With Affirmative Action, India’s Rich Gain School Slots Meant for Poor

Kuni Takahashi, The New York Times, October 07

 “Of the thousands of reasons to hate the government, reservations is definitely one of them,” said Sneha Sekhsaria, 25, of Calcutta, facing front at right, of the quotas used for university admissions.
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: October 7, 2012

CHENNAI, India — The two women both claim that affirmative action cost them coveted spots at elite public universities. Both cases have now reached the Supreme Court.

One of the women, Abigail Fisher, 22, who is white, says she was denied admission to the University of Texas based on her race, and on Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court is to hear her plea in what may be the year’s most important decision. The other woman is from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and two weeks ago the Indian Supreme Court ordered that she be admitted to medical school pending the outcome of a broader court review.

“When I came to know that I could not get into any medical college, I was really shocked,” C. V. Gayathri, the Indian student, said in an interview. “I didn’t speak to anyone for a week. I cried. I was very depressed.”

Though the outlines of the two cases are similar, differences between how the world’s two largest democracies have chosen to redress centuries of past discrimination are striking. While affirmative action in the United States is now threatened, the program in India is a vast system of political patronage that increasingly works to reward the powerful rather than uplift those in need.

Indeed, the caste-based affirmative action here raises questions for nations like Brazil and Malaysia that have adopted anti-discrimination programs that are in some ways similar to India’s. Without diligent judicial oversight, experts say, the efforts can help perpetuate inequality rather than redress it.

In Tamil Nadu, for instance, 69 percent of university admissions are now set aside for what the state has determined to be “backward castes.” Many of those favored with these set-asides have controlled Tamil Nadu’s government and much of its resources for generations, but they claim special status by pointing to a caste survey done in 1931. (Ms. Gayathri, 17, is a Brahmin whose parents are civil servants with modest incomes.)

Five prominent university officials in Tamil Nadu said in interviews that those given set-asides at their institutions were generally the children of doctors, lawyers and high-level bureaucrats. The result is that rich students routinely get preference over more accomplished poor ones who do not happen to belong to the favored castes. None of the officials would allow their names to be used for fear of angering the government ministers who benefit politically and personally from the program.

India’s caste system was created nearly 1,500 years ago to organize occupations in a feudal agricultural society. Those at the bottom of the system, now known as Dalits, were forbidden in some places from even allowing their shadows to fall on those at the top, known as Brahmins. Most castes were deemed “backward,” which meant that they were consigned to menial jobs.

Over the last 30 years, however, India’s economy has been transformed, much of its populace has moved from villages to sprawling cities, and once distinct castes have been scrambled. That has led to the erosion of historic differences in education and increased income mobility within castes in India, recent studies have found.

“Caste is no longer an economic restriction,” said Viktoria Hnatkovska, an assistant professor of economics at the University of British Columbia, and a co-author of several studies on the changing role of caste in India.

Nonetheless, quotas have transformed the taint of “backwardness” into a coveted designation.

The Gujjars of Rajasthan, for instance, held violent riots two years ago to protest the government’s refusal to declare them as “most backward.” Politicians win elections in India by promising to bestow this one-time curse, which has led to a dramatic expansion in those considered backward decades after the designation had true economic meaning.

Indeed, caste awareness among the young is sustained in part because of set-asides, so a program intended to eliminate the caste system is now blamed by many for sustaining it.

“When I was filling out my college application forms, there was this box for caste,” said Sneha Sekhsaria, 25, of Calcutta. “I had to ask my dad what our caste was, and he had to think about it for 15 minutes before telling me that we were in the general category.”

The general category meant that she received no preference, a fact that Ms. Sekhsaria blames for her failure to qualify for medical school. She went to dental school instead.

“Being a doctor was always my dream, but I got a dental degree instead and that’s O.K.,” she said.

But she remains bitter that some of her friends who scored more poorly than she did on entrance exams were able to become doctors even though she and others in her circle were entirely unaware that they were “backward.”

Nonetheless, the benefits that flow from caste quotas have made them popular, and supporting them is one of the few issues on which the present government and its opposition agree. Within the next few months, the Indian Parliament is expected to overwhelming approve a constitutional amendment that would allow caste-based quotas not just in educational settings and in government hiring but also in government promotions.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly tried to curtail the scope of caste quotas, but the Parliament has passed amendments in response to protect and even expand them. The court has ruled that quotas should not exceed 50 percent of university admissions, but Tamil Nadu has ignored this restriction and a case challenging the state’s larger quota has been pending since 1994.

In the meantime, the court has ordered the state to provide extra slots to at least some students who contest the higher quotas, including Ms. Gayathri, who has been admitted to Tirunelveli Medical College. In an interview, Salman Khurshid, India’s law minister and minister for minority affairs, said that wealthy beneficiaries of caste quotas should acknowledge that they no longer need set-asides and voluntarily bow out of the system.

Some rules forbid the wealthy — or “creamy layer” — from taking advantage of quotas, but those rules have not been implemented in many states and are widely ignored in others.

D. Sundaram, a retired professor of sociology from Madras University and a longtime member of Tamil Nadu’s now-disbanded Backward Classes Commission, defended the state’s quotas by saying that even three generations of wealth and power cannot reverse centuries of backwardness.

“The system has not been in place long enough,” Dr. Sundaram said.

To be sure, many Dalits and people from tribal backgrounds are still overwhelmingly poor, and even many critics of India’s caste-based quotas acknowledge that set-asides for them may still be worthy.

Ravi Kumar, general secretary of a Dalit political party in Tamil Nadu, agreed that many of those who benefit from the state’s vast caste-based quotas are wealthy and powerful. But his party supports quotas, also known as reservations, for the wealthy “because if we opposed them they would stop all reservations,” Mr. Kumar said.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, said that caste-based quotas will gradually become less important as the quotas themselves make public universities less attractive to the most talented students. “The talented people will simply migrate away,” he said.

But that is no comfort to Ms. Sekhsaria, whose family ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars to send her to a private dental school after she was turned down for a government medical school, where the fees are modest.

“Of the thousands of reasons to hate the government, reservations is definitely one of them,” she said.

Niharika Mandhana contributed reporting from Chennai and New Delhi.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: October 9, 2012

An article on Monday about unintended effects of caste-based antidiscrimination efforts in India included an imprecise comparison among such efforts in other countries. Questions have been raised for nations like Malaysia and Brazil by the similarities between their antidiscrimination efforts and those of India, not those of the United States.

Resurrecting Afghanistan's Giant Buddhas

But as the war winds down, will there be the will and means to do it?

As one gazes up at the sandstone cliff face in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province, today there is only empty space and rubble where two of the world’s largest Buddhist statues once sat.

The statues were built in Afghanistan in the 6th century – when the country was a center of Buddhist learning – and stood until they were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

“The Taliban saw the Buddha statues as symbols, as idols. They wanted to show their power in Afghanistan, especially in Bamiyan province,” said historian Ali Payam.

Merza Hosain Ahmadi, a prisoner of war at the time, took part in the destruction. He says the Taliban brought in heavy weapons, even tanks, to destroy the ancient monuments.

“They demanded all war prisoners like me to drill into the statues and put explosive materials there. Every day we made holes in the Buddha statues and put a huge number of bombs inside,” he recalls.

Ahmadi says the biggest statue was destroyed after 25 days of constant drilling and bombing.

After the fall of the Taliban in 2003, archaelogists and historians discussed the possibility of rebuilding the Buddhas. A year later, the Afghan government started the Buddha reconstruction project with the assistance of UNESCO and financial help from Japan and Germany.

But the project didn’t last long because the winter, which can run up to 7 months of the year, was too cold for the workers.

Murad Ali, 35, used to work as a guide for people visiting the Buddha ruins. He says excavators worked to rehabilitate the statues but didn’t have much success.

“They didn’t bring any big change to the destroyed statues. Everyday we can see big stones falling from the place where the biggest statue used to stand,” he says, “If nobody pays attention, the remaining parts will be destroyed too.”

But last year UNESCO decided to stop the reconstruction project and leave the statues in the hands of the Afghan government, which is reluctant to continue the project without any financial aid.

For now the site has been left as is as a way to remember the Taliban’s violence, but many would like to see the site rebuilt. A German group of archaeological conservationists, for example, are pushing for the Buddhas to be rebuilt. They have been working on the site to salvage any remaining fragments of the sculpture – some weigh up to 40 tons – and put them under a protective covering to preserve them as best they can.

Archaeology student Assadullah Husaini is convinced the Buddha reconstruction project is still possible.

“Our next goal is to rebuild the Buddha statues and challenge the Taliban with our work,” he says.

Many locals support reconstruction because the Buddhas were once a great source of income from tourists. Nasir Ahmad Bihzad, 25, is a university student who lives in the village near the Buddha statues. He says there is a good reasons to reconstruct the statues.

“Tourists who come to the site will pay money. And the benefit also goes to the local people, because tourists will buy food and other things here, stay in hotels,” he says. “We can also show our good culture to them too.”

