TIBET

On the religious and political struggle of reincarnation


PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 11, 2022
By Guest Contributor - Opinion


It was the 40th year of Kangxi’s reign or 1701 A.D., a Tibetan letter was sent from Lhasa to Beijing.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor:

Please recognize His Holiness Tsangyang Gyatso as the Sixth Dalai Lama enthroned by Desi Sangye Gyatso. And please also bestow him the Tibetan-Chinese golden certificate and stamp as for the previous Fifth Dalai Lama." - writes Roland Delcourt.

It was a turbulent era on the Tibetan plateau. During the previous decade, Desi Sangye Gyatso ostensibly obeyed the Qing Court but secretly partnered with the Qing Dynasty's strongest enemy; Galdan Boshugtu Khan, leader of the Dzungar Mongols. Galdan Boshugtu Khan was defeated by the Kangxi Emperor and died four years earlier in 1697, leaving Desi Sangye Gyatso and the young Tsangyang Gyatso in an awkward position. The above begging letter was rejected and Tsangyang Gyatso reused the stamp bestowed upon the Fifth Dalai Lama.

Desi Sangye Gyatso paid the ultimate price for his betrayal, he was killed during the clash with the Mongolian leader Lha-bzang Khan. Lha-bzang Khan was apparently more loyal to the Kangxi Emperor who entitled him as a “Buddhism Respecting, Deferential Khan”. Tsangyang Gyatso, famous for his love of poetry and untraditional behaviours, was forced to abdicate and died on his way to Beijing. Lha-bzang Khan then enthroned Yeshe Gyatso as the new Lama (a recent study showed, Yeshe Gyatso was one of the previous candidates for the Fifth Dalai Lama reincarnation), the second one with the title of the Sixth Dalai Lama. After the Panchen Lama’s endorsement, the Qing Court finally recognised Yeshe Gyatso as Dalai Lama and issued the official stamped golden certificate.

The story didn’t end here, the Dzungar Khanate Mongols continued their expansion towards Lhasa after Galdan Boshugtu Khan’s death. A Dzungar Khanate general overthrew Lha-bzang Khan and again forced Yeshe Gyatso to abdicate. This time, both Dzungar Khanate Mongols and Qinghai Mongols worshipped a Litang boy, Kelzang Gyatso, believing he was the reincarnation of Tsangyang Gyatso.

However, the Qing court promptly reacted and put Kelzang Gyatso under their protection. The Qing Court launched a large joint campaign with the Qinghai Mongolian army and their own forces. The expedition was launched to recover the Dalai Lama’s throne in Lhasa, with Kelzang Gyatso himself participating in the campaign. The Dzungar Khanate Mongols were driven out of Tibet and Kelzang Gyatso was enthroned as the new Dalai Lama in Potala. Because the Qing Court did not approve of Tsangyang Gyatso, the new certificate only regarded Kelzang Gyatso as the Sixth Dalai Lama, the third one with the title (As late as 1780, the Qianlong Emperor recognized Kelzang Gyatso’s reincarnation as the Eighth Dalai Lama, implying Kelzang Gyatso was, in fact, the Seventh Dalai Lama).

The complicated story of the three different Sixth Dalai Lamas vividly shows the destiny of the Lamas’ implications in various political struggles. Political power played the upper hand while religious guidance was set aside. The Qing Court understood the significance of the Dalai Lama in Tibetan and Mongolian politics, it was therefore vital to securing tight control over the Gelugpa School as well as the Dalai Lamas. This has been the core principle of the Qing policy. At the beginning of Kelzang Gyatso’s era, the Dalai Lama was more of a religious figure and the power of administration lay in the hand of a secular Tibetan noble family. In 1751, the Qianlong Emperor set up Tibet’s theocracy system with the Dalai Lama as both a secular and religious ruler. In 1793, the Qing Court issued the Twenty-Nine Articles on the Aftermath of Tibetan Affairs, in which the Golden Urn was introduced to decide the selection of high-level Tibetan and Mongolian Lamas including the Dalai Lama.

Since its birth, the Dalai Lama has never been a purely religious figure. As the leading Lama in Tibet and its influential surrounding areas, several political leaders tried to secure the Lama to serve their own political agenda. The great Lamas, just like many other religious leaders, learned how to serve the political power and leverage their sponsorship for the best religious interest (Tibetan Buddhism calls it Cho-yon). However, several Dalai Lamas, often short-lived, became the puppets of powerful Tibetan noble families.

We might be surprised by the interference of a secular government in seemingly pure spiritual affairs, this however is not cultural exceptionalism. The King of England, Henry the Eighth, would have agreed on one of China's government’s core policies on religion, which is to refuse and expel foreign influence, especially influence with political implications. In European medieval history, power struggles between monarchies and the church were fierce and often bloody. As Europe modernised, Western society gradually separated the state and the church as the saying: “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God”. In the case of Tibet, the theocratic system outlasted the Qing Dynasty and survived until 1959. This rich tradition means the Lamas still play an active role in secular life and politics. In a similar case to the Qing Court, having an untrusted high-level Lama is harmful to the rule and order of China. Although the Chinese government doesn’t really care who exactly is the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas, it would be improper but especially naïve to suggest it had no say in the matter.

