mansingh's piece of land. Everyone has blindly followed this line.

(4) It is foolhardy to say that a Shiva Temple was converted to Mausoleum. How could a Shiva Temple become Raja Mansingh's palace?

(5) Muslims rulers did not destroy Hindu buildings to build Tombs. Hindu structures ARE BEING MISUSED as Tombs. This can be clearly seen if you know where to look for signs of conversions.

(6) Sangh Parivar NEVER supported P N Oak. They utterly despised him. Oak wrote me a detailed letter about this. It covers the period from 1964 to 2006.

May I hope you visit Taj Mahal with my Tourist Guide and persuade Sangh Parivar to do the same.

V S Godbole

England

Alas, neither Kumar Arun nor Dr Pandey will ever visit Taj Mahal with my Tourist Guide

I am compiling an article on the subject reviewing events of last 37 years, pointing out our failures, inbility to seize opportunities that occurred. It is a sad story of why we did not make much headway and what we can do today.

In the recent pastmy Guide for visitors to this monument was sent to -

Sunil Sapre of Liverpool

Vidyakar Bhide of Pune

Stephen Knapp of America

Ravindra Rao of London

So far no one has visited Taj Mahal and obtained much needed information.

2. AROUND LONDON TOUR OF PLACES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS

In 2017, Prabhakar Joshi a businessman from Pune wanted to join the tour, but even on the last day he was busy with his negotiations.

Ashutosh Dharmadhikari lives in Spain. He learnt about our Special London Tours from Archana Seth of London. He is interested in the tour.

Late Sudheer Phadke was a well known, famous Marathi singer. His son Shreedhar Phadke is also a good singer. He performed four musical programmes in England. On 8 October 2017 his programme was Geet Ramayan. During the interval Godbole met Phadke and informed him of his Special London Tour and requested that Phadke should at least visit the house where Savarkar lived during 1906-09. He agreed and did so next day. Let us hope he spreads the word.

In May, Sadashiv Joshi, a senior citizen of Thane, Maharashtra with 3 family members came to London on Veenaworld travels. Their itenary was fixed by travel agency, but were interested in at least visiting the house where Savarkar used to live. He was given necessary information. Accordingly they did visit that house.

On 6th April (Friday) Godbole conducted first tour for Bhagwat Naphade and his wife. They are originally from Nagpur, but have been living in Jakarta (Indonesia) for last 20 years. It was cold and hot all day. Entrance to Gray’s Inn was closed and we had to take a long detour to get in. The tour ended at 20:30 hrs.

On 28th May Godbole conducted second tour for Ajinkya Deodhar of Basildon and his family. He works for Fords. It was cold and windy all day. Once again entrance to Gray’s Inn was closed. There were no trains between Bedford and Luton all day and the tour ended at 20:30 hrs.

On 9 June Godbole conducted third tour for Aditya Deodhar of Basildon and his family. Dr Sugandha Shah and others also joined in. In all there were 15 participants. London was busy with trooping of colours event.

Further toursare planned on 17th and 23 rd June.

3. BEHAVIOUR OF CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS TODAY

3.1 The Christians

AFP 11 November 2017

Hundreds of Long-Lost Anonymous Medieval Jewish Graves Discovered in Italy

Kastalia Medrano / Newsweek 09 November 2017

The largest medieval Jewish cemetery known to have ever existed in Italy has been rediscovered, nearly 500 years after it was desecrated.

Bologna Mayor Virginio Merola announced the discovery at a news conference this week, but archaeologists began discovering the more than 400 graves back in 2012. The regional superintendent gave a statement during the conference confirming that men, women, and children had all been buried on the site, and that some of the graves included ornaments made variously of gold, silver, bronze, hard stones, or amber.

“It is a unique discovery,” Merola said according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It is an enrichment of the cultural story of our city and of the presence of the Jewish community in Bologna.”

