Quran burnt in Florida church

Gainesville: A controversial US evangelical preacher oversaw the burning of a copy of the Quran in a small Florida church after finding the Muslim holy book "guilty" of crimes.

The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Terry Jones, who last September drew sweeping condemnation over his plan to ignite a pile of Qurans on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 attacks.

Sunday's event was presented as a trial of the book in which the Quran was found "guilty" and "executed”.

The jury deliberated for about eight minutes. The book, which had been soaking for an hour in kerosene, was put in a metal tray in the centre of the church, and Sapp started the fire with a barbecue lighter.

The book burned for around 10 minutes while some onlookers posed for photos.

Jones had drawn trenchant condemnation from many people, including US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, over his plan to burn the Muslim holy book in September.

He did not carry out his plan then and vowed he never would, saying he had made his point.

But this time, he said he had been "trying to give the Muslim world an opportunity to defend their book”, but did not receive any answer.

He said he felt that he couldn't have a real trial without a real punishment.

The event was open to the public, but fewer than 30 people attended.

Life in the normally quiet city of Gainesville is centred around the University of Florida. And while there were public protests against Jones' 9/11 activities, this event was largely ignored.

Jadwiga Schatz, who came to show support for Jones, expressed concern that Islam was growing in Europe.

"These people, for me, are like monsters," she said. "I hate these people."

Jones said he considered this event a success.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said.

Bureau Report

Read more: http://www.zeenews.com/news694566.html#ixzz1HIxrvH8g

It is quite likely that the crimes the Church has accused the Quran to be guilty of may be equally applicable to the Bible. After all, all scriptural crimes emanate from the narrow minded claim of scriptures that it alone contains the truth. All Semitic scriptures are guilty of this basic crime. The world has to turn to Hindu scriptures that proclaim that truth can be expressed in many ways.
K.Venugopal

- Mumbai Read more: http://www.zeenews.com/news694566.html#ixzz1HUgcOhmj

http://www.zeenews.com/news694566.html

Now, Jayalalithaa demands Raja’s arrest

15/11/2010
Chennai: AIADMK Chief Jayalalithaa on Monday demanded that former Union IT minister A. Raja be arrested and charged under Prevention of Corruption Act for the 2G spectrum scam, saying his resignation was “only the beginning” and the case should be investigated threadbare.

In a statement, Jayalalithaa said "this (resignation) does not signal the end of the mother of all scams.
"This overdue resignation is not a case of sealing the moral high ground. Raja had been mocking at all constitutional institutions including the office of the Prime Minister, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Delhi High Court, the CAG and even the Supreme Court," she alleged.
Mr. Raja himself should be charged under Prevention of Corruption Act and arrested and tried for "perpetrating the biggest scam in the history of mankind", she said.
"It (resignation) is only the beginning. The Government of India has lost an unprecedented Rs 1,76,379 crores. It should be investigated threadbare as the people have a right to know," she said.
Source: PTI

K.Venugopal

Monday, 15 November 2010 15:36:47
I am not the befallen Minister's fan, but can somebody here tell me why he should be arrested? The corruption is only assumed. At the worst, the Minister was incompetent. But stupidity can’t be a reason for arrest, can it?

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4579101&pgnew=true&_p=6ad2a475-d01d-4281-9bef-00c0798f4b42&_nwpt=1#uc2Lst6ad2a475-d01d-4281-9bef-00c0798f4b42

Raja resigns, gives up Spectrum throne

15/11/2010
New Delhi: Union Telecom Minister A Raja on Sunday night resigned from the Cabinet over the alleged 2G Spectrum scam, putting an end to the standoff between the Congress and the DMK, which, at one point of time, threatened to destabilise the coalitions both at the Centre and in Tamil Nadu.

