Evangelist was traveling with sons from one village to another.
NEW DELHI, April 22 (CDN) — Hindu extremists beat a pastor and evangelist unconscious in front of his sons earlier this month in Madhya Pradesh state.
Ramesh Devda, 30, from Dhadhniya, Meghnagar district, said he was attacked on April 4 at about 11 a.m. after leading a prayer meeting in Chikklia village. He said he was on his way to Bhajidongra, at the border of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states, by motorcycle with his two sons, 10-year-old Elias, and 8-year-old Shimon, to lead another prayer meeting.
When he reached Raseda village, he said, suddenly three people on two motorcycles blocked his way and forced him to stop.
“Suddenly out of nowhere these three men appeared in two motorcycles – they blocked me and tilted my motorcycle,” Pastor Devda told Compass. “We fell down. They were carrying big bamboo sticks and clubs. They started beating me, and then they called and three more men came and started to attack me.”
He said he was thankful that his sons were spared from beating, though his older son sustained a leg injury in the course of the attack.
“They were angry at me and were threatening to kill me and were warning me not to come to their area again,” he said. “My sons were screaming at the top of their voices, and they were afraid. One of the men hit me on my forehead with a big bamboo stick, cracking my skull. The others were also beating me on my body, especially my back with bamboo sticks.”
A blow to the forehead temporarily blinded him, he said.
“My eyes were darkened, and I fell down, and they proceeded to beat me even more,” he said. “The men were also abusive in the foulest language that I had heard, and they were drunk.”
People passing by heard the two boys crying out and came to help, and the attackers fled, he said, leaving the unconscious pastor and his sons.
“I do not know who helped me, as I was unconscious,” Pastor Devda said. “But I came to know later that local Christians also came in and called the emergency helpline. As a result, an ambulance came, which then took me to the hospital.”
He was taken to Anita Surgical Hospital on Station Road in Dahod, Gujarat. There a physician identified only as Dr. Bharpoda told him that he had fractured his skull.
“I am being treated for my wounds now, but there is still a lot of pain,” Pastor Devda said.
A Christian for 15 years, Pastor Devda has been in Christian leadership for 11 years and now serves with the Christian Reformed Fellowship of India. He has two other children, Ashish and 4-year-old Sakina, and his wife Lalita, 28, is active with him in Christian service.
Pastor Devda leads congregations in Chikklia, Bhajidongra and Dhadhniya villages.
“I have heard that I was attacked because the people of Chikklia did not like me conducting the Sunday service there,” he said. “The people who beat me up do belong to a Hindu fundamentalist outfit, and some believers in Chikklia know them. I can recognize them if I see them again.”
He said, however, that he does not want to file a First Information Report (FIR) with police.
“There is no one supporting me or standing with me in my village or my mission, and I am myself fearful, as I have to continue to minister to these very people,” Pastor Devda said. “I know my attack was pre-planned, but I do not want to report it to the police.”
A Christian co-worker from Rajasthan was also attacked about a month ago in equally brutal fashion, he said, but also refrained from filing an FIR because of fear of repercussions.
Vijayesh Lal, secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission, said the tribal belt that extends to the border areas of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, has been a hot spot for anti-Christian activity since the late 1990s.
“Only recently a 65-year-old evangelist was beaten and stripped by Hindu extremists,” he said. “It is a worrisome trend, and one that should be dealt with not only by the government but by the secular media and civil society in general.”
Report from Compass Direct News
Maher El-Gohary and daughter apply for asylum in France.
ISTANBUL, April 21 (CDN) — A father and daughter who fled Egypt to Syria after spending two and a half years in hiding for becoming Christians have arrived in France and yesterday applied for asylum there, human rights advocates said.
Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, 58, had become the target of Islamic ill will in Egypt after he tried to change the religious affiliation on his national identification card from Muslim to Christian. He and his daughter, 17-year-old Dina Mo’otahssem, arrived in Paris from Syria on March 30 after having fled to Damascus on Feb. 22 in the wake of the revolution in Egypt that deposed then-President Hosni Mubarak.
The Jan. 25-Feb. 11 protests in Egypt also weakened the Ministry of the Interior, an agency that had harassed El-Gohary and prevented him from leaving the country.
El-Gohary had fled to Syria because it was both the fastest and the easiest way to get out of Egypt, but he said he also feared Islamic opposition to converts in Syria and growing political unrest in Damascus.
“When we got to the French embassy in Syria, we were so scared because of what was happening in Syria at the time,” he said.
It took him more than a month to secure a visa to leave Syria. Previously in Egypt, he had been able to leave because he had received a court decision ordering the Ministry of the Interior to allow him to leave the country; taking advantage of the confusion gripping Egyptian government agencies in the wake of the anti-Mubarak protests, he left with his daughter.
Eventually El-Gohary and his daughter hope to gain a visa to the United States and then immigrate.
Despite their newfound safety, El-Gohary and Dina are still shaken by their ordeal. They said they are afraid that a Muslim extremist in France could seek them out and attack them. They also have unresolved medical issues from the physical stress of two years of hiding and from not being able to receive proper medical care during that time.
On Monday (April 18), El-Gohary went to the Embassy of the United States in Paris to apply for U.S. asylum as well. According to a Coptic activist who requested anonymity, the embassy advised El-Gohary that his best option was for his wife, who lives in the United States, to apply for a visa to allow him to enter the country. El-Gohary is also applying for a tourist visa to the United States. Human rights activists have advised El-Gohary to stay in France while he applies for asylum rather than go to the United States on a tourist visa, which may leave him financially exposed and hinder his immigration efforts.
Meantime, El-Gohary’s application for asylum in France qualifies him for an automatic three-month extension on his visa to France, which was set to expire at the end of the month. The extension can be renewed as long as his case is unresolved. It also qualifies him for certain government benefits.
‘Miracle from God’
El-Gohary and his daughter were forced into hiding in August 2008 immediately after he filed his lawsuit to change his ID card’s religious designation. The suit caused uproar in a country where, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 84 percent of Muslims in Egypt believe those who leave Islam should be executed.
El-Gohary filed the suit, he said, because he wanted to spare his daughter the persecution he suffered when he became a Christian in his 20s. In theory, the religion listed on his ID card would be used to determine the religion listed on Dina’s.
In Egypt, it is illegal for adults not to have a national ID card, and it is nearly impossible to survive without one. It is necessary for opening a bank account, renting an apartment and obtaining medical care. Also, being identified as a Muslim in Egypt makes one subject to Islamic civil law, which would have prevented Dina from marrying someone identified as a Christian.
Freedom of religion, including the right to change one’s religion, is guaranteed in Egypt by law. But in practice, while it is easy for Christian converts to Islam to change the religion listed on their ID cards, it is impossible for a Muslim convert to Christianity to do the same.
For the time that El-Gohary and his daughter were on the run, they lived a marginal existence, moving from one safe house to another about once every month. On different occasions, he and Dina were attacked. On one occasion, El-Gohary said, Dina had acid thrown on her. On another, he said someone came at him with a knife.
El-Gohary called his escape from Egypt a “miracle from God,” but when he arrived in Syria he was quickly faced with the reality that he was alone in a country in which he had no support network and felt almost as unsafe as he did in Egypt. Also, his expectation that he would be able to quickly obtain a visa to the United States proved false. Frustrated by what he described as a cold reception at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, he began to look for any country in Europe that would give him an
On advice of the Vatican Embassy in Syria, El-Gohary went to the French Embassy in Damascus, which issued a short-term visa the same day.
“I really appreciate what the French ambassador did for us,” El-Gohary said. “The French saved us.”
El-Gohary was able to get to France with the support of Egyptian Christians and advocacy groups, most notably the United Copts of Great Britain. Dr. Ibrahim Habib, a Copt and the chairman of the group, said his organization arranged accommodation for El-Gohary and Dina with an Egyptian Christian in France. Habib said El-Gohary, motivated by fear, left for France unprepared.
“He was going to France without knowing anybody at all,” Habib said. “He was just going to land in the airport and start thinking, ‘What are we going to do?’”
Report from Compass Direct News
After painful effort to change ID card, Christians flee – to similar fate.
CAIRO, Egypt, March 21 (CDN) — When the plane carrying Maher El-Gohary and his daughter, Dina Mo’otahssem, took off from Cairo International Airport last month, they both wept with joy. After spending two-and-a-half years in hiding for leaving Islam to become Christians, they were elated by their newfound freedom.
They also felt secure that once they arrived in Syria, they would quickly obtain visas to the United States and start a new life. That hope soon proved unfounded.