But not everyone in Afghanistan agrees. Though many clerics and religious leaders may not have condoned the destruction of religious idols, they don’t support rebuilding them.

That includes former prisoner of war Husain Ahmad Ahmadi.

“In Islamic society, the existence of idols is haram or taboo. Especially in the society where the knowledge level is low like Afghanistan,” he says. “Some people might think that the statues are the real God and worship them.”

(This article was first broadcast on Asia Calling, a regional current affairs radio program produced by Indonesia’s independent radio news agency KBR68H and broadcast in local languages in 10 countries across Asia. You can find more stories from Asia Calling at www.asiacalling.org.)

Masalah Negara Kalau Pemimpin Tidak Ada Ketegasan Dan Tak Berani

Mahathir lwn Soros — Sakmongkol AK47

Oct 10 — Kenyataan Dr Mahathir semakin hari semakin bizarre. Orang Melayu kata macam buang tebiat. Sewel, biul dan merapu. Terbaru Dr Mahathir berkata mengundi Pakatan Rakyat bererti mengundi Soros dan mengundi Soros bererti penaklukan semula. Re-colonisation.

Makna nya kalau Anwar PM- maka Soros dibelakang nya. Haji Hadi, Kit Siang semua menjadi antek neo-kolonialisme. Begitu? Rakyat Malaysia yang 29 juta ini apa pula? Anak kambing? Who are you trying to kid DR Mahathir? ( kid =anak kambing). Keluarga Shahrizat anggap kita lembu. Mahathir anggap kita anak kambing.

Siapa Soros? Kita tahu dia seorang yang kaya dan membuat pelaburan melalui beberapa syarikat milik nya terutama flagship company nya- Quantum Funds. Dia guna kekayaan nya untuk membantu pertubuhan dan gerakan2 mendapat kemerdekaan. Dia juga seorang dermawan yang terkemuka membantu rakyat yang buta huruf, kebuluran dan yang ditimpa mala petaka.

Dr Mahathir kata dia tak bagus dan penyangak. Tapi jutaan rakyat dalam negara yang duduk dibawah pemerintah yang zalim menganggap Soros sebagai anugerah Tuhan kepada mereka.

Kepada Dr Mahathir Soros penyangak. Tapi Dr Mahathir menulis suatu surat kepada Soros dengan nada yang merayu rayu ajak berjumpa untuk menyelesaikan masaalah ekonomi secara bersama. Kalau Soros ini jahat mengapa Dr Mahathir tulis surat kepada Soros dan kemudian nya berjumpa? Boleh jadi inilah agaknya maksud lebih baik berkawan dengan syaitan yang dikenali daripada malaikat yang tidak dikenali. Syaitan mesti kenal geng seangkatan dengan nya.

Dan bukan sahaja Mahathir jumpa Soros- beberapa menteri Malaysia pun turut bersalaman dengan Soros. Kalau tak jumpa manakan boleh berjabat tangan?

Apa masaalah Dr Mahathir ini sebenarnya? Siapa yang beri dia otoriti untuk menentukan orang ini baik untuk Malaysia atau tidak? Setiap hari Dr Mahathir walaupun bukan lagi PM kita, insults our intelligence. rakyat bukan wanita Kemas atau anggota RELA. Ini bukan zaman Dr Mahathir ketika informasi dan maklumat bergerak sehala sahaja- dari dia kepada kita kita. Pada masa itu, apa cakap Mahathir semesti lah benar. Sekarang keadaan berubah. Kita dapat membentuk kefahaman dan pemikiran sendiri. Kita ucap terima kasihlah kepada Dr Mahathir- tapi biarlah kita rakyat Malaysia yang buat keputusan dan putuskan fikiran. Tak perlu Dr Mahathir. kita dah beri dia 22 tahun. Apa lagi yang dia mahu?

Dr Mahathir kata Soros jahat. Soros kata, Dr Mahathir is a menace to his own country. dan saya boleh senaraikan 1001 alasan dan keterangan untuk menyokong kenyataan Soros. Dr Mahathir pun is equally jahat punya orang.

Kita tak tahu apa masaalah Mahathir dengan Soros. Adalah sedikit orang kenal dengan nama Soros yang Dr Mahathir kata sebagai punca krisis ekonomi dunia suatu masa dahulu. Di Malaysia, Dr Mahathir menuduh Soros sebagai punca krsis kejatuhan nilai Ringgit yang mencederakan ekonomi Malaysia suatu ketika dahulu. Tapi pada masa itu, Dr Mahathir menyalahkan apa2 sahaja didepan mata termasuk tiang lampu TNB. Tapi kita tahu punca sebenarnya ekonomi Malaysia jadi kelam kabut adalah akibat dasar2 ekonomi yang dilaksanakan oleh Dr Mahathir sendiri. Apa yang terjadi kepada Malaysia pada ketika itu adalah akibat pembetulan kuasa pasaran kepada ketamakan dan penyelewengan dasar ekonomi DR Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir yang berkelahi dengan Soros .rakyat tak tahu pun. Dr Mahathir kelahi dengan semua orang. Dia kelahi dengan Musa Hitam. Dia sabotaj Tengku Razali. Dia kencing Ghafar Baba. Dia kelahi dengan Anwar Ibrahim. kalau dia kelahi dengan satu orang, mungkin orang terima boleh jadi yang berkelahi dengan Mahathir lah yang bersalah dan jahat. Tapi kalau DR Mahathit kelahi dengan ramai orang- there must be something wrong with Dr Mahathir. sebetulnya dengan Najib pun Mahathir kelahi tapi adalah seorang dua yang mengawal Dr Mahathir. agaknya, negara akan selamat dari gangguan Mahathir bila dia sudah meninggal.

Rakyat bukan inginkan neo kolonilisme. Rakyat mahukan keadilan dan perubahan. Rakyat menolak UMNO . itu sahaja. Tak perlulah Dr Mahathir mengaitkan gelombang kebangkitan rakyat dengan ejen2 luar negara. Dr Mahathir ni hidup dalam dunia paranoia yang berterusan atau dunia schizophrenia kah? Rakyat tidak gila, tapi mereka mahu membebaskan diri dari orang yang gila kuasa. Yang gila kuasa sekarang ialah Najib dan gerombolan UMNO.

Sekarang rakyat menolak UMNO bukan menyokong Soros. Isiu peribadi antara mereka berdua, biarlah Dr Mahathir sendiri selesaikan. Kita tak tahu pun apa yang Soros akan lakukan yang akan membawa kepada kolonisasi kepada rakyat Malaysia. Yang kita tahu ialah, pada waktu ini, gelombang kesedaran rakyat ialah menolak UMNO dan agenda parti tersebut untuk menghamba-abdikan orang Melayu dan bangsa Malaysia. Soros ada atau tidak, rakyat tetap diatas gelombang menolak UMNO yang rasuah dan pembelot!

Agenda rakyat sekarang bukan menyokong Soros tapi menolak UMNO. Sejak tahun 1981, Dr Mahathir, lebih daripada orang lain, menerbalikkan UMNO- kaki diatas, kepala dibawah. UMNO tidak lagi dilihat sebagai wadah membawa perubahan- tapi wadah mengukuhkan kuasa golongan elit menakluk pemikiran orang Melayu. Dalam zaman Mahathir lah, orang Melayu diajar berkelahi sesama sendiri- abang lawan adik, ibu lawan ayah, adik beradik bertelagah dan benci membenci. Itulah yang agenda yang dibawa oleh UMNO Mahathir. Dalam zaman Mahathirlah, orang Melayu diajar kurang ajar terhadap agama Islam. Islam dipersenda dan diejek oleh orang Melayu sendiri. Kalau hukum Islam dijalankan, ramai rakyat Malaysia akan kudung; orang Islam tidak bercukur kerana tidak ada pisau cukur. Kalau rejam batu, maka Malaysia kehabisan batu.

Jadi, apa yang dilambangkan oleh pemerintahan UMNO ciptaan Dr Mahathir? UMNO Mahathir lah yang sebenarnya melambangkan penjajahan keatas bangsa sendiri. Penjajah lama diganti dengan penjajah baru dan kemuncak penjajahan dan penaklukan keatas bangsa Melayu dimulakan oleh Dr Mahathir.

Malu kita terutama penyokong UMNO mahu mempertahankan kenyataan yang bizzare dan tidak masuk akal. Ini suatu lagi contoh kenyataan yang sengaja dikeluarkan untuk menakutkan orang Melayu. Macam lah UMNO sahaja yang boleh menjaga orang Melayu dan negara ini.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Umno Leader Urges Malays To Give Total Support To Party

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- The Malays cannot depend on PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to champion their cause, an Umno divisional leader said Wednesday.

Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee, head of the Cheras Umno Division, said the Malays should give their total support to Umno.

"No Malay political party other than Umno has achieved an excellent record in administering the country based on the Federal Constitution," he told Bernama.

Syed Ali said that in the complex political environment of today, Umno required a bold shift to erase the negative perception some people had of the party, the principal partner in the Barisan Nasional (BN).

