Face of Defense:

02/22/2013 11:52 AM CST           Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 11:32 PM

Sergeant Continues Harmonious Tradition

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Jacob Eckhardt
375th Air Mobility Wing

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Feb. 22, 2013 - Nearly a quarter century after he accepted his father's invitation to join him in his barbershop quartet, Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Martin continues to uphold the family tradition that began with his grandfather.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Martin, far right, sings with the "Sounds of Harmony" barbershop quartet, Feb. 14, 2013, near St. Louis. Courtesy photo

Martin was 10 years old when his father asked him to join the group. "It's a family thing," he said. "I wouldn't be singing if it wasn't for my father."

Barbershop music is sung in four-part harmony with no instrumental accompaniment. Martin sang with his father for 10 years, even while he attended community college. After two years of college, he said, he decided to join the Air Force.

After arriving here in 2002, Martin joined a local group called the "Sounds of Harmony." The group has 30 to 35 active members who range in age from 25 to 75, and its musical repertoire includes a variety of songs from the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s and 1960s.

"My dad used to be stationed here, and he sang with a guy in the chorus, so he called the guy and said, 'Hey, my son's going to be stationed there. Could you show him all the choruses around?'" Martin said.

To satisfy his dream of singing competitively, Martin said, he sang with the "Ambassadors of Harmony" from St. Charles, Mo., in 2004.

"I got to compete in an international competition and won a gold medal," he said. "My father was there when I won. It made the moment more special to me."

Even though his group sings older songs, Martin said, he enjoys a variety of music.

"It's interesting, because I have the barbershop stuff, which is an older style, but then I listen to a lot of more current bands, like Motorhead," he said.

Martin said he keeps singing purely for the passion for it.

"It's all about dedication and a love for singing," he said. "If you come into this loving to sing, then you really don't need anything else."

North Korean prison camps

A documentary

Countrywide strike on 2nd day at Ldh.

Workers jammed the railway track and held a rally

The nationwide strike call given by the 11 Central Trade Unions and various independent federations, unions and associations had an effective participation on the second day today. The workers affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), INTUC, BMS, CTU, TUCC and CITU observed strike today in their respective industries and other institutions and thereafter they gathered at Bus stand from where they marched to the Provident Fund Office in Sham Nagar. After that workers in Thousands went to the Loco Diesel Shed and jammed the railway track and held a rally. Today’s protest rally  was presided over by Com Om Parkash Mehta - AITUC, Com Jatinder Pal Singh of CITU and  Shri Swaran Singh of INTUC, Com Paramjeet Singh of CTU, Sh Nageshwar Singh of BMS, Shri Sham Narain Yadav of TUCC. Speaking on the occasion state leaders Com Raghunath Singh, General Secretary of CITU Punjab,  Com. Inderjeet Singh- President CTU Punjab, Com Paramjeet Singh of CTU, Sh. Swaran Singh- President INTUC Punjab, Hari Singh Sahni-TUCC and Com D P Maur member state working committee AITUC.
The speakers said that yesterday’s strike was a complete success and it reflected the growing resentment among the working class against the anti people policies of the government.  They demanded minimum wages to be fixed by the Punjab Govt. @ for unskilled workers Rs 10,000, Semi Skilled 15,000, Skilled workers 20,000 per month, end to contractual and outsourcing and filling up of all govt. and semi govt. posts on regular basis, to disband the new pension policy effective from 1.1.2004 and implement the same old pension scheme on all employees. They also demanded creation of social security fund for the workers of the unorganized sector.   They cited low wages in the state as major reason for the shortage of labour in the state. They demanded all anti worker acts recently promulgated by the Punjab government to be withdrawn with immediate effect. The speakers said that the labour laws in the state are being flouted by both public and private sector with impunity. The contractual workers in both the sectors be regularized hence forth.  These must be implemented in letter and spirit. They deplored that under the process of so called globalization and privatization at the diktat of the world bank and International Monetary Fund ,  the economic policies of both central and state governments there has been accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, while vast majority is suffering under acute poverty and unemployment. Latest reports have indicated that 100 top rich families in India own assets to the tune of 16 lakh crores of rupees where as 70% are forced to live on meager spending of Rs. 16.60  per day.  Speaking on the occasion Com. Tarsem Jodhan, Com D P Maur, Com Ram Lal, Jagdish Chand and Gurjeet Singh Jagpal, Gulzar Singh Gorea opposed FDI in banks, LIC and retail as this will hit the job situation hard for the employees and also the production in the small scale sector. They also demanded  regular jobs and equal wages for ASHA, Aanganwadi and mid day meal workers. They warned that if the govt. does not change its economic policies benefitting the rich and the corporate sector, then more militant agitations   are on the anvil. Others who addressed include Com Bhagirath Paliwal, Suresh Sood, Gurnam Gill, Laddoo shah, Haniuman Prasad Dubey, Samar Bahadur, Gurnam Sidhu, Kameshwar Yadav, Sarbjit Singh Sarhali, Manjeet Singh Buta, Charan Dass, Amarnath Kumkalan, S K Tiwari and Rajesh Kumar Sharma, Com Naresh Gaur, Dr Arun Mitra and Shri Gurbaksh Rai.
The protestors included large number of women, construction workers, industrial workers, Public health workers,  contractual workers, Corporation workers, roadways  and others sections of workers and employees.  