After spending more than a week and a half unable to obtain a visa to the United States or to any country in Europe, they realized they may have traded in the reality of being prisoners in their own country for being refugees in another. And as El-Gohary watches the weeks pass and his resources dwindle, he said the stress is almost unbearable.
“I feel like we’ve stepped out of a prison cell and into a fire,” he said. “We are in very, very bad conditions … My daughter and I divide the bottles of water to live, because there is no income.”
Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, 58, gained notoriety in Egypt after he sued the government in August 2008 to gain the right to change the religion listed on his state-issued ID card from Islam to Christianity. In Egypt, ID cards play a critical role in a person’s life, being used for everything from opening a bank account and renting an apartment to receiving medical care.
The listed religious affiliation, whether a card-holder subscribes to it or not, also determines whether the person is subject to Islamic civil law. The listed religious designation determines what state-mandated religion classes minors are required to take in school. El-Gohary said he filed the suit so his daughter, then 15, could opt out of the religious classes and would not be subject to the persecution he suffered when he became a Christian in his 20s.
It is a crime punishable by imprisonment to have no ID card in Egypt.
The suit sparked outrage throughout Egypt. Both El-Gohary and his daughter were publicly branded apostates in a country where 84 percent of Muslims think those who leave Islam should be executed, according to a study released by the Pew Research Center in December. The same month the suit was filed in 2008, El-Gohary and his daughter were forced into hiding.
For two-and-a-half years, El-Gohary shifted back and forth among several apartments in Cairo and Alexandria, usually once every month. Even in hiding, the two were harassed regularly by Egypt’s dreaded State Security Intelligence service (SSI) and assaulted repeatedly by others, including someone pouring acid on Dina, El-Gohary said.
While in hiding, El-Gohary tried repeatedly to leave Egypt, but officials at the Ministry of the Interior blocked him at every attempt. On at least one occasion, they seized his passport. In December 2010, after a long legal battle, El-Gohary got a court decision ordering the Ministry of the Interior to allow him to travel, but he said it still took several weeks for the government to comply with the order; the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 revolution didn’t hurt, El-Gohary said.
Out of Egypt
After the national demonstrations that led to the removal of both President Hosni Mubarak and Minister of Interior Habib Al-Adly, El-Gohary and his daughter went to Cairo International Airport on Feb. 22 to leave the county. They came prepared with their newly issued passports, the court order and myriad documents to prove they had the right to leave the country. Even so, authorities took the two aside for interrogation at the airport.
“My daughter and I went to the counter of the airport to the manager, then they took us to the SSI,” El-Gohary said. “We spent an hour talking to an officer trying to tell him, ‘We spent ages during Habib Al-Adly’s time, and even now after the revolution, we don’t have the right to leave?’”
According to El-Gohary, the guard asked him if he really wanted to leave the country.
“Yes,” El-Gohary replied. “I have a court order against Al-Adly, and I have the right to leave and the freedom to travel outside the country.” As if to add insult to more than two years of injury, the SSI officers told El-Gohary that Egypt was “their country” and to “come back anytime you want to.”
El-Gohary credits the revolution as the reason he was allowed to leave Egypt, saying it was a miracle “from God.”
They chose to go to Syria because Egyptian citizens are not required to have visas to visit there. After contact with a U.S. organization that concentrates on religious freedom, El-Gohary expected it would be easy to get a visa to the United States, where his wife lives. But he said he has been unable to obtain an entry visa there or to any country where he will feel safe. He went to a U.N. office in Syria seeking assistance; he was given an appointment to come back on April 20.
“I wasn’t expecting, after all this suffering and all these years, that…” El-Gohary said, cutting himself off. “The series of persecution is not finished.”
Although they don’t live under the same type of threats as they did in Egypt, El-Gohary and Dina now live in an apartment where they still watch everything they say and everyone with whom they talk. They still spend much of their time trapped between the four walls of their apartment because Syria, El-Gohary said, is a country where converts to Christianity from Islam are persecuted.
“The danger is still there,” El-Gohary said. “We don’t get out of the house. We don’t meet people. We don’t tell people what we are doing or talk to them about our situation. Because we don’t want someone to say, ‘Why are you applying to the U.N.?’ There are still a lot of enemies.”
Dina, now 17, said that although leaving Egypt was “like a miracle,” she is devastated by the prospect of having to spend more time with her life on hold. She said she is just as scared in Syria as she was in Egypt.
“We’re really, really tired of all this suffering,” she said. “I’ve lost two years of my life. I want to finish school.”
Muslim converts to Christianity in Syria were sometimes forced to leave their place of residence due to societal pressure last year, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report. While there is no official state religion in Syria, the constitution requires that the president be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic law is a principal source of legislation.
With strict monitoring and curtailing of militant Islam, the government in Syria has long been considered a moderate regime. The government’s fear of violent responses by Islamic extremists to increasing conversions to Christianity, however, was at least partially responsible for the closing of six buildings where Christians were meeting last year, according to Christian support organization Open Doors. Noting that several Christians were arrested and interrogated in 2010, the organization’s World Watch List bumped Syria’s ranking up to 38th place among nations in which persecution of Christians takes place, from position 41 the previous year.
Syria is 90 percent Muslim, and 6.34 percent of its 22.5 million population is Christian, according to Operation World.
Though El-Gohary and his daughter have a dark outlook on their current situation, they are still grateful.
“Without God’s love, we would have been dead by now,” El-Gohary said. “Getting out of Egypt itself was a victory from God.”
Dina said she also is thankful, but that as she gets older she is becoming increasingly preoccupied by one wish.
“I want to get out so I can finish my studies,” she said. “I want to go into a church and out of a church without being scared of being killed.”
Report from Compass Direct News
Second suspect accused of ‘blasphemy’ is government informant, accused says.
ISTANBUL, December 9 (CDN) — A Christian in Afghanistan facing “apostasy” charges punishable by death is still without legal representation after authorities blocked a foreign lawyer’s attempt to visit him in prison, sources said.
A Christian lawyer from the region who requested anonymity travelled to Kabul on behalf of Christian legal rights organization Advocates International two weeks ago to represent 45-year-old Said Musa (alternatively spelled Sayed Mossa). Authorities denied him access to Musa and to his indictment file.
“If a man is not entitled to define his own beliefs, and to change those ideas, under the existing constitutional order of Afghanistan, then how is this government more moral than the Taliban’s?” the lawyer said in an e-mail to Compass.
After several court hearing postponements, Musa appeared before a judge on Nov. 27 without prior notice. Rejecting the case file as deficient, the judge sent it to the attorney general’s office for corrections, according to the lawyer. The lawyer said he has deduced that the file was missing a formal indictment and other “incriminating” evidence.
The legal expert said that according to Afghan law, Musa is entitled to see a copy of the indictment and review the evidence against him, but authorities have denied him both rights. If the prosecutor does not present the court with an indictment within 15 days of arrest, the attorney said, an accused person has the right to be released. Musa has been in jail since May 31.
Suspicious Second Suspect
The prosecutor in charge of western Kabul, Din Mohammad Quraishi, said two men, Musa and Ahmad Shah, were accused of conversion to another religion, according to Agence France-Presse. But Musa’s letters from prison and other sources indicate that Shah is a government informant posing as a Christian.
Musa and Shah appeared before the judge on Nov. 27 “shackled and chained” to each other, according to a source who was present. Though Shah, who was also arrested six months ago, has denied he is a Christian, the prosecutor said there was “proof” against him.
Musa and the other sources claim that Shah is an informant posing as a Christian in order to damage him and other Afghan Christians. They claim that Shah allegedly sent images of Christians worshiping to the country’s most popular broadcaster, Noorin TV, which aired them in May.
The broadcast appeared on an Afghan TV show called “Sarzanin-e-man,” or “My Homeland,” hosted by Nasto Nadiri, 27, an outspoken opponent of the government and a parliamentary hopeful. Noorin TV station is opposed to the government and does what it can to “embarrass” it, a source said.
The broadcast put in motion the events that got Musa arrested, sources said. The hour-long TV show sparked protests throughout the country against Christians and a heated debate in parliament. In early June, the deputy secretary of the Afghan Parliament, Abdul Sattar Khawasi, called for the execution of converts from Islam.
Many converts to Christianity left the country, according to sources, and many were arrested, though the exact number is unknown.
Musa was concerned about the public outcry against Christians and went to his employer, the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (ICRC), to request personal leave the morning of May 31. Authorities arrested him after he left the building, and his family could not locate him for nearly two months.