"Umno should change its approach and methodology in keeping with the shift in thinking of young people who are getting more critical. This must be done because the young will determine the course of the country in the future," he said.

PKR anjur perhimpunan bantah perobohan kuil

S Jayathas sertai PKR untuk 'singkir BN dari Putrajaya'

Hindu Buddhist Cultural Unity in Nepal.

Hinduism and Buddhism In Nepal

The religious structure of Nepalese society is formally Hindu; but here and only here the interplay of peoples and their religious traditions has produced a rich fusion of Hindu and Buddhist faiths. It is common for both Hindus and Buddhists to worship at the same shrine, for many gods and saints are cross-over, often known by a different name but holding the same attributes. The original inhabitants of the valley were animists, a tradition which survives in the multitude of spirits, demons, local deities, and stones which receive dutiful worship to this day. Hindu and Buddhist traditions adapted from the pre-existing animist practices and from each other. Indeed, in the medieval period, when both religions’ practice adopted mystical, Tantrik traditions, they were almost indistinguishable from each other.

An international scholar Aldous Huxley said-”The oldest aspects of Hindu mythology give place to the most profound and subtle utterances about the nature of ultimate reality, it is in itself a liberal education in humility, tolerance and suspense of judgment.” We can see The Great Wall of China; “the seventh wonders of the world” has a fourteen feet long Sanskrit incantation engraved on the western gate. Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan had written ‘OM Namo! Bhagawati’ including others in the 14th century. The Chinese Great Wall has many syllables from ‘Mahabharata’ written on the doors in Sanskrit language. It is not a common thing that the language was written in Kalipinya letters. Similarly, NEWSWEEK COLUMNIST Ms Lisa Miller says-’we are all Hindus. The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says: “Truth is one, but the sages speak of it by many names.” A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. The most traditional, conservative Christians have not been taught to think like this. They learn in Sunday school that their religion is true, and others are false. Let us all say “OM.” when you chant “OM,” it will resonate not only in the room but down through the ages.’ May 13, 2010 at > http://www.newsweek.com/id/237910

Nepal’s History and Religions Nepal is a rich and complex mix of different cultures and traditions, melded over thousands of years into a unique whole. For the western traveler there is much that is familiar, and many surprises. Family and religion are of paramount importance, and are constantly reflected throughout the culture. Nepal moves to a different rhythm than the West. The notes here are meant only to tantalize you into visiting this amazing place. We should all aware of the facts that Hindu religion has many enemies. These enemies may try to discredit and malign Hinduism. In south Asia general population is ignorant, and engulfed in blind faith and traditions that are carried over for centuries. It is true that over millennia some people took advantage of this blind faith and traditions to satisfy there own hidden agenda and lust and did harm the local communities. But that is not the case here.

According to -Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya-’This world is full of all kinds of human beings. In a nutshell, they can be classified as – gentle, sad, upbeat and scoundrel. We need to treat them according to their type and not the same way. There is an aphorism in Yogadarshana which talks about friendship, compassion, gleefulness and neglect. It explains the need and utility of behavior tailored as per the individual. We should make friendship with gentlemen so that the impact of their virtues benefits us and also a timely good conduct can be expected from them. A feeling of compassion should prevail for the grieving and benighted ones and the efforts to make them overcome the crisis by helping and serving must be driven. At the minimum, sympathy can be shown to them with an endeavor of providing consultation to hold patience and guide them the way to get over the sufferings. We should be glad to see the successful and upbeat people. Progressives deserve at the minimum a gift of appreciation for their skills and dedication which will encourage them further. It inspires others to rise too.

It’s not possible to fight with evil and rogue forever. Avoid confrontation with everybody coming on the way as fighting with them in an effort to rectify and fix them is next to impossible. At least their misbehavior can be ignored so that the time which was to be used for taking revenge and degrading them can be utilized in creative tasks. Even with all this, at least one must make sure that culprits should be shown the fear of non-cooperation, resistance and conflict otherwise they take our ignorance as an opportunity to dare more. Ignorance should be limited to the extent that the wicked must not get encouraged further. To conduct as per the person’s level is the real workmanship which is called another form of Yoga by the God in the Geeta.
It can’t be implemented in the behavior literally. It will be very awkward if practiced exactly that way. If revered Gurus and evils/rogues are seated at the same level and worshiped or neglected-condemned the same way then it will look very strange and confusing. This will have bad aftermath effects. A buffalo (in a cart) needs a hit of stick to move whereas a horse starts running with a slight hint of the halter. This is because of the difference in their nature which justifies the riders’ behavior. It’s quite possible to play the tricks of negotiation, money, punishment, divide (Saam, Daam, Danda, Bhed) as per the need. Try the other (or more) tricks if one doesn’t work. The sole purpose is to reform. Hate the sin and not the sinner. This synergistic behavior for the benefit of others is similar to the callousness of a surgeon while operating for good and ethical.’

A country’s existence and prestige can gradually be eroded by finishing off its faith and belief tradition and culture and the creator of nation. Nepal was worthy to be bowed down by Hindus all over the world. This is the highest honor Nepal could receive from the international community. The conspiracy against oriental Baidik Hindu and Buddha’s culture was started almost 200 years ago from India by East India Company where Lord Macaulay was one of them who succeed to destroy oriental Hindu identities and culture.
Lumbinī- Nepal is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautam, who as the Buddha founded the Buddhist tradition. Records made by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian were also used in the process of identifying this religiously acclaimed site. The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Ashoka pillar and the Mayadevi temple. The truth, however is that Buddha was born at Lumbini in present Rupandehi district of western Terai region in Nepal. A fact accepted by UNESCO while providing world heritage status to the place.

 Read the full story in HINDU DIGEST. <

MUSLIMS STAGE DEMO PRAYER AT GROUNDS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY……….

Police stupefied that others would be offended by it.

Muslims provocatively praying on the grounds of revered Christian cathedral, cop asks person whose videotaping it, if he has a problem with it. And there are those who continue to bury their heads into the sand and believe that Islamization is but a myth, that this is not the case.


H/T: Vlad

Video bio: “i nearly got arrested for filming this police asked if i found what they were doing offensive muslims praying in westminster abby grounds yes i did find it offensive can you imagine what would happened if we done this in a mosque . our kings and queen are buried in this cathedral wonder what they think of it all.”

Muslim Population in Sweden and Denmark Doubled in 14 Years

Our previously projected data on the rapidly growing Muslim population, based on UK’s Muslim growth numbers, seem to be fairly accurate. The UK format is important as it is well documented and appear to be quite similar in all Muslim communities across Europe irrespective of country.
But what does this mean to the future of Europe? It means that Sweden’s Muslim population will reach 40% by 2030, France will have a 55% Muslim population, Netherlands 45%, Germany 40%, Britain 40%. These countries will cease to exist as a Western democracy.
Read also:
U.S. Muslim population estimated to double in 20 years has tripled in 3 years
Muslim demographics: Pew statistics try to whitewash future projections

PEW statistics on projected Muslim demographics (left) and the actual projected volume of growth by using UK’s Muslim population growth as a format (right). The growth will become more rapid as the population increases.

Muslim Population in Sweden and Denmark Doubled in 14 Years
by Ingrid Carlqvist & Lars Hedegaard | Dispatch-International.com

Despite the fact that Muslims tend to exhibit behavior that clearly distinguishes them from both the European host populations and other immigrant groups, there are no official figures to indicate how many Muslims live in Sweden and Denmark. Danes and Swedes have had to rely on wildly diverging estimates because the authorities refuse to publish statistics on religion or culture.

In Denmark estimates ranging from 200,000 to 700,000 have been circulated.

Dispatch is now able to reveal the true figures based on our own research: 574,000 Muslims in Sweden and 256,000 in Denmark. The statistical uncertainty is roughly +/- 20,000 in Sweden and +/- 10,000 in Denmark.

This means that Muslims make up 6.05% of Sweden’s population and 4.59% of Denmark’s.

In 1998 there were 284,000 Muslims in Sweden and they made up 3.21% of the total population. In other words, the number of Muslims has roughly doubled over the period 1998-2011.

During the same period, Muslim immigration and natural increase among Swedish Muslims have accounted for slightly over 41% of Sweden’s total population growth.

The Muslim share of Denmark’s total population growth 1998-2012 is markedly lower and accounts for a bit over 33%

In 1998 Denmark’s Muslim population was 153,000 and made up 2.88% of the total population.

As mentioned, neither Statistics Denmark nor its Swedish equivalent, Statistiska Centralbyrån, keep records of how many Muslims live in the two countries. They do, however, register how many people bear particular first names.

By January 1, 2012, e.g., 50,697 Danish men and boys were named Jens and 43,258 were called Henrik. Ali was a name shared by 3,776 and Mohammad by 3,717. It should be kept in mind that the bearers of variations on the Mohammad name – such as Muhamad, Ahmed and Mahmoud – are registered separately.

