Human cultures

Maps that explain the world:
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/12/40-maps-that-explain-the-world/
and www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explain-the-world/

good book - culture map: www.amazon.com/dp/1610392507

everything you should know about foreign cultures: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-culture-map-8-scales-for-work-2015-1

how to deal with foreigners: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-do-business-around-the-world-2015-1?op=1

Ten surprising ways to offend people in other countries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTE0G9amZNk

where children sleep: http://jamesmollison.com/books/where-children-sleep/

Strategy Page is great source of info about foreign countries, wars, and modern weapons. The articles are devoid of political correctness, but they are not well edited. Strategy Page is posted here: www.strategypage.com/
Editorial Staff of Strategy Page: Jim Dunnigan, Austin Bay, Al Nofi and Dan Masterson.

Besides the aboriginal people of Tasmania, the Andamanese were the only people who in the nineteenth century knew no method of making fire. They instead carefully preserved embers in hollowed-out trees from fires caused by lightning strikes. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andamanese_people
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Customs of the world: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/customs-of-the-world-using-cultural-intelligence-to-adapt-wherever-you-are.html

Foreign cultures: http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/countryinsights-apercuspays-eng.asp

U.S. State Department Travel Warnings: http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html

CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Human Development Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

Freedom of the Press: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_Press_%28report%29

Freedom House is the best source of information about governments violating human rights: http://www.freedomhouse.org/

Global press freedom rankings in 2012: http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Global%20and%20Regional%20Press%20Freedom%20Rankings.pdf

Freedom in the World: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World_%28report%29

Press Freedom Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

Democracy Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Corruption Perceptions Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

Corruption Perceptions Index in 2012: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/

The latest international corruption rankings put Somalia, Afghanistan and North Korea at the bottom of the list, as the most corrupt countries on the planet. source: http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/korea/articles/20131213.aspx

Global Witness (natural resource related conflicts and corruption): http://www.globalwitness.org/

Index of Economic Freedom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom

e-Government Readiness Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Government#UN_e-Government_Readiness_Index

Failed States Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index

International Humanist and Ethical Union: http://iheu.org/

The Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, an arm of the U.S. government has named 15 nations as the worst violators of religious freedom: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. source: http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=50792

Nordic prisons are more comfortable than some hotels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g56susrNQY
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AFGHANISTAN
Wandering through the territory of another tribe or clan (next valley) can get you killed. Strangers are seen as enemies, and treated accordingly. Afghan physicians live in the cities. They are safe as long as they do not visit tribal territories.
Women lived free in Afghanistan:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2543902/Photos-just-free-women-Afghanistan-Taliban-rule.html

ALBANIA
According to the traditions of the Kanun, an Albanian code of law dating back six centuries, arguments between opposing families are to be settled with the blood of the enemy. When the honor of one clad is besmirched, its members are expected to retaliate with violence; when one person is killed, it is the responsibility of his kin to avenge his death by executing a relative of the murderer. For An Eye for an Eye, Italy-based photojournalist Stefano Schirato documents the harrowing reemergence of blood vengeance in northern villages of Albania, where the ancient law has returned in the wake of the fall of Communism. source: http://www.featureshoot.com/2015/01/an-eye-for-an-eye-powerful-portraits-of-albanians-confined-to-their-homes-due-to-vendettas/

ARGENTINA
Pouring wine backwards into a glass indicates hostility. Don’t be offended by Argentinian humor, which may mildly attack your clothing or weight.

BELGIUM
Don’t snap your fingers as it could be interpreted as impolite.

BRAZIL
Don’t ask a Brazilian personal questions, especially about age, salary or marriage. And don’t talk about Argentina — it’s Brazil’s fiercest sporting rival, especially in football.

CHINA
Avoid saying "thank you" to a compliment. Instead, politely deny it to show humility. If you compliment a Chinese person, expect a denial.
Chinese domination of Vietnam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_domination_of_Vietnam
Chinese – even the fancy Chinese who live in the United States – believe in feng shui, which is mumbo jumbo about the orientation of houses and placement of furniture. According to feng shui, if a street leads to the front door, all the energy will drain out of the house. No Chinese would buy the house, and whites wouldn’t buy it either, for fear that when it came time to sell, it would still be under the feng shui curse. source: http://www.amren.com/features/2014/07/water-cooler-white-nationalism/

EGYPT
An overwhelming majority of Egyptian Muslims (88%), say converting away from Islam should be punishable by death. source:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/02/egypts-restrictions-on-religion-coincide-with-lack-of-religious-tolerance/

