Even Senator John McCain was fooled by the sneaky half-truths of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's convention remarks about selling the state executive jet. Worse, Ms. Palin stood right beside the Senator at a Wisconsin campaign stop yesterday and let him misstate her record. Good work, Governor.

Senator McCain told a crowd that Governor Palin had sold the Alaska governor's luxury jet (one like Cindy McCain's, the one he uses) on eBay, for a profit. Wrong on both counts. Ms. Palin stood next to John McCain, smiling and waving, and let him say these falsehoods. There is a CNN clip of this; NotionsCapital will look for it.

Sarah Palin ran for Governor saying she would put the Alaska governor's business jet on eBay and sell it. The catchy everyday image helped her get elected. After wasting a year and taxpayer money trying to sell a $2.5 million jet on eBay, a broker sold the plane to a big GOP donor.

But Governor Palin knows much more about publicity stunts and slogans than she does about governing. That is why she stood a heartbeat away from the elderly Republican presidential candidate and let him lie for her.

 Hat tip: Karin Risko

Image from FSDome.com

BHUBANESWAR, India, September 4 (Compass Direct News) – Christian victims of Hindu extremist violence who have fled to the capital of the eastern state of Orissa said state police have been mere spectators as mayhem continued a 12th consecutive day.

Attacks on Christians and their property and institutions began in Orissa’s Kandhamal district following the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples on August 23. Maoists claimed responsibility for the murders on Monday (Sept. 1), though the statement did nothing to slow Hindu extremist violence that Christian leaders say has claimed more than 100 lives.

Among those who have fled to Bhubaneswar was Father Prabodha Kumar, a Catholic priest who reached the Catholic Archbishop’s House in the capital after a seven-day journey from Onjamundi village in Kandhamal. He was among other fearful sojourners at the house whose mobile phones constantly rang with news of more attacks from their relatives, friends and church members in interior villages of Kandhamal.

Fr. Kumar looked deeply troubled after one such phone call yesterday.

“My brother has been forced to ‘reconvert’ to Hinduism, as he was told that if he did not do so, his house would be destroyed,” he said.

Asked why he did not report the abuse to the police, the priest told Compass that if police officers could “witness Christians being brutally attacked,” why would they do anything to save his brother?

A few minutes later, Fr. Kumar’s phone rang once again. This time, it was about Christians in Kanpada village in Balliguda Block (Kandhamal district) being told to “reconvert” if they did not want their houses to be burned.

Shortly thereafter, another victim at the Archbishop’s House received a phone call reporting that at least 19 houses and churches were burned down that morning in Lujurmunda village, under Tikabali police station jurisdiction in Kandhamal.

State Inaction

That police did nothing to protect Christians is the assertion of most of the victims of Orissa violence.

Ravindranath Pradhan, a 45-year-old former soldier for the Indian Army, told Compass that two policemen came to him in his village, Gadragaon – also under the jurisdiction of Tikabali police station in Kandhamal – on August 24 and asked if he had heard the news about Saraswati’s killing. The officers told him to be “cautious,” but when he said police should protect him and his family, they said they didn’t have enough force to do so and left the village.

A little while later, he said, a mob of around 50 Hindu extremists stormed into the village and burned 31 houses belonging to Christians. The mob burned and killed his brother, Rasanand Pradhan, who suffers from paralysis, as he lay on his bed in a room that was set on fire.

“There is a police post in Pasora village, around five kilometers [three miles] from Gadragaon, but there was not even a single policeman in the village at the time of the attack,” the former soldier told Compass.

Ravindranath Pradhan, along with more than 100 Christians – including women, children and babies from his village, walked to reach Bhubaneswar, covering more than 300 kilometers (186 miles). He walked and used various means of transport, halting in numerous forests, before he was able to reach the state capital on Tuesday (Sept. 2).

“It took us four long days to reach Bhubaneswar,” Pradhan said. “We did not eat anything. We survived on water from rivers along the route. We also encountered wild animals in some forests.”

Pradhan had severe swelling of his left foot. One of his brothers was recovering in a hospital.

Many Christians from Gadragaon village reached Bhubaneswar on August 28. They were taken by local Christians to a YMCA center, where several other victims also are temporarily residing.

Christian leaders estimate at least 40,000 people have taken refuge in forests, and some 20,000 persons have fled to 10 government relief camps.

Police Afraid of VHP

Father Mathew Puthyadam of Christ the King Catholic Church in Phulbani town in Kandhamal also blames police for inaction.

At around 8:30 p.m. on August 24, he heard a mob shouting anti-Christian slogans, he said.

“I knew the church was going to be attacked,” Fr. Puthyadam said, his voice still trembling with fear. “I escaped to a nearby house when I saw a crowd of around 4,000 people carrying the body of Saraswati coming towards the church. The district collector [administrative head], the Deputy Inspector General [DIG] of Police, and several police personnel were also there.”

The Saraswati funeral procession stopped outside the church building, with the Hindu extremists carrying the body of Saraswati before its gate. The mob then broke the boundary wall and damaged statues and a cross.

