Heed the call of compassion

It is not sufficient to confine our benevolence to those we find congenial – to our own ethnic, national or ideological group. We must have what one of the Chinese sages called jian ai, “concern for everybody.” If practised assiduously – “all day and every day”, as Confucius enjoined – we begin to appreciate our profound interdependence and become fully humane. If we wish to create a viable world order, we must try to implement the golden rule globally, treating all peoples – even those who seem far removed from us – as we would wish to be treated ourselves. We must strive for a global democracy, in which everybody – not only the rich and powerful – has a voice and in which takes everybody’s needs and aspirations with the utmost seriousness and respect. Full article.

Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar’s “The Long Partition”

a new book on the partition of india: A full “exchange” of minority populations was in fact negotiated only in the Punjab, but resettlement of evacuees, including pressure on “intending” migrants to give up property, became a mechanism, in both India and Pakistan, of state control over minorities. Full article.

RETHINK Afghanistan, Oct 2 at 7 pm, RCTV

Earlier this year Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films were featured in The Nation, as part of a grass roots movement to educate the public and develop resistance to the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They produced a documentary called “Rethink Afg…hanistan” and their goal was to do nationwide screenings, start a discussion and get Congress people involved.

The documentary is divided into several sections which focus on: the consequences of military escalation in Afghanistan, its destabilizing effects on Pakistan, the staggering cost of the war, the large number of civilian casualties in the fourth poorest country of the world, and the negative effects of the war on women’s rights and terrorism.

“Rethink Afghanistan” will be screened on Friday October 2, at 7:00 pm at RCTV, 21 Gorham Street, Rochester, NY. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion. There will be 5 panelists: Dr Aitezaz Ahmed and Mara Ahmed will talk about Pakistan, Mohammad Katawazi and Obaida Omar will discuss Afghanistan and Doug Noble will moderate the discussion. The event is being sponsored by Rochester Against War, Peace Action and Education, and Peace Advocates First Unitarian Church.

RETHINK Afghanistan, Oct 2 at 7 pm, RCTV

Iraq and Afghanistan will never accept colonialism

The cold fact is that there were no Iraqis or Afghans on the planes that were hijacked on Sept. 11, yet hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans are dead because of the U.S. invasion. Millions more live as refugees. Afghanistan, according to the Bush administration and the Pentagon, was to serve as the military pivot for policing U.S. interests. Huge forward bases for the Pentagon throughout the country would change the relationship of forces in Central Asia. Full article.

Islamabad police raids US-linked security firm

The raid comes after it was revealed that the Interior Ministry had issued licences of highly sophisticated assault rifles to Inter Risk. US Ambassador Anne Patterson had held meetings with the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister for approval of the licenses. Although the weapons are owned by the US embassy, they are to be carried by Inter Risk personnel. The security firm Inter Risk had signed a contract with the US embassy in April to provide security to American employees of the US embassy in Pakistan. Full article.

American Rose fights for Pakistani husband

Pulling his shirt up, Hasan reveals torture marks that remain visible after four years. His front teeth are missing due to heavy beating and he informs that his left hand remains numb. ‘They kept asking me, what do you know about the 9/11 attackers? Who do you know in Al Qaeda? How much money did you send to the terrorists? What are your plans for bombing the nuclear plants in the US?’ Hasan also recalls being chastised for marrying a white woman and being told by a federal agent that he would ‘make a career’ on Hasan’s case. ‘I kept pleading with them that you’ve got the wrong guy, but they never stopped,’ he adds. Full article.

Why I threw the shoe by Muntazer al-Zaidi

I am free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the symbolic act. But, simply, I answer: what compel…led me to act is the injustice that befell my people, and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by putting it under its boot. Full article.

sept 17th: constitution day

“It’s Constitution Day in the US today, marking the 222nd anniversary of the day that the members of the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787. And yet I almost missed it, so low was it on the US media’s radar. Is this confirmation that the shredding of the Constitution under the Bush adminstration was so successful that it is now some sort of museum piece?” Andy Worthington

Bagram: The sham of closing Guantanamo

It’s now apparent that the biggest sham in American politics is Barack Obama’s pledge to close Guantanamo and, more generally, to dismantle the Bush/Cheney approach to detaining accused Terrorists. In August, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Boumediene v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees — people abducted from around the world and shipped to our prison in Cuba — have the constitutional right to habeas corpus (a court review of their imprisonment). Yesterday, the Obama DOJ — as expected — filed a legal brief which adopted the arguments originally made by the Bush DOJ to insist that detainees whom they abduct from around the world and then ship to Bagram (rather than Guantanamo) lack any constitutional rights whatsoever, including habeas review. Full article.

Endless War: The Suicide of the United States

Ten infantrymen in his brigade have been arrested and accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter since 2006. Others have committed or attempted suicide. What is happening to the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team is true of literally hundreds of thousands of veterans across the US. There are numerous instances of veterans attempting to kill themselves after they return from their deployments. Some of these incidents seem to be an effort to avoid redeployment. Many more look like desperate bids to stop, once and for all, the internal pain that many veterans experience. Full article.