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News Bosnian authorities reject Turkey's request to extradite journalist due to lack of...
Bosnian authorities reject Turkey's request to extradite journalist due to lack of legal grounds
The Justice Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has put an end to Turkey's persistent efforts to have a journalist living exile extradited to Turkey on trumped-up terrorism charges, disappointing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government and setting a strong precedent for other Turkish citizens living in BİH who are being harassed and threatened with prosecution in Turkey, the Stockholm-based Nordic Monitor website reported on Thursday.
Prosecutor Tunay Pulça
Özer Özsaray, 47, formerly the publisher of Sungurlu Gündem, a local newspaper in the Sungurlu district of Çorum province, fled to BiH, a visa-free country for Turkish citizens, to escape persecution and a post-coup witch-hunt of journalists critical of the government following a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016. As expected, his newspaper was raided by the police at 1 a.m. on August 12, 2016, and a detention warrant was issued the same day.
Journalist Özer Özsaray
Özsaray and his family's lives were turned completely upside down in 2016, but the worst was yet to come. The then-Sungurlu chief public prosecutor, Tunay Pulça, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) partisan, requested Özsaray's extradition from Bosnian authorities using unorthodox means. Pulça, the prosecutor of a small district, exchanged correspondence with the Bosnian Justice Ministry on his own through the Turkish Embassy in Sarajevo after learning that Özsaray was in BiH.
On May 2, 2017, with a cover letter in Turkish, Pulça asked for Özsaray's extradition to Turkey, claiming he was a "founder and chief of an armed terrorist organization," in reference to FETÖ, a derogatory term coined by the AKP government to refer to members of the faith-based Gülen movement. According to official documents obtained by Nordic Monitor, the Turkish Embassy immediately conveyed Pulca's letter and other documents in Turkish to the Bosnian Foreign Ministry, writing in English, "[The embassy] has the honor to submit herewith the original judicial documents prepared by Sungurlu Chief Prosecutor's Office, concerning Özer Özsaray" and requesting that they be transmitted to the relevant Bosnian authorities.
When the Bosnian Justice Ministry decided to take legal action on the matter, tasking the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina with dealing with Turkey's request, a lengthy and tense judicial process started for Özsaray.
On November 22, 2018 a local court questioned the journalist and imposed a ban on leaving the country. The court also ruled there would be no deportation until the Bosnian judiciary made the final decision, given the fact that Özsaray had applied for asylum in BiH on May 11, 2018.
On December 18, 2018 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rejected Turkey's request to extradite Özsaray on the grounds that BİH did not recognize a terrorist organization called FETÖ, referring to a Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina document dated November 6, 2018. The decision was upheld by the Bosnian Board of Appeals and announced by Justice Minister Josip Grubesa on January 16, 2019. The minister noted that Turkey's request did not meet the requirements for compliance with the agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
This allowed Özsaray to breathe a sigh of relief, but his problems were not yet over. He found out that a new petition had been submitted to the Bosnian Justice Ministry by the Turkish Embassy in Sarajevo on April 4, 2019 calling for the previous ruling to be reviewed once again in line with the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters agreement.
Upon that request, the Board of Judges asked the Chief Prosecutor's Office of BiH in May 2019 to present a legal opinion. The Chief Prosecutor's Office stood behind the earlier court ruling and recommended rejection of Turkey's extradition request once again. Finally, the Board of Judges decided on May 22, 2019 that the rejection of the extradition request was final and could not be appealed.
Signed by Senadin Begtasevic, the head of the Board of Judges of BiH, the final decision emphasized that Turkey's request was a violation of the legal principle and international responsibility that called for the existence of a recognized terrorist organization as sine qua non for the crime of "being a founder and chief of a terrorist organization.''
On May 28, 2019 the justice minister announced the final verdict of the Board of Judges and the dismissal of the petition submitted by Turkish authorities.
The Turkish government is still pursuing the extradition of people in BiH who are affiliated with the Gulen movement. After Erdoğan's July 8-9 visit to Sarajevo, top Bosnian government officials confirmed that he personally requested the expulsion of seven Turkish nationals.
Meanwhile a group of prominent Bosnians including journalists, artists, academics and writers signed a petition calling on the Bosnian presidency to reject Turkey's demands and to avoid allowing its sovereignty to be undermined.
The petition reads: "… the Turkish demand, followed by the constant pressure of its leadership, including President of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it is required from Bosnia and Herzegovina to consciously violate its own constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Declaration on Human Rights. If we want to join the society of the modern democratic countries of Europe and the world, you should not allow that luxury. None of the seven people who are on the list didn't break any law in BiH …"
The group also protested Erdoğan's expansionist agenda in the Balkans. "We are living in the assurance that by your decision you will confirm that Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer a pasaluk (administrative unit in Ottoman Empire), in which the orders from Istanbul are absolutely enforced." (nordicmonitor.com)
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U.S. Citizen Receives Settlement over Body Cavity Search at Border
A woman who was subjected to unwarranted body cavity searches after crossing a Texas-Mexico border in 2012 has been awarded nearly a half million dollars by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, her lawyers said.
by Julián Aguilar July 21, 2016 11 AM
Josh Denmark
A woman who was subjected to unwarranted body cavity searches after crossing a Texas-Mexico border in 2012 has been awarded nearly half a million dollars by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, her lawyers said Thursday.
The woman, who is identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, alleged that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working at El Paso's Cordova Bridge ordered her to undergo vaginal probes and a CT scan after she attempted to enter the United States by foot, according to a lawsuit filed in federal district court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and ACLU of New Mexico.
The woman, a New Mexico resident and United States citizen, was awarded $475,000, according to a statement by the ACLU, which is representing her. Doe was first searched at the border checkpoint and later taken to University Medical Center in El Paso, where hospital staff performed the more intrusive searches. The woman was released after six hours and was not charged with a crime. She was randomly chosen for the initial search at the port, court documents state, and later charged more than $5,000 in hospital bills.
"While we are pleased to have obtained justice for our client, this is really a victory for residents of border communities, who shouldn't have to fear interactions with the thousands of border agents in their midst," Rebecca Robertson, the ACLU of Texas' legal and policy director, said in a statement. "Of course, this result could not have been achieved without Ms. Doe's courage and perseverance."
A spokesman with Customs and Border Protection in El Paso did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thursday's announcement follows a 2014 settlement in which Doe was awarded a combined $1.1 million by El Paso's University Medical Center, the hospital's insurance carrier and Texas Tech University. (The hospital is a teaching center for the university's El Paso operations.)
The ACLU also sent letters to 40 healthcare providers on the Southwest border "detailing the rights and responsibilities of hospital personnel when confronted by federal agents who request they perform invasive and illegal body cavity searches," the group said in a statement.
"In investigating what happened to Jane Doe, we learned that medical personnel may not understand the constitutional limits on CBP's authority to demand a medical search or the hospital's authority to perform one," the letter states. "In light of the potential liability your hospital could face for unconstitutional searches, we urge you to carefully consider the information provided here, which is consistent with and based in part on CBP's own policy on medical searches for law enforcement purposes."
The settlement also requires that Customs and Border Patrol officers in El Paso undergo an hour of additional training.
"We asked for more, but to get any federal agency to commit to policy change is burdensome," ACLU senior staff attorney Edgar Saldivar told The Texas Tribune. "But to get the El Paso sector to agree to some policy change is huge. We have to fight for everything we can get to make sure people in the border are protected constitutionally."
Disclosure: Texas Tech University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.


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General Asia
Problems of Sindhi Nationalism - What way forward?
Dr Beenish Shoro
Sindhi nationalism is an expression of the impasses the masses in Sindh face under the oppressive feudal-capitalist regime that dominates the whole of Pakistan. Genuine Sindhi liberation in today's context can only be achieved through socialist revolution and the unity of the workers of all nationalities. Dr Beenish Shoro looks at the Sindhi national conquest from a Marxist point of view.
At the advent of the twenty-first century the whole planet is convulsed by unprecedented social, economic and political turmoil. After the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, humankind has gone through a spate of wars, terrorism, imperialist savagery and reactionary fundamentalism. An epoch of mild reaction, stagnation and ferment has been the hallmark of human society under the crushing domination of monopoly capitalism and a paralytic globalisation.
Under this stalemate and a lull in the movement for a relatively long period of time questions such as national chauvinism, racism and ethnic conflict have re surfaced even in the advanced capitalist countries where they were thought to have been resolved long ago. In the ex-colonial or so-called developing countries the uncompleted tasks of the national democratic revolution, like the national question, have erupted with a bloody vengeance. These conflicts have resulted in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent people being killed. Millions more have been displaced from their homes, women and children have been massacred and yet this terrible suffering continues unabated with no end in sight under the prevalent capitalist system.