Sweden’s name statistic follows roughly the same principle when it comes to name registration as Statistics Danmark. There is, however, a difference in that Sweden does not register names of persons that intend to stay less than 12 months in the country nor the names of asylum seekers while their application is being processed. For this reason the number of Muslims in Sweden is undoubtedly higher than indicated by Dispatch International’s count.

The two most popular Swedish names registered by December 31, 2011 were Lars (98,435 persons) and Anders (81,562). The most common Muslim names were Ali (9,062) and Mohamed (5,056).

As practically all Muslims have Muslim first names, it is a simple albeit lengthy operation to count the number of Muslim males and, with the assumption that there is an equal number of Muslim females, one may calculate the total Muslim population.

This is the method by which Dispatch has reached its figures.

When there has been doubt whether a name is Muslim, we have not taken it into account. In addition, a number of Swedes and Danes have converted to Islam. In many cases converts have exchanged their Nordic names for Muslim ones, but not always.

These factors explain why Dispatch operates with a statistical uncertainty. As a result we may have underestimated the number of Muslims that can be identified through a name count, but probably not by more than 20,000 in Sweden and 10,000 in Denmark.

It goes without saying that Dispatch’s survey does not include people that are here illegally.

In the case of Sweden, we have only done name counts for 1998 and 2011. For Denmark, Lars Hedegaard has calculated the figures relating to 1998, 2004, 2008 and 2012. The Danish figures are as of January 1 whereas the Swedish ones relate to December 31, 1998 and 2011.

Our calculations reveal an interesting development. Between 1998 and 2004, Denmark’s Muslim population grew by an average of 4.26% a year. During the period 2004-2008, the average yearly growth decreased slightly to 3.52%.

After 2008 this trend has been reversed and the yearly growth is now higher than at any time since 1998, namely 4.29%

This reversal has taken place while Denmark’s former center-right government was in power with the parliamentary support of the immigration-critical Danish People’s Party. This government was heavily criticized for being ”xenophobic” and ”Islamophobic” due to its supposedly restrictive immigration policies. But the actual figures show that the center-right governments that were in power from 2001 till 2011 hardly made a dent in the Muslim growth rate.

Over the entire period 1998-2012, the average yearly increase in Denmark’s Muslim population was 4.27% whereas Sweden, with its much more welcoming immigration policy, experienced an average growth rate of 7.85%

There are several indications that the Muslim growth rate is set to rise in both Denmark and Sweden. As one of its first actions the Social Democratic-led government that came to power in 2011 reversed some of the restrictions on immigration imposed by the former cabinet.

As for Sweden, the immigration authorities (Migrationsverket) estimate an influx of 174,500 new immigrants over the coming two years.

Most of these arrivals will probably be Muslims, as the largest groups of immigrants are likely to come from Somalia and Afghanistan.

Additional research: Roger Sahlström

Mahathir: Ling is an honest man

Mahathir told the High Court that he has known Ling for 30 years and that he did his job well.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad described Dr Ling Liong Sik as an honest person, at the High Court today.

Responding to Ling’s counsel Wong Kian Kheong as to his personal opinion of his client, Mahathir, 87, said he had known Ling for 30 years and the former transport minister also did his job well, especially in developing Port Klang.

The fourth defence witness was resuming his testimony during the Port Klang Free Zone corruption trial.

Prior to this question however, there was a tense moment in the proceedings, when deputy public prosecutor Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah objected to Wong’s question of “Was Ling capable of cheating?”.

Pointing at Ling in the dock and raising his tone, Abdul Majid said: “Who knows if he (Dr Ling) is capable or not but he (Dr Ling) knows.”

Abdul Majid’s objection shocked the audience in the public gallery, some of whom started talking loudly until Judge Ahmadi Asnawi ordered them to be silent.

Meanwhile, earlier in the proceedings, when Mahathir was shown two summarised notes dated Oct 29, 2002 on the Pulau Indah land acquisition, he said that none of the Finance Ministry officers had complained of a mistake or inaccurate and misleading statements in the document.

He said that he usually had a discussion with the officers before cabinet meetings.

Questioned as to whether he had lodged a police report about the two notes containing a factual lie, Mahathir said: “No.”

He added that the Cabinet Ministers had also not complained about being cheated or misled by the documents.

Mahathir further stated that his special advisor Ali Abu Hassan had studied the document and informed him the PKFZ project was viable; agreed to the land being acquired on the terms contained therein, which among others included a ‘willing buyer-willing seller’ basis; land price of RM25 per square feet (psf) and a repayment period of 15 years.

He said Ali usually reported to him on any proposed projects but he (Dr Mahathir) could not recall if Ali had ever complained of a mistake in the PKFZ project.

Mahathir reiterated his testimony of yesterday saying on Oct 2, 2002 the Cabinet had decided to acquire the land at RM25 psf with a 15-year deferred payment.

He also said the RM25 psf rate was excluding interest as the price was based on cash purchase.

The total price of the land at RM1.088 million was also excluding interest, he added.

Mahathir said none of the Cabinet Ministers complained about the price as being too high and the decision was reached ‘collectively and unanimously’.

Ling, who was transport minister for 17 years from 1986, is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the Cabinet, an additional interest rate of 7.5 per cent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, which had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), based on RM25 psf, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.

He also faces two alternative (amended) charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the Cabinet that the 7.5 per cent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.

He is alleged to have committed the offences at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.

The hearing continues.

Bernama

Why are the Malays running away?

A stinging satire on Mahathir’s latest call for the Malays to stop being ungrateful, lazy and stupid to vote against Umno.
COMMENT

Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent message is timely. The Malays simply must change. They must reform, transform or whatever you call it! Yes, the Malays are ungrateful and lacking intelligence, especially the few power-hungry ones in the opposition.

Luckily, Tengku Aziz got out in time from the DAP. We cannot expect greedy, ungrateful and dim-witted politicians like Anwar Ibrahim and Hadi Awang to do the same. Imagine, the country’s dominant race losing its political power because of a few ungrateful and moronic Malays who are greedy for political power.

Mahathir also warned that “Malay (opposition) parties who win the elections and form the government would have to follow the dictates of others (races). They will lose dominance in the government because of their willingness to share with others,” he said in a special column titled ‘Suara Hati Mahathir’ published in Mingguan Malaysia.

Yes, Umno has become weak since the last election. It can no longer dish out enough crutches for the Malays. And because of this the Malays are abandoning Umno in droves. Very soon, there will be very little Malay support left for Umno.

For so long, Umno had been busy looking out for the Malays. It was focused and it created immense wealth and channelled it to their cronies to be dispensed to the Malay masses. But the Malays refused to save what they received, and spent every last cent of it.

Today, many still wallow in poverty, and blame Umno for not doing enough to address their plight. Many have threatened to vote the Opposition if Umno does not arrest the situation.

From farmers, civil servants to taxi drivers, everyone is crying out for handouts or else! Some are lazy, lack intelligence and plain greedy and will sell their souls to the highest bidder. Umno has been too kind in the past, and relented to their demands.

But Umno’s superb handling of the economy, even under such tremendous pressure is commendable, as it managed to do its bit for the Malays while suppressing the national debt from ballooning to a mere RM500 billion. Most governments in other countries would have gone bankrupt by now.

Is it a surprise, that the 2013 budget sees more goodies for everyone, especially the Malays?

Malays can continue to wallow in despair

A national organisation to unite the Malays, Umno had always put the Malays first. It has even invited other races to become Bumiputeras as long as they abide by its constitution. Thus far there has been lukewarm response from the Chinese and the Indians.

It has even offered citizenships to legible foreigners who could speak Bahasa Malaysia and be loyal to the Malay cause. What more has Umno not done for the Malays?

Today, many Malays are blinded by religion, greed and power, so they join the opposition because they feel that Umno is less Islamic than PAS. PAS refuses to join Umno to jointly implement an Islamic state, but rather cohabit with the opposition, so that they can gain more power to rule, rather than to play second fiddle to Umno.

And yes again, the Malays simply have to see through the insignificant corruption, and support Umno and its leaders, who are sworn to protect the Malays from themselves. At least with Umno, the Malays can continue to wallow in despair until one fine day, they can evolve into more productive humans without the fear that the Malay power base will be eroded.

Today, Umno is populated by the best Malay minds in the world, superior intelligence beyond compare and you can find them in the likes of Rais Yatim, Ibrahim Ali and Zahid Hamidi. It will be a waste if these leaders are not given more time to work their magic.

Imagine the horrific scenario, if Umno loses. What will become of the great leaders like Najib and Muhyiddin, Mahathir, Taib Mahmud and Shafie Apdal? The young Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin and Mukhriz Mahathir, who are slated to carry on the torch as future Prime Ministers of this land? Who will take care of the Malays? Who is going to protect the royalty and who is going to uphold the religion?

Pakatan Rakyat is too preoccupied with a Malaysian Malaysia and would sell out the majority to please the minority. Bumiputeraship will lose its meaning and lustre. The Malays would become ordinary citizens like everyone else.

