Update on Renewal of Viral Hepatitis Action Plan

September 23, 2013 • 0 comments • By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, and Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Dr. Ronald Valdiserri

As we announced this past May, federal partners are working to renew and extend the Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis for three more years. Since that announcement, several important activities have been undertaken and I wanted to share this update with readers.

To inform the renewal of the plan, which will span calendar years 2014-2016, we gathered important input and perspectives from community members and other stakeholders through several webinars and a formal Request for Information early this summer. Simultaneously, the federal partners implementing the plan – agencies and offices from across the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Veterans Affairs – set about reviewing their progress to date and developing proposed actions for the three-year extension of the Action Plan.

This past week, these activities came together as representatives of all the participating agencies and offices met for a full-day working meeting to review and discuss both the stakeholder input and the initial drafts of the proposed actions. During that meeting, partners identified opportunities for coordinating efforts as well as new partners to engage. They also discussed prioritization of some of the proposed actions and explored revising or reframing others.

Building on these important activities, all of the federal partners will work to refine and finalize our respective actions for the renewed plan over the coming weeks. My office will then consolidate the actions into the formal document that we hope to have finalized, formally approved, and ready for release early in the new year.

With the renewed Action Plan, we will be able to continue and expand the momentum generated by the original plan as we work together to address the silent epidemic of viral hepatitis in the United States.

The brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in Lahore shocked

An Article from the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: Strict yet victim-friendly legal mechanisms are required to minimize 

sexual violence against women and children                                     -Amir Murtaza

The brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in Lahore last week has literally shocked the country, from the officials in the highest office down to the ordinary citizen in the street.

The tragic incident has sparked a nationwide debate and outcry against the lack of a safety mechanism in the country for women and children.

Certainly, women and child molestation cases are nothing exceptional in this part of the world; however, the coverage of the recent rape in Lahore in the electronic media and social networking websites has forced the concerned police officials to take immediate action.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has also taken notice of this heinous crime and ordered the provincial police officials to submit the case report.

According to reports the five-year-old girl was found unconscious and in critical condition near a crowded hospital in Lahore. Later, a medical examination confirmed that the victim had been raped.

The Punjab provincial law minister, while talking to the reporters stated that, "Those who have done this are not humans but beasts and will be arrested and prosecuted under the law and given exemplary punishments."

One can only hope that police will arrest the culprit or culprits of this heinous crime as soon as possible and that the presiding court of law will award the severest possible punishment to them so that it could serve as an example to other, like-minded perverts. This is desperately required in order to minimize the incidence of sexual violence against women and children.

Violence against women and children is quite common in male dominated South Asian societies, including Pakistani society. The research reports of child-focused NGOs suggest that violence against children has increased significantly although a large number of cases go unreported.

It is also a fact that the majority of violent cases against children are not reported by the parents or other family members for various reasons, including the low rate of convictions against the accused.

For example, in 2002 Mukhtaran Mai was gang raped, allegedly on the orders of a village council in the southern Punjab village of Meerwala. The incident shocked the country and people from all walks of life, notably the media and civil society organizations, supported Mukhtaran Mai in her efforts to obtain justice. However, finding justice for rape victims can be a difficult task in the country. It is shameful that all the accused in Mukhtaran's case were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Rape victims are severely stigmatized in Pakistani society and it is extremely difficult for the victim or her family to make a report in a police station and a court of law. In many such cases families try to sweep the matter under the carpet to avoid further trauma for the victim.

An unfriendly policing structure, cumbersome legal system and the secondary status of women in society have made women and children, particularly girls, even as young as five years old, vulnerable to all sorts of physical and sexual violence. Therefore, the perpetrators of such heinous crimes have little or no fear of punishment and the frequency of rape and gang rape is increasing.

The recent Lahore case has brought the issue of sexual violence to the national agenda. For once the media, civil society organizations, government ministers, police officials and the judiciary are in agreement that the perpetrators must be arrested immediately, tried and given exemplary punishment.

It is absolutely high time to initiate a national debate on the issue and build strict, yet victim-friendly legal mechanisms to minimize sexual violence against women and children in the country.

NGOs, CBOs and other social welfare organisations should also design different risk reduction programs for women and children. Furthermore, rape prevention programs for men are an urgent need so as to involve them in campaigns to diminish the prevailing gender inequalities and gender based violence in the society.

