Thursday 30 April 2009

' FAITH FIGHTER '(a game allowing a stage fight with jesus,mohammed & other prophets) GAME GOES OFFLINE AFTER MUSLIM PROTEST


JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – The creator of the Faith Fighter online game allowing players to stage fights involving Jesus, Mohammed and other prophets said on Tuesday it has withdrawn the game after a Muslim protest.
The game is "incendiary in its content and offensive to Muslims and Christians," a spokesman for the Jeddah-based Islamophobia Observatory of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference said.
Italian game publisher Molleindustria said on its website: "Today after an official statement from the Organisation of Islamic Conference we decided to remove the game Faith Fighter from our site."
The Observatory spokesman said the game would serve no other purpose than to incite intolerance. He called on the game's internet host to take "immediate action" by withdrawing it from the web.
Molleindustria said Faith Fighter was meant to be a game against intolerance that used over-the-top irony and a cartoonish style.
"Faith Fighter depicted in a mildly politically incorrect way all the major religions, as a response to the one-way Islamophobic satire of the Danish Mohammed cartoons.
Islam forbids images of Mohammed and a Danish newspaper angered the Muslim world in 2005 by publishing cartoons of the prophet that were deemed offensive.
Molleindustria said: "If an established organisation didn't understand the irony and the message of the game and is claiming it is inciting intolerance, we simply failed."
The game was released more than a year ago and has been played by millions of people on the Internet, it said.
The influential OIC has 57 member countries and represents 1.3 billion Muslims.

HEAT WAVE TO CONTINUE TO IN DELHI : NAGPUR INDIA'S HOTTEST CITY AT 47.1 DEGREE : PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERNCE...





The meteorological office said that the daytime temperatures may continue to rise as there is no sign of relief. "There is no sign of rain - temperatures are likely to rise because of this," the official added. The hot westerly winds blowing from Rajasthan have increased day temperatures across northern India. The maximum temperatures are hovering five degrees above average, the official said.
NAGPUR: Vidarbha sizzled under heat-wave conditions on Wednesday, with Nagpur registering the country's highest temperature of 47.1 degrees Celsius,
which is 5 degrees Celsius above normal. This broke Nagpur's all-time April high of 46.1, recorded in 1942. Wednesday's high was a sharp rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius from Tuesday's maximum of 45.6 degrees Celsius.
According to deputy director general of meteorology (Pune) A B Majumdar, this was indeed a very high temperature for the region for this time of the year. "Regions like Rajasthan and parts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh are experiencing heat-wave conditions," he said. Nagpur beat Akola to the top spot on Wednesday by a tenth of a degree Celsius.
The maximum temperature recorded in Akola was 47 degrees Celsius. Other stations in the region which recorded temperatures over 45 degrees were Chandrapur at 46.5 degrees Celsius, Wardha 46 and Bramhapuri 45.9 degrees Celsius.
The met department has said that the temperature will continue to hover around this mark and may well head further north in the next few days. As for those who had to go out in the heat, it was nothing less than torture.
S Pushkar, a first-year engineering student, who appeared for his university examination on Wednesday, said he had a tough time coming back home after the paper. "Our exam ended at 12.30 pm, and it was sheer torture riding my bike on the way home," he said. "Not only did my eyes water, and my hands were practically blistered on touching the metallic surfaces on my bike. My exposed skin seemed to be burning. By the time I reached my home, I was completely exhausted. One of my friends is down with a severe headache since reaching home, while another has high fever now,"
Pushkar said. Professor N V Chaudhari said, "It was indeed a scorching day. I felt it after going out for just a few minutes around noon. However, I was in a car, bike riders must have been much worse for the wear." Another student, Shweta Muley said, "I had planned an outing with friends today, and the heat was simply unbearable. Even sitting in the shade or in a room did little to temper the heat! However, I was looking forward to meeting my friends today, and I somehow managed to disregard the heat."
Table: Temperatures in Vidarbha Station Max (deg C)
Nagpur 47.1, Akola 47.0 ,Amravati 44.5, Brahmapuri 45.9, Buldhana 43.2 ,Chandrapur 46.5, Gondia ,Washim 43.8, Wardha 46.0 ,Yavatmal 44.2.


12 YEAR OLD BECOMES A MOTHER IN JAIPUR ( INDIA )



JAIPUR: She was too young to even to realize that she was pregnant until she had delivery on Wednesday morning. Due to ignorance and illiteracy,
the only medical care she received during pregnancy was when an emergency ambulance picked her up from the roadside and admitted her to ‘Mahila’ Hospital, but that was only after she had delivered the baby girl.

According to doctors, the mother is apparently 12 or 13 years old, and both she and the baby are doing fine. The girl, Komal (name changed), has yet to come to terms with the fact that she has become a mother. All the attention from media, police and health officials is something the ragpicker, who used to live on Hasanpura roadside, is completely unfamiliar with.

She claims she was “married” to a boy of her age group, Jeetu, who stayed with her for nearly 45 days a few months ago. Her father, though, has a different take. “She used to live with a guy till some time ago, but we are not sure if this is his child.

She never told me that she felt any different. It was only last night that she complained of stomach ache and it was only when she gave birth to the child that the situation became evident,” says her father. The family, bewildered by the incident and sudden attention, is yet unsure about the future of the mother and the baby.

OBAMA'S REQUEST TO COVER CHRISTIAN SYMBOL IN GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY REVEALS COUNTRY'S MOVE TOWARDS SOCIALISM & SECULARISM,SAYS CONGRESSMAN



“This administration has no problem spending money imprinted with the phrase, ‘In God We Trust,’ but won’t have our president speak with any symbol of Christ in public view,” Fleming said. “We begin each day in this chamber with a prayer, and clearly visible in this house is the same phrase. With our country having such problems, people turn to faith for help in this time of uncertainty, as they should,” he added.
“This country was founded on the solid principles of Judeo-Christian ethics,” Fleming said. “Why should our president cover this important symbol of our heritage and values?” As first reported, the pediment attached to the wall that was to be the backdrop for Obama’s speech at the Catholic university featured the IHS symbol for Jesus Christ. The Obama administration asked school officials to cover the symbol, which was done by placing a piece of plywood painted black over it.

Fleming told that he sees President Obama’s request as symbolic of his political agenda for the country. “I have a concern about the very sharp turn to socialism that’s happening in our government,” Fleming said. He said the policies the president supports, from “cap and trade” government regulation of carbon emissions to universal health care and nuclear disarmament, is evidence of the country moving toward a European style of socialism, which in turn leads away from religion. “Where you see socialism, you see a decline in Christianity and religion in general,” Fleming said.
“If, indeed, our president and our liberal Congress – based on the legislation that has happened and what’s in front of us – that would be consistent with the secularization of society,” he added. Fleming said he wanted to call attention to the White House request to have the ISH symbol covered, because he believes it reveals the president’s values. “The administration has justified that they covered other things as well and it had nothing to do with religion,” Fleming said. “But obviously that suggests that our president does not want to be associated with religious symbols, at least not Christian symbols.”

