Good for a little relief from all the 498a nonscence. Enjoy Shakira, her hips definatly dont lie, oh yeah!
Shakira - Hips Don't Lie ft. Wyclef Jean
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever (High Definition) Eye popping hips
Anti-dowry law makes it wife-biased, discriminatory,and poorly formulated. A complaint from your wife or her family member can land husband and his entire family in jail without any investigation. "The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist." - Winston Churchill
Monday, July 5, 2010
Runaway grooms on most wanted list
Even Interpol has figured out that the Indian Police cry wolf one too many times and has stopped issuing Red Corner Notices on materimonial issues such as IPC 498a. It is amazing how these feminazi NGO pressured the government and police to act on these false case without any evidence or material facts, they point to one case and say the entire bunch is rotten.
This is a case of where the police falsely implicates 99 % of the men with Red Corner notices to protect 1 % of women in genuine cases. I call this a total abuse of the corrupted Indian Police force, and its top administrators.
This is a case of where the police falsely implicates 99 % of the men with Red Corner notices to protect 1 % of women in genuine cases. I call this a total abuse of the corrupted Indian Police force, and its top administrators.
20,000 NRI Bride dumping - NCW SCAM
The simple fact that the NCW has such a rounded figure of 20,000 tells you that their figures are all Bull. Any matrimonial issue is made into a bride dumping issue. With laws like 498a and DVact 2005 wrought for abuse anyone has to go into hiding and if an NRI does it for fear of being caught up in a false case this is Bride dumping. Men according to the Indian government are of no value.
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power.
Troubled by ex-wife, cop shoots self
Even after such cases bloody Indian government still wont change 498a law. Unfortunaly Indian law markers have no Balls, they play into the hands of the Feminazi's as a source of vote bank politics, this is a sham and fraud to the nation. Indian govenment has started on the path to total destruction of the family, there is no saving the country now.
April 19, 2010
MUMBAI: The constables of Borivali police station were shocked when they heard a bullet shot coming from the changing room early on Sunday morning. Police inspector S Patil had shot himself in the head with his service revolver and was found lying on the ground inside the room.
"He was on duty the previous night and in the morning, once his shift got over, he walked into the changing room and shot himself," said additional commissioner of police, Ramrao Pawar. In his suicide note, Patil blamed his ex-wife and her brothers for pushing him to take this step.
The Borivali police have arrested Nirmala Desai (50), Baban Desai (45) and Dutta Desai (40) in this case. Initial investigations reveal that Patil was alledegly regularly troubled by his ex-wife and her brothers for money.
Married to Patil in 1978, Nirmala left him in the 1982 since Patil was just a constable at that time and she didn't want to live with him. "They didn't get an official divorce but she gave him in writing that he could marry anybody else if he wants," added Pawar. Soon, Patil married for the second time and now has three children in this marriage. Few years ago, Patil got promoted to the post of an inspector and this is when Nirmala allegedly started harassing him.
"She and her brother would regularly blackmail Patil by threatening to malign his reputation in the society to extort money out of him. Since his children weren't aware of Patil's past, he wanted to keep it a secret and adhered to their demands," said another senior official. With the harassment lasting for almost four years, Patil had already shelled out Rs 7.5 lakh to the trio to keep their mouth shut. Still, Nirmala's brother started demanding Rs 10 lakhs more from Patil. "In his suicide note, Patil has mentioned that this was the main reason for him to take this step," added the officer.
Just four days ago, Nirmala had also sent a written notice to Patil asking for an alimony. The trio has now been arrested under sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 384 (extortion of money) of the Indian Penal Code.
April 19, 2010
MUMBAI: The constables of Borivali police station were shocked when they heard a bullet shot coming from the changing room early on Sunday morning. Police inspector S Patil had shot himself in the head with his service revolver and was found lying on the ground inside the room.
