Catégorie : World People

Linked with Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.

Mark Vernon is a writer, broadcaster and journalist. He began his professional life as a priest in the Church of England: it may not seem an obvious step from there to journalism but writing a sermon is remarkably similarly to writing a feature; and speaking to parishoners is remarkably like talking to a microphone. His academic interests led him from physics to philosophy via theology. Michel Foucault introduced him to the ancient Greeks on friendship; he thinks that Plato has it just about right on that one at least. He has a PhD from Warwick University in philosophy, degrees in theology from Oxford University and Durham University, and a physics degree from Durham University … (full text).

He says:

• « What Not To Say is about the moments in life when you are silenced – overwhelmed with embarrassment, gobsmacked, dumbstruck. Someone confronts you with a situation, and you have no idea how to respond.
• What Not To Say takes those situations, unpacks them with philosophy, and – understanding gained – explores what’s at stake.
• Why philosophy? Because ever since Socrates, philosophy has always been gripped by questions of life. The ancient Greeks saw it as something of an art. They understood that the moments when we are stunned or confounded – when lost for words – are some of the most valuable in life: it is then that people find themselves at the limits of their understanding of things and are ready to learn more.
• Some of the situations considered in What Not To Say: …
• … (full text).

Watch the video: Mark Vernon – Science, Religion and the Meaning of Life, 9 min, added May 10, 2007.

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Mark Vernon – England

Two Podcasts to be listened (click in the left column of his blog):

• What is friendship?
• How to be an agnostic.

His Homepage.

In an uncertain age, writes Mark Vernon, we need to question our beliefs: … The idea of agnosticism sounds strange only in a culture with a lust for certainty. Thomas Henry Huxley coined the term. This other « Darwinian bulldog » never lost sight of the fact that science has its limits. His neologism was a rebuke to all those who peddle their opinions as facts in the name of religion or science. « The things one feels absolutely certain about are never true, » opined Oscar Wilde, neatly summing up the more rigorous argument of the philosopher Karl Popper, that any intellectual system which cannot doubt itself is suspect. The more the militants of the mind dominate debate, therefore, the poorer they leave us all … (full text).

Not so highly evolved, Aug. 18, 2008.

He writes about himself (on his blog): I am an English writer, journalist, and author of The Philosophy of Friendship, After Atheism: Science, Religion and the Meaning of Life, What Not To Say: Philosophy for Life’s Difficult Moments and 42: Deep Thought on Life, the Universe, and Everything. I used to be a priest in the Church of England, live in South London, and am an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck College, London. My new book is Teach Yourself Humanism – just out – and that will be followed in September ’08 by Wellbeing. This is one of a new series of popular philosophy books called The Art of Living I am also editing. Do contact me: Mark Vernon.

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(Disambiguate with Rahul Mahajan, the son of Pramod Mahajan, a prominent Indian politician)

Rahul Mahajan is a noted American blogger and author of The New Crusade: America’s War on Terrorism, and Full Spectrum Dominance (also on wikipedia). He has a PhD in particle physics from the University of Texas at Austin … He currently serves on the Administrative Committee of anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice, the Board of Directors of Peace Action and the Advisory Board of website Occupation watch. In 2002 he ran as the Green Party of the US candidate for governor of Texas. Mahajan has been particularly involved in campaigning around issues relating to Iraq. He was an opponent of the sanctions regime imposed on Iraq under the auspices of the UN during the 1990s. He was actively involved in opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and has remained an outspoken critic of the ongoing occupation. He has travelled to Iraq twice and reported from Fallujah during the siege in the month of April 2004. (full text).

Rahul Mahajan, is an independent journalist and author of Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond (Seven Stories). He has a Ph.D. in particle physics and teaches at New York University. He runs a blog called Empire Notes. He has been to Iraq twice and reported from Fallujah during the siege in April 2004. (Selves and Others).

Download the audio: Rahul Mahajan’s Interview (and other interviews on The Progressive).

