The wave of violence engulfed Pakistan on its election day on May 11, 2013. Pakistan saw upsurge in violence across the country from small towns alongside border of Afghanistan to its key city of Karachi.

City of Peshawar in Pakistan’s Northern Western Frontier province was the worst target for deadliest terrorist atrocities. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the polling station and further seven people were hurt when a bomb attached to motorcycle went off. A bomb targeting female voters was detonated at a Peshawar school injuring eight people. Other areas of Pakistan were also hit by violence, the deadliest bomb explosion in Karachi left 11 dead and 40 wounded. According to The Guardian: “Bombs at ANP party offices and at Peshawar polling station also leaves scores wounded following Taliban attacks in run up to vote.” An explosion was also reported in city of Quetta in Balochistan. A gunmen killed two people outside a polling station in the town of Sorab in Baolchistan.

In Chaman, a border town near Afghanistan, a clash between two opposition groups left several injured and tree dead. The death toll in the run up to elections has reached 130 now. The 2008 Pakistan elections were much bloodier and killed 150 people and injured 400 people when militants targeted the campaigns of Pakisan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP).

Due to instability in the region, Pakistan closed its borders with Iran and Afghanistan for the following three days to keep foreign militants at bay. The government stationed 600,000 security officials all across the country to safeguard the voters and to deflect violence and vote rigging at polling stations. However despite such security measures, violence continued, and according to leading opposition party PTI, vote rigging also took place in several cities across the country.

Despite the violence and carnage, 90 millions Pakistanis finally casted their votes across 70,000 polling stations in one of the most historical elections of Pakistan. This is the first time in Pakistan’s history, when a civilian government was replaced by another civilian government by democratic means, through the sheer power of ballot box. Though the number of voters that turned up was lower than 2008’s figure, the election commission of Pakistan reported 60-80% of turn out by the end of day. Voting was extended for an extra hour across Pakistan.

In its 66 years of history Pakistan has experienced three military coups and endless number of failed governance. The 2013 elections proved to be a landmark in Pakistan’s history, where a staggering 40 million young people for the first time went to polls to vote. Social media websites such as Twitter have also played an imperative part in 11th May’s elections with voters tweeting and posting about their voting experience. Prior to elections, young Pakistanis took to the Internet to promote upcoming elections with pictures of ex-cricketer Imran Khan and his cricket bat as a symbol for change. The Facebook page ’We Want Imran Khan To Be The Next Prime Minster Of Pakistan’ has so far 930.721 likes and 528,1644 people are engaged in debates and discussions on this page.

Post elections, unofficial results by country’s election commission based on 254 of the 269 races where the counting has been completed, reveal that Nawaz Sharif is all set to serve Pakistan as the next Prime Minister. This is the third time that the 63-year-old steel mill tycoon will be serving Pakistan as the leader. Mr Sharif first served as prime minister from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 until he was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999 and was forced to spend years in exile in Saudi Arabia. He returned from exile in 2008, supported by thousands to compete in national elections, but lost to Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). His family is among one of the wealthiest, well-known and prestigious families of the country.

The unofficial election results has already ensued war of words between Imran Khan’s PTI and Nawaz Sharif’s party. During a press conference in Lahore on Monday, May 13, 2013, Mr.Sharif told Imran Khan to stop making allegations of vote rigging. The defeat in elections has hit Imran Khan and millions of his supporters hard. But despite their loses, PTI emerged as winners in some of the dangerous and hard to reach areas of Pakistan, such as Northern Western Frontier of Pakistan (NWFP) with 34 seats in the 99-member provincial assembly.

Now what remains to be seen is whether Mr Sharif, Pakistan’s next Prime Minister will be able to pull Pakistan out of thores of extremism and poverty. The biggest challenge he will be facing is dealing with the country’s volatile security situation, to protect the right of the Pakistanis to live in peace and to deal with the internal threat of different militant groups operating within Pakistan that will largely determine the parameter of Pakistan’s security and foreign policies.

Image credit: We Want Imran Khan To Be The Next Prime Minster Of Pakistan via Facebook

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On May 11, 2013, 90 million Pakistanis will cast their vote in one of the most troubled regions of the world. Amidst terrorist attacks, violent clashes, assassination threats and target killings, Pakistan is polarized in the wave of terrorism and corruption.

Pakistan’s election campaign managed to carry on till its final day, May 9, 2013. However, in the last few days leading to elections, the campaign has taken a new dangerous turn. On the final day of the election campaign, gunmen abducted Ali Haider Gilani, son of Pakistan’s former prime minister, a contestant in the Punjab provincial assembly, and injured several others. According to Guardian, “The attack on the son of Yousaf Raza Gilani could seriously upset Pakistan’s historic election due to take place on Saturday.”

The former Prime Minister told BBC that his son Ali Haider – a candidate for the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) – was seized in the central city of Multan. On May 3, 2013, CNN reported that “Gunmen in Pakistan killed a leading prosecutor working on high-profile terrorism cases and an anti-Taliban politician and his son, the latest violence ahead of next week’s national elections.” On May 8, Reuters reported that the Pakistani Taliban’s leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, had issued written instructions ordering militants to carry out suicide bombings across the country during polling on Saturday.

Who will replace the current infamous government of Pakistan? Is it Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) (movement for justice) ex-cricketer, humanitarian worker? Or will it be Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) owner of steel mills, ex-Prime Minister, who served Pakistan twice in the past and who was famously ousted in a military coup and spent years in exile in Saudi Arabia? Whatever the outcome, May 11, 2013 will determine the faith of one of the most dangerous, unstable and vulnerable regimes on earth.

Since its inception in 1947, Pakistan has had only a few leaders that were able to bring change in such a tumultuous environment. However, since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the country has slid further and further into the throes of terrorism. Since 2003, over 44,000 people have died in terrorist attacks. Upsurge in violence leading to the elections has killed 118 people and injured 494 people. In recent years the country’s political and military situation has deteriorated considerably. The debt-burdened country has also been in the news for sectarian killings of Shias to border clashes with Afghanistan to drone attacks in its border areas by its key ally America.

The country faces many serious problems, including corruption, a struggling economy, internal unrest, soaring inflation, security issues, terrorism, judicial issues, international debt, a failing health infrastructure, and a deteriorating human rights record. The country’s fundamental challenge lies in its governance and development. Campaigning politicians have all expressed interest in ensuring that the country addresses these challenges and becomes a peaceful, stable democracy. The upcoming elections will dramatically affect the country’s prospects —which in turn will dramatically affect the future of its position in the world.

Perhaps it is in this time of desperation that young people have mobilized around the iconic figure of ex sportsman Imran Khan. Famously dubbed as ‘son of Pakistan’, he is a strong candidate in the upcoming elections in a country where the voting system is controlled by feudal lords and where the political elite in the past has failed to govern effectively.

His supporters across the world have been working indefatigably to spread his election campaign. The PTI office in London has been at the forefront with its campaign work and has been arranging flights for ex-pat Pakistanis from London to Lahore to participate in upcoming elections. His supporters hope to harness the millions of voters across the country to keep his campaign for new Pakistan alive.

Khan has been busy, making appearances across the country even in the most-troublesome conflicted zones such as Waziristan, Baluchistan, FATA areas. He has been meeting voters and holding press conferences, making promises that once in power he will end corruption in 19 days and terrorism in 90 days. According to Khan, a political tsunami is coming which will sweep him to power.

“I assure you that PTI is going to make a new Pakistan, where corrupt rulers will be taken to justice. I will hold (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) Nawaz Sharif and (Pakistan People’s Party leader) Asif Zardari accountable after coming to power as these kings of corruption won’t hold each other accountable,” he told an election rally.

According to France 24, “Khan is not just campaigning against the ruling elite; he also wants Pakistan to review its policy on the War on Terror. It’s a war in which the country’s military has been playing a double role by unofficially talking with the Taliban while working closely with the West since 2001, when Musharraf made Pakistan a front-line state in the War on Terror.”

Though Imran Khan is one of the strong, his key rival Nawaz Sharif is a front line runner in upcoming elections. A poll published by Pakistan’s Herald magazine suggested Khan and Sharif may be neck and neck. Over 25 percent of respondents in the poll said they intend to vote for the PML-N in the May 11 general election, while 24.98 percent said their vote would go to Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.

According to Ahmed Rashid, of Pakistan on the Brink, “It is not a failed state, but as its febrile state worsens, it is sliding down the path of becoming one.” According to Rashid “It still has a powerful army, and a corrupt and run-down but functioning bureaucracy, judiciary, and police force; its economy would be viable if its problems are properly addressed, and its population is hard working.” However, despite all the problems, Pakistanis are hopeful for credible, revolutionary elections on Saturday. What remains to be seen is who will save the country from its worst plight in history, Imran Khan or Nawaz Shairf?

Image credit: AP

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How often is it that we encounter views such as “cultural differences” or “culture-related health beliefs” as the reasons why immigrants encounter disparities when approaching healthcare institutions? Is culture really to blame for the inequalities that migrants face when accessing healthcare systems? Why is this even an important question to ask?

There is no doubt that migrants face a hearth of vulnerabilities when settling in a new country, such as lack of language knowledge, unfamiliarity with institutions and access to labor market opportunities. But how do migrants access healthcare systems when they first arrive? How do they communicate their illnesses and what are their expectations in how doctors may diagnose them or communicate their methods of treatment?

If you do your homework in the suffocating amount of immigrant health literature that looks at how immigrants access healthcare facilities (as well as the quality of those services provided in terms of accommodating migrants’ specific needs), you begin to notice the creeping re-appearance of culture as an explanatory ground on the inequalities that migrants face.

How different could the culture of the host country and the country of departure be when comparing people’s health attitudes? This question of course relies on which ethnic group of people you observe as well as the countries of settlement: Turks in Germany, Africans in Italy, Chinese in Australia, Albanians in Macedonia. The migratory pathways and patterns are enormous, complex and almost impossible to summarize.

The point is not to undermine culture as an aspect to analyze when looking at the ways in which migrants integrate into their host country, in particular approach healthcare services. In fact, analyzing different understandings of culture regarding health has lead to an array of interesting ethnographic accounts of how different ethnic groups of people communicate health differently.

The point is, on the contrary, to look beyond the cultural explanations when looking at how migrants perceive or interact with healthcare institutions. The culture of a particular group of “ethnic” immigrants is not homogeneous, static or stationary. Migrants are a diverse group of people, and differ in mountainous ways in terms of their age, gender, socio-economic status, class, recency of arrival, education, city of settlement and departure.

