Tuesday, January 24, 2012

**JP** Village that stood up to corruption a sign of hope for others





Lin Zuluan succeeds Xue Jinbo, who died in December. Picture: Getty
Lin Zuluan succeeds Xue Jinbo, who died in December. Picture: Getty


AS CHINA gears up for a leadership transition later this year, a small fishing village that stood up to official corruption and rural land grabs has become a touchstone for other communities striving to fight back against grassroots abuses.

Since the uprising in December in Wukan, a coastal village of 15,000 in southern Guangdong province, which challenged and won key concessions from provincial officials, other rural communities have taken note.

About 1,000 residents of Wanggang, a gritty suburb of leather factories and shabby tenement blocks, recently massed outside the gates of the provincial capital Guangzhou, holding a rare large-scale protest against a major city government.

For some people, Wukan has become a new rallying cry for their own battle against public corruption.

"If China doesn't change and help … vulnerable residents in villages, every village might develop into a Wukan," said Mr Li, 33, a protester who took part in the rally against Wanggang's Communist Party village chief, Li Zhihang. He is accused of plundering land, committing widespread fraud and using a gang of thugs from the country's north to intimidate locals.

Guangdong province – China's most populated and a major manufacturing hub – has seen its share of unrest, including riots in Zengcheng over oppressive behaviour against migrant workers. The province's prominent party boss, Wang Yang, must avoid serious policy mistakes which would damage his prospects for promotion in a leadership transition late this year.

By invoking the name of Wukan, Wanggang villagers believe they won a swifter response from edgy officials.

Mr Li said: "They are forcing us to take this road."

After the villagers threatened to turn Wanggang into a "second Wukan", a Guangzhou vice-mayor, Xie Xiaodan, met them and promised an inquiry into alleged abuses.

But despite their bravado, Wanggang is no Wukan.

Wukan's residents were in open revolt, expelling officials and police and barricading themselves in for ten days until provincial government intervention brought an end to the siege.

Wangang appears less united, its residents split among numerous clans. Most are city dwellers holding urban jobs, less desperate to reclaim farmland for subsistence than those in Wukan.

For Wukan, Mr Wang chose conciliation instead of force, sending a key deputy to intervene and offer concessions on seized land. In a remarkable twist, the rebel village leader, Lin Zuluan, 65, was later named party secretary of Wukan.

Despite the softer approach, some experts say Wukan will not change China's iron-fisted approach to dissent.

Willy Lam, an academic and veteran China watcher in Hong Kong, said: "The fact that Wang Yang decided to use more conciliatory methods regarding Wukan doesn't mean a change of policy on the part of Beijing, nor does it mean that leaders in other provinces will follow.

"The leaders of other provinces cannot afford to allow the Wukan case to become a sort of a model because this will damage the authority of the party."

The legacy of Wukan still echoes in other villages. A man in Luogang village complained about officials bragging about new cars, as he dug taro roots and spring onions in a field.

"We want to be like Wukan, all the villagers here do," said the elderly man, squelching barefoot through the mud. "It's very encouraging, we hope everywhere can fight back and beat the corrupt officials."


SWTS.news.image.e

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**JP** Preparing for Rabi' al-Awwal Sharif | An Advice by Shaykh Habib Umar bin Hafiz [Tarim, Yemen]

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Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala sent his final and beloved Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam to this world in the blessed month of Rabi’ al-Awwal. The arrival of the Beloved Messenger SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam to this world is the greatest gift from the gifts of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala. The Noble Qur’an, in several places, teaches us to mention the gifts of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala immensely and that we should express joy and happiness due to them and we should thank Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala for the gifts bestowed upon us. Thus, on the occasion of the blessed month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, Eid Milad of the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam is celebrated throughout the Islamic World. Let us also celebrate the birth of the Beloved Master SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam and thus express joy and happiness for this great bounty that Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has bestowed upon us.

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Following are some advices regarding preparations for Rabi' al-Awwal Sharif from Shaykh Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Salem Bin Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) that he delivered while answering to the following questions:

Is any special formula of prayer upon the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that we should read during Rabi` al-Awwal?

He said that there is no doubt that this is the month of bestowing prayers upon the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Many of the pious of the Ummah are united with the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in this month. Any formula that we read is beneficial. You benefit according to the degree to which your heart is filled with the intention of obeying the command (to bestow prayers upon him) and love, longing and veneration for him. Read whatever formula you know and while doing so ask Allah to relieve the suffering of the Muslims.