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Rahul Mahajan (the blogger) – USA

He says about himself: « Still Thinking … Like to explore new horizons, innovate science. Enjoy to work on innovative concepts in technology. Latest passion: Mobile computing and Artificial Learning (on his blog JSF Future and my experience). His other blogs: Empire Notes; Rahul Mahajan on Blogger.com.

He says also:… “The United States has completely lost control, and even the mildest of people are now absolutely enraged at what is being done in Fallujah, and want the United States out…anyone that didn’t have a gun today could pick up a gun tomorrow” … and: frankly, I don’t do anything to protect myself. I have the slight advantage that I look very much like many Iraqis. There are — a lot of them are darker skinned and indistinguishable from an Indian, which is my origin, so if I play deaf and dumb, I’m not particularly a target. Others, women, there’s — you won’t find a single foreign white woman in Iraq who doesn’t wear a head scarf whenever she leaves. You will see Iraqi women without a head scarf. You will never see an American woman without one. I have heard that even some of the more delicate-featured men, with very striking blond hair, do the same thing. But, in general, there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself. Everybody’s got a kalashnikov, and it’s just of matter of luck. I just try to keep my head down … (full long interview text, April 13, 2004).

His book: The New Crusade: America’s War on Terrorism.

Find him and his publications (please disambiguate this results with Rahul Mahajan of India, the son of Pramod Mahajan, a prominent Indian politician): on amazon (with 69 results); on Zspace; on Selves and Others; on the free dictionary; on Google Group-search.

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Linked with International Association for the History of Religions IAHR, with Religion and Peace, with The Buddhist Community at Stanford and with York Centre for Asian Research YCAR.

SUEKI Fumihiko studied at the University of Tokyo and received his Ph. D. degree in 1994. He became Professor in the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the University of Tokyo in 1995, where he teaches Buddhism, in particular Japanese Buddhism. He works mainly on the reconstruction of the intellectual history of Buddhism in Japan from ancient to modern times. His recent research also covers Zen philosophy and comparative studies of modern Buddhism. His publications (in Japanese) include History of Japanese Buddhism (Tokyo, 1992), Miscellaneous Essays on Japanese Buddhism (Tokyo, 1993), Studies in Buddhist Doctrines in the Early Heian Period (Tokyo, 1995), Studies in the Formation of Kamakura Buddhism (Kyoto, 1998), and Rethinking Modern Japanese Thought (2004). He has contributed several articles in English to the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies and other journals. He was Guest Professor at Ruhr University in Germany in 1997, was Guest Researcher at Renmin University in China, and Directeur d’Études Invite de la Section des Sciences Religieuses de l’École Pratique des Hautes Etudes in 2001 … (full text).

Find his datas on ReaD (Directory Database of Research and Development Activities).

Find his Bio on UNESCO.

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Fumihiko Sueki – Japan

He writes: … Conclusion: We have examined some of the works included in Nichiren B. These works cannot be conclusively demonstrated to be either Nichiren’s authentic works or apocryphal ones, but there exists the possibility that they are Nichiren’s work. Usually the ideas developed in them are not identical to those of Nichiren A, but they are often more fully elaborated expressions of ideas found in Nichiren A. For this reason, we cannot disregard them when we consider Nichiren’s ideas, but neither can we treat them as being on the same level as those of the Nichiren A category. This is the reason why we must acknowledge the category of Nichiren B (along with its ambiguity), and not just Nichiren A and Nichiren C. We cannot always deal with medieval literature in clearcut scienti³c terms but must sometimes acknowledge some ambiguity. (full 20 pdf pages text about Nichiren’s Problematic Works).

Shigaku zasshi, Vol.109, No.1(20000120) pp. 104-114, The Historical Society of Japan ISSN:00182478 (in japanese).