For example, imagine two Italians, a man from Naples and a woman from Milan moving to America. Would the pathways through which these two people incorporate into America be the same? Would the “culture” of these two people be the same? Here, gender would play an imperative role, as would ‘city of departure’, as the cultural traditions, behaviors and customs between Naples and Milan are vastly different. Migrants are therefore diverse; they come from different places, have different life trajectories and come from various cities. It is important to acknowledge this because scholars attend to migrants as if they share strong cultural bonds, identity and unity. What about the people that don’t identify with their cultural groups and do not rely on their ethnic background to access institutional services?

So why do scholars, scientists and academics continue to use the “cultural” model when exploring not only how migrants access health systems, but incorporate into the society in general? Perhaps looking at this through a political dimension could help answer the question. It is simply in the interest of nations and policymaking strategies to homogenize ethnic groups of migrants. If you endorse the pluralism and diversity of people, then you must also adopt and embrace multicultural policies. However, multicultural policies are not always in the interest of all countries.

Politics aside, the point is to give more attention to diversity and difference, rather than lumping people into a particular cultural or ethnic category. This clearly impacts the way we view each other, the stereotypes that are created and perpetuated. Stereotypes are useful for one thing only: funny films. But looking at the ways in which they impact institutions and policies is important, and affects a lot of people.

Step outside the cultural model, look at culture through a meticulous lens and try not to base assumptions on cultural unity.

Image credit: Doctors of the World UK via Flickr.com

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Causes often depend on donations to support its good initiative. These sometimes come in the form of food or water, other times money or clothing, or even volunteers and the capabilities of infra-structure. But what about words?

Believing in the power of words, the Doe Palavras Project, ‘Donate Words’ in English, was conceived to change the notion that helping other people through donation does not necessarily have to be in measurable assets. The Mário Pena Institute in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is a hospital center focused on cancer treatment. They developed the idea of combining the need to support people going through hard times with the opportunities of social networks to develop something through the transformational power of the words.

Screens distributed in the rooms where patients receive their chemotherapy show messages sent by strangers who wish to encourage another human being struggling with life-threatening cancer. These messages are sent using Twitter.

The words can help motivate one person to the long path of a healthy treatment. The project goes beyond the traditional way to help and develops a simple and effective way to “donate.” The project explains that what the patients need the most are positive messages of love, hope and strength. They need to believe that the treatment will make them better.

The idea is really simple: people from around the world send heart-warming and encouraging messages using the project’s website or through Twitter, by adding the hashtag #doepalavras or #donatewords.

Messages such as “Strength and courage I send to you today for you are braver than you think and stronger than you feel” and “While there is a will to fight, there is hope of winning” will reach those who do not need food or water, but support on the road to recovery.

Doe Palavras also has an English version, Donate Words, and is available for free to any hospital that wants to use the system.

In seven months, the project has garnered 1,306,710 messages from 128 countries around the world and brought smiles to people who may have had to overcome the hardest challenge of their lives.

It has been an applauded initiative and has already received many awards, such as the Big Idea Chair of Yahoo and the Top of Marketing 2010. There is also a plan to make a book that compiles the best messages, which will then be distributed to hospitals.

Image courtesy: Instituto Mario Penna

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More than two years after the January 25 revolution in Egypt people are still waiting for the change they thought would follow, after the ousting of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. Despite the changes brought about by the revolution, which first-and-foremost included the so-called fall of Mubarak’s military regime, the real change is still to be seen. The fall of Mubarak’s regime was followed by a range of democratic elections, where both women and youth remarkably went to the voting polls in big numbers. And a new president was voted into office. However, the world, not least the Egyptians themselves, is still left to see a change in the social structures of the Egyptian society. Changes, which can complete the revolution that became world-famous as its role in the Arab spring.

Theda Skocpol once remarked that revolutionary social changes does not primarily occur as a consequence of individuals’ actions but because of major, significant changes within the social structure. In other words, according to Skocpol, the revolution does not take place before a modification on a basic level, related to the overall condition of the society, such as economy and class structures, can be identified. This will only happen, she argues, when something happens to the structures themselves. And as most of us know, that is still to be witnessed in Egypt, where the amount of people living below the poverty rate has increased; the gap between rich and poor has not declined, the unemployment rate is higher than ever; the economy is continuously getting more challenged and human rights are still not to be found on the ruling party’s agenda.

Thus even though the Egyptians have put an incredible effort into keeping the revolution alive by continuously demonstrating to show their disappointment and lacking support to the new ruling party, consisting of Islamists with the Muslim Brotherhood in the leading position, obtaining its major support from the Salafi party, Al Nour, they can only be part of a major change as members of a structured social position.

That, however, seems disheartening, as the opposition, which could be the basis for such a ‘structured social position’, appears to be everything but structured. From such a perspective a lot of Egyptians do not have the surplus energy to unite and create alternative groups that potentially could fulfil the role as this structured social position, which possibly could challenge the current social structures with the aim to complete the revolution. They simply have enough anxieties worrying about bread feeding children and other family members, that nothing is left to focus on how to change the social structures.

Consequently, several youths are revolting in a savage attempt to show their resistance towards Egypt’s new regime. Nevertheless it must be stressed that far from all Egyptians show their frustration in this way: Some are depressed to an extent that they believe nothing can ever change their miserable situation, for which reason migration seems as the most appealing solution:

“The political situation [was] the main drive for them to go [to emigrate] because they feel that there is no hope. There is no change,”

- one man said, in an interview conducted for my MA thesis, about his friends who have migrated to Canada after the 25 January revolution. Others are trying their best to find stability within the structures of a country that currently comes across as very instable and chaotic, not leaving much hope for the vast majority of the citizens. Yet others do not really feel a difference between the time under Mubarak and this ‘new Egypt’.

All this shows the reality of the social structures related to socio-economical class relationships that can be found in every society, and in Egypt to a great extent. These class structures indicate how the social opportunities, such as income and other sources associated with wealth, are divided between different groups of the society. Thus the access to such sources seems to be frightening linked to the social position of the group one belongs to. In this way the social structures are often maintained by the poor and marginalised too, as they often tend to believe that they do not have other chances in life than what is their current status quo.

Meanwhile the people, who are rich and privileged, and benefiting from the corruption and inequality, seem likely not to be that eager for major changes in the social structures, as one of the respondents for my research remarked:

“I feel bad when I get advantage of anything like this [the corruption]. (…) for my job it is hard because we have a lot of connections so I can get use of that but I feel bad about it. I don’t want to use it [his connections], I want to go as a normal citizen and get my rights. That’s it! (…) but my chance or my force; I am forced to do this [use his connections] because suppose I am going to do something, maybe that would waist a lot of my time, I don’t want to waist my time, so I have to use my influence so they [his connections] can help me out with this.”

Frustrations derived from the feeling that the hope for a different, better, future, most Egyptians saw two years ago, are slipping away. Egyptians take to the streets, if not for the change they long for, then at least in an unsuccessful attempt to gain a minimum of respect with the idea: “If I cannot succeed in this system, I can at least leave my mark, trying to tier down the system that made me the failure I am!”

In conclusion, it can be highlighted that for the revolution to be finalised successfully, Skocpol suggests we need the opposition to form the structured social position that can take on a leading role in the fight for changes within the social structures of the Egyptian society. On that note, it can only be hoped that the parties and individuals represented in the opposition make their greatest effort in organising themselves better for the upcoming parliamentary elections than what have been the alarming case so far.

The article’s theoretical approach has been inspired by: Lemert, Charles. Social Forhold – En indføring i det sociologiske liv (pp. 128-142). Translated by Annika Dahl Ebert. Narayana Press. Denmark. 1997-2004.

Image Courtesy : Sierragoddess

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The number of people visiting the library is gradually increasing in Japan. It is a common perception that the internet or smartphones would replace the printed book, as people become more familiar with the new technologies. However, it seems like Japan is an exception.

According to the report released by the Japanese Ministry of Education last year, the number of people borrowing books from libraries reached a record high in 2010, with an average of 5.4 books per person a year. The average in the 1970s was one book per person. The report shows that about 7 billion books were borrowed, and almost 2 billion people visited the library to borrow books in 2010. Specifically, the number of teenagers borrowing books increased remarkably.

The report suggests that an aging society might be behind the increasing number of people visiting the library. The Japanese Ministry of Education said, “As many in the baby boom generation start retiring, a lot of them tend to visit the library to enjoy their leisure time. We think that is one of the main reasons.” As the Ministry said, it is easy to see elders at a library  these days. Actually, one library in Tokyo, which is ran by the Chiyoda ward office is always crowded with elders who have recently retired.

There is another view that the increasing number of people visiting the library is caused by Japan’s sagging economy. Since people cannot afford to buy brand-new printed books, they may rather visit the library in order to save money. Japan’s publishing market has diminished since 1996. As a result, a lot of bookstores and publishers are out of business. Instead, the number of second-hand bookstores keeps increasing in Japan.

The third reason suggested by the report is that people are visiting the library more thanks to the increasing number of libraries, and their enhanced services. The number of libraries in Japan has increased from 2,172 in 1990 to 3,274 in 2011. In addition, libraries have tried their best to attract people by extending their hours of operation.

According to the report by Japan’s Nihon Geizai Shimbun, Tokyo’s Okubo library extended its closing time from 7PM to 9:45PM, making possible for office workers to use the library after work. As a result, the number of people using the Okubo library increased by 9.2 percent in three years.

Image Courtesy : Thompson Rivers

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Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe opened up a trip to the US to meet President Barack Obama amid regional diplomatic tensions and domestic economic inconvenience.

Recently Prime minister Abe left Tokyo on his way to meet President Obama and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington, D.C.

Japan is currently crumbling by an ailing economy measured in terms of consistent deflation from the past 20 years, a territorial dispute with China and being disturbed by North Korean missile mission that automatically placed Japan under its axis.

PM Abe said after his White House visit at a Washington think tank, that “they (North Korea) have increased the range of their missile immensely and have attained the ability to reach even the mainland United States.”

Japan has been jammed into a dispute with China over sovereignty of islands located in the East China Sea and lost sleep over the situation as North Korean missile strength has expanded too dramatically.

Over the years, the North Korean missile program expansion became a major problem, terrifying its neighbours. During the picture session at the Oval Office with President Obama, PM Abe said, “We just cannot tolerate the actions of North Korea, such as launching missiles and conducting nuclear tests.”

President Obama’s Asia advisor, Danny Russel, said that the president “remains supportive of the peaceful efforts to diplomatic resolution to outstanding issues of territorial claims,” BBC reports.

The Japanese economy is the third largest in the world, but its currency is persistently declining in value against the US dollar.

Abe proposes to help set off the otherwise grounded economy with the help of Monetarist and Keynesian tools that may support growth in future. According to the BBC news, PM Abe has outlined two plans to revitalize the weak economy: firstly to print a lot of money and secondly to spend a lot of money. Plan A can be categorized under Monetarism and plan B is from the Keynesian School of Thought.