And imagine if the Malays would have to compete on a level playing field without the NEP, it would take another 200 years before they are on par with the rest of the races. Even the Sabahans and Sarawakians have overtaken the Malays on their home ground.

So, Mahathir’s wake up call is timely and the Malays should wake up from their slumber to vote with their heads and not with their hearts. He even took pains to remind the Malays of how the British during colonial times had called us lazy and stupid and enslaving us in our own country.

See, how times have changed? Today we have several towering Malays in the likes of Taib Mahmud, Daim Zainuddin and Syed Al-Bukhary who through blood, sweat and tears managed to eke out a simple existence. Today, they have a combined worth of nearly RM100 billion and a shining example for other Malays to follow in their footsteps.

At least the Mamaks are sober

But unlike them and in pale comparison, Mahathir who led the country, struggled liked a workhorse for the Malay Agenda, only retired with meagre savings even after 22 years in power. And like other Malaysians, he still has to be miserly and bargain to ensure that his precious savings last him into his golden years.

But that did not stop him from chiding the Malays to get their butts moving, and to seek knowledge, and most important to ensure that Umno gets to rule for another century or more. After all, through his eyes, the Malays are the rightful heirs of this country.

The opposition promises to reduce car prices, highway toll, food prices, electricity and water and free education will not benefit the Malays in the long run. The Malays already enjoy subsidies on home purchases, scholarships, and guaranteed places in the universities, so why be taken in by Pakatan Rakyat’s wishful promises?

According to Mahathir, Malays took on menial labour jobs like drivers, orderlies, clerks or office boys during colonial times. Their incompetence in holding responsibility, led to the import of Chinese and Indians to solve this problem of the Malays being stupid and incompetent.

Today, the Malays are much better off compared to yesteryear, and even if some of them reside in wooden tin shacks, with leaking roofs and one meal a day, they can console themselves that they are still first class citizens, that they still have a roof over their heads and no hungry tummies. After all, our religion has taught us not to succumb to worldly treasures, but to build up treasures in heaven.

But, we must continue to protect our fine leaders, so that they can continue to protect the master race, religion and the royalty from disintegrating. Losing Malay dominance would be an insult, even though it is not likely to happen under Pakatan rule, but Umno cannot simply lose face. PAS and PKR Malays are too inexperienced to handle the intricacies of ruling a Malay majority nation.

It would be stupid of the Malays to vote Pakatan, just because the opposition promises a better country, a colour blind Malaysian Malaysia, or a corrupt free government. Raced based political parties simply cannot disappear overnight as they are still needed to unite this nation.

Not only Umno, but MCA and MIC still needs the peoples’ support to continue existing and to champion the peoples’ cause! Voting them out unnecessarily, would see a lot of potential politicians without a steady job or income to fend for their families. So while, the ungrateful Malays with a bone to pick are deserting Umno, at least the Mamaks (Indian Muslims) are sober enough to see through the smoke screen and to stick with Umno.

As long as BN wins the next election, racial and religious conflict would disappear in the blink of an eye, for at least another five years. So, why gamble away Malay rights for the sake of a better nation, individual freedoms or human rights?

A tour guide, trained pilot and naturalist, Iskandar Dzulkarnain has been writing for a few years now.

‘Judges still probing Scorpene deal’

There was never a question of an ongoing trial as the criminal inquiry on the submarine deal is ongoing, says William Bourdan.

KUALA LUMPUR: The lawyer acting for human rights group Suaram in the Scorpene probe has slammed French government prosecutor Yves Charpenal for his “contradictory” statements to the media.

Yesterday, Charpenal had told national news agency Bernama that there was no ongoing trial in the 2009 multi-billion Scorpene submarine deal between Malaysia and France, as it was still under investigation by two French judges.

“I am aware about all the fuss kicked up by certain media [organisations] in Malaysia over this matter but what I can say is that this is nothing more than a trial by the media,” he was quoted as saying.

But Suaram’s lawyer William Bourdon said in a statement today that there had never been a question of an ongoing trial, as the investigating judges were still continuing their probe on the Scorpene inquiry.

“The Tribunal deGrande Instance has convened a criminal inquiry of which Suaram has been accepted as a civil party since March 2012.

“Upon completion of the inquiry will the investigating judge make the decision of whether the case goes to full trial.”

He also stressed that it was not for the prosecutor to decide if the case goes to full trial, but the two Judges, Roger Le Loire and Serge Tournaire.

“To our knowledge the current prosecutors in charge of the case have not made any such statements as suggested by Charpenel,” he said.

In April this year, the Tribunal de Grand Instance in Paris began its inquiry into Suaram’s claim that French naval firm DCNS had paid some RM452 million as a bribe to Malaysian officials to obtain a contract for two submarines.

Malaysia had paid RM6.7 billion in 2009 for the two submarines of which RM574 million was earmarked for co-ordination and support services for Perimekar Sdn Bhd, owned by Abdul Razak Baginda , a close associate of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Human rights groups and opposition parties have also linked the submarine purchase to the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, a one-time lover to Abdul Razak.

But Defence Minister Ahmad Zahidi Hamidi said on Oct 6 that the Auditor-General had explained the purchase of the submarines was made according to legal procedures.

The Malaysian government is now probing Suaram for having “misleading accounts” as well as allegedly distributing bribes to a civil servant in return for national secrets – both of which Suaram has denied and labelled as “harassment” due to the probe.

The Umno-controlled daily New Straits Times has also accused Suaram, along with several other NGOs deemed opposition-friendly, of being part of a foreign plot to destabilise government.

They have denied the charges and requested evidence to back up the accusations, which NST has yet to furnish.

Uthayakumar’s lieutenant joins PKR

Hindraf leader S Jayathas has joined PKR, saying the political party can provide a better platform to champion the cause of the Indians.

PETALING JAYA: S Jayathas, regarded as Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar’s most trusted lietenant, has now joined PKR.

During a press conference at the PKR headquarters today, Jayathas submitted his membership application form to party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Also present were vice-president N Surendran, Subang MP R Sivarasah and other party officials.

Jayathas said he decided to work with PKR because he needed a stronger platform to champion the cause of the Indian community.

However, he refused to answer questions on whether he considered Hindraf no longer relevant.

“For the time being, PKR is the better party to fight towards a better future of the Indians,” he said.

He added that PKR had shown genuine concern for the Indian community and was committed to address their grouses.

Jayathas was one of the pioneer members of PKR but left the party due to his activeness in the Hindraf movement.

The Malacca-born businessman was defeated by BN candidate in the Merlimau state assembly seat in the 2004 state election where he contested under a PKR banner.

Jayathas’ departure from Hindraf would render a blow to the movement, which over the years had lost its influence among the Indian community.

In an immediate reaction, Hindraf Youth chief S Thiagarajan, Jayathas had joined PKR because he was suffering from financial problems.

“We had a meeting last Friday where Jayathas told us that he wanted to join PKR because he received a ‘better offer’,” he said, without elaborating.

However, Thiagarajan said Hindraf was grateful to Jayathas’ contribution to the movement.

Responding to Thiagarajan’s claims, Jayathas said he would have joined Barisan Nasional if monetary reward was his motivation.

Three DPMs if Pakatan rules?

One will be from Sabah or Sarawak, says Mat Sabu.

TAIPING: Pakatan Rakyat is considering the feasibility of having three deputy prime ministers if it takes Putrajaya in the coming general election, according to PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

One of the deputy premiers would be from Sabah or Sarawak, he told FMT after addressing a ceramah on Sunday in Simpang, a few kilometres from here.

“We are still in discussion on this issue and have yet to come to a conclusion,” he added.

According to him, the idea is being discussed in the context of finding ways to place the political representation of the East Malaysian states on equal footing with PAS, DAP and PKR in governing the nation after the 13th general election.

The PAS leader, popularly known as Mat Sabu, said the probability of Pakatan winning the election was becoming greater because more and more voters were becoming aware of the extent of corruption within Barisan Nasional and Umno.

Nevertheless, he added, Pakatan had one great worry—the alleged registration of thousands of foreigners as voters.

Mohamad also claimed that support for BN in Sabah and Sarawak was disintegrating as a result of increased awareness among the people there of their democratic rights.

To prove this, he pointed to the frequency of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s visits to the two states, especially Sabah, where he said the level of alarm over the influx of illegal immigrants had risen since the 2008 election.

He said Pakatan expected to secure at least 10 parliamentary seats in Sarawak and even more in Sabah.

At present BN occupies 29 of the 31 Sarawak parliamentary seats and 21 of Sabah’s 26.

Quality vs quantity

Mohamad said he had suggested to Pakatan that it should accept more election candidates offered by NGOs such as Hindraf and small Pakatan-friendly parties like PSM in order to increase its chances in the coming polls.

“It’s the quality of candidates that count, not the quantity put up by any one party within the coalition,” he said.

In his speech at the Simpang ceramah, Mohamad informed the crowd that the proposed Pakatan gathering on Nov 3 would be held inside either the Bukit Jalil National Stadium or the Merdeka Stadium.

The rally, billed as “People’s Uprising”, is to protest against the government’s refusal to meet the eight core demands of election reform group Bersih.