He writes also: Japanese Buddhism is sometimes called “funeral Buddhism” contemptuously. Buddhism is often criticized in that it serves only the dead and does not useful for the living. In truth, the main duties of Buddhist monks are to perform funeral services, maintain graves and perform memorial services for the dead in Japan today. Modern Buddhist leaders in Japan tried to argue against such criticism and insisted that Buddhism in origin was not a religion for the dead but for the living. In the post-modern situation, however, the philosophy of the dead is becoming necessary instead of the philosophy of the living that has been prevalent in modern ages. The living human beings cannot live without thinking of the dead. For example, the war victims in Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Nanjing and other places do not forgive us even today. In this situation, it is necessary to evaluate Buddhist tradition in Japan that shows us the way how to go with the dead. In this paper, first, I will introduce the philosophy of Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962) who insisted the existential co-operation with the dead under the influence of Zen Buddhism and next, examine some Mahayana Buddhist sutras from the viewpoint of the relation between the living and the dead. (Buddhist Philosophy of the Dead, on the XXII World Congress of Philosophy, July 30 to August 5, 2008, Seoul, Korea).

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Ali Ahmad Jalali (born 1940) is an Afghan American and a Distinguished Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies of the National Defense University,  which is located in Washington, D.C. He is also the former Interior Minister of Afghanistan, (who served from January 28, 2003 to September 27, 2005) … (wikipedia).

His Bio on Afghanistan online.

Afghanistan: Top Security Official Resigns Amid Controversy.

He says: … « I will not work as Interior Minister anymore. Maybe there are reasons for this and maybe not, but one of the main reasons is that I wish to resume my academic research », … and: « All these rumors are baseless, and I seriously reject them », … and: (he is) more committed than anyone else in the fight against drugs » …(full text, September 28, 2005).

… Prior to joining the Afghan government, Jalali lived with his family in suburban Maryland. His family remains there, and his children continue to attend Prince George’s County schools … (full text).

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Ali Ahmad Jalali – Afghanistan and USA

… Trafficking amongst children has turned into one of the major menaces of a developing society amongst which Afghanistan, a war, torn and socio-economically dilapidated nation has turned into one of the major breeding grounds of such a menace after illegal narcotics trafficking … ‘Afghan children are being kidnapped on their way to school or while playing in parks. The Afghan interior minister, Ali Ahmed Jalali, says that both boys and girls are abducted for both domestic and international markets, to be used for sex or labor, or to provide human organs’. (full text, 03 May, 2008).

Many speculations have been made about his retirement from Karzai but nothing has officially been confirmed as the real reason for his leaving his post. He told Afghan television on Tuesday there were « various reasons » for his resignation, primarily a desire for the « more relaxed » life as an academic … (full text).

Find him and his publications on amazon; on Encycopedia; on EMM; on INSS; on Google Book-search;
on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search.

Fun Summer Reading: I am finally getting around to reading, The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan, Lester W. Grau and The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War, Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester W. Grau.  For some reason, The Other Side of the Mountain is about twice as long as The Bear. Go figure … (full text, Aug. 7th, 2008).

… “The Afghan authorities have always said that if Pakistan’s government does not prevent cross-border activities by the militias, they will pose a serious threat to Pakistan’s government itself,” former Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali, who is a professor at the Near East South Asia center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, told RFE/RL. “The security situation inside Peshawar is now worse than the security situation inside most Afghan cities. Therefore, the first phase of this Pakistani military activity is aimed at forcing these militants out of these areas.” Jalali expressed his “hope [that] this operation continues until it creates such a situation that, on one hand, it destroys the strongholds of the militants inside Pakistan from which they attack NATO and Afghan forces across the borer, and on the other hand, until it creates such a situation in [Pakistan’s] tribal areas that militants no longer pose any threat to Pakistan or Afghanistan or the region” … (full text, July 3, 2008).

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Linked with No honour in killing, with Global Sisterhood-Network GSN, with The real choice before Pakistan., and with Human Development Foundation HDF.

Beena Sarwar is a writer and filmmaker active in the women’s rights, human rights and peace movements in Pakistan.