The Christian suffered sexual abuse, beatings, mockery and sleep deprivation because of his faith in Jesus in the first months of his detention. Last month, after quiet diplomatic efforts, authorities transferred him to the Kabul Detention Center in the Governor’s Compound. There have been no reports of mistreatment since he was transferred.
The lawyer who tried to visit him said that all Afghans in the country are assumed to be Muslims, and this assumption is deeply ingrained in the culture. The result is lack of justice for the “deviants,” he said.
“It is the greatest shame on a family, clan and the nation, that someone would consider to leave Islam,” the lawyer told Compass. “I [saw] the face of the attorney general literally darken in distaste when he realized we came to assist this man who committed such a shameful offense. Therefore there are no ‘rights’ Christians can claim.”
The lawyer said that from the perspective of the court, if Musa continues to stand for his faith in Jesus, he will certainly be found guilty of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam.
Though no one knows when a court hearing will take place, monitors expect it could be any day and, as before, could come without warning. Musa is still looking for an Afghan lawyer that will agree to defend him in court.
In his latest letters from prison, Musa asked Christians to continue to pray for him and Afghanistan and “not give up.”
An amputee with a prosthetic leg, Musa worked for the ICRC for 15 years, fitting patients for prosthetic limbs. He stepped on a landmine when serving in the Afghan Army, and his injury required the amputation of his right leg below the knee, according to World Magazine.
Married and the father of six young children, Musa has been a Christian for eight years.
Another Christian in Prison
Another Afghan Christian is in prison for his faith, sources said. Shoib Assadullah, 25, was arrested on Oct. 21 for giving a New Testament to a man who reportedly turned him in to authorities.
Assadullah is in a holding jail in a district of Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan. Sources said his family has been unsuccessful at procuring his release despite paying bribes to officials. As in Musa’s case, because of the sensitivity of the charges, no lawyer has agreed to defend him. Assadullah has not reported any mistreatment while in prison.
He has stood before a judge at least once since his arrest. The judge asked him what faith he followed, and Assadullah told him he was a Christian, said a source who requested anonymity.
Although Assadullah’s family has tolerated his new faith, they are not pleased with it, the source said, and a few days ago his father disowned him. Assadullah became a Christian about five years ago.
“He wants others to know that he is not frightened, and that his faith is strong,” the source told Compass. “He is desperately missing having a Bible.”
Assadullah asked that people pray that Afghan believers would stay strong in their faith, the source said.
Musa and Assadullah are the only known Christian converts from Islam in prison in Afghanistan, and both face probable apostasy charges punishable by death under sharia (Islamic law), which is still applied in the country.
Last month, in its 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, the U.S. State Department reported that respect for religious freedom in Afghanistan diminished in the last year, “particularly for Christian groups and individuals.”
The constitution states that Islam is the “religion of the state” and that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.” The report stated that conversion from Islam is understood by Islamic clergy, as well as many citizens, to contravene the tenets of Islam.
Nevertheless, the country has signed the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulating religious freedom, including the freedom to change one’s faith. The nation’s constitution also provides a measure of religious liberties under Article 2, but Article 3 limits the application of all laws if they are contrary to the “beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.”
Another source who requested anonymity said the proceedings against Musa and Assadullah typify the intolerance and abhorrence inherent in Islam toward open-mindedness and progress. He said that the only sentence possible would be death, and that if Musa were freed his only recourse would be to leave the country or be killed.
The source voiced exasperation toward the international community and defenders of human rights for not speaking up for the Christians in prison.
“We try as much as we can to push things in order to reveal this unfair situation, knowing that Afghanistan is a signatory of the Human Rights Convention,” he said. “But this serious failure of human rights is more or less accepted as a case ‘so sensitive’ that nobody wants to really fight against.”
According to the state department report, estimates of the size of the Christian community in Afghanistan range from 500 to 8,000.
Report from Compass Direct News
Nigerian girls are being forced to work as prostitutes in Mali "slave camps," Nigerian officials say, reports CISA.
The girls, many of them underage, are often promised jobs in Europe but end up in brothels, said the government’s anti-trafficking agency. According to BBC correspondent, the brothels are run by older Nigerian women who prevent them from leaving and take all their earnings.
Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (Naptip) said officials visited Mali in September to follow up "horrendous reports" from victims, aid workers and clergy in Mali.The agency said it was working with Malian police to free the girls and help them return to Nigeria.
They said there were hundreds of brothels, each housing up to 200 girls, run by Nigerian "madams" who force them to work against their will and take their earnings.
"We are talking of thousands and thousands of girls," Simon Egede, Executive Secretary of Naptip, told a news conference in Abuja, adding that they were between 20,000 to 40,000.
He, however, did not give details as to how the figure had been reached.
In a statement, Egede said girls were "held in bondage for the purposes of forced sexual exploitation and servitude or slavery-like practices."
"The madams control their freedom of movement, where they work, when they work and what they receive," he said.
The trade is centred on the capital Bamako and large cities, but the most notorious brothels are in the mining towns of Kayes and Mopti, where the sex workers live in "near slavery conditions," said Naptip.
Many of the brothels there also had abortion clinics where foetuses were removed by traditional healers for use in rituals, said Egede.
Most of the girls were reported to have come from Delta and Edo States in Nigeria.
Many were lured with the promise of work in Europe, given fake travel documents and made to swear an oath that they would not tell anyone where they were going.
On arrival in Mali, they were told they would have to work as prostitutes to pay off their debts. Prostitution is legal in Mali but not if it involves minors.
Naptip said it had also uncovered two major trafficking routes used to transport the women from Nigeria through Benin, Niger and Bukina Faso to Mali.
Egede said Naptip was working with the police in Mali to return the girls to Nigeria safely, shut down the trade and prosecute the traffickers.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Tamil Nadu, India, September 30 (CDN) — Police detained evangelist V.K. Williams and seven other Christians after Hindu extremists disrupted their evangelistic meeting on Sept. 29 in Theni, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians. The extremists filed a complaint against the Christians of “forceful conversion” and pressured police to arrest them, and officers took the eight Christians to the station for questioning. At press time, area Christian leaders were trying to free them.
West Bengal – On Sept. 26 in Purulia, Hindu extremists stopped a worship service and dragged Christians out, saying no more prayer or worship should take place in the village. A source in Kolkata reported that the extremists were threatening to kill the Christians if they did not convert to Hinduism. The Christians reported the matter to the Kenda Police Station. Officers summoned both parties to the police station, but the extremists threatened to kill the Christians if they went.
Karnataka – Hindu extremists belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bajrang Dal attacked Gnanodya Church at Yellapura, Karwar district, on Sept. 26. The All India Christian Council reported that the assailants broke into a church worship service after having filed a complaint against Pastor Shiva Ram of “forcible conversions.” In the presence of the police, the attackers started to vandalize the church, pulling down calendars and breaking furniture. Church members said their pastor was targeted because of his social service works. Police took the pastor into custody and jailed him.
Karnataka – Karnataka police on Sept. 26 arrested a Pentecostal pastor, Shivanda Siddi, on false charges of “forceful conversions” in Mundgod. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at about 11 a.m. five Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal stormed the church building while Christians were praying and began arguing with the pastor. They beat him, stripped him of his clothes and took Bibles from those present. The extremists later telephoned police in Yellapur, about three kilometers away (less than two miles), and an inspector arrived and took the pastor, seven women and two young children to the police station. The extremists continued to threaten the Christians in front of police, who watched in silence. With GCIC intervention, police released the women and children without charges, but Pastor Siddi was charged with “defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.” He was put in Uttar Kananda’s Sirsi prison.
Karnataka – On Sept. 19 in Santhemarnalli, police led by Inspector Madhava Swamy threatened a pastor with harm if he did not stop alleged “forceful conversion” activities. The All India Christian Council reported that police threatened Pastor Mhades of Good Shepherd Community Church after Hindu extremists filed the complaint against him. Police barged into his church, questioned him and told him that they would take action against him if he did not stop trying to convert people. Area Christian leaders claimed that there was no case of forceful conversion, and that Christians were only conducting their regular worship services.
Andhra Pradesh – Police on Sept. 17 arrested a Christian convert from Islam, Sheik Magbool, after Muslim extremists filed a complaint against him of uttering derogatory remarks against the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, in Kurnool. A source reported that Maqbool organized a three-day, open air Christian meeting and distributed some tracts that allegedly contained comparisons between the teachings of Jesus Christ and those of Muhammad. The Muslim extremists accused Maqbool of making derogatory remarks against Muhammad, threatened to kill him and filed a police complaint against him. Area Christian leaders maintained that the tracts did not contain any hateful remarks against Muhammad; they asserted that the Muslim extremists reprinted the tracts after adding some lines insulting to Muhammad in order to fabricate a case against the Christians. Maqbool was put in a jail cell, with the Down Court rejecting his petition for bail on Sept. 21.