"He was on duty the previous night and in the morning, once his shift got over, he walked into the changing room and shot himself," said additional commissioner of police, Ramrao Pawar. In his suicide note, Patil blamed his ex-wife and her brothers for pushing him to take this step.
The Borivali police have arrested Nirmala Desai (50), Baban Desai (45) and Dutta Desai (40) in this case. Initial investigations reveal that Patil was alledegly regularly troubled by his ex-wife and her brothers for money.
Married to Patil in 1978, Nirmala left him in the 1982 since Patil was just a constable at that time and she didn't want to live with him. "They didn't get an official divorce but she gave him in writing that he could marry anybody else if he wants," added Pawar. Soon, Patil married for the second time and now has three children in this marriage. Few years ago, Patil got promoted to the post of an inspector and this is when Nirmala allegedly started harassing him.
"She and her brother would regularly blackmail Patil by threatening to malign his reputation in the society to extort money out of him. Since his children weren't aware of Patil's past, he wanted to keep it a secret and adhered to their demands," said another senior official. With the harassment lasting for almost four years, Patil had already shelled out Rs 7.5 lakh to the trio to keep their mouth shut. Still, Nirmala's brother started demanding Rs 10 lakhs more from Patil. "In his suicide note, Patil has mentioned that this was the main reason for him to take this step," added the officer.
Just four days ago, Nirmala had also sent a written notice to Patil asking for an alimony. The trio has now been arrested under sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 384 (extortion of money) of the Indian Penal Code.
Wake up Call for MEN (PWDVA Rules and its drawbacks)
A wake up call for men to fight against the draconian laws which takes away their fundamental rights and leading to complete destruction of institution of family. This 20 minutes video gives a comprehensive explanation about PWDVA Rules and its drawbacks.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Bail for NRIs easier than Resident Indians
Resident Indians have to take the pain of hiding until the bail is granted. But NRIs can go to work at ease while applying AB.
You can apply for anticipatory bail in the court of your friend/relative's convenience. (District or Sessions court. Don't go directly to High Court first; they will send you to lower court or otherwise if the conditions are not good you will end up with only one option of going Supreme Court.) There will be only three possibilities..
a) Bail granted without any serious conditions.
b) Bail granted with messy conditions like surrender of passport, mark attendance at local police station every day/week etc
c) Bail rejected
Case (a) - You can simply pay a visit to India and get it executed to regular bail. Its just a matter of meeting the Magistrate in his chamber along with your lawyer and get the bail memo within no time. Then it is wise to hand over the memo to the IO in person and say hello to him. Trust me he will not utter anything at you. (This can be done through your lawyer if you are not confident enough)
Case (b) & (c) - You can go to High Court to relax the terms. If still you are not happy with the terms you may either go to Supreme Court or let the AB expire. Then continue your life abroad for few months and iterate the process again. Next time you can say because of official commitments you couldn't get vacation.
You can apply for anticipatory bail in the court of your friend/relative's convenience. (District or Sessions court. Don't go directly to High Court first; they will send you to lower court or otherwise if the conditions are not good you will end up with only one option of going Supreme Court.) There will be only three possibilities..
a) Bail granted without any serious conditions.
b) Bail granted with messy conditions like surrender of passport, mark attendance at local police station every day/week etc
c) Bail rejected
Case (a) - You can simply pay a visit to India and get it executed to regular bail. Its just a matter of meeting the Magistrate in his chamber along with your lawyer and get the bail memo within no time. Then it is wise to hand over the memo to the IO in person and say hello to him. Trust me he will not utter anything at you. (This can be done through your lawyer if you are not confident enough)
Case (b) & (c) - You can go to High Court to relax the terms. If still you are not happy with the terms you may either go to Supreme Court or let the AB expire. Then continue your life abroad for few months and iterate the process again. Next time you can say because of official commitments you couldn't get vacation.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Child custody disputes: Whose interest is paramount?
4 July 2010
Disputes between spouses for the custody of their child is taking the form of a battle fought with vengeance inside and outside the court rooms.