FLORIDA COULD ISSUE JESUS,CROSS NUMBER PLATES IF LAW MAKERS PASS A BILL IN THE LEGISLATURE


TALLAHASSEE -- If you want Jesus on your license plate, the Florida Senate is looking out for you.
Religious specialty plates offered by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, and Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, made it onto a bill Friday even though many members had not seen images of those plates and none were produced for the debate.
Siplin didn't mince words when asked what his ''Trinity'' plate looks like, saying: ``It has a picture of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.''
It, along with a ''Preserving the Past'' plate offered by Siplin, would benefit the Toomey Foundation for the Natural Sciences.
Storms' ''I Believe'' plate would benefit Faith in Teaching, an Orlando company that funds faith-based programs at schools. The design features a cross over a stained-glass window.
Several members had concerns about approving plates they had not seen. And one questioned using religious symbols at all.
''The issue is whether the state of Florida ought to be producing license plates with religious images on them,'' said Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, ``and I don't believe that we should.''
Before the day was over, the Anti-Defamation League and the ACLU registered opposition, and across the hall in the House, proposals for the same plates were withdrawn from legislation.
Florida has more than 100 specialty plates with several new ones proposed this year.
Coming Monday: a push to eliminate all specialty plates within two years in favor of specialty stickers sold for use on standard Florida license plates. It's the idea of Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who said it will save the state money, generate more revenue for charities and most importantly, help ``law enforcement clearly and swiftly identify a Florida license plate.''
''What this does is it lets automobile owners have choice 1 and 2, both options, and to generate more money for the charities involved,'' Crist said. ``It's a win-win situation.''
Crist doesn't have a prototype of his idea but said there would be two spots on each plate for maybe 2-inch-square stickers, in the bottom right and left corners.
So, if you are a University of Florida graduate who loves manatees, you can support both on your tag.
But those options would come too late for Friday's debate in the Senate, where Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, invoked the devil to make her point: ``What if someone comes next year and decides to vote on something that has the devil on it, and horns, horns on each side. I know that people are called the devil, but if the symbol of a devil is on it, I would not vote for that.''
After a not-so-simple vote (two voice votes, a voided roll call vote, two quorum calls and finally one that counted), the amendment with Siplin's tag was adopted 22-13. Storms' tag passed on a voice vote.
For his part, Siplin said FAMU has a snake on its plate and the University of Miami has an ibis, ``so I think we should have an opportunity for every citizen around the state to be able to purchase a license plate of their choice.''
Siplin wasn't bothered by the opposition, saying, ``If you don't like that particular license plate, you're not forced to buy it.''

CARBOARD VILLAGE BECOMES 'HOME' TO 200 CHRISTIAN STUDENTS


Around 200 students at a Christian university in Indiana are spending four days this week living in a cardboard village to experience and highlight the plight of the world’s homeless population.
Since Monday and until this Thursday, the scores of Taylor University students will be abstaining from technology and showers while wearing the same clothes and living on a diet of rice and beans, according to Dr. Michael Jessup, a sociology professor at the Upland, Ind., institution.
“To truly understand poverty, social injustice, and oppression is wisdom, and provides a window into the heart of God,” explained Jessup ahead of this week’s Social Justice Week ‘09.
"I want our students to realize that social justice week is not just something we do for fun, not something we add to the gospel, but a biblical mandate," he told the school’s news service. "As Christians, we are required to love justice, encourage the oppressed, demonstrate love to our neighbor, and preach the good news to the poor."
Since 2007, Taylor University has been holding its "Social Justice Week," a five-day, campus-wide experience with multiple activities designed to engage the Taylor community in the exploration of critical societal issues.
Other events scheduled for this week include nightly speakers and a poverty simulation designed to help participants grasp the challenges facing low-income families.

WATCH THIS SHOCKING VIDEO : TALIBAN GUNMEN EXECUTING A COUPLE WHOM THEY REPEATEDLY SHOT FOR THE ALLEGED CRIME OF ADULTERY : PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERENCE



Their deaths were squalid, riddled with bullets in a field near their home by Taliban gunmen as the execution was captured on a mobile telephone.
In footage which is being watched with horror by Pakistanis, the couple try to flee when they realise what is about to happen. But a gunman casually shoots the man and then the woman in the back with a burst of gunfire, leaving them bleeding in the dirt.

Moments later, when others in the execution party shout out that they are still alive, he returns to coldly finish them with a few more rounds.
Their "crime" was an alleged affair in their remote mountain village controlled by militants in an area that was only recently under the government's sway. It was the kind of barbarity that has become increasingly familiar across Pakistan as the Taliban tide has spread.
But this time, with black-turbaned gunmen almost at the gates of Islamabad, the rare footage has shown urban Pakistanis what could now await them.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that Islamic extremists could take over the nation.
In the past few days the footage has circulated among Pakistanis who usually show little interest in the rough ways of the distant frontier regions.
They have now started to wake up to the fear that al-Qaeda-linked rebels from the frontier could take over their nation.
The killings happened in Hangu district, in North West Frontier Province, about two hours drive from the regional capital Peshawar. The punishment was administered by a local group of the Pakistani Taliban, the Islamic militia which has swept across the NWFP towards the capital Islamabad.
Last week, the Taliban had reached within 60 miles of Islamabad, in Buner district. Their takeover sparked panic in the West, which was already appalled by a peace deal that the government had signed this month with Taliban in adjacent the Swat valley.
In an extraordinary move, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called on the people of Pakistan to defy their government, saying they "need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents".
The Taliban had agreed a withdrawal, in the last couple of days, to their stronghold of Swat. That will scarcely make the government and elite in the capital Islamabad feel much safer, as Swat is only 100 miles from them.
"The Taliban are steady and confident, the government is weak and faltering," said Pervez Hoodbhoy, a professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University and one of Pakistan's leading intellectuals.
"A Taliban victory will enslave our women, destroy Pakistan's rich historical and cultural heritage, make education and science impossible, and make the lives of its citizens impossibly difficult. Some are already contemplating an exodus."
Pakistan today stands on a knife-edge, threatened with anarchy. The desperate deal signed with the Taliban in Swat looks set to fall apart. The result will almost certainly be violence. An army convoy heading into Swat on Saturday morning was stopped by the Taliban and forced to turn back, in a naked display of their power.
They seem to have been only emboldened by the peace agreement. Many believe that a bloody military operation now looks inevitable,
For those in areas falling under Taliban control, their harsh rule is terrifying.
An SOS text message sent out on Friday by a terrified local resident, in an area of Swat called Bahrain, says that the Taliban have established total control. Asking not be named for fear of reprisal, he said that they have set up check posts at the entrance to Bahrain, from where they kidnap those they want, including young women.
"They've even warned the local schools to close the girl classes or face dire consequences. Yet the government says its writ is in Swat."
Another Swat resident said: "Every day I see armed Taliban move around freely. At the time of prayer, if they see anyone in his shop or walking about, they whip him with a stick."
The Pakistani Taliban, a copy of the Afghan extremist movement, have long controlled the tribal area along the Afghan border, which is a sanctuary for militants, including al-Qaeda. But it is their march into the heart of the country that has horrified ordinary Pakistanis, and the wider world. And the threat comes not just from the Taliban to the west. Islamic extremists, who are not part of the Taliban, are already entrenched in Islamabad and across the Punjab, the most populous province, seemingly ready to surface when their moment comes.
Islamabad's defences are being hurriedly fortified, with paramilitary troops stationed on the Margalla Hills, which overlook the city from the West. In the capital, there are thousands of followers of the radical Red Mosque, where there are now open calls for Islamic revolution at the weekly Friday prayers.
"The Taliban will not stop at Swat. They will come towards Islamabad," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a military analyst based in Lahore. "If the army is to take action against them, it is going to be a really bloody battle. And then civil government will be knocked out."
"Extremist groups based in Islamabad will move from within and they (Taliban) will build pressure from outside."
The footage Pakistanis have been watching shows them what they could expect.
A local journalist was invited to witness the execution, who filmed it with his mobile phone for a Pakistani channel, Dawn News. The Sunday Telegraph is showing the footage in the West for the first time.
There were no names for the two victims.
"Using the media is part of their (the Taliban's) psychological warfare," said Imtiaz Gul, chairman of Centre for Research and Security Studies, an independent think tank in Islamabad. "This way, they inject fear into the minds of people who might oppose them, keeping the majority silent."
After the couple were shot, the family were told to take their bodies away for burial. The punishment was administered by a local group of the Pakistani Taliban linked to warlord Baitullah Mehsud.