Golden rings found among the remains of the Jewish cemetery in Bologna. Archivio SABAP-BO, 2017 – Roberto Macrì

The cemetery was rediscovered in Via Orfeo, in central-Northern Italy, when excavation of the area began for a residential construction project. It dates back to the 1390s, and was destroyed when Pope Pius V banished Jews from the region in 1569. At the time, only Jews in Rome and Ancona were permitted to remain.

The pope’s instructions to local nuns were to “to dig up and send, wherever they want, the bodies, bones and remains of the dead: to demolish, or convert to other forms, the graves built by the Jews, including those made for living people: to remove completely, or scrape off the inscriptions or epitaphs carved in the marble.”

Between its desecration and present day, the site was referred to vaguely as the “Jewish Garden.” The superintendent described the graves as “perfectly aligned in parallel rows, with ditches dug in an east-west direction and the heads of the dead on the west end.”

Archaeologists believe that four of the gravestones on display at the Bologna Civic Medieval Museum originated in this cemetery. About 150 of its graves had been desecrated, and no new tombstones have been recovered. Chief Rabbi of Bologna Alberto Sermoneta said the remains that were recovered should receive a dignified reburial ceremony.

A collaboration between the Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the City of Bologna, the University of Bologna, the Jewish Community of Bologna, and others will work to restore the cemetery. With the help of municipal government, they intend to create a “memory recovery” plan to preserve the Jewish cultural heritage of the region.

3.2 The Muslims

3.2.1 British Passports

I recently got an application for renewal of my British passport. There is a leaflet giving all the information about documents required. I will need two photos. But what kind of photos will be accepted? There are some pictures for guidance and behold – a Muslim woman can wear hijab covering her head and ears as it is part of her religion.

3.2.2 Muslims from Burma

Everybody is now concerned about plight of Muslims from Burma.

'It looks like ethnic cleansing': Theresa May vows to tackle 'inhuman destruction of the Rohingya people' 13 November 2017

Boris Johnson visits Burma and tells Asan Sang Su chi that she does not understand Rohingya crisis. - February 2018

Australians also criticised Burmese treatment of these people, but refused to allow any to land in their country.

Rujuta Vaidya reported on 22 May 2018

Priyanka Chopra, at no point has let her social responsibilities as a public figure slide. In that spirit, the Quantico star paid a visit to the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar yesterday as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Chopra’s work with the organisation is particularly targeted towards promoting the rights of children and adolescents. Yesterday, the actor raised awareness on her social media platforms by speaking about the need to protect and nurture the children affected by the Rohingya issue.

The Rohingya refugee crisis has caught international attention since it started in 2015. Hailing from the state of Rakhine in Myanmar, the Rohingya people are a Muslim minority (who follow Sunni Islam) and are considered “stateless entities” by their government. The group has faced unspeakable atrocities till now—genocide, being driven out of their homes, and being forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is home to government-run camps that offer shelter to such refugees. With the impending monsoon, these camps are risk encountering landslides and floods, and maybe even a cyclone.

Priyanka Chopra spent some time interacting with the children there, and posted a strong message on Instagram during her visit. “This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight. Through their smiles I could see the vacancy in their eyes. These children are at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis, and they desperately need our help. The world needs to care. We need to care. These kids are our future,” she commented, encouraging her followers to donate to support.unicef.org. The actor also met with the doctors on site, who are preparing to combat contagious water-borne diseases, and spoke about the need to raise funds to educate the children.

Of course Priyanka had to cover her head to look like a Muslim woman herself!

And now read this -

Hindu Men Massacred, Women Forced To ‘Agree’ To Convert To Islam By Rohingya Terrorists In Myanmar: Amnesty International

Author: Swarajya Staff / Publication: Swarajyamag.com / Date: May 23, 2018

An investigation conducted by human rights group Amnesty International has revealed that Rohingya terrorists operating in Myanmar had massacred around 99 Hindus living in the Rakhine state, BBC World has reported.

According to the report, the killings of Hindus took place during an uprising against the Burmese Army. A large number of Hindus - a small minority in the region - were displaced because of the conflict that followed.