After about three days of hectic negotiations with the Congress, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Sunday asked Raja to submit his resignation. Raja, who met the DMK supremo in Chennai earlier in the day -- his second meeting with him in the last 24 hours -- landed in New Delhi in the evening and called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to submit his resignation.
Though the DMK maintained its combative stance till the last minute, sources said the pressure on the party leadership mounted after the Prime Minister returned from the G20 meeting. The move to finally hang up on Raja was initiated on Saturday night, when a meeting was convened at Karunanidhi's residence at around 10 pm.
At the old Secretariat complex today afternoon, Raja met Karunanidhi again, and both returned to the Chief Minister's residence together. Former union minister and senior DMK leader TR Baalu joined them there. Baalu represents the other faction within the DMK. The meeting lasted for a little over half-an-hour. According to sources, Karunanidhi received "calls from Delhi" several times during the meeting.
Coming as it did less than a week after Ashok Chavan's resignation from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's post over the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam in Mumbai, the second high-profile resignation in the UPA government's second term has put the ruling dispensation at the Centre on the backfoot as the Opposition looked set to turn on the heat on a range of issues during the ongoing session of Parliament.
Emerging from the Prime Minister's residence on Sunday evening, Raja said: "In order to avoid the embarrassing situation to the government and running system of Parliament, my leader asked me to tender resignation to the PM. In accordance with the advice given to me by my respected and beloved leader, I tendered resignation to the PM but that does not mean I am accepting everything. I will prove that I did everything in accordance with the law."

The outgoing Telecom Minister said that his "conscience is clear" even as he maintained that he had brought about a "revolution" in the telecom sector during his tenure. "I did much to the people, to the country, and to my party," said Raja.
Raja's resignation came a day bafore the Supreme COurt is to take up the 2G spectrum case.
There is no word on the acceptance of Raja's resignation, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make a statement in Parliamaent on Monday.
DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi denied that she would replace Raja in the Cabinet, even as she maintained that he had to resign "to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament".
Senior DMK leader TR Baalu told The Indian Express: "The party has not taken any decision on his (Raja's) successor. The high command will decide at an appropriate time. The leader has asked him to resign and he resigned."
Congress sources said that although the telecom portfolio would remain with the Prime Minister for now, the DMK wanted to retain it. "It (whether the DMK will retain the ministry) will be decided at the time of the Cabinet reshuffle after the Parliament session, we have not decided whether it will go to DMK or not. We have not put our mind to it yet," said a senior Congress leader. Earlier in Chennai, before boarding the plane for Delhi, Raja put up a brave face, saying that there was no question of his resignation. While the DMK had stoutly defended Raja, it was given little choice by the Congress leadership, which was determined to take its clean-up operation to a logical end by removing Raja.
While Congress leaders were in touch with Karunanidhi to persuade him to ask Raja to resign, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony, who met on Sunday afternoon, decided not to make any compromises on the Raja issue.
The Prime Minister is likely to make a statement in Parliament on the telecom scandal on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Opposition looked set to continue its attack on the UPA government. "If he (Raja) was wrong, then why was he not stopped... It is not just Raja who will have to go, other ministers who are involved in it will also have to go," said BJP president Nitin Gadkari.
Source: The Indian Express

K.Venugopal

Monday, 15 November 2010 12:23:22
The impression is that Raja has been forced to quit because of corruption. But no money trail has been discovered so far to establish there was corruption. A policy decision, which the Minister claims was a cabinet decision or approved by the PMO, was followed by him, which subsequently has been termed as a sell-out because higher amounts could have been obtained by the Government. At worst the Minister could be charged for incompetence. But where is the proof of corruption?

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4576903&page=0

Singhal criticises Sonia Gandhi over Ayodhya remarks

PTI, Nov 13, 2010, 05.52pm IST

RAJKOT: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Ashok Singhal on Saturday criticised UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for her remarks on the Babri Masjid, alleging it amounted to "contempt of court".

He objected to Sonia's recent statement that the Allahabad high court's verdict on the Ayodhya title suits did not condone the demolition of the Babri Masjid and those responsible for the act must be brought to justice.

According to Singhal, the comment was an insult of the court.

There was no evidence that the Mughal emperor Babar had constructed the Mosque there, Singhal said, adding that when the court has dismissed the claim, then we should respect it and refrain from making any comments on existence of the mosque.

He alleged that Sonia Gandhi was trying to provoke sentiments of the minority community by making such comments.

The Muslim Waqf Board should give up the fight for land at Ayodhya and help in constructing a Ram Temple, he said.

Babri structure represented a symbol of foreign conquest. By destroying it nationalists have symbolically said that India shall be rid of her heritage of slavery and reconnect to her glorious past which will once more lead to India being the leading light of world civilization. Those who do not understand this are still in the thralldom of a slave's mind.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Singhal-criticises-Sonia-Gandhi-over-Ayodhya-remarks/articleshow/6920509.cms#write

FIR against Sudarshan for anti-Sonia remarks

Updated on Saturday, November 13, 2010, 11:39
Zeenews Bureau

Jaipur: Former RSS chief KS Sudarshan finds himself in serious legal trouble after an FIR was filed against him here on Friday for his remarks on Sonia Gandhi.