According to Keynesian economic thought, if the pace of economic activity is slow with falling investment rates and fading employment combined with decreasing consumer spending, then the only thing that can restart economy is public intervention through spending.

On the other hand, Monetarist believe that it is the supply of money that makes the economy move back and forth and not government spending. However, if both of these schools of thought can bring life to Japanese economy, then there may be a possibility of progress.

According to the BBC News, in an interview with the Washington Post, Abe said that improving ties with the US were at the top of his agenda and that their support is key. Both leaders are expected to discuss Trans-Pacific Partnership (Free Trade Agreement between North American, South American and Asian nations) among other issues during his visit.

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After a brutal rape case in Acapulco shook Mexico on February 4, President Pena Nieto has pledged to create a new militarized police force to ensure the safety of locals and tourists in the popular holiday resort.

The case, involving six Spanish women who were raped in a rented beach house by masked gunmen, was astonishing even for Guerrero, with its high level of crime. Only one woman managed to avoid assault by saying that she was Mexican. According to Fox News, it is yet to be confirmed if the Spaniards were targeted because of their nationality. The UK newspaper The Guardian said “Mexican local authorities determine if organised criminal are behind an attack, and, if so, pass the case to federal authorities.”

Up until now, however, the government did very little to help the victims. Acapulco Major Luis Walt downplayed  the crime, saying “It could have happened anywhere in the world.” Even though Walt later apologized for his comment, it looks like he was more concerned about the image of Acapulco rather than the raped women.

Freelance writer Phillippe Diederich pointed out “It is too easy for six Spanish women, or 60,000 dead Mexicans to become a statistic used by politicians and the media… Governments need to allocate resources toward prevention, security, victim advocacy and education about violent crimes against women.”

President Pena Nieto has continuously underlined the importance of the security problem. Right after his election in December, the President communicated a plan to strengthen security by dividing the country into five security regions and improve the coordination of law enforcement  In addition, the President committed to switching the focus from punishing crime to preventing it. It was obvious that the implementation of measures could not be done in a few months; however, the issue is now how much time it will take and how many people will become the victims before results are achieved. Pena Nieto claims that the government is working to improve the conditions for public security, but he has not provides any time frame.

On February 12, the government announced its second anti-crime plan. Focusing on the 251 most violent towns, $9.2 billion will be spent on preventing young people from joining criminal organizations. The measures include improving health and social services, creating additional jobs and increasing the number of schools. The following day, Pena claimed that the tourism policy can only be successful when the measures of security are implemented. The National Tourism Policy for 2013-2018, presented on February 13, includes four directions: legislative and sectoral transformation, development and promotion; and sustainability and social well-being.

Does it mean that tourists have to wait until after the policy has been implemented to visit Mexico? Choosing the right state can be an alternative solution. According to the Economist, Yucatán, with its famous resorts Cancun and Riviera Maya, is as safe as Finland. Oaxaca, Veracruz and Pueblo also exhibit low levels of crime, while Guerrero, with its capital Acapulco, remains one of the most dangerous, with a murder rate of more than 2100 people per year.

In addition to increasing expenditures on security, Pena Nieto promised to create a comprehensive security environment and grow confidence for travelers in the country by working on infrastracture and improving medical services.

Image Courtesy : World Economic Forum

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Valentine’s Day may bring a negative awareness to singles, but International Flirting Week deters those negative feelings to jump start an ongoing positive streak of flirting. Robin Gorman Newman, The Love Coach and creator of International Flirting Week, gives the ins and outs of successful flirting, to help you meet your mensch—a decent, responsible person—and improve your social life.

Newman’s definition of flirting is simply capturing someone’s eye by glancing and looking back at them. For those experiencing anxiety about flirting, it only takes three glances to get someone’s attention. Newman says flirting should be “fun and playful, and innocent,” not to mention that it raises your endorphins. “It’s a feel good experience to the person flirting and the recipient,” she says.

While some people are natural flirts, without intent, and do it to feel good, others do it to keep the excitement within a relationship, or to network. When you are in a relationship it is important to flirt with your significant other ”to remind them that you are still attracted to them and thinking of them romantically” she advises. While both have significance, Newman shares the difference between flirting with or without intent.

It all depends on your expectations, Newman says. Those who flirt naturally are not on a mission, unlike those who are flirting to get ahead at their job, or to network. Newman says that in this case, you want to do it for pure reasons. “If there’s a high level of expectations, that’s not a positive way to put flirting to the test,” she says. “It’s too premeditated.” A person should proceed with caution because you may not know, for example, your company’s policies on dating.

Newman informs that yes, flirting is meant to be playful and fun, but there is a fine line between flirting and sexual harassment. “There are people who don’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer,” she says. Some people may use flirting inappropriately, to get into someone else’s personal space, or the person may become too touchy-feely, which can become problematic. Approaches can be misinterpreted, so respect the other person she says. It’s also important to be astute when flirting and be akin to the other person’s body language. “Be aware if they don’t look like they want to be flirted with,” she says.

Another important aspect in flirting is location. The venue affects how you come across and whether or not the setting is appropriate. If you’re in a bar or a club, that is an appropriate setting for flirting, Newman enlightens. However, if you’re busy hanging out, but you just came for a girl’s night out, that may not be the appropriate situation, she adds. A group setting may come across as intimidating. “Be on the same page,” she said. “If it’s not the right place, the right attitude, or time, then it’s not going to work out and get that message.”

Newman wants potential flirters to keep in mind that some people won’t take “no” for an answer., Nevertheless, be prepared for rejection, in some instances, and move on. “If you pick up on signals and vibes that are not reciprocated, then move on,” she says.

As the old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect,” and surprisingly relevant in this case. The more you flirt, the better you become, Newman assures. Using props can potentially boost your flirting. “Props can be anything from walking a cute dog or if you’re at the gym, wearing a tee or a sweatshirt that captures their eye with your school logo on it or a vacation [spot],” Newman says. However, for a dressier event, wear a scarf, or for males, wear a tie, she adds.

Becoming involved in community events, can further help put flirts at more of an advantage. Joining an organization or volunteer work, gives you the chance to see people’s faces more than once. If you are not connecting the first time, then you have the opportunity the next time. “Flirting is easier if you put yourself in an environment where you are pursuing an activity with continuity.” You will already have a leg up on connecting with someone if your interests are the same. Newman adds that unlike for sports, you do not have to think of one-liners because you are talking about something you are both doing.

Since the electronic age, flirting has evolved and changed for the better, (or worse?). Newman says that it has provided singles the ability to connect via e-mail and text message. “People feel freer in writing,” she says. “Yet, it can be deceiving.” Because flirting over text message or e-mail lacks personal, face-to-face interaction, it can be difficult to know whether someone is flirting or not, and you can get a false sense that you’re involved with someone prematurely. Newman reassures us that less is more.

Just because the new digital age has made flirting easier, Newman prompts not to overdo it. You can meet on the Web, but it’s not for everyone. She says it depends on your comfort level, but always think safely and smartly. “Meet in a public place, drive yourself home and don’t give out personal information right away,” she warns. “Proceed with caution, trust your gut and take note of that.”

Robin Gorman Newman, The Love Coach, author, How to Marry a Mensch, is a popular figure on the singles scene. She has lectured extensively as a relationship expert, hosted singles theater nights, and appeared in films and on television and radio worldwide. She has been seen on CNN and The Today Show and has been featured in many newspapers and magazines. Robin is the founder of www.lovecoach.com. While following her own advice, she met and married her own mensch, and they have a 9-year-old son. She is also the creator of International Flirting Week, February 13 – 19, 2013. 

Image Courtesy : Chris Sgaraglino

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Pope Benedict XVI is not the only pope to hand over the Keys of St. Peter to someone else But there seems to be some confusion in the media as to who, exactly, was the last pope to resign. Some say Gregory XII, while others say Celestine V. The truth is that both men gave up the papal tiara, though under radically different circumstances. Here is a look at two of the remarkable figures that made the same dramatic choice as Benedict.

Gregory XII (1406-1415)

Born Angelo Correr around 1326 to a noble family in Venice, Gregory had a reputation as a particularly pious and honest churchman. The Roman Catholic Church was currently mired in the Western Schism, a complex ecclesiastical conflict that had produced the spectacle of multiple ‘popes’ reigning at the same time and hurling excommunications at one another. When the Roman pope Innocent VII died in 1406, the cardinals unanimously elected Correr as pope. Each member of the conclave had sworn an oath that, if elected, he would renounce the papacy if the rival in Avignon, Benedict XIII (who is often referred to as an ‘antipope’) would do the same, thereby bringing the Western Schism to an end.

At first, Gregory seemed willing to adhere to his promise. He entered into negotiations with Benedict, and the two pontiffs agreed to meet in the neutral city of Savona in Liguria. But Gregory’s determination started to waver in the face of opposition from his relatives and King Ladislaus of Naples. He eventually backed out of the meeting, claiming that he was afraid of being captured by Benedict’s supporters.

Gregory’s cardinals were none too pleased at his change of heart, and although he ordered them to remain in the city of Lucca, several of them slipped away and entered into secret negotiations with their counterparts in Benedict’s camp. The two groups of cardinals decided to convene a general council to depose both popes and elect a single successor. The council eventually met in Pisa, but neither Gregory nor Benedict attended. In June 1409, the Council of Pisa duly deposed Gregory and Benedict and elected a successor, who took the title of Alexander V. But Gregory created several new cardinals and convened them in a rival council that condemned both Benedict and Alexander.

Western Christendom was now split between three popes, and although Alexander V died after a very brief reign, he was succeeded by another antipope, John XXIII. Under pressure from secular rulers, John convened another council in the city of Constance. Although convened by an antipope, the council was legitimized when Gregory sent representatives with a bull that retroactively summoned the council and approved its succeeding acts. He also empowered one of his representatives to resign the papacy on his behalf, and he duly fulfilled his commission. In gratitude, the Council made Gregory Cardinal Bishop of Porto and legate to Ancona, where he died shortly thereafter.

Celestine V (1294)

The man who would become Celestine V was born with the name Pietro to humble parents in the Kingdom of Sicily in 1215. He entered the Benedictine Order at the age of seventeen and soon developed a reputation for asceticism. He eventually decided to take up residence in a cavern, first at Mt. Morrone (which is why he eventually became known as ‘Pietro di Morrone’) and then Mt. Maiella. Emulating the example of St. John the Baptist, he tortured his flesh relentlessly, wearing a hair shirt roughened with knots, fasting every day except Sunday, and keeping four Lents throughout the year (during three of which, he only consumed bread and water).