Chhattisgarh – On Sept. 15 in Raipur, Hindu extremists misrepresenting themselves as journalists barged into a prayer meeting led by Pastor Kamlakarrao Bokada and accused him of “forceful conversion,” verbally abused him and falsely accused him of dishonoring their idols. They ordered the pastor to video-record the prayer meeting, but he refused. The pastor, who visits Christian homes in the Khorpi area, was ordered not to do so again. Police refused to register a complaint by Christians.
Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists in Vizianagaram on Sept. 13 attacked a pastor’s wife, injuring her head, and told the church leader to leave the area, according to the All India Christian Council. The attack came after Pastor Y. Caleb Raj of Good Shepherd Community Church requested that youths playing loud music before the idol of Ganesh near his church not disturb the Sept. 12 worship service. As the pastor was speaking to organizers of the Ganesh event, Hindu extremists gathered and some tried to manhandle him. They told him to close down the church and leave the village. When Pastor Raj was out on ministry work the next day, the same group of Hindu extremists came and struck his wife with a wooden club. Pastor Raj filed a police complaint, but no arrests had been made at press time.
Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists in Raigarh on Sept. 12 beat evangelist Robinson Roat and ordered him to stop all Christian activities. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that about 25 extremists barged into the worship meeting in Roat’s home. They told him he would face further harm if he left his house. The Christian did not venture out for two days.
Madhya Pradesh – Hindu extremists in Satna on Sept. 12 accused Pastor V.A. Anthony of “forceful conversion” and of carrying out the funeral of a non-Christian in a local Christian cemetery. Based on the complaint of the Hindu extremists, the inspector general of police summoned Pastor Anthony and a high-level inquiry is pending, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). The son of a local church member had died under mysterious circumstances earlier this year, and the pastor and church members had buried him in the Christian cemetery according to the wishes of his parents and other relatives, according to the GCIC.
Uttar Pradesh – Hindu nationalists from the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sept. 5 beat a pastor in Sarva village in Babina, Jhansi district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that three Hindu extremists led by Surendra Yadav and armed with wooden clubs barged into the church building after Sunday classes and beat Pastor Anil Masih on his back and legs, kicked him and verbally abused him. The assault went on for about 30 minutes. The next day, Masih’s father informed Babina police. Masih received hospital treatment for a broken left leg. GCIC sources told Compass that after Masih’s discharge from the hospital on Sept. 10, he filed a complaint against the extremists at the Babina police station on Sept. 13. At press time, no arrests had been made.
Karnataka – Police on Sept. 1 stopped a pastors’ meeting in Mysore, claiming that they were being trained to “convert people,” though conversion and persuading to convert is legal in India. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Mysore Pastors Association organized a two-week pastoral training program with about 50 local church leaders and evangelists in attendance. Police arrived and ordered the organizers to vacate the premises by the next day. Even though such trainings are legally permitted in India, the Christians called off the meeting.
Rajasthan – Hindu extremists attacked two Christian workers, damaged their vehicles and seized evangelistic literature from them on Aug. 26 in Udaipur. The All India Christian Council reported that evangelists Charlie John and V.M. George were distributing gospel tracts when a group of Hindu extremists suddenly came and began objecting. The extremists blocked their vehicle and beat the two Christians, leaving them with serious injuries. Police came to their rescue and suggested they file a complaint against the extremists, but the Christians said they chose to forgive their attackers.
Report from Compass Direct News
Congregation accepts offer under condition that government build them permanent building.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 29 (CDN) — A West Java church has agreed to move temporarily to a government-selected site following Islamist harassment that included a Sept. 12 attack on two of its leaders.
The Batak Christian Protestant Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, or HKBP) in Ciketing village, Bekasi, decided in a congregational meeting on Sunday (Sept. 26) to accept a government offer to move worship services to the former Organization and Political Party (OPP) building on the condition that local officials will keep a promise to build a new house of worship for them within two years in the Mustika Sari district.
The Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak, who received hospital treatment after she was struck with a wooden plank by suspected Islamic extremists in the Sept. 12 attack, said that the church was ready to stop struggling.
“We are tired of being intimidated and terrorized,” Pastor Simanjuntak said. “We will be able to worship quietly and peacefully.”
Church lawyer Saor Siagian said that the church had accepted the temporary move with the understanding that the Bekasi municipal government must fulfill its pledge. The government will build a new church building to replace the structure the church is leaving on a 2,500-square meter lot belonging to PT Timah, the Government Tin Mining Co. in the Mustika Sari area of Bekasi. The lot is zoned for general and social facilities.
The government had suggested two alternative locations: the PT Timah lot and a 1,900-square meter parcel in the Strada Housing area. The congregation and leaders of HKBP Ciketing chose the PT Timah property.
The first HKBP Ciketing worship service in the former OPP Building took place without incident on Sunday, with the Bekasi government providing buses to transport the congregation to the new site. Pastor Simanjuntak said the congregation is thankful for the new temporary site, but it does not accommodate the entire congregation. The 10-meter by 14-meter building accommodates 250 people, but normally 300 attend services, and some had to stand outside, she said.
Dozens of police guarded the location.
Zaki Oetomo, a Bekasi city official, told Compass that the building could be used rent-free for two years, with an extension possible if the church desired. The government has offered to provide the buses to transport the congregation to and from the site every week.
The Ciketing church originally met in the Pondok Timur Indah housing development with 10 families in 1990, and therefore has generally been called the HKBP Pondok Timur Indah.
“By 1995 it had grown to 30 families,” Manorangi Siahaan, a church member, told Compass.
In those days the worship services were held in different members’ homes. Manorangi acknowledged that the house church worship did spark some small protests.
Between 1990 and 2010, the church leaders requested building permits three separate times, in 1995, 2000 and 2010. Not once did the local government respond, church leaders said.
By 2005 the congregation had grown to 150, and church leaders bought a 2,170-square meter lot in Ciketing village, near Bekasi City, to construct a church building. They built a semi-permanent structure, which was later torn down because they lacked a building permit under pressure from an Islamic group claiming to speak for the local citizens. As a result, the congregation went back to worshipping in homes on a rotating basis.
In 2007 the congregation had grown to 300 people. They bought a house in Pondok Timur Indah, in the Mustika Jaya area of Bekasi City, to use for worship. The Bekasi government sealed the house on March 1 under pressure from Islamic groups. On July 2, the government sealed the house a second time because the congregation was continuing to worship there. Then on July 11, the church was forced to move their worship service to a vacant property in Ciketing, which had been readied for a church building. This site was about 3 kilometers from their property in Pondok Timur Indah.
Protests by Islamic groups mounted each Sunday at the Ciketing site, culminating in the attack on Pastor Simanjuntak and elder Hasian Sihombing, who was stabbed in the stomach and heart.
Report from Compass Direct News


Mountains: R.E. | Pilgrimages to Lhasa
This lesson looks at why pilgrims undertake long journeys to the holy city of Lhasa, performing prostrations to make a difficult journey across the Himalayas even harder, and thinks about why such journeys are important to Buddhists.
- Lesson plan
- Activity ideas
- Differentiated worksheets


This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Malibu Pro 2 tandem
Style: tandem, lightweight 2 seater
Length:13 ft /396cm
Width: 33 inches
Weight: 62 lbs/28kg
Capacity: 1 up to 2 adults
Weight capacity: 550lbs/ 250kg
- two seats
- dry seating
The Malibu Kayaks Pro 2 tandem recreational package only weighs 62 pounds, which is extremely light considering its length. There are kayaks several feet shorter that weigh about the same amount.
As a tandem, you’ll have no problem moving this kayak to the water with your partner. At the same time if you decide to take this out on your own, 62 lbs shouldn’t be too difficult to maneuver.
If you do struggle to get it from point A to point B, you can always purchase a cart. You can buy kayak carts from around $30 which will make it much easier to move your kayak long distances.
Ample Space for 2
Given its size, it’s no surprise that the Malibu Pro 2 tandem has a lot of room. The seating area offers just over 2.5 feet. While other tandems will give you a bit more space here, they won’t have the sleek design of this model, which allows it to cut through the water with ease.
You might not think this model would have a lot of room for storage. Its design seems to be much more attuned to aerodynamics and quickly racing through the waves.