FRANCE
In one of the more bizarre prohibitions of modern times, France has banned tomato ketchup from primary schools... The very embrace of ketchup is seemingly a surrender to the onrushing imperialism of the Anglo-Saxon world. source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8806553/The-French-have-some-sauce-to-ban-tomato-ketchup.html
France is a modern country as well as a beautiful one. Its attributes, from its health system to its rail system (when not on strike), are well known. But the French dislike modernity. They mistrust modernity. That is the nub of the problem. They dislike and mistrust it for two reasons. Modernity has redefined space and relegated the state. This is intolerable. The redefinition of space has involved the technology-driven elimination of distance. As Michel Serres, a prominent French philosopher, put it in a lecture last year at the Sorbonne on the digital world, “Boeing shortens distances; new technologies annul them.” This is troubling in France because nowhere else is the particularity of place and the singularity of a person’s attachment to it more important. That bond is expressed in the word “terroir,” at once the land, its special characteristics, the nature of its soil, its climate, and the unique human relationship to it. A great Burgundy and an indifferent one may come from properties a hundred yards apart. The soil is not the same, nor the slope of the land. Distance matters. Yet modernity has contempt for it. It even places the Tour de France in England. As Serres put it, “We live in a new space.” Humanity has also changed its relationship to the state. The French place deep faith in the state. It is the righter of wrongs, the mediator of human affairs, the source of social justice, the object of duty, and the repository of power. The very word deregulation is odious to the French. But technology has shifted power from the state to stateless individuals living in a borderless cyberworld. An e-mail address is now more important and more relevant to the conduct of existence than a physical address. A revolution in communication is underway, not seen since the invention of the printing press, but it is not a French revolution. It is in fact an anti-French revolution. It challenges fundamental French values, the French sense of self, and the French attachment to the state. source: www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/opinion/roger-cohen-france-decapitated.html

HONG KONG
Avoid winking — it is often considered rude. Pointing with an index finger is not advisable as this is generally used only for animals. Point with your hand open.

INDIA
Avoid physical contact when first meeting someone. Be tolerant if Indians at first seem impolite, noisy and impatient. This is partly the result of living in chaotic cities and environments.
Modern India:
part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpdoRUMeshw
part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yfkn_XUIbU
part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpg5rCmK4Qw
A woman is killed every hour in India because her family failed to meet her husband and in-laws' demands for higher dowry payments and lavish gifts. source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10280802/Woman-killed-over-dowry-every-hour-in-India.html
Indian student (from Mumbai) compares India with USA: https://www.quora.com/How-Americans-Are-Different/What-facts-about-the-United-States-do-foreigners-not-believe-until-they-come-to-America/answer/Aniruddh-Chaturvedi
Americans describe India: http://www.businessinsider.com/things-americans-should-know-about-india-2013-9?op=1

In a deeply divided and hierarchical society like India, segregated living - and housing - has existed for centuries. Mumbai has community-based "vegetarian only" housing societies. Delhi and Calcutta have Muslim ghettos, crowded, run-down and neglected. A planned apartment coming up in Delhi promises "dream homes for elite Muslim brotherhood"... The divisions of the past appeared to be more cultural in nature; the divisions of today appear to be rooted in fear, distrust and anomie. Mr. Kadri says he was picking up an order at a burger chain drive-thru a few years ago when he overheard the manager asking one of his delivery boys to not to deliver to Juhapura because, "people will chop you into pieces if you go there". source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30204806

Indian newspaper (Tehelka) was closed for revealing corruption of Indian politicians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLHjWMR4dY

JAPAN
A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy. They tend to smile when angry, embarrassed, sad or disappointed.
Japanese people enforce their irrational, rigid customs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwQq9MFvo-0
Japanese people are outraged by toilets that are not perfectly clean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkaPgZSY6IU
modern Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBelUobpzaA
history of Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTZnnbqfsc
Aizuchi is (bad) Japanese habit of making frequent interjections when someone speaks. details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWCtuaLfpVw
In Japan, women splurge on Valentine's Day gifts for men — not the other way around. source: http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-heart-shaped-madness-as-japanese-women-splurge-for-valentines-day-2015-2
Japanese employment system still tends to reward seniority and status rather than performance, in what Japanese call aku byodo or "bad egalitarianism". source: http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-problem-isnt-the-super-rich-2015-2

KENYA
punished for witchcraft in Kenya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewe0WTqu-Mw
menstruating in Kenya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xBO33fXdA0

Young girls in Kenya are sold into arranged marriages for a dowry of livestock as part of a traditional ceremony which marks their passing into womanhood. Clad in tribal jewelry and with their hair tied up in braids, some of the women can be seen struggling as they are hauled away, traded by their fathers for 20 goats, three camels, and ten cows. Many of the girls, who are members of the Pokot tribe, are not aware they have been bargained away until their husbands come to collect them after spending a month in isolation before the ceremony takes place. Often their parents will keep the details of the marriage hidden for fear that their daughter will run away if she finds out about the deal they have made. As part of the ritual, which lasts a day and night, the village men will also select a bull from the herd of cows which the women will punch into submission before it is executed with a spear-thrust to the heart. source and lots of pictures: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2868693/

MEXICO
It is best not to discuss poverty, illegal immigrants, earthquakes or the Mexican-American war of 1846-48. The U.S. had annexed Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory. Mexico lost.

