The flurry of attention to Wal-Mart distracted me from more important business. We need to focus on those issues that are important. I have been remiss in my communications with Hari Bansh Jha. His next missive: Blessed Michael, I took some time to reply you because we were off-electricy for two days together. Anyway, I will check the blog at Zaard today itself and go through the conversation. In regard to your query about CETS, I have attached herewith its brochure. This will give you some details about our mission, activities and resources. Over the years, this small organization has been conducting research and studies mainly on socio-economic issues. Besides, it has also been conducting workshops and seminars, apart from publishing research work. However, I am alone to handle this organization at my home, though I have additional family support in the day-to-day activities. I employ scholars and researchers as and when I find project of multi-disciplinary nature. The employees go once the work is completed. However, as I have been advancing in my age, I am getting less and less taste in my professional life as an economist. As I have no other assured source of income, I have to earn bread and butter through research activities. My CV will give you a glimpse of some of the projects that we completed. Now I wish to give a twist to my life at the age of 54. I want to devote all my time to my own spiritual development. Besides, if there is anything to share with the world, I will do it as well. For this, I am thinking of one spiritual research centre, where I could practice and work on spiritual projects along with the team of researchers, such as on Raj Yoga (Royal Yoga) or the Vedas. I have one spiritual project in my mind at the moment. We can work together on this, if you like. Or, else if I can get some support, I can go independently, as well. The project is all about the Raj Yoga (Royal Yoga) i.e. spiritual knowledge as taught by the ALMIGHTY. The knowledge on Raj Yoga was passed to the SUN by the ALMIGHTY, which was later on shared with Ishaku, the saint. Again, this knowledge passed on to King Janak of Mithila (part of the state now is in India and part in Nepal) some 10,000 years ago. Part of this information was revealed by Lord Krishna to Aryuna during the Mahabharat War after 5000 years. We have some information on the Raj Yoga as revealed by Lord Krishna to Aryuna in some of the stanzas of the Gita, the holiest of the holy scriptures of the Hindus. But there are other original texts on Raj Yoga, which is in the form of spiritual discourses between King Janak and his spiritual Guru, Yagjnyabalka. Raj Yoga is the most simple technique to get enlightened spiritually. Consulting various literature in Sanskrit and other Indian/Nepali languages, a master work in English could be prepared on Raj Yoga, which might later on be translated into other languages. The present King of Thailand has taken keen interest on King Janak's spiritual work, but that is more in story form. We need to work more seriously on this project "Raj Yoga" for the larger interest of the human beings bleeding so badly under mistrust, violence and terrorism. There are several other spiritual areas as well where we can undertake projects.The researchers trained at this centre will be able to enlighten the people in Nepal and so to say anywhere in the world. By developing web site and also through the on-line service the results of the spiritual research could be shared with all the aspiring souls on the earth irrespective of cast, creed and sex. Since I lack any assured support for some of these activities, the ideas are locked in the mind. The east is so poor that it does not understand the importance of the jwels that it has. It is merely confined with the rituals. On the other hand, the west has understood its importance, but it will take a pretty long time to train the aspiring souls in this part of the world to learn how to go inside. Is it possible to utilize some of the resources generated by the spiritual persons in America for the above spiritual project, which aims at developing love, kindless, compassion and aboveall the feeling of ONENESS among the human beings. Maybe, what I am writing to you is the flow coming from the nature mother. Who knows? I think so because you are the one with whom I have opened to this level...Or, else the money could also be utilized to address such issues through research and/or talk programme as related to conflict and inviting debate or discussion on interim constitution, constituent assembly, displaced population, human trafficking, creating pressure on government and donor agencies for raising employment opportunities through massive dose of development activities and addressing question of arms management, which are of immediate concern to the Nepalese people. In regard to transferring the small amount, I checked with the Nepalese Bank about PayPal. But these people are unaware of it. I was suggested that the normal practice, which you might know well, is the swift code. In case, the money is to be transferred to Nepal, the Swift Code would be, for example, EVBLNPKA, Account No. & Name of a person for which the correspondent Banks could be: City Bank N.A. NY 10043 New York, USA or Standard Chartered Bank NY 10048, New York, USA or American Express Bank Ltd New York, NY US May God Bless you! With devotion, Hari Bansh Jha