About the Author: Amir Murtaza is a senior researcher, analyst and writer on social development issues, especially pertaining to women, youth and children. He can be reached at amirmurtaza@hotmail.com

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Read this Article online

Here is my first report--Newton Dunn Bill

Thu, Sep 12, 2013 at 5:44 PM
From: NEWTON DUNN Bill


Subject: report for Leicestershire from Bill Newton Dunn MEP

HELLO !  The European Parliament has resumed work after its summer break so here is my first report of the autumn.

State of the Union report
Barroso, the President of the EU's executive body, the Commission, gave his tenth and final annual "State of the Union" speech.
Barroso has been a disappointment to the parliament, because he has repeatedly spoken about leading Europe to further integration but behaved instead as an obedient errand-boy for reluctant national leaders. Next summer he leaves the job and a new President of the Commission will be appointed for five years : a constitutional crisis looms, because the national leaders will probably again propose an obedient errand-boy or girl, but MEPs, who can with-hold their approval of the national leaders' candidate for President of the Commission, want a true leader for the EU who will also command majority support in the new parliament which will be elected next May.

Biofuels
This week the most contentious issue in the parliament (about which I received hundreds of email from people in our region) was about how much the EU should subsidise the growing of Biofuels (plants such as maize grown to create fuels) and thus how agricultural land should be used, the effect on third-world agriculture and food prices, and the link with greenhouse gas emissions.
The parliament, by an extremely narrow majority, decided to set the upper limit at 6%. I wanted 5%. 
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, the full text is not yet available to send to you.

Syria
The parliament debated the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The winding-up resolution, passed by a huge majority, gave no support to the use of American force, called on Assad to go, and called on Russia and China to face up to their responsibilities to facilitate a common position within the UN Security Council.
My personal line, if I had had to vote in the Commons, would have been against joining a UK-USA attack on Syria. Lib Dems are internationalists, who believe in working through international institutions, particularly the United Nations, and not acting alone.

Next month's controversial issues to be decided in the parliament :
1.   The proposed Tobacco directive  which will determine how large health warnings should be on cigarette packets, whether electronic cigarettes should be available without a medical prescription, and whether Snus (a form of chewing tobacco used only in Sweden and Norway) should be allowed more widely.
2.   Whether there should be minimum road-worthiness testing for Caravans which travel across Europe.
3.   Money laundering. As the draft stands, it would require on-course bookmakers (who exist only in Ireland and in the UK) to check anybody who brings them a bet of 1700 pounds or more in notes.

Watch out for
1.   The German national election on Sunday 22 September. The Christian-Democrat party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, already the longest-serving leader in Europe, is expected to win again but to need to find a coalition partner.
2.   The continuing pantomime of Berlusconi. Last Tuesday a vote was scheduled in the Italian Senate in Rome to eject him and so end his political career, and strip him of his parliamentary immunity and thus send him to prison to serve four years for tax evasion crimes. He responded that if he was expelled, he would pull his party out of the coalition government and thus precipitate a general election with the ensuing financial instability that would create. His party is entirely his own : after the fall of communism and the collapse of the Christian-Democrat party in Italy, he created his own party, totally finances himself being a billionaire, and personally chooses all its candidates for election, so he can collapse it now if he wishes.
The scheduled vote in the Senate to expel him was delayed - surprise ! - to "allow for more questions to be answered". The expectation is that a compromise will be found in order to avoid holding a new general election and therefore that, somehow yet again, Berlusconi the billionaire politician will survive.
3.  The proposal to ban all telephone roaming charges within the EU from next April. The USA manages without roaming charges across its fifty states, so why should Europeans put up with having to pay them. See http://euobserver.com/economic/121397

All the best
Bill

I had met Ishrat Jahans mother, Shamima--Subhashini Ali*

Aug 14, 2013 6:26 PM
Shamima and her supporters felt threatened

                                       Courtesy photo

Subhashini Ali*

Some years ago, I had met Ishrat Jahans mother, Shamima, at a meeting in Azamgarh.  We did not have much opportunity to speak, but her quiet dignity impressed me.  This year, as soon as I knew that I would be in Mumbai for Eid, I contacted her and asked her if I could visit her home and wish her and her children on an occasion that is celebrated with so much joy and festivity all over the world but which can also be an occasion of sorrow and longing for a loved one who is not present.  And for this family the sorrow and longing must be so much more intense because of the tragic and brutal way in which their young and innocent Ishrat Jahan’s life ended.
Shamima welcomed my proposal and Sonya Gill, Maharashtra President of AIDWA, and I reached Mumbra just as the Eid prayers ended.  Mumbra is part of Thane district which has become a Muslim-dominated area.  It is home to Muslim migrants to Mumbai from all parts of India.  Many came here several years ago when they first migrated from their homes; many more followed them after the 1992-93 riots and now it has become a destination for new migrants every year.  
When we reached Mumbra, the streets were overflowing with young and old people on their way home from the prayer or on their way to visit friends and relatives or just enjoying walking around with their friends.  The sidewalks had plenty of shops selling biryani, kababs, sevai, toys and all kinds of bric a brac.  The children all around looked especially festive in their new clothes, fancy shoes and many different kinds of dark glasses!
We found the apartment where Shamima has been staying for the last few months with her children.  They have had to leave their old and crumbling set of rooms which were too well known and too exposed for their safety.  Ever since the CBI court in Ahmedabad started hearings of the encounter case and especially after the CBI filed its first chargesheet against senior officers of the Gujerat police indicting them for their role in the encounter (all the accused have been in jail since 2004 because of their involvement in the Sohrabuddin encounter case), Shamima and her supporters have been felt threatened.  Once, men claiming to be policemen, tried to force open her door in the middle of the night.  On another occasion, the car in which she was returning from a hearing in Ahmedabad was shot at.  A deep sense of insecurity forced her and her children to leave their home and take refuge in a flat belonging to a sympathetic supporter for a few months.
Shamima’s face was wreathed in warm and welcoming smiles when we entered.  She hugged us Eid Mubarak and was followed by her daughter, Masarrat.  Two younger daughters were a bit shy to begin with but soon regained their lively, youthful exuberance. Their brother, Anwar, was very much the young man of the house, conscious of his role as the only earning member of his battered family.  Very soon we were eating delicious Sheerkorma and listening to several chattering voices.  
Shamima and her husband both belonged to Patna.  Masarrat and one of her sisters were sent to their nani there soon after Ishrat’s death.  They have been studying there since.  But, like all Mumbai girls, they consider Patna to be little better than a village!  Masarrat has a serious point.  She says that for members of a poor family like theirs it is much easier to find work in Mumbai.
Anwar maybe the only family member with a job – he works in a call center after having given up his education because of lack of money – but everyone contributes to the household.  Shamima and her daughters take in sewing and embroidery work and they told us, quite proudly, that, of course, they had stitched their new clothes for Eid.
Speaking of working of course, brings memories of Ishrat flooding back.  It was the necessity of finding work to pay for her own education and for her family’s expenses that had made her take up a job with ‘Uncle Javed’.  Two months later, her bullet-ridden body lay next to his and to the bodies of two other men on a road outside Ahmedabad.  An AK 47 lay next to her.  It did not, however, have her fingerprints.
Shamima wipes away just the one uncontrollable tear and composes herself. She says, my daughter could earn only two months’ salary.  She gave me all the money she received but made sure that her college entrance fees for the next academic year were paid well in time.  Once college started again, she would stop working for Javed and go back to studying and then taking tuitions for the children of the locality.  Something she had been doing for several years.
Masarrat will soon finish her studies and maybe getting married after that.  She is determined to work, however.  The two younger girls too dream of studying and then working.  All three girls are determined to lead happy, normal lives and to see at least some of their dreams fulfilled.  Anwar is already quiet for his age.  He feels the burden of his responsibilities but does not resent them.  
Shamima is the quiet and still center of the family.  She is the lightening rod that has absorbed the shock and trauma of her daughter’s cold-blooded murder.  From a woman leading a life of seclusion, she has grown into a woman who has faced police interrogation, heart-rending encounters with the cold and unfriendly corridors of justice, the suspicion, indifference and hostility of her neighbours and the intrusive cross-examinations of the media.  Through it all she has retained her innate graciousness.  Her unshakable belief in her daughter’s innocence and her absolute determination to fight for justice so that the black stain of being a terrorist can be wiped off forever from her child’s innocent, angelic face has given her the immense and incredible courage that was necessary to face what were, truly, unsurmountable barriers.
Today, justice seems within her grasp but she knows only too well that it may yet prove elusive.  Still, the knowledge that millions all over the country are now convinced of her daughter’s innocence fills her with the hope that her sons and daughters will be allowed to live the dreams that were so tragically snuffed out in Ishrat’s young heart.
We take leave of Shamima, happy that we have been able to participate in the celebrations of this brave band of unarmed warriors and humbled by the courage they display despite the cruel strength of the enemy that they know only too well.                --Subhashini Ali*

*Subhashini Ali is the daughter of Colonel Prem Sehgal and Captain Lakshmi Sehgal who were aa active part of the Indian National Army. 
She is also an active Trade Unionist and leader of the All India Democratic Women's Association.
Subhashini Ali also designed period costumes for 1981 classic, Umrao Jaan

I had met Ishrat Jahans mother, Shamima--Subhashini Ali*

I visited the home of Akhtar Mujahid-Subhashini Ali

He showed us the cd on a laptop

Afghans Lead the Fight in Afghanistan, General Says

08/14/2013 01:22 PM CDT                                       Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 11:03 PM
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2013 - Afghan security forces are in the lead and continue to grow in capacity and capability in the fight against insurgents, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command-East said today.
Army Maj. Gen. James C. McConville also told Pentagon reporters via satellite that even with the progress made by Afghanistan's security forces they are likely to need U.S. support beyond 2014.
Afghan forces are winning, he said, but aren't yet dominating the enemy in a way that takes away their will to fight. It will also take time before the Afghan air force is at full capacity, the general said.
However, when the Afghan air force reaches full capacity, he said, the enemies of Afghanistan "are not going to be willing to continue the conflict."
Meanwhile, ISAF's draw down is progressing, McConville said. Since March, he noted, the number of coalition bases has declined from 58 to 17.
"We have moved into an advise-and-assist role," said McConville, who's also the commander of the 101st Airborne Division. "Afghan security forces are in the lead [and] they are doing most of the fighting."
Two Afghan army corps -- the 201st and the 202nd -- operate in Regional Command-East. Those units, McConville said, are currently conducting integrated operations involving ground troops with indirect-fire and air support.
"In fact, the 201st just did the largest air assault in recent Afghan history with six Mi-17s and two Mi-35 [helicopters]," he said.
As Afghan forces have taken a higher-profile role in securing Afghanistan, the enemy is facing a propaganda problem, the general said.
"They used to be able to say that they were fighting foreign occupiers," he said, "and they can no longer really say that anymore because they're fighting Afghan security forces and they're fighting against the Afghan people."
There are only about two months left in the fighting season in Afghanistan, McConville said. And, with winter approaching and the holy month of Ramadan over, the general said he expects the enemy to come out fighting.
"We're expecting a spike in violence," he said. "We expect the enemies of the Afghan people to come out and try to achieve those objectives that they've not been able to achieve."
Now is a critical time, McConville said.
"This is the first time that the Afghan security forces have been in the lead during the entire fighting season," he said. "And they believe they're winning and I tend to agree with them."

Biographies: Army Maj. Gen. James C. McConville Related Sites: NATO International Security Assistance Force

Harmandeep Kaur became Miss Punjaban

Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 3:30 PM
A colorful event at MTSM college

Ludhiana: 8 August 2013: (Rector kathuria): Teej Festival cum Fresher’s Party was celebrated at Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, Ludhiana to present an authentic Punjabi Culture with the blends of modern hues. The whole atmosphere was filled with gaiety when college girls dressed in elegant traditional as well as western attires staged their dance performances, skit, folk songs and modeling.
       College Principal, Dr. (Mrs.) Parveen Kaur Chawla gave a hale and hearty welcome to the new entrants and also focused on the significance of Teej Festival in Modern Era.
        Arshdeep Kaur was crowned ‘Teeyan di Rani’, Harmandeep Kaur and Navdeep Kaur were titled Miss Punjaban and Miss Majajjan respectively.  Ashwarya was crowned as Miss Fresher Shifali & Harpreet Kaur as first & second runners up respectively. Sukhpreet Kaur got the title of Miss Diva whereas Garima was declared Miss Crowning Glory. The tag of Miss Beautiful smile went to Gurleen Kaur.Various competitions like traditional style of pleating hair, Beautiful Pranda, Ethnic jewelry, Mehndi Application, Beautiful Bangles and were held and the winners were given prizes. S. Swarn Singh Ji (President, College Managing Committee) and S. Kawalinder Singh Ji (Secratery, College Managing Committee) graced the occasion and stressed on the need for maintaining our rich Heritage and culture in the Modern times.
        College Principal, Dr. (Mrs.) Parveen Kaur Chawla stressed on the need of being aware of our elementary traditions and values. The celebration was culminated by adding another leaf in the book of unforgettable memories of the college.