Bersih and opposition leaders have accused the Election Commission of deliberately dragging its feet in cleaning up discrepancies in the voter rolls as part of a conspiracy to help BN restore its two-third majority in Parliament.

Mohamad said of the Nov 3 rally: “We are following Najib’s advice to hold such protest events within a stadium. But if we are denied this facility, we will take to the streets.

“Then his janji ditepati will be just another janji dicapati.”

Global Economic Crisis: The Largest Economy In The World Is Imploding

Michael Snyder: A devastating economic depression is rapidly spreading across the largest economy in the world.  Unemployment is skyrocketing, money is being pulled out of the banks at an astounding rate, bad debts are everywhere and economic activity is slowing down month after month.  So who am I talking about?  Not the United States – the economy that I am talking about has a GDP that is more than two trillion dollars larger.  It is not China either – the economy that I am talking about is more than twice the size of China.  You have probably guessed it by now – the largest economy in the world is the EU economy.  Things in Europe (NYSEARCA:VGK) continue to get even worse.  Greece and Spain (NYSEARCA:EWP) are already experiencing full-blown economic depressions that continue to deepen, and Italy (NYSEARCA:EWI) and France (NYSEARCA:EWQ) are headed down the exact same path that Greece and Spain have gone.  Headlines about violent protests and economic despair dominate European newspapers day after day after day.  European leaders hold summit meeting after summit meeting, but all of the “solutions” that get announced never seem to fix anything.  In fact, the largest economy on the planet continues to implode right in front of our eyes, and the economic shockwave from this implosion is going to be felt to the four corners of the earth.
On Friday, newspapers all over Europe declared that Greece is about to run out of money (again).
The Greek government says that without more aid they will completely run out of cash by the end of November.

The Euro’s Demise Has Been Set in Motion: Are you protected?

"Nationalism will emerge. Healthier countries will not see fit to spend their hard earned money to bail out their less responsible neighbors."

CLICK HERE to get your Free E-Book, “Why It’s Curtains for the Euro”

Of course the rest of Europe is going to continue to pour money into Greece because they know that if they don’t the financial markets will panic.
But they are also demanding that Greece make even more painful budget cuts.  Previous rounds of budget cuts have been extremely damaging to the Greek economy.
The Greek economy contracted by 4.9 percent during 2010 and by 7.1 percent during 2011.
Overall, the Greek economy has contracted by about 20 percent since 2008.
This is what happens when you live way above your means for too long and a day of reckoning comes. GET A FREE TREND ANALYSIS FOR ANY STOCK HERE!
The adjustment can be immensely painful.
Greece continues to implement wave after wave of austerity measures, and these austerity measures have pushed the country into a very deep depression, but Greece still is not even close to a balanced budget.
Greece is still spending more money than it is bringing in, and Greek politicians are warning what even more budget cuts could mean for their society.
For example, what Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had to say the other day was absolutely chilling….

“Greek democracy stands before what is perhaps its greatest challenge,” Samaras told the German business daily Handelsblatt in an interview published hours before the announcement in Berlin that Angela Merkel will fly to Athens next week for the first time since the outbreak of the crisis.
Resorting to highly unusual language for a man who weighs his words carefully, the 61-year-old politician evoked the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party to highlight the threat that Greece faces, explaining that society “is threatened by growing unemployment, as happened to Germany at the end of the Weimar Republic”.
“Citizens know that this government is Greece’s last chance,” said Samaras, who has repeatedly appealed for international lenders at the EU and IMF to relax the onerous conditions of the bailout accords propping up the Greek economy.

But don’t look down on Greece.  They are just ahead of the curve.  Eventually the U.S. and the rest of Europe will go down the exact same path.
Just look at Spain.  When Greece first started imploding, Spain insisted that the same thing would never happen to them.
But it did.
By itself, Spain is the 12th largest economy in the world, and right now it is a complete and total mess with no hope of recovery in sight.
The national government is broke, the regional governments are broke, the banking system is insolvent and Spain is in the midst of the worst housing crash that it has ever seen.
On top of everything else, the unemployment rate in Spain is now over 25 percent and the unemployment rate for those under the age of 25 is now well above 50 percent.
An astounding 9.86 percent of all loans that Spanish banks are holding are considered to be bad loans which will probably never be collected.  Before it is all said and done, probably ever major Spanish bank will need to be bailed out at least once.
Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 17 months in a row, and the number of corporate bankruptcies in Spain is rising at a stunning rate.
Five different Spanish regions have formally requested bailouts from the national government, and the national government is drowning in an ocean of red ink.
Meanwhile, panic has set in and there has been a run on the banks in Spain.  The following is from a recent Bloomberg article….

Banco Santander SA (SAN), Spain’s largest bank, lost 6.3 percent of its domestic deposits in July, according to data published by the nation’s banking association. Savings at Banco Popular Espanol SA, the sixth-biggest, fell 9.5 percent the same month.
Eurobank Ergasias SA, Greece’s second-largest lender, lost 22 percent of its customer deposits in the 12 months ended March 31, according to the latest data available from the firm. Alpha Bank SA (ALPHA), the country’s third-biggest, lost 26 percent of client savings during that period.

Overall, the equivalent of 7 percent of GDP was withdrawn from the Spanish banking system in the month of July alone.
Thousands of Spaniards have become so desperate that they have resorted to digging around in supermarket trash bins for food.  In response, locks are being put on supermarket trash bins in some areas.
But Greece and Spain are not alone in seeing their economies implode.
As I wrote about recently, the number of unemployed workers in Italy has risen by more than 37 percent over the past year.
The French economy is starting to implode as well.  Just check out this article.
The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row.
It is just a matter of time before things in Italy and France get as bad as they already are in Greece and Spain.
The chief economist at the IMF is now saying that it will take until at least 2018 for the global economy to recover, but unfortunately I believe that he is being overly optimistic.
As I have said so many times before, the next wave of the global economic crisis is rapidly approaching.  Depression is already sweeping much of southern Europe, and it is only a matter of time before it sweeps across northern Europe and North America as well.
Neither Obama or Romney is going to be able to stop what is coming.  The global economy is getting weaker with each passing day.  The central banks of the world can print money until the cows come home, but that isn’t going to fix our fundamental problems.
The largest economy in the world is imploding right in front of our eyes and nobody seems to know what to do about it.
If you believe that Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Ben Bernanke can somehow magically shield us from the economic shockwave that is coming then you are being delusional.
Just because what is going on in Europe is a “slow-motion train wreck” does not mean that it will be any less devastating. GET A FREE TREND ANALYSIS FOR ANY STOCK HERE!
Yes, we can see what is coming and we can understand why it is happening, but that doesn’t mean that we will be able to avoid the consequences.

Related: Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI), S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP:.INX), Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSEARCA:FAZ), Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares ETF (NYSEARCA:TZA),  Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLF).
Written By Michael Snyder
Michael has an undergraduate degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Florida law school.   He also has an LLM from the University of Florida law school. Michael has worked for some of the largest law firms in Washington D.C., but now is mostly focus on trying to make a difference in the world.

PPP Asking To Contest At Least One Seat In Johor

JOHOR BAHARU, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The People's Progressive Party (PPP) has asked to be given an opportunity to contest at least one seat in Johor in the 13th general election.

Its president, Datuk Seri M.Kayveas said although the party had never contested any parliamentary seat or state seat in the state before, but he was confident of victory if it was given the opportunity.

"PPP has asked for four parliamentary seats and 12 state seats in the next general election, but if given the opportunity, we would like to contest at least one seat in Johor," he told reporters after attending the Johor PPP Convention in Skudai here Sunday.

Kayveas said PPP would not pressure Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak into making the decision.

In the run up to the general election, he said PPP would be focusing on 'Mission 510', that is recruiting 510 new members in every branch throughout the country and ensuring that they would vote for BN.

Speaking when opening the convention, Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said hard work and collaboration between component parties was the recipe of BN strength in the state and urged all quarters to work together to ensure Johor would remain BN stronghold.

Huge GIFT for oil and gas big boys

Hot on the heels of the highly generous 12-year tax-free status for Lynas Corporation comes another huge ‘GIFT’ – this time for the oil and gas big boys. 
 
While the government seems intent on cutting subsidies on selected essential goods used by ordinary Malaysians, it is dishing out more corporate subsidies, oops, I mean ‘incentives’, to a small band of lucky firms in the lucrative oil and gas sector.

There is a 100 percent 10-year ‘Investment Tax Allowance’ for firms involved in petroleum refining.
The Edge notes that among the US$20bn oil and gas projects in 2012 are the Rapid project in Pengerang, the oil and gas terminals in Johor and Sabah, and the regasification plant in Malacca.

Apart from this, LNG trading companies will enjoy a three-year 100 percent income tax exemption under an appropriately named GIFT (Global Incentive For Trading) programme. What is the justification for the 100 percent income tax exemption?