Peace Efforts by Religious Leaders in Nepal By: Hari Bansh Jha Nepal is passing through the most critical phase in its history of 238 years. Ever since the internal conflict erupted in the country in 1996, 15,000 people have been killed. Nearly 270,000 people are believed to have been displaced and 1.5 million youth have been forced to migrate to various countries for security, safety and livelihood. Besides, 1,500 Village Development Committee (VDC) buildings have been partially or completely destroyed. Several rural bridges, schools, communication installations, district level government offices, police posts and private properties were damaged. However, the country was able to restore peace, though of uneasy nature, during the people's movement of April 2006. During this movement, the Seven Party Alliance and the Nepal Communist Party (NCP-Maoist) together were able to regain most of the people's power that was lost to the monarchial institution. The Nepalese parliament was restored. It is now the people's representatives who are in charge of running the government and the country. Yet many believe that the present phase of "no war" and "no peace" in the country in which open warfare has ceased to exist is unpredictable. The internal situation of the country during this period is tense with major chances of large scale violence to erupt again. Fundamental issues like arms management is unresolved, though the United Nations (UN) has been invited to mediate. The UN representative virtually does not adequately know what it has to deliver in the absence of clear-cut mandate, which ought to have been given to it by the concerned groups. The government wants the Maoists to surrender the arms to facilitate the process of Constituent Assembly Elections for which it is committed, but the latter wants "several changes" in the political structure to take place before they surrender the arms. As the country obviously appears to be on the cross roads, lapse in ceasing the opportunity by the concerned groups might flare up violence to a still greater dimension. But careful handling of the situation could help restore peace. In such a situation, the appeal made by the Inter Religious Council (IRC) in Nepal to the Seven Party Alliance, the NCP (Maoist) and the Government of Nepal (GON) to implement in letter and spirit all the understandings/agreements developed among them, including the 12 point agreement, 5 point understanding and the 25-point code of conduct appears to be most timely and crucial. The IRC is a NGO established in Nepal two years ago by the representatives of all major religious groups like the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Bonn act for conflict mediation and peace building. Since the people in Nepal are mostly religious-minded, the appeal made by the religious leaders for the restoration of sustainable peace in the country should not go unnoticed. As per the 2001 Census Report, of the total population of the country of nearly 23 million, the Hindus constitute 80.6 per cent followed by Buddhists (10.7 per cent), Muslims (4.2 per cent), Kirat (3.4 per cent) and Christian (0.5 per cent). In the past, the IRC is believed to have exerted pressure on both the government and rebel sides to reach amicable settlement of the conflict, which had certain positive results. Considering the immense potentiality that the religious groups have in spreading the message of love, kindness, compassion, and brotherhood among the common mass of the population, their role in resolving the conflict cannot be undermined. Therefore, the national and international agencies need to consult and act closely with the religious bodies while they make efforts for conflict mediation and peace building in this land of Buddha.

Dear Hari Bansh Jha,

Thank you for the blessing, and thank you for your patience as well.

Blessings on you and your friends, family, community, and nation on the occasion of Bada Dasain.

With respect to your proposal regarding Raj Yoga, if I am to understand you correctly you seek to both devote time to personal spiritual practice as well as to gather some of the teachings and translate them into English?

In order to make this a reality, you would need some funding presumably. Then the teachings would be more widely available. Have I understood your thinking on this?

With respect to the work of CETS, it seems as if hitherto your work has primarily been research. We might have contacts who could help teach business and entrepreneurship skills to Nepalese people who have access to the internet. Do you know of such people who might be interested in an American mentor in developing such skills?

May your country find lasting peace,

Michael

P.S.: Because it appears difficult and costly to transfer small amounts of funds, I will wait until I can find another way. At present it appears as if it might cost $10 to send $10.



On Sep 21, 2006, at 3:31 AM, Hari Bansh Jha wrote:

Dear Michael,

I wish for your happiness, prosperity and good health on the occasion of Bada Dasain, the greatest Hindu festival in Nepal.



With love,

Hari Bansh Jha

Yet another reason why I am optimistic on the future of education:

Sept. 21,  2006

 

David W. Kirkpatrick                  Senior Education Fellow
U.S. Freedom Foundation          www.FreedomFoundation.us
 
          Organizing Teachers: Traditional vs. Charter Public Schools, an Update

 

         Some aspects of traditional vs. charter public schools get little or no attention from either the general or the professional press.  Two of them are union attempts to organize schools in each segment, and the question of teacher strikes within each.
     