Beena Sarwar was IPS correspondent in Lahore from 1992 to 1999 when she left to join Goldsmiths College, University of London, to do a master’s course in TV journalism. She was a producer with Geo Television News, Pakistan’s first 24-hour news channel, from May 2002-Nov 2004. After a stint as editor for OpEd and Features with the prestigious ‘The News’ (Jang Group of Newspapers), Karachi, she returned to IPS this year. Sarwar is a founding editor of ‘The News on Sunday’, a weekly newsmagazine launched in 1994 which comes out of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. She has been a Research Fellow of Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA, Sept 2006-June 2007; Nieman Fellow, Sept 2005-June 2006; British Chevening Fellow, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK, Sept 2000-Sept 2001. She holds a M.A. (Distinction) on Television Documentary, Goldsmiths College, University of London, Sept 2001; a B.A. double major Studio Art and English Literature, Brown University, Providence, USA, May 1986, and ‘A’ Levels, (Art, Literature, History): Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, 1981. (IPS.org).

Watch her video: Beena Sarwar: Musharaff’s actions are … , 5.41 min, on VodPod (from the Real News Network), Dec 8, 2007.

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Beena Sarwar – Pakistan

Hindus touched by report on untouchables, September 06, 2008.

… Our mutual friend Beena Sarwar (in the photo above, with Saneeya) has made a 14-minute documentary called Celebrating Saneeya. It was screened at the 5th Karachi International Film Festival in December 2005 … (full text, 20 April 2007).

Beena Sarwar is an artist, journalist and documentary filmmaker focusing on human rights, gender, media, and peace. She was Features Editor of ‘The Frontier Post’, Lahore, founding editor of weekly ‘The News on Sunday’, Pakistan and is on the Editorial Board of monthly Himal Southasian, Kathmandu (www.himalmag.com). Since doing her Masters in Television Documentary she has made several documentaries and worked as a producer with Geo Television news. She was Op-ed Editor of The News before going on to Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow and Fellow at Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. She is currently based in Karachi working on a freelance basis and runs a postings list at yahoo groups …

She writes: … In resigning today, Musharraf avoided the impeachment that loomed over his head (another first) which would have carried confrontation further. As I left on August 12 for Jakarta to participate in a forum on Islam and Democracy in South Asia, someone remarked that I would be returning in five days to a transformed Pakistan. Not likely, I replied. Even if Musharraf went during this time, there would be no dramatic change. Inflation would continue to break the people’s backs, violence in the name of religion would continue to take lives, unprincipled forces would continue to try and sabotage the democratically elected government, hidden hands would continue to needle India and Afghanistan, and the lawyers would continue to agitate for restoring the judiciary that Musharraf had axed during his imposition of emergency on November 3 last year that the ruling coalition is dragging its feet over … (on BAITHAK, August 19, 2008).

Find her art and her publications on The 2007 KSG Gallery; on CHOWK; on the blog: Daiy Online Alochona; on Google Video-search; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search.

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Linked with PEKKA, with Rumah Olin (mainly in indonesian language – see there photos, music, blog, general online-contact, contact to report an abuse (without registering first), and links), and also linked with her text: A JOURNEY TO THE WORLD WITHOUT HUSBAND.

Nani Zulminarni is a gender and development specialist, facilitator and consultant with an interest in community organizing and economic and political empowerment of women. She is the coordinator of PEKKA, the « Women-Headed Households Empowerment Program ». PEKKA organizes women, helping them build their vision for change, capacity, networking and advocacy skills. PEKKA works in 8 provinces in Indonesia – Aceh, West Java, Central Java, West Kalimantan, NTB, NTT, North Maluku and Southeast Sulawesi, reaching more than 300 poor villages and 10,000 families. Nani is also the chairperson of The Center for Women’s Resources Development (PPSW) and a member of the executive committee of two regional networks – the South East Asia for Popular Communication Program (SEAPCP) and the Asia South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE). Her main responsibilities in the network are policy development, program planning, monitoring and evaluation, and facilitating workshops and training. (just associates).

She says: « The society only recognizes men, not women, as heads of family ».

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Nani Zulminarni – Indonesia

She works for Program Pemberdayaan Perempuan Kepala Keluarga PEKKA.