The current reincarnation process was not invented by the Chinese Communist Party. As Tibet is part of China's territory, any high-level lama in Tibet must be recognised and obtain the blessing of the government. The current situation of Lamas exiled in India has a complicated historical background, however, a brand-new foreign Lama with great influence over part of China is just too absurd and unimaginable for any Chinese government. From an observer’s perspective, it is in the best interest of China and the Dalai Lama to get a certain tacit agreement on the reincarnation process, which might be an opportunity to solve the Tibetan issue once and for all. Unfortunately, due to past problems, especially the catastrophic end of the Panchen Lama's reincarnation, there is little trust between both sides and such an agreement would be extremely difficult. Tenzin Gyatso, the current Fourteenth Dalai Lama needs to carefully think about the legacy he wishes to leave for Tibet.

Compared with the Qing Dynasty’s actions toward Tibetan Buddhism, the Chinese Communist Party is in fact much more moderate. Unlike the Qing Court in 1904 and 1910, the Chinese Government did not deprive Tenzin Gyatso of his Fourteenth Dalai Lama title after his exile in 1959. When China entered a new era of reform in the 1980s, the government corrected its past policy in Tibet and funded Buddhist monasteries with monetary help from the local and central governments. Even when facing rebellious Tibetan monks in the 1990s and beyond, the Chinese government never went as far as the Qing Court to close or totally remove them.

With possibly the world's longest secular system, today’s China is still evolving its own principle of separation from the church and the state. Throughout history, the Tibetan Lamas always tried to find political sponsors to expand their religious sphere of influence. Today, the Tibetan Lamas need to leave the political and secular domain to refocus on the religious domain, at the same time, the secular government should adapt its laws to regulate religious activities and gradually reduce its roles in religious affairs.

Lula lead narrows to less than 5 points in Brazil election - AtlasIntel survey
Reuters

October 13, 2022

A man walks past presidential campaign materials depicting Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and and President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, September 23, 2022. 

REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

BRASILIA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's polling lead over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro has narrowed to less than 5 percentage points, according to a new opinion survey published on Thursday by pollster AtlasIntel.

In its first poll since the first-round vote on Oct. 2, pollster AtlasIntel found 51.1% of voters for Lula and 46.5% behind Bolsonaro. Excluding undecided voters and null votes, Lula has 52.4% support and Bolsonaro 47.6%.

In the first round of the polarized presidential election, with an initial field of nine candidates, Lula won 48% of the votes against 43% for Bolsonaro, setting the terrain for an unexpectedly competitive runoff on Oct. 30.

"The snapshot from this survey shows a more difficult fight for Lula than appeared at first, but with a certain advantage setting in for Lula that will be difficult to overcome," said Andrei Roman, chief executive of AtlasIntel.

AtlasIntel was one of several polling firms criticized for underestimating support for Bolsonaro in the first round, although it was closer than several more traditional pollsters. AtlasIntel had registered a 9-point lead for Lula ahead of that vote, when in fact the difference was just 5 points.

Thursday's poll showed that 53.3% of Brazilian voters disapprove of Bolsonaro's performance as president, versus 44.2% that approve of his way of governing Brazil, improving significantly from March, when 65% disapproved and 33% approved.

Bolsonaro needs to gain 6 million additional votes to win re-election, while Lula needs 1.2 million to get elected in what would be a third term for the former president who served from 2003-2010.

AtlasIntel interviewed 4,500 voters nationwide that were recruited randomly over the Internet, between Oct 8-12. The poll has a margin of error on 1 percentage point.

BEYOND THE BUBBLE

Russian revanchism runs deeper than Putin

The West should be extremely cautious about welcoming Russians now trying to flee Putin’s mobilization order — they pose a security risk, says Petr Pavel.

Russian citizens stand beside a fire by the road to the border 

with Georgia on September 30, 2022 | Olga Iunasheva/EPA-EFE

BY WILLIAM NATTRASS
OCTOBER 15, 2022 
William Nattrass is a freelance journalist and commentator based in Prague.

Serving as NATO’s Military Committee chairman from 2015 to 2018 and a former chief of staff of the Czech Army, Petr Pavel is now a leading candidate in the Czech Republic’s presidential election next year. And most tellingly, he believes that Russia’s revanchist mindset goes well beyond President Vladimir Putin, and is embraced by many Russian citizens themselves.

In a recent interview, Pavel shared with me that the West should be extremely cautious about welcoming Russians who are now trying to flee Putin’s mobilization order. “Opposition to mobilization is not a revolt against the regime, or any kind of support for Ukraine,” he said. “These Russians still believe in punishing Ukraine, just not involving the general public.”

“The young men trying to leave the country are worried about their own lives — that doesn’t mean they’re against the war. I’m sure that many of them will continue to support Putin’s nationalist policies,” he added.

“I would definitely not agree that everyone fleeing Russia is our friend.”

Rather, Pavel believes an influx of Russians would pose an unacceptable security risk, particularly as large-scale protests in Prague indicate that support for Ukraine may be wavering among some sections of the Czech public.

“Can you imagine a country like ours, which already has a strong Russian ‘fifth column,’ accepting another 40,000 or 50,000 Russian men?” he asks. “Men who wouldn’t support democratic regimes, who wouldn’t be grateful to the Czech Republic as a democratic country, who would stay within their nationalist positions? This would be a risk to our internal security.”

The Czech government has taken a tough stance on the war in Ukraine, but this stance is now being blamed by some for the country’s economic woes. And protests attended by tens of thousands in Prague’s Wenceslas Square have been marked by strong anti-Western sentiments, with many calling for the country to leave the European Union and NATO, suggesting that those institutions provoked the war in Ukraine.