         It hasn't gone totally unnoticed that most charter school teachers have not joined unions.   It is even rarer for them to go on strike.

 

         The problem with organizing charter school teachers goes beyond their resistance to unions, which may exist with any group of teachers.  But let's take the example of a mythical large urban district, since these are the ones most likely to be organized, and also the ones most likely to strike on occasion.

 

         Assume a district with 250 public schools and 15,000 teachers, an average of 60 teachers per school.  When either the National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers wants to organize such a district they need to win a majority of teacher votes districtwide, not a majority at each of the 250 schools.  And this is not a minor matter.  In such elections it has not been uncommon for a majority of teachers at many individual schools to vote not to organize, while, districtwide, a majority votes for the union.

 

         In short, the union has an advantage.

 

         A second union plus is that successfully organizing 15,000 teachers in one district can be very profitable.  With total annual union dues - local, state and national of, say, $500 and more, the winner can receive $7,500,000 or more in dues.  This can provide a quick profit on the money spent to organize.

 

         Now, assume the same number of teachers in charter schools, and there are already far more than 15,000 of them.  The problems of organizing them are many.  One is the resistance of the teachers.  While that may exist in any school, charter teachers have a good reason to avoid the unions - the strong opposition the unions have to the existence of charter schools.

 

         A second is that few charter schools are in a relatively compact area.  That presents a major, and expensive, obstacle to unions.  However, let's pretend that doesn't exist and consider 15,000 charter school teachers in one major urban area.  Since the average charter school has fewer teachers the union may face the task of organizing 1,000 schools, rather than just 250, and 15 teachers at each school, rather than 60.  While attempting to organize 15 teachers per school may not cost as much as organizing 60, it will cost more on a per-teacher basis, and thus make it more difficult to quickly recoup the funds in annual dues.

 

         From the union viewpoint there's more bad news.  Since most charter schools are standalones, autonomous in many ways, the union must win at each and every one of them.  A collective vote does not apply.

 

         Attempts to strike present the final straw.  Since charter schools are largely separate entities, any decision to strike at one school would have no effect on the other schools.  However the other schools would pose a serious threat to the striking teachers whose students, being in schools of choice, could transfer to an open school.
     
         And they would.  The 9,500-member Detroit Federation of Teachers just concluded a 16-day strike.  Whatever the merits of doing so, from the union's point of view, Detroit is a district in serious financial distress and enrollment has been dropping, reportedly down 11,000 last year alone, to about 130,000 students currently. 

 

         According to U.S. News & World Report, as a result of the strike parents enrolled their children in neighboring districts.  Most significantly, a school district spokesman said the strike caused "thousands of students to flee to charter schools."  Whatever the actual number, it would have been even higher if the charter schools could accept more.

 

         It can be expected that many will not return, causing a larger drop in enrollment.  Fewer students.  Fewer teachers.  Fewer union members.

 

         There is growing opposition to teacher union power and strikes.  Attempts are being made to counter this legislatively.  The charter school movement may be more of a threat, even greater than the unions yet realize.
 
         And one they can't stop.
                                                  # # # # #

 

         "There is absolutely no question that American education as it exists today will not be tolerated by the American people, by the business community, by our policy leaders for more than another few years." Albert Shanker late President, American Federation of Teachers, quoted, p. 2, Linda Morrison, "Why Conventional Education Reform Fails: The Case for Market-Based Restructuring, Harrisburg, PA: The Commonwealth Foundation, March 1991.
                                                  # # # # #

A very important article, especially when one remembers that as many people have died in Africa in the past fifty years as in all other wars on earth combined, and that countries with declining rates of economic growth are far more likely to suffer coups and civil wars.

Africa: African Politicians Imposed 'Economic Apartheid' On Africa

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
OPINION
September 13, 2006
Posted to the web September 14, 2006
Marian L. Tupy

What a difference a decade can make. In ten years, an economy growing at an annual rate of 7 percent doubles in size. How can a country generate high rates of economic growth and the resulting improvements in standards of living? The divergent growth paths of sub-Saharan Africa and post-Communist Europe over the last decade point to the importance of economic freedom.