Dr Samanta on hegemonistic aspirations

Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 10:36 PM
US imperialism involved directly and indirectly
To
The President,
IDBD

(People round the world must rise up to build powerful organized well-coordinated anti-imperialist movement to stop the murderous run of world imperialism led by US imperialism)

Dear Sir,
As you know, we are passing through a time when in the absence of mighty socialist camp led by the USSR, the imperialists-capitalists headed by US imperialists, unable to come out of the insoluble crisis they are ridden with, are on a rampage, pursuing their hegemonistic aspirations, overlordism and brigandage with impunity. Alongside military invasion and illegal occupation of others’ territories, they are now conducting their loot and plunder through neo-colonial route of exporting finance capital and ruling either by installing a puppet government or by forcing the governments of the weaker nations to be pliant with and subjugated to their dictates . They are also causing economic blockade or resorting to escalated violence to circumscribe the weaker nations. For more than six decades now, US imperialism in particular has been directly and indirectly involved in all types of illegal regime changes employing assassinations, bombings, sabotage, terrorism, electoral fraud and such other black means. Whenever the US imperialists can no longer use and abuse a peripheral country, they first attempt to employ open (or white) measures (diplomatic, political, economic, military, etc.) to force a necessary change in the national political leadership of the target state. However, when they fail to attain this objective using “white” or overt actions then, they do not hesitate to initiate, conduct and pursue “black reconnaissance” actions against its perceived and identified enemy targets, or threats to its global strategic interests. Black reconnaissance actions are primarily hidden in the dark and kept from the public, secret and clandestine in nature. They are almost always illegal and violate accepted international principles and norms. Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, have all borne the brunt with variance in degree. Somalia has been victim of the US imperialism-designed “nation building process” and ‘‘kind of humanitarian mission”. The NATO air raid in Kosovo, undertaken without the authorization of the Security Council and largely by using US forces to save the victims of so called ‘ethnic cleansing’ by President Slobodan Milosevic was soon  proved  to  be  a  step  towards fragmenting the Balkan states and deepening  imperialist  strangulation. 
For last three decades, the US imperialists along with their allies like Zionist Israel and British imperialismhave targeted West Asia obviously with a view to having total control of the rich oil fields. USA and its imperialist allies invaded and occupied Iraq on a completely trumped-up charge of possession of weapons of mass destruction. After the occupation of Iraq, USA has tried to keep its stranglehold on the country by installing a puppet regime on the one hand and by instigating ethnic strifes and violent conflicts between religious communities on the other. On the dark pages of human history which record the worst instances of naked aggression of big powers over smaller nations, Afghanistan has been a recent hapless inclusion. The war-monger US imperialists, the chieftain of the world capitalist- imperialist forces, have pounced upon this poor country with such venom and cruelty and have brought about such murderous devastation of human life and property, that have shocked and worried the peace –loving people of the entire world, not to speak of their inflicting unfathomable sufferings upon the Afghan people themselves.Having established control over Iraq and Afghanistan, USA is now turning its attention to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Central to US strategy in Middle East is unqualified support to Zionist Israel and to set it up as a bulwark against the surging tide of nationalism and anti-imperialism in the Arab countries; side by side, the US is lending support to the autocratic, tyrannical and despotic rulers in the Arab countries who perpetrate the most ruthless repression on the people, but protect the US interests.For a long time, US imperialists have been using Israel in subduing the most legitimate and just demand of homeland of the Palestine people. In Libya and Syria they are fomenting troubles through agent provocateurs. They are setting up their agents to destabilize the governments through violent armed actions under the cloak of ‘fighting for democracy’.  In the name of providing humanitarian aid to the people under attack from Muammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya, and giving logistic assistance to the forces fighting Gaddafi they, under NATO banner, US imperialists launched a full-scale air-war on Libya and savagely assassinated Gaddafi with the help of so called National Transitional Council (NTC), an organization propped up and backed by the agents of reaction with the blessings of US imperialism and its associates. Alongside a direct armed assault and creating ‘fifth columnists’ inside Libya, the US imperialists also pressed into action the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is increasingly being used as a tool by the Pentagon and Western imperialist powers in their bid to establish direct control over the  huge natural resources of Africa and West Asia.After having demolished Libya, the US imperialists and their allies have now chosen Syria. The present turmoil of Syria was perpetrated and monitored by none other than the US imperialists, towing their allies behind them. It is revealed in the media that just like Iraq and Libya, $6 million was handed out to Syrian groups aligned with US imperialism by the Bush administration after 2006 with a view to ensuring fall of the incumbent Syrian government. Lebanon is also on the radar of the US imperialists. Just the other day, Zionist Israel bombed the territories of Syria. So is Iran who along with socialist North Korea and Cuba has been included by the US rulers in their “axis of evils”. It is reported in The New York Times that US is carrying out secret military and air strikes in Yemen. Sudan, the oil-rich mineral-rich East African country is now a prime target of the US imperialists. 
This is how the imperialist web now extends over the entire globe. How could the imperialist powers particularly the US imperialists be so unbridled in their pursuit of international gangsterism and hegemonism? The answer lies in the qualitative change in the international correlation of forces following sad dismantling of mighty socialist camp due to revisionist conspiracy aided and abetted by capitalist-imperialist powers. So long the socialist camp existed, it, notwithstanding certain limitations and shortcomings, worked as a bulwark of anti-imperialism and peace. Had the bipolar world existed, the US imperialists and their allies would not have the nerve to undertake such dastardly activities with alacrity, unleash a reign of terror round the globe and openly threat the countries or political personalities not seeing eye to eye with them of dire consequences. Cowardly acts like summarily executing political opponents openly and boastfully would not have been that easy and go unchallenged. One would have observed that since collapse of the USSR and Eastern European socialist states in 1989-1991, US imperialists have launched five wars of invasion — in Iraq twice, in Yugoslavia in 1999, in Afghanistan in 2001, and now in Libya.It is pertinent to mention that Indian capitalism has also assumed imperialist character, given rise to a financial oligarchy by merger of industrial capital with banking capital and is exporting finance capital abroad to exploit cheap labour and raw material. Thus, the Indian monopolists have become junior partners of world imperialism and in order to fulfil their aspiration to become a formidable power in central and south Asia, they are increasing tilting towards the US camp, entering into nuclear treaty with them, undertaking joint military exercises and backing US design to target Iran, North Korea and other regimes opposed to US imperialism.