On the presidential campaign trail, Pavel hears such views throughout the country, and he says it has become all too easy to blame the West for global issues.

“Anybody who knows about the functioning of the EU and NATO understands that if we weren’t a member of either, we would be far worse off. But it’s so easy to point to an external source for our problems,” he sighs.

Anger is also being fed by a lack of trust in mainstream media and politicians — something that Pavel believes is partly attributable to malign Russian influence. “I think Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are clear examples of Russia’s hybrid warfare succeeding, making the population disbelieve all the pillars of power — including politicians and the media.”

“But we in the West are also partly responsible by being unable to admit that we make mistakes,” he concedes. “Just look at Libya, for example. We stuck to the assessment that Libya was a strategic success — but we didn’t have any political solution, and in the end, we caused more problems than we solved. All the Russians had to do was say: ‘This is what strategic success looks like to the West. Do you want this?’”

 

Petr Pavel believes an influx of Russians would pose an unacceptable security risk 

| Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE

“We’re so afraid to admit weakness that we create a lot of space for hostile propaganda,” Pavel admits.

He also laments the domestic success of Putin’s propaganda, claiming that a nationalist mindset, stemming from resentment over Russia’s declining influence, makes an imminent coup displacing Putin and changing Russian policy highly unlikely.

“There will be no democratic revolution in Russia for the foreseeable future,” he says. “Not just because of the regime’s strong position, but also because of the mentality of many Russians.”

“There’s no room for a true opposition movement to grow. Even Alexei Navalny isn’t really a proper opposition leader. He’s definitely not a liberal democrat, he’s another kind of Russian nationalist, although he would, of course, be a better negotiating counterpart than the current leadership.”

This level of public support for Putin’s agenda provides an unsettling backdrop for the Russian president’s insistence that he’s “not bluffing” when it comes to the potential use of nuclear weapons too. And Pavel notes that Moscow’s reliance on the nuclear threat is “the only parameter of being a superpower that Russians still have.”

Resentment over this lost superpower status also severely hampered negotiations during Pavel’s tenure as chief of the NATO Military Committee in the years following Crimea’s annexation.

“I was closely in touch with Russia, and I tried to be fair, not always painting things in black and white. Still, there was no getting around the fact that the West took several steps toward Russia. There were a number of efforts to engage and offer them a greater share in dealing with global issues.”

“But Russia didn’t see any value in partnership because they don’t believe in the ‘win-win’ principle,” he says. “In their thinking, you either win or lose. There’s a saying in Russia: ‘If I’m a General, you’re stupid; if you’re a General, I’m stupid.’ There’s no understanding that both sides can get something out of a situation.”

He recalls suggesting “that instead of focusing only on Ukraine, we should talk about the overall security situation from the Black Sea to the North Sea, including exercises, military presence at borders, new weapons and so on. But they didn’t want to have that discussion. They would just claim that the West was bringing Ukraine closer to NATO, as another part of Western betrayal.”

At the same time, Pavel admits that NATO underestimated Putin’s willingness to use brute force to achieve its stated goals — something the West can no longer have any illusions about.

“Russians are often very straightforward,” he warns. “When Putin was talking about a Russian world, we didn’t take him seriously. But he meant it.”

PAKISTAN

Watch: Malala returns to Pakistan on 10th anniversary of Taliban shooting to meet flood victims

Visit aims 'to help keep international attention focused on the impact' of flooding, 'reinforce the need for critical humanitarian aid'



By AFP
Published: Wed 12 Oct 2022

Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday returned to her native Pakistan to meet flood victims, 10 years after a Taliban assassination attempt against her.

Her visit — only the second since she was flown to Britain for life-saving treatment — comes as thousands of people protested in her home town, where the same militant group is once again on the rise

Malala was just 15 years old when the Pakistani Taliban shot her in the head over her campaign for girls’ education.

On Tuesday, two days after the 10th anniversary of the attack, she landed in Karachi, from where she will travel to areas devastated by unprecedented monsoon flooding.
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Her visit aims “to help keep international attention focused on the impact of floods in Pakistan and reinforce the need for critical humanitarian aid”, her organisation Malala Fund said in a statement.

Catastrophic flooding put a third of Pakistan under water, displaced eight million people, and caused an estimated $28 billion in damages.

Malala grew up in the town of Mingora in the deeply conservative Swat Valley, close to the border with Afghanistan,

The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), waged a years-long insurgency there that ended with a major military crackdown in 2014.

But there has been a resurgence in unrest since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul last year.

The TTP has claimed dozens of attacks in recent weeks, mostly against security forces and anti-Taliban elders.

“We are tired and can no longer carry dead bodies,” said Muhammad Ali Shah, the former mayor of Swat.

“It is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens and provide them with security, but the government’s silence on all these incidents is criminal.”

More than 5,000 people blocked a main road through Mingora, sparked by the latest attack on a school bus on Monday, in which the driver was killed and a 10 or 11-year-old boy wounded.

The TTP have denied responsibility and the police said they are investigating the motive.

Students and teachers walked out of schools — including the school attended by Yousafzai that her father established — to call for peace.

“Our protest will continue until the arrest of the killers, we will not rise from here until the top government officials assure us of justice and an end to militancy,” said doctor Amjad Ali, 36.