While the government dishes out generous tax exemptions to the corporate sector, it is now mulling a Goods and Services Tax that will hit many ordinary Malaysians, who were previously exempted from income tax.
It is policies such as this that have contributed to the widened gap between the rich and poor.

'DAP no hudud' stickers discovered in Selayang

Issue of Dr. Zakir Naik : Home Minister throws dust in the eyes of Hindus

Tasgaon (Dist. Sangli, Maharashtra) : A case has been filed against Dr. Zakir; he has also rendered apology in this matter; but we will not leave him and take necessary action, promised Mr. R. R. Patil, the State Home Minister to delegation of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). (Many days have passed since Dr. Zakir insulted Shri Ganesh and devout Hindus are lodging complaints at various places against him; but police are trying to oppose lodging of complaints at some places or not taking any action despite registering many complaints. The Home Minister immediately imposed ban on screening of a film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’ for insulting Prophet Mohammad. Why is he taking so long for imposing ban on the speeches of Dr. Zakir on his ‘Face book’, ‘You Tube’ accounts or on his “Peace’ TV channel ? – Editor SP)

A representation was submitted to the Home Minister in case of Dr. Zakir insulting Sri Ganesha when he gave the above promise to the delegation of HJS.

Mr. Puran Malame, an activist of HJS said, “No action has been taken against Dr. Zakir although complaints have been lodged against him at many places; therefore, the Home Minister should look into the matter.” Devout Hindus, Mr. Jeevan Patil, Jagannath Patil, Sachin Kulkarni, Vilas Pol, Kiran Jamdade etc. were present on the occasion.

Twist of fate?: Woman accuses ruling party member of selling her into marriage

For the distraught woman, what had seemed like the perfect opportunity to start over after a painful divorce quickly morphed into a nightmare. PHOTO: FURSID/FILE

SUKKUR: Early Saturday morning, S* burst into the Ahmedpur police station in Khairpur begging for shelter.

For the distraught woman, what had seemed like the perfect opportunity to start over after a painful divorce quickly morphed into a nightmare.

A couple of weeks ago, S, who hails from Vehari in Punjab, had met the vice president of the Pakistan People Party’s Kingri women wing. The ruling party member was in town to meet her relatives and bumped into S, who had been struggling to support her two children after a gruelling divorce, she claimed.

The political activist offered her a job in Khairpur, and she jumped at the opportunity. Packing her belongings, she headed south with her two children, thinking about starting a new life, S claimed. Unfortunately this is where her luck ran dry.

Soon after S arrived in Khairpur, the lady took her to a man named A, assuring her that he would give her a job. However, the man forced her to marry him and she then found out that he had paid Rs110,000 to “purchase” her from the political leader, the woman told the police.

After weeks in captivity, S managed to flee from A’s house and headed straight to the police station. After she narrated the incident to the head constable, Ghulam Nabi Narejo, the law enforcers took her to the Khairpur district and sessions court.

The court directed the police to shift her to the Darul Aman and register a case against the ruling party’s leader and the man accused of forcefully marrying her. But the head constable says they have yet to receive a written order from the court and will act when they get one.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, the political activist admitted she had gone to Vehari but refuted all other allegations.

“Recently, I visited Vehari where the woman’s maternal uncle and brother told me that S had been divorced and they wanted to find a suitable partner for her,” she said. “In my own town, [A] had been repeatedly asking me to find him a suitable wife.”

So she asked the woman’s uncle and brother to bring her to Khairpur so that S and A can be married, she added.

Refuting the allegations that she had sold off S, the politician claimed that she had spent money on her marriage instead. “These allegations are intended to ruin my reputation,” she believed.

Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto, the minister for women development and the head of the ruling party’s Larkana women wing, said that the party will take action against its member if she was found guilty. “We will provide S justice,” she said. “We want to empower women not exploit them.”

*Names changed to protect privacy

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2012.

Madonna backs down from wearing Muslim bridal dress

Madonna backs down from wearing Muslim bridal dress

Madonna has decided against wearing a Muslim bridal dress, a combination of a traditional Iraqi bridal veil and a US soldier's uniform, in her new music video after being convinced by her advisers to give the outfit a miss for her own safety.

Madonna has decided against wearing a Muslim bridal dress in her new music video over fears for her safety.

The 54-year-old singer was planning to don a 'Terror Bride' outfit - a combination of a traditional Iraqi bridal veil and a US soldier's uniform - in the video for upcoming single 'Superstar' as a statement against oppression against women and war, but her advisers convinced her to ditch the political stunt because of the outrage it would be likely to cause.

A source said: ''Madonna had the outfit ready to go. She was really proud of it and said it was her 'Terror Bride' costume.

''She had paraded around in it and said she was going to wear it in her next music video.

''At first when people started telling her it was madness she just brushed it off.

''But when they mentioned that her actions could put her life at risk she decided to ditch it from her video and certainly won't be wearing it on stage.''

The 'Celebration' hitmaker - who is a devotee of Jewish offshoot religion Kabbalah - had already tried the costume on, and while she is said to be ''really disappointed'' about not wearing the outfit, she hasn't ruled out donning the attire in a music video at some point in the future.

The insider added to The Sun newspaper: ''She was really disappointed as she was so adamant about it.

''And even when she said she wasn't going to go ahead she winked that it was being put aside 'for now'.''

Last month, Madonna caused controversy when she referred to US President Barack Obama - who is openly Christian - as a ''black Muslim'' at a concert in Washington, but she later clarified her comments insisting she was ''being ironic''.

She added: ''Yes, I know Obama is not a Muslim, though I know that plenty of people in this country (America) think he is.''

Dr M defends PKFZ deal, says forced sale would have made him unpopular

Dr Mahathir smiles after testifying at Dr Ling’s trial in Kuala Lumpur, October 8, 2012. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the High Court here today he had not agreed to the compulsory acquisition of land for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project, even though he acknowledged such practices usually ended up saving money for the government.

The practice of compulsory acquisitions would have made him an unpopular politician, the former prime minister said when appearing as a defence witness for former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is on trial for deceiving the Cabinet in the government’s purchase of land for the PKFZ project.

“No. Normally when government wants to acquire land, the valuation is very low to save government money; the government officers wants to help government to save money,” said Dr Mahathir to questions from defence lawyer Wong Kian Kheong.

“As a politician who depends on my popularity to stay in office, I would not like to undervalue land acquired by government. That would make me unpopular and my status depends on my popularity,” he said.

Wong had asked Dr Mahathir if he had favoured compulsory acquisition when he was the then prime minister, minister of finance and minister of special functions.

Dr Mahathir told Wong that he had been informed the government had wanted to compulsorily acquire the land in August 2002.

The government had finally decided to purchase the land on a willing-seller-willing-buyer basis in November 2002.

Earlier, the former PM told the court that neither he nor any minister had lodged any criminal complaint about the Cabinet being deceived into approving the purchase of land for the PKFZ project.

He also testified that a policeman told him that if investigators had taken his police statement first, Dr Ling would not even have been charged with any crime.

Dr Ling was charged in 2010 but Dr Mahathir said his police statement was only recorded within these two years.

Dr Ling, who served as transport minister for 17 years from January 1986 to May 2003, is charged with deceiving the Cabinet into approving the purchase of 999.5 acres of land for the PKFZ project, which had resulted in wrongful losses for the government.

The project, initially estimated at RM1.1 billion after it was mooted by Dr Ling in 1997, more than quadrupled in cost to RM4.6 billion by 2007.

A position review by top accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed in 2009 that the total cost including interests from debt repayments could reach RM12.5 billion.

Since December 2009, six individuals have been charged in court including ex-MCA president Dr Ling, and his successor as transport minister, former MCA deputy chief Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy.

Both are accused of lying to the Cabinet.

Dr Ling also faces two alternative charges of deceiving the Cabinet into believing that the terms of the purchase — at RM25 psf plus 7.5 per cent interest — were acknowledged and agreed to by the JPPH despite knowing that there was no such agreement.

He faces a possible jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or both, if convicted on the first charge under Section 418 of the Penal Code.

Teluk Intan crematorium in limbo since 2006

Management infighting has caused the half-done project to be abandoned.

TELUK INTAN: A half-built Hindu crematorium here has been in limbo for about seven years, forcing locals to use funeral services in Bidor, 40 km away.

Drawing attention to the matter was the Teluk Intan MP, DAP’s M Manogaran, who told FMT that political rivalry and management infighting had prevented any progress in the construction since it was halted in 2006.

The project stopped because the Registrar of Societies (ROS) deregistered the committee overseeing it—the Hindu Sabha Hilir Perak—for allegedly mismanaging its funds. A pro-tem committee took over, but it too failed to get construction up and running, leading to its eventual disbanding.

Manogaran said he tried to get the project going again after he won the Teluk Intan seat in 2008, but found it “very difficult to get the factions together”.

It was not until March 2009, he said, that he finally got the groups to sit at a meeting, but only to see more feuding, bringing things to a standstill.

Progress apparently became more difficult after the Perak state government fell to Barisan Nasional later that year, causing the factions to ignore Manogaran because he represented Pakatan Rakyat.