NEPAL
menstruating in Nepal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egvmHkID3Qg

NEW ZEALAND
Attractive women, take note! The streets of sleepy little Auckland are entirely safe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXdMAXaMicc

NORWAY
How to offend a Norwegian: http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/piss-norwegian/

SINGAPORE
Singapore has fined a smoker $15,000 for throwing cigarette butts out of his apartment window. source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/22/us-singapore-litter-idUSKBN0KV0PF20150122

SOUTH AFRICA
Do not be alarmed if South Africans say they were held up by "robots" — to them it means traffic lights. Don’t place your thumb between your forefinger and second finger, as it’s seen as obscene.

SOUTH KOREA
When accepting thanks Koreans will typically say "No, no." This means "You are welcome."
South Korea has the dubious distinction of being the only nation that does not recognize conscientious objectors (those who will not serve in the military out of the belief, usually religious, that serving in the military is immoral.
Despite enormous economic and cultural ties, a recent South Korean opinion poll showed that Japan was the least favorite country to 44 percent of South Koreans (compared to 19 percent disliking China, 11.7 percent North Korea and 4.8 percent the United States). America was the most favorite foreign country (for 21.5 percent of South Koreans) and no neighboring nation made it into the top five. source: http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/korea/articles/20120814.aspx

SWAZILAND
64% of all deaths in Swaziland are caused by HIV/AIDS. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_Swaziland

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Arabs are not used to being told what to do. Visitors from the UAE can take great offense if you appear bossy. They appreciate being looked after by staff who understand Arab culture.

UNITED KINGDOM
Based on interviews with 4,000 UK residents, the research asserts that women now account for 52% of the gaming audience, up from 49% three years ago. The study, which was commissioned by the Internet Advertising Bureau, also revealed there are now more people over 44 years old playing games (27% of the audience) than children or teenagers (22%). The gamer audience reportedly stands at 33.5 million Britons – 69% of the population. source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/17/women-video-games-iab

USA
Americans are less religious than ever. A third of American adults under 30, and a fifth of all Americans don’t identify with any religion, according to a 2012 study by Pew Research (an increase from 15 percent in 2007). source: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-health-effects-of-leaving-religion/379651/?single_page=true
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Caracas, Venezuela has the highest annual murder rate in the world: 130 per 100,000. Singapore has the lowest: 0.4. source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/The-Deadliest-Global-City-163874546.html
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In many parts of the world journalism is a contact sport, in which powerful individuals and organizations physically attack journalists who say unflattering things about them. Governments are usually the worst offenders and then compound their bad behavior by issuing lies that assert most of the attacks are by criminals. Examples of this are most common in South America and Africa. For example, in Nigeria there were 143 attacks on journalists last year. If all you read on this matter were government press releases on the issue you got the impression that Islamic terrorists were responsible for most of this violence. But a careful perusal of the attacks as published in the media showed that the government (military, police, and so on) was responsible for 79 percent of the attacks and the Islamic terrorists only 16 percent. Nigeria, like most nations with a lot of violence against journalists, also suffers from a lot of corruption. While this includes a lot of journalists being for sale, it also means cops and prosecutors are as well, and this makes it possible to kill and injure journalists with little fear (if you have the money for bribes and bodyguards) of reprisal. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20130524.aspx

Traditional African way of life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1O2VTxr4qE

Modern Africa: http://www.amren.com/ar/2011/09/index.html

While popular opinion in China and Russia is generally anti-American, the neighbors of both those countries tend to be hostile to their large neighbor and friendly towards the United States. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20140728.aspx

It is widely known that people in South Asia tend to cherish fair skin while dark skinned people are somewhat despised. In countries such as India and Thailand, whitening cosmetics sell extremely well... A protruding belly has been a sign of earthly success for most of human history and nowadays it is sometimes called a ''cadre's belly" in North Korea. It is assumed that a middle-aged man should be slightly fat in order to look like a cadre (a member of the ruling bureaucracy), a person of power and prestige. source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2014/08/304_162633.html