Habib `Ali bin Salim al-Ada`j bin Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) at the blessed shubbak (the grille in front of his grave) and asked him to teach him a formula to read. He told him to read:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ على سَيِّدِنا مُحَمَّدٍ حَبِيبِ الرَّحْمَنْ عَدَدَ ما يَكوُن و ما قَدْ كَانْ
“O Allah, bestow Your prayers upon our Master Muhammad,
the Beloved of the Most Compassionate to the number of things that will be and that were.”


What is the most beautiful gift that someone can give to the Messenger of Allah in the month of Rabi` al-Awwal?

In reality we are unable to benefit him in any way but what pleases him is for us to understand his speech and his teachings and through that to attain high stations. He is thus content with that which benefits us.

One of the greatest of those things (as we understand from the Book and the Sunnah) is for us to be a means of guidance for someone. That person may be a non-Muslim who accepts Islam or a disobedient or heedless Muslim who repents and becomes upright.

Another thing is giving life to his Sunnah and establishing it. If we establish the Sunnah in our homes and teach it to our children this makes him happy because it us that benefit from this. He said in the hadith: “Whoever brings life to my Sunnah during the time of corruption of my Ummah will have the reward of a martyr” (or in one narration “one hundred martyrs”).

Another thing is to do good to the creation in general, to the believers specifically, and the elite of the believers more specifically.

A further thing is to strengthen our love for the believers, for the people of the Prophetic Household and for the Companions.

Finally, we should make big intentions in Rabi’ al-Awwal, such as gathering together with our brothers and attending or arranging lessons or courses.

How can we inspire people to long for the Messenger of Allah?

By mentioning his virtues, qualities and his life.
By embodying his character and his dealing.
By deepening our love, longing and veneration for him.

If such a person speaks he will have such an effect on those listening such that they begin to long for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).


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Translated by: Ustadh Amin Buxton

at Dar al-Mustafa on 27th Safar 1433 / 21st January 2012

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**JP** عرب ملک کی زرداری، نواز اور کیانی میں ڈیل کی کوشش





Published on 24. Jan, 2012

عرب ملک کی زرداری، نواز اور کیانی میں ڈیل کی کوشش

لاہور ( شفیق اعوان) پاکستان میں بڑھتے ہوئے سیاسی بحران کے بعد ایک روایتی عرب ملک کی اہم شخیصت صدر آصف علی زرداری، میاں محمد نواز شریف اور آرمی چیف جنرل اشفاق پرویزکیانی کے درمیان ایک ایسی نئی ڈیل کرانے کی کوششوں میں مصروف ہے جس سے پاور گیم میں ان تینوں فریقین کے مفادات کا تحفظ ممکن ہو سکے گا، لیکن حیرانی کی بات ہے کہ اس مجوزہ ڈیل میں عمران خان کا کہیں نہ ذکر ہے اور نہ ہی وجود اور تحریک انصاف کو ایسے نظر انداز کیا جارہا ہے جیسے اس کا پاکستان میں کوئی وجود تک نہیں ہے۔

ذرائع نے دعویٰ کیا ہے کہ اس ڈیل میں امریکہ کے ساتھ بگڑتے ہوئے تعلقات کو بھی بہتر بنانے پر زور دیا گیا ہے اور بہت سارے ایسے معاملات امریکہ کے ساتھ طے کیے جارہے ہیں جس سے نہ صرف اس وقت دونوں ملکوں کے درمیان حالات کو بہتر بنانے پر غور کیا جارہا ہے بلکہ امریکہ اور پاکستان کے تعلقات اور تعاون کو بھی نئی شکل دینے کی بات چیت چل رہی ہے۔ پاکستان امریکہ کے لیے نئی اور سخت شرائط پیش کر رہا ہے۔