In the midst of groups of fathers, mothers, lawyers and the judges — talking, screaming, shouting, listening and ordering — the children are seen hearing about their ‘paramount interest’ being discussed at length.
Someday, these children will look back and question what was their ‘paramount interest?’ Was it independent of the interest of the father, mother, lawyers or the judge? Why were they not allowed to enjoy their childhood and left to be unsafe? Was it not interference with their rights in the guise of protection of their ‘paramount interest?’ The troubling answer may make them lose respect for society, including their parents.
Each of the separated parents suffering from ‘parent alienation syndrome’ tries to have exclusive custody of the child, highlighting how dangerous it is for the child to be with the other parent. Children are asked to tell lies, forced to write letters to judges about their unwillingness to go with the other parent, compelled to give their opinions about their choice of a parent, etc. The volition of the children are given more importance than their actual paramount interest.
The parent, having limited custody rights, tries to play the role of an ‘entertainment-provider’ for the child in order to attract the child. The children are compelled to pose for hectic photo and video sessions to collect evidence to be placed before the courts. They are lured by expensive gifts and foreign trips, excellent holidays provided by a parent as against the other with whom they have to stay, study, be disciplined and learn the hard lessons of life. Without giving much thought, the children often express their wish to stay with the ‘entertainment providers.’
Children are treated as joint properties and demand for shared parenting and equal rights is common. The situation is worse when both the parents are busy with their career goals and the children stay with care-takers or grandparents. Grandparents, who develop attachment to the young children, fight for custody through their children. Everyone is focusing on parenting rights — rights of parents, of father, of mother, sentiments of grandparents, duty of a judge, etc — brushing aside ‘the paramount interest of the child.’
The child’s rights over parents begins with its birth. No one, much less a parent, can curtail this right over the other parent. The child has a right not to choose between the parents, not to judge its parents. It has a right to live in its little world full of fun, play, enjoyment, studies and unobstructed growth, unmindful of the mutual dislike and hatred between the parents. No one has a right to trespass and encroach upon their rights. Who can compensate the mother’s sweet kiss, screams, scoldings, warnings or the father’s hugs, kicks, or shouts?
Subjects of dispute
Frequent shuttling of children between the parents under the directions of the court, repeated contempt petitions between the parents alleging ‘disobedience’ instill a sense of panic among the children who do understand that they are made the subjects of dispute between their parents, and that the fight was against each other through them.
Only in the absence of dispute between the parents can the child stay happily with one of the parents, understanding it as a family arrangement. Each disputing parent fails to understand the indispensable need of the contribution of the other for the welfare of the child.
They forget that they are the only ones standing together who can safeguard the paramount interest of the child. When one of them doubts the bonafide of the other and suspects that the other would not stick to the accepted terms, problems arise. It is in this scenario, that the role of courts becomes indispensable in giving a binding force for the arrangements regarding the custody rights between the disputing parents.
The legislature in its wisdom has left the solution uncovered in the statutes. Even the courts find it difficult to choose between the equally capable and responsible parents of the unfortunate children. Any order passed by the court irritates either of the parents. Judges are often called ‘pro-women’ or ‘anti-women’ or those addressing to please the gallery.
It is high time the parents move from their interest towards the paramount interest of the child. All that a parent has to consider without prejudice is “is the company of the other parent dangerous to my child?” Shared parenting is a misnomer. Parenting cannot be shared with any one much less with the other parent. Each parent plays a unique role in the life of a child.
Ultimately, both the parents need to understand that notwithstanding their relationship as husband and wife no longer being cordial or having come to an end, they continue to be a father and a mother for the child and no statute can change that status.
Disputes between spouses for the custody of their child is taking the form of a battle fought with vengeance inside and outside the court rooms.
In the midst of groups of fathers, mothers, lawyers and the judges — talking, screaming, shouting, listening and ordering — the children are seen hearing about their ‘paramount interest’ being discussed at length.