But the freedom-loving people of the world cannot remain a mute spectator to this overlordism, brigandage and gangsterism of the world imperialist powers headed by US imperialism nor should they be duped by the incessant imperialist propaganda. The imperialist sharks will be unbridled in their tyranny if there is no organized people’s resistance against all their felonious acts. Just as they did in Libya, the US imperialists and their allies will sneak into every country under this or that pretext, implement their nefarious designs, pit one section of the people against another fomenting divisiveness centring on religion, ethnicity or such other count to buttress their heinous agenda, overpower countries not falling in line with them by unleashing military attack and plotting killing of political opponents. One after another country would fall to such imperialist machination spelling doom to mankind.When the US imperialists and their associates are merrily indulging in all kinds of criminal acts and trying to cover them with panoply of cooked up alibis and charade of ‘restoring democracy’, the obvious question people should ask is who are they to determine what kind of rule would prevail in any other country? It is the exclusive preserve of the people of a country to decide what nature of governance they would like to have. Even if rulers of a country perpetrate genocide, it is upto the people there to develop powerful democratic movement or if the situation so warrants, a strong resistance movement to dissuade or dislodge the incumbent repressive regime. Democratic minded people of the world can also develop strong international public opinion against such crimes and extend moral support to such movement so as to create pressure on the culprit regime for stopping the ghastly activities. There are international diplomatic codes, existence of international bodies like International Court of Justice or even UNO, notwithstanding considerable dilution in their roles and their sickening obedience to the wishes of the US imperialists and their allies, to look after such matters. What is the propriety of the US imperialists and their cohorts to arrogate to themselves the power of functioning as international gendarme and nakedly meddle into the internal affairs of any country and that too by moving armed troops? If such be the case, what would be the fate of the lofty concepts of freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity and independent state then? Is it to be assumed then that all these concepts are slated to vanish into thin air because the US imperialists have now emerged as a superlord by dint of their brute military might and hence ordained to write a new doctrine of democracy which is tantamount to meek unquestioned surrender to their sermons and fiats? If any ruler of any country does anything wrong, runs an autocratic regime, it is up to the people of that country to decide how he should be dealt with, what punishment should be meted out to him. History will judge his actions. Same is the case with Libya. Wherefrom do the US imperialists and their cohorts who in their own countries are brutally suppressing democratic movements, muffling voice of dissent and practising fascist dictatorship under the garb of parliamentary democracy, flouting and disobeying all democratic norms, codes and practices, derive the authority to militarily intervene in Libya or Iraq and engineer a regime change by murdering Gaddafi and Saddam? 
We are to keep in mind that what these imperialist despots fear most is the united conscious people’s movement. People must act and act decisively. True, in the situation obtaining, people apparently seem to be having no weapon to halt the murderous run of the imperialist sharks, to thwart the sinister imperialist machination of “humanitarian intervention with daggers drawn” or “trigger-happy export of democracy”. But that weapon has to be developed in right earnest, the invincible weapon of asserting of people’s power in right form. Of late, there have been spontaneous upheavals of people against pro-imperialist regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. Undeterred by the bullets and brutality of the autocratic regime and defying the long-continuing repressions that they have dreaded so far, lakhs of oppressed Egyptians from all sections of the society including women congregated at the Tahrir Square of Cairo and other parts of the country in the last week of January, 2011 to demand an end to thirty long years of President Hosni Mubarak’s most oppressive rule, fully backed, geared and protected by the army, and restoration of democracy. This spontaneous militant people’s protest which spread like wildfire across the country and virtually assumed the character of a mass uprising was greeted throughout the world as “Arab spring’. Such people’s protest agitations ought to surge forth in other countries of West Asia and Africa where dictatorial rules are in operation, the surging people’s protests have not crystallized in that manner. Most importantly, in order to lead all these protest agitations to their logical culmination, it is essential that the toiling people overcome all hurdles and hassles to close their ranks and develop well-organized powerful movements along the right track, build their own instruments of struggle right from the grassroots level rising above all differences and divisions and give birth through struggle to appropriate revolutionary leadership to spur them on to accomplish the goal. Simultaneously, a mighty militant global people’s movement needs to be developed against imperialism, particularly US imperialism by coordinating the anti-imperialist movements in the different countries and involving all anti-imperialist forces. Any attack on any country must be considered by the people of fellow countries as an attack on all of them by the US imperialists.  Hence, it should be incumbent on the anti-war peace-loving democratic minded patriotic people of all countries to rise up against any such attack, resist and repel with all might.  In other words, it would just not be an expression of solidarity but beyond that--unleashing action spurned by a sense of oneness.  The enemy would know that if it targets one particular country, the people of the entire region would retaliate and strike back.  If such co-ordination and fraternity among the fighting people of Latin America could be developed, it would not only give fillip to the democratic movements in each country but would also enfeeble the enemy to a great extent. And it is also of immense importance to understand that unless the various anti-imperialist people’s struggles grow and develop under correct revolutionary leadership, they will not be led to their logical culmination and might either be aborted midway or end in a half-baked and truncated way and the imperialist conspirators, sly and wicked to the bone, would cunningly exploit the accumulated grievances of the people in those lands for implementing their ‘humanitarian mission” of “planting democracy” through imbedded “agents” shored up as “pro-democracy” fighters. This alone can resist the marauding acts of imperialism, and save the world from this scourge of imperialist terror and oppression. We call upon all anti-imperialist peace-loving people to come forward and shoulder the task of releasing the desired people’s movement to thwart imperialist prowl with due expediency. 