A state of neglect

Hindu Sabha Hilir Perak had intended to build the crematorium as early as 1997. Work started two years later, after the land was gazetted.

But the site is now in a state of neglect. The grounds are strewn with building materials and the adjacent cemetery is choked with weeds, annoying the local Hindus to no end.

“I am under pressure,” Manogaran said. “People are asking me when this is going to be resolved. They are angry and disappointed that this has been going on for the past seven years.”

ROS recently recognised a new Hindu Sabha committee, apparently headed by local MIC chief P Periyasamy.

Manogaran said that the federal government gave this committee a grant of RM300,000 late last year so that the project could resume, but he said Periyasamy was reluctant to get things going because the funding fell short of the RM1.2 million needed to complete the job.

However, according to the MP, the Teluk Intan locals were more than willing to contribute to the project’s completion.

“But I’ve been told that some people don’t want this to take off while I am still the MP. There is this long-standing issue that this shouldn’t be resolved during an opposition MP’s term.”

EGM next month

Periyasamy confirmed to FMT that his committee had received the federal government’s money and said he would call for an extraordinary general meeting next month.

“It will involve all the committees,” he said.

He denied that Manogaran was being sidelined, saying he was aware that the MP had promised his full support and would raise donations for the project.

He agreed with Manogaran that infighting in the previous committees made things difficult. He was trying to change that, he said, and was hoping that work on the crematorium would resume six months after the EGM.

Indians know the truth, says Kula

An advertisement published in Tamil dailies yesterday made comparison between allocations for the Indian community under the federal budget and Pakatan Rakyat-led states.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP MP today criticised the government for attempting to hoodwink the Indian community by comparing allocation for the Indian community in Budget 2013 with Pakatan Rakyat-led state budgets.

“The people are not stupid. They know the truth,” said Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran at the Parliament during the debate on Budget 2013.

Yesterday, Tamil dailies published an advertisement comparing the allocation made for Indians in Budget 2013 as opposed to Pakatan led states’ programmes for the community.

Calling it a desperate attempt, Kulasegaran said it was ridiculous for those behind the advertisement to compare a federal budget to a state budget as the latter had lesser resources.

“Budget 2013 involves RM250 billion. Do you think state governments has that kind of money to offer? BN leaders are bankrupt of ideas,” said Kulasegaran.

Touching on allocations to Tamil schools, the DAP leader said that the federal government should not boast about it in advertisements.

“That is your responsibility. You are supposed to provide adequate allocation to all schools in Malaysia because they are all our children,” he said.

He also poured cold water on the government’s offer to give 1,000 matriculation places to bright Indians students, saying many did not receive the offer despite being qualified.

“Prove to me 1,000 places were given Indian students in recent years,” said Kulasegaran.

In June, a former MIC branch chairman VT Rajen pointed out that many bright Indian students were left out in the selection for the matriculation programmes.

“Despite the community asking for a list of students offered matriculation seats, MIC president G Palanivel had failed to disclose the information,” Rajen reportedly said.

Cheap propaganda

Meanwhile, PKR vice-president N Surendran also criticised the advertisements, calling it blatant dishonesty on Najib’s part.

“The point is most of the problems faced by the Indian community over the past several decades has been happening under BN’s rule.

“So for him to come out and pretend that he is doing better than Pakatan shows his complete dishonesty,” he told FMT.

Surendran was also confident that the Indian community would not fall for such “cheap propaganda and plain lies”.

“We can expect more such proapanda to appear in the media as the genereal election draws closer but the mainstream media will not carry advertisements from the opposition,” he added.

‘Don’t break the temple, sack the priest’

The remark by MIC vice-president M Saravan, say certain observers, may have been aimed at party president G Palanivel.

PETALING JAYA: In a cryptic statement, MIC vice-president M Saravanan said that the temple should not be torn down if devotees are unhappy with the manner in which mantras are being recited.

Instead, he added, the priest should be changed.

To some observers, Saravanan’s statement could be targetted at MIC president G Palanivel, who is known to be a religious man, but the latter’s leadership style had come under criticism.

However, Saravanan, a deputy minister, who was speaking at a book launch over the weekend, did not elaborate.

It was an open secret that many in MIC were not satisfied with Palanivel, who among others had been accused of lacking the grassroots touch and being evasive of the media.

Palanivel had succeded S Samy Vellu after the latter stepped down in December 2010.

Pampering for votes

During his speech, Saravanan also said that both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat were pampering the Indian community, not out of concern, but rather to lure their votes.

According to Tamil daily, Malaysia Nanban, he said that Indians must be united especially with the rising number of Indonesians in this country.

The Tapah parliamentarian revealed that the total number of Indonesians already outnumbered the Indians.

“What would happen after 20 years if the government considers giving citizenship to them? We would lose our position, perhaps the government would overlook us then,” he added.

Citing the recent visits to the Batu Caves temple by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Saravanan said the pair went there not to pay homage to Lord Muruga but to gain the support of the Indian community.

Anger over Perkasa’s use of state facilities

MP asks: Would another NGO—say Bersih—be given the same honour?

SEREMBAN: The Negeri Sembilan government is under fire for allowing Perkasa to hold its annual meeting yesterday at the state secretariat building and to use the state emblem on a banner publicising the event.

Seremban MP John Fernandez (DAP), state PAS commissioner Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani and political analyst Hishamuddin Rais today blasted State Secretary Mat Ali Hassan and Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan for what they said was an insult to citizens of the state who regard the Malay rights group as extremist.

Mohamed was the guest of honour at the gathering, which was Negeri Sembilan Perkasa’s second annual general meeting.

“It’s highly unprofessional and unethical for the Menteri Besar to officiate at the AGM of an NGO,” Fernandez said. “It’s as if Perkasa is a Barisan Nasional component party.

“Does this mean that any NGO—let’s say the Negeri Sembilan chapter of Bersih—can now use the state emblem and the building for its AGM?”

Hishamuddin said Mohamad Hasan must take full responsibility for supporting what he called a “fringe racist group”.

“I’m a Negeri Sembilan boy and I don’t believe Perkasa’s sentiments reflect the sentiments of Negeri Sembilan people,” he said.

“The majority of Negeri people reject all forms of racism—Malay racism, Chinese racism or Indian racism.

“Mohamad’s act of officiating the meeting ran counter to the aim of 1Malaysia.”

Fernandez said that although most people were aware that BN and Perkasa were “two halves of a twin carburetor in the same engine room”, it was still atrocious for the state secretary to allow the NGO to have its meeting in the same complex of buildings in which the state legislature has its sessions.

He asked the government to clarify whether an NGO could rent a government building and use the state emblem in its publicity materials.

Mohd Taufek said he smelled something fishy. “I hope there was no political agenda in all this, especially with the general election around the corner.”

‘BN govt does not care for Sabah’

Former deputy minister Lajim Ukin told Parliament of the failures of the BN government to Sabah voters.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno deputy minister Lajim Ukin told parliament that the Barisan Nasional government has no time for Sabah. He said this was despite the state’s loyalty to the federal government all these years.

Lajim, who is Beaufort MP, also indicated his support for the opposition after he had remained quiet over his political leanings since he quit the government, applauding Pakatan Rakyat’s promise to raise oil royalty payments to 20%.

Sabah is rich in oil and contributes some RM22 billion of oil revenue annually but enjoys a mere 5% return in royalty while government allocations to the state, one of the poorest in the country, is said to be comparatively low.

Lajim’s insinuation of support for Pakatan could see BN taking on a united opposition in the Sabah.

In his speech during the 2013 Budget debate in parliament, Lajim said the ruling coalition had failed to bring development in the state.

Compared to the 85% rate of completed paved roads in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah has only 35%. Connectivity is a key issue in the state which is why Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had announced increased allocations for road projects there.

But the former deputy minister, who was among the few other Sabah leaders who recently defected following disillusionment with the Najib administration’s failure to address the problems in Sabah, said none of the promises have been fulfilled so far.

“For 55 years BN have ruled and Sabah had contributed so much to the Malaysian economy since then but still it is one of the poorest state in the country.

“This shows that Sabah and Sarawak are never the government’s priority despite us being the fixed deposit for the ruling coalition. The Sabahan people have been sidelined,” he said.

Other Sabah BN leaders had also admitted recently that more must be done to improve the socio-economic situation in the state but so far none of them have been upfront about who is to be blamed for Sabah’s underdevelopment.

A Merdeka Center survey released on Friday showed that 57% were dissatisfied with the state’s economic performance and only 56% of Sabah voters were satisfied with the state government, a 6% drop from 62% in November 2009.

The report also showed a significant drop in the state’s chief minister Musa Aman’s rating.

From 60% in November 2009, it dropped to to 45% in September. The decline was most marked among Muslim-Bumiputera voters who are the backbone of the state’s Umno support, with a drop from 72% in November 2009 to 51% last month.

Analysts believe the recent defections in the state will alter the state’s and the national political landscape there, suggesting BN will face some hurdles in its stronghold in the upcoming polls.