The mass killings were carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) in a cluster of villages in northern Maungdaw. On 26 August, the terror group attacked the Hindu village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik.

"In this brutal and senseless act, members of Arsa captured scores of Hindu women, men and children and terrorised them before slaughtering them outside their own villages," the Amnesty International report says.

“They robbed, bound, and blindfolded them before marching them to the outskirts of the village, where they separated the men from the women and young children. A few hours later, the ARSA fighters killed 53 of the Hindus, execution-style, starting with the men,” the report prepared by the human rights group adds.

The terrorists forced Hindu women to ‘agree to convert’ to Islam, Amnesty says.

Bodies of at least 45 people from the village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik were unearthed in four mass graves in late September 2017. But Priyanka did not want to know

3.2.3 Migrant crisis

News on 12 June 2018. An appeal was made on Change.com

A dangerous violation of human rights has just taken place in the Mediterranean Sea. The rescue ship Aquarius carrying 629 migrants, including over 100 children, was turned away by the Italian authorities. I’m calling on Britain to apply pressure on the Italian government to uphold its obligation to human rights and allow rescue ships to dock.

I escaped from my country at the age of 17, from a fierce dictatorship, to avoid conscription for life. In my journey I suffered violence and imprisonment, I risked death, and I was rejected on the first attempt to cross the Mediterranean. In the end I managed to reach Italy. I survived but in the years since, thousands of other people with stories like mine did not make it.

Under the European Convention on Human Rights, Italy must welcome rescue ships. The Italian government played a dangerous game with the lives of those on board the Aquarius. Luckily Spain announced that it would welcome the ship, but next time it could end in tragedy.

This is why we need your support. We need you to call on Foreign Minister Boris Johnson to tell the Italian Government to #StayHuman: open your harbours and welcome rescue ships at your ports.

We also demand that all EU countries commit to opening their ports and welcoming refugees. EU governments must invest resources in search and rescue programs in the Mediterranean Sea and, at the same time, invest resources in the countries of migrants’ transit and adopt common policies on the migrants’ countries of origin.

Europe cannot continue to be a silent spectator of these tragic events in the Mediterranean. We must mobilise so episodes like this are never repeated. Migration must be tackled with policies that seriously involve all the countries of the EU. I ask you with all my heart:

Our Comments - Muslims play the same game again. They put unaccompanied children and pregnant women on board to arouse sympathy. And it works. (That’s why Allah is great).This time Spain has agreed to take in these migrants. Once in, they will insist on halal meat, women wearing burkha. They will never change. And at a later date the parents of the children will demand to be let in as they have human rights.Those unaccompanied children have right to family life in Europe, unlike Donald trump’s America.

3.2.4 Conflict in Yemen / Saudi Arabia

Our friend Sandya Jain of New Delhi sent us the following E Mail on 11 November 2017

Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS) is like no other prince that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has seen since its inception under the rule of his founding grandfather King Abdul Aziz in 1932 and the establishment of the Al-Saud dynasty that changed Arabia; including its name. Some argue that even the worst of humans can do a bit of good. The question is this; is MBS capable of doing any? MBS has been the architect of that awful and criminal war on Yemen. Tens of thousands of innocent Yemeni civilians have been killed either by Saudi-led raids or by starvation and diseases inflicted upon Yemen as a result of the war. Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni men, women and children are living under abject conditions; with lack of provisions, medication and basic requirements for survival.

>> This is how Muslims treat each other today. Arab Muslims treat fellow Arab Muslims. How will they have treated Hindus in the past?

3.2.5 Corruption in Saudi Arabia

On 15 November 2017 we had the following news

The House of Saud’s King Salman devises a high-powered “anti-corruption” commission and appoints his son, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS), as chairman. Right on cue, the commission detains 11 House of Saud princes, four current ministers and dozens of former princes/cabinet secretaries – all charged with corruption. Hefty bank accounts are frozen, private jets are grounded. The high-profile accused lot is “jailed” at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. War breaks out within the House of Saud, as Asia Times had anticipated back in July. Rumors have been swirling for months about a coup against MBS in the making. Instead, what just happened is yet another MBS pre-emptive coup.