With struggling greetings
Dr. Asok Samanta
Vice-President, Medical Service Centre
Member of All India Anti-Imperialist Forum
14th Feb. 2013

Dr.Asok Samanta on illegal regime changes

Devided we fall                           Comrade poet Lal Singh Dil

A letter by Dr. Asok Samanta  
                                                                        Nationwide strike on 2nd day at Ludhiana
Remembering Professor Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq

In all illegal regime changes....                       Bank Unions hold a massive rally

                                            

 The Communist Manifesto                          Countrywide strike on 2nd day at Ludhiana

Communist Song l Che'Guevara                                 Comrade Poet Sant Ram Udasi

We all should join her....without further delay

INTUC on all India Genral Strike 20,21 Feb 2013

General strike on 20th and 21st Feb. 2013

 In support of the 10 point Charter of Demands

On the call given by United Forum of Bank Unions, officers and employees in all the public sector banks are observing 2 days nationwide continuous general strike on 20th and 21st Feb. 2013 alongwith Central trade unions in our country to protest against the Central Government’s anti-people, anti-labour and the pro-corporate neo-liberal economic policies on the following demands:-

• In support of the 10 point Charter of Demands of Central Trade Unions.
• Control alarming price rise
• Stop anti-labour policies and Hands off trade union rights
• Stop Banking Reforms
• Stop Outsourcing
• Early wage revision
• Settle pending issues like compassionate appointment scheme                                   

United Forum of Bank Unions hold a massive rally in front of Canara Bank, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Ludhiana.  Com. Sudesh Kumar, Chairman, Punjab Bank Employees Federation,  Com. Naresh Gaur, Convener, United Forum of Bank Unions, Com. Ashok Awasthy (PBEF), Com. Gulshan Chauhan, Com. Rakesh Khanna, Com. Baljinder Singh, Com. J.P.Kalra (All India Bank Officers’ Confederation), Com. D.C.Landra (NCBE),   Com. K.S.Sandhu, Com. Gurbachan Singh (AIBOA) and Com. D.P.Maur General Secretary, Joint Council of Trade Unions addressed the bank employees.

While addressing the bank employees, leaders of the United Forum said that the historic unity of the trade unions on the same platform has opened up new possibility of developing resistance against the attack unleashed by Government and the corporate. The sky high inflation of food prices and stagnation of the economy are the characteristics of the crisis that has engulfed the nation. The Government has no policy to curb the price and contain the recession of the economy, mitigate poverty and job loss. In the race to implement banking reforms, there is grim all around politically and economically. The Government has no policy to face the challenge. It seeks to throw all the burden of the crisis on the common people. Turning its back to the national interest, the government is initiating steps one after another which is inflaming inflation and accentuating economic stagnation. The Government is recklessly increasing the price of all the commodities that is so urgently necessary for daily life. It is not the organized workers in the industrial sector who are grossly affected; it is the contract workers, informal and casual labour which is the worst victim. While the industrial workers who are organized are sure to be denied of the legitimate rights, increase in bonus and wages, the unorganized sector will be more rudely affected through job loss, wage cut and on payment of  minimum wage and denial of statutory dues.   

Banking sector is no exception. Attempts are on to reduce and dilute the Government’s equity capital in Public Sector Banks. Attempts are equally on to boost private capital in the equity of our PSBs. For public sector banks, the Government talks of mergers and consolidation to shrink the scope of social banking. But in the same breath, the Government wants to encourage and expand private sector banking. New Licenses are sought to be given to industrial houses to start their own private Banks. This is the double standard of the Government. Banking Laws are amended to convert bad loans of corporate houses as investments in the equity capital of the very same defaulters. Huge loans are being written off to favour the rich borrowers. Rural branches are sought to be closed down and rural banking is being given to private outsourced Business Correspondents. Priority Sector loan targets are not being reached by many Banks. Corporate loans are increasing. Banks are appearing to draft from the goals and objectives of bank nationalization. In one word, the clock is sought to be reversed. 

Banking industry is one of the potential employment generating agencies in our country. But in the last 20 years, recruitments were virtually banned and after our struggle, some recruitments are taking place recently. But this is totally inadequate. Bank’s business has increased manifold. More and more services have been undertaken but matching recruitments are not taking place. In the next few years, large scale retirements will take place and hence further recruitment is needed. But  Banks  are trying to outsource the regular and permanent jobs to contract employees. This will reduce the scope for permanent jobs and affect the job security. This will also result in exploitation of unemployed youth. We oppose outsourcing of permanent jobs and demanding adequate recruitments and revival of BSRBs for recruitment of bank staff.  

