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Arundhati Roy on Obamas Wars, Indian Maoists, and Why Democracy is The Biggest Scam in the World
Democracy Now with acclaimed Indian writer and activist Arundhati Roy on President Obama, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, India and Kashmir and much more. Roy also talks about her journey deep into the forests of central India to report on the Maoist Movement.
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Protest against Operation Green Hunt at Indian High Commission, London
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Operation Green Hunt – Varavara Rao Speech
The video of Com.Varavara Rao Speech on operation Green Hunt and photographs of Chennai meeting are given below. To watch other videos of the meeting, please click here.
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War Against Naxals: The War Against People – Public Meeting Updates, Tamil Nadu
Com.Balan, High Court Lawyer, Bengaluru addressing the meeting.
Com.Varavara Rao, VIRASAM (Revolutionary Writer's Association), Andhra addressing the meeting.
Com.Marudhaiyan, General Secretary, PALA addressing the meeting.
Musical drama performed by PALA Central Arts Troupe, Tamilnadu
People at the gathering
Images and Video Courtesy: vinavu.com
March 8, 2010 from Spring Thunder
On Feb 20, 2010, in MGR Nagar, Chennai a huge public meeting was organized by PALA and its revolutionary organizations. The meeting was successful in exposing the actual objective of the Operation Green Hunt; that it is not just a state-declared war against the Maoists, but that it is war by the state and the ruling classes against the common people. PALA and its revolutionary organizations had campaigned about Operation Green Hunt among a large number of people in street corner meetings, factory meetings, and in buses and trains across Tamilnadu. Comrades met hundreds of people and distributed about 1.5 lakh pamphlets; 10,000 booklets of the essay, The Heart of India is Under Attack by Arundathi Roy; a collection of English essays (published in various magazines and newspapers) exposing the Operation Green Hunt; Hall Meetings in various district headquarters; and Hindi and English pamphlets. Evidence of such a concentrated campaign for over 50 days was seen in thousands of people who had come to attend the public meeting. Read the rest of this entry »
Convention Against War On People, Kerala
Campign Against War On People
Defeat Operation Green Hunt
State Convention Against War On People
Trivandrum YMCA Hall
March 30,2010 10AM
Prof. Amit Bhattacharya (Campign Against War On People,W.Bengal),
Adv. P.A. Sebastian ( Campign Against War On People, Mumbai)
Com. A.Vasu (Human Rights Activist),
G.N. Saibaba (Revolutionary Democratic Front, Delhi),
Rona Wilson (Campign Against War On People, Delhi ),
B.R.P Baskar (Journalist)
Adv.P.A.Pouran (PUCL)
M.Yusuf (Campign Against War On People,Keralam),
Dr. Sivanandan,
N.Subramunyan(Human Rights Activist),
Adv.Thushar Nirmal Sarathy (Peoples Human Rights Movement,Keralam),
C.R.Neelakandan,
John Peruvanthanam (Environmentalist)
Arundhati Roy: Walking with the Comrades
(Click here for a pdf version of the article)
Arundhati Roy finds a quiet moment to herself during a punishing visit to the forest where she became the first journalist/writer to break the taboo of of interviewing Maoist guerrillas in their lair.
Last month, quietly, unannounced, Arundhati Roy decided to visit the forbidding and forbidden precincts of Central India's Dandakaranya Forests, home to a melange of tribespeople many of whom have taken up arms to protect their people against state-backed marauders and exploiters. She recorded in considerable detail the first face-to-face journalistic "encounter" with armed guerillas, their families and comrades, for which she combed the forests for weeks at personal risk. This essay was published on Friday in Delhi's Outlook magazine and Dawn.com
Women guerriillas supervise the backstage for the Bhumkal feast. Bhumkal an annual ceremony means Earthquake
The terse, typewritten note slipped under my door in a sealed envelope confirmed my appointment with India's Gravest Internal Security Threat. I'd been waiting for months to hear from them.
I had to be at the Ma Danteshwari mandir in Dantewara, Chhattisgarh, at any of four given times on two given days. That was to take care of bad weather, punctures, blockades, transport strikes and sheer bad luck. The note said: "Writer should have camera, tika and coconut. Meeter will have cap, Hindi Outlook magazine and bananas. Password: Namashkar Guruji."
Namashkar Guruji. I wondered whether the Meeter and Greeter would be expecting a man. And whether I should get myself a moustache.
There are many ways to describe Dantewara. It's an oxymoron. It's a border town smack in the heart of India. It's the epicenter of a war. It's an upside down, inside out town.
PLGA militants are the hardhitters of the Maoist fighting force.
In Dantewara the police wear plain clothes and the rebels wear uniforms. The jail-superintendant is in jail. The prisoners are free (three hundred of them escaped from the old town jail two years ago). Women who have been raped are in police custody. The rapists give speeches in the bazaar.
Across the Indravati river, in the area controlled by the Maoists, is the place the police call 'Pakistan'. There the villages are empty, but the forest is full of people. Children who ought to be in school, run wild. In the lovely forest villages, the concrete school buildings have either been blown up and lie in a heap, or they're full of policemen. The deadly war that's unfolding in the jungle, is a war that the Government of India is both proud and shy of.
Red Shadow: Centenary celebrations of the adivasi uprising in Bastar; Sten gun at hand
Operation Green Hunt has been proclaimed as well as denied. P. Chidambaram, India's Home Minister (and CEO of the war) says it does not exist, that it's a media creation. And yet substantial funds have been allocated to it and tens of thousands of troops are being mobilized for it. Though the theatre of war is in the jungles of Central India, it will have serious consequences for us all.
If ghosts are the lingering spirits of someone, or something that has ceased to exist, then perhaps the new four-lane highway crashing through the forest is the opposite of a ghost. Perhaps it is the harbinger of what is still to come.
The Day of the Bhumkal: Face to face with "India's greatest Security Threat"
The antagonists in the forest are disparate and unequal in almost every way. On one side is a massive paramilitary force armed with the money, the firepower, the media, and the hubris of an emerging Superpower.
On the other, ordinary villagers armed with traditional weapons, backed by a superbly organized, hugely motivated Maoist guerilla fighting force with an extraordinary and violent history of armed rebellion. The Maoists and the paramilitary are old adversaries and have fought older avatars of each other several times before: Telengana in the '50s, West Bengal, Bihar, Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh in the late '60s and '70s, and then again in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra from the '80s all the way through to the present.
Staying Put: People of Kudur village protest the Bodhghat dam, 'It does not belong to the capitalists, Bastar is OUrs'y
They are familiar with each other's tactics, and have studied each other's combat manuals closely. Each time, it seemed as though the Maoists (or their previous avatars) had been not just defeated, but literally, physically exterminated. Each time they have re-emerged, more organized, more determined and more influential than ever. Today once again the insurrection has spread through the mineral-rich forests of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal— homeland to millions of India's tribal people, dreamland to the corporate world.
The Damned: Villagers from the submergence area of the proposed Bodhghat dam
It's easier on the liberal conscience to believe that the war in the forests is a war between the Government of India and the Maoists, who call elections a sham, Parliament a pigsty and have openly declared their intention to overthrow the Indian State. It's convenient to forget that tribal people in Central India have a history of resistance that pre-dates Mao by centuries. (That's a truism of course. If they didn't, they wouldn't exist.) The Ho, the Oraon, the Kols, the Santhals, the Mundas and the Gonds have all rebelled several times, against the British, against zamindars and moneylenders. The rebellions were cruelly crushed, many thousands killed, but the people were never conquered. Even after Independence, tribal people were at the heart of the first uprising that could be described as Maoist, in Naxalbari village in West Bengal (where the word Naxalite—now used interchangeably with 'Maoist' —originates). Since then Naxalite politics has been inextricably entwined with tribal uprisings, which says as much about the tribals as it does about Naxalites.
Armed Strugglers: A village militia, the 'base force' of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army
This legacy of rebellion has left behind a furious people who have been deliberately isolated and marginalized by the Indian Government. The Indian Constitution, the moral underpinning of Indian democracy, was adopted by Parliament in 1950. It was a tragic day for tribal people. The Constitution ratified colonial policy and made the State custodian of tribal homelands. Overnight, it turned the entire tribal population into squatters on their own land. It denied them their traditional rights to forest produce, it criminalized a whole way of life. In exchange for the right to vote it snatched away their right to livelihood and dignity.
Having dispossessed them and pushed them into a downward spiral of indigence, in a cruel sleight of hand, the Government began to use their own penury against them. Each time it needed to displace a large population—for dams, irrigation projects, mines— it talked of "bringing tribals into the mainstream" or of giving them "the fruits of modern development". Of the tens of millions of internally displaced people (more than 30 million by big dams alone), refugees of India's 'progress', the great majority are tribal people. When the Government begins to talk of tribal welfare, it's time to worry.
Boy, What A Smile: Comrade Kamla, 17, wearing a pistol on her hip. Also, a miracle.
The most recent expression of concern has come from the Home Minister P. Chidambaram who says he doesn't want tribal people living in 'museum cultures'. The well -being of tribal people didn't seem to be such a priority during his career as a corporate lawyer, representing the interests of several major mining companies. So it might be an idea to enquire into the basis for his new anxiety.
Over the past five years or so, the Governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal have signed hundreds of MOUs with corporate houses, worth several billion dollars, all of them secret, for steel plants, sponge-iron factories, power plants, aluminum refineries, dams and mines. In order for the MOUs to translate into real money, tribal people must be moved.
Therefore, this war.
When a country that calls itself a democracy openly declares war within its borders, what does that war look like? Does the resistance stand a chance? Should it? Who are the Maoists? Are they just violent nihilists foisting an out-dated ideology on tribal people, goading them into a hopeless insurrection? What lessons have they learned from their past experience? Is armed struggle intrinsically undemocratic? Is the Sandwich Theory—of 'ordinary' tribals being caught in the crossfire between the State and the Maoists—an accurate one? Are 'Maoists' and 'Tribals' two entirely discrete categories as is being made out? Do their interests converge? Have they learned anything from each other? Have they changed each other?
Gathered Storm: Dance troupes of various Janatana Sarkars perform on Bhumkal Day
The day before I left, my mother called sounding sleepy. "I've been thinking," she said, with a mother's weird instinct, "what this country needs is revolution."
An article on the internet says that Israel's Mossad is training 30 high-ranking Indian police officers in the techniques of targeted assassinations, to render the Maoist organization "headless". There's talk in the press about the new hardware that has been bought from Israel: Laser range finders, thermal imaging equipment and unmanned drones so popular with the US army. Perfect weapons to use against the poor.
The drive from Raipur to Dantewara takes about ten hours through areas known to be 'Maoist-infested.' These are not careless words. 'Infest/infestation' implies disease/pests. Diseases must be cured. Pests must be exterminated. Maoists must be wiped out. In these creeping, innocuous ways the language of genocide has entered our vocabulary.
To protect the highway security forces have 'secured' a narrow bandwidth of forest on either side. Further in, it's the raj of the 'Dada log.' The Brothers. The Comrades. Read the rest of this entry »
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Arrest of Ekta Parishad activist
It is very sad to inform you that Mr Prakash Korram, one of our social activists has been arrested by the police during operation "Green Hunt".
As you know, operation "Green Hunt" is launched by both the state and central government. Prakash Korram was picked up at Damkasa, Kanker on 12th March 2010. He is missing since the evening of 12th March 2010.
He has been staying at Damkasa since the last five years making his own field office there. Damkasa is in Durgukondal Block of Kanker Dist. Prakash is one of tribal activist working since 1st September, 2003 at Damkasa. His new field office is at Amapara since the last one year. Amapara is only one kilometer from Damkasa.
A villager, who is also our volunteer, informed us of Prakash's arrest. According to him, Prakash went to village Goodfel for field visit and was back at Amapara by 12.10 pm. On the way to Amapara, he met Mr Dayaram Kallo and some women belong to Goodfel at Dongiripara. Women left for their village. In the mean time some CRPF commandoes came and beat both Prakash and Dayaram and broke the Bi-cycle.
Dayaram could manage to sleep away and reached the village. Prakash's broken cycle was deposited at a cycle store in Damkasa. Being afraid of police, Dayaram kept silent for two days and phoned us on 14th March 2010.
Mr Agnuram Sahu, Secretary, Ekta Parisad informed Prakash's wife and other members of Ekta Parisad on the same day. Mrs Ganga Bai Korram, wife of Prakash Korram reached Amapara office by 15th March, 2010. She found the bi-cycle at the store and luggage inside the office head quarter, Amapara but did not find her husband.
To know the truth, our senior activist Mrs Shivrani Goswami and wife of Prakash Korram, Mrs Ganga Bai Korram reached the Damkasa police station and asked about Prakash Korram to the police present there. Police told that no body is arrested here in the name of Prakash Korram. Mrs Goswami and Mrs Korram saw Prakash Korram inside the police camp from the gate of police station. Also they were told by the villagers of Damkasa about Prakash preparing food for the police and collecting Mahua inside the police camp.
We and Prakash Korram's family are severely worried for this tragic incident, especially the denial by the police of his being in their custody. Being harassed, we have informed the superintendent of police, Kanker.
You know, we are struggling for the tribes, SCs, Dalits, women and all other marginalized communities in democratic and Gandhian way. Therefore we request you to co-operate with us in demanding punishment for the unjust police officers and releasing the innocent tribal social activist from the claws of police. Dictatorial misbehavior with the social activists, voluntary organizations, people's organizations will cause a greater distance between people, state administration and police. Waiting for your quick action, comments and help.
Agnuram Sahu
Ekta Parisad,Bastar
Mob: 094060-01517
Witnesses allege biggest anti-naxal operation of 2009 was fake
Aman Sethi, The Hindu
Villagers say that at least 12 of the 30 killed had no links to the Maoists
Gachanpalli: Aftershocks of the "Operation" still reverberate along the 35-km stretch of broken track, bombed-out schools and graves that leads from the Andhra Pradesh border to Gachanpalli, a village deep in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.
On 19 September, 2009, security forces claimed a major victory in which 30 Maoists and six police personnel were killed in the very same area. But villagers from Gachanpalli and the neighbouring hamlets of Gattapad and Palachalam told The Hindu that at least 12 of the 30 killed were innocents with no links to the Maoists.
Gachanpalli, Gattapad and Palachalam lie along the same axis on the border between A.P. and Chhattisgarh, bookended by two police camps at Kishtraram and Bhejji. In the two-day operation, the 'Commando Battalion for Resolute Action' (CoBRA) set out from Bhejji, a day's march northwest of Gachanpalli, while the Chhattisgarh police came from Kishtaram, 15 km south east of the village.
"None of those killed in the operation was a naxal," said an eyewitness from Gattapad, "The villagers were killed in cold blood." The witness said that while six villagers — three of them over the age of 65 — were killed in Gachanpalli and their bodies left where they fell, security forces picked up three men each from Gattapad and Palachalam and subsequently killed them, passing them off as naxals.
"The Gachanpalli force came from Bhejji, we were attacked by policemen from Kistaram Thana and [salwa] judum members from Maraigudam Camp," said a witness from Palachalam. "They asked us to prepare food." The men-folk were also ordered to destroy a massive minar the Maoists had built on the remains of the village school. Earlier, the Maoists had blasted the school claiming the security forces would use it for shelter.
While villagers chipped away at the base of the structure, the force moved further towards Gattapad. There, security forces picked up Padam Deva, 25, Dudhi Pojja, 25, and Sodi Massa, 20. "Deva, my son, was herding cattle on the outskirts of the village when the force picked him up," said Padam Chumri, her eyes filling with tears as she recounted the incident, "They dragged him to Palachalam at gun point."
The minar was still standing when the force returned to Palachalam. "By now it was afternoon," said an eyewitness, "The forces apprehended three more men — Sodi Sanyasi, 35, Dudhi Hadma, 35, and Tunki Sinna, 25. They told us they were going to Kistharam Thana from where they would head to Konta." En route, the force stopped at a shallow gully near Velkanguda where, villagers allege, the six men were stripped and shot in cold blood.
The bodies were loaded onto a tractor and taken to the Andhra Border from where they were transferred to a van and driven to Konta. "We found their shirts and lungis in the gully," said a Palachalam villager. In Dharmapenta, a village en route, villagers said they saw the tractor but couldn't say if they saw the bodies.
The Hindu was unable to independently verify these claims. However, circumstantial evidence suggests the September 2009 killings merit further investigation.
The six Gachanpalli victims were buried in the village graveyard. A petition filed in the Supreme Court holds the security forces responsible for their deaths and has asked for a Special Investigative Team to examine the matter.
But questions are now being raised about the six victims from Gattapad and Palachalam.
Director-General of Police Chhattisgarh Viswarajan told The Hindu that the case had been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department of Chhattsigarh and an investigation was under way.
The police claimed at the time that "seven of the bodies of the slain naxalites were traced and six of them brought from Kistaram to Konta for identification and post mortem." The September 19, 2009 edition of The Hindu quoted Konta subdivisional police officer Ravi Kumar Khure as saying that six Maoists were killed when they ambushed the Koya Commando unit of the Chhattsigarh armed police force. The police said four of the alleged 'Maoists' were wearing olive green uniforms.
Villagers and even some security officials dispute that claim. "Maoists do not wear green camouflage patterns," said a senior security officer well versed in counter-insurgency operations, "They usually operate in civilian clothes or in an all black uniforms." The clothes recovered by the villagers also suggest the bodies were stripped and put in uniform as an afterthought.
Speaking on background, sources have confirmed that "there have been instances when uniforms have been put on bodies after an encounter," but insisted that such incidents were rare and difficult to prove.
Tale of Rebellion of Lalgarh and Jungalmahal
Posted by Admin on March 7, 2010
The story of adivasi revolt in Lalgarh region of West Bengal. The movement which started in December 2008 under the banner of Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities. This documentary attempts to capture the movement as it began and also tried to fathom the grievances and deprivation of the indigenous population which is continuing since colonial times.The documentary has been made by CANVAS.This version of the documentary is subtitles in English.
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Peoples March January-February 2010
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Ideology can't be wiped out by attacking tribals: Arundhati Roy
Dubbing the Centre's talk of ceasefire and talks with naxals "non-serious," members of democratic and civil rights organisations on Friday demanded that the state stop the military offensive, Operation Greenhunt, "against its own people" and initiate back-channel talks with the CPI (Maoist).
Addressing a press conference here, writer and human rights activist Arundhati Roy said: "The government's use of the military to solve political problems is not new. The government has long since followed a policy of extermination against the Maoist movement. But each time the movement has come back stronger and better organised as it is not the people but an ideology under attack and this ideology cannot be wiped out by attacking tribals in the name of defeating Maoism. Moreover, considering the fact that no one has defined the word 'Maoist', if the government talks of wiping them out, then it refers to a genocidal language where it could be dispensing with lakhs of people who are anyway fragile and on the brink of survival."
Ms. Roy said: "We are in a situation wherein corporatisation of natural resources such as coal and iron ore has led to scandals galore and it is this money which can buy governments, elections, courts and media, making our democracy the best democracy that money can buy today. Despite a large number of farmer suicides and a majority of the population living below poverty line, we have the most expensive elections in the world and the money for the same comes from the iron ores of Karnataka and Chhattisgarh and bauxite in Orissa which is then is used to cleverly subvert democracy and wage war against its own people."
Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream magazine, said: "The Union government has undertaken the task of launching a full-scale war against the indigenous tribal population in the vast tribal heartlands. The most important thing for talks to be successful between the CPI (Maoist) and the government is that it has to be a mutual affair of cessation of hostilities. It cannot be one-sided. While asking the Maoists to abjure violence, the Centre should also do the same and initiate back-channel talks, but so far this seriousness and initiative on the part of the government has been lacking."
Alluding to the treatment meted out to social activists working in naxal-affected areas in Chhattisgarh, he said: "The government's allegation that the Maoists are not allowing development works to take place is hollow because if that was true, then why would civil society and voluntary organisation representatives working for the uplift of the Maoists be targeted? Since the government is not interested in the development of tribals, a large number of them have joined the Maoists as it is a question of survival for them."
In a blind alley
By opting to settle the issue militarily, instead of finding a political solution, "the government has already entered a blind alley and there is no win-win situation here as you cannot destroy the tribal's resolve for survival."
Keywords: Maoist, naxal, Arundhati Roy


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"Robot umpires" debut in independent Atlantic League - WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio
"Robot umpires" debut in independent Atlantic League
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 10:17 PM EDT
By ROB MAADDI
YORK, Pa. (AP) - "Robot umpires" have arrived.
The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes Wednesday night at its All-Star Game. Plate umpire Brian deBrauwere wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the call upon receiving it from a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar.
He crouched in his normal position behind the catcher and signaled balls and strikes.
"Until we can trust this system 100 percent, I still have to go back there with the intention of getting a pitch correct because if the system fails, it doesn't pick a pitch up or if it registers a pitch that's a foot-and-a-half off the plate as a strike, I have to be prepared to correct that," deBrauwere said before the game.
It didn't appear deBrauwere had any delay receiving the calls at first but players noticed a big difference.
"One time I already had caught the ball back from the catcher and he signaled strike," said pitcher Daryl Thompson, who didn't realize the technology was being used until after he disagreed with a call.
Infielder L.J. Mazzilli said a few times hitters who struck out lingered an extra second or so in the batter's box waiting on a called third strike.
"The future is crazy but it's cool to see the direction of baseball," Mazzilli said.
The umpires have the ability to override the computer, which considers a pitch a strike when the ball bounces and then crosses the zone. TrackMan also does not evaluate check swings.
Former big leaguer Kirk Nieuwenhuis doesn't like the idea of giving umps veto power.
"If the umpire still has discretion, it defeats the purpose," said Nieuwenhuis, who batted .221 with 31 homers in 978 at-bats with the Mets, Angels and Brewers.
About 45 minutes before first pitch, the public address announcer directed fans to look up at the black screen hanging off the face of the upper level behind the plate and joked they could blame the computer for any disagreements over calls.
"This is an exciting night for MLB, the Atlantic League, baseball generally," said Morgan Sword, MLB's senior vice president of economics and operations. "This idea has been around for a long time and it's the first time it's been brought to life in a comprehensive way."
The experiment with radar-tracking technology to call balls and strikes was originally expected to begin at the start of the season but experienced some delays.
Atlantic League President Rick White said it's going to be implemented league-wide over the next few weeks.
"After that, we're relatively confident that's it's going to spread through organized baseball," White said. "We're very excited about what this portends not only for our league but for the future of baseball. What we know is technology can help umpires be more accurate and we're committed to that. We think the Atlantic League is being a pioneer for all of the sport."
Sword said MLB hasn't received much pushback from umpires.
"One of our focuses is not to replace the umpire," Sword said. "In fact, we're trying empower the umpire with technology. The home plate umpire has a lot more to do than call balls and strikes and he's going to be asked to do all of that. We're in touch with our umpires union and this is the first step of the process."
DeBrauwere had no issue with it.
"This is just another plate job and I just get a little help on this one so I feel very relaxed going into this one," he said.
Strike zones are determined according to the average for players of that height unless there's already information on a player's particular strike zone if they've played in the majors at some point.
Pitcher Mitch Atkins noticed pitches higher in the strike zone were called.
"Technically, they're strikes but umpires never called them," Atkins said.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said there's no timeline on when the technology will be used in the majors.
"We need to see how it works, first in the Atlantic League and then probably other places, meaning other parts of minor league baseball, before it comes to Major League Baseball," Manfred said. "Kind of gets back to the question that I was asked earlier about the baseball, we hear all the time from players, why don't we have an electronic strike zone, why don't we have an electronic strike zone? We try to be responsive to those sorts of expressions of concern. We have spent a lot of time and money on the technology. It's not just to address player concerns. It obviously has broadcasting uses. That same technology can be used in our broadcast, which has value to our fans. But we feel it's incumbent upon us - people that play the game raised this as something that could make the game better. We kind of feel it's incumbent on us to figure out whether we could make it work. And that's what we're doing."
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
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Mercado breaks tie with 2nd homer, Indians beat Tigers 8-6
AP Photo/David Dermer
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Titanic Survivor Stories – Colonel Archibald Gracie
Archibald Gracie was famous for being a RMS Titanic survivor. Gracie was a brave man who actually helped many women and children get into lifeboats, and when the last one left, he was faced with the same difficult choice that many men faced, which was whether to live or die. As luck would have it, Gracie ended up in the water, and then was able to grab onto the upside down collapsible boat that Second Officer Charles Lightoller, and about 40 other men clung to until the RMS Carpathia got to the scene and started picking up all the survivors. After he got back to the United States, Gracie sat down and wrote a book, and his book, The Truth About the Titanic, is considered to be one of the best about the disaster, and is still bought and read to this very day. For people who study the Titanic, the question is just who was this man that died nine months after the ship sank?
The Early Years of Archibald Gracie
A native of Alabama, Archibald Gracie IV was born on January 15, 1859. Gracie was born into money, and named after his father, Archibald Gracie III, and the Gracie name was a well-known one in New York for being rich. The very first Archibald Gracie was responsible for Gracie Mansion, which is where every single Mayor of the city of New York lives through their time in office. Gracie not only had political branches of his family tree, but also military ones, and his father had made a name for himself for not only being wealthy, but also because of his distinguished military career. Gracie III had served during the Civil War, and had died a hero at Petersburg, Virginia. Inspired by his father, Gracie IV also went to school in the United States Military Academy, and though he did not finish, he went on to a military career of his own rising to the rank of colonel. Gracie also had a fascination for history, and he wrote one book about the Battle of Chickamauga, which was a battle in which his father was involved and wrote The Truth About Chickamauga. After he wrote the book, Gracie loved it, but the experience really wore him out, and he decided it was time to take a vacation. Gracie left his wife and daughter at home, and went to Europe. After his rest in Europe, Gracie then headed back to the United States, and booked passage on the RMS Titanic as a First Class passenger.
Colonel Archibald On The RMS Titanic
Colonel Archibald Gracie was booked in First Class cabin number C51. Gracie took it upon himself being with women who were not with their husbands such as Helen Candee, E.D. Appleton, R.C. Cornell, and of course, the infamous Margaret Brown. Gracie really loved all that Titanic had to offer, and wrote about the things he enjoyed the most like using the gymnasium equipment and swimming in the pool. Other than exercising and swimming, Gracie entertained not only the women who were traveling without their husbands, but other First Class passengers also liked to listen to what the colonel had to say about his military career and his historical knowledge of certain military events.
On the night that the Titanic struck the iceberg, the impact woke Gracie up, and when he noticed that the ship was no longer moving, he got dressed and went up on the boat deck. By this time, the Titanic had a list to it, and he went back to get the women he had been taking care of and got them into lifeboats. After the women he was looking after were gone, he then helped Second Officer Charles Lightoller with the collapsible boat and cut if free before he decided that it was time for him for him to make an attempt to save himself and jumped. Once in the water, Gracie made it to upside down boat where he was with other men like Lightoller, Harold Bride, and many others before a lifeboat came along and rescued them all from the upside down boat.
Once Gracie got back to New York, he began writing his book, The Truth About The Titanic. The freezing water of the North Atlantic did not sit well with Gracie's health, and as a diabetic, he never fully recovered from the cold water he was submerged in that night. Gracie died on December 4, 1912, less than eight months after the Titanic sank. His book was released after he died, and is one of the most popular accounts of the disaster to this day. Gracie will always be remembered for his heroism not only as a military officer, but the night that the biggest ship in the world went down.
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text:
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT License.

using Microsoft.Identity.Client.Cache;

namespace Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common.Core.Mocks
{
    public class TestLegacyCachePersistance : ILegacyCachePersistence
    {
        private byte[] data;
        public byte[] LoadCache()
        {
            return data;
        }

        public void WriteCache(byte[] serializedCache)
        {
            data = serializedCache;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Pistol Grip Head System by BARSKA, This quick orientation ball head allows the camera to be pointed in almost any direction with ease. Just release the trigger and the ball head locks firmly into place, at any angle. The top-mounted bubble level makes leveling the camera quick and easy. Features a Vertical Cut-Out for 360 ? photography, you can even shoot straight down. A top-mounted bubble level makes leveling the camera quick and easy.
I know many products in this branch and the Barska AF11604 Pistol Grip Head System is the easiest to use and has many cool features.


text:
Padmaprabha
Visit the Blog to sign up for our newsletter
Article: Padmaprabha
Contributed by Nalini Balbir
Besides the basic information, the sources provide more details on various topics. These are almost infinite and vary depending on the sources. Such information differs between Śvetāmbaras and Digambaras. Here are only a few instances of extra detail.
All of the princes who become Jinas are carried on a palanquin to the park where they perform the ritual gesture of initiation into monastic life – dīkṣā. The palanquin of Padmaprabha-svāmin or Lord Padmaprabha is named Nirvṛttikarā. On this occasion, he is accompanied by numerous kings.
He performs a two-day fast. The next day he breaks his fast at the house of King Somadeva in the town of Brahmasthal.
Padmaprabha wanders for six months as an ordinary ascetic and reaches omniscience under a banyan tree.
Events, stories and hymns
Four types of existence
Image by Diwakar Prakashan / Padma Prakashan © Diwakar Prakashan / Padma Prakashan
The life of Padmaprabha-svāmin or Lord Padmaprabha is almost eventless. In the 9th-century Lives of the 54 JainGreat Men – Cauppaṇṇa-mahāpurisa-cariya – written in Prakrit by the Śvetāmbara monk Śīlānka, the chapter about the sixth Jinais amplified by a long description. The Jina's general assembly – samavasaraṇa – after he has reached omniscience is described in great detail.
In the 12th-century Sanskrit text Tri-ṣaṣṭi-śalākā-puruṣa-caritra, written by Hemacandra, has become the standard Śvetāmbara version of the Jinas' lives. Here Padmaprabha's life story is enlarged through a long sermon he delivers after reaching omniscience, which deals with the four modes of existence – gati:
hell-being
Among individual story works dealing with the sixth Jina, the most important is the Pauma-ppaha-sāmi-cariya – Life of Lord Padmaprabha – written in Prakrit in 1197 CE (1254 of the Vikrama era) by the Śvetāmbara monk Deva-sūri (Pagaria 1995). He belonged to a relatively minor monastic order, the Jālihara-gaccha. The life stages of the Jina are the same as in other Śvetāmbara works, but the narrative is inflated with embedded stories that feature independent characters showing the doctrine in practice or illustrating the Jina's teachings.
Padmaprabha is mainly praised alongside other Jinas in hymns dedicated to the 24 Jinas. One instance is the devotional song dedicated to this Jina in the Gujarati set of hymns composed by Yaśo-vijaya in the 17th century. This example can be found among the manuscripts digitised on JAINpedia.
Temples and images
Padmaprabha image
Image by Ramesh Kumar © Jain Sites in Tamilnadu
Padmaprabha-svāmin or Lord Padmaprabha is not one of the most popular Jinas. Yet he is known through a number of stone sculptures (Shah 1987: 138), such as:
11th-to 12th-century images in temples in north India
a standing image from Narwar in the Shivpuri Museum, Madhya Pradesh
rock-cut images in caves 8 and 9 of Khandagiri, Orissa
a wall sculpture in a rock-cut cave at Kuppalanatham in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu
a figure flanked by yakṣa and yakṣī in the Bhaṇḍāra Basti at Shravana Belagola
sculptures in the western Indian temples of Vimala Vasahi at Mount Abu and at Kumbharia in Gujarat.
Metal images showing Padmaprabha alone or with other Jinas are also available in temples and museums.
In these examples the Jina is identified either through an inscription or his emblem, or both.
EXT:contentbrowse Processing Watermark
Someone who withdraws from ordinary life to meditate and practise physical hardships in order to advance spiritually. Jain ascetics or mendicants beg for food from devout lay followers and wander the land.
Also used as an adjective to describe the practice of rigorous, even extreme, physical hardships in the belief that it leads to a higher spiritual condition.
Favourable or lucky. Auspicious objects bring good fortune and may predict good events or a bright future.
A term for a Jain temple common in Southern India.
Hindu society is traditionally divided into numerous jātis or classes, which are usually grouped into the four varṇas – often called 'castes' – of:
Brāhmaṇa – priest
Kṣatriya – warrior
Vaśya – merchant or farmer
Śūdra – labourer.
Relating to ritual purity, castes are hereditary and probably based on occupation. Members of different castes performed particular socio-economic roles and did not mix or eat the same food. People outside the caste system were usually looked down upon.
Caturvidha-saṅgha
The 'fourfold society' of Jain tradition, which is made up of ascetics and the laity, and of males and females.
Common Era
The period of time starting with the year when Jesus Christ was traditionally believed to have been born. Using CE is a more secular way of dating events in a multinational, multi-religious world.
A belief system about the universe that covers its origin, structure and parts, and natural laws and characteristics such as space, time, causality and freedom.
A god or divine figure, often with physical powers beyond those of a human and with superhuman abilities.
Dhyāna
Sanskrit for 'meditation', one of the six internal austerities or tapas that help purify the soul of karma. Meditation is deep thought about religious doctrine or mental focus on spiritual matters over a period of time. An important part of many religions, meditation is especially important in Jain belief because it forms key elements of religious practice and spiritual development.
'Sky-clad' in Sanskrit, used for one of the two main divisions of Jainism, in which monks are naked. There are some differences of doctrine or belief between these two sects and to some extent their followers consider themselves as belonging to distinct branches. Divisions can be fierce in practical matters, for example, over the ownership of pilgrimage places, but all sects see themselves as Jains.
An active follower of a religion, especially one who passes on teachings to others.
A principle or system of teachings, especially religious philosophy.
Giving up or limiting food or specified foods for a period of time, usually as part of a religious practice. Fasting is a key part of Jainism, chiefly because it is believed to:
help destroy karmas that bind to the soul
gain merit – puṇya.
Gaṇadhara
'Supporters of the order'. This term is used for the first mendicant disciples of a Jina. They are able to understand his teachings properly and can pass them on. A gaṇadhara leads his own group of ascetics until he becomes enlightened.
Gujarāt
The westernmost state in India, which is a stronghold of Śvetāmbara Jainism.
The language that developed in Gujarat, in western India. It is also spoken in neighbouring states. Also a term for someone or something associated with or coming from Gujarat.
The most widely spoken group of languages in India, originating in the northern part of the subcontinent. Local dialects and Hindi languages are spoken all over northern India and in surrounding countries. Standard Hindi is used in administration by the central government of India, along with English.
The terms stavan, stavana, stava, stotra and stuti are all used for a prayer, song, chant or hymn to a Jina, a god or any other holy figure. Religious songs are always hymns of praise in Jainism. These devotional songs may be performed during daily rites or on special occasions, such as completion of a fast or a wedding. The hymns may be performed:
solo or in groups
as a form of meditation
as a rite offered as part of worship.
An image of a deity or concept that is worshipped either as a god or as a representation of the deity.
Formal or ceremonial admission into an organisation or group.
Follower of the 24 Jinas or an adjective describing Jain teachings or practices. The term 'Jaina' is also used although 'Jain' is more common.
A 'victor' in Sanskrit, a Jina is an enlightened human being who has triumphed over karma and teaches the way to achieve liberation. A synonym for Tīrthaṃkara, which means 'ford-maker' or one who has founded a community after reaching omniscience through asceticism. The most famous 24 – Ṛṣabha to Mahāvīra – were born in the Bharata-kṣetra of the middle world, but more are found in other continents. There have been Jinas in the past and there will be some in the future.
Jinaprabha
(1261–1333) Kharatara-gaccha monk famous for writing Vividha-tīrtha-kalpa – Guidebook to Various Pilgrimage Places. He also visited the court of the Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Kalyāṇaka
An auspicious moment in a Jina's life. There are five pañca-kalyāṇakas:
garbha – conception
janma – birth
vairāgya – renunciation
kevala-jñāna – enlightenment
mokṣa or nirvāna – liberation.
Kāyotsarga
'Absence of concern for the body'. This commonly refers to a standing or sitting posture of deep meditation. In the standing position the eyes are concentrated on the tip of the nose and the arms hang loosely by the body. The individual remains unaffected by whatever happens around him.
Kevala-jñāna
Omniscience, enlightenment or perfect knowledge – the highest of the five types of knowledge, where one knows everything wherever and whenever it is. It is extremely difficult to attain, equivalent to the 13th stage of spiritual purity in the guṇa-sthāna. Digambaras believe only men can achieve it whereas Śvetāmbaras believe that both men and women can become enlightened.
Kṣatriya
The Indian caste of warriors and kings, with the role of 'protectors'. Jinas are born into this caste.
Believers in a religion who are ordinary worshippers, not clergy or members of religious orders. In Jainism, lay people are often called 'householders', indicating that they live in houses and have domestic responsibilities, unlike ascetics.
Lāñchana
The distinctive emblem of a given Jina. For example Ṛṣabha has a bull while Mahāvīra has a lion. These are commonly depicted under statues of the Jinas. Since this practice does not seem to have been known early on, perhaps it was influenced by the Hindu environment, where each god has his typical vehicle or emblem.
A plant noted for its beautiful flowers, which has symbolic significance in many cultures. In Indian culture, the lotus is a water lily signifying spiritual purity and detachment from the material world. Lotuses frequently feature in artwork of Jinas, deities, Buddha and other holy figures.
Hell. There are seven levels of hells in the lower world of Jain cosmology.
Padmāsana
Said to resemble the petals of a lotus, the lotus position involves sitting cross-legged with each foot on the opposite thigh. The soles face upwards while the knees rest on the ground. This posture is associated with meditation. Jinas and other enlightened figures are often depicted in this pose.
Palanquin
A bed or seat attached to poles, which are carried by bearers on their shoulders. The palanquin is usually a closed box or has curtains sheltering the person within.
Prākrit
A term for any of the dead vernacular languages of ancient and medieval India. It may be contrasted with classical Sanskrit, the language used by priests and the aristocracy. The Jains used a large variety of Prakrits, with the Jain canon written chiefly in Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit.
To deliver a speech on a religious topic, usually given by a prophet or member of the clergy. It may be a formal task of a religious office or open to all believers in a religious faith. Often covering social and moral subjects, preaching may be intended to:
remind hearers of religious principles and rules
encourage piety
persuade non-believers of the correctness of the preacher's religious beliefs.
A sequence of actions that must be followed to perform a religious ceremony. The set of actions is largely symbolic, for example offering food to statues symbolises sacrificing to a deity. The ritual actions are often accompanied by set phrases.
Sāgāra
Sanskrit term meaning 'with a home' – that is, a 'householder' or lay Jain. A synonym for a lay person, emphasising that he or she is a member of a household, with responsibilities to the family, community and society that a Jain mendicant does not have.
Śalākā-puruṣa
'Great man' – also known as a mahā-puruṣa – whose story is told in Jain Universal History. Born in each progressive and regressive half-cycle of time, there are five types of 'great men':
24 Jinas
12 Cakravartins
9 Baladevas
9 Vāsudevas
9 Prati-vāsudevas.
Samavasaraṇa
Literally, Sanskrit for 'universal gathering'. A holy assembly led by a Jina where he preaches to all – human beings, animals and deities alike – after he has become omniscient. In this universal gathering, natural enemies are at peace.
A classical language of India, originally used by priests and nobility. Sanskrit has a rich literary and religious tradition. With only a few thousand native speakers nowadays, it is predominantly used in Hindu religious ceremonies and by scholars.
An organised group of believers in a religion, often distinguished from other groups within the same religious faith who have differences of doctrine or practice.
A speech on a religious topic, usually delivered by a member of the clergy. Frequently a sermon has a moral lesson or is based on a sacred text.
Śrāvaka
'Hearer' of the teaching. This commonly refers to the Jain lay man, who follows the teachings of the 24 Jinas and is not a member of the clergy or a religious order. The feminine form is śrāvikā.
Śrāvikā
'Hearer' of the teaching. This commonly refers to the Jain lay woman, who follows the teachings of the 24 Jinas and is not a member of the clergy or a religious order. The masculine form is śrāvakā.
'White-clad' in Sanskrit, the title of one of the two main divisions of Jainism, in which both male and female mendicants wear white robes. There are some differences of doctrine or belief between these two sects and to some extent their followers consider themselves as belonging to distinct branches. Divisions can be fierce in practical matters, for example, over the ownership of pilgrimage places, but all sects see themselves as Jains.
A building reserved for public worship or prayer, usually dedicated to one religion and run by members of that religion's clergy.
Vikrama-saṃvat
Often abbreviated, Vikrama-saṃvat is the calendar associated with Emperor Vikramāditya. It begins in about 56 BCE so the equivalent date in the Common Era can be calculated by subtracting 57 or 56. Based on Hindu traditions, it is a lunar calendar often used in contemporary India.
Vows are extremely important in Jain religious life. Mendicants take the compulsory Five Great Vows – mahā-vratas – as part of their initiation – dīkṣā.
Lay people can choose to take 12 vows, which are divided into:
aṇu-vratas – 'Five Lesser Vows'
guṇa-vratas – three supplementary vows
śikṣā-vratas – four vows of spiritual discipline
All of these vows are lifelong and cannot be taken back. The sallekhana-vrata is a supplementary vow to fast to death, open to both ascetics and householders.
Yakṣa
The male attendant of a Jina, one of the pair of guardian or protector gods for each Jina. The śāsana-devatā protect his teachings – śāsana – and can appease evil powers. The yakṣa and yakṣī's closeness to the Jina and their divine powers mean they are popular subjects of worship.
Yakṣī
The female attendant of a Jina, also called yakṣinī. One of the pair of guardian or protector gods for each Jina. The śāsana-devatā protect his teachings – śāsana – and can appease evil powers. The yakṣa and yakṣī's closeness to the Jina and their divine powers mean they are popular subjects of worship.
Closed Basic information
Dates and numbers
Monastic and lay communities
Open More details
Open Events, stories and hymns
Open Temples and images
OpenJina
Ṛṣabha
Ajita
Saṃbhava
Abhinandana
Sumati
Supārśva
Candraprabha
Puṣpadanta or Suvidhi
Śītala
Śreyāṃsa
Vāsupūjya
Vimala
Śānti
Kunthu
Munisuvrata
Pārśva
Mahāvīra
Bāhubali
CloseWomen in the Jain tradition
Soḷ satī
Añjanāsundarī
Brāhmī and Sundarī
Candanbālā
Marudevī
Mayṇāsundarī
Subhadrā
Sulasā
Rājīmatī
CloseStudying Jainism
Henry Thomas Colebrooke and the Jain tradition
Muni Puṇya-vijaya
Rājacandra
Royal Asiatic Society
Emblems of the 24 Jinas
Jain universe
Śakra's thoughts
Victoria and Albert Museum. IM 6-1931. Unknown author. Circa 1490
Sketch of a Jina
British Library. Or. 13623. Yaśo-vijaya. 1733
Related Manuscript Images
Five coloured Jinas above four monks
Victoria and Albert Museum. IS 2-1972. Unknown author. Circa 1450
Five Jinas
British Library. Or. 14290. Gangādāsa. 1792
http://www.jainpedia.org/themes/people/jina/padmaprabha/contentpage/2.html - All text is © JAINpedia / Institute of Jainology 2021 under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence The Jain universe online at www.jainpedia.org


text:
Q: What would cause a disk read error in Int 13h? I've been writing a test program in NASM for a function that uses int 13h to read sectors off the booted disk except every time I run the assembled program with sudo qemu-system-i386 load_disk.bin it gives me this output:

disk read error! disk read error! disk read error!* disk read error!* disk read error!*

which is expected if the carry flag (CF) is set. I've been looking for answers to this for days and tried lots of different solutions (jumping to ES:BX after jc test, saving boot drive in DL...) but nothing seems to work.
Here is my program:
[bits 16]                       ;real mode
[org 0x7c00]

mov [DISK], dl                  ;save boot drive value

xor ax, ax                      ;setting up stack
cli
mov ss, ax
mov sp, 0x7c00
sti

mov di, 5       `               ;counter for number of tries
read_disk:
mov ah, 0x00                    ;resetting disk
int 0x13
mov bx, 0x9000                  ;data buffer
mov es, bx
mov bx ,0x0000
mov ah, 0x02                    ; function number 2 of int 13h
mov al, 0x05                    ; read 5 sectors
mov ch, 0x00                    ; cylinder 0
mov cl, 0x02                    ; sector 2 (1 is boot sector)
mov dh, 0x00                    ; head 1
mov dl, [DISK]                  ; give dl value
int 0x13                        ; call interrupt
jc disk_error                    ;if carry flag is set
jmp 9000h:0000h
mov bx, [0x9000+512]            ;print bytes as if they were strings
call print_string

print_string:                   ; print_string function
push bx
push ax
loop_one:
mov ah, 0x0e
mov al, [bx]
int 0x10
cmp al, 0
je end
inc bx
jmp loop_one
end:
pop ax
pop bx
ret

disk_error:
cmp di, 0                        ; if number of tries=0 jump to loop
je loop
push bx                          ;print out the error message
mov bx, MSG
call print_string
pop bx
dec di                           ;decrementing di
jmp read_disk

loop:
jmp $

MSG:
db 'disk read error!', 0

DISK:
db 0

times 510-($-$$) db 0           ; boot sector padding and BIOS trigger
dw 0xaa55
times 256 dw 'D'                ; sectors supposed to be read

Thank you for considering this question. I've really been at this for a while now.

A: I got the same problem when I ran your code in Qemu, until I reduced the sector load count to 1 (from the 5 you had):
mov al, 0x01                    ; read 1 sector

Since your image only has one additional sector, and the emulator treats the image as the entire disk, you can't read any more than the one sector. With this change, your code "works" (doesn't print the error message).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Remember last month when a bunch of blue balls fell from the sky in England, and the Guys theorized that it was the work of a gender-specific male sky?
We maaaay have been off. Or at least, science seems to think that we are.
They also have diaper breath.


text:
Canned Meat Drive
by Megan Hopkins | Jan 26, 2023 | Children, E-Newsletter, Home Page, Service/Missions, Sign Up & Events, Students, TV & ProPresenter
Are you Team Tuna or Team Chicken? Our church is being challenged to collect 1,000 cans of tuna and chicken to support Backpack Buddies and Can-Do Spirit Ministries. You can drop donations off at the church office or in the marked bins on Sundays and Wednesdays....
New Book Study Sunday Mornings
by Megan Hopkins | Jan 19, 2023 | Adults, E-Newsletter, Home Page, Sign Up & Events, TV & ProPresenter
Now's a great time to start coming to Sunday School! The Discovery class is starting a new book study beginning Feb. 5. The study will spend several weeks looking at the book of James through the lens of Ben Stuart's This Changes Everything. The Discovery Sunday...
New Women's Bible Study on Mondays
by Megan Hopkins | Jan 24, 2023 | E-Newsletter, Home Page, Sign Up & Events, TV & ProPresenter, Women
Join us for a 7-week journey through the book Find Your People by Jennie Allen. Meetings will be each Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Conference Room 2. This study will be lead by Wendy Weaver and begins February 13. So we can expect you and make sure you have a book, please...
Hope Chest Donations Drop Box for Baby Items
by Megan Hopkins | Jan 5, 2023 | E-Newsletter, Service/Missions, TV & ProPresenter, Uncategorized
Fostering Bulloch's Hope Chest is a local organization in need of baby items. If you can donate baby shampoo, baby wash, baby lotion, diaper rash cream, or pacifiers, there will be a drop box for those items in the Fellowship Hall. You are also welcome to bring...
Monthly Men's Breakfast
by Megan Hopkins | Nov 1, 2022 | E-Newsletter, Home Page, Men, Sign Up & Events, TV & ProPresenter
Breakfast will be served at 6:30 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the Fellowship Hall. Men are invited to gather for food and encouragement to begin the day well. The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 17.
by Megan Hopkins | Sep 1, 2022 | E-Newsletter, Home Page, Service/Missions, Sign Up & Events, TV & ProPresenter
On the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 9:30 a.m., the Sewing for Missions team gathers in the sewing room beside the fellowship hall to work on various sewing projects to support missions efforts. All are welcome to join, supplies and equipment are...


Siemens has expanded an existing service agreement with KAR Group in Iraq to provide comprehensive O&M for two newly added SSC5-2000E power plants at the Khormala plant in the Kurdistan region.
The 930 MW natural-gas-fired power plant meets nearly 30% of the power demand targeted by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), supplying more than four million Iraqi people with reliable electricity. The extension of the service agreement is set to improve operational flexibility, availability, and performance of gas turbines for the next 15 years.
The Khormala multi-year agreement with Siemens covers the provision of operation and maintenance services for six SGT5-2000E gas turbines, six SGen5-100A generators along with the associated auxiliary and ancillary systems. It also includes implementation of Siemens power diagnostics.
Siemens has managed the operation and maintenance of Khormala since 2013 under a multi-year services agreement.
GE reports that is working closely with the Iraq Ministry of Electricity to bring the Mansurya power plant (in Diyala) fully on line. While still in its construction phase, the facility was damaged during the conflict in the area and progress towards project completion had stalled.
The site has four GE (formerly Alstom) GT13E2 gas turbines, each with a capacity of up to 180 MW (ISO conditions). Two units have already been successfully synchronised to the grid and the GE team at site is working to commission the other two units.
GE will operate the Mansurya power plant for the first three months, ensuring that all systems are in place and that power generation equipment is operating correctly. Subsequently, the plant will be operated directly by the Ministry of Electricity.
Recently, GE supported the Ministry in helping restore operations at a damaged power plant in Mosul. GE is not only working to rebuild the Al-Qayara power plant but also providing six new 9E gas turbines that are expected to help deliver up to 750 MW of electricity by the summer of next year.
To date, over 130 GE turbines have been installed Iraq, the company estimates.


text:
Legitimacy of Tax Policies and Acts Devised by International Organizations
Authors Arnaud de Graaf
Arnaud de Graaf
Professor of International Policy and Fiscal Autonomy. The author is on the staff of the Erasmus School of Law (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and the Netherlands Ministry of Finance. His contribution, as guest editor, to this special issue of Erasmus Law Review was undertaken as part of the ESL research program on 'Fiscal autonomy and its boundaries'.
The Right to Same-Sex Marriage: Assessing the European Court of Human Rights' Consensus-Based Analysis in Recent Judgments Concerning Equal Marriage Rights
Keywords same-sex marriage, gay marriage, European consensus, margin of appreciation, consensus-based analysis by the ECtHR
Authors Masuma Shahid
This contribution assesses the consensus-based analysis and reasoning of the European Court of Human Rights in recent judgments concerning equal marriage rights and compares it to the Court's past jurisprudence on European consensus and the margin of appreciation awarded to Member States regarding the issue of equal marriage rights. The contribution aims to analyse whether there is a parallel to be seen between the rapid global trend of legalisation of same-sex marriage and the development or evolution of the case law of the ECtHR on the same topic. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the Court's consensus-based analysis is problematic for several reasons and provides possible alternative approaches to the balancing of the Court between, on the one hand, protecting rights of minorities (in this case same-sex couples invoking equal marriage rights) under the European Convention on Human Rights and, on the other hand, maintaining its credibility, authority and legitimacy towards Member States that might disapprove of the evolving case law in the context of same-sex relationships. It also offers insights as to the future of European consensus in the context of equal marriage rights and ends with some concluding remarks.
Masuma Shahid
Lecturer, Department of International and European Union Law, Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam.
Religious Freedom of Members of Old and New Minorities: A Double Comparison
Keywords ECtHR, UNHRC, religious manifestations, religious minorities, empirical analysis
Authors Fabienne Bretscher
Confronted with cases of restrictions of the right to manifest religious beliefs of new religious minorities formed by recent migration movements, the ECtHR and the UNHRC seem to opt for different interpretations and applications of this right, as recent conflicting decisions show. Based on an empirical legal analysis of the two bodies' decisions on individual complaints, this article finds that these conflicting decisions are part of a broader divergence: While the UNHRC functions as a protector of new minorities against States' undue interference in their right to manifest their religion, the ECtHR leaves it up to States how to deal with religious diversity brought by new minorities. In addition, a quantitative analysis of the relevant case law showed that the ECtHR is much less likely to find a violation of the right to freedom of religion in cases brought by new religious minorities as opposed to old religious minorities. Although this could be a hint towards double standards, a closer look at the examined case law reveals that the numerical differences can be explained by the ECtHR's weaker protection of religious manifestations in the public as opposed to the private sphere. Yet, this rule has an important exception: Conscientious objection to military service. By examining the development of the relevant case law, this article shows that this exception bases on a recent alteration of jurisprudence by the ECtHR and that there are similar prospects for change regarding other religious manifestations in the public sphere.
Fabienne Bretscher
PhD candidate at the University of Zurich.
A Critical Appraisal of the Role of Retribution in Malawian Sentencing Jurisprudence
Keywords sentencing, retribution, just deserts, punishment, Malawi
Authors Esther Gumboh
The theory of retribution is a central tenet in Malawian sentencing jurisprudence. Courts have given expression to retribution in various ways, most conspicuously through the recognition of the principle of proportionality as the most important principle in sentencing. Retribution has permeated courts' consideration of certain sentencing factors such as the seriousness of the offence, family obligations and public opinion. Overall, retribution rightly plays a pivotal role in Malawian sentencing jurisprudence by elevating the principle of proportionality to the most important principle in sentencing. Malawian courts have also noted that whether in pursuit of retribution or utilitarianism, the ultimate objective is to arrive at a sentence that is just and fair in relation to the crime and the offender. This also ensures that the sentence imposed does not offend the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Esther Gumboh
Esther Gumboh is a postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Kristin Henrard is Professor of fundamental rights and minorities at the Erasmus School of Law, more particularly the Department of International and EU Law. She teaches courses on advanced public international law, international criminal law, human rights and on minorities and fundamental rights.
An Empirical Study of the Voting Pattern of Judges of the International Court of Justice (2005-2016)
Keywords voting pattern, ICJ judges, empirical research
Authors Xuechan Ma and Shuai Guo
The Statute of the International Court of Justice stipulates that judges shall exercise their powers impartially. We question the practicability of this statement and examine whether the voting pattern of the judges are biased. In this light, empirical research is conducted on cases adjudicated from 2005 to 2016. We find strong evidence that (1) judges favour their home States or appointing States; and (2) judges favour States that speak same majority language with their home States.
Xuechan Ma
Xuechan Ma, Ph.D. candidate at Leiden University, LL.M. and LL.B. at Peking University. Email address: x.ma@law.leidenuniv.nl.
Shuai Guo
Shuai Guo, Ph.D. candidate at Leiden University, LL.M. and LL.B. at China University of Political Science and Law. Email address: s.guo@law.leidenuniv.nl.
Evaluating BEPS
Keywords tax avoidance, tax evasion, benefits principle
Authors Reuven S. Avi-Yonah and Haiyan Xu
This article evaluates the recently completed Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project of the G20 and OECD and offers some alternatives for reform.
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Reuven Avi-Yonah is Irwin I. Cohn Professor of Law, the University of Michigan.
Haiyan Xu
Haiyan Xu is Professor of Law, University of International Business & Economics, Beijing; SJD candidate, the University of Michigan.
The Reasonableness Test of the Principal Purpose Test Rule in OECD BEPS Action 6 (Tax Treaty Abuse) versus the EU Principle of Legal Certainty and the EU Abuse of Law Case Law
Keywords GAAR, abuse, tax avoidance, BEPS, principal purpose test, legal certainty
Authors Dennis Weber
The OECD BEPS Action 6 report contains a principal purpose test rule (PPT rule) for the purpose of combating abuse of tax treaties. This PPT rule is also included in the OECD Multilateral Instrument.
The PPT rule is (amongst others) applicable when 'it is reasonable to conclude' that a benefit (granted by a tax treaty) was one of the principal purposes of any arrangement/transaction. This requirement contains two elements: the reasonableness test and the principal purpose test.
In literature it is observed that (i) the reasonableness test of the PPT rule could be contrary to the European Union's principle of legal certainty; (ii) that the OECD PPT rule gives the tax authorities too much discretion and, therefore, is not in line with EU law and (iii) there is doubt whether the OECD PPT rule contains a genuine economic activity test and therefore is in contravention of the abuse of law case law of the CJEU.
In this contribution, I defend that none of the above-mentioned reasons the OECD PPT rule is contrary to EU law. The only potential problem I see is that the OECD PPT rule is broader (no artificiality required) compared to the GAARs in Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and the Parent–Subsidiary Directive.
Dennis Weber
Dennis Weber is a professor of European corporate tax law at the University of Amsterdam and director and founder of the Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law (ACTL).
The Integrity of the Tax System after BEPS: A Shared Responsibility
Keywords flawed legislation, tax privileges, tax planning, corporate social responsibility, tax professionals
Authors Hans Gribnau
The international tax system is the result of the interaction of different actors who share the responsibility for its integrity. States and multinational corporations both enjoy to a certain extent freedom of choice with regard to their tax behaviour – which entails moral responsibility. Making, interpreting and using tax rules therefore is inevitably a matter of exercising responsibility. Both should abstain from viewing tax laws as a bunch of technical rules to be used as a tool without any intrinsic moral or legal value. States bear primary responsibility for the integrity of the international tax system. They should become more reticent in their use of tax as regulatory instrument – competing with one another for multinationals' investment. They should also act more responsibly by cooperating to make better rules to prevent aggressive tax planning, which entails a shift in tax payments from very expert taxpayers to other taxpayers. Here, the distributive justice of the tax system and a level playing field should be guaranteed. Multinationals should abstain from putting pressure on states and lobbying for favourable tax rules that disproportionally affect other taxpayers – SMEs and individual taxpayers alike. Multinationals and their tax advisers should avoid irresponsible conduct by not aiming to pay a minimalist amount of (corporate income) taxes – merely staying within the boundaries of the letter of the law. Especially CSR-corporations should assume the responsibility for the integrity of the tax system.
Hans Gribnau
Professor of Tax Law, Fiscal Institute and the Center for Company Law, Tilburg University; Professor of Tax Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Taxing Multinationals 'Post-BEPS' – What's Next?
Authors Maarten Floris de Wilde
Maarten Floris de Wilde
PhD, LLM, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Loyens & Loeff.


Petroleum Community Forum > Petroleum Industry Zone > Civil & Structural Engineering > Any example or reference for design of coker structures?
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Does any one has experience on the design of coker structures? Thanks so much.