Nonetheless, there’s plenty of room to store things both on-board the kayak and below. If you’ve items you need to keep dry there’s a hatch located right by the center seat. This makes it easy to access when you’re paddling out by yourself.
Great for Fishing and Diving
If you enjoy fishing the Pro 2 is worth considering. It was designed for people who like to kayak and cast lines at the same time.
This model offers 6 mounted holders for fishing rods, so you don’t need to limit yourself just because you’re in a kayak. There’s even an 8 inch round rear hatch that’s outfitted with a bucket for storing the fish you catch.
Divers won’t be disappointed either. There’s a front dive well that can be used to carry your tank and other supplies. If you’re spear fishing, the rear hatch is available, too. Due to the shape of this boat, you’ll have no problem getting back out of the water when you’re done.
The dry seating design makes it easy to just jump in and start paddling. You don’t have to worry about touching the bottom of the boat, getting wet or sealing yourself in – something most beginners are understandably skittish about.
Room for a Motor
While paddling a kayak can be a lot of fun and give you a good workout, there may be times when it would be nice to get around without having to exert yourself.
If you’re thinking that would might want the option of adding a trolling motor then this tandem is a good option because it has space designed to attach a trolling motor mount. It’s easy to install the motor mount and then you can attach a small engine and get around – even in shallow water – with ease.
Stackable and easy storage
Despite its size and the fact that it’s a tandem, this is an easy kayak to store. Its design makes it easy to stack, so if you’re in the market for multiple kayaks but don’t have a lot of room, this model won’t disappoint.
- It also helps that this large kayak is extremely easy to drain before putting it away. When you’re done with your time on the water, just pull the drain plugs. Gravity takes care of the rest.
Malibu Kayaks Pro 2 tandem is a fantastic option for a wide range of people. Unless you really want a wide-hull kayak because you need the extra room or you’re worried about handling in choppy waters, this model is a lot of fun and tracks well. At this price it’s an extremely versatile kayak that can cover a number of different needs.


Well, I went to the dermatologist a couple of weeks ago for a place that had come up on my nose a few weeks prior to that. While he assured me it was not dangerous, he immediately wanted to freeze it off. I didn’t want to do that, so he said I could come back when I wanted to, but that in the meantime, it would keep growing.
I had been praying about it since I had first noticed it, so I decided I would just keep praying about it. I’ve had things like this happen before where a doctor tells me what I need, I opt to wait and pray, and things improve. I’ve seen miracles in my daughter’s life and mine physically (both big and small), and why then would I begin to underestimate God?
I know this was small, I know it seems inconsequential, I know freezing it would have worked out just as well. But I chose to wait and pray. After my last appointment, it did seem to change, and I got nervous, and decided the sooner I got rid of it the better. I made another appointment for today, but continued to pray that it might go away before the visit.
Well, last night, I rubbed a washcloth over my face, and it came right off, completely. I was so thankful. The doctor’s office told me this morning to still come in so he could be sure it was gone, and it was. When he saw it was gone, the doctor asked me, “What did you do?” I could only tell him the only thing I had done: pray! He said, “Well, if it comes back, pray again.”
So anyway, I just want to thank the Lord for this. I know it’s a smaller thing, it wasn’t anything serious, but it was just a small sweet blessing. I had had a rotten day yesterday, too, and was so sad last night, convicted of my ugly sin — and at all times for Him to be gracious to me — in the midst of such ugliness — it just seemed to show me a glimpse of His kindness, patience and mercy, His forgiveness and help when I feel helpless.
Now literally, since I have arrived home this afternoon from the visit, seriously, there is a place itching on my face. I just went and looked in the mirror and it’s some kind of spot! What in the world am I to make of that?! Well, at all times, and in all things, God is in control. He is good. He is worthy of our trust. I want to believe Him and know that He is able. Even when we have suffered physically in greater ways, God has always been near and made Himself known. For all these things, for who He is, for His power and love, I am thankful!


AGCO Corporation presented its 11th annual Operator of the Year award at the Ag Retailers Association convention and expo this week in Orlando. The award, which recognizes the best custom applicators across the country, was given this year to Tony Kornder of Genesis Growing Solutions in Le Sueur, Minnesota.
“We’re proud to have recognized the agricultural industry’s hard-working custom applicators with this special award for more than a decade,” said Mark Mohr, tactical marketing manager at AGCO Corporation.
Kornder has 19 years experience as an applicator and applies on about 35,000 acres each year. Kornder is also a member of his company’s safety committee and a fifth-generation family farmer.
All of the AGCO Operator of the Year finalists were honored at the ARA convention. In addition to Kornder, the finalists were Ken Funk of CHS Elburn in Newark, Illinois; Joel Waterman of Hamel Seed & Farm Supply in Worden, Illinois; and Ronnie Peterson with Crop Production Services in Dothan, Alabama.
Ag retailers across the country nominated more than 40 applicators for the 11th annual Operator of the Year. A panel of judges at AGCO then evaluated submissions based on skills, dedication, customer service and community involvement.


There’s something magical about marine existence, and nothing beats the revel in of swimming with the fish within the deep blue oceans. Whether it is snorkeling or deep sea diving, the allure of seeing aquatic animals of their natural habitat is exceptional. Another unique experience is recognizing whales, that could weigh up to 1,00,000 kg, inside the deep blue waters.
Whale watching sites have won recognition with vacationers inside the closing decade, who like to chase them as they alternate places in step with the seasons. Most whales migrate closer to the Equator to breed and deliver start for the duration of warm weather earlier than heading to the poles to prey. Because of these migrations, while looking hot spots range by means of season and through the hemisphere. To assist you to watch these majestic creatures, right here are some of the maximum popular summertime whale looking destinations.
Mirissa Harbour, Sri Lanka
Species to look at: Blue whale, Fin whales, Sei whales
When to head: March and April
A ride to Mirissa Harbour is incomplete without spotting whales in the blue waters. Here you could spot Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Sei Whales or even Sperm Whales.
The Azores, Portugal
Species to look at: Sperm whale, Humpback whale, Blue whale, and Fin Whales
When to move: April to October
If you’re determined to look at this type of species then head to the Azores, which they go in the course of their direction even as migrating.
Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada
Species to look at Fin, Humpback, Minke, and the Northern Right Whale
When to move: June to October
The Bay of Fundy draws the largest population of North Atlantic Right Whales which is one of the most endangered whale species. Each summer time, the Grand Manan Basin turns into the whale’s primary nursery and feeding floor which makes it clean for whale viewing. The best time to be right here is in August.
Species to watch: Minke and Humpback Whales
When: May to August
The hotter months in the northern island is a playground for Minke and Humpback whales who come here to feed. Reportedly, Husavik also has a biologist studies station which studies communique patterns of whales.
Gorgona Island, Colombia
Species to observe: Humpback whales
When: June to October
Gogona Island is one of us of a’s first-class whale-watching locations as humpback whales and their calves cover out within the safe haven furnished by using the National Natural Park of Gorgona.
Baja California, Mexico
Species to look at: Gray whales
When: May to October
Baja California is fast turning into the most beneficial place to watch whales in the world. More than 20 species of whales are encountered around Baja, making this region a vital center for whale remark. We all want to travel, some of us may not admit it to others but I find that’s more because they don’t want to admit it to themselves. They feel they can’t travel for whatever reason, so they tell themselves they don’t want to so they don’t feel they are missing out. I’m letting everyone know they can. Whether it’s financing holding them back, or not knowing how to go about setting up a great vacation, or just fear of going on their first trip outside of their comfort zone. And I’m going to explain it through talking about lifestyle vacation clubs. I’ll be talking about this from the experience I have in travel that I have done and the lifestyle vacation club I have knowledge about.


The blue-haired girl who scampers through the pages of A Rule Is to Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy (Manic D) is endearing in a Where the Wild Things Are kind of way.
But when a conservative blog got wind of the fact that the skinny pink volume had been blurbed by Bill Ayers—described by the site as "teacher, Barack Obama's alleged terrorist pal, and grandpa"—the heroine became Public Enemy No. 1. While the furor was somewhat silly, so is the book.
Apparently concerned about kindergarteners' alienation from their labor, authors John Seven and Jana Christy urge them to strike: "When someone says 'Work!,' you say 'Why?'?" Also on the agenda: "Forget about grocery stores and get dirty in your garden." Anarchists should refuse to accept arbitrary rules, but that doesn't mean they can't participate in free markets or buy brand-name animal crackers. —Katherine Mangu-Ward


Rehabilitation will start as soon as the stroke team feel that it is safe to begin. Rehabilitation starts in the acute stroke unit until you are medically stable, then options will be discussed on where to continue your care. You could:
- Stay on ward F8 and move into one of the stroke rehabilitation beds.