Various important issues raised by UFBU still remain unresolved such as issues like compassionate appointment, revised housing loan scheme to bank employees, improvements in pension scheme, proper implementation of settlement, denial of pension option to persons opted under VRS and those resigned their jobs for want of VRS, defined and regulated working hours, 5 day banking etc; which are pending for resolution for a long time.  
  
Leaders of the United Forum further said that “Hit out those who have hit the people”. Mount counter-offensive to stall the atrocity of the Government. It is the right moment to make a mass intervention. Indignation against the government is brewing. The spontaneous outburst of anger is taking place everywhere. The people boiling in the fire of inflation came on the roads to paralyze the government and all its apparatus to demonstrate the strength of the masses opposed to the government policies. The country came to a halt. Working class people  withdrew from all the work places. Banking industry came to a grinding halt. The government must be paralyzed. This is the only way to resist the aggression of the Government and win the demands for the benefit of the people. The strength of unity that provides an opportunity must be utilized to covert the crisis into a new wave of resistance.
--Naresh Gaur   2 days nationwide continuous general strike 
Convener

Peoples opposed FDI in banks, LIC and retail

Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 4:30 PM
The protestors included large number of women

Peoples power at Ludhiana.....................................Photo by Rector Kathuria

Ludhiana(Rector Kathuria); On a call given by the 11 Central Trade Unions and various independent federations, unions and associations, the workers affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), INTUC, BMS, CTU, TUCC and CITU observed strike today in their respective industries and other institutions. Thereafter they gathered at Bus stand and organized a massive protest rally in support of their demands. The unions of workers of Punjab Roadways and PRTC  had already struck work and so there was a total Chakka Jam at the bus stand since 12.00 midnight.
The protestors included large number of women, construction workers, industrial workers, Public health workers,  contractual workers, Corporation workers, University employees, private hospital employees, roadways  and others sections of workers and employees. Todays’s protesat rally  was presided over by Com Om Parkash Mehta - AITUC, Com Jatinder Pal Singh of CITU and  Shri Swaran Singh of INTUC, Com Paramjeet Singh of CTU, Sh Nageshwar Singh of BMS, Shri Sham Narain Yadav of TUCC . Speaking on the occasion state leaders Com Bant Brar – General Secretary AITUC Punjab, Com Raghunath Singh, General Secretary of CITU Punjab,  Com Paramjeet Singh of CTU, Sh. Swaran Singh- President INTUC Punjab, Hari singh Sahni-TUCC  demanded minimum wages to be fixed by the Punjab Govt. @ for unskilled workers Rs 10,000, Semi Skilled 15,000, Skilled workers 20,000 per month, end to contractual and out sourcing and filling up of all govt. and semi govt. posts on regular basis, to disband the new pension policy effective from 1.1.2004 and implement the same old pension scheme on all employees.  They cited low wages in the state as major reason for the shortage of labour in the state. They demanded all anti worker acts recently promulgated by the Punjab government to be withdrawn with immediate effect. The speakers said that the labour laws in the state are being flouted by both public and private sector with impunity. The contractual workers in both the sectors be regularized hence forth.  These must be implemented in letter and spirit. They deplored that under the process of so called globalization and privatization at the diktat of the world bank and International Monetary Fund ,  the economic policies of both central and state governments there has been accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, while vast majority is suffering under acute poverty and unemployment. Latest reports have indicated that 100 top rich families in India own assets to the tune of 16 lakh crores of rupees where as 70% are forced to live on meager spending of Rs. 16.60  per day.  Speaking on the occasion Com. Tarsem Jodhan, Com D P Maur, Com Ram Lal, Jagdish Chand and Gurjeet Singh Jagpal, Gulzar Singh Gorea opposed FDI in banks, LIC and retail as this will hit the job situation hard for the employees and also the production in the small scale sector. They also demanded  regular jobs and equal wages for ASHA, Aanganwadi and mid day meal workers. They warned that if the govt. does not change its economic policies benefitting the rich and the corporate sector, then more militant agitations   are on the anvil. Others who addressed include Com Bhagirath Paliwal, Suresh Sood, Gurnam Gill, Laddoo shah, Haniuman Prasad Dubey, Samar Bahadur, Gurnam Sidhu, Kameshwar Yadav, Sarbjit Singh Sarhali, Manjeet Singh Buta, Charan Dass, Amarnath Kumkalan, S K Tiwari and Rajesh Kumar Sharma

5 days ultimatum for removal of property tax

Aam Aadmi Party staged a Dharna Rector Kathuria and SK Gogna

The Aam Aadmi party members today  outside the Corporation office and met  Municipal Commissioner Mr. Rakesh Verma to protest against the levying of the new property tax and have submitted an ultimatum of 5 days for removal of the tax in the district. The citizens of Ludhiana gathered in large numbers to support the Aam Aadmi party protest against 

Property tax.    

According to the District Secretary of Aam Aadmi Party Mr. Balbir Aggarwal, “The administration instead of focusing on providing better basic amenities to the people, is focusing on thinking up new means of imposing taxes and newer ways of corruption. Projects like removing encroachments from city roads and providing proper sanitation and good roads should be the priority of the local administration and not the desire to find new ways to burdenthe common man”.

Aam Aadmi members had a long meeting with the officials of the Corporation including the Municipal Commissioner in which they provided proofs of how public money was being pilfered and if the government stopped all that corruption it would have no need to impose new taxes on the Citizens of Ludhiana.