What? Corruption in S Arabia? The richest country in the world? That too strictly Muslim country?

Yes. That is true.

3.2.6 Muslims in Europe

Effect of Brexit on Pakistanis from Kashmir(Mirpur) Yahoo News 28 October 2017 – there are 1 million residents of Pakistani origin majority from Kashmir’s Mirpur area.

One wonders if anyone knows size of Muslim population in Europe.

3.2.7 Islam in U.S.A

FBI: US soldier pledged allegiance to Islamic State group

Audrey McAvoy and Lolita C Baldor Associated Press 11 July 2017

Honolulu — An active duty soldier based in Hawaii pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group, helped purchase a drone for it to use against American forces and said he wanted to use his rifle to "kill a bunch of people," according to an FBI affidavit.

Ikaika Kang, 34, a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army, made an initial appearance Monday in federal court in Honolulu. He was arrested Saturday on terrorism charges after he swore allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the presence of an undercover agent, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case..

Paul Delacourt, the FBI special agent in charge of the Hawaii bureau, said Kang gave military documents to people he believed would give them to Islamic State, but none of them got to the organization.

Kang's behaviour had been suspect for years, FBI said.

"He was reprimanded on several occasions for threatening to hurt or kill other service members, and for arguing pro-ISIS views while at work and on-post," the affidavit said.

"Due to these remarks and threats, Kang's security clearance was revoked in 2012, but reinstated the following year after Kang complied with military requirements stemming from the investigation."

Kang was most recently working as an air traffic control operator. He had served about a year in Iraq in 2010-2011 and nine months in Afghanistan in 2013-2014, according to the Pentagon.

Killing of Jews

Kang also told the informant that "Hitler was right saying he believed in the mass killing of Jews." After taking the IS pledge, Kang told a confidential source that he wanted kill "a bunch of people." He owned an AR-15 assault rifle and a .40-caliber handgun and had also received extensive combat training, the FBI said.

Kang had given military documents to individuals who told him they would be passed along to the Islamic State group.

>He also made combat training videos for IS and helped purchase a drone that he said jihadist fighters could use to survey US tank positions.

Kang was charged with providing material support to the Islamic State group.

Our comments – He is only a sergeant, what would have happened if he was an officer?

Another news is also important / 20 December 2017

3.2.8Boston Jihadi Gets 28 Years in Plot to Behead Pamela Geller

The Boston Muslim who headed a plot to behead Pamela Geller was sentenced to 28 years yesterday. Upon his release from prison in 28 years, he was ordered to stay far away from Pamela Geller and those around her. The judge ordered a supervised release when the time came.

Our work gets jihadis imprisoned or killed.

Read Pamela Geller's full victim impact statement given to the court yesterday in the sentencing of Daoud Wright here.

Look at AFDI 2017 Highlights:

We unveiled a blockbuster bus and billboard campaign for our groudnbreaking new film, "Can’t We Talk About This? The Islamic Jihad Against Free Speech, a shocking new film and follow-up video series detailing the concerted effort by international organizations to compel the U.S. and other Western countries to curtail the freedom of speech and criminalize criticism of Islam.

AFDI has tangled with New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority on more than one occasion. They refused to run our ads, we sued multiple times, and we won multiple times. So for the first time in NYC transit history, the MTA banned political and issue related ads: the Geller ban.

Breitbart News: Dueling Billboards from CAIR, AFDI in Times Square

AFDI’s billboards ran our billboards in Times Square telling the truth at the same time CAIR’s a propaganda initiative promoting sharia finance.

MILO joined our AFDI demo against CUNY’s obscene invitation to pro-terror Jew-hater Linda Sarsour to give their commencement address was a smashing success, with over a thousand people who came out in a downpour of pelting rain on East 42nd Street outside CUNY’s headquarters on Thursday afternoon to oppose the mainstreaming of evil. It was an amazing event, a turning point, despite Mayor de Blasio’s nefarious attempts to undermine and destroy the rally.