‘Incompetent govt’ has failed to dewater Sindh villages: Haleem

Sheikh claims dewatering yet to begin in most flooded villages

Our Correspondent

October 06, 2022

Sindh Assembly Opposition Leader Haleem Adil Sheikh interacts with people on a boat in the flood-hit Tando Allahyar district. Photo: PPIKARACHI:

Haleem Adil Sheikh, leader of the opposition in the, has said that people are suffering immensely as the "incompetent government" in the province has failed to drain out floodwater from their farmlands even after the passage of two months.

"People say they don't want aid, they only want their villages and farmlands dewatered," Sheikh said while speaking to reporters during his visits to the flood-hit areas of Hyderabad and Tando Allahyar. Accompanied by PTI leaders Ali Palh Advocate, Lala Aminullah Moosa, and others, he visited different areas of Tando Allahyar by boat. He asked people if they had received any government relief, but most of them replied in the negative.

Expressing his deep concerns over the situation, Sheikh said that not only in Tando Allahyar but everywhere in Sindh villages were still submerged in floodwater. "People are using boats for commuting between places," he claimed.

"The Sindh government is not visible anywhere. A 'minister for system' appears on television every day to tell lies about distribution of relief goods," he said. "There is an outbreak of dengue, malaria, typhoid and other diseases, but there are neither doctors nor medicines," he said, adding that a big human tragedy was in the making in Sindh.

Sheikh claimed that dewatering has yet to begin in most flooded villages and towns. The provincial government's machinery is working on farmlands of feudal lords belonging to the ruling parties, he said, adding that "there is a state of Zardari within the state in Sindh". He said Sindh needed Haqeeqi Azadi. "Our Kaptan will lead the Haqeeqi Azadi march this week and the PTI will be voted to power with two-thirds majority in the next general elections."

Earlier, addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Sheikh said that billions of rupees have been allegedly donated on the call of PPP Co-chairman Bilawal Zardari but not a penny has given to the forsaken people of Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2022.

The Daily Hustle: One young woman’s journey to an English course in Kabul

Rama Mirzada 15 Oct 202

For many Afghans the first year of Taleban rule was marked by uncertainty and anxiety over the country’s sudden change in fortunes. Virtually every area of daily life, from banking and shopping to travelling around the country to marriage celebrations has been affected. We wanted to find out from a variety of people how an aspect of their daily life had changed and how they were negotiating this changed landscape. In this first instalment of a new series, AAN guest author, Rama Mirzada, writes about what it has been like for her, a young woman, to overcome her fears, and the anxiety of her family, at her leaving the house to enrol in an English language course.

Women in a classroom at Noorania school, in Sharan city, Paktika province. 

Photo: Hector Retamal/AFP, 16 November 2021.

I’m a 23-year-old Afghan woman, ambitious and with big dreams for my own future and the future of my country. In February 2021, I returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan where I had gone for undergraduate studies. I arrived home with my BA in International Relations in hand and a long-held dream of winning a coveted place at Oxford University in the UK for post-graduate studies.

That was the plan anyway.

Months later, the old government fell and on 15 August 2021, the Taleban entered Kabul the same day and with them a new era for Afghanistan began. Overnight, our country became a harder place for a woman to pursue her dreams. In those early months, I mostly stayed at home, trying to imagine what the new Afghanistan would look like and what this sudden change would mean for my own future. Life settled into a quiet routine – working from home, reading and helping my mother with chores around the house. I even started to learn Chinese online. I would leave the house once a month, with my mother in tow, to collect my salary. But I knew this was not sustainable. I had to put my anxieties and reservations aside and properly breach the four-wall confines of our house. I needed to re-engage with the world outside, renew my social relationships, upgrade my skills and revive my plans to get a master’s degree.

So in April 2022, I bought a black hijab and announced to my family that I intended to enrol in an English language course at one of Kabul’s universities. My loving parents were understandably anxious. They tried every argument they could think of to change my mind. In Afghanistan, where decision-making is often a whole of family affair, even our relatives chimed in to dissuade me. These were uncertain times, they said, no time for a girl to travel clear across town for any reason, least of all to take an English course. My parents asked if I couldn’t find a course online or closer to home. The chorus of naysayers was loud and compelling and I had to be strong to keep up my resolve. I even fibbed a little and told them my supervisor at work wanted me to improve my English writing skills – a white lie to further the cause of my education and independence.

Finally, after weeks of negotiations, sometimes lasting well into the night, they relented. The discussions about safety measures then began. They cautioned me against talking to people I don’t know, telling people where I work, and talking politics. They even hired a driver to take me to school and back. As I was leaving the house to register, my father said: “You don’t listen to anyone’s advice. That’s why I’m not going to say anything to you on this subject ever again.”

I’m not particularly brave. On the day I went to register, I was very anxious. As the car travelled the long distance between my home and the university, my parents’ words of caution were on replay in my head, but all that disappeared as soon as I walked into the university, anxiety gave way to relief. I was energised by the staff’s welcoming attitude to the women and girls who had, like me, come to register.

There were no Talebs inside the university and if anyone judged what I was wearing, I didn’t notice. I asked the staff about the rules of attire for female students – they were not too particular about this. They stressed, instead, that the classes were segregated by gender and that there were separate areas for male and female students. Later, but only much later, we were told that a delegation from the Taleban’s Ministry of Higher Education would spend ten days on campus. They would observe classes, examine the curriculum and ensure classes were in fact segregated by gender. We were cautioned to adhere to the hijab rules as defined by the new government. They have not come to inspect our classes yet.

We faced a new problem though: our class was undersubscribed. It had not reached the minimum number of students (ten) required to convene it. Our instructors said the school would have to cancel the class because it could not run courses at a financial loss. There were relatively few female students, in sharp contrast to the boys’ classes, which according to our instructors, were oversubscribed and bursting with students.

As it turned out, the numbers in our class slowly grew. A new student one day, another two the next, until we reached the requisite 10 girls enrolled in the class. Every time a new student walked into the classroom, my classmates and I would cheer and congratulate them and each other and our spirits rallied as we saw the possibility of the course being cancelled diminish.

For most Afghans, finding the spare cash to pay for the course in the current economic environment is difficult, if not impossible. The 11,000 afghanis (about USD 125) I paid for this three-month course is equivalent to one month’s rent for the family that lives next door to us. I can bear the cost because I have a job and live at home with my parents. In a country where most families have difficulty putting food on the table. I am fully aware of my privilege.

My parents have always pushed my siblings and me to excel at school, to persevere and aim high. Sometimes, I think they care more about our education than we do ourselves. These days, my mother scours the internet for post-graduate scholarships and sends me the ones she finds, even if they are unavailable to Afghans. Their support gives me the energy to dream big and stick with it. Behind every successful person are doggedly supportive parents. This is also a privilege.

In my lifetime, Kabul has always been a city of unexpected incidents – suicide bombings, sticky bombs, roadside IEDs and kidnapping. Things go back to ‘normal’ quickly and people return to their routines – work, school, shopping, family visits – grateful if the incident has not touched them and the people they love, but heartsick with grief for their neighbours and compatriots. They make some adjustments to their routines and hope the next dreaded attack does not come.

Yet ‘the next attack’ when it came, targeted students like me – women and girls taking a mock university entrance exam at the Kaaj Higher Education Centre in Dasht-e Barchi – a district in west Kabul inhabited mostly by Hazara Shia Muslims on 30 September 2022. Some 60 people, mostly women and girls, were killed in the attack.

The morning after, as I prepared to leave for school, I could read the concern in my parents’ eyes, but there was no longer any question of my not continuing with the course. In our house, the issue had already been debated and decided. And now after the attack, the stakes were even higher; people were taking to the streets in Afghanistan and abroad to protest against what they consider to be a genocide of Hazaras. Women and girls who, like me, are in education have a role to play in defining the future for ourselves and our daughters. Our job is to keep going.

There were fewer people at the university that morning. Only half of my classmates showed up. All were, no doubt, concerned about the possibility of a similar attack against our school. In the days that followed, students slowly started showing up for class and by the end of the week, the numbers were nearly back to normal.

We continue to arrive every morning on a campus segregated by gender. Although there are no male students in the building when female classes are in session – except for the instructors and university staff, who are mostly male – female students must leave the campus immediately after their classes end. Coaxed by the guards to make haste and vacate the premises, we make way for male students to enter the campus 30 minutes after our classes are dismissed. This doesn’t leave much time for us to get to know our classmates or have side conversations outside the classroom. But, for now, sharing space in a classroom where we can learn together is enough.

Edited by Roxanna Shapour and Kate Clark

Afghanistan: Taliban shut women out of university classes in extended crackdown on education

The Taliban have banned women from enrolling in certain courses at some Afghan universities - widening their crackdown on female education since their August 2021 takeover.

The New Arab Staff
15 October, 2022

The ban of female education in Afghanistan is not uniform - some women can go to certain classes, others are shut out entirely [source: Getty]


The Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on the subjects available to women at some public universities, in yet another move to limit the educational opportunities available to Afghan girls.

In Nangarhar University, the second largest education institution in Afghanistan, female students were handed a class enrollment list which was cut short compared to the sign-up documents given to their male peers.

Subjects such as journalism, agriculture and veterinary medicine were removed from the female student’s curriculums, limiting their choices to seven out of a total of 13 classes.

Fatima, not her real name, told the BBC that she broke down in tears when she saw the subject lists.

"I dreamed of being a journalist. I wanted to work on radio and TV. I want to fight for women’s rights," she explained to the British broadcaster.

"All their hopes are gone now," said Fatima when speaking about the women who manage to pass the entrance exams and get into public universities.

RELATED

Kabul blast a setback for Afghan women seeking education against the odds

The BBC confirmed with professors at the university that male students were given a full list of subjects.

These restrictions have not been enforced at every Afghan education institution. For example, in Kabul university, girls are still able to attend journalism courses.

The Taliban’s Abdul Qadir Khamush, who heads the examinations division in the Ministry of Higher Education, has said girls can choose their favourite subject, with the exception of just three or four.

"We need to provide separate classes for women. In some areas the number of female candidates are low. So we are not allowing women to apply for certain courses," he said.

Soon after returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban shut girls and women out of school classrooms in a bid to impose their ultra-strict interpretation of Islam on Afghan society.

Thursday marked 389 days since scores of girls across the country have been banned from attending school, said Human Rights Watch's Associate Director Heather Barr to Afghan news website Tolo News.

This school ban has not been uniformly imposed across provinces. In some cases, girls made it back into classrooms after a matter of weeks. Whereas, in other cases, they continue to be excluded if they are of secondary school age or above.