As a student activist in the early 80s, Nani protested with other young Muslim women for the right to wear head scarves (at the time under Soeharto, these were not allowed). For them, it was a critical struggle to defend their rights, even though the covers led to discrimination in public schools and offices. Her desire to challenge women’s subordinate status led Nani to become a field worker for PPSW, organizing poor rural women … (full text).

Notes from conversation with Nani Zulminarni regarding shared movementbuilding – organizing challenges: 3 pages.

Violence against women is not just a human rights violation. It is also a serious public health problem. It can take the form of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse, and can have serious implications for a woman’s health. What is not commonly recognized is that violence against women has both economic and social costs to individuals, families, and communities. Nani Zulminarni, Chair of Indonesia’s Pusat Pengembangan Sumberdaya Wanita (PPSW) (Center for Women’s Resources Development in Indonesia), struggles on with her mission … (full text).

Find her, the bio and the publications on ashka; on catalogue; on SourceWatch; on book finder; on Google Group-search; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Blog-search.

… Another peacewomen, Nani Zulminarni also speaks on her experience as the head of PEKKA (women household headed program), a program which support women as head of their households/widow or single mother, in several provinces in Indonesia (including Aceh). She have also works for more then 20 years as an activist. Last but not least, the discussions was moderate by Vivi Zabkie from the News Office of 68H (KBRH 68) … (full text and photos).

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Charles Neal Ascherson (born October 5, 1932), is a Scottish journalist. He was born in Edinburgh and educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where he read history. He was described by the historian, Eric Hobsbawm, as « perhaps the most brilliant student I ever had. I didn’t really teach him much, I just let him get on with it. » After graduating with a triple starred First,  he declined offers to pursue an academic career. Instead, he chose a career in journalism, first at the Manchester Guardian and then at The Scotsman (1959-1960), The Observer (1960-1990) and the Independent on Sunday (1990-1998). He contributed scripts for the 1974 documentary series World at War and the 1998 series The Cold War. In recent years, he has also been a regular contributor to the London Review of Books.He has lectured and written extensively about Polish and Eastern Europe affairs. As of 2008 Ascherson is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. He has been editor of Public Archaeology, an academic journal associated with UCL devoted to CRM and public archaeology issues and developments, since its inception in 1999. Neal Ascherson is married to fellow journalist, Isabel Hilton. They currently live in London with their two children, Iona and Alexander. (wikipedia).

Neal Ascherson is a journalist and writer. He was for many years a foreign correspondent for the (London) Observer. Among his books are The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo (1963; Granta, 1999), The Struggles for Poland (Random House, 1988), Black Sea (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996; reprinted 2007), and Stone Voices: the Search for Scotland (Granta, 2003). (openDemocracy).

His Bio on Spartacus Schoolnet.

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Neal Ascherson – England

The Black Sea, Chapter 10.

May 3 elections: A disaster and a mystery – After a farce of spoiled ballots and confused voters, Scotland awakes to a new political landscape … (full text).

He says (about freedom gained): « The new right for which I am most grateful has to be visa-free travel. A right still limited to certain parts of the world. But the knowledge that, within a few hours of an impulse, I can be not just in a capital city (Prague, Warsaw, Berlin) but wandering down Piotrkowska Street in Lodz, or standing on the cobbles of an East Bohemian village inhaling its scent of pork chops and cabbage, or buying the real original Weihnachtsstollen at the Christmas Fair in Dresden — that’s still miraculous. Do I regret the long waits at frontier stations, the sound of jackboots slowly moving along the corridor from compartment to compartment? No, it’s all been perfectly preserved in novels. And if you still hanker for that paranoia kick, just put on a burqa for your return journey to Britain ». (full text).

His statement: If the West had learnt the lessons of the past, it would now be supporting even the smallest countries’ dreams of freedom, August 17, 2008.

I returned from our last trip desiring to read more about Scotland. I was especially pleased with Longitude’s list. One title I’m particularly looking forward to reading is Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland, by Neal Ascherson. With some books, the introduction/foreward/preface alone is worth the price of admission. To wit, this passage from the opening of the Preface to Stone Voices: “Some countries are tidy with their past. Until recently, English historiography resembled the work of a landscape gardener at a stately home: vistas of Saxon lawn and Norman shrubbery led up past Tudor and Hanoverian flowerbeds to the terrace of the present, where the proprietor sat contentedly surveying his estate … (full text, October 27, 2007).