Aam Aadmi party members including District Convenor Mr. Harjot Singh, Mr. Balbir Aggarwal, Mr. Gulshan Kumar, Mr. Suresh Aggarwal, Mr. Bhupinder Singh, Mr. Mohit Mittal, Mr. Raman, Mr. Manjeet Singh, Mr. Ravinder Singh, Mr. Kanav Vats, Mr. Ajay Mittal and Mr. Raghuveer Singh thanked the people of Ludhiana for wholeheartedly supporting the protest against Property tax.

The Party Spokesman Dr. S. S. Butter informed that the party volunteers will be setting up awareness camps in most areas of the city to make people aware about this new tax and also launch an extensive signature campaign against it starting from tomorrow to try and force the District Administration to revoke its decision.

Imposition of Property Tax

DISA Highlights

02/12/2013 12:27 PM CST
Increase in Use of Collaboration Tool
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Use of a Web-based application designed to offer an information exchange environment for Defense Department users has grown markedly as defense spending cuts loom, Defense Information Systems Agency officials said.

Since 2007, Defense Connect Online has been the "go-to" mechanism among several new enterprises within DOD's networks that entrust remote services with a user's data and software through cloud computing.

Defense Connect Online is the designated enterprise tool allowing DOD partners to collaborate on either classified or unclassified networks, said Alfred Rivera, DISA's director of enterprise services.

"It's been the department's way of providing collaborative solutions ... for online meetings, document sharing, white-boarding and voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) capabilities, to include chat," Rivera said.

John Hale, DISA's chief of enterprise applications, said DCO is the Web-based solution fielded within DOD's private cloud so information can be exchanged among mission partners. "It really has been a facilitator of collaboration, ... including the ability to chat live with each other while you're doing it," he said. DCO users should note common access card requirements, with the option for non-CAC holder guest participation, Hale said.

As DOD faces an austere budget climate, DISA officials said, DCO and similar enterprise ventures have shown growth by virtue of cost savings. "We're starting to see a large increase in the use of Defense Connect Online, and in the last 60 to 90 days, there's been unprecedented growth," Hale said.

DISA officials continue to address technology solutions to meet increasing customer demands, Hale said, adding that programmers took necessary steps to ensure data security both at rest and at use within the system.

"The solution was built ... with security in mind, [and] that's one reason it leverages our current DOD private cloud as its native platform, ... because a certain amount of security comes with that environment," Hale said. "As [information technology] increases in complexity and users demand more and more instant capabilities, security is ... at the forefront of everything we do to ensure our nation's defense information is kept safe."

A maximum capacity of 2,000 users in 2007 has since increased to 4,000 concurrent users, Hale noted, but recent demands have accelerated capacity expansion.

"Under normal circumstances, that would be a good model; however, DCO capacity requirements have significantly increased by 33 percent during the last 60 to 90 days," he said.
To address the increased demand, DISA officials expedited a previously planned expansion project, and will double current capacity within the week.

"We will make several system upgrades within six to eight weeks which will allow us to add additional capacity beyond 8,000 in a streamlined fashion, as dictated by mission partner usage," Hale said.

Rivera said Defense Connect Online was DISA's first large endeavor as part of the agency's emergence into enterprise services. Another is enterprise email service. The Army was the first adopter of DOD Enterprise Email (DEE), said Alan Lewis, DISA's program executive officer for enterprise services.

"We currently have over 800,000 users on that system and are growing rapidly," Lewis said. "In the next two months, we'll have 1.5 million users on that system." Users include members of the Army, the Joint Staff and various combatant commands, among other military agencies, Lewis added.

DISA is the main service provider of high-end applications to DOD, its senior leaders said.

"What you're seeing is large growth across the board in terms of the service offerings from DISA to the entire department," Lewis said, noting plans to integrate mobile capabilities into all platforms.

Rivera said collaboration with the Army to determine whether or not the ventures were fiscally sound were worthwhile. "The results indicated that the Army would save around $74 million annually when moving to DEE versus them doing it themselves," Rivera said.

With an expected 1.4 million Army users taking advantage of DEE, other enterprise services such as the DOD Enterprise Portal Service and DCO consolidate common usage applications into large-scale platforms to bring cost savings to taxpayers, Hale said.

"Every organization is trying to save as much as possible to meet their mission needs," Hale said. "By offsetting the cost for these common services that everybody expects [and] using enterprise services, it allows organizations to focus their dollars back into their mission."

Rivera expressed confidence that Defense Connect Online and similar enterprises will weather the fiscal storm.

"It is one of those efficiency applications that the department can recognize as we look at ... strong budget cuts going on," he said. "This is one of our key enterprise applications that will continue to be a critical element as we move forward in this budget-constrained environment."

Rivera said he expects mission partners to use the enterprise not only for meetings, but also for operational discussions, distance learning and other capabilities.
Related Sites:
Defense Information Systems Agency
Defense Connect Online

Join Anushka...now is the time for action..!

"I Am Rising...": Anoushka Shankar

The longest-running U.S. military exercise

02/11/2013 09:35 AM CST            Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 9:10 PM
Exercise Cobra Gold 2013 Kicks Off in Thailand
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2013 - The commander of U.S. Pacific Command kicked off the longest-running U.S. military exercise in the Pacific in Thailand today, calling the 13,000 multinational participants guardians of future peace and prosperity.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III marked the opening of the 32st iteration of Cobra Gold hosted by Thailand and the United States since 1980.

Cobra Gold began as a bilateral U.S.-Thai exercise, but expanded more than a decade ago to include other regional partners to advance their common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region, officials said.

Cobra Gold 2013, which runs through Feb. 21, brings together the militaries of United States, Thailand and five other Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Twenty additional nations have sent observers, including, for the first time, Burma.