تاہم اس پوری ڈرافٹ ڈیل میں نواز شریف چاہتے ہیں کہ ان کے روایتی دشمن جنرل پرویز مشرف کو وطن واپس نہیں لوٹنا چاہیے اور اس عرب ملک کو اسے وطن بھیجنے کے لیے کسی قسم کا دباؤ نہ تو حکومت پر اور نہ ہی مسلم لیگ نواز پر ڈالنا چاہیے۔ نواز شریف کی یہ شرط اس لیے حیران کن ہے کیونکہ وہ ماضی میں ہمیشہ یہ کہتے رہے ہیں کہ جنرل مشرف کو وطن لوٹنا چاہیے تاکہ ان پر قائم مقدمات چلا کر انہیں عدالتوں میں پیش کیا جا سکے۔ تاہم ذرائع کا کہنا ہے کہ اندر کھاتے وہ جنرل مشرف کی وطن واپسی کے خلاف ہیں۔

کہا جا رہا ہے کہ اس عرب ملک کے سربراہ نواز شریف اور صدر زرداری کے مشترکہ دوست ہیں جو ان کے درمیان ایک نئی سیاسی ڈیل کرانے کی کوششوں میں ایک ضامن کے طور پر مصروف ہیں۔ ذرائع کے مطابق اب تک یہ طے پایا ہے کہ دونوں پارٹیاں دھیرے دھیرے اپنے معاملات کو درست کریں گی اورموجودہ فضا کو بہتر کیا جائے گا۔ ان مزاکرات میں جو باتیں اب تک کی گئی ہیں ان کے مطابق نواز شریف چاہتے ہیں کہ مارچ میں سینٹ کے الیکشن کے بعد انتخابات کا اعلان کیا جائے اور ابھی سے جو بھی تاریخ ہے وہ بتائی جائے۔ اس طرح نواز شریف چاہتے ہیں کہ جب نگران قومی حکومت قائم کی جائے تو اس میں نواز لیگ کا بھی حصہ ہونا چاہیے اور پنجاب میں ان کے حامی وزراء کی تعداد زیادہ ہونی چاہیے۔

دوسری طرف یہی عرب معتبرین فوج اور پیپلز پارٹی کی حکومت کے درمیان بھی معاملات طے کرانے کے لیے کام کر رہے ہیں۔ سب سے پہلے بہت جلد ایسا سیکرٹری دفاع لایا جائے گا جس کا نام پاکستان آرمی دے گی اور وزیراعظم گیلانی اس کو تعنیات کر دیں گے اور نرگس سیٹھی سے چارج واپس لے لیا جائے گا۔ میمو سکینڈل پر بھی فوج اور حکومت کے درمیان یہ طے کیا جارہا ہے کہ فوج اب میمو سکینڈل پر زیادہ اصرار نہیں کرے گی۔ حکومت پاکستان یہ بھی گارنٹی دے گی کہ موجودہ حالات میں آرمی چیف جنرل کیانی اور ڈی جی آئی ایس آئی جنرل پاشا کو ان کے عہدوں سے نہیں ہٹایا جائے گا۔

ذرائع کہتے ہیں کہ یہی عرب ملک پاکستان اور امریکہ کے درمیان بھی جاری ٹینشن دور کرنے کے لیے کام کر رہے ہیں۔ بہت جلد نیٹو سپلائی چند شرائط کے ساتھ بحال کر دی جائے گی اور اس کے ساتھ ہی ہر ٹرک یا کینٹر پر ڈیوٹی بھی بڑھا دی جائے گی۔ تاہم پاکستان اس بات پر راضی ہے کہ جیکب آباد کا اڈہ امریکہ سے خالی نہیں کرایا جائے گا۔ اس کے بدلے میں امریکہ پاکستان کو ایک نئے معاہدہ کی پیشکش کر سکتا ہے۔ تاہم ذرائع کہتے ہیں پاکستان کا اصرار ہے کہ امریکہ کے ساتھ ہونے والی اس نئی ڈیل میں ایران پاکستان گیس ڈیل کو بھی حصہ بنایا جائے کیونکہ پاکستان کو اس وقت گیس کی شدید قلت کا سامنا ہے۔ تاہم پاکستان آرمی اس بات کی بھی ضمانت مانگ رہی ہے کہ امریکہ پاکستان کے اندر حملے نہیں کرے گا اور فوج یہ بھی چاہتی ہے کہ دفاعی بجٹ کو پورا کا پورا پارلیمنٹ کے سامنے نہیں لایا جائے گا۔