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Linked with Let the House of Cards Tumble.

Marcel Votlucka is a writer living and working in New York City (yes another one). His work has appeared in the Stony Brook Press, the Stony Brook Independent, the Suffolk Standard, and Strike the Root. As you might’ve guessed, he’s a graduate of Stony Brook University. His passions include writing (duh!), Japanese language and culture, and cooking. Most of the articles and essays on here focus on politics and society, but also LGBTQ issues. You’ll also find the occasional bit of satire, as well as some fiction. Neverland: Voices from the Holocaust was part of a project started several years ago in the wake of 9/11. It’s been long discontinued in favor of other ventures, but some of the completed chapters are available on the site. Eventually we’ll get around to putting some more cool (IMHO) stuff in the Extras section … (full text on his homepage).

He writes: The hegemonic powers that be hate, above all else, the following question: « Why? »  And we the people are more than happy to avoid asking it.  For that dangerous question is often the first step toward any positive personal, political, or social transformative process … (full text, July 22, 2008).

His Homepage.

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Sorry, no photo found for Marcel Votlucka – USA

If Only the Super Bowl Could Replace Politics, February 4, 2008.

… How much blood will continue to be spilt because people refuse to see themselves as individuals first and foremost; because loyalty to their own lives and values, their family, friends and kin is not good enough for them?  How much blood will have to be spilt over feuds between one « team » and another –Muslims, « Westerners, » Tutsi, Hutu, Sunni, Shi’a … How much good comes of this?  Even if your « team » is victorious over the ethnic, political, or religious « opposition, » in a conflict that should never have had to exist in the first place, you’re not free, you’re not liberated; you’re still just a pawn in the machine, a brick in the wall … (full text, February 19, 2008).

My Million-Yen Naoki Prize Money is Taking a Nap, english translation.

Marcel Votlucka understands that the true meaning of the July 4th is the assertion of our unalienable rights, including the right to secession: A recent poll on this site asked if respondents planned to observe (U.S.) Independence Day this year. My belated response is a “yes,” I did observe Independence Day as I always do ­ and not just because I like having a day off from work. I did so because I know what the holiday really means … (full text, July 9, 2008).

I’m an Anarchist, and I Don’t Hate the Troops, Jan 30, 2008.

Marcel Votlucka of SB Independent, a publication of the Stony Brook University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, offers a good analysis of the Downing Street Memo for students and faculty at the university. The writer noted in a June 18, 2005 post: … (full text).

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Linked with The U.S. 2008 Presidential Election: An Evaluation. Find him also on our website on December 04, 2007.

Rodrigue Tremblay (born October 13, 1939) is a Canadian-born economist, humanist and political figure. He teaches economics at the Université de Montréal. He specializes in macroeconomics, and international trade and finance, and public finance. He is a prolific author of books in economics. Born in Matane, Québec, Canada, he has a B.A. from the Université Laval (1961), a B.Sc. in Economics from the Université de Montréal (1963). Tremblay did his graduate work at Stanford University where he obtained a M.A. in Economics (1965) and a Ph.D. in Economics (1968). He has been a professor of economics at the Université de Montréal since 1967. He is professor emeritus since 2002 … (full text, last modified on 22 July 2008).

He says: « One of the greatest benefits of a well functioning democracy is its capacity to bring about change: change of government, change of policies, change in the distribution of income and wealth … etc., and avoid stagnation and immobilism » … and: « The world should take notice when someone with a fanatic mind and with powerful means, receives his marching orders from Heaven » … (full text quotations).

Visit:his blog site, and its archives (in many languages ); Author’s Website; the book The New American Empire; Check Dr. Tremblay’s coming book The Code for Global Ethics: The central message of the book is that it is not necessary to be very religious to act morally, and that on the contrary, when people are religious to the point of fanaticism, they become immoral … (full text).