Someday, these children will look back and question what was their ‘paramount interest?’ Was it independent of the interest of the father, mother, lawyers or the judge? Why were they not allowed to enjoy their childhood and left to be unsafe? Was it not interference with their rights in the guise of protection of their ‘paramount interest?’ The troubling answer may make them lose respect for society, including their parents.
Each of the separated parents suffering from ‘parent alienation syndrome’ tries to have exclusive custody of the child, highlighting how dangerous it is for the child to be with the other parent. Children are asked to tell lies, forced to write letters to judges about their unwillingness to go with the other parent, compelled to give their opinions about their choice of a parent, etc. The volition of the children are given more importance than their actual paramount interest.
The parent, having limited custody rights, tries to play the role of an ‘entertainment-provider’ for the child in order to attract the child. The children are compelled to pose for hectic photo and video sessions to collect evidence to be placed before the courts. They are lured by expensive gifts and foreign trips, excellent holidays provided by a parent as against the other with whom they have to stay, study, be disciplined and learn the hard lessons of life. Without giving much thought, the children often express their wish to stay with the ‘entertainment providers.’
Children are treated as joint properties and demand for shared parenting and equal rights is common. The situation is worse when both the parents are busy with their career goals and the children stay with care-takers or grandparents. Grandparents, who develop attachment to the young children, fight for custody through their children. Everyone is focusing on parenting rights — rights of parents, of father, of mother, sentiments of grandparents, duty of a judge, etc — brushing aside ‘the paramount interest of the child.’
The child’s rights over parents begins with its birth. No one, much less a parent, can curtail this right over the other parent. The child has a right not to choose between the parents, not to judge its parents. It has a right to live in its little world full of fun, play, enjoyment, studies and unobstructed growth, unmindful of the mutual dislike and hatred between the parents. No one has a right to trespass and encroach upon their rights. Who can compensate the mother’s sweet kiss, screams, scoldings, warnings or the father’s hugs, kicks, or shouts?
Subjects of dispute
Frequent shuttling of children between the parents under the directions of the court, repeated contempt petitions between the parents alleging ‘disobedience’ instill a sense of panic among the children who do understand that they are made the subjects of dispute between their parents, and that the fight was against each other through them.
Only in the absence of dispute between the parents can the child stay happily with one of the parents, understanding it as a family arrangement. Each disputing parent fails to understand the indispensable need of the contribution of the other for the welfare of the child.
They forget that they are the only ones standing together who can safeguard the paramount interest of the child. When one of them doubts the bonafide of the other and suspects that the other would not stick to the accepted terms, problems arise. It is in this scenario, that the role of courts becomes indispensable in giving a binding force for the arrangements regarding the custody rights between the disputing parents.
The legislature in its wisdom has left the solution uncovered in the statutes. Even the courts find it difficult to choose between the equally capable and responsible parents of the unfortunate children. Any order passed by the court irritates either of the parents. Judges are often called ‘pro-women’ or ‘anti-women’ or those addressing to please the gallery.
It is high time the parents move from their interest towards the paramount interest of the child. All that a parent has to consider without prejudice is “is the company of the other parent dangerous to my child?” Shared parenting is a misnomer. Parenting cannot be shared with any one much less with the other parent. Each parent plays a unique role in the life of a child.
Ultimately, both the parents need to understand that notwithstanding their relationship as husband and wife no longer being cordial or having come to an end, they continue to be a father and a mother for the child and no statute can change that status.
Portland police re-opening Gore investigation
Women accuses former Vice President Al Gore of Sexual Harrassment, one of the reasons he is now getting Divorced.
July 1, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. – Former Vice President Al Gore welcomes a Portland police decision to reopen an investigation into a massage therapist's allegations that he groped her at a hotel four years ago, his spokeswoman said.
Kalee Kreider said that Gore "unequivocally and emphatically" denied making unwanted sexual advances. She added that "further investigation into this matter will only benefit Mr. Gore."