TRUE FICTION

Russian UUV caused a tsunami 57x higher the Empire State Building

By Boyko Nikolov On Oct 15, 2022

TOKYO ($1=148.78 Japanese Yens) — Today, the US has nothing to oppose the Russian “weapon of the Last Judgment” – the Poseidon nuclear torpedo, writes the Japanese edition of Yahoo News Japan.

Photo credit: Defense Express

• Russia sends Krasnoyarsk nuke sub for first tests in the White Sea
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• US: Yasen-M sub is a top-tier and rivals anything in the water

The authors of the article recall that Poseidon is a fully autonomous unmanned kamikaze underwater drone, the explosion of which is capable of causing a tsunami at a height of 500 meters, which is 57 times higher than the Empire State Building.

Also, the Russian torpedo is equipped with a nuclear power plant, which makes its range almost unlimited. According to the Japanese authors, the US has nothing similar and no means that could oppose the Russian nuclear torpedo.

Poseidon ‘disappeared’

On October 3, Russian nuclear submarine with nuclear torpedo Poseidon “disappeared” from NATO radars. This is claimed by the Italian daily La Repubblica. The Italian media received the information from NATO sources. The disappeared submarine was K-329 Belgorod. The sub can carry up to six Poseidon torpedoes, all equipped with nuclear warheads. This type of submarine does not emit a heat wave. This is a problem for the allied forces, as their submarines and sensors are tuned to feast on the heat wave.

Poseidon UUV

Poseidon is an intercontinental nuclear-powered nuclear-armed autonomous torpedo. The Poseidon is the largest torpedo currently in the world ever developed by any country. The torpedo is 24 meters long and has a diameter of 2 meters. Its speed underwater is remarkable – 70 knots. For people who don’t understand sea speed, 70 knots equals 130 km/h. The torpedo can swim at a depth of 1 km. The propulsion is nuclear, and the warhead it can carry is 2 megatons.

The Belgorod nuclear submarine is becoming a dangerous Russian weapon precisely because of the presence of its Poseidon nuclear torpedoes. H. I. Sutton writes on his hisutton.com blog that the Poseidon is intended for a second strike, as part of the Russian Federation’s nuclear deterrent, and its targets are coastal cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Pravda.ru

“In this scenario, the lack of dependence on satellites and the fact that it literally passes under missile defenses make it a slow but inevitable death. Critically, this is a diversification of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, not a replacement for submarine-launched missiles,” Sutton wrote.

Belgorod sub

As we reported in July 8, the Russian Navy acquired the largest submarine built in 40 years – Belgorod, Oscar II-class. The information was confirmed by the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Russia – Sevmash.

The Belgorod submarine is a nuclear submarine, and its construction began nearly three years ago – in 2019. The length of the submarine is 184 m and its displacement is 14,700/17,000 tonnes surfaced and 24,000/30,000 tonnes submerged. There is currently no official information on her range, but according to open source data, her maximum speed is 32 knots [59 km/h; 37 mph] surfaced.

The main purpose of the Belgorod submarine is to carry six nuclear unmanned underwater vehicles [UUVs] – the Poseidon nuclear torpedoes. During combat, Belgorod can integrate a small nuclear submarine designed for deep-sea diving under its keel. Belgorod also impresses with other key advantages – the integration of a second rescue submarine on Belgorod’s back, as well as the ability to carry a large payload, including independent nuclear power plants.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The armament of the Belgorod nuclear submarine is standard for this class of submarines – torpedoes, cruise missiles, mines. More impressive is the presence of six Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.

Scientists Discovered a New — and Already Endangered — Whale Species

The species lives in the Gulf of Mexico

A Rice's whale.

BY TOBIAS CARROLL @TOBIASCARROLL

Normally, the discovery of a new species is grounds for celebration. And in the case of Rice’s whale — also known as the Gulf of Mexico whale — that is very much the case, but it’s tempered with no small amount of scientific anxiety. That’s because, according to this Washington Post article, there have only been 50 known examples of the species in the wild.

As the NOAA explained, the Rice’s whale was originally believed to have been a population of Bryde’s whales living in the Gulf of Mexico. Bryde’s whales are found north and south of the Equator around the globe; Rice’s whales, meanwhile, have a much more contained habitat. They can grow to be over 40 feet long, with the Post‘s article comparing their weight to that of a fire truck.

The species takes its name from the late scientist Dale Rice, who was the first to observe the population decades earlier.

The fact that these whales call the Gulf of Mexico home speaks to one of the reasons that they’re considered endangered. Events like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have had an adverse effect on creatures living in the Gulf of Mexico, and the whales are vulnerable to both the effects of pollution and to vehicular collisions. Hopefully, now that the species has been identified as such, further steps can be taken to protect it.

After Hurricane Ian, Florida citrus and agriculture struggle

The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds are only the start of the disaster for citrus growers

ByCURT ANDERSON Associated Press
October 15, 2022



ZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. -- The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds like so many green and yellow marbles are only the start of the disaster for citrus grower Roy Petteway.

The fruit strewn about his 100-acre (40-hectare) grove in central Florida since the storm swept through will mostly go to waste. But what are even worse are the flood and rain waters that weakened the orange trees in ways that are difficult to see right away.

“For the next six months we'll be evaluating the damage,” Petteway said in an interview at his farm, where he estimates about a 40% crop loss. “You're going to have a lot of damage that will rear its head.”

Citrus is big business in Florida, with more than 375,000 acres (152,000 hectares) in the state devoted to oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and the like for an industry valued at more than $6 billion annually. Hurricane Ian hit the citrus groves hard, as well as the state's large cattle industry, dairy operations, vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and even hundreds of thousands of bees essential to many growers.

“This year will be tough, no one is disputing that, but I believe in the tenacity and passion of our citrus industry professionals to come back stronger than ever," said Nikki Fried, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The orange forecast for 2022-2023, released Wednesday, puts production at about 28 million boxes, or 1.26 million tons, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. That's 32% below the year before and does not account for damage from the hurricane, which will surely worsen those numbers.

Most Florida oranges are used to make juice, and this season’s drastically lower harvest, combined with the still-unquantified slam from Ian, will press prices upward and force producers to rely even more heavily on California and imported oranges from Latin America.

“This is a gut punch. There's no doubt about it,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association. “You've really got about 72 hours to get the water off these trees before you start sustaining significant damage if not mortality. Trees need water to grow. They don't need to be standing in water.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who appeared at a Florida Citrus Mutual event this week in Zolfo Springs, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Tampa, said about $3 billion in federal funding is needed to cover costs from loss of crops and trees. And, Rubio told about 500 people at the gathering, it's crucial not to let the storm make agricultural land disappear.

“When you lose land, and what happens is people can't afford to keep doing this anymore, and that land is taken. It's gone,” the Republican senator said. “I've never seen a mall turned back into agricultural land.”

Then there are the bees.

The University of Florida estimates that about 380,000 known bee colonies were in the path of Hurricane Ian as it bisected the state. The storm not only damaged the beehives themselves, but also blew off blossoms, leading some bees to raid other colonies for the honey they need to eat.

“Masses of honeybee colonies submerged in water are in distress,” the Florida Farm Bureau said in a statement. “Bee pollination is critical to the livelihood of our state's plants and crops, and is just one example of the long-term effects of this deadly storm.”

More than 100 people died in Florida from the storm, about half of those in hardest-hit Lee County, where the powerful Category 4 hurricane came ashore with 155 mph (259 kph) winds on Sept 28.

Hardee County, home to Petteway's citrus and cattle operation, recorded four of those storm-related deaths. Adding to that tragedy, the long-term effects on the farm industry will add broad impacts on the community.

“If you eat, you're part of agriculture,” Petteway, a fifth-generation Floridian, said during the tour of his groves. “We were anticipating a very good crop this year. Sadly, there's nothing we can do about it. It's just a devastating thing.”

As Petteway drove around on a golf cart, in a neighboring pasture he spotted a brand-new donkey foal he hadn't noticed before the hurricane. Coincidentally, not long after the storm passed, his wife gave birth to a daughter, now just over week old.

The people in these rural parts of Florida, he said, will recover as they always have.

“This was going to be the first good year in a while,” he said. “We're a resilient bunch. This is just another hurdle.”

FIRST NATIONS
Repatriation Conference: The Promise and Peril of Paleogenomics

Jennifer Raff, a professor in Indigenous studies with a specialty in genetic research at the University of Kansas, was a keynote speaker at the 8th annual Association for American Indian Affairs conference on repatriation. 

(Photo: Jenna Kunze for Native News Online)BY JENNA KUNZE OCTOBER 13, 2022

NEW BUFFALO, Mich.—Paleogenomics, the study of ancient ancestors’ DNA to understand the past, is a practice with a fraught colonial history.

That’s because DNA analysis of Indigenous people by non-Indigenous people was done mostly without the consent of living tribal relatives, and served to perpetuate harmful stereotypes against Native peoples.

Jennifer Raff, a professor in Indigenous studies with a specialty in genetic research at the University of Kansas, believes that paleogenomics have both promise and peril.

“Ancient genomes give us an extraordinary understanding, and powerful way to understand the past and to understand specifically the biological histories of humans, of nonhumans, of entire ecosystems,” said Raff, who spoke Wednesday as a keynote speaker at the Association on American Indian Affairs conference on repatriation. “Like any other tool, paleogenomics can be used for good purposes and it can be used for bad purposes. It can be positive and empowering, or it can have unintended harmful consequences, even when it's employed by people who are well meaning and well-intentioned.”

Here is a recap of Raff’s speech on the power, shortcomings, and process of analyzing ancient DNA from ancestors. Her comments have been edited and condensed for clarity.
What can genetics tell us about the past?

“DNA can tell us about the biological relationships between individuals living in the present and the past. So the evolutionary forces that act on all life on Earth—natural selection, genetic drift migration, mutation—these all change the genetic composition of populations over time.

“DNA can allow us to estimate past population sizes, with some caveats. It can give an insight into sources of ancestry. Did your ancestors themselves have ancestry from this population? Or did they have some from an entirely different population that we may not have realized? We can look at demographic events. We can calculate approximate dates for these demographic events, again, with some caveats.

“We can also even learn about things like tuberculosis and other infectious diseases and where they came from. And we can learn about the relationships between nonhumans and humans. For example, dogs, and how they are related to the indigenous peoples and the populations with whom they traveled.”

What can’t DNA tell us?

“There's some things DNA cannot tell us. In general, it cannot tell us the location of events, unless there's some pretty tight connection with archaeological records. It can be very tricky. It cannot tell us the difference between two populations if they are or were genetically very similar to each other. It does not tell us anything about behavior and identity. And it does not tell us about tribal affiliation—That's a big one.”
How does the process of extracting and reading DNA work?