There's much more.

Our undercover videos were featured on the top of Drudge:

We went undercover at the US Immigration office in New York. and filmed an immigration officials saying we will welcome you even if you come from a hotbed of jihad terrorism and have a fake passport.

We unveiled alarming video, filmed at Columbia University, showing that at Columbia University, an Ivy League school and one of the nation’s foremost centers of higher learning, most students are willing to condone female genital mutilation. Students were asked if Planned Parenthood should fund and support female genital mutilation (FGM). Most students said yes.

We created a new bus campaign. It’s very simple: the ad lists the names of US refugees from the countries listed in the ban who have been convicted of terror activity. The caption: “US refugees convicted of Islamic terror. TRUMP IS RIGHT. BACK THE BAN.” Heads exploded on the left, of course.

3.2.9 U.S. Where is freedom of speech?

Radio station cancels Richard Dawkins appearance over Islam tweets

Greg Wilford/ The Independent July 22 2017

The evolutionary biologist has in the past called Islam the ‘greatest force for evil today’

A US radio station invited Richard Dawkins to speak about his latest book, and then cancelled the ticketed event over his tweets about Islam.

The evolutionary biologist was due to discuss Science in the Soul: Collected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist at a benefit event for KPFA, a listener-funded station in Berkeley, California.

Tickets were snapped up ahead of the anti-theist’s planned talk on 9 August – but KPFA cancelled the event on Thursday, claiming it had recently discovered that his comments about Islam had upset people.

“We had booked this event based entirely on his excellent new book on science when we didn’t know he had offended and hurt – in his tweets and other comments on Islam – so many people,” KPFA told ticket buyers in an email.

“While KPFA emphatically supports serious free speech, we do not support abusive speech. We apologise for not having had broader knowledge of Dawkins’s views much earlier.”

Mr Dawkins, an avowed atheist who has criticised religion publicly for decades, has previously appeared at KPFA benefit events as recently as October 2015.

The Kenyan-born ethologist said he was “astonished” to be no-platformed by a station broadcasting in the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, a student protest that took place at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in 1965.

He published an open letter in response to the cancellation, which stated: “The idea that I have engaged in abusive speech against Islam is preposterous, which even the most rudimentary fact-checking by KPFA would have made clear.

“I have indeed strongly condemned the misogyny, homophobia, and violence of Islamism, of which Muslims — particularly Muslim women — are the prime victims. I make no apologies for denouncing those oppressive cruelties, and I will continue to do so.”

Mr Dawkins often takes aim at religion on Twitter, and has called God “the most unpleasant character in all fiction”. He has been branded “Islamophobic” by those who have taken offence to his remarks about the world’s second largest religion, which he has called the “greatest force for evil today”. But he insists that his opinions about religious texts and “ridiculous pseudoscientific claims made by Islamic apologists” are not driven by bigotry towards Muslim people.

He told KPFA: “Far from attacking Muslims, I understand – as perhaps you do not – that Muslims themselves are the prime victims of the oppressive cruelties of Islamism, especially Muslim women.”

The free speech row in Berkeley comes after a series of right-wing commentators including Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos cancelled talks at UCB amid fears of riots.

Some reactions are worth reading

(1) Once again, you can bash Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, and Krishna all you want, but anything critical of Mohammad is blasphemy that must be silenced by any means necessary. Mohammad attacked towns, killed the men and boys, and took the women and girls as sex slaves, just like ISIS and Boko Haram do today. Censorship doesn't change that fact. Disgusting.

(2) Many Westerners, such as those at the radio station, become apologist for Islam because they fear the violence often perpetuated by Islamic extremist and radical Muslims.
To act so as to hide the truth out of fear for one's personal safety is the ultimate form of cowardice. The hypocritical management and employees of the station should be ashamed of themselves.

