Ten Million Women Sell Sex to 75 Million Men in Asia

Ten million women sell sex to 75 million men, who then have sex with another 50 million people, according to the multinational Independent Commission on AIDS in Asia.
 
The technology is there to prevent infections, but punitive laws get in the way.
 
Asia’s AIDS epidemic is linked primarily to unprotected paid sex, but policies outlawing sex work are undermining HIV/AIDS prevention efforts by fragmenting and stigmatizing the sex workers and turning condom possession into an act that could lead to jail time.
 
Until recently, Cambodia was praised by the international community for its implementation of the 100 percent Condom Use Programme, which allowed for selective enforcement of anti-sex work laws and required condom availability and use for sex workers. But a national anti-trafficking law introduced in 2008 broadly criminalized sex work, and sent sex workers into hiding.
 
Now officials are interpreting the law to implicate even those who distribute condoms  http://www.hrw.org/en/node/91626/section/5  

The closure of most brothels in Cambodia as a result of the law drove thousands of sex workers into underground karaoke bars, massage parlours and parks, making them more vulnerable to police corruption and HIV infection, said Andrew Hunt, founder of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers based in Bangkok.
 
The full impact of this new law is still unknown http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90747  
 
Police actually think they have a duty to arrest sex workers and use condoms as evidence. They need legal training – most countries do not accept condoms as evidence in court – but most sex workers never make it to court.
 
Fighting Stigma
The Cambodian law is but one example of policies driving an industry into hiding and making containing HIV a challenge. Cambodia and Papua New Guinea specifically criminalize HIV transmission or exposure.
 
New International Labour Organization (ILO) standards adopted in June 2010 [ http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---ilo_aids/documents/normativeinstrument/wcms_142706.pdf ] include sex workers in all areas of non-discrimination, but experts say that while policies can change, without proper understanding and implementation, the stigma and violence that surround sex work will continue to threaten human rights and HIV prevention.
 
Most sex workers say access to justice and process is equally important to law reform – they have no faith that changing the law will make a difference.
 
Sex workers are up against more than policy. Stigma is the issue. But if the policies change, we need the police to be trained.

Bhutan Disallows Voting by the Clergy: Pakistan Should ve a Similar Law

Ban on voting by religious persons need clarification
Bhutan’s ban on members of the Hindu and Buddhist clergy is threatening to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the upcoming elections. The regulation which implements a constitutional provision to keep religion above politics has been in place since the 2009 elections but needs further clarification. The dilemma arises from the reality that some 10 percent of the population is  part of the Buddhist monastic system.

Is This Really an Obama Speech?

A Senseless War Begins Its 10th Year …an address to the nation from President Barack Obama (as reported by Michael Moore)

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

My Fellow Americans:

Nine years ago today we invaded the nation of Afghanistan. Id just turned 40. I had a Discman and an Oldsmobile and had gotten really into LiveJournal. That was a long time ago. It was so long ago, does anybody remember why we’re even there? I think everyone wanted to capture Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. But he got away sometime in the first month or so. He left. We stayed. Looking back now, that makes no sense.

Needing to find a new reason for the mission, we decided to overthrow the religious extremists who were running Afghanistan. Which we did. Sorta. Unlike Osama, they never left. Why not? Well, they were Afghans, it was their country. And, strangely enough, a lot of other Afghans supported them. To this day, the Taliban only have 25,000 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33497244/> armed fighters. Do you really think an army that tiny could control and suppress a nation of 28 million against their will? What’s wrong with this picture? WTF is really going on here?

The truth is, I can’t get an answer. My generals can’t quite tell me what our mission is. If we went in there to rout out al-Qaeda, well, they’re gone too. The CIA tells me there are under 100 of them left in the whole country <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIb7uD90POU>!

My generals have also admitted the following to me:

1. There is no way <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/19/obama-afghanistan-strategy-taliban-negotiate> we can defeat the Taliban. They enjoy too much popular support in the rural areas, the majority of the country.

2. Even though we’ve been there nine years, the truth is the Taliban, not us, not the Afghan government, control the country. After nine years, weve only completely run the Taliban out of 3% <http://www.icosmaps.net/taliban_presence/050_map/iframe_3#top> of Afghanistan.

3%!! (Just for reference, it took us only ELEVEN MONTHS after D-Day to entirely defeat the Nazis across all of Europe.)

3. Our troops and their commanders are still trying <http://www.centcom.mil/en/what-we-do/military-specialists-try-to-improve-cultural-understanding.html> to learn the language, the culture, the customs of Afghanistan. The fact is, our troops are simply not trusted by the average people (especially after they’ve killed numerous civilians, either through recklessness or for sport).

4. The Afghan government we installed is corrupt beyond belief. The public does not trust them. President Karzai is on anti-depressants <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106706_pf.html> and our advisors tell us he is erratic and loopy on many days. His brother has a friendly relationship with the Taliban and is believed <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html> to be a major poppy (heroin) dealer. Heroin poppies are the #1 contributor to the Afghan economy.

The war in Afghanistan is a mess. The insurgency grows — and why wouldn’t it: foreign troops have invaded and occupied their country! The people responsible for 9/11 are no longer there. So why are we? Why are we offering up the lives of our sons and daughters every single day — for no reason anyone can define.

In fact, the only reason I can see is that this war is putting billions of profits into the pockets of defense contractors. Is that a reason to stay, so Halliburton can post a larger profit this quarter?

It is time for me to bring our troops home — right now. Not one more American needs to die. Their deaths do not make us safer and they do not bring democracy to Afghanistan.

It is not our mission to defeat the Taliban. That is the job of the Afghan people — if that is what they choose to do. There are many groups and leaders of countries in this world who are despicable. We are not going to invade 30 countries and remove their regimes. That is not our job.

I am not going to stay in Afghanistan just because we’re already there and we haven’t “won” yet. There is nothing to win. No one from Genghis Khan to Leonid Brezhnev has been able to win there. So the troops are coming home.

I refuse to participate in scaring the American people with a phony “War on Terror.” Are there terrorists? Yes. Will they strike again? Sadly, yes. But these terrorist acts are few and far between and should not dictate how we live our daily lives or make us ignore our constitutional rights. They should never distract us from what our real priorities are in making our country safe and secure: Everyone with a good job, families able to own a home and send their kids to college, universal health care that’s coordinated by your elected representative government — not by greedy, profit-hungry insurance companies. THAT would be true homeland security.

And what about Osama bin Laden? Nine years and we can’t find a 6’5″ Arab man who apparently is on dialysis? Even after offering $25 million to anyone who will tell us where he is? You don’t think someone would have taken us up on that by now?

Here’s what I know: Osama bin Laden is a multi-millionaire — and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the rich is that they don’t live in caves for 9 years. Bin Laden is either dead or hiding out in a place where his money protects him. Or maybe he just went home.

Just like we should do. Now. My condolences to the families of all who died in this war. Most of them signed up after 9/11 and wanted to do their duty because we were attacked. But we were not attacked by a country. We were attacked by a few religious extremists. And you don’t defeat a few thugs by shipping halfway around the world thousands of armored vehicles and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. That is just sheer idiocy.

And it ends tonight.

God be with you.

I’m not a Muslim.

(End of speech, as transcribed by Michael Moore)

Wateen Suffers a Two Billion Rupee Loss

 

In the annual report published in October 2010, Wateen has posted Rs 1,994 million as after tax loss in the year ended June 30, 2010 (FY10) as compared to profit after tax of Rs 927.763 million in the corresponding period in FY09.

Forecasts had initially projected a loss of Rs. 2,071 million for the same period.

Wateen’s revenues for year ended June 30th, 2010 stood at Rs 7,961 million with the gross margin for second half of FY10 increasing to 38% from 30% compared to the first half of FY10. Company’s revenues were Rs. 15,410 million during the same period last year.

The board of directors of the company in its meeting held at Abu Dhabi, UAE declared Rs 4.43 per share loss in the period under review against earning per share of Rs 2.22 in the same period a year back.

Company’s financial performance in FY10 has shown a positive trend marked by a positive EBITDA of 6% for second half compared to negative 3% for first half of FY10.

Wateen has said that it outperformed management’s expectations through various cost rationalizing and consolidation initiatives aimed at lowering operational overheads. Overall, Wateen was able to cut more than Rs. 700 million in operating costs which resulted in EBITDA of 4% for FY10 compared to projected EBITDA of 0%.

Recently the sponsors have extended a support of over Rs 2,100 million to Wateen.

Winding Up Petition Filed Against Warid

Huawei International Pte Limited and Huawei Technologies Pakistan (Pvt) Limited on 23 August 2010 instituted three petitions in the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, for the winding up of Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. 

The petitions have been filed only after repeated assurances by Warid that the outstanding and admitted liabilities would be repaid”, said a statement issued by Huawei Pakistan Middle East. 

Press statement, signed by Fatima Beckmann of Huawei Middle East, said as interim measures company sought stay orders against Warid from disposing off its assets and the transfer of shares. 

It claimed that the court has granted stay orders. 

Statement said that court has also directed Warid to submit its monthly statement of income and expenses. 

Huawei claims that it is seeking from the court the appointment of a provisional manager while the petitions are pending. 

Huwaei has pleaded that Warid owes the three Huawei companies a sum far exceeding US $ 100,000,000 (US Dollars One Hundred Million) equivalent to a sum exceeding Pak Rupees 10,000,000,000.00(Pak Rupees Ten Billion). 

The Petitions will be heard by the Court in Pakistan on the 26th October 2010. 

Huawei said that following the institution of these petitions and the grant of the stay orders by the High Court, Warid and Huawei have attempted to settle the issue, as mentioned by a rejoinder published by Warid Telecom. 

However, no meaningful offer was made by Warid, and no payment has been received by Huawei, said Huawei, and this is why company is vigorously pursuing the petitions. 

Earlier, Huawei had got this public notice published in various newspapers:

 

In the meantime, Huawei has denied recent media reports by re-affirming its commitment to pursue its case against Warid Telecom. The statement said that recent media reports regarding its settlement with Warid are not true.

It was rumored that both the companies had resolved the deadlock on most of the monetary issues in a high level meeting held in Beijing.

It is interesting to note that there is no ‘Pakistan High Court’ in the country, as mentioned in Huawei’s recent most statement.

Statement further said that Warid had initiated a dialogue with Huawei to explore resolution through settlement of the issue, as it was uncovered by media reports, however through today’s statement the company has said that no agreement has been reached so far.

Huawei threw a threat to Warid by alarming that it may discontinue the services in case of non-payment by Warid.