Morrone’s brand of piety proved quite popular, and he founded a religious order that would eventually be named after him. Although it was eventually made part of the Benedictine Order, the Celestines had to endure a much severer way of life. But they became so popular that the order soon boasted 36 monasteries and 600 monks. Morrone ended up handing control of the order to someone else so that he could escape into the solitude of the wilderness.

When Pope Nicholas IV died in 1292, the cardinals gathered at Perugia to elect his successor. Their deliberations dragged on for two years, and Morrone sent them a letter filled with righteous indigation, warning them that God would surely punish them for their dilatory behavior. Desperate for a candidate, the Dean of the College of Cardinals nominated Morrone himself, and the rest of the cardinals readily assented to his election. When Morrone was informed of his election, he at first refused to take up the papacy and contemplated fleeing, but pressure from crowds of believers and the Kings of Naples and Hungary persuaded him to take office.

Morrone took the regnal name Celestine V, his papacy soon got off to a rocky start. He alienated his cardinals by reviving a decree of Gregory X that required cardinals to be isolated from the outside world when electing a pope and imposed strict living conditions on them for the duration of the election. He also proved to be a better ascetic than an administrator, and he resented the fact that the temporal business of the papacy often got in the way of his prayers.

Ultimately, the burden of his office proved to be too much, and Celestine began to contemplate resignation. But a papal resignation was an extremely rare event, and there was considerable uncertainty among church lawyers as to whether or not it was even possible. Celestine used his power as pope to declare that it was in fact possible for a pontiff to resign, and he took advantage of that pronouncement just a short while later. All told, he had reigned for five months.

Unfortunately, Celestine’s successor, Boniface VIII, had him arrested and thrown into a tiny cell in the castle of Fumone. He endured terrible conditions and rude treatment by his guards for nine months before finally dying at the age of 81.

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Pope Benedict XVI has shocked the world by announcing that he will relinquish the papacy at the end of the month.

Benedict made his historic announcement at a consistory that was held to approve the canonization of three new saints. In a faltering voice, he read a statement in Latin to the assembled cardinals.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said.

Benedict stated that governing the church required one had to be strong in both mind and body. But since he had come to feel increasingly infirm, it was important that he step down and let someone with a stronger constitution take over.

As required by canon law, Benedict announced that he made his resignation with “full freedom.” And in display of German meticulousness, he also declared that he would “renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new supreme pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

Benedict concluded his statement by announcing that he planned to continue serving the church through a life dedicated to prayer.

Although Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops are expected to retire at 75, the pope traditionally holds office for life. Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, remained in office despite suffering from a variety of debilitating ailments. But over the centuries, a handful of popes have chosen to step down. Gregory XII resigned in 1415 in order to end the Great Schism, a decades-long ecclesiastical civil war that saw multiple popes in office at the same time. Over a century earlier, Celestine V stepped down after a reign of only five months when he became disillusioned with the nature of the papacy. Hopefully, Benedict’s post-papal life will be more congenial than that of Celestine, who was imprisoned in the castle of Fumone by his successor.

The full text of Benedict’s announcement can be found here.

Image Courtesy : Catholic Church (England and Wales)

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The scandal that has shaken the food industry in Britain has come to a new low. It has recently been discovered that Findus UK Beef Lasagna contained up to 100% horsemeat. Consumers are outraged and the question of how much we actually know about what goes into our foods is on everyone’s mind.

This story first started on January 17 when traces of horse DNA were found by the Food Safety Authority (FSA) of Ireland in beef burgers supplied to supermarkets by subsidiary plants of the ABP Food Group Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton in Yorkshire. Liffey Meats, a company also based in Ireland, was later discovered providing supermarkets with products that had traces of horse DNA.

In light of this news, ABP Food Group suspended their contract with its Silvercrest plant in Monaghan, Ireland. Tesco, Lidl and Iceland are a few of many stores who reacted by taking ten million suspected burgers and other products off their shelves.

On January 31, Burger King admitted some burgers contaminated with horsemeat had been imported to their store. They also cut their contract with Silvercrest Foods.

On February 4, 75% horse DNA was confirmed by the Irish department of agriculture to be found in raw ingredients supplied by Rangeland Foods.

And in the consecutive days that followed the news became worse and worse.

On February 5, the FSA in Northern Ireland reported that Freeza Meats in North Ireland had around 80% of horsemeat in some of their frozen meat. Asda then withdrew all of their products that had been supplied by this company.

On February 7, Findus UK beef lasagne, produced by Comigel, was revealed to contain up to 100% horsemeat. Ready-made meals made by Comigel were taken off the shelves of Tesco and Aldi stores.

It does not look as if the scandal will go away any time soon.

Many questions are raised in the face of this  disturbing tribulation. Where on the food line is the problem occurring and who is to blame for the contamination of our food?

The chief executive of the FSA, Catherine Brown, told the BBC that “In order to get to the bottom of this, we’re going to requiring every company to test every product line.”

She continued to say that criminal activity was “highly likely” to blame for the contamination of the meat products. The police have launched an inquiry to investigate whether or not this claim may be true.

As of February 7, the government has not denied that horsemeat could have been distributed to schools and hospitals.

Despite the growing number of companies and food suppliers involved in this horsemeat horror, it has been advised to consumers that they should continue eating meat products unless they are told otherwise.

But can customers really be expected to continue eating from these companies when they really do not what they are eating? How long have we been eating contaminated meat? There are still too many questions that need answering. Consumer confidence is broken and a lot needs to be corrected in order to gain it back.

Image Courtesy : J_m_wetherington

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Bangladesh has seen the nation’s biggest crowd in the last decade, all united for one purpose, with one motto: ‘Hang the War Criminals of 1971′. Today was the 4th day of demonstration in the capital’s Shahbag area, with people protesting there day and night. No one had foreseen that a few bloggers could bring about the entire country down to protest. People from all over the country have traveled to Dhaka to take part.

People could be seen flocking the intersection since early morning. It started with hundreds carrying national flags, banners, posters and placards, getting ready for the afternoon mass rally. By 3.00 pm the entire area was brimming with thousands of protesters. Some of the senior members of the rally commented that the participation of the youth was overwhelming.

An admirable example is the case of a young lady Lucki Akhter, who has never seen the Liberation War yet speaks with a burning fury against the verdict of the tribunal. To get her and other like-minded people’s voice heard, Akhter has been giving out slogans tirelessly for over three days now, and the whole nation has been cheering and chanting to her speech. The determination shown by this young lady, who has been away from the sit-in only for a total of two hours in the last three days, has earned her respect with some people saying ‘Salute to Lucki Akther’!

Many others like Lucki Akhter crowd the protest at Shahbag. Administrator of the group ‘Moja Losss’ on Facebook, along with a few other friends and volunteers, have given out red and green t-shirts today to show solidarity with the protest and to signify the flag of the nation. Others are seen bringing in food and drinks for protestants at the sit-in.

An oath was taken by the Protestants at the rally that they will continue this movement until their demands are met. And in addition to their demand for Capital Punishment of War Criminals of 1971 such as Quader Mollha, demonstrators have also asked for banning political party Jamaat and its student wing Shibir.

Some protestants also pledged the boycott of businesses, banks, media outlets and social and cultural organizations owned by leaders and members of Jamaat.

Imran H. Sarkar, convener of Bloggers and Online Activist Network, is one of the initiators and organizers of the movement. He comments “We pledge to keep on demanding trial under a special tribunal, of Razakars and Al-Badrs who were convicted and were under trial but freed after 1975.”

Imran also stated, “We pledge that we will continue our movement from Teknaf to Tetulia under the leadership of general people until highest punishment is given to Razakars-Al-Badrs who committed crimes against humanity like genocide and rape in 1971.” Imran was lauded by Protestants and his slogan was chanted repeatedly by the people present.

Influential writer Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal said, “I am here to offer my apology to you. I wrote in newspapers that the new generation only hits ‘like’ on Facebook and writes on blogs, but does not take to the streets. You have proved me wrong, and I thank you all for this.”

“The year 2013 has turned into 1971 and those of you who did not see 1971 are now witnessing ’71 in the year of 2013. Study when it’s time to study, write poems when it’s time to write poems, listen to music when it’s time to listen to music … and take to the streets when you need to. It is the happiest day of my life. All the martyrs and the country people are thankful to you,” he said.

The sit-in, which was started online, has caused the flame to burn all over Bangladesh. War memories are rekindled, painful emotions are brought back. While the opposition party leaders are against the whole movement, senior influential members of the society see it as history of 1971 repeating in 2013.

Image Courtesy : Lordamit

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Youth are responsible for revolution in many countries in different parts of the world. Similarly thousands of youth in Bangladesh sit down on streets and refuse to move until their demands for the capital punishment of War Criminals are met with.

The sit-in started on Tuesday afternoon, in response to the verdict of life imprisonment for Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah, who was a war criminal during the Liberation War of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, and the demonstration lasted throughout the night. The whole sit-in was organized  by bloggers and social network activists.

The spirit of this non-violent protest spread throughout the whole country with sit-ins and demonstrations taking place in Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sunamganj, Barisal, Rajbari, Noakhali and Narsingdi. It seemed as though 42 years later nostalgia had rekindled emotions of war, and hatred towards the war criminals of 1971.

This small movement started mainly by students with no politcal involvement at first, was later joined by political parties, freedom fighters, war veterans, senior citizens and other eminent personalities of Bangladesh. However the organizers of the sit-in have decided to not let any political leaders address the protest, in order to keep it neutral.

The protest is taking place in the capital’s Shahbagh area,which is a key point in the capital, adjacent to Dhaka University, National Museum, Suhrawardy Udyan, Central Shaheed Minar and Bangla Academy, which has a historical significance to the people for its link with the birth of the nation and the people’s struggle.

The organizers are keeping the entire protest non-violent, and as can be seen for the last three days, there has been motivational speeches, patriotic songs, street plays and art, and anti-war criminal chants and slogans. A lot of creativity has been put into the demonstration, as protestants have portrayed their vexation over the ruling by transforming their bodies into banners and posters, paper and waste products into effigies, wooden sticks into a symbolic cage and the streets into canvases.

At this very moment the crowd is no longer limited to just students. Children, housewives, laborers and people from all classes and castes have come together merely as citizens of Bangladesh who were not happy about the ruling. People are also signing petitions demanding to see Quader Mollah executed in the gallows. Different organizations such as the Sector Commanders’ Forum, Sammilito Sangskritik Jote, Sammilito Krira Poribar, Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal and Gonotantrik Bam Morcha have expressed solidarity with the organizers of this movement.

The government Awami League, has also lauded this movement in the parliament, and has expressed its support to the organizers of this protest.