Wednesday 29 April 2009

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SWINE FLU : SWINE FLU IS SPREADING TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES : PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERENCE







Infectious disease expert Charles Ericsson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of Travel Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has answered some questions regarding swine flu, which are as follows:




1. How do symptoms of swine flu differ from other types of flu?



None, really, although this flu might include gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea and vomiting), as well as the usual respiratory symptoms. The basic symptoms for swine flu are similar to the seasonal flu we are vaccinated for each year, which may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches, fatigue.




2. Is there medication for this?


Yes, Tamiflu or Relenza have shown to be effective against these recently reported strains of swine flu. Altogether, there are four anti-viral drugs that we commonly use to treat various strains of flu.




3. Is there a vaccine?


Not yet, but the CDC has this current strain of virus and will consider whether to add it to next year's flu vaccine as time goes on.




4. Can I catch it from pigs?


No. This strain is one that is communicable through human-to-human contact. It is a mutated form of a swine virus.




5. Can I catch it from eating pork?


Absolutely not! Swine flu is not transmitted by food. It is not a so-called foodborne illness. Bacon, ham and other pork products are safe to eat, assuming they are prepared properly. An internal temperature of 160 degrees for cooked meat will kill any bacteria or virus. Swine flu is transmitted by airborne droplets from an infected person's sneeze or cough; or from germs on hands, or germ-laden surfaces. Eating pork will not give you swine flu any more than eating chicken will give you bird flu.




6. How does it cross from a pig to a human?


The swine virus mutates so that it can infect humans and be spread by humans.




7. Can it kill me?


Deaths have been reported from the Mexico City outbreak. So far the cases in the US have been mild and there have been no deaths as yet. But, like seasonal flu, there is the potential for serious outcomes.




8. How is it different from avian (bird) flu?


Avian flu so far has had difficulty infecting humans unless they are exposed intensely to birds, because the virus has not mutated in a way that makes it transmissible by humans to other humans. This virus has origins genetically from both pigs and birds, and the big difference from the avian flu is that this swine virus can be transmitted readily from human to human.




9. What if I'm on a plane? Should I wear a mask?


Not necessary. The air on a plane is filtered. Transmission might occur if someone sitting close to you coughs or sneezes on you. The newer designs of aircraft airflow keep the air in a top-down flow, not forced air from front to back. However, if you do have a respiratory illness, it might be best not to travel.




10. Other than hand washing and covering my mouth if I sneeze or cough, what can I do to take care of myself and others?


If you are ill, stay home. Control your sneezes and coughs. If you cough into your hand, remember the virus could be live on your hand at least for a few minutes, so wash your hands before touching anyone else. If you get symptoms suggesting the flu, call your doctor, who can call in a prescription for medication to treat the flu. Resist going to the doctor's office or a hospital ER for influenza symptoms unless you are seriously ill. You do not want to spread the disease to others. "There is a huge difference between preparedness and paranoia. Although we're dealing with a new strain of flu, a set of universally applicable preventive measures exist that can be employed right away by everyone to help stop the spread of this disease," said Dr. Robert Emery, occupational health expert at the UT School of Public Health at Houston.

DELHI RECORDS HOTTEST APRIL IN FIFTY YEARS; PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERENCE...



Wednesday's maximum was five degrees above normal at this time of the year. The mercury rose 1.3 degrees from Tuesday's 42.2 deg Celsius, the Met Department said. This is the first time in 50 years that the mercury soared up to touch 43.5 degree Celsius in April.

In 1958, the maximum had climbed up to 43.8 degrees Celsius in April. The all-time record for maximum temperature in this month was recorded on April 29, 1941 when the mercury touched 45.6 degrees Celsius.

The minimum was recorded at 24.4 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal, the Met Department said. The weatherman predicted no relief for residents from the scorching sun on Thursday and said the mercury is likely to remain at 43 degrees and minimum rising to 27 degrees Celsius. "There is no thunder shower activity and dry winds from deserts are blowing into the city," B P Yadav, Director of India Meteorological Department, said. The weatherman has also warned of heat wave conditions in Delhi in the coming days.

Tuesday 28 April 2009

MUST READ TESTIMONIES FROM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE; SOME PROMINENT PERSONALITIES WHO ACCEPTED CHRIST AND HOW THEY CAME TO KNOW THE LIVING LORD

When change of religion was all about a deeply personal choiceAnuradha RamanIf one goes by popular perception, it's only people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who are lured by Christianity. The notion is that they give up their religion to break free from the Hindu caste system and nurture the hope that a better life awaits them after they convert. But it's not just the oppressed classes who are drawn to Jesus. Highly educated and well-placed upper-caste Hindus and Muslims have also risked censure from their immediate family and community to take the crucial plunge.
They all have their own reasons for giving up one religion for another. As Jesuit sociologist Rudolf C. Heredia puts it in his book, Changing Gods, Rethinking Conversion in India: "Conversion is a question of personal choice, it involves a rejection, a change or an adaptation of one's identity. A complex set of motivations are involved. The change is the result of a personal quest, which may be more than a religious or spiritual one. Positively, this is experienced as a liberation; negatively, it could be an escape."
So what is it like to switch from one god to another? Outlook spoke to some unlikely converts:


Syed Ainul Hadeed, 38Filmmaker
Syed Hadeed is touched by the Word
"I was born in a rich Muslim family of Pune. My parents belonged to families with a rich religious heritage. When I was barely four, my parents separated. My mother and I moved in with my aunt in Hyderabad. From an early age I was taught Islamic traditions and I also learnt to read the Quran in Arabic. However, I went to schools run by the Jesuits and did well both in studies and sports. My mother and I shifted to Mumbai when I was in the sixth standard."It was during this period that I began carefully studying the Quran. However, I found I could not digest the teachings. Yet I did not stop believing in God's existence. This was in the late 1980s. My teenage years and early adult life were difficult-failed relationships, financial hardships and my father's death made me morose. At one point I even decided to end my life by consuming mercury. Luckily, I survived."It was all very strange. On the one hand I was attempting suicide, but at another level, I had an out-of-body experience. I felt my spirit drift to my old school-to the feet of Jesus Christ. I could feel his presence. After a year, I visited the school and saw the following words engraved on the pedestal on which a statue of Jesus stands to this day: 'I am the resurrection and the Life.' I believe the Holy Spirit had led me to Christ. Today, I am serving the Lord through the gifts that he has endowed me with."Naturally, some Muslim friends did not approve of my giving up Islam. The clerics questioned my change of faith. However, this only strengthened my resolve to study the Bible, the Quran, and the Hadiths. Finally, I realised that Christianity was my true calling."
"Information technology companies require a strong process, otherwise there will be a delivery failure. There are proven processes of development and it is for the company to adapt them and standardise them."This also holds true in life. I was in my twenties and my life was a total mess.I had no peace of mind. I was going through a personal crisis. It was then that somebody gave me a book on Jesus. It slowly transformed me. My parents saw the change in me but allowed me to choose my faith. I go for prayer meetings regularly and I have renounced all forms of idol worship."