“The collector, the DIG and other policemen witnessed it without doing anything,” Puthyadam recalled. “The DIG merely told the crowd, ‘Enough, enough, now move on.’ It is only when the crowd pelted stones on the police, and some of them got hurt, that the DIG asked his force to use batons to disperse the crowd.”

A federal security force also blamed Orissa state police for failing to prevent attacks on Christians.

On Friday (Aug. 29), the commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Darshan Lal Gola, told The Indian Express newspaper that there was “complete breakdown of the state’s law and order machinery.” He pointed out that the CRPF rounded up 75 rioters in Deegei village under the Raikia police station, but local police refused to put them behind the bars.

A local human rights activist, Dhirendra Panda, said the state administration and police were afraid of VHP extremists.

“The state government did not conduct an autopsy on Saraswati’s body,” Panda said. “The body was not even taken to a hospital. Why didn’t the government follow the required procedure of law?”

Panda also pointed out that while the Orissa government put a restriction on all political party members and rights activists to visit Kandhamal, it gave police protection to VHP General Secretary Praveen Togadia to visit Saraswati’s Ashram (religious center) on August 25.

“Togadia was escorted by the police,” he said.

India’s Supreme Court reacted angrily to the Orissa administration’s denials yesterday of ongoing attacks, as justices ordered a commitment under oath for Orissa to provide protection to its people and their property.

Acting on Christian leaders’ charges that police were colluding with perpetrators and that the state government was a mute spectator, the court asked the Orissa chief secretary to file an affidavit today stating that the administration “will take all steps to protect life and property.”

Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal had been enraged by a denial from state counsel Jana Ranjan Das that “allegations about continuing communal violence are false.”

Thus the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Orissa state to report on steps taken to stop the wave of anti-Christian violence. The court order came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered the state to punish those responsible for murder and arson.

In calling for the resignation of the entire state government of Orissa, on Monday (Sept. 1), Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, said that the death toll from the violence had reached 100 “and more butchered bodies and burnt corpses are being found.”

“In Bakingia, two families of seven Christians – Daniel Naik and Michael Naik and their families – were tortured and killed,” George said. “Their bodies were found with their heads pulped and smashed, they were recognized by their clothes. Bakingia is about eight kilometers [five miles] from Raikia police station.”

Another Inflammatory Procession

The Orissa government today put a ban on another rally planned by the VHP to take the ashes of Saraswati in public procession from one village to another in Orissa beginning on Sunday (September 7), reported the Press Trust of India news agency.

The ban was announced by the state government in hearing of a petition filed by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath from Orissa in the Supreme Court of India.

The VHP and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a partner of the ruling government led by the Biju Janata Dal party, continue to blame Christians for the killing of Saraswati and four others in spite of the Maoist claim of responsibility for the assassination.

When Compass spoke to VHP Orissa State President Gauri Prasad Rath, he said the state government was wrongly linking Saraswati’s killing to Maoists.

“We know and believe that Christians killed him,” he said.

When Compass asked how he could say Christians killed him, he replied, “Christians attacked him on December 24, 2007.”

Saraswati allegedly incited the attacks on Christians and their property in Kandhamal during last Christmas season. The violence lasted for more than a week beginning December 24, and killed at least four Christians and burned 730 houses and 95 churches.

The 2007 attacks were allegedly carried out mainly by VHP extremists under the pretext of avenging an alleged attack on Saraswati by local Christians. Hundreds of Christians were displaced by the violence in Kandhamal, and many are still in various relief camps set up by the state government.

Christians make up 2.4 percent of Orissa’s population, or 897,861 of the total 3.7 million people.  

Report from Compass Direct News

toch niet verschoten van de agressieve titel, hoop ik?! ;-)

"Pas maar op of ik eet je op" is de titel van het gelijknamige boek voor kleuters waaruit ik gisteren en vandaag heb voorgelezen. Het boek kadert in ons pestproject dat doorheen de hele school loopt.

Misschien vertelde je kleuter wel de inhoud van het verhaal maar misschien ook niet?! In dat geval zit je met deze blog op het juiste adres!

"Tom is een jongen die met zijn mama en zusje Britt naar de stad gaat wonen met het gevolg dat Tom en Britt op een nieuwe school terecht komen. Tom zit echter in de klas met grote pestkop Nik! Tom draagt een bril en uitgescholden worden voor "Stomme Tom, schele Tom, je ogen zijn krom,..." is dagelijkse kost voor Tom. Tom heeft geen zin meer in de nieuwe school en sluipt op een nacht het huis uit en trekt met de bus naar z'n tante die nog steeds in zijn vroegere dorp woont. Hij doet zijn tante het hele verhaal, maar uiteraard kan hij niet zomaar bij z'n tante blijven want mama en Britt zouden hem dan heel erg missen. Op de stoep van zijn tantes huis maakt hij kennis met een zwarte zwerfhond. Tom zou graag de hond houden en mama vindt het oké. Sindsdien heeft hij misschien geen vrienden op school maar heeft hij er wel een beste vriend bijgekregen, nl. Flap. Op een dag gaan Flap en Tom wandelen. Ze lopen er Nik tegen het lijf. Flap gaat wild tekeer tegen Nik en Nik toont zich opeens niet meer zo sterk, integendeel, hij is superbang voor Flap. Wanneer Tom Flap tot bedaren kan brengen, ziet Nik dat Tom ook heelwat te bieden heeft. En dan nodigt Nik Tom uit om samen te gaan voetballen met zijn vrienden. Sinds die dag ziet Tom de nieuwe school helemaal zitten!"