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Russia, which is currently at the 4th place in the world ranking of alcohol consumption, has decided to start a war against alcohol by introducing a new law.

According to the Associated Press’ report in January, the Russian government has enacted a new law to change beer’s status from “beverage” to “alcohol” in order to reduce national alcohol consumption.

Under the new law, Russian people will only be allowed to buy beer at restaurants, cafe, or stores with a size of over 50m2. It will be banned for regular stores to sell beer between 11PM and 8AM the following day. Within this time period, people are now allowed to have beer in public spaces, such as parks, beaches, or playgrounds. In addition, the Russian government entirely banned the Russian media from airing alcohol commercials.

So far, Russian people have purchased beer from a small chain of stores on the street called “KIOSK.” However, the sight of people drinking beer on the street will soon be disappearing.

In fact, it is not the first effort to reduce people’s alcohol consumption in Russia. In 2011, Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev named Russia’s excessive drinking the “nation’s disaster,” pushing for several regulations in order to curb the alcohol consumption. The Russian government imposed 20 percent increased taxation on beer, and it is planning to further increase the tax by 20 percent this year and then 25 percent more the following year. Russian people’s favorite drink, the vodka, was not exempt from regulatory measures. The price of vodka in Russia has increased by 36 percent this year compared to that of last year.

The excessive alcohol consumption is a deep-rooted problem in Russia. Russian adult men drink between 16-32 liters a year on average, and about 500,000 people die due to alcohol-related problems every year.

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s report last year, the Russians’ alcohol consumption was 15.8L per person on average, which makes the world’s fourth highest consumption level. WTO also added that one out of five men and six percent of the entire Russian women population die because of the excessive alcohol consumption.

The British newspaper Telegraph reported that vodka has been the most popular alcohol in Russia for many years, but beer has caught up with vodka’s popularity in recent years. The newspaper added a quote by the head of the Russian Beer Brewer Association that the new law will increase the consumption of vodka, and cause more serious problems.

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The British House of Commons voted to legalize gay marriage by an overwhelmingly majority of 400 to 175 despite a major rebellion by Conservative MPs.
Although Britain has allowed same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships since 2004, Prime Minister David Cameron has long stated his belief that they should be entitled to full equality before the law.

In late January, the government introduced the Marriage (Same-Sex Partners) Bill into Parliament’s lower house. The legislation would allow same-sex couples to marry in religious as well as civil ceremonies, though a much-vaunted “quadruple lock” would ensure that no religious organization would be forced to solemnize same-sex unions. The Church of England was particularly anxious about the bill, fearing that since it is the state church, it could be forced to host gay weddings. However, the bill specifically states that the church can continue to pass legislation that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman (under the terms of an act passed during the reign of Henry VIII, ecclesiastical laws must always yield to secular law).

But while the move to legalize gay marriage proved popular with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners, it exposed bitter divisions within Cameron’s own party. Last weekend the chairs of 20 local Conservative groups presented Downing Street with a letter urging the Prime Minister to delay the vote, claiming that the government had no mandate to redefine such a key institution.

They also claimed that Cameron’s support for gay marriage would lead to an exodus of local party members, a finding echoed by a recent poll commissioned by opponents of gay marriage that reported that 20 percent of Conservative voters would vote against the party in the next election due to its stance on the issue.

As is typical with matters of this sort, the leaders of all three major parties allowed their MPs to vote according to their consciences. Over the weekend, the British media reported that up to 180 Conservative MPs might ultimately vote against the bill. In the end, 139 voted against and 30 abstained. The dissenters included two Cabinet ministers (Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and Welsh Secretary David Jones), as well as three junior ministers. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond and Attorney-General Dominic Grieve both abstained.

The debate on the bill was often quite emotional. Openly-gay Conservative MP Mike Freer urged his colleagues to support the bill. “I am not asking for special treatment. I am simply asking for equal treatment.

Speaking in opposition to the bill, Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale claimed that the government was entering “Alice in Wonderland territory.” Instead of redefining marriage, he called on ministers to “withdraw the Bill, abolish the Civil Partnership Act 2004, abolish civil marriage and create a civil union Bill that applies to all people, irrespective of their sexuality or relationship. That means that brothers and brothers, sisters and sisters and brothers and sisters would be included as well.”

Meanwhile, his colleague Matthew Offord warned that the bill represented a slippery slope that could lead to the legalization of polygamous relationships. Referring to the law on marriage, he said that “another government can simply change the definition to include as many partners as they want.”

The bill will now receive clause-by-clause scrutiny from a Public Bill Committee, and when it returns to the full House, MPs will have another chance to vote on it. Then it goes on to the House of Lords, where it may face stiffer opposition. While it is highly unlikely that peers would reject the bill outright, they may try to kill it by passing amendments that the Commons are unlikely to accept. If that happens, there could be a lengthy period of ‘ping pong’ as the two houses try to iron out their differences. If agreement cannot be reached, the government may have to reintroduce the bill in the next parliamentary session and use the Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949 to override peers’ objections.

Image Courtesy :  Robyn Ramsay

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Rape, domestic violence, abuse, sex-slave, child-marriage, dowry, prostitution – The first word that many associate with these concepts is ‘women’. For centuries, women all over the world have been subjected to oppression and till date, despite their achievements and contribution to society, a lot of women do not get justice. In a country like Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive; in the South East Asia, young girls are forced to marry at an early age; and women are killed in many parts of the world by so-called ‘honor killings’. Women are victims of violence by both society and their families, and many of their stories go unheard.

Connecther and Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative (SIC) this year present Girls Impact World The Film Festival 2013, where high school and undergraduate university students submit 3-5 minutes long short films that address global women’s issues such as: education for girls, maternal health, violence against women and girls among others. This will bring into light many issues and stories of women who are deprived of protection and other privileges.

Azmina Karim, a Bangladeshi undergraduate student from Asian University for Women majoring in Asian Development Studies, made a film which focuses on the violence on women in rural parts of Bangladesh. To watch the video click here

Toonari Post(TP): When did you decide to make this documentary about violence on women in Bangladesh?

Azmina Karim(AK): When I heard of Girls Impact the world film festival, I chose to portray ’violence against women’ in order to raise awareness about this topic. Girls Impact the world is a platform where women can speak for themselves and other women, where we can express that as women we need a safe place in the world to live and it is our right to speak up.

TP: Even though Bangladesh is developing, most people are still old-fashioned and traditional minded, how did you find the courage to take such an initiative? Did you face any difficulties (from government/society/family etc) while filming?

AK: Though Bangladesh is developing, the position of women in a patriarchal society is hard to change. Women are still objectified and thought as submissive to men. The notion of patriarchy has seeped into the psyche of men as well as women.

Women in our society take it as their fate, or some even think of it as their duty, to lock themselves into these modern day slavery practices in their very own homes. While filming, I particularly didn’t face difficulties from government or other social institutions. Maybe because these interviews were not taken in a larger scale to trigger any provocations. However, it was difficult to convince the battered and deprived women to share their stories as they were reluctant to speak up.

I discovered many were scared that we may take legal actions and many other women like Sonia Akhter, thought it was pointless to talk about this. Sonia Akhter shed some light on this topic when she mentioned, that prior to her interview with me, she shared her story to a news reporter and the news organization sent her back to her husband. This caused her husband to increase the level of torture because she’d seeked help from others. There is an underlying fear among these women that sharing their stories won’t bring any changes in their lives but rather make it worse.

Moreover, the notion of patriarchy legitimizes the violence against women in our society, so the women themselves accept that it is normal to be beaten by her husband or any male member of their family. Thus they don’t speak up.

I didn’t face any problem from my family in general while making these interviews, they were supportive, one of the reason being that I don’t have any brothers. My parents raised us four sisters by giving us the equal rights that they might have given to their sons.

TP: Have you received enough support from family/friends and/or other organizations?

AK: I didn’t work under any organization while making these interviews. My family members supported me; they even escorted me to different slums to cover the stories.

TP: What was your main inspiration for the film?

AK: Inspiration for covering this topic or even participating in this competition came from the latest incidents that took place around the world. The way women are being raped, the number of deaths due to domestic violence etc. – they made me want to speak up against male dominance.

TP: Have you seen domestic violence in your family or among your friends, where the woman got pressured to not report the case?

I grew up in a different environment where you can challenge the traditional structure of the society. My parents gave me and my other three sisters the opportunity to get education, and freedom so that we can choose our path and discern what is right from wrong.

However, living in Bangladesh the case of domestic violence is so obvious that almost every day we encounter stories of this kind of violence, be it from neighbours, stories of relatives, stories from friends and also in newspapers and tv channels. Most of these stories remain unheard, these women do not have any means to report these cases.

We don’t have strict laws against these violent acts, nor do we have good policies to support the women who fight for their right. Also the state does not provide shelters or protection so when violence happens, these women have nowhere to go. Nor do their family members support them in this case. The result in most of these cases is then that they go unreported, leading to only one option – living with their male partners, even if they are tortured all their life.

TP: What do you hope to achieve by your film?

AK: I hope to raise awareness and to prove a point that it’s about time we all get a safe place to live. I want to create collective identity for women, by sharing their stories and say it’s okay to speak up. I hope to get justice for women like Sonia Akhter and many others. I want to give a voice to women like her.

TP: Are you involved in any activities, such as protesting or rallying, to spread your message to the public in Bangladesh?

AK: No, I am not involved in any protest or rally as such because we haven’t had any such movements lately. So far, Girls Impact the film festival is the only platform that I have used to raise public awareness about these topics. Moreover, this documentary has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter, so I hope people get the message that we, as women, have had enough of these prejudices against us for being born as a woman. We want to stop the occurrence of violence as a regular practice of a male dominated society. I firmly believe initiatives like mine will bring some positive change in our society.

TP: Do you think the women of newer generations also suffer from domestic violence?

AK: Women all over suffer from domestic violence of some sort, be they educated, working,  from rich backgrounds or part of the new generation – they can all potentially fall victim to such acts. The dominance in society over female populations is still quite the same towards generations of educated, working class people. Even though these women might be educated and open minded, the structure of society did not change, neither did the mindset of their family often.

TP: What measures do you think the public or government should take regarding domestic violence?

AK: Gender studies should be included in the national curriculum. Women need to be made aware of their rights and feel free to share their problems. Often when NGOs intervene in domestic affairs, they tend to solve the problem from their perspective and make decisions from their points of view (the top-down approach). I think they should rather take measures based on what the victims really want.

TP: In your opinion, what is the solution to eradicate domestic violence in Bangladesh?

AK: There is no particular solution. Through a single initiative, we can’t remove it from our society. We have to create awareness step by step, not just from person to person, but through government. The social institutions or NGOs should step forward to ensure justice for the victimized women, our social structure should provide equal rights. Even the victims should be mentally prepared to make initiatives for themselves so others can help them too.