- Go home and have specialist stroke rehabilitation provided by our community stroke team (CST) or local community rehabilitation teams.
- Transfer to Lymington New Forest hospital under the care of Dr Giles Durward and his specialist team.
- Transfer to Snowdon House which specialises in the rehabilitation of stroke patients with more complex needs.
Community stroke team
The community stroke team is a local NHS service that offers a specialist rehabilitation service for patients after their stroke. They will work with you, your family and carers on specific goals to promote your independence and improve your quality of life. This will be done in your own home and local community.
The service includes:
- Assessment of your individual difficulties and needs once you are at home
- Providing rehabilitation for up to six weeks on an individual basis, offering regular review and onward referral as needed
- Setting rehabilitation goals based on what you want to achieve
- Planning therapy and rehabilitation to help work towards your goals
- Liaising and planning with other community based services as required
- Providing information, advice and support for you and your family or carers.
You can expect to have contact with any one or all of the following health professionals:
- occupational therapist
- speech and language therapist
- Hayden Kirk, consultant therapist and team manager
- Gemma Brown, team leader
- Kelli Stephens, administrator
Telephone: 023 8069 8669
Snowdon House is a specialist stroke rehabilitation unit based at the Western Hospital.
The team at Snowdon House specialise in the rehabilitation of patients who have had a stroke and require specialist input in order to promote independence and improve quality of life.
- Champa Sumanasuriya, rehabilitation consultant
- Caroline Hutchings, rehabilitation consultant
Telephone: 023 8029 6200


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Still some fight left in Amherst Island residents
They cling fiercely to the last strands of hope. Amherst Island residents opposed to industrial wind development still believe they can stop 29 massive (50 – storey) machines from permanently scarring their pastoral skyline from end to end of this tiny (20-km long) island. They believe they can protect endangered birds, bats and animals from the 25 kilometres of new service roads being carved into the agricultural landscape. They believe they can stop 44,000 truckloads from crossing the narrow passage between Amherst Island and the mainland.
Time, however, is running out. The developer, Windlectric, a unit of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., has its Renewable Energy Approval (REA) in hand. An appeal to an Environmental Review Tribunal failed to stop the project. Opponents will make another appeal to the courts later this month, hoping to convince a judge to send the matter back to the Tribunal to consider new evidence.
Meanwhile, the developer is pushing ahead despite shifting political currents. Amherst Island was, from the outset, an odd place to put an industrial wind project. The island sits across a narrow channel from the Lennox generating plant—with the capacity to power about eight per cent of Ontario’s homes—though it never does. Not even close. In the past five years it has operated less than two per cent of the time. Yet the plant earns Ontario Power Generation $7 million a month just for standing by.
Despite this vast amount of unused capacity, the province is building a new gas-powered electricity plant right next to the Lennox plant after Mississauga voters persuaded then-Premier Dalton McGuinty to move the partiallybuilt plant out of their community. Combined these two plants will have the capacity to power millions of households—with no reasonable prospect of ever doing so.
With so much electricity generation capability just a few kilometres away, it is clear the decision to build a comparatively puny intermittent electricity generating facility on the adjacent island wasn’t made to satisfy capacity needs. Or an economic rationale. When—or if—completed the Amherst Island wind project will be one of the most expensive such projects undertaken relative to its size—partly due to the cost of building temporary docks and a submarine cable across the channel.
It is the politics of green energy that drives this project. The politics, however, have become murkier in recent months.
In October, Premier Kathleen Wynne cancelled all new procurement of large renewable energy projects. By then Windlectric had already secured a power-purchase contract for its Amherst Island project and received its REA, but had not yet begun construction. Perhaps sensing the window might be closing, Windlectric filed a Notice of Commencement for the Amherst Island project on October 31. It hadn’t yet received every necessary approval from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).
But back on Amherst Island, the developer was now grappling with a host municipality unhappy with the company’s Operations Plan and threatening to block the process until it was satisfied the plan was robust enough to protect residents and the Township’s infrastructure.
In late October, Loyalist Township officials wrote to Windlectric complaining the Operations Plan lacked detail and was inadequate to trigger the Road Use Agreement between the developer and the municipality.
Loyalist wrote the developer again in November, once more expressing disappointment at the lack of detail in the plan and that much more information was required so that it could properly evaluate the plan. Still nothing. In early December, the Township withdrew the building permit that would have allowed the construction of the mainland dock—required to service the project—citing a pending decision by MOECC relating to the developer’s Certificate of Property Use.
If the Township had hoped to bring attention the gaps in the Operations Plan, it failed. Instead, the company wrote to say that it was operating in full compliance with the law and that it frowned upon any suggestion otherwise. But yet offered no more detail in its Operations Plan.
Green energy legislation, however, gives renewable energy developers in Ontario a prescribed amount of time before the province gives it the green light—over the municipality’s objections.
By the year end, relations between the Township and the developer were becoming rather tense. Loyalist officials were continuing to press for more detail without response from the developer. On December 20, the Township’s CAO Robert Maddocks wrote again to say that in its opinion, the developer’s silence amounted to a fork in the road for the developer. Either it produced the detailed plan the Township was seeking in order to proceed, or it would stop the clock on the process, thereby bringing the project to a standstill.
“We assume from your silence that Algonquin Power Co. is in agreement with the Township’s position that the initial submission does not meet the requirements of the Road Use Agreement,” wrote Maddocks. “We reiterate our position that the forty-five day review period was not commenced by the submission of the incomplete preliminary Operations Plan.”
Ariel Bautista is a Senior Project Manager for Algonquin Power and leads the Windlectric project on Amherst Island. He says the company is continuing to work with Loyalist Township.
“The Road Use Agreement with Loyalist Township sets out the requirements for the parties to follow regarding the Operations Plan,” wrote Bautista in an email response to The Times. “In that regard, under the RUA, after obtaining and considering the Township’s comments on the draft Operations Plan, Windlectric submitted an updated Operations Plan to the Township in December 2016. Windlectric continues to work with Loyalist Township to finalize the Operations Plan under the RUA, which will include a town hall meeting.”
Relations on the ground are little better. According to Michelle Le Lay, the developer has handpicked a Community Liaison Committee, all but one of whom has a direct interest in the project. Other residents are permitted to attend the quarterly meetings but prohibited from asking questions or making comments.
“No one else is allowed to participate,” said Le Lay. “It is a total farce. Its insulting.”
Le Lay says the developer is required to hold community liaison meetings, but isn’t told how it should do this. She says the composition of the community liason committee reflects the developer’s view that they don’t have to tell the community anything more than it has already and that it doesn’t need the community’s approval.
“It’s pure arrogance,” said Le Lay.
Bautista denies Le Lay’s assertion.
“Pursuant to the Renewable Energy Approval, the Community Liaison Committee was established,” wrote Bautista. “The CLC consists of 5 members: three are residents from the island and two are employees of Windlectric. The three members from Amherst island are a former APAI president, a landowner participating in the project and a non-participating landowner.”
APAI’s Le Lay is sensing a different attitude at the MOECC. She says the regional officials have become more diligent in ensuring the developer is complying with the conditions of its REA.
Le Lay says the MOECC put the brakes on the project when the company filed a Notice of Commencement in late October.
“After that, the MOECC wrote them a few days later telling them they couldn’t start anything until they had received all their permits,” said Le Lay. “I don’t think the company calculated that the MOECC would become so concerned with compliance.
“Before they (MOECC officials) didn’t want to answer our questions. Now there is a change in the MOECC’s due diligence.
Le Lay also sees yet another hurdle ahead for the developer. While Windlectric has a RUA hammered out in principle with the Township, it has no such arrangement with the County of Lennox and Addington. Given how the material required to build this project will need to cross county roads, this seems to have been an oversight. Getting this agreement may not be a slam dunk for Windlectric. As of January 1, the new warden for the county is Loyalist Township mayor Bill Lowry.
“The county isn’t particularly happy with being overlooked in this process and don’t see a lot of benefits to it,” notes Le Lay. “So they haven’t signed an RUA yet.”
How does Le Lay explain the plight of Amherst Island residents to others?
“It is beyond reason,” says Le Lay. “ How do you explain something that is not explainable? Every aspect of this seems wrong. The wind isn’t particularly good here. The level of difficulty in building it is unbelievable. The cost to build on this island is really expensive—$6 million alone for two temporary docks. A submarine cable to the mainland. No rational person would see this as a good idea.