Na het verhaal denken we even na over pesten. Wat is pesten? Wat vinden we ervan? Hoe ervaren we dit?

Het is nu de bedoeling dat we enkele rake slogans i.v.m. pesten verwoorden.

Het gaat nogal moeilijk van start. De kinderen verwarren nogal vaak het pesten met het ruziemaken. Voor hen is pesten: duwen, slaan, schoppen, bijten,... Ik probeer hen uit te leggen dat pesten vooral iemand pijn doen is met woorden... lelijke dingen zeggen, zoals in het verhaal.

Dat schijnen de kleuters dan toch wel te begrijpen maar als ik dan vraag om een zinnetje te maken over pesten, bedenken ze de "vreselijkste scheldwoorden" :-( Oké, dat is natuurlijk de bedoeling niet! ;-) Niet opgeven... Wie kan me vertellen wat ie zelf vindt van pesten? Ik vind pesten... of Pesten is...

Ja en dan komt het eindelijk op gang. Sommige kleuters bedenken leuke maar vooral rake slogans. Lees hieronder hun hersenspinsels:

- "Nanananana...", dat doen we niet! (Imme)

- Pesten vind ik niet leuk. (Axelle)

- Ik vind dat niemand zijn tong mag uitsteken. (Zoë)

- Kinderen die pesten moeten in de hoek. (Ruben)

- Pestkoppen zijn niet leuk! (Khan)

- Als je iemand pijn doet, moet je wenen. (Marissa)

- Pesten vind ik saai! (Janara)

- Stomme woorden vind ik héél erg dom! (Gitane)

- Wie er aan het pesten is, moet de juf op straf zetten. (Gianni)

- Een pestkop is een lafaard! (Imme)

- Ik vind pesten vals spelen! (Bram)

- Pestkoppen vind ik supersaai! (Marissa)

Volià, creatief met woorden zijn sommige kleuters alvast en de anderen moet er nog een beetje aan wennen. Maar zolang ze niet aan het pesten gaan en bovenstaande slogans in het achterhoofd houden, is het allemaal goed voor mij! :-)

Groetjes, juf Bérénice

Enjoy!

September 5, 2008 Posted by 2lesbosgoinatit | Lesbian | Add new tag, humor, funny, photos, election, politics, images, clothing, spoof, comedy, VP, vice president, republican, sarah, palin, political, pictures, parody, Sarah Palin slogans, bumper stickers, t-shirts, campaign items, caps, thongs, bibs, Caribou Barbie, designs, items, logos, campaign, gear, products, customized, stuff, slogans, anti-Palin, against Palin, negative, mocking, anti Sarah Palin, anti | No Comments | Edit

Visit zazzle.com/altworld

Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin hit a home run among Republican delegates with her 40 minute-plus acceptance speech.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the country will view it.

Here's the entire speech:

Pity the poor Paulistas. They had everything going for them. They converted their failed "March on Washington" into a counter-convention this week in Minneapolis, across the river from the Republicans in St. Paul. The GOP bash was destined to be yawn-fest, with Senator McCain and some geezer picked as his Veep yammering away like they do. The Ron Paul "Rally for the Republic" and "Ronstock" were the hot ticket items, and activities were moved from a small college to the Target Center. It looked like major media coverage was a sure thing.

Then along came Sarah.

The Ron Paul people were sandbagged when Senator McCain picked ex-beauty queen and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate (after their first date, too). Since the national press knows nothing about her, the media will swarm the GOP gab-fest, leaving the lone AP reporter to cover the Target Center. Compare Congressman Paul's face with Governor Palin's, and you will understand why video news cameras will be in St. Paul. All the Ronvoys and Walk4Freedoms and Pogosticks4Paul in the world won't bring the media out. Paulistas will be reading each others' blogs for coverage, as they always do.

The Ron Paul and Sarah Palin share a common trait. They are both professional scolds, pointing at what they perceive as wrong. For Dr. Paul, everything about government is wrong. That is why civil libertarians, tax cheats, pot-smokers, peace activists, gun nuts, idealists, and the plain greedy can each project their different agendas onto the Paul platform.  But Dr. Paul has been in Congress a while now. Has he changed a single thing about the government he rants against?

The good Governor sniffed out corruption and argued that bribery and diversion of public funds should cease. People who disagree on every other issue can certainly agree with that, and they voted for Ms. Palin. Unfortunately, as first the people of Wasilla and then all the people of Alaska learned, an effective scold is not necessarily an effective leader, and abuse of power is as corrupt as bribery.

So party hearty, Paulistas. Sarah Palin may have stolen your leader's gimmick and your press coverage, but we know your belief in whatever-it-is remains strong  You can start strategizing now for 2012, free from prying gaze of major media outsiders.