TP: Did Sonia Akhter get justice in the end?

AK: No. We could not take any action against her husband because Sonia Akhter herself resisted from taking any action, she wants to wait for her husband and hopes one day he will come back.

TP: What would you like to say to all those women who are subjected to domestic violence today?

AK: Speak up! That’s the only phrase I would like to emphasize. They have a huge responsibility, if they don’t speak up for themselves, then we will be left with a society where their daughters and granddaughter will undergo the same acts of violence. Because nobody dared to speak up for their rights.

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Relationships are complex, found everywhere, among the living and allegedly the dead. The gift of existence itself is a relationship, between the creator “God” and the creation “the universe and all living things.” True, death knocks on all doors. But when and how is beyond human control; thus, can individuals decide on when and how to die? Currently, assisted suicide is a taboo topic people tend to avoid in conversations, generally due to cultural or religious views. However, the story of deaf Belgian twins Marc and Eddy Verbessem changed the hearts of many and triggered human rights activists to defend an individual’s right to die.

The Verbessem twins opted to end their lives via legal euthanasia after being informed that they were going blind. The pair were inseparable; they had lived all their lives together as cobblers in the village of Putte near the city of Mechelen. Marc and Eddy told everybody that the thought of not being able to see each other was unbearable. To them, losing their only means of communication was not an option. The twins used a unique sign language understood only by them and immediate family members.

According to The Telegraph, it wasn’t easy to find an institution that would grant them their wish. After doctors at a nearby hospital declined their request for assisted suicide, arguing that the twins weren’t suffering from unbearable pain and therefore did not meet the criteria for legal euthanasia under Belgian law. However, this law had many interpretations and eventually, after two years of searching for an institution that would help them, doctors at Brussels University Hospital in Jette were convinced by the twins argument and laid them to rest via lethal injection on 14 December last year.

This heartfelt story opened doors to many debates and arguments justifying an individual’s “right to die.” Until today, only a few nations permit assisted suicide: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. Recently, Marie Fleming, an Irish woman, was denied her “right to die” at Dublin’s high court even after being identified as a terminally ill patient with multiple sclerosis. According to Reuters, Judge Nicholas Kearns said “It would be impossible to ensure the aged, disabled, poor, unwanted, rejected etc would not avail of this option to avoid a sense being a burden on their families and society.”

A similar story is that of Tony Nicklinson, 58, who was paralyzed from the neck down after a stroke in 2005. He also bid to end his life by the assistance of a doctor, but was denied by the court. A week after losing his bid, the father of two died of pneumonie after refusing to eat at his home in Melksham, Wiltshire.

Today, human rights activists are defending an individual’s “right to die,” reported The International. Many argue that the Universal Declaration on Human rights, which states “the right to life, liberty, and security of person,” can have many interpretations, including the right to stop having life. Sadly enough, a person’s decision to end his/her life is always based on the relationships he/she cherishes; for instance, a lot opt for legal euthanasia simply to stop being a burden to their loved ones.

Marc and Eddy feared life more than death. They feared losing each other more than walking into the unknown. Relationships are the foundation of life, and in the case of the Verbessem twins, death too. Marc and Eddy were the first brothers worldwide to undergo double euthanasia. On the day of the procedure, they were peacefully dressed in new shoes and suits with their family around them.

Up till the last minute, their brother Dirk Verbessem tried to convince them out of it. He said, “Together with my parents, I said goodbye. Marc and Eddy waved again at us. ‘Up in the sky,’ they said. ‘Up in the sky,’ we replied. And then it was over.” The Verbessem twins were cremated and buried together in identical urns.

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The British House of Commons has voted in favor of legislation that would allow women to succeed to the throne on equal terms with men.

As the law stands now, a woman can only ascend the throne if she does not have any brothers. However, in 2011, David Cameron announced that the prime ministers of the sixteen Commonwealth Realms where Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State had agreed to let daughters inherit on an equal basis. From henceforth, the Crown would go to the eldest child, regardless of sex.

After lengthy negotiations with the various Commonwealth governments, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg introduced legislation to make the change official. But in addition to doing away with male-preference primogeniture, the Succession to the Crown Bill also makes other adjustments to the law of succession. Notably, members of the Royal Family will no longer be barred from succeeding to the Crown if they marry a Roman Catholic. Also, the requirement to seek the monarch’s consent before marrying will be limited to the first six people in the list of succession. Presently, every descendant of George II is supposed to obtain the sovereign’s permission to marry; if they fail to do so, their marriage is null and void. Under the new law, those who marry without the monarch’s consent will only forfeit their claim to the throne.

Before the Commons began their debate on the general principle behind the bill, MPs expressed frustration at the government’s proposed timetable for the law’s journey through Parliament.

“We spend hours debating the taxation of lorries and other such matters, which get a full day allocated for Second Reading, whereas the succession to the Crown is to be dealt with in a truncated Second Reading debate, a brief Committee stage, and then one day for the remaining stages,” said Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg. “That seems to me to be an insult to the nation, to our sovereign and, indeed, to Parliament.”

Rees-Mogg also argued that the Commons should be able to extend the scope of the bill. He pointed out that if an heir to the throne were to marry a Roman Catholic, he or she would be expected to promise to do everything in their power to see that their children were raised in the Roman Catholic faith. But the sovereign is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, so they cannot be members of the Roman Catholic church. Rees-Mogg maintained that, if a Roman Catholic ascended the throne, it would be best to allow an Anglican regent to handle ecclesiastical matters.

“That is an entirely logical extension of what is proposed in the Bill and time ought to be allowed to debate it, because when we start these changes and decide that in this modern age we need to be more politically correct and allow Catholics to marry into the throne, we have to consider the consequence.”

But despite the misgivings of a number of MPs, the government’s timetable was ultimately agreed to by a voice vote. Since the opposition Labour Party also backed the timetable, there would be little chance of defeating it.

During the actual debate on the bill itself, the vast majority of speakers declared their support. However, some MPs questioned the government’s decision to require the first six heirs to the throne to obtain the monarch’s consent before marrying. “I simply do not understand why the monarch would want to retain the right to forbid somebody to marry and to declare their marriage null and void because consent was not granted,” said Labour MP Chris Bryant.

“On what basis would they refuse to grant consent—because someone involved was illegitimate, not wealthy enough, a commoner or an actress?” he continued.

But Clegg defended the government’s decision, saying that it was right for the monarch to have a say in the marriages of those who were most likely to inherit the Crown. “Having been in consultation with the royal household over a prolonged period, we feel that that strikes the right balance.”

Conservative MP Ben Wallace expressed concern about the bill’s effect on the Duchy of Lancaster. He claimed that the duchy would continue to be governed by male-preference primogeniture, so a female heir to the throne might not inherit its multi-million pound property portfolio. But Clegg dismissed his concerns, saying that the bill was only concerned with succession to the Crown and Parliament could deal with the issue of other titles later.

Several MPs also voiced concern that, although the bill allowed members of the Royal Family to marry Roman Catholics, Roman Catholics would still be prohibited from ascending the throne. But given the lack of political will to disestablish the Church of England, it seems likely that the religious requirement will remain for the foreseeable future.

After giving the bill a second reading, the House immediately resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House to discuss the bill in detail. Although several backbench MPs moved amendments based on concerns raised during the second reading debate, the only amendment that was actually passed was a minor technical change moved by the government. But MPs will have another opportunity to propose amendments during the bill’s report stage on January 28.

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After successful displays and experiments in the cities of New York and Berlin, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a mobile laboratory with the aim to redesign urban spaces in cities, is now in Mumbai between December 9, 2012 and January 20, 2013. The Mumbai Lab has been set up in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the BMW group, and the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai. Curated by Maria Nicanor and David van der Leer, the mobile lab has been described as a public gathering space, an urban think-tank, and a global project that aims to build awareness about urban challenges and the sustainable, optimum utilization of city spaces. Led by interdisciplinary teams from the areas of art, design, technology, urbanism, sustainability, and education, the BMW Guggenheim Lab promises an intellectual and visual treat to visitors and participants.

The theme this year is Confronting Comfort where the Lab will delve deeper into the ways and means in which urban environments can be made more conducive for living and promoting sustainable solutions. Free programs have been arranged as part of the Lab’s efforts in Mumbai and these encompass a wide range of activities such as tours, walks, film screenings, discussions, and conceptualizing and rethinking the Kala Nagar traffic junction in Mumbai’s most populous suburb, Bandra.

“The idea of the project is to engage the public in debates and conversations about how cities function. We believe that the conversation and thinking [about] cities will change. We have no clue what cities are about and we need projects to know what cities are about. It’s super important to bring in people who live in cities to bring in new ideas”, says David van der Leer.

To further research and development in urban planning and design, the Lab is also initiating a number of projects that are being conceptualized with the collaboration of Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action, and Research (PUKAR). Besides the main location in the Museum, the Lab has set up many satellite sites all across the city in Priyadarshini Park, Horniman Circle, Sambhaji Park, Byculla, and Mahim Beach. The Lab promises many exciting events and the icing on the cake – it’s all free!

Among the many radical thinkers associated with the Mumbai Lab’s conceptualization, a few deserve special mention – Aisha Dasgupta, a British demographer; Neville Mars, a Dutch architect; Hector Zamora, a Mexican artist; Trupti Vaitla, an architect and urban transport designer.

Mumbai’s fascinating and rich cultural history make it an enriching experience for participants from all over the world. “From the beginning, we were certain that we wanted one venue of the first cycle of the BMW Guggenheim Lab to be in Asia and after careful deliberation, we selected Mumbai. A vibrant, diverse city, with a fascinating and complex history, Mumbai is the most populous city in India and one of the most populous in the world. Together with our local partner, the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, it will be an endlessly rewarding place to explore and create dialogue around a range of urban issues, including access to comfort and culture, environment and social issues,” said Richard Armstrong, director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation in a report to The Economic Times.

Image Courtesy : Bmwguggenheimlab

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Diana Vitan is a 32 year-old Romanian public speaker and the owner of Diana Vitan Consulting & Training, a company specializing in personal and business development programs. At the end of 2012, she became the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania, running against an all-men competition made up of experienced speakers.

Click here to view the first part of this interview.

Toonari Post (TP): How do male public speakers react to you?

Diana Vitan (DV): Men react the way anyone does: If they didn’t react, they wouldn’t be men, right? I’m just kidding. Actually, I wouldn’t divide this one up by sexes. There are people who know how to win by losing with grace and people who are willing to lose by winning dirty, it all depends on what you choose.

I chose to take the positive out of each experience and to enjoy each plus. I remember the movie ‘The Pursuit of Happyness‘ when Will Smith’s character told his son, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can’t do. Not even me!”