Portland police did not say why it was reopening the investigation in its brief statement Wednesday.
"It's now an open investigation and I can't comment," police spokeswoman Mary Wheat said.
Police earlier said they considered the case closed because there was no evidence. They said last week that the woman's lawyer came to them with the allegations in 2006 but that the woman canceled appointments with detectives. The case reopened in January 2009, when detectives interviewed the woman but determined there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.
The AP does not generally identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.
The woman alleges Gore made unwanted sexual advances during a massage appointment on Oct. 24, 2006, at the downtown Hotel Lucia, where Gore was reportedly registered as "Mr. Stone." Gore was in Portland to deliver a speech on climate change.
The story first broke when the National Enquirer reported the allegations a week ago.
Kreider also said "the Gores cannot comment on every defamatory, misleading and inaccurate story generated by tabloids."
Gore and wife Tipper announced that they are separating on June 1 in an e-mail to friends.
According to transcripts of the 2009 interview, the masseuse described the allegations at length. She said Gore groped, kissed and pinned her down on a bed. She told Gore he was acting like a "crazed sex poodle."
The woman said she felt there would be consequences if she didn't cooperate.
"I feared that if I ran for the door to get out, I could or would be violently accosted by some security detail," she said. "I felt certain that any, even the smallest complaint from him to the hotel, could also destroy my work reputation."
While trying to pack up, she said Gore "wrapped me in an inescapable embrace," looked her in the eyes and touched her back, buttocks and breasts. She said she asked Gore to stop several times.
"I finally told him and said, you're being a crazed sex poodle, hoping he'd realize how weird he was being, yet he persisted," she told Det. Molly Daul.
She said Gore demanded she drink cognac, though she told him she doesn't drink alcohol. She said Gore became enraged when she refused his advances.
After the alleged incident, the woman said she was dissuaded from contacting the police by liberal friends of hers, whom she refers to as "The Birkenstock Tribe," and of which she counts herself a member.
"It's like being the ultimate traitor," the woman said.
One friend "was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world's going to be destroyed from global warming," she said.
July 1, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. – Former Vice President Al Gore welcomes a Portland police decision to reopen an investigation into a massage therapist's allegations that he groped her at a hotel four years ago, his spokeswoman said.
Kalee Kreider said that Gore "unequivocally and emphatically" denied making unwanted sexual advances. She added that "further investigation into this matter will only benefit Mr. Gore."
Portland police did not say why it was reopening the investigation in its brief statement Wednesday.
"It's now an open investigation and I can't comment," police spokeswoman Mary Wheat said.
Police earlier said they considered the case closed because there was no evidence. They said last week that the woman's lawyer came to them with the allegations in 2006 but that the woman canceled appointments with detectives. The case reopened in January 2009, when detectives interviewed the woman but determined there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.
The AP does not generally identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.
The woman alleges Gore made unwanted sexual advances during a massage appointment on Oct. 24, 2006, at the downtown Hotel Lucia, where Gore was reportedly registered as "Mr. Stone." Gore was in Portland to deliver a speech on climate change.
The story first broke when the National Enquirer reported the allegations a week ago.
Kreider also said "the Gores cannot comment on every defamatory, misleading and inaccurate story generated by tabloids."
Gore and wife Tipper announced that they are separating on June 1 in an e-mail to friends.
According to transcripts of the 2009 interview, the masseuse described the allegations at length. She said Gore groped, kissed and pinned her down on a bed. She told Gore he was acting like a "crazed sex poodle."
The woman said she felt there would be consequences if she didn't cooperate.
"I feared that if I ran for the door to get out, I could or would be violently accosted by some security detail," she said. "I felt certain that any, even the smallest complaint from him to the hotel, could also destroy my work reputation."
While trying to pack up, she said Gore "wrapped me in an inescapable embrace," looked her in the eyes and touched her back, buttocks and breasts. She said she asked Gore to stop several times.
"I finally told him and said, you're being a crazed sex poodle, hoping he'd realize how weird he was being, yet he persisted," she told Det. Molly Daul.
She said Gore demanded she drink cognac, though she told him she doesn't drink alcohol. She said Gore became enraged when she refused his advances.
After the alleged incident, the woman said she was dissuaded from contacting the police by liberal friends of hers, whom she refers to as "The Birkenstock Tribe," and of which she counts herself a member.
"It's like being the ultimate traitor," the woman said.
One friend "was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world's going to be destroyed from global warming," she said.
Clinton says steel vise crushing global activists
Hillary Clinton is the Queen of Feminazi's. This coodhi has nothing better to do then spread her feminist agenda, amazing I never realized the job of Secretary of State entailed the prapogating of this kind of agenda, thankfully she never became President. One think is for sure the steel vise is surely not killing the activists in India, they are killing the men. If this is the essential role of Democracy, I dont need this kind of democracy in India. There is an saying if you give too much freedom to someone they abuse it, that is exactly what the Feminazi's are doing in India, abuse of priviedge and power.
July 1, 2010
KRAKOW, Poland – Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday.
She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.
Among those she named were Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia.
"Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clinton said at an international conference on the promotion of democracy and human rights. "Democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."
Before an audience of several hundred senior government officials, Clinton recalled Winston Churchill's warning 60 years ago at Fulton, Mo., that an iron curtain was descending across Europe. She noted that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that curtain no longer remains.
"But we must be wary of the steel vise in which governments around the world are slowly crushing civil society and the human spirit," she said. Social activists, Clinton said, are being harassed, censored, cut off from funding, arrested, prosecuted or killed.
Clinton's speech came at the opening of a 10th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Community of Democracies, which has 16 members and is meant to forge international consensus on ways to support and promote democracy.
She recommended that the organization set up an independent means of monitoring repressive measures against social advocacy groups, and that the U.N. Human Rights Council do more to protect civil society. She announced that the U.S. would contributed $2 million to support the work of embattled nongovernmental groups.
Poland was a fitting setting for Clinton's address. The country escaped from decades of totalitarianism in the downfall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe in the early 1990s — thanks largely to the efforts of the Polish labor movement, Solidarity — whose founder, Lech Walesa, was in the audience for the speech. Poland was holding a presidential runoff election Sunday.
Earlier Saturday, Clinton expressed hope that Russia would drop its opposition to a U.S. missile defense system in Europe and accept an offer to cooperate in developing technologies for shooting down hostile weapons.
"The offer stands," Clinton told a news conference after witnessing the signing of an amendment to a U.S.-Polish agreement on the basing of U.S. missile interceptors in Poland.
Repeating a theme the Russians consistently have rejected, Clinton said Moscow has nothing to fear from a NATO-endorsed missile defense system based in Europe because it will be aimed at Iran's missile arsenal.
"This is a purely defensive system," she told reporters, with her Polish counterpart, Radek Sikorski, at her side. "It does not threaten Russia." Moscow views the project as a potential threat to its own missile arsenal.
Sikorski said his country fully supports the project, which the Obama administration radically altered last year in a move that some critics interpreted as a conciliatory gesture to Russia and a slap at Poland.
The Bush administration had planned to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic. President Barack Obama decided to reconfigure the system to account for what he said were changes in the nature of the Iranian missile threat. Obama's system eventually would include land-based SM-3 anti-missile interceptors in Poland; the early elements are largely sea-based.
The amendment signed Saturday was a technical adjustment to reflect Obama's changes.
Upon her arrival from Ukraine, Clinton laid a wreath and paid her respects at the Katyn Cross, a memorial to the nearly 100 Poles killed in an April plane crash in Russia en route to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of Polish POWs in Katyn forest. Among those killed in the plane crash was Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski.