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Rodrigue Tremblay – Canada

Géopolitique et stratégie: Why Not Simply Abolish NATO?  Aug 19, 2008 / Pourquoi ne pas abolir l’OTAN, tout simplement? Aout 26, 2008.

The US Economy and Bad Government Policies, 31 Jul 2008.

America The Plutocracy, August 14, 2008.

Candidate McCain: A Risky Choice, June 3, 2008.

He says also: « It would be nothing less than scandalous for the United States, which was founded on humanistic and democratic principles, to attempt to replace the old empires of the past and to deny the fundamental democratic right of other peoples and other nations to self-determination » … (full text quotations).

Find him and his publications on the University of Montreal; on wikipedia with published books, and Contributions to economics, and Contributions to politics; on Global Research.ca; on amazon; on Google Video-search; on inauthor Google-search; on Google Book-search; on Google Scholar-search; on Google Group-search; on Google Blog-search.

And he says: « An incompetent politician who surrounds himself with competent people can pull it off. However, if he is dumb enough to surround himself with like-minded people, failure becomes a certainty » … and: « The two biggest curses of humanity have been religions and wars, and both are often intertwined » … (full text quotations).

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Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir is an American Iraqi-born physician, who was sentenced on October 28, 2005, to 22 years in prison for violating the Iraqi sanctions by sending money to Iraq through his charity front Help the Needy, (disambiguation), and for fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and a variety of other nonviolent crimes. Five other people, including his wife, had already pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the case. Dr. Dhafir is believed to the only U.S. citizen ever to be held in prison for violating the sanctions on Iraq. His attorney filed a motion to dismiss as he accused the U.S. government of selective prosecuting Dhafir by singling him out because of his race, religion and cultural background. In February 2005 Dhafir was convicted of 59 out of 60 charges. Dhafir had run an unregistered (and unaudited) charity, « Help the Needy », and most of those charges were related to that charity. The 59 convictions included:

• not recording the $400,000 of his own money that he contributed to the fund;
• using a portion of the funds he collected to aid needy for his own benefit;
• circumventing the laws against sending funds to Iraq, without a license;
• defrauding Medicare.

In one of his few interview from prison Dhafir told the New Standard website, « This is part of a campaign against Muslims and Arabs » … (full long text wikipedia, last modified on 10 September 2008).

Nov. 3, 2005 – The Central New York physician who founded and ran an unregistered charity for Iraqis suffering under UN sanctions and the rule of Saddam Hussein was sentenced last week to 22 years for a series of white collar crimes including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and violations of the US law enforcing the Iraq sanctions … (full text).

Free Rafil Dhafir.

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The video: Dealing with Non-Muslims, Shaikh Rafil Dhafir explains on dealing with non Muslims, 3.23 min, June 25, 2008.

Memo To Obama And McCain: Add To Your To-Do List, Aug 05, 2008.

Syracuse oncologist Rafil A. Dhafir – Iraq and USA. (He) was arrested 19 months ago by the Justice Department and was described by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft as a terrorism supporter. But no terrorism-related charges were filed against him. (Operation Free Dhafir).

FREE DR RAFI DHAFIR … (Press Release:), Aug 28, 2008: Appeal for Syracuse Doctor Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Helping Iraqi People … (Cleveland Indy Media Center).

Muslim doctor gets 22 years for filtering donations to Iraq.

News of Reckoning August 2008, by day-of-reckoning  « Dr Rafil Dhafir, a Syracuse oncologist who helped raise almost $5 million in humanitarian supplies for the Iraqi people, » is appealing a conviction for wire fraud and other charges connected to his efforts to help Iraqis … (full text).

Campaign in his favour: We ask for your aid in helping free Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a 56-year old oncologist of Arab descent who was arrested February 26, 2003, for breaking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Iraqi Sanctions) in Syracuse, NY by sending humanitarian assistance to Iraq. He is believed to be the only person ever to be jailed for sending humanitarian aid to Iraq … (full text, Feb 11, 2005).

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