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

It's been a very strange news year in Wisconsin. There was the Brett Favre retirement tear-jerker and subsequent un-retirement debacle. There was the Bronz Fonz controversy and subsequent Bronz Fonz fatigue. Then there's Harley Davidson's massive 105th anniversary celebration, which is sort of a weird year to celebrate, but when you're Harley you can do whatever you want.

So if you were one of the thousands who drove your Harley to Milwaukee this weekend -- to see Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters or to cruise to the new Harley Museum -- congratulations. You can pick up a shirt like this for like $20. Or you can just stay at home and buy it here for 7 bucks.

Size Large
Cost $7 + $3 shipping

$1 of the sale of this shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.

I decided that, finally, there is a political slogan I can get behind!  Can you imagine if one of the candidates announced this, and then stuck to it, at least until early November sometime?  It would be amazing.

I don't care who it would be - old white guy, younger celebrity, weird street-corner guy with the sandwich boards - I would totally vote for someone who showed the self-discipline and confidence to stop talking so much.  All of the major candidates have already expressed their ideas, ad nauseum, in various formats; if I need to find out where someone stands (or, at least, says they do) on a given issue, I can go look it up.

They can be allowed to speak, briefly, if they decide to make a major change in a previously expressed view; everyone deserves the right to rethink things.  (Though, ahem, this does imply that one must think about things a first time.  I may be asking too much here.)

But otherwise, no speaking.  No commercials.  No door-to-door politics salesmen.  Just be quiet.  Not another word until November.  I get that once November rolls around, they wouldn't be able to continue the silence; they would simply explode.  We can't expect them to be superhuman, after all; just quietly reserved for two months.

The possibility boggles.

Finalement, la politique c'est simple. Du moins, certains militants ont le chic pour la rendre simple. Pour ne pas dire carrément simpliste. On a beau vouloir éviter les clichés, certains se font un plaisir de les réactiver. Exemple aujourd'hui sur le campus de l'Université du Missouri, à Columbia, dans le Midwest américain. J'y ai rencontré les militants républicains qui ouvrent chaque jour un stand pour faire campagne pour John McCain.

L'un d'eux, Nick McKague, 19 ans, étudiant en science politique, m'explique qu'il ne se soucie guère de son candidat (il soutenait Mike Huckabee lors des primaires) mais milite activement contre le démocrate Barack Obama qu'il trouve beaucoup trop "libéral" (au sens américain du terme, c'est-à-dire "progressiste"). Je lui demande pourquoi et là, j'ai le droit au discours pré-mâché, au refrain 1000 fois répété :

Obama est pro-avortement, je suis contre. Il est pour un contrôle du port d'arme, je suis contre. Il est pour une augmentation des taxes, je suis contre. Il est contre la guerre en Irak, je ne suis pas pour la guerre mais je ne suis pas pour un retrait des troupes non plus.

Je lui demande s'il est satisfait de George Bush.

Oui, je suis très content de Bush, il a dû gérer une présidence très difficile.

Et que pense-t-il de John McCain ?

Il est trop libéral pour moi. Il se dit plus conservateur maintenant pour la campagne mais je crois qu'il ment, il reste très libéral au fond de lui.

Le débat, donc, se limiterait à "libéral versus conservateur". Quelle richesse ! Un étudiant en business qui passe par là à vélo en rajoute une couche dans la caricature.

Les Démocrates sont tous des fainéants ! Il faut que les gens arrêtent de demander de l'argent (au gouvernement, ndlr) et gagnent leurs revenus eux-mêmes. Voter Républicains c'est voter pour le travail.

Tiens, "le travail", ça ne vous rappelle rien ? En voilà un slogan simpliste. Et donc forcément efficace...

Thanks to Sally Seeker for donating this shirt!

$1 of the sale of this Teecycle shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.

Madhya Pradesh – Police on August 15 detained two Christians in Ratlam district for “forced conversion” under the so-called Freedom of Religion Act after about 35 Hindu extremists stormed a prayer meeting organized by the Union of Evangelical Students at St. Bartholomew Church, Railway Colony area. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that on the occasion of India’s Independence Day, nearly 75 believers belonging to various Christian groups including Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and World Vision had congregated at the church when the extremists began beating them and chased them away, forcing a few into a local police station. Sam Mathew, GCIC regional coordinator, told Compass that soon additional forces swelled the number of the mob to nearly 70. “Amos Avula of YWAM, who was earlier targeted by the extremists, was questioned and allowed to return home,” Mathew said. “However, police arrested Satyanarayan Rao and another believer identified only as N.T. Murti. They were released on bail on August 16 at 4:30 p.m.”

Karnataka – Hindu extremists on August 15 tore up tracts and beat Bible College students in Bajpai, Mangalore district. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that at 2:30 p.m., after Independence Day celebrations, six Bible College students accompanied by a warden identified only as Martha P. went to Panambur Beach to distribute Christian literature. Local pastor Sunny Mathew told Compass that neither the students nor the warden were aware that they were being watched by two Hindu extremists as they handed out tracts to people on the beach. The extremists phoned other intolerant Hindus who arrived at the beach, swelling the mob to 30, and surrounded the students, kicking and punching them after destroying their pamphlets. Two students were injured. Police took the students and extremists to the police station. With GCIC intervention a compromise was reached and no case was registered against either the students or the extremists.