"Whether you are a participant or an observer, or whether you have been here for 32 years or this is your first year, your being here demonstrates your country's resolve to peace and stability in this region and in the world," Locklear said at the opening ceremonies. "It is critical to building our multinational coordination, our interoperability with all of our partners in the region and to allow us to collectively respond to crises and protect the peace and prosperity of all our people."

This year's exercise will be demanding, as it prepares participants "for a broad spectrum of challenges we are going to face together," the admiral said. The ambitious training schedule includes a staff exercise, senior leader engagements and "humanitarian and civic projects we will do together, field training we will do together, [and] live-fire events we will do together," he said.

Highlights will include an amphibious assault demonstration that includes attack jets, helicopters, landing craft and small boats; small-boat and helicopter raids; a multilateral noncombatant evacuation operation; a combined arms live-fire exercise; and jungle warfare and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training.

All are designed, Locklear said, to "replicate the dynamic environment we find ourselves in today and [expect] in the future." He challenged the participants to take advantage of the training opportunities at Cobra Gold to build the bonds and capabilities that ensure they will be prepared.

"Working together, we will meet the challenges and forge a brighter future for the region and the world," he said.

Marines with 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Aircraft Group 36, arrived in Thailand last week to partner with Royal Thai Marines to build a schoolhouse at Ban Nam Chiao Elementary School in Lam Ngob district. Another civic project planned during the exercise is construction of a one-story multipurpose building for the Baan Hua Wang Krang School in Thailand's Muang district.
Biographies:
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III

Related Sites:
U.S. Pacific Command
Special Report: U.S. Pacific Command

PUCL Statement on the Hanging of Afzal Guru

PUCL statement on execution of Afzal Guru deathpenalty

PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES

270-A, Patpar Ganj, Opposite Anand Lok Apartments (Gate No. 2),Mayur Vihar-I, Delhi 110 091

Phone: (011) 2275 0014                 PP FAX: (011) 4215 1459

 Founder: Jayaprakash Narayan; Founding President: V M Tarkunde

President: Prabhakar Sinha (Bihar); General Secretary: V Suresh (TN & Puducherry); Treasurer: Ritu Priya, Delhi.
Vice-Presidents: (all names in alphabetic order) Binayak Sen (Chhattisgarh); P. B. D’Sa (Karnataka); Ravi Kiran Jain (U.P.); Sanjay Parikh (Delhi). Secretaries:Chitaranjan Singh (U.P.); Kavita Srivastava (Ms) (Rajasthan); Mahi Pal Singh (Delhi)

 E.mails: <puclnat@gmail.com> & <puclnat@yahoo.com>       Please visitPUCL website at <www.pucl.org>  

                             Please always use Pin Code                                                                                           PUCL Statement on the Hanging of Afzal Guru

                                                                                          N. Delhi, 09.02.2013

 The PUCL condemns the hanging of Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail early in the morning (9.2.2013) today.

 The tearing hurry with  which Afzal Guru was hanged, accompanied by the flouting of all established norms by not giving his family their legal right to meet him before taking him to the gallows, clearly indicates that there were political considerations behind taking this step. More shameful is the explanation of the Home department that the wife and family of Afzal Guru were intimated of the hanging by a mail sent by Speed Post and Registered Post. Decency and humanity demanded that the Union Government give prior intimation to the family and an opportunity to meet him. Such a surreptitious action of the government also deprives the family of Afzal Guru to right to seek legal remedy.

 PUCL also condemns the repressive stand of the Delhi police in not allowing a group of people who were protesting against the hanging and detaining them in police stations. We are equally concerned by reports that right-wing goons were permitted by the police to use violence against the protestors. PUCL asserts the right of citizens to dissent and express their opposition to capital punishment in a peaceful manner.

 PUCL reiterates its demand for the abolition of the death penalty. PUCL is of the view that India must not retain in its statute book something so abhorrent to human rights as the death penalty. More especially, when more than one hundred and fifty countries have banned or put a moratorium on it.  PUCL feels that as the land of Buddha and Gandhi, death penalty has no place.

 PUCL feels that starting with Kasab, now with Afzal Guru, the country is going to witness a spate of executions. We give a call to the nation to break this spiral of executions.

 Prabhakar Sinha (President)                 V Suresh (General Secretary)

Courtsy: kracktivist

PUCL statement on execution of Afzal Guru #deathpenalty

2 Day Conference of Governors on February 11/12

08-February-2013 18:34 IST
The President of India to Preside Over Conference 
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, will preside over the two-day Conference of Governors on February 11 and 12, 2013 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is the 44thGovernors’ Conference and the first such Conference to be presided over by Shri Pranab Mukherjee. 

Thirty Governors and Lt. Governors of the States and Union Territorieswill be attending the Conference. The Prime Minister, Union Ministers of Defence, Finance, Agriculture, Home Affairs, Human Resource Development, Urban Development, Water Resources, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Chairman of UIDAI will also participate in the two-day deliberations. 
***
SC/SKS

Spider legs are protected by hairs

Why Spiders Do Not Stick to Their Own Sticky Web Sites

                                              Photo Courtesy:InfoVisual

Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and University of Costa Rica asked 
why spiders do not stick to their own sticky webs. Repeating old, widely quoted but poorly 
documented studies with modern equipment and techniques, they discovered that spiders’ legs are 
protected by a covering of branching hairs and by a non-stick chemical coating. Their results are published online in the journal, Naturwissenschaften. 
They also observed that spiders carefully move their legs in ways that minimize adhesive forces as they push against their sticky silk lines hundreds to thousands of times during the construction of each orb.   
The web-weaving behavior of two tropical species, Nephila clavipes and Gasteracantha 
cancriformis, was recorded with a video camera equipped with close-up lenses. Another video camera coupled with a dissecting microscope helped to determine that individual droplets of sticky glue slide along the leg’s bristly hair, and to estimate the forces of adhesion to the web. By washing spider legs with hexane and water, they showed that spiders’ legs adhered more tenaciously when the non-stick coating was removed. 
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, is a unit 
of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institute furthers the understanding of tropical nature and its 
importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes 
conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. 
Website: www.stri.si.edu.  