"My mother was a Catholic who converted to Islam when she married my father. We performed namaaz regularly. But my faith was shattered when I came across a verse in the Quran that prescribed corporal punishment for stubborn women. I was shocked. I asked my father, who told me that it was like chiding a child for not listening to elders. "After my parents separated, I moved in with my mother, who had become extremely short-tempered and abusive. At the same time, she started attending church. I used to attend the congregations she went to, at which people danced and sang, something unheard of in Islam. It was then that I started reading the Bible. I found Christianity a far more liberating religion. My life became stable, and I started doing well in my studies. I have been praying every day ever since."


(learning & development) with a business process outsourcing firm
Jaya Ramamurthy says god speaks to her
"Born into a Tamil Brahmin family, I was brought up in an orthodox religious environment. We worshipped numerous gods and observed various rituals. Every Thursday, we also prayed to Sai Baba. At least 150 devotees would turn up at our house for the prayer sessions. Frankly, I could not make any sense of the rituals and yearned for a relationship with a god I could talk to, a god who would listen to me when I spoke to him. "It was around this time that I was afflicted with scabies. I decided to go for a blind date with Jesus in the hope that I would be cured. To my surprise I was rid of my ailment. Years later, at 27, I decided to read the Bible. My mother threw it out of the window. But I did not give up and discovered a god I could talk to. Ever since, I have become far more friendly, and the love of god has changed my life. Today, when I speak, God speaks to me. My relationship with the Almighty has changed my perspective. I have become more respectful towards others."


"I was 14 when I lost my father and our family lost everything in the process. From prosperity to penury-it was difficult to comprehend at that age. I could not understand how there could be so much suffering if god actually existed. How could he allow people to get away with evil acts? A chance encounter with a young man turned me to Jesus. I read the New Testament carefully and realised that evil is the consequence of man not loving god. Jesus presents a challenge to every individual, asking him to acknowledge his own inadequacies. Over the years, I have found myself moving away from being a selfish person to being more sensitive (to the needs of others)."

READ THIS INTERESTING INTERVIEW WITH ANAND MAHADEVAN EDITOR OF OUTLOOK BUSINESS AND ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE FAMOUS ARTICLE " I , THE CONVERT"

India is presently facing great communal disharmony, especially (though not only in) Orissa. During this volatile time, Anand Mahadevan, the editor of Outlook Business, wrote with great boldness and honesty about his conversion to Christianity .
Greatly edified by his story & his convictions especially given the scenario,Mr. Mahadevan to share some more details with our readers:


During this time of great communal disharmony, fueled by Hindu extremists claiming forced conversions to Christianity, what made you speak out about your own conversion from Hinduism to Christianity?
First, I would chose not to use the words `Hindu Extremists.’ I would prefer to refer to them as my Hindu friends, no matter how they act. I hope they see that violence and unlawfulness finds no place in the Hindu dharma. Two things made me speak up. First, there was a wrong perception that the poor, illiterate and backward caste people were being tricked or financially induced into converting. By speaking out, I wanted to break this myth and show that the rich, educated and the upper caste also chose to follow and worship Jesus. It is a personal choice. And both rich and poor, educated and uneducated, upper caste and lower caste and all mankind has a moral, and constitutional right to chose their faith. Jesus came to take away the sin of all mankind. Second, I was moved by passages from the Bible about Nicodemus. He first came to meet with Jesus in secret; in the dark of the night. But later, he stood up and acknowledged Jesus, first amidst the pharisees and he also came with Joseph of Arimathea to claim the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. I was inspired by Nicodemus and his decision to go public with his faith.

Many of the comments on your article at Outlook are anti what you wrote. Has writing the article changed you in anyway?
One of the joys of knowing Jesus is that it becomes easier to love. I have seen the many comments that have criticized me, my faith, my conversion and my decision to speak out. I respect all the people who have criticized me. I respect their right to hold their point of view. I respect their right to criticize me. Writing the article has not changed anything. What I wrote was heart felt. I wrote it in faith. And I will stand by what I wrote in faith.


I love the fact that you specifically differentiate between your national identity as an Indian and your belief in God, when you speak about retaining your name & giving your children Indian names. Would you expand on this line of thinking?
Not just Indian names. I deliberately chose to give them Hindu names to my children. Because culturally, I am still a Hindu. That will never change. I still love and cherish the many values of Hinduism — love, peace, tolerance, the desire to seek and know God, justice, charity, the pursuit of holiness etc. These are Hindu values and I share all of these values. Just because I follow Christ does not mean that I have to call myself John or Mathew. My national identity is Indian; my cultural identity is Hindu; my spiritual identity is Christian.

Your grandfather was a Tamil Brahmin Priest. Has your conversion caused any friction within your extended family?
My parents did not like my change of heart. But they respect my choice. They still love me. And I still love and honour them. That too will never change.

You talk about Jesus as “a dear friend to whom I pray and talk to every day—about my career, my dreams, successes, failures, finances and even my sexuality”. Would you share a personal testimony on how He has made an impact in any of these areas of your life?
In all of the above areas, be it finance, career or sexuality, the natural inclination of my heart is to sin. And I do struggle with daily temptations in all of these areas. And I do slip every now and then in the areas of pride, selfishness, lust etc. But I always go to Jesus with my struggles and my failures. And He always helps me. He empowers me to live a life that is worthy of the gospel. He works in my conscience leading me to repentance. And over the years, he has taught me how to overcome each of these struggles.
Since you ask specifically about sexuality, let me address that issue. Before I became a follower of Jesus, I did not have any value system in expressing and enjoying my sexuality. But now, the teachings of Jesus have helped me develop a Biblical value system within which I express and enjoy my sexuality. And honestly, in a time of free and abundant sexual opportunities, it is not easy to live within this value system. I have occasionally struggled and failed. But I am not characterized by failure. By talking to Jesus every time I have failed, I have learned to overcome these temptations. I am still tempted. I still struggle. But I also overcome, because Jesus enables me to. I can say that I have submitted even my sexuality to the Lordship of Christ. Ultimately, it all comes down to just one decision. Do I love Jesus Christ enough to give up all the pleasures that He does not approve of. The answer is YES.