A court ordered a case against the former RSS chief on a complaint by a Congress worker, Suresh Mishra.

"The case was filed following the directives of the chief judicial magistrate, Jaipur (City) on a complaint filed by a Congress worker Suresh Mishra," SHO Manakchawk police station Vidhyadhar told a news agency.

"The case was filed under Sections 153 (B), and 505 and 500 of IPC," he said.

Hundreds of Congress supporters on Friday staged demonstrations in the national capital, Bhopal and Ajmer against former Sarsanghchalak Sudarshan's derogatory remarks against party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Gandhi a CIA agent and accused her of plotting assassinations of her husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his mother Indira Gandhi.

The following facts must be noted: Sonia Gandhi first declared her birth year as 1944 and birth place as Luciana, as per her birth certificate. This was confirmed by the Italian embassy which submitted her birth certificate to our Home ministry in 1983. Sonia Gandhi's name was Antonia Maino as per her birth certificate certificate. Antonia Maino's father, who was a mason and a fascist, Signor Stefano Maino, was a prisoner-of-war in Russia from 1942 till Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1945. When Rajiv Gandhi married Antonia Maino newspapers had written that both of them were of the same age. It also confirms that Sonia’s birth year was 1944.

As per the date of birth in Sonia's birth certificate, it is obvious that Maino could not have been the father of Antonia Maino. So the date of birth and place of birth of Antonia Maino alias Sonia Gandhi had to be changed to cover up this fact. (She justified the change saying that the date in her birth certificate was a typing mistake!) Her new date of birth became December 9, 1946, and her place of birth became Orbassano, as submitted to Parliament on becoming MP.

http://www.zeenews.com/news667793.html

BJP warns Cong to stop violent attacks on RSS offices

November 13, 2010 3:47:23 PM

PTI New Delhi

BJP today asked Congress to put a stop to attacks on RSS offices by its workers in protest K S Sudershan's remarks against Sonia Gandhi and warned that failure to do so would lead to nation-wide agitations on corruption in 2-G Spectrum, CWG and Adarsh Housing Society.

"We are giving a stern warning to Congress that if it continues with its violence and anarchy inspite of all clarifications by BJP and the RSS, which remained calm even after Congress leaders equated RSS with SIMI, we will launch a nation-wide agitation to expose Congress on 2-G Spectrum, Adarsh scam and CWG issues," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay told PTI.

Vijay said this violence showed the Congress was trying to "repeat 1984 (anti-Sikh riots)".

"Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi's statement and resultant attacks on RSS offices country-wide are a clear indication that to wriggle out from corruption and other scams, Congress will resort to creating violence and an atmosphere of social disharmony," he said.

Congress workers had reportedly attacked and vandalised RSS offices in Delhi, Akola, Allahabad, Jaipur and in a few other cities in protest against former RSS chief's derogatory remarks.

RSS had expressed regret at Sudershan's statement while the BJP said its views on the issue were the same as that of the RSS. But this did not placate the Congress.

"Congress actions will be befittingly replied to by the people as we replied post-1975 (Emergency) and post-1984. Neither we are weak nor defensive.

"We are committed to expose Sonia Gandhi's most corrupt regime post-independence that has insulted the country by tagging terror to Hindu organisations and compromising India's integrity in Kashmir," Vijay said.

He insisted that BJP would not give up its fight against corruption and compromises with India's security.

"Congress should not put the patience of people in this democracy to test," Vijay said.

The following facts must be noted: Sonia Gandhi first declared her birth year as 1944 and birth place as Luciana, as per her birth certificate. This was confirmed by the Italian embassy which submitted her birth certificate to our Home ministry in 1983. Sonia Gandhi's name was Antonia Maino as per her birth certificate certificate. Antonia Maino's father, who was a mason and a fascist, Signor Stefano Maino, was a prisoner-of-war in Russia from 1942 till Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1945. When Rajiv Gandhi married Antonia Maino newspapers had written that both of them were of the same age. It also confirms that Sonia’s birth year was 1944.

