Too many green signals for poor in Rail Budget 2009-10

NO INCREASE IN FARES | SAFETY TOP PRIORITIES | MONTHLY PASS @ RS 25

• Tatkal tickets charge only Rs.100 instead of Rs.150
• Introduction of 12 non-stop trains
• Rail tickets also to be available post offices
• ‘Janata Khana’ will be introduced
• Monthly ticket pass at Rs.25 only fo upto 100 kms
• Women commandos in key routes trains
• Tatkal booking only in 48 hours

• Mobile rail ticket vans to be introduced. Now only 50 in numbers
• 200 mid and small sized railways stations will now get ATM facilities
• One doctor on each long distance trains
• New factory in Didi’s home state, West Bengal. It will make 500 state-of-the-art coaches annually
• 7 nursing colleges to be introduced to be provide employment to railway spouses
• Cold storages and cargo facilities for perishable goods
• World class railway stations is to be developed on public-private partnership model
• 309 stations out of 375 will be developed through modern facilities
• Air-conditioned double-decker trains to be introduced for inter-city travel
• SMS updates for wait-listed passengers
• 200 automatic vending machines to be introduced at key stations for selling

Quotes from Mamata Banerjee’s Rail Budget speech in Lok Sabha

"People all over the country have high expectations from the railway budget."

"Time has come when our economic and social philosophers have to change their old mindset of economic viability and replace it with social viability and upliftment."

"Fifty stations will be developed into world class facilities."

Snippets: Indian Rail Budget 2009-10, India Rail Budget, Rail Budget 09-10, Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister

[Reply Your Views]

i can't believe it's been 4 or 5 days since i last watched the tc landos "hot piece" video on youtube

The Chaser's War On Everything

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A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

Diana Curmei, Miss Italia nel Mondo 2009

There is also a piece of Sicily in Miss Italia nel Mondo 2009, because maybe not everyone knows that this year's crowned Miss Italy of the World is in fact the daughter of a woman originally from Sicily. The family comes from Campofelice 'd Roccella, near Palermo.

Diana, 19 years old lives in Moldova, she was selected among 50 finalists from 43 countries. This is the 19th event promoting beautiful Italians living abroad. Miss Italia nel Mondo(Miss Italy of the World) is an annual sister event to Miss Italy. The RAIUNO show was held at Palazzo del Turismo in Jesolo not far from Venice.

Diana had to struggle hard to gain the desired crown, including ballet, fashion shows, talk shows and a quiz-game. The young woman also explained, that she had problems in April, at the Moldovan-Romanian border, when the Moldovan authorities stopped her and accused her of collaborating with an anti-communist NGO.

Besides the Crown, Diana Curmei won an annual contract with a fashion house and another contract with a car company. She also got a mini-contract with Italian television RAI. An Italian insurance company has insured her body for one million euro.

To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide

To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday

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Why not try some world class fishing and see Sicily from the sea, book a spectacular Sicilian fishing trip with SicilyFishing.com

“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe

Sicily, The World's Next Great Retirement Destination(TM) of LivingInSicily.com -a forum for those who love Sicily and those who seek information about living in Sicily or moving to Sicily.

gotta post this flier

for my nyc homies. drawn by woody wood!

blues control local flavor

is out now! if you're one of the people who likes to buy records based on my recommendation (there's actually 3 or 4 people, weird huh?) then you know what to do.

Emmy's Music: And the Beat Goes On... or Does it?

And so it continues... here's another article about the on-going saga of whether Emmy's Spaghetti Shack can play live music or not.



Council to mull music at Emmy's
By David Bolling
INDEX-TRIBUNE EDITOR
June 29, 2009
source

Live music at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack is either the best thing to happen to Sonoma since wine, or a rude intrusion of unwanted noise in a quiet residential neighborhood.

Or both. Public opinion on the new restaurant's efforts to bring late-night live music to the old Deuce restaurant building at 691 Broadway, is divided partially along geographic and demographic lines, with 31 people, representing 24 homes and a somewhat older constituency, passionately opposed to the six-month temporary use permit for non-amplified live music approved by the Sonoma Planning Commission on May 14.

But in a packet of agenda materials running almost a half-inch thick, city staff present a profile of public opinion that tilts heavily toward approval of the use permit sought by Emmy Kaplan. Out of 86 letters included in the City Council packet, 60 favor the music permit, 26 are opposed. But the 31 people occupying the 24 homes lying in a semi-circle around the restaurant site filed an appeal of the Planning Commission's conditional approval, and Wednesday night the City Council must play Solomon without dividing the baby.

Grounds for the appeal include the following issues:

There is no objective evidence the proposed live music can be conducted in compliance with the city's noise ordinance. Because Kaplan's proposal was revised shortly before the Planning Commission's public hearing, the public did not have sufficient time to examine the revised proposal.

The revised proposal defines the permit as allowing a "restaurant with live music," rather then the original permit request for a "restaurant with nightclub/lounge." Opponents feel the original designation is more accurate and should have been retained.

The Planning Commission gave too much weight to the perceived need for an entertainment/dancing establishment instead of the impact it would have on residents in the neighborhood.

City staff recommend the council approve the permit as adopted by the Planning Commission, but outlined three other alternatives including denial of the permit, further restricting conditions of the permit, or sending the permit application back to the commission with direction to focus on specific areas of concern raised by the appellants.

While a two-to-one majority of letter writers favor the music permit, it's not clear how much influence public opinion will have over the four council members who must weigh the pro/con arguments. (Councilmember Joanne Sanders is vacationing in France and will not be present for the debate.)

The restaurant's location is in an area zoned for mixed use and if the music permit is ultimately granted it will remain with the land, not with the business, a fact that further enflames opponents' fears. Opponents also question how the proposed outdoor music nights can fail to exceed the city's noise ordinance which impose limits of 60 decibels in the daytime and 50 decibels at night.

In considering the permit application, the Planning Commission discussed the idea of hiring a noise consultant to conduct a study - at a projected cost of $2,500 to $3,000 - that would have been paid by Kaplan. That suggestion, however, was ultimately dropped.

But after consulting with the firm that prepared the city's noise ordinance, city staff concluded that live amplified music, or acoustic horn or brass music conducted outside on the patio, probably would exceed noise-ordinance limits.

The conditional use permit, therefore, was limited to live acoustic - non-amplified - music outdoors on Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (limited to one occurrence a week) and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Indoor music could be played Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Karaoke would be allowed inside only once each month.

The issue will be debated during a public hearing set to follow immediately after the consent calendar.

In other city business, the council will convene at 5 p.m. for a closed session to discuss a property negotiation, will then meet with legal counsel to discuss the lawsuit originally filed by Preston Cook's Argonaut Investments regarding the condo-conversion of Rancho de Sonoma, and will then convene a study session at 5:15 p.m. to hear a presentation from the Sonoma County Water Agency regarding the city's water supply.

The regular council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at 177 First St. W.

COMMENTS:

ANIPSEOJ@ATT.NET wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:22 PM:

" The people against had better get at many more signatures before the wed night meeting as they can or they are going to lose. "



vze3p2y5@verizon.net wrote on Jun 30, 2009 10:28 PM:

" I would hope that anyone that would be opposed to entertaining music for local citizens would even rise to the higher order of controlling the loud noises of motorcycles that are coming into this town on the weekends and scaring tourists off the streets of the plaza and intruding on the peaceful nature of our wonderful community. A Sunday morning walk on The Overlook Trail becomes destroyed by the sound of motorcycles zooming thru the plaza. Let's keep Sonoma a quiet place to enjoy. City Council, please take this up as enforceable by the Sonoma police. Otherwise we will possbly have hundreds of tourists motorcycles ZOOMING thru town every weekend. "



tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Jun 30, 2009 11:32 PM:

" We should ban loud trucks, loud busses, loud cars, loud airplanes from flying over, sirens, big-rigs, bands, parades, tourists, people who complain, music in general, all speech except whispers. And you already have hundreds of m'cycles cruising Sonoma all week and weekends. They have the gall to stop and buy petrol, shop at stores, eat at restaurants etc etc. Where will it end?????? "

Pitting Karen against Karen in a Bloody War

MAE SOT — The tragedy of the Burmese army forces and Karen clashes over the past month can be seen here in Mae Sot Hospital where many Karen soldiers lie injured, many the victims of land mines or artillery fire.

Having fought against each other on their own land, they now rest next to each other in hospital beds on foreign soil

Blood soaked bandages and faces grimacing in pain can be seen in the hospital’s orthopedic ward.

The injured are soldiers in the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), the Karen breakaway ceasefire group, and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

“I had to fight for peace and to look after my people” said Muzzo, a 26-year-old KNLA soldier. “We cannot live under the SPDC killing and hurting our people; we never want to get to that situation, so we must fight to stop them.”

As DKBA and Burmese regular army troops advanced on the KNLA Brigade 7 recently, Muzzo said he was laying down a landmine in a last line of defense. The rain was so heavy that an accident occurred and the mine exploded, causing him to lose both of his hands and the sight in his left eye.

Despite his wounds, he said that he wasn’t sad and that any blood a KNLA soldier gives “is with his heart for the peace and love of Karen people.” His hatred of the Burmese army runs deep. He said his brother and sister were starved to death by the Burmese army and despite his wounds he owes it to them to continue to do whatever he can for the KNLA.

Lying in the bed next to Muzzo was a 23-year-old boy, his face clearly in agony. Part of his foot had been destroyed by a landmine, and he had just gone through his second round of surgery to repair the limb. As his left foot was bound tightly in bandages, his right foot was exposed and his father gently caressed the foot.

When asked how he felt to see his son in such a condition, he said he was proud that his son was a loving man.

“He gave his foot for the people of Karen State so they could live in peace,” he said.

Nearby were wounded DKBA soldiers, also casualties of landmines. Like the KNLA soldiers, they had first gone to Mae Tao Clinic where they were referred to Mae Sot Hospital for surgery on their limbs.

One DKBA soldier clutched his right knee to ease the pain from the recent amputation of his leg. His wife helplessly looked on, her face in total exhaustion.

Having fought with the KNLA for 25 years, the soldier said he was forced to switch sides to the DKBA when his family’s village was overrun by DKBA soldiers. He said he had no choice.

“If I didn’t go to the DKBA, my family would have starved,” he said quietly.

In another area of the ward, a DKBA soldier lay in a bed beside a KNLA soldier. They chatted like old friends. The DKBA soldier, 43 years old, had serious injuries to his thigh, having stepped on a landmine while collecting bamboo to make a shelter.

“I didn’t want to join the DKBA” he said. “I was forced into the army. I don’t want to shoot Karen people, but I am ordered to do it so there is nothing I can do. All I really want to do is to farm and grow rice in peace”

Many of the wounded KNLA soldiers empathized with the DKBA soldiers. The KNLA soldier lying next to the DKBA soldier said he didn’t hate DKBA soldiers.

“DKBA soldiers only change from KNLA because they are hungry and need food,” he said. “I am not angry at them. They are KNLA in their hearts, but their leaders tell them what to do. Their leaders just want money, power and hero status. The soldiers just want food and peace, but because the leaders give them food they have to listen to them.”

The tragedy of Karens fighting against Karens mirrors the futility of war everywhere, and underscores the utterly desperate condition of many of the Karen people who oftentimes will switch armed allegiances because of the access to food.

It's uncertain what lies ahead for the DKBA and the KNLA troops. Many analysts are predicting that the KNLA will lose the area it has controlled. Some observers are also talking about dark plots against the DKBA leadership by the Burmese army itself. Many people speculate that the Saturday ambush of a senior DKBA commander, San Pyote, was carried out by Burmese forces.

“It’s not above what the Burmese are capable of, and they may have done it to create more misunderstanding between the KNLA and DKBA,” said David Takapaw, vice president of the KNU. "There were no KNLA troops in the area. But there were many Burmese."

A Karen soldier who was nearby when the ambush occurred said he only remembers hearing bullets flying everywhere. He now lies on a hospital bed with bullet wounds on his arms.

He is surrounded by fellow Karens, soldiers caught up in a complex conflict that exploits their love for their people while pitting them one against the other.

irrawaddy

NKorea Ship 'Turned Around'

SEOUL — A North Korean ship under scrutiny for more than a week by the US Navy has changed course and was heading back the way it came, US officials said as Pyongyang warned Wednesday it will take military action if anyone attempts to search its vessels.

The Kang Nam 1—originally believed bound for Burma with suspicious cargo on board, possibly illicit weapons—turned around and headed back north on Sunday, two US officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

The US officials, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, said they do not know where the ship is going. But it was some 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Hong Kong on Tuesday and was heading north, one official said.

The North Korean ship is the first vessel monitored under UN sanctions aimed at punishing the regime for conducting an underground nuclear test in May.

The new resolution seeks to clamp down on North Korea's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring UN member states to request inspections of ships suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.

The communist nation has said it would consider interception of its ships a declaration of war. On Wednesday, North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper renewed the warning.

"Touching our ships constitutes a grave military provocation against our country," the paper said in commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "These acts will be followed immediately by self-defensive military countermeasures."

The North's warning did not specifically mention the Kang Nam 1, which the two US officials said has been moving very slowly in recent days in a possible sign it is trying to conserve fuel. The resolution prohibits UN members from providing fuel to ships suspected of carrying banned items.

The officials said they did not know what the ship's turnaround means, nor what prompted it.

Burma's authorities had informed the North Korean ambassador that the UN member nation would not allow the Kang Nam to dock if it was carrying weapons or other banned materials, a report from Washington-based Radio Free Asia said.

A US delegation headed by envoy Philip Goldberg, meanwhile, headed Wednesday for Beijing to discuss the UN sanctions, the State Department said. Goldberg, a former ambassador, is in charge of coordinating the sanctions' implementation.

China's cooperation in enforcing the sanctions against neighboring North Korea, which counts Beijing as its main ally, is seen as crucial to encouraging the North back to nuclear disarmament talks the regime abandoned in April.

Pyongyang also threatened in April to launch a long-range missile. A no-sail zone remains in effect off North Korea's east coast through July 10. An announcement cited "military drills" but there were concerns the defiant nation might test-fire short- or medium-range missiles, or even a long-range missile, in further violation of Security Council resolutions.

However, there was no sign of an imminent missile launch Wednesday, an official at South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said Wednesday. He asked not to be named, citing agency policy.

In Washington, meanwhile, the US Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Hong Kong Electronics, a company located in Kish Island, Iran, accused of involvement in North Korea's missile proliferation network.

That means any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the US belonging to the company must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the firm.

Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek and Jeannine Aversa in Washington contributed to
this report.

irrawaddy

Mae La Refugees Fear DKBA Attack

Burmese refugees at Mae La refugee camp are on alert due to a threat of attack by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to the vice chairman of the camp.

“The DKBA said they will destroy our camp,” said Vice-Chairman Htun Htun, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

Many of the refugees have packed clothing and belongings in preparation for a military assault, sources in nearby Mae Sot said. Camp authorities have imposed a curfew of 9 p.m. On all refugee residents.

The DKBA threatened to attack Mae La camp after one of their influential commanders, San Pyote (aka Soe Myint), the head of Battalion 7, was ambushed and killed by an unknown armed group while traveling by longtail boat on the Moei River on June 26.

Mae La refugee camp is located on the Thai side of the river, not far from where the ambush took place. It is the largest refugee camp in Thailand and currently houses about 37,000 Burmese refugees—mostly Karens from Eastern Burma displaced by the ongoing civil war.

Despite the camp being established on Thai soil in 1984, Mae La refugee camp has been attacked by the DKBA in the past.

After the DKBA split from the KNU in 1995, the splinter group staged daring attacks on several Karen refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border with the help of Burmese troops.

In 1997-98, Huay Kaloke refugee camp, about 10 km (6 miles) from Mae Sot, was attacked and burned down by DKBA soldiers.

Former DKBA Battalion 7 commander San Pyote is rumored to have been behind the assassination of former Karen National Union (KNU) General-Secretary Mahn Sha on February 14, 2008.

The Battalion 7 commander and seven others—believed to be DKBA soldiers and porters—were killed as they were returning to DKBA Battalion 999 base in Shwe Koko in Karen State. Another eight soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack. The DKBA have blamed the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, for the deadly ambush.

DKBA soldiers reportedly gunned down two Karen villagers on Thai soil a few days after they seized KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters on June 23.

After the fall of KNLA Brigade 7, many observers and sources in Mae Sot predicted that more targeted killings would take place between the Karen enemies, because the DKBA will have more access to Mae Sot, traditionally the home base of the KNU.

In August 2007, Lt-Col Kyi Linn, a commander of the KNLA Battalion 18 was shot dead while crossing the Haungthayaw River in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, after meeting government officials and other Karen ceasefire groups, including the DKBA.

Mahn Sha’s death came two weeks after the death of Col Ler Moo, son-in-law of Maj Gen Htain Maung, leader of a Karen breakaway group, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. Ler Moon was killed in January 2008 and Mahn Sha was suspected of being involved.

After Mahn Sha’s assassination, two more KNLA senior military leaders were rumored to also be on the Karen splinter groups’ hit list: Gen Mu Tu, commander in chief of the KNLA and Brig-Gen Jonny, commander of KNLA Brigade 7.

irrawaddy