Globalisation poses several challenges for Marxists, and the "national question" in the 21st century is one of them. The ongoing restructuring of the global political economy being carried out by multinational corporations, multilateral trade agreements, and such supra-national institutions as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, raises questions about the history and future of the nation state. "Globalisation" fostered by profit-maximizing of multinational corporations, brutally undermines the integrity of nations, cultures, the ecology of the planet, and the human condition of existence. No country - not even the biggest country - can withstand the crushing domination of the world market.
But here we see a striking contradiction. Precisely at this moment in time, when the world market has become the dominant force on the planet, national antagonisms have everywhere acquired a ferocious character and the national question far from being abolished everywhere assumes a particularly intense and poisonous character. Therefore, it becomes essential to discuss about the history and character of the nation and how the national question is being utilized by capitalists and imperialists.
The Nationalist writers and ideologues believe that nations have existed right from the start of human life. But this is obviously a subjective perception. Nations are the result of changes and development in the form of society. The modern state and nation had its origin in the 15th century during the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The state institutionalised bourgeois power while nationality functioned as the ideological core around which the bourgeoisie both consolidated its domestic power over the working class and peasants and solidified a nation vis-à-vis other capitalist nations. After passing through several stages of productive relations, the trend towards the modern nation came into being. One of the modern requirements of capitalism is undoubtedly the greatest possible national uniformity of the population, for nationality and language identity are an important factor making for the complete conquest of the home market and for complete freedom of economic investment.
Initially the creation of the nation state and the market gave an impetus to the productive forces, science and technology. But the rapid growth and production through the industrial revolution gave rise to wars for markets and the phenomenon of colonisation. This process gave rise to imperialism and the subjugation of countries and regions where the industrial revolution had not taken place. The whole pattern of socio-economic development of these countries under the yoke of imperialism was uneven and yet combined as imperialist investment was more advanced in those countries due to their quest for higher rates of profit. Even after the independence of these countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the domination of imperialism continues specially in those countries where capitalism was not overthrown by the national liberation movements.
With the passage of time their character became more passive and reactionary because of globalisation and advancements in the mode of production and now the nation state has become one of the fundamental barriers to human development. And then these corrupt feudal landlords and capitalists ruling these ex-colonial countries are acting as commission agents of the bourgeoisie to exploit the working class under the slogan of nationalism.
In Pakistan the national question exists in its worst form because Pakistan itself is an example of a failed nation state. Pakistan was created as a result of the partition of the Indian subcontinent as the British imperialists and the local/national bourgeois leaders feared that a united national liberation would not stop there but would move towards a social transformation that would overthrow landlordism, capitalism and the imperialist strangle hold. To avoid a socialist revolution they conspired and split the movement along religious lines that led to the reactionary and traumatic partition of a land that had more than five thousand years of common history, cultural and socio economic existence.
Pakistan was founded not as a nation state, but as a state made up of nationalities. Even the abbreviations which form the word Pakistan are a testimony to this fact. This corresponds to its belated character. On the foundations of extensive agriculture and home industry, commercial capital could not develop fully. Not by transforming production, but broadly by increasing the radius of its operation, the greedy demands of the state and the meagreness of the economic foundation under the ruling class gave rise to the most bitter terms of exploitation. National oppression has been brutal and rough ever since the country came into being.
If we look back at last 60 years, the question arises of what Pakistan as a nation state has achieved so far. More than half a century after independence the conditions of Pakistan are more miserable than they were at the time of partition. There are countless failures of independence. The litany of failures includes the inability to have a functional parliamentary (bourgeoisie democracy), four wars with India, the failure either to sustain economic development or meaningful redistribution of wealth to the impoverished masses, the separation of Bangladesh, the inability to resolve regional and sectarian disputes, the inability to sustain a clear concept and direction to Pakistan's Nationalism and finally failure to create a modern cohesive nation state.
Pakistan's political system is dominated by elite groups. In addition it faces the dilemma of chronic military rule. Most political parties in Pakistan have not worked well, although not for want of trying. Literally hundreds of political parties have existed during Pakistan's brief history. In Pakistan, politics is often viewed as a struggle between competing kinship groups, for scarce resources and for prestige and honour, therefore loyalty to such parties is generated not by ideological allegiance to a programme, but rather to individuals within the party.
Understanding the character of this state structure is the key to the understanding of the rise and decline of national movements in Pakistan. The policy of Pakistani governments has primarily been instrumental in the rise of nationalist movements. Ethno-regional identification roughly corresponds with provincial domiciles, but the fit is imperfect owing to the effects of partition and internal migration.
Sindh, the southern most province of the state possesses one of the most varied demographical set-ups in Pakistan. There is a very fragile ethnic balance between Sindhis and non-Sindhis. After partition many of the immigrants from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in India moved mainly to Karachi, but also to Hyderabad, Sukkur and other cities of Sindh.
This massive influx of Mohajirs from India and other nationalities resulted in a greater control of people from this transmigration over the economy, jobs and posts in the state apparatus. Although this phenomenon had a greater impact on urban Sindh, the deprivation was felt also in rural Sindh especially amongst the Sindhi middle classes. The acquisition of State and other lands by Punjab Generals and other settlers further aggravated this feeling of national deprivation amongst the Sindhi populace. There are several other factors which fuelled these sentiments.
It is not just that after sixty years the Pakistani nation has not been forged by the ruling classes and the state, but even in Sindh whose ruling classes had opted for Pakistan at a crucial historical juncture, the migrants from India and elsewhere could not be harmoniously integrated. These ethnic, national and racial prejudices went on getting worse and exploded in bloody conflicts in the 1980s and 1990s.
In addition huge numbers of people from other provinces of Pakistan migrated to Karachi because it is the biggest industrial city of Pakistan and was the capital before Islamabad. With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly contentious as to who is a "pure" Sindhi, Pushtoon is or Baluch, as the boundaries between these groups are constantly in flux because of demographic changes. And although it is difficult to decide who is "pure" Sindhi, distinction between the classes is exposed with a vengeance in every part of Sind. As Lenin said, "there are two nations in every modern nation. There are two national cultures in every national culture."
The military-bureaucratic elite pursued certain policies which on the one hand failed to integrate the people into one ideological community and on the other generated and fed the ethno-national tendencies in Sindh, Baluchistan, Pushtoonkhwa ( NWFP) and former East Pakistan, especially the policies pursued during the Ayub era (1958-1969) and reincarnated in the Zia era (1977-1988). Both the Jeay-Sindhand Baluch movements which had very little support at the time of the formation of Pakistan in 1947 have significantly emerged on the Pakistani political scene in the contemporary period 1971-87.
At the heart of nationalist sentiments in Pakistan is the perception by non-Punjabis that the Punjabi nationality dominates the economy, politics, society and the state. There is considerable evidence to support this perception. First, Punjabis constitute a majority of the population, approximately 60%; second, they dominate the civilian bureaucracy and the military; third, the Punjab is by far the wealthiest and most developed province in the state. And this perception is ironically fuelled by governmental policies designed to assuage such perceptions.
A provincial autonomy movement emerged in Sindhas early as 1917 against the administrative arrangements of the British who had linked Sindh to the Bombay presidency. The movement led by the traditional landed elite of Sindhtook on a national character. The word "Sindhu desh" was first time used during this movement.
Sindh became very closely identified with the idea of Pakistan. The Sindhassembly was the first Indian legislature to pass the resolution in favour of Pakistan. G. M. Syed, an influential Sindhi landlord and one of the important leaders to the forefront of the provincial autonomy movement joined the Muslim League in 1938 and presented the Pakistan resolution in the Sindh Assembly. And only a few months later he considered the Pakistan movement as an "irrational emotionalism" and wanted an "independent Sind".
G. M. Syed can rightly be considered as the founder of Sindhi nationalism. He formed the Sindh Progressive Party in 1947 and demanded provincial autonomy within a socialist framework. In 1953 he formed the SindhAwami Mahaz. G. M. Syed himself a middle sized landlord represented the grievances of that class as well.
The educated middle classes had their own grievances. They did not find any place in two key institutions, the army and civil administration. The ingeniousness of tyranny was that those who were talking about National independence were among the corrupt feudal lords and tribal leaders. Alhough there was still an old, distorted feudal system in their regions, where millions of people were on the verge of extinction, the Jeay Sindh movement got support only from the traditional landed elite and educated middle class.
The Jeay Sindhleaders developed covert contacts with high officials of the Indian government to seek assistance in their activities. The movement during that phase remained at the cultural level and could not translate its support at the political level, mainly because of the emergence of the Pakistan Peoples Party led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Himself a landlord and a charismatic young leader, he appealed to the same Sindhi constituencies and exploited the same regional issues with considerable success. The People's Party successfully played a dual role as the champion of Sindhi grievances at the provincial level in Sindh and the spokesman of the oppressed at the national level. Because of the slogan of "Roti, Kapra and Makan" (bread, clothing and shelter) the PPP became a mass party in Pakistan. As Lenin pointed out, "the National Question is fundamentally a question of bread."