"Another common problem in failed states is a large number of ethnic groups. This is a common curse throughout Africa, which why the majority of the worst failed states are there. Europe, and much of Asia, have managed to get past this tribalism, although that has not always resulted in a civil society. It usually takes the establishment of a functioning democracy to make that happen. This tribalism has kept most African nations from making a lot of economic or political progress. The top five failed states are all African. Somalia is also unique in that it is one of those rare African nations that is not ethnically diverse. Instead, Somalia suffers from tribal animosities and severe warlordism (basically successful gangsters who establish temporary control over an area). There's a similar problem in the Middle East. For example, two current hot spots, Iraq and Afghanistan, have long been torn apart by tribal and religious animosities. It's much the same with the Balkans and parts of India and Pakistan. Perhaps the most glaring example of a failed state caused by too much diversity is Papua New Guinea, on the eastern portion of the island of New Guinea (north of Australia). Papua New Guinea has over 800 languages (and even more tribes.) It has been in chaos, of one form or another, since becoming a nation 35 years ago." source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20120705.aspx

Ever since World War II there have been a growing number of advocates for CI (Cultural Intelligence, also known as "cultural topography") within the U.S. military. This sort of thing involves the study, analysis and understanding of the cultural traditions, habits and beliefs of opponents, allies, and even the U.S... By every measure the much reviled Jews have done better than the Arabs. To explain away this Israeli success it is accepted fact (by most Arab leaders, journalists and so on) that all this was only possible because of vast conspiracy engineered by the United States and the West in general. This is considered absurd in the West but is still widely accepted in the Arab world. Unfortunately this key cultural difference is rarely mentioned in Western media. Yet any Western diplomat or businessman working in the Arab world quickly becomes aware of this different attitude and adjusts their own behavior to survive (or at least get the job done). Until recently Arabs openly discussing these truths faced arrest or violence (often fatal) from those opposed to freely talking about a lot of forbidden subjects. But after decades of living the lies more and more Arabs, including many leaders and senior business, government and religious officials are mentioning the unmentionable. This discussion often includes pointing out those Arab states that seem to be doing better; like Dubai and some other states like the UAE/United Arab Emirates are the ones that take a more “Western” approach to things... In the past reference, especially by Israelis or Westerners, to cultural differences to explain Arab problems was immediately jumped on by political demagogues and media pundits worldwide as a racist remark. But it was never that and now that is more obvious because as Arab leaders have been openly discussing the same problem. Those discussions are often ignored by the demagogues and pundits, especially in the West. More's the pity because there is a cultural crisis in the Arab world in particular and the Moslem world in general and it is very serious, very real and very explainable. The result of this crisis is a lack of economic, educational and political performance. By whatever measure you wish to use; Nobel prizes, patents awarded, books published or translated, GDP growth, the Arabs have fallen behind the rest of the world. Part of the problem is the Arab tendency to blame outsiders, and to avoid taking responsibility. Tolerating tyranny and resistance to change doesn't help either. Those attitudes are shifting, and for most of the last decade the war in Iraq became the center of this cultural battle. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20140810.aspx

Turkey, which has and could again dominate the region, doesn’t want to do it via force. Iran, which wants to turn all of the Middle East into part of its new Islamic empire, doesn’t have the military might to do this. Decades of sanctions have left Iranian forces weak, which is why Iran is so eager to have nuclear weapons. The Arab states have not been a major military power for over 600 years and are nowhere near to regaining the power they had in the distant past. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20121210.aspx

Mass murder of real or suspected opponents is an old Assad family tradition. Back in 1982 there was a large scale uprising by Sunni Arabs that was put down with great brutality. That bllodbath was ordered by Hafez Assad, the father of current dictator Basher Assad. The 1982 operation culminated in the town of Hama, where entire neighborhoods were blasted with artillery and infantry sent in to kill the survivors. The result was over 10,000 dead civilians and the end of the uprising. In Syria, this did not, officially, happen...  In the last few decades most Arab victims of organized violence have been killed by other Arabs, not Israelis or foreign troops.  source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20130502.aspx

While Pushtuns are 40 percent of all Afghans, most Pushtuns are in Pakistan, where they are a small minority. "Pushtunstan" is a disorganized “nation” of 30 million Pushtuns caught between Pakistan (still over 150 million people) and northern Afghanistan (with about 18 million non-Pushtuns) Without Pushtuns Afghanistan would become yet another Central Asian country with a small population (neighboring Tajikistan has 7.7 million). But Pushtunstan is never going to happen because the Pushtuns have long been divided by tribal politics and cultural differences. When the Pushtun aren't fighting outsiders they fight each other. The violent and fractious Pushtuns are a core problem in the region and have been for centuries. There is no easy solution to this and Pakistan likes it that way.  source: http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/afghan/articles/20121211.aspx

Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan is largely a Pushtun problem and is rarely noted outside the region... Largely unnoticed (outside of Pakistan) is the fact that the Pushtuns have also been responsible for a lot more of the non-Islamic criminal activity inside Pakistan as well as most of the Islamic terrorism. What is remarkable about this is that the Pushtun tribes comprise only 15 percent of the Pakistani population and are also the poorest and least educated minority... Since September 11, 2001 there have been a lot more Pushtun fleeing to Pakistan's largest city, Karachi... Islamic radicals have long been present in the city. The Taliban have established a presence among the two million Pushtuns there. But a lot of the criminal gangs in Karachi are Pushtun and these are the gangs the Taliban often work closely with. Moreover there are now more murders in Karachi than in the tribal territories and this has been a trend since 2010. Finally, in 2013, the number of terrorist deaths in the northwestern tribal territories fell below 2,000 and the murders in Karachi rose above 2,000. Pakistani security forces are acutely aware of who is doing most of the mayhem. A lot of the violence in Karachi is the result of the Taliban trying to prevent the police from stopping the Pushtun radicals establishing save havens in Karachi. The Taliban are succeeding at this, and many Islamic terrorist attacks in non-tribal Pakistan (where over 90 percent of the population is) are coming out of Karachi Pushtun neighborhoods. The Pushtun gangsters cooperate with the Taliban to keep the police out of Pushtun neighborhoods. Currently some 20 percent of Karachi neighborhoods are controlled (to one degree or another) by Pushtun gangsters or Islamic terrorists. Poverty and Islamic radicalism are driving more Pushtuns out of the tribal territories and into the cities and the Taliban are following. The government is fighting back but with all the corruption and mismanagement in Karachi (and Pakistan in general), it’s a losing battle so far. The Karachi government is so corrupt that there are calls for the federal government to appoint a new city administration. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20140605.aspx

A major reason so many Islamic terrorists come out of the Middle East is the culture of resentment and revenge that is so prevalent there. The blood feud (kill one of mine and I must kill one of yours) is an ancient custom which has largely disappeared in most Western nations. Blood feuds are illegal in most of the world. But in regions where tribal authority is still present the blood feud is tolerated. Alas, the blood feud is a form of terrorism for as long as one continues. Tribal leaders spend a lot of time trying to mediate an end to these endless cycles of murder and other mayhem. But when you insert religion into the mix, things get really nasty. Most of the nations that have been embroiled in Islamic terrorism for the last few decades have also been suffering from a lot of families seeking revenge for kin killed by terrorists, police or foreign troops. When you have nothing else, you can always have revenge. Tribal societies, in general, are much more violent that those that have moved on to more effective forms of government.

The hate and animosity of a blood feud extends beyond simply killing the kin of someone who killed one of yours. It also involves punishing, in any way you can, anyone associated with the killers. In Iraq the cycle of revenge was started long before the U.S. and Britain invaded in 2003. For several decades the Sunni Arab minority (20 percent of the population) had become increasingly brutal towards the majority Shia Arabs (60 percent), the Kurds (15 percent) and several smaller minorities. The Shia and Kurds suffered hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Once the Sunni government was overthrown and the Sunni controlled police, secret police and military disbanded, the Shia got organized and began going after individuals they knew had killed specific Shia men, women and children (usually in gruesome fashion). The newly elected government and the foreign troops tried to shut down these death squads, but that did not happen in a big way until the Sunni tribes agreed, in 2007, to turn against the Sunni Islamic terrorists. Even with the Shia militias and their death squads put out of business by 2008, there were still plenty of Shia men, or groups from the same family or tribe, out looking for the Sunni bastard that killed, maimed or raped someone close. This vengeance was the main reason so many Sunni Arabs fled Iraq after 2003. The vast majority did not fear prosecution for war crimes, but rather the inexorable progress of a blood feud.

In addition to seeking out and murdering those who killed someone close, it’s also common to inflict all manner of pain on the family of the killers. Thus the widows of known Sunni terrorists are often prevented from obtaining any government benefits. This is usually done by exploiting the fact that terrorists who married while they were terrorists were often not able to register the marriage (and the subsequent children). The widow and children are in constant fear of being discovered by kin of her late husband’s victims. Since her male children will feel compelled to carry on a blood feud to avenge those who killed his father, the male children are sometimes killed, especially if the kid does not come from a large extended family that might contain cousins or uncles who would start a blood feud to avenge the murder of the child.

source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20130109.aspx

While India was technically neutral during the Cold War, India was generally hostile to the United States and quite cozy with Russia. India still has good relationships with Russia, but the Russians have no fleet to speak of these days and suddenly the Americans are seen as potential allies. In part this is because the anti-American slant was more the product of Indian post-colonial nationalism (that was generally anti-Western) and infatuation with socialism. Both those policies proved failures and, while many Indian politicians do not accept the shift to a market economy and better relations with the West, these changes have happened anyway. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20130509.aspx
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Mother Teresa : Bharat-Ratna or Bharat-Kalankini ???