As per the date of birth in Sonia's birth certificate, it is obvious that Maino could not have been the father of Antonia Maino. So the date of birth and place of birth of Antonia Maino alias Sonia Gandhi had to be changed to cover up this fact. (She justified the change saying that the date in her birth certificate was a typing mistake!) Her new date of birth became December 9, 1946, and her place of birth became Orbassano, as submitted to Parliament on becoming MP.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/DisplayContent.aspx?ContentID=296217&URLName=BJP-warns-Cong-to-stop-violent-attacks-on-RSS-offices

Sudarshan's anti-Sonia tirade leaves Cong fuming

November 11, 2010 19:05 IST

Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan's controversial statements against UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday led to a war of words between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party with the former demanding that the party and the Sangh fountainhead condemn the statement if they do not concur with it.

Though the RSS did not come out with a statement, BJP distanced itself from Sudarshan's comments and even appeared critical of it.
"We strongly condemn Sudarshan's statement. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should tell whether he agrees with the statement or not. If he doesn't, he should condemn it openly," Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh told media persons in New Delhi.
Dr Singh said that Gandhi's personality has been of an ideal wife, daughter-in-law and mother.
"To say such things against a person who has declined to accept the Prime Minister's post is totally condemnable," Dr Singh said.
While interacting with the media in Bhopal on Wednesday, Sudarshan had called Gandhi a CIA agent and accused her of plotting assassinations of her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his mother Indira Gandhi.
Sudarshan also charged Sonia for delaying medical aid to Indira Gandhi.

"Instead of taking her to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital she took her to a medical institute. Why was Rajiv Gandhi's Z plus security was withdrawn when he was on election campaign," former RSS chief asked.

He did not stop at that and described Sonia as illegitimate child who writes 1948 as her date of birth instead of 1946 when her father was in jail.

Responding to the article, Janardan Diwedi, congress general secretary and media incharge, said: "Who removed Z plus security cover of Rajiv Gandhi? It was the BJP government at the Centre. I appeal to the people of India to maintain calm. But as a Congressman, I ask the people and the party workers to fight such a malicious campaign. I seek the support of the people of India, party workers and media to fight tooth and nail and such organizations like RSS who take pride in describing itself as nationalist but do not hesitate to use such deplorable language."
The BJP distanced itself from Sudarshan's statement, saying Gandhi was an elected representative and should be treated with respect.
"As a democratically elected leader she (Gandhi) should be respected. She is the chairperson of a ruling coalition and as a democratically elected Indian leader she deserves our respect. Whatever political differences we have with her must be addressed within an accepted, democratic framework and behaviour," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay told PTI.
Sources said Sudarshan's attack on Sonia was triggered by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's statement that RSS and banned outfit SIMI were both fanatical and held fundamentalist ideology.
However, many in the BJP feel Sudarshan seems to have gone overboard.
Vijay, however, used this opportunity to do some Congress-bashing as well.
"We have fought and will continue to fight against her (Gandhi's) Kashmir policy and the ever-increasing assault on Hindu organisations, icons and sensitivities. We will also continue to expose the corruption being protected under her leadership but in a political set-up," he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP said his party was bound by Parliamentary traditions and norms.
Distancing BJP from Sudarshan's remarks, Vijay said, "I do not think the media reports that have appeared are factually correct."

Additional Inputs: PTI

The following facts must be noted: Sonia Gandhi first declared her birth date as 1944 and birth place as Luciana, as per her birth certificate. This was confirmed by the Italian embassy which submitted her birth certificate to our Home ministry in 1983. Sonia Gandhi's name was Antonia Maino as per her birth certificate certificate. Antonia Maino's father, who was a mason and a fascist, Signor Stefano Maino, was a prisoner-of-war in Russia from 1942 till Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1945. When Rajiv Gandhi married Antonia Maino newspapers had written that both of them were of the same age. It also confirms that Sonia’s birth year was 1944.

As per the date of birth in Sonia's birth certificate, it is obvious that Maino could not have been the father of Antonia Maino. So the date of birth and place of birth of Antonia Maino alias Sonia Gandhi had to be changed to cover up this fact. (She justified the change saying that the date in her birth certificate was a typing mistake!) Her new date of birth became December 9, 1946, and her place of birth became Orbassano, as submitted to Parliament on becoming MP.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/nov/11/sudarshan-anti-sonia-tirade-leaves-cong-fuming.htm