Karnataka – In Davengere, Hindu extremists belonging to the Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Shiva Sainya youth association on August 12 surrounded the house of a pastor, threw stones at it and demanded that all senior pastors leave the district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that a mob of about 200 extremists stoned the house of pastor Prem Kumar, demanding that he and two other senior pastors leave. They warned the pastors not to conduct any future prayer and worship services in their homes. Carrying their anti-Christian campaign throughout the district, they visited people who had recently shown interest in Christianity and demanded to know what inducement they had been offered to convert. Following the advice of police officials, many pastors fled their homes leaving their wives and children behind. GCIC told Compass that the atmosphere was still tense at press time, and police were reluctant to take any action against the extremists.

Karnataka – Police in Karnataka on Aug 11 arrested a pastor and an evangelist for hurting religious sentiments and making derogatory remarks about Hindu gods after Hindu extremists attacked them and their house church in Yemanna Bethur, Harpanahalli taluk, Davangere district. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians said that at around 5:45 p.m. nearly 20 Hindu extremists allegedly belonging to the Shiva Sainya youth association attacked house church pastor Rajendra Gowda’s prayer service, slapping and punching him and an evangelist identified only as Kumara. The intolerant Hindus threatened members of the congregation and chased them away. They ripped the shirts of Gowda and Kumara, tied their hands to a van that had saffron flags and posters of Hindu gods on it, and forced the Christians to walk nearly seven kilometers (about four miles). The exhausted church leaders were then pushed into the van and taken to the Davangere rural police station nearly 20 kilometers (12 miles) away, with the extremists slapping and punching them in the van on the way. Police arrested Gowda and Kumara after extremists registered a false complaint against them of outraging religious feelings and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace. “Gowda and Kumara were released on bail on August 13 at 6:15 p.m.,” George said.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh disrupted an August 10 worship service and injured believers in Gadag. Pastor Samuel Philip was conducting the service under police protection, having been warned the previous day of a possible attack, but the extremists seized the chance to attack when officers returned to the police station, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). The intolerant Hindus barged into the church and attacked the pastor and other Christians, with the injured receiving first aid at a local hospital. GCIC told Compass that the Christians and the extremists have reached a compromise, and police assured the Christian community of future protection.

Chhattisgarh – Three Hindu extremists on August 10 assaulted Pastor Dev Kumar Sahu in Chalaty village, Ambagarh Chowki, Rajnandgaon district. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said Sahu of Indian Full Gospel Church was commissioned by his senior pastor, the Rev. K.J. George, to visit house churches in Chalaty village. As Sahu was sipping a beverage at a tea stall in Chalaty, area Hindu extremist Tulsi Ambade came up to him and angrily questioned him about the reason for his visit to the village. Ambade falsely accused him of forced conversions, George said, and two other extremists joined in and repeatedly kicked and punched the pastor while shouting filthy curses at him. They left only after Sahu collapsed to the ground. Sahu later filed a complaint against the extremists at the local police station. “Sahu had recently undergone a hernia operation,” Rev. George, the senior pastor, told Compass. “He had swollen arms, legs and face from the extremists’ attack and was admitted to a private nursing home for treatment.” With Rev. George’s intervention Ambade and Sahu reached a compromise: Tulsi agreed not to harass the Christians in the village, and Sahu forgave him and withdrew the case on August 19.

Karnataka – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists on August 8 attacked a prayer meeting, then beat and falsely accused a pastor of forcible conversion in Kodipura village, Ramanagara district. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that as pastor M. Mahesh of Agape Church was conducting a thanksgiving prayer service at the house of a church member identified only as Lokesh for 12 people, a mob of around 15 extremists led by persons identified only as Ganesh and Madesh barged into the house. The intolerant Hindus loudly cursed at the pastor and others and disrupted the service. George told Compass that the extremists falsely accused Mahesh of “alluring” villagers to convert to Christianity and warned Lokesh to stop future Christian prayers in his house. The extremists phoned local police as the anti-Christian mob swelled to nearly 50. Police brought the pastor and Lokesh to the police station, where the extremists shouted Hindu devotional chants. Police permitted Mahesh and Lokesh to leave the station at about 11 p.m. “With GCIC’s intervention, a First Information Report was registered against the extremists,” George said. “Police arrested three extremists and released them on bail.”

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists on August 7 forcibly tried to occupy land belonging to a church and school in Ranga Reddy district. The All Indian Christian Council of India reported that the extremists forcibly occupied the land in front of JW International School and a church and erected a temporary Hindu temple. After school officers filed a complaint, government officials destroyed the temple, telling the Hindus they could not build such a structure on the land without permission. The next day, about 400 intolerant Hindus gathered at the site, beating drums and holding flags, and erected the structure anew. Once again the government demolished it. Later that evening, the extremists stoned the church and school buildings. With the intervention of police officials, the Hindu extremists left the school area.