THE MOTHER-SUPERIOR ( ? ) COULD NOT FIND EVEN A SINGLE DESTITUTE, MUGGER, BEGGAR OR DRUG-ADDICT IN HER 'HOLY-MOTHERLAND' OF ALBANIA !!! HER COUNTRY MUST BE A PARADISE OF JESUS THEN !!! SHE FOUND PLENTY OF THEM IN INDIA, WHOSE WEALTH WAS PLUNDERED BY HER COLOURLESS CAUCASIAN PLUNDERER CUM BACHELOR FATHERS / VIRGIN MOTHERS / GAY BROTHERS & LESBIAN SISTERS SOMETIME AGO. WHY DID SHE LEAVE BEHIND HER PARADISE-COUNTRY AND SETTLE DOWN IN INDIA ??
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WAS AN ADDITIONAL GRANT TO HER BY THE BENEDICT-MASTERS OF WEST TO CARRY OUT MORE CONVERSIONS IN THE COUNTRY. AND THE TITLE OF BHARAT-RATNA BY THE POODLES OF BRITISH MASTERS WHO HAD IMPOSED UPON THE NATION - TRANSFER OF POWER AGREEMENT 1947.

HER SOLE OBJECTIVE WAS EVENGELISM AS A MISSIONARY OF CHRISTIANITY.

CONVERSION IN ANY MANIFEST WHATSOEVER, IS THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. THERE IS NO OTHER CRIME MORE DIABOLICAL THAN CONVERSION. GOD NEVER, NEVER FORGIVES SUCH CRIMINALS.

MOTHER TERESA WAS AN ARCH ENEMY OF HINDUS, A CONVERSIONIST TO THE CORE AND A HARDENED CRIMINAL OF FAITH.

INCOMING GOVERNMENT MUST -

ENACT A NATIONAL LAW BANNING CONVERSION OF ALL VARIETIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY EXCEPT, I REPEAT, EXCEPT THE HOMECOMING INTO HINDU-FOLD.

BAN BODIES LIKE WORLD VISION, MISSIONARIES ( ?? ) OF CHARITY & CONVERSIONS AND SEVERAL OTHERS.

WITHDRAW / CANCEL BHARAT-RATNA, PADMA-SHREE AWARDED TO THE NUNS, TERESA AND GLADY STAINES. ALSO THE PADMA-BHUSHAN TO THE NUN NIRMALA.

NO ANTI-HINDU ACTIVITY BE PERMITTED ON THE LAND OF BHARATVARSHA. THE LAW MUST STATE EXPLICITLY, EVERY ANTI-HINDU ACTIVITY IS AN ANTI-NATIONAL ACTIVITY. AFTER CONVERSION, THEY ARE THEN LOYAL TO THE VATICAN JUST AS MUSLIMS ARE TO MECCA / MADINA. THERE IS HARDLY ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS IN SO FAR AS FANATICISM IS CONCERNED. THEY CONVERTED ENTIRE AFRICA BY DESTROYING THEIR NATURAL, HOME-GROWN FAITHS. ALL, I REPEAT ALL AFRICAN FAITHS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY THESE CRIMINAL-MISSIONARIES. NOW THEY ARE BEING CONVERTED TO ISLAM AT GUN-POINT BY ISLAMIC MARAUDERS. IN THE PROCESS, CONVERTED-CHRISTIANS ARE BEING BUTCHERED MERCILESSLY. THIS IS CALLED INFALLIBLE JUSTICE OF THE PROVIDENCE...DIVINE JURISPRUDENCE / ADJUDICATION...TRUE BENEDICTION OF THEIR GOD !!!

ANYONE WISHING TO SETTLE HERE AS A NATURALISED CITIZEN, MUST ADOPT / ACCEPT HINDUISM. NON-HINDUS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO STAY BACK HERE AS NATURALISED CITIZENS.

THESE TOUGH MEASURES ARE AN ABSOLUTE MUST TO SAVE OUR NATION & OUR EXISTENCE FROM WITCHES LIKE TERESA, NIRMALA etc..

VANDE MAATARAM I

RAMAKANT TIWARI

Authored in 2010.