" I , THE CONVERT " BY ANAND MAHADEVAN ( OUTLOOK BUSINESS EDITOR ) ; READ THIS AMAZING TESTIMONY WHICH CAME IN THE OUTLOOK BUSINESS

Even as India continues to face communal disharmony, Anand Mahadevan, the editor of Outlook Business, speaks boldly and honestly about his conversion to Christianity.
I was born a Brahmin and am the grandson of a priest whom I dearly loved. I am educated and my current professional standing indicates that I am reasonably intelligent. I am also affluent and my income would put me distinctly in the upper middle class bracket. I guess that would make me high-caste, rich and smart. In other words, I am not a tribal, or poor or dim-witted. And yet, I chose to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
The world would call me a convert to Christianity. I have no problems with that, though I see my faith more as a relationship with God through Jesus Christ than as a religion. And for the record, I can truthfully claim that no one financially induced or threatened or deceived me into converting to Christianity.
I am fiercely proud of my national identity as an Indian and I am completely at peace with my cultural identity as a Hindu. I retain the name my parents gave me. My wife, who also shares my faith, continues to go by her Hindu name. We have two children and we have given both distinctly Hindu names. In fact, many of my colleagues and acquaintances who may happen to read this column are likely to be surprised. They have no inkling about my faith, for I generally don’t go about announcing it. But if someone does ask me the reason behind the joy and hope that is everpresent in my life, I am always delighted to share it with them.
I write this piece to make one point—that my conversion was not a change of religion but a change of heart. To explain this, I need to go back to my childhood in Chennai, similar to that of so many other Tamil Brahmin boys like me. My grandfather, every bit the virtuous priest, had enormous influence over me. I absolutely adored him and as a toddler, always clung to him. He too loved me to a fault. There was no wish of mine that he would not rush to fulfil. But even in my early, formative years I was unable to relate to the religion he fervently practiced. Later, in my school days, I once spent my summer holidays with him in Trichy.. Memories of dawn walks with him, for the ritualistic dip in the Cauvery river, cow in tow, are still fresh in my memory. I learnt many shlokas, some of which I still remember. But I never understood any of it and none of it helped me connect with God.
When I was 19, a Christian friend with whom I used to play cricket invited me to his house for prayer. If he had invited me to a pub, or party, I would have gone too. At his home, he and his sister prayed for me. It was a simple yet delightful conversation with God that lasted all of five minutes. I don’t remember it verbatim, but they articulated a prayer of blessing on my life, future, career and family. It was a simple affair—no miracles, no angels visiting. All they did was utter a deep human cry out to the creator God and His only son Jesus Christ. When they said Amen, I felt in my heart a desire to follow Jesus.
It was a faith encounter with God that I shall not even attempt to understand, rationalise or explain. I simply accept it. It is my faith. It is what I choose to believe. That evening I did not change my religion, for in reality I had none. Hinduism was my identity, not my religion. It still is..
The Christianity I acquired that evening is not a religion. On the contrary, it is an intensely intimate relationship with Jesus. Over the past fifteen years, I have come to know this Jesus even closer. I know Him as the pure and sinless Son of a Holy God. And I know Him as a dear friend to whom I pray and talk to every day—about my career, my dreams, successes, failures, finances and even my sexuality.
If I read a good book, watch a good movie (Rock On is terrific, mate), or eat a good meal at a new restaurant, I would naturally tell my friends about it. In Jesus, I have discovered a truly amazing friend, guide, leader, Saviour and God. How can I not tell all my friends about Him? And if anyone does listen and he too comes to believe in Jesus, I am delighted. The world would call it a conversion; I call it a change of heart, like mine.
But I would never force anyone to listen to me, leave alone financially induce, coerce or con him into believing. That to me is pointless and against the very grain of my faith. But I do have a constitutional right to practice my faith and to preach it without deception, force or bribery. It pains to see such basic rights of mankind being cruelly violated every day in this great Hindu nation.
God bless India.

ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ LEAVES 3 DEAD; PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERNCE IN IRAQ



The first occurred in a neighborhood in southern Kirkuk when a Christian woman and her daughter-in-law were murdered in their home late night Sunday. Police told CNN the attackers slit the women's throats.
In a neighborhood close by, gunmen attacked a Christian family in their home, shooting a father and his three sons, police said. One of the sons died instantly and the other son and the father were wounded.
Many of Iraq's estimated 1 million Christians have fled the country after targeted attacks by extremists.
In October, more than a thousand Iraqi families fled the northern city of Mosul after they were reportedly frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists, who apparently ordered them to convert to Islam or face possible death.

At least 14 Christians were killed in Mosul in the first two weeks of October.
Kirkuk is 150 miles (240 km) north of Baghdad.

Monday 27 April 2009

CHRISTIAN PRIEST , WIFE KILLED IN EATERN INDONESIA ; PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN INDONESIA


A Christian priest and his wife were stabbed to death in a region of eastern Indonesia that has been wracked by sectarian violence in the past, police said Monday.
The bodies of Frans Koagow, 64, and his wife, Femy Kumendong, 73, were discovered by their grandson in the priest's home on Sulawesi island over the weekend with deep wounds to their heads and necks, said local police chief Aridan Roero.
Authorities have yet to determine a motive, he said, and no suspects have been named.
"We're still investigating," Roero said. "It's too early to say anything."
More than 90 percent of Indonesia's 235 million people are Muslims, but Sulawesi - the scene of religious clashes that left up to 2,000 people dead from 1998 to 2002 - has a large Christian population.

IT FIELDS MAY SEE ONE LAKH JOB CUTS BY SEPTEMBER



Companies may reduce workforce in this fiscal, mostly based on stringent performance criteria, experts added.

"We expect the knowledge industry (IT) to see 3-5 per cent non-voluntary exits in the first two quarters of the financial year mainly in senior and middle levels," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Senior Director (Management Consultancy Services) P Thiruvengadam said.

Given the fact that more than 22 lakh people work in the IT industry, five per cent non-voluntary exits would mean more than one lakh employees being shown the door by September. Nasscom estimates more than 22 lakh people were working in the Indian IT-BPO sector in FY2009 (till February), while indirect job creation is estimated at about eight million. International Management Institute (IMI) Director C S Venkata Ratnam said, "The IT sector is better off but it may see up to 4-5 per cent job losses in the first two quarters of this fiscal."

The global financial turmoil has also hit the country's other export-related sectors including textiles and some unorganised industries like auto ancillaries, Venkata Ratnam said. Besides, IT services (including engineering services, R&D, software products) exports, BPO exports and the domestic IT industry provide direct employment to 9,47,000, 7,90,000 and 5,00,000 people, respectively, Nasscom says.
The next 5-6 months would be critical for companies in deciding on job cuts. At present, layoffs are very few and more companies have frozen hiring to tackle the economic slowdown, Thiruvengadam said.

Last week, third-largest software exporter Wipro said it would freeze salary hikes and is uncertain about campus recruitment. Further, as per government data, over one lakh people lost jobs in the export sector due to the global downturn. Asked about what strategy they are advising, experts said adopting a wait-and-watch policy and a mature outlook would be the best policy. "If professionals aim towards multi-skilling and put in extra efforts to dabble in other areas of work as well, they stand a chance of becoming indispensable to their companies," Thiruvengadam said.

THE GENERATON NEXT BLUETOOTH, BLUETOOTH 3.0 TO BE 10 TIMES FASTER



Gadgets using it could be on the market by early next year. The consortium behind the technology, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, said that it has united on a standard for Bluetooth 3.0, which will include an option for the faster data transfers. Those could be useful for moving music or movies from a PC to a cell phone or media player.

Three chip companies -- Atheros Communications Inc, Broadcom Corp and CSR PLC -- said they had products that would work with the new high-speed option. When the Bluetooth chip is called on to transfer a large file, it borrows a Wi-Fi chip in the same gadget to make the actual transfer.

When the Wi-Fi chip isn't needed, Bluetooth turns it off, conserving power. It can then maintain a low-power connection with the Bluetooth chip. While Bluetooth 3.0 with the high-speed option is 10 times faster than current Bluetooth, it's about 20 times slower than a USB cable, so it will likely be less than ideal for a complete music library or a long movie.

A combination of Bluetooth and a different, and potentially even faster radio technology, ultra-wideband, was announced in 2006, but delays in getting it to work prompted the Bluetooth group to look at Wi-Fi. Then the Wi-Fi-based technology was also delayed: When the Bluetooth group talked about that work early in 2008, it said gadgets could be on the market by summer 2009.

5TH GRADERS MAKE IT TO THE DELHI LOK SABHA RACE : PRAY FOR THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN DELHI



While academic brilliance was never an issue in elections in India, the polls on May 7 in Delhi will witness battle among a total of 160 candidates, of which 31 have never completed matriculations, five are just fifth graders and 18 lawyers.

Union Minister and Congress candidate Kapil Sibal, who is seeking re-election from Chandani Chowk seat, holds a law degree while his political rival and BJP nominee Vijender Gupta is a post-graduate in commerce. NELOPA (United) supported Milind Bharati has done MBBS and is taking on sitting Congress MP Krishna Tirath and former Delhi Mayor Meera Kanwria (BJP), among 13 others, from the Northwest Delhi seat. Tirath and Kanwaria have done BEd.

Buddhi Viveki Vikas Party nominee PL Premi, who is seeking mandate from Chandani Chowk, holds a degree in law and a PhD. BSP candidate from the Northeast Delhi seat, Dilshad Ali, is an electrical engineer. Party nominees Trilok Chand Sharma (New Delhi) and businessman Deepak Bhardwaj (West Delhi) are graduates in Arts and Commerce, respectively, while Rakesh Hans (Northwest Delhi) has completed just matriculation.

But the party's East Delhi nominee Mohmd Yunus has studied till Class V and Chandni Chowk candidate Md Mustaqeen has not gone beyond the primary school. Among some others, Congress candidates Mahabal Mishra (West Delhi) has studied till Class XII, JP Agarwal (Northeast Delhi) is a graduate, Ajay Maken (New Delhi) and Sandeep Dikshit (East Delhi) are post-graduates. Among the BJP candidates, Jagdish Mukhi from West Delhi holds a doctorate while BL Sharma Prem from Northeast Delhi and Vijay Goel from New Delhi are graduates. Cricketer Chetan Chauhan, fighting from East Delhi, has done BA and BCom. Congress and BJP nominees Ramesh Kumar and Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi are among 16 candidates who have not given details of their educational qualifications.

Thursday 23 April 2009

CHRISTIANS AT HIGHER RISK AFTER UN CONFERENCE ; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE..


International ― Several national leaders continue to seethe after Iranian President Ahmadinejad inappropriately made anti-Semitic remarks at a United Nations conference on racism.
The dispute over Iran's and Israel's issues caused such a distraction that more pressing matters which should have been addressed in a discussion about racism were dismissed. David Harder of the Christian satellite television network for the Middle East and North Africa, SAT-7, notes the discrepancy from the conference.
"One of the things that's overarching is that by bringing up issues that Iran has with Israel, they was able to completely neglect the treatment of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa."
The topic of Muslim subjugation seems to be brought up quite often in international circles, while the persecution of the Christian minority in the Middle East and North Africa is very much ignored. "There are Christians that live in every country in the region and they suffer; they have difficult times," says Harder. "Sometimes the pressure is very overt, and sometimes it's very subtle. Unfortunately, those things weren't dealt with."
Christians in hostile areas are at even higher risk now that many of their leaders feel contempt toward the West, due to some Western delegates walking out of the UN conference.
"Whenever there is animosity towards the West in general, unfortunately the Christian believers in other countries throughout the region are often targeted because many people view Christianity as a Western religion. They don't realize that it truly is a Middle Eastern religion."
Harder notes that many people in the West seem to forget this, too, and often do not think about Christians living in the Middle East or North Africa. Although they may be a minority, their presence is still vibrant.
To help brothers and sisters in Christ in these areas, Harder encourages you to find and support a ministry that works there. SAT-7 creates television programs to encourage these believers, as well as to reach out to unbelievers. The ministry has seen a great deal of transformation in the region and continues to watch people in countries such as Iraq and Jordan come to the Lord, especially as a result of recent SAT-7 Easter programs. To help SAT-7 reach more for Christ, click here.
Above all, these persecuted Christians need prayer. Pray for their safety and protection as tensions rise toward the West. Pray that they would be free to worship as many of other religions are able.

NEW Mc CLURKIN ALBUM TOPS GOSPEL SALES CHART


The latest album by gospel music artist Donnie McClurkin landed in the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Gospel Sales chart nearly three weeks after its release.
We All Are One (Live in Detroit), McClurkin’s first album in five years, is also No. 7 on Billboard's R&B Albums Chart, No. 26 on its Top-200 Albums Chart, and No. 1 on CMTA's Top Christian/Gospel Albums chart.
Released March 31, We All Are One is an eclectic recording that McClurkin says was created to magnify the glory of God and how wonderful He is.
The gospel minister says it was also created to remind listeners that "despite differing opinions, backgrounds, ethnicities and religious affiliations – we all are one, we're one family."
“Jesus said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ yet we remain disconnected: Republicans and Democrats, Blacks, Whites, Yellows and Browns, Baptists and Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians… Where is the unity,” McClurkin asks.


Though McClurkin grew up learning to judge others, he says his thinking now is to “let God do the judging so that I may learn how to love and understand the ways in which we are all connected.”
“I believe that lesson of compassion and fellowship will ultimately be learned by the young ones coming behind me,” he adds.
Unity and tolerance are the themes of the 12-song We All Are One, which McClurkin says he recorded in Detroit in hopes of bringing churches together there to aid in the healing of the city.
“Even with Detroit’s tough transitions and hard situations, the church has always been the mainstay that holds everything together,” he says.
McClurkin’s latest album includes special guest contributions by Karen Clark Sheard, CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, and Mary Mary.
Co-producers on the album include Asaph Ward – who has worked with Dorinda Clark-Cole, Kim Burrell and Smokie Norful – as well as producers Justin Savage and Trent Phillips.

2009 CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED ; MAJOR MARKET TOPS THE LIST FROM ORLANDO


The winners of this year’s Radio Station of the Year contest have been announced and will be acknowledged during the 40th annual Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards on Thursday.
Aside from their ratings, the winners of the GMA/Christian Music Broadcaster (CMB) contest were selected by a panel of judges who reviewed them on their involvement, air check and industry leadership. The annual radio station awards are presented to those Christian radio stations that meet the highest standards of quality and have the strongest impact on their listening areas.
“[T]he team is so excited to be awarded these honors,” expressed Melissa Montana, general manager of Star 88.3, which will be recognized as the winner of the small market category.
“We know we couldn’t do it without the support of our many amazing listeners. We are looking forward to the future as we plan on making a greater impact on this community as we honor God in all we do,” she added in Star 88.3’s announcement of the award.
Montana will also be personally honored with the Rob Gregory Award, which is presented to a Christian broadcaster, radio station or associated professional who, during the past year, has shown outstanding effort in the community. She will be the first female ever to receive the Rob Gregory Award.
“I personally feel blessed,” Montana commented.
A list of all four winners of the 2009 GMA/Christian Music Broadcasters (CMB) Radio Station of the Year contest is as follows:

MarketZ88.3 (WPOZ) –

Orlando, Fla.Dean O’Neal,

Station Manager


Large Market89.7 (WMHK) –

Columbia, S.C.John Owens,

Operations Manager


Medium MarketNew Life 91.9 (WRCM) –

Charlotte, Gastonia, Rock Hill, N.C./S.C.Joe Paulo,

Director of Broadcasting


Small MarketStar 88.3 (WLAB) -

Fort Wayne, Ind.Melissa Montana,

Station Manager

Wednesday 22 April 2009

BUDHISTS MOB ATTACKS CHURCHES IN SRILANKA ; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERNCE ....