مسلم لیگ نواز سے تعلق رکھنے والے ذرائع کے مطابق اس مجوزہ ڈیل پر شہباز شریف اور چوہدری نثار علی خان خوش نہیں ہیں، تاہم پارٹی کے اندر ایک دھڑا ان معاملات کو اب سیاسی طورپر حل کرنے کا خواہاں ہے اور عرب ملک کی مداخلت کے بعد حکومت اور نواز شریف کے درمیان معاملات بہت تیزی سے طے پانے کی طرف جا رہے ہیں۔


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**JP** Georgia judge orders Obama to court on citizenship complaint



Date: Monday, January 23, 2012, 6:51am EST

                                                        http://youtu.be/Xff7Vsf7T1U

A Georgia judge has ordered PresidentBarack Obama to appear in court Thursday in Atlanta for a hearing on a complaint he isn't a natural-born citizen and should not be on the state's primary ballot in March, reports the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

A Georgia resident made the complaint that prompted the order. It is one of many such complaints made across the country. So far, none of the complaints have been successful.

An Obama campaign aide said any attempts to involve the president personally will fail and that such complaints have no merit, the newspaper reported.

Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi on Friday denied a motion by the president's lawyer to quash a subpoena that requires Obama to show up, the Ledger-Enquirer said.


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**JP** Fw: Seerat-un-Nabi S.A.A.W - Video Lectures



--- On Tue, 24/1/12, Nayyer Bhai <nayyerbhai@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Nayyer Bhai <nayyerbhai@gmail.com>
Subject: Seerat-un-Nabi S.A.A.W - Video Lectures
To:
Date: Tuesday, 24 January, 2012, 12:15 PM

From: Usman Khan <usmannayyer@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 10:18 AM
Subject: Seerat-un-Nabi S.A.A.W - Video Lectures
The Holy Month of Rabi al Awwal Mubarak.



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**JP** Fw: JHOOT BOLNA AUR JHOTI GAWAHI DENAA



--- On Tue, 24/1/12, Narmeen Zia <narmeen_khi@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Narmeen Zia <narmeen_khi@yahoo.com>
Subject: JHOOT BOLNA AUR JHOTI GAWAHI DENAA
To:
Date: Tuesday, 24 January, 2012, 12:57 PM



 

























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**JP** Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi

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Should capital gains tax rates reflect ordinary income tax rates? Maybe in Wonderland


Thursday, January 19, 2012
Should capital gains tax rates reflect ordinary income tax rates? Maybe in Wonderland
William Anderson

[Update]: In his column today, Krugman continues the theme that capital gains taxes should be higher, although he does not say HOW high. His reference toward Ronald Reagan invokes another logical fallacy, as though whatever Reagan did regarding taxes always should be acceptable to people who hold to free-market principles.

Krugman also fallaciously assumes that wealthy people pay ONLY 15 percent of their entire income in taxes. However, this interesting chart appeared today in the Wall Street Journal that lists ALL federal taxes paid by people in different income groups, and it tells a much different story. (Of course, Krugman is well-known for making up history, whether it be tax or regulation history. One might expect such behavior from a political operative.)

[]

Now, why would Krugman try to be deceptive here? Why is Krugman nearly always deceptive? It is because he has traded whatever academic integrity he had to be a political operative. It is one thing to argue about tax rates and quite another to present a false picture of a situation -- when accurate information is available. [End Update]

In his post on the post-war history of capital gains taxes, Paul Krugman points out that the rates have been higher in the past than they are now. That obviously is true, but it opens up other arguments. For example, he declares this:
Here's how Romney's low taxes will be defended by smarter conservatives (the less smart ones will just shout "class warfare"): they'll claim that there are compelling reasons to have low taxes on capital gains, and that there is therefore nothing wrong with having very high-income people paying lower tax rates than the middle class.

Like Barack Obama, he is slippery with his language, for even with lower rates, people who gain most of their income via investment are going to pay significantly higher amounts in taxes than others. Unfortunately, in a speech the other day, Obama first mentioned tax rates and then he claimed that the wealthy thus pay "lower taxes" than do people in the middle class. That simply is false, but a president who claims that paying unemployment benefits will "create more jobs" than the construction of an oil pipeline (and, by insinuation, more wealth) simply is delusional about the economy. Keynesianism will do that to people. The U.S. economy did well relative to the rest of the world (which was recovering from World War II) at this time, so does Krugman also believe, in the name of "fairness," that the capital gains rates also should have been 91 percent? I don't know, but I don't see, using his own logic, how he can argue against that modest proposal.