“It makes no sense financially. It makes no sense environmentally. It makes no sense.”


3, it’s the Magic Numbeer. (Sorry)
It has been an exciting few months here at YellowBelly, as we have finally been able to get some bottled beer around the country thanks to lots of hard work and our new distribution partner, Fourcorners. It is standard practice for a new brewery to release a core range first, but we have never really done things normally at YellowBelly. Each bottled beer we bring out is a one off, limited edition release and the likelihood is that it will never be seen again. This might seem strange to your average punter but in our experience the craft beer drinker is always looking for something new, and the fact that we brew in relatively small batches allows us to be more unique in what beers we produce. We do plan on launching a core range in the not so distant future, but for us as a small brewery entering the market we wanted to blow people away with styles and flavours that they may not have experienced before. And that will always be part of the plan.
In July we launched beers 7, 8 and 9 on to the Irish public, Where’s Wallonia a Farmhouse Saison, Gose to Leipzig a Gose style beer and Great for the Town a strawberry sour. While obviously what’s most important is the liquid in the bottle, we are also very proud of our artwork on this series all provided by our ‘Artist in Residence’ Paul Reck. Cheers Paul!
Let’s start with Where’s Wallonia a farmhouse saison, and probably the reason for our first copyright infringement! This style of beer originated in Wallonia in Belgium hence our play on words and our heavily influenced label! It is a blonde Belgian style beer with added orange rind and fermented out with a saison yeast giving it its funky, peppery character. The orange rind gives the beer a fresh citrus aroma and slight bitterness. It pours a hazy golden orange colour with a strong white head synonymous with Belgian beer styles. It maintains quite a light body despite its 5.6% alcohol content, so it’s a perfect accompaniment to those long summer evenings.
And now for something completely different, Gose to Leipzig is one of our geographically inspired historical recipes, in this instance it is our play on the famous salt beer from Goslar, Germany. Its origins date back to the 16th century but by the 1800’s it had become so popular in the city of Leipzig that they adopted it as their own. It is one of the only German beers that is brewed outside of the Reinheitsgebot Purity Law, it is permissible as it is considered a regional specialty. Traditional ‘Gose’ beers achieve their saltiness from a water source that is high in salt content, we achieve ours through an addition of pink Himalayan rock salt, naturally. True to style we also add some coriander and our lactobacillus culture. The result is a slightly salty, tart, refreshing beer. It might sound a bit strange but I have recently done some public tastings of this beer and the reaction has been fantastic!
And last but not least, something a bit closer to home! Great for the Town is the most Wexford beer ever! Brewed with strawberries, YellowBelly himself in a 96 jersey and a hape of ‘snakes and rats’ on the label. It’s the latest installment in our fruit based Berliner-Weiss style beers. It’s a good entry level sour beer as the fruit and tartness of the strawberries balance out the acidity of the souring culture. A really refreshing summer beer. It pours a cloudy pink and the aroma is all about the strawberry. Desh!
All three beers are currently available locally in Simon Lambert and Sons, and many other good off-Licences throughout the county. For outlets further afield message us and we will direct you to your nearest stockist.


<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A day after a stampede at Elphinstone Road station in Mumbai killed at least 23 people, two men, allegedly members of the Shiv Sena, assaulted a senior doctor at KEM Hospital to protest the hospital’s action of marking serial numbers on the bodies of the Elphinstone station stampede victims, police said.The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the duo assaulted the forensic science head of the KEM Hospital, a senior police official said.”The two barged into the cabin of Dr. Hari Pathak and assaulted him. One of the accused, who brought a sketch pen with him tried to write a number on Pathak’s forehead,” he said.
ALSO READ Stampede at Elphinstone Road: Why no Mumbaikar will be surprised or shocked by the incidentAccording to the officer, a search of their five other aides is underway.”We have found membership identity-card of the Shiv Sena from one of the accused,” he said.
ALSO READ Day after Elphinstone stampede, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal says spend whatever is necessary on safety The two accused were detained and a case under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 323 ( voluntarily causing hurt), 143 (member of an unlawful assembly, 145 (joining or continuing in unlawful assembly) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered, he said.Authorities at the KEM Hospital had come in for severe criticism for inscribing numbers on the bodies of the Elphinstone station stampede victims and putting up their pictures on public display.
ALSO READ Elphinstone stampede: Will survey all dangerous railway FOBs and submit report, says Sanjay NirupamThe tragedy took place around 10.40 am yesterday when an overbridge, linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations, became overcrowded with people taking shelter from a heavy downpour. The death toll in the foot over bridge stampede in Mumbai has risen to 23.


41. South Dakota
> Restaurant: Delmonico Grill
> Avg. entrée price: $38.44
> Most expensive entrée: The Delmonico (house-aged bone-in rib-eye)
> Price of the Delmonico: $79.00
The most expensive dish at the Delmonico Grill is aptly named the Delmonico, and it comes with a price tag of nearly $80. While Delmonico Grill is the most expensive restaurant in South Dakota, guests will likely spend much less than those at the priciest restaurants in a majority of states. The average entrée costs approximately $38, less than half as expensive as the average entrée in at least 25 states.
> Restaurant: Chez Philippe
> Avg. entrée price: $115
> Most expensive entrée: 7-course chef’s tasting menu w/ wine pairing
> Price of 7-course chef’s tasting menu w/ wine pairing: $210
At Chez Philippe, it’s best to arrive on an empty stomach as your dining options are either a four or seven-course meal. Of course, a wine pairing is an optional addition that can enhance the overall dining experience. If you opt for the seven-course meal, the wine pairing will cost an additional $75, raising the overall meal price to $210.
> Restaurant: Killen’s Steakhouse
> Avg. entrée price: $66.21
> Most expensive entrée: 48-ounce Marble Ranch Longbone Wagyu steak
> Price of 48-ounce Marble Ranch Longbone Wagyu steak: $175.00
Several cuts and kinds of filet mignon and rib-eye dominate the steak section of the menu at Killen’s Steakhouse, the most expensive restaurant in Texas. Entrées with shrimp, chicken, pork chops, and lobster are also scattered throughout the menu if Wagyu isn’t your meal of choice. Killen’s Steakhouse is located in Pearland, roughly 20 miles outside downtown Houston.
> Restaurant: Riverhorse on Main
> Avg. entrée price: $39.85
> Most expensive entrée: 20-ounce cowboy prime rib-eye steak
> Price of 20-ounce cowboy prime rib-eye steak: $60.00
Riverhorse on Main is the most expensive restaurant in Utah, with the priciest entrée clocking in at $60. If 20 ounces of rib-eye steak sounds a bit intimidating, there are a myriad of other options you can select from, including pan-seared sea bass and colorful starters like roasted candy stripe beets and arugula. Oh, and if you’re a chocolate lover, there’s a dessert called “Death by Chocolate!”
> Restaurant: Guild Tavern
> Avg. entrée price: $35.95
> Most expensive entrée: Prime Sirloin
> Price of rib-eye and filet mignon: $79.95
The Guild Tavern in South Burlington, Vermont offers a plethora of locally sourced, wood-fired meats, in addition to casual tavern fare. For those who don’t prefer chicken or steak over, let’s say pasta or fish, there are other entrées that may suit your needs such as ricotta and chive gnocchi and salmon salad.


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From payment processing to keeping an accurate inventory, a lot of things go into running an e-commerce store. Unfortunately, the legal side of this type of business is often forgotten by e-commerce owners. While you may think having a clear return & exchanges policy is enough, there are plenty of other contracts you should be using for your online shop. Here are four of them.
Of course, please take this as legal information and not legal advice. If you have any questions about essential contracts in e-commerce or the legal aspects of having an e-commerce, send me an email at email@example.com.
#1 Terms and conditions
I’ve addressed this document in a previous blog post about essential documents you need for your website, but it really does constitute the foundation of any solid online store. You should think of terms and conditions as the ground rules for your website. It usually addresses what a visitor can and cannot do on your website (from spamming to stealing your intellectual property) and allows you to limit your liability in certain situations. Terms and conditions are definitely a must for any e-commerce.
#3 Agreements with your suppliers
This does not apply to every e-commerce out there, but if you are, for instance, a retailer that sells products from a variety of brands, you will need an agreement to solidify that business relationship (you can check out my blog post about consignment agreements here). The type of agreement you will need as well as the content of the agreement will depend on the relationship you have with your suppliers and the way you work with them. It is therefore essential for your contracts to be well suited to your needs.