Teej Festival cum Fresher’s Party was celebrated

Save Punjabi as Subject of Study in the Colleges of Delhi

Remembering Sahir Ludhianvi

An Afghan Uniform Police

No to insecure and hostile work environment

Enjoy the freedom but

Invitation-Spreading Buddhism Conference 2013

Sun, Jul 7, 2013 at 5:57 PMInvitation - Spreading Buddhism Conference 2013 An International meet

will be held at Nagpur on July 20-21, 2013

              Civil Rights Protection cell is going to organize "Spreading Buddhism 
Conference 2013, an International Meet" at Dr. Ambedkar Cultural Hall, Urvela
Colony, Wardha Road, Nagpur on July 20-21, 2013 with association of 
AWAZ India TV, Dr. Ambedkar Engineers Association, Dr. Ambedkar Health
Organization, Ashwaghosh Buddhist Foundation, Jeewak Welfare Society.
The two days program is as follows.:
     Saturday 20th July 2013
* 10.00 Am : Inauguration - H.E. Tsona Gontse Rimpoche
                    Welcome Chairperson - Dr. Milind Jiwane
                    Chairperson - Hon. Amar Ramteke
                    Chief Guest - Ven. Khem Dhammo
                    Guest of Honors - Dr. Arvind Alok (New Delhi)
                                           Adv. Bharulata Kamble (Film Producer, Australia)
* 12.00AM - Publication of Souvenir "Buddha Chakra"
Session - I 
* 1.00 to 2.30 PM - Buddha Sangiti (For Monks)        
               Chairperson - Ven. Khem Dhammo
              Co-Chairperson - Ven. Nandvardhan Bodhi
              Rapport - Ven. Mettanand
Session - II
* 2.30 to 4.00 PM : The Concept of Buddhist India.               Chairperson - Adv. Vasant Umare
              Co-Chairperson - Er. P.S. Khobragade
              Rapport - Dr. Milind Mane
Session - III
* 4.15 to 5.45 PM: The Buddhist Code of Conduct.
              Chairperson - Hon. B.M. Kaushal
              Co-Chairperson - Adv. Vasant Khaparde
              Rapport - Dr. Suchit Bagde
Session IV
* 5.45 to 6.15 PM : Buddhism & Women Empoerment.
               Chairperson - Dr. Rupa Bodhi Kulkarni
              Co-Chairperson - Dr. Mrs. Archan Sukhdeve
              Rapport - Ms. Mayuri Choudhari
6.15 to 8.00 : Cultural Program 
   July 21, 2013
Session - V
* 10.00 to 11.30 AM : Buddhist Literature 
             Chairperson - Dr. Munshilal Gautam, IAS
              Co-Chairperson - Dr. Niraj Bodhi
              Rapport - Hon. Swatantra Gajbhiye
Session - VI
* 12.00 to 1.30 PM : Buddha's Economics.
              Chairperson - Er. Kuldeep Ramteke
              Co-Chairperson - Adv. Bharulata Kamble 
              Rapport - Dr. shankar Khobragade
Session - VII
* 1.30 to 3.00 PM : Co-ordination of Buddhist at large.
              Chairperson - Prof. Dr. Surjeet Boudh
              Co-Chairperson - Er. Moreshwar Meshram
              Rapport - Dr. P.D. Bailmare
Session - VIII
* 3.15 to 4.30 PM : Implementation on Prepared Action Plan.
              Chairperson - Hon. Arvind Sontakke
              Co-Chairperson - Dr. Dhanraj Dahat
              Rapport - Adv. Hashu Meshram
* 4.30 to 6.30 PM : Valedictory Function.
              Chief Guest : H.H. 13th Tsona Gontse Rimpoche
              Chairperson : Amar Ramteke
              Guest of Honors : Dr. Munshilal Gautam, IAS
                                         Hon. Chandrabodhi Patil
* 6.45 to 7.15 PM : Resolutions
* 7.15 to 8.30 PM : Cultural ProgramWith regards:
Dr. Milind JiwaneChairman & Chief Organizer
Spreading Buddhism Conference 2013(An International Meet)
Civil Rights Protection Cell
* Awaz India TV
* Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Engineers Association
* Dr. Ambedkar Health Organization
* Ashwaghosh Buddhist Foundation
* Jeewak Welfare Society