The first four speakers designated by the online poll were all named public speaking champions, but I would have given this distinction to the entire top fifteen. They’re all strong names that have helped shape Romanian business development, and it’s an honor for me to be the lady in this extraordinary group. We’re all winners.

TP: Are you a trendsetter for Romanian women?

DV: Fortunately, there are many female public speakers in Romania, so I’m not. I may have more experience and I am unique because of the structure of my activity, because I’ve spoken in front of more than 50,000 people and I’ve worked with big names such as Paul Martinelli, Roddy Galbraith and Christian Simpson.

I also stand out by having founded one of the first personal development schools in Romania and by running a program called “Keep your head up!” the first one of its kind in the country. But I wish to support any woman who resonates with me and with my speaking style and, at the same time, I’d like to take part in events organized by other women public speakers in order to learn new things.

TP: Paul Martinelli, one of the most renowned public speakers in the world, became your coach. How did that happen?

DV: Yes, I am Paul’s only apprentice in Europe and I’m proud of it. Furthermore, after two years of apprenticeship, I am his teaching partner in Europe. It first happened when I started leading the personal development school that I mentioned. I teamed up with my colleagues, Milan Menghesi and Sorin Popa and we asked him to participate, and he said yes!

He saw me on the stage and told me he’d like to see me speak in front of a smaller group (20-30 people), speaking on a subject of his choice, which I did. And he told me I was part of the two percent of the native public speakers in the world. For me, this was a huge compliment and a yes after a huge amount of work. What followed was a period of two years of online collaboration five days a week, and me appearing on stage with him for the next six times he came to Romania, as well as working with him on his “Power Principles” in London where I met Roddy Galbraith and Christian Simpson.

TP: Was it easy to be taught by Mr. Martinelli?

DV: I am proud to have learned from a master of this caliber. Paul is an extraordinary friend and a tough teacher, as well as an exceptional motivator. During our “scrambling eggs” sessions, as he called his private coaching, I felt like giving up many times, but I realized it was just his way of making me become more driven. I am certain that no Romanian or European school could have given me the kind of intensity that his teachings gave me.

I learned to discover myself, to be a professional and to educate others. The success of my projects shows that his plan worked. My style, which was neither European nor Balkan, challenged him to “break me” and to teach a student who thought she knew it all, the most important lesson of all: to learn to forget, and then to learn again. After being a tough teacher, Paul has remained a good friend and a role model who is proud of my every accomplishment.

TP: What do you have in store for this year?

DV: For 2013 I have some surprises for the Romanian public! That is all I want to let you in on! Because the Romanian public deserves surprises and because we wouldn’t exist without them, without a public that takes us in, loves us and follows us!

Image Courtesy : Diana Vitan

The article Diana Vitan Speaks Way to Top Romanian Speaker Award, (2/2) appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Diana Vitan is a 32 year-old Romanian public speaker and the owner of Diana Vitan Consulting & Training, a company specializing in personal and business development programs. At the end of 2012, she became the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania, running against an all-men competition made up of experienced speakers.

Although always on a tight schedule, she managed to squeeze in a little time to talk to Toonari Post about her experience and key moments in becoming Romania’s top public speaker.

Toonari Post (TP): How would you describe public speaking?

Diana Vitan (DV): Like any other aspect of life, I can really say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The art of speaking in public is a general notion, which can translate either into a job, a necessity or a terrible fright – it mainly depends on who you ask. For me it has definitely been a passion turned into a job. I consider public speaking to be the art of delivering a message in the most beautiful, clean and appealing way.

TP: How is this profession evolving nowadays?

DV: In the 21st Century, the era of technology and speed, communication has new meaning, new form and new priorities. People feel more comfortable communicating through email, chatting or socializing online, so one might think that live interaction is more and more scarce.

However, for public speaking, this is actually a step forward. You see, my grandfather taught me that it is not the new that is to blame for the loss of the traditional, but the lack of imagination and persuasion in adapting the traditional to the new. I firmly believe that this century is the time for strong speeches, for concentrated communication, that combines the technical and the emotional in the most efficient way.

You have to be better, more concise and more connected in order to deliver the best message. The best people are those that keep reinventing themselves.

TP: Is there a difference between Europe and the U.S., regarding your area of expertise?

DV: Let me ask you a question in return: Have you noticed the difference between the Academy Awards and the Cannes Festival? The U.S., the land of motivation and positive messages vs. Europe, the Old Continent of theatrical art and artistic detail? Each style has its own pulse and, although I really do appreciate the elegance and reasoning of the European speech, I’ve nurtured myself with American motivational literature and American public speaking role-models.

Lately, I’ve rejoiced at seeing Europe make more and more room for the wave of personal development initiative, that needed to successfully complete the public speaking family – and this trend has swept Romania as well! Here, the transition from sales training, to business coaching, to life coaching, and finally to personal development has happened in a natural and beautiful way.

The Romanian audience is becoming more and more receptive to personal as well as business development through guidance (events, books, consultants) – and this has translated into a market demand and a success story at the same time.

TP: What does your audience look like?

DV: I get to talk in front of students, young entrepreneurs, corporate players, freelancers, people in need of personal and professional development – people who want more.

TP: More of what?

DV: More clear objectives, this before anything else! Because if you start with a wrong “why,” i.e. a wrong motivation, you end up setting wrong objectives that you can either not reach – and that’s when you become frustrated – or reach  only to find yourself dissatisfied and constantly searching for more.

TP: How do you work with your audience?

DV: You start to touch people’s lives the moment you help them discover two magical buttons: : “potential” and “passion” – this is where it all begins. I’ve noticed something strange: While people search for passion, they forget to live passionately. How can that be? Most people are searching for their area of genius, of excellence, for their way. Unhappy for not getting there soon enough, they become dissatisfied and frustrated.

When I ask them “What is your passion?” I can see it in the eyes of many that they’re confused and sometimes downright angry for not having found it – and I ask them this: “How can you discover your great passion if you’re not doing everything you do with great passion?” If you’re a telephone switch operator – be the best telephone switch operator in the world and you’re not going to be stuck there for much longer.

TP: You’re the first woman to win the Best Public Speaker Award in Romania!

DV: This is true! But this is also the first Romanian contest of its kind, organized at a national level within the Business Days circuit of events by Laszlo Pacso, the president of the Online Communication Solution Developers Association (ADESCO). There were more than one hundred Romanian speakers talking in front of more than one thousand participants in a two-day event that toured the major cities in the country.

The feedback from the public helped trim the number of the speakers to a top fifteen, and these top speeches were posted on YouTube, where a voting poll decided the winners. I came up on top after the online poll, but I don’t believe that it necessarily means I am the absolute best speaker. I have a lot of respect for all the other speakers, some of whom have a lot more experience than me.

The best speaker is the one that resonates with a specific audience and the one that adapts the fastest and in the best way. I intend to continuously work and improve myself for the people that choose the hear me.

Click here to read the second part of this interview.

Image Courtesy : Diana Vitan

The article Diana Vitan Speaks Way to Top Romanian Speaker Award, (1/2) appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The relationship between the European Union and Ukraine was for a long period of time mostly shaped by the European Neighborhood Policy. Between 2009 and 2011, an Association agreement was negotiated. This agreement aims at economic integration, including a deep free trade area, but it will not be ratified until Ukraine deals with concerns over a “stark deterioration of democracy.”

At the same time, on the Eastern front, Kyiv is also having consultations on the subject of the removal of trade barriers. Ukraine is taking a closer look at the possible benefits of Kyiv joining a Russia-led Customs Union (CU). However, since the establishment of the CU, the share of trade turnover of all participating countries has not changed. Figures remain unchanged from 2005 claims a study conducted for 3.2 million rubles that was ordered by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. Moreover, according to provided data, the dynamics of the main indicators of the CU and Ukraine in 2009-2011 show that the integration effect is maximal for Russia and minimal for the Ukraine.

Nevertheless, according to the Russian Ministry, the technical regulation system of the Customs Union could improve trade not only with the member states of the CU, but also greatly simplify harmonization with the European Union. This is a very controversial statement, especially taking into account multiple assertions by western diplomats, that it would not be possible.

One of the critics is the current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, who stressed that Ukraine should decide whether to join the Customs Union or the European Union. “The position of European institutions is clear. Ukraine cannot have a free trade zone with the Customs Union and the EU simultaneously,” he said.

The European Union thinks that Ukraine is just bluffing about their intentions of joining the CU. A full membership in the union would require a change to the Constitution, which is impossible without the support of the opposition. So the “bluffing” part may indeed be true, but only to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, the Ukrainian government lacks the strategic view of the country’s development that has been clearly shown many times by now. Even though Yanukovych, the President of Ukraine, is reluctant to join the Customs Union and make Ukraine a Russian vassal once more, the unfavorable economic situation and increasing Moscow pressure may tip the scales. Which path to take has yet to be decided, but it is equally true for the European Union.

Image Courtesy : World Economic Forum

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Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, is one step closer to the Archbishopric of Canterbury after the College of Canons of his new cathedral formally elected him in a ceremony that dates from the Middle Ages.

The 35-member body met under the presidency of the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the Very Rev. Robert Willis. But the outcome of the election was never in doubt since there was just one name on the ballot.

Although it is commonly said that the Queen appoints Church of England bishops, this is not strictly true. Instead, she causes a document known as a ‘conge d’elire’ to pass under the Great Seal of the Realm, which acts as a formal license empowering the College of Canons of the relevant cathedral to elect a new archbishop or bishop.

But there is a catch: the conge d’elire is always accompanied by ‘Letters Missive’ signed by the Queen recommending a candidate for election. Under legislation passed during the reign of Henry VIII, the College of Canons is obligated to elect the Crown’s nominee. If they failed to do so for whatever reason, the Queen would then go ahead and appoint her candidate directly. At one time the College of Canons would also have faced serious legal consequences, but those were abolished in 1967. It was a moot point, however, since the Crown’s preferred candidate has never been rejected (though there have been a number of cases where individual canons have lodged protest votes against the royal nominee).

The process of having representatives of the cathedral community elect the bishop was once a highly-controversial issue. At first, English monarchs insisted on investing bishops directly, but in 1107, St. Anselm convinced Henry I to allow cathedral chapters to elect their bishop. However, the monarch still dominated the process. The chapter was required to hold the election in the royal chapel with the king’s permission and in the presence of his ecclesiastical advisers. And after the election, the new bishop had to do homage to the king in exchange for the property of the diocese. A little more than a century later, King John established the procedure that is currently in use.