There have been several movements in Sindh over the last 60 years but there are three very significant mass upsurges that shook the echelons of power in Islamabad. These are the movements of 1968-69, 1983 and to some extent that of 1986. All these movements had different intensities, character, orientation and motivations.
The most forceful was the 1968-69 movement, which created a revolutionary situation not only in Sindh but also all over Pakistan. Although there were some connotations of nationalist revulsion against the state, this movement had an overwhelming class basis and a socialist character. It was the only time that the vast masses of urban and rural Sindh were united in a class struggle and overcame the national, ethnic, religious, linguistic and other prejudices.
In urban Sindh the workers took over large sections of industry and the economy and in rural Sindh there was a massive peasant revolt where the Sindhi, Punjabi and other landed estates were besieged by the toilers and the feudal aristocracy was forced to flee. But after 1971 when the first PPP government left the revolutionary path and took a reformist direction this movement ebbed and the class unity was again diverted along national and ethnic lines.
The PPP government's reforms instead of solving the national question further sharpened the contradictions. The abolition of the more shameful national limitations established a formal equality of citizens regardless of their nationality, but this revealed only the more sharply the unequal position of the nationalities.
The quota system and Sindhi language in schools introduced by the Sindh provincial government of Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, did not improve the plight of Sindhi masses but it only increased the national and ethnic hatred amongst the various nationalities, especially in urban Sindh. In reality it gave a basis to the narrow nationalist petty bourgeois "leaders" of the Pushtoon, Muhajirs, Punjab and other communities in Karachi and other urban centres of Sindh.
The overthrow of the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto government (1977) and his assassination (1979) by the vicious military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq gave a new impetus to the nationalist movement in Sindh. The symbolism was that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto belonged to Sindh.
Zia was the son of a Mullah who had migrated from Eastern (Indian) Punjab and was American-trained at Fort Bragg. His atrocities, his make up and his background were enough to provoke massive hatred from the masses in Sindh. Zia's repression of the Sindh was no less than the brutalities of British colonialists inflicted upon the mass of the subcontinent and other colonies. All this unleashed a glorious movement of the Sindhi masses against the military dictatorship. Although this movement had significant nationalist overtones, fundamentally it was linked to the general class resentment against this regime.
The movement failed because the regime was able to foster ethnic and nationalist discord especially in urban Sindh and in other main cities and provinces of Pakistan. In Karachi the Pakistani state devised the instrument of the MQM, the Punjabi Pushtoon Ittehad, Islamic fundamentalists and other reactionary outfits to break the momentum of struggle that was developing along class lines.
Still the movement raged on. In such circumstances whenever national antagonisms coincided with class contradictions they became especially hot. According to the official figures 1263 innocent people were slaughtered by the army in interior Sindh while thousands more were injured. There are heroic episodes of resistance that have now become legends in Sindhi folklore.
This movement could have still been victorious had the leaders of the so-called MRD (Movement for Restoration of Democracy) and the PPP not refused to give it a programme of revolutionary class struggle. Only on this basis could urban, rural and intra-provincial unity have been achieved. But the MRD leaders were perhaps as much terrified of a revolutionary change as the regime was.
In 1986 the movement in Sindh was actually the last nail in Zia's coffin. But the Benazir government and the "democratic phase" that was ushered in had so deeply compromised itself that no real change was even talked about. These regimes of formal democracy, with freedom of press, assembly, made the oppressed nationalities only the more painfully aware to what extent they were deprived of the most elementary means of cultural development, their own schools, their own courts, their own officials. Reference to a democracy and future development only served to further irritate them. These so-called democratic regimes under the yoke of imperialism, and in the clutches of the army and the state, could not and did not solve any task of the democratic revolution. Thus the national question in Sindh became more complicated, traumatic and convulsive.
The policy of the Zia regime to promote non-party politics had disastrous consequences for national politics in general and provincial politics in particular. In its zeal to weaken the PPP in the Sindh, the regime sought to appease Sindhi nationalism which only served to give a partisan image to the state structure which in turn provoked Mohajir nationalism. The promotion of the MQM was a conspiracy on the part of state to promote ethnic, linguistic and racial divisions amongst the working classes, especially in Karachi, the hub of the Pakistani proletariat. During the Zia ul Haq's regime, the policy was one of divide and rule.
The Jeay Sindh adopted a strategy of partial cooperation and partial confrontation with the martial law regime. Its leadership maintained contacts with high functionaries of the Zia regime and did not refrain from obtaining personal and other favours which the regime was willing to grant because of its own objective of weakening the PPP in Sindh.
Their leadership was influenced by both the western liberal tradition and the Soviet "Socialist" tradition, which in essence was a caricature of Socialism and in reality Stalinism. They formulated their ideologies, structured their programmes and modelled their organization on this "socialist" pattern. In practice it was Stalinism, which is based on "socialism in one country". The bourgeois nationalists in those days used to say that the national cause comes first and the proletarian cause second.
In the 1970s and 1980s the so-called left-wing nationalists followed the model of the Soviet Union, but not that of 1917 but that under the Stalinist totalitarian regime, of bureaucratic rule based on the theory of socialism in one country, i.e. national socialism.
They envied the perks, privileges and luxuries enjoyed by these Stalinist bureaucrats and wanted to ape them under the guise of a "socialist" Sindh or Baluchistan. The proletarian bonapartist regimes in Afghanistan and other countries, based on the model of Stalinist Moscow were also a point of reference for those nationalist leaders.
With support from Moscow, in which the Russian bureaucracy had its own "national" interests, they viciously distorted and maligned Lenin's position on the national question. They removed the dialectical essence from Lenin's position on the national question and portrayed it in a mechanistic fashion.
Lenin had envisaged the inevitability of the development of centrifugal national movements in Russia at the beginning of the last century. For many years he stubbornly polemicised with Rosa Luxemburg and others over that famous paragraph of the old party programme that formulated the right of nations to self-determination ‑ that is to the right of complete separation as states.
In defending this right, the Bolshevik party did not by any means undertake the evangel of separation. It merely assumed an obligation to struggle implacably against every form of national oppression, including the forcible retention of this or that nationality within the boundaries of the general state. Only in this way could the Russian proletariat gradually win the confidence of the oppressed nationalities. The policy of Bolshevism in the national sphere had also another side, apparently contradictory to the first but in reality supplementing it. On the thesis on the national question submitted by Lenin to the Comintern in 1920 he clearly stated:
"The recognition of the right [to self-determination] does not exclude either propaganda or agitation against separatism or exposure of bourgeoisie nationalism." (Lenin's Collected Works, The National Programme of the RSDLP, vol. 19, p. 544.)
Within the framework of the party, and of the workers' organizations in general, Bolshevism insisted upon a rigid centralism, implacably warning against any hint of nationalism which might set the workers against one another or disunite them.
These kinds of nationalists, who are either already rich capitalists or aspire to becoming such, do not raise the national question because they desire the common man to achieve freedom or a prosperous Sindh; rather they wish to squeeze the blood of their own people by filling the space which would be left vacant by other capitalists. All the "solutions" they present to the people can only bring more misery and deprivation to the masses. These kinds of movements are founded on an unscientific basis and ultimately have always dragged people into wars and chaos with catastrophic consequences.
Marxists are opposed to all forms of national, linguistic and racial oppression and we will fight against all forms of national oppression. But Lenin never said that Marxists must support the national bourgeoisie or the nationalist petit bourgeoisie. On the contrary, the fundamental premise of Lenin's position on the national question was of absolute class independence.
As Lenin said, "The slogan of national culture is a bourgeois (and often also a Black-Hundred, and clerical) fraud. Our slogan is: the international culture of democracy and of the world working-class movement... Those who seek to serve the proletariat must unite the workers of all nations, and unswervingly fight bourgeois nationalism, domestic and foreign. The place of those who advocate the slogan of national culture is among the nationalist petty bourgeois, not among the Marxists." (Lenin, Critical Remarks on the National Question, 1913)
The first principle of Leninism was always the need to fight against the bourgeoisie. Lenin grasped the dialectical relationship between national-democratic struggles and the socialist revolution, and showed that the popular masses (not just the proletariat, but also the peasantry and petty bourgeoisie) of the oppressed nation were allies of the conscious proletariat: a proletariat whose task it would be to lead the struggle of this "disparate, discordant and heterogeneous mass" ... against capitalism and the bourgeois state". The slogan of working-class democracy is not "national culture" but the international culture of the world-wide working-class movement.
This is the clear position of Marx and Lenin, who always supported internationalism, while these Stalinists based their ideology on National-Socialism. They were inspired by the "socialism" of the Soviet Union, i.e. Stalinism, which was in essence a negation of Marxism and Leninism. They thus adopted the policy of Stalinism. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union they were influenced by the two-stage theory of revolution in which only in the second stage is socialism supposed to be reached. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, probably now there isn't even room for any remnants of socialism in their policy. Now they have only one agenda: that is autonomy on a capitalist basis.