(3) That's his opinion. He should be entitled to his opinion as others to theirs. That's what makes this country great.

(4) Berkeley is not the Bastion of free speech! It’s a place of small minded people.

(5) odd that liberals have aligned themselves with Islam, the worlds most violent and oppressive religion.

(6) He can Christian bash all he wants. That will make him a hero in Berkeley. Let him point out a few facts about Islam and he must be silenced. Muslims tend to kill people that bash their faith.

(7) Berkeley now the censorship capital of the world. Congratulations.

(8) People can talk all the shit they want about other religions but for some reason you can't even tell the truth about Islam without rabid liberals attacking.

(9) As a man raised Christian I live listening to Dawkins speak. Though I see flaws in some arguments he makes you consider your faith and understand it further at times. We need ppl to be able to speak freely. Hate speech is in the intent of the act, which is not the case here

(10) Politically correct liberals show a complete disdain for anything Christian because they know they won't be challenged even when they make the most vile statements. However, when it comes to islam, liberals bow because they know if they don't they'll have their heads cut off. It's amazing liberals are so understanding about islam when islam has no use for liberals whatsoever.

(11) The left better get its act together if they ever want to win another election. Defending muslims who are misogynists, sexists and homophobic will not score them votes in America's heartland. Defending that part of Islam that suppresses free speech is not going to work with patriots who believe in the Constitution.

(12) Dawkins is a smart man, he speaks the truth.

(13) I respect him for being an equal opportunity offender towards all religions, that makes sense. He stands in stark contrast to most liberals however, many of whom will criticize every religion under the sun except for Islam, and some liberals will even praise Muhammad (a man who owned slaves and killed people who made fun of him)..they are afraid of offending Muslims, but wont bat an eye to bash Jews and Christians. Liberals for the most part are total hypocrites.

>>> Terrorists who were jailed after 9/11 – due to be released soon – what next?

----------------------------

3.2.10Turkish MP says 'no use in teaching maths to a child who doesn't know jihad'

Samuel Osborne / The Independent 25 July 2017

A member of the Turkish parliament's national education commission has said there is no use teaching maths to students who don't know jihad.

Ahmet Hamdi Camli, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), praised the education ministry for including teaching the concept of jihad in the school curriculum.

Mr Camli said "jihad is Islam's most prior element," Turkish daily newspaper Haberturk reported.

“Jihad comes before prayer," he said. "When we look at Ottoman sultans, nearly all of them didn’t even go to hajj in order not to abandon jihad."

Turkey's new school curriculum dropped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and added the concept of jihad as patriotic in spirit.

The theory of evolution is rejected by both Christian and Muslim creationists, who believe God created the world as described in the Bible and the Koran, making the universe and all living things in six days.

Mr Camli added: “Our ministry made a very on-point decision. If prayers are the pillars of the religion, jihad is the tent. Without the pillars the tent is useless.

"There’s no use in teaching mathematics to a child who doesn’t know jihad."

Jihad is often translated as "holy war" in the context of fighters waging war against enemies of Islam;

The move has proven highly controversial, further fuelling fears President Erdogan is subverting the republic's secular foundations.

The chairman of a teachers' union described the changes as a huge step in the wrong direction.

4 History today / Historical notes

27 January 1945 – liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp. Therefore 27 January 2018 was celebrated as Holocaust Memorial Day.

3^rd World Congress of Vedic Sciences

10 to 13 January 2018 at Deccan College, Pune, Hindusthan

Theme – Vedic and Modern Sciences : Insight , Interface & Integration

5 Obituary

On 28 October 2017, Dr N K Bhide passed away in Pune. He was 91. He kept good health. His hearing / eye sight / hand writing (steady hand) was good. He was a great supporter of P N Oak but was not his blind admirer. He knew Oak’s failings.

He worked in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He was the head of department of pharmacology and his wife was head of Pathology department. He met me (Godbole) in December 1981. After his retirement he came back to Pune to live in his ancestral home. He maintained that 200 year old house and kept it as it was.