Now Bishop Welby’s election must be confirmed by a special commission consisting of the Archbishop of York and several senior bishops from the province of Canterbury. That ceremony is scheduled for February 4 in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Once those legal proceedings are over, he will finally be Archbishop of Canterbury, though his public ministry will not begin until after his formal enthronement on March 21.

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When Lord Hill of Oareford takes up his new role as Leader of the House of Lords, he will also take up the historic office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. But what is the Duchy of Lancaster, and why is its chancellor a member of the Cabinet?

The Duchy of Lancaster is essentially a source of private income for the British monarch. Its origins date from the 14th century when King Edward III conferred the title ‘Duke of Lancaster’ on Henry of Grosmont as a reward for his service in the Hundred Years’ War. At the same time, Lancaster became a county palatine, which meant that its duke would enjoy considerable autonomy within the kingdom. When Henry died without a male heir, the title was conferred on his son-in-law, John of Gaunt, who happened to be the younger son of Edward III.

John’s son, Henry of Bolingbroke, inherited the title upon his father’s death. When he eventually took the throne of England, the Duchy of Lancaster merged with the Crown. The new king decreed that the duchy would always remain separate from the rest of the Crown’s holdings. In 1760, George III agreed to let Parliament have the revenues from Crown lands in exchange for a fixed payment called the Civil List. But the Duchy of Lancaster was not part of the deal, and it remained the monarch’s private property.

The chancellor is the duchy’s chief administrative officer, though much of the day-to-day business of running the duchy is delegated to the Duchy Council. The chancellor does, however, advise the Queen on a number of appointments within the duchy, including High Sheriffs and certain ecclesiastical positions. Although the Queen appoints the chancellor on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the chancellor is accountable to her, and not Parliament, regarding the duchy’s affairs. The uniquely personal nature of the relationship is reflected in the fact that, unlike the rest of the Cabinet, the chancellor receives the seals of office during a private audience with the Sovereign.

Since the chancellorship itself has few duties, its occupant is free to act as a sort of Minister without Portfolio. The three most recent chancellors, however, have combined the job with the leadership of the House of Lords. Because the position of Leader of the House of Lords has no statutory basis, its occupant is not actually entitled to a salary. Therefore, in order to pay the leader, they must be given another office that actually draws a salary. Fortunately, the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 provides salaries for a number of sinecure offices (including that of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) for that very purpose.

Of course the Leader of the House of Lords is not the only one in this predicament. The Government Chief Whip in the Lords also holds the office of ‘Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms,’ while junior Government Whips in the Commons are appointed to an assortment of positions in the Royal Household. Even the Prime Minister ultimately derives his authority (and his salary!) from the sinecure office of ‘First Lord of the Treasury!’

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The year 2012 is already behind us, but for many, some events will leave lasting imprints – both in the positive and negative ways. So what happened in 2012?

The world is not ending at least for now and let the new 2013 be full of more happiness, joy, and good news.

Image Courtesy : KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

The article What Happened in 2012: Fourteen Highlights appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Once animals start getting involved in the crime of smuggling, you know things have gone bad. On New Year’s Day, a cat was caught carrying objects wrapped around its body with tape by an on-duty guard at the northern Brazilian prison, named Presídio Desembargador Luiz de Oliveira Souza (PDLOS). According to a statement, the contraband items included: a cell phone and charger, three batteries, a memory card, two drills for concrete, two saws, and an earphone.

The black and white feline felon made a conspicuous entrance as it crossed the main gate of the prison in Arapiraca, where it was first spotted. Alden Levine of CNN reported that local officials deem the confiscated items to be used to help the prisoners break free from jail. Possibly, the drills and saws could be used to dig tunnels, while the phone was to communicate with people outside the prison cells.

Attempting to escape prison walls is not unusual for Brazilian inmates. Just last month, Rafael Valadao, 28, attempted to be break free by crawling out of his cell via a drilled opening, only to have his upper body on one side of the hole, with his overweight belly on the other. In August, Sidney da Cruz, 24, and Carlos Pereira, 19, attempted to escape another prison disguised as garbage by hiding inside plastic trash bags.

After inspection, it was found that the cat is no stranger to the Alagoas jail, it has been witnessed coming in and out several times. According to Luiz de Oliveira Souza, prison officer, the cat has been raised by the inmates and very often, their relatives would take it home after a prison visit. The officer must have been impressed by this new escape tactic, training an animal so that it returned back to the prison while carrying items is a jackpot idea, although the attempt failed.

Currently, 263 inmates reside in the Brazilian prison located in the city of Arapiraca with a population equivalent to 215,000 people in the state of Alagoas. Local authorities have not put this case to rest and are still investigating all possible origins for this odd cat felony. The captured animal was taken to animal control.

Brazilian media reported that all detainees in the prison of Arapiraca are considered as suspects in this failed jailbreak plot. “It’s tough to find out who’s responsible for the action as the cat doesn’t speak,” a prison spokesperson told Estado de S.Paulo, a local paper.

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Lord Strathclyde has resigned as Leader of the House of Lords, ending a 25-year career on the front bench.

In his resignation letter to David Cameron, Lord Strathclyde wrote that “when I was invited to join the government by Margaret Thatcher in 1988, I never believed it was a career for life. I didn’t expect it would consume me for as long as it has or that I would one day lead the Lords and sit in a Cabinet.”

“The Lords is an extraordinary and vigorous place, but recently I’ve been considering a change of direction,” he continued. “I started my working life in the private sector and at some stage always hoped to return, I would now like to do so. While I have the highest respect for the privilege and duty of public service, I do not see a political career as the cap of everything and would like, while there is still time, to take up other threads of my life and other interests.”

Lord Strathclyde has been the Tory leader in the House of Lords since 1998 when his predecessor, Viscount Cranborne, was sacked for entering into secret negotiations with the Labour government over their proposals to expel the hereditary peers. When the Tories entered into a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, Lord Strathclyde retained the leadership and received the sinecure office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in order to let him sit in the Cabinet.

Lord Strathclyde’s time in government has not been particularly easy. The Lords have defeated the government on more than 50 occasions since 2010, and the House’s burgeoning size has led to frayed tempers. Thanks to an influx of newly-created peers when the coalition took power, there are now 775 members of the House of Lords, putting its longstanding tradition of self-regulation under increasing strain.

To thank Lord Strathclyde for his lengthy service, Cameron has asked the Queen to appoint the peer to the Order of the Companions of Honour. The same honor was given to Sir George Young, Lord Strathclyde’s counterpart in the Commons, after he briefly stepped down from government last year.

Downing Street also announced that Lord Hill of Oareford will succeed Lord Strathclyde as Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Hill is a relative newcomer to the Lords, having only entered the chamber in May 2010. Since then, he has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools in the Department of Education. According to reports in the British media, Lord Hill tried to resign during last summer’s reshuffle, but Cameron was not paying attention and simply told him to “keep up the good work”!

Image Courtesy : UK Parliament

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Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein politician, has decided to step down as MP for Mid-Ulster despite never actually taking his seat in Westminster. There is just one problem: members of Britain’s House of Commons are not allowed to resign their seats.

The prohibition against voluntary resignation is based on a resolution that the Commons passed in 1624. Back then, parliamentary service was often seen as more of a burden than an honor. MPs did not receive a salary, and traveling to Westminster was no easy task. And since Parliament was still more of an event than an institution, MPs would rarely be expected to sit for more than a few weeks anyway.

Several decades later in 1680, the Commons passed a resolution forbidding MPs from accepting offices or ‘places of profit’ under the Crown. Anyone who contravened the resolution forfeited his seat. At the time, MPs feared that having colleagues on the Crown’s payroll would undermine Parliament’s independence.

Similarly, because government ministers were technically servants of the Crown, they had to resign from the Commons and seek re-election upon taking ministerial office. The practice of forcing ministers to seek re-election was not done away with until 1926.

In the eighteenth century, Crown stewardships became a legal fiction that allowed MPs to resign from the Commons. Although there were originally a number of these minor offices, the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 whittled the list down to two: the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. However, these offices now exist only on paper, and their holders do not receive any sort of salary.

So now when an MP wishes to resign, he or she must write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Britain’s finance minister), who then signs a warrant appointing the person to one of the two stewardships. The ex-MP will hold their new ‘office’ until it is needed to allow someone else to resign. In some cases, the tenure can be quite brief: on December 17, 1985, fifteen MPs resigned at once!

Given that Martin McGuinness is a staunch republican, it is ironic that he is now technically one of the Queen’s servants. A spokesman for Sinn Fein was typically dismissive of his new appointment: “as Irish republicans we gave no time for antiquated and ridiculous titles of the British parliamentary system.”

Image Courtesy : UK Parliament

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Hollywood top star Dakota Fanning and her sister,  also an actress, Elle Fanning have arrived at Incheon International Airport, Korea on January 5 (local time). They are planning to film a commercial and participate in several interviews and ceremonies during their stay in Korea. Their visit was made by accessory brand, J.ESTINA.

Arriving Incheon International Airport around five A.M. in the morning, the Fanning sisters showed up without any makeup, and they looked little bit tired because of a long-hour flight.

The two starlets were welcomed by many fans who were already waiting for them and the Fanning sisters showed a bright smile to their fans while receiving a bunch of flowers.

The Fanning sisters are scheduled to participate in several events held by J.ESTINA, including filming a TV commercial, and this will be the first time Dakota and Elle will be working together as models. They have appeared in the same movie before.

On January 7, the Fanning sisters will be on the Korean talk show called “Baek Ji-yeon’s People INSIDE,” which is one of the famous talk shows in Korea. This show has a reputation for inviting famous western figures on its stage. So far Hugh Jackman, Anderson Cooper, Jessica Alba, Jason Mraz and the head of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, have been on this show. It has been reported that the Fanning sisters will talk about their personal life story and their recent interests.

Meanwhile, the Fanning sisters were spotted at the Korea’s Hongdae area, which is known for its urban arts and indie music culture, on the day they arrived. It has been reported that the two starlets tried various outfits and accessories on as they were walking around.

Dakota Fanning, who was born February 23, 1994, is a well-known movie star among Korean people for her movie ‘I Am Sam’ which she worked on with Sean Penn. Her performance in this movie earned her a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award at age eight in 2002, making her the youngest nominee in history. There are many high-profile films she was in such as ‘Man on Fire’ (2004), ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005) and ‘Charlotte’s Web’ (2006). She played a girl with a time-limited life in the movie ‘Now Is Good’ last year, impressing many people with her outstanding acting.

Elle Fanning, who was born April 9, 1998, is one of the rookie fashion models in the New York fashion industry with hear unique look. She is mainly known for her starring roles in ‘Phoebe in Wonderland’, ‘Somewhere’ and ‘We Bought a Zoo’.

Image Courtesy : Anthony Citrano

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