#4 Affiliate marketing agreement
This is also an agreement that not all online retailers will need, but if you plan on using affiliate marketing to grow your business, you need to make sure your program is clearly outlined in a contract. In this document, you should address, amongst other things, compensation, payment terms, as well as termination.
If you need legal advice regarding e-commerce or if you need help with drafting/reviewing documents, you can always reach me at firstname.lastname@example.org or you can click the link below to learn more about my services.


Chinese New Year is upon us soon. For many people here in Singapore, the Chinese New Year festival means getting together with our relatives and friends over food and snacks.
However, while it is definitely good to catch up with relatives and friends, we also do need to watch our health, our weight and check that we have enough sleep during Chinese New Year – to avoid tiredness and piling on the kilos.
So here are a few tips that you may want to follow, to look after your health better, during the Chinese New Year.
Water has zero calories, making it the ideal beverage to drink more of this, during this festive season.
And additionally, taking in more water than usual, can also help to flush out any waste products accumulated from the constant feasting on the yummy but sinful goodies.
So try to keep a bottle of water with you, at all times.
2) Portion Control
Practising portion control is important during the Chinese New Year season because if you don’t watch how much you are eating, you will very easily put on weight.
So for example, limit yourself to one pineapple tart per household you are visiting, and not one jar of those pineapple tarts.
3) Do not visit on an empty stomach
Try to eat something healthy in between your visiting rounds to fill yourself up, so that you will not be feeling hungry at your relatives’ or friends’ house.
This is because being hungry will only set you up for disaster as you’ll end up chowing down the unhealthy snacks that are available.
4) Work Out Where Possible
Chinese New Year should not be a time to forego your workout regime. Try to work out whenever you find the time to during this season as a way to offset the eating.
If you really do not have time to wake up earlier than usual say, for a run, try and work the exercise into your day.
For instance, park your car further away from the house you are visiting so that you’ll have to walk there. Or take the stairs instead of the lift if you are choosing to take public transport. Getting off the bus or train one stop further away from your destination also helps.
It may be hard to sleep when you are busy seeing your relatives or friends all day, but try and get as much sleep as possible, even if that means catching cat-naps or sleeping in the car or bus in between visiting rounds.
If you are the designated driver, why not ask your spouse or partner to do part of the driving, so that you can get a nap in the car?
With these tips in mind, I hope that this year, you can have a happy and healthy Chinese New Year festive season, with the opportunity to indulging in good food and catching up with relatives and friends – and at the same time, without emerging from it worse for wear.
About the author:
Priscilla Chew is the winner of Best Health & Wellness Blog at the 2015 Singapore Blog Awards. Pris is Astavita’s sports ambassador. She attributes her stamina to cope with her running lifestyle with the help of Astavita’s Sports. She hopes her passion for running and sports will inspire other people to exercise on a regular basis for fitness and health. You may follow her on Instagram: prisgooner


Benghazi was a retaliation raid in a war nobody, including Stevens and Petraeus, knew Brennan was wagin
A co-author of the new book “Benghazi: The definitive report” told Human Events John O. Brennan, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, was the mastermind behind a secret war in North Africa, which led to the Sept. 11 raid on our mission in Benghazi.
The Senate should not confirm him as the new director of the CIA and Brennan should not continue in public life, said Jack Murphy, who wrote the book with Brandon Webb. “I think we need to let this guy go.”
Brennan spent more than 20 years in the CIA and Jan. 7 President Barack Obama nominated him to be the agency’s director.
In addition to his direction of black ops that raised the security threat to Americans without taking steps manage the increased risk, Brennan is the champion of the drone attack, which cause horrific civilian casualties and generate ill-will towards the United States, he said.
The campaign against Al Qaeda in the Islamic Meghreb and Ansar Al-Shari in North Africa was full-blown kinetic operation, he said. When AQIM and Ansar Al-Shari retaliated with the Benghazi raid nobody was prepared because Brennan never let anyone know how hot and heavy his personal war was getting
“It definitely had shades of the whole Iran-Iraq scandal, where you had the National Security Council running its own operation,” said Murphy, a former Army Ranger and Green Beret. With Webb, who is a former Navy SEAL, the two men run the SOFREP.com, website for the special operations community. Webb was best friends with former SEAL Glen Doherty, who was killed at Benghazi.
The central narrative of the book is that Brennan ran a secret war, independent of the Pentagon, exercising direct control of the Joint Special Operations Command, the senior command echelon for special operational units from all services.
Murphy said he was disappointed that coverage of the book has focused on the one-page aside that described how long-tenured CIA bureaucrats and his own personal security detail fanned the controversy that cost retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus his job as CIA director. “That’s what you get when you are dealing with tabloids.”
Murphy said the black ops in Eastern Libya were mainly to secure dangerous war materiel still loose from the country’s 2011 revolution against Kaddafi and to take out members of the Al Qaeda network.
The problem was that some of the raids upset certain militia who operate independent of the central government in Tripoli, he said.
The White House gave Congress the bare minimum of information to fulfill the letter of the law and whoever got those briefings just rubberstamped them, he said. “As I understand, it was off the books.”
Brennan’s secret war is not rogue, he said. It is an officially sanctioned campaign.
The controversy in Egypt and the riots over the YouTube video did help the local organizers of the Benghazi raid motivate foreign fighters and others to join in the battle, he said.
“The main contributing factor, and what broke the camel’s back, was the JSOC operations going in Libya,” he said. “It is what pushed them over the top.”
Amb. J. Christopher Stevens, who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on American diplomatic and para-military facilities in Benghazi, Libya, was aware of the general outline of Brennan’s operations, but Murphy said Stevens did not fully realize the animosity that Brennan was fomenting.
“I don’t want to say ‘arrogant,’ but Stevens may have been overconfident,” he said. “I question how good a read he had on the situation and how well he really understood what was going on over there.”
The ambassador was a highly-skilled diplomat, who was personally popular with the Libyans, he said. The fact that he spoke Arabic and preferred to move around the country without heavy personal security made him more vulnerable than he realized.
Stevens was kept in the dark about many things, he said.
“I think because he was such a smart guy, so familiar with the whole political situation, he had an idea about what was going on—he was smart enough to put two-and-two together, but he was not read on to these operations, and my understanding is neither was Petraeus.,” he said. “They both probably had an idea about what the White House was up to, but I don’t think it really hit home until that night,” he said.
The former Ranger and Green Beret said Stevens was focused on convincing militia to enter civil society and reduce the number of weapons in circulation in Libya. “I really believe he was involved in the consolidation of the weapons, because he knew so much about the weapons and what was going on in the country going all the way back to Kaddafi.”
One of the narratives to come out of Libya after the raids on Benghazi was that Stevens was in the business of transferring the weapons he collected and sending them to Syria to support the rebellion there.
Murphy said he is skeptical that the ambassador was involved in sending weapons to the Syrian rebels.
The American facilities at Benghazi were classified simply as a “temporary mission facility,” which was the walled compound, where the diplomatic business took place and the “mission annex,” which was the CIA safe house and operations center, he said. The installations never had the status of “consulate.”
Murphy said both American operators from the CIA, State Department and their associated contractors, swarmed in and out of the installations with a high operations tempo and sheer size of force that belied the “mission” nomenclature.
“That was a very significant operation being run out of the annex,” he said.
“The fact that they got blown out of there that night is a huge deal,” he said. “Petraeus must have been extremely angry. He was not being told what was going on, and it intended up getting a couple of his guys killed and completely destroying that entire operation.”
Keeping the mission nomenclature also meant that State Department bureaucrats, unaware of what was going on there, did not fully appreciate the need for security at Benghazi, because he said. They just looked up the required security packages for missions and met those requirements.
“Essentially, they opened up what was notionally a State Department facility and they jammed packed it with special operations operatives,” he said.
“It was a very ad hoc situation,” he said. Stevens wanted to upgrade the Benghazi mission to a consulate, so it could require more security, but it never happened. There was never the money or resources allocated to meet the real threat.
Further compounding the problem, personnel from State’s Diplomatic Secret Service rotated in and out so quickly, there was never institutional memory and reference points, he said. “You can imagine what it is like if there is a new guy every week.
Because of the covert nature of the operations at the Benghazi compound and the relative low-status of the “mission,” Marines were not an option, either, he said.
Putting the book together, Murphy said it was not had to get people to talk to him about the general situation in Libya or even about FBI or State Department functions. “When you start getting into JSOC and CIA covert operations, it gets really difficult to find out what is going on.”
Because of the sensitivities involved, the authors double-source the claims in the book, he said. Many more stories were left out because there was no independent confirmation.