COLOMBO, Sri Lanka– Buddhist mobs attacked several churches in Sri Lanka last week, threatening to kill a pastor in the southern province of Hambanthota and ransacking a 150-year-old Methodist church building in the capital.
On April 8, four Buddhist extremists approached the home of pastor Pradeep Kumara in Weeraketiya, Hambanthota district, calling for him to come out and threatening to kill him. The pastor said his wife, at home alone with their two children, phoned him immediately but by the time he returned, the men had left.
Half an hour later, Kumar said, the leader of the group phoned him and again threatened to kill him if he did not leave the village by the following morning. Later that night the group leader returned to the house and ordered the pastor to come out, shouting, “I didn’t bring my gun tonight because if I had it with me, I would use it!”
“My children were frightened,” Kumara said. “I tried to reason with him to go away, but he continued to bang on the door and threaten us.”
Police soon arrived on the scene and arrested the instigator but released him the following day.
Subsequently the attacker gathered Buddhist monks and other villagers together and asked them to sign a petition against the church, Kumar said. Protestors then warned the pastor’s landlord that they would destroy the house if he did not evict the pastor’s family by the end of the month.
Fearing violence, Kumara said he canceled Good Friday and Easter Sunday services and evacuated his children to a safer location.

Methodist Building Ransacked
Earlier, on Palm Sunday (April 5), another group of men broke into the 150-year-old Pepiliyana Methodist Church in Colombo after congregants concluded an Easter procession.
The gang entered through the back door and windows of the building late that night; witnesses said they saw them load goods into a white van parked outside the church early the next morning.
“They removed everything, including valuable musical instruments, a computer, Bibles, hymn books and all the church records,” said the Rev. Surangika Fernando.
The church had no known enemies and enjoyed a good relationship with other villagers, Rev. Fernando said, adding that the break-in appeared to be more than a simple robbery.
“My desk was completely cleaned out,” he said. “They took important documents with details of parishioners such as baptism and marriage records, which are of no value to thieves. They even took what was in my wastepaper basket.”
Local police agreed that robbery was an unlikely motive and that opponents from outside the area were the most likely culprits. Investigations were continuing at press time.
Finally, anti-Christian mobs in Vakarai, eastern Batticaloa district, intimidated church members gathering for several worship services during Holy Week.
“What can we do?” pastor Kanagalingam Muraleetharan told Compass. “The authorities and the police say we have the right to worship, but the reality is that people are threatened.”
The Easter incidents are the latest in a long series of attacks against churches and Christian individuals in recent years, many of them instigated by Buddhist monks who decry the growth of Christianity in the country.
Members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament may soon enact an anti-conversion bill designed to restrict religious conversions. Human rights organizations and Christian groups have criticized the vague terminology of the legislation that, if passed, may invite misapplication against religious activity.
The draft “Bill for the Prohibition of Forcible Conversions” was referred to a consultative committee of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in February for further deliberation, prior to a final reading and vote. (See www.compassdirect.org, “Parliament to Vote on Anti-Conversion Laws,” Jan. 26.)
According to the most recent government census, Protestant Christians number less than 1 percent of the total population in Sri Lanka, but they remain the primary target of religiously motivated violence and intimidation.

MOB OF HINDU EXTREMISTS VANDALIZE MAHARASHTRA CHURCH; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERNCE


India ― According to the International Christian Concern, believers in the eastern Indian state of Maharashtra were the targets of a violent attack by Hindu extremists.
At around 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, a mob of Hindu extremists burst into a Sunday morning service at the Douglas Memorial Church.
"As I was preaching," says Rev. Mark Madhukar Sakharpekar, "a dozen young boys shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' entered and started beating church members with sticks. They even threw a knife towards me, which fortunately missed the mark."
Urbandictionary.com says "Jai Shri Ram" means "Victory to Lord Ram," referring to the Hindu deity, Rama. The site says this phrase is commonly used by ultra-right nationalist parties, such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
ICC says the radicals were armed with knives, sticks and swords, and threatened Pastor Sakharpekar with "dire consequences" if worship services continued.
After attacking Christians involved in the worship service, the radicals went on a rampage. Extremists destroyed church furniture, Bibles, hymnals and the mission school bus parked outside the church.
So far, seven of the extremists have been arrested under the Indian Penal Code, and a police report has been filed by the pastor. Pray for protection for worshipping believers against such attacks.

UNABLE TO BOOK NANO, LIC AGENT HANGS SELF IN JAMSHEDPUR



And Arun Kumar Tiwari’s story proves just that. A small-time LIC agent from Jamshedpur, Tiwari hanged himself at his Agrico Colony home on Sunday afternoon after he was unable to book his Nano.

Tiwari had been dreaming of driving the showpiece small car for months. But the wish was futile: he would not be able to pay the monthly instalments. He didn’t earn enough and his last hope was his wife, who works for a private firm and brings home around Rs 10,000 a month. But she refused, prompting him to take his life.

“He had been trying to convince me to book the Nano. Since I’m already repaying a two-wheeler loan, paying Rs 1,800 monthly as instalments, I was in no position to book a car and pay another Rs 3,000 every month,” said Dulari Devi, his wife.

No one was at home when Tiwari hanged himself. While Dulari was out on work, their only son was playing with boys in the neighbourhood. “When I told him that we’d first pay the two-wheeler loan and then book the car, he seemed convinced. But God knows what happened to him that he suddenly took this drastic step,” Dulari said, tears in her eyes.

According to police, Tiwari was probably depressed after his wife refused to pay the booking amount. “The preliminary investigation suggests that he was a very emotional man. He probably couldn’t accept the refusal and went into depression. He tried to raise the money on his own, but didn’t succeed. It was then that he decided to hang himself,” said a senior officer. Rajendra Dubey, officer-in-charge of Sidhgora police station, refused to comment till the investigation was completed. “A case of unnatural death has been registered, based on the statement of the victim’s wife and an investigation started. I can speak on the case only after we reach a conclusion,” he said.