“We first take a sample from the ancestor, and this can be either a small bit of bone or tooth or hair. We can also obtain DNA from soil and some and sometimes from artifacts. The amount needed is 50 milligrams, and that's the approximate equivalent of a pinch of powder for each extraction.

“That much disturbance of an ancestor’s remains is completely unacceptable for some descendants, so that alone takes it off the table. There are some methods for trying to get ancient DNA without actually taking that powder sample, but they're a little bit unreliable.

“So the sample from the ancestor is treated to remove any contaminating DNA from the people who may have touched it, for example, museums. Then it is chemically treated, which releases DNA from the sample. You basically come out of it with a little tube full of liquid that has DNA in it. We take that resulting liquid that contains the ancestor’s DNA and run it through a column that contains silica. The DNA binds to silica under certain conditions, and that allows us to wash it with multiple buffers to clean away the soil, chemicals, and any other chemicals that might be there that could interfere with the sequencing process.

“Depending on how much DNA we have, we can either just sequence it outright and just sequence the whole genome. The DNA sequences that we get give us a literal readout of all the A’s, G's, T's and C's in that genome, but they're in a bazillion different random fragments, and so they have to be sorted. Once you have the genome assembled [into order], then you can begin to analyze it.”

How can DNA be used as a tool for repatriation, and what are the problems with this?

“DNA can be used to strengthen repatriation claims, but it's not a simple issue. If using DNA in repatriation claims becomes more common it potentially opens the door to defining indigeneity in genetic terms, which is problematic.

“It may also privilege DNA as a tool for assessing relationships over cultural knowledge and traditional knowledge and that is also a problem. And I say this as a geneticist. So the other thing I'm concerned about is, if using DNA for repatriation claims becomes common, will this widespread use set an expectation for DNA study and repatriation claims? I don't know that it will. But if it does, what about those tribes for whom DNA research is off the table because of its sacredness? Does that mean that they have less opportunity? And again, also, the results of DNA study may not match traditional knowledge traditional cultural historical knowledge. It can't be reliably used to determine tribal affiliation necessarily.

“I worry about using biological criteria, but I also am heartened by any tool that can strengthen repatriation.”

What is the ethical debate around paleogenomics?

“Expertise in ancient DNA does not make you an expert on bioethics. And I include myself in that category. Diné geneticist and bioethicist Kristal Tsosie pointed out … that being a paleogeneticist creates a conflict of interest when it comes to ethics, because [paleo geneticists] benefit from the research products, and she is absolutely right.”
What are some ‘best practice’ considerations, and questions to consider if you’re a tribe interstate in pursuing DNA analysis?

“The first consideration is consultation. How would the tribe like to be consulted? This is different in every project I am involved with.

“The research design is another big question and I think it is very helpful for tribes to figure this out in advance at least what their priorities are. Because when I go to a tribe, I will come to them with specific questions I might be interested in, but I want to know what they're interested in. What do you want to know about the past? What do you want to know about these ancestors? And we build both sets of questions into the research design, unless the tribe does not like my questions. If they don't want to address the same kinds of questions that I want to, we take those off the table.

“This is a big one. So the DNA extraction and retrieval process is destructive, but there are products that are left over from that process. So you will have a little bit of DNA sample left. And so what should be done with that? There are options: it can be thrown away or destroyed; (or) it can be returned to the community to be buried with the ancestor.

“What do you want done with that? And what do you want done with the DNA itself?

“The other thing that I'd like you to keep in mind as decision makers or advisors is that the process of sequencing DNA generates huge amounts of data. The standard practice and academia, and one which your research partners may push for, is to publish the raw data open access, free for anybody to use. Anybody can do any kind of future research with them.

“There's some options: you can go with the open access model, you may also say no access. Then there’s a middle ground where the tribe has oversight over the kinds of research that is done with their DNA.”

If you’re a tribe considering the use of paleogenomics, how do you choose a trustworthy research partner?

“This is a tough one, I think it will take a lot of work. So first, I would decide what it is you're looking for. What are your priorities? Do you want research to be done quickly, [or] do you want research to be more personalized? Do you want those long term relationships? In that case, a smaller lab might be more useful for you. They're not mutually exclusive, of course.

“I would look at the lab’s webpage and see the kinds of tones that they're setting. What kinds of language are they using? Are they talking about ‘specimens’ or are they talking about ‘ancestors’? Do they describe their work as engaged or community-based participatory? Those are things to look for.

“Then of course, ask other tribes and ask archaeologists and ask repatriation specialists about the reputation. The ancient DNA community is not very big, and so we all have reputations.”

In concluding her remarks, Raff said that she’s seen the field change significantly—and for the better—in just the last few years.

“We have a really long way to go. We are not where we need to be. There are setbacks, there are bad actors, but we are actually heading in the right direction,” she said. “I am very positive about this. So empowering tribes as decision makers in this process is the path forward.”

About The Author

Jenna Kunze
Staff Writer
Jenna Kunze is a staff reporter covering Indian health, the environment and breaking news for Native News Online. She is also the publication's lead reporter on stories related to Indian boarding schools and repatriation. Her bylines have appeared in The Arctic Sounder, High Country News, Indian Country Today, Tribal Business News, Smithsonian Magazine, Elle and Anchorage Daily News. Kunze is based in New York.