In fact, during that time, even some of the LOWEST rates were higher than 25 percent or slightly under 25 percent. Thus, will Krugman and Obama complain that the capital gains rates in the 1950s were unjust because they were lower than tax rates that people earning small incomes were paying? I don't know, although it seems that Krugman seems to be fixated on the current situation while claiming that the 1950s were prosperous years, and I suspect he believes that the high tax rates were part of the reason for the prosperity.

(He certainly has not made any statements in public to the contrary except to tell me in a 2004 Q&A at the Southern Economic Association meetings that the 70 percent rates of 1980 were "insane." I have not seen him making any similar statements in any of his writings since then.)

If Paul Krugman believes that capital gains taxes always should be at the top rate, since it would be unfair for investors to pay the same rates (or less) than the middle class, perhaps we need to look at the various marginal rates of income taxation to see if Krugman is trying to pull a fast one. For example, during the time in the 1950s when capital gains rates were 25 percent, the top income tax rate in the USA was 91 percent.

The following table that lists inflation-adjusted income tax brackets since 1913 might make things a bit more clear:

Partial History of Marginal Income Tax Rates Adjusted for Inflation

Income First Top Bracket
Year Brackets Bracket Rate Income Adj. 2011 Comment
1913    7 1% 7% $500,000 $11.3M First permanent income tax
1917    21 2% 67% $2,000,000 $35M World War I financing
1925    23 1.5% 25% $100,000 $1.28M Post war reductions
1932    55 4% 63% $1,000,000 $16.4M Depression era
1936    31 4% 79% $5,000,000 $80.7M
1941    32 10% 81% $5,000,000 $76.3M World War II
1942    24 19% 88% $200,000 $2.75M Revenue Act of 1942
1944    24 23% 94% $200,000 $2.54M Individual Income Tax Act of 1944
1946    24 20% 91% $200,000 $2.30M
1954    24 20% 91% $200,000 $1.67M
1964    26 16% 77% $400,000 $2.85M Tax reduction during Vietnam war
1965    25 14% 70% $200,000 $1.42M
1981    16 14% 70% $212,000 $532k Reagan era tax cuts
1982    14 12% 50% $106,000 $199k "
1987    5 11% 38.5% $90,000 $178k "
1988    2 15% 28% $29,750 $56k "
1991    3 15% 31% $82,150 $135k
1993    5 15% 39.6% $250,000 $388k
2003    6 10% 35% $311,950 $380k Bush era tax cuts
2011    6 10% 35% $379,150 $379k

In the end, I don't think Krugman is making much of an argument. For example, as one who was in college in the early 1970s and then being in the workplace for more than half the decade, the 40 percent capital gains rates also coincided with an era of high inflation and high unemployment. If Krugman believes that capital gains rates should reflect normal income tax rates, then he is saying that we need 40 percent capital gains rates again.

For that matter, the 1970s were a time of economic stagnation, not unbridled prosperity, as Krugman wants us to believe. He might hate the 1980s, but that also was a time of huge private investments in the high-tech sector and telecommunications, and Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal has an excellent column about that era, including the corporate raiders that Krugman claims did so much damage. The article deals with the actual state of business entrepreneurship at that time, something that Krugman is incapable of understanding, since all of his economic analysis is done with the crude aggregates of the Keynesian models, and there is no way to fit entrepreneurship into those contraptions.

There is a larger issue, however, and that is private investment as a whole. Krugman, being a good Keynesian, holds that economically speaking, government "investment" is just as good as private investment, so it doesn't matter if the government is building nuclear weapons or a farmer is growing crops. If the GDP numbers of both are equal, then both are equal in their wealth component.

Is this a ridiculous example, since even Krugman would admit we cannot eat nuclear weapons? In one way, yes, but in the Keynesian structure, it is not ridiculous. And given that Krugman has given us his "confidence fairy" ditty numerous times, it is clear that he does not hold private investment to be anything but another form of spending, and if government can spend in equal amounts, then it is just as well and perhaps better, since in Wonderland, State Power equals freedom and prosperity.

http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-on-krugmans-belief-that-high.html

**JP** * Rabbi ul Noor Mubarak *

 

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