Monday 20 April 2009

CHINA'S ' HI -TECH ' DEATH VAN WHERE CRIMINALS ARE EXECUTED AND THEN THEIR ORGANS ARE SOLD ON BLACK MARKET


Death will come soon for Jiang Yong. A corrupt local planning official with a taste for the high life, Yong solicited money from businessmen eager to expand in China's economic boom.
Showering gifts on his mistress, known as Madam Tang, the unmarried official took more than £1 million in bribes from entrepreneurs wanting permission to build skyscrapers on land which had previously been protected from development.
But Yong, a portly, bespectacled figure, was caught by the Chinese authorities during a purge on corrupt local officials last year.
He confessed and was sentenced to death. China executed 1,715 people last year, so one more death would hardly be remarkable.
But there will be nothing ordinary about Yong's death by lethal injection. Unless he wins an appeal, he will draw his final breath strapped inside a vehicle that has been specially developed to make executions more cost-effective and efficient.
In chilling echoes of the 'gas-wagon' project pioneered by the Nazis to slaughter criminals, the mentally ill and Jews, this former member of the China People's Party will be handcuffed to a so-called 'humane' bed and executed inside a gleaming new, hi-tech, mobile 'death van.'
After trials of the mobile execution service were launched quietly three years ago - then hushed up to prevent an international row about the abuse of human rights before the Olympics last summer - these vehicles are now being deployed across China.
The number of executions is expected to rise to a staggering 10,000 people this year (not an impossible figure given that at least 68 crimes - including tax evasion and fraud - are punishable by death in China).
Developed by Jinguan Auto, which also makes bullet-proof limousines for the new rich in this vast country of 1.3 billion people, the vans appear unremarkable.
They cost £60,000, can reach top speeds of 80mph and look like a police vehicle on patrol. Inside, however, the 'death vans' look more like operating theatres.
Executions are monitored by video to ensure they comply with strict rules, making it possible to describe precisely how Jiang Yong will die. After being sedated at the local prison, he will be loaded into the van and strapped to an electric-powered stretcher.
This then glides automatically towards the centre of the van, where doctors will administer three drugs: sodium thiopental to cause unconsciousness; pancuronium bromide to stop breathing and, finally, potassium chloride to stop the heart.
Death is reputed to be quick and painless - not that there is anyone to testify to this. The idea for such a 'modern' scheme is rooted in one of the darkest episodes in human history.
The Nazis used adapted vans as mobile gas chambers from 1940 until the end of World War II. In order to make the best use of time spent transporting criminals and Jewish prisoners, Hitler's scientists developed the vehicles with a hermetically sealed cabin that was filled with carbon monoxide carried by a tube from the exhaust pipes.

The vans were first tested on child patients in a Polish psychiatric hospital in 1940. The Nazis then developed bigger models to carry up to 50 prisoners. They looked like furniture removal vans. Those to be killed were ordered to hand over their valuables, then stripped and locked inside.
As gas was pumped into the container and the van headed towards graves being dug by other prisoners, the muffled cries of those inside could be heard, along with banging on the side.
With the 'cargo' dead, all that remained was for gold fillings to be hacked from the victims' mouths, before the bodies were tipped into the graves.
Now, six decades later, just like the Nazis, China insists these death vans are 'progress'.
The vans save money on building execution facilities in prisons or courts. And they mean that prisoners can be executed locally, closer to communities where they broke the law.

'This deters others from committing crime and has more impact,' said one official.
Indeed, a spokesman for the makers of the 'death vans' openly touted for trade this week, saying they are the perfect way to 'efficiently and cleanly' dispatch convicts with lethal injections. Reporting steady sales throughout China, a spokesman for Jinguan Auto - which is situated in a green valley an hour's drive from Chongqing in south-western China - said the firm was bucking the economic trend and had sold ten more vans recently.
The exact number in operation is a state secret. But it is known that Yunnan province alone has 18 mobile units, while dozens of others are patrolling in five other sprawling provinces. Each van is the size of a specially refitted 17-seater minibus.
'We have not sold our execution cars to foreign countries yet,' beamed a proud spokesman. But if they need one, they could contact our company directly.'
Officials say the vehicles are a 'civilised alternative' to the traditional single shot to the head (used in 60 per cent of Chinese executions), ending the life of the condemned quickly, clinically and safely - proving that China 'promotes human rights now,' says Kang Zhongwen, designer of the 'death van'.
It seems a perverse claim, but certainly the shootings can be gruesome. Once carried out in public parks, these executions -sometimes done in groups - have seen countless cases of prisoners failing to die instantly and writhing in agony on the ground before being finished off.
There are other concerns: soldiers carrying out the shooting complain that they are splashed with Aids-contaminated blood. After the shooting, relatives are often presented with the bullet hacked from the condemned's body - and forced to pay the price of the ammunition.
While posing as a modernising force in public, Chinese leaders remain brutal within their own borders. They are, however, anxious to be seen to be moving away from violence against their own people, stressing that all judicial decisions have been taken out of the hands of vengeful local officials and must be ruled on from Beijing.
China has traditionally always taken a ruthless, unemotional view of crime and punishment. Before injections and bullets, the most chilling sentence was death by Ling Chi - death by a thousand cuts - which was abolished only in 1905.
The condemned man was strapped to a table and then, in what was also known as 'slow slicing', his eyes were gouged out.
This was designed to heighten the terror of not being able to see what part of his body would suffer next. Using a sharp knife, the executioner sliced at the condemned's body - chopping off the ears, fingers, nose and toes, before starting to cut off whole limbs.
Traditionalists insisted that exactly 3,600 slices were made. The new mobile execution vans may, indeed, be more humane than this, but their main advantage in official eyes is financial. According to undercover investigations by human rights' groups, the police, judiciary and doctors are all involved in making millions from China's huge trade in human body parts.
Inside each 'death van' there is a dedicated team of doctors to 'harvest' the organs of the deceased. The injections leave the body intact and in pristine condition for such lucrative work.
After checking that the victim is dead, the medical team first remove the eyes. Then, wearing surgical gowns and masks, they remove the kidney, liver, pancreas and lungs.
Little goes to waste, though the heart cannot be used, having been poisoned by the drugs.
The organs are dispatched in ice boxes to hospitals in the sprawling cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which have developed another specialist trade: selling the harvested organs.
At clinics all over China, these organs are transplanted into the ailing bodies of the wealthy - and thousands more who come as 'organ tourists' from neighbouring countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
Chinese hospitals perform up to 20,000 organ transplants each year. A kidney transplant in China costs £5,000, but can rise to £30,000 if the patient is willing to pay more to obtain an organ quickly.
With more than 10,000 kidney transplants carried out each year, fewer than 300 come from voluntary donations. The British Transplantation Society and Amnesty International have condemned China for harvesting prisoners' organs.
Laws introduced in 2006 make it an offence to remove the organs of people against their will, and banned those under 18 from selling their organs.
But, tellingly, the law does not cover prisoners.
'Organs can be extracted in a speedier and more effective way using these vans than if the prisoner is shot,' says Amnesty International.
'We have gathered strong evidence suggesting the involvement of Chinese police, courts and hospitals in the organ trade.'
The bodies cannot be examined. Corpses are driven to a crematorium and burned before independent witnesses can view them.
A police official, who operates a 'multi-functional and nationwide, first-class, fixed execution ground' where prisoners are shot, confirmed to the Mail that it is always a race against time to save the organs of the executed - and that mobile death vans are better equipped for the job.
'The liver loses its function only five minutes after the human cardiac arrest,' the officer told our researcher.
'The kidney will become dysfunctional 30 minutes after cardiac arrest. So the removal of organs must be completed at the execution ground within 15 minutes, then put in an ice box or preservation solution.'
While other countries worry about the morality of the death penalty, China has no such qualms.
For the Beijing regime, it is not a question of whether they should execute offenders, but how to do it most efficiently - and make the most money from it.