Pakistan came into existence as the fulfilment of the dream to create a Muslim homeland in South Asia. Sixty years later that dream is rather tarnished. Meanwhile nationalist fervour in Bangladesh is also in decline. The sacrifices and struggles for Bengali nationalism and liberation have amounted only to increased poverty, misery and want.
If we in Sindh should achieve "freedom" through the same phenomenon as in Bangladesh we may well get freedom from non-Sindhi capitalists, but we will be all the more cruelly exploited by Sindhi capitalists and landlords. These nationalists do not want freedom from poverty, misery, unemployment; they just want freedom to establish control over their own market where they could extract a huge surplus by squeezing the last drop of the workers' blood.
The feudal landlords want freedom to exploit the peasants and working class, to create an open market where they will sell the labour of the proletariat, where they will become the brokers of the multinationals and again our dream of freedom would be dashed. The only change that would come about in our lives would be a change of master. We are slaves of the capitalists today and we would remain the same.
Their interests under the guise of "national liberation"... represent the different interests of the various squabbling sections of finance capital and the exploiting classes. These nationalists are brokers of these barbaric interests. The real "victims" are not these nationalist elites but the working class and peasants.
The struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie is at first a national struggle. The proletariat of each country must of course, first of all settle matters with its own bourgeoisie. We will struggle for freedom, but that struggle is against poverty, misery, inflation, unemployment, wars, and disease and state brutalities. We want freedom from the slavery of this barbaric system; we need freedom from the exploitation and oppression of capital. The masses of the subcontinent, having suffered the trauma of partition, the drudgery of imperialist exploitation and the agony of capitalist rule are seething for revolt. The action of the oppressed will decide the fate of humankind. Only a genuine Marxist perspective, method, strategy, party and leadership will ensure victory.
In the place of all forms of nationalism Marxism advances internationalism. We will not support any movement that divides the masses; we will support every movement that unites the working class masses. We will not go with any movement that is based on the separation of countries or provinces, we will go with every movement that will abolish the borders and link the existing decaying and repressive states to the creation of greater proletarian state based on workers' democracy.
We will take revenge for the crime of partition of India through the formation of a Red Revolutionary Subcontinent. As Comrade Lal khan says, "The unification of the Indian subcontinent will be on a much higher plane than the 1947 Partition." The proletariat cannot support any consecration of nationalism; on the contrary, it supports everything that helps to obliterate national distinctions and remove national barriers; it supports everything that makes the ties between nationalities closer and closer, or tends to merge nations.
Nationalism is a transitional phenomenon in support capitalism and will die as society transforms into a socialist society. This cannot last for very long. With the changing objective conditions, revolutionary forces are gathering again in some areas of the subcontinent and their Marxist approach, strategy and perspective will soon provide them a mass basis and as Marx said, "when an idea gains a mass base it becomes a material force". In whatever the country the revolution takes place first, it cannot and will not remain confined within that nation state.
Political stability is an illusion under capitalism and will never be achieved. National wars have to be converted into class wars. The only way forward for working people is through the struggle for the expropriation of the big banks and monopolies, the overthrow of capitalism and the socialist transformation of society.
In conclusion we could summarize the problems of Sindhi nationalism and the way forward for Sindh thus:
There is a vicious national oppression in the cultural, social and economic aspects of Pakistani society and the state. Sindh has been the victim of this oppression and it is the revolutionary duty of Marxists to support the struggle against all forms of oppression and exploitation including the national oppression.
The Pakistani/Punjabi ruling classes and the capitalist state have failed to create a unified nation or a nation state. Hence the inevitable nationalist and other forms of exploitation alongside the fundamental exploitation of human labour.
Investment in different projects such as the Kalabagh dam are fundamentally incentives for corporate profit and kick backs for the state officials. All public and private investment in Sindh under the present capitalist system have not and cannot improve the conditions of the masses and working classes in Sindh and elsewhere. The concerns of the Sindhi people over projects like the Kalabagh dam cannot be satisfied in a system of loot and plunder. The present rulers represent the interests of finance capital and not of the masses. Hence we reject their imposed projects against the will of the oppressed masses of Sindh.
If we look at the historical, political and demographic situation of Sindh, we see that it is the result of the peculiar exploitative patterns of growth of capitalism. Hence workers from all nationalities were sucked into this industrialization, especially Karachi. The rights of the non-Sindhi workers therefore have to be acknowledged and protected.
With the present ruthless aggression of monopoly capitalism, the nation state is diminishing and national economies are being strangled. Hence the formation of an independent Sindh on a capitalist basis would be a utopia and in no way could the workers and poor peasants of Sindh escape their drudgery and exploitation. The glaring example of Bangladesh today is a lesson to be understood. National autonomy under the present state of Pakistani capitalism is a farce.
In the sixty years of its history, the Pakistani state has been able to carry out its oppression of Sindh in collaboration with the Sindhi landlords and capitalists. Even Sindhi nationalists who previously had burnt the Pakistani flag later capitulated to the bourgeois state and became ministers with the Pakistani flag flying on the bonnets of their limousines.
To defeat the national oppression suffered at the hands of the Pakistani state, the struggle to defeat this regime, the struggle of national liberation must be directly linked to the class struggle. In Trotsky's words "the rivers of national struggle have to be directed to the ocean of class struggle."
The national, cultural, economic, social and democratic rights of the toiling masses of Sindh can only be achieved by overthrowing capitalism through a socialist revolution in Sindh and throughout Pakistan. This can only be sustained when the revolution expands on a wider plane leading towards the creation of a voluntary Socialist Federation of South Asia. Only within such a federation can the full national, cultural and other rights of the masses in Sindh be realized.
The social and economic contradictions mean that the socialist revolution is destined to meet opposition among the upper layers of the petty bourgeoisie and the elite sections of the oppressed nations. But on the other hand the conflicts of the oppressed nationalities by their very nature shake the bourgeois regime, making conditions even more favourable for revolution in the heart of the state itself.
Trotsky wrote in the 1930s, "A predominance of historic extremes is proper to social structure of a belated country ‑ predominance of the backward peasants and the advanced proletarians over the intermediate formations of the bourgeoisie. The task of one class is shouldered off upon another. In the national sphere also, the uprooting of medieval remnants falls to the lot of the proletariat. But in performing these tasks Russia exactly because of her belated development made use of new and utterly modern classes, party programs. To make an end of these ideas and methods of Rasputin, she required the ideas and methods of Marx."
If we look at the present situation in Pakistan, the analysis and prognosis is not much different. In order to achieve liberation and a cultural lift, the oppressed nationalities are invariably dependent upon the international and central branches, trusts and commercial institutions.
The bourgeoisie of the oppressed nationalities plays the same role in relation to the Pakistani bourgeoisie that the latter play in relation to international finance capital. Hence in no way can they be consigned a revolutionary mission. The subordination of belated national revolutions to the revolution of the proletariat follows a law which is valid throughout the world. Whereas, in the nineteenth century the problem of wars and revolutions was still to guarantee a national market to the productive forces, the problem throughout most of the twentieth century and especially the twenty first century is to free the productive forces from the national boundaries which have become iron fetters upon them. Capitalist globalisation has made a mess of it. Only under socialism can the productive force expand and develop harmoniously at a rapid speed to give humankind an advanced society, cultural and ultimately emancipation.
Workers of the world unite...
Pakistan: state terrorism against peaceful protesters – 13 killed and 30 injured 29 May 2019
Pakistan: students mobilising in Multan and other cities despite threats 21 Feb 2019
Pakistan: bail application of jailed Marxist rejected, protests continue 19 Feb 2019
Pakistan: judge refuses to hear the case of jailed Marxist 16 Feb 2019
Pakistan: Marxist student leader jailed, bail hearing tomorrow 15 Feb 2019


JUNE 15, 2018 VOL V, NO 12
"Grave consequences" — AMA and Assisted Suicide Update
by Margie Montgomery, Exec. Dir.
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates voted not to affirm the report of its Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) to maintain opposition to assisted suicide, and sent the report back to committee for further review. The CEJA report, online forum and References Committee all recommended that the AMA maintain its position in opposition to assisted suicide. In spite of those recommendations, the House of Delegates voted 56% to 44% for further study.
In the interim, the AMA remains opposed to assisted suicide, absent a vote to actually change this position. There will likely be another battle at the next annual meeting in June of 2019.
Matt Valliere, Executive Director of the Patients' Rights Action Fund, released this statement, "The American Medical Association's decision to not confirm their own
Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs' recommendation – namely that they maintain their opposition to assisted suicide – does not take into account that this bad public policy puts vulnerable patients at high risk for coercion, mistakes and even abuse.
"Although the AMA's opposition position still stands for now, a referral back to CEJA is a lost opportunity and a failure to stand against a policy that has grave consequences for everyone, but especially persons living with illness, disabilities, or socio-economic disadvantage. Assisted suicide is not medical care. "
GALLUP rocks the debate!
Latest polls show pro-lifers gaining ground
Gallup announced last Friday a week-long series to begin Monday, June 11, that would document Americans' latest views on abortion "including deep dives into gender and generational trends."
The article noted that though Americans' opinions on many social issues like gay rights, pornography and teen sex have grown more liberal, the 2018 survey shows their abortion views have turned more conservative.
Monday's article reported that 48% of Americans identify as pro-choice and 48% as pro-life; half say abortion should be legal in some circumstances, but a little more than half say it is morally wrong.
On Tuesday , Gallup reviewed the Sherry Finkbine (thalidomide) case with the statistics of the 1962 opinion poll. Pro-lifers are firm on the disability issue. Many will never understand this, but our consistent stance may be one reason we are winning the debate in certain arenas, and holding our own in general.
The Wednesday article was a blockbuster, stating that six in 10 Americans broadly support abortion rights in the first trimester, but only 28% in the second trimester, and only 13% in the third trimester. Wow! Let's be sure the Judge presiding over the EMW & ACLU v. Ky "Dismemberment Abortion" trial knows these opinions.
On Thursday the Gallup Poll showed that men and women have similar abortion views, though 31% of all women believe abortion should be legal under all circumstances and 26% of men do.
Today, Friday , we learn that 56% of young adults 18-29 are pro-choice, 51% of adults 30-49 are, 39% of those 50-64, and 44% of the 65+group. Pro-lifers are the majority in the 50-64 range with 57% and oddly for 65+ the number drops to 52% but that still beats the 44% who are pro-choice. Of adults 30-49, 45% are pro-life and 38% of those 18-29.
There is a need for pro-life activism, and our activism is making a difference! Thank YOU!
You've heard of TLC, but what do you know about KyTLC? Learn more and share with a teen!


Bus lane enforcement in Burnley to help public transport
A bus lane on Church Street in Burnley will be enforced from next week to help public transport.
From Monday (16 December), drivers could receive a £60 penalty if they use a bus lane on Church Street between School Lane and Active Way, near the Sainsbury's supermarket.
The aim is to help public transport by ensuring that bus lanes are kept clear, and stopping misuse.
The bus lane, which has been in place for some time, will be enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
County Councillor Keith Iddon, Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Bus lanes help people to get around using public transport and help to reduce traffic, making it a nicer place for everyone.
"These PCNs help to discourage this misuse and help buses to get around. We're happy if we don't make a penny from the bus lane, as it means that people are doing the right thing."
Cameras will monitor the bus lane from Monday 16 December, with warning notices for an initial period, before Penalty Charge Notices are given out. This gives people a chance to get used to the bus lane being enforced.


SHINee will hold its fifth solo concert!
Source: SM Entertainment
South Korean boy group SHINee will hold its fifth exclusive concert in September, the idol group's agency said on Friday.
From August 21 to September 4, the group will have 'SHINee CONCERT – SHINee WORLD – EXHIBITION' at COEX Artium of SMTOWN in Samseong-dong, Seoul. The event will be a pregame for the group's fifth concert 'SHINee CONCERT SHINee WORLD V' on September 2-4.
The exhibition will disclose hidden photos and clips from the group's previous concerts. Illustrators BRIDGE SHIP HOUSE, ANDY REMENTER and Seong Lib participated as art collaboration for the upcoming concert's poster.
Since its debut 2008 with EP "Replay," SHINee has secured a wide range of fandom internationally, especially in Japan.
In January-May period of this year, the K-pop quintet accumulatively drew more than 1 million concert-goers in its Japan tour "SHINee World 2016 D×D×D." In the tour, it staged a total of 20 concerts, 16 in local arenas and 4 in Tokyo Dome and Kyosera Dome.
Prior to the September concert, S.M. Entertainment will hold a special exhibition in SM Town in COEX Artium, southeastern Seoul, from Aug. 21 through 31. The exhibition presents the stage outfits and undisclosed photos and video clips of S.M. Entertainment's K-pop idol musicians, including SHINee.
Meanwhile, SHINee will hold its fifth solo concert 'SHINee WORLD V' from September 2-4.


Home/Careers/Hourly / Production Jobs/US & Canada Protein Processing Locations/Waco, TX
Search and apply for Waco production positions Buscar y solicitar puestos de producción en Waco
View production position details | Search and apply for salaried positions
Questions about hourly production opportunities? Please call 888-244-6357.
Preguntas sobre oportunidades de producción? Por favor llame al 888-244-6357
Whether you drive, fly, or walk to Waco, you're guaranteed a fun visit in the heartland of Texas! Waco is situated on the I-35 corridor between Dallas and Austin, Waco's the place to stop for scores of shops and restaurants galore. So, come on by and stay for a visit!
The city was founded in 1849 by the Huaco Indians that lived on the land in the present-day downtown area.
Waco is the county seat of McLennan County. It also offers some major attractions, five historic homes, seven recreational venues and nine arts organizations staging theatrical and musical productions, as well as art exhibitions.
The city is the birthplace of Dr Pepper, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Waco is also home to Baylor University and the Waco Mammoth National Monument, a 100-plus acre stretch of wooded parkland along the Bosque River. The site provides a glimpse into the lives of Columbian mammoth bones discovered in Waco along the Bosque River and is part of the National Parks System.
Recently, Waco also gained popularity by being featured as the home of Fixer Upper, a popular HGTV home renovation TV series. Fixer Upper features Waco natives Chip and Joanna Gaines, who also operate Waco business Magnolia Market.
Cargill in Waco
Cargill is a thriving employer in the Waco community. The Cargill Turkey & Cooked Meats Waco facility was established in 1965 and consists of 381,275 square feet of production facilities. Cargill Waco team members give back to the community through programs such as the Ronald McDonald House, the Salvation Army, McLennan County Pack of Hope and the Waco Education Foundation.
1st shift processing
2nd shift processing
Agriculture positions
Benefits and pay
Plant details
Benefits (commencing upon 60 days of employment):
Medical, dental and vision insurance (including Prescription Drug coverage)
Short term disability and life insurance
Plus, paid vacation and holidays and a variety of health and wellness incentives
Located on the north side of Waco
Employs over 650 team members
13 Different nationalities represented in our workforce
Processes approximately 27,000 turkeys each day
http://www.waco-texas.com/
http://wacochamber.com/


Home » Matchup of the year (so far): Felix Vs. Darvish
Matchup of the year (so far): Felix Vs. Darvish
By Steve Rudman April 16, 2014 2 Comments6 Mins Read
Yu Darvish has a 3-3 career record against the Mariners, but is 0-2 when facing Felix Hernandez, which he'll do Wednesday. / Wiki Commons
At 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 0.996 WHIP, Felix Hernandez is off to the best start of his 10-year major league career. Since he bunched his three wins into the season's first 12 days, Hernandez gets three more starts before the month is done, which means he has a longshot opportunity to enter May 6-0. That would be memorable.
Since 1914, the first year such records are available, only four pitchers, including former Mariner Randy Johnson twice, started the first calendar month 6-0. Aided by two wins over the Mariners in the first 10 days of 1988, Oakland's Dave Stewart was the first to produce a 6-0 April. Pitching for Arizona, Johnson did it in 2000 and 2002, and Brandon Webb and Jered Weaver followed in 2008 and 2011, respectively.
The difficulty in achieving such a feat is illustrated by the fact that even a 4-0 start is relatively rare, especially in Mariners annals. But that's the number Hernandez will be aiming for that Wednesday night in Arlington when he faces the Texas Rangers, who will try to end Hernandez's run by sending out Yu Darvish.
Hernandez and Darvish have contested each other twice, botg in 2012. Felix got the better of both duels, beating Darvish 6-1 May 21 at Safeco Field and 7-0 July 14, also at Safeco Field.
In the May 21 game, Hernandez allowed one earned run in eight innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. The Mariners chased Darvish after four innings largely because of Ichiro, who had a run-scoring triple and a two-run single.
In the July 14 game, Darvish had nothing (seven earned runs and four walks in 6.1 innings), while Hernandez pitched one of the great games of his career, a complete-game, three-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and no walks. According to Elias, there were only 35 other games of that statistical sort in the majors since 1900, meaning that what Hernandez did that day was more than six times as rare as a no-hitter.
While Hernandez has gotten the better of Darvish in their meetings, he has generally not fared well against the Rangers, who own a 20-12 record against him. Texas is the only MLB team to defeat Hernandez 20 times. Hernandez is 5-9 with a 4.45 ERA – more than a full run above his 3.18 career mark — in 18 starts in Arlington.
While Hernandez leads the majors with 30 strikeouts, Darvish leads with an 0.00 ERA. Darvish's year was delayed because of a trip to the disabled list with neck stiffness, but he returned strong. The right-hander hasn't allowed a run in two starts spanning 15 innings. He's walked two and struck out 15.
If Fernandez wins, he will improve to 4-0 for the second time in his career (also 2009) and joins Jamie Moyer as the only pitchers in franchise history to twice start a season 4-0. Only six Mariners have done that. One made it to 5-0, much less 6-0.
Mariner Pitchers With Perfect First Months
1980 Rick Honeycutt 4 4-0 3.24 Started 6-0 but collapsed to 10-17
1996 Randy Johnson 6 4-0 3.35 5-0, 3.67; had major back surgery
1997 Jeff Fassero 6 4-0 2.85 16-9, 3.61 in AL-high 35 starts
2001 Aaron Sele 6 4-0 2.61 15-5, 3.60 ERA, 2 CGs, 1 SHO
2001 Jamie Moyer 5 4-0 3.86 1st 20-win season (20-6) at age 38
2005 Jamie Moyer 6 4-0 3.53 13-7, 4.28; had 12 no-decisions
2009 Felix Hernandez 5 4-0 2.38 19-5, 2.48; 7-game win streak
GOOSE EGGS: The Mariners did not get a runner past second base in their 5-0 loss to the Rangers Tuesday night and suffered their third shutout loss in six games. This is only the second time in franchise history (1990) that the Mariners have sustained three shutout losses in a season's first 13 games. The 1978 Mariners were blanked a record six times in April and three other editions (1977, 1993, 2012) were shut out four times.
MOUND WOES: In addition to the shoulder soreness that led to Blake Beavan's exit after only four innings Tuesday, top prospect Taijuan Walker was scratched from his rehab start in Tacoma when he couldn't get his shoulder loose. Walker was scheduled to rejoin the Mariners in Miami this weekend.
FURTHER REVIEW: Roenis Elias, who held the Rangers to one run and five hits over 6.2 innings for his first major league win Monday, has 2.16 ERA over his first three starts, third-lowest among the first three starts for any Mariners pitcher over the last decade, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The two lower ERAs belong to Felix Hernandez, who had an 0.86 in his first three starts in 2005, and James Paxton, who posted a 2.12 in his first three last year.
AL WEST: Oakland increased its lead in the division with a 10-9 victory over the Angels Tuesday night. The A's have won four in a row and eight of nine after weathering a dramatic, two-run shot in the ninth by Mike Trout off Sean Doolittle . . . Dan Straily became the first A's starter to give up more than three earned runs, yielding seven hits and six runs . . . Angels hitting coach Don Baylor could be back with the club in a limited pregame capacity when LA returns from a lengthy trip later this month. Baylor broke his leg Opening Day and isn't likely to be in the dugout during games for several weeks.
COMING UP: The Mariners conclude the four-game series in Texas Thursday (first pitch 11:05 a.m.) before moving on to Miami to face the Marlins. RHP Erasmo Ramirez (1-2, 5.63), pounded for eight runs and 13 hits by the Athletics in his past two starts after a two-run debut against the Angels April 1, will oppose RHP Tanner Scheppers (0-1, 7.88). Ramirez is 0-0, 2.38 in three appearances against Texas while Scheppers has a 1.69 ERA in 11 career relief appearances against Seattle.
Another first — of the bad kind — for Mariners
Slow career start? Kelenic has good company
Thiel: M's do OK vs. AL West; Kelenic demoted
Matt712 on April 16, 2014 8:10 am
Good weather forecast for a pitchers' duel – not too hot, not too cold, and a bit humid. Not sure about Darvish, but I think Felix is in good enough shape to go all the way.
The key will be the early innings. I hope the Ms are aggressive. They need to get on the board early. If they fall behind or it's a stalemate, then we're finally going to see Cano get a ballgame-full of free passes and Felix will get pulled around the 7th in a 1-0 crapfest.
Bayview Herb on April 16, 2014 2:12 pm
botg???


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Mukhtar Lab
For over 25 years, the Mukhtar laboratory devoted large efforts aimed at developing novel mechanism-based dietary agents for prevention and treatment of skin diseases and cancer. In August of 2021 the laboratory has closed, Dr. Hasan Mukhtar is now Emeritus Professor.
In early work, the laboratory employed chemically induced mouse skin tumor model system which was extended to mouse model of photo-carcinogenesis, a system more relevant to human skin cancer and later extended to other tumor model systems of lung, colon, prostate and pancreatic cancers.
The Mukhtar laboratory was the first to establish potential role of green tea polyphenols for prevention of skin (both chemical and photo-carcinogenesis models), lung and prostate cancers. It was also the first to define potential cancer chemopreventive effects of a wide variety of dietary agents, most notably of ginger, lupeol, fisetin and pomegranate. Over the years the laboratory has devoted large efforts in defining molecular targets of cancer chemoprevention in various organ sites and also established several biomarkers which are predictive of cancer chemopreventive outcomes. This laboratory was also the first to provide the information about prostate cancer chemoprevention by oral infusion of green tea polyphenols and then to provide information about molecular targets for these effects. The Mukhtar laboratory was also the first to establish the use of nanotechnology for prevention of cancer and to coin the term "nanochemoprevention".
Currently the laboratory is working on novel dietary agents present in pigmented fruits and vegetables for the treatment of psoriasis. The Mukhtar laboratory has expertise in molecular and cellular biology, biomarker assessment and considerable experience with the use of various animal tumor bioassays of induced and transgenic models.
Cancer prevention and therapy
The focus of Mukhtar laboratory in this area is to establish the utility of naturally occurring dietary substances in prevention and treatment of skin and other cancers. For these studies cellular and molecular approaches in cell culture systems and intervention studies in transgenic mouse models are performed. Chemopreventive efficacies of many dietary substances and molecular targets of their effects are examined. The long term goal is to establish a mechanistic basis for developing novel approaches for prevention of skin and other cancers.
Prevention of photocarcinogenesis and photoaging
Exposure of the skin to sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly its UV-B component (280–320 nm), results in erythema, edema, hyperplasia, hyperpigmentation, sunburn cells, immunosuppression, photoaging, and skin cancer. Amongst these various adverse effects, skin cancer and photoaging are of great concern. More recent changes in lifestyle have led to a significant increase in the amount of UV-B radiation people receive leading to a surge in the incidence of skin cancer and photoaging. As these trends are likely to continue in the foreseeable future, the adverse effect of UV-B has become a major human health concern. Therefore, development of novel strategies to reduce the occurrence of skin cancer and delay the process of photoaging are highly desirable goals. One approach to reduce their occurrence is through photochemoprevention, which is defined as the use of agents capable of ameliorating the adverse effects of UV-B on the skin. Photochemoprevention via use of botanical antioxidants, present in the common diet of humans, has gained considerable attention as photochemopreventive agents for human use. This laboratory has identified several agents that can ameliorate UV induced damages and many such agents have also found a place in skin care products.
Model depicting the effect of green tea constituent EGCG on androgen receptor (AR) mediated signaling. (See image, left) EGCG competes with natural AR agonist DHT to physically interact with the expressed AR protein. Once bound, it decreases the interdomain interaction of AR leading to a decrease in AR protein expression and hence, a decrease in AR transactivation functions. This results in decreased expression of AR target genes and, thus might negatively influence the growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. FASEB J. 2011 Apr;25(4):1198-207.
Three modes of action of botanical antioxidants. (See image, right) Accumulating laboratory data indicate that many botanical agents, with antioxidant properties exert anti-inflammatory, cancer-preventive and anti-photoaging effects in the skin. This suggests the possibility that specific botanicals might be used for the prevention and treatment of a variety of human skin disorders. The use of skin care products supplemented with several effective agents working through different pathways in conjunction with the use of sunscreens may be an effective approach for reducing UV-B-generated ROS-mediated photoaging and skin cancer in humans. Because UV-B radiation plays an important role in cutaneous damage, agent(s) that can protect against UV-B-radiation could be ideal photochemoprotective agent(s) for photoaging and skin cancer. Exp Dermatol;15(9):678-84, 2006.
Apoptosis by dietary factors: the suicide solution for delaying cancer growth
Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of tissues and organ systems by providing a controlled cell deletion to balanced cell proliferation.
Induction of apoptosis by dietary chemopreventive agents. The extrinsic pathway is initiated by ligation of transmembrane death receptors (CD95, TNF receptor and TRAIL receptor) to activate membrane-proximal (activator) caspase-8 via the adaptor molecule FADD. This in turn cleaves and activates effector caspase-3. Dietary agents block the death receptor and also target the caspases blocking the caspase cascade. This pathway can be regulated by c-FLIP, which inhibits upstream activator caspases and IAPs, that affects both activator and effector caspases. The intrinsic pathway requires disruption of the mitochondrial membrane and the release of mitochondrial proteins into the cytoplasm. Stress signals elicited by the dietary chemopreventive compounds regulate the proapoptotic proteins and antiapoptotic proteins, leading to the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial inner membrane. Cytochrome c forms an apoptosome with Apaf-1 and caspase-9, thereby initiating the apoptotic caspase cascade, whereas Smac/DIABLO and high-temperature requirement protein-A2 bind to and antagonize IAPs. The activated caspases catalyze the dissolution of intracellular structure that leads to apoptotic cell death. The Bcl-2 family proteins regulate apoptosis as they form complexes that enter the mitochondrial membrane, regulating the release of cytochrome c and other proteins. The activation of the caspase cascade occurs by the TNF family receptor and it also causes activation of Bid that activates mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Bax is activated and releases cytochrome c and other mitochondrial proteins. Dietary agents can also block growth factor-mediated antiapoptotic signals through the direct inhibition of the binding of growth factors to the receptor or inhibition of the downstream phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway. Blue color of dietary chemopreventive agents denotes that both the in vivo and in vitro effects have been demonstrated and red color denotes that only in vitro effects have been demonstrated. Carcinogenesis;28(2):233-9, 2007.
The last decade has witnessed an exponential increase in the number of studies investigating how different components of the diet interact at the molecular and cellular level to determine the fate of a cell. It is now apparent that many dietary chemopreventive agents with promise for human consumption can also preferentially inhibit the growth of tumor cells by targeting one or more signaling intermediates leading to induction of apoptosis. The Mukhtar laboratory has pioneered in the identification of several compounds from dietary sources as inducers of apoptosis in cancer cells. Emerging data from the laboratory suggest that some of these dietary agents especially those which humans could be persuaded to consume may be utilized for the prevention and management of cancer.
Nanochemoprevention-sustained release of bioactive food components for cancer prevention
Chemoprevention, especially through the use of naturally occurring phytochemicals capable of impeding the process of carcinogenesis at one or more steps, is an ideal approach for cancer management.
Tumor targeting strategy with nanoparticles. Normal tissue vasculature is lined by tight endothelial cells, which prevents the nanoparticles from escaping into the tissue; whereas tumor tissue vasculature is hyperpermeable with leaky endothelium, which easily allow the nanoparticles to infiltrate and extravasate to the tissue. Once the nanoparticles carrying the phytochemicals enter the blood flow, they move freely until they reach the tumor tissue where due to the leaky environment, they allow the encapsulated drugs to be released and get accumulated in the tissue. The nanoparticles could be conjugated with targeting moieties, which will facilitate the nanoparticles to be delivered only to the tumor cells. The nanoparticles can be designed to encapsulate single or multiple agents and direct antitumor action. Inset: Enlarged tumor endothelium to demonstrate the passage of drugs encapsulated in nanoparticles. The nanoparticles carrying the phytochemicals are shown with targeting moieties that help them to bind on the tumor tissue and then release the encapsulated phytochemical(s) into the tissue. The nanoparticles could also be conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to increases the circulation time by stabilizing them against opsonization. PLA, polylactic acid. Nutr Cancer;62(7):883-90, 2010.
Despite accomplished outcomes in preclinical settings, its applicability to humans has met with limited success for many reasons including inefficient systemic delivery and bioavailability of promising chemopreventive agents. The Mukhtar laboratory recently introduced a novel concept of "nanochemoprevention" that utilizes nanotechnology for enhancing the outcome of chemoprevention (Cancer Res 69, 1712–1716, 2009). To establish the usefulness of nanochemoprevention in cancer management, the efficacy of a well identified chemopreventive agent epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) encapsulated in polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) nanoparticles (hereafter referred to as nano-EGCG) in preclinical settings was studied. Nano-EGCG was found to retain its biological effectiveness, with over 10-fold dose advantage compared to nonencapsulated EGCG for exerting its cell growth inhibition, proapoptotic, and angiogenic inhibitory effects. Nano-EGCG was also observed to be effective in inhibiting tumor cell growth in athymic nude mice, with over 10-fold dose advantage compared to nonencapsulated EGCG. The rate of degradation of nonencapsulated EGCG was rapid, with a complete degradation within 4 h, whereas nano-EGCG had a significantly longer half-life. These studies provide a foundation for the use of nanoparticle-mediated delivery of natural products to enhance the bioavailability of active agents for their enhanced effective and chemopreventive potential. In doing this, it is hoped that perceived toxicity concerns associated with prolonged use of agents could also be minimized. One disadvantage of using PLAPEG nanoparticles is its unstable nature in acidic environment; and therefore, it is not recommended for oral consumption. Also, oral consumption is the most desirable and acceptable form of delivery of chemopreventive agents. The Mukhtar laboratory is currently working to overcome this obstacle and is working on ways to develop nanoparticles encapsulating phytochemicals that are suitable for oral consumption.
Another focus of our research is identification of molecular targets that could be used as biomarkers for cancer progression, identifying the stage of the disease, as novel therapeutic or chemopreventive targets, or as a prognostic marker for drug development. Our laboratory over the course has identified several such molecules that are over-expressed during the progression of cancer.
Increasing expression of matriptase during the progression of prostate cancer in humans. (See image, right) Immunostaining for matriptase in representative specimens of normal, BPH, PIN and prostate cancer specimens of tumor grades 1 to 3. Prostate cancer specimens were assigned tumor grades on the basis of Gleason pattern and Gleason score. Immunoreactive matriptase protein was observed in a coarsely granular pattern in cell cytoplasms of epithelial cells of BPH and of grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 prostatic adenocarcinoma. There was minimal staining of occasional stromal cells. Matriptase expression was weak in normal and moderate to strong in BPH, PIN and advanced prostate cancer specimens. Arrows indicate areas staining for matriptase in cancer and normal regions. Original magnification, X40. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev;15(2):217-27, 2006.
(See image, left) Immunostaining for S100A2 in representative samples of benign tissue obtained after separating cancer tissue from prostate cancer patients. S100A2 expression was moderate to strong and was primarily expressed in basal cells (A, B) and smooth muscle cells (C, D) (arrows; magnification x200). J Clin Oncol; 21(1):106-12, 2003.
(See image, right) Immunostaining for S100A4 protein in representative samples from cancer tissue of different Gleason score obtained from prostate cancer patients. A progressive increase of S100A4 protein was observed in cancer specimens with increasing tumor grade (A-D; arrows; magnification x200). J Clin Oncol;21(1):106-12, 2003.
Representative photomicrographs of prostate tumor biopsy specimens showing immunostaining for Notch1 in cancerous as well as normal adjacent tissues (a); normal prostate tissue (b); blood vessels in cancerous tissue (c); HGPIN (d); and Gleason pattern 3 (e) and Gleason pattern 4 (f). Green arrows, normal tissue with none to low staining; red arrows, cancerous tissue with moderate to high Notch1 expression. Clin Cancer Res;15(2):452-9, 2009.
Research on psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease involving keratinocyte hyperproliferation and aberrant terminal differentiation affecting approximately 2-3% of the population in the United States. The pathogenesis of psoriasis is complex and incompletely understood; however, it is appreciated that hyperproliferation and aberrant differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes and inflammation leading to disrupted barrier characterized by an abnormal stratum corneum is a prominent feature of the disease. Caspase-14 is involved in terminal differentiation and is essential for accelerated cornification in response to barrier disruption and for the formation of normal corneocytes. Emerging data from other laboratories and our studies suggest that caspase-14 expression is substantially down-regulated in human psoriatic lesions.
Anti-inflammatory agents which possess the ability to inhibit hyperproliferation and induce differentiation could be useful for the treatment of psoriasis. Developing such an agent, especially a natural product, would be a welcome addition to the armamentarium for treating psoriasis. Delphinidin, a major anthocyanidin abundantly present in pigmented fruits and vegetables, possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities.
Preliminary observation from the Mukhtar laboratory suggest that delphinidin treatment induced procaspase-14 protein and mRNA expression in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK). Delphinidin also induced the processing of caspase-14 into catalytically active subunits p10 and p20. Furthermore, delphinidin treatment to NHEK increased the protein expression of AP-1subunits and NF-kB subunits p50 and RelB. Importantly, delphinidin under identical treatment conditions did not result in induction of apoptosis. This remarkable distinction forms the basis of current ongoing research which is designed to investigate the effect of delphinidin on keratinocyte differentiation and hyperproliferation both in in vitro human reconstituted skin model and in preclinical in vivo settings.
The hypothesis that this laboratory is testing is:
Delphinidin will induce differentiation and accelerate cornification that will in turn reduce the severity of psoriasiform lesions by inducing the expression of caspase-14 and suppression of cell proliferation without inducing apoptosis.
If these assumptions are experimentally validated in the ongoing research then delphinidin could have promise for the treatment of psoriasis and for other hyperproliferative skin disorders.
Caspase-14 is downregulated in parakeratotic regions of psoriatic skin. (See image, right) Expression of caspase-14 in normal and psoriatic skin: Skin sections of normal and psoriatic skin were obtained from the same patient and used for immunostaining for caspase-14. In psoriatic skin the arrow indicates parakeratotic region (PR) where the expression of caspase-14 was strongly downregulated. The staining shown here are representative data from three different psoriatic skin patients with similar staining pattern. Ongoing Studies
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EXCLUSIVE: Grassroots LGBTI charity has 24 hours to raise funds or it will be shut down
This gay Londoner's determination to carry on 'flirting with handsome men' after terror attack inspires the world
For almost 11 years Marrz Balaoro has been single handedly supporting Hong Kong's LBGTI migrant workforce. But his hard work is about to be undone as his organization faces eviction.
The people that walk through his doors are minimum wage workers from the Phillipines. Most have been fired from their job because their employers found out they were LGBTI.
Balaoro gives them a place to stay, food, money for transport and even provides fun past times like; gardening and crafts to keep their minds off things.
A trans man himself who lives in Hong Kong because he can make more money than at home in the Phillipines, Balaoro saw a need to protect LGBTI foreign workers. He decided to take action and for the past 11 years has spent more than 60% of his own monthly income to help others.
The Filiguys Association of Hong Kong is the first Filipino LGBTI organization in Hong Kong and helps its community with employment and visa issues.
'There were cases that they would refer Filipino workers (to migration agency services),' Balaoro told Gay Star News.
'There were cases that was special, they are LGBTI and they won't talk about it, they were embarrassed.
'The need someone who feels the same.'
Hong Kong relies on a foreign workforce of 330,000 people. About 130,000 of those worker are Filipinos.
Balaoro's dedication is unmatched
Not only does he give his time, money and support to the LGBTI workers – he even trained as paralegal to help them with legal issues – he has raised his adopted daughter while working two jobs.
He works as a domestic helper – Balaoro's boss is very supportive of his charity work.
'I just want to make my time very productive, be able to help other people,' he said.
But his decade of work is in a dire situation. He is about to be evicted from the rented space where he houses the LGBTI workers.
Late last year he developed a serious gum disease and could not afford treatment in Hong Kong, his health insurance does not cover dental. Balaoro was forced to travel home twice to the Philippines to seek treatment.
Paying for the necessary medical treatment stopped him from paying rent at his organization. His landlord wants him out by June 6.
'I talked to the landlord, I'm hoping there are donations coming. I'm doing raffles and trying to sell t-shirts and bags,' he said.
But it's not enough. A fundraising page has been set up for the global community to help Balaoro on the two months rent that is owing.
They only need to raise $2140 to stay open.
Balaoro's story
No protection for LGBTI workers
Countless people have sought help from Balaoro after they were fired for being LGBTI. He has set up a pool of employers who are willing to hire LGBTI people.
'All LGBTI community members are entitled to our services,' he said.
'There are a lot of people (employers) who are supportive, they don't mind, they care how dedicated we are to our work.'
Hong Kong does not have laws which protect LGBTI in the workplace.
In March, Hong Kong's Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) issued a statement calling on the government introduce the anti-discrimination legislation.
'Offering the LGBTI communities better legal protection is more than just a moral and human rights obligation,' said EOC chairperson Professor Alfred Chan Cheung-ming.
'Hong Kong should modernise its anti-discrimination legislation.'
To donate to Balaoro's charity, click here.
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Tiger Woods makes cut and Scottie Scheffler opens huge lead at The Masters
Tiger Woods safely saw himself into the weekend at The Masters, but his score of 1-over-par is nine shots behind World No.1 Scottie Scheffler after two rounds.
Sat, 9 Apr 2022
Tiger Woods made the cut on day two at The Masters after battling the elements at Augusta National, as Scottie Scheffler built a huge lead after 36 holes.
Woods overcame a tough start to his round to card an admirable score of 74. Combining this with a round of 1-under-par on Thursday, he sits in tied 19th place and nine shots behind Scheffler.
The five-time Masters champion bogeyed four of his first five holes and he fell back to 3-over-par for the week. He battled back with solid birdies at the 8th and 10th holes.
Despite back-to-back bogeys on holes 11 and 12, he showed the fighting spirit on the back nine that helped him to win his 15th major title at Magnolia Lane in 2019.
Woods found birdies at the 13th and 14th holes to card his score of 2-over-par. Augusta National played very hard on Friday, but not for Scheffler whose hot streak continued in Georgia.
Related: Rory McIlroy gives completely honest answer about fatherhood and golf
Scheffler separates from the field. Lead is now five strokes. #themasters pic.twitter.com/0WQLTXZyu5
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2022
He became World No.1 after winning the WGC Match Play at Austin Country Club and his score of 67 on day two has given him a healthy five-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Adam Scott reveals AWKWARD moment golf legend was told to "SIT DOWN" at Masters
Two-time Masters champ worried about tension with LIV Golf players at Augusta
Scheffler's lead of five ties the Masters record for a 36-hole lead at Augusta National.
Four of the five previous players with a five-shot lead at the 36-hole stage went on to win the tournament.
Jordan Spieth was the last player to hold a five-shot lead at The Masters in 2015 and he went on to win by four shots.
Scheffler, 25, played his first eight holes in 1-under-par, but his round caught fire on the back nine.
He made birdies on the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th holes to reach 8-under-par.
Despite an errant drive on the 18th hole, he recovered to make a par to equal the joint-lowest score of the second round. Justin Thomas also shot a 67 to reach 1-under-par for the event.
Scheffler leads by five shots from defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, former champion Charl Schwartzel, Sungjae Im and 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry.
Harold Varner III, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Kevin Na all sit on 2-under-par in a tie for sixth place heading into the weekend.
Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau were all notable names to miss the cut on Friday.
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A chance to get to know your providers
Eric Bucher, MD
Dr. Bucher is a Board-Certified Pediatrician who works in our Haverhill office. He joined CHC in the summer of 2001.
Dr. Bucher was born in a US Army hospital in Frankfurt, Germany while my father was in the service. His family moved back to the States when he was still just a baby, and he grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, where most of my family still lives. After graduating from Keystone Oaks High School in Dormont, PA, he attended Northwestern University, where he majored in English literature. As a freshman in college, he met a fellow English major from Concord, MA, and they have now been married for twenty-eight years. He received my medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and completed my pediatric training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. After three years in private practice in western Pennsylvania, he joined Children's Health Care almost twenty years ago in the summer of 2001.
Dr. Bucher and his wife have three daughters. The oldest is an elementary music teacher in Worcester, MA, and the other two are students at Baylor University and Ohio State University. His house is also the home of two sugar gliders named Icarus and Ramsey. Although they look a little bit like rodents, sugar gliders are actually small marsupials that are native to Australia and can glide through the air like flying squirrels.
Dr. Bucher and his family at the Grand Canyon.
Dr. Bucher and his brother on the day of his high school graduation.
Dr. Bucher plays bass in 2 local bands.
Dr. Bucher has 2 pet sugar gliders, Ramsey and Icarus.
Dr. Bucher and his 3 daughters.
All About Dr. Bucher!
What is your favorite fruit?
Pink grapefruit from Mixon Fruit Farms in Bradenton, Florida.
Hard rock.
What is the last TV show you watched?
What is your favorite book?
That's hard. As an avid reader and former English major, there are so many! I have a particular soft spot for pulp fiction, like A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the writer who created Tarzan), the sword and sorcery stories of Robert E. Howard (who created Conan the barbarian) and the cosmic horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft (who lived in Providence and set many of his stories right here in Massachusetts).
What is your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?
Cumberland Farms Toasted S'mores
What is your favorite vacation you have taken?
Our family loves to travel, and we have visited all forty-eight of the contiguous United States. One of our best trips started at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and ended two weeks later in Las Vegas after stops at Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and seven states in between.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
As a kid, I wanted to be either a secret agent or a scientist. I didn't consider medicine as a career until my junior year in high school.
If you could have any other job what would it be?
A rock star. I have played music all my life, and I currently play bass in two local rock bands. I couldn't live without it, but I have no delusions of quitting my day job.
Do you have any hidden or useless talents?
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem without using my hands.
What area of pediatrics are you interested in?
I enjoy all aspects of primary care pediatrics. I have always had particular interests in infectious diseases and travel medicine, and I am currently a member of both the Wilderness Medical Society and the International Society of Travel Medicine.
What's the best part of CHC?
We are so blessed to have the best staff, many of whom have been with us for decades. They are so dedicated, and their compassion in caring for our patients shows through in everything they do.
Children's Health Care of Newburyport, Massachusetts and Haverhill, Massachusetts is a pediatric healthcare practice providing care for families across the North Shore, Merrimack Valley, southern New Hampshire, and the Seacoast regions. The Children's Health Care team includes pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners who provide comprehensive pediatric health care for children, including newborns, toddlers, school aged children, adolescents, and young adults. Our child-centered and family-focused approach covers preventative and urgent care, immunizations, and specialist referrals. Our services include an on-site pediatric nutritionist, special needs care coordinator, and social workers. We also have walk-in appointments available at all of our locations for acute sick visits. Please visit chcmass.com where you will find information about our pediatric doctors, nurse practitioners, as well as our hours and services.
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