Spiders carefully move their legs
The web-weaving behavior 
# # #

Dempsey:

01/31/2013 05:34 PM CST                                                   Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 5:13 AM      
Coast Guard Mission 'Constant'
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press ServiceNEW LONDON, Conn., Jan. 31, 2013 - The Coast Guard has a constant mission, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told cadets at the Coast Guard Academy today.

"The military -- and I include you in that joint force -- we are the preeminent leadership experience in the world," Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said during an all-hands assembly of cadets.

That leadership experience means being a military professional and accounting for both yourself and your institution, he said. "It's not just about you anymore. ... You have to continue your own development, both because you should, but also because of what it does for the profession."

This includes developing and taking pride in unique skills and techniques, the chairman said. "Nobody else can be the Coast Guard," he said. "We can't outsource it."

The military has become more complex since he was a lieutenant, Dempsey said. The services have restructured in response to threats that were once the sole domain of nation states but are now in the hands of decentralized organizations, the chairman said. And now, more responsibility is placed on young leaders than ever before, he added.

"We have to be a network in order to defeat a network," Dempsey said.

Leadership is the most solemn duty of all, the chairman said. "Leadership is why we get up in the morning."

Professional creeds and values can't be abstract for those in leadership positions, he said. "You've got understand what it means to be committed, to serve selflessly, to be courageous, to have integrity, to live up to your creed here," the general said. "... and you've got to develop a bond of trust like in no other occupation in the world."
Leadership is a combination of character and competence, Dempsey said. "You can be the most competent man or woman, but you're not a leader unless you have character."

"You can't develop trust absent character," he continued. Competence is important, he said, but "if your subordinates don't want to be you when they grow up, then you're not a leader." And trust is what allows the military to function, the chairman said.

"You don't get on an icebreaker and head out to the arctic to bang away at 15 or 20 feet of ice unless you trust that, first of all, the captain of the ship knows what he's doing and secondly, that everybody on that team knows what they're doing," he said. "You can sleep when it's your turn to sleep because somebody else has the watch."

Dempsey told the cadets that the world in which they will soon be working is one where change will occur faster than they expect and "it will be more complex ... it'll be unpredictable, and it'll be more dangerous."

This will require leaders to have a firm understanding of national interests, Dempsey said. In its position at the nexus between law enforcement and the military, the Coast Guard plays an integral role in defending those interests, he added.

In response to cadet questions following his speech, the chairman spoke about the budget crisis, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and the effects of the recent end to the combat exclusion rule.

The budget crisis isn't a new situation, Dempsey said. "It's the worst it's been, but it's not new." Budget crises have followed previous wars, he said.

Where the current crisis differs, he said, is not in its magnitude, but in the amount of time the Defense Department has to deal with it.

"I'm not one that says don't you dare think about taking another dollar from the defense budget," Dempsey said. Refusing all cuts or walling off certain projects won't help the department contribute to the nation's economic well-being, he added.

The department needs budget certainty, time and flexibility from Congress, the chairman said.

"We can't do this every year," he said. "We do embrace change. We don't do real well with uncertainty, and we have enormous uncertainty right now."

If cuts are to be made, he said, the department needs time to absorb them and the flexibility to apply them in a balanced way. "Every time they deny us the ability to touch a piece of the budget, we can't keep it in balance and what generally pays the price then is readiness," he said. "I can't let readiness erode."

Dempsey told cadets the military has to be attuned to how it employs violence, particularly with unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs have become more precise than they were initially, he added, and rely on multiple layers of intelligence to ensure that civilian casualties are minimized. "I think, as you migrate into the force and have access to these capabilities, you should think about how we employ violence," he said. " ... For what intention are you applying violence? Have you exhausted other means? Are there other means?"

The standards are clear for the application of violence, he said, whether you're talking about a bayonet or a UAV. The real question, the chairman added, is whether the use of UAVs is overcoming the ideology behind movements that seek to harm the U.S.

Turning to the role of women, he said, "The 1994 exclusion of women in combat had become embarrassing." This was because it ignored the reality of women's military service, he added.

"It was an anachronism," Dempsey continued. "It was an emotional anachronism." The rule served to discourage an examination of standards for military occupations across the board, he said. Now, the chairman added, the question isn't whether a woman should serve in the formerly closed occupations, but "why shouldn't they?"

He noted that not all men can, or even want to, qualify to serve in combat specialties. "I don't wear a Ranger tab," he said. "I'm not an infantryman, I'm an armor officer. I chose to ride to work," he joked.

The end of the combat exclusion rule means that he has access to the deepest talent pool available, Dempsey said. Only one in four men of military age in the U.S. qualify for military service, he said, and that population isn't becoming healthier or more educated. From his perspective, he said, the best reason to open combat specialties to women is that "we're going to need them ... I want to have as much talent available as I can possibly have." 
Biographies:
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey