Mexican Muslim Cleric Jailed
An imam from Mexico was given a four year jail sentence for defrauding a businesswoman. 46-year old Said Louahabi had been arrested on April 23, 2004. He conned 36-year old Felicia Ang Pei-shan into believing that five bags of black "notes" could be processed and converted into US dollars, Euros and sterling.
Ms Pei-shan gave him 297,000 ringgit ($84,012) of her own money. The incident took place between February and March 2004, at the Maple Suite, Maple Tower hotel in Chagkat Raja Chulan.
Said Louahabi had no previous convictions, and his defense had tried to use the argument that he worked as a translator at international conferences and had a wife and two children to support.
Louahabi was said to be remorseful. He had founded an Islamic center in Mexico.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Abazafree Mohammed Abbas said: "His actions did not reflect those of an imam. He had abused his position to cheat." Abbas asked for a punitive sentence as the case was of public importance and "involved a foreigner".
Sessions Court judge Nursinah Adzmi ordered that Louahabi's seentence should commence from April 2004, the time of his arrest.
Read the News Here and Here .
India's IT industry is not as successful as it seems and other countries should think carefully before following suit, writes Athar Osama.
Since India, Ireland, and Israel emerged as 'software super-powers' in the mid-to-late 1990s, many developing countries have joined the race for economic development led by information technology (IT).
Information and communications technology can level the playing field between advanced and under-developed countries in terms of access to information and knowledge. But it cannot be a panacea for the developing world's quest for economic growth and prosperity.
Many countries have tried to replicate India's success by developing IT-led economic development strategies, designed to "propel their economies into the twenty-first century". Serious effort and precious resources have been spent on these endeavours.
But new evidence suggests that this might not be a viable way forward.
Fortunate circumstances
There is a growing sense that India's IT miracle may not be replicable. Through the collective examples of other countries such as Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka or Ukraine, we now know that India's success arose from decades of sound human resource policies, institution building, and a historical accident in the form of the millennium challenge.
Critical decisions, taken decades ago, enabled India to take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself. In the 1950s, for example, India established the Institutes of Technology that have since become the engine of growth for Indian IT and a symbol of its human resource advantage. When IBM moved out of India in 1978, it left behind several hundred unemployed Indian computer engineers who sowed the seeds of software entrepreneurship throughout the country.
This early-mover advantage has proved crucial to the country's success. India was fortunate enough to be at the right time and place — it capitalised on unique circumstances and never looked back. It's initial success in software exports also set in motion self-fulfilling prophecies not available to other countries. The most important of these was the image of India Inc., the inspirational success stories that have driven others to work hard and succeed, as well as the 'can do' attitude and confidence that now characterise India's corporate sector.
Exaggerated success
In addition to these exceptional circumstances, growing evidence suggests that India's software 'miracle' may not be as deep as it is believed to be.
The inherent competitive dynamics of the software exports industry means that the exporter sees a small portion of the revenue generated. As much as 55-60 per cent of revenue from India's IT exports never make it back to the country.
Several credible sources, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, have also questioned the validity of Indian data on software exports. A 2005 study by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found significant discrepancies between US and Indian data on IT outsourcing.
In 2003, for example, India claimed to have exported US$8.7 billion worth of software, most of which went to the United States. But US companies recorded just US$420 million worth of software imports from India — a remarkable 20-fold difference.
The GAO believes that this huge inconsistency arises, in part, from India misreporting financial data. For instance, India counts the earnings of all temporary workers in the United States as part of their exports figures. But this is against universally-accepted financial disclosure conventions suggested by the International Monetary Fund. The result is a gross over-representation of Indian software exports.
Several factors also point to a relatively small impact on economic development from India's IT industry. In 2005, for instance, the IT exports industry was a marginal job-creator, employing 770,000 people — just 0.21 per cent of the total labour force. Trickle-down effects on other parts of the Indian economy, such as job creation in the services sector or increased productivity due to higher use of IT in, say, manufacturing, are also largely absent.
Careful consideration
It may come as a surprise to the world's development community that India's IT industry has had far less impact on development than is often stated.
But it highlights the tough challenges that face would-be replicators of the Indian experience, who see IT exports as both a means and an end to their economic development goals.
A serious reassessment of the IT-led economic development policies and philosophies favoured by many developing country politicians and development planners is needed.
For most countries, IT would remain a marginal industry creating jobs for no more than a minor share of a country's labour force. It would perhaps not deliver broader economic gains unless accompanied by industrial development of the kind that occurred in the West during the first half of the twentieth century, or is taking place in China today.
There is certainly no harm in adopting forward looking science and technology-based development strategies. But doing so without considering a country's unique endowments, initial conditions, and political trajectories could be counterproductive.
Wholesale replication of an IT-led development philosophy might not be the best way forward.
Athar Osama is a senior executive at ANGLE Technology Group — an international technology and economic development consulting company.
A Virginia congressman will not apologize for writing that without immigration overhaul "there will be many more Muslims elected to office demanding the use of the Quran," his spokesman said.
Republican Rep. Virgil Goode's letter to constituents also warns that without immigration overhaul "we will have many more Muslims in the United States."
Spokesman Linwood Duncan said Goode's letter was written in response to complaints his office received about Minnesota Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's request to be sworn in using the Quran.
Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress.
Goode's office released the letter to CNN Wednesday.
In it, Goode wrote, "When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Quran in any way.
"The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Quran.
"We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country.
"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
He added, "The Ten Commandments and 'In God We Trust' are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Quran.
"My response was clear, 'As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, the Quran is not going to be on the wall of my office.' "
The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked Goode to apologize.
"Rep. Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," the council's Corey Saylor said in a statement. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigory."
Duncan told CNN that Goode stands by his comments
Goode makes complete ass of self
Virgil Goode, stands by his anti-Islamic rhetoric: "...If American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.
Follow-up Appended
Brace yourself for the following letter, shared with C-VILLE by John Cruickshank, chair of the local Sierra Club chapter. Representative Virgil Goode (www.house.gov/goode) told us, through his press secretary, “I wrote the letter. I think it speaks for itself.”
Cruickshank had never communicated with Goode’s office about Muslim immigration or official uses of the Koran. According to Goode’s office, Goode had received a flood of e-mails from constituents in response to newly elected Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison’s declaration that he would use the Koran, not the Bible, when being sworn into Congress next month. This letter was Goode’s response to those e-mails; Goode’s office says Cruickshank received the letter in error.
December 21, 2006
Media attention continues to grow around Rep. Virgil Goode and his letter to constituents, first published by C-VILLE. The story has been widely circulated by AP, Gannett, and others. The Smoking Gun has posted a copy of the letter with credit to C-VILLE. Stories close to home include the Roanoke Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Washington Post, as well as an editorial in the Roanoke Times asking “How can one swear to uphold the Constitution while denying its protection to all Americans?”
December 20, 2006
Since this story was first published by C-VILLE on December 19, numerous websites have linked to it eliciting responses from around the country, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Wonkette, Talking Points Memo Muckraker, and The New York Times. The story has been picked up by a host of other news and policy organizations. CAIR called for Goode to apologize. Contacted by C-VILLE on December 20, Goode's press secretary Linwood Duncan said, "He has no intention of apologizing and he stands by the letter." Duncan took the call after a Goode staffer, who had answered the phone, asked C-VILLE, "Are you going to call us an 'ass' again?" The answer: Yes.
Islam phobia ??
Malaysia imam Mexico USA Virgil Goode:Muslim India IT
Ms Pei-shan gave him 297,000 ringgit ($84,012) of her own money. The incident took place between February and March 2004, at the Maple Suite, Maple Tower hotel in Chagkat Raja Chulan.
Said Louahabi had no previous convictions, and his defense had tried to use the argument that he worked as a translator at international conferences and had a wife and two children to support.
Louahabi was said to be remorseful. He had founded an Islamic center in Mexico.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Abazafree Mohammed Abbas said: "His actions did not reflect those of an imam. He had abused his position to cheat." Abbas asked for a punitive sentence as the case was of public importance and "involved a foreigner".
Sessions Court judge Nursinah Adzmi ordered that Louahabi's seentence should commence from April 2004, the time of his arrest.
Read the News Here and Here .
INDIA'S IT MIRACLE NOT SO MIRACULOUS
India's IT industry is not as successful as it seems and other countries should think carefully before following suit, writes Athar Osama.
Since India, Ireland, and Israel emerged as 'software super-powers' in the mid-to-late 1990s, many developing countries have joined the race for economic development led by information technology (IT).
Information and communications technology can level the playing field between advanced and under-developed countries in terms of access to information and knowledge. But it cannot be a panacea for the developing world's quest for economic growth and prosperity.
Many countries have tried to replicate India's success by developing IT-led economic development strategies, designed to "propel their economies into the twenty-first century". Serious effort and precious resources have been spent on these endeavours.
But new evidence suggests that this might not be a viable way forward.
Fortunate circumstances
There is a growing sense that India's IT miracle may not be replicable. Through the collective examples of other countries such as Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka or Ukraine, we now know that India's success arose from decades of sound human resource policies, institution building, and a historical accident in the form of the millennium challenge.
Critical decisions, taken decades ago, enabled India to take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself. In the 1950s, for example, India established the Institutes of Technology that have since become the engine of growth for Indian IT and a symbol of its human resource advantage. When IBM moved out of India in 1978, it left behind several hundred unemployed Indian computer engineers who sowed the seeds of software entrepreneurship throughout the country.
This early-mover advantage has proved crucial to the country's success. India was fortunate enough to be at the right time and place — it capitalised on unique circumstances and never looked back. It's initial success in software exports also set in motion self-fulfilling prophecies not available to other countries. The most important of these was the image of India Inc., the inspirational success stories that have driven others to work hard and succeed, as well as the 'can do' attitude and confidence that now characterise India's corporate sector.
Exaggerated success
In addition to these exceptional circumstances, growing evidence suggests that India's software 'miracle' may not be as deep as it is believed to be.
The inherent competitive dynamics of the software exports industry means that the exporter sees a small portion of the revenue generated. As much as 55-60 per cent of revenue from India's IT exports never make it back to the country.
Several credible sources, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, have also questioned the validity of Indian data on software exports. A 2005 study by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found significant discrepancies between US and Indian data on IT outsourcing.
In 2003, for example, India claimed to have exported US$8.7 billion worth of software, most of which went to the United States. But US companies recorded just US$420 million worth of software imports from India — a remarkable 20-fold difference.
The GAO believes that this huge inconsistency arises, in part, from India misreporting financial data. For instance, India counts the earnings of all temporary workers in the United States as part of their exports figures. But this is against universally-accepted financial disclosure conventions suggested by the International Monetary Fund. The result is a gross over-representation of Indian software exports.
Several factors also point to a relatively small impact on economic development from India's IT industry. In 2005, for instance, the IT exports industry was a marginal job-creator, employing 770,000 people — just 0.21 per cent of the total labour force. Trickle-down effects on other parts of the Indian economy, such as job creation in the services sector or increased productivity due to higher use of IT in, say, manufacturing, are also largely absent.
Careful consideration
It may come as a surprise to the world's development community that India's IT industry has had far less impact on development than is often stated.
But it highlights the tough challenges that face would-be replicators of the Indian experience, who see IT exports as both a means and an end to their economic development goals.
A serious reassessment of the IT-led economic development policies and philosophies favoured by many developing country politicians and development planners is needed.
For most countries, IT would remain a marginal industry creating jobs for no more than a minor share of a country's labour force. It would perhaps not deliver broader economic gains unless accompanied by industrial development of the kind that occurred in the West during the first half of the twentieth century, or is taking place in China today.
There is certainly no harm in adopting forward looking science and technology-based development strategies. But doing so without considering a country's unique endowments, initial conditions, and political trajectories could be counterproductive.
Wholesale replication of an IT-led development philosophy might not be the best way forward.
Athar Osama is a senior executive at ANGLE Technology Group — an international technology and economic development consulting company.
(Source: Science and Development Network)
**********
Lawmaker won't apologize for 'Islamophobic' letter
A Virginia congressman will not apologize for writing that without immigration overhaul "there will be many more Muslims elected to office demanding the use of the Quran," his spokesman said.
Republican Rep. Virgil Goode's letter to constituents also warns that without immigration overhaul "we will have many more Muslims in the United States."
Spokesman Linwood Duncan said Goode's letter was written in response to complaints his office received about Minnesota Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's request to be sworn in using the Quran.
Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress.
Goode's office released the letter to CNN Wednesday.
In it, Goode wrote, "When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Quran in any way.
"The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Quran.
"We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country.
"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
He added, "The Ten Commandments and 'In God We Trust' are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Quran.
"My response was clear, 'As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, the Quran is not going to be on the wall of my office.' "
The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked Goode to apologize.
"Rep. Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," the council's Corey Saylor said in a statement. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigory."
Duncan told CNN that Goode stands by his comments
Goode makes complete ass of self
Virgil Goode, stands by his anti-Islamic rhetoric: "...If American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.
Follow-up Appended
Brace yourself for the following letter, shared with C-VILLE by John Cruickshank, chair of the local Sierra Club chapter. Representative Virgil Goode (www.house.gov/goode) told us, through his press secretary, “I wrote the letter. I think it speaks for itself.”
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-4605
December 7, 2006
Mr. John Cruickshank
7 xxx Sxxxxxx Dr.
Earlysville, VA 22936
Dear Mr. Cruickshank:
Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.
The Ten Commandments and “In God We Trust” are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Koran. My response was clear, “As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, The Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office.” Thank you again for your email and thoughts.
Sincerely yours,
Virgil H. Goode, Jr.
70 East Court Street
Suite 215
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
Cruickshank had never communicated with Goode’s office about Muslim immigration or official uses of the Koran. According to Goode’s office, Goode had received a flood of e-mails from constituents in response to newly elected Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison’s declaration that he would use the Koran, not the Bible, when being sworn into Congress next month. This letter was Goode’s response to those e-mails; Goode’s office says Cruickshank received the letter in error.
December 21, 2006
Media attention continues to grow around Rep. Virgil Goode and his letter to constituents, first published by C-VILLE. The story has been widely circulated by AP, Gannett, and others. The Smoking Gun has posted a copy of the letter with credit to C-VILLE. Stories close to home include the Roanoke Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Washington Post, as well as an editorial in the Roanoke Times asking “How can one swear to uphold the Constitution while denying its protection to all Americans?”
December 20, 2006
Since this story was first published by C-VILLE on December 19, numerous websites have linked to it eliciting responses from around the country, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Wonkette, Talking Points Memo Muckraker, and The New York Times. The story has been picked up by a host of other news and policy organizations. CAIR called for Goode to apologize. Contacted by C-VILLE on December 20, Goode's press secretary Linwood Duncan said, "He has no intention of apologizing and he stands by the letter." Duncan took the call after a Goode staffer, who had answered the phone, asked C-VILLE, "Are you going to call us an 'ass' again?" The answer: Yes.
Islam phobia ??
Malaysia imam Mexico USA Virgil Goode:Muslim India IT
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