Karnataka – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists on August 4 broke open the locked gate of a Christian elementary school, stormed the principal’s office and demanded replacement of a Christian cross with a Hindu OM symbol in Mudhol, Bagalkot district. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told Compass that at around 3:30 p.m. a mob of nearly 35 Hindu extremists armed with saffron-colored, triangular flags and wooden batons broke into the Samuel Memorial Convent School. They angrily demanded that principal Margaret Samuel replace the cross in the school logo with the OM symbol and instructed her to install idols of Hindu gods in the corridors. They also demanded that pictures of Saraswati Devi, the Hindu goddess of learning, be framed in the principal’s office, and warned that there would be repeated attacks on the school if their demands were not met. “Around 5:30 p.m., Mrs. Samuel called for an emergency Parent-Teachers Association [PTA] meeting,” George said, “wherein with GCIC support, she apprised the PTA of the extremists’ attacks and demands on the school. The PTA pledged their support to the Christian institution and took a resolution not to give in to the extremists.” Started in 2005, the school has 625 students.

Madhya Pradesh – Members of the Hindu fundamentalist Abhinav Bharat and other groups attacked pastor Sam Oommen and his family at Jayprakash Nagar, Adhartal, Jabalpur district on August 3. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that a mob of nearly 45 Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh began shouting “Jai Shri Ram [Hail Lord Ram]” outside Pastor Oommen’s home, where his house church meets. Oommen and his family, not home at the time, returned at 3:30 p.m. but extremists prevented them from entering their house. Police were reportedly silent spectators while the assailants harassed Pastor Oommen and his family. The attackers accompanied by police dragged the 43-year-old pastor of a Full Gospel Church home fellowship and his wife, Jessy Sam, and two children to the Adhartal police station, where the couple was charged with forcible conversion. Pastor Oommen’s children were sent home at 5 p.m. According to Assistant Sub-Inspector Saras Tripathi, electrician Hemant Kumar Sahu filed the complaint. Sahu met the couple in May when he went to the house to fit electrical equipment. He told police that Pastor Oommen and his wife subsequently “brainwashed” him on the pretext of praying for his ailing mother, forced him to be baptized and asked him to remove pictures of Hindu gods from his home. Sahu also said that the couple promised him that his mother’s medical expenses would be paid and that he should denounce Hindu gods and goddesses. Sahu told police that the resulting heavy mental stress led him to report the matter to Abhinav Bharat extremists, who along with the other Hindu nationalist groups then staged a demonstration demanding police action. Leading the Abhinav Bharat mob was state organization Vice Chairman Maya Ram Jethwani, who spoke to local media and accused the church of operating illegally. He also said a conspiracy by Christian missionaries was underway to convert the entire area and called for an investigation. Pastor Oommen and Christian leaders of Jabalpur denied the charges, which they say are concocted. Police locked up the church and put security guards in place. Pastor Oommen and his wife were released on bail on August 6.

Karnataka – Police on July 31 arrested Christians of the Believers Church in Turuvekere, Tumkur district after Hindu extremists allegedly belonging to the Ram Sena (Army of Ram) attacked a prayer meeting, beating Christians present. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at around 8 p.m. nearly 30 Hindu extremists armed with wooden clubs stormed a dedication prayer service at the house of a believer identified only as Ramkrishnappa. The intolerant Hindus beat a pastor identified only as Shivshankar H.D. and four other Christians and destroyed 18 Bibles. They then took the Christians to the Turuvekere police station and registered a First Information Report (FIR) against them for inciting communal disharmony. Dr. Sajan K. George of the GCIC told Compass that police registered no counter FIR against the extremists. George has written to the National Human Rights Commission seeking justice for the Christians, who were released on bail on August 8.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists on July 29 attacked Christian students, accusing them of distributing Christian literature to “forcefully convert” college students, and burned and dumped three boxes of Christian books in a ditch in Miryalyuda, Nalgonda. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that two young Christian women were distributing gospel tracts among college students when three extremists seized the literature from them and burned it. Both parties have filed a police complaint. Moses Vattipalli of AICC told Compass that they have reached a compromise, with police assuring local Christian leaders of protection against such incidents in the future.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists belonging to the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party on July 27 attacked a pastor and a Christian media team for showing a film about Jesus Christ, tore the screen and burned it along with Bibles in Janagam. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that about 20 furious extremists barged into the home of a pastor identified only as Devadanam while about 100 people were watching the film and destroyed the projector, speakers and tables and threatened to kill the pastor if he tried screening the film again. The pastor filed a police complaint, and six attackers were taken to the police station. Dr. Sajan K. George of the GCIC told Compass that the attackers were released after a stern warning not to disturb the Christians again.

Karnataka – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists on July 27 attacked a gospel meeting in Anugraha Hotel, Bagalkot district and beat the pastor and other Christians, including a 4-year-old girl. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that nearly 40 extremists barged into the meeting hall cursing and beating pastor Basappa Durgappa of Free Fellowship Pentecostal Churches of Karnataka. They punched and slapped other Christians, including women and children. “The extremists flung chairs at the congregation, causing serious head injury to a 4-year-old child identified only as Priyanka, and four believers also suffered minor injuries,” George told Compass. The extremists also tore up nearly 100 Bibles and hymnals, he said. Police took the pastor, his wife and two daughters to the police station for interrogation, with the extremists shouting Hindu chants along the way. “The extremists filed a complaint against Durgappa, but with the intervention of the GCIC, Durgappa and his family were allowed to leave the police station around 10:30 p.m. and all the charges were dropped,” George said. “The Christians were treated at the Keruddi Hospital in Bagalkot, and Priyanka has received 13 stitches on her head.”

Karnataka – Police in India continued their custom of jailing Christian victims of Hindu aggression on July 27, arresting a pastor in Ankoal, Karwar district after nearly 20 Hindu extremists dragged him out of his house church service and repeatedly slapped him. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the intolerant Hindus barged into the house church of independent pastor Anand Huva Naik on Kenny Road, disrupted worship and cursed and slapped Naik before yanking him out of his home. They threatened the other Christians, including women, chasing the congregation away. Police who had prior information about the attackers’ intent arrived at noon and took the pastor to the Ankola town police station and charged him with intentional insult, provocation, breaking public peace and causing hurt. With the legal help of the GCIC, Naik was released at 1:45 p.m. the next day.

Orissa – In Badrak district, Hindu extremists on July 26 ruptured a believer’s eardrum and threatened to burn him alive. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Hindu extremists led by Utpal Nayak summoned Baloy Kumar Baraik, a Christian laboratory assistant at Sunshine Mission School, to the principal’s office. There Hindu extremists who formed part of the school’s management board beat and punched Baraik in the ear for nearly half an hour, forcing him to sign a blank document and threatening to burn him and his family in the same way that Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were killed in 1999. The Hindu extremist board members seek to remove all Christian staff members from the school. Baraik, who received hospital treatment for severe ear injuries, lodged a police complaint but no arrests had been made at press time. GCIC officials told Compass that the school management had fired Baraik from his job, but the rights organizations were taking the case to a higher court.

Karnataka – A mob of about 20 Hindu extremists vandalized a church building, seriously injured a pastor and accused him of forced conversion on July 20 in Konvallichawla, Haveri. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the intolerant Hindus barged into the Sunday worship service of Friends Prayer Band Church, brutally attacked the pastor and destroyed all Christian literature, including Bibles. The Hindu extremists took the pastor to the police station, where he collapsed from his injuries. Police initially refused to accept the complaint of assault by the pastor’s wife, Mary, instead threatening to throw the couple out of the district if they filed charges. The pastor was discharged from the hospital after receiving intensive care for three days. A case has been filed against the extremists, but no arrests had been made at press time.

Report from Compass Direct News

1.  "Leave the driving to us."  Greyhound

2.  "We'll leave the light on for you."  Motel 6

3.  "The Family Company"  Johnson & Johnson

4.  "It's All Inside"   JC Penney

5.  "Your in good hands."    Allstate

6.  "What's in your wallet?"   Capital One

7.  "The World's Online Marketplace."   Ebay

8.  "Right Store, Right Price"   Kroger

9.  "Life More Interesting"   Pier One Imports

10.  "You can do it, we can help"   Home Depot

Did you get them all right?  What slogan does your company use?  Is it memorable or forgettable?  Does it make your customers think of you the next time they need what you have?  Does it stick in their brain?  Don't forget - slogans can help you brand.  If you did not read Fridays post - go back and check it out - it may have just what you need to start putting your company on the map.

Slogans oficiais
1940 – “A pausa que refresca”
1959 – “Isso faz um bem”
1966 – “Tudo vai melhor com Coca-Cola”
1972 – “Coca-Cola dá mais vida”
1977 – “Isso é que é”
1983 – “É isso aí”
1989 – “Emoção pra valer”
1993 – “Sempre Coca-Cola”
2000 – “Curta Coca-Cola”
2001 – “Gostoso é viver”

Texto oficial do Departamento de Comunicação da Coca-Cola no Brasil.

Via: Coca-Cola

A number of corporations in the USA have  also followed his lead and are now amongst some of the most profitable well run corporations in America. 

Here are the 14 points, and the 5 diseases to avoid, that are the heart and soul of the Deming management method. Read, learn and do, We are all way behind and need to catch up.

Recall that the keystone of the Demings management method is all about constant quality improvement which yields lower cost, lower pricing and better products as well as happier long term employees and long term business success.

These are the principles which must be followed to yield the results.

1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product or service. Rather then just making money  the        goal must be adjusted to achieve long term business success, creating more jobs through innovation            and constant improvement.

2. Adopt a new philosophy. Americans are too accepting of poor quality, we must reject mistakes and low         quality as being unacceptable low standards.

3. Cease dependence on mass inspection. Quality comes not from inspection and rejection but with                 improved quality production. Eliminating the cause of defects, is far more important then eliminating the     defects, once made.

4. End the practice of dong business with suppliers based on price alone. Its quality and a long term                 relationship not price alone that counts.

5. Improve constantly and forever the production and service system, this is not a one time goal.                       Management must constantly look for ways to reduce waste and improve quality.

6. Institute constant training. Teach employees how to do their job well. 

7. Institute real leadership. The job of a supervisor is to lead, helping people do a better job.

8. Eliminate fear. Employees are afraid to ask basic and important questions for fear of being wrong or             revealing that they do not understand the process or procedures so they perform poorly, rather then ask.

9. Break down barriers between staff areas, competing goals that are in conflict, not working as a team             as opposed to solving problems together. They should all be working towards the same goal...

10. Eliminate slogans. 

11. Eliminate numerical quotas. They take into account only numbers not quality, a guaranty of inefficiency         and high cost.

12. Remove barriers to pride in workmanship. People want to do a good job, and are frustrated when they         cannot, often misguided supervisors, faulty equipment, shoddy materials, stand in the way preventing           success. Eliminate these barriers.

13. Institute education and retraining to change the corporate culture and support the changes described.

14. Take action to accomplish the transformation. Everyone must be on board, management and                         employees, to successfully institute the changes discussed above, neither management nor employees         can do it alone without each others support and commitment.

The five diseases:

1. Lack of long range planning, breeds insecurity.

2. Emphasis on short term profits, undermines quality and productivity.

3. Evaluation by performance, merit ratings, or by an annual review of performance. These are devastating,       as teamwork is destroyed, rivalry is nurtured, performance ratings build fear, and leave people bitter             despondent and beaten.

4. Mobility of management, job hopping managers cannot embrace long term goals and cannot implement       the changes required if they are hopping from company to company.

5. Running a company on visible figures alone. The most important figures are unknown and unknowable,       like the value of a happy customer.

These are all huge concepts that require intensive review, discussion, understanding and yes deep systemic change in the heart and soul of our business leaders, managers and employees as we have all been doing it the wrong way for many decades and the bad habits are now deeply ingrained in our corporate culture.

We as small business owners have the opportunity to change directions and recast the mold.

Because we are small, we can make changes faster, fewer people are involved and communicating and implementing the changes described are therefore easier to accomplish.

However we must not underestimate the enormous difficulty in successfully implementing such radical change, it will take work and commitment and possibly a longer while then expected, but it is worth it as this model will work far better then the models we are following now.

America must change from believing that it can reduce costs and thus increase profits by cheapening the process as opposed to improving the quality...it seems as though we are doing it backwards now and must turn our businesses upside down to achieve the greatness we once had.

See previous blog entry on Demings most important strategy of all. Scroll down its the last entry.

Much of the materials captured here are from the book called The Deming Management Method by Mary Walton. Buy it, read it, study it, do it. Get the point.

Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sanghatan (SKMS) has a presence in some 60 to 70 villages in Mishrikh and Pisawa blocks of Sitapur district. There are village level committees which hold regular meetings to discuss issues of concern and chart a course of action. Once a month, sanghatan ke sakriya saathi (active partners of the Sanghatan) represent their village at a kshetriya baithak (regional meeting) where regional issues are discussed and strategies worked out. At these regional meets there are also people who are just becoming active and / or seeking to know what happens at the regional meetings.

During our 6 week stay earlier in the year (Apr-May) we had attended a few village meetings and two rounds of the regional meets. In June capacity building trainings were conducted for the emerging leadership and after getting to know more about the details of the workshop, Sudha and I were looking forward to see the difference during the regional meetings this time around.

The first regional meeting was in the Aant region. The mobilization in the villages here is still picking up steam and the leadership too reflects its nascent stage. The next meeting in Qutubnagar is almost an exact opposite. The Sanghatan is very strong in many villages here and the local activists are real firebrands. At the Qutubnagar meeting earlier in the week, it was decided that each sakriya saathi who turns up late would get a punishment – to lead the group that had already arrived with slogans and songs. The number of slogans and songs that they would have to lead would be dependent on how late they arrive. (Most of the village activists walk or cycle for a few kilometers to get to the meeting place.)

Sunita from Husseinpur was one of the first late comers. It was decided that she had to lead with five slogans before she could sit down. Hesitatingly she lead with two, Ladenge ! Jeetenge !! (We will fight ! We will win!!) and Kamanewala khayega! Lootnewala jaayega!! Naya zamana aayega !!! (workers will eat; looters will go; a new era is coming). As she tried to sit down, Surbala one of the representatives of the Sanghatan and a regional level mobilizer, stopped her and reminded that she still had three more slogans to go. With just this bit of an extra push was sufficient to melt Sunita's hesitation and soon she was leading with her full voice and fire. One after the other she lead with not just three but five more slogans ! The effects of the training was right there for all to see.

Not really he has been in the Bush corner about 85% of the time in the last 8 years. He has a temper and has bucked the admin on a couple of occasions but that does not make him a major maverick, just an opportunist.

Would a person that refuses to admit that he is a Bush Republican support a continuing of tax cuts he once opposed or echoing Bush in the drilling debacle really claim a maverick label? Would a maverick continue the vicious negative attacks on another candidate? Would a maverick continually side step issues for pandering to whichever audience him or his surrogates were in front of?

A maverick is someone who will take an independent stand. So far the maverick label for John McCain is just so much BS. Where is the independent thinking? Where is the maverick that is claimed? Crossing the aisle once or twice does not make one a champion of bi-partisanship. Nor does being a POW a maverick make. Holding hands with George Bush is definitely not the way to call oneself a maverick.

Sorry folks, if you are truly looking for Maverick then netflix has it on DVD.