Not all African women believe 'black is beautiful'... Although I do not use skin lightening products, I live in Nigeria where millions of women do. On offer in my local shops are a myriad of products designed to make dark skin lighter: Kojic acid soaps, fade creams, hydroquinone creams, whitening shower gels made from goat milk and for the more determined: skin lightening injections. So when last month Vera Sidika, a popular Kenyan model and socialite, publicly admitted to spending tons of money bleaching her skin, she added fuel to an already smoking hot fire. Just one admission was enough to re-ignite the fierce debate about Africans' perception of beauty... On the topic of skin whitening, emotionally charged slogans such as “black is beautiful” are often employed in an attempt to make women like Sidika feel as if they are somehow betraying their race. Such women are then accused of having inferiority complexes towards white people. In Nigeria 77 per cent of women use skin lightening products... The critics might be unwilling to concede this publicly, but the harsh truth is that in Africa, lighter skinned girls do get more attention and are more appreciated than darker skinned women. source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10973359/Not-all-African-women-believe-black-is-beautiful.-And-thats-OK.html

Tanzania has announced a ban on witchdoctors who have been targeting the country’s large albino population in the mistaken belief their body parts can bring wealth, luck and power. The country’s home affairs minister called for communities to tip-off investigators in a new taskforce set up to tackle the problem, which has resulted in at least 74 murders since 2000 and 58 brutal attacks in which people have lost limbs and been left permanently scarred. source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tanzania/11346273/Tanzania-bans-witchdoctors-after-albino-murders.html

China is leading a worldwide tendency for police state governments to tightly control how their subjects use the Internet. While China is considered the most vigorous and effective censor of the Internet, many other nations are using the same techniques and equipment, often obtained from China. These include Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. None of these nations are democracies. All are police states or monarchies determined to keep their subjects from having free use of the Internet. In most cases, the real purpose is to prevent the people from overthrowing the rulers. But there are many other nations, most of them democracies, who are also striving to control the Internet to protect their citizens from unsavory material. These nations include Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Eritrea, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Most other nations are watching these efforts, as there are many people on the planet who see the Internet as more of a threat than an opportunity. China leads the way in all this. But it isn't all about politics. Iran, for example, wants to block its citizens from seeing pornography, anything critical of Islam and most Western entertainment. China, has made a major effort to "protect" adult Internet users from pornography, and children on the Internet from, well, everything. The government does this via its Great Firewall of China (officially the "Golden Shield") system, that filters, and eavesdrops on, Internet traffic coming into, and leaving, China. In fact, Golden Shield is more about controlling what is said by Internet users inside China, than in controlling what they have access to outside China. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20130611.aspx

Scandinavian countries... are small and insular, almost more like large families than small countries... In competing for a good job, a mediocre ethnic Scandinavian will routinely win out over a much more gifted foreigner, whether from Pakistan, China, the U.S., or wherever. source: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/denial-about-stockholm/

A major cause of poverty in South Asia (mainly Pakistan and India) is the lack of education, especially for younger children. In both countries corruption is common in the existing public education system, with many teaching and administrative jobs in schools considered patronage (to be given to supporters of politicians, not qualified teachers.) The patronage jobs are often of the “no-show” (except to collect pay) variety. Patronage teaching jobs are the major problem in India and the reason India has such a difficult time providing qualified workers for technical jobs (those that at least require basic reading and math skills). In Pakistan Islamic terrorism is also a major problem... Pakistan has been unsuccessful in shutting down (or even identifying) all the Islamic radical madrassas. Many of these are in the tribal territories and guarded by armed tribesmen who will kill those who try to mess with their madrassas. Too many people in the military and the civilian government still support Islamic radicalism, although they usually oppose terrorists who attack Pakistanis. Nevertheless, the madrasas in general have too many supporters inside Pakistan and until this attitude is changed shutting down or reforming (to provide students with more education that will help them get a job) madrassas is not happening. India is acutely aware that it is falling farther behind China economically in part because Chinese schools are much less corrupt and much more effective. In short, China has a much better educated workforce and that is driving economic growth that has made China three times (per capita) as productive as Indians. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20130614.aspx

Indian Maoists use children as lookouts, couriers, bomb-makers, and soldiers. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20131022.aspx

India has been fighting leftist (Maoist) rebels since the 1970s. The government has been winning battles but losing the war because of the corruption within the government and the impact this bad behavior has on government services. The two biggest failures are education and health. In both cases corruption by local and state officials results in programs that look great on paper but are largely failures in practice. Elementary education throughout India is crippled by corruption largely because teaching jobs are often considered as a source of income by corrupt local politicians (who send their kids to private schools). Teaching jobs are often handed out to people who are technically qualified but who instead work elsewhere. These absent teachers collect their pay and split it with the politician who got them appointed. School administrators are paid off to go along and create false or misleading reports that all is well. School supplies are similarly diverted and suitable administrative excuses made. Medical care, especially in rural areas, is supposed to be taken care of by rural health centers. Local politicians tend to treat these centers like the schools; as a source of additional income. Doctors are supposed to be, by law, supplied by government programs that mandate recent medical school graduates serve one year in health centers. But the majority of the doctors called on to do this service bribe their way out of it. In eastern India the most common excuse given is fear of Maoist violence. While the Maoists do destroy a few rural health centers that are under construction, the generally leave the rural health centers alone once they are operational. While greatly understaffed and underequipped these centers are often the only modern health care available in many rural areas and the locals depend on the centers. The Maoists will often extort medical supplies or care from the centers but because these centers are so popular they will rarely attack an operational one. Doctors are never attacked on purpose, but few medical school graduates want to spend a year supervising care in several rural health centers and prefer to bribe or connive their way out of that duty. Because of these persistent forms of corruption the Maoists still get the attention, and sometimes support, of many rural Indians. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20140818.aspx