The eight ex-communist countries that became members of the European Union in May 2004 grew at a compounded average annual rate of 4.8 percent between 1995 and 2004. Their growth was thus a full 3 percentage points higher than that of the Eurozone, which grew at 1.8 percent per annum.

Estonia saw its per capita income adjusted for inflation and purchasing power parity rise by 95 percent during that time. Incomes in other EU8 countries rose by between 86 percent and 41 percent. Only in the Czech Republic did incomes grow by less, having instead risen by 28 percent. Yet even the Czech Republic performed better than the countries of the Eurozone, where incomes rose by a mere 17 percent over the last decade. On these trends, standards of living in the EU8 are converging with the rest of Europe.

The path from communism to capitalism was not an easy one and much work still remains. But the EU8 has seized the opportunity offered by the fall of the Berlin Wall. They have eliminated thousands of restrictions, liberalised prices and foreign trade, and privatised most state enterprises. They made doing business substantially easier. Their economic freedom increased as a result.

The Economic Freedom of the World: 2006 Annual Report, just published by the Fraser Institute in Canada, notes that economic freedom in the EU8 increased from 5.41 in 1995 to 6.99 in 2004, on a scale of 0 to 10. In the 27 countries of sub-Saharan Africa that were rated by the Fraser Institute, economic freedom rose from 5.08 in 1995 to a mere 5.57 in 2004. Concomitantly, African economic performance over the last decade was much more mixed.

Eleven out of 27 countries experienced economic contraction. Those countries that grew did so at an average rate of only 2.2 percent. If one subtracts oil-producers that experienced economic expansion over the last decade, such as Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria, the number of growing economies shrinks to 13 out of 27. No country measured by the index experienced economic growth as high as that in the EU8.

Moreover, 11 out of 27 countries saw their incomes per capita fall over the past 10 years. The biggest fall was experienced by the Democratic Republic of Congo (32 percent), Guinea-Bissau (27 percent) and Zimbabwe (27 percent). Some African countries saw their incomes rise quite substantially. Per capita incomes in oil-rich Chad, for example, rose by 122 percent. By eliminating the oil-producers, however, the number of African countries that have seen their incomes rise shrinks to 14.

The stellar pupil among the growing non-oil producing countries is Botswana, which grew at a compounded average annual rate of 4.57 percent and saw its income rise by 57 percent. With 7.1 points out of 10, Botswana was as free as South Korea. She was also Africa's freest economy.

Critics of globalisation and capitalism often describe the international economic order as a remorseless struggle between the West and the rest. Some have gone as far as to suggest that there exists a form of "economic apartheid" that separates the rich North from the poor south. But, the membership of the rich countries' club is not closed to anyone. Ex-communist countries seized the opportunity offered to them by the end of communism. They have embraced economic freedom and are on their way to becoming rich.

Unfortunately, many African countries avoided reform and wasted the last decade as a consequence. If those countries suffer from "economic apartheid," it is one that was imposed on them by African politicians who refuse to acknowledge the importance of economic freedom as a necessary precondition to economic development.

Marian L. Tupy is assistant director of the Project on Global Economic Liberty specialising in the study of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

Copyright © 2006 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material.

The Sex Strike
September 20, 2006
Alvaro Vargas Llosa


WASHINGTON—A group of women have started a sex strike in Pereira, a city in western Colombia, to persuade their men to give up violence. They will make love again only when their husbands and boyfriends make peace. A catchy song put together by the women is blasting out of all the local radio stations to persuade other females to send their partners to the sofa.

The Greek playwright Aristophanes, who 2,500 years ago invented the concept of the sex strike to achieve peace, must be celebrating somewhere in the afterlife. In “Lysistrata,” a group of women who are sick of so much death and destruction, try to force their men to put an end to the Peloponnesian War by declaring their bodies off-limits.

It is not the first time real life has honored Aristophanes. The sex strike was tried in Colombia itself in the late 1990s at the behest of an army chief. And in a Turkish town, some women used the same tactics to force their lazy partners to restore the water supply. Success ultimately eluded the strikers both times, but some short-term results were achieved.

In the current case, the move was preceded by some interesting research. In a city that is considered the most violent in Colombia and where nine out of 10 victims are between the ages of 14 and 25, violent men apparently consider sex more enjoyable than snuffing their neighbors. Many of them partake in the gang culture because they think it makes them sexually attractive. More significantly, a number of women thought so too—until it dawned on them that they held to key to the peace.

Julio Cesar Gomez, the security official at Pereira's local government, says, “this is about changing the cultural parameters: Some women thought that men wearing fatigues and holding guns looked more attractive, and most men are members of gangs not because of financial necessity but because killing is associated with power and sexual seduction.''

Why is this story so seductive? Because it involves the greatest lesson in the time of terrorism: The ultimate hope for halting indiscriminate violence lies in civil society. Unless there is a grass-roots effort to uproot violence, terror cannot be stopped. It will merely be replaced by another type of terror.

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1820

The best environmental news and the best political news in a long time:

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Monday suggested taxing carbon dioxide emissions instead of employees' pay in a bid to stem global warming.

"Penalizing pollution instead of penalizing employment will work to reduce that pollution," Gore said in a speech at New York University School of Law.

The pollution tax would replace all payroll taxes, including those for Social Security and unemployment compensation, Gore said. He said the overall level of taxation, would remain the same.


"Instead of discouraging businesses from hiring more employees it would discourage business from producing more pollution," Gore said."

http://tinyurl.com/j3h6q

           From David Kirkpatrick, a former teachers' union leader from Pennsylvania:
 
 "If Money's the Solution, That's the Problem

         That was the title of an article by Al Knight in The Denver Post fifteen years ago tomorrow.  What was true then is still true today.  And if the past is indeed prologue, it will still be true fifteen years from now.
 
         One interpretation of Knight's title is that the problems of public schools cannot be corrected with any amount of money, however much. Therefore, emphasizing money is futile.
 
         Another is that, even if it is assumed that large amounts of money could prove to be the answer to the problem such sums of money simply aren't, and won't be, available.
 
         Note, for example, a few commonalities of the remarks by those who insist more money is needed.
 
         They rarely provide specifics, such as how much money they are currently spending; how much money do they need; and how would they spend those dollars to create a successful district.  In one debate when a teacher union president said more money was needed he was asked how much.  He didn't know. When then asked if he didn't know how much was needed how did he know there should be more, he didn't know that either.   To be fair to him, no one else seems to know either.
 
         Just a few days ago, here in Pennsylvania, television news reporting on a public meeting in Allentown presented an individual who said Allentown should get at least as much money as Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.  Among the things she didn't say were (a) how much money the Allentown schools spend, either in total or on a per-pupil basis; (b) the school district budget or per-pupil expenditures in either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh; or (c) the relative cost-of-living in the three cities, and (d) most importantly, any awareness of the conditions in either of those larger school districts that would justify using them as a model or justification for spending more money.  Her basic point seemed to be if others have more money Allentown should too.
 
         In fairness, it should be noted that Philadelphia has made progress in the past few years since the state transferred control of the district from the local school board to a special commission appointed jointly by the city's mayor and the state's governor.  But it still is not a model of high achievement, nor have its gains been the result of large amounts of new money.  Significant changes have been made in how the system operates, including the creation of dozens of charter schools which were recently cited as a major reason district scores have improved.
 
         None of which is to say that more money may not be needed in specific instances.  One such is a small district in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, with which I had some personal experience and involvement more than 15 years ago.  The local steel industry had closed which devastated both the local community and the school district.  The "science lab" at the ancient high school, for example, didn't even have bunsen burners.  There was no way the crisis could be resolved locally.
 
         The state did step up, and began to increase funding, to which no fair person could object.  In the years since, there have been several superintendents, a large turnover in staff, and a more than 100% turnover in students, as is natural in any district over a 15-year period.  A report two weeks ago noted that the state now provides 73% of the district's funding, and per-pupil spending is now more than $20,000, ranking at the 97th percentile in the state.
 
         According to the report, student achievement in the district remains among the state's very lowest.  All the money that was supposed to make a difference has made no difference. Nationwide, $20,000 per pupil would require more than $1,000,000,000,000 - one trillion dollars - more than can possibly be realized. School districts spend up to $45,000 per pupil annually and still have problems. 
 
         The report's conclusion?  "The real problem is the complete unwillingness of the state to mandate any substantive reform that would threaten the interest groups who have created the situation.""

I know of a situation where one inner city public school received a $10 million grant from a foundation, and the only result was an increased teen-age pregnancy rate.

It would be better if we legalized markets in happiness and well-being:

http://www.edspresso.com/2006/07/legalizing_markets_in_happines.htm