Clinton also toured the World War II-era Schindler Factory Museum, which captures in stark images and artifacts the suffering of Jews at the hands of Nazi Germany. Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of Jews by bringing them to his factory in Krakow from the nearby Plaszow concentration camp.
Clinton spoke in somber tones of the haunting symbols inside the museum.
"We see here the two realities of the Holocaust," she said — the privation and slaughter of Jews, as well as the heroic efforts by some to save them from Plaszow.
She said the Obama administration would seek congressional approval of a $15 million donation, over five years, to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation to help finance an endowment to preserve and safeguard the remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. An estimated 1.1 million victims perished at the camp.
July 1, 2010
KRAKOW, Poland – Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday.
She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.
Among those she named were Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia.
"Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clinton said at an international conference on the promotion of democracy and human rights. "Democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."
Before an audience of several hundred senior government officials, Clinton recalled Winston Churchill's warning 60 years ago at Fulton, Mo., that an iron curtain was descending across Europe. She noted that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that curtain no longer remains.
"But we must be wary of the steel vise in which governments around the world are slowly crushing civil society and the human spirit," she said. Social activists, Clinton said, are being harassed, censored, cut off from funding, arrested, prosecuted or killed.
Clinton's speech came at the opening of a 10th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Community of Democracies, which has 16 members and is meant to forge international consensus on ways to support and promote democracy.
She recommended that the organization set up an independent means of monitoring repressive measures against social advocacy groups, and that the U.N. Human Rights Council do more to protect civil society. She announced that the U.S. would contributed $2 million to support the work of embattled nongovernmental groups.
Poland was a fitting setting for Clinton's address. The country escaped from decades of totalitarianism in the downfall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe in the early 1990s — thanks largely to the efforts of the Polish labor movement, Solidarity — whose founder, Lech Walesa, was in the audience for the speech. Poland was holding a presidential runoff election Sunday.
Earlier Saturday, Clinton expressed hope that Russia would drop its opposition to a U.S. missile defense system in Europe and accept an offer to cooperate in developing technologies for shooting down hostile weapons.
"The offer stands," Clinton told a news conference after witnessing the signing of an amendment to a U.S.-Polish agreement on the basing of U.S. missile interceptors in Poland.
Repeating a theme the Russians consistently have rejected, Clinton said Moscow has nothing to fear from a NATO-endorsed missile defense system based in Europe because it will be aimed at Iran's missile arsenal.
"This is a purely defensive system," she told reporters, with her Polish counterpart, Radek Sikorski, at her side. "It does not threaten Russia." Moscow views the project as a potential threat to its own missile arsenal.
Sikorski said his country fully supports the project, which the Obama administration radically altered last year in a move that some critics interpreted as a conciliatory gesture to Russia and a slap at Poland.
The Bush administration had planned to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic. President Barack Obama decided to reconfigure the system to account for what he said were changes in the nature of the Iranian missile threat. Obama's system eventually would include land-based SM-3 anti-missile interceptors in Poland; the early elements are largely sea-based.
The amendment signed Saturday was a technical adjustment to reflect Obama's changes.
Upon her arrival from Ukraine, Clinton laid a wreath and paid her respects at the Katyn Cross, a memorial to the nearly 100 Poles killed in an April plane crash in Russia en route to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of Polish POWs in Katyn forest. Among those killed in the plane crash was Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski.
Clinton also toured the World War II-era Schindler Factory Museum, which captures in stark images and artifacts the suffering of Jews at the hands of Nazi Germany. Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of Jews by bringing them to his factory in Krakow from the nearby Plaszow concentration camp.
Clinton spoke in somber tones of the haunting symbols inside the museum.
"We see here the two realities of the Holocaust," she said — the privation and slaughter of Jews, as well as the heroic efforts by some to save them from Plaszow.
She said the Obama administration would seek congressional approval of a $15 million donation, over five years, to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation to help finance an endowment to preserve and safeguard the remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. An estimated 1.1 million victims perished at the camp.
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