Pakistan has seen the growing use of acid to attack (to blind and disfigure) women who have somehow offended the honor of men she is related to. Not just brothers, but also cousins and uncles. Acid attacks are also used by Islamic terrorists trying to discourage young women and girls from getting an education or having any fun... As more Westerners went into Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 they witnessed things that were quite disturbing. A major horror was the prevalence of “honor killings” in the region. This is an ancient custom whereby a woman perceived as acting in a way that reflects badly on the family may be killed by a male relative to maintain the family “honor”. Thus women suspected of adultery or refusing to marry the man her parents have selected for her (or marrying someone they did not select) or getting raped are automatically at risk of being murdered to redeem family honor. In Afghanistan it was discovered that at least two or three women were killed each week for “honor”. There were believed to be more, whose fate was kept quiet (which is another part of the honor angle). There were also even more rapes. Some of these overlapped with honor killing incidents. Rape victims who were not murdered to preserve honor are often prosecuted for unseemly behavior. It’s believed there were more cases of rape because this sort of thing is usually kept quiet (if only because more than a third of the time male relatives are the rapists). Actually, women are being singled out here because Afghan society has long been known to be particularly brutal, with men behaving badly with each other and children often savagely abused as well. This is quite common in tribal cultures, where murder (and other crime) rates are much higher than in more advanced cultures. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20140821.aspx

Many countries declare all defense related matters state secrets and thus there is little monitoring of what is bought and from who and at what price. This is a perfect environment for thieving officials... Corruption in military spending is an ancient problem, with some of the oldest known historical records complaining about it. In many cultures, past and present, it was taken as a given that, if you got a government job, you had a license to steal. In the military this means weapons are built in substandard ways, equipment is not properly maintained, and the troops are often not paid. Military corruption accounts for most of the poor military performance in the past, present, and future. The corruption takes many forms. Mainly it is the idea that everything is for sale, like promotions and assignments. Lower ranking officers and NCOs will often sell weapons and equipment that was reported "destroyed" or "missing." Commanders who are not doing so well can pay to have reports of their performance upgraded... These ancient practices are becoming more difficult to sustain. For example, journalists now more carefully report military response to national disasters that employ troops to help out. Troops that have performance problems here will not do any better in combat, and often for the same reasons (decrepit and poorly maintained equipment and low morale because of poor living conditions and stolen pay). Even in countries (like China or Russia) where journalists are not supposed to report such embarrassing events, the journalists discuss it among themselves, and some of these discussions got onto the Internet and outside the country. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20131008.aspx

The African Union recently agreed to support continued membership of African nations in the ICC  (International Criminal Court) but only if heads of state are exempt from prosecution... Currently, only two heads-of-state (Sudan and Kenya) are under ICC indictment but many African leaders worry that they could be next... The ICC has never actually convicted and punished anyone... There are often disputes between ICC and local prosecutors over who should prosecute. The ICC believes that in some cases the local prosecutors are seeking jurisdiction so they can go through the motions of trying the accused and then acquit. The ICC was founded to avoid this and corrupt heads-of-state often have enough local judges and prosecutors on their personal payroll that they can beat any local prosecutions. The ICC is another matter and corrupt politicians fear it... While the ICC doesn’t actually deal with corruption, most of the people it is prosecuting are thieves as well as killers. source: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20131014.aspx

Toilet is an 18th-century euphemism, replacing the older euphemism House-of-Office, which in turn replaced the even older euphemisms privy-house or bog-house. In the 20th century, where the words lavatory or toilet were deemed inappropriate, they were sometimes replaced with bathroom or water closet, which in turn became restroom, W.C., or washroom... Idiot, imbecile, and moron were once neutral terms for a developmentally delayed adult with the mental age comparable to a toddler, preschooler, and primary school child, respectively. In time, negative connotations tend to crowd out neutral ones, so the phrase mentally retarded was pressed into service to replace them. This too was eventually considered pejorative and became commonly used as an insult. Today, terms such as mentally challenged, with an intellectual disability, learning difficulties